Part 14

The most remarkable circumstances connected with the economy of this bird, are the facts of its not hatching its eggs by incubation: the means resorted to for effecting this object, although in some degree assimilating to the practice of the Ostrich, is yet upon a totally different principle. The Wattled Talegalla collects together an immense heap of decaying vegetable matter as a depositary for the eggs, and trusts to the heat engendered by the process of decomposition for the development of the young. The heap employed for this purpose is collected by the birds during several weeks previous to the period of laying; it varies in size from two to four cart-loads, and is of a perfectly pyramidal form. The construction of the mound is not the work of one pair of birds, but is effected by the united labours of several; the same site appears to me, from the great size and the entire decomposition of the lower part, to be resorted to for several years in succession, the birds adding a fresh supply of materials on each occasion previous to laying.

The mode in which the materials composing these mounds are accumulated is equally singular,—the bird never using its bill, but always grasping a quantity in its foot, throwing it backwards to one common centre, and thus clearing the surface of the ground for a considerable distance so completely, that scarcely a leaf or a blade of grass is left. The heap being accumulated, and time allowed for a sufficient heat to be engendered, the eggs are deposited, not side by side, as is ordinarily the case, but planted at the distance of nine or twelve inches from each other, and buried at nearly an arm’s depth, perfectly upright, with the large end upwards; they are covered up as they are laid, and allowed to remain until hatched. I have been credibly informed both by natives and settlers living near their haunts, that it is not an unusual event to obtain nearly a bushel of eggs at one time from a single heap; and as they are delicious eating, they are eagerly sought after. Some of the natives state that the females are constantly in the neighbourhood of the heap about the time the young are likely to be hatched, and frequently uncover and cover them up again, apparently for the purpose of assisting those that may have appeared; while others have informed me that the eggs are merely deposited, and the young allowed to force their way unassisted. In all probability, as Nature has adopted this mode of reproduction, she has also furnished the tender birds with the power of sustaining themselves from the earliest period; and the great size of the egg would equally lead to this conclusion, since in so large a space it is reasonable to suppose that the bird would be much more developed than is usually found in eggs of smaller dimensions. In further confirmation of this point, I may add, that in searching for eggs in one of the mounds I discovered the remains of a young bird, apparently just excluded from the shell, and which was clothed with feathers, not with down, as is usually the case: it is to be hoped that those who are resident in Australia, in situations favourable for investigating the subject, will direct their attention to the further elucidation of these interesting points. The upright position of the eggs tends to strengthen the opinion that they are never disturbed after being deposited, as it is well known that the eggs of birds which are placed horizontally, are frequently turned during incubation. Although, unfortunately, I was almost too late for the breeding-season, I nevertheless saw several of the heaps, both in the interior and at Illawarra; in every instance they were placed in the most retired and shady glens, and on the slope of a hill, the part above the nest being scratched clean, while all below remained untouched, as if the birds had found it more easy to convey the materials down than to throw them up. In one instance only was I fortunate enough to find a perfect egg, although the shells of many from which the young had been excluded were placed in the manner I have described. At Illawarra they were rather deposited in the light vegetable mould than among the leaves which formed a considerable heap above them. The eggs are perfectly white, of a long oval form, three inches and three-quarters long by two inches and a half in diameter: a fine egg of this bird was subsequently presented to me by J. H. Plunkett, Esq., Attorney-General, New South Wales.

While stalking about the wood they frequently utter a rather loud clucking noise; and in various parts of the brush I observed depressions in the earth, which the natives informed me were made by the birds in dusting themselves.

The stomach is extremely muscular, and the crop of one dissected was filled with seeds, berries, and a few insects.

I have already alluded to its capability for domestication; and I have the gratification of adding, that a living specimen was in the possession of Mr. Alexander MacLeay for several years, during which it was mostly at large, and usually associated with the fowls in the poultry-yard. On my arrival at Sydney this venerable gentleman took me into his garden and showed me the bird, which, as if in its native woods, had for two successive years collected an immense mass of materials similar to those above described. The borders, lawn and shrubbery over which it was allowed to range presented an appearance as if regularly swept, from the bird having scratched to one common centre everything that lay upon the surface; the mound in this case was about three feet and a half high, and ten feet over. On placing my arm in it I found the heat to be about 90° or 95° Fahr. The bird itself was strutting about with a proud and majestic air, sometimes parading round the heap, at others perching on the top, and displaying its brilliantly coloured neck and wattle to the greatest advantage; this wattle it has the power of expanding and contracting at will; at one moment it is scarcely visible, while at another it is extremely prominent.

