752 MR. J. J. LTSTKR ON THE DISTRIBUTION OK THE 



There is oleni- evidence that the birds are at least semi- 

 doniestiortted in some localities. 



]\lr. 0. ]\I. Woodford*, speaking of J/, hroiclilei/i [M. eremita 

 of B. ]\[. Catalogue) oi\ Glnadalcanar, in the Solomon Islands, says: 

 " The birds lay in open sandy clearings, generally near the sea, 

 which are kept clear of shrubs and \nulergro>vth by the natives, 

 and by the santl being constantly turned over by the birds .... 

 ]\[any thousands of birds congregate at the same place, the laying- 

 yards being often some acres in extent." Of the little island of 

 Save, to the north of Guadalcanar, the same author wi'ites t : 

 "although only about the size of a large pigeon" the megapode 

 '* lavs an egg bigger than that of a duck," and "eggs foi'm an 

 important item in the daily food-supply of the natives." " The 

 megapodes lay their eggs on two lai-ge cleared sandy spaces and 

 nowhere else on the island. Upon these no Aveeds or grass can 

 grow as the ground is constantly being tui-ned over by the bii'ds 

 when digging holes to lay their eggs, and by the natives when in 

 search of them. The sandy spaces are fenced oft' in plots which 

 belong to diflerent owners." He adds that the natives are quite 

 inditierent as to the condition of the eggs when they eat them, it 

 is all the s;ime to them whether they are newly laid or well 

 advaiiced towards hatching. 



]\[r. John Brazier, writing of a collection of eggs of Megapodes 

 exhibited before the Society: says J. •• When at San Christoval" 

 (in the Solomon Islands) " I was shown an egg that Perry, a 

 white man living thei'e these last live years, said was laid by the 

 ' Wild Fowl,' and upon my visiting him a few days later, he had 

 iust obtained another from the nest of his domestic fowls." 



M. Fi'eycinet. in his narrative of the voyage of the Uianie §, says 

 of the species which was discovered by this expedition on the 

 Marianne Islands : "' Esp^ce de gallinacee de couloir noir que jadis 

 les anciens Mariannais elevoient aupr^s de leurs cabanes ; elle est 

 anjourd'hui fort rare. Nos i;atnralistes Ini out donne le nom de 

 ^legapode la Perouse." 



In the volume on Zoology (p. 125) of the same work the 

 natin-alists Quoy and Gaimard say of Af.fre}/ci)>eii, which they 

 discovered on the island of Waigiou, to the west of New Guinea, 

 and which is now known to occur from the Moluccas to Western 

 New Guinea : " Sm- les iles Yaigion et Boni. ces oiseaux parois- 

 sent vivi-e dans une denii-domesticitc, a-pen-prcs comme les 

 canards qui habitent les mai-ais que traverse la petite riviere de 

 S6vre, (Charente Inferieure).'' One, brought by the natives, lived 

 several days on the Ui-anie. 



Professor J. Stanley Gardiner, whose investigations of the 

 Fauna and Floi'a of the Maldive and Laccadive Islands aie well 



* The Naturalist amons the Head-hunters, pp. 100-101. 

 t P. Z. S. ISSS, pp. 249^& 250. 



+ p.z.s. 1S7-1, p. mr. 



§ Voyage autour du iNIonde sur les corvettes de S.Jl. lUrauie et la 



PhysicieiiJie, 1817-1820. Paris. IS'25. 



