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NATURAL HISTORY

They provide considerable variety of form and occur in a wide range of habitat. The largest species is undoubtedly the Spotted- billed Pelican which comes in small numbers as a winter visitor to the Mai Po Marshes. Among the smallest are the insectivorous White-eyes, of the wooded areas, and the Yellow-bellied Wren Warbler of the reed beds. The Chinese Blue Magpie, with royal blue plumage and orange beak, and the Crow Pheasant of dark brown plumage with light brown wings, can frequently be seen on the shrubby and wooded hillsides. The Crow Pheasant is neither crow nor pheasant, but a cuckoo and has a haunting call of descend- ing notes which can be heard in spring and early summer. The bulbuls and the minute Tailor Bird, with its insistant ‘tch tch' call, are common birds in urban areas, and the beautiful song of the Wah Mei delights hikers and residents in the countryside.

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Snakes, lizards and frogs are well represented in Hong Kong. There are also various species of terrapin and turtle. Most of the snakes are non-poisonous and death from snake bite is extremely rare. Apart from back-fanged species, not dangerous to man, the venomous land snakes are the Banded Krait, with black and yellow bands; the Many-banded Krait with black and white bands; MacClelland's Coral Snake, which is coral red with narrow, black transverse bars; the Chinese Cobra and the Hamadryad or King Cobra, both of which are hooded; the very rare Mountain Pit Viper and the White-lipped Viper or Bamboo snake. The Bamboo snake is bright green, and although less venomous than the others, is more often seen and is more likely to attack if accidentally disturbed. The Hamadryad is regarded as the most intelligent of snakes and preys almost exclusively on other snakes. Several species of sea snake, all venomous, are found in Hong Kong waters but, fortunately, do not attack bathers. An amphibian of special interest is the Chinese newt. The Hong Kong variety has not been recorded anywhere else in China.

There are nearly 200 species of butterfly in the Colony. Of the many moths two are outstanding for their size. These are the Atlas and Moon moths with wing spans of nine and six inches respectively. Apart from butterflies and moths there is a great variety of insects, many brilliantly coloured. They include many species of dragon fly and damsel fly and metallic-coloured beetles and solitary wasps.

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