rou}e from Moreton Bay to Port Essington", i^ t ^ ’ course o f which, but moreyiartictjlarly'between ilie lit ul
o f the Carpentaria and Port Essington,Jtbe sighf md«iptiiri_ n t 'W Emu >nf. ilmost i iliiK
occurrence ; so abundant in fact was'it, that he states that he 'pac least
E ^m d red , in flupks of three, g ^ 'te n .’ ail^eyen niurt, a t 'A n n i Hadt? T.i n lihaidl iptnriuuï that the n itiyes
on killing an Ema’ inva&ilylbreak the wu, jXj i 1 s f 'JT1 couldXul^h^W^
assist the "?niijial m^malong its escape, '8hgp]d‘’it'?jró iyej^oine curious prq^tic^'ajsp exist with i i s p y j j lo
this hjfd among the^atwesTthe particulars ogw^ch I have no t,b e ep .ab le^ 'I|gP 5 but 1 giawinen^ipasiliaf
the £puug men andijfimlare not allowed to feed upon it.
The only yacal sound the Emu has been^hcarlsteutter is a lo%Jbppnjjpg> qt pucaping,ijpisy^^(Jueli we
produced,iaJhe,female/by ineans^f,the expansion nndtconttaction qf-a lirgi "muihruiuus bag,
surrounding an oblougionening- th roughiheiings of the trachea ;-.but whether tbits’ peculiarity of structure
is il-o lil be found m the male I am not aw.uc Por thc^hyn o f some iii.lm-finj'Wiajwng» mil a -pitiiiicn
in spirit?, of this very singular conformation I am indebted t® ® frie n d W. Yarrell, Esq.
The eggs, are six or seven in number, o£a beautify].jkffegffgO,Jie|en)bling shagreen in appearance; five
inches mid three-quarters in length hy three inches and three-quarters in breadth.;- they are liejjl iujSKghl
esteem* by the natives, who feed upoui them exclusively whenever they can t e procured, 1 hi \ arc merely'
placed in aycayityScooped in th e earth, generally in 'a sandy soil.
They pair with tolerable constancy, and tbè/malebird appears'tb take’ .y large -h.ire in the I ask of incubation.
In captivity they speedily become’ tame and domesticated, and have been bred without difficulty hu
various collections in this country- •
^^JftleQPUo" difference o f colour is observable in the sexes, whhn'liiay lit' tjiu- ih -c ribiUjKsijjjS
The entire plumage"is of a jlnU'brown, mottled,’particularly oigSiS undeyjpirface, with dirtv grey”?1 the
feathers o f thé head’and neck’Becoming gradually shorter, and'so thinly placed that the purplish hue of the
I p g of the throafantPiound the ears is perfectly visible";' lftSs dusky black.
Thé yo’ung'on firsf quitting thé shell have a very elegant^ppearanie, the-ground-cchinr hcirig'Tsreysn
white,' witb^^ÏTÓngrtud&aï1 broad black stripes ilu ig th i h u k ' 'inilHwo othu-.ni uli -.uli t uti sub
divided bv a narrow’mïddle line of^ ^ t e ||e s é stripes KÜMg^'oritjnjiuRmnFrh'L m ik without subdivision
and broken into* irregular spots on tbe’ head; two other broken stripes pass down the fore-part of the neck
and breast,' and’terminate in'a broad bantf across the thighs.
The Plate represents a reduced figure of the adult and a brood of voung oncs.'