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!