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Australia Decoded
'XYZ-2'


Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation

Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, WA



yellow-footed antechinus—Antechinus flavipes leucogaster, an arboreal marsupial that feeds mostly on insects but also includes in its diet anything from fruit, flowers and nectar to small birds and mice. After a months' gestation the female gives birth to as many as 12 young, which are carried in the pouch for up to 5 weeks and weaned at about three months. At the end of each breeding season all males in the colony die, leaving the food resources for the breeding females. Also known by its Aboriginal name, mardo.

yellow-footed rock-wallabyPetrogale xanthopus, the largest rock-wallaby species. Yellow-footed rock-wallabies once occurred in groups of up to 200-300 animals. Now, groups of more than 70 are seldom encountered. There are two subspecies; one is found in the rocky outcrops of the Flinders and Gawler ranges of South Australia and the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales and is considered vulnerable, while the second occurs in south-west Queensland's Grey Ranges and is threatened. Their preferred habitat is rocky cliff-sides, with crevices and shelter for protection from the high temperatures (up to 50ºC in the shade during summer). They have the remarkable ability to drink up to about 11% of their body weight in approximately seven minutes, enabling them to capitalise on runoff from summer thunderstorms. They are herbivorous animals, with a diet of shrubs and herbs. Predators include the wedge-tailed eagle, dingo and carpet python, but the most significant predator is the introduced European fox. Feral cats also take young.

yellow-plumed honeyeaterLichenostomus ornatus, a medium-sized honeyeater with a relatively long, down-curved black bill, a dark face and a distinctive, upswept yellow neck plume. It has a olive-green head, with a faint yellow line under the dark eye, grey-green upperparts, and heavily streaked grey-brown underparts. This species is noisy and quarrelsome, moving in small groups and fighting off intruders. It can be found in mallee and open woodlands of the temperate and semi-arid zones, mainly found in inland areas. This honeyeater feeds in pairs or small flocks on insects, lerps and nectar. It forages in the outer canopy of low trees and shrubs as well on the trunks and branches, and sometimes on the ground. This bird nests in loose colonies or singly, with aggressive defence of the nesting territory by the males, and with some evidence that groups of birds hold territories together and will repel intruders as a group. The open, cup-shaped nest is suspended by the rim from a thin fork or from foliage of mallee eucalypts and other small shrubs, and is constructed of wool, green grass and spider-webs, lined with wool, grasses, plant-down and brightly-coloured feathers. Both parents feed the young, sometimes with the assistance of helpers. This species is parasitised by fan-tailed cuckoos, pallid cuckoos, Horsfield's bronze-cuckoos and shining bronze-cuckoos. The yellow-plumed honeyeater is endemic to southern mainland Australia, from western New South Wales and Victoria, through South Australia to south-west Western Australia.

yellow-tailed black cockatooCalyptorhynchus funereus, a large (55cm—65cm) cockatoo. It is easily identified by its mostly black plumage, with most body feathers edged with yellow, not visible at a distance. It has a yellow cheek patch and yellow panels on the tail. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos also have a distinctive call. The contact call is a drawn-out kee-ow. Some screeches are also given. The yellow-tailed black cockatoo is found in south-eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia to south and central-eastern Queensland. Here it inhabits a variety of habitat types, but favours eucalypt woodland and pine plantations. Small to large flocks can be seen in these areas, either perched or flying on slowly flapping wings. These birds feed in small to large, noisy flocks. The favoured food is seeds of native trees and pinecones, but birds also feed on the seeds of ground plants. Some insects are also eaten. Yellow-tailed black cockatoos have a long breeding season, which varies throughout their range. Both sexes construct the nest, which is a large tree hollow lined with wood chips. The female alone incubates the two eggs, while the male supplies her with food. Usually only one chick survives, and it will stay in the care of its parents for about six months.

