Birds of Celebes: Megapodidae. g85 



of Celebes sometimes plants them in upwards of three feet of sand, and its 

 chick, like some others, is able to fly the day that it is hatched. For the pro- 

 duction of a young one so advanced in development a large and long egg was 

 necessary. 



Primarily, in short, the Megapode buried its eggs in order to hide them 

 from egg-eaters ; then it discovered inorganic means for preserving heat, without 

 which its eggs would perish; it then abandoned the habit of brooding, as dangerous 

 to its progeny and itself; then, owing to all sorts of natural dangers and difficulties 

 encountered by the chicks, those of its eggs which produced the strongest and 

 most developed ones proved to be useful variations and survived, and these were 

 naturally the biggest'). Mr. Wallace takes the big egg as the primary condi- 

 tion, which gave rise to the others, but we think Dr. Guillemard's view the 

 more reasonable ; it assumes no condition unknown to naturalists , whereas 

 Mr. Wallace gives no reason to account for the supposed originally aberrant 

 ovulation. 



It is hard to conceive what more could be done for the protection of the 

 Moleo and its progeny, yet it is probable that its eggs still suffer considerably, 

 being dug out by men, who, according to Mr. Wallace, come from more than 

 fifty '!) miles round to search for them, and, as Meyer found, they are also 

 dug for by crocodiles. They are said to be of excellent flavour. Nevertheless, 

 even here it is possible that a protective step is in process: "Do you know", 

 writes Dr. Riedel (in lit. to Meyer), "that the eggs of the Maleo are un- 

 eatable once a year, namely, when it has eaten the fruit of a certain tree? If 

 then eaten, a flushed face and a feverish feeling for several days is the con- 

 sequence". 



ORDER TURNICES. 



The Bustard-quails fall into two genera only — Tumix of Africa, S. Europe, 

 and S. x\sia, to Australia, and Pedionomus of which a single species is known 

 in Australia. Tiiniix is held by Dr. Gadow to have its nearest relations of a 

 higher order with the Galli; Pedionomus is a lower form which affords a transition 

 from Tumix to the Ralli, and Gadow regards the two genera of the order as 

 forming 2 families, Turnicidae and Pedionomidae. Tumix has three toes only, 

 the hallux being absent; Pedionomus has a small hallux, a different number of 

 pectoral ribs, being the same as in the lialli , it is aquintocubital, has both 

 carotids [Tumix only the left one;, etc. see Gadow, in Bronn's Kl. & Ord. 

 VL pt. 4, 1893 n, 170). 



': It seems wrong to argue that strong and advanced chicks would be equally likely to proceed from 

 the little eggs; as a rule, we believe, the smaller members of a brood of birds, or of a litter of mammals, are 

 the more feeble, and the larger are the stronger and swifter. 



