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SOME NOTES ON JAVA BIRDS. 

 By ERNST HARTERT. 



THE most interesting ornis of Java has recently not received mnch special 

 attention in Europe, althougli it is well worth any amount of study. It is 

 true, that very fine collections have been made there, and that no island of the 

 Eastern archipelago has been, until quite recently, similarly well worked. We are 

 indebted especially to Dr. Th. Horsfield (1824), Reinwardt, Kuhl and van Hasselt, 

 Boie, Bernstein, and Wallace, for making us acquainted with the birds of Java. In 

 spite of all their works, however, our knowledge of the exact distribution of the 

 birds on Java, and the ornis of some of the highest peaks, is by no means complete. 

 It is thus very welcome, that a resident on the island, Dr. A. G. Vorderman, has 

 taken up the study of Javan birds for some time, and that he has now presented the 

 scientific world with an excellent list of all birds known from Java. This moj-t 

 opportune work appeared in the Natiuirhuulig Tijdschrij't poor Ned.-Indie, LX. 

 (1900), under the title " Syste;natisch Overzicht der Vogels welke op Java 

 inheemsch zijn," and it has been looked over and with " aantekeningen voorzieu " 

 by Dr. 0. Finsch. 



The writer of these " notes " has been very much interested in .Java Birds for 

 a number of years, and he has had two opportunities of adding a little to the 

 knowledge of Javan birds, as he published two articles on the latter, one in Ornis, 

 VII. p. 113, and another in Nov. Zool. 1896, p. 537. 



Dr. Walter Rothschild has been au.xious to complete his collection of Java 

 Birds, especially since he recognised the value of them on account of the fact that 

 such an enormous proportion of Eastern birds have first been described from Java, 

 80 that the Java birds are the " typical " ones, and thus indispensable for all 

 scientific ornithological work on Oriental birds. Besides some minor contributions, 

 we have recently received many birds from our correspondent, Mr. E. I'rillwitz, 

 mostly from Mount Gedeh and from various other places in Western Java. 



These give me the opportunity for the following remarks. 



1. Falco peregrinus Tnnst. 



Messrs. Vorderman and Finsch did not mention this species as occurring on 

 Java, supposing that all the Peregrines from the Sunda Islands belonged to .Sharpe's 

 F. ernesfi. This is probably due to the new " Hand-list," I. p. 273, where the 

 distribution of F.peregrinus is given as, " Europe, Asia, N. America, Africa (winter), 

 Indian Peninsula (winter)," while that of F. ernesti is said to be " Greater Sunda 

 Islands, Philippines, New Guinea, Fiji Islands." 



This does not seem to be quite correct, and it should be borne in mind, that 

 in a general " List " like that the distribution cannot be given exhaustively in all 

 its details. 



Falco ernesti is a beautiful dark bird, which is mnch nearer to F. tnelanogenya 

 than to F. peregrinus. I have not seen an example from Java, but Mr. E. Prillwicz 

 sent us two Peregrines, one c? ad. shot near Sukabumi, without date, and an 



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