Tooth-leaved B.--_Austral English

F. fusca, Hook. f.

All these, however, are commonly called Birches.

See also the words Ash, Myrtle, Sassafras.

<hw>Bee-eater</hw>, n. a bird-name. The European

Bee-eater is Merops apiaster; the Australian species is

Merops ornatus, Lath. The bird was called

"M. phrygius, the Embroidered Merops," by Shaw.

1793. G. Shaw, `Zoology [and Botany] of New Holland,' p. 14:

"Specific character.--Black Merops varied with yellow. The

bird figured in its natural size on the present plate is a

species of Merops or Bee-eater; a tribe which appears to be

peculiarly prevalent in the extensive regions of Australia,

since more birds of this genus have been discovered than of any

other, except the very numerous one of Psittacus."

[The birds, however, have been since this date further

differentiated, and are now all classed in other genera, except

the present species.]

1790. J. White, `Voyage to New South Wales,' p. 144:

"The wattled bee-eater, of which a plate is annexed, fell in

our way during the course of the day. . . . Under the eye,

on each side, is a kind of wattle of an orange colour. . .

This bird seems to be peculiar to New Holland."

Ibid. p. 190:

"We this day shot a knob-fronted bee-eater (see plate annexed).

This is about the size of a black-bird." [Description follows.]

<hw>Beef-wood</hw>, n. the timber of various Australian

trees, especially of the genus Casuarina, and some of

the Banksias; often used as a synonym of She-oak (q.v.).

The name is taken from the redness of the wood.

1826. J. Atkinson, `Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales,'

p. 31:

"The wood is well known in England by the names of Botany Bay

wood, or beef wood.The grain is very peculiar, but the wood is

thought very little of in the colony; it makes good shingles,

splits, in the colonial phrase, from heart to bark . . ."

1833. C. Sturt, `Southern Australia,' vol. i. c. i. p. 22:

"They seemed to be covered with cypresses and beef-wood."

1846. C. Holtzapffel, `Turning,' vol. i. p. 74:

"Beef wood. Red-coloured woods are sometimes thus named, but

it is generally applied to the Botany-Bay oak."

1852. G. C. Munday, `Our Antipodes' (edition 1855), p. 219:

"A shingle of the beef-wood looks precisely like a raw

beef-steak."

1856. Capt. H. Butler Stoney, `A Residence in Tasmania,' p. 265:

"We now turn our attention to some trees of a very different

nature, Casuarina stricta and quadrivalvis,

commonly called He and She oak, and sometimes known by the name

of beef-wood, from the wood, which is very hard and takes a

high polish, exhibiting peculiar maculae spots and veins

scattered throughout a finely striated tint . . ."

1868. Paxton's `Botanical Dictionary,' p. 116:

"Casuarinaceae,or Beefwoods. Curious branching, leafless trees

or shrubs, with timber of a high order, which is both hard and

heavy, and of the colour of raw beef, whence the vulgar name."

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants.' (See `Index of

vernacular names.')

<hw>Belar</hw>, n. (various spellings, Belah, billa,

beela, beal), an aboriginal name for the tree Casuarina

glauca. The colonists call the tree Bull-oak, probably

from this native name.

1862. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 18:

"A voice in the beela grows wild in its wail."

1868. J. A. B., `Meta,' p. 19:

"With heartfelt glee we hail the camp,

And blazing fire of beal."

[Footnote]: "Aboriginal name of the gum-tree wood."

1874. W. H. L. Ranken, `Dominion of Australia,' c. vi. p. 110:

"These scrubs . . . sometimes crown the watersheds as `belar.'"

<hw>Bell-bird</hw>, n. name given to several birds,

from

their note, like the tinkling of a bell. In Australia,

a Honey-eater, Myzantha melanophrys, Gould ('Birds of

Australia,' vol. iv. pl. 80), the `Australian Bell-bird' (the

same bird as Myzantha flavirostris, V. and H.), chiefly

found in New South Wales; also Oreoica gutturalis, Gould

(vol. ii. pl. 81), the `Bell-bird' of Western Australia; and

Oreoica cristata, Lewin. In New Zealand, Anthornis

melanura, Sparrm., chief Maori names, Korimako

(q.v.) in North, and Makomako in South. Buller gives

ten Maori names. The settlers call it Moko (q.v.).

