When I attended my son Ryan’s wedding in Ipswich, Queensland, in June 2022, it was my first close encounter with the beautiful Australian Brush-Turkey, also known as the Scrub Turkey. If you want to get technical, it’s an Alectura Iathami, which grows to around 60 to 70 centimetres.

We don’t see these birds in Victoria as they’re restricted to the eastern coast of Australia, ranging from the tip of Queensland down to – almost – the south-eastern border of NSW and Victoria.

Interrupting the wedding

I know that I should have been concentrating on my son’s wedding, but when I saw this bird walking through the park where the ceremony was about to take place, I couldn’t help but grab my phone and take a couple of photographs. (Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, by the way.)