54 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes 



rnage^ perhaps a bird escaped from captivity, or an individual 

 variety. My hunters declared it to be from the Sangi Islands ; 

 but I do not believe that the species occurs there at all. 



Trichoglossus meyeri, Walden. 



Native name at Menado, '' Parkitji lolaro.^' " Lolaro " 

 means the mangrove jungles near the sea-shore, especially 

 those of RMzophoi'a conjugata, L. 



I discovered this new species in April 1871, and sent it as 

 such to Lord Tweeddale, who bestowed my name upon it : 

 the plate (Trans. Zool. Soc. viii. pi. iv.) is a little too brilliant 

 in its colours. The bird appeared near Menado in flocks, and 

 could always be procured till the middle of May, and then be- 

 came rarer. The sudden appearance of some species of Parrots 

 must be in connexion with the flowering of certain trees, and 

 with the changes of the season. Loriculus stigmatus appeared 

 in flocks near Menado at the beginning of March in 1871, 

 Trichoglossus ornatus at the end of March, Trichoglossus 

 meyeri at the beginning of April, and Loriculus exilis at the 

 end of April. We are still far from a perfect knowledge of the 

 movements of the birds in these regions, and shall not know 

 much about it till we have a series of observations from dif- 

 ferent localities. It appears to me probable that the rainy 

 season in the mountains of the Minahassa drives the birds to 

 places where it is warmer and not so damp ; at least this was 

 the condition in 1871 near Menado, where the rainy season 

 was very mild. 



Besides, the distribution of animals is always changing, 

 slowly, but constantly ; and as to birds in those regions, no 

 doubt the monsoons have a great influence. The monsoon 

 drives the birds in one direction ; they cannot go against it. 

 Therefore, if one wishes to study in greater detail the distri- 

 bution of birds — say, for instance, those of the Philippines, 

 Celebes, Borneo, and the islands between these countries, the 

 local lines of the monsoons must be taken into consideration 

 in comparing the allied and representative species from the 

 different islands, in order to get a clue to the starting-point of 

 the race or of the whole group. 



