The name Bandicoot comes from the Indian word for "rat".

Bandicoots are a group of small marsupials that have live on a varied diet 
of insects and other invertebrates that they dig out from leaf litter, 
among roots and in the earth.

Several species of bandicoots are now extinct and many are vulnerable 
including the Bilby. 
    
Bandicoots have harsh, almost spiny fur, brown/grey in colour. 
The Short nosed brown bandicoot has small, rounded ears while the 
Long Nosed bandicoot’s ears are longer and it has a longer snout.  

All bandicoots have long noses which they use with their strong forepaws 
in finding and eating their food. 
The second and third toes of a bandicoot’s hind foot are joined together 
to the claws and are used for grooming the fur. The bandicoots have 
developed elongated hind feet rather like kangaroos and wallabies and 
have rat like tails.
Bandicoots are about rabbit sized,  the Northern bandicoot weighs 
from 1-3 kg while the smaller long-nosed bandicoot weighs less than 1 kg.
 
All species are nocturnal and hide during the day in their nest, 
a hollow log or crevice. 
The shallow nest is lined with sticks, leaves and grass. 
Their nests are not permanent and have no defined entrance.    
  
Bandicoots eat insect larvae, worms, spiders, grass seeds and berries. 
The Northern Bandicoot is more omnivorous, eating grass seeds, berries 
insects, beetles, worms, beetle larvae etc. 
 
Once abundant in the backyards of suburban homes, unfortunately like 
many other native mammals, many species have been declining in 
numbers for a variety of reasons.
Domestic and ferel cats and dogs, poisoning.

Some species harbour dog ticks. They also carry fleas, lice and mites.

Bandicoots are solitary animals except when mating. 
They are territorial and can be aggressive towards other males that 
approach them. 

The female, who is smaller than the male of her species, usually 
bears two young, which are carried about in her well-developed pouch. 
The pouch contains from four to eight teats, depending on the species 
and opens towards the rear (appropriate for an animal that digs a lot). 

The common gestation period is about 12.5 days, the shortest known 
for any mammal. 
The average litter is two to four, and is about 0.25 grams in weight. 
Bandicoots are born with their eyes shut. 
The eyes open at about 44 or 48 days after birth. 
They spend their first nine to ten weeks in their mother's pouch. 
They grow quickly and are weaned at the age of about 11 weeks.