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It's a nice picture Roger. It would be interesting
to follow them to find how many survive.
In large groups of Emu chicks (and for many
domestic animals) there is usually a "tail" of youngsters that do less well than
their siblings. This is typically due competition for food (access to teats or
parental guidance as to food items) or increased parasite load (followers pick
up more parasite eggs than leaders).
This could explain the size disparity. One could
expect this kind of effect to increase with time and that the smaller birds
will be the first to disappear.
Tom
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