NOTES ON TROPICAL TRAVEL.
Hints on travel--Food supplies--Bathing--Medicines--Modes
of travelling--Shelter--Resting-places--Barter--Articles for
exchange--Arms in a wild land--Products of the island--Prospects
of Borneo.
The traveller who finds himself for the first time in a wild tropical
country devoid of roads, railways, horses, bridges, hotels, and
Europeans, may be excused if he feels a little anxious when called upon
to make an expedition which will require several weeks to accomplish
on foot, and during which time nearly all necessaries must be carried
by the party en route. A party of say twenty natives will require
a clear head to manage it rightly, and it is only by maintaining a
system that the thing can be conveniently done. The main points to
be considered may be tabulated thus:--
Health. Bathing. Boating.
Food. Packing. Barter.
Clothing. Foraging. Shelter.
Cooking. Walking. Fire-lighting.
Medicines. Riding. Arms.
Health is best preserved by regular habits, taking care to avoid
chills by wearing flannel next to the skin, and great care should
be taken to put on dry clothes the first thing after a halt is
made for the night. One may be drenched to the skin in the tropics
without any harm ensuing if this precaution is taken. Belts of soft
flannel worn around the stomach are very comfortable, and are highly
recommended by many medical men. All your clothing should be light,
and if of flannel so much the better. A flannel shirt and tweed
trowsers secured by a belt and a light pith helmet, woollen socks,
and a light pair of English walking boots cannot be improved upon
as a travelling costume. A small knapsack or bag should be carried
containing a clean dry jersey, shirts, socks, sarong, and light shoes;
you are then independent of your baggage-bearers, who will often linger
miles behind yourself and guides. When a fire is made at night, have
all your clothes dried so as to be ready for the following evening. To
preserve them from wet in crossing rivers, etc., fold them into as
small a compass as possible, and envelope them tightly in waterproof
cloth. The old coverings as removed from bales of Manchester goods are
very useful for this purpose. A couple of pairs of flannel pajamas may
be taken for sleeping in. Three changes of travelling clothes will be
sufficient, this gives one suit on, one being washed, and one suit dry
and clean. For bedding take a waterproof sheet, a drab rug, and a red
blanket. Light brushwood or palm leaves will make a good substitute
for a mattress. If shelter is not obtainable and the ground is wet,
a light net-hammock becomes useful, a roof to it being readily made
with the waterproof sheet. Take soap and a comb.
Food is of the utmost importance. Rice, biscuits, and oatmeal
may form the staple, and tinned soups, Liebig's extract of meat,
and dried fish may be added. Chocolate and milk in sealed tins is
convenient and refreshing. Tea, coffee, sugar, and salt must be
packed in well-corked bottles to keep them dry and free from ants,
etc. A bottle of Yorkshire relish or Worcester sauce, and a tin or
two of bloater paste are nice relishes for soups. Fowls, eggs, fruit,
and sometimes freshly-caught fish may often be purchased en route. A
supply of fresh limes is easily carried, and no better cooling
and refreshing drink can be made than that formed by squeezing a
lime in a glass and adding water and sugar. Be very careful of the
water drunk in travelling, and use a pocket-filter whenever it is
in anyway doubtful. I always drank cocoanut water when procurable,
as being pure and harmless, and with a dash of brandy it is extremely
refreshing. As to the quantity of food required, two pounds of rice
is ample for a man's daily supply, and less will suffice at times, as
natives are generally good foragers. It is generally best, however,
to pay less wages, and agree to find the men rice, otherwise they
will take only a small quantity, and when that is gone much time
will be lost, as they have an excuse for foraging. A few pounds
of that universal vegetable, the onion or garlic, should be taken
for soup. Jam in tins is also very handy, and a treat to eat with
rice for a change. Each man of the party should receive his daily
supply of rice every morning, and in order to facilitate progress,
all cooking for the first morning's meal may be done overnight.
Cooking should be well understood by all who propose to "rough it"
in a wild land, and it may be defined as the art of preparing food
so that it is--1, nutritious; 2, tasty; 3, nice to the eye. Two
cook-pots are necessary--one large enough to boil a fowl when cut
up, and the other for rice. A frying-pan and a few pounds of flour
render you independent of the baker, and with oatmeal oat-cakes may be
indulged in. Put a few currants in your boiled rice now and then for a
change. Most Madras, and some Chinese "boys" are good hands at a curry,
and if you give them a share of it when made they are encouraged to
excel. A favourite jungle-dish of my own was a fowl cut up and boiled
with two onions, a handful of rice, salt and pepper, and thin slices
of gourds, sweet potatoes or other vegetables, and three or four small
chilies; when it was nearly done, a small tin of soup--julienne or
ox-tail--was added. Oatmeal forms a nice change from boiled rice,
and biscuits are a treat, as also are sweet potatoes nicely boiled,
or corn cobs, yams, or kaladi roasted in the embers. Tinned soups are
much improved by having fresh vegetables boiled in them, such as palm
cabbages, sweet potatoes, or cucumbers. Eggs may be eaten boiled,
poached, or beaten up in a cup of tea or coffee, in which case the
yelk only should be used. A nutritious drink is made by beating
up the yelk of a fresh egg with a squeeze of lime, a little sugar,
whisky, or gin and water. If a dash of Angostura bitters be added,
so much the better. Native cook-pots may always be borrowed, or on
occasion biscuit or soup-tins form good substitutes. If pressed for
supplies, corn cobs or "mealies" form a good substitute for bread,
and may be varied now and then with bananas or sweet potatoes. Bananas
may be eaten with cheese. The nebong (Oncosperma) palm, generally
common beside the Malay rivers, affords a tender "cabbage," with a
delicate asparagus-like flavour. Pigeons are generally plentiful, and
in extreme cases even monkeys may be "potted." On boating expeditions
a baited hook should always be towed astern. Most natives understand
the style of fishing, and best bait to use.
Packing is important. Rice should be made up into small parcels of
10 lb. each, and wrapped in waterproof sheeting, as if it gets wet
it soon turns sour, unless spread out in the sun to dry. Oatmeal
should be baked in an oven, and then packed in dry bottles or
tins. Biscuits should be bought in 2 lb. tins. All clothes, books,
and other damageable articles should be enveloped in waterproof
sheeting. In giving the stores to the carriers, put down the man's
name and the stores he carries in a book, so that they may be readily
found when wanted. Aneroids, thermometers, &c., should be fitted into
japanned tin cases, which may be covered with leather. If tightly
fitted into leather cases, they are liable to become damaged, as the
leather contracts on becoming wet.
Bathing.--Always bathe in the morning. Care must be taken not to
frequent alligator-infested streams. Whenever there is any doubt,
never enter a stream, but bale up the water and pour it over the
body. Nearly all Eastern people bath in this way, and one is not so
liable to become inordinately chilled as by plunging into a large body
of cold water. Never bathe at night when tired or feverish. At such
times a towel-bath is sufficient if the thing is really needful. Dip
a towel in water, and wring it partly dry, and then rub the body
briskly and quickly all over. The dipping and wringing process may
be repeated as desired, then finish with a clean dry towel. A good
way of securing a refreshing bath where water is a long way off, or
limited in quantity, is to send for some in a common wine or spirit
bottle, in which it is handy for pouring over one's head and body,
and a dry towel completes the work. When in vigorous health, a good
douche-bath in a cool hill or mountain stream is a great treat in a
hot land, but it must be remembered that to bathe in this way when
exhausted or feverish is in the highest degree suicidal.
