THE CASSOWARY. 363 
Emu by early Portuguese navigators. It is the Struthio caswarius of 
Linneeus, and the Casuwarius galeatus of Vieillot. 
The Cassowary has a kind of helmet on its head, produced by an 
enlargement of the bone of the skull, and covered with a horny sub- 
stance. It is a massively-made bird, in size between the Ostrich and 
the Rhea, and is a native of the Malaccas. It is a stupid, quarrel- 
er eae 
Fig. 145.—Cassowary. 
some, and gluttonous creature, feeding on plants, fruits, and some- 
times small animals. Possessed of considerable strength, and being 
wild and fierce in nature, its anger cannot be provoked without 
danger ; for, although its wings are short, each is furnished with five 
pointed spines, the middle one of which is sometimes a foot long, 
and which are employed with adroitness as weapons of defence. 
Its habitual cry consists of a low grumbling, which, when the bird 
