surrounding countries. The only Thrush, Geocichla erythronota, is most nearly
allied to a species peculiar to Timor. Two of the Flycatchers are closely allied to
Indian species, which are not found in the Malay islands. Two genera somewhat
allied to the Magpies (Streptocitta and Charitornis), but whose affinities are so
doubtful that Professor Schlegel places them among the Starlings, are entirely
confined to Celebes. They are beautiful long-tailed birds, with black and white
plumage, and with the feathers of the head somewhat rigid and scale-like.
Doubtfully allied to the Starlings are two other very isolated and beautiful
birds. One, Enodes erythrophrys, has ashy and yellow plumage, but is
ornamented with broad stripes of orange-red above the eyes. The other,
Basilornis celebensis, is a blue-black bird with a white patch on each side of the
breast, and the head ornamented with a beautiful compressed scaly crest of
feathers, resembling in form that of the well-known Cock-of-the-rock of South
America. The only ally to this bird is found in Ceram, and has the feathers of the
crest elongated upwards into quite a different form.
A still more curious bird is the Scissirostrum pagei, which although it is at
present classed in the Starling family, differs from all other species in the form
of the bill and nostrils, and seems most nearly allied in its general structure to the
Ox-peckers (Buphaga) of tropical Africa, next to which the celebrated
ornithologist Prince Bonaparte finally placed it. It is almost entirely of a slatey
colour, with yellow bill and feet, but the feathers of the rump and upper tail-
coverts each terminate in a rigid, glossy pencil or tuft of a vivid crimson. These
pretty little birds take the place of the metallic-green starlings of the genus
Calornis, which are found in most other islands of the Archipelago, but which
are absent from Celebes. They go in flocks, feeding upon grain and fruits, often
frequenting dead trees, in holes of which they build their nests; and they cling to
the trunks as easily as woodpeckers or creepers.
Out of eighteen Pigeons found in Celebes, eleven are peculiar to it. Two of
them, Ptilonopus gularis and Turacaena menadensis, have their nearest allies in
Timor. Two others, Carpophaga forsteni and Phlaegenas tristigmata, most
resemble Philippine island species; and Carpophaga radiata belongs to a New
Guinea group. Lastly, in the Gallinaceous tribe, the curious helmeted Maleo
(Megacephalon rubripes) is quite isolated, having its nearest (but still distant)
allies in the Brush-turkeys of Australia and New Guinea.
Judging, therefore, by the opinions of the eminent naturalists who have
described and classified its birds, we find that many of the species have no near
allies whatsoever in the countries which surround Celebes, but are either quite
isolated, or indicate relations with such distant regions as New Guinea,