Last seen in February, our cassowary Dad is now back with 3 tiny chicks. They might even be only a few days old!
Dad is doing his best to keep them close to him, but one managed to get separated from the group and only rejoined them a couple of hours later.
They rest often, and Dad nods off every now and then,
but only briefly!The chicks seek shelter and warmth under Dad’s tail feathers. That’s why cassowary male have longer tails than females.
The chicks are very cute, but not if you are a finch! They caught a red-browed finch and, after a few attempts, one of the little chicks wolfed it down.
Cassowary chicks often hatch in September (rainforest fruits usually are most bountiful in spring and summer). As there is not much food for them in the wet sclerophyll forest at that time, we normally get to see the family in June/July, when the chicks are much bigger, have lost their stripes and are almost ready for life on their own.
Yesterday, though, 5 year old “Goldfinger” came by very late in the day with two small striped chicks. They are probably about 2 months old and his first offspring. He mated with “Wattle”, the alpha female in the area, in June 2019 (once even just outside our kitchen window!), but didn’t have any chicks that year.
Notice his wet feet: they had a drink from the creek not far down the track.
Tree-kangaroo joeys normally leave the pouch around September, and this season our female Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo has 2 joeys on foot: last year’s daughter and the new baby.
It is this time of the year again, when fruit in the rainforest becomes scarcer, but the wet sclerophyll forest produces many smaller berries, like Cissus grapes and Lilly Pillies, Mackinlaya and Acrotriche drupes.
Cassowaries frequent our forest almost daily in search of food and mates. May is usually the beginning of the mating season, and “Wattle”, the big female, has been hanging around lately, sometimes right outside our bedroom window, a disinterested bystander…
A few days ago, “Goldfinger”, the young male, with whom she mated last June, turned up at the same time, and ventured within 2 metres of her before becoming scared and running away.
Dad presented his 2 new chicks a couple of weeks ago. They are about 7 months old (he mated with Wattle in July) and are looking healthy and well-fed.
It is still difficult to tell them apart:
Their droppings look like a delicious dessert or off-colour pizza (to some). Brush-turkeys and pademelons like to pick through them.
Our male Victoria’s Riflebirds have been displaying daily (it is not really their breeding season, yet!). Another strange, and out of season observation: a female Scarlet Honeyeater collected nesting material.
The cassowary mating season is in full swing and we can hear a lot of booming in the forest. The large female, “Wattle” and her mate, “Goldfinger” have been seen together several times. Another 2 cassowaries have also turned up: “Dad” with one chick is visiting us almost daily, often they are enjoying this sunny spot between cabin and house:
Dad is apprehensive in the presence of the female and takes off when she approaches. She doesn’t seem to be really aggressive towards him and is very nonchalant towards the chick. It could well be her own, as Dad and Wattle were together last June, when he came through with 2 chicks (who were about 3 months older than this year’s single survivor).
Yesterday, Dad tried another tactic to evade the female: he crouched down in the densest patch of shrubs, lying as low as possible. Of course, she knew he was there, especially with that chatty chick nearby, and slowly walked towards him. When she got within a few metres of his ‘hiding’place, he lost his nerve and ran.
“M”, the young male or female bird, has drawn the short straw, being chased vigorously by Wattle and very afraid of Dad. This beautiful image was taken by one of our guests, Steve Bond:
young Southern Cassowary, by Steve Bond
Our Victoria’s Riflebirds don’t seem to know that they are supposed to take a break from all that displaying business. The adult male and one immature male, who changed into adult plumage last summer, kept going throughout the molting season and are displaying daily on the favourite post near the cabin whenever a female comes into view.
Here are a couple of Steve Bond’s images:
We haven’t noticed any offspring this year, so maybe the adverse conditions (a long, very dry 2018, with very little flowering/fruit-setting taking place) didn’t get the female riflebirds into mating and nesting mood.
For some time, a young, male cassowary (we call him “Mr March”, because he first visited us in March 2018) has been around several times a week. Judging by his droppings, he is finding rainforest fruits, as well as eating fungi and berries from several sclerophyll shrubs.
He is chasing the other young bird, who occasionally shows up (“Goldfinger”) away, whenever it came too close.
Following up on our last post about the difference of the two, here is another feature: you can see quite clearly. “Goldfinger” has a ‘hairy’ fringe around its (we are not sure, yet, whether it is a male or female -*see postcript below) crest:
Now the tables have turned: A large female made her appearance, and she always gives chase when she sees or hears ‘Mr March’. It is quite a funny sight, when a cassowary gallops down the track with wildly swinging bottom! But you do not want to get between the two running birds!
The female is easy to identify, as she has very distinctive wattles (so we named her “Wattle”) and also a tall casque with a ragged top:
cassowary female
Here is a comparison of “Mr March” and “Wattle”:
Despite her aggressive behaviour, the male keeps coming back, which makes us think it is the start of the mating season. In that case, the female’s aggression should slowly wane, and the male will become less frightened.
Below a sample of her booming, and you can see her whole body vibrating. You can hear as much as feel the sound when you are close. It is like an elephant’s rumble! Cassowaries call at the lowest frequenzy of any bird, as low as 24-30 Herz (infrasound). This booming call carries a long distance – perfect for communication in dense rainforest.
The casque on the head, which is spongy inside, might function as an amplifier as well as a receiver of the bird’s infrasound vocalisations. Latest research by scientists from La Trobe University suggests that it s main function is thermoregulation.
Postscript:
Today, June 1st, we watched ‘Wattle’ and ‘Goldfinger’ mating. She sat down next to a Rose Gum, and he shuffled up from behind. It was a quick affair (‘Dad’ and ‘Missy’ in Kuranda always took their time!). Goldfinger definitely is a male! Maybe ‘Mr March’ is a “Miss March’! Time will tell.
