Talk:Emu

feathers
the aricals says they have soft feathers, last time i patted one it was very wirey, should this be changed or are they different if washed? 141.243.60.12 (talk) 04:11, 12 June 2009 (UTC) reply: I have heard that as well — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clonetrooper76 (talk • contribs) 13:35, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Enemies
What kind of animals eat emus? A section of preditors and what kind of animals prey on it would be interesting. 4.142.123.41 00:46, 14 August 2007 (UTC)eric

The Emu is a very fast runner so it can run from predators. Plus they can kill a full grown man by kicking him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.15.160 (talk) 03:26, 14 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Dingos would. birds of prey and quolls would take the babies (before humans anyway)141.243.60.12 (talk) 04:09, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

What caused emus to evelove as fast runners? They are not carnivores so didn't need to run down prey. The only current predators of emus that might require fast escape are man and possibly dingo and these are quite recent to Australia. If emus evolved elsewhere how and when did they migrate to Australia?--91.125.73.251 17 July 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rod Northway (talk • contribs) 15:14, 17 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, before humans and Dingos, there was thylaceo, thylacine, and Varanus pricus, just to name a few possible predators. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.115.132.20 (talk) 19:18, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

According to low sources, the Emus runs from 48 to 74 km/h (30 to 46 mph), thus faster than dingoes and other predators of Australia. This bird is as quick as lightning, his difference with the Ostrichs, it is just that he is smaller, thus it is walked sounds less high and her, its lower speed logically, but are energy is similar, it is just a question of sizes and measurements of animals, for the stories of speeds as for the athletics.--85.170.228.86 (talk) 12:30, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Emeus is birds very fast, adapted to the running of endurence and speed, 48 km/h and their top speed on an average but they can reach points of 74 km/h the maxium, the ostrich is 72 km/h (45 mph) on average and sharp 98 km/h (60 mph). Already learn has to measure a speed during a sprint (because there is an average speed and a top speed, thus two speeds to be measured during a sprint! Also know that the average speed has anything has to see with the stamina, for example the emu is 30 km/h (20 mph) in stamina and 50 to 75 km/h (30 to 46 mph) during a sprint.--Angel310 (talk) 09:17, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Aggressivness
Why is the emu so much less aggressive than the ostrich or the cassowary? Or is this just omitted? 4.142.123.41 00:46, 14 August 2007 (UTC)Eric

cassowary is terratorial and has a hard 'horn', ostrich lives in an area with large canavores so it would be an evolved behavioural trait. emus dont really have to worry about those factors. 141.243.60.12 (talk) 04:14, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Misc
Qwertyest? I don't believe this is a word in common use.

Maybe it would be better to just leave the common names out, Jim. They are plain enough in the text anyway. Tannin 14:14 Apr 11, 2003 (UTC)


 * good thinkingjimfbleak

"immune to the ill-effects of low blood CO2 levels"

Shouldn't it say high levels? Cos111 01:27 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Capitalization
Tannin, please stop wrongly capitalizing the word "emu" in this article. This is the English - not German - Wikipedia. In English nouns are only capitalized when they are proper nouns or the first word of a sentence. We do not capitalize every instance of such words as "kangaroo", "wombat", "chair" or "bicycle", and equally, "emu" is no exception to the rules of English grammar. Needless to say, capitalization of scientific names is correct, as these are proper nouns, however generic descriptions of the animal known commonly as the "emu" - notwithstanding the fact there is only a single species - does not require capitalization. There is only a single species of homo sapiens, however we do not capitalize the words "man" or "mankind" in general usage. --Centauri 23:32, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * There is, for some reason, a lot of debate as to whether common names of species should be capitalized. Apparently they frequently are in scientific literature. There is a huge amount of archived wikidebate on this subject in the various sections of Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Tree of Life. I personally would rather not capitalize these names, but I don't feel strongly enough about it to take part in such a ridiculously long running argument. So for now I'm staying neutral, and not reverting anyone's changes for that issue. --Iustinus 16:06, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

Scientific Name
Can someone who knows more about biological conventions include a note about the alternate name "Dromiceius novaehollandiae"? I know that many species have alternate or obsolete scientific names, and that it doesn't make sense to insist on cataloguing them in every single article, but in this case I would like to see the alternate name mentioned. Why? Because the dionsaur Dromiceiomimus is intended to mean "Emu-Mimic" and this makes no sense unless you know about the alternate name. --Iustinus 16:06, 5 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Done. :) FiggyBee 05:45, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

feather colouring
I removed this piece of statistical commedy genius: in combination, the dark and light areas of the plumage deflect or absorb all but 2% of the sun's radiant heat.

Akin to:

"All but 2% of people involved in the accident either were killed or survived!"

Really even the bit I left does not explain why the two-colour feathers help to regulate temperature. Anyone know if it even does? reference?

TomViza 13:05, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

farm use
Emus are not farmed exclusively for their meat. There is not enough meat on an emu to make it profitable; the oil is the main product. The American Emu Association calls the meat and oil "co-products" rather than by-products. alphzoup

Upon reading the section on the economic usefulness of the emu, I think it needs to be completely rewritten because there are a lot of misleading and false pieces of information. I also have some photos to accompany this part of the page. I will try to do this soon. alphzoup —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.204.228.23 (talk) 07:35, 16 February 2008 (UTC) (personaly the Emu is a pretty big bird so the meat is an industry)

Hybrid
I believe the emu can be hybridized with it's close cousin, the cassowary, or maybe (unlikely) with other ratites. Has this ever been done?


 * I remeber that this occured at a Victorian Fauna Park in the 70's between a Female Cassowary and Male Emu. But have been unble to find anything to back this up. It was reported in the local media when it happened.


 * Do you know what the hybrids were like? And why has this not been reported to worldwide news agencies? I should think that something like this would be important news.

Ok the emmu can't be used as a hybrid. Thats like saying your dog can be used as a hybrid. That and the emu isn't even used as a house pet so how do you expect to trian the emu to use it as a hybrid. To use an animal like that sounds inhumane —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.15.160 (talk) 14:11, 14 June 2008 (UTC)


 * That doesn't even make sense. Do you even know what a hybrid is? Because the question is if emus can mate with other birds and produce young. That happens fairly often, even between wild animals living in the wild, in which case it is obviously the animals' idea. It has nothing to do with training or whether or not the animal is a housepet. There is nothing "inhumane" about it. 75.208.3.255 (talk) 21:41, 17 June 2008 (UTC)


 * i would assume possible, but i would think that usally the cassowary would kill the emu.141.243.60.12 (talk) 04:06, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Coverage map request
This is already a very good article, however I think it'd benefit with the inclusion of a coverage map (similar to this example). -- Longhair 03:02, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
 * A map has already been requested. This Wikiproject Australia spam is really getting over the top.--Peta 03:32, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Cultural reference
In Western Australia, one of the most popular mainstream beers is Emu Bitter, a 4.6% lager produced by the Lion Nathan-owned Swan Brewery. They also make Emu Export for people without tastebuds. I'm not having you on here; I think this is a significant cultural reference. User talk:Hesperian 00:22, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Sounds like it fits in the third paragraph - should Emu export just be a subsection of the Emu bitter or are they significantly different products?--Peta 00:25, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Different products. User talk:Hesperian 00:30, 14 July 2006 (UTC) He speaks from experience :) User:SatuSuro 00:33, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Map
The map shows the distribution in black superimposed on a grey map, right? With so much of Australia covered, it is perhaps not clear that it isn't a grey distribution on a black map. User talk:Hesperian 05:52, 27 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Looking at it some text with the picture is needed for clarification of which is which! User:SatuSuro 05:57, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Done, thanks for pointing that out.--Peta 06:11, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Nasal turbinates
On exhalation, the Emu's cold nasal turbinates condensed moisture back out of the air and absorbs it for reuse

