VOJ927'-] Camera Craft. 67 



Grey Jumj^ier {Stnifhidca cincrca) — \T. 



Black-throated Butcher l)ircl (Cractictis iiicjrogularis) — I^P. 

 Notes more flute-Hke than those of the Collared Butcher Bird. 



Black-backed Magi^tie (Gynuiorhina tibicen) — P. 



Camera Craft 



Mallee Fowl in Captivity. — In October a party visited the 

 home of Mr. T. P. Bellchaml^ers, who lives in Humbug Scrub, in 

 the ranges about 25 miles from Adelaide, to see Mallee Fowl 

 (Lcipoa occllata) in caj^tivity. Mr. Ernest Whitington, 

 R.A.O.U., supplies the following notes, with two photographs 

 (see plate) : — After a delightful lunch, a move was made to the 

 cages where the 2^Iallee Fowl are kept. These unicjue birds, 

 which retain the reptilian characteristic of hatching their eggs by 

 the heat of the sun and rotting vegetation, have been Mr. Bell- 

 chambers's special study, and he has achieved most gratifying 

 results. Mr. Bellchambers entered the cage and began to open 

 tile first mound. The male bird was soon on the scene, and 

 started vigorously scratching back the material which was re- 

 moved. In several minutes a large fiesh-tinted egg was exposed 

 to view. It was taken out and shown to the interested visitors, 

 and then returned to the egg chamber. Mr. licllchambers scraped 

 back some of the earth and decayed vegetation which generates 

 ihe heat, and the male bird did the rest. Owing to the wet con- 

 ditions at Humbug Scrub it takes so long for the excessive 

 moisture to dry out of the mound building material that the 

 early eggs have always been lost. This year ^Ir. Bellchambers 

 has constructed a mound of his own, and he has succeeded in get- 

 ting a temperature of 76deg. The eggs hatch at between 85 and 

 96 deg. The naturalist thinks that by removing the early eggs 

 to his own mound he will, if he cannot hatch them, at least be able 

 to keep them fresh until the heat is sufficiently developed in the 

 birds' own mounds. When Mr. Bellchambers was in the mallee 

 country, catching the birds for the various zoos, he made a 

 mound at his camp, and placing the eggs he found in this re- 

 ceptacle, he was able to save himself endless walking and watch- 

 ing, ami to catch, the chicks as they hatched out. It was ex- 

 plained that the chick when hatched was fully fledged, and that 

 it forced its way from the chamber through the overhead mass, 

 and was at once able to fly and care for itself Avithout any help 

 from the parent birds. 



