The 3 Legged Turkey

THE 3 LEGGED TURKEY..

Getting close to Christmas .

Christmas is coming and not a Turkey in site! (until now!)

Driving in the outback of Australia and on a dusty dirt road I suddenly chanced on a large wild Bush Turkey right in the middle of the dirt road and not able to get off because of Thorny Blackberry bushes on both sides of the road.

Coming close to Christmas, I thought if I could gently nudge the Turkey’s rear end with front of my 4WD I could bowl it over grab it and take it home it until it was needed for Christmas dinner!

Not a bad idea I thought and getting closer to the rear end of the Turkey and ready to give it a nudge when suddendly the Turkey took off like a rocket!

I’m doing around 40 kilometres per hour as these birds can move at a very fast speed, closing fast the the bird put sudenly put on a burst of speed and now travelling around 60 kpm, so I pushed hard on the pedal and now only just a metre or so behind, and getting ready to bowl it over by giving it that gentle nudge!

Getting close again the Turkey suddenly took off at a speed I had trouble keeping up with, it was then I noticed it had dropped another leg and was now running on 3 LEGS!! No wonder I couldn’t catch it!

Just as I was giving up it stuck it’s left wing out and did a right hand turn up a farmers drive way that was close by.

Not wanting to miss my Christmas Turkey dinner I drove up the driveway and knocked on the farmers door.

I told the farmer about the high speed Turkey to which the Farmer repied that he was a retired scientist and he had bred it specially with 3 legs!

He claimed that the reason he did this was that there was only his wife and himself and at christmas time a visit from his brother in law, and that they only ate the legs.

I said, to him what does it taste like ?

To which he replied, stuffed if I know I have never been able to catch one!

Description of the Brush or Bush Turkey.

For further information please check out the the link shown below.

https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au

The brush-turkey is one of three Australian species of mound-building birds, or megapodes

The other two species are the malleefowl and the orange-footed scrubfowl.

A large bird, the brush-turkey grows to 60–75 cm long and has a wingspan of 85 cm. Males and females are a similar size. Coloured blue-black, the brush-turkey has an upright fanlike tail and grey-edged breast feathers. It has strong legs and a featherless deep red head and neck.

The male brush-turkey has a large, bright yellow wattle that hangs from its neck, while the female's is smaller and paler. Chicks don't look much like their parents, as they're small, plump birds with rich brown feathers. They grow fast, and within a few months a chick will have the dull blue-black plumage and the characteristic upright tail. Its head and neck will have become a featherless rich pink.

Habitat and distribution

The Australian brush-turkey can be found from Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland south to Wollongong in NSW, having extended its southern distribution in the last few decades. It lives in rainforests near the coast and in drier scrubs further inland. They spend most of their time on the ground but roost in trees at night.

While naturally shy in the bush and spending most of its time alone, in the suburbs the species has become used to people and is regularly seen in groups. For the brush-turkey to survive in urban areas, people must respect its natural behaviour. With proper precaution, brush-turkeys can live in urban areas while people maintain a backyard garden.

Life history and behaviour

The brush-turkey will breed at any time of the year, but most breeding occurs from September to December.

The male brush-turkey builds a mound of plant litter and soil, adding or removing material to keep it at a constant temperature of 33 degrees Celsius. A mound is usually about 2–4 m across and 1 m high.

The male spends many hours each day building and maintaining his mound. He will defend his mound and will only allow a female onto it when he thinks it's the right temperature.

The number of females that lay eggs in the mound and the number of times they visit depends on his skill in keeping the mound at the right temperature. If the mound is the right temperature, females will return many times to mate and lay eggs.

A brush-turkey will take a large mouthful of the mound to check whether it's at the right temperature. They have highly accurate heat sensors inside their upper bill. When the temperature is too high, the male will rake material off the top layer to allow heat to escape. If the temperature is too low, the male will heap more material onto the mound to build its insulation. Watching a brush-turkey build and take care of its mound is fascinating and gives suburban dwellers an insight into the life of a unique Australian animal.

Up to 24 eggs are put into holes about half a metre deep in the mound and then covered. The male brush-turkey keeps watch while the eggs incubate, making sure the temperature is just right and keeping any predators at bay. After approximately 50 days the chicks hatch and are immediately independent.

Introduced predators, goannas, snakes and in-ground swimming pools all make life hard for young brush-turkeys and the mortality rate is high. The chance of an egg becoming an adult brush-turkey is as little as one in 200!

While brush-turkeys may look slow while scratching among leaves looking for food, they can move fast when disturbed. They eat insects, native fruits and seeds. Adult birds feed throughout the day, while young birds forage in the pre-dawn light and in the twilight to avoid predators.

While generally a quiet bird, the brush-turkey sometimes makes soft grunts. Males have a deep three-noted booming call.

Threatening processes

The Australian brush-turkey is threatened by habitat destruction. Its preferred habitat of rainforest has largely disappeared from many areas in Queensland, and is under continuing threat. In some areas of its pre-European settlement range, the bird is locally extinct.

brush-turkeys are prominent in some urban areas, it appears that breeding success is very poor in suburbia compared to natural habitat. Brush-turkeys living in urban areas may not contribute to the species’ long-term survival.

Introduced predators such as domestic cats and dogs, and foxes have an impact, especially on younger birds.

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