Birds · Galliformes · Megapodiidae

Australian Brushturkey

Alectura lathami

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Australian brush-turkey, or red-headed brush-turkey, is a black megapode with a bare red head and a yellow wattle on the neck. It does not incubate with its body: the male builds an enormous mound of leaf litter and soil, several metres across and weighing tonnes, and regulates its internal temperature by adding or removing material according to the heat generated by decomposition.

Weight

2 kg – 2.5 kg

Size

60 cm – 75 cm

Lifespan

13 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestTemperate forestOmnivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Rainforest Temperate forest

1countries 14parks

Fun facts

It incubates with compost: the male builds a mound of leaf litter weighing up to four tonnes and checks the internal temperature by pushing in his bill, holding it at around 33 degrees for months by adding or removing material.
The chicks hatch completely independent: they dig their own way up to the surface of the mound, and from the first day they fly and feed with no contact at all with their parents, an extreme case of precocity among birds.
It has adapted so well to the gardens of Sydney and Brisbane that its mounds, which swallow up the mulch from flower beds, are a recurrent cause of neighbourly conflict.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and urban gardens of eastern Australia
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 50 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 20 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alectura_lathami