THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 
235 
is heard; but her shyness is so great that she is an exceedingly 
difficult bird for the naturalist to procure. 
The megapodidse are found only in Australia and the surrounding 
islands, extending as far as the Philippines and North-West Borneo. In 
many respects they are akin to the gallinaceous birds; but they do 
not sit upon their eggs, — preferring to bury them in rubbish or the 
soil, and leaving them, like the crocodile, to be hatched by fermenta- 
tion or the solar heat. They are all possessed of large, robust feet and 
long, curved claws, with which they rake together the hillocks that 
serve as a receptacle for their eggs. It is said that frequently several 
birds will combine their forces to erect a mound, and then lay their 
eggs together — as many as forty or fifty being found in such a case. The 
natives regard them as a considerable delicacy. The mound-builders 
seek the neighbourhood of dense thickets bordering on sandy places 
or the sea-shore ; retiring into their almost impervious coverts on the 
approach of an intruder. They feed upon fibrous roots, berries, seeds, 
snails, earth-worms, centipedes, and insects. 
In very similar localities is found the beautiful ground-thrush or 
ant- thrush (Pitta), some species of which belong to Western Africa, 
though he must be regarded as more particularly a denizen of the 
glowing islands of the Eastern Archipelago. His habit is to hop about 
on the ground, picking up insects, and on the slightest alarm to seek 
safety in the heart of the nearest thicket. At intervals he utters a pecu- 
liar cry of two notes, which, when once heard, is easily recognized; and 
he may also be heard rustling among the dry fallen leaves that carpet the 
ground in the places which he loves to frequent. The different species 
are differently coloured. For instance : the Pitta concinna is admir- 
able in his soft, bright plumage, which shines with emerald hues on 
the upper part of the body, while the under side is of a delicate buff", 
striped with rich crimson, and edged with black. The head is a jet- 
black, with a stripe of blue and brown over each eye. Speaking of the 
jungle-growth of the island of Lombock, Mr. Wallace remarks that its 
most characteristic feature was its thorniness. The shrubs were 
thomy ; the creepers were thorny ; even the bamboos were thorny. 
