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Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) Alternate name(s): "Scrub-turkey", "Wattled Talegallus"; race "purpureicollis": "Barnard's Scrub-turkey" Aboriginal name(s): Race "lathami": "wagun" ("woggoon"), "wirrila" [gamilaraay, yuwaalaraay]; "wagun"/"mahgun", "gugabi", "gugubuny" [bundjalung]; "kolapatjin"/"kulapatjin" [yartwatjali, western djadjawurrung], "lawan" [tjapwurrung, eastern djadjawurrung]; "gweela" Race "purpureicollis": "mungarra" [ngadjon], "wundoora" Size: 60-70 cm Weight: 1.2-2.6 kg

Australia: Family Group 1 Family Group 1 table Emu Southern Cassowary Malleefowl Orange-footed Scrubfowl Australian Brush-turkey Stubble Quail King Quail Brown Quail Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Australian Brush-turkeys are turkey-size birds with basic flight skills. Their plumage is dark-grey (scalloped grey breast and belly), with fowl-like, vertically aligned tail feathers. Neck and head are bald red skin, with thin black bristles on the cap. They have a yellow (race "lathami") or purple/white (race "purpureicollis") collar/pouch. Male Australian Brush-turkeys have a more prominent collar than females and immature birds. The irises of both sexes are yellow; the bill is dark-grey to black, the legs are brown.

Taxonomy, classification See Australian Brush-turkey at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Australian Brush-turkey is available HERE . Australian Brush-turkeys are endemic to Australia. They are found along the eastern seaboard of Australia. On Cape York peninsula race "purpureicollis" is found. Farther South along the coastal fringe of QLD, to the NSW Mid-North Coast, including urban centres in that range, nominate race "lathami" is found. The southern limit of their range is close to Sydney, NSW. Inland they go as far as the hills of the Great Dividing Range, but not out into the plains of the interior. Australian Brush-turkeys like best densely wooded areas, most of all rainforest, where they live in the underbrush. In the Great Dividing Range they are found in more open and drier sclerophyll woodland as well. Where to look? How to find this species? Australian Brush-turkeys can often be found in the underbrush of rainforest; the sounds of their scraping feet is usually the giveaway. In many National Parks (and other parks) one can find them hanging out near picnic areas, trying to scavenge food. They are also often found in urban and suburban areas, including gardens.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "lathami" We have seen Australian Brush-turkeys, race "lathami", in various areas East of the Great Dividing Range, e.g. at Dorrigo NP, NSW. Australian Brush-turkeys are often so bold that sighting them is no art. When fed they can actually become quite annoying. In December 2007 we found an Australian Brush-turkey, race "lathami", on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, in Deriah Aboriginal Area, 30 km East of Narrabri. It was about 200-300 m from the location of a mound (see photo below). More (both mature and immature) birds were seen in the same area, and in Mt. Kaputar NP, in the following months and years. In August 2015 Australian Brush-turkeys, race "lathami", were also found by us in the Upper Bullawa Creek section of Mt. Kaputar NP. They were also seen by us in many different locations, especially in coastal areas, of central QLD in July 2009. N. Holdsworth reports a pair of Australian Brush Turkeys, race "lathami", nesting in a garden in Caboolture, 50 km North of Brisbane, QLD, in January 2013. A. Ross-Taylor reports spotting Australian Brush-turkeys, race "lathami", at Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, in the timeframe October/November 2012 and again in 2013. In inland QLD M. Mearns reports Australian Brush-turkeys, race "lathami", as far West as Bunya Mountains NP. B. Hensen reports finding a very young Australian Brush-turkey chick, race "lathami", at Inskip Point, QLD, in January 2013. M. Eaton reports finding Australian Brush-turkeys, race "lathami", in Cairns, QLD, in July 2018. This location is near the northern boundary of this race's distribution. Others were found in the Botanical Gardens in Mackay, QLD, in July 2021. Race "purpureicollis" M. Mearns reports spotting Australian Brush-turkeys, race "purpureicollis", at Punsand, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in March 2008. B. Hensen found Australian Brush-turkeys, race "purpureicollis", at Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in December 2018. M. Eaton reports spotting an Australian Brush-turkey, race "purpureicollis", at Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019.