Medicines.--In nearly all towns and colonies good medical advice is
obtainable, and, as a rule, preferable to self-help. On long inland
journeys, however, one must frequently trust to one's own resources,
and to secure a supply of medicines must be one of the traveller's
first cares. The three most useful of all medicines for travellers,
prospectors, hunters, or emigrants, are Cockle's pills, Collis Brown's
chlorodyne, and Howard's sulphate of quinine. These and a bottle of
brandy must always be taken, together with a roll of sticking-plaster,
needles, silk thread, and a few long bandages. Cold compresses are
easily made of towels, and a bottle of mustard may be useful for
poultices on occasion. A small bottle of carbolic acid is useful for
mixing with oil as a dressing for mosquito bites, scratches, or other
flesh-wounds. One part of acid to fifteen or twenty parts of oil is
a good proportion for ordinary use. All travellers, before leaving
the beaten track of civilisation, should acquire some knowledge of
bone-setting. The whole thing is easy, but nothing short of actual
demonstrations can teach the elements of the art. A broken limb in the
forest a month's journey from professional aid is a serious thing,
and must always be regarded as a possibility. The only thing to be
done is to reach some shelter where a stay can be made, and then to get
the limb into position as near as possible like its uninjured fellow,
and of the same length. This question of length is most important--in
the leg especially--or a limping gait is sure to follow after the bones
have united. Once in the right position, the thing is to secure it with
a splint and bandages. A heap of sand makes a capital cushion for the
limb, and also helps to hold it in position. Of course professional aid
must be had if possible, and all whose business calls them far from
it should be wise enough to gain the knowledge requisite to preserve
life and limb as far as is possible without professional skill.
Modes of Travelling.--The only sure method of progression in a wild
land is on foot; now and then ponies or buffaloes are obtainable,
and along the coast, or where there are rivers, journeys may be
wholly or partially made in native boats. In walking journeys, the
first care is boots. These, for hot climates, should be strong, and of
English make, but light. Woollen socks are softer and better suited to
tender feet than cotton ones. Native guides should be obtained from
some one in authority, and passports are desirable, if not actually
essential. Buffaloes are often useful for riding, carrying heavy
baggage and rice, and for crossing rivers. For the latter service
two or three good water-buffaloes, accustomed as they are to the
country and fords, are invaluable. Get a good buffalo-driver. In
crossing rapid fords, keep the buffalo's head to the current, and
take him well up stream, so as to allow for the force of the current,
or you will find yourself below the ford, and perhaps in deep water,
ere the opposite bank is reached. Ponies are best for riding (a saddle
should be taken out from Europe), but are not as a rule so useful for
river crossing as water-buffaloes. Nearly all coast natives are good
sailors, and accustomed to make long boat journeys. Every traveller,
however, should understand how to sail a boat for himself. A compass
is useful for bearings either in boats or for forest travel, where
it is often difficult to see the sun.
Shelter.--A light tent of oiled calico is often useful, as timbers
for it can be cut almost anywhere en route. A waterproof sheet will
protect you from ground-damp if spread on brush-fern or palm-leaves. In
the Malay islands the natives are very clever at constructing huts
or tabernacles of palm-leaves, &c., but wherever there are native
houses one is always welcome to the large public room, firewood, and
water. Field-huts, overhanging rocks, and caves, have sometimes to
be taken advantage of. I have slept very comfortably many nights in
the open forest in a light net hammock swung between two trees, with
a waterproof sheet put roof-fashion as a protection from the rain. It
is often difficult to light a fire. I used to carry a few dry sticks,
and when a fire had to be lighted, I whittled these into shavings with
my knife. These light readily as a rule. A small bottle of spirits
of wine may be carried, as paper soaked in it will set fire to almost
anything. I have seen the Borneans wet paper with cocoanut-oil, or mix
whittled shavings with melted beeswax in order to get a fire. If the
matches are damp, tinder may be made by blowing a piece of rag or
paper out of a gun. A small spirit-lamp cooking apparatus, if well
and strongly made, is a great convenience to a traveller, enabling
him to get his coffee, chocolate, or a refreshing cup of tea while
the men are rigging up shelter, or lighting a camp-fire.
Barter.--There are not many countries wherein it is now necessary to
carry goods for barter. In the interior of the Malay islands, and in
the far interior or mountainous districts of other countries, however,
it still happens that money is useless. White or grey shirting and
chopper blades are generally acceptable throughout the interior of
Borneo and the Sulu islands. Black and red cloth, looking-glasses and
knives, are also valued; needles and thread are currency for small
trifles inland in nearly all wild lands. Muskets and ammunition are
also often highly prized. The best goods for barter with natives,
and all information, may generally be obtained from the bazaars
in the coast towns. Whatever you take let it be good of its kind,
and always remember that necessaries are more valued than beads and
other ornaments. Tobacco is often highly valued, even by people who
cultivate their own, as in Sulu.
The following list of articles would be useful in Borneo or Sulu
Archipelago:--
40 large pocket knives.
50 packets large sewing needles.
100 reels cotton for same.
72 common Chinese-box looking-glasses.
10 pieces grey shirting.
2 ,, Turkey red cloth.
10 ,, black cloth.
10 cattys thick brass wire, one-eighth inch.
24 fancy battack head-cloths.
20 tins gunpowder.
10 boxes caps for Tower muskets.
12 chopper blades.
All goods for barter should be so packed that any article may be
brought out for examination without exposing the remainder. The more
goods the natives perceive you to have the higher will they value
their own edibles or services. Beads, Birmingham jewellery, &c.,
may be taken for presents or for small payments.
Arms.--The strength of right and gentleness is the best of all
protections for the traveller anywhere, and in any case the moral force
of firearms is generally sufficient. A good revolver is always a source
of interest and amusement (perhaps sometimes of awe) to uncivilised
people, and a good double breech-loading shot-gun is really useful,
besides affording some amusement to the traveller who obtains food or
natural history specimens thereby. Where there are wild pigs, deer,
elephant, or other large game, a rifle is of service, and a Winchester
repeater is both handy and effective, weighing about 10 lb. A shot-gun
is the most useful, however, of all weapons, and if fitted with ball
or No. 1 shot cartridges is very effective at short ranges with deer,
wild cattle, or pigs. It should be of what is called No. 12 bore,
as cartridges of that size may be bought nearly everywhere, where
ammunition is sold.
If we except the Sarawak principality and the Dutch possessions to
the southward and eastward, Borneo may be called a perfectly wild
country--a land where laws, jails, horses, roads, and missionaries
are unknown. The future prospects of this tropical island, so rich
in natural products, so fertile under rude cultivation, and withal
so extensive and beautiful, are deserving of more than a passing
notice. A large proportion of the country is hilly, and covered
with old forest. Near the coast the land is generally well watered
by shallow rivers. On the higher hill ranges which lie a few miles
inland from the north-west coast, the climate, which is in the
plains sultry and malarious, becomes fresh and salubrious. The
natives are few in proportion to the area, and generally peaceably
disposed towards strangers, but suspicious of ulterior motives,
and remarkably cautious, and now and then avaricious in matters
of trade and barter. They invariably prefer sound useful articles,
such as white or black cloth, to ornamental gewgaws.
The products of the island may be tabulated as follows:--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Products of Borneo. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Animal. | Vegetable. | Mineral. |
+---------------------+--------------+------------------+-----------+
|Pearls. |Sago. |Fruits [tropical |Coal. |
|Mother-of-Pearl |Camphor. | of nearly all |Iron. |
| Shell. |Dammar. | kinds, many in- |Tin. |
|Trepang, Beche de |Benzoin. | digenous.] |Copper. |
| Mer, or Sea Slug. |Gambier. |Vegetables [prin- |Cinnabar. |
|Edible Swallows' |Pepper. | cipally Chinese |Antimony. |
| nests. |Cloves. | varieties, edible|Gold. |
|Tortoise Shell. |Ginger. | ferns, bamboo, |Diamonds. |
|Ivory. |Cinnamon. | palm cabbages, |? Plumbago.|
|Hides. |Rattan canes. | &c.] | |
|Fish in abundance. |Timber. |Gutta-percha. | |
|Bees' Wax. |Lamba fibre. |Caoutchouc, or | |
|The large animals |Cotton. | India-rubber. | |
| are elephant, rhi- |Coffee. |Tapioca. | |
| noceros, deer, pigs,|Tobacco. |Rice. | |
| wild cattle, alli- |Indigo. |Maize. | |
| gators. |Cocoa. |Musa fibre or | |
| |Vanilla. | Manilla hemp | |
| |Spices. | (Musa textilis). | |
| |Cocoanut oil. | | |
+---------------------+--------------+------------------+-----------+
The vegetable products are mostly indigenous, and obtainable in
the primæval forests. Some few, however, such as cotton, tobacco,
coffee, and cocoa have been introduced, and are only cultivated by
the natives in a desultory manner. Under systematic culture, and with
Chinese coolie labour, nearly all the vegetable products of tropical
countries might be grown.
