Tongan megapode ruling chief, thus assuring the continued survival of this population." Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. On Niuafo'ou it is most common on the central caldera. The Tongan megapode, like all megapodes, does not incubate its eggs by sitting on them; instead the species buries them in warm volcanic sands and soil and allows them to develop. On islands in former parts of its range without volcanoes it presumably created mounds of rotting vegetation and laid the eggs there. The young birds are capable of flying immediately after hatching. The Tongan megapode is principally threatened by the same
Micronesian megapode the multiple threats across its range, it is likely to be suffering from a continuing decline. It seems that the only way for the species to be safe is to protect a few small islands and release a small population of megapodes there. That way, a safe population is secured. On the larger and higher islands, an increase of people and introduced pests will sooner or later destroy any megapode populations. The Marianas Island megapode or "Megapodius laperouse laperouse" is the nominate subspecies of the Micronesian megapode found in the Mariana Islands. It is rare, localised and in danger of