The specimens were taken in primary forest. This pitta was exceedingly tame, often moving along only 20 feet ahead of the observer. The one adult male taken hopped along the forest floor, occasionally jumping up on a log or plant to look back. It finally flushed and flew about 30 feet ahead of me to a log; there it gave a call which can be rendered as shewo, repeated at 10- to 15-second intervals. The call was much like that of Pitta sordida.
Pitta brachyura moluccensis (P. L. S. Müller): Blue-winged Pitta.—Specimen, 1: Tenom: ♀ oviduct slightly enlarged, edematized brood patch, December 31, 1962, MCT 3544.
The specimen was taken in a net stretched across a dry stream near the Padas River in a relatively open area near a coconut grove with some bamboo and elephant ears nearby.
Pitta sordida mulleri Bonaparte: Green-breasted Pitta.—Specimens, 2: Cocoa Research Station: ♀, May 1, 1963, ADG 96; ♀, July 15, 1963, ADG 203.
The discovery of this bird by Garcia was a surprise. I was familiar with its habits and calls in the Philippines, and in four months I never heard or observed it at the Cocoa Research Station. Perhaps the specimens were migrants.
Hirundo tahitica abbotti Oberholser: Pacific Swallow.—Specimen, 1: Cocoa Research Station: ♂, April 26, 1963, ADG 58.
This species was common at most localities on the east coast. On June 25, 1962, a pair was building a nest under the Cocoa Research Station laboratory. On July 21 young were observed leaving the nest, at the research station rest house.
Hirundo rustica gutturalis Scopoli: Common Swallow.—Specimens, 9: 12 mi. N Kalabakan: ♂, November 10, 1962, MCT 3238; ♂, November 10, 1962, MCT 3239; ♀, November 12, 1962, MCT 3257; ♀, November 12, 1962, MCT 3258; ♂, November 12, 1962, MCT 3259; ♀, November 12, 1962, MCT 3260; ♂, November 13, 1962, MCT 3268; ♀, November 13, 1962, MCT 3269; ♀, November 13, 1962, MCT 3270.
I saw this migrant at Semporna on August 19, 1962; soon it was the most common swallow at each of the localities where seen.
Cecropsia striolata striolata Temminck and Schlegel: Striated Swallow.—While in Kalabakan on November 3, 1962, I saw a swallow that differed markedly from others in town. I could not see the breast, but the rump was conspicuously tawny, clearly indicating that the bird belonged to this species. There are but two specimens from Borneo, both from southwestern Sarawak (Smythies, 1960:353). D. M. Batchelor records the species from Kimanis Bay but gives no dates other than November-December (Smythies, 1963:280). Batchelor's observation and mine provide the first records for North Borneo.