Friday, December 25, 2009

Scrubhens fight for Territory


Over the last few weeks we have seen several Scrubhens; they have decided that the area around our houses and the orchard looks like a good new territory. It has been a regular occurance to see a pair wandering around. I love their personalities so it is good to see them around.

Scrubhens are megapodes, also called the Orange Footed Jungle Fowl, they build large mounds of leaves as nests, and the eggs are incubated by the breakdown of the leaves. The process is controlled by the male bird, who adds and removes leaves as needed. The babies are not looked after when they hatch and can fly within a couple of days.

The local aborigines call them 'Cherooka' due to the long drawn out calls that make...Cheroooookaaaa.

The birds we see comprise two pairs, and the new territory is hotly in dispute. It is common to see the males flying up to 4m in the air squawking and packing at each other. They clearly have no love lost...


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