An Australian Brush-turkey pops its head up from a sea of fern fronds. Up periscope!

I was walking the Gibberagong trail in Ku-ring-gai parkland when the brush-turkey appeared. The bird puttered around me for a while, went down to the creek, then came back past me:

Just look at the size of those feet. The bird is a member of the megapode family. Megapode means “big feet”.

The Australian Brush-turkey is not a very pretty bird, but its surrounds made up for that. On one side of the path was Cockle Creek:

On the other side of the path, and in fact all round, the Australian forest:

Common name: Australian Brush-turkey

Scientific name: Alectura lathami

Approximate length: 60 cm

Date spotted: 28 August 2019 (late winter)

Location: Bobbin Head, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°40’11.0″S 151°08’59.5″E