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506.549 li

THE

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

INDEX AND TITLE PAGE __

as % 3 37 ,

sere CRIA S fre Fixe

ee as inaeees SF flad

(el eS SNS ee

oe Fakes} F

VOL. XXXIX \

NOS. 1 & 2

Price see Rs. 2-4-0

MADRAS

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

1937

INSTRUCTIONS TO BINDER

The contents of these two parts should be arranged in the

following order when they are being bound :—

Title page par a ee

Contents of Nos. 1 and 2 of Vol. XXXIX

List of Contributors a _,, fo follow trontis-

ee Ion ae / piece in this order.

Index to Illustrations

Errata ane

Index to Species oe ... To go at the end of

two numbers.

JOURNAL

OF THE

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

EDITED BY

P. M. D. SANDERSON, F.Z.S., S. H. PRATER, C.M.Z.S., M.L.C., J.P.

& C. MCCANN, F.L.S.

VOL. XXXIX

Nos. 1 & 2

Containing 2 Coloured Plates, 37 Black and White Plates,

28 Text-figures, and 2 maps.

Dates of Publication

Part 1. (Pages I to 198) ... ist December 1936.

» 2 ( 4 199 to 430) ... 15th April 1937,

LONDON AGENTS

DAVID NUTT, Esq., 212, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.C. 2.

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS

1937

aay

Mant.

Te Ute TA aes

eee s

ned .

OE. Gite ne

(ey Ser er ane

CONPENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX.,

No. 1

Somr BEaAuTifuL INDIAN TREES. (Part xxi.) By the late

Rev. E. Blatter, s.J., Ph.p., F.L.S., and W. 8S. Millard, F.z.s.

(With one coloured plate and two black and white plates)...

THe ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND CocHIN. Part VI.

By Salim Ali, with notes by H. Whistler. (W7th one

THE FoxkS OF BRITISH lien By R. 1 Pocock, Harts;

(With three text-figures)... fad CPE Oca cena seer

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI. nde i wae A. G. L. Fraser,

LM.D. (With two plates and two text-Lfigures i.e. .ccsrceeee

THE BrrDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE. Part 1. By Salim

Ali and Humayun Abdulali. age one map and four

DIGILES ina. ae ee ee

SHOOTING ORES: FOR THE ee RAL POR Gi Nee Be Halk

(With one plate)... ore Getta uae ae tee ean iagrentee ort

Notes ON SOME INDIAN birps. By E. H. N. Lowther,

M.B.O.U., F.Z.S. (Wath stx plates)... oles a

THE NESTING OF THE INDIAN CRESTED ner ee

coronata) in Upper Burma. By J. K. Stanford, I.c.s., and

Ele, Siithiy Ter. S: ; erat

THE MEDICINAL AND Earconous Acorn OF ee ty, F.

CAIUS! S.3.,¢B iS: - as esac

OBSERVATIONS ON Some Sees ee OF THE ee

(Mar pissa melanognathus). By Dr. Gopal Chandra Bhatta-

charya. (Wzth two plates)... Weis yen

AN UNDESCRIBED TINGITID FROM eee an ar Ce),

Drake .. :

NOTES ON Coceipa (HOMOPTERA RHYNCHOTA) fon

pouth India. By Rao Sahib Dr. LT. V. Ramakrishna

Ayyar, B.A., Ph.D.. . :

A PRELIMINARY eee OF THE soci ORR OF ee

BAD (DECCAN). Part I. By M. Ghousuddin, m.sc.

MOU MG OR DI LIS le cautenivicrs weaned th ah aban olen eile da eee

REVIEW :—

Indiam Science ADStractS. «cs ssecccsivescaevc dh eloancteeaiell

OBITUARY :—

H. M. Phipson....

PAGE

d45)

127

142

145

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

id.

lit.

XeXT:

XXII.

Association between a Leopard and a Tigress.

By litikhar Ali tnain. seg. ne ec rere ee es

Curious companionship between Panther and

Wild Boar. By J. Monteath, 1:c:s..

Number of Cubs in a Tigress’ litter. By ies ‘Col.

C.-G: Toogood, Dis:o..

Ratels and Corpses. By Pr. W. Cia abion = I.F.S.

Ratels and Corpses. By A. A. Dunbar Brander.

Do. Porcupines shoot their quills? By KIM.

Are Hares unclean animals ? By F.W. Champion,

PS. a Seat eattnet cr

Peculiar jisican ao an nicsnaag ke RC,

NMOPLIS AEiZ eS. hs. Bicone esa eee eee

Bison—- Variation in colouration of the exposed

part of the -snout .and ‘tonote,) By C- o-

Biddulph.. Rear Cee

White Bison. ek R. C. ice HZ. Stucke awe

White Bison in Coimbatore. By J. Williams.....

Some Hog-hunting Reminiscences. By J.C. A...

Horn growth as observed in Black Buck and

Nilgai. By Iftikhar Ali Khan (w7th a photo).

Horn Growth in the Nilgai. By C. H. Biddulph.

Horn Growth in Nilgai. By E. A. D’Abreu......

. Colour sense in wild animals. By H. A. Wood.

Crow Assemblies. By P. A. Dalal.. +

An Albino Nigiri Pipit (Anthus Pe eee

mlarpe) ay Cub. Beadnell....... renee

The Indian Cuckoo [Cuculus m. pine

(Gould. - “By TH. Vi @ Domels reset tee

A Cuckoo (C. canorus Linn.) incident. By H.

Jones. -

The Buse pine Gaal Groban, mer ue

linus querulus (Heine)]. By Jone Livesey..:

The Small Green-billed Malkoha Ce |

virtdirostris (Jerdon)]...

Indian Roller or Blue Jay Woe actas Geri one

Linn.) feeding onaSccrpion. By U.S. Sharga

Ph.D: (din:); &-E.o-. a

On the breeding of the ie anmers Ges

melanoleucus Pennant) in Northern Burma.

Byat..K.-Stantordyal.Crs. oie nO BE yee neat ae

PAGE

179

XXIII.

XXIV.

OQUS

OG I.

XXVIT.

XXVIII.

DeXITX.

XXX,

XXXI,

XXXII.

XXXITI.

XXXIV.

XXXV.

XXXVI.

XXX VII.

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA,

Rakes. Eeedas wes

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXX1X

Altitudinal Range of the Ashy Wood Pigeon.

Saad pulchricollis aay By G. S. Light-

foot.. - ;

Micration. of mieo ( Phebe s

antiquorum Temm.) from North Gujerat.

Hari Narayan Acharya, F.Z.s. ie

Birds employ Ants o al dieineeies

By B. B. Osmaston, 1.F.s.

ruber

of Ectoparasites.

(Retd:)... .

Wanted creation Apane EC OneE. in Soon

India.. By FE. N: Betts:.

A Mugger (Crocodilus Airis ante one mens

missing. By C. H. Biddulph (W7th a photo).

An Encounter with a Hamadryad (Maza bun-

garus). By R. N. Champion Jones.. ;

A Hamadrayad’s (Waza bungarus) nest Baa eggs.

by H.C. Smuth, Lr.s. (Math one plate)..........

The Green Pit Viper oe yimeresurus gvramineus).

By Dr. Malcolm Smith.. ae.

Description of a new species oe Fish ea North-

ern Bengal. By G. E. Shaw and E. O.

Shebbeare (With o7é- Plate).is cise sec scicor eevee coc

On the diet of the Fish nee? Gee By E. A,

D’Abreu.. : ee Wes ony es

A Dr conie preying on a Seen 2 Ts V.

SUSAN VIA Ae meses’ dtc cat oeeoh ae cenudeee se, ook

Miscellaneous observations on the Biology of

ALEURODIDAE (Aleurodes brassicae). By

V.G. Deshpande...

Does the Giant eel Goer (Nephila eens

live more than one season? By C. McCann...

Parental care and cannibalism in Arachnids. By

C. McCann.. eerie see

Mating of the Gpidee co ee Fie Ty. V.

Mia MIAN Arye eter aes eee eaeeteraaee tec

No. 2

By Ore 5. Jl. Hora, De,

F:2.S.; F.R.A.G.8.4 PON eee one plate

and three edie ese Peel ncn ee eee

THE MONGOOSES OF BRITISH Ta INCLUDING ce AND

Burma. By RI. Pocock, F.r.s. (With two text-figures)

PAGE

181

188

189

190

194

1S,

vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX

PAGR

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS.

By H. Whistler, M.B.0.U., assisted by N. B. Kinnear,

M:B,OsUs-, atl eo Ne A Pay pth ton da rac ana eee 246

THE SNAKES OF ois eae ie ‘By A: G. 7. Fraser,

1M.D. (Wath three plates and one text-figuse)... ana) BAC:

A NEw CArTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT IN Sous noe

(Crematogaster dohrni artifex, Mayr.) By P.N. Krishna

Pay Vail ee ULE EOUP DL OLES sc no eae eet rt tn fo ee ee 291

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR. See anicolor equinus).

By W.S. Thom. “(With a plaie)... i: : 309

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND vege part wate

By Salim Ali.. ea Pee ees PCO

THE PRAWN ine OF THE eee oe By IN. K

PanikkaryM:A., MSC ((W ceeice “DUGICS en beanies. 343

NOTES ON MURREE BrirbDs.. By Rev. E. A. Storrs Fox ....... 354

On Two New Srecizrs oF ANVTAHOCEROS Linn 2753

FROM SOUTHERN SHAN STATES, BURMA, WITH A Com-

PARATIVE CHART OF THE DIOECIOUS DARK SPORED

SPECIES OF THE GENUS. By L. P. Khanna. (With two

DUALS ok cue ske@iexate uo tee Sie Gee eer aes 358

THE MEDICINAL SPIDERWORTS OF INDIA. By Rev. J. F.

Cais, S.J., FLSe ee 361

ABOUT SPIDER Ceo ee ’, v. (oabenray aa (With

One PIGLC.ANA CLONE TAIT OUTS eae le ee Oe

PON. APOLOGY osc 15s skeet deer conte oaes ssa dees can ae ee ee eS

REVIEWS :—

Natural Historya.. Pere Hes suas eee ee erat cao © ee

Les Serpentes de ie neces Pe ee eee 374

OuestionS A Sricolesis.criacctusee ee ee ee ene ees 3795

OBITUARIES :—

BG Oe Wk MOV Ss cain cates aekae eee eee eel ee eee IG]

Sir-Georse Hampson Biwi... ee ee 379

Dev Dev sMUkeryiy a titec ese can foetal c ee ee Sis)

MiISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

I. Observations on the Grey Musk Shrew (Szzcus

Ce rULCUS a's BY «Ca WiC Canis sade. Satake Gee 380

ll. Black. Tigers: {By Sif bless wale: sry oe eee 381

III. Ravages by Tiger and incidence of Man-eaters

in North Coimbatore between 1860 and 1889.

By RAC NOriic waste OES hee eh pee and 382

XVI.

XV U1:

XVIII.

DEX.

XX,

XXI.

eX,

DOE,

GONTENTS. OF CVOLOME: XXXLIX

Tigér smoked to death in a cave. By S. A.

Gai isola er meine nea ata yer Mite ely ia Nucae via Gig

Tiger lore in Burma. By S.A. Christopher.

Youne Elephant killed by.a Tiger... By C. H.

Biddulph .. ‘

The result an excess poison abe “Wila “Dogs.

Fa Veale MOLT 1S) aediane me: couseaenee ce hie siemeeed onc

The Striped Hyzena as a Man-eater. By Sede

Prater Ses emit ay Tune ENG cs

A very ibe Sanibar See. “Be ha C.. Morrisi

A big Buffalo head. By S. A. Christopher.......

Gaur Bulls attacking a wounded Bull. By R. C.

ENGST TGS yer arte Gates oa eS asian ee Eh ete bles

Whipsnade Zoo. By J.t.-Col. R. W. Burton, I.A.

Do Birds employ Ants to rid themselves of

Ectoparasites? By Major R. 5S. P. Bates.

Some rare Birds in Northern Burma. By J. K.

Stanford.. ;

Curious Pecuee sites an the ane Pied aWactail

(Motacilla lugubris maderaspatensis, Gmel.)

| SAO oles GL Cybill e) a) mane ores ante oem Tw aan Ne

The Habits of Vultures. By T. R. Livesey......

Eagles on the Nilgiris. By H. E. Burgess........

The Distribution and Nidification of the Greater

Spotted. Eagle (Aguila clanga Pall.) in Sind.

Ve IN PAU ALC Set rate ara eee eed ao ne eee

Number of Eggs laid by the Indian Shikra

(Astur badtus dussumiert Temm. and Lang.)

By Ce Ee Biddulph:

The Status of the Koel uaa aes i

ingoind. by KR Watess Wg a m0P)...2,

The Distribution and Nidification of the Large

Indian Paroquet (Psttlacula eupatria nipatensts

Hodgs.) in Sind. By K. R. Eates..

The Ceylon: Hoopoe (Upupa oe ceylonensts

Incichionjs, doy Ne Ne Champlon-Jones-../......

Note on the Sandpipers in the Patna District,

Bihar, recording the occurrence of the Avocet

Sandpiper, the Curlew-Stint and the Broad-

bilied Stint, from inland localities. By E. A.

TOM EM De Ue e ieric eRe ce ones erotics seats aecese

vii

PAGE

385

386

387

388

390

oul

oot

Sul

394

399

eie)t/

398

Sug

403

406

414

418

419

Vili

OGLE

XXV.

XXVI,.

XXVII.

XXVIII.

OE,

D.O.OG:

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX

partus locks, “By elk. suiveseyas.. 3 eereeene

A Mugger (Crocodilus porosus) with a broken

lower jaw.2e.by.C, He Biddulph... .c0e- sees:

Notes on the Pond Terrapin (Geoemyda t.

trijuga) in Salsette Island. By C. McCann.....

Notes on the breeding of the Rat-Snake or

Dhaman (Zamenis mucosus). By C. McCann..

Snake’s Method of Swallowing Prey. By F.N.

BCS oo ae eee wets le eee na ee as ete as ee ee

The Giant Wood Spider. By R. N. Champion-

JONGS: 2 iyo estas scatet mente eance cs thee te ncaces

Notes on the moulting process of the Spider

(Myrmarachne plataleotdes Camb). By G. C.

Bhattacharya. (Wdzth four text-f7gu76S)......00.

426

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF

VOLUME XXXIX

Nos. 1 and 2

PAGE

J. C. A.; Some Hog-hunting peculiar Habits of the spider

Reminiscences 2. 2165 (Marpissa melanognathus)

ABDULALI, HUMAYUN; See (With two plates) ... an

ALI, SALIM —- ; Notes on the

ACHARYA, HARI NARAYAN, moulting-process of the spider

F.Z.S.; Migration of Flam- (Mlyrmarachne — plataleoides

ingo (Phoenicopterus ruber Camb.) (With 4 text-

antiquorum) from North figures) oe ate

Gujerat jc2a|" iD DUPE. Eine Belsom——=

ALI, SALIM and Humavun Variation in colouration of

ABDULALIT; “Lhe Birds of the exposed part of the snout

Bombay and Salsette. Part I and tongue

(With a map and four SSS SS Hom Groth

plates) avs “He 83 in the Nilgai ae me

—— and WHISTLER, oo ea oo ey

HucH; The Ornithology of (Crocodilus palustris) with

Travancore and Cochin one foot missing ( Phofo)

Part VI (With one plate) oa =; The Small

Part VIL... 320 Green-billed Malkoha[ Rhopo-

AyvaAR, P. N. KrisHna; A dytes viridirosiris (Jerdon) }.

new Carton-buildinge species —; Young Ele-

of Ant in South India (Crema- phant killed bya Tiger (JZ

togaster dohrni artifex) (With text-figure) i34

four plates) . 291 —; Curious

—— RAMAKRISHNA, ie Nesting-sites of the Large

qT, Va, B.x., Php; Notes on Pied Wagtail [Motacilla

some Coccide (Homoptera lugubris maderaspatensis

Rhynchota) from South India. 146 (Gmel.)] oe

bDADES, Major R.S.P. *.Do Birds ——,; Number of

employ Ants to rid them- eges laid by the Indian

selves of Ectoparasites ? 394} Shikra [Astur badius dussu-

BEADNELL, C. B.; An albino miert (Temm. and Lang.)]...

Nilgiri Pipit (Authus nilghiri- —-; A mugger

€nS1S) : 174 (Crocodilus porosus) with a

Bers, Ey... Ne ; woired inion broken lower jaw de

mation about Heronries in BLATTER, The Late Rev. E.,S.J.,

South India ia LOS PID., F.L.S. + and Vereen

— ; Snakes’ method W.S., F.z.s. Some beautiful

of Peering Prey a. 424 Indjany Trees) Parte) XeXT,

BHATTACHARYA, Se cue

DRA ; Ona aton: of some

(With one coloured and two

black and white plates)

COND ITS CLOGS

PAGE

165

184

178

357

397

406

BRANDER, A. A. DUNBAR:

Ratels and Corpses

BurGEss, H. E. ; Eagles on aie

Nilgiris ry

Burton, Lt.-Col. R. W.: :

Whipsnade Zoo sae

Carus, 2 PS .014R Se ouhe

Medicinal and Poisonous

Aroids of India —-

- — ; The

Medicizal Spiderworts of

India eas re

CHAMPION, F. W.,_ I.F.S.3

Ratels and Corpses :

Are Hares unclean ani-

mals P oe

CHAMPION-JONES, N. The

Ceylon Hoopoe ( Upupa

epops ceylonensis Reichb.)

———-——_; The

Giant Wood Spider A

CHRISTOPHER, S. A.; ‘Tiger

smoked to death in a cave ...

—- ; “Tiger

Lore in Burma es

-_-_-——; A big

Buffalo head oa

D’ABREU, BE, A. ; Horn- reer

in Nilgai ee

>; On the Diet

of the Fish (A7zéfa rifa)

, F.zZ.S. Note

on the Sandpipers in the

Patna District, Bihar, record-

ine the ccctrrence of the

Avocet Sandpiper, the Cur-

lew Stint and the Broad-

billed Stint frem inland

localities ae ae

DaLaL, P. A.; Crow Assem-

blies see =

DESHPANDE, V. G., M. AG.,

ph.p.; Miscellaneous obser-

the Biology of

(Aleurodes

vations on

Aleurodidee

brassicae) oa wis

DRAKE, CARL J.; An unde-

scribed Tingitid from South

India

HATES, KR, FZ.S.4 MeB.0.U,

The Dicibuton and Nidifica-

PAGE

126

145

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

tion of the Greater Spotted

Eagle (Aguila clanga Pall.)

in Sind oes a

———-———; The Status of

the Koel [#udynamts scolo-

paceus (L.)] in Sind -

—; The Distribution

and Nidification of the Large

Indian Paroquet { Psittacula

cupatria nepalensis (Hodgs.) |

in Sind oy bas

EpIToRs ; Association between

a Leopard and a Tigress

; Companionship _ be-

tween different Animals

; Number of cubs in a

Tigress litter

; Porcupines, Shooting

of quills by

; Hares as unclean

animals

; White Bison

———-—; Horn-growth

Antelopes

——-—- ; Colour sense in Wild

Animals sles

; Breeding of the

Small-billed Malkoha

(Rhopodytes VIV1-

dirostris)

; Crocodile with ont

fore-leg missing

; The King Cobra’s nest

; An apology

; Sarus flocks

HOxs. UREV. GE An OLORRS

Notes on Murree Birds

FRASER, AG. Lb, 0M.» “Dhe

Snakes of Deolali. Part I.

(With two plates and two

text-figures) sia ie

—Partll. (With three plates

and I text-figure)

GHOUSUDDIN, M., Mm.Sc.; A

Preliminary Survey of the

Algal Flora of Hyderabad

(Deccan) ( With two

plates) ae om on

HALL, J. EE. y ‘Shootine Notes

for the Central Provinces

(With one plate)

PAGE

403

406

414

156

264

149

104

LIST-OF CONTRIBUTORS

ELORARs “SUNDER [sAL,° D.SC.,

F.R.S.E., FeL.S 3 F.Z:S:;

F.R.A.S.B., F.N.E.-; The Game

Fishes of India (W7th one

plate and 3 text-figures)

JONES, Hi. eA* Ciuckeo (GC.

canorus) incident a

Jongs, R. N. CHAMPION; An

Encounter with a Hamadryad

(VN. bungarus) ts

Kwan, IpTIKHAR ALI; Asso-

ciation between a Leopard

and a Tigress

; Horn-

PAGE

Wisya

185 |

155

growth as observed in Black

Buck and Nilgai (With a

photo) .

Kuanna, L. P.; On two rew

species of Anthoceros, Linn.

1753. from Southern Shan

States, Burma, with a compa-

rative chart of the dicecious

dark spored species of the

genus (With two plates)

Kim ; Do Porcupines shoot their

quills ? a fee

KINNEAR, N. B., M.B.O.U. 5

See Whistler, Hugh.

EIGHDROOT, G.S., 1:.P.3 Alt;

tudinal Range of the Ashy

Wood-Pigeon (Columba pul-

chricollis. Blyth) oe

LivESEY, T. R.; The Habits of

Vultures hae ies

————- ; Sarus flocks...

; The Burmese

Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis

merulinus querulus) :

LowTHER, E. H. N.; M.B.0.Uv.,

F.z.S.; Notes on some Indian

Birds (With six plates)

McCann, C.; Does the Giant

Wood Spider (Nephila

maculata) live more than one

season P

; Parental care and

cannibalism in Arachnids

; Observations on

the Grey Musk Shrew (Szwv-

cus ceruleus)

—* Notes

——— -___.

on the

170

116

i94

194

380

Pond Terrapin (Geemyda t.

trtjuga) in Salsette Island ...

McCann, C.; Notes on the

breeding of the Rat-Snake or

Dhaman (Zaments mucosus).

MILLARD W., 5.7 -F.Z.Ss = See

BLATTER, Rev. E.

DIONDHE ADE GA), Ate C.Se etd.)

Curious companionship —be-

tween Panther:and-a Wild

Boar ies sea

Morris, R. C.; Peculiar Beha-

viour of an Elephant ,

; White Bison...

; Ravages by

Tiger and incidence of Man-

eaters in North Coimbatore

between 1860 and 1880

; The Result of

excess poison for Wild Dogs.

; A very large

Sambar Stag sae

-~sGaur -‘Bulis

attacking a wounded Bull ...

MUSIIED, 2 .J.,1.8.5.; A. Hamas

dryad’s Nest and eggs

OBITUARIES :—

Phipson, Herbert Musgrave

(With one plate)...

Microy, A. J. W...:

HAMPSON, Sir GEORGE, Bt.

MUKERJI, Dev Dev. (1903-

37) ae me oa

O’DONELL, H. V.; The Indian

Cuckoo (Cuculus mm. microp-

terus) sas = an

OSMASTON, B. B., I.F.S. (Retd.);

Do Birds employ Ants to rid

themselves of Ictoparasites ?

PANIKKAR, N. KESAVA, M.A.,

M.Sc.; The Prawn Industry

PAGE

423

157

164

165

173

182

of the Malabar Coast (With |

three plates) : son

POCOCK ke ih H.7.Sae ole

Foxes of British India (Wzrh

three text-figures) ... is

= ee ee

Mongooses of British India

including Ceylon and Burma

(With two text-figures)

PRATER, 5. H.; Black Tigers.

343

xii LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

PRATER, S. H.; The Striped

Hyzena as a Man-eater

Reviews; Indian Science

Abstracts

————_— * Natural History ...

= es SSeEpenics #de

L’ Indochine

————-; Questions Agricoles.

SHARGA, U. S., PH.D., F.E.S. ;

Indian Roller or Blue Jay

(Coracias benghalensis) teed-

ing on a Scorpion ... nie

SHaw, G. E. and SHEBBEARE,

E. O.; Description of a new

species of Fish from Northern

Bengal (With one plate)

SwmitH, tH. C., 1.F.s., 4 Hama-

dryad’s (Naia bungarus) nest

and eggs (With a plate)

; See STAN-

FORD, J. K.

, Matcorm ; The Green

Pit-Viper (Zvimeresurus gra-

mineus ) ae

STANFORD, J. K., I.C.S., M.C.,

0.B.k.; On the breeding of

the Pied Harrier (Circus

melanoleucus) in Northern

Burma

- Some rare Birds in

Northern Burma

PACE

374

375

179

188

186

188

179

395

STANFORD, Jy K., 1.C.S:, M.C.,

OB. EH. sand “SMITH art. (Cs,

I.F.S.; ‘Nesting of the Indian

Crested Swift (AHemiprocne

coronata) in Upper Burma ...

SUBRAHMANYAM, T. V.; A

Dragon Fly preying on a

Spider :

Mating of the Spider Tetrag-

natha (With a sketch)

About Spider Collection ( W7th

one plate and 8 text-figures...

THoM, W. 8.; The Malayan

or Burmese Sambar (usa

unicolor equinus) (With a

plate) ais aes

Toocoop, “LUr-Cor. “C.G.;

Number of Cubs ina Tigress’

litter re eis

WHISTLER, HUGH, M.B.O.U.

and KINNEAR, Now- bi,

M.B.O.U. ; The Vernay

Scientific Survey of the East-

ern Ghats, Part XV faa

WHISTLER, HUGH; See ALI,

SALIM.

WILLIAMS, J.; White Bison in

South Coimbatore ... ie

Woop, H. A.; Colour sense in

Wild Animals

PAGE

125

190

366

309

Gye)

246

166

173

CUS IIS Mee Te AL TSS,

VOLUME XXXIX

Nos. 1 and 2

, PAGE

Some Beautiful Indian Trees—

Plate XXXI. The Padauk (Plerccarpus indicus) nee nls i

Plate XXXV. Flowering Spray of Plerocarpus indicus 2

Plate XXXVI. Padauk Tree (Plerocarpus indicus) [Ballard Herat

Bombay] eas ee wi ap ee

The Ornithology of Travancore and Cochin—

Plate (A) Nest of Great Indian Hornbill (Dichoceros bicornis). 21

Plate (B) Nest of Palm Swift (CyAsiurus p. batassiensis) in

fold of Palmyra leaf bat ne he ZI.

The Snakes of Deolali—

Plate I. Cobra (Naza naia) swallowing a Frog 73

Plate II. (1) Achis carinata (Schn.) The Saw Scaled vanes

showing the lower bowels loaded with earthy

matter ne a sa mas 76

(2) Bungarus ceruleus (Schn.) The Common

Krait. Showing earthy matter in the lower

bowels a ia 76

(3) Rhabdophis res Gant The Buffy-striped

Keelback. Showing the remains of an ingested

meal—the bony outline of a Lizard (?) ae 76

The Birds of Bombay and Salsette—

Plate J. Powai Lake, Salsette sa ie = 87

Plate Il. (1) View from Mullund Hills, looking east. (2)

drombay. Hill, p(oieres Ccorier of pl iicn sivake,

(4) Tulsi Lake with Borivli in the background ... 88

Plate III. (1) The Jungle Crow (Corvus m. culminatus).

(2) House Crows (Corvus s. sblendens) pilfering

from a fishwife’s basket ... 9]

Plate IV. (1) A Monitor Lizard descending Baines Bane

containing Myna’s Nest, Chembur, August 1927.

(2) Nest of Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma

S. SINCHSIS) ~~... ea é33 mae 97

Central Provinces, Shooting Notes for :--

Plate (1) Tiger, male 9:ft..8. in., Mandla 1936

Plate (2) Spotted Deer 35 in., Mandla, 1936 ... er 104

Indian Birds, Notes on sonie :—

Plate I. (1) Machan from which the first Crested Swift was

photographed

(2) Crested Swift’s nest Ses see gen SZ,

Plate II. Crested Swift Ses ae ye ss A193

Plate III. Crested Swift on nest on oy, Vo

Plate IV. Crested Swift—It appeared that he was wearing a

cape om age rae aus 120

Xiv VAST OF GCE AD EES

Plate Vv. Male Crested Swift feeding young Re

Plate VI. (1) Half-grown Crested Swift, (2) Crested Swift

brooding ea

Marpissa melanognathus

Plate I. Fig. 1.—The spider (7. melanognathus ©) stealthily

approaching a sitting fly from behind. Fig 2.—

M. melanognathus 2 seizing the fly :

Plate Il. Fig. 3.—The male spider courting the female prior

to mating

Fig. 4—The male (above) is caressing the female

(below) with raised forelegs

Preliminary Survey of the Aigal Flora of Hyderabad, eeceai

Plate I, Algal Flora of Hyderabad, ipgeeat

Plate Il. Algal Flora of Hyderabad, Dec:an

Phipson, Herbert Musgrave

Photo

Naia bangarus Plate. Nest and eggs aut aH evade ad

Pinte Glyptothorax horat

(Game Fishes of India

Plate Barilius (Opsarius) bola

Snakes of Deolali .

Plate Ill. DOryophis :nycterizans, Cervical, Thoracic and Dorsal

vertebree

Plate IV. fig. | Dipsadomorphus heniios nel. Domal coe ae

views of skull oe nag

fig 2. Dipsadomorphus ane. Ventral view of

skull

fig 3. Ptyas mucosus.Ventro- eral view 7 of skull

Plate V. Naia nata, Dissection of head La a

Carton-building species of Ant (Crematogaster dhorni artitexr}, Mayr.

Plate I. Carton-nest

Plate Il. fig. 1.—Queen ; RED —Male ; ee 3: wore major;

fig. 4.— Worker minor

Plate Ill. fig. 1.-Egg: fig. 2.—Queen larva; fig. "3. yorker

larva; fig. 4.—Queen pupa; fig. 5.--Male pupa ;

fig. 6.—Worker pupa

Plate IV. fig. 1.—Worker with bent abdomen; fig: 2. Deere

subnigrini cotygiz in nest of Cremuatogaster

dohrni artifex

Plate Rusa unicolor equinus

Prawn Industry of the Malabar Coast :—

Plate I, An Ovigerous female of Pulaeimon sp ...

Plate If. 1. Bund with sluice gate

2. Two boats tied together to support the net

between them

Plate lif; 1, The net raised

2. The net lowered...

Plate 1. Anthoceros me ggitti

Plate li, Anthoceros burmant

Plate Argyope and web...

143

144

149

150

152

186

189

301

ie POMEL OS PRATIONS

VOLUME XXXIX

Nos. 1 and 2

Algal Flcra

(Deccan) —

Pl figs sa 20

Pl. figs. 1-6

Anthoceros Lurmant, Pl.

———-—— meggitti, Pl.

Barilius (opsarius) bota, Pi.

fig. 1. Alimentary canal

and air-bladder

fig, 2. Pharyngeal bones

ard teeth or an

adult :

Pharyngeal ee

and. teeth of -a

young

Black Buck, Horn-growth

jake ;

Bombay and Salcolie! map i

islands of, and adjoining

mainland

Powai Lake, Salsette Pl.

Mullund Hills, looking east P1.,

CS ae ees ; ce a

Trombay Hil] (monsoon vege-

faction) Pl., ig. 2 ‘

Tulsi Lake G corner of) PL.,

MORO

of Hyderabad

Ao. 3.

, with Borivli Hills

in the background PI., fig. 4.

Bungarus ceruleusn

Pl., fig.2. Showing earthy

matter in the lower bowels.

Central Provinces,

Notes for :—-

ie io de

Shooting

Tiger male

Gt. oul,

Spotted Deer

Sorin

Chrysomma s. sinensts, Nest of.

Cor7cus m. culminatus, Pl.,

fio

splendens,

ioe 2.

iil)

-——- 5

fig. 2

specimen.

PAGE

209

104

PAGE

Crematogaster dohrni artifex—

Ele ta Caneon mest 292

Pipeline bigest, ~ Oucen

Higi.2: Male

Fie. 3. Worker

major

Fig.4. Worker

minor 297

Pio. Pics ds «Hoo

Fic. 2.) Queen larva

(full grown)

Pie. 3. Worker Jarva

(full grown)

Fig. 4. Queen Pupa

Fig. 5. Male Pupa

Fig. 6. Worker

Pupa 301

PAY) bio. la) Woo nice t

Ant with

bent ab-

domen

Fie. 2, Lepisma

subnigrvina

cotygiz in

nest of C.d.

artilex 305

Crecodilus palustris, fig. Photo

of Mugger with one _ foot

missing - Ses 184

porosus, Mitewed with

broken lower jaw we. 422

Cypsturus p. batassiensis, Pl.,

fig. 2. Nest weg te oA

Dichoceros-bicornis, P\., fig. 1.

Nest ae aan sae rt

LCHIS. COrINgia.. 2, Anis, 1;

showing lower bowels loaded

with earthy matter 76

Elephant pee) kilied oO a

Tiger 387

Gly ptothorax noe at,

and 2

Pl., figs. 1

189

XVI INDEX TO TELUS FRADIONS

PAGE | PAGE

Hemiprocne coronata, Myrmarachne platateoides,

P]. (1) Machan from which | Fig. 1. Enlarged photograph

the first Crested Swift was | of a sex-undeter-

seen, (2) Crested Swift’s nest. 117. mined spcimen,

Pl. Crested Swift lise) after the penulti-

Pl. Crested Swift on nest... To | mate moult 427

Pl. It appeared that he was Fig. 2. Enlarged photo-

wearing a cape 120 ergaph of the final

Pl. Male Crested Swift feed: ecdysis of) sthe

ing young 121 apparent female... 428

Pl. (1) Half-grown meee | Pig.3,. External <structure

Swift, (2) Crested Swift | of the pedipalp

brooding eee? of sex-undetermined

Mar pissa elanbenninue Bis specimen and adult

fig. 1. The spider stealthily female sade 20)

approaching a sitting fly Fig. 4. Enlarged photo-

from behind. graph of the second

fig. 2. Seizing the fly 143 stage offinalmoult. 439

Pl. fig. 3. The male Spider Naia bungarus, Pl. Nest and

courting the ergs den Ne ae, Oo

female prior to —- naia, Pl. swallowing a

- ae Frog bs 73

ee ne er ace | Phipson, Herbert Mes ce PL 152

ing the female s

clits ieee d fone: I ve Industry of the Malabar

legs hee a (eee, |

ee ae Pl. I. Anovigerous female

Mongooses of British India,

fig. 1-A. Skull of adult ¢ ae ECan ae ee

- : : Pl. 1. 1. Bund with sluice

Fler pestes javant-

: | gate

cus pallipes Dacre as Pantene

B. Skull of. adult 2 i :

Herpestes vo's-e ther to

edwardstt nyula Suppor eine MeL -

C. Skull of adult g | e ewe GE Bem @ oes

eT ee Pl. III. 1. The net raised

PiecUe 218 2. The net lower-

fig, 2-A. Skull of adult dg a ne a)

Flerbeskes. aia Pterocarpus indicus, Pl. 1

B. Skull of adult ¢ | Pl. (coloured) Spray }

Her pestes rate Pl. Flowering Spray 2

collis Pl. Tree (Ballard Estate,

C. First upper molar Bombay) Mesa: °

of ‘left side of Rhabdophis stolatus. Pl., fig. 3

_ Herpestes vitti- showing the remains of an

collis ingested meal ... 76

LD, The same of Rusa unicolor equinus, Pl. 309

Hlerpestes Sind, Sketch Map of 406

edwardstt nyula. 240 | Snakes of Deolali:—

Monitor Lizard descending Pl., Dryophis wmycterizans

Palmyra palm containing Cervical, Thoracic and

Myna’s nest 97 Dorsal Vertebrze 274

LIST OF PLATES

PAGE

Pl. (A) Dipsadomor phus bed-

domet, Skull (dorsal and

lateral view)

(B) Dipsadumorphus bed-

domezt Skull (ventral

view )

(ventro-lateral view). 280

Pl]. Nata naia, Dissection of

head ... sts a aI eZeS

Spider Collection :—

Pl. Argyope andits web... ~=— 366

Hic wie resid aa wae p OO7

Fig. 2. Argyopid 368 |

Fig. 3. Theridiid ... ... 368

XVil

PAGE

Fie. 4. ~“Pholcid oe ne. 30S

Fig.5. Oxyopid ae e300

Big, 6. Sparassid’ "2:5 eee See

Fig.7. Ant mimic Spider ... 369

Fig.8. TZetragnatha ae FOU

Tetragnatha, fig. mating of ... 197

Vulpes bengalensis, figs. B& C.

Skulls... Ss i me

Vulpes cana, fig. A skull eas D6

Vulpes territata,

Fig. A. Skull

Fig. B, Frontend of jaws ... 56

Vulfes vulpes montana,

Picw3, A. Skull of ad: -=.. 42

Fig. 3.C. Front endofjaws. 56

ERRATA

Vol. XXXIX, No. I

On Plate I facing page 73 ‘Photo by C. Diaz’ substitute

‘ Photo by C. Diaz; Radiograph by D.S. Nayler, 1.m.D.,’

Vol. XXXVIi, No. 3

On page 549 ‘Glangula hvyemalis’ swdbstztute ‘ Clangula

hyemalis,’

INDEX OF

PAGE

Accipiter nisus nisosimilis 330

virgatus besra doe

Aclerda japonica var. inermis 148

Acorus calamus 128

eramineus 130

Adelura czeruleicephala 256

AXgialitis jerdoni 202

A’githina tiphia humet .. 98

Aethiopsar fuscus 355

Aglaonema angustifolium 131

var. undula-

tum aes 131

Alcedo atthis taprobana 18

— - meninting 19

Alcemerops athertoni 7

Alcippe poiocephala brucei 98

Aleurodes brassicae 190

Alocasia denudata 131

indica 131

———--- macrotrhiza 132

——§ montana 132

—————— singaporensis spl

Alopex eckloni 55

Amorphophallus eee nee 132

pee wes PLAN 133

Anabaena spiroides a ee Holt)

Anadendrum montanum zvaz. longiros-

tris 133.

Aneilema beninense 361

— - conspicuum ... 36!

——-—— lineolatuim 3¢1

———--— nudiflorum 361

——-— ovato oblongum 361

-— scapiflorum ... 361

Anorthura neglecta a Mie - ODO

Anthoceros burmani 305,009,300.

——— —-- chambensis 359

——-—- chelvalieri sia)

——_——-- cucullatus ... 359

——— -—- curnowii 359

— - erectus 359

—_ ——.- faurianus ee 29

—— -—---- ferdinandi ... 359, 360

——— —— - koshyii 359

————-- lamellatus ... 359

———_——-- meg¢gitti 358, 359, 360

SPECIES

PAGE

Anthoceros minutus Sipe)

- miyakeanus 309, 360

—————_ -——- myriandroecius Siw)

—-——- parkinsonti wee 359, 360

— 7 = plehinchesis 359

- telaganus eae So vo ls)

— - weistii B00, 360

Anthropoides virgo 421

Anthus nilghiriensis 174

- trivialis 356

Antigone antigone 420

Antonina zonata 148

Aphanocapsa grevillei 149

Aquila clanga 403

nipalensis Sunes (O27

—-—~ pomarina hastata 328, 400

Arenaria interpres interpres 250

Argya caudata caudata... vO

Arisaema leschenaultii ... 135

-— speciosum 134

——-- -— Lorluostim 134

Asio flammeus flammeus 34

Aspidiotus latanic 146

me tamarindi . 146

———. foncysompnattia) é aurantii. 146

—_ (Pseudaonidia) _ trilobiti-

formis 147

Astur badius badius 334

aS dussumieri 406

——-- palumbarius oo7

———- trivirgatus trivirgatus 339

Athene brama brama 522

Barilius bakeri 203

— barila 203

———--—— barna 203

oo — bendilisis 203

————-— canarensis 203

———- — evezardi 203

-——_—-— gatensis 203

--——-— goha 202

———— guttatus 203

———— modestus 203

—— — radiolatus 203

——— shacra 203

——_——— tileo 203

——--— vagra 203

Barilius (Opsarius) bola

Batrachostomus moniliger

Baza jerdoni ceylonensis

- leuphotes leuphotes

Bos bubalis

—- gaurus

Bola goha ei

Bubo bubo beneales LSiS

Bufo melanostictus

Bungarus ceeruleus

Butastur teesa “ee

Buteo buteo burmanicus

- ferox

Buthus spp.

Caccabis chucar ae

Cacomantis ea us seeuinne

-— querulus

Calictis smithii

Calidris tenuirostris

Callacanthus burtoni

Callophis trimaculatus ...

Calocasia antiquorum ...

—- esculenta

Calotes versicolor te

Campophaga melanoschista ...

Canis bengalensis

— - chrysurus

—-—- corsac

—- eckloni

—- himalaicus

—— - kokree

—- vulpes

———- indicus

—-- montana

—- — rufescens

Capella gallinago gallinago

—~ media

——.- megala ...

nemoricola

~—solitaria ..

————-— stenira ...

Caprimulgus asiaticus Becae

indicus indicus ...

= ACTOUrUSsal Donotatus...

atripennis ...

monticolus monticolus...

————

Carduelis caniceps

Centropus bengalensis

sinensis parroti

Cephalopyrus flammiceps

Cercococcus ramakrishnee

64, 66, 73,

64,

Pe Viriel

PAGE

199, 204

336

301

391

203

320

268

331

334

70;

226,

G62

260, 420

261

262

250

260

261

INDEX OF SPECIES

Ceronema kcebeli es

Ceryle rudis travancoreensis ...

Cey x erithaca

Cheetura giganteus imeiee

Chaimarrornis leucocephalus

Chalcophaps indica indica

——— -——--— robinsoni

Charadrius alexandrinus

—— seebohmi

cantianus minutus

———- —— dubius jerdoni

-———-—— fulvus

a Ce anus

-—_——--—— himantopus

leschenaultii

malabaricus

melanops

mongolus atrifrons

placidus

- russatus

Charionia flavigula

Chelidon kashmiriensis

— urbica

(Chettusia gregaria

Chlidonias hybrida indica

-————— leucopareia leggei

Chloropsis aurifrons frontalis

-———_——— jerdoni

Chrooccccus giganteus

turgidus

Chrysomma sinensis sinensis ...

Circaétus ferox af a

Circus ceruginosus ceruginosus

—— cyaneus

macrourus

—-— melanoleucus

-———— pygargus :

Clamator coromandus ...

———— jacobinus jacobinus...

Clathracystis eruginosa

Collocalia fuciphaga unicolor.,

Coluber helena 64, 66, 70,

Columba elphinstonii

—— livia intermedia

—- pulehricollis

Commelina benghalensis

——- nudiflora

- obliqua

——————- salicifolia ...

-——- suffruticosa

Coracias benghalensis ...

—— =

———_

73,

88,

179,

268,

INDEX OF SPECIES . xxi

PAGE

Coracias bengbalensis indica ... Ss 13

Corvus macrorhyrchts culminatus ... oil

- splendens splendens ... oe vl

Coryllis vernalis rubropygius ... si 12

Crematogaster antlericina 296

pa = TCOULEMIta ‘ae 2810)

——_———-- dohrni artifex 291, 296

———_ ———--. ebeninus 296

———_-———-- hova ve 266

———-————- nceonspcua .. coo

——— ———- kerbyi ... oe re 200

———_—-—- - lincolata 296

—__———- marginata:... eo ALS

——__———_- montezumia _... oe 286

—_ ——-- opaciceps oe fe 200

———- ————-— peringueyi 296

——-——-— - ramulinida ... eee oO

—_ ———-- ranavalonz 296

———- —— — rogenhoferl 296

—— ——- rothneyi 296

—_—- ————- schencki 27 ie ABI)

—— -———- sholli. ... ae ee 206

--—— ——- stadelmanni ... 296

——— ——— - subnuda oe an 200

—— -— - suicata ... 296

—-— ———- tricolor ... es .. 296

Crocethia alba ... she rs eZ

Crocodilus palustris ope Oe

porosus 184, 421

Crocopus phoenicopterus chignene en oso

Crcssarchus rubiginosus Tee ete)

Croton oblongifolium ..,, ae as | ID)

Cryptocoryne spiralis... ar sere) 80

Cryptolopha xanthoschista Soe ee)

Cuculus canorus eee Oe iin OOr

————- micropterus micropterus ... 3, 175

— saturatus Bes ey ee ero!

Cyanops asiatica ae on ie ood

Cyanotis axillaris re ts eee 2108)

~ tuberosa ee 365

Cylindrospermum stagnale ... . 150

Cynictis maccarthize . 234

Cyprinus barila ... Le a oy UE

——--—— barna ... om Se we, 20

——-— bendilisis oe se te OE

——_-—— bola ... re ae Bene Ac

——- chedra oes ae . 20]

——-—- chedrio eh et Tee 402

——-—- cocsa ... ae bee was “ZO

—————— Ona ... os ie ie CO

-—————- shacra oe ae soe. COL

PAGE

Cyprinus tila fs ae oe .. 201

——_——-tileo ... vad oe ven 2OIT

a VENI cg a a eee ZU

Cypselus melba ... sa ae eee ony)

Cypsiurus parvus batassiensis bie 26

Delichon cashmeriensis 396

— nipalensis 396

Dendrocitta bavleyi 183

ee a ie in. COs

- Heoabenee vawabunde as 93

Dendrocopus auriceps ... 356

Dendrophassa bicincta subsp BPO

—-- pompadora affinis 336

Dichoceros bicornis te _ we ol

Dicrurus ater . 4850

Dipsadomorphus peddomel 64, 269

————--- trigonatus ... 64, 66, 67,

POW 1D, 72; (0). 175-198 200, 27 E

Distira cyanocincta 154

Dryonastes ceerulatus ... : see 2 Os

Dryophis mycterizans 64, 66, 268, 271

Ducula badia cuprea 337

Dumetia hyperythra albogularis “~ 95

Echiscarinata .., 64, 66, 73, 76, 269, 270

Elanus ceeruleus vociferus 332

Elscyornis melanops... re ed

Emberiza stewarti a ie Too

Enicurus maculatus ooo

Epipremnum giganteum 1S)

mirabile ... mT a 135

Erolia alpina alpina 420

——.-- minuta minuta 257, 420

——-- temminckii 257, 420

-- testacea 258, 420

Eryx conicus 64, 66, 73, 6, 79; 208, 2/ |

Eurystc mus oriei talis ... “ne Ses 14

Eudynamis scolopaceus scolo-

paceus 6, 91, 406

Falco jugger : ssn O20

——- peregrinus enane 326, 403

———- ———--—— peregrinator 326, 403

—~-—— severus rufipedoides ... ew 0

-- tinnunculus objurgatus POL!

Ha -——- tinnunculus 327

Felis jubata 384

- tigris 382

Floscopa scandens 365

Franklinia Be: sae wat en i)

Gallinago megaia 262

—- nemoricola 259

———- solitaria 260

xxii * YNDEX.OF SPECIES

PAGE

Garrulus lanceolatus ... Ka wit 2854

Gecinus occipitalis i ce: auto)

Gelochelidon nilotica ... Bs w= 248

Genneeus albicristatus .... BE ching ass ois

Geceiny dat. trjuga ~~ *.. 3 a a) 423

Glaucidium brodiei a ae Pah oe)

--———.- cuculoides ... ie me OOe

- - radiatum malabaricum ... 323

Gloeocapsa aeruginosa ... aoe aD

Glottis nebularia es tee ee, 19

Glyptothorax horai a ve ate 188

Gulo urva. ) ve ae come em’,

Gypaétus parma: bis He ome Sy)

Gyps fatlvescens fulvescens -.. seat) bee

- indicus indicus ... ee Gen. OZOe!

Haematopus ostralegus on an Sao

Heematornis cheela melanotis ae (O00

Halcyon pileata ... Bis ae a Zi

—-- smyrnensis fusca ‘s ae 20

Haliaétus leucogaster ... re ae OO!

Haliastur indus indus ... ~ tee SOL

Harpactes fasciatus malebarien ar 24

Hemichelidon sibirica ... ee ss GOD

Hemiprocne coronata ... ty) 20, 116, 126

Herpestes andersoni_... i “|e

—— -———- auropunctatus ee eae ene eZ

——-——-- birmanicus ... on i LAS

—— --—— ceylanicus ... aa ee tae

——--—— edwardsii_... ve ee ek Fe)

——_—-—_-—-- carnaticus me Ole

edwardsii, 214, 222, 225

—— —_ -—- -— ——- ferruginius. 217 e237

ee ee ee lankae se 224,225

OS ES ce nyula: ,,. eee ZA

——-~-—— ellioti... ca a BL A6)

-_— —---—. flavidens ceylanicus KIA D8.

———- —____ ——.- maccarthie. 2soeZoe

—_-——.-—_---—— philipsii ... A 232

———_——_— -—_-—- siccatus ... nae (LO

—_—— --—— frederici sion ae ore ZO

———--——— fulvescens _... cee dee F252

——~--——-- fuscus flavidens ... 231, 239

> — fuscus is. 230, 239

— ——--— maccarthie. 234, 239

—_———__ -——- rubidior ... 23052350

sit -— Siccatus: ... coy eae

——--——- griseus es ze 223, 224

———— ——_ ——-———. montanus ree 4)

——— -—— javanicus ... eee)

(ne — Sop Hae aie 241,

244, 245

Herpestes javanicus birmanicus

———-- —___ —_—_—— pallipes.

--——--—— jerdoni

lanka

malaccensis

monticolus .

-———-- -— mungo

———.-——— nepalensis

persicus

pondiceriana

rubiginosus

—- -———_ smithii

——_____ =

carens

So ee SUS Anus

———— LOrguanus

a a UT re

————— —— annamensis ...

formosanus ...

——— $=

— - —- sinensis

—— - vitticollis

Heteropoda venatoria

Hieraaétus fasciatus

emma Abus

Hierococcyx varius

Himantopus himantopus

Homalomena aromatica

——-— - ------ ovata

—-—- -———— rubescens

Hormisdas vicarius

Huhua nipalensis nipalensis

Hydrocissa coronata

Hydrophasianus chirurgus

Hydrophis phipsoni

Hydroprocne caspia caspia

Hypacanthis spiroides

Hypocolius ampelinus..,

Hypopicus hyperythrus

Ianthia rufilata

Icerya pilosa

—-—— purchasi ...

Ichneumon javanicus

Ichthyophaga ichthyaétus

Ictinaétus malayensis perniger.

Indicapus sylvaticus

lora zeylonica

Isometrus phipsoni

Ketupa zeylonensis eeenene tilt

Lagenandra ovata

——— ——— zeylanius .::

fasciatus

244,

242, cae

226,

237,

88,

328,

AGE

“243,

245

226

224

223

226

213

241

242

222

228

226

228

226

239

237

23/

237

239

195

INDEX OF SPECIES

PAGE

Lagenandra toxicaria 136

Lanius s. erythronotus... 1/7

Larus affinis 247

-_—~ brunnicephalus 246

-——- cachinnans 247

——-- hemprichii 247

=——- ichthyaétus 246

——- leucophaeus by 247

2 = sidibundus ridibundus .... 246

Lasia aculeata 136

——- heterophylla 136

Leander styliferus 345

Lecanium latioperculum 148

-—— marsupiate 147

Lepidosaphis beckii 147

- ——-— cornutus .. : reed ee ed

— -——- hawa‘ensis, vay. indica. | 147

Lepisnia cotygii ... 307

—- subnigrina 307

Leucaspis riccze 146

Leuciscus salmoides 202

Leucopolius alexandrinus 290

—_—_—-- ——— leggei 25]

Limicola falcinella 258

—-— sibirica 420

Limnodromus semipalmatus ... see a5

Limosa limosa ee 250,419

-- lapponica 419

— melanuroides 419

Lioptila capistrata 354

Lobipes lobatus .. a 258

Lobipluvia malabarica ... 253

Lobivanellus aigneri 253 |

= —— indicus indicus ... 253 |i

Lophophanes melanolophus .. 354 |

Lophotriorchis kienerii 32801)

Lycodon aulicus, 79, |

Bl coe 2/14)

Lymnocryptes minimus 263

Lyncornis macrotis bourdilloni a2

Lyngbya aerugineo caerulea 150 |

— ochracea ; 150 |

Machlolophus xanthogenys Oa

Macropisthodon plumbicolor. 64, 66, 67,

69, 70-73, 74,.77, 79, 268,270 |

Macrorhamphus semipalmatus 259

Malacocercus somervillei 94 |

Mangusta auropunctata 241

—~- pallipes a 242

= (Herpestes)-nyula «.. 214

eee melanognathus 142

64, €6, 73, 75, 77, 78,

xxiii

PAGE

Megalornis grus : 421

Merismopedia elegans ... 149

Merops leschenaulti ieechenatalG 16

- orientalis orientalis 16S)

—-.superciliosus javanicus 15

Merula castanea 356

————- atrigularis 356

Mesobema cancrivora 23/

Metaponia pusilla ud0

Micropus affinis : 25

-- — melba bakeri ... 25

Milvus migrans govinda Sey

Molpastes cafer cafer 100

———--— intermedius ... 354

—_———-— leucogenys : 354

-— leucogenys leucotis 100

Momordica charantia tog

Monanthia cheriani 145

Motacilla hodgsoni 356

- lugubris Waiclenae NAten Sige 397

_——-—_ —-- Ste es ane 356

———— —- personata ve 356

Mungos auropunctatus adrepunctalie 241

——__— —-—— —-- helvus 243

—— —-- pallipes 243

-—- —— - ferrugineus 217

——-——-- lanka ee 224

——_—- mungo : 2b 223

—_—__-—- ellioti... me eee

—— —__- ——-— moerens 214, 219

—-—- mungo 214

| ———-—_—-- pallens 217

Muscadivora erea pusilla 338

Myrmarachne plataleoides ... 426

Naia bungarus 185, 186

Naia var. czeca 64, 73, 269

tripudians 66, 67, 259

Nephila maculata 194, 196, 370, 425

. Neophron percnopterus ginginianus... 325

Nerodia piscator. 64, 66, 70, 73, 76,77, 80,

268, 269

Ninox scutulata hirsuta 323

Nisaétus cirrhatus ceylonensis 329

anne —- cirrhatus ... 6N)

— nipalensis kelaarti 329

Nostoc commune 150

Novius cardinalis 148

Numenius arquata 254

-———- orientalis 419

—_———- phaeopus phaeopus 254

Nyroca marila marila 397

XXiV

INDEX OF SPECIES

PAGE ,

Oligodon arnensis 64, 68, 268, 271

——-— teuiolatus ... 64, 66, 77, 78, 268,

274

Orychogale maccarth‘z Svea oOo

Opsarius gracilis 202

— megastomus 202

Oreicola ferrea 355

Oreocincla dauma 3°96

—— imollissima ... 396

Oriolus kundo 355

Oscillatoria limosa 158

-—-— — princeps 150

——.- tenius ; 150

Otocompsa jocosa Riecioauaats 109

Otus bakkamoena bakkamoena 32]

sunia rufipennis 322

Paleemon carcinus 345

— —- dol‘chodactylus 346

——— -—— idae 246

- ——~-— Jamarrei 346

———.—- malcolmsoni... 346

———- rudis 346

——-—- scabriculus 346

—- sulcatus 345

Paleecrnis schisticeps Shor)

Palamnaeus spp. 194

Pa'umbus casictis 30/

Pandion haliaétus haliaétus 324

Paralatoria blanchardi... 147

——- mangifere... 147

——- proteus 147

Parapenaeopsis stylifera 345

Parus major mahrattarum 94

Pellorreum ruficeps ruficeps 97

Penaeopsis dobsoni 245

-— -—— lysianessa 345

—— monoceros .. 345

Penaeus carinatus 345

= indicus : 345

semisuleatus ... 345

Penthoceryx sonneratisonnerati ... S)

Pernis ptilorhynchus ruficollis he )o

Peucetia viridana te rey!

Pnhilomachus pugnax 2957, 420

Phoenicophaus Do oceonee a 7

Phoeuicopterus ruber antiquorum 182

Phyllornis jerdoni 99

Phrynicus phipsoni 154

Picumnus innominatus 357

Pinnaspis marchali 146

Pistia stratiotes ,.. ; 137

PAGE

Playstes flavidus... 371

Plesmonium margaritiferum ... 138

Pluvialis dominicus fulva Ses? Ree

Polyodontophis collaris 60, 64, 269

_ --——- subpunctatus 60, €4, 66, 268

Pomatcrhinus horsfieldi horsfieldi 95

_ = obseurusm.. 95

a a travarcore-

ensis 95

oa - ochraceiceps 395

Pothos cathcartii... 138

scandens ... Fe a 138

a = JO eCoonatts 138

Pratincola maura 355

Propasser grandis 356

Prunella immaculata 396

Pseudantonina imperata 148

———- rigida 148

Pseudococcus (Ferrisia) virgatus 148

Pseudogyps bengalensis 325

Psittacula columboides : 11

—— ——-cyanocephala Spaorcnnall 10

-——~--——. eupatria eupatria 10

——. —— — nepalensis 414

—— -—— krameri manillensis 10

Pterocarpus indicus it

Pteruthius erythropterus 354

Ptyas mucosus 64, 66, 70, 73, 80, "268, 2/1

Pulvinaria durante 147

—— max'ma 147

-— psidii 147

Pycnor otus hemorthous 100

—- luteolus luteolus ... 100

Pyrihula aurantiaca ae ss. ADO

Python molturus-.:. 64, 66, 81, 268

Raiamas bola Fe 203

Rallus aquaticus indicus 397

Ramphalcyon capensis gurial 19

Rana tigrina igs 380

Recurvirostra avosetta... 254

Regulus cristatus 355

Remusatia vivipara ee rer ee! 10)

Rhabdophis stolatus 64, 66, 268, 270

Rhagodes phipsoni 154

Rhaphidophora pertusa 139

Rhipidura albifrontata... Gi Oo

Rhopodytes viridirostris aie iis’

Khynchops albicollis 250

Rhynchota spp. ... 183

Ripersia oryzce 148

Rita pitas... os aaa 189

INDEX OF SPECIES KEV

PAGE PAGE

Rusa unicolor .... a Late ... 390) Strix indranee indranee re ae Sie)

ee - equinus ... ses .. 309 | ——-ocellata ... 2 oe: i 35

Ruticilla erythronota ... * .» 355 |! Suncus coeruleus... es Ae .. ~=—3580

— frontalis see vee - 355 | Surniculus lugubris lugubris ... a 5

Sarcogyps calvus aa a .. 324] Synantherias sylvatica .. 140

Sauromatum guttatum e .. 139) Taccocua leschenaultii lesenewacitiee 7

Sauropatis chloris vidali oe a 21 | Terekia cinerea... 0... ee 255, 419

Saxicola t. indica vee vee 176 | Terpsiphone paradisi ... oF ae 25350

Scindapsus hederacea ... a eae 139 | Testudo elegans ... wa a ae, “428

—-—— Officinalis ... ee .. $399 | Tetragnatha sp. <a ae sae 197

—— pertusus ... a .. 139 | Thalasseus bengalensis Se 24s

Scolopax arquata ae we -.. 254 Tockus gingalensis - a ae 23

—- cinerea ae see a 200 — -OTISeUS ... ae oe oe 22

EC CILODUS sc. ves ... 256 | Totanus stagnatilis Se ant 255, 419

eens cinellus 2... == 4. = 258 | Tolypothrix sp, ws - 4. ee 150

ease callinago |. ... + a 260) Tringa alba Pee a ee oe

== —- ]imosa... sat ant Mee 9255 - erythropus es ee 256, 419

oe IWMNCMIA «1; ne. wy “ulate “200 - glareola... ne sas 256, 419

———- minima ae vee oe 209) | eee hypoleucos wee 3.5 256, 419

sae Nebilaria -... ne ve 257 -indica ... a Be sc 208

jo=- 7. Phaecopus ve ve ZOU ANG eee interpres ae ae ee cou

———-—- rusticola wae oe i o20o nt = lobata .. _ . .. 258

———- stenura isis see vere 261 ipa) a ais aA Rats 257

———- testacea oo ve + 258) __.__. nebularia sae ~ ger 257

—- totanus = a - 256 - ochropus of sce 255, 419

Scolopendra spp. ef ve we 195 | ____- puenax... Sy ee 257

Scytonema mirabile ... i cies OUr aS stagnatilis = - we ~=6 255

Silybura phipsoni aa i fea IS - squatarola us ee . 250

Sitta kashmirensis oe ne »» 300] ~~. temminckii “A ye OST

Sass leucopsis iiss ites ster fans 395 -totanus ... oe ee Zo6,; 419

Solenopsis geminata... = -- 143 | Trimeresurus gramineus - .. 188

Sphenocercus sphenurus oS ee dos stejnegeri... ast .. 188

Sphenocichla roberti... 5 “SUD Trionymus sacchari... .. 148

Spirulina major... vee ve +» 149) Trochalopterum ar iocepheuin .. 183

-—- turfosa we -» 149 ————- nigrimentum me lis

Squatarola squatarola squatarola .. 290] Turdoides somervillei somervillei ... 94

Sterna albifrons we oes - 249] Turdus dissimilis ae Pes “~. 396

antarctica oe oe me 250 — merula albocirctus ... ae 309

—— aurautia ... Be a - 248 Turtur ferrago ... a de am OY,

——-benghalensis_... ae ... 248] Typhlops braminus 64, 66, 73, 76, 266, 268

——easpia ww se = 247 | Typhonium trilobatum m . 140

hirundo ... sate = ... 249 | Tyto alba stertens ee En 34

korustes ... ves ee Seve = 24d) longimembris lone racer 34

ce leucoptera os a 247 | Upupa epops ceylonensis a 23, 418

aoe melanogaster... os oo edo epops ae is 23, 357

= Hulotica: i. ae oe es 248 | Urva cancrivora a ve ay 627,

—Tepressa ... : e249 -hanensis.... tee aa pet On

Streptopelia chinensis caylone vais me ot) |) * Viperarrusselli: <;.. ... 64, 66, 81, 269, 270

——-- - ———— suratensis a O40! i Viralvarindica. er ee die, DH

i= Gecaccto decaoccto eo Oko Na pesos., s.c oe bes ae se 37

fas senegalensis cambayensis 341 | ———~ —alopex - ©... Pe ae — 38

Vulpes bengalensis

- beringiana

cana

var. nigricans

ferrilata ..

_——- flavescens

——- griffithil ...

- hodgsoni

——- ladacensis

- leucopus...

~-__——- nepalensis

—— -

——

INDEX OF SPECIES

PAGE

es, 44

ERS 5)

ios 54

Eos Mey

sea Opa

.. 41, 43

re 49

sts oh,

. 44, 45

cis iwsis)

Vulpes persica

- splendens

- vulpes

———-- ——-— montana

———— - ——— pusilla

waddelli

xanthura

Zamenuis fasciolatus

—— imucosus

griffithii

64, 65, 66, 67, 70, 268

PAGE

ne 38

; io eae

38, 39, 45,155; 56

45, 48, 52

38539; 57

423

THE

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_H. M. MCGUSTY, S. H. PRATER, M.L.C., C.M.Z.S.,

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CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX, No. 1.

PAGE

Somer BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES. (Part XXI). By the late E. Blatter,

S.J., Ph.D, F.L.S., and W. S. Millard, F.z.s. (Wuth one coloured

plate and two black and white plates)... RM eats OM See uiboses tas eaces 1

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN. Part VI. BY Salim

Ali, with notes by H. Whistler. (Wzth one plate)... ied? 3

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA. By R. I. Pocock, F.R. s. "(With ne

BSED ENG TIP AS OL SE CORE OBR O RSI te eT EEE ERE OE ee oy ae 36

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI. PartlI. By A. G.L. Fraser,I.m.p. (With

ETOMPUCLESMOIG TS LORD LUO LEF-CS)) sis vicbseliceis «ciao tevcniews Jes ia fiecincc't 0 sis vase eccnediens 58

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE. Part I. By Salim Ali and

Humayun Abdulali. (W2th a map and four plates) .....cccccccreeececeees 83

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES. ee J. E. Hall. (With

Gr PUGLE) aecremosncnscbaetnkte Peer ecas 500k otro vidad Sheen aete reve e Aarons aid saewieses eis 104

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN Birps. By E. H. N. Lowther, M.B.O U., F.z. ich

MGUIZTEI OM PUALCS rans tote caine 2 to ahdn, oe aue v htuaiekas sake aleeetes soe Ges cenasneselietaeeteces 116

THE NESTING OF THE INDIAN CRESTED SwiFt (Hemtprocne coronata)

IN UPPER BURMA. By J. K. Stanford, I.c.s., and H. C. Smith,

MEAS NET cee crate PINON Pte sonle eh cha tbslakicai ea Dok ia tae's/S ecleiedls opisiaae Hib. valet cueelees 125

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA. By. F. Caius,

SHIP E ioe Schticet ere swits ase visas Se esign ececieies icine geemneean veainaw les Seliscwlsvsseles okeeceee 127

OBSERVATIONS OF SOME PECULIAR HABITS OF THE SPIDER (Mar pissa

melanognathus.) By Dr. Gopal Chandra ee Cree

EU OMBUON CS) ABET aati tciscc scenes soc Aeusate cats ees Wbidt doa coeene ad neths casibc sy Bae vas 142

AN UNDESCRIBED TINGITID FROM SOUTH INDIA. By C. J. Drake......... 145

NoTEs ON Coccipz (Homoptera rhynchota) FROM SOUTH INDIA. By

Raoe Sahib Dr: im. Vo Ramakrishn Ayyar, B:A., PH. Di..cc.s...ccercesee 146

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE ALGAL FLORA OF HYDERABAD

(Deccan). PartI. By M. Ghousuddin, M.sc. (With two plates). 149

REVIEW :—

HCAS CHEIICE tA StTa CCS ls. ccliddes 2 idce _ aébces scdioc Soe auclewisaeeseeson tes 151

OBITUARY :—

Tee Vl ol PSO Nemes! ses coe leoeciis Pr omy Coe aT Birede ape scahoven'scrs 152

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

I.—Association between a Leopard and a Tigress. By Iftikhar

Pe hOINeMan ests sak thats she otactc te ss, sensed oer eee ae ccbahwew rossi’ sates 155

II.—Curious companionship between Panther and Wild Boar.

By J: Monteath, 1.C.S.......% anna ace ai ctataeae eeue eres dees os syst 157

I1f.—Number of Cubs in a Oke ine litter. ee bte-Col: C..G.

Toogood, D.Ss.o. maeeer sete: és i sccc S08

1V.—Ratels and end “By F. W. Chaniaioe, TEES. se, gees eyes, © LOG

V.—Ratels and Corpses. By A. A. Dunbar Brandert................. 161

VI.—Do Porcupines shoot their quills? By KIM.u...............0c0008 162

Vil.—Are Hares unclean animals? By F. W. Champion, 1I.F.s.... 163

VIII.—Peculiar behaviour of an Elephant. By R.C. Morris, F.z.s. 164

IX.—Bison—Variation in colouration of the exposed part of the

SHoutand: Tongue. “By Ce Hi. Biddulpb..2.........ce0ssssens 165

Me NWVihites Bison. By Rs-Ce MOPS, FiZsSiisvisvseccecesssvenseeccsses sce 165

XI,—White Bison in South Coimbatore, By J. Williams.......... se © E66

ii CONTENTS OF. Vok- XXX7T Xx. Now

XI1.—Some Hoghunting Reminiscences. - By J. C. A...5..5.50..0088

XIiI.—Horn growth as observed in Black Buck and Nilgai. By

Iftikhar Ali Khans-* (W427 @: P0106) <2. 00 ests tcciaceansen ec

Horn Growth in the Nilgai. By C.*H. Biddulph................

| Horn Growth in Nilgai. By E. A. D’Abretu..... . sees

XIV.—Colour sense in wild animals. By H. A. Wood....0......ce000

“V.——Crow assemblies... -ByePa An Dalal cer itewerese rs. tesmensessenees

XVI.—An Albino Nilgiri Pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis Sharpe). By

CoB. Beadnelles iiss geet ccecactceseai meee mind saat tescacuetnoet ces

XVII.—The Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus m. micropterus Gould). By

Bi Vir @? DO lives Sead oss ccc cers cose aren Ge careass oe eta tec ris eaves

XVIIL—A Cuckoo (C. canorus Linn.) incident. By H. Jones.:........

XIX.—The Burmese Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus

WILCVILLUS FACING) <- @BY WE eae VCC yan -nisstoeceraccrcsesoses

XX.—The Small Green-billed Malkoha (Rha sintes viriat-

‘““yosiris) Jerdon. "By C..ABiddulpha. 4. czsc.cc0 cae:

XXI.—Indian Roller or Blue Jay (Coractas benghalensis Linn.)

feeding on a Scorpion. By U.S. Sharga, Ph.p., F.E.S...

XXII],.—On the breeding of the Pied Harrier ( Circus melanoleucus

Pennant) in Northern Burma. By J. K. Stanford .........

XXIIL.—Altitudinal Range of the. Ashy Wood Pigeon (Columba

pulchricollis Blyth). By G.S. Lightfoot cane le cute aceesean

XXIV.— Migration of Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber Pi pire ne

Temm.) from North Gujerat. By Hari Narayan Acha-

LY, F.Z.S.. cee cecccsecseeeseveccteeeeseeneersenseeseneccsseseeseneeeeenees

XXV.—Do Birds employ ants to rid themselves of ectoparasites.

By Bee. Osiiaston Tis. (CRCtC eerie cairsnesacdaree sees

XXVI.—Wanted information about Heronries in South India. By

We Ni, Bettsiis tsocctena wactecat ieccn taceeman toe eats eoneaee naan ta

XXVII—A Mugger (Crocodilus pas) with one foot missing. By

C. H. Biddulph. (W2t#t @.Pplolo) 60.7 iis. cn ccecae see fees eo

XXVI[I.—An Encounter with a Hamadryad (Naza’ bungarus). By

R. N» Champion J OneSicsiiscccs.s:ssecaeoo-teresceianee success,

XXIX.—A Hamadryad’s (Vata bungarus) nest and eggs. H.C. Smith,

THiS. (WAG DIGLE) cs orice taeneesteecceneee est ee eee aca et

XXX.—The Green -Pitt ye CLT een Cours Eeceuiaar By- Dr.

Malcolm Smith.. sees - Mons aean Seaside donee eiser tes

XXXIJI.— Description of a new species of fish from Nnnonn et

By G. E. Shaw and E. O. Shebbeare. (Witha plate)...

XXXII.—On the diet of the fish rita rita. By E. A. D’Abreu..........

XXXIII.—A Dragonfly preying upon a Spider. Sl ARE eye hover ae

paar ais 2200 SURE PA PARE rn ence ste tour bu wdonupiencade wsontiary ince

XXXIV.—Miscellaneous observations on the Biology of Aleurodidae

(Aleurodes brassicae). By V. G. Deshpaide.............

XXXV.—Does the Giant Wood Spider (Nephila maculata) live more

than-one-season.., By C..MeCann, esi iat fue aecuecaesoss

XXXVI.—Parental care*and cannibalism in Arachnids. By C.

MeCamitvicscst.coca ts eras Bir RBar tnd cach 5 oss coun cee

XXXVII.--Mating of the Spider Tetragnatha. By T. V. Subrahmanyam,

179

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180

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Journ. Bompay Nar. Hist. Soc. Prare aly

John Bale, Sons & Danielsson. Lt London

THE PADAUK.

Pterocarpus indicus, Willd.

(about 43°93 nat. size)

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society.

Dec. 19386. Vout. XXXIX. No. 1.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES.

THE LATE Ei. BLATTER, s.J., Ph.D., F.L.S.,

and W. 8. MILLARD, F.Z.S.

Part XXI.

(With one coloured plate and two black-and-white plates).

(Continued from page 417 of volume xxxviii).

THE PADAUK.

Popular Names: Padauk (Burma); Padauk (Malay).

Though commonly referred to as the Padauk in towns and

stations, this is not the true Padauk of Burma which is Ptero-

carpus macrocarpus Kurz.

Pterocarpus indicus Willd. ed. sp. ii, 904. Belongs to the

family Leguminosae. The generic name derived from the Greek

means winged fruit, and refers to the condition of the pods

produced by trees of the genus.

Description: The tree grows to a height of 50 ft. It has a

straight trunk with smooth olive-coloured bark and a wide crown

of dark green foliage and wavy drooping branches. The branches

are few and tend to form low on the comparatively short bole.

The leaves 8-10 in. long grow alternately on the branches. Each

leaf is composed of 8-10 leaflets arranged alternately on the stalk.

The leaflets are from 3-4 in. long and 2-24 in. broad. They are

glossed on both sides, oval, with smooth margins and notched at

the apex, their stalks smooth, slightly channelled and fiexuous.

Karly in the rains the tree is covered with clusters of fragrant

deep orange or yellow flowers. They grow in single or compound

racemes from the joints of the branchlets while single racemes

form a much larger panicle at the ends of the branchlets. The

flower has a short five-toothed calyx, the two upper lobes being

larger than the rest. The petals comprise an erect, wrinkled, claw-

like banner petal flanked by two curly wing petals of the same

colour and two smaller, paler and less curly keel petals. The

ten stamens are united to form two equal bunches of five, capped

JAN 26 1937

2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

by small, two-lobed deep yellow anthers, the style is shorter than

the stamens and the stigma acute. The pod is 1-2 in. in diameter.

It is round and wrinkled, very tough and woody, its central part

containing one, rarely two brown smooth and shining seeds.

Flowering and fruiting: The flowers appear in two or three

separate flushes early in the rainy season, about May to July and

the pods ripen in the cold season, about January and February

(Troup). ne as Toe )

Mr, R. H. Macaulay of Wallace Bros. & Co. (Bombay-Burma

Trading Corporation), writes as follows: ‘The peculiarity of the

tree is that all the Padauk trees burst into flower on the same

day. If I saw a Padauk in flower in the bungalow compound, I

was sure to see Padauks in flower all the way down to my office in

Rangoon. I think the flower did not last long and fairly soon the

trees flowered again. The Burmans used to say that the rains

would not come until the Padauk had flowered three times.’

The flowers are so short-lived that it has been with much diffi-

culty that we have been able to obtain a coloured sketch of this

tree.

Distribution and habitat: This tree is believed to be indi-

genous in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, whence it has been

introduced into Burma, where it is largely planted in gardens and

along roadsides and avenues in the damper parts of the country.

It has also been planted to a small extent about Calcutta and

Madras. More recently it has been introduced into Bombay,

where it promises to do well (Troup).

This tree was first introduced into Bombay by Mr. Justice

(afterwards Sir Edmund) Fulton, 1.c.s., who sent three or four

young trees from Rangoon to Mr, W. 8. Millard about 1906. These

were all planted and have flourished, the one planted in the Uni-

versity Gardens flowering each year in the month of May, There

are a considerable number of these trees growing in and around

Bombay now.

Uses: In Burma it is not important as a timber tree, but is

largely planted for shade and ornament, the tree being in full

foliage during the hot weather when shade is most required.

Gardening: The tree may be propagated from seed; loose soil

and protection from sun favour the early development of the

seedling, but the seedlings are very sensitive to frost and do not

survive when frosts are prevalent. The tree thrives best in a

tropical climate with a rainfall of not less than 60 in. It requires

a deep well-drained soil and does not thrive on stiff clay. The

tree 1s commonly propagated by large cuttings which should be

planted in prepared pits in rather sandy soil early in the rainy

season, or, if watering can be carried out, about the month of

February. Nursery-raised plants are ready for transplanting at

the commencement of the second rains, when they are rather

more than one year old: planting can be most successfully carried

out by transferring the seedlings to bamboo baskets during the

first rains and planting them out in the baskets during the second

rains (Troup).

: (The end).

Journ. Bompay Nat. Hist. Soc, PLATE XXXV.

Flowering spray of the Padouk (Plerocarpus indicus).

JouRN. BomBay Nat. Hist. Soc. PuatE XXXVI.

The Padouk Tree, Pterocarpus indicus (Ballard Estate, Bombay).

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE

EASTERN GHATS.

(ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION).

Hucu WHISTLER, M.B.0.U., assisted by N. B. KINNEAR, M.B.0.U.

Part XY.

The MS. of this Part was received too late for inclusion in

this number. It will appear in the next issue.—Ebps.

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN.

SAuim ALI.

With Notes by HucH WuHIstLEr.

Part VI,

(With one Plate).

(Continued from page 790 of volume xxxviii).

SUB-ORDER: CUCULI.

FAMILY: CUCULIDA.

Cuculus canorus subsp.? The Cuckoo.

Not met with by the Surveys. I have seen a specimen in the Trivandrum

Museum marked ‘¢ 27-7-77’ presumably from Travancore, but without locality.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 664) refers to another shot in Trivandrum in

February 1893 which is apparently not in the museum now. He describes the

bird as a rare winter visitor to Travancore. The race is indeterminate.

[1 have no information beyond the above record of Ferguson’s. There

appear to be only three or four records from Ceylon and so far as I am

aware, the race represented by those specimens has not been properly verified.

—H. W.]

Cuculus micropterus micropterus Gould. The Indian Cuckoo.

Specimen collected: 458 Q 17-83-83 Rajampara 1,350 ft.

Elsewhere not noted. Heard at Trivandrum, but either this or Pentho-

ceryx ?

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; gape and rim round eye (eyelids)

bright lemon yellow; bill, upper mandible horny-brown, lower mandible

greenish-brown, yellow at chin; mouth yellowish-pink; legs and feet yellow;

claws horny-brown.

[The specimen measures: Bill 28.5; wing 190.5; tail 148 mm. No other

Travancore specimens seen. The few South Indian and Cinghalese specimens

that I have seen appear to be identical with Himalayan birds, but more breed-

ing material is required before the point can be definitely settled—H. W.]

Ferguson’s remarks (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 664) imply that the Indian Cuckoo

is a resident species in Travancore. He mentions that the only two specimens

in the Trivandrum Museum in his time were shot in the low country, and

that he never came across it in the hills. According to him it frequents

forest, and its loud cry may be heard in April and May especially towards

dusk. The Survey specimen was obtained in deciduous forest in the Panthalam

Hills at about 1,500 ft. elevation. It was solitary. The well-known call,

which in the light of the modern craze may be aptly syllabified as Cross-word

Puzzle fepeated ad nauseam, was not at all commonly heard by the end of

April when the Survey concluded its field work. The species, in fact, appeared

to be definitely rare, and Kinloch also does not include it in his Nelliampathies

lists.

It has not been recorded from the Palni Hills and is a rare winter visitor

to Ceylon. .

Breeding: The specimen (17 March) was breeding. There was considerable

development in its ovary, and the largest follicle measured over 11 mm. in

diameter. The distended oviduct indicated that laying had commenced.

Nidification (111, 347) records that Stewart obtained a complete oviduct egg

from a female shot by him in Travancore. It was all blue of rather a grey

shade. Unfortunately the date is omitted.

Hierococcyx varius Vahl. The Common Hawk-Cuckoo.

Specimens collected: 468 9 19-83-33, 483 9 21-3-33 Rajampara 1,350 ft. ;

593 3 juv. 14-4-83 Cape Comorin ca. 8.L.; 790 ¢ 5-8-3383 (Nettayam 200 ft.)

Trivandrum Environs.

4 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiyur (8,500 ft.); Santhanpara (8,500 ft.); Thatta-

kad (200 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Trivandrum ‘Town; Balamore Estate

(2,000 ft.—Ashambu Hills); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Kartpadanna (ca §.L.).

Colours of bare parts: Adult: Iris greyish-yellow or yellowish-buff; rim

round eyes (eyelids) and gape lemon yellow; bill yellowish-green, black on

culmen and tips; mouth pink and yellow; legs, feet and claws bright chrome

yellow. Juvenile: Iris greyish-brown; bill pale brownish-yellow; gape and

mouth yellow; legs, feet and claws pale yellow.

| Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Taal. Tarsus.

1 ¢ adult Diego moult 164.5 21 mm.

1 9 adult 26 194.5 = 23 mm.

1 2 imm. 25.5 183 147.5 — mm.

Other specunens examined: Brit. Mus.: Q no date Mynall (Hume Coll.);

o? ad. no date Aneichardi Estate (Stewart).

The moult of this cuckoo seems very irregular, some feathers bemg moulted

and others not, so that old and new feathers mingle in the plumage both

in the first year and in the adult. Curiously enough this reminds one of

the case of its favourite host Turdoides somervillet.—H. W.]|

In the Travancore-Cochin area the Hawk-cuckoo is a common, generally

distributed and obstreperous species in the low country, and through the

foothills up to an elevation of about 1,000 ft. In smaller numbers it was

met with up to at least 3,500 ft. Curiously enough Kinloch says (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxvul, 940) that it does not occur in the Nelliampathy Hills at any season.

It frequents well-wooded country, gardens and groves of trees, near culti-

vation and human habitations as well as away from them. I never met the

bird actually within evergreen forest. Its Brain-fever calls were heard all

day long and often far into, or even throughout moonlit nights. They are

usually uttered five or six times in succession, rising in a crescendo and ending

abruptly, and are repeated with monotonous persistency.

According to Fairbank (S.F., v, 397) the Hawk-cuckoo is common in the

Palni Hills both at the base and higher up. Its status in Ceylon is uncertain.

Legge considered it a winter visitor, but as the birds call incessantly through-

out. that period, and as Wait considers that some breed on the island, it may

well be that the typical race as a migrant and a local race as a resident

both occur. The only two specimens Mr. Whistler has examined from Ceylon

seem darker than continental birds. The point requires investigation by workers

in Ceylon.

Breeding: In specimen No. 483 (21 March) the ovary was distinctly

granular and the follicles appeared to be enlarging. Some of them measured

about 1 mm. in diameter. No. 593 (14 April) was a juvenile, just growing

wing and tail quills. The forest-guard, who found it and brought it in

alive, said it was being fed by ‘other birds’ (probably babblers), but on

cross-examination supphed a highly colourable description of a woodpecker !

The young uttered Ke-ké from time to time, very like that of Turdoides

somervillei but somewhat high-pitched.

Cacomantis merulinus passerinus (Vahl.). The Indian Plaintive Cuckoo.

Specimens collected: 618 @Q ad. (hepatic) 18-4-33 Aramboli 250 ft.; 894

Q imm. 24-11-88 Wadakkancheri 400 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris in 618 (hepatic) chestnut brown, in 894 (imm.)

pale brown; bill horny-brown, paler at chin and basal part of lower mandible;

mouth bright orange-brick; gape in immature (894) orange; legs and feet

brownish-yellow; claws horny-brown.

’ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

130 Sad; 23 113.5 104.5 mm.

1 Q juv. 22.5 113 114.5 mm.

No other Travancore specimens seen.—H. W.]

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 5

The Indian Plaintive Cuckoo is apparently an uncommon (resident?) species

in Travancore and Cochin. It was met with singly in the low country, In

fairly dry scrub-and-bush jungle and light deciduous forest about cultivation,

and was silent. The Trivandrum Museum in Ferguson’s day contained only

two specimens both shot in April in forest in the low country (J.B.N.H.S.,

xv, 664).

It is a winter visitor to Ceylon.

Breeding: Nothing appears to be recorded from our area. Beyond the

fact that No. 894 (24 November) was immature with an imperfectly ossified

skull, no other evidence was obtained by the Surveys.

Penthoceryx sonnerati [sonnerati Latham]. The Banded Bay Cuckoo.

Not procured by the Surveys, but calls similar to those of Cuculus microp-

terus—in a higher key—heard in Trivandrum town and at Rajampara_presu-

mably emanated from this species. We also have a sight record from

Aramboli, 18-4-1933. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 664) merely states that it is

decidedly rare in Travancore, and this we can confirm. Though probably a

resident species, nothing is recorded about its breeding in our area.

Surniculus lugubris lugubris (Horsfield). The Indian Drongo Cuckoo.

Specimens collected: 311 Q 19-2-33 Kottayam ca. 8.L.; 961 Q 9-12-38

Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Rajampara. (1,850 ft.—Panthalam Hills).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill brownish-black; gape (in 961) pale

dusky orange; mouth pink (in 3811), pale pink and creamy-orange (in 961);

legs and feet pinkish plumbeous (in 811), greyish-brown (in 961); claws horny-

brown.

[ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Central Tail. Outer Tail.

2 99 23.5-24 135-187.5 127-130 146.5-152 mm.

No other Travancore specimens seen.—H. W.]

The Surveys found the Drongo Cuckoo not common anywhere in Travancore

and Cochin, but generally distributed in the low and foothills country. Fergu-

son (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) believed it to be a resident species. The highest

elevation at which it was met with was about 1,400 ft. It affects light forest

in the neighbourhood of cultivation, the cashew, jack and cocoanut gardens

surrounding the backwater homesteads, and pepper plantations, usually singly.

Inspite of the superficial resemblance to the drongo, its flight and habits are

characteristically cuculine.’| It was silent on the whole, the only occasion when

it was heard calling being on 19 March. The call consists usually of 6,

but sometimes 7 or 8, musical whistling notes as if the bird was actually

counting 1-2-3-4-5-6 etc. The whistles rise in scale and end abruptly, but

the bird begins again after an interval of a few seconds. When perched

silently the body is held erect and the resemblance to the drongo is then

accentuated. When calling, however, the bird assumes a horizontal axis.

Its occurrence in the Palni Hills is unknown. It is a resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: 'The ovary of the specimen was in a quiescent state. Nidi-

fication (ili, 355) gives the breeding season in Travancore as January to March.

J. Stewart is said to have taken an ege from a nest of the Black-headed

Babbler (Rhopocichla a. bourdilloni).

Clamator jacobinus jacobinus (Boddaert). The Pied Crested Cuckoo (olim

taprobanus. See HKastern Ghats Survey, J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii, 528).

Specimens collected: 528 Q 7-4-8383 Cape Comorin ca. 8.l.; I have seen

* [A good deal is usually made of the resemblance of this cuckoo to a

drongo and many writers tend to assume that it must therefore lay in drongos’

nests. They do not, however, make the logical extension of the idea to

Hierococcyx and Cuculus and suggest that they lay in hawks’ nests! It should

be remembered also that in Africa the drongo Dicrurus ludwigi has a close

resemblance to the Black Flycatcher (M. pammeliana).—H. W.|

6 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

two specimens in the Trivandrum Museum labelled: 0? 21 and 22 Sept. 1898—

Kuattyani.

Elsewhere noted at Aramboli (250 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill horny black; mouth pink; legs

and feet brownish-slate; claws horny black.

[ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

TQ 25.5 143 150 26 mm.

No other Travancore specimens seen.—H. W.]

The Travancore Survey only came across this cuckoo in the low country

about Cape Comorin and Aramboli in the extreme south of the State, where

it was fairly common. It inhabits lightly wooded and Babul scrub terrain,

and groves of trees in the neighbourhood of cultivation. According to Ferguson

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) it is resident in Travancore.

Neither Fairbank nor Terry’s lists from the Palni Hills include this cuckoo

and its occurrence and status there needs to be determined. This form (typical)

is resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: In the first half of April breeding was certainly in progress.

Birds were constantly observed chasing one another and calling Pee-pee etc.

One such party consisted of 8 birds which were very noisy. They were in a

patch of open Babul scrub jungle where babblers (Turdoides striatus) were

nesting.

The ovary of the specimen (7 April) was fully mature and contained soft

eggs. On the same date a juvenile, lately out of nest, was observed being

tended by a pair of White-headed Babblers. On the approach of the foster

parents, the cuckoo shivered with partially outstretched wings and excitedly

clamoured for food.

Clamator coromandus (Linnaeus). The Red-winged Crested Cuckoo.

Specimen not obtained. The Travancore Survey came across this cuckoo

on three or four occasions among the scrub and bushes bordering the steep

banks of the Periyar River at Thattakad (ca. 200 ft.). It was always single,

and silent. There is a specimen in the Maharaja’s College Museum at Erna-

kulam (Cochin State) collected in that neighbourhood.

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) this cuckoo is a rare winter

visitor to the hills and he refers to two specimens then in the Trivandrum

Museum, shot at 2,500 and 4,000 ft. respectively in South Travancore.

It is said to be common in Ceylon.

Eudynamis scolopaceus scolopaceus (Linn.). The Indian Koel.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Maraiyar (3,500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.); Kottayam (ca. 8.L.);

Mindakayam and Urumbikera Reserve Forest (ca. 1,000 ft.); Aramboli (250 ft.);

Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Shorantr; Nemmara (800 ft.); Kartijpadanna (ca.

reel ay

Excepting at Maraiyur, the Koel was chiefly met with by the Surveys below

an elevation of about 1,000 ft., and more especially in the low country. It is

not common in the’ ‘Travancore-Cochin area. According to Ferguson

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) it is a resident species in Travancore and may occa-

sionally be found in the hills. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 939), however,

includes it amongst the birds that are not found in the Nelliampathies at any

season. [I think its altitudinal as well as local status is largely co-ordinated

with that of the crows, especially Corvus splendens, upon the nests of which

it is habitually parasitic. .

Fairbank (S.F., v, 897) observed the Koel a few times in the Palni Hills,

at what elevation is not stated. The typical race also occurs in Ceylon.

Breeding: There are no published records of its breeding in Travancore

or Cochin. The Surveys obtained no precise data on this point apart from

the fact that at Karaipadanna, House Crows were breeding in the second

half of December, and as the Kcoels then were very excited and obstreperous

they were presumably busy cuckolding them,

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 7

Rhopodytes viridirostris (Jerdon). The Small Green-billed Malkoha.

Specimens collected: 88 Q 14-1-33 Maraiyair 3,500 ft.; 595 dg 15-4-33

Aramboli 250 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris (fine outer ring white, inner claret; bill

greyish-green; mouth brownish-black; wattly circumorbital skin pale blue; legs

and feet greyish-slate or ‘pale bluish-green, shading into greenish-blue’ (Huma-

yun and Pillai). .

[See my note in the Eastern Ghats Survey Report (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii,

p. 525) on the differences of white tips of tail feathers in Ceylon and South

Konkan. ‘Travancore birds lie between these extremes, but are closer to

Ceylon.

I have seen five other Travancore specimens in the British Museum. but

with no very precise data.

In the juvenile bird the first primary is softer, broader and more rounded,-

as compared with the sickle-shaped first primary of the adult. The tail-

feathers are narrower and the central pair have a very narrow brownish and

white tip. The post-juvenal moult is complete. The post-nuptial moult is

complete, and apparently there is no spring moult.—H. W.]

The Small Malkoha was met with by the Surveys only in the above two

localities, where it seemed to be fairly common. It inhabited lightly wooded

and scrub country of the deciduous type, and was seen either singly or in

pairs. It undoubtedly prefers the broken foothills country, but Ferguson

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) once obtained it at Peermade at about 3,000 ft. elevation.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 397) saw four at different times in the thickets at the

eastern (dry) base of the Palni Hills. In Ceylon it occurs in the low country

up to about 1,000 ft. elevation.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens were undeveloped. On 19 April

one of these Malkohas was observed building a fairly untidy saucer-shaped

nest of thorny green twigs—some with leaves still attached. The site was

about 4 ft. up in a cactus (Huphorbia) hedge, in broken scrub country at the

foot of the hills in the Aramboli Gap. The twigs were being plucked from a

living tree some 20 yds. away, and only one of the birds was engaged in

the work. On visiting the nest again on 28 April, Humayun found it to

contain 2 eggs which he took. The eggs, white in colour, measured 27 x 22

and 27 x 21 respectively.

[Phoenicophaus pyrrhocephalus (Pennant). The Red-faced Malkoha.

Not met with by the Surveys. The Fauna (iv, 182) as well as Nidification

(ii, 364) confidently mention that this Malkoha, hitherto considered strictly

endemic to Ceylon, occurs in the extreme south of Travancore, where Stewart

is said to have obtained it. Stewart’s record or records, if authenticated by

skins seem remarkable. Concerning the habits of this bird in its native

island, Wait writes that it is very shy and haunts the wilder stretches of

forest away from cultivation. The ‘extreme south of Travancore’ is particu-

larly dry country compared with the rest of the State, and well outside the

influences that conduce to the growth of dense forest elsewhere. On the face

of it, therefore, the locality is physiographically an unlikely place to find this

forest-loving Malkoha in, unless it has completely changed its habits upon

setting foot on the mainland! It would be interesting to learn what exact

locality Stewart obtained his specimens in and also some ecological details of

the place.

With regard to the taking of its eggs in Travancore in April and May by

Stewart (Nidtfication), these records should, I think, be accepted with a double

dose of caution in view of what is said above, and also of the ever-present

possibility of their vicariousness unless supported by the skins of the birds

that laid them. ]

Taccocua leschenaultii leschenaultii Iesson. The Southern Sirkeer Cuckoo.

Specimen collected: 408 2 6-3-33 Kimili 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Aramboli (250 ft.).

Colours of bare parts;. Iris brown; bill cherry red, yellow at tips and

8 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

brown along commissure; mouth slaty-black; legs and feet slaty; claws horny

brown.

[The specimen measures:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

31.5 151 226 mm.

No other Travancore specimens seen except one ‘Anjango’ bird.—H. W.]

The Sirkeer Cuckoo is, on the whole, uncommon in Travancore. The Surveys

failed to come across it in Cochin whence Kinloch likewise does not include

it in his Nelliampathies list. It was observed singly or in pairs amongst

undergrowth of tall grass and scrub in deciduous forest. At Aramboli, where

it was perhaps less rare than elsewhere, it frequented thin forest and scrub

on the sides of the broken stony hills. At Maraiyar an example was picked

up dead and mutilated in an abandoned forest clearing with much undergrowth

—possibly the work of a mongoose.

There is no published record of its occurrence in the Palni Hills, but it

doubtless does so in suitable dry facies on the eastern slopes. It is a local

resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: The specimen (6 March) had some of its ovarian follicles over

1.5 mm. in diameter. It was one of a pair and about to breed as was evident

from the courtship in which it was engaged when shot. The display consisted

of bowing (or bobbing) and posturing in ludicrous fashion, tail spread out

and partly cocked, before the other of the pair. It is interesting to note that

the advances in this case were being made by the female, the cock (? presu-

mably—) though not altogether unresponsive, behaving in a much more passive

and dignified manner !

On 17 April (Aramboli) a bird was flushed off a nest in a cactus (Huphorbia)

bush, about 10 ft. up, growing on a sparsely scrub-covered stony hillside. The

nest was a shallow saucer-like structure of thorny twigs, lined with large dry

leaves, and untidily wedged into a fork of the cactus. It was very similar

to the Malkoha’s nest. Termites had galleried up the stem of this cactus

and some of their mud was actually within the nest itself. It contained two

white eggs of a chalky texture—one addled, the other hard set—measuring

35 x 26 and 34 x 26 mm. respectively.

Nidification (iii, 366) records that Bourdillon obtained eggs of this cuckoo

in Travancore in March and May. Two are said to form the normal clutch,

but occasionally three or only a single are laid.

Centropus sinensis parroti Stresemann. The Southern Crow-Pheasant.

Specimens collected: 349 Q 24-2-33 Peermade 3,200 ft.; 5387 ¢ 8-4-33 Cape

Comorin ca. §.L.; 708 ¢G 22-7-38 (Pattom ca. 50 ft.); 782 ¢ 4-8-33 (Cattle

Farm) Trivandrum Environs; 1081 Q 28-12-33 Kartpadanna ca. S.L.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiytr (up to 4,500 ft.); Muannar (5,000 ft.—Kannan

Devan Hills); Santhanpara (8,500 ft.—Cardamom Hills); Rajampara (1,350 ft.

—Pandalam Hills); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Trivandrum Town; Aramboli (250 ft.);

Balamore Estate (2,000 ft.—Ashambt Hills); Kuariarkitti (1,600 ft.—Annemalai

Hills); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (300 ft.); Padagiri (3,000 ft.—

Nelliampathy Hills); Trichur Town; Hrnakulam.

Colours of bare parts: Iris ‘blackish-grey’ (Pillai), bright scarlet, pale

claret or blood-red depending presumably on age; bill, legs, feet and claws

horny-black; mouth palate slate, gullet pink or greyish-pink.

[The specimens measure:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

3d 39-41.5 173-183 197-238 mm.

399 39-43 186-198 243-971 mm.

Additional specimen seen: Brit. Mus. Coll.: @Q 28-2-75 Colachul (Hume

Coll.—H. W.]

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 665) writes that in Travancore the Southern

Crow-Pheasant is ‘very abundant in the low country and about the foot of

the hills’. This is its status in Cochin as well, and J can further add that

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN a)

it is also fairly common on the hills in both the States up to at least 5,000 ft.

elevation, and possibly goes higher. It affects light deciduous jungle with tall

grass and scrub undergrowth. Babool and scrub-and-bush jungle, rubber plan-

tations and the neighbourhood of cultivation all provide suitable haunts, but

as a rule evergreen forest is eschewed.

The stomachs of the specimens contained caterpillars, grasshoppers, lizards

and their eggs, and also other insect remains which could not be satisfactorily

identified. The intestines of one were infested with Cestode worms, a number

of which have been preserved for identification.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.F., v, 397) records the Crow-Pheasant from

the base up to an elevation of 5,500 ft. In Ceylon it is found throughout

the low country and also up to about 8,000 ft. in the hills. A closely allied

species, Centropus chlororhynchus, also occurs in the island where it is said

to be confined to the most humid districts, inhabiting deep jungle with thick

tangled undergrowth.

Breeding: Of the specimens, No. 1031 (28 December) was ready to lay

shortly, having a matured ovary with some of the follicles measuring over

3 mm. in diameter. No. 349 (24 February) with ovarian follicles ca. 2.5-3 mm.,

was evidently also preparing to breed. It was undergoing general moult—

body, wings and tail—which was presumably prenuptial? In specimen No. 537

(8 April) the testes appeared to have commenced developing (?) and measured

ee mm. One of them was the normal oval, the other conspicuously kidney-

shaped.

On 11 April (Cape Comorin) Humayun took a nest containing three well-set

eggs. It was a large globular structure, about 12 in. in diameter, composed

of strips of Borassus palm leaves and grass etc. placed amongst the tangle

of the smaller inaccessible twigs of a thorny Babul (Acacia) tree, in low

canopied Babul jungle. The eggs measured 37 x 30, 37 x 82 and 36 x 30 mm.

respectively. During the week some half dozen recently disused nests were

found in this locality, identical in structure and situation with the first and

all about 12 ft. up. One contained an addled, discoloured egg.

In the Maharaja’s College Museum, Ernakulam, I have seen a juvenile

specimen with a stub tail, evidently hatched out in or about November.

According to the Fauna (iv, 193) Kinloch took eggs in the Nelhiampathy

Hills in early March, and Bourdillon says that they continue to lay in

Travancore up to the end of August.

Centropus bengalensis (Gmel.) subsp.? The Lesser Coucal or Crow-Pheasant.

Specimen collected: 885 9Q 1-38-33 Ktmili 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.); Camp Deramalai (8,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris fine outer ring creamy white, irregular imner

ring chestnut-brown; bill upper mandible pale brown, culmen dark brown,

lower mandible pale flesh colour; mouth pink; legs and feet slaty; claws

horny-brown.

[The specimen, ° immature, measures:

Bill, Wing. Mase Tarsus.

29.5 178 209 42.5 mm.

See Eastern Ghats Survey Report (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii, 528) to which I

have nothing further to add as no other material is yet available-—H. W. |

This Coucal frequents stretches of tall grass land intermingled with fairly

open deciduous secondary and scrub jungle in the hills of Travancore and

probably also Cochin, where, however, neither the Survey nor Kinloch actually

came across it. It is not uncommon though rather locally and patchily dis-

tributed. Single birds were usually met with. The specimen was scuttling on

the ground through the rootstocks of the long grass, and was shot in the act

of swallowing a Calotes lizard 8 in. in length, head foremost.

This species has not been recorded in the Palni Hills. The only record

for Ceylon is possibly not authentic.

Breeding: The ovary of the specimen was undeveloped. No other relevant

data was obtained, and there seem to be no published records of its nesting

in the Travancore-Cochin area.

10 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

SUB-ORDER: PSITTACI.

FAMILY: PSITTACIDA,

(Psittacula eupatria eupatria (Linn.). The Large Ceylonese Parroquet.

Not met with by the Surveys nor recorded previously by the older observers

m the 'Travancore-Cochin area. The Fauna (iv, 198), however, states that

Stewart obtained it in Travancore, and further adds (p. 199) that the birds

have been found breeding there in January and February. Confirmation is

desirable. |

Psittacula krameri manillensis (Bechstein). The Rose-ringed Paroquet.

Specimen collected: 622 ¢ 18-4-33 Aramboli 250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Ktmaragam (Vembanad Lake, near Kottayam);

Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris pinkish cream colour; rim round eyes (eyelids)

bright orange; bill upper mandible deep crimson, tip brownish, lower mandible

horny black, crimson at chin; legs and feet dusky yellow; claws horny, brown.

[Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 2 16-11-78 Trivandrum (Bourdillon); also 2 Fry speci-

mens with no precise data.

Measurements:

Bill (from cere). Wing. Tail.

Sowa: 22-24 159-167 210-214 mm.

There is no spring moult and the post-nuptial moult is complete taking

place about May and June. The young male is quite indistinguishable from

the adult female and I suspect that the juvenile plumage is kept through

the first winter.—H. W.]

My experience in Travancore does not bear out Ferguson’s statement

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 666) that the Rose-ringed Paroquet is ‘very common through-

out the low country’. On the contrary, the Survey found it decidedly un-

common and only in small numbers wherever occurring. In the low country

of Cochin its numerical status was somewhat better, but even so the species

was markedly less abundant than the Blossom-headed Paroquet.

Small parties of these birds were observed among cocoanut plantations

bordering paddy-fields by the backwaters, and occasionally also in the neigh-

bourhood of villages in the low country.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 3895) writes that it is common round the base of the

Palni Hills and sometimes ascends the hillsides, while Terry (S.F., x, 471)

found it on the slopes below Pulungi. It is a common resident species in

Ceylon.

