The shores of the river are exceedingly pretty, although there was nothing grand or striking. They are flat, but beautifully wooded, the great _bàraràta_ grass, with its light grey feathery head of flowers, giving quite a character to the scenery. Islands are numerous, some being mere sand-banks, but many covered with trees and bush. We soon made acquaintance with the crocodiles, for there was one basking in the sunshine on a sand-bank just opposite our starting-place. We saw a good many of them during the day, although not as many as other travellers have observed, perhaps from twenty to thirty, and some of them quite near enough to be seen very distinctly. Most of them were light grey in colour, but others slaty, and others again spotted with black; they varied in length from seven or eight to fourteen or fifteen feet. The head is small, and the back and tail serrated like a great pit-saw. They were generally lying with the jaws wide open, and sometimes were near enough to be splashed by the paddles as we passed them. The heat on the river was much less than when travelling on the land, or at Mèvatanàna; a delightful breeze blew against us all day, and we enjoyed the change immensely. The banks of the river, which was from half to three-quarters of a mile wide, were only a few feet above the water, and from them flew numbers of birds. Among these were many with which we were familiar in the interior—the pure white lesser egret, varieties of heron, purple kingfishers, wild ducks and wild geese, and many others. The _Railòvy_ or fork-tailed shrike is one of the most widely distributed birds of the island, and is very active and an excellent singer. Perched on a dead branch, it keeps up a constant noise, its strong voice giving forth several notes, which very much resemble that of an organ. In the spots frequented by a large number of these shrikes, each one reserves to itself a hunting-ground, in which according to M. Pollen, he tolerates the presence of no other birds, even of his own kind, not excepting those stronger than himself. It is dark bluish-green in colour, with a long tail, forked at the extremity. These western woods are fairly full of singing birds, especially in the hot season, which was coming on at the time of our journey. Among these are three species of fly-catcher, one of which is called the “changeable,” from the remarkable changes of colour it undergoes according to its age and sex. The female bird is entirely of reddish-brown, except the cap and nape, which are dark green. The young male has during the first month the same livery as the female, but its plumage soon changes to a beautiful maroon red; then very soon the two middle tail feathers become greatly lengthened, the quills being black with a white fringe; the wing coverts become partly black and partly white; and the feathers of the head change to dark green, with brilliant metallic reflections. At the breeding-time