“The emu is the second-tallest living bird, exceeded in height only by the ostrich.”
The emu is a large flightless bird native to Australia and the second-tallest living bird after the ostrich. It is a ratite that runs rather than flies, and the male alone incubates the eggs and raises the striped chicks.
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A closer look at habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction, and conservation.
The emu is a large, flightless bird found only in Australia, where it is the tallest native bird and the second-tallest living bird in the world after the ostrich. Adults stand roughly 150 to 190 cm tall and travel long distances on foot across open country. It is the only living member of the genus Dromaius and one of Australia's most familiar animals, appearing on the national Coat of Arms alongside the red kangaroo.
Emus belong to the ratites, a group of large flightless birds that also includes ostriches, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi. Rather than flying, the emu relies on long legs and steady endurance to move through grassland and savanna in search of food and water.
An adult emu carries most of its height in its neck and long legs. Body mass commonly falls between about 18 and 60 kg, varying with population, season, and condition. Females are, on average, slightly larger than males, though the difference is not always obvious in the field.
The plumage is loose and shaggy, usually grey-brown, and helps shield the bird from sun and heat. Emu feathers are unusual in structure: each has a double rachis, meaning two feather shafts of similar length emerge from a single base. This soft, drooping coat gives the emu a hair-like appearance rather than the sleek outline of a flying bird.
The wings are greatly reduced, ending in a small clawed structure, and are used mainly for balance while running rather than for flight. The legs are powerful and lack feathers on the lower part. Each foot has three forward-facing toes, an arrangement suited to fast, sustained running. Emus can reach speeds of around 48 km/h over open ground.
Emus occur across most of mainland Australia. They favor open country: grassland, savanna, and sparse shrubland where they can see over the vegetation and move freely. They also use open sclerophyll woodland along the margins of these habitats.
They are less common in dense forest and generally avoid the most arid interior deserts, largely because those areas offer little reliable food or water. Where conditions allow, emus range widely and adjust their movements to rainfall and the seasonal growth of plants.
In parts of Western Australia, emu movements follow a broad seasonal pattern, shifting in one direction during the warmer months and back again later in the year. These are not fixed migrations so much as flexible responses to where food and water are available at a given time.
The emu is an omnivore with a varied, opportunistic diet. It feeds on seeds, fruit, flowers, and fresh green shoots, together with insects and other small invertebrates. The exact mix changes through the year as different plants set seed or fruit and as insect numbers rise and fall.
Emus forage on the move, walking steadily and taking food as they encounter it. They swallow small stones, or gastroliths, that help grind plant material in the gizzard. Because emus can go for extended periods without food and, when necessary, for several days without water, they are able to persist in areas where resources are patchy.
By eating a wide range of fruits and moving over large distances, emus also disperse the seeds of many native plants, depositing them well away from the parent plant.
For much of the year emus are seen alone or in loose groups, though larger aggregations can form where food is abundant. Daily activity centers on foraging, preening the plumage, dust-bathing, and resting. Dust-bathing helps condition the feathers and may reduce parasites.
Emus are generally wary and rely on running to escape danger. Their long stride and endurance allow them to outpace many threats, and a cornered adult can deliver a strong kick with its clawed feet.
The breeding season begins in the cooler months. Males build a simple nest on the ground, a shallow platform of trampled vegetation. Courtship and pairing lead to the female laying a clutch of large, dark green eggs. In some cases a female may lay in more than one male's nest before moving on, leaving incubation to the males.
Emu reproduction is notable for the role reversal in parental care. Once the clutch of roughly 5 to 15 eggs is laid, the male takes over completely. He incubates the eggs for about 56 days, turning them regularly and rarely leaving the nest. During this period the male eats and drinks very little, living largely on stored body reserves and losing considerable weight.
The chicks hatch covered in brown and cream stripes that provide camouflage in grass and low vegetation. These stripes fade after roughly three months. The male continues to guard and lead the young for many months, sometimes well over a year, defending them from predators and showing them where to feed. The female does not take part in raising the chicks.
The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the sole surviving species in the genus Dromaius and is placed in the order Casuariiformes, which it shares with the cassowaries. Both belong to the ratites, a lineage of large flightless birds.
Its closest living relatives are the cassowary of northern Australia and New Guinea and, more distantly, the ostrich of Africa and the kiwi of New Zealand. Several smaller island forms of emu existed at European contact but are now extinct, leaving the mainland emu as the only living representative.
Although it is a bird rather than a mammal, the emu is often paired in Australian symbolism with the kangaroo; the two appear together on the national Coat of Arms.
The IUCN Red List classifies the emu as Least Concern, with a population trend assessed as stable. The species has a very large range across Australia and remains common in many areas, and the mainland population is thought to be at least as large now as before European settlement.
That broad status does not mean every population is secure. Some local and island populations have declined or disappeared, and pressures such as habitat clearing, fencing that blocks movement, vehicle collisions, and introduced predators can affect emus in particular districts. Foxes, feral pigs, dingoes, and monitor lizards take eggs and chicks, while dingoes and wedge-tailed eagles are the main predators of larger birds.
The emu's history with people includes conflict as well as symbolism. During the 1932 event known as the "Emu War" in Western Australia, soldiers were sent with machine guns to reduce emus that were damaging crops and fences, with limited effect. Today the emu is protected in Australia and is also farmed for meat, oil, and leather in several countries.
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Casuariiformes
Family
Dromaiidae
Genus
Dromaius
Species
D. novaehollandiae
The emu is the second-tallest living bird, exceeded in height only by the ostrich.
The male alone incubates the eggs and then raises the young, often fasting for much of the incubation period.
Emu chicks hatch with brown and cream stripes that provide camouflage and fade after a few months.
Emus are flightless; their wings are greatly reduced and are used mainly for balance while running.
During the 1932 'Emu War' in Western Australia, soldiers with machine guns were sent to cull emus damaging crops, with limited success.
The emu appears on the Coat of Arms of Australia alongside the red kangaroo.
Select a question to reveal the answer.
The emu (*Dromaius novaehollandiae*) is a large flightless bird native to Australia and the only living member of the genus *Dromaius*. It is a ratite, part of the same broad group as ostriches, cassowaries, and kiwi.
Adult emus stand roughly 150 to 190 cm tall, making the emu the second-tallest living bird after the ostrich. Body mass commonly falls in the range of about 18 to 60 kg depending on condition and population.
Emus are found only in Australia, where they range widely across grassland, savanna, and open shrubland. They avoid dense forest and the driest deserts, and they move seasonally to track food and water.
Emus are omnivores. They feed on seeds, fruit, flowers, and fresh shoots, along with insects and other small invertebrates. Their diet shifts with what is available across the seasons.
Yes. After the female lays the clutch, the male incubates the eggs for about 56 days and then guards and rears the chicks for many months. Males often eat and drink very little during incubation.
Emus cannot fly; their wings are greatly reduced. They are strong runners instead, reaching speeds of around 48 km/h, which they use to escape predators such as dingoes.
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