n.
This common English bird-name isapplied in Australia to three birds, viz. – –
1) To the bird Eupodotis australis, Gray, whichis a true Bustard, but which is variously called the Native Turkey, Plain Turkey (from its frequentingthe plains), and Wild Turkey.
2) To the bird Talegalla lathami, Gould, calledthe Brush Turkey (from its frequenting the brushes), Wattled Turkey and Wattled Talegalla (from itsfleshy wattles), and sometimes, simply, Talegalla.By Latham it was mistaken for a Vulture, and classed by himas the New Holland Vulture. (`General History of Birds,'1821, vol. i. p. 32.)
3) To the bird Leipoa ocellata, Gould, called the Scrub-Turkey (from its frequenting the Scrubs, the Lowan (its aboriginal name), the Native Pheasant(of South Australia); in the Mallee district it is called Mallee-bird, Mallee-fowl, Mallee-hen.
In the following quotations the number of the bird referredto is placed in square brackets at the end.
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 14:
«We passed several nests of the Brush-Turkey ( Talegalla Lathami, Gould).» [2.]
1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 260:
«Several native bustards ( Otis Novae Hollandiae, Gould) were shot.» [1.]
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. vi. pl. 4:
« Otis Australasianus, Gould, Australian Bustard; Turkey,Colonists of New South Wales; Native Turkey, Swan River.» [1.]
1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. v. pl. 77:
« Talegalla Lathami, Wattled Talegalla; Brush-Turkeyof the Colonists.» [2.]
1872. C. H. Eden, `My wife and I in Queensland,' p. 122:
«The bird that repaid the sportsman best was the plain turkeyor bustard ( Otis Australasianus), a noble fellow, themale weighing from eighteen to twenty pounds. They differ fromthe European birds in being good flyers. . . . The length ofthe wings is very great, and they look like monsters in theair.» [1.]
1872. Ibid. p. 124:
«The scrub-turkey ( Talegalla Lathami) is a most curiousbird; its habitat is in the thickest scrubs. In appearance itmuch resembles the English hen turkey, though but little largerthan a fowl.» [2.]
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 214:
«Look at this immense mound. It is a scrub-turkey's nest.Thirty or forty lay their eggs in it. One could hardly imaginethey could gather such a huge pile of sticks and earth andleaves. They bury their eggs, and heap up the nest until thelaying time ceases. The moist heap heats and incubates theeggs. The young turkeys spring out of the shell, covered witha thick warm coat, and scratch their way into daylight, strongand able to provide food for themselves.» [3.]
1891. `Guide to Zoological Gardens, Melbourne':
«The bustard ( Eupodotis Australis) is known by thecolonists as the native turkey. It is excellent eating and ismuch sought after on that account. The hen bird lays only oneegg, depositing it on the bare ground. Formerly they werenumerous in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, but they have nowbeen driven further inland; they are still abundant on thewestern plains and on the open Saltbush country of the LowerMurray. They are difficult to approach on foot, but it is easyto get within gunshot of them on horseback or driving. Thenatives used formerly to capture them in an ingenious manner bymeans of a snare; they approached their intended victim againstthe wind under cover of a large bush grasped in the left hand,while in the right was held a long slender stick, to the end ofwhich was fastened a large fluttering moth, and immediatelybelow a running noose. While the bird, unconscious of danger,was eyeing and pecking at the moth, the noose was dexterouslyslipped over its head by the cunning black, and the astonishedbird at once paid the penalty of its curiosity with its life.» [1.]
1891. Ibid.:
«In the first division are several specimens of theBrush-Turkey ( Talegalla Lathami) of Australia. Thesebirds have excited world-wide interest in scientific circles,by their ingenious mode of incubating. They construct a largemound of vegetable mould and sand; mixed in such proportionsthat a gentle heat will be maintained, which hatches the buriedeggs. The young chicks can look after themselves shortly afterbursting the egg-shell.» [2.]
1892. A. Sutherland, `Elementary Geography of BritishColonies,' p. 274:
«The brush-turkeys, which are not really turkeys but birds ofthat size, build big mounds of decaying vegetable matter, laytheir eggs on the top, cover them over with leaves, and leavethe whole to rot, when the heat of the sun above and of thefermentation below, hatches the eggs, and the young creep outto forage for themselves without ever knowing their parents.» [2.]
1893. Professor H. A. Strong, in `Liverpool Mercury,' Feb.13:
«The well-known `wild turkey' of Australian colonists is abustard, and he has the good sense to give a wide berth to thetwo-legged immigrants indeed the most common method ofendeavouring to secure an approach to him is to drive up to himin a buggy, and then to let fly. The approach is generallymade by a series of concentric circles, of which the victim isthe centre. His flesh is excellent, the meat being of a richdark colour, with a flavour resembling that of no other gamebird with which I am acquainted.» [1.]
1893. `The Argus,' March 25, p. 3, col. 5:
«The brush-turkey ( Talegalla), another of thesand-builders, lays a white egg very much like that of a swan,while the third of that wonderful family, the scrub-hen or Megapode, has an egg very long in proportion to itswidth.» [2.]