The mineral products are known to exist, but it is not as yet
determined whether the lodes are workable, or if the metals exist
in remunerative quantities. A great drawback to mining operations
is the enormous rainfall. The want of British protection, and the
difficulties of travel or transit inland, are against colonisation. The
river Kinabatangan opens up the country from the north-east coast,
and affords a good water-way by which produce could be brought down
to the coast; but nearly all the other rivers to the north-west,
as far as Brunei, are shallow and unnavigable, except for a mile
or two near the sea; the roads inland being mere buffalo tracks,
and extremely irregular on the hill slopes.
The highest land and coolest climate in the island is on Kina Balu
(altitude 13,700 feet), a large mountain about five days' journey from
the mouth of the Tampassuk river. The lower slopes of this range might
possibly grow good coffee; cinchona would be more likely to succeed
in the cool and fresh, but humid, climate of the large spurs. The land
here is in places deep and rich with forest débris. In places good red
land, with belts of luxuriant bamboo amongst the sandstone boulders,
was seen. In estimating the richness of the soil, the growth of a
particular species of ginger common everywhere was observed, on poor
soils it rarely exceeded a foot in height, but on some of the hill
slopes near Kina Balu it attains a height of six or eight feet.
The bamboo is also here more luxuriant than I observed it elsewhere
in the island, and the greater variety and luxuriance of undergrowth
shows that the climate or soil, or both, are here better than near
the coast. There are rich alluvial deposits on the plains, where
wet rice, tapioca, sago, and fruits and vegetables generally, grow
well. Dry or hill rice, and the cocoanut palm, succeed inland up to
3,000 feet elevation.
In Sarawak land culture has not proved to be so remunerative as the
antimony and gold mines; in the north, however, this order of things
might possibly be reversed. An English company has been formed for
the purpose of colonising the northern part of the island, and the
cessions obtained comprise the whole northern portion from Kimanis
on the north-west coast to Sabuco on the east, the total area being
computed at 20,000 square miles.
It seems to me, however, that Borneo is too far from the great highway
of eastern commerce to attract any but the most sanguine of planters
and capitalists. I saw very good land in Jahore on Gunong Puloi,
and recent explorations in Perak by Mr. Murton of Singapore (as
also by practical coffee planters from Ceylon, and tobacco growers
from Province Wellesley) prove that, so far as soil and climate are
concerned, Perak, Quedah, and Jahore offer equal advantages for land
culture, besides being much nearer to Singapore and the great sea-way
between England and the East.
APPENDIX.
The main object of my journey eastward was the collection and
introduction of beautiful new plants to the Veitchian Collection
at Chelsea. Botanical specimens were obtained and preserved whenever
practicable, as also were birds and other objects of natural history. I
was fortunate in adding about fifty new species of ferns to the
lists of those already collected in Borneo, and of this number, as
will be seen from the following report, about twenty were absolutely
new to science. Perhaps the greatest good fortune which attended my
exertions was the introduction alive of the Giant Pitcher Plant of
Kina Balu (Nepenthes Rajah, Hook. f.). This wonderful plant and its
geographical allies were discovered in 1851 by Hugh Low, Esq., C.M.G.,
and were figured and described by Sir Joseph D. Hooker, K.C.S.I.,
in Vol. xxii. of the Transactions of the Linnæan Society. Mr. Low
made repeated journeys to Kina Balu from Labuan, but unfortunately
failed in his endeavours to introduce these fine plants to European
gardens in a living state. Mr. Thos. Lobb, one of the most successful
of all Eastern plant hunters, attempted to reach the habitat of these
plants in 1856, but was prevented by the natives. These plants are
very remarkable, and, so far as is at present known, exist only on
this one mountain in Borneo.
Nepenthes bicalcarata, the "Two-spurred Pitcher Plant," was also for
the first time introduced alive, and is very remarkable, its pitchers
being armed in a really formidable way, and the swollen stalks of
its urns are perforated by a species of ant in a singular manner.
Of palms a beautiful species of areca, having gracefully arched
leaves and vermilion-coloured sheaths, was introduced alive, as also
a very attractive dwarf species of pinanga (P. Veitchii, H. Wend.),
the bifurcate fans of which are purple below and glaucous-green
above, blotched with brown. Aroids are plentiful in the shady
Bornean forests, the species in some cases being extremely local
in their distribution. Of the new genera discovered two have very
pretty spathes, and if they can be successfully cultivated will prove
very interesting and ornamental stove plants. Piptospatha insignis,
N. E. Br., a pretty little "rock arad," found on sandstone boulders
in the beds of mountain streams, has a tuft of lance-shaped leaves and
dainty white spathes tipped with pink. Gamagyne Burbidgei, N. E. Br.,
is a plant of larger growth, being a foot high but otherwise of similar
habit. The spathes are of a bright rose colour. This plant grows beside
mountain streams in positions where the passing water laves its roots.
Amongst new species of aroideæ may be mentioned the sub-aquatic
Cryptocoryne caudata, N. E. Br., which has heart-shaped bullate
leaves of a dark green colour, the spathe being terminated with a
long tail, which reminds one of the same appendages in the arisæmas of
the Himalayas. Three or four new species of alocasia were found, the
remarkable being A. scabriuscula, A. guttata, and A. pumila. Pothos
ceratocaulis, a fresh green climbing species, was also introduced
alive, and is a plant of distinct marcgraavia-like habit. Specimens
of Schismatoglottis and Chamæcladon are at present undetermined. A
singular new asclepiadaceous genus (Astrostruma spartioides, Benth.),
was discovered growing as an epiphyte on forest trees in Labuan, and in
dry woods near the sea at the northern point of the last-named island,
the remarkable little Microstylis Burbidgei, Rchb. f., was found. One
of my first discoveries in Borneo itself was the new zingiberaceous
genus Burbidgea (B. nitida, Hook, f.), and other novelties were
Dendrobium cerinum, Cypripedium Lawrencianum, and Bolbophyllum
Leysianum, a highly curious plant. A fine new Bolbophyllum was
introduced alive to Chelsea from the Tampassuk river (B. Petreianum,
Burb. MS.), which I propose shall bear the name of my whilom travelling
companion, P. C. M. Veitch, Esq.
Rhododendron stenophyllum, and Nepenthes Burbidgei, Hook. f., were
two of the more remarkable of the new plants from Kina Balu itself,
where also the gigantic moss Dawsonia superba was collected at an
altitude of 6,000 feet, these specimens being, as Mr. Mitten informs
me, the first obtained northwards of New Zealand,
The three native courts of Jahore, Brunei, and Sulu were visited,
and I was enabled to make extended excursions into the interior of
the main island of Sulu itself. In Borneo the flora was remarkable for
endemic Malasian species, intermixed more especially at high altitudes
with Indian (Rhododendra) and Australian (Dacrydium, Phyllocladus,
Drosera, etc.) types. In Sulu both the flora and fauna showed, as
was to be expected, a marked resemblance to those of the Philippine
and Celebes groups. My collections in Sulu comprised new ferns, rare
mosses, and several beautiful new orchids, including Phalænopsis
Marie, Dendrobium Burbidgei (which is mainly remarkable as being
similar to the D. d'Albertisii discovered about the same time in
New Guinea). Here also the lovely pink-blossomed Aerides Burbidgei,
Rchb. f., was obtained, and several other species and varieties at
present unnamed.
The Sulu voyage was in many ways enjoyable, but especially as being to
a virgin land botanically and ornithologically, and I must here take
the opportunity of acknowledging my obligations to Captain W. C. Cowie,
of the steamship Far East, who gave me every accommodation during
the voyage from Labuan, and while we lay in the little harbour at
Meimbong. As will be seen, my ornithological discoveries in Sulu were a
new species of jungle cock (Gallus stramineicollis), and a new paroquet
(Tanygnanthus Burbidgei). Sarcops Lowii was also obtained in Sulu,
and the new Buchanga stigmatops from Kina Balu. No special endeavours
were made in obtaining birds, only such species being shot as came in
the way while I was searching the forest and mountain sides for plants.
