Megapode: Difference between revisions

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== Breeding and nests ==
== Breeding and nests ==


Megapodes do not incubate their eggs with their body heat as other birds do, but bury them. They are best known for building massive nest-mounds of decaying vegetation, which the male attends, adding or removing litter to regulate the internal heat while the eggs hatch. However, some bury their eggs in other ways: there are burrow-nesters which use geothermal heat, and others which simply rely on the heat of the sun warming sand. Some species vary their incubation strategy depending the local environment or the season{{fact|date=June 2007}}. Although the [[Australian Brush-turkey]] is the only species of bird in which sex ratio is confirmed to be incubation-temperature dependent, it is speculated that this is common to all Megapodes, as they share nesting methods unique among birds<ref>Göth, A. & D.T. Booth. (2005) "Temperature-dependent sex ratio in a bird." ''[[Biology Letters|Biol. Lett.]]'' '''1'''(1):31-3.</ref>. The non-social nature of their incubation raises questions as to how the hatchlings come to recognise other members of their species, which is due to [[imprinting]] in other members of the order [[Galliformes]]. Recent research suggests that there is an instinctive visual recognition of specific movement patterns made by the individual species of megapode.<ref>Göth, A., & Evans, C. S. (2004). Social responses without early experience: Australian brush-turkey chicks use specific visual cues to aggregate with conspecifics. ''Journal of Experimental Biology, 207'', 2199-2208. {{doi|10.1242/jeb.01008}}</ref>
Megapodes do not incubate their eggs with their body heat as other birds do, but bury them. They are best known for building massive nest-mounds of decaying vegetation, which the male attends, adding or removing litter to regulate the internal heat while the eggs hatch. However, some bury their eggs in other ways: there are burrow-nesters which use geothermal heat, and others which simply rely on the heat of the sun warming sand. Some species vary their incubation strategy depending the local environment or the season{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. Although the [[Australian Brush-turkey]] is the only species of bird in which sex ratio is confirmed to be incubation-temperature dependent, it is speculated that this is common to all Megapodes, as they share nesting methods unique among birds<ref>Göth, A. & D.T. Booth. (2005) "Temperature-dependent sex ratio in a bird." ''[[Biology Letters|Biol. Lett.]]'' '''1'''(1):31-3.</ref>. The non-social nature of their incubation raises questions as to how the hatchlings come to recognise other members of their species, which is due to [[imprinting]] in other members of the order [[Galliformes]]. Recent research suggests that there is an instinctive visual recognition of specific movement patterns made by the individual species of megapode.<ref>Göth, A., & Evans, C. S. (2004). Social responses without early experience: Australian brush-turkey chicks use specific visual cues to aggregate with conspecifics. ''Journal of Experimental Biology, 207'', 2199-2208. {{doi|10.1242/jeb.01008}}</ref>


Many are shy, solitary, and inconspicuous, others live in colonies of many thousands of birds{{fact}}.
Many are shy, solitary, and inconspicuous, others live in colonies of many thousands of birds{{Fact|date=October 2008}}.


Megapode chicks do not have an egg tooth: they use their powerful claws to break out of the egg, and then tunnel their way up to the surface of the mound, lying on their backs and scratching at the sand and vegetable matter. Similar to other [[precocious]] birds, they hatch fully feathered and active, already able to fly and live independently from their parents.
Megapode chicks do not have an egg tooth: they use their powerful claws to break out of the egg, and then tunnel their way up to the surface of the mound, lying on their backs and scratching at the sand and vegetable matter. Similar to other [[precocious]] birds, they hatch fully feathered and active, already able to fly and live independently from their parents.
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== Distribution ==
== Distribution ==


Megapodes are found in the broader [[Australasian]] region, including islands in the western [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], [[Australia]], [[New Guinea]], and the islands of [[Indonesia]] east of the [[Wallace Line]], but also the [[Andaman Islands|Andaman]] and [[Nicobar Islands|Nicobar]] Islands in the [[Bay of Bengal]].
Megapodes are found in the broader [[Australasian]] region, including islands in the western [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], [[Australia]], [[New Guinea]], and the islands of [[Indonesia]] east of the [[Wallace Line]], but also the [[Andaman Islands|Andaman]] and [[Nicobar Islands]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]].


== Species ==
== Species ==

Revision as of 16:31, 12 October 2008

For other uses of the term "mound builder", see Mound builder.

Megapodiidae
Micronesian Scrubfowl
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Aves
Order:
Galliformes
Family:
Megapodiidae

Lesson, 1831
Genera

The megapodes, also known as incubator birds or mound-builders, are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet in the family Megapodiidae. They are terrestrial browsers. All but the Malleefowl occupy jungle habitats, and most are brown or black coloured. Megapodes are superprecocial, hatching from their eggs in the most mature condition of any birds. They hatch with open eyes, with bodily coordination and strength, with full wing feathers and downy body feathers, able to run, pursue prey, and, in some species, fly on the same day they hatch.[1]

Breeding and nests

Megapodes do not incubate their eggs with their body heat as other birds do, but bury them. They are best known for building massive nest-mounds of decaying vegetation, which the male attends, adding or removing litter to regulate the internal heat while the eggs hatch. However, some bury their eggs in other ways: there are burrow-nesters which use geothermal heat, and others which simply rely on the heat of the sun warming sand. Some species vary their incubation strategy depending the local environment or the season[citation needed]. Although the Australian Brush-turkey is the only species of bird in which sex ratio is confirmed to be incubation-temperature dependent, it is speculated that this is common to all Megapodes, as they share nesting methods unique among birds[2]. The non-social nature of their incubation raises questions as to how the hatchlings come to recognise other members of their species, which is due to imprinting in other members of the order Galliformes. Recent research suggests that there is an instinctive visual recognition of specific movement patterns made by the individual species of megapode.[3]

Many are shy, solitary, and inconspicuous, others live in colonies of many thousands of birds[citation needed].

Megapode chicks do not have an egg tooth: they use their powerful claws to break out of the egg, and then tunnel their way up to the surface of the mound, lying on their backs and scratching at the sand and vegetable matter. Similar to other precocious birds, they hatch fully feathered and active, already able to fly and live independently from their parents.

Distribution

Megapodes are found in the broader Australasian region, including islands in the western Pacific, Australia, New Guinea, and the islands of Indonesia east of the Wallace Line, but also the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Species

There are 21 species in 6 genera. Although the evolutionary relationships between the Megapodiidae are especially uncertain[citation needed], the morphological groups are clear:

FAMILY: MEGAPODIIDAE

References

  1. ^ Starck, J.M., Ricklefs, R.E.(1998) "Avian Growth and Development. Evolution within the altricial precocial spectrum." Oxford University Press, New York, 1998.
  2. ^ Göth, A. & D.T. Booth. (2005) "Temperature-dependent sex ratio in a bird." Biol. Lett. 1(1):31-3.
  3. ^ Göth, A., & Evans, C. S. (2004). Social responses without early experience: Australian brush-turkey chicks use specific visual cues to aggregate with conspecifics. Journal of Experimental Biology, 207, 2199-2208. doi:10.1242/jeb.01008

External links

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