372 A NATURALIST ON THE "CHALLENGER 



n 



should thus once in a while choke itself ; but no doubt the tree 

 suffered little, the roots taking fully the place of the strangled 

 trunk. 



The Eattans are a serious obstacle in excursions in the 

 forests. The tendrils of these trailing and climbing palms are 

 beset with rows of recurved hooks, which as they are drawn 

 across one's flesh, in a dash made to get a shot at a bird, 

 cut into it as readily as knives, but with a more unpleasant 

 wound. 



An immense tree, with a tall stem free from branches, until 

 at a great height it spread out into a wide and evenly shaped 

 crown, was full of the nests of the Metallic Starling {Calornis 

 metallicct), a very beautiful small starling with dark plumage, 

 which displays a brilliant purple metallic glance all over its 

 surface. The birds breed thus gregariously. There must have 

 been three or four hundred nests in the tree ; every available 

 branch was full of them. The birds were busy flying to and fro, 

 and were quite safe, for the tree was so high that they were out 

 of shot of my gun at least, which was not a choke bore. 



On one of my excursions in the forest I met with a flock 

 of brilliant plumaged Parrots. They were apparently feeding in 

 company with a flock of White Cockatoos. I managed to stalk 

 one of the parrots, and shot it. The cockatoos set up the most 

 angry harsh screaming, and evidently made common cause with 

 the parrots. They sat and screamed at me on a tree close by, as 

 angrily as if one of their own flock had been shot, and flew over 

 my head high up out of reach of the gun, looking down at the 

 dead bird and still screaming. 



Once, as I was making my way through thick undergrowth 

 in a swampy place, my guide touched my arm and pointed and 

 said " Casiiari." I was too late to see the big bird, but I saw the 

 tracks of its feet in the mud ; and now, for the first time, 

 realized the fact that the Cassowary, a large Struthious bird, can 

 inhabit a dense forest. I had always coupled Struthious birds 

 in my mind with open downs or plains, or at all events with 

 brushwood and occasional trees. I had also not before under- 

 stood that " Cassowary " was the Malay name of the bird. 



I searched for Land Planarians without success. There can 



