ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

 BULLETIN 



Published by the New York Zoological Society 



Vol. XVIII. 



SEPTEMBER. 1915. 



Number 5 



THE BREEDING OF THE EMT 



Bif Lee S. Cuandall, 



Assistant Curator of Birds. 



THE domestication of the ostrich, which 

 without doubt has saved that bird from 

 extermination, is now so well established 

 that its propagation is carried on as simpler and 

 systematically as that of tiie common fowl. The 

 great ranciies of the west yearly produce tlieir 

 hundreds of ostriches, while on the well-estab- 

 lished farms of South Africa even greater num- 

 bers are reared. 



This interest in ostrich breeding has origin- 

 ated, of course, from purely commercial sources. 

 The wild birds were yearly becoming scarcer 

 and the demand for plumes constantly increased. 

 Progressive settlers conceived the idea of rear- 

 ing ostriches in captivity, and once the start 

 was made, and the experiment proved success- 

 ful, the movement quickly spread. The produc- 

 tion of plumes is now one of the great industries 

 of South Africa, and is destined for a similar 

 future in America. 



The mere fact of the low market value of the 

 plumage of other struthious birds — rheas, cas- 

 sowaries and emus — accounts for their never 

 having been thoroughly domesticated, as has 

 their greater congener. Cassowaries, it is true, 

 with their unconquerable pugnacity, present 

 great difficulties to the would-be breeder, and 

 there is no record of their reproduction in con- 

 finement. Moreover, the birds cannot endure 

 cold or dampness, and require warm housing in 

 winter. 



Rheas have been bred in England on several 

 occasions. The rearing of the young birds ap- 

 pears to present no jjartieular difficulties, and 



has generally been left to the parents, or at 

 least to the father, for once the eggs have been 

 laid, the female takes no further interest in 

 their welfare. These birds are perfectly hardy 

 and there is no reason to suppose that their 

 artificial cultivation could not be made as thor- 

 oughly successful as that of the ostrich. The 

 only missing factor is the stimulation of pecun- 

 iary reward. For the sake of the preservation 

 of the rhea, which is rapidly becoming reduced 

 in numbers, it is almost to be hoped that this 

 lack may sometime be supplied. 



In 1914, a pair of Great-billed Rheas {Rhea 

 americana) nested in the New York Zoological 

 Park. Although the male bird incubated faith- 

 fully for the required jieriod of six weeks, his 

 efforts were in vain, the eggs proving infertile. 

 The rhea has yet to be bred in America. 



Emus, although less quarrelsome than casso- 

 waries, still are sufficiently ciioleric to make 

 tlieir keeping a matter of some difficulty. Still, 

 tliev are bred occasionally in England, though 

 not so frequently as is the rhea. 



In 1911, on the completion of the new Yak 

 House, our flock of emus was removed to com- 

 modious quarters there. It was soon found 

 necessary to separate a pair of adult birds from 

 four younger specimens, because of their con- 

 stant quarreling. 



This pair passed the following winter entirely 

 without heat. During the day they ploughed 

 through the snow of their large corral, and at 

 night were driven into a small vestibule, not 

 more than six feet square. 



