a. In the 170 are included some occasional and
rare visitants to our shores, but several others will, no doubt, have
hereafter to be added; this is, however, a close enough approximation
for all ordinary purposes.

The 170 birds may be divided into the following orders and genera:--

ORDERS. No. of No. of
Genera. Species.

RAPTORS 11 13
INSESSORES 46 62
RASORES 4 6
GRALLATORES 20 30
NATATORES 29 59
110 170

From the above table the ornithologist will form an idea of the
character of our birds; but it will be well to proceed a little more
into detail.

Among the thirteen raptorial birds the eagle (_Aquila audax_, Lath.)
takes the foremost place. It is about the size of the golden eagle of
Europe; and being destructive to young lambs in some localities, a
constant war is waged against it by the shepherds, and it is becoming
rapidly scarce.

The beautiful white hawk (_Astur Novae Hollandiae_, Cuv.), erroneously
called an albino by Mr. Gould, once very abundant, is now becoming rare,
having been nearly extirpated for the sake of its skin by the zeal of
bird collectors. The other raptorial birds possess little to distinguish
them from those of other countries.

Many of the genera of the perchers are peculiar to Australia; and the
brush-like tongues of many species, formed for extracting the honey
from flowers, have been classed amongst the Australian anomalies. The
parrot tribe is the most attractive to strangers, and eleven species,
belonging to not less than eight genera, are found in Tasmania. The
green and rose-hill parrots (_Platycercus flaviventris_, Temm., and _P.
eximius_, Shaw) occur in immense flocks in some places, and prove very
destructive to the ripe grain in the fields, as also injuring the roofs
of corn stacks in the barn yards. The white cockatoos (_Cacatua
galerita_, Lath.) were at one time to be seen in immense flocks, but are
now becoming scarce. Many of the parrots have beautiful plumage, and the
white cockatoo and rose-hill parrot have occasionally been taught to
speak.

Two pigeons and four species of quail are all the rasorial birds in the
island; the true gallinaceous birds being wholly wanting.

Of the thirty species