Southern cassowary  (Casuarius casuarius)

Cassowaries are usually solitary individuals, and males are subordinate to females if they meet. Females may lay several clutches of eggs during the breeding season that runs from June to October. These are laid directly onto the forest floor and the male then takes sole responsibility for their care. The male incubates the eggs for around 50 days, turning the eggs and only leaving his charges in order to drink. He cares for his offspring for up to 16 months, protecting them under his tail if threatened (4).

Cassowaries fight by kicking out with their legs, they have a fearsome reputation but their diet is composed almost entirely of fruit. These birds are important dispersers of a number of rainforest seeds, ranging far in search of fruiting trees (4).