A unique study has used fake fruit and motion-sensor cameras to take nearly 500 pictures of cassowaries in far north Queensland.
Southern Cross University honours student Wren McLean painted hard plastic balls and placed them in front of 15 of 30 cameras in the Daintree Rainforest.
The cameras were left for three weeks, with 45 different cassowaries identified from the resulting pictures.
But the shy birds were not the only things captured.
Ms McLean says she also discovered some of the cassowary's worst enemies in the 32km study area.
"I was surprised how many feral dogs and dingoes were out their," the bachelor of environmental science student told AAP.
"There was a young chick that had left its father and then in the next frame ... there was a dingo or dog following the scent."
It's thought about 110 cassowaries live in the region, meaning Ms McLean identified close to half the population.
Her study was the first time camera traps were systematically used to research cassowaries and the first time visual lures were used for any species.
It showed there was an average of three birds, including a sub-adult yet to leave the area, in each site.
It also found the birds were twice as likely to stop and stayed longer at cameras with fake fruit.
"The lures significantly increased the number of cassowaries detected and reduced the time until the first camera capture," Ms McLean said.
"When compared to the traditional survey technique for the species ... this new technique was also shown to be more time and cost effective."
The cassowary is listed as endangered and is vulnerable to feral animals, cars and climate change.
Ms McLean says she hopes to use her groundbreaking method to survey the relatively unstudied population in Cape York's Kulla National Park.
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