Australian Brushturkey (Alectura lathami)

Australian Brushturkey male.

While this is a pretty common bird, it does have a very interesting life cycle. The dominant male in a group will build a large nest mound out of dirt, leaves, and other organic matter.

The hens will mate with him and lay their eggs in the mound and then they are done with their reproductive duty.

Neither parent incubates the eggs, rather the heat for the composting material provides the incubation. The male alone tends to the nest regulating the temperature by adding to or removing material from the mound.

When the eggs, hatch the chicks are on their own from then on. They are born fully feathered and can fly within hours of hatching.