Breeding: The testes of the specimen were in a quiescent state. According

to Ferguson the breeding season in Travancore is February and March.

Psittacula cyanocephala cyanocephala (Iuinn.). The Western Blossom-headed

Paroquet.

Specimens collected: 878 @ 28-2-33 Kimili 3.000 ft.; 724 ¢ 26-7-33, 742

Q 29-7-338 (Kittani 300 ft.); 761 9 ?-8-83 (Maruthankizhi 50 ft.) Trivandrum

Environs.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiyur (8,500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.); Kottayam

(ca. §.L.); Periyar Lake Environs (ca. 3,000 ft.); Rajampara (1,850 ft.);

Tenmalai (500 ft.); Trivandrum Town; Kodaiyar Lake Environs (below Bala-

more Hstate); Chalaktdi; Wadakkancheri (400 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Adult Male: Iris yellowish-white; bill upper man-

dible pale orange-yellow, lower mandible blackish-brown except chin which

pale flesh colour; legs and feet greenish-grey; claws horny plumbeous. Female:

‘Bill pale lemon yellow, white at tip. Lower mandible dull whitish-grey’

(Pillai).

[The specimens are in too bad a state with moult for measurements.

The adults have a complete post-nuptial moult and apparently no spring

moult, The juvenile plumage appears to be kept through the first winter, In

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN ia

this the male and female are alike with a greenish head and no pale neck-ring.

The plumage is in general duller than in the adult, with the central tail-

feathers shorter and broader. The tips of the primaries are more pointed

than in the adult.

The adult female differs from the adult male not only in the colour of

the head and the neck-ring, but the crimson shoulder-patch is absent and the

central tail-feathers are a less intense blue.—H. W. ]

The Blossom-headed Paroquet is a common resident species in Travancore

and Cochin, being found in well-wooded country from the neighbourhood of

the backwaters, through the foothills, and up to an elevation of 3,500 ft.

at least. In the hills, however, its distribution is somewhat capricious, the

birds being quite inexplicably absent from areas to all appearances well suited

to them. Thus, though it was fairly abundant at Kumili, the Survey failed

to note it at Peermade, Santhanpara or Camp Deramalai in all of which

localities the Blue-winged Paroquet completely replaced it.

It was mostly observed in deciduous forest or in the mixed type of jungle

comprising both deciduous and evergreen elements. Occasionally it entered

evergreen jungle to feed on the various species of Ficus figs. At Maraiyur

a flock of over 50 birds was seen.

At Thattakad these Paroquets were observed to feed largely on the nectar

of Hrythrina lithosperma and Bombax malabaricum flowers. In this quest the

flowers are bitten off and dropped to the ground after the nectar has been

squeezed out. Unlike other nectar-eating birds, therefore, they play little or

no part in cross-pollinating them and their visits to the tree are of a purely

destructive nature. Among their accustomed haunts are the mixed fruit

gardens surrounding the homesteads along the backwaters. Mr. Pillai’s notes

suggest that they are destructive to standing paddy crops in the environs of

Trivandrum.

In the Palni Hills both Fairbank and Terry describe this species as

common. According to the former (S.F., v, 395) it is commoner on _ the

hillsides up to 4,000 ft. than the Rose-ringed Paroquet. Terry found it

constantly feeding on the peaches in the orchards at Pulungi.

This Paroquet is locally common in Ceylon.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens were inactive and no other evidence

bearing on this aspect was obtained by the Surveys. The July-August speci-

mens, however, were undergoing complete post-nuptial moult.

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 666) it breeds in Travancore in

March. In South India generally, the breeding season is said (Fauna, iv, 205)

to be February to early April.

Psittacula columboides (Vigors). The Blue-winged Paroquet.

Specimens collected: 406 Q 3-3-33 Kimili 3,000 ft.; 485 4, 486 @

10-3-83 Camp Deramalai 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiyur (3,500 ft.); Santhanpara (3,500 ft.); Thatta-

kad (200 ft.); Peermade (8,200 ft.); Rajampara (1,350 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.);

Balamore Estate (2,000-3,500 ft.—Ashambt Hills); Kuriarkutti (1,600 ft.); Pada-

giri (8,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Male: Iris pale golden yellow; bill upper mandible

bright cherry red except tip which yellowish-horn colour, lower mandible horny

brown tinged with orange at chin yellowish-horn at tip; legs and feet greenish-

grey; claws dark horny brown. Female: Iris pale lemon yellow; bill dark

horny-brown tinged with orange at chin; legs, feet and claws as in <.

[Additional specimens seen: -

Brit. Mus. Coll.: @Q 2-38-75 Hridge (Hume Coll.); ¢ 7-1-72 Ashambo

’

Hills (Bourdillon); Go? 19-2-14 Aneichardi Estate (Stewart); o 11-11-79, ¢

8-11-78, SG 18-10-78 Mynall (Bourdillon).

B.N.H.S. Coll.: & 19-8-98 Thékadi (J. P. Cook).

Measurements:

Bill (from cere). Wing. Tail.

6 dod - * 99-93.5 142.5-148 206-227 mm.

ee a1 | 139 Worn,

12. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The adult female differs from the adult male in having the green wash

on the forehead and lores reduced to a minimum; there is no ring of verditer

green behind the black neck-ring; the grey of the breast is less pure in tint.

In the juvenile plumage the male and female are alike. They differ from the

adults in having the entire head, hind-neck, mantle and lower parts green,

with the neck-rings only faintly shadowed in verditer and black. There is

less blue in the green of the scapulars, wing coverts and tertiaries and the

pale edging to the wing-coverts is less defined. The central tail feathers are

shorter and broader. Both sexes do, I believe, have orange and red_ beaks,

not black as in the adult female.-—H. W.]

The Blue-winged Paroquet is common in Travancore and Cochin, but con-

fined exclusively to evergreen biotope. It is most abundant in the hills between

about 1,500 and 3,500 ft. elevation, and Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 666)

records it at 5,000 ft. in the High Range.

At Kuriarkitti in the Annemalai Hills, small parties of 3 or 4 birds were

not uncommon in the mixed bamboo and deciduous jungle on the verge of

evergreen. In its accustomed habitat-type, however, it is usually, if not in-

variably, the only species of paroquet to be met with. It has a call of two

harsh notes, somewhat lke those of the Paradise Flycatcher (Tchitrea) but

much louder. I frequently observed it feeding on the nectar of flowers of

Erythrina lithosperma and Grevillea robusta shade trees in Coffee plantations

in the usual destructive manner of paroquets.

Both Fairbank and Terry record it from the slopes of the Lower Palnis

where it is apparently common. It does not occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: Specimen No. 406 (5 March) had a conspicuously granular ovary,

though in plumage it is not fully adult. In No. 435 (10 March) the testes

measured 6 X 4 mm. Both these birds as well as the third—with inactive

ovary—were undergoing body and primaries moult (post-nuptial ?) and may

have lately finished breeding. At this season, however, the birds were mostly

observed in pairs, and some of them at any rate were undoubtedly breeding.

F. W. Bourdillon writes (S.F., iv, 888) that this paroquet commences to

lay in the first week of January, and fresh eggs (normally c/4) may be

obtained in I’ebruary. The site chosen is invariably a hole in a tree, usually

the Iron-wood tree (Mesua ferrea) at a height of 16-100 ft. from the ground

(T-# Bourdilion, wBAaN AS xv, 2066):

According to the Fauna (iv, 209) Bourdillon and Stewart found this species

breeding in Travancore during January, February and March.

Coryllis vernalis rubropygius Stuart Baker. The Malabar Loriquet.

Specimens collected: 77 @ 18-1-33 Maraiyir 3,500 ft.; 188 ¢ 24-1-33

Santhanpara 3,500 ft.; 205 ¢ 3-2-33 Thattakad 200 ft.; 743 Q 29-7-338

(Kuttani ca. 300 ft.), 849 ¢G 13-8-33 (Nettayam ca. 200 ft.) Trivandrum En-

virons.

Elsewhere noted at: Kottayam (ca. 8.L.); Peermade (8,200 ft.); | Kuamili

(3,000 ft.); Camp Deramalai (3,000 ft.); Rajampara (1,850 ft.); Tenmalai

(500 ft.); Balamore Estate (2,000 ft.); Kodaiyar Lake Environs (South Tra-

vancore); along Cochin Forest Tramway, near Chalaktdi; Kuriarkitti (1,600 ft.);

Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); from 1,500 ft. upwards along the ghat road from

Nemmara to Padagiri 3,000 ft.—not below.

Colours of bare parts: Tris brownish-buff or greyish-khaki (‘grey’—Pillai) ;

bill reddish-orange; feet pale orange; claws horny brown.

[See my note on this form in the Eastern Ghats Survey (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxxvil, 754).

The Survey specimens measure:

Bill (from cere). Wing. Taal,

a aiares 11-12 91.5-96 39.5-44 mm.

1-0 late 97.5 48 mm.

Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mase Colles (Gs DN fs ON 7S, Mynall (Bourdillen),—

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 18

The Malabar Loriquet is a fairly common resident species in the Travan-

core-Cochin area, being found in well-wooded country from the neighbourhood

of the backwaters, through the foothills, up to an elevation of 3,500-4,000 ft.

and occasionally perhaps higher. It frequents secondary jungle, coffee and

rubber plantations and the fruit gardens that commonly surround the home-

steads along the backwaters. I believe it is to some extent locally migratory,

its movements depending upon the flowering of certain trees and the ripening

of the fruit of others—or, essentially, upon the availability of a food supply.

Its diet consists of Peepal and Banyan figs (Ficus religiosa and FP’, benga-

lensis) in addition to other fruits and berries both wild and cultivated. At

certain seasons it lives largely or almost exclusively upon the nectar of

flowers. It is also very fond of the exudation from the base of the petioles

of the various Vici. Hrythrina lithosperma shade trees in bloom in an aban-

doned rubber estate at Thattakad were observed to be literally swarming with

these birds, who fed on the nectar all day long but more particularly in_ the

morning and forenoon. Unlike the paroquets, they do not as a rule destroy

the flowers in their efforts to get at the nectar, and consequently are of

service in cross-pollinating them. A specimen shot oft the blossoms had a

quantity of pollen adhering to its chin and over a_ tablespoonful of nectar

dripped from its bill when the bird was held up by a leg. It was noted that

very few Loriquets resorted to the profusion of Bombax malabaricum flowers

on a nearby tree although these were well-patronised by numerous other

species. ‘Their preference for Hrythrina nectar is marked. The birds were also

observed on occasion eating nectar from Loranthus (loniceroides?) buds. The

technique in this case is to bite into the tubes near their bases, and thus

they seem to be of no consequence in the fertilisation of the flowers of this

parasite.

One of the specimens, when shot, clung to its perch head downward and

was fluttering when a ‘Tree Pie stooped on it from a neighbouring tree and

seized it in a determined attempt to carry it off!

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.F., v, 395) observed this Loriquet at the

eastern base and Terry (S.F., x, 471) in the Pittur Valley.

The maximum wing measurement of 88 mm. given for this race in the

Fauna (iv, 218) is surely a mistake. See measurements of the series supra.

In Ceylon it is replaced by C. beryllinus, a species of which Mr. Whistler

believes (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvil, 755) that vernalis may ultimately prove to be a

race.

Breeding: The testes of No. 188 (24 January) measured 3 x 2 mm. and

appeared to be developing. The gonads of the other specimens furnished no

clue in this regard, and no other evidence was procured by the Surveys.

Bourdillon (Nidification, iii, 886) found a nest with c/3—hard set—on

15 March, and Stewart took another c/3 in Travancore on 6 January. The

nest in the former case was at the top of a hollow stump over which a

creeper was growing to form a sort of cover. It was about 15 ft. from the

ground and at an elevation of 2,000 ft. (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 666).

SUB-ORDER: CORACTI.

FamIty: CoRrAciuDsA.

Coracias benghalensis indica Linn. The Southern Indian Roller.

Specimens collected: 474 Q 20-38-83 Rajampara 1,350 ft.; 680 ¢ 16-7-33,

887 9 12-8-33 Beach, Trivandrum; 987 9 4-12-33 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Santhanpara (8,500 ft.); Thatta-

kad (200 ft.); Kamili (8,000 ft.); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris yellowish-brown or hazel brown; eyelids dusky

orange yellow; bill brownish-black paler at gape and base of lower mandible;

legs and feet dusky orange-yellow; claws black.

[ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tank:

1¢ 49 180 moult.

a 29 43-43.5 171.5-181.5 109-124.5 mm

id JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL His. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXiX

The juvenile differs from the adult in the paler blue of the abdomen and

the absence of any purple wash on the chin and throat. The tail-feathers

are much narrower, the outer pair being much more rounded at the tips. —

The post-nuptial moult is complete and there is apparently no pre- -nuptial

moult.—H. W.]

Concerning Travancore, Ierguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 657) says: ‘The Indian

Roller is found in the low country . .. . It is not found in forest nor on

the hills... My own experience shows that while this statement is partly

correct, it is by no means a wholly accurate description of the bird’s status.

The Surveys came across the Roller fairly commonly in the low country, but

more sparingly and locally also at elevations up to 8,500 ft. in the hills. It

frequents open cultivated country and ‘toungya’ clearings in deciduous or

secondary mixed forest, usually in pairs. Elwes (Ibis 1870, p. 526) also met

with it in the Cardamom Hills.

In the Palnis it appears to be sparingly distributed. Terry (S.F., x, 471)

observed it on one or two occasions in the Pittur Valley. Its occurrence in

Ceylon is local.

Breeding: Specimen No. 9387 (4 December) had a clearly granular ovary

with the follicles apparently maturing. In that of No. 474 (20 March) some

of the follicles measured over 1.5 mm. in diameter and it had a distended

oviduct indicating that the bird had laid. From the beginning of March the

noisy aerial displays of the male were much in evidence, and the birds were

apparently breeding on the above date. The July-August specimens had finished

breeding. ‘Their gonads had reverted to normal quiescent condition and No. 680

was undergoing ‘complete post-nuptial moult.

According to Nidification (iu, 390) Bourdillon took a c/4 in Travancore

on 14 April.

Eurystomus orientalis (Linn.). The Broad-billed Roller.

Specimens collected: 286 ¢, 237 ¢ 7-2-33 Thattakad 200 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: IKuriarkitti (at 2,000 ft~—Annemalai Hills).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill orange-red, tip blackish-brown;

palate and gape pale sulphur yellow, gullet greyish-pink; legs and feet orange-

red or coral-red; claws blackish-brown.

| Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: i$? 21-12-72 Hridge (Bourdillon). Type of laetior

Sharpe; 3 16-8-71 Ashambii Hills (Hume Coll.).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Mart, Tarsus.

43d 34.5-35.5 195.5-198 102-105 18.5-20.5 mm.—H. W.]

The Surveys came across the Broad-billed Roller exclusively in evergreen

forest biotope in Travancore and Cochin. It is an uncommon species and not

numerically abundant anywhere. At Thattakad it was partial to the neglected

overgrown rubber plantations and clearings for Bombax and paddy cultivation

in evergreen forest. The birds—usually single or pairs—were observed perching

hunched up on the leafless topmost branches of some lofty tree towering above

the forest, uttering a harsh chack-chack every second or two, alternated from

time to time by a quicker repeated chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck in the same harsh

tones. Occasionally they launched sallies after winged insects, performing

curious evolutions in mid-air in the pursuit.

Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 658) believed that the Broad-billed Roller was

only a breeding visitor to Travancore. Confirmation is desirable, but it is

not known precisely on what grounds his presumption is based, and in my

opinion Mr. Whistler’s doubt as to its correctness (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii, 756)

is well justified.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens were inactive and furnished no

indication as regards breeding. Both the birds, however, appeared to be com-

pleting moult (pre-nuptial?) into fresh plumage.

F. W. Bourdillon took eggs on 17 April, and another clutch on 18 April.

A full clutch is said to consist of 3 or 4 eggs, generally the latter. The

brothers Bourdillon give the breeding season in Travancore as September to

May (Nidification, iii, 392).

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 15

Famity: MEROPIDA.

Merops orientalis orientalis Latham. The Common Indian Bee-eater.

Specimens collected: 270 ¢ 11-283 Thattakad 200 ft.; 583 naked chick

(in alcohol) 12-4-83 Cape Comorin ca. §8.L.; 602 Q 16-4-33 Aramboli 250 ft. ;

677 2 imm. 16-7-83, 888 ¢ 12-8-33 (Beach), 729 Q 26-7-338, 824 J 10-8-33

(Kuttani ca. 300 ft.) Trivandrum Town and Environs; 898 Q 24-11-33 Wadak-

kancheri 400 ft.; 952 Q 17-12-83 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Kottayam and Vembanad Back-

waters; Chalakudi; Trichir; Kartpadanna.

Colours of bare parts: Adult: Iris claret or crimson (‘brownish-red’ Pillai) ;

bill brownish-black; mouth pink; legs and feet yellowish-brown; claws horny

brown.

[| Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Maal.

3d 30.5-32.5 93-95 112.5-117 mm.

5 29 30-32 92-93.5 84.5-104 mm.

The post-juvenal moult is complete. There is no spring moult and the

post-nuptial moult is complete. Wear turns many of the green feathers blue,

especially the tertiaries.

As a whole the Travancore series cannot be distinguished from the typical

race, but a few specimens approximate to the richer colour of M. 0. birmanus,

as described in the Eastern Ghats Survey (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvil, 756).—H. W.]

This small Bee-eater is a very common resident species in the low country

of Travancore and Cochin. The Surveys did not come across it above an

elevation of about 400 ft. except at Maraiytr where, however, it was un-

common. Its altitudinal status in Travancore seems rather curious in view

of the fact that in the Nilgiris it is said to ascend the hills up to 6,000 ft.

The birds frequent open sparsely scrubbed country, the outskirts of light

secondary deciduous forest, and the neighbourhood of cultivated and fallow

fields, by the backwaters as well as farther inland.

At Thattakad, in an open forest clearing for the Government Bombaxr

plantation, this species was found in association with the Blue-tailed and the

Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 394) found it common at the base of the Palni Hills

and in the adjacent plains, and Terry (S.F., x, 470) saw several in the Pittur

Valley [elevation ?].

The same, typical, race is common in the drier parts of Ceylon.

Breeding: On 1 January (1934—Karupadanna) a pair were observed in

copula on a telegraph wire at about 7 o’clock in the morning. The 9 crouched

and shivered in invitation to the ¢. Specimen No. 270 (11 February) had

testes enlarged to 5 xX 38 mm. and was evidently getting ready to breed. On

12 April (Cape Comorin) a nest tunnel, ca. 3 ft. long, was dug out in the

side of a laterite and moorum borrow-pit. It contained two chicks just

hatched out and 4 very hard-set eggs on the point of hatching. The latter

measured: 19 x 17; 19 x 18, 20 x 17, 20 x 18 mm. respectively. Remains of

hymenopterous insects were discovered within the tunnel. The specimen of

16 July was immature with an imperfectly ossified skull, the 3 other July-

August specimens being adult with gonads reverted to non-breeding condition,

and all in heavy post-nuptial moult.

From the data procured it is evident that, as in many other Travancore

birds, the breeding season of the Bee-eater commences considerably earlier in

this area than has been recorded elsewhere in its range.

Merops superciliosus jayanicus Horsfield. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater.

Specimens collected: 226 Q 6-2-83 Thattakad 200 ft.; 902 0? 25-11-38

Wadakkancheri 400 ft.; 1048 9, 1044 3 30-12-33 Karupadanna ca. 8.L.

Elsewhere noted at: Kottayam and Vembanad Backwaters; Chalakidi.

Colours of bare parts: Iris claret coloured or crimson; bill horny-black;

mouth pale pink; legs and feet pinkish-brown; claws blackish-brown.

16 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

| Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

Siete) 48 135 -° 141 mm.

2909 44.5-46 129-129.5 135-1386 min.

There 1s apparently no spring moult and the post-nuptial moult is complete.

The post-juvenal moult appears to be complete but a good deal delayed.—H. W. |

The Blue-tailed Bee-eater is an uncommon, patchily and sparsely distri-

buted species in the Travancore-Cochin low country. We have no information

concerning its status here, but as in many other parts of its range, it may

possibly be locally migratory. The Surveys recorded it only between 10 Novem-

ber and 17 February. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 658) mentions that the

only specimen in the ‘Trivandrum Museum in his day was one shot near

Trivandrum in August 1898. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942) describes it as

very common on the northern slopes of the Nelliampathy Hills, but to what

elevation or at what season he does not say. The Cochin Survey failed to

come across this Bee-eater on the northern slopes of these hills, from Nemmara

at the base up to Padagiri (3,000 ft.), between 3 and 21 December (1938)

although the Chestnut-headed species was noted on the lower slopes.

It frequents more or less the same type of terrain as the Common Bee-eater,

but seems to prefer slightly better wooded facies, and usually the neighbourhood

of water. Along the Vembanad Backwaters it was noted as commoner and

more abundant than the foregoing species. In the forest clearing for the Gov-

ernment Bombax plantation at Thattakad, these Bee-eaters were observed in

association with M. orientalis and M. leschenaulti. A small flock was also

seen bathing in a still pool in the Periyar River by taking flying dips into

the water, after which the birds settled on trees on the bank, shuffled their

plumage and dried themselves.

The stomachs of Nos. 1043 and 1044 were crammed full of Blue-bottle

flies Musca (vomitoria?) which were swarming about the ‘Kopra’ being sun-

dried everywhere along the backwaters.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (9.F., v, 394) found this Bee-eater abundant

by the town of Palni, near the north base of the hills, in October 1866, but

on a subsequent visit [month ?] he saw it only once at Peritr. It is a

winter visitor to Ceylon.

Breeding: The ovary of No. 226 (6 February) was slightly granular, but

the gonads of the other specimen were inactive and no other data in this

regard was obtained.

There is no published record of its breeding in Travancore or Cochin.

Merops leschenaulti leschenaulti Vieillot. The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.

Specimens collected: 209 Q 3-2-83 Thattakad 200 ft.; 788 Q 29-7-83 Kaut-

tani 300 ft., Trivandrum Environs; 965 Q 10-12-83 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Santhanpara (8,500 ft.); Iamili and Periyar Lake

Environs (8,000 ft.); Camp Deramalai (8,000 ft.); Kuariarkutti (1,600 ft.); in

forest along Cochin Forest Tramway, from Parambikolam to Chalakudi.

Colours of bare parts: Iris crimson; bill horny black; mouth greyish-

pink; legs, feet and claws blackish-brown.

| Measurements :

Bill Wing. Tail. —

8 2 35-39 104.5-107 77.5-80 mim.

The post-nuptial moult is complete, and there is apparently no spring

moult.—H. W.]

The Chestnut-headed Bee-eater is restricted to forested country in the hills

as well as lower down. The Surveys came across it from 200 up to 8,500 ft.

elevation. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 558) found it not uncommon about Peer-

made and in the High Range in North Travancore, but wrongly considered

it as confined to the hills only. It is, however, true that on the forested hills

this species occurs to the exclusion of the two foregoing.

The birds were observed in pairs, small parties or fairly large flocks,

perched on bare branches of tall trees at the edge of forest whence they

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 17

launched aerial sallies after winged insects, At Santhanpara (27 January) a

flock of over 30 birds was observed roosting in a tree in open jungle at sunset.

Much noise and flying around in a rabble prevailed before darkness set in

and the birds finally retired.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.F., v, 894) found the Chestnut-headed

Bee-eater plentiful on the eastern side of the hills at between 2,000 and 3,000 ft.

in 1866, but in a subsequent year [months?] only saw it once. Terry (S.F.,

x, 470) met with several birds in the Pittur Valley.

It is a local resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: The ovary of No. 209 (8 February) was conspicuously granular

and showed signs of maturing. No other data was procured except that the

specimen of 29 July was undergoing complete post-nuptial moult and had

probably lately finished breeding.

According to Ferguson, the breeding season in Travancore is in February.

Alcemerops athertoai (Jardine and Selby). The Blue-bearded Bee-eater.

Specimen collected: 75 Q 12-1-33 Maraiyar 3,500 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright golden orange; bill horny brown, grey

at chin and on basal half of lower mandible; mouth greyish-pink; legs and

feet pale yellowish sage-green; claws horny brown.

[ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

49 136 128.5 16 mm.

Here again I think there is no spring moult and a complete post-nuptial

moult,—H. W.]

The Blue-bearded Bee-eater is evidently a rare species in ‘Travancore.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 658) never met with it himself, but included it

in his list on the strength of some skins labelled ‘Travancore’ in the Tri-

vandrum Museum. There is no record of its occurrence in Cochin.

The Survey came across this large bee-eater only at Maraiyur, where pairs

were observed on two or three occasions in the vicinity of dense secondary

evergreen growth bordering the nullahs through the terraced paddy-fields. The

birds were very shy.

Its harsh guttural Kar-r, kiir-r-r notes closely resemble those of the Ceylon

Green Barbet before it commences its kutroo-kutroo calls, but are somewhat

deeper in tone. Its dipping flight likewise is very reminiscent of that bird’s.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 394) obtained this species at the head of the Kambam

Valley which skirts the Palni Hills along their south-eastern base, in Decem-

ber 1866. He also observed a pair at Peritir on the Lower Palnis, in March.

It does not occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: The ovary of the specimen (12 January) showed but little

departure from the non-breeding condition, but it presented a suggestively

granular appearance. ‘The bird—one of a pair-—was shot from a tree over-

hanging the motor road. Immediately under this tree, in the side of a laterite

cutting, was discovered a freshly excavated nest tunnel, for which I have no

doubt this pair were responsibie.

There is no published record of its breeding in Travancore. In Kanara,

Davison took eggs in March (Fauna, iv, 248).

Famity: ALCEDINIDA.

Ceryle rudis travancoreensis Whistler. The Travancore Pied Kingfisher.

Specimens collected: 2883 $ 15-2-38, 303 J 18-2-833 Vembanad Lake,

Kottayam Backwaters.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.—on Periyar River); Chalakudi;

Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (300 ft.); Aramboli (250 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill brownish-black, paler at chin;

mouth pink; legs, feet and claws brownish-black.

ig JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXxXIX

[| Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 0? Travancore (Fry) Type; @Q 16-11-78 Trivandrum

(Bourdillon); 4 Anjango birds.

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

33.6 68-69 133.5-1389 67-71 10.5 mm.

Ee 70 140 70.5 — mm.

Both the Survey specimens are undergoing a moult—which appears to be

a complete post-nuptial moult—in February.—H. W. |]

The Pied Kingfisher is a common resident species in both Travancore and

Cochin. It is commonest on the backwaters where single birds or pairs may

invariably be seen perched upon stakes and dykes, or hovering above the

surface of the water and hurling themselves headlong on some unwary fish

in their usual spectacular manner. They were also met with on tanks and

rivers, but on the latter only where they were placid and smooth running with

deep pools here and there. It was absent on the Periyar Lake (3,000 ft.)

and appears to be confined to the low country and not to ascend the hills at all.

It has not been noted in the Palni Hills. In Ceylon, the race C. r. leuco-

melanura Reichenb. replaces it.

Breeding: ‘The testes of the specimens measured 6 x 4 and 7 xX 5 mm.

respectively. Both the birds were undergoing moult which Mr. Whistler con-

siders to be a complete post-nuptial moult. This would indicate that the birds

had lately finished breeding, although it must be mentioned that both of them

were in pairs and no juvenile or sub-adult birds were observed in their com-

pany, ov elsewhere on the backwaters, about this date. From the behaviour

alone of these pairs, *I certainly should have said that the birds were preparing

to breed.

Alcedo atthis taprobana Kleinschmidt. The Common Ceylon Kingfisher.

Specimens collected: 281 ¢ 15-2-33 Vembanad Lake, Kottayam Backwaters ;

501 ¢ 27-83-38 Tenmalai 500 ft.; 944 0? imm. 5-12-33 Nemmara 300 ft.

Kilsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.); Kumili (8,000 ft.); Camp Dera-

inalai (8,000 ft.); Chalakidi; Shorantir; Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Kartipadanna.

Colours of bare parts: Adult: Iris brown; bill brown with orange tinge,

especially at gape; palate pale coral, gullet pink; legs and feet orange-coral;

claws brown. Immature: Iris brown; upper mandible dark horny brown,

lower mandible dusky orange, browner at tip; mouth pale orange; legs and

feet deep dusky orange; claws horny brown.

- [Measurements :

Bill. Wing. 2.) Daal. ‘Tarsus.

2306 445-45 71-73.5 29.5-32 . .§.5 mm.

Additional specimens seen :

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 9 16-11-75 Vellarny, Trivandrum (Bourdillon); @

21-6-77 Vellarny Lake (Hume Coll.); ¢ 12-4-79 Kildonnan (?), Tvr. (Bour-

dillon); @ ?-1-78 Colachul (Bourdillon).—H. W.]

This little Kingfisher is common about the backwaters and by streams,

tanks, roadside puddles, flooded paddy-fields and borrow-pits and the like, chiefly

in the low country. It is usually seen singly, perched on some stake or stone

or 2a branch overhanging water, jerkily bobbing its head up and down and

wagging its apology of a tail in accompaniment. It darts swiftly over the

surface of the water from one part of the stream or tank to another, uttering

a sharp piping chi-chee, chi-chee etc. From time to time it will suddenly

drop from its perch and disappear with a splash below the surface of the

water presently to emerge with a small fish held crosswise in its bill. With

this it will usually fly off at top speed to another perch at some distance

where the prey is battered and bolted down head foremost.

Ferguson, (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 659) ‘says that it does not ascend the hills, but

the” Surveys noted it not uncommonly in the environs of Periyar Lake at

3,000 ft. elevation. In the Nelliampathies, according to Kinloch U.B.N.E.S.,

tHE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 19

xvii, 942) it is very rare, the few perennial streams of the plateau country

being the only places where an occasional kingfisher may be seen.

All the information we have concerning it in the Palni Hills is that Terry

(S.F., x, 471) saw a pair near Goondar stream in the Pittur Valley. It is a

common species in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘The testes of No. 501 (27 March) measured 3 xX 2 mm. and

appeared to be developing, while the bird was undergoing pre-nuptial (?) moult.

No more precise evidence was procured by the Surveys. According to Ferguson,

it breeds in Travancore during March,

Alcedo meninting subsp.? The Blue-eared Kingfisher.

Specimen collected: 196 Q 31-1-33 Santhanpara 3,500 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill upper mandible horny brown, lower

mandible brownish-orange; gape and mouth orange-coral; legs, feet and claws

orange-coral.

[The specimen measures :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

45 ee 27.5 8.5 mm.

I have seen no additional specimens since my note in the Hastern Ghats

Survey (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvil, 761) was written so can add nothing to what

was written there.—H. W. |]

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 659) writes that in Travancore this kingfisher

(‘beavani’) is found only in the neighbourhood of the streams at the foot of

the hills where it is not uncommon. F. W. Bourdillon (S.F., iv, 383) describes

it as occurring, though less abundantly than Halcyon smyrnensis, in the same

situations as the latter namely among the small patches of paddy cultivation

on the banks of the larger streams at the foot of the hills.

Personally I consider this kingfisher rather rare in Travancore and I came

across 1t only this once in the course of the Survey. It was not noted in

Cochin. The specimen was a single bird in an Eeta (Ochlandra travancorica)

thicket growing on the bank of and overhanging a shallow rocky stream

through a cardamom shola and, be it noted, at an elevation of 3,500 ft. in

the Cardamom Hills.

It is apparently rare in Ceylon also.

Breeding: The ovary of the specimen was inactive. Nidification (ui, 409)

records that J. Stewart took a clutch of 6 eggs in South Travancore on

17 January.

_ [{Ceyx erithaca (Linn.). The hree-toed Kingfisher.

Not met with by the Surveys in Travancore or Cochin, neither recorded

thence by Ferguson, Bourdillon or Kinloch. On what authority Travancore has

been included in its distribution in the Fauna (iv, 261) is not known. ]

Ramphalcyon capensis -[gurial (Pearson). The Brown-headed . Stork-billed

Kingfisher.

Specimens not procured.

Noted at: Santhanpara (8,500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.—on Periyar and

Kandampara Rivers); Ktmili (8,000 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); | Kuriarkutti

(1,600 ft.—Parambikolam River); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (300 tn)

Ernakulam and Karapadanna (Cochin Backwaters).

This large kingfisher is not uncommon on shady forest streams in both

the States and was also met with on irrigation tanks and their channels where

thickly lined with Pandanus, in well-wooded country about cultivation, and in

similar facies by the backwaters. It is a generally distributed species, but

nowhere abundant. I cannot confirm Ferguson's statement (J.B.N.H.S., xv,

659) that it is confined to the low country, although perhaps it is commoner

in the foothills and to an elevation of about 1, 500° ft. Except when coursing

up and down a forest stream from one pool to another, this kingfisher is oftener

heard than seen. It has a habit of perching on a_ well- foliaged branch or

thicket near or overhanging water and uttering its loud raucous cackling

20 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXiX

laugh. Single birds were usually seen, but occasionally also widely separated

pairs.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 894) noted it at the eastern base of the Palni Hills.

It is said to occur in Ceylon ‘throughout the wetter portions’ (Fauna, iv, 265).

Breeding: Stewart and Bourdillon took eggs in Travancore in February

and March, and the latter also obtained a c/4 on 20 July (Nidification, iii, 416).

Halcyon smyrnensis fusca (Boddaert). ‘The Indian White-breasted Kingfisher.

Specimens collected: 71 Q 12-1-83 Maraiyir 3,000 ft.; 698 ¢ 21-7-88

(Beach), 777 9 8-8-3838 (Kovalam ca. 70 ft.), 860 ¢ 15-8-88 (Mariathankizhi

ca. 50 ft.) Trivandrum Environs; 997 (not sexed) 20-12-33 Padagiri, Nelliam-

pathy Hills 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Munnar (5,000 ft.—High Range); Thattakad (200 ft.);

Kottayam (ca, 8..); Peermade (8,200 ft.); Kumili (8,000 ft.); Rajampara

(1,350 ft.), Cape Comorin; Aramboli (250 ft.); Kodaiyar Lake Environs, South

Travancore; Chalakidi; Kuriarkatti (1,600 ft.—Parambikolam River); Wadak-

kancheri (400 ft.); Shorantr; Nemmara (800 ft.); Kartipadanna (ca. §.L.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill brownish orange-red to bright deep

coral; mouth orange-brick or coral; legs and feet dusky orange to coral red

(brighter on hind tarsus and soles); claws blackish-brown.

| Additional specimen seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: Q 15-4-75 Mynall (Bourdillon).

Measurements:

Ball, Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

2G, 58-63 116-117 76-76.5 13-15 min.

3 9 58.5-64 120-121 75.5-86.5 14 mm.

H. W.]

There is no spring moult, and the post-nuptial moult is complete.

The White-breasted Kingfisher is the commonest and most widely distri-

buted of the kingfishers in the States of Travancore and Cochin. It is found

throughout the low country as well as up to at least 5,000 ft. elevation. IJ*ergu-

son is again incorrect in precluding it from the hills.

The bird is usually met with singly or in pairs in the neighbourhood of

flooded paddy-fields and cultivation, ponds, puddles, kutcha wells and water-

logged borrow-pits, both near and away from human habitations. The trenches

dug for irrigating the trees in cocoanut plantations along the backwaters,

tenanted by frogs and water-beetles, provide favourite hunting grounds. It is,

however, by no means so closely dependent upon water for sustenance as its

other relatives are. Hrequently it may indeed be found considerable distances

away, in light deciduous jungle, where it feeds upon lizards, grasshoppers and

other insects. It is perhaps the most catholic of all the Indian kingfishers in

its diet, and will eat practically every living thing that can be come by or

overpowered.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 894) observed it at Peritr in the Lower Palnis and

Terry (S.F., x, 471) near the Goondar stream in the Pittur Valley. It is

common in Ceylon.

Breeding: By the middle of February some males had commenced to

‘sing’ from tree-tops in the morning. This ‘singing’ is distinct from the occa-

sional and sporadic calling which may also be heard at other times of the

year, and to my mind is definitely associated with the approach or progress

of the breeding season. For one thing, it is much more regular in its incidence

both as regards time and place, being uttered chiefly in the early mornings

from some favourite branch near the top of a patricular tree or other exposed

perch. The duration of this ‘breeding song’ is also considerably prolonged.

The song itself may be described as a musical twittering scream or laugh,

repeated sometimes for over a quarter of an hour. Each ‘peal’ ends in a

detached undertone something like the pench of a snipe, audible only at close

quarters and caused, I think, by the intake of fresh air after each call.

The gonads of the specimens were in a quiescent state. No other direct

evidence as regards breeding was obtained by the Surveys. The specimen of

3 August, however, was undergoing a complete post-nuptial moult.

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 659) and F. W. Bourdillon (S.F.,

iv, 383) it breeds in Travancore in April.

“Uy WNPS fiq sojoug

‘C6 [dy g ‘uomoD edeg—urygin ypryQ “Feet BAAuTRT "SE6T TPH1eIY F ‘oye rwArwoagq

JO ploy ut (sisuaisspjng *d snanisdhip) yyimg wyeq jo sen —(sus0oig so4aooyoig) [[tquioFT ueipuy yeerg oy} Jo 4ySoN

‘905 “4ST ‘JeN AKequog ‘uanor

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN al

Halcyon pileata (Boddaert). The Black-capped Kingfisher.

Specimens not procured.

Noted at: Kuriarkitti (1,600 ft.—on the Parambikolam River).

This is apparently an uncommon species. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 659)

refers to a specimen captured in a well at Trivandrum and brought alive to

him, and I observed a single bird near some shallow rapids in the Parambi-

kolam River on 17 November, but was unable to procure it.

It has not been recorded from the Palni Hills being more of a coastal

species, but it occurs in Ceylon.

Breeding: Nidification (iii, 423) records that J. Stewart took a c/4 from

a hole in the bank of a forest stream in Travancore. The precise locality

and date are not mentioned.

[Sauropatis chloris vidali (Sharpe). The Malabar White-collared Kingfisher.

Not met with by the Surveys in Travancore or Cochin.

According to the Fauna (iv, 277) Stewart and Bourdillon both found it in

Travancore and ‘it appears to inhabit the coastal region from Travancore to

Konkan’. However, as Mr. Whistler has pointed out (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii, 763),

no specimens from anywhere south of Ratnagiri apparently exist and further

evidence is necessary before the species can be admitted to the Travancore list. ]

FAMILY: BUCEROTIDE.

Dichoceros bicornis (Linnaeus). The Great Indian Hornbill.

Specimens not procured.

Noted at: Santhanpara (3,500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.); Kamili and

Periyar Lake Environs (3,000 ft.); Camp Deramalai (8,000 ft.); Tenmalai

(500 ft.); along Cochin Forest Tramway near Kiriarkutti (ca. 1,000-1,500 ft.) ;

Padagiri (3,000 ft.—Nelliampathies).

The Great Indian Hornbill is common in the evergreen forest biotope of

both Travancore and Cochin, where it was met with chiefly up to about

8,500 ft. elevation. Its deep harsh grunts and croaking, and the loud resonant

calls Tok, tok etc. were heard reverberating in the forest-clad valleys and

hillsides. ‘These calls are responsible for its Malayali name ‘Malamorakki’

meaning ‘mountain-shaking’.

The birds were usually observed in pairs or parties of 3 to 5, but sometimes

larger groups foregathered to feed on the ripe figs of the various Pici. In

January, February and early March it was not unusual to find single males

winging their way noisily high up in the air, presumably to and from the

nests in quest of forage for their walled-in mates.

Both Fairbank and Terry record it in the Palni Hills, the former from the

vicinity of the town of Palni, the latter in the Pittur (Putthur) Valley.

Curiously enough it does not occur in Ceylon, an anomaly which seems

worthy of closer ecological investigation.

Breeding: The hillmen who were sent out to reconnoitre, discovered and

took me to a nest.on 4 March. It was in a hollow in the trunk of a lofty

Poon tree (Calophyllum tomentosum)—about 50 ft. up—a short distance within

primary evergreen forest along a secluded arm of the Periyar Lake. he dia-

meter of the trunk at the nest site was 33 to 4 ft., and through the narrow

slit (about 8 x 2 in.) the hen could occasionally be observed by means of

field-glasses, shifting her position (on the eggs ?) within. The plaster around

the slit was extraordinarily well camouflaged and blended to perfection with

the bark. One of the hillmen who had stayed behind to mark the place,

informed me that the cock bird had visited the nest in the morning and

fed the hen, but since then—-and between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. while I had

it under observation—he remained absent. Finally he arrived with food at

3 o'clock. He was extremely wary and circumspect, alighting in the highest

branches of a neighbouring tree and surveying his surroundings with the

utmost caution. At 4 o’clock, when I had to leave the place, the bird was

still hesitating to approach the nest, his suspicions having doubtless been

enhanced by the removal of certain hanging creepers which obstructed the

lens of my camera.

The information gathered from the hillmen is as follows: The male

usually feeds his incarcerated mate three times a day, each feed occupying

92 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.» XXXIX

15 to 20 minutes. In addition to these, he may pay short visits. occasionally

to the nest with a lizard or some similar tit-bit. ‘The presence of a nest,

even before the eggs have hatched, is usually betrayed by the droppings of

the dg and fragments of the food he brings, lying on the ground or on

bushes beneath the nest site. Whether the female also casts her excreta out

through the slit I was unable to ascertain. The number of young are said

to be two as a rule. After the young are hatched out, the hen issues forth

from her self-imposed imprisonment, the pair visit the nest with food oftener

and become very bold, noisy and demonstrative, attacking any person who

ventures into the proximity of the nest-tree.

To this I may add that the lillmen esteem the hornbill squabs a great

delicacy and seek them eagerly for food. What the true extent .of such

destruction is, and whether this persecution is having any effect upon the

numbers or nesting habits of the bird, it would be interesting: to .investigate.

T. F. Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 660) obtained an egg at the beginning

of March in Travancore where according to Nidification (iii, 480) the breeding

season 1s February, March and April.

Hydrocissa coronata (Boddaert). The Malabar Pied Hornbill.

Specimen not obtained. : ;

The Travancore Survey only came across this species once—a flock of 7 birds

in lofty tree-tops in heavy evergreen forest at the confluence of the Kandam-

para stream with the Periyar River, about a mile below Thattakad.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 660) describes it as ‘by no means common [in

Travancore] but locally distributed in forest land at the foot of the hills’. He

mentions a specimen in the Trivandrum Museum ‘shot about 9 miles from

Trivandrum. As against this, it may be noted that Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxvul, 942) found it ‘very common’ in the Nelliampathy Hills. .The Cochin

Survey, however, failed to meet with it in the locality around Padagiri

(8,000 ft.) in December.

Neither Fairbank nor Terry include the species in their Palnis lists. It

occurs in Ceylon. .

Breeding: Nidification (ii, 431) mentions that a single egg with young

bird [hard-set?] was taken by Stewart in Travancore on 15 March. ~

Tockus griseus (Latham). The Malabar Grey Hornbill.

Specimens collected: 120 9, 121 9 22-1-83 Santhanpara 3,500 ft. _

Elsewhere noted at: Rajampara (1,850 ft.); Tenmalai (500. ft.);. Kuvalle

Incline—Cochin Forest Tramway; Kuriarkuitti (1,600 ft.); © Wadakkancheri

(400 ft.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.). :

Colours of bare parts: Tris brown in 120 (probably first year), reddish-

brown in 121; bill in 120 brownish pale yellow, commissure, gape, a patch

on each side of base of lower mandible and a triangular patch (ca. 3 in.)

on culmen near forehead brownish-slate; in 121 brownish-slate on culmen

extending practically over entire culmen patchily and irregularly; mouth patchy

pale yellow and brownish-slate; legs and feet greyish sage-green; claws black.

[Additional specimens examined :

Brit. Mus. Coll.: & 18-2-14, 2 20-2-14 Aneichardi Estate (Stewart);

I take No. 120 to be a juvenile distinguished by the paler colouration, with

a fulvous tinge about the vent. All the wing coverts. are conspicuously edged

with fulvous while the wing-quills are edged with pale grey except for the

outer primaries which are conspicuously marked with white. The tail-feathers

are narrower and the primaries more narrowly pointed than in the adult.—

Hew | 4: *:

The Grey Hornbill is common in the evergreen forest tracts of Travancore

and Cochin. I did not observe it below about 400° ft. elevation; it was most

abundant in the Cardamom Hills between 3,000 and 38,500 ft. Ferguson

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 660) states-that he shot it at over. 5,000 ft. on the High

Range and at 4,000 ft. on Chimunji in’ South Travancore. Kinloch

(J.B.N.H.S8., xxvii, 942) found it ‘very common’ in’ the Nelliampathy Hills,

and this was also the experience of the Survey in the locality about Padagiri,

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 23.

Its favourite haunts were the lofty shade trees in cardamom sholas , where

flocks of 5 to 6 birds were usually met with amongst the tops of the various.

Fici, feeding on the figs or flying about from one tree to another in follow-my-

leader fashion. In such places it was not uncommon to find larger congre-'

gations associating with grackles and a number of other frugivorous species.

They are rowdy birds and keep up an incessant variety of loud harsh croaks,:

chuckles and mock laughter, varied now and then by raucous cackling. Several

of their harsh screams are strongly reminiscent of the loud protestations of

the domestic murghi when held up by its legs.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 395) writes that he obtained a specimen of this hornbill

at the eastern (dry) base of the Palni Hills in 1867, but did not observe

another during five weeks’ special search for it on the hillsides and in the

groves in a subsequent year. Terry does not include it in his Palni list,

all of which suggests that it is rare in those hills.

In Ceylon it is replaced by what must be considered another species rather

than race of this, namely Tockus gingalensis.

Breeding: The ovarian follicles of No. 121 (22 January) were conspicuously

granular, some measuring over 1 mm. in diameter, and the bird was probably

approaching breeding condition. Nidification (iii, 441) gives the breeding

season in Travancore as January to early April, but mentions that most eges

are found in February. According to Bourdillon 3 eggs form a normal clutch,

but J. Stewart has apparently faeen a good many cf 4 around Aneichardi,

Faminy: Upupipa.

Upupa epops ceylonensis Reichenbach. The Ceylon Hoopoe.

Specimens collected: 42 ¢ 9-1-3383 Maraiyir 3,500 ft.; 546 :¢ °9-4-38, 563. 3

11-4-33 Cape Comorin ca. 8..; 992 ¢ 18-12-33 Padagiri 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Minnar (5,000. ft.); Devikolam; Santhanpara

(8,500 ft.);- Thattakad (200 ft.); Peermade (8,200 ft.); Kimili (8,000 ft.);

Camp Deramalai (3,000 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Trivandrum Town (ca. 50 ft.);

Aramboli (250 ft.); Ashambi Hills (at ca. 500 ft.); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.);

Nemmara (800 ft.); Trichtr; Ernakulam. i

Colours of bare parts: [ris dark brown ; bill horny brown or horny black

at tip gradually paling into greyish at base; mouth pink; legs and feet horny

brown; claws brown. .

[The 4 males measure:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

56-62.5 133-136 92-99 91.5-22 mm.—H. W.]

The Hoopoe is a generally distributed species throughout Travancore and

Cochin though nowhere abundant. The Surveys came across it sporadically,

singly or in pairs, inhabiting the drier and opener parts of the low country

as well as hills up to at least 5,000 ft. Werguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 660)

writes: ‘During the hot weather about March it.may be found in the hills

even ascending the High Range’ which would make it out to be a seasonal

altitudinal migrant. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942), however, does not refer

to this peculiarity. in the Nelliampathies, neither do the Survey dates convey

that impression. Unfortunately we have no first-hand data for the hills. during

the South-West Monsoon season i.e. May to October.

In the low country single birds _or scattered pairs -were met ath about

cultivation, villages, in large compounds of the more populous towns and also

in light deciduous jungle. In smaller numbers they were occasionally observed

in evergreen forest tracts also, both hill and plain, but never actually within

forest. In these localities they kept to the deciduous country on its fringe,

to the taungya clearings or to paths and thinly shaded spaces in tea or coffee

plantations.

- Fairbank (S8.F., v, 399) observed this hoopoe on the Lower Palnis, but

particularly mentions ‘that he also shot one aoe belonging to the typical

Huropean race, U. e. epops, there.

It is a resident but locally distributed species in Ceylon. -

Breeding: In specimen No. 992 (18 December) the testes measured

6x 3 mm, It was one of a pair calling hoo-po-po ete, from exposed perches.

24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Specimen No. 42 (9 January) also appeared to be similarly preparing to breed.

The gonads of the other two specimens were in a quiescent state. On

24 February (Peermade, 3,200 ft.) a bird was observed conveying food in its

bill, but the nest was not located.

The Fauna (iv, 312) gives the breeding season for South India as February

to April; for Ceylon November to April with possibly a second brood later.

SUB-ORDER: TROGONKES.

FamILy: TROGONIDA.

Harpactes fasciatus malabaricus (Gould). The Malabar Trogon.

Specimens collected: 8 ¢ 4-1-3383 Maraiyir 3,500 ft.; 214 ¢ 4-2-33, 224 0?

6-2-83 Thattakad 200 ft.; 492 ¢ 26-3-83 Tenmalai 500 ft.; 874 Q 16-11-33

Kariarkttti 1,600 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Kutmili and Periyar Lake Environs (ca. 3,000 ft.);

Rajampara (1,850 ft.); Ashambt' Hills (ca. 2,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris dark brown (in Q 874 chestnut brown); bill

blue, black on culmen and tips of both mandibles; mouth pink; orbital and

suborbital skin bright cobalt blue; legs and feet paler blue (‘dusky sky blue’);

claws horny brown.

| Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: & 19-6-77 Shemiganur 5,000 ft.—Palnis (Fairbank) ;

G 4-12-72 HEridge (Bourdillon); Q 8-12-74 Mynall (Bourdillon).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

5 od 21.5-23 122-128.5 160-179.5 13-15 mm.

Eo 20 127.5 166 14.5 mm.—H. W.]

As Ferguson describes it (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 663), this beautiful trogon is

not uncommon in the heavily forested tracts of Travancore and also of Cochin.

The Surveys came across it both in the plains forests.as well as up in the hills

—between 200 and 3,500 ft. elevation. It is usually seen singly or in scattered

pairs frequenting dense evergreen (or mixed) jungle and undergrowth, flitting

about gracefully from branch to branch or tree to tree, or turning and twisting

in the air after winged insects like Tchitrea. I frequently observed it clinging

laterally on to the branches in quest of food. On the whole the birds were

silent, but their curious low mewing calls occasionally helped to give their

presence away. This trogon is rather crepuscular in its habits and may

often be seen actively hawking beetles well after dusk. When perched on a

branch, it somehow always contrives to keep the less conspicuously coloured

back turned to the observer, which, coupled with its habit of sitting quite

motionless, not infrequently helps it to evade observation! Specimen No. 874

emitted an unpleasant odour.

Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942) who describes this trogon as common in

the Nelliampathy Hills, notices a curious habit it has while perched, of ex-

panding and elevating its tail and uttering a low twittering creak the while.

He suggests that this is possibly a courting display.

From Fairbank’s account (S.F., v, 893) it would appear that the bird is

rather uncommon in the Palni Hills. The typical race H. f. fasciatus replaces

it in Ceylon.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens were inactive and furnished no

indication as regards breeding. Specimen No. 492 (26 March), however, was

undergoing heavy post-nuptial (?) moult. F

On 27 April (Ashambi Hills, ca. 2,500 ft.) Humayun Abdulali discovered

a nest in a dense evergreen shola on a hillside, close to the edge. Tt was an

untidy, flimsy platform of rotten twigs etc. slightly cupped in the centre,

wedged in at a height of about 8 ft. between a growing sapling and a sweep-

ing cane-stem. It was a disreputable and deserted looking structure, remini-

scent of a dove’s nest. The two eggs it contained—pale ivory white, unspotted

—were well-glossed, and measured 27 x 22 and 27 x 21 mm. respectively.

The female, when disturbed off the nest, dived into the undergrowth below

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 25

with a series of turr-rr etc. The male sat watching on a huge tree about

20 yds. away.

The above case is interesting and would appear rather exceptional in view

of the statement in Nidification (iii, 448) that ‘For nesting purposes the birds

select natural holes in dead trees or more often, in stumps of trees in the

gloomiest parts of the forest.

The breeding season in Travancore is said (ibid) to be from February to

May, Bourdillon and’ Stewart having taken °6es from 29 February to 12 May.

The normal clutch is said to consist of 2 to 4 eggs.

SUB-ORDER: CYPSELI.

Faminy: Muicropip®.

Micropus melba bakeri (Hartert). The Indian Alpine Swift.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Maraiyur (near Kodekkadu. and Kaipanjimalai 5,000-6,500 ft.) ;

Kottayam (ca. §8.L.); Muthtktzhi (Ashambu Hills, ca. 4,000 ft.); Padagiri

(at ca. 4,500 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills).

The Alpine Swift is evidently a resident species and not uncommon on the

High Range and the other higher hills of Travancore and Cochin. Numbers

were usually seen hawking insects over the grassy hilltops or above the inter-

vening valleys. On one occasion a party of these swifts was observed by

the Kottayam Backwaters near Ktimaragam, hawking insects high above the

crowns of the cocoanut palms and frequently sweeping down to within a few

feet of the water-logged paddy fields.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 661) shot these birds on the High Range and

there saw them in numbers hawking insects through the smoke wherever the

grass was being burnt.

In the Palni Hills, Terry (S.F., x, 469-70) found a large number of Alpine

Swifts on a cliff near Pittur (Putthair) where he thought they were nesting.

He could not ascertain this owing to the inaccessible nature of the place.

It occurs in Ceylon, but as far as I know has not definitely been found

breeding on the island. However, W. W. A. Phillips [Ceylon Jour. Sci. (B),

xvill, 252] describes what is evidently a breeding place at Rangala. It was

inaccessible.

The reports and suggestions of its breeding on the cliffs and _ precipices

about the Gairsoppa Falls on the Mysore-Kanara border have at last recently been

confirmed by Humayun Abdulali who saw the birds building, and collected speci-

mens with fully active gonads on 26 December 19385 (J.B.N.H.S., xxxviit, 829-30).

No nesting in Travancore or Cochin has been noted, but in view of the

above there seems no reason to doubt its doing so, since suitable cliffs and

precipices are available in the Nelliampathies of Cochin and in the High

Range and other mountains of Travancore.

Micropus affinis subsp.? The House-Swift.

Specimens collected: 596 ¢ 15-4-33, 619 4 18-4-83 Aramboli 250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Kottayam (ca. §..); Kartipadanna (ca. 8.L.).

Colours of bare parts: ‘Iris brown; bill black; mouth fleshy; legs and

feet fleshy shading into black; claws _ black’ (Humayun and Pillai).

[See my remarks under HKastern Ghats Survey (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvii, 380-32)

which explain why these birds cannot be subspecifically named.—H. W. |

On the whole, the House Swift is an uncommon, patchily and capriciously

distributed species in the ‘Travancore-Cochin area. It is evidently confined

to the low country and does not seem to ascend the hills at all. The Surveys

only have the following records:

1. A pair about the Travellers’ Bungalow at Kottayam (February).

2. A nesting colony of about 50 birds in the Aramboli Gap (April).

3. Two pairs about the Travellers’ Bungalow at Karapadanna (December).

In the last case the birds occasionally visited the remains (or foundation ?)

of a nest in the rafters of the verandah. In the evenings it was their habit

$o disport themselves, flying in close formation in and out of the verandah

26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

and twittering loudly. The flight on these occasions consisted of a. butterfly-

like fluttering—wings raised well above the back and only their tips vibrating

rapidly.

Ferguson’s collectors found a colony breeding in January 1903 in the

Registrar’s office in North Parur in North Travancore, but he himself never

came across this swift in the State (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 661). In the Palni Hills,

Terry (S.F., x, 470) found it not uncommon at Pittur and Kukal, but saw

it nowhere else. Fairbank (S.F., v, 393) observed a dozen or so hawking

insects above the tree-tops at 3,000 ft. elevation. [This or Indicapus?]

It occurs in Ceylon, but the birds from the island are darker.

Breeding: Specimen No. 596 (15 April) had its testes enlarged to 6 x 4 mm.

It was in general body moult (post-nuptial?) and exceedingly fat. In No. 619

(18 April) the gonads were in a quiescent state. Attached to the ceiling of

the projecting section of an enormous boulder hillock on the southern side

of the Aramboli Gap was a colony of about 18 nests, apparently all occupied.

Owing to the inaccessibility of the situation their contents could not be ascer-

tained. The birds constantly flew to and from the nests in a body with a

great deal of twittering, and kept wheeling round and hawking insects in

the neighbourhood.

The breeding months in Malabar and Travancore are said to be the same

as in Ceylon, viz., February and March (Fauna, iv, 384).

Cypsiurus parvus batassiensis (Griffith), The Bengal Palm Swift.

Specimens collected: 531 nestling, 582 0? ad. 8-4-33, 589 @ 13-4-83 Cape

Comorin ca. 8.L.; 950 0? 6-12-83 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Kottayam (ca. §.L.); Trivandrum (ca. 8.L.); Wadak-

kancheri (400 ft.); Palghat Gap; Kartipadanna (ca. S.L.).

Colours of bare parts: Nestling (581): Iris brown; bill, legs, feet and

claws pinkish-brown. .Adult: Jris brown; bill dark horny brown; mouth

pinkish-grey; legs, feet and claws pinkish-brown.

[Additional specimen seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 3. 28-2-75 Kolachul (Hume Coll.).

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Central tail. Outer tail.

LS 7.5 113 31 65.5 mm.—H,. W.]

As elsewhere, the Palm Awift is common in the low and dry country of

Travancore and Cochin wherever the Palmyra Palm (Borassus flabellifer)

occurs. It seems to be definitely symbiotic with it, but what the precise factors

are that control this symbiosis have still to be determined.

In the Palni Hills also, Fairbank (S.F'., v, 393) observed it about Palmyra

trees in Periakulam near the eastern base (dry country). It is common in

the plains and low hills of Ceylon in suitable. facies.

Breeding: On 8 April (Cape Comorin) a nest was located in a fold or

furrow of a Palmyra leaf, about 30 ft. up. The leaf was cut off at the stem

and lowered for examination by means of a rope. The nest (see photo) was

a tiny saucer of agglutinated feathers, and down and seeds~of the Ak plant

(Calotropis). The attachment to the leaf along the rim of the saucer was

110 mm. long, the other measurements being as follows: Width of saucer

from side to side 38 mm.; width, back to front 28 mm.; the actual saucer or

egg chamber was 10 mm. deep from the rim. The fabric at the bottom was

10mm. thick; the thickness of the top edge of the rim in front, 1 mm.

The nest contained a single chick, naked except for the sprou ting feather-

tracts and quills. Throughout the ‘rough handling that the leaf received in

the hacking and lowering process, when it swayed violently in the breeze,

the chick held on tenaciously to the fibrous lining of the nest. This capacity

for retaining its hold under turbulent conditions must undoubtedly be of high

survival value to the chick during storms.

In the same furrow of the leaf as held the nest, and about 8 in. above

it, hung a pipistrelle bat, apparently both the occupants living on amicable

terms. The swift and the bat may be considered as_ filling identical ecological

‘niches’, but the former is diurnal while the latter does the night shift, A

THE ORNITHOLOGY. OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN _—— 2%

query ecological study of a Palmyra palm would no doubt yield interesting

results.

Specimen No. 532 shot near the nest tree, and presumably one of the

parents, was very fat. It had an incubation patch and was moulting its

secondaries; its gonads had evidently reverted to normal size, but shot damage

made sexing impossible. Its gular pouch was crammed full of flying ants

and other tiny hymenopterous insects. No. 589, with testes ca. 3 x 2 mm.,

had evidently finished breeding. It was undergoing complete post-nuptial moult.

In No. 950 (6 December) the gonads were not discernible. It was in freshly

moulted plumage (post-juvenal ?).

Apparently no published records of its breeding in Travancore or Cochin

exist, but in Ceylon October to April is said to be the season (Fauna, iv, 337)

Susp-FAMILY: CHAETURINA,

Chetura giganteus indicus (Hume). The Brown-throated Spinetail.

Specimens collected: 347 ¢, 348 @Q 24-2-83 Peermade 3,200 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.);. Camp Deramalai (Uppakilam

3,000-4,000 ft.); Rajampara (1,350 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Balamore Estate

and Ashambi Hills (500-3,500. ft.); Kodaiyar Lake Environs; Kuriarkitti (at

3,500 ft.—Annemalai Hills); Padagiri (3,000-4,000 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill horny-black; mouth greyish-pink ;

legs and feet greyish-pink; claws horny brown.

[Additional specimens seen:

_ Brit. Mus. Coll.: 14-10-76, ¢ 3-11-78, ¢ 5-1-80 Mynall (Bourdillon).

_. Measurements: , ne ;

Bille Wing. Tail.°° -< Tarsus..:

4 og 7 - 18.5-16 190-200 © 56-59 16.5-17.5 mm.

1.0 13 195 60 - 18.5 mm.—H. W.]

This magnificent swift is fairly common and evidently a resident in the

hills of Travancore and Cochin. Kinloch’s statement (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942)

suggests that in the Nelliampathy Hills it is only a cold weather visitor.- The

Survey also came across it in the low and foothills country at Thattakad in

the neighbourhood of fairly heavy deciduous jungle. The range of elevation

recorded for it in my notes is 200-4,000 ft. above sea-level. Hilltops, both

grass-covered and with forest interspersed, are favourite hunting grounds, and

in the mornings and evenings numbers of these birds were commonly to be

seen swishing through the air majestically over these at tremendous speed,

hawking insects and disporting themselves. The ease, grace and_ swiftness

with which they follow the contours of the hilltops or sweep around overhangs

is exhilarating to watch.

Bourdillon has an interesting note on this swift in Stray Feathers, vii, 34.

He says that a flight during the early showers of April is a pretty sure indi-

cation of the approach of a storm. What exactly he means by ‘flight’, however,

is not clear. Possibly he refers to the ‘balling’ as of the Common House Swift.

‘This species has not been recorded from the Palni Hills either by Fairbank

or Terry. In Ceylon, it is resident on the hills.

Breeding: Both the specimens (24 February) were ‘evidently breeding.

They were freshly moulted. The testes of the male measured 18 x 5 mm.,

while the female had a soft ovarian egg and her oviduct was considerably

distended. Unfortunately the nest site was not discovered, but there was a

deserted factory chimney on a grassy hilltop in the neighbourhood: which the

birds were observed flying in and out of, and at the bottom. of which IT suspect

they may have been-nesting. T. F. Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 661) observed

a bird flying with a straw in its bill at the beginning of April, but was

doubtful of this species breeding in Travancore.

Tt was not until 1913 that Mr. J. Stewart—to whom we are indebted for

so much recent information on Travancore birds—found this swift roosting

and breeding in large hollow green trees (chiefly Vateria indica) in the Travan-

core hills. His note on the subject. (J.B.N.H.S., xxii, 398) is so interesting

that I quote it in extenso, He writes; ‘I haye on ‘seyeral occasions seen

28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

colonies of 30-50 birds roosting in trees, but have only just succeeded in finding

them breeding. On the 12th instant [March 1913] I discovered a tree in

which the birds were popping out and in at the only entrance which was

at a height of about 45 ft.;. the tree was hollow from top to bottom, and,

on cutting a hole in it near the ground I found two nests each containing

2 fresh eggs. The nests were mere depressions in the earth at the foot of

the tree with dry leaves and straw. The eggs were pure porcelain white

with very hard shells, the average size of the 4 eggs is 1.28 x 1 in, I have

since tapped another tree in the same way and found 3 nests at the foot

of it; 2 nests were empty and the third contained 2 young birds. All the

frees I have seen occupied by this swift have been at elevations of 1,000-2,000 ft.

in heavy forest’. Subsequently Mr. Stewart obtained a considerable number

of their eggs. Although the birds roost in the hollow trunks, at times in large

colonies, he never found more than two pairs breeding in one tree, and usually

only a single pair. Three or four eggs form the normal clutch according

to him, but he has found as many as 5 eggs in a nest. Nidification (iii, 466)

adds that the breeding season in Travancore is March and April.

Indicapus sylvaticus (Blyth). The White-rumped Spinetail.

Specimens collected: 228 ¢, 229 Q 6-2-3833 Thattakad 200 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Peermade (8,200 ft.); Kuriarkutti (1,600-2,500 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill blackish-brown; mouth greyish-

pink; legs and feet pinkish-brown; claws blackish-brown,

| Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

i Oey 8 114 37 mm.

ie) 7 115 36 mm.—H. W.]

A loose flock of about 20 of these little Spinetails was first observed by

the Travancore Survey hawking insects on the right bank of the Periyar River

at Thattakad, and above the forest clearing for the government Bombax plan-

tation. Subsequently . (24 February) twos and threes were seen flying over

grassy hills at Peermade. On the evening of 16 November a flock of 15 or

more birds were observed disporting themselves in the air on the Parambi-

kolam River at Kuriarkatti (Cochin) flying over the surface and wheeling

round in orderly fashion. The birds utter a twittering chick-chick in flight

hke the Common Swift and their appearance on the wing is also greatly

reminiscent of that bird. The above constitute the only records obtained by

the Surveys. They indicate that the species is not common in this area,

and also somewhat patchily distributed. Ferguson and Bourdillon do not appear

to have come across it in Travancore.

There is no record of its occurrence in the Palni Hills. It is not found in

Ceylon.

Breeding: 'The gonads of the specimens (6 February) showed signs of

maturing. Both of them, moreover, were in freshly moulted plumage and

evidently ready to breed shortly. The testes of the male measured 4 x 3 mm.;

the ovarian follicles of the female were .5-1 mm. in diameter.

According to J. Stewart (J.B.N.H.S., xxii, 394) these spinetails breed in

the Travancore hills in open forest at elevations of about 2,000 ft., but not

in colonies. The nest is made of vegetable fibre strongly attached with saliva

to the inside of a hollow tree. Nidification (iii, 467) adds that according

to the same observer the breeding season in Travancore is March and April,

but that a few eggs may be found in the first half of May. The normal

clutch is said to be of 3 to 5 eggs.

Collocalia fuciphaga unicolor (Jerdon). The Indian Edible Swiftlet.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted (unconfirmed) only at Tenmalai (500 ft.) on 27 March. Several birds

(50-60) hawking insects high above a Teak plantation.

[Travancore specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 33 18-8-75 Eridge (Bourdillon).

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Central tail. Outer tail.

add 88.5 16-17 41-44.5 53.5-54 mm.—H. W.]

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 39

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 662) describes this swiftlet as ‘Common in the

hills [of Travancore] where it is resident’ and Bourdillon (S.F., iv, 374) lke-

wise says ‘Resident on the hills and very abundant’. In view of these state-

ments it is curious that the Surveys did not come across it more than in

the one doubtful instance given. It is indeed surprising that they should

have so consistently evaded observation during the seven months spent in

famous Pillar Rocks. It is a generally distributed resident in Ceylon.

In the Palni Hills also this swiftlet is apparently common. In about 1886,

Terry (S.F., x, 470) saw large numbers flying about over the lake at Kodai-

kanal. R. Foulkes (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 727) found the same in 1904 and describes

how one bird splashed into the water and would have drowned but for his

rescue. According to both these observers, it appears that they breed regu-

larly in the-Palni Hills, a favourite site being the caves and sides of the

famous Pillar Rocks.

Breeding: Bourdillon (S.F'., iv, 874-6 and J.B.N.H.S., xv, 662) gives very

good accounts of the nesting of this swiftlet in Travancore. According to him,

it breeds abundantly throughout the hills, sometimes in small colonies of 4 or

5 pairs, and sometimes in larger colonies of as many hundreds. The largest

breeding place he knew of was a cave situated at the base of a grass ridge

in South Travancore at about 2,300 ft. elevation. In this he found from

two to three hundred nests in March, the greater number containing 2 eggs

each. This number in a clutch is said to be almost invariable.

Nidification (ii, 469) gives the breeding season in Travancore as April, May

and June.

Susp-FAMILY: HEMIPROCNINA.

Hemiprocne coronata (Tickell). The Indian Crested Swift.

Specimens collected: 217 Q 4-2-838 Thattakad 200 ft.; 3887 ¢ 1-38-33 Kumili

8,000 ft.; 825 9, 826 9, 827 d, 828 J, 829 9 10-8-838 Kiuttyani 800 ft.—

Trivandrum Environs; 9038 ¢ 25-11-88 Wadakkancheri 400 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiytr (Kodekkadu and Kaipanjimalai ca. 5,000 ft.) ;

Nemmara (800 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Ins brown; bill horny black; mouth greyish-pink ;

legs and feet pinkish-brown (‘slaty-grey’—Pillai); claws blackish-brown.

| Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Central tail. Outer tail.

436 11-12.5 150-151 40-45 122-129 mm.

49° 12-18 148-159 41-46 125 mm.

The very distinct juvenile plumage of this swift 1s well known. 'The post-

juvenal moult apparently does not include the primaries and the coverts, the

secondaries and greater coverts, the tertiaries and the tail. Except for these

unmoulted parts, the first winter male agrees with the adult male. There

is a complete autumn moult in which the body plumage is usually changed

well before the wings and tail. There appears to be a partial body moult in

the spring.—H. W.]

The Crested Swift is not uncommon in ‘Travancore and Cochin. It is

evidently a resident species though in the Nelliampathies, Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxv, 942) seems to have found it in the cold weather only. It is closely

confined to deciduous forest country, and therefore met with especially about

the foothills. The birds are partial to taungya clearings in this biotope where

they may usually be seen hawking insects above the clearing or crops, or

perched on the bare topmost branches of trees bordering them. Open, lightly

wooded grass jungle also forms a favourite haunt.

It has a variety of loud, rather harsh but not unpleasant notes which are

mostly uttered from a perch, but occasionally also on the wing. The com-

monest of these may be rendered as whit-uck, whit-uck, whit-uck ete. while

others are best likened to the ‘scolding’ notes of the Shikra (Astur badius).

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.F., v, 393) obtained only a single juvenile

at the eastern (dry, deciduous) base, but Terry (S.F., x, 470) records it as

pretty common on the slopes and at Pulungi (Pallangi). On 7 April he found

a nest in the Pittur (Putthtr) Valley containing one hard-set egg.

30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST.. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

‘The Crested Swift is resident and generally distributed in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘The testes of specimen No. 903 (25 November) were. enlarged

to 5 x 38 mm. and appeared to be maturing. An incubation patch was present

although the bird was apparently not breeding as yet. No. 217 (4 February)

possessed a fully mature ovary containing a soft egg 138 mm. in diameter.

Its oviduct was much distended, however, suggesting that the single egg the

bird usually lays had already been deposited. No. 887 (1 March), “with testes

5 x 38 mm. and a conspicuous incubation patch, had probably lately finished

breeding as it was in post-nuptial body moult. All the August specimens were

also undergoing general post-nuptial body moult.

There is no published record of the breeding of the Crested Swift in 'Travan-

core or Cochin. The data obtained by the “Surveys suggests the season as

November-December to February-March, therefore earlier than in most parts

of its other Indian range and corresponding rather with Ceylon where it is

said (Fauna, iv, 855) to lay in February and March.

SUB-ORDER: CAPRIMULGI.

FAMILY: CAPRIMULGIDZ.

Caprimulgus macrourus atripennis Jerdon. Jerdon’s Long-tailed Nightjar

Specimen collected: 76 Q 12-1-33 Maraiyur 3,500 ft.

Elsewhere not satisfactorily differentiated.

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; bill horny. brown, yellowish on coin-

missure and gape; feet pinkish-brown; claws pale horny brown.

[Additional specimen seen: . | . .

Trivandrum Mus. Coll.:- $ 30-8-03 Koni, Travancore.—H. W.].

The specimen was shot at dusk in a roadside field. Several others were

observed at the same time squatting at intervals along the High Range motor

road in this locality, flying up and into the fallow fields on its edge and

back again to the road. The specimen was very fat.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 662) mentions only 2 specimens of this nightjar

from Travancore, both shot on the High Range. He was of the opinion that

it did not occur in South Travancore. Kinloch is credited (Nidification, iti, 479)

with having taken a clutch of 2 eggs in the Nelliampathy Hills in February.

This species, however,’ does not appear in Kinloch’s Nelliampathy _ list

(J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 939-44), and as Mr.. Whistler has pointed out (U/.B.N.H.S.,

xxxvill, 35) the record needs confirmation since the parent bird was apparently

not collected.

Neither Fairbank nor Terry came across it in the Palni Hills.. In Ceylon

it is replaced by the typical and darker race C. m. macrourus.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimen (12 Tanti were inactive. There

are no published records of its breeding in Travancore, and only the one

uneonfirmed one from Cochin.

[In Nidification (iii, 482) Kinloch is also said to have taken the eggs 6

Caprimulgus macrourus albonotatus, the larger northern race of this nightjar,

in the Nelliampathy Hills of Cochin., Confirmation, is lacking, but in any’ case

the breeding of both races in the same area seems unlikely. |

Caprimulgus indicus indicus Latham. The Indian Jungle Nightjar.

Specimen collected: 272 Q 11-2-383 Thattakad 200 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Balamore HKstate (Ashambt Hills, 2,000-3,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; fine. circumorbital ting yellow;' bill

horny brown, yellowish on commissure and gape; feet pinkish-brown;

claws

pale ‘horny brown.

[Additional specimens examined :

Brit. «Mus. Coll: - 29-12-75 Goinnernale ‘Valley 4,200 ft. (Hume

Goll.) ;- Q - 2-38-76 Ballochbuir [?] 2,800.ft. (Bourdillon).;° ¢ ‘no date; 9. 80-12-79,

Q 1-11-75, .Q 29-2-76, -2 .20-3-76 Mynall 2,000. ft.’ (Bourditlon) ; Q 28-2-14

Aneichardi Estate (Stewart); o 11-4-83 Pulungi (Terry). tet gs

Trivandrum Mus. Coll.: [Q] 29-11-76 Mynall | (Godrdillon) 4

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 81

Measurements :

Bil. Wing. Tail.

3Bdd 22-23 174-188 125-128 mm.

9 2g 23-24 , 181-195 (119.5)124.5-182 mm.—H. W.]

The Jungle Nightjar appears to be somewhat erratic in its distribution.

It was common in some of the well-wooded portions of Travancore State and

apparently absent from others almost identical. The Survey came across it

both in the low country and foothills forest (from ca. 200 ft. elevation) in

February, up to at least 3,000 ft. in the Ashamba Hills in April. Whether

or not it is an altitudinal migrant as suggested by Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S.,

xv, 662), I am unable to say. F. W. Bourdillon (S.f., iv, 381) even says:

‘A winter visitor [to Travancore], occurring rather abundantly from November

to March and preferring open grassland at the edge of forest’.

At Thattakad these nightjars were commonly seen flying over and across

the Periyar River at dusk, from one bank to the other, performing their aerial

contortions and hawking winged insects above the water and above the tall

trees near its edge. Numbers of these birds roosted during the day among

scrub and fallen teak leaves in a teak plantation along the river bank, whence

they issued forth at dusk. In the Ashambt Hills, on the fringe of evergreen

and mixed forest, it was commonly heard calling at dusk and in the early

mornings before sunrise. The call-note, as described by me _ elsewhere, is

chuck-koo, chuck-koo, chuck-koo, uttered three to seven times, at the rate of

one every second or so and then after a short break, repeated again, and so

on for several minutes at a stretch. It was the only nightjar heard in this

locality.

The Survey did not hear or come across the Jungle Nightjar in Cochin,

where, however it must oceur since Kinloch is said to have taken its eggs

in. the Nelliampathies (Nidification, ii, 484).

_ According to Terry (S.F., x, 470) it is common in the Palni Hills especially

at Pulungi and Pittur. In Ceylon it is replaced by the endemic insular race

C. i. kelaartt.

Breeding: The ovary of the specimen (11 February) was undeveloped and

the bird was very fat. According to T. FI. Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 663)

the breeding season in Travancore is January to March. In the Nelliam-

pathies of Cochin, Kinloch took the eggs in February.

[Caprimulgus monticolus monticolus Franklin. [ranklin’s Nightjar.

Not met with by the Surveys, neither has it been. recorded by previous

observers in Travancore, Cochin or the Palni Hills.

The inclusion of Travancore in its distribution (Fauna, iv, 371) rests appar-

ently on the authority of the single specimen (9) collected by Surgeon-General

Fry labelled ‘Travancore’, now in the British Museum. As is well known,

the data on Fry’s specimens is not always reliable, and under the circumstances

further evidence is desirable before its occurrence in this area can be admitted. |

Caprimulgus asiaticus asiaticus Latham. The Common Tndian Nightjar.

Specimens collected: 605 @Q juv. 17-4-83, 611 9, 612 ¢ 18-4-33° Aramboli

250 ft.; 956 9 8-12-33 Nemmara at ca. 400 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Cape Comorin; Trivandrum; Wadakkancheri (400 ft.);

Trichur.

Colours of bare parts: Adult: Iris brown; fine circumorbital rim (eye-

lids) yellow; bill horny-brown, yellowish on commissure and gape; feet pinkish-

brown; claws pale horny-brown. Juvenile: Iris brown; eyelids (rim) cream

colour; bill pinkish-brown, darker at tip; mouth pink; legs and feet pinkish-

brown; claws horny brown. a .

[Additional specimens seen:

_ Brit. Mus. Coll.: of 5-6-77 eastern base of Palnis (Fairbank). |

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

20d . 17-19 188-145 96-104. mm.

1D) — 142 103 mm.—H. W.]

829 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXtX

As Ferguson points out (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 662) this little nightjar is very

common throughout the low country of Travancore, and to this might also be

added Cochin.

Single birds, pairs or loose (family?) parties frequent broken country, fallow

and stubble fields, compounds, hght scrub or open deciduous jungle at dusk.

They squat on the ground or perch on stumps or stones and utter their

familiar ‘stone-on-ice’ calls, chuchk-chuck-chuck-chuck-r-r- etc. The birds are

also invariably seen squatting on motor roads at night—their eyes gleaming

red in the beam of the headlights—and flying up just in time to save them-

selves from the oncoming car, occasionally meeting with disaster. In the early

mornings two birds, some distance apart, may frequently be heard answering

to each other for long periods.

It apparently does not ascend the Palni Hills either. Fairbank (S.f.,

v, 393) only obtained a single specimen on the eastern (dry) base of the hills,

but saw or heard no other nightjars during five weeks’ stay at higher ele-

vations. It is represented in Ceylon by the smaller race C. a. minor to which

Mysore and Travancore birds approximate in size (J.B.N.H.S., xxxviil, 39).

Breeding: The ovary of No. 956 (8 December) was in a quiescent state.

Specimen No. 605 (17 April) was a juvenile with rectrices and wing-quills just

sprouting, and it was able to fly short distances with some difficulty. It

uttered a quick repeated chuck-chuck-chuck, somewhat similar to that of the

Painted Sandgrouse, when flushed. Squatting on the ground, it looked exactly

like a bit of rotten wood and its colour and pattern blended in a most astonish-

ing manner to render if inconspicuous in its surroundings. From the state of

their organs and the fact that they were undergoing body moult post-nuptial,

it seemed probable that the two adult April specimens had lately finished

breeding.

According to the Faunuw (iv, 3738) this nightjar breeds in Travancore during

most months of the year, but most frequently from February to April and

then again in July-August.

Lyncornis macrotis bourdilloni Hume. Bourdillon’s Great Hared Nightjar.

Specimen collected: 498 ¢ 27-38-33 'l'enmalai 500 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; nostrils and tips of both mandibles

blackish-brown; legs pale pink, toes duskier; claws horny brown.

| Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: & 4-9-87, ¢ 21-8-87 Konegur (Bourdillon); 92 (Type)

15-1-75 Kaland, Khauna (Bourdillon).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

3 dd 2122.5 279-285 182-197 mm.

1 Q9 20 284 186 mm.—H. W.]

Both Bourdillon (S.F., i, 802) and Stewart (apud Stuart Baker, Fauna,

iv, 376) seem to have found this large and handsome nightjar fairly common

in Central and South Travancore, from sea level up to 2,000 or 3,000 ft.

elevation. The type was first obtained by the former (ibid) on 15 January 1875

in a hillmen’s clearing on the banks of the Peenaven-aur, about 15 miles north

of Mynall, ca. 600 ft. elevation. .

Unfortunately the Travancore Survey came across it only at one camp—

Tenmalai—in Central Travancore, and although a special look-out was kept for

it all along it was neither seen nor heard thereafter. The birds kept during

the day to deciduous forest, emerging into glades and clearings soon after

sunset with loud whistling calls of two notes: whi-wheeeew. The first syllable

in this is short and somewhat abrupt, the second much prolonged. Two or

three birds could usually be seen of an evening hawking beetles etc. above

the tree-tops and jungle, but the species was by no means common.

In a letter to William Davison (Ibis 1888, 146-7) T. F. Bourdillon gives

the following account of its habits. He writes from Konegur, where he

obtained a specimen: ‘It seems to be local but not uncommon where it does

occur, for I have seen one or two every night for the last two or three weeks

since I have been here. They come out, however, very late; just as the last

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 33

tinge of colour is fading out of the sky one may see one or two of these

birds sailing over the fields, seldom flapping their wings, but quartering the

ground like a harrier. They do not remain in one place, but travel about a

good deal, but seem to return to the same neighbourhood night after night

unless one is shot, when they all disappear for four or five days. As a rule

they fly slow, at about the same pace as a harrier, except when moving

from one place to another, when they go at a great pace, striking the air

with vigorous wings.’

This nightjar appears to be confined exclusively to Central and South [ ?]

Travancore. Neither Kinloch nor the Cochin Survey came across it in that

State, and it does not occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘The testes of the specimen (27 March) measured 6 x 4 mm.

It was very fat, in fresh plumage and presumably preparing to breed shortly.

According to the Fauna (iv, 376) J. Stewart took a fine series of the eggs

of this bird in Travancore between January and the middle of May. He

found it breeding generally in bush cover on broken hillsides, but also in

deciduous forest in thin undergrowth.

SUB-ORDER: PODARGI.

Faminy: PopARGIDR.

Batrachostomus moniliger Blyth. The Ceylon Frogmouth.

Specimens collected: 220 9, 221 ¢ 4-2-33 Thattakad 200 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris pale khaki or brownish-buff; bill pale horny,

yellowish at gape and chin; mouth pale sulphur yellow; gullet pink; feet

dusky yellow; claws brownish.

[ Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

eee 23 122 100 mm.

19 23.5 127 110.5 mm.

Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: CG 2-38-76, 9 19-12-74 Mynall (Bourdillon); [do 2]

no date Aneichardi Estate (Stewart); [¢ 9] 17-1-15 Venture Estate (Stewart).

—H. W.]

The Frogmouth is undoubtedly rare in Travancore and there is no record

of it from Cochin. The specimens were put up in dense evergreen scrub and

secondary jungle with cane-brakes etc. (see photo, Plate ii with Part I) a few

feet off the edge of the now more or less deserted old High Range road.

They were quite accidentally come upon, happening to be on the very square

yard of ground on which an Jora fell when shot! One of the birds flew up

and perched crosswise—like a Passerine bird—on a cane stem a_ short

distance away, screwing its head right round like an owlet to watch the

intruder. I did not hear its call and its description appears to be doubtful,

but according to the Fauna (iv, 382) it has been likened to a soft kooroo-kooroo

repeated several times.

It has not been recorded in the Palni Hills. The same form is resident

in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘The ovary of the female contained a soft egg measuring 11 mm.

in diameter. Its oviduct was very distended, indicating that it had laid. The

testes of the male, however, which was evidently the mate of No. 220—as

the birds were together—measured only 6 xX 4 mm. This discrepancy in the

development of the gonads of the birds, if a pair, seems remarkable.

According to Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S8., xv, 663) it breeds in Travancore

at elevations of 2,000 to 3,000 ft. from January to the end of February.

Stewart, however, has taken eggs from January to May and again in September

and October (Fauna, iv, 382).

The nest is a pad of moss, leaves, twigs and the bird’s down, placed in

the fork of small trees 12-16 ft. from the ground, in evergreen jungle, occa-

sionally in deciduous forest, and is conspicuous and without concealment.

34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

SUB-ORDER: STRIGHS.

FamMiIny: TYTONIDZ.

Tyto alba stertens Hartert. The Barn Owl.

Specimens collected: 843 OG, 12-8-83, 845 Q 18-8-83 Beach, Trivandrum,

ea. 5.1.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: ‘¢ Iris crimson and black; bill bluish-white, darker

at tips; mouth pink; claws horny black. @Q Iris bluish-black; bill bluish-white;

mouth flesh; claws horny black’ (Pillai).

[Only one additional specimen seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: ¢ Travancore (Fry).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

206d 34-37 281-288 111-115.5 70 mm.

1 Q 36.5 278 114 60 mm.—H. W.]

The Barn Owl seems to have been overlooked by the Surveys proper between

November and May. Ferguson says (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 667) that it is found

occasionally in the low country of Travancore, about human habitations, and

to this the two specimens procured by Mr. Pillai in Trivandrum testify. There

is nothing on record about its occurrence or status in Cochin, but it is

doubtless the same as in this adjoining area.

Mr. Pillai notes that both the birds were shot from an old uninhabited

palace by the sea. In the stomach of the female he found the remains of a

rat (species ?).

In the island of Ceylon the same race is said to occur, but its distribution

there seems to be almost limited to the Jaffna Peninsula.

Breeding: ‘The testes of the male measured 19 xX 4 mm. The ovary of

the female appeared to be maturing, the largest follicles being about 3 mm.

in diameter.

According to Ferguson this owl breeds in Travancore during December and

January, but the evidence furnished by the specimens suggests that the season

is not restricted to those months.

[Tyto longimembris (longimembris Jerdon). The Grass Owl.

Not recorded from Travancore or Cochin, but Terry (S.F., x, 469) says he

flushed an owl in the long grass on a hill-side at Pulungi in the Palni Hills

which he thought undoubtedly belonged to this species. ]

FAMILY: ASIONIDA.

Asio flammeus flammeus (Pontopiddan). 'The Short-eared Owl.

Specimen collected: 338 Q 23-2-33 Peermade, at 4,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Santhanpara (8,500 ft.—Cardamom Hills); Karupa-

danna (ca. S.L.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright lemon yellow; bill slaty-black; mouth

livid pink; exposed portion of toes dark brown; soles dirty pale flesh colour;

claws horny black.

[Only other specimen from Travancore seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 0? 28-12-75 Colathoorpolay Valley, 38,000 ft. (Bour-

dillon).

The Survey specimen measures:

Bill. Wing. aa:

29 290 1389 mm.—H. W.}

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 667) did not come across this owl in Travancore,

but mentions that F. W. Bourdillon shot a single specimen at 4,000 ft.

elevation at the end of December. Elwes ([bis 1870, 527) also found it in

the Cardamom Hills.

sre case ein liasaaaa mama

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 35

As a winter visitor this owl is probably found in small numbers in our

area, but it igs on the whole rare. In the Nelliampathy Hills Kinloch

(J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942) considered it ‘very rare indeed’.

The specimen was a solitary bird on an open grass-covered hillside dotted

with stunted trees of Phoenix farinifera near the Pir’s tomb, at about 4,000 ft.

elevation. It was very wary and flew about in bright sunlight without apparent

discomfort, perching on stones or at the base of tussocks of the coarse Andro-

pogon grass. Another single bird was flushed at the same altitude and in

identical facies in the Cardamom Hills (25 January), while a third specimen—

also solitary—was observed on the grassy laterite plateau adjoining the Travel-

lers’ Bungalow at Karipadanna (ca. S..—80 December). No other examples

were seen.

It has not been recorded from the Palni Hills by Fairbank or Terry, but

Hume (S.F., x, 348) says that it occurs there. It is an irregular winter

visitor to Ceylon.

The ovary of the specimen was undeveloped but distinctly granular. The

bird was undergoing body moult (pre-nuptial ?).

Strix indranee indranee Sykes. The Brown Wood Owl.

Specimen not obtained. Not included in Ferguson’s Travancore list. Ac-

cording to the Fauna (iv, 400) in Malabar and Travancore this owl seems to

be found from the lowest to the highest hills, both in forest and in well-

wooded country. Bourdillon is credited with having obtained its eggs in Tra-

vancore in January and March.

Strix ocellata (Lesson). The Mottled Wood Owl.

Specimen collected: 1082 ¢ 28-12-33 Kartipadanna ca. 8.1L.

Elsewhere noted at: Aramboli (250 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.); Trichur.

Colours of bare parts: Iris dark brown; eye-lids dusky pink; bill and

claws horny black; toes brownish-flesh.

[The specimen measures:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

41.5 ooo 178 mm.

This species has no races. I cannot detect any difference between the

Survey bird and the only Travancore specimen in the British Museum (viz.

Fry Collection—no data. The moults have not yet been worked out for lack

of specimens).—H. W.]

The Mottled Wood Owl seems to be confined to the low country in Travan-

core and Cochin, where it is probably not uncommon. Ferguson’s collectors

shot two specimens on an island in the Vembanad Backwaters in January

1903, and he describes the species as fairly common from Arukutty to Vycome

(ie beN tus 4 XV, 667).

The specimen was one of a pair in an ancient tree in a cocoanut plantation

around a backwater homestead. Its stomach contained remains of a field mouse

and a large scorpion with sting intact! Ferguson’s specimens had eaten crabs

and beetles.

Its quavering, somewhat eerie call chuhud-@ was chiefly heard at dusk and

in the early mornings, just before the birds emerged from their daytime retreats,

or retired to them. The call uttered throughout the night is usually a metallic

hoot, not unpleasant to the ear.

The southern range of this owl as lmited in the Fauna (iv, 403) to ‘the

Carnatic and to the base of the Nilgiris’ must be extended to include the

entire southern extremity of the Peninsula. The species has not occurred in

Ceylon.

Breeding: The testes of the specimen had enlarged to 10 x 5 mm. (grey

pigmented), and it was apparently preparing to breed. Ferguson’s. statement

that the eggs of this owl were brought to Bourdillon by the hillmen in June

cannot be accepted as authentic in the absence of more reliable data.

(To be continued).

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA.

Rel. Pocock, ae Ris:

(From the Zoological Department of the British Museum,

Natural History).

(With three text-figures).

In his volume on the Mammals of British India Blanford

admitted five species of Foxes under the following names:—the

Indian Fox (Vulpes bengalensis), the Hoary Fox (V. cana), the

Indian Desert Fox (V. leucopus), the Common Fox (V. alopex)

and the Small Tibetan Fox (V. ferrilatus). It cannot be claimed

that the popular names were all well chosen. V. bengalensis, it

is true, may be regarded as the Indian Fox par excellence because

it is restricted to Hindostan, whereas the others are aliens from

the north and north-west and never penetrated far into the country.

Moreover V. bengalensis lives alongside V. leucopus in Rajputana

and Sind and in those districts is as deserving of the name ‘Indian

Desert Fox’ as the latter. The name ‘Common’ was applied to

the large Himalayan Fox because Blanford, quite correctly in a

sense, thought it was the same as the ordinary European Fox. It

is in reality a local race of it and ‘Hill Fox’ would be a much

better term so far as India is concerned. ‘Small Tibetan Fox’

is also misleading because the species is about as large as the

Hill Fox which also occurs in Tibet. It may more appropriately

be called the ‘Tibetan Desert Fox’ because its colouration suggests

that environment. As for the ‘Hoary Fox’ since that epithet is

not half so appropriate for this pigmy Afghan fox as for the larger

species of that country, I propose to name it ‘Blanford’s Fox’.

Only two of the scientific names used by Blanford have to be

altered. His V. alopex becomes V. vulpes montana, which ex-

presses the view that the animal is a local race of V. vulpes which

ranges from Europe through Central and Northern Asia into North

America; and his V. leucopus becomes V. vulpes pusilla because

this fox also is nothing but a local race of V. vulpes, not a distinct

species in the sense that bengalensis, cana and ferrilata are dis-

tinct; and also because the name pusilla was printed before

leucopus and therefore has the claim to admission. Thus Blanford’s

five species are reduced to four; but one of them, namely

V. vulpes, is represented by three definable local races.

In this, as in other papers of mine, on the Mammals of British

India published by the Bombay Natural History Society I have

made as much use as space permits of the very valuable and in-

structive details regarding dates, measurements and so forth con-

tained on the labels of the splendid collection of skins procured

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 37

by the ‘Mammal Survey’ of British India organised by the

Society. Similarly detailed dimensions of a considerable number

of the skulls are given to show their variations. It may be thought

that the tables of measurements are unnecessarily long; but nothing

is more irritating and unsatisfactory in systematic descriptions

than such general statements as that one species, or race, differs

from another by having a larger or smaller skull or teeth, without

the addition of actual measurements to show the points. Tables

also have the advantage of showing at a glance the very consider-

able individual variation of foxes from the same locality and

obviously belonging to the same race. Similar variations in the

skulls and teeth in foxes from different localities have been used

for the establishment of distinct species and races.

Genus: Vubpes, Oken.

Vulpes Oken, Lehrb. Naturg. ii, pt. IJ, pp. 1038-4 (1816); Miller, Cat.

Mamm. Centr. Europe, p. 325 (1912).

: Type of the genus: Cans vulpes Linn.

Distribution: The greater part of the old world, except Madagascar, §.-H.

Asia and Australasia, and of N. America as far south as Mexico.

Distinguished from Canis and Cuon, the other genera of Canidae inhabiting

British India by having the forehead of the skull between the postorbital pro-

cesses flat, not inflated by air-cells, the processes themselves slightly concave,

with raised anterior edge, instead of convexly rounded, and the canine teeth

typically longer, the upper with their points reaching as low as the inferior

margin of the mandible, and the points of the lower reaching well above the

line of insertion of the upper incisors.

Key to the Species based on external characters.

A. Tail and ear long, tail over half the length of the head

and body, ear much more than half the length of the

hind foot.

1. Tip of the tail white; upper half of back of ear black

and strongly contrasted with tint of head and nape

(four pairs of mammae) ; vulpes.

2. Tip of the tail black; backs of the ears generally nearly

the same tint as the head and nape, never jet black

and strongly contrasted.

a. Larger; coat never very long and full; colour

brownish or ochreous on the back, the contour

hairs always with pale band giving a speckled

look to the pelage (three pairs of mammae) ... bengalensis.

b. Smaller; coat very long, full and loose; the con-

tour hairs extensively white and black so that

the pelage is never closely speckled ... cana.

B. Tail and ear short, tail less than half the length of

the head and body; ear less than half the bene of

the hind foot ferrtlata.

Key to the apse: based on the skull and teeth.

A. Muzzle comparatively short and broad, its width above

pm? about one-third the length of the palate; canines

moderately long, height of upper from base to point

less than combined lengths of upper carnassial (pm*)

and first molar (m*) as set in jaw.

1. Nasals on the average narrower posteriorly; the upper

carnassial relatively larger as compared with the

first molar.

a. Skull in smallest Q over 100 mm. in condylo-

basal length , ... vulpes.

b. Skull in adult ¢ up to about 90 mm. we CONG,

388 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

2. Nasals on the average broader posteriorly and upper

carnassial smaller as compared with first upper

| molar tee che Sie ... bengalensis.

B. Muzzle long with concave lateral margins, its width

above pm” about one-quarter the length of the palate;

canines very long, height of upper exceeding combined

lengths of pm* and mt ble oes tw SCT IULGLG.

Vulpes vulpes, Linn.

Canis vulpes Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. i, p. 40 (1758). [For descrip-

tions and full synonymy of typical Vulpes vulpes from Sweden and of related

European forms, see Miller, Cat. Mamm. Western Europe, pp. 330-40 (1912).]

Locality of the type: Sweden.

Distribution: Europe from the Arctic coast to the Mediterranean and

Africa north of the Sahara; Asia from the far north to 8. Arabia, N.-W. India,

the Himalayas, S. China and Tonquin and the greater part of N. America

from the Arctic coast southwards to California. Absent from the greater part

of Peninsular India, Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, Siam, Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

The range agrees on the whole very closely with that of the Wolf (Canis

lupus) and of the Bear (Ursus arctos), but is more extensive at all events

to the south.

Distinguished’ by the combination of black backs to the ears and a white

tip to the tail; although commonly called the ‘red-fox’, on account of the

dominance of that tint, the,colour is very variable both individually and locally,

the contour hairs of the back being sometimes flavescent, ‘silvery’ or black

to a varying extent. The size is also variable. Although typically considerably

exceeding on the average that of other species, some of the sub-species are

comparatively small. Usually at all events there are four pairs of mammae

in the Q.

Vulpes vulpes montana, Pearson.

Tae ati 2Hox.

‘The Hill Fox’ Royle, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. 1, p. 99 (1882).

Canis vulpes montana Pearson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. v, p. 318

(January 1836).

Canis himalaicus Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 103 (October 1836); and in

Royle’s Botany of the Himalayas, Mamm., p. Ixvi (1889).

Vulpes nepalensis Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i, p. 573 (1887).

Vulpes alopex Blanford, Mamm. Brit. India, p. 153 (1881).

Vulpes vulpes waddelli Bonhote, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 303 (1906).

Vulpes ladacensis Matachie, Filchner’s Exped. Chin., p. 167 (1907).

Locality of the type of montana, ‘Himalayas’; of himalaicus, Mussoorie;

of nepalensis, Nepal; of waddelli, Kambajong, Tibet; of ladacensis, Ladakh.

Distribution: Himalayas from Gilgit eastward to Sikhim; Tibet and

Yunnan.

Distinguished from the typical Scandinavian race and the other races of

Continental Europe admitted by Miller by its smaller size on the average,

especially indicated by the skull and teeth (see p. 42).

Notes on the synonymy: The type of montana,’ of which the exact

locality is unknown, was described as having a dark rufous cross on the

back set off by light fawn on the neck and behind the shoulders; the sides

of the body and the shoulders being grizzled and the underside dark. Blyth,

who had Pearson’s type and stated that the fox occurs at Simla and Mussoorie,

described it as much less rufous than the European fox and paler and more

hoary [Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxii, p. 730 (1854)]. He also astutely

suggested that it might prove to be the same as the large fox of Afghanistan

* Wrongly stated by Mivart [Mon. Canidae, p. 96 (1890)] to be in the

British Museum.

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 39

described by Griffith. From the description it appears that this fox comes

between the ‘red’ and the ‘hoary’ types since it agrees tolerably closely with

skins from Kangra, Chamba and Simla referred to below.

The type of himalaicus, from Mussoorie, was described as bright bay on

the back, yellowish on the sides of the body, white on the side of the neck,

hoary grey on the hips and smoky brown below. Ogilby’s type, which is

in the British Museum, is now tawny red above, with hardly a trace of

black, but with some buffy white on the loins, isabelline on the flanks,

silvered and hoary on the thighs, sooty below, set off by bright buff on

the chest. Although both Ogilby and Blyth considered himalaicus to be a

synonym of montanus, the two types do not agree in colouration, himalaicus

belonging to the first category mentioned below.

The ‘type of nepalensis, one of Hardwicke’s Nepalese specimens of which

the whereabouts is unknown, was described as bright fulvous yellow above,

like the English fox but with the fur brighter and much softer. According

to Blyth [Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxiii, p. 7380 (1854)] this is a large

fox’ with very fine, long, dense fur, bright lght yellowish fulvous in colour

and with a huge brush. According to him it occurs in Tibet, rarely south

of the snows. Possibly Hardwicke’s specimen was a traded skin; but the

description agrees very closely not only with some Tibetan skins in the

British Museum but with one from Sikhim and some from Kumaon as _ stated

below.

The type of waddelli, from Kambajong, Tibet, 16,400 ft., was regarded by

Bonhote as distinct from montana because it represented a redder type than

any of the Himalayan skins in the British Museum at that time. It is not

redder, however, than skins from Sikhim, Kumaon and elsewhere subsequently

received.

The name ladacensis was given by Matschie to a skin from Ladakh which

he thought was specifically identical with the paler of the two foxes collected

by Stolicka in Turkestan and illustrated by Blanford (Fig. 1, Pl. ID) in the

report on the Second Yarkand Mission, 1891. Matschie was apparently quite

unaware of the individual variation in the colour of foxes. There is no doubt

that the two foxes depicted on the plate by Blanford merely represented

colour phases of one and the same subspecies, comparable with ‘red’ and

‘flavescent’ phases of montana from Kumaon, Sikhim and Tibet, although

Matschie regarded them as specifically distinct. I have seen no foxes from

Ladakh, but one from Gilgit, in the same river valley, is inseparable from

montana.

The British Museum has the following Himalayan skins :—

Sikhim, Kapup, 138,000 ft., Ad. ¢& (Crump coll.), November 24th, in

fresh winter coat is bright reddish bay from nape to loins with scarcely any

black or buff or grey areas in the contour hairs, but the forehead and cheeks

have a good deal of whitish; the thighs are hoary grey, the underside white,

the top of the tail red, and the fore legs darkish tawny, with a grizzled

black streak to wrist; hind legs paler.

Sikhim, Thanga, in the Upper Chambi Valley, 11,000 ft., Ad. Q (Crump

coll.), January 4th, in mid-winter coat, is much paler and yellower, the

contour hairs bleached to buff on the back, the bright tint being restricted

to the back, with the flanks greyish; the fore legs also are much paler; the

underside is white.

