Bird Wonderland in Central

New Guinea

1 years ago an “uncontrolled area,” closed to Europeans, the New Guinea Central High are now becoming one of the mown of the few unknown is left on earth.

E. J. Hallstrom, of Sydney, ake some credit for this; but National Geographic Magazine ing its bit as well. In recent , there have been numerous es published in the Magazine this region, and, even better, reds of photographs in black vhite and colour.

Tying on the good work in its of November, 1951, the nal Geographic publishers with i illustrations, an account of a and botanical-specimen hunt xpedition conducted by Mr. E. rilliard, Assistant Curator of in the American Museum of *al History. ;h a plentiful supply of Soccer ills, red powder, beads, stick co, old newspapers, gold lip axes and other oddments of currency; 1,200 pounds of ition paraphernalia, including cameras and arsenic; the ance of two well-known resi of the Territory, William nt and Robert Doyle, Mr. rd collected 3,500 specimens in ays. i expedition began in April, at Lae. when Mr. Gilliard Bd aboard a little twin-motored avilland for the mountains of Guinea. i expedition’s special object was nale of the ribbon-tailed bird radise —a bird with a brilliant body and slender white tail than three feet long. i plane flew over the high tains and broad valleys “dis ed more than a decade earlier Michael Leahy, explorer ector extraordinary, who in his ti for gold, roamed hundreds of through the mountainous in and found the great Wahgi y ... In our plane that mom ve followed in an hour and 10 tes, the 250 tortuous miles y traversed in making his 1 discovery.” advice and information, rd had the services of Mr. N. 1 of Hallstrom’s Nondugl •imental Station. At Nondugl, Mr. Gilliard, Blood has the ?st collection of birds of para •ver seen by man. Many have conditioned to cage life, then ported by air and ship to ey’s Taronga- Park Zoo.

' coloured photographs of ugl’s homestead lake, white ► grazing in parklike surround

ings, the blue water bordered by what appears to be acres of scarlet salvia and yellow dahlias, purple mountains in the background, is sufficient to make all embryo pioneers pull up stakes and light out for the New Kenya without loss of time.

The Wahgi River rises on the eastern slopes of 12,500-ft Mt. Hagen and here it was that Mr. Gilliard set up his base camp, instructed the local “naturalists” in the ways of hunting and planned the forays of his party onto neighbouring peaks.

Enlisting the aid of Pilot Bobby Gibbes, Gilliard with Doyle and six trained local natives, flew from Hagen through the 10,000-ft. Chimbu gorge to land on a sloping grass strip at 8,300 feet on the flank of Eastern New Guinea’s highest mountain, Mt. Wilhelm. “Gibbes put the plane down lightly as a feather. He took off again im mediately, promising to return for us at 9 am, 17 days later.”

In this region, says Gilliard, popu lation pressure has pushed farming right up the mountain to over 8,000 feet. Below the airstrip, the land had been totally cleared of trees and had been planted again and again in sweet potatoes. Some of the planted terraces were so steep, cane ladders were used to work them.

The soil is not particularly rich

but the native farmers have worked out a rotation that keeps the soil fertile plantings of casuarina,

reeds, sweet potatoes, small tubers and a local grass.

Object of the trip to Mt. Wilhelm was a rare duck, Salvadorina, which Gilliard believed would be found around the two crater lakes high up the 15,000 ft mountain.

Two specimens of the duck were

collected and, as well, the party was able to prove that the peak that had been thought was Wilhelm’s summit, was, in fact, some 300 feet below the true peak.

At the true summit (15,400 ft) Mr.

Gilliard unwrapped and waved aloft flag No. 128 of the Explorers’ Club,

and left under three ston< message on American Museum paper, sealed in a bottle.

WHEN Mr. Gilliard went t( Highlands, world’s orr legists were divided a whether the ribbon-tail bir paradise mated and hybridized another bird of paradise, Princess Stephanie. The adult Stephanie resembles the ribbo except that the tail of the ril tail is white, and the Step black. The controversy began specimens of ribbon-tails were : with part-black, part-white ta Mr. Gilliard thinks that he ; the answer to the riddle or Hagen. He does not believe they hybridize. Some bird paradise are known to take as as six years to develop theii plumage. He thinks that the ril tail starts life with a dark tail i slowly turns white as it re maturity.

These photographs came to us roundabout way from Mr. A. E. Ada[?] Yorkshire, UK. The little native [?] Balam, of Manus Island, NG, and, [?] is Miss Wendy Adams, Mr. A[?] daughter. Balam is nursing a do[?] once belonged to Wendy and it a[?] pened like this:— A friend of the Adams family Walter Barker, lived on Manus. H[?] them how Balam and other small[?] girls, having no dolls, dress up [?] and pretend that they are dolls.

Wendy heard this she decided to one of her dolls to Balam. This duly accomplished and now here is [?] complete with doll, and the pr[?] youngster on Manus.