Hi Birders,
Alistair Smith enquired regarding the description
of a Brush Turkey chick. HANZAB Vol 2 1993 gives the description as
follows:
Soft parts: Bill black, iris dark, legs and
claws cream to straw yellow.
Description: On hatching, most feathering,
soft, downy. Head, brown: ear-coverts, bare or with short buff feathers;
Hindneck, greyish-buff; Rest of upperparts, fairly uniform dull black brown;
Remiges and greater coverts, developed, dark brown; Throat and foreneck, buff;
Breast, grey-brown, appearing as fairly sharply demarcated band between buff
throat and belly; Flanks, dull brown; Tail, black-brown, downy.
In my expereince the chicks resemble the chickens
of domestic fowls but are basically darkish all over with well developed wing
feathers and they can fly well down hill gaining considerable height as they
take -off rising up at about a 45 degrees angle.
Alan Morris
Birding NSW, Records Officer
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