:
A few birds care for their eggs without sitting on them. In Australia, the male
mallee fowl builds an incubator nest out of rotting vegetation covered with soil. As the
vegetation decays, it gives off heat. The male pokes his beak into the middle of the pile and
tests the temperature. If the temperature isn’t an even 92º Fahrenheit, he adjusts it by
adding or removing soil.
The female spends most of her time watching him, but sometimes she helps him.
About once a week she lays another egg inside the nest.
The pair maintain their nest for several months. When the chicks begin to hatch one
by one – they dig their own way out of the nest and dash into the bush to fend for
themselves. Although mallee fowl take great care of their eggs, no mallee fowl has ever
been seen with a brood of chicks.
1. Most birds’ eggs are hatched by heat from…
A. the sun’s rays
B. incubators
C. their parents’ bodies
D. None of the above
2. The heat in a mallee fowl nest comes from the …
A. beak of the male
B. rays of the sun
C. vegetation decaying under the soil
D. body of the female
3. Temperature adjustments within the nest are made by…
A. adding more soil
B. Either A or B
C. removing soil
D. Neither A nor B
4. The article does not tell…
A. how the male removes soil from the nest
B. why the female seldom helps the male
C. why the nest must be a certain temperature
D. Any of the above
5. Mallee fowl eggs hatch
A. all together
B. individually
C. in twos or threes
D. in small clutches
6. When a chick hatches, it …
A. must dig its way out of the nest
B. can fend for itself
C. needs assistance from its parents
D. Both A and B
7. A brood of mallee chicks is never seen because the female lays only one egg every…
A. day
B. week
C. fortnight
D. month
8. Because of the way mallee fowl care for their eggs, the…
A. adults cannot live in the nest themselves
B. adults do not need to work hard
C. female is kept very busy
D. male has no work to do