Tibet, Kambajong, 16,400 ft., Ad. 3, Oct. 8th (type of waddelli), is

very like the Kapup skin, but has the contour hairs on the flanks paler. A

second skin named waddelli by Bonhote, from Pharijong, January 11th,

is lke the Upper Chambi skin, but rather brighter. Two undated skins

labelled Tibet (Hodgson) are also a little brighter and more golden than the

Chambi skin, the three being intermediate between the two skins assigned

to waddelli. An adult G from Dachin, Tibet, 14,700 ft. (Col. Bailey), June

22nd, is in full moult, all the contour hairs of the back being shed, leaving

a thick coating of tufted dark, chocolate wool. Another ad. ¢ from Gyantse,

13,000 ft. also from Col. Bailey, undated, is in much the same condition

but a few contour hairs, with the tips bleached white, dead and _ shrivelled,

remain.

All these skins are white-bellied. The redder of them belong to the

phase represented by the type of himalaicus and the paler agree precisely

with Gray’s description of nepalensis.

40 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

No fox of this type has been recorded from Bhotan, Assam or Upper Burma;

but it occurs in Yunnan, whence the Museum has two skins, both from Ten-

gyueh, an adult 9, 9,000 ft. (Howell), February 11th, which is an almost

exact match of the skin from Kapup in Sikhim; and an ad. ¢, 6,000-7,000 ft.

(Forrest), dated December 24th, but almost certainly wrongly, because the

whole of the back behind the shoulders is covered with brown wool with a

few white-bleached contours, as in Col. Bailey’s Tibetan skins; but the nape

and shoulders still retain the long fluffy contours, resembling in colour the

paler skins of the nepalensis type from Tibet and Sikhim.

Kumaon: A series of six skins (Crump) closely resembles those described

above. The extremes in colour are an ad. @ from Lohaghat in Almora,

5,600 ft., February 6th, which is dark reddish bay above from the head to

the tail-root as in the skin from Kapup, Sikhim, but there are some black

tipped hairs on the nape and shoulders and the belly is mostly blackish; and

an ad. 2 from Champawat in Almora, 5,850 ft., February 21st, which is

much paler, with the general colour above buffy yellow, the fur of the

back grey-brown, instead of sooty and the throat and chin and greater part

of the belly white, with some dark grey on the chest. A second from Lohaghat

closely matches the Champawat 9. Two ad. ¢ skins from Takula, 5,350 ft.,

October 12th and 15th, are like the first described ¢ from Lohaghat, whereas

a 9 from Takula, October 12th, is paler, intermediate between the ¢ Takula

skins and the pale Q from Champawat.

These skins also exhibit the colour phases represented by the types of

himalaicus and nepalensis respectively.

Mussoorie: In addition to the type of himalaicus above described the

Museum has another skin 5,500 ft. (Hutton) which is very like it, but has

more white banding in the contour hairs of the hind quarters, and is white

below in the middle line instead of slate grey.

Simla: A series of four skins (Hume) shows great individual variation.

Two, 3, 2, closely resemble the Mussoorie skins, another 9, September 28th,

is much darker, all the hairs of the dorsal surface being black-tipped and

buff below the tip, the general effect being grizzled brown from the crown

backwards. Another 9, September 26th, is still darker than the last, the pale

areas of the contour hairs being much less evident, especially on the nape

and shoulders, which are heavily blackened; the underside is sooty and the

legs are very dark. The general effect is a blackish fox, speckled with buff

or grey, with a brighter buffy cross-mark down the spine and across the

shoulders. Another @ skin (Blanford), October, is short coated and marked

above with a dark rusty red cross showing no buff or black speckling; the

thighs and fore legs are blackish speckled with white. This skin of Blanford’s

agrees very closely with the type of montana as described by Pearson, but

neither appears to be in complete coat, judging from the distinctness of the

‘dark rufous’ cross mark on the back; and it is evident from Blyth’s descrip-

tion of the foxes from Simla and Mussoorie that the skins he saw and

described as much less rufous, paler and more hoary than European foxes,

belonged to the type prevalent at Kangra and Chamba.

Kangra Valley: Four skins (Wells coll.) in good coat are of the ‘crossed

or decussate’, hoary type with the bright colouring reduced on the back

and the contour hairs marked with a broad whitish band and a black tip,

the black often dominant. Ad. ¢ from Gopalpur, 6,000 ft., February 29th,

is dark reddish tan down the back with abundance of black but not much

of the pale tint; flanks grey; thighs and shoulders hoary; underside smoke-

grey; fore legs dark hoary, with dark tan paws; hind dark tan with dark

hoary patch. A second ad. ¢ from the same locality, 5,600 ft., February 18th,

is a good deal paler above than the last, but has more black on the limbs.

Ad. Q from Sanyala, 4,500 ft. May 8th, is still paler, yellowish down the

back, with the dark hair-tips scarcely evident, but the thighs and sides of

the shoulders hoary, the throat sooty and the abdomen covered with short

red hairs in preparation for suckling. An undated skin from Baijnath is

very dark with a dull ochreous tint in the dorsal contour hairs and the fur

nearly black.

Chamba: A series of nine skins collected by Wells in December and

January between 4,000 and 5,000 ft. Two only, one from Pukri, 4,000 fte.

and another from Bara Tissa, 7,500 ft., are of the reddish type like the

richer skins from Kumaon. The rest from Pukri, Bara Tissa, Chalan Tissa,

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 4]

6,700 ft., Chatri, 5,000 ft.; and Siluni, 5,000 ft., are darker with the bright

colour on the back not so red, but varying from ochreous to reddish brown

and more restricted, forming a broad band or cross, more or less obscured

by the black tips of the hairs; the thighs, flanks and sides of the shoulders

hoary. These are like the dark Kangra skins.

Gilgit: Two skins of the red and paler phases, like those of Tibet, Sikhim

and Kumaon. One 5,000 ft. (Biddulph), October 7th, in fresh winter coat

has the contour hairs of the back tolerably uniformly red without appreciable

pale areas or black tips; the underside has the throat ashy, the abdomen

ashy overcast with white and the inguinal region white; the legs have some

black and white hairs on their front surfaces. The second, 6,000 ft. (Major

W. F. R. Trevelyan), is in full moult, most of the contour hairs being shed,

leaving the woolly coat exposed. The coloured area of the back is reduced

in extent and not so red as in Biddulph’s skin, the general tint being faded

to bright ochreous, with the head still paler; the rest of the upper side is

covered with thick tufted wool, white on the sides of the neck and flanks,

pale sooty on the hind back; the under side is ashy; the legs are more heavily

pigmented in front than in Biddulph’s skin and the tail is mostly covered

with white wool.

From the evidence of the skins, mainly collected by the Mammal Survey,

it seems that the Hill Fox undergoes remarkable change in colour when

traced westwards through the Himalayas from Tibet and Sikhim. The eastern

form varies from bright reddish bay to bright yellowish fulvous, with scarcely

a trace of black and very little silvery white in the pelage. The reddish

phase was named himalaica and the fulvous or flavescent nepalensis. These

are the only phases hitherto recorded from Sikhim and Kumaon. But the

red phase also occurs in Mussoorie, Chamba and Kangra. In these districts,

however, the ‘hoary’ phase, described as montana, and distinguished by the

reduction of the bright hue of the back and by the generally black and white

colouration of the contour hairs of the flanks and elsewhere, is prevalent.

These may prove to represent distinct races, himalaica and montana, but for

the present I prefer to regard them as one, since in N. America the ‘red’,

the ‘hoary’ and the ‘black’ or silver-tip phases occur in the same _ locality.

But I have given racial status to a still more hoary form found to the west

of Chamba and Kangra and typified by a fox originally recorded from Kanda-

har and named griffithi.

The following are the flesh-measurements converted from millimetres into

English inches and some weights of the largest and smallest males and females

of montana from each district :—

Head

ee and Tail |Hind foot| Weight

= Body

Sikhim, Kapup . add 272 17% 63 a

— Thanga x ad’? 242 152 6 82 lbs

Kumaon, Almora on ads 25 164 6 10;_—,,

> Takula .. ade 224 174 (4-) 1

i) 9 eee ad@ 234 154 52 83 P

- Almora ss ad? 222 14 5% 8,

Kangra, Gopalpur oo. ad 28 18 6 ioe

a 5 Feat ea 264 174 54 11} Ibs

» samyala ade 244 132 52 Soe

Chamba, Pukri «. add 293 18 6 “

* Bara Tissa seada 26 144 5% A

a Chalan Tissa ... adQ 26 132 5 ee

fs ie ze ad? 253 162 54 8 Ibs.

The ear is usually about 3} in. long, measured from the notch, but may

be 4 in. (100 mm.).

42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The table suggests that the foxes from Kangra and Chamba are bigger,

sex for sex, than those from Kumaon, but since this is not borne out by

the skulls the apparent difference is probably due to the ‘personal equation’

of the collectors, Wells and Crump, respectively.

Of the measured Tibetan skins Col. Bailey’s ad. ¢ from Dachin and the

type of waddelli from Kambajong have a head and body measurement of 26% in.

and 25 in. respectively; and the ¢ and Q skins from the Tengyueh Valley

in Yunnan are exactly the same in head and body as the ¢ and @Q from

Sikhim. The tails and hind feet of these Tibetan and Yunnan skins similarly

agree very closely with those of the Sikhim and Kumaon skins.

From the available data it does not appear that the flesh-measurements

of this fox are appreciably less than those of the Continental European foxes,

although the skulls as recorded below are decidedly smaller.

Fig 1.—Skull of ad. ¢ of Vulpes vulpes montana from Takula, Kumaon, x4

Skulls of montana, sex for sex, are smaller on the average than those of

the three British and Continental European races of V. vulpes, admitted by

Miller, namely V. v. vulpes from Scandinavia, V. v. crucigera from Central

Europe and Italy and V. v. silacea from Spain which are closely related. In

S skulls of montana the condylobasal length varies from 128 to 141 mm.

with an average of about 186 mm., the same measurement for Q skulls being

from 128 to 182 mm. and the average about 130 mm. In the European races

S skulls range from 1386 to 155 mm., with an average of about 145 mm.,

and ¢ skulls from 126 to 141 mm. with an average of about 184 mm. The

teeth also of montana appear to be similarly a little smaller, especially the

upper carnassial (pm*).

In the table of skull measurements of this race (p. 45) the zygomatic and

the postorbital, or ‘waist’, widths are entered because it is customary to

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 43

record them. They are, however, of very little use because they vary with

age after the skull has attained its full length, the zygomata becoming wider

and the postorbital area narrower from muscular moulding as the skull gets

older.’

The two skulls from Simla, which have no skins, were collected by B. B.

Osmaston. It may be added that the two unsexed skulls of Bailey’s Tibetan

specimens, above referred to, have a condylobasal length of 134 and 139 mm.

respectively, that the adult ¢ skull of the type of waddellt is 186 mm. and

the ad. S$ and Q skull from the Tengyueh Valley in Western Yunnan are

respectively 1389 and 130 mm. with a mandibular length of 110 and 104 mm.

All these skulls fit in with the Himalayan series of montana. Finally the

skull belonging to the skin collected by Biddulph at Gilgit, although immature

and defective, has the upper carnassial (pm*) and the upper molar (m') the

same size as in montana.

Vulpes vulpes griffithii, Blyth.

Vulpes flavescens Hutton, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xiv, p. 344 (1845),

(with descriptive note by Blyth); Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxii,

p. 581 (1853), (mot flavescens Gray).

Vulpes griffithiti Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxii, p. 730 (1854);

Scully, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), vol. viii, p. 226 (1881).

Locality of the type: Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Distribution: Southern Afghanistan, Waziristan and Murree.

A trifle smaller on the average, judging from the few available skins,

than montana, and, although exhibiting the red phase, typically extensively

hoary and silvered with the brighter tint reduced to a wash of pale ochreous

forming a narrow band down the back, considerably paler and less extensive

than in the Chamba skins of montana, but intergrading with the latter and

also with the next race pusilla both in the Punjab and Baluchistan.

Hutton, who was the first to give an account of this fox, said:—‘'The fox

of Afghanistan, or at least of the southern and western parts, is apparently

the same as our Himalayan species, though somewhat less in size. . . It is

common in the valleys round Kandahar hiding in burrows and holes, in rocks’.

He gives, however, measurements of two Q specimens which show equality

in size to @ montana. In a note to Hutton’s account, Blyth, to whom Hutton

sent the type, quoted Griffith’s statement that ‘a large and small species of

fox appear to exist in Afghanistan. The former perhaps is the same as the

Large Himalayan Fox found at Quetta and Olipore. The small seems to

resemble the fox of the plains of India.’ Blyth, quite wrongly, I think,

identified Hutton’s specimen, for which he adopted the name flavescens, as

the Small Afghan Fox described by Griffith;? but he described it as having

‘the longer hairs black-tipped, yellowish white along the back, white on the

sides, the face fulvous with a blackish patch on the muzzle, the fore leg

blackish in front, the hind paw with a blackish spot above and the under side

dusky.’ In the following year he named this fox griffithi. Later Scully

repeated the information supplied by Hutton® and Blyth about the fox and

gave some measurements of a skull from Kandahar which he referred to

montana. .

* Here and elsewhere in this paper the maxillary width is the width of

the muzzle above the root of the canines; the upper cheek teeth are measured

from the crown of the last tooth (m?) to that of the canine; the mandible

from the condyle to the sockets of the incisors; the upper carnassial (pm*)

and the first molar (m*) along their outer margins and the lower carnassial

(m,) along its middle line.

* This was no doubt the species subsequently named Vulpes cana by Blanford

(see below, p. 58).

* The length of the tail given by Hutton as 17 in. was misquoted, or

misprinted, by Scully as 27 in.

44. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Blanford, misled by Blyth’s identification of Hutton’s Small Kandahar Fox

as griffithii, wrongly identified the latter as leucopus (=pusilla).

The British Museum has the following skins :—

Wano in Wazaristan near the Afghan-Baluchi border. A young ad. ¢

(W. B. Cotton), December 19th, has a faint ochreous wash from the nape

forming a narrow band down the back but scarcely traceable on the loins;

the head and face are tan with a conspicuous black patch on the muzzle;

the fore legs are tan with some grey down the front and a pale grey patch

on the paws; the hind legs cream-buff with no black and the whole of the

under side is sooty. This specimen agrees very closely with Blyth’s description

of the type of griffithii.

Gharial in the Upper Punjab, near Murree, 7,000 ft. An ad. 9 (Major

Dunn), July 27th, differs from the last in having a lighter muzzle patch, the

hairs of the crown more bleached and worn and the ochreous wash only

traceable behind the shoulders but stronger on the loins than in the Wazaristan

skin; the black is more dominant on the nape and shoulders which are blacker

than the hoary flanks; the fore legs are deep tan with a conspicuous blackish

grey streak down the front; the hind whitish below the hocks in front with

some infuscation and the abdomen, covered with short new hair, is_ white,

the chin also is white but some old hair adhering to the throat and the

chest 1s smoky grey.

Kotli in the Murree Hills, 5,800 ft. (Wells). An ad. @, June 19th,

is changing coat, with some long contour hairs, retained on the back, dark

tipped, with white, or on the back buffy, subterminal band; but wherever

the new coat is exposed above, i.e. on the head, thighs, back etc., it is

ochreous whereas on the chest and belly it is white; the legs are as in the

Gharial skin, but there is practically no bright colour on the tail above except

at the base. The appearance of this skin suggests that, with the moult com-

pleted, it would be indistinguishable from the skins in summer coat of the

two examples of the next race, pusilla, collected at Ava in the Salt Range

by Col. Stockley.

Murree, 7,000 ft. (Dr. J. E. T. Aitcheson). An ad. @ resembles the

Sikhim and Kumaon and a few of the Chamba skins in exhibiting the red

phase of colouration.

The only available flesh measurements, in English inches, are the following :—

LLL SL SS SSS Ss 7

Head and Body | Tail Hind foot

Murree Hills, Kotli yg.ad. 7 232 172 52

Gharial near Murree ade 2 23 15 52

Kandahar (Hutton) ad. 2 24 17 565

These data are too scanty to establish definite conclusions. They merely

suggest that grifithi is on the average smaller than montana, sex for sex.

The first skull of griffithii in the table was collected by Swinhoe and is

marked ‘Scully’, indicating that it is the one above referred to of which Scully

published some measurements, namely the condylobasal length, the zygomatic

width, the length of the mandible and the three teeth, My measurements

agree very closely with his, except in the condylobasal length, which he

entered as 189 mm. This was no doubt a misprint. At all events a skull of

that length would have had a mandible exceeding 100 mm. The _ second

Kandahar skull was presented by Blanford. The third was another of Swinhoe’s.

Their dimensions are inserted to show their general agreement with the skulls

from the Murree Hills and Wazaristan. The second ad. < skull from the

Murree Hills belongs to the skin in the red phase collected by Aitcheson.

It is smaller than the smallest of the @ skulls of montana.

An interesting point is the exceptional size of the teeth in the first skull.

They are equal to the teeth of a considerably larger race of fox found in

Western Turkestan, the Altai and near Lake Baikal, which I identify as

beringiana, and are larger than in montana, although the teeth of the remaining

six skulls of griffithii are on the average smaller than in montana.

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 45

CRANIAL AND DENTAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE LARGEST AND SMALLEST G AND 0)

Sxutits oF V. V. MONTANA and GRIFFITHII ARRANGED ACCORDING

To LOcALITY.

Teet

LOCALITY AND SEX

Zygom. Width

Postorb. Width

Max. Width

Mand. Length

pm*

Cond. Bas. Length

Int. Orb. Width.

Upper Cheel

montana

Sikhim, Kapup yg. ad. g| 139] 72 | 23 | 26 | 24 | 65} 110 | 13 92 115

- Thana old 2} 131] 73 | 23 | 27 | 22 | 62 | 102+) 12 9 | 144

Kumaon, Takula ad. ¢| 141] 76 | 21 | 27 | 22! | 66 | 108 13 Si }15

7 “3 adi) 12974 21 | 27) | 22 V-bOr 100) | az 9 | 134

i> a BceeO Use 72 ot 25.205) G2 OS 12 9 |14

ci Almora ad. | 129| 69 | 20 | 25 | 21 | 61 | 100 | 12 Saale

Simla, Dagshai ad. @| 135] 75 | 223] 26 | 23 | 64) 104 | 12 |10 | 16-

Me WChakrata ads?) 132) 74 | 23 | 26 | 23 | Gi | 100 | 125 | 95 714

Kangra old | 140| 78 | 20 | 27 | 24 | 65/ 110 | 13 9 |14

. ad. ¢| 134] 75 | 23 | 281) 24. | 64| 103 | 12 Oe is

is oldish. 2| 127] 71 | 19 | 24°| 20 | 60) 98 | 12 |10 | 14

Chamba, Pukri. ad. ¢| 137| 77 | 20 | 29 | 24 | 64 | 108 | 13--|10-| 15

» Bara Tissa .

ad. ¢| 128] 71 | 23 | 26] 20 | 60| 96 |12 | 9 |14

eee Chalan Lissa

aged | 130 74y 20°) 27°) 22,160.) LOL 9) 42 9 | 144

pe Charan Tissa

ad. 2 123) 69 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 56) 93 | 12 Ot | 14

grittithit

Kandahar ad. ? g| 132] 69 | 22 | 23 | 215 | 62 | 100 | 14 | 10} | 16

i adie ler | 659) dy 1023 1719! 159.) Oe 10 )

iv ad. ? | 124; 65 | 18 | 22 | 19-| 57 | 94 12+] 8

Wazaristan, Wano

Vem ad eeaii2s 907 28) ede | OSs Gor 2 gt | 14

Murree Hills, Kotli ad. ¢| 127| 72 | 22 | 26 | 21 | 59 | 99 12 )

ns a adeg | 251 72,1 22) 25 21) | 60%) 90 1Z 9

. », Gharial

AOe lizo | 72 202 ZOal20 He OB ee 99F) 11 8; | 13

Vulpes vulpes pusilla, Blyth.

Vulpes flavescens, Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxii, p. 581 (1853);

Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. p. 517 (1868),. (not flavescens Gray, 1848)."

Vulpes pusillus, Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxiii, p. 729 (1854).

Vulpes leucopus, Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xxiii, p. 729 (1854);

and vol. xxv, p. 448 (1856); Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 151 (1888), and

of subsequent authors.

Vulpes persica, Blanford, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (4), vol. xvi, p. 310 (1875);

Zool. of Eastern Persia, p. 39, pl. 2 (1876).

Locality of the type of pusilla, the Salt Range; of leucopus, Moultan; of

persica, Shiraz.

* Vulpes vulpes flavescens, a name which figures in the bibliography of

Indian foxes, is a fox from N. Persia as large as montana and related to it.

It occurs in two colour phases, the typical ‘flavescent’ and the ‘red’. The

latter was nained splendens by Thomas. That at least is my interpretation of

splendens.

46 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Distribution: Throughout the more or less desert districts of N.-W. India

from Rawalpindi to Rajputana, Sind and Cutch and through Southern Balu-

chistan to Southern Persia and Mesopotamia.

Size very variable but considerably smaller, sex for sex, than montana and

a little smaller than griffithii; general colouration very uniform, apart from

seasonal changes, throughout the vast range of the race, never exhibiting the

‘red’ phase in the winter coat, not very different from some- skins of the

‘flavescent’ type of montana, but much less black than the dark Kangra and

Chamba skins of that race and never so silvered and hoary as in typical

griffithii and with the ochreous or buffy hue of the dorsal side much more

extensive. The seasonal changes in colour are very- marked as described below

in the case of the Salt Range skins; but, in addition, when the coloured

contour hairs are first shed the tint of the back may be dark greyish brown.

In his first reference to this fox as flavescens from the Salt Range, Blyth

described it as ‘much brighter than Afghan skins, tints purer more contrasted,

legs paler, redder, less black than montana’. A year later, when he named it

pusillus, he said that it nearly resembles montana but is smaller. The name

pusillus has line priority over leucopus and, according to the rules of nomen-

clature, should be preferred.

In his description of leucopus Blyth quoted Elphinstone’s observation that

the fox of the Western Hurriana desert is smaller than our fox (montana) and

in one part of the desert has the legs and belly black, in another white.

Blyth based his species leucopus on a specimen from Moultan which he described

as smaller than pusillus, light fulvous on the head and back, variegated with

black and white, the cheeks, sides of the neck, flanks the inside and mostly

the front of the limbs being white. T'wo years later he referred to the same

species specimens from Hansi and Hissar, from a spot between Indiana and

Ferozepore and from Cutch. The specimen from Hansi had the belly black and

the legs dark, showing Blyth the inappropriateness of the name leucopus.

The opinion expressed by Adams [Proc. Zool. Soc. (1858), p. 516] that

leucopus would turn out to be the same as pusillus was adopted by Blanford,

who unfortunately chose the inadmissible name leucopus, giving it full specific

rank. Mivart [Mon. Canidoe (1890), p. 123] followed Blanford in this respect;

but he was the first to detect that Blanford’s persicus is a synonym of leucopus,

although he quite failed to see the close kinship between leucopus and typical

Vulpes vulpes and wrongly affiliated it with V. corsac of Central Asia, which

is related to bengalensis. With far more material than other authors were

able to examine, I have been unable to distinguish leucopus from pusilla. I

have not, however, seen topotypes of leucopus from Moultan. But specimens

from Hissar which Blyth referred to leucopus are inseparable from specimens

from the Salt Range, the type-locality of pusilla. Nevertheless as the table

of measurements shows, the skulls of Sind specimens appear smaller on the

average than those from the Upper Punjab. I believe the differences to be

merely individual. At all events the evidence that these small specimens repre-

sent leucopus is quite inconclusive and the intergradation is complete.

It is needless to attempt to describe in detail the very large number of

skins, in the British Museum, which TI assign to this race. A few will serve

to illustrate the individual and seasonal differences.

Bhattu in Hissar, 6,000 ft. (Col. Stockley), November 12th. Two skins

do, 2 im new winter coat are tolerably uniformly rich ochreous, spangled

with whitish above; flanks whitish; thighs externally and lower shoulders

hoary, the contour hairs showing a white band with a black tip; tail ochreous

above with black tipped hairs; fore leg dark, brownish to nearly black, with

the toes paler; hind leg below hock white in front, with a dark spot on the

paw; under side ashy grey, with the chin white. ;

Ara in the Salt Range, 2.300 ft. Two later skins (Wells), March 26th, 9,

resemble the skins from Hissar, but a ¢, March 23rd, is much less well

coloured above the tint being apparently faded with the close of the winter.

An adult ¢, 9, 38,800 ft. (Stockley), July 27th, in summer coat, are very

different. In the 2 the moult is not quite complete, the ochreous-brown

tint of the new hair of the back being partially obscured by old deep brown

long hair, the new coat of the under side is white, but some old dusky

hair is retained on the throat; the fore legs are tan, grizzled down the

front; the hind legs are paler. In the @ the moult is completed, the colour

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 47

above being ochreous brown, the flanks grey, the under side white as in the new

coat of the 9, but the feet are much darker.

Chakdulla, Campbellpore, 2,000 ft., in the Attock district of the Upper

Punjab (Stockley). A young ad. 9, November 17th, closely resembles the

Hissar series, but is not so hoary on the shoulders and thighs and has the

fore legs pale yellowish brown, the hind legs nearly the same and _ not

strongly contrasted with the fore legs as in the Hissar skins. This skin and

a 2 from Potwar W. of Rawalpindi (Bingham), February, which is rather

duller in hue, both from the extreme northern part of the range of pusilla

in the Punjab, differ strikingly in colour from the skins identified as griffithi

from higher altitudes in the Murrie Hills a few miles to the east and

north-east.

Numerous skins from the following, amongst other localities, differ to a

certain extent individually in the coloration of the upper and undersides and

of the limbs and often considerably in accordance with the moult, but are

indistinguishable as a whole from those above described from farther north.

Kashmor, Mirpur, Khairpur in Upper Sind, on the right and left banks

of the Indus (Prater); Thar and Parker, Lower Sind; Bhuj and Nokania in

Cutch (Crump); Jodhpur and Sambhar in Rajputana (Adams and Hume).

Also a large number of skins collected by Sir J. E. B. Hotson at or near

Khozdar and Turbat and Panjgur in Southern Baluchistan are indistinguishable

from Indian skins; and the same is true of 8S. Persian skins, the type and

topotypes of persica Bl. from Shiraz, one from Chahanbar on the Persian Gulf

(Hotson), one from the Karun River, identified by Thomas as flavescens (see

below), three from Baghdad (Cox and Cheesman) and one from Ctesiphon on

the Tigris (Christy).

The following are the flesh measurements in English inches of the largest

and smallest g and Q examples from the principal districts arranged roughly

geographically from north to south and westward :—

a SE A I SSS A a a

ood | Tai | Hind foot

Attock, Campbellpore ; yg. ad. Q 204 15% 53

Salt Range, Ava; ad. 3 22% 153 5

) »? ” ad. 3 21% 142 +

SS, bare » ad. 2 els 133 5—

” ys) ” ad. : 20% 144 52

Hissar, Bhattu ad. ¢ 212 14 2

”» ” ad. 2 214 144 52

” 9 ad. @ 193 134 44.

Rajputana, Sambhar ad. 3 Poe (ID) =)

Upper Sind, Kashmor ad. ¢ 212 153 4

- jo ei lie eed ad, 2 20 123 z

sine) Tar, Parker ad. 19 122 ee

Cutch, Bhuj ad. ¢ 202 134 4

» Nokania ads? 19 — 123 43

Baluchistan, Wadh ad. Jd Zee 173 3

AF Mand ad. ¢ Ze 162 2

ae Khozdar ad. © 22 163 3

oe Panjgur ad. 2 20 154 rt

The ear is only shghtly smaller than in montana, a trifle under 82 in.

on the average. :

Two flesh-measured ad. CG skins from 8S. Persia, one from Chahanbar

(Hotson), the other from the Karun River, both localities being on the

Persian Gulf, have the head and body 231/5 and 221/5 in. respectively ;

and three adult ¢ skins from Baghdad (Cox and Cheesman) are 21 1/5 in.

The only recorded weights in English Ibs. are as follows:—Kashmor, Upper

Sind., ad. ¢ 8 lbs.; Bhuj, Cutch, ad. § 62 lbs.; Ara, Salt Range, 2 ¢

5} and 43 Ibs.

The flesh dimensions show that this race is a little smaller on the average

48 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

than griffithii and considerably smaller, sex for sex, than montana. The

weights are also much less than in montana.

The skull measurements entered below show a complete overlap in size

between pusilla and griffithiu, but a decided inferiority on the average of

pusilla. Oné interesting point emerges, namely the comparatively diminutive

size of some of the foxes over a considerable area of Upper Sind. The

physical conditions of the district must be less favourable to growth than

elsewhere; and possibly these small foxes represent a distinct race, for which

it might be thought the name leucopus was available. But Blyth’s localities

for leucopus were Ferozepore, Ludhiana, Hansi in Hissar, Moultan and Cutch

and the foxes in the British Museum from Hissar, from Kashmor in Upper

Sind, the nearest locality to Moultan, and from Cutch closely resemble examples

from the Salt Range, whence the type of pusilla came. The desert foxes of

Rajputana are also rather small, intermediate in size between those from

the Salt Range and the smallest from Upper Sind.

CRANIAL AND DentTAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE LARGEST AND SMALLEST

AND Q Sxkutis oF British INDIAN EXAMPLES OF V. V. PUSILLA

ARRANGED ACCORDING TO LOCALITY.

a es

Soup Se, a ils yelp xe

Bel Se eee alan

ra as ie lite al eee Ie

LOCALITY AND SEX ps 4 i vo 5 2 4 S N N

pa ° Slee. ta. Oasis

o/ €l @il;aijs|el\s&

SoS ae ane a | &

10 1p

Attock, Campbellpore

yg ad. 9/115} 62 21 | 21 | 163) 53 | 87} 11 9 {12

Salt Range (Oldham)

ad. 3| 127) 69 17+| 24+] 21 | 60 | 96 | 12 82 /13

” (M. Stuart)

old. 2} 108} 65 20 | 21 | 174; 53 | 84 | 10 8 {124

i Ara (Stock-

ley) ad. ¢| 122) 67 23, e221 99 room| 2044 lee 8 13

Be 4, ad. | 117) 65 21. | 24 ~| 20° | 567790.) Ae Olsen

Hissar, Bhattu ,, ad. ¢/ 124) 65 18 | 23 | 19-577) 96. 011 9 |13

a i 5, adeo)117\ 65 19° | 23. | 20 | 36) 384) 12 913

” tas ”9 ACh, ve 114| 61 19 19 134-02 8287 1 8 124

Upper Sind, Kashmor

ad. ¢| 122} 69 20 | 21 | 20 | 58) 94) 128) soy 14

a ,, Wahi Pandi

ad. 4/110} 63 7AM 7 eae Wee DU ep ila I 8

+ », Khairpur

ad. 4/108) 60 19 | 21 | 18-| 49 | 82 |) 10 8+ {13

: ,. Rohri. ad.Q?} 105] 61 22. We20 V7 S100 SO 1 AG 8 |122

ig ads 271/102) 59°" 90) | 20) a7 cab eli" ho esate

Lower Sind, Umarkot

: ad. g/ 119/ 63 19 | ZV 1S.) 57-934) ita Oo aes

Cutch, Bhuj ad. ¢{120) 65 19) 22, WV ASM S25) 907), 10 Siig ee

Rajputana, Jodhpur

ae a ad. @|112| 59 23 \ 204) 14h 53: 586" OF |) eS eae

- Sambhar

ad. 4 LIA\e68 21. | 24 | 182) $4 1-90. | 102.) OZ

af se, wade idl Gn 23. We2O SAS Wes 2a Sou) hl : 12

luchistan, Mand ad. @)125|(64+)| .... | 25 | 203) 60 | 96 1 13

a ae , ad. 9110] 60 | 18$ | 21 | 17 | 544/83} 11 | 8 [124

' Wadh ad. 3/115] 65 20" a) 22° alle) 53 P42) Solis

A Khozdar

ad. 9)123/'65 4° | 19 | 21 9) 1841156 11 a8

Me Panjgur

re (eo OU ane 23 | 20 a) 18/255: (2860. 2 847113

THR FOXHS OF BRITISH INDIA 49

Vulpes bengalensis, Shaw.

THE BENGAL Fox.

Canis bengalensis, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. 1, p. 3880 (1800).

Canis kokree, Sykes, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 101 (1881).

Canis (Vulpes) indicus, Hodgson, As. Res., vol. xvii, pt. 2, p. 237 (1888),

(nom. preocc.).

Canis (Vulpes) rufescens, Gray in Hardwicke’s Illustr. Ind. Zool., pt. 2,

pl. 8 (1833-4).

Canis chrysurus, Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i, p. 577 (1887).

Vulpes hodgsoniu, Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. i, p. 578 (1887).

Vulpes xanthura, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1887), p. 68 (published January

22, 18388; see Proc. Zool. Soc., 1898, p. 487).

Vulpes bengalensis of all recent authors.

Locality of types of bengalensis (from Pennant), Bengal; of kokree, Deccan;

of indicus, India; of rufescens, India; of chrysurus, hodgsonii and sxanthura,

Nepal.

Distribution: The whole of India from the foothills of the Himalayas,

up to 4,500 ft. at Kangra, to Cape Comorin and from Sind to Eastern Bengal

(Bihar and Orissa) and even to Assam according to Blanford.

Distinguished from Vulpes vulpes by the black tip of the tail, by the

ears being the same tint as the nape or, when darker, never exhibiting

the blackness characteristic of that species, by the presence of only two pairs

of mammae instead of three, by the shorter, less luxuriant winter coat and

the finer, closer pale speckling of the dorsal pelage. The size on the average

is nearly the same as in V. v. pusilla; but the tail and hind foot are a

trifle shorter. It is doubtful if there is any constant difference between the

skulls of V. bengalensis and V. v. pusilla. They are frequently very difficult

to distinguish; but the teeth of bengalensis are on the average smaller, the

difference being more apparent to the eye than when expressed in millimetres,

and the nasals are usually broader in their posterior part.

Notes on the synonymy: ‘The fox described by Pennant as the ‘Bengal

Fox’, which Shaw named bengalensis, was probably exported from Calcutta.

Its locality may be fixed as the adjoining area of India, south of the Ganges.

There was no precise locality for the type of kokree and no character to

distinguish it from bengalensis was given. The type, ticketed the Deccan, is

in the British Museum. Hodgson recorded indicus as occurring over the

greater part of India. The type in the British Museum has no locality, but

since the name was preoccupied for the Indian Jackal, the locality is of no

moment. The next name rufescens similarly cannot be assigned to the fox

of any definite locality. Hardwicke’s illustration, which is the type, indicates

a specimen which had moulted the black and white contour hairs and was

tolerably uniformly fulvous. The names chrysurus and xanthura were given

by Gray to the same specimen, a fox collected by Cobbe in Nepal. The

type is in the British Museum, the skin labelled chrysurus, the skull xanthura.

The type of hodgsonii also came from Nepal.

Colour of the dorsal surface very variable according to the condition . of

the pelage. When the coat is fresh and unfaded the dorsal surface and flanks

are everywhere speckled with the whitish bands in the contour hairs, but

the crown and the back behind the shoulders are brownish, ochreous or buff,

owing to the summit of the wool and a small area between the black tip

and the white band of the contour hairs being one of those tints; but these

tints are absent on the flanks, which are greyish and speckled, and mostly

on: the nape which is typically thus contrasted with the back and crown; the

muzzle is darkish but there is usually a greyish black smudge in front of the

eye: the throat is white, the chin sometimes fuscous, and there is often a fuscous

collar on the hind throat and a good deal of buff on the fore breast and axillae;

the belly is white but the base of the tail below, the anal and genital areas

and the backs of the thighs to the hocks are ochreous or rufous; the hind leg

in front below-the hock is whitish or some pale shade and the fore leg is

rufous from the elbow externally, but greyish with a varying amount of black

50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

down the front usually to the wrist; the tail is mostly darkish grey owing to

the black and white contour hairs which form a good brush, the black being

dominant at the end to form the black tip. When the pelage is in moult or

approaching it and the hairs are dead or dying the characteristic colouring

described above fades away.

Although the large number of specimens collected by the Mammal Survey

suggests that this species may be represented by a few local races, as might

be expected from its wide distribution and varied environment, the insufficiency

of series of skins collected at the same time of the year in different localities

and the considerable individual variation in skins and skulls from the same

locality make the definition of local races impossible for the present. If

further material shows they can be established, kokree will come in for the

Southern Deccan form, chrysurus for the Northern Nepalese form and ben-

galensis itself for the form from the central plains of India south of the

Ganges.

Some individual and seasonal variations in the species may be shown by

brief reference to a few of the skins collected for the Survey in the principal

districts.

Bahgownie in Darbangha, 150 ft. Ten skins collected by Baptista between

July 29th and October 21st. No two are quite alike in every respect, the

extremes being collected on consecutive days, July 29 and 30. One, July 30,

is a dark fox with the brown of the crown and back conspicuously speckled

with black and buff, the flanks grey, speckled with black and white; the

chin and throat white, a blackish collar on the hind throat, breast buffy,

and abdomen whitish; inguinal region and back of thighs deep brown; hind

leg below hock in front whitish, with the paw dusky; fore leg deep brown

above externally, speckled black and grey down front. The other, July 29,

is in poorer coat and much paler, with the contour hairs more scanty, so

that the black and white speckling is much less in evidence; below the hind

throat has hardly a trace of the collar, the breast is much paler buff; the

inguinal area and the legs are rusty ochreous rather than brown and there

is less pigmentation down the front of the fore leg. The remaining specimens

are in varying degrees intermediate between these two.

Haldibari, just south of Sikhim (Crump), an adult 9, April 18th, is

moulting, the coat being thin on the body and tail and bleached so that

the colour is a little paler than the palest skin from Darbangha; the belly

is nearly naked in preparation for suckling.

Kangra. An adult © collected by H. Whistler at Hamirpur, 2,000 ft.,

is undated, but evidently in winter coat, which is full, and soft and 37 mm.

long; the general colour is very much as in the darkest of the skins from

Darbangha. Another 9 from the Kangra Valley (Wells), 2,000 ft., March 28th,

has the same coat but is rather paler than Whistler’s skin, with the black

hair still less abundant, the collar smaller, the breast less richly buff, the

inguinal region and back to the thighs paler ochreous and the fore leg with

much less black down the front. A third Q from Gopalpur, 4,500 ft. (Wells)

March 18th, is like the last in colour below and on the legs, but the coat

is not so full as in either of the others, despite the greater altitude, and

the colour of the back is yellower and less speckled with black and white.

Gwalior. A series collected by Ryley O’Brien at Binganj, October-Novem-

ber, consists of mostly darkish, rich coloured skins tolerably closely resembling

the darkest skins from Kangra and Darbangha but with the coat, owing to

the season, fuller and longer than in the latter.

Sind (S. H. Prater), An ad. $ from Gangra Mithi Tal, Thar Parkar,

October 4th, agrees in colouration with the average of the series from Dar-

bangha. An ad. $ and @ from Mirpur in Sukkur, March 26th and 27th, are

in moult and faded, showing only a pale buffy wash on the fore quarters and

a more ochreous tint on the rump, the flanks are pale grey or dirty white,

and there is little speckling on the fore legs. The Q which was_ suckling

has the abdomen covered with short red hair. A @ from Khot Diji in Khair-

pur, April 10th, although in better coat is a close match of the two Sukkur

skins. Another @ from Gambat in Khairpur, April 15th, has hardly a

trace of buff or ochreous above, merely a faint wash on the hind back but

the dorsal surface and flanks are darker than in the other March and April

skins from Sind owing to there being more black in the contour hairs.

Deccan. Dharwar, 2,500 ft. (Shortridge). An ad. @, January 8th, in good

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 51

coat, about 80 mm. long, has an ochreous wash down the back, spangled

with white but with no black tips to the contour hairs, so that the dorsal

colouration is paler than usual; the ears, however, are exceptionally dark

and more strongly contrasted with the head and nape than is normally the

case; there is a small darkish collar on the hind throat and some ochreous

on the breast. This specimen has the belly moulted for suckling, a condition

which in more northern specimens occurs later, at the end of March or begin-

ning of April. An ad. ¢ from the same locality , 1,900 ft., December 21st,

is very like the 2 but has some black speckling in the coat.

Kurnool (Baptista). An ad. ¢ from Diguvameta, April 25th, has a thin

short faded coat of dead hair with no wool and a pale grey sepia wash,

speckled with buff, on the back. An ad. Q@ from Malakondapenta, May 19th,

also has a thin short coat with no ‘wool, but a brownish wash on the back

and the shoulders and nape speckled black and white.

High Wavy Mountain in Madura, near the borders of Travancore (S. H.

Prater). Two, June 8th, are in faded, thin summer coat, showing no dis-

tinctive characters. They are worth recording as the most southern examples

of the species procured by the Survey.

Flesh measurements in English inches of the largest and smallest ¢ and 9

specimens, where known, from the principal districts, are as follows:—

ee Tail Hind foot

Darbangha ad. 5 | 214 112 5

a ad. ¢ 202 104 Bs

Ps ad. 2 20 102 43

Kumaon ad. 202 112 44

sa ad. ¢ 192 114 +3

Kangra ad. & 233 112 42

Gwalior ad. 3 242 124 43

ad. 3 212 114 42

i Adu 223 13 42

Sind, Thar Parkar ad. 2 193 124

», Mirpur, Sukkur ad. gd 172 93 4

» Y ” ad. 2 183 112 42

», Gambat, Khairpur ad. 2 192 112 43

Deccan, Kurnool ad. 3 192 12 44

r ‘ ad. 2 208 12 44

a Dharwar ; ad. J 204 12 42

a hi ad. 2 20 14 42

The average length of the ear is 3 in.

The weight is from about 6 to 8 Ibs. in adult males.

The measurements are on the whole tolerably uniform throughout the

range of the species, although the single measured specimen from Kangra and

the specimens from Gwalior, of which only the largest and smallest males

are entered, appear to be larger than those from other districts. But since

this is not borne out by any “superiority in the size of the skulls, I suspect

it is due to the ‘personal equation’ of the collectors. The exceptionally small

adult ¢ from Mirpur, in Sind, is referred to below under the skulls.

52 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF THE LARGEST AND SMALLEST ADULT G AND

zl | he

Soe ao Bceaders Ore

a 1 lors, | San ec a |

3 To les s = a

. e e | D o | « ae ST

LOCALITY AND SEX “ . oa ker Oo |} 4 SN s $s

w ‘Sal re a

ma 8 EVs oe OE Penn

Se ee Se

ss ole b (30)

Bo Nees aS

O =)

Nepal (chrysurus type)

(117+ )| 68 (18) 22) 20 | 52 | 90 10 | 83x 103 [113

dg a 110 635})'22:):24) 220 240 ee COS aol) eles

Darbangha ad. @| 117 685) 201231) 19S 9) G10) Ot S arse ele de

a, ad. ¢| 116 69 | 21) 24) 20%) 53 (89>) 93S Tat

. ad. 9| 110 | 65 |.20/21] 17349 | 84/9 |8 x 102 |11

i ad 104 99 | 20) 201 3487)47.. | 80.1.9) |S x10 sa

Kumaon ad. ¢| 114 66 | 19) 23) 181/52 | 90 {10 x 11—|12—

= ad. ¢| 106 60 | 20] 20} 18 | 48—| 803) 9 - x 10/41

ad. 2} 109— | 63 | 22/23) 18 | 50 | 85 |10-|8 x11—{12

Kangra, Gopalpur old. 9} 111 64 | 20) 21| 17 | 50 | 87 | 9 OO

55 Hamirpur

old. 2 108 62 |20;19; 19 |48 | 82 |10 ene NO

x Valley old. @| 103 | 57/21/19] 17/46 | 76/92 /8 +10 /11—

Gwalior, Binganj ad. ¢| 115 69.1/22)123)\.19 5287 3129 x10 , {102

”) ss) ad. 108 62 | 20 20| 17 | 50 82 19 kx gt Whe

Sind, Thar Parkar ad.

» Mirpur, Sukkur

(111+4)} €4 | 21) 22) 18 |50 | 84) 9 x 9% jil

110 58) 48) 18) 16°) S51 833007 Ss selon

FOOLS HoOheoe a OsGHooy, JOMocues4G1o a eicckem ooo oes

ad. 92 59-|20/19; 16 |40 | 70} 8 x SFL

. a x5 ad.) 105 60 | 19/20; 18 |47 | 80] 9 < San

», Gambat ad. 2} 102 5/7 | 18/18) 152,46 |.76) 9 ee) Rit).

> Kot Dit ad. 2} 100 96) 195.18) 35546" 1°76 3| 9 = x 92 a0e

Deccan (kokree type)

ad. 103 93./20/19) 16/46 | 79.) 9 x Or

” Kurnool ad. 110 612120: 20) 17 ).52- 13853110 x10 {104

ff ad 11S 614) 19) 20) 477)... 71°89 |10=) SE 10

.; Palkonda Hills

ad. 108 574) 19) 19) 17°) 50°) | 84,5792 4S lO” ano

- Dharwar ad. ¢i(117 + )| 62 |19/18| 162/50 | 86|9 |.8.x10. |11

y ay ad. 21107 61 |39)) 19) T6149 | 63.21) 9 1S elOne ee

Two facts connected with this table stand out as particularly instructive

instances of individual variation in the skulls of this fox. The first is the

difference in the size of the teeth exhibited by the two Q skulls from Gopalpur

and Hamirpur in Kangra. Both are old with the teeth about equally worn,

yet the first upper molar (m') of the skull from Hamirpur, collected by Mr.

H. Whistler, is wider than the same tooth in any other skull of the species

I have seen. In the Gopalpur skull, on the contrary, that tooth is rather

exceptionally small. Its lower carnassial (m,) also is considerably smaller

than in the skull from Hamirpur. In the third Q Kangra skull the teeth

are about average in size and intermediate between the other two.

The second point is the exceptionally small size of the ad. 3S skull from

Mirpur, Sukkur in Sind. It is hardly longer in condylobasal length than

Blanford’s Fox (V. cana) from Baluchistan, “although much more robust, and

is much shorter than the @Q skull from Mirpur collected at the same time

by S. H. Prater. The ¢ skull must be regarded as that of a dwarf,’ and

1 Tt will be remembered that some of the skulls of V. vulpes pusilla from

Sind are exceptionally small.

THE SHOX SOF = BRT ETSE. IN DIA 53

the dwarfing has affected the upper carnassial (pm*) and the first upper molar

(m') as well. The other ¢ skull from Sind, from Thar Parkar, has an esti-

mated condylobasal length of 111 mm. which is the same as the average cof

5 6 skulls from Gwalior, and of 6 ¢ skulls from Kumaon, but the average

of 4 ¢ skulls from Darbangha is 116 mm.

Fig. 2.—A. Skull of type of Vulpes cana from Gwadar.

B. Skull of dwarf ¢ of Vulpes bengalensis from Sukkur, Sind.

C. Skull of normal 2 of Vulpes, bengalensis from Sukkur, Sind.

All Sa.

Vulpes cana, Blanf.

BLANKFORD’s Fox.

‘The Small Afghan Fox of Griffith’, quoted but wrongly identified by Blyth,

Journ., As, Soc. Beng., vol. xiv, p. 344 (footnote) (1845).

Vulpes canus, Blanford, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vol. xlvi, pt. 2, p. 3821

(1877); Sclater and Alston, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 892 (1878).

54 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Vulpes cana, Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 150 (1888); Ognev, Ann.

Mus. Nat. Hung., vol. xxiii, p. 288 (1926).

Vulpes cana var. nigricans, Shitkow, Zool. Anz., vol. xxxii, p. 448 (1907).

Locality of the type of cana, Gwadar, Baluchistan; of nigricans, Bokhara

in ‘Turkestan.

Distribution: Baluchistan, Afghanistan, N.-E. Persia (Khorassan) and

Turkestan. ,

Distinguished from V. bengalensis by its smaller size, much fuller, softer

and more luxuriant winter coat and by its very different colouration; the

coat when fresh exhibiting on the back none of the black and ochreous or

buff or white close speckling characteristic of bengalensis. The contour hairs

of the back, which vary from 45 to 65 mm. in length, have an extensive

black tip and an extensive silvery subapical band; the thick wool, varying

from 35 to 45 mm. in length, may be grey or lighter or darker ochreous at

its summit; the muzzle is darkish, with a conspicuous black smudge in front

of the eyes; the crown and cheeks to a varying extent silvery; the ears

blackish grey; the flanks and under side are mostly white, but the chin

may be blackish and there may be some. infuscation on the hind throat and

some buff on the breast; the tail is mostly grey, overcast with the extensive

blackness of the tips of the contour hairs ranging from 65 to 90 mm. long

and forming a voluminous black-tipped brush; the legs are mostly darkish

grey, with some black, the ends of the digits are whitish, but sometimes

the legs have no black and are mostly ochreous and cream.

There are four skins of this species in the British Museum. An ad. do

collected by Sir J. E. B. Hotson at Turbat, Kech, Baluchistan, on December

13th, has the summit of the wool of. the back grey, with an ochreous wash

in it on the nape; the legs are blackish grey; the forehead and cheeks

silvery. Blanford’s type taken 15 miles from Gwadar, near Kelat, Baluchis-

tan, differs in having a faint ochreous wash down the back, which is more

silvery, less overcast with black; the legs paler grey and the forehead and

cheeks less silvered. A skin from Kandahar, Afghanistan, has a_ richer

ochreous wash down the back than the type. A skin bought in Peshawar

and said to have come from Bezaur, N.-W. F. P., is still more richly

ochreous on the back than the Kandahar skin, and the legs are very pale,

the fore leg being creamy grey down the front, ochreous behind and the

hind leg ochreous above the hock, instead of grey, and in front below the

hock cream (the paws are missing).

The specimen collected at Turbat is the only one of the series measured

in the flesh:—head and body, 16 in.; tail, —;' hind foot, 4 in.; ear, 3} in.

It may be noted that the ear is almost as long as the hind foot and is

actually as long and _ therefore relatively considerably longer than in

bengalensis.

The skull has the general shape of that of bengalensis but is smaller

and, judging from the two examined, is muscularly less well developed, the

temporal ridges forming a wide lyriform area. The carnassial teeth also are

relatively larger. As the measurements show these teeth (pm* and m,) are

as large as in the biggest skulls of bengalensis and actually larger than

in the smallest dwarfed ¢ skull of this species from Mirpur in Sind. The

first upper molar (m*) is also a trifle larger than in that skull and very

nearly if not quite the average size of other skulls. But a comparison between

the general dimensions of the dwarf d skull of bengalensis from Mirpur and

the two of cana shows that although they are all of approximately the same

condylobasal length, the bengalensis skull is more strongly developed, being

broader across the zygomata and across the muzzle at the canines. A notice-

able individual difference between the two skulls of cana is seen in the nasals

which in the skull from Turbat are exceedingly narrow behind whereas in

the type they are broader, although not so broad as in the average of

bengalensis.

1 Hotson gave the tail as 185 mm. (=5 2/5 in.), but half of it is missing.

In other made-up skins the tail is at least two-thirds the length of the head

and body.

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 55

Vulpes ferrilata, Hodgson.

Tor TIBETAN DESERT Fox.

Vulpes ferrilatus, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xi, p. 278, pl.

(1842); Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 155 (1888) ; Bonhote, Proc. Zool. Soc.,

p. 308, fig. (skull) (1905). .

9 Canis eckloni, Przjevalski, Third Journ., Centr. Asia, p. 198 (1888),

(nom. nud.).*

2 Alopex eckloni, Matschie in Filchner’s Haped. China and Tibet, Zool.,

p. 171 (1907).

Locality of type of ferrilatus, near Lhasa; of eckloni, Mongolia.

Distribution: Tibet, Nepal and the Upper Sutle] Valley.

Hodgson’s skins from Nepal and a living example from that country exhi-

bited in the Zoological Gardens, all referred to below, may have been brought

to Nepal from Tibet. Stoliczka’s record of the species from the Upper Sutle]

(Journ., As. Soc. Beng., xxxvul, pt. 2,. p. 5) may be due to an erroneous

identification of a specimen of V. vulpes montana, although it was associated

with some typical Tibetan species.

Distinguished from the previously described species by its relatively much

smaller ears, its shorter tail, its very thick but comparatively short and rather

wavy winter coat and by several striking differences in the skull and teeth.

Coat consisting of an intimate mixture of the contour hairs, which have a

pallid subapical band, and the wool, the two being approximately equal in

length and varying in length from about 25 to 40 mm., no doubt in accordance

with the winter date; but interspersed in this coat, sometimes very sparsely,

sometimes tolerably abundantly, are numbers of longer, fine black hairs up

to 50 mm. or more in length. General colour above from the head on to

the root of the tail ochreous from the tint of the tips of the contour hairs

and the summit of the wool, speckled by the pallid areas of the contour hairs

but hardly appreciably darkened by the long erect black hairs; the head

often not so bright, greyer; the muzzle with no trace of a fuscous patch

in front of the eye; the ears not sharply contrasted with the nape, but

sometimes a little darker; a clear buff patch behind the ear. Sides of the

neck, flanks and thighs hoary; tail dark grey, mixed black and white sometimes

with a buffy tinge above; the tip extensively white; hind leg ochreous above

the hock and down the back of the metatarsus; white in front below the

hock; fore leg from the elbow ochreous, or palish buff with white paws

and sometimes a fuscous patch on the wrist; upper lip, chin and the rest

of the under side white, with the white of the hind throat set off on each

side by a large fuscous patch.

This description is taken from six specimens in good coat, namely a

recently received, mounted specimen from Tibet (R. Ward); two lectotypes

from Lhasa (Hodgson), one from Eastern Central Tibet (Thorold) and two

ticketed Nepal (Hodgson). Two younger skins, ticketed Nepal (Hodgson),

are paler, either greyer or buffier than the rest, not so ochreous. But a

skin from the Karo La Pass, 16,600 ft. is in full moult and differently coloured.

Most of the contour hairs of the back are shed, those that remain having

* This name was given by Przjevalski apparently to the Steppe Fox he

identified as Canis corsac in 1875 in his Mongolia and the Land of the

Tongouts. According to Delmar Morgan’s translation of this work, vol. ii,

p. 211, 1876, Przjevalski referred to this fox as occurring over the whole of

Mongolia, Kansu, Kokonor and Tssaidan, being especially plentiful in the

plains round Kokonor. But he secured no specimen and merely recorded what

he knew of its habits; and no description was given when he altered the

determination and named the fox Canis eckloni. I should not have quoted

the name in this connection but for the reference to it as Vulpes ferrilatus

ecklont by Ognev, who presumably took his opinion from Matschie’s identi-

fication of eckloni and his comparison of it with ferrilatus. Matschie, however,

assigned eckloni to the genus Alopex of which the type is lagopus, and corsac

has a good deal of resemblance to lagopus in skull characters. On the other

hand in the whole Vulpine series of species it would be impossible to find

two with the skulls more different than lagopus and ferrilata.

56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

dead shrivelled tips; the wool is close and matted, about 25 mm.; the general

colour is browner, not so ochreous and is conspicuously more blackened by

the long black hairs; the tail has no contour hairs but is covered with soiled,

felted wool.

None of the above described skins is dated or was measured in the flesh;

but the following are the dimensions in English inches of the specimen

mounted by Rowland Ward; head and body, 263 in.; tail, 114 in.; hind foot,

5 in.; ear, 21/5 in. The ear of the skin from the Karo ia Pass, “when

softened, was 3 mm. longer.

mae

Fig. 3.—A.. Skull of ad. S of Vulpes ferrilata from Karo La Pass, Tibet.

B. Front end of jaws of the same from Gyang-tse, Tibet.

C. The same of Vulpes vulpes montana from Takula, Kumaon.

Incidentally these measurements disprove Blanford’s statement that V. ferri-

latus is considerably less in size than V. vulpes montana; but they show

that the tail, without the hair, is less than half the length of the head and_

body, instead of over, and that the ear is about 1 in. or more lower. These

differences also distinguish V. ferrilata from V. bengalensis and V. cana.

THE FOXES OF BRITISH INDIA 57

The very remarkable skull of this fox, which in its development is an

extreme exaggeration of the Vulpine type, was unknown to Blanford and was

first described by Bonhote who pointed out many of its peculiarities. The

skull is longer in its condylobasal length, and in the length of the mandible

and of the upper cheek-teeth than any of the skulls of V. v. montana I have

seen; but the difference is due to the exceptional length of the’ jaws, the

cranial portion, although it has rather wider zygomata, being actually shorter

on the average. The jaws, however, are not only longer but narrower,

being actually narrower by about 3 mm. above the second premolar than in

a large skull of montana, but they expand above the canines where the width

is about the same as in montana. The forehead is concave from side to side

owing to the uplift of the postorbital processes. T'here are also differences

in the teeth, the most noticeable being the extreme length of the canines in

ferrilata in which the upper canine, when fully erupted and unworn, is 5 mm.

longer down its anterior edge than the corresponding tooth in montana.’

The lower canine is similarly higher and the upper premolars (pm' to pm’)

and the lower premolars (pm, to pm,) are longer from back to front; but

whereas the upper carnassial (pm*) and the lower carnassial (m,) are

subequal to those of montana, the first upper molar (m’) of ferrilata is smaller.

From these differences it results that in ferrilata the height of the upper

canine exceeds the combined lengths of the upper carnassial and the first

molar, as set in the jaw, and that the third upper premolar is longer than

the first molar. In montana, on the contrary, the canine is much less than

the other two teeth and the third upper premolar is shorter than the first

upper molar.

CRANIAL AND DrnTAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE AVAILABLE SKULLS OF

VULPES CANA and VULPES FERRILATA.

NAMB, LOCALITY AND

SEX

Cond. Bas. Lengt

Zygom. Width

Postorb. Width

Int. Orb. Width

Max. Width

Mand. Length

pbm*

Upper Cheek Tee

Vulpes cana

Turbat, Baluchistan

ad. g| 91 | 50 19% | 18)13) 433; 69 | 10 | 74x10 | 11

Gwadar - ad. 89 | 502 | 18 | 19/13) 413) 67 Pe yay aul

Vulpes ferrilata

(Nepal) ad. g/152 | 86 | 242 |27/25| 75 |124 | 13 | 82x12 | 16—

Tibet, Karo La Pass ad. ¢| 145 | 83 Ze 4 2412375 118") 1S) St xi | 15

i Gyangtse ad. | 145 | 82 24—| 24) 25) 70 \116 | 132) 78x12 | 15

- E. Centra!

yg.ad. |144 |(724:)} 222 |21/22| 71 J115 | 13 | 8 x12 | 143

Of the skulls of ferrilata entered on this list the first bracketed Nepal

came from a living specimen presented by the Maharajah of Nepal to the

present King Edward, when Prince of Wales. It has no skin and its locality

is doubtful. The one from the Karo Ta Pass, collected by Col. Waddell,

was figured and described by Bonhote. The one from Gyangtse, which has

no skin, was received from Col. F. M. Bailey and the one from E. Central

Tibet was presented by Mr. W. Thorold.

* Bonhote recorded the canine of the skull from the Karo La Pass as

29 mm. and that of his type of waddelli as 20 mm. The latter is correct;

but the former number is a misprint for 25.

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI.

With NOTES ON THEIR COMPARATIVE OSTEOLOGY AND PECULIARITIES

OF DENTITION.

A. G..L. FRASER, Mp.

Parr |:

(With 2 plates and 2 text-figures).

INTRODUCTION.

This paper is the outcome of a study, which in its initial stages

had been restricted to identification, with a view to listing the

families and species appearing from time to time in this locality.

For this purpose a collection was begun in Deolali. When the

limits to the numbers of the prevailing local species seemed to

have been reached and no further fresh material was forthcoming,

the study was amplified so as to include the more important

features connected with the differences in the osteology and denti-

tion of those members of the sub-order Ophidia met with in Deolali.

The work undertaken has occupied the greater part of the

author’s leisure period for a little over two years. The results

have amply repaid the time and labour involved and the study

itself has afforded much instruction and entertainment. It is

thought that the data collected and now presented may serve some

useful purpose by their publication; as the subject is one in which,

but few are seriously interested. Further the existing literature

available on the points of osteology and dentition is scaree—some of

the publications having been long out of print—and hence so

costly as to put them beyond the reach of many, who perhaps

would become interested were they able to procure such books for

reference. Again the necessity for surveys of this kind need

hardly be emphasised, as they not only furnish a more intimate

and permanent record, but add considerably to our knowledge of

the distribution of the various species.

The subject has been approached from the view-point of an

interested student and amateur field worker. By combining the

study of such authoritative publications as have been available

along with the first-hand information found in the field, the writer

has endeavoured to gather as many practical data as possible about

those. animals.

For the better comprehension of the text of this paper, it was

considered advisable to support it with many illustrations. No

apology is necessary for their profuseness, as without these aids

it would not be possible for the reader to readily follow and appre-

ciate the morphological characters and more especially the diver-

gent features existing and helping toward separating out the

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 59

families, genera, and species. Great care has been exercised in

the correct delineation of the peculiarities both in the case of the

skulls and vertebrae, by enlarged scale drawings in black and

white, featuring all the details in the original bones. These,

again, have been photographically reproduced so as to make the

final pictures look quite natural.

This paper will deal with a total 22 species belonging to four

families, which have so far been investigated on the points of

external characters. The osteology and dentition of 20 of these

have been dealt with and will be found described in the notes

which follow. For purposes of comparison 2 species extraneous

to Deolali have been included in the total shown above. Of these,

one is from Bengal and the other from Mahableshwar (Deccan).

The latter one was imported into Deolal under pecuhar circum-

stances and will be referred to again later.

A table has been compiled showing the cranial and vertebral

“column measurements of the species described. This table also

shows the ratio of growth occurring in skeletons of specimens of

varying length and ages. As regards the vertebral column, it

has been found possible to group the snakes according to the

differences noted in the formation of their vertebrae. This verte-

bral grouping is of great interest, and the table of variations depicts

the natural series into which they fall.

The lterature which has been studied will be fully quoted at

the end of this paper, but special mention must be made of three

valuable publications from which great help was derived:—(1) A

Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum, by Dr. G. A.

Boulenger (1893-6), vols. 1, 11 and i; (2) The Thanatophidia of

India, by Col. F. Fayrer (1872); and (8) Animaux venimeux et

Venins, by Mme M. Phisalix (1922), tome ti. The first of these

was perused at the Bombay Natural History Society library rooms,

Bombay, in an incomplete way during the brief respite of a few

hours while on a short visit to that city. The two latter were

made available for study through the kindness and courtesy of Mr.

S. H. Prater, Curator of the Bombay Natural History Society, to

whom the author is indebted for the privilege. The book How to

identify the Snakes of India, by Col. F. Wall, c.m.c., 1.m.s., has

been found particularly useful and a very excellent practical guide

to the identifications of snakes from their scale formation. The

synopses and keys furnished therein are reliable aids to students,

especially for those who have not the time for the labour involved

in reducing to skeletons the specimens they wish to differentiate

in a complete way.

GEOGRAPHICAL Location, METEOROLOGY AND PHysicaAL FEATURES

OF THE STATION.

Devlali or Deolali, the latter name is more popularly used, is

a small Military Cantonment in the Nasik Civil Collectorate of

the Bombay Presidency.

The height above the mean sea level is from 1.800 to 2,300 ft.

The average rainfall is 80 in. The monsoon months are June,

60° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HUST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

July, August and part of September. The hottest months of the

year are March, April and May, with the maximum shade tem-

perature fluctuating between 100 and 110°F. The coldest months

are December and January, when the minimum shade readings

vary between 44 and 60°F.; the average mean being about 85°F.

Dry and Wet bulb registrations show a marked humidity during

October.

The topography of the country in the environs is undulating in

character. On the south side le the Thal Ghat extensions running

east and west. The land is for the most part under cultivation,

and is intersected by deep tributary ‘Nallahs’ draining into the

river ‘Darna’, which meanders through east of the Cantonment

in a north-easterly direction to a point some ten miles east of

Nasik City, where at ‘Darna Sangava’ it joins the sacred river

Godaveri.

In order to obtain precise data as to the Ophidia present, 195

specimens collected over a period from December 1982 to January

1985 were examined and revealed evidence of 4 families and 20

species in an area roughly comprised within a 5-mile radius from

Devlali Railway Station (G. I. P. R.). In this area lie the villages

of Bagoor, Wadner, Nanegaon, Vehitgaon, Sansari, Deolali,

Shigwa and the Nasik Road sector. ,

Included in the previously quoted figures is a collection of

45 snakes kindly sent to me by Mr. Fenton-Bailie, House-Master,

Barnes High School, Deolali. His collection contained of the

known poisonous groups fatal to man, 2 Cobras, with several young

ones, 4 Kraits, 5 Saw-scaled Vipers (Phoorsa), and 1 Russell’s

Viper. All of his specimens were gathered in over a period of

several years in the precincts of the Barnes High School, which

is within the area specified. |

A second collection belonging to Rai Sahib A. G. Gokhale of

the Government Distillery, Nasik Road, who very kindly accorded

me facilities for viewing it, contained 1 additional species labelled

Polyodontophis collaris. There was neither time nor opportunity

for closely examining the basic characters of this specimen. The

particular label affixed to it is at variance with the habitat cited

by authoritative writers on the subject, who show the distribution

as Himalayas, Bengal, Assam (Wall, F., 1923)’; Himalayas and

Assam (Phisalix, M., 1922).2 Rai Sahib Gokhale is himself un-

certain as to its identity. The colour markings correspond with

those of Polyodontophis subpunctatus and 1 specimen of this

species had already been secured in Deolali. As the specimen had

been in spirit apparently for a very long time, no reliance could

be placed on the colour. This collection however is excluded from

the numbers personally examined, and it is mentioned only to

show that, with one doubtful exception, it agrees with the findings

at Deolali.

1 How to Identify the Snakes of India, by Col. I*.. Wall, c.M.e., I.M.s.,

1928.

2 Animaux venimeux et Venins, by Mme. M. Phisalix, 1922, tome ii.

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 61

The lsted series tabulated in this paper can be considered as

fairly representative of the types met with in the area, but of

course cannot be so comprehensively complete as to include the

whole of the Nasik Civil Collectorate. The hilly tracts of the dis-

trict possibly do harbour other species. If the Deolali findings

are compared with those ascertained by Col. Gharpurey, I.m.s.,!

to be in Ahmednagar, in the adjacent Collectorate, the list for

that area shows 1 added species, namely, Eryx johnii, whereas

Polyodontophis subpunctatus and Dryophis mycterizans, which are

rare .snakes here have not been encountered by Col. Gharpurey.

Except for these differences the two lists are identical.

GENERAL MorPHOLOGICAL FEATURES.

As a preliminary to the systematic description of each snake,

it is necessary for our purpose, to give a brief synopsis of the

general Ophidian characters as also the peculiarities which help to

separate out the families and species, terrestrial, arboreal and

aquatic; and so serve for their identification and classification.

A. Common Characters.

(1) The endoskeleton is encased in a scaled exoskeleton, which is devoid

of any appendicular parts.

(2) The bodies are all elongated, but vary in shape and size.

(a) They may be of uniform rounded thickness throughout, built

stoutly or slenderly without any delineation between the head

and body or tail.

(b) A slender neck demarcating the divisions between the head and

body, both of which may be lightly built or massively formed.

but posteriorly broadly built and equipped with flattened tails

to facilitate progression through water.

(8) Tails of various kinds :—

(a) Rounded, much abbreviated, dumpy and stout or thinning out

abruptly.

(b) Slightly compressed, much attenuated and fine (whip-lke).

(d) Equipped with rattles.

(4) Heads may be rounded, flat, ovate or triangular with or without loreal

pits and horns.

(5) Muzzles acutely pointed, obtuse or squared.

(6) Nares placed laterally or superiorly behind the rostral (snout shield).

(7) Eyes covered with the antocular membrane, but lidless. Pupils, spherical

or elliptical spindles placed in the vertical or horizontal positions.

(8) No external evidence of an auditory apparatus and no tympanic cavity.

(9) Tongue bifid and contractile.

(10) The flexibility and extensibility of the ribs, which in conjunction with

the transverse plates or ventrals of the belly secure mobility and locomotion.

(11) The generative organ in the males is paired.

(12) The Ophidia are either oviparous, laying soft ovate eggs ordinarily

hatched by the heat of the sun, or the warmth generated by fermentative

processes set up in decaying vegetation; or ovo-viviparous, that is the eggs

are incubated within the body and the young emerge alive and fitted for an

independent existence.

(13) The red blood corpuscles are nucleated biconcave discs.

* “Snakes in Ahmednagar’, by Lt.-Col. K. G. Gharpurey, I.M.s., Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 1, p. 272 (15th November, 1982).

62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

B. Classification.

There are about 1,700 species of snakes in the world (Manson,

1921).'| Their identification and classification into 9 main family

groups and their further separation into sub-family divisions,

genera and species is based upon a study of:—

(1) (a) Head shields or scutae. Their presence and arrangement or their

absence.

(b) Loreal pits and horns on the head or their absence.

(2) The costal scales:—Their size, shape, arrangement and number.

(3) The ventral plates:—Their size, width and number; or their absence.

(4) Anal shield, whether entire, divided into two or further subdivided into

three sections.

(5) Subcaudal plates, whether entire or divided throughout or only partially

so.

(6) Mental sublingual shields, whether present in one pair alone, or in

two or three pairs.

(7) Tails, whether rounded, slightly compressed or flattened dorso-ventrally.

(8) Colour. This is not an accurate guide as there are variations even

in the same species.

(9) Design. The pattern of the markings are a more constant feature in

the adults, but the young of certain species differ markedly from the adult.

(10) Rudimentary limbs. Concealed vestiges of hind limbs below and near

to the cloaca, peculiar to the sub-family Pythoninae.

The foregoing are the external characters. Their accuracy is

considered of questionable value in distinguishing species, because

of the aberrant types frequently met with. The more important

fundamental differentiations rest upon the formation of the skull;

the shape, size and position of the maxilla; the absence or pre-

sence of certain bones in the skull and chiefly the pecuharities of

the dentition, which most of all facilitate the separation of the

Thanatophidia or poisonous snakes. The known poisonous species

belong to either of two families, namely, Colubridae and Viperi-

dae. These are recognised by the size, length and position of the

maxilla, which in the former is long, thin and horizontally posi-

tioned and in the latter short, thick and obliquely set.

The world Colubridae number some 1,800 (Manson, 1921),!

and form the largest family of the sub-order Ophidia. They are

divisible into three groups according to the peculiarities of their

dentition. The presence of large infolding canaliculated recurved

fangs placed in the forward position attached to the maxilla, denote

the class known as the Proteroglypha (front-fanged). If situated

posteriorly as the last in the maxilla series of teeth and grooved

on their anterior aspect as well as recurved, they belong to Opistho-

glypha (back-fanged). The third group comprises species in which

the teeth are all solid and which are classed as Aglypha. There

are further distinctions in the sub-families Elapinae and Hydro-

phinae, and the species in these sub-divisions are distinguished by

the nature and setting of the teeth in the various situations in the

roof of the mouth and the mandibles.

The poison fangs proper attain, formidable proportions in some

of the Thanatophidia and are connected by ducts to specialised

* Manson’s Tropical Diseases, edited by P. H. Manson-Bahr, 1921, p. 874.

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 63

poison glands in the Proteroglypha and the Viperidae. In the

latter the poison fangs are comparatively larger and better deve-

loped and attached to a vertically fixed maxilla. The poison of

certain species in the first 2 families cited above, if injected in

lethal doses, has been established as dangerous and fatal to man

and the higher animals.

The Opisthoglypha possess a parotid gland, which secretes a

toxin not definitely ascertained or known to be potentially fatal to

the higher vertebrates. The Aglypha have solid teeth and homo-

logous glandular structures secreting a venom, which, as in the

Opisthoglypha, kills small mammals, birds, reptilia and amphibia.

The dentition in the case of the seven remaining families,

namely, T'yphlopidae, Glauconiidae, Uropeltidae, Ilysiidae, Xeno-

peltidae, Boidae and Amblycephalidae shows in some the presence

of teeth in the premaxilla (intermaxillary), or the provision of a

lesser number of teeth, or the absence of them in certain situ-

ations. All of the teeth in these are solid. These snakes do not

assume the importance attached to those in the higher specialised

categories mentioned, as they are believed to be innocuous;

because the majority of them are possessed of small glandular

structures in proportionately small heads and being devoid of

erooved fangs can neither secrete enough venom nor inject it in

a quantity great enough to act in a lethal way in man. There is

actually no rigid division between the known poisonous snakes

and other species. It can be accepted in a general way that all

snakes are provided with some form of poison apparatus, variously

graded and adapted to suit their needs for securing prey or for

defensive or digestive purposes. The lethal and toxic effects of

the venom from a number of species have been amply demon-

strated in the laboratory by many investigators.

The Viperidae in the world number about 110 species (Manson,

1921)! and are divided into two sub-family groups, the Viperinae

and the Crotalinae. The latter constitute the class which show

a sensory uveal pit situated between the eye and the nostril. All

of these are potentially venomous and certain species are known

to be dangerous.

There are about 830 recognised species of snakes in India and

Ceylon (F. Wall, 1928),? including the Hydrophinae or marine

snakes characterised by their paddle-like tails. These number

29 species found in the Indian seas. They are all poisonous and

the venom has been variously estimated by laboratory procedure

to be of a higher potency than any of the terrestrial Thanatophidia,

which number 389 (F. Wall, 1928).2, As has been previously

stated, these belong to either of the two families Colubridae and

Viperidae. In Deolali 4 families and 20 species are represented;

and it will be noted that some of the well known poisonous Indian

Species occur in the area.

' Manson’s Tropical Diseases, edited by P. H. Manson-Bahr, L921, p. 874.

2 The Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of our British Indian Dominions (in-

cluding Ceylon) etc., by Col. I’. Wall, I.M.s., K.H.S., C.M.Z.S., 1928, p. 5.

64 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

TABLE I.—LIST OF SNAKES FOUND IN DEOLALI

Number

ae ; f examined

atnily Sub-Family Species Mr. Fenton- | =

Bailie’s 7)

Sollection | &

Typhlopide .... Typhlops braminus (Daud)

Worm Snake 9 ] 10

Boidee ..-| Pythoninee ..| Python molurus (Linn. )

Rock Snake.. 3 2

Do. Boine ...| Aryx conicus (Schn.) Red

Colubridz Earth Boa... 9 1 10

(Aglypha) »--| Colubrine ..| Nerodia piscator (Schn.)

Checquered Water Snake 9 2 1

Do. oe Do. ...| Rhabdophis stolaius

(Linn.) Buff striped

Keel-back ..... ke 2 2 4

Do. . Do. ...| Polyodontophis subpunc-

tutus (Dum and Dibr.)

Jerdon’s Polyodont ... 1 nes wey

Do. oe Do. ...| Macropisthodon plumbt-

color (Cantor) Green

Keel-back or grass Snake| 30 5 35

Do. oe Do. .... Lycodon aulicus (Linn.)

Wolf Snake.. 14 § ‘19

Do. ns Do. ...| Plyas mucosus (Linn. ) Rat

Snake re 18 ae 18

Do. eee Do. o0| LAMENTS LaSC iolatus

(Shaw) Fasciolated Rat

| Snake fa) 2 2

Do. - Do. ...| Coluber helena (Daud.) G

The Trinket Snake 3 1 4

Do. eae Do. .... Oligodon arnensis (Shaw.)

The banded Kukri Snake 5) 4 9

Do. a Do. .... Oligodon teniolatus (Jerd.)

"Variegated Kukri Snake. 6 5 11

(Opisthoglypha). Dipsadine ...| Dipsadomorphus trigo-|. :

natus,. ‘{(Sehn.). 2 ihe

brown tree or cat Snake. 16 6 22

Do. Do. ..| Dryophis mycterizans

| (Linn.) The green whip

Snake oe sitet toda 1 1

(Proteroglypha). Elapine ...| Bungarus caruleus

(Schn.) The Common

Krait — ie 5 4 9

Do. i Do. ...\Mata maia, var ceca

(Metr.) ‘The iCobra....)|. 14 2 16

Do. we Do. .. | Callophis trimaculatus

(Daud.) The Slender

| | Coral Snake ~ 3 he .3

Viperide ...| Viperidee ...| Vipera russellz (Shaw.) |

Russell’s Viper a 1 1 2

Do. «(82 Do- ..| Echis carinata (Schn.)

The Saw Scaled Vipet... 1 S) 6

Colubridze SPECIES EXTRANEOUS TO DEOLALI

(Aglypha) ...| Colubrine ... Polyodontophtis collaris

(Bengal) ... 1 a 1

(Opisthoglypha).| Dipsadine ... Dipsadomorphus beddomei

(W. Ghats, Matheran) .. 1 ae 1

| otal.) toe 458 197

rer a eee

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 65

SEASONAL APPEARANCE AND PROPORTION OF THE SEXES.

The table on page 66 shows the numbers and species appearing

during the period under survey by months. Of the number

shown, 112 were dissected for the purpose of study connected

with the organs, viscera, genital organs, bones, etc. The figures

relative to the proportion of the sexes, as also the number of

gravid females found have been included in the table.

As regards the proportion of the sexes, it will be seen in

this table, compiled from notes carefully maintained through-

out the period, that there is an extraordinary disparity recorded

as between males and females. Thus taking the total figure of

112, the percentage for the males works out at 5-4 and the females

94-6; showing a ratio of roughly 1 male to every 17 females. It

is, of course, much too early yet to form any opinion or draw

any conclusion on these results, as much more data of a similar

kind confirmatory of this apparent sex disproportion will be

required before the position can be accepted as a true index. It

would not be premature though if one were to analyse these

figures by way of ascertaining the extent to which the known

facts relative to the habits of these creatures fit in with the ratio

of the sexes as now outlined in the table.

In an article which appeared in a previous issue of this Journal,

Mr. Prater (April 1933)! reviews, on the sum total of the collected

data available at present, the position connected with the associ-

ation of the sexes. He quotes the many instances of partnerships

between males and females limited to a period which he ealls the

breeding season. Owing to the insufficiency of the existing

evidence this breeding season cannot be defined clearly for any one

species. In certain cases the companionship was continued after

actual union had taken place and was even extended till the

deposition of the eggs or young. Converse proof as well is cited

and emphasised, that in all the instances of the many solitary

females discovered near to or upon their eggs, only in two cases,

a King Cobra and a Python, was the male observed in the close

vicinity.

In the survey at Deolali there was only one instance of an

association, which must have temporarily existed for the purpose

of sexual union, in the case of Zamenis fasciolatus. A gravid

female was killed in a garage at about 6 p.m. on 17th January,

1935. Exactly a week later during the evening in the same

garage a second snake was seen to emerge from a hole in the

wall and was later killed. It proved to be a male of this species.

All the gravid females including the above-quoted specimen

showed the eggs in an early state of development, having soft oval

membranous. envelopes containing only a creamy fluid. These

pregnant females—8 in number, and belonging to various species—

were recovered as will be noted at different times of the survey

periods. The months in which they appeared fall into two

* “The Social Life of Snakes’, by S. H. Prater, m.u.c., o.M.z.s., Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 2, p. 469 (15th April, 1933)

XXXIX

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.

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THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 67

separate periods, December-January and June and July. Whether

these two periods can be considered and defined as regular breed-

ing seasons is very difficult to decide at the moment. The finding

in two species of the young 2 to 5 months subsequent to the

months during which the gravid females were encountered is con-

sistent and would roughly indicate the interval necessary for the

fertilisation, deposition and incubation of the eggs.

In the analogous examples of pairing during the breeding

season amongst the Passerine birds and certain animals, one finds

the sexes more or less equally distributed at least in a proportion,

which would allow of the majority finding mates and forming a

monogamous partnership in the sense of a seasonal continuity

somewhat extended to cover sexual union, deposition of the eggs,

incubation and care of the young until fledged, as is the case

with many species. This form of companionship is well exempli-

fied amongst the groups in which parental care is a paramount

development and its exercise essential for the well-being and

survival of the young. In the case of the snakes, however, we

find an absence of parental anxiety—such indications as there are

point to a scant attention paid to the eggs alone, rather than

toward the young, which significantly enough emerge from the

ege in a state perfectly fitted for an independent existence.

Coupled with this is the evidence, that these creatures appear

to lead isolated lives, in that they are normally seldom encoun-

tered in pairs. Environmental factors such as an extreme tem-

perature in the very cold parts of the world operate in driving

them into the gregarious congregations composed of the small

hibernating groups in which they have sometimes been found.

The question now arises as to what are the justifications for

postulating that the disproportion in the sexes supports and

explains the observed habits and behaviour. <A study of the

detailed figures in the table shows that in certain species the num-

ber of egg-bound females recovered equals the number of the

males found separately at the same time. Further, in all the

species involved there is a variation in the sex proportion. The

ratio in these is as under. |

Species | Males | Females | Males | Females

Macropisthodon plumbicolor 2 24 1 12

Zaments fasciolatus = tee ] a 1 1

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus oA 2 12 ] 6

Nata tripudians ae se 1 AT I il

or approximately ... 1 7 or 8

This average ratio of 1:8 may probably represent in a general

way the actual relative proportion existing between the sexes of

the above species. Both this ratio and the equal number of

males and gravid females simultaneously discovered during the

two periods apparent in Table II would explain:—(1) Why they

68 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

are not more frequently observed in pairs. (2) That the variations

in their behaviour connected with the partnerships affected, which

appear in some to be of a temporary nature confined to the period

incidental to insemination and in others somewhat more extended

until the deposition of the eggs or young, would suggest that

environmental conditions (a) in the former, militate against a long

association in areas more controlled and inhabited by man,

wherein certain species find the food and other values more con-

ducive und beneficial in the struggle for existence; (b) in the

latter, allowing of the development of a form of parental care

confined to the eggs, peculiar to the larger species like the Python

and King Cobra, which occupy lone wastes and jungle tracts more

free from human intrusion and interference or other detrimental

factors. (8) That an excess of females would balance the scales

in favour of both the propagation and survival of the species in

situations where unfavourable conditions especially attributable to

human enmity produce a high death rate amongst them. (4) That

amongst the dominant species in any one locality the females

would normally show an increasing geometrical ratio; this position

would also account for the fact that they are more often seen

singly

A further study of the figures in the table shows two phases

of numerical increase. The first occurring during the months of

May, June and July, when the greatest numbers were recovered.

May is the hottest month of the year in Deolali and the monsoon

is ushered in about the first or second week in June, becoming

well established thereafter and during July. The figures for these

months are really a measure point or mode, which would probably

also indicate the factorial values of the environment, wherein at

this season the conditions are best suited to the animal, namely,

(1) temperature, (2) luxuriant vegetation and tall grasses affording

easy surface concealment, (3) a plentiful food supply, (4) com-

paratively less human interference owing to the heavy rains.

Paradoxically enough the figures for these months actually feature

the highest mortality incidence. A death rate in any colony of

animals is considered to be selective in action with a view to the

elimination of the unfits. The greatest check to increases in the

snake population is the hand of man. The mortality rate here

shown was practically confined to those, who most exhibited an

adventurous spirit, by prematurely emerging from their hiding

places, either at toc early an hour in the evening, or persisted in

remaining exposed and visible during the early morning and fore-

noon, and in a few isolated instances even during the afternoons

of a cloudy day. In fact this diurnal activity of a purely nocturnal

animal is mainly responsible for 90 per cent of the death rate in

the total number recovered throughout the period. Sunless

monsoon days and a living food supply plentifully available at this

season acted as the lure drawing them unwittingly to the gamble

with their lives as the stake. The adage ‘Be as wise as the

serpent, etc.’ here appears worn into a platitude. It should

reasonably read: ‘Even the wise serpent has much to learn’. The

second phase of numerical increase though to a much lesser and

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 69

negligible extent occurred in December and January. Both these

periods correspond with the seasons during which the gravid

females were encountered. Furthermore it is singular to note that

the appearance of the males synchronised with the periods, with,

but a single exception, during April, in the case of Macropisthodon

plumbicolor. This species happens to be the dominant type in

Deolali.

There is therefore some reason for believing that the sex

disparity noted is probably the true position, as it tends to support

and explain the relations and pertinent behaviour of these reptiles.

The consideration arises in the case of snakes as to what

actually constitutes a breeding season. As has been shown the

data hitherto collected are very indefinite and insufficient to allow

of any definable limits being assigned. The term breeding season

as used in the case of birds is known to be a definite period

recurring in a regular annual cycle, sometimes in certain species

twice yearly. It is said to be aroused as a result of some external

or rhythmic stimulus (H. Whistler, 1932).'. If this principle be

applied to the Ophidia then normally we would expect to find them

more constantly and frequently in pairs. We have seen that the

evidence on this point is very meagre. The findings at Deolali

are similarly inconclusive in that only one example of an associ-

ation- of the sexes can be reasonably presumed to have existed—

that is only one case of pairing in a total of 151 snakes. Mr.

Prater (April 1983)? observes: —‘The finding of a male snake with

a eravid female does not imply that the male so discovered is the

one responsible for the gravid condition of the female’. In the

instance quoted above the pair belonging to the species Zamenis

fasciolatus were the only two of this kind met with in the two

years of observation at Deolali and localised to one particular

spot in a garage. So that the presumption that the male was

responsible for the gravid female and must have been in a direct

association is fairly valid and logical. The finding on the other

hand of egg-bound females without the male makes the position

somewhat difficult especially in the matter of defining the limits

of a breeding season. The figures for Deolali shown in the table

suggest two such periods provided the recovery of unpaired egg-

bound females and unpaired males belonging to the same species

be the basis for such definition. When, however, the Deolali

figures as to the gravid females are compared with those of Mr.

Lindberg (February 1982)° covering a similar range of species in

the Barsi Light Railway sector, a variation in the species Macro-

pisthodon plumbicolor becomes evident, in that gravid females were

recovered during December and January at Deolali and March,

April and May in the Barsi Light Railway area. That they were

absent in Deolali during the months they were met with in the

1 ‘The Study of Indian Birds’, by H. Whistler, F.z.s., M.B.o.u., Part IX,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxv, No. 3 (15th February, 1932).

7 ‘The Social Life of Snakes’, by 8S. H. Prater, M.u.c., c.M.z.s., Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 2, p. 473 (15th April, 1938).

.* ‘Snakes on the Barsi Light Railway (Deccan)’, by K. Lindberg, Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxv, No. 3, p. 690 (15th February, 1932).

70 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

other area does not preclude the possibility of such being found

at some future time in the reversed positions in both localities—

not only in this species, but as a common constant feature in

other species as well. Nor can it be said that the seasonal

variability in their appearance is attributable to the meteorological

conditions varying in the different geographical settings.

The conjoint results nevertheless demonstrate well enough the

small amount of evidence forthcoming despite the two years’

observations in both places. This question of the breeding season

and the apparent variable character of the periods amongst the

different species, requires concentrated and extended observations

covering many years, in aS many areas as possible. The compa-

rative excerpt relative to the recovery of gravid females both in

Deolali and the Barsi Light Railway sector is as under—unfortu-

nately Mr. Lindberg does not show the actual figures for the egg-

bound females and makes no mention whatever of males. The

numbers met with in Deolali have been shown with a plus sign

and the numerical indicator alongside. Those of the other area

by a plus sign alone.

; Cy Fa be o :

: t= > ~ > 1S)

Species ce jolsials| else | ae

: | & Pissis| 2 Glas

Nerodia piscator... ae oD. ilvaite soateerlees ae ees) labelscs ecole esad Rees

Macropisthodon plumbicolor. +1 )...;+)4]4+] ... see ll isal ess locale eceenit eta

Ptyas mucosus ... cae vee, deals eee +] +1

Zamenis fasciolalus aa #4 [laa

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus. soe ees 2 +) + { =

Coluber helena... ee see. irre Weraces| al tee ay Seba Re lees! i

| |

To sum up the position we find:—

(1) Sex disparity—1 male roughly to every 8 females;

(2) Pairing infrequent—one pair in a total of 151 snakes;

(3) Solitary males and gravid females of the same species

found at identical times and in almost equal numbers in the same

area ;

(4) Finding of young 38 to 6 in. long, two to five months

subsequent to the appearance of gravid females of the same species

—furnishing evidence as to the probable interval required for the

fertilisation and incubation of the eggs.

PERIODIC NUMERICAL FLUCTUATIONS AS A RESULT OF SEASONAL

CHANGES IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS.

Precise information as to the periodic appearance or absence

of snakes in the various geographical areas is lamentably scanty,

despite the fact that thousands of these creatures are being killed

annually. Mr. Lindberg (February 1932)! in his contribution has

* ‘Snakes on the Barsi Light Railway (Deccan)’, by K. Lindberg, Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxv, No. 3, p. 690 (15th February 1932). ~

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 71

made a good beginning and the figures he furnishes for the Barsi

Light Railway area allow of a comparison being made with those

recorded for Deolali. This is well outlined in the graph as under,

based on observations made from December 1982 to January 1935

at Deolali, and from August 19, 1929, to August 18, 1981, in

the Barsi Light Railway tract, on a total of 151 and 484 snakes

respectively.

Graph showing periodic numerical fluctuations as a result of

seasonal changes influencing the appearance and activity of

snakes in the different geographical settings of Deolali

and the Barsi Light Railway Areas.

Jan- Feb. Mar. April. May June July Aug- Sept- Oct. Nov. Dee.

100 ) 100

| cf i oY ia i i ShShe Bee Cae OER Pee ees

ERERE SBS REBAR Ee

DEORE SOORS BERS8 SRSERER BADER COREE ROSES SPSS OBOE SESS Sees

SRDS0 DOR SS SERSS PEERS SRR Sees PSs BESS Bes SSDs

goHt ee SSESEE SRESE SEURE SER RS BRR Sees eee,

ct | | a i] a] sf ae] | a |) fi | ws

BREST SO SES SESE S BODE ARES RE DARED ARRAS SAADPARRRNes

BED EE SESE SSSSE PASO es PaPSs SPREE RES SLA CSAs Bese

DDE EE BES SS SORES OER BARA PERRE CRBOR SPEDE PEDO Reese ese

2/9 GRR RE SSO SR FSSEE SSOP GRE BESS COSSe SEOSS PERE SSR Ss RAS ee RABwe Sy),

HESSE PES SS OSES SEES PERES aR Ds SASS SPAS LORS PALE

et sa | Fi nf] if a | i] nik fi in fm fen i | fo | ff ns fifo

BENDS PEERS PRP oR PRR APRA DRAPs PARA SAPS oes ae\ PAL ees

TS ESR DES SE SSRES SEARS RRR BOS Ae BOSS BESS Shab abRaSaeeee

FO ee ee 4 ee eee z0

ee eee Brees Bk ORr Beg be ba nen Save n Benes (aan aenee

DBEDEE SESBE SERED SLSR E See BSE BRASS SRSA SABRES BEBASeSes

DEEESSERSEa SERED BARES PSS SERS DARE ABA APRRARHAAIERASADR

SEEDS SEBS SERS BARE BARRE AAAs AAA SADaO A) POPPA E eea aes

60 RESER SRGSR BRASS PRES BASED AAR RSRED ALAR D) (SDS PASSA WReSsaaea 60

GEESD PERE PO ROR PORES DARE ALAS PREP BSAA E ASSES ASO Ses

BEERS OREEE SERRE BRP e ROR BESS RRS Bee SRE RRA EE CER

DOUBDE BRS RE BOD OE SERRE SPEER CeO BESS ELeAa! LPP See Shh Vaeaeap

HEBER Plas PRSeE PRS ERAS ARR Les BERS) SBS SROBARAANASSARA

so) SR SES SE SEE SEES BERS POSER BARE Ree PSP es RRR Pewee eeeee Ly,

GREER SRSRe RRO RE RAE eR APRESS sie CRB E BARS CORRE AES Wee

rT TTT TTT eT rye ee ee TT TT TAN TTT TT ar TT Te eT A TT TT

BREE E PERS PE BE ES) RNR BAe! PSR eee

BEERS BREE S BRR BR AE URE Ee Pe ee Se

40 HERS PSEA SSRs BASRA ASS ASS. SSS SSE {Pease SSeS Raa UES 40

PET Oy Pa EHH

SERRE SRRRE RAS RR BRERA SRS AAAS EL ORR ERE RRR BRE R Rees See

PET y eeeea ae et TT ee

Prey yyy ee aN ATT TT Te AT TT

<\e| CNS BS Be 8 BSR BEERS Bee 7 AREY CARR ARES se eee Bae am\seery,

NEUE Co RG Ses Oe eo See ee eee BERETS Moe

TTT et tt tt NS GESESP oR a8

SREEE BERS PORE RR Oy A PORE SRORREEEEe rT TTT Tt TY

HEARS SERSS” 42 NE CRSP BAO Bee Oke 18 eRe eee PTT TTT iy f

20H See Geek CSRs ee Be ee eee eee Pt er 20

BEEERS@ A <h SERE BERS ABO SEAS OREN Ree Ree ee a) sao

Pree Pr a a BESO Seeon

SEM RE Oe ey. tt ttt tt tH HOSSSSeas8

PTT TST TTT TTT A a eee tT ii a es eh

10 BSE AGG! DEE OA 042 DER SS ROE PS Pees SeeeawA SSR RR RRS 10

REL EE RSE RD RRR PE Ae See e eee AAS aRARRORSEES SELES 0Rea

fet! ft eee Pe TTT tT Pras ser r= BREESE SSeo8

SUSE GCOSEERERESEEEETSE TOGO OEEEEEEEEICEEETEEEEE

re) ere ett ta a a st a sl i a SRAZB ESE O

Barsi Railway. e

Deolali........... (aaa ae ee ne 2

The graph shows two peaks—one in June and another, the

highest, in October for the snakes on the Barsi Light Railway

area. In Deolali there is only one peak during June. There is a

notable absence of snakes in Deolali during November. In con-

trast with this the maximum numerical peak is attained during

September, October and November in the Barsi Railway sector.

The decline in Deolali on the one hand and the rise in Barsi on

the other, during the same period suggests evidence of the effects

of environment. The climatic conditions evidently at that time

being unfavourable in the one and beneficial in the other locality

to practically the same species.

The complete absence of snakes in Deolali during November

of the two years’ period of observation is significant. About the

72° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. MXXIX

2nd November the cold weather is ushered in, and the change in

temperature is somewhat acutely and abruptly established. It

may be that the sudden drop in the temperature instinctively

warns the creature and operates by keeping it temporarily con-

fined, but not necessarily in a state of hibernation. This phase

would probably represent the coincidental instinctive urge ' working

in the expectation of a continued and increasingly severe cold

setting in, like that experienced by their congeners in the very

cold regions of the world, where as a result of prolonged sub-

jection to a reduced and sustained temperature a complete

torpidity or ‘Winter sleep’ is produced. As the minimum tempe-

rature at Deolali is at its lowest usually 44°F. and the diurnal

range being great, the cold conditions here cannot induce in them,

more than if at all a transient sluggishness, which passes quickly

causing them to reappear in December. Further, it is noteworthy

that the snakes did not disappear during the severe cold spell

experienced in January 1935, when the minimum temperature fell

to 81°F. and fluctuated at between 84° and 40°F. for about ten

days. So rigorous was the cold that the fruit in the Nasik vine-

yards and orchards were greatly damaged by frost. Under these

conditions of an extreme and sudden temperature reduction one

would have expected not to find any increase in the numbers of

snakes—yet 9 specimens were recovered during that month.

Curiously enough their instincts on this occasion acted in an appo-

site direction and drove them out from their coverts into the

warmth of the day. Certain living species which were kept in

captivity at the time of the cold wave period did not go into hiber-

nation nor was there the least sign of any torpidity in them. This

may have been due to the fact that they were protected in boxes

with a minimum of aeration.

Post-MortEM, Digerary AND OTHER FINDINGS IN THE ALIMENTARY

CANAL,

It is a well-known fact that snakes can go for very long periods

of time without a meal. There is the instance quoted by

Mr. Prater (1926)! of a Python which refused food for ten months;

and another in the Paris zoo which is said to have fasted for two

and a half years. The writer himself kept and used as controls

in some experiments, several living specimens of different species

for eight months without food, giving them only water, without

the least effect on their vitality. In the free state comparatively

few are found with the alimentary canal containing evidence of

an ingested meal. Of 112 specimens dissected, only 19 proved posi-

tive—approximately 17%. This suggests that the food factor does

not loom very largely in their existence. Their specialised capacity

for fasting tides over many long intervals of enforced starvation

as during hibernation or other anxious occasions in their lifetime.

1 The Snakes of Bombay Island and Salsette, by S..H. Prater, c.M.z.s.,

p. 8 (1926).

| | ; fiq 0104Nq

eI aGe = 20h 0) “SOdJ B SUIMOT[VMS DIDU “NY BQO)

{

}

‘I GLVId 00§ ‘ISI ‘JUN Aequog ‘‘uanor

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 73

The following is the dietary findings as ascertained by post-

mortem investigation : —

ee LT

Species | Nees Remarks

Nerodia piscator 3 Fish and frogs.

Ptyas mucosus 2 Rats and in one a lizard (species

unknown).

Coluber helena 1 Rats.

Naia nata var. c@ca 3 Rats and frogs and in one a

Pipistrel bat.

Macropisthodon pluimbicolor ... 3 Frogs.

Lycodon aulicus 2 Lizard (Gecko) and_ scorpion

; (Buthus sp.). ;

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus ... 3 Lizard (Calotes versicolor).

Eryx conicus 2 Palm squirrel.

Echis carinata ate 2 Earthy matter and rootlets.

Bungarus ceruleus 1 Earthy matter.

Typhlops braminus 1 - ‘6

A specimen of Nerodia piscator furnished an example of voracious

feeding. The post-mortem revealed nine frogs and seven fish of

varying sizes. The largest fish measured 84 inches. Those which

had reached the small intestine were partially digested. From

below the throat backwards the alimentary canal was loaded with

the fare. Unfortunately the photograph taken of the dissected

snake with its victims laid alongside proved to be overexposed.

In one Ptyas mucosus a lizard was found—a striped variety,

which is frequently here seen in the open country. The zoological

classification of this lizard is not known to the author. The

specimen has been sent to the Bombay Natural History Society

for identification.

A Pipistrel bat was discovered in a cobra. This is a very unusual

find and is particularly intriguing in view of the fact that the

snake had been killed at 9-30 a.m. on the ground surface in the

compound enclosure of a bungalow. One can, of course, only con-

jecture as to the how, when, and where of the circumstances,

which caused the pipistrel to become a victim. It would be a

reasonable surmise to say that the snake had secured the bat during

daylight in the roof of the house, and cobras have sometimes been

found in such situations; but on dissection the pipistrel was found

in the alimentary canal in a position corresponding to the region

of the hood. This fact would indicate that it had probably: been

swallowed some two or three hours previously. In the writer’s

experience, observations maintained in order to ascertain the time

required for the complete digestion of frogs and lizards in the green

keel-back (Macropisthodon plumbicolor) and the common cat-snake

(Dipsadomorphus trigonatus) showed, that digestion is completed

with no trace of even the victim’s bones in approximately 72 hours.

So that on this basis of calculation the pipistrel must have been

seized in the early hours of the morning, either on its return to

the roost in the eaves of the building, or at the ground level under

74 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

conditions of a handicap, which is very obscure and a futile specu-

lation. Whatever the facts may have been it is nonetheless

interesting to record this unique diet item in the menu fare of a

cobra.

It may interest the reader to know how the time factor of

72 hours, estimated as required for a snake to completely digest

a bolus, was arrived at. This was due to the accidental discovery,

that red silk cord or thread is not subject to the action of the

digestive juices secreted in the alimentary canal of the snake. It

passes through quite unaffected. It came about in this way: For

want of something better an attendant used a thin red silk cord

slip knotted at one end to ensnare a medium-sized lizard (Calotes

versicolor). Having secured it, he placed the lizard in a box con-

taining a live Dipsadomorphus trigonatus. In doing this he cut

the thread a short length from the slip knotted end which en-

circled the neck and dropped the lizard into the box. Some days

later after the snake had feasted and digested the meal, the red

silk cord was noticed lying in the box. The snake had obviously

ejected it via the vent. The fortuitous omission to remove the

red cord from the lizard in the first instance, led to many experi-

ments being carried out in which the cord was used—not necessarily

red, but the colour was convenient—tied to the legs of frogs and

lizards and time records maintained from the moment they were

swallowed until the cord had passed through the cloaca. This

period in all cases worked out at 72 hours for the cord, but

digestion must have been effected in a little under this timing.

Macropisthodon plumbicolor was found to feed solely on frogs,

which appear in great numbers during the monsoon months. One

of these snakes displayed in the matter of food a selective sense

which is of interest. A male toad (Bufo melanostictus) was placed

along with an adult specimen of this species. The toad appeared

to realise the presence of the snake; as it showed during the first

day very definite signs of fear. When at sundown the snake began

to actively move about in the box, the toad exhibited great agita-

tion and persisted in jumping at the intervening glass panel

between it and freedom. If the snake approached too near, it

quickly hopped away to a safe distance. On the second day the

toad showed some composure, but behaved as on the first day if

the snake at any time came near. On the third day surprisingly

enough it evinced no dread whatever and was seen during the day

calmly perched upon the coiled snake. On the night of that day

the snake’s activities did not in the least disturb its equanimity

and it even allowed the snake to approach and pass it without

leaping away. On the fourth day the toad showed signs of desic-

cation and did not appear too well and as the snake had shown

no desire to swallow it, the toad was removed and placed in water.

On the night of the fourth day a frog was secured and put in the

box and significantly enough the snake at once seized it at the

side of the neck and raising it clear off the floor held the frog

firmly, while it squawked in terror—not all frogs make this sound,

the majority are silent and stupidly inert when being swallowed.

