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Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata) Alternate name(s): "Mallee Hen", "Pheasant*", "Native Pheasant*" Aboriginal name(s): "lowan" ("low", "loan", "lawani"); "ngow", "ngowo" (SW WA); "nganamara", "kalbanya", "leipoa", "nunnomutta" Size: 55-60 cm Weight: 1.5-2.2 kg

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Malleefowl are turkey-like birds with cryptic plumage that is mostly light-fawn on breast and belly, with a dark stripe down the front by which individual birds can be identified. The head and neck plumage is grey and the mantle, wing and tail are greyish-brown. Malleefowl have sturdy, dark-grey legs and large feet. Juveniles have a dull-brown, barred plumage, immature Malleefowl have dark irises.

Taxonomy, classification See Malleefowl 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 Malleefowl is available HERE . Malleefowl are endemic to Australia. They populate parts of the southern half of the continent, mostly inland. Their range comprises two major parts, one in south-western Australia, the other in the South-East. In the south-western part their range extends during the breeding season from inland of about Exmouth, WA, towards the South/South-East, in an area several hundred km wide to about Dundas Nature Reserve, WA, in the South-East. Outside the breeding season they disperse further inland, towards Kalgoorlie, WA, and Eucla, on the eastern boundary of the Nullarbor. In the south-eastern part of their range they are found in two areas: 1. from about Eyre peninsula, SA, up to about halfway towards the north-western corner of SA; 2. from the south-eastern corner of SA, in the SA/VIC/NSW border region near Mildura, VIC, towards the north-east, mostly along and just to the north of the Lachlan River. The eastern boundary of their range is in inland NSW, near Dubbo, in the Goonoo Goonoo Forest and there are historic records of Malleefowl in the southern part of the Pilliga scrub. Due to the loss of undisturbed habitat, the range and population of Malleefowl are in decline. As their name already suggests, Malleefowl have a preference for mallee scrub and other dry inland scrub.

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Brinsley reports finding Malleefowl on a private property about 85 km West of Wentworth, NSW, in August 2012. M. Mearns reports spotting Malleefowl near Pingaring, WA, in October 2018.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of Malleefowl on its nest mound (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[85 km West of Wentworth, NSW, August 2012]

Lateral view of Malleefowl crossing a dirt road (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Near Pingaring, WA, October 2018]

Lateral view of Malleefowl taken in captivity (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Mar

Eggs: 10 - 35

Incubation period: 50 - 90 days

Fledging age: N/A

Hatching chicks are "precocial"; they 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 (although, in the case of Malleefowl, in practice they are almost impossible to find).

Nest building: Male & female

Incubation: Male & female

Dependent care: N/A

While the males tend to the nest mounds, females tend to help, but are otherwise free to wander around to feed (and possibly also to mate with other males and lay their eggs into various mounds). Female Malleefowl need a lot of high-quality food when laying eggs, because - while the birds have a similar weight to domestic chickens - their eggs are 3-4 times as massive (ca. 210 g; while a 70-g chicken egg is "oversized"). Eggs are laid about 4-5 days apart (as opposed to about 1 egg per day in the case of chickens).

Nest

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

Type: Mound

Material: Sand, leaf litter, sticks, bark

Height above ground: N/A

Lateral view of Malleefowl on its nest mound (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[85 km West of Wentworth, NSW, August 2012]

Black-and-white photo of an active Malleefowl nest mound; the male was observed using its tongue to check the mound's temperature (photo courtesy of C. Lawrence)
[Hattah-Kulkyne NP, VIC, 1961]

Malleefowl nest mound (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Salt Creek, Coorong, SA, April 2022]

Inactive Malleefowl nest mound; this mound is about 4 m in diameter and about 0.4 m high
[Goonoo NP, between Dubbo and Mendooran, NSW, October 2015]

Eggs

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

Size: 90 x 60 mm

Colour: Pinkish to light-brown

Shape: Long elliptical

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Pair

Malleefowl chicks are very well-developed when hatching. After digging themselves out of the nest mound, they need some time to preen (cases have been reported in which ants have cleaned emerging Malleefowl chicks!) and rest. The day after hatching, they are able to fly.

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.

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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: Thu, 21 April 2022, 23:11 +00:00