The wombat. 75 



Mr. J. A. Hill supplies the following note on the stump- 

 tailed lizard : — " The stump-tailed lizard is among the most 

 interesting of Australian Reptiles. It has been well described 

 by Prof. McCoy with its method of breeding. It is also called 

 the " sleepy lizard " on account of its sluggish movements. 

 During the winter it remains in a complete state of torpor from 

 April till about September ; its food consists chiefly of flowers 

 when these are obtainable, and at other times it eats a flat 

 fungus. When confined it will eat meat and will become quite 

 docile. Unlike many of the lower creatures it has little or no 

 regard for its offspring, leaving them to fight their battles alone 

 soon after they are born. A remarkable instance of this 

 came under my notice on the 7th of April last ; while cutting 

 a rabbit out of a log I came across a female and two young 

 ones apparently only a day or two old ; while observing them 

 one of the young ones walked near its mother's mouth which 

 she immediately opened ; the young one put its head in her 

 mouth when, to my surprise, she immediately closed it, killing 

 the young one instantly. 



Thinking she might have been mistaken as to her young 

 one I put the other young one near her, when she again opened 

 her mouth and, with her vice-like squeeze, killed it in an 

 instant, thus showing that she had no maternal regard for her 

 offspring. Perhaps this little incident may give food for 

 thought to some of your Natural History readers. 



In the Wombat of April 1896, page 71, in some notes on 

 the museum Xmas camp for 1895-6, it is stated that a pink- 

 breasted robin ( Erythrodryas rhodinogaster) was secured at 

 the Phantom Falls, its nest being visible in a black wood, but 

 inaccessible. Some doubt having arisen as to this skin, it was 

 submitted to Mr. A. J. Campbell, who kindly indentifiedit for 

 us as the rose robin (E. rosea). As the pink robin was secured 

 near the Erskine Falls by the museum camp of Xmas 1893, ** 

 appears that both of these birds inhabit the Otway Forest. 

 The camp party missed a good thing in not securing that nest, 

 as the eggs of E. rosea were not discovered till the following 

 season. 



The German Zoological Society has planned a work which 

 shall contain an account of all known species of recent animals 

 described up to the present time. The work, Das Thierreich — 

 The Animal Kingdom — has already begun to appear. It is 

 roughly estimated that 96 volumes of 800 pages each will be 

 required, so that the work is hardly suitable for a private 

 liability. 



Contributed. 



