discourage others from attempted captures. Unfortunately the method they use to capture them is very wasteful of life unless snares are watched carefully. They merely set a noose in the entrance of an already holed ripe paw paw (papaya) and young birds on thrusting the head into the ripe fruit become snared, generally flutter and hang at the noose and quickly choke. To avoid this natives generally drive a number of short sticks at right angles into the soft trunk of the paw paw (main stem) immediately below the fruit for the bird to settle on to com- mence feeding and others at lower levels. Even so this is of little value as to prevent birds escaping they are placed at more or less extreme levels and by becoming entangled with the coconut string or vine snare, shorten this and cause choking even more quickly as often as not. A few natives use a leg snare I believe that they have learnt from Lifu, but they seem to think it not as successful in making captures, as the neck noose. The birds are exceedingly shy and very frightened of humans and are very wide awake and avoid humans as much as possible. They have evidently suffered much persecution from them and look on them as great if not their greatest enemies. As far as I could find out from old natives and whites of long residence (and half castes) on the island the bird has never suffered from persecution for its feathers alone, for dancing purposes etc. and only to a very small and limited extent for food purposes, and then only when it was exceedingly common. By all accounts, it suffered little or no persecution from natives themselves in early times. The persecution which it has suffered has been almost 100 per cent due to European bird fanciers resident in New Caledonia mostly and who supply to others overseas. At their instigation natives have attacked