^"''igM^^'] Br\siu The Emu of King Island: 93 



"14. Do //u'v run quickly^ and for a lonsc time ? 



"They run very quickly, but those of King Island, being too fat, run ten 

 times less quickly than those of Port Jackson, generally not more quickly 

 than a very good dog, even those of Sydney. 



" Can they sioini^ and do t hey jump ? 



"They swim well, but only when it is necessary; afterwards they stop 

 and shake off the water. He did not see them jump. 



" 15. Do they make use of their ivings in order to accelerate their 

 running ? 



" He never saw them making use of their wings either to run or to swim. 



" 16. Do they not make use of these wings to defend themselves ? 



'' Not to defend themselves, but they make use of the nail which is at the 

 end of each wing to scratch themselves with. 



" 17. Which are the places they live in in preference f Are they damp and 

 swampy / Sheltered by trees or unprotected ? Dry, high or low ? 



" They are fond of living near lagoons, and in the shade rather than in 

 the open. 



" When pairing time comes they come to the shore, and each male makes 

 his choice of a female. 



"18. Do they li^ie constantly in the same spots, or, at different times, do 

 they go to other parts of the island ? 



"There is no migration. 



''19. At what time of the day do they see/n lookino for food more par- 

 ticularly ? 



" Mornings and evenings only ; they come to the shore. 



"20. Do they seem to prefer spots where fresh water can be obtained.' Is 

 this water indispensable ? 



" They cannot do without it. 



"21 



" 23. Do they build nests .' Where / WitJt what material .' How are 

 these nests made ? What is their width and their height ? 



" They build them on the ground, under the bushes and near the lagoons, 

 with small, dry sticks : they line them inside with dead leaves and some 

 moss, which is found at the foot of trees. Their shape is oval, and they are 

 not very deep in proportion to the size of the animal and the shape of its 

 body. 



" 24. " When are the eggs laid, and how many each time ? 



" From the 25th to the 26th of July .... females were all ready to 

 lay. He saw seven eggs in one nest, but he also saw two nests, the one 

 with eight small Emus, and the other with nine. 



u •»♦#♦*♦** 



"25. How long does the iticubation time last ? 



" He thinks five or six weeks, judging from the time lapsing between the 

 moment when he saw the first eggs and he found the first young birds. 



" Does the female only perform the incubation, of is she helped by the male ? 



" He is not sure, but he remarked that the breasts of several males were 

 without feathers at the time of incubation ; he believes that they also take a 

 share in the hatching. 



" Does the male feed the female during hatching time ^ 



" They do not leave their nests, and are always in pairs near each nest ; 

 one of them on the eggs, the other near the nest. 



"26. What is the size of the young birds wh'e/t they are hatched ^ Can 

 they run about at once ? 



"As large as a man's fist; their limbs are weak, and they cannot run. 

 Their growth is more rapid from the fourth month after the hatching. 



" Have they a thick dozun or feathers ? 



" They are covered like young Turkey-hens, but all striped with black 

 lines in the length of their bodies. 



