Dmjs. Bowman et al., ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS OF ORANGE-FOOTED SCRUBFOWL MEGAPODIUS-REINWARDT NESTS IN THE NORTHERN-TERRITORY, Emu, 94, 1994, pp. 181-185
The occurrence of Orange-footed Scrubfowl nests within monsoon rainfor
est patches was recorded during a comprehensive survey of this vegetat
ion type in the Northern Territory. The occurrence of active and extin
ct nests in nearby surrounding habitats was also noted. Of the 1223 ra
inforest patches sampled, 25% contained scrubfowl nests. No active nes
ts were recorded in savanna habitats. Nests typically occur in large (
mean = 64 ha) coastal monsoon rainforests on siliceous substrates. The
occurrence of extinct nests in savanna surrounding rainforest patches
that contained active nests was infrequent (7% of the sample) but may
indicate a contraction of the habitat of Orange-footed Scrubfowl in t
he Northern Territory. Localised extinction of Scrubfowl populations m
ay have occurred at two rainforest patches which did not contain nests
but had extinct nests in the surrounding savanna. The cause of this a
pparent habitat contraction remains unclear.