﻿Ko. 
  1134. 
  PHILIPPINE 
  ORNITHOLOGY— 
  WOBCESTER 
  AND 
  BOUBNS. 
  585 
  

  

  and 
  tlie 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  forms 
  peculiar 
  to 
  Tablas 
  and 
  Romblon 
  render 
  

   it 
  improbable 
  that 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  any 
  recent 
  connection 
  between 
  them 
  

   and 
  Si 
  buy 
  an. 
  

  

  1 
  venture 
  to 
  prophesy 
  that 
  the 
  tirst 
  ornithologist 
  who 
  successfully 
  

   attempts 
  to 
  collect 
  at 
  a 
  high 
  altitude 
  on 
  Giting-giting 
  Avill 
  make 
  some 
  

   interesting 
  iinds. 
  

  

  MINDORO. 
  

  

  The 
  avifauna 
  of 
  Mindoro 
  has 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  received 
  the 
  attention 
  which 
  

   it 
  deserves. 
  The 
  island 
  is 
  of 
  good 
  size, 
  measuring 
  90 
  miles 
  in 
  greatest 
  

   length 
  by 
  50 
  in 
  greatest 
  width. 
  Its 
  interior 
  is 
  abundantly 
  clothed 
  with 
  

   the 
  densest 
  of 
  tropical 
  forests. 
  In 
  the 
  nortli 
  center 
  rises 
  the 
  magnificent 
  

   Mount 
  Halcon, 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  Avhich, 
  as 
  obtained 
  by 
  triangulation, 
  is 
  8,865 
  

   feet. 
  A 
  fine 
  chain 
  of 
  mountains 
  stretches 
  away 
  from 
  Ilalcon 
  to 
  the 
  

   south. 
  Open 
  grassy 
  plains 
  of 
  large 
  extent 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  south- 
  

   ern 
  and 
  western 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  island, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  excellent 
  collecting 
  

   ground 
  for 
  aquatic 
  birds 
  about 
  Lake 
  Naujan. 
  

  

  Unfortunately 
  there 
  are 
  numerous 
  drawbacks 
  to 
  offset 
  these 
  attrac- 
  

   tions. 
  The 
  climate 
  is 
  intolerably 
  bad, 
  rain 
  falling 
  in 
  torrents 
  much 
  of 
  

   the 
  time 
  during 
  nine 
  mouthy 
  of 
  the 
  twelve, 
  and 
  not 
  infrequently 
  during 
  

   the 
  other 
  three. 
  The 
  coasts 
  of 
  the 
  island, 
  especially 
  the 
  western 
  and 
  

   southern, 
  are 
  populated 
  by 
  organized 
  bands 
  of 
  thieves 
  and 
  cutthroats 
  

   {" 
  tulisanes'-), 
  who 
  use 
  INlindoro 
  as 
  a 
  base 
  of 
  operations, 
  and 
  make 
  pirat- 
  

   ical 
  expeditions 
  against 
  the 
  peaceable 
  natives 
  and 
  Spanish 
  i)lanters 
  on 
  

   the 
  neighboring 
  islands. 
  Several 
  most 
  fiendish 
  deeds 
  were 
  perpetrated 
  

   by 
  these 
  brutes 
  daring 
  our 
  stay 
  in 
  the 
  island. 
  

  

  The 
  interior 
  of 
  Mindoro 
  is 
  sparingly 
  peopled 
  by 
  a 
  race 
  of 
  almost 
  

   naked 
  savages, 
  the 
  "Mangyans,'' 
  or 
  '•Manguyaues," 
  who 
  were 
  repre- 
  

   sented 
  to 
  us 
  as 
  head 
  hunters, 
  cannibals, 
  and 
  what 
  not, 
  but 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  

   harndess 
  as 
  children 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  decently 
  treated. 
  

  

  One 
  may 
  scare 
  the 
  "• 
  tulisanes 
  " 
  without 
  mnch 
  exertion, 
  for 
  they 
  are 
  

   most 
  desperate 
  cowards, 
  and 
  verj- 
  superstitious 
  at 
  that; 
  he 
  may 
  easily 
  

   make 
  friends 
  with 
  the 
  savages, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  one 
  dangerous 
  enemy 
  in 
  

   Mindoro 
  from 
  which 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  escape 
  — 
  the 
  pestiferous 
  fevers 
  bred 
  by 
  

   the 
  decaying 
  vegetation 
  in 
  the 
  dense 
  lowland 
  forests 
  — 
  and 
  the 
  man 
  who 
  

   collects 
  there 
  can 
  make 
  nj) 
  his 
  mind 
  beforehand 
  to 
  be 
  ill. 
  Mindoro 
  has 
  

   been 
  not 
  inaptlj' 
  dubbed 
  by 
  the 
  natives 
  '■' 
  the 
  white 
  man's 
  grave." 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  comparatively 
  short 
  stay 
  of 
  the 
  Steere 
  expedition 
  in 
  Min- 
  

   doro 
  in 
  1888, 
  most 
  of 
  our 
  time 
  was 
  given 
  to 
  hunting 
  the 
  " 
  timarau" 
  

   {Bnhdlus 
  miiulorensis, 
  Heiide), 
  and 
  comparatively 
  little 
  work 
  was 
  done 
  

   on 
  the 
  birds, 
  yet 
  several 
  interesting 
  new 
  species 
  were 
  discovered. 
  Not 
  

   long 
  after 
  our 
  departure 
  Schmacker 
  made 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  birds 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity 
  of 
  ]Mount 
  Halcon, 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  his 
  discoveries 
  had 
  been 
  antici- 
  

   pated 
  by 
  the 
  Steere 
  expedition. 
  

  

  When 
  Bourns 
  and 
  I 
  returned 
  to 
  the 
  island 
  in 
  1891 
  we 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  

   well-known 
  German 
  collector. 
  Doctor 
  Platen, 
  aided 
  by 
  his 
  wife 
  and 
  a 
  

   force 
  of 
  native 
  hunters, 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  island 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  vear 
  

  

  