Megapodes are a cool radiation of galliformes centered around Australia and spreading up to the Philippines in the west and into parts of Polynesia in the east. Unfortunately many insular Pacific forms went extinct.

So while during super touristy things around Manly, I was surprised and happy to come across this Australian Brush-Turkey (Alectura lathami) sitting next to a sidewalk.

Now for most Australians, seeing a megapode isn’t a big deal. And for me, that’s also why it’s cool. Seeing your native biota shouldn’t be a big deal. One shouldn’t have to go to a museum or a zoo to interact with native biota. So you’ll have to excuse me when small things like this put a smile on my face.