Residents in the Texan town of Round Rock are in a flap after four emus were spotted in a residential neighbourhood.

Police were called in to collar the emus after residents spotted the birds walking across front yards.

The fugitives were last spotted about 2.13pm on Thursday, US time.

Round Rock police have asked residents to keep an eye out for the errant birds but have warned them not to approach or feed them.

Resident Dawn Watson took a video of the emus wandering through her front yard and sent it to local television station KXAN.

In a video posted to Instagram the police said they were "working with our Animal Control Unit".

"If you spot these animals please do not feed or try to contain them," the post said.

KXAN reported the emus "are a local group that roam the area around Forest Creek Golf Community".

"Residents were trying to “shoo” the animals into a more rural area," they reported.

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