Australian Brushturkey
Alectura lathami
Large black bird with a vertically-fanned tail and massive strong legs and feet. Obvious red head. Male develops large yellow pendulous neck wattles (mauve in Cape York subspecies). Endemic resident of tropical rainforests along the eastern coast of Australia. It can be a common in cosmopolitan parks and gardens in places such as Cairns, Brisbane. Roosts at night very high up in trees. Builds large nest-mounds of leaves and mulch.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Alectura lathami
- Authority
- Gray, JE, 1831
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Megapodiidae
- Genus
- Alectura
Range and habitat
The Australian brushturkey inhabits rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests, but can also be found in drier scrubs and open areas. In the northern part of its range, the Australian brushturkey is most common at higher altitudes, but individuals move to the lowland areas in winter. In the south, it is common in both mountain and lowland regions.<p>Brushturkeys are now common in urban environments and can be found in backyards in both Brisbane and Sydney.<p>The range of the Australian brushturkey extends from the top of Cape York to approximately the area around Wollongong.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Summer Tanager
Piranga rubra
Large tanager with a hefty bill. Adult males are completely red; immature males are dull yellow-olive with blotchy patches of red. Females are variable in color, ranging from pale dull yellow to brighter orange. Can be confused with female Scarlet Tanager; Summer has a longer, paler bill and less contrast between wing and body color. Also compare with dustier-looking, stouter-billed Hepatic Tanager. Breeds in mature forests, favoring mixed deciduous and pine in the southeastern U.S. and riparian corridors in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. Extensive winter range from Mexico to Bolivia, where it can be found in any wooded area. Often gives a short, descending rattle “pit-a-tuck.”
White-throated Rock-Thrush
Monticola gularis
Uncommon throughout most of its range, this elusive rock thrush breeds in rocky hill forest in northeastern China and Russia and migrates down the East Asian coast to winter in southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. Beautiful and distinctive male has a blue crown, orange underparts, and black wings marked with a bright white patch; small white patch on throat is not obvious and difficult to see. Female is brown with scaly markings on her back and breast; she lacks a pale crescent behind the eye. Usually stays low in shrubbery, but male will sing from an exposed perch.
Papuan Treecreeper
Cormobates placens
A medium-sized creeping bird of montane forest. Mainly a dull, gray-brown color with pale flecks on the flanks, a paler throat. Female has a rufous moustache stripe. The only treecreeper on New Guinea. Climbs up a trunk, then flies down to the base of another trunk. Sometimes followed by a fantail. The only other similar colored birds with this behaviour are the sittellas, which are distinctively smaller and most have a streaked back. Call, a level series of piping notes which increase in volume.
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