104 COLLECTOR'S RAMBLES 



enemy At those times I usually shot all I could con- 

 veniently carry. There was a great difference in their 

 plumage, for the young were very plain, dull green and 

 brown colors predominating, while the old males were 

 gaudy in the extreme. I have frequently seen one bird 

 displaying scarlet, green, purple, yellow, blue, black, 

 and white. A large flock of parrots, feeding on a tree, 

 gives it the appearance of being covered with the 

 richest flowers; arid I cannot imagine a gayer sight 

 than such a flock on the wing. They feed largely on 

 honey, which they extract from the blossoms of the 

 forest trees ; and it was not uncommon, on picking up 

 a dead bird, to see the honey streaming from its mouth. 



Certain kinds of insects were very abundant, al- 

 though the Australian spring was yet young. Very 

 large, flat spiders with hairy legs; scorpions armed with 

 powerful stings; green centipedes six inches long; mon- 

 ster cockroaches; and beetles of several kinds and colors 

 were found under the bark of decayed trees, under 

 stones, in old stumps, and on certain plants. 



One day a little boy brought us three beetles of 

 astonishing brilliancy. We had seen the same kind in 

 the Sydney museum, but had no idea that it would be 

 our good fortune to find any. Giving the boy a few 

 pennies, he led the way to a stump in a clearing on 

 the hillside. The stump, that of an old box gum-tree, 

 was very punky. As we carefully cut into it, we were 

 delighted to see the beetles turn out, like hickory-nuts 