yellow-throated honeyeaterLichenostomus flavicollis, 200mm with blackish face and upper breast offset by bright yellow throat. Its prefered habitat is eucalypt forest, where it feeds on seasonally available nectar and insects. The species breeds from August to December, and lays two to three spotted, pinkish eggs in a cup-shaped nest which is built within a metre of the ground. Its call is a loud, metallic tonk tonk tonk. Endemic to and widespread throughout Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait.

yellow-throated minerManorina flavigula, a medium-sized honeyeater: grey above from the crown to the tail, pale grey below, with light brown scalloping on the breast to the white rump; with a black face and a distinctive, yellow forehead and sides of throat. The bare eye skin, bill, legs and feet are also yellow. The wings and tail edges are washed yellow, and the tail tips are white. This species is noisy and sociable, and may be aggressive toward other birds. The rare and endangered black-eared miner, is so similar that it is hard to distinguish in the field. However it is extremely restricted in its distribution, while the yellow-throated miner is widespread. It is found across mainland Australia, with the exception of the east coast, south of central Queensland, and in Arnhem Land, the western Gulf of Carpentia, Cape York and the most arid parts of the interior. The yellow-throated miner is found in dry forests and woodlands, especially mallee. It is also seen in parks, gardens and farmlands, feeding on insects, nectar, berries and fruit. It usually forages in noisy flock at all levels of the canopy and on the ground. The yellow-faced miner breeds communally and breeding pairs are often assisted by other members of the group. The loose, cup-shaped nest is built in a tree fork about 3 m to 6 m from the ground and is constructed from twigs and grasses, lined with wool, fur or feathers.

yellow-tufted honeyeaterMeliphaga melanops, inhabits box-ironbark forests of Victoria. Seasonal fluctuations are related to the flowering of favoured trees and shrubs. The helmeted honeyeater is the larger and more brilliantly coloured race of the yellow-tufted honeyeater. Previously regarded as a separate species, recent studies indicate an area of interbreeding between it and the yellow-tufted honeyeater.

yellowish sedge-skipperHesperilla flavescens flavia, a butterfly, the caterpillar of which hatches from a pale green, hemi-ellipsoid egg that has 40 vertical ribs. The larva is smooth and green, with a dark dorsal line. The head is brownish with a black "V" mark. The yellowish sedge-skipper feeds principally on thatching grass, and t he larvae of are known to construct their shelters out of blades of this grass joined together with silk. The adult butterflies have yellow patches on each wing, while the background colour of the wings is dark brown strongly suffused with yellow. There is an arc of outlined spots under each hind wing. The wing span is around 30-40 mm. The butterfly's flight path is fast and erratic with frequent visits to flowers and rest stops in the sun. Once found on the Adelaide Plains, this secretive butterfly is now only found regularly in the Coorong in South Australia's south-east.

Yelta—an Aboriginal mission established on the south bank of the Murray River opposite Wentworth in 1869 by Thomas Goodwin and John Bulmer of the Anglican Church and closed around 1885. Yelta is an Aboriginal name for a small billabong located near the mission site.

yeo—ewe; female sheep.

yes-sir-no-sir-three-bags-full—sarcastic remark, usually given after being ordered to do something by a superior.

Yidinji—an Aboriginal tribe from the rain forest of Cairns and the Atherton Tableland region. The Yidinji were noted for possessing the largest shields and fighting swords found in Australia. These unique shields and swords were decorated with their totem, which represents the fighter, clan or tribe of the owner. An early settler, R.A. Johnstone, reminiscing in the Queenslander in 1901, recorded an attack on his property by a group of Aboriginal men, advancing like a Roman phalanx: “When the blacks attacked the house at Bellenden Plains, they used shields as a movable barricade, about one hundred of them crouching behind them, holding the shields in one hand and their weapons in the other." The traditional foods of the Yidinji tribe are sea animals such as turtle, dugong and fish, as well as parrot, platypus, yams, wild ginger, bush apricots and lawyer vine cane, among others. They constructed huts made from palm leaves and lawyer cane vine, known as bulmbas, built to hold a large number of people. To this day, the Yidinji people still carry on their traditions with their various performances to the wider community such as the dance on how the crocodile got its teeth.

