In this state they become extremely tame, and are kept like fowls by the natives of some districts, who consider the flesh very palatable; while in Queensland the adults are said to be hunted with dogs. The plumage is used for the manufacture of mats, rugs, head-ornaments, and the like. Cassowaries run with wonderful swiftness, though rather heavily, diving into the bushes at a moment's notice, or aiding themselves by their wings, and leaping over obstacles as much as six feet high, if shelter is not readily available. They usually rest on the whole of the metatarsus, but sleep on the breast, or perhaps occasionally on the side; at other times they will dance about with contortions of the neck, or roll on the ground like playful monkeys. Old males become very fierce when driven to bay, kicking out in front or sideways, ruffling up their feathers and using their beaks at the same time. In the wet season swimming is a common practice, wide rivers being {36}crossed with ease, and in the absence of other bathing-places the sea is often utilised. The note in a state of excitement is a sort of grunt or snort, the call to the young being of a lowing nature; but the ordinary voice is loud, guttural, and unearthly, consisting of quickly-repeated croaking sounds, lasting for as long as three minutes, and audible at a distance of a mile, or considerably more. The female is much quieter, while the "Mooruk" (_C. bennetti_) is stated to utter a low scolding or plaintive whistle. A rough nest of leaves and grass is formed in a depression of the soil, generally below bushes or tangled undergrowth, in which from three to six very large eggs are deposited, placed in the shape of the letter V. These are normally light green in ground colour, with close-set granulations of dark bright green; but one, if not more, is ordinarily of a perfectly smooth texture, and is therefore entirely light green. The cock incubates, it appears, solely, though some say that the hen takes her turn; and the former tends the young when hatched, the period of sitting being about seven weeks. The nest is said to be covered by the parent if left for a time, but this is uncertain, as is the use of the two or three eggs scattered round the nest, which are asserted by natives of widely-distant districts to furnish food for the chicks. After breeding, small flocks are formed in some cases, possibly by the combination of two families. The Ceram species, which seems to have been called "Emeu" or "Ema" by the early Portuguese navigators, often lays in captivity, while _C. bennetti_ has bred in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. Fossil remains occur in Australia. _Hypselornis sivalensis_ is an allied form from the Pliocene of the Siwalik Hills in India.