That sentence doesn't make sense to me. Shouldn't it be: ''condense moisture .. and absorb it''?--Eloquence* 04:42, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes. Thanks for spotting that.--Peta 04:44, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

On USDA references
To whoever added the USDA reference: Please note that this site uses HTTP POST instead of HTTP GET as its form submission method. In simple terms, this means that instead of something like "search.pl?my_search_terms", the result URL will be something like "search.pl" -- without your search parameters. Copying that URL will therefore not replicate the search result. On forms like this, you can often use a bookmarklet (like frmget from this page) to convert the form to submit a HTTP GET request so that the resulting URL contains the query string and can be copied. I fixed it in this article but don't know if there are other uses. Hope that made sense. ;-) --Eloquence* 05:14, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Vaguely, thanks.--Peta 05:18, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

613 place names
Regarding the claim that there are 613 Australian places named after Emu, the cited list includes names like "Mount Peregian" which are obviously not emu-related. Why? Because these have alternative names containing the word "Emu" e.g. "Mount Peregian" has an alternative name "Mount Emu". But the alternative name also appears in that list, so we're actually counting that mount twice. I count eleven names that are obviously not named after the emu, and a couple of doubtful ones, so I will change the article to claim "around 600". User talk:Hesperian 11:54, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks.--Peta 00:40, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Welcome. User talk:Hesperian 00:44, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Second biggest bird?
Does anyone know how an animals "bigness" is measured? If we were to compare information in the Wikipedia articles on the Emu and the Cassowary I would be curious to know how the Emu was rated as bigger than the Cassowary. Emu: "The soft-feathered, brown birds reach up to 2 m in height and weigh up to 45 kg." Cassowary: "Adult Southern Cassowaries are 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 feet) tall, although some may reach 2m (6 feet 8 inches), and weigh about 60 kilograms."

Migration section from main page
I am going to move the migration section to this page (unless someone objects really quickly) as it is unreferenced and some of it is of questionable relevance. --Apyule 13:47, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Here it is:

Migration
Emus do not Migrate! Astrial is a very hot and humid contry

Emus have now been farmed in parts of Southern India. There's also a myth that Emu oil can cure arthritis and Emu meat is much healthier than Chickens. This has led to many people trying to smuggle Emu chicks as "pet chickens" and set up farms in and around South India. Especially Hyderabad, India and in other places of South Tamilnadu, India.

There are emu farms in India (eg here) but I think that this paragraph does not do them any justice. And the bit about smuggling them is pretty weird. --Apyule 13:52, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Emu War
I´m not sure if I overlooked information about the Emu War, but just in case I didn´t what about adding it? Markus Becker02 17:06, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Pronunciation
I say {IPA: 'i mu} not {IPA: 'i mju}. Is that an accepted version or am I just weird?Cameron Nedland 22:56, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
 * {IPA: 'i mu} &mdash; a US-only pronunciation, in my experience. It occurs, not surprisingly given the spelling, when US-based folk read the word without ever hearing it said.
 * {IPA: 'i mju} &mdash; the standard pronunciation in Australia. In this sense, at least, it's the accepted version of the spoken word.
 * &mdash; bforte (t/c).
 * Okay, thanks bro.Cameron Nedland 20:06, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * As an American, I must say that in my experience 'i mu is by no means universal--or even predominant--in the States. (I have always said "'i mju".)  38.117.238.82 05:20, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

{IPA: 'i mu} is definitely the predominant pronunciation in the West Coast region of the U.S., including among knowledgeable people such as zoo guides. It probably varies regionally within the U.S. In any case, it's by no means rare. Evzob (talk) 09:33, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

Am I mistaken, or...
...is "emu" not a common noun? You wouldn't think it when you look at 90% of the times that "emu" is written in this article. I'm editing it. --bī-RŌ 23:56, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
 * OK, finished. I just skimmed through it, though, so there might be one or two I didn't catch. --bī-RŌ 00:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Small point
can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) for some distance at a time.

"for some distance at a time" is unnecessarily unspecific; it sounds silly. Rintrah 06:27, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Spotted emu?
I remember reading in old books many years ago about a second then-living species called the spotted emu (Dromiceius irorratus). I have seen no reference to it anywhere since, either as a living or extinct species. Could it have been reinterpreted as a subspecies or even a color phase?

Kostaki mou 00:04, 13 February 2007 (UTC) (Forgot to sign at the time. Sorry.)


 * Update: The spelling should be "irroratus."  It is apparently a synonym of Dromaeus novaehollandiae.  Kostaki mou (talk) 16:22, 30 June 2016 (UTC)

Current Classification Consensus?
Like many things relating to sticking animals in boxes, there is probably still some debate as to which actual box the emu belongs in. However, I was under the impression that the current consensus was that emus (and cassowaries) were sufficiently distinct from ostriches to be placed in their own order - Casuariformes - with emus in the family Dromaiidae.

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum and Encyclopedia Britannica  both take this position. The article has FA status so I didn't want to just go ahead and whack the edits in without some discussion first (plus I'm still a bit of a noob here). Secret Squïrrel 15:48, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for highlighting this. Would be great to gt original authority and rationale...cheers, Cas Liber | talk  |  contribs 05:54, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Reorganized into hierarchical headings
I have reformatted the article as there is a tendency for this on more recent FAs. Also is now in line with other Bird FAs. cheers, Cas Liber | talk  |  contribs 05:42, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Don't think this is right
The section on reproduction states that "The pair mates every day or two, and every second or third day the female lays an average of 11 (and as many as 20) very large, thick-shelled, dark-green eggs."

Is that even possible? Is it an error? Did somebody forget to start a new sentence in there somewhere? This just doesn't sound right to me. 75.208.3.255 (talk) 21:49, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Fossil Range
The Paleocene to the present? That seems much too early. Kostaki mou (talk) 01:45, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Looks wrong. Without a source and no mention in the text it's hard to say what is meant. The curious emu is probably the only bird species whose fossil range (Paleocene) is older than that of its genus (Miocene), which in turn is older than that of its family (Pliocene) :) Stupid girl (talk) 01:06, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Stupid girl, you are a misnomer! Kostaki mou (talk) 22:13, 3 March 2016 (UTC)

Merge discussion
I do not think there is enough to sustain Emu attacks in Australia as a separate article. The information is interesting and can be summarised to the main page on Emu. The existence of the page gives the (false) impression of the brid's aggression. Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:52, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Support

