440 NEW HOLLAND EMU. 



small a size as to be useless for flight ; they are 

 covered with feathers like the rest of the body, 

 and when the bird is quite at rest, are scarcely 

 discernible therefrom : the legs are dusky and 

 stout ; in colour not unlike those in the other 

 species, but are greatly indented or serrated at the 

 back part: the three toes placed in the same 

 manner, all forwards : so far the external ap- 

 pearance of the bird : internally it is said to differ 

 from every other species, particularly in having no 

 gizzard, and the liver so small as not to exceed that 

 of a Blackbird, yet the gall-bladder was large and 

 distended with bile : the crop contained at least 

 six or seven pounds of grass, flowers, and a few 

 berries and seeds : the intestinal canal six yards 

 long : the heart and lungs separated by a diaphragm, 

 and bore a tolerable proportion to the size of the 

 bird. 



" Inhabits New Holland, where it is not un- 

 common, being frequently seen by our settlers 

 there, but is exceedingly shy, and runs so swiftly 

 that a greyhound can scarcely overtake it. The 

 flesh said to be very good, tasting not unlike young 

 tender beef." 



