# Maleo (*Macrocephalon maleo*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/maleo  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.51 kg – 1.6 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 23 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | beetle, formicidae, fruit, mollusca, seed, termite |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 73.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 14 |
| Age at maturity | 2.5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Megapodiidae
- genus: Macrocephalon
- species: *Macrocephalon maleo* S. Müller, 1846

Synonyms: *Megacephalon maleo*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

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