The snake maintained its hold for 12 minutes until the frog ceased

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 15

to struggle and while it was still alive and without having recourse

to using the floor of the box, the snake veered the frog around

by a gulping action until the head entered its mouth, when it

began to swallow by alternating movements of the jaws. It then

rubbed its neck by vigorous pushing movements along the floor of

the box until the bolus had passed the cervical region. Plate I

shows a cobra (N. naia) in the act of swallowing a frog.

A common Wolf Snake (Lycodon aulicus) was killed in the

act of swallowing a scorpion. As the back of the snake had been

broken it had ejected the scorpion when in its death throes. This

information was given when the snake and the scorpion were

separately brought. On examining the scorpion it was noticed that

the maxillary palps, the chelicerae and the telson were missing.

Dissection of the snake proved the alimentary canal to be empty.

Further inquiry elicited no clue as to the missing parts of the

scorpion, and an assurance was given that it had been brought

as found. The snake when first observed was on the verandah

of an Indian dwelling. How the parts of the scorpion came to be

missing must remain a mystery.

In the writer’s garden one night at 11 p.m. an interesting

incident was brought into view by the flash of an electric torch

which revealed but did not disturb either the snake—an adult

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus, or the lzard—a small-sized Calotes

versicolor. The lizard could not have been aware of the snake’s

approach. At the moment the light was flashed in their direction,

the lizard was seen perched at the foot of a shrub and the snake

was actually in the act of seizing its victim by a darting move-

ment. It did so at the side of the lizard’s neck and thereupon a

desperate struggle ensued. Both snake and lizard rolled over on

the ground; the lizard making frantic endeavours at escape and

even dragging the snake along for a short distance. The snake

then coiled itself around the lizard’s body and prevented it from

further progression and struggling. Presently a lull in the pro-

ceedings occurred, as the lizard now showed signs of exhaustion.

It was breathing very heavily, but nevertheless still made futile

and weakened efforts to free itself. After 16 minutes had elapsed

the lizard commenced to sag and showed the onset of a moribund

phase, depicted by a drooping of the head and closure of the eye-

lids. A further three minutes ushered in convulsions. The snake

at this juncture released for the first time both its mouth and

body hold and moved to the lizard’s front. It then once more

seized the head and while the lizard was still alive and breathing

it commenced to swallow. This it did with a series of gulping

movements, often seen in the farmyard when a chicken attempts

to swallow too big a bolus of food—the forward and upward

throwing of the head and short jerk back motion with distended

jaws, tossing the lizard in the air to assist the effort. The jaws

of the snake then moved alternately and independently to enable

the teeth exerting a traction force backwards on the head and body

with each fresh alignment taken. It occasionally rubbed the

lower parts of the jaw and neck along the ground by way of

aiding deglutition. When it had half swallowed the lizard the

76 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

snake was lifted up without signs of resentment and put into a

box. The species of lizard mentioned above has been a constant

find in the gut of this snake. Other observers have found chickens

and eges in this species.

In Kryx conicus the grey-striped squirrel (tree rat) was found.

Mr. Lindberg (1932)" also mentions an instance of one of these

ae observed in the act of capturing a squirrel.

A point of interest noted in all the snakes, whether alive or

dissected, was the outstanding fact that they swallow mammal,

lizard, frog or fish, head first. This is an instinctive habit which

mechanically facilitates the downward passage of the dead body

which is ingested with the legs posteriorly deflected and folded in

underneath. Muscular contractions of the ribs further aid lateral

compression and propulsion backwards of the bolus. Were this

not the case the dead lizard’s spined dorsum and the clawed feet

of frogs and mammals would be caught up and become Bane set

causing an obstruction in the alimentary canal.

In two specimens of Echis carinata the large intestines were

astonishingly enough loaded with caked earthy matter in a half

dry state and admixed with filamentous lengths of rootlets.

Plate II depicts one of these snakes with its loaded bowel contents

throwing the dark shadows of this substance. It is regretted that

a sample was not retained for chemical analysis. X-Ray pictures

of Bungarus caeruleus (Krait) and Typhlops braminus also show

to a lesser extent earthy matter in the alimentary canal, both

of which were confirmed by dissection. All of these snakes were

free from any helminth infestation. This point is mentioned

because in another snake, Nerodia piscator, the gut was crammed

with a green and rather stiff water weed, which had become en-

tangled with a mass of worms (nematodes), a few of which were

alive and clinging to the stomach wall. Here the suggestion is

strong that the weed had been swallowed on purpose as a curative

measure in order to both dislodge the worms and kill them. The

vermifugal and vermicidal action was certainly evident, because

the majority of the worms were dead, judged by the discolouration

of their bodies in contrast with the few living worms which were

pinkish white and exhibiting movement. It was owing to these

few still living forms being imbeddéd and attached to the stomach

wall that the mass was held up in its backward motion in and

through the alimentary canal.

The question of interest arising in the finding of earthy matter

in the bowel of the snake is, whether earth-swallowing is also a

habit with the snakes akin to that generally observed amongst

other animals (salt licks)? The writer jis unaware of a similar

instance having been previously reported by other workers. Since

the percentage works out at roughly 2 per 100 of the killed num-

bers in this survey, there is reason to believe that it is at times

necessary for them to swallow earth in order to fulfil a physiological

purpose. 7

1 ‘Snakes on the Barsi Light Railway (Deccan)’, by K. Lindberg, Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxv, No. 8, p. 690. o>

“TWIT SUDysop “d “OD

“(g) paezy, @ jo ourpyno Auoq

ayy SsuIMoyg “YoRqpee sy

qayeut =Ayyrva = SUTMOYY

ayJ—[vout poysasut UB JO SUIT

pediys-yngq oy, “Cuurry) = sn}zp}0}s svydopqnyy (&)

‘qIeIyy «UOWIMIOD et,

sTaMoq JMO, oy} Surmoyg “saodtA peyTwog MES

ore one rwr

‘e

‘sJaMoq JAMO, 9} Ul

‘(Cuypg) snaynsapo snapbung

‘roqqeur AYAVa [ILM popeoy

ayy ‘Cuypg) vPDUlLDI Sly

(2)

(

ra)

fig ydoiboipoy

4sIH ‘yen Aequog ‘‘uanor

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI (et

Cannibalism amongst snakes is a feature, which has been

occasionally recorded. There were no examples of it noted at

Deolali. The habit is evidently atavistie and confined to only a

few.

About 12 per cent of the snakes dissected were infected with

nematodes. It appears to be a disability in a general way common

to most of the species. It must act as a considerable handicap,

serving as a check to increase in their population. Those suffer-

ing from worms reject food. Several died early in one to two

months of captivity. Post-mortem investigation revealed heavy

infestations with worms in bunched masses occupying the stomach

section of the alimentary canal.

EXFOLIATION.

The snake as is well known periodically throws off the epidermic

investment. In order to ascertain the extent to which this is done

and the manner in which it is brought about, a certain number

of snakes were kept under observation for eight months. These

were made into two series. One set from which the food was

withheld, acted as controls for the other fed with such frogs,

tadpoles and lizards as were procurable. All were watched and

inspected as time and opportunity offered throughout the period.

Receptacles containing water were kept replenished in their boxes,

but were put in only from 18th April onwards. The number of

times each snake in the respective series desquamated is shown

as under :—

ri are TTY

Series No. 1 (fed). Series No. 2 (Fasting control).

Species /4:/B]>/ 2) 5] sale]; cfEl>) a) ai uel.

s/ale| SiS) 5/2/5) Moults |e/ale@|Sisis|/2io} Moul

S\Z[= 22 /4i3\6 SlZs\=\elzigi6| “ome

Macropisthodon

plumbicolor ...| .|...|...| 1] 1] 2) J)... 5 dl ivclsea| Pee lees Weer 2

Macropisthodon

(young) oe eles 4k Pe ap | Dy Wecleseledl cic ceetrot lac 1

Nerodia piscator

(young) Feet iecdh ld Bia 2) 2 10 No control available

Lycodon aulicus. Sealeee| llleedis Luiweale gatos Z cane waalewal nest os oe les 1

Dipsadomor phus | |

tvigonatus ....| Werel..:| 1)...| Us|] ne Per eae Bia heaal oes [gee 1

Oligodon tento-

latus SN Fed | ey ps Weng oe pote ea te To lcesiees . DW ecled 1

Desquamation occurred most often at night and was as a rule

a complete cast. There are preliminary phases. For a day or two

a change to a darker colour shade is noticeable. The outer layer of

the epiderm is then seen to be slightly raised and wrinkled between

each scale division. This roughening presents the appearance of

a powdered surface owing to the whitening of the older exoskeleton.

78 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST.- SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The latter then loosens and lifts throughout the body length. and

as the caudal section is freed, the snake by opening its mouth

widely several times releases the investments on the dorsal and

ventral aspects of the head and by free movements over the ground

surface crawls out of the detached cast. In some cases the epiderm

becomes adherent in parts especially on the ‘head. In such

examples there is a general splitting of the covering, which then

peels off in the course of a few days. During this time the snake

is temporarily blinded unless the old antocular membrane becomes

detached and is shed. Some snakes when afflicted in this way

immerse themselves in water and get rid of the old skin.

The greater number of desquamations occurred amongst the

fed series; apparently this must be a measure of the growth

occurring as a result of the feeding. The control series probably

reflect more truly the actuals taking place in the free state.

The following impressions were gained. The young specimens

exhibited much greediness and fed voraciously, not as a regular

daily feature, but at irregular intervals. The young water snake

showed a perference for tadpoles and when these were available

eschewed the frogs. It remained immersed in the water for most

of the time. The adult specimens also fed irregularly and dis-

played the greatest activity at night; and when not feeding moved

restlessly about looking for a means of egress. Lycodon aulicus

fed sparingly, and it is doubtful whether Oligodon taeniolatus fed

at all.

Tue SNAKE’S Baskinac HABIT CONSIDERED IN RELATION WITH

Sun TRAUMATISM PRODUCED IN THEM AS A RESULT OF

DIRECT EXPOSURE TO THE Sun's Kays.

The snake’s basking habit has been frequently observed and

recorded, more often as a marked feature peculiar to the vipers,

and fresh water species. Whether it is general and indulged in

by all snakes is not clear. The writer while on fishing excursions

during the cold months of the year has often seen Nerodia piscator

lying upon the river’s bank exposed to the direct rays of .an

afternoon sun. As these snakes invariably returned to the water

on one’s approach it was found impracticable to time the period

they remained so exposed. Snakes being poikilothermic¢“6r cold-

blooded any prolonged exposure to the sun’s. rays must act

adversely by disturbances set up in the metabolic ‘balance. and

heat regulating centre, producing a sun traumatism resulting in

death. As a matter of ecological interest, therefore, experiments

were carried out by placing these creatures in the sunlight and

estimating the time required for bringing about hyperpyrexia and

death. For this purpose a bare patch of ground was selected free

from any holes, away from trees and thus devoid of any shade.

The snakes were allowed one at a time to roam freely over this

area, but prevented from leaving it. It is greatly regretted that

no solar radiation thermometer was available‘for those experiments;

though the ordinary shade temperature readings have been

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 79

recorded. The results of these experiments are set out in the

table as under.

[2]

)

Temperature M Cael |

5 o as A eo v e

: t Spe

Species Tea ES a8 = bs ¢ Remarks

An | sy o a6 8\e

Den a Le FS)

Ke |S es Pema |e

a =| a

Dipsadomor plus

trigonatus ...| 14- 5-1934 | 92 76 110 a.m.| 25 -|28) clear sky.

Do.» ..| 14- 5-1934 | 103 16,° 2 p.m 4 6 “3

Do. ...| 20- 9-1934 | 86 68 11 am.|- 50 (57 Heel

some clouds.

Do. .. | 18- 1-1935 | 76 36 «6/10 m 83 |85| cold and

frosty.

Lycodon aulicus.| 14~ 5-1934 | 92 76 =|10-35 ,, 4 $| Clear sky.

Do. ...| 20- 9-1934 86 68 |12 noon) 10 /|12!) cloud and sun.

Do. ...| 3-12-1934 | 82 45 | 3 pm.| 12 /|14) clear sky.

Cobra ... | 14- 5-1934 | 103 76 2-30 ,, 6 8 re

Do. ... | 20- 9--1934 | 86 68: 2 », | 98 {62} cloud and sun.

Do. ... | 12-12-1934 | 82 48 3 on 66 (68) clear sky.

Do. ... | 16-- 1-1935 | 80 33° {1-2 o 70 =|74

Eryx conicus ...| 14— 5-1934 | 93 70. (lias im. 4 5 a

Macropisthodon

plumbicolor ...| 14- 5-1934 96 76 |11-30 ,, 15 18 -

Do. ... | 14- 5-1934 | 103 76 | 3 p.m. 2 3 -

Do. ...| 29- 6-1934 | 79 70 |10 a.m.) 32 |35) cloud and sun.

Do. ..| 3-12-1934 | 82 45 | 2 p.m.j| 25 (|27)/ clear sky.

The foregoing experiments show that certain species manifest

a greater tolerance, as evidenced by the Cobra, over others, like

Lycodon aulicus, are more susceptible and quickly overcome by the

heating of the body. No vipers were forthcoming for comparison

in these experiments. All the snakes used behaved exactly alike

and showed a similar train of symptoms. They manifested an

active restlessness, working the tongue ceaselessly the whole time.

Every effort was made to regain the cool shade of the trees and,

remarkably enough, in doing this they evinced a sense of direction,

by moving toward an avenue of trees which flanked the bare

patch within which they were compelled to remain. Even when

their heads were directed in the opposite direction—away from

the avenue—they turned about and unfailingly moved towards it.

Some of them willingly and eagerly followed one in order to reach

the shadow cast by one’s body. This state of activity continued

until. the heat engendered within the body, as a result of the

muscular output combined with the heat rays from the sun and

presumably also excess formation of lactic acid in the tissues,

caused hyperpyrexia. This was evidenced by inertia (slowing of

the movements), loss of incoordination (swaying of the head and

rolling over of the body on to the back in the efforts at progression).

Coma was then ushered in by complete cessation of locomotion—

widely distended jaws and laboured breathing—which finally ended

in death. In the male the generative organs prolapsed.

80 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

~The Cobras, in the early stages, remained stationary and alert

with erected lieads and expanded hoods in a state of defensive

ageression, until the heat from the sun’s rays compelled them

to a realisation of the discomforts in the situation and soon reduced

them from the sublimity of a venomous intimidation to one of

ridiculous and abject submission.

It is clear ‘that the habit of basking must necessarily be

restricted to the time period required for regulating the body tem-

perature to the optimum conducive to comfort and well being,

as after emergence from hibernation, or as in the case of the

aquatic types after prolonged immersion in water during the cold

weather. Col. Fayrer (1872)! referring to the vipers, remarks that

the temperature of the gravid female increases during gestation

and that a higher body temperature than that which is natural

to the viper in its ordinary condition is necessary to effect the

incubation of the eggs. The gravid female is said to then expose

herself to the heat by basking in the sun’s rays. Most of the past

recorded evidence involves mostly the vipers. Such information

as there is sadly lacks in the essential details as to the time and

day of the year, the sex and other relevant particulars.

During the cold wave period of January 1935,. the Military

Dairy Farm Manager, Deolali, shot with a single round (No. 4

buck shot) two gravid Nerodia piscator, which were basking

together at the same spot on the river bank at 9-30 a.m. on 9th

January 1935. The author’s experience is limited to a single

Russell’s Viper, which was secured during March 1927, at about

10 a.m. when sun bathing in the precincts of the Pasteur Institute,

Kasauli (Simla Hills). Mr. Strover? reports the finding of an

Echis carinata at 8 p.m. on 8th January 1933 in the environs of

Peshawar. Mr. Prater (1926)? also found the same species on

two different occasions at Santa Cruz and Andheri. He remarks

that the corrugated zine forming the roof of a hen coop upon

which the viper basked was hot to the touch and at a time during

the afternoon.

LocoMoTION.

This reaches its highest attainment—so far as the Deolali

snakes are concerned—in Ptyas mucosus and appears to be a

specialisation confined to that species showing a well developed

musculature, nearly uniform body thickness proportionate with

creat length. As regards Ptyas mucosus, personal observations go

to show that the speed is equal to that of the average running

pace of a man. This rate, apparently, cannot be maintained for

any great distance, particularly by the full grown older specimens

over 8 ft. in length. In this snake locomotion takes the form

of an almost straight course in the direct axis of the body with

' The Thanatophidia of India, by Col. F. Fayrer (1872).

* The Saw-Scaled Viper (Hehis carinata) about in Winter, by C. H. Strover,

B.A., Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 3 (15th August, 1988).

* Snakes of Bombay Island and Salsette, by S. H. Prater, c.m.z.s. (1926).

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 81

a slight wavy side to side swing. In Python molurus the move-

ment is practically straight and slow, because of the excessive

thickness and weight. There are gradations from this standard

in which the zigzag motion is but slightly more exaggerated, or

greatly emphasised. The following line drawings depict the

various forms of locomotion observed.

Python molurius

Ptyas mucosus

Vipera russelli

Lycodon aulicus

On an average, locomotion is poorly developed, unwieldy, and

the rate of progression slow. If excited, the smaller snakes work

their bodies so vigorously, that the spiral curves in the side to side

motion become greatly increased and progression is retarded. If

not directly operating as a handicap in the quest for food, it is

clear that even the maximum speed often fails in helping snakes

during daylight to escape from their greatest enemy—man—and

unless there are holes in the ground, or thickly grown vegetation

near to them, their chances for getting away are reduced to a

minimum. The inherent fear of snakes entertained by mankind

in general is a much more valuable factor in making escape

possible for them. Hence it is that only the larger species have

developed speed as a speciality, possibly because their habits are

partly diurnal. As regards the search for food, speed is not an

essential requirement. It is chiefly during the nocturnal perambu-

lations, that they meet with a great measure of success, the victims

being either somnolent or else suddenly taken unawares.

The modus operandi in locomotion is brought about by the

combination of muscular action on the ribs causing them to execute

a sweeping laterally depressed motion by which the abdominal

scutae obtain a purchase on the ground surface and propel the

body forward in movement. The intercostal muscles are contract-

ed by sectional waves passing from the neck backwards—this is

well seen in Python molurus, in which each contraction wave

involves approximately eight pairs of ribs. Hach section is inde-

pendent in action, the ribs in it working together. The waves of

contractions following rapidly in succession present a rhythmic

uniformity in the movement of the ribs, which can be distinctly

seen in sectional motion under the epidermis. The longissimus

dorsi and semi-spinalis dorsi muscles direct torsion and lateral

82 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XxXiX

flexions of the body (vertebral column), which are controlled by

the articulations of the vertebrae to be described later.

Nove ON THE PECULIAR USE MADE OF THE TONGUE BY SNAKES

AND SoME LIZARDS.

A striking feature in the behaviour of a snake is the peculiar

use it makes of its tongue. The cause of this seemingly purposive

act is not generally understood. A like action of the tongue is

observed in some species of lizards (the monitors), whose tongues

are similarly bifid and protractile. The habit as noticed amongst

the Ophidia synchronises with the exercise of muscular activity,

such as locomotion, or in the case of the Cobra, when the hood

is expanded and the anterior third of the body is erected. It is

only in these active states that these creatures shoot out the forked

tongue in quick succession. The act appears to be in the nature

of a physiological expression of some function serving to their

benefit. The author is unaware of any scientific explanation for

this characteristic behaviour. Any theoretical considerations

offered in elucidation of the act must necessarily be advanced on

some physiological ground. In the experiments outlined in this

paper relative to the effects of exposure to the direct sun’s rays,

the observation with regard to the constant use of the tongue made

by the snake led to the consideration that this organ in view of

its bifid construction may not altogether be a sensory one. The

suggestion is strong that it may also serve a second important

function by helping considerably in the maintenance of the thermal

balance, in preserving it at the level necessary for the well-being

of the organism. Snakes being cold-blooded, their temperature

varies with the surrounding medium and is normally a degree or

two above it. Any muscular output is always attended by heat

production in the tissues and there must be some means for eli-

minating the heat engendered, especially in an animal which is

totally unprovided with sweat glands. In view, therefore, of the

fact that the act is a spontaneous one and associated with muscular

activity alone, there are tenable reasons for believing that the

heat formed in the tissues is got rid off by evaporation of the

moisture from the extruded surface of the tongue. Analogous

examples of the kind are seen in homoiothermal animals (warm-

blooded) whose skins are in part devoid of sweat glands, as in

the familiar instance of the overheated and panting dog. Again

on very hot days, birds open their beaks and extrude the tongue

for a similar purpose.

Conversely, in very cold weather the temperature of the snake

is considerably lowered and body metabolism reduced, as a result

there is less heat formation. A prolonged reduction in the tem-

perature of the external air causes the snake to go into

hibernation.

(l’o be continued).

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

CQ ysay

DD Toland * A v7

IDA

6) Se SAP

Elephanta Island

( Gharapun )

Butcher Island 7:

RTS, Gel

] sasit = as:

~ \

BOMBAY HARBOUR

Soste 1 Inch ts 4 hiilcs

aies 8 4 3 2 4 9 t.) 90 Riles

—————

Tur IsLtANDS OF BomBAy AND SALSETTE WITH THE ADJOINING MAINLAND.

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE.

Skuim Aur and Humayun ABDULALI.

Part I.

(With a map and four plates).

INTRODUCTION.

(a) General.

This paper is the second of the series on the fauna of Bombay

and Salsette.! It is the result of many years of casual observation

supplemented by more systematically kept notes and records by

one of us (S. A.) between 1924 and 1929, and by the other (H. A.)

mostly from 1931 onwards. The few specimens that were collected

by Salim Ali were mainly for the confirmation of subspecific attri-

butions. A fuller and more representative collection has since been

made by Humayun Abdulali for his college museum (St. Xavier's).

He was particularly successful in his nesting activities, a fact

which has made possible somewhat greater completeness in our

accounts. We have also taken advantage of the notes made by

Mr. Prater during his residence in the suburbs at Andheri between

1923 and 1924. All previously published records relating to our

area and its vicinity have been collated as far as possible. Where

a likely species has not actually been known to occur or breed

within our limits, the nearest record we can trace on the adjoining

mainland has been cited, as there seems to us no sufficient bio-

logical reason why most of such species should not at some time

or other also be found on the islands.

Nothing like exhaustiveness is claimed for the paper. It is

merely offered in the nature of a working list and as a framework

on which other observers can build. Later on it is intended to

be issued as a Prince of Wales’ Museum publication in booklet

form and as a companion to The Snakes of Bombay Island and

Salsette. In order, therefore, to make it a more useful guide to

the public we have, at the suggestion of the editors, given at

the head of each species a rough general description as an aid to

field identification. Where the scientific names differ considerably,

those by which species are referred to in HHA’s Common Birds of

Bombay are also given for the reader’s convenience.

All the skins, including some old ones from the collection of

the Bombay Natural History Society, have been examined, and

1 The first, on the Snakes of Bombay and Salsette by S. H. Prater,

appeared in vol. xxx, pp. 151-76.

84. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

racially determined for us by Mr. Hugh Whistler to whom we

wish to express our thanks.

(b) Historical.

The town and island of Bombay have undergone stupendous

transformation since the days when E. H. Aitken (HHA) wrote

in the Times of India the inimitable chapters that now comprise

his almost classic Common Birds of Bombay, and since E. C.

Comber compiled his bird list for the Bombay Government Gazet-

teer. The evolution has been particularly aggressive since the

beginning of the present century. Salt marshes and mud _ flats

where in the eighties and nineties the old redoubtables hke Aitken

and Inverarity hunted curlew, snipe and golden plover, have since

been filled and reclaimed and either intensively built upon as

at Tardeo, or altered out of all recognition into delightfully green

and well kept playing fields as of the Willingdon Sports Club or

the Race Course at Mahaluxmi, justly acclaimed as one of the

finest in the East. Worli and Mahim which until quite recently

were one vast stretch of dense, gloomy cocoanut groves have now

been cleared and built upon or opened up into spacious promenades,

playgrounds or wide arterial thoroughfares. The low line of hills

flanking the sea at Worl has been levelled for the most part,

and extensive development and colonising activity has also taken

place at Sewri and in the outlying areas around it. Tanks such

as the Gowaha, Babtlla and Dhobi Talao have been filled as part

of the widespread anti-malarial campaign, thereby driving out the

few remaining dabchicks from their last defences.

Where but a few years since the call of curlews, oyster-catchers

and sandpipers regounded at low tide through the stillness of night,

the hooting of motor horns and the incessant din of scurrying

traffic now proclaim Ballard Estate as one of the city’s liveliest

business centres.

~ The years immediately following the cessation of the Great War

witnessed a particularly feverish spurt of urbanising activity. The

short lived boom in trade and industry and the unprecedented

influx of population into the city from the outlying districts brought

about housing congestion and a soaring of land prices that neces-

sitated expansion into the adjoining island of Salsette. Schemes,

both public and private, for the development of areas that had

hitherto lain marsh or jungle were ardently undertaken, and even

the sea was not immune. An extensive area of Back Bay reaching

from Colaba to Chowpatty has been reclaimed. Danda, Khar,

Pah Hill, Borivli, Chembtr and many other areas hitherto un-

healthy low -lying tracts or scrub Jungle were reclaimed and deve-

loped, and w ith the simultaneous opening up of good motor roads

and fast electric local train services, they sprang up with amazing

rapidity into popular and populous residential suburbs.

The composite island of Bombay on which the city is situated

(originally consisting of seven sinall islets) is one of a group lying

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 85

off the Konkan Coast 18° 55/N x 72° 54/E. By the construction

of causeways and breakwaters in comparatively recent years it

is now permanently united on the north end with the larger island

of Salsette and so continuously with the mainland. The remainder

of the group of islands—Elephanta or Gharaptri, Butcher or Dia

Deva, Gull Island, Kanga Rock and others, together with the two

further south viz. Underi and Khanderi—constitute a part of the

administrative district of Kolaba, but are near enough Bombay to

be included in this paper, as is also the case with the mainland

immediately opposite them.

The island of Bombay is trapezoid in shape and consists of

low-lying plain about 114 miles long by 8 to 4 miles broad, flanked

by two parallel ridges of low hills. Colaba Point, the headland

formed by the longer of these ridges, protects the harbour lying

to its eastern side from the force of the open sea; the other ridge

terminates in Malabar Hill and between the two lies the shi allow

expanse of Back Bay. Before the construction of the embankment

known as Hornby Vellard the central plain was lable to be sub-

merged at high tide. To the north and east recent schemes of

reclamation have similarly shut out the sea and partly redeemed

the foreshore for the use of commerce. The coast is low, the

highest point—Malabar Hill—being about 180 ft. above the sea.

In the extreme north of the island (near Sion and Kolvada) a large

tract of salt-marsh still remains partly unreclaimed. At the

southernmost point a dangerous reef—the Prongs—juts out from

Colaba Point and on it stands the lighthouse known by that

name.

Salsette, with which the northern end of Bombay is connected

by means of the Sion and Mahim causeways, is a larger island

extending northwards from Bandra for about 16 miles, right up to

the Bassein Creek. It is rich in rice-fields diversified by jungle

and studded with hills, and has an area of 246 sq. miles. Along

its centre, from north to south, runs a broad range of hills which

after subsiding into the plain near Kurla crops up again in the

southernmost part of the island of Trombay. The central and

highest point—Thana or Kanhéri Peak (1,516 ft.)—stands a little

to the north of Talsi Lake, and there is another detached sharp

peak—Shendir (1,507 ft.)—still farther north. Spurs from the

main range run west towards the sea, while the low lands are

much intersected by tidal creeks which, especially in the north-

west (Bhayandar, Manori, Malad ete.), split the sea face of the

taluka into small islands. The staple crop is rice and most of

the uplands are reserved for grass for the Bombay market. The

coast abounds in cocoanut groves while the palmyra palm grows

plentifully in most parts of the island.

(d) Meteorological.

The rainfall in Bombay, restricted to the South-West Monsoon

(June to September), averages about 75 in. annually. In the

better wooded parts of Salsette it is slightly higher. The mean

ayerage temperature is 79°F, The climate is equabl e but humid,

86 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The hottest months of the year are May and October, i.e. those

which immediately precede and follow the rainy season.

(e) Vegetational.

The vegetation does not differ from that of the parallel terrain

on the adjacent mainland. Along the coast, flanking the numerous

tidal creeks, salt marshes abound with mangrove belts of varying

extent, principally Avicennia and Bruguiera. On the land just

above this zone, not under daily tidal influence but inundated

at spring tides, the Sea Holly (Acanthus ilicifolius) usually thrives.

The extensive mud flats on the west of Salsette are studded with

small ‘islands’ that support a sparse growth of grass, Babul,

Salvadora persica, Clerodendron inerme and other xerophytes.

They often harbour a small avifauna of their own. If carefully

controlled, they provide excellent opportunities for the study of

migration as their smallness enables arrivals and departures to

be noted with a degree of precision. Beyond this, are found the

usual West Coast plants, among them Thespesia populnea, Cocos

nucifera with Casuarina equisetifolia and Calophyllum inophyl-

lum; while still farther inland the typical vegetation of the Western

Ghats and the Deccan Plateau occurs. In the flat country and

about paddy cultivation the tree growth consists largely of Karan]

(Pongamia glabra), Tad or Palmyra palms (Borassus flabellifer),

Wild Date (Phoenix sylvestris), Tamarind (Tamarindus indica),

Jamin (Hugenia jambolana), Mango (Mangifera indica), Ber (Zizy-

phus spp.), Apta (Bauhinia racemosa), Rayan (Mimusops hexandra),

Streblus asper, Neem (Melia azadirachta), and other species.

Occasionally Gialmohor (Poinciana regia), Drumstick (Moringa

oleifera), Simal (Bombax malabaricum), Pangra (Hrythrina indica

and HE. stricta) and Khar Champa (Plumeria acutifolia) occur, es-

pecially near villages. The scrub and secondary jungle exhibits

predominantly bushes and small trees such as Carissa carandas,

Toran (Zizyphus rugosa)—the latter usually on hillsides—Izxora

coccinea, Lantana camara, Calotropis gigantea. The Cobra Cactus

(Opuntia elatior) is not uncommon in parts, and the roadside

hedges and field boundaries are principally the cactus Huphorbia

neriufolia.

The better wooded parts of Salsette, as for example the country

around the three artificial lakes—Tulsi, Vehar and Pawai—which

provide part of the city’s water supply, and the hills in the

northern part of the island—contain Teak (Tectona grandis), Grewia

spp., Albizzia procera, Dalbergia sp., Garuga pinnata, Careya

arborea, Ficus bengalensis, F. glomerata, F. religiosa, Cassia

fistula, Feronia limonia, Adina cordifolia, Gmelina arborea, Morinda

citrifolia, Oroxylum indicum, Holarrhena antidysenterica and

other deciduous trees. In addition to many of the bushes com-

mon about the open cultivated country, one finds Helicteres isora,

Calycopteris floribunda, Woodfordia fruticosa and several species

of Karvi (Strobilanthes). In the monsoon a host of herbaceous

plants spring up, particularly luxuriant in the better wooded

northern parts, including various species of Leea whose leayes

‘I alVviId

Opeiogd [A s8.9sljeanjzeny omy.

‘aqjos[eg ‘ayer TeMmog

fiq 010ug

20G ‘ISI ‘Jen Aequiog ‘‘uanoe

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 87

afford favourite nesting sites to tailor birds and other warblers.

The excellence of the soil of Salsette for mango and chikoo culti-

vation has long been recognised and there are many large orchards

and groves scattered over the flatter portions of the island which

provide feeding ground and shelter to numerous species of birds.

Loranthus longiflorus, L. loniceroides, Viscum articulatum and

other Loranthaceae are common parasites and affect many species

of trees. The former two are particularly damaging to mango

trees and they are all entirely bird distributed. In the valleys of

North Salsette, bamboo (Bambusa_ stricta ?) is abundant, and

though not studied in any ecological detail it is interesting to find

that there are patches of forest of evergreen aspect (containing

the lianas Hntada scandens and Gnetum “scandens) on the top of

our highest hills. Larger patches of this type occur on Tiingar

Hill across the Bassein Creek.

A large portion of the earth used in the surface filling of the

Back Bay reclamation blocks was transported from Kandivli.

Along with it came the seeds of many species of Salsette plants

which, germinating after the first monsoon, rapidly colonised their

new home forming httle scattered thickets. With the growth of

this vegetation, many birds that had heretofore found nothing to

attract them in this locality found ample food and shelter and

some, even congenial breeding sites. When the scrub is again

cleared and the plots built upon or otherwise utilised, these new

colonists will be forced to retreat once more. The Reclamation

area, though small in extent, and partly indeed because of it,

provides an admirable venue for the study of ecological succession.

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE Btrp-LIFeE.

Besides the resident avian population of Bombay and Salsette

there is every year a heavy and conspicuous influx of migrants,

which commencing often as early as August reaches its peak by

about the middle or end of November. The birds either pass on

farther south after a short stop-over—passage migrants—or linger

in our midst throughout the cold weather months—winter visitors

—but the vast majority are a mixture of these two classes, some

individuals staying on in the locality while others continue their

southward journey. With the approach of the hot weather, the

migrational tide begins to ebb. The northward exodus commences

about the end of February, and by the first week in May most

true migrants have departed for their breeding grounds in the

Himalayas or beyond into Central Asia and Siberia.

Apart from the true migrants, there is a host of species that

move about locally within a more circumscribed range and which

may be met with in our area at some seasons of the year but are

absent at others. The abundance or paucity of food supply is

certainly one of the causes that govern the movements of this

class—local migrants—but what the other controlling influences

may be we as yet know little. Rufous-backed Shmilees, for

instance, are common in Salsette from about September to March

but retire further inland thereafter, while Pittas and Pied Crested

88 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Cuckoos usually make their appearance in our midst at the com-

mencement of the monsoon for short periods. The study of local

bird movements is a promising subject which may here be recom-

mended to field naturalists in this and other parts of India.

There is yet a fifth class of birds that needs to be mentioned—

the vagrants. Occasionally these are isolated individuals that have,

for some unaccountable reason, strayed far out of their accustomed

haunts. The Hypocolius—a Persian bird was recently shot at

Kuhim across the harbour; while at other times many species may

be involved, all driven out of their normal habitat by exceptional

and adverse natural conditions. Thus the drought in Gujerat and

those parts during 1899 brought numbers of strange birds to

Bombay for a living. A flock of 40 to 50 Chettusia gregaria

appeared and remained for some weeks on the Esplanade where

they naturally attracted much attention and were productive of

letters in the local newspapers. The heavy gales at the commence-

ment of the South-West Monsoon frequently throw up sea birds

like Gannets and Shearwaters on our shores at that season.

Our avifauna does not fall into any well-defined zoo-geographical

sub-region. The peculiar Indo-Malayan element of the South-West

e.g. the frog-mouths, the spine-tails, the laughing-thrushes, the

bazas and many others do not extend so far north. The great

tide of Palaearctic migrants that sweeps into India through the

North-West reaches and influences our bird-life to the extent to

which it affects the Deccan in the same latitudes. But our

affinities are not with the Deccan, except in so far as the common

birds of India are the common birds of the table-land as well as

of Bombay. In the first place we lack a stable and resident popu-

lation of birds typical of the dry open plains, the sand-grouse, the

bustard, the grey shrike, the Indian courser, the black-winged

kite, the tawny eagle, various larks and others. But there is

another difference that is not easily appreciated—the absence of

resident counterparts of migrants lke the rufous-backed shrike,

the little ringed-plover and the hoopoe. The Western Ghats, of

course, are next-door to us, and almost directly continuous with

Salsette in the north. And from these Ghat forests our bird-life

is enriched by such forms as the trogon, the orange minivet, the

black-capped blackbird, the grey-fronted green pigeon, the racket-

tailed drongo, and the Malabar whistling thrush. There are, of

course, many Ghat species that we have not observed in Salsette,

but the nature of the terrain and the presence of conspicuous forms,

inclines us to the opinion that our bird-population approximates

more closely to that of the hill ranges than of the table-land

beyond.

Within the city of Bombay there are indeed few spots still

left where one may enjoy the song or company of birds apart

from the ‘scum of the air’—the kites, crows, pigeons and sparrows

—that have adapted themselves to a life of unabashed parasitism

on Man and flourish in his midst and by his concerns. Neverthe-

less if is surprising what a number of other species have unobtru-

sively managed to acclimatise themselves to the changed and

ever-changing conditions of urban life, and may still be met

‘plafiaw a AL fiq — pun & ‘T sopoug

‘punoisyoeq ay} Ul ST[IET WAMOg YM eyeqT isn, “Ff ‘ayeT Is[ny, Jo qaasos y -e

‘(UOTJVJoS9A Woosuoul) [IFT Avquior

% "48Ba SULYOOT ‘SIFT punypnpy Wor MotA “T

“HLLASTVG NI DONIHOLVM-CGYIq YO SLOds TOHLINGH ANOS

Tl WOLiVId ‘20S ‘ISIH ‘JeN Aequog ‘‘uanor

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 89

wherever the least bit of garden or shrubbery prevails, or even

amongst our roadside trees. Tailor-birds will nest in a_ potted

croton in the heart of the town, while sunbirds peering out of

their pendant nests appear perfectly at home with trams and

motor cars roaring past within a few feet of them. In the cold

weather wagtails and pipits may still be seen on the various

maidans busily hunting insects in among the maze of cricket-nets

and the throngs of players, hawkers, lo: afers and pleasure-seekers,

while swifts continue to occupy many of their age-long nesting

sites under the porches and eaves of antiquated buildings, since

beset by noisy thoroughfares.

The more spacious residential quarters of the town, however,

with their gardens and large rambling compounds, as in the

Malabar Hill area—unfortunately fast disappearing—are — still

amazingly rich in their avifauna. Government House grounds at

Walkéshwar form an ideal bird haunt and to this day harbour a

number of species otherwise only met with further afield in Sal-

sette. The Victoria Gardens at Byculla afford an island of refuge

and a breeding ground to many species amidst an otherwise con-

gested and uncongenial locality.

Apart from the actual deprivation of feeding grounds and nest-

ing sites which has resulted directly from the development or

occupation of new or erstwhile sparsely populated areas, the most

serious menace that birds have had to reckon with has been, and

continues to be, the advance hand in hand with these conditions

of the ‘boy’ and the ‘crow’. Both are unavoidable concomitants

of urbanisation and both an equal nuisance to bird-life. The

mortality in birds’ eggs and young traceable to their joint and

several depredations is appalling. We have known gardens in the

City—then in remoter and less congested localities than now—

where but a few years ago such birds as ioras and fantail fly-

catchers used to breed successfully year after year, but where only

rarely in the course of several recent years were we able to observe

families of the latter safely out of the nest. Even where they

managed to survive the nestling stage, the young inv: ee vanish-

ed soon after, and from the marked attention they had been

receiving from these vandals and from the stray cats of the neigh-

bourhood, there seemed little doubt as to who was culpable. After

several unsuccessful attempts of this sort, the birds finally deserted

the localities presumably in search of less harried surroundings

farther afield.

This example is typical of what is happening every day as

population advances. Crows are inveterate nest-robbers and in the

more populated areas where they abound as a matter of course,

it is almost impossible for any eggs or young, especially in open

nests, to escape their felony. As long as they go unchecked—and

this is the fiat of our City Fathers—it is futile to attempt to en-

courage the smaller and more defenceless forms of bird-life into the

precincts of our homes and gardens. Pernicious egg-taking by, and

catapults and air-guns in the hands of idle thoughtless boys supple-

ment the sorry onl

In the lesser populated suburbs of Bombay and the cultivated

90 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

and wooded country in Salsette, however, bird-life has still a

refuge which, with a little more of intelligent appreciation and

little less of apathy, it should still be possible to retain as a perma-

nent sanctuary. Apart from the natural marauders—birds, beasts

and reptiles—a considerable menace to bird-life in suburban areas

is that all too familiar breed of local ‘sportsmen’ who scour the

countryside, year in year out, equipped in red loin-cloth and

smoking cap and armed with catapults or an ancient fowling-piece;

who comb the jungles or prowl about the creeks and village tanks

from crack of dawn to slay every living thing that will repay

the expenditure of powder and shot. In its immature or ‘catapult’

stage this breed—Anton, Paseal, Dominic or what you will—is a

scourge to small birds, their eggs and young. As imago it possesses

knack of almost invariably managing to acquire a gun of sorts,

thenceforth transferring its nefarious attentions to every slaughter-

able creature of the earth and of the air.

Tnspite of these conditions, it must be admitted that in

relation to its size the bird-lhfe of Salsette is still tolerably rich

both in species and in numbers. How long it will be able to

hold its own in the face of these powers of disintegration without

special protection and an awakening of the public conscience,

depends largely upon economic prosperity which is bound sooner

or later to complete the wor ‘k it has begun—the building of Greater

Bombay. Unless in the meanwhile the rising generation—the

citizens of tomorrow—are taught by means of Nature Study in

schools and by intelligently-conducted excursions into the country-

side to take pleasure and pride in the bird-life and other natural

objects around them, it is unreasonable to expect a change im

their outlook or that they will extend the requisite facilities to

birds and other creatures to live when this eventuality arises. It

is a hackneyed commonplace that protective laws by themselves

ave impotent unless they have the backing of strong and well-

informed public opinion, and there can be no doubt that the seed

of public opinion is most effectively sown only in the classroom.

Some of the finest spots we know of in the neighbourhood of

Bombay for the watching and enjoyment of birds are in the hilly

wooded country between “the Tulsi Lake and the Godbunder Creek

which forms the northern boundary of Salsette. Trombay, both

the lower hillsides and the scrub country around the base of the

hills is excellent, while Borivi, Kandivh and the locality about

Kanhéri Caves will never fail to repay a morning’s ramble. There

are now good motor roads throughout Salsette, affording very

pleasant and beautiful drives, and the efficient local services of the

B.B. & C.1. and G.I.P. Railways bring all the wooded spots within

easy and comfortable reach of all.

Tt is hoped that the publication of this paper will help to

stimulate an interest in the bird-life that is fortunately still around

us and lead to an appreciation of its true value as an aesthetic

as well as an economic asset, and ultimately, to statutory and

practical measures for its encouragement and preservation against

the onward march of progress on conditions increasingly hosti] le

to its continuance,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE IIT.

x SESS SRAM es SS _

The Jungle Crow (Corvus m. culminatus).

Crows (Corvus s. splendens) pilfering from a fishwife’s basket.

Sdlim Ali.

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE Oh

SYSTEMATIC LIST.

Family: Corvipé.

The Southern Jungle Crow: Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus Sykes.

Local Name: Dhobia Kaula.

Field identification: Larger, heavier and more glossy jet black than the

Indian House-Crow, and lacking its grey collar and breast. (Often erroneously

called the ‘raven’ or the ‘rook’ neither of which occur so far south as our area.)

The Jungle Crow is rare within the limits of the. city proper, but is a

resident of suburban areas and the wooded portions of Salsette where it is

fairly common and more or less completely replaces the smaller grey-necked

species. It is omnivorous in its diet, but much more of a carrion-feeder

than the last named, and may generally be seen at carcases of cattle in

company with vultures. It is a great robber of the eggs and young of other

birds and is fond of the land crabs that emerge from their aestivation so

abundantly during the monsoon months. It is also partial to the nectar of

the blossoms of Hrythrina and Bombaax trees and a regular visitor to them

in season.

A peculiarity noted in this species is the short flights often indulged in

with neck outstretched and wings held almost upright and back to back

above the level of the body, the tips being flapped through a small are and

the bird cawing in a high-pitched key the while. This is presumably done

under stress of some emotion which is usually but not always sexual.

Breeding: In our area the Jungle Crow is an earlier breeder than _ its

grey-necked congener. We have found nesting activities in progress in every

month from November (earliest date 26th) to June (latest date 14th), but

chiefly between March and May. On 13 May a bird has been observed carrying

sticks for a nest, while on the same date a full-fledged young with pinkish

gape was on the wing.

The nests are the usual untidy platform-like structures of twigs often with

an admixture of iron wire, with a cup-like depression in the middle lined

with cocoanut fibre, tow, horsehair or any such soft material available. They

are placed in Banyan, Mango or Tamarind trees usually between 20 and 30 ft.

from the ground and frequently in the vicinity of villages and outlying huts.

A favourite site in Salsette is at the base of the leaf-stalks of Tad (Borassus)

palms, and many of such nests come to grief owing to the removal of the

leaves for thatching purposes before the monsoon. Several other birds such

as Swallow-Shrikes, Palm Swifts and Mynas must also suffer considerable

mortality on this account.

We have found 4 or 5 eggs to be the normal full clutch in this locality.

The Koel (Hudynamis scolopaceus) commonly parasitizes the nests of the Jungle

Crow. We have never found more than a single young Koel in a nest and

these in May and June.

On 9 September (Chembur) an extraordinary attachment to an old nest

by a pair—presumably the same birds as had eggs in it on 25 May—was noted.

The owners persistently kept in its proximity, cawed concernedly and showed

much agitation when it was climbed up to although it was in a somewhat

dilapidated condition and contained no eggs.

The Indian House-Crow. Corvus splendens splendens Vieill.

Local Name: Kaula.

The Indian House- or Grey-necked Crow is unquestionably the commonest

and most ubiquitous bird in the city of Bombay and in the more densely

populated of its suburbs. He is universally and perhaps justly reviled, but

it is impossible to overlook his usefulness in keeping the city clean of refuse.

However much one may resent his practices or deplore his morals, one cannot

but admire his masterly finesse and cunning in invariably getting the

better of his fellow-citizens, not excluding Man himself. Whether he is

manoeuvring to deprive you of your chota hazri toast, or shadowing your move-

ments to despoil a well-concealed nest as soon as your back is turned, there

is in his tactics the same well-calculated shrewdness that places him without

dispute in the front rank of avian intelligentsia,

92 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The Crow is a born opportunist. His capacity for discrimination between

a harmless person and one not to be trusted, and between a stick and a gun

is truly uncanny. Chmb up to his nest and handle the eggs or young and

for weeks afterwards you will be singled out from among your fellows for

special attention, even though you appear differently attired on each occasion.

Execrations will be lavished’ upon you at sight and you will even be subjected

to assault and battery at the bills of the outraged owners.

Much has been written about the Crow, but the subject is still far from

exhausted. Indeed, as long as human ingenuity persists so long will the

Crow continue to afford matter for study and amazement as he will continue

to devise counter-measures to deal with any new situation that may arise in

order that he may still get the better of Man and profit by his concerns.

In the matter of diet the Crow is omnivorous and not exacting. It is

this that makes him a blessing—albeit a mixed one—to civic life, and confers

on him the patronage and protection of our City I’athers. No species of

garbage comes amiss to him and he seems to thrive on everything. But while

being a staunch ally of our health authorities in the maintenance of an

efficient sanitary standard on the one hand, he also helps to promote disease

on the other. In Chaupati Road, 8. A. once watched a crow hop into a milk-

man’s shop while the owner was away in a back room. The bird sidled up

and on to the rim of a vessel containing the stock-in-trade, already popular

with the fly community of the neighbourhood, and inserting his head into it,

took several long and refreshing draughts! As the bird had quite possibly been

feeding the moment before on the entrails of a sewer rat, or maybe something

still more gruesome, it is not difficult to imagine his potentiality for the dis-

semination of disease germs.

With all this, however, it must be said that Crows are cleanly birds out-

wardly, and punctilious about their toilet. They never miss the opportunity

of a bathe and runnels of water or ornamental ponds such as there are in the

Victoria Gardens always have their quota of regular bathers. We have also

observed them frequently washing themselves by shuffling among the dense

and dripping fohage of trees like “Gulmohor or Karanj after a shower of rain.

They ara amongst the regular habitues of reine indica, EH. stricta and

Bombax malabaricum in bloom and revel in the nectar of the blossoms. Speci-

mens shot off them show a considerable quantity of pollen adhering to their

forehead and chin, and the birds undoubtedly play an important part in

the cross-pollination of these flowers. Parties frequently indulge in hunting

winged-termites as they emerge from the ground on monsoon evenings, often

till well after dusk. The birds either post themselves on the ground near the

hole and tick off the insects as they appear, or else launch aerial sallies after

them from roof-tops and the like, often gomg through remarkable evolutions

in the chase. We have seen one take a complete somersault—loop- the-loop—

in the air! One of their favourite hunting grounds is fish-markets where they

cause endless annoyance to the fish-wives, sneaking up to the baskets and

pilfering from them, both on the ground and off the women’s heads and just

managing to keep out of their irate reach.

With a high wind blowing, numbers of these birds frequently indulge in

aerobatics involving considerable agility, for no apparent reason except the mere

fun of the thing.

Breeding: House-Crows breed abundantly within town limits and also about

the Jocal railway line, and all through the better populated suburbs. The season

proper may be said to last from May to August, although in some years it

may begin considerably earlher and last till about the middle of September.

The earliest date on which we have observed a bird tugging at and breaking

off a dry twig from a growing branch is 18 February (St. Xavier’s College

compound). On 21 February we have a record of a half-built nest in the Victoria

Gardens and on the 23rd of the same month another was nearing completion

in a roadside tree opposite the Royal Opera House. The earliest date for

young wo have is 9 May when two were being fed in a nest near the Andheri

railway station.

During the season almost every roadside tree in the town holds a nest,

eften two or more. The locality about the B.B. & C.I. Railway line between

Grant Road Station and Dadar seems particularly favoured, as also that in

the neighbourhood of the docks. Here a large number of nests are composed

HE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 93

more or less entirely of iron wire or scraps of hoop iron filched from the

neighbouring goods yards. This propensity to utilise iron wire in the structure

of the nests was responsible for great interruption and delays in the suburban

electric railway service when it was first inaugurated in 1922, The engineers

had reckoned’ without the Crow which soon discovered that the overhead

brackets holding the power wires provided admirable nesting: sites and took

to them wholesale. The iron used in many of the nests caused short-circuiting

and brought traffic to a standstill. Thus in one week 44 trains were held up,

and it was with some difficulty that the cause was finally discovered. Not

until a specially designed insulated or crow-proof bracket was introduced was

this nuisance finally eradicated. eu

The nests are mostly placed in trees—Mango, Tamarind, Albizzia, Casuarina,

Polyalthea, palms and others—from a height of about 12 ft. up, mostly between

this and 20 ft. In structure they do not differ from those of the Jungle-Crow

except that, owing to its greater availability in town, iron wire etc. is more

employed in its construction. There is the almost classic example of a nest

built entirely of gold and silver spectacle frames pilfered from an_ optician’s

shop in the Fort. About Rs. 400 worth of frames disappeared before the

culprits were run to earth!

Three to five eggs are normally laid and the largest number of young we

have seen in a nest is four. In our experience two is the largest number of

young being tended by the parents out of the nest, and it appears that the

mortality in the nestling stage is heavy. The Koel habitually foists its eggs

on the nests of the House-Crow. On 9 (June 1981) H. A. found a nest with

11 Koel eggs of two different types which appeared to have been laid by

two different females. There were no crow’s eggs in the nest, but signs of a

broken egg which may have belonged to the latter (J.B.N.H.S., xxxv, 458).

We have usually seen a single young Koel being tended by its foster-parents

out of nest; only on one occasion two. Never have there been any young crows

about, and it might be questioned as to what becomes of them and whether

like the European Cuckoo the young Joel also heaves its foster-brothers over

the edge of the nest.

Various stages of albinism have been noted and described in the House-Crow

in and around Bombay city. One that occurs more frequently than others is

the isabelline phase of which an example bred for two years at least in the

Government Dockyard (1924 and 1925). For those who still believe in the

popular notion that crows mate lying on the ground with their vents apposed,

it may be mentioned that we have now observed them mating in the usual

manner of birds—‘treading’—a sufficient number of times to dispel this fallacy.

Popular belief also credits the crow with exceptional longevity or even immor-

tality. The argument advanced is that in spite of its abundance, one seldom

comes across a crow that has dicd a natural death; a fact that is indeed true

enough of most wild animals.

The Crow has few natural enemies and but for the heavy mortality in its

nestling stage and other periodical checks, its numbers would soon become

unendurable. A few years ago a mysterious disease appeared among the crow

population of Bombay which evoked a good deal of correspondence in the local

press at the time. Large numbers of adult birds were found lying dead in

many parts of the city and suburbs, in a_ stiffened condition, beneath their

perches. The Haffkine Institute investigated the matter but as far as we are

aware without elucidating any clue to the mystery.

This account of the House-Crow has become inordinately lengthy, but there

is so much of interest in the life of this pre-eminently urban bird that it could

not be compressed further without doing him an injustice.

The Indian Tree Pie: Dendrocitta vagabunda vagabunda (Latham).

Field identification: ‘A bright rufous magpie with sooty head and neck,

and impressions of grey, black and white in the wings and tail’ (Whistler,

Popular Handbook of Indian Birds).

Specimens: St. Xavier’s College: 184 Q 15-8-83 Powai; 214 9 ie Westy!

aes (H. A.); Bombay Natural History Society: 0? 16-38-24 Vihar Lake

0 Elsewhere noted: Chembur, Trombay, Godbunder, Kandivli, Mulund, Thana,

arol.

04 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Resident. The Tree Pie is fairly common in the better wooded portions

of Salsette, frequenting lightly forested hillsides and occasionally also gardens

and orchards in the suburbs. It is usually met with in noisy pairs or small

parties of 4 or 5 birds. It has a large variety of calls, both harsh and pleasant,

some of them being very similar to those of the Black-headed Oriole. It is

very destructive to the eggs and young of small birds, and also feeds on lizards,

young mice and grasshoppers and other insects. Bombax flowers are largely

visited in season for their nectar. Mr. McCann informs us that he observed

one in Salsette feeding on the ripe fruit of ‘Kaundal’ (Trichosanthes palmata

Roxb.). This is strange since according to Roxburgh (Kirtikar and Basu,

Indian Medicinal Plants, i, 580) the fruit is poisonous and, mixed with rice,

is employed to destroy crows !

Breeding: We have not taken any nests in Salsette, but have seen three

full-fledged young in company with one of the parents on 9 July.

Family: Paripa,

[The Southern Grey Tit: Parus major mahrattarum Hartert.

Not in Salsette, but we have observed it on the adjacent mainland at

Vasind, Tansa Lake, Kasara, Igatpuri, Nasik and elsewhere.

Breeding: Capt. Betham (J.B.N.H.S., xii, 78) records it nesting in the

neighbourhood of Poona in June and July.]

Family: TIMauim”.

The Bombay Rufous Babbler: Turdoides somervillei somerville: Sykes.

Malacocircus somervillei of EKHA.

Local Name: Khekata or Sat-bhai.

Specimens: St. Xavier's College: 11 ¢@ 6-8-83 Marol (H. A.).

Field identification: Untidy, earthy-coloured bird slightly smaller than

Myna, with loose tail. In small squeaking flocks.

Noted: Bombay and Salsette: Government House Grounds, Walkéshwar,

Parel, Dadar, Pali Hill (Bandra), Andheri, Sion, Kandivli, Borivli, Malad,

Godbunder, Mulund, Thana. Adjacent mainland: Parsik, Kihim, Alibag, ete.

Resident. The Bombay Babbler is a common bird in the suburbs of Bombay

and all through Salsette, as well as on the coastal portion of the mainland

opposite. It frequents residential compounds, mango orchards and groves of

trees in flocks or ‘sisterhoods’ of 6 to 8 birds, which rummage among the

fallen leaves for insects. Some grain is also eaten while the ripe berries of

Lantana camara are much favoured. The birds are invariably present on

Erythrina indica and E. stricta in season—and also to a lesser extent on

Simal (Bombax)—probing into the blossoms for the nectar. ‘They do valuable

service in cross-pollinating them.

Usually perfect amity prevails amongst the members of a sisterhood, but

occasionally differences of opinion arise between individual members or between

two separate sisterhoods, and desperate encounters ensue with much recrimi-

nation and flying of feathers. The whole flock rallies to the encounter engaging

with members of opposing flocks, rollmg on the ground interlocked and plying

viciously with bill and claw. The battles are of short duration, however, and

it is not long before harmony is restored.

Babblers may frequently be seen shuffling themselves and bathing among

the dripping foliage of a bushy tree after a shower of rain. This appears to

be a common bird habit. We have seen White-throated Babblers and several

other species doing the same, besides Crows which, as mentioned before, indulge

in it freely.

Breeding: This Babbler evidently breeds irregularly throughout the year.

We have found nests in various stages of building or with eggs and young

and also immature birds of all ages (never more than two with a pair) in

almost every month, but principally between April and November.

(J.B.N.H.S., iv, 245) found it breeding at Sion in June and July.

The flocks do not break up at any time, but breeding pairs detach them-

selves occasionally for their domestic duties, though continuing to feed in

company.

Barnes

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE f)

The nest is rather an untidy shallow cup of fine twigs and rootlets. It

is flimsy in structure and the contents or sky can usually be seen through from

underneath. It is placed in the fork of mango—especially bushy grafts—Asupal

(Polyalthea), and similar densely foliaged trees at between 7 and 30 ft. from

the ground, but most often under 15 ft.

The full clutch consists of 3 to 4 beautiful greenish-turquoise eggs.

The Pied Crested Cuckoo commonly foists its eggs on the nest of this

Babbler. Eha (N. & E., 1, 80) records a pair followed by a young one and

a young cuckoo at Bombay, and we have observed the manoeuvres of this

cuckoo in its cuckolding quest at Kihim (26 August 1980).

The Common Babbler: Argya caudata caudata (Dumont).

Field identification: Small brown bird, boldly streaked above, and with

long loose graduated tail. ‘Looks like a miniature hen pheasant in flight’

(Whistler). Size about that of a bulbul.

Specimens: St. Xavier’s College: 72 ¢ 8-9-83 Gorégaon; 86 JS 25-9-33

Jiba (H. A.).

Noted: Andheri, Bassein; 8 miles from Thana on Poona Road.

Resident. The Common Babbler is very rare in Salsette, as it is on the

coastal strip of the adjacent mainland. It inhabits dry open scrub country.

It has not been observed by us in the neighbourhood of Kihim (Kolaba District)

at all during the course of several years watching.

Breeding: From the condition of their gonads both the specimens (8 and

25 September) were evidently breeding. The testes of the former were enlarged

to 15x10 mm. On 25 April (1935) a pair was observed accompanied by two

juveniles just out of nest on a small scrub-covered hillock at Andhéri where a

sisterhood of 6 to 8 birds is known to be resident.

The breeding season here is apparently as ill-defined as it is in other parts

of its distributional range.

The Deccan Scimitar Babbler; =Pomatorhinus horsfieldi horsfieldi: Sykes.

Field identification: A dark-coloured skulker, usually in dense forest or

bamboo jungle, with a curved yellow beak and a prominent white eye-brow.

Size slightly larger than Bulbul.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: 0? 2-8-25 Kandivli; ¢ (607.

9-9-28) Hills on Thana-Godbunder Road (8. A.). St. Xavier's College: 170 &

19-11-88 Borivli (H. A.).

Noted: Gédbunder and the wooded hills in North Salsette; Parol Para and

Salado (Kolaba District); Ghats (Mahableshwar, Panchgani, Khandala, etc.).

As pointed out by Messrs. Kinnear and Whistler (J.B.N.H.S., xxxv, 742)

birds from our area are really intermediate between the large pale race with

a long beak—P. h. obscurus—from the north-western portion of the range of

this species, and the richly-coloured race from the south-west—P. h. travan-

coreensis. Our specimens have practically no trace of the rufous tinge on

the back, and in this particular approximate more closely to the latter form.

Resident. The Scimitar Babbler ts not uncommon in the well-wooded northern

parts of Salsette. It is partial to bamboo patches and low dense bush jungle

on the hillsides. The birds usually move about in small scattered flocks of

4 to 7 individuals and are very shy, keeping to the seclusion of thick cover

and seldom showing themselves. Their mellow gurgling ‘whistles’ however

invariably give away their presence in any locality, and they can be decoyed

long distances by an imitation of their calls. Their food consists largely of

insects which are picked off the branches and trunks of trees as well as

raummaged for among fallen leaves in typical babbler fashion.

‘An unidentified Cuculus (C. micropterus?) reproduces the call of this species

to perfection’ (H. A.).

_ Breeding: We have no information concerning its breeding in Salsette,

but elsewhere in its range it is said to do so between January and May.

The White-throated Babbler; Dumetia hyperythra albogularis (Blyth).

Field identification: A small bird of a light brown colour, and a_ pure

white patch on the throat. Size about that of a sparrow.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: 0? 7-6-25, 0? 14-6-25 Cheim-

bar (S. A.); 0? juv. 28-9-28 Vehar, 0? ad. 30-9-28 Vikhroli (McCann). St.

Xavier's College: 51 g 19-8-83 Gorégaon (H. A.).

96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Noted: Government House Grounds (Malabar Hill), behind Gaikwar’s

Palace (Nepean Sea Road), Somerset Lodge grounds (Warden Road), hills on

Thana-Gédbunder Road, Andhéri, Jogéshwari, Mulund, Powa; Kihim, Alibag

and elsewhere in Kolaba District. ; :

Resident. In 1926 (July) 8S. A. found this little Babbler quite common 1n

the jungly undergrowth of bushes and scrub on either side of the main drive

through Government House grounds by the Walkéshwar Road entrance. The

environment in this secluded locality was eminently suitable for this species,

and we suspect that the birds seen at the only two other places within town

limits subsequently were stragglers from the colony resident here. We have

no more recent information concerning the grounds. Possibly there may be

other rambling compounds in the Malabar Hill area still capable of affording

refuge to the species for some time longer.

In the northern part of Bombay island and all through the scrub and

wooded country about the foot of the hills in Salsette, the White-throated

Babbler is not uncommon. It is usually met with in flocks of 10-12 birds

which hop about restlessly amongst tall grass stems and undergrowth, or on

the ground below, in search of insects. The members keep up a low ‘cheep-

cheep’ or ‘swee-swee’ of about the volume of a sunbird’s calls, varied occasionally

by harsher twittering notes, especially when agitated.

We have frequently observed them feeding on nectar from the flowers of

Erythrina indica and E. stricta, two common trees in Salsette.

Breeding: The breeding season proper in this area commences in the latter

part of June after the rains have well set in and the luxuriant growth of

monsoon vegetation is up. It lasts till September, but the best time is un-

doubtedly till the beginning or middle of August. We have records of nests

in various stages as follows: 4 July (782) Andheri; 18 July (26) Government

House grounds (Malabar Hill); 80 July (735) Mulund; 20 September ('25)

Chembur.

On 29 August (26) a three-quarters grown young in loose juvenile plumage

and stub tail was observed with parents at Chembur, while the specimen col-

lected at Vikhroh by Mr. McCann on 23 September (’28) was one of a party

of 3 juveniles lately out of nest.

Tho nest is a neat ball-shaped structure about 6 in. in diameter, composed

on the exterior of coarse grasses or bamboo leaves with the entrance hole on

one side. It is lined with finer grasses. Eha (C.B.B., 85) writes of one he

found in a Bombay garden that was made of the curly paper shavings used

in packing eau-de-cologne bottles.

Tt is usually placed from 38 to 6 ft. from the ground in a ‘Ber’, Ixora or

other thorny bush, often overgrown with monsoon creepers. Humayun Abdulali

found one at the base of the leaf-stalks of a small date palm at a height of

about 3 ft.

Three to four eggs is the normal clutch. They are white in ground colour,

spotted and blotched all over with reddish-brown.

The nests from ‘Tanna and Khandalla’ recorded by Wenden (J.B.N.H.S.,

iv, 241) as belonging to D. h. hyperythra doubtless were of this form.

The Yellow-eyed Babbler; Chrysomma sinensis sinensis (Gmelin).

Field identification: ‘Small rufous bird with white under parts and a

rather long full tail; orange eyelids are conspicuous’ (Whistler).

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: 0? 21-3-24, 0? 14-6-25, 9

17-11-27 foot of Trombay Hills, Chembir (S. A.). St. Xavier’s College: 68 3

8-9-38 Gorégaon (H. A.).

Noted: Kandivli, Borivli, Kanhéri Caves, Mulund, Powai, Trombay, Thana-

Godbunder Road, Parsik etce.; Kihim and elsewhere in Kolaba District; Nasik.

Resident. We have not come across this Babbler within the limits of the

city .proper, but it is common in scrub jungle about the suburbs and in

Salsette generally. It goes about in small parties of 4 or 5, hunting among

the bushes and grass stems for insects and occasionally clinging upside down

in the manner of a tit. The note usually uttered is a clear, loud and somewhat

plaintive ‘cheep’, but sometimes—and frequently during the breeding season—

the males clamber up to exposed situations and utter a loud and pretty song.

These Babblers are amongst the usual habitués of the Coral tree (Hrythrina) in

season, and feed extensively on the nectar of its blossoms.

———

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THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE oi

Breeding: The breeding season is during the rains, principally from July

to September. We have records of the following nests: 9 July ((28) Powai;

18 July (’35) Trombay; 5 August Powai; 29 August (’26) Chembur; 9 Sep-

tember (28) Hills on Gédbunder-Thana Road; 22 October (’33) Kihim.

N. & E., vol. i, p. 97, mentions a clutch of 5 eggs taken on 10 October and

a nest with 8 chicks and 1 egg on 30 October at Igatpuri.

The nest is a beautifully built deep cup of coarse grasses lined with finer

material and is usually sparsely to moderately cemented on the outside with

cobwebs. It is hung hammockwise between the upright stems of grasses or

monsoon plants, or wedged into some crotch of a bush, from 18 in. to 4 or 5 ft.

from the ground. The supporting stems or twigs are incorporated into the wal!

of the nest which is sometimes carefully concealed and at others absurdly

conspicuous. When approached closely, the incubating bird slips off the nest,

but skulks away through the undergrowth for some distance before taking to

wing. It returns to the nest in the same circumspect manner.

The cup is so deep that the contents are seldom visible unless looked at

from directly above. When incubating—especially when crouching low at the

approach of an observer—all that can be seen of the bird is its beak sticking

obliquely up at one end of the nest and its tail at the other. The eye peers

just over the rim and surreptitiously follows the movements of the intruder. —

Four eggs comprise the normal clutch in our area. They are fairly glossed

yellowish-white in ground colour (with a pinkish tinge when fresh) and finely

speckled with purplish-brown. . . . In shape they are roundish oval and

measure about 17x15 mm.

Both sexes incubate and feed the young. The period of incubation has not

been determined, but the young leave the nest 12 or 13 days after hatching.

The Spotted Babbler: Pellorneum ruficeps ruficeps Swainson.

Field identification: Small fluffy olive-brown bird, usually skulking in

undergrowth, on or near the ground running about like quail; a reddish-brown

cap; whitish under-parts with breast heavily streaked. Size little larger than

a sparrow.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: 8 juveniles 16-9-28 Hills near

Godbunder (S. A.); @ 1-1-09 Andhéri, @ 22-9-12 Borivli (N. B. Kinnear).

St. Xavier’s College: 35 3 16-7-33 Powai, 44 Q 23-7-83 Kanheri, 98 2 28-9-33

Borivli (H. A.).

Noted: Mulund; Kihim, Par6él Para, Mahableshwar and _ other wooded

localities in the Thana, Kolaba and Satara Districts.

Resident. The Spotted Babbler is not uncommon in the well-wooded hilly

portions of Salsette. The birds are seen singly or in pairs, skulking in thick

undergrowth or rummaging among fallen leaves on the ground in search of

insects. They walk or run along the ground like quail, but also proceed by

long hops in the typical ‘seven sisters’ manner. The birds are usually shy

and retiring, but curiously enough they are remarkably tame at Kihim where

they commonly keep about the hedges in the village and its precincts, some-

times even entering the verandahs of tenanted dwellings. The usual call-notes

have often been likened to a plaintive ‘Pret-ty sweet’. They have also been

rendered elsewhere as ‘He will beat you’, ‘He'll beat you’ or merely ‘He'll beat’.

These are repeated every two seconds or so for quite ten minutes or more at

a time. Besides, it has a loud and percussive song of several whistling notes

rambling up and down the scale, and more frequently heard during the breeding

season. It is uttered from some elevated perch. The alarm call is a loud

‘kraa, kraa, kraa’ etc. with the throat feathers bristling.

Breeding: We have not taken the nest of this species in Salsette but

the breeding season here seems to be the monsoon. The three specimens col-

lected on 16 September were juveniles, lately out of nest, and juveniles in

company with parents have also been observed on 80 August at Kihim, and

one rescued from village urchins on 3 September. The number of young usually

accompanying parents is 38 or 4.

The nest is a rough globe-shaped structure of grass and leaves placed on the

ground under the shelter of a stone or bush.

As pointed out in the Hyderabad State Ornithological Report (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxxvi, 879) the statement on p. 288 of the Fauna (vol. i) that this Babbler

apparently does not breed below about 2,000 ft. is erroneous. Ixihim is on the

9 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST, (SOCIETY, Vol. XO

sea-coast and the whole of Salsette is also well under that elevation, but there

is no doubt as to the species breeding in these localities.

The Bombay Quaker Babbler; Alcippe poioicephala brucei Hume.

Field identification: A rather slim babbler, with the usual nondescript

olive-brown plumage and a grey cap. Size about the same as last.

Specimen: Bombay Natural History Society: 3 20-11-27 Kandivli (Mc-

Cann).

Noted: Hulls near Tulsi Lake; Parol Para (Alibag Talak), Roha (Kolaba

District); Mahableshwar, etc.

Resident (?). The Quaker Babbler is rather rare in Salsette and confined

only to the well-wooded hills in the north of the island, where we have come

across it sporadically and sparingly. It is essentially a bird of wet forest of

secondary aspect and as such, much more common at Mahableshwar and in

areas of heavy rainfall on the Ghats.

The birds move about restlessly in flocks of 5 or 6 individuals among the

foliage of tall trees as well as in bushy undergrowth, hunting for insects. T'wo

or three such flocks may frequently be seen together and in association with

other avian species. The males have a pretty trilly whistling call or ‘song’

of 4 notes, of the consistency of a Magpie-Robin’s, which is constantly uttered

and is usually the first intimation of their presence in any locality.

Breeding: We have no information as to whether this Babbler breeds in

Salsette.

The Central Indian lora: Mgithina tiphia humei Stuart Baker.

Tora zeylonica of KHA.

Local Name: Cheroka.

Field identification: Male in breeding plumage ‘a black and yellow bird

about the size of a tomtit. The top of its head, with all its back and upper

parts, is as black as a newly-brushed boot, with a white band across the

wings . . . the whole under parts, from chin to tail, are a bright gamboge

yellow’ (Aitken). In the female the black is replaced by greenish-yellow.

The male in winter loses much of the black and is then very similar to the

female.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: Q 7-2-24 Pali Hill (Bandra)

(S. A.); & (No. 208.81-12-07) 26-3-99 Trombay Island (Major H. J. Walton);

3S (No. 1876.31-12-07) 27-11-99 Hog Island (EK. Comber). St. Xavier’s College:

23 juvenile 6-7-3838 Gorégaon (H. A.).

Noted: Bombay city: Khétwadi and Girgaum (1914); Chaupati, Malabar

Hill, Victoria Gardens, Fort, Colaba, etc. Suburbs and Salsette: Bandra,

Santa Cruz, Khar, Andhéri, Borivli, Kandivi, Chembur, Thana, Powai Lake,

Mulund, Bhandip, Gédbunder, Elephanta Island and on adjacent mainland.

More or less ubiquitous.

Resident. The Jora is a common and familiar bird both within the limits

of the city and suburbs and also farther afield. It frequents gardens, mango

orchards and secondary jungle usually in pairs which hunt for insects among

the foliage of trees, the birds keeping in touch with each other by mellow

whistles and short musical chirrups. The nuptial display consists of the male

chasing the female about impetuously from branch to branch and tree to

tree, posturing before her with wings drooping, rump feathers arched and

fluffed out and tail slightly cocked, to the accompaniment of chirruping notes,

a variety of musical whistles or a long drawn ‘chee-ee’. Another very familiar

and spectacular turn in the display consists of the male springing perpendi-

cularly from a branch several feet up into the air, hovering, fluffing out and

exhibiting his white rump feathers and parachuting down like a fluffy ball.

Breeding: We have taken or seen nests in the city and suburbs at Khétwadi

(1913), Malabar Hill, Andhéri, Bandra, Chembur, Borivli and elsewhere, too

many to enumerate.

The season in our area and on the adjacent mainland is from May to

September, our earliest date being 5 May and latest 4 September. July and

August is the best time for eggs. The normal clutch here is almost invariably

of three eggs, but sometimes—probably in the case of second layings—two

are found.

The nest is a beautiful compact cup of fine grasses or fibres, well and

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 99

neatly plastered over with cobwebs. It is placed in a crotch of twigs from

-4 to 30 ft. from the ground, but oftenest between 6 and 12. Hither the

supporting twigs and leaves are worked into the wall or firmly wound round

with cobwebs. Mango, Bauhinia, Lime (Citrus) and Ber (Zizyphus) trees are

largely favoured. .

The eggs are pale pinkish-white, blotched with purplish-brown and measure

about 17:5x14 mm.

Both sexes partake in building the nest, incubation and tending the young.

The nest in one case took five days to build and there was a pause of a day

before the first egg was laid. The eggs are laid at intervals of about 24

hours and—as far as we have been able to ascertain—only early in the

mornings. Incubation commences from the first egg, both sexes brooding more

or less alternately, but it is fitful and irregular (even in wet weather) until

the full clutch is completed. We have only found the female brooding at

night.

“The number of eggs and young of the Iora that come to grief is appalling.

Within town limits the chief culprit is the House-Crow, with the Boy a

good second. In the suburbs and outlying parts of Salsette, Jungle Crows,

Crow-Pheasants, snakes, monitor and Calotes lizards do considerable destruction.

The Malabar Gold-fronted Chloropsis ; Chloropsis aurifrons frontalis (Pelzeln).

Field identification: Similar to the next, but with the forehead touched

with bright gold. The chin is black in adults of both sexes, but pale green

in the young.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: 3 Q 28-11-27 Mulund Hills

overlooking Tulsi Lake (S. A.); 3 22-10-28 Tialsi Lake (McCann). St. Xavier's

College: 7 3 28-7-33 Tulsi Lake (H. A.).

Noted: Kandivli, Gédbunder, Kihim, Roha, etc. (Kolaba District).

Resident. The Gold-fronted Chloropsis or Green Bulbul is fairly common

in the better wooded parts of the island, especially in the environs of the

three lakes in Salsette which furnish the city’s water supply. It is thoroughly

arboreal in its habits, and hunts systematically among the foliage of trees for

insects, clinging upside down and in all manner of acrobatic positions in the

search. Being of a grass green colour and harmonizing admirably with the

surrounding leaves, it is oftener heard than seen, but even so it is such an

accomplished mimic of the calls of other birds that it frequently passes for

them and is overlooked. We have heard it imitating to perfection the following

species: Tailor-bird, Red-whiskered Bulbul, the defiant Shikra-like notes of the

Black Drongo, Tora, White-breasted Kingfisher, Rufous-backed Shrike and

several notes of the Magpie Robin. The calls are often very puzzling since

they are produced long after the originals have left the locality on seasonal

migration, a fact which postulates a remarkably retentive memory on_ the

part of the mimic. The different impersonations follow one another in quick

succession without a break, and convey to the hearer an impression that a

plenary session of a veritable avian League of Nations is in progress! On

approaching the tree from which this Babel emanates, a_ solitary Chloropsis

or a pair fly out and the illusion is at an end. Its own call or ‘song’ of

several notes is wedged in between the imitations.

Insects and spiders form a large part of the diet of this Chloropsis, but

berries are also eaten and the nectar of many flowers is regularly imbibed.

We have observed it in this quest probing into the blossoms of EHrythrina,

Bombax and Calycopteris floribunda.

The adult female shot on 28 November had less and duller orange on the

forehead and the blue cheek- or moustachial-streaks somewhat less defined,

but the chin and throat were black and not pale green as have been described

for this sex in the Fauna (i, 348). The latter description in reality applies

to first winter birds of both sexes as pointed out by Messrs. Whistler and

Kinnear: (J. B.N.H.S., xxxv, 752).

Breeding: We have no data in regard to the breeding of this species in

Salsette.

Jerdon’s Chloropsis : Chloropsis jerdoni (Blyth).

Phyllornis jerdoni of KEHA (who appears to have confused it with aurifrons).

Field identification: A beautiful grass green bird with the chin black in

the male and blue in the female. Size about that of a Bulbul.

100 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: ¢ 20-12-23 Andhéri (Prater) ;

Noted: Kandivli (Salsette), Kihim, Parol Para, Roha, etc. (Kolaba Dis-

trict).

Resident. A fairly common species in Salsette and a bird of somewhat

opener country than the last, frequenting mango orchards, gardens, groves of

trees and thin forest. 5

It is also an excellent mimic and there is not much in its voice, habits

or food to distinguish it from its Gold-fronted congener. On Coral trees in

bloom, where it is a regular habitué, it plays the blustering bully, attacking

and driving away every other bird feeding on the nectar not only in its im-

mediate vicinity, but often a good distance away in another part of the tree.

Sometimes we have even observed it acting dog-in-the-manger and driviag

away birds from the flowers by swooping down on them repeatedly from a

neighbouring tree to which it returned after each sortie.

On one occasion (8 September 384) Humayun Abdulali observed a pair cap-

turing (and eating) red ants (Ccophylla smaragdina) on a mango branch.

Every ant caught in the beak was quickly but deliberately rubbed into the

tail feathers before being swallowed. Humayun Abdulali speculates that this

process may help to wipe off the unpalatable formic acid from the squeezed

victims. A separate note on this interesting observation has been published by

Salim Ali elsewhere in this Journal. (vol. xxxvili, pp. 628-31).

Breeding: We have not been able to obtain any first-hand evidence, but

KHA (C.B.B., 93) has taken a nest and thinks that March and April is the

usual season here. It is said to be a loose cup-shaped structure placed at

the end of a branch of some large tree. Two or three white eggs with claret

coloured spots are laid.

The Grey Hypocolius: Hypocolius ampelinus Bonap.

Specimen: Bombay Natural History Society: CS 14-11-80 Kihim (Kolaba

District).

Vagrant. ‘The normal habitat of this bird is Persia and along the shores

of the Persian Gulf. The record of its occurrence in our neighbourhood is

an exceptional one, there being altogether not more than two or three others

for the whole of the Indian Empire.

Further particulars regarding the specimen will be found on page 1061 of

volume xxxiv of this Journal.

FAMILY: PyYCNONOTIDA.

The Red-Vented Bulbul: Molpastes cafer cafer (Linnaeus).

Pycnonotus haemorrhous of EHA.

Field identification: ‘Cheerful smoky brown bird, with its face and fine

crested head glossy black. The ‘‘under-tail coverts’’ as they are called in polite

society are crimson’ (HHA).

Specimen: St. Xavier's College: 9 G 22-1-83 Andhéri (H. A.).

Noted: Bombay City: Warden Road, Malabar Hill, Government House

grounds, Khétwadi and Girgaum (1913), Chaupati, Victoria Gardens, Willingdon

Sports Club grounds and elsewhere. Suburbs, Salsette and adjacent mainland:

Pah Hill, Bandra, Khar, Trombay Hills, Chembur, Powai Lake, Borivli, God-

bunder, Thana, etc.; Kihim, Uran, Albag, HElephanta Island and elsewhere in

Kolaba District.

Resident. The Red-vented Bulbul is a common and familar species of

gardens and residential compounds, both within city lmits and in the suburbs.

It also frequents the low country in Salsette generally, being less common

in the hills where its Red-whiskered congener more or less replaces it. Along

with numerous other bird species, it feeds largely on the nectar of flowers

especially Hrythrina and Bombax. We have also observed it nipping open

the explosive buds of Loranthus scurrula and L. longiflorus, probing into them

for the nectar and transporting quantities of pollen on its forehead.

Among thé berries commonly eaten and for the seed -dispersal of which

this and other Bulbuls are undoubtedly largely responsible in our area, may

be mentioned Lantana camara, Streblus asper, Mimusops hexandra, Vitis sp.,

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 101

Flacourtia montana, Jasminum malabaricum and Loranthus spp. Some insects

are likewise taken. Flying termites are greatly relished and we have also

geen several birds hopping about on the ground picking up small black ants

emerging with their eggs from a hole.

Breeding: We have taken or seen nests, too numerous to detail, between

the end of April and the beginning of October. The nest is a cup of rootlets

with sometimes a little cobweb on the outside, placed at heights between 3

and 30 ft. from the ground but oftenest under 10 ft. The site selected is

usually shrubs, creepers in verandahs, stunted date palms, cactus hedges, Ficus

sprouts in wells or old walls etc. A particularly favourite site on the coast

is the pollarded Bhendi (Thespesia) trees, and pruned Guava grafts in gardens

seldom fail to attract the birds.

The normal clutch in these parts consists of two or three eggs which are

pinkish-white in ground colour, more or less profusely blotched with purplish-

brown or claret. There is considerable casualty among the nests due to rain,

wind, etc., and the mortality among eggs and nestlings is heavy—lizards, snakes,

crows, crow-pheasants, koels and boys being some of the agents that contribute

to it.

The eggs are laid early in the mornings at intervals of about 24 hours.

Incubation commences with the first egg as a result of which there is a marked

disparity between the sizes of the chicks in the nest.

The White-eared Bulbul: Molpastes leucogenys leucotis (Gould).

Sind or Persian Bulbul of HHA.

Field identification: General appearance like the last, but with the cheeks

white and the patch of crimson under the tail replaced by sulphur yellow. Size

same as last.

Specimen: St. Xavier’s College: 8 3 16-8-33 Gorégaon (H. A.).

Noted: Vikhrdli (Salsette); Réwas (Kolaba District).

Status uncertain, but apparently a recent immigrant and fast establishing

itself as a resident. Our impression is that this bird, first reported to us by

Mr. C. McCann in 1928 as a surprise straggler in our locality, has since been

on the increase—though very gradual (see J.B.N.H.S., xxxvu, 221). They are

either descendants of escaped cage birds that have established themselves and

multiplied, or represent a southward extension of range from Gujerat where

the species is common, or both these factors operating together.

‘In Salsette and across the Harbour, at Réwas, they are always seen

associated with Clerodendron inerme and Salvadora persica. As these plants do

not grow far from mud-flats, the birds are also seen in similar terrain. The

same association was also observed at Cambay (Gujerat) where the bird is

common.’ (H. A.)

The Southern Red-whiskered Bulbul; Otocompsa jocosa fuscicaudata Gould.

Local Name: Inglees Bulbul or sometimes Mahableshwar Bulbul.

Field identification: ‘Sprightly bird . . . dark brown above, white below,

with a white patch on the cheeks, and a broken gorget across the breast; a

crimson tuft below the eye and a similar patch of colour under the tail’

(Whistler). It has a perky crest often likened to Mr. Punch’s cap. Size

same as last.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: o? 16-38-24 Vihar Lake

(S. A.). St. Xavier's College: 69 ¢ 8-9-38 Gorégaon (H. A.).

Noted: Warden Road, Malabar Hill; Pali Hill—Bandra; Powai Lake;

Chembur, Trombay Hills, Borivli, Kandivli, Andhéri, Godbunder, Thana, ete. ;

Kibim, Alibag and elsewhere in the Kolaba District and also in the sur-

rounding country.

Resident. The Red-whiskered Bulbul is easily the commonest bird in the

hills of Salsette where the jungle has been cleared and dense scrub (mainly

Lantana camara and Holarrhena antidysenterica) has taken its place. Within

city limits and in the suburbs it is less abundant than the Red-vented Bulbul.

It is of a tame and confiding disposition and in food and habits closely

resembles the last-named.

It seems remarkable that such a keen naturalist and observer as HHA

should have fallen into the error of saying about this bulbul (C.B.B., 89) that:

102 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCKET Y >> Voly XOOGrx

. . the cheeks (or ears) of the male are crimson and those of the female pure

white’. This, of course, is incorrect as the adult sexes are indistinguishable

in appearance, both having the red ‘whiskers’. In young birds, however, the

red whiskers are lacking and the undertail coverts are a pale orange-rufous

or salmon colour.

Breeding: The breeding season in our area lasts from March to October,

and we have records of numerous nests during these months.

The nest is similar to that of the Red-vented Bulbul and placed in bushes,

hedges or small trees generally from a few inches to within 7 or 8 ft. of the

ground. Occasionally the site selected is the thatch or palm-leaf walls and

roofs of tenanted huts, the birds sitting complacently on their eggs or feeding

the young within a few inches of the inmates. The normal clutch consists

of two or three eggs which are similar in colour and markings to those of

the Red-vented species. The period of incubation is 15-16 days. Two, or

sometimes even three, broods are frequently reared or attempted in succession,

the casualty among the eggs and young being amazingly heavy.

Both birds share in the construction of the nest, rearing of the young and

presumably also in incubation. The nest takes three or four days to complete

and there is usually a pause of a day—sometimes two—before the first egg is

laid. The eggs are laid at intervals of about 24 hours and early in the morn-

ing i.e. approximately between 6 and 7-30 a.m. Brooding sometimes com-

mences fitfully from the first egg, but the nest is left unattended through long

periods of the day and during night until the full clutch has been laid. In-

cubation is taken up earnestly thereafter though in the early stages it is often

very intermittent during the day. .

Although strictly speaking outside the scope of this paper, a distributional

peculiarity of the Red-vented and Red-whiskered Bulbuls in a neighbouring

area of the adjacent mainland is perhaps here worthy of note. The distance

between Mahableshwar (4,500 ft.) and Panchgani (4,400 ft.) on the Western

Ghats is about 10 miles, yet the average annual rainfall at the former is

between 225 and 275 inches while the latter receives only about 60 inches,

both during the South-West Monsoon. The Red-whiskered Bulbul is one of

the commonest birds about Mahableshwar as is the Red-vented species at

Panchgani, either to the more or less complete exclusion of the other. About

two miles from Lingmala Falls towards Panchgani stretches the almost sword-

cut line of demarcation between the zones occupied by the two species and along

this may also be said to he the boundary between the evergreen vegetation of

the humid, heavy-rainfall area of Mahableshwar and the drier, deciduous country

as about Panchgani.

The status of the Bulbuls in these two popular hill stations is so remarkable

that it cannot fail to strike even a casual observer.

The White-browed Bulbul: Pycnonotus luteolus luteolus (Lesson).

Ixos luteolus of EHA.

Local Name: Khar-bulbul.

Field identification: ‘A clumsier bird than the other bulbuls, uncrested and

clad in an unaesthetic garb of brownish-greenish olive, passing into dusky

ereenish-yellowish white on the under parts. There is no bright colour about

it, but its eye-brows are conspicuously white. A loud, abrupt, rattling snatch

of a song.’ (Kha). Size as of the Red-vented Bulbul.

Specimens: Bombay Natural History Society: o? 8-83-24 Pali Hill—Bandra

(S. A.); (No. 604.8-7-28) 22-6-28 Malad (E. Henricks). St. Xavier’s College:

10 3 2-8-8383 Gorégaon (H. A.).

Noted: Warden Road, Cumballa Hill; Pherozesha Mehta Gardens and

Government House grounds, Malabar Hill; Haffkine Institute grounds, Parél;

Khar, Andhéri, Trombay Hills, Chembur, Borivli, Kandivli and elsewhere in

Salsette; Uran, Kihim, Alibag, etc. across the Harbour.

Resident. This bulbul is common in the gardens of the outlying residential

portions of the city and suburbs, and also in the scrub country at the base

of the hills in Salsette.

It goes about in pairs, but is oftener heard than seen as it bursts forth

every now and again into loud abrupt snatches of song. It is usually shy,

but a pair observed in the shrubbery bordering the Pherozesha Mehta Gardens

on Malabar Hill (July 1925) appeared to have become thoroughly sophisticated

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE 108

and were not at all perturbed by the proximity and bustle of the throngs of

people out to ‘eat the air’ on a Sunday afternoon. From their behaviour it

was evident that they had a nest in the shrubbery near the Post Office end

of the garden. We have no recent information as to whether these birds

still persist, but thanks to the presence of many suitable gardens and compounds

in that neighbourhood, they are very probably still there.

The food of this bulbul consists of berries and fruit of many kinds, the

more prominent species among them being Lantana camara, Mimusops hexandra,

Streblus asper and various Fici. Spiders and insects are also eaten but to a

lesser extent.

Breeding: 'The season lasts from early March to the end of August. Lt.

H. E. Barnes (J.B.N.H.S., iv, 249) found it breeding on Mount Sion (Salsette)

in July and August. Aitken (N. & E., i, 190) found a nest with c/2 on

14 September, and we have seen a nest with two newly-hatched chicks as

late as 3 October. It is possibly double-brooded.

The nest is similar to that of the Red-vented Bulbul and is composed of

rootlets etc. without any extra lining. It is flimsy and loosely put together.

The site selected is in some low bush such as Lantana or Karonda (Carissa)

seldom more than 4 ft. from the ground. The highest noted by Humayun

Abdulali was in a date palm at about 15 ft., but it was never completed.

One of our nests (containing young) was placed in (or on) the leaf of a young

date palm about 12 in. off the ground. The leaf overhung a used cattle path,

so that it must have been constantly brushed aside and violently shaken by

the animals passing to and fro!

Almost invariably two eggs are laid, but Humayun Abdulali has once found

only a single. The owners do not create the usual bulbul row when the nest

is being pried into or handled. They merely sit at a distance and utter a

low ‘krr-kurr’ etc. of displeasure and concern at intervals which may be

abruptly switched on into the merry rattling song.

(To be continued).

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES.

a cpa es

(With a plate).

The following notes are submitted in the hope that they may

be of assistance to impecunious sportsmen, like myself, who are

unable to budget in thousands for their annual shooting holiday.

That shikar and a lively interest in Natural History is not neces-

sarily a rich man’s pastime can be amply proved by the results

I have obtained. It was the chance remark of a young friend

in the Indian Army, who deplored the fact of his inability to

go on a month’s shooting trip due to the expense involved that

induced me to write these notes.

The first recommendation I have to make to anyone wishing

to shoot in the Central Provinces is to buy, beg, borrow or steal

a copy of Dunbar-Brander’s classic work, Wild Animals in the

Central Provinces. With the help of the wonderful notes on the

Fauna of the province, their habits, hints on shikar etc. one

cannot fail to succeed in obtaining good trophies, and a complete

education in the ways of the Wild. Make this book your constant

companion at home and in the jungle, study your failures and

successes in relation to Brander’s observations, and you will in

one month learn what our predecessors took years to discover

by experience. Before going to your shooting block, please remem-

ber that there are several methods of transport. Except for

short distances up to 200 miles or so a car is an expensive luxury.

Tt is all right to get about in, but no shooting is permitted in

the Government Reserved Forests from cars, and very rightly

too. Besides one can see far more game in one’s block by getting

about on one’s flat feet than in a car.

It is not essential to travel first class by rail, especially in a

case where a journey of 500 miles is involved; with a certain

amount of discomfort a friend of mine travelled 700 miles recently

by intermediate class, and at a fraction of the cost of first class

travel. I think it worked out at one-quarter of the cost, and

was the only means by which he could balance his shooting

budget. During the trip he improved his knowledge of the lan-

guage, and the nature of the country to a remarkable extent, so

much so that meeting a landholder of the United Provinces in

the compartment he got an invitation to shoot there when he had

some further leave. Most shooting parties move out from the

District station of their block by bus or taxi; to date I had always

done so and paid heavily for the doubtful privilege. This year,

however, due to Election ‘fever’ not a single conveyance was avail-

able, so that I was compelled to fall back on either bullock-cart

or pony tonga. I chose the latter and got a very pleasant sur-

prise. Two ponies were harnessed to each tonga, of which I had

Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

My orderly

Tiger male 9 ft. 8 in.

Spotted Deer 35 in.

Sajnoo Shikart.

Mandla 19386.

Mandla 1986,

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 105

two to fit myself, servants and kit; and they got me to my block,

a distance of 42 miles in ten hours including halts for resting the

ponies and food. I have never enjoyed a trip as much before.

It was a unique experience and at the same time a very satis-

factory mode of transport inasmuch as my total expenses were

a paltry Rs. 16 as against Rs. 42 usually paid to the bus-wallah.

So much for cutting down expenses for the route. There are

several other ways of economising, that will suggest themselves

to the reader; I for one never beat for tiger, partly on account

of the expense, and also due to the fact that in a beat for a

guest of mine, where I accompanied the beaters, a wounded

tiger turned back and just missed bagging me. From that day

I have decided that it is not fair to the beaters to ask them to

drive tiger with sticks and stones, when the sportsman with a

rifle is safe up a tree. When writing to the Forest Officer of

the District you have decided upon visiting, for a block, ask for

two or three blocks at least, this enables him to allot you one

in case any of the others are already reserved. It is best to

write a couple of months ahead for the block. The block fee is

Rs. 25 a month plus Rs. 10 for the new Game license, which

the District Forest Officer can obtain for you from the Deputy

Commissioner of the District. After obtaining your block, write

thanking the District Forest Officer and ask him to let you know

the best site to camp, and the nearest route from the Railway

station or District Headquarters, also ask for the address of the

Range Officer responsible for your particular block. So far I have

found the Forest Officials in the Central Provinces very helpful

and courteous in their dealings with me. On _ obtaining this

information, arrange your plans, write to the Range Officer,

informing him that you will be reaching the block by a certain

date and request his assistance in the matter of bodas (buffaloes

for tying up) and a reliable shikari. This officer is usually an

Indian and, whilst being above accepting any gratuity from you,

he can appreciate common courtesy. His help is invaluable and

is freely given, though it is no part of his duties to cater for

sportsmen. -Having established contact, proceed to your block,

take your rifles, kit, tentage and stores with you. Dealing with

these I have the following advice to give:—

Rifles. A heavy double-barrel H. V. rifle is a necessity if

any serious tiger shooting is going to be done (mine is a 450/400

D. B., H. V.). Especially in the case of following up a wounded

animal the value of a quick second shot is most felt. A double-

barrel permits of a very quick snap-shot being taken and in such

circumstances is much more accurate than a bolt action single

barrel type. Take soft nose split bullets for tiger, panther, deer

and similar game, and a few solids for bison if you are lucky enough

to be allowed one on the permit, and what is more, to find one.

I have found twenty rounds quite sufficient for a month’s shoot,

in fact, I have only fired twelve rounds out of this rifle in two

shoots, and only in one case was a second shot required on an

animal.

Next, a medium weight rifle is useful, mine is a 300 Spring-

106 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

field bolt action. This is light enough to be carried by the

sportsman in his wandering round the jungles; is deadly accurate

in taking the very often barely seen neck shots offered by

sambhur and cheetul and in every way will prove its utility in

bringing down black-buck, barking deer, pig etc. Whether to

take a 12-bore shot gun or a -22-bore rook rifle is a moot point.

I favour the latter, as one can pot doves, jungli moorghi, ete. for

the pot with the minimum of noise. A most essential proceed-

ing if you are after tiger. Several shikaries I know use the

12-bore with buckshot or ball on tiger and panther. Unless the

eun is a paradox pattern one, I most strongly recommend that

it is not used in this way. With luck an animal is shot dead,

but in most cases, especially as regards tiger, a follow up is the

result, with danger to the sportsman or the unfortunate villagers

who may encounter the wounded beast. During my last three

shoots I have left my gun at home, as I found it quite super-

fluous on shikar, and one can with a little practice obtain excellent

results with a rifle.

If you are in a district where the use of a torch is permitted

at night for shooting; take it every time; with a good clamp

arrangement to attach it to the rifle one can obtain deadly shots

on any sort of night, dark or moonlhght. Without the torch one

~has to chance a shot at somewhere on the tiger’s body during a

sit up. With the torch one can place a shot in the neck which

will drop the tiger or panther where he stands.

A good pair of binoculars is most useful, as also a set of

country-made skinning knives. Very often skinners are not ob-

tainable and this means having to skin an animal with often enough

very crude assistance from the junglies.

For tentage I reeommend an ordinary 40-lb. ‘officers’ pattern

double fly for oneself, with a grass hut, which the villagers will

run up in a couple of hours for the servants. A canvas tarpaulin

is useful for keeping off the rain from the servants, or for taking

with one when after bison; as very often in this latter case one

has to camp out in the jungles miles from camp.

A portable machan, laced with khaki-dyed newar tape, is

excellent for sitting up, not only is it more comfortable than a

village khattia, but it is not likely to creak at a critical moment.

As regards stores, one has one’s own fancies in tinned provi-

sions, it is advisable to buy these at your home town and bring

them with yourself. All bazar provisions, such as flour, ghee,

salt, sugar, etc., can easily be purchased from the District Head-

quarters nearest to your block. This does not apply to small

wayside stations and one has to make arrangements to bring

everything. At these latter places the only conveyance usually

available is bullock cart, and don’t expect these to move in

mountainous country more than 16 miles a day. Don’t forget to

take about 8 lbs. burnt alum and some arsenical paste for treat-

ing skins with. It is very difficult to get alum in the interior,

also a couple of hundred 38-inch nails for pegging down skins with.

These are far more useful than bamboo pegs and do not tear a

skin half as much.

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 107

Having discussed most of the shikari’s requirements, I leave

out petty odds and ends such as clothes, water bottles, lamps

etc., servants are the next problem. I find that a good cook and

an orderly are quite sufficient. The former is an absolute neces-

sity, the latter if he has been to the jungles before a most

valuable perquisite. He can superintend the tying up of ‘bodas’,

dry curing of skins, cleaning equipment and the hundred and one

odd jobs that crop up in camp.

A stock of essential medicines such as quinine, iodine, salts,

aspirin, permanganate, etc., is very helpful, in fact during the

winter months when the jungles are still very damp—dquinine, or

one of its many compounds is essential to keep off Malaria. Dose

yourself and your servants regularly as fever can ruin the best

arranged shoot. When you are leaving your block make over your

medicines to the Range Officer. He will appreciate them for him-

self and the poor villagers who have helped you in your holiday.

In the jungles medicine is a Godsend, whereas back in civilisation

it is always available.

Having settled where you will go, how you are to get there,

and worked out your programme, expenses ete., decide what

animals you mostly wish to shoot. This depends entirely on your-

self and the type of game available in the district. Roughly

speaking, the distribution of game is as follows:—

Tiger, panther, bear, spotted deer, sambhur, barking deer,

in most or almost all districts of the Central Provinces.

Bison in Mandla, Balaghat, Raipur, Chanda and other dis-

tricts south of the Nerbudda.

Swamp deer (bara-singha) in Mandla only. Shooting in

other districts is prohibited as these fine animals are getting very

scarce.

Buffaloes are preserved throughout the province, as they are

very scarce and only available in the Raipur District.

To illustrate actual experiences let me describe a recent shoot.

Getting down at Mandla Fort this February, I called on the Dis-

trict Forest Officer whom I had met out shooting the previous

year, to make my ‘Salams’ and get the latest news of my block.

In passing I may mention that this particular gentleman is one

of the finest officers that I have met in my wanderings throughout

India, scrupulously fair in his dealings with shikaries, and always

ready to help a fellow sportsman. You will find his type the rule

rather than the exception in the Central Provinces and Govern-

ment forests elsewhere throughout India. After a hearty break-

fast, which IT enjoyed, being ravenously hungry, I set out in search

of a bus or taxi to get me to my block, with the result already

shown. However the tonga journey was a novel—and to me in-

triguing experience, being as I am very keen on horses of any

description. I reached my block the next day as I broke journey

about half way to get a decent sleep in the last dak-bungalow on

the road. Arriving at the Range Officer’s headquarters I was given

a cordial welcome as he was an old acquaintance from the previous

year. Armed with all the newest ‘khabbar’ and with all arrange-

ments for shikaries and ‘bodas’ complete I pushed on to the

108 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

village recommended to me by the District Forest Officer on foot,

a distance of 16 miles, the luggage coming on. by bullock cart.

Camp was pitched about 8 p.m. and after a healthy dinner of

village moorghi and ‘chappaties’ washed down with the last of the

beer I had, prospects of shikar were discussed over a roaring log

fire. It was ascertained that there were two, quite probably three

tigers in the block, and that one of them lamed in a beat some

twelve years back and consequently called ‘lungra’ by the vil-

lagers, was not only remarkable for his size and weight, but also

very bold in his dealings with human beings, having mauled a

couple of beaters and cowherds during his career, and distinguished

himself by nearly pulling a sportsman out of his machan the

previous year. Withal, he was said to be remarkably cunning.

This was a pleasing prospect, further set off by Sajnoo the shikari

waking me up at 4 a.m. to hear a big bara-singh stag roaring. I

have been after a good stag for two years but without success

and hfe was indeed rosy.

It was decided not to fire a shot until ‘Lungra’ was ee to

bag, so that concentration was set upon the tie-ups. The first

three days brought disappointment to everybody; myself because

no kills were made, the shikaries because I would not fire at an

enormous wild boar that we met early one morning on our way

to inspect the ‘bodas’. The fourth day was memorable; coming

down from a high hill where we had sat to look out for bara-singh

in an adjoining maidan we disturbed some animal near a small

spring on the face of the hillside. The wavy motion of the high

erass indicated a tiger moving off, but it was impossible to get

a glimpse of him due to the dense grass which was at least 8 ft.

high. A careful examination of the spot from where he had moved

disclosed this as a favourite lie up of the famous ‘Lungra’. There

were several forms, both old and new where he had rested, and

hair and pugmarks in plenty. These latter bore out the state-

ments of the jungles, that the tiger was very massive. They

were huge and I could fit eleven fingers in the indentation of the

pug. Furthermore the right foot ‘turned inwards considerably

indicating some defect or “deformity in the conformation of the

foot. A start was immediately made for camp by a round-about

way to avoid disturbing the tiger more, and at Sajnoo’s sugges-

tion we started talking in ordinary tones, cut a few bamboos ete.,

as if we were just woodcutters in the jungles by chance, as it

was known that the tiger was very suspicious and any hint of

unusual activity in the jungles sent him in hot haste to safer

quarters. A sudden barking of a barking deer quite close at hand

on the opposite face of the valley seemed to indicate that the

tiger was watching us, and a look through the glasses showed that

the deer was stationary, barking furiously at something in the

bamboo covert, the chattering of a pair of magpies round and

about a particular spot also indicated the presence of the tiger.

