This Enormous Mass Is Not The Unaided Work Of One Pair,
But Of A Whole Colony, And The Material Is
Got together by the bird
grasping a quantity in its foot, and throwing it behind him; the ground in
the
Immediate vicinity of the mound is thus entirely stripped of every
blade of grass,or fallen leaf. In process of time, the heap partially
decomposes, and when the female judges that enough heat has been engendered
to serve her purpose, she proceeds to lay her eggs. These are enormous
when compared with the size of the bird, and are not simply deposited and
covered over, but buried at a depth of eighteen or twenty inches, each egg
nearly a foot from its neighbour, and standing on end, with the larger half
uppermost. Thus they remain until hatched, though how the bird manages to
plant them with such dexterity has, I believe, never been ascertained; no
one yet having been sufficiently lucky to witness the proceeding. Directly
the little birds chip the shell, they run about with the greatest agility,
and their capture is exceedingly difficult. A nest with freshly-laid eggs
is a glorious find, for several dozen are frequently extracted, and are
most delicious eating.
The evening was fast approaching, when we camped for the night by the side
of a nice clear water-hole in a sequestered valley, and, after bathing and
having tea, we tried our luck at fishing, for these holes are sometimes
full of eels.
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