The MEGAPODES (Megapodii) have a large slender body, moderate-sized neck, and large head; the broadly-rounded wing has the third, fourth, and fifth quills of equal length; the tail, formed of ten feathers, is short and rounded; the tarsus very strong, and longer than the long, powerful middle toe, which is armed like the rest with a formidable and slightly-hooked claw. The straight beak is usually shorter than the head, and vaulted towards its tip. The thick plumage is prolonged upon the back of the head and the region of the eye; a large portion of the head and the throat and neck are always bare. We are indebted to Gould, Gilbert, and Macgillivray for full particulars respecting the mode of life of the Megapodes. "The habits and economy of the birds comprised in this family are," says Gould, "both curious and extraordinary, nor are they less singular in their structure; indeed, in my own opinion, no group of birds is more isolated. By one of our best ornithologists one species has been classed with the Vultures, another placed it with Meleagres, and a third authority considered it to be allied to the genus Ralles. From the colonists of Australia the three species inhabiting that country have received the trivial names of Brush Turkey, Native Pheasant, and Jungle Fowl, but to none of these birds are they in any way allied. In general appearance the Megapodidæ offer a certain degree of alliance to the Gallinaceæ, but in the peculiar shape, colouring, and odour of their eggs, and in the mode in which they are incubated, they are totally different, and in some of these respects resemble the tortoises and turtles. Three species belonging to different genera inhabit Australia; others exist in New Guinea and the neighbouring islands, and extend as far north as the Philippines."
THE AUSTRALIAN MEGAPODE.
The AUSTRALIAN MEGAPODE (Megapodius tumulus) is about the size of a female Pheasant. The head of this species is dark reddish brown, the back and wing reddish brown, the upper and lower tail-covers deep chestnut-brown, the quills and tail-feathers blackish brown, and back of the head and under side grey. The eye is light reddish brown, the beak of rather a darker shade, and the foot bright orange.
"On my arrival at Port Essington," says Gilbert, "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 Megapode for the purpose of incubating its eggs. This latter 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 the 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 these birds, I proceeded on the 16th 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." A detailed account follows of his finding several different mounds, which he examined, and was quite convinced that the natives had spoken the truth concerning them. Somewhat later, Mr. John Macgillivray observed the Megapode on Nago Island, in Endeavour Straits, and during his stay there was so fortunate as to procure both the male and the female, and to find several mounds containing eggs.
"Few birds," says this gentleman, "are more wary and less easily procured than the Megapodius; it inhabits the belts of brush along the coast, and I never found the tumulus at a greater distance from the sea than a few hundred yards. When disturbed this species seldom rises at once, unless on the margin of a thicket, but runs off to some distance and then takes to wing, flying heavily, but without any of the whirring noise of the true Gallinaceæ. It seldom takes a long flight, and usually perches on a tree, remaining there in a crouching attitude with outstretched neck, but flying off again upon observing any motion made by its pursuer; and it is only by cautiously sneaking up under cover of the largest trees that it can be approached within gunshot. As an example of its shyness, I may mention that a party of three persons scattered about in a jungle on Nago Island for the purpose of shooting the Megapodius did not see a single bird, although they put up several, one of which came towards me and perched, unconscious of my presence, within twenty yards. At Port Essington I have shot this bird among mangroves, the roots of which were washed by the sea at high water; and Captain F. P. Blackwood killed one while running on the mud in a similar locality, in both instances close to a mound."
