Cassowary

a genus of large birds resembling the emu and the ostrich. There are several species, found chiefly in New Guinea, Australia, and intermediate islands. The common helmeted cassowary stands five feet high. It has a crested head and a bare, wattled neck of a deep blue and fiery red color, set off by a large, yellow eye an inch in diameter. The body is draped with soft, dark, hairy plumes from three to fourteen inches long. The wings are short, almost abortive, but are armed with five stiff quills with which it can strike a dangerous blow. The body and legs are stout. A strong foot is divided into three toes each armed with a stout claw, the largest, that of the inner toe, being three and one-half inches in length. The cassowary runs with swift bounds, far outstripping a horse, but, unlike the ostrich, it receives no aid from its reduced wings. It lives in the forests and parks on fruits, seeds, and the eggs of other birds. Its own eggs are green. Those of the largest species are from three to five inches in diameter. They are left in a nest on the ground to hatch, it is said, in the heat of the sun. See Ostrich; Emu