Species of Emeus 71 



THE EMEUS 



(Family Dromeeida) 



With the exception of the Ostriches, the Emeus are the largest of existing birds, 

 a fully matured individual of the largest species attaining a maximum length of 

 about eighty inches, and standing considerably over five feet high. They are 

 exclusively confined to the deserts and plains of Australia, where they fill the place 

 occupied in similar districts by the Ostriches of Africa and the Rheas of South 

 America. They constitute as conspicuous and characteristic a feature of the 

 Australian landscape as do certain of the larger kangaroos, and like them were 

 being pushed back by the encroachment of civilization until actually threatened 

 with extermination, though recent legislative enactment has done much to protect 

 them. "The King of the Australian fauna" the bird has been called, and, adds 

 Mr. Campbell, "whether seen in private reserves, parks, or in the open, the Emeu 

 always attracts attention. Even the Bushman, who has seen hundreds of Emeus 

 in the wilds, will always glance at the bird or remain to admire its handsome eggs." 



Before recounting the life history of these remarkable birds, a word of descrip- 

 tion may be given of the several forms. As at present accepted the genus Dro- 

 maeus comprises six nominal species, three of which are known from the Pleis- 

 tocene deposits of Queensland and East Australia, and one (D. ater), which was 

 exterminated some seventy-five years ago, while the remaining two are living. 

 Of these, the largest species and the first to be made known, the Emeu par excel- 

 lence (D. nov(E-hollandi(E), is found throughout Australia in general, though most 

 abundantly in the eastern districts. At a little distance its coat has more the 

 appearance of hair than feathers, due to the loose texture, while down the back 

 there is a parting, where the plumage falls gracefully over on either side. The 

 general color is obscure grayish brown, the feathers with black tips. The feathers 

 of the head and hind neck are black, short, hairy, and recurved, and so thinly 

 placed that the purplish blue color of the skin shows through. The female is 

 similar in coloration to the male, being only somewhat lighter; in size she is 

 slightly smaller than the male. The chicks are grayish white with two stripes of 

 black down the back and two others on each side, each subdivided by a narrow 

 middle line of white. The other living species is the Spotted Emeu (D. irroratus) 

 of western Australia, which is easily distinguished from the other by its spotted 

 plumage, the feathers being barred alternately with silky white and dark gray 

 throughout their length, terminating in a black tip margined posteriorly with 

 rufous. It is also much more slender in habit, the tarsi being longer and thinner, 

 and the toes longer and more slender. The remaining species (D. ater}, now 

 extinct, was very much smaller, attaining a length of only about fifty-five inches, 

 and was darker in coloration. It was apparently confined to Kangaroo Island, 

 South Australia, where it was discovered in 1803 by the French expedition under 

 Baudin. The naturalist of the expedition, Peron, captured three of these Emeus 

 alive and took them to Paris. "A pair was sent to the residence of the Empress 

 Josephine, and the remaining one to the Jardin des Plantes. In 1822 two of the 



