The dorsal feathers of the white heron, and the vent feathers of the sándang láwé, are employed, as substitutes for ostrich feathers, by the natives, for plumes, &c. It is very rarely that the feathers of geese, &c. are employed for beds or pillows, the silky cotton of the kápok being preferred on account of its coolness. For ornamenting the arrows of the natives, the feathers of some of the falcon tribe are chiefly employed.
Among the interesting subjects which still remain open for search, are the habits and constitution of the hirundo esculenta, the small swallow which forms the edible nests, annually exported in large quantities from Java and the Eastern Islands for the Chinese market. These birds not only abound among the cliffs and caverns of the south coast of the island, but inhabit the fissures and caverns of several of the mountains and hills in the interior of the country. From every observation which has been made on Java, it has been inferred, that the mucilaginous substance, of which the nests are formed, is not, as has been generally supposed, obtained from the ocean. The birds, it is true, generally inhabit the caverns in the vicinity of the sea, as agreeing best with their habits, and affording them the most convenient retreats for attaching their nests to; but several caverns are found inland, at a distance of forty or fifty miles from the sea, containing nests similar to those on the shore. From many of their retreats along the southern coast, they have been observed to take their flight in an inland direction, towards the pools, lakes, and extensive marshes covered with stagnant water, as affording them abundance of their food, which consists of flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and small insects of every description. The sea that washes the foot of the cliffs, where they most abound, is almost always in a state of the most violent agitation, and affords none of those substances which have been supposed to constitute the food of the esculent swallow. Another species of swallow on this island forms a nest, in which grass or moss, &c. are merely agglutinated by a substance, exactly similar to that of which exclusively the edible nests consist. This substance, from whatever part of these regions the nests be derived, is essentially uniform, differing only in the colour, according to the relative age of the nests. It exhibits none of those diversities which might be expected, if it were collected casually (like the mud employed by the martin, and the materials commonly employed in nest-making), and applied to the rocks. If it consisted of the substances usually supposed, it would be putrescent and diversified.
Dr. Horsfield thinks that it is an animal elaboration, perhaps a kind of secretion; but to determine its nature accurately, it should be carefully analyzed, the anatomy of the bird should be investigated, and its character and habits watched.
The kayman of the Dutch, the boáya of the Malays, and the bóyo or bájul of the Javans, which abounds along the shores and in the principal rivers of the island, resembles more the crocodile of Egypt than that of the Ganges, or the American alligator. The character of the lacerta crocodiles, as given in the Systema Naturæ, applies to the Javan crocodile, with this difference, that in the latter the two crests of the tail coalesce towards the extremity, in which respect it agrees with that of the Ganges; but its head and jaws are broad, and rounded. In its manners, habits, and destructive qualities, it resembles the largest animals of this genus. Next to the crocodile in size is the béwak of the Malays, or menyáwak or selíra of the Javans. It sometimes attains the length of six or seven feet, and lives near the banks of rivers and marshes. Its character agrees with those of the lacerta monitor. It is erroneously denominated the guana by Europeans. The eggs of this animal, as well as of the crocodile, are eaten by the natives, and the fat is collected for medical purposes. A small lizard, the búnglon of the Javans, is erroneously called the chameleon, in consequence of the property of changing its colour. It has the specific characters of the guana, but is much smaller, seldom exceeding eighteen or twenty inches in length. There are various other lizards.
Two varieties of the turtle, pényu and pényu kombang, are found in the seas surrounding Java. Both yield the substance called tortoise-shell, but they are seldom taken of sufficient size to render it valuable: the flesh is excellent. Another kind, of which the species is unknown, renders a thicker shell. Kúro is the name of the common land-tortoise, which is found very abundantly in particular districts.
Besides the rana esculenta, green frog (kódok íjù of the Javans) which is frequently eaten, and the kódok benju, there is the common toad, kódok, and the bánkong and kíntel. The frog-fish (rana paradosa), or a variety of it, is also found on the island, and has been exhibited in the same supposed metamorphosis as in other countries. No noxious quality of any of these animals is here known.
It is uncertain whether the boa constrictor be found on Java. The serpent usually called the úlar sáwa is a species of coluber, and has been described in one of the volumes of the Batavian Transactions; but several other species are found which arrive at a very large size. One of them, the úlar lánang, is very much dreaded by the natives, and said to be poisonous. Of the úlar sáwa there are several varieties, one of which, úlar sáwa máchan, is most beautifully variegated. Upwards of twenty serpents are enumerated as poisonous. The úlar lámpe is found at or near the discharge of large rivers into the ocean, and is more abundant in some districts than in others. This is greatly dreaded by the natives; its bite however is rarely mortal, and the effects are comparatively slow, death seldom occurring within twenty-four hours from the time of its infliction. No remedies which deserve notice are known by the natives: charms and superstitious applications are generally resorted to. The most remarkable serpent is the úlar kádut, or kárang. The úlar lánang, and some of the varieties úlar sáwa are slender, and possess considerable agility. According to the account of the natives, they frequently ascend trees, and suspending themselves by the extremity of their tail, seize upon small animals passing below; but the true úlar sáwa of the Eastern Javans is slow, thick, and unwieldy. Nothing which could illustrate its supposed power of fascination has been noticed.
Of the fish most commonly used for food by the natives, many of which are excellent and abundant, thirty-four species of river fish, seven found chiefly in pools or stagnant waters, and sixteen sea fish, are already enumerated by Dr. Horsfield. The classes of amphibia and pisces, doubtless, afford many new subjects for investigation. Valentyn enumerates five hundred and twenty-eight uncommon kinds of fish found in the waters of the Eastern Islands.
Honey and wax are produced by three species of bees, inhabiting the largest forests, but they are both collected in very inconsiderable quantities. Bees are occasionally domesticated by the Arabs and Indians near the large settlements, but never by the natives. Silk-worms were once introduced by the Dutch near Batavia, but attention to them did not extend among the natives. The chrysalis of the large atlas affords a coarse silk, which is however not collected for use. To the fruit, several insects, and to the corn while in the ear, a peculiar species, generally known by the name of wálang-sángít, are most destructive. The latter has in some years destroyed the growth of whole districts, and occasioned partial scarcity. The natives attempt, in some instances, to extirpate it by burning chaff and brimstone in the fields. There are scorpions and centipedes, but their bite is considered of little consequence: the natives generally apply a cataplasm of onions to the wound. The class of insects affords many new objects; specimens of most of the genus papilio, and many of other genera have already been collected.
Java does not afford the same opportunities for beautiful collections of shells as the Moluccas, Papua, and other Islands. Along the northern coast, few shells are found of beauty or variety, and the corallines have mostly lost their integrity by attrition; but the extensive bays in the southern shore contain many of these objects in a state of beauty and perfection.