A.J. 
Data Campbell's No. of 
No. 
663 
No. in 
Book, 
591 
Eggs. 
2 
THE JACKSONIAN OOLOGICAL COLLECTION. 
get the material to the desired spot, where the mound was ultimately constructed, the eggs being laid 
therein. In digging out these Turkeys’ nests in the Richmond River scrubs, I frequently found great 
numbers of large black scrub plums (Sidevoxylon australe), and no doubt they had been raked in with 
the other debris, in order to set up fermentation, thus generating heat. My record take from one nest 
was thirty of these very large white eggs, but, of course, in cases of this kind four or five pairs of birds 
owned the nest, and the material used in its construction would more than fill four large drays, 
The eggs, which are edible, are indeed very palatable, and when camped in the scrubs collecting, I 
always made it a rule in blowing them, to save the contents of those which were fresh, and have often 
enjoyed a breakfast of omelets which were made from them. ‘The average weight of a full egg is 6} ozs., 
yet I have had them to turn the scale at 7} ozs, The eggs are comparatively very large for this bird 
to lay, and in shape are elliptical, though sometimes pointed at one end. They are white in colour, 
the texture of the shell being rather coarse and granulated, and without gloss. When laid, they are 
deposited in the nest or mound in terraced circles, with the small ends downwards, being placed from 
7 to 14 inches apart. Digging these eggs out from the mound is slow and tedious work, as it is 
necessary to do it with the hands in order to avoid the risk of breaking them. The heat from the nest 
is very great, as I have often experienced, and soon puts the diligent worker in a mass of perspiration, 
as he sits and gropes away in the middle of the hot and sweltering mass of fermented debris. On two 
occasions, when groping among the rubbish for the eggs in the Richmond River scrubs, I came across 
Black Snakes (Pseudechis porphyviacus). The mounds are sometimes only eight feet across at the base, 
with a height of 2 feet 6 inches ; but in several cases I have known them to measure as much as 14 to 
15 feet through at the ground, and have a height of from 36 to 42 inches. In some nests I noticed 
the tops very conical, while in others they were rather flat, and an old one is readily recognised, as it is 
generally overgrown with nettles, etc. ; the indication of a new one, however, is always demonstrated 
by the admirable manner in which the ground around has been raked quite clean, extending over a 
radius of from 40 to 70 feet, while the leaves and other debris are centrally heaped up to form the 
natural incubator. The greatest number of these nests that I have seen anywhere, and likewise the 
birds, was during the year 1888 at Patch’s scrub, situated 25 miles from Jondaryan, on the Darling 
Downs, Queensland. ‘The temperature of the mound from which I took this set under notice was 
(thirty-one inches from the top, down where the circle of eggs was buried) approximately 96° Fah. 
I placed the thermometer down three times in order to be correct, though I have known the temperature 
to vary from 93° to 96° Fah. ‘The bulk of the debris which forms the nest is usually scraped up by 
the birds soon after rain has fallen, for it is then damp. ‘This is done some weeks in advance of the 
laying, in order to allow sufficient time for fermentation, thereby having the requisite heat established 
by the time the bird is ready to lay. If, however, the season is a dry one, causing the masses of leaves 
and other rubbish on the ground to be devoid of moisture, the birds will, when an opportunity occurs, 
scrape the nest-building materials through some small shallow creek in the scrub, in order to wet it, 
and then heap it up on the ground about 20 or 30 feet away, In about three or four weeks’ time the 
mound is ready to receive its complement of eggs. ‘The young are well feathered on leaving the eggs, 
and make their way out of the huge mound unassisted, being able at this early stage to fly and run 
about, acting independently and feeding themselves. The birds generally selected a damp part of the 
scrub for their nest, in a locality where leaves were.profusely strewn, being careful to secure a small 
opening where the mid-day sun could penetrate. I captured one of them (@) in a snare at the nest at 
Booyong, brought it to Sydney, and presented it alive to the Botanic Gardens. The Director was 
very pleased to receive it, for it was a very welcome acquisition. 
BUSTARD OR WILD TURKEY, 
Eupodotis australis, J. E. Gray. 
Beautiful clutch of 2 eggs, of the dark olive variety. They were taken in the Nicholson River 
district, Gulf of Carpentaria, North-west Queensland, by C. Woodlands, on the 24th of November, 
1898. The eggs were laid on the bare ground on the plains. Specimen A. measures = 2°98 x 2°13. 
154 
