WINSTON WEEKLY^[1]

February 8, 2026

Vol. 4, No. 6

AUSTRALIA’S FLIGHTLESS BIRD[2]

Watching Australia’s flightless birds brings an entirely new dimension to birdwatching. Emus, within a group of birds known as ratites, are native to Australia. Occasionally growing up to six feet in height and weighing up to 130 pounds, their muscular legs and three toed feet enable them to run as fast as 30 miles per hour and jump as high as seven feet.

Emus prefer less populated areas and love to swim, although they can and often do go long stretches without food or water. Unlike most birds whose nests are tended to by the female, male emus are essential to incubation. After the female lays between five to fifteen eggs, each of which is approximately the size of ten to twelve chicken eggs, the male takes over during the eight-week incubation period. Rarely leaving the nest during incubation, males lose nearly fifty percent of their body weight by the time the eggs hatch. It is believed the emu was chosen as one of two animals on Australia’s Coat of Arms to symbolize a nation moving forward as emus cannot move backwards. Emus thrive on plants, although I learned first-hand of their love of steak. During a long trip through the Australian bush in my teens, an emu snatched a steak directly off the grill! Given their three-inch claws and ability to kick, we could only watch in awe and horror as the emu gobbled the steak.

Despite the unpleasant encounter with one emu, several others during my year in Australia were quite friendly. Emus are now raised on more than 1,500 farms in the United States, and primarily used for their meat, oil, and eggs, although some are raised as pets. Considered livestock by the USDA, emus require significant space and should be raised in pairs. 

WEEKLY ACTIVITY

See how many flightless birds you can identify and explore how their habits are similar to and different from an emu. Can you guess which bird is larger than an emu?

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[1] A weekly blog/newsletter by Alysen Bayles to be shared with the appropriate attribute.

[2] Resources: Bob Sundstrom, Which Bird Is the Fastest Runner? Sept. 25, 2017, www.audubon.org; Ana Linger, Beginner’s Guide to Owning Emus as Pats, Feb. 3, 2023, www.jamaicacottageshop.com; Elizabeth Thwing, Amazing Amusing Emus: Yesterday’s Dinosaurs, Aug. 2014; Suzanne Downing, An inside look at a niche U.SD. market and whose buying emu meat, July 29, 2020, www.agdaily.com.