138 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



and Nga loa, as the natives designate them. The former is 

 comparatively rare ; the latter is not so wild, and affords good 

 sport. One species of paroquet, the Conphilus solitarius, was 

 formerly in great demand by the traders on account of its 

 lovely plumage, and so highly prized was it by the natives of 

 the Friendly Islands, that it was a not uncommon occurrence 

 for them to barter their wives and daughters in exchange for 

 these birds. 



When I was in Fiji, a gentleman named Klinesmith, an 

 American citizen of German extraction, was engaged there by 

 the great Pacific house of Godeffroy and Co. of Hamburg, for 

 the purpose of collecting objects for their museum, and not 

 long since he obtained an Albino parrot, one of the common 

 parrots of Fiji, which being destitute of .the requisite colouring 

 matter to develop his plumage, remains a brilliant yellow. 



Fish are good both in quantity and quality. Dr. Macdonald 

 enumerates twenty-three varieties, of which eleven are fresh- 

 water kinds. Amongst others there is a species of fresh-water 

 shark, which infests some parts of the river Rewa to an un- 

 pleasant extent. This species, however, does not attack the 

 natives of the Bau district, although it is not so considerate 

 to other specimens of humanity. The salt-water sharks, which 

 abound, number nine varieties, and are much dreaded by the 

 natives. Many of the edible fish attain a great size, some 

 having been caught which measured five feet in length and 

 three in girth. A large species of fish known as the waUangi, 

 is caught at Navuso. 



A Fijian tradition thus accounts for the flatness of the sole : 

 one, Davilai, was the leader of singing amongst the fishes, a 

 sort of chorus-master, I suppose ; and on one occasion when 

 the members of his band were assembled for a select harmonic 

 meeting, this Davilai obstinately refused to lead off, or oblige 



