OF VICTORIA. 175 



all benefit indirectly by the services of this bird. The 

 nesting is peculiar to the bird. A heavy dome-shaped mass 

 of strong twigs is placed on the ground, on a stump, or 15 

 feet up in the fork of a tree in the quiet of a glen. The 

 inner part of the nest is made of fibres. The entrance over- 

 looks a small expanse of air, so that the sitting hen may 

 easily soar away from it. If the single egg in the nest is 

 touched by a human being it is at once deserted, the case 

 being a parallel one with that of the Black Duck. Mr. De 

 Lany, quoted above, tells me the period of incubation of 

 one egg noticed by him was 8 weeks and 1 day. This is a 

 surprisingly long time. The reference made here to Gould's 

 coloured figure of M. superha will serve to direct you to the 

 nearest resemblance to M. victories. There is no good plate 

 of the latter species available for inspection. 



JVest. — The description is due to the observations of Mr. 

 Campbell. " The inner or proper nest is constructed of the 

 dark-brown wiry and fibrous material of tree-fern trunks 

 and other fern rootlets closely matted together and inter- 

 woven with stringy leaves, moss, sand, &c., the inside 

 bottom being lined with the bird's own breast feathers. It 

 is oval, about twice the size and same shape as a modern 

 football, with an end lopped ofT which serves for a rounded 

 side entrance. This inner nest is embedded in an anterior 

 or outer nest composed of large sticks and twigs, resembling 

 that of an eagle, with spouted platform or landing-place at 

 the entrance. The roof of the inner nest is also protected 

 with sticks, and over the whole structure are often artfully 

 thrown a few dead or green fronds and other vegetation. 

 The dimensions of different nests do not vary much. The 

 following are sizes of one which I took on the spot. It was 

 situated in a gully, on a slight eminence consisting of a 

 fallen tree-fern trunk with other debris. So cunningly was 



