Ancients

William McInnes meets Suzanne Dennings who has a special relationship with a male malleefowl; faces off with an Australian Brush Turkey; and plays Barry White, coughing sweet nothings into a female emu's ear. -- Background Information ANCIENT BIRDS Malleefowl Malleefowl take chick rearing very seriously. Not only are they impressive earth-movers - shifting 8-12 semi-trailer loads of sand a year in their nest maintenance, they are diligent temperature controllers. Their mounds are made up of thick layer of sand, an egg chamber and layer of rotting compost. The egg chamber is kept at a constant 33°C by opening and closing air vents in the insulation layer, while heat comes from the compost below. They build little moats on their mounds to collect rainwater. When they hatch, the chicks dig all the way up the mound without taking a breath. Their first breath is at the surface, then they scurry off into the mallee to fend for themselves, never even seeing their parents who have put so much effort into getting them this far! Brush turkey For some they are a living nightmare, pecking on windows at 4am, destroying pool and spa wiring to the cost of $600 and even attacking children playing on bikes in their own backyard. The male Australian Brush Turkey builds a nesting mound of soil and plant litter mostly between August and December. If you disturb or move the mound during the day, the male will probably rebuild it in the same location the next day and the next, right until the end of the breeding season. It turns out the best solution is based on the way the mound temperature regulation works. Brush turkeys need 90% shade canopy to maintain their mound at optimal temperature. So where it’s possible, some selective pruning of the shade cover above the mound to let in a good bit of glaring light will see the bird move on. Cassowaries Cassowaries are one of Australia’s most primitive living birds – and also the heaviest – weighing up to 7