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 heat
Also called: mound-builder, moundbird. See also brush turkey, mallee fowl
megapode in American English
(ˈmɛgəˌpoʊd)
noun
any of a family (Megapodiidae) of large-footed, ground-dwelling gallinaceous birdsof Australia and the East Indies that bury their eggs, often in mounds they have built of earth and vegetation