24 



AVES. 



Length of bill from gape, 1 inch ; from front, 10 lines. 

 „ of wings, 4| inches. 

 ,, of tail, 3~ inches. 

 „ of tarsus, 7 lines. 

 „ of middle toe, 9 lines. 

 „ of hallux, 7 lines. 



This bird is for the most part to be seen only in deep 

 jungle, and is by no means common in Labuan. 



Fain. Sturnidre. 



Sub-fam. PtilonorhynchincE. 

 Gen. Calornis. 



Calornis Panayensis (Gray). 

 Lamprotornis cantor (Temm.). 

 Sulankir (Malay name). 



Black, with green metallic reflections, in some lights showing a 

 tinge of purple; feathers on the head and neck pointed and narrow; 

 bill and feet black ; iris brilliant scarlet. 

 Length, about 7| inches. 



of bill from gape, 10^ lines; from front, 8 lines. 



of wings, 3 inches 9 lines. 



of tail, 2 inches o lines. 



of tarsus, 9^ lines. 



of middle toe, 9 lines. 



of hallux, 8 lines. 



Common in Labuan; and as the jungle is cleared, these 

 birds appear to become more and more abundant. They fly 

 in flocks of a dozen or twenty, and feed on fruit, usually re- 

 maining only a few minutes on one tree, then with a loud 

 noisy chatter straggling away one or two at a time to another 

 tree. They also haunt the low brushwood which has sprung 

 up where the jungle has been cleared, and of which the pre- 

 vailing plant is a nettle-looking shrub, bearing an abundance 

 of small yellow berries ; of these they are very fond, and the 

 natives say that when fat upon this diet they are good eating ; 

 when feeding, they usually perch very close together. They 

 breed in society ; and a colony of them have taken possession 

 of the cliff on the south side of a little bay, in the northern 

 part of the island, where they make holes for their nests in 

 the earth between the rocks ; upon the least alarm they all fly 

 out, screeching loudly, but do not go far away ; they also 

 breed in the hollows of tall dead trees, and frequently hold a 



