March 15th, 2016

Fall of the Centipede

​   While working as a boat captain on a recent kayak & camping expedition, photographer Ron Leidich slipped into the forest to look for birds.  While the guests enjoyed breakfast with their guide on beautiful Ngeremdiu Beach Ron was tracking a trio of hungry Megapods.  These  mound nesting "incubator birds" make their living by scratching through the leaf litter in search of insects and fruits.
   Female megapodes lay their eggs inside giant mounds of sand piled up by the hard working male.  The suitor goes one step further by excavating the interior of the mound while and replaces the sand with organic material.  The moist compost heats up within the mound creating a natural incubator for the megapode's eggs.  Upon hatching the youngster digs its way out of the nest chamber and scurries off into the forest with no help from its mother or father.  Typically the young megapodes live a precocial existence, fending for themselves from birth.
   On this day, Ron was hence surprised to see a trio of Megapodes feeding amicably together.  Shooting at distance with a telephoto lens insured that the terrestrial birds remained undisturbed by the presence of a photographer.  Scratching with their enormous feet, the birds kicked up sticks, leaves, and fruits in the hopes of finding juicy insects.  To Ron's surprise, the male Megapode unearthed a massive poisonous centipede.  After a quick toss to the ground "Megapode rex" smashed the Chilipod into pieces before devouring him segment by segment.  The Megapodes moved on in search of other delectables while the photographer retreated with a prize of his own.