ON A COLLECTION OP BIRDS MADE BY MR. M. NAMIYE, IN THE LIU 

 KIU ISLANDS, JAPAN, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OP NEW SPECIES. 



By liEONHARD STEJNEOER. 



A short time ago the National Museum received a fine collection of 

 birds from the Educational Museum of Tokio, Japan, the director 

 of wliich is Mr. S. Tegima. Besides numerous interesting and well- 

 prepared specimens, especially from the provinces southwest of Tokio, 

 there were several skins from Liu Kiu. At the same time, Mr. M. Na- 

 miye, in charge of the ornithological department of the Educational 

 Museum, forwarded to me for inspection another lot from the same 

 islands. 



The Liu Ki«, or Riu Kiu, Islands (often spelt Lew Chew, or Loo Choo), 

 in connection with the Linschoten Archipelago, form a continuous chain 

 of islands between Kiu-Siu, the southern of the Great Japanese Isl- 

 ands proper, and the northern end of Formosa. Notwithstanding this 

 intermediate position between two so peculiar and remarkable zoogeo- 

 graphical provinces, only little has been done in order to explore their 

 fauna. That of the Linschoten group is wholly unknown, and what 

 little we know of the birds of the Liu Kiu Islands is due to the Ameri- 

 can Pacific Exploring Expeditions under Perry and Rodgers. 



The Liu Kiu Archipelago consists of three groups, a southern, the 

 Miyaco Islands, or Nambu Sioto, south of 25° north latitude ; a middle 

 group, Tsubu Sioto, or Liu Kiu proper, between 26° and 27° north lati- 

 tude, and a northern group, Hokubu Sioto, between 27° and 29° north 

 latitude. 



The first and the last named of these groups have apparently never 

 been visited by naturalists, for the ornithological collections, at least, 

 have only come from the main islantl of the middle group, Okinawa 

 Shima, or Great Liu Kiu. The present collection was also made on 

 this island during a short visit of Messrs. Tegima and Namiye during 

 the month of March of the present year. Official business of more 

 pressing nature prevented Mr. Namiye from devoting so much time to 

 collecting as he wanted. This is much to be regretted, for when we 

 look at the excellent results of his short stay, there can be no doubt 

 but that he would have added more species to the Avifauna of the Jap- 

 anese Empire. It is also desirable that the southern group should 

 be explored, since situated, as they are, even more southerly than 

 the northern point of Formosa, pretty well isolated, and not far from 

 the Tropic of Cancer, many interesting novelties and additions to the 

 fauna may be expected to occur on these islands, which, moreover, 

 seem to be very mountainous, the mountains reaching a height of at 

 least 600 meters. 



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