Mr. R.B. Sharpe on birds collected in Perak
R. B. Sharpe, Keeper of Birds at the British Museum, published this taxonomic account in 1890 describing a substantial collection of birds gathered by the explorer Mr. Wray during a six-month sojourn in the mountain ranges of Perak, Malay Peninsula, at altitudes reaching 7,000 feet. The paper’s central thesis is that the highland avifauna of the Malay Peninsula is far more closely allied to the Himalayan and Tenasserim faunas than previously recognized, with several genera appearing in the Peninsula for the first time.
Summary
Sharpe’s paper is structured as a systematic review of Wray’s collection, organized by family, with Wray’s own field observations reproduced in quotation marks. The collection was gathered from several localities including Gunong Batu Puteh, Gunong Ulu Batang Padang, the Larut range, and the Batang Padang mountains. Sharpe identifies nine new species and extends the known ranges of numerous others southward into the Peninsula, demonstrating that the highland forests of Perak harbour a fauna of considerable biogeographical interest.
The most significant taxonomic contributions are the descriptions of Pericrocotus wrayi (a leafbird distinct from P. igneus in having red quill-lining and slaty-grey throat), Muscicapula westermanni (a blue-grey flycatcher of curious affinities), Cryptolopha davisoni (a Malayan representative of the Kinabalu form C. montis), Gampsorhynchus saturior (a southern race of the Tenasserim G. torquatus), Melanocichla peninsularis (a black babbling thrush representing the Sumatran M. bicolor), Siva sordidior (a duller, blue-less form distinct from the Tenasserim S. sordida), Cutia cervinicrissa (a fulvescent race of C. nipalensis), and Chrysophlegma wrayi (a smaller, darker race of the Tenasserim C. flavinucha). Sharpe also records the first occurrence of Muscicapula hyperythra in the Peninsula and confirms the presence of Anthipes, Brachypteryx, Gampsorhynchus, and Cutia—all Himalayan in their Tenasserim forms.
Wray’s field notes add valuable ecological detail, including observations on the nocturnal habits of Gampsorhynchus saturior (which passed the camp only at dusk and dawn, making it extremely difficult to shoot), the vocalizations of Trachycomus ochrocephalus (identified by the Malays as the Sibharoh or Upih Bidau), and the altitudinal distribution of various species.
Key Findings
- Four genera previously unrecorded from the Malaccan mountains—Anthipes, Brachypteryx, Gampsorhynchus, and Cutia—are all represented by Tenasserim forms, linking the Peninsula’s highland fauna to the Himalayan-Tenasserim biogeographical zone (p. 1).
- Melanocichla peninsularis, a new black babbling thrush, represents the Sumatran M. bicolor and is slaty grey rather than brown on blackish, with a total length of 10 inches (pp. 9–10).
- Gampsorhynchus saturior was observed only at nightfall and dawn, passing the camp in small parties with a loud shrill cry resembling that of the Krekah monkey; its stomach contained a large hairy caterpillar, partly digested insects, and a Phasmidae egg (pp. 8–9).
- Pericrocotus wrayi is distinguished from P. igneus by its red (not yellow) quill-lining, slaty-grey throat, and slaty-black ear-coverts; the female differs markedly from P. igneus in lacking the bright yellow underparts and scarlet rump (pp. 2–3).
- Chrysophlegma wrayi is confirmed as distinct from C. flavinucha by its pure black throat feathers narrowly margined with white, smaller size (total length 10.5 inches vs. considerably larger in the Tenasserim form), and darker olive face (pp. 16–17).
- Siva sordidior is separated from the Tenasserim S. sordida by its duller colouration, absence of blue on the head, and lack of ochreous-brown on the lower back and rump (pp. 11–12).
Conclusion
Sharpe concludes that Wray’s explorations have revealed the highland avifauna of the Malay Peninsula to be a significant southern extension of the Himalayan-Tenasserim faunal complex, with multiple genera and species previously unknown to the region. The discovery of a black babbling thrush linking the Peninsula to Sumatra, and the presence of four Himalayan genera in Tenasserim forms, establish the Perak mountains as a critical biogeographical bridge between the avifaunas of the Indian subcontinent, the Malay Peninsula, and the Sunda Islands.
Context
- The paper relies heavily on Oates’ Handbook of the Birds of British Burma and Hume & Davison’s Stray Feathers for comparative references, reflecting the standard taxonomic literature of the period (p. 1).
- Sharpe’s comparisons with Count Salvadori’s work on Beccari’s Sumatran collections (Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv) underscore the collaborative, museum-based nature of late-Victorian ornithological taxonomy (p. 1).