 * 1) Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:52, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 2) Agreed. In fact I'm not sure it warrants more than a sentence or two. That list looks pretty rather incomplete and irrelevant since it doesn't even mention a single attack in the last 100 years. Not notable. &#208;iliff    «»  (Talk)  12:57, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, and I agree that most of it should be lost - the list is basically just trivia, the only casualty listed at Tawny Owl is there because he is notable in his own right, and none of the emu victims seem to meet that criterion  Jimfbleak -  talk to me?  13:10, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Three listed incidents, the most recent of which is over 100 years ago demonstrates the lack of notability. No more than a sentence or two is necessary or warranted. --AussieLegend (talk) 13:14, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 2) Agreed. The others have basically said what I was going to say. :) Orderinchaos 17:34, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 3) Yup! MeegsC | Talk 19:20, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 4) FunkMonk (talk) 19:40, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 5) There must be several hundred (thousand?) species of animal that have occasionally attacked people; it is certainly not notable with Emus. The newspaper clipping is quite amusing, though. Maias (talk) 02:08, 26 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 6) Support, for reasons already covered here and on the other newly-created $ANIMAL attacks in Australia pages. --GenericBob (talk) 08:59, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Oppose

 * 1) Emu According to National Geographic there were 120 emu attacks just in one year. James4750 (talk) 09:57, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Discussion

 * 1) I support a merge or move however perhaps it can find a home in the Animal attacks in Australia article instead of Emu? Hardly a controversial subject I think, unless someone really holds dear to emu-attack-research hehe. Three Emu attacks recorded on a whole continent the latest being just past the 1800's is not notable enough. If anything, the cassowary has much more frequent and lethal encounters, but they don't get their own article on it :( Avalik (talk) 10:42, 26 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 2) Merge to Animal attacks in Australia  Zoo  Pro  12:40, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
 * 3) I also agree with the merge but not with the Emu article, with the Animal attacks in Australia article.  Then a mere mention at most on the Emu page. speednat (talk) 09:27, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Struthioniformes?
Has been brought before, but more than two years ago: This article and the article on Ratites aren't consistent. The latter lists Casuariidae as a family within Struthioniformes, whereas this article claims /Casuariiformes>Casuariidae/ to be a distinct /order>family/ of Aves. (I have no idea about birds, this just caught my attention) Choyoołʼįįhí:Seb az86556 > haneʼ 00:15, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Emo emus?
can youopen the edit up i wanna make this a redirect to emo as a temporary joke 76.89.73.59 (talk) 19:10, 10 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Ummm...not possible I'm afraid. Casliber (talk · contribs) 21:17, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Article issues
I think there are some major issues with this article that compromise its FA status:


 * One [verification needed] dating from 12/07 under "Diet".
 * [Citation needed] under Cultural Referenes.
 * Citation errors:
 * One citation is a bare URL to a PDF.
 * got that one Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:13, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * What makes this or this reliable sources?
 * Birdlife International is the organisation that does all the assessments for the IUCN RED List. As websites go it is unimpeachable. Sabine's Sunbird  talk  04:48, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Synthesis in using search results to verify that certain places are named "Emu something or other". Is that statement even needed, much less with this shaky "source"?
 * Major prose issues. Every sentence under "Classification" begins with "the", as do several adjacent sentences under "Description". Several sentences under "Diet" begin with "Emus".
 * Last paragraph of "Economic value" is unsourced, as are large portions of "Cultural reference".

Ten Pound Hammer, his otters and a clue-bat • (Otters want attention) 04:19, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

"Defence mechanism" is a psychological term. Too little is yet known about the inner life of the emu, if indeed it has one. The expression "as a defence mechanism" should be replaced with "for defence". (I yield to Australians on the spelling of "defense".) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.201.246.50 (talk) 07:30, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

/ˈiːmuː/?
Having heard this word countless times, by several different accents from different countries, it comes as a shock to me that /ˈiːmuː/ is apparently a standard pronunciation of the word. In Australia, at least, the word is unanimously pronounced, /ˈiːmjuː/. /ˈiːmuː/ seems incorrect to my ears, and is supported by no major Australian dictionary. Wiktionary, along with my Macquarie Dictionary, the Oxford dictionary, dictionary.com, howjsay.com Cambridge, MacMillan, American Heritage Dictionary, Encarta and countless others, list the sole pronunciation as /ˈiːmjuː/. While Merriam-Webster – the reference for the alternate pronunciation – is a respected dictionary, they are in a vast minority support what appears to be an otherwise non-standard pronunciation. En-AU  Speaker  (T)  (C)  (E) 13:28, 22 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes, in my 62 years as an Australian I've never heard any other pronunciation but /ˈiːmjuː/. I've travelled a bit, and we do get a lot of US and UK television content here, but I guess those foreigners rarely talk about emus. I'd love non-Australians to have a listen to this, and tell us whether it sounds right to them. HiLo48 (talk) 05:51, 23 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia does not privilege Australian English over other varieties of the language. Emus exist in the U.S. too (though not wild), and in many regions it is pronounced /ˈiːmuː/ Evzob (talk) 09:36, 24 January 2013 (UTC)


 * Nor does it privilege the mispronunciations of those who know only the written word and, having never heard the word spoken or pronounced correctly, get it wrong. What would someone who had never heard the word "trough" make of it?  We should not dumb down the encyclopaedia so that people unfamiliar with words can feel all warm and fuzzy in their ignorance.  Yes, many people get it wrong, so our job in writing the encyclopaedia should be to educate them.  This is not an English variation issue. -  Nick Thorne  talk  14:02, 24 January 2013 (UTC)


 * (Same poster as previous; I changed my username recently) It is not a "mispronunciation"; it is the predominant established pronunciation of some major populations of native English speakers, hence its inclusion in some dictionaries. See yod-dropping. The oldest pronunciation doesn't have to be the only correct one. Many words are pronounced differently in England than they are in other countries, and most have been pronounced differently in the past. This is a textbook example of an English variation issue. GeoEvan (talk) 18:24, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Also note that many now-established pronunciations originated from what would have been "mispronunciations" when they first arose. This is a normal part of language change. GeoEvan (talk) 18:27, 17 February 2013 (UTC)


 * GeoEvan - We're not talking about an "oldest" pronunciation here (although it is that). We're talking about the ONLY pronunciation ever used in the ONLY place where emus come from. That has to be, by every possible definition, the correct pronunciation. Again, by definition, any other pronunciation is simply wrong, no matter how many people use it. The fact that 90% of the world's population once believed the earth was flat never made it true. HiLo48 (talk) 01:18, 18 February 2013 (UTC)


 * The pronunciation used in "the ONLY place where emus come from" (debatable - they evolved there, but are also raised and bred elsewhere now) does not have to be the only correct one. Please cite a source or supporting example for your assertion that "by definition, any other pronunciation is simply wrong". You seem to have come up with this criterion entirely on your own, because it is not one that I ever learned in my university linguistics degree, and I think a dictionary editor might disagree with you. The Americas are the only place tomatoes come from naturally, and yet that does not make [tʰə ˈmeɪ ɾoʊ] (the American English pronunciation) the only correct one. GeoEvan (talk) 17:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)


 * And Americans wonder why they are regarded as arrogant... Sorry. It's wrong. You may have innocently learnt it from someone else who said it wrong, who learnt it from someone else who said it wrong, who learnt it from someone else who said it wrong, etc, but it's still wrong. Copying a wrong pronunciation doesn't make it right. HiLo48 (talk) 05:42, 1 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Arrogant? At least I'm not asserting that someone else's opinion is "just wrong" without offering any justification. Turkeys come from the Americas, but you won't find me insisting that the r-less Australian and British pronunciations are "just wrong", any more than I would change your spelling of "labour" to "labor". There are multiple major dialects of English in the world, and they are all correct. GeoEvan (talk) 07:16, 4 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Then I guess you'll be OK with me adding the Australian pronunciation /njuː ˈɔrliənz/ to the New Orleans article? You see, this could get really silly if we add every distorted pronunciation from all over the world to every article with a name that can be pronounced in more than one way HiLo48 (talk) 07:33, 4 March 2013 (UTC)


