Abstract
A GOOD deal of speculation has been rife as to the above expedition of Mr. Stone (Cf. Ibis, 1876, p. 363) into south-eastern New Guinea, as the collections sent by the Italian traveller, D'Albertis, had by no means answered the expectations of naturalists as regards novelties, and as Mr. Stone was known to have engaged the services of two good préparateurs in the persons of Messrs. Petterd and Broadbent, it was confidently expected that a great deal that was new to science would be brought to light. After a cursory examination of the birds obtained during the expedition, it becomes quite evident that the neighbourhood of Port Moresby is a very unproductive one as regards ornithology, when compared with the rich fields in the north-western part of New Guinea, which have lately yielded as many as fifty-two undescribed species of birds to the Italian traveller, Dr. Beccari. At the same time Mr. Stone's collection has taught us some very interesting facts by proving that the Papuan element in the avifauna of south-eastern New Guinea, consists rather of Aru forms than of Salwatti or Dorey species. Many birds are, as might be expected, specifically the same as those of Cape York, but the large number of Aru birds is very striking. I am preparing a full account of the collection for publication, but meanwhile I send a notice of the expedition for the readers of this journal, and add short details of one or two species which appear to be new to science.
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SHARPE, R. Mr. O. C. Stone's Expedition to New Guinea . Nature 14, 338–339 (1876). https://doi.org/10.1038/014338a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/014338a0