Dwarf Cassowary

Bennettkasuar, drawing from Gatherings of a naturalist in Australasia by George Bennett ( 1860)

The Bennettkasuar ( casuarius bennetti ) is a large flightless bird from the family of cassowaries ( Casuariidae ), which belongs to the ratites ( Struthioniformes ). Bennettkasuare live in the highlands of New Guinea, in primary and secondary forests at altitudes of 3000 meters, in the north-east of New Guinea, where other Kasuararten missing, also in lowland forests. They also come on Yapen and on New Britain, where they may have been first introduced by man before. The holdings of the bird are at risk low according to the IUCN.

Features

With a body length of 100 to 110 cm and a weight of 17 kg the Bennettkasuar is the smallest of the three Kasuararten. Its plumage is solid black, the legs are gray. The naked, featherless neck is mainly blue and may have some red marks. Flap of skin on the neck are missing. The helmet-like, covered with horn tissue outgrowth on the head is lower than in the other species, and dark gray. Young birds have a brown plumage. Seven subspecies have been described, but where special features for validity missing. They may differ in size and drawing of featherless neck areas.

Way of life

Bennettkasuare feed on any fallen fruits, fungi, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. They breed both in the rain and in the dry season and build their nest usually between the stilt roots of large trees. The three to five eggs are incubated solely by the male about seven weeks. The male then guards the young birds.