The New Student's Reference Work/Emu

EMU

Emu, a running bird of Australia, closely related to the cassowary. The emu lives on the plains, the cassowary only in the forest and dense scrub. The emus have no cap or helmet like the cassowaries. The head and neck are not bare as in the cassowaries, but are provided with feathers. The plumage is heavy and dull-brown in color. The wing-rudiments are very small. The bird stands about five feet high. Its food is exclusively vegetable, consisting of fruits, roots and herbage. It may be tamed, and breeds easily in captivity. It lays six or seven dark-green eggs, nearly as large as ostrich-eggs, in a cavity scooped in the earth, usually in sandy soil.