648 THE EMEU. 



is armed gives dreadful effect to the blow, and, like the claw of the kangaroo, has been 

 known to rip up an antagonist at a stroke. When driven to bay it will turn and fight 

 desperately even with man, and, unless due precautions are taken, will strike him down 

 and trample upon him. In captivity, the bird has been frequently known thus to assault 

 intruders or strangers, and to be very formidable to them, although to its keeper it soon 

 becomes affectionate. 



The voice of the Ostrich is a deep, hollow, rumbling sound, so like the roar of the lion 

 that even practised ears have been deceived by it, and taken the harmless Ostrich for a 

 prowling lion. In its wild state the Ostrich is thought to live from twenty to thirty 

 years. 



In the male bird, the lower part of the neck and the body are deep glossy black, with 

 a few white feathers, which are barely visible except when the plumage is ruffled. The 

 plumes of the wings and tail are white. The female is ashen brown, sprinkled with white, 

 and her tail and wing-plumes are white, like those of the male. The weight of a fine 

 adult male seems to be between two and three hundred pounds. 



The Emeu inhabits the plains and open forest country of Central Australia, where it 

 was in former days very common, but now seems to be decreasing so rapidly in numbers 

 that Dr. Bennett, who has had much personal experience of this fine bird, fears that it will, 

 ere many years, be numbered with the Dodo and other extinct birds. 



The Emeu is not unlike the ostrich, which it resembles in many of its habits as well 

 as in its form and general aspect. It is very swift of foot, but can be run down by horses 

 and dogs without much difficulty. The dogs are trained to reserve the attack until the 

 bird is thoroughly tired out, and then spring upon the throat in such a manner as to 

 escape the violent kicks which the Emeu deals fiercely around, and which are sufficiently 

 powerful to disable an assailant. The Emeu does not kick forwards like the ostrich, but 

 delivers the blow sideways and backwards like a cow. 



The flesh of the Emeu is thought to be very good, especially if the bird be young. 

 The legs are always the coarsest and worst-flavoured portions, the flesh of the back being 

 thought equal to fowl. The natives will not permit women or boys to eat the flesh of the 

 Emeu, reserving that diet ibr warriors and counsellors. A rather valuable oil is obtained 

 from this bird, as much as six or seven quarts being secured from a fine specimen. It 

 chiefly resides in the skin, but also collects in great quantities about the rump, and 

 between the scapidaries and the sternum. It is obtained easdy enough by plucking the 

 feathers, cutting the skin into pieces, and boiling them in a common cooking-pot. A still 

 simpler plan, though not so productive, is to toast the skin before the fire, and catch the 

 oil in a vessel as it drips from the heated skin. This oil is of a light yellow colour, and 

 is considered very valuable, bemg largely used as an embrocation to bruises or strains, 

 either by itself or mixed with turpentine. As it does not readily congeal, or become 

 glutinous, it is useful for oiling the locks of fire-arms. The natives prefer to roast the 

 Emeu with the skin still upon it, thinking that the oil makes the flesh more luscious. 

 When quite fresh, it is almost free from taste or smell, and is quite transparent. 



The food of the Emeu consists of grass and various fruits. Its voice is a curious, 

 hollow, booming, or drumming kind of note, produced by the peculiar construction of the 

 windpipe. The legs of this bird are shorter and stouter in proportion than those of the 

 ostrich, and the wings are very short, and so small that when they lie closely against the 

 body they can hardly be distinguished from the general plumage. 



The nest of the Emeu is made by scooping a shallow hole in the ground in some 

 scrubby spot, and in this depression a variable number of eggs are laid. Dr. Bennett remarks 

 that " there is always an odd number, some nests having been discovered with nine, others 

 with eleven, and others, again, with, thirteen." The colour of the eggs is, while fresh, a 

 rich green, of varying quality, but after the shells are emptied and exposed to the light, 

 the beautiful green hue fades into an unwholesome greenish brown. The parent birds sit 

 upon their eggs, as has been related of the ostrich. The Emeu is not polygamous, one 

 male being apportioned to a single female. 



In captivity, the Emeu soon accommodates itself to circumstances, and even in 



