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Platypus, or Duckbill. An Australian animal of the order Monotremata. It has webbed feet and a flat bill like a duck; the body is about a foot long and covered with soft brown fur, intermingled with longer hairs; the tail is broad, flat, hairy above and naked below. The platypus is a nocturnal animal, frequenting quiet pools in streams and therefore not easily found. It digs deep burrows in the banks in which it builds a nest and lays two ovoid eggs, each less than an inch long. The young are at first blind and hairless like young mice. The food of the platypus is mostly animal and consists of water insects and other invertebrates.

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