MALLEEFOWL

The malleefowl ( Leipoa ocellata) are large, ground dwelling birds that roost in trees but rarely fly. Malleefowl need large, long-unburnt blocks of mallee to survive.  

The malleefowl is a Megapod and a large sedentary bird. Their name '' Mallee '' comes from the main district where they are found [ North East Victoria ] which is also the name to describe the semi arid areas. The bird is about the size of a turkey and  has a small head and a short beak. The female is called a Malleehen and is not a very pretty bird. Its dual coloring helps it camouflage.  It has orange eyes, a dull brown color body and a black stripe from its beak to between its legs  .

BREEDING

Malleefowl are known to mate for life.  Rather than build a nest it makes a mound out of sand and leaf matter which they bury their eggs in. The mound is one meter  high and 22 meters long .  The sun makes the sand and leaf matter hot. These birds use a very sofisticated system for incubating their eggs. The male  adds and takes away the sand and leave matter to keep the temperature around 33c .By opening and closing the mound, Malleefowl are able to precisely regulate the temperature of the nest. It is also his job to keep predators away from the mound. 

An egg is laid every 3-7 days between the August -April months.  These birds lay 18 eggs a year. The egg  shell is pink .Malleefowl chicks look like their  parents. When the the chicks hatch they are totally independent and they can survive by hiding under bushes. They can run swiftly when in danger . The chicks are able to fly in 24 hours after hatching. Researchers say only 2% out of 18 chicks survive. Most tend to die from starvation or predators .

 FACT FILE

Malleefowl live in scrublands and it lives for 33 years. They are a very shy bird. 

They will drink a little water. They eat native herbs or flowers and insects.[ favorite acacia  ]

They live in south Australian scrub lands.