206 NATUBAL HISTORY SKETCHES. 



body is thick, covered with a close scaly hide, of a dark 

 brown colour ; the head is large, and the tail long and 

 thin, like a whip-thong. It is a repulsive-looking reptile, 

 and I must say I never liked the sight of them. A 

 friend of mine once met a large guano, in a narrow bush- 

 track, marching along with a great piece of beef in its 

 mouth, which it had stolen from a tent. It carried the 

 beef with its head in the air, like a retriever carrying a 

 pheasant. It dropped the beef when he fired, and dis- 

 appeared into the bush ; so, after all, he got the best of 

 the bargain. The guano is not venomous, but can bite 

 severely, as the scars on the faces of those dogs that 

 hunt them will testify. It is very nimble, and can run 

 up a tree like a cat, keeping its body out of sight 

 behind the trunk, or a large limb, peering down, with its 

 hideous countenance, on the shooter below. It is almost 

 impossible to shoot them unless there are two guns, one 

 on each side of the tree. The guano is eatable, and the 

 tail a bush delicacy. I have seen them in the Dande- 

 nong ranges, and I believe they are very common in the 

 high timber on the Gripps Land Boad. 



The Sleeping or Stump-lizard is another repulsive- 

 looking but inoffensive reptile. It runs to about one foot 

 in length, is very thick in proportion, and the tail is 

 short and blunt. It is of a variegated brown colour, the 

 belly livid blue, the inside of the mouth and tongue black, 

 and the belly is not covered with plates, as in the Euro- 

 pean lizard, but the skin is continuous. They are com- 

 mon all over the bush during the summer, frequenting 



