and the wummerah or throwing stick, by which it is hurled with terrific force. The large wooden shield indicates also that the natives in question consider themselves in danger of hostile tribes. On the upper branches of a tree are seen a pair of those wonderful kingfishers, popularly termed from their cry, Laughing Jackasses, and in the centre of the illustration is seen an old man crouched upon his knees, busily engaged in digging from a large mound some eggs which are arranged nearly in a circle, and are set perpendicularly with their larger end upwards, as if they had been placed there by the Opposition party in Lilliput.

This mound is the work of an Australian bird popularly called the BRUSH TURKEY or TALLEGALLA (Tallegalla Lathami), one of a small series of birds which scrape together great heaps of vegetable substances, and lay their eggs in them so as to be hatched by the heat given out during the process of fermentation. A very brief account of these birds will be given, but we will at present confine ourselves to the Tallegalla.

This bird belongs to the order Gallina and the family Megapodidæ, or large-footed birds, the name being given to them or account of the very great comparative size of the feet. It is a native of New South Wales, and is generally found in the densest bushes, through which it can make its way with such rapidity that it can scarcely be captured. As the bird is called by many names, I will mention one or two of them, so that the reader may be better able to identify it while reading the accounts of observant but unscientific travellers. The natives sometimes call it Tallegalla, and sometimes Weelah; and it is occasionally named the New Holland Vulture, because the bare head and neck give it a somewhat vulturine aspect.

We will now proceed to the nest itself.

This curious edifice is often of very great size, several cartloads of materials being used, and its dimensions enlarged from year to year. In order to show the general appearance of the nest, an example is shown in the background, with the bird. running over it. The mound is conical in shape, and, as may be imagined from its enormous size, is the result of joint labour, several hens uniting in its formation. The method by which it is made is very curious, and Mr. Gould's account of the bird has been fully corroborated by the habits of the birds in the Zoological Gardens.

Tracing a circle of considerable radius, the birds begin to travel round it, continually grasping with their large feet the leaves, and grasses, and dead twigs which are lying about, and flinging them inwards towards the centre. Each time that they complete their rounds they narrow their circle, so that in a short time they clear away a large circular belt, having in its centre a low, irregular heap. By repeating the same process, however, they decrease the diameter of the mound as they increase its height, and at last a large and rudely conical mound is formed.

The next process is to scrape away the middle of the heap until a cavity of nearly two feet is formed, in which the eggs are carefully placed, being set in the peculiar manner which has also been mentioned. They are then covered up, and are hatched by the joint effects of fermentation and hot sunbeams. By adopting this process the bird does not escape any of the cares of maternity, for the male is very watchful over the eggs, being gifted with a wonderful instinct which tells him of the temperature which is proper for them. Sometimes he covers them with a thick layer of leaves, and sometimes he lays them nearly bare, these operations being repeated several times in a single day.

At last the eggs are hatched, but when the young bird escapes from the shell, it does not emerge from the mound, remaining therein for at least twelve hours. Even after it has enjoyed the open air it retires to the mound towards evening, and is covered up like the eggs, only not to so great a depth. It is a remarkable fact that in all cases a nearly cylindrical hole is preserved in the middle of the mound, being evidently intended as a chimney by which the heat may be moderated, and through which gases produced by fermentation may escape. The reader will probably call to mind that in a well-made haystack a central aperture is preserved for exactly the same purpose, the modern farmer having therefore been anticipated by a bird.

A very great number of eggs are placed in the nest, a bushel of eggs being sometimes taken out of a single mound. These eggs are peculiarly well flavoured, and are equally sought by natives and colonists. The Tallegalla has a habit of scratching large holes in the ground while dusting itself after the manner of gallinaceous birds, and these holes often serve to direct the experienced hunter towards the nest itself.

ANOTHER species of mound-making bird is tolerably common about Port Essington. This is the AUSTRALIAN JUNGLE FOWL (Megapodius tumulus), which makes earth-mounds of prodigious size, one of them which was measured being no less than fifteen feet in perpendicular height, and twenty feet in diameter. If the reader will measure off twenty feet along the floor of a room, and fifteen feet upon the walls, he will form a conception of the enormous size of these tumuli. These heaps are always placed under shelter, and are sometimes so enveloped in foliage that, in spite of their great size, they can scarcely be discovered. The materials of which they are composed are rather variable, according to the locality, but the general mass consists of leaves, grass, and other vegetable matter.

