214 
leipoa’s nest. 
with their hands from the centre, until they had 
worked down to a deep narrow hole, round the sides 
of which, and embedded in the sand, were four fine 
large eggs of a delicate pink colour, and fully the 
size of a goose egg. I had often seen these hills 
before, but did not know that they were nests, and 
that they contained so valuable a prize to a traveller 
in the desert. The eggs were presented to me by 
the natives, and when cooked were of a very rich 
and delicate flavour. The nest was that of a wild 
pheasant, (Leipoa), a bird of the size of a hen phea- 
sant of England, and greatly resembling it in ap- 
pearance and plumage ; these birds are very cautious 
and shy, and run rapidly through the underwood, 
rarely flying unless when closely pursued. The 
shell of the egg is thin and fragile, and the young 
are hatched entirely by the heat of the sun, scratch- 
ing their way out as soon as they are born, at which 
time they are able to shift for themselves.* 
Our road to-day was through a heavy sandy coun- 
try, covered for the most part densely with the euca- 
lyptus and tea-tree. About eleven we struck the south- 
east corner of Denial Bay, and proceeded on to the 
north-east, where I had appointed the cutter to meet 
me. To my surprise she was not to be seen any- 
where, and I began to get anxious about our supply 
of water for the horses, as we were entirely depen- 
dant upon her for it. In the afternoon I observed the 
* For a further account of the Leipoa, vide chapter iii. of 
Notes on the Aborigines. 
