HESajPODIUS. 3S3 



and seldom if ever seen elsewhere. Their noisy cackling at night- 



frequently disturbed us when encamped near one of their favorite 



resorts ; and during the day their hoarse note at once betrays 



their presence. On the Herbert River they are hot much sought 



after as an article of food, either by the natives or whites, for as 



their eggs are esteemed a delicacy, the birds themselves are not 



much molested. I examined several nests in March ; and 



although it was not the regular breeding season, yet fresh eggs 



were obtained, and newly hatched young were found singly here 



and there throughout the denser parts of the brushes. Some of 



the mounds were very ruthlessly destroyed by the whites, and 



scattered over the ground, this however, did not cause the birds 



to forsake the place, and out of one large mound which had 



been very roughly handled, two new ones were formed about ten 



yards apart, on the base of the old one, which was so matted and 



interlaced with roots from the neighbouring trees that it appeared 



to me a marvel how the birds could burrow into it the great length 



they did ; and having once laid their eggs there, however the 



young birds found their way out through the maze of roots is still 



a mystery. Once out however and their wings dry they are able 



to take care of themselves, but remain about the mounds for a 



day or so, as if waiting for some of their companions, but in less 



than a week from the day they are hatched, they may frequently 



be seen at least quarter of a mile away, and well able to fly about. 



I met one little fellow, only 5-5 inches in total length, fully a mile 



away from the nearest mound, he flew up and settled in a tree,' 



about twenty feet from the ground, the wings and feet were 



remarkably developed for so small a bird, which could be scarcely 



more than four weeks old. Upon more than one occasion I have 



seen the birds busy at their mound, or feeding near it, but was 



never so fortunate as to meet with them in the act of burrowing. 



The largest mound I met with was about fifty feet in length, ten 



in height, and fourteen feet in width at the base, eight or ten on 



the summit. It seemed to be more like several mounds combined; 



and certainly more than two pairs of birds frequented it. While 



stationed, gun in hand, watching, for Cassowaries (Caiuaris 



