BRUSH TURKEY. 
211 
conical heap; and having deposited its eggs^ which are 
placed at some distance from each other^ the small end being 
downwards^ leaves them : the mounds become heated either 
by the fermentation of the vegetable matter or by the sun^s 
rays^ and by this , heat the eggs are hatched. It has been 
supposed that several females make use of one heap, from 
the quantity of eggs sometimes found in one of these hatch- 
ing-places : and, according to the natives'^, both the male 
and female watch the heaps during the period of incubation, 
while the latter diminishes or adds to the vegetable matter 
from time to time. There are two specimens of this curious 
bird in the gardens of the Zoological Society, where the 
eggs have been lately hatched. They are brown birds, 
with large compressed tails, and seem to fly heavily; the 
head and neck of the male bird are very curiously and 
handsomely wattled, the red and yellow colours contrast- 
ing well with the sombre plumage. 
The Pheasant family (Phasianidj^:) is distinguished by 
its large, arched beak, the nostril of which is covered by a 
smooth naked scale ; the feet and legs are strong and large, 
and well adapted, with their horny claws, for scraping in the 
ground ; the tarsus is generally furnished with one or more 
* Backhouse, 'Narrative of a Visit/ p. 425. 
