218 A MANUAL OF THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of these are given under the genera, and the general internal characters have been 
given under the ordinal heading. The chief differences in the Megapodes may be 
noted: the oil gland is nude, the left carotid only is present, while the syrinx is 
peculiar and of a primitive nature ; the basipterygoid processes are more noticeable 
and the skull shows details of difference, and the wing is aquincubital. We have 
traced no details of Leipoa, and Shufeldt in his recent papers on this subject in the 
mu mentions nothing. 
Famiry MEGAPODID. 
Genus MEGAPODIUS. 
Megapodius Gaimard, Bull. Gen. Univ. Annon. Nouv. Sci. Ferussac, Vol. II., p. 450, (read 
June 6th) 1823 (July, Aug.). Type (by subsequent designation, Mathews, List Birds Austr., 
p- 5, 1913): Megapodius freycinet Gaimard. 
Alecthelia Lesson, Bull. Sci. Nat. Ferussac, Vol. VIII., p. 115, pt. 1., (Jan ?) 1826. Type 
(by monotypy) : Alecthelia urvillii Lesson and Garnot = M. freycinet Gaimard. 
Amelous Gloger, Hand- u. Hilfsb., pt. v., p. 375, 1841 (end). New name for Alecthelia Lesson. 
Megathelia Mathews, Austral Av. Rece., Vol, II., pt. 5, p. 112, Sept. 24th, 1914. Type (by 
original designation): Megapodius tumulus Gould. 
Small Galline birds, with short head and bill, occipital crest, long rounded 
wings, short tail and very stout legs and short toes. The bill is shorter than the 
head, rather delicate for this group, a little flattened and laterally compressed, the 
tip decurved, the nostrils linear ovals, almost hidden by a membranous operculum ; 
under mandible flattened. The lores and round the eyes scantily feathered. The 
wing is very rounded, the feathers stiff, the first primary long but only equal to 
the ninth, the second equal to the eighth, all the intermediate ones subequal ; the 
secondaries comparatively short. The tail is rounded and very short, composed 
of twelve broad rounded feathers and is only about two-fifths the length of the 
wing. The legs are very stout, the tarsus having strong scaling, the broad frontal 
scutes being broken into hexagonal scales towards the toes, the sides having large 
scutes of similar shape; the toes are rather short, the outer and inner subequal 
and little shorter than the middle toe, while the hind-toe is two-thirds its length ; 
the claws are very long and little curved. 
Coloration dark chestnut-brown above, lead-grey below. Nestling barred with 
brown and black. 
150. Megapodius reinwardt—SCRUB FOWL. 
[Megapodius reinwardt Dumont, Dict. Sci. Nat. (Levrault), Vol. XXIX., p. 416, Dec. 27th, 
1823: Amboina errore = Aru Islands. Extra-limital.] 
Gould, Vol. V., pl. 79 (pt. v1.), March Ist, 1842. Mathews, Vol. I., pt. 1, pl. 6, Oct. 31st, 1910. 
Megapodius tumulus Gould, Birds Austr., pt. v1., March Ist, 1842: Cobourg Peninsula, 
Northern Territory. 
Megapodius assimilis Masters, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. L., p. 59, Feb. 1876: Dungeness 
Island, Torres Strait, North Queensland. 
Megapodius duperreyi melvillensis, Mathews, Austral Av. Rec., Vol. I., pt. 2, p. 26, April 
2nd, 1912: Melville Island, Northern Territory. 
Distrrsution.—North Queensland, Northern Territory. 
Adult male (from the Northern Territory)—General colour above, including 
the wings and tail, dark chestnut-brown, becoming darker on the lower back, 
rump, upper tail-coverts and tail; primary-coverts and quills blackish, paler 
on the outer webs; head crested, darker than the back, the feathers being 
lanceolate in form imparts a more or less streaked appearance ; hind-neck and 
upper mantle dark lead-grey like the entire under-surface, except the under tail- 
coverts, which are dark chestnut like the flanks ; under wing-coverts dark lead- 
grey ; fore-head, space round the eyes and sides of face very sparsely feathered 