There is also a Bell-bird in Brazil.

1774. J. Hawkesworth, `Voyages,' vol. ii. p. 390 [Journal of

Jan. 17, 1770):

"In the morning we were awakened by the singing of the birds;

the number was incredible, and they seemed to strain their

throats in emulation of each other. This wild melody was

infinitely superior to any that we had ever heard of the same

kind; it seemed to be like small bells most exquisitely tuned,

and perhaps the distance, and the water between, might be no

small advantage to the sound. Upon enquiry we were informed

that the birds here always began to sing about two hours after

midnight, and continuing their music till sunrise were, like

our nightingales, silent the rest of the day."

[This celebrated descriptive passage by Dr. Hawkesworth is

based upon the following original from `Banks's Journal,' which

now, after an interval of 122 years, has just been published in

London, edited by Sir J. D. Hooker.]

1770. J. Banks, `Journal,' Jan. 17 (edition 1896):

"I was awakened by the singing of the birds ashore, from whence

we are distant not a quarter of a mile. Their numbers were

certainly very great. They seemed to strain their throats with

emulation, and made, perhaps, the most melodious wild music I

have ever heard, almost imitating small bells, but with the

most tunable silver sound imaginable, to which, maybe, the

distance was no small addition. On inquiring of our people, I

was told that they had observed them ever since we had been

here, and that they began to sing about one or two in the

morning, and continue till sunrise, after which they are silent

all day, like our nightingales."

1802. G. Barrington, `History of New South Wales,'

c. viii. p. 84:

"The cry of the bell-bird seems to be unknown here."

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean

Society,' vol. xv. p. 319:

"Mr. Caley thus observes on this bird: `Dell-bird or Bell-bird.

So called by the colonists. It is an inhabitant of bushes,

where its disagreeable noise (disagreeable at least to me) [but

not to the poets] may be continually heard; but nowhere more so

than on going up the harbour to Paramatta, when a little above

the Flats.'"

1835. T. B. Wilson, `Voyage Round the World,' p. 259:

"During the night, the bell bird supplied, to us, the place of

the wakeful nightingale . . . a pleasing surprise, as we had

hitherto supposed that the birds in New Holland were not formed

for song."

1839. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' p. 23:

"Every bough seemed to throng with feathered musicians: the

melodious chimes of the bell-bird were specially distinct."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 102:

"Look at the bell-bird's nest, admire the two spotted salmon

coloured eggs."

Ibid. ('Verses written whilst we lived in tents'), p. 171:

"Through the Eucalyptus shade,

Pleased could watch the bell-bird's flutter,

Blending with soft voice of waters

The delicious tones they utter."

1846. Lady Martin, `Bush journey, 1846, Our Maoris,' p. 93:

"We did hear the birds next morning as Captain Cook had

described --first the bell-bird gave its clear, full note, and

then came such a jargoning as made one's heart glad."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' vol. ii. pl. 81:

"Oreoica gutturalis, Gould. Crested Oreoica.

Bell-bird, Colonists of Swan River [Western

Australia]. . . I find the following remarks in my note-book--

`Note, a very peculiar piping whistle, sounding like

weet-weet-weet-weet-oo, the last syllable fully drawn

out and very melodious. . . . In Western Australia, where the

real Bell-bird is never found, this species has had that

appellation given to it,--a term which must appear ill-applied

to those who have heard the note of the true Bell-bird of the

brushes of New South Wales, whose tinkling sound so nearly

resembles that of a distant sheep-bell as occasionally to

deceive the ears of a practised shepherd."

1866. Lady Barker, `Station Life in New Zealand,' p. 93:

"Every now and then we stood, by common consent, silent and

almost breathless, to listen to the bell-bird, a dingy little

fellow, nearly as large as a thrush with the plumage of a

chaffinch, but with such a note! How can I make you hear its

wild, sweet, plaintive tone, as a little girl of the party said

`just as if it had a bell in its throat;' but indeed it would

require a whole peal of silver bells to ring such an exquisite

chime."

1868. F. Napier Broome, `Canterbury Rhymes,' second edition, p. 108:

"Where the bell-bird sets solitudes ringing,

Many times I have heard and thrown down

My lyre in despair of all singing."

1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 21:

"Listen to the bell-bird. Ping, ping, sounds through the vast

hushed temple of nature."

