194 CELEBES. [chap. 



gun, may take matters as leisurely as he pleases ; for, once in the 

 trees, the Maleo seems to consider itself secure from all clanger, 

 and can be shot without even putting to flight a fellow victim on 

 the same branch. There is, of course, no sport in the matter, but 

 to obtain a good series of skins, and to supply our party with as 

 much of the delicious meat as we could get, overpowered such 

 considerations. 



The Maleo (Majacqjhalon maleo) is about the size of a small 

 turkey, being twenty-four inches in length, and having an average 

 weight of 3 lbs. 8 oz. Of a large series we obtained the lightest 

 was 3 lbs. 1 oz., the heaviest 3 lbs. 14 oz., but the weight of the 

 hen birds varies according as an egg has or has not been just laid, 

 for the latter is enormous, and quite disproportionate to the size of 

 the bird. Male and female are alike in plumage, or, at least, so 

 closely resemble one another as to be difficult to distinguish. They 

 are of an entire brownish black, with the exception of the breast 

 and under parts, which are of a beautiful rosy pink or salmon colour. 

 The head, throat, and neck are bare of feathers, and the occiput is 

 furnished with a large casque, which in the female bird is slightly 

 smaller than in the male. The bill is bright pea-gi'een, blood-red 

 at the base. From our anchorage, which was immediately opposite 

 the beach where the birds were incessantly engaged in digging, we 

 had abundant opportunities of watching them. Their gait is slow" 

 and stately, and the tail is kept much elevated and slightly spread, 

 but even on the loose gravel they can run with tolerable quickness, 

 — sufficiently fast, at all events, in spite of their weight, to outstrip 

 a man with ease. When once on the hard ground of the jungle, 

 they dart off" with lightning-like rapidity. 



Sole representative of its genus, the Maleo is peculiar to the 

 island of Celebes. It belongs to the family of Megapodes or 

 Mound -builders, — gallinaceous birds which are eminently charac- 

 teristic of the Australian region, — but it differs from them in its 

 habits by using the gravel of the sea -beach alone to hatch its 

 eggs, instead of constructing a mound of sticks, sand, and leaves. 



