comparison of specimens, satisfied himself that they were identical,—-an opinion in which I now entirely
coincide.
The flesh is said to resemble that of the rabbit, but has a slight aromatic flavour, arising probably from
the nature of the plants on which they feed, nearly all of which are fragrant.
When MM. Péron and Lesueur visited the islands, all the females carried young in their pouch, and the
devotedness with which they sought to save their offspring was truly admirable; although wounded they
flew with the young in the pouch, and never left them until, overcome with fatigue and loss of blood, they
could no longer carry them; they then stopped, and squatting themselves on their hind-legs, helped the
young to get out of the pouch by means of the fore-feet, and sought to place them in a situation favourable
for retreat.
Mr. Gilbert states that it makes no nest, but when on the plains squats precisely like a hare.
The sexes are very similar, and may be thus described:—
The fur is very long and soft; its general colour greyish, variegated with black, white, and rusty red,
the latter colour being most conspicuous round the eyes; on the back are numerous narrow, transverse
black bands; these are somewhat irregular and not well-defined; the spaces between the bands are partly
of a rusty red, and partly whitish; the white joins the dark band, and is gradually shaded into the rusty
red, to be followed by the next dark band; over the whole of the upper surface, sides and cheeks are
numerous very long interspersed hairs, which have the exposed portion white, but, like the ordinary fur, are
nearly black at the root; under surface dirty white, with a considerable admixture of grey; the ears are
clothed with lengthened white hairs internally, and externally with short hairs finely freckled with brownish
black and white; fore-feet dirty rust-red; tarsi pale rusty red penciled with blackish; sides of both tarsi
and toes pale brown; tail tolerably well covered with short adpressed brownish grey hairs; on the under
side the hairs are somewhat longer and of a brownish white; on the upper surface is a narrow blackish
streak, and on the apical third the hairs are lengthened, and form a small dark crest at the point; they
are sometimes an inch in length.
The Plate represents an adult male about the size of life.