Cassowaries

Order: Casuariiformes

Family: Casuariidae

3 species

HABITAT AND RANGE:

New Guinea, Australia; forest habitats;

DESCRIPTION:

flightless; up to 1.5 m tall; 70 kg; bill short, laterally compressed; head, neck featherless; wattles, casque; long aftershafts; wings reduced, remiges represented by few bare shafts; no rectrices; 3 toes, the innermost with long sharp claw;

FOOD:

predominantly fruit diet, some insects and small vertbrates;

BREEDING:

female slightly larger; 5-8 eggs/female; monogamous; incubation and parental care by male alone; young nidifugous; adults pugnacious

SOUNDS:

MORE IMAGES:

RECENT LITERATURE:

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(Image taken from Pizzey, Graham. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus&Robertson: Sydney, 1997)