Cassowary, (genus Casuarius), any of several species of large flightless birds of the Australo-Papuan region. Cassowaries are the only members of the family Casuariidae and belong to the order Casuariiformes, which also includes the emu. There are three species (counted by some experts as six), each with several races. The common, or southern, cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, which inhabits New Guinea, nearby islands, and Australia, is the largest—almost 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall—and has two long red wattles on the throat. The dwarf cassowary (C. bennetti) is native to higher elevations of New Guinea and can also be found on the island of New Britain, and the northern cassowary (C. unappendiculatus) inhabits New Guinea’s northern lowlands.
Common, or southern, cassowary (Casuarius casuarius).Anthony Mercieca—Root Resources/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. cassowaryA demonstration of how dangerous a cassowary can be.© Fun Travel TV (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
The body is black in adults and is brownish in immature birds. Its naked blue head is protected by a bony helmet, or casque. The female lays three to six green eggs, each of which is about 13 cm (5 inches) long and weighs 650 grams (23 ounces). The male incubates those for about 50 days in a leafy nest on the ground and may provide most of the early care of the striped young. Cassowaries forage for fruits and small animals.
The cassowary has been known to kill human beings with slashing blows of its feet, as the innermost of its three toes bears a long daggerlike nail. The bird has been observed to move rapidly along narrow tracks in the bush, sprinting as fast as 50 km (31 miles) per hour.
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casuariiform…up of three species of cassowaries (
Casuarius ), is restricted to northern Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. Of the two groups, the emu is far better known, both biologically and popularly, being exhibited in zoos around the world. The common characteristics of emus and cassowaries are described in this article;… -
bird: Annotated classificationemus, cassowaries, and kiwis) 10 species in 6 families in Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and Oceania, with fossils from southern Europe and Asia, including India and Mongolia; cursorial (running); height 35 cm to 2.7 metres (14 inches to almost 9 feet). Many species have…
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ostrich…that also contains kiwis, emus, cassowaries, and rheas. The oldest fossil relatives of ostriches belong to the species
Calciavis grandei , which were excavated from the Green River Formation in Wyoming and date to the Eocene Epoch, some 56 million to 34 million years ago.… -
flightless bird
Flightless bird , any of several birds that have, through evolution, lost the ability to fly as they adapted to new environments. Most living forms belong to the order Struthioniformes (a group that includes the ostrich, the rhea, the cassowary, the kiwi, and the emu); however, they are more commonly known… -
emu
Emu , flightless bird of Australia and second largest living bird: the emu is more than 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall and may weigh more than 45 kg (100 pounds). The emu is the sole living member of the family Dromaiidae (or Dromiceiidae) of the order Casuariiformes, which also includes the…
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More About Cassowary
3 references found in Britannica articlesAssorted References
- major reference
- In casuariiform
- classification