Letter from the Pacific. 539 



bill, ought to be M. nigrirostris, Salvad. ; but it may be 

 M. cartaretia, Bp.; which, I am unable to make out here. 



The little Coturnix sinensis and a species of Turnix, or 

 Hemipodius, which seems not to be noticed in Dr. Sclater's 

 lists of Mr. Brown^s collections, both breed here. 



One of our most common birds is Megapodius eremita, the 

 ''Angiok^' of the natives. Wherever one puts one's foot 

 into the bush one will find their nesting-holes, sometimes 

 leading steeply down at the base of a lava block or at the 

 root of a tree, like the hole of a fox. At other times the 

 e^^ is deposited half a foot deep in the lava sand, where the 

 spot is easily discovered by the sharp eye of the native. Some 

 localities seemed to be almost undermined by these birds. 

 They seem to lay all the year round, except in the rainy 

 months, when eggs are very rare and for a short time not to 

 be had at all. A year and a half ago forty eggs could be 

 bought from the natives for one stick of tobacco ; now one 

 gets only two. I got eggs of this bird also from the Solomons 

 (island of Savo), from which two species [M. hrenchleyi, Gray, 

 and M. brazieri, Scl.) have been described. I cannot see 

 any difference between the eggs from the Solomons and those 

 obtained here, and doubt whether any oologist would be found 

 able to distinguish the species of Megajjodii from their eggs. 

 Although Megapodius eremita is very common, one very 

 seldom gets a sight of it. It runs very quickly through the 

 jungle, or is seen only on wing for a moment among the 

 foliage of the trees. The young ones, when hatched, are 

 already able to fly. It is singular that among the numerous 

 specimens (about forty) I got, there was not a single male 

 bird j they were all females. 



The Morrup (not Morru^) , Casuarius hennetti, I did not see 

 at large. It does not live on the coast, but in the interior, 

 on the more level and grassy plateau. Old birds are difficult 

 to obtain, and are often mutilated by the natives, who break 

 the first joints of the toes of one foot, to prevent them from 

 striking. The rudimentary primaries are used by the natives 

 as ornaments, and are worn in the pierced septum of the nose. 



To the fourteen Waders known through Mr. Brovvn^s 