Before I left New South Wales Mr. MacLeay’s bird had met with an untimely end by falling into a tank or water-butt, occasioned, it was conjectured, by seeing the reflection of its own image in the water, and rushing forward to meet a supposed antagonist. On dissection this individual was found to be a male, thereby proving that the sexes are equally employed in forming the mound for the reception of the eggs.

After all the facts that have been stated, I trust it will be evident that its natural situation is among the _Rasores_, and that it forms one of a great family of birds peculiar to Australia and the Indian islands, of which _Megapodius_ forms a part; and in confirmation of this view I may add, that the sternum has the two deep emarginations so truly characteristic of the _Gallinaceæ_; at all events, it is in no way allied to the _Vulturidæ_, and is nearly as far removed from _Menura_.

The adults have the whole of the upper surface, wings and tail blackish brown; the feathers of the under surface blackish brown at the base, becoming silvery grey at the tip; skin of the head and neck deep pink red, thinly sprinkled with short hair-like blackish brown feathers; wattle bright yellow, tinged with red where it unites with the red of the neck; bill black; irides and feet brown.

The female, which is about a fourth less than the male in size, is so closely the same in colour as to render a separate description unnecessary. She also possesses the wattle, but not to so great an extent.

The figure is about two-thirds the size of life.

LEIPOA OCELLATA, _Gould_. Ocellated Leipoa.

_Leipoa ocellata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., October 13, 1840.

_Ngow_, Aborigines of the lowland; _Ng̏ow-oo_, of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

_Native Pheasant_, Colonists of Western Australia.

This beautiful bird is among the most interesting of the novelties which the little-explored regions of Australia have lately unfolded to us; since, by its discovery, and a knowledge of its habits, we are enabled to assign to its proper family (the _Megapodinæ_) the singular species figured under the name of _Talegalla Lathami_.

The Ocellated Leipoa appears to be more peculiarly suited for a plain and open country than for the tangled brush; and it is most curious to observe how beautifully the means employed by Nature for the reproduction of the species is adapted to the situations it is destined to inhabit. A sketch of its economy, as far as it has yet been ascertained, has been sent me by Mr. John Gilbert, and is here given in his own words:

“The following account of the habits, manners, and nidification of this bird have been detailed to me by G. Moore, Esq., Advocate-General, Mr. Armstrong, the aboriginal interpreter, and some of the more intelligent natives of Western Australia. Mr. Moore saw a great many of them about sixty miles north of Perth; but its most favourite country appears to be the barren sandy plains of the interior, 100 miles north and east of York. It is a ground bird, never taking to a tree except when closely hunted; when pursued it will frequently run its head into a bush, and is then easily taken. In its actions and manners it is very like the domestic fowl. Its food generally consists of seeds and berries. It has a mournful note, very like that of a pigeon, but with a more inward tone. The eggs are deposited in a mound of sand, the formation of which is the work of both sexes: the natives say they scratch up the sand for many yards around, forming a mound of about three feet in height; the inside being constructed of alternate layers of dried leaves, grasses, &c., among which the eggs are deposited to the number of twelve and upwards, and covered up by the birds as laid; or, as the natives express it, ‘the countenances of the eggs are never visible.’ The bird never sits upon the eggs; but when she has laid her number the whole are covered up, after which the mound of sand resembles an ant’s nest. The eggs are hatched by the heat of the sun’s rays, the vegetable lining of the hillock retaining sufficient warmth during the night: the eggs are deposited in layers, no two eggs being suffered to lie without a division. They are about the size of a fowl’s egg, and are white, very slightly tinged with red. The natives are exceedingly fond of them, and rob the mounds two or three times in a season; they judge of the probable number of eggs in the heap by the quantity of feathers lying around. If these are abundant, they know the hillock is full, when they immediately open it and take the whole; upon which the bird will again commence laying, to be robbed a second time, and will frequently lay a third time. Upon questioning one of the men attached to Mr. Moore’s expedition, he gave me a similar account of its habits and mode of incubating; adding that in all the mounds they opened they found ants almost as numerous as in an ant-hill, and that in many instances that part of the mound surrounding the lower portion of the eggs had become so hard, they were obliged to chip round them with a chisel to get them out: the insides of the mounds were always hot.”

