ENG-1958 — Page 353

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

civets is the Crab-eating Mongoose, of which there is at least one record, not however, in recent years.

Reeves' Muntjac (Barking Deer) inhabits various hilly wooded localities. On Hong Kong Island, on account of its shyness and nocturnal habits, this attractive little deer may seem to be much less numerous than is actually the case. In the New Territories, on the other hand, where it is hunted, it has now become very scarce. The Wild Boar, which is hunted both for sport and because of its destructive habits to agriculture, is now extremely scarce and the present status of this animal in several parts of its former range is unknown.

The Chinese Porcupine, our largest rodent, is found in parts of Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. Small mammals include the House Shrew, various rodents, and several species of bats. Among the rodents there is the Smaller Bandicoot Rat which, in spite of its name, is the largest rat found in the Colony; it is entirely 'wild' (non-domestic) in habits and sometimes causes considerable damage to crops. Very little is known of the bats, which are represented by both insectivorous and frugivorous species.

Cetaceans occurring within or near Hong Kong territorial waters include the Common Rorqual or Finback Whale (a single record -during 1955), the Black Finless Porpoise, and the Common Dolphin.

Birds. There is much to interest ornithologists and bird watchers in Hong Kong. Including published and unpublished records, well over three hundred species of birds are known to have occurred in the Colony. A great deal more work is necessary, however, particularly with regard to breeding and feeding habits, various other aspects of ecology, and migration. The avifauna of Hong Kong includes both palaearctic and oriental species, some of the families represented being those containing the crows, babblers, bulbuls, thrushes, redstarts, flycatchers, minivets, drongos, warblers, starlings, weavers, finches, buntings, swallows, wagtails, cuckoos, kingfishers, owls, eagles, pigeons, rails, gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers, herons, ducks and grebes, to mention only those represented by several species.