Tanimbar megapode
Megapodius tenimberensis P. L. Sclater, 1883
The tanimbar megapode (Megapodius tenimberensis) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 875.8 g to 1.1 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Quick facts about the tanimbar megapode
- Weight
- 875.8 g – 1.1 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- fruit, invertebrate, seedsrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 9.25src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 14.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the tanimbar megapode live?
Not recorded
What is the tanimbar megapode?
The Tanimbar megapode or Tanimbar scrubfowl (Megapodius tenimberensis) is a small megapode endemic to the Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the orange-footed scrubfowl, Megapodius reinwardt.
It is a terrestrial bird the size of a domestic chicken, which is found in a range of forest and scrub habitats.
It feeds on seeds, fallen fruit and terrestrial invertebrates. Like other megapodes, it nests in large mounds of sand, leaf litter and other debris where the heat generated by the decomposition of organic material serves to incubate the eggs.
From the Wikipedia article “Tanimbar megapode” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tanimbar_megapode&oldid=1381224995), 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 tanimbar megapode endangered?
The tanimbar megapode is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the tanimbar megapode classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyMegapodiidae
- genusMegapodius
- SpeciesMegapodius tenimberensis P. L. Sclater, 1883
Synonyms Megapodius reinwardt tenimberensis
Other names and names in other languages (33)
- Tanimbar scrubfowlEnglish
- Tanimbar scrubfowlEnglish
- شقبان تنيمباريArabic
- Megàpode de les TanimbarCatalan
- megàpode de les illes TanimbarCatalan
- tabon tanimbarskýCzech
- Tanimbar BuskhøneDanish
- TanimbargroßfußhuhnGerman
- Tanimbar-GroßfußhuhnGerman
- TenimbarhuhnGerman
- tanimbara megapodoEsperanto
- Tanimbara nestamasuloEsperanto
- Talégalo de TanimbarSpanish
- tanimbari rihukanaEstonian
- tanimbarinisojalkaFinnish
- Mégapode des TanimbarFrench
- tanimbarska kokošinaCroatian
- tanimbar-szigeteki ásótyúkHungarian
- Gosong tanimbarIndonesian
- Megapodio delle TanimbarItalian
- タニンバルツカツクリJapanese
- Tanimbarinė didžiakojė vištaLithuanian
- TanimbarboshoenDutch
- tanimbarovnhøneNorwegian
- nogal tanimbarskiPolish
- frango-do-mato-das-tanimbarPortuguese
- Танимбарский большеногRussian
- Megapoda sa Tanimbarskih ostrvaSerbian
- tanimbarstorfotshönaSwedish
- Tanimbar MegapoduTurkish
- великоніг танімбарськийUkrainian
- 塔岛塚雉Chinese
- 塔尼巴塚雉Chinese
Relatives of the tanimbar megapode
Other species in the same genus Megapodius.

Orange-footed scrubfowl
Megapodius reinwardt

Nicobar megapode
Megapodius nicobariensis

Tongan megapode
Megapodius pritchardii

Philippine megapode
Megapodius cumingii

Dusky megapode
Megapodius freycinet

Micronesian megapode
Megapodius laperouse
CompareTanimbar megapode vs Orange-footed scrubfowlTanimbar megapode vs Nicobar megapodeTanimbar megapode vs Tongan megapodeTanimbar megapode vs Philippine megapode
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the tanimbar megapode?
An adult tanimbar megapode weighs 875.8 g – 1.1 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the tanimbar megapode endangered?
The tanimbar megapode is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
What does the tanimbar megapode eat?
Its recorded main food is fruit, invertebrate and seed.
What kind of animal is the tanimbar megapode?
The tanimbar megapode (Megapodius tenimberensis) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
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.
CreatureData. (2026). Tanimbar megapode (Megapodius tenimberensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tanimbar-megapode
“Tanimbar megapode (Megapodius tenimberensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tanimbar-megapode.
@misc{tanimbar_megapode_2026,
title = {Tanimbar megapode (Megapodius tenimberensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tanimbar-megapode},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}