The first expedition to the great mountain of Kina Balu was made in
company with P. C. M. Veitch, Esq., who joined me on his return from
an extended tour in Australia and the Fiji islands. The journey was
a critical and tedious one, as we walked every inch of the way from
Gaya Bay to the mountain, and back again to the coast, viâ the Koung,
Kalawat and Bawang villages. We were successful in finding all the
large species of nepenthes in one locality on the mountain for the
first time, and in addition a distinct variety of N. Edwardsiana with
shorter thick-winged pitchers, which it is possible may prove to be
a natural hybrid between N. Edwardsiana and N. villosa.
My acknowledgments are due to Hugh Low, Esq., C.M.G., H.M. Resident in
Perak, who, when he heard of my intention of ascending the mountain,
very kindly sent me information as to the localities on Kina Balu
where the nepenthes and other rare plants are found. To H. E. William
Hood Treacher, H.M. Administrator of Labuan, and to the Hon. Dr. Leys,
M.B., Colonial Surgeon of the same island, I shall always be grateful
for the practical help afforded me during my expedition, and for
the open-handed hospitality they extended to a wandering stranger by
chance thrown in their way.
LIST OF FERNS COLLECTED IN BORNEO.
The following is an abridged account of my specimens of ferns, as
written by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., and published in the Journal of
Botany, 1879, p. 37:--
The following is a complete list of the species gathered, which were
all obtained in the neighbourhood of Labuan and Kina Balu. To the new
species I have prefixed numbers, showing the position in which they
fall, according to the sequence followed in our "Synopsis Filicum;"
and I have marked with a * the names of those which, so far as I am
aware, have not been gathered in the island before. I may mention that
a complete catalogue of the ferns of Borneo was published in 1876 by
Baron Vincent de Cesati, with a special account, with figures of some
of the novelties, of those gathered by Professor Beccari.
* Gleichenia circinata, Sw., var. borneensis, Baker.
Gleichenia dichotoma, Hook.
* Gleichenia vestita, Blume, var. palacea, Baker.
Alsophila glabra, Hook.?
Alsophila latebrosa, Hook.
59.* Alsophila Burbidgei, Baker, n. sp. Allied to A. latebrosa,
Oldhami and Wallacei.
Hymenophyllum Blumeanum, Spreng.
* Hymenophyllum Smithii, Hook. The plant so called in Cesati's
list proved to be Trichomanes denticulatum, Baker.
* Hymenophyllum sabinæfolium, Baker.
Hymenophyllum Neesii, Hook.
* Hymenophyllum formosum, Brack.
* Hymenophyllum obtusum, Hook. Gathered lately in New Guinea by
Beccari.
Trichomanes filicula, Bory.
Trichomanes pallidum, Blume.
Trichomanes digitatum, Sw. Two different forms, one lengthened
out, with remote branches, the other short, with close
branches.
Trichomanes javanicum, Blume.
Trichomanes pyxidiferum, Linn. A handsome variety, with
unusually compound rather crisped fronds.
Trichomanes rigidum, Sw.
Trichomanes maximum, Blume.
* Trichomanes apiifolium, Presl.
Trichomanes hispidulum, Mett. This was only known before from a
single sheet of specimens in the Kew herbarium, gathered by
Thos. Lobb.
Trichomanes foeniculaceum, Bory.
Trichomanes Pluma, Hook. We did not know the definite station
of Lobb's specimens, from which this was described and figured
by Hooker. Beccari has gathered it near Sarawak.
Trichomanes trichophyllum, Moore. With the last, with which I
am now inclined to think it will prove to be conspecific.
Davallia angustata, Wall.
Davallia heterophylla, Smith.
Davallia parvula, Wall.
Davallia luzonica, Hook.
* Davallia contigua, Sw.
* Davallia Emersoni, Hook and Grev.
Davallia pedata, Sm.
* Davallia ciliata, Hook.
Davallia elegans, Sw.
Davallia Speluncæ, Baker.
Davallia tenuifolia, Sw.
49.* Davallia (Eudavallia) Veitchii, Baker, n. sp.--A well-marked
plant, reminding one in cutting and habit of the barren fronds
of Onychium japonicum or auratum.
5.* Lindsaya jamesonioides, Baker, n. sp.--A most distinct novelty,
with the habit of Asplenium trichomanes or Jamesonia imbricata.
7.* Lindsaya crispa, Baker, n. sp.--Habit of the small tender forms
of Adiantum caudatum, but the fronds neither at all hairy nor
rooting at the tip.
* Lindsaya pectinata, Blume.
Lindsaya cultrata, Sw.
Lindsaya borneensis, Hook.
Lindsaya trapeziformis, Dry.
* Lindsaya flabellulata, Dry.
Lindsaya davallioides, Blume.
Lindsaya ensifolia, Sw.
Lindsaya divergens, Wall.
* Adiantum diaphanum, Blume.
* Cheilanthes tenuifolia, Sw.
Pteris aquilina, L.
Pteris semipinnata, L.
Pteris quadriaurita, Betz., var. digitata, Baker. A digitate
form, like the Indian P. Grevilleana, Wall., but the barren and
fertile fronds not dimorphic. The texture firmer than usual.
The rachis with a broad wing, as in P. biaurata, and the veins
crowded and obscure.
* Lomaria procera, Spreng.
Asplenium Nidus, L.
Asplenium tenerum, Forst.
Asplenium squamulatum, Blume.
* Asplenium caudatum, Forst.
Asplenium cuneatum, Lam.
Asplenium laserpitiifolium, Lam.
Asplenium affine, Sw.
Asplenium dichotomum, Hook. Kina Balu. The only known station.
The plant has been twice gathered previously.
203.* Asplenium (Diplazium) porphyrorachis, Baker.--This is the plant
described by Sir W. Hooker from a single barren frond without
fruit gathered by Mr. A. R. Wallace, as Polypodium subserratum
(Hook. and Baker, Syn. Fil., p. 325). In Asplenium that
specific name is already occupied. Of the present plant A.
zeylanicum, Hook., is the only near ally. The same species was
gathered by Beccari, near Sarawak.
* Asplenium porrectum, Wall.
* Asplenium tomentosum, Hook.
207.* Asplenium (Diplazium) xiphophyllum, Baker, n. sp.--Comes near
A. pallidum, porrectum, and cultratum.
* Asplenium latifolium, Don.
Asplenium cordifolium, Mett.
* Didymochlæna lunulata, Desv.
* Aspidium aculeatum, Sw.
* Nephrodium calcaratum, Hook.
* Nephrodium pteroides, J. Sm.
* Nephrodium unitum, R. Br.
* Nephrodium cucullatum, Baker.
* Nephrodium, near pennigerum? Probably new, but specimens not
complete enough to characterise it.
Nephrodium molle, Desv.
* Nephrodium Haenkeanum, Presl.
* Nephrodium singaporianum, Baker.
Nephrodium ternatum, Baker. A fine series of specimens of this
endemic species.
219.* Nephrodium (Sagenia) nudum, Baker, n. sp.--Allied to N.
pachyphyllum, Baker.
* Nephrodium polymorphum, Baker.
Nephrolepis volubilis, J. Sm.
Polypodium Barberi, Hook.
Polypodium urophyllum, Wall. A variety with many of the sori
confluent.
91.* Polypodium (Eupolypodium) minimum, Baker, n. sp.--Allied to the
Andine P. Sprucei, Hook., and Mascaren P. Gilpinæ and synsorum,
Baker.
131.* Polypodium (Eupolypodium) Burbidgei, Baker, n. sp.--Habit and
texture of Davallia Emersoni.
Polypodium alternidens, Cesati, Fil. Born., p. 25, tab. 2, fig.
4. Of this Burbidge's bundle contains a single specimen. It is
a well-marked new species, discovered by Signor Beccari in the
neighbourhood of Sarawak.
* Polypodium cucullatum, Nees. A small slender form.
132.* Polypodium (Eupolypodium) streptophyllum, Baker, n. sp.--Allied
to P. cucullatum, but the pinnæ are narrower, and reach down to
the main rachis, and bear the sorus at their tip.
* Polypodium minutum, Blume.
* Polypodium papillosum, Blume. The plant so-called by Cesati,
gathered by Beccari, near Sarawak, I hold to be quite distinct
from Blume's Javan type, and propose to call it P. Cesatianum.
* Polypodium clavifer, Hook.
210.* Polypodium (Eupolypodium) taxodioides, Baker, n. sp.
