664 Messrs. Robinson and Kloss on Birds from the 
towards tbe end of November 1907, on our way to Alor 
Stab, the capital of the State, which is situated some few 
miles upstream. The river here flows through flat and 
highly cultivated country, and embouches on a very shallow 
sea—so shallow that vessels drawing more than ten or eleven 
feet of water cannot enter the river at any state of the tide. 
The shore on each side of the river-mouth is fringed by 
very extensive mud-flats, which were frequented at the time 
of our visit by considerable numbers of shore-birds of several 
species. Mr. Seimund obtained a considerable number which 
are noted in the systematic list, but amongst those not secured 
were observed Pelicans, probably Pelecanus philippinensis, 
the Smaller Adjutant ( Leptoptilus javanicus), the White Ibis 
[Ibis melanocephala), and the exceedingly rare Pseudotantalus 
cinereus, which we have come across on several occasions all 
along the peninsular coast, but of which we have succeeded 
in obtaining only one specimen. 
Pulau Paya. —This island is one of a small group a few 
miles south of Langkawi, between that island and Kuala 
Kedah. We landed on it for a few hours in December 1907. 
It is of small size, of no great elevation, and is covered with 
the usual low jungle. W r e obtained nothing of any interest 
on it, only the inevitable Koel ( Eudynamis lionorata) and 
the Drongo Cuckoo ( Surniculus lugubris). 
Pulau Langkawi, which we visited for a few days in 
November and December 1907, and on which our collectors 
spent more than a month at the commencement of 1909, is 
a large island with a maximum length east and west of about 
twenty miles and a breadth of about ten in a north-and-south 
direction. The coast is, however, much indented, and there 
are innumerable off-lying islands ranging in size from the 
merest rock to one, like Pulau Dayang Bunting, some ten 
or twelve miles in extent. 
The island is extremely rugged in character, though in the 
neighbourhood of the two principal villages, Kwah and 
Kuala Malacca, there are considerable areas of flat land 
devoted to orchards and. to the growing of rice. There is 
also a good deal of cultivation on the north coast, which we 
