THE LIVING ANIMALS O-F THE WORLD 
I 0 
to indulge in the luxury of personal decoration — 
a decoration, moreover, shared equally by the 
males and females, both sexes having the head 
and neck most brilliantly coloured. In some 
species all the hues of the rainbow are vividly 
reflected. To show these colours, the feathery 
covering, still worn by their relatives on the 
distant continents of Africa and America, has been 
castoff and the skin left bare. To these gorgeous 
hues they have added yet other features, for the 
head is surmounted in many species by a huge 
casque, or helmet ; whilst from the neck depend 
curious fleshy lobes, or wattles, coloured in accord- 
ance with the rest of the bare, coloured skin of 
this region. Then, too, they have effected quite 
a novel transformation in the quills of the wing, 
for these project on either side of the body in a 
series of shining black spines. Nor is this all, for over and above the energy which they 
have to spare for personal decoration is a very large reserve to be expended in fighting. 
The males are very pugnacious, and to give point to this pugnacity they wear a very 
formidable weapon on the inner toe in the shape of a huge nail, which can inflict a really 
dangerous wound. It is used in kicking, the foot being brought forwards and downwards with 
incredible speed and great force. When wounded, these powerful birds are very dangerous 
to approach. “ On 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.” 
Although forest-haunting birds — wherein they differ from their allies, which are plain- 
dwellers — the cassowaries are adepts at swimming. There is a danger that these beautiful and 
interesting birds will slowly be exterminated by greedy and thoughtless settlers. The Australian 
cassowary is already decreasing sadly, being persecuted for the sake of its skin, which is used 
for rugs and doormats. 
The Emeu, though a sort of cousin of the cassowary, boasts none of its splendour; on 
the contrary, it is a dull, dowdy-looking bird. In size, however, it is much larger than the 
cassowary. The wings, which are exceedingly small, have numerous tiny quill-feathers — not long, 
hard spines, as in the cassowary. When in captivity, it exhibits great curiosity ; furthermore, 
it is swift to realise symptoms of fear 
in the faces of any visitor whom it 
may have under inspection. Occasion- 
ally fear turns into flight, and then, 
thoroughly entering into the joke, the 
emeu pursues at top speed. Needless 
to say, hunting of this kind can only be 
done in fairly large paddocks or parks ; 
but emeus are frequently so kept. 
A very remarkable and quite 
unique structure in the emeu is a 
curious bag or pouch, formed by a 
sort of out-pocketing of the inner 
lining of the windpipe. Emerging 
through a long slit caused by the 
incompleteness of some of the rings 
near the middle of the windpipe, the 
Photo by Le Souef'\ \^Melbourne 
YOUNG EMEUS FIVE DAYS OLD 
young emeus just out of the shell have the legs beautifully spotted, but these spots 
are rapidly lost 
Photo by D, Le Souef'\ [^Melbourne 
NEST AND EGGS OF EMEU 
The feet of the old bird, ivhlch was standing near, can be seen 
behind the eggs 
