148 THE VICTORIAN NiTURALIST. 



into the surrounding country, and a good number of birds were 

 secured, amongst them being the sombre-coloured scrub-tit, the 

 black-capped honey-eater, the yellow-throated honey-eater, the 

 long- tailed superb warbler, the Tasmanian warbler, and the hill 

 crow-shrike. 



After three days spent in and about the main camp, the party 

 separated — some to go right across the island to the east coast, 

 others to go down the west coast, others to go north to Wick- 

 ham, and others to remain in camp and explore still further its 

 immediate neighbourhood. A record of the various parties 

 and their respective routes is given elsewhere. The following 

 is an account of the principal features of the island, so far as it 

 was seen by the different parties : — 



(i.) North, Western, and Eastern Parts of the Island. 

 — In King Island swamps and lagoons abound, and a wet 

 season, such as unfortunately the party seemed to have fallen in 

 with, renders many parts impassable, so that to reach the east 

 side it was necessary to go, first of all, some few miles to the 

 north of the Yellow Rock before striking across country. 

 Yellow Rock receives its name from the colour given by 

 lichen to the granite rocks, not far south of the mouth of 

 the creek. The water of the latter is of a dark brown colour, 

 and in this it agrees with most of the very numerous streams on 

 the island, all of which owe their deep colour to the boggy 

 nature of the land through which they pass. North from the 

 creek the coast sweeps for eight miles round the shores of a 

 wide, open bay, extending from Wickham in the north to 

 Whistler's Point in the south. In the former part it is fringed 

 by a long series of sand-hills, the highest of which reaches, 

 perhaps, the height of 150 feet. All are covered with the usual 

 scrub. The sandy shore itself shelves with remarkable steep- 

 ness into the sea, and is devoid of animal life save remnants of 

 lamellibranch shells, and the common sand-hoppers ( Talitrus). 

 This absence of even shells here and in other parts of the 

 island is to be accounted for by the want of rocks either on or 

 very near the shore, to which gastropods, etc., could cling, 

 together with the action of the heavy surf which continually 

 beats upon the sand. Along the latter are strewn many 

 logs cast up from wrecks — and now just above high- 

 water mark — and, turning them over, a curious assortment 

 of sea and land forms is found — beetles, centipedes, sand- 

 hoppers, and earth worms living together, where not unfre- 

 quently they must all be drenched with salt water. Along the 

 shore is a miniature, but interesting sand-cliff, extending for 

 perhaps some forty or fifty yards. Its greatest height is only 

 some six or eight feet, and at either end it gradually falls 

 away till the level of the base of the sand dunes is reached. 

 At the present time it is being worn away by the sea ; and its 

 face, cut in sections, shows at intervals beds of comminuted 



