26 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



The localities in the Para districts are along the line of the railroad 

 running between Paramaribo and Republiek. We are not certain 

 whether Wanaweg lies in Beneden Para or Boven Para, but it is not 

 far from Lelydorp, formerly known as Kofhedjompo. 



The term "Vicinity of Paramaribo" embraces the city of Para- 

 maribo with its outlying wards (" Buitenwijken") and all the surround- 

 ing estates and plantations within easy walking distance from the city. 

 The majority of birds so marked were taken by Egbert Graanoogst 

 near his place on the Tweede Rijweg. 



Three fairly distinct zones characterize and influence the distribu- 

 tion of bird-life in Surinam. These zones are not sharply defined, and 

 run approximately parallel to the coast line; but although each, in 

 general, presents a distinctive character, the local plant-life depends 

 more dii'ectly upon the immediate surroundings, irrespective of the 

 zone in which it may lie. Thus in the midst of the swampy lowlands 

 one encounters dry stretches of a slightly higher level on r-rhich the 

 plant-life takes on the aspect of the high woods of the interior, while 

 the lower wet areas of the savannas, and even of the highlands, are 

 covered by a wilderness similar to that of like areas in the coastal , 

 region. 



The first zone, comprising the Alluvial lowlands, forms a broad belt 

 about 60 kilometers wide, narrower at the Marowijne, wider at the 

 Corentijn, consisting of a low swampy wilderness, the so-called salt- 

 water and fresh-water "pans," and the wet savannas, traversed by 

 higher sandy ridges and old mussel-beds, many of which are partially 

 or wholly submerged during the big rainy season. These ridges and 

 higher levels are covered by growths of mixed character in which high 

 woods similar to those of the back lands prevail. The city of Para- 

 maribo stands upon one of these ridges. The mangrove forests occupy 

 strips of low coast-land and the banks of rivers and " creeks" so far as 

 they are affected by the high tides. 



The second zone, the Savanna lands, occupies a narrower belt 

 behind the high woods of the more elevated portions of the lowlands. 

 The sandy surface is not flat but rolling, with here and there small 

 hillocks, some of which are covered by a low growth, while others are 

 bare. Large tracts of grasslands are characteristic of this region. 

 Outcroppings of granite rock are here and there exposed, causing 

 rapids and small waterfalls in the rivers. The creeks which traverse 

 these savannas are bordered by strips of vegetation, usually of low 

 growth, and between the hills are frequently oases of higher growth. 

 This zone forms a transition from the Alluvial lowlands to the High- 



