198 
Mr. R. Swinhoe on Formosan Ornithology. 
1 
N. China, 
S. China, 
Japan. 
from Shanghai 
from Shanghai 
Formosa. 
Luzon. 
northwards. 
southwards. 
fuscatus 
fuscatus 
fuscatus 
fuscatus 
naumanni 
naumanni 
naumanni 
rujicollis 
daulias 
daulias 
daulias 
daulias 
pallens 
pallens 
pallens 
pallens 
chrysolaus 
chrysolaus 
chrysolaus 
hortulorum 
chrysolaus 
chrysolaus. 
cardis 
cardis 
cardis 
sibiricus 
sibiricus 
sibiricus 
mandarinus. 
XXI .—The Ornithology of Formosa, or Taiwan. 
By Robert Swinhoe, F.Z.S., F.G.S., &c. 
(Plate V.) 
At the time when our forefathers, of blessed memory, tattooed 
their bodies a sky-blue, and ranged the woods at large in a state 
of nature, and all Europe was sunk in savagedom, we are in¬ 
formed by Chinese records that certain of the Mongolian hordes 
had settled down into partial civilization, had built themselves 
houses, constructed boats for the lakes and rivers, and small 
coasting-vessels for the sea, and, in fact, had already com¬ 
menced to make progress in the development of arts and 
sciences. The children of the future empire were then divided 
into numerous petty states, each with its king, but all united in 
one common protective federation. At last one ambitious 
monarch, possessed of more power than the rest, by intrigues 
and conquest, absorbed all the other petty states, and esta¬ 
blished an empire, which, in the course of several centuries, 
changed hands a number of times. But we do not here intend 
to follow the Chinese through their various dynastic struggles: 
we pass them all at a leap, and pick ourselves up in the dynasty 
before the reigning one, viz. that of the Ming; for it was during 
this period that the Chinese first became aware of the existence 
of such an island as Formosa. They had had sea-going vessels 
for centuries, and were in the constant habit, as Marco Polo 
