Many years ago I worked as a research technician studying the mating behaviour of Brush-turkeys, this may go some way to explaining why this post and these images emerge out of my own filter of relevance and onto my blog. I run another blog that deals with history themes, called Under the Lino (https://underthelino.blogspot.com/). Today's post could happily be published in that blog, but given that this is my Year of the Bird and given the ornithological content I think it more properly belongs here with my science audience.
I enjoy the illustrations in some nineteenth century newspapers, of which the Illustrated Sydney News is a fine example. While I don't fully understand the process of producing newspaper images in the mid nineteenth century, I imagine it to be akin to metal plate etching. I also imagine it to be a process requiring care and craftsmanship.
The following images and texts can be found in the Illustrated Sydney News of Thursday 5 August 1869. The images can be found on page 5 and the accompanying texts on page 9. This is a link to the brush turkey image. Thus the sightings of a Brush-turkey in the Botanical Gardens, probably refer to the Sydney Botanical Gardens. According to eBird Brush-turkeys are still found in the gardens.
The scientific names have changed, the Australian Bustard is now known as Ardeotis australis, and the Australian Brush-turkey as Alectura lathami. The distribution of the Brush-turkey is also now known to extend much further north all the way through to Cape York. I leave this data uncorrected in the quoted text.
THE BRUSH TURKEY; OR, WATTLED TALEGALLA.(Talegaili Lathami.)This singular bird is peculiar to Australia, and found from Moreton Bay to the Hunter ; it does not inhabit the plains of the interior. It is gregarious in its habits, very shy and difficult to approach. The eggs are deposited under a large heap of decaying vegetable matter and are not incubated by the bird. A very fine example is now living in the Botanic Gardens.
THE AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD.(Clioriotis Australis.)THIS noble bird ranks second only to the emeu (sic), and is as widely distributed over the plains of the interior. It stands higher upon its legs than the great bustard of Europe, and is similar in its habits, feeding on seeds, vegetables, grasses, insects, &c. It breeds in September, and the female deposits a single egg only, on the bare ground, surrounded by a circle of dry sticks, grass, &c.
