ENG-1962 — Page 390

326

NATURAL HISTORY

is much to interest ornithologists and bird watchers, and oppor- tunity exists for a great deal more work on subjects such as breeding and feeding habits, various other aspects of ecology, and on migration. The birds of Hong Kong include both palaearctic and oriental species, some of the families represented being those containing the crows, babblers, bulbuls, thrushes, redstarts, flycatchers, minivets, drongos, warblers, starlings, munias, finches, buntings, swallows, wagtails, cuckoos, kingfishers, owls, eagles, pigeons, rails, gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers, herons, ducks and grebes. Two birds recorded in the Colony for the first time in 1962 were the Chinese Pitta and the Large Chinese Cuckoo-shrike. Other very rare birds seen during 1962 included the Crimson Legged Crake, the Malay Brown Hawk-Owl, the Siberian Thrush, the Orange-headed Ground Thrush, the Black Stork and the Imperial Eagle.

·

=

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 Hong Kong 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, Macclelland's Coral Snake, the 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. Worthy of special note for 1962 was the occurrence of two more specimens of the Common Water-monitor, one of the world's largest species of lizard which sometimes grows to eight feet in length. The first and only other specimen recorded in the Colony was found at Fanling in July 1961.

Invertebrates. The most attractive and widely appreciated insects are the butterflies, of which almost 200 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

Page 390Page 391