INTRODUCTORY NOTE 



THE most noteworthy point brought out by the present collection is the 

 complete absence of any of the higher mountain birds from Bukit 

 Besar. That this cannot be due to altitude alone is proved by the 

 fact that the mountain fauna is strongly represented on the Selangor Hills at 

 a height considerably less than that of our encampment on Bukit Besar 

 (2,500 feet). 



From Mr. Ogilvie-Grant's paper it is evident that the avifauna of the 

 Patani States is on the whole more Burmese than Malayan, as is shown by 

 the occurrence of Gecinus viridanus instead of G. vittatus and by the presence 

 of such species as Coracias affinis and Crypsirhina varians. 



The affinities of the high mountain fauna are puzzling, and both Bornean 

 and Sumatran forms seem to be represented, though as might be expected the 

 latter are predominant. The existence of a species of Chlorura is interesting 

 as this genus has not hitherto been recorded from continental Asia. 



Taking the Peninsula as a whole, three very distinct faunal zones can be 

 recognized which may be called : — 



I. The Indo-Burmese zone : occupying the whole of the coastal districts 

 as far south as Penang on the west coast, and extending to the Pahang River 

 on the eastern side of the Peninsula. This zone is coterminous in range with 

 that of Thereiceryx lineata, Parus cinereus, and, among plants, with Casuarina 

 equisetifolia. 



II. The Malayan zone : including the remainder of the Peninsula with 

 the exception of the high mountains. The characteristic forms are Nyctiomis 

 amicta, Cymborhynchus macrorhynchus, Hemixus cinereus. 



III. The Himalayo-Sundaic zone : covering the mountains of the main 

 range above three thousand feet as far south as Southern Selangor, and also 

 certain of the loftier isolated massifs. The characteristic forms are Rhinocichla 

 mitrata, Sibia simillima, etc. 



Speaking generally there seems but little more to do on the western side 

 of the Peninsula, even in the mountains, as assiduous collecting for the last 

 year has only resulted in the discovery of one new species and the addition of 

 some five or six others to the list of birds found in the Peninsula. 



