( 12 ) 



THE BIRDS OF DAMMER ISLAND IN THE BANDA SEA. 



By ERNST IIARTERT. 



DA3IMER, Dammar or Damiua, is a volcanic island in the Banda Sea, north of 

 the line of the so-called '■ Serwatty Islands," which extend in an east-north- 

 easteru direction from Timor. It is about half-way between Timor and Timorlaut. 

 It is less than ten miles in length and about live miles wide. The island is one 

 of the prettiest in the Eastern Archipelago, and almost entirely covered with dense 

 forest and vegetation: only the top of the volcanic peak in the north, which is often 

 emitting a stream of white smoke, and which rises to abont 4000 feet, is bare of 

 forest growth. The forest is so dense, that it is very difficult to penetrate it for 

 any distance. Many boiling hot springs and streamlets are found, which are 

 utilized by the natives for cooking. The island is scantily inhabited by two 

 races of Papuan and Malay type, who live in separate villages. They are all 

 friendly and well disposed towards foreigners. They keep some pigs and fowls, 

 and are most expert iishermen. Sago and cocoa-nut palms, enormous mango 

 trees, jack-frnit (Artocarpus) and bread-fruit are found in abundance, as well as 

 bananas and tobacco. Birds, lepidoptera and coleoptera are numerous. Messrs. J. 

 AValker and Bassett-Smith, who visited Dammer on H.M. surveying ship Penguin 

 in 1891, brought home one species of mammals (a form of Cuscns maciilatiis), ten 

 species* of birds, unTaely M/iipidura ele.gantula, Rhipidura biittikoferi, Graucalus 

 melanops, Zosterops bassetti, Stigmatops squatnata, Hirundo (jutturalis, Psitteiiteles 

 euteles, Ptilinopus xantJiogaster, Carpophuqa rosacea and concinna, five species of 

 reptiles, namely, Gecko ceiiicillatus, Calofes cristateUus, l.ijyosom'i striolatiim and 

 fuscum, Ablepkarus boutonii furcata, ten mollusca, one hundred species of coleoptera, 

 thirty of other insects and one freshwater crustacean. Besides this interesting, 

 but fragmentary collection from Dammer, I am only aware that A. B. Meyer 

 enumerates three species of birds : — 



Urospizias torqiiatus = Astur polionoUis (No. 27). 



Pitta brachyura = Pitta vigorsi (No. 20) and Carpopliaga concinna, which 

 were sent to him by Mr. Riedel.t 



The entire ornithological literature relating to Dammer Island is therefore : — 



1884, A. B. Meyer, in Ahl>. " 7.*/.s," Dresden, p. 7 (three species). 



1894, R. B. Sharpe, in Ami. <)• Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. (>, v. XIV. pp. 56-58 (ten 

 species). 



In connection with this last-named article a very interesting account of a visit to 

 Dammer Island is given by Mr. .J. Walker, from which most of the foregoing notes 

 are taken. 



In 1899 our esteemed correspondent Heinrich K-iihn, to whom we owe already 

 several other valuable collections from the Eastern Archipelago, made a trip to 

 Dammer and sent us a large collection of birds and lepidoptera. Here follows the 

 list of the birds collected by him. They are mostly collected at a place called 

 Woeloer, some at Bebber and Hi. 



• Mr. Walker says his party collected only nine, bnt Sharpe enumerates ten. 



t Care must be taken not to mistake Dammer Island in the Banda Sea for the island south of 

 Halmahera which is variously spelt D.ama. Damme, Dammar or Dammer. It is this latter island where 

 Bernstein collected a few birtls (cf. Stigmatops Moris. Mi/zovi'la simjilex and others), not the Diimmer 

 visited by Kiihn. 



