88 
in a position which is impossible for all other quadrupeds; and the 
inspection of their skeleton proves that they cannot run upright. 
“There also exists in this neighbourhood a carnivorous animal 
of the genus or at least of the family of dogs. 1 I met with its 
tracks on the sandy shore of the lake, and it would appear from the 
footprints that it is at least as large as a wolf. 
“A large variety of birds enlivened the scene; I specially noted 
the large white parrot with a red crest, 2 which Linnaeus des- 
cribed under the name of Psittacus moluccensis. The mosquitoes 
fatigued me much. The species were the Musca domestica, the 
Siomoxis irritans and the Culex pipiens of Fabricius. 
“The Oyster-catcher ( Haematopus ostralegus), and several 
species of Charadrius, covered the shore. I found large numbers of 
limpets, turbos, and haliotis.” 
Labillardiere, who was a member of one of the search parties, 
only saw two species of birds, “a muscicapa, which I afterwards met 
with in the Moluccas, and the fine species of red-breasted cockatoos, 
Psittacus moluccensis , which are met with in the same islands, in 
flocks of many hundreds. When I attempted to approach them they 
always removed to a great distance, flying rapidly, with sudden 
starts, and emitting loud and disagreeable shrieks. M. Merite, leader 
of another of the search parties, killed a snake five feet long. His 
party also roused several partridges, as well as numerous flocks of 
parrots. 
The collections made by Labillardiere were taken to the Musee 
d’Histoire Naturelle at Paris, and some of the species were subse- 
quently described by the French zoologists of the period. 
Tn the first three decades of the Nineteenth Century English 
and French navigators completed the survey of the whole coast of 
Australia, which thenceforth has appeared on our charts with little 
alteration. All the most important of the expeditions were accom- 
panied by professional naturalists who made collections which were 
taken to Europe and were described by authorities in the different 
groups. At this period the scientific study of the Western Aus- 
tralian fauna really commenced, and the w T ork has continued up to 
the present time. 
The first of these surveying expeditions to arrive on our coast 
was accompanied by Francois Peron, perhaps the most distinguished 
naturalist whose discoveries we shall have to chronicle in this his- 
tory. Peron was zoologist on board the “G-eographe,” which, in 
company with the “Naturaliste,” reached the south-west coast on 
May 27, 1801. As showing the zeal and energy of this great man 
we find that on the same evening he and Mauge took a haul of the 
dredge. “We hoped to obtain, by its means,” he said, “the first 
1 Canis dingo, Blumenb. (Dingo). 
2 Cacatua leadbeateri, Vigors (Pink Cockatoo). 
