120 



Mattingley, Thermometer-Bird or Mallee-Foivl. [isf'j"i,. 



possessing a barred appearance. Total length of chick is 

 y.B, inches. 



Adult Birds. — The Lipoa is a shy and cautious bird, and is 

 not readily found by those unacquainted with its habits. When 

 it sees or hears anyone approaching it stands quite still, and 

 with body in an erect position and with outstretched neck it 

 simulates its surroundings, with which its mottled, pale-coloured 

 plumage harmonizes. The bird recognizes the protective value 

 of the colour of its plumage, and therefore remains perfectly 

 quiet to escape detection. It is believed that they mate for life, 

 since a pair of birds is always in company except when feeding 

 — never actually together, however, but rarely more than 50 or 80 

 yards apart. They enjoy a mid-day siesta together, and if 

 startled give an alarm note like " Koonk" as they take wing, but 

 they prefer to trust to their legs to escape. They are very fleet, 

 and are not so readily perceived as they rush through the scrub 

 as when on the wing. They love solitude, each pair having 

 its own feeding-ground, but when food is scarce and when not 

 burdened with nesting cares they wander some distance away in 

 search of wattle {Acacia) seeds. They retire to other tracts of 

 country if hunted or disturbed by settlers. These birds, are, 

 unfortunately, doomed to extinction, more especially since the 

 Mallee has recently been found to be excellent wheat-producing 

 country, and is now being rapidly opened up by settlers. More- 

 over, the Lowan is easily hunted with the aid of dogs, and if 

 attacked by one will instantly fly up to the top of the scrub, 

 and become so absorbed in watching the dog that a person can 

 steal up and slip a noose attached to a long stick over the bird's 

 head. It is no doubt due to their natural dread of the dingo, or 

 wild dog of Australia, which continually attacks them, and from 

 which they escape by taking to the tops of the mallee scrub, that 

 they adopt the same method of escape when harried by settlers' 

 dogs. The male and female birds differ very little in their 

 markings. In the dry, clear atmosphere of the Mallee, which 

 on a calm moonlight night has a deathlike stillness, the loud 

 call which the male bird occasionally emits can be heard two 

 miles away. The note, which is shrill and harsh, when heard 

 in these solitudes is weird in the extreme. The male is 

 especially wary, and if they detect anyone watching them 

 they will not go near their nesting mound. They have 

 wonderfully fine eyesight, and quickly observe any strange 

 object. In the extreme heat of the summer they feed chiefly 

 early in the morning, and again late in the afternoon, but 

 in cool, cloudy weather they wander in search of their food all 

 day. They love to bask in the morning sun, like domestic fowls, 

 and scoop out a hole in the loose earth, in which they lie sunning 

 first one side and then the other, and occasionally dusting 

 themselves. On excessively hot days the birds seek a cool place 



