378 ^ 



wliicli 1 have obtained, have been aiiother independent 

 source of information. 



A person cannot be long in the interior forests of 

 Aru without hearing a loud, harsh, often-repeated cry, 

 waiuJc-ioawk-vmiüIc , lüöhiuUk-iOük. This is tlie ParacUsea, 

 and it is sure to be heard mornin»; and evenino: , beaides 

 occasionally throughont the day. It is the most frequent 

 and the loudest of all the cries in the forest, and can be 

 heard at the greatest distance. One soon becomes con- 

 vinced that the bird is most abundant; and it is, in fact, 

 over a very large part of Aru, one of the very com- 

 monest species. ,Much of the noise, however, is made 

 by the young birds of various ages, and who seem to 

 be ten times as numerous as the full-pluraaged , adult 

 males. AVe shot nearly a dozen of the former before 

 we even saw one of the latter. The adults frequent 

 the very loftiest trees, and are shy and wary, and so 

 strong and tenacious of life, that 1 know no bird of 

 its size so difficult to kill. It is in a state of constant 

 activity , flying froni tree to tree , scarcely resting still 

 a moment on the same branch, and, at the slightest 

 alarm , flying swiftly away among the tree-tops, It is 

 a very early bird, commencing to feed before sunrise; 

 but is does not seem to gorge itself and then rest half- 

 torpid, like many fruit-eating birds, as it may be seen 

 and heard at all times of the day in a state of activity. 



On examining a freshly killed bird, we see the great 

 muscular strength of the legs and vvings , and find the 

 skin to be reniarkably thick and tougli, and the skull 

 as well as all the bones very hard and strong. The 

 whole neck is lined with a thick , muscular fat , exactly 

 similar to that of the Ccjphaloptcrm or natas , in the same 



