^°'igo4^'] Vivian, Some Bird-Life in British Papua. C3 



noise of the rapids in large rivers and creeks appears to attract 

 them, as they congregate there chiefly. 



The writer is not aware whether it is widely known among 

 ornithologists that a blue-plumaged Bird of Paradise exists in 

 Papua. * Neither can he recollect meeting anyone who has seen 

 the particular species in the flesh. The assumption is based on 

 seeing tail feathers of a sky-blue tint of a Bird of Paradise in 

 the head-dress of a chief of the Opi tribe. The latter could not 

 be induced to part with the rarity for an ample consideration. 

 Where and when it had been obtained the native knew not, 

 beyond pointing vaguely towards the mountains far inland. The 

 local name, " Damba," as for a raggiaiia, was also given. 



The enormous Goura Pigeons {Goura coronata) are glorious 

 creatures. The noble crests, of mottled and slate-coloured hues, 

 give the birds an almost commanding appearance. A peculiarity 

 about these birds is that only in the River Musa district (lat. 

 9° to 10° south) are they to be found in considerable numbers. 

 Whether a special kind of fruit tree only exists in the locality 

 would be interesting to know, as otherwise that particular part 

 of the mainland scarcely differs in any respect from other 

 portions of the country east of long. 148°. It is well known, of 

 course, that a different variety of bird inhabits the Fly River 

 districts (G. d' albcrtis). 



Pigeons of a lesser size — viz., the blue, white, black and white 

 Torres Strait and white neck-laced varieties — mostly inhabit the 

 mangrove trees on the coast, in flocks, and towards sunset can 

 be easily shot, flying with alarmed cries in circles above their 

 roosting-place and returning in a few minutes within the zone 

 of the sportsman's deadly gunfire. In the islands in the south- 

 eastern portion of the possession, the beautiful blue-green bronze 

 pigeon with white tail and long neck feathers (" Nicobar ") and a 

 species with a remarkable black fleshy protuberance at the base 

 of the upper mandible make their home in the thick scrub. 



The varieties of Doves are numerous, amongst which might 

 be mentioned a very pretty parti-coloured one with green, white, 

 and yellow on its body and a patch of magenta above the beak, 

 found on the Conflict Group. Also the almost tame green and 

 brown species of the Lachlan Islands. 



At all times of the day and night Cassowaries can be heard 

 uttering their peculiar plaintive cry as they wander through 

 the dense forest. They are very hard to approach, and only on 

 one occasion was the writer permitted to see a wild one, and that 

 was through the effect of a lucky shot by a recruit in the armed 

 constabulary. So far as it is remembered, the bird was of the 

 common type peculiar to the country, and stood about 5 feet 

 in height. A one-time planter in Milne Bay once kept a pair 



* I have since seen in the National Museum, Melbourne, a skin, which is named 

 P. riidolphi. [This species is recorded in Wallace's list of the Birds of Paradise pub- 

 lished in " The Malay Archipelago," 1890 edition. The habitat is there given as 

 S.-E. New Guinea. — Eds.] 



