(47) December 4 (Sunday) Mr.Pinneau entertained us ashore for the greater part of the day.He served an excellent midday dinner in a fly-proof room- egg-plant soup and roast duck.We used his room for writing afterward.Our host can spin some swift yarns about the islands;like many.other planters he is a blown-away mariner who was induced to come to the Solomons to"help out" a bogus uncle.He reports that he has had naturalists staying with him be- fore.One free-lancer caught a number alive to sell to zoos.Pinneau says he got a number of small quail,which may have been young megapodes,since the reporter does not distinguish a nikobar pigeon from one of the com- mon red-knobbed or gray.Mr.Beck suggested to-day that we shall go to Bougainville after the next steamer. December 5 Raised anchor at 5:30 and stood out for Mono(Treasury)I.,45 miles SW by our course.Passed Shortland I.,and it shows very little high land.Spent the day developing film and writing letters for the com- ing Mataram.Dropped anchor at 8 P.M.in passage between Mono I.,and Stir- ling I.Natives came out from a salt-water village immediately in outrig- ger canoes of all sizes;the largest was seven fathoms(42 feet)long and capable of carrying fifty persons.It was hewn out of a single tree trunk and very simple in design and decoration.A fine-looking Fijian who is a Methodist missionary came aboard.The village which boasts a population of over 200 pays a head tax to the Mission of one pound yearly.The Rev. Goldie of the Methodist Church in the Solomons handles most of their copra output.The natives looked clean in white singlets;they are very friendly and most of them speak good"pidgin".They imparted much inform- ation about the island although they seemed to know little about its bird life. December 6 Mono I., is 6 miles E X W and 4 miles N X S.The island is mound-shaped and has a maximum altitude of about 1200 feet at its center.There are three small islets between Stirling I.,and the main island, none of any size.Two are planted with coconuts and one is the residence of a Chinese trader.The whole force went out this morning on trails that started at the village and led in all directions.After some butting about I struck a good trail that took me up to the top of the central ridge about two miles inland.The only birds I saw or heard were the megapode,red-knobbed and gray pigeon,and the small flycatcher;cockatoos, minas,red and green parrots,and starlings were also present.Returning from the top where one could look down 150 feet into an old crater,the forest was as silent as a morgue except for a couple of white-breasted flycatchers which I shot and could not find.After lunch I got into one of the many streams that apparently flow from the central area around the crater;here I was encouraged by the sight of a brown heron,a white- eared kingfisher,and the acquisition of a mina.I also saw a large eagle- hawk,too high to try for.The usual Solomon Is.,avifauna of the smaller species are certainly absent.The rest of the collectors reported the same lack of fantails,thickheads,red flycatchers,blackheads;the white- eared seems to be the only kingfisher that is common.Mr.Beck took seven at the mouth of one of the larger streams and Hicks one.The island is abundantly stocked with insects and both small and large lizards;snakes, lying-foxes,and possums are reported abundant by the natives.The Doctor suggests that the presence of such a host of large black lizards(from 6' to 24')is one cause of the absence of small birds that nest in low trees. I believe that the island is younger in origin that the surrounding ones. The streams which are numerous show bottoms composed of hard,greyl clay and great loose boulders of volcanic rock.I saw four that had this kind