CHAP. XXVII.] 01 TEE MOLUCCAS. 153 



distance, and serves to collect a number together in time of 

 danger. They are very plentiful and very pugnacious, fre- 

 quently driving away crows and even hawks, which perch 

 on a tree where a few of them are assembled. It is very 

 probable, therefore, that the smaller birds of prey have 

 learnt to respect these birds and leave them alone, and it 

 may thus be a great advantage for the weaker and less 

 courageous Mimetas to be mistaken for them. This being 

 'the case, the laws of Variation and Survival of the 

 Pittest, will suffice to explain, how the resemblance has 

 been brought about, without supposing any voluntary 

 -action on the part of the birds themselves ; and those who 

 liave read Mr. Darwin's "Origin of Species" will have no 

 difficulty in comprehending the whole process. 



The insects of the Moluccas are pre-eminently beautiful, 

 even when compared with the varied and beautiful pro- 

 ductions of other parts of the Archipelago. The grand 

 bird-winged butterflies (Ornithoptera) here reach their 

 maximum of size and beauty, and many of the Papilios, 

 Pieridse, Danaidse, and Nymphalidse are equally pre- 

 eminent. There is, perhaps, no island in the world so 

 small as Amboyna where so many grand insects are to be 

 found. Here are three of the very finest Ornithopterae — 

 priamus, helena, and remus ; three of the handsomest and 

 largest Papilios — ulysses, deiphobus, and gambrisius ; one 

 of the handsomest Pieridse, Iphias leucippe ; the largest of 



