Megapodes

Megapodes are large-footed, chicken-like birds found in Australia and New Guinea. Rather than brood their eggs, females bury them in massive nest-mounds of decaying vegetation that males then tend. Megapode chicks are superprecocial, meaning they hatch in a very mature state that includes having open eyes, feathers, and, in some species, the ability to fly. They typically hatch unattended and therefore do not undergo imprinting. How then do they come to recognize other members of their species? Discuss

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