THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
sheaths. This young bird remained in the mound about twenty-four hours after 
it had escaped from the shell ; and during this time the wing and other feathers 
were freed from the covering, so that the bird was enabled to fly immediately 
upon quitting the mound, which it did on the morning of the 29th. This 
second young bird conducted himself in the same manner as his predecessor. 
The two young birds took no notice whatever of each other, or of the old female, 
the three birds appearing perfectly independent of each other, eating, drinking, 
and roosting separately ; and although an occasional small voice was heard from 
the young birds, it did not appear to indicate or excite any notice among them.”* 
Dr. Ramsay, writing about this bird in Queensland, says : — “ However 
plentiful this species may have been formerly in the Rockingham Bay district, 
it is now very scarce, only one having been obtained during my visit. They 
are still plentiful in the New South Wales scrubs. I found that two or more 
females visited the same mound to lay their eggs in ; and when this is the 
case the mound is often twice as large as an ordinary mound. It seems 
probable that several individuals assist in scratching the mound together, 
when a space often 50 yards in diameter (on level ground) is found cleared of 
almost every falleu leaf and twig. The mounds are often 6 feet in height, and 
12 to 14 feet wide at the base ; sometimes they are more conical. The central 
portion consists of decayed leaves mixed with fine debris, the next of coarser 
and less rotted materials ; and the outside is a mass of recently gathered leaves, 
sticks, and twigs not showing signs of decay. In opening the nest these are 
easily removed and must be carefully pushed backwards over the sides, begin- 
ning at the top. Having cleared these, and obtained plenty of room, remove 
the semi-decayed strata ; and below it, where the fermentation has begun, in a 
mass of light fine leaf-mould will be found the eggs placed with the thin end 
downwards, often in a circle, with three or four in the centre, about 6 inches 
apart. At one side, where the eggs have been first laid, they will probably be 
found more or less incubated ; but in the centre, where the eggs are placed last, 
quite fresh ; and if only one pair of birds have laid in the mound, about twelve 
or eighteen will be the complement and will be found arranged as described 
above. On the other hand, if several females resort to the same nest, the 
regularity will be greatly interfered with, and two or three eggs in different stages 
of development will be found close to one another, some quite fresh, others within 
a few days of being hatched. There are usually ten eggs in the first layer, five 
or six in the second, three or four only in the centre. I found that the females 
return every second day to lay, but never succeeded in ascertaining which of the 
parent birds opens the nest. . . . After robbing a nest, it is necessary to 
replace the different layers as they are found ; if the lowermost is too much 
mixed up with the others, or the top tumbled into the excavations made in the 
* Bartlett, P.Z.S., p. 426 (1860). 
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