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CASSOWARY (Casuarius)

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 463 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CASSOWARY (Casuarius) , a genus of struthious birds, only inferior in See also:size to the See also:emeu and See also:ostrich, and, according to See also:Sir R. See also:Owen, approximating more closely than any other living birds to the See also:extinct moas of New See also:Zealand. The See also:species are all characterized by See also:short rudimentary wings, bearing four or five barbless shafts, a few inches See also:long, and apparently useless for purposes of See also:flight, of See also:running, or of See also:defence; and by loosely webbed feathers, short on the See also:neck, but of See also:great length on the rump and back, whence they descend over the See also:body forming a thick See also:hair-like covering. They possess stout limbs, with which they kick in front, and have the inner toe armed with a long powerful claw. The See also:common cassowary (C'asuarius galeatus) stands 5 ft. high, and has a horny, See also:helmet-like protuberance on the See also:crown of its See also:head; the front of the neck is naked and provided with two brightly-coloured wattles. It is a native of the See also:Island of See also:Ceram,463 where it is said to live in pairs, feeding on fruits and herbs, and occasionally on small animals. The mooruk, or See also:Bennett's cassowary (Casuarius Bennettii), is a shorter and more robust See also:bird, approaching in the thickness of its legs to the moas. It differs further from the preceding species in having its head crowned with a horny See also:plate instead of a helmet. It has only been found in New See also:Britain, where the natives are said to regard it with some degree of veneration. When captured by them shortly after being hatched, and reared by the See also:hand, it soon becomes tame and See also:familiar; all the specimens which have reached See also:Europe alive have been thus domesticated by the natives. The adult bird in the See also:wild See also:state is exceedingly shy and difficult of approach, and, owing to its great fleetness and strength, is rarely if ever caught. It eats voraciously, and, like the ostrich, will See also:swallow whatever comes in its way.

End of Article: CASSOWARY (Casuarius)

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