... are ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bone) that are native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, and northeastern Australia, as well as some lesser islands in the Indonesian archipelago. The southern or double–wattled cassowary is the largest species, as well as the commonest, and has often been labelled (according to Wikipedia) "the world's most dangerous bird." The Huffington Post reported in 2019 that one had "attacked and killed its 75–year–old owner on a farm in Florida".
The southern cassowary is the world's second heaviest and third largest bird (after the ostrich and the emu).
The northern cassowary is alternatively known as the single–wattled cassowary, and the dwarf cassowary is alternatively known as Bennett's cassowary.
There is a fourth, extinct species, known as the pygmy or small cassowary, which is known only through fossil remains found in New South Wales.
© Haydn Thompson 2020