THE BIRDS OF SINGAPORE ISLAND 
It has been the privilei^e of few to see pheasants and part- 
ridges in the Malayan jungles although they are by no means 
uncommon in certain locaUties and were it not for their call 
notes their presence would often be overlooked. Specimens 
for museums are usually obtained by trapping, the traps bemg 
set by men with an intimate knowledge of the birds' habits. 
The chance of a shot is rarely presented. 
In the Malay Peninsula are found in a wild state, peafowl, 
argus-phcasants (two species, one of which is very rare and 
confineci to a limited area in Pahang), peacock-pheasants (two 
species), two other pheasants popularly known as "fire-backs'*, 
six kinds of partridges, jtingle-fowl and a small species of quail, 
but of these only the*last-named is found in Singapore, 
It should be mentioned, however, that other species of 
game-birds have been recorded from the island and one author 
would indeed have us believe that even the arg-us-pheasant was 
at one time found here. It is tolerably certain that all these old 
records were made in error, Before British Malaya was well- 
known large collections of bird-skins found their way to Europe 
from Malacca and tio doubt from other ports also and it is 
reasonable to believe that these skins were often labelled as 
having been obtained in the ports from which they were ex- 
ported whereas they probably came from many miles away in 
the hinterland. A large number of errors, affecting not only 
birds but other animals, have thus crept into literature dealing 
with the Malay Peninsula. As the tt^atter stands there is no 
real evidence to show that any species of game-bird ever lived 
in a truly feral state in Singfapore Island with the exception of 
the quail described in the following pages. 
There seems little reason to doubt that before the island 
was cleared of jungle, before the advent of rubber and before 
the city had reached its present proportions birds were more 
numerous than at present and furthermore certain species have, 
very probably, entirely disappeared, but the fact remains that 
Singapore is a small island and however plentiful the jungle- 
loving babblers, woodpeckers, trogons, etc. may have been 
it is highly improbable that game-birds ever existed here. 
[30] . 
