84 
edge of the hole, in a vertical position, with the smaller end down- 
wards. The sand is then thrown in again, and the mound left in 
its original form. The egg which has been thus deposited is there- 
fore completely surrounded and enveloped in soft sand, having from 
4 to 6 inches of sand between the lower end of the egg and the 
layer of dead leaves. When a second egg is laid it is deposited in 
precisely the same plane as the first, but at the opposite side of the 
hole before alluded to. When a third egg is laid it is placed in the 
same plane as the others, but, as it were, at the third corner of a 
square. When the fourth egg is laid, it is still placed in the same 
plane ; but in the fourth corner of the square, or rather of the 
lozenge, the figure being of this form, 0 °° ; the next four eggs in 
succession are placed in the interstices, but always in the same 
plane, so that at last there is a circle of eight eggs all standing 
upright in the sand with several inches of sand intervening between 
each. The male bird assists the female in opening and covering up 
the mound ; and provided the birds are not themselves disturbed, 
the female continues to lay in the same mound, even after it has been 
several times robbed. The natives say that the females lay an egg 
every day. 
“ Eight is the greatest number I have heard of from good authority 
as having been found in one nest ; but 1 opened a mound which had 
been previously robbed of several eggs, and found that two had been 
laid opposite to each other in the same plane in the usual manner ; 
and a third deposited in a plane parallel to that in which the other 
two were placed, but 4^ inches below them. This circumstance led 
me to imagine it was possible that there might be sometimes suc- 
cessive circles of eggs in different planes. 
“ I enclose three sketches which will convey to you a complete 
idea of the form of the mound, and of the manner in which the eggs 
are placed in it. These sketches were drawn by Mr. Knight, from 
a rude one of mine, and are very accurate. 
“ One of the mounds of these birds which had been robbed of its 
eggs on the 11th November, some of which were quite fresh, had 
two fresh eggs laid in it on the 27th of the same month, and the 
birds were seen at the nest on the morning of the 28th, apparently 
for the purpose of laying, when the male bird was shot. 
“ Sometimes several of these mounds are constructed close to one 
another. 1 found two within 200 or 300 yards ; and have seen 
five within the distance of four or five miles. They were built in 
precisely the same situations that 1 have seen them in other parts of 
the continent, that is, in a sandy, scrubby country, the site of the 
mound being in some little open glade, in the very thickest part of 
the scrub. 
“ The eggs are of a light pink, the colour being brightest and most 
uniform when freshly laid. As the time 1 of hatching approaches, 
they become discoloured and marked in places with dark spots. 
