( 56 ; 



The most important collections we have received are the followiDg ones : — 



Mysol. Besides some few specimens collected on Mjsol (or Misol) by Messrs. 

 Gnillemard and Powell, and some from Bruijn's hunters, we have a fairl}* good 

 collection made on Mysol by Mr. Heinrich Kiihn. Althongh at almost equal 

 distance from Ceram and New Guinea, Mysol belongs faunistically entirely to 

 New Guinea, and this is easily explained by the number of smaller islets stretching 

 in a northern and north-eastern direction from Mysol towards Salwatty and New 

 Guinea, and the shallow sea surrounding Mysol and New Guinea, while deep sea 

 of more than two hundred fathoms separates Mysol from the Molnccan Islands. 

 Most of the birds are quite similar to those of New Guinea, others subspecifically 

 allied to tlie latter. Molnccan intluence is scarcely ])erceptible. 



Mysol with Salwatty, Waigiu, Batanta and some other small islands in their 

 vicinity, are appropriately termed " Western Papuan Islands," New Guinea itself 

 being Papna, the D'Entrecasteaux Group, Trobriand, Woodlark, Louisiades — and 

 the Bismarck Archipelago being the "Eastern Papuan Islands." 



Etna Bay and Triton Bay. These two gnHs in the south of North-western 

 New Guinea are of special interest, as being among the former hunting grounds 

 of Salomon Miiller, one of the best collectors and travellers who ever explored the 

 Eastern Archipelago. Cajitain ('ayley Webster made some small collections at 

 both places. He visited Etna B.ay with the object of making a trip to the Charles 

 Lonis mountains, but in this he failed altogether, as might have been expected. 

 His men were attacked and several killed, as described in his book, which appeared 

 under the somewhat fantastic and unfortunate title, " Through New Guinea and the 

 Cannibal Countries." In the appendix to this book, pp. 300-0, Mr. Hartert has 

 given a list of species received from Triton and Etna Bay. This collection, however, 

 is very small, and can only be looked upon as samples of the oruis of these districts. 



At Eapaur, about 2-1 southern latitiide, south of McCluer's Inlet, William 

 Doherty made large collections in 1896, mostly in the surrounding hills. Collecting 

 here is described as very difficult in Doherty's letters. The hills are thickly wooded, 

 and awful to walk on. The natives are very hostile. Almost every man has a gun, 

 principally used in slave-hunting, but also in shooting every edible bird, except 

 the " sacred " ones, which are very numerous. The following extracts of some of 

 Doherty's letters from and about Kapaur may be of interest. 



" The hills above Kapaur do not look from the sea so high as they are, on account 

 of the enormous height of the trees on the shore. Our collections are made from the 

 sea-level up to 2000 feet, and partly to at least 3000 feet ; but different elevations 

 being often gone over on the same day, and my men often having gone out alone, 

 the specimens are not labelled with the exact elevations they are caught at. We 

 extended our excursions some 10 or 18 miles to the north-east, on the hills beyond 

 the sources of the Sekertemping River. Of the Parrots we got only common 

 species, besides f.oniis cri/throtkorax and Nagiterna hruijni, which were numerous. 

 The latter were ()l>tained above 2000 feet. The jiarrots are extremely shy here, 

 flying like sky-rockets and alighting only on the toj)s of the tallest trees. Pigeons 

 are amazingly rare; even Macropygia and Chalcophaps are scarce here. Kingfishers 

 were rarely seen. I have been told of the existence here of a Seleucides with black 

 side-plumes instead of yellow ones. We did not come across it, and if we had 

 done so we could hardly have shot it, as it is " fomali," which means taboo ! In 

 small birds we did better. In the hills we got Lamprococcyx meyeri, Myzomela 

 cruentata, and many others. The natives were very suspicious and unkind at first, 



