2/0 



The Fowl-like Birds 



lay another egg, and each female is supposed to lay six or eight eggs during the 

 season. The male assists the female in making the hole, coming down and 

 returning with her. The appearance of the bird when walking on the beach is 

 very handsome. The glossy black and rosy white of the plumage, the helmeted 

 head and elevated tail, like that of the common fowl, give a striking character. 

 . . . Many birds lay in the same hole, for a dozen eggs are often found together, 

 and these are so large that it is not possible for the body of the bird to contain 

 more than one fully developed egg at the same time. After the eggs are deposited 

 in the sand they are no further cared for by the mother. The young birds on 



FIG. 87. Maleo, Megacephalon maleo. 



breaking the shell work their way up through the sand and run off at once to 

 the forest. Considering the great distances the birds come to deposit the eggs 

 in a proper situation (often ten or fifteen miles), it seems extraordinary that they 

 should take no further care of them. It is, however, quite certain that they 

 neither do nor can watch them." 



That the nesting habits of the Megapodes are admirably adapted to the pres- 

 ent structure and life of the birds is beyond question ; but how these habits could 

 have originated in the first place is difficult to understand. Under present con- 

 ditions, if the birds were required to incubate their eggs, serious difficulties 

 would arise. With an interval of ten or twelve days between the laying of each 

 egg, a period of some two or three months would elapse between the first and 

 last egg. If the eggs were left until the last was laid, the first ones would be 

 subjected to climatic injuries as well as destruction by predatory animals ; while 



