CASSOWARY. This great running bird, a near relative of the ostrich, the emu, and the rhea, looks at first sight like a bird without wings, tail, or feathers. But the tail is there, though so short that it is quite hidden under the strange, glossy-black, hairlike feathers that hang over it, and five stiff quills are the only visible part of the wing. The legs are short and heavy, with extremely powerful mus cles. With its three strong claws the cassowary is a match for most jungle animals. The quills of the wings and the beak are also used in fighting.
The special feature which distin guishes this family from other great running birds is the head, which is almost bare of feathers and carries a crest of bone, in some species flat tened and in others rising like a helmet above the large beak. The bare neck is adorned with bright colored wattles, red, yellow, or blue. The females stand from five to six feet high; the males are smaller.
Cassowaries are found in New Guinea, Australia, and some of the adjacent islands. They are forest keeping birds, living mainly on fruit, bulbs, and in sects. They nest on the ground in thickets. The three to six eggs are green, and it is the father who keeps them warm till the babies are hatched and guards the fledglings. The grown birds are very shy and such swift runners they are rarely caught alive.
Scientific name of the Cassowary family, Casuarius. With the emus, it forms the group Megistanes.