PLATE 



L VII. 



GENUS LEIPOA (Gould). 



"1VT0 other specie's of this curious form has yet been discovered, and its representative is confined to 

 Australia. 



LEIPOA OCELLATA (Gould). 



NATIVE PHEASANT. Genus : Leipoa. 



~T TTHILE adopting the same means of incubation as the Megapode, the habits of the Leipoa are 

 * ' perhaps even more interesting, from the greater amount of method which it pursues in the 

 manner of depositing and covering its eggs. Here, again, Gilbert's careful and reliable notes are a 

 most valuable contribution to ornithology, and with these, and some equally valuable observations of the 

 Leipoa made by Sir George Grey, on the Murray, the habits of this wonderful species are full}' known. 

 Gilbert's investigations were made in West Australia, where, in a dense scrub flanking the Wongan 

 Hills, the tumuli made by the Leipoa are frequently met with. The soil in that neighbourhood 

 consists of an ironstone gravel, and on examination the interior of the hillocks were found to contain 

 a finer gravel, mixed with vegetable matter, that, dur ing fermentation, generates the ' heat which 

 hatches the eggs. The temperature of the interior surrounding them was estimated at about 89°. 

 The white ant frequently makes its home in the nest, forming a ready nourishment for the 

 young when they leave the shell. From analysis of several mounds, some containing eggs and some 

 empty, it was found that in the latter the vegetable matter was all turned out, apparently to dry 

 preparatory to the depositing of the eggs ; in such cases the mound resembled a miniature crater. 

 When the eggs are about to be laid, the vegetable matter is thrown in ; the eggs are placed in a 

 vertical position with the small end downwards, and, again differing from the Megapode, invariably in a 

 circle, with about three inches between each. The ordinary soil is then thrown in, and the whole shaped 

 anil beaten down, so that a casual observer might easily mistake it for an ant-hill. All the eggs 

 discovered seemed to be equally fresh, development having apparently been arrested, so that the young- 

 should appear about the same time. The largest mound examined was forty-five feet in circumference at 

 the base. Eight eggs is the largest number which has been found in one nest, but the natives state that 

 sometimes more than that number are deposited. The male bird assists in the formation of the heap, 

 and, provided the birds themselves are not disturbed, the female will continue to lay in the same 

 place, even after the nest has been robbed several times. When an egg is abstracted, another is 

 placed to till the vacant spot, and in the same plane. Sir George Grey, having found eggs laid on a 

 different plane after the nest had been robbed, was of opinion that in some cases successive circles of 

 eggs are laid on different levels. By diligent questioning of the aborigines, Sir George Grey elicited 

 the fact that only one pair makes use of a mound at the same time. They repair those which 

 have been formerly used, and the female begins to lay early in September. Both sexes appear 

 to take an equal share in the labour of excavating and covering the nests. The eggs are laid shortly 

 after sunrise ; " four moons " elapse from the commencement of building till all the young are out. 

 When the chicks emerge, the mother, feeding in the neighbourhood, hears them call, and takes them 

 in charge, protecting them until about half-grown. The male bird takes no share in looking after the 



