Tooshtoosh and Mrs Tooshtoosh Fight for a Chance to Breed

[briefvisit]

We only have an inkling of what’s going on because we observed Felicity and Noddy Big Ears fight Greedy about five years ago.


Here’s the present state:

Limpychick, a young female without a consort, semi-dominates the house-clearing. But her brother, Tooshtoosh, has a consort! And for about three weeks, T. and Mrs. T. have jockeyed for position againt L.


Now, détente is possible. It has happened before. Tooshtoosh lost a half a pillow-full of feathers last week in a stoush with Limpychick on the very edge of the clearing. And three days later, again stood up to her – but on the very edge of the clearing.

And T. and Mrs. T. are down to the wire. Mid-winter day – we have several observations of this – is the day that the male disappears, to incubate. And that’s only a fortnight away. Both of them should be fit enough, fat enough, to launch the process. But only just: it’s been a poor autumn – that’s why the Dad with the chicks has kept those chicks: hard seasons.


Please feel free to come and observe. It’s hard work. In ten years, we’ve only seen two ‘nest-building trysts.’ And from experience we know that a male sitting perfectly still in the gum trees is very very hard to spot.

Wild Guess?
For ten days more or so, I’ll be able to sneak a ration of wheat to T. and Mrs. T. if I see them.

There is another large pasture just a hundred yards away. They’ll likely maintain a guerilla conflict on the edge of the house-clearing/‘backing on’ to the pasture behind.

Then one morning they won’t turn up. Mrs. Tooshtoosh won’t come for wheat independently. She’s not tame enough. And Tooshtoosh himself will be sitting.


[We got one sighting of Noddy Big Ears after the hatch, about twenty yards from the nest, with a clutch of about six chicks.]


Supreme Emu, Lake Muir. W.A.

 

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Following.

 

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https://i.imgur.com/A8HMEym.mp4

 

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Note: ‘lilly pillies’ are a native tree with a little purple berry – but lots of them. At this time of year, wild emus will sneak out of the bush, and right up to the house, to get under the tree for a feed.


So, got four emus. Took me a while to figure it out – about a half an hour. Tooshtoosh approached the garden for some wheat. But that left two birds standing nearby. Sometimes a young bird attaches itself to a breeding-pair or a small mob. And the taggin’-along emu looked a little small, so probably young.


And where was Limpychick?


Then she turned up, and drove them off.

 

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You guys can hone your skills. (And recall I am getting rather blind).

Tooshtoosh is the bird in front, eating. He's unalarmed. You can juuuuust see the splendid 'wedge' shape of his tail.

The bird to the left -- upright = vigilant -- is Mrs. Tooshtoosh. I got a good look at her later. She seems a fine specimen.

And the third bird is the tag-along.

 

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https://i.imgur.com/z0ZZxUq.jpg

Here is Limpychick starting her morning foray (after her wheat . . . ).

This is ‘maxi boom,’ guys. This is the vocalization that settles the is-it-a-guy-or-a-girl-emu question. Only females do this. It’s ‘inter-territorial’ – she wouldn’t do it if other birds were in sight. Then she’d do ‘sideways boogie.’ What’s she’s doing here is broadcasting her presence/readiness to defend her patch. (Happens also in the early a.m. – anyone hear their females do this?)

And if you hear a rival female (or a pair) vocalise in return, you know that a turf war is in progress.


L. then advanced (with SE sneaking along) a quarter mile into ‘détente corner,’ booming, and advancing; booming and advancing. Ten booms all together. Here she is:

https://i.imgur.com/NhMEj7Y.jpg


I didn’t see or hear the opposition. But ‘détente corner’? I t h i n k my wild guess is correct. Limpychick knows that although T. and Mrs. T. will sneak in for lilly pillies or other loot – opportunistic forays, so to speak -- they are maneuvering to breed in that particular spot.


Note: we have one and a half observations of this months-long process whereby a pair ends up with eggs and nest. The established pair, over the weeks approaching mid-winter, begin moving in a smaller and smaller area, around where the nest will be. And any day now would be the ‘trysts’ during which they consider actual sites for the nest.

So today is ‘1/16’ – the first of the 16 days that takes us to mid-winter. If Tooshtoosh disappears, it’s almost certain he’s incubating.

 

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2/16

I reckon T. and Mrs. T. roosted down the back of Detente Corner.

And this morning they brought the fight to Limpychick. Tooshtoosh got some wheat just feet from L., right in front of the garden -- the centre of L.'s turf.

Then L. sparked up, and drove T. off. Then Mrs. T. as well.

And there was a fourth emu -- that 'tag-along,' I think -- present as well.

 

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3/16. No drama

 

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Limpychick was away. T. and Mrs. T. turned up. I gave them wheat and chopped apple. The conversations they have are easy to understand: T. calls Mrs. T. to eat. Mrs. T. is alarmed, but then sneaks in.

Mating may have begun. An egg may have been laid. The date we're watching is mid-month, just days away.

SE

 

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Mrs. Tooshtoosh having a little morning stretch. Got a good look at her this morning. S

Okay, what's going on? As we have no active observation underway, we must rely on scraps of info.

At this second we have a wild/tame-wild breeding-pair of rothschildis with a foot-hold on a good pasture. Limpychick hassles them all she can, including aggressive forays into their territory.

But what matters at this second is whether both members of the pair are healthy enough, fattened up enough, to lay and incubate. The only clue we'll get is the non-appearance for their rations of the two birds. If they keep turning up, they haven't mated. If they disappear in about six to eight days, we can be 85% sure that Tooshtoosh is sitting quietly on eggs within about 400 yards of the house here -- but good luck trying to find him!

SE