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Sydney Porter—Wanderings in the Far East



saliva ; they are very thin and brittle and look as though they were

composed of a rough, light-coloured tallow.


The soup, which is supposed to be very nourishing, though I can

hardly see how saliva can be nourishing, looks very much like sago

pudding but tastes quite nice, in fact I grew rather fond of it. I suppose

that other ingredients are added, for the Chinese never seem to serve

up a “ straight ” dish, most dishes, served amongst the wealthier

Chinese, at least, seem to be a conglomeration of a good many things,

and most of them are extremely appetizing, even Beche-de-Mer.


In the towns in Malaya there is the inevitable Sparrow, but a very

clean and refined edition of our cosmopolitan English bird : it is known

as the Malayan Tree Sparrow. It is not nearly as obtrusive or con¬

spicuous as its European cousin and if one is not interested in birds

it would pass almost unnoticed. Another very common bird seen in

the vicinity of the towns is the little White-headed Munia [Munia maja ),

locally known as the “ Cigar Bird ”, from its supposed resemblance

to a half-smoked cigar, though to me this resemblance appears to be

very remote. In this country, where it is imported in large quantities,

it is commonly known as the White Nun or Mannakin. These little

birds are seen everywhere in small flocks feeding on the ground, where

they pick up small seeds, especially those of the various grasses. They

are most common in the public parks, where the grass is short.

Chasen, in his book Birds of Singapore Island, says, “ It goes about

in flocks, and is perhaps most often noticed hopping about on the

grass of lawns not too closely cut, and makes rather a comical figure ;

the little parties jump up when disturbed, and go off like a lot of big

bees or tiny Quail with a straight flight and feeble squeaks. It is

caught in great numbers and is a common cage bird. It feeds on rice

and seeds and makes its nest in reeds or high grasses, laying several

white eggs.” These birds are very common in the Singapore bird-shops,

and they can be purchased for a very low figure, somewhere about

10 cents or 3 d. a pair.


The familiar Java Sparrow is another common bird seen in the

vicinity of the towns. Countless thousands of these birds are imported

into the Singapore market from Java, Sumatra, etc. ; one sees cages

packed with solid masses of these birds, there must be thousands in



