S. D. Riplay—Round about Dutch New Guinea 271


but all without success. Even Megapode and Brush Turkey chicks

seemed quite senseless and wild in cages, and would break their necks

if allowed in too big a cage where they could move freely.


From Sorong the boat moves on to Manokwari, the largest town in

northern Dutch New Guinea. There is a rest house here with furniture

in it but no servants. This is the one place which would be most

comfortable to stop over in, either for eight days until the boat comes

back from its stops to the East, or a little over a month until the

next boat stops. A knowledge of the Malay language is essential,

however, if one were to hire a servant from the town for cooking.

Two factors commonly met with in the East present a minimum of

difficulty in Dutch New Guinea : petty thievery and malaria. The

former is almost unknown and the latter, provided one observes the

ordinary precautions, is not by any means to be worried about. In

Manokwari there are a few good roads and paths, of course no auto¬

mobiles, and in fifteen minutes’ walking to the west of the town I was

able to feel myself really in the jungle. Hornbills flew overhead in the

giant trees, two by two, grunting mournfully, and the gong-like calls

of the Lesser Bird of Paradise were frequent, though the bird itself

was not too easily seen. In a giant fig tree I found a small flock of the

little-known Desmarest’s Parrot, Psittaculirostris, while all about

sounded the strange calliope notes of the pied Piping Crow, Cracticus

cassicus. A pair of big Fruit Pigeons attracted my attention, the male

performing his swooping flight—a dive with set wings and than a lift,

just like English Wood Pigeons. Farther on there is a big patch of

mangroves and here may be seen Cuckoo Buzzards, blue and white

Kingfishers, brilliant against the mangroves, and many flocks of

Sunbirds and Flower Peckers along the edge of the road. In Manokwari

I was offered mostly Lories, Lorikeets, and Cockatoos for sale. The

Dutch government believes that New Guinea is a psittacosis-free area

and have empowered the local customs authorities to issue a clearance

paper for Parrots bought there. But it is doubtful how much weight

such a paper would carry unless the birds had been strictly quarantined.

I did, however, buy a pair of pretty green Fruit Pigeons, Ptilinopus

iozonus , and a male Spider Hunter, Xanthotis, a delicate brownish

long-billed bird, which would have done better if I had remembered to



