1534.] Tre Mammalian Fauna of the Australian Desert. II 
abundant wherever there are any animals for it to prey upon. 
Hence in regions where there are cattle and sheep they are more 
numerous than in outlying districts. The settlers poison them by 
preparing baits treated with strychnine. 
They do not travel or hunt in packs, bota are solitary. “Neither 
have they any fixed nest or den. In settled districts they are very 
shy, as might be expected; but in the remoter parts they are 
bolder, and I have known them carry off my boots at night time, 
which is very inconvenient in such regions. They are orange- 
yellow in color, and have a large bushy tail. In fact they are very 
handsome when pure blooded, z. e., have not mixed with other 
dogs belonging to the whites. They make a very mournful noise, 
howling at night. I have never heard the wild ones bark; they 
howl and growl only. They eat any animal that they can catch, 
lizards even. The smallerand more sluggish animals are the ones 
which fall a prey to them, as the dogs are no match for the kan- 
garoo or wallaby in swiftness; indeed, an adult kangaroo can 
_ easily kill them, so the dogs wisely leave them alone. It is very 
‘amusing to see one twisting and turning in pursuit of a sandhill 
wallaby (Bettongia grayi); the dog is generally beaten in the race. 
Sometimes, however, when the dog catches the wallaby napping, 
the laugh is on the other side. The natives tame these dogs and 
` always have a great number of them around their camp. Though 
they are kept in a half-starved condition, the natives seem to be 
fond of them. 
The dingos interbreed with dogs introduced by the whites. So 
common is this, indeed, that in the more settled districts a pure- 
blooded dingo is a rarity. They are universally distributed, being 
found in all parts of the continent, and do not seem to vary in 
character at all. The natives have no traditions concerning them, 
as far as I was able to learn. 
; The Marsupialia of the desert are represented by three families, 
Viz: the Macropidz, Peramelide and Phalangistide. In the first- 
Named order the largest form found in the desert is Osphranter 
rufus, the common red kangaroo. The male is red and the female 
a bluish-gray. This animal is but rarely seen, and only after a 
heavy rain, when there is plenty of vegetation for it to feed upon. 
4owards the confines of the desert it is more numerous. 
a Onychogalia lunata, the crescent-marked, nail-tailed kangaroo, 
is BO rather uncommon, and is almost always found on the stony 
ims or tablelands. 
