Chicks that hatch underground and don't live with their parents are fascinating birds to study. These pages describe the unique breeding strategy of megapodes and the topics covered in a study on the behavioural development and survival of chicks of the Australian Brush-turkey Alectura lathami, one of the 22 megapode species.


Male Brush-turkey on his incubation mound of leaf litter. Hens lay their eggs into the mound and these are then incubated by the heat produced by microbial decomposition of the organic material .

       
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Text and Photos: Ann Göth; Design: Uwe Vogel
Last updated July 2005