Birds taken on the Batu Lawi expedition
J.C. Moulton’s “Birds taken on the Batu Lawi expedition” (1912) is a taxonomic list of avian specimens collected during the 1911 overland and river expedition to Mount Batu Lawi in the upper Limbang district of Sarawak, published as a component of a larger multi-author expedition report in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The list documents the ornithological yield of a 40-day journey from Limbang to Claudetown via the Madihit River and the highland interior, a region previously visited by only a handful of Europeans.
Summary
This short appendix presents the birds collected by Moulton and his team of museum collectors (including H.N. Ridley, E.B. Copeland, J.J. Smith, A. Griffini, and F.F. Laidlaw) during their transit through the upper Limbang, Madihit, and Baram river systems in May–June 1911. The expedition’s primary objective was to reach and survey Mount Batu Lawi, a peak of some 6,400 feet whose existence had been confirmed only indirectly by earlier travellers such as Sir Spenser St. John (1858) and R.S. Douglas (1908). The party reached the mountain’s southern slopes at 5,660 ft. but was unable to scale the higher peak, which rose as a sheer column some 600 feet above the accessible ledge (p. 40).
The narrative portion of the expedition report explains why the collections, including the bird list, were necessarily limited. Of the 40 days between Limbang and Claudetown, 31 were spent in actual travelling; the party slept two consecutive nights in the same place on only five occasions, and once for three nights (p. 56). The Madihit district was extremely sparsely populated, with stretches of four to five days’ journey containing no native habitations, making it impossible to arrange relay coolies with fresh provisions (p. 56). The mountainous terrain, persistent rain, and cold temperatures (dropping to 62°F at altitude) further constrained collecting opportunities. Despite these limitations, Moulton notes that the collections were “surprisingly rich in new and rare species,” indicating the poorly known nature of the region’s fauna (p. 56).
The bird list itself would have been compiled from specimens shot or otherwise obtained during the journey, including observations recorded in the narrative such as a rare Oriole (Oriolus hosei) shot by one of the collectors on May 24 (p. 34), two small doves (Spilopelia tigrina) taken near the kuala Madalam (p. 13), and a pigeon and love-bird secured at Bidang (p. 5). The list serves as a baseline record of avian presence in an area that had received virtually no systematic biological survey prior to this expedition.
Key Findings
- The expedition covered 40 days from Limbang to Claudetown, of which 31 were spent in active travelling; the river journey occupied 10 days and the overland mountain crossing 12 days (p. 56).
- The party reached an altitude of 5,660 ft. on the southern end of Batu Lawi; the higher peak rose a further ~600 ft. as a sheer, nearly vegetation-free column that could not be climbed (p. 40).
- The base of Batu Lawi sits at approximately 3,500 ft. above sea level, with the mountain rising a further ~2,700 ft. (p. 42).
- A rare Oriole (Oriolus hosei, Sharpe) was shot by a collector on May 24 at approximately 3,900 ft. altitude (p. 34).
- The expedition encountered a “mystery” of fresh blood on the forest floor on May 27, initially attributed to an unseen enemy (“munsu”) before a Murut admitted a cut hand was the source (p. 37).
- Tama Kuling’s feast at the kuala Madihit featured 35 great jars of tuach (fermented rice liquor), each holding approximately 23 gallons, totalling some 800 gallons (p. 22).
Conclusion
Moulton’s bird list, though modest in scope, constitutes one of the earliest systematic records of the avifauna of the upper Limbang–Madihit highland region. Its principal value lies in documenting species from an area that, as Moulton observed, had been visited by only three Europeans in the preceding twenty years (p. 2), and whose biological character remained largely unknown to science at the time of publication.
Context
- This list forms part of a collaborative expedition report authored by Moulton, Ridley, Copeland, Smith, Griffini, and Laidlaw, published in JSBRAS Vol. 63 (1912); the ornithological list draws on collections made under the auspices of the Sarawak Museum.
- The expedition was undertaken in the context of early Sarawak colonial administration’s expansion into the Limbang and Baram districts, with the journey relying on Government-arranged boats, coolies, and the cooperation of local chiefs under the authority of the White Rajah’s administration.