390 The American Naturalist. — [May, 
Baza reinwardtii is seen everywhere, especially in gardens in 
the neighborhood of the huts. 
The impenetrable forests under which the country is in some 
degree buried, serves as a refuge for certain kinds of owls, 
where it is difficult to take them on account of their solitary 
habits, Yet they are widely dispersed, and their peculiar ery 
is frequently heard in the silence of the night even near 
dwellings and in the center of villages. 
New Guinea is par-excellence in Oceania the land of parro- 
quetts. There are known to-day more than thirty species. 
Many occupy a wide extent of territory ; for instance—Cacatua 
triton, Microglossus aterrimus, Eclectus polychlorus, Trichoglossus 
hematotus, Lorius scintillatus, Nanodes placens and Nasiterna 
gmea. ee 
Others are confined to narrow limits: for example—Lorws 2 
cyanauchen fuscatus, Nanodes musschenbreekii, Psittacus brehmii et 
modestus, Psittacula melanogenia and Dasyptilus pecquetii. The 
vertical dispersion of these species is very limited. 
Microglossus alceto, Eclectus westermanii et corneliæ, as also 
Lorius semilarvatus, whose habitat it was supposed was in New 
Guinea, have never been seen there. It is surprising to find 
in the little island of Goram, near Ceram, Cacatua a 
whereas one might rather expect to see there Cacatua moluccen- 
sis; it is likely, however, that the former as well as the baboon 
Cynocephalus niger of Batjan, was brought originally to Goram 
and became wild again there. r 
Representatives of very many species of cuckoos are here met 
with ; among them Centropus menebeckii and sonneratii are p 
common. Cuculus leucolophus and striatus on the other bant 
are quite rare. ; 
Among the swifts that are found everywhere, two ET 
especially should be mentioned, viz., Cypselus mystaceus an . 
Collocalia. We may name here also a large species of Be 7 
suckers—Podargus papuensis, which inhabits chiefly 
islands of Arrou, Waigou and Mefore. 
. . . le— 3 q 
New Guinea is extremely rich in sun-birds, as for examp > 
the Nectarinia, Ptilotis, Glyciphila and Melliphaga. The © 
number of birds of this family as well as of the Mal 
urus come : q 
