Why mallee bird lays her eggs in the sanWhy mallee bird lays her eggs in the sand

Why mallee bird lays her eggs in the sand

(From ‘Legends of the Birds’)

WAYAMBEH a descendant of the original Wayambeh, who was turned into a tortoise, married Kookaburra, a very unusual union. They argued about where their eggs should be laid. Kookaburra (male) argued that they should be in a nest where they can be kept warm, Wayambeh (female tortoise) argued that she couldn’t fly and would break the eggs if she sat on them to keep them warm. The couple argued so much when it came time for the turtle to lay their eggs Kookaburra had left. Wayambeh had no choice but to lay her eggs in the sand. She had an interested spectator – Woggoon, the Mallee Fowl who said it was a silly place to lay her eggs. Wayambeh explained she lay them close to the surface where the sun keeps them warm and didn’t have to sit on them to keep them warm “See how much trouble we are saved”. Woggoon spoke to her husband and said she was going bury her eggs that year. The husband and wife argued all night but the next morning the male bird gave in and helped her to make a mound of leaves, sticks and sand and scraped a hole in which to bury her eggs. After waiting and checking the nest every day eventually the female was convinced her eggs had died and so dug up the nest to find only eggshell. And then she saw little Malleefowl chicks whom she recognised at once as her own. Ever since then Woggoon has followed Wayambeh’s example and has laid her eggs in leaf-mound so they will hatch in the warm earth (Legends of the Birds n.d.).

Photo of an egg and two malleefowl on a malleefowl mound ©Graeme Tonkin, NMRG.

A Malleefowl egg in an open mound with two Malleefowl ©Graeme Tonkin, NMRG.