That night a buffalo calf tied on the direct path leading down from

the hillside at a place called Karipahar was taken by lungra,

he had however bitten clean through the fore leg by which the

bait was tied near a suitable machan tree and taken it right

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 109

away. The long and short of it all was that we never found a

trace of the kill. This was a gloomy outlook, and indicated an

extraordinarily cunning beast. Strategy was essential to get a

chance at him, so the next night three bodas, all carefully selected

for size were tied up in the ‘same spot. Instead of the usual

picketing peg, each beast was tied to a fairly long and heavy

log of wood, which it could drag to some distance, and the rope

was passed around the base of the horns. The scheme succeeded.

Next morning disclosed two of the bodas hale and hearty, but

some distance from their original picketing poimt, they had bolted

on seeing the tiger and got held up in the jungle by the logs

to which they were tethered. A pool of blood in the path of

the third beast’s drag showed that a kill had taken place and,

what was more, the tiger had dragged boda and log leaving a

clear trail to follow. The next step was to get some of the

village buffaloes and after taking lunch and getting all the requi-

sites for sitting up, to follow up the drag in such a way that

the tiger thinking we were village cowherds had no suspicions that

we were after him. Beating was impossible due to the unbroken

nature of the forest and to the genuine fear the villagers had of

this tiger. It took us forty minutes to locate the kill in a dense

bamboo thicket on a steep face of the hillside. Had I not seen

for myself how the 2-year buffalo calf complete with tethering log,

had been dragged up that hill through dense coverts and over

fallen trees 8 and 4 ft. high off the ground; I could never have

believed a tiger capable of such remarkable strength. It was a

revelation of a tiger’s strength, a path like the track of a roller

marked the progress of the tiger and his kill. It was just as

well that we had taken the precaution of locating the kill with

buffaloes as the tiger was sitting near the Iill in dense bamboo

cover when we found it and was seen moving off across a small

nullah. He was going calmly and without fear, looking back at

the buffaloes who had grouped together on getting sight of him.

Unfortunately I was examining the kill at the time and so missed

a chance of getting him as he crossed the nullah. MHastily and

with the minimum of noise a machan low down in a bamboo clump

was made, well screened with small bushes. TI settled myself

down at 4 p.m. and my men moved off with the buffaloes talking

loudly. At 5 the tiger crossed the nullah, I could not see him,

but distinctly heard the thud as he jumped down the bank, after

that two magpies kept me informed of his every movement, he

crossed the nullah on my right rear, and carefully circled across

my front, not showing an inch of his hide, and with long pauses

behind bushes or bamboo clumps. Having made a _ complete

circle I next heard him sniffing where I had had my tea right

behind me, at this time I thought that he would locate me as

he was only a few yards behind me and I was very low, not more

than 6 ft. off the ground. After this there was silence for a few

minutes and he started circling around the kill again, this time

he made enough noise in the bamboos but was very careful of

showing himself. I only got a very occasional glimpse of his back

or tail. Having satisfied himself that the coast was clear he

110 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

started moving away to cross the nullah on my left rear and gave

me a splendid shot from about 5 yds. I saw him clearly, his

eyes were searching the trees in the vicinity of the kill and

the slight movement I made in raising the rifle caught his atten-

tion. He stopped dead. Whether it was the shock of discover-

ing me or whether it was his intention to pull me out of the machan,

I cannot tell, but he threw his weight back on his hind legs in

the attitude of springing. This was his last action. A shot in

the neck laid him out, with hardly a movement except for a

spasmodic twitching of the tail, and a couple of deep breaths.

By this time, 5-80 p.m., I was feeling the strain. He had kept

me on the alert for 14 hours, and the shock of discovering that

a tiger was cunning enough to look up for a machan, the first

instance of the kind in my experience, set my nerves tingling.

Honestly I felt funked, realismg that I had been horribly careless

about the whole show. After giving him time to die comfortably

I got down from the machan and had a look at him with the

torch. He was a magnificent tiger, by far the best I have ever

shot or seen shot. He taped as he lay 9 ft. 8 in.; with a short

tail he was unusually massive, measuring 16 in. round the wrist,

with an immense head. His shoulders were square at the top,

and his quarters developed to such an extent that he looked like

an exceptionally well fed pony, with a depression along his back

about two fingers deep along the line of his backbone. He was

very pale in colour with wide spaces between the black markings,

indicating an old beast. JI was sorry that I had no machine to

weigh him. Sajnoo and the other forest villagers assured me that

they had a personal knowledge of this animal for the past fifteen

years, partly due to the deformity of his right fore foot. This on

skinning was found to be due to a bullet, traces of which were

found eneysted in the skin near the wrist joint, having broken one

of the bones of the fore arm, which had healed, and also shattered

one of the numerous tendons of the leg, thereby causing the foot

to turn inwards. The wound was quite healed except for a peculiar

raw patch on the skin covering the cyst where the bullet was

embedded. This I think was due to the tiger having fallen into

the habit of licking the spot, either to stop irritation, or merely

from force of habit, as the wound appeared to be of very old

standing. That night was further remarkable due to my getting

an awful fright; after seeing the dead tiger, I got out my blanket

and lay down near the machan on the ground for a comfortable

sleep, as the machan was too cramped and my men had not

turned up with a lantern to take me back to camp. About 1 a.m.

there was a terrible scuffling and roaring going on at the edge

of the forest. I woke up and was up the machan in about three

seconds, whilst the sounds of terrific fighting went on close by.

Roaring, snarls, terrific crashing in the jungle kept me fearfully

excited in my machan for about half an hour after which the

sounds of strife passed on. It was definitely tigers, but what on

earth had happened. Morning and my men brought enlighten-

ment; it appeared that a strange tiger following up the gowlies’

cattle had taken one of my tie-ups, but had been driven off

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES TAME

the kill by another tiger from the range. As the fight took place

almost across the path by which my men were to come for me

they decided to call it a day, and leave me on my machan, whilst

they went back to camp as hard as they could move.

After that luck deserted me in every sense of the term, both

tigers in their fight crossed my block boundary, and were promptly

bagged by a shikar party who had the next block. There was

one possible tiger left but as he had his beat across the hills in a

neighbouring Native State, and only crossed into my jurisdiction

at rare intervals, the chances of getting him were remote. I put

out three tie-ups, on all the roads by which he was known to

come into the block, but for several days nothing turned up.

Meanwhile every effort was made to get a good bara-singha

stag, but though several groups of hinds were seen and one im-

mature stag, the big stag that we had heard calling on my first

night eluded me. At last he was disturbed out of a remote

maidan, in size about half of an average polo-field, by some

wandering cowherds. <A frantic search of two days showed that

he had crossed the road into another block, which was for

practical purposes a sanctuary, as one stag had already been shot

there at Christmas. Moreover the block was not mine, and dis-

appointment for the second year faced me. Everything went

wrong, following up recent traces of a solitary bison, we put up

a fine sambhur stag, pucca 40 in., by the time I changed my

solids for soft nose bullets in the rifle he got away; and we never

saw him again. Terribly disheartening, and I regretted not having

taken the shot with the solids I was loaded with. After all this

down came the rain and as I was camping light, miles away

from camp, everything including myself got a severe drenching.

Malaria which attacks me at the most awkward times set in and

I was laid up for five days. During this period there was a kill

where we were tying up for the State Tiger, but this turned out

to be only a panther. He gave the woman who was bringing in

milk to my camp a fright by growling at her and disputed the

pathway on which he was eating the kill, in the morning; not

having bothered to drag it a few yards into a convenient nullah.

Impudence of this nature deserved punishment, more especially

as my wife was frightfully keen on a skin to match one I had

got her the previous year, for making up an evening coat. Being

too shaky to walk I rode the Ranger’s pony to the scene of the

kill and sat up on a shaky machan, which wobbled alarmingly

every time I had a go of ague. The panther obliged however by

not keeping me waiting more than forty minutes. He was a

short way up the hillside and I could distinctly hear him scratch-

ing himself occasionally; as he was coming up to the kill, a barking

deer set up a continuous noise, and next I heard a tiger ‘pooking’

from the other side of the hill. At the time I thought it was a

sambhur, and taking no further notice I waited till the panther

was below my tree and laid him out with a shot behind the

shoulder, a neck shot being too chancy in my shaky state. As

he rolled over gasping and struggling, a heavy beast crashed up

the hillside for a short distance, after which all was silent. My

112 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

men came up and asked what I had fired at, I told them panther

and showed the animal to them. Sajnoo then went a short way

up the hill, and when he came back his face was eloquent enough.

The pugs showed that a tiger had been moving on to the kill,

had ‘pooked’ seeing the panther and fled at the sound of my shot

at the latter. The panther on being skinned disclosed that the

whole of the chest and neck were one mass of fresh clawmarks

and scars, with a deep hole on the back of the neck. In fact

he bled quite freely from this latter hole when we were carrying

him back to camp. By this time I was too far gone with fever

to even consider sitting up for the chance of the tiger’s return,

which was a wise decision as he never came back. The problem,

of course, which I leave my readers to solve for themselves, is,

Who made the kill? and did the panther which was a big beast

7 {t. 8 in. in length drive off the tiger after a fight, or did the

tiger drive the panther off, and on his leaving the kill in the

morning the panther took his chance for a few mouthfuls. Also

in the evening did the panther attempt the same trick to get a

meal before the tiger put in an appearance. Anyway I never

saw the tiger again.

After this luck changed and one morning whilst I was trying

for a barking deer, which I got, and incidentally one that is almost

a record, the right horn measuring 7 in. from the base to tip, ex-

cluding pedicle, we came across the grandpapa of all the bears

in the block. My shooting was atrocious and it took six shots

to finish him off, after a chase lasting the best part of three

miles up hill. During the course of the chase he turned and

came at us from above twice, once right up to within 4 ft. of

me; but the fates were kind and a shot turned him in each case

so no damage was done. He was a monster almost as round as

a beer barrel.

So far I had been extraordinarily lucky as I had bagged the

best tiger and bear that it had ever been my fate to see, but

leave was drawing to a close and I had to make tracks homeward.

As a last effort however I went to a small bit of jungle just along-

side the main road, where I had heard that there were several

spotted deer, and I wanted a good stag to take his neck and mask

skin to mount a good 84 in. head I had at home. The entire

morning and evening failed to show up a good stag, and I wasn’t

going to offend the Forest Officer by bagging a small head. How-

ever next morning when the carts were moving off I had another

eo, and, as I was coming out of the forest on to the road, I

caught sight of a stag and a couple of does feeding across a

grassy nullah. Moving into place for a shot, a lovely stag showed

himself behind a bush. One quick look through the glasses showed

that he had a fine head in hard horn, being February this

was rather early for this; the shot was a long one every bit of

250 yds. and no rest available. He was only showing his neck

and head, but the little Springfield carried true and he went down

with a broken neck—85 in. on the beam with a beautiful symmetri-

cal head, though rather light in girth.

Besides the above game mentioned, some pig were shot for

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 113

the shikaries, one being a fine boar with 8% in. tushes. Several

sambhur were seen but except for the big stag that got away,

nothing worth adding to a collection consequently none were shot.

The same applies to the only bara-singha stag put up. Two bison

were disturbed, but as their tracks showed them to be cows, they.

were not followed up.

The above represents what a shikari of average means, deter-

mined to work hard for his trophies can get in a shoot lasting

17 days in the jungle, excluding time taken in getting to and

from there, in this case 6 days. Besides the above the author

has obtained a 42 in. sambhur, a 24 in. black-buck, besides other

game in the Central Provinces which shows that there are good

enough heads obtainable.

I think the following measurements may be taken to represent

shootable game :—

Sambhur, shoot nothing under 388 in.

Bara-singha, nothing under 838 in. and full 12 points, though

sometimes a 385 in. or 86 in. head with only 8 and 10 points

can be had, in this case I think a shot is legitimate.

Spotted Deer, 82 in. and over should be your aim.

It is impossible to set a standard on barking deer or 4-hor ned

antelope, though a black-buck under 20 in. in the Central Pro-

vinces is the rule rather than the exception in hilly country.

Bison, of course, is limited to a solitary bull, and in such

cases the horn is usually worn down considerably at the tips,

and would not go to much over 26 in. in length. Girth and

spread. would count as deciding factors in a case like this.

Don’t forget that you are limited to one of each species in

your permit, so that a hasty shot at an immature animal may

well cost you a glorious trophy, which in nine cases out of ten

you will come across when your limit is shot out. Besides which

it is not fair to shoot a poor bara-singha or bison, considering

the comparative rarity of these two species. Nor is it cricket to

shoot a herd bull of the latter species, you may get away with

it; but rest assured that if the District Forest Officer finds out

no excuse will be accepted, and besides a heavy fine, you will

find that your future applications for blocks are turned down

There are far too many tigresses with cubs or bears with cubs

shot, by keen though ignorant sportsmen. The same applies to

animals that are much too small to furnish a trophy worth the

expense of mounting. Let such animals go, even if they kill

your baits; your forbearance will be rewarded sometime. Shoot

panthers of any size, as well as wild dogs as they are a pest and

destroy a lot of game.

Regarding the previous remarks two instances stand out rather

vividly in my memory. The first case was where during a shoot

the writer spared a small tigress with two cubs that came -on

to the kill, and kept him intensely interested whilst they fed.

Later on another sportsman (?) shot the same tigress over a kill

and one of the cubs, which was hardly 7 ft. in length. The other

after starving for some days was beaten to death by some villagers

with sticks. This was in zemindari forest where such things can

8 :

114 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

happen. This man’s greed over one small tigress wiped out the

entire family, which in a few years would have produced at least

some trophies worth keeping.

Another case was where a shikari, and an Englishman at that,

who went on a tour of three months’ shooting in several blocks.

He bagged ten tigers, of all sizes, of which he had two skins

mounted and advertised the rest for sale. What good did he do,

he neither kept the trophies himself and by his action deprived

some other sportsman of getting a tiger.

Especially as regards tiger and bear, there appears to be a

mistaken impression that quantity not quality is the hall mark of

the shikari. It would be a very good thing if the Government set

a limit on the tiger permissible to be shot in any one block during

one year, with a further restriction in the number allowed per

permit. As it is, tigers are being shot out of existence and have

disappeared in several areas, where formerly they were quite

common. Surely, the tiger requires as much protection as deer,

and can be classed as game to the same extent. It is the tiger

that brings the sportsman and the sportsman that helps to keep

down poaching. Take away the tigers, and very few men would

spend their time and money* in the jungles. Poaching would

increase enormously, and the flow of ready cash, so important to

the poor forest villagers in lean times, would soon cease. This is

a question that would bear careful investigation.

As some indication of the expense involved in a shikar trip to

the Central Provinces, I may mention that the expenses of the

shoot described, excluding rail fares, but counting all else, includ-

ing conveyance to the block, cost of bodas, and fresh provisions

totalled Rs. 220; a figure that is low enough to be within the

means of most of us. If one intends to beat for tiger, then an

additional Rs. 40 per beat has to be budgeted for. I had four

bodas killed out of 6 tied up and the cost of these four was Rs. 32

with another Rs. 4 as bakshis to the owners of the two remain-

ing, which they took back. Rewards to shikaries depend entirely

on one’s means, but I usually give Rs. 10 per tiger and bison;

and Rs. 5 for bear, panther and bara-singha. I find one shikari

at Re. 0-8-0 per day, one gun-bearer at Re. 0-6-0 per day, one

boda-wallah to each tie-up and two spare men to assist around

the camp and with machans etc., all at Re. 0-4-0 each a day

ample for my requirements. I usually give Re. 1 to the boda-

wallah whose tie-up has been killed, as also to any villager or

cow-herd who brings in news of a natural kill. This ensures

keenness. Sites for the tie-ups are all selected by myself and

the shikari in consultation, and after careful examination of the

block; and the tie-ups are not moved from their sites until it is

certain that no tigers are in that part of the block, as a tiger

has a very extensive beat, and may take several days to cover

it in his rounds.

Boda-wallahs whose bodas have been killed are utilised as

game scouts and their job is to move about in couples trying to

locate areas where game is congregated, the pair bringing in

rehable information getting a leg of any animal bagged especially

SHOOTING NOTES FOR THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 115

for themselves, plus a little extra bakshis in the case of a good

head or a bison. A considerable amount of foot-slogging and

futile wandering around the jungles is avoided by the “shikai in

this way. Should tiger be the desired object, unnecessary firing

near the kills should be avoided. In fact the sportsman should

not pull trigger unless a fine stag or other animal is involved; any

thing approaching a drive for game or jungli moorghi, with atten-

dant noise and firing will drive all the tigers out of the block

miles away. From being so consistently hunted, in the Central

Provinces tiger have, I think, developed a high degree of self-

protection complex in addition to their natural instincts.

The best months for general shooting are from November to

March; not only is the weather delightful, but all game is in hard

horn and tiger in their winter coats with well developed neck

ruffs on the older animals. Hot weather shooting is easier as

regards beating and locating tiger, but a hot weather skin cannot

compare with a cold weather one, and besides all game excepting

spotted deer have shed their horns.

Always take a camera with you and many pleasant moments

can be re-lived again when tied down to the daily grind. If you

are a photo fiend there may be some excellent chances to obtain

interesting Natural History snaps. Special permission is neces-

sary to operate a flashlight outfit. Take notes and measurements

of all game obtained, and also jot down the result of your observa-

tions, successful attempts or failures etce., with what you consider

contributing factors. In this way you learn a lot and can correct

future mistakes made by your jungh assistants. Information

from these is often valuable and interesting, but requires careful

dissecting to separate the actual from the imaginary

Lastly a knowledge of colloquial Hindustani is invaluable.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS.

H. OH. N. LowtHEr, M.B.02U..)F.2:s:

(With 6 plates).

I.—TuHE INDIAN CRESTED SWIFT.

It is not unnatural that the student having learnt something

of the Bird-life of a country should set his heart on making the

acquaintance in the field of a particular species. What is strange,

however, is that the bird he is so anxious to study almost in-

variably is not to be found in the district where he resides. Such

precisely was the case with two bird-lovers of my acquaintance;

the one had always wished to meet the Racket-tailed Drongo in

its forest home, the other a Great Indian Hornbill. Both had

spent years in India without seeing the objects of their curiosity,

and both were certain to be unable to gratify their wishes so long

as they continued to reside in those particular parts. It was just

the same in my own ease. Constant perusal of Hume’s Nests and

Eggs and the Bird volumes of the Fauna attracted me specially

to the Crested Swift and the Masked Finfoot. The latter, of

course, I shall never see in the wild state unless I visit certain

favoured localties in Assam or Burma, but there was no reason

why some day I should not have an opportunity of studying the

Crested Swift at home. As ill-luck would have it the first twenty-

two years of my service were spent in places where this species

is not to be found, and, it was not till 1983, when posted to

Dhanbad in the Manbhum District, that I was able to make the

acquaintance of the Crested Swift. When I saw these charming

and graceful birds in the neighbouring district of Hazaribagh, I

knew that with any luck I should also find them in the hills

round the Topchanchi reservoir, or in the neighbourhood of Gomoh

—localities easily accessible from my home and both in my own

district. Just possibly too I might happen on a nest. Accord-

ingly, the next two or three occasions I was out after birds I was

constantly scanning the skies in the hope of seeing a Crested

Swift. Many a time a distant speck which I thought might be

this bird turned out to be some other species; often in my anxiety

to locate it I mistook the ery of a paroquet for that of the Crested

Swift. Eventually, however, in the Sikda Pahar nala, where this

debouches into rice fields, I spotted half a dozen Crested Swifts

flying overhead hawking for insects and occasionally settling on

some simal, mhowa or dhoka trees, once on a tree on which, lower

down, a Franklin’s Nightjar was resting lengthwise.

Returning to the spot on the 2nd July I watched those Crested

Swifts for nearly three hours, following them carefully with the

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

estore

st Crested Swift was photo-

e fir

fachan from which

fo)

seated on the nest.

seen

an be

The bird

1936.

ed,

s nest.

)

Crested Sw

Photos by E. H, N. Lowther.

ght.

Copyri

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS ay,

glasses in case any of them were still nesting, although fully aware

that their normal breeding season was now well over. Repeated

inspection of trees on which the birds perched revealed nothing.

It was obvious they were only resting. I had almost given up

all idea of finding a nest of this species when I saw one of the

birds settle on a dhoka tree higher up the hill side than had been

the case with the others, and consequently in thicker jungle. To

this I toiled, expecting to draw the usual blank. To my amaze-

ment, however, there was the Crested Swift sitting on what close

inspection proved to be a nest. To say I was delighted gives no

idea of my feelings. To begin with, the species is very local

and the nest one of the most difficult to find, so much so, that

I had always imagined—why I know not—that it was never to

be my good fortune to see a Crested Swift’s nest in situ. In the

same way as a boy, I had felt that the Red-necked Phalarope’s

nest and eggs were not to be found by the likes of me. (1 may

say I later found four nests containing eggs of this rarity when

in the Hebrides during the summer of 1914.) Added to all this,

it was very late for the Crested Swift to be still nesting, the usual

breeding season being during April and May.

As I gazed at the bird seated on her tiny nest only twelve feet

up from the ground, I feared I should burst with happiness. I

felt I had reached the topmost rung of my hopes, and, that

having photographed the bird at home, I could retire gracefully

from camera-nesting operations in India. So bold was she that

I was able to stand within seven feet of her. She made such

a beautiful picture that I determined there and then that if ever

I wrote a book about Indian birds her photograph should form the

frontispiece to the work.

It was too late to erect a machan that evening, but this was

done the following day by my shikari, who later reported that

throughout the two hours he took in building the scaffolding, secur-

ing the platform near the top, and fixing on it the hiding tent

thrown over a rough tripod, the Crested Swift never once left

the nest, although for some considerable time he was standing

within five feet of her. This augured well for my chances of

obtaining photographs so that I went to bed greatly excited and

looked forward to the morrow with more than usual anticipation.

Instead of the cawings of rooks coming to me in my dreams that

night—as they often do—I dreamed of the Crested Swift. All

the details of my watchings and great discovery flashed through

my subconscious mind again, and—such is the joy of photograph-

ing a new and rare species—I even imagined myself showing the

Crested Swift slides to a large and appreciative audience!

July 4 broke fine and the Crested Swift was as good as photo-

geraphed—or so I supposed. Twenty miles by car and a mile

con foot took me to the nest on which I was somewhat surprised

to see no bird sitting. Concluding that the owners must be away

hawking for insects and that one of the pair would soon be back,

I commenced to unpack the camera, only to find the Crested

Swift’s ege lying broken close to the spot where I was kneeling,

the contents still quite fresh. What had obviously happened was

118 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

that some inquisitive wight had climbed on to the machan, seized

the branch on which the nest was built, pulled it towards him-

self, and after inspecting the contents, released it suddenly so

that the egg was catapulted on to the ground some few feet away.

My feelings can be better imagined than described. I need

only say here that in all my experiences with a camera this was

my greatest disappointment. It seemed to be expecting too much

to find a second nest of this species even though both my shikari

and I now knew exactly what to look for. However, as I was

still stationed at Dhanbad the following year, the last week of

March found us both concentrating all our efforts on finding

another nest. Birds we saw in three widely separate places—

several of them—but the wonderful little edifice eluded our best

efforts.

Imagining that it might be rather too early to find a nest in

these parts I ceased hunting for some days, ordering my shikari

to keep a constant lookout the while. Eventually he reported on

April 4 that he had that morning found a nest containing an ege,

but that it was built at a great height from the ground.

A personal visit early the following day confirmed Sakroo’s

statement—the nest was a good forty-five feet up. I did not like

the look of things at all. It was not so much the height that

worried me as the fact that below the nest the ground was solid

rock, making the erection of a machan an impossible matter;

while to put up the hide in the tree itself was equally out of the

question. The only thing to do was to look for yet another nest!

Inspite of previous misgivings, I now entertained great hopes

of locating one, as in this nala there were three pairs of Crested

Swifts. Nevertheless, it seemed as though I was again to be

baulked of my prize. True, the shikari succeeded in finding another

nest in course of construction, but this for some reason the birds

never completed. We both looked elsewhere, but without suc-

cess, and we eventually returned on April 18 to the range of gently-

sloping hills, where Sakroo had found the impossible nest on the

4th. We examined the country in a more westerly direction,

where numbers of simal trees spread their horizontal but leafless

branches over thin scrub-jungle and rocky ground—the breeding

haunt of at least two pairs of Franklin’s Nightjars. Here, after

more than an hour’s “glassing’ under a terribly hot sun, I traced

a Crested Swift to its home, one that was clearly photographable

from a machan. This I had built the following day, and over it a

minion remained to keep watch till darkness set in, as I was

anxious to avoid the tragedy of the previous year.

Before proceeding further, perhaps it would be as well if I

described the Crested Swift and said something of its nesting

arrangements. The bird is about nine and a_ half inches in

length, the general colouring of the upper parts a bluish-grey, the

crest much darker, and the wings and tail dark brown, the crest,

wing-coverts and tail being in addition glossed with green. The

under parts are a light ashy-grey, becoming white on the abdomen

and under the tail. The sexes are similarly coloured except that

the warm chestnut patch on the sides of the face in the male

Journ., Bombay Nat, Hist. Soc. PLATE II.

Crested Swift.

Photo by E. H. N. Lowther, 1986. Copyright.

Journ.,

Bombay Nat, Hist. Soc,

Photo by E. H. N. Lowther.

Swift

PEATE 4:

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS 119

is replaced by grey in the female. There is also a tinge of chest-

nut on the edge of the male’s chin which is absent in the female.

Unquestionably the bird’s most striking feature is the crest. This

seems always to be carried erect while the Crested Swift is either

incubating or brooding but is depressed in flight and also when

the parents feed their offspring. It is as often erect as depressed

when the bird is resting on some tree but is erected when it calls.

When erect it gives the owner a peculiarly jaunty air. In flight

the long tail feathers are most prominent. These are either pencil-

pointed, giving the Crested Swift a very paroquet-like appearance,

or are strongly forked. When at rest, the long tail feathers may

either remain together or be shghtly apart, as shown in some of

the accompanying plates. The bill, of course, is short with a

wide gape, and the wings long and scythe-shaped, as is typical

in Swifts.

So far as my experience goes—and I have now studied the bird

in several places in the Manbhum, Hazaribagh, Ranchi and Pala-

mau Districts—the Crested Swift is to be met with only in fairly

well-wooded or scrub-jungle country, where low or moderate-sized

hills occur. My remarks, of course, apply to the months of April

and May. With the breaking of the monsoon, it would be more

correct to describe the jungle as heavy. In those haunts which

it favours, the species may be seen in small parties of three,

four or even more pairs, wheeling gracefully over the tree-tops in

search of gnats and the other minute insects on which it feeds,

sometimes even diving through the larger branches in quest of

these, and, if there is a tank handy, constantly dipping down to

its surface. The flight is much slower than is the case with other

Swifts. From time to time, the bird perches on some bough near

the top of a favourite tree and devotes much time to its toilet,

frequently giving vent to a loud gall, hkip-kee-kep, the middle

syllable much emphasised. This note is also uttered freely on the

wing, but then consists usually of only two syllables.

Although resident in those districts where it occurs, these Swifts

wander considerably in quest of food. A nala which the party

haunts to-day will quite likely be deserted a fortnight later in

favour of some other suitable spot four or five miles distant. This

in turn will give way, when the food supply runs short, to yet

another timbered hillside; and so on. Always, however, the differ-

ent members comprising the party seem to return for nesting

purposes to what, for brevity’s sake, I may call the permanent

home.

The nest is a truly wonderful piece of architecture but since

no pen-picture I draw can do justice to it I offer no apology for

quoting Whistler’s description. He says:—

‘The nest is a most remarkable structure. It is a very

shallow half-saucer composed of thin flakes of bark and a few

small feathers gummed together with inspissated saliva on the

side of a horizontal branch. The nest is nowhere more than an

eighth of an inch in thickness and is at most half an inch deep

in the deepest part. The largest outside measurement is 2 in.,

which is to say, that the nest can be covered by a crown-piece,

120 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST? SOCEE TY, Vols DOOM

The branch chosen is usually a dead one often at the top of a

high tree, but many nests are built much lower down on small

trees growing in open scrub-jungle. Viewed from below the nest

has all the appearance of a knot and would seldom be detected

were it not for the fact that the female returns at frequent inter-

vals to it. The single egg completely fills the nest. The parent

bird sits across the nest and the branch to which it is attached

so that the latter takes her weight.

The egg is a very elongated oval, obtuse at both ends and

with little or no gloss. It is white with a slight greyish-blue tinge.

It measures about 0-94 x 0-62 in.’!

While Whistler’s description of the nest and egg is very

accurate, some of the statements he makes cannot pass unchal-

lenged; others need amplifying; and, although the observations

that follow are based on an examination of only six nests, I make

these for what they are worth in the hope that what I have to

say will encourage others to investigate the habits of this interest-

ing species and so help to solve the many problems with regard

to its nidification which still require solution.

First of all—how are the strips or flakes of bark with which

the nest is constructed obtained? I noted the following after

examining my first nest:—‘A striking feature of the material used

is the precision with which each piece of bark is cut. These are

regular and perfect squares and all of approximately equal size.’

I have since come to the conclusion that the obtaining of this

material is not the difficult matter that it appears to be at first

sight. When a Crested Swift begins to nest, the bark of various

trees such as the simal and dhoka is peeling off in small pieces,

and as the ends of these flakes invariably curl upwards, it would

appear that the Crested Swift experiences no difficulty in tearing

them off. The flakes of bark correspond to the tree on which the

nest is built, and it is not improbable that the material is obtained

from the identical tree which accommodates the nest.

The nest-branch must be a thin one as otherwise the Crested

Swift would probably experience difficulty in ‘taking off’ owing

to the great length of its wings. The following are the diameter

measurements of three branches at the nest-site :—

(1) 0-72 in. (the 1933 nest).

(2) 1:08 in. (the 19384 nest, on which I first photographed

the Crested Swift).

(3) 14 in. (the first nest found in 1936 and which I sent to

the Society on the egg being destroyed).

Not one of these branches was dead; in fact all the six nests

which have come under my observation were built on live boughs.

Two other nests my shikari found, but which I did not have an

opportunity of inspecting, were also constructed on living branches.

My experiences have, therefore, either been unusual or Whistler

—and others—are not correct in stating that a dead bough is

usually selected.

As I have given the measurements of branches at the nest-site

* Popular Handbook of Indian Birds, 2nd edition, p. 277,

PLATE IV.

S Wearing a Cape

that he w

It appeared

ht.

Copyri

Lowther

Photo by E. H

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE: Y;

Male Crested Swift feeding young.

Photo by EH. H. N. Lowther, 19386.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS 121

it will not be out of place to quote measurements of the nests

themselves. These, where obtainable, were :—

(1) 1-75 in. long by }% in. wide.

(2) 132 in. long by #2 in. -wide.

I was not in a position to measure the thickness of either of

these nests, but Mr. Prater informs me that the nest I forwarded

to the Society is 10 mm. thick.

The height of the nest from the ground varies considerably.

The lowest were twelve and sixteen feet, others between twenty

and thirty feet and the highest about forty-five feet from the

eround. It is interesting to note that the third nest I investi-

gated in 19386 was built on the same tree as that on which three

years earlher I found my first nest. The trees selected for nesting

purposes were the simal (Silk Cotton), dhoka, ghar-nim and

another, of which I cannot now remember even the vernacular

name.

Is it correct to state that the frequent return of the female

to the nest gives away its whereabouts? And is it only. the

female that incubates? After watching the Crested Swift for

many hours I should say that the female incubates for from forty

to sixty minutes and the male from thirty to forty minutes at

each sitting. While one is sitting the other is hawking for insects

a mile or two away, or possibly further afield, at all events

right out of sight, and it does not return to the neighbourhood of

the nest until it is time to relieve its mate. After circling round

once or twice it either flies directly on to the nest, the releved

bird almost invariably leaving as the other is about to alight, or

settles on a neighbouring tree for a few seconds, or even a minute

or two, before settling. As the nesting season of the Crested Swift

is during the months of April, May and June, the hottest time

of the year, when even the most ardent ornithologist requires

to gird up his loins to go out into the sun, I do not think it can

be stated with any degree of correctness that the frequent return

of the female—or, for that matter the male—gives away the

whereabouts of the nest. It is only the most careful watching

of the birds with a pair of field-glasses, and that for a prolonged

period, that is likely to bring success in this direction. And when

the observer has finally seen a Crested Swift settle on some tree

it does not necessarily follow that the bird is incubating. Even

if it is, the nest is so small and its construction is such that from

below i looks exactly lke a knot in a branch, which is indeed

what ninety-nine persons out of every one hundred would certainly

imagine it to be.

One other point before I proceed to tell of the intimate life

of the Crested Swift: Whistler, and for that matter Stuart Baker!

is entirely wrong in stating that the parent bird sits across the

nest and the branch to which it is attached so that the latter takes

its weight. The statement might be taken to suggest that this

is the only position adopted by the bird on the nest. In actual

fact a Crested Swift may sit in any position when both incubating

1 The New Fauna, vol. iv, p. 355.

122 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. “SOCIHEY, Vols eo

and brooding, although it is correct to say that about 65 per cent

of the time is spent sitting in the manner described above. Much

time is spent (by both sexes) in sitting on the nest itself, across

the branch on to which it is built, or even parallel with it. It

is by no means uncommon for a bird that started to brood with

its body more or less on the branch and its breast feathers cover-

ing the far edge of the nest to end up by facing the branch after

occupying almost every conceivable angle in between. I have

photographed the bird in every position. It is the same with the

young one who, however, spends most of the time sitting parallel

with the branch.

I have now photographed three different pairs of Crested Swifts

at the nest but for the present let us return to the nest which

I found on 18 April 1984. A machan was built beside and close

to it the following day, and since the bird showed no fear, the

hide, with a bottle protruding through the cloth, was introduced

at the same time and remained in position overnight. I spent

the whole of the 15th observing and photographing the birds,

visiting the nest again for the same purpose on 20 April, 3, 6,

14, 25, 27 May and 1 June. During this time our acquaintance

quickly ripened till, in the end, the parent birds fed the young

regularly while I was seated beside the hiding-tent fully exposed

to their view. On 20 April, however, the behaviour of the female

was extraordinary. Just to see to what lengths I could go with

the bird I slowly put my hand out towards her until I actually

found myself passing my index finger through the feathers of her

back, head and breast, tickling her really. She did not move a

muscle, but when I put my little finger close to her beak she

seized and shook it vigorously. No attempt did the bird make

to leave the nest or even to alter her position on it. How I wished

some friend might turn up to see us hob-nobbing in this extra-

ordinary manner, to record by means of a camera the boldness

shown by this brave heart in sticking to her post. It is interesting

to relate that later (1 June) I handled the almost full-grown

daughter (as I like to think she was) in exactly the same way

and that she too shook my little finger as her mother had done

before although (like mother) she did not object in the least to

being tickled.

But to return: I had not been two minutes in the hide when

the Crested Swift was back on the nest. What a beautiful picture

she made as she sat there, bolt upright, only a few feet away from

me, her pouting breast feathers covering almost half her tiny nest.

With her gaze partially averted from me, she seemed confident

that no living creature could possibly mean her any harm; and

why have any fear for such an inanimate object as a hide? In

my anxiety to make hay while the sun shone, so to speak, I

took a number of photos of the bird, and then reahsing that the

stance in each case was just the same, crawled out of the tent

expecting the bird immediately to take flight, she remained on

the nest perfectly immobile! Were all birds so easy to photo-

graph at home as in this species, the sport simply would not be

worthwhile. But more often than not the odds are against the

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe. PLATE Vi.

Crested Swift brooding.

Photos by EH. H. N. Lowther, 1984, Copyright.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN BIRDS 123

photographer! As I exposed plate after plate on the bird, merely

changing the stop or altering the exposure, my thoughts flew back

to a Jungle Crow which I had tried to photograph at the nest

and to a Water Rail in Kashmir whose picture I obtained after

four days of patient trying. It is subjects such as these that

make one appreciate more than ever the accommodating non-

chalance of the Crested Swift. The actual photography may be

easy but one has only to reflect to realise how great has been

one’s fortune for, not only is the finding of the nest no simple

matter but to get close enough to photograph the Crested Swift

at home is fraught with obstacles sufficiently formidable to deter

all but the keenest devotees of the camera.

Having obtained all the photographs I could take I devoted the

rest of the day to observing the birds. In this particular instance

the female was the more confiding, the male refusing to come

to the nest while I was on the machan exposed to his gaze. When,

however, I remained concealed, or sat quietly near the tree, he

displayed no reluctance, and although ready to leave the nest

when I climbed the tree again, he sat sufficiently close to allow

me to photograph him. The female’s temperament was very

different; she literally had to be pushed off so that I could inspect

the nest and egg carefully. It was then I noted that the wall

of the nest was a quarter of an inch or so higher than the upper

surface of the branch and extended right on to the branch the

flakes of the bark forming an almost complete oval. Such an

arrangement undoubtedly helps to prevent the young bird from

falling out of the nest. This wall was common to all the nests

which I inspected.

It is not always the female who is the more confiding. In

the case of the first pair I photographed in 1936, the female was

far bolder during the incubation period, but after the egg hatched

she would seldom venture to the nest while I was on the machan,

whereas the male who previously never quite trusted me now

was every bit as bold as his mate had been previously—more so

in fact. Both had literally and truly to be pushed off the nest

to enable me to see the egg or young. It was just the reverse

with the second pair I photographed in the same year. The male

sat closely when incubating, when the female would not venture

to the nest while the camera’s cold eye stared at her. When the

ege had hatched the positions were completely reversed. They too

let me touch them and seized my finger when placed near their

beaks. As in the case of the other Crested Swifts I had previously

photographed it was almost impossible to dislodge this pair from

the nest; it is no exaggeration to say that they had to be removed

from it.

During the first fortnight of its life the young Crested Swift is

seldom left unattended by its parents; one broods while the other

is absent looking for food. As the latter arrives the first leaves

the nest. When this ‘change-over’ is taking place, when the

young bird is aware that it is going to be fed, its behaviour is most

peculiar—it sinks down gradually into the nest as though it were

going to be courted, much in the same way that pigeons behave,

124 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISH. SOCIETY. Volm xx kis

Then the parent bird throws its head up with the beak pointing

to the skies and looks as though it were going to expectorate;

actually the bird is bringing up food. It is only when this move-

ment takes place that the young one holds up its head, the parent

putting its beak inside the young one’s to feed it. This feeding

lasts for about one second only and is accompanied by a minimum

of movement and no calling on the part of either parent or child,

the latter subsequently sheltering close to or under the adult

bird’s body. Although what the youngster received always seemed

to me to be a thoroughly inadequate meal never did I see it

receive food a second time in the same visit, nor by voice or

deed did it suggest that it wanted more. On an average it was

fed every twenty or twenty-five minutes.

Between the age of two and three weeks the: crest becomes

prominent in the young and its plumage takes on an ashy-grey

colour, with dark-brown patches by the base of the crest, near

the eye and on the wings so that the nest and young bird assimi-

late with their surroundings in a remarkable manner. A week

later the general colouring of the plumage is a ‘pepper and salt’,

this pattern making it even more difficult to distinguish the young

Crested Swift from its surroundings. I was not surprised there-

fore to note that at this stage the parents no longer brooded

except when it rained or a high wind was blowing. On such

occasions the young one caused the male bird considerable un-

easiness by the way in which it kept turning round from side

to side or stretching its baby pinions. More than once it seemed

as though the parent would be knocked off the nest. When, how-

ever, the young bird remained quiet for a few seconds the male

would puff out his breast and side feathers until it appeared that

he was wearing a cape.

Such has been my last glimpse of the three-quarters grown

Crested Swift and its parent at three different nests as I packed

up camera and tripod and then supervised the dismantling of

the machan. It is not difficult to enter into the feelings of the

ege-collector when he has found and taken the nest and ege of

a Crested Swift. I am sure, however, that he will be the first

to admit the infinitely greater happiness and pride of the camera-

man who has refrained from even touching the egg and has in

the fulness of time reaped his reward in observing the young bird

srow up, noted the home life of the species and finally secured

a large series of photographs to remind him always cf pleasant days

spent with ‘good companions’.

THE NESTING OF THE INDIAN CRESTED SWIFT

(HEMIPROCNE CORONATA) IN UPPER BURMA.

J, K. STANFORD, I.c.s. and H.C. Smiru, 1.F.s.

On March 28, 1936, we found in the Pidaung Game Sanctuary

of the Myitkyina District a nest of Hemiprocne coronata which

offered remarkable opportunities for photography. The nest was

in a small and almost leafless Lettok tree (Holarrhena antidysen-

terica) growing on a grassy plain, and was situated at a height

of about 20 ft. from the ground. But for seeing the bird sitting

the nest could hardly have been detected from below. The bird

was remarkably tame and allowed us to walk under the nest and

observe it at very close range, so on the 29th H. C. Smith

stalked it with a camera and spent over an hour photographing

it from the ground with a 17-inch Teleros lens in a Soho Reflex

camera set up on a stand. After the first half hour, the bird

refused to leave the nest and sat motionless except for turning

its head and erecting its crest when anyone came too close under

the branch. As is well known, the Indian Crested Swift incubates

while perching upright on a braneh with the body and tail on

the far side from the nest and the breast feathers projected over

the egg. Perched thus with the long wings crossed, and the

narrow tail dependent between them, the bird presented a most

unique and beautitul appearance as its chestnut-red cheeks and

ashy-grey underplumage gleamed in the sun. From the level of

the nest, the egg appeared to project well over the shallow rim

of the saucer-like structure. We examined the nest after the

young one had departed and it measured 47 x 80 mm. and at its

centre was 11 mm. in depth. It was composed almost entirely

of scales or flakes of bark gummed together with saliva in such

a way that the outer layers overlapped somewhat after the manner

of the seales of a fircone. The nest was attached to the eastern

side of the branch which at that point measured roughly 50 mm.

in circumference and was growing horizontally from north to

south; the sitting bird therefore had its back to the afternoon

sun. The nest was so shallow that presumably the egg would have

been blown out unless covered by the bird during the sudden

gales which sweep this district at all seasons of the year. The

male spent most of the time sitting on a tree nearby and we con-

sidered that he took part in incubation. When together, the two

were easily distinguishable by the deeper colour of the cheeks in

the male and this was very noticeable on one occasion when the

sitting bird was observed.

126 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

On April 26, J. K. Stanford re-visited the nest on two occa-

sions with Major Byrne and a game keeper. The young bird

was well feathered and sitting like the adult, more or less upright

with head and neck extended, crest raised and beak pointing

shghtly skywards. The colouration, shape and attitude were so

extraordinarily protective that the game keeper declined to believe

it was a bird at all and had to climb the tree to satisfy himself.

(Even his companions had some doubt at first although they

were using Zeiss glasses at a range of about 25-30 ft.!) On the

first occasion the nestling was sitting on the nest, parallel with

the branch, later in the afternoon it was sitting across the branch,

so that the short tail was just visible on the other side of the

branch from the nest. The shape of the head and drawn-out

appearance of the neck were most remarkable and the youngster

appeared much more like a chameleon than a bird. The outline

of the crown behind the crest seemed to form almost a straight

line slanting to a point at the nape.

On April 29, J. K. Stanford again visited the nest with Major

3yrne and Mr. D. P. Lister, B.r.s. Kodak photography without

a telephoto lens proved a failure and after several attempts Mr.

Lister produced a sketch which shows clearly the remarkable

similarity of the young bird to a Nightjar. (This, we may say

is well-illustrated by one of the photographs reproduced in Mr.

H. Whistler’s article on the nesting of the Crested Swifts in

volume xxxiv of the Society’s Journal, page 772.) The shape of

the young bird’s head had by that time altered considerably,

but we all aereed that it bore no resemblance whatever to the

shape of the head in the adults, which we could observe at a

few yards’ range as they sat on a tree nearby. The chameleon-

like appearance was still most pronounced, and_ the young bird

sat like a Nightjar along the branch with head and neck raised,

beak pointing | eee and gape shghtly open. In this phase of

juvenile plumage, the mottled colouring also suggests a Nightjar

much more strongly than a Swift.

The crest plumes, as far as could be seen with glasses at

very close range, were in quill and quite stiff, in profile each

feather being sharply divided from the next.

This bird was last seen on May 2nd, still on the branch but

no longer on the nest; it had disappeared next day.

Photographs of the young being fed in its later stages of

development would be of very great interest, and, judging by our

experience in this case, should not be difficult to obtain.

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA.

etl OANUS esau. Bln S:

The ArackakE include about 107 genera with over 1,000 species,

most of which are natives of tropical regions and the rest of tem-

perate regions, in both hemispheres. Most of them contain an

acrid juice, which is sometimes highly irritating and poisonous.

The medicinal and poisonous Aroids of the world belong to 42

genera:—Acorus (northern temperate regions, South-Hastern

Asia); AGLAONEMA (Tropical Asia and Africa); ALocasra (Tropical

Asia); AMORPHOPHALLUS (Tropical Asia and Africa); ANADENDRUM

(Malaya); AncHomanEs (Tropical Africa); AnrHuRiuM (West Indies,

Central and Southern America); ArIsAEMA (Asia, Abyssinia, Ame-

rica); ArisARuUM (Mediterranean region); Arum (Europe, Northern

Africa, Western Asia); Biarum (Asia Minor, Syria, Northern Africa) ;

CaLapIum (South America, Indo-Malaya); Catia (HKurope, Northern

Asia and America, Philippine Islands); Conocasi1a (Tropical Asia);

CrYPTOCORYNE (Indo-Malaya); Cuncasia (Tropical Africa); DIEFFEN-

BACHIA (Central and South America, Japan); Dracontium (South

America, Java); Dracuncutus (South Europe, Canary Islands);

EpiIpREMNUM (Malaya, Polynesia); Homatomena (Asia, South Ame-

rica); LAGENANDRA (India, Ceylon); Lasta (Indo-Malaya); MonsTERA

(Tropical America); Monrricuarpia (Tropical America); ORONTIUM

(Northern America); PHILODENDRON (Tropical America); PINELLIA

(China, Japan); Pistia (Tropics and subtropics except Polynesia

and Macronesia); PLESMoNnIuM (India); PorHos (Indo-Malaya,

Madagascar); Remusatra (Tropical Africa, Indo-Malaya); Ruapati-

popHOoRA (Indo-Malaya); RicHarpra (Southern Africa); SAUROMA-

TUM (palaeotropics); Scrnpapsus (Indo-Malaya); StyLocurron (Tro-

pical and Southern Africa); SympLocarpus (Northern America);

SYNANTHERIAS (Southern India, Ceylon); TypHonium (Indo-Malaya);

TypHonoporumM (Madagascar); XanrHosoma (West Indies, Tropical

America).

The medicinal and poisonous Aroids of India belong to 21

genera:—Acorus, AGLAONEMA, ALOCASIA, AMORPHOPHALLUS, ANADEN-

DRUM, ARISAEMA, COLOCASIA, CRYPTOCORYNE, EpiprEMNUM, HoMALo-

MENA, LAGENANDRA, Lasta, Pistia, PLESMonIuM, Potuos, REMv-

SATIA, RHAPHIDOPHORA, SAUROMATUM, SCINDAPSUS, SYNANTHERIAS,

‘T'YPHONIUM.

I. Spadix with or without an appendage.

Leaves entire or lobed. Stamens free; ovary

l-celled; ovules orthotropous.

1. Spadix appendaged.

a. Marsh herbs. Ovaries spirally disposed ... LAGENANDRA.

b. Terrestrial tuberous herbs.

i. Leaves compressed, lobed re ... ARISAEMA.

ii. Leaves pedatipartite, appearing after the

flowering SAUROMATUM.

ili. Leaves ovate or lobed, coetaneous with the

flowers ae uae ... TYPHONIUM.

128 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

2. Spadix without an appendage.

a. Floating stemless herb; leaves obovate weet) eS AS

b. Submerged or aquatic herbs; leaves ovate or

lanceolate see ies ... CRYPTOCORYNE.

B. Tuberous herbs large. Leaves appearing without

flowers, solitary, very large, 3-lobed or pin-

natisect. Ovules anatropous.

1. Spadix without an appendage; neuters very large PLESMONIUM.

2. Spadix appendaged.

a. Appendage large, naked; neuters absent ... AMORPHOPHALLUS.

b. Appendage slender, naked; neuters below the

male sins a ... SYNANTHERIAS.

C. Herbs not tuberous; stem creeping, erect or sub-

terranean. Leaves undivided, cordate or peltate.

1. Limb of spathe refracted, open; ovules parietal. REMUSATIA.

2. Limb of spathe erect.

. a. Ovules many, parietal; fruit subcapsular ... COLOCASIA.

b. Ovules few, basal; fruit drupaceous, red ... ALOOASIA.

II. Spadix without an appendage.

A. Flowers monoecious. Perennial herbs, flowering

and leafing at the same time. Spadix shorter

than the spathe. Fruit enclosed in the spathe

tube.

1. Spathe eventually deciduous; fruit a red drupe. AGLAONEMA.

2. Spathe persistent; fruits very small, not drupa-

ceous or red ore bs ... HOMALOMENA.

B. Flowers bisexual.

1. Climbers often woody.

a. Perianth none, or a thin semicircular limb.

i. Drupes distinct, red ... ... ANADENDRUM.

u. Fruits crowded, a drupaceous or red.

{ Ovary l-celled, 1-seeded. Leaves ovate to

oblong-lanceolate entire SCINDAPSUS.

"1 Ovary Se celled, many-ovuled. Berries con-

fluent. Seeds oblong RHAPHIDOPHORA.

"19 Ovary l-celled, 1- seeded. Leaves entire or

lobed. Seeds kidney-shaped ... EjPIPREMNUM.

b. Perianth lobes 6. Spadix flowering upwards.

Leaves distichous is PotTHos.

2. Large marsh plant with stout stem, prickly erect.

Spadix, much shorter than the long spathe,

flowering downwards, sessile. Leaves lobed. Lasia.

3. Stemless rhizomatous plant; rhizome aromatic.

Leaves ensiform. Spathe none ... w+. ACORUS.

ACORUS.

The genus consists of 2 species, inhabiting the northern tem-

perate regions and South-Eastern Asia.

A. calamus Linn. is used medicinally in India, Malaya, Indo-

China, China, Europe and South Africa; A. gramineus Soland in

Malaya, Indo-China and China.

Midrib of leaves stout oe abe 1. A. calamus.

Midrib of leaves absent ae ao s.. 2. A. graminets.

1. Acorus calamus Linn. is found throughout India and

Ceylon, in marshes, wild or cultivated, ascending the Himalaya

up to 6,000 ft. in Sikkim. It occurs in all Huropean. countries

except Spain, and becomes more abundant eastwards and_ in

Southern Russia, Northern Asia Minor and Southern Siberia, China

and Japan, Indo-China and Malaya. It is also met with in the

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 129

Northern United States of America, where it appears to be indi-

genous.

The rhizome is described in the Nighantas as pungent, bitter,

heating; emetic, laxative, diuretic, carminative, anthelmintic; im-

proves appetite, voice, throat; good for diseases of the mouth;

useful in abdominal pains, inflammations, fevers, epilepsy, bron-

chitis, delirium, hysteria, dysentery, tumours, thirst, loss of

memory, rat-bite, worms in the ear,

According to Mahommedan writers the rhizome has a very bitter

sharp taste; it is laxative, expectorant, carminative, alexiteric,

tonic to the brain, emmenagogue; useful in general weakness, sto-

matitis, toothache, inflammations, pains in the liver and the chest,

kidney troubles, leucoderma.

The aromatic rhizome or rootstock is considered emetic in

large doses, and stomachic and carminative in smaller doses. It

is a simple useful remedy for flatulence, colic or dyspepsia, and a

pleasant adjunct to tonic or purgative medicines. It is also used

in remittent fevers and ague by the native doctors, and is held in

high esteem as an insectifuge, especially for fleas.

The root has been employed in medicine since the time of

Hippocrates. By the moderns it is successfully used in intermittent

fevers, even after Cinchona bark has failed, and it is certainly a

very useful addition to Cinchona. It is also a useful adjunct to

bitter and stomachic infusions.

It is commonly used to allay distressing cough. <A small piece

of the dried rootstock kept in the mouth acts better than many

cough lozenges. It produces a warm sensation in the mouth and

a beneficial flow of saliva. The candied root is sold as a favourite

medicine in every Indian bazaar. The Indians of the Hudson’s

Bay Territory also use the rootstock as a cough medicine.

The Mundas of Chota Nagpur apply the ground rhizomes to

the cranial suture of feverish babies.

In Ceylon the rootstock is used in bowel complaints. It has

been found extremely useful in the dysentery of children, and also

in bronchitic affections. The Europeans of South Africa use it

as a carminative and as a diarrhoea remedy.

The Meskwaki Indians of Wisconsin use it as a physic, and

in combination with other medicines as a cure for burns, while

the Menomini give it for cramps in the stomach.

The root is supposed by the Chinese to affect the heart and

lungs and to be beneficial for cancer. In general it is taken as a

restorative for the body and spirits.

Culpeper says: ‘The spicy bitterness of the root of this plant

bespeaks it as a strengthener of the stomach and head, and there-

fore may fitly be put into any composition of that intention. The

root preserved may with good success be used by itself, and both

the Germans and Turks are very fond of it, and reckon it a ereat

preservative against infectious air, which makes them commonly

eat_a piece of the preserved root. fasting.’ ;

Even nowadays the candied rhizome is widely employed in

Europe, and the Turks use it as a preservative against contagion.

Moodeen Sheriff experimented with the drug and wrote: -‘The

180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

rhizome is emetic, nauseant, antispasmodic, carminative, stimu-

lant and insecticide. As an emetic it is more nauseant and de-

pressant than Ipecacuanha, and it is therefore useful in most of

the diseases-in which the latter is indicated, including dysentery.

It is one of the two vegetable drugs in this country which act

efficiently as emetics in so small a dose as 30 grains. It should

not be used in more than 85 grains, and in 40 grains its action

is very violent and obstinate. It is a good remedy in asthma,

to relieve which, it should be first used in pretty large or nauseant

doses (15 to 20 grains) and then repeated every 2 or 8 hours in

smaller or expectorant doses (10 grains) till relieved. Among other

diseases which are most benefited by this drug are _ bronchial

eatarrh, hysteria, neuralgia and some forms of dyspepsia. The

rhizome can also be used in the form of a tincture or an infusion.’

Later Koman gave a decoction to several patients suffering from

indigestion and found it to be efficacious.

The rhizome is officinal in Austria, Germany, Holland, Hungary,

Italy, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.

Caius and Mhaskar have found the rhizome useless for the

antidotal treatment of snake bite and scorpion sting.

Afrikaans: Kalmoes—; Annam: Thach xuong bo, Xuong bo—; Arabic:

Vaj, Vash—; Assam: Bach—; Bengal: Bach, Shwetbach—; Burma: Linhe—;

Canarese: Baje—; Chinese: Che Ts’ang Pou, Choui Ts’ang Pou, Pai Ch’ang,

Ts’ang P’ou—; Cutch: Vekhanda—; Deccan: Gandkilakri, Vach—; Dutch:

Kalmus, Zwanenbrood—; English: Bastard Water Flag, Calamus, Cinnamon

Sedge, Myrtle Grass, Myrtle Sedge, Sweet Cane, Sweet Flag, Sweet Myrtle,

Sweet Root, Sweet Rush—; French: Acore, Acore aromatique, Acore odorant,

Acore vrai, Acori, Acrois, Galanga des marais, Roseau aromatique, Roseau

odorant—; German: Ackermagen, Deutscher Ingber, Gewuerzkalmus, Kalmus,

Kkarmes, JX<armsen, Kaumeles, Kolmas, Magenwurz, Nagenwurz, Schiemen,

Schienenzurz, Wechel, Zehrwurz—; Gujerati: Gandhilovaj, Godavaj, Vekhand—;

Hindi: Bach, Ghorbach, Gorbach, Igir, Kussebbewa—; Italian: Acoro, Acoro

aromatico, Acoro odoroso, Calamo, Calamo aromatico, Canna odorifera, Hrba

cannella, Erba di Venere, Erba venerea—; Jhalawan: Kull—; Kashmir:

Vahi—; Malaya: Cheong fu, Deringu, Jeringu—; Malayalam: Vashampa—;

Marathi: Vekhand—; Menomini: Apaxkiu utcipa, Enausapokotcikun, Weke,

Wiabiskitcipa kakasapotcikun—; Meskwaki: Mishinepisuni—; Mundari: Ote-

hajam—; Norfoll:: Gladdon—; Norwegian: Kalmus—; Pacific Coast: Beewort,

Calamus-root, Flag-root, Myrtle Flag, Sweet Cane, Sweet Cinnamon, Sweet

Flag, Sweet Myrtle—; Pampangan: Bueng—; Persian: Agar, Agreturki—;

Portuguese: Calamo aromatico, Canna cheirosa—; Prarie Potawatomi: Sini-

pisiwun—; Punjab: Bariboj, Wach—; Roumanian: Spervian—; Sanskrit:

Bhadra, Bhutanashini, Bodhaniya, Galani, Golomi, Ikshuparni, Jalaja, Jatila,

Kanga, Kshudraptri, ‘Lomasha, Mangalya, Rakshoghni, Shadagrantha, Shata-

parvika, Schleshmaghni, Smarani, Tikshna, Tikshnapatra, Ugra, Ugragandha,

Vacha, Vijaya—; Sinhalese: Wadakaha, Wadakahavasambu—; South Africa:

Myrtle Flag, Sweet Flag, Sweet Sedge—; Spanish: Acoro, Acoro verdadero—;

Swedish : Kalmus—; Tagalog: Lubigan—; Tamil: Vashambu—; Telugu:

Vadaja, Vasa, Wasa—; Urdu: Bacha—.

2. Acorus gramineus Soland occurs in the Sikkim Himalaya

up to 6,000 ft., and in the Khasia Hills. It extends to China

and Japan.

The root has stimulant, tonie, antispasmodic properties, and

is used in China as a diaphoretie, an insectifuge and an insecticide.

Tn Cochin-China it is considered a good substitute for Sweet Flag.

Annam: Thach truong bo—; Chinese: Ch’ang P’u, Shih Ch’ang P’u, Shui

, 4 5 apa y ’ ’

Cl’ang -P’u, Wai Ch’ang P’u—; Malaya: Soi cheong phoo—.

THK MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 131

AGLAONEMA.

The genus includes about 20 species, Tropical Asiatic and

African.

Aglaonema angustifolium N. E. Br. var. undulatum Ridl. is

found in the Malay Peninsula, where the natives use a decoction

of the roots for fever and dropsy.

Malay: Penggehe, Sagut, Sumpuh bulau, Sumpuh kring—.

ALOGASIA.

The genus numbers 45 species, found in Tropical Asia.

A. Leaves broadly ovate-cordate, repand, nerves 5-6

pairs; petiole short stout ... cee .. 4. A. montana.

B. Leaves large ovate, deeply sagittately cordate,

repand; petiole stout, transversely clouded ... 2. A. indica.

C. Leaves triangular-sagittate, shortly acuminate,

about 4 as broad as long; petiole long slender ... 1. A. denudata.

D. Leaves broadly ovate-sagittate, repand; basal lobes

rounded, connate for jth of their length; petiole

2-4 ft., base sometimes as thick as the arm ... 38. A. macrorrhiza.

1. Alocasia denudata Engl. (=A. singaporensis Linden) is

common in hedges and woods all over the Malay Peninsula, extend-

ing to Lingga and Borneo.

The acrid juice is used as a poison in Kelantan.

Malay: Berar kitan, Keladi chandek, Keladi rimau, Keladi ular.

2, Alocasia indica Schott is cultivated in India and in most

parts of the tropics.

Sanskrit writers describe the rootstock as pungent, fragrant,

cooling; useful in inflammations, leprosy, anasarca, diseases of the

abdomen and spleen. |

Medicinally it is said to be useful in anasarea. The flour ob-

tained by pounding the dried stems boiled with rice flour until all

the water has evaporated, is given to the patient, and no other

food allowed except milk. The ash, mixed with honey, is used

in cases of aphthae. |

As a food taken frequently, it seems to act as a mild laxative

and diuretic. In piles and habitual constipation it is useful.

The tubers chopped fine, tied in a cloth and, heated, are used

as a fomentation in rheumatism.

The acrid juice of the petioles is much used as a common

domestic remedy on account of its styptic and astringent properties.

The petiole is slightly roasted and the juice expressed. Purulent

discharge from the ears in children is often stopped by a single

application.

The juice of the fresh petiole has no action in the symptomatic

treatment of scorpion sting (Caius and Mhaskar).

Assam: Mankachu—; Bengali: ..Manguri, Mankachu—; Betsimtsaraka:

Saombia—; Canarese: Manaka—; English: Acrid Taro, Giant Taro—; Fiji:

Dranu, Via—; Goa: Curcas—; Guam: Piga—; Hindi: Mankanda, Mankandu,

Mankashu, Manna—; Malay: Birah,’ Keladi sebaring—; Marathi: Alu—;

Mundari: Mansaru—; Philippines: Biga, Elephant’s Hars—; Samoa: Ape,

182 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XxxXiX

Ta‘amu— ; Sanskrit: Brihachhada, Chhatrapatra, Mahapatra, Mana, Manaka,

Sthalapadma, Vistirnaparna—; Sinhalese: Rata-ala—; Tagalog: Badiang,

Gabingonac—; Visayan: Badiang—.

3. Alocasia macrorrhiza Schott is found wild and cultivated

throughout tropical and subtropical India. It is cultivated in the

tropics generally,

The root is a mild laxative and diuretic.

It is numbered among the recorded fish-poison plants in Aus-

tralia. The milky juice of the lower part of the stem is used in

Q@ueensiand as an antidote to the stings of Laportea gigas Wedd.,

the Giant Nettle,

Chinese: Hai Yu—; English: Acrid Taro, Giant Taro—; Easter Island:

Kape—; Guam: Piga—; Hawaii: Ape, Apii—; New Caledonia: Alendiete,

Baouen, Diamote, Ouagan, Pera, Taro—; Philippines: Biga—; Queensland:

Banganga, Bargadga, Cunjevoi, Hakkin, Nargan, Pitchu—; Rarotonga:

Kape—; Samoa: Ape, Ta’amu—; Sinhalese: Habarala—; Tahiti: Ape—.

4. Alocasia montana Schott occurs in the Northern Cirears,

and has been found in Java.

The root is said to be used to poison tigers (Roxburgh).

AMORPHOPHALLUS,

This genus includes about 90 species, spread over tropical Asia

and Africa.

A. rivieri Durieu is used medicinally in China; A. dracontioides

N. E. Br., A. flavovirens N. E. Br., and A. johnsoni N. EH. Br.

are used in the Gold Coast

Style many times longer than the ovary ... vw. L.A. campanulatus.

Style absent sh sea ea .. 2, A. prams.

1. Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Bl. is largely culti-

vated throughout the plains of India and Ceylon. It occurs in open

pastures, in grassy fields, and on the borders of woods all over

the Malay Peninsula, whence it extends to Siam, Sumatra, Java

and the Andamans.

Sanskrit writers describe the tuber as dry, acrid, pungent; in-

creasing both appetite and taste; stomachic, constipating; useful in

piles, enlargement of the spleen, tumours, asthma, bronchitis,

vomiting, abdominal pain, blood diseases, elephantiasis; causes

itching sensation; harmful in leprosy, leucoderma. The tuber is

covered with a layer of earth, roasted in hot ashes, and administer-

ed with the addition of oil and salt. Several confections are also

used. The dried tubers, peeled and cut into segments, are sold in

the shops.

The corm and the seeds are used as irritants and relieve the

pain of rheumatic swellings when applied externally. The corm

is considered a hot carminative in the form of a pickle. The tuber

contains a large quantity of farinaceous matter, mixed with acrid

poisonous juice, which may be extracted by washing or heat.

When fresh, it acts as an acrid stimulant and expectorant, and

is used in acute rheumatism. It is supposed to have restorative

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 138

powers and is in much request. It is considered serviceable in

haemorrhoids.

The root is used in ophthalmia and applied to boils. It is also

used aS an emmenagogue.

The raw tuber, well ground, is rubbed on swellings of the

extremities by the Mundas of Chota Nagpur. If eaten, it produces

unbearable itching in the mouth and throat, and it may prove fatal.

Bengal: Ol—; Bombay: Janglisuran—; Burma: Wa—; Cagayan: Ba-

gane—; Cutch: Janglisuran—; Deccan: Kanda—; Hasada: Hada, Hatu-

hada—; Hindi: Kanda, Ol, Zaminkand—; Ilocano: Carot, Corot—; Jolo:

Bagong—; Kolami: Ol—; Konkani: Suma, Surna—; Malayalam: Karunaka-

rang—; Marathi: Suran—; Matheran: Suran—; Naguri: Haluhada, Ol—;

Persian: Zaminkand—; Punjab: Nagphannigand, Zamin gand—; Sanskrit:

Arsaghna, Arshoghna, Bahukanda, Durnamari, Kanda, Kandala, Kandarha,

Kandashurana, Kandi, Kandula, Kandvardhana, Kanthalla, Olla, Rutchyakanda,

Sthulakandaka, Sukandi, Suvitra, Tivrakantha, Vatari—; Tagalog: Apon,

Pungapung, Tocodlangit—; Tamil: Karunaikkalang,. Karunaikkilhangu—;

Telugu: Daradakandagadda, Ghemikanda, Kanda, Kandagodda, Manchikanda,

Polikanda—; Uriya: Olna—; Visayan: Anto, Oroy, Pamangguilon, Pungapune,

Tocodlangit—.

2. Amorphophallus prainii Hook. fil. is common in the forests

of the Malay Peninsula, especially by the forest paths. It extends

to Sumatra.

The acrid juice is used as a poison by the Malays. Mixed with

Antiaris latex it is one of the Sakai dart poisons.

Malay: Sikir, Loki, Lokie—; Sakai: Begung—.

ANADENDRUM.

The genus consists of 4 or 5 Malayan species.

Anadendrum montanum Schott var. longirostris Hook. fil. is

common in the Malay Peninsula, where it is found in the low

country growing low down on tree trunks in thick forest. It

extends to Tenasserim, Java and Borneo.

The roots are used medicinally by the Malays.

Malay: Akar asam tebing darat, Akar merayan, Akar sueunja, Akar cum-

bung—.

ARISAEMA.

The genus includes 105 species, inhabiting Asia, Abyssinia and

America. .

A. japonicum Schott, A. ringens Schott, A. thunbergu Blume

are used medicinally in China; A. thunbergii Blume is used in

Indo-China; A. triphyllum Schott im North America.

A. Leaves trifoliolate. Limb of spathe ovate-lanceo-

late, incurved caudate-acuminate abi .. 2. A. speciosum.

B. Leaves pedatisect. Limb of spathe incurved,

broadly cymbiform, acuminate ‘ 4 Ov. A. LOTtuosum.

C. Leaflets whorled. Limb of spathe suberect, cymbi-

form, long caudate-acuminate 1 do A. deschenaulte.

1, Arisaema leschenaultii ithe is found in the Nilgiris,

Travancore and Ceylon.

The roots are used medicinally by the Sinhalese,

Sinhalese; Walkidaran—,

134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XxXXIx

2. Arisaema speciosum Mart. occurs in the temperate Hima-

laya from Kumaon to Sikkim and Bhutan.

In Hazara, the root is stated to be poisonous; in Chumba, it

is apphed pounded to snake-bites. In Kulu, where the tuber is

given to sheep for colic, the fruit is said to have deleterious effects

on the mouth when eaten by children.

The root is not an antidote to snake venom (Mhaskar and

Caius).

Punjab: Wiralu, Wirikikukri, Sampkikhumb—; Sinhalese: Walkidaran—.

3. Arisaema tortuosum Schott is found in the Sikkim Hima-

laya, Manipur, Bengal and the Western Peninsula.

It is stated to have poisonous qualities. In Kulu, the seeds

are said to be given with salt for colic in sheep. The roots are

used to kill the worms which infest cattle in the rains.

Kharwar: Dain—; Nepal: Birbanka—; Punjab: Don, Gurin, Jangosh,

Kirakal, Wirkichalu-—; Santali: Tuyajondra—.

COLOCGASIA.

law

The genus numbers 7 species, natives of tropical Asia, one of

which is cultivated or naturalised in many subtropical countries.

Colocasia esculenta (Linn.) Schott (=C. antiquorum Schott)

is found wild and cultivated throughout the hotter parts of India

and Ceylon. It is cultivated in all hot countries.

The pressed juice of the petioles is styptic, and may be used

to arrest arterial haemorrhage. It is sometimes used in earache

and otorrhoea, and also as an external stimulant and rubefacient.

The juice expressed from the leaf-stalks is used with salt as an

absorbent in cases of inflamed glands and buboes. The juice of

the corm is used in cases of alopaecia. Internally, it acts as a

laxative, and is used in cases of piles and congestion of the portal

system, also as an antidote to the stings of wasps and other

insects. The tubers chopped fine, tied in a cloth and heated, are

used as a fomentation in rheumatism.

The corm is used by the Mundas as a remedy for body-ache.

Caius and Mhaskar have demonstrated that the juice of the

corm is without action in the symptomatic treatment of scorpion

sting.

Accra: Mankani—; Angami Naga: Dzu, Kirth—; Annam: Khoai nuoc—;

Arabic: Kalkas, Kur, Gulgas—; Ashanti: Kooko—; Bengal: Ashukuchu,

Bunkuchu, Charkuchu, Guri, Kachhu, Kachu, Kalokuchu, Kuchu—; Bombay:

Kachualu, Terem—; Brazil: Tayoba de Sao Thome—; Burma: Mahuyapein— ;

Cagayan: Gabi—; Canarese: Kesavedantu, Keshavanagadde, Shamegadde—;

Carolines : Chaua—; Chinese: Yu, Yu T’eou—; Cuba: Malanga—; Deccan:

Arvi, Chamkurekagaddah—; Hgypt: Culeas, Kolkus, Golkas—; English:

China Potato, Coco, Coco Yam, Eddoes, Egyptian Arum, Kopeh, Scratch Coco,

Tare; Fanti: Kooko, Mankani—; Fiji: Taro—; French: Chou caraibe, Colo-

case, Colocasie, Gingembre d’Egypte—; Fufulde: Tandauje—; Gold Coast:

Coco Yam—; Guam: Sune, Suni—; Hausa: Gwaza, Kamu, Koko yam— ;

Hindv: Arvi, Arwi, Ashukachu, Auri, Avois, Gagli, Ghoya, Ghuian, Ghuiya,

Ghuya, Ghwiya, Gorikachu, Kachalu, Kachalu arvi, Kachu—; Japanese: Aka-

imo, Imo, Midsu-imo, To-no-imo—; Kangra: Arbi, Gandiali, Kachalu—;

Khasy; Ka shiriw—; Kolami: Pichgisaru—; Konkani; Allum—; Lanquedoe ;

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 135

Farrao—; Le Reunion: Songe, Songe du pays, Sonze de Chine, Sonze de

Maurice, Sonze noire, Sonze du pays—; Lynngam: Chew—; Madagascar:

Songe—; Malay: Keladi china, Keladi hudang, Keladi telor—; Malayalam:

Chempakizhanna, Kaladi—; Malta: Coco, Cocoaroot, Colocasia, Aro di Kgitto,

Ghorghas—; Marathi: Alu—; Marquesas: Tao—; Memico: Quequexquic, Que-

queste—; Mundari: Birsaru, Kucusaru—; New Caledonia: Barenik, Coboué,

Dadi, Diali, Diamboilaté, Doboua, Jabouak, Jalapé, Kandié, Kandiéren, Kavé,

Kiamoan, Néré, Ouagapé, Ouaoua, Oumon, Ounégaté, Paricraouté, Pobo, ‘T'an-

maouté, Taro, Tianaboué, Tiaouné, Tiréné—; Pampangan: Gabi, Gandus,

Gavay, Lagway—; Panama: Oto—; Philippines: Badiang, Dagmay—; Poly-

nesia: Kalo, Talo, Taro—; Porto-Rico: Yautia malanga—; Punjab: Alu,

Gagli, Ghuyan, Givian, Kachalu, Kachalu arbi, Kasauri, Rab—; Sadani:

Bonsaru—; Sanskrit: Kachchi, Kachu, Kachwi—; Sema Naga: A’i—; Singa-

pore: Gahala, Tadala—; Sinhalese: Gahala, Habarala, IKandala, ~'l'adala—;

South Carolina: Carib Cabbage—; Spanish: Aro de Egipto, Name de Cana-

rias, Name de Kgipto, Yame de Canarias, Yame de Egipto—; Sunda: Talas,

Taloes—; Tagalog: Gabi, Gabingpola, Gabingsilangan, Gabynasiboyas, Gaby-

nasiniboyas, Gandus, Gavay, Tamil: Shamakkilangu, Shemakka-

lenga—; Telugu: Chamadumpa, Chamagadda, Chamakura, Chamakuru, Chema,

Shamathumpa—; Tw: Kooko—; Uriya: Saru—; Visayan: Abalong, Apipi,

Biga, Dagmayngaapipi, Dagmayngabolilao, Dafimayngainitlog, Dagmayngaquin-

son, Dagmayngatapol, Gabi, Gabingmorada, Ganyngaguinatos, Galiang, Gan-

dus, Gavay, Guinatos, Lagway, Quimpoy—; West Africa: Coco Yam—; West

indies: Coco, Eddo, Eddoes, Dasheen, Tania, Tanier—; Yoruba: Koko—.

CRYPTOCORYNE.

The genus consists of 40 Indo-Malayan species. .

Cryptocoryne Spiralis Fisch occurs from Khandesh to North

Kanara, Calicut, Coromandel, Ceylon and Bengal.

It is a well-known drug in Ceylon, where it is employed by

the native doctors in decoctions, in combination with other drugs

as a remedy for infantile vomiting and cough, and in the case of

adults for abdominal complaints and fever.

The plant is considered a substitute for Ipecacuanha, It con-

tains neither emetine nor cephaeline (Chopra).

Tamil: Nattativadayam—; Telugu: Nattativasa—.

EPIPREMNUM.

The genus consists of 14 Malayan and Polynesian species.

Leaves very large entire if Eee .. Ll. EH. gigantewm.

Leaves deeply cut into acuminate lobes... ... 2. EH. mirabile.

1. Epipremnum giganteum Schott is common on rocks and

trees in the Malay Peninsula, whence it spreads over to Siam and

Cochin-China.

The powdered spadices are used to mix with the dart poison

by some of the Sakai tribes.

Malay: Rengut, Ringhut, Ringut—.

2, Epipremnum mirabile Schott is found in Martaban, Tenas-

serim, China, the whole of Malaya, Australia and Polynesia,

The plant is said to have anthelmintic properties,

136 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

HoMALOMENA.

The genus includes 30 Indo-Malayan and tropical American

species.

A. Spathes red a ee oe ... 0. it. nerbeseenss

B. Spathes green.

a. Spathe 3 in. oblong, acute at base and oP Basal

lobes of leaves divaricate : ... Ll. H. aromatica.

b. Spathe 1-14 in. linear-oblong. Base of leaves

rounded a, th Co wee! Oe EL ODGEG.

_ 1. Homalomena aromatica Schott is found in Assam and

Chittagong.

The large rhizome, which is invested with the old withered

leaf-scales, bears numerous white long rootlets issuing from its

surface, and is said to be held in high estimation by the natives

as an aromatic stimulant.

Bengal: Kuchugundubi—.

2. Homalomena ovata Hook. fil. is found in Bukit, Timah and

Singapore, whence it extends to Borneo.

The plant is used medicinally by the Malays.

Malay: Asam tikus, Kelamoyiang, Kumayan, Kumayan Jantan—.

3. Homalomena rubescens Kunth. is found in the Sikkim

Himalaya, the Khasia Hills and Chittagong, extending to Java.

The plant is used as a poison by the Malays. It enters into

the composition of ‘ipoh’ and is thrown into rivers to poison the

water.

LAGENANDRA.

The genus consists of 5 species, spread over India and Ceylon.

Lagenandra ovata (Linn.) Thwaites (=L. toxicaria Dalz.)

a marsh plant occurring from the Konkan to North Kanara, Mysore,

Coorg, Cochin, Travancore, and Ceylon where it is common in the

Central Provinces.

The plant is said to have insecticidal properties. It is consi-

dered very poisonous in Southern India.

Southern Konkan: Vatsanabh—.

LASIA,

The genus consists of 8 Indo-Malayan species.

Lasia aculeata_ Lour. (=L. heterophylla Schott) is a stout

spinous marsh plant occurring from tropical Sikkim Himalaya,

Assam, Bengal and Burma, southwards to Ceylon and the Malay

Peninsula, and extending to the Malay Islands and China.

The root is highly esteemed by the Santals as a remedy for

affections of the throat (Campbell).

Among the Mundas the petioles, ground and Siaed with water,

are given to drink to cattle affected with throat disease,

—

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 137

The leaves and roots are a common remedy for piles in Ceylon.

Bengal: Kantakachu—; Burma: Zayap—; Malay: Bekil, Gli-gli—; Mun-

dari: Janumsaru—; Santal: Rantasaru—; Sinhalese: Kohilla, Mahakshilla—;

Telugu: Kantakachoramu, Mulasari—.

PISTIA.

The only species of this genus, Pistia stratiotes Linn., is a

stemless stoloniferous floating herb found in still sweet water

throughout India and Ceylon. It occurs in the tropics and sub-

tropics, with the exception of Polynesia and Macronesia. In the

Malay Peninsula it is commonly cultivated by the Chinese to feed

pigs on.

The Ayurvedists consider the plant to be cooling and laxative;

useful in diseases of the blood and tuberculous glands.

The Yunanists describe the root as bitter, diuretic, good for

wounds, inflammations and burns.

The plant is cooling and demulcent, and is given in dysuria.

Tt is said to destroy bugs most effectively.

The root is laxative and emollient.

_ The leaves are made into poultices and applied to haemorrhoids.

Mixed with rice and cocoanut milk they are given in dysentery,

and with rose-water and sugar in cough and asthma.

The ashes are applied to ringworm of the sealp.

The Mundas use the juice of the plant medicinally in ear

complaints. ,

The whole plant has long been employed in ancient Chinese

prescriptions. It is apphed to boils, syphilitic eruptions and in

many skin complaints.

A decoction of the leaves is used in La Reunion as a diuretic

and prescribed in diseases of the urinary tract. Made into pills

the leaves are used in syphilis.

The natives of the Gambia use the plant as an anodyne eye-

wash: the leaves are soaked in cold water. If the plant comes

in contact with the body it produces a sharp stinging sensation,

like a nettle sting, and the pain continues for some minutes.

An oil was prepared by boiling the juice of the leaves in

cocoanut oil and used externally in chronic skin diseases. Relief

was obtained in a number of cases (Koman).

Arabic: Satar-al-tayutas—; Ashanti: Ntanoa, Todia—; Awuna: Aflo—;

Bengal: Pana, Takapana—; Bombay: Gondala, Prishni—; Cagayan: Alu-

luan—; Canarese: Antaragange—; Chinese: Fou Ping—; Deccan: Anterghun-

ga—; Hgypt: Hay-adem-el-ma—; Hnglish: Water Lettuce, Water Soldier—;

Ewe: Aflo—; Fanti: Ntangtangaba—; Ga: ‘Taitraimantai—; Gambia: Tye-

pity—; Gujerati: Jalakumbhi—; Hausa: Kainuwa—; Hindi: Jalkhumbi,

Takapana, Unterungha—; Hova: Tsinkafonkafona—; Ilocano: TLoloan—; La

Reunion: Pensée d’eau, Pourpier de Madagascar—; Madagascar: Azafo; Haza-

fo—; Malaya: Fow phing, Kambiang, Kiambang—; Malayalam: Woddapail—;

Marathi: Gondala, Jalamandri, Prasni—; Mundari: Jhalkumbhi—; Sadani:

Jhalkumbhi—; Sanskrit: Akashamuli, Ashakumbhi, Daladhaka, Jalavalkala,

Khali, Khamulika, Kumbhika, Kumuda, Kutrina, Paniyaprishthaja, Parni,

Prashni, Shvetaparma, Untareitamara, Varimuli, Variparni—; Sinhalese: Ati-

udayan, Dayaparandella—; Tagalog: Quiapo—; Tamil: Agasatamarai—;

Telugu : Akasatamara, Antaratamara, Koddapail, Nirubudiki—; Tongking: Beo

cai—;_ Twi: Ntaya—: Urdu: Jalakumbhi—; Uriya: Baujhanjhe—; Uruguay:

Lechuguita de agua, Ropollito de agua—; Visayan; Cayapo, Touanlouanz

138° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST: (SOCIHT VW ols DOG,

PLESMONIUM.

The genus is represented by P. margaritiferum Schott, a tube-

rous herb flowering before leafing and found in Bengal.

The country-people in Goa use the crushed seed to cure tooth-

ache; a small quantity is placed in the hollow tooth and covered

with cotton; it rapidly benumbs the nerve; they also use it as an

external application to bruises on account of its benumbing effect.

Among the Mundas the raw tuber, well ground, is rubbed on

swellings “of the extremities. The tubers are eaten. If they are

not boiled in several: successive kettlefuls of water, or together with

tamarind leaves or tamarind pulp, they keep a noxious acidity

which affects the throat and mouth with unbearable itching. It

is said that the itching has sometimes proved fatal. Acid dr inks

are a counterpoison. The tamarind added ought, therefore, not to

be spared.

Biru: Bonggajorena—; Goa: Azomut, Uzomut—; Hasada: Birhada,

Hada—; Naguri: Hada, Tonanghada—; Oudh: Kharhar—.

PotHos.

The genus includes 60 species, inhabitants of tropical Asia,

Australia, Polynesia and Madagasear.

Bracts large concave thickly coriaceous... ... L. P. cathearty.

Bracts very small se ats .; Y. P. scandens.

1. Pothos cathcartii Schott occurs in the tropical Himalaya

from Kumaon to Bhutan, Assam, the Khasia Hills, Manipur and

Burma. ; |

In Lakhimpur the leaves, fried in ghee, are eaten to cure various

pains.

Lakhimpur: Hathidenkiya—.

2, Pothos scandens Linn. is found throughout India, on walls

and tree trunks, from Bengal eastwards to Burma, and southwards

to Singapore, and from the Konkan to Ceylon, the Andamans and

the Nicobar Islands, extending to the Malay Islands and China.

The bruised stem and leaves are mixed with ox-urine and

applied to the wounds in snake-bite; and an aqueous extract of

the fresh stem and leaves is given internally (Roberts).

The stem and leaves have no effect in the treatment of snake-

bite, whether taken internally or applied externally (Mhaskar and

Caius).

Badaga: Arkaburu—; Canarese: Adikabiluballi—; Malayalam: Anappa-

; Siamese: T’kep—; Sinhalese: Potawel—.

var. cognatus Engler, known in Malaya as ‘Juloh-juloh’, is

used medicinally by the Malays. The powdered leaves are applied

to the body to cure small-pox; the stem, cut up with camphor,

is smoked lke tobacco for asthma.

REMUSATIA.

The genus consists of 2 species, inhabiting tropical Asia and

Africa,

‘

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA. 139

Remusatia vivipara Schott is found in the subtropical Hima-

laya from Kumaon to Sikkim, the Khasia Hills and Burma, Chota

Nagpur, the Western Ghats, Mysore and Ceylon. It extends to

Cochin-China, Java and tropical Africa.

The root is made into an ointment with turmeric and used as

a remedy for itch; and the juice with cow’s urine is considered

to be alexipharmic (Rheede).

Marathi: Rukhalu—; Matheran: Rokhalu—.

VIAPIIDOPHORA,

The genus includes 60 Indo-Malayan species. -

Rhaphidophora pertusa Schott (=Scindapsus pertusus Schott)

is a tall climber found in the Deccan Peninsula, the Coromandel

Coast, Malabar, Ceylon and the Malay Islands.

The juice of the plant with black pepper is given to people who

are bitten by the Russell’s Viper. The juice, with that of the

roots of Croton oblongifolium, and of the fruit of Momordica charan-

tia is also applied to the bitten part.

This treatment is ineffective (Mhaskar and Caius).

Jolo: Mamao—; Malayalam: Anachukiri, Tlattimaravala—; Marathi:

Ganeshkanda—; Tagalog: Pacpaclauin—; Tamil: Tlattimaravalai—; Telugu:

Enuganalleru—; Visayan: Dayia—.

SAUROMATUM.

-The genus consists of 4 palaeotropical species.

Sauromatum guttatum Schott occurs in the Punjab, the

Gangetic Plain, the Western Himalaya, Chota Nagpur, the Bombay

Presidency and Burma; extending to Sumatra.

The tubers are used as a stimulating poultice.

‘Bombay: oth—; Central Provinces: Bhasamkand—,

SCINDAPSUS.

The genus consists of 20 Indo-Malayan species.

Spathe green without yellow within, 4-6 in. oblong sub-

cylindrical beaked. Spadix greenish-yellow ne 2.99. Ojjicinalis.

Spathe white or pale yellow, 2-23 in. boat-shaped

acuminate narrow long-beaked. Spadix white... 1. S. hederacea.

1. Scindapsus hederacea Schott is found throughout the Malay

Peninsula, chmbing on rocks and trees in the low country.

A decoction of the stem is used by the Malays for rheumatism.

Malay: Akar lubang alah, Akar ular—.

2. Scindapsus officinalis Schott occurs in the tropical Hima-

laya from Sikkim eastwards, Bengal, Chittagong, Burma and the

Andamans.

The ripe fruit is described in the Nighantas as pungent, sharp,

heating, anthelmintic, aphrodisiac, galactagogue; sharpening hear-

ing and appetite; regulating the bowels; useful in dysentery,

asthma and troubles of the throat,

140 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Mahommedan writers speak of the fruit as aphrodisiac, cardio-

tonic; useful in ozoena and bronchitis.

The dried fruit is commonly used as a stimulant, diaphoretie,

and anthelmintic. |

Among the Santals the fruit is applied externally for rheuma-

tism.

A decoction of the sliced fruit was tried in cases of asthma

and found to act as an expectorant; it did not diminish the severity

of the fit (oman).

Bengal: Gajapipal, Gajapipul—; Canarese: Doddahippali, Gajahippali—;

Deccan: Hattipipli—; Dehra Dun: Poriabel—; Gujerati: Mottopiper—; Hindi:

Braipipli, Gaja pipal, Gajapipli, Maidah, Pippaljhhanca—; Malayalam: Anatti-

ppali, Attittippali--; Marathi: Thorapimpli—; North-West Provinces: Gaj-

pippali, Hath, Ungliya—; Sanskrit: Chavyaphala, Chhidravaidehi, Dirgha-

eranthi, Gajakrishna, Gajapippali, Gajavha, Ibhakana, Iboshana, Kapivalli,

Karipippali, Kolavalli, Kunjarapippali, Shreyasi, ‘Tejasi, Vartuli, Vashira—;

Santali: Darejhapak, Dharejhapak—; Tamil: Anaittippili—; Telugu: Ennuga-

tippali, Gajapippali—; Urdu: Gajapippali—; Uriya: Girudhuni, Gojopippoli,

Odisimo—.

SYNANTHERIAS.

The genus is limited to 1 species, S. sylvatica Schott, found

in the Deccan Peninsula, from the Northern Cirears to the Konkan,

and Ceylon,

The plant is pungent, anthelmintic, heating; improves taste;

useful in tumours, pains, piles; causes biliousness.

The country people use the crushed seed to cure toothache. <A

small quantity is placed in the hollow tooth and covered with

cotton; it rapidly benumbs the nerve; they also use it as an ex-

ternal application to bruises on account of its benumbing effect.

In the Konkan, the seeds rubbed into a paste with water are

applied repeatedly to remove glandular enlargements. The taste

of the fruit is intensely acrid; after a few seconds it causes a

most painful burning of the tongue and lips, which lasts, for a lone

time, causing much salivation and subsequent numbness.

Goa: Uzomut—; Marathi: Wajramuta—; Sanskrit: Aranyasurana, Chitra-

kandaka, Shvetasurana, Sitasurana, Surendra, Vanja, Vanakanda, Vanaolla,

Vanya—.

TYPHONIUM.

The genus includes 25 Indo-Malayan species.

Typhonium trilobatum (Linn.) Schott is found in the Eastern

and Western Peninsula and Ceylon, in Bengal, Assam, Chittagong,

Burma, the Malay Peninsula. It extends to Siam, Cambodia,

Tongking, Bormeo and Java.

The roots are exceedingly acrid, and used in poultices; and

also applied externally to the bite of venomous snakes, at the same

time given inwardly about the size of a field bean. It is certainly

a most powerful stimulant.

The acrid principle is very volatile; and by the application of

heat, or by simple drying, the root becomes innocuous or even

a Wholesome article of diet. As an article of food, it relaxes the

bowels and thereby relieves haemorrhoids, |

THE MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS AROIDS OF INDIA 141

The tubers eaten with bananas cure stomach complaints.

Mhaskar and Caius have shown experimentally that the root is

not an antidote to snake venom.

Bengal: Ghetkochu—; Hasada: Cakad, Nirbisi, Niribisi—; Malayalam:

Chena—; Nagurt: Najompicki—; Sinhalese: Panuala—; Tamil: Warkarunaik-

kilhangu, Karunaikkilhanga—; Telugu: Duradakandagadda, Kandagadde—.

OBSERVATIONS OF SOME PECULIAR HABITS OF

THE SPIDER (MARPISSA MELANOGNATQHUS).

GopAL CHANDRA BHATTACHARYA,

Bose Research Institute.

(With two plates),

In June, 1934, while passing along the compound of the

Science College, Ballygunge, I noticed a thick column of minute

biting ants, Solenopsis geminata, on the fencing of the compound.

The column was unusually long and thick and the workers were

very busy carrying minute particles of food-stuffs and eggs from

an old stump of a tree to a new place of shelter at a distance of

about thirty yards. While observing their activities my attention

was drawn to a young spider, Marpissa melanognathus,! which

was rushing and pausing at a little distance along a line parallel

to that of the ants. From the movements of the spider I sur-

mised that it wanted to cross the line of ants, but dared not do

so. Curiously enough, a few minutes later, the spider instead of

passing across, as I thought it wanted to do, fell upon the swarm

of ants, carrying the food-stuffs and eggs, and ran away to a

safe distance after snatching a morsel from one of them. Great

consternation arose in that peaceful column, resulting in a disturb-

ance in the regular line of march; the ants scattering in all

directions. The ants, unable to move as fast as the spider, tried

to follow the raider in vain. Irregularity in movements due to

this disturbance spread over the entire column, but this was for

a few seconds only. Soon the disturbance subsided, and it seemed

that the pace of the carrier-ants was much more accelerated than

before. In the meantime the spider having devoured the stolen

food came back to its former position and waited intently for a

fresh attempt. I thought it to be a stray case of snatching ants’

food by a wandering spider, who happened to come across. the

ant caravan. But a few minutes later, when I moved to a different

part of the line, two other younger spiders of the same _ species

attracted my attention. They too lay in ambush by the side of

the column evidently with the same purpose of raiding the ants.

For two hours and a half I watched the activities of these spiders

who successfully managed to snatch eggs or food from the ants

several times. In one or two cases only their objective was

missed, but the ants were so frightened that they dropped the

eggs or food-stuff. After this, on several other occasions I

observed similar raids on these ants by M. melanognathus. From

which I am inclined to conclude that the young of this spider,

until it matures, subsists largely on food or eges taken from the

1 J. H. Comstock, The Spider Book, p. 678, New York, 1920.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE ®

Fig. 1.—The spider (M. melanognathus 9) stealthily approaching

fly from behind.

Vig. 2—M. melanognathus Q seizing the fly.

a sitting

SOME PECULIAR HABITS OF MARPISSA MELANOGNATHUS 143

ants, Solenopsis geminata, where they are abundantly distributed

(lig. 1).

M. melanognathus is a common spider found almost every-

where in Bengal. During the summer months they are seen

loitering on the walls and floors of houses in search of prey. They

spin no web, save for a shelter at the time of laying eggs. It

is a white canopy built in a corner or a crevice of the house-

walls, of oval shape and made up of three separate layers. Eggs

are laid under the first layer and upon it the mother spider

spends most of her time. Above this layer, there are two separate

covers built one above another, while two doors, one opposite the

other, are kept for coming in and goint out. Sometimes, before

laying eggs, the female entertains the male on the upper layer

of her retreat. Unlike most of other spiders, the female goes

out hunting and carries her victims to a secluded place to feed

undisturbed upon them. After reaching the adult stage they prey

upon the common house-fly (Musca domestica). Their mode of

capturing flies is marvellously skilful. The spider stalks the fly

from a distance of about two feet or more. A fly is sitting on

the floor, the spider advances towards it slowly, when close, it

moves with still greater caution (Fig. 1). It approaches. still

closer; if it finds the fly facing it, the spider changes its course

and moving backwards in a wide circle approaches the fly from

behind. It then crawls towards the prey and, when in easy reach,

jumps upon it (Fig. 2). Its spring is very accurate, it seldom

misses its first attempt. In rare instances, a flank attack is made.

A sitting fly usually appears to be too engrossed in its toilet

to realise the imminent danger of an approaching spider even at

close quarters. There might be an additional explanation of this

apparent carelessness on the part of the fly, viz., that it cannot

see things clearly from the distance at which the sharper-sighted

spider can see without much difficulty. Moreover, the spider,

though not a mimicking one, looks more or less like a fly when

it stealthily crawls towards the victim.

These spiders are of quarrelsome habit. A chance meeting

of two, if they happen to be of the same sex, results in the

stronger one invariably attacking the weaker. If both the parties

happen to be of equal strength they approach each other, raising

their fore-legs upwards and rush headlong in a contest. The fol-

lowing incident will show clearly how aggressive these spiders are.

An adult spider M. melanognathus dropped on to a table from

above, and remaining motionless for a while, jumped upon the

polished stand of an apparatus at which I was working. The

reflection of its own image in the polished surface of the stand

attracted its attention. With raised body and lowered cephalo-

thorax it looked intently at its image, which it took for another

spider. It moved up and down the stand to seize its imaginary

opponent. Being disappointed, it became angry and raising its

fore-legs, dashed furiously at the stand. Unable to seize its

supposed opponent, it stopped a while to recover from the shock.

It followed its reflection round the stand and dashed as ineffectively

against it. Failure after failure made the spider so furious that

i144 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX-

it dashed repeatedly against the surface, at times springing at its

reflection from a little distance. The same operation, with short

intervals of rest, was repeated for more than ten minutes. The

spider now exhausted, gave up the attempt and walked away from

the spot.

The courting of these spiders, previous to mating, may be of

interest. The amorous gestures performed by the male _ before

mating are not as elaborate as those of the Lycosid spiders. The

male advances towards the female with his fore-legs raised and

keeping at a respectable distance moves forwards and backwards

(Fig. 3). This continues for a long time. He now comes closer

and caresses her with his raised fore-legs (Fig. 4). The female

treats these demonstrations with unconcern. She moves here and

there as though busy in search of prey and not interested in the

matter. During this procedure, when opportunity offers, the male

gets upon her back and turning the abdomen inserts the intromit-

tent organ into the orifice several times at intervals. The female

never attacks the male after mating as is wont with some species of

Lycosid spiders. *

'G. Bhattacharya, Transactions of the Bose Research Institute, vol. vii,

p. 248 (1981-2).

* A superstition about this particular spider is prevalent among the Hindus

of Eastern Bengal that the spider carrying a fly in its jaws is considered

as an indispensable sign of good luck by the bride’s party on the occasion of

marriage ceremony and these spiders are therefore carefully collected alive for

the purpose. Similar superstitious beliefs are not rare or unknown even in

Western countries. (Vide Notes and Queries, vol. iu, p. 165; ibid., vol. iv,

Qnd. ed., pp. 198 and 377; and Am. Spid. and their Spin. Work, vol. iii,

pp. 81-3.) 7

PATH uk

, Bombay Nat. Hist. Sos.

Tig. 8.—The male spider courting the female

prior to mating.

Above—M. melanognathus ¢.

Below—M. melanognathus 9.

Fig. 4.—The male (above) is caressing the

female (below) with raised forelegs.

Courting attitudes of the spider (Marpissa melanognathus).

AN UNDESCRIBED TINGITID FROM SOUTH INDIA.

CARL J. DRAKE.

(Ames; lowa, U.S-A.).

The present paper is based upon a small collection of lace bugs from

South India kindly sent to the writer by Mr. M. C. Cherian for identification.

One species, Monanthia cheriani Drake, is described below as new to science.

Monanthia cheriant Drake, sp. nov.

Small, body black, the reticulations whitish testaceous. Antennae slender,

whitish; segment I short, a little longer and slightly stouter than IL; HI very

slender, three times as long as IV; IV slightly enlarged, the distal two-thirds

dark brown. Head moderately convex above, black, armed with five slender

whitish spines; anterior pair short, very slender, resting on the surface of

the head; posterior pair and median spines long, directed forward, contiguous

with the surface of the head; extending almost to the anterior margin of

the eyes. Rostrum testaceous, darkened at tip, not quite reaching the inter-

mediate coxae. Legs slender, testaceous, the tarsi darker.

Collum raised, reticulate, faintly produced anteriorly. Paranota broad, tes-

taceous, turned back upon the dorsal surface of the pronotum, the outer

margin broadly rounded and almost touching the median carina. Carinae

testaceous; median carinae slightly more raised behind, there with long, low

areolae; lateral carinae short, confined to posterior triangular portion of pro-

notum, faintly divaricating. Pronotum black, the reticulation of posterior

portion testaceous. Hlytra broadest near middle, faintly constricted a little

beyond the middle, considerably longer than abdomen; costal area rather

narrow, uniseriate, testaceous, mostly biseriate, triseriate in widest part, the

areolae rather large; discoidal area almost reaching middle of elytra, rather

widely reticulate, with five areolae in widest part, narrowed towards base,

widest near apex, there with the outer margin bowed outwardly and with a

distinctly raised, brown'sh black point on the boundary, the inner margin

distinctly curved; areolae hyaline, the nervelets of discoidal and basal portion

of sutural areas blackish.

Length, 2.12 mm.; width, .90 mm.

Holotype (male) and allotype (female), Coimbatore, India, on Corida Sp.,

March 1, 1920, collected by Dr. T. V. Ramakrishna Ayyar, in Drake collection.

mee 4 specimens, taken with type, in collections of M. C. Cherian and

author.

Hormisdas vicarius Drake.

Travancore, South India, 5 examples, taken on Uvrena lobata I., by Mr.

M. C. Cherian. Heretofore known only from the Philippines.

NOTES ON COCCIDH (HOMOPTERA RHYNCHOTA) FROM

SOUTH INDIA.}

Rao Sans Dr. T. V. RamaxrisHna Ayyar, B.A.,. Ph.D.,

Late Government Entomologist, Agricultural Research Institute,

Coimbatore.

INTRODUCTION.

Fresh data on the South Indian Coccide collected since the

publication of my previous papers? on these insects, are recorded

in this paper. The material reported here comprises twenty-nine

species distributed over seventeen genera. Six of these species

are new to science and are being described by Green elsewhere.

Seven well known species are being recorded for the first time

from South India.

I am greatly indebted to Prof. E. E. Green, the well known

authority on these insects, for his kind help and valuable sugges-

tions.

SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT.

Sub-family: DIASPIN ZL.

Leucaspis ricce arg.

This well known species is now recorded for the first time from South

India. Numerous specimens were taken on an unknown plant at Hyderabad,

Deccan.

Pinnaspis marchali Cockl.

This species was originally described from West Africa, where it attacks

the Oil palm. It is very common on Western Ghats in South India. Numer-

ous specimens were taken on the spikes of Piper nigrum along with another

species P. aspidistre Sign. at the Taliparamba pepper farm, Malabar.

Aspidiotus latani@ Sign.

This species was previously recorded on Ficus carica from Ceylon, on

Phenix from Calcutta, on Citrus sp. from Bombay, on Carissa and sissal hemp

from Coimbatore and apple stems from the Shevaroys. I recently collected

this species on Acacia dealbata from the Nilgiris.

Aspidiotus tamarindi Green.

This common species is an important pest of Tamarindus indica Linn. I

have recently bred the Chalcid parasite Comperiella indica Ramakr.* from this

scale at Coimbatore.

Aspidiotus (ChrySomphalus) aurantii Mask.

This species was previously recorded on mulberry at Pusa and pomelo at

Myitkyina. This is also reported as a serious pest of oranges in California

1 This paper was read at the Twenty-third Session of the Indian Science

Congress held at Indore in January 1936.

2 Ramakrishna Ayyar, Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., xxvi, 621-8 (1919);

Rep. Proc. Fourth Ent. Meet. Pusa, pp. 386-62 (1921); Bull. Imp. Council

Agric. Res. Inst., Pusa, No. 197, pp. 76 (19380).

