Galliformes  

Gallinaceous birds exhibit a diversity of mating systems including monogamy, polygyny and polygynandry. Pair bonds, if evident, may last only through copulation or may persist over multiple breeding seasons. Courtship behaviors may entail elaborate displays of brightly colored skin and plumage. In some species dominance hierarchies exist, and high-ranking males often have greater mating success than lower ranking males.

Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Galliform taxa may be sedentary or migratory. Most species breed seasonally in relation to local climactic conditions. Gallinaceous birds may nest on the ground or in trees. In some species nests are shallow, and lined with grass or leaves. Megapodes construct incubation mounds in which eggs are incubated environmentally, through the heat generated by decomposing vegetation, sun-warmed sand or geothermal sources. Courtship in some species entails elaborate visual displays in which males may strut about displaying brightly colored plumage or wattles. Females may lay from 2 to 35 eggs over the course of the breeding season. Egg dumping may occur in some species. Egg coloration varies, from white or creamy to brown or spotted. Chicks are precocial, able to walk, forage and fly shortly after hatching.

Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization (Internal )

In gallinaceous birds parental care may include female incubation or environmental incubation (incubation mounds of megapodes). Brooding may be absent, or conducted primarily by the female. Males may guard nest sites, brooding females, or chicks.

In some gallinaceous birds, parents do not feed their young while in others the female provisions chicks with food offered from her bill. Family groups may join flocks at the end of the breeding season.

Parental Investment: precocial ; male parental care ; female parental care

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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes 107 species of gallinaceous birds. Two species are listed as extinct (double-banded argus (Argusianus bipunctatus), New Zealand quail (Coturnix novaezelandiae)). Alagoas curassow (Mita mita) is listed as extinct in the wild. Habitat loss and hunting are identified as major threats for this group.

Galliformes is a large and diverse group comprising about 70 genera and more than 250 species. Taxa within Galliformes are commonly referred to as 'gallinaceous birds' (meaning chicken-like) or game birds (as many species are hunted). There is much ongoing discussion about the number of recognized families within Galliformes. Howard and Moore’s Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (2003) lists: Megapodiidae (scrub fowl, brush-turkeys, mallee fowl), Cracidae (guans, chachalacas, curassows), Numididae (Guineafowl), Odontophoridae (New World quails) and Phasianidae (grouse, turkeys, pheasants and partridges). Gallinaceous birds are chicken-like in appearance, with small to large bodies and blunt-wings. Plumage coloration ranges from cryptic to dark to brightly colorful. Some gallinaceous birds have elaborate head and neck ornamentation including wattles and casques. Some are primarily arboreal and others are terrestrial. Social groups may range from solitary dwellers to mated pairs to gregarious flocks. Mating systems range from monogamy to polygyny to polygynandry. Megapodes, also known as mound builders, bury their eggs, which are incubated by heat from decaying vegetation, sun-warmed sand, or geothermal sources. Cracids may play an important role in the forest ecosystem as seed predators and dispersers. Some phasianoid galliforms have been domesticated and are kept as ornamentals or are bred and raised for human consumption.