There are a great variety of birds in this country; all those of the parrot tribe, such as the macaw, cockatoo, lorey, green parrot, and parroquets of different kinds and sizes, are cloathed with the most beautiful plumage that can be conceived; it would require the pencil of an able limner to give a stranger an idea of them, for it is impossible by words to describe them*.  The common crow is found here in considerable numbers, but the sound of their voice and manner of croaking, is very different from those in Europe.  There are also vast numbers of hawks, of various sizes and colours.  Here are likewise pigeons and quails, with a great variety of smaller birds, but I have not found one with a pleasing note.

[* See very accurate representations, drawn from nature, and described by that ingenious and able naturalist, John Latham, Esq; in Phillip’s Voyage.]

There have been several large birds seen since we arrived in this port; they were supposed, by those who first saw them, to be the ostrich, as they could not fly when pursued, but ran exceedingly fast; so much so, that a very strong and fleet greyhound could not come near them:  one was shot, which gave us an opportunity of a more close examination.  Some were of opinion that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by Dr. Goldsmith, from Linneus; others imagined it to be the cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size; it was, when standing, seven feet two inches, from its feet to the upper part of its head; the only difference which I could perceive, between this bird and the ostrich, was in its bill, which appeared to me to be narrower at the point, and it has three toes, which I am told is not the case with the ostrich:  it has one characteristic, by which it may be known, and which we thought very extraordinary; this is, that two distinct feathers grew out from every quill*.  The flesh of this bird, although coarse, was thought by us delicious meat; it had much the appearance, when raw, of neck-beef; a party of five, myself included, dined on a side-bone of it most sumptuously.  The pot or spit received every thing which we could catch or kill, and the common crow was relished here as well as the barn-door fowl is in England.

[* See an elegant engraving of the Cassowary in Phillip’s Voyage.]

Of insects there are as great a variety here as of birds; the scorpion, centipede, spider, ant, and many others; the ants are of various sizes, from the smallest known in Europe, to the size of near an inch long; some are black, some white, and others, of the largest sort, reddish; those of this kind are really a formidable little animal; if you tread near the nest, (which is generally under ground, with various little passages or outlets) and have disturbed them, they will sally forth in vast numbers, attack their disturbers with astonishing courage, and even pursue them to a considerable distance; and their bite is attended for a time with a most acute pain.  Some build their nests against a tree, to the size of a large bee-hive; another kind raises little mounts on the ground, of clay, to the height of four feet.