Scientific name:
Leipoa ocellata

Natural spread:
Australia

lives in dry bush-areas (Melleebusch) from the southern Australia the approximately 55 cm big thermometer-chicken and developed a quite special brood-method in adaptation to this habitat uncommon for big-foot-chickens.

Brood-habit About despite the dryness of its residential-area sufficiently moisture to the Kompostierung, d. h. To get fermentation of leaves and other plant-material, the cock positions its brood-pile half underground. it scratches one at beginning of the Australian winter until pit deep to 1 m, that it replenishes with leaves from the surroundings (until 50 m of distance), from. As soon as the low precipitations moistened the plant-material, the cock covers it with a sand-layer. The ready "incubator" now is approximately 1 m and measures approximately 5 m in the diameter.

In the spring, the female now puts individually in the distance of several days up to 20 or 30 eggs in in each case from the cock of dug walks, that would go there approximately as far as to the middle of the hill. But first directly to the deposit of the eggs is let go first the females by the cock; until then, it expels each invader of its hill without exception. For each egg, the protective sand-deck-layer must be removed again; also, the male thermometer-chicken constantly is during the entire day busy equalizing the different outside-temperatures through changing the deck-layer. To the one, the fermentation-process constantly must be controlled that to the other, the climate-change conditional also seasonally means a continuous threat of the temperature necessary for the egg-development of 33,5 °C. In the spring, surplus fermentation-heat must be derived, in the summer against it is able only a thicker sand-layer to protect the nest from outsized sun-no-radiation and Erwärmung; in the autumn on the other hand, the much sand is in the way, now, the direct sun-heat helps on the foliage-layer. Against evening, the cock protects them almost ready erbrüteten eggs through pouring the during the day aufgeheizten sand before the nightly coolness.

Approximately the construction-time of the brood-hill begins in May, in September, the females put its eggs from and until to March, the squabs hatch, who already are completely independent at the time of the hatches. The cock therefore is barely 10 months with its "incubator" employed in the year, with what constantly - day - it how also by night - the temperature must check. Which "thermometer" the Wallnister or Taubenwallnister, as these big-foot-chickens are named as well, now uses, is not yet exactly known. Probably, they investigate the correct brood-heat with a Sinnesorgan the beak-area.