Blue Mountains in Nezo South Wales. 159 



their cries, pcrcliecl on the trees, in the holes or chinks of which 

 they nestle. 



In this place I had to regret my not being able to kill the 

 singular bird, commonly named at Sydney the Coachman's 

 Whip, because its cry, which I liave often heard, resembles 

 exactly the smack of a whip. Is this bird a Philedon, and has 

 it been described ? The purple Choucari, the SatiiuUrd (Gra- 

 culus), equally prefers the high Casuarinae, which border tlie 

 Nepean, at its exit from the Blue Mountains. 



On the 31st we began to ascend the first range. The road, 

 as far as Spiifigwood, is a gentle acclivity, and the whole face 

 of the mountains and the ravines, by which they are divided, 

 is covered with forests of Eucali/pti and Casuarinae. The 

 Mimosa taxifolia, a new species of Cunningham**s, was in flower, 

 and exhaled the most agreeable odour among bushes of Lam- 

 hertia speciosa and Protea. It is here that the Menura {Me- 

 nura magnifica ; M, Novas Hollandiee of Latham), is chiefly 

 found, the tail of which, remarkable for its great beauty, pre- 

 sents, in the solitudes of Australia, an exact patterii of the har- 

 monious lyre of the Greeks. This bird, to which the name of 

 Wood Pheasant IS giYQw by theEnglishof Port Jackson, frequents 

 the rocky and retired districts ; it comes forth in the evening 

 and morning, and remains quiet during the day upon the tree, 

 wliere it is perched. It is becoming every day rarer, and I 

 only saw two skins that had been preserved by Mr Lawson, 

 during the whole period of my stay in New South Wales. 



We arrived in the evening at the Swamp, an extensive marsli, 

 where we put up our tent. We observed in this place a great 

 number of crows (Corviis corane, Lin.), the species of which 

 does not seem to differ in any respect from that of Europe : a 

 small goatsucker, witli very prettily marked plumage (Capri. 

 midguts NovcB Hollandiee), and the banded skink {Scincus nu 

 gro-luteiis of Quoy and Gaimard*). The heat during the day 

 was very great, and a thick fog spread itself over the moun- 

 tains, on the approach of night, which was very cold. The 

 change of temperaturejs extremely rapid in these countries. 



On the 1st of February we crossed the chain, which at its 

 most elevated point is named King's Table Land. Its height is 

 • The Lacerta pfatura of White is very rare here. 



