Southern Cassowary

It has hard and stiff plumage, a brown casque, blue face and neck, red nape and two red wattles hanging down its throat. The three-toed feet are thick and powerful, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 12 cm on the inner toe. It is technically the largest Asian bird and the largest Australian bird .

The Southern Cassowary is classified as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Due to habitat loss the southern cassowary, the largest of the cassowary species, is now considered endangered. The smaller northern cassowary is considered vulnerable and the dwarf cassowary threatened. It would be a tragedy to lose these strange, colourful and utterly unique species of jungle birds forever. Through national parks management, sanctuaries and reserves, we must do what we can to maintain their continued existence. More

The calls of the Southern Cassowary consist of an assortment of rumblings and grunts. These calls are often heard long before the bird is seen, and are usually given in response to the sight of potential danger. More

Southern Cassowary at Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Casuariiformes Family: Casuariidae Genus: Casuarius Brisson, 1760 Species Casuarius casuarius Southern Cassowary Casuarius unappendiculatus Northern More

Distribution of the Southern Cassowary in Australia The Southern Cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is a ratite and therefore related to the Emu, Ostrich, and the Rhea genus. More

Southern Cassowary is probably the single most important animal seed disperser of the Australian tropical rainforest. Studies have shown that the animal is an obligate frugivore, with the bird depending on fruits to survive (Stocker and Irvine 1993). So far, over 200 Australian tropical rainforest plants have been recorded to be eaten by cassowaries (Kroon and Westcott 2001). More

The Southern Cassowary is the third tallest and second heaviest living bird, smaller only than the Ostrich and Emu. Cassowaries feed mainly on fruits, though all species are truly omnivorous and will take a range of other plant food including shoots, grass seeds, and fungi in addition to invertebrates and small vertebrates. Cassowaries are very shy, but when disturbed, they are capable of inflicting serious injuries to dogs and children. More

The southern cassowary lives mainly in lowland rainforest, below 3,600 ft (about 1,100 m). BEHAVIOR Although usually shy, some birds will become tame enough near settlements to approach places where food is regularly put out for them. Adults are territorial, no more than two associating together, except that the chicks stay with their father for about nine months. More

The southern cassowary has a glossy black plumage and a bright blue neck, with red colouring at the nape (4). Two wattles of bare, red coloured skin hang down from the throat. Cassowaries have stout, powerful legs and long feet with 3 toes; the inner toe on each foot has a sharp claw that can reach up to 80 millimetres in length (3). More

The southern cassowary is found in New Guinea as well as Queensland in northeastern Australia (4). View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Habitat - These birds are rainforest inhabitants, although they are also found in nearby savannah, mangroves and fruit plantations (4). More

The Southern Cassowary is distributed in tropical rainforests of Aru and Seram Islands of Indonesia, New Guinea and northeastern Australia, and it prefers elevations below 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Australia, and 500 m (1,600 ft) on New Guinea. More

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) in the Birds. Damisela. More

and long drooping red wattles - this is the southern cassowary, found only in the tropical rainforests of north-east Queensland, Papua New Guinea and some surrounding islands. More

� The main reason for decline in the southern Cassowary population has been clearance of the rainforests. Clearance for agriculture has virtually ceased but continues for residential and tourist development � Adult Cassowaries are occasionally shot, though this is illegal � The skin on their heads are pale blue, becoming darker down neck. More

Like the emu and ostrich, the southern cassowary is a ratite, a large flightless bird with unusual feathers and other features that distinguish it from all other birds. The bird has no tail, and its wing stubs carry a small number of long, modified quills, like rounded fingernails, which curve around the body. Each heavy, well-muscled leg has three toes, with the inside toe bearing a large dagger-shaped claw that can be used in defence. More

The southern cassowary is endangered. There may be as few as 1500 left in the wild. Much of the rainforest where they live has been cleared. If you use any of this information in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this: Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. Cassowary www.kidcyber.com. More

The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is the third largest flightless bird on the planet, smaller only than the ostrich and emu. Cassowaries provide important ecological functions, acting as a keystone species in rain forests by consuming fallen fruit and dispersing the seeds. In addition to feeding largely on fruits, they also feed on other plant matter and some invertebrates and vertebrates. More

Southern Cassowary is the second largest and tallest bird after the Ostrich. This species differs in general facts by the female. She has the criterions of most of the other species’ males, such as brighter colours, really much larger size, and she does not share the nesting duties with the male. Adult male has glossy black plumage overall. This plumage is very hard and coarse, and allows the bird to live in inhospitable habitats. More

The Southern Cassowary is a large flightless bird. It is known to act as shy and secretive birds of the deep forest disappearing long before a human knows that they are there. Recently, they have also been observed to attack humans, though this usually only occurs in self-defense when humans intrude upon the birds' territory or cause them to feel threatened. More

The diet of the southern cassowary consists mainly of fruit. The cassowary is valuable to the rainforest because they spread the seeds of large fruit after eating the fruit. After the fruit is initially eaten, the seeds pass through the digestive tract of the cassowary and exit in the dung of the cassowary. In this respect they have been described as "gardeners of the rainforest". More

The Southern Cassowary is also related to the other Cassowaries - the Northern Cassowary and Dwarf Cassowary, but is the largest of the three. Read on for more information, pictures, links and facts about the Southern Cassowary! Southern Cassowary photo by Manfred Werner under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 Loading Loading content... More

The Legend of The Southern Cassowary2843 vuespoeticpenguin * Cassowary Mission Beach2:55 * Ajouter à la file d'attente Ajoutée à la file d'attente Cassowary Mission Beach2744 vuessanityincairns * Ratites (Struthioniformes)1:07 * Ajouter à la file d'attente Ajoutée à la file d'attente Ratites (Struthioniformes)13949 vuesLittleBlueHeron More