THE LEIPOA. 343 



probe by which the presence of a hole is detected, but the hands 

 are the only tools which are used in following up the tortuous 

 track, which sometimes proceeds in a straight line, and then turns 

 suddenly at an angle, the bird having come on a stone or some 

 such obstacle, which prevents her from continuing in the same 

 line. 



It is a remarkable fact that these mounds are always found 

 near the sea, and in one instance a heap was seen on the very 

 shore, only just above high- water mark. 



The curious bird called by the natives Leipoa, and by colonists 

 the Native Pheasant {Leipoa ocellala), is another of the mound- 

 makers. In order to avoid confusing the mind of the reader, I 

 may here mention that there are three Australian birds which 

 are popularly called pheasants, the one being the Leipoa, and the 

 others the two species of lyre-bird (Menura). The Leipoa cer- 

 tainly has a very pheasant-like appearance, both in the general 

 outline of the head and body, together with the penciled plumage, 

 the long tail being only wanted in order to complete the resem- 

 blance. It is usually found toward the northwest portions of 

 Australia, preferring sandy plains to any other localities. 



The mound which is made by the Leipoa is comparatively 

 small, being seldom more than eight or nine feet in diameter, and 

 a yard or so in height. It is made up of mixed sand, soil, leaves, 

 and grass, and is sometimes so hard at its lowest portions that the 

 hands become useless in digging out the eggs, and strong tools 

 are required. In each nest there are usually about a dozen eggs, 

 which are deposited singly in the mound. One nest, however, 

 will afford a large supply of eggs, just as is the case with our do- 

 mestic hens ; for, if her nest be repeatedly robbed, the bird con- 

 tinues to lay for a very long time. The eggs are whitish, slight- 

 ly speckled with dull red. It is a curious fact that a number of 

 ants are always to be found about the nest of the Leipoa, and 

 their presence, together with the hard, strong substance of the 

 lower part of the nest, would lead many persons to suppose that 

 the mound was nothing but a large ant-hill. 



