Derivation
Leip-ö-a - Gk, leipein, to leave; Gk, oon (pural oa), egg: o-cell-ä-ta - L., ocellatus, marked with little eyes
Abundance (Guide)
Much reduced in abundance, scarce.
Habitat
Semi-arid to arid inland scrubs, chiefly mallee country, eucalypt woodland and coastal heaths. A sandy substrate with an abundance of leaf litter is required for breeding.
South-western and southern Australia east to north-western Victoria and east-central New South Wales. Introduced to Kangaroo I (off South Australia), where probably now extinct.
Population
Estimated population is 100,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Status VU
Habitat destruction and conversion to agriculture, starvation, fires, predation by introduced foxes and feral cats are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Food
Seeds, herbs, flowers, berries, fungi, tubers and insects.
Voice
Male, a deep two syllable bellow or boom., and loud clucks. Female, a high-pitched crow, soft crooning and low grunts.
Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) [XC712791]
by Toby Esplin from Ferries McDonald Conservation Park, Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia (call, dawn song, song)
Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) [XC712785]
by Khristos Nizamis from Ferries McDonald Conservation Park, Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia (call, dawn song, song)
Nest
A large pyramid of sand and gravel, about 3 meters in diameter, with vegetable matter at the core. An opening is made in the fermenting vegetable matter and the eggs are positioned, larger end upper most, in a circle. Generally three layers are deposited. The fermentation of the vegetable matter generates heat that is used to incubate the eggs, the temperature being regulated by the male removing and adding to the mound. He tests the temperature using his tongue.
Eggs (Guide)
5 - 33, usually 15 - 24; delicate pink but soon stained brown; long-oval; about 92 x 61 mm, variable. Incubation: about 49 days, depending on mound temperature.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous. Free-running and independent after hatching. Able to fly after only 24 hours.
Subspecies
Eastern populations sometimes split off into separate subspecies, rosinae.
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
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet