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THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



Mound of the Scrub-Fowl (Megapodius reinwardt) in the shade of a giant fig tree, 

 growing on the edge of the jungle. 



[Photo.— C. Barrett. 



beetles. I gathered, around the bunga- 

 low, a tube full of real beetles, and 

 one proved to be a new species. Shells 

 and insects alone were collected during 

 my stay on Dunk Island. This place for 

 years has been a sanctuary, and tabu 

 to the man with a gun. Had I been a 

 mammal or bird collector, " The Beach- 

 comber "' would never have given me 

 the freedom of his isle. But he did not 

 forbid a modest toll of insects and 

 mollusca. 



THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 



Of " The Beachcomber's " favourites 

 among the bigger birds, I saw little, 

 but I heard their curious calls, and 

 examined several " nests." The scrub- 

 fowl {Megapodius reinioardt) likes the 

 sound of its own voice and is vocal both 

 night and day. It prefers shadowy 

 places, and I never saw one in the open. 

 But the island birds have become con- 

 fiding, at least when visitors are not 

 present. Soon after I had departed, 

 Mx. Banfield wrote, describing the " cir- 

 cumloctuory "' gambols of scrub-fowls 



in the bungalow garden. This species, 

 so remarkable for its nesting habits, 

 is also a clown, it appears. " The 

 Beachcomber," in his Confessions ssiys 

 that it has no ear for music : "It 

 seems to have been practising ' cock- 

 a-doodle-doo ' all its life in the 

 solitary corners and undergrowth, and 

 to have not vet arrived within quavers 

 of it." 



A mile from the bungalow, on the 

 fringe of the forest, there is an unused 

 mound of 31. reinwardt. It was, when 

 I saw it, like a weather-worn hillock, 

 and grasses and other plants were grow- 

 ing upon the summit and slopes. Be- 

 neath the boughs of a great fig tree 

 (Ficus sj).), it was shado\vy and moist ; 

 although as the sun descended, it re- 

 received a promise of Hght. Other 

 mounds were seen in the jungle, some 

 distance from the sea. The birds, were 

 heard calling near them, and one was 

 being '" worked." 



SMALL FRIENDLY BIRDS. 



None of the island's tame-wild birds 



