THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
commence laying towards the end of September or early in October, in a wet 
season earlier, in a dry season later. The surface is scraped for a considerable 
distance round the mound, holes often being made from which they take the 
soil. 
“ The temperature of the part of the mound where the eggs are placed 
is generally 95 degrees, occasionally a little over, and a clutch is nine eggs, 
that being the largest number I have known to be taken out of one nest. 
So far as I can judge, only one pair of birds used the same mound, and the male 
is generally near at hand to repair any damage that may have been done. 
When the hen bird is ready to lay she scrapes a hole near the top of the 
mound to the depth of from 6 inches to 5 feet, and the egg having been lain 
in the hole she places it on end, with the small end downwards, and covers 
it up to the level of the rest of the mound. Occasionally she makes an 
excavation straight in from the side, but not often. The various holes are 
not placed in any particular order, nor are they all of one depth. The egg is laid 
at daybreak, and three days elapse between the laying of each egg. The 
egg being so large compared with the size of the bird will quite account for the 
time between the layings. The white shell of the egg is covered with a pink 
substance, which easily flakes off when the egg is dry. The eggs are about the 
same size and colour as those of the Mallee Fowl [Leipoa ocellata], so much so 
that the eggs of one bird can easily be mistaken for those of the other. 
Incubation takes about six weeks, and the young when hatched make their 
way out, as the parent birds, by frequently scratching, prevent the soil from 
becoming caked and hard. Only one egg is laid in each excavation, and the 
holes are about a foot in diameter ; sometimes they go down straight and 
sometimes at an angle. In a moist neighbourhood the eggs are not so far from 
the surface as they are in the drier sandy soil. 
“ The young when hatched are well feathered and can fly, and at once 
commence an independent existence, as they do not stay with their parents. 
Scrub-fowls are difficult to keep in confinement, being very restless, and 
generally end by accidentally killing themselves. Consequently, adult 
birds of this species are rarely seen in captivity.”* 
This bird was fairly plentiful in the scrubs near Cardwell in the early 
nineties, when I was there. 
The bird figured and described is a male from the South Alligator 
River, Northern Territory, and was collected in September, 1903, by 
Mr. J. T. Tunney. 
* Le Souef, Ibis, p. 16 (1899). 
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