CreatureData

Tongan megapode

Megapodius pritchardii G. R. Gray, 1864

VUVulnerablebirds

The tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii) is a species in the family Megapodiidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 350 g to 405 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii)
Photo: Walter Lawry Buller (1838-1906) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the tongan megapode

Weight
350 g – 405 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
51 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
12src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
23src 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 tongan megapode live?

Not recorded

What is the tongan megapode?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii) is a species of bird in the megapode family, Megapodiidae, currently endemic to Tonga. The species is also known as the Polynesian megapode, and as the Niuafo'ou megapode after the island of Niuafo'ou to which it was restricted for many years. The specific epithet honours British consul William Thomas Pritchard.

From the Wikipedia article “Tongan megapode” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tongan_megapode&oldid=1379748791), 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 tongan megapode endangered?

The tongan megapode is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a 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 Vulnerable species.

How is the tongan megapode classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyMegapodiidae
  6. genusMegapodius
  7. SpeciesMegapodius pritchardii G. R. Gray, 1864

Synonyms Megapodius pritchardi, Megapodius pritchardii pritchardii

Other names and names in other languages (47)
  • Nevafou megapodeEnglish
  • Nevafou megapodeEnglish
  • Niaufoou scrubfowlEnglish
  • Niaufoou scrubfowlEnglish
  • Niuafoou scrubfowlEnglish
  • Polynesian scrubfowlEnglish
  • Polynesian scrubfowlEnglish
  • Tongan scrubfowlEnglish
  • Tongan scrubfowlEnglish
  • شقبان تونغاArabic
  • شقبان بولينيزيArabic
  • Megàpode de les TongaCatalan
  • megàpode de les illes TongaCatalan
  • tabon tonžskýCzech
  • tabon PritchardůvCzech
  • aderyn tomen PolynesaiddWelsh
  • Tonga BuskhøneDanish
  • NiaufooubuskhøneDanish
  • PritchardhuhnGerman
  • Pritchard-GroßfußhuhnGerman
  • Pritchard-HuhnGerman
  • Tonga-GroßfußhuhnGerman
  • tonga megapodoEsperanto
  • Tonga nestamasuloEsperanto
  • Talégalo de las TongaSpanish
  • tonga rihukanaEstonian
  • niuafounisojalkaFinnish
  • Mégapode de PritchardFrench
  • tongaska kokošinaCroatian
  • Tonganska kokošinaCroatian
  • tongai ásótyúkHungarian
  • Megapodio di NiuafoouItalian
  • トンガツカツクリJapanese
  • polinezinė didžiakojė vištaLithuanian
  • Polynesisch BoshoenDutch
  • tongaovnhøneNorwegian
  • nogal polinezyjskiPolish
  • frango-do-mato-de-tongaPortuguese
  • Полинезийский большеногRussian
  • tabon cisárskySlovak
  • Megapoda sa ostrva Niuafo-ouSerbian
  • tongastorfotshönaSwedish
  • MalauTongan
  • Polinezya MegapoduTurkish
  • великоніг полінезійськийUkrainian
  • 東加塚雉Chinese
  • 汤加塚雉Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the tongan megapode

Other species in the same genus Megapodius.

CompareTongan megapode vs Orange-footed scrubfowlTongan megapode vs Nicobar megapodeTongan megapode vs Philippine megapodeTongan megapode vs Dusky megapode

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the tongan megapode?

An adult tongan megapode weighs 350 g – 405 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the tongan megapode endangered?

The tongan megapode is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the tongan megapode?

The tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii) 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). Tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tongan-megapode

MLA

“Tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tongan-megapode.

BibTeX
@misc{tongan_megapode_2026,
  title = {Tongan megapode (Megapodius pritchardii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tongan-megapode},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}