278 WINGLESS LAND BIRDS 



his book, "To the River Plate and Back," that the makers of 

 feather-dusters are exterminating the Rheas. 



The Emu 1 stands half-way, literally, between the ostrich 

 and cassowary, being considerably larger than the latter. 

 Its neck and head are ostrich-like, but in the shape of its 

 body it is more like the cassowary. Like the latter, its feath- 

 ers seem like long, coarse hair, of a gray-brown color. The 

 lower outline of an Emu's body is almost a straight line, with 

 the legs in the centre, and the highest point of the back curve 

 comes directly above the insertion of the legs. Thus the 

 Emu appears to be, and is, a very well-balanced bird. Its 

 home is the upland plains of Australia, so far back in the in- 

 terior that it is now found only with great difficulty. 



Like the cassowary, the Emu is easily kept in captivity, 

 and is not expensive to buy. In Woburn Park, England, 

 owned by the Duke of Bedford, troops of these birds stalk 

 freely over the vast green lawn; and surely no birds could be 

 more striking or picturesque in such situations. Strange to 

 say, a fully grown Emu can be bought in New York for $125. 



The Ceram Cassowary 2 is a big, purplish-black bird, 

 with highly colored patches of naked skin on its upper neck, 

 and an elevated helmet or casque on the base of its upper 

 mandible. Its feathers look like coarse and stiff hair from 

 3 to 6 inches in length, and its legs and feet are very thick 

 and heavy for its stature. The height of a Cassowary is 

 about 5 feet. 



Cassowaries are forest-loving birds. They inhabit Aus- 

 tralia, Ceram and other islands of the Malay Archipelago. 



1 Dro'mae-us no-vae-hol'land-ae. . 2 Cas-u-a'ri-us gal-e-a'ta. 



