Sugar gliders drinking condensed milk from a spoon, Melville Island, Northern Territory.

Mountford was asked by the National Geographic Society to direct an expedition to Melville Island, off the coast of the Northern Territory, in 1954. Mountford lead the expedition as ethnologist and specialist in Aboriginal art, myths and ceremonies, and was in the field for 6 months from April to September 1954. This charming image illustrates Mountford's ability to capture beauty, emphasize symmetry, and indicate proportion in his photographic work. The image shows elements of visual appeal as well as being a useful record of natural history. Mountford's attention was drawn to various subjects available to him on his scientific expeditions, which overall, tell a unique story about the time, place and events of the areas, sometimes little known to outsiders, that he visited.