Birds of prey Owls Lamellirostral birds Parrots Ostriches Order Galliformes Photos Site navigation For friends and sponsors News Information History Primates Ornithology Herbivora Predatory animals Herpetology Young Veterinary Children's page. A grown-up bird may be 170 cm high and weigh as much as 55 kg. Compared to ostriches, they lack handsome plumes of the latter, have even more rudimentary wings and a hairy, almost shaggy look. Strong legs help the emu to run fast. Feeding principally on vegetable matter, emus may severely damage crops in case they manage to break through the fences surrounding farmers' fields.
Male emus are very conscientious and dedicated parents.
Sometimes there may be as many as 20 eggs in the nest which means that a few females have participated. Then the male emu lies down on the nest to incubate the eggs and keeps lying there for about 2 months taking but occasional short breaks of a few minutes for feeding. After the baby birds have hatched, their father takes care of them until they become grown-ups. It's here that finally he could have had a rest, but females are back again, and the whole thing begins again. Emus' life in captivity resembles that in nature.