megapode

[ meg-uh-pohd ]

noun

1. any of several large-footed, short-winged gallinaceous Australasian birds of the family Megapodiidae, typically building a compostlike mound of decaying vegetation as an incubator for their eggs.

megapode

/ ˈmɛɡəˌpəʊd /

noun

1. any ground-living gallinaceous bird of the family Megapodiidae, of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands. Their eggs incubate in mounds of sand, rotting vegetation, etc, by natural heat Also calledmound-builder See also brush turkey mallee fowl

Word History and Origins

Origin of megapode¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from New Latin Megapodius, a genus name; mega-, -pod

Example Sentences

He says researchers can’t reliably predict the molecular fingerprint of extinct megapodes based on those alive today, as Miller’s team did.

From Washington Post

When the team compared the protein sequences with those found in modern megapode eggs, they were completely different, even falling outside the group that connects all living land birds, Demarchi says.

From Science Magazine

An endangered bird called the Tongan megapode buries its eggs in volcanic ash to keep them warm.

From Washington Post

Instead, it’s quite likely P. gallinacea simply buried its eggs in warm sand or soil, just as some living megapodes in Indonesia and the Pacific still do.

From BBC

Micronesian megapodes are the only birds known to incubate their eggs using the heat from volcanoes.

From Scientific American