CHAP, xni.] THE AUSTllALIAX REGION. 441 



to Tasmania ; which island appears to possess no peculiar 

 genus of birds except Eiuhjptcs, one of the penguins. West 

 Australia has no wholly peculiar genus except Gcopsittacus, a 

 curious form of ground parroquet; the singidar Atrichia, first 

 found here, having been discovered in the east. In North 

 Australia, Emhlcma (Ploceidte) is the only peculiar Australian 

 genus, but several Austro-^NIalayan and I'apuan genera enter, — 

 as, Syma and Tan)/siptcra (Alcetlinidas) ; Maclucrihijnchns 

 (Muscicapidic) ; Cfdornis (Sturnidte) ; Manncodia, FtilofJn.'i, and 

 JMurcedus (Paradiseid;e) ; Megapodius; and Casuarius. Tlie pre- 

 sence of a species of bustard {Eupodotis) in Australia, is very 

 curious, its nearest allies being in the plains of India and Africa. 

 Among waders the genus Trihonyx, a thick-legged bird some- 

 what resembling the Notornis of New Zealand, though not closely 

 allied to it, is the most remarkable. The district where the 

 typical Australian forms most abound is undoubtedly the eastern 

 side of the island. The nortli and south are both somewhat 

 poorer, the west much poorer, although it possesses a few very 

 peculiar forms, especially among ^Mammalia. Tasmania is the 

 poorest of all, a consideraljle number of genera being here want- 

 ing ; but, except the two peculiar carnivorous marsupials, it 

 possesses nothing to mark it off zoologically from the adjacent 

 parts of the main land. It is probable that its insular climate, 

 more moist and less variable than that of Australia, may not be 

 suitable to some of the absent forms ; while others may require 

 more space and more varied conditions, than are offered by a 

 comparatively small island. 



The remaining classes of aniujals have been already discussed 

 in our sketch of the region as a whole (p. 396). 



Plate XII. Illustrating the Fauna of Australia. — In this 

 plate we take New South Wales as our locality, and rej^resent 

 chiefly, the more remarkable Australian types of birds. The 

 most conspicuous figure is the wonderful lyre-bird {Mcnnra sti- 

 p)erha), the elegant plumage of whose tail is altogether unique in 

 the whole class of birds. The unadorned bird is the female. In 

 the centre is the emu {Drorna:us novmliollandim), the represen- 

 tative in Australia, of the iistvith in Africa and America, but be- 



