CASSOWARIES. 41 



green, rcseml>ling sliagreen in n])i>carance, and ineasnving five inolies ami tliroe-iniartcrs 

 in length. Tliey are merely jilaeed in a eavity seoojieil in the earth, generally in 

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

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

 respect wholly dift'ennt from its ni-ar ally, the cassowary, which is the only type of 

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

 chietly "fruits, roots, and herbage." 



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

 is extremely interesting, since it conclusively i)roves that the emus were formerly not 

 confined to Australia. The remains — four ])halangeal bones — have been referred to 

 the genus Dromaius with a (juery, but ^Ir. Lydekker thinks there is every probability 

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



It has been sup])Osed tliat the bird Jlip/ntkcdyo, ov ^'^ horse fowl," mentioned liy 

 the ancient Greek poet, yEschylos, as pictui'cd on a Persian tapct, 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 ])resented to the Roman Emperor as a most valuable and unique gift. 



].,inn;eus knew only one species, and it was not until recently that many additional 

 forms were made known, so tliat 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 Casuakid.e, is, that of the separate species is still more so, for 

 the cassowaries are confined to the Papuan or Austro-3[alayan subregion, eight species 

 occurring in the Paptum Islands, while one is a native of the northeastern jieninsula of 

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

 Pa])uan species, five inh.abit Xew Guinea itself, each sjiecies, however, its own district, 

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

 grou]), of itself, viz., Jobi, Wammer, and Kobroor, of the Am grouj), and New 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 ojien 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 to]) of the liead (the jjarticular use of which will be shown furtlier 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 arc more 

 or less wrinkled and sup])lied with wattles, and arc gayly colored with blue and red, 

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

 without barbs, apiiarently remnants of the remigcs of their flying ancestors, l>ut now 

 from want of u.se reduced to mere spine-like structures. In a fresh s]>ecimen examined 

 by me, the wing measured four inches, the chord of the nail was two inclies, and llu' 

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

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

 char.acters are associated sever.d im]iortant anatomical peculiarities, so that the validity 

 of tiie family as such cannot well be (piestioned. 



The family is only known to comprise a single genus, of which the s]H'cies fall in 

 two groups, according to the shape of the helmet, whether com|«resscd or not. The 

 species themselves are only slightly differentiated, ;md the main clLiracters are derived 

 from the number and form of the wattles, the color of the n.akcd jiarts, and the out- 



