The Mallee Fowl

Yesterday during lunch after the Lock morning service, the elder of the work there was telling me about an Australian bird that defied the theory of evolution - a bird he called the ‘Mallee Hen’.

I was totally amazed as he told me the nature of the bird, and especially it’s manner of caring for its unhatched off-spring.

First of all, they build a completely unique nest. It’s a large mound made out of earth, leaves, twigs, bark, etc and they dig a pit in the centre about three feet deep.

The birds then take the temperature of the mound. The male probes it with his bill, and when both are satisfied the temperature in the mound is “hatching heat” (33°C), the hen lays her first egg. She then lays a single egg each week or two, for five or six months. She lays 15-20 eggs over this time. As each egg is laid, the male opens the mound and carefully moves the egg into the right position. He then prepares the mound for the next egg.

What’s amazing is that the bird constantly alters the structure of the mound to maintain the exact temperature. If the heat in the mound increases because of rapidly decaying plant material, he uncovers the eggs to let air circulate around them. When the hot summer sun beats down, he adds sand or soil to the mound. This acts as a shield to protect the eggs.

In autumn, as the cooler weather causes temperatures to drop, the male mallee uncovers the mound early in the day so the heat can reach the eggs. He covers it in the evening to retain the heat. Each egg needs seven weeks’ incubation. This means that some eggs will hatch while the female is laying others.

The newly hatched chick now has up to 15 hours of digging work ahead of it. It has to tunnel its way through nearly a metre of soil and debris to reach the open air. Unbelieveably, the chicks look after themselves from the moment they hatch, and can fly within 24 hours!

Now try to think how the mallee fowl’s breeding cycle could have evolved…

• How would the male and female determine their duties?
• How could the chicks know they must keep tunneling for up to 15 hours?
• What if the newly hatched chicks gave up after an eight-hour day?
• And how would the male know, from his first try at parenting, that he must maintain the temperature through various seasons and weather conditions at exactly 33°C or he will not produce any chicks?

What could the first mallee fowl evolve from? Would it evolve from a bird that can’t take temperature? Not likely, because its whole existence depends on knowing the exact temperature for its eggs. And if it evolved from a bird that already knew how to take temperature, how did the first temperature-taking bird evolve? Evolution has nothing but guesses for this incredible ability.

If the first mallee fowl parents didn’t get everything exactly right the first time, there would be no more mallee fowl.

Read more about it - AIG

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