190 Lieut. H. R, Kelham on 



Top of hcad^ the iiape, and a streak down each side of the 

 neck chestnut, marked with black on the crown; the wings 

 and upper parts olive-brown, covered with narrow wavy bars 

 of white, edged with black ; the chin and throat dull white ; a 

 streak below the eye, the sides of the neck, and the breast 

 lead-grey ; abdomen dull brownish grey, barred, particularly 

 on the flanks, with white. 



Rallina fasciata (Raffles). 



This handsome Banded Rail is decidedly rare ; I never shot 

 one, and saw very few in the Malaccan collections. It can 

 easily be identified by its richly banded plumage. It is 

 smaller, also has the olive of the back more rufous than 

 Porzana ceylonica. 



Leptoptilus argala (Lath.). 



The well-known Adjutant bird of Anglo-Indians is found 

 along the Malayan coasts, but, I think, not so plentifully as 

 the rather smaller and more darkly piumaged L. javanicus. 



In August 1877 I saw several Adjutants on the mud at the 

 mouth of the Moar river. 



Leptoptilus javanicus (Horsf.). The Malay Adjutant. 



Much more common in the Straits than the last-named 

 species; both, however, there go by the name of " Adjutant 

 bird.""^ I found it plentiful on the mud-flats at the mouths 

 of most of the rivers on the west coast, particularly about the 

 bar at the entrance to the Larut river ; Ijut I never shot one, 

 as on every occasion ray baggage was much too limited to 

 allow room for stowing away so bulky a bird. 



It is easily tamed, and invaluable as a scavenger, parti- 

 cularly in a hot climate, where things do not improve by being 

 kept. When quartered at Tanglin, every time I drove into 

 Singapore I passed a pair of these Adjutants, which lived on 

 the grass-plot at the roadside close to the town. They seemed 

 very contented with their lot, never straying far away from 

 one place, and were usually to be seen either perched on a 

 railing, apparently buried in thought, or else gravely stalk- 

 ing along the edge of a tidal ditch bordering the road, on 



