THREE UNUSUAL BIRDS

THE EMU

This animal is a large flightless bird endemic (native) to most of Australia (in fact, it is Australia’s largest native bird). This bird is the second tallest flightless bird in the world today. As a bipedal runner, it can sprint up to 30 miles per hour. It has a very powerful kick, enough to deliver serious blows! It is also an excellent swimmer.

Figure 1. An adult emu. Image from the Smithsonian Institution (open access).

This bird eats fruits, leaves, grasses, flowers, seeds, and insects; it especially likes grapes and dandelion greens. The emu lives throughout most (but not all) of Australia.

The adult female is up to 6 foot three inches tall, and it weighs up to 82 pounds, whereas the male weighs a maximum of 69 pounds. This bird has unique fluffy, double-shafted feathers. It also has powerful 3-toed legs that can run up to 30 mph and are also used to deliver serious blows when it is necessary to protect itself or its young. This bird has a throat pouch for producing deep drumming calls. It is the only bird with calf muscles.

CLASSIFICAN

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Cordata

Class Aves

Order Casuariiformes

Family Casuariidae

Genus Dromaius

Type Species Dromaius novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790)

GEOLOGIC RANGE

They originated during the Late Oligocene or early/middle Miocene (about 25 to 15 million years ago) in Australia (Wikipedia, 2026). 

Fossilized eggshells of Dromaius, about 65,000 years old, are frequently found in Australia.

KIWI BIRD

The Kiwi is a flightless bird (with vestigial wing approximately the size of a chicken. Kiwis are included in a diverse group of flightless birds generally referred to as ratites (e.g., ostriches, cassowaries, emus, rheas, moa, and the extinct elephant bird). The Kiwi bird is the national symbol for New Zealand.

Figure 2. Kiwi bird (image via the Smithsonian Institution, open access).

The Kiwi, which is endemic to New Zealand, consists of five recognized species. In general, the kiwi birds are up to 18 inches tall and weight about 5 pounds. The eye relative to body mass of the kiwi is the smallest in all of the avian species.

Kiwi birds are most closely related to the extinct elephant bird of Madagasgar. 

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

OrderApterygiformes

Family Apterygidae

Genus Apteryx

Type Species A. australis

The geologic time range of the kiwi is Miocene to Recent (Wikipedia, 2026).

Reference

Wikipedia, 2026

THE SANDILL CRANE

This bird used to be referred to as the “Grus Stork.” Today, there are six known subspecies of this bird. It lives today in North America (including Cuba) and also in northeast Siberia. It is a herbivore. The male weights up to 11 pounds and has a wingspan up to nearly 7 feet.

Figure 3. The Sandhill Crane, Image via the Smithsonian Institution (open access).

It has one of the longest fossil record of any extant bird: 10 million years [= late Miocene time] in Nebraska.

Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Aves

Order Gruiformes

Family Gruidae

Genus Antigone

Type Species A. Canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Reference:

Wikipedia, 2026.