374 
THE KANGAROO RAT. 
The Brush-tailed Bettong, or Jerboa Kangaroo, as it is sometimes called, affords an 
excellent example of the genus Bettongia, in which are collected a small group of Kangaroos 
that are easily distinguished by their peculiarly short and broad heads. 
In size it equals a common hare, the head and body being about fourteen inches in length, 
and the tail about eleven inches, without including the tuft which decorates its extremity. 
The general color of the animal is a palish brown liberally pencilled with white, and the 
under parts are of a pale grayish-white. The “ brush ” is black, and the under side of the tail 
is brownish- white. 
It is a nocturnal animal, and lies curled up during the entire day, issuing forth from its 
nest as the shades of evening begin to draw on. 
The nest of the Brush-tailed Bettong is a very ingenious specimen of architecture, and is 
so admirably constructed, that it can hardly be detected by an American eye, even when it is 
pointed out to him. The native, however, whose watchful eye notes even the bending of a 
leaf in the wrong place, or the touch of a claw upon the tree-trunk, seldom passes in the 
vicinity of one of these nests without discovering it and killing its inmates, by dashing his 
tomahawk at random into the mass of leaves and grass. 
As this animal resides chiefly on grassy hills and dry ridges, it is no easy matter to make a 
nest that shall be sufficiently large to contain the female and her young, and yet so incon- 
spicuous as not to attract attention. The manner in which the nest is made is briefly as 
follows : 
The animal searches for some suitable depression in the earth, enlarging it till it is 
sufficiently capacious, and builds a curious edifice of leaves and grass over the cavity, so that 
when she has completed her task, the roof of the nest is on a level with the growing grass. 
For additional safety, the nest is usually placed under the shelter of a large grass tuft 
or a convenient bush, so concealed that even the watchful eye of the native can hardly detect 
the home which only the Brush-tailed Bettong constructs with such ingenuity. 
The manner in which the animal conveys the materials of its nest to the spot where they 
are required is most remarkable. After selecting a proper supply of dried grass, the creature 
makes it up into a sheaf, and twisting her prehensile tail round the bundle, hops away merrily 
with her burden. 
It is almost impossible to comprehend the extreme quaintness of the aspect which is pre- 
sented by a Jerboa Kangaroo engaged in this manner without actual experience, or the aid of 
a very a.dmirable and spirited drawing. 
When the animal has completed its nest, and the young are lying snugly in its warm 
recesses, the young family is effectually concealed from sight by the address of the cautious 
mother, who invariably drags a tuft of grass over the entrance whenever she leaves or enters 
her grassy home. 
It is an active little creature, and not easily caught even by fair speed, and has a habit of 
leaping aside when it is hard pressed and jumping into some crevice where it effectually 
conceals itself. 
The Brush-Tailed Bettong is extremely common over the whole of Van Diemen’s Land 
and especially of £s ew South Wales. 
The color of the fur is a gray-brown above, and the under parts of the body are of a 
grayish -white. 
The scientific name of the Brush-Tailed Bettong is Bettongia penicillata. 
The Kangaroo Rat {Hypsiprymnus minor , or Hypsiprymnus murinus ), is called by 
the natives Potoroo. It is a native of New South Wales, where it is found in very great 
numbers. 
It is but a diminutive animal, the head and body being only fifteen inches long, and the 
tail between ten and eleven inches. The color of the fur is brownish -black, pencilled along 
the back with a gray-white. The under parts of the body are white, and the fore-feet are 
brown. The tail is equal to the body in length, and is covered with scales, through the inter- 
vals of which sundry short, stiff, and black hairs protrude. 
