THE MOLUCCAS 3 1 1 



Birds, on the other hand, are tolerably abundant, and 

 are in many respects interesting. Their essentially 

 Papuan character is indicated by the fact that out of the 

 78 genera in which the Moluccan land-birds are classed, 

 no less than 70 are characteristic of Xew Guinea, while 

 only six are peculiarly Indo-Malayan, The species, 

 however, are to a great extent peculiar, more than 

 140 being entirely confined to these islands out 

 of a total number of about 200 land-birds. A most 

 remarkable feature is the immense preponderance of the 

 three groups — parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers. These 

 together form one-third of all the land-birds, while in 

 continental India they only form one-twentieth. As 

 these groups are rather above the average of size, and 

 contain an unusual proportion of gaily-coloured species, 

 they give to the birds of the Moluccas an air of special 

 brilliancy. Among the most beautiful are the crimson 

 lories, the racquet-tailed kingfishers, and the green fruit- 

 doves ; and there are also some brilliant ground-thrushes 

 and fly-catchers. In the islands of Batjan and Gilolo, 

 and possibly in Obi, there is a peculiar species of the 

 bird-of-paradise family — Semioptera ivallacei, discovered 

 by Mr. Wallace in 1858 — the only one yet found 

 beyond the Papuan region. Very curious, too, is the 

 occurrence of the great wingless bird, the cassowary, in 

 Ceram, distinct from the numerous species that inhabit 

 New Guinea and the adjacent islands. The mound- 

 building birds of the genus Megapodius are especially 

 abundant in the Moluccas, being found even on the 

 smallest islands and uninhabited islets. 



Regarded from the point of view of their land 

 Mollusca, the Moluccas fall into two distinct groups — the 

 northern comprising Ternate, Gilolo, Batjan, and Obi ; and 

 the southern consisting of Burn, Ceram, Aniboina, and 



