Sometimes The Stem Is Branched At The
Top, And Each Branch Ends In A Tuft.
The flax and the cabbage-tree and
the tussock-grass are the great botanical features of the country.
Add
fern and tutu, and for the back country, spear-grass and Irishman, and
we have summed up such prevalent plants as strike the eye.
As for the birds, they appear at first sight very few indeed. On the
plains one sees a little lark with two white feathers in the tail, and
in other respects exactly like the English skylark, save that he does
not soar, and has only a little chirrup instead of song. There are also
paradise ducks, hawks, terns, red-bills, and sand-pipers, seagulls, and
occasionally, though very rarely, a quail.
The paradise duck is a very beautiful bird. The male appears black,
with white on the wing, when flying: when on the ground, however, he
shows some dark greys and glossy greens and russets, which make him very
handsome. He is truly a goose, and not a duck. He says "whiz" through
his throat, and dwells a long time upon the "z." He is about the size
of a farmyard duck. The plumage of the female is really gorgeous. Her
head is pure white, and her body beautifully coloured with greens and
russets and white. She screams, and does not say "whiz." Her mate is
much fonder of her than she is of him, for if she is wounded he will
come to see what is the matter, whereas if he is hurt his base partner
flies instantly off and seeks new wedlock, affording a fresh example of
the superior fidelity of the male to the female sex.
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