9 [Vol. xxix. 



time in rain or sunshine. They do not climb after the 

 usual manner of Parrots^ but jump from branch to branch 

 with a jerky movement like the Lories, and with a rapid 

 flicking movement of the wings. They feed entirely on soft 

 fruits, chiefly wild figs. Our skins of this species from the 

 Miaiiika may possibly be found to be a trifle smaller than 

 those from S.E. New Guinea. From the Wataikwa camp 

 every evening I observed large flocks of Gymnophaps albertisii 

 coming from their feeding-grounds in the high mountains 

 to roost in the plains below. Their flight is extremely rapid, 

 and their strange evolutions in the air remind one of 

 '^ Tumbler " Pigeons at home. The Black-and-V/hite Fly- 

 catcher (Malurus alboscapulatus) was a delightful little bird 

 which frequented the tall grasses in the immediate vicinity of 

 the same camp. It has an undulating flight as it crosses the 

 open from one clump of reeds to the other, and is very tame. 



" As our expedition was primarily an ornithological one, 

 it is much to be regretted that the last batch of coolies, 

 which I got together and sent from Macassar, was not 

 employed to push on to the Saddle Peak at the back of 

 Parimiiu, where it would have been possible to collect up to 

 an altitude of 8000-9000 feet. Instead of this they were 

 worn out with long marches across country to reach points 

 suitable for survey work only. It had long been known 

 that it was impossible to reach the snows from our base 

 of operations on the Mimika, and the move eastwards should 

 therefore have been abandoned altogether. 



" No doubt Mr. Wollaston is right in believing that 

 Carstensz Top could best be reached from the Oetakwa 

 Hiver, but at the time we commenced operations little was 

 known about that river, and that little was not at all 

 favourable. Those who had been up it for some distance 

 had found no dry land, and I was told by the authorities 

 in Batavia that if we attempted to ascend the Oetakwa a 

 depot ship would be necessary as a base-camp, and that they 

 could not supply. All those who were best acquainted 

 with the coast as far as it Avas known advised us to try the 

 Mimika. ^^ 



