Field discovery, mound characteristics, bare parts, vocalisations and behaviour of Bruijn's Brush-turkey (Aepypodius bruijnii)

Abstract

Bruijn's Brush-turkey (Aepypodius bruijnii), known only from the Indonesian island of Waigeo, has managed to remain almost entirely unknown for more than 120 years since its formal description in 1880. Its recent rediscovery in the field is reported in detail here. The distinctive phases through which the incubation mounds of this species pass are concisely described and illustrated for the first time. Field observations of live birds revealed that the supposedly diagnostic, long pendulous nape wattles described from specimens and traditionally attributed to the adult male are either inflated extensions of the nape shield exclusively associated with courtship display or are an artefact of specimen preparation. This observation is even more significant against the backdrop of the unresolved exact provenance of the historical Bruijn material, which is considered here to have been secured within the montane breeding zones of the species. Two different types of vocalisations directly associated with anxiety and distress are also reported. Finally, various aspects of this brush-turkey's behaviour, life history and social organisation are described, corroborating and adding considerable detail to previous assumptions founded on its generic affinities.