megapode

[meg-uh-pohd]

noun

any of several large-footed, short-winged gallinaceous Australasian birds of the family Megapodiidae, typically building a compostlike mound of decaying vegetation as an incubator for their eggs.

Origin of megapode

First recorded in 1855–60, megapode is from the New Latin word Megapodius genus name. See mega-, -pod

Also called brush turkey, moundbird, mound builder, scrub fowl.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for megapode

Even worse, in high priestly sacrilege, he encouraged Jerry to attack a megapode hen in the act of laying.
Jerry of the Islands|Jack London
The only place where the domestication of the megapode is recorded is the island of Savo in the Solomons.
In the Andamans and Nicobars|C. Boden Kloss
During the season, he lived almost entirely on megapode eggs.
Jerry of the Islands|Jack London
The birds were a species of megapode, which are found chiefly in Australia and Borneo and the intermediate islands.
The Rival Crusoes|W.H.G. Kingston

In truth, he cared no more for megapode meat than for any other meat.
Jerry of the Islands|Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for megapode

megapode

noun

any ground-living gallinaceous bird of the family Megapodiidae, of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands. Their eggs incubate in mounds of sand, rotting vegetation, etc, by natural heatAlso called: mound-builder See also brush turkey, mallee fowl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012