MALLEE FOWL. 22 1 



tipped with whitish ; primaries blackish, paler on the outer webs, marbled towards 

 the ends and margined with white at the tips ; secondaries blackish on the inner 

 webs, irregularly barred with tawny, scimitar-shaped white and black marks on the 

 outer webs ; the long inner secondaries vermiculated and barred with these colours 

 on both webs ; the upper tail -co verts and middle tail-feathers are similar in colour 

 to the secondaries ; remainder of tail blackish tipped with white ; cheeks, chin 

 and upper throat ferruginous ; on the lower throat a patch of black feathers which 

 are streaked with white down the middle, some fringed with white at the ends and 

 the lateral ones with white outer webs ; sides of breast grey, barred with black, 

 becoming paler on the sides of the body, and the dark bars broader and more pro- 

 nounced ; middle of abdomen and vent silvery -white ; lower flanks, thighs and 

 under tail-coverts buff, more deeply tinted on the latter, and with black shaft-streaks 

 to the long under tail-coverts towards the base ; wing-coverts grey on the outer 

 margins, some of the inner ones barred with ferruginous and black like the axillaries ; 

 bill slate black ; bare skin below the eye bluish-white ; remainder of bare skin 

 round eye dusky-black ; iris light hazel ; feet blue-grey. Total length 569 mm. ; 

 culmen, from hinder point of nostril, 25, wing 345, tail 197, tarsus 75. 



Adult female. Similar to the male but distinguished by the marblings or 

 vermiculations on the outer webs of the primaries, on their lower aspect. Total 

 length about 565 mm. ; wing 346, tarsus 71. 



Immature male (three-quarters grown). Similar in every respect to the adult, 

 but has the under wing-coverts and axillaries more rufous and the remains of 

 mottlings on the outer webs of the primaries below. 



Immature female (of the same age). Similar to the above. 

 Immature (about half grown). Under wing-coverts more numerously but 

 faintly barred and less rufous ; the mottlings on the under-surface are more 

 pronounced. 



Chick. The general colour of the dorsal surface of the downy plumage of the 

 young bird shortly after leaving the mound is a mottled rufous-brown, whilst the 

 ventral surface is an ashy cream-buff. The legs and feet are well developed and 

 strong and the toes are provided with long and powerful claws capable of scratch- 

 ing vigorously for food. The primaries and secondaries are fully developed and are 

 of a brown colour, barred with white. The wing-coverts, which are of a downy 

 nature, are brown, mottled with white. The downy feathers situate on the flanks 

 and abdominal surface and throat are a creamy-buff. The lores, auriculars and 

 fore-head feathers which are also downy are a brownish cream-buff. Crown, nape, 

 back and rump feathers are a light-mottled brown washed with buff. The tail, 

 which is downy, is a light brown barred with white on the dorsal surface, and is an 

 inch long, whilst the ventral surface is somewhat lighter in colour. The breast, 

 which has a mottled appearance and downy, is an ashy-buff, whilst the sides are 

 somewhat similar in colour only possessing a barred appearance. Total length 

 200 mm. ; culmen 10, wing 100, tarsus 25. 



Nest. A large conical -shaped heap or mound of sand, etc., covering a bed of 

 leaves and other vegetable debris about 8 inches in thickness, usually situated in 

 a water track in the dense scrub of sandy tracts, or in reddish ironstone gravel 

 country, such as the Mallee, etc. Dimensions 10 to 12 feet in diameter at base, or 

 a circumference 30 to 40 feet, and height 2 to 4 feet. 



Eggs. Clutch, twelve to eighteen other authors seven to eight ; long oval in 

 shape or elliptically inclined ; texture coarse, but shell exceedingly thin ; surface 

 without gloss ; colour, when first laid, light pink or pinkish-buff, which on being 

 scratched or removed shows a yellowish-buff ground ; this, in turn, as incubation 

 proceeds, chips off in patches and reveals a whitish shell. Dimensions 88-94 mm, 

 by 57-60. 



Breeding-season. September to February. 



