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Emu: Australia's largest bird



The emu is a common Australian bird with beady eyes (with excellent sight) and a curious nature. The emu is the second largest bird in the world, second to its relative the ostrich – hence it is also a ratite. It is found across Australia, except in highly urban areas. As cities have developed emus have moved further away from dense urban regions, preferring bush and scrubland.

The emu is large – up to 2 metres tall (6 feet) – and like an ostrich, is has a long neck. Unlike the black and white feathers of the ostrich, the emu has brown feathers. Males and females look similar. Its neck has a blue tinge. It weighs up to 60 kilograms (132 pounds).


It can’t fly, but it can run quite fast – up to 30 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour). The scientific Latin name (Dromaius novaehollandiae) means “fast-footed New Hollander” – because Australia was once called New Holland.

Its long legs enable the emu to take enormous strides. Its feet have strong, sharp claws (with three toes), and its beak is hard, with excellent strike power. Hence, it can be quite aggressive, especially when looking for food (at people’s picnics and barbecues).

Female emus circle the males during mating season, while stretching their necks backwards and puffing up their feathers. Females will fight for a prospective male (some fights last up to five hours), or stare at each other menacingly.

Males make the nest on the ground. Emu eggs are also large, like ostrich eggs, and are dark-green (10-20 of them per nest). Each egg is the equivalent in volume to 10-12 chicken eggs. Males incubate the eggs very diligently for about 8 weeks, and also look after the little emus (called chicks) until they reach full size, which takes six or seven months.

They sleep at night (by folding their legs on the ground), intermittently for up to seven hours, and become quite active during the day. They feed on plants, seeds, and insects. They also eat small pebbles to help them digest plants. And they have been known to eat car keys.

Emu fat is made into oil for healing skin ailments, because it has anti-inflammatory properties. The oil is great to rub into sore muscles.








They live between 10 to 20 years.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


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