Wattled brushturkey

The wattled brushturkey (Aepypodius arfakianus) is a species of bird in the family Megapodiidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.

Wattled brushturkey
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Megapodiidae
Genus:	Aepypodius
Species:	A. arfakianus
Binomial name
Aepypodius arfakianus (Salvadori, 1877)
Subspecies
A. a. misoliensis (Ripley, 1957) A. a. arfakianus (Salvadori, 1877)

Description

It is a comparatively large for megapodes with some noticeable sexual dimorphism. Adults are on average, 46 cm long with a weight between 1.2 and 1.6 kg.^[2] Females have a dull grey bare facial skin, whereas the males are pale-blue. Moreover, the red wattles on the head and chest is enlarged in the male, whilst it is reduced for females. Overall, they are similar to other brushturkeys but the wattled brushturkey has a vertically flattened tail with maroon rump and darker legs.^[3]

Behaviour and ecology

These birds have an incredibly wide range, making them resilient against human impacts, with a breeding range of approximately 685,000 km².^[1]

They are very shy birds and locating them is difficult. These omnivorous birds often forage on the ground floor, scraping leaves to uncover fallen fruit, seeds and invertebrates.^[3]