Australian brushturkey
Alectura lathami J. E. Gray, 1831
The Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 2.16 kg to 2.52 kg and live up to 12.5 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the Australian brushturkey
- Weight
- 2.16 kg – 2.52 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 12.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 42 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 12 – 14.8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 21src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the Australian brushturkey live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The Australian brushturkey is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the Australian brushturkey?
The Australian brushturkey, Australian brush-turkey, or gweela (Alectura lathami), also commonly called the bush turkey, scrub turkey, or just brushturkey, is a large mound-building bird of the family Megapodiidae. It is found in eastern Australia, ranging from Far North Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales, and has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is the largest living member of the Megapodiidae and one of three species native to Australia.
Despite its name and superficial resemblance to other birds, the Australian brushturkey is not closely related to the American turkey or the Australian bustard (which is also known locally as the bush turkey in central Australia). Its closest relatives are the wattled brushturkey, Waigeo brushturkey, and malleefowl.
From the Wikipedia article “Australian brushturkey” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Australian_brushturkey&oldid=1379244563), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Australian brushturkey endangered?
The Australian brushturkey is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the Australian brushturkey classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyMegapodiidae
- genusAlectura
- SpeciesAlectura lathami J. E. Gray, 1831
Other names and names in other languages (43)
- Australian brush-turkeyEnglish
- Australian brush-turkeyEnglish
- Bush TurkeyEnglish
- GweelaEnglish
- Scrub TurkeyEnglish
- دجاج الأيكة الأستراليArabic
- talègol cap-roigCatalan
- tabon brunátnýCzech
- tabon lesníCzech
- twrci'r prysgwyddWelsh
- KratkalkunDanish
- AustralbuschhuhnGerman
- Australische TalegallaGerman
- BuschhuhnGerman
- aŭstralia megapodoEsperanto
- Alectura lathamiSpanish
- Pavo de MatorralSpanish
- Talégalo cabecirrojoSpanish
- kalkun-rihukanaEstonian
- kekokanaFinnish
- Talégalle de LathamFrench
- Tallégalle de LathamFrench
- crvenovrata kokošinaCroatian
- talegallatyúkHungarian
- Megapodio australianoItalian
- Tacchino di boscaglia australianoItalian
- ヤブツカツクリJapanese
- gilgunyjankgs
- krūmyninė vištaLithuanian
- BoskalkoenDutch
- klaveovnhøneNorwegian
- nogal brunatnyPolish
- peru-do-mato-australianoPortuguese
- Кустарная индейкаRussian
- Австралийский курохвостRussian
- Кустарниковый большеногRussian
- tabon morkovitýSlovak
- Australijska megapodaSerbian
- australisk buskhönaSwedish
- Hindi MegapoduTurkish
- великоніг східнийUkrainian
- 叢塚雉Chinese
- 大塚雉Chinese
Relatives of the Australian brushturkey
Other species in the same family Megapodiidae.
Maleo
Macrocephalon maleo
Malleefowl
Leipoa ocellata
Orange-footed scrubfowl
Megapodius reinwardt
Moluccan megapode
Eulipoa wallacei
Nicobar megapode
Megapodius nicobariensis
Tongan megapode
Megapodius pritchardii
CompareAustralian brushturkey vs MaleoAustralian brushturkey vs MalleefowlAustralian brushturkey vs Orange-footed scrubfowlAustralian brushturkey vs Moluccan megapode
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the Australian brushturkey?
An adult Australian brushturkey weighs 2.16 kg – 2.52 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the Australian brushturkey live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the Australian brushturkey for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the Australian brushturkey endangered?
The Australian brushturkey is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the Australian brushturkey live?
The Australian brushturkey has a recorded lifespan of 12.5 years.
What kind of animal is the Australian brushturkey?
The Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami) belongs to the family Megapodiidae in the order Galliformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-brushturkey
“Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-brushturkey.
@misc{australian_brushturkey_2026,
title = {Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/australian-brushturkey},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}