Northern Cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Northern Cassowary

Casuarius unappendiculatus Blyth, 1860

46 kgWeight

The northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus), also known as the one-wattled cassowary, single-wattled cassowary, or golden-necked cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea.

Busiest months: September · Most records: Indonesia

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Northern Cassowary has been recorded at 6 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. MalagufukIndonesia38 records
  2. NimbokrangIndonesia13 records
  3. Malagufuk villageIndonesia13 records
More places
  1. Alex Waisimon's PropertyIndonesia6 records
  2. Nimbokrang – KM 8Indonesia5 records
  3. Nimbokrang – Jalan Korea swamp forestIndonesia5 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Indonesia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus), also known as the one-wattled cassowary, single-wattled cassowary, or golden-necked cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf cassowary and the southern cassowary. It is a ratite, a polyphyletic group of flightless Paleognaths, which includes birds like the ostrich and emu.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Northern Cassowary?

The Northern Cassowary weighs around 46 kg.

Where does the Northern Cassowary live?

Its breeding range: Australasia: Salawati (Raja Ampat Islands, northwest of New Guinea), Yapen (Geelvink Bay islands, northwestern New Guinea) and New Guinea. It is most often recorded in Indonesia.

When is the best time to see the Northern Cassowary?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in September (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Northern Cassowary endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Northern Cassowary as Least Concern.

What does the Northern Cassowary eat?

Main food: Fruit.

What family is the Northern Cassowary in?

It belongs to the family Cassowaries, Emu (Casuariidae), order Casuariiformes.

At a glance

Weight
46 kg
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Fruit
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
264 mm
Tail
274 mm
Bill
88 mm
Tarsus
303 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Australasia: Salawati (Raja Ampat Islands, northwest of New Guinea), Yapen (Geelvink Bay islands, northwestern New Guinea) and New Guinea

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Cassowaries, Emu Casuariidae
Genus
Casuarius

Other birds in the genus Casuarius

Southern CassowarySouthern CassowaryCasuarius casuariusDwarf CassowaryDwarf CassowaryCasuarius bennettiEmuEmuDromaius novaehollandiae
Northern Cassowary

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by wouterteunissen. ↗

WebP · 1070 px

Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.

In other languages