The Eggs Are All Of A Rusty Red Colour, And Very Large
For The Size Of The Bird, Being Generally Three Or Three And A
Quarter Inches Long, By Two Or Two And A Quarter Wide.
They are
very good eating, and are much sought after by the natives.
Another large and extraordinary bird is the Cassowary, which
inhabits the island of Ceram only. It is a stout and strong bird,
standing five or six feet high, and covered with long coarse
black hair-like feathers. The head is ornamented with a large
horny calque or helmet, and the bare skin of the neck is
conspicuous with bright blue and red colours. The wings are quite
absent, and are replaced by a group of horny black spines like
blunt porcupine quills.
These birds wander about the vast mountainous forests that cover
the island of Ceram, feeding chiefly on fallen fruits, and on
insects or crustacea. The female lays from three to five large
and beautifully shagreened green eggs upon a bed of leaves, the
male and female sitting upon them alternately for about a month.
This bird is the helmeted cassowary (Casuarius galeatus) of
naturalists, and was for a long time the only species known.
Others have since been discovered in New Guinea, New Britain, and
North Australia.
It was in the Moluccas that I first discovered undoubted cases of
"mimicry" among birds, and these are so curious that I must
briefly describe them. It will be as well, however, first to
explain what is meant by mimicry in natural history.
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