168 WHAT MR. DARWIN SAW. 



AUSTRALIA. 



saw a place without the marks of a fire; whether these had 

 been more or less recent whether the stumps were more or 

 less black was the greatest change which varied the uni- 

 formity, so wearisome to the traveller's eye. In these woods 

 there are not many birds. I saw, however, some large flocks 

 of the white cockatoo feeding in a cornfield, and a few of the 

 most beautiful parrots; crows like our English jackdaws were 

 not uncommon, and another bird something like the magpie. 



