The scrubfowl are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds found from south-east Asia to north Australia and islands in the west Pacific.
They have small heads and large feet.
Breeding / Nesting
Unlike other birds that brood nest using their body heat, these birds don’t incubate their eggs, but bury them instead.
They build massive mounds of decaying vegetation, which the male attends to, adding or removing litter as needed to regulate the internal heat until the young hatch.
The species in taxonomic order are:
- Polynesian Scrubfowl aka Tongan Megapode or Polynesian Megapode and the Niuafo’ou Megapode, Megapodius pritchardii
- Micronesian Scrubfowl, Megapodius laperouse
- Marianas Island Scrubfowl, Megapodius laperouse laperousePalau Island Scrubfowl, Megapodius laperouse senex
- Nicobar Scrubfowl, Megapodius nicobariensis
- Philippine Scrubfowl, Megapodius cumingii
- Sula Scrubfowl or Sula Megapodes, Megapodius bernsteinii
- Tanimbar Scrubfowl Megapodius tenimberensis
- Dusky Scrubfowl, Megapodius freycinet
- Forsten’s Scrubfowl, Megapodius (freycinet) forstenii
- Biak Scrubfowl Megapodius geelvinkianus
- Melanesian Scrubfowl, Megapodius eremita
- Vanuatu Scrubfowl, Megapodius layardi
- New Guinea Scrubfowl, Megapodius affinis
- Orange-footed Scrubfowl Megapodius reinwardt
- †Pile-builder Scrubfowl Megapodius molistructor
