CASUAHUI.S. 397 



appear to a^ree that the liiicl is naturally very shy ; straiv_;e to say, what little I saw of it 

 when on a \isit to the North (Queensland scrubs, was just the reverse. While walking throuf^li 

 a thick scrub near Harsey's Creek, with a black boy, we walk'ed almost on to one before seein;^ 

 it, when away it dashed suddenly tlirouL;h a thick tanj^led mass of lawyer vine. A few days 

 later I came out of a thick scrub on to a cleared piece of land, several acres in extent, and there 

 to my delight was a beautiful Cassowary standing; looking' at me, not tnore than one hundred 

 and lifty yards away. We both stood and '_;azed at each other for a few seconds, when to my 

 }<reat surprise, instead of the bird runnini; away, it started to quietly feed. I then wondered if 

 it had really seen me at all ; after watching' it for a few minutes I walked towards it ; when I 

 had advanced about fifty yards, it slowly walked off into the scrub, showinj; no signs of lear 

 whate\er. While in the district a youn^' Cassowary was caui,'ht, which could not have been 

 more than a week old. I asked the man how he managed to catch it, and he informed me that 

 he had often caught them, it being a very simple matter. Upon the old bird being disturbed 

 it runs away, hut the young do not follow, they just walk about anywhere uttering their peculiar 

 whistling cry, so can easily be followed, and when they see you, are more likely to come up 

 to your feet than run away. This, of course, was only the case with very young birds. The 

 young Cassowary was ottered to me tor twenty-live shillings, and although I was not returning 

 to New South Wales for another month, I felt very much tempted to make the purchase, but 

 unfortunately rats managed to get into its box one night and killed it." 



I can corroborate this statement. For over three months there was a very young Cassowary 

 at the Australian Museum, and which I used to feed with bananas every day. Not only would 

 it follow me all over the roomy wired-iu enclosure, but as fast as I could run it would keep close 

 to my heels, while I raced all over the Museum grounds. 



Mr. J. A. Boyd, of Eden, Twofold Bay, New South Wales, who resided for about seventeen 

 years at I^ipple Creek Sugar Plantation, Herbert River, North-eastern Queensland, supplied me 

 from time to time with the following notes : — " The Cassowary inhabits the scrubs on the banks 

 of creeks and rivers. It probably nests in the ' blady ' grass at the edge of the scrub, and the 

 only nest I knew taken was in this position at the foot of a huge gum tree, and contained four 

 eggs. It is particularly partial to the wild Cashew and the Ouandong, its dung when Quandongs 

 are ripe being a mass of stones from this fruit. A young one I had, escaping from confinement, 

 took to the Herbert River, swimining powerfully and seemmg at hoine in the water. .-\s the 

 coastal scrubs they inhabit are intersected at short intervals by deep tidal creeks, it is more than 

 possible they have acquired a habit of taking to the water, but this is purely surmise. What 

 they live on when the fruit supply is over I have no idea. On the 13th October, 18S8, I saw a 

 Cassowary in the scrub with three small young ones. I also heard that one was shot at Ingham 

 early in August, while sitting on two eggs. One of our men shot a Cassowary on the 21st 

 July, 1891, but they are getting very scarce about here. On the 7th June, 1896, a Cassowary 

 was shot here accompanied by two small young ones." 



The eggs are usually four in number for a sitting, eliptical in form, the shell being more or 

 less granulated and lustrous, the cavities being white and the granulations a shade of pale green; 

 on some specimens the granulations are very line, on others coarse. An egg in the Australian 

 Museum Collection, obtained in the Herbert River District, in 1873, measures:— Length 5-15 x 

 3-37 inches. 



Mr. S. Robinson informed me that while at Kuranda, near Cairns, in August, 1910, he 

 saw Cassowary tracks within half a mile of that locality, and met with five or six birds 

 while in the .scrubs, although their drumming notes were heard more frequently than the 

 birds were seen. On the afternoon of the 14th .August, 1910, when about four miles and a 

 half from Kuranda, he was sitting on a felled high cedar log, having a quiet smoke. When he 

 started to descend on the opposite side of the log from which he had arisen, he spread his legs 

 100 



