THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 335 



numerous, especially in cultivated districts, where they are 

 often killed by striking violently against the wire fences 

 when passing from one field to another. 



Family — Phasian idee. 



Genus — 1. Cotiirnix. C. pcctoraiis. Pectoral Quail. 

 2. SymvcHS. S. aiistralis. Australian Quail. 

 vS". diemenensis. Tasmanian Quail. 



THE HEMIPODES. 



Nearly allied to the quails, two species belonging to the 

 genus Tnrnix are found at our antipodes. As they are 

 rarely if ever imported, it will be sufficient to name them. 



Family — Tiiniicidcu. 



Genus — Tnrnix. T. varia. Varied Hemipode. 



T. pyrrhotJiorax. Red-chested Hemipode. 



THE BRUSH TURKEYS 



Form a very interesting group, thought at one time to 

 be peculiar to Australia, but now known to occur in the 

 New Guinea Archipelago. They are polj'gamous, and, 

 instead of incubating their eggs, the females lay them in a 

 heap of fermenting vegetable matter collected by the whole 

 company, where they are hatched by the heat generated 

 by the decomposing matters. But the birds, nevertheless, 

 attend to the eggs, turning them, and placing them nearer 

 to or further from the surface as occasion requires. 



Family — Megapodiidce. 



Genus — 1. Tallegallns. T. lathami. Brush Turkey. 

 C. Lcipoa. L. occllata. Mallee Hen. 



