Dwarf Cassowary
Casuarius bennetti
A huge flightless bird of hill and montane forest; occasionally in lowland rainforest, especially where other cassowary species are absent. The smallest member of the family. Plumage loose and black in adults, brown in juveniles. Adults have a bright blue neck with a red patch on the lower nape. Also note the low, rounded casque. Very secretive and seldom seen. Forages for fallen fruit on the forest floor. Similar to other cassowary species but smaller in size, with lower casque, lacking wattles and does not normally co-occur.
识别特征
The dwarf cassowary is a large bird but is smaller than other living cassowaries (the southern cassowary and northern cassowary). It is between 99 and 150 cm (3 ft 3 in and 4 ft 11 in) long and weighs between 17.6 and 26 kg (39 and 57 lb). It is a flightless bird with hard and stiff black plumage, a low triangular casque, pink cheek and red patches of skin on its blue neck. Compared to other cassowaries, the dwarf cassowary is shorter, with a tarsi length of 24.5 cm (9.6 in), with a slightly smaller bill, at 11 to 12.2 cm (4.3 to 4.8 in). The feet are large and powerful, equipped with dagger-like claws on the inner toe. Both sexes are similar. Females have longer casques, brighter bare skin colour and are larger in size.
分类信息
The scientific name commemorates the Australian naturalist George Bennett. He was the first scientist to examine these birds after a few were brought to Australia aboard a ship. Recognising them as a new species of cassowary, he sent specimens back to England, where other taxonomists confirmed his perception. On the west side of Cenderawasih Bay, western Papua, there is a distinctive form that may merit a split. C. papuanus is the tentative name. There are no officially recognised subspecies, however, some authors believe there should be.<p>The Karam or Kalam people of the New Guinea Highlands classify bats and flying birds as one group, yaket, and the dwarf cassowary, a very large, wingless, flightless bird as another, kobtiy. Yaket are bony with wings and fly in the air, while kobtiy are bony without wings and are terrestrial and of the forest. They distinguish kobtiy from other bony, wingless animals because kobtiy are not quadrupedal like dogs and lizards and are not limbless like snakes. (See Kalam languages.)<p>John Gould first identified the dwarf cassowary from a specimen from New Britain, in 1857.
- 学名
- Casuarius bennetti
- 命名信息
- Gould, 1857
- 目
- Casuariiformes
- 科
- Casuariidae
- 属
- Casuarius
分布与栖息地
The dwarf cassowary is distributed throughout mountain forests of New Guinea, New Britain, and Yapen Island, at elevations up to 3,300 m (10,800 ft). In areas without other species of cassowaries, it will live in the lowlands also. Its range of occurrence range is approximately 258,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi).
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The species feeds mainly on fallen fruits or fruits that they pluck from shrubs, and small animals and insects. Dwarf cassowaries use the crest on their head to sort through leaf litter and reveal many sources of food, such as fungi, insects, plant tissue, and small vertebrates, including lizards and frogs. A solitary bird, it pairs only during breeding season. It possibly undertakes seasonal migrations in part of its range.
保护状况
The dwarf cassowary has been classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN from 2004 to 2013 due to pressure by habitat loss, habitat degradation, being hunted for food, and often being kept in captivity. However, the species was downgraded to Least Concern in 2015, as current populations appear to be stable (although population trends remain generally unknown) and there is substantially less hunting pressure than in the past.
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Platysteira cyanea
Small black-and-white bird with a bright red patch of bare skin above the eye. Males have a black breast band, and females a brown throat. Found in thick woodland, gallery forest, and mangroves. The song is usually given as a duet: a descending series of melancholy whistles from the male, and lower rasping notes from the female. Similar to Black-throated Wattle-eye, but shows a white slash on the wing, and the female has a brown rather than white throat. Separated from batises by the red wattle and, in females, by the brown throat.
Parker's Spinetail
Cranioleuca vulpecula
Rusty above with pale brown underparts, a whitish throat, and a long spiky tail. Occurs on shrubby river islands favoring early successional vegetation. Song is an accelerating and descending series of “tew” notes, ending in a trill. The rather similar Rusty-backed Spinetail has buffy underparts, a less distinct eyebrow, and a different song, and occurs in seasonally flooded forests and gallery forests.
Bronze Ground Dove
Pampusana beccarii
A rotund, short-legged ground-dwelling dove that usually runs rather than flies when startled. Both sexes have a brown body with bluish-gray chest and head. Males have an iridescent pink shoulder patch. Most obvious identification feature in the field is the glowing white eye-ring of the male, especially in more eastern populations such as those in the Solomon Islands. On mainland New Guinea, the species is a resident of upper-elevation montane forest. No other similar species occur in its altitudinal range. Gives a typical dove-like “woo-oop” call which is quiet and easily missed.
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