HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



which distinguish it from all others of the 

 feathered creation. 



It is chiefly found in Guiana, along the 

 banks of the Oroonoko, in the inland pro- 

 vinces of Brazil and Chili, and the vast forests 

 that border on the mouth of the river Plata. 

 Many other parts of South America were 

 known to have them ; but as men multiplied, 

 these large and timorous birds either fell be- 

 neath their superior power, or fled from their 

 vicinity. 



The Emu, though not so large as the 

 ostrich, is only second to it in magnitude. It 

 is by much the largest bird in the New Con- 

 tinent; arid is generally found to be six feet 

 high, measuring from its head to the ground. 

 Its legs are three feet long ; and its thigh is 

 near as thick as that of a man. The toes dif- 

 fer from those of the ostrich ; as there are 

 three in the American bird, and but two in 

 the former. Its neck is long, its head small, 

 and the bill flatted, like that of the ostrich ; 

 but in all other respects it more resembles the 

 cassowary, a large bird to be described here- 

 after. The form of the body appears round ; 

 the wings are short, and entirely unfitted for 

 flying, and it wants a tail. It is covered 

 from the back and rump with long feathers, 



taken, or brought within gun-shot. Captain dime, in 

 Mr Barren Field's Memoirs on New South Wales, 

 states that it affords "excellent coursing, equalling, if 

 not surpassing, the same sport with the hare in Eng- 

 land." And Mr Cunningham, in his amusing work 

 entitled Two Years in New South Wales, gives a curious 

 account of the manner in which it is usually coursed by 

 the dogs. The latter gentleman states that dogs will 

 seldom attack it, both on account of some peculiar 

 odour in its flesh which they dislike, and because the 

 injuries which it inflicts upon them by striking out with 

 its feet are frequently very severe. " The settlers even 

 assert," he says, "that they [the emus] will break the 

 small bone of a man's leg by this sort of kick ; which to 

 avoid, the well-trained dogs run up abreast, and make a 

 sudden spring at their neck, whereby they are quickly 

 dispatched." 



But although dogs in general may be reluctant to 

 attack the emu, this is by no means the case with those 

 which are specially trained for the purpose. M. Peron 

 assures us that the English seal-fishers on King's island 

 in Bass's strait had with them dogs which were taught 

 to go alone into the woods in quest of kangnroos and 

 emus, and rarely failed to destroy several of these ani- 

 mals every day. When the chase was at an end, they 

 returned to their masters' dwelling, made known by 

 signs the success of their expedition, and conducted the 

 hunters to the spot where the quarry was deposited. It 

 was thus that these adventurous traders were enabled to 

 supply themselves with provisions, even while they de- 

 voted nearly the whole of their time to the commercial 

 pursuits in which they were engaged. This statement, 

 M. Peron assures us, does not depend on the mere 

 assertions of the fishermen themselves, for he had him- 

 self witnessed the fact. From his account of the dogs 

 it does not appear whether they were of the native Aus- 

 tralian breed. It is more probable that they were 

 English hounds; and the name of one of them, Spot, 

 adds some confirmation to this conjecture, for we are 

 not aware that the pure New Holland dog has ever 



which fall backward, and cover the anus ; 

 these feathers are gray upon the back, and 

 white on the belly. It goes very swiftly, and 

 seems assisted in its motion by a kind of 

 tubercle behind, like a heel, upon which, on 

 plain ground, it treads very securely ; in its 

 course it uses a very odd kind of action, lift- 

 ing up one wing, which it keeps elevated for 

 a time ; till letting it drop, it lifts up the 

 other. What the bird's intention may be in 

 thus keeping only one wing up, is not easy 

 to discover ; whether it makes use of this 

 as a sail to catch the wind, or whether as 

 a rudder to turn its course, in order (o avoid 

 the arrows of the Indians, yet remains to be 

 ascertained: however this be, the emu runs 

 with such swiftness, that the fleetest dogs are 

 thrown out in the pursuit. One of them, 

 finding itself surrounded by the hunters, 

 darted among the dogs with such fury, that 

 they made way to avoid its rage ; and it 

 escaped, by its amazing velocity, in safety to 

 the mountains. 



As this bird is but little known, so travel- 

 lers have given a loose to their imaginations 

 in describing some of its actions, which they 

 were conscious could not be easily contradic- 

 ted. This animal, says Nierenberg, is very 



been found spotted. In either case the account may 

 be quoted as a surprising instance of animal docility, 

 which would be only the more striking if exhibited l>y 

 the less sagacious breed. 



If we are to credit the report of the same author, tho 

 flesh of the emu is " truly exquisite, and intermediate, 

 as it were, between that of a turkey and a sucking-pig." 

 But some allowances must be made for the circumstances 

 in which he first partook of it, when he and his com- 

 panions, abandoned by their captain, and without any 

 means of procuring subsistence, had no other prospect 

 than that of perishing by starvation, until relieved by 

 the generosity of the fishermen. The English colonists 

 do not appear to have quite so high an opinion of its 

 merits; they compare it to beef, which it resembles, 

 according to Mr Cunningham, " both in appearance 

 and taste, and is good and sweet eating : nothing in- 

 deed can be more delicate than the flesh of the young 

 ones." " There is but little," he says, " fit for culinary 

 use upon any part of the emu except the hind-quarters, 

 which are of such dimensions that the shouldering of 

 the two hind-legs homewards for a mile distance, once 

 proved to me as tiresome a task as I ever recollect to 

 have encountered in the colony." Their eggs are held 

 in much estimation, and, according to the same author- 

 ity, the natives almost live upon them during the hatch- 

 ing season. They are as large as those of an ostrich, 

 with equally thick shells coloured of a beautiful dark 

 green, and are usually six or seven in number; but we 

 have no information as to the manner in which the 

 wild birds form their nest. It probably consists, liki; 

 that of other ostriches, of a mere cavity scooped in the 

 earth. They seem to pair together with tolerable con- 

 stancy, and the male bird, as in some other monogamous 

 races, sits and hatches the young. In captivity the 

 emus are perfectly tame, and speedily become domesti 

 cated. They are easily acclimated in this country, and 

 have been bred without difficulty in various collection". 

 Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological .Socttty 

 Delineated. Vol. II. 



