The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitantsMarsden, William
History
The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants
Marsden, William
Natural history -- Indonesia -- Sumatra; Sumatra (Indonesia)
Of the stork kind there are several species, some of great height and
otherwise curious, as the burong kambing and burong ular, which frequent
the rice plantations in wet ground.
We find also the heron, burong kuntul (ardea); the snipe, kandidi
(scolopax); the coot, or water-hen, ayam ayer (fulica); and the plover,
cheruling (charadrius).
The cassowary, burong rusa, is brought from the island of Java.
The domestic hen is as common as in most other countries. In some the
bones (or the periostea) are black, and these are at least equally good
as food. The hen of the woods, ayam barugo, or ayam utan (which latter
name is in some places applied to the pheasant), differs little from the
common sort, excepting in the uniformity of its brown colour. In the
Lampong country of Sumatra and western part of Java lying opposite to it
there is a very large breed of fowls, called ayam jago; of these I have
seen a cock peck from off of a common dining table; when inclined to rest
they sit on the first joint of the leg and are then taller than the
ordinary fowls. It is singular if the same country produces likewise the
diminutive breed that goes by the name of bantam.
A species of partridge is called ayam gunong, or mountain hen.
DOVES.
Beside the pigeon, merapeti and burong darah (columba), and two common
species of doves, the one of a light brown or dove-colour, called ballum,
and the other green, called punei, there are of the latter some most
exquisite varieties: the punei jambu is smaller than the usual size of
doves; the back, wings, and tail are green; the breast and crop are
white, but the front of the latter has a slight shade of pink; the
forepart of the head is of a deep pink, resembling the blossom of the
jambu fruit, from whence its name; the white of the breast is continued
in a narrow streak, having the green on one side and the pink on the
other, half round the eye, which is large, full, and yellow; of which
colour is also the beak. It will live upon boiled rice and padi; but its
favourite food, when wild, is the berry of the rumpunnei (Ardisia
coriacea), perhaps from this circumstance so called. The selaya, or punei
andu, another variety, has the body and wings of deep crimson, with the
head, and extremity of its long indented tail, white; the legs red. It
lives on the worms generated in the decayed part of old trees, and is
about the size of a blackbird. Of the same size is the burong sawei, a
bird of a bluish black colour, with a dove-tail, from which extend two
very long feathers, terminating circularly. It seems to be what is called
the widow-bird, and is formidable to the kite.
The burong pipit resembles the sparrow in its appearance, habits,
numbers, and the destruction it causes to the grain.
The quail, puyuh (coturnix); but whether a native or a bird of passage, I
cannot determine.
The starling (sturnus), of which I know not the Malayan name.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account