Southern Cassowary — Brevard Zoo

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Southern Cassowary

The Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large, flightless black bird with stiff plumage, a brown casque, a 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 on the inner toe. The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque and brighter-colored bare parts. The immature bird has plain brown plumage.

Southern Cassowary

It is the largest member of the Cassowary family and is the second heaviest bird on earth, at a maximum size estimated at 187 lbs and 74 in. The Southern cassowary is distributed in tropical rain forests of Aru and Seram Islands of Indonesia, New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. It forages on the forest floor for fallen fruit.

The Southern cassowary is a solitary bird that pairs only in breeding season, which takes place in late winter or spring. The male builds a nest on the ground; a mattress of herbaceous plant material 2 to 4 inches thick and up to 40 inches wide. This is thick enough to let moisture drain away from the eggs. It is situated in a sheltered area among tall grass or similar cover. He also incubates the eggs and raises the chicks. A clutch of three or four eggs are laid. They have a granulated surface and are initially bright pea-green in color though fade with age.

Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, and overhunting in some areas, the Southern cassowary is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.