Remarkable frilled lizard.  Beautiful country.

As we were pursuing our route in the afternoon we fell in with a specimen of the remarkable frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii); this animal measures about twenty-four inches from the tip of the nose to the point of its tail, and lives principally in trees, although it can run very swiftly along the ground:  when not provoked or disturbed it moves quietly about, with its frill lying back in plaits upon the body:  but it is very irascible and, directly it is frightened, elevates the frill or ruff and makes for a tree; where if overtaken it throws itself upon its stern, raising its head and chest as high as it can upon the forelegs, then doubling its tail underneath the body and displaying a very formidable set of teeth.  From the concavity of its large frill it boldly faces any opponent, biting fiercely whatever is presented to it, and even venturing so far in its rage as to fairly make a fierce charge at its enemy.  We repeatedly tried the courage of this lizard, and it certainly fought bravely whenever attacked.  From the animal making so much use of this frill as a covering and means of defence for its body this is most probably one of the uses to which nature intended the appendage should be applied.

We at length reached the watershed connecting the country we had left with that we were entering upon, and were now again enabled to turn to the eastward and thus to travel round the swamp.  This watershed consisted principally of a range of elevated hills from which streams were thrown off to the Glenelg and to Prince Regent’s River.  The scenery here was very fine, but I have so often before described the same character of landscape that it will be sufficient to say we again looked down from high land on a very fertile country, covered with a tropical vegetation and lying between two navigable rivers.  I can compare this to no other Australian scenery, for I have met with nothing in the other portions of the continent which at all resembles it.  When we had nearly headed the valley the night closed in so rapidly on us that I was obliged to halt the party; and by the time the arrangements for security and rest were completed it was quite dark.

Curious nest.

March 24.

This morning we started as soon as it was light and, continuing our route round the valley, passed the beautiful cascade seen yesterday and, after fording a clear running brook like an English trout stream, we began to ascend the next sandstone range.  On gaining the summit we fell in with a very remarkable nest, or what appeared to me to be such, and which I shall describe more particularly when I advert to the natural history of this part of the country.  We had previously seen several of them, and they had always afforded us food for conjecture as to the agent and purpose of such singular structures.

Deep valley.