Waigeo brushturkey | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Megapodiidae |
Genus: | Aepypodius |
Species: | A. bruijnii
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Binomial name | |
Aepypodius bruijnii (Oustalet, 1880)
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The Waigeo brushturkey (Aepypodius bruijnii) or Bruijn's brushturkey, 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 foredeck. Both sexes are similar. The female has a smaller comb and no wattles.
An Indonesian endemic, the Waigeo brushturkey inhabits 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 uplifted to Endangered status in 2008.[3]