Cassowary

**Cassowaries ** (*Casuarius*) are a kind of large bird which cannot fly. They are in a group of flightless birds called the ratites. The ostrich, emu, moa (now extinct) and small kiwi are other ratites.

The cassowary lives in the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and north eastern Australia. They are shy birds living deep in the forest. They may become aggressive, and they may attack people. This makes it hard to learn about them.

A group of cassowaries is called a "shock".

## Species of cassowary 
There are three living species of cassowary:
* Southern cassowary, *Casuarius casuarius*, which lives in Australia , Maluku Islands and New Guinea
* Northern cassowary, *Casuarius unappendiculatus*, which lives in New Guinea and New Britain. This is also called the Single-wattled cassowary, (Golden)-(necked) cassowary or Blyth's cassowary.
* Dwarf cassowary, *Casuarius bennetti*, which lives in New Guinea. It weighs up to  and can grow to  tall. It is also called Bennett's cassowary, Mountain cassowary or Mooruk.

## Description
The southern cassowary is the largest forest bird in the world, They do not have feathers on their necks. The necks are brightly colored in red, blue, purple and yellow.  They can jump up to  and they can swim. There have been reported attacks on people and animals by cassowaries. In April 1926, a cassowary killed a 16-year-old boy near Mossman, Queensland.

The cassowary's wings are small, and their feathers are different from other birds. They are not adapted for flying. on the top of their head. The casque is a keratinous skin (like a finger nail) over an inside made of firm, but foam like material. This material can be bent and squeezed but it goes back to its normal shape. He thinks that the casques play a part in the way cassowaries hear sounds or the way that they make sounds. He discovered that the dwarf cassowary and southern cassowary make a very low sound. It is the lowest known bird call, like a "boom", which people can only just hear. The southern cassowary sound was measured at 32 hertz, and the dwarf cassowary was even lower at only 23 hertz. Each cassowary is known to live in an area of up to , so they carry seeds a long way. At least 70 rainforest trees need the cassowary to spread their seeds. Their seeds are too big for other rainforest animals to carry. Some seeds are poisonous to all other animals; only the cassowary can eat them. Many of the forest places that they like to live in have been cleared for farming and other development. It has been worked out that 75% of rain forest, where cassowaries used to live, have been cleared in Australia. When Cyclone Larry hit the Mission Beach area in 2006 a lot of cassowary forest was flattened. It is thought that 18% of the birds were killed by the storm. Animals such as wild pigs, dogs and cats, have become a big threat to the birds. Motor cars are a big danger to the birds. Scientists say that 70% of known cassowary deaths at Mission Beach, Queensland, were birds killed trying to cross roads.

The northern cassowary in New Guinea is listed as vulnerable. They could easily become an endangered animal unless things are done to protect them. Scientists do not know how many birds there are, but they think there may be anywhere from 2,500 to 9,999 northern cassowaries left.

## Saving the cassowary 
The CSIRO are studying cassowary faeces to see if they can use their DNA to count how many birds are left. In 2008, the Australian Government stopped rainforest land being used to build houses at Mission Beach. They are going to try and keep corridors (narrow forest areas) so the birds can move between rainforest areas safely. People will be asked to replant forest trees and plants on their land to help make these corridors. The government is looking at buying land for more corridors. Scientists are finding out when and where cassowaries cross roads. There is picture book for children, called *Sisi and the Cassowary*, by Arone Raymond Meeks. It has drawings in traditional aboriginal style to tell a Dreamtime like story.

English natural history writer and artist, John Gould, had drawings of the cassowary in his set of seven books called *The Birds of Australia*. These were printed in London between 1851 and 1869. The cassowary drawings were completed by Henry Richter. Richter's watercolor painting of the cassowary is in the museum in Melbourne, Victoria.

## References
## Other websites
*List of cassowary food plants 
*Cassowary the Dinosaur Bird of the Australia Rainforest