36 NEORNITHES RATITAE chap. 



crossed with ease, and in the absence of other bathing-places the 

 sea is often utilised. The note in a state of excitement is a sort 

 of grunt or snort, the call to the young being of a lowing nature ; 

 but the ordinary voice is loud, guttural, and unearthly, consisting 

 of quickly-repeated croaking sounds, lasting for as long as three 

 minutes, and audible at a distance of a mile, or considerably 

 more. The female is much quieter, while the " Mooruk " (C. 

 hennetti) is stated to utter a low scolding or plaintive whistle. 

 A rough nest of leaves and grass is formed in a depression of the 

 soil, generally below bushes or tangled undergrowth, in which 

 from three to six very large eggs are deposited, often placed in the 

 shape of the letter V. These are normally light green in ground 

 colour, with close-set granulations of dark bright green ; but one, 

 if not more, is ordinarily of a perfectly smooth texture, and is 

 therefore entirely light green. The cock incubates, it appears, 

 solely, though some say that the hen takes her turn ; and the 

 former tends the young when hatched, the period of sitting 

 being about seven weeks. The nest is said to be covered by the 

 parent if left for a time, but this is uncertain, as is the use of 

 the two or three eggs scattered round the nest, which are asserted 

 by natives of widely-distant districts to furnish food for the chicks. 

 After breeding, small flocks are formed in some cases, possibly by 

 the combination of two families. The Ceram species, which seems 

 to have been called " Emeu " or " Ema " by the early Portuguese 

 navigators, often lays eggs in captivity, while C. hennetti has 

 bred in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. 



Fossil remains occur in Australia. Hypselornis sivalensis is 

 an allied form from the Pliocene of the Siwalik Hills in India. 



Fam. II. Dromaeidae. — From about the beginning of this cen- 

 tury the name '• Emeu," used, as mentioned above, in varying form for 

 both the Ehea and the Cassowary, has been restricted to the genus 

 J)romaeus, the members of which stand more than five feet high, 

 though lower on their legs than an Ostrich. D. 7iovae-hollandiae 

 of the interior of Eastern Australia, which extended in times past 

 to Tasmania and the islands in Bass's Straits, is blackish grey, with 

 black tips to the plumage. D. irroratus, a more slender species 

 from West, and probably the adjoining parts of South, Australia, 

 has each feather transversely barred with dark grey and white, 

 and a rufous margin to the black patch at the end. Young birds 

 in down are greyish-white, with longitudinal blackish streaks above. 