Yidiny—a nearly extinct Aboriginal language, spoken by the Yidinji tribe of northern Queensland.

yike—a brawl; noisy fight.

Yilgarn Block—the largest single area of exposed Archaean rocks in the world. There are three major sets of rocks: granulites, granitoids and greenstones. Rocks of the Yilgarn range in age from 2630BP to 2760BP. Salt lakes of the are the remnants of a drainage pattern that was active before continental drift separated Australia from Antarctica. Nickel deposits occur within volcanic sequences in the Yilgarn Block, especially the Kambalda Sequence which comprises a hanging wall of basalts and minor metasediments overlying an ultramafic sequence of picrites, peridotites and komatiite flows above footwall basalts. Most of the nickel sulphides occur as high grade, elongated bodies at the top of the footwall basalts. The primary assemblage is pyrrhotite, pentlandite, pyrite and magnetite, with minor chalcopyrite and iron-rich chromite. The redistributed ore types include gold-bearing quartz-carbonate veins and gold- and platinum-bearing chalcopyrite stringers. Located in Western Australia.

Yilgarn Craton—the Archaean Yilgarn Craton occurs within Western Australia and covers 10 percent of the onshore continent. Exposure of bedrock is extremely poor throughout the region, and most known mineral deposits occur within or adjacent to sparse outcrop. The Yilgarn Craton is arguably Australia's premier mineral province, attracting more than half the mineral exploration expenditure and producing two-thirds of the gold and most of the nickel mined in the country.

Yilgarn Plateau—(see: Yilgarn Block).

Yindjibarndi—alternate spelling of Yinjibarndi.

Yingkarta—an Aboriginal people of coastal Western Australia, north of Perth.

Yindjibarndi—The broad area of land straddling the Fortescue River, from the Hamersley Range through to the Chichester Escarpment is the homeland of the Yindjibarndi people. Ngarrari (Millstream) was an important campsite for inter-tribal meetings. Visitors camped beside Chinderwarriner Pool, where they feasted on fresh fish and edible plant roots, harvested wood for spears and collected rocks for ritual purposes. Today the Yinjibarndi people maintain close ties with their land and have been trained and employed as rangers and contract workers.

Yir Yorant—an Aboriginal tribe from the lower reaches of the Mitchell River delta in the Northern Territory. This tribe is also know as the Kokominjen.

Yitha-Yitha—Aboriginal people of south-east New South Wales.

yo-yo—fool; idiot; dolt; dill.

yob/yobbo—1. uncouth ruffian; lout. 2. foolish, unsophisticated idiot.

yodel—to vomit.

yohi—(in Aboriginal English) an affirmative reply; yes.

Yollinko Aboriginal Park—the point at which Kardinia Creek joins the Barwon River in Victoria. It is a site of historical significance for early European settlement, being the common point at which settler’s drew their water. The sheep that they had introduced for their own livelihood soon destroyed the rich but shallow topsoil, trampling it with the hard and cloven hooves previously unknown to the Australian terrain. This in turn led to a change in native vegetation, and the root crops on which the Wathaurong people had traditionally depended for food became scarce. As a result, the Wathaurong faced severe food shortages within months of European settlement. Starvation lowered resistance to the introduced European diseases, which ravaged the tribes. The once significant level of activity carried out by the Aboriginal populations within this area is given testimony by some 140 archaeological sites. Along the banks of the Barwon River, middens dating back thousands of years are still to be found. According to scientific methods of dating, the Wathaurong lived in the Geelong region for more than 25,000 years before white settlers arrived. Yollinko Park is located in the Geelong region of Victoria.

