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Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

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Expeditions to New Guinea <strong>and</strong> the Solomon Isl<strong>and</strong>s 61<br />

the expedition stayed in the village of Kofo with most friendly inhabitants. Mayr<br />

collected birds of a rather surprising Australian/Papuan faunal mixture: On the<br />

water Anas superciliosa <strong>and</strong> Fulica atra, in the marshes rails <strong>and</strong> Acrocephalus <strong>and</strong><br />

in the grassl<strong>and</strong>s Megalurus <strong>and</strong> a new species of Lonchura (L. vana). A few steps<br />

away in the forest he encountered such typically Papuan high mountain birds as<br />

Machaerirhynchus nigripectus, Amalocichla incerta, Melidectes leucostephes,etc.<br />

Anggi Gidji had once before been visited by a botanical expedition in 1912, <strong>and</strong><br />

the natives had a great respect for white people. On the fourth day of his stay, the<br />

chief made to Mayr a generous offer:<br />

“He appeared before me leading a girl of about 12 years by his h<strong>and</strong>, his daughter.<br />

He proposed that I should marry this girl <strong>and</strong> become permanent resident of his<br />

village. They would build me a house, they would give me a piece of l<strong>and</strong> for my<br />

‘garden,’ they would plant my fields, <strong>and</strong> provide everything I need for living,<br />

<strong>and</strong> I wouldn’t have to do anything, as I interpreted it. All I had to do was lend<br />

my prestige for his greater glory <strong>and</strong> that of the village of Kofo. As preposterous<br />

as the idea was, for a fleeting moment, I thought that if I accepted it, life for me<br />

would suddenly be easy, no more worries of any kind, but of course I knew it was<br />

impossible. Yet, if I declined the offer, I would insult him <strong>and</strong> I might get into<br />

immediate trouble. Most of all, I would not get the porters that I needed to get<br />

back to my base camp, so I gave the chief a very evasive answer stressing that half<br />

of my party was back at Ditchi <strong>and</strong> I had to take care of them <strong>and</strong> of my Malay<br />

mantris <strong>and</strong> I referred to the future rather vaguely. Fortunately, he accepted my<br />

answer <strong>and</strong> I rejected a carefree life as the guest of a proper mountain tribe.”<br />

Fig.2.7. Ernst Mayr (right) with his assistant Darna in the government guest house at Momi,<br />

former Dutch New Guinea, labeling bird eggs, June 1928. (Photograph courtesy of E. Mayr.)

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