Polypodium soridens, Hook.
297.* Polypodium (Phymatodes) stenopteris, Baker, n. sp.
Polypodium longifolium, Mett.
* Polypodium oodes, Kunze. Matches exactly Cuming's Philippine
specimens, which were all that were previously known.
301.* Polypodium (Phymatodes) holophyllum, Baker, n. sp.--Like P.
oodes in rhizome, stipe and sori; differing by its smaller
frond, crenulate border and flabellate veining.
Polypodium acrostichoides, Forst.
* Polypodium angustatum, Sw.
Polypodium dipteris, Blume.
Polypodium bifurcatum, Baker.
Polypodium Phymatodes, L.
* Polypodium ebenipes, Hook.
Gymnogramma avenia, Baker.
Gymnogramma borneensis, Hook.
Gymnogramma Wallichii, Hook.
Gymnogramma Feei, Hook.
Antrophyum reticulatum, Kaulf.
Vittaria debilis, Kuhn.
Vittaria elongata, Sw.
Tænitis blechnoides, Sw. Both the type and well-marked variety,
T. interrupta, H. and G.
Acrostichum sorbifolium, L.
* Acrostichum scandens, J. Sm.
* Acrostichum subrepandum, Hook.
Acrostichum drynarioides, Hook.
* Acrostichum bicuspe, Hook. The typical form, which has only
been once gathered before by Thomas Lobb in Java.
Platycerium biforme, Blume.
* Platycerium grande, A. Cunn.
Schizæa malaccana, Baker.
Schizæa dichotoma, Sw.
Schizæa digitata, Sw.
Lygodium dichotomum, Sw.
Lygodium scandens, Sw.
* Equisetum elongatum, Willd.
Lycopodium cernuum, L.
Lycopodium casuarinoides, Spreng.
Lycopodium carinatum, Desv.
Lycopodium Phlegmaria, L.
* Lycopodium macrostachys, Hook. and Grev.
* Lycopodium volubile, Forst.
* Selaginella atroviridis, Spreng.
Selaginella caulescens, Spreng.
Selaginella inæqualifolia, Spreng.
* Selaginella Willdenovii, Baker.
* Selaginella flabellata, Spreng.
* Selaginella suberosa, Spreng.
Psilotum triquetrum, Sw.
Psilotum complanatum, Sw. = P. Zollingeri, Cesati.
It will be seen that altogether Mr. Burbidge has added above fifty
species to the fern-flora of the island. His exploration quite bears
out the idea that we previously entertained, that the fern-flora of
the island is very rich, and that there is still a plentiful harvest
to await the exploration of the interior. The added species which
are not new are nearly all already known in Java and the Philippine
Islands, frequently in both.
REPORT ON BURBIDGE'S FERNS OF THE SULU ARCHIPELAGO.
By J. G. Baker, F.R.S., F.L.S.
The Sulu Archipelago is a group of small islands lying between Borneo
and the Philippines. They are for the most part under cultivation;
but there are two mountains which attain an elevation of between two
thousand and three thousand feet. So far as I am aware their botany
is entirely unknown. The following is a full catalogue of the ferns
which Mr. Burbidge gathered in the group:--
38.* Cyathea suluensis, Baker, n. sp.--Allied to C. integra, J. Sm.,
of the Philippine Islands and Amboyna.
Hymenophyllum dilatatum, Sw., var. H. formosum, Brack.
Trichomanes javanicum, Blume.
Trichomanes maximum, Blume.
Trichomanes rigidum, Sw.
Davallia pinnata, Cav., and its variety luzonica.
Pteris quadriaurita, Retz.
4.* Pteris Treacheariana, Baker, n. sp.--Near P. cretica, but much
more slender and delicate in general aspect, with the lowest
one to three pairs of pinnæ two to three forked. Named at the
request of Mr. Burbidge in compliment to the Honourable W. H.
Treacher, Acting Governor of Labuan, whose kindness and help
contributed materially to the success of his expedition.
Lindsaya cultrata, Sw.
Lindsaya pectinata, Blume.
Lindsaya flabellulata, Dryand.
Lindsaya lobata, Poir.
Lindsaya davallioides, Blume.
Asplenium persicifolium, J. Sm. An endemic Philippine species.
Asplenium resectum, Smith.
Asplenium falcatum, Lam.
Asplenium hirtum, Kaulf.
Asplenium cuneatum, Lam.
Asplenium Belangeri, Kunze.
Asplenium pallidum, Blume.
Asplenium bantamense, Baker.
Asplenium cordifolium, Mett.
Nephrodium melanocaulon, Baker.
27.* Polypodium (Phegopteris) oxyodon, Baker, n. sp.--A very
distinct plant, allied to P. caudatum of Tropical America.
175.* Polypodium (Eupolypodium) Leysii, Baker, n. sp.--Allied to P.
taxifolium and apiculatum of Tropical America. Named at the
request of Mr. Burbidge in compliment to the Honourable Peter
Leys, M.B., Colonial Surgeon, Labuan, who materially aided him
during his residence there, and accompanied him on one of his
expeditions into the interior.
Polypodium albo-squamatum, Blume.
Polypodium palmatum, Blume.
Vittaria elongata, Sw.
Antrophytum reticulatum, Kaulf.
Tænitis blechnoides, Sw.
Gymnogramma Wallichii, Hook.
Osmunda javanica, Blume.
Lycopodium Phlegmaria, Linn.
Selaginella caulescens, Spreng.
Selaginella Willdenovii, Baker.
Selaginella conferta, Moore.
Selaginella caudata, Spreng.
Selaginella atroviridis, Spreng.
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE AVIFAUNA OF THE SULU ISLANDS.
By R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S., etc.
Senior Assistant, Department of Zoology, British Museum.
PROC. ZOOL. SOC. 1879. Part II.
[Received March 18, 1879.]
The present collection was formed by Mr. F. W. Burbidge during a
short stay in the Sulu Islands, a most interesting locality to the
ornithologist, and one of which very little is known. In my paper on
Dr. Steere's collections from the Philippines, I noticed the four
species of birds as yet recorded from the Sulu Islands, [8] and I
ought to have added the common Artamus of the Indo-Malayan region,
and a cuckoo, both recorded by Peale from Mangsi.
In addition to the birds obtained by Mr. Burbidge, I have received
permission from the authorities of the Oxford Museum to describe
the large Bornean collections forwarded to that institution by
Mr. W. H. Treacher, Acting Governor of Labuan. Amongst them are a
few birds from Sulu, but apparently not the result of a separate
expedition, but presented to Mr. Treacher by Mr. Burbidge. To the
latter gentleman I am indebted for the following notes:--
"Among the birds which I saw in Sulu, but could not secure, I
would particularly mention--some hornbills, seemingly the common
black-and-white small kind from Labuan; a fine white harrier, with
black tips to the wings (this is a distinct and handsome bird, not
unfrequently seen circling over rice fields, or grassy plains);
the 'fire-backed' pheasant; and an owl, apparently a larger and
brighter-coloured edition of our common barn-owl, or screeching
species. The blue, white-ringed kingfisher (Halcyon chloris) of Labuan
is very common here, as is also the rufous, white-headed scavenger
hawk or eagle; [9] and at least two other species, both larger, are
to be found looking out for food near the wharf at Meimbong. Curlews
are as plentiful here as in Sarawak and other parts of Borneo. I
missed the nocturnal 'chuck-chuck' of the goat-sucker, so common in
Labuan. Water-rails and a pretty blue kingfisher are not uncommon
by the margin of the Meimbong river, which is close to the harbour,
and is an excellent shooting-ground. Gun-boats often come here; and as
the country is now readily accessible, much might doubtless be done in
ornithology. Capital angling may be had in this little river; and there
is a good bathing place near the town, and close to the market, where
one may be entirely free from the fear of an alligator lurking about
in wait for a meal. Now and then the Sultan and his court, male and
female, together with all the principal people in the island, meet to
enjoy the fun of pig-hunting, the wild boar being very plentiful here,
together with two or three species of deer. These pigs do a good deal
of damage to cultivated crops; so that now and then a regular field-day
is organised, and nearly every man, pony, dog, and spear in the island
are out, versus 'Piggy,' as many as fifty of the latter being slain in
a single day. There are so many kinds of sport easily attainable here,
provisions of the best are so cheap, a pony may be hired for about
1s. 6d. a day, and there is so much that is novel to be seen about
the town and the court, that the wonder is that some traveller, fond
of sport, and especially ornithology, does not take up his quarters
here for a month or two--and particularly as the place is easily
reached from Singapore, viâ Labuan, or from Hong-Kong, viâ Manila."