 * New Orleans is a place that is not in Australia. There are lots of emus in the U.S. There are only two pronunciations of emu in question here, each presumably used by tens, if not hundreds, of millions of native English speakers. I think it makes sense to indicate both, as long as it is clear that one of them is only used in North American English (and readers can figure out for themselves that North America is not the origin place of the species). GeoEvan (talk) 19:11, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

No one is arguing that New Orleans is in Australia or that emus are not present in the US. However, the pronunciation /njuː ˈɔrliənz/ is used in this country (indeed, you would almost never hear another pronunciation in counterpoint to the word emu which many Americans do pronounce correctly). Since we are talking about the pronunciation of words here, not the location of real world items, if it is OK to add the incorrect pronunciation of emus to this article, as HiLo48 has asked, are you OK with adding the Australian pronunciation to the New Orleans article? If not, why not, and why does that reason not equally apply to this article? - Nick Thorne  talk  02:56, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if this applies to Canberra. The Squiggle Text is a little opaque but seems to infer a three syllable version. Wrong, by the same process of pronouncing it as read or mimicking a previous mispronunciation. But there it is, surely because of the same "It's right because I sez it that way" principle being proscribed here.


 * Are you sure you know what "proscribed" means? And I suspect you meant "imply" rather than "infer". It's hard to quite get the real meaning of your post. HiLo48 (talk) 05:44, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Extreme circumstances need citations.
The opening section mentions that emus, being gastroliths, have been known to swallow "glass shards" and "bits of metal" to aid digestion. It also says that an emu's strength of leg combined with its nail/talon, "akin to a knife", (I think that given the emu is a bird, "talon" is the proper terminology) can "rip through metal wire fences". All this sounds like exaggeration, and demands citation. Predcon (talk) 22:45, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

To do list
Okay - stuff which needs doing (this will be easier than giraffe. Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:00, 6 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Subspecies need references and also range demarcations.


 * First sentence of classification needs citing. In fact that could do with a whole lot more on why the relationship was seen as close/distant.


 * Cites needed in cultural section.

I will do a Web of Science run a bit later.
 * I was thinking the same in regard to sub-species, I'm not sure if they are even regarded as valid aymore... FunkMonk (talk) 22:42, 6 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I think you might be right. I'll check HANZAB at some point soon but that means chiselling out some time to go to the library. Casliber (talk · contribs) 23:39, 6 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Julian Hume states there are three mainland subspecies in the 2012 book Extinct Birds, so I guess they may be valid after all. FunkMonk (talk) 23:51, 1 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I think the cultural section has enough cites. I don't think we need a source for the Emu being on the Australian 50 cent coin or Swan Brewery beers. LittleJerry (talk) 01:06, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

web of science search

 * Yields 268 results. Many are very specialised and the large size of this article indicates we can ignore many of the more specialised articles such as this one I think. I'm looking and seeing what we need to review: Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:05, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Listing some that warrant a closer inspection:

Title: Isolation and Identification of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Subtype H5N1 from Emus from the Ein Gedi Oasis by the Dead Sea Author(s): Amnon Inbar; Shkoda Irina; Lapin Ekaterina; et al. Source: AVIAN DISEASES Volume: 55   Issue: 3   Pages: 499-502   Published: SEP 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Distribution and structure of glandular tissue in the oropharynx and proximal esophagus of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Crole Martina R.; Soley John T. Source: ACTA ZOOLOGICA Volume: 92   Issue: 3   Pages: 206-215   DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-6395.2010.00457.x   Published: JUL 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Ancient DNA Suggests Dwarf and 'Giant' Emu Are Conspecific Author(s): Heupink Tim H.; Huynen Leon; Lambert David M. Source: PLOS ONE Volume: 6   Issue: 4     Article Number: e18728   DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018728   Published: APR 11 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)


 * ✅ added Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:17, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

Title: Macroscopic Anatomy of the Reproductive Tract of the Reproductively Quiescent Female Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Reed Robert B. Jr.; Cope Lee A.; Blackford James T. Source: ANATOMIA HISTOLOGIA EMBRYOLOGIA Volume: 40   Issue: 2   Pages: 134-141   DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.2010.01051.x   Published: APR 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Seed dispersal of alien and native plants by vertebrate herbivores Author(s): Calvino-Cancela Maria Source: BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS Volume: 13   Issue: 4   Pages: 895-904   DOI: 10.1007/s10530-010-9877-6   Published: APR 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Breeder Welfare: The Past, Present and Future Author(s): Cloete S. W. P.; Malecki I. A. Editor(s): Glatz P; Lunam C; Malecki I Source: WELFARE OF FARMED RATITES Book Series: Animal Welfare Series   Volume: 11   Pages: 13-43   DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-19297-5_2   Published: 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: The Structure and Sensory Innervation of the Integument of Ratites Author(s): Weir K. A.; Lunam C. A. Editor(s): Glatz P; Lunam C; Malecki I Source: WELFARE OF FARMED RATITES Book Series: Animal Welfare Series   Volume: 11   Pages: 131-145   DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-19297-5_7   Published: 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Stray Feathers Reflections on the Structure, Behaviour and Evolution of Birds Preface Author(s): Schodde Richard Book Author(s): Olsen, P; Joseph, L Source: STRAY FEATHERS: REFLECTIONS ON THE STRUCTURE, BEHAVIOUR AND EVOLUTION OF BIRDS Pages: 10-+   Published: 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Embryonic Development of the Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae Author(s): Nagai Hiroki; Mak Siu-Shan; Weng Wei; et al. Source: DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS Volume: 240   Issue: 1   Pages: 162-175   DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.22520   Published: JAN 2011 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Surface Morphology of the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Tongue Author(s): Crole M. R.; Soley J. T. Source: ANATOMIA HISTOLOGIA EMBRYOLOGIA Volume: 39   Issue: 4   Pages: 355-365   DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0264.2010.01002.x   Published: AUG 2010 Times Cited: 1 (from Web of Science)

Title: Nutritional requirements and feeding practice of breeding emus (Dromaiusi novaehollandiae L.) Author(s): Delebecque A.; Priymenko N. Source: REVUE DE MEDECINE VETERINAIRE Volume: 161   Issue: 5   Pages: 219-224   Published: MAY 2010 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Characteristics of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) egg Author(s): Rao S. Nagabhushana; Nageswara A. R.; Prasad V. L. K.; et al. Source: INDIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES Volume: 78   Issue: 12   Pages: 1423-1425   Published: DEC 2008 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Detecting human impacts on the flora, fauna, and summer monsoon of Pleistocene Australia Author(s): Miller G. H.; Magee J. W.; Fogel M. L.; et al. Source: CLIMATE OF THE PAST Volume: 3   Issue: 3   Pages: 463-473   Published: 2007 Times Cited: 4 (from Web of Science)

Title: The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae): a review of its biology and commercial products Author(s): Sales James Source: AVIAN AND POULTRY BIOLOGY REVIEWS Volume: 18   Issue: 1   Pages: 1-20   DOI: 10.3184/147020607X245048   Published: 2007 Times Cited: 10 (from Web of Science)

