Australian ostrich: photo, description and habitat

Ostrich is the largest bird on the planet, it is well known to a huge number of people. The scientific name Struthio camelus, from Latin the second part of the title is translated as "camel". These animals are similar to each other with bulging eyes and long eyelashes, as well as impressive body dimensions. This beautiful giant bird called the Australian ostrich (its photo can be found in the article) is divided into several subspecies:

• Asian ostriches.
• Ordinary or North African.
• Somali.
• The Syrian.
• African.

What is the name of the Australian ostrich?

Emu is the largest fast flying bird that looks like an ostrich. Due to the fact that Australia is far from other continents, this fact favorably affected the preservation of certain species of animals, to which the Australian emu belongs, the photo of which we represent in this article. In the past, this bird had to do with the species of ostriches, but in 1980 the classification was revised and made into a series of casuariformes. Emu is one of them. There are three types of emu that live in Australia:

• Woodwardi;
• Novaehollandiae;
• Rothschildi.

External features of emus

Despite the large size, the Australian ostriches are still much smaller than the African ostriches. In height, they can reach 150-180 cm, weigh from 35 to 55 kg. They have a dense body and a small head on an oblong neck. They have large rounded eyes with fluffy eyelashes. Their pink beak ends with a bent tip. Since they do not have teeth to grind food, it is normal for them to swallow small pebbles and sand. In addition, to them in the stomach often come across life-threatening materials - pieces of metal, glass. The wings are not fully developed (because they do not fly) and reach up to 25 cm in length. These birds have incredibly strong legs that can break a person's bone. Velvet brown feathers mask emu and are able to regulate their body temperature.

Individuals of both sexes have the same color. Like ostriches, emus can not consume 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 the pond, but as water is rarely seen, they bathe in the sand and dust, risking to spoil their feathers with mud. Dusty bath is a universal fun, which is initiated by the dominant individuals and is conducted regularly. Such procedures help to get rid of various parasites, thereby disinfecting the exposed places of the trunk. Dust protects feathers from water to some extent, replacing the subcutaneous fat that ostriches produce in small quantities.

Is the Australian emu dangerous?

Adult individuals are dangerous even for large predators, one hit with a foot with a hard claw is enough to seriously injure or even destroy the life of a lion, for example. With a direct attack, the emu can also mutilate the dog with one blow or break the arm to the person. There were cases when males, protecting their immediate territory, attacked people and seriously injured them. In a peaceful life they are almost always silent and quiet, and the males during the mating season make a sound that is a bit like a silent whistle.

Habitat

Emus live in Australia and off the coast of Tasmania. As a rule, they inhabit dry biotopes - shrubs and savannahs, they can also live on the outskirts of deserts, but they never go deep into the depths. Emu is characterized by a sedentary lifestyle, seasonal migrations are common in the western parts: in summer they are sent to the north, in the winter - to the south. Adult birds have practically no enemies, they quietly roam the open areas and only occasionally, in the event of a threat to life, rush to run at a speed of 50 km / h. Vision has an excellent, because the moving object can notice from a distance, for a couple of hundred meters. They do not like rapprochement with large animals and humans, so visitors are not allowed to visit this bird at excursion farms. Keep emus, usually alone, but sometimes in pairs of 3-5 individuals.

What do ostriches eat and how do they multiply?

They eat, as a rule, rhizomes, seeds and fruits of plants, fruits and small animals and insects (grasshoppers, ants, lizards). Even in a hungry time they do not eat grass and dry branches, preferring grain 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 particularly dangerous and dispersed all opponents from their lands. Emu monogamous, so any male mates with only one female. As for the female, she is freed from parental obligations after mating, can already come together with new partners. The role of the male in the continuation of the genus is great, he builds nests from branches and grass, and the female only lays 7-8 eggs weighing 800-900 grams.

In appearance, eggs differ in color: there are dark blue, and even almost black, and also greenish-blue shades. Care for the offspring takes over the male itself. 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 always on guard. For two months of incubation the male very much loses weight and survives only thanks to the fat that he was able to accumulate in advance. When the chicks hatched, the male carefully protects them. Despite the large size of emu, his life is extremely troubled. The main danger threatens chicks, 50% do not live to the young. They hunt dingo dogs, foxes, wild boars.

How correctly to look after 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 quite unpretentious, and keeping it very simple, if done right. With the stall content of an adult, 10-15 square meters are needed. M for the walk. Since emus can not fly, the hedge should be 150-180 cm, if you decide to resort to a grid, then its cells should not be small, so that the bird does not put its head there. And do not leave the sharp tops of the hedge, as the pet quickly injures itself. The basis of the diet of ostriches, which are kept at the farmstead, consists of mixed fodder with the addition of grain mash, a large amount of grass, hay, vegetables, waste meat, root crops.

If you wanted to breed an Australian emu, care and maintenance should be the most acceptable for a bird's life. This is the acquisition or lease of land, building a building, walking, buying food depending on the scale of the planned farm.

Interesting facts about emus

Let us sum up all that we have learned about this amazing bird:

• Reach a human height of 170 cm and a weight of 55 kg;
• They do not know how to fly, because they do not have a keel;
• Quickly run, speed reaches 50 km / hour;
• Steps up to three meters;
• The eyes are the same size as the brain;
• Emu does not bury her head in the sand, but runs in case of threat;
• Perfectly get used to t from -5 degrees to +45;
• By their general appearance males and females are no different;
• The eggs of the birds are dark blue or green;
• Only the male hatching the chicks, the female only lays eggs.

Emu in ordinary life

In Australia, emu are quite common, so the danger does not threaten them. It is not peculiar for them to bury their heads in the sand, and these individuals are completely intelligent. They represent the last species of large flying birds that are available today, except for the African ostrich. They live in the wild, they are kept in captivity in captivity to get meat, eggs, and skin. They are kept in zoos and ostrich farms. In its meaning and appearance, these are amazing and unusual creatures.