separated from New Guinea, but form a distinct insular
region, which has been upheaved independently at a
rather remote epoch, and during all the mutations it has
undergone has been constantly receiving immigrants from
that great and productive island. The considerable
length of time, the Moluccas have remained isolated is
further indicated by the occurrence of two peculiar genera
of birds, Semioptera and Lycocorax, which are found
nowhere else.
We are able to divide this small archipelago into two
well-marked groups—that of Ceram,including also Bourn,
Amboyna, Banda, and K e ; and that of Gilolo,7 includingO
Morty, Batchian, Obi, Ternate, and other small islands.
These divisions have each a considerable number of peculiar
species, no less than fifty-five being found in the
Ceram group only; and besides this, most of the separate
islands have some species peculiar to themselves. Thus
Morty island has a peculiar kingfisher, honey sucker, and
starling; Ternate has a ground-thrush (Pitta) and a flycatcher
; Banda has a pigeon, a shrike, and a Pitta ; Ke
has two flycatchers, a Zosterops,’ a shrike, a king-crow,
and a cuckoo; and the remote Timor-laut, which should
probably come into the Moluccan group, has a cockatoo
and lory as its only knoAvn birds, and both are of peculiar
species.
The Moluccas are especially rich in the parrot tribe, no
less than twenty-two species, belonging to ten genera,
inhabiting them. Among these is the large red-crested
cockatoo, so commonly seen alive in Europe, two handsome
red parrots of the genus Ecleetus, and five of the beautiful
crimson lories, which are almost exclusively confined to
these islands and the New Guinea group. The pigeons
are hardly less abundant or beautiful, twenty-one species
being known, including twelve of the beautiful green fruit
pigeons, the smaller kinds of which are ornamented with
the most brilliant patches of colour on the head and the
under-surface. Next to these come the kingfishers, including
sixteen species, almost all of which are beautiful,
and many are among the most brilliantly-coloured birds
that exist.
One of fhe most curious groups of birds, the Megapodii,
or mound-makers, is very abundant in the Moluccas.
They are gallinaceous birds, about the size of a small fowl,
and generally of a dark ashy or sooty colour, and they
have remarkably large and strong feet and long claws.
They are allied to the “ Maleo” of Celebes, of which an
account has already been given, but they differ in habits,
most of these birds frequenting the scrubby jungles along
the sea-shore, where the soil is sandy, and there is a considerable
quantity of debris, consisting of sticks, shells,
seaweed, leaves, &c. Of this rubbish the Megapodius
forms immense mounds, often six or eight feet high and
L 2