106 Dr. O. Finsch's Ornithological 



figures in a Micronesian landscape as Charadrius fulvus on a 

 Siberian tundra, or the Eider Duck in a Norwegian fiord. 

 AVhen on our way to Coquille harbour, on the western side of 

 the island, where we had to march partly along the sands or 

 coral-gravel, the last-named species was by far the most plen- 

 tiful, but always singly, in pairs, or in small flocks, never in 

 large numbers. During this trip I obtained light and dark 

 specimens of Ardea sacra, the latter much darker (in fact, 

 nearly black) than those since observed by me. 



Along the mangrove sea-margins Gygis alba was more 

 common than elsewhere. We passed closed lagoons, sur- 

 rounded by mangroves and patches of reeds, apparently made 

 expressly for Ducks and other water-fowl ; but I endeavoured 

 in vain to see any of them, or to rediscover " Rallus mo7iasa " 

 of Kittlitz*. On account of the heavy rain, we had to stop 

 at Taaf, a small place of three or four native houses, where 

 we received a most cordial and kind reception. Notwith- 

 standing the rain, we went out shooting, and had an oppor- 

 tunity of watching the habits of Carpopliaga and Ptilopus, so 

 common everywhere in the Avoods. The singular call of the 

 latter sounds like hoooo, lioooo, hoo, hoo, the latter two 

 syllables repeated very quickly a dozen times. We had heard 

 it before in Lalla harbour ; but it was the privilege of our 

 consul, Mr. F. Hernsheim, to kill the first specimen, which 

 proved to belong to an undescribed species peculiar to the 

 island t- When the native lad who was my guide showed 

 me the first specimens of this Ptilopus, 1 was much in the 

 same position as when I was invited to have the first look at 

 some prongbucks on the prairies of the far west. I was quite 

 unable to detect the bird amongst the dense foliage, although 

 it repeatedly uttered its calls ; . and I had to give my gun to 

 the lad in order to secure the bird. Afterwards I became 

 more accustomed to their Avays, and was able to shoot these 



* Of tliis species I examined tlie type in the St. Petersburg Museum, 

 and found it to be Ortygometra tuhuensis (Gm.). 



t Ptilopus hernsheimi, sp. nov. 

 P. fasciatee simillimus, sed macula epigastrii nulla, et rectricum fascia 

 lata apicali flavissima. (Cy. P. Z. S. 1880, Nov. U\j 



