- Nov 9, 2013
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This is really bad footage -- the smartphone just doesn't pick up the bass of the vocalisations. And I can only get ten seconds of video to load with my rubbish Net out here.
But, campers, I guess no one has ever posted such a clip, of the territorial behaviour of wild emus.
https://imgur.com/a/zmj8GpZ
Three birds involved. The two tame-wild males here. And a wild female -- we heard her vocalise.
The action took place over about an hour. All three birds vocalising quietly and at intervals. The two 'at home' emus defending their turf. The female likely just reconnoitring.
And as is often the case, the interloper 'skirted' the house-clearing, and the home birds 'crabbed' around, to stay between her and the clearing.
These interactions may last days, with birds on both sides 'crabbing' around, and vocalising.
It's a good time to observe because this is when you may witness the much rarer actions, when a confident interloper will attack the resident bird(s). The footage of such an event would be fabulously rare. I've only seen a half a dozen in a decade of watching. I once saw a 'three-round match' between Eric and a magnificant interloper, who triumphed ('cause Eric had a clutch in tow) to gain control of the apricot tree.
Watch carefully: you can see the male do the 'S-neck thang' as he vocalises.
And this is perhaps the only other image in this category. It shows Felicity Emu 'escorting' a group of interlopers from the house-clearing -- she'd already driven them about three hundred yards at this point. The group was one of five or six wild birds (Felicity at the back) Felicity could do this 'cause she is an alpha bird.
S.E.
But, campers, I guess no one has ever posted such a clip, of the territorial behaviour of wild emus.
https://imgur.com/a/zmj8GpZ
Three birds involved. The two tame-wild males here. And a wild female -- we heard her vocalise.
The action took place over about an hour. All three birds vocalising quietly and at intervals. The two 'at home' emus defending their turf. The female likely just reconnoitring.
And as is often the case, the interloper 'skirted' the house-clearing, and the home birds 'crabbed' around, to stay between her and the clearing.
These interactions may last days, with birds on both sides 'crabbing' around, and vocalising.
It's a good time to observe because this is when you may witness the much rarer actions, when a confident interloper will attack the resident bird(s). The footage of such an event would be fabulously rare. I've only seen a half a dozen in a decade of watching. I once saw a 'three-round match' between Eric and a magnificant interloper, who triumphed ('cause Eric had a clutch in tow) to gain control of the apricot tree.
Watch carefully: you can see the male do the 'S-neck thang' as he vocalises.
And this is perhaps the only other image in this category. It shows Felicity Emu 'escorting' a group of interlopers from the house-clearing -- she'd already driven them about three hundred yards at this point. The group was one of five or six wild birds (Felicity at the back) Felicity could do this 'cause she is an alpha bird.
S.E.
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