B l a c k - s w a n
T o r to ise s .
L iz a r d s .
thighs black; belly and rump white; a collar o f the fame color
encircles the lower part o f the neck ; toes webbed only half way
from the bafe. Defcribed in Dr. Latham's ingenious elfay on
the Trachea o f Birds: Linn. Tranf. iv. p. 103. E.
Lobated, Nat. Mifc. 155: diftinguifhable from all its congeners
by the Angular black wattle or appendage attached beneath the
lower mandible. E.
I s h a l l clofe. the lift with the Sbawian, or blackfwan, that
rara avis in terris, which I name in honor o f the firft publiiher
of the,once doubted bird, defcribed and engraven in his elegant,
work the NaturaliJFs Mifcellany, vol. iii. tab; 108'. It is in fize fu-
perior to the white. The bill is of a rich fcarlet, near the tip is
a fmall yellow fpot. The whole plumage of the mbit intenfe
black, except the primaries and fecondaries, which are white;
the eyes black, the feet dufky : it is found in Hawkjberry river,
and other freih waters near Broken bay, and has all the graceful
adtions o f the white kind.
T he Tejludo midas, or green turtle, is found on thefecoafts, and
abounds on th o feo f the ¡ilands o f Norfolk and Howe. T h e Tefludo.
marina, Raii-Syn. Suadr. 157; or Loggerhead o f Catefby, ii. 40; is
alfo frequent. T h e fuperior delicacy o f the-firft is owing to its
feeding entirely on the marine vegetables ; the ranknefs o f the
laft, to its living on fhell fifh apd Crujlacea.
L iz a r d s and ferpents-are very numerous in New Holland;
Mr. White, has given feveral good figures o f different fpecies-;
they are all o f the innocent tribe; among the firft the Seine-formed
lizard, tab. 30, diftinguiihed by its fhort thick tail; the muri-
cated, tab. 31, with rows o f fharp pointed fcales, and a very long
tail;
ta il; an elegant ftriped fpecies, tab. 31 ; and that moft lingular
one the broad-tailed, Nat. Mifc. tab. 65. in the fame plate, with
a fpiny ovated flat tail and rough body ; the variegated, tab. 38,
with a body fifteen inches long, and the tail much longer and
angulated. Mr. Phillip has engraven another he calls the laced,
tab. 48, forty inches long, tail included, which has its name
from the lace-like difpoiition o f the colors.
Am ong the ferpents, Mr. White exhibits, in tab. 31, a fmall S e r p e n t s .
one, a foot long, white, marked with black equidiftant bands ;
another, in tab.4 3,of abluifh color; a third, in tab.45, eight feet
long, dufky, varied with fpots o f yellow; and in tab. -46, are two
fmall fnakes, one dufky with fmall fpots o f yellow, the other
encircled with black and white.
Sea ferpents are very frequent in,the feas o f New Holland,
and o f various fpecies; all the fea ferpents are diftinguiihed by
their thin flat tails, and by their having no fcales on their belly.
A t p. 100 I have mentioned three fpecies obferved by Dam-
pier, iii. 90, 93, on the weftern coaft o f this country.; to them I
can add one wholly black, iii. 130. Authors have defcribed
others of this lingular kind ; fuch is the Coluber haticaudatus of
Mus, Ad. Fred, tab, 16. fig. 1. Gmel. Lin. 1106: the belly is dufky,
the back and fides fafciated with afh color and brown ; perhaps -
this is the fpecies faid to be venomous, for in the upper jaw are
two fhort moveable fangs. Linnaus marks this fpecies with ( A )
his fatal fign. It is found off the coalls of South America, and
the ifle o f Tanga-tabu in the fouth feas. All thefe fea fnakes
feem to be confined to the torrid zone of the /ijiaiic icas, or. to
the warmer parts. They are more plentiful about New Guinea
and New Holland-, their hiftory remains very obfcure.
; S 2 1 T h e