11 Mr. D. Le Souef on the 



which lead an independent existence from their birth. Most 

 of the INIallces in captivity have been taken out of the egg, 

 and they thrive well and are easily reared and kept, but do 

 not, so far as I know, attempt to make a mound in confine- 

 ment. "Water is apparently not necessary for them, and in 

 the dry country in which they live they must often have to 

 go for months without any, but the same remark also applies 

 to many other birds. 



2. Latham's Brush-Turkey [Catheturus lathami). 



The Brush-Turkey is found on the north-east coast of 

 Australia, from the Clarence-River district in New South 

 Wales to Cape York in Queensland, and extends for a con- 

 siderable distance inland. It is invariably met with in thick 

 scrubby country, and prefers the higher lands, especially in 

 the coastal districts of North Queensland, where you find 

 the Brush-Turkeys inhabiting the hills and the Scrub-Fowl 

 [Megapodius duperrexji) the low-lying country. 



These birds are not often seen, being solitary and shy; 

 run fast, but fly heavily, and with the aid of a dog can be 

 easily made to take refuge on the lower limb of a tree, 

 whence they go upwards from branch to branch until high 

 enough to fly off" above and clear of the scrub. The sexes 

 are of the same colour, but during the breeding-season the 

 male has a reddish-yellow wattle hanging from his neck, 

 which he can apparently inflate at will ; the female has no 

 wattle. They are generally silent, but during the nesting- 

 season the male, when at the mound, often makes a hoarse 

 kiud of call, and also when roosting in the evening. Their 

 food consists of insects and berries, and at night they roost 

 as high on the scrub-trees as they can get. 



They make their mounds in the dense scrub anywhere, 

 either on the level surface or on the side of a hill ; when at 

 the latter place they scrape the material for the mound from 

 the upper side only. The same site is used year after year, 

 but the mound is entirely remade, and is composed largely of 

 leaves and twigs, with comparatively little soil, consequently 

 very little of the mound is left when the next nesting-season 



