The Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), also commonly called the Scrub turkey or Bush Turkey, is a widespread species of mound-building bird found in eastern Australia, stretching from from Far North Queensland to Eurobodalla on the South Coast of New South Wales. They have also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is the largest extant representative of the family Megapodiidae, and is one of three species to inhabit Australia.
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. Its closest relatives are the wattled brushturkey, Waigeo brushturkey, and malleefowl.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Verebrata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Galliformes
- Family: Megaodiidae
- Genus: Alecura
- Species: Alectura lathami
- Subspecies:
- Alectura lathami lathami (J.E. Gray, 1831
- Alectura lathami purpureicollis (Le Souëf, 1898)
Footnote & References
- Alectura lathami J.E. Gray, 1831, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/3c6fe522-90df-4447-ab21-1dd086461abc
- Brush turkeys are spreading across Sydney but how the bird crossed the harbour is a mystery, by Rosemary Bolger and Cassie McCullagh, ABC Radio Sydney, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-03/brush-turkeys-reclaim-sydney-south-inner-city-sightings/101291730
- Let’s talk turkey – brush style, 18 January 2018, The Cook and the Curator, Sydney Living Museums, https://blogs.sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/cook/lets-talk-turkey-brush-style/
- Australian Brush-turkey, Birdlife Australia, https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/australian-brush-turkey
- Brush Turkey, The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/the-wingtags-project/brush-turkey
BirdsBird Index Apostlebird Australasian Figbird Australasian Gannet Australasian Grebe Australasian Robins Australasian Pipit Australasian Shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis) Australasian Wrens Australian Babblers Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) Australian Bustard Australian Chats Australian Magpie Australian Pelican Australian Pratincole (Stiltia isabella) Australian White Ibis Bassian Thrush Black-faced Woodswallow Black Swan Bowerbirds Brolga Brown Songlark Channel-billed Cuckoo Cinnamon Quail-thrush Cormorants Cuckooshrikes and Allies Dotterels Lapwings Plovers Doves & Pigeons Emu Fairy Martin Finches Freckled Duck Grey Fantail Grey Teal Honeyeaters Ibises Kingfishers Little Friarbird Little Grassbird Magpie-lark Masked Woodswallow Noisy Pitta Olive Whistler Paradise Riflebird Pardalotes Parrots Pheasant Coucal Pied Butcherbird Rainbow Bee-eater Raptors Rufous Fantail Redthroat Rufous Bristlebird Silver-crowned Friarbird Torresian Crow Waders Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida) White-browed Woodswallow White Capped Noddy White-faced Heron White-necked Heron Willie Wagtail Yellow-throated Scrubwren