San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-09-26
BIRDS WITH BIG NESTS.

Australia Fowl that Build Gigantic
Homes andui We in Common.
. From the Washington Star.
One of the most interesting men
among the scientists who have been
visiting Washington is Prof. Henry
A. Ward, the great natural science
collector of Rochester, n. Y. He has
spent his life in travelling all over
the world for the purpose OF gathering
material for museums. The adven-
lures he has met with while in per-
suit of curiosities in one far corner,.O of
ths earth or another would fill many
delightful books. In conversation
the other day he referred to an eXpe-
dition he once made in search OF an
extraordinary Australian bird which
has a G Jmunal nest, a whole flock
uniting their efforts in its construc-
ton and sharing its conveniences for
the purpose of laying their eggs.
II was in the neigh bOrhOod of Fort
Darwin. on Torres straits, said the
professor to a representative Of the
Star. I had some native black fell
ows with me and lot OF biscuits to
nav them with. Biscuits 60 with
Them for wages as well as money,
hPc9use they are for nothing in life
but eating. If you give them coins
thew carry them in their ears, and
they are more apt then not TO wear
no clothes at all, save band around
the left arm to hold a tobacco pipe
that is stuck in it when not in use.
One must take care not to let them
have any "blxit" as they call them,
until their work is done. Otherwise
having 90, bled them, they are likely
to lie down at any moment and go to
sleep, though it be in the middle of
the road and the occasion one of SER
ious exigency.
These particular black fellows had
promised TO guide me to nest OF the
brush turkeys had never seen one
and was very anxious to do so. Ga
our Journey my companions seemed
necessarily to be looking Tor some
thing to eat. When opportunity
served they climed tall trees for
ION our way to fiud the rest came
across a beautiful specimen of rare
kind of lizard, commonly called the
flying dragon because it sometimes
appears to fly, supporting Itself in the
air TO some extent as does q flying
souirrel. This one, which had an es-
pecially large and fine rufle around
its neck, crawled into hollow log to
escape. Iupended the log, when it
fell ont and / told one of the black
fellows to pick it up. He did so and
Immediately carrying it to his
mouth bit off its head. l was very
angry to lose such q treasure in that
way: but wnen 1 scolded the man
simply looked astOnished, rubbed
his stomach, and said, GOOD good!'
Soon after my attention was called
to sort of Jack-in-the pulpit tnas
grew in little dell. Its leaves were
somewhat withered, which fact was
accounted for when another of ms
aboriginal companions placked the
plant up by the roots and showed me
hanging from them q bright green
caterpillar q foot in length. This
latter he coolly held mp by one end,
dropped it down his throat, closed
his ewes in an ecstasy of gustatory ap-
precistion aud rubbed his stomach
also.
IL was well worth seeing. 1t was a
cjreular mound s feet in diameter.
THE birds begin the construction OF
such a one by getting together q big
bean Of lesvea On top and around
this heap they gather earth by
scratching it backward to the pile, and
il wss ia this way wholly that the
great mound describe was built up.
A4Itbe surface soil had been scraped
away for u long distance around for
adding to the accumulation. When
the brush turkeys have thus made
their earth heap ready for,'the seasons
layfpt th 81 cut cylindrical hole
down into the middle Of it. Into
this they get ons by one and lay
their tggs.
GAS soon rs all are through they
ell up the hoie;s leaving a cavity
shaped like q wash. basin on the top
of the mound. Rain comes and the
wafer retained in this hollow filters
through to the deposit OF leaves
which are thus made to decompose
TIE heat of decomposition matches
& the eggs. and the young fowls 6urroW
thetrwey out of the mound, not up
ward but through the sides. 1t Is 8
" lse brush turkey that knows its owl
motber, Tor the parent birds give ne
thought nor care to their Offspring
after depositing their eggs. You cal
imagine what vast amount OF ma
terial is put into one of these nests
when | tell you that a friend OF min,
in Australia made his whole gard el
patch from one OF the mounds"
"