The eggs were presented to me by the natives, and when cooked were of a very rich and delicate flavour.

The nest was that of a wild pheasant, (Leipoa), a bird of the size of a hen pheasant of England, and greatly resembling it in appearance and plumage; these birds are very cautious and shy, and run rapidly through the underwood, rarely flying unless when closely pursued.

The shell of the egg is thin and fragile, and the young are hatched entirely by the heat of the sun, scratching their way out as soon as they are born, at which time they are able to shift for themselves.

[Note 25: For a further account of the LEIPOA, vide CHAPTER III.

of Notes on the Aborigines.] Our road to-day was through a heavy sandy country, covered for the most part densely with the eucalyptus and tea-tree.