Gilbert also confirms the statement that it is found near the shore. The Megapode, he says, is almost exclusively confined to the dense thickets immediately adjacent to the sea-beach; it appears never to go far inland, except along the banks of creeks. It is always met with in pairs, or quite solitary, and feeds on the ground, its food consisting of roots, which its powerful claws enable it to scratch up with the utmost facility, and also of seeds, berries, and insects, particularly the larger species of Coleoptera. He did not himself detect any note or cry, but, from the natives' description of it, it much resembles the clucking of a Domestic Fowl, ending with a scream like that of the Peacock. The mounds are very different, both as regards situation, size, and composition. They usually stand near the edge of water; some are composed of sand and shell, while others contain vegetable mould and decaying wood. Gilbert found one fifteen feet in height and sixty in circumference at the base, and another which covered a space of at least a hundred and fifty feet in circumference, and Macgillivray speaks of one of similar height and extent. It is most probable that these mounds are the work of several generations; whether each mound is resorted to by more than one pair, Mr. Macgillivray had not the means of ascertaining. "Some of them," he observes, "are evidently very ancient, trees being often seen growing from their sides. In one instance I found a tree which was a foot in diameter growing from the middle of a mound." The holes containing the eggs sometimes commence at the outer edge of the summit, and slope down obliquely, towards the centre, and sometimes run in an oblique direction from the centre towards the outer slope of the hillock. The eggs lie six feet deep from the summit, but only two or three feet from the side. "The natives," says Gilbert, "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; their patience is, however, often put to severe trials, for they often dig down to a depth of six or seven feet without finding an egg, and are quite exhausted by their vain attempts. The eggs are placed in a perpendicular position, the larger end uppermost; they differ in size, but in form they assimilate; they are three inches and five lines long, by two inches and three lines broad. The composition of the mound appears to influence the colouring of a thin epidermis with which the eggs are covered, and which readily chips off, showing the true shell to be white; those deposited in the black soil are always of a dark reddish brown, while those from the sandy hillocks near the beach are of a dirty yellowish white. The natives affirm that the eggs are deposited at night, at intervals of several days." The exit of the young bird from the egg was not seen either by Macgillivray or Gilbert, but the latter found a young bird in a hole about two feet deep, lying on a few withered leaves, which appeared to be only a few days old. Gilbert took great care of the bird, intending to rear it, and placed it in a moderate-sized box containing a large quantity of sand. It fed freely on bruised corn, but was so wild and intractable that it would not reconcile itself to confinement, and escaped on the third day. While in captivity, it was incessantly occupied in scratching up the sand into heaps, and throwing it from one end of the box to the other with a rapidity quite surprising for so young and small a bird, its size not exceeding that of a small Quail. At night it was so noisy in its efforts to escape that its captor was kept constantly awake. In scratching up the sand it used only one foot, and having grasped a footful, threw it behind 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 connection with its feeding, for though Mr. Gilbert mixed Indian corn with the sand, he never detected the bird picking any up while so employed.
The CURASSOWS, or HOCCOS (Cracidæ), are large or middle-sized birds, with slender bodies, much-rounded wings in which the four or five exterior primaries are graduated, and the secondaries prolonged, and a long powerful tail either slightly graduated or straight at its extremity. The beak, which is of various lengths and comparatively shorter than that of a Pigeon, is curved at the culmen, much hooked at the tip, and covered with a cere which extends over the whole region of the nostrils, and occasionally over the cheek-stripes and the excrescences exhibited by some species at the base of the bill. The rather high and sinewy foot is furnished with long thin toes placed on the same plane, and armed with narrow, long, pointed, and slightly hooked claws. The heavy plumage is composed of large feathers, some of which are broadly rounded, and in one family have the shafts of unusual size at the root, but gradually tapering towards the extremity. One species in particular possesses this peculiarity in a high degree, these broad shafts being ten or twenty times as thick at the centre as at the tip, and from six to ten times as thick as at the base, the lower portions of these broad shafts are covered with a downy web, whilst that of the extremity is close in texture. This peculiar structure of the feathers is much developed in the hinder parts of the body, and slightly on the wings and tail. Dusky hues predominate in the coloration of the plumage. These fine birds inhabit the forests of South America, and build their nests in trees. Like the rest of the order, they subsist upon worms, insects, fruits, and the seeds of plants. The above definition includes two distinct families—the CRACES or TRUE CURASSOWS, and the PENELOPÆ or GUANS.
The TRUE CURASSOWS, or HOCCOS (Craces), are powerfully-framed birds, possessing a high, much-curved beak, with compressed sides, and furnished with a cere and excrescences at its base. During the period of incubation the latter swell to a considerable size, and in one species present the appearance of a horn placed in the centre of the brow, and in another assume the appearance of a large pear-shaped excrescence. The strong foot is moderately high, and the toes rather long, the wing short, with its seventh and eighth quills longer than the rest, and the rounded tail of medium size. The plumage upon the brow and nape usually forms a comb-like crest composed of slender, stiff feathers, which incline backwards at their roots, but project forwards at their curved tips. The feathers on the cheeks, upper throat, and hinder parts are soft and downy, and those on the lower neck and rump coarse and harsh; the region of the eye is bare, and the cheeks covered with small hair-like feathers.