What are the fun facts of emu?

Emu is a flightless bird endemic to Australia. It is the second largest bird after ostrich.

It has a long neck, sharp beak and small wings. Its body is covered with light-brown feathers. Each foot has three forward-facing toes that allow it to grip the ground while running. Also, it uses its legs for kicking the predators when faced with danger.

It feeds on fruits, seeds, plant shoots, small animals, animal droppings, and insects. It can survive long periods without food.

It swallows small rocks and pebbles to facilitate grinding of food and accelerate digestion. Females lay large, emerald-green eggs and males incubate the eggs for about seven weeks without drinking, feeding, defecating, or leaving the nest.

What they lack in wing size emus make up for with leg power. On top of the sheer size of their legs, a few special features help boost their strength. Emus are unique among all bird species, for example, in having a gastrocnemius. This powerful muscle, located on the back of the lower leg, forms part of what’s known as the calf muscle in humans.

Emus have capitalized on the presence of people in Australia’s inland, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) explains. Farmers and ranchers set up water sources the birds can exploit, which has let emus expand into habitats that were once too dry. Fences can help fend off emus, but not all farmers want to keep emus away. Some farmers see the birds as beneficial because they eat the burrs that entangle sheep wool as well as caterpillars and grasshoppers.

Picture Credit : Google

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