The Mound-Building Birds of Australia 7 



to lay, her head and neck only being visible above ground. All the time 

 she w^as occupied in the mound, the male persecuted her, apparently en- 

 deavoring to drive her away. As soon as the egg was laid, the male at 

 once scraped a few leaves, etc., into the hole, and, getting in, trampled 

 them well down around the egg, which he fixed in a perpendicular posi- 



EGG- MOUND OF THE BRUSH TURKEY [Catheturus] 

 From a photograph, by A. J. Campbell 



tion. The operation of scraping in debris was repeated several times, 

 until the hole was filled. 



The Scrub Fowl, or Megapode {Megapodius duperreyi) , as a mound - 

 builder (especially in the matter of great dimensions) is even a more ex- 

 traordinary bird than either the Mallee Fowl or the Brush Turkey. The 

 Megapode, which resembles a dun -colored domestic fowl with big feet, 

 is restricted to the dense thickets of the northern coast of Australia, while 

 its <rx/r<2 -Australian habitat extends to New Guinea and many Austro- 

 Malayan islands. 



On the opposite side of the creek to my North Queensland camps, 

 Megapodes, on going to roost at evening, kept the scrub alive with their 

 loud, chuckling calls, which were sometimes continued far into the night, 

 especially if it was moonlight. In the thick labyrinth of undergrowth 

 on the adjacent Barnard Islands, I came across many Scrub Fowls" mounds, 

 each resembling so many cart-loads of sandy soil thrown together, and 

 mixed with rotten vegetation. They were cone-shaped and of medium 



