[
    {
        "id": 204253,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 21,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n18\n\nBIRDS OF HONG KONG\n\nCAPTAIN A. M. MACFARLANE, R.A.\n\nBased on a lecture delivered on September 22, 1960,\n\nThe birds of Hong Kong are notable for their variety. Over 330 different kinds of birds have been recorded here since 1860, and the list covers a wide range of types, with very few families found in China left unrepresented. I propose to cover the more common species, both residents and visitors, and to touch on a few of the rarities besides.\n\nI would normally hesitate to point out to residents of the Colony the geography of their surroundings, but a few features are worth remembering from a bird-watcher's point of view. First, Hong Kong is just inside the tropics, and therefore lies at the southern breeding limit of some of the typically northern birds such as the Black-capped Kingfisher, and at the northern breeding limit of some of the typically tropical or sub-tropical birds, such as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers. Secondly, the year is divided into quite definite seasons, some much longer than others, and so we get summer visitors who breed here, such as the Black-naped Oriole and Hair-crested Drongo; winter visitors such as certain ducks and many species of hawks and thrushes; and of course, passage migrants that pass through the Colony, sometimes in immense numbers, in spring and autumn to and from their breeding grounds in the far north. Examples of the more noticeable of these migrants are the waders, the swifts and the flycatchers. Thirdly, the Colony has a wide range of bird country within its small limits, from the top of Tai Mo Shan, over three thousand feet high, down through the wooded valleys such as the Lam Tsuen valley and the Tai Po Kau Forestry Reserve, across the open paddy-fields and marshes bordering Deep Bay to the rocky coasts and open sea off Hong Kong Island and Lantau. Therefore a bird-watcher can select different areas and hope to see different birds accordingly. Lastly, to the regret of all but bird-watchers, Hong Kong is subject to occasional fierce storms and even typhoons. If these last occur, then it is worth every effort to go out and brave the storm, for unusual birds are blown in, especially of marsh and coastal species.\n\nDuring the last few years, members of the Hong Kong Bird-Watching Society have found that just over 60 species nest regularly in the Colony. Despite the apparent scarcity of birds in the summer months, this number compares quite favourably with an area of English coastline of the same size. Although",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 204258,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 26,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n23\n\nrelative, the Black-throated Laughing-thrush, which is confined to Hong Kong Island and is a handsome bird of black and grey with white cheeks. Not so rare but still uncommon is another relative, the Hwamei. This name means 'Painted Eyebrows', a tribute to the most distinctive part of its plumage, but more than anything the Hwamei is famed for its voice. To hear a chorus of these birds almost any evening of the year, their song rather like that of the European Song Thrush, is an unforgettable experience, and the pity is that this species is only really well known on Hong Kong Island, being very local elsewhere.\n\nOne of the most charming families of birds to be seen in the Colony is that of the flycatchers, none of which actually breed here, but either pass through on migration or spend the winter. The variety of plumage is quite bewildering and some of the more exotic species, like the Paradise Flycatcher with its eight inches of tail, the black-and-lemon coloured Narcissus and Tricolour Flycatchers, the malachite-green Verditer Flycatcher, the Blue-and-White Flycatcher, and the Robin and Red-breasted Flycatchers are quite eye-catching and endearing to watch as they fly out from a favourite perch to snap at a passing insect.\n\nSimilarly, the great family of warblers is poorly represented by resident species, although many hundreds of migrants pass through or perhaps stay for the winter. The Deep Bay marshes provide nesting cover for the Fantail Warbler, Yellow-bellied and Brown Wren-warblers, whilst the Tailor-bird, with its neatly-sewn leaf house, breeds commonly all over the Colony. Probably no more than one or two pairs of David's Hill-warbler may nest near the top of Tai Mo Shan. Such permanent residents are far outnumbered by the winter visitors, like the Dusky, Pallas's and Yellow-browed Warblers, and the migrants, like the Arctic Warbler and Great Reed-warbler.\n\nOf the smaller thrushes, the Magpie-robin is the only resident, and is common all over the Colony. It is the third of our trio of fine songsters and with its smart pied plumage is an attractive addition to the list. But there are several more chats which are quite common in winter; the Rubythroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, and Daurian Redstart (all described by their names), the Stonechat all over the marshes and paddy-fields, and the Bluethroat on passage near Deep Bay. Among the larger thrushes the Violet Whistling Thrush is the only resident and may be found near most of the watercourses throughout the Colony, from The Peak and Tai Mo Shan down to sea-level. It has a very pretty habit of fanning its tail at rest. Many other thrushes come to the woods of Hong Kong in winter, but are usually shy and difficult to see. The Blackbird is quite common as are the Grey-backed and Grey Thrushes. On the rocky coastline both the Blue and the Red-bellied Rock-thrushes may frequently be seen.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 206689,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1972",
