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After mentioning expeditions to the tip of Cape York by the Jardine brothers in 1864 and by R. L. Jack in 1880, Meston describes the general topgraphy of the region before focusing on the lagoon behind the Mapoon Mission Station which abounds in species of ducks and wading birds. The Ducie and Batavia Rivers are haunted by crocodiles, which are hunted and eaten by local Aborigines. The first navigators were unlucky enough to sight only the 'low shore of mangroves and swamps' of the western side of the peninsula. The article concludes with an account of seasonal massed bird migrations, and with a mention of the barramundi, a species discovered by Leichhardt.