Casuarius unappendiculatus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus), also known as the one-wattled cassowary, single-wattled cassowary, or golden-necked cassowary, is a large, stocky flightless bird of northern New Guinea. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf cassowary and the southern cassowary. It is a ratite, a polyphyletic group of flightless Paleognaths, which includes birds like the ostrich and emu.
Edward Blyth first identified the northern cassowary from a specimen from an aviary located in Calcutta, India, in 1860. It is the most recently discovered of all the cassowary species. The genus name Casuarius is derived from the Malay word kesuari "cassowary", while the species name unappendiculatus refers to the species' single wattle. Officially, there are no subspecies, though some authors list several subspecies.
The northern cassowary has a hard and stiff black plumage, blue facial skin and a casque on top of the head. In 2026, scientists discovered that northern cassowary casques glow under UV light, and in different pattterns than southern cassowary casques. It has a bright red or yellow coloured neck and wattle. The feet... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Taman Safari Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Taman Safari Bogor | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Khao Kheow Open Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Parque y Zoológico Nacional Arquitecto Manuel Valverde Podestá | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 6 | Safari World | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 7 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Dierenpark Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 9 | Europaradise Park | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 10 | Bandung Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 11 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 12 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 13 | Avilon Zoo | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 14 | Rainforest Habitat | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | |
| 15 | Bali Bird Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 16 | Davao Crocodile Park & Zoo | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 17 | Sea World Indonesia | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 18 | Port Moresby Nature Park | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea |
No species of the same family or order lives in Raja Ampat, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Cassowary sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 191st most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Cassowary in Raja Ampat on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Cassowary sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Raja Ampat, in our data
Raja Ampat is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Northern Cassowary sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Cassowary is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
