THE EMEU. 91 
bird alone collects them, and hatches the eves, and, for some time after- 
wards, accompanies the young; at which time, the males are occasionally 
fierce, and even dangerous.” 
The Cassowary is found in the vast forests of the Molucca Islands and 
New Guinea. It lives in pairs, feeding on fruits, herbs, and, occasionally, 
on small animals. It runs with rapidity, and defends itself from the attacks 
of its enemies by means of its feet. The female deposits three eges on the 
bare ground. 
The Apterygide, of which there is but one species, the Apterye Aus- 
tralis, are found scattered over various parts of New Zealand, especially 
those covered with extensive and dense beds of ferns, which afford them a 
place of concealment when alarmed. They run with swiftness, and some- 
times hide in holes of rocks or hollow trees. Their food is supposed to 
consist of snails, insects, and worms, which they are said to seek for during 
> 
the night; the worms are obtained by the bird beating the earth with its 
foot, seizing them with its bill the instant they appear above the ground. 
The nest is usually placed at the base of a hollow tree, or in deep holes 
excavated in the ground. 
The Emu, or Emeu, sometimes called Australian Cassowary, is another 
well-known bird. Its food consists of vegetables and seeds, but chiefly of 
fruits, roots, and herbage. In a state of nature it is very fleet, and affords 
excellent sport in coursing with dogs, which are, however, rather shy of 
their game, in consequence of the powerful kicks that the bird can inflict ; 
so powerful, that the settlers say it can break the bone of a man’s leg by 
striking out with its feet. Well-trained dogs, therefore, to avoid this inflic- 
tion, run up abreast, and make a sudden spring at the neck of the bird. 
Though the Emeu has bred so frequently in captivity, the mode of making 
the nest in the wild state does not appear to be well known, though it is 
generally supposed to be a mere hollow excavated in the earth. The dark- 
green egos are six or seven in number. The birds appear to be tolerably 
constant in pairing, and the male bird sits and hatches the young, while the 
female watches and guards the nest. The Emeu can produce a hollow, 
drumming note, well known to those who have attended to its habits in cap- 
tivity. These birds will, like the Rheas, take to water. Captain Sturt, 
when descending the Murrumbidgee, in Australia, saw two of them in the 
act of swimming. They appear to be gregarious, and not very shy in some 
localities, for Major Mitchell, in his excursions towards Port Philip, found 
them very numerous on the open downs, and their curiosity brought them to 
stare at the horses of the party, apparently unconscious of the presence of 
the riders. In one flock he counted thirty-nine, and they came so near him, 
that the traveller, having no rifle with him, fired on them with his pistol. 
