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BIZIITRA LOBATA. 



(Musk Buck.) 



Crown of the head and back of the neck, brownish black ; wings and tail, blackish brown ; back, chest, and flanks, the same, numerously and 

 narrowly barred with buflfish white ; throat, cheeks, and abdomen, dark brown, also barred with huffish white ; bill and lobe under the chin, 

 greenish black ; irides, dark hazel ; legs and feet, dark grey. The female is much smaller in size, and has the markings much less distinct ; 

 she is also destitute of the lobe. 



Length of male, 26 inches ; wing, 9 ; tail, 5 ; bill, 2i ; tarsus, 2i ; middle toe, 3|. 



This remarkable species is peculiar to Australia. Its appearance is more singular than beautiful. The curious appendage, or 

 lobe, beneath the chin is flat, and of a leathery consistency. The tail is very stiff" and horny ; the strong musky odor, emitted during the 

 breeding season, flavors the flesh to such a degree as to render it uneatable, and preserved skins retain the scent for years. The wings are so 

 short as scarcely to be available for flight. Instead of taking wing on being alarmed, it invariably dives, and rises at a considerable distance, 

 with its head only visible. It is very difficult to shoot, as it dives at the flash. With the exception, perhaps, of the extreme north, every 

 portion of Australia and Tasmania is frequented by this curious bird. The rivers both of the coast and the interior, inlets of the sea, solitary 

 lagoons, and even small water holes are situations in which it may be met with, usually in pairs. On the Murray and Lake Victoria it is 

 especially plentiful. Its food consists of aquatic insects and molluscs, the various species of bi-valves being favorite morsels. The fine 

 specimen shot by Mr. Jameson, near Ipswich, from which the figure was taken, had its stomach crammed with a small spiral univalve about 

 half an inch in length. The season of incubation is September and October; the nest being formed among reeds, frequently level with the 

 water, and lined with down plucked from the breast of the bird. The eggs are also covered with the same material, are very thick shelled, 

 and of a pale sea green color : size, 3 inches long by 1 inch broad. 



