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Show 426 MR. H. O. FORBES ON BIRDS FROM [June 17, The collection of birds on which Dr. Meyer founds his observations was made by three Amboinese in identically the same region as that from which the collection described by Dr. Sclater last year (P. Z. S. 1883, pp. 48 & 194) was sent by me. Two of these collectors arrived and departed in company with myself, and therefore spent three months there ; the other had arrived three months in advance. Being there without any European superintendence, and surrounded by difficulties and dangers, they did not extend their excursions to any great distance from their dwelling in the village of Ritabel. M y own limits were also circumscribed ; but my area included and considerably exceeded all the region collected over by these three hunters, and was, of course, far more thoroughly investigated in every way. Inasmuch as I observe that Dr. Meyer in several instances speaks of "Timor-Laut" and " Tenimber," and that the species under consideration in his case came from the " siidlichen (Timor-Laut) Stammen " of the region, those collected by me being inferred to come from some other part, it may be well to state that the term "Tenimber Islands" has been applied to the group of islands of which Yamdena (by the Malays called Timor-Laut) is the largest-lying between 6° 35'-8° 25' S. lat., and 130° 35-132° 5' E. long. The distance separating the members of tbe group is so small (the sea at low-tide being in many cases quite shallow between them) that they may be considered almost one great island broken up into fragments. Lutur, spoken of by Dr. Meyer as an island (on the authority of the Resident of Amboina), is part of the mainland of Yamdena. Of the birds recorded by Dr. Meyer from Timor-Laut, eight are not included in Dr. Sclater's list; but of these the Accipitrine birds Baza subcristata (Gld.), and Cuncuma (Haliaetus) leucogaster (Gm.), were observed, though not obtained by me ; Urospizias albiventris (Salv.), Sauropatis sancta (V. & IL), and Eurystomus pacificus (Lath.) I did not see. There may possibly be some doubt as to the occurrence of the last-named in Timor-Laut. I saw the Amboinese hunters shoot and prepare, on their way home to Amboina, during our stay both in Aru and Ke, several birds and add them to their Timor- Laut collections. What the species were 1 cannot now remember. As the best of natives cannot be trusted to label skins correctly without supervision, this fact adds a slight element of uncertainty as to the locality of some of the specimens. I obtained spirit-specimens of a Hirundo (young), probably II. javanica. I examined, but could not preserve, a specimen of Porphyrio melanopterus. The two sea-birds mentioned by Dr. Meyer, and the Geocichla machiki (P. Z. S. 1883, p. 588) complete the list of birds at present known from this interesting group. With the exception of those just mentioned, Dr. Meyer has had before him no species of which there is not a large series of specimens represented in m y collection-those, in fact, on which Dr. Sclater's original descriptions were founded'. I have now again carefully gone over them with Dr. Meyer's paper in m y hand. The Geoffroius determined by Dr. Sclater to be G. keyensis (Salv.) |