maleos

The birds that had now displayed themselves to the eyes of our party of castaways were of the species known as "maleos," by Saloo called malee.

The Castaways

The gay parrots and beautiful kingfishers, the curious maleos, whose terra-cotta eggs are a table luxury, and those wonderfully plumaged pigeons, give us special delight.

Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago

Saloo had again tried for eggs and shell-fish, but was unsuccessful in his search after both; evidently there were no more depositories of maleos 'eggs, nor Singapore oysters, nor, indeed, any kind of shell-fish, on that part of the shore.

The Castaways

Thus cautioned, the captain laid aside the gun, while they all remained silently watching the maleos, which continued their course, with its various divergences, still unconscious of being observed.

The Castaways

He told his companions that not only did different gangs of the maleos bury their eggs in different places, but the same tribe or flock had the habit of returning to the beach at different times, each time laying their collected eggs in a new and separate pit.

The Castaways

While they were engaged in discussing this subject on the day they had made discovery of the maleos 'eggs, Saloo's sharp eye, wandering about, caught sight of something that promised a solution of the difficulty.

The Castaways

Excepting some stray roots and berries of an esculent nature, they had nothing to eat after the maleos 'eggs were consumed; and these had lasted them only into the second day.

The Castaways

At night they again heard the stridulous clamour of the maleos, and every morning looked out for them; but these fine fowls did not put in another appearance, much less deposit three dozen eggs right under their eyes, and in a convenient spot for being gathered.

The Castaways

We saw also a couple of maleos, a species of brush-turkey, allied to the _megapodi_ or mound-making birds which we had met with in our island.

In the Eastern Seas

In addition to maleos and sea turtles, the beach supports a coconut farm that produces more than 10,000 coconuts per year.

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