Title: Emus as non-standard seed dispersers and their potential for long-distance dispersal Author(s): Calvino-Cancela Maria; Dunn Robert R.; van Etten Eddie J. B.; et al. Source: ECOGRAPHY Volume: 29   Issue: 4   Pages: 632-640   Published: AUG 2006 Times Cited: 19 (from Web of Science)

Title: The spatial distribution of five species of Raillietina infecting the emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae Author(s): O'Callaghan MG; Davies M; Andrews RH Source: TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA Volume: 130   Pages: 71-78   Part: Part 1   Published: MAY 31 2006 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Pathotyping of a Newcastle disease virus isolated from emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Kumanan K; Meignanalakshmi A; Meenu R; et al. Source: TROPICAL ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION Volume: 35   Issue: 5   Pages: 391-395   DOI: 10.1023/A:1025807327099   Published: OCT 2003 Times Cited: 4 (from Web of Science)

Title: New information on the eggshell of ratites (Aves) and its phylogenetic implications Author(s): Zelenitsky DK; Modesto SP Source: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE ZOOLOGIE Volume: 81   Issue: 6   Pages: 962-970   DOI: 10.1139/z03-076   Published: JUN 2003 Times Cited: 23 (from Web of Science)

Title: A report on Ranikhet disease in emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Kumanan K; Meenu R; Sridhar R; et al. Source: INDIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL Volume: 79   Issue: 7   Pages: 741-742   Published: JUL 2002 Times Cited: 0 (from Web of Science)

Title: Fertile period and clutch size in the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Malecki IA; Martin GB Source: EMU Volume: 102   Issue: 2   Pages: 165-170   DOI: 10.1071/MU01067   Published: 2002 Times Cited: 8 (from Web of Science)

Title: A new emu (Dromaiinae) from the Late Oligocene Etadunna Formation Author(s): Boles WE Source: EMU Volume: 101   Issue: 4   Pages: 317-321   DOI: 10.1071/MU00052   Published: 2001 Times Cited: 6 (from Web of Science)

Title: Species of Raillietina Fuhrmann, 1920 (Cestoda : Davaineidae) from the EMU, Dromaius Novaehollandiae Author(s): O'Callaghan MG; Davies M; Andrews RH Source: TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA Volume: 124   Pages: 105-116   Part: Part 2   Published: NOV 30 2000 Times Cited: 4 (from Web of Science)

Title: Social mating system and sexual behaviour in captive emus Dromaius novaehollandiae Author(s): Blache D; Barrett CD; Martin GB Source: EMU Volume: 100   Pages: 161-168   DOI: 10.1071/MU9902   Part: Part 3   Published: SEP 2000 Times Cited: 7 (from Web of Science)

Title: Isolation of avian influenza virus (H10N7) from an emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) with conjunctivitis and respiratory disease Author(s): Woolcock PR; Shivaprasad HL; De Rosa M Source: AVIAN DISEASES Volume: 44   Issue: 3   Pages: 737-744   DOI: 10.2307/1593122   Published: JUL-SEP 2000 Times Cited: 6 (from Web of Science)

Title: Genetic evidence for mixed parentage in nests of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Author(s): Taylor EL; Blache D; Groth D; et al. Source: BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY Volume: 47   Issue: 5   Pages: 359-364   DOI: 10.1007/s002650050677   Published: APR 2000 Times Cited: 9 (from Web of Science)

Title: Seed dispersal by Emus on the New South Wales north-east coast Author(s): McGrath RJ; Bass D Source: EMU Volume: 99   Pages: 248-252   DOI: 10.1071/MU99030   Part: Part 4   Published: DEC 1999 Times Cited: 7 (from Web of Science)

Title: Pelvic limb musculature in the emu Dromaius novaehollandiae (Aves : Struthioniformes : Dromaiidae): Adaptations to high-speed running Author(s): Patak AE; Baldwin J Source: JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY Volume: 238   Issue: 1   Pages: 23-37   DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4687(199810)238:1<23::AID-JMOR2>3.0.CO;2-O   Published: OCT 1998 Times Cited: 17 (from Web of Science)

Just gone through first 200 so far. more later. I'll note what fulltexts I can get and read. Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:12, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Issues
Aborigine is not an appropriate term to use to refer to Aboriginal Australians. See Appropriate Terminology Marj (talk) 05:34, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

There are many other problems:the prose reads as a series of short disconnected sentences in places; why five separate references for its size, it's hardly contentious; odd expressions such as "a nail on its toe akin to the blade of a knife" and "a type of camouflage similar to a small hill" (what sort of camouflage does a small hill use :-); way too many "also"s; and so on ... Marj (talk) 05:34, 13 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Fixed the ones you mentioned specifically. Any more? LittleJerry (talk) 19:39, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

"Degrees" appears in a number of places and needs fixing, presumably to "°C". Peter coxhead (talk) 10:10, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

Good article
Perhaps we should get this to GA before we think about getting back to FA? I think it may already be there. FunkMonk (talk) 10:08, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Agree GA is generally a good springboard. Casliber (talk · contribs) 11:35, 17 July 2012 (UTC)


 * On a related note, it seems this is often cited when it comes to Emu subspecies: Condon, H.T. (1975). Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1: Non-Passerines. RAOU: Melbourne. FunkMonk (talk) 00:48, 28 January 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 February 2014
Ishwar pawar (talk) 09:00, 13 February 2014 (UTC)

If you want to suggest a change, please request this in the form "Please replace XXX with YYY" or "Please add ZZZ between PPP and QQQ". Please also cite reliable sources to back up your request, without which no information should be added to any article. - Arjayay (talk) 10:39, 13 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: as you have not requested a change.

Semi-protected edit request on 21 March 2014
About Emu Oil & Benefits: Emu oil and its studies proven that it really works. It works excellent on skin care and hair care products and pet care products. Many Anti-Aging creams and Anti wrinkling creams contains Emu oil there are many research papers and blogs on these Emu oil. It is also called as miracle oil.

