Maleo

Macrocephalon maleo Müller, S, 1846

Maleo Macrocephalon maleo is a bird of Sulawesi and Buton in Australasia, living in lowland and hill forest and breeding on open sandy ground, volcanic soils and beaches warmed by the sun or geothermal heat. It is a megapode in the family Megapodiidae, described by Müller, S in 1846. Its nesting is unusual: the female buries a single large egg in deep sand and leaves it to develop without further care. The chick hatches underground, digs out on its own and is independent very soon after emerging.

Order

Galliformes

Family

Megapodiidae — Megapodes

Breeding range

Australasia: Sulawesi and Butung (=Buton, s of se Sulawesi)