Hi Paul,
Great photos of Mallee Fowl on Ouyen Patchywollock Rd - well done.
Do you happen to know if more autopsies have been done on any road kill victims?
One such autopsy was mentioned with the claim that the gut contained only
native vegetation.
The suggestion that Mallee Fowl may be taking advantage of, and benefitting
from, crop seeds such as canola is of great interest. Perhaps the deceased
chook was a recent convert to the spoils of roadside feasting and being
inexperienced was killed before having a chance to get a free feed.
I have no knowledge of Mallee Fowl gastrointestinal tracts but domestic chooks
and turkeys need gizzard stones to grind hard seeds. Mallee sands are rather
light on for stones in many areas. Under some circumstances when traditional
food sources are scarce, food switching would be essential for survival and
finding ways to digest the new food would be advantageous - evolution in
action???
The birds in your photos certainly look healthy - do they have full crops?
Cheers,
Peter
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