TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION U, 615 



The following Reports and Papers -were read : — 



1. Report of the Committee on the Natural History of the Friendly Islands, 



or other groups in the Pacific, visited by H.M.S- ' Egeria.' — See Re- 

 ports, p. 113. 



2. Second Report of the Committee for reportinrf on the present state of our 



knowledge of the Zoology and Botany of the West India Islands, and 

 taking steps to investigate ascertained deficiencies in the Fauna and 

 Flora. — See Reports, p. 93. 



3. Second Report of the Committee on the development of the Oviduct 

 and connected structures in certain fresh-water Teleostei. — See Reports, 

 p. 95. 



■4. Second Report of the Committee for collecting information as to the Dis- 

 appearance of Native Plants from their Local Habitats. — See Reports, 

 p. 435. 



5. Report of the Committee for making a digest of the observations on 

 Migration of Birds. — See Reports, p. 114;. 



6. Report of the Committee to arrange for the occupation of a Table at the 

 Zoological Station at Naples. — See Reports, p. 95. 



7. Third Report of the Committee for continuing the preparation of a report 

 on our present knowledge of the Flora of China. — See Reports, p. 112. 



Zoological Depaetment. 



1. Notes on the Fauna of the Louisiade and d'Entrecasteaux Islands. 

 By Basil H. Thomson. 



An official expedition was made in October last to these islands in order to 

 open communication with the natives on behalf of the colonial government of 

 Sydney. The paper enumerated the more remarkable of the Lepidoptera, 

 Orthoptera, Coleoptera, and land molluscs of the islands, and described the distinctive 

 physical characters of each island. Of the birds two remarkable species, Paradisea 

 decora and Manucodia comrii are confined to the d'Entrecasteaux Islands 

 exclusively, the former to one mountain in Fergusson Island. Their habits were 

 described. Normanby Island is the eastern limit of the "Wallaby. Of nineteen 

 species of diurnal lepidoptera in the d'Entrecasteaux eight proved to be new. The 

 only species of coleoptera described in Ilossel Island were both new. No new 

 reptilian forms were discovered, but several very rare species. The mammalia 

 consisted of Wallabys (two species), opossums (two species), a fruit-eating bat, and 

 a peculiar rat. Of fourteen species of land molluscs ten proved to be new, making 

 twenty-nine species now known from this group. None of the freshwater molluscs 

 were new. All the new species will be described in the ' Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History.' 



