MEGAPODIIDAE I 9 I 



gallus, and Aej^ypodius, eighteen in Mcgacci^licdon and Catheturus. 

 Acpypodius 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 Ac2Jypodius, Cathettirus, and Megace2:)halon the 

 naked head is clothed with hair-like feathers or papillae ; Lijwa 

 and some species of Mcgcqwdius have a short dense crest ; others 

 have the head almost entirely feathered, others again nearly 

 lare except the occipital and nuchal region, as in Talegcdlus. 

 The naked skin may be red, yellow, orange, purplish, grey, or pale 

 blue ; the bill and feet are black, brown, olive, 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 

 lieaches. 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 limbs ; the flight is heavy, 

 l-)ut can carry them from island to island. Always clifticult 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 superincumlDent 

 soil, being hatched in a featliered condition, and flying almost 

 immediately. The flesh is dark and usually unpalatable. 



Though mainly confined to the Australian liegion, where it 

 extends eastwards to Ninafou and Samoa, the Family readies 

 westward to the Nicobars, and northward to the Philippines and 



