.. “ Few birds 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 it 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 Gallinaceee. I t 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 creeping 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 small jungle on Nogo 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 20 yards. At Port Essington I have shot this bird among mangroves, the roots of which were
washed by the sea at high water; and Capt. F. P. Blackwood killed one.'while running on the mud in a similar
locality, in both instances close to a mound. I never witnessed the escape of the young from the m ound; but one,
as large as a quail, and covered with feathers, was brought to Lieut. Ince by a native, who affirmed that he had
dug it out along with several eggs.
“ Iris yellowish brown; stomach a complete gizzard, being thick and muscular, containing small quartz
pebbles, small shells (Helix and Bulimus) , and black seeds ; intestine 34 inches in length, of the size of a gbbse-
quill, and nearly uniform in thickness, much twisted and contracted at intervals; ceecum slender, dilated at the
extremity, and 4£ inches in length.”
Family TINAMIDjE ?, G. R . Gray.
Subfamily TURNICINjE, G. R . Gray.
Genus P e d io n o m u s , Gould.
Generic characters.
Bill nearly as long as the head, straight, compressed towards the tip ; nostrils basal, placed in a groove, and
protected by an operculum; wings short and concave, first, second and third primaries equal in length; tértiarìés
longer than the primaries ; tail nearly obsolete; tarsi elongated and defended in front with transverse scales; toes
four in number, the hinder one feeble and placed high on the tarsus.
Few. of .the discoveries I made in Australia interested me more than that of the species forming thè subject of
the present genus, and of which during my sojourn in the country I only obtained a male. Subsequently Mr.
Strange sent me another example, which from its much larger size and the circumstance of its neck being adorned
with a beautiful collar of mingled black and white feathers, I considered a distinct species and characterized it as
such, under the name P. torquatus, and assigned that of microurus to the males or birds destitute of the collar, an
error which the observations of Sir George Grey and Mr. Strange have enabled me to rectify, and which shows
that this bird is another of the anomalies so often met with in Australia, since, contrary to the general rule,' the
female is a far finer and,more conspicuously-coloured bird than her mate.
“ You ask me,” says Sir George Grey, “ to te ll you something about Pediomtmts. There is hut one species;;
you have described two, P. torquatus and P. microurus ; the former is, the female and the latter is the male. We
have now three of these birds in confinement, all similar to your P. torquatus. We had four '; the fourth, which
died, was like your P. microurus ; and was certainly a male ; they were all caught in the same net, hence I infer
that several females associate with one male.
iff "W e have had. several .of these birds in confinement at different times; they eat pounded wheat, raw and
boiled rice, bread and flies ;. the latter appear to be their favourite food. They soon become perfectly tame ; the
three now in our possession we have had for upwards of four months.
“ These birds are migratory ; they appear at Adelaide in dune and disappear about January ; where they go
has. not yet .been, ascertained. They never fly if they can avoid so. doing, and are often caught.by dogs;.when
disturbed, they crouch down and endeavour to hide themselves in a tuft of grass. When running about they are
in the habit of raising themselves in a nearly perpendicular position on the extremities of their toes, so that the
hinder p art of the foot does not touch the ground, and of. taking a wide survey around them. The Emu sometimes
stands in a similar position. I have not yet ascertained anything respecting their nests, eggs or time of breeding.
The call of those we have in confinement precisely resembles that of the Emu, not the whistle, but the hollow-
sounding noise like that produced by tapping on a cask, which the Emu utters, but is of course much fainter.”
The Plate therefore represents two females, and the appellation of microurus given to the male bird should be
the one adopted. As the male has not been figured, the following description of that sex is given :—
• Crown of the head, back and upper surface mottled with black, brown and fawn-colour, the latter occupying
the external edge of the feathers, and the black and brown forming alternate circular markings on each feather;
throat, neck, chest and flanks dull fawn-colour, the feathers of the neck and chest blotched with b rown; flanks
marked with the same colour, assuming the form o f b a rs ; tail-feathers almost invisible; centre of the abdomen
and under tail-coverts buffy-white, without spots or markings; irides straw-yellow passing into black at the
point; feet greenish yellow.
Total length, 4£ inches; bill, 4 4 ; wing, § | ; tarsi, f .
Independently of the plains of South Australia formerly given as the restricted habitat of this species, I have
lately received a letter from Mr. Strange of Sydney, in which he states a female had been procured in the
neighbourhood of Botany Bay. I am also in possession of an egg of this bird, which in general character resembles
that of Turnix; it is somewhat suddenly contracted a t the smaller end, the ground-colour is stone-white, sprinkled
with small blotches of umber-brown and vinous-grey, the latter colour appearing-as if beneath the surface of the
shell, the sprinkled markings predominating at the larger end; the length of the egg is 1 inch and one-eighth by
seven-eighths in breadth.
443. Pedionomus torquatus, Gould, f e m a l e ................................................... . . . • . ■ Vol. V. Pi. 80.
^ ~ ~ — microurus, Gould, male.
Genus T u r n ix , Bonn.
However widely the members of this genus are dispersed, inhabiting as one, or other of them do all quarters
of the Old World, Australia is the great nursery of the race, since it is in that country that we find the species
more numerous than elsewhere; they not only inhabit every p art of the continent that has yet been explored, but
they extend their range to the islands adjacent to the coast and even to Van Diemen’s Land; some species enjoy a
wide range across the continent from east to west, while others are very local; grassy plains and stony ridges
.thickly interspersed with scrubs and grasses.are the situations they frequent; their eggs are invariably four in
number, pointed in form, and very like those of the. Sandpipers; their only nest is a few grasses placed in a hollow
on the ground ; in their habits and. actions they differ considerably from the Quails and Partridges, and, strange as
it may appear, approach more ¿osely to the frim/x, particularly to those species with the more attenuated form of
bill; when rising from almost beneath your feet, they fly, especially the smaller species, straight and with arrow-
like swiftness to the distance of one or two hundred yards; and then suddenly pitch to the ground. Their flesh,
although eatable, is dry and deficient in flavour when compared with that of the Quails and Partridges.
444. Turnix melanogaster.
Hemipodius melanogaster, G o u l d y 0j y pj
445. Turnix varius.
Hemipodius v a riu s .............................................................; .................................................. Vol. V. PI. 82.
446. Turnix.scintilams.
447. Hemipodius scintillans, G o u l d y ol y pi Qg
448. Turnix melanotus.
Hemipodius melanotus, Gould y Qj y pj
449. Turnix castanotus.
Hemipodius castanotus, G o u l d y Qj y p j