-frog was discovered by
Professor A.R. Wallace. Birds are somewhat rare in some quarters. The
most important are eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, owls, horn-bills,
cranes, pheasants (notably the argus, fire-back and peacock-pheasants),
partridges, ravens, crows, parrots, pigeons, woodpeckers, doves, snipe,
quail and swallows. Of most of these birds several varieties are met
with. The _Cypselus esculentus_, or edible-nest swift, is very common,
and the nests, which are built mostly in limestone caves, are esteemed
the best in the archipelago. Mosquitoes and sand-flies are the chief
insect pests, and in some districts are very troublesome. Several kinds
of parasitic jungle ticks cause much annoyance to men and to beasts.
There are also two kinds of ants, the semut api ("fire ant") and the
_semut lada_ ("pepper ant"), whose bites are peculiarly painful.
Hornets, bees and wasps of many varieties abound. The honey and the wax
of the wild bee are collected by the natives. Butterflies and moths are
remarkable for their number, size, variety and beauty. Beetles are no
less numerously represented, as is to be expected in a country so richly
wooded as Borneo. The swamps and rivers, as well as the surrounding
seas, swarm with fish. The _siawan_ is a species of fish found in the
rivers and valued for its spawn, which is salted. The natives are expert
and ingenious fishermen. Turtles, trepang and pearl-shell are of some
commercial importance.

The dog, the cat, the pig, the domestic fowl (which is not very
obviously related to the bantam of the woods), the buffalo, a smaller
breed than that met with in the Malayan Peninsula, and in some districts
bullocks of the Brahmin breed and small horses, are the principal
domestic animals. The character of the country and the nomadic habits of
many of the natives of the interior, who rarely occupy their villages
for more than a few years in succession, have not proved favourable to
pastoral modes of life. The buffaloes are used not only in agriculture,
but also as beasts of burden, as draught-animals and for the saddle.
Horses, introduced by Europeans and owned only by the wealthier classes,
are found in Banjermasin and in Sarawak. In British North Borneo, and
especially in the district of Tempasuk on the north-west coast, Borneo
ponies, bred originally, it is supposed, from the stock which is
indigenous to the Sulu archipelago, are common.

_Flora_.--The flora of Borneo is very rich, the gr