The Cassowary Poem by Francis Duggan

Not as big a bird as the emu but a big bird just the same
Dark feathered with a bony sort of a helmet cassowary is it's name
Flightless like the emu but having said that far more rare
In the rain forest and through thick scrub it can run fast as a hare
Three to five light blue to green eggs the male bird incubate
Whilst his faithless bigger partner searches for another mate
And like male emu without any help from the female he raises the chicks on his own
Such devotion to fatherhood in Nature is not often known
Far more dangerous than the emu humans it's been known to kill
It can do a lot of damage with it's powerful feet and bill
It only attacks when provoked otherwise it runs away
And their bad reputation is mostly unwarranted that would seem fair to say
Only found in Australia in the rain-forests of North Queensland and they are known to be rare
And like the emu the male hatch to life and raise the chicks though little else in common they do share.