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ON THE BIRDS OF THE ISLAND OF BABBER. 



By Dr. EKNST HAKTERT. 



HAVING returned to the East; ouco more, our valued corrcsjioudenl BIr. Heiuricli 

 .Kiihu has agaiu commenced to collect birds on the less known islands 

 of the great Eastern Archipelago. 



In Sor. Zoo/. l'JU4. jiji. 174— ::i21 I gave a list (if the birds collected by 

 ilr. Kidiu on the Honth-West Islands, and, as I said on ]i. 176, collections were 

 not made on the more eastern i.slauds, Sermatta, Luang and Babber. Mr. Kiihu 

 sent a parly of Malayan collectors to ISabber, who made a collection of 7t) sjiecies. 

 Unfortunately the collection does not seem to be a comideto one, as the work 

 on Babber had suddenly to be terminated, on account of the hostile behaviour 

 of some of the natives. 



A few Babber specimens have long ago reached the Dresden Museum, and were 

 duly recorded and jiartly described as new by Ur. A. B. Meyer. Also Mr. Hchiidler 

 sent a collection of 31 species (about half of those sent by Mr. Kiihn) from 

 Babber to the Leyden Museum, and the latter has been recorded by Dr. Otto Finsch 

 in his valuable article "Systemat. Ueliers. der VOgel der Siidwcst-Iuseln " in Ao/ca- 

 Leijden Museum, xxii. pp. 225— 3U0 (1901). 



The ornis of Babber differs considerably from that of the more western islands, 

 being in many instances the same as, or closely allied to, that of the Tenimber or 

 Timorlant group. 



1. Megapodius dupeiTeyii Less. & Garn. 

 Cf. Not-. Zu,A. 10O4. p. 170. 



3 S ad., Tejia, 27. viii., 5, 0. ix., I'JOo (Nos. 6788, 6849, 6886). 



2. Turnix maculosus (Temm.). 



Cf. Noe. Z.,ol. 11104. p. 17(i. 



1 ? ad., Tepa, 2U. x. I'.jn.j (No. 7005). 



3. Ptilinopus cincta ottonis Hart. 



Ptilinopus cincta otloiits Hartcrt, Nuc. Zuul. VM\, pp. ITS, 179 (DammtT ami Babber. Terra typica : 

 Dammer). 



A fine series was obtained near Tejia, on Babber Island, in August and 

 September IVii.io (Nos. UGU5, (3Gi)U, (1(122, 6024, (1628, 0040, OO'JO, 0700, 6703, 0755, 

 6760, OSIO). "Iris burnt sienna (brick-red in most specimens). Feet dark red 

 (chocolate-brown, purplish red, dark purple). Bill : tip yellowish, base dark 

 (olivaceous). 



4. Ptiliuopus xanthogaster xanthogaster Wagl. 



Cf. y<n: Zml. I'J04. p. 17'J. no. 8. 



Eleven examples killed at Tepa in August and September (Nos. GOoO, 0015, 

 (J019, 0020, (j030, 0631, 0053, (1737, 0753, OtSOl, OSOIa). 



It is interesting to find that P. :r. xanthogaster, the same as found on Banda, 

 Key, Dammer, Taam, Teour, Manggoer, Koer and the Timorlaut (Tenimber) group, 

 occurs on Babber, and not L', x. roscipileum {^ov. Zool. 1004. p. 170^, which inhabits 

 Roma, Moa, Kisser, Letti and Wetter. 



