Dusky Scrubfowl
Encyclopedia
The Dusky Megapode or Dusky Scrubfowl, Megapodius freycinet, is a medium-sized (approximately 41 cm long), blackish bird
with a short pointed crest, bare red facial skin, dark legs, brown iris
and dark brown and yellow bill
. The male and female are similar. This terrestrial
species lives in forests and swamps, including mangrove
s, of the Maluku
and Raja Ampat Islands
in Indonesia
. Like other megapodes, it lays its eggs in a mound made from earth mixed with leaves, sand, gravel and sticks.
Many authorities include the Biak Scrubfowl as a subspecies
of this species, but the two are increasingly treated as separate species. At the same time, many authorities consider the taxon
forstenii a separate species, Forsten's Megapode (M. forstenii), but measurements and molecular evidence suggests the two are very close, and arguably better considered conspecific. Traditionally, most members of the genus
Megapodius have been listed as subspecies of M. freycinet, but today all major authorities consider this incorrect.
The specific name commemorates the French
explorer Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet.
A fairly common species throughout a large part of its range, the Dusky Scrubfowl is evaluated as Least Concern
on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
with a short pointed crest, bare red facial skin, dark legs, brown iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
and dark brown and yellow bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. The male and female are similar. This terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
species lives in forests and swamps, including mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s, of the Maluku
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
and Raja Ampat Islands
Raja Ampat Islands
Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo,...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Like other megapodes, it lays its eggs in a mound made from earth mixed with leaves, sand, gravel and sticks.
Many authorities include the Biak Scrubfowl as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of this species, but the two are increasingly treated as separate species. At the same time, many authorities consider the taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
forstenii a separate species, Forsten's Megapode (M. forstenii), but measurements and molecular evidence suggests the two are very close, and arguably better considered conspecific. Traditionally, most members of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Megapodius have been listed as subspecies of M. freycinet, but today all major authorities consider this incorrect.
The specific name commemorates the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorer Louis Claude Desaulses de Freycinet.
A fairly common species throughout a large part of its range, the Dusky Scrubfowl is evaluated as Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.