You’d be surprised how many members make up the megapodius family. But, some have not been researched much, because they live in areas that are difficult to reach or difficult to see. This is the case of the biak scrubfowl.
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Do you know where it lives?
The megapodius gellvinkianus is a species of galliform bird that belongs to the megapodiidae family. It is unique to the forests of the Schouten Islands, which are located in the ancient bay of Geelvink (Indonesia), hence its name.
It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Freycinet talegalus as well as the Reinwardt talegalus, but was eventually established as a separate species. It generally lives in the deepest areas of the forests.
What does it look like?
Although there have been few encounters with members of this species, it has been established that it is a bird that measures 36 cm and can weigh around 500 grams. The female and male would look identical, so the species does not have sexual dimorphism.
The feathers on his body are completely black, with a slight greyish touch. There are no feathers in the eye area, as with the rest of talegalos, but because the skin is very dark, it is almost imperceptible. It has very long wing feathers. Only when you have them open can you see that the primary feathers are of a mixed color between brown and black.
As with the rest of her body, her legs and beak are blackish. However, some specimens have been found in which the tip of the beak is light yellowish in colour, but have been considered as subspecies.
An almost unknown species
Biak Scrubfowl is almost an unknown species. Their diet is probably made up of invertebrate animals that live in the forest, but it is not proven. Nor is anything known about their courtship process or when it is the mating season.
The species is currently vulnerable according to IUCN. It is estimated that there are between 2500-999999 mature specimens. In recent years the species has lost quite a bit of habitat due to the expansion of cities and deforestation for raw materials. But, apart from these consequences, there have been few sightings of this species, which suggests that the population may be decreasing considerably and the survival rate of the young is very low.
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