Double-wattled Cassowary

Casuarius casuarius

RANGE Australia

HABITAT Rainforests

DIET Fruits, seeds, insects, small vertebrates, fungi

The cassowary belongs to a family of flightless birds called ratite, which includes the emu, rhea, kiwi, and ostrich. The cassowary has degenerative wings and cannot fly. Its flight feathers are reduced to coarse spines used to protect its flanks as it travels.

The double-wattled cassowary is the second heaviest bird in the world. Only the ostrich is heavier. The double wattled cassowary is an important seed disperser of over 100 different rainforest plants.

Males incubate the eggs and raise the chicks after hatching.

The double-wattled cassowary is vulnerable due to hunting, trade, and habitat loss and fragmentation.