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, coming from and going to the N.W., being more frequently on
the wing when the moon was shining bright 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 plumage. 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 male bird carries them in his bill down to the
ground. Strange, 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 male bird had deposited his charge, he
went and secured the young, five in number, which he brought to me at
Adelaide, but I could not, with every care, keep them alive more than a
month. This bird is very large 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 plumage.

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 plumage of our mallard. It is a bird
of dark, almost black plumage, 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 extremely good eating. This bird
is not common in the interior, and was only seen once or twice amongst
other ducks. Its plumage is a dark brown, and it has a light 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.--Me