ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES
The English names used in this report follow Smythies (1960) where possible. If the bird has not been recorded from Borneo previously, then I have resorted to Delacours and Mayr's "Birds of the Philippines" (1946). The taxonomy is that of Smythies (1960), except where current American or my own opinion differs and where new evidence has warranted a change. The sequence of families is that of Wetmore (1960).
Two species listed beyond that had not previously been recorded from the island of Borneo are: Red-footed Booby, Sula sula; and Whitehead's Thick-head, Pachycephala whiteheadi. Six additional kinds listed beyond had not previously been recorded from North Borneo. They are: Chinese Egret, Egretta eulophotes; Knot, Calidris canutus; Ground Cuckoo, Carpococcyx radiceus; Stachyris nigriceps hartleyi; Finch's Bulbul, Criniger finschii; and Pale Blue Flycatcher, Muscicapa unicolor.
Sula sula (Linnaeus): Red-footed Booby.—A captive seen in the Tawau police station was said to have been caught when it landed at night on a police launch anchored off Siamil Island in or near May, 1962. The bird was in first-year or second-year plumage, seemed to be tame, and was thriving on a diet of fish. Identification was made by Alexander Wetmore from a photographic print. This is the first seemingly substantiated record of the species from Borneo, although it probably occurs there regularly. The species breeds on Bankoran Island and on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea (Smythies, 1960:113).
Fregata ariel (G. R. Gray): Lesser Frigatebird.—This conspicuous bird on the waters around Tawau is occasionally seen in Cowie Harbor but more often along the coast outside the Harbor. On September 20 an estimated 300-500 birds circled over the shore northeast of Tawau.
Ardea sumatrana sumatrana Raffles: Dusky-gray Heron.—Specimens, 2. Karindingen Island: ♂ testis 12 × 23 mm., November 24, 1962, MCT 3308; ♂, November 24, 1962, MCT 3309.
The specimens were taken on the coral sand beach surrounding Karindingen Island. At least 10 were seen feeding on the beach and on a reef. One (MCT 3308) had testes of a size suggesting that it was in breeding condition.
Casmerodius alba modestus (Gray): Common Egret.—Specimen, 1. Karindingen Island: ♀, November 24, 1962, MCT 3310.
This species was seen on three dates: August 17 at Karindingen Island, where 30 were observed feeding along the mangroves bordering the island; on November 24, on the same island, where a specimen was taken from a flock of 30 birds that had been feeding on the coral sand and reef; and on November 30 when a single bird landed at the small reservoir at the Cocoa Research Station and began to feed in the shallow water. Only four specimens appear to have been recorded earlier (Smythies, 1957:561), although Smythies (1963:270) lists additional sight records.
Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus): Little Egret.—On November 24 at Karindingen Island, I observed several mixing freely with individuals of E. sacra on the coral sand beaches and reefs.