Emu with Chicks

This is a male emu with seven chicks, only three in shot. What you may not know about emus is that the male builds a nest on the ground from rocks and scrub then attracts females to lay eggs in the nest. He keeps on mating and attracting females to lay in the nest. There have been recorded instances of 50 or more eggs in a nest. The females leave as soon as the eggs are laid and the male hatches the chicks by himself. He leaves the nest as soon as the last eggs have hatched and they all go wandering with day over the desert looking for food. He does loose some to predators and illness/weakness but keeps them together until almost fully grown.

This one was working along a dry river bed looking for seed pods in the late evening last rays at a remote place called  Chambers Gorge in South Australia. It was right in front of our caravan with me sitting on our chairs under the awning after dinner. Very pleasant.

Nikon D7200 with 160-600 @450.
1/500. F8. ISO 800
HH. M.

Click for detail.