W. Goodfellow—Familiar Birds of Singapore ■ 197


All sea snakes are poisonous, although not prone to bite out of water if

handled gently. Last year I saw some remarkably fine specimens of

this Eagle in the Zoological Gardens at Saigon. They were in wonderful

plumage, and very much larger than our Singapore birds, the finest I

have ever seen. The Malay name is “ Langlaut ”.


Last year I heard that a man near Manila had a pair of birds he

claimed to be the well-known Monkey Eating Eagles (P. jejfreyi).

He asked rather a stiff price for them, something like £75, but seemed

open to an offer, so I got a man from the museum there to go and have

a look at them, which he did, and cabled that they were only the

immature birds of H. leucogaster and not jejfreyi at all. It is not the

first time this has happened. Many years ago on my first visit to

Mindanao I was always on the look out for jejfreyi , as at that time

only two skins existed in any museums, and often I followed up large

looking Eagles I hoped might turn out to be this species, only to find

they were the other birds in immature brown plumage. Several were

even brought in alive and declared to be Monkey Eaters. Although

I never succeeded in shooting one of those I wanted, I did see three

that were unmistakable. Since that time one has been exhibited at

the London Zoo, and can now be seen mounted up in the Natural

History Museum in a pose very familiar to those who remember it

in life. It is one of the best mounted birds there, but how many looking

at it realize that its beak and legs are not natural. The Museum wanted

not only the skin, but the complete skeleton as well, so these had to

be modelled, and are so well done they would deceive even an expert.


A bird quickly to claim everyone’s attention is the Dyal Bird

(Copsychus saularis), known to British residents as the Magpie Bobin,

as they are in every garden, however small, if only there is a small

plot of grass, and very tame. Even when not seen, their song must

attract one. This perky bird, who always carries his tail upright, is a

great fighter, and drives off any other Dyal from his preserve. At such

time he looks half as large again with tail spread, wings dropped, and

all the body feathers puffed out, pouring forth his notes of abuse.

It is remarkable how exceedingly rare it is to see a female. It may

be that in their more sober plumage they hide away in the bushes,

but for every hundred cocks maybe not one hen is seen. The only



