ENG-1964 — Page 286

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NATURAL HISTORY

Rodents deserving special mention are the Chinese or Crestless Himalayan Porcupine, the Smaller Bandicoot Rat, and an attrac- tive little animal called the Eastern Spiny-haired Rat which is bright yellowish-brown above and pure white on the belly. All three are entirely 'wild' (non-domestic) species, occurring both on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories. The insectivores are represented in Hong Kong by only two species: the well-known and comparatively large House Shrew and the small Grey Shrew which until 1962 had not been previously identified in the Colony. There are eight species of bats on record, though only six of these have been seen in recent years.

Cetaceans so far known from within or near Hong Kong waters are the Common Rorqual or Finback Whale, the Pygmy Sperm Whale, the Black Finless Porpoise and the Common Dolphin. It is of interest to note that in June two Pygmy Sperm Whales were stranded on the beach at Shek O. In spite of repeated attempts to turn them out to sea, they returned to shore each time and eventually died. Although widely distributed, the Pygmy Sperm Whale is a rare and little-known species.

There is ample opportunity in Hong Kong for either serious study or simple enjoyment of the Colony's bird life. Including both resident and migratory birds, nearly 350 species in more than 60 different families have so far been recorded in the Colony. They provide considerable variety of form and occur in a wide range of habitats. Some of the families represented are those containing the Grebes, Bitterns and Herons, Ducks and Geese, Hawks and Eagles, Falcons, Crakes and Rails, Plovers and other waders, Snipe and Sandpipers, Gulls and Terns, Doves, Cuckoos, Owls, Nightjars, Swifts, Kingfishers, Swallows and Martins, Shrikes, Drongos, Starlings and Mynahs, Crows, Cuckoo-shrikes and Minivets, Bulbuls, Babblers, Flycatchers, Warblers, Thrushes, Pipits and Wagtails, Finches and Buntings, and Sparrows and Munias.

Birds of especial interest recorded in 1964 include three Black Vultures at the beginning of the year, and a Bulwer's Petrel seen at Repulse Bay during typhoon Viola late in May. Also of interest is the fact that at least seven or possibly eight of the nine species of Eagles known to have occurred in the Colony were seen. A pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles are known to have bred here and raised two young.