]SC9.] nOX^. W. ROTUSCHILD ox THE CASSOWARIKS. 775 



4. Casaarius jjliilipi. Habitat uncertain. 



5. Castiarius jjctpuanns. Salwatti and Arfak. 



(a) „ papuanus edwardsi. Geelvink Bay. 



6. Casuarius picticollis. British Xew Guinea (low country), 

 (a) „ picticollis hecki. German New Guinea. 



7. Casuarius hrice. Owen Stanley Eange, British New Guinea. 



8. Casuarius hennetti. New Britain. 



Besides these, two forms have been distinguished, Casuarius 

 laglaizei and Casuarius tricarunculatus ^ which are not worthy of 

 distinction; the former is founded on a melanistic specimen of 

 C. uniappendiculatus occipitalis, and the latter on a monstrosity 

 with three wattles of C. casuariiis salvadorii. 



I have been most successful in procuring living specimens of 

 Cassowaries, and during the last 10 months I have had alive 14 out 

 of the 18 forms; and of the drawings exhibited, only two have not 

 been executed from life, namely, Casuarius picticollis, taken from a 

 drawing by Hart made from the bird in tht flesh three hours after 

 death, and Casuarius lorice, copied from a sketch by Dr. Loria, 

 from the fresh shot bird, taken on the spot in the Moroka District, 

 S.E. New Guinea. It appears, from the only two adult pairs {i.e. 

 males and females) of Cassowaries I have had the good fortune to 

 observe, that in the subspecies of Casuarius casuarius the males 

 have the wattles separated for their entire length, while the females 

 have them joined a,t the base. 



I may be allowed to remark that consideriog the usual manner 

 of securing living Cassowaries (i. e.. by shooting the old male and 

 catching his brood of chicks when still in down), the disproportion 

 in the sexes seems to be most astounding : out of 180 Cassowaries 

 which have passed through my hands alive, only 6 were males and 

 172 were females. 



The few additional remarks I have to make here are that all 

 Cassowaries are very quarrelsome and savage, and I have only 

 known two tame birds, both Casuarius casuarius violicollis ; but 

 by far the most ill-tempered and dangerous birds are the forms 

 of C. papuanus and C. tmiappendicidatus. 



That we do not know nearly all the races of Cassowary is amply 

 proved by two young birds, both forms of Casuarius casuarius, 

 now in my possession, which promise to develop into two A^ery 

 distinct forms; in fact, although young and in brown plumage, I 

 should describe them at once if it were not for the fatal double 

 wattles characteristic of the type of the genus and which therefore 

 denote that the distinctions may be transitory. In the monograph 

 itself I hope to insert everything, anatomically, zoologically, and 

 biologically, known up to the present date. 



I may mention that the C. casuarius australis now in the 

 Society's Gardens is one of my origiual two, purchased in 1890. 

 It is generally believed, and even positively stated in a number of 

 books, that the KxxaiYdMdiVL Cvissowoxy {Casuarius casuarius australis) 



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