. Australia and New Zealand. Natural history; Natural history. 74 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL used in the same way fur capturiDg the ants on which it feeds. It rolls itself in a ball like the hedc^ehof^. It is found in sandy and sterile districts. Two closely-allied species are known; the one inhabiting South and East Australia, the other Tasmania. * 6. Birds. Among the temperate countries of the world, Australia stands unrivalled for the variety of form, the beauty of plumage, and the singularity of habits, of its birds. Its parrots and cockatoos are more numerous and beautiful than th
. Australia and New Zealand. Natural history; Natural history. 74 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL used in the same way fur capturiDg the ants on which it feeds. It rolls itself in a ball like the hedc^ehof^. It is found in sandy and sterile districts. Two closely-allied species are known; the one inhabiting South and East Australia, the other Tasmania. * 6. Birds. Among the temperate countries of the world, Australia stands unrivalled for the variety of form, the beauty of plumage, and the singularity of habits, of its birds. Its parrots and cockatoos are more numerous and beautiful than those of many tropical countries. The golden-yellow and velvety-black regent-bird, and the intensely vivid metallic plumage of the rifle-birds, are almost unrivalled; many of the pigeons are exquisitely beautiful; while some of the warblers and fly-catchers, the curi- ous little Maluri or Aus- tralian wrens, and many of the finches, are unsur- passed for beautiful com- binations of vivid colour. The strange yet elegant tail of the lyre-bird is altogether unique; while the curious habits of the brush-turkeys and the bower-birds are equally remarkable. Taking the Australian birds as a whole, there is little of that marvellous isolation from the other continents that is so prominent a feature of the mammalia. All the chief orders, and most of the important and wide-spread families,. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823-1913. London E. Stanford
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Keywords: ., booka, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory
