canberrabirds

Brush Turkey

To: "'Geoffrey Dabb'" <>, "'John-Pierre Favre'" <>
Subject: Brush Turkey
From: "Philip Veerman" <>
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:34:42 +1100
They are a very common garden bird in places like Brisbane and very tame in many urban and bush areas that many people go to, e.g. the popular rain forest parks. They do a lot of damage in suburban and inner city gardens in places like Brisbane and in such places wild birds show little fear of humans, indeed can become aggressive towards people. Probably the hardware shops love them because many people need to build a fortress around their veggie garden to keep them out. There is no need to propose that it is or has been a captive bird, but could be. Quite possibly someone collected it on a holiday in Brisbane after deciding that it would make a good free substitute for a chicken or turkey and then discovered it was much harder to keep than a chicken and released it. I would not expect such a person to receive notices via email or answer them.
 
Philip
 
-----Original Message-----From: Geoffrey Dabb [ Sent: Friday, 20 January 2012 2:06 PM
To: 'John-Pierre Favre'      Cc:       Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Brush Turkey

Thanks John-Pierre.  As you knew, unmistakeably an Aust BT, and apparently an adult, and in good view.  I think I’d come back to the point I suggested earlier.  If it appeared 2 weeks ago, has been hanging around the precincts of yours and other properties since then,  and shows what might be called ‘picnic-grounds’ confidence towards humans (or doesn’t immediately disappear into cover), I think the evidence favours  a captive-bird origin.  Perhaps it came from an aviary or exotic-bird collection in the area.    Geoffrey

 

From: John-Pierre Favre [
Sent: Friday, 20 January 2012 12:51 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Brush Turkey

 

This is a shot of the beast taken at our place last week.

JP Favre

On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 10:41 AM, Geoffrey Dabb <> wrote:

John-Pierre

 

This record would be of considerable interest.  There was an early record of the species in the district that remains controversial.  The issue was discussed in the local bird journal (Canberra Bird Notes 24:3, September 1999), and the conclusion reached that  early previous occurrence was possible.  Every effort should be made to verify this record eg with a photo.  I am happy to come and try to get one if you think this feasible.  Meanwhile any info on a possible captive origin would be of interest.    Geoffrey   

 

From: John-Pierre Favre [
Sent: Friday, 20 January 2012 10:13 AM
To:
Subject: [canberrabirds] Brush Turkey

 

Hello there,

We live in Bywong (the Mac's Reef road area on the way to Bungendore). About two weeks ago a Brush Turkey turned up on our 40 acre lot. He has been seen on various properties since that day.

He comes and sleep way up a gum tree near our house. This morning he was feeding on Black Wattle seeds that are in abundance at the moment.

We know little about birds of Australia and would like to know if it is conceivable that Brush Turkeys live in our district.

We have put notices via email to ask if he belongs to someone but go no answers.

 

Can anyone give us some idea about this welcome arrival?

John-Pierre Favre

 

 

 

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the Canberra Ornithologists Group mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the list contact David McDonald, list manager, phone (02) 6231 8904 or email . If you can not contact David McDonald e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU