I.] CHARACTERS OF THE ISLAND. 7 



pleasurable feelings of a naturalist when he knows that he is on 

 untrodden ground. The island, which is about five miles in length 

 by four in breadth, is purely volcanic, and the soil, to all appear- 

 ances, very rich. It is for the most part low and undulating, the 

 highest elevation being only 1100 feet, but several extinct volcanoes 

 of small size exist, whose sides, strewn with lumps of slag and 

 scoriae, permit only of the growth of coarse lalang grass. In the 

 little valleys, or along the seashore, the mat-shed houses, elevated 

 on piles, are shaded in pleasant groves of banana, coconut, jack- 

 fruit, and durian trees. Cultivation appears to be but little mider- 

 taken, and though yam, sweet-potato, and tapioca are gi'own, it is 

 not to any great extent, and the islanders seem to live chiefly upon 

 fruit and fish. The latter are caught in great numbers, for, the 

 island being surrounded by a fringmg reef, the natives can coast 

 its shores in all weathers in tolerably smooth water. 



I found both birds and insects scarce during my ramble, so far 

 at least as regards the number of species. A beautiful Glossy 

 Starling (Calornis panayensis, Scop.), with a blood-red iris and the 

 plumage metallic green shot with \'iolet, haunted the coconut groves' 

 in some numbers. Its occurrence was interesting from the fact that 

 it is a Philippine bu'd, which is not found in Borneo. On the beach 

 the Blue-and-white Kingfisher {Halcyon chloris, Bodd.) was equally 

 abundant, sitting motionless on the branches of the trees overhang- 

 ing the sea, and from time to time uttering its loud, laughing note. 

 One of the most generally distributed of all birds in this part of the 

 world, it is found from the Eed Sea to the farther side of New Guinea, 

 and the little patch of turquoise blue that reveals its presence is one 

 of the most famihar objects to the naturalist as he skirts the man- 

 grove-girt creeks of the islands of the ]\Ialay Archipelago. Other 

 bu-ds were few and shy, and as it shortly afterwards came on to 

 rain hea%dly, I returned to the ship. At this time, — the changing 

 of the monsoons, — there is a good deal of wet weather on the island, 

 and the temperature is comparatively low during cloudy days. In 

 the cabins on board the thermometer registered from 78-80° Fahr. 



