The student of nature cannot fail to observe that particular forms, both of birds and insects, are peculiarly and especially destined to inhabit certain districts, trees, and plants, and in no instance is this law more strikingly apparent than in the case of the Brush Wattle-bird, which so constantly resorts to the Banksias, that its presence may always be with certainty looked for wherever these trees may be found; indeed I do not remember ever having seen a group of them without having also seen or heard their sure accompaniment, the Wattle-bird; but I must remark, that I have occasionally observed the latter among the Leptospermums and other low shrubs of the swampy grounds. Neither of these trees, it is well known, are to be found on good land; the garrulous note of this species might, therefore, be taken by the settler as a sure indication of the sterile and unprofitable nature of the soil. It is indigenous to Van Diemen’s Land, New South Wales, and South Australia; and in all these countries may be found in such situations as are favourable to the growth of its favourite trees. In the former country it is especially abundant on the banks of the Tamar, and in the belts of Banksias that stretch along the northern shores of that island. Among the places in which it is most numerous on the continent, are near the Port of Adelaide in South Australia; and Illawarra, Newcastle, and Sydney, in New South Wales. The Botanic Garden at the latter place, although in the midst of a populous city, is visited by great numbers of this bird, and I may mention that two of their nests with eggs, forming part of my collection, were taken from the shrubs growing on the borders of this place of public resort. It is but sparingly dispersed in the interior of New South Wales and South Australia: how far its range may extend to the westward of Spencer’s Gulf I have had no means of ascertaining: I have never yet received it from Swan River or any part of the western coast, its place being there supplied by an intimately allied species, the _Anthochæra lunulata_. The Brush Wattle-bird is a bold and spirited species, evincing a considerable degree of pugnacity, fearlessly attacking and driving away all other birds from the part of the tree on which it is feeding; and there are few of the Honey-eaters whose actions are more sprightly and animated. During the months of spring and summer the male perches on some elevated branch and screams forth its harsh and peculiar notes, which have not unaptly been said to resemble a person in the act of vomiting, whence the native name of _Goo-gwar-ruck_, in which the natives have endeavoured to imitate this very singular note. While thus employed it frequently jerks up its tail, throws back its head, and distends its throat, as if great exertion was required to force out these harsh and guttural sounds.