Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

The species is threatened by habitat loss and egg collecting.

[1][2] Two syntype specimens of Megapodius layardi Tristram (Ibis, 1879, p.

are held in the collections of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession numbers T9758 (male adult) and T9759 (female adult).

[3] There are three further syntypes in the bird collection at the Natural History Museum at Tring.