136 BE LLCH AMBERS— Notes on the Mallse Fowl. 



After laying starts should occasion arise, through change 

 of weather or disturbance of the mound, the male will work by 

 moonlight to rectify matters. This I have seen on several 

 occasions. The completed mound is usually covered over with 

 sticks or rubble, the reason for which I have not been able 

 to ascertain. They lay from 16 to 25 eggs — I have known of 

 29. The egg is placed on the small end, for the very evident 

 reason that that position is the only one which could give the 

 chick the right position to strike out for liberty. I have 

 known a chick to take 12 hours to reach the surface after the 

 first indication of hatching was seen — this was in a very sandy 

 mound, and the indication was a slight depression above the 

 rising chick. The chick forces its way upwards by levering 

 with feet and wings, the head and neck folded down along the 

 breast, so keeping the sand from the nostrils. It at last 

 emerges, shoulders first, kicks itself free, and lays as if 

 exhausted for some time — a dainty morsel for the first fox or 

 hawk that conies along. Should it escape this fate it at last 

 jumps up and runs quickly to cover. Being fully fledged it 

 has the power of flight, and is quite able to take care of itself. 

 1 have noticed in some cases that the female is slightly larger 

 and more pugnacious than the male. This may have been 

 due, to the male being a young bird. The plumage of the 

 Wing feathers of the female is lighter. 



The male and female forage apart, meeting at intervals 

 for mound construction, &c. The male speaks his love and 

 admiration for his consort in a manner peculiarly his own, 

 with head under breast he emits deep hollow notes difficult to 

 describe, like uh, uh, uh, oome, oome, oome, to which the 

 female replies, whaugh, whaugh, long drawn out, and rising 

 in cadence. Their note of danger is ut, ut, ut, softly repealed 

 many times. The call note of the female sounds like who > 

 how, whoo how. 



The longer a mound is in use the larger it is. First 

 season's mounds are much smaller, increasing in bulk each 

 year by reason of fresh material added. An old mound 

 measured three feet in height by 51 feet in circumference. 

 The same mound is not continuously worked by the same pair 

 of birds. Of 31 mounds examined four were rebuilt during 

 the second season and two others during the third, in each 

 case by other birds, as the original owners were captured. In 

 making the mound they do not use the wings, as has been ' 

 stated. That this was an error I ascertained bv examining 



