BIKDS OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN ASIA. 



food and structure of many of the species. Of 

 those enumerated by Colonel Sykes there are 

 about 9 or 10 which Dr. Jerdon, when writing 

 m 1839, iiad not observed, most of which are 

 probably peculiar to the more northern por- 

 tion of the rano;e of gliauts and neighbour- 

 ing table-land. In that year, Dr. Jerdon pub- 

 lished a catalogue of the Birds of the Penin- 

 sula of India, arranged according to the modern 

 system of classification ; with brief notes on 

 their habits and geographical distribution, and 

 descriptions of new, doubtful, and imperfectly 

 described species. The total number of this 

 catalogue was nearly 390 : which, however, 

 included 10 of Colonel Sykes' and nearly as 

 many more observed by Mr. (now Sir) Walter 

 Elliot, of the Madras Civil Service, who placed 

 valuable notes on birds procured by him at Mr. 

 Jerdon's disposal ; by which, in addition to the 

 new species added, this naturalist was enabled 

 to elucidate several doubtful points, to add some 

 interesting information on various birds, and to 

 give the correct native names of most of the 

 species. Subsequent to this. Dr. Jerdon pub- 

 lished a series of supplements to his catalogue 

 of Birds, correcting some points and adding 

 others ; and those were followed by a paper 

 from the pen of Lord Arthur Hay, Mr. B, 

 Hodgson of Nepaul, furnished a large amount 

 of valuable information on the ornithology of the 

 Himalaya, General Hardwick's labours were of 

 great value, Captain Tickell of the Bengal Army 

 has also contributed largely to our stock of 

 knowledge regarding the ornithology of Central 

 India and the other names who may be added 

 to this list of naturalists are Captain J. D, 

 Herbert who collected in the Himalaya, Dr. N. 

 Wallich, who collected in Nepaul, Dr. McClel- 

 land who added birds from Assam and Burmah, 

 Dr. W. Griffith whose collections of birds were 

 made in Afghanistan, Dr. Hugh Falconer in N. 

 India, and Captain (now Colonel) Richard Stta- 

 chey in Kamaoii and Ladakh. The birds of the 

 Tenasserim provinces have been largely described 

 by the Keverend Dr. Mason, and those of Ceylon 

 by Dr. Kelaart. These were followed by a con- 

 tinued series of valuable articles from Mr. Blyth, 

 who was constant in his pursuit of science. 

 Dr. Horsfield and Mr.Moore's catalogue of Birds 

 in the India House Museum appeared in 1856 

 and 1858, and Jerdon's Birds of India printed in 

 1862 and 1864 have done much to complete our 

 knowledge of this class of the animal kingdom. 

 The forthcoming comprehensive work of Mr. 

 Allan Hume, c.b., will embrace all that previous 

 writers on the birds of British India have de- 

 scribed. Eastwards, from the Malay Peninsula 

 into the Eastern Archipelago, the labours of 

 Dr. T. Horstield, in Sumatra, Sir T- Stamford 

 Raffles in Java, Mr. G. Finlayson, Dr. Heifers 

 Dr, Theodore Cantor, Professor Bikmore and 



Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace have given to Europe 

 a very full knowledge of the birds of that ex- 

 tensive region. 



The Israelites classed birds as cl>ian and un- 

 clean, and in common life this arrangement 

 may be said to be still followed. A scientific 

 classification of birds, has been given under 

 the title Aves. Amongst authors they are gene- 

 rally arranged into six orders, viz. : 



I, Eaptores, Birds of prey. 

 II. Insessores, perching birds. 



III. Gemitores, pigeons, 



IV. Kasores, game birds. 



V, Grallatores, wading birds. 

 VI, Natatores, swimming birds. 

 The latest scientific writer on the birds o\ 

 India, is Dr. Jerdon. He describes birds aa 

 vertebrate animals, warm blooded, oviparous,! 

 with lungs, a heart with two ventricles and\ 

 two auricles ; their anterior limbs in the foria\ 

 of wings ; their body clad with feathers ; their' 

 bill covered with a liorny substance, and many 

 of their bones hollow. He tells us that most 

 birds moult or change their plumage, once a 

 year only, after the season of pairing or incuba- 

 tion, but certain families or tribes of birds 

 have two moults one of them immediately be- 

 fore pairing and the plumage then becomes 

 showy and gay, with tufts or plumes. Some 

 birds in spring actually change tlieir colour, or 

 portions of their feathers are changed as in the 

 ear tufts of the lesser florikan or Otis aurita. 

 The male of birds is the more highly coloured, 

 except in birds of prey, the painted snipe 

 (Rh\nchea) and some species of Ortygis the 

 little bustard quail. A few of the gallinaceous 

 birds are polygamous, and their males are very 

 pugnaceous. The nests of birds greatly vary. 

 Those of the weaver bird, tailor-bird, honey- 

 sucker and oriol are made wjth much art. The 

 edible nest of the colocasia swallow is formed 

 in caverns, of inspissated saliva : swallows, 

 swifts, bee eaters and weaver birds build in com- 

 panies : certain ducks breed on cliffs or trees, 

 and they must carry their young to the water, 

 though this has not been observed. The 

 Megapodidas, gallinaceous birds (says Mr. Wal- 

 lace, Vol. I. p. 156}, fouud in Australia, its 

 surrounding islands, and as far west as the 

 Phillippines and the N. W. of Borneo, bury their 

 eggs in sand, earth or rubbish, and leave them 

 to be hatched by the sun or by fermentation. 

 They have large feet and long curved claws, 

 and most of them rnke together rubbish, dead 

 leaves, sticks and stones, earth and rotten wood, 

 until they form a mound often six feet high 

 and 12 feet across, in the middle of which they 

 bury their eggs. The eggs are as large as 

 those of a swan, and of a brick red colour, and 

 are considered a great delicacy. The natives 



