I lO Campbell, Victorian and Tasmanian Birds. [5th "jan 



life forms had almost reached their present high state of evolu- 

 tion, the gradual separation occurred as a result of the never- 

 ceasing erosive forces in nature. The islands and rocks, which 

 now exist across Bass Strait, must be looked upon as the remains 

 of this land connection, and not as stepping stones by means 

 of which species have reached their Tasmanian habitat ; for it is 

 well known that the land forms never willingly cross the sea 

 line, even though the adjacent islet be distant a few miles only ; 

 and further, it will be shown that small forms, when they do 

 exist on these intermediate positions, are actually insular forms 

 of Tasmania, presenting in a double degree the differences which 

 the Tasmanian forms themselves present when compared with 

 those of the mainland, and that they are not in any instance 

 half-way or connecting links between the north and the south 

 sides of Bass Strait. 



Not the least surprising feature, however, among the Tas- 

 manian birds is the absence of several species common on the 

 mainland. In the open field the Magpie has its southern 

 representative, but the equally typical Laughing Jackass 

 {Dacelo) of the mainland, on the other hand, has not ; in the 

 forest the Thickhead has its insular form, but the Tree-creeper 

 has not ; while in the gully the Ground-Thrush is represented, 

 but the common Yellow-breasted Shrike-Robin is not. 



Further, in the Tasmanian gully the Coachwhip-Bird 

 {Psophodes) and the Lyre-Bird {Menura), so characteristic of 

 the gully in south-eastern Victoria, are entirely absent. This is 

 the more striking as much of the vegetation is alike in both 

 areas. The blue gum {Eucalyptus globulus) of Tasmania is 

 similar to that found in parts of Victoria ; the manna gum {E. 

 vifninalis), the peppermint gum {E. amygdalina), the tea-tree 

 {Lc ptos pcrmuni) , the musk tree {Olearia), the native hazel {Ponia- 

 derris), the wild currant {Coprosnia), and the tree-fern {Dick- 

 sonid), all of which help to make up the scrub, small and great, 

 are similar in both Tasmania and Victoria. When this is so, why 

 should not all the species found in one area, or at least their 

 representatives, be present in the other also ? 



The development of the Tasmanian carnivorous wolf may 

 have helped in the extinction of such a form as the Lyre- 

 Bird ; but if that bird, and its companion the Coachwhip, 

 ever did inhabit the southern gullies, their disappearance would 

 more probably be due in the main to an alteration in the food 

 supply. The gradual extinction of certain insect and mollusc 

 life would naturally lead to the extinction of all birds living on 

 such food, unless, of course, something remained to fill the gap. 

 But there is no proof at all that either the Lyre-Bird or the 

 Coachwhip-Bird ever existed in Tasmania. 



To a Victorian naturalist the absence of these birds leaves a 

 distinct blank in the scheme of things. Both are, to the main- 

 land idea, as inseparable from musk and hazel trees as tree-ferns 

 are from the watercourses they embower. Not only is most of 



