NATURAL HISTORY. 



Family V. Megapodidse. (Gr. 

 great-footed kind.) 



, great; Trove, a foot. The 



TALE3ALLUS. 



. - I 



. .'- 



^ 



Latliafai (Lat. of Latham), the Brush Turkey. 



The BRUSH TURKEY is principally found in the thick 

 brushwood of New South Wales. Mr. Gould, who first 

 brought it before the public, gives this curious account of 

 their nests : " The mode in which the materials composing 

 these mounds are accumulated is equally singular, the bird 

 never using its bill, but always grasping a quantity in its 

 foot, throwing it backwards to one common centre, and thus 

 clearing the surface of the ground for a considerable distance 

 so completely that scarcely a leaf or a blade of grass is left. 

 The heap being accumulated, and time allowed for a sufficient 

 heat to be engendered, the eggs are deposited, not side by side 

 as is ordinarily the case, but planted at the distance of nine 

 or twelve inches from each other, and buried at nearly an 

 arm's depth, perfectly upright, with the large end upwards. 



