148 OCCASIONAL NOTES. 



means of hair nooses on the race course. On inspecting his 

 oaptures, he found a pair of plovers $ and $ with which he 

 was not acquainted ; these he purchased for the very mode- 

 rate sum of 10 cents for the pair, and they are now mounted. 

 They prove to be Eudromias ver edits of Gould., originally 

 described P. Z. S., 1848, p. 38. The species is rare in this 

 part of the world. It has been recorded once from the Anda- 

 man s (S. F. I., 83) and once from the Sunderbunds. It how- 

 ever seems to occur not unfrequently in Java and the islands 

 farther East. 



W. D. 



I may also note that when at Penang in May last I noticed 

 a flight of about 20 birds of the rare tern Sterna leucoptera. 



W. D. 



FRUGIVOROUS HABITS OF THE TUPAIA. 



This little insectivore ( Tupaia javanensis) is very com- 

 mon in Singapore, and especially in the Botanic Gardens, 

 where it may be often seen running about among the trees. 

 It is easily mistaken for the common little squirrel [Sciurus 

 hippurus), of which it has much the appearance. When alarm- 

 ed it quickly darts up the trunk of the nearest tree, but is a 

 poor climber, and never seems to go high up like the squirrel. 

 But besides these points of resemblance, it appears also to be 

 largely frugivorous. It was found that the seeds sown in boxes 

 were constantly being dug up and devoured by some animal, 

 and traps baited with pieces of coco-nut or banana were set, 

 and a number of tupaias were caught. These being put into 

 a cage appear to live very comfortably upon bananas, pine- 

 apple, rice and other such things ; refusing meat. The Rev. 

 T. G. WOOD, in his Natural History, states that T. ferruginea 

 is said to feed on beetles, but to vary its diet with certain 

 fruits. The common species here seems to be almost entire- 

 ly frugivorous, though its teeth are those of a typical insecti- 

 vore. 



H. N. R. 



