Block, SkipCaptcha, apieditor, Automoderated users, Bots, edit, ratelimit-exempt
59,252
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 45:
Line 45: − +
→Description: Spelling/Grammar Check, typos fixed: their are → there are, Smaller then → Smaller than
==Description==
==Description==
Cassowaries, due to their shyness and forest [[habitat]], are difficult to observe. They stand up to 6 feet high when fully erect, the female slightly larger than the male, and can weigh up to 130 pounds. Smaller then their close relative, the [[emu]], they are stockier in appearance. The hair-like plumage is dark, almost black in color, and hangs loosely from the bird; since their are no barbules on the feathers, the barbs cannot link to form a vein. The rudimentary wings are hidden from view, a set of four or five stiff spine-like shafts about fifteen inches long indicating where they are.
Cassowaries, due to their shyness and forest [[habitat]], are difficult to observe. They stand up to 6 feet high when fully erect, the female slightly larger than the male, and can weigh up to 130 pounds. Smaller than their close relative, the [[emu]], they are stockier in appearance. The hair-like plumage is dark, almost black in color, and hangs loosely from the bird; since there are no barbules on the feathers, the barbs cannot link to form a vein. The rudimentary wings are hidden from view, a set of four or five stiff spine-like shafts about fifteen inches long indicating where they are.
The head and neck are brilliantly colored, mainly blue, but red and yellow are present, depending on the species. The head is crowned with a ''casque'', a bony growth of keratin up to six inches in height. To date, no reasonable explanation has been put forward for the presence of the casque, which has been postulated as being a sound resonator, a sexual characteristic, or as an underbrush battering ram; indeed many cassowaries have been recorded showing damage to the casque, suggesting the plausibility of the battering ram theory. In his research Andrew L. Mack suggests the sound resonator may be correct,<ref>http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1642/0004-8038%282003%29120%5B1062%3ALVBCCS%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=tauk</ref> as the birds have a very low-frequency, booming call - as low as 23 Hz - necessary for communicating with each other in the dense, forested areas in which it is found.
The head and neck are brilliantly colored, mainly blue, but red and yellow are present, depending on the species. The head is crowned with a ''casque'', a bony growth of keratin up to six inches in height. To date, no reasonable explanation has been put forward for the presence of the casque, which has been postulated as being a sound resonator, a sexual characteristic, or as an underbrush battering ram; indeed many cassowaries have been recorded showing damage to the casque, suggesting the plausibility of the battering ram theory. In his research Andrew L. Mack suggests the sound resonator may be correct,<ref>http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1642/0004-8038%282003%29120%5B1062%3ALVBCCS%5D2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=tauk</ref> as the birds have a very low-frequency, booming call - as low as 23 Hz - necessary for communicating with each other in the dense, forested areas in which it is found.