Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Casuariiformes
Family: Casuariidae
Genus: Casuarius
Species: C. casuarius
Conservation Status
The southern cassowary is the largest cassowary subspecies and is the second heaviest bird on earth behind the ostrich. They range from 50-75 inches long, 59-71 inches tall, and weigh 64-170 pounds with females being larger and more brightly colored. Both sexes have black plumage with a long, blue neck and face, and red cape and waddle. Southern cassowaries also have a horn-like casque on their head as well as powerful three-toed feet.
The southern cassowary is a ratite, which is a group of mostly large, flightless birds with long legs such as emus, ostriches, rheas, etc. They can be found in northeastern Australia as well as in New Guinea and Indonesia. Southern cassowaries prefer rainforests but also inhabit savannah forests or mangrove stands.
Southern cassowaries forage for fallen fruit and can eat up to 11 pounds of it per day. They may also eat fungi and hunt small critters such as snails, lizards, and rodents for extra protein.
They are great for the environment as southern cassowaries swallow fruit whole, so they can pass the seeds unharmed through their digestive tract and disperse them long distances throughout the rainforests.
Southern cassowaries meet in late winter or early spring for mating season, in which the females will breed with multiple partners. After males build large nests, females will lay 3-4 bright green eggs and then depart, leaving all parenting duties to the males.
During the 50-day incubation period, male southern cassowaries do not eat or leave the nests at all. The chicks are born striped with a cream and brown pattern that lasts for a year and a half before getting their adult plumage.
Their feet are so formidable that there are warning signs across Australia that read “Be Cass-o-wary” as cassowaries may become aggressive if threatened. A single toe is equipped with a 5-inch-long claw that can break bones and even be fatal! And if that wasn’t scary enough, southern cassowaries can even leap 7 feet off the ground while attacking prey.
