“The temperature of the nests I have examined has always been warm; not so much so, however, as I should have thought necessary for the purpose of hatching eggs.
“There are two great peculiarities about these eggs; the first is, that both ends are of nearly the same size; which form is peculiarly adapted to the position in which they are always placed; the egg being compressed in every part as nearly as possible towards the axis, in which the centre of gravity lies, there is the least possible tendency to its equilibrium being destroyed when it is placed in a vertical position. A second peculiarity is the extreme thinness of the shell, and its consequent fragility. This is so great, that unless the egg is handled with the greatest care, it is sure to be broken, and every effort which has been made to hatch these eggs under domestic fowls has failed, the egg having in every instance been broken by the bird under which it was placed.
“The native name for the bird on the Murray River is _Marrak-ko_ or _Marra-ko_; in Western Australia the name of the bird is _Ngow-o_ or _Ngow_. The name in Western Australia is given from the tuft on its head, _Ngoweer_ meaning a tuft of feathers.
“I have found this bird in different parts of that portion of Australia included between the 26th and 36th parallels of south latitude, and the 113th and 141st parallels of east longitude, and I think that there is every probability that it inhabits a much wider range. It is found in all the scrubby districts of South Australia.
“P.S.—I have, by cross examination of several natives, elicited the following account of this bird, and I am quite satisfied of its truth.
“There is only one male and one female to each nest: they repair an old nest, and do not build a new one; both assist in scratching the sand to the nest. The female commences laying about the beginning of September, or when the spear-grass begins to shoot. Both sexes approach the nest together when the female is about to lay, and they take an equal share in the labour of covering and uncovering the mound. After every sunrise the female lays an egg, and lays altogether from eight to ten. If the natives rob the nest, the female will lay again in the same nest, but she will only lay the full number of eggs twice in one summer. From the commencement of building, until the last eggs are hatched, four moons elapse (this would give a very long period of time before the eggs were hatched). The young one scratches its way out alone; the mother does not assist it. They usually come out one at a time; occasionally a pair appear together. The mother, who is feeding in the scrub in the vicinity, hears its call and runs to it. She then takes care of the young one as a European hen does of its chick. When the young are all hatched the mother is accompanied by eight or ten young ones, who remain with her until they are more than half-grown. The male bird does not accompany them. The two sexes have different calls: that of the female is constantly uttered while she walks about in the scrub with her young ones.