Emu

a large bird, native of Australia. Its color is a dull brown, mottled with dingy gray; the young are striped with black. When a ailed it strikes backward and obliquely with its feet, and it is so powerful that a stroke of its foot is said to be sufficient to break a man’s leg. Well trained dogs run in before it and spring at its neck. It cannot fly, but runs very fleetly. It is timid and peaceful, and trusts to its speed for safety, unle hard pre ed. In a wild state it sometimes occurs in small flocks; but it has now become rare in and around the settled parts of Australia. The eggs are highly esteemed as food. As much as six or seven quarts of oil have been obtained from the skin of a single bird, and on this account it has been much hunted in Australia. The food of the emu consists chiefly of roots, fruit and herbage. Its only note is a drumming sound, which it frequently emits.