FAMILY NAME: Megapodiidae SCIENTIFIC NAME: Alectura lathami SUBSPECIES: purpureicollis
SIZE: 60 to 70cm. (24 to 28") tip to tail.
LOCATION: Found down Australia's eastern coastal regions in tropical and temperate rainforests, and in scrub country.
BREEDING: Breeding season is from May to November. The eggs are laid in a mound of leaves and earth mixture, at intevals of several days apart. The mounds average 4m in diameter, and up to 2m high. Females may lay eggs in more than one mound, and the males regulate the temperature by adding or removing rotting vegetation. When hatched, the chicks dig their way out of the mound, and are independent.
GENERAL: An unusual looking bird with a naked red head and neck, with yellow wattle at the base of the neck. This wattle can be quite prominent on breeding males. The tail is flattened, not horizontally, but vertically. They feed on the forest floor, by scratching in the leaf litter to find fallen fruits or insects.
References:
Michael Morecombe. Field Guide to Australian Birds, Complete Compact Edtion.
Ken Simpson - Nicholas Day. The Birds of Australia.
M. Blakers - S. J. J. F. Davies - P. N. Reilly. The Atlas of Australian Birds.
Birds in Backyards. www.birdsinbackyards.net