5 Ramakrishna Ayyar, Rec. Ind. Mus., xxxvi, p. 219 (19384).

NOTES ON COCCIDAE (HOMOPTERA RHYNCHOTA) FROM 8S. INDIA 147

and other important orange-growing countries. It is widely distributed in India

and is known as an important pest of citrus plants. From South India

the species was previously reported on guava, rose, morinda, jasmine, etc.

I recently noted this species on oranges at Coimbatore and the Nilgiris. The

species has not previously been reported on oranges from South India and

it might prove an extremely dangerous pest.

Aspidiotus (Pseudaonidia) trilobitiformis Green.

Taken on guava at Coimbatore; this is the first record of this species on

this plant.

Lepidosaphis beckii New.

This species was originally reported on pepper from Travancore and is now

being recorded for the first time on citrus plants from the Nilgiris. This is

an important pest of citrus plants.

Lepidosaphis hawaiiensis var. indica Green.

This variety was taken on the bark of Albizzia at Coimbatore.

Lepidosaphis cornutus, sp. nov. (Green Ms.).

Numerous specimens generally resembling L. piperis Green were taken on

leaves and vines of the betel vine, Piper betle, at Tirukulum, North Arcot Dis-

trict. The specimens differ from those of DL. piperis in the short tubercular

spine on either side of the head and Green has determined them as belonging

to a new species, which he is describing under the name cornutus.

Parlatoria proteus Curt.

This species was previously reported on Cymbidium bicolor from Ceylon and

on Vanda and other Orchids from Bangalore. I recently noted numerous

specimens on Aerides bridleyanum in the Nilgiris.

Parlatoria mangifere Marl.

Noted on Commiphora berryi at Coimbatore.

Paralatoria blanchardi ‘larg.

This is the first record of this species from India. Originally reported on

date palm from West Africa, it is being recorded on the same plant from

Hyderabad, Deccan.

Sub-family: LECANIINA.

Ceronema keebeli Green.

This species was previously reported on Sapium sebiferum and Pithecolo-

bium from Ceylon and is being recorded for the first time from South India.

Numerous specimens were taken on Cesalpinia sp. at Coimbatore.

Pulvinaria durante Tak. (?)

This species is closely related to P. psidii Green. Numerous specimens

were taken on Amaranthus sp. at Coimbatore.

Pulvinaria maxima Green.

Since the publication of my previous paper’ on this species the following

parasites have been bred from specimens taken on Melia at Coimbatore:

Anicetus eeylonensis (How.), Encyrtus flavus How. and Perrisopterus sp.

Pulvinaria psidii Green.

The following Chalcid parasites were recently bred by me from specimens

of this species taken at Coimbatore: Encyrtus kotinsky: (Full.), Adelencyrtus

chionaspidis (How.), Aphelinus mytilaspidis Le Baron and a species of Cocco-

phagus.

Lecanium marsupiale Green.

This species was previously reported on pepper, Pothos and Anona from

Ceylon. Numerous specimens attacking pepper were recently received from

Coorg.

1 Ramakrishna Ayyar, Mem. Dept. Agric. Ind., Ent. Ser., vui, p. 80 (1925).

148 JOURNAL, BOMBAY “NATURAL BIST. SOCHETY,. Voll xxi

Lecanium latioperculum Green.

This species was taken on Anacardium occidentale Linn. in Malabar.

Aclerda japonica var. inermis Green.

Numerous specimens of this species were taken on the leaf-sheath of sugar-

cane at Anakapalle, Godavari District, along with Pseudococcus (Trionymus)

sacchari Cockl.

Sub-family: ASTEROLECANTINA,

Cerococcus ramakrishne sp. nov. (Green Ms.).

This new species is related to C. ovoides Cockl., from which it is distin-

guished mainly by its larger size. Specimens of this species were taken on

rootlets of Ficus sp. at Coimbatore.

Sub-family: DACTYLOPIIN At.

Pseudococcus (Ferrisia) virgatus Cockl. .

This species is common on Dolichos lablab at Coimbatore and Malabar.

Trionymus sacchari (Cockl.).

This well known species is a rather serious pest, in almost all sugar-cane

growing countries. It has also been noted on paddy from South India. Attacks

of this species on the roots and leaf-sheaths of sugar-cane and sorghum recently

came under my notice at Anakapalle. My remarks in my previous paper’ on

the soorai disease of the paddy plant do not really refer to this species,

but to the following species.

Ripersia oryze Green.

This species is the cause of the common Soorai disease of the paddy plant

in the Tanjore delta. It has recently been found in Malabar also. Besides

the paddy plant, the species attacks numerous other species of grasses including

the ragi, Hleusine coracana.

Pseudantonina rigida, sp. nov. (Green Ms.).

This species was taken on the grass Iseilema laruwm Hack. at Samalkota,

Godavari District.

Pseudantonina imperata, sp. nov. (Green Ms.).

On the grass Imperata arundinacea at Anakapalle.

Antonina zonata Green.

This is the first record of this species from India. Taken on bamboo at

Coimbatore.

{cerya pilosa Green.

In 1896, this species was reported on the common shrub of the sand dunes,

Spinifex squarrosus Linn. from the Coromandel Coast of the Madras Presi-

dency. It has recently been reported on the same plant from the West Coast

also.

Icerya purchasi Mask.

This serious exotic pest found its way into India somewhere about the

years 1928 and 1929 and was first reported on wattles (Acacia) from the

Nilgiris. I have recently noted the species on a few other plants, including

citrus near about Coonoor, Nilgiris. The rapid multiplication of the species

appears to have been somewhat checked by the introduced lady-bird, Novius

cardinalis, which is predaceous on it. The species does not as yet appear to

have found its way to the plains.

‘ Ramakrishna Ayyar, Bull. Imp. Council Agric. Res. Ind., Pusa, No. 197

p. 59 (1930).

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PHATE Ts

ALGAL FLORA OF HYDERABAD, DECCAN.

(For explanation see text).

A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF THE ALGAL FLORA OF

HYDERABAD (DECCAN).

Part I. Myxophyceze

M. GHousUDDIN, M.Sc. (Alig.)

(With two plales).

The study of the Algal Flora of Hyderabad State has been taken up

recently. The State with its varying ecological conditions deserves an extensive

investigation, and the results are sure to be of general interest. The scope for

research on the Fresh-water Algae of the Nizam’s Dominions is facilitated by

the existence of more than 18,000 natural and artificial tanks, which are the

chief supply for irrigation and drinking purposes throughout the State. In

connection with my work on the ‘Distribution of the Diatoms in the Nizam’s

Dominions’, to be published elsewhere, material of other fresh-water algae was

also collected and preserved during the last two years and is now to be

described briefly. For the present I consider the commonly distributed forms,

which are met with and reported from other parts of India also; but as this

is the first record from the Dominions, it may be of some interest. -Owing to

lack of full lterature only common types have been dealt with, but an

extensive study of the material collected is in progress and will be published in

due course.

UNICELLULAR AND ConONIAL Forms.

Cells or colonies free floating or forming a gelatinous stratum. Reproduction

by simple cell division. . . Family: CHROOCCOCCEAE.

Cells globose with firm, thick membrane, solitary and free floating (Fig. 1,

pl. I). Chroococcus giganteus West.

Cells solitary, free floating with colourless sheaths (Fig. 2, pl. I).

C. turgidus (Kutz) Nag.

Collections from Husain Sagar and Mir Alam tanks show a fair number

of both the species.

Cells spherical, adhering in groups of four and arranged in rows to form

flat rectangular colonies. Abundant (Fig. 3, pl. I). Merismopedia elegans A.

Braum.

Colony spherical, sheaths colourless, indistinctly lamellose cells spherical

or angular by mutual pressure, blue-green—from Husain Sagar (Fig. 4, pl. I).

Gloeocapsa aeruginosa (Carmich) Kutz.

Colonies at first spherical, later irregular in shape. Cells spherical, numer-

ous, blue-green or brown. Common (Fig. 5, pl. I). Clathracystis aeruginosa

(Kutz) Henfery.

Cells embedded in a gelatinous matrix to form spherical colonies. Cells

globose, contents granular, blue-green (Fig. 6, pl. I). Aphanocapsa grevillei

(Hass) Rabenhorst.

FILAMENTOUS ForMs.

(A) The trichomes consist of a single uniform row of cells, not branched,

heterocysts absent. Enclosed in more or less gelatinous sheaths of variable

size. Family : OScILLATORIACEAE.

Trichomes not more than one in a sheath, filaments unbranched. Sub-family:

LYNGBYEAE.

‘Trichome narrow, twisted into a regular spiral, the coils apart (Fig. 7, pl. I).

Spirulina major Kutz. Trichomes relatively wide, coils closely arranged (Fig.

8, pl. I). S. turfosa Crain,

150 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Trichomes of both the species are often. observed in the collections mixed

with other forms, but almost pure material of S. turfosa with a fair proportion

of S. major was found in a little pool near Isolation Hospital, University Road.

Trichomes free or interwoven to form a thin substratum, cells cylindrical,

without conspicuous sheaths, with oscillating movements. OscinLaToria Vaucher.

(1) Filaments long, straight with obtusely rounded apex, slightly con-

stricted at the joints, cell contents granular olive green or brown (Fig. 1,

pl. IL). Oscillatoria limosa Ag.

(2) Filament long, straight or curved, cells about 1/6 in length then

wide, apical cell slightly capitate, cell contents granular, dark green to bluish

gray (Fig. 2, pl. II). O. princeps Vauch.

(3) Filament long, straight with rounded apex, constricted at the joints,

cells less than $ as long as broad, pale bluish-green, mixed with other fila-

mentous algae (Fig. 3, pl. Il). O. tenwis Ag.

Filaments not showing oscillating movements with conspicuous, firm sheaths,

free floating or forming an expanded substratum. Lynespya C. Agradh.

(1) Filaments flexuous forming intricate masses, dark blue-green, sheath

thin, hyaline, cells almost quadrate, not constricted, apical cell round not

capitate. Common (Fig. 9, pl. I). Lyngbya aerugineo-caerulea Kutz.

(2) Filaments long, sheaths coated with iron-hydroxide, cells quadrate. L.

ochracea Kutz.

Common in the River Moosi.

(B) Filaments simple, unbranched, heterocysts present, free floating or em-

bedded in gelatinous masses, sheaths unconspicuous and _ confluent. Cells

generally torulose in a single row. Family: NostTocackar.

Colonies spherical, later on irregular filaments irregularly interwoven and

contorted. Cells globular or barrel shaped, with intercalary heterocysts. Colonies

forming yellowish-brown gelatinous masses in the River Moosi and adjacent

ponds (Fig. 10, pl. I). Nostoc commune Vaucher.

Filament single, free floating, wound in spirals, cells almost spherical,

heterocysts a little larger than the vegetative cell. Stray filaments met with

in a collection made from a small pond near Umdasagar (Fig. 6, pl. II). Ana-

baena spiroides Kelb.

Filament single, free, vegetative cells cylindrical, usually longer than the

diameter, heterocyst terminal, spore oval, big, next to the heterocyst. Rare

in the River Moosi and Mir Alam Tank (Fig. 7, pl. Il). Cylindrospermum

stagnale Born et Flah.

falso branching. Family : ScyToNEMATACEAE.

Branches arising generally in pairs, cells about twice as long as_ broad,

apical cell rounded, heterocysts intercalary, abundant on the banks of Mir

Alam and Husain Sagar tank (Fig. 4, a, b, c, pl. Il). Scytonema mirabile

Thurst.

Branches arising as a rule singly, arising from the main filament beneath

a heterocyst, heterocyst intercalary shorter than the vegetative cells (Fig. 5,

pl. II). Tolypothrix sp.

LITERATURE.

Biswas, K., ‘The Sub-aerial Algae of Berkuda Island, Ganjam, Madras’.

Journ. and Proc. Asiat. Soc. of Bengal, 1924.

————, ‘Road-slimes of Calcutta’. Journ., Dept. Sc. Calcutta University.

‘Flora of the Salt Lakes, Calcutta’. Journ., Dept. Sc. Calcutta

University.

———., ‘Algal Flora of Chilka Lake’. Mem. Asiat. Soc. of Bengal.

Bruhi, Py & ‘Biswas, K., ‘Algae of Bengal Filter Beds’. Journ., Dept. Sc.

Calcutta University.

Ghose, 8. L., ‘On some Myxophyceae from Rangoon’. Journ., Burma Re.

Soc., vol xv, Part III.

———, ‘The Myxophyceae of Rangoon II’. Journ., Burma Re. Soc.,

vol. xvi and xvi, Part Di

————, ‘On a Collection of Myxophyceae from Mergui and some Neigh-

bouring Islands’. Journ., Burma Re. Soc., vol. xvii, Part ITI.

Ward & Whipple, Fresh-water Biology.

West & Fritsch, British Fresh-water Algae,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PATE, act.

ALGALD FLORA OF HYDERABAD, DECCAN.

(For explanation see text).

REVIEW.

INDIAN SCIENCE ABSTRACTS (Being an Annotated Bibliography of

Science in India). Published by the National Institute of Sciences of India;

July 1936; Calcutta. Price, Rs. 7-8.

‘Originally the publication was intended to include abstracts of all scientific

papers published in India, but at a later date the Council decided also to

include abstracts of all papers published abroad on work done in India or

based on Indian material.’

An ambitious programme, indeed; and one which for the present has only

resulted in the production of a costly publication in which the sins of omission

are many and the sins of commission not a few.

The intention, nevertheless, deserves praise; and the get-up is excellent.

J. F.C.

OBITUARY.

HERBERT MUSGRAVE PHIPSON.

(1850—1936),

The son of Mr. T. W. Phipson, Q.C., of Lincoln’s Inn, born

“1850, educated at Clifton. Went out to India first in 1878 as a

partner in J. A. Forbes & Co., East India Merchants. Established

the firm of Phipson & Co., Wine Merchants, in 1883. Married Dr.

Edith Pechey, m.p., head physician of the Cama Hospital for

Women and Children in 1899. Left India in 1906. Died in Lon-

don on Tuesday, 7th of August 1936, at the age of 86.

Few Europeans in the Western Presidency, unconnected with

its government and administration, have a better claim to grateful

memory than Mr. H. M. Phipson and he undoubtedly left this

Presidency the richer for his association with it. .

The Bombay Natural History Society to whose growth and

development he so greatly contributed and the Pechey Phipson

Sanitarium for Women and Children at Nasik remain as memorials

to his life and work in India.

It is fitting that this Journal should firstly commemorate Mr.

Phipson’s work for the Society. He was in England when the

eight original founders of the Society met at the Victoria and

Albert Museum, Bombay, on the 15th September 1883. He joined

the Society on his return from England in the same year, and in

January 1884, offered a room in his offices at 18, Forbes Street,

as a more central place for the Society’s meetings and for keeping

its collections. The removal of the Society’s offices to a central

situation in the city and Phipson’s enthusiastic association with it

gave an astonishing impulse to its growth. The need for finding

better accommodation for its rapidly increasing collections soon

becoming urgent, Phipson again provided the solution by offering

the Society part of the larger premises he had acquired at 6, Apollo

Street, to which the Society’s collections were transferred in 1886

and where its offices still remain. Phipson’s interest in Natural

History and his zeal for the Society were contagious. He interested

his numerous friends in the Society’s work and imparted his devo-

tion to the young men who came out to India to assist him in his

business. His advice to the young European in India was ‘develop

a hobby’ and to him: there was no finer hobby than Natural His-

tory. Thus commenced and thus was continued the long asso-

ciation of the Society with the Company which bears Mr. Phipson’s

name. His successors in business took over his post of Honorary

Secretary and Editor of the Journal and have each in their time

made their contribution to the Society’s progress.

From March 1886 when he took over the office of Honorary

Secretary from EK, H. Aitken, more familiarly known for his books

VAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIstTORY SOCIETY.

[OU

PHIPSON.

H. M.

OBITUARY—H. M. PHIPSON 153

as ‘HHA’, to April 1906 when he left India, Phipson was the heart

and soul of the Society. Originating and directing its early activi-

ties he brought it to vigorous maturity. Through these twenty

years he edited the Society’ s Journal—tor a year in collaboration

with Robert Sterndale, then as sole editor for fifteen years and

finally in collaboration with Mr. W. 8. Millard his immediate

successor in office.

His business and his management of the Society’s affairs left

Phipson little time for contributing in print the wide knowledge he

had acquired of Indian Natural History. His favourite branch was

Snakes. His rare contributions to the Journal centre round this

subject, and among the notes he published is a paper on the

Snakes of the Bombay Presidency.

Phipson directed his energies to increasing the influence and

usefulness of the Society a Zoologists and laymen and to the

building up of its collection. So intimately is his name associated

with the work that even today the Society’s rooms at 6, Apollo

Street, are often referred to as ‘Phipson’s Museum’. In his day

Phipson was its presiding genius. He welcomed visitors great and

small and taking them round the collections would treat them

to a wealth of interesting facts and anecdotes drawn from the

wide fund of his knowledge and experience. He was charming:

always interesting and ever ready with shrewd and amusing com-

ment. In the early days of the Society various animals, birds

and reptiles were kept alive in the Museum. Amongst these was

a cobra with which Phipson was on familiar terms. He once turned

this cobra out of its blanket and patted its coils to make it sit up

and expand its hood before some visitors. The cobra, probably

startled, turned and struck at Phipson and buried its fangs in one

of his fingers. Phipson displayed his usual coolness in this dread-

ful situation. His remedy was drastic. He went to the Society’s

small laboratory adjoining the museum and applied some cyanide

of potassium to the wound. Except for some swelling of the

finger he fortunately escaped unharmed.

The numerous offers of hve animals which the Society was

receiving gave Phipson the idea of establishing a Zoological Garden

in Bombay, conducted and managed by the Society. What

at first seemed a promising venture failed because the Municipality

were unwilling to allow the use of the site selected by Phipson

for the purpose. In his ambition to provide Bombay with a really

fine Natural History Museum, Phipson had succeeded. He early

foresaw the necessity for finding suitable and adequate accommo-

dation for the rapidly growing collections of the Society and realised

the useful part the Society could play in the establishment. of

such a museum. An opportunity of accomphshing his objective

presented itself when in 1904 he was elected to serve on a Com-

mittee appointed by Government to consider the question of a

Public Museum and Library for Bombay. At the third meeting

of this Committee, Phipson proposed that the Public Museum

should take the form of three separate buildings, one for Art and

Archaeology, the second for a Public Library and the third for a

Natural Science Museum,

154 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Mr. Phipson’s proposals find realisation today in the Prince of

Wales’ Museum, which is built on the site suggested by him and

which now includes a main building for Art and Archaeology and

a separate building for Natural History. It would have given

Phipson much joy to read the report on Museums in India made

at the Conference of the Museums Association held at Leeds this

year in which the Natural History galleries of the Prince of Wales’

Museum, where the Society’s collections are now exhibited, are

described as amongst the finest in the world. It is now proposed

to name wne of the splendid galleries of this museum after Phipson

in memory of his association with the work of the Society. His

name is also fittingly perpetuated by Zoologists, who named new

discoveries after him. These include a new Sea Snake Hydrophis

phipsoni (Distira cyanocincta) described by Murray (J.B.N.H.S.,

vol. ii, p. 32) and a new earth snake Silybura phipsoni

described by Mason, A.M.N.H. (6), i, 184. In his preface to

the Volume on Arachnida in the Fauna of British India Series,

Pocock, the author, acknowledges his indebtedness to Phipson

whose influence and energy in obtaining a collection of over a

1,000 scorpions from all parts of India provided the basis for his

study. Phipson’s association with the work is perpetuated in the

various Arachnids Pocock named after him. These include a new

scorpion Isometrus phipsont (Pocock, J.B.N.H.S., vol. iu, p. 244),

a new Whip scorpion Phrynicus phipsont (Pocock, Fauna of British

India, Arachnida, p. 127) and a new Galeod spider named Rhagodes

phipsoni (Pocock, J.B.N.H.S., vol. ix, p. 448). Though the

Society's Mammal Survey of India, Burma and Ceylon was taken

up long after Mr, Phipson’s departure from India, Oldfield Thomas,

who described many of the new species discovered by the Survey,

named a beautiful Flying Squirrel in honour of Mr. Phipson ‘to

whose initiative and enthusiasm the Society owes so much of its

prosperity and to whose ready help most Indian Zoologists have at

various times been greatly indebted’. Few men have striven more

earnestly, more continuously to advance a purely unselfish cause

and few have laboured for the advancement of Science and for

the general good in a more self-effacing and unobtrusive spirit.

Phipson was always ready to help anyone, and, as one friend

with whom he lived said:—‘He monopolized the self-denial of

the whole house!’ This was the key to the character of the man

and to his life of service. He was for many years the Honorary

Secretary of the Bombay Branch of the Countess of Dufferin’s

Fund and in 1885 and 1887 organised two fancy fair fetes which

added a substantial sum to the fund, when the late Lady Reay

was the President of the Bombay Branch. Among other activities

which will commemorate the name of Phipson and his wife is

the Pechey Phipson Sanitarium for Women and Children at Nasik,

Deccan. The institution was founded by them to enable poor

women and children in Bombay to recuperate in the bracing air

of the Deccan after illness and it now consists of twenty-one

cottages, with a hostel for working girls. It is open to all com-

munities, a)

: MISCELLANEOUS“ NOTES.

I.—ASSOCIATION BETWEEN A LEOPARD AND A TIGRESS.

I had the good fortune of witnessing a very strange association

between a large leopard and a full-grown tigress. An instance of

animal companionship which is surely given to very few sportsmen

to see.

I was invited by my maternal uncle, His Highness the Nawab

Sahib of Tonk, to a tiger shoot in one of his very large detached

territories in Central India known as Seronj. The Vindhya Range

runs through the heart of this pargana, and the scene of occurrence

lay in one of its very lovely reserved forests called Samalkheri.

The story related by the shikaris was that in these forests there

was a large leopard which always killed the bait, and that a tigress

waited and took part in eating the kill. The story sounded im-

probable. To discover what truth there was in it I obtained per-

mission from His Highness to try and bag both the tigress and

her supposed mate the leopard.

On the night of the 25th of March, 1986, I sat up to watch. A

young buffalo was tied out as a bait. The sun had hardly set

when I heard the ‘sawing’ of the leopard and the long drawn

- moan of the tigress. It seemed as if both were in the same

place. <A little later a sambhur belled and langoors began to

swear as the felines passed beneath them. All was again quiet,

and not till the sun had set and it was fairly dark did I hear

the bait jump up and try to break loose. The next instant from

the thick bushes lke a streak of hghtning the leopard sprang

upon the bait and a struggle ensued. The leopard being a very

large one was capable of mastering and killing the buffalo. All

the time the tigress sat in the open watching her mate kill the

bait. When all was over both sat side by side and devoured the

kill. I was terribly excited at this sight; and with the greatest

difficulty refrained from firing. I made up my mind to see

whether this extraordinary performance would be repeated and to

give myself another opportunity of watching it. The next day

another bait was tied out but no kill took place. The following

morning it was observed that the leopard and tigress had both

passed close to the bait but did not kill. I was afraid that both

had left the localty, and that I had also missed the chance of

shooting a couple of such fine animals. The subsequent evening

I sat up again, and exactly the same thing occurred. The leopard

killed and the tigress, who took no part in the killing, shared the

meal. Again I did not shoot. They killed every second night,

and, in preparation for the next kill, I had a larger bait tied out

to see as to whether the leopard would attack it or leave it to

the tigress to kill. The leopard hesitated a bit this time but

launched the attack as usual. The bait drove off the leopard.

The attack was repeated with renewed vigour and this time the

leopard got home, but the buffalo in floundering and jumping

156 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

managed to fling off its assailant. Seeing her mate incapable of

mastering it, the tigress attacked and killed the bait. Both again

_ on the friendliest of terms devoured the kill. I left them in peace

and returned home after they had left the kill. I sought an

explanation of this strange association as to why this particular

leopard and tigress lived in such intimacy. The only feasible thing

that I could think of was that the leopard was a hybrid. This

theory proved to be wrong as the leopard after being shot proved

to be nothing more than a leopard of exceptional size. The next

day I made up my mind to have a beat, and His Highness very.

kindly let me have the best machan. The beat began and very

soon the tigress appeared. She tried to escape by a side nullah,

but was turned by a stop. She came to within sixty yards of my

machan when I fired hitting her just behind the shoulder. She

gave a bound but fell dead to a bullet from my -375 Holland and

Holland magnum rifle. A few minutes later the leopard appeared,

and when quite close was shot by my brother-in-law, His Highness

the Nawab of Baoni. The tigress measured 8 ft. 384 in. and the

leopard 7 ft. 104 in. between pegs.

Thus ended a very extraordinary and strange friendship between

a tigress and a leopard. Both animals were in the soundest con-

dition and no signs of any kind of previous crippling wounds were

found on either of them.

PUNJAB. IFTIKHAR ALI KHAN,

July 3, 1986. Heir Apparent of Malerkotla State.

[It is difficult to explain the curious association between

this leopard and tigress—except to suggest that it may be an

instance of mating between the two animals. When the two

species occupy the same territory, normally, there is acute rivalry

between panthers and tigers on the question of food and there

are numerous instances of. panthers being killed by tigers in dis-

putes over a kill. In the present instance a complete understand-

ing apparently existed between the two animals, not only in the

matter of killing prey, but equally in the division of the spoils.

The natural disposition to rivalry between the two animals could

have been overcome only by the sexual urge which draws animals

of the same species into association—temporary or permanent and

which in the present instance may have drawn together two

different, though allied species. Under conditions of captivity the

ereat cats, lions, tigers, leopards and jaguar have frequently inter-

bred. We have instances of lions and tigers interbreeding—the

most recent being the ‘Liger’ a cross between a lion and tiger

which the Society was instrumental in sending some years ago to

the London Zoo. In 1912, we sent a skin of a hybrid lion-leopard

to the British Museum—the result of the mating of a large male

leopard and lioness in the Kholapur Zoo. A male lion is also’

recorded as having bred in Chicago with a female, which itself was

a cross between a jaguar and a leopard. Opportunities for such

interbreeding under natural conditions must be rare but the note

under discussion suggests their possibility.—Eps. |

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 157

II.—CURIOUS. COMPANIONSHIP BETWEEN PANTHER

AND WILD BOAR.

I wonder whether you or any member is interested in or can

explain the following incidents, which happened near the Gir

jungle in Junagadh. The facts are given to me by a very know-

ledgeable local expert in panthers, Mr. Sequeira.

He had khabar of a panther, and went after it. The first day

a male panther, a female and w half-grown cub were marked down

in a nullah. He saw them lying under a banyan tree, and three

boars were lying with them, about 8 or 10 ft. away. The panthers

did not come to the kill, so they had a beat. The male panther

got out, from the side of the nullah; the female and cub and

the three boars passed the guns.

Next day, the panthers, male and female, were again found

jin a bush, and the three boars again were lying near them. The

cub was not seen. In the beat, the male panther was shot; the

female and the three boars again ran, past the guns—up the

nullah.

On the third day, the female and cub were lying at the mouth

of a cave, with the three boars lying round them. As the female

was big with young, she was not shot; but one of the boars was

shot instead.

To me it would be interesting to know whether any other cases

of such companionship are known.

c/o Lioyp’s Bank, J. MONTE ATE,

G Pate NA. Lonpon. (6: W: J. TnCes wm (lueud.)s

April 12, 1986.

[A German scientist, P. Degener has endeavoured to classify

all the forms of association in the Animal Kingdom, With truly

German thoroughness he distinguishes 92 different categories of

association, some of which border on the humorous, such as the

‘association’ of animals fleeing before a forest or prairie fire. To

each type of association he has given names of truly German pond-

erosity ‘Heterosymphagopaedum’ and ‘Amphoterosynhesmium’ are

two of his better efforts. His 92 categories can be summed up

into two groups: one in which the association is accidental and

of no intrinsic value to the associates, and the other in which

the association is of some benefit. The need for food and shelter

brings into close companionship individuals of unrelated species

sometimes to their mutual benefit, but more often to the gain of

one at the expense of another. As often as not, one creature

takes advantage of another either without troubling the host over

much or definitely harming it. Those that are harmful are

true parasites, the others are generally regarded as commensals

(i.e. feeders at the same table). More often than not one of the

commensals, generally, if not invariably the smaller partner, merely

robs its larger companion of some of the food the latter has

gathered. Sambhar and cheetal are frequently seen with mon-

keys. They follow monkeys to pick up the fruits they ‘scatter

from the trees on which they are feeding. In the note under

158 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

discussion, the companionship of the boars with the panther has

possibly a similar explanation, these boars were probably in the

habit of following the panthers and feeding on the remains of

their kills. That wild boars feed occasionally on kills is sup-

ported by an incident recorded by Lt. Fitz Gibbon (Journal,

xxi, 237). When sitting up over a goat which was killed in his

presence by a panther he saw another animal walk up to the

kill and stand about a yard from it looking on. He shot the

intruder which turned out to be a big wild boar. He states that

the boar was in no way discouraged by the presence of the panther

and the panther took not the slightest notice of the boar and

never paused in its eating even though the boar stood quite close

to it.—Ebps. |

III.—NUMBER OF CUBS IN A TIGRESS LITTER.

I would like to bring the following to your notice and if you

consider it interesting enough, to publish it in your next issue

of the magazine.

His Excellency was shooting in the Yellapur jungles in the

Kanara Division in the month of May. The shoot was run by

the Chief Conservator of Forests (Mr. Gilbert) and the Conser-

vator, Southern Range (Mr. Hiley). There had been a kill and a

beat had been arranged in the Marikari (Magod) jungle. One

animal came out to His Excellency’s machan and was shot by

him, there was no other sign of any other tiger in the beat. The

one which was killed was a very fine specimen of a female measur-

ing 8 ft. 9 in. between pegs, height at shoulder 3 ft. 6 in. After

she had been skinned five foetuses were found inside the tigress.

They were all very well marked and looked healthy, there being

three males and two females. From the size of the cubs and

the tigress not having any milk in her teats, it was judged that

the cubs would not have been born for another three weeks. As

the period of gestation is supposetl to be fifteen weeks, the tigress

must have come into season about the end of January. Mr.

Dunbar Brander in his book Wild Animals in Central India,

page 59, states that “Any number up to six at a time may

be born, but two or three is the usual number. Best mentions

a case in which as many as seven foetuses were found in

a tigress’. I asked both the Chief Conservator and the Conservator

if they had ever heard of or seen a similar case of five foetuses

and they replied in the negative, I have seen 56 tigers killed and

this is the first time I have ever seen more than four.

I should be grateful if you will let me know of any authentic

case of this number or above. The date on which the tigress was

shot was the 10th May 1986.

GOVERNMENT Houss, Cc. G. TOOGOOD;

Bomsay. Lt.-Col., Military Secretary.

May 21, 1936.

[There are a number of records in the Journal of tigers with

five young, either in the foetal stage or as cubs. They include

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 159

a tigress shot by Capt W. St. J. Richardson (Journal, v, 91)

and two shot by W. Forsyth (xx, 1148). J. B. Mercer Adams

mentions a Karen in Burma taking five cubs from the same lair

(x, 015) and R. C. Morris recorded the killing of a tigress with

five cubs (xxxi, 810).—Ebs. |

IV.—RATELS AND CORPSES.

I would lke to make a few comments on the letters that have

been recently published on this subject in the Journal.

Firstly, I would appeal to Mr. Dunbar Brander to bear in mind

that the object of this discussion is to discover more about the

life history of these most interesting and little-known animals.

It is not a battle in personalities. J therefore will refrain from

making more than a very few comments on his letter published in

the last number of the Journal. My offence in his eyes is that

I wrote in one of my books that the evidence on which he based

his statement that the name of ‘grave-digger’ is ‘thoroughly earned’

appeared to me to be weak. This is the only point in his book

on which I disagreed with him. After all, Mr. Dunbar Brander

himself disagrees in his own book with many statements made by

Mr. Lyddeker. I admit that he has now supplemented the evi-

dence given in his book with further evidence, which I will

comment on later. I regret that I judged what he wrote in his

book on the evidence that he published in his book, because that

was all he gave at that time. His actual words were ‘One of

their names ‘‘The grave digger’’ is thoroughly earned as I have

known them exhume a (single) corpse’. In subsequent correspon-

dence he has produced further evidence and has stated that this

is ‘some of the evidence’ at his disposal. I can only reply that

if he had originally published this other evidence in his book the

present somewhat heated controversy would never have arisen.

Mr. Dunbar Brander asks me to state what personal experience

I have of ratels. I admit that I have not anywhere near so much

as I should like to have. I have three times come across them

personally in the jungles, on two of which occasions they were

entirely undisturbed. I have made a special study of their tracks,

which I have followed for many miles. I have made _ personal

enquiries from many Indians on the subject. JI have made a special

search in the scanty literature concerning ratels. I have taken

some twenty to thirty flashlight photographs of ratels, and I have

spent many hours hunting unsuccessfully for their homes. I do

not know how many times Mr. Dunbar Brander has_ personally

encountered undisturbed ratels, but he states in his book that he

‘once saw one come out in a beat’ and ‘frequently discovered

them through his dogs’. From this, one inference is that he has

never seen an undisturbed ratel.

My observations on the ratel’s courage were based largely on

wide reading (including Mr. Dunbar Brander’s book), but one of

the ratels I have personally encountered—it was walking along a

jungle path eariy in the evening—attacked my dog with such

160 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

courage and ferocity that I was forned to shoot the ratel to save

the dog.

Mr. Dunbar Brander still fails to appreciate the point of my

argument. I stated that it had not been proved that the exhum-

ing of corpses was a definite habit of ratels. A habit is a charac-

teristic common to the species as a whole. Mr. Dunbar Brander

admits that ratels living in jungles like N. Kheri have no oppor-

tunity of exhuming corpses. In that case, if exhuming corpses

be a regular habit of these creatures, why are they so common

in such jungles? There is plenty of cultivated country largely

inhabited by Mohamedans available for them to the south of these

forests. From this fact it is surely a reasonable inference that

many ratels can, and do, manage perfectly well without exhuming

corpses.

I will now summarise the evidence that has been forthcoming

since I appealed to readers of the Journal to send in any observa-

tions they may have made on the subject of exhuming corpses.

We have at present :—

Mr. Dunbar Brander—Two cases (circumstantial evidence).

One case was where ratels regularly excavated in a graveyard.

Mr. Clifford Hurst—One case (circumstantial evidence).

Lt.-Col. Toogood—One case (direct observation).

In addition to this Lt.-Col. Toogood gives two cases of ratels

visiting carcases of animals, to which I can add two more cases

of ratels visiting tiger kills, in one of which I took an indifferent

photograph.

We have therefore four cases of ratels exhuming corpses, one

case of ratels lving in a graveyard, and four cases of ratels

visiting kills. This doesn’t seem very much evidence for the

length and breadth of India. Unless more evidence is forth-

coming I therefore still hold that this evidence is insufficient to

support the charge of the name of ‘grave digger’ being ‘thoroughly

earned’, as contended by Mr. Dunbar Brander, although of course

individual ratels or those that live near graveyards naturally may

do this. In support of my contention I would point out that I

personally have come across at least half-a-dozen cases of sloth

bears visiting kills and I know of another case in which a Hima-

layan bear actually exhumed a carcase near Dalhousie. If, there-

fore, on the evidence so far produced, the name of ‘grave digger’

for the ratel is ‘thoroughly earned’ we might equally well apply

the same name to bears. Tigers are known to climb trees in the

Mysore Zoo, and one or two. other cases of tigers climbing trees

have been recorded. Would Mr. Dunbar Brander like to suggest

that tree-climbing is a habit of tigers—or that, because some

human beings eat human flesh, the name of ‘cannibal’ for the

human race generally is justified ?

In connection with ratels I was very interested to read in Mr.

Clifford Hurst’s letter that he had several times seen ratels at

night in the beam from the headlights of a motor car. In North

Kheri and Bahraich Forest divisions, where ratels are very com-

mon and where cars frequently travel at night, I know of no case

where this has occurred and the reason has always been a mystery

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 16i

to me, as ratels’ tracks can be seen on almost every motor road

in the mornings in the hot weather. I deduced that the hearing

of ratels must be so acute that they hear cars coming and slip off

the road too quickly to be seen, but evidently this must be a

wrong deduction. Perhaps Mr. Clifford Hurst possesses an ex-

ceptionally silent car or extra powerful headlights?

Atmora, U.P. Fr. W. CHAMPION,

July 2, 1936. pact

V.—RATELS AND CORPSES.

Nearly thirty years ago now I was in charge of the Hoshanga-

bad Division. It was one of these years of scarcity, not amount-

ing to Famine, and I succeeded for the most part in staving off a

Gazette Notification of condition of ‘Famine’ consequent to which

all sorts of things happened.

As is usual under these conditions, mortality was very high,

and a wave of cholera passed through the forest villages under my

control. I was camped in a village in the extreme western

borders of the District, just after this wave had passed.

The Range Officer was one Bhote, a Parsee, a man of great

ability who later on had to leave British Service, and was, I believe,

eventually employed in Gwalior.

He informed me that there was a man in the village who

‘Had risen from the Dead’. He had! And what is more, he be-

lieved it himself, along with all the surrounding population. I

interviewed the old man—a Korku. What had happened was

this. He had apparently passed out. As interments at the time

were daily occurrences these were executed in a_ perfunctory

manner :. the usual heap of stones was dispensed with.

The old man informed me that whilst he was dead he remem-

bered nothing, but that he remembered sitting up, and that he

was covered with earth, and that he was looking into the face

of a hyaena, to whom he said ‘Hut Jao’! He could hardly have

said less! He then crawled back into the village, arriving with

daylight. |

In those days Korku huts were contained under one continuous

roof running east and west with ‘main street’ between the two

rows. On his arrival, most of the village did a rapid exit out of

the other end of the street.

These undeniable facts intrigued me, so I visited the spot

Where he had been interred, and came across some 16 to 20

graves of quite recent origin. Most of the corpses had been

partially or wholly uncovered. This was the work of two hyaenas,

five jackals and two ratels. The two first had left evidence as

having been at some or other of the corpses: the ratels had

been associated with all of them. The castings of a burrowing

animal are individual to the species and unmistakable: it was

obvious that the ratels had been the chief excavators. I had had

somewhat similar evidence in the Jabalpur and Mandla districts

162 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXX1X

during the famine of 1900. I had also collected ratels in the

Seoni District. As I had never been so far west as I then was,

I expressed a desire to make contact with these ratels, and was

shown their earth that same afternoon. The dog has not yet

been born that can draw a ratel from its earth; however one

emerged about 9 p.m. and was shot. The stomach only revealed

vestiges of an insect diet. I feel sure that now this subject has

the attention of your readers, much evidence of a similar nature

will be recollected, or observed in future. In the original evidence

which I gave I refrained from quoting cases in which the ratel

was associated with other animals, as such evidence must always

be less convincing to others, although it is quite conclusive to

the trained observer on the spot.

Ivy Bank, BisHop MILL,

ELGIn, SCOTLAND. A, A. DUNBAR BRANDER.

June 26, 1936.

VI.—DO PORCUPINES SHOOT THEIR QUILLS?

Dr. W. St. J. Davis has sent us the following extract from the

Statesman, Ist August 1936:—

‘Many observers and watchers, natural historians and what

not, have asserted that the popular idea that the porcupine has

the power to shoot out its quills at its enemies is nonsense. Now

there comes a letter from an authority whom you must consider

conclusive when you learn at the end of this paragraph who he is.

The writer says he has always been meaning to write to me on

poreupines and their quills. It is time, he adds, that the question

of ‘shooting’ quills was finally settled and he proceeds to settle it.

Some time ago a Naga brought him a porcupine in a basket with

a very wide mesh—in fact a cage, rather than a basket. As he

was holding it up, showing it off, a dog jumped up at it. This

alarmed the porcupine who gave his tail a powerful flick. |

Quills flew out and did actually travel a foot or’ two _ hori-

zontally through the wide mesh before they fell to the ground. I

observed it from a distance of four or five feet and there is not

the slightest doubt that the quills were ‘propelled’ and did not

merely drop out. JI remember being glad my eye was not in the

way. This seems to be as good evidence as it is possible to get

as to what actually happens.

This letter is from Kohima and is signed by no less a person

than Mr. Mills himself.’

KIM.

[The porcupine’s alleged habit of shooting its quills is a legend

which dies hard. The belief is at least as old as Aristotle who

speaks of ‘creatures that shoot out their hair as for instance the

porcupine’ (H.A., ix, 623). Pliny describes the habit thus: “The

Porkpens come out of India and Africa; a kind of Urchin or Hedge-

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 163

hog they be: armed with pricks they be both: but the Porkpen hath

the longer sharp pointed quills, and those, when he stretcheth his

skin, he sendeth and shooteth from him’ (vii, 125. Holland’s

version). Atlian improves upon this by adding that ‘they often

shoot them with so good an aim as to hurt their attackers’ (A%han

N.H.M., 10). Marlowe, in Edward II (1. i, 37) alludes to this

habit: —‘Ay, ay, these words of his move me much as if a goose

should play the porcupine and dart her plumes, thinking to pierce

my breast’. Swift, in his Battle of Books, writes: ‘Now it must

be here understood that ink is the chief missive weapon of the

learned, which is conveyed through a sort of engine called a quill.

Infinite numbers of these are darted at the enemy by the vahant

on each side, with equal skill and violence as if it were an engage-

~ ment of porcupines’. For some reason or the other Buffon, the

famous French naturalist, has got the credit of inventing or pro-

mulgating the belief which, like many such traditional beliefs,

has grown much in the telling. So that it has been said that a

porcupine ean shoot his quills through planks of wood! What

Bufton actually said about the matter is that ‘the marvellous is

pleasingly believed and increases in proportion to the number of

hands through which it passes’. It is of course the erection of

the spines and the occasional falling out of loose ones which has

started the legend. Damaged or worn quills of porcupines quickly

fall out and are replaced by a fresh crop. The finding of these

discarded spines which are frequently picked up possibly contri-

buted to the belief. In the instance quoted by ‘Kim’ the explana-

tion is that the porcupine’s struggles under capture and close

confinement loosened some of the longer tail quills which were

displaced in the action of erecting them under stress of excitement.

The porcupine’s method of attack has been frequently described

in the Journal (vide xxvi, 283, 1038, 1040 and xxix, 831); in two

instances, from personal and painful experience. In defence the

animal presents its tail to the attacker, its bristling erect quills

provide an effective shield and barrier. In attack, it hurls itself

backwards against its victim—the action is incredibly rapid, the

resulting impact drives home the array of quills with great force.

The armament of the tail consists of a small compact mass of

short, solid and firm quills growing at the base of the spine. These

do most of the damage—the longer tail quills also come into

play but being less firmly fixed, are easily displaced and left

embedded in the victim.—Ebs. |

VIT.—ARE HARES UNCLEAN ANIMALS?

There is a very common idea among sportsmen in India that

hares are dirty feeders, and, as such, are unfit for human food.

As one who lives most of his life in the jungle and sometimes

can get no other meat to eat but an occasional hare, I should

very much like to know whether it is really true or not that

Indian hares are unfit for human food. After all it is not usually

suggested in England that English hares are not good food.

164 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

To the best of my knowledge hares are purely herbivorous

animals and never touch human excreta that they are sometimes

accused of eating. Is it because they are sometimes found

round Jungle camps where human excreta is often only too much

in evidence that this idea has arisen? Everyone knows that

jungle fowl and black partridges in the United Provinces also tend

to congregate round such jungle camps, but I have never yet

heard it suggested that these birds are not fit for human food,

although they certainly do rake among such excreta and they may

or may not eat portions of it.

The other theory is that Indian hares are not fit for human

food because they harbour harmful intestinal worms that they

are lable to pass on to human beings. Perhaps some medical

member of the Society can inform us if it is a fact that eating

Indian hares is lable to result in an attack of intestinal parasites?

Many Forest Officers like myself would like to know definitely

if Indian hares are really fit for human beings to eat. I hope

that this letter may result in others that will help to clear up

this doubtful point.

ALMORA, F, W. CHAMPION,

UNITED PROVINCES. LF.S.

July 2, 1986.

[That hares may feed on excreta is not improbable. Many

creatures which we consider ‘clean’, including poultry, display this

habit. Internal parasites confined to the intestines of such ani-

mals are not usually transferred to human hosts—as intestines of

poultry or hares do not usually form part of human diet. Danger

arises when the parasite passes part of its life in the flesh or

muscular tissues of the animal, as in the instance of the tape-

worm. Here again, sufficient cooking of the flesh would destroy

such parasites and remove all danger of infection. The infectior

arises mainly from consuming underdone meat—such as beef, pork,

ete.—the partial cooking of which is insufficient to destroy para-

sites when present.—EDs. |

VIII.—PECULIAR BEHAVIOUR OF AN ELEPHANT.

A solitary elephant on the Cardamom Hills in Travancore seems

to have a great predilection for ashes and frequently visits the

vicinity of coolies’ lines and ash pits for a feed of ashes. On

one occasion it broke open the boarded wall of the local Sub-

Assistant Surgeon’s kitchen to get at the ashes in the fireplace,

accomplishing this by putting its trunk through the vent, and one

night the elephant not only visited each of the three ash pits

behind the bungalow of the manager of the cardamom estate

there, but actually got half inside, forelegs in, having to kneel to

do so, as we saw from the tracks the next morning. |

Elephants on the Cardamom Hills appear to feed off the bark

of the Kydia calycina tree little, in contrast to the elephants on

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 165

the Billigirirangans where nearly every tree of this species in the

jungle has a portion of its bark removed by elephants at one time

or another,

HonnaAMetTrTi Estate,

ATTIKAN P.O., Via Mysore, R. C. MORRIS.

S. InpIa.

July 7, 1936.

IX.—BISON—VARIATION IN COLOURATION OF THE

EXPOSED PART OF THE SNOUT AND TONGUE.

Of two bull bison shot in December 19338 the first was the

master bull of a herd in which four other bulls were counted.

The exposed part of his snout was pale salmon or pinkish in colour

and his tongue grey.

The second bison, which was an old solitary bull, was bagged

the following day and on examination it was found that he had a

erey snout and a white tongue.

Tt would be of interest to know ii these variations in colour

are usual in bison?

TANJORE. CO, fy Bb DD Wane rE,

September 4, 1936.

X.—WHITE BISON.

With reference to Mr. A. A. Dunbar Brander’s note in the

last Journal (vol. xxxvilii, No. 38) I must offer him my sincere

apologies for having stated that his book Wild Animals in Central

India contained an admission of his not having had much _ ex-

perience of bison. I was speaking from memory (always risky)

but find that Mr, Dunbar Brander was referring to buffalo, and

not bison. Both bison and buffalo are dealt with in the same

chapter in his book.

‘There has been no desire on my part to disparage Mr. Dunbar

Brander’s views on the matter, but it is again necessary to em-

phasise that hitherto there has been no record from the Central

Provinces and Central India of the occurrence of bison similar

to the remarkable specimens to be seen in S. Coimbatore.

HonnaMETT1 Estate,

ATTIKAN P.O., Via Mysore,

S. Inpra. R. C. MORRIS,

May 17, 1936,

166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

XI.—WHITE BISON IN SOUTH COIMBATORE.

I do not wish to add any more fuel to the controversy on white

bison which has been carried on in the Journal, but as I can claim

a detailed and extensive knowledge of these animals and the

country in which they live I think a little more information may

be of interest.

The existence of these bison was first established by Mr. E. HE.

Rannicar of the High Range, Travancore, within the last ten

years. I have been told that several planters and a Forest Officer

had heard old rumours of white bison but they had never actually

seen them. My first trip to the country was with Mr. Rannicar

and since then I have made several other trips both with friends

and by myself. It was on information supplied by me that Mr.

R. C. Morris paid his visit to the country, as described in his

original article in the Journal. It is quite natural for anyone to

be sceptical over a discovery of this sort, but the facts can be

now confirmed by several people.

The area in which these white bison occur is, as far as my

experience goes, quite small and very limited. It is extraordinary

that they have never been recorded before as the country is com-

paratively easy of access, and is bounded on two sides by areas

which have been extensively shot over, namely the area round

the Kombu forest rest house in South Coimbatore, and the

Kodaikanal Hills in the Madura District. The bulk of the area

in which I have seen white bison hes on a low plateau of undu-

lating hills running up to the Kodaikanal Hills and the Travancore

Hills on three sides, and dropping away steeply to Kombu on

the other. <A river, the Taenar, runs through this plateau. I

think that it is very probable that a few. white animals can be

found across the Travancore boundary as I have seen herds con-

taining one or two crossing the boundary.

The whole of the area gets a fairly heavy North East—but gets

no rain from the South West Monsoon. From June to September

it is very hot and dry, and very feverish. In August I found that

there was no water over a very large area and that those bison

which were still there had all collected within easy reach of the

Taenar. Many others had migrated over and round the hills to

the east on what were obviously annual migration paths. I have

not had time to find out where these migrants go, but it is

probable that there is another patch of country in the- Madura

District in which a few white bison will be found.

Although reserved forest, the area is of little value to the

Forest Department as owing to the short rainfall the trees up

to about 5,000 ft. are nearly all stunted. There is a good deal of

bamboo in the hollows but very little scrub and no lantana. Over

5,000 ft. there are occasional sholahs of evergreen forest dotted

about typical grass hill land.

The poorness of the forest and the very feverish climate explain

why the area has been left more or less undisturbed. From the

Kodaikanal Hills it looks an uninteresting hole in the ground, and

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 167

in the pleasant North East rainy season the approach from the

other side can be very exasperating as there are two rivers to cross

which may be impassable for several days on end. The whole

area is also unpopular with jungle coolies as there are large num-

bers of elephants there.

There are no herds in the area composed entirely of white or

light bison. There are two small herds that I know in which the

majority of animals are light coloured, but in each case when I saw

them last the herd bull was a good old black animal. In many other

herds there are one or two white animals. I have often been asked

what is the actual colour of a white bison, and it is not possible

to give any definite answer. The colour of these light animals

varies from a true dull white down through the duns to light reds.

As these animals are certainly not normally coloured and those at

the top of the scale are definite degrees of whiteness I think the

name White Bison is as descriptive as any that can be found.

The majority of white animals, as is to be expected, are young

animals, but I have seen several old cows which were as white

as the whitest of the youngsters. Until my last visit I had never

seen a white bull although an old bull in one of the herds men:

tioned above was a very light brown. On my last trip I was

lucky enough to find a young white bull not quite in his prime

without any shades of brown on his body. The local Pullyars say

that there was a very fine white bull a few years ago which pro-

bably died in a rinderpest epidemic which decimated the bison.

They also maintain that there were many more white animals

before this. epidemic and that they suffered more heavily than their

normal coloured relatives. I think that they have been misled by

the fact that it was easier to see white bison then owing to the

ereater numbers that existed before the epidemic.

In the last few years there has been a marked increase in

the number of white young animals to be seen, and as the shooting

of any but normal coloured bison is now prohibited it is to be

hoped that this increase will continue. I have spent a good deal

of time observing these animals at close quarters and can see no

outward sign to suggest that this abnormal colour is due to a cross

with white domestic cattle. Except for their colour these bison

are in all other respects normal bison.

At certain times of the year the whole area teems with bison.

There is a large salt lick in the centre of the country in the

middle of a craterlike hollow which is an ideal spot for. observation.

It is not uncommon to see a mob of a hundred bison at this lick.

The great majority of them are normal coloured animals. It is

quite possible to spend several days in the country without seeing

any white animals and to come away believing that you have

listened to another enthusiastic exaggeration.

I am certain that the local Pullyars look upon the white bison

as ‘Swami’ animals. They do not like to take any risk of one

being shot, and will give very little help in showing them to you,

in fact I have strong suspicions that they will deliberately shift a

herd which contains white animals out of the area in which you are

camping. Being beef eaters they haye no scruples over the

168 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

shooting of a black bull. The inhabitants of the grass hills on the

Kodaikanal side are caste men and although they must know of

the existence of white animals they denied all knowledge of them

to me. I had actually passed a herd with white animals in it

within an hour’s walk of this village. An interesting point about

these hill caste men is that I found them growing quite a good

type of barley as a staple crop on terraced cultivation. Except

in Ooty where it is grown for the brewery I have not seen barley

grown anywhere else on the hills in this part of the world.

The whole area in which white bison are found, so far as is

known at present, cannot be much more than 20 square miles.

Most of it has in times gone by been extensively cultivated as

nearly all the valleys contain traces of irrigation work, and a lot

of the steeper land has been terraced. It has been abandoned

for a very long time and is covered with teak and other trees.

Presumably the combination of elephants and malaria was too

much for the inhabitants. There are also any number of fine

examples of the prehistoric stone dwellings or graves which are

invariably built on slab rock, and are common throughout the deci-

duous forests in these hills.

Monica Estate,

VALPARAI P.O. J. WILLIAMS.

September 24, 1936.

{A member from South India who proposes to shortly visit

the district where these bison are found has asked the Society for

the loan of a dormouse as a standard wherewith to check the colour

of the bison. Unfortunately Mr. Willams’ note indicates that pre-

cise discrimination between the various grades of colour exhibited

by these animals would require the supply of many mice of nicely

eraded hues. Having no such mice we suggest that this corre-

spondence may now cease.—EbDs. |

XI.—SOME HOGHUNTING REMINISCENCES.

In my article on Pigsticking Reminiscences, published at page

515 of vol. xxxvii, No. 8, I was unable to include the famous

Hoghunter’s Song but am now in a position to repair the omission.

W. X., in a letter to the Editor of the Oriental Sporting Maga-

zine, published in June 1828, wrote:—‘I will offer no apology for

sending the enclosed most admirable Song to decorate the pages

of your first volume. I have written it from memory, but believe

it to be correct as I have heard the well known author sing it

repeatedly. I had the good fortune to be present at the chase

that gave rise to it, and certainly if ever such a brute as a boar

deserved the immortality of verse, the grey veteran we killed that

morning had an unrivalled claim to such distinction,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 169

He was a perfect monster—ran with the foot of the deer and

charged with the force of the buffalo—he killed one horse dead

on the spot, and ripped two others very severely. With our

spears all broken and our nags done up, we were obliged to dis-

mount and sabre him. I wish you could persuade the author of

the song to give you a description of that hunt from his pen: it

would be highly picturesque and interesting.’

THe Next Grey Boar WE SEE!

The boar, the mighty boar’s my theme,

Whate’er the wise may say,

My morning thought, my midnight dream,

My hope throughout the day:

Youth’s daring spirit, manhood’s fire,

Firm hand and eagle eye

Do they require, who dare aspire,

To see the wild boar die!

Then pledge the boar, the mighty boar,

Fill high the cup with me,

Here’s luck to all, that fear no fall,

And the Next GREY BOAR we see!

We envy not the rich their wealth,

Nor kings their crowned career,

The saddle is our crown of health,

Our sceptre is the spear;

We rival too the warrior’s pride,

Deep stained with purple gore,

For our field of fame’s the jungle side,

And our foe the jungle boar!

Then pledge the boar, the mighty boar,

Fill high the cup with me;

Here’s luck to all that fear no fall,

And the Next GREY BOAR we see!

When age hath weakened manhood’s powers,

And every nerve unbraced,

Those scenes of joy will still be ours,

On memory’s tablet traced:

For with the friends whom death has spared,

When youth’s wild course is run,

We'll tell of the chases we have shared,

And the tusks that we have won!

Then pledge the boar, the mighty boar,

Fill high the cup with me,

Here’s luck to all that fear no fall,

And the Next GREY BOAR we see!

The hoped for account of that memorable hunt did not appear

in the Oriental Sporting Magazine, but from a number of

pigsticking songs signed 8. Y. 8,, which were published in the

170 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Magazine for several years, it is almost certain that the author

referred to by W. X. was S. Y. S. Perhaps some reader may

be able to give his name.

July 14, 1936. Neo ne

XIII.—HORN GROWTH AS OBSERVED IN BLACK BUCK

AND NILGAI,

(With a photo),

1. The very interesting note written by Mr. J. E. Hall of the

Burma Shell Co., Ltd., Muzaffarpur, B. and O (Journal of the

15th of April, 1936, on ‘Horn growth as observed in Black

Buck and Nilgai’) has attracted my attention. JI have had con-

siderable experience of Black Buck, Chinkara and Nilgai, as the

territory of the Malerkotla State abounds with these antelopes.

Black Buck are found in herds of 800 or more and innumerable

smaller herds are a common sight. I find by going through records

‘of my shoots that I have shot three hundred of these graceful

‘animals, Some really fine heads haye been obtained from the State

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 171

preserves. A head of 294 in. was shot in the winter of 1917, and

another fine specimen of 274 in., a royal spread, was shot by me

in 1926, the photograph of which is published above.

Mr. J. EK. Hall states that he found ‘a new growth of horns

displacing the older horn from underneath and growing in the

usual way’. I have myself found a black buck which I shot only

last year to have the outer horns loose and shaking so that the

slightest force disjointed them from the presumably raw and new

erowth of horns to which the old ones were joined. The covering

horns were also split at the base. On being dislocated the old

covers left a base 4 in. high on which they rested. This 4 in.

of horny substance no doubt conveyed the idea that in time it

would cover up the inner horn thus giving the animal a new pair

of horns.

I could not call this case a sound basis for expressing positively

the fact that antelopes shed their horns as is the case with deer.

While shed horns of sambur, chital and gond and other deer are

commonly found, I believe that no case of shed horns of antelope

being found has ever been recorded. It would be very interesting

and useful indeed if more light could be thrown on this subject

by other sportsmen and naturalists.

PUNJAB. TR TTCEAR ALL KEAN,

May 28, 1936. Heir Apparent of Malerkotla State.

Horn GROWTH IN THE NILGAI.

2. With reference to J. E. Hall’s note under ‘Miscellaneous

Notes’ item X in vol. xxxviii, No. 8. I confirm his observations

regarding the shedding of the horns of the Nilgai.

I have a head of an old bull, length of Hoe ns 8 in., in which

the old outer casing has commenced splitting away “from the

bottom or new growth and the outer horn is of a brownish colour

with numerous fine cracks longitudinally along the entire length.

The taxidermist who mounted the skull has trimmed the bottom

spht and frayed portions away all round up to where the old and

new horns meet, but in spite of this it is observed that the outer

casing is quite independent of the newly grown horn.

TANJORE. . C. H. BIDDULPH.

September 4, 1936. 7

Horn GrowtTH 1N NILGat.

3. Regarding Mr. J. E. Hall’s note on the above, I may men-

tion that I have noticed a similar case in a nilgai. This animal

when shot had very blunt rounded horns; the skull was kept and

after a time, as it dried, the upper sheath came off like a cap,

from about an inch away from the base, revealing a new horn

below with very sharp points.

CENTRAL Museum, . HE, Ave D ABREU,

NAGPUR.

July 4, 1986,

172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

{There are three processes by which horns are replaced. The

replacement is most complete in the Deer in which the entire

horn is shed periodically. In deer, this shedding is a twofold

process. Firstly the ‘velvet’ which covers the new grown antler

is stripped. The ‘velvet’ takes the place of the horny sheath which

covers the bony cores of the horns of hollow horned ruminants.

The ‘velvet’ is removed leaving a core of dead bone which we call

the horn. Next the horn itself is shed. Thus in deer the process

of horn replacement involves both the outer sheath (velvet) and

the core (horn).

An intermediate or less complete process of horn replacement

is seen in the Prong-horned Antelope (Antilocapra americana).

The structure of the horns of these antelopes bears a closer resem-

blance to the Bovidae (hollow horned ruminants) than to the

Cervidae (deer), but, lke deer, these antelopes shed their horns

annually. But replacement is not entire as in the deer—it is

limited to the horny outer sheath, the bony cores which support

the horns from within are not shed.

Finally there is a process of horn replacement which has been

observed in some bovines and true antelopes. Buffon observed

the process in the Ox (Nat. Hist. t. 1, iv, p. 459) and> Oily iim

the African oryxes, the Arabian oryx and the sing sing antelope

(Trans. Zool. Soc., vol. ii, p. 53). Ogilby likens this process of

horn replacement to the replacement of the milk dentition by

permanent teeth. After comparing the structure of young or

juvenile horns to mature bovine horns, he says that the perma-

nent horn is developed, and grows up within the horn of the

young animal and, in its growth, carries the outer horn upwards

and supports it like a sheath or scabbard. The early horn thus

severed from the vessels which formerly supplied it with nutri-

ment, dries up and bursts as a result of the expansion and growth

of the permanent horn within it. Ultimately it exfolhates and

comes off in large irregular strips leaving the permanent horn clean

and bare. Ogilby says that as far as his observations enabled

him to judge, this exfoliation takes place only once during the life

of the animal, and that at the period of adolescence, immediately

before the appearance of the first ring or annulus. Mr. Hall in

his note on horn growth in Black Buck and Nilgai (Journal,

xxxvill, 618) gives an example of a new horn growth displacing

the older horn from within in an immature black buck. It is

parallel to Ogilby’s observation of the replacement of the juvenile

horns by permanent horns in the Oryx and other antelopes.

Ocilby however indicated that his observations as far as they

went led him to conclude that replacement of horns was limited

to the period of adolescence. Mr. Hall in his note (loc. cit.)

however indicates a similar process taking place in the case of

an adult nilgai and Mr. C. Biddulph and E. A. D’Abreu confirm

Mr. Hall’s observation in regard to this species. The whole ques-

tion raises an interesting point for observation and study by readers

of the Journal who may have the opportunity of confirming Mr.

Hall’s observations on the growth of horns in the nilg gai and black

buek.—Ebs. |

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 173

XIV.—COLOUR SENSE IN WILD ANIMALS.

Has any research been done to find out what an animal

actually sees?

Has a wild animal any colour sense? Personally, all my re-

search so far leads me to the conclusion—supported by nearly all

the writers I have come in contact with (also hunters)—that they

have none, or a very hmited sense of colour. Dogs, for example,

cannot distinguish colours however bright.

Human beings can distinguish colours between the limits of

the solar spectrum from violet say 938:10'* (I use the astrono-

mical notation, i.e., 98 followed by 18 ‘0’s) cycles per second and

wave lengths of the order of say 70,000 per inch to Red 54: 1018

W.L. 40,000.

What proof is there that an animal’s eye can ‘pick up’ the

same cycles and wave lengths?

I only know one case i.e. a Bull. And here again,—why

should a Bull be dangerously excited by Red and no other colour?

Is it possible that an animal’s colour perception is lower than

ours i.e. it can see red and below the Red end of the spectrum

which our eyes cannot see, but is incapable of absorbing the high

frequencies and wave lengths which give us the range of colours

towards the violet?

Mussoorig, U.P. H. A. WOOD.

August 10, 1936.

[Mr. W. J. Calman, Keeper of Zoology, British Museum, to

whom we referred this note, writes :—

‘A great deal of work has been done on the sense reactions

of mammals, but as the papers recording it are mostly in journals

dealing with comparative physiology and with psychology which

are not in the library of this Museum, I am unable to give you

exact references without a good deal of research. I understand,

however, that it is generally accepted that mammals other than

the primates are practically, if not entirely, colour blind, although

they may be able to discriminate with great precision between

the amount of light reflected by different objects. A dog, for

instance, is only able to see everything grey, but he can distin-

guish with great sensitiveness between the different shades of

erey. As regards the familiar story of the red rag and the bull,

one is not sure whether the experiment has ever been conducted

in conditions making for scientific accuracy of observation.’—Ebs. |

XV.—CROW ASSEMBLIES.

With reference to the note on ‘the mating habits of crows’

by the Chief Saheb of Ichalkaranji in the April issue, where he

alludes to ‘councils’ held by the crow, my impression is that these

meetings have as their object the selection of brides, or, more

likely, the selection of husbands by prospective brides, the

174 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXiX

Swayamvar of the Rajputs. The meetings are common just

before the breeding season, and I have not noticed any during the

latter half of the year.

A meeting begins by a crow or two alighting on an open bit

of ground between trees (I am unable to say whether it is the

female or the male bird that makes the beginning), at once follow-

ed by: a series of crows one after another who come down from

all directions very quietly, till a group of about twenty collect. A

few of the young bloods then start hopping and strutting as if to

Show off, going away from the centre and back again, and after a

while, begin flying away one after another disappointed. Most

of these meetings end in this desultory fashion, no bargain having

been struck; while on occasions, one sees only two crows lingering

for a time after the others have flown, and then flying away

together in the same direction.

This may be my imagination, but I have watched these meet-

ings for some years, having seen five such within the hour in

February last, and am left wondering as to what it all means.

All speech making is taboo, and no cawing is ever indulged in at

the meetings.

I should not be surprised if ‘EHA’ and others have already —

noticed and explained this interesting phenomenon.

The ‘chastisement’ meeting referred to probably belongs to a

different category. It is much less common than the one I have

described above, and the only occasion when I saw it was during

the rains.

241, PRINCESS STREET,

BomBay. | Py Ao DATA

May 16, 1986.

XVI.—AN ALBINO NILGIRI PIPIT (ANTHUS

NILGHIRIENSIS SHARPE).

While I was out golfing with Lt.-Col. E. O’Brien this morning

I noticed a white bird walking about in the grass on a hill side

and drew his attention to it, we went nearer to have a closer

view and observed that it was a case of albinism of the Nilgiri

Pipit, Anthus nilghiriensis. It would be interesting to know if a

similar case has been recorded previously. There was another

pipit also there in ordinary plumage, which seemed rather inclined

to mob the albino. I hope this bird becomes a permanent resident

of the golf links, it will be interesting to watch it.

MontrorD, KorTaarrt,

S. Inpra. C. B. BEADNELL.

May 24, 1936. )

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 175

XVII.—THE INDIAN CUCKOO (CUCULUS M.

MICROPTERUS GOULD).

For some time past I have suspected that Cuculus m. microp-

terus deposited its eggs in the nests of Dicrurus m. albirictus, but

so far I had been unable to obtain any definite evidence, the

nearest approach to proof being that of once observing a pair of

these Drongos taking a significant interest in a young, but fully

fledged Indian cuckoo. However, I never saw them feeding it,

and as I was pressed for time I had to move on. I am now in-

debted to Mr. H. Storrs of Tersati Tea Estate who has the honour

of having at last cleared up the mystery attached to this cuckoo’s

nidification in the plains of North Bengal.

Last month a pair of these drongos built in a tree near his

bungalow, and in due course a young cuckoo was hatched out.

Mr. Storrs thus had the unique opportunity of observing the bird

being fed by the foster parents in the nest. He informed me of

the event, and I was hoping to obtain a photo of the drongos

feeding the young bird, but unfortunately the recent continuous

rain made this impossible. On the 83lst May, the cuckoo looked

as if it might leave the nest at any moment. So Mr. Storrs decid-

ed to capture it alive, but as it was just able to fly from the nest

out of reach he shot it, and kindly sent the bird on to me for

identification.

Contrary to the information in the Fauna this cuckoo is a true

migrant in the Duars and foot hills of Bhutan. By November

every bird has left the District. The adult birds are the first to

leave in August and September, and the young follow in October.

The birds return at the end of March, and the well-known eall

of ‘make more pekoe’ is usually heard about the 28th of that

month. Only once in many years have I noticed a definite migra-

tory movement, this was when out shooting on the 25th March,

1925. Numbers of birds were met with that morning, all were

tired and restless, perching for a short time and then hurrying

on again.

Cuculus m. micropterus is very common in the Duars and one

must take one’s hat off to him for having kept, so long and suc-

cessfully, the secret of his nidification in the plains. On the other

hand it is possible that we have much overrated the intelligence

of the Black Drongo.

Hurpipart Tea Estate,

Duars, Nortu BENGAL. H. V. O’DONEL.

June 10, 1986.

XVITI.—A CUCKOO (C. CANORUS LINN.) INCIDENT.

In view of Mr. T. R. Livesey’s remarks on his experiences with

Cuckoos in the Shan States (Journal, xxxviii, 401-3) I venture

to record my own experience which occurred on the evening of

June 7, 1986, at 6 p.m.

176 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

My wife and I had gone for a walk on the hillside beyond

Chota Simla when she said a biggish bird had flown into a clump

of medium sized deodars below our path. Going down to investi-

gate I heard the peculiar note of a Stonechat when a cuckoo is

in the neighbourhood, and so told my wife to come and sit down.

to watch.

We had scarcely sat down when we saw the cuckoo perched

on top of a deodar about 100 yds. away and alongside her was

the male Stonechat (Saaicola t. indica) giving vent to what I

should call a note of distress. After a minute or so the cuckoo

left, closely pursued by the Stonechat (screaming the while), and

settled at the top of a deodar, one of a clump, under which we

were sitting.

We could now see plainly what was taking place, i.e. the male

Stonechat was furiously attacking the cuckoo and to evade his

onslaughts the cuckoo was forced to hop from twig to twig.

During this scuffle the cuckoo kept emitting a note, something be-

tween a crack and a gasp, and once the ‘water-bubble’ note, so

that we now were fairly certain the bird was a female. Inciden-

tally I might mention that a Streaked Laughing Thrush was pat-

tering about the branches just below the combatants, apparently,

as often happens, to see what the row was about.

After four or five minutes the cuckoo flew to the top of a deodar

sapling where her perch seemed anything but comfortable on this

flexible twig. Meanwhile, the female Stonechat suddenly appeared

when both she and her mate vigorously attacked the cuckoo,

who now flew to a grassy bank five yards away where she stayed

‘spreadeagled’ with wings and tail spread on the grass while the

Stonechats literally battered her head. This apparently had the

effect of driving her off for she flew some distance away pursued

by the male Stonechat, while I kept my eye on the female and

after a lapse of a few seconds saw her disappear into the bank

and remain there, so I felt satisfied her nest was there, but as it

happened this was not where the cuckoo alighted but a yard

further away.

Now the cuckoo, still with the male Stonechat in close atten-

dance, returned and settled again with outstretched wings and

tail, about eight inches below the spot where I had seen the

female Stonechat disappear with the male literally battering her

(the cuckoo’s) head, being now joined by his mate which popped

out of the nest. All the cuckoo did to defend herself was to turn

an open beak to the aggressors.

During the melee the cuckoo worked up the bank, but details

were difficult to follow, so quick were their movements, though

she had effected her purpose and flew off after about half a minute

when I saw she carried something like an ege away down the

hillside. eae

We waited a few minutes to see if the female Stonechat would

return to the nest but as she was now in no hurry, or her atten-

tion now fixed on the humans, we walked up to the nest and

found this placed rather far down a hole (4 in. from surface).

There were three of the Stonechat’s eggs in the nest and a cuckoo’s

OE —— TT

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES oles

resting on the outer edge of it. Now the question arose, would

the cuckoo have revisited the nest to see that her egg was safely

deposited, or would the Stonechat have voluntarily or involun-

tarily rolled this egg into the nest?

The following points seem quite clear :—

1. The pugnacity of the Stonechats shattered the theory of

the dupes being under the delusion that something in the form of

a hawk was in the vicinity of their nest. This too was stressed

by Livesey. |

2. The Stonechats were definitely averse from the cuckoo’s

proximity to their nest.

8. I think curiosity, coupled with a certain amount of sus-

picion, impels the prospective fosterers to divulge the whereabouts

of their nest, which is just what the cuckoo desires.

4. The possibility of the cuckoo, as some maintain, carrying

its egg in its mouth and then depositing it in the fosterer’s nest

may be ruled out in this case, for had it attempted to do so

its egg must surely have come to grief during the Stonechat’s

tornado of attacks on its head. Moreover its bill was wide open

most of the time.

The above facts may be, and probably are, unusual and so I

hope this note may be of interest. The Rufous Backed Shrike

(Lanius s, erythronotus) is a common dupe of the European

Cuckoo (C. canorus) and one cannot conceive how the cuckoo

could possibly survive under a like onslaught by these compara-

tively strong and pugnacious birds.

The cuckoo’s egg in this case was a rich salmon pink, blotched

with reddish brown, unlike any I have previously taken.

SIMLA. H. JONES.

June 10, 19386.

XIX.—THE BURMESE PLAINTIVE CUCKOO (CACOMANTIS

MERULINUS QUERULUS HEINE).

The astonishing discrimination of the Burmese Plaintive Cuckoo,

that I have referred to already in another connection,! offers a

very subtle point for consideration against the Desertion Theory.

The Plaintive Cuckoos in the vicinity of Taunggyi lay two types

of eggs commonly—the one a pale blue egg marked with red spots

—and the other a pure white egg marked with red spots. The

two types are about equally common. Both types victimise

Franklinia which lays eggs here of two types—the one pale blue

marked with red spots and the other white marked with red spots.

Both types are about equally common.

The blue egg laying cuckoo invariably deposits its egg in the

nest of the blue egg Franklinia—and the white egg cuckoo in the

white egg Franklinia! Someone has wonderful powers of discri-

mination.

As there is no visible difference—as far as is known—between

* Cuckoo Problems, T. R. Livesey, Journal, vol. xxxvill, p. 7384.

178 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL His. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Franklinia laying blue eggs—or white eggs, it follows that the

euckoos watching Franklinia building their nest cannot tell what

type of egg the Franklinia will lay until they lay their first egg.

_ A blue egg cuckoo watching a pair of Franklinia building would

inspect the first egg they lay. If it was white it would seem

that the cuckoo refuses it and presumably goes on elsewhere in

its search for a blue egg Franklinia. And vice versa. }

In other words the cuckoo is observing very closely. the eggs of

the species it dupes and then exercises a very discriminating choice.

The cuckoo chooses—not the dupe.

The colouration of the cuckoo’s egg is due to the ‘initiative’ of

the cuckoo—to its desire to the end of mimicry—which has given

the perfection of resemblance achieved over countless generations.

As regards the call of the Plaintive Cuckoo, the ‘twéét-3-twéét’

note is uttered in the cold weather, for I have heard these

euckoos calling thus in Karenni in November and December. On

the other hand, I have never heard the cadence note being called

in the cold season and I take this note to be a purely breeding call.

TAUNGGYI, S. SHAN STATES,

BuRMA. TE: LIVESEY.

~ July 30, 1986.

XX.—_THE SMALL GREEN-BILLED MALKOHA —

[RHOPODYTES VIRIDIROSTRIS (JERDON)].

_ The only instance mentioned by Baker and Inglis in The Birds

of Southern India where this bird was found breeding was by Sir

A. Cardew -in the North Arcot District on the 10th March 1885.

A nest of this bird was taken by me on 28rd April 1986 near

Shiyah in the Tanjore District. The nest was situated in a very

thorny bush, alongside a small river and at about five feet from

the ground. The bird was seated on the nest which made identi-

fication éasy. “The nest appeared small for the bird: and consisted

of a few dry twigs and dried leaves for a lining. The nest con-

tained two eggs, partly set, chalky white in colour and in shape

blunt ovals measuring 1.12 in. by 0.88 in. The surface of the eggs

was scratched by. the claws of the bird. | oe

TANJORE.°©

- September 4, 1936.

_ [As:to the breeding of the Small Green Billed Malkoha (R.

viridirostris).:- Whistler in his Report on the Vernay Scientific

Survey of the Eastern Ghats (Journal, xxxvi, 525) refers to

LaPersonne’s statement that he believed that these birds were

breeding at Kurumbapatti in April and in the Shevaroy Tirtha-

malai area in May and June. This Mr. Whistler considered

late as the series of skins: obtained by LaPersonne in June con-

tained young birds in post juvenal moult. Mr. Biddulph’s: note .

helps to confirm Mr. Whistler’s conclusion. During the recent

ornithological survey of Travancore Mr. Humayun Abdulali found

a nest of this Malkoha with two eggs on 28 April (1938) at Aram-

boli, a locality adjoining the Tinnevelly District of Madras.—Ebs. |

C..H, BIDDULPH.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ° Bi 179

_. XXI.—INDIAN ROLLER OR BLUE JAY (COR ACIAS”

BENGHALENSIS LINN.) FEEDING ON A SCORPION.

When I was touring this year in the third week of June in

Bisalpur village about 81 miles from Shahjehanpur, United Pro-

vinces, my attention was suddenly directed one afternoon to a

Blue Jay which dashed towards a corner of a pakka building situ-

ated near the’ -roadsidé. In a moment the bird returned to a

hacked dry branch of a ee tree ay with a big scorpion

in its beak. |=.

The scorpion: was -held in the Beale by its flexible tail, head

hanging downwards. ‘The bird gave a few vigorous jerks of its

head accompanied by a pressing of the beak and then swallowed

the scorpion head first, almost alive, in a couple of minutes.

>» J have often seen these birds feeding on insects in grassy or

cultivated fields. It is well known that they destroy many in-

jurious insects, and as such are considered beneficial to farmers

and gardeners. Mason and Lefroy (Memoir Department of Agri-

culture, vol. ii, January 1912, pp.-155-9) give a comprehensive list

of '‘msects found in the stomach contents of this bird, but there is

no record so far I am aware of a scorpion being eaten. I am not

inclined to consider the incident as the outcome of hunger, because

the rains had fallen and grasshoppers, beetles and moths were

numerous in the pumpkin and juar fields nearby. ,

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, US. SHARGA,

CAWNPORE. x ~ ph.p. (Edin.), ¥F.E.s.

July 17, 1986.

XXII—ON THE BREEDING OF THE PIED HARRIER

[CIRCUS MELANOLEUCUS (PENNANT)] IN NORTHERN:

BURMA.

: Thie Fauna of British ac (ed. 1, vol. ili, p. 886) states that

‘Some Pied Harriers breed in Northern India: Jerdon one

sevéral | in Purneah in July and Cripps twice in April found an eg

laid on an apology for a nest amongst ‘‘Ulu’’ grass Seen

eylindricum) close to the Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh District

of Upper Assam’: In the second edition of the Fauna no reference

is made to Jerdon ' or: Cripps on this point and the Pied Harrier

is described’ as breeding in ‘Eastern Siberia, Mongolia and Northern

China’. Mr, Baker adds that ‘it is practically certain that odd

pairs reriain to breed in the North Cachar Hills, as I frequently

saw. pairs of birds thére during July and August when out gaur or

buffalo shooting: The birds were nearly always hawking over a

few wet rice fields and small marshes. in the centre of a vast

plateau of grassland.’ -Harington (Journal,. vol. xv, p. 140)

saw this species in July at Saga south of Fort Stedman inthe

180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. XXXiX

Southern Shan States and thought it was breeding there. I can

find no other records which suggest that the Pied Harrier breeds

in India or Burma.

I am now in a position to confirm the breeding.-in Burma of

this beautiful bird. On May 30, 1936, I was in camp with Mr.

D. P. Lister of the Burma Forest Service on one of the huge

grassy lwins, or open plains, which lie north of the confluence of

the Mogaung and Irrawaddy rivers in the Myitkyina District.

This is a favourite haunt at this season of bison, tsaing, and hog

deer, the lwins being covered with short grass, more or less tree-

less, and dotted with small pools surrounded by boggy patches of

thatching grass (Imperata arundinacea), each lwin being encircled

by a belt of heavy forest. They are all normally burnt over in

February and March and by the end of May the grass is from

6 in to 2 ft. high, and apart from the boggy patches of thatching

grass, not difficult to traverse. They are the haunts of the Sarus

Crane, Black-necked and White-necked Storks, the Chinese Fran-

colin. LHzxcalfactoria chinensis, Red-wattled Lapwings and a few

warblers of the Prinia or Cisticola genus. Country of this. kind

must be very rarely visited by any European, except natu-

ralists or big game hunters, between March and November.

On May 380th we saw a male Pied Harrier hunting near our camp

and on May 81st, while wandering about after hog deer in the

afternoon on the Hoti lwin, a huge tract of grass and marsh about

a mile square, we watched him flying straight across the lwin

with something in his claws. On reaching the spot, we flushed

him off a nest in a waist deep boggy patch of thatching grass,

interspersed with a little kaing grass. The nest contained two

young birds, which were just sprouting their wing quills, and an

ege—the latter a dirty buffish white,t which I took. The young

had white down on the head and shoulders and the rest of the

down was in general colour cinnamon pink (iris black, cere whitish

yellow, bill black, lighter at tip, inside of gape pinkish red, legs

wax yellow, claws dark brown). The nest was a flat platform of

crass stalks trampled in a tussock of thatching grass, about 7 in.

in diameter. On three visits to the nest I could find no signs

of prey, even just after the adults had visited it. On one or two

occasions, when I watched the birds to the nest, I felt sure the

prey consisted of frogs or insects, birds being very few and far

between in the area hunted over and (as I have repeatedly observed

at other seasons), taking little or no notice of the Harriers. Indeed

the only birds which showed any excitement were a pair of Red-

Wattled Lapwings which mobbed the Harrier on one occasion.

Once, I saw, the prey was crimson in colour and may have been

a plucked bird. On June Ist I watched from a little distance

both the cock and hen feeding the young. If one was on the nest,

it immediately flew off on the other’s arrival. Several times after

settling, the bird flew off and pitched in the grass a short way

off, returning a few moments later with something in its claws

+I had this egg blown three days later and it contained a young bird,

which was probably within a week of hatching.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES EBLE

and possibly they keep a larder from which to feed the young, as

when we first found the nest one had a bulging crop and not

the other. While we were at the nest, both birds kept sailing

round high in air, the hen uttering a loud sixfold ‘chack-ing’ note

which reminded me of a Magpie (Pica pica) or a Fieldfare. In

the air I noticed the male always soared, when not hunting, with

tail tightly closed. The female’s tail was spread out and they

could be distinguished at once by shape. Male and female are,

otherwise, easy to distinguish in the field, contrary to the state-

ment made by Oates (vide Sharpe, B.B., ii, 173) that the ‘sexes

when adult are alike in plumage’. The male is clear, black and

white, the female much browner with a chocolate brown head

shading into dark brown on the breast and shewing brownish

streaks between the black scapulars and wing tips, as well as on

the lower parts, and brown on the lower surface of the tail. The

female in fact looks like a young bird just moulting into male

plumage. If these were typical adults, there could be no mistak-

ing the sexes in an adequate lght.

I believe, but cannot prove, that another pair of these Harriers

were breeding at the northern end of the same lwin, half a mile

away. I saw a pair twice or thrice near here but could never

be certain that one of them did not belong to the pair

already found nesting. On the last occasion, when Mr. Lis-

ter and myself visited the nest, we had three Pied Harriers,

two unmistakable males and the female, circling over us at

the same moment, which suggests that there were two pairs. I

saw a female and later a male in this area seated for a consider-

able time on a tree stump, a habit not often noticeable in the

Pied Harrier. We tramped many miles of Ilwins—uninhabited

except by game—between May 80 and June 2 and saw no signs

of other Harriers. It is however clear that this pair, if the incu-

bation period is 28 to 85 days (Witherby’s Handbook, vol. ii,

pp. 149-157) must have started laying about 18 to 20 April, and

also that May records of the Pied Harrier in Burma or Northern

India may well be of breeding birds. Mr. Lister and I much

regret that we had no camera with us on this trip. It is to be

hoped that naturalists in Bengal, Assam and Northern Burma

(where, in particular, there are many miles of similar country to

that here described along the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin rivers

and in the Hukawng Valley) will soon be able to confirm the

breeding of this Harrier.

MYyITKYINA. J. K; STANFORD,

June 4, 1986. 1.C.S,, M.C., O:B.E.

XXIII.—ALTITUDINAL RANGE OF THE ASHY WOOD

PIGEON (COLUMBA PULCHRICOLLIS BLYTH.).

I send herewith the skin of a pigeon shot here in the latter

part of May. =

_ The bird appears to be an Ashy Wood Pigeon (Columba pul-

chricollis),

182 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Stuart Baker in his Pigeons and Doves appears to consider it

a hill bird and gives no instance of it being Reuocel in any place

under’ an elevation of 4,000 ft. -

I have’ often seen and shot ‘this bird in the same locality at

the same time of the year, but have never seen it elsewhere. As

Charduar lies in the foothills of the Himalayas at a_height of

under 500 ft., the recording of this bird may be of-interest.

I would be very obliged if you would identify the bird for me.

CHarDUAR, Loxra P.O., Peewee bt

BauipaRA FRonTIER TRACT, G.- 8. sLIGHTFOOT,

ASSAM. 7 : - LP.

dune 5, 1986.

[The bird sent by Mr. Lightfoot is an Ashy Wood Pigeon

(C. pulchricollis).—Eps. | |

XXIV.—MIGRATION OF FLAMINGO (PHOENICOPTERUS

RUBER ANTIQUORUM TEMM.) FROM NORTH GUJERAT.

Last year (Journal, xxxvili, 404) I recorded the one day

(April 17, 1985) visit of the Flamingo to this city. Now I have

to record the dates both of their arrival and departure. I have

been able to trace only one other such attempt, viz., by Captain

Butler, who (S.F., y, 226 ff.) records from Deesa, extreme north

of Gujerat, the departure of these birds.. The date given by him

is 20th May (1876), though he is silent on the date of their

arrival. In the light of this sketchy information, the following,

I hope, will be found useful.

This year, like the last, the Flamingoes ered in the middle

of April and made their temporary home in the Chandola lake.

They numbered about fifty birds. Their stay terminated on

June 20th, after a couple of rains.

This year almost all the lakes, tanks and rivers in this part

of Gujerat had dried up which might have been one of the reasons

why these birds left their usual haunts earlier and made their

stay at Chandola which had a small quantity of water to enable

hundreds of Sarus crane, herons, cormorants, etc., find their sus-

tenance. |

AHMEDABAD, HARI WoRegas ACHARYA,“

NortH GUJERAT. | . F.Z.S.

July 20; 1986.

XXV.—DO BIRDS EMPLOY ANTS TO RID TEE Mon Eye

OF ECTOPARASITES?

I have read with interest Mr. Salim Ali’s article under the

above heading on p. 628 of vol. xxxviii of your valuable Journal,

of the peculiar behaviour of certain birds when in possession of

strong smelling insects, eee:

_ MISCELLANEOUS NOTES _ . 183

As long ago as 1903, when stationed in Darjiling, I experi-

mented with tame laughing thrushes brought up from the nest

by offering them insects which when seized give out a_ strong

objectionable scent. The laughing thrushes dealt with were

Trochalopterum nigrimentum and Dryonastes coerulatus, and the

insects with the pungent excretion different, kinds of bugs, (Rhyn-

chota).

The birds could have had no previous experience of these

bugs so that their actions would be purely instinctive. They in-

variably seized the insect without hesitation and as soon as they

became aware of the objectionable effluvium, instead of instantly,

rejecting them as one would have been led to expect, they started

to press or rub the insect against their under. tail coverts... More-

over this action was carried out vigorously and in no uncertain

manner.

Later on, in the Andamans I found a young Dendragitta bayleyt

also reared from the nest, treated such insects-in a sivniiar manner,

and still later, Trochalopterumy- ‘erythrocephalum in Garhwal con-

firmed my experiments carried out with the other species.

I was quite unable to explain this behaviour, nor does the

suggestion that it is done with the object of getting rid of ecto-

parasites seem to me a probable explanation, for if that. were the

object why was the insect invariably ful oat only in one place

viz. near the anus?

Moreover the fact that the insect was eventually swallowed by

the bird was also noted by me.

My original notes on the above subject were published in the

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society and will be found

on p. 752 a. in vol. xix, dated 15th November 1909. I hope

that Messrs. Abdul Ali and Salim Ali will carry on this investi-

gation and perhaps eventually arrive at the real solution of the

mystery.

B. B. OSMASTON,

LES, (Hetd.).

XXVI.—WANTED INFORMATION ABOUT HERONRIES

IN SOUTH INDIA. a

I should be grateful if you would publish in the Journal an

enquiry as to the locality of any heronries in Mysore or Malabar

and the season in which they are in use. There must surely be

some as herons and storks of all kinds are very numerous all over

the country at all times of the year but in’ spite of much any

I have never been able to hear of any breeding colonies.

CoOVERCOLLY, eet :

SOMWARPET, Coora. i NeBn prs

July 18, 1936, ;

184 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

XXVIL—A MUGGER (CROCODILUS PALUSTRIS) WITH —

ONE FOOT MISSING.

(With a photo).

While on a shooting trip in the Parambikulam Valley in Cochin

State in December 1934 a friend of mine shot a mugger 7 ft, 10 in.

in length at an elevation of about 1,500 ft. in the Parambikulam

River in dense evergreen forest.

On examination it was found that the right front foot was

entirely missing, the mugger also appeared to be fairly thin. The

injury had quite healed as will be seen from the photograph sent |

along with this note. |

All the mugger seen and shot in this river are Crocodilus palus-

tris whereas of the seventeen mugger shot in the rivers of the

Tanjore Delta on the East Coast in 1985-36 every one proved to

be Crocodilus porosus.

TANJORE. Moa C. H. BIDDULPH,

September 4, 1986, eae.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES | 185

[A crocodile shot recently in the Powai Lake near Bombay by

Mr. McCann of the Society’s staff, had the right fore leg missing

from well above the middle or the humerus. It was apparently a

very old injury and did not seem either to hinder the progress or

affect adversely the general condition of the reptile.—Ebs. |

XXVIII.—AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HAMADRYAD

(N. BUNGARUS).

I was in the office one afternoon and heard my clerk’s dog

making a fiendish yapping down at his quarters. On enquiring the

cause thereof I was informed that it was fighting a big cobra.

Although cobras have been captured on the lower lying estates

in this district I had not previously seen one here and was some-

what sceptical as there are plenty of very large rat snakes about.

However, when I had finished my work in the office I went to

investigate and found about four coolies standing round and the

dog still keeping up its cacophony. Although at the first glance

nothing was visible as the ‘conflict’ was in amongst some grown

up tea, but upon a closer approach I was able to discern a section

of the snake about 38 ft. off the ground between two bushes and

it sent me hot foot back to the bungalow for my gun. I found

I only had some old No. 8 shot cartridges and so took along my.

-380 revolver. On arriving back I thought I would see if I could

see the head and to this end crawled on hands and_ knees

under the tea and saw the dog barking only a few inches

away from it. I drove it away and had four shots at the snake

with the revolver but all missed—a lamentable occurrence. I

then thought I would give it a shot with the gun and this did

not have much effect other than to make it come down sluggishly

to earth when I managed to hit it with a revolver bullet in the

neck. One or two facts emerge from the hunt. Firstly the extreme

sluggishness and apparent docility of the snake—I never saw its

hood expanded once. Secondly the striking proof that a snake is

deaf to ordinary sound; it never turned an inch at the four revolver

shots fired a few feet away from its head, from which one pre-

sumes it neither heard the dog; and lastly-the time it took to

die, although the backbone was broken at the neck it took half

an hour at least before it was dead. It taped 10 ft. 4 in. before

skinning and 11 ft. 6 in. after and was a male. There were nume-

rous ticks under its scales and a large leech was found adhering

to it.

I cannot account for the dog getting away with it as it did,

as I was told the Hamadryad, which it proved to be, was in the

open when the dog found it and the King Cobra is reputed to

be the fiercest and most dangerous of Indian snakes. The bands

on this snake were not well defined. |

Napuar Estate, VALPARAI P.O., ,

S. Inpia. R, N, CHAMPION JONES,

June 25, 1936,

186 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

XXIX.—A HAMADRYAD’S (NAIA BUNGARUS) NEST AND

EGGS.

(With a plate).

1. On 7th June 19386 I was walking through fairly open moist

bamboo forest at about 2,000 ft. elevation near Anisakan (some

8 miles from Maymyo) in the Mandalay District, Burma. Noticing

a rather curious looking heap of dead leaves close to the rough

track I was following I thrust a small cane into the heap. Im-

mediately a snake’s head shot out from the top of the heap and,

as quickly disappeared. Having no gun and being with a picnic

party I decided to leave well alone for the time being.

On 11th June 1936 I returned to the place accompanied by

Mr. T. S. Thompson, Divisional Forest Officer, Maymyo, and

some followers. Mr. Thompson and I posted ourselves on one

side of the heap whilst our men cautiously pushed a long bamboo.

into it from another quarter. The snake soon emerged from the

top of the heap and we shot it. It was a hamadryad measuring

7 ft. 5 in.

We then proceeded to examine the heap which was about

1 ft. 9 in. in height and 3 ft. 6 in. in diameter. Within this

heap of dead leaves was the nest proper. It was placed on the

ground and comprised a compact mass of dead bamboo and other

leaves and a few small twigs and leaf stalks. Externally it

measured about 1 ft. 7 in. in diameter and 9 in. deep. It was a

comparatively solid structure and could be lifted off the ground

without its falling to pieces. In the centre was a cup about 8 in.

in diameter and about 8 in. deep. me

Within the nest were twentyseven eggs, white, soft-shelled

and measuring about 55 by 27 mm. The eggs were comparatively

fresh and in some cases stuck lightly together. Above the eggs

there was a compact covering of dead bamboo leaves which filled

in the cup of the nest flush with the edges. Upon this nest,

though separated from the eggs the snake had evidently been

lying coiled up. The leaves forming the mound covered the snake

and nest and they were lying loosely as compared with the solid

and almost woven nature of the nest proper.

It is interesting to note that fourteen people apesmaniied by

seven dogs twice passed at different times within two yards of

the nest and yet the hamadryad failed to show itself aaa the

nest remained undiscovered until I prodded the heap of eons

with a small cane.

H. C. SMITH, 1r.s.

A EIAMADRYAD’ Ss Nasi AND Haas.

The incident described below took place in July 1927 in

the Tharrawaddy District of Lower Burma.

I was returning in the afternoon along a footpath to the forest

rest house at Thapangyaunggyi, a small village situated on the

banks of the Taungnyo stream in the foothills of the Pegu Yomas,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist.

Nest and e

\OO

loko}

iS)

Soc.

A HamapryAp’s NEstT.

removed from situ with dead snake:

and nest not unduly tampered with.

raven

not touched

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 187

When about two miles from the village my attention was attracted

by- shouts and the barking of dogs in the jungle some little dis-

tance below ‘me. On going down to investigate, I came upon

two villagers with long bamboos and a couple of large hunting

dogs; the party was busy chasing a large hamadryad which was

moving up and down a small ditch. The dogs were rushing in

from behind and attempting to bite the snake’s tail and the snake

with its head reared up about 8 ft. from the ground was making

lightning darts at the dogs which somehow managed to evade

being bitten. One of my subordinates was carrying his gun and

having approached to within about 10 yds. of the snake I killed it

with a 8.G. cartridge, one pellet passing through the base of

the snake’s head. When dead, the snake measured about 12 ft.

in length.

On mia the villagers how they discovered the snake they

stated that ‘their dogs had turned it out of its nest to which

they then led me, about 40 yds. away. The nest was built in

the base of a small shrub about 6 in. from the ground and at

first sight it resembled the nest of an English magpie. It was

composed chiefly of sticks and other debris and contained a hole

in the top through which the snake could pass. On examining

the interior of the nest I found that it was divided into two com-

partments, an upper and a lower storey. The lower storey which

was lined with dead leaves and shaped like an ordinary bird’s

nest contained forty soft and rather shapeless dirty white eggs.

The lower compartment was completely separated from the upper

~ one by a layer of sticks and leaves so that the eggs were more or

less in a sealed compartment.

The snake. had evidently been lying. coiled up in the upper

compartment when first disturbed by the dogs and had emerged

through:..the hole in the, top of the nest. I Should estimate that

the nest was about 2 ft. from top to bottom and about 2 ft. 6 in.

wide at its widest part. The villagers went home complete with

snake and eges which they intended to eat!

Maymyo. F. J. MUSTILD,

mcr Der Pile 936: | Tues

[While the King Cobra has a reputation for ferocity, for the

making of immediate and unprovoked attacks, the sum of recorded

evidence, supported now by these notes indicates that normally,

the snake behaves in the manner of all snakes and_ usually

endeavours to escape. The few instances of aggressive behaviour

in the King Cobra are connected mainly with brooding females,

but it is shown in the’ present note that even in these cir-

cumstances the snake may not attack. All those who have seen

Hamadryads during the period of incubation have remarked

upon the fact that the female has been coiled upon a nest of

dead leaves or rubbish. Commenting on the. nest, Wall

(Journal, xxx, 193) says: ‘How this nest has been prepared,

there is no evidence to show, and it would be interesting: to. know

if the snake gathers. these leayes together, “and if so how, ’- Tt

188 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

seems most probable that she selects a chance accumulation of

debris which she can appropriate for her use.’ In the present

instance both Mr. Smith and Mr. Mustill indicate that the nest

was a compact cup like mass which could be lifted off the ground

without its falling to pieces. This implies a nest, which is

something more than an accumulation of leaves and suggests an

effort at building. Apart from this, a new fact emerging is that

the snake does not sit directly upon the eggs, but upon a compact

intervening layer of leaves with which she covers them. These

leaves probably shelter the eggs and help to maintain the tem-

perature requisite for their incubation.—Ebs. |

XXX.—THE GREEN PIT VIPER (TRIMERESURUS

GRAMINEUS).

An appeal for specimens.

The discovery by Mr. and Mrs. Pope in 1933 that Trimeresurus

gramineus, the Common Green Pit Viper, was a composite of

three species was a notable achievement (Amer. Mus. Nov., No.

620). It stressed in particular the value of the hemipenis as a

specific character, for two of the species, namely T. gramineus

and T. stejnegeri, can be distinguished from one another only by

an examination of that structure, in all external characters being

identical.

The distribution of the species is still imperfectly known, parti-

cularly of the two, possibly three that inhabit the peninsula of

India south of the Gangetic Plain. I shall be grateful to anyone

who can loan me specimens for examination. It is particularly

desirable to see material from the neighbourhood of Vizagapatam,

the type locality of T. gramineus. Exact locality of origin for

all specimens should be given and living colours if possible.

CROMWELL Roap,

Lonpon, 8.W. MALCOLM SMITH,

June 15, 1986. British Museum (Natural History).

XXXI.—DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF FISH

FROM NORTHERN BENGAL.

(With a plate).

While making a collection of fishes in the Darjeeling and Jal-

paiguri Districts, Bengal, we obtained some specimens of a species

of Glyptothorax which does not appear to have been previously

described. We propose the name Glyptothorax horai after our

friend, Dr. Hora of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, to whose gene-

rous help we are so much indebted in compiling our list of the

Fishes of Northern Bengal, Qur specimens are in the Indian

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe.

SARL

\ \\\ Ve

\\ We

GLYPTOTHORAX HORA sp. nov.

2/1.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 189

Museum and the Darjeeling Natural History Museum. We append

a description and figure of the fish.

GLYPTOTHORAX HORAI Sp. NOV.

Vernacular: Nepalese: Kala kabri.

DD, 1/6, P.:1/9, V. 6, A. 1/9, GC. 19, Barbels four pairs.

Length of the head 44, height of the body 51 in total length.

Width of the head -7 of its length. Width of the mouth half

that of the head. Upper jaw the longer; a slight fringe on the

upper lip. Barbels: maxillary pair extend half way along the

pectoral fins; nasal reach the back of the orbit; outer pair of man-

dibular (the longer) reach the base of the pectorals. Teeth on

the jaw but not on the palate. Fins: dorsal three-fourth the

height of the body, spine moderately strong, smooth; adipose dorsal

longer than the rayed dorsal and five-eighths of the interspace be-

tween them. Pectorals reach to half way between the bases of

pectorals and pelvics; spines strong, flattened, with 8 or 9 strong,

curved teeth internally—not plaited. Pelvics with fine transverse

marking. Caudal peduncle about half as high as long. Adhesive

apparatus extends from the lip to half way along the base of the

pectorals. On the gill coverts it curves outwards but on the lp

and thorax it consists of longitudinal folds. Laterally it does not

extend quite to the pectorals. (In no other Glyptothorax that we

know of does the adhesive apparatus extend to the lip. Colour:

brownish-yellow with a dark blotch on the shoulder. Anal and

caudal fins darker at base and tip. Size: Our longest specimen

was 4.4 in. Habitat: Streams of the Terai (Bengal).

Nartnr Tat, Unitrep PROVINCEs. G. E. SHAW,

June 21, 1986. EK. O. SHEBBEARE.

XXXII.—-ON THE DIET OF THE FISH, RITA RITA.

In vol. xxxvil, p. 661 of this Journal, Mr. Hamid Khan in

his article “Habits and Habitats of Food Fishes of the Punjab’

gives the diet of Rita rita as follows:—‘insects, their larvae and

on young fishes. It also feeds even on carrion. It takes live

bait, worms, chilwa or raw meat.’ This may be as it may, but

every specimen of Rita which I examined from the Nerbudda,

and I must have examined a good few, had their stomachs full

of young bivalves of about the size of peas and contained nothing

else. The position of the mouth in these fishes in fact, suggests

a mollusean diet.

CENTRAL Museum,

| NAGPUR. EK. A. D’ABREU.

July 4, 1936.

190 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL .HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXixX

XXXIII.—A DRAGON FLY PREYING UPON A SPIDER. :::

I was just about to tap a hide: sitting on the edge of a leaf

into my collecting jar when a dragonfly few. at it with electric

speed and caught it in its fore legs. I saw it feeding on the

spider. Though I lost the specimen I was glad to learn for the

first time that dragonflies like the solitary mee are also among

the enemies of spiders.

pages IG US ey ee. NG SUBRAHMANYAM,

XXXIV. —MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS ‘ON’ ‘DE

BIOLOGY OF ALEURODIDAE (ALEURODES BRASSICAE).

The Homoptera belong to a class of insects known as

Exopterygota or Hemimetabola in which there exists incomplete

metamorphosis. But there are certain groups in this class like

the Aleurodidae and the males of the coccidae which exhibit ‘a

well defined tendency towards the holometabolous condition. The

sequence of events in the development of stages in the life of

the Aleurodidae is as follows.

