THE WATTI.F.D ERUSII-TURKKVS. I93 



Range. — North-enst and East Australia. 



Habits. — I )r. Ramsay writes : — "However plentiful thisspecies 

 may have been formerly in the Rockingham Bay district, it is 

 now very scarce, only one having been obtained during my 

 visit. They are still plentiful in the New South Wales scrubs. 

 I found that two or more females visited the same mound to 

 lay their eggs in, and when this is the case, the mound is 

 often twice as large as usual. It seems probable that 

 several individuals assist in scratching the mound together, 

 when a space often fifty yards in diameter (on level ground) is 

 cleared of almost every fallen leaf and twig. The mounds are 

 often six feet in height, and twelve to fourteen yards wide at 

 the base : sometimes they are more conical. The central por- 

 tion consists of decayed leaves mixed with fine debris, the 

 next of coarser and less rotten materials ; and the outside is a 

 mass of recently gathered leaves, sticks, and twigs not showing 

 signs of decay. In opening the nest these are easily removed 

 and must be carefully pushed backwards over the sides, begin- 

 ning at the top. Having cleared these, and obtained plenty of 

 room, remove the semi-decayed strata, and below it, where the 

 fermentation has begun, in a mass of light fine leaf-mould, will 

 be found the eggs placed with the iJiin end doivrnvards, often 

 in a circle, with three or four in the centre, about six inches 

 apart. At one side, where the eggs have been first laid, they 

 will probably be found more or less incubated, but in the centre, 

 where the eggs are placed last, quite fresh ; and if only one 

 pair of birds have laid in the mound, about twelve to eighteen 

 eggs will be the complement, and will be found arranged as 

 described above. On the other hand, if several females resort 

 to the same nest the regularity will be greatly interfered with, 

 and two or three eggs in different stages of development will 

 be found close to one another, some quite fresh, others within 

 a few days of being hatched. There are usually ten eggs in 

 the first layer, five or six in the second, three or four only in 

 the centre. I found that the females returned every second 

 12 o 



