Mallee Fowl, scientific name: Leipoa ocellata, is also known as the Mallee Hen, Native Pheasant; Bush Chicken, Incubator Bird, Thermometer Bird, Mound Bird and by its Aboriginal names; gnow, lowan and Nganamara. The names generally relate to the appearance and habits of this remarkable bird.

The Mallee Fowl is pheasant-shaped bird, about the size of a large chicken, brown in colour with a black As a ground dwelling bird, the camouflage colours probably help them to survive.

The Mallee Fowl is one of twenty-two chicken-like birds that build mounds in which they incubate their eggs. The group is called ‘Megapodiidae’, meaning “big feet” (the big feet make digging easier). Mallee Fowl are unique in that other mound builders tend to live in moist tropical forest environments (such as the Bush Turkey), whereas, the Mallee Fowl only lives in arid and semi-arid areas in the mallee vegetation regions of western NSW and Victoria, SA and WA.

The male Mallee Fowl builds the mound from sand, dirt, leaves and sticks. The female helps care for the mound a little, but only after the eggs are laid. Mallee Fowl eggs are large, weighing up to 10% of the adult's body weight. The hen lays an average of 18 eggs, one at a time, between 3 and 7 days apart.

Mallee Fowl mounds may be used over many generations and can reach over 20 metres in circumference and more than a metre in height. The heap then starts to decay, and, like garden compost, the fermentation process gives off heat.

The heat from decaying vegetation incubates the eggs. The male spends several hours a day fussing over and maintaining the heap. It has receptors in its beak that are very sensitive to temperature, and mound material is scratched back and forth to maintain the egg chamber within a temperature range of about 32-34 degrees Celsius.

Mallee Fowl chicks usually hatch and emerge from the mounds in November. The journey to the surface may take as long as 2-15 hours, digging for 5-10 minutes then resting for up to an hour before starting again. Once out of the mound, chicks have to fend for themselves, as they receive no care from their parents after hatching. They remain mainly solitary animals and have little contact with other Mallee Fowl, except for mating and disputes over territory. Most chicks die from starvation or predation, and it is estimated that survival rate is as low as 2% in most districts.

The Mallee Fowl chicks and adults have a diverse diet of insects, seeds, and native plants. They do not need to drink much, as they can extract the water they need from their food.

Mallee Fowl are generally described as ground dwelling birds, although they will take flight close to the ground, but for some distance (rather like a chicken or guinea fowl) if disturbed, and they often roost in low trees overnight.

The Mallee Fowl was once common, but their numbers have dramatically declined over the last 100 years, due to clearance of mallee vegetation and predation from cats and foxes. They were originally hunted for food, but are now a protected species and they are listed as a threatened species.

The most recently recognised threat is from climate change and drought. As keen garden compost makers will appreciate, the fermentation process requires adequate moisture. With declining rainfall, there is a significant risk that mounds will not reach the required temperature of 32-34 degrees centigrade. Life is already challenging enough for this species of solitary birds, that must fend for themselves from the time they hatch, and spend three quarters of the year building and maintaining mounds.