Frederick D. Welch—Remarks on some Cassotoaries 173


REMARKS ON SOME CASSOWARIES


By Frederick D. Welch


In October, 1920, there arrived in the London Gardens two

Cassowaries, which were labelled finally as Casuarius violicollis from

the Aru Islands, the English name being Violet-necked Cassowary.


As these bulky birds are flightless, having only rudimentary wings,

and as it seemed by no means unlikely that they might in future years

become extinct through being hunted by the natives in these islands,

which are not extensive enough for a species to spread and range

widely, it occurred to me that a description of them might be worth

writing in order to show the alteration as they approached adult life.


When first seen by me they were in immature feathering of brown

on body and legs ; and there were short brown feathers on head and

neck except where the two fleshy wattles were on the anterior and

lower part of the throat side by side, and where the horny substance

was on crown of head—the casque-site. This latter was quite flattened,

and both birds were then often uttering the chirping noise so often

made by young Cassowaries of various species. According to my

notebook, on 3rd January, 1921, both birds were as follows : Crown

of head (casque place excepted) and round ear holes covered still

with short brown feathers ; skin, greenish-blue in colour around eyes

(the iris being brown) except the upper anterior part, which was whitish.

The skin round the ear holes can be seen, viewed between the feathering,

to be greeny-blue, as also the skin round wattles ; but the wattles

are of a pinkish-white colour. Beak was slaty-grey, as also horny

substance on crown ; legs greyish. At that date they stood about

25 inches in height at level of back, and were both then of same size,

and plumage on body round legs, etc., was still brown.


On 16th June, 1921, according to my notes, wattles are brighter

coloured, with more pinkish red, with skin around them now markedly

blue, extending up the throat as far as ear holes. Round eye and

above level of ear holes the skin is more of a greenish-blue, and there

are still brown feathers on the crown (excluding casque-site) distributed

thickly. On throat, however, and round wattles the brown feathers

have almost all been shed ; but they are still present at back of neck



