CASSOWARIES. 41 



green, resembling shagreen in appearance, and measuring five inches and three-quarters 

 in length. They are merely placed in a cavity scooped in the earth, generally in 

 a sandy soil. Emus breed readily in captivity, are easily tamed, and will stand a tem- 

 perate climate very well. The emu is eminently a bird of the plains, and in that 

 respect wholly different from its near ally, the cassowary, which is the only type of 

 the order inhabiting the forests. It feeds nearly exclusively upon vegetable matter, 

 chiefly "fruits, roots, and herbage." 



The recent discovery of a fossil bird of this family in the tertiary deposits of India 

 is extremely interesting, since it conclusively proves that the emus were formerly not 

 confined to Australia. The remains four phalangeal bones have been referred to 

 the genus Dromaius with a query, but Mr. Lydekker thinks there is every probability 

 that his D. sivalensis is the ancestral form of the recent bird. 



It has been supposed that the bird Hippalectryo, or " horse fowl," mentioned by 

 the ancient Greek poet, ^Eschylos, as pictured on a Persian tapet, is the same which is 

 now called cassowary or emeu. However, it was not before the close of the sixteenth 

 century that the western nations of Europe learned of the existence of this remark- 

 able bird. A live specimen was brought to Amsterdam in 1597 by a Dutch skipper, 

 and was finally presented to the Roman Emperor as a most valuable and unique gift. 



Linnreus knew only one species, and it was not until recently that many additional 

 forms were made known, so that not less than about ten species are now admitted by 

 the latest authorities on the subject. Restricted as the geographical distribution of 

 the whole family, the CASUARID^E, is, that of the separate species is still more so, for 

 the cassowaries are confined to the Papuan or Austro-Malayan subregion, eight species 

 occurring in the Papuan Islands, while one is a native of the northeastern peninsula of 

 the Australian mainland, and another belongs to the island of Ceram. Of the eight 

 Papuan species, five inhabit NVw Guinea itself, each species, however, its own district, 

 while of the remaining three, each one occupies an isolated small island, or island 

 group, of itself, viz., Jobi, Wammer, and Kobroor, of the Aru group, and Xew Britain. 



Contrary to the true ostriches, the nandus, and the emus, the cassowaries are strictly 

 confined to the dense forests or scrubs, and not to the open plains or deserts. Their 

 organization, therefore, shows some peculiar modifications not present in the other 

 birds mentioned. The most obvious feature in this respect is the helmet or horny 

 casque on the top of the head (the particular use of which will be shown further on) 

 covering a core of very light spongy bony tissue, with an external layer, no thicker 

 than fine paper, but nevertheless very firm. The naked parts of the head are more 

 or less wrinkled and supplied with wattles, and are gayly colored with blue and red, 

 or blue and yellow. In the rudimentary wing are four to six strong feather-shafts 

 without barbs, apparently remnants of the remiges of their flying ancestors, but now 

 from want of use reduced to mere spine-like structures. In a fresh specimen examined 

 by me, the Aving measured four inches, the chord of the nail was two inches, and the 

 longest shaft fourteen inches. Of the three-toed feet the inner toe is short, but armed 

 with a long and sharp claw which serves as a formidable weapon. With these external 

 characters are associated several important anatomical peculiarities, so that the validity 

 of the family as such cannot well be questioned. 



The family is only known to comprise a single genus, of which the species fall in 

 two groups, according to the shape of the helmet, whether compressed or not. The 

 species themselves are only slightly differentiated, and the main characters are derived 

 from the number and form of the wattles, the color of the naked parts, and the out- 