Richemu (talk) 16:32, 21 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Try Emu oil. Sam Sailor Sing 17:46, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 October 2014
The article "Emu" (Dromaius novaehollandiae) states in the fourth paragraph, "...and while it is often claimed by marketers that the oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, this has not been scientifically verified in humans." Firstly, there are no citations present to support the statement. Secondly and more significantly, Emu Oil is certified to contain about 70% unsaturated fatty acids and the greater part of the balance comprises saturated fatty acids. Several bioactivities of various fatty acids and especially omegas are scientifically verified, though by no means all. The unsaturates approximated are: 40% oleic acid (Omega-9 mono)[1]; 20% linoleic acid (omega-6 poly)[1]; <5% palmitoleic acid (omega-7 mono)[1]; and 1 - 2% linolenic acid (omega-3 poly) [2]. Saturates are: 20% palmitic acid [1]; 8% stearic acid [1]. Being that that the bird oil is proven to contain these omega 9, 7, 6 and 3 fatty acids; and being also that four biological properties in particular are proven in favour of omega fatty acids in general with humans - namely transdermal transportation of other substances of affinity; antioxidation, anti-inflammation via Cox-2 and 5-LPO inhibition; and analgesia via mechanisms related to antioxidation, anti-inflammation, plus possibly other mechanisms not established - then the assertion made in the "Emu" article is intrinsically incorrect, because the indirect scientific proof exists and is CLEAR and DEFINITE. It cannot be correctly asserted that emu oil is unproven when its constituents are CONCLUSIVELY PROVEN and further supported by a tremendous volume of anecdotal commentary on the product by thousands of medicinal users. Therefore, the statement must be reviewed accordingly, most appropriately by stating instead that emu oil's unsaturated fatty acids are certified to have transdermal transportation, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, implying that the bird oil simply MUST exhibit the same properties and MUST be useful in a number of applications, including arthritis and tendonosis. Its properties cannot fail to be consistent with its constituency. It appears also that Auburn University, having noted its claimed properties favourably and having analysed its constituency, plans to proceed with further experimental validation of emu oil's properties. Incidentally, emu oil is an important ingredient in my own topical anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antifungal and healing formula, which happens to be so unbelievably potent that I rate it the best and safest topical painkiller on Earth. That's not 'scientifically proven', either, but it's very fast, literally anaesthetic equal to cocaine derivatives but with far greater selectivity, causing total elimination of pain within 45 seconds with just a few drops and has a lasting effect of from 6 hours to three days. Nothing known to me is better for severe sunburn, sprains, strains, broken ankles, arthritis or tendonosis. No doubt, emu oil is not solely responsible for such painkilling power, since there is a complex tapestry of synergies at work, but the formula's quality would definitely suffer from its removal! References: [1] Margaret C. Craig-Schmidt, Ph.D., Amanda Brown M.S., Paul C. Smith, D.V.M., Ph.D. Auburn University "Structure of Emu Oil - Emu Oil Fatty Acid Analysis", http://www.emufacts.com/Research/research3.shtm [2] "Emu Oil" Wikipedia article.

203.213.93.191 (talk) 11:09, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 October 2014
Re: 'Emu" article: Addendum to the previous request, intended to comply with the requirement for recommended verbatim replacement text not previously given. Text to be replaced: "...and while it is often claimed by marketers that the oil has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, this has not been scientifically verified in humans." Suggested replacement text: "...and it is consistently claimed by producers and marketers that the oil has anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects. The oil comprises a spectrum of fatty acids, the constituency being about 70% unsaturated and 30% saturated. The significant unsaturates approximated are: 40% oleic acid (Omega-9 mono)[1]; 20% linoleic acid (omega-6 poly)[1]; <5% palmitoleic acid (omega-7 mono)[1]; and 1 - 2% linolenic acid (omega-3 poly) [2]. Significant saturates are: 20% palmitic acid [1]; 8% stearic acid [1]. The unsaturated fatty acids are scientifically proven to act as transdermal carriers of substances having affinity with them, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and mild analgesics. The anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties are principally by way of cyclooxygenase-2 and 5-lipoxygenase inhibition. Although it is said by conservatives in the medical field that emu oil is not scientifically proven to exhibit any of the properties claimed by producers and marketers, these four properties in particular from among the many claimed, being certifiably exhibited by the constituent omega-9, -7, -6 and -3 fatty acids as individual substances, must ipso facto manifest in the oil as a whole product. This in turn clearly indicates the oil's potential in a number of applications, including atherosclerosis, arthritis and tendonosis. It is supported anecdotally by a large number of users numbering in the thousands." A great many references can be cited, of which a sampling of mixed quality is as follows: [14] Wong C (2013) "What You Need to Know About Emu Oil" (Cathy Wong ND) .

[15] Lindsay RJ, Geier MS, Yazbeck R, Butler RN, Howarth GS (2010). "Orally administered emu oil decreases acute inflammation and alters selected small intestinal parameters in a rat model of mucositis." Br J Nutr. 2010 Aug;104(4):513-9.

[16] Politis MJ, Dmytrowich A (1998). "Promotion of second intention wound healing by emu oil lotion: comparative results with furasin, polysporin, and cortisone." Plast Reconstr Surg. 1998 Dec;102(7):2404-7.

[17] Qiu XW, Wang JH, Fang XW, Gong ZY, Li ZQ, Yi ZH (2005). "Anti-inflammatory activity and healing-promoting effects of topical application of emu oil on wound in scalded rats." Di Yi Jun Yi Da Xue Xue Bao. 2005 Apr;25(4):407-10.

[18] Pratheesh P, Kuttan G, (2011) "Oleanolic acid induces apoptosis by modulating p53, bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 gene expression and regulates the activation of transcription factors and citokine profile in B16F" PubMed 21609313 .

[19] Win DT, (2005) "Oleic Acid – The Anti-Breast Cancer Component in Olive Oil", Faculty of Science and Technology, Assumption University Bangkok, Thailand, AU J.T. 9(2): 75-78 (Oct. 2005), .

[20] Almendingen K[a][b], Larsen LN, Fausa O, Bratlie J, Hostmark AT, Aabakken L (2010). "Selective COX-2 inhibition affects fatty acids, but not COX mRNA expression in patients with FAP". PMC2980621 . [a] Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, 1478 Lørenskog, Norway; [b] Faculty of Health, Nutrition and Management, Akershus University College, Box 423, 2001 Lillestrøm, Norway.

[21] Covas MI, Nyyssönen K, Poulsen HE, Kaikkonen J, Zunft HJ, Kiesewetter H, Gaddi A, de la Torre R, Mursu J, Bäumler H, Nascetti S, Salonen JT, Fitó M, Virtanen J, Marrugat J; EUROLIVE Study Group (2006). "The effect of polyphenols in olive oil on heart disease risk factors: a randomized trial". Ann Intern Med. 2006 Sep 5;145(5):333-41. .

[22] Psomiadou E1, Tsimidou M, Boskou D (2000). "alpha-tocopherol content of Greek virgin olive oils". PubMed 10820093. .

[23] Burton GW, Ingold KU (1981). "Autoxidation of biological molecules. 1. Antioxidant activity of vitamin E and related chain-breaking phenolic antioxidants in vitro". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 103: 6472–6477. .

[24] Wilson TA, Nicolosi RJ, Handelman G, Yoganathan S, Kotyla T, Orthoefer F, Binford P (2003). "Comparative effects of emu and olive oil on aortic early atherosclerosis and associated risk factors in hypercholesterolemic hamsters", Nutrition Research, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 395-406, 2004. .

[25] Charleston M (editor) (nd). "Research Proves Emu Oil Claims Valid", Emu Zine, ..

203.213.93.191 (talk) 13:15, 29 October 2014 (UTC)
 * This is really the wrong article for this. Try the Emu oil article, where some of this stuff is already in that article, like the Politis study. But I think much of what you're trying to get incorporated into that article will eventually fail Wikipedia's policies on original research and criteria for reliable sources for medical claims. Cannolis (talk) 23:35, 30 October 2014 (UTC)

Really?
"An extreme example of this was the Emu War in Western Australia in 1932, when emus that flocked to Campion during a hot summer scared the town’s inhabitants and an unsuccessful attempt to drive them off was mounted,[60] with the army called in to dispatch them in the so-called 'war'."

