Meet Maleo, A Bird That Lay Eggs Underground - The Hatchlings Dig Their Way Up And Fend For Themselves With No Help From Their Parents

The maleo's egg is large, about five times as large as that of the domestic chicken's

Maryjane

• Published in Animal Stories
• December 8, 2022

The only member of the monotypic genus Macrocephalon is the maleo, a sizable megapode. Sulawesi and the adjoining smaller island of Buton in Indonesia are the only places where the maleo is found.

Although it nests in open sandy places, volcanic soils, or beaches that are heated by the sun or geothermal activity, it is widespread in tropical lowland and hill forests. The maleo's egg is enormous, around five times the size of a domestic chicken's egg.

The female places each egg in a deep hole in the sand, covers it, and then waits for solar or volcanic heating to initiate incubation. The baby birds climb out of the sand after the eggs hatch and take cover in the forest.

The baby birds are fully independent and able to fly. They need to hunt for food and protect themselves against a variety of predators.

Maleos maintain a constant closeness to their partners because they practice monogamy. Fruits, seeds, mollusks, ants, termites, beetles, and other small invertebrates make up the majority of its food.

Maleos breed all year long, although the best time to breed depends on where on the island they are. The female maleo will leave the protection of the Sulawesian forest when she is ready to lay her eggs, accompanied by her mate, in search of ancient coastal breeding grounds.

Over the course of a year, females are able to lay anywhere between 8 and 12 eggs.

More info: Reddit, Wikipedia

This Redditor has an interesting piece of information to share with the TodayILearned subreddit group

The males dig a large hole and place the egg inside after selecting an ideal location. After the egg is laid, the parents securely bury it in the sand, perhaps covering the sand with various debris to help conceal the hole.

The parents abandon the maleo baby to care for itself after the egg has been safely buried.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates the maleo as critically endangered

Maleo eggs are warmed by geothermal or solar heat and are then incubated in the hot sand of Sulawesi. A maleo hen chick becomes entirely independent just a few hours after hatching.

As a result of the nearly fully formed maleo ovaries inside, maleo eggs are approximately five times larger than domestic chicken eggs. Immediately after hatching, it must dig its way out of the sand before it can fly and find food for itself.

According to this Redditor, this is a surprising behavior for a bird

Specialized behavior is no guarantee of survival

A similar article where lots of eggs got damaged when the piles were turned

This Redditor watched Ze Frank's video on parasite birds

This Redditor came to the comments to say something like this

Due to egg theft and land conversion for agriculture, many historic nesting locations have been abandoned. Only four of the 142 known nesting sites are thought not to be in danger at the moment.

The island's remaining and future populations of the species face grave threats from the island's shrinking and fragmenting forest habitats. The Indonesian government has been protecting this species since 1972.

Maryjane