Ostriches and Emus are counted among the largest flightless birds. Both of them have strong muscular legs, heavy body and long neck.

Did a question ever crossed your mind, who would win if they come face to face and a battle happen between them?

However, their geographical distribution doesn’t overlap; they are found in different halves of the world.

To determine the winner we need to closely look into their different characteristics such physical traits, behaviour, diet, habitat etc.

Let’s know about them.

What are the physical characteristics of Ostrich?

Ostriches are the largest birds in the world. They have a small head, short bill, long neck, heavy body, and strong legs and are flightless.

Unlike other birds, Ostriches are barred legged with two sharp toes that balance their body.

Sexual Dimorphism is present in ostriches, an average adult male can reach a height of about 9 feet and can weigh up to 160 kg;

whereas females are 5-6.5 feet in height and weigh about 120-140 kg.

Male ostriches are black and white while females have brownish.

How Emu looks?

Just like ostriches, Emus are also flightless birds and are the second-largest birds in the world.

They bear a strong resemblance to ostrich and have similar anatomical structure.

Emus can attain a height of about 6.5 feet and weigh around 36-40 kg. Male and female emus look alike;

they have brown feathers however, females are slightly bigger than their male counterparts.

Are ostriches social?

Ostriches generally live in flocks having 5-50 members. A particular flock can have its territory of about 2-15 sq. km.

What kind of behaviour Emus have?

Emus are solitary birds and rarely found in groups. Emus are nomadic and they go on large forages in search of food.

Ostriches and emus use their strong legs and sharps toes to protect themselves from predators; they kick if cornered and can run at a great speed.

Both of them are diurnal birds.

What do ostriches eat?

Ostriches are primarily herbivorous; they feed on seeds, fruits, leaves and roots but they also eat insects, lizards or other small animals.

What are the dietary constituents of Emus?

 Emu’s diet also hasthe same constituents just like that of ostrich; they are also herbivorous but sometimes they also eat small animals and insects during the harsh seasons.

Where ostriches are found?

Once ostriches were found in South-western Asia, Arabian Peninsula, and Africa but due to their excessive hunting, they reach the brink of extinction.

Now they are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Where emus are found?

Emus are native to the Australian continent.

In what habitat ostriches live?

Ostriches are found in savannah, dry-sandy desert regions of central and southern Africa.

Which type of habitat emus live in?

Emus live in varied habitats of Australia such as savannah, grasslands and subtropical climate; generally, they prefer to live close to the water bodies.

Amazing facts:

• Emus are the only birds that have calf muscles.
• Ostriches have 3 stomachs each having a different function.
• As ostriches don’t have teeth they swallow pebbles to grind their food inside their body.
• An adult ostrich carries about 1 kg of stones in its stomach.
• Ostriches are very fast runners; they can run at a speed of about 70 km/h and can cover 5 m in a single step.
• The Wingspan of Ostrich is about 2 metres long.
• Both male and female ostrich incubates eggs during a different time of day; during day females incubates while in night male ostrich incubates eggs.
• Emus have two sets of eyelids; while one is used for blinking other is used to keep eyes safe from the dust.
• Unlike ostriches, after laying eggs female emus leave them; only male emus incubates them and raise the chicks.

Combat: Bird Fight: Ostrich vs Emu

According to above information, we know that Ostrich and Emus are very distinct birds.

However, if a face-off happens between them we predict Ostrich would win.

Ostrich already has size and weight advantage; if an ostrich charge on Emu then Emu can only run away leaving the battle.

Even if Emu dares to attack ostrich; then ostrich is able to inflict heavy injuries which might prove to fatal to Emu.

Hence, Ostrich is the unopposed winner of this battle.

Comparison Video: Ostrich vs Emu

Comparison Table: Ostrich vs Emu

Comparison Head	Ostrich	Emu
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata	Chordata
Class	Aves	Aves
Order	Struthioniformes	Casauariiformes
Family	Struthionidae	Casuariidae
Genus	Struthio	Dromaius
Species	S. Camelus	D.Novaelhollandiae
Habitat	Savannah, dry-sandy desert	Savannah, grasslands and subtropical climate
Geographical Distribution	Sub-Saharan Africa	Australia
Height	9 feet	6.5 feet
Weight	160 kg	36-40 kg
Top Speed	70 km/h	50 km/h
Lifespan	50 years	10-20 years