which at present so little is known, we find, besides the _Eucalypti_, _Banksiæ_ and other trees of the southern coast, dense forests of canes, mangroves, &c. Each of these districts has a zoology peculiarly its own: for instance, the _Banksiæ_ are everywhere tenanted by the true _Meliphagi_; the _Eucalypti_ by the _Ptiloti_ and _Trichoglossi_; the towering fig-trees by the Regent and Satin birds; the palms by the _Carpophagæ_ or fruit-eating Pigeons, and the grassy plains by the ground Pigeons, Finches and grass Parrakeets. The circumstance of the boles of the trees being destitute of a thick corrugated rind or bark will doubtless account for the total absence of any member of the genus _Picus_ or Woodpeckers, a group of birds found in all parts of the world with the exception of Australia and Polynesia. Such then is a transient view of a few of the great physical features of Australia to which I have thought it requisite to allude in the Introduction of the present work, and I cannot conclude this portion of the subject without mentioning the very remarkable manner in which many of the Australian Birds represent other nearly allied species belonging to the Old World, as if some particular law existed in reference to the subject, the species so represented being evidently destined to fulfil the same offices in either hemisphere. As instances in point, I may mention among the FALCONIDÆ the _F. hypoleucus_ and _F. melanogenys_, which represent the _F. Islandicus_ and _F. Peregrinus_; our Merlin and Kestril are equally well represented by the _Falco frontatus_ and _Tinnunculus Cenchroïdes_ of Australia; the Osprey of Europe also is represented by the _P. leucocephala_; among the wading birds, the Curlew and the Whimbrel of Europe are beautifully represented by the _Numenius Australis_ and _N. uropygialis_, and the bar-tailed and black-tailed Godwits by the _Limosa uropygialis_ and _L. Melanuroïdes_. Both Europe and Australia have each one Stilted Plover, one Dottrell (_Eudromias_), and one Avocet. Among the water birds the Cormorants and Grebes of Europe are similarly represented by the _Phalacrocorax Carboïdes_, &c., and _Podiceps Australis_, _P. Nestor_ and _P. gularis_; and other instances might be noticed, but as they will all be found in the body of the work, it will not be necessary to recapitulate them here. Although so many curious instances of representation and of nearly allied species are found to occur, no country possesses so many genera peculiar to itself as Australia, such as _Ægotheles_, _Falcunculus_, _Colluricincla_, _Grallina_, _Gymnorhina_, _Strepera_, _Cinclosoma_, _Menura_, _Psophodes_, _Malurus_, _Sericornis_, _Ephthianura_, _Pardalotus_, _Chlamydera_, _Ptilonorhynchus_, _Struthidea_, _Licmetis_, _Calyptorhynchus_, _Platycercus_, _Euphema_, _Nymphicus_, _Climacteris_, _Scythrops_, _Myzantha_, _Talegalla_, _Leipoa_, _Pedionomus_, _Cladorhynchus_, _Tribonyx_, _Cereopsis_, _Anseranas_, and _Biziura_.