PLATE 



XLYIII. 



CASUAKIUS UNIAPPENDICULATUS (Biythj. 



ONE- CARUNCU LA TED CASSOWARY. Genus: Casuarius (Linn.) 



THE obvious unanimity in the accounts of independent observers of this member of the Cassowary tribe 

 completely sets at rest the once vexed question as to whether the characteristic from which it derives 

 its name entitles it to be considered as a distinct variety of the genus, To Mr. Blyth belongs the honour 

 of first describing and naming the distinguishing feature, in a letter to the "Ibis" (1800, p. 193), where 

 he pointed out the peculiarity of the single caruncle, his description given being that of a specimen in the 

 aviary of the Babu Rajendra Mullick, at Calcutta. Mr. Gould's attention being drawn to the matter, he 

 had a faithful drawing made of a specimen in the Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam, which he subsequently 

 published in his Supplement. A close description of the same bird was also sent to the " Ibis " 

 in 1860, by Dr. Bennett, of Sydney, when on a visit to Europe. The "Journal fill Ornithologie " 

 (p. 44) of 1861 published an account by G. von Rosenberg of the discovery, in the island of Salawatty, 

 of a new species of the genus Casuarius, which was named Casuarius Raupi. Subsequently, in March, 

 18(3(5, Mr. Sclater read before the Zoological Society of London, from a letter of Dr. Schlegel, of Ley den, 

 stating that seven specimens of a species of Casuarius had been collected by the traveller Bernstein in 

 Salawatty and on the New Guinea coast nearest to that island. These proved to be identical with 

 the Amsterdam specimen and the one described by Mr. Blyth at Calcutta. There is no recorded 

 instance of this variety having been found in Australia, but when its shy nature and often inaccessible 

 haunts are considered, it will at once be realised that its existence in the Cape York Peninsula and in 

 other practically unexplored northern parts still remains an open question. 



The eggs of the captive specimen in the Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam were of the usual 

 form and colour of those of the better known members of the genus. 



Besides the possession of the single throat wattle, from which this species derives its name, the 

 colouring of the nude skin on the head and neck helps to distinguish it from the ordinary Cassowary. 

 The single caruncle is yellow, not red, as are the caruncles in the common species ; the exposed skin of the 

 neck is bright ochre, and two long strips of this colour run down each side of the throat ; the skin is 

 smoother and less wrinkled than that of the Casuarius Australis. A line of bare skin also runs down 

 the medial third of the back, parting the feathers. The cheeks are bluish-green ; the casque and other 

 general characteristics are materially the same as in the common species. 



The plumage resembles that of the ordinary Cassowary in texture, but is somewhat less pervaded 

 with black. 



