V MEGAPODIIDAE IgI 
gallus, and Aepypodius, eighteen in Megacephalon and Catheturus. 
Aepypodius possesses an erect fleshy frontal crest and a pendent 
caruncle at the base of the fore-neck, or even a pair of lateral 
outgrowths near the nape; Catheturus has a vascular neck-wattle : 
and Megacephalon a rounded bony casque with a tubercle behind 
each nostril. The fleshy growths are yellow or reddish, the 
horny black. In dAepypodius, Catheturus, and Megacephalon the 
naked head is clothed with hair-hke feathers or papillae; Zzipoa 
and some species of Jegapodius have a short dense crest; others 
have the head almost entirely feathered, others again nearly 
bare except the occipital and nuchal region, as in TZalegallus. 
The naked skin may be red, yellow, orange, purplish, grey, or pale 
blue; the bill and feet are black, brown, clive, yellow, red, orange, 
horn- or. parti-coloured. The furcula is Y-shaped, the syrinx 
tracheo-bronchial, the tongue sagittate, the gizzard muscular, and 
the aftershaft,small...The size varies from that of a Turkey to 
that of a large Pigeon, the sexes being invariably similar. 
Megapodes are shy terrestrial birds found in hill-valleys, 
among thickets near rivers or the sea, or on gravelly and sandy 
beaches. Upon the ground their gait is not ungraceful, while they 
run well, and only take to the wing when hard pressed; if dis- 
turbed they usually seek the lowest branches of the neighbouring 
trees, hopping gradually to the higher hmbs; the flight is heavy, 
but can carry them from island to island. Always difficult. of 
observation they are rarely seen in company, yet the larger breed- 
ing mounds are no doubt used by more pairs than one. Hoarse 
croaks or clucks are uttered in the day-time, mewing notes or 
noisy cackles at night; the food consists of fallen fruit, seeds, 
berries, worms, snails, insects, and even crabs. The brownish- 
red, salmon-coloured or whitish eggs, at least as large as those of 
the domestic duck, are deposited either in mounds constructed of 
soil and vegetable matter, or in holes made in sandy or shingly 
ground; the decaying vegetation or the sun’s heat producing the 
effect of an artificial incubator, and making parental aid needless. 
The young extricate themselves readily from the superincumbent 
soil, being hatched in a feathered condition, and flying almost 
immediately. The flesh is dark and usually unpalatable. 
Though mainly confined to the Australian Region, where it 
extends eastwards to Ninafou and Samoa, the Family reaches 
westward to the Nicobars, and northward to the Philippines and 
