The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Cassowary

CASSOWARY, a corruption of the Malayan name for ratite birds of the family Casuariidæ, inhabitants of the Papuan Islands and Australasia, and forming, with their near allies the emus, the group Megistanes. They are large birds, the females standing five or six feet high (males are less in stature), and are clothed in hair-like feathers, which appear double, as the aftershaft is as large as the feather proper; these may reach a length of 12 inches or more on the rump, where they drape over the invisible tail. This coat is glossy black in both sexes and all species, whose distinguishing marks are found in the varying colors about the head. Like other ratite, or &ldquo;wingless&rdquo; birds, the wings are so reduced as to be bidden beneath the drooping plumage, except the ends of five stiff quills; these wings are quite useless for either flight, or aid in running, but are of some service as weapons. The legs are extremely stout, and are actuated by powerful muscles; and the three toes are armed with strong scratching-claws. The special feature of this family of birds, however, is the head, which is almost naked of feathers, and carries a crest, &ldquo;helmet,&rdquo; or &ldquo;casque&rdquo; of spongy bone which in some is flattened, and in others rises into a triangular or a pyramidal boss. The beak is stout, and keeled on top. The neck is naked, and in most cases adorned with one or more pendent wattles. These naked parts, and the head and helmet are brilliantly colored, differing in the various species of which 10 have been described. Thus the Casuarius papuanus of New Guinea is described as having &ldquo;a dusky-black casque, blue head, throat and fore-neck, gray-green occiput and auricular region, and orange hind-neck, changing into rosy flesh-color toward the sides.&rdquo; All the others are nearly as gaudy.

The cassowaries are forest-keeping birds, and have become very wary since their

jungles were invaded by hunters. They are swift runners, hurling themselves forward with a peculiar striding gait, and bounding over obstacles. They are almost omnivorus, but feed mainly on berries, fallen fruit, bulbs and insects scratched out of the forest floor. They defend themselves vigorously when at bay, kicking powerfully in any direction, and striking with wings and beak. Vet they are tamable, and are kept like fowls by the natives of some districts. They are hunted in Australia for the sake of their skins from which are made mats, rugs, feathered ornaments, etc. The nest is a rough structure on the ground in a thicket. The three to six eggs are green, and incubation is done mainly if not exclusively by the cock-bird. Consult Salvatori, &lsquo;Ornitologia della Papuasia&rsquo; (Turin 1882); Rothschild, &lsquo;Trans. Zool. Soc. of London&rsquo; (1901); Evans, &lsquo;Birds&rsquo; (New York 1900).