a mine of novelty in the ants, spiders, beetles, (fee., tliat ho has 
dislodged, and in the host of crysalids, nests, and curiosities tliLs one 
tree has brought to light. A thud, thud on the ground will cause him 
to turn i-ound, and, to his delight, he will see an animal hopping 
along, which he at once recognises as the world-renowned kangaroo, 
and a thrill of pleasure mns through his senses as lie realises that at 
last he has seen a mai’supial in a state of nature and in its own wild 
haunts. Unconsciously he follows the direction it went, when sud¬ 
denly ho is startled hy the burned scamper of a creature from a tus¬ 
sock of grass near by, and away goes another hopping animal, which 
by its more graceful sliape, nipid jumping, and geiieml activity he 
concludes must he one of the numerous species of tlio smaller Macro- 
podid® called Uaiinaturi or ‘‘wallabies.” 
Suddenly shrill, short, sharp screeches reach liis ear, and even 
before lie can turn his head to discover the cause, a flock of paroquets 
whiz with speed of an an-ow past, then giving a wheel and a turn 
in their flight, they with one impulse .settle in the gum tree before 
liim. Cautiously ho approaches—but the caution is needless, for the 
birds heed him not—and as ho sees the bright gwen biixls hanging in 
every possible attitude aud climbing about among the extreme tips of 
the twigs, and sucking out the honey and pollen from the small 
flowers of the eucaljpt, he knows that they must belong to that 
curious group of pai’oquets wliich have a brusli-tip to their tongue aud 
so are called trichoglossus, and his admiration is excited at noticing 
how suitable this strange peculiai-ity is for the work it has to do. Also 
for the first time iu his life he will have brought under his observation 
how admii'ably adapted to their mode of life are tlio scansorial pecu¬ 
liarities of the jiarrot family, and again he will be astonislied at haWng 
brought home to his immediate attention that the bright green and 
yellow plumage so conspicuous upon the bird when iu a e^go i^enders 
it all but invisible when among the leaves and flowei'S of the eucalypt. 
Pleased at having facta new to his observation brought before him ho 
hardly notices a rustle beside lus feet, but looking unconsciously 
downwai'ds, a black snake is scon with the fore part of its body raised 
from the ground, the head flattened cobra-like, and prepared for 
defence. Instinct tells him this reptile is venomous, aud a blow from 
a stick is speedily bestowed upon it. Then the pleasure of having 
ovei*come a really dangerous creature will be another now sensation, 
and if imbued with the true naturalist fervour, he wdll rejoice in being 
in a country wIiei*o the reptilia are represented in their most interest¬ 
ing form, that of the poison secreting ophidian. 
The limits of this paper will permit of no more than the bare men¬ 
tion of some of the chief characteristics of life as found among tho 
animals, the birds, and the reptiles of Queensland. Upon each division 
a volume could bo written, and yet mnch be left unsaid. The ento¬ 
mologist will find in this country of heat and moisture an incxlniustiblo 
field of study, for insect life is truly multitudinous in its develoj)- 
ments, so much so that it is useless touching upon it iu this essay. 
Amongst the numerous fishes 'that abound in the rccf-.sheltercd seas 
