﻿414 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Samoan 
  Islands 
  I 
  watched 
  several 
  natives 
  fly-fishing 
  

   in 
  the 
  surf 
  on 
  the 
  Barrier 
  reef. 
  A 
  long 
  bamboo 
  is 
  used 
  as 
  a 
  rod, 
  

   at 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  which 
  a 
  line 
  is 
  fastened 
  ; 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  line 
  a 
  

   piece 
  of 
  stick 
  is 
  tied 
  crosswise, 
  and 
  from 
  each 
  end 
  of 
  this 
  stick 
  a 
  

   black-feather 
  fly 
  is 
  attached 
  by 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  line 
  about 
  six 
  inches 
  

   long 
  above 
  the 
  hook. 
  They 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  successful 
  with 
  this 
  

   fishing. 
  Fish 
  are 
  also 
  taken 
  in 
  wicker-baskets 
  set 
  in 
  the 
  coral- 
  

   reefs. 
  

  

  On 
  April 
  29th 
  we 
  left 
  Samoa 
  for 
  Fiji, 
  where 
  we 
  anchored 
  at 
  

   Suva. 
  A 
  great 
  mistake 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Fiji 
  

   Islands 
  by 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  Mongoose. 
  This 
  animal 
  was 
  

   introduced 
  to 
  destroy 
  the 
  Eats, 
  but 
  of 
  course 
  it 
  soon 
  either 
  tired 
  

   of 
  or 
  killed 
  the 
  Eats, 
  and 
  is 
  now 
  an 
  intolerable 
  nuisance, 
  as 
  it 
  

   kills 
  the 
  chickens 
  and 
  even 
  young 
  Pigs, 
  especially 
  near 
  the 
  town 
  

   of 
  Suva, 
  where 
  it 
  swarms. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  probably 
  destroying 
  many 
  

   of 
  the 
  ground-building 
  birds, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  doing 
  in 
  the 
  West 
  Indies. 
  

   A 
  Myna 
  has 
  also 
  been 
  introduced, 
  but 
  whether 
  it 
  is 
  doing 
  harm 
  

   or 
  not 
  I 
  cannot 
  say, 
  as 
  I 
  had 
  no 
  opportunity 
  of 
  observing 
  it. 
  A 
  

   fairly 
  common 
  bird 
  near 
  Suva 
  is 
  Pachycephala 
  graeffei, 
  a 
  fine 
  

   Golden-breasted 
  Bush-Shrike. 
  Owing 
  to 
  the 
  thick 
  foliage 
  I 
  found 
  

   it 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  see 
  birds 
  in 
  Fiji 
  ; 
  numbers 
  could 
  be 
  heard 
  all 
  

   round, 
  but 
  until 
  one 
  is 
  very 
  close 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  

   sight 
  of 
  them. 
  Therefore 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  small 
  collecting- 
  

   gun 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  useful 
  for 
  obtaining 
  birds. 
  Birds 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  

   insects 
  are 
  far 
  more 
  abundant 
  in 
  the 
  Fijis 
  than 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  of 
  

   the 
  South 
  Sea 
  Islands 
  we 
  visited 
  ; 
  in 
  fact, 
  in 
  the 
  islands 
  nearer 
  

   to 
  South 
  America 
  birds 
  and 
  insects 
  were 
  scarce. 
  In 
  several 
  

   islands 
  — 
  Pitcairn, 
  Easter 
  Island, 
  &c. 
  — 
  there 
  is 
  but 
  one 
  species 
  

   of 
  land-bird, 
  while 
  the 
  further 
  west 
  one 
  gets 
  the 
  more 
  abundant 
  

   land-birds 
  become. 
  The 
  reason 
  for 
  this 
  is 
  doubtless 
  that 
  the 
  

   avifauna 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  Pacific 
  Islands 
  is 
  more 
  nearly 
  allied 
  to 
  

   Australian 
  forms, 
  and 
  the 
  Fijis, 
  being 
  nearest 
  to 
  Australia, 
  have 
  

   therefore 
  a 
  greater 
  abundance 
  of 
  species. 
  A 
  species 
  of 
  butterfly 
  

   (Danais), 
  however, 
  which 
  I 
  took 
  in 
  Fiji, 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  nearest 
  

   to 
  D. 
  archippus* 
  of 
  North 
  and 
  South 
  America, 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  

   extended 
  its 
  range 
  across 
  Pacifica. 
  

  

  Before 
  finishing 
  my 
  short 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  Sea 
  Islands, 
  

  

  " 
  ;: 
  This 
  butterfly 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  South 
  Sea 
  Islands 
  (cf. 
  " 
  Geograph. 
  Distr. 
  

   of 
  Danais 
  archippus,'" 
  Trans. 
  Ent. 
  Soc. 
  1877, 
  p. 
  93. 
  — 
  Ed. 
  

  

  