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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Jim Marlett

Emu

Dromaius novaehollandiae

Physical Characteristics

  • These large, shaggy birds have loose double feathers. Their neck and legs are long, but their wings are tiny (8 inches). After molting they are dark brown, but as the sunlight fades the pigments, the birds become paler. Emus have three toes. Males have brighter blue necks.
  • Size of average adult
    • height: 6 feet
    • weight: 110 pounds
  • Life span is longer than 10 years in captivity, and some have lived as long as 30 years.

Diet

  • Wild: seeds, fruits, flowers, young shoots

Behavior

  • Must travel hundreds of miles throughout the year to find available food
  • Females make a deep, resonant drumming sound and males make belly-grunts and low rumblings when disturbed or excited
  • Can run at speeds up to 30 mph for short distances and can swim well
  • Pair off when breeding, otherwise travel in flocks
  • Reproduction
    • sexual maturity: 2 years
    • clutch size: 9 dark greenish-black eggs
    • incubation: 60 days
    • male does all the incubation, and is very aggressive after the chicks hatch; drives the female away

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: eucalypti forest, woodland, mallee, heathland and desert shrublands and sandplains
  • Distribution: Australia
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