It’s amazing how much the galliform genus is expanding. Are you sure you know them all? Because I’m sure you’ve never heard of Cuvier’s taleglous before, have you?
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A kind of Idonesia
This bird, known as talegalla cuvieri, belongs to the megapodiidae family and is endemic to Indonesia. Its scientific name commemorates the French zoologist Frédéric Cuvier.
This species can be found in western New Guinea and nearby islands. They inhabit the lowland jungles of the Doberai Peninsula, the western Sudirman Mountains, Misool Island and some islets in the province of West Papua.
What does it look like?
It is a large bird in its family, which can grow to be about 57 cm long. The female is usually a little smaller and lighter than the male. The color of its feathers is almost completely black, but it has a bare facial part with a yellowish-colored caruncle.
The top of the head is covered by a series of black feathers. Both sexes look similar in appearance, not having the sexual dimorphism that happens to other members of their species. Two subspecies have been recognized:
- Talegalla cuvieri cuvieri: The nominal subspecies found west of Papua and northwest of New Guinea.
- Talegalla cuvieri granti: He lives in the western part of New Guinea.
How do they live in freedom?
The truth is that your life in freedom can be full of daily conflicts. Although it may be a species that lives in small communities with other members of the same species, its territorial character means that there are many clashes, especially between males.
Unlike other bird species, the male is the one who makes the nest on which the female will lay her eggs. This mound, which can be up to one meter high and five meters in diameter, is dug into the ground and built in the best way the male can consider. In addition, it is covered by a series of materials that can decompose and ensure its maintenance for almost a year.
When the time comes for reproduction, the same male can mate with the same female, just as a female can be fertilized by several males. After mating, the male will guide the female to her nest, where she will lay her eggs. Then she will expel it and repeat the process with another female, being able to have up to a total of about thirty eggs in the nest.
I fill the nest, close it with a resident material, such as humus, and it will take a month for the chicks to hatch. At no time will the male or female approach the nest to hatch the eggs, but will let the sunlight do so. After the month, the chicks will be born and will be taken care of by both parents.
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