Photos

Race "lathami"

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of an adult male Australian Brush-turkey; note the prominent yellow collar
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, October 2012]

Close-up lateral view of an adult Australian Brush-turkey (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, October 2012]

Lateral view of an Australian Brush-turkey acting as a "weather vane" (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2012]

FEMALE

Near-frontal/ventral view of a female Australian Brush-turkey high up in a tree
(photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, June 2013]

Lateral view of a female Australian Brush-turkey (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Gardens, Mackay, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a female Australian Brush-turkey trying to evade the photographer by climbing up into a eucalypt tree, from where it launched itself into downhill flight to further increase the distance
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2007]

Near-dorsal view of a female Australian Brush-turkey
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, 2004]

Sex unknown

Australian Brush-turkeys foraging in a park (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cairns, QLD, July 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of an immature Australian Brush-turkey
[Coffs Harbour, NSW, August 2015]

Immature Australian Brush-turkey in its natural habitat, on the ground in rainforest
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, 2004]

Lateral view of an Australian Brush-turkey in dark rainforest undergrowth with copious leaf litter
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, June 2011]

Juvenile Australian Brush-turkey foraging in leaf litter in rainforest

Very young Australian Brush-turkey chick (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Inskip Point, QLD, January 2013]

Race "purpureicollis"

ADULT

MALE

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a male Australian Brush-turkey - note the characteristic purple wattle that gives this race its name; the bare red skin all over head and neck characterizes this bird as a male; the pale wattle indicates that it is in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Punsand, Cape York peninsula, QLD, March 2008]

Lateral view of an adult Australian Brush-turkey (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Punsand, Cape York peninsula, QLD, March 2008]

FEMALE

Close-up lateral view of an Australian Brush-turkey - the fact that the red skin is bare only in the area around the ear and eye characterizes this bird as a female (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a female Australian Brush-turkey (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Chili Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Sex unknown

Australian Brush-turkey eyeing a mango (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, December 2018]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Feb

Eggs: 3 - 30

Incubation period: 50 days

Fledging age: N/A

A male Australian Brush-turkey will try to attract a female to his mound, with the goal for her to mate with him and lay her eggs in his mound. The heat of leaf litter fermentation and of the sun is used to incubate the eggs. The male will take care of temperature and moisture control in the mound during the incubation period. Hatching chicks will leave the mound and be independent immediately, fending for themselves. This feature is common to all Australian mound nesters. It is the reason why one can find solitary youngsters (as the one shown in a photo above).

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Mound

Material: Leaf litter

Height above ground: N/A

The mound shown below is about 2.5 m in diameter and apparently only about 50 cm deep (unless there is a depression in the ground below).

Nesting mound of an Australian Brush-turkey 30 km East of Narrabri, NSW. One can see fresh scratch marks, where material had recently been re-distributed
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2007]

Male Australian Brush-turkey looking on as a female lays her eggs into a hollow he had scratched into his mound
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

Pair of Australian Brush-turkeys on their nesting mound in a garden (photo courtesy of N. Holdsworth)
[Caboolture, QLD, January 2013]

Here a young obsessive, compulsive scratcher learning its business
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2011]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 92 x 63 mm

Colour: Plain white (but normally soiled)

Shape: Elliptical

Although common and widespread, Australian Brush-turkeys are vulnerable. The reason for this, apart from loss of habitat, is the very low efficiency of their breeding efforts. A mound can contain up to about 50 eggs, but only about 1 in 200 eggs yields an individual that will reach maturity, i.e. only one out of every four mounds.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Males territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary

During the breeding season males can be found with a harem of females, in communal life, rather than solitary. While together, the birds use communal roosts in trees.

Australian Brush-turkeys can become quite tame - so much so that in some areas such as picnic and barbeque spots, but also people's gardens, they are perceived as a nuisance. The compulsive scratching of the males, in particular, is often found to be annoying by gardeners, who just seem to have a different sense of order than the birds...

Curious Australian Brush-turkey testing a lounge for its suitability as a vantage point (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, July 2013]

Food, Diet

Adults: Seeds, fruit, small animals

Dependents: As adults

Water intake: ?

Australian Brush-turkeys are omnivores. They feed on seeds and fruit and also small animals they find in the leaf litter of preferably dense bushland.

Australian Brush-turkey eating a mango (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Photo for mystery lovers: "Inspector Gobbles and the case of the levitating mango"
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

This Australian Brush-turkey seems to be feeding on grass, unless it is picking grubs out of the lawn (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, October 2015]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bturkey_20140522.mp3

lathami (SE QLD)

?

© MD

More Australian Brush-turkey sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Tue, 13 July 2021, 7:04 +00:00