Yolngu—an Aboriginal people of north-east Arnhem Land. The Yolngu had been trading with south-east Asia for centuries before the arrival of the Dutch in the 17th century. The Arafura Sea dominates their lives. More totems come from the sea than from the land. Sacred sites that have been underwater for thousands of years are still celebrated in song. Ceremonial dances are about the sea, and many of their creation myths centre on the sea. They are divided into two halves or sections, called Yirritja and Dhuwa. This division encompasses people, terrain, plants and animals.

Yolngu Matha/Gupapuyngu—an Aboriginal language traditionally used by the Yolngu people in north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, primarily used now in the old mission centers of Milingimbi, Ramangining, Galiwin'ku, Gapuwiyak and Yirrkala.

yonks—ages; a long time: e.g., I haven't seen him for yonks.

yonnie—a stone, especially for throwing.

yorga—an (Aboriginal) woman.

york—(cricket) bowl with a yorker.

York gumEucalyptus loxophleba, a small tree of reasonable form, from 5m to 15m tall with diameter up to 0.6m, or a low straggly mallee. The species is widespread in the wheatbelt and Goldfields areas of Western Australia, and the typical York gum is found in the Toodyay, York and Kellerberrin areas. Poorer trees are found as far north as Shark Bay, and east of Kalgoorlie. It is found in woodland formations, in association with wandoo, salmon gum, gimlet, powderbark wandoo, and raspberry-jam wattle. Further east, it occurs with mallee eucalypts.

York Road poisonGastrolobium calycinum, a shrub with brightly-coloured flowers that grows prolifically in the Darling Range, WA. It was named by the early settlers because of the heavy stock losses it caused in herds and flocks being taken over the hills to the new farming areas in the Avon Valley.

Yorke Peninsula—the peninsula's width is approximately 32km at its narrowest, 48km at its widest, and has more than 600km of coastline. During 1802 and 1803, the European explorers, Matthew Flinders and Nicholas Baudin charted the coastline of Yorke Peninsula, and their skill and accuracy in defining the coastline meant their charts were used well into the 20th century. From the 1840s through to the 1940s ships of various types and sizes were the major means of transport of cargo and people to and from Yorke Peninsula. The 660,000 hectares that comprise the peninsula have been described as one of the most productive areas in South Australia.

yorker—(cricket) a ball bowled so that it pitches immediately under the bat.

Yorktown—the first settlement on the Tamar River. On 19 December 1804, Lieutenant Governor William Paterson moved the settlement at Port Dalrymple from the temporary camp at Outer Cove (George Town) to a permanent site at the head of the western arm, on the other side of the river. The site was chosen for its proximity to Bass Strait, which was under threat of French settlement. In deciding on York Town, Paterson was guided purely by the strategic necessity of being near Bass Strait, and he gave little thought to the problem of soil fertility and cultivation. At Yorktown's peak in 1805 there were nearly three hundred people living in over forty separate buildings. When Paterson left at the end of 1808, the town was largely abandoned and very little remains above ground today. Now a proud site of historical significance, Yorktown lies nestled amongst towering Australian gums, striking ferns, outstanding water ways and an inviting community spirit.

Yorta Yorta—an Aboriginal people who occupied a stretch of territory located in what is now known as the Murra-Goulburn region. Their lifestyle was based on hunting, fishing and collecting food, the majority of which was provided from the network of rivers, lagoons, creeks and lakes which were and still are regarded as the life source of the Yorta Yorta people. The abundance, variety and continuity of food resources required a minimal amount of energy input for the food quest (about 3.5 hours per day), which allowed a large amount of time for leisure activities.The Murray Valley region was regarded as one of the most heavily populated areas in Australia prior to colonisation, with a population estimated to have been approximately 2400. The arrival of Europeans, however, had a devastating impact on traditional groups such as the Yorta Yorta. Within the first generation of the European invasion, the Yorta Yorta population was reduced by 85 per cent. They were dispossessed of their tribal lands and left to eke out an existence on the edges of European settlements as remnant tribal groups. As in other parts of the frontier, violence continued and the Yorta Yorta fought a sustained resistance struggle against the wholesale dispossession of their land. The further mistreatment and abuse of Aboriginal women by European men caused increased conflict and reprisals. The remaining Yorta Yorta population and other tribal groups from neighbouring areas were eventually relocated at Maloga Mission on the New South Wales side of the Murray River in 1874. Maloga was eventually closed and the residents were relocated at Cummeragunja in 1888-9, which became the place where the Yorta Yorta were able to regroup after the destruction. It also provided a base for the development of what became the Aboriginal political movement in the 1930s.

