Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
leaves. My practice was, therefore, to walk cautiously along the narrow pathways with
which the country abounded, and on detecting any sign of a Pitta's vicinity to stand motion-
less and give a gentle whistle occasionally, imitating the notes as near as possible. After half
an hour's waiting I was often rewarded by seeing the pretty bird hopping along in the thick-
et. Then I would perhaps lose sight of it again, till, having my gun raised and ready for a
shot, a second glimpse would enable me to secure my prize, and admire its soft puffy
plumage and lovely colours. The upper part is rich soft green, the head jet black with a
stripe of blue and brown over each eye; at the base of the tail and on the shoulders are bands
of bright silvery blue, and the under side is delicate buff with a stripe of rich crimson,
bordered with black on the belly. Beautiful grass-green doves, little crimson and black
flower-peckers, large black cuckoos, metallic king-crows, golden orioles, and the fine
jungle-cocks—the origin of all our domestic breeds of poultry—were among the birds that
chiefly attracted my attention during our stay at Labuan Tring.
The most characteristic feature of the jungle was its thorniness. The shrubs were thorny;
the creepers were thorny; the bamboos even were thorny. Everything grew zigzag and
jagged, and in an inextricable tangle, so that to get through the bush with gun or net or even
spectacles, was generally not to be done, and insect-catching in such localities was out of
the question. It was in such places that the Pittas often lurked, and when shot it became a
matter of some difficulty to secure the bird, and seldom without a heavy payment of pricks
and scratches and torn clothes could the prize be won. The dry volcanic soil and arid climate
seem favourable to the production of such stunted and thorny vegetation, for the natives as-
sured me that this was nothing to the thorns and prickles of Sumbawa, whose surface still
bears the covering of volcanic ashes thrown out forty years ago by the terrible eruption of
Tomboro. Among the shrubs and trees that are not prickly the Apocynaceæ were most
abundant, their bilobed fruits of varied form and colour and often of most tempting appear-
ance, hanging everywhere by the waysides as if to invite to destruction the weary traveller
who may be unaware of their poisonous properties. One in particular with a smooth shining
skin of a golden orange colour rivals in appearance the golden apples of the Hesperides, and
has great attractions for many birds, from the white cockatoos to the little yellow Zosterops,
who feast on the crimson seeds which are displayed when the fruit bursts open. The great
palm called 'Gubbong' by the natives, a species of Corypha, is the most striking feature of
the plains, where it grows by thousands and appears in three different states—in leaf, in
flower and fruit, or dead. It has a lofty cylindrical stem about a hundred feet high and two to
three feet in diameter; the leaves are large and fan-shaped, and fall off when the tree
flowers, which it does only once in its life in a huge terminal spike, on which are produced
