Ropinson & Kioss: Birds of West Sumatra. 195 
Several collecting excursions were made up to 2400 M., 
and I camped several days at 1900 m. but failed to reach 
the top (3120 M.) of the mountain on account of the bad 
weather. The rainfall on Mount Dempu is very consider- 
able. 
Mount Singgalang, Agam, Padang Highlands, 1200 M. 
The mountain slopes are cultivated up to a height 
of 1800-1900 M., and the original forest there has been 
destroyed and replaced by plantations of sugar cane, 
tobacco, potatoes and other foodplants, or has turned into 
lalangfields. Only in some ravines a little secondary forest 
has sprung up. Above the cultivated zone the mountain 
forest begins, but it has been deprived of its heavy trees 
which have been felled by the natives. The forest towards 
the top (2877 M) is, as usual at this altitude, of an alpine 
character. 
Unfortunately, I have only collected on the lower slopes 
of the mountain ; it would have been interesting to inves- 
tigate again the avifauna of this mountain, where Beccari 
made his well-known collection in 1878. Conditions 
have altered considerably since then, at least the North 
slope of the mountain has been denuded of forest to a 
great height. The south and west slopes however are still 
densly forested and the species which have disappeared 
from the north and east slopes will have found there a 
suitable retreat. 
Mount Talamau (Mount Ophir), Ophir Districts, 400- 
1500 M. 
Mount Talamau (2912 M) forms together with the 
lower Gunong Pasaman (2190 M.) a twin mountain, to 
which European seamen have given the name of Mount 
Ophir. It is not to be confounded with Mount Ophir in 
Malacca. The Sumatran Ophir rises directly from the 
coastal plain of the Padang Lowlands. The mountain is 
from about 400 M. upwards still clothed with primeval 
forest, which in some places even descends to a level of 
150 to 200 M. It will not be long before these mountain 
forests, at least up to a height of about 1500 M., will fall 
a victim to European cultivations, as most of the ground 
round this mountain has now been given out for coffee 
and tea plantations. It is therefore fortunate that I have 
been able to investigate thoroughly the fauna of this 
mountain while it was still untouched. Our lowest camp 
was at 400 M., where native coffee plantations and dry 
ricefields bordered the old forest. The next camp was 
pitched at 1000 M. in a forest with big trees and a very 
dense undergrowth of which rattan formed a considerable 
but not much appreciated part. The next station was at 
1300 M. with much the same vegetation. At about 1700 M. 
