246 Mr. P. L. Sclatcr on Recent 



Andai on the previous occasion^ Hr. Waelders sent some 

 Papuan boys up to Atam, and o])tained a collection of bird- 

 skins, which in March of the followinj^ year were acquired 

 by Dr. Meyer. " It is, therefore, only Italian naturalists 

 that have had the good fortune to hunt the most rare and 

 most beautiful Paradise-birds in their native forests." The 

 very first day of collecting at Atam, Beccari obtained two 

 specimens of Epimachus maximus, two of Astrapia gularis 

 (only found on the most elevated ridges, and almost always 

 above 6000 feet in altitude), besides examples of Drepanornis 

 albertisi, Paradigalla carunculaia, Parotia sexsetacea, and 

 various other wonderful species. 



Beccari^s departure from this true naturalist^s Paradise was 

 hastened by intelligence that the men on his schooner were 

 sick, and that quarrels had arisen between them and the 

 natives. Descending to Mansinam on the 18th of July, he 

 left for Salawatti, and arrived there on the 21st. The 23rd 

 he proceeded to Batanta, an island lying immediately to the 

 north of Salawatti, and remained there four days. Returning 

 thence to Ternate in haste, on account of the sickness of 

 his crew, Beccari was able to stop only 30 hours at Koffiao 

 (called Poppa or Pope on the charts), but obtained thirty 

 bird- skins in this little-known Moluccan island, amongst 

 which were those of Tanysiptera ellioii*, a Pitta, and Rhipi- 

 dura vidua. 



The collections amassed during this most successful expe- 

 dition have not yet arrived in Italy, or at any rate are not yet 

 worked out. But we are told that they were sufficient to 

 flu twenty-one cases, of which six contained birds, and that 

 the Papuan birds exceed 2000 in number. In his ornitho- 

 logical letter above referred to, Dr. Beccari gives the fol- 

 lowing details respecting the principal rarities. 



" Having referred to my journey, I will tell you what I 

 think are the most remarkable in my collection of birds. I 

 obtained several birds of prey, not including, however, Astur 

 leucosoma, which is not rare at Mansinam (three specimens 

 are in Bruijn's collection). Of the Owls there are, with mine 

 * Sharpe's Mon. pi. 105, where the locality given is "Mysol." 



