From Opus

Photo by Neil
Port Douglas, Australia, October, 2003

Alectura lathami

[edit] Identification

60-75 cm (almost as a domestic turkey).
Black body, featherless red head, yellow throat wattle (pale blue in northern birds, subspecies purpureicollis).
One strange feature is the tail which is flattened vertically, opposite to most birds.
The males' red heads and yellow wattles become much brighter during the breeding and nesting season.

[edit] Distribution

Photo by Mzungu
Wellington Point, Queensland, December 2012

Australia in the coastal strip from Cape York to the southern parts of New South Wales. Also on Kangaroo Island.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• A. l. purpureicollis:

• North-eastern Australia (northern Cape York Peninsula)

• A. l. lathami:

• Eastern Australia (Cape York Peninsula to northern New South Wales)

[edit] Habitat

Tropical rain forests and other woodland areas, including dry scrub. Very common at camp sites and picnic areas.

[edit] Behaviour

This species does not seem to engage in migration or nomadic behavior.

[edit] Breeding

A large nesting mound is built mostly of leaflitter, at least one meter/three feet tall and 3-5 times wider. Into this are the eggs laid by sometimes several females (she may lay in more than one mound as well). Males control the temperature of the mound by adding or extracting materials, but the eggs are incubated by the heat of composting. Opon hatching, the young dig their own way out of the mound and are left to fend for themselves.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes invertebrates, nuts, seeds and fallen fruits.

[edit] References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Pizzey, G. & Knight, F. 1997. Birds of Australia (Collins Field Guide). HarperCollins Publishers, London. ISBN 0-00-220132-1
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links