Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/151

Rh in Hongkong. It is a large swift, with a white breast and a conspicuous white patch on the rump. In its habits it very much resembles the English Swift, but its scream is much less harsh and is not so often repeated. A bird which is sure to be met with sooner or later in Hongkong is the Crow Pheasant (Cciilropiis sinensis), a bird as large as a Magpie, and very conspicuously coloured in chestnut and black, the wings being of the former colour and the rest of the bird of the latter. This bird gives vent, especially during the summer months, to a peculiar booming sound, which can be heard for a great distance, and which is quite characteristic. This sound the bird produces in its throat with the beak closed, dropping its head and raising its shoulders as it does so. The bird breeds in Hongkong, but nests are rarely found, and then only by the grass cutters. Another smaller species of this genus is to be met with in the New Territory {Cenlropus Bcngiileusis), but whether it ever occurs on the island of Hongkong is doubtful. The commonest Finch in Hongkong is, of course, the common Sparrow of the country [Pttsser montaiiiis), which is not the House Sparrow of Europe, but is known there as the Tree Sparrow. This little bird, so tame and domesticated in Cliina, is not very common in England, and is there rather shy. These birds raise an immense number of young, commencing to breed in March and continuing to do so until October. I have known as many as five broods to be got off from one nest alone. Like the House Sparrow of Great Britain, the Tree Sparrow, which takes its place in China, shows a decided tendency to become practically parasitic on man, for rarely, if ever, does one meet with the bird at any distance from human habitations. The Chinese Greenfinch (Ltgnrinns sinensis), a little greenish bird, with a great deal of yellow on the wings, is the only other finch which is common in Hongkong, where it is met with only as a winter visitor. Usually the Chinese Greenfinches go about in small flocks. A bird remarkable for the great size and thickness of its yellowish-coloured bill is the Chinese Grosbeak (Eophona mclannra), which is to be met with during cold spells of weather at Hongkong, but never commonly. A family of birds which is sure to attract attention is the Wagtails, both from their colouring and from their liking for meadow land and grass lawns. The connnonest Wagtails to be met with in Hongkong arc the following:— The While-cheeked Wagtail (Motacilla Icncopsis) and the Streak-eyed Wagtail (Motacilla ocularis), both of which are pied black and white; and the Grey Wagtail (Motacilla mclanopc), a bird with a conspicuous yellow breast. The two former species are very common throughout the winter, and probably a few of the second one named remain through the summer and possibly breed in Hongkong. The Grey Wagtails are less common than the others, and are not often to be found far away from water. The Eastern Tree Pipit (Autlins macnlatns) is the only bird of the genus that requires to be mentioned. A small lark-like bird, with a boldly striped breast, it is commonly to be seen from November to May in Hongkong, where it obtains much of its food on the branches of trees, along which it runs rapidly, seeking for small insects. This bird also feeds on the ground, being fond of lawns and meadow land; it runs, but, unlike so many small Passerine birds, it is unable to hop. There is one species of Waterhen, the White-breasted Gallinule (Porpliyrio I'luvni- ciirus), which is common in places where there is any water and suitable cover in the Colony. This bird's cry is a monotonous " Wak-wak-wak! " continually repeated, par- ticularly at night. It is a resident in Hongkong, and nests from May till August in suitable localities. Although Herons of various species are plentiful in South China, Hongkong can only boast of occasional visits from these hand- some birds. The two commonest of the family, which are both known to the Euro- pean residents as Paddy-birds, from their liking for the submerged rice-fields, are the Little Egret (Ardca garzetta) and the Chinese Pond Heron (Ardca baccltns). The former is practically all white, whilst the latter has a maroon-coloured luichal crest and back. These birds are to be seen in the autumn and spring more often than in winter and summer. Other members of the same family which are sometimes to be seen here are the Chestnut Bittern (Ardctta cinuamomea), and the Chinese Little Bittern (Ardctta sinensis). Sea-birds are not numerous, and, indeed, are scarcely to be met except in the winter months, and then chiefly in bad weather, when considerable numbers of Herring Gulls (I. ants cachinnaiis) seek shelter in the harbour. The majority of these, as evidenced by their brownish plumage, are immature. Another species of Herring Gull (Lams vcga-) may occur among those in the harbour, and both tliese are very nearly related to those Herring Gulls which inhabit British waters. Another and much sm;dler gull is the Common Gull (Lams caiins), which is not infrequently to be met with in the approaches to the harbour. A third gull, the Black- tailed Gull (Lams crassirostris), occasionally occurs in January and February, and is easily distinguished when adult by the black bar across the tail, or when young, as is the case with most of those seen here, by the great thickness of the bill.

In conclusion, one may mention the common Cormorant (I'halocrocorax carbo), not at all an uncommon bird in the approaches to the harbour, or in such places as Tsin Wan Bay, where fish is plentiful. Probably this bird remains in the neighbourhood of Hong- kong throughout the year, and may breed here. It only remains to be said that, although admittedly incomplete, it is hoped that this short account of the birds of Hongkong will be of some use to those who may read it. It has, at least, the merit, so far as the writer is aware, of being the first of its kind to deal with the subject.