Monday 10 October 2011

Bush Turkeys (no, not the released clowns, but a bustard native to Australia)

One bird clearly visible in the Bunya Mountains National Park is the bush turkey.  The males rake up a huge mound of litter to attract females, who then lay their eggs in it and clear out.  The litter composts, forming heat to incubate the eggs, with the male guarding over them and also adjusting the litter over the eggs to keep them at the right temperature.  There are numerous mounds to be seen, most of them seemingly abandoned, but one had a male in attendance, dutifully raking litter from a broad area by the size of the mound - close to three metres high!  He was so intent on his work he walked (raked?) to within a metre of me:  Of course, he could have just wanted his photo taken, for I took a few of him close up, then he raced up the top of his mound and posed for more!  So I ran some prints off, stuck them on trees within a kilometre radius, "Handsome male with large mound seeks fecund females".

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