Mallee Fowl (Leipoa ocellata)

The Mallee Fowl

The mallee fowl are the largest mound builders in Australia. The mound is built by the male from dirt and leaves and sticks from the surrounding mallee forest. The mallee is small type of eucalyptus which is extremely drought resistant.

During the breeding season the males will visit their mounds at least once every day. Once all the eggs are laid the female will join in with the care of the  mound. As the vegetation starts to decay heat is generated and this keeps the eggs warm. The male and female will closely monitor the mound temperature and if it is too hot will scrape away some of the mound from above the eggs to allow the heat to escape. Sand and leaves will be scraped back if it is too cool. They regulate the mound so that it stays near 92F.

It takes the male some four –six months to build a mound which might be well over a metre high and some four to five metres across.

The chicks have a hard time escaping from the mound, and after resting for a day start to fend for themselves. They live separately from each other  and their parents do not look after them.

The only enemy is the introduced fox. However numbers are declining perhaps because of climate change and recent monitoring of nests in parts of Victoria reveal that a high percentage of mounds are not active any more. Drought may have been the biggest killer.

Further Information on the Mallee Fowl:

Bibliography:
Unavailable.