Mr. Burbidge left England on a botanical expedition, to collect living
plants; and his success in this department of natural history is well
known. His chief attention having been devoted to plants, it only
remains to thank him for the intelligent way in which he devoted his
scanty leisure time to forming the present collection of birds.
The following I believe to be a correct list of Sulu birds as at
present known; and I have included the few species mentioned by Peale
as procured in Mangsi by the United States Exploring Expedition. I
have also added the references to Lord Tweeddale's recent papers
on the Philippine collections of Mr. Alfred Everett, and have given
the ranges of the different species in the Philippine archipelago,
so as to bring the subject up to the present date.
1. Cacatua hamæturopygia (P. L. S. Müll.).
Cacatua hamæturophygia, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 132; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 312; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 756, 817;
1878, pp. 107, 281, 340, 379.
Two specimens.
[Luzon (Meyer); Guimaras (Meyer); Negros (Meyer, Steere, Everett);
Zebu (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Nipar (Everett); Panaon (Everett);
Butuan River, N. Mindanao (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge).]
2. Prioniturus discurus (V.).
Prioniturus discurus, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 132; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 312; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 538, 688,
756, 817; 1878, p. 379.
A single specimen, agreeing with others in the British Museum from
the Philippine Islands.
[Luzon (Meyer, Everett); Negros (Steere); Zebu (Everett); Panaon
(Everett); Mindanao (Cuming, Everett, Murray); Basilan (Steere); Sulu
(Burbidge); Balabak (Steere).]
3. Tanygnathus lucionensis (L.).
Tanygnathus lucionensis, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 133; Sharpe,
Tr. Lin. Soc. n.s. i. p. 312; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 538, 756,
817; 1878, pp. 281, 340, 612.
A single specimen, collected by Mr. Burbidge, and exactly resembling
the specimens from Manilla and from Palawan in the British Museum.
[Luzon (Meyer); Guimaras (Meyer); Negros (L. C. Layard, Steere,
Everett); Cebu (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Mindanao (Steere, Everett);
Malanipa (Murray); Sulu (Burbidge, Peale); Palawan (Steere, Everett).]
4. Tanygnathus burbidgei, sp. n.
Similis T. muelleri, ex Celebes, sed dorso toto sordide prasino,
capite flavicanti-viridi et alis omnino viridibus distinguendus.
This fine new species of Tanygnathus is closely allied to T. muelleri
of Celebes and T. everetti of Mindanao. It differs from T. muelleri in
having the back green instead of yellow, while the head is yellowish
green and not emerald-green; there is also no blue on the wing-coverts,
the whole wing being green.
The following is a full description of the bird.
Adult. General colour above dark grass-green, including the hind
neck, entire mantle, and scapulars; wings a little lighter green,
the wing-coverts and secondaries with narrow yellow margins, the
primaries blackish on the inner web, externally dark grass-green with
a slight blue shade along the shaft, the first primary black shaded
with blue on the outer web; entire back and rump deep cobalt-blue;
upper tail-coverts green, slightly shaded with yellow on the margins;
tail-feathers dark green, with a narrow margin of yellow at the tip,
the under surface of the tail golden-yellow; head yellowish green, the
sides of the face also of this colour; the under-surface of the body
bright grass-green, yellow on the throat and fore neck and passing
into green on the breast and abdomen; under wing-coverts and under
tail-coverts of the same green as the breast, with yellow margins;
quills ashy blackish below. Total length 15·5 inches, culmen 1·8,
wing 8·6, tail 6·4, tarsus 0·65.
On comparing T. burbidgei with T. everetti, one is struck at once by
the larger size of the former and its yellowish green head, the crown
being emerald-green in T. everetti, which also has the wing only
7·55 inches in length (Samar: Mus. Brit.). None of the Sulu birds,
of which there are five in the collections, have the feathers of the
mantle edged with blue as in the Samar individual.
5. Elanus hypoleucus, Gould.
Elanus hypoleucus, Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 338;
Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 142; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, p. 757.
An adult specimen: wing 11·5 inches.
[Luzon (Jagor); Cebu (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge); N.W. Borneo
(Treacher).]
6. Scops rufescens (Horsf.).
Scops rufescens, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 102.
One specimen.
This bird seems to me to differ slightly from Bornean and Malaccan
examples in having a much darker face, the ear-coverts shaded with
black. I do not, however, propose to found a new species on a single
example, and must wait for more specimens. The measurements of the
Sulu bird are as follows:--Total length 7 inches, culmen 0·7, wing
4·8, tail 2·6, tarsus 0·85. It will be seen that they are a good deal
inferior to those of the type of Scops mantis, as given by me in the
"Catalogue."
7. Cuculus fucatus, Peale.
Cuculus fucatus, Peale, U.S. Expl. Exp. Zool. 1848, p. 136.
C. tenuirostris, Less.; Cass. U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 244.
This cuckoo may be Cuculus himalayanus, which has recently been shot in
Labuan by Governor Ussher; but it is difficult to decide without seeing
a specimen. At present the species is only known from the plate and
description given by Peale, who procured it on the island of Mangsi.
8. Artamus leucorhynchus (L.).
Artamus leucorhynchus, Walden, P. Z. S. ix. p. 174; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 323; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 544, 692,
759, 826; 1878, pp. 283, 342.
A. leucogaster (Valenc.); Sharpe in Rowley's Orn. Misc. iii. p. 179.
One specimen.
[Luzon (Meyer); Guimaras (Meyer); Negros (Meyer, Everett); Cebu
(Murray, Everett); Leyte (Everett); Mindanao (Everett, Steere); Sulu
(Burbidge); Mangsi (Peale).]
9. Oriolus chinensis, L.
Oriolus chinensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 203.
O. suluensis, Sharpe, tom. cit. p. 205.
Broderipus acrorhynchus (Vig.); Walden, Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 185;
Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 545, 694, 760, 826; 1878, pp. 110, 285,
342, 380.
The receipt of three more specimens from Mr. Burbidge convinces me
that the Sulu Islands bird, which I thought was a race of O. frontalis,
Wall., from the Sula Islands, is not really specifically separable from
the common oriole of the Philippines, called by me Oriolus chinensis,
and by Lord Tweeddale Broderipus acrorhynchus. A further comparison
of the series seems to show that O. frontalis of Wallace, from the
Sula Islands, is scarcely to be distinguished from O. chinensis,
the only difference being the slightly greater extent of yellow on
the tail-feathers in the latter bird.
[Luzon (Meyer); Panay (Murray); Guimaras (Meyer); Negros (Meyer,
Steere, Everett); Cebu (Meyer, Murray, Everett); Leyte (Everett);
Panaon (Everett); Dinagat (Everett); Mindanao (Steere, Murray,
Everett); Sulu (Burbidge); Si Butu (Low); Balabac (Steere).]
10. Corone philippina (Bp.).
Corone philippina, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 42;
id. Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 343.
Corvus philippinus, Bp.; Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 201;
Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 548, 698, 763, 831; 1878, pp. 113, 287,
343, 381.
Three specimens.
[Luzon (Cuming, Meyer, Everett); Cujo (Meyer); Panay (Murray); Negros
(Meyer, Steere, Everett); Cebu (Everett); Leyte (Everett); Panaon
(Everett); Camiguin (Murray); Dinagat (Everett); Mindanao (Murray,
Everett); Sulu (Burbidge).]
11. Sarcops lowii.
Sarcops lowii, Sharpe, l.c. p. 344.
Several specimens collected by Mr. Burbidge confirm the distinctness
of this species from S. calvus.
12. Osmotreron vernans (L.).
Osmotreron vernans, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 210; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 346; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, p. 764; 1878,
p. 623.
A female specimen.
[Luzon (Meyer); Panay (Steere); Zebu (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge);
Palawan (Steere).]
13. Osmotreron axillaris (Gray).
Osmotreron axillaris, Walden, Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 211; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. ix. p. 346; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 549, 699, 764,
832; 1878, pp. 113, 287.
