Noble megapode and "rostrum" (bill), referring to the extraordinarily large vertical dimension of its bill. Worthy also suggested “Noble Megapode” would be an appropriate vernacular name for the bird. It was described by New Zealand palaeontologist Trevor Worthy in October 1998 from subfossil remains collected by Worthy, G. Udy and S. Mataraba. Sites containing remains include the Udit Tomo cave at Wainibuku, Voli Voli and Delai-ni-qara caves on the island of Viti Levu, as well as on Naigani Island. The holotype is held by the Museum of New Zealand (reg. no: S.037362). In its time it was probably the largest bird in
Dusky megapode subspecies of this species, but the two are increasingly treated as separate species. At the same time, many authorities consider the taxon "M. forstenii" a separate species, Forsten's megapode, but measurements and molecular evidence suggest 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