HON. W. ROTHSCHILD ON THE GENUS CASUARIUS. 127 



walked alon^' the scrubs, or along tlie sides of tlie river or creeks, and swallowed large 

 quantities of pebbles and small rough-edged stones. In confinement, plantains and 

 sweet potatoes (in large pieces, wliirh they swallow whole) are a favourite food, while 

 nothing seems to come amiss to them— grasslioppers, spiders, earthworms, cockroaches, 

 caterpillars of all kinds, dough, and even raw meat. They ascertain tlie flavour of their 

 diet by first taking it up in the tip of their bill and giving it a slight pinch ; and if not 

 suitable, they throw it away. 



"I found they invariably refused green loquats, but always picked them up in the 

 bill first to try them. In confinement they become very tame, and may be allowed to 

 walk about the place without restraint, coming when called, or more often running after 

 and following any one accustomed to feed them. If disappointed or teased, they not 

 unfrequently ' show fight ' by bristling up their feathers, and kicking out sideways or in 

 front with force sufficient to knock a strong man down— a feat I have witnessed on more 

 than one occasion. These birds are very powerful, and dangerous to approach when 

 wounded, (^n more than one occasion a wounded bird has caused a naturalist to take 

 to a tree ; the sharp nail of the inner toe is a most dangerous weapon, quite equal to 

 the claw of a large Kangaroo, and capable of doing quite as much execution. 



" I found the Cassowaries to be excellent swimmers, and frequently tracked them 

 across a good-sized creek or river. On Hinchenbrook Island, situated about U mile 

 from the mainland, they have been frequently met with ; and I have myself heard 

 them calling at night and early in the morning as I passed up the channel, at a distance 

 of a least two miles from them. Mr. Johnstone informs me he met with one swimming 

 across a river of considerable width during his explorations while on the 'North-east 

 Coast Exploring Expedition.' Their note, most usually emitted by the male, is a series 

 of harsh guttural prolonged croakings quickly repeated, and continued for about three 

 minutes f it is very loud, and may be detected across the water at a distance of at 

 least three miles on a still night. I have listened to it resounding through the scrubs 

 at a distance of a mile and a half on land, and then thought it close and one of 

 the mo.t unearthly noises I ever heard. They breed during the months of August and 

 September. The fir^t nest procured was found by some of Inspector Johnstone's 

 black troopers, from whom Mr. Miller, a settler on the Herbert River, purchased 

 some of the eggs. One which he kindly presented to me is of the light green variety 

 mentioned hereafter. The nest consists of a depression among the fallen leaves and 

 debris with which the ground in the scrubs is covered, with the addition of a few more 

 dry leaves. The place selected is always in the most dense part, and well concealed 

 by entangled masses of vegetation. The eggs were five in number m the only two 

 instances recorded ; and in both cases one of the eggs in each set differed from the 

 others, bein- of a light green colour, and having a much smoother shell. The others 

 all have a rough shell, covered rather sparingly with irregular raised patches of dark 

 but bright green on a lighter green and smooth ground. In tlie pale (No. 1) variety 



