10 



GYLDKNSTOLPE, BIRDS COLLECTED BY THE SWEDISH ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO SIAM. 



Jlcrodias albu L. 



» intcnncdia I>i,ytii. 

 BtihulcuH ivroniatuhiH Bodd. 



ArdroJu hiicrjiiis Bi'. 

 Dcndrocyiiiia javdjura ILjksf. 



The evergrceii tropical Torests of Northern Siain. 



During my stay at Bång Hne Horn and in the forests siirrounding this beauti- 

 ful place I got a pretty good survey of the bird fauna in this part of Northern Siarn. 



The evergreen forests round Bång Hue Horn form a part of the great forest 

 belt which follows the Tenasserim and Burmese frontiers from the southmost point 

 of Siam. They cover immense areas of land and are quite nnbroken save for occa- 



Fig. 2. Evergreen primeval forest near Bång Hue Hom. 

 Photo. N. Gyldenstolpe, 1912. 



sional patches of rice-fields and small, nearly overgrown, clearings, which generally 

 surrounds the few villages foiind in these parts of the country. 



As already mentioned the gigantic Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Hopea odorata, 

 Ficus indica and other forest giants stånd up conspicuous witli their dense foliage, 

 where hundreds of other species are interlaced by rattans and creepers. Beneath 

 these masses of cane-brake and thousands of smaller plants is spread. 



The most characteristical birds found in these forests were certainly the great 

 Hornbills {Dichoceros hicornis L. and Bhytidoceros subruficoUis BrA'TH.). Here these 

 birds lay their eggs in a hole high up in the magnificent trees, here they feed, and 

 here they spend their whole life. Often when trying to force my vvay through the 

 dense undergrowth, which sometimes could only be penetrated by cutting a passage, 

 I either heard their hoarse rather uncanny cry or was attracted by the rushing 



