Tobias Hayashi Photography
Australian Brush-Turkey, Lamington NP, 6.1.09
Here is a photo of the oft-pictured Australian Brush-Turkey. These are a dead cert at many places, including Lamington, because of their knack of hanging around human habitation and plagiarising any food left over night.
This is not a standard portrait, and it is not meant to be. For one, the feet are not included in the photo. I prefer the close crop, which focuses more on the bird itself, its features. The background is tarmac, which is sadly typical these days. Unusually, this photo is full frame, no cropping.
The legs are typical of a mound-builder like this: large, very strong, and also very good at ripping apart multiple plastic bags at campgrounds. The tail, not so evident in this shot, is long, laterally compressed, a bit like a vertical sweeper or something.
For a nest, the male builds a huge mound, sometimes metres across, mostly on the rainforest floor. He then courts the female, and the eggs are layed in the mound, where temperatures are regulated by the male (by adding or removing excess debris on the mound). Once the chicks hatch, I believe they are virtually on their own. They are very small, but in January, you often see small light brown young brusht-turkeys scratching on the rainforest floor by themselves.
Before I left Lamington I wanted a shot of these funny birds that would capture they're lifestyle as it is in this era. I hope it captures the essence of these big bush birds, at once grotesquely handsome and piratical.
Australian Brush-Turkey, Lamington NP, 6.1.09
Here is a photo of the oft-pictured Australian Brush-Turkey. These are a dead cert at many places, including Lamington, because of their knack of hanging around human habitation and plagiarising any food left over night.
This is not a standard portrait, and it is not meant to be. For one, the feet are not included in the photo. I prefer the close crop, which focuses more on the bird itself, its features. The background is tarmac, which is sadly typical these days. Unusually, this photo is full frame, no cropping.
The legs are typical of a mound-builder like this: large, very strong, and also very good at ripping apart multiple plastic bags at campgrounds. The tail, not so evident in this shot, is long, laterally compressed, a bit like a vertical sweeper or something.
For a nest, the male builds a huge mound, sometimes metres across, mostly on the rainforest floor. He then courts the female, and the eggs are layed in the mound, where temperatures are regulated by the male (by adding or removing excess debris on the mound). Once the chicks hatch, I believe they are virtually on their own. They are very small, but in January, you often see small light brown young brusht-turkeys scratching on the rainforest floor by themselves.
Before I left Lamington I wanted a shot of these funny birds that would capture they're lifestyle as it is in this era. I hope it captures the essence of these big bush birds, at once grotesquely handsome and piratical.