36 ORGANIC LIFE ON THE RIVERINE PLAINS 



carefully watched, but she never returned to it. It is then 

 presumable that the bustard, under the influence of fear, 

 will abandon its nest. 



Of mammals the great kangaroo {Macropus giganteiis) 

 is by far the most important found in Australia, and is so 

 typical of the country that it is impossible to mention it 

 without causing the mind to revert to the terra australis. 

 In the Riverine district it is now scarce. It affords such 

 excellent sport in a run across country with dogs that the 

 ardent squatter sportsmen have nearly exterminated it in 

 this part of the country, and indeed in all the settled 

 districts. 



The great kangaroo is the most elegant in build and 

 appearance of all the kangaroos. I do not know how 

 many species of kangaroos there are in Australia, nor 

 where the kangaroos end and the wallabies commence. It 

 is clear that the two types form but one family, and differ 

 in little except size, though the smallest species, some of 

 which weigh only a few ounces, are extremely rat-like in 

 outward contour. There are at least a dozen species of 

 kangaroos and wallabies in the district under description ; 

 and it may be useful to mention that in the popular 

 descriptions of the country the largest of these marsupials 

 are termed kangaroos, the medium sized are distinguished 

 by their native name of wallabies, and the very smallest 

 are called kangaroo-rats. The notices of all these animals 

 will be incidental throughout this work. They are so 

 universally distributed in the country that they must be 

 referred to in all parts of it ; and to pick out all the 

 information regarding any one species for record in any 

 particular chapter would lead to the mutilation of many 

 interesting incidents and descriptions. The name wallaby 

 is certainly of native origin, and is still used in many 

 parts of the country by the aborigines, but not by all. 

 Tribal names for kangaroos and wallabies are very 

 numerous, and differ much in different localities. The 

 word kangaroo is probably a corruption of wallaroo, the 

 name given to large kangaroos generally in various parts 

 of eastern Australia. At any rate, none of the aborigines 



