| The megapode hatchling receives no care or guidance from its parents and so must be able to survive by itself. This raises some basic questions about the innate abilities of megapode hatchlings, including the possibility of predator recognition. Experiments were conducted to investigate the visual predator recognition abilities of the hatchlings of the Australian brush-turkey Alectura lathami J.E. Gray, 1831. Two separate methods involving video images and actual stimuli were used. There were no significant differences between the behaviours observed before compared to after the presentation of each stimulus, whether it was predator or non-predator, moving or non-moving. The hatchlings did not respond with any escape or avoidance behaviours when presented... |
