THE TRUE MEGAPODES. 1 75 



ness, and uttering their cry more loudly than usual, stopping 

 short suddenly^ and again starting off in pursuit. The cry con- 

 sists of one or two shrill notes uttered at intervals, and ending 

 in a hurried tremulous cry, repeated five or six times. The 

 noise made by this Megapodius while scratching among the 

 dead leaves for food may sometimes be imitated with such 

 success as to bring the bird running up within gunshot. When 

 suddenly forced to rise from the ground, it flies up into a tree, 

 and remains there motionless, but exceedingly vigilant, ready 

 to start on the approach of anyone, but on other occasions it 

 trusts to its legs to escape. Its food is entirely procured on 

 the ground, and consists of insects and their larvae (especially 

 the pupae of ants), small snails, and various fallen seeds and 

 fruits." 



X. duperrey's megapode. megapodius duperreyi. 



Megapodius dupemyii, Less, and Gam. Bull. Sci. Nat. viii. p. 

 113 (1826) ; Less. Voy. "Coquille," i. pt. ii. p. 700, pi. 36 

 (1828); Ogilvie-Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 454 



(1893)- 

 Megapodius rubripes^ Temm. PI. Col. v. pi. 46 [No. 411J 



(1826). 

 Megapodius reifiwaj'dfiijWsiglQx:^ Syst. Av. Addit. Megapodius, 



p. 378, sp. 4 (1827) ; id. Isis, 1829, p. 736. 

 Megapodius tumulus^ Gould, P. Z. S. 1842, p. 20 ; id. B. Austr. 



v. pt. vi. pi. 79 (1842); Gray, P. Z. S. 1861, p. 290, pi. 



xxxiv. 

 Megapodius gouldi and M. amboiftensis, Gray, P. Z. S. 1861, 



pp. 290, 293. 

 Megapodius assi/niiis, Masters, P. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. i. p. 59 



(1887). 



Adult Male and Female. — A well-developed brown crest; mantle 

 grey ; back and wings olive-brown ; lower back and rump dark 

 chestnut j under-parts smoky-grey ; sides and flanks mostly 