Vast numbers of eggs are laid in these nests, and are placed at a considerable depth, some of them being as much as six or seven feet from the top of the heap. They are deposited in a curious manner, the bird scratching its way into the heap, laying an egg, and then filling up the hole as she makes her way out again. The natives always use their hands in digging out these eggs, because their fingers can follow the track of the bird, the softer and looser material acting as a guide. A twig is generally used as a probe by which the presence of a hole is detected, but the hands are the only tools which are used in following up the tortuous track, which sometimes proceeds in a straight line, and then turns suddenly at an angle, the bird having come on a stone or some such obstacle which prevents her from continuing in the same line.

It is a remarkable fact that these mounds are always found near the sea, and in one instance a heap was seen on the very shore, only just above highwater mark.

THE curious bird called by the natives LEIPOA, and by colonists. the NATIVE PHEASANT (Leipoa ocellata), is another of the moundmakers. In order to avoid confusing the mind of the reader, I may here mention that there are three Australian birds which are popularly called pheasants, the one being the Leipoa, and the others the two species of lyre-bird (Menura). The Leipoa certainly has a very pheasant-like appearance, both in the general outline of the head and body, together with the pencilled plumage, the long tail being only wanted in order to complete the resemblance.

It is usually found towards the north-west portions of Australia, preferring sandy plains to any other localities.

The mound which is made by the Leipoa is comparatively small, being seldom more than eight or nine feet in diameter, and a yard or so in height. It is made up of mixed sand, soil, leaves and grass, and is sometimes so hard at its lowest portions, that the hands become useless in digging out the eggs, and strong tools are required. In each nest there are usually about a dozen eggs, which are deposited singly in the mound. One nest, however, will afford a large supply of eggs, just as is the case with our domestic hens, for if her nest be repeatedly robbed, the bird continues to lay for a very long time. The eggs are whitish, slightly speckled with dull red. It is a curious fact that a number of ants are always to be found about the nest of the Leipoa, and their presence, together with the hard, strong substance of the lower part of the nest, would lead many persons to suppose that the mound was nothing but a large ant-hill.

CHAPTER XVII.

BURROWING BIRDS (CONTINUED.)

Nesting of the Hornbills-Dr. Livingstone's account of the KORWÉ, or REDBREASTED HORNBILL-The LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE-Its general habits-Its use to the gardener-Number of the young--Form and materials of the nest-Localities chosen by the bird-How to prepare the fragile eggs-The MAGPIE -Its domed and fortified nest-The common WREN and its nest-Pseudo-nests and their probable origin-The HOUSE WREN of America-Its habits and mode of nesting-Wilson's account of the bird-Its usefulness and quarrelsome nature -The LYRE BIRD-Origin of its name-Its domed nest-The ALBERT'S LYRE BIRD and its habits-The BowER BIRD-Why so called-Civilization and social amusement-The remarkable bower-Its materials and mode of construction-Use to which it is put-The Bower Birds in the Zoological Gardens, and their habits-Love of ornament-Meaning of the scientific name-The SPOTTED BOWER BIRD of New South Wales-Its bower-Description of the birds and their place in the present system.

THE reader may remember that in the account of the toucan and its semi-burrowing mode of nesting, it was mentioned that the bird was sometimes in the habit of closing the aperture of its nest with mud. It is a very remarkable fact that both groups of large-billed birds should possess the same habit, and that the HORNBILL of Africa should close its nest with mud like the toucan of tropical America. These groups of birds are somewhat similar in external appearance, the huge beak giving them a kind of family likeness. They are, however, widely distinct in zoological systems, the toucans belonging to the scansorial, or climbing birds, and the hornbills ranking with the touracos, plantain-eaters, and colies.

Like the toucan, the Hornbill makes its nest in the hole of some decaying tree, and one of the species, at all events, seems invariably to reduce the size of the entrance by plastering it up. with mud, and leaving only a very little aperture. The following interesting account of the Hornbill and its nest is quoted from Dr. Livingstone's well-known work.

"We passed through large tracts of Mopane country, and my men caught a great many of the birds called KORWÉ (Tockus erythorhynchus) in their hiding-places, which were in holes in