megapode

Any of several chicken- or turkey-like birds in the family Megapodiidae, which incubate their eggs by burying them where they receive warmth from decaying vegetation, solar radiation or geothermal heat.

In precocial species, such as megapodes, the young hatch with their eyes open and are ready to leave the nest within a short period of time.

Characteristic of the Megapodiidae.