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The emu (/ ˈ iː m juː /; Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a species of flightless bird endemic to Australia, where it is the tallest native bird. It is the only extant member of the genus Dromaius and the third-tallest living bird after its African ratite relatives, the common ostrich and Somali ostrich. The emu's native ranges cover most of the ...
Some species have common names including emu bush, poverty bush or fuchsia bush, [2] reflecting the belief that emus eat the fruit, their arid environment or a superficial resemblance to the flowers of plants in the genus Fuchsia.
[15] [16] The flightless ostrich and emu have pneumatic femurs, and so far this is the only known pneumatic bone in these birds [17] except for the ostrich's cervical vertebrae. [13] Fusions (leading to rigidity) and pneumatic bones (leading to reduced mass) are some of the many adaptations of birds for flight. [1] [7]
The precocial juveniles may also have been an adaptation to predation, and while King Island did not have large carnivores, there was a now extirpated population of very large tiger quolls which could have preyed on emu chicks. If the size of the clutch of King Island emus was large, and not the result of more than one female laying eggs in a ...
ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / is an order of large flightless birds that has four surviving members: the three species of cassowary, and the only remaining species of emu. They are divided into either a single family, Casuariidae, or more typically two, with the emu splitting off into its own family, Dromaiidae.
Bird anatomy, or the physiological structure of birds' bodies, shows many unique adaptations, mostly aiding flight.Birds have a light skeletal system and light but powerful musculature which, along with circulatory and respiratory systems capable of very high metabolic rates and oxygen supply, permit the bird to fly.
Male size also indicates his protective abilities. Similar to the emperor penguin, male ratites incubate and protect their offspring anywhere between 85 and 92 days while females feed. They can go up to a week without eating and survive only off fat stores. The emu has been documented fasting for as long as 56 days. [8]
Shorter than an emu, but heavier and solidly built, cassowaries prefer thickly vegetated tropical forest. They can be dangerous when surprised or cornered because of their razor-sharp talons . In New Guinea , cassowary eggs are brought back to villages and the chicks raised for eating as a much-prized delicacy, despite (or perhaps because of ...