THE DUCKBILL. 195 



That a kangaroo should be able to traverse the 

 branches of a tree is so extraordinary a fact that 

 many people refused to believe its possibility until 

 positive proof was given of the animal by a living 

 specimen at the Zoological Gardens. Its cage was 

 fitted wifch a large tree-branch, such as is supplied to 

 the leopards, and it was a very curious sight to watch 

 the animal skipping about the boughs as lightly and 

 securely as if it had been a squirrel. It retained 

 many of the habits of its wild state, notably that of 

 sitting motionless for long periods, as if asleep, but, 

 when roused to action, leaping about with astonishing 

 quickness. 



I imagine that these habits tend to its preservation. 

 The dark-brown colour of the fur bears so close a 

 resemblance to the hue of the branches that, even when 

 the animal is in a cage, and the observer knows where 

 to look, he will not at once discriminate between the 

 tree and the animal. Its habit of stillness will, there- 

 fore, account for its preservation from the eyes of 

 enemies, while its exceeding quickness and agility 

 when in motion, will enable it to escape from almost 

 any foe except man. 



DUCKBILL (Platypus anatinus). 



We will now return to our mammalian watei 

 trespassers, the last of which is the celebrated Duck- 

 bill, called Mullingong or Tambreet by the natives, and 

 Water- mole by the colonists. 



Not for a moment could anyone doubt the aquatic 

 nature of the animal, for its thick and water-proof fur, 

 its deeply-webbed feet, and its oddly- shaped head, 



