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Cassowaries
Cassowaries are large flightless birds that are native to New Guinea.
138 Questions
Which is bigger an emu or cassowary?
The emu is Australia's tallest bird, averaging 1.6 to 2 metres in height. Its nearest rival is the Southern Cassowary which averages 1.5 to 2 metres. Next to the emu, it looks distinctly shorter and stockier. The Southern Cassowary, however, tends to be heavier. Emus range between 30 and 45kg in weight, whilst the Southern Cassowary averages 38 - 48kg.
What is the cassowary's habitat?
Cassowaries' preferred habitat is rainforest and other dense bushland where they can easily hide, from low-lying swampland forests to high, mountainous forests. they are found in tropical northern Australia and on the island of New Guinea.
What organ do cassowaries use for breathing?
The Southern Cassowary (like all birds) has a pulmonary system where the lungs and the mouth are all connected.
What would win cassowary or eagle?
Cassowaries can't do anything to the eagle. Large eagle species can kill cassowaries.
Do Cassowaries live in Saint Lucia?
Cassowaries are not native to Saint Lucia. If there are any there, they were imported.
What domain does the Australian cassowary belong to?
The cassowary is a bird, and all birds belong to the taxonomic domain of Eukarya. Eukarya covers all organisms in the kingdom Animalia.
Yes.
Cassowaries are omnivores, and while their preferred food is fallen fruit, they have also been known to eat small reptiles, insects and invertebrates, dead mammals and even birds. Their wide range of foods also includes:
- seeds
- fungi
- berries
- snails
What is the cassowary's role in the environment?
Cassowaries are considered a keystone species. They play an important role in the ecology of the rainforest and bushland areas where they live, as they are vital in dispersing seeds in their native forests.
They are frugivores which feed on the fruit of up to 238 different species of plants. Because they are able to eat larger fruits, they can therefore can disperse large rainforest fruits after the seeds have passed through their digestive system, which is gentle enough to allow the seeds to remain viable. The cassowary has a wide range, so is also the only long distance means for dispersing large seeded fruits. The seeds are excreted into a pile of the cassowary's own dung, meaning the seeds have their own ready-made pile of fertiliser. The smell of the dung even helps to deter seed-eating predators such as the white-tailed rat. Of the hundreds of fruit-bearing species on which the cassowary feeds, between 70 and 100 of them appear to rely completely on the cassowary for dispersal.
The cassowary is mostly black, with a pale blue head, becoming brighter blue further down on its neck. It has two long, crimson wattles which hang from the front of its neck, and an orange patch on the back of its neck.
When the chicks first hatch, they are striped yellowish brown with long black stripes. They remain this colour up until about three months old.
