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perfVirm tlieir tini)tial dances, are l.-t by the natives. Although the Trangan people 

 bad never seen a white niau before on their island (only the Arnnese trade in 

 Trangan), they would not let me have a true for an aoitcptable price. They asked 

 two elephant tnsks of a cubit in length, and 30 kapala — i.e. 30 gongs, worth 

 lU to 25 guilders. Three diiferent owners asked the same price, saying that it 

 was done by order of their king. The natives also twice showed hostility to my 

 men, which forced me to leave Trangan sooner than I inteu<led. Trangan is a sandy 

 island, to a great extent covered with tracts of high gras.s, alternating with medium- 

 sized forest, and has some fresh-water rivers. There are a few small hills of 

 sandstone and coral-limestone. Only two or three salt-water creeks extend deeply 

 into the land, the largest of which, Soengi Sarmatoe, I went up, sailing and j)addling. 

 Even Chinese were only known by name on Trangan, and my interpreter was 

 repeatedly asked if 1 was a Chinese I In Dobbo I complained to the Rajah about 

 the outrageous jirice asked for shooting stations on Trangan, and he said it was 

 true that he had given orders to ask these prices to prevent theft and trouble, but 

 they were not meant for Europeans. If he had known that I was going to Trangan 

 he would have given me a man, to prevent trouble. This was very kind, but too 

 late now ! I have, however, left a man on the Aru Islands with instructions to 

 collect those birds which we did not obtain this time." 



The birds from the Key and South-East Islands are discussed by Mr. Hartert 

 in another series of articles. 



I.— PITTIDAE. 



1. Pitta atricapilla atricapilla Quoy et Gaim. 



The tyi)ical utricapHla, generally called P. nooaequinme, seems to be distributed 

 all over New Guinea. We have specimens from various places in British New 

 Guinea— where it seems to be an inhabitant of the plains rather than of the 

 mountains — especially a fine series collected by Meek at Milne Bay and CoUingwood 

 Bay, from Mt. Cameron, ^OUil ft. above the sea, from Kapaur and Etna Bay in 

 Dutch New Guinea, and from Konstantinhafen and Simbang in Kaiser Wilhelm's 

 Land. We have not been able to find differences between the birds from the 

 various parts of New Guinea, nor can we distinguish tiiose from BIysol, whence 

 Mr. Kiihn sent us a good series. Mr. Kiihn sent it also from Wokan, Kobroor, 

 Trangan, and Dobbo, Aru Islands, and we cannot separate these either from New 

 Guinea sjiecimens. They are not smaller, nor do they differ in colour. The nudes 

 o{ F. utricapilla are larger and more highly coloureil than the/emak's. 



2. Pitta atricapilla mefoorana Schleg. 



The black-headed FMa of Mefoor, or Mafor, difiers from P. atricainlhi 

 atricapilla in several important characters. Tiie feathers of the lower rump are 

 of a beautiful silvery blue ; the tail is black, with green tips of a few millimetres 

 to 1 cm. in extent only ; the blue of the abdomen is deeper, finer, and slightly 

 more extended ; there is a narrow silvery bluish glossy line separating the black 

 throat from the green breast. There is never any white speculum on the wing. 

 This speculum, however, is often very restricted, and sometimes, though very rarely, 

 absent in P. atiicapilla atricapilla. We have a series of nine collected by Doherty 

 in IMiT. 



