Gnow, Lowan, Chook, Mallee Hen
The malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata ) is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental care after the chicks hatch. It is the only living representative of the genus Leipoa, though the extinct giant malleefowl was a close relative.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
A territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental care after the chicks hatch. Adult males and females look similar; they are pale grey-brown in color and have black markings on the throat. These birds have a white stripe under the eyes, blackish bill, and their legs and feet are grey in color.
Malleefowl are found in southern Australia, where they are now reduced to three separate populations: the Murray-Murrumbidgee basin, west of Spencer Gulf along the fringes of the Simpson Desert, and the semiarid fringe of Western Australia's fertile southwest corner. These birds inhabit semiarid mallee scrub, savanna, and woodlands dominated by eucalypt and acacia.
Malleefowl live in pairs that occupy a territory, but usually roost and feed apart. They are shy and wary birds that generally fly only to escape danger or reach a tree to roost in. They are very active, but very seldom seen as they freeze if disturbed, relying on their intricately patterned plumage to render them invisible; they also fade silently and rapidly into the undergrowth (flying away only if surprised or chased). These birds have many tactics to run away from predators. Malleefowl forage during the day on the ground or on low shrubs. They search for food walking through the woodlands, or scratch around leaf litter where they hope to find ants or other insects. To communicate with each other malleefowl make crooning noises and grunts.
Malleefowl are omnivores. Their diet consists of seeds, herbs, fruit, fungi, flower blossoms, buds, tubers as wells as small insects and lerps.
Malleefowl are monogamous and mate for life. In winter, the male selects an area of ground, usually a small, open space between the stunted trees of the mallee, and scrapes a depression about 3 m (9.8 ft) across and just under 1 m (3.3 ft) deep in the sandy soil by raking backwards with his feet. In late winter and early spring, he begins to collect organic material to fill it with, scraping sticks, leaves, and bark into windrows for up to 50 m (160 ft) around the hole, and building it into a nest mound, which usually rises to about 0.6 m (2.0 ft) above ground level. After the rain, he turns and mixes the material to encourage decay, and if conditions allow, digs an egg chamber in August (the last month of the southern winter). The female sometimes assists with the excavation of the egg chamber, and the timing varies with temperature and rainfall. The female usually lays between September and February, provided enough rain has fallen to start organic decay of the litter. The male continues to maintain the nest mound, gradually adding more soil to the mix as the summer approaches (presumably to regulate the temperature). The female lays a clutch of 2-3 to over 30 large, thin-shelled eggs, mostly about 15. Incubation time depends on temperature and can be between about 50-100 days. Hatchlings use their strong feet to break out of the egg and then scratch their way to the surface. The chicks then quickly emerge from the hole and roll or stagger to the base of the mound, disappearing into the scrub within moments. Within an hour, they will be able to run reasonably well; they can flutter for a short distance and run very fast within two hours, and despite not having yet grown tail feathers, they can fly strongly within a day. Chicks have no contact with adults or other chicks; they tend to hatch one at a time, and birds of any age ignore one another except for mating or territorial disputes.
Malleefowl are threatened by fire regimens and the ongoing destruction and habitat fragmentation. These birds are particularly vulnerable to the increasing frequency and severity of the drought that has resulted from climate change. They also suffer predation from cats and the introduced red fox.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total Malleefowl population size is around 100,000 mature individuals, roughly equating to 150,000 total individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.