(Australian) Brushturkey Alectura lathami
The Brushturkey, also called Australian Brush-turkey (to distinguish from other Brushturkeys) and Bush Turkey, is native to
eastern Australia and is not closely related to the American wild turkeys.
The common race has a bare red head and neck, brighter in the breeding season,
and a yellow wattle (larger on male); the northern race (n. Queensland) has a light purple/mauve wattle.
The nesting habits of the Brush Turkey are interesting:
-- they collect leaves for days to form a huge mound; they are not shy (they will raid food from barbecues) and will move a compost pile from one back garden to another for nesting;
-- the eggs are incubated in the composting mound of leaf litter/plant matter and the male keeps the incubating temperature steady by probing the mound with his beak and adjusting the pile;
-- like reptiles, the temperature of incubation affects the gender of the offspring which, once they hatch and dig their own way out of the compost heap, are left to fend for themselves.
-- they collect leaves for days to form a huge mound; they are not shy (they will raid food from barbecues) and will move a compost pile from one back garden to another for nesting;
-- the eggs are incubated in the composting mound of leaf litter/plant matter and the male keeps the incubating temperature steady by probing the mound with his beak and adjusting the pile;
-- like reptiles, the temperature of incubation affects the gender of the offspring which, once they hatch and dig their own way out of the compost heap, are left to fend for themselves.
"When you're smiling, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you . . ."
Male.
Female.
