Brush-turkey mound: I think she likes it!

Here’s a male Australian Brush-turkey showing a lady around his mound. The male is the one in front, with the bright yellow pouch dangling around his neck:

This particular Brush-turkey has been perfecting his mound for weeks. It’s good to see he’s getting some interest. Both birds are looking smart in their spring plumage.

This second picture is for scale, to show the size of the mound relative to some tree trunks and a fire gate:

The male builds and maintains the mound and invites a female to it. If she’s impressed, the female consents to mate with him and then lays her eggs in the mound. The eggs incubate and hatch without help, and the chicks emerge ready to take on the world.

See more Brush-turkey posts.

Common name: Australian Brush-turkey
Scientific name: Alectura lathami
Approximate length: 60-70 cm
Date spotted: 23 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’55.5″S 151°15’09.6″E

#australia #birds #birdwatching #BrushTurkey #nest #SydneyBirds

Muscovy ducks meet a Brush-turkey

Two Muscovy ducks hiss and wag their tails to warn off an Australian Brush-turkey. The Brush-turkey had been investigating my shoes, then it decided to see what the two interesting ducks were up to. The encounter ends peacefully. No feathers flying this time!

https://youtu.be/iffXt6UnwT8

Muscovy ducks come from the Americas, and are actually more like a cross between a goose and a duck than just a duck. They hiss like geese, although it’s a very quiet hiss. Their faces and heads look like geese, but their body shape is more like a duck’s.

I’ve seen this pair of Muscovies at Manly Dam often — they’ve made this area their home.

Common name: Australian Brush-turkey and Muscovy duck
Scientific name: Alectura lathami (Brush-turkey) and Cairina moschata (Muscovy)
Approximate length: 60-70 cm (Brush-turkey) and 76–84 cm (Muscovy)
Date spotted: 29 April 2025 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’44.9″S 151°14’58.4″E

#australia #birdCalls #birds #birdwatching #BrushTurkey #MuscovyDuck #SydneyBirds #waterbirds

Finally, an entry on the Possum TV blog this year. With special mention of Indie, a brush turkey chick, and Ahab, a three-legged ringtail.

https://blog.possum.tv/2025/03/update-26th-march-2025-introducing.html

#PossumsOfMastodon #RingtailPossum #BrushtailPossum #possum #BrushTurkey #AustralianWildlife #wildlife #PossumTVBlog

Secret Lives of Urban Birds - Meanjin aka Brizneyland Australia
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/SC2203H002S00
#BrushTurkey #Osprey #BirdsofMastodon

Birds of Brisbane
https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1362

Step 1: Take forever to sort through, crop, and label all your photos.

Step 2: Swear you'll never leave months of photos on your camera again.

Step 3: ... ?

Step 4: Find you have six months of photos on your camera that you now have to sort through, crop, and label. 😭

(Step 5: avoid colour-correcting forever)

Attached is a turkey doing a bellow for attention tax!

#Photography #WildOz #BrushTurkey #BirdPhotography