Captain Grey, of the 83rd Regiment, who has just returned from his expedition to the north-west coast, has also furnished me with the following information respecting its range, &c.: “The farthest point north,” says this gentleman, “at which I have seen the breeding-places of this bird, is Gantheaume Bay. The natives of King George’s Sound say the same, or a nearly allied species, exists in that neighbourhood. I have never fallen in with its nests but in one description of country, viz. where the soil was dry and sandy, and so thickly wooded with a species of dwarf _Leptospermum_, that if you stray from the native paths, it is almost impossible to force your way through. In these close scrubby woods small open glades occasionally occur, and here the Ng̏ow-oo constructs its nest, a large heap of sand, dead grass and boughs, at least nine feet in diameter, and three feet in height: I have seen them even larger than this. Upon one occasion only I saw eggs in these nests; they were placed some distance from each other, and buried in the earth. I am not sure of the number, but the account given by the natives led me to believe that at times large numbers are found.”

The Ocellated Leipoa is altogether a more slender and elegantly formed bird than the Wattled Talegalla, and moreover differs from that bird in having the head and neck thickly clothed with feathers, and in being adorned with a beautifully variegated style of colouring.

Head and crest blackish brown; neck and shoulders dark ash grey; the fore part of the former, from the chin to the breast, marked by a series of lanceolate feathers, which are black with a white stripe down the centre; back and wings conspicuously marked with three distinct bands of greyish white, brown and black near the tip of each feather, the marks assuming an ocellate form, particularly on the tips of the secondaries; primaries brown, their outer webs marked with zigzag lines of darker brown; rump and upper tail-coverts brownish grey, the feathers of the latter transversely marked with two or three zigzag lines near their tip; all the under surface light buff, the tips of the flank feathers barred with black; tail blackish brown, broadly tipped with buff; bill black; feet blackish brown.

The figures are about two-thirds of the natural size.

MEGAPODIUS TUMULUS, _Gould_. Mound-raising Megapode.

_Megapodius tumulus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., February 8, 1842.

_Oooregoorgā_, Aborigines of the Cobourg Peninsula.

_Jungle-fowl_, Colonists of Port Essington.

The discovery of a species of _Megapodius_ in Australia, as soon as the northern portions of the country should be subjected to a careful investigation, is no more than might have been expected, considering that New Guinea and the adjacent islands are the great nursery of this extraordinary tribe of birds.

When the _Megapodius Tumulus_ first came under my observation I conceived it to be the _M. rubripes_ of M. Temminck, and it was not until I had examined specimens of that species in the Museums of Paris and Leyden that I was satisfied of its being distinct. Its much greater size and more than proportionately powerful legs are among the specific differences which will be observable by those who may feel disposed to institute a comparison. Interesting as this bird must be to every naturalist, to myself it is peculiarly so, since the valuable notes on its habits and economy which happily I am enabled to give fully confirm all that I had previously asserted respecting the extraordinary mode of incubation of the _Talegalla_, verifying the opinion I have before expressed, that _Megapodius_, _Talegalla_ and _Leipoa_ are most nearly allied genera forming part of a great family of birds, whose range will be found to extend from the Philippines through the islands of the Indian Archipelago to Australia.

The _Megapodius Tumulus_ is rather numerously spread over the whole of the Cobourg Peninsula on the north coast of the Australian continent, where the British settlement of Port Essington is now established; future research will doubtless require us to assign to it a much wider range, probably over the whole extent of the north coast.

The following account of its habits is taken from Mr. Gilbert’s notes; and, novel and extraordinary as my description of those of _Talegalla_ and _Leipoa_ may have been considered, this will be read with even greater interest.

