RADJAH SHELDRAKE 225 



for the islands of Batjan (Wallace, British Museum), Obi (Bernstein, Ley den Museum), Buru, where 

 it is a fairly common bird (Hoedt, Leyden Museum; Wallace, 1863; Stresemann, 1914), Kelang 

 (Hoedt, Leyden Museum), Carem, where it is occasionally seen (Wallace, British Museum; Moens, 

 Leyden Museum; Lenz, Journ. f. Ornith., vol. 25, p. 381, 1877; Stresemann, 1914), and Goram 

 (Rothschild and Hartert, 1903). Hoedt (Leyden Museum) took it on the Island of Gebe, in the 

 Halmahera Sea, and Guillemard (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1885, p. 665) on Waigiou. There are 

 records also for the Island of Salawatti (Bernstein, Leyden Museum, et al.). 



In New Guinea the species seems to be distributed throughout. It has been recorded from Sorong 

 on the northwest, and from Anda, Warbusi and Nicura (Salvadori, 1882). Guillemard (Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. London, 1885, p. 665) found it on the Island of Jappen, off the northwest coast. New 

 The British Ornithological Expedition found it on the southwest coast, on the Mimika Guinea 

 and Satakwa Rivers (Ogilvie-Grant, 1915). In this region it was found also at Van Weels Camp, 

 and at Alkmaar (van Oort, 1909) as well as on the Tami River (de Beaufort, 1909) . From eastern 

 New Guinea there are records for Kunirira (Salvadori, 1891), Laroki and Lalake Rivers (Sharpe, 

 1877, 1878) and Port Moresby, where the species is common and breeds (Ramsay, 1879). On the 

 northeast coast it was found at the mouth of the Kabena River, Finisterre region (Madarasz, 1894), 

 and on the Huon Gulf (Meyer, 1894). Heinroth (1903) has reported it from Hercules Bay, and 

 the Bubui River in this same region. The eastern limit seems to be Ferguson Island (Tristram, 

 Ibis, ser. 6, vol. 1, p. 558, 1889). 



To return to the west — the White-headed Sheldrake has been found on the Aru Islands (Meyer, 

 1884; Rosenberg, Leyden Museum) and at Larat in the Timorlaut Group (Biittikofer, Aru 

 18S6a; Sclater, 1883). Islands 



In Australia the species is rather widely distributed as a breeder in the northern parts. It has been 

 found in the northwest at Derby, Port Darwin and Port Essington (Ramsay, 1888; Masters, 1878), 

 on the South Alligator River (Hartert, 1905), the Kimberly Region (North, 1898) . .. 



and Parrey's Creek. Farther east it is known to inhabit the regions about the Gulf of 

 Carpentaria (Ramsay, 1888), and it is a fairly common bird in Queensland, north of the Mary River 

 (Ramsay, 1877), whence it has been recorded for Rockingham Bay, Port Denison and Wide Bay 

 (Ramsay, 1888), Cardwell and Herbert Rivers (Broadbent, 1910) and Charo Bay, Cape York 

 (Macgillivray, 1914). In northern New South Wales it has been found in the Moree and Narromine 

 districts (North, 1913). 



GENERAL HABITS 



Haunts. The present species differs from the Common Sheldrake in being a bird 

 of rivers and fresh-water lakes, perhaps frequenting the coast during droughts only. 

 Mathews (1914-15) remarks that its life history is very imperfectly known, though 

 it is a common bird in northern and northwestern Australia. We certainly do not 

 know what its seasonal movements are; whether it goes inland merely to breed, or 

 whether it breeds both in the interior and on the coast. In northwestern Australia 

 it appears to spend most of the year on inland rivers, and to be extremely local in 

 its habits (North, 1898). 



Flight. The Radjah Sheldrake is said to fly like the Common Sheldrake, but 

 somewhat more rapidly, due to its smaller size (Heinroth, 1903). By this I presume 

 that the writer means that the wings move faster, not that the flight itself is any 

 quicker. Ordinarily the birds are seen in pairs, but small flocks of four to eight 

 are not uncommon (North, 1898). 



