Southern Cassowary (male) Casuarius casuarius Endangered in Australia November 15th, 2018 Etty Bay, Queensland, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash The unmistakable Southern Cassowary - the giants of the Australian rainforest! If you ever doubted that birds evolved from dinosaurs, then take a good look at these prehistoric-looking beauties!
Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius November 11th, 2018 Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash The fantastic Bush Stone-curlew! Before I went to Far North Queensland, I had no idea these birds were so active at night! During the day they are generally inactive, usually sheltering in vegetation or the like & remaining very still. However, once the sun has set, these birds come to life as they dart around on the hunt for insects. Fascinating to watch, even if their eerie wailing calls can be somewhat disconcerting in the middle of the night!
Southern Cassowary (female) Casuarius casuarius Endangered in Australia November 16th, 2018 Etty Bay, Queensland, Australia Canon EOS 1D X Mark II Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens Canon 600EX II-RT flash The unmistakable Southern Cassowary - the giants of the Australian rainforest! If you ever doubted that birds evolved from dinosaurs, then take a good look at these prehistoric-looking beauties! Southern Cassowary are a large, flightless bird, restricted to the rainforests of tropical north Queensland. They are Australia's heaviest bird, weighing between 35-85kgs & among our tallest at an intimidating ~1.7m in height. The females of this species are larger & more colourful than the males. Their diet mainly consists of the fruits of rainforest plants, & they will swallow entire fruits & rapidly pass the seeds in large piles of multi-coloured dung. They are the only known dispersers of many large-seeded rainforest plants & play a vital role is rainforest regeneration. Cassowary are usually most reliably seen at the coastal town of Etty Bay, where a remnant patch of rainforest meets the ocean. This picturesque location is absolutely stunning, & these birds can often be seen wandering through the local caravan park & along the shoreline at dawn & dusk.
