Love is in the Air - Listen to Female Emu Mating Calls
Indigenous to the desert climate of Central Australia, Emu lay their eggs in the cool, rainy season of winter. Breeding activity has become keyed to shortened daylight hours. At Songline Emu Farm in the hills of Western Massachusetts the shorter fall days cause the males to begin strutting with neck feathers displayed, while the females fill the air with sounds of love. To watch a short clip and hear the female drumming sound go to http://www.allaboutemu.com
Gill,MA (PRWEB) November 11, 2006 -- The female drops an air sack on her chest and vibrates air through it producing an erie sound which we call "drumming" or "booming". The deep rumbling sound is at a very low frequency, and like whale sound can travel for miles. This comes in handy when the odd family dynamics of these birds come into play. To watch a short clip and hear females drumming go to http://www.allaboutemu.com.
As the birds start their courtship they both begin strutting and circling; fluffing out all of their feathers and cocking their heads in a coy fashion. The male begins a slow, snake-like and hypnotic swinging of his head - back and forth - as he circles the female. He gently pulls at her neck feathers and she signals a yes by raising her tail feathers or a no by snapping her beak or even kicking. It can take a lot of patient persuasion on the male's part to receive approval.
Once the breeding activity starts the birds become very close, tending to walk side by side and sleep with their necks entwined. They lay off their food reducing their daily intake by about 75%. In past years Songline Emu Farm usually gathered thier first eggs in December, with the hen eventually getting on a schedule of one egg every 3 to 4 days; laying a total of 30-45 eggs in a season. However, this year one hen began laying in mid-October.
On the farm eggs are picked up each evening and stored at about 45 degrees to inhibit growth until they are ready to go into the incubater. In the wild, as the female lays her eggs the male would roll them into a nest of straw and leaves which he's built and cover them. He is "holding" the eggs in much the same fashion. When he has 6 to 8 eggs he sits on the nest and goes into a semi-hibernative state. He broods without eating, drinking or defecating for 50 days, living off the thick fat layer on his back (the source of emu oil).
While he is sitting, the female uses her deep "drumming" call to invite another male to begin building a nest for her so that she can produce a second clutch. In some abundant rainy seasons she has been seen to lay three seperate clutches. That is why the low frequency, long distance call of the female is so important.
###
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/TG92ZS1GYWx1LUluc2UtU3F1YS1NYWduLVplcm8=
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Furl It |
Technorati |
Ask |
MyWeb |
Propeller |
Live Bookmarks |
Newsvine |
TailRank |
Reddit |
Slashdot |
Digg |
Stumbleupon |
Google Bookmarks |
Sphere |
Blink It |
Spurl
|
