( ol4 ) 



forbade luy sending tlieiu to Puchu Leoli and the still highcT mouutaiiis of Keo 

 (9187 feet) or Bokka Peak (6502 feet), the first of which is au active volcano and 

 the second apparently quite extinct. In addition to the attitude of the natives 

 tbiining au obstacle to my making exhaustive collections from this part of Flores, 

 my visit coincided with the last two months of the dry season, during which rejitiles, 

 amphibia, landshclls, insects, etc., are extremely scarce, as the majority of them 

 aestivate during the tremendous heat which scorches the land at this time — to such 

 a degree that the earth is baked hard and fissured, great part of the trees shed their 

 leaves, on many others the foliage hangs shrivelled or leathery, and the air in the 

 sheltered gullies is as the breath of a veritable furnace. The whole of my party 

 fell sick with dysentery and fever, owing to the bad water and onr being unable to 

 procure a sufficiency of food, coupled with the withering heat. Judging from the 

 highland birds, the reptiles, amphibia, etc., of Flores from elevations between 30UU 

 and TOUO feet should be uf considerable interest. Of mammals I got hardly any 

 — a pigmy shrew, several rats, and a wholly black Paradoxiirus* The porcupine is 

 found, but I did not obtain a specimen. There are also in the island the common 

 Mac'icus, deer, wild pig, and various bats — also perhaps a Cuscus. 



" I think that I have sent you specimens of every species of bird that we met 

 with, excepting sea-birds, waders, and herons, and the Calornis which was seen 

 only once. No Edectus was observed, nor any TrichoglossuH or Loriculus. 

 Sci/tkrops also was absent in this locality, and, strange to say, such ubiijuitous 

 species as Lalaye timorieusis, Ilulcjon chloris, Haliactu.s leiicoijaatcr, and Mihus 

 affinis. Meropa ornatus too did not occur, but it had very likely left on migration. 

 The large Flores crow is said to be C. tnacrorhi/nchus. If so it has developed a local 

 dialect since it immigrated, for in addition to the usual cawing notes, these birds 

 utter a peculiar loud sijualling whine, wliich I do not remember ever hearing them 

 do elsewhere. 



" The altitudes given on the labels are to be regarded as approximate, being 

 taken with a single aneroid, but I have no reason to suppose that they are otherwise 

 than sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. With regard to the sexing of the 

 specimens, as on previous occasions the abbreviation ' nat. coll.' signifies that the 

 native collector is solely responsible for its correctness, and where my initials follow 

 the sex-symbol it means that I sexed such specimens with special care myself, and 

 where the symbols appear aloue the sex has been checked by my assistant ur 

 myself." 



The following list of the birds obtained in Flores will show how much Mr. 

 Everett's zeal has increased our knowledge of the birds of Flores, and from it we 

 must conclude that an exploration of the high mountains will unveil still more 

 zoological mysteries. 



We have an excellent knowledge of the avifauna of the lowlands of Flores from 

 Wallace. Afterwards Herr and Frau Weber collected in Flores in 18S8 and 1889, 

 and they brought home sixty species, of which four were described as new by Dr. 

 Buttik(jfer, while seventeen others were new to the Flores list (see Biittikofer in 

 Zool. Ei-ycbiiiss: Reisc in Nied. 0. Indicn (Oii Weber, Vol. III. jip. ^71, 289, 1892). 

 Two birds from Flores were also mentioned by Biittikofer in Sotcs Leydcii Mas. 

 1891, pp. 212, 213, and some in Schlegel's Mus. Fai/s-Bas and Vog. Nederl. Indie. 



We thus knew nearly a hundred and twenty species from Flores, which number 

 is now considerably increased. In this volume {iintea, p. 170) 1 have already 



• A black specimen of Puyadoxurua hermaphroditiiii (Pall.). 



