The Australian bustard (Ardeotis australis) is a large ground-dwelling bird that is common in grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea.

The bustard is omnivorous, mostly consuming the fruit or seed of plants, but also eating invertebrates such as crickets, grasshoppers, smaller mammals, birds and reptiles.

John Gould also provided a description in 1841, and named the bird Otis australasianus, using a skin obtained in Western Australia.

[9] The only Australian species of Ardeotis, a genus occurring in the African, Indian and Australasian regions, this bustard is a large terrestrial bird that resembles an American turkey in its form and behaviour.

The general coloration of A. australis is black at the crown and nape, the long neck is pale grey at the front, and brown plumage cover the wings and upper body.

[9] A brooding female will crouch and move away if disturbed, flightless juveniles will remain still and rely on the camouflage of their plumage to evade detection.

[16] The habits of the bird are usually discreet and shy of disturbance, however, the display of males during the breeding season is a conspicuous performance that is accompanied by loud booming.

[8] Males have been observed in close proximity during territorial disputes, using the breeding display and call to challenge each other, but the direct conflict seen in smaller bustard species is rare with this bird.

One incident involving physical combat at a height around 25 metres was recorded in Arnhemland, after a period of posturing and chasing by the males in dispute, but this may be unusual behaviour due to the greater risk of injury in this larger species of bustard.

The chick will leave the site after emerging from its shell to avoid predation, and relies on the mottled black and brown coloration of their downy plumage to evade detection by squatting and remaining motionless.

[10][18] The species is strongly attracted to capers, fruit of the plant Capparis nummularia known as myandee or moonflower in the Australian northwest, and this behaviour is exploited by Indigenous peoples who dig pit traps around the bush and wait nearby to capture them.

The omnivorous diet includes seeds and fruit of plants, a variety of insects, especially grasshoppers, lizards, young birds and small rodents.

[8] The distribution range of the species includes a wide area of the Australian continent and occasionally extends to southern parts of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

[1] The historical range in Southwest Australia included the dunes and alluvial flats of the Swan Coastal Plain, as far south as Busselton, and at the interior in what became the Wheatbelt.

Anecdotal reports from residents of the region stated that the species avoided human habitation and pastoral activities, and that over-hunting or land clearing rather than foxes were responsible for their local disappearance.

Ardeotis australis is listed in state conservation registers, providing evaluation and protection to the species under each region's legislation.

[24][25] Hunting of the bush turkey was noted as difficult, the elusive habits requiring a lot of manoeuvring for a clear target, but greater success was found by the colonists, first from horseback and later from motor vehicles.

The bustard was protected by legislation introduced during the later nineteenth century, which included closed seasons for hunting and eventually a prohibition on shooting.

'Turkey Flat' was the local name given to Lot 1, 100 of Moorooroo (where the winery now sits) on settlement in reference to the large flocks of the Australian bustard found along the river banks.