Northern Cassowary

     The Northern Cassowary, also known as the Single-Wattled Cassowary, the One-Wattled Cassowary or the Golden-Necked Cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea. It’s a bit smaller than its cousin the Southern Cassowary and it’s the most recent to be discovered by scientists of the three Cassowary species.

     The Northern cassowary has hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin, a bright red or yellow colored neck, a wattle, and a casque on top of the head. These birds stand 1.5 – 1.8 m in height, and have a bill that measure 12 to 13.7 cm in length.

     In the breeding season, the polygamous female Northern cassowary lays 3 – 5 green eggs in a well camouflaged nest prepared by the male. She leaves the nest and the eggs to find another mate. The male Northern cassowary incubates the eggs and raises the chicks alone for about nine months.

     As other cassowary species, the Northern cassowary is a shy and solitary bird with a diet consists mainly of fruits and small animals. Unfortunately, it’s the most threatened of the three cassowary species because of continuous hunting by natives for its bones and eggs. Northern cassowary chicks are also hunted and taken to be raised for meat or sometimes as pets.