CreatureData

Melanesian megapode

Megapodius eremita Hartlaub, 1868

LCLeast Concernbirds

The melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 577.5 g to 711.8 g and live up to 10 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita)
Photo: Joseph Smit · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the melanesian megapode

Weight
577.5 g – 711.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
10 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
15 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
63 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
8.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the melanesian megapode live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The melanesian megapode is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the melanesian megapode?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Melanesian scrubfowl or Melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita) is a megapode species that is endemic to islands within Melanesia. The Melanesian scrubfowl has a unique strategy of egg incubation in which it relies on environmental heat sources. This bird species is culturally important for Indigenous peoples in Melanesia.

From the Wikipedia article “Melanesian megapode” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melanesian_megapode&oldid=1379847608), 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 melanesian megapode endangered?

The melanesian 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. What the categories mean.

How is the melanesian megapode classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyMegapodiidae
  6. genusMegapodius
  7. SpeciesMegapodius eremita Hartlaub, 1868

Synonyms Megapodius eremita eremita, Megapodius freycinet eremita

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Melanesian scrubfowlEnglish
  • Melanesian scrubfowlEnglish
  • شقبان ميلانيزيArabic
  • megàpode de MelanèsiaCatalan
  • tabon melanéskýCzech
  • tabon bismarckýCzech
  • aderyn tomen meudwyolWelsh
  • Melanesisk BuskhøneDanish
  • BismarckhuhnGerman
  • Bismarck-GroßfußhuhnGerman
  • Bismarck-HuhnGerman
  • melanezia megapodoEsperanto
  • Talégalo eremitaSpanish
  • melaneesia rihukanaEstonian
  • harmaaisojalkaFinnish
  • Mégapode mélanésienFrench
  • melanezijska kokošinaCroatian
  • melanéz ásótyúkHungarian
  • Megapodio di MelanesiaItalian
  • メラネシアツカツクリJapanese
  • melanezinė didžiakojė vištaLithuanian
  • HeremietboshoenDutch
  • melanesiaovnhøneNorwegian
  • nogal melanezyjskiPolish
  • frango-do-mato-eremitaPortuguese
  • frango-do-mato-ermitãoPortuguese
  • frango-do-mato-melanésioPortuguese
  • Меланезийский большеногRussian
  • tabon melanézskySlovak
  • Melanezijska megapodaSerbian
  • melanesisk storfotshönaSwedish
  • Melanezya MegapoduTurkish
  • великоніг меланезійськийUkrainian
  • 红斑塚雉Chinese
  • 美拉尼西亞塚雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the melanesian megapode

Other species in the same genus Megapodius.

CompareMelanesian megapode vs Orange-footed scrubfowlMelanesian megapode vs Nicobar megapodeMelanesian megapode vs Tongan megapodeMelanesian megapode vs Philippine megapode

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the melanesian megapode?

An adult melanesian megapode weighs 577.5 g – 711.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the melanesian megapode live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the melanesian megapode for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the melanesian megapode endangered?

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

How long does the melanesian megapode live?

The melanesian megapode has a recorded lifespan of 10 years.

What kind of animal is the melanesian megapode?

The melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita) 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.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/melanesian-megapode

MLA

“Melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/melanesian-megapode.

BibTeX
@misc{melanesian_megapode_2026,
  title = {Melanesian megapode (Megapodius eremita)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/melanesian-megapode},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}