It may be presumed, that these birds are not very
scarce, as several have been seen, some of them immensely large, but
they are so wild, as to make shooting them a matter of great difficulty.
Though incapable of flying, they run with such swiftness, that our
fleetest greyhounds are left far behind in every attempt to catch them.
The flesh was eaten, and tasted like beef.
Besides the emu, many birds of prodigious size have been seen, which
promise to increase the number of those described by naturalists,
whenever we shall be fortunate enough to obtain them; but among these
the bat of the Endeavour River is not to be found. In the woods are
various little songsters, whose notes are equally sweet and plaintive.
Of quadrupeds, except the kangaroo, I have little to say. The few met
with are almost invariably of the opossum tribe, but even these do not
abound. To beasts of prey we are utter strangers, nor have we yet any
cause to believe that they exist in the country. And happy it is for us
that they do not, as their presence would deprive us of the only fresh
meals the settlement affords, the flesh of the kangaroo.
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