you beaut!—exclamation meaning: excellent! wonderful!

you little beaut/corker/ripper—exclamation meaning:excellent! wonderful! success! you excellent, pleasing person or thing.

you wouldn't read about it!—exclamation of incredulity, astonishment, surprise, wonder—often at some form of irony that has just occurred.

You Yangs Regional Park—a series of granite tors that provided Matthew Flinders with a vantage point from which to survey the surrounding Port Phillip district in 1802. Although only 352m in height, the You Yangs dominate the Werribee lava plains from which they rise in dramatic isolation. The name 'You Yang' comes from the Aboriginal words wurdi youang or ude youang, meaning 'big mountain in the middle of a plain'. The highest point in the You Yangs, Flinders Peak, affords a view of the surrounding area, including Mount Macedon, the Brisbane Ranges, Geelong, Corio Bay, and the Melbourne skyline. Matthew Flinders was the first European to visit the You Yangs. On 1st May 1802, he and three of his men climbed to the highest point. He named it 'Station Peak' but this was later changed to Flinders Peak in his honour. The You Yangs protect a range of habitats for wildlife. Tall eucalypts such as manna gums, yellow gums and river red gums give way to sparse undergrowth of native shrubs and ground covers. Patches of wattles and drooping she-oaks can also be seen. The vegetation of the You Yangs has seen considerable change since the arrival of Europeans. As the native vegetation was cleared for farming and timber, plantations of sugar gum and brown mallet were established to supply local communities with firewood, posts and poles. On 14th January 1985, a wildfire burnt more than 80% of the park. The vegetation is now slowly recovering, although its composition is changing. The You Yangs Regional Park is 55km south-west of Melbourne and 22km north of Geelong, Victoria.

you're not wrong!—an expression of total agreement with someone else's opinion or statement.

you're on!—declaration of acceptance of a wager, bet, gamble, or some difficult task.

you've got to be in it to win it—taking a chance—having a go—is necessary in order to be a contender for success.

you-beaut—wonderful; excellent; amazing; admirable; e.g., He doesn't own that old bomb anymore—he drives a you-beaut sports-car now.

young and old—(rhyming slang) cold.

Younghusband Peninsula—a narrow strip of land (on average only 2km wide) featuring rugged dunes and unique coastal vegetation. This ninety mile stretch of land remains largely untouched due to its isolation from main transport routes. Flowing dunes highlight this landscape created by forces of wind and the stabilizing character of Marrum grass. The Coorong area, of which Younghusband Peninsula is a part, was declared a national park in 1966. This area is renowned for its flora and fauna, in particular the 240 species of birds that inhabit the area. Camping is permitted in designated areas only. The sandy Ninety Mile Beach on the peninsula offers a great opportunity for shell fossicking, surf fishing or just to get away from it all and relax.

youngie—a child; young person.

Yourambulla Caves Historic Reserve—the name Yourambulla is derived from the Adnyamathanha phrase yura pilla, meaning two men, and is related to the two peaks (to the east of the painting sites). In Adnyamathanha legend two men of different kinship, arraru and mathari, camped where the two peaks now stand, to eat part of a man they were carrying. A number of paintings and etchings occur in this area, housed in rock shelters or caves accessible by marked walking trails. Once inside the caves there are Aboriginal rock paintings on the walls. Located 11km south of Hawker, South Australia.

