Bennett's cassowary

Casuarius bennettii

TAXONOMY

Casuarius bennettii Gould, 1857, New Britain.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Dwarf cassowary, little cassowary, mountain cassowary; French: Casoar de Bennett; German: Bennettkasuar; Spanish: Casuario Menor.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Height 39–53 in (99–135 cm); weight 39 lb (about 18 kg). A small cassowary with a flat, low casque and a less colorful neck than the other species. A distinctive form lives on the west side of Geevink Bay, West Irian, and may merit recognition as a species, C. papuanus.

DISTRIBUTION

New Guinea, New Britain, and Japen Island.

HABITAT

Lives in forest and secondary growth, favoring hilly and mountainous country to 10,800 ft (3,300 m). On New Britain, where other species are absent, it lives in lowland forest as well.

BEHAVIOR

Usually solitary or in small family groups, traversing steep slopes and thick vegetation. Its call is higher pitched than that of the other species.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Bennett's cassowary feeds mainly on fallen fruits in the rainforest but also takes fungi, insects, and small vertebrates.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

The clutch consists of four to six eggs. Incubation 49–52 days.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Although it is hunted extensively it remains widespread at low densities.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Widely kept as a pet and, when small, traded between localities.