The Megapode Bird

(Link to a website is in the post title) This fellow weighs a little less than a pound and is not a beautiful bird to look at. He/she looks like a brown ugly chicken. He is VERY VERY shy and although we lived there for years I only caught shadowy glimpses of them. If I remember correctly, their sound is that of a very cautious chicken clucking a warning. I would try to follow that sound as I crossed one of the islands. Because they were so hard to observe, I was always fascinated with them.

They have heavy thick legs which they use to build nests on the ground. These nest are quite large and if you come on one, it looks like a pile of compost in the middle of the island. Thus the strong legs. The chicks don't have an 'egg-tooth' and use the strong legs to kick out of the shell. The heat from the next is what allows the eggs to incubate and then hatch. Thus, sometimes they are called the incubator bird.

Since their nests are at ground level, they are subject to all kinds of predation and exposure. Therefore, they are really endangered. When I lived there, which was decades ago, their habitat was under pressure. I hate to think what has happened over the years and now with this television show... Maybe when I retire I can do some kind of volunteer effort to help the cause of protecting them.