Regarding this sentence in the Status and Conservation section, the article on the Emu War states the real reasons for the cull, and it certainly wasn't because the town' inhabitants were 'scared'. This seems like some kind of attempt at anti-European racism, given the preceding paragraph which glorifies the Aboriginal Australians as only ever killing Emus for food and using every single part of their bodies. I'm new to wikipedia so unsure how to go about changing this, or whether you think this should actually be on here120.151.14.12 (talk) 08:32, 2 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Then how would you describe the habit European settlers have of trying to totally exterminate local species they deem nuisances in a more neutral tone? That, and it really was called the "Emu War," if you have reliable sources that contradict it being called that, please present them.--Mr Fink (talk) 16:42, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Reverting NPOV isn't "original research".
The pronunciation used in a different variety of English from that spoken in Australia is not "erroneous", especially since it's closer to the pronunciation used in the probable origins of the word. Is pronouncing "jaguar" as if it had three syllables "erroneous" (it has two, both in Spanish and in the kind of English spoken where they used to range)? Or is that just how Australians and British people talk?

(In most languages, the most "dominant" dialect is taken as normative—and since American English has 17 times as many speakers as Australian, and makes up 55% of all native English speakers, and is the language of the most dominant media enterprise in all of human history, i.e. Hollywood, if anyone is "erroneous", it's the Australians. Yes, it's ridiculous to pretend that Americans have the right to tell Australia how to pronounce the name of an animal that lives in their country—but it's almost as ridiculous to pretend that Australians have the right to declare an American pronunciation "erroneous".)

"Erroneous" is a (laughably provincial) NPOV violation, and also mindless prescriptivism. I'm sorry some people here seem to believe that stating the obvious counts as "original research". Nagakura shin8 (talk) 00:44, 23 March 2015 (UTC)


 * First, the etymology of the word "emu" is uncertain, but even if the Portuguese or Arabic origin theory is correct it has no bearing on the pronunciation of the word in English. English is chock full of words from other languages or derived from words from other languages and the pronunciation of those words usually bears little or no relation to that used in the original language.  The "jaguar" example is entirely irrelevant, I don't care how the word is pronounced in Spanish, I don't speak Spanish, nor do most English speakers.  However, if I were to learn Spanish I would no doubt pronounce jaguar with two syllables - when speaking Spanish - but when I speak English the word has three.


 * If we are going to base the concept of "dominant dialect" on the number of speakers, then Indian English wins hands down. However the only place where emus are native is Australia and here the word is pronounced "eemyue".  The only people that pronounce it "eemoo" are those (mostly American) people who have only ever seen the word written and never heard it spoken.  That this might be a large majority of Americans proves nothing except as a pointer to the inadequacies of the US education system.


 * I get it that Americans dislike having their errors pointed out. As a bonus, I'll give some info wrt common American misconceptions about some other Australian animals: koalas are not bears; platypuses are not the size of beavers; and, crocodiles do not live in most of Australia.  Oh, and which is provincal, the opinion of those who actually know something about the subject or that of those from the other side of the world who by and large couldn't even place Australia on a map of the world?  I do not apologise for trying to reduce the dumbing down of the content in Wikipedia. -  Nick Thorne  talk  12:18, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I would be careful about taking that condescending tone when you obviously struggle with basic functional literacy. Give the "'jaguar' example" another read-through—maybe for comprehension, this time? Notice that I explicitly said in American English (not Spanish, Captain Reading Comprehension), the only dialect of English spoken where they're found, "jaguar" has two syllables. "Jag-war". Look it up. Indeed, "Jag-you-arr" is, quite demonstrably, the pronunciation of "people who have only ever seen the word written and never heard it spoken".


 * And no, actually, India has 226,449 first-language speakers of English, compared to America's 255,505,953. Shall we take your inability to grasp the significance of "first language" to linguistics as indicative of the state of Australian education? Or were you just unaware that 226,449 is .089% of 255,505,953? (Besides, America has 298,444,149 total English speakers, compared to India's mere 125,226,449. That means that, counting first-, second-, or nineteenth-language speakers, India is only 49% the size, as an Anglophone entity, that America is. I know, basic third-grade arithmetic challenges you hugely.)


 * No serious linguist espouses your provincial, taboo-mongering prescriptivism, nor has since the Victorian era. It's kinda cute you talk about "those who actually know something about the subject"—the subject we are talking about is "linguistics", a field of which you are demonstrably as ignorant as your precious koalas are. (Also? You people named them "koala bears"; then you let yourselves be bullied out of your own dialect's usage, by pedants.) You literally don't know what you're talking about...since you keep bringing in off-topic, shallow journalistic stereotypes about America in general, when what we're talking about is the fact that—essentially all competent scholars agree—no usage can ever be wrong, if it is the standard usage within the dialect under discussion. (I'm fairly certain that an examination of stats would show you to be as factually off-base in your posturing about education as you are on the prevalence of English in India, but it's not really worth hunting them down and trying to make them "apples to apples" comparisons—since you wouldn't understand the math anyway. And yes, "math"—English is a Germanic language, math is singular in every other one.)


 * I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at a froth-mouthed, linguistically-ignorant hate-rant from an Australian. I mean, after all, look what you did to the Aborigines' languages. Any two of the biggest seven Aboriginal languages, combined, have about half the speakers of Hopi alone, a very "endangered" language—spoken, pretty much, on one group of mesas in Arizona. Go find a grownup to explain that comparison to you.


 * But you know what? Fine. Have it your way. Keep this article looking like it was written by a petulant undergrad (ironic, given your little tirade about "dumbing down of Wikipedia"). It's obviously deeply significant to your doubtless precarious self-respect. Nagakura shin8 (talk) 17:04, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Ahem
 * I'm tempted to block both of you for personal attacks, but luckily for me I'm just about to make myself WP:INVOLVED.
 * In my opinion, if one party is more at fault here, it is Nagakura shin8, and not just because they have two rants to one. Pro tip: if you are trying to explain something related to linguistics to someone you think doesn't understands linguistics, express it plain words, not terms that require an understanding of linguistics. As for the content dispute: Nagakura shin8, you are correct, but you have hidden the explanation deep, deep behind personal attacks.


 * OK, lets reboot the discussion. Without the snark, please.


 * I live in Australia and speak Australian English. The pronunciations of lever as "levver" and leisure as "leesure" jar on my ear. I don't like them. But I don't think they are incorrect. They are just variant pronunciations. They may well be the default pronunciations, as American English is pretty much the default World English. Like, deal with it.


 * Here's my take on the content dispute:
 * In Australian English, "emu" is pronounced EE-myu (/ˈiːmjuː/).
 * English is spoken all over the world.
 * The same words in English are sometimes pronounced differently in different varieties of English.
 * Merriam-Webster is an authoritative source on how words are pronounced in the United States.
 * The Merriam-Webster reference verifies that in American English, "emu" is pronounced EE-myoo (/ˈiːmjuː/) and also "EE-moo"(/ˈiːmuː/)
 * "EE-moo" is not an "erroneous" pronunciation, but is a variant pronunciation.


 * What do you think about this? Pete AU aka --Shirt58 (talk) 09:34, 24 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I think both versions should be mentioned. FunkMonk (talk) 10:27, 24 March 2015 (UTC)


 * OK, OED, Collins Dictionary, dictionary.com and WordReference.com, as well as several paper dictionaries I have access to, all state /ˈiːmjuː/ or an equivalent pronunciation. However, Mirriam Webster gives \ˈē-(ˌ)myü, -mü\ so I guess that means they consider "emoo" as a secondary pronunciation.  In that case I apologise for calling that pronunciation incorrect, but in my defence I consider the OED to be authoritative for the English language and given the majority of other sources agree, I hope it becomes apparent why that might have occurred.  I propose the wording be changed in the first sentence to read "The emu (/ˈiːmjuː/,[6] alternatively (mainly in the US) /ˈiːmuː/;[7]...". -  Nick Thorne  talk  05:16, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I have removed the word "erroneously" based on your comment here. Do you have a source that says the alternative pronunciation is mainly used in the US or is this based on your interpretation of the sources?  -- GB fan 10:36, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
 * OED contains a link to the US English Oxford dictionary, which shows both pronunciations. S warm   X  18:23, 25 March 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 June 2015
Please insert a period after "Their long legs allow them to take strides of up to 275 cm" in the third paragraph of the lead, as this sentence currently lacks punctuation.

121.98.124.75 (talk) 14:26, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

✅ - Arjayay (talk) 15:11, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

A mob of emus?
I have heard that the collective name for a group of emus is a 'mob'. A quick search online only reveals low-quality, Answers.com-style websites to verify this fact with. Does anyone have access to a good quality source that can confirm this fact? e.g. an encyclopaedia or natural history book.

If so, please add it to the article and delete this comment. If this comment is still on the talk page, assume that the job is yet to be done. Stuart mcmillen (talk) 22:27, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Semi-protected edit request on 6 September 2017
I have Kunwinjku names and information about emu . Lawungkurr (talk) 19:13, 6 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. — nihlus kryik   ( talk ) 19:23, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

Population in Maria Island (Tasmania) died out in the 1990s and more birds WERE NOT re-introduced
As of 6 Apr 2018 the article states: "Emus were introduced to Maria Island off Tasmania, and Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia, during the 20th century. While the Maria Island population died out in the mid-1990s, more birds have since been introduced, and attempts are being made to breed a form similar to the Tasmanian emu.[23] The Kangaroo Island birds have successfully established a breeding population.[24]" This section references a 1974 book to support statements of events that occurred since the mid 1990s. I have chased the cited reference (Williams 1974, p. 450) and it says, verbatim: "Currently, emus are on Maria Island and attempts are being made to breed selectively a replica of the Tasmanian form". An active attempt to rid Maria Island of emus, which were not native, was actively being carried out in the 1990s. No record exists of emus have been re-introduced to the island since the last one died in the 90s, and there are no references that I can locate which contradict this. Consequently I have re-worded the section to state that emus were introduced to Maria Island in the 20th Century (with reference) and that they died out during the 1990s. MFdeS (talk) 04:44, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 9 February 2019
Hello. The page says, "emus are the only birds with gastrocnemius muscles in the back of the lower legs." If you follow the reference (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/%28SICI%291097-4687%28199810%29238%3A1%3C23%3A%3AAID-JMOR2%3E3.0.CO%3B2-O), you will see it says, "emus are unique among birds in having a M. gastrocnemius... that has four muscle bellies, not the usual three". So the author of that section of the page has misunderstood the source to be saying that emus are the only birds to have gastrocnemius muscles, whereas it's clear that the source says the emu's gastrocnemius has a structure unique among birds. (Of course all animals with knees and ankles have that muscle.)

Please change, "emus are the only birds with gastrocnemius muscles in the back of the lower legs." to something like, "emus are the only birds with four-bellied gastrocnemius muscles...".

Thanks, Alan WilbaAtWikipedia (talk) 01:07, 9 February 2019 (UTC)


 * ✅, good catch!  I used a somewhat different wording that might not be ideal; feel free to yell at me if you think it could be better.  –Deacon Vorbis (carbon &bull; videos) 03:55, 10 February 2019 (UTC)

New section?
Could a domestication section be done? Are they trainable? — Ched (talk) 13:48, 20 October 2019 (UTC)

Documented attacks
The article states that there have been two documented cases of emus attacking humans (the two cases being more than 100 years old). This seems wrong, as there certainly have been more since then, like this one for example: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/man-injured-in-emu-attack-20150420-1mozq6.html Or am I misunderstanding the term documented cases? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.70.29.135 (talk) 12:22, 9 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Here is another: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was bitten by an emu while trying to feed it. 2601:648:8202:96B0:0:0:0:5B74 (talk) 04:55, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

Grammatical error, but not sure what kind
The "[e]tymology" section starts with this part of a sentence:

"The etymology of the common name "emu" is uncertain, but is thought to have come from an Arabic word for large bird…"

Could anyone please tell me if this should be "an Arabic word for 'large bird'", or "an Arabic word for a large bird"?--Thylacine24 (talk) 22:56, 15 October 2020 (UTC)


 * I don't speak Arabic, but the words as written imply the Arabic expression is about any large bird whereas your version implies a particular large bird. The source does not use the indefinite article so I say we should follow the source and leave it as it is. - <b style="color: darkblue">Nick Thorne</b> <sup style="color: darkblue">talk 23:33, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for replying. I didn't claim any "version" in my above question, I was simply asking which seemed better. However, having now checked the source myself, it seems like they should have used quotation marks around "large bird", which would seem to be the normal English way of punctuating it.--Thylacine24 (talk) 23:43, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Wrong captions
There's a group of images in the Description section along with caption text. The caption text refers to top right, top left, bottom right, and bottom left, but the "right" and "left" are swapped.

The text should read:

Top left: Emus have three toes on each foot in a tridactyl arrangement, which is an adaptation for running and is seen in other birds, such as bustards and quails. The ostrich has two toes on each foot. Top right: Emu head and upper neck. Bottom left: Size comparison between a human, mainland emu (centre), and extinct King Island sub-species (right). Bottom right: Adult in South Eastern Australia.

75.69.101.95 (talk) 21:02, 18 February 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. ◢ <i style="background-color:#F7E3F7; color:#960596"> Ganbaruby! </i>  (Say hi!) 00:52, 19 February 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 February 2021
Under distribution map in sidebar, change caption "The emu inhabits the areas shaded shaded red." to either "...areas shaded red." or "...areas shaded faded red." 114.76.187.90 (talk) 12:35, 26 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Thanks! ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 12:41, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

Eggs
The eggs are not mentioned as used for food. I know that they are edible. Why are the eggs not harvested and sold?Bill (talk) 23:42, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD
Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Emu 1 - Tidbinbilla.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for December 29, 2022. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/1022-12-29. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. Going to jump this into 29 December THIS year, just easier to set this up with the bot If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Adam Cuerden (talk)Has about 8.2% of all FPs. Currently celebrating his 600th FP! 04:01, 21 November 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 December 2022
correct emu to Emu Catnader0901 (talk) 09:23, 29 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: in which section? "emu" typically doesn't need to be capitalized unless in the start of a sentence. &#128156; melecie   talk  - 09:39, 29 December 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 May 2023
Top speed of an Emu is 85km ph 2001:8004:4520:F308:95E1:43CE:5112:1FB4 (talk) 17:43, 13 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. M.Bitton (talk) 18:37, 13 May 2023 (UTC)

"Metric system Ostrich" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metric_system_Ostrich&redirect=no Metric system Ostrich] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Plantdrew (talk) 00:43, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

Page protection
When I edit the page, it says that the protection expired in 2016 for the Featured Article day, however the article is still semi-protected and there appears to be a at the top of the page. Why does it display like this? 2003  LN  6  15:39, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 June 2024, section on predation
If you could please add the missing verb ("are") to the last sentence in this section: "While full-grown adults rarely preyed upon..." Thanks beforehand! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.91.212.218 (talk)
 * ✅ UtherSRG (talk) 14:10, 1 June 2024 (UTC)