Yowah—the township, built on the Yowah opal mining field, is 150km north-west of Cunnamulla. The first lease was registered in 1883 and opal has been mined on the field since that time. The field is renowned for its yowah nuts—small, hollow, ironstone concretions, a small percentage of which contain a kernel of crystal opal. The field also has magnificent matrix which is a unique type of opal, usually formed within the outer shell of the yowah nuts, and when cut makes an elegant gem. The town has a resident population of about 60, which increases to nearer 250 during the winter months. It is only in recent years that the town has acquired some of the everyday services we take for granted—like electricity, reticulated water from the artesian bore, telephone and television (via satellite). There is a designated area for recreational fossicking (licence required) with hand tools only. Located in Queensland.

yowie—the Australian version of the Yeti, a mythical, large, ape-like man.

yu—a shelter, a wind-break.

Yuendumu—an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory and the traditional home of the Warlpiri people. Yuendumu artists are internationally recognised for their traditional dot paintings. They use brightly coloured acrylic paints, which distinguishes them from the other dot paintings communities of the desert. They paint Dreamtime stories, called Jurrpa. The community of Yuendumu is located 300km west of Alice Springs, in the Central Desert region.

Yuin—the indigenous occupants of the Pambula area. Their tradtional lands extended from Twofold Bay northward to the town of Eden, across the Great Dividing Range towards the Monaro, and southward to Mallacoota in north-eastern Victoria. The first Europeans to see their land were in the party of George Bass, who sheltered from a gale in the Pambula River on December 18, 1797.

Yulara Village—the service city for visitors to Uluru. It was purpose built to cater to the increasing number of tourists. Yulara offers multi-standard accommodation, a visitors centre, a domestic airport and all the facilities you would expect in a modern tourist village. It is a far more modern complex than those which existed at the time of its construction in the early 1980s. Then, there were only a handful of ramshackle buildings set back slightly from the base of 'The Rock', which put the monolith within easy walking distance after an evening meal. 'Yulara' means 'crying' or 'weeping' in the language of the local Pitjantjatjara and Yunkunytjatjara peoples.

Yura Muda—the collective Dreamtime stories of the Adnyamathanha people. Akurra, the creator and guardian of fresh water in the Flinders Ranges, is at the heart of the Yura Muda. An enormous bearded and maned water snake, Akurra is credited with forming much of the landscape in the Flinders Ranges. Many other reptiles can be found in the Adnyamathanha Dreamtime stories, and birds are also strongly featured. Yurlu, (red-backed kingfisher) and Walha (the Australian bustard) are central to the creation history for Wilpena Pound. Willie wagtails, crested pigeons, hawks, mistletoe birds, ducks, emus and crows symbolise the relationship that the Adnyamathanha people have with their land.

Yuwaaliyaay—an Aboriginal people of central New South Wales. A number of features of Yuwaaliyaay technology were distinctive. One was the use of several kinds of net, some very large, for catching fish, birds and animals. Second was the construction of large, stone fish-traps on the river; while a third was the exploitation of grass and other seed on a large scale, using seed grinding technology. Yuwaaliyaay imported stone axes from outside rather than making them from local materials. The string and rope used for nets, lures, snares etc were made from the bark of kurrajong. The bark was stripped, beaten, chewed and teased, and spun on the thigh. A possum tooth served as a carving tool for wood, such as boomerangs. Women carried babies in a net across the back. The main containers for moving food and resources, and for carrying infants, were dishes of carved wood and ready-shaped tree excrescences, as well as net-bags. People stored seed and carried water in animals skins in this region, inflating a skin and drying it into shape for this purpose. As shelter Yuwaaliyaay people built wind-breaks of branches etc. for summer, and made substantial domed huts with timber frames and grass thatch for winter. In cold winter weather they wore skin cloaks, usually of red kangaroo skin with designs cut on them. In the bora ceremony body decoration and apparel were more elaborate. As in other regions, the digging stick or yam stick, was the main tool for women, used for digging yams and other roots, to extract echidna from hollow trees and logs, and to dig crayfish and mussels from the mud. The men's spears were made of swamp oak or gidya wood. They had wooden heads: plain, painted at both ends, sometimes poison-tipped; barbed one side; barbed on both sides; or barbed in both directions. Men used non-return boomerangs for hunting, and they used plain throwing sticks. The return boomerang of gidya or myall wood was used more for games. Men speared fish with fish-spears, or people fished with nets. Folk-remedies used by lay people included plant infusions and poultices of ground and pounded leaves for pain, swelling and insomnia. For about three months after giving birth a woman was goorerwon, polluted, and had to remain away from the camp, her food brought by an older woman.

