All Creature Great and Small # 22

All Creatures great and small, Borneo Research, Wildlife /

Flycatcher Plumage Resolved The plumage of the female and sub-adult Yellow-rumped Flycatcher, Narcissus Flycatcher, Green-backed Flycatcher (F. elisae) and Ryukyu Flycatcher (F. owstoni) has been resolved. Three species winter in Borneo while there is no information about the Ryukyu Flycatcher. BirdingASIA 36 (2021): 22–34 Leptospirosis This disease is on the increase in Sarawak. The current rapid test for leptospirosis did […]

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Brunei 1790-1905

Borneo Research, History /

Brunei and Sarawak This essay was very convoluted and confusing. I have taken out the facts, numbered them and arranged them so they flow in chronological order. The story begins in the 1790s. 1. Sultan Mohammed Tajuddin abdicates the Brunei throne. 2. His son, Jemal ul Alam, takes the throne. 3. Jemul un Alam dies

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Sarawak Gold

Borneo Research, Culture, History /

Gold in Sarawak The first gold was discovered in the Montrado and Sambas areas of Kalimatan. The Chinese were brought in to work the goldfields in ~1760. Panning of gold in river deposits of Bau began in about ~1828, and this type of activity continued until 1898. The Malays noted a small amount of gold

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All Creatures Great and Small #21

All Creatures great and small, Borneo Research, Wildlife /

New Book Ian Douglas Water and the Rain Forest in Malaysia Borneo Hydrological Research at the Danum Valley Research Center Switzerland: Springer Nature Ecological Studies,362 p. 2022 e-book Euros 129; hardcover Euros 159.00 The book is a collection of scientific papers dealing with water at the Danum Valley research station. Book review later. Non-flying mammals This paper reviews

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Hornbill

Borneo Research, Wildlife /

Hornbills Hornbills are fruit-eating birds with eight species found in Sarawak. They include the Helmeted Hornbird,(critically endangered) Rhinocerous Hornbird, Black Hornbill, White-Crowned Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, (threatened) the Oriental Pied Hornbill, the Bushy Crested Hornbill and Wreathed Hornbill.(least concern species). The Malay peninsula supports ten Hornbills. The “horn” on the bird is called a casque. Its

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Iban origins, floods and rules for sex, war and kitchens

Borneo Research, Culture, History, Iban, Story /

Notes from Benedict Sandin Sources of Iban Traditional History published by the Sarawak Museum Journal 1994 Sumatra Suriani and I have maintained the Iban came from Sumatra. On page 140 n.2 “The question of where the Iban originated is largely unanswerable. On linguistic grounds, it has been frequently argued, that, as Malayic speaking people, the

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