LIZARDS. 193 



low straight rocky shore, as that of yesterday after- 

 noon. We passed inside a reef fronting the shore 

 from a mile south of Fresh Water Cove ; this pas- 

 sage was about half a mile wide and from 7 to 12 

 fathoms deep. Having the flood tide in our favour, 

 we proceeded rapidly, and at the end of four miles, 

 found the trend of the coast suddenly changed to 

 E.N.E. for two miles, when it again took a southerly 

 direction, forming a chain of high rocky islets. 

 Deferring our examination of the main, lying about 

 a mile in the rear of these islets, we kept on our S. 

 by E. course, in the direction of some very high 

 land now seen for the first time. Three miles 

 further brought us to a small rocky islet, where we 

 landed for a set of anMes. 



Our hopes were considerably raised on reaching 

 the top of this islet, by finding that we looked in 

 vain for land towards the head of Collier Bay ; 

 the high land to the southward proved to be the 

 south point of a large bay, having on its northern 

 side similar high ranges. This island was over- 

 run with a great variety of lizards, in conse- 

 quence of which we named it Lizard Island. 

 During our stay here, two birds,* rare on this 

 part of the coast, were shot ; they were of a 

 smaller kind than any I had before seen, and 

 differed from them in plumage, being without the 

 white collar round the neck. Leaving Lizard 



* Hsematopus Picatus, described in the Appendix to Captain 

 King's work on Australia. 



VOL. I. O 



