288 PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



specimens obtained by A. S. Meek in the Oetakwa district, 

 but they do not seem to differ from the birds found 

 on the Kei and Aru Islands and also in the neighbour- 

 hood of the Fly River. The plumage is green, paler 

 below, the crown dull orange, the shoulders spotted 

 with black, the middle-tail feathers blue and the outer 

 pairs black with yellow and green tips. A few solitary 

 Black Cockatoos might be seen on the lower River, 

 sitting on the tops of the highest trees ; their loud 

 whistle always attracted attention and even on their 

 high perches their red faces and erect crests were con- 

 spicuous. The Common Cockatoo of the country was 

 Cacatua triton, a moderate sized species with a yellow 

 crest which was met with in small numbers throughout 

 the mangrove belt, but it was a shy bird and when 

 approached always flew away, screaming. Lories of 

 different kinds were numerous and included some of the 

 most brilliantly coloured species, Lorius erythrothorax 

 combining in its plumage black, crimson, scarlet, purple, 

 blue, green and bright yellow. The adult has the under 

 wing-coverts uniform scarlet in marked contrast to the 

 bright yellow inner webs of the primary quills, but in 

 younger birds the smaller under wing-coverts are mottled 

 with scarlet, blue, black, green and yellow and the long 

 outer series are yellow with greyish-black ends, making 

 a dark band at the base of the quills. In this stage the 

 bird has been described by Dr. A. B. Meyer as Lorius 

 salvadorii. 



A less briUiantly coloured and more common species 

 in the neighbourhood of the Mimika was Eos fuscatus 

 which has the general colour above sooty-black shaded 

 on the middle of the crown, neck, etc. with reddish- 

 orange and the under-parts widely banded with scarlet. 

 A lovely species with a longer tail was Trichoglossus 

 cyaiwgrammtis which is green with a blue face and green- 

 ish-yellow collar, and has the scarlet chest-feathers edged 



