Northern Cassowary
The Northern Cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus) also known as the Single (One)-wattled Cassowary or Gold(en)-neck(ed) Cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird.
Taxonomy
Edward Blyth first identified the Northern Cassowary from a specimen from an aviary located in Calcutta, India., in 1860. The genus name Casuarius is derived from the Malay word kesuari "cassowary", while the species name unappendiculatus is derived from the Latin words unus, one, appendicis, appendage, -culus, diminutive, and -atus, provided with: cassowary provided with one small appendage, referring to the single wattle. Officially, there are no subspecies, however, some authors list several subspecies.
Description
It has hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin and a casque on top of the head. It has a bright red or yellow colored neck and wattle. The feet are huge and strong with long, dagger-like claw on its inner toe. The sexes are similar. The male, at 30 kg (66 lb), is smaller than female, at 58 kg (128 lb), making it the worlds third heaviest living bird species after the Ostrich and Southern Cassowary. These birds measure 149 cm (4.89 ft) long and stand 1.5–1.8 m (4.9–5.9 ft) in heigh.
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| Northern Cassowary |
image source: http://flickr.com/photos/67471595@N00
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| Northern Cassowary |
image source: http://flickr.com/photos/67471595@N00
