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in proportion to their necks, that the skin has to be cut 

 to get it over. 



TUESDAY, Aug. 22. We tried lyre-bird for break- 

 fast this morning, but found it very tough, and not 

 especially well flavored. 



Not a stone's-throw from our cabin, we shot three of 

 the beautiful king-parrots (Aprosmictus scapulatus) ; 

 and as I went to the spring for water, I saw a kangaroo 

 feeding on the tender grass. Unfortunately I did not 

 have my gun, so he got away as fast as his great hind- 

 legs would carry him, jumping over the bushes as he 

 went. 



Wombats {Phascolomys), large mammals, the size of 

 half-grown pigs, are very common here, but so far we 

 have seen nothing but their holes, which are large 

 enough for a man to crawl into. While out we saw 

 several trees stripped of their bark from top to bottom, 

 and a miner informed us that it was done by the black 

 cockatoo, but we did not see any of the birds. 



As we were coming home, we shot a large bear, 

 which was all we could carry ; and in turning over a 

 piece of bark for beetles we found a very fierce-looking 

 lizard (Trachydosaurus), which bit at everything within 

 its reach. This reptile, about a foot and a half long, is 

 covered with large, hard scales, and has a good set of 

 sharp teeth and a bright blue tongue. A miner to 

 whom we showed the animal called him a " sleeping 

 Dick." He certainly was not very sleepy when we 



