A RAMBLE NEAB SYDNEY. 409 



upon the heads of Cormorants, on account of their depre- 

 dations amongst the piscine tribes, and the supposed injury 

 caused thereby to our fisheries ; but personally, I am of opinion 

 that it is rather misplaced, as they also dispose of a large 

 quantity of floating offal, thereby rendering us a great service.) 

 At this point my attention was attracted by a large mass of rock 

 which had fallen from the top of the cliff, and which displayed in 

 a very interesting manner the junction of the Narrabeen Shales 

 and Hawkesbury Sandstone. It consisted mainly of sandstone, 

 but on the under surface there was a layer of shale about three 

 inches in thickness. This layer possessed all the appearance of 

 mud, of which the surface had been formed into small undula- 

 tions by the action of water, then sun-dried, thereby cracking in 

 all directions. It was evidently thus upon the day that the sand 

 was swept over it, filling up the cracks, and thus preserving their 

 contours admirably. 



Whilst traversing the huge beach which here intervened, it 

 was very pleasing to observe the evolutions of a number of 

 Porpoises (Phocoena) which were here disporting themselves. 

 The sun was shining full upon them (from behind me), so that I 

 was enabled to see them distinctly as they often sprang com- 

 pletely out of the water. I was here also interested by the per- 

 formance of a " Little Black-and- White Cormorant " (Phalacrocorax 

 melanoleucus) , which at one time would be flying lightly over the 

 water, at another making a terrific vertical plunge for some fish 

 which happened to be near the surface. A little farther along this 

 beach I came across a flock of Sea-Gulls (Larus novce-hollandice) . 

 At my approach they all, with the exception of one, flew away, 

 which remaining bird, I perceived, was wounded. After a little 

 manipulation I managed to " round it off " away from the water, 

 and succeeded in making it cross the road (which here skirts the 

 beach) into the bush, whereupon I secured it. It turned out to 

 be a most beautiful specimen. Before finishing this beach (which 

 was the largest travelled over during the day), I turned my atten- 

 tion to numbers of the Physalia, or " Portuguese Man-o'-war," 

 which were being washed up. Nothing can excel in point of 

 beauty the exquisite iridescent tints of these little creatures as 

 they sail or float in on the tide by means of the pneumatophore or 

 "float" with which they are provided, and nothing could appear 



