Threatened Species Factsheet No. 15 VANUATU MEGAPODE

What are they called? What do they look like? Scientific: These are large dark blackish- Megapodius layardi brown birds that can grow up to English: Vanuatu 34 cm. Their forehead and face megapode or scrubfowl, are covered with bright red bare Incubator Bird skin. They have yellow legs and large feet. French: Mégapode de The females are similar to the Layard males but slightly smaller. Chicks Bislama: Skraptak or are dark brown, with paler Namalau cheeks and brown legs. Vernacular (local name):

A little bit about them: The Vanuatu megapode is a ground bird that lives on moist lowland forests. They can fly but spend most of their time on the forest floor scratching around for food. They can be found on most islands of Vanuatu, but appear to be extinct on Tanna. Their diet is a mixture of fruits, seeds, worms and insects, Source: Dubi Shapiro Photography usually found by racking and mixing the dead matter on the forest floor. Did you know? They do not sit on their eggs • Megapode means “Large Feet”. but bury them in large nest mounds they build from soil, • Some Vanuatu Megapodes bury leaves and organic matter in their eggs near volcanoes with lowland forests. The heat vents and active craters to fermenting vegetable matter heat their eggs for them! heats their eggs. Vanuatu Megapodes are What do they do for us: classified as Vulnerable Ø When scratching the (VU) on the IUCN Red List. ground for food, they mix Why are they threatened? the soil with dead leaves, Ø Overexploitation of the birds logs, fruit etc helping to through hunting and cycle nutrients. collection of their eggs. Ø They control pest species Ø Predation by invasive by eating many insect species such as rats, cats, species. dogs and pigs. Ø They are an iconic bird for Ø Breeding sites are Vanuatu because they are continuously cleared for not found anywhere else. agriculture, cattle ranching and logging. Ø Create eco-tourism opportunities through bird Ø Fire, heavy rain and cyclones damage their watching tours. breeding mounds and either buries the chicks inside or exposes them to predators.

What can we do for them?

ü Increase awareness of the threats to this species and discourage hunting through community based taboos

and workshops. Source: Kirk Zufelt ü Castrate and spay pet cats and dogs to reduce feral Want to know more? animals preying on adults, chicks and eggs. As they v Check out their profile in the are not native to Vanuatu, Book: Birds of Melanesia by Guy Dutson birds have no natural defense against them. v IUCN website: www.iucnredlist.org