From the egg hatches out a larva which is quite dissimilar

to the parent. It is not called a nymph but a larva of the ‘oligo-

pod’ type, Imms (1981). It is active for some time and then

settles down at-one place, grows and moults. Then follow two

more fixed, but actively feeding stages. These grow and moult,

and then comes the fourth instar which is said to be equivalent

to the pupal stage of a holometabolous insect. Let us first see

what is meant by a pupa and consider whether those conditions

hold good here.. A -pupa is the term applied to the resting in-

active instar in all holometabolous insects, during which stage

the insect is incapable of feeding and is externally quiescent. In

the Aleurodidae after the third moult, the larva of the fourth

instar is flat and thin. The upper cuticle is so translucent that

the white outline of the future. adult inside can be clearly seen

from outside. Evidently this is not the resting stage as it is seen

to feed and drops of liquid excretion are passed out of the vasi-

form orifice and are shaken off intermittently by the lngula. This

stage also grows in’ thickness and. becomes convex -in fom. ; a thie

cuticle hardens and the adult inside gets loosened from the. arnols

This development of various parts of the body. goes, on inside,

The wings begin to develop from the internal buds and. after

the full orowth is complete the adult. breaks open the upper

cuticle and emerges: When. the cuticle hardens and the internal

development begins, the instar. appears.to be in a resting condi-

tion and not to ‘feed. This latter. part of this stage (fourth . instar)

can be said to’ be ‘the: pupal stage, as it behaves. like a pupa

defined above. The only type of pupa it can be compared with

is the Coarctate type. But in the latter also a very thin pupal

skin is seen to exist under the hard outer cuticle after the .emer-

gence -of the adult, i.e. there is a true pupal skin in the puparium,

while here there is found no moult or skin in between the upper

cuticle and the adult skin as has been ascertained by dissecting

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES igi

a number of pupae at different periods during development. In the

sections taken by Hargreaves, he also found only two skins, one

forming the outer cuticle and the other forming the adult skin.

At no other period does this instar behave hke a pupa and at

the latter part this stage may be called a Rudimentary pupa (as

Dr. [mms has named it in his Text-book of Entomology, p. 188).

LirE-Histrory AND HABITS.

1. A. brassicae.

Egg laying: Aiter the manner of Aleurodids, this species has

generally the habit of laying in circles or semicircles, but some

flies lay irregularly, laying two or three eggs at one place and

then moving to another place without any apparent external dis-

turbance. At many places the female seems to have settled for

some time, but afterwards has moved to another place without

laying any eggs. Such places can be easily marked out by the

white powder sticking there, being brushed from the abdomen.

The places chosen for egg laying are always on the underside of

leaves, in the pockets between the veins and near the midrib.

In cireles the eggs are usually in single rows but rarely I have

seen them in double rows. They are always laid with the tip

towards the centre. The method (as has been described by many

authors) is due to the fact that the female sits at one place with

the rostrum imbedded in the tissue and this serves as a pivot—

she thus moves round and round and lays one by one, the radius

of the circle being the distance from the rostrum of the female

to the tip of the abdomen. LEges freshly laid are covered with

powdery meal. The stalks are imbedded into the leaf tissue and

as a result the eggs are difficult to remove. For egg laying gene-

rally tender leaves are preferred, but still I have seen eggs laid

on older leaves and rarely on the upper side. Naturally these eggs

on the older leaves frequently cannot survive as the leaves drop

before the flies are mature. The number of eggs in a semicircle

varies from 8 to 4 to 25 or 28. Eggs develop on leaves cut off

from the plants, but the period of hatching extends. The colour

of such eggs also deepens, the shell becomes harder and there is a

greater percentage of death while hatching.

Development and hatching: Eges freshly laid are sulphur

yellow and shining. The orange bodies can be very distinctly seen

through the shell. From day to day the orange bodies appear to

change position, sometimes appearing at the bottom, sometimes in

the middle and sometimes at the other end—evidently caused by

the movement of the larva inside. On the sixth or seventh day

the colour of the eggs becomes brown and two or three days later

the larva inside begins to be formed. Six or seven days before

hatching, the red eyes of the larva inside can be clearly seen

through the shell, and three or four days before hatching a longi-

tudinal crease on the egg shell, more often in the middle, is noticed.

It ison the line of this crease the rent in the egg shell appears

through which the larva emerges. First the cephalic portion

emerges. As the larva pushes itself from inside, the rent becomes

192 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

larger to facilitate the complete eclosion. The egg is laid perpendi-

cular to the leaf surface but soon after it bends down and lies

horizontally. The delicate larva can thus get a foothold on the

leaf and easily extricate the rest of the body. In the few cases

where the eggs are standing erect on stalks, the hatching larva

has to bend out till it gets hold of the leaf and under these cir-

cumstances larvae have been observed to die if they fail to get

any foothold. Similarly I have seen many larvae dead half in and

half out of the shell without any apparent cause. The percentage

of deaths in hatching is higher in the case of eggs on dry leaves

than in those on living plants. The time required for complete

eclosion of the larva from the egg shell differs in different larvae.

I have observed them to take 45, 55, 65 and even 90 minutes,

and when a longer time was required the part of the body of the

larva outside the egg used to secrete wax particles. If hatching

was effected earlier, the wax did not appear till later.

Mating: It is always the male that goes in search of the’

female and not vice versa. The male as it comes near the mate,

feels with the antennae and tries to come as near as_ possible

abreast on the left side of the female. Then it begins to move

its wings and passes them under those of the female. Then after

coming very close it moves its hind portion of the body and feels

the hind part of the female. If the latter is ready for pairing it

moves its hind portion of the abdomen and ultimately the copu-

latory organs join. The hind part of the female is held tightly in

between the claspers of the male, then the fluttering of the wings

and the movement of the body goes on. If the female does not

want the male, she remains passive, then the male goes to another

female. The copulations I have seen did not last for more than

ten minutes. Leaving that female, the male began searching for

other females. Before mating the eggs are always developed inside

the body and the orange colour of the eggs inside the ovary can

be seen from outside.

Phototropism: The flies seem to be positively phototropic and

negatively geotropic. If the flies are enclosed in a glass jar in a

mass of leaves, they will always congregate on the exposed parts

which are turned towards the light. If they are liberated they

will run to the glass panes of the windows. In cages they are

always seen crowding on the part towards the light. Between sun-

light and electric light in a room they are more attracted by the

yellow electric light. This is in accordance with the observations

of Lloyd (1921) that yellow light is preferred by the flies to any

other kind. 7

Feeding: The adults evidently feed, as can be seen from the

observation that the flies kept without any food material to feed

on succumb in three days, while on a semi-dry material they eke

out their subsistence for five to seven days. If they are provided

fresh material they live for a long time. If starved for some time

and then allowed on to plants, they feed and live on. While the

fly is on a plant, it can be seen fixing its rostrum into the plant

tissue and sitting at one place for a considerable length of time

even three to four days.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 193

Longevity: Immediately on emergence an adult female of A.

brassicae was enclosed in a glass jar with a branch of the plant to

feed on. The fly survived in the cage for 91 days. In the case

of T. vaporariorum one female lived for 95 days. During these

periods they were normally feeding and laying. Males were always

short lived.

kigg laying capacity: The number of eggs laid varied in differ-

ent species. In brassicae I have observed that the number laid

by one female varied from 56 to 68. In vaporariorum the number

of eggs laid by one female was 108. Egg laying is not started im-

mediately after emergence, but generally there is an interval of

one week or ten days before the female begins to lay. The num-

ber of eggs fully developed inside the body at one time is 10 to 12.

In spring the life history takes a longer time than in summer.

Ege laying is very prolific in summer, but as the cold weather sets

in egg laying is retarded. The reason is that the development of

the ovaries is stopped. I dissected a large number of females and

the eggs were not at all developed in the ovarioles during colder

months.

Resistance to cold temperature: The flies seem to be very

resistant to low temperature, the only effect on them being that

their activity becomes less, their breeding is stopped, but their feed-

ing goes on. The lowest temperature in the greenhouse where

the plants have been kept was 1°C. but this was not constant. In

order to see, therefore, as to how far the flies can stand continuous

cold temperature and if they were affected, was it due to the

temperature or the lack of food, I experimented as follows :—

(1) Two lots of 10 flies each were kept at 19°C. in a refrige-

rator in two glass topped boxes. All the flies were dead on the

fourth day. No feeding was arranged for.

(2) Two lots of 10 flies each were kept at 19°C. with a fresh

leaf of cabbage inside the boxes for 5 days. In one 7 flies were

living and in the other 6. All the lving flies died after three

days from the time they were taken out. The leaves had withered.

(8) Two lots of 10 flies each were kept at 1°C. for 8 and

15 days respectively with sufficient quantity of food. The flies

were quite happy in both the cases.

This shows that it is not so much the cold but the lack of

food that kills the flies and they can stand 1°C. temperature for

a fortnight.

[This work was done at the University of Edinburgh under the

guidance of Dr. C. B. Williams, sc.pD. |

CoLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, V. G. DESHPANDE,

Poona. M.Ag., Ph.p.

June 10, 1986.

REFERENCKHS.

Imms, A. D. (1929). The Teat-book of Entomology.

Lloyd, L. (1921). Notes on the Colour Tropisms of A. Vaporariorum (Bull.

tint. Res., 12).

Hargreaves, E. (1915). The Life-History and Habits of the Green House

White Fly (Annals of App. Biology, vol. i, No. 8 and 4).

194 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST; SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

XXXV.—DOES THE GIANT WOOD SPIDER (NEPHILA

MACULATA) LIVE MORE THAN ONE SEASON?

The Giant Wood Spider (N. maculata) is an extremely .common

species in the forests of Salsette Island. Towards the end of the

rains if 1s in evidence everywhere and its great golden, glutimous

web frequently forms an obstruction across jungle paths. With

the approach of the cold season there is a decided decrease in their

numbers and by the hot weather they have completely disappeared.

What happens to them? It might be suggested that these spiders

aestivate. If this were so, then during the next monsoon we should

find numbers of adult spiders about the forest. As far as my

observations go, they cannot support this supposition. No adult

Nephila are to be seen during the early part of the rains, but young

are about in plenty everywhere. They gradually increase in size

till again we have the forests tenanted by large females hanging

in their webs. This seems to indicate that the adults. die out

each year after a short span of life, to be replaced the following

season by their brood! Further observation is necessary before

this can be definitely proved. Perhaps the span of life may vary

in different localities.

BomBay NATURAL History SOCIETY,

G6 APOLLO STREET, BomBay. C. McCANN:

September 15, 1986.

XXXVI.—PARENTAL CARE AND CANNIBALISM IN

ARACHNIDS.

On p. 411, vol. xxxviii of the Journal, Mr. E. E. Green makes

a reference to and answers the old question, ‘Do young scorpions

eat their parent?’ Mr. Green gives a very good reason why young

scorpions would find it difficult. and per haps. impossible to eat their

mother, namely, on account of the tender condition of the young

and the strongly chitinous plates of the mother—she would be a

tough joint!

On several occasions I have found mother scorpions of the

genera Buthus and Palamnaeus with young in various stages of

development. The degree of development varied from the tender,

creamy white, unchitinised young to young almost half the size

of the parent, with chitinised plates fully developed. In all cases

the young when not crowded together on the mother’s back or

near her would always retire together with her when disturbed.

In all such cases the adults and young were in the best of condi-

tions. This being the case I do not see any necessity for the young

to exhibit cannibalistic propensities. If occasion did arise for such

behaviour it would result from extreme hunger only, or there is

another alternative possible, namely, the death of the parent

or the young might occasion cannibalism, in the same way as

ants of a species will eat their dead comrades, but I do not think

that the young would deliberately kill the parent or vice versa.

Eating the dead of the same species is of frequent occurrence mn

Nature.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 195

Mr. Green, on the other hand, refers to his captive scorpion

eating her offspring. Referring to this incident he adds, ‘I do not

suppose that this is a natural habit’; nor do I. Though provided

with insect food, it seems possible that the insects were not of

the right kind, in which case the cannibalism of the parent was

occasioned by extreme hunger. Most female Arachnids are, as

far as [ am aware from actual experience, very solicitous of their

ege and young. :

Among the centipedes, parental care is strongly displayed by

the commoner species of Scolopendra. In this case the female

‘broods’ her eggs by coiling her body round them. When the eggs

are hatched she treats the young tor a considerable time in the

same way. If disturbed she very reluctantly leaves her charge

but will soon return to it. If the eggs or young are exposed she

will remove them to a place of safety. The young of these centi-

pedes remain with the parent till well chitinised. The problem

of their food is yet another matter. It seems probable that the

parent brings food to the young at night, but further evidence is

needed to prove this point.

Milipedes, unlike the centipedes, do not appear to ‘brood’

their eggs or young. In this case, a domed structure is constructed

by the parent and a single egg laid with. Within this chamber

the young millipede is hatched. How long it remains within its

nursery is difficult to say. How it obtains its food is another pro-

blem as there is no entrance to the chamber!

The parental care exhibited by spiders is well known, but this

varies in many directions. Some make a cocoon and are indiffer-

ent to its after care, others carry the cocoon about with them till

the young are hatched, and others still not only carry the egg case

but the young also till they are able to fend for themselves. A

species which carries her young clustered round her abdomen is

the large spider [Heteropoda venatoria (?)| commonly found in

houses in Bombay. I once removed the egg case of the spider.

She ran away but soon returned to the spot to which I had removed

it, obviously to look for it. On my approach she again made off.

I then got ahead of her and presented her with the egg case at

the end of a pair of forceps, she immediately seized it. I then

removed it again and placed it on the ground and watched. The

spider immediately began to search for her egg case and eventually

found it. She seized it and made off. I did not disturb

her further.

While on the topic of spiders, I should like to refer to another

phase of the Arachnid life, “Do female scorpions and spiders eat

their “‘husbands’’?’ This is as common a belief as the one men-

tioned above, but definite proof is yet awaited. The males of

many Arachnids, particularly among the spiders are Insignificant

beings when compared with their females. They are small in size

and frequently most unlike in general colour and form to

the gentler sex. Their sole purpose in life appears to be the ferti-

lization of the female, which, according to belief, they achieve. at

great personal risk—the risk of being ignominiously devoured!

Among the web building spiders, the males usually keep to the

196 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

peripheral portion of the web as though they were really afraid of

their larger spouses. Woe betide one of these ‘bridegrooms’ if he

come within the grasp of his ‘bride’. Are these males so foolish

as to lay themselves open to such a fate? They are not so easily

caught anyway. On her approach they move off to another quarter

of the web—then again they are ‘microscopical’ to be dealt with

easily and by far more active. Whether prospective ‘bridegrooms’

are eaten or not I am not prepared to answer definitely, but I

shall relate a small observation and leave the reader to form his

own conclusions, and then ask a question myself.

When going through the forest I came upon a female of the

Giant Wood Spider (Nephila maculata) which had just cast its

skin. She hung quite limp and helpless from the centre of her

web—quite unable to move even when touched. Round about her

were several males—all prospective ‘bridegrooms’. The males

chased each other about the web and away from the female; it was

evidently a contest for superiority and possession of the female.

In due course one of the males copulated with her. While copu-

lation was in progress the unsuccessful males climbed all about

the pair, but their action did not in any way disturb them. Un-

fortunately being pressed for time I could not complete my obser-

vation. Now for my question: Is it usual, when there is a

disparity between the sexes in size for the males to avail

themselves of the period of ecdysis to copulate? If this is so,

then the males are not so imprudent as it would appear! They

would have ample time to escape before the females became active.

Further evidence is also required before we can definitely establish

whether the males of Arachnids fall victims to the females when

captured by the latter. There is the alternative suggestion that

once the males have fulfilled their purpose in life they become

exhausted and die, and it is then that the females finding the dead

or dying utilise them as food in the same way as ants do.

In the Scorpions we do not find such a disparity in the sexes—

there is really very little. This being the case I am disinclined

to accept the belief that females devour the males after copulation

till evidence is forthcoming. That fights occur between individuals

and the vanquished is eaten is no proof that the males are eaten

by females. I have kept separate cages of Buthus and Palam-

nacus and the individuals in each cage lived together for a con-

siderable time on amicable terms. This does not support the

belief that scorpions are cannibalistic in the true sense of the

word—that they deliberately kill each other for food unless pressed

by hunger. ‘A kingdom divided against itself must fall’ and this

is very seldom the case in Nature.

Bompay Naturau History Society,

BompBay. C. McCANN.,

September 18, 1986.

_ [Since writing the above I came across another instance of

this nature in which copulation was effected during the limp period

of the female following ecdysis.—C. McC. ]

wage

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 197

XXXVITI.—MATING OF THE SPIDER TETRAGNATHA.

(With a sketch).

While I was engaged in collecting spiders from among the

foliage of a short graft mango tree I was surprised to see a male

Tetragnatha speeding along one of the branchlets. I drew back

MATING OF TETRAGNATHA,

and watched its course. In a moment he had grasped a partner

in his hands. The partner was a female of about his own size.

Her colour was more attractive than his dull brown hue. She

yielded to his clasp and never showed any sign of running away

from him. They stood facing each other. Their chelicerae met

along their edges. In this position they seemed to remain com-

fortably. The female slightly tucked her abdomen towards her

mate. The male began to deposit the sperms into her orifice

with his palpal organs. But in doing so he did not use both the

pedipalps at the same time, At first he used his right palpal

198 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

organ for about a minute. Then he removed it and used his left.

In another minute he displaced his left with his right organ once

more. Thus the process went on for about three minutes. Then

they separated and the male dropped down to the ground by its

thread.

T. V. SUBRAHMANYAM.

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MR. P. M. D. SANDERSON FOR THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, BOMBAY

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CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIX, No. 2.

2 PAGE

THE GAME FISHES OF iserk, By Dr. S. L. Hora, D.Sc., F.R.S.E.,

F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.R.A.S.B., F.N.I. (With one plate and three text

UL ILTES) ere detp Geiss glet One seas astern wO SOM ae sa beets Sodmed ceteris cd col Nee ep’ eee 199

THE MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, including Ceylon and Burma. By

Res Pocock, F.R.S. (With two text- FILULES) veer. pa aeerattadincstsetes cece 211

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GuatTs. By H.

Whistler, M.B.0.U., assisted by N. B. Kinnear, M.B.o.U. Part XV.,, 246

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI. Part II. By A. G. L. Fraser, I.M.D.

CHiath three plates GNA ONE LELL LIB UIC) visevesaccace saecsssesses wees evaren bs 264

A New CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT IN SOUTH INDIA. Cvrema-

togaster dohrni artifex, Mayr. By P. N. Krishna Ayyar. (With

OUP EPL GIES Echo se cwahgwacs nls sctt as cap vocessenasvassccteeageoe wecasces rea tieeetdadawetorss 291

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR (usa unicolor equinus). By.

Ree SPeS OIG W920/2 0 PALE) s caer cant sinseusins dsgescapeeiscsets as Seeecedess#e'ten sao 309

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN. Part VII. By Salim

JAN ge aaeane err vee meggeaeaiaes Batden Aocnpesig sees eiele eases reas chutes She ceetnnsiiveage OCU

THE PRAwN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR Coast. ByN. Kk. Panikkar,

M.A.,M Sc. (With three plates.)......... Seeteeceneeseee ces sessecteeensseseenseeces 343

NOTES ON MURREE BIRDS. By Rev. E. A. Storrs FOX..........00...008 +2008 354

ON TWO NEW SPECIES OF ANTHOCEROS Linn. 1753 from Southern

Shan States, Burma, with a comparative Chart of the dioecious dark

spored species of the Genus. By L.P. KHanna (With two plates). 358

THE MEDICINAL SPIDERWORTS OF INDIA. By Rev. J. F. Caius, S.J.,

PME Steps circre isis ete’ afb ales o'eis is se slowrers is eitoi cas visite aiein's Rig ee ee ee 361

Agpout SPIDER COLLECTION. By T. V. Subrahmaniam. .(Wzth one

SPL GLCEQINE SA LEXU-T UE WIES) sv orhs aenusciign sess to senicnadaencls fiwghes curses sqseettsanenes 366

AN APOLOGY........:40+-. ee Seepemereaes Rae ncke eh ewadate tas ceenk Bouovencts: eaeeal 373

REVIEWS :— |

Natural History. By C. Tate Regan, D.SC., F.R.S......c..ci0seceeees . 374

Les serpents del’Indochine. By René Bourret................cece0 374

Questions ATICOLES,.......0.0. srescecsereecessnocasesnsessercccesesersecsseterens 375

OBITUARIES :—

Ado W:-Milroyiis 2: cccee- Gina eueie ee WenDodheswais jiaaalisis tai tae oatwey eOvees 376

Sit GEOLSES EL am PSO Il: iscastiees ces sc ocnnceeteccee ec!..vevieesesvoasesseees 379

Dev Dev Mukerji (1903-1937).........0005. ee eee 379

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES :—

I.—Observations on the Grey Musk Shrew (Suncus c@ruleus).

By, Cre MCCantiec cs scsscasse. Secateaaeudinchee bewaace elas rsaeaas a5 eseees 380

Me=Black Tieers, By Sv Ho Prater i.essctiaocss¢eotssseses cc acevere =, --. 38]

IlIl.—Ravages by tiger and incidence of Man-eaters in North

Coimbatore between 1860 and 1880. By R.C. Morris... 382

ii CONTENTS OF Vol. XXX1IX, No. 2

PAGE

IV.—Tiger smoked to death in acave. ByS. A. Christopher.. ... 385

V.—Tiger lore in Burma. By S. A. Christopher... .....cccccccsesseee 386

V1.—Young elephant killed by a tiger. By C. H. Biddulph........ 387

VII.—The result of excess poison for Wild Dogs. By R. C. Morris. 388

VIII.—The Striped Hyzena as a Man-eater. By S.H. Prater........ 388

IX.—A very large Sambar Stag. By R.C. Morris......cc.cssecccceees 390

X.—A Big Buffalo head. By S.A. Christopher.................c00eee. 391

XI.—Gaur Bulls attacking 2 wounded Bull. By R. C. Morris...... 391

XII.—Whipsnade Zoo. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton, I.A (Retd.)... 391

XIII.—Do birds employ ants to rid themselves of Ectoparasites. By

Major R.S. P. Bates........... hiwae oat sce em cau seeR ee eee 394

XIV.—Some rare birds in Northern Burma. By J. K. Stanford..... 395

XV.—Curious nesting sites of the Large Pied Wagtail (otaczlla

lugubris maderaspatensis Gmel.) By C. H. Biddulph. 397

XVI.—The Habits of Vultures. By T.R. Livesey.................., veee 89S

XVII.—Eagles on the Nilgiris. By H. E. Burgess................c0:c0000. 399

XVIII.—The distribution and Nidification of the Greater Spotted

Eagle (Aguila clanga Pallas) in Sind. By K. R.

PACES i. asesnwsh nec Fiebeteae Ga Scare ccl Sas pete Ne Sentara ete 403

XIX.—Number of Eggs laid by the Indian Shikra (Astur badius

dussumiert Temm. and Lang.) By C.H. Biddulph... 406

XX.—The Status of the Koel (Audynamts scolopaceus L.) in

Sind. By K. R. Eates. (With @ Map)... ...coeceeess ss» 406

XXI.—The distribution and Nidification of the Large Indian Paro-

quet (Psittacula eupatria nepalensis Hodgs.) in Sind.

By: Kos Bates 2. ces vasceanegsetuas giqaieeeesiohess tagceees-eaccng tes 414

XXII.—The Ceylon Hoopoe (Upupa epops ceylonensis Reichb.). By

R. N.-Champion-J0ness. cise. casi sibe cose edecesstessneeccineiorane 418

XXIJI.—Note on the Sandpipers in the Patna District, Behar, record-

ing the occurrence of the Avocet Sandpiper, the

Curlew Stint and the Broad-Biiled Stint, from inland

localities. . By. A.D" A Drei. cisscdascsas thao iceneeeteeeccss 419

XXIV.—Sarus Flocks.)..By DiR AUiveseyen.cscu.pacceveaconostesmanssmecwecce 420

XXV.—A Mugger (Crocodilus porosus) with a broken lower iaw.

By: C, Hs Biddtil phe. ir.2 sensacta cs eseegaasc cee a taneerse ee oes 421

XXVI.—Notes on the Pond Terrapin (Geoemyda ¢. trijuga) in

salsette Island. By C.. McCann: ices: ccnncceseaseccmeesceccsne 423

XXVII.—Notes on the breeding of the Rat Snake or Dhaman

(Zamenis mucosus). By C. McCann......... alee esaueeneere 423

XXVIII.—Snakes’ method of swallowing prey. By F.N. Betts.......... 424

XXIX.—The Giant Wood Spider. By R. N. Champion-Jones............ 425

XXX.—Notes on the Moulting process of the Spider (M/yrmarachne

plataleoides, Camb.) By G. C. Bhattacharya (With

FOUY LEXE-LL ULES) .o.cevececcereere bantcved semen desaondaedactniccmeete 426

ee = —= ss ———<—$<———

uo yIWweH ejoqg (sniuesdoO) snijlueg

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JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society.

APRIL 1937. VoL. XXXIX. No. 2.

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA.!}

DONDE An ELORA: D.SC,, F.ReS-E., . PoliS), F,Z.Ss,, FoReAsS. Bi) FN 1g

Assistant Superintendent, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

(With one plate and 3 text-figures).

PREFATORY NOTE.

For a number of years the Editors have been urging me to contribute to

the Society’s Journal a series of articles on the Game Fishes of India on the

model of Mr. Stuart Baker’s excellent series entitled ‘The Game Birds of the

Indian Empire’. Unfortunately the taxonomy of Indian fishes, especially of

the freshwater forms, is in a state of great confusion and in some cases it

is not even possible to define the precise generic and specific limits of the

commonest forms, such as Mahseer, without a great deal of preliminary spade

work. As enquiries are very often made regarding the habits and habitats

of these fishes, it has been considered desirable to start the series, giving

as much information about each species as is available. It is hoped that

these articles will induce anglers and others interested in the subject to

contribute their experience to the pages of the Journal, so as to enable us

to have a better knowledge of these valuable fishes.

In writing up this series I shall first of all deal with forms of which I

can easily obtain coloured sketches or about the taxonomy of which there

does not appear to be much confusion. The order of the treatment of the

various species will, therefore, not be in accordance with the systematic posi-

tion of these forms.

I.— THE INDIAN TROUT’.

BARILIUS (OPSARIUS) BOLA. HAMILTON.

CoNnTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction ~ ee si ve 200

Taxonomy

Nomenclature ae oe sts ee 200

Systematic Position fag Sit se 204

Description arid Distribution — a er 204

Measurements ar a oe 206

Bionomics and Fishing Notes oe a oe 206

List of References a Kes si re 209

1 Published with permission of the Director, Zoological Survey of India.

900 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

INTRODUCTION.

The fondness of the Europeans for Trout-fishing is so great that

even in India where no true Trout+(Family: Salmonidae) existed

before their advent, as a result of persistent efforts, two or three

varieties of trout have now been introduced. Loch Leven Trout

(Salmo levenensis) was the first to be imported and acclimatised

into the Nilgiri Hills in the seventies of the last century (9).'

Since then true Trout have been introduced into several other

localities along the Himalayas where their culture is proving a

great success. It may be remarked that in their natural state

the nearest locality to India where they exist is the northern slope

of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan (15). There are in Northern

India certain species of Carp which resemble true Trout either

in torm, lepidosis, colouration or sporting qualities and _ for

these reasons they are commonly called ‘Trout’. Such fishes in-

clude the ‘Indian Trout’,? known in scientific literature as

Barilius bola Ham. The origin of the popular name and the

relative qualities of the fish are thus described by Thomas (23):

‘I have called it the Indian Trout, because it is commonly thus called in

Northern India. Other competitors there are for the name; but Barilius bola

seems to have the best title to be called the Indian Trout. To avoid confusion,

therefore, we will commence by deposing the other fish which seem to have

less right to the honourable distinction. Oreinus richardsonti has, according

to Day, been called the “‘Kemaon Trout’’. ‘‘In some specimens there are black

spots on the sides and head.’ Of Oreinus sinuatus Dr. Day writes in his

Fishes of India, ‘‘some have scattered black and occasionally red spots, and

these have been termed Trout’’. But this fish has a sucker with which it

adheres to rocks, which is most untroutlike, and Dr. Day tells me it will not

take a fly at any price, a piece of wrong-headedness for which, with your

concurrence, it should be shorn of its brevet. rank, in spite of its red spots.

Oh formose puer nimium ne crede colori—we will degrade you in spite of your

looks. ‘‘Handsome is that handsome does’’ is the better rule, and as Barilius

bola sports lke a trout, as we shall see, let us allow his claim, though he

has no adipose dorsal fin lke the true trouts (Salmonidae). We may have

Soar hesitation in confirming the honorific as there are no indigenous trout

in India.

All along the Himalayas the small-scaled Barbels of the genera

Schizothorax and Oreinus (Schizothoracinae) are sometimes termed

‘Trout’, but with these fishes we shall deal sometime later.

Reference may, however, be made to the fact that there is a

ereat superficial similarity between the Schizothoracinae and the

Salmonidae and that the features of resemblances between them

have been independently acquired under the stress of similar en-

vironmental conditions—rapid-running water over a rocky bed (1).

TAXONOMY.

Nomenclature.

As is unfortunately the case with a number of our well-known

Game Fishes, such as Mahseer, the taxonomy of the ‘Indian

"Numerals in thick type within brackets refer to the serial numbers of

the various publications listed in the bibliography at the end of the paper.

* In some parts. -of India, especially the Eastern Himalayas, this fish goes

by the name of ‘Hill Trout’.

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA ‘ 201

Trout’ is also involved in a great confusion. It was originally

described by Hamilton (13) in his second division of Cyprinus

which he termed Barilius and defined as follows:

‘Wishes of the genus Cyprinus, with the body very long and much com-

pressed; with the sides irregularly marked with numerous incomplete transverse

bars or spots; with the back fin placed considerably behind the middle of the

fish; and with one lateral line at least running parallel to the lower edge

of the fish.’

He further observed that

‘The fishes of this division, on account of the numerous spots or marks

on their sides, have a considerable resemblance to our Trout, and, by the

English in Bengal, some of them have been considered as belonging to that

genus; but they have only one fin on the back.’

Among the species included by Hamilton under Barilius are:

(1) Cyprinus barila, (2) C. chedrio, (8) C. barna, (4) C. vagra, (9)

CO. bendilisis, (6) C. shacra, (7) C. cocsa, (8) C. chedra, (9) C. tila,

(10) C. bola, (11) C. goha and (12) C. tileo. The majority of the

species in this group are of little value, but in the case of C. goha

Hamilton says:

‘I have found this fish in the Kosi, Yamuna, and Son rivers, where it is

called a Trout by the English. It grows to about the size of a herring, and

is a fine flavoured delicate “fish, somewhat resembling in taste the Smelt of

Europe.’

Though Hamilton published the drawings of only two species

of Barilius—Cyprinus bendilisis (4) and ©. cocsa (13)—verv

fortunately there are drawings of seven other species in his col-

lection of MS. drawings (14) now preserved in the library of the

Royal Asiatic Society ‘of Bengal. Of these MS. drawings, three

were published by Gray (11) and five by McClelland (20). while

two species—C. chedrio and C, tila—did not have any illustrations.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the precise specific

limits of all the species enumerated above, but it may be indicated

that certain authors (9, 12, 17) have regarded C. bola and C. goha

as conspecific, while some others (2, 5, 6, 20) have considered them

as separate species. The conflicting views on this point may now

be elucidated.

Of C. bola Hamilton says, ‘It grows to four or five inches in

length, and is little valued.’ He found this species in the

Brahmaputra ‘with many oblong diffuse spots, and a longitudinal

golden stripe on each side.’ His C. goha is provided ‘with many

diffuse scattered spots on the sides’, and grows to a much larger

size. ‘In other respects it has the closest resemblance to the

Bola just now described; and I have only in addition to state, that

the spots on the sides of the Goha are more numerous, more

irregularly scattered, and rounded than those on the Bola.’ These

observations are fully borne out by his drawings of the two species.

Authors, who had series of specimens of these forms for ex-

amination, came to the conclusion that C. bola merely represents

the juvenile stage of C. goha. Mukerji and I (17) recently studied

this fish in its natural surroundings in the Dehra Dun hills and

showed how the colour varies with age. In the colour drawings

of the two Dehra Dun specimens reproduced here the juvenile

902. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

and the adult colouration are clearly brought out. These show

conclusively that Hamilton’s two species must be regarded as

conspecific. As bola is described before goha, it has priority over

goha tor the purpose of scientific nomenclature and this is why the

‘Indian Trout’ has been known as Barilius bola. After Hamilton,

McClelland (20, pp. 297, 298, 419, 420) referred to these fishes

but placed them in a new genus Opsarius along with a very diversi-

fied group of species. The genus was characterised as follows:

‘Mouth widely cleft, body slender, and usually marked with transverse

green streaks or spots, dorsal small without spine, and placed behind the

middle, anal long, lower margin of the body more arched than the upper.’

‘Obs. Intestine very short, and extends almost straight from the stomach

to the vent.’

He made some observations on the morphology and bionomics

of the fishes of this composite genus, and described Hamilton’s

C. goha as Opsarius gracilis and C. bola as O. megastomus. Of

the latter he had no specimen for examination and referred to its

characters as given by Hamilton; while the former—the Korang

of the Assamese—is described in some detail. Concerning this

species McClelland remarks:

‘This species occurs in all parts of Assam, in the Kosi, the Jumna, the

Ganges and the Soane rivers; in which last Buchanan says it attains the

size of a Herring, and is called Trout by the English, chiefly from the spots

on the sides, and its fine flavour. For the latter I cannot answer; but as the

species of this group are not much esteemed by the natives, I suspect it owes

its imagined sweetness, in some degree, to its supposed resemblance to Trout.

Notwithstanding the beauty of its appearance, its habits are such as to render

it very objectionable in fish ponds.’

Both Cuvier and Valenciennes (6) and Bleeker (2) referred to

Hamilton’s two species as distinct forms, but they had no speci-

mens for examination.

In 1858, Blyth (3) described Leuciscus salmoides from Allaha-

bad and defined it as follows:

‘Affned to L. goha (Cyprinus Barilius goha B.H., v. Opsarius gracilis

McClelland); but larger and deeper in the body, with the spots smaller, much

more numerous, and more regularly disposed, many of them occurring below

the lateral lne, and others on the opercula and praeopercula: upper lip studded

with pores.

1D, LO] Ay ao Pa Vo eco:

Lateral line composed of 88 to 90 scales; and oblique series of 26 scales

descending from anterior base of dorsal. Length of specimen 11 in.’

The larger specimen figured here from the Dehra Dun hills

possesses all the special features noted by Blyth for his species,

and is about 11 inches in length. But there can hardly be any

doubt about its identity with Hamilton’s species.

Steindachner’s (22) description of the ‘Indian Trout’ is based

on young specimens from 45 to 7 inches in length and his determina-

tion of the species as Barilius goha is based on Gray’s drawing

(11) in the Ilustrations of Indian Zoology. |

Giinther (12), who examined young, half-grown and adult

specimens of the species, was the first to combine Hamilton’s

two species into one and on account of its very wide mouth,

extending beyond the eyes, he separated it into a new genus Bola

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA aed 2038

and designated the fish as Bola goha. Except for the width of

the mouth there is no other special feature in which his genus

differs from Barilius. He also indicated that Opsarius McClel-

land (in part) is a synonym of Bola. Day (7) pointed out that

Bola Ginther is ‘preoccupied by Genus VI in Hamilton Bucha-

nan’s Fishes of the Ganges, p. 73’, and instead revived Opsarius

MeCleland to accommodate Hamilton’s Cyprinus goha. In his

later works, however, Day (9, 10) did not consider this species

generically distinct from other members of the genus Barilius,

and accordingly regarded Opsarius McClelland as a synonym of

Barilius.

In 1918, however, Jordan (18) proposed the name Raiamas

as a ‘substitute for Bola Giinther, 1868, preoccupied by Hamilton’

and designated Cyprinus bola Hamilton as the type of the genus.

Evidently he was not aware of the fact that Day (7) had already

restricted the use of Opsarius McClelland for Bola Ginther. In

his Genera of Fishes he (19) noted that Opsarius is ‘apparently

a synonym of Barilius Ham.’ Chaudhuri (5), without looking

properly into the contention of Jordan, revived the generic name

Bola and erroneously regarded C. bola and C. goha as distinct

species. Mukerji and I used the generic designation Raiamas in

recording the ‘Indian Trout’ from the Dehra Dun hills, without

looking into the past changes in the nomenclature of the species.

If it be conceded that Cyprinus bola, with C. goha as a synonym,

should be regarded generically different from other species of

Barilius on account of its very wide mouth then its proper scientific

title should be Opsarius bola (Hamilton), but the question whether

C. bola is generically distinet from the other known species of

Barilius still remains to be elucidated.

A glance at Day’s figures of the various species of Barilius

described in the Fishes “of India (pls. exlvii; exlix; cli, fig. 2)

shows that the extent of the mouth is a very variable clinmncter

in this genus. In B. guttatus (Day) from Burma the cleft of the

mouth is deep and extends for a considerable distance behind the

eye. The suborbitals are also very broad, ‘more especially the

hindermost which is nearly behind the vertical from the posterior

margin of the orbit, and almost covers the cheek.’ In these

respects the species agrees very closely with B. bola and was

originally described under the generic designation Opsarius (8). In

B. tileo, B. gatensis, B. bakeri, B. modestus and B. vagra the

posterior extremity of the maxilli extends to beneath the middle

of the orbit and the suborbital bones cover a considerable part of

the cheek. In B. bendilisis, B. barila, B. canarensis and B. barna

the posterior extremity of the maxilla reaches to below. the

anterior third of the orbit, while in the remaining species—B.

evezardi, B. shacra and B. radiolatus—the maxilla just reaches

the margin of the orbit. It is clear from the above that though

no generic importance can be attached to the extent of the mouth,

the condition in B. guttatus and B. bola is sufficiently character-

istic to warrant their inclusion in a separate group within the

genus Barilius. I, therefore, propose to call the ‘Indian Trout’

Barilius (Opsarius) bola Ham,

204 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Systematic Position.

The genus Barilius belongs to the sub-family Rasborinae of

the family Cyprinidae, usually known as Carps (Order: Ostario-

physi; Sub-order: Cyprinoidea). In the fishes of this family the

head and the body are usually compressed and, except in a few

cases, the pectoral and the ventral fins are inserted along the

sides and possess only one simple ray. There is no spine below

the eye which has a free orbital margin or a gelatinous eyelid.

The mouth is inferior or terminal; its upper border is formed by

the premaxillaries only. There are never more than two pairs of

barbels. The body is covered with scales and the lateral line is

generally complete. The pharyngeal teeth are present in one, two

or three series. The air-bladder is usually large and free in the

abdominal cavity.

In the Rasborinae the abdominal surface is not compressed into

a sharp edge. As a rule, the lower jaw is provided with a sym-

physial knob, fitting in an emargination of the upper jaw. The

dorsal fin is without an osseous spine and is situated behind

the ventrals. The lateral line abruptly bends downwards and,

when complete, runs along the lower half of the tail.

The members of the genus Barilius are characterised by their

compressed snout and anterior mouth. Moreover, they usually

possess spots or vertical bars on the body. In the sub-genus

Opsarius, as indicated above, the cleft of the mouth extends

beyond the eye. Besides the ‘Indian Trout’, there is only one

other species—B. (Opsarius) guttatus Day—which possesses this

character; it is found in Burma and possesses 44-48 scales along

the lateral line (versus 88-94 in bola).

Description and Distribution.

Barilius (Opsarius) bola Hamilton.

Toe InpiAn Trout.

Vernacular names.—Buggah (Orissa); Korang (Assam); Bola

(Bengal); Buggarah (Hindi); Goha (Purniah Dist.); Bhola Goal-

para, Na-laida (Mechi); Gulabi Machli or rose-speckled fish.

B. iii; D. 3/7-8; A. 8/10; P. 18; V. 9; C. 19; L. 1. 88-94;

fis tr, 10215941.

Barilius bola possesses the characteristic Trout-like form; its

dorsal profile is scarcely arched, while its ventral profile 1s some-

what convex. The head and body are greatly compressed: the

former is sharply pointed. The length of the head is contained

from 4.8 to 4.6 times in the length without the caudal. The

head is proportionately smaller in the younger individuals. The

width of the head is considerably greater than the width of the

body and is contained from 1.9 to 2.38 times in the length of the

head; the height of the head is contained from 1.5 to 1.6 times in

the same dimensions. The depth of the body is contained from

5.4 to 5.7 times in the total length and from 4.8 to 4.6 times

in the length without the caudal. The caudal peduncle is well

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA 205

formed; its least height is contained from 1.5 to 1.9 times in

its length; in smaller individuals it is proportionately deeper.

The eye is situated slightly below the level of the dorsal profile

and entirely in the anterior half of the head. In adult specimens

the mouth opening extends about 14 diameters of the eye behind

the posterior margin of the orbit. The eye is proportionately

much larger in the younger individuals; its diameter is contained

from 5 to 7 times in the length of the head, from 1.4 to 2.1 times

in the length of the snout and from 1.1 to 1.9 times in the inter-

orbital width. The interorbital space is more or less flat. In

some adult specimens the snout and cheeks are covered with

‘pearl-organs’' and there are also tubercles on the dorsal surface

of the anterior rays of the pectoral fin in single rows. The lower

jaw is also covered with sharply pointed tubercles. Such speci-

mens agree in every respect with Blyth’s description of Leuciscus

salmoides (vide supra, p. 202), and in my opinion represent the

males of the species. Sufficient material is, however, not avail-

able to elucidate these sex differences. The mouth is very wide

and obliquely directed upwards. The upper jaw is longer than

the lower and is deeply notched in the middle to receive a very

prominent knob of the lower jaw. The suborbital ring of bones

is very wide, especially the third which in adults is as wide as

the distance between its hind border and that of the operculum.

The barbels are altogether absent. The scales are very small.

The lateral line is curved anteriorly and then it is continued to

the lower half of the base of the caudal fin.

The dorsal fin commences somewhat behind the anterior origin

of the ventral and its free edge is only slightly curved; its com-

mencement is equidistant between the anterior margin of the orbit

and the base of the caudal fin in young specimens while in the

adults it is midway between the posterior margm of the orbit

and the base of the caudal fin; it is considerably higher than long.

The pectoral fin is almost as long as the head behind the eye

and is separated from the ventral by a considerable distance;

its outer rays are the longest, and there is a scaly appendage in

its axil. The free border of the ventral fin is concave in the young

specimens, while in the adult males three of the inner rays are

somewhat produced so that they form a regular lobe; these elon-

gated rays are probably used for clasping during copulation. The

caudal fin is deeply forked with both the lobes equal and pointed.

In young individuals the colouration is much lighter than that

of the adult. The back is greenish-gray and this is separated from

the silvery portion below by a longitudinal golden stripe. The

fins are yellow. The greenish-blue spots on the sides are oblong

and their number in a specimen about 18 cm. in total length

varies from 15 to 17. In between these spots, at a somewhat

lower level, there are indications of a second series of spots. The

middle portion of the lower lobe of the caudal as well as its pos-

terior margin are grayish. With the growth of the fish the colours

1 The term ‘pearl organs’ is used for the cornifications of the skin which

take the form of small tubercles; these appear chiefly on the head of various

Cyprinoid fishes at breeding time,

206 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

become much deeper and the yellow is replaced by orange. The

spots become rounded and are irregularly distributed in many rows.

In fully mature specimens they also occur on the preoperculum,

the suborbital bones and the operculum. Day’s description of the

colouration of a fairly grown-up specimen is as follows:

‘Silvery with two or more vertical rows of bluish blotches along the sides,

the upper being about twelve to twenty, and the lower intermediate; some

spots also on the head. Lower half of the dorsal fin slightly gray. Caudal

orange, stained with gray and black. Pectoral, ventral and anal orange,

the colours being somewhat similar to those of a trout.’

A colour drawing of the species was published by Spence and

Prater (21) based on the drawing and description by Day in his

Fishes of India. The specimens, of which the drawings are

reproduced here, were collected by me from the Song River near

Lachhiwala in the Dehra Dun District. Unfortunately no notes

on colouration were taken in the field, but the details have been

filled from the original drawings of the species prepared by

Hamilton over a century and a quarter ago. These drawings are

beautifully prepared and well preserved. The author has left notes

to the effect that he always had them coloured from living

specimens.

Distribution.—Barilius, bola is confined to the hilly parts of the

Punjab, United Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, Bengal, Assam and

Burma. Day records that it grows to about a foot in length, but

mentions that ‘one killed in Assam by Mr. Hannay is stated to

have weighed 5 lbs.” Usually it weighs under 2 lbs.

Measurements in millimetres.

Total length including caudal ee 07-0 130°0 2928520 286°0

Length of caudai sa EW) 28°0 55°0 550

Depth of body ve S20 23°0 50:0 53 0

Width of body Se k0e0) 11:0 24:0 29°0

Width of head pe PI) 1520 2550) 32:0

Height of head at occiput mee 15°0 19°0 415 41:0

Length of snout as 6:3 9°0 18°0 19:0

Interorbital width ee 5°0 80h ah) 18°0

Diameter of eye ee 4:5 6:0 9°3 9:3

Longest ray of dorsal los 0 TSa5 39°0 SU70

Longest ray of anal Se Loa 17°0 34:0 35:0

Length of pectoral wee on O JPY) 41°0 41°0

I.ength of ventral Saat ives) 14:0 32°0 oa

Length of caudal peduncle Fe 14-0 17:0 41:0 41°0

Least height of caudal peduncle ae 9°0 10:0 Za0 22°0

Length of maxilla a 2 1380 17°0 37°0 37°0

Bronomics AND FisHina NovTEs.

Thomas (23), on the authority of his several correspondents

and personal experience, has given copious notes regarding the

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA 207

habits, habitat, occurrence in various localities and the type. of

rod and tackle required to deal with this fish. Those desirous of

obtaining full details may consult this invaluable work in original.

The ‘Indian Trout’ is found in many rivers of Northern India

where it lives in clear streams with rocky beds. Generally it

prefers junctions! of streams or rapids at the head of pools. In

such situations it preys on smaller fish and is thus very destructive

to fisheries in general. I have also found remains of insects (of

a dragon fly) inside the stomach of one of the individuals collected

in the Song River. Its wide mouth and stream-lined body are

admirably adapted for a predacious life and the form and structure

Text-fig. 1.—Alimentary canal and air-bladder of Barilins (Opsarius) bola

Ham. Nat. size. From a specimen about 11 in. in total length.

‘a. Alimentary canal: anterior part of stomach is cut open to show the

nature of its internal wall; b. Air-bladder.

of its alimentary canal (fig. la) leave no doubt that it is a highly

carnivorous species. McClelland (20) noted:

‘The stomach is equal to about half the entire length of animal, and the

intestine from the stomach to the vent only about half the length of the

* The advantages of such a habitat were pointed out by me in the account

of ‘Fish of Chitral’ (46).

208 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

stomach itself, and separated from that organ, which it rivals in capacity,

merely by a stricture.

‘The liver and other large glands whose functions are supposed to facilitate

digestion are extremely small in this species, though it is possessed of an

insatiable carnivorous appetite; nor have I found in Cyprinidae, in general,

those glands bear any proportion to the size of the stomach, or the nature of

the food in different species.’

The inner surface of the stomach is raised into folds running

in various directions (fig. la) which help to increase the glandular

area meant for the secretion of the gastric juice. The liver, though

short in the anterior region, extends along the stomach as noted

by MeClelland in his general account of the genus Opsarius. This

peculiar disposition of the liver, and also of the kidneys, which

extend along the entire dorsal wall of the body cavity, is brought

about by the compression of the body which has resulted in the

great reduction of the space inside the body cavity. Moreover,

B. bola possesses a large air-bladder (fig. 1b) which is long and

narrow but extends throughout the length of the abdomen. This

indicates the importance of the air-bladder in the economy of life

of this species which has been sometimes observed to swim near

the surface with a part of its head almost out of water.

The pharyngeal teeth of Barilius bola (figs. 2 and 3) are sharp

at the distal end and produced into a point; the distal portion

Text-fig. 2.—Pharyngeal bones and teeth of an adult specimen of Barilius

(Opsarius) bola Ham.

a. Pharyngeal bone and teeth from the inner side, x23; b. Some of the

pharyngeal teeth magnified to show their form, x4; c. Pharyngeal bones

and teeth in their normal position, x23. From a _ specimen about

11 in. in length.

is somewhat curved so that the form is blade-like. Such types

of teeth are undoubtedly meant for tearing up prey or holding

it firmly during ingestion. In the young specimens the teeth

THE GAME FISHES OF INDIA 209

(fig. 8) are more slender and the outermost row contains only

4 teeth (4.3.1), while in the adult condition there are 5 teeth

in the outermost row and the teeth are somewhat more massive.

GZ. C,

Text-fig. 8.—Pharyngeal bones and teeth of a young specimen of Barilius

(Opsarius) bola Ham.

a. Pharyngeal bone and teeth from the inner side, x8; b. Some of

the pharyngeal teeth magnified to show their form, x12; c. Pharyngeal

bones and teeth in their normal position, x8. From a specimen 4:2 in.

in length.

According to Day, ‘It is a very game fish, takes the fly well,

and is one of those termed Rajah mas, or “‘chief of the fishes’’ in

the Assam rivers.’ In the Dehra Dun hills another species of

Barilius, B. bendilisis Hamilton, is used as a bait for the ‘Indian

Trout’.

The ‘Indian Trout’ is usually fished with a fly, a small spinning

bait, or tiny spoon. ‘A small fly with white wings, is, perhaps,

best. On being hooked, it jumps repeatedly out of the water and

rushes about furiously, fighting gamely to the last. The lightest

ten-feet fly rod is recommended with extra fine gut casts.’!

So far as I am aware, no information is available regarding the

breeding habits of the Indian Trout.

The Bombay Natural History Society very kindly made a grant

towards the cost of illustrations and for this I have to offer my

sincere thanks to the authorities of the Society.

List oF REFERENCES.

1. Annandale, N., and Hora, S. L. ‘The Fish of Seistan.’ Rec. Ind.

Mus., vol. xvii, p. 154 (1920).

2. Bleeker, P. ‘Nalezingen op de ichthyologische fauna van Bengalen en

Hindostan.’ Verh. Bat. Gen., vol. xxv, pp. 66, 68 (1854).

8. Blyth, E. ‘Report of Curator, Zoological Department, for May 1858,

Andaman Misc. Fishes.’ Journ., As. Soc., Bengal, vol. xxvii, p. 289 (1858).

2 Cretin. Lacy’s The Angler’s Handbook for India, 4th ed., p. 123 (Cal-

cutta, 1905). , ,

210 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

4. Buchanan (afterwards Hamilton), F. A Journey from Madras through

the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar, etc., vol. ili, p. 345, pl. xxxil

(London, 1807).

5. Chaudhuri, B. L. ‘Note on a Supposed New Indian Genus.’ Rec. Ind.

Mus., vol. xix, p- 29 “(1920).

6. Cuvier, M., and Valenciennes, M. A. Histoire naturelle des Poissons,

vol. xvi, pp. 423-4 (Paris, 1842).

7. Day, F. ‘On the Fishes of Orissa.’ Proc. Zool. Soc., London, p. 379

(1869).

8. Day, F. ‘On the Freshwater Fishes of Burma’, Part I. Proc: Zor

Soc., London, p. 620 (1869).

9. Day, F. Fishes of India, pp. 508, 588-94 (London, 1889).

10. Day, F. ‘Fishes’ in Fauna of British India, vol. i, p. 3852 (London,

1889).

11. Gray, J. E. Illustrations of Indian Zoology, vol. i, pl. lxxxvi, fig. 2,

Ixxxvii, fig. 3, xciv, fig. 1 (London, 1880-34).

12. Gunther, A. C. L. Catalogue of Fishes in the British Museum, vol. vii,

p. 2938 (London, 1868).

18. Hamilton, I. An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges

and its Branches, pp. 266-76 (Edinburgh, 1822).

14. Hora, 8S. L. ‘An Aid to the Study of Hamilton Buchanan’s ‘‘Gangetic

Fishes’’.” Mem. Ind. Mus., vol. ix, p. 189 (1929).

15. Hora, 8. L. ‘Fish of Afghanistan.’ Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.,

vol. xxxvi,’ p. 700 (1933).

16. Hora, 8. L. ‘The Fish of Chitral.’ Mec. Ind. Mus., vol. xxxvi, p. 282

(1934).

17. Hora, S. L., and Mukerji, D. D. ‘Fish of the Eastern Doons, United

Provinces.’ Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xxxvili, p. 188 (1986).

18. Jordan, D. S. ‘New Genera of Fishes.’ Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila-

delphia, vol. Ixx, p. 344 (1918).

19. Jordan, D. 8. The Genera of Fishes, p. 195 (California, 1919).

20. McClelland, J. ‘Indian Cyprinidae.’ As. Res., pp. 295-8, 415-23; vol.

xix, pl, xiviti, fi¢s.- 5, 6,9; 1vi, fies: 1, 5 a@S329).

21. Spence, R., and Prater, 8. H. ‘Game Fishes of Bombay, the Deccan

and the Neighbouring Districts of the Bombay Presidency: V. Fishes Suit-

able for Introduction in Local Waters.’ Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.,

vol, xKXV, pe 62, pl. xvii (1932).

22. Steindachner, F. ‘Uber einige Cyprinoiden aus Ostindien.’ Siiz. Ak.

Wiss. Wien, vol. lvi, p. 869 (1867).

28. Thomas, H. A. Rod in India, 38rd ed., p. 186 (London, 1897).

EXPLANATION OF PLATE.

Lateral view of a young and an adult specimen of the Indian Trout, Barilius

(Opsarius) bola Hamilton. x2.

The specimens were collected from the Song River near Lachhiwala in

the Debra Dun District, United Provinces.

(To be continued).

THER MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, INCLUDING

CEYLON AND BURMA.

R. I. Pocock, F.B.S.

(From the Zoological Department of the British Museum,

Natural History).

(With 2 text-figures).

INTRODUCTION.

Blanford assigned the Mongooses of these countries to eight

distinct species. Wroughton, however, in his revision increased the

number to nine. He followed Thomas in uniting fulvescens

(=flavidens) with fuscus, giving it subspecific rank, but he resus-

citated nepalensis, which ‘Blanford quite correctly regarded as a

synonym of auropunctatus, and he gave a new name, lain to the

Ceylonese form of the so called common Indian Mongoose, although

Blanford, again correctly, regarded the two as referable to the same

species. Thomas and Wroughton, however, with the splendid

material of Mongooses eollected by the Vena Survey in their

hands were fwantily, interested in the local races, or subspecies,

into which most of the genuine species proved to be divisible. In

conjunction with Miss Byley, they introduced a considerable num-

ber of new names for these minor subdivisions; but too little

attention, if any, was paid to the frequently well marked variations

in the coat and colour according to season, with the result that

some of the alleged subspecies were based upon characters due to

this phenomenon. In the two most recent works upon the Mon-

gooses of these countries of the Oriental Region, namely Mr.

W. W. A. Phillips’s Manual of the Mammals of Ceylon and Mr.

S. H. Prater’s account in Part TV of ‘The Wild Animals of the

Indian Empire’ [J.B.N.H.S., xxxviii, Pt. II, pp. 149-55 (1936)],

the authors very naturally adopted Thomas’s and Wroughton’s

opinions.

The following account of these eastern Mongooses is based upon

an examination of all the skins and skulls in the British Museum,

including the valuable series, with full particulars regarding date,

locality and sex, collected by the Survey. The net ‘result is the

admission of only six distinguishable species of Mongooses

(Herpestes) and a reduction in the number of subspecies into which

some of them are divisible. There are also a few changes in

nomenclature. The reasons for these and for my dissent from

some of the conclusions of my predecessors are fully given under

their appropriate headings. As in other papers on British Indian

Carnivora published in this Journal I have purposely put on record

a large number of details connected with individual specimens

obtained by the collectors who worked for the Mammal Survey of

India. The vast number of specimens that was secured leaves the

impression that Mongooses of one kind or another are the dominant

Carnivores of British India. But the original home of the family

was probably Africa where it is represented by several well defined

212 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. XXXIX

genera, including Herpestes, which is also found in Spain. Generic

names were introduced, principally by Gray, for most of the Indian

species; but it seems preferable to retain them provisionally in

Herpestes. These generic names are mentioned under their

appropriate headings. Their typical species were selected by

Thomas [Proc. Zool. Soc. (1882), p. 63].

Key to the British Indian Spectes based on external characters.

A. A conspicuous stripe on the side of the neck; tail about

two-thirds the length of the head and body.

1. Neck-stripe black, extending from behind the ear and

composed of soft underhair; hind foot naked to

heel; tail-tip black; chin and_ forethroat dark;

contour hairs typically extensively red at tip ... vitticollis.

2. Neck-stripe white, extending from corner of mouth

and composed of coarse contour hairs; hind foot

hairy below nearly down to the hallux; end of

tail pale; chin and forethroat white; contour hairs

whitish at tip bs a eer Das

B. No stripe on side of neck.

1. Size larger; contour hairs long, many banded,

usually coarse; legs darker than body.

a. Tail about two-thirds the length of the head and

body; about half the sole of the hind foot

hairy in its upper part; contour hairs softer ... fuscus.

b. Tail longer, at most a little shorter than the

head and body, sometimes longer; hind foot

usually naked to the heel, at most a compara-

tively small area hairy. in the upper part in

winter.

{ Tail tip from whitish to reddish ochreous... edwardsit.

{7 Tail tip extensively black ae . smuthir.

2. Size smaller; contour hairs short, with a few bands,

soft, sometimes silky: legs not appreciably darker

than body ne fs ae ... javanicus.

Key to the Species based on skull characters.

A. Anterior chamber of bulla reduced, posterior large, sub-

conical and prominently projecting inferiorly; first

upper molar (m') with distinct cingulum; teeth

generally more robust, less trenchant 2. ie) DILLICOLlass

B. Anterior chamber of bulla larger, posterior rounder, not

so prominent inferiorly; no cingulum on m_’; teeth

more trenchant.

1. Skull large and heavy and, as in vitticollis, with the

sagittal and occipital crests weak so that the

posterior portion of the upper surface is down-

curved and the dorsal profile is never subhori-

zontal behind the orbits, sometimes evenly, though

hightly convex ee oes nic neste tbhOG).

2. Skull smaller, much less robust, actually and _ rela-

tively narrower, the dorsal profile behind the

orbits subhorizontal, generally slightly sinuous,

the occipital and _ sagittal crests being well

developed behind.

a. Posterior chamber of bulla larger than anterior

and projecting to a lower level; skull larger.

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA. 213

{ Frontal region not noticeably elevated, the

postorbital dorsal area not depressed, the

upper surface of the muzzle less _ steeply

sloped if 355 ve ao» Juscus.

{{ Frontal region elevated, area behind it typically

depressed, upper surface of muzzle more

steeply sloped san fe .. edwardsu and

smthit.

b. Chambers of the bulla approximately equal and

projecting to about the same level; skull

smaller * ie javanicus.

Herpestes edwardsii, Geoffroy.

For the bibliography and synonymy of this species see below, especially

under the subspecific headings.

Distribution: N. India from Assam to the North-Western Frontier Pro-

vinces, thence westwards into Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Persia and south-

wards to Cape Comorin and Ceylon.

A medium-sized or tolerably large Mongoose with no stripe on the side of

the neck; the tail long, at most a little shorter than the head. and body,

sometimes a little longer, with the hairs at its tip pallid to ochreous red,

never black; the legs darker than the body; the contour hairs of the back

harsh and long or longish and marked with many, generally about ten dark

and light bands alternately arranged giving a speckled aspect to the pelage;

the sole of the hind foot generally naked to the heel but in some cases at

least the heel is covered with hair in winter.

The general colour is very variable, sometimes individually in the same

locality and at the same time of year, frequently also seasonally and also

racially, the variation depending on the tint of the bands in the contour hairs,

the dark bands being either black or brown or even paler, when faded, both

these tints being sometimes replaced by red to a varying extent; the pale

bands also vary from white to buffy white; the colour is also affected by

the extent of the individual bands, being lighter when the pale bands are

wider than the dark and darker when they are narrower, and since the

number of bands is the same whether the hairs are long or short and increase

in length with their growth, specimens in the short-haired, new coat are

more finely speckled than those in the long-haired, fully developed coat which

is coarsely speckled; the fur or underwool which is always present but

scanty or abundant according to the season or district also varies in tint

from very dark olive grey, often yellowish or red, to nearly white especially

when seasonally faded.

These features off the pelage apply to some other species as well as to

edwardsit.

The skull of the adult has the forehead more or less swollen so that

the summit of the muzzle is somewhat steeply sloped, the dorsal area behind

the orbits is depressed and rises posteriorly towards the occiput where the

sagittal and occipital crests are strongly developed, the dorsal profile being

horizontal with a sinuous curvature; the posterior chamber of the bulla is

roundish, larger than the anterior and projecting to a lower level.

Much confusion is connected with the name of this Mungoose. It was cited

as Herpestes mungo by Blanford and later as Mungos mungo by Wroughton.

But J. A. Allen (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 47, p. 161, 1924) showed that

Mungos mungo Gmelin is the correct title for a generically distinct African

Mungoose and adopted nyula as the name of the common Indian species.

Thomas and Wroughton, however, accepting Allen’s determination of Mungos

mungo, chose for the Indian species the name Herpestes edwardsii Geoffroy

based upon the description and figure by G. Edwards of a living specimen

of the Indian Mongoose he saw in London. Thomas’s decision on this point

should, I think, be accepted. He, however, assigned the name edwardsti to

the Mongoose from Bengal, which Wroughton regarded as typical Mungos mungo.

But Edwards’s figure and description do not agree with any Bengal skins I

have seen. They indicate a much darker animal, agreeing better with the South

Indian Mongoose Wroughton named ellioti, for which Thomas substituted

carnaticus, than with any other Indian race; and since Edwards's specimen

944 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

is quite as likely to have been exported from Madras as from Bengal, I

propose to fix edwardsw on that race with elliot and carnaticus as synonyms.

This leaves the name nyula Hodgson available for the Bengal form.

Another name, not uncommonly apphed in the past to this Mongoose and

recently resuscitated for it by Bechthold (Zeitschr. Saug., xi, p. 149, 1986), is

griseus Geoffroy (Descr. de l Egypte, 1, p. 1389, 1812) proposed for a specimen

described and figured by Buffon (Hist. Nat., ii, p. 174, Suppl., pl. 27, 1776) as

‘Le Nems’ and said to have been sent to him from the interior of Africa.

Buffon’s description agrees with the common Indian Mongoose and, presumably

for that reason, Geoffroy cited the East Indies as the locality for his

Ichneumon griseus. There seems to be no other justification for Geoffroy’s

alteration of Buffon’s record more than thirty years later. But griseus is in

any case inadmissible for the species, whatever it be, because it was_ pre-

occupied twenty years earlier by nems Kerr [Anim. King, p. 160 (1792)] based

on the same Mongoose mentioned in Smelhe’s translation of Buffon, vu,

p. 221 (1791), where the eastern parts of Africa are cited as its locality. On

the available evidence nems, and its synonym griseus, cannot be applied to

this Indian species.

The subspecies into which this species have been divided are by no means

always easy to define or determine. Not only do they completely intergrade,

but specimens from the centre of the geographical area of one race may be

indistinguishable from specimens from the geographical area of another.

Nevertheless I have seen no skins in Northern India like those of Travancore

or Ceylon nor skins of the Ceylonese style in North India.

On the average they may be distinguished as follows :—

A. Winter coat with the contour hairs longer and more

coarsely speckled, the pale speckling more in evidence,

with the general hue lighter, red on head, etc. more

prevalent.

1. General colour a trifle darker with less tendency to

erythrism (North and North Central India) .. nyula.

2. General colour a trifle lighter, erythrism more preva-

lent (Valley of the Indus, N.-W. deserts, Balu-

chistan) ee ofa nee .. ferrugineus.

B. Winter coat shorter, more finely speckled, pale speckling

not dominant over dark, general hue darker with red

everywhere less in evidence, sometimes absent.

1. Speckling on the average coarser (5S. India) .. edwardst.

2. Speckling on the average finer (Ceylon) ... se wLanica:.

Herpestes edwardsii nyula, Hodgs.

Mangusta (Herpestes) nyula, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., v, p. 236

(1836).

Mongos mungo mungo, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxiv,

p. 52 (1915). (Not of Gmelin).'

Herpestes edwards edwardsii, Thomas and Wroughton, Journ., Bomb.

Nat. Hist. Soc, xxyvu,.p. 047 (1921):

Mungos mungo moerens, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxiv,

pono), Gold).

Locality of the type of nyula, Nepal; of moerens, Nimar.

Distribution: Northern India from Nepal to Assam north of the Ganges

and from Cutch to Bengal south of the river.

Winter coat composed of long, rather harsh contour hairs, and up_ to

50 mm. or more in length, and plenty of wool, the general speckling of the

aes

* Wroughton’s very inadequate diagnosis of this race as having the underfur

comparatively very sparse and the hairs on the lower back 40 mm. long was

evidently based upon a specimen or specimens from Bengal in summer coat.

He could not have examined Hodgson’s skins of nyula, regarded by him as a

synonym of mungo. At least one of them has plentiful underwool and the

rump hairs about 50 mm.

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 215

body and tail coarse; colour vary variable seasonally, the shorter new coat

prevalently silvery, with contrasted black and white speckling, the black fading

to brown and the white soiled in the older coat, but even in the new coat

the speckling may be brown and buffy or yellowish; hairs of the underside

with dark speckling or fading to uniformly pale; typically some red on the

muzzle, cheeks and ears; sometimes a little on the crown and nape; the wool

varying from dark olivaceous grey to soiled white; the legs dark or rufous

brown and grizzled.

The following notes show the individual variations in different districts.

Nepal. Hodgson recorded nyula as the common Mongoose of the

Nepalese lowlands and North Behar, but his description of the type does not

fit any of the six undated skins he sent home. The colour was ‘mixed rich,

red brown and hoary yellow’, the long harsh hairs having from 10 to 12 rings

of alternate brown and yellow, the ears, face, and limbs being redder and

the underside pale yellow. This was apparently an aberrant reddish specimen

indistinguishable from some specimens of the following race, ferrugineus.

One of his skins in the British Museum (No. 48.1.12.17) may be the. type,

but the dark speckling is only brown, pale drabby, with the head and nape

rather brighter. His series varies as follows:—The contour hairs on the rump

range from about 40 to 50 mm. and the wool is copious or very scanty. The

dark speckling varies from blackish and blackish brown to darker or paler

brown, the pale from silvery to dull grey or drab and the wool from

yellowish olive to pale drab or soiled whitish. The lower side is drabby or

greyish, sometimes indistinctly dark speckled; the head has some red at least

on the muzzle, cheeks and ears, sometimes on the crown and nape as well;

the tail is like the body, with the tip, when present, soiled whitish; the legs

are dark brown or rufous brown and grizzled, one skin showing abundance

of rusty red above the hocks.

The colour of these skins of Hodgson’s has probably deteriorated with age;

but the following from places to the east of Nepal and north of the Ganges

are not racially separable from them.

Darbhanga, 150 ft. Several skins from Bahgownie (Crump), July 25 to

October 10, show interesting individual variations. The coat is from about

30 to 40 mm. according to the earlier or later date, the wool being similarly

negligible in amount or fairly plentiful; the speckling is contrasted black and

white in the new short coat, duller and less contrasted in the older longer

coat; the wool varies from olivaceous to yellowish and frequently shows

through the contour hairs, affecting the coloration of the dorsal surface. ._

Haldibari, 5. of Sikhim, 150 to 200 ft., April 13 to 20. One specimen

is a trifle more silvery than the palest Nepal skin.. Another is intermediate

between the palest and the brownest Nepal skins. The wool in both is

pale. grey.

Jalpaiguri, N. of Kuch Behar, April 18. A skin resémbling the second

from. Haldibari in having pale brown speckling. : A

Goalpara in Assam, 8. of the Brahmaputra, August. A @Q with the coat

384 mm., the colour finely speckled with black, brown. and white and the wool

olive grey exactly matches one of the Darbhanga skins dated August 25.

In two districts to the west of Nepal and north of the Ganges, namely

from Kumaon, 1,100 to 2,500 ft., November and December, and from Pilibhit

in Rohilkund, 800 ft., March, several specimens were collected and are very

much alike, the general colour being speckled black and white, as in the

first described specimen from Haldibari; the wool is pale buffish white in the

Kumaon skins but whiter in those from Rohilkund. These skins were identified

by Wroughton as pallens (see below p. 217) and quite correctly according to

his erroneous conception of his mungo, te. nyula.

From two localities south of the Ganges in Western Bengal, namely

Hazaribagh, 600 to 1,800 ft., April 18 to June 26 and from Daltonganj, 600 ft.,

March 24 to April 1, Crump sent several skins which call for no special

comment, except that one from Daltonganj has a good deal of red on the

head and some on the nape as in the brownest of the Nepal skins.

Gwalior. A good series of skins from several localities and dated from

June to the end of November exhibits great variation in colour although not

the ferruginous phase, there being at most a little red on the muzzle. In

the late autumn coat (October and November) the contour hairs, about 55 mm.,

are speckled black or blackish and clear white, those of the underside being

216 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

ticked with black; the feet are dark with hardly any brown tinge and the

tail-tip is ochreous or flavous. In the summer coat, June and July, the

contour hairs of the dorsal side are faded, speckled very pale brown and

soiled white, there is no dark speckling below and the legs are much paler

and browner; the underwool bleaches from dark olive grey to dirty whitish.

Most of the skins Wroughton assigned to moerens are in fresh unfaded

coat, with the black and white speckling sharply contrasted, and resemble the

darkest of the skins from Darbhanga (August) and Gwalior (October).

Cutch, 200 to 500 ft., July 10 to August 15. Nine skins in new short

coat are mostly speckled black and white, one being browner in hue, the

wool is scanty and varies from smoke grey to greyish ochreous, the legs from

dark to reddish brown speckled with grey; the head has a little red.

Kathiawar, 200 to 2,500 ft., October 6 to December 1. Eleven skins

have the coat fuller and longer in accordance with the later season, but are

generally similar to the Cutch series, varying to a certain extent in the clear-

ness of the white speckling, in the wool which is darker or lighter olivaceous

grey and in the amount of red on the head and limbs.

Nimar. ‘Two skins, including the type of moerens from Ganoor, 1,000 ft.,

December 22 and 23, resemble the Kathiawar lot but have the wool ashy grey,

the type itself having some red on the nape. One from Asigarh, 1,500. ft.,

November 8, has the “wool much darker, olivaceous.

Berar, Ellchpar, 1,500 ft., May 17, a <o closely resembles the type

from Nimar but has more reddish brown on the muzzle and. legs and the

wool slightly yellowish grey. Considering the date, it is surprising that this

skin shows no sign of coat change.

E. Khandesh, one from Shendurni, 900 ft., March 30, is speckled black

and white like the preceding and has the wool olivaceous grey, and another

from Parola, 8,800 ft., March 18, has begun to bleach, the dark speckling

being brown and the wool pale grey.

Hoshangabad, Sohagpur, 1,000 ft. Five skins, April 10 to 18, vary

greatly in colour. One is speckled black and white, hke the preceding lots,

with the legs very dark brown. A second is much paler with broader white

bands, some red on the back and the wool whitish. A third has the dark

speckling faded mostly to pale brown and not strongly contrasted, the hind

feet rufous, the wool drabby and the belly hairs not speckled as they are

in the first. The contour hairs on the rump vary from about 30 to nearly

50 mm. This series showing seasonal change in colour connects typical

moerens with the Nepalese series.

FLesH MB&ASUREMENTS AND WEIGHTS OF SOME SPECIMENS OF nyula.

Head ;

= and Tail | Hind “| a clea

Body | oot lbs.

Cooch Behar, Haldibari. ad. 153 142 33 23

Darbangha memads.c 152 14% = B

Daltonganj sed a 16% 152 32 uth

Kumaon, Ramnagar wrade-o 7 16 31 31

7 Grito 16% 142 33 4

Rohilkund, Pilibhit oes ACL. 16 J4z 3 3

Gwalior, Guna Voeeacen, 172 15% 31 re

my Ghatigaon tte 19 Oar a 17 14% oe 33

Hoshangabad eine 174 152 34 31

Kathiawar Saree (lenis 164 144 3= 33

Cutch, Nokania adic 154 154 yg 3

Daltonganj Boole 148 143 3S

Kumaon, Naini Tal goad. 154 134 24 c

Ramnagar ade 153 152 24

Rohilkund, Pilibhit wuAds 154 133 24 2

Gwalior, Ghatigaon tecddaey 15% 14 24 24

Nima (mavens type) sects 7 152 142 3~ 23

Kathiawar ce Cee a 152 152 3 21

Cutch, Nokania aaa: 142 13 22 oe

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 217

SxuLtL. MrasureMents oF H. edwards nyula.

e os c = Re

S| E/E) S)] s)he)

H S Te) e = 5 | H =

LOCALITY AND SEX eZ el o|/ Fla) & S

code mace oleae Ney oulleccee a

ls Moe ee ce pe

a(S) a) a] | 3 |

Nepal (Hodgson) pad. | 7o8) fe) vo Valo | tS = 6

Darban gha sades 77 \-38.) 2 i ie ie tee es ae

Hazaribagh ad. g | 84) 42 | 11 | 16 | 15°) S56) 7x5 7

Kumaon emacs oP Se: ae: ele, Oe onan 7 eae | a7

Bahraich, U.P: a ey A, eos ay eee ley S07 ao) 7

Daltonganj made 62 400 115) 7 10 }-Is: poe 8 <5 7

Gwalior eed Woce aed 13.9) Or alo TEX S se

: ad. @ | 79} 41 | 12 | 14 | 14 152/7 x44] 6

Berars fe ACh eel 45s loan lon oe 74x 6 na

Kathiawar ede. 83 14 | 16 | 16 | 53/8 x6 7

Cutch ea ee SUM oe on WS Soles xiG 7

oe Wiad.) 77.42 1s 16 15. |.50 1 Jus hs) oe

Nepal (Hodgson) ee Gs U7 | 3G" | 12 de eG 7 Ota 7

Daltonganj meade fon Oo cla | TES Sey a7 xO 7

Gwalior reas eae ed le Ze aoe) os | toe Om O 7

» Mae ee fox) SO fa i Wee ES eA Oe) 7S 7

Nimar (moerens type)... ad.@ | 80 | 38 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 51) 7 x5 7—-

Cutch ead on sor te oo 1S sere eG i)

The specimens in this table from Nimar, Berars, Kathiawar and Cutch were

referred by Wroughton to moerens.

Male skulls are on the average larger than female skulls, although they

overlap in size.

Herpestes edwardsii ferrugineus, Blanf.

Herpestes ferrugineus, Blanford, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1874), p. 661, pl. 81.

Herpestes andersoni, Murray, Vent. Zool. of Sind, p. 34 (1884).

Mungos pallens, Ryley, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxii, p. 660 (1914).

Mungos ferrugineus and pallens, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,

xxlv, pp. 51-4 (1915).

Herpestes griseus montanus, Bechthold, Zeitschr. Sdéug., xi, p. 149 (1986).

Locality of the type of ferrugineus, Larkhana, Sind; of andersoni, Kotree,

Sind; of pallens, Palanpur, N. Gujerat; of montanus, Hazara.

Distribution: Mainly the desert districts of N.-W. India in the valley of

the Indus and Sutle} and to the east in Rajputana and to the west into

Baluchistan and Persia.

Distinguished on the average from nyula by its paler, whiter colour, with

less black speckling in the contour hairs, its paler wool and by a greater

tendency for the replacement of the dark speckling by red or rich ochreous,

the replacement being sometimes complete as in the type of ferrugineus, some:

times partial as in andersoni, whereas in the normal form of the race repre:

sented by the type of pallens there is no red on the body, although the red

of the head and limbs is typically more pronounced and contrasted than

in nyula.

The type of H. ferrugineus, Blanford, from Larkhana, Sind, was red all

over, all the normal black speckling of the coat being replaced by rusty

red, the tail becoming progressively redder towards the tip. Blanford at first

regarded this as representing a valid species, but subsequent examination of

intermediates induced him finally to regard it as a ‘variety’ of the common

Indian Mongoose.

Murray recorded apparently similarly red specimens as ferrugineus from

Kotree and Karachi in Sind, and at the same time described as H. andersoni

418 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HEIST: SOCIETY.” Voli (xxix

a partially red specimen from Kotree. This had the contour hairs of the back

banded black and white, with a ferruginous apical or subapical tip, the

tail hairs mostly white with extensively reddened tips; the forehead ferruginous

and rather darker red than the chin, throat and the rest of the under side;

the feet rufous brown with black toes; the wool ferruginous at the summit,

_ yellowish-white at the back.

Fig. 1.—-A. Skull of adult @ of Herpestes javanicus pallipes from Kandahar.

B. Skull of adult ¢ of Herpestes edwardsii nyula from Nepal.

C. Skull of adult ¢ of Herpestes fuscus fuscus from §. Coorg.

There are no specimens in the British Museum like the type of ferrugineus

and Wroughton’s diagnosis of ferrugineus, which he regarded as a race, was

based on specimens evidently closely resembling andersoni, although not red

below or in the wool. The occurrence of typical ferrugineus and of anderson

at Kotree suggests that they merely represent colour phases of one and the

same form. Also the occurrence of specimens evidently closely resembling

andersoni in the same locality as specimens indistinguishable from pallens

justifies in my opinion the view that ferrugineus and andersont are red or

reddish mutants of pallens, the normal form. Unfortunately the name

ferrugineus, given to a hitherto unique specimen exhibiting the extreme phase

of erythrism, has to be adopted for this race, as the earliest proposed.

The following account of skins from different districts shows the range of

variation in colour and other characters :—

Sind. In four skins from Khairpur (Prater), April 8 to 15, the dark

speckling of the coat varies from black to very pale brown, the wool from

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 219

drab to palish grey, the tail tip from reddish ochreous to flavous, the head

being dull brownish with only a little red on the muzzle. Two from Sukkur,

March 16 and 27, on the contrary, have the head, nape and tail-tip reddish

ochreous and a faint reddish cast over the back. These two evidently come

near the type of andersoni in tint. Nearer still and possibly one of Murray’s

specimens of the latter is a skin from the Karachi Museum, labelled Sind

and dated December, which has the dorsal surface speckled black and white

with a reddish cast, the head, neck and _ tail-tip reddish ochreous, and the

wool yellowish-drabby. As mentioned below one of the skins from Kangra

closely matches the Sukkur skins except that the tail-tip is flavous.

An aberrant 9 skin from Tata, west of the Indus in 8. Sind (McCann),

October 23, with the speckling contrasted black and white, a little red on

the head but none elsewhere, the feet dark brown, grizzled, and the wool

olivaceous grey, exactly matches skins from Cutch, July and August, identified

by Wroughton as moerens.

Gujerat, Palanpur, 150 ft. (Crump). An adult @ (type of pallens).

March 21, has the coat thinnish but 52 mm. long on the rump, the general

colour of the back coarsely speckled white and brown, but with some black

on the back, the head reddish, the tail-tip flavous, the wool greyish white,

the legs reddish brown and the underside white. An adult Q from Danta,

100 ft., January 25, has the coat 45 mm. the general tint with blacker

speckling, as if less faded in accordance with the different date; but the

fore paws, the hind feet below the hock, the inside of the thighs, and the

abdomen are albino.

Rajputana. Seven skins from several localities, dated January to June,

differ greatly in coat and colour according to season. A Q from Jodhpur,

February 22, the darkest of the series, has the coat 50 mm., the general

colour brownish, fitting in with the Nepalese series of nyula, the wool plenti-

ful, pale drab in hue with a yellowish suffusion in places, the drab matching

the wool of a Nepal skin with the palest wool. Of three skins from Sambhar

two are sharply contrasted, one, January 25, being speckled silver and black,

a second, April 27, pale brown and soiled white, a third, March 5, inter-

mediate between them, the wool being soiled white in all. Six from Mt. Abu,

4,300 ft., May 19 to June 5, have the coat short and harsh, the white

speckling dominant, the dark from blackish to drabby brown with little, if any,

light coloured wool but the head, especially the nose, and the legs, especially

the hind, reddish and contrasted with the pale body; the tail-tip pallid.

Kohat, south of Peshwar, N.-W. F., 2,000-2.700 ft. A 9, October 25,

is the reddest and the most like andersoni of all the skins in the British

Museum. The coat, 53 mm., has plenty of wool greyish and drabby at the

base with a buff tinge at the summit; the head and cheeks are rusty and —

slightly grizzled, the neck is a little less red. but that tint is traceable in

all the dorsal contour hairs where it more or less displaces their black tips;

the tail is rather heavily red especially at the tip and the legs are grizzled

rufous brown. A second 9, March 9, has the coat 59 mm., the wool the

same, but the head, body and tail are much paler and less red, with the

whité of the contour hairs more manifest; the feet, however, are the same.

These two skins suggest that the difference between them is due to the

gradual bleaching of the winter coat between the end of October and the

beginning of March. In all probability the March skin would have lost all

its red before the coat was shed. The skin from Sind (Karachi Museum),

December, is nearly intermediate between the two.

Chaklala, Rawalpindi, in the Upper Punjab (Stockley). Two skins, July

6 and 138, closely resemble the skins from Mt. Abu in Rajputana. both in

the condition of the coat and in colour, but one skin has some red on _ the

nape: the scanty weol is soiled yellowish in both skins.

Hazara between Peshawar, N.-W. F., and Kashmir (not Hazara in

Afghanistan). An ad. skin, undated but in full winter coat with the

contour hairs about 55 mm. and abundance of underwool; the general colour

is pale, the contour hairs in accordance with their length being broadly banded

whitish and blackish brown with the tips from the nape to the rump and

on parts of the tail slightly reddened, but the red cast hardly visible unless

the coat is raised; the wool is yellowish or yellowish grey, becoming whitish

on the rump; the tail tip is whitish, the legs rusty brown and grizzled, the

head reddish and the under side uniformly drabby yellow. This skin, the

220 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Volo XXX

type of Herpestes griseus montanus, obviously represents the winter phase of

the two summer skins from Rawalpindi. It is very like the March skin from

Kohat but not so red anywhere, and is very similar to the type of pallens

except that the bands on the tail are blacker and there is a slight reddish

cast on the body.

Chamba, 3,000-3,300 ft. (Wells), January 22 to 25. Four skins collected

at Changa vary considerably in colour. The coat is full, ranging from about

45 to over 50 mm. in length. A © has the speckling normally coarse, black

and whitish, with no red on the dark brown head except on the cheeks

and ears, the wool pale greyish and the legs dark brown, speckled, with no

appreciable red tinge, and the tail tip flavous. A @Q is darker, with the

pale speckling finer and buffy or yellowish in tint, the head brownish red

but no red on the body, the wool dark olivaceous grey, the legs very dark

with the toes nearly black and the tail-tip dark ochreous. Another 9 has the

head and nape, especially the head, rusty brown, there is a reddish wash on

the back, above the hock and on the base of the tail, the tip of the latter

being flavous; the fur is mostly drabby grey, the fore legs reddish brown,

with hardly any pale speckling, from above the wrist, with some white hairs

on the toes, the hind the same but more speckled and without trace of

albinism. This specimen almost exactly matches the skin from Kohat,

March 9, except that the tail-tip is flavous.

Kangra, 2,000-7,000 ft. (Wells). About 20 skins, mostly labelled Kangra,

2,000 ft., March 20 to April 2, with a few more from Dhamtal, 2,000 ft.,

November 11; Guggal, 4,000 ft., February 10; Gopalpur, 7,000 ft., March 9;

and Sanyala, 5,000 ft., April 18. The coat is full, from about 45 to 55 mm.,

the general colour is on the whole tolerably uniform and grey, coarsely

speckled with white and black or brownish black; the head is normally reddish

and frequently there is a reddish cast on the ‘nape, back and the root of

the tail, the tip of the tail being always flavous; the wool is pale grey or

drabby grey, often noticeably darker on the fore back than on the hind back

and rump and the legs are brown, nearly always with a rusty tinge. Two

skins differ somewhat from the average. The first is a single adult Q from

Dhamtal, November 11, which has the wool uniformly ochreous buff all over

the upper side, suggesting that the pale wool in the March skins may be

faded. In the colour of its wool this Dhamtal skin seems to approach the

type of andersoni from Kotree, Sind. The second is an adult ¢ from Sanyala,

April 18, which has the dorsal coloration generally much lighter than in the

others, with the head and nape, especially the head bright ochreous red and

the legs ochreous and unspeckled, the toes of the fore foot being albino. This

skin closely resembles examples from Sukkur in Sind and elsewhere, which

fall into the andersoni-phase of ferrugineus, except that the tail-tip is flavous

not ochreous. The skins with the reddish wash also approach that phase, but

they differ very little from the redder of the two examples of nyula from

Daltonganj, whereas those which have only the normal amount of red on the

head and none elsewhere are practically indistinguishable from some examples

assigned to nyula. I refer the series to ferrugineus because of the considerable

percentage of specimens exhibiting a tendency to redness. They may, however,

be considered intermediate between nyula and the red phase of ferrugineus

as the skins from Kumaon and Rohilkund are intermediate between nyula

and the pale or pallens phase of ferrugineus.

Baluchistan. Seven skins (J. E. B. Hotson) collected at various localities

and dates exhibit variations similar to those of the other districts considered.

One from Mand, 900 ft., December, one from Gumajgi, 500 ft., 50 miles west

of Turbat, December, one from Panjgur, 3,200 ft., January, closely match

the skins from Kumaon and Rohilkund. Another from Geh, on -the Perso-

Baluchi border, January, is also like them except that the wool is ashy grey

at the base, buffy at the summit. Seasonal change is illustrated by a second

skin from Panjgur, May 26, which has the coat thin and harsh, the general

colour dull, the black speckling faded to pale brown, the white speckling

soiled, the scanty wool drabby grey showing under the hair; and one from

Jebri, 147 miles south south-west of Kelat, 3,775 ft., August 31, also in poor

coat, has the speckling blurred and faded and with the brownish grey wool

giving a general tawny hue to the pelage. None of the above described skins

shows any reddish tinge except a trifle on the head; but one from Qasrgand

on the Perso-Baluchi border, 1,710 ft., December 29, is of the ferruginous

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 221

andersoni type closely matching the October skin from Kohat but not quite

so red on the back although redder than the Sind specimen from the Karachi

Museum.

The dimensions in the following table suggest that specimens from Kangra

and Chamba are larger, sex for sex, in length of head and body than those

from Sind, Rajputana etc. and also than those assigned to nyula. But they

were measured by a different ‘hand’; and since the tails and hind feet, in

which there is less likelihood of discrepant results, are not longer, it seems

wiser to suspend judgment on the poimt and to refrain from indicating by a

new racial name the apparent difference, especially as it is unsatisfactorily

supported by the size ofi the skulls which at most are a mere trifle longer in

condylobasal length. Additional observations on the subject are given below

under the notes on the skulls.

To the measurements of the British Indian specimens in this table

are added those of an adult OG from Shiraz, Persia, collected by

Sir J. HK. B. Hotson. attesting general agreement with specimens from

Baluchistan, Sind and Gujerat. It belongs to the pallens phase, showing no

special erythrism.

Only a few weights were recorded. The two ¢@ specimens from Mt. Abu,

Rajputana, were respectively 3 and 2% lbs., the ¢@ from Palanpur, Gujerat,

the type of pallens, was 34 and the @ from Danta, Gujerat 2 lbs.

FLESH MEASUREMENTS IN ENGLISH INCHES OF SOME SKINS ASSIGNED

TO ferrugineus.

race i Tail | Hind foot

Kangra (largest) shee ad. ¢ 214 14 32

», (smallest) ai ad. ¢ 18% 14

», Average of 9 ose ad. ¢ 193 ae oe

Chamba a ad. ¢ 204 152 24

Rajputana, Mt. Abu oe ad. 3 173 154 2i5

2 Pee re - adn ¢ 16 13} pe

Gujerat (pallens type) sae ad. ¢ 154 16— —

Sind, Sukkur aa ad.d 162 154 De

,, Khairpur bor ad. ¢ 152 133 =

Baluchistan, Mand se ad. ¢ 154 142 3+

Persia, Shiraz poe AG. 154 152 3

Kangra (largest) a ad, 2 182 153 3—-

», (smallest) ee ad. 2 144 142 4

», Average of 10 ne ad. 2 164 as ae

Chamba ane ad. Q 16% 14 24

Pf ae ad. 2 152 16) 23—

Kohat, N.W.F.P. abe ad. Q | 14 143 24

Sind, Sukkur eS ad. 2 144 15} 3-

», Khairpur ae ad. 2 143 142 24

en Lata a AG 144 123 3-

Gujerat, Danta ee ad. 2 15 144 24

Baluchistan, Qasrqand . ad. 2 14 14} 2¢

Comparing skull-measurements with flesh-measurements there are one or

two points to be noted. The two measured ¢ skulls from Kangra, 83 and

77 mm. respectively in condylo-basal length, agree very closely with the two

3 skulls from Mt. Abu, in 8. Rajputana. But the head and body of the

skin of the larger Kangra skull is indicated as over 3 in. longer than the

skin of the larger Mt. Abu skull and the smaller Kangra skull, which is

2 mm. shorter than the smaller Mt. Abu skull, belongs to a skin of which

the recorded head and body length is very nearly 3 in. longer than in the

Mt. Abu specimen. These recorded differences cast further doubts on the

trustworthiness of the head and body lengths of the Kangra specimens. Also

there is by no means always correspondence in size between skulls and head

222 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

and body measurements. The skulls of the two Kangra specimens measuring

214 and 18¢ in. respectively are alike 77 mm. in condylobasal length whereas

two specimens measuring respectively 20% and 20 in. have skulls 83 mm.

long.

The largest of the Kangra skulls marked @, with a length of 81 mm.

has all the characters of a ¢. It has the same number as the Q skin

measuring 182 in. in head and body. But one of the @ skins has a Q skull

assigned to it. Possibly they got mixed. At all events the rest of the 9

Kangra skulls range from 76 to 72 mm. in length, the average of 8 being

742 mm.

SkuLL MEASUREMENTS OF ferrugineus.

= |

fo ele

eg peers cali a

epee esas

LOCALITY AND SEX ae a eee ess

ae) sual Gree ANN Re ley

é a oe se

Li} i) oO 9 io) 2 aa

e ob | wT” shale ghde 1c! S x

fo) yD fo) Sar fav} fan} x. S

2 Oo IN ta wa = | =

Kangra (largest) oot AC sae 83 i44—|13 |16i |15° 155. | 8ico2 ania

a (smallest) agua ies 77 (39, |11. |\14 114 49 5) 7 x5 Gs

i Average of 6 reco ers RS ear tnd tes c(t al eter ee eae

Chamba ad. ¢ |(8l4) 142 12 16 95 154 | \72eca ae

Hazara (type of monf/anus)... ad. f |(80+)|40 {13 [132 |142 [52 | 8x6 7

Rajputana, Mt, Abu. eke 82 432 112 S17 4 253 sae aera

“s oe hae ge oe ad). 19 NAD VAS SO MS aid a tee 7-

» sambhar dor ACS it iy 5 ie Tf 4. 15a 8x Sole

re a ade 7¢ 2 |15 |14 ,|48 |72x 5") G2

Sind, Khairpur Be Aa 79 (40 (12 |152 |142 \51 | -8x6 9 |78

» sukkur ends ie 78 \41 (12% (15 (142 |52 \72x5 a

Gujerat, Palanpur (padlens

type) sussas ie 79 [41 |12 (15 |15-|51 |8+ x54] 7

Baluchistan, Panjgur rare Ores 75 (40 |1S |S \15 150 | 8=— c5alg7

Persia, Shiraz Adee 48. 1395 113 “5 esol eGo 7

Kangra (largest) Be olanse 81 (44 |133 |164+/16+/54 | 8x51 | 7

a (smallest) Aseria 72 (386 |12—|14—/13-/48 | 7x5 if

- Average of 9 Sead Ao TSS \e cas Weel) eae al eae es “ee Be

Chamba ef 77 \3f 113 134 f13- 52) 8x5 7

7 eer wee 73°88 115, \13 1132 .47>)\ 74 Same oe

Kohat, N.W.}I*. Prov. sae 75 (37 (15 |148 113° |48—| 8x6 7

Rajputana, Jodhpur made ee 73 (38 |12= 14—13. | oo | 7 cSae alee

ss Sambhar pera. £2 71 \2 Th |12. 112. 4S 177 oS Ge

Sind, (Karachi Mus.) 2 ads 2 ZO 139 V2) eas) 3 Slee al teem

» Khairpur Mere Korea 741375 |10> 14 <3. 449° 7a

i. ‘ asada. 72 \36 |11 -/13 (13 (46+) 74-5. 162

Herpestes edwardsii edwardsii, Geoffroy.

‘The Indian Mongoose’, Edwards, Nat. Hist. Birds, iv, p. 199 (1751).

Herpestes edwardsu, Geoffroy, Descr. de l’Egypte, ii, p. 189 (1812), (not of

Thomas and Wroughton).

Herpestes pondiceriana, Gervais, Voy. de la Bonite, 1, p. 82 (1841).

Mungos mungo ellioti, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxiv,

pp. 51 and 53 (1914), (not ellioti, Blyth).

Herpestes edwardsiu carnaticus, Thomas, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,

Xxvi, jp. 23: 41921).

Locality of the type of edwardsii, ‘Kast Indies’; of pondiceriana,' Pondi-

cherry; of ellioti Wrought. and carnaticus, Dharwar.

* This name was apparently intended for a specimen from Pondicherry

mentioned by Cuvier and Geoffroy (Hist. Nat. Mamm. 1819) as La Mangouste,

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 223

Distribution: Southern India, Western and Eastern Ghats, south of the

Narbada River, from Ratnagiri to Travancore and Madura.

Distinguished on the average in its unfaded coat from nyula_ by

its darker general tint owing to the blackish brown bands in the

hairs being more extensive than the whitish or buffy white bands.

The coat also is shorter, about 40 mm. or a lttle over; the wool is

dark, usually olive grey but often with a strong ochreous tinge; there is

typically some red on the head and ears, but this is variable in amount;

the legs are darker or lighter brown and _ grizzled, the tail tip is

pale ochreous and the under side is usually, but not always, speckled

with black or brown. é

This description applies generally to a large number of skins from the

following western localities: —Ratnagiri, January 21 to 28; Dharwar,

2,000-2,500 ft., October 80 to February 18; N. Kanara, 1,900 ft., January;

N. Coorg, 3,555 ft., January 16 to February 15; 8. Coorg, 2,000 ft., January

10 to February 6; Seringapatam, 2,840 ft., October 12 to 28; Cochin, 1,500 ft.,

June 8; Nilgiri Hills, 3,500 ft., undated; Trivandrum in Travancore, August 4

to September 2. Of these the Travancore skins are practically indistinguishable

from those of the Ceylon race, lanka.

Skins from. the eastern districts of S$. India are more variable. Of two,

undated, ticketed Madras (Jerdon), one is like those above described, the

other has the pale specklng more silvery. Similarly paler is one from the

Palkonda Hills, S. Cuddapah, 1,000 ft., August 17; one from the Shevaroy

Hills, 4,500 ft., May 17; some from thereat: Salem, 38,000 ft., June 22

to July 9; and one undated, from JKombu, 8. Coimbatore; but one from the

northern slopes of the Palni Hills, 3,000 ft., December 15, is a dull dark,

short coated skin, and of two from High Wavy Mountain in Madura, hear

the Travancore border, May 28 to 80, one is like the Salem skins, the other

is paler with a yellowish wash, broader pale bands in the contour hairs, and

altogether is more hke nyula than typical edwardsi.

The Survey also secured through Baptista many additional specimens, from

Kurnool, May, the Palkonda Hills, 1,500 ft., July; the Vontimitta Range,

oD: ft. August ; the Dharmapuri Range, N. Salem, 850 ft., August and

October ; and the Denkanikota Range, "3,062 ft., October. These skins are

all pale and silvery very like pale” skins of nyula but with slightly finer

speckling and almost always less red on the head and legs, although one

from the Palkonda Hills is as red on the head as typical nyula.

Judging from a specimen in the British Museum collected by Dr. Cantor

in Wellesley Province and identified by him as Herpestes griseus, it is this

Southern Indian race that occurs in the Malay Peninsula and not the ‘Bengal’

race (nyula) as supposed by Blyth and Jerdon. The first record from Malacca

was made by Cuvier and Geoffroy [Hist. Nat. Mamm. pl. 189 (1819)] who

figured and described a specimen as ‘La Mangouste’ and later (Suppl. Table

Gén., p. 3 (1842)] identified it as Herpestes mungo. This specimen was

described as Herpestes frederici by Desmarest [Dict. Sct. Nat., xxix, p. 60

(1823)]. Subsequently it was named H. malaccensis by Fischer [Syn. Mamm.,

p. 164 (1829)], who erroneously, and to the confusion of some authors, assigned

malaccensis to Cuvier. But clearly malaccensis is a synonym of frederici

and both are synonyms of edwardsii according to my identification of the

last. The point is of some importance in nomenclature because, as stated

above, Blyth and, following him, Jerdon used malaccensis for an Indian Mon-

goose; and comparatively recently Kloss when citing a specimen from Larut,

nr. Perak, as Mungos mungos added that if distinct the Malayan animal

would take the name malaccensis [Journ., Fed. Mal. St. Mus., vii, p. 128

(1917)]. Kloss’s Q specimen measured 15 in. in the head and body, but had

an exceptionally short tail, only 114 in., almost exactly the same as in one

of Pillay’s specimens of edwardsii Henie Travancore and in some specimens

of lanka from Ceylon; but Cuvier’s specimen, the type of frederici (malaccensis)

was 11 in. in head and body, 12 in. in the tail. No doubt it was young and

probably the terminal hairs were included in the tail which would make it,

without the hairs, about as long as the head and body.

This Mongoose is believed to have been imported into Malaya from

India. This seems probable since there is no record of edwardsti from

Burma.

224 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Flesh measurements of H. edwardsii edwardsii are as follows:—

ae oa Tail Hind-foot

Dharwar (carnaticus type) ven wads 192 163 33

3 © age. fad 174 16 3

S. Coorg seo. AG Ee 17 14 3-

Cochin oy Aday 181 153 3

Trivandrum eae Cane 152 134 2¢

Kurnool ae a 3 ae ie 34

Palkonda Hills ad. g 174 144 31

iF i a ada 152 14 2

Vontimitta Range . ad. g 174 153 i

Shevaroy Hills, Salem io) as. 18# Wifes 4

Madura we OO. 18} 16 3-

Ratnagiri pee lar 154 132 2s

Dharwar aoe als oe 152 152 24

N. Coorg peo alae 154 13 2¢

Trivandrum Se ade 143 133 oe

Kurnool mode. @ 16 144 24

fe se ad? 153 144 3)

Palkonda Hills ad, 2 16. 14 3

ig . ad, @ 142 14 ga

Vontimitta Range eu 16 142 3)

Dharmapuri Range, Salem seer eo? Ise 144 3

The weight of adult ¢ specimens is usually from 38 to 4 lbs., of Q speci-

mens from 2 to 2? lbs.; but the ¢ from Madura was 6 lbs. and the 9 from

Ratnagiri 4 lbs.

Herpestes edwardsii lanka, Wrought.

Herpestes griseus, Kelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeyl., p. 41 (1852), (not of

Geoffroy).

Mungos lanka, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxiv, p. 58

(LOD).

Herpestes lanka, Philips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 177 (1985).

Locality of type: Cheddikulam, N.P., Ceylon.

Distribution: Ceylon, ‘confined to the low country dry zone’ up to 500 ft.

(Phillips).

Very closely resembling the South Indian race, but distinguished by having

the contour hairs shorter and the speckling finer, the two features going

together, and in being on the average less red on the head and feet and less

richly tinted in the wool when the coat is unfaded.

Wroughton gave full specific rank to this Ceylonese representative of

edwardsti because of the alleged absence of intergradation between it and

the Indian specimens. Nevertheless the §. Indian race is obviously interme-

diate between the Ceylonese and the more northern Indian races, as might

be expected. The two features Wroughton relied on for the status he assigned

to lanka were the very fine grizzling and the absence of ferruginous tint from

the face and feet. These characters hold good in the four skins in the British

Museum, namely the type from Cheddikulum, N.P., November 12; two from

Tammanewa, N.C.P., May 3 and 9; and one, undated, received from the

Colombo Museum. These are very much alike, varying very slightly in the

tint of the speckling, the practical identity in colour and coat between the

November and May skins suggesting that the seasonal differences are slight.

The coat in these specimens is only up to about 380 mm.; the wool is scanty

and drabby grey in hue, without the ochreous tinge common in the S&S.

Indian race, and there is no trace of red on the head, ears, feet or elsewhere.

But sometimes there is no red in even dark coloured $8. Indian skins, e.g.

some from Travancore, and it has apparently faded out in some summer skins

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CHYLON AND BURMA 225

from the Eastern Ghats. Phillips, moreover, in his description of lanka says

that the feet and head have a slightly reddish tinge. With regard to the

redness all that can be said of lanka is that it is on the average less red

than the 8S. Indian race.

The following flesh-measurements in English inches were recorded by

Phillips :—

LE IT LS TT TE TTI IT TET IE SAT EIST A ELE ESTE TEE ELLE LIE IEG,

Head and ' ;

== body Abra | Hind-foot

Ada” 4 ree 18 + 134 3-

ada 2 - 152 12 22

av 4@: ae 14 102 24

The type of the race, a young adult ¢, is a little smaller than the

largest Q in the British Museum from Tammanewa which agrees closely with

Phillips’s largest @.

SxkuLtt MrasuREMENTS OF H. edwardsii edwardsii AND oF H. edwardsii lanka.

2-|gi 3/8 | 2/4

oO T; = mt ow) on

Hie) Ee |B |S gs .

LOCALITY AND SEX vi -| 6 nS Pia SN Ny

e}ei 6 |] § | dis =

se) Sd 77 i: Ss | 2

a j|ei g | 2

O |

edwardsit |

Dharwar ad. gf} 81 42) 14- | 15 ils) 52 |8—x6—| 7

f (carnaticus |

type) ad. ¢| 80 43) 135 | 16— |15+ 1] 52/8 x6 7

S. Coorg ad. 3} 80 41 | 14 15 15 Di ex Seah

cf ads) 79 41); 11 | 144 |14 53 17 5k a7

Cochin yz. ad. ¢| 80 40 | 14 TS 15 oly 4 7

Kurnool ad. ¢| 86 44 | 13 16 16 D218 x5l | 74

- ad. ¢| 80 AD 15 15 53 5S <5) | ee

Palkonda Hills ad. 3 | 81 39 | 13 US) 15 SZ) x5 7

* - Adee ad 7 Be) aa he 14 15 07 ok 7

Vontimitta Range ad. ¢| 78 40 | 12 TS nels MG meas niu

Salem ad. %/| 80 41} 11 as) 15 By eas 7—

Dharwar ad..° | 76 36 |) 12 13 12 AOR ea) 7

” ad. 2| 73 S 7a) eZ 14— |13 AG 7 Sea EGG

S. Coorg ad. Q| 77 36 | 11 13. 2 S007 5 7S

Seringapatam Ade 2173 40 | 12 144 | 14 peal fo ne

Kurnool ad.19 | 76 39 | 11 14 14 48 |}7 x5 ’)

Palkonda Hills ad @| 74 38 | 12—--| 14 13 50 |7—x4l | 6

- 2 ad. Q| 72 36 | 1] 14 |13 |48/7 x5 | 62

. ee ad. 2| 68 35 | 13 13 192%) 4417 x65 6L

Vontimitta Range Fetg eh IC 3/ a3 14 13 49 |}74 x5 7

lanka

Cheddikulam (type) |

yg.ad. ¢|-79 40) 13— | 144 |15 le Oe ay

3 (type) ad. 9] 72+ | 35 | 114 | 13% |13 46/8 x5 i}

226 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Herpestes smithii, Gray.

For bibliography and synonymy see under the subspecies.

Distribution: Central and Southern India; Ceylon.

Very closely related to H. edwardsii but distinguished by its slightly larger

size, the black-tipped tail, generally darker eaiene and generally more pro-

nounced tendency to erythrism, although never so red as in the typical

jerrugineus mutant of that species. In “the slightly larger skull the occipital

and sagittal crests are at least on the average less strongly developed.

Since I have seen no intermediates between smithii and edwardsti in the

colour of the tail-tip, I adopt the prevalent view that they represent distinct

species. But the colour of the tail-tip varies from black to pale individually

in some African Mongooses. Hence in this case it may possibly indicate that

smithi, being a jungle-form, is a ‘habitat-mutant’ of edwardsii.

In his revision of this species Thomas (Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,

xxvill, p. 28 (1921)] admitted five races:'—(1) the typical form, smithu, with

elliott and torquatus as synonyms, ranging from Hoshangabad to the Nilgiri

Hills in Western India; (2) jerdoni, with monticolus as a synonym, from the

HKastern Ghats; (3) canens from Mt. Abu in 8.-W. Rajputana and Hazaribagh;

(4) rusanus from Sambhar in Rajputana; (5) zeylanius, a substitute for the

inadmissible name rubiginosus> adopted by Kelaart, from Ceylon. A few

specimens from the Eastern Ghats have been received at the Museum since

Thomas wrote, but I do not think his conclusions with regard to the Indian

forms were justified by the material he had in his hands. On the available

evidence it seems to me that the difference in colouration between his smithit,

canens and jerdont are due to seasonal changes in the coat; and his race

rusanus was based upon a single specimen with a rather small skull. Hence

T regard all the described Indian forms as representing a single race. I adopt,

however, his name for Ceylonese specimens, which, on the average, “appear to

differ from the continental form.

The two races, here provisionally admitted, may be distinguished as

follows :—

A. Tail longer, sometimes longer than head and body; more

erey and less red on the average in the general colour

(India) or Bie a we smithit.

B. Tail shorter, never so long as head and body; more red

and less grey on the average in the general colour

(Ceylon) cit ee ae .. =geylanius.

Herpestes smithii smithii, Gray.

Herpestes smithii, Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., i, p. 578 (1887); id.

Proc. Zool. Soc. (1851), p. 181, pl. 30.

Calictis smithii, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 565.

Herpestes ellioti, Blyth, Journ., As: Soc. Beng... (xx; sp. ,1602 (185i)

Herpestes jerdonu, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 550.

Herpestes torquatus (Elliot MS.), Kelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeyl., p. 40 (1852);

Jerdon, Mamm. Ind., p. 186 (1867).

Herpestes monticolus, Jerdon, Mamm. Ind., p. 185 (1867).

Herpestes smithii rusanus and canens, Thomas, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist.

SOG), S2viMis.. 220 S921);

= ees

He set aside thysanurus, applied by Wagner in 1839 to a Mongoose,

with a black-tipped tail, said to have come from Kashmir, because no Mongoose

with that character has since been recorded north of Rajputana. Wagner’s

record must nevertheless be borne in mind [AMiinch., Gel. Anz., ix, p. 440 (1889)

and Sdug., Suppl., ,°p. 3801 (1841)].

? This name was given by Wagner to a specimen of vitticollis from the

‘East Indies’. Both Kelaart and Blanford overlooked Waegner’s statement,

detected by Thomas, that the neck has a black mark on each side,

had

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 227

Locality of type of smithii unknown; of elliott, the Carnatic; of jerdonit,

‘Madras’; of torquatus, ‘S. India’; of monticolus, inland from Nellore; of

rusanus, Sambhar, Rajputana; of canens, Mt. Abu, Rajputana.

Distribution: Central and Southern India from Rajputana, eastward to

Bengal, and southwards through the Eastern and Western Ghats.

The type of smithii Gray has no definite locality, date or flesh-measure-

ments, but there is no good reason to dissent from Thomas’s decision that

it came from somewhere near Bombay. It is no doubt an early winter skin,

the contour hairs on the rump being about 58 mm. long and there is abundance

of dark brownish under wool. The general colour is dark with black and

greyish white speckling and a reddish cast traceable in the hairs of the

upper side, particularly on the head, neck and between the shoulders; the

fore leg is dark reddish brown, speckled and the hind leg is brighter red.

Satara (S. H. Prater). An adult 9 collected at Mehda, January 11, is a

very close match of the type in every respect and justifies Thomas’s allocation

of the latter; but a second ¢ skin from Mehda, January 18, differs in having

the pale speckling of the back buffy with no appreciable red cast. A third,

adult ¢ from Patan, December 11, is darker than the type, with buffy grey

speckling and no appreciable red in the hairs.

Poona (P. H. Gosse). An adult ¢ from Khandala, 2,500 ft., April 14,

has the coat a lttle longer than in the Satara skins, about 60 mm., but the

under wool scantier than in them and in the type and the pale speckling is

clearer whitish, especially strongly contrasted with the skin from Patan, but

there is no red cast except towards the head and the legs are even darker than

in the Patan skin. The later date of this skin suggests that the under wool

is moulting and the pale speckling bleaching. It very closely resembles the

skin from Kurnool in the Eastern Ghats referred to below.

Rajputana, Sambhar (Hume). The type of rusanus Thos., an ad. <,

January 13, in winter coat, is idistinguishable in colour and coat from the

Satara skins as Thomas stated; but two ad. ¢ from Mt. Abu (Crump), in-

cluding the type of canens Thos., collected June 2 and 38, differ in having

the coat harsh and thin with little or no underwool, the general colour paler

and greyer, with the pale speckling bleached white, and no red cast, although

there is, as usual, some ochreous before the black tail-tip. These skins closely

resemble the skin from Salem in the Eastern Ghats mentioned below.

Hoshangabad, 2,500 ft. (Crump), an ad. ¢, March 9, in. winter coat,

closely resembles the skins from Sambhar and Satara; and a Q = skin from

Hazaribagh (Crump), May 2, in summer coat, is lke the Mt. Abu skins but

has some red on the head and nape and is more like the Salem skin.

Skins from the Kastern Ghats vary like those described above.

Hills inland of Nellore? The ¢ lectotvpe of jerdeni Gray (=monticolus

Jerdon) is a soiled skin, formerly exhibited, with a thin, harsh, dead coat

and no appreciable underwool. There is a little red on the: muzzle and head,

the merest trace on the neck but none elsewhere. A @ with the same history

is a better skin, but the coat is thin with no wool, the general hue being

grey with blackish brown speckling, and a little red on the head and muzzle

and some yellowish or buff above the hock and close to the black tail-tip. <A

third old skin labelled ‘Madras’ is very similar to the preceding two. It was

on the evidence of these three skins that Thomas separated jerdoni from typical

smithii.

A series. of summer skins collected by Baptista in the Palkonda Hills,

1,500 and 1,600 ft., in June and July and in the Vontimitta Range, 325 ft.,

August 8 to 11, are topotypes of jerdoni since these hills are inland of Nellore.

The coat is long from about 50 to 55 mm. but, in accordance with the season,

has at most only a little underwool. The general colours of the back may

be tolerably clear grey or may show a paler or richer yellow cast representing

apparently the red of some winter skins but bleached. One from IKondagorla-

penta in the Palkonda Hills, July 17, closely matches the skin from the

Shevaroy Hills described below except that the red behind the shoulders of

the latter is replaced by ochreous. Another skin from Dasarladoddi, Palkonda

Hills, June 26, has no red or yellow behind the shoulders. At Kurnool in

Cuddapah Baptista collected two skins, one May 2, closely matching the skin

from Salem, April 23, described below; the other April 27 is more iron-grey

than the preceding, being speckled black and silvery grey with a faint buffish

wash on the back and very little red in front.

998 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIRTY.” Vol xoorwb<

Shevaroy Hills (W. M. Daly). An unsexed, undated specimen with a

full long coat, the contour hairs over 60 mm. and the tolerably abundant

olivaceous wool 20 mm. General colour darker than in the preceding skins

from the Eastern Ghats owing to the more intense black speckling, the red

tint conspicuous on the head, neck, down the middle line of the back and

increasing in amount and extent on the rump and outside of the thighs, also

a good deal of it on the hind leg above and below the hock and on the fore

leg from the elbow nearly to the wrist. Although this skin was in the Museum

when Thomas revised H. smithii, he did not refer to it. It entirely negatives

the distinction he drew between skins from the Western and Eastern Ghats.

It obviously belongs to the same form as the type of smithii and the examples

from Satara and its difference from the previously described skin from the

Eastern Ghats is due to the coat being fresh and unfaded.

Salem, a little south of the Shevaroy Hills. A skin from Karumbapatti

(Baptista), April 23, has the black speckling as in the Shevaroy skin and

some red on the head and neck, but is not red elsewhere, showing a yellowish

cast behind the neck on the upper side indicating incipience of bleaching as

in some of the topotypes of jerdont.

The flesh measurements in Hnglish inches and the weights of some

specimens are as follows:—

Head and ; Hind Weight

body. Tail. foot. lbs.

Mt. Abu (camens type) ... ad. ab ae oy a

9 aac Cl, 2 31 3

Hoshangabad ea 164 163 32 34

Satara, Mehda ace 183 174 32 6

5; Patan a ade 17+ 152 3+ 6

Poona, Khandala ae es 162 154 32

Kurnool, Diguvametta ... ad. ¢ Aes ds) 3e ose

oF 3 500 Ads. 1 | 162 3% 2t

Palkonda Hills Oe aes 173 164 32 4i

Vontimitta Range es cielsa rai 18 | 183 3% 4

a9 gy eco ad. 3 174 183 3 31

Hazaribagh, Bengal weds 154 16 3+ a

Palkonda Hills ie 216 a 173 154 33 SE

This table shows that the tail in this race is about as long as the head

and body. It may be as much as about one inch longer or two inches shorter.

Herpestes smithii zeylanius, Thos.

Herpestes rubiginosus, Kelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeyl., p. 48 (1852). [Not

Crossarchus (=Herpestes) rubiginosus Wagner. |

Herpestes smithi, Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 126 (1888), (in part).

Herpestes smithti zeylanius, 'Thomas, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxvii,

p. 23 (1921); Philips, Man. Mamm. Ceyl., p. 188 (1985), (misquoted as ~

zeylanicus).

Locality of the type of zeylanius: Mankeni, H.P., Ceylon.

Distribution: Ceylon.

Rather doubtfully distinguishable from the typical continental Indian form

by being a little darker on the average, never so grey as the greyest skins

of the latter and the reddest a little redder, but some skins both ‘grey’ and

‘red’ practically indistinguishable from Indian skins. Also the tail seems to

be relatively a little shorter.’

i cn

‘ Neither the flesh measurements nor the skulls bear out Thomas’s statement

that this race is larger than typical smithii from Western India.

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 239

To the following lst of the flesh measurements in English inches and

weights of some specimens in the British Museum, I have added particulars

of the dimensions recorded by Phillips.

Phillips’s largest ad. 3 18 + 143 33 43

Wellegalli S. P. ad. ¢ 17% 152 34 44

Mankeni, E. P. ad. ¢ 174 15 3 OF

Matugama, W. P. ad. ¢ 164 134 3+ —

Phillips’s Aver. of 8 ad. ¢ 164 123 3+ 32

a largest ad. 2 163 143 34 23

Ranna, S. P. ad. & 162 134 3+ —_

Mankeni, E.P. ad. a 154 124 3— 3

Kala Oya, N. W. P. ad. 2 144 134 3 + 23

Phillips Aver. of 2 ad. © 153 | 13 + 3+ 23

Although the head and body are about the same length as in typical

smithu, the tail is on the average shorter, and is always shorter than the

head and body, nearly 4 in. in some cases. This also applies to several

sub-adult additional specimens collected by EH. W. Mayor which are not

included in the table.

SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF H. smithit snuthi and H. smithii zeylanius.

So Sls ose eS

g| 3 /Z/e la] ¢

S |e =) bp

= = : 5 SS o +

NaME, Locariry anD | @ | g acs = HI SN S

SEX aia) 5 O1 § 6 es oN S

. BD . ia} cq

nS) = nH as = fan}

ean ea ees A

|S) oe

smithit

Satara, Mehda ad. ¢ | 90 | 45 13 | 175 | 17 | 60— | 8 x6 7

Mt. Abu, Rajput.

(canens type) ad. ¢| 88 | 46 15 19 Ie | 57 Cres

Satara, Patan ad. J | 86 | 45 13 1620) 17 56 9 x6 oe

Palkonda Hills ad. ¢ | 86 | 45 14); 17 | 16 | 573 | 8 x5 7

Poona, Khandala ad. ¢| 84/45 | 17| 17 | 16 | 56—|8 x52) 7

Vontimitta Range |

just ad. ¢| 83 | 40 14 I, 16 leo3 9 x5 ie

‘Sambhar, Rajput.

(rusanus type) ad. g| 82 | 44- | 11 TOL oS. velo x5 a

Palkonda Hills ad. 2 | 86 | 46 14 uly, 16 | 56 8 x6 7

Hazaribagh ad. 2] 81 , 42 NS aon) lO 52 io 7

Nilgiri Hills ad. 2 | 80 | 43 Ze Oe lo N53 8 x6 Z

zeylanius |

Mankeni (type) ad. ¢ | 89 | 49 151) 19) | OF) 59 9 x6 8 —

Matugama ad. % | 86 | 45 IS 17, el6r 1.56 BL x5 8—

Kala Oya ad. 2 | 81 | 42 IZ 1S) Toe {ho3 9 x5

Mankeni ad. 2} 78 | 42 PS 1G jee Ti. On es

9380 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

In these tables the skulls are enlisted to show the range in condylobasal

length, regardless of geographical distribution. It will be noticed that the

difference between the skulls of the type of canens and of rusanus, upon which

Thomas relied for distinguishing the two alleged races is exactly the same

as the difference between the two ¢ skulls of H. edwardsii edwardsu from

Kurnool entered on the previous table (p. 225). It also shows that the skulls

of the S. Indian smithti and the Ceylonese zeylanius are on the average

noticeably a little larger than the skulls of H. edwardsit edwardsu and of

H. edwardsii lanka which occur in the same areas respectively.

Herpestes smith is the type of the genus Calictis, Gray [Proc. Zool. Soc.

(1864), p. 564].

Herpestes fuscus, Waterhouse.

For bibliography and synonymy see under subspecific headings.

Distribution: §. India and Ceylon.

Size about the same on the average as edwardsii and smithii but the tail

relatively considerably shorter, only about two-thirds the length of the head

and body, the contour hairs less harsh and the upper half or third of the

sole of the hind foot clothed with hair throughout the year. General colour

very variable according to the subspecies, ranging from blackish brown with

the dark bands in the contour hairs extensive and the white very narrow in

the typical Indian race, to nearly uniformly ochreous or sandy with the dark

bands reduced to fine, comparatively indistinct speckling in two of the

Ceylonese races.

In its general form and the shape of the teeth, the skull is very like that

of edwards and smithii, but it is typically less inflated in the frontal region

so that the upper surface of the muzzle is a little less steeply sloped and

may be slightly concave, the anterior tympanic portion of the bulla is smaller

and the external crest a little better developed.

Analytical Key to the subspecies.

A. On the average a little larger and more uniformly dark

brown above and especially below; the tip of the tail

not lighter than the rest (5S. India) fuscus.

B. On the average smaller and paler or brighter in hue,

not so brown especially below; tip of the tail paler

than the rest (Ceylon). ~ . at Coy

1. General colour darker, dark speckling conspicuous on

the back, flanks and tail.

a. Slightly smaller and less red _ ... flavidens.

b. Slightly larger- and redder bile i... TuUbidion.

2. General colour not so dark, the dark speckling not

so conspicuous on the back, obsolete on the flanks

and tail.

a. Darker and redder, dark speckling on back

blackish and more conspicuous... ... maccarthiae.

b. Paler, straw-coloured, dorsal specking brown

and faint nee ae ed sai SICCOLUS.

Herpestes fuscus fuscus, Waterhouse.

Herpestes fuscus, Waterhouse, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1858), p. 55; Jerdon, Mamm.

Ind., p. 186 (1867); Anderson, Anat. Zool. Res. Yunnan, p. 184, pl. 8, figs. 1-2

(skull), (1875); Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 127 (1888); and of subsequent

authors.

Locality of the type: India.

Distribution: S. India, typically in the hills from 3,000 to nearly 6,000 ft.

Slightly larger on the average than the Ceylonese races, with a rather

longer, fuller coat, the contour hairs of the rump from about 40 to 60 mm.,

and on the whole a little darker and less bright in colour, the general hue

dark brown or blackish above, relieved by the fine buff or buff-grey speckling,

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 231

the contour hairs with a small black tip and a narrow pale penultimate band

and below the latter typically two very extensive black bands separated by a

very narrow greyish one, these black bands always much wider than the

pale, although the proportion varies individually to a certain extent; the

wool olive brown at the summit, darker at the base; there is no red in the

pelage, the head and tail being coloured approximately like the back, although

the pale bands of the tail, the tip of which is like the rest, are often greyer

and more extensive; the under side brownish, a little paler than the upper

and not so speckled.

The following notes show the variations in the skins in the British Museum

which on the whole form a very uniform series :—

S. Coorg, Virajpet, 3,000 ft. (Shortridge). An ad. ¢, January 30, is

dark brown with fine buff speckling; an ad. Q, January 27, is blacker with

greyer buff speckling; the contour hairs being about 42 mm. in both.

Palni Hills, Tiger Shola, 5,700 ft. (McCann). An ad. ¢, April 24, is

like the 9 from Virajpet; an ad. 9, April 27, is lke the .¢ from Virajpet.

The coat in the ¢ is about 64 mm., in the 2 about 44 mm.

Madura, High Wavy Mt., 5,000 ft. (Prater), a skin like the ¢ from

Virajpet, with the coat 46 mm.

Travancore, Primerd in Trivandrum, 38,800 ft. (Ferguson), one skin with

the pale speckling rather finer and duller than in the preceding and the

coat 53 mm.

Nilgiri Hills, Ootacamund (Gosse), July, a skin very similar to the ¢

from Virajpet, but the coat is 5% mm. and the underwool thinner.

‘Madras’ (Jerdon). An undated specimen, marked by Thomas as doubt-

less from the Nilgiris, is rather paler than the rest, owing to the pale bands

of the contours, which are 40 mm. long, being noticeably wider. In this

respect it is most strongly contrasted with the Travancore skin and with

the type in which the speckling is fine and the general colour brown, with

the contour hairs 42 mm. as in the .¢ from Virajpet.

The flesh measurements in English inches and weights of some specimens

in the British Museum are as follows :—

lee Head and Tail Hind- | Weight

body. ‘ foot. Ibs.

S. Coorg ad. | 194 124 32 6

Madura ad. ¢ Wee | 122 ie 5

Palni Hills ad. ¢ | 164 We 3 a

% ace 142 10 3 3

S. Coorg, ad. @ | 16¢ | 12 3 31

These dimensions suggest that Coorg specimens are on the average larger

than those from the Palni Hills; but the data are insufficient to warrant the

conclusion that more than one race is represented. The length of the head

and body is larger on the average than in H. edwardsii and the tail is mani-

festly much shorter.

The skulls vary comparably to the skins. The two ¢ skulls entered in

the table (p. 239) are not quite the largest and smallest in length and width.

Actually the longest is the skull of the skin from Madura with a condylobasal

length of 89 mm., and the shortest a second skuil from the Palni Hills with

the same length 82 mm. The widest is that of the type with a zygomatic

width of 49 mm. and a maxillary width of 18 mm., the condylobasal length

being 87 mm., very nearly the same as the ¢ from 8. Coorg.

Herpestes fuscus flavidens, Kelaart.

Herpestes flavidens, Kelaart, Journ., R. As. Soc. Ceylon, ii, p. 323 (1850):

id. Journ., A. S. Soc. Beng., xx, p. 184 (1851); id. Prodr. Fauna Zeyl., p. 44

GiS52); Ryley, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxu, p. 106. (1914); Thomas,

Ann. Mag. Nat. (9), xiii, p. 239 (1924); Phillips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 180

(1935).

332° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Herpestes fulvescens, Kelaart, Journ., As. Soc. Bengal, xx, p. 162 (1851)

and xxi, p. 348 (1852); Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 127 (1888), (in part).

? Herpestes ceylanicus, Nevill, Taprobanian, i, p. 62 (1887).

Herpestes flavidens ceylanicus, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xiii,

p. 240 (1924); Philips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 186 (1935), (ceylanicus).

Herpestes flavidens phillips, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xin,

p. 240 (1924).

Locality of types of flavidens and fulvescens, Kandy; of ceylanicus, 'Trin-

comalee; of phillipsi, Gammaduwa, E. Matale.

Distribution: Throughout the mountainous districts of the Central Pro-

vince to over 6,000 ft., westwards to the coast near Colombo in the wet zone

and eastward to Uva in the dry zone (Phillips).

A little smaller than the South Indian race, with the coat on the average

shorter both on the body and tail and the pale speckling typically, but by

ho means aways, a lttle brighter, the under side usually not so brown and

the tip of the tail as a rwe brighter than its more proximal portion, its long

hairs being more uniformly ochreous or reddish with obsolete black bands.

It was probably an examination of specimens of this race that induced

Anderson to record fuscus as occurring in Ceylon. ‘To this Blanford demurred

on the grounds that fuscus was in his opinion replaced in Ceylon by fulvescens

(=flavidens) which he regarded as a distinct species on account of its much

smaller size. He was, however, unacquainted with the smaller specimens of

fuscus and the larger Ceylonese specimens, subsequently collected, showing

complete intergradation between the two in dimensions.

The following specimens in the British Museum, assigned to this race, show

considerable variation in colour :—

Kandy. Two examples collected by White are topotypes of flavidens.

An ad. ¢ from the ‘neighbourhood of Kandy’ (No. 77.11.1.1) is dark brownish

in general hue, the contour hairs being almost ochreous, this tint becoming

dominant towards the end of the tail which has the tip reddish. This specimen

possibly resembles a specimen from Newera Eliya which Kelaart recorded as

a ‘much darker variety than the one from Kandy’.

Another ¢ (No. 77.3.14.3), labelled Kandy, is much paler because the

black in the contour hairs is not so dark and the pale speckling not so richly

tinted and a little more extensive. Both these skins are undated; but the

difference between them may be seasonal.

Pattipola, C.P., 6,210 ft. Two ad. ¢ (BE. W. Mayor), March 2 and 14,

were identified by Thomas as flavidens. They closely resemble the second of

the two Kandy skins recorded above but are a little darker and have the

pale speckling a trifle finer, in both these respects coming a little nearer

the first of the topotypical examples.

Mousakanda in Gammaduwa, E. Matale, C.P., 3,000 ft. An ad. 6

(W. W. A. Phillips), August 20, is very like the specimen from Pattipola but

has the pale speckling greyer not so yellow and the tail is not so reddish

at the end. This example is the type of phillipsii Thos.; but according to

Phillips phillipsii cannot be maintained because the pale olivaceous tint on

which it was based is purely an individual feature. Probably the difference

between it and the specimen from Pattipola is seasonal and due to bleaching

of the Gammaduwa skin. A second specimen, November 12, from the same

locality, tolerably closely resembles the Pattipola skins, but is a trifle darker.

Kumbukkan in Uva, ad. Q (EH. W. Mayor), July 20, very closely matches

the first described darker specimen from Kandy, but is a trifle darker,. the

two being more alike than are the two skins from Kandy, except that the

tip of the tail in the Kumbukkan skin is like the rest of that organ and not

dominantly reddish ochreous. This specimen was identified by Thomas as

ceylanicus Nevill, the type of which came from Trincomalee. Phillips unfortu-

nately was unable to examine specimens either from Kumbukkan or Trinco-

malee. He therefore followed Thomas and reproduced Nevill’s description of

ceylanicus. YT can find nothing in Nevill’s description of ceylanicus to distin-

guish it from flavidens; but the final relegation of ceylanicus to the synonymy

of -flavidens must await the discovery of additional examples from Trincomalee.

At all events the Kumbukkan skin is more like the darker Kandy skin than

are the skins from Pattipola and Gammaduwa.

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 233

The following are the flesh measurements in English inches and weights

of some specimens in the British Museum, supplemented by others taken from

Phillips’s volume :—

and Tail | Hind-foot) Welsht

| s.

body | ee ee eee

| | | |

Gammaduwa ad. J | 16% 11g °C 3- L232 OZ

Pattipola ad. ¢ 15 1 3- ie

Average of 5 (Phillips: ) Edit) iSite ess 21

Largest ~ ada | 163 12- | 3- 33—

| | 2

Kumbukkan ie eae igs | 11d, | 23

Average of 4(Phillips) .... ad. 2) | 13 | of 3 OZ.

Largest ead: 2. 14 | 93 ! 24 $

The largest of these specimens are only a little smaller than the smallest

of the South Indian race.

Herpestes fuscus rubidior, subsp. nov.

Herpestes flavidens maccarthiae, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xin,

p. 239 (1924), Gn part); Philips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 184 (1935), (not

maccarthiae Gray).

Locality of the type: Anasigalla, Matugama, W.P.

Distribution: ‘Throughout the Kalutara District and the south-west of the

island generally from about Panadura, 50 ft., in the Western Province to

Matare and Tangalla in the Southern Province’ (Phillips).

Distinguished from flavidens by being on the average a little larger and

heavier and redder in its general colouring.

The one well preserved specimen known to me is the type, an ad. o

from Anasigalla Matugama, 100 ft. (W. W. A. Phillips), January 25, which

was wrongly identified by Thomas as maccarthiae, Gray. The coat is full

and longish, thicker if anything than in any of the above recorded skins of

flavidens from high altitudes in the hilly region of Ceylon, and the general

colouring, speckled red and black, is redder owing to the red rings in the

contour hairs being a little more extensive and chestnut in hue; the tail is

reddish at the end and the limbs are dark with fine pale speckling. The

only other specimen assignable to this race that I have seen was collected

at Yatiyantota, 500 ft., in the Southern Province (EK. W. Mayor). It is a

young, undated skin, faded and moulting, with many of the contour hairs

shed especially on the belly. Hence the pale reddish speckling is not so

conspicuous as in the type and is rather less extensive but the general hue is

redder brown and paler than in the skins identified as flavidens.

In the adoption of this race I follow Phillips to whom it was well-known

but, misled by Thomas, he identified it as maccarthiae, as recorded below.

The following flesh measurements in English inches and the weights of

the type of this race are supplemented by others extracted from Phillips’s

records : —

Head ;

and Tail | Hind-foot | een

PieBodye te ee ts ee ee

162 iis

7 122

Matugama (type) a, ade

Largest (Phillips) ce Gs

Average of 10 Se ad. ¢ 16 1l- | 3+ | 32

Largest 4 be rede ne| 14e 106 23+ | Ze

Average of 5 ee ade Oe gt fe age i OR 2 sie 2

234 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

It will be noted that Phillips’s largest ¢ is as large on the average as ¢

examples of the 8. Indian race and that his largest @ is about the size

of the smallest ¢ of that race from the Palni Hills. The table also bears

out Phillips’s statement that rubidior is on the average a trifle larger than

flavidens.

The skull of the type, the only one known to me, is just adult, the nasal

and maxillary sutures being still open. It is nevertheless well developed

with complete orbits, a relatively high sagittal crest and a constricted post-

orbital area. As the table of measurements (p. 239) shows it is practically

as large as the ¢ skulls of typical fuscus from the Palni Hills. ;

Herpestes fuscus maccarthia, Gray.

Cynictis maccarthiae, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1851), p. 181, pl. 31.

Onychogale maccarthiae, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 570.

Herpestes flavidens maccarthiae, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xin,

p. 239. (1924), (an part).

Not Herpestes flavidens maccarthiae, Phillips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 184

(1935), (see above).

Locality of the type: Jaffna, the northern point of Ceylon.

Distinguished from the preceding races by its generally more uniformly

dark, reddish-ochreous hue above and below, the dorsal contour hairs being

only indistinctly speckled with blackish, whereas those of the flanks, belly

and tail show no dark speckling; legs darker, dark brown with pale speckling ;

underwool yellowish brown, nearly the same colour from base to summit.

No flesh measurements are available.

No doubt it was the peculiar colouration of this Mongoose, very different

from that of other species of Herpestes, which induced Gray to assign it

originally to Cynictis, a S. African genus with a tolerably uniform, tawny

pelage. Neither Anderson nor Blanford paid any heed to the _ peculiarities

of this Mongoose, dismissing them apparently as untrustworthy on account of

the animal having been kept in captivity. Blanford also seems to have doubted

the truth of Gray’s statement that it came from Jaffna; but it is highly

improbable that either Gray or the collector, Mr. McCarthy, invented that

locality. Thomas, unfortunately, overlooked or ignored the record. If he had

known it, he would probably have detected the differences between Gray's

type and the specimen from §.-W. Ceylon which he identified as maccarthiae

(see above) and its resemblance to his type of siccatus, which he_ believed

to be from Mannar.

The skull of the type and only known specimen is comparatively small

and poorly developed although fully adult. The orbits are incomplete behind

and there is no sagittal crest, the temporal ridges forming a narrow lanceolate

area on the forepart of the crown and a very low median ridge behind.

Possibly the development of the skull was arrested by captivity conditions;

but it shows none of the modifications which normally affect the skulls of

Mongooses and other Carnivores when reared from cubhood in a menagerie.

This race of fuscus is the type of the genus Onychogale Gray [Proc. Zool.

Soc. (1864), p. 570], a name suggested apparently, as Anderson surmised, by

the longish claws of the fore foot due to the only known specimen having

been kept in a cage.

Herpestes fuscus siccatus, ‘T’homas.

Herpestes flavidens siccatus, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xii, p. 240

(1924); Phillips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 187 (1935).

Locality of type possibly Aripo near Mannar, N.P.

Most nearly resembling maccarthiae, but the general colour nearly uniformly

sandy or straw-like with very faint brown speckling in the pelage of the

back but more pronounced on the nape and head; the flanks, cheeks, belly

and tail without dark speckling; the under fur dark, greyish brown at the

base, yellowish at the summit; legs darker than the body, brownish speckled

with yellow.

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 235

The only known specimen, which has no skull or flesh measurements,

was collected by Holdsworth and labelled Kandy; but since it is quite unlike

other Mongooses from that district, Thomas suggested that it probably came

from Aripo near Mannar on the north-west coast of Ceylon where Holdsworth

is known to have secured other natural history material. This view is sup-

ported by the generally pale hue of the pelage which suggests an arid habitat.

The skin looks like a bleached edition of the type of maccarthiae except for

the sharp contrast between the dark base and the yellow summit of the

under wool. In my opinion it is not unlikely that the types of these so-called

races will prove to represent seasonal phases of a northern Ceylonese race,

a view favoured by the locality of the type of maccarthiae; but I know of

no other instance of such a marked seasonal difference in Herpestes.

Herpestes vitticollis, Bennett.

Herpestes vitticollis, Bennett, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1885), p. 67; and of

subsequent authors including Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 128 (1888); and

Phillips, Man. Mamm. Ceylon, p. 190 (1986).

Crossarchus rubiginosus,' Wagner, Schreber, Sdug. Suppl., ii. p. 329.

Locality of type of vitticollis, Travancore: of rubiginosus, ‘East Indies’.

Distribution: §S. India and Ceylon.

One of the largest of the Oriental Mongooses invariably distinguishable

by a black stripe running along the sides of the neck from behind the ear

to the shoulder, composed of soft under fur and emphasized by the pale tips

of the contour hairs above and below it. The tail, as in fuscus, is only

about two-thirds the length of the head and body, but, unlike that species,

the tip of the tail is black, the hind foot is naked below to the heel at all

seasons and the contour hairs are long and coarse, 70-80 mm. on the rump,

and variegated with from 5-10 coloured bands, usually a combination of

whitish, black and chestnut red, the red especially prevalent and extensive

on the tips of the dorsal contour hairs but very variable in its incidence

and extent. The muzzle is typically blackish, the head black but grizzled;

the chin and throat dusky and grizzled; the belly brownish or reddish, some-

times with grizzly speckling; the legs are mostly blackish and the wool of

the back may be olivaceous grey throughout or yellow at the summit and

black at the base.

The skull is considerably larger and altogether more robust, with deeper

zygomatic arches, than that of the foregoing species; but the occipital and

sagittal crests are less well developed so that the dorsal profile is more

depressed and convexly curved behind. The greatest difference, however, lies

in the large size, more conical shape and lower inferior projection of the

posterior chamber of the bulla, a modification which results in the occipital

condyles, the hamulars and the upper carnassial teeth being raised higher

above a horizontal surface, when the skull rests upon it. A pecuharity of

the teeth, which are more robust and less trenchant, is the presence of a

distinct cingulum on the inner lobe of the first upper molar (m'). There is

also a trace of it on m?.

This species is the type and sole representative of Gray’s genus Taeniogale

[Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 569].

The following account of some of the skins in the British Museum shows

the colour-variations of this species :—

Travancore, Kolun. The type is reddish above from the nape backwards:

on the fore body the hairs are extensively red at the tip, speckled brown

SS EE eee

‘ As pointed out above (p. 226) this name was wrongly assigned to the

synonymy of smithii by Blanford following Kelaart, but correctly relegated

to vitticollis by Thomas. Wagner described the neck as having a black spot

on each side. In some skins the black stripe is reduced to a large spot when

its two ends are concealed by the overlapping pale hairs above and below,

236 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

and whitish below, but on the rump they are mostly red throughout with

pale but no dark banding. Another from Travancore (Fry, No. 86.9.6.1), in

good coat and colour, is, like the last, red from the nape to the black tail-tip

but not so extensively, the hairs below being banded black and yellowish.

Palni Hills, Shambaganur, 6,000 ft. An ad. ¢, February 19, differs a

little from Fry’s Travancore specimen. It is red from the nape to the end

of the tail, except for the tip, but there is not nearly so much red and the

black and white speckling is everywhere more apparent.

8. Coorg, Wottekolle, 2,000 ft., January 2 and 5. An ad. ¢ and Q

vary considerably. The ¢@ has the fore back speckled yellow and black, not

red as in the preceding specimens, but the hind back, rump, flanks and_ tail

are extensively red and the fur of the back is yellow at the summit, black

at the base. The 92 is mostly dark grey above, the hairs banded black and

white, not yellow, with buffish tips, but there is some red on the hair tips of

the rump, thighs and tail; the flanks are grizzled, not nearly all red as in

the §, and the fur is olive grey. The differences between these two skins,

collected by Shortridge in the same place and at the same time of the year,

are instructive. Another specimen from 8. Coorg, an ad. ¢ from Srimangala,

February 18, is intermediate in colour between the two from Wottekolle.

N. Kanara, Chipgeri, December 23, a dG is very like the Q from

Wottekolle, the red setting in only on the rump.

Nilgiri Hills. A series of skins attests considerable variation. One is

very like the ¢ from Wottekolle, another is practically all grey above, turning

to yellowish on the rump, the others are intermediate between these two.

All the dated Indian skins, above described, as well as two from Haleri

in N. Coorg, which are average in colouration, were collected between Decem-

ber and February. The differences in colouration are clearly not seasonal.

On the other hand a series of five from Ceylon, namely three from Mousakanda,

3,000-3,400 ft., January 4 and October 8 (Phillips); one from Gammaduwa,

3,000 ft., August 8 (Phillips), and one from N. Khya, May (Holdsworth),

although extending over ten months of the year, are more uniformly coloured

than the Indian set. having the hairs red at the tip from the head to the

black tail-tip. It is worth noting that in the August skin from Gammaduwa

the contour hairs are 80 mm., whereas in the January skins from 8S. Coorg

they are barely 70 mm.

These Ceylon skins seem to bear out Blanford’s idea that specimens from

that island are on the average redder than those from S$. India. There is no

record, so far as I know, of skins from Ceylon showing hardly any red, like

those from the Nilgiri Hills and N. Kanara. But none of the Ceylon skins

is quite so red as the type of vitticollis from Travancore and they are not

distinguishable from Fry’s example from that district. Moreover the difference

in ‘redness’ between the two skins from Wottekolle, S. Coorg, shows that

colour-feature to be too variable to be relied on.

Some flesh measurements and weights are as follows:—

| Body | Ibs

South Coorg pee UC ee 204 | 132 4+ 7

me - age eC A 20% | 122 44 61

Ceylon (Mousakanda) ... ad. 203 112 3% a

» ¥ ad. ¢ 20 | 123 34 s

South Coorg carat? 19% | 124 3 6

North Coorg oe Ca 20 10 34

ae ss we ads? 17 12 34 |

Ceylon Sead. & 19 | 12t 34 | 33

5, (aver. of 2) ine ad: 2 18,.— | 12 ee ca

! \

On this list the measurements of the 9? Ceylonese specimens are taken

from Phillips’s volume. The largest ¢ he recorded had a head and body

length of 20 in. and the average of 4 d was 19 in.; but there are two ad,

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 237

-¢ skins in the Museum sent by him from Gammaduwa and Mousakanda

both of which measure 202 in. in length of head and body. The dimensions

exceed those of the previously described species, apart from some specimens

of H. edwardsii ferrugineus from Kangra and Chamba, which are probably

exaggerated. The weights also indicate a much more robust species as might

be expected from the size of the skull, of which the dimensions are given

below (p. 289).

Herpestes urva, Hodgson.

Gulo urva, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., v, p. 238 (1886).

Urva cancrivora, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., vi, pp. 561-4.

Mesobema cancrivora, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., x, p. 910.

Herpestes urva, Anderson, Zool. Res. Yunnan, p. 189, pl. 9, figs. 5 and 6

(1878); Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 129 (1888); and subsequent authors

including G. M. Allen, Amer. Mus. Novit., No. 359, p. 8 (1929).

Urva hanensis, Matschie in Filchner’s Hap. China-Tibet, p. 190 (1907).

Herpestes urva annamensis, formosanus and sinensis, Bechthold, Zeitschr.

Sdug., xi, pp. 150-2 (1936).

Locality of type of urva and cancrivora, Nepal; of hanensis, Hankow; of

annamensis, Phu Qui, Annam; of formosanus, Formosa; of sinensis, MKuang-

tung.

Distribution: Nepal, Assam and Burma to §. China including Formosa

and Hainan, Laos, Tonkin, Annam and the northern part of the Malay

Peninsula.

A large Mongoose with a comparatively short tail, not more than two-thirds

the length of the head and body, a stripe of white contour hairs extending

from the corner of the mouth to the shoulder and the sole of the hind foot

hairy nearly down to the hallux. General colour above black and white, the

contour hairs white at the tip to a varying extent, when extensive giving a

‘badger-like’ appearance to the pelage, the subterminal band extensively black,

the under hair ochreous or rusty, dark grey close to the skin; tail with its

base like the back but becoming progressively ochreous or flavous towards

the tip; head blackish or brown, speckled, contrasted with the brown muzzle;

belly brown, speckled, some black on the chest and hind throat, but fore

throat, chin and lower cheek white; legs black with very little speckling.

Skull much more robust than in edwardsii, smithii, and fuscus, its dorsal

profile very like that of vitticollis, the occipital and sagittal crests being weak

so that it is sloped posteriorly, but the bullae and teeth, although the teeth

are a little larger, much as in the three first mentioned species.

In addition to Urva and Mesobema, quoted above, a third generic name

Osmetectis Gray [Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., x, p. 260 (1842)] was assigned to

this Mongoose by Anderson in 1879 and, following him, by Thomas in 1882.

The reference is unintelligible. Gray proposed Osmetectis for an animal he

had previously named Viverra fusca [Hardw. Illustr. Ind. Zool., i, pl. 5 (1880) ].

The figure most emphatically does not represent a Mongoose of any kind.

It has an elongated snout and cat-like feet and was possibly taken from a

skin of the Nepalese Palm Civet (Paguma larvata gray); but at best it is a

caricature.

The following notes on skins in the British Museum are added to show

the individual variation, seasonal and otherwise, and to justify the synonymy

given above :— ae

Nepal. Four of Hodgson’s specimens show great variation in colour.

One is well coloured, the contour hairs 58 mm., being black and whitish, the

plentiful wool bright buff, or ochreous at the summit, dull brown at the base;

the hairs of the ventral surface are brown turning to grey at the base; the

legs blackish with a little pale speckling above the paws; the tail like the

back at the base but more and more ochreous towards the tip, but the hairs

are short and broken here and may have been grey-tipped. A second, marked

cotype, is a moulting skin in dead coat, with the wool quite pale yellowish

white at the summit and the tail not nearly so ochreous. A third, also a

cotype, is like the last but has the legs chocolate and the dark bands of the

contour hairs deep brown, not so black. The last offers the greatest contrast

238 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

to the first, there being no yellow in the contour hairs or in the wool which

is sooty grey; the hairs of the tail are yellowish grey at the base, then black

with a grey tip.

Of two from Gorkha, Nepal (Baptista), one, November 26, agrees closely

with Hodgson’s first; the other, December 20, has the white tips of the

contour hairs more extensive and the wool not quite so rich. Another from

Nepal (Inglis) is duller in its wool, like Hodgson’s cotypes. |

Darjilimg. A skin from Pashok (Crump), 3,000 ft., October 6, is lke the

Gorkha skin of December 20. One from Hasimara, Bhutan Duars, 600 ft.,

February 28, closely matches Hodgson’s richly coloured skin; but one from

Rajapara, 8. Kamrup, 600 ft., November 17, has very little bright tint, except

on the tail-tip, and fits in with Hodgson’s duller skins. So also. does one

from Tura in the Garo Hills, 1,800 ft., the date being uncertain.

An undated skin from Sadya, N.-E. Assam, has a full long coat, about

70 mm., and has the rich ochreous under colour of the Darjiling skin, but

the tips of the contours are more extensively white.

Burma. An undated skin from north of Mogaung, near the source of

the Chindwin River (Capt. Abbey), is well coloured like the skin from Sadya,

but has the under colour darker almost rusty ochreous, a yellow wash on the

tips of the contour hairs of the back and the hairs of the tail mainly ochreous.

One from the Chin Hills, November 18 (Hopwood) is very different from

the last, being dull coloured with the wool drabby and the white tips of

the contours small. One from 20 miles north-west of Kindat, 600 ft.

(Mackenzie), April 19, is apparently moulting, there being no wool on the

back but abundance on the flanks and purplish grey in colour... An ad. 6

from Thandaung, near Toungoo, 4,500 ft., April 7, is very like the skin

from Sadya, with a similar faint yellow wash and almost ferruginous-tipped

wool. This skin also resembles the brightest of the Nepal series; but one

from Tharawaddy agrees very well in colour with the duller Nepalese skins,

although the coat has only a little greyish wool. Finally a skin from Rangoon,

March 7, has the contour hairs black and white and 70 mm. long and the

wool rather dull, greyish buff.

The above described skins ranging from Nepal to 8. Burma in British

Indian territory are broadly speaking so much alike and show so many cross

resemblances in localities remote from each other that it is impossible to sort

them into local races. The same applies to all the other skins in the British

Museum from adjoining countries outside those limits. One from Xien Quang

Koo, Laos, January 10: five from Backan Tonkin, 500 ft., December 17 to

January 11; one from Phu Qui, Annam, 100 ft., the type of annamensis,

Bechth., all collected by Delacour and Lowe and correctly, in my opinion,

identified by Thomas and Osgood [Field. Mus. N. H. Zool., xvii, p. 260

(1912)] as typical urva, are in well coloured winter coat and are inseparable

from N. Indian and Burmese skins. Also the following Chinese skins, one

undated from Tengyueh, Yunnan (Howell); and one from Foochow, March;

one from Fokien, January 7: one from Chung Yang, 5. Hupeh, January;

one from Chinteh, Anhwei (Nyanhwei), May; and three from Bankoro,

Formosa, fit in with the Indo-Chinese, Burmese and Indian skins. The

Chinese skins have a bearing on the synonymy I have given of H. urva.

Hankow, the type locality of hanensis, Matschie, lies between Hupeh and

Anhwei and the likeness between my skins from these two districts and

Indian and Burmese skins of typical wrva confirms G. M. Allen’s opinion that

the alleged distinctive characters of hanensis have no systematic value. My

two skins from Fokien, whence Allen had a good series, also support this

view that the Crab-eating Mongoose of that district is inseparable from typical

urva; and the agreement between the Fokien and Tonkin skins hardly admits

of a doubt that the Kuangtung skins, described by Bechthold as sinensis,

represent the same Mongoose. Three skins from Formosa in the _ British

Museum JI am unable to distinguish by any reliable character from Hodgson’s

Nepalese series. The alleged difference in the coat on which Bechthold relied

when describing formosanus is probably seasonal, if existent. At all events

in immature specimens from Formosa the contour hairs of the rump are 65 mm.,

whereas in two adult Nepalese specimens in good coat they are respectively

62 and 72 mm.

Very few flesh measurements of ad. © specimens are available in the

Museum material and none from the typical locality of H. urva. To the

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 289

measurements of British Indian specimens have been added a few recorded

by Delacour and Lowe from Indo-China.

ain ae Tail | Hind foot

Backan, Tonkin how Peacleacs Ze 124 | 4-

Toungoo, Burma — Adro | 204 13% | 4+

Gorkha, Nepal a qade. 2" 20% | We i Sane

3 o ye fade 184 W2e 4 —

Toungoo, Burma oo acne S| 191 12} 4 4+

Backan, Tonkin neal, 204 | Wa 4 —

Phu Qui, Annam i, ode © | 18¢ | 113 be

There is very little difference between the sexes. It may be noted that

the two specimens from Nepal agree respectively very closely with the

two from Indo-China. Of the latter the one frony Annam is the type of

annamensis, Becht.

The weight of one of Mackenzie's Tonghoo specimens, a Q with the

head and body 18 in., was 44 lb. The weight of an ad. ¢@ would no doubt

be at least 6 lb. or over.

SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF H. fuscus, H. vitticollis and H. urva.

£ | s = kale

See eee oe ace |e

4 = es = oy aes

NAME, LOCALITY AND . ; Sey ie é

oe oH - | a S | & N

mo | 3s is S|

aN] 6 | & a

O | FA | |

Madura,HighwavyMt.ad.¢/| 89 |48 16 18 | 18) 61 | 9=x6) 8

S. Coorg, Virajpet ad. @| 88 | 47); 15 dBW l/ 5 OO NS ase Ge ary

Palni Hills, | | |

Tiger Shola ad. gf | 83 | 44, 15—-|) — | 16/55|/ 8 x53; 8—

HZ. fuscus rubidior | |

Anasigalla (type) ad. | 83: | 435). 13" 16" 52 sd |) 7 eS 1 7

FH. fuscus flavidens | | |

Kandy Vora eae B58 | 5.535) Gave St 7

Mousakanda yo, ad: 2) 75 9 938'| 14°) 14 | 15) 50 |) 7a ees. | 87

Kumbukkan ad.@| 75 |40/ 13 | 15 | 132) 48) 7 x5| 6

FAI, fuscus maccarthiae | |

Jaffna (type) adnan, 71) | 87 (ase ie 13 eS

A. vitticollis |

S. Coorg, Wottekolle ad. ¢| 103 | 58) 19 | 22 | 22) 72)10 x71! 94

N. Coorg, Haleri ad.9 | 98 | 54] 20 21 | 21/70/92 x8! 98

Ceylon, Gammaduwa ad. | 100 | 57} 19 209) 21 7h 10 x7) 9

HT. urva

Burma, Ruby mines ad. ¢| 98 56 Wes 20 20°67 | 9 xG6il. G+

», Loungoo ade 9s |oOe| WS Zl. {| 21169) 9 x7 | 9—

Nepal, Gorkha ad.9; 95 | 54; 135) 18 | 19|65]| 9 x63) 9—

Regan tus ad.2@ |} 90 | 523! 15 20 |} 19|63| 9 x7! 9

240 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Fig. 2.—A. Skull of adult ¢ of Herpestes urva from the Ruby Mines, Burma.

B. Skull of adult ¢ of Herpestes vitticollis from 8. Coorg.

C. First upper molar of left side of Herpestes vitticollis.

D. The same of Herpestes edwardsii nyula.

Herpestes javanicus, Geoffroy.

Ichneumon javanicus, Geoffroy, Descr. de l’Egypte. Hist. Nat., ii, p. 188

(1812).

Distribution: From Persia, through Northern India and Burma to Indo-

China, Hainan, Siam, the Malay Peninsula and Java.

In the British Indian representatives of this species the size is small, with |

the tail always shorter than the head and body but usually over two-thirds

the length; the coat is always short and soft to silky, when fresh, and

although the general colour is variable seasonally and individually, the speckling

is always fine, the contour hairs having as a rule only five rings of which

two are pale; the under wool is characteristically yellow at the summit and

black at the base and the legs are about the same tint as the body with

the paws often paler.

In its general shape the skull is like that of H. edwardsu without the

bulging forehead and the posterior chamber of the bulla is less inflated and

scarcely projects below the anterior,

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 241

Although there is a great difference not only in size but in colour between

the western race of this species, pallipes, and the eastern race, javanicus, the

two are linked by intermediate forms, the Burmese race birmanicus coming

very close to the Malayan race, perakensis, which connects it with the

Siamese and Indo-Chinese race, exilis, the latter being similarly closely related

to the typical Javan race javanicus, the largest of all, very nearly as large

as H. edwardsii. The Indian and Burmese races differ from those found to

the east and south-east of Burma in Continental Asia by being a little smaller,

by having the crown of the head the same or almost the same tint as the

body and by the complete absence of red in the pelage. In the others the

head is at least darker, is nearly always some shade of red and redness is a

very prevalent feature on the body and tail.

Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus, Hodgs.

Mangusta auropunctata, Hodgson, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., v, p. 285 (1836).

Herpestes nepalensis, Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., i, p. 578 (1837).

Herpestes auropunctatus, Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 121 (1888), (in

part, excluding pallipes and persicus).

Mungos auropunctatus auropunctatus and H. nepalensis, Wroughton, Journ.,

Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxvi, pp. 54-5 (1918).

Locality of type of auropunctatus, Nepal; of nepalensis, ‘N.

(Hodgson).

Distribution: N. India from Kashmir to Bhutan; Assam, Manipur and

Bengal, south of the Ganges as far south as Chilka in Orissa.

India’

Distinguished from the previously described British Indian Mongooses_ by

its smaller size and shorter coat, the contour hairs in winter being at most

up to about 20 mm. long, very soft and speckled with about five alternating

bands; also by the legs being about the same tint as the body with the paws

often a little paler than the areas above them, at all events not darker. The

general colour varies considerably according to the season, but the speckling of

the contour hairs is always fine, although more extensive when the coat is

longer; the wool when fully grown is fairly abundant, dark at the base, pale

at the summit and the tip of the tail does not differ conspicuously from the

rest of the organ.

These characters apply in general to the other two British Indian races

of javanicus in which, as in auropunctatus, the tail is considerably shorter

than the head and body.

The following account of some skins in the British Museum attests great

individual variation in colour.

Nepal. Hight undated skins (Hodgson), vary greatly in length of coat,

amount of under wool and colour, the differences being no doubt seasonal.

No two skins are exactly alike, the greatest contrast being between

(No. 48.1.12.124) in which the general tint is dark brown, with minute,

nearly ochreous speckling, the contour hairs being short, the scanty wool

brownish, and another (No. 48.1.12.20) which is comparatively pale, the pale

speckling of the contour hairs being much more extensive and buffy grey to

whitish and the more luxuriant wool greyish yellow at the summit, dark

grey at the base. The first no doubt represents the new summer coat, the

second the bleached winter coat. Another phase is shown by a skin (No.

45.1.8.821) which is pale brown, with fine grey speckling. The best coated

of the series (No. 48.1.12.22) has the contour hairs about 20 mm.,_ boldly

speckled buffy yellow and blackish, with the wool ochreous at the summit,

blackish brown at the base; the tail greyer than the body, the legs like the

body, with the paws a little paler and unspeckled, the under side drabby,

the hairs of the .abdomen being browner at the base and showing some dark

speckling. This skin exhibits, I believe, the unfaded winter coat. The rest

of the skins differ in various details, linking those above described; and the

type of nepalensis, Gray, also one of Hodgson’s skins, regarded by Wroughton

as representing a distinct ‘species’, fits in with the shorter coated, more

finely speckled examples,

one

242 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Of Nepalese skins from precise localities, one from Khatmandu (Scully),

March, closely resembles Hodgson’s (43.1.12.22) several from Gorkha (Bap-

tista), November 80 to March 21, and two from Yodaveri, 7,000 ft. (Kennion),

November 16, agree essentially with Hodgson’s series, Kennion’s skins being

comparatively short coated and finely speckled.

Kashmir. Five skins resemble the Nepalese and show similar variations.

One (Ward) without special locality, 6,300 ft., September 18, has the coat

13 mm., with very little, nearly uniformly dark grey under wool. One from

Tral, 5,800 ft. (Stockley), October 7, has the coat 16 mm. Two from Kajer-

skote, 5,500 ft. (Ward), January 12 and 22, have the coat 20 mm., and

in other respects resemble the March skin from Khatmandu and Hodg-

son's (48.1.12.22), and one from Manarsbal, Wular Lake (Dunn), May 831,

has the coat short, 14 mm. and the pale speckling of the contour hairs

greyish.

From countries to the east of Nepal there are skins from Hasimara in

Bhutan Duars, 600 ft. (Baptista), November 18 to February 28, which

generally agree with the Nepal series, one skin being much darker than the

others; one from Cooch Behar, March, is speckled silvery and black, a little

paler than Hodgson’s palest but obviously the same; five from Angarakata in

N. Kamrup, Assam, 3800 ft., December 23 to February 28, are like the

specimens from Bhutan and Gorkha in Nepal; two from Golaghat, Assam,

250-300 ft., January 13 and 26, have the pale speckling yellowish white to

white, one, the whiter of the two, which closely matches the Cooch Behar

skin, has some almost wholly white hairs on the nape and fore back, giving

these areas a hoary aspect; one, wndated, from Dilkoosha in Cachar, almost

exactly matches the skins from Gorkha in Nepal; whereas one from the

Jaintia Hills, 3,000 ft., July 26, with the coat very short, finely speckled

with buff and the wool uniformly dark, is like the skins from Yodaveri in

Nepal. Finally a skin from Manipur (Hume), March 11, identified by Blan-

ford as birmanicus, has the coat full, 20 mm. long, and only differs from

the. example ofl typical auropunctatus from Khatmandu, also collected in

March, in having the pale speckling a trifle yellower, less ochreous.

There are three skins from localities south of the Ganges in N.-E. India.

A <@ from Midnapore, 200 ft., September 11, has the coat thin and_ short,

the general colour darkish, with very fine yellowish or buff speckling, the

wool very scanty and mostly grey, the two normal tints being merely

slightly indicated. A @Q from Nimiaghat, Hazaribagh, 1,000 ft., June 12,

is as finely speckled as the Midnapore skin, the coat being equally thin and

short, but the general colour is paler and yellower, the pale speckling being

richer in hue and the dark speckling browner, not so black. The third, a 9

from Satpara Puridish in Orissa (Chilka Survey), is undated but is in good

coat and in its whitish pale speckling and in the tint of its well developed

under fur it closely matches Hodgson’s pale speckled Nepalese skins. The

well marked differences between these three skins are probably merely seasonal

and there is no evidence that they are either separately or collectively racially

distinct from auropunctatus.

This race under the name nepalensis is the type of the genus Calogale Gray

[Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 560].

It was this small Mongoose, not H. edwardsti as formerly supposed, that

was introduced into the West Indies, and is now found in most of the islands,

the British Museum having specimens from Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados and

elsewhere. This was pointed out by G. M. Allen [Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,

liv, p. 217 (1911)] who identified his specimens as Herpestes birmanicus and

told the story of the shipment of the original consignment from Calcutta

to Jamaica.

Herpestes javanicus pallipes, Blyth.

Mangusta pallipes, Blyth, Journ., As. Soc. Beng., xiv, p. 346 (1845) and

xv, p. 169 (1846). .

Herpestes persicus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1864), p. 554.

Herpestes auropunctatus, Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 121 (1888), (in

part).

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 248

Mungos auropunctatus helous, Ryley, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxu,

p. 661 (1914).

Mungos auropunctatus pallipes and helvus, Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat.

Hist. Soc., xxvi, pp. 54-5 (1918).

Locality of the type of pallipes, Kandahar; of persicus, WKhuzistan and

Mohammerah, W. Persia; of helvus, Deesa in Palanpur, N. Gujerat.

Distribution: The deserts of N.-W. India; Afghanistan; Persia.

Distinguished on the average from auropunctatus by its paler, generally

greyer colour above and usually whiter colour below.

The following account of some of the skins in the British Museum affords

justification for the synonymy given above :—

Afghanistan. Three skins from Kandahar, topotypes of pallipes Blyth,

collected by Hutton and St. John, and one labelled Afghanistan collected by

Griffiths and also probably a topotype, vary considerably in colour. Griffiths’

skin is darkish, olivaceous, speckled brownish black and buffy, with normally

tinted wool and the coat 17 mm. Of the three skins from Kandahar, two

have the coat the same length and the wool the same colour as in Griffiths’s

skin, but the general colouration is much lighter, owing to the whitish

speckling, the speckling being broader in one than the other. This specimen,

dated February 2, shows that the others, with similar coat and wool, are

winter skins, but Hutton’s Kandahar skin, with the coat only 10 mm., and

indifferently speckled, the wool very short and yellowish olive showing be-

tween the thinned contour hairs, is obviously moulting.

A skin from Seistan on the Perso-Afghan border (Kennion) is almost an

exact match of St. John’s Kandahar skins; the co-types of persicus from

Khuzistan and Mohammerah, near the head of the Persian Gulf, similarly

resemble Griffiths’s Afghan skin and two from Mesopotamia are respectively

like Griffiths’s and one of St. John’s Kandahar skins. These data show that

persicus is a synonym of pallipes as Blanford maintained. Wroughton gave

no reasons for his opinion that persicus is distinct.

A very large number of skins collected from the deserts of N.-W. India,

principally in Sind by Prater and McCann for the Survey, was correctly

identified as pallipes by Wroughton and others. Of these a series from

Tatta, Gharo, Keti, Bagan on the Indus, Bohara near Karachi, is dark and

brownish grey in hue, although varying individually; several from Gambat

in Khairpur, April 6 to 10, are darkish grey or paler like the Afghan skins.

Of four skins from Larkhana, one, March 22, is grey and matches St. John’s

Kandahar skins; the others, May 9, are dark skins in bad coat like the

brownish skins from the Karachi district; and one from Jacobabad, February

27, is like the two pale Kandahar skins and the one from Seistan, and the

same applies to a skin from the Salt Range in the Upper Punjab, March 12.

Finally seven more or less faded skins, collected by Crump at Deesa, Palan-

pur, 450 ft., April 25 to May 5, were described by Ryley as helvus. This

race was adopted by Wroughton; but three at least of the better coloured

skins almost exactly match the skin from Seistan and may be described as

slightly faded editions of St. John’s topotypes of pallipes. The type of helvus,

May 5, has the dark speckling still more faded and the partial exposure of

the wool by the thinning of the contour hairs helps to give the yellowish

appearance upon which the race was based. Another has the moult of the

contour hairs still further advanced and is yellower than the type. The

evidence that helvus is a valid race is in my opinion negligible.

Some skins from Gwalior (Riley O’Brien) agree on the whole better with

this race than with auropunctatus.

Herpestes javanicus birmanicus, Thomas.

Herpestes birmanicus, Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xvu, p. 84 (1886)

and Proc. Zool. Soc. (1886), p. 58; Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 122 (1888);

Wroughton, Journ., Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxvi, pp. 54-5 (1918).

944 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Locality of the type: Pegu.

Distribution: Lower Burma from Toungoo to Tenasserim.

Distinguished from auropunctatus of Northern India and Assam by its

slightly larger average size indicated particularly by the skull.

Although regarded as a distinct species by Thomas, Blanford and Wroughton,

this Mongoose is clearly nothing but a local race akin to the typical North

Indian form auropunctatus, with which it completely intergrades. Blanford

indeed recorded it from Manipur and Cachar, but for what reason is not

clear. The only skin from Cachar I have seen is inseparable from Nepalese

specimens, although it exactly matches in colour the type of birmanicus from

Pegu (Oates), April 10.

A series of nine skins from Toungoo, 100 ft. (J. M. D. MacKenzie), May 23

to August 16, shows considerable variation in colour, some closely agreeing

with the type. Most of them, dating from May 26 to June 138, have short

coats, are dark brown in colour, with fine pale ochreous speckling, the wool

scanty and not noticeably bicolor and closely resemble the skins of auropuncta-

tus from Yodaveri in Nepal; but one, May 28, is much lighter, with less

black and paler yellowish speckling almost exactly as in typical nepalensis,

and another, August 16, is lighter than the last, has a longer coat and

consequently more extensive pale speckling, which is also rather brighter

yellow, and the wool is beginning to be differentiated into the two normal

tints. Finally one from the Sittang delta, 40 miles south of Pegu, March 4,

is yellower than any, with a longer coat and broader pale bands, normally

bicolour wool, in all respects nearly matching the better coloured of Hodgson’s

Nepalese series.

Flesh measurements in English inches of some specimens of the three

races of this species are as follows :—

LLL TE EEE RS VOL I LET I LT TI EE CET SSIS SE SO SIT TR SECIS tI RE CNTR ER

ae oy eg Taii | Hind foot

auropunclatus

Bhutan Duars toe “Ce Eo. 102 22

Kajetrsgkote, Kashmir see, te 124 104 22

Gorkha, Nepal eer eee 124 9s | 24

Bhutan Duars eo cacao 112 2 2+

pallipes |

Larkhana, Sind i. idage | Paioe Ge ly Sie

Palanpur, Gujerat aan GAO ity 124 LOB ai 2

V9 » se ada@ 1. de gz 14

Larkhana, Sind . ad. 108 83 1%

dirmanicus

‘Toungnoo me SACs. 142 112 24

3 orate ad. a | 134 i) 24

y ei rea 124 10 2+

MONGOOSES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND CEYLON AND BURMA 245

SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF THE BriITISH INDIAN SUBSPECIES OF

Herpestes javanicus.

bo | c= vs ie

i rciot la ee ries i. ba

oO Ww

BS as eerie ee |

NAME, LOCALITY AND ZA = r 2 i i 4 |

SyhMl a | os fs] 8 | |

ee ee a ee ae

S) ou | |

auropunctatus |

Kajersgkote, Kashmir ad. g 66 34) 1077) ls 2 AL Guo ao

Nepal ad.¢| 62 |30| 12 | 12 | 1131 40|6 x5 |6

Bhutan Duars adauile Oo 7930) LOS Tale (lease iG xd tO

e es ad.@| 61 /31-| 9 | J1-/11-| 40 6 x4$/ 5}

Orissa, Khurdu AG) soo 0 10 | iil 10 | 6 x4

Nepal, Ghorka ads 2 631-31 |. 105] HOU la | 41) Gras | 6—

Bhutan Duars ade 2) * 6k 29 103} 11 101) 383, 6 x4 | 6

a ne adi Go 570 fi 30 9 LO: | Op eet cnn ae ||

Orissa, Satpara ade 2). 7638), | 30) | tees He | aie ao Gr x4 | 5

pallipes | | |

Kandahar Ade 4 266 p34. iw. OP We 12) dan 7 eae G

Persia (persicus co-type) |

ad. ¢ (63 +)} 32, 10-— 12 |12- G x47)

Gwalior ad. ¢ 531" 79 113 | 12 | 42/6 Se os

Palanpur (Aelvus type) yg. |

ad. ¢| 63 | 30; 10 11—| 102) 40 | 7 x5 6

We ¥ ad. g | 58 | 30'| 10 die dd S27 Ose Ge

Sind, Sukkur ad.¢é| 58 | 30 ) W1—/11-- 6 x4

Palanpur ad 2 | 57 |.29 PO Oss 5G) eds

birmanicus |

Pegu (type) ad. f | 67 | 34| 114) 12 | 13 | 44] 64x5 | 6

Toungoo (largest) ade | 97k N40. ek 13. | 134) 473/8- x5 | 6

,, Averageofdad. | 68 eae |

- . ad. @ 1 "65" 31 | 8 Ht Ti 4h 724 6

‘a Average of 3ad. 2) 64 ee |

| | |

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE

EKASTERN GHATS,

(ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION).

‘BY

Hucu WHISTLER, M.B.0.U., assisted by N. B. Kinnear, M.B.0.U.

PARE EA

(Continued from page 698 of vol. xxxviii).

Larus ichthyaétus Pallas.

Larus ichthyaétus Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, vol. ii (1773), p. 718—

Caspian Sea.

No gulls were procured by the Survey. The Great Black-headed Gull is

doubtless a winter visitor to the whole extent of the coastline of the Presidency,

though it is as yet only recorded from three localities. William Davison

obtained a female in full summer plumage on 20 March 1876 at Gopalpore

on the Ganjam coast. This was made by Hume into the type of his Larus

mnonminatus (S.F., vii, 394) and the specimen is in the British Museum.

Jerdon says that he saw it on the seacoast at Madras and one of his specimens

is in the British Museum as well as two birds from the Hume collection

obtained in the Madras roads in March.

On the Travancore coast Ferguson states that in February 1903 his collectors

shot 5 specimens at Kayankolam Bar, though none had been seen there earlier

in December.

Larus ridibundus ridibundus Linnaeus.

Larus ridibundus ridibundus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, vol. 1 (1766),

p. 225-—England.

Jerdon says that he never met the Black-headed Gull in Southern “India

and Dewar in calling this the only gull that is common at Madras must surely

have confused it with Larus brunnicephalus. Ferguson found it fairly common

at Kayankolam Bar on the Travancore coast in January 1903. ‘wo Travan-

core specimens collected by Bourdillon at Quilon on February 24th are in

the British Museum.

Larus brunnicephalus Jerdon.

Larus brunnicephalus Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sei., vol. xii (1840), p. 225

—West coast of India.

The Brown-headed Gull is evidently a common winter visitor to the coast

of Madras and the fact that it is found about the coasts of Ceylon from

October to March (Legge) suggests its probable dates for our area. Arm-

strong (S.F., iv, 459) records that in the Madras roads at the end of March

the majority were assuming breeding plumage, though only one was_ seen

which had completed its moult.

As regards the west we have Hume’s record (S.F., iv, 456) that there were

a very few about at Kolachel on 27 February 1876; Ferguson’s record of

numbers in attendance on some men fishing in a _ shallow lake near Cape

Comorin in December 1903; and the adult male in the British Museum col-

lected at Quilon in February 1880 (Hume collection). An adult from Cannanore

(Haines) is in the Tweeddale collection.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE BASTERN GHATS 24%

[Larus hemprichii Bruch.

Larus hemprichit Bruch, Journ. fiir Orn. (1858), p. 106—Red Sea.

Dewar states that a specimen of Hemprich’s Gull labelled ‘Madras’ is in

the Madras Government Museum. This locality is so far removed from the

ordinary range of this gull, which has not been recorded nearer than Bombay,

that it is difficult not to suspect a mistake and reserve the inclusion of

Hemprich’s Gull in the Presidency list. ]

Larus sp.?

There is another large gull which is evidently a fairly common winter

visitor to the coasts of the Presidency but at the moment it seems quite im-

possible to settle to what species it is to be attributed—for the taxonomy of

this group is now in complete confusion owing to the latest researches on the

subject, ending with Meinertzhagen’s paper in the Ibis, 1985, p. 762—or to

what subspecies, for the only two specimens in the British Museum [ 21-2-80

Travancore (Bourdillon) and Q 24-2-80 Quilon (Bourdillon)] are in immature

plumage. A few adult feathers on the mantles of these specimens suggest

to me that they belong to the Herring Gull type—Larus cachinnans of the

Old Fauna (iv, 305)—which Armstrong. (S8.I’., iv, 459) under the name of Larus

leucophaeus found in the Madras roads at the end of March, all more or less

in immature plumage.

They were however labelled Larus affinis by Howard Saunders, who there-

fore considered them of the Lesser Black-backed Gull type, to which Ferguson

attributed a specimen obtained by his collectors at Kayankolam in January 1908.

Chlidonias hybrida indica (Stephens).

Viralva indica Stephens, in Shaw’s General Zoology, xiii, pt. i (1826), p. 169

—Cawnpore.

Not obtained by the Survey. The Whiskered Tern is stated by Ferguson

to be abundant in north Travancore, frequenting the coast, the backwaters and

the paddy fields in the winter months.

The only other record that I find for the Presidency is afforded by the

specimen in the Madras Museum collected at Tada in Nellore district.

There seems to be a good deal of confusion about the race of Whiskered

Tern found in Ceylon. Stuart Baker (New Fauna, vol. vi, p. 113) says that

birds from Ceylon are decidedly paler than Indian birds and he accepts with

some hesitation Ch. leucopareia leggei Mathews, Birds of Australia, vol. 1

(1913), p. 820—Ceylon as an island race. In WNidification (vol. iv, 861) he

states that the Ceylon form, though darker than the Indian, cannot be

separated from the Javan bird. I have carefully examined the series of

6 specimens from Ceylon in the British Museum and cannot separate them

in any way from Indian birds and it is perhaps worth recalling the fact that

neither Legge nor Wait have been able to ascertain that the Whiskered Tern

breeds in Ceylon.

[Sterna leucoptera Temmuinck.

Sterna leucoptera Temminck, Man. d’Ornith., ed. i (1815), p. 483—Mediter-

ranean Sea.

In the New Fauna (vi, 114) the White-winged Black Tern is said to migrate

south to all western India and again to be common all down the east coast

of India. The unwary might be led by this to expect to find the bird normally

in the Presidency, so it may be as well to emphasise the fact that the Old

Fauna (iv, 809) states that it has not been clearly identified from any part

of India west of Tippera and TI have seen no evidence to make me disagree

with this statement. ]

Hydroprocne caspia caspia (Pallas).

Sterna caspia Pallas, Nov. Comm. Acad. Sci. Petrop., vol. xiv (1770), p. 582

—Caspian Sea.

Not procured by the Survev. The Casvian Tern no doubt occure all round

the coast of the Presidency but it is only recorded on the eastern side from

248 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Madras by Dewar. In Travancore Ferguson found it in fair numbers at

Kayankolam Bar in January 1908, noting that it was generally seen in pairs.

An adult from Mangalore is in the Hume collection.

The Caspian Tern breeds in Ceylon in small numbers and Wait remarks

(ed. i, p. 881) that specimens from Ceylon are slightly smaller and have

shorter bills than the typical form. I have only been able to examine one

Cinghalese specimen and this appears to agree with the typical race, as do

the three Presidency specimens which I have examined.

Gelochelidon nilotica nilotica (Gmelin).

Sterna nilotica Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i (1789), pt. 2, p. 606—KHgypt.

Not obtained by the Survey. The Gull-billed Tern is a winter visitor

to the Presidency. Dewar says that it is very common at Madras and Ferguson

found it fairly common about the backwaters of North Travancore and also

frequenting the coast at Manakolam Bar.

Thalasseus bergii velox (Cretzschimar).

Sterna velox Cretzschmar, Atlas Reise Nord. Afr., vol. ii (1827), tab. xiii,

p. 2l—-Red Sea.

The Large Crested Tern is a sea tern and therefore is confined to the

seaboard of the Presidency, around the whole of which it is doubtless found

at one time or another. It breeds on islets off the northern coasts of Ceylon.

Jerdon says that it is found on the Malabar coast and, as regards the Travan-

core seaboard, Ferguson found numbers at Kayankolam Bar and further north

in January and December 1903.

Dewar includes it in his Madras list and there are five specimens with no

very precise data from Madras—here probably meaning the neighbourhood of

Madras Harbour—in the British Museum. I cannot trace the locality Viziadrug

from which there is a male dated 7 April 1879 in the Hume collection.

IT do not think that Thalasseus bergu edwardsti Mathews, Birds of Australia,

vol. ii (1912), p. 847—Ceylon can be upheld. Birds from Ceylon and _ the

Red Sea can be separated neither in colour or in size :—

Bill. Wing. Central tail. Outer tail.

8 adult dg Ceylon 70.5-73.5 340-852 83-85.5 152-191 mm.

4 adult $ Red Sea 71-74 3438-358 88-102 160-182. mm.

and Aden

With these the few Presidency specimens entirely agree.

Thalasseus bengalensis (Lesson).

Sterna bengalensis Lesson, Traité d’Orn. (1831), p. 621—India.

Not procured by the Survey. The Smaller Crested Tern is another sea-

going species which may probably be found all round the coasts of the

Presidency as a visitor out of the breeding season. There is an immature

male without data from Nursapatam in the Hume collection. It occurs com-

monly about the backwaters and coast of Madras harbour (Jerdon) and also

of the Travancore coast (Ferguson), but no further details of its status in the

Presidency appear to be on record. The three specimens from Quilon

(Bourdillon) in the British Museum are dated November.

On the coast of Ceylon this Tern is the most numerous species and may

be observed apparently throughout the year.

I have kept the name binomial as there appears to be a good deal of

doubt as to the distinctness of the supposed Australian race.

Sterna aurantia Gray.

Sterna aurantia Gray, Ilustr. Ind. Zool., vol. 1 (25 January 1881), pl. 69,

fig. 2—India.

In the New Fauna (iv, 126) Mr. Stuart Baker says that the Indian River

‘Tern is found on all large rivers throughout India. This may be so but the

Old Fauna was more guarded and stated that it was less common in the

south of the Peninsula.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 249

It is as well to emphasise, therefore, that I have found no definite record

of this Tern in the WVresidency, other than the specimen in the Madras

Museum from ‘Tada, Nellore district.

Sterna melanogaster Temminck.

Sterna melanogaster Temminck, Pl. Col., livr, 72 (1827), pl. 484—Island

of Ceylon.

Specimen collected: —1196 ¢ 6-1-3830 Godavery Delta.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Central tail. Outer tail. Tarsus.

lia: 41.5 226 67 144 18.5 mm.

In spite of Jerdon’s statement that the Black-bellied Tern is common on

every river in India we have not much information about its occurrence in

the Presidency. The above specimen verifies La Personne’s note that it was

common on the Godavery in the Delta and Dewar includes its name without

comment in his Madras list. Otherwise we have only Hume’s remark (S.F.,

x, 419) that he thought it occurred in the Wynaad, a suggestion as yet un-

verified. This handsome tern has no races.

[Sterna hirundo Linnaeus.

Sterna hirundo Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 1837—Sweden.

Jerdon says that he obtained the Common Tern, on one occasion only, on

the lake at Ootacamund and it is possible that the adult specimen from ‘India’

presented by Jerdon to the British Museum is really this specimen, though

Hume discredited the record (S.f., x, 418). Ferguson states that it is an

occasional winter visitor to the coast of South Travancore, though he had not

met with it at all in the north. His few specimens, he goes on to say, are

immature. It does not appear that these specimens were ever examined and

compared critically and I do not think therefore that this species should yet

be definitely included in the Presidency list. |

Sterna repressa Hartert.

Sterna repressa Hartert, Nov. Zool., vol. xxiii (1916), p. 288—Persian Gulf.

Not procured by the Survey. Practically nothing is known about the status

of the White-cheeked Tern on the Presidency coast. A female obtained on

May 5th at Viziadroog, Malabar Coast—a locality which I cannot precisely

identify—is in the Hume collection and the Madras Museum contains a speci-

men said to have been collected at Ennur in Chingleput.

IT can find no authority for the statement in the New Fauna (vi, 128) that

this Tern occurs in Ceylon, though it may well do so on occasion.

[Sterna dougalli korustes Hume.

Sterna korustes Hume, Stray Feathers, vol. i (1874), p. 318—Andaman

Islands.

Messrs. Inglis and Baker include this Tern in the Birds of Southern India

on the grounds that it breeds in Ceylon ‘and is sometimes seen off that coast

in some numbers. This fact is true but there is as yet no actual record

that would justify the inclusion of the Roseate Tern in the Presidency list. |

Sterna albifrons Vroeg.

Sterna albifrons Vroeg, Cat. d’Ois., Adumb. (1764), p. 6—Holland.

I have seen no specimens of the Little Tern from the Presidency and so

cannot say anything about the subspecies which occurs there. According to

Jerdon, the Little Tern is most abundant at the mouths of tidal rivers and

backwaters on the Malabar coast and is more rare apparently on the east

coast. Ferguson, however, can only mention a single specimen shot on the

coast of North Travancore in January 1908, and Dewar includes the species

without comment in his Madras list.. Mr. H. L. Smith kindly informs me

that he took two clutches of fresh eggs on a sand-bank at Masulipatam in

April 1918 and found the species then fairly common.

350 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Sterna anaetheta antarctica Lesson.

Sterna antarctica Lesson, Traité d’Orn. (1881), p. 621—Isle of France.

There are three specimens of the Brown-winged Tern in the British Museum

Which may be included in the Presidency list. These are an adult female in

summer plumage taken at sea on 7 May 1876 sixty miles north of Madras

(Wilham Davison) and a male and female which ‘fell on board off Cape

Comorin 77°HK. Lat. 8°N’ on 26 September 1874 (Hume collection). These

birds measure bill ¢ 48 Q9@9Q9 42, 44.5, wing g 242 99 245, 250 and in

my opinion belong to the above race, though for lack of material I have not

been able to revise the races of this Tern.

Rhynchops albicollis Swainson.

Rhynchops albicollis Swainson, Anim. in Menag. (18388), p. 860—India.

Not procured by the Survey. There is only one locality known to me for

the Indian Skimmer in the Presidency. Colonel Sparrow informs me that he

found it breeding at Bezwada in 1918 and the earliest date on which he saw

young on the wing was 21 March.

Arenaria interpres interpres (Linnaeus).

Tringa interpres Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 148—Sweden.

The Turnstone is evidently a fairly common winter visitor to the shores

of the Presidency. Mr. H. C. Smith informs me that he procured it at

Masulipatam. Jerdon says that he procured it not uncommonly on the sea-

coast near Madras and he doubtless provided the ‘Madras’ specimen which

is in the Gould collection in the British Museum. Hume records it from

Rameswaram Island in March (Hume, S.F., iv, 459) and Cardew met with

it on the Malabar coast (Baker & Inglis, p. 377). .

Squatarola squatarola squatarola (Linnaeus).

Tringa squatarola Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 149—Sweden.

Jerdon says that he obtained the Grey Plover from the Madras market

and there is an undated specimen (Wardlaw-Ramsay) and a male in remains

of breeding plumage dated Ist September 1866 (Hume collection) from Madras

in the British Museum.

For the western side Major Phythian-Adams informs me that he shot

7 from a flock of 25 Grey Plover in January 1933 at a place 14 miles north

of Cannanore. This is the only occasion on which he has met with the

species in South India.

Leucopolius alexandrinus alexandrinus (Linnaeus).

Charadrius alexandrinus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 150—

Egypt.

Specimens collected: —1208 Q 1216 ¢ 9-1-30 Godaveri Delta.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

1s 18.5 110 AT 29 mm.

{Oo 19 110 AT 26.5 mm.

In addition to the above two specimens collected by the Survey on the

Godaveri Delta, Cardew is said to have met with the Kentish Plover at

Bezwada (Birds of S. India, p. 3879) and Dewar includes it in his Madras

list without comment.

On the western side of the Presidency Ferguson states that it was fairly

numerous at Neendakaray in Travancore in January.

The above two specimens undoubtedly belong to the typical race, but J

may here remark that it is impossible to consider the birds which breed so

numerously in Ceylon as the same subspecies. Seebohm pointed out years

ago that Ceylon birds are very small—I measure: 3 ¢ bill 18-19.5, wing

103-104, tail 43-44, tarsus 25-27 mm.; 3 @ bill 17-20, wing 96.5-104, tail

39-48, tarsus 25-28.5 mm.—and proposed that they should be included with

birds from the southern shores of the Red Sea under the name Charadrius

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 251

cantianus minutus Seebohm, Geogr. Distrib. Charad. (1887), p. 169. This

name was however preoccupied and Hartert and Jackson, Ibis 1915, p. 529

bestowed the name Charadrius alexandrinus seebohmi. Their restricted type

locality Aripo, N. Ceylon cannot be accepted, as the correct type locality-.for

minutus was Zulla and the name must therefore become a synonym of the

typical race as recently pointed out by Captain C. H. B, Grant.! All three

authors however overlooked what appears to be the most important difference

of the Ceylon race that it does not acquire the chestnut cap of the breeding

plumage of the typical race. This absence of a distinctive breeding plumage

is a characteristic of other Cinghalese races and is of great interest. I there-

fore propose to mark it with the name

LEUCOPOLIUS ALEXANDRINUS LEGGEI subsp. nov.

Type:—3 27 June 1873, Hambantotta, 8.-E. Coast, Coll. W. V. Legge,

British Museum Register No. 96-7-1-545.

Differs from the typical race in its smaller size and in the fact that it does

not assume the distinctive breeding plumage.

Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus.

Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 152—

Oeland Island, Sweden.

Jerdon said that he had heard of the Oyster-catcher being procured at

Mangalore and he considered it was far from rare near Tellicherry, thereby

no doubt implying much the same status as on the Travancore coast where

Merguson calls it a more or less rare winter visitor, occurring generally in

small flocks of half a dozen or so. It also occurs on the eastern coast of the

Presidency as Dewar includes it in his Madras list and there is a local specimen

in the Government Museum. I have seen no specimen and gs0 cannot identify

what race occurs in our area. :

Elseyornis melanops (Vieillot).

Charadrius melanops Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., xxvii (1818), p. 189—

Terres Australes.

In ‘the Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., vol. xxix ‘(October 1840), p. 218, Jerdon

described an apparently new species of Ring Plover under the name of Chara-

drius russatus and stated definitely that he procured it himself at the edge

of the Pulicat Lake near Madras. The actual specimen is not at present

traced but the description is full and clear and Jerdon particularly remarks

on the maroon colour of the scapulars as a distinguishing feature. The

species was not however new, having been described by Vieillot in 1818 and

Jerdon’s name was relegated to the synonym of this Australian bird. Its

occurrence in Madras must however be accepted and the Australhan Black-

fronted Plover should be brought on to the Indian lst though the record

has been overlooked in both editions of the Fauna.

Charadrius dubius curonicus Gmelin.

Charadrius curonicus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i (1789), p. 692-—-Curonia =

Courland, Latvia.

This western and northern race of the Little Ring-Plover is undoubtedly

a winter visitor to the Presidency as I must attribute to it two immature

and unsexed specimens (wings 119.5 and 121 mm.) from Coorg in the Tweeddale

collection and also two wunsexed adults from ‘Madras’ (wings 115 and

119.5 mm.) in the British Museum. The specimens collected by the Travan-

core survey also show that this form occurs in Travancore where Ferguson

writes that he does not think the bird is a resident but that it comes very

early to the coast. He had seen stragglers at Cape Comorin early in August

and flocks might be seen as late as April. They are abundant in the dry

rice fields after harvest and about the shores of tanks and beds of streams

in the low country.

Major Phythian-Adams informs me that a flock of Little Ring-Plovers

haunts the maidan near the Fort at Cannanore every cold weather and Hume

* Bull. B.O.C., vol. Ivii, p. 44, November 1906,

252 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

(S.1’., x, 412) said that he had records from Sultan’s Battery, Wynaad and

near the foot of the Coonoor Ghat. Jerdon says that he procured it from the

top of the Kastern Ghats imland from Nellore. There is however no evidence

regarding the race of these birds.

Charadrius dubius jerdoni (Legge).

Aigialitis jerdoni Legge, P.Z.8. 1880 (June Ist), p. 389—Ceylon.

Specimens collected:—1071 Q imm. 9-12-29 Cumbum Valley; 1209 @ 9-1-36,

1235 g 12-1-80 Godavery Delta.

Measurements :—

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

is -adult 15.5 109 57 23.5 mm.

Oe aauilt 15.5 105.5 58 23 mm.

i O-imm, W535) Tals} D7.0 23 mm.

The above specimens collected by the Survey I attribute from their measure-

ments to the resident race of Little Ring-Plover and to it presumably also

belong the nests found by Colonel R. Sparrow with c/3 fresh eggs each at

Bezwada on 20 March 1918 and 14 February 1914 and with c/3 eggs ready

to hatch on § April 1918. At the same time I should like to point out that

I have been unable to examine a series of breeding birds from Ceylon or

India sufficient to establish the validity of this race. The only specimen exam-

ined from Ceylon (¢ imm.) has a wing of 118 mm.

Charadrius mongolus atrifrons Wagler.

Charadrius atrifrons Wagler, Isis (1829), col. 650—Bengal.

Jerdon states that he procured the Lesser Sand Plover in the Carnatic,

at Madras and on the Malabar coast, and Ferguson in remarking that it is

a winter visitor to the Travancore coast adds that it is sometimes found

inland, a specimen being actually procured on the High Range at 6,000 ft.

There are two ‘Madras’ specimens in the British Museum. I have no informa-

tion about the dates of arrival and departure of this winter visitor but Mr.

Van der Sleem collected a female on 7 September 1926 west of Parasala, Tra-

vancore, which is now in Mr. A. EH. Jones’ collection.

Charadrius leschenaultii Lesson.

Charadrius Icschenaultii Lesson in Levrault’s Dict. Sci. Nat., vol. xhii

(1826), p. 386—Pondicherry.

The Greater Sand Plover is evidently less common than the lesser species

on the Presidency coasts, though it is probably also a regular winter visitor.

Jerdon states that he procured it on the east coast at Madras and Ferguson

says that a single specimen was shot at Neendakaray near Quilon.

Pluvialis dominica fulva (Gmelin).

Charadrius fulvuus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. 11 (1789), p. 687—Tahiti.

The Eastern Golden Plover is a fairly common winter visitor to the Presi-

dency and it seems to be generally distributed in suitable localities. Major

HK. G. Phythian-Adams and Mr. R. IF. Stoney have been kind enough to send

me extracts from their shooting diaries and from these it is evident that the

bird is far more common on the western side of the Presidency than on the

east.

For the eastern side. I find that Mr. Stoney has killed a total of 97 Golden

Plover (mostly in the Kistna, Chingleput and Madura districts) for the years

1899-1931. His two largest bags in a single day were 10 and 11 birds. While

on the west, shooting only at Cannanore and that for strictly limited periods

between 1925 and 1930, Major Phythian-Adams has a total of 180 Golden

Plover, his biggest totals for a season being 22 (season 1929-1980), 40 (season

1931-1932), 47 (season 1932-1933) and 382 (season 1934-1935).

At the Chilka Lake, Annandale says that this species arrives about the

middle of September and does not depart until May. Mr. Stoney’s earliest

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 258

date for Kistna district is 29 September (1905) and Major Phythian-Adams'’

for Cannanore is 21 September (1929), while Mr. H. C. Smith informs me

that he met with the bird at Masulipatam on 16 April 1918. A specimen in

the Hume collection from Narainan, Madras, is dated 25 August 1866. The

breeding plumage is assumed before the bird leaves South India and _ this

fact, together with the late date on which the last stragglers may be found,

misled Jerdon into the assumption that the Golden Plover bred at Nellore.

Hume records it at Rameswaram Island in March (S.F., iv, 459).

On the west coast, the Golden Plover is, as indicated above, numerous at

Cannanore. [Further south Ferguson says that flocks may be commonly met

in North and Central Travancore, about Cherayankie, Parur and Vycomb

frequenting swampy flats and paddy fields.

No specimens were procured by the Survey.

Chettusia gregaria (Pallas).

Charadrius gregarius Pallas, Reise Russ. Reichs, vol. i (1771), p. 456—

Volga.

There is only one record of the Sociable Plover in the Presidency as its

normal winter range does not extend so far south. Ferguson records how he

shot two birds from a flock of five that were feeding in some paddy fields at

Trivandrum in January 1900. Their appearance was no doubt due to the

failure of the rains in Northern India in 1899 which resulted in a famine.

Lobivanellus indicus indicus (Boddaert).

Tringa indica Boddaert, Table Pl. Enlum. (1783), p. 50 on Pl. Enl. 807—

Goa, India.

Specimens collected: —92 9 19-4-29 Kurumbapatti; 1245 0? 18-1-30 Goda-

very Delta.

Measurements :—

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

1 20. 33 208 108 70 mm.

1 sex? 20.0 213 111 74 mm.

The Red-wattled Lapwing seems to be found more or less generally

throughout the Presidency but I do not find any actual record from north of

the Godavery Delta. There are specimens from Annappukolam, Nellore dis-

trict, in the Madras Museum and Dewar calls this bird very common at

Madras. The Survey also found them at Kurumbapatti and, rather more com-

monly, about Salem town.

On the west, Ferguson says that the Red-wattled Lapwing is common in

the low country all over Travancore and Terry heard it calling at night at

Pittur in the Palnis. Further north Betts calls it common in Coorg and

Davison says that it is not uncommon in the Wynaad. From here it ascends

the Nilgiris in small numbers, a few pairs even breeding on the plateau. In

Southern India this plover is strictly resident and Betts remarks to me _ that

each pair may be found inhabiting the same stretch of country for years

together. . ,

The breeding season in the Nilgiris is said to be in April and May (Miss

Cockburn) and Ferguson gives it as March in Travancore.

I do not myself see much use in maintaining the race aigneri for this

species. After examining a large number of birds from Ceylon to Afghanistan

and Mesopotamia I find that though there is a shght average increase in size

from Ceylon to the north-west, accompanied by a very slight paling of colour,

it is accompanied by so much individual variation that it is quite impossible

to define any recognisable limits for two races indicus and aigneri. Ticehurst

was inclined to maintain the two races on the amount of gloss (Ibis 1928,

p. 665) but this does not seem to me a good character either.

Lobipluvia malabarica (Boddaert).

Charadrius malabaricus Boddaert, Tabl, Pl, Extum. (1788), p. 583 for PI,

Enl., 880—Malabar.

254 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Specimens collected: —455 2 21-6-29 Tirthamalai 1,000 ft.; 660 sex? 6-8-29

Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

T.2 27.5 190.5 70.5 56.5 mm.

1 sex? 29 193 76 59 mm.

There appears to be no actual record of the Yellow-wattled Lapwing in

the Presidency from anywhere north of the Palkonda Hills where it was

procured by the Survey. Dewar says that it is very common about Madras

and the Survey also obtained it at Tirthamalai.

In Travancore, it is common (Ferguson, Stewart). From further north on

this side I have seen specimens from Malappuram (Sparrow coll.: ¢ 7-6-1912),

from the neighbourhood of Segore (Sigur 2 22-2-81, William Davison) and

Sultan’s Battery, Wynaad (Q 31-1-83, William Davison).

In Travancore, Bourdillon found them breeding from 3 March to 18 August

and Stewart from 4 April to 6 August (Stuart Baker, Nidification, iv, 402).

Under this reference and in our Journal, xxxv, p. 250, Mr. Stuart Baker

has a good deal to say about an erythristic type of egg found on an outcrop

of red laterite soil in Travancore.

I have only seen one specimen, and that a juvenile, of the Yellow-wattled

Plover from Ceylon. On the mainland there is perhaps a slight increase in

size from south to north, and birds from Travancore appear slightly richer

in colour than those of the Peninsula generally. The material available from

the south is not however very good and at present I am not satisfied that

the recognition of any races is justified.

[Recurvirostra avosetta Linnaeus.

Recurvirostra avosetta Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 151—

South Europe.

Dewar includes the Avocet in his Madras lst without any comment but

I have seen no evidence that it has ever been found in the Presidency, beyond

Jerdon’s statement (Madras Jour. Lit. Sct. 1840, p. 209, that he had seen

stuffed specimens killed as far south as Madras. Further evidence is required

before the avocet can be admitted to the Presidency list. |

Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus).

Charadrius himantopus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 151—

Southern Europe.

There is a local specimen of the Black-winged Stilt in the Madras Museum

and this is doubtless Dewar’s warrant for the inclusion of the species in his

list. I know of no other record for the Presidency.

Numenius arquata (Linnaeus).

Scolopax arquata Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 145—

Sweden, Europe.

The Curlew is doubtless found around the whole coast of the Presidency

as a winter visitor. In Travancore, Ferguson says that it is found only on

the coast, hut not in any great numbers. At Madras, Dewar says that it

occurs in considerable numbers in all places where there is shallow salt water.

I have seen no specimen from the Presidency but the race that occurs will

prove no doubt to be N. a. orientalis Brehm.

Numenius phaeopus phaeopus (Linnaeus).

Scolopax phaeopus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 146—Sweden.

Jerdon says (Madras Jour. Lit. Sci. 1840, p. 212) that he saw the Whimbrel

in considerable numbers at the Chilka Lake and that he had also seen it on

the seacoast near Madras. There is a Madras specimen in the Hume col-

lection dated 1 September 1866. Hume records it from Rameswaram Island

in March (S.F., iv, 459).

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 255

On the western side Colonel H. R. Baker (Birds of S. India, p. 892) says

that it is one of the earliest winter visitors to arrive. He first noticed their

arrival near Cannanore on 5 August 1910 and shot a couple on the 25th of

that month.

In Travancore Ferguson says that it may be found in suitable places along

the coast in fair numbers from October to April.

[Limosa limosa (Linnaeus).

Scolopax limosa Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 147—Sweden.

The Black-tailed Godwit is included by Dewar in his list without comment.

This species is however so very rare in Central and Southern India that it

cannot be included in the Presidency list until a more positive record is

forthcoming. |

Limnedromus semipalmatus (Blyth).

Macrorhamphus semipalmatus Blyth, J.A.8.B., vol. xvii (1848), p. 251—

Madras.

The claim of the Snipe-billed Godwit to a place on the Presidency list is

based solely on the specimen which Jerdon procured in the Madras market

about the close of 1844 and which was the type of the species.

Terekia cinerea (Gildenstadt).

Scolopax cinerea Gildenstadt, Nov. Comm. Acad. Sci. Imp. Petrop., vol. xix

(1774), p. 478, pl. 19—Terek River.

The Terek Sandpiper is included in his lst by Dewar without any comment,

but Major Phythian-Adams kindly informs me that he shot two from a flock

at Cannanore on 12 December 1931. Jerdon says (Madras Jour. Lit. Sci.,

1840, p. -208) that he only met with it on one occasion, at the edge of the

Trichoor Lake.

Tringa ochropus (Linnaeus).

Tringa ocrophus (sic) Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 149--

Sweden.

Specimens collected: —807 ¢ 11-9-29 Kodur; 1085 Q 11-12-29, 1186 9

18-12-29 Cumbum Valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

leet 37.5 130 53 So. Tim,

2 Oo 39-40 "148-149 61-63 33-385 mm.

The Green Sandpiper is of course a winter visitor to the Presidency but

it is there far less common than in Northern India. On the eastern side,

the only record that I have traced, in addition to the three Survey specimens,

is a specimen from Chingleput in the Madras Museum. In Coorg, according

to Betts, it is not uncommon, arriving fairly early (first seen on September 380,

1928) and staying late, often lingering well on into May. There are two

- specimens from the Nilgiris in the British Museum, shot in April by William

Davison, but these must have been collected after his paper in Stray Feathers

in which he states that a specimen shot some years previously on the bank

of the lake at Ootacamund was the only one that he had seen in Southern

India.

Terry says that he shot one on May 4th in the Pittur Valley but a specimen

collected by Terry in the Palnis and now in the British Museum is dated

April 3rd. In Travancore Ferguson considered it as not nearly so common

as T. glareola and he mentions one shot in a swamp on the High Range at

6,000 ft. in January.

Tringa stagnatilis (Bechstein).

Totanus stagnatilis Bechstein, Orn. Taschenb., vol. ii (1808), p. 292—

Germany.

There is a specimen of the Marsh Sandpiper from Calicut in the Tweeddale

256 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

collection in the British Museum and Jerdon states that he saw it in large

flocks on the banks of the ‘Trichoor Lake. Further south in Travancore

Ferguson’s collectors met with flocks on the seashore at Manakodam Bar and

at North Parur. They were in company with Greenshanks.

On the eastern side Dewar includes the species in his Madras list, doubt-

less on the evidence of the local specimen in the Madras Museum. Another

Madras specimen dated December llth is in the Tweeddale collection. The

bird is of course a winter visitor to the Presidency.

Tringa hypoleucos Linnaeus.

Tringa hypoleucos Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 149-—

Sweden.

Specimen collected:—806 Q 11-9-29 Kodur.

Measurements :—

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

1 Q 26 11 57.5 24 mm.

The Common Sandpiper is no doubt common and very generally distri-

buted throughout the Presidency, though on the eastern side, we have no other

information beyond the Survey specimen and Dewar’s statement that it is

very abundant about Madras. His belief that it is a resident is of course

incorrect. The Common Sandpiper is a winter visitor to India south of the

Himalayas but a certain number of non-breeding individuals may be met

throughout the summer months in their winter quarters.

In Travancore Ferguson calls it one of the most widely spread of birds,

common in the paddy fields everywhere from September to May. William

Davison also considered it common in the Nilgir:s. There is a specimen from

Mangalore (24 April, Dr. Day) in the Hume collection.

Tringa glareola Linnaeus.

Tringa glareola Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 149—Sweden.

Specimen collected: —1135 Q 18-12-29 Cumbum Valley.

Measurements :—

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

19 31.5 124 AT 35 mm.

The Wood Sandpiper is a common winter visitor and passage migrant on

its way to Ceylon in the western side of the Presidency. William Davison

says that in the Nilgiris he has seen specimens about the ponds in the

Botanical Gardens at Ootacamund as late as July, though these, I suggest,

may have been non-breeding birds which had not migrated to their summer

quarters. In Travancore Ferguson considered it the commonest of the Sand-

pipers, to be found in abundance in the wet paddy fields from August to May.

On the eastern side we have no particular information about it, the Survey

specimen and Dewar’s inclusion of it in his Madras lst being the only

published records.

Tringa totanus (Linnaeus).

Scolopax totanus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 145—Sweden.

The Common Redshank has been very seldom recorded in the Presidency

where it is, of course, a winter visitor. Major Pythian-Adams informs me

that it is not uncommon about Cannanore. Ferguson’s collectors secured one

at Neendakaray in January 1903. There is a local specimen in the Madras

Museum and Mr. H. C. Smith informs me that he shot one at Masulpatam

on 16 April 1918. No specimen has been critically examined for racial

identification.

Tringa erythropus (Vroeg).

Scolopax erythropus Vroeg, Cat. d’Ois, Adumb. (1764), p. 6—Holland.

The Spotted Redshank must occur in the Presidency as the British Museum

possesses a ‘Madras’ skin from Jerdon and another from Chingleput in the

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 257

Hume collection. Both are in breeding plumage. I can find no other informa-

tion regarding it in our area.

Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus).

Scolopax nebularia Gunnerus in Leem’s Beskr. Finmark. Lapp. (1767), p.

251, note—Norway.

Major Phythian-Adams informs me that the Greenshank is not uncommon

round Cannanore in the cold weather. Hume stated (S.F., x, 414) that he had

received it from the Wynaad