NESTS AA'D EGGS OF AVSTRALIAN BIRDS. 711; 



560. — Megapoijius duperueyi, Lesson. — (478) 

 M. tumulus, Gould. 



SCRUB FOWL. 



Figure. — Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. v., pi. 79. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. xxii., p. 454. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Gould : Birds of Australia (1848) , 

 also Handbook, vol. ii., p. 175 (1865); Ramsay: Proc. Zool. 

 Soc, p. 118 (1876); *Le Souef : Ibis, p. 18 (1899). 



Geiigraphicdl Distribution. — Northeru Territory and North Queens- 

 land ; also ranging through New Guinea, Salawatte, Aru, Ke, Banda, 

 Sumba, Floras, and Lonibok to the Kangean Archipelago. 



Nest — or egg mound, usually of immense size, rotund in shape, 

 occasionally conical ; composed of loose, black, vegetable moidd or soil, 

 mixed with sticks, leaves, &c., if close to the beach the movmd is chiefly 

 sand and shells ; usually situated within a few hvuidred yards of the sea- 

 shore, and protected by tluckly-fohaged scmb or trees. Dimensions, 

 about 20 ,feet in diameter at base, or a circumference of about 60 feet ; 

 height about 5 feet — equal to a displacement of between 400 and 500 

 cubic feet. (See illustration.) Maximum dimensions recorded by 

 Gould; cuxumference, 150 feet (MacgiUivray) ; height, 15 feet (Gilbert). 



Eggs. — Clutch or complement to a mound, variously stated, but 

 probably eight to ten ; long ellipse in shape, both ends being nearly ahkc ; 

 textiu'o of shell coarse ; surface without gloss ; colour, pinkish or yellowish 

 buff, the outer or beautiful pinkish buff coating, where removed, shows 

 the yellowish buff. If both colours are scratched off a wlutisli 

 shell is revealed. Dimensions in inches : (1) 3'62 x 1-98, (2) 3-55 x 2-07, 

 (3) 3-4 X 2-05, (4) 3-33 x 2-1. 



Ohservations. — This wonderful mound-raising bird is even more extra- 

 ordinary than the Lipoa or the Talegallus in the matter of its mode of 

 incubation. 



The Megapode or Scrub Hen, as it is sometimes termed, is restricted 

 to the dense thickets of the northern coasts. It likewise enjoys an 

 extra-Australian habitat extending to New Guinea and many of the 

 Austro-Malayan Islands. 



On the opposite side of the creek to our Cardwell camp, the Megapodes 

 on going to roost in the evening used to keep the scrab alive with their 

 loud chuckling calls, which were sometimes contruued far into the night, 

 especially if it were moonlight. In the dense labyiTinth of imdergrowth 

 on Baniard Islands we came across many of the Megapodes' momids, each 

 resembling so many cart-loads thi-own together of sandy soil, mixed with 

 rotten vegetation. As it was then the beginning of September, some 

 of tlio mounds bore evidence of preparation for the season, being scraped 

 up nito conical shapes four feet or five feet high. While lying in 



*No dimensions given. 



