Palau

In Palau, a bird lets sand and rotting leaves incubate its eggs.

In the coastal forests, the Micronesian megapode scrapes together sand and leaves into mounds that can grow several metres across. It lays its eggs inside, but does not sit on them.

Inside the mound, the leaves decompose and give off heat, like a compost heap. The eggs lie buried beneath a covering of sand. The birds return to add or scrape away material to keep the right temperature around the eggs.

When a chick hatches, no parent helps it. It digs its way up through the mound and fends for itself from the very first moment.