The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

210 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.The two Celebes Hornbills have no close allies in those whichabound in the surrounding countries. The only Thrush,Geocichla erytlironota, ismost nearly allied to a species peculiarto Timor. Two of the Flycatchers are closely allied to Indianspecies which are not found in the Malay islands. Two generasomewhat allied to the Magpies (Streptocitta and Charitornis),but whose affinities are so doubtful that Professor Schlegel placesthem among the Starlings, are entirely confined to Celebes. Theyare beautiful long-tailed bird.s, with black and white plumage,and with the feathers of the head somewhat rigid and scale-like.Doubtfully allied to the StarKngs are two other very isolatedand beautiful birds. One, Enodes erythrophrys, has ashy andyellow plumage, but is ornamented with broad stripes of orangeredabove the eyes. The other, Basilornis celebensis, is a blueblackbird witli a white patch on each side of the breast, andthe head ornamented with a beautiful compressed scaly crest offeathers, resembling in form that of tlie well-known Cock-ofthe-rockof South America. The only ally to this bird is foundin Ceram, and has the feathers of the crest elongated upwardsinto quite a different form.A still more curious bird is the Scissirostrum pagei, whichalthough it is at present classed in the Starling family, differsfrom all other species in the form of the bill and nostrils, andseems most nearly allied in its general structure to the Oxpeckers(Buphaga) of tropical Africa, next to which thecelebrated ornithologist Pinnce Bonaparte finally placed it. Itis almost entirely of a slaty colour, with yellow bill and feet,but the feathers of the rump and upper tail-coverts each terminatein a rigid glossy pencil or tuft of a vivid crimson. Thesepretty little birds take the place of the metallic-green starlingsof the genus Calornis, which are found in most other islandsof the Archipelago, but which are absent from Celebes.'They go in flocks, feeding upon grain and fruits, often frequentingdead trees, in holes of which they build their nests ;and they cling to the trunks as easily as woodpeckers orcreepers.Out of eighteen Pigeons found in Celebes eleven are peculiarto it. Two of them, Ptilonopus gularis and Turacsena menadensis,have their nearest allies in Timor. Two others, Carpophagaforsteni and Phlsegenas tristigmata, most resemblePhilippine island species ;and Carpophaga radiata belongs toa New Guinea group. Lastly, in the Gallinaceous tribe, thecurious helmeted Maleo (Megacephalon rubripes) is quiteisolated, having its nearest (but still distant) allies in the Brushturkeysof Australia and New Guinea.Judging, therefore, by the opinions of the eminent naturalistswho have described and classified its birds, we find that manyof the species have no near allies whatever in the countries1 Calornis neijlccta, first found in the Sula Islands, has now been discovered inCelebes by Dr. Meven.