P i l B M A l t r
DROMAIUS NOVÆ-HOLLANDIÆ.
The Emu.
0ewHolland'Cassowary, Phill. Bat. Bay, pE in p. 271.—White’s Joum., pi. in p. 129.—Lath. Gen. Syn. Sapp.,
|j |j j j | j H i s t . , vol. viii.-p. 383.
Southern Cassowary, £haw,:-Nat. Misc.,_pl. 99. r ' '
Emu, of New South Wales,.;Gol%’5;yoy ^oL ii.;pL :m^p. 307.
Casuarius Novoe-Hpllandÿe, Lath. Ind. Ora., yol. ii. p. 665.—Cuv. Règn. Anim., tom. i. p. 497.
Casoare de la Nouvelle Hollande, Pérou, Voy. aux Terr. Aust., tom. i. p. 467. pis. 36 and 41.
Dromaius ater, Vieill. Gal. des Qis.„jtom. ii. pi. 226.—Less. .Traité d’Om., p. 9. Atlas, pi. 2. fig. 2.
The Emeu, Gard. and^Meimg. of^^gh S^^Birdsj p. 192.
Van Diemen’s Land Cassowary, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. yiii. p.' 384. pi. cxxxviii.
DromiceusÂustrâlis, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 346.
---------Smw/Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zoo!., volfxi.'p. 439, and vol. xiv. p. 307. pi. 39.
' Dromaius Novoe-Hollandioe, 'G. R^Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p, 82.—List'of Birds in Brit. Mus. ColL,
T his fine^^M^vpicli is only exceededin^sizeby the Ostrich, .of Africa,. was first described and figured
under-the name of the Governor. Phillip’s “ Voyage to Botany Bay,” published in
1789, and it has been included in all ornithological works of a general nature that have appeared since that
date ; but by far the most accurate figure and account of it that has yetbeenugiven-are those published by
the late Mri BepnfetMngth e “ Gardens and:Menagerie>;,of the-Zoological Society delineated.” “ In size and
bulk,’’..says Mr. Bennett, ^M e |E |h |^ ^ c g e d e ^ y tlie African Ostrich alone. Its average measurement may
be estimated at between^ e ^ n^ i xlfeet in heights In form, it closely ressemlflesthe Ostrich, but is lower
on the le g s,^ h (^ t^ ^ i0 h e neck, and of a more thick-set and clumsy make. At a distance its feathers have
more the appearance of hair than of plumage, their barbs being»all loose and separate. As in the Ostriches
they take their origin by pairs from the same shaft. . . ... The wings are so extremely small as.to be quite
^nYisible when^^Me^llo the s u rf a c ^ .p ]^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Th ey, are,. clothe^gdth feathers exactly ^jmijar/tp, those
of tli e b a p l ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ® |& o m ^ f f iM ^ m K h nd fa lj-g f^ ^ fly io v e r ro ^ & e ^ s id e .. . * . These birds
.appear to be "widely spread over the southern part of the continent »of* New Holland and the neighbouring
1 islands; but we are not aware that they have b^ ^B itl]® to observed in its tropical regions. They were
Il^mer;l3gvery abundant ht/Bbthn^^^^^^^mfed:aeksbh.' On the soutb coasttfrey have been met with iff
>g$at numbers, at Port ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ g a i n Flinders, and a t^ ^ pG e p rg e ’s Spurn}! by the same officer and
the naturalists of the- expedition under D’Entrecasteaux. They seem also to he,extremely numerous in the
Ip ja c e n t islands, especially in Kangaroo and King’s Islands, where |liey were found^mfhe greatest abundance
by both Flinders According to^ti^i[utest accounts frofjj^wan Kiver, they have also been
observed bn ^ i p ^ p f the west c o a s t^ ^ ^ ^ S tb e fs e ttlem e n t i|;rik a je3 J’,;,
The researches that have been made in Australia since the above account was published prove that it is
.offlra&wffly dispersed" over Australian continent, and that it is even more numerous in
the northern or tropical regions than it would seem to have formerly been in the southern; on the other
hand* fro^® ^ ^ iemen -s Land, IJe^lands in Bass’s Straits and the colony o f New South Wales it is
almost extirpated ; ’ a few still range over the western part of Van Diemen’s Land, and it may yet be met
&8H^ffiP*e*-feverppol Plains, in New South Wales, and probably on some o f the low islands at the mouth
’ of the Hunter, where I observed its recent foot-marks. In South Australia it has suffered less from the
% encroachments o f t^ y h i t e man than in-New/$mSh Wales, and, the same may be said of the colony of Swan
*Biver- j §
“ In its .manners,” says Mr.r Bennett, “ the Emu bears a close resemblance to the Ostrich. . . . . Its food
appears to be wholly vegetable, consisting fruits, roots and herbage; and it is consequently,
notwithstanding its great strength, perfectly inoffensive. The length o f its legs and the muscularity o f its
ithigta ^eniaife it to run with^ great swiftness; and asjujy^ exceedingly shy, it is not easily overtaken or
brought within gun-shot. Captain Currie states that; it affords excellent cqqpng, equalling, if not surpassing,
the same -sport with the hare-Jn E n g lan d .b u t Mr. Cunningham says tbgje dpgs will seldom attack it,
both on accpunt o f some peculiarfq|w3M^ its flesh w h i^ t b g dislike, and because the injuries it inflicts
i fp h th%n by st^Bn^Sut ^d|hitjf%et are frequ^gywery severe. % The settlers even assert that the Emu
will break the small bone o f a man’s leg by this sort of kick ; which, to avo||rfhe well-trained dogs run up
abreast and make,ajub%n^fe^|3at their neck, whereby they are quickly despatched.”
Its flesh has been compared to coarse beef, which it resembles, according to Mr. Cunningham, “ both in
appearance and taste, a n ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ p v o e | eating g no|hing-andeed can b e fo r e delicate than the flesh of
the young ones. T h e r e isb n t|K ^ ^ use upon any part of the Emu, except the hind-quarters,
which are o f such dimensions that the shouldering o f two hind-legs homewards for a mile distance once
proved to me as tiresome a task as l ever recollect to have encountered in the colony.” I may remark that its
flesh proved of the greatest service to Dr. Leichhardt and his intrepid companions during their overland