zac/zack/zak—a coin to the value of sixpence (pre-decimal).

Zaglossus hacketti—a sheep-sized echidna whose remains were discovered in Mammoth Cave in Western Australia. It was probably the largest monotreme to have ever lived.

zamia palmMacrozamia moorei, has a similar appearance to ferns or palms but actually belongs to a primitive group of plants called cycads. The name moorei was given in reference to Charles H Moore, the first superintendent of the Sydney Botanic Gardens, in 1881. Its scientific name is often shortened and the palm is referred to as a zamia palm by graziers. Smaller size species of Macrozamia are often referred to as parazamia. The zamia palm is endemic to Australia where it occurs in Queensland, across the Carnarvon Range and throughout the Emerald, Springsure and Rolleston districts. The zamia palm prefers a sandstone gorge environment, which gives protection and patchy light and shade, but will grow on escarpments, valley floors, or out in the open timbered woodland with no protection. The stout caudex (trunk) can be up to 80cm in diameter. A moderately tall palm can grow to 8m, but a common height is 2-3m. The palms can be distinguished as male or female when they are coning. Native animals relish eating the seeds of the zamia palm. Marsupials eat the ripe flesh or the whole female seed and disperse the seeds through their droppings, thus enabling the spread of the seed away from the main plant where overcrowding could take place. Wild pigs eat the flesh and leave the hard seed. It's common to find many from last season with an emerging green shoot and single leaf showing. Under Queensland legislation the palm is listed as being a common species, with a restricted status. Removal for sale to wholesale for local or export trade requires both a Commercial and a Wildlife Harvesting Licence.

zap off—1. fall asleep, especially in an exhausted state. 2. leave, depart in a hurry.

zap up—1.make more interesting; inject with enthusiasm, life, energy. 2. make, erect, do hastily.

zapped—lively; spirited; energetic.

zebra crossing—pedestrian crossing on a road, with marked broad stripes.

zebra finchTaeniopygia guttata, a small (10g) songbird native to the semi-arid regions of Australia and Timor. They are highly social, nesting colonially in groups of 20 to 1000, and are opportunistic breeders, beggining their reproductive cycles when rain falls. They are a common cage bird throughout the world, probably because they breed so readily and frequently; young birds reach sexual maturity 90 days after hatching. Zebra finches are sexually dimorphic in their plumage and song behavior. Males sing and females do not. Males have a chestunt cheek patch, a chestnut stripe with white spots along the flank, and fine black and white striping on the neck above a broad black band across the chest. Females have none of these markings, and their beaks are orange while the males' are red. However, the roles of the two sexes in raising young are relatively equal. Zebra finches form strong, monogamous pair bonds (although some birds occasionally cheat on their mates). Males court females, females choose among their suitors, and the formation of a pair bond is marked by "clumping" (two birds perching so near to each other that they appear to merge in a ball of feathers) and mutual preening. The male builds the nest, the female lays a clutch of 3-8 eggs, and the two parents take turns incubating the eggs (for approximately 15 days) and feeding the young until they are independent. Young birds are uniformly gray and have black beaks; they begin to assume their adult plumage between 30 and 45 days after hatching.

zed—the letter 'z'.

