You may be lucky enough to see the rare (and currently endangered) Southern Cassowary on your visit to Far North Queensland, Australia. This large flightless bird is actually the third tallest bird in the world– only exceeded in height by the Ostrich and Emu. Female Southern Cassowaries may reach 2 metres in height and 58.5 kilograms in weight. This shy bird is at home in our Northern Tropical Rainforest.
The Cassowary has a very distinct horn like crest and bright colouring around the head and neck. They communicate by producing low frequency sounds (the lowest known bird call) registering on the edge of human hearing.
Generally solitary animals the males care for the eggs and chicks. A female will lay her eggs in a males nest before moving on to leave the male to incubate the eggs for approx 50 days. The population of Cassowaries in the Wet Tropics region is estimated to be between 1200 to 1500.