Ostrich is the largest bird on the planet, it is well known to a huge number of people. The scientific name is Struthio camelus, from Latin the second part of the name is translated as "camel". These animals are similar to each other with bulging eyes and long eyelashes, as well as impressive body sizes. This beautiful giant bird called Australian ostrich (a photo of it can be found in the article) is divided into several subspecies:
- Asian ostriches.
- Ordinary or North African.
- Somali.
- Syrian
- African.
What is the name of an Australian ostrich?
Emu is the largest fast flightless bird that looks like an ostrich. Due to the fact that Australia is far from other continents, this fact favorably affected the conservation of certain animal species, which include the Australian ostrich emu, the photo of which we present in this article. In the past, this bird was related to an ostrich-like species, but in 1980, the classification was revised and included in a number of cassowary. It is to them that the emu belongs. There are three types of emu that live in Australia:
- woodwardi;
- novaehollandiae;
- rothschildi.
External Emu Features
Despite the large size, Australian ostriches are still much smaller than African ones. In height, they can reach 150-180 cm, weighing from 35 to 55 kg. They have a dense body and a small head on an elongated neck. They have large rounded eyes with fluffy eyelashes. Their pink beak ends with a bent tip. Since they don’t have teeth for grinding food, it’s quite normal for them to swallow small pebbles and sand. In addition, life-threatening materials - pieces of metal, glass - often come into their stomachs. The wings are not fully developed (because they do not fly) and reach 25 cm in length. These birds have incredibly strong legs that can break a person’s bone. Velvet brown feathers mask the emu and are able to regulate their body temperature.
Individuals of both sexes have the same color. Like ostriches, emus can not drink water for a long time, but if they find a source, they will drink a lot and with great pleasure. In addition, they swim well and are happy to spend time in a pond, but since they rarely see water, they bathe in sand and dust, risking ruining their feathers with mud. A dusty bathtub is universal fun that is initiated by the dominant individuals and is held regularly. Such procedures help get rid of various parasites, thereby disinfecting the exposed parts of the body. Dust to some extent protects feathers from water, replacing subcutaneous fat, which ostriches produce in small quantities.
Is the Australian ostrich emu dangerous?
Adult individuals are dangerous even for large predators, one hit of a leg with a hard claw is enough to seriously injure or even take the life of a lion, for example. In a direct attack, an emu can also cripple a dog or break a person’s arm with a single blow. There were cases when males, protecting their immediate territory, attacked people and seriously damaged them. In civilian life, they are almost always silent and quiet, and males during the mating season make a sound that is a bit like a quiet whistle.
Habitat
Emu live in Australia and off the coast of Tasmania. As a rule, they inhabit dry biotopes - shrubs and savannas, can also live on the outskirts of deserts, but never go deeper. Emu is characterized by a settled lifestyle, seasonal migrations are widespread in the western parts: in the summer they go north, in the winter - south. Adult birds have virtually no enemies, they roam quietly in open areas and only occasionally, in case of a life threat, they rush to a speed of 50 km / h. Vision is excellent, therefore, a moving object can be seen from afar, for a couple of hundred meters. They do not like rapprochement with large animals and people, therefore, on excursion farms, they try not to let visitors to this bird. Emu are kept, as a rule, individually, but sometimes in pairs of 3-5 individuals.
What do ostriches eat and how do they breed?
They usually eat rhizomes, seeds and fruits of plants, fruits and small animals and insects (grasshoppers, ants, lizards). Even in famine, they do not feed on grass and dry branches, preferring crops. For this, they were regularly exterminated by the first settlers in the old days. The mating season falls from December to January. At this time, males are especially dangerous and disperse all opponents from their lands. Emu are monogamous, therefore, any male mates with only one female. As for the female, she is released from maternal obligations after mating, and may already converge with new partners. The male’s role in procreation is great, he himself builds nests from branches and grass, and the female only lays 7-8 eggs weighing 800-900 grams.
In appearance, the eggs vary in color: there are dark blue, and even almost black, as well as greenish-blue shades. The male takes care of the offspring directly. He incubates masonry for up to two months and does not leave the nest for a second. He does not feed, does not defecate, drinks only dew from the grass and is constantly on guard. In two months of incubation, the male loses a lot of weight and survives only thanks to fat, which he could accumulate in advance. When the chicks hatch, the male carefully protects them. Despite the large size of the emu, his life is extremely hectic. The main danger threatens chicks, 50% do not live to young. They are hunted by dingo dogs, foxes, wild boars.
How to care for emu?
In Russia, ostriches have long ceased to be exotic, it is not difficult to breed them. In general, this is the same process as with other farm animals. The Australian ostrich emu is completely unpretentious, and keeping it is very simple, if everything is done correctly. With the stall content of an adult, 10-15 square meters are needed. m for walking. Since emu are not able to fly, the fence should be 150-180 cm, if you decide to resort to the net, then its cells should not be small so that the bird does not put its head in there. And you do not need to leave the sharp tips of the hedge, because the pet quickly injures itself. The basis of the diet of ostriches, which are kept in the yard, is compound feed with the addition of grain mixes, a large amount of grass, hay, vegetables, waste meat, root crops.
If you want to breed Australian emu ostrich, care and maintenance should be the most acceptable for a bird. This is the acquisition or rental of land, the construction of premises, paddocks, the purchase of feed, depending on the size of the intended farm.
Interesting facts about emu
To summarize everything we learned about this amazing bird:
- reach a human height of 170 cm and a weight of 55 kg;
- They can’t fly, because they don’t have a keel;
- run fast, speed reaches 50 km / h;
- steps up to three meters;
- the eyes are the same size as the brain;
- the emu does not bury her head in the sand, but runs in the event of a threat;
- get used to t from -5 degrees to +45;
- in general appearance, males and females are no different;
- bird eggs are dark blue or green;
- only the male incubates the chicks, the female only lays eggs.
Emu in everyday life
In Australia, emu are quite common, so the danger does not threaten them. It is not typical for them to bury their heads in the sand, and these individuals are completely intelligent. They are the last species of large flightless birds that exist today, except for the African ostrich. They live in the wild, in captivity they are kept in order to get meat, eggs, and skin. They are kept in zoos and ostrich farms. In their meaning and appearance, these are amazing and unusual creatures.