Alternative name: Bennett's Cassowary
- Casuarius bennetti
Identification
Height: 110cm
Large blackish bird with long, strong legs, bony casque on head and blue and red bare skin on head and neck. Lacks wattles of larger species.
Distribution
New Guinea, New Britain and Yapen. Resident.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- C. b. bennetti: central and eastern New Guinea, including Yapen (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea), and New Britain
- C. b. westermanni: Vogelkop (northwestern New Guinea)
The following subspecies are not generally recognised: shawmayeri in the Kratke Mts of New Britain and goodfellowi on Yapen. In New Guinea, papuanus is considered a synonym of westermanni which occurs in the north-west, claudii in north-central parts and hecki in the north-east with picticollis in the south-east.
Habitat
Montane forest and dense scrub, usually above 1,000m and sometimes up to 3,000m.
Behaviour
The diet includes fruits, small animals, and insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Dwarf Cassowary. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dwarf_Cassowary
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