Zeehan—an historic mining town in the wilds of Western Tasmania. Located 293km north-west of Hobart, 38km north of Queenstown and 155km south of Burnie, and 172m above sea level, Zeehan is a classic mining town. The older sections of Zeehan are genuinely very interesting and give some indication of what the town must have been like when it had a population of 10,000. The new sections are really identikit mining town, no different from any one of a thousand mining towns—standard issue permulum houses abound. Zeehan was one of the first places in Tasmania ever seen by Europeans—in 1642 Abel Tasman sighted the mountain peak which was subsequently named Mount Zeehan after the brig in which he was sailing. The area, which was wild and rugged, remained unexplored until the discovery of tin at Mount Bischoff in 1871. In 1879 tin was discovered at Mount Heemskirk north of the present site of Zeehan. It led to a boom which saw more than 50 companies staking claims over some 6400ha of what would prove to be hopeless and useless country. By the 1880s there were only a dozen mines working in the Heemskirk area. In late 1882 four miners moved further south and in December a man named Frank Long discovered silver-lead near the present day site of Zeehan. It led to the largest mining boom on Tasmania's west coast, with Zeehan being dubbed the 'Silver City of the West' and, within a decade, Zeehan growing to become the third largest town in Tasmania. At its height in 1891 there were 159 companies with mining leases in the area. Each year, from 1890-1910, the mines earned an average of £200,000, but by 1910 the ore bodies which had sustained Zeehan began to give out and the town slowly declined. By the 1950s it had a population of only 650, and the last silver mine in Zeehan closed down in 1960.

ziff—a beard.

zig-zag bog-sedgeSchoenus brevifolius, in almost all swamps and shallow wetlands across Australia there are grass-like plants called sedges. The zig-zag bog-sedge (so-called because of the arrangement of its brown, chaffy flowers in the flower head) is one that often completely covers swamps, keeping out almost all other species. All plants, like all animals, need to breathe and that means they need oxygen. Some underwater plants get enough oxygen from the water around them but most, including the zig-zag bog-sedge, need oxygen from the air. This is a problem for wetland plants as their roots and parts of their stems are almost always under water. Each stem of this species has a number of microscopic, waterproof 'pipes' that run from the tops of the stems, which are open to the air, right down to the roots.

zinc cream—a heavy cream used as a preventative against sunburn.

zizz—a short sleep, nap.

zodiac mothAlcides zodiaca, a day-moth that is readily confused for a butterfly because of its lovely strong bands of tan and mauve that diagonally cross its black wings. Commonly seen around the Cairns and Atherton Tablelands areas in Queensland, the zodiac's food plants are the toywood tree and the day moth vine.

zooxanthellae—brilliantly hued algae that live within coral polyp in a symbiotic relationship. Feeding on the nitrogen that is a by-product of coral biology, the algae in turn provide the corals with 98% of their total diet. Sugars produced by algal photosynthesis are crucial to the survival of the coral colony. If the zooxanthellae are lost, the coral "bleaches" to its natural colourless state, and the corals slowly starve to death.

zot—1. bash; hit; kill.2.any quick action.

zot off—go, depart quickly.

Zygomaturus trilobus—a marsupial with no modern day comparisons. Some of the features of its skeleton suggest it may have preferred swampy habitats. It possibly lived in small herds around the wetter, coastal margins of Australia and occasionally may have extended its range along the watercourses into central Australia. The skull has raised nostrils that would have been an advantage to the animal when feeding in water. Zygomaturus trilobus had a size and build similar to a pygmy hippopotamus, weighing around 300 to 500kg. The scientific name refers to the broad zygomatic arches (cheek bones) and the three prominent lobes of the premolar teeth. As a ground dweller, it moved on all 4 limbs. Feeding probably occurred by shovelling up clumps of reeds and sedges with its fork-like, lower incisor teeth. Like the other megafaunal giants, Zygomaturus became extinct around 50,000 years ago.