Lesson 19 The Emu
When full grown, the emu frequently exceeds six feet in height. Although its legs are shorter and stouter than those of the ostrich, it is very swift of foot, and when at full speed outruns both horses and dogs. Its wings are so small that they can hardly be perceived when folded close against the sides and its tail is not visible. Its plumage is somewhat singular and at first sight looks like coarse hair in colour. It is light brown and grey preserving the same general hue over the whole body. The young, however, are striped with black with bands of a light colour between the darker lines. Each foot has three toes; the middle one being longer and thicker than the others. The emu has a long neck and a small head with dark gleaming eyes. Its voice is curious and resembles a hollow booming or drumming. In its wild state the emu feeds upon grass and the various kinds of native seeds, but when tamed it will eat almost anything it can pick up.
Like the ostrich, it swallows stones and other hard substances which remain in its gizzard and assist digestion by crushing and grinding up the food. The emu further resembles the ostrich in its mode of rearing its young. In some sheltered scrubby spot a shallow hole is formed in the ground, and in this hollow its eggs are laid, the precise number believed to be always an odd one, is not known, but as many as 13 have been found in one nest. When newly laid, the eggs are of a rich green, but after hatching, or if. emptied and exposed to the light, the colour is apt to fade. Both male and female sit on the eggs, and the young are able to run about as soon as they leave the shell.
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