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 LC    Australian Brush-turkey* Id (Atlas): 008
    Alectura lathami Endemic

Description (10)
Image of Australian Brush-turkey
  Sexes similar.

Adults: Skin of head and neck bare and red, sparsely covered with black hair-like feathers. Skin at base of neck yellow and flared into yellow wattles. Upper parts, wings and tail, dull black. Breast, brown-black. Belly, brown-black. Undertail, dull black. Eye, brown to white. Bill, black. Feet, toes, dusky-yellow.


Other Names (World)
Australian Brush-turkey, Scrub Turkey, Brush Turkey, Wild Turkey, Barnard's Purple-pouched Brush-turkey, Barnard's Yellow-pouched Brush-turkey, Pouched Talegallus, Wattled Talegallus, Australian Brushturkey

Family
Megapodiidae (Megapodes)

Size
60 - 70 cm

First Described (Guide)
Gray, 1831

Derivation
Al-ect-ur'-a - Gk, alector, cock; Gk, ura (oura), tail: lathami - John Latham (1740 - 1837), English ornithologist.

Abundance (Guide)
LC

Common and widespread, but population has been reduced by habitat destruction.

Habitat
Rainforest near the coast and inland scrubs.

Range (Guide)
Australia (B).

Image of Range of Australian Brush-turkey
 
Eastern Australia from Cape York south to the Hawkesbury River and the Illawarra district, NSW. There is also an introduced population on Kangaroo Island.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 100,000 (2010).

Status LC
Possibly endangered.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Singly or in pairs.

Food
Insects and native fruits and seeds.

Voice
Variety of harsh grunts. Males also boom territorialy at nest mound.



Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (26)...)

 
Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami) [XC517534]
     by James Lambert from Black Mountain Road, Kuranda, Australia (call)

 
Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami) [XC517533]
     by Marc Anderson from Black Mountain Road, Kuranda, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
July - April but usually August - mid February.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
A terrestrial mound of decomposing leaf litter and soil 4 - 6 m in diameter and 1 - 1.5 meters high.

Eggs (Guide)
Usually 18 - 24; white; long-oval; 92 x 64 mm. Incubation: about 50 days.

Young
Precocial, nidifugous.

Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

  • lathami Gray, 1831   -  Central and southern Queensland, north-eastern New South Wales.
  • purpureicollis (Le Souef, 1898)   -  Cape York Peninsula, with purple-white ruff of wattles.


Similar Species
Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt) which has a dark feathered head / crest and orange legs.


References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

More... see more information (images, calls, videos etc)


Files:
JPG files for Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) - 10 filesMP3 files for Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) - 1 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Australian Brush-turkey see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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