602 THE BRUSH TUEKEY. 



The food of the Brush Turkey mostly consists of seeds and vegetable substances, though 

 insects of various kinds have been found in its stomach, which is exceedingly muscular. 

 Like other gallinaceous birds, it is fond of dusting itself, and as it loves to resort to the 

 same spot, it scrapes considerable depressions in the earth, which lead the practised 

 hunter to its residence. The voice of the Brush Turkey is a rather loud clucking sound. 

 Its flesh is particularly excellent, and there are hopes that this fine bird may also be in 

 time added to our list of domesticated poultry. 



The egg mound for it cannot rightly be called a nest of this bird is extremely 

 large, containing, according to Mr. Gould, several cartloads of materials, and being 

 formed into a conical or somewhat pyramidal shape. It is not made by a single pair 

 of birds, but is the result of united labour, and is used from year to year, fresh materials 

 being supplied each season in order to make up the deficiency caused by the decom- 

 position of the vegetable matter below. Mr. Gould, to whom we are indebted for the 

 greatest part of our knowledge respecting these curious birds, gives the following account 

 of the nidification of the Brush Turkey : 



" The mode in which the materials composing these mounds are accumulated is very 

 singular, the bird never using its bill, but always grasping a quantity in its foot, 

 throwing it backwards to one common centre, and thus clearing the surface of the 

 ground for a considerable distance so completely that scarcely a leaf or a blade of grass 

 is left. The heap being accumulated, and time allowed for a sufficient heat to be 

 engendered, the eggs are deposited, not side by side as is usually the case, but planted 

 at the distance of nine or twelve inches from each other, and buried at nearly an arm's 

 depth, perfectly upright, with the large end upwards ; they are covered up as they are 

 laid, and allowed to remain until hatched. I have been credibly informed, both by 

 natives and settlers living ,near their haunts, that it is not an unusual event to obtain 

 nearly a bushel of eggs at one time from a single heap ; and as they are delicious eating, 

 they are eagerly sought after. 



Some of the natives state that the females are constantly in the neighbourhood of 

 the heap about the time the young are likely to be hatched, and frequently uncover 

 and cover them up again, apparently for the purpose of assisting those that may have 

 appeared ; while others have informed me that the eggs are merely deposited, and the 

 young allowed to force their way unassisted. In all probability, as Nature has adopted 

 this mode of reproduction, she has also furnished the tender birds with the power of 

 sustaining themselves from the earliest period ; and the great size of the egg would 

 equally lead to this conclusion, since in so large a space it is reasonable to suppose that 

 the bird would be much more developed than is usually found in eggs of smaller 

 dimensions. In further confirmation of this point, I may add that in searching for eggs 

 in one of the mounds, I discovered the remains of a young bird, apparently just 

 excluded from the shell, and which was clothed with feathers, not with down, as is 

 usually the case." 



In the " Guide to the Gardens of the Zoological Society," by Mr. P. L. Sclater, the 

 Secretary to the Society, is the following most valuable account of the habits of this bird 

 in a state of captivity. The date of the notice is May, 1861. 



"Since the year 1854, the singular phenomenon of the mound-raising faculty of the 

 Tallegalla, which had been well ascertained in Australia by Mr. Gould, has been annually 

 displayed in this country. 



On being removed into an inclosure, with an abundance of vegetable material within 

 reach, the male begins to throw it up into a heap behind him, by a scratching kind of 

 motion of his powerful feet, which project each footful as he grasps it for a considerable 

 distance. in the rear. As he always begins to work at the outer margin of the inclosure, 

 the material is thrown inwards in concentric circles, until sufficiently near the spot 

 selected for the mound to be jerked upon it. As soon as the mound is risen to a height 

 of about four feet, both birds work in reducing it to an even surface, and then begin to 

 excavate a depression in the centre. In this, in due time, the eggs are deposited as they 

 are laid, and arranged in a circle, about fifteen inches below the summit of the mound, 

 at regular intervals, with the smaller end of the egg pointing downwards. The male 



