119 



were brought him, but which he had no means of ascertaining how 

 long they had been laid, he buried in a box of sand about 3 feet deep 

 and exposed to the weather. At the end of about three weeks a young 

 bird came up, not downy, but covered with little shafts or pens ready 

 to form feathers. One of the Malays employed by Mr. Motley saw it 

 emerge, and said that it just shook off the sand and ran away so fast 

 that it was with difficulty caught. On the next day, when Mr. Motley 

 first saw it, it appeared to him to be about half-grown. From the first 

 it fed itself without hesitation, scratching and turning up the earth 

 like an old bird. Two more afterwards emerged in the same state. 

 According to Mr. Motley, the sexes are alike, except that the naked 

 skin about the head is redder in the male than in the female. 



In his investigations respecting the nidification of these birds, Mr. 

 Motley was much assisted by Mr. Low, who is resident in the island. 



As the Philippine specimens brought home by Mr. Cuming have 

 not yet been characterized, I propose to name this species 



Megapodius Cumingii. 



Sp. Char. Olivaceous brown above ; blackish slate colour with a 

 slight olivaceous tinge below ; the feathers on the throat and nape are 

 thinly dispersed, so as to leave that part nearly bare ; on the hind 

 head the feathers are somewhat lengthened, forming a kind of crest ; 

 bill black at the base, yellowish towards the tip ; legs, feet and claws 

 black ; the bare skin about the head is redder in the male than in the 

 female. 



in. lin. 

 Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, about 14 



of bill from gape 1 1 



of bill from front 10 



■ of wings 8 6 



of tail, not quite 3 



of tarsus 2 1 



of middle toe 1 11 



of hallux 1 .'i 



The front toes are nearly equal, the middle toe being rather the 

 longest, and the inner one shortest. 



To the foregoing account some additional details of considerable in- 

 terest may be subjoined. These details, although dated Labuan, July 

 1850, were not received until after Mr. Dillwyn's communication : — 



Extract from a Letter from Mr. Hugh Low, dated 

 Labuan, 4th of July, 1850. 



" I have been using great exertions to procure for the Earl of 

 Derby a very remarkable Gallinaceous bird, the existence of which I 

 ascertained only three months back ; having no books I am unable 

 to refer to its genus, but it is nearer a Guinea fowl than anything else. 

 I heard from the natives that such a bird existed, and that its eggs 



