Megapodiidae

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family of stocky ground-dwelling birds of Australasia that incubate their eggs in mounds of decaying vegetation or warm sand
2. The taxonomic family comprising the megapodes, large-footed birds that bury their eggs in heaps of soil and leaves to hatch
3. A bird family of the Australasian region whose members, known as mound-builders, rely on natural heat rather than sitting on their eggs

Etymology: Megapodiidae is the scientific name of the family of birds known as megapodes, a group that includes the mound-builders of Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands. The name was coined in the 19th century from New Latin, not from any ancient source, and it is built from two Greek elements. "Mega-" means "large" and "pod-" means "foot" (the Greek "pous", genitive "podos"), while the suffix "-idae" is the standard zoological ending for animal families. So the name literally means "big-footed birds" and refers to the enormous feet these birds use to scratch up leaf litter. The English name "megapode" is a direct translation of the same Greek elements, and its feet are the most striking thing about the birds. Megapodes do not incubate their eggs with body heat as most birds do. Instead, they bury them in mounds of soil, sand or decaying vegetation, where the heat of rot or volcanic warmth does the work, and the large feet help them dig and shift this material.