Vol. xxvii.] 102 



Mr, P. H. Bahr made the following remarks on tlie 

 status of certain birds peculiar to the Fiji Islands : — 



" During fifteen months'' residence in the Fiji Islands 

 I was able to gain some information as to the influence 

 of recent introductions on the bird-life. The group is com- 

 posed of 250 islands, and during the last 25 years both the 

 Mongoose and the Mynah have been introduced into the two 

 largest. The effect on the birds there, as elsewhere, has 

 been deplorable. The Mongoose was originally introduced 

 to destroy the rats which were gnawing the sugar-cane. 

 It is agreed that they have driven these rodents out of 

 the cane-fields, but they seem to have taken refuge in the 

 houses of Europeans. To such an extent have they increased 

 that with two wire traps I had no difficulty in catching 44 

 in front of my house in less than a fortnight. In many 

 cases I shot them as they came to devour the bodies of their 

 dead brethren. 



" As in Jamaica, they are arboreal, but so far the Doves 

 [Chrysopnas luteuvirens and Ptilopus perousei) and the Pigeons 

 {^Columha vitiensis and Carpophoga latrans) appear to have 

 escaped their attention, nesting as they do in the smaller 

 branches. Their destructive effect has been most marked on 

 the Parrots. Pyrrhulopsis per sonata, confined to the largest 

 island (Viti Levu), is fast disappearing; at the present time 

 old birds only are met with, and I was assured that no 

 young have been seen for years. Pyrrhulupsis splendens, 

 too, though still abundant in other islands, has almost 

 vanished where the Mongoose swarms. The Blue Lory or 

 " Kula^' {Calliptilus solitarius) is now only found locally in 

 the larger islands, where it nests in places inaccessible to 

 the Mongoose. The Duck (Anas siqjei'cUiosus) and the 

 Rail {Rallina poecUupterus) have disappeared. There seems 

 to be a certain amount of evidence that a Megapode inhabited 

 Viti Levu till about 15 years ago, but no European has 

 ever seen it. The natives are said to have trained dogs to 

 catch it and to have eaten its eggs. It is unlikely that 

 they domesticated it, for the Fijian of to-day seems to be 

 incapable of domesticating anything but the pig. Fowls 



