Australian brushturkey
Scientific name: Alectura lathami J. E. Gray, 1831
Overview
The Australian brushturkey, Australian brush-turkey, or gweela, also commonly called the bush turkey, scrub turkey, or just brushturkey, is a large mound-building bird of the family Megapodiidae. It is found in eastern Australia, ranging from Far North Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales, and has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is the largest living member of the Megapodiidae and one of three species native to Australia.
From the Wikipedia article “Australian brushturkey”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3.
Size and lifespan
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| Birth weight | 190 g |
Source: Wikidata, citing “AVIAN BODY SIZES IN RELATION TO FECUNDITY, MATING SYSTEM, DISPLAY BEHAVIOR, AND RESOURCE SHARING”, article by Terje Lislevand et al published June 2007 in Ecology.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Australia.
Common names
Also known in English as Australian Brush-turkey.
Names in other languages (10)
- Arabic
- دجاج الأيكة الأسترالي
- Chinese
- 叢塚雉
- French
- Talégalle de Latham
- German
- Australbuschhuhn, Buschhuhn
- Indonesian
- Maleo Australia
- Japanese
- ヤブツカツクリ
- Persian
- بوقلمون وحشی استرالیایی
- Portuguese
- Peru-do-mato, peru-do-mato-australiano
- Russian
- Кустарниковый большеног
- Spanish
- Talégalo cabecirrojo
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, measurements, names in other languages. Q632066, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Australian brushturkey”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026