1883. G. W. Rusden, `History of Australia,' vol. i. p. 81:

"The bell-bird, with metallic but mellow pipe, warns the

wanderer that he is near water in some sequestered nook."

1886. H. C. Kendall, `Poems,' p. 8:

"And softer than slumber and sweeter than singing,

The notes of the bell-bird are running and ringing."

1888. W. L. Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 85:

"Anthornis melanura. Chatham Island Bell-bird

(A. Melanocephala), the Bell-bird--so-called from the

fanciful resemblance of one of its notes to the distant tolling

of a bell."

1889. Prof. Parker, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 119:

"Bell-bird, Korimako,or Makomako (Anthornis melanura),

is still common in many parts of the South Island--e.g. in the

neighbourhood of Dunedin; but has almost disappeared from the

North Island. Its song is remarkably fine."

1893. W. P. Reeves, `The Passing of the Forest,' `Review of

Reviews,' Feb. 1893, p. 45:

"Gone are the forest birds, arboreal things,

Eaters of honey, honey-sweet in song;

The tui, and the bell-bird--he who sings

That brief rich music one would fain prolong.'

1896. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition in Central

Australia,' Part II., Zoology, Aves, p. 74:

"In the north they [Oreoica] are frequently called

`Bell-birds,' but bear no resemblance to Manorhina

melanophrys in plumage, shape, or note. The Oreoica is

such an accomplished ventriloquist that it is difficult to

find."

<hw>Bell-bottomed</hw>, adj. a particular fashion of

trouser affected by the larrikin (q.v.).

1891. `The Argus,' Dec. 5, p. 13, col. 2:

"Can it be that the pernicious influence of the House is

gradually tingeing the high priests of the bell-bottomed

ballottee with conservatism!"

<hw>Bell-Frog, Golden</hw>, n. See Golden Bell-Frog.

<hw>Bell-topper</hw>, n. The ordinary Australian name

for the tall silk-hat.

1860. W. Kelly, `Life in Victoria,' p. 268 [Footnote]:

"Bell-topper was the derisive name given by diggers to old

style hat, supposed to indicate the dandy swell."

<hw>Benjamin</hw>, n. a husband, in Australian

pigeon-English.

1870. Chas. H. Allen, `A Visit to Queensland and her Goldfields,'

p. 182:

"There are certain native terms that are used by the whites

also as a kind of colonial slang, such as `yabber,' to talk;

`budgeree,' good; `bale,' no; `yan,' to go; `cabon,' much; and

so on.

"With the black people a husband is now called a `benjamin,'

probably because they have no word to their own language to

express this relationship."

<hw>Benjamin-Tree</hw>, n. also called Weeping

Fig in Queensland, Ficus benjaminea, Linn.,

N.O. Urticaceae.

<hw>Bent-grass</hw>. n. See Grass.

1835. Ross, `Hobart Town Almanack,' p. 65:

"Agrostis virginica. Virginian Agrostis, or Bent-grass.

. . . Many species of this genus go under the general name of

Bent-grass. Their roots spread along among light and sandy

soil in which they generally grow with joints like the Squitch

or Couch grass of England."

<hw>Berigora</hw>, n. aboriginal name for a bird of

genus Falco, from beri, claw, and gora,

long. See Hawk

1827. Vigors and Horsfield, `Transactions of Linnaean Society,' vol.

xv. p. 185:

"The native name of this bird which we have adopted as its

specific name, is Berigora. It is called by the

settlers Orange-speckled Hawk."

1848. J. Gould, `Birds of Australia,' I. i. pl. 11:

"Hieracidea berigora. Brown Hawk. Berigora, Aborigines

of New South Wales. Orange-speckled Hawk of the Colonists."

<hw>Berley</hw>, n. term used by Australian fishermen

for ground bait. It is probably of aboriginal origin.

1882. Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods,

`Fish and Fisheries of New South Wales,' p. 75:

"With hook and line along the rocks of our sea-coast these

fishes are caught, but the bait should be crabs. It is usual

to wrench legs and shell off the back, and cast them out for

Berley."

1896. `Badminton Magazine,' August, p. 201:

"I would signal to the sharks by opening and washing out a few

of the largest fish at the boat's head, sometimes adding bait

chopped small to serve for what Australian fishermen call

Berley."

