210 
POPULAR HISTORY OF BIRDS. 
ground; and that it consisted of insects and their larvae 
(especially those of ants), small snails, and various fallen 
seeds and fruits. 
The bird, when suddenly forced to rise from the ground, 
flies up into a tree, where it remains motionless, but on its 
guard ; on most occasions however it trusts to its legs for 
escape. Mr. Macgillivray was very anxious to procure its 
egg, as several of the mounds showed indications of having 
been recently opened by the birds : he was unsuccessful, 
though he dug several pits three feet deep. 
The Brush Turkey {Alectura or Tallegalla Lathami, Plate 
XV. fig. 1) is the largest gallinaceous bird of Australia. 
Although in all respects belonging to the order, some sys- 
tematists at one time arranged it with the vultures, chiefly 
on account of its head and neck being bare of feathers. 
The bird is of a dusky brown colour, the head and neck 
are red, and the wattle at the lower part of the neck is of an 
orange-red colour. Mr. Gould has entered at length into 
the, singular habits of this bird, and remarks that the small 
size of the brain, taken in connection with the extraordi- 
nary means employed for the incubation of their eggs, indi- 
cates a very low degree of organization. The Brush Turkey 
collects a heap of sticks and leaves, which it arranges in a 
