Cassowary
Southern cassowary
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Struthioniformes
Family:	Casuariidae
Genus:	Casuarius Brisson, 1760
Species
Casuarius casuarius southern cassowary Casuarius unappendiculatus northern cassowary Casuarius bennetti dwarf cassowary

A northern cassowary.

Where the southern cassowary lives

Where the northern cassowary lives

Where the dwarf cassowary lives

The southern cassowary has very sharp claws

Detail of a cassowary head.

Cassowaries (Casuarius) are a kind of large bird which cannot fly. They are in a group of flightless birds called the ratites. The ostrich, emu, moa (now extinct) and small kiwi are other ratites.

The cassowary lives in the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and north eastern Australia. They are shy birds living deep in the forest. They may become aggressive, and they may attack people. This makes it hard to learn about them.

A group of cassowaries is called a "shock".