EMU. 3 
head is small and completely feathered. The wing is very small with a long sharp 
claw but few short feathers similar to those on the body with no differentiated quills. 
There are no differentiated tail-feathers. The legs are very long and stout, feathered 
to the tarsal joint ; the tarsus covered with scales of various sizes, those in front 
small hexagonal ones save at lower portion where a few large horizontal scutes occur 
which are separated from the pronounced scutes of the toes by minute hexagonal 
scales, those at the back develop into pointed protuberances. The middle toe is 
much longer than the inner and outer which are subequal, all bearing stout short 
claws. There is no hind-toe or claw. The feathers have the shaft and aftershaft of 
equallength. Adultcoloration uniform. The downy young has a peculiar striped 
coloration and in structure shows the general adult features except that the claw of 
the inner toe is disproportionately lengthened, which character does not persist in 
the adult. Confined to Australia and Tasmania, 
I. Dromiceius novehollandie.—EMU. 
Gould, Vol. VI., pl. 1. (pt. xxxm.), Dec. Ist, 1848. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 1, pls. 1 and 2, 
Oct. 31st, 1910. 
Casuarius novehollandie Latham, Index Ornith., Vol. II., p. 665, (before Dec. 9th) 1790: 
Sydney, New South Wales. 
Casuartus australis Shaw and Nodder, Nat. Miscell., Vol. III., pl. 99, April Ist, 1792: Sydney, 
New South Wales. 
Dromaius ater Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., Vol. X., p. 212, June 2Ist, 1817: New 
name for C. novehollandie Latham. 
Dromiceus emu Stephens, in Shaw’s Gen. Zool., Vol. XIV., p. 307, pl. 39, 1826 (late): Sydney, 
New South Wales. 
Dromeus irroratus Bartlett, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1859, p. 205, Oct. Ist: interior of 
New South Wales. 
Dromeus diemenensis Le Souéf, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club, Vol. XXI., p. 13, Oct. 29th, 1907: 
Tasmania. 
Dromiceius novehollandie woodwardi Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 175, Jan. 31st, 
1912: Strelley River, mid-West Australia. 
Dromiceius novehollandie rothschildi Mathews, ib.: Gracefield, South-west Australia. 
DistriputTiIon.—Australia : Except the scrub country from Cardwell to Lloyds Bay, North 
Queensland. [Tasmania. Extinct.] 
Adult —General colour above blackish, the feathers being brown or ashy-brown, 
the shafts and the ends of the feathers black, giving the general tone to the upper- 
surface ; sides of the body lighter than the back; the feathers of the lower back 
and rump very long and spine-like, black in the centre and rufescent on the margins ; 
sides of body grey, with black shaft-lines and ends to the feathers, imparting a spotted 
appearance ; crown of head with long hairy crest-plumes, black, like the upper 
hind-neck ; lower hind-neck light ashy-brown, with black shaft-lines and tips to 
the feathers ; lores, eyelid, sides of face and sides of neck bare and of a bluish-white 
colour, with a few hair-like bristles ; ear-coverts hidden with black bristly plumes, 
which also conceal the cheeks, but in a less degree ; throat smoky-grey, the chin 
bare. The feathers of the neck for about half-way down from the head are short 
and hair-like, joining the other feathers abruptly. This gives the bird the appear- 
ance of having a ruff. This ruff is whitish in very old birds. Iris hazel; legs 
brownish-black ; bill blackish (life). Total length about 183 cm.; bill from gape 
115 mm., tarsus 355, middle toe and claw 200. 
Adult female —The general colour above is ashy-grey ; the feathers of the back 
are linear in shape and tipped with black or reddish-brown, which gives a streaked 
appearance to the upper side ; the sides of the body and feathers of the wings are 
grey ; the feathers of the lower back, rump, and tail are more elongated and disin- 
tegrated, being of a pale brown intermixed with a dark shade of the same colour ; 
B2 
