Is this Sydney’s new bin chicken? Brush turkeys invade Sydney suburbs and break into backyards trying to mate with pet chooks
- Brush turkey sightings are on the rise across Sydney after a population drop
- There have been reports of the native species forcefully mating with chickens
- Others strayed into zoo exhibits and ended up being gobbled up predators
Brush turkeys are breaking into Sydney homes and romancing backyard chickens, but not all are enjoying their escape from everyday life.
The birds are almost becoming as common in Sydney as the bin-chicken- or white Ibis- and some consider them just as much of a nuisance.
Reports are spreading of them hopping into people’s backyards and mating with their pet chickens, while others who strayed too close to tiger enclosures at nearby Taronga Zoo aren’t as lucky.
Brush turkeys have been spotted feasting on gummy bears at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo
A research program is getting Sydney locals to track the species’ spread across the city using an app developed by Sydney University PHD candidate Matthew Hall- Brush Turkeys: Birds in Suburbia.
Since its launch Hall told the Sydney Morning Herald he’s been getting reports from right around the city.
‘I had an email from someone telling me they saw a brush-turkey crossing the Harbour Bridge in the middle of the day.
Brush-turkeys at Taronga Zoo have been getting into the animal exhibits and one was eaten by a tiger,’ he said.
Meanwhile University of Griffith Professor and urban ecologist Darryl Jones said a recent annoyance of many Sydneysiders is to do with their humble backyard chook.
‘I know plenty of cases of forced matings with the increasingly popular backyard chickens, there’s been lots of people complaining about it,’ he said in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Some have been calling the app creator asking how to kill the pesky natives or drive them away from their homes.
A brush turkey was spotted hanging out in a residential backyard on top of their outdoor setting
That’s because the birds like to scratch up mounds of leaf little to create nests for their eggs- meaning gardens or footpaths often become covered with leaves and other debris from their visits.
The birds, also knows a bush turkeys or scrub turkeys, are Australian natives and despite being listed as a protected species since the 70s it’s only been the past 10 years there has been such a large expansion across Sydney’s urban areas.
Dr Alicia Burns, a Behavioural Biologist with the Taronga Conservation Society Australia told the Daily Mail that brush turkeys are hardy and resourceful so its possible they’re simply adapting to the harsh conditions of city life.
The app Brush Turkeys: Birds in Suburbia allows Sydneysiders to track sightings of the native brush turkey
‘One theory is that we’ve become better at controlling potential predators, i.e. locking up cats at night, keeping dogs on leashes, etc,’ she said.
Despite the tiger situation, she said the birds tend to get along pretty well with the other animals at the zoo.
‘Most of the time the turkeys and zoo animals co-habit peacefully, but there have been some rare cases where they’ve come off second best,’ she said.
Brush turkeys are spreading across Sydney’s suburbs, reclaiming their native land after population losses during the Great Depression