Nicobar megapode and Megapode Island. The species may have occurred on Car Nicobar in the early 1900s. A survey after the 2004 tsunami however indicated that the species had been extirpated on the islands of Trax and Megapode. The eggs as well as adults are sought after by natives for food and birds may have been transported across islands. The 19th century ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume considered the taste of the meat as being between that of a "fat Norfolk turkey and a fat Norfolk pheasant". The Nicobar megapodes are secretive in their habits. During the day, they move around in thick
Megapode was thought to exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination, this was later proven false; temperature does, however, affect embryo mortality and resulting offspring sex ratios. The nonsocial nature of their incubation raises questions as to how the hatchlings come to recognise other members of their species, which is due to imprinting in other members of the order Galliformes. Research suggests an instinctive visual recognition of specific movement patterns is made by the individual species of megapode. Megapode chicks do not have an egg tooth; they use their powerful claws to break out of the egg, and then tunnel their way up to