EMUS
Bird      -      Vertebrate    -     Omnivore
Male:  Cock
Female:  Hen
Young:  Chicks

EMUS
  • Are Australia's largest bird - similar to an Ostrich, but smaller.
  • Are a member of a group of flightless birds known as Ratites.
  • Ratites include Kiwis, Ostriches, Cassowaries and Rheas.
  • Stands about 6ft tall.
  • Females are usually larger than the males.
  • Are fast runners - about 30 miles an hour.
  • Run fast after rain clouds in the hope of water.
  • Cannot fly.
  • Cannot walk backwards.
  • Are very powerful swimmers.
  • Can go without food for long periods of time.
  • Have good eyesight and hearing.
  • Have long necks and two sets of eyelids.
  • Have three toes on each foot.
  • Have the strongest legs among the animal kingdom.
  • Can defend themselves with a tremendously powerful forward kick.
  • Eat caterpillars, grasshoppers, flowers, fruit, seeds, burrs, lizards and small rodents.
  • Swallow pebbles to grind the food in their gizzards.
  • Live in woods, scrublands, grasslands and desert areas.
  • Main threats are eagles, dingoes, dogs, cats, hawks and humans.
  • The males incubate the eggs, generally.
  • Eggs hatch after about 8 weeks.
  • Lizards like to eat their eggs.
  • Live for 10+ years in the wild.
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