THE MAGPIE. 69 



still night ; and I have listened with pleasure to the soft 

 low notes of a pair of swans answering each other, while 

 floating on the lagoon, by the side of which I lay at 

 flight-time. At night they always fly low. The black 

 swan does not attain its full plumage till after the first or 

 second moult : the young birds are light mottled-gray. 



The swan is hardly worth shooting here for the 

 market, as they only fetch 5s. each, and they are a heavy 

 bird to carry about. The flesh of the young swan is ex- 

 cellent, and one roasted in a camp oven generally with 

 us formed the duck-shooter's Sunday dinner, when- 

 ever we could get one during the season. I wonder the 

 skins are not more highly prized for the down, which is 

 very thick. This is the only species of swan indigenous 

 to Australia ; but I once saw the real rara avis out here, 

 or white swan, flying up the bay about a quarter of a 

 mile out to sea. Nobody believed me when I mentioned 

 it, but I pointed it out to a friend who was with me. 

 I can't pretend to say where it came from. One would 

 naturally think it had escaped from some aviary ; but 

 nobody at that time kept tame swans in this neighbour- 

 hood that I know of, although a pair may now be seen in 

 the Cremorne Gardens, Melbourne. 



Two species of wild geese are met with here, the 

 Magpie, or Tree-goose, and the Cape Barren goose. 



The Magpie, or Tree-goose (ongak), is the common wild 

 goose in this district, and, as far as I could learn, is the 

 only common wild goose peculiar to Port Phillip. Al- 

 though met with here only in small flocks, generally I 



