About Casuarius casuarius (Linnaeus, 1758)
The southern cassowary (scientific name Casuarius casuarius (Linnaeus, 1758)) has stiff, bristly black plumage, a blue face and long neck, red coloring on the cape, and two red wattles that hang around the throat, measuring around 17.8 cm (7.0 in) long. A horn-like brown casque, 13 to 16.9 cm (5.1 to 6.7 in) high, sits on top of its head. Its bill can range from 9.8 to 19 cm (3.9 to 7.5 in) long. Its plumage is sexually monomorphic, but females are dominant and larger, with longer casques, larger bills, and brighter-colored bare skin. Juveniles have brown plumage with longitudinal stripes. The southern cassowary has thick, powerful three-toed feet, with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long on the inner toe. It is possibly the largest member of the cassowary family, and is tied as the third heaviest bird on Earth, after the Somali ostrich and common ostrich. Its maximum size is estimated at 85 kg (187 lb) and 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) tall. Normally, this species has a total length of 127 to 170 cm (4 ft 2 in to 5 ft 7 in), and a standing height of 150 to 180 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in). Females average 58.5 kg (129 lb), while males average 29 to 34 kg (64–75 lb). Most adult southern cassowaries weigh between 17 and 70 kg (37 and 154 lb). On average, the northern cassowary is about the same size, and has very slightly less sexual dimorphism than the southern cassowary. Technically, the southern cassowary is the largest living Asian bird following the extinction of the Arabian ostrich, and the largest living Australian bird, though emus may be slightly taller. The southern cassowary is distributed across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. It mainly lives in tropical rainforests, but may also use nearby savannah forests or mangrove stands. This species prefers elevations below 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in Australia, and below 500 m (1,600 ft) in New Guinea. As of 2018, according to Birdlife International, the breeding populations were as follows:
