Living With Wildlife

Scrubfowl

Family: Megapode

Scientific names: Megapodius reinwards

Other common names: Bush turkey, orange-footed scrubfowl, scrub turkeys

Bush Turkeys in the Environment

Scrubfowl, or bush turkeys, are one of three mound building birds in Australia. Common throughout the Darwin region and some off shore islands, Scrubfowl build huge nests of soil and plant material in which to incubate their eggs. Scrubfowl have large powerful orange legs and feet adapted for digging and foraging through soil and leaf litter.

Scrubfowl are typically found in pairs and they are extremely territorial. They spend the day foraging along the forest floor and generally only take to flight if they are disturbed or in order to roost in trees. Breeding occurs throughout September and October, with chicks emerging from mounds around November. Scrubfowl are important biological regulators of invertebrates and also assist with seed dispersal of a number of native plants.

Feeding

Scrubfowl feed on a range of food items throughout their daily scratching and foraging activities, including insects, fruits and seeds. They are primarily herbivorous but will feed on a range of seasonally available food items. In urban settings, scrubfowl feed on a range of common garden insects and plants, as well as occasionally feeding on pet food in people’s backyards.

Threats

The scrubfowl is common in rural and urban fringe areas around Darwin. However, urban scrubfowl often fall victim to cat and dog attacks or collisions with cars due to their close proximity to humans.

Interactions With People

In areas occupied by humans, scrubfowl take advantage of reliable food supplies, suitable nest sites and well irrigated gardens that replicate scrubfowl habitat. Scrubfowl may become a nuisance due to their digging and foraging habits that often result in garden damage. Scrubfowl may also cause damage to areas where nesting mounds are built. During breeding season scrubfowl can also cause noise disturbance from excessive vocalising during the night.

What You Can Do

If you have problems with scrubfowl in your area there are a number of things that you can try to reduce these problems:

Plan your gardens with scrubfowl in mind. Since new gardens are most susceptible to damage by scrubfowl, develop your garden in stages – your garden will be more likely to be resistant to serious damage if you protect plants during early stages of development.
Mulch around plants with pebbles, rocks or heavy coarse mulch to reduce damage.
Place tree guards or wire around newly planted trees or shrubs to protect plants against disturbance by scrubfowl.
Develop compost heaps to attract scrubfowl away from the garden. It is often difficult to deter these birds from building mounds, however, in some instances, a tarpaulin placed over the mound has proved to be very effective.
Avoid feeding wild birds and reduce access to pet food.
Consider sacrificing a small shady area (80-90% shade) of your garden for the scrubfowl to use, this area could also be utilised as a compost area for organic household waste.
Ensure irrigation systems are buried and secure.
Never destroy a mound or chase a scrubfowl. This will prove to be ineffective.
Restrict movements by your dog(s) or cat(s) to enable this species to forage safely.

Scrubfowl are a protected species in the Northern Territory. For this reason, it is important that members of the public do not interfere with these animals without an appropriate permit.