THE AUSTEALIAN JUNGLE FOWL 597 



Trees are also needful, as these birds are fond of perching at some height from the ground, 

 and the situation must be sheltered from wind or rain. 



In their native country the Curassows build among the trees, making a large and 

 rather clumsy-looking nest of sticks, grass stems, leaves, and grass blades. There are 

 generally six or seven eggs, not unlike those of the fowl, but larger and thicker shelled. 

 The voice of the Crested Curassow is a short croak, but the various species differ slightly 

 in this respect. The male Globose Curassow, for example, has a voice that sounds like a 

 short hoarse cough, and every time that it utters the cry it jerks up its tail and partially 

 spreads the feathers. The voice of the female is unlike that of her mate, being a gentle 

 whining sound. While perambulating the ground or traversing the branches, the Curassow 

 continually raises and depresses its crest, giving itself a very animated aspect. 



The colour of the Crested Curassow is very dark violet, with a purplish green gloss 

 above and on the breast, and the abdomen is the purest snowy white, contrasting beauti- 

 fully with the dark velvety plumage of the upper parts. The bright golden yellow of the 

 crest adds in no small degree to the beauty of the bird. 



The GUANS also belong to the same family as the Curassows. They are also inha- 

 bitants of the forests of tropical America ; and are easily to be recognised by the naked 

 and dilatable skin of the throat. They are not gregarious, like the curassow, but arc- 

 mostly solitary in their habitr;, feeding chiefly on fruits and remaining on the branches. 

 They are not so susceptible of domestication as the curassow, nor are they so large, 

 being of a more delicate and slender shape. The flesh of these birds is very excellent. 



SEVEKAL very singular birds are found in Australia and New Guinea, called by the 

 ^ame of Megapodinae or Great-footed birds, on account of the very large size of their 

 feet ; a provision of nature which is necessary for their very peculiar mode of laying their 

 eggs and hatching their young. 



The first of these birds is the AUSTRALIAN JUNGLE FOWL, which is found in several 

 parts of Australia, but especially about Port Essington. In that country great numbers 

 of high and large mounds of earth exist, which were formerly thought to be the tombs of 

 departed natives, and, indeed, have been more than once figured as such. The natives, 

 however, disclaimed the sepulchral character, saying that they were origins of life rather 

 than emblems of death ; for that they were the artificial ovens in which the eggs of the 

 Jungle Fowl were laid, and which, by the heat that is always disengaged from decaying 

 vegetable substances, preserved sufficient warmth to hatch the eggs. 



The -size of these tumuli is sometimes quite marvellous ; in one instance, where 

 measurements were taken, it was fifteen feet in perpendicular height, and sixty feet 

 in circumference at its base. The whole of this enormous mound was made by the 

 industrious Jungle Fowl, by gathering up the earth, fallen leaves, and grasses with its 

 feet, and throwing them backwards while it stands on the other leg. If the hand be 

 inserted into the heap, the interior will always be found to be quite hot. In almost every 

 case the mound is placed under the shelter of densely leaved trees, so as to prevent the 

 sun from shining upon any part of it. This precaution is probably taken in order 

 to prevent the rays of the sun from evaporating the moisture. The aspect of the heap 

 depends much on the surrounding objects ; and in one instance it was placed close to the 

 sea, just above high-water mark, and was composed of sand, shells, and black mould. It 

 was situated in the midst of a large yellow-blossomed hibiscus, by which it was enveloped. 



The bird seems to deposit its eggs by digging holes from the top of the mound, laying 

 the egg at the bottom, and then making its way out again, throwing back the earth that 

 it had scooped away. The direction, however, of the holes is by no means uniform, some 

 running towards the centre and others radiating towards the sides. They do not seem 

 to be dug quite perpendicularly ; so that although the holes in which the eggs are found 

 may be some six or seven feet in depth, the eggs themselves may be only two or three 

 feet from the surface. 



A further detailed account of these tumuli and the manner in which the bird lays its 

 eggs is given by Mr. Gilbert, whose researches are quoted in Gould's Birds of Australia. 



