TALEGAL'LA, a genus of gallinaceous birds, of the family megapodidm, having a strong, thick, and very short bill, the upper mandible curved and pointed; the .head and neck almost quite naked; the wings short and round; the tail rather long, rounded on the sides; the legs strong, feathered a little below the joint of the tibia and tarsus: the tarsi covered with scales in front; the toes long and strong; the claws large and sharp. The species are natives of Australia and New Guinea. The best known is the BR17SH TURKEY (T. lathanzi) of Australia, also known as the WATTLED TALEGALLA and the NEW HOLLAND VULTURE, the latter name being given to it on account of its naked head and neck, covered in part with fleshy wattles. It is pretty common in New South Wales, inhabiting the most thickly wooded parts. It is a large bird, about the size hf a turkey, with blackish-brown plumage. It is shy, and when pursued, endeav ors tooescape by running through the thickest brush, or by leaping to the lowest branches of a tree, from which it ascends higher and higher, branch by branch. It thus avoids the or native dogs, which, however, often hunt it down on open ground. It is easy
game to the sportsman, who finds it roosting under shelter of the branches of trees during the heat of the day, and although several of a flock are shot, the rest keep their place uncnsturbed. The talegalla is generally seen in small flocks, and they make their nests together, the males heaping up, by means of their feet, mounds of several cartloads of earth and decayed leaves, which are used from year to year, new materials being added every year. The eggs are hatched by the heat of the sun and of the fermenting mound, each egg being separately buried. The parent birds partially uncover them during the day. Nearly a bushel of eggs may sometimes be found in a single heap. The male aiid pays great attention to the young after they are hatched, covering them up partially in the mound at night for warmth. The flesh of the talegalla is excellent, and the eggs are also very delicate and eagerly sought after. It is thought that this bird might easily De added to the list of our domestic poultry.