THE BIRDS OF THE NATUNA ISLANDS 



By Harry C. Oberholser 



Senior Biologist, Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of 



Agriculture 



INTRODUCTION 



Ornithological knowledge of the interesting area known as the 

 Natuna Islands dates from 1893. In that year the well-known 

 collector, A. Everett, visited the group, and in September and October 

 made the first collection of birds. Late in the summer and in the 

 autumn (July to October) of the following year a brother of 

 Charles Hose, the Bornean explorer, made a second collection of birds. 



In 1900, between May 23 and August 13, Dr. W. L. Abbott col- 

 lected for the United States National Museum some 205 specimens. 

 His itinerary was approximately as follows, the dates given indicating 

 the time of his visit to the different islands : 



Pulo Midei (in the Southern Natuna Is- 

 lands).— May 23-25. 



Pulo Seraia.— May 28-29. 



Brian Island. — May 31. 



Sirhassen {South Natuna) Island. — May 

 31 to June 10. 



Pulo Subi.— June 12-13. 



Pulo Lingung. — June 14-17. 



Pulo Kombeh. — June 19. 



Bunguran {Great Natuna) Island. — 



June 22 to July 28. 

 Pulo Laut. — August 3-13. 



Practically all our present information concerning the birds of 

 these islands, at least in so far as published records are concerned, 

 has been derived from these three collections. Another collection 

 has recently been gathered by F. N. Chasen, of the Raffles Museum, 

 the report on which, by C. Boden Kloss, has been courteously with- 

 held, pending the appearance of the present study of Doctor Abbott's 

 material. 



The present report is, of course, based primarily on the specimens 

 obtained by Doctor Abbott; but in order to bring together all that 

 is now known concerning the distribution of birds in the Natuna 

 Islands, the records of additional species, and of birds found on islands 

 from which they were not reported by Doctor Abbott, are also 

 included. These are chiefly from the papers by Dr. Ernst Hartert, 

 who reported on the collections of Everett and Hose.' 



» Nov. ZooL, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 469-483, Apr. 16, 1894; vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 466-478, Aug. 17, 1895. 



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