The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-24
ANIMAL MoUND BUILDERS.
birds who Build Their own Ineuba-


tors.
Prof Charles ? Holder In the New York
Tribune.
Some years ego a sea captain who was
trading in the Cslebss Islands received.
a. he was about 20 sail. a basket which
the messenger said contained q few eggs
which he wished delivered al the next
port The skipper placed the eggs in HE
cabin for safety. ana thought no mors
noise in the basket ana 70 his amaze
ment saw one Of the eggs break open and
its occupant rs across the cabin.
Later he learned that the bird was the
malice. n pheasant-llke creature that de-
posits - eggs In the volcanic sands OF
the beach. allowing the sun 20 hatch
them The young birds dix their way out
ana are able 20 take care OF themselves
from birth. ard can ~ Immediately 10
limited distance.
Closely related 20 tho maleo Is a group
o. rds which can be- properly termed
the mound builders Of bird life. They are
the megapodes Of New Guinea and Aus
tralia. the only birds that use incuba.
tors TO hatch their eggs There are
number Of species but 10 general they
! resemble small turkeys with large feet.
ard are found in the brush near the
shore or beach.
When the breeding season arrives both
sexes select suitable place ana proceed
10 build a mound Of grass and veEeta-
| bic matter This Is accomplished by the
birds selling the material In their large
and powerful claws and hurting 81 back
ward The work OF perhaps a score Of
birds 50 accumulates. and a large sized
mound is the result. which, when used
year after year. often assumes striking
proportions.
As an example. some nasurallsts who
were travelling on the Island Nogo
in Endeavor Straits. were attracted BY
the accounts OF the natives Of bird that
made mountains IN which 70 hide les eggs
from enemies BY Offering 20 reward the
nssives. the travellers were taken 20 the
mound 81 megapoie from which the
guides triumpha ntly dug out several eggs
The mound was II NOT mountain. a
small nil. and measured 80 feet IN cir
| conference. and az one end was fourteen
feet IN hight. sloping IN one place twenty
four feet 20 the level OF the ground. which
was scraped bare IN the neigh borhood.
Another observed was twenty-five feet IN
length and hve feet high.
The Eggs Buried Deep.
! matter. interpreted here and there with
hne gravel. decayed wood and leaves and
are artificial incuhators. The birds dig a
hole IN the top. the eggs being deposited
about six feet from the surface, then COW
cred up and left 10 hatch by the heat gen
Grated IN the mass. whereupon the young
scramble out. and. as a rule. look out for
themselves from birth.
The Nicob8r megapode constructs a sim-
- ~ Astn
tralla Is equally remarkable as a mound
builder In this instance several females
use the same nest. ana as many n
baskesful Of eggs have been taken from
a single mound. This bird Il nearly as
large a. turkey and resembles a.
Among the birds there are a number OF
mound builders. among which the tyre
bird 50 remarkable for Us ventriloquistic
powers may be included forming a sin
Eular mound OF sticks and brush Upon
one occasion several naturalists visited
ne small islands on the Bahama banks
and came upon curious settlement OF
mounds The latter were about thirty
inches across and from ono 20 three feet
high and looked like stools or seats ris-
ing from the mud. They were the mound
like nests OF the iamingo
A little bird found deep in the heart %
Borneo called the gardener bird. erects
a perfect mound apparently three or four
| feet high. which wonderful 10 relate. Is
hollow The bird IL but little larger than
a robin and builds this mound OF green
twigs simply az a pleasure house. It's eggs
being deposited ia a nest not far distant.
In travelling over tho prairies OF Illinois
several years ago l noticed singular
mounds here and there IN what was COM
! parauveiy dry land So numerous were
they thar they made the surrounding
country appear as though pillows had
passed over a. giving q an undulatng
! shape Upon investigation ! found that
these mound builders were little crayhsh
that penetrated the soil ia every direc-
! ton from the neighboTing brooks, the
mounds being startling evidences of their
! Industry.
once In polling my boat along In the
81 Lawrence triver, in water seven feet
deep. came upon a mound Of stones
| from two 70 three inches IN diameter that
| rose to within two feet OF the surface so
near. IN fact. that I reached over aud
iftcd some Of the pebbles from the top 81
the heap At FIRST glance the mound look
cd like a cart load OF stones that had been
| tipped over from some steamer. or. had
not the water been shallow. might well
/ love passed for cindera thrown from a
passing vessel But the stones were an
selected pebbles and OF the same general
size A iiitle further along the shore
| found another mound 10 shallow waller
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