652 THE CASSOWARY. 



In captivity it is rather an amusing bird, and easily domesticated. Sometimes it seems 

 to be taken with a fit, and runs iip and do^\^l its inclosure as if it were being chased, 

 holding its wings from the body and appearing in the most desperate state of alarm. This 

 is only a sham after all, a mere outburst of frolic, for the bird immediately subsides into 

 quietude, and resumes its leisurely walk as if nothing liad happened. If startled or vexed ; 

 it utters a kind of grunt as a warning, and if the oflence be repeated, liisses sharply, draws 

 back its head, and seems poising itself for a stroke. The grunt is a hollow sound, some- 

 thing like the noise produced by striking a tin can with a wooden maUet, and every time 

 tliat it is produced the throat swells and sinks convulsively. The young are pretty little 

 birds, pert, brisk, and lively, and are coloured rather prettily, their general hue being grey, 

 striped with black, each stripe havuig a cream-coloured Hue along its centre. In the 

 Zoological Gardens there are several of these pretty creatures, which have been hatched in 

 the Society's incubator. 



The Rhea is darkish grey, taking a blackish hue above, and being rather lighter below. 

 The plumes of the wings are white, and a black band runs round the neck, and passes into 

 a semilunar patch on the breast. The neck is completely feathered. The average height 

 of the Ehea is about five feet. 



Three species of Ehea are, however, all inhabitants of South America, namely, the 

 common Ehea just described, Darwin's Ehea {Rhea Darwinii), and the Laege-billed 

 Ehea [Rhea macrorhi/ncha). 



The well-known Cassowahy, long thouglit to be the only example of the genus, is 

 found in the Malaccas. 



This fine bird is notable for the glossy black hair-like plumage, the helmet-like 

 protuberance upon the head, and tlie light azure, purple, and scarlet of the upper 

 part of the neck. The " helmet " is a truly remarkable apparatus, being composed of 

 a honey-combed cellular bony substance, made on a principle that much resembles 

 the structure of the elephant's skuU, mentioned in the previous volume of this work 

 treating of the Mammalia, It yields readily to a sharp knife or a fine saw, and may be 

 cut through by a steady hand without leaving ragged edges. This helmet is barely per- 

 ceptible in the young bird when newly hatched, and increases in proportion M'ith its growth, 

 not reaching its full development until the bird has obtained adult age. A similar pheno- 

 menon may be observed in the common Guinea fowl. The beak is high in proportion to 

 its width, and is therefore unlike the flattened and comparatively weak bUls of the ostrich. 



The plumage of the body is very hair- like, being composed of long and almost naked shafts, 

 two sf)ringiug from the same tube, and one always being longer then the other. At the I'oots 

 of the shafts there is a small tuft of delicate down, sufficiently thick to supply a warm and 

 soft inner garment, but yet so small as to be hidden by the long hair-like plumage. Even 

 the tail is furnished with the same curious covering, and the wings are clothed after a 

 similar maimer, with the exception of five black, stiff, strong, pointed quills, very like the 

 large quills of the porcupine, and being of different lengths, the largest not exceeding one 

 foot, and generally being much battered about the point. When stripped of its feathers, 

 the whole covering only extends some three inches in length, and is evidently a mere 

 indication of the limb. 



The eye of the Cassowary is fierce and resolute, and its expression is carried out by 

 the character of the bird, which is tetchy of disposition, and apt to take offence without 

 apparent provocation. Like the buU, it is excited to unreasoning ire at the sight of a 

 scarlet cloth, and, like the dog or the cat, has a great antipathy towards ragged or unclean 

 persons, attacking such individuals with some acerbity merely because their garments or 

 general aspect do not please its refined taste. It is a determined and rather formidable 

 antagonist, tiu'uing rapidly about and launching a shower of kicks which can do no small 

 damage, their cftect being considerably heightened by the sharp claws with which the toes 

 are armed. In the countries which it inhabits, tlie native warriors are accustomed to use 

 the innermost claw of the Cassowary's foot as the head of their spears. 



The food of this bird in a wild state consists of lierbage and various fruits, and in 

 captivity it is fed on bi'an, apples, carrots, and similar substances, and is said to think 



