Sunday 12 June 2011

Cassowary!

No one has seen cassowaries in this block of rainforest for decades. There are tree kangaroos and green possums and all sorts of other charismatic megafauna, but no giant, fruit-eating birds.

Until now ...

I took these photos this afternoon at a neighbour's place, less than 300m from my block. Judging by the contents of the poo, this bird has been dining on lemon aspen (Acronychia) and Davidson's plum (Davidsonia), swallowed whole.

What a fantastic addition to the faunal list.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

A brief glimpse

Getting bolder

On parade

And the reason why you should never upset a cassowary ... sharp claws and a hell of a kick.

The business end

More info soon, but I'm just too excited to concentrate right now!