326 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



hens, it will be found on comparison to possess a very 

 different structure, particularly in the form of the tarsi and 

 toes, and of the tail, and in its economy it differs from them 

 quite as much as it does in form. Its migratory movements 

 are very uncertain, great numbers occasionally visiting parts 

 of the country where it had seldom before been seen, and 

 retiring again to some distant unknown locality as suddenly 

 as it appeared. We are naturally led to inquire whence they 

 come, and anxiously to desire a more intimate knowledge of 

 that great terra incognita^ the interior of the country, by 

 which means alone can the mystery be solved. 



John Hutt, Esq., late Governor of Western Australia, in- 

 formed me that in the neighbourhood of Perth the Trihonyx 

 ventralis " sometimes makes its appearance suddenly in large 

 flocks at a time," and asks, " Is this not a proof of there 

 being an oasis of good land in the interior? This bird 

 invaded the settlers' fields and gardens in the month of May 

 1833 in amazing numbers; it had not been seen before, and 

 has hardly been seen since." 



Gilbert states that " upon one occasion it visited the Swan 

 River colony in myriads, treading down and destroying whole 

 fields of corn in a single night. The natives, not having seen 

 them before, attributed their appearance to the settlers, and 

 for a long time termed them the ' White-men's birds ' : after 

 the harvest was over they nearly all disappeared as suddenly 

 as they arrived. The natives of the banks of the Upper 

 Swan, on making inquiries respecting these birds of some of 

 the tribes of the interior, were told they came from the 

 north." 



" This bird," says Captain Sturt, " appeared suddenly in 

 South Australia in 1840. It came from the north, fresh 

 flights coming up and pushing on those which had preceded 

 them. It was moreover evident that they had been un- 

 accustomed to the sight of man, for they dropped in great 

 numbers in the streets and gardens of Adelaide, and ran 



