Waigeo brushturkey

Waigeo brushturkey
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Galliformes
Family:Megapodiidae
Genus:Aepypodius
Species: A. bruijnii
Binomial name
Aepypodius bruijnii
(Oustalet, 1880)

The Waigeo brushturkey or Bruijn's brushturkey (Aepypodius bruijnii) is a large (approximately 43 cm long) brownish-black megapode with a bare red facial skin, red comb, maroon rump and chestnut brown below. There are two elongated red wattles on the back of the head and a long wattle on the foreneck. Both sexes are similar. The female has a smaller comb and no wattles.

An Indonesian endemic, the Waigeo brushturkey occurs in mountain forests on Waigeo Island of West Papua.

Previously known from less than twenty-five specimens, this little-known species was relocated in 2002. The name commemorates the Dutch merchant Anton August Bruijn.

This bird is threatened by hunting, ongoing habitat loss, small population size and a limited range. It was formerly classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN.[2] But new research has shown it to be rarer than it was believed. Consequently, it was uplisted to Endangered status in 2008.[3]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Aepypodius bruijnii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ↑ BLI (2004)
  3. ↑ BLI (2008)
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