NOUN
- large-footed short-winged birds of Australasia; build mounds of decaying vegetation to incubate eggs
How To Use megapode In A Sentence
- Instead of using body heat to directly incubate eggs, megapodes passively incubate eggs.
- The megapodes bury their eggs in relatively isolated pockets, where the conditions are right for incubation, making them susceptible to humans and other predators.
- For birdwatchers, several hundred species call India home, including the rare narcondum hornbill, megapode, and griffon vulture.
- And some megapodes do take advantage of geothermal heat in volcanic soil to do this. Archive 2007-01-01
- All megapode species, except the Malleefowl, live in tropical humid broadleaf forests.
- What sets megapodes apart from these game birds is their extraordinary breeding behavior.
- For some megapodes, two brothers cooperate to help a female build her mound.
- Some megapodes place their eggs in shallow pits or burrows to be warmed geothermally or with sun-warmed sand.
- Polynesian Megapodes appear to be monogamous, as indicated by their strong site- and partner-fidelity for extended periods.
- 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.