 |
A Mallee Fowl Nest
 |
This rare bird incubates its eggs in a large mound of earth and leaf litter. The male constantly rebuilds the nest to keep the eggs at a constant 33 degrees centigrade. When the hot summer sun blazes down he adds a layer of sand or soil and when the mound composts more quickly...driving up the temperature ...he removes some to expose the eggs to the air. The male works constantly to keep his mates eggs at the right temperature.
Note: Adrian during our tour of Wyperfeld Park showed us several Mallee fowl and the location of many nests.
The incubation mounds built by the mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata) of Australia are up to 15 feet tall and 35 feet wide. A nest site is estimated to weigh 330 tons.
A 9 ft. 6 in. Wide 20 foot deep nest was built by a pair of bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and possibly by their successors, close to St Petersburg, Florida. When examined in 1963, the nest was estimated to weigh in excess of 2.2 tons.
