Nicobar megapode may be used by more than one pair of birds. Microbial activity is the primary source of heat within mounds for incubation. The incubation period is approximately 70–80 days varying based on the incubation temperature. The young birds hatch fully feathered, and as soon as the feathers dry up, can fly. They do not need any parental care and join the group immediately. In the 1900s, eggs taken to Calcutta zoo hatched and the chicks, reared on a diet of termites, grew very tame. Nicobar megapode The Nicobar megapode or Nicobar scrubfowl ("Megapodius nicobariensis") is a megapode found in some
Nicobar megapode of the dusky megapode ("Megapodius freycinet"). The exact island from which the original type specimen came was not known and a later specimen from Trinkat Island, described as "Megapodius trinkutensis" is now considered to be indistinguishable from the nominate subspecies. In 1901, W L Abbott collected specimens from Little Nicobar which were described in 1919 by H C Oberholser as a new subspecies "abbotti", distinguished by its darker brown plumage. The species is found only in the Nicobar Islands. This range is so well separated from the main megapode distribution (especially of the genus "Megapodius") that in 1911, it was