noun

• 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.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘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.’