434 



GALEATED CASSOWARY. 



coast, abound with them. In a state of nature 

 the female deposits three or four eggs at a time, 

 and these are generally of a greenish or greyish 

 colour, beautifully varied with elevated grass-green 

 spots, and marked towards their smaller extremity 

 wdth white ; they are deposited in the sand, and 

 ^re left to be hatched by the heat of the sun and 

 the atmosphere, but in some countries the female 

 sits upon them as other birds do. 



The food consists of vegetables, and in confine- 

 merit it will eat bread, apples, &c. ; all which it 

 swallows whole, not bruising it with the beak ; 

 and like the Ostrich, it will swallow almost any 

 thing presented to it that is not too large to pass 

 down the throat. Cassowaries are very fierce, 

 and amazingly powerful, their beak being con- 

 siderably stronger in proportion than that of the 

 Ostrich, and with this they defend themselves 

 most vigorously, and will break to pieces almost 

 any hard substance. They strike in a very dan- 

 gerous manner with their feet, either before or 

 behind, at any object which offends them. 



Many of these birds have been brought to Eu- 

 rope, as they bear the climate better than most 

 animals imported from the torrid regions : several 

 instances have occurred of their laying eggs during 

 confinement. 



