no Shufeldt, Material for a Study of the Megapodiidcv. [_^' 



Oct. 



It would seem that there are some eggs of Megapodes in the 

 collection of the United States National Museum, which have 

 not as yet been catalogued and placed in the collection, as there 

 is, at this time, no one in that institution who has given any 

 attention to " the eggs of foreign birds." Through chance I came 

 across the egg of a large species of Megapode (No. if), 947) labelled 

 " Megapodiits gilberti. J. S. Nickerson. Celebes." Now, M. 

 gilberti is a synonym of M. cumingi, but this egg is far too large 

 for Cuming's Megapode, as it measures 105.6 x 63.3, and is of a 

 dark drab colour. Taking its large size into consideration, and 

 the fact that it came from the " Celebes," I would say that it had 

 been laid by a Maleo {Megacephalum rnaleo). 



Ogilvie-Grant says : — " The eggs of the Maleo in the collection 

 are reddish-buff, and measure respectively 4.3 by 2-3, 4.05 by 2.4, 

 4.5 by 2.45 " {lac. cit., vol. i., p. 19). ^ 



Coming to the Australian Brush-Turkey {Caiheiiinis lalhami), 

 there is quite a series of the eggs of this species at hand, but only 

 one specimen of all these, however, is to be found in the collection 

 of the United States National Museum. It bears the number 

 30,340, and was collected by Mr. Dudley Le Souef in Australia. 

 I find it to be typical ellipsoidal in form, of a cream-white colour, 

 and it measures 89.4 x 61.2. 



There arc six (6) eggs of this species in the Court collection, 

 four of them being broadly ellipsoidal in form, and the other 

 two of a more ovate contour. They arc of a cream-white 

 colour, and each show stain-markings, usually restricted and faint 

 in colour ; but in one instance there is a large dark brown blotch 

 the size of a dime. 



Upon measuring these si.\ eggs of the Brush-Turkey, 1 find them 

 to be of the following sizes : — 



(i) 90.7 X 59.4. (4) 88.3 X 60.1. 



(2) 87.1 X 61.5. (5) 89.4 X 59.7. 



(3) 89.0 X 58.0. (6) 89.2 X 60.3. 



Taken in connection witli the size t)f the one in the collection 

 of the National Museum, the average of these will be found to be 

 88.9 X 60.7. 



Ogilvie-Grant says : — " The eggs of the Austrahan Brush-Turkey 

 [Catheturits lathami] are white, generally stained with some 

 yellowish smears. They measure from 3.4 to 3.75 in length, and 

 from 2.3 to 2.4 in breadth " (loc. cit., p. 18). 



There are no eggs of Cathetunis piirpureicollis in the National 

 Museum collection, while Mr. Court is the fortunate possessor of 

 no fewer than four (4) of them at the present writing. Two of 

 these bear no collectors' marks. They are of the typical ellips- 

 oidal form, and are pure glistening white, having been " cleaned 

 off." Upon applying the scale to them I find them to measure 

 87.0 \ 52.4 and H().() x 52.0. A third egg of this species, 1/11/09, 

 8.4, lias not been thus cleaned, and is of a very pale cream colour. 

 It has the form of the others, and measures 93.4 x 56.4. Finally, 

 there is another white ellipsoidal egg of this species (1/11/9), which 