“On my arrival at Port Essington my attention was attracted to numerous immense mounds of earth, which were pointed out to me by some of the residents as the tumuli of the aborigines; on the other hand I was assured by the natives that they were formed by the Jungle-fowl for the purpose of incubating its eggs: their statement appeared so extraordinary, and so much at variance with the general habits of birds, that no one in the settlement believed them, or took sufficient interest in the matter to examine the mounds, and thus to verify or refute their accounts; another circumstance which induced a doubt of their veracity, was the great size of the eggs brought in by the natives as those of this bird. Aware that the eggs of _Leipoa_ were hatched in a similar manner, my attention was immediately arrested by these accounts, and I at once determined to ascertain all I possibly could respecting so singular a feature in the bird’s economy; and having procured the assistance of a very intelligent native, who undertook to guide me to the different places resorted to by the bird, I proceeded on the sixteenth of November to Knocker’s Bay, a part of Port Essington Harbour comparatively but little known, and where I had been informed a number of these birds were always to be seen. I landed beside a thicket, and had not proceeded far from the shore ere I came to a mound of sand and shells, with a slight mixture of black soil, the base resting on a sandy beach, only a few feet above high water mark; it was enveloped in the large yellow-blossomed _Hibiscus_, was of a conical form, twenty feet in circumference at the base, and about five feet in height. On pointing it out to the native and asking him what it was, he replied, ‘Oooregoorgā Rambal,’ Jungle-fowls’ house or nest. I then scrambled up the sides of it, and to my extreme delight found a young bird in a hole about two feet deep; it was lying on a few dry withered leaves, and appeared to be only a few days old. So far I was satisfied that these mounds had some connexion with the bird’s mode of incubation; but I was still sceptical as to the probability of these young birds ascending from so great a depth as the natives represented, and my suspicions were confirmed by my being unable to induce the native, in this instance, to search for the eggs, his excuse being that ‘he knew it would be of no use, as he saw no traces of the old birds having recently been there.’ I took the utmost care of the young bird, intending to rear it if possible; I therefore obtained a moderately sized box, and placed in it a large portion of sand. As it fed rather freely on bruised Indian corn I was in full hopes of succeeding, but it proved of so wild and intractable a disposition that it would not reconcile itself to such close confinement, and effected its escape on the third day. During the period it remained in captivity it was incessantly occupied in scratching up the sand into heaps, and the rapidity with which it threw the sand from one end of the box to the other was quite surprising for so young and small a bird, its size not being larger than that of a small quail. At night it was so restless that I was constantly kept awake by the noise it made in its endeavours to escape. In scratching up the sand it only used one foot, and having grasped a handful as it were, the sand was thrown behind it, with but little apparent exertion, and without shifting its standing position on the other leg; this habit seemed to be the result of an innate restless disposition and a desire to use its powerful feet, and to have but little connexion with its feeding; for although Indian corn was mixed with the sand, I never detected the bird in picking any of it up while thus employed.

“I continued to receive the eggs without having an opportunity of seeing them taken from the mound until the sixth of February, when on again visiting Knocker’s Bay I had the gratification of seeing two taken from a depth of six feet, in one of the largest mounds I had then seen. In this instance the holes ran down in an oblique direction from the centre towards the outer slope of the hillock, so that although the eggs were six feet deep from the summit, they were only two or three feet from the side. The birds are said to lay but a single egg in each hole, and after the egg is deposited the earth is immediately thrown down lightly until the hole is filled up; the upper part of the mound is then smoothed and rounded over. It is easily known when a Jungle-fowl has been recently excavating, from the distinct impressions of its feet on the top and sides of the mound, and the earth being so lightly thrown over, that with a slender stick the direction of the hole is readily detected, the ease or difficulty of thrusting the stick down indicating the length of time that may have elapsed since the bird’s operations. Thus far it is easy enough; but to reach the eggs requires no little exertion and perseverance. The natives dig them up with their hands alone, and only make sufficient room to admit their bodies, and to throw out the earth between their legs; by grubbing with their fingers alone they are enabled to follow the direction of the hole with greater certainty, which will sometimes, at a depth of several feet, turn off abruptly at right angles, its direct course being obstructed by a clump of wood or some other impediment. Their patience is, however, often put to severe trials. In the present instance the native dug down six times in succession to a depth of at least six or seven feet without finding an egg, and at the last attempt came up in such a state of exhaustion that he refused to try again; but my interest was now too much excited to relinquish the opportunity of verifying the native’s statements, and by the offer of an additional reward I induced him to try again: this seventh trial proved successful, and my gratification was complete, when the native with equal pride and satisfaction held up an egg, and after two or three more attempts produced a second; thus proving how cautious Europeans should be of disregarding the narratives of these poor children of nature, because they happen to sound extraordinary or different from anything with which they were previously acquainted.

“I revisited Knocker’s Bay on the tenth of February, and having with some difficulty penetrated into a dense thicket of canelike creeping plants, I suddenly found myself beside a mound of gigantic proportions. It was fifteen feet in height and sixty in circumference at the base, the upper part being about a third less, and was entirely composed of the richest description of light vegetable mould; on the top were very recent marks of the bird’s feet. The native and myself immediately set to work, and after an hour’s extreme labour, rendered the more fatiguing from the excessive heat, and the tormenting attacks of myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies, I succeeded in obtaining an egg from a depth of about five feet; it was in a perpendicular position, with the earth surrounding and very lightly touching it on all sides, and without any other material to impart warmth, which in fact did not appear necessary, the mound being quite warm to the hands. The holes in this mound commenced at the outer edge of the summit, and ran down obliquely towards the centre; their direction therefore is not uniform. Like the majority of the mounds I have seen, this was so enveloped in thickly foliaged trees as to preclude the possibility of the sun’s rays reaching any part of it.