Stony Range RBG FaunaAustralian Bush Turkey Australian Magpie Myrmecia nigrocincta Pittosporum Leaf Beetle Red-tipped Crab Spider Stingless Bee Tetragonula sp Tiger Spider

The Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), also commonly known as the Bush Turkey are often seen throughout the understorey of the Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden in Dee Why.

Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW
Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW

The male builds a large mound and can be seen scrapping and kicking up the mulch and forest floor debris into the huge nesting mound. The female lays her eggs in the mound. The male then adjusts the warmth of the mound to incubate the eggs. After the young hatch, they make their way out of the mound and are then on their own.

Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW
Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW
Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW
Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, Dee Why NSW

More information in Northern Beaches Fauna > Australian Bush Turkey and this great looking beanie at the Alice Springs Beanie FestivalBush Turkey by Pat Robshaw.


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Subphylum: Vertebrata
  • Informal: Gnathostomata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Galliformes
  • Family: Megapodiidae
  • Genus: Alectura
  • Species: Alectura lathami

Footnote & References

  1. Australian Brush-turkey, BirdLife Australia, https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/australian-brush-turkey
  2. Alectura lathami J.E. Gray, 1831, Australian Brush-Turkey, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Alectura lathami
  3. Brush turkeys are spreading across Sydney but how the bird crossed the harbour is a mystery, by Rosemary Bolger and Cassie McCullagh, 3 Aug 2022, ABC Radio Sydney, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-03/brush-turkeys-reclaim-sydney-south-inner-city-sightings/101291730

Stony Range RBG FaunaAustralian Bush Turkey Australian Magpie Myrmecia nigrocincta Pittosporum Leaf Beetle Red-tipped Crab Spider Stingless Bee Tetragonula sp Tiger Spider

Stony Range Regional Botanic GardenStony Range RBG Fauna Stony Range RBG Flora

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