Part 32 (1/2)

This bird, like the Eudromias Australis or Australian Dottrel appeared suddenly in South Australia in 1840 It cahts co up to push those which had preceded them on It was ht of ardens of Adelaide, and ran about like fowls At last they increased so much in nu an infinity of dahbourhood They took the entire possession of the creek near my house, and broke down and wholly destroyed about an acre and a quarter of wheat as if cattle had bedded on it These birds made their first appearance in Noveradually retiring northwards as they had advanced

The plureen, and it has a short black tail which it cocks up in running Its bill is green and red, and it has all the h it has visited the province annually, since its first visit, it has never appeared in such vast numbers as on the first occasion

The line on which this bird rates seems to be due north It was never seen at the Depot or on any of the creeks to the west excepting Strzelecki's Creek, and a creek we crossed on our way to Lake Torrens, when on both occasions they weresouthwards

127 RALLUS PECTORALIS, CUVIER--Water Rail

This bird could hardly be distinguished froe It is adrass, from its sharp breast There are nu; the natives can easily run it down

It was seen on two or three ponds in the interior andits way from the one to the other as they successively dry up

128 BERNICLA JUBATA--Mained Goose, wood Duck

There are two varieties of this beautiful goose, one bird being considerably larger than the other, but precisely the sae In the colony they are called the wood duck, as they rest on logs and branches of trees, and are often in the depth of the forest They have an exceedingly senus, and a beautifully ht brown The smaller species is very coer bird is ress of the Expedition Their range did not extend beyond 28 degrees

129 CYGNUS ATRATUS--The black Swan

A description of this bird is here unnecessary I may merely observe that the only swan seen on the waters of the interior was a solitary one on Cooper's Creek They frequently passed over us at night during our stay at the Depot, co ht than at any other time

130 CASARCA TADORNOIDES--Chesnut-coloured Sheldrake

This beautiful duck, the pride of Australian waters, is a bird of the finest plue He is called the Mountain Duck by the settlers, and may be more common in the hills than the low country, since he is seldom found in the latter district This bird builds in a tree, and when the young are hatched, the e, whose name I have already mentioned, had an opportunity to watch two birds that had a brood of young in the hollow of a lofty tree on the Gawler; and after the e, he went and secured the young, five in nuht to me at Adelaide, but I could not, with every care, keep thee as a duck; his head and neck are a fine green in colour, and he has a white ring round his neck, as also a white band across his wings It is not a good eating bird, however, as is often the case with the birds of finer plue

131 ANAS SUPERCILIOSA, GMEL--The Wild Duck

Unlike the preceding, this bird is one of the finest eating birds of Australia, being the wild duck of that continent It is a fine bird in point of size, but cannot boast the plue, with a few glossy, green, secondary feathers, characteristic of the genus It is spread over the whole of the interior, even to the north of the Stony Desert, but was there very wild, and kept out of our reach

132 SPATULA RHYNCHOTIS--Australian Shoveller

Not quite so large as the wild duck, but extre This bird is not cost other ducks Its pluht dull blue band across the wing It takes its name from its peculiar bill, and may be termed the Shoveler of Australia The specimens we procured in the interior are precisely the same as those of the southern coast of the continent

133 MALACORHYNCHUS MEMBRANACEUS--Mee, but little fit for the table It is very common on most of the Australian creeks and streaer than our teal It has a grey head, with a brown tinge, and islike the woodcock Its eye is dark and clear, and it has a line of rose-pink running longitudinally behind it

134 ANAS PUNCTATA, CUV--Colish Teal, and equally good for the table

The plue of this little bird is dark, like that of the wild duck, from which, in this respect, it hardly differs It is the most numerous of the water birds of the interior, and was sure to be in greater or less numbers on any extensive waters we found A pair had a brood on one of the ponds in the Depot Glen; but the whole were taken off by a kite, Milvus affinis, that watched the as they kept in the water they were safe, but on land soon fell a prey to the kite

135 LEPTOTARSIS EYTONI, GOULD--Eyton's Duck

This new and fine bird was first shot on Strzelecki's Creek by Mr

Browne; and was subsequently seen by e was not to the ard, nor was it seen north of the Stony Desert I believe I a that the first was killed at the place above mentioned; for, if my memory does not deceive eneral pluht broith athe thighs, with a fine black line along theether it is a handsoht have fared well on this duck at Cooper's Creek; but it was so wild as to keep out of our reach, being evidently hunted by the natives of the creek

136 BIZIURA LOBATA--Musk Duck

This ugly bird was common on the Murray, and was seen by me in hundreds on Lake Victoria; but it is seldoe It is an Oxford grey in colour, with a light shade of brown; he flaps only, not being able to dothe top of the water It trusts therefore for its safety to diving; and is so quick as to be shot with difficulty The peculiarities of this bird are two-fold: first its strong, e the male bird has attached to the under part of the bill

137 XEMA JAMESONII--Jameson's Gull

This bird was seen only on Cooper's Creek in lat 27 degrees, long 102 degrees; where three or four were sitting on soun's reach They appeared to be sis, and white breast On firing a shot, they rose and followed the ducks which rose at the sa they seeull The only s was on this sheet of water, with eight or ten cormorants

138 HYDROCHEDIDON FLUVIATILIS, GOULD--The Marsh Tern

The only speci the Expedition, was shot by Mr Stuart on Strzelecki's Creek It was flying up and down the creek, plunging into the water every now and then This light and airy bird had a slate-coloured back, with black neck and breast; the crown of the head was black, delicately spotted white