Natural-History Collectors. 5653 



pared with those of the Malayan Island and Peninsula. Whole 

 families and genera are altogether absent, and there is nothing to 

 supply their place. I have found no barbets, no Eurylaimi, no Tro- 

 gons, no Phyllornes ; but, what is still more extraordinary, the great 

 and varied family of thrushes, the Ixodinae and the Timalias, seem 

 almost entirely absent; the shrikes, too, have disappeared, and of 

 flycatchers I have only seen one small species. To supply this vast 

 void there is not a single new group, the result of which is that in 

 about equal time and with greater exertions I have not been able to 

 obtain more than half the number of species I got in Malacca. In- 

 deed, were it not for the raptorial and aquatic birds I should not 

 have one-third. You hint that in Borneo I neglected Kaptores. 

 They are too good to neglect; but there were none. Here in two 

 months I have got fifteen species, many more than all my collections 

 of the two preceding years contain. Of these six are represented by 

 single specimens only ; but of the rest I send you thirty fine speci- 

 mens, and they will, I doubt not, contain something new. Among 

 my rare birds I may mention the two hornbills peculiar to Celebes 

 (Hydrocissa exarata, Tem., Buceros cassldix, Tern.) ; the anomalous 

 Scythrops Novae-Hollandiae, Lath. ; the handsome cuckoo, Phaeni- 

 cophaus callirhynchus ; the Pica albicollis, Vieill. ; and the remark- 

 able Pastor corythaix, Wag., which unites the characters of the 

 starlings with the form and compressed crest of the Calyptomena 

 and Rupicola. 



My collection of land shells is at present very scanty ; but then I 

 have only been in one locality. It consists of five species of Helix, 

 six of Bulimus, and one Cyclostoma. Of these I hope some will be 

 new. There is a pale purplish Helix of the form of H. glutinosa, but 

 in most specimens thickly speckled with blackish dots. Besides the 

 common Bulimus citrinus, there are two closely allied species, one 

 lightly marbled with brown near the base only, the other all over 

 richly marked in a kind of zigzag pattern. Of both these I send a 

 pretty good series. There are also, I think, three other small species, 

 rather pretty, but very scarce. The Cyclostoma appears to be the 

 same as the small, transparent, white one which was scarce at Sara- 

 wak. 



Now for the insects, which are the most interesting to so many of 

 my friends. They will, I fear, disappoint you, as they have, with a 

 few exceptions, disappointed me. But you must remember the cir- 

 cumstances. Almost all the good insects have been collected during 

 a five weeks 1 stay at a tolerable place in the interior, during which 



