“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

In this undated photo made available by journal Nature on January 15, 2014, a northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) flies in Tuscany, Italy. A new study released Wednesday, January 15, 2014 says the birds choreograph the flapping of their wings, getting a boost from an updraft of air in the wake of the flapping wings by flying behind the first bird and off to the side. When a flock of birds take advantage of these aerodynamics, they form a V. (Photo by Markus Unsöld/AP Photo)

Richard Gamboa, dressed up as Santa Claus, walks in an alley of the slum Cota 905 during the “Santa en las calles” (Santa in the streets) event donating toys, food, and clothes in Caracas, Venezuela on December 1, 2018. (Photo by Marco Bello/Reuters)

English singer Rita Ora, 29, made sure all eyes were on her as she headed for a night out in a plunging dress in London, England on September 7, 2020. The sеxy checked dress was complemented with heavy gold jewellery around Rita's wrists and neck. Rita's blonde hair had a sheen as it fell over her shoulders, and she completed her look with glam makeup. (Photo by Instagram/The Sun)

A man makes traditional candy “Matang” in preparation for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Yuqing County, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China, January 18, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm and Miesha Tate face off during the UFC 196 weigh ins at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, March 4, 2016. (Photo by L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Sun via AP Photo)

Janelle Monae (L) and Taraji P. Henson pose with the SAG Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture award for “Hidden Figures”, during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 29 January 2017. (Photo by Paul Buck/EPA)

Sara White, dressed as Ginny Weasley, a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, poses for portrait at the launch of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at Foyles book store on July 30, 2016 in London, England. The script book of the play of the same name, which is on at Palace Theatre, billed as the eighth Harry Potter story, is on sale from midnight tonight. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)