Derivation
Me-ga'-po-di-us - Gk, mega, big; Gk, pous (podos), foot: reinwardt - Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773 - 1854), Director of the Royal Cabinet for Natural History in Amsterdam
Nest
A very large conical mound, composed of earth and leaf-mould or sand and seaweed, usually in dense scrub, sheltered by trees. They can vary in size from 10 - 12 meters wide to up to 5 meters high. The eggs are laid in holes scratched out of the mound, at depths ranging from 45 - 90 centimeters, the eggs being positioned so that the larger end is upper most. The fermentation of the vegatable matter generates heat that is used to incubate the eggs.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 13; pale brown stained dark brown; ellipsoidal; about 90 x 52 mm.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
Megapodius reinwardt (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt) and Tanimbar Scrubfowl (Megapodius tenimberensis) following Jones et al. (1995).
Four subspecies in Australia: one large and dusky in Kimberleys-Arnhem Land; one small and pale in Torres Strait; one large and pale on Cape York Peninsula; one small and dark chestnut-backed in north-eastern Queensland.
The following 8 subspecies are recognised:
buruensis Dumont, 1823 - Southern Moluccas, on Buru. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Forsten's Scrubfowl (Megapodius forstenii). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Dusky Scrubfowl (Megapodius freycinet).
forstenii G. R. Gray, 1861 - Southern Moluccas, on Seram, Ambon, Haruku and Gorong. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Forsten's Scrubfowl (Megapodius forstenii).
reinwardt Dumont, 1823 - Lesser Sundas, extreme south-eastern Moluccas, Aru Is and North-western, southern & south-eastern New Guinea; possibly also islands of Torres Strait.
macgillivrayi Gray, GR, 1862 - Trobriand, Marshall Bennett, Woodlark and D'Entrecasteaux Is and Louisiade Archipelago (off south-eastern New Guinea); possibly also south-eastern New Guinea.
tenimberensis P. L. Sclater, 1883 - Tanimbar I. (Banda Sea). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tanimbar Scrubfowl (Megapodius tenimberensis).
tumulus Gould, 1842 - Northern Australia from Kimberley Division (north-eastern western Australia) to Melville I and northern Northern Territory.
yorki Mathews, 1929 - Cape York Peninsula (northern Queensland) and offshore islands, possibly including those of Torres Strait.
castanonotus Mayr, 1938 - East-central Queensland (Cooktown to Yeppoon) and offshore islands.
Similar Species
Australian Brush-turkey (Alectura lathami), which has a bare red head and neck. The black tail is fanned vertically.
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet