252 



THE MOUND-MAKING MAGAPODE. 



BRUSH TURKEY. 



South "Wales. Mr. Gould, who first brought it before the public, 

 gives this curious account of their nests : " The mode in which the 

 materials composing 

 these mounds are 

 accumulated is equal- 

 ly singular, the bird 

 never using its bill, 

 but always grasping 

 A quantity in its foot, 

 l h r o w i r g it back- 

 wards tr * 3 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 accu- 

 mulated, and time 

 allowed for a sum" 

 cient heat to be engendered, the eg^s are deposited, not side by side 

 as is ordinarily 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 

 ars laid, and allowed to remain until hatched. I am crediblv 

 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. 



When the Brush Turkey is disturbed, it either runs through the 

 tangled underwood with singular rapidity, or springs upon a low 

 branch of some tree, and reaches the summit by a succession of leapa 

 from branch to branch. This latter peculiarity renders it an easy prey 

 to the sportsman. 



THE MOUND-MAKING MEGAPODE, 



Inhabits the dense thickets bordering on the sea-shore, and is neve? 

 found far inland. Like the Brush Turkey, it deposits many eggs in 

 one mound, but instead of placing them at intervals in the mound, 

 the bird makes deep holes, from five to six feet, at the bottom nf 

 which ths eggs are deposited. The natives obtain the eggs by 

 scratching up the earth with their fingers, until they have traced the 

 hole to the bottom ; a very laborious task, as the holes seldom run 

 straight, and turn oft' at right angles to avoid a stone or root. The 

 mounds are enormously large. Mr. Gilbert was told by the residents 

 that they were the tombs of the aborgines, nor was it until after some 

 time that their real nature was made known. The height of one 

 mound was fifteen feet, and its circumference at the base sixty feet. 



