A large ground-dwelling Australasian and SE Asian bird that builds a large mound of debris to incubate its eggs by the heat of decomposition.
Family Megapodiidae (the megapode family), which comprises the scrubfowls, brush-turkeys, malleefowl, and maleo
‘Instead of using body heat to directly incubate eggs, megapodes passively incubate eggs.’
‘What sets megapodes apart from these game birds is their extraordinary breeding behavior.’
‘Then there's the curious megapode, a big-footed bird that is built like a chicken and emits a cry they say sounds just like a cat's.’
‘The megapodes bury their eggs in relatively isolated pockets, where the conditions are right for incubation, making them susceptible to humans and other predators.’
‘All megapode species, except the Malleefowl, live in tropical humid broadleaf forests.’
Origin
Mid 19th century from modern Latin Megapodius (genus name), from mega-‘large’ + Greek pous, pod- ‘foot’.
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