Cassowary
Description
Cassowary is also a kind of a flightless bird. They are endemic to the tropical forests of New Guinea, Aru Islands and northeastern Australia. There are 3 species of Cassowaries and they are The Southern Cassowary, The Northern Cassowary and The Dwarf Cassowary. There's an extinct species called Pygmy Cassowary. Cassowaries feed mostly on fruit, although all species are truly omnivorous and take a range of other plant foods, including shoots and grass seeds, in addition fungi, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Cassowaries are very wary of human, but it provoked, they are capable of inflicting serious, even fatal, injuries to both dogs and people. It has often been labeled as "the world's most dangerous bird".
Southern Cassowary
The Southern Cassowary is also know as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary. It is a ratite therefore they are related to emu, ostriches, rheas and kiwis. It is a large black, flightless bird. The Southern Cassowary has a stiff, bristly black plumage, a blue face and long neck, red on the wattles measuring around 17.8cm in length hanging down around its throat. A horn-like brown casque, measuring 13 to 16.9cm high sits atop the head. The beak can be range from 9.8 to 19cm. It is technically the largest Asian bird and the largest Australian bird.
Classification
Scientific name - Casuarius casuarius
Order- Casuariiformes
Family- Casuariidae
Kingdom- Animalia
Class- Aves
Phylum - Chordata
Genus- Casuarius
Distribution
The Southern Cassowary is distributed in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and northeastern Australia.
The Cassowary breeding season starts in May to June. Females lay three to eight large, bright green or pale green-blue eggs in each clutch into a heap of litter prepared by the male.
Few factors affect Sothern Cassowary survival. The major threats include the loss, fragmentation modification of habitat, vehicle strikes, dog attacks, human interactions, pigs, diseases and natural catastrophic events.
Northern Cassowary
The Northern Cassowary is also called as the One-wattled Cassowary, Single-wattled Cassowary and the Golden-necked Cassowary. It is a stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea. It has a hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin and a casque on the top of its head. It is the fourth heaviest living bird species. It is a shy and solitary bird. They feed on berries, fruits and small animals. They also eat dead animals. These birds measure 149cm long. The average lifespan of a wild cassowary is about to 40 to 50 years.
Classification
Scientific name - Casuarius unappendiculatus
Order- Casuariiformes
Family- Casuariidae
Kingdom- Animalia
Class- Aves
Phylum - Chordata
Genus- Casuarius
Distribution
These birds can be found in New Guinea and in Indonesia.
Dwarf Cassowary
Dwarf Cassowary is also known as Bennett's Cassowary, Little Cassowary, Mountain Cassowary and Mooruk. This is the smallest species of Cassowaries. It is between 99 and 150cm long and weighs between 17.6 and 26kg. When talking about its appearance, it has a hard and stiff black plumage, a low triangular casque, pink cheek and red patches of skin on its blue neck. Dwarf Cassowaries feed on fallen fruits or fruits that they pluck from shrubs, small animals and insects. These birds are also flightless.
Classification
Scientific name - Casuarius bennetti
Order- Casuariiformes
Family- Casuariidae
Kingdom- Animalia
Class- Aves
Phylum - Chordata
Genus- Casuarius
Distribution
The Dwarf Cassowary is distributed throughout mountain forests of New Guinea, New Britain and Yapen Island.
