From: giraffe@longneck.inc (giraffe~⇔)
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.artpics
Subject: Re: Critters - KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild03-iej.jpg
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 02:59:33 GMT

>*
>*From a educational book for children
>*And So They Build
>*Written & illustrated by Bert Kitchen
>*
>*ISBN 1-56402-502-0


KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild03-iej

Mallee fowl are preparing for a brood
and so they build ......

Mallee fowl live in the arid eucalyptus woodlands
of Australia. In winter the male mallee fowl will
dig a pit about three feet deep and heap it high
with vegetation. Once it has been dampened by the
winter rains, he covers it with a mound of sand to
rot and build up heat. It takes about four months
for the inside of the mound to heat up to 90???, and
throughout this period he keeps a constant check on
its temperature, using his tongue as a thermometer.

When the mound is warm enough, he makes holes for
his mate to lay her eggs in. This she does over
the course of several months, laying one egg every
few days and covering it up afterward.

For the time it takes the eggs to hatch, the male
bird continues to monitor the heat of the mound,
adding or removing sand as necessary.