- Orange-footed Scrubfowl
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Orange-footed Scrubfowl 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Galliformes Family: Megapodiidae Genus: Megapodius Species: M. reinwardt Binomial name Megapodius reinwardt
Dumont, 1823Subspecies - M. r. buruensis (Stresemann, 1914)
- M. r. castanonotus (Mayr, 1938)
- M. r. reinwardt (Dumont, 1823)
- M. r. macgillivrayi (GR Gray, 1862)
- M. r. tumulus (Gould, 1842)
- M. r. yorki (Mathews, 1929)
The Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Megapodius reinwardt, is a small megapode of the family Megapodiidae.
This species comprises five subspecies found on many islands in Wallacea as well as southern New Guinea and northern Australia. It is a terrestrial bird the size of a domestic chicken and dark-coloured with strong orange legs and a pointed crest at the back of the head. It utilises a range of forest and scrub habitats and has colonised many small islands throughout its range. In general, populations seem to be stable and the conservation status of the species is considered to be of Least Concern.
M. r. macgillivrayi
The Orange-footed Scrubfowl feeds on seeds, fallen fruit and terrestrial invertebtrates. As with other megapodes, it nests in large mounds of sand, leaf litter and other debris where the heat generated by the decomposition of organic material serves to incubate the eggs. Construction and maintenance of the mounds, which may reach 4.5 m in height and 9 m in diameter, takes place throughout the year.
Some of the subspecies may be treated as full species, such as the Tanimbar Scrubfowl (Megapodius tenimberensis), while other subspecies may be conidered subspecies of other species (i.e. buruensis is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Dusky Megapode).
References
- Jones, Darryl N.; Dekker, Rene W.R.J.; & Roselaar, Cees S. (1995). The Megapodes. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 0-19-854651-3
- Marchant, S.; & Higgins, P.J. (Eds). (1993). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 2: Raptors to Lapwings. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553069-1
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Megapodius
- Birds of Asia
- Birds of Australia
- Birds of Western Australia
- Birds of the Northern Territory
- Birds of Southeast Asia
- Birds of New Guinea
- Birds of Indonesia
- Birds of Papua New Guinea
- Animals described in 1823
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