        "page_number": 237,
        "title": "RAS-1972",
        "content_text": "BOOK REVIEWS\n\n231\n\nGore's acquaintance with Western sources, I suspect that little of relevance has been missed. But as an example of space wasted where it was at a premium, I quote in full the status given for the Pied Kingfisher; \"Rare winter visitor. There are a number of old records between November-February, but none since February 1917. It seems that it has decreased in numbers in recent years”. I would need the pen of A. E. Housman to do justice to that last sentence.\n\nBooks of this type stand or fall on the quality and comprehensiveness of the coloured plates, provided the author has been fortunate enough to be able to raise the funds for these. In this book these are generally disappointing, partly because the colouring is inaccurate, as it is in every species on Plate XXV (this could be the fault of the printer rather than the artist), and partly because the pictures just do not look like the birds they are supposed to represent. Plate XXXIII, of admittedly difficult species, would have helped as much if it had been omitted altogether, and the plates of hawks, besides being inaccurate in colouring, are of little use for identification because they do not show the birds in flight, when they are far more likely to be seen, and far easier to identify. Captions are not always correct; on Plate XXXIV, a picture of the Grey-spotted Flycatcher is captioned \"Broad-billed Flycatcher\", a particularly sad error as the species are similar, and the inclusion of this particular species on the plate was presumably intended to point out the distinctions between them. Some care has been taken to maintain the correct scale, although it is a little disturbing on Plate XIV to find the Hazel Grouse looking larger than a female Ring-necked Pheasant.\n\nIn spite of these faults, this book compares favourably with almost all other books available on the birds of Eastern Asia, though Kobayashi's Birds of Japan has better plates (but an inadequate text in Japanese only), and Smythies' Birds of Borneo is better on both counts. However, the fact that two individual books can be mentioned in this way, as the only books at all adequate for any part of this vast region, is an indication of the magnitude of the task which the authors set themselves, and in general the satisfactory way in which they have fulfilled it. I know that Professor Won would like to improve his Korean text, and would like to get better pictures done, and it is to be hoped that this book will be sufficiently successful to enable him and Mr. Gore to produce a revised and improved edition.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1972.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gm80qf99h",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 216410,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 169,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "119\n\nbeen sighted from the air, she and numerous other ships were ordered to leave the port, HERMES being despatched to the south. Off Batticaloa at 0843 local time on 9th April 1942 she was sighted by a reconnaissance aircraft from the battleship HARUNA, one of the four battleships escorting the five aircraft carriers used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in their attacks on Ceylon carried out on 5th and 9th April. The C. in C., Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, immediately ordered an attack against her. Led by Lieut. Commander Egusa, who the previous December had led the divebombers at Pearl Harbor, 85 Aichi \"Val\" divebombers\n\nwere flown off all five carriers and at 1035, out of the sun, the 45 deemed sufficient by Egusa, commenced their bombing run against HERMES. 37 direct hits were achieved and the ship also suffered severely from the mining effect of near misses. By 1050 hours it was all over. The remaining 40 aircraft were used by Egusa to quickly sink other ships in the vicinity; the destroyer 'VAMPIRE', a corvette, and two oil tankers.\n\nBy all accounts she was a happy ship and \"old hands,\" a number of whom are still alive speak affectionately of her. A sad end to a distinguished career.\n\nDisplacement: 11,085 tons\n\nCrew: 700\n\nLength: 182.27 m\n\nBeam: 21.41 m\n\nDraught: 5.64 m\n\nPropulsion: Two steam turbines, 40,000 shp (30 MW)\n\nSpeed: 25 knots (46 km/h)\n\nArmament: Six 140 mm guns, three 102 mm AA guns and eight 12.7 mm AA guns. Six 20 mm guns were added in 1934.\n\nAircraft: Initially 15 (Fairey III and Flycatcher) then 12 (Fairey Swordfish II or Walrus).\n\n'The Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 41: 289.\n\n'Minesweeper of 710 tons. Operating with submarines as a sea going escort/tender.\n\n\"'PARTHIAN' class of 1930. 1,475 tons surface displacement. Lieut. Commander Bernard W. Galpin.\n\n5\"Our ship\" in the sense of being both British, and of being the female who is the subject of the article. To mariners each ship, even of an apparently similar class, has her own character and individuality. By no means are they inanimate objects.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    }
]