RASORES. 159 



see, not daring to move a muscle, for fear of moving a branch 

 or making a noise by crushing a dead leaf, till I was so 

 cramped I could scarcely bear the pain in my limbs ; the bird 

 did not however make its appearance, and the native, with the 

 fear of wading through the thicket in darkness (for there was 

 no moon), became so impatient, that he started up and began 

 to talk so loud, and make so much noise, that I was compelled 

 to give up all hopes of seeing the bird that night ; however, 

 just as we were passing the mound we started the bird from 

 the opposite side, but, from the denseness of the thicket 

 and the darkness closing around us, I had no chance of getting 

 a shot at it. Mr. Roe, the Surveyor- General, who examined 

 several mounds diu-ing his expedition to the interior in the 

 year 1836, found the eggs nearly ready to hatch in the month 

 of November, and invariably seven or eight in number ; while 

 another authority has informed me of an instance of fourteen 

 being taken from one mound." 



In a subsequent letter Gilbert states that the flavour of the 

 egg is very similar to that of the Tortoise or Turtle, and that 

 when mixed with tea its similarity to the peculiar roughness 

 and earthy flavour of that of the Hawk's-bill Turtle is very re- 

 markable. 



" Government House, Adelaide, December 12th, 1842. 



" My dear Mr. Gould, — I have lately returned from the 

 Murray, where I have been studying the habits and manners 

 of the Leipoa ocellata, which is very plentiful in the sandy 

 districts of the scrub. The eyes of the living bird are of- a 

 bright, light hazel ; its legs and feet dark brown ; whilst the 

 bare parts of the head and face are of a very delicate and clear 

 blue. The gizzard is very large and muscular; the inner 

 coats peculiarly horny and hard. Its food consists chiefly of 

 insects, such as PhasmidtB and a species of Cimex ; it also 

 feeds on the seeds of various shrubs. The entire lungs and 

 intestines of the one which I dissected were full of Tcenioides. 

 I have never seen any other animal infested with them to any- 



