ights coming up to push those which had preceded
them on. It was moreover evident that they had been unaccustomed to the
sight of man, as they dropped in great numbers in the streets and gardens
of Adelaide, and ran about like fowls. At last they increased so much in
numbers as to swarm on all the waters and creeks, doing an infinity of
damage to the crops in the neighbourhood. 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 November, and left us in the beginning of
March, gradually retiring northwards as they had advanced.

The plumage of this bird is a dark dusky green, and it has a short black
tail which it cocks up in running. Its bill is green and red, and it has
all the motions and habits of a water rail, and although 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 migrates 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 were migrating southwards.

127. RALLUS PECTORALIS, CUVIER.--Water Rail.

This bird could hardly be distinguished from the English rail in shape
and plumage. It is admirably adapted for making its way through reeds or
grass, from its sharp breast. There are numbers of this rail on the
Murray, but not many on the Darling; the natives can easily run it down.
It was seen on two or three ponds in the interior and must have
considerable powers of flight to wing its 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 same in plumage. 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 small bill characteristic of their genus, and a beautifully
mottled neck and breast, the head and neck being a light brown. The
smaller species is very common all over South-eastern Australia, but the
larger bird is more rare. Three only were shot during the progress of the
Expedition. Their range did not extend beyond 28 degrees.