An adult specimen.
[Luzon (Meyer, Everett); Guimaras (Meyer); Panay (Murray); Negros
(Meyer, Steere, Everett); Cebu (Everett); Dinagat (Everett); Mindanao
(Steere, Everett); Sulu (Burbidge).]
14. Carpophaga ænea (L.).
Carpophaga ænea, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 215; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 346; Tweedd. P. Z. S. 1877, pp. 764, 832;
1878, pp. 113, 288, 344, 623.
One specimen.
[Luzon (Meyer); Negros (Meyer, Steere, Everett); Cebu (Everett); Leyte
(Everett); Dinagat (Everett); Mindanao (Everett); Sulu (Burbidge);
Palawan (Steere, Everett).]
15. Carpophaga pickeringi.
Carpophaga pickeringi, Cass. Pr. Philad. Acad. 1854,
p. 228; id. U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 267, pl. xxvii; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 353.
Procured by the United States Exploring Expedition in the island
of Mangsi.
16. Ianthoenas griseigularis, Wald. et Layard.
Ianthoenas griseigularis, Wald. Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 218;
id. P. Z. S. 1878. p. 288.
One specimen.
I refer this pigeon with some hesitation to I. griseigularis, of which
I have never seen a specimen, and only know it from Mr. Keuleman's
figure in the Ibis for 1872 (pl. vi.). On the other hand, it is very
closely allied to I. albigularis of the Moluccas, but differs in the
greyish shade on the white throat, which is also more restricted,
and in the forehead being grey with only a slight mark of lilac.
17. Caloenas nicobarica (L.).
Caloenas nicobarica, Cas. U.S. Expl. Exp. p. 276; Sharpe,
P. Z. S. 1875, p. 110.
Observed on Mangsi in some abundance by the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
18. Ptilopus melanocephalus.
Ptilopus melanocephalus (Gm.); Elliot, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 551. An
adult specimen.
19. Macropygia tenuirostris, Gray.
Macropygia tenuirostris, Walden, Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 218; Sharpe,
Tr. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 347.
Two specimens.
[Luzon (Meyer); Basilan (Steere); Sulu (Burbidge).]
Lord Tweeddale differs from Professor Schlegel's opinion that the
same Philippine species is found in Java and Lombock, where it is
M. emiliana of Bonaparte; but having compared several specimens lately,
I believe that the Professor's view is the right one, and that the
bird is found over the Philippines, and occurs even in Borneo. Lord
Tweeddale separates the Negros bird as M. eurycerca.
20. Gallus stramineicollis, sp. n.
General colour above black, shot with green and purple; wing-coverts
like the back, the innermost and the scapulars with a slight
subterminal shine of coppery brown; primary-coverts and primaries
black, the secondaries externally green; feathers of the lower back
and rump straw-yellow, with darker longitudinal centres of black
or green; upper tail-coverts and tail glossy oil-green; crown of
head and nape black; hind neck and neck-hackles, as well as sides of
neck, straw-yellow, deeper on the hind neck, with green longitudinal
centres to the feathers; remainder of under surface of body black
with a green gloss; comb short and rounded; sides of face and entire
throat bare. Total length 34·5 inches, culmen 1·1, wing 9·0, tail 17·5,
tarsus 3·4.
Mr. Burbidge procured a single example of this jungle-fowl, which
appears to be a very distinct species. He tells me that it was brought
to the ship by one of the Sulu natives alive, and he cannot vouch
for its having been a wild bird. I have, however, shown the bird
to Mr. Gould and other ornithologists; and they agree with me that
it is probably a distinct species of jungle-fowl. Governor Ussher
also has seen the bird; and he tells me that he has never seen any
domesticated fowls in Borneo or the Eastern Islands which approached
this species in the least.
ON COLLECTIONS OF BIRDS FROM KINA BALU MOUNTAIN IN NORTH-WESTERN
BORNEO.
By R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S.,
Senior Assistant, Department of Zoology, British Museum.
PROC. ZOOL. SOC. 1879. Part II.
[Received February 14, 1879.]
The great mountain of Kina Balu has always been a locality of interest
to the student of Bornean ornithology; but I am not aware that any
notes on the natural history of this part of northern Borneo have
ever been published. It gives me great pleasure, therefore, to give
a list of the specimens obtained by Mr. Treacher's collectors, [10]
and of a few others submitted to me by Mr. Burbidge, and obtained
during his recent expedition to this mountain. The latter gentleman
is well known from his successful botanical researches on Kina Balu;
and I shall shortly lay before the Society an account of some of his
ornithological discoveries in the Sulu archipelago.
The present collection, though small, is of some importance; and
the character of some of the birds seems to show that the mountains
of Borneo, when thoroughly explored, will produce many species akin
to those found in the mountains of Java, Sumatra, and even of the
Himalayas.
1. Butastur indicus.
Butastur indicus (Gm.), Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 297.
Poliornis indica (Gm.), Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 9.
A specimen in nearly full plumage, collected by Mr. Burbidge.
2. Bubo orientalis.
Bubo orientalis (Horsf.), Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 39.
B. sumatranus (Raffl.), Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 19.
A fine adult specimen in Mr. Treacher's collection, agreeing with
the diagnosis given by me (l.c.), and measuring 13 inches in the wing.
3. Megalæma versicolor.
Megalæma versicolor (Raffl.), Marsh. Mon. Capit. pl. 22.
Chotorea versicolor, Salvad. tom. cit. p. 33.
Three adult specimens, obtained by M. Burbidge.
4. Rhopodytes erythrognathus.
Rhopodytes erythrognathus (Hartl.), Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 604.
Rhamphococcyx erythrognathus (Hartl.), Salvad. tom. cit. p. 74.
A specimen in Mr. Treacher's collection, having the two centre
tail-feathers rufous at their ends.
5. Halcyon chloris.
Halcyon chloris (Bodd.), Sharpe, Monogr. Alced. pl. 87.
Sauropatis chloris (Bodd.), Salvad. tom. cit. p. 103.
One specimen, sent by Mr. Treacher.
6. Dendrochelidon longipennis.
Dendrochelidon longipennis (Rafin.), Salvad. tom. cit. p. 122.
One specimen, collected by Mr. Burbidge.
7. Corone tenuirostris.
Corone tenuirostris, Moore, Cat. B. Mus. E. I. Co. ii. p. 558.
Corvus tenuirostris, Tweedd. Ibis, 1877, p. 320.
One specimen, in Mr. Treacher's collection.
The constant character of the long thin bill in specimens from
N. W. Borneo impresses me with the idea that Lord Tweeddale is right
in keeping C. tenuirostris distinct from C. enca, with which I united
it in my "Catalogue of Birds" (vol. iii. p. 43).
8. Dicrurus annectens.
Dicrurus annectens, Hodgs.; Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 231; id. Ibis,
1878, p. 414.
The first occurrence of this species in Borneo was recorded by me in my
list of Governor Ussher's Sarawak collection; but it cannot be uncommon
in North-western Borneo, to judge from numerous specimens which have
been sent from Labuan and from the opposite coast by Governor Ussher
and Mr. Treacher. Two specimens are contained in the collection made
on Kina Balu by Mr. Burbidge.
9. Chibia borneensis, sp. n.
C. similis C. pectorali, ex insulis Suluenisibus, sed plumis
lanceolatis colli lateralis metallice chalybeo-viridibus nec
purpurascentibus, et maculis jugularibus et præpectoralibus
valde minoribus et conspicue metallicis chalybeo-viridibus
distinguenda. Long. tot. 10, culm. 1·3, alæ 5·9, caudæ 4·5, tarsi 0·85.
An adult and young bird, in Mr. Treacher's collection.
