The Malleefowl in Brookfield

The Mallefowl is a bird threatened with extinction. We were very fortunate to see an active mound when we were at Brookfield.

Its a shy bird and very well camoflaged, freezing and hiding under bushes and that is why he is seldom seen.

The male builds and looks after the nest. He ensures that the temperature and the conditions are correct for the eggs by adding or removing sand and foliage from the mound.

 This illustrates how he makes the mound:

The female lays a clutch of individual eggs from two to over 30, mostly 15 eggs. The male will stop the female from laying a ready egg if the conditions are not right in the mound. Incubation time  is about 50 days. The chicks hatch individually, when they are out of the mound they disappear into the scrub. In an hour they are able to run and flutter a short distance and within a day they can fly. They have no contact with adults or other chicks.

Mallefowl footsteps in Brookfield.

Malleefowl mound in Brookfield