1870.] 'Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 237 



would be a heavy impost, and it would seem to be no more than fair 

 to give the Ghams the means of purchasing that amount of labour 

 from their servants, which they have been accustomed to obtain by 

 force, if we interfere to prevent the exaction. 



As there is now a British officer resident at Bhamo, it might be 

 possible to send a party up the Irrawaddy to explore and make a 

 rough survey of the river as far as Mainlah. In all probability, a 

 party starting from Assam would be able to reach Mainlah ; for 

 since we have returned, a letter has been received from the Denai 

 Ghams, inviting us to meet them next year at Serojmo. 



Serojmo is said to be only six days from Mainlah. 



The 16th January, 1870. 



IV. — A Contribution to Malayan Ornithology. — By Dr. F. Stoliczka. 



(Abstract.) 



The paper contains notes on about one hundred species of birds 

 which have been collected chiefly in the Wellesley Province, the 

 country East of Penang Island. Although the geographical situation 

 of this Province is intermediate between that of Malacca and Tenas- 

 serim, the fauna bears . a greater relation in identity of species 

 to the former than to the latter. A number of the species 

 recorded are also found at Malacca, Sumatra, and Java, and do not 

 appear to extend further North ; others are also met with in the 

 Tenasserim and Burmese Provinces ; and a few are common to 

 India generally. In several cases intermediate forms between 

 those occurring in Burma, or North Eastern India and those 

 found on Sumatra, Java and the other islands have been noticed. 



Dr. Stoliczka drew the attention of the meeting to the marked 

 difference which exists between the fauna of North Eastern 

 India and Burma, and that of South-Western and Southern 

 India. The former extends from the central Himalayas about 

 Darjeeling through Assam, Oachar, Burma into the true Malayan 

 Provinces, and is characterized by a very large number of peculiar 

 Malayan types ; the latter has a strong admixture of African 

 forms. The first appears to have travelled from South East 

 towards North West and the other from South West towards North 

 East, and both appeared to have been stopped in their further pro- 



