This picture was made at the pass above Pondok Tiga, at an altitude of almost 4000 metres above sea-level. Sooty Melidectes is a quite rare species in the Snow Mountains, which we only observed two times on our 8 day adventure in the Baliem Valley. It is found above 3000 metres, often in subalpine forest and feeding at rhododendron flowers. This is the blue-faced race of the West. The Eastern race has Yellow around the eye and is more common.