Australian Brush Turkey (chicks)

Description:

These chicks keep popping out of the ground!!! Two of the three I have seen in my yard, but I know there are more. The first 3 photos are of the youngest chick, only days old. The last 3 photos are of a chick that's probably two to three week old, and its vertical tail feathers are already starting to take shape. The characteristic facial features of an adult bird are also recognisable. They tend to run along the ground, but the larger of the two is already capable of flight. Until then, the chicks are vulnerable to predation. When they hatch from the nesting mound, there is absolutely no parental care - they are on their own. Here's a previous spotting of an adult male building a nesting mound in my neighbour's yard - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/323... The reference links provide tonnes of info on this species.

Habitat:

Suburban backyard in inner-city Brisbane. Nesting mounds in the surrounding area are usually made from lawn clippings, leaf litter from mango trees, and garden mulch, usually sugar cane or wood chip. There's plenty of all these materials nearby.

Notes:

A few years back I actually rescued a very young chick. I had no idea what species it was, but because it was so young I took it to the RSPCA rescue shelter. I was informed by the staff that it was a scrub turkey chick, and my only response was "When does the ugly gene kick in? This baby is so cute." They laughed and took it into care. I didn't realise at that stage that the chicks fend for themselves, and as the chick was shaken but not harmed, it would have been released into a local state forest.