This is an interesting addition to the avifauna of Borneo, and seems to
indicate an entirely new species. It bears considerable resemblance
to C. bimaensis of Timor and Lombock, but differs in having the
long silky plumes on each side of the lower back black instead of
greyish white; while the Timor bird has not, like C. borneensis,
any long hair-like plumes on the head. On the other hand the latter
character allies it to C. pectoralis of the Sulu Islands; but it may
be recognised on comparison by the much smaller and more metallic
spots on the throat and fore neck, which are steel-green, as also
are the neck-hackles. In C. pectoralis the spangles are large, dull,
and incline to purplish in tint. This species appears to me to be
a thorough Chibia, and I do not at present see how naturalists can
avoid recognizing the existence of Chibia in the Malay archipelago;
nor do I understand how the Indian and Malayan species are to
be separated, when such a perfect gradation is now offered by
C. borneensis and C. pectoralis. Under these circumstances I believe
that Salvadori's genus Dicruropsis, which I was lately inclined
to admit (Mittheil. k. zool. Mus. Dresd. iii. p. 360), cannot be
sustained; and I therefore revert to my old opinion concerning these
birds (Cat. B. iii. p. 234). I have given this species the name of
borneensis to celebrate the addition of a Chibia to the avifauna of
Borneo. Mr. Treacher has also procured a single specimen of it on
the Lawas river.
The young bird from Kina Balu differs from the adult in being duller
black, with fewer and less metallic chest-spots and hackles.
10. Buchanga stigmatops, sp. n.
B. similis B. leucophææ, sed macula lorali alba magna
distinguenda. Long. tot. 10, culm. 0·9, alæ 5·3, caudæ 5·1, tarsi 0·7.
The presence of white on the facial region of a species of grey
Buchanga would seem to ally it at once to B. leucogenys. In the
Bornean bird, however, of which I have three specimens before me,
the white is confined to a large loral spot in front of the eye,
whereas in B. leucogenys the eyebrow and ear-coverts, as well as the
feathers below the eye, are also white or whitish. The new species
is also of the same dark grey as B. leucophæa (B. cineracea of my
Catalogue, iii. p. 250), and not of the light pearly grey which is
another character of B. leucogenys. One specimen was contained in
Mr. Burbidge's collection, and two in Mr. Treacher's.
11. Pericrocotus igneus.
Pericrocotus igneus, Blyth; Salvad. tom. cit. p. 144; Sharpe,
Cat. B. iv. p. 78.
An adult male, in Mr. Burbidge's collection.
12. Trachycomus ochrocephalus.
Trachycomus ochrocephalus (Gm.), Salvad. tom. cit. p. 197.
One specimen, in Mr. Burbidge's collection.
13. Rubigula montis, sp. n.
R. similis R. flaviventri, sed multa minor et gula flava nec nigra
distinguenda. Long. tota 5·7, culminis 0·5, alæ 3·1, caudæ 2·8,
tarsi 0·7.
General colour above olive-yellowish, the wing-coverts like the
back; quills and tail dull blackish brown, externally washed with
olive-yellow like the back, the greater coverts also brown washed with
olive-yellow; tail-feathers paler brown at the tip of the inner web;
head crested, black, as also the sides of the face, ear-coverts, and
cheeks; entire under surface of body yellow, slightly more olive-green
on the sides; under wing-coverts yellow, the longer ones white washed
with yellow; quills sepia-brown below, white along the edge of the
inner webs.
This species is almost exactly the same as Rubigula atricapilla of
Ceylon, but has not the white tips to the tail-feathers, while its
long crest distinguishes it from the Ceylonese species, which is not
crested. In the form of the crest and in general appearance it is
almost precisely similar to R. flaviventris of Pegu and Tenasserim,
but is smaller, and has the throat yellow like the rest of the under
surface. The single specimen obtained was in Mr. Treacher's collection.
14. Criniger ruficrissus, sp. n.
C. similis C. gutturali, sed supra ubique sordidior, supracaudalibus
caudaque saturate rufescenti-brunneis; loris et regione oculari cum
genis et regione parotica sordide cinereis, gula alba, corpore reliquo
subtus sordide olivascente, sub caudalibus castaneis. Long. tot. 8,
culm. 0·85, alæ 4·0, caudæ 4·0, tarsi 0·7.
This species is not very different from C. gutturalis, but differs
in its much darker coloration, especially on its under surface,
which is dull olivaceous, with a white throat and chestnut-red under
tail-coverts. There is an entire absence of the pale-brown colour
of the breast washed with yellow, and of the light yellow abdomen
and pale fawn-coloured under tail-coverts. The crest is very long in
C. ruficrissus, and extends nearly to the mantle.
15. Ianthocincla treacheri, sp. n.
I. similis I. mitratæ (S. Müll.), ex Sumatra, sed genis, mento et
regione parotica sicut caput castaneis facile distinguenda. Long. tota
10, culminis 0·85, alæ 4·15, caudæ 4·5, tarsi 1·5.
Adult. General colour above dark ashy grey, with a very slight shade
of ochraceous under certain lights; the wing-coverts slightly more
bluish grey than the back: quills blackish, externally bluish grey,
the primaries white along the basal part of the outer web, giving
the wing a conspicuous white outer aspect; tail-feathers dark slaty
grey, shading into blackish at the end of the feathers; entire crown
and nape, as well as the sides of face, ear-coverts, and fore part
of cheeks deep chestnut-red, the under cheek-feathers slightly tipped
with ochraceous; frontal plumes with lanceolate tips of light ashy grey
or hoary whitish; under surface of body dull ochraceous brown, with
lighter shaft-lines of pale ochraceous, imparting a striped appearance
to the throat and breast; the sides of the body more ashy grey; chin
chestnut, like the sides of the face; thighs dark grey, with a few
chestnut feathers near the tarsal bend; under tail-coverts chestnut;
under wing-coverts ashy grey, slightly marked with ochraceous; quills
sepia-brown below, paler along the edge of the inner web.
Four specimens are sent by Mr. Treacher, all adult, and exactly similar
in plumage. On comparing them with Sumatran specimens of I. mitrata,
a very marked difference presents itself, which shows that the Kina
Balu bird belongs to a new species. Although similar to I. mitrata
in its general coloration and white-edged quills, it is distinguished
at once by its chestnut ear-coverts, while the chin and fore part of
the cheeks are also chestnut.
16. Turdus pallens.
Turdus pallens, Pall.; Salvad. tom. cit. p. 256.
An adult specimen, sent by Mr. Treacher.
17. Monticola solitarius.
Monticola solitarius (P. L. S. Müll.), Walden, Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 192.
A specimen sent by Mr. Treacher.
This is the second occurrence of the bird in Borneo, the first having
been recorded by me under the name of Monticola pandoo (Ibis, 1877,
p. 13), from Mr. Alfred Everett's Bintulu collection. Mr. Treacher's
specimen is in full blue-and-red plumage, with the usual margins to
the feathers found in the winter dress.
For permission to use the foregoing Papers, I am under obligations
to James Britten, Esq., Editor of the Journal of Botany, and to
P. L. Sclater, Esq., Secretary of the Royal Zoological Society
of London.
NOTES
[1] This last instrument closely resembles the "teponaztli," an
instrument still in use by the Indians in the Cordilleras of Mexico,
the deep thudding sound of which may be heard a distance of several
miles.
[2] "Journal of Eastern Asia." July, 1875. Trübner & Co.
[3] It is curious to find that in Borneo, and elsewhere in the Malayan
islands, the name "orang-utan" (literally "wild man," or, "man of the
woods,") is applied not only to the large red monkey, as with us,
but also to the aboriginal inhabitants of the interior. The Muruts
are frequently spoken of as "orang-utan," not only by the Malays,
but also by the Kadyans, a tribe of aboriginals converted to the
Mahomedan faith.
[4] On mountains in Borneo above 7000 feet a form of Dipteris
Horsfieldii grows freely among dacrydiums, droseras, dianella, dawsonia
superba, a tiny umbellifer, and other Australian types. It is dwarf,
rarely above two feet high, with glaucous leathery and brittle fronds,
almost silvery below.
[5] "Malay Archipelago," vol. ii. p. 212.
[6] "Life in the Forests of the Far East," 2d. ed., vol. i. p. 404.
[7] "Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa." John
Murray. 1857.
[8] See Trans. Linn. Soc. n.s. i. p. 310.
[9] Doubtless Haliastur intermedius.
[10] These collectors accompanied Mr. Peter Veitch and myself during
the first expedition to Kina Balu, undertaken in November and December,
1877. The specimens collected by them were obtained along the route
from Gaya Bay to the village of Kiau (alt. 3,000 feet). They did
not ascend the mountain itself, but collected around Kiau until our
return.--F. W. B.