y. The honeysuckers are coloured in a manner
which is very general in the whole family to which they belong, while
the orioles seem to have departed from the gay yellow tints so common
among their allies. We should therefore conclude that it is the latter
who mimic the former. If so, however, they must derive some advantage
from the imitation, and as they are certainly weak birds, with small
feet and claws, they may require it. Now the Tropidorhynchi are very
strong and active birds, having powerful grasping claws, and long,
curved, sharp beaks. They assemble together in groups and small flocks,
and they haw a very loud bawling note which can be heard at a great
distance, and serves to collect a number together in time of danger.
They are very plentiful and very pugnacious, frequently driving away
crows and even hawks, which perch on a tree where a few of them are
assembled. It is very probable, therefore, that the smaller birds of
prey have learnt to respect these birds and leave them alone, and it may
thus be a great advantage for the weaker and less courageous Mimetas
to be mistaken for them. This being case, the laws of Variation and
Survival of the Fittest, will suffice to explain how the resemblance has
been brought about, without supposing any voluntary action on the part
of the birds themselves; and those who have read Mr. Darwin's "Origin of
Species" will have no difficulty in comprehending the whole process.

The insects of the Moluccas are pre-eminently beautiful, even when
compared with the varied and beautiful productions of other parts of the
Archipelago. The grand bird-winged butterflies (Ornithoptera) here reach
their maximum of size and beauty, and many of the Papilios, Pieridae
Danaidae, and Nymphalidae are equally preeminent. There is, perhaps, no
island in the world so small as Amboyna where so many grand insects are
to be found. Here are three of the very finest Ornithopterae--priamus,
helena, and remiss; three of the handsomest and largest
Papilios--ulysses, deiphobus, and gambrisius; one of the handsomest
Pieridae, Iphias leucippe; the largest of the Danaidae, Hestia idea;
and two unusually large and handsome Nymphalidae--Diadema pandarus,
and Charaxes euryalus. Among its beetles are the extraordinary Euchirus
longimanus, whose enormous legs spread over a space of eight inches,
and an unusual number of large and handsome Longicorns, Anthribidae, and
Buprestidae.

The beetles figured on the plate