THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 13 



the more southern parts of the Australian continent, but I must 

 leave this question to be settled by someone better versed in 

 ornithology than myself, although notes on the geographical dis- 

 tribution of any particular animal, no matter of what kind, are 

 always of interest to the naturalist, and not infrequently to those 

 also engaged in rural industries, &c., &c. 



The size of the Wild Turkey as given by Gould in his " Hand- 

 book," vol. ii., p. 209, is — total length, 40 inches ; bill, 4 ; wing, 

 25 ; tail, 10 ; tarsi, 7^^. A good male specimen of our Bustard, 

 if fattened on locusts, will turn the scale at from 20 to 30 lbs. 



The eggs of the Wild Turkey are olive brown (see specimens 

 exhibited here this evening), and Dr. Ramsay tells us that they 

 vary both in shape and colour, and are deposited by the female 

 bird on the bare ground. The eggs are mostly laid in pairs, but 

 Dr. Ramsay says that "in the Dobroyde collection there are 

 twenty-four eggs, and of these eight sets were found in pairs, and 

 the eggs of this bird are occasionally found of a pale sky-blue 

 tint." 



When hatched from the egg about two days the young turkey 

 is about the size of an ordinary chicken of a couple of weeks old, 

 colour light drab, with blackish-brown irregular markings, the 

 rudimentary wings hanging very low, and being quite limp. 

 When in a sitting posture the " chick " has a similar attitude to 

 that of a young duckling, the head lying well back, until the 

 back of the head almost touches the body between the wings. 

 (The above brief description of the young bird I have noted 

 from a specimen kindly lent for examination by Mr. Pearman, of 

 Brighton, who obtained it on his station in one of the northern 

 parts of the colony, and as Gould in his " Handbook of Aus- 

 traUan Birds " does not make mention of the young bird, and no 

 specimen being in the fine collection of Australian birds at our 

 National Museum, I trust that the very brief description here 

 given may not be without interest.) 



I had almost omitted to mention that the male bird is larger 

 and more majestic looking than the female, the latter being minus 

 the singular plume-like ruffles so noticeable in male specimens of 

 this fine bird. 



The Australian Bustard then would appear, according to Dr. 

 Ramsay, as quoted in Mr. A. J. North's book on "Australian 

 Oology," to have a wide geographical range, having been found 

 at Derby (North-West Australia), Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York, 

 Rockingham Bay, Port Denison, Wide Bay District, Dawson 

 River, Richmond, and Clarence districts (New South Wales), 

 interior of Victoria, South Australia, West and South-West 

 Australia. 



The bird breeds during September, October, and November ; 



