What's in a name?
Alectura Lathami is the scientific name for the Australian brush turkey. These funny-looking birds are our greatest natural composters in Australia! Whether we find them a friend or foe, we can't deny their composting prowess.
That is why we have decided to honour this Australian icon by naming the latest Nature Loo waterless composting toilet after our humble brush turkey. The Nature Loo: Alectura
Brush Turkey Appreciation
Here are five reasons to accept the brush turkey as our overlords love the Australian brush turkey:
01
They are self-starters
Brush turkeys are super-precocial birds. The young hatch with everything they need to thrive, right from the start. Which reminds us of Nature Loo’s humble beginnings as a small family owned business.
02
They are ancient
The Megapodiidae family dates back 30 million years. The egg incubation process is extraordinarily primitive nesting behaviour, more similar to a crocodile than normal birds. They’re basically dinosaurs!
03
They helped Australians survive the Great Depression
Nearly wiping the population out in 1930 when jobs and food were scarce, the brush turkey became a reliable source of meat and eggs. Country Women's Association even had a special recipe for a brush turkey egg omelette! Thankfully, they are a protected species now.
04
They make compost for love
The males build those large, attractive compost mounds to impress a mate. Working hard for a month straight, he can build a mound roughly the size of a car. Romance isn't dead!
05
They continue to survive and surprise us
They have been hunted and pushed out of their natural habitat by human settlement. Brush turkeys started to return to native gardens and parks in urban areas after the protection of native animals in 1972. But they continue to be attacked by cats, cars, and gardeners chasing them away from veggie patches.
