A tiny new arrival at Monarto Safari Park is making big waves in conservation circles, with the park celebrating the first-ever successful hatching of a Malleefowl chick in its history.
The fluffy hatchling arrived in December to Monarto’s resident Malleefowl pair, aged 14 and 15, who have been together for more than a decade. For the keepers who care for the elusive native birds, the discovery came as a complete surprise.
“We arrived to find what looked initially like a little quail, and it was actually a Malleefowl chick sitting on our keeper pathway,” said Natives Keeper Cristy.
Known for building enormous nesting mounds from sand and leaf litter, Malleefowl are one of Australia’s most fascinating and unusual native birds. The species is currently listed as vulnerable in South Australia, with habitat loss, land clearing and introduced predators continuing to threaten wild populations.
Unlike many birds, Malleefowl chicks are born ready to fend for themselves from the moment they hatch. After spending hours digging themselves out of the nesting mound, the tiny birds immediately begin searching for food and learning to survive alone.
“So they’re precocial, so that means that the chick hatches from the mound, has to emerge itself,” shared Cristy. “This might take over 10 hours, and then they’re fully independent. No parenting assistance from mum or dad.”
The Monarto Safari Park team closely monitored the chick using remote cameras and were thrilled to see it quickly adapting to life outside the mound, pecking and scratching for food before safely roosting off the ground within days.
Keepers believe the successful hatch came down to near-perfect environmental conditions inside the breeding mound, where decomposing leaf litter naturally generates warmth to incubate the eggs.
“This time around we seem to have had the right kind of conditions for the leaf litter inside that the birds fill up with the laid eggs, and then that decomposes to help keep the eggs warm.”
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The young Malleefowl has since moved into a larger nearby habitat and undergone health checks and genetic testing as part of Monarto’s ongoing conservation efforts.
Often heard before they are seen, Malleefowl are shy, ground-dwelling birds famous for their oversized feet, booming calls and remarkable mound-building behaviour. In the wild, they can spend months carefully maintaining nest temperatures by adding or removing sand and vegetation.
For Monarto Safari Park, the successful hatch is a significant moment for the future of the vulnerable species in South Australia. The team is now hopeful this tiny chick is just the beginning of many more Malleefowl milestones to come.
