differing from it in the colour being of a more intense tint,
and in having a row of blue stripes around the margin
of the lower wings. This good beginning was, however,
rather deceptive, and I soon found that insects, and
especially butterflies, were somewhat scarce, and birds in
far less variety than I had anticipated. Several of the
fine Moluccan species were however obtained. The handsome
red lory with green wings and a yellow spot in the
back (Lorius garrulus), was not uncommon. When the
Jambu, or rose apple (Eugenia sp.), was in flower in the
village, flocks of the little lorikeet (Charmosyna placentis),
already met with in Gilolo, came to feed ilpon the nectar,
and I obtained as many specimens as I desired. Another
beautiful bird of the parrot tribe was the Geoffroyus
cyanicollis, a green parrot with a red bill and head, which
colour shaded on the crown into azure blue, and thence
into verditer blue and the green of the back. Two large
and handsome fruit pigeons, with metallic green, ashy, and
rufous plumage, were not uncommon; and I was rewarded
by finding a splendid deep blue roller (Eurystomus azureus),
a lovely golden-capped sunbird (Nectarinea auriceps), and
a fine racquet-tailed kingfisher (Tanysiptera isis), all of
which were entirely new to ornithologists. Of insects I
obtained a considerable number of interesting beetles,
including many fine longicorns, among which was the
largest and handsomest species of the genus Glenea yet
discovered. Among butterflies the beautiful little Danis
sebfe was abundant, making the forests gay with its delicate
wings of white and the richest metallic blue; while
showy Papilios, and pretty Pieridse, and dark, rich Euplseas,
many of them new, furnished a constant source of interest
and pleasing occupation.
The island of Batchian possesses no really indigenous
inhabitants, the interior being altogether uninhabited, and
there are only a few small villages on various parts of the
coast; yet I found here four distinct races, which would
wofully mislead an ethnological traveller unable to obtain
information as to their origin. First there are the Batchian
Malays, probably the earliest colonists, differing very little
from those of Ternate. Their language, however, seems to
have more of the Papuan element, with a mixture of pure
Malay, showing that the settlement is one of stragglers
of various races, although now sufficiently homogeneous.
Then there are the “ Orang Sirani,” as at Ternate and
Amboyna. Many of these have the Portuguese physiognomy
strikingly preserved, but combined with a skin generally
darker than the Malays. Some national customs are
retained, and the Malay, which is their only language,
contains a large number of Portuguese words and idioms.
The third race consists of the Galela men from the north
of Gilolo, a singular people, whom I have already described;
and the fourth is a colony from TomoR, in the eastern