Dumb birds no more: #Emus and #rheas are technical innovators, say researchers https://phys.org/news/2025-02-dumb-birds-emus-rheas-technical.html paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-88217-8

"palaeognath innovation is not as complex as in #crows and #parrots. However, it is still a very important finding... There were no reports of technical innovation in #palaeognaths before this study, and there was a prevailing view that they are dumb birds... that is not true. Technical innovation may have evolved far earlier in #birds than previously thought"

Nope, i'm not buying it. Any attempt to imply #emus are not birdbrained, just won't wash with me.

https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/2025/02/23/emus-food-puzzle-research

I'll never forget those times, on the long lonely road to Broken Hill, decades ago in another life, when we saw a flock of emus in the mulga & scrub, hundreds of metres from the road, notice the car, begin running parallel with us [ie, still hundreds of metres away], then incomprehensibly alter course by 45 degrees to make a beeline for us... then not stop once reaching the edge of the road, but continue onto & across the road. I had already begun slowing once i noticed the initiation of kamikaze mode, so i was able to brake & not hit any, but it was still a near thing.

From that day onwards, if i ever search for a shorthand way to express the idea of braindead animals, it is simply...

emus

Laufvögel sind schlauer als gedacht

#Raben oder #Papageien gelten als schau, #Tauben und #Emus dagegen als eher dumm. Bei den Tauben hat sich die Wissenschaft getäuscht. Und nun sieht es aus, als ob sie auch bei den #Laufvögel⁣n umdenken muss.

Emus gelten manchen Beobachtern als die dümmsten Vögel der Erde, etwa weil sie scheinbar unreflektiert in Zäune rennen (die es in ihrem Lebensraum nicht gab) oder weil Menschen sie einfach in Schach halten können, indem sie einen Stock über ihren Kopf halten. Dabei wurden ihre geistigen Fähigkeiten vielleicht einfach nicht ausreichend studiert.

https://www.spektrum.de/news/ornithologie-laufvoegel-sind-schlauer-als-gedacht/2254273

"Large birds—our closest relations to dinosaurs—are capable of technical innovation, by solving a physical task to gain access to food. This is the first time scientists have been able to show that palaeognath birds such as emus and rheas can solve tricky problems".

#emus #rheas
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-dumb-birds-emus-rheas-technical.html

Escaped emus Thelma & Louise may no longer be a pair. What’s happened to the #SC birds?

It hasn’t been confirmed if I've of the birds is dead, but multiple people told owner Sam Morace they heard someone shot one.

She also said people have threatened to shoot & eat them for #Thanksgiving.
https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article296081329.html

Illustrates so much that is wrong w/#SouthCarolina.

If you have any info about the #emus, for Pete's sake reach out to Morace or Horry County Police: https://www.horrycountysc.gov/departments/police/

Now the #emus : the revolution has begun.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/south-carolina-emus-missing-horry-county/

#Dinosaurs may have run like #emus by keeping one foot on the ground

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2449446-dinosaurs-may-have-run-like-emus-by-keeping-one-foot-on-the-ground/

It seems to be more #energyefficient for emus to keep one foot on the ground when running at a moderate pace, and the same may have been true for dinosaurs

Emuküken / Emu Chicks

https://archive.org/details/087617
#Emuküken -> https://www.goehde.com/fotos/index.php?/category/45340

Müde

#Emuküken -> https://www.goehde.com/fotos/index.php?/category/45340

Do you like animals? Morning at the perthzoo. I only had one free morning in Perth, so I went to the Zoo since my youngest LOVES animals and wants me to send back as many pics as I can take. A kind docent named Rose took me on the Aussie Bush Walk & dropped copious knowledge. Big fun & big learning. #Quokkas #Kangaroos #Wallabies #Numbats #Cassowary #Emus #Koalas #Perth #Travel #Australia #Zoo #Animals https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLk1xUpo/

Lionel the Lion and Gavin Bear have set off from Perth to search for Lionel's fore-bears (or fore-lions.) From Perth to Geraldton to Kalbarri to Shark Bay to Carnarvon to Coral Bay. After 1500km they come to a little town facing the Ningaloo Marine Reserve.
Use tag #lionelseeks to see more of Lionels quest.
#plushies #roadtrip #westernaustralia #emus #wildlife #kalbarri #highway # Read on at www.mawsonbear.blog and view vid. Also to see more, use tag #lionelseeks . #coralbay #quest #westernaustralia
https://youtu.be/1VsQcpagbho

The hidden rule for flight feathers and how it could reveal which #dinosaurs could fly
https://phys.org/news/2024-02-hidden-flight-feathers-reveal-dinosaurs.html

Functional constraints on the number and shape of flight feathers https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306639121

"in addition to asymmetrical feathers, all the flighted #birds had between nine and 11 primary #feathers. In #FlightlessBirds, the number varies widely— #penguins have more than 40, while #emus have none. It's a deceptively simple rule that's seemingly gone unnoticed by #scientists."

Lionel Seeks His Forelions Ep 5. Emus Country. To see more of Lionel's journey click #lionelseeks . #emus #wildlife .
https://youtu.be/Xswb3fXrafU?si=BpHnDsQqgkb45Rss

It has been observed that when they migrate, emus are chasing rainfall. They’ll follow rain clouds or the smell of wet ground, and also listen for thunder.

Ten things you might not know about emus:

https://topicaltens.blogspot.com/2023/12/10-december-great-emu-war-ended.html

Still unsure as to how or why there'd be an emu in a dungeon, but they're in so many dungeons, there has to be something to it

The positive responses to my picture of an emu have prompted me to share a brief emu video taken yesterday, without the emu's permission, though she seemed pretty comfortable around the camera.