98 Mr. A. R.Wallace on the Ornithologrj of Malacca. 



founds but I was not fortunate in procuring them, my list 

 comprising only Dicaum cruentatum, L., Anthreptes lepicla, Lath., 

 A. hypogrammica, ^liilL, and four species of the interesting 

 genus Arachnothera, which are both honey-suckers and spider- 

 eaters. The common Starling of Malacca is the Lamprotornis 

 Cantor, Gm. ; the Gracida Javanensis, Osbeck, is also very abun- 

 dant. Of Finches I obtained two species, of the genus Mimia, 

 Hodgs., and the house sparrow of Malacca and Singapore, which 

 is found only in the towns ; it is like, and perhaps the same as, 

 the European species, FringiUa montana of Linnseus. 



My stay was too short to obtain many of the larger birds. 

 The Hornbills are very numerous in species, but I only procured 

 three, Buceros rhinoceros, L., B. intermedius, Blyth (at Singa- 

 pore), and B. malayanus, Raffl. [anthracinus, Temm.). This last 

 species has the bill white in the male and black in the female, 

 which latter is the B. nigrirostris of Blyth. I satisfied myself of 

 this fact from the dissection of about a dozen specimens shot off 

 the same tree. Of Raptores I only obtained five, two Hawks and 

 three Owls. The little Hierax ccei'ulescens, L., is the only one I 

 can certainly determine ; it often perches on dead trees and 

 stumps. I have found /rwzY and insects in its stomach. In the 

 Rasorial order I was still more unfortunate, not obtaining a 

 single species. I have seen a small Quail, but so wild and in 

 such bushy places that I could never get a shot at it. The 

 Jungle Cocks were often heard crowing near us, and during my 

 visit to Mount Ophir the loud voice of the magnificent Argus 

 Pheasant was heard every evening, and other species occasionally ; 

 but these birds are seldom shot, the Malays securing them with 

 snares. I had an old Javanese with me, who had been with 

 Dr. Blume in Java, and since with M. Diard, and had for twenty 

 years been shooting and skinning birds, and even he had never 

 shot an iVrgus Pheasant, nor indeed seen one till it had been 

 caught in the snare. I will conclude this very imperfect notice 

 by mentioning two birds which are perhaps the rarest I pro- 

 cured, Acanthi/Us giganteiLS, Temm., and Macropteryx comatus, 

 Temm. The first is not uncommon in Singapore; the second is 

 very rare, frequenting the forest only, and probably migrates from 

 Sumatra, whence many peculiar birds appear to visit Malacca at 

 certain seasons. 



There are two Portuguese resident in Malacca, whose sole 

 business is procuring and selling the skins of birds and animals. 

 They have numbers of the Malays of the interior in their employ, 

 whom they furnish with ammunition, arsenical soap, &c. All 

 the birds are skinned and put up by these Malays, who are paid 

 a small sum per skin. The greater part of the birds thus come 

 from one or two localities onlv, where, as this collectins: has 



