ENG-1961 — Page 388

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NATURAL HISTORY

finches, buntings, swallows, wagtails, cuckoos, kingfishers, owls, eagles, pigeons, rails, gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers, herons, ducks and grebes.

A bird recorded in the Colony for the first time in 1961 is Swinhoe's Fork-tailed Petrel. Other very rare birds seen during 1961 include the Great Frigate-bird, the Black Vulture and the White-cheeked Laughing-thrush. A useful guide, written by two members of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society and published . in 1960 by the South China Morning Post, Ltd, is ‘An Annotated Check-list of the Birds of Hong Kong'. In this publication are listed 333 species recorded in the Colony between 1860 and the end of April 1960.

Reptiles and Amphibians. Snakes, lizards, and frogs are all well represented in Hong Kong. There are also various species of terrapins and turtles, the Common Indian Toad and the Chinese Newt. There is a strong Indian element in this section of the local fauna, but several species are so far known only in Hong Kong. Most of the commonly encountered snakes are harmless, and death from snake-bite is extremely rare. Apart from certain rear-fanged species, not dangerous to man, the venomous land snakes are the Banded Krait, the Many-banded Krait, Macclel- land's Coral Snake, the Indian or Chinese Cobra, the Hamadryad (King Cobra) and the White-lipped Pit Viper (commonly called 'Bamboo Snake'). The four species of sea snakes found in the waters around Hong Kong are all venomous, but fortunately it is not the nature of these reptiles to attack bathers. As a result of over ten years' study by one of its members, the Hong Kong Natural History Society published during the year an 'Annotated Checklist With Keys to the Snakes of Hong Kong', listing a total of thirty eight species known in the Colony.

Insect Life. The most attractive and widely appreciated insects are the butterflies, of which almost two hundred species, belonging to nine families, have been found in Hong Kong. The beautiful and predominantly tropical butterflies, popularly known as 'swallow- tails', are conspicuous during country walks. Of the innumerable moths, two deserve special mention on account of their large size and attractive colour. One, the magnificent Atlas Moth, has a wing-span of from seven to nine inches, and is the largest moth in the world. The other is the Moon Moth, soft silvery green in