Southern Cassowary

The southern cassowary is a big, gentle-looking bird that lives in the rainforests of northern Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. It is one of the largest birds in the whole world, standing as tall as a grown-up, and like the ostrich and the emu it cannot fly. Its body is covered in glossy black feathers that look more like coarse, shaggy hair.

The cassowary’s face and neck are painted in bright blue and red, and two soft red flaps called wattles hang beneath its throat. On top of its head sits a tall, horn-like helmet known as a casque. Scientists are still curious about exactly what the casque is for, but it makes the cassowary look a little like a bird from the age of the dinosaurs.

These birds are quiet, shy, and mostly like to be on their own. A cassowary would much rather stroll away into the trees than be disturbed, so people simply give it space and watch from a respectful distance. In zoos, keepers make sure their cassowaries have plenty of calm, leafy room to roam.

Cassowaries are wonderful gardeners of the rainforest. They wander the forest floor eating fallen fruit, and later the seeds come out in their droppings, ready to grow into new plants far from the parent tree. Seeds from more than seventy kinds of plants can still sprout after their journey through a cassowary, so these birds help whole forests stay green and healthy.

Right now the southern cassowary is listed as Least Concern, but its numbers are slowly falling, and only a few thousand live in Australia. They face challenges like losing their rainforest homes and busy roads crossing their paths. People in Queensland are helping by protecting rainforest and even testing clever road signs to keep these shy, forest-loving birds safe.