[Austin Rand's journal, 3rd Archbold Expedition to New Guinea] July 6, 1938 to May 5, 1939
Page 155
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Transcription
one, afraid of camp, kept jumping out and swimming away. Toxopeus came to stay this PM - put camp in uproar and confusion - why no bed - In PM jacking into mouth of stream to East - 6-8 Dobsonia about a fruiting? tree - see them over stream flying from South to tree (eyes gleam orange yellow) and hear them flapping wings in tree - Shot one - probably other species here including a big Pteropus?. Returning found two young crocodiles three feet long on submerged shrubs forest edge - only see red orange eyes of course - shot one twenty yards - stone dead - didn't sink because of shrubs - but boy tied it prauw. April 12, 1939. Fine sunny all day - canoe trip as yesterday - but went ashore in a few places - a solitary small Pteropus hanging asleep twenty feet up in dense foliage of tree hanging over water. Six or so little blue kingfishers - scuttle across water from shrubbery to shrubbery and always disappear inside - unable to see any sitting - shot one on wing - Saw one Phalocrorax melaleuca In evening upstream by camp. Early before very dark - many - 10 - 20 very small, erratic bats close about face of forest edge. Four Eurystomes playing about over top of forest trees - apparently not hunting - and one Hemiproce occasionally visited them. After dark located one nightjar by its eye - top of tree - but didn't get it. This AM several times saw Artitis hypoleuca - first time here.