MEGAPODE

megapode, mound bird, mound-bird, mound builder, scrub fowl

(noun) large-footed short-winged birds of Australasia; build mounds of decaying vegetation to incubate eggs

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

megapode (plural megapodes)

Any of several chicken- or turkey-like birds in the family Megapodiidae, which incubate their eggs by burying them where they receive warmth from decaying vegetation, solar radiation or geothermal heat. [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

• brush-turkey

• incubator bird

• moundbird

• mound-builder

• scrubfowl

Adjective

megapode (comparative more megapode, superlative most megapode)

Characteristic of the Megapodiidae.

Source: Wiktionary

Meg"a*pode, n. Etym: [Mega- + Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of several species of large-footed, gallinaceous birds of the genera Megapodius and Leipoa, inhabiting Australia and other Pacific islands. See Jungle fowl (b) under Jungle, and Leipoa.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition