Southern Cassowary and Emu by Genkicoll

Australia's most spectacular bird would have to be the cassowary, up to two metres tall, covered in coarse black double stranded feathers, and with brilliant colors of red and blue on its neck and head. This elusive flightless bird is highly endangered and lives only in the Wet Tropics area of North Queensland and another patch of remote rainforest high up on the Cape York peninsula.

The cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) has been wandering around this planet since before the super continent Gondwana broke up in to several continents, and they have relatives in several distant continents. They belong to a family of birds called ratites and are related to the Emu, the Ostrich, the Kiwi (though there is a dramatic difference in size) and the South American Rhea - a little known bird that resembles a small emu and runs around plains in Patagonia. They are also related to the now extinct Moas of New Zealand and the Elephant Bird of Madagascar. In New Guinea there are two other species of cassowary too but in Australia the only species is the Southern Cassowary.

Cassowaries (genus Casuarius) are frugivorous; fallen fruit and fruit on low branches is the mainstay of their diet. They also eat fungi, insects, frogs, spiders, snakes and other small animals, even dead ones and roadkills. They live for about 40-50 years. They are the second-largest bird in Australia and the third-largest remaining bird in the world (the ostrich and emu are larger). "Cassowary" originates from the Malay name kesuari.

The birds grow to 1.5 - 1.8 m tall, though the females are larger and can reach 2 m and they weigh about 60 kilograms, but the heaviest recorded was 83kg. They have a bony casque on the head that is used to batter through underbrush, this is made of keratin, the same material as our nails and hair. The casque is also used for headbutting and some people believe it is used to receive the very low frequency humming noise that they can make.

Usually cassowaries are very shy but when they feel threatened or want to protect their young they can lash out dangerously with their powerful legs and jump and kick with both legs at once. Their three-toed feet have sharp claws; the dagger-like middle claw is 12 cm long. Cassowaries are very capable of killing dogs by disemboweling them and have injured people, though only one death has been recorded, more on this on cassowary attacks. They can run up to 50 km/h and jump up to 1.5 m. They are also good swimmers.

They don't have much of a family life, they are solitary birds but females will cruise around the forest mating with several males during the breeding season from May to November. Courtship is initiated by the male when a female enters his territory. The smaller sized male must approach the larger female with caution because if she is not in the mood she is capable of seriously injuring him. The male begins courtship by circling around the female and making a low rumbling sound. When she has laid her eggs, three to eight, measuring about 90 by 140 mm and pale green-blue in color, in a shallow scrape in the ground in which the male has placed leaves and grass, she moves on again to repeat the process with another male. It is the male's duty to incubate the eggs for about fifty days and also to care for the chicks for another year or so. The chicks are striped until they are about 6-9 months old and become a glossy black colour when they are about 3 years old. By that time, the skin on the neck and head begins to turn color, and the casque begins to develop. Cassowaries are capable of breeding when they are three years old.

Source: http://www.rainfores...n/cassowary.htm

The Emu is a large native Australian bird that cannot fly. It is similar in appearance to the Ostrich, which also cannot fly; in fact, the Emu is in the same family as the African Ostrich and the South American Rhea. They have grey-brown feathers, a pale-blue neck and face, long powerful legs and three toes (ostrich's only have two!). Emus are the world's third largest living bird. Only the Ostrich and Cassowary are slightly larger.

Habitat

Emus live in small mobs and feast on a simple diet of grasses, seeds, fruit, flowers and small insects. They drink water regularly, at least once a day in winter and twice a day in summer and sometimes drink up to four gallons a day. Therefore they can usually be found within walking distance of water. When drinking they can take up to 70 mouthfuls of water and they lift their head after each one. They prefer flat country where there is enough rain each year to fill the waterholes, but will move into desert areas after the rain.

Emus have survived over 80 million years in the deserts, forests and plains of Australia. There used to be three species of Emu, but two became extinct after European settlers came to Australia.

Emus can be found in most areas of Australia, except for the East coast.

An average adult male Emu is between 1.5-2 metres tall, and weighs between 35 and 50 kilograms. The female Emu is even larger but they have a life span of only six years. Because the Emu has strong, long legs, they are a very fast running bird and can run up to 60 kilometres an hour over short distances, while their stride is about 3 metres long. They also use their legs to kick at animals or humans that try to attack.

Breeding

Emus mate when they are about eighteen months old. The female lays between five and fifteen eggs that weigh up to one kilogram each. She will usually lay them on trampled grass or in a hollow in the ground. She leaves the eggs in the care of the male Emu, while she often finds another mate and lays another set of eggs.

Meanwhile male Emu builds up the nest, which can be up to two metres wide, from leaves, grass and bark. The eggs are dark green in colour and are sometimes collected by people as display pieces. Animals such as foxes, dingoes, eagles and even lizards will also seek out the eggs as a food source.

The male incubates the eggs for a period of seven to eight weeks, turning the eggs over once a day, and does not leave the nest during this time. If the female approaches the eggs, the male chases her away. Female Emus have been known to kill their chicks.

When the eggs hatch, the male Emu cares for the striped chicks for up to six months. The chicks can walk within twenty-four hours of being hatched. The female Emu does not care for the eggs nor does she care for the chicks.

Population

Emus moved farther away in the country when the settlers built towns and farms, and when foxes and cats were introduced into Australia they attacked and killed many emus. In the 1930's in Western Australia teams of army machine-gunners killed many Emus in an effort to maintain the farmers' valuable wheat crops. Despite this, Emu numbers managed to thrive, and there is currently a healthy Emu population in Australia, with more emus now than there were 200 years ago. Farmers today are allowed to breed and raise Emus for meat, leather, and oil. Emu oil is used in the treatment of muscle and joint pains, such as arthritis, and also in cosmetics.

Interesting Facts

The Emu, along with the Kangaroo, is featured on the Australian Coat Of Arms – these 2 animals were chosen for the honour because they can't travel backwards and can only move forwards. The Coat of Arms also appears on the Australian 50 cent coin.

Source: http://library.think.../birds/emu.html

This animal is 100% compatible with the in-game kangaroo.

Updated 2010-11-21

Just to save space with less in zip and smaller image.

Nothing new.