40 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
Nest .—An immense nesting-mound, consisting of sand, leaves, sticks, 
and debris of all sorts, raked into a heap from the surrounding surface of 
the ground. The sites selected are generally in the densest part of the 
scrub, sheltered above by large trees. The mounds vary in size according 
to the time they have been in use; usually they measure about 40 or 50 
feet in circumference and 12 or 15 feet in height. The eggs are deposited 
on their ends (the larger end upwards) in holes scratched out of the 
mound, at depths varying from 18 inches to 3 feet. 
Eggs .—Six or eight appears to be a normal clutch; when newly laid 
they are a pale pinkish-brown, soon passing into a light coffee-brown, and 
becoming darker after being in the mound a few days. Breeding-season: 
September to December or January. 
