CreatureData

Maleo

Macrocephalon maleo S. Müller, 1846

CRCritically Endangeredbirds

The maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.51 kg to 1.6 kg and live up to 23 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo)
Photo: Stavenn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the maleo

Weight
1.51 kg – 1.6 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
23 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
beetle, formicidae, fruit, mollusca, seed, termitesrc for Main food
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
73.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
14src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the maleo live?

Not recorded

What is the maleo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) is a large megapode and the only member of the monotypic genus Macrocephalon. The maleo is endemic to Sulawesi and the nearby smaller island of Buton in Indonesia. It is found in the tropical lowland and hill forests, but nests in the open sandy areas, volcanic soils, or beaches that are heated by the sun or geothermal energy for incubation.

The megapode is named from a North Halmahera language (see Ternate: moleo, Tidore: muleu) transmitted via Ternate Malay maleu and later Ambon Malay maleo.

From the Wikipedia article “Maleo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maleo&oldid=1381603431), 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 maleo endangered?

The maleo is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Critically Endangered species.

How is the maleo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyMegapodiidae
  6. genusMacrocephalon
  7. SpeciesMacrocephalon maleo S. Müller, 1846

Synonyms Megacephalon maleo

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • Gray's brush-turkeyEnglish
  • Gray's brush-turkeyEnglish
  • Maleo megapodeEnglish
  • Maleo megapodeEnglish
  • ماليوArabic
  • talègol MaleoCatalan
  • Tabon přilbovýCzech
  • tabon přílbovýCzech
  • twrci maleoWelsh
  • HammerhøneDanish
  • HammerhuhnGerman
  • malea megapodoEsperanto
  • Grandkapa nestamasuloEsperanto
  • Talégalo maleoSpanish
  • Megapodio MaleoSpanish
  • vasar-rihukanaEstonian
  • مرغ چکشیPersian
  • vasarapääkanaFinnish
  • Mégapode maléoFrench
  • מלאוHebrew
  • sulaveška kokošinaCroatian
  • kalapácsfejű tyúkHungarian
  • Maleo senkaworIndonesian
  • セレベスツカツクリJapanese
  • Maléo sènkaworJavanese
  • 셀레베스메거포우드Korean
  • didžiagalvė vištaLithuanian
  • Naaʼahóóhai bichʼahíNavajo
  • HamerhoenDutch
  • hammerovnhøneNorwegian
  • nogal hełmiastyPolish
  • مالیوWestern Panjabi
  • maléoPortuguese
  • peru-do-mato-da-celebesPortuguese
  • peru-do-mato-das-celebesPortuguese
  • peru-do-mato-de-capacetePortuguese
  • МалеоRussian
  • Малео (птица)Russian
  • tabon prilbatýSlovak
  • Sulaveška kokoškaSerbian
  • maleohönaSwedish
  • Chim MaleoVietnamese
  • 塚雉Chinese
  • 蘇拉塚雉Chinese
  • 蘇拉威西塚雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the maleo

Other species in the same family Megapodiidae.

VU, Vulnerable
Malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata)

Malleefowl

Leipoa ocellata

Megapodiidae

CompareMaleo vs Australian brushturkeyMaleo vs MalleefowlMaleo vs Orange-footed scrubfowlMaleo vs Moluccan megapode

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the maleo?

An adult maleo weighs 1.51 kg – 1.6 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the maleo endangered?

The maleo is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

What does the maleo eat?

Its recorded main food is beetle, formicidae, fruit, mollusca, seed and termite.

How long does the maleo live?

The maleo has a recorded lifespan of 23 years.

What kind of animal is the maleo?

The maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) 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). Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/maleo

MLA

“Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/maleo.

BibTeX
@misc{maleo_2026,
  title = {Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/maleo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}