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W. Goodfellow—Familiar Birds of Singapore



Pheasant tribe—the Peacock, which has come to be regarded as part

and parcel of all that typifies England and English homesteads. For

nearly all the Ornamental Pheasants can vie with the Peacock in

beautiful plumage, in courtship display, in carriage, and in poise.



FAMILIAR BIRDS OF SINGAPORE


By Walter Goodfellow


One so often hears new arrivals to Singapore express disappointment

and surprise at not seeing immediately the brilliantly plumaged birds

flying about usually associated with the tropics. This idea has been

formed, no doubt, by visits to museums where all the glories of the

tropics are more or less lumped together, and they are apt to think

that all birds out here must be brightly coloured. Naturalists, of

course, know that this is not the case, as all tropical countries have

many dull-coloured ones also, Malaya being no exception to the rule.

While some, such as Pittas, Sunbirds, Fairy Bluebirds, and Broad-

bills are exceptionally gaudy, others have eccentric forms like the

Hornbills and some Pheasants, but these have to be sought nowadays

in the jungles and one cannot expect to meet with them immediately on

landing. I am sure if any of these birds put in an appearance about

Singapore they would quickly be captured or shot, the same as any

rare species is at home, in spite of all laws to the contrary. Still, there

are many interesting birds to be found right in the heart of Singapore,

and still many more in the gardens and suburbs if one knows where

and how to look for them, and it is with this object in view that I

propose to make a few observations which may be helpful to intending

visitors. In the first part of this article I shall deal with some of the

birds (not all) which may be seen any day throughout the busiest

part of the city and require no looking for, and in the second part with

birds to be found in most bungalow gardens and the suburbs, some of

which, owing to the nature of the vegetation, may require a little more

patience to find. Singapore is now’ such an important centre that

every year the number of visitors and residents increases. When I first

knew the island many years ago, there was still much virgin jungle



