“Australian BrushTurkey”
Day 112 of 366 Day Project
“Magic is everywhere, explore & be amazed everyday!”
Spotted out on an afternoon stroll around the peninsula it’s not uncommon to come across what I call the ‘bush turkey’ foraging around the parks and bush land areas. They tend to mingle among the visitors in the local park and are usually friendly towards picnickers.
The Australian brushturkey or Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a common, widespread species of mound-building bird found in eastern Australia from Far North Queensland to Illawarra in New South Wales.
The Australian brushturkey has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Despite its name and their superficial similarities, the bird is not closely related to American turkeys, or to the Australian bustard, which is also known as the bush turkey.
It is a large bird with black feathers and a red head. Its total length is about 60–75 cm (23–30 in) and a wingspan of about 85 cm (33 in). It has a prominent, fan-like tail flattened sideways, and its plumage is mainly blackish, but with a bare red head, and a yellow.
The male’s wattle becomes much larger during breeding season, often swinging from side to side as they run. The males’ heads and wattles also become much brighter during the breeding and nesting season. The underside of the body is sprinkled with white feathers, more pronounced in older birds. The brushturkey is a clumsy flier and cannot fly long distances, only taking to the air when threatened by predators or to roost in trees at night and during the heat of the day.
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