Birds of Celebes; Megapodidae. 
685 
of Celebes sometimes plants them in upwards of three feet of sand, and its 
chick, like some others, is able to fly the day that it is hatched. For the pro- 
duction of a young one. so advanced in development a large and long egg was 
necessary. 
Primarily, in short, the Megapode buried its eggs in order to hide them 
from egg-eaters; then it discovered inorganic means for preserving heat, without 
which its eggs would perish; it then abandoned the habit of brooding, as dangerous 
to its progeny and itself; then, owing to all sorts of natural dangers and difficulties 
encountered by the chicks, those of its eggs which produced the strongest and 
most developed ones proved to be useful variations and survived, and these were 
naturally the biggest'). Mr. Wallace takes the big egg as the primary condi- 
tion, which gave rise to the others, but we think Dr. Guillemards view' the 
more reasonable; it assumes no condition unknown to naturalists, whereas 
Mr. Wallace gives no reason to account for the supposed originally aberrant 
ovulation. 
It is hard to conceive what more could be done for the protection of the 
Moleo and its progeny, yet it is probable that its eggs still suffer considerabli , 
being dug out by men, who, according to Mr. Wallace, come from more than 
fifty (!) miles round to search for them, and, as Meyer found, they are also 
dug for by crocodiles. They are said to be of excellent flavour. Nevertheless, 
even here it is possible that a protective step is in piocess. Do you know , 
writes Dr. Riedel (in lit. to Meyer), “that the eggs of the Maleo are un- 
eatable once a year, namely, when it has eaten the fruit of a certain tree? If 
then eaten, a flushed face and a feverish feeling for several days is the con- 
sequence”. 
ORDER TURNICES. 
The Bustard-quails fall into two genera only — Turnix of Africa, S. Europe, 
and S. Asia, to Australia, and Pedionomus of which a single species is known 
in Australia. Turnix is held by Dr. Gadow to have its nearest relations of a 
higher order with the Gal/i ; Pedionomus is a lower form which afibrds a transition 
from Turnix to the llalli, and Gadow regards the two genera of the order as 
forming 2 families, Turnicidae and Pedionomidae. Turnip has three toes only, 
the hallux being absent; Pedionomus has a small hallux, a different number of 
pectoral ribs, being the same as in the PalU, it is aquintocubital, has both 
carotids [Turnix only the left one), etc. (see Gadow, in Broun s Kl. & Ord. 
VI, pt. 4, 1893 n, 170). 
>) It seems wrong to argue that strong and advanced chicks would be equally likely to proceed from 
the little eggs; as a rule, we believe, the smaller members of a brood of brrds, or of a litter of mammals, are 
the more feeble, and the larger are the stronger and swifter. 
