Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Notes on Papuan birds

1901; Natural History Museum at Tring; Volume: 8; Linguagem: Inglês

10.5962/bhl.part.22169

0950-7655

W Rothschild, E Hartert,

Avian ecology and behavior

The most important collections we have received are the followiDg ones : -Mysol.Besides some few specimens collected on Mjsol (or Misol) by Messrs. Gnillemard and Powell, and some from Bruijn's hunters, we have a fairl}* good collection made on Mysol by Mr. Heinrich Kiihn.Althongh at almost equal distance from Ceram and New Guinea, Mysol belongs faunistically entirely to New Guinea, and this is easily explained by the number of smaller islets stretching in a northern and north-eastern direction from Mysol towards Salwatty and New Guinea, and the shallow sea surrounding Mysol and New Guinea, while deep sea of more than two hundred fathoms separates Mysol from the Molnccan Islands.Most of the birds are quite similar to those of New Guinea, others subspecifically allied to tlie latter.Molnccan intluence is scarcely ])erceptible.Mysol with Salwatty, Waigiu, Batanta and some other small islands in their vicinity, are appropriately termed " Western Papuan Islands," New Guinea itself being Papna, the D'Entrecasteaux Group, Trobriand, Woodlark, Louisiades -and the Bismarck Archipelago being the "Eastern Papuan Islands."Etna Bay and Triton Bay.These two gnHs in the south of North-western New Guinea are of special interest, as being among the former hunting grounds of Salomon Miiller, one of the best collectors and travellers who ever explored the Eastern Archipelago.Cajitain ('ayley Webster made some small collections at both places.He visited Etna B.ay with the object of making a trip to the Charles Lonis mountains, but in this he failed altogether, as might have been expected.His men were attacked and several killed, as described in his book, which appeared under the somewhat fantastic and unfortunate title, " Through New Guinea and the Cannibal Countries."In the appendix to this book, pp.300-0, Mr. Hartert has given a list of species received from Triton and Etna Bay.This collection, however, is very small, and can only be looked upon as samples of the oruis of these districts.At Eapaur, about 2-1 southern latitiide, south of McCluer's Inlet, William Doherty made large collections in 1896, mostly in the surrounding hills.Collecting here is described as very difficult in Doherty's letters.The hills are thickly wooded, and awful to walk on.The natives are very hostile.Almost every man has a gun, principally used in slave-hunting, but also in shooting every edible bird, except the " sacred " ones, which are very numerous.The following extracts of some of Doherty's letters from and about Kapaur may be of interest." The hills above Kapaur do not look from the sea so high as they are, on account of the enormous height of the trees on the shore.Our collections are made from the sea-level up to 2000 feet, and partly to at least 3000 feet ; but different elevations being often gone over on the same day, and my men often having gone out alone, the specimens are not labelled with the exact elevations they are caught at.We extended our excursions some 10 or 18 miles to the north-east, on the hills beyond the sources of the Sekertemping River.Of the Parrots we got only common species, besides f.oniis cri/throtkorax and Nagiterna hruijni, which were numerous.The latter were ()l>tained above 2000 feet.The jiarrots are extremely shy here, flying like sky-rockets and alighting only on the toj)s of the tallest trees.Pigeons are amazingly rare; even Macropygia and Chalcophaps are scarce here.Kingfishers were rarely seen.I have been told of the existence here of a Seleucides with black side-plumes instead of yellow ones.We did not come across it, and if we had done so we could hardly have shot it, as it is " fomali," which means taboo !In small birds we did better.In the hills we got Lamprococcyx meyeri, Myzomela cruentata, and many others.The natives were very suspicious and unkind at first, ( 57 ) but now they are quite well-disposed, though they worry ns a great deal with their taboos !The male of Paradisea minor, Microglossus aterrimus and Corvux orru are ' fomali ' or ' pohen,' as the natives say at Kapaur.The most sacred bird, however, is the ' lusi,' which was described to me as being white, very large, and feeding on fish.I thought they meant a sea-bird ; but by great ill luck Earn Persad, having done very badly one day, shot a huge Haliaetus leueoqaster, though he knew I did not want it, and it turned out that it was the 'lusi ' !At first they wanted to kill him, but eventually we came to terms.I lost two days, for myself and my men, going over to Skru (Sekrou) in order to get the particular things I had to pay for blood-money : a gun, certain cloths and knives, altogether to the amount of over £3,* and for some time after the natives were very disagreeable."" We can only make short excursions.Coolies for luggage are not to be had, and we would undoubtedly be killed if we took any goods with us.The natives are wholly without fear of Europeans ; in fact, the only reason that the coast-people do not loot Skru is because they are afraid of the much stronger mountain tribes, who wouM kill them all in revenge for losing the market for their nutmegs.Here at Ka])aur 1 see liundreds of the mountaineers -the biggest and strongest race of men I have ever seen, I think.They are neither cannibals nor head-hunters, but fight nearly always for the fun of it !Last winter they made an expedition to the large island of Adi, a hundred miles soutli, and killed off the whole population, not a soul being now left there.We are very badly off for food.The mainstays of life in these countries are rice, cocoa-nuts, and fowls -all unobtainable at Kapaur.I brought with me rice and rotten potatoes.A hundred pounds of beans from Europe turned out too old.Four days' cooking did not soften them.As for tins, there did not seem to be a single eatable thing at Amboina.How I did want some oatmeal, now that 1 }Mce got sugarless tinned milk ; how I longed for the dear tinned tomatoes and green corn of America !I have tinned corn beef and similar dreadful things, but no soups.I live principally on tea and biscuits with the hoj)e of getting a pigeon now and then.My cook is certainly the worst in the world !Quite a change from the Dutch steamers, where the food is extraordinarily good -the best, I think, of ship food in the world ; but, as you know, Dutch East Indian cookery is immensely complicated and expensive, and utterly unsuited for the jungle."Collections from Kajtaur have apparently never before reached Europe, but close by, at .Skru (iSekru) Mr. Karl Schiidler made a collection about the same time as Doherty's was made at Kapaur, and Dr. Fiusch has given a list of the seventy-six species collected by him.("Notes, Leyden Museum, vol.xxii.pp.49-69, July, 1900.)The author refers all tlie birds to known species.Andai and Dorey.Besides numerous specimens from Bruiju's hunters and trom the cruise of the Maixkesa, we have some skins collected by Doherty at Dorey.Doherty could not enter the interior and high mountains of Arfak.Small-pox, cholera, and beri-beri were dejiopnlatiug the country, and it was impossible to get one coolie or other man to accompany one.Ordinarily it is not considered by Doherty particularly ditficnlt to go to the Arfak, except that it is a most inconvenient place on account of constant rain, fearful steepness of the slopes, and " scarcity of butterflies."Kon Island.From this little island in the southern part of Geelvink Bay we have a small collection from Doherty.He fouud bird-life unusually poor on Ron.* Mark the value of ttie "guD."* There is also a group of small islets along the coast of Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, opposite the Kaiserin Augusta River, which on some maps are called Hchouten Islands, and must not be confounded with those in the Geelvink Bay.