CreatureData

Dusky megapode

Megapodius freycinet Gaimard, 1823

LCLeast Concernbirds

The dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 642.5 g to 650 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet)
Photo: Nicolas Huet / Jean Gabriel Prêtre · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the dusky megapode

Weight
642.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
42 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
12.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the dusky megapode live?

Not recorded

What is the dusky megapode?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet), also known as dusky scrubfowl or common megapode, is a medium-sized, approximately 41 cm (16 in) long, blackish bird with a short pointed crest, bare red facial skin, dark legs, brown irises, and a dark brown and yellow bill. The male and female are similar. This terrestrial species lives in forests and swamps, including mangroves, of the Maluku and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia. Like other megapodes, it lays its eggs in a mound made from earth mixed with leaves, sand, gravel, and sticks, which can be as large as 11 m (36 ft) in diameter and stand nearly 5 m (16 ft) tall.

Many authorities include the Biak scrubfowl as a subspecies of this species, but the two are increasingly treated as separate species. At the same time, many authorities consider the taxon M. forsteni a separate species, Forsten's megapode, but measurements and molecular evidence suggest the two are very close, and arguably better considered conspecific. Traditionally, most members of the genus Megapodius have been listed as subspecies of M. freycinet, but today, all major authorities consider this to be incorrect.

The specific name commemorates the French explorer Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet.

A fairly common species throughout a large part of its range, the dusky scrubfowl is evaluated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

From the Wikipedia article “Dusky megapode” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dusky_megapode&oldid=1338653308), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the dusky megapode endangered?

The dusky megapode is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the dusky megapode classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyMegapodiidae
  6. genusMegapodius
  7. SpeciesMegapodius freycinet Gaimard, 1823

Synonyms Alecthelia urvilii

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • Dusky scrubfowlEnglish
  • Dusky scrubfowlEnglish
  • Forsten's scrubfowlEnglish
  • شقبان داكنArabic
  • شقبان فورستينيArabic
  • megàpode de FreycinetCatalan
  • tabon ForstenůvCzech
  • tabon FreycinetůvCzech
  • aderyn tomen tywyllWelsh
  • Mørk BuskhøneDanish
  • InselgroßfußhuhnGerman
  • GroßfußhuhnGerman
  • Molukken-GroßfußhuhnGerman
  • MolukkengroßfußhuhnGerman
  • malhela megapodoEsperanto
  • Talégalo de FreycinetSpanish
  • tõmmu-rihukanaEstonian
  • isojalkaFinnish
  • seraminisojalkaFinnish
  • Mégapode de ForstenFrench
  • Mégapode de FreycinetFrench
  • crvenolica kokošinaCroatian
  • szigeti ásótyúkHungarian
  • Gosong kelamIndonesian
  • Megapodio foscoItalian
  • ツカツクリJapanese
  • džiunglinė didžiakojė vištaLithuanian
  • SeramovnhøneNorwegian Bokmål
  • Zwart BoshoenDutch
  • sotovnhøneNorwegian
  • nogal ciemnyPolish
  • frango-do-mato-escuroPortuguese
  • Тёмный большеногRussian
  • Джунглевая курицаRussian
  • tabon tmavýSlovak
  • Tamna megapodaSerbian
  • mörk storfotshönaSwedish
  • Dumanlı MegapodTurkish
  • великоніг джунглевийUkrainian
  • 烏塚雉Chinese
  • 暗色塚雉Chinese
  • 烏塚雉〔普通塜雉〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the dusky megapode

Other species in the same genus Megapodius.

CompareDusky megapode vs Orange-footed scrubfowlDusky megapode vs Nicobar megapodeDusky megapode vs Tongan megapodeDusky megapode vs Philippine megapode

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the dusky megapode?

An adult dusky megapode weighs 642.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the dusky megapode endangered?

The dusky megapode is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the dusky megapode?

The dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet) belongs to the family Megapodiidae in the order Galliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-megapode

MLA

“Dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-megapode.

BibTeX
@misc{dusky_megapode_2026,
  title = {Dusky megapode (Megapodius freycinet)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dusky-megapode},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}