May I please request a post of Malleefowl, the amazing Australian ground bird that uses dinosaur-like temperature controlled incubator mounds
Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata, family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes, Australia
The male constructs large nesting mounds or soil and decaying plant material, where the female lays eggs in a nest chamber dug by the male. The male guards the mound, but neither parent provides parental care once the chicks hatch.
Found at the edge of scrub habitat in southern Australia.
When it comes to building nests, the Australian bush turkey's policy is to go big or go home! Made of leaves, earth, and other organic material, each male's nest can reach over 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall and up to 4 m (13 ft) across. Each nest can hold up to 50 eggs, laid by a number of females, and the male works tirelessly to either build up or break down the mound so that the composting material incubates the eggs at a toasty 33–35 °C (91–95 °F).
(Image: A male Australian bush turkey (Alectura lathami) by James Niland)
"They make huge piles of leaves and branches as nests. Once I saw a solitary male in a wildlife park and the keepers said he was really annoying because he kept re-arranging the leaf litter which made keeping the footpaths clean a huge pain lol!"
"Small gardener-dinosaurs! And these guys are just out here existing with zero parental care."
"Despite its name and their superficial similarities, the bird is not closely related to American turkeys, nor to the Australian bustard, which is also known as the bush turkey."
Australian Brushturkey are a megapode found on the Eastern edge of Australia, typically living in rainforests or wet sclerophyll (eucalyptus-heavy) forests- though they've more recently been moving into cities such as Brisbane and Sydney.
As megapodes, the most unique feature of these birds is the way they incubate and "raise" their young- which is to say, they don't raise them at all! Megapodes are a family of birds that create mounds of rotting vegetation for their eggs to incubate within, much like crocodiles and alligators. The males will tirelessly defend their mounds, checking the temperature with their bills and doing their best to attract females to lay her eggs within. This is the only care they give their young, however. Brushturkey eggs are quite large, and their chicks are born precocial, or "fully developed". Unlike other precocial species, like chickens or ducks, megapode babies can fend for themselves within hours of hatching, and don't need parental guidance in order to make it in the world. Which is good news, since mom invests no care in her young and dad is only concerned with keeping his nest mound in perfect condition!