<hw>Betcherrygah</hw>, n. bird-name, Melopsittacus

undulatus, Shaw. See Budgerigar.

<hw>Bettongia</hw>, n. the scientific name of the genus

of Prehensile-tailed Kangaroo-Rats, whose aboriginal name

is Bettong. They are the only ground-dwelling

marsupials with prehensile tails, which they use for carrying

bunches of grasses and sticks. See Kangaroo-Rat.

<hw>Biddy-biddy</hw>, or <hw>Biddybid</hw>, n. a

corruption of Maori name piripiri. It is a kind of bur.

1880. T. H. Potts, `Out in the Open, `New Zealand Country Journal,'

vol. xii. p. 95:

"Piri-piri (acaena sanguisorbe) by settlers has been

converted or corrupted into biddy-biddy; a verb has been formed

on it, which is in very constant use for a good part of the

year at least. To biddy, is to rid one of burrs, as `I'll just

biddy my clothes before I come in.' Small birds are

occasionally found in a wretched state of discomfort in which

they appear a moving mass of burrs. Parroquets, pipets, and

the little white-eyes, have been found victims suffering from

these tenacious burrs of the piri-piri, just moving little

brown balls unable to fly till picked up and released from

their bonds."

1896. `Otago Witness,' Jan. 23, vol. ii. p. 36:

"Yes, biddybids detract very materially from the value of the

wool, and the plant should not be allowed to seed where sheep

are depastured. They are not quite so bad as the Bathurst

burr, but they are certainly in the same category."

<hw>Biddy</hw>, v. See Biddy-biddy, n.

<hw>Bidgee Widgee</hw>, n. name given to a Tasmanian

Bur (q.v.).

<hw>Bidyan Ruffe</hw>, n. a fresh-water fish of New

South Wales, Therapon richardsonii, Castln., family

Percidae. Mr. J. Douglas Ogilby, Assistant Zoologist at

the Australian Museum, Sydney, says in a letter "The Bidyan

Ruffe of Sir Thomas Mitchell is our Therapon ellipticus,

Richards (T. richardsonii, Castln.). Found in all the

rivers of the Murray system, and called Kooberry by the

natives." It is also called the Silver Perch and

sometimes Bream.

1838. T. L. Mitchell, `Three Expeditions,' vol. i. p. 95 [Note]:

"Bidyan is the aboriginal name."

Ibid. vol. i. p. 135:

"Abundance of that which the men commonly called bream

(Cernua bidyana), a very coarse but firm fish, which

makes a groaning noise when taken out of the water."

<hw>Big-head</hw>, n. a fish. The name is used locally

for various fishes; in Australia it is Eleotris

nudiceps, Castln., family Gobiidae, a river fish.

Of the genus Eleotris, Guenther says that as regards

form they repeat almost all the modifications observed among

the Gobies, from which they differ only in having the ventral

fins non-coalescent. See Bull-head (2).

<hw>Billabong</hw>, n. an effluent from a river,

returning to it, or often ending in the sand, in some cases

running only in flood time.

In the Wiradhuri dialect of the centre of New South Wales, East

coast, billa means a river and bung dead. See

Bung. Billa is also a river in some Queensland

dialects, and thus forms part of the name of the river

Belyando. In the Moreton Bay dialect it occurs in the form

pill , and in the sense of `tidal creek.' In the

`Western Australian Almanack' for 1842, quoted in J. Fraser's

`Australian Language,' 1892, Appendix, p. 50, Bilo is

given for River.

Billabong is often regarded as a synonym for

Anabranch (q.v.); but there is a distinction. From the

original idea, the Anabranch implies rejoining the

river; whilst the Billabong implies continued separation

from it; though what are called Billabongs often do

rejoin.

1862. W. Landsborough, `Exploration of Australia,' p. 30:

"A dried-up tributary of the Gregory, which I named the

Macadam."

[Footnote]: "In the south, such a creek as the Macadam is

termed a billy-bonn [sic], from the circumstance of the

water carrier returning from it with his pitcher (billy)

empty (bong, literally dead)."

1865. W. Howitt, `Discovery in Australia, vol. i. p. 298:

"What the Major calls, after the learned nomenclature of

Colonel Jackson, in the `Journal of the Geographical Society,'

anabranches, but which the natives call billibongs, channels

coming out of a stream and returning into it again."