Emu

Fun Facts for Kids

• The word 'emu' does not come from the Aborigine language. It may come from an Arabic word meaning “large bird” and was later applied by early Portuguese explorers to the cassowaries of eastern Indonesia. It was then used for the emu by the early European explorers in Australia.
• The male emu neither eats nor drinks during incubation. For this reason, beforehand, he builds up his fat reserves. During incubation, he goes into the state of torpor so the amount of water loss will be reduced during this period. But he turns the eggs a few times each day, stays on the nest or close to it, and preens.
• An emu has two pairs of eyelids: one is for blinking and the other is to keep dust out.
• A male makes a sound like a pig’s grunt and a female makes loud booming sounds.
• Emus require water daily. When the weather is cold, they recycle air in their nasal passages to create moisture they can use.
• Emus swallow pebbles and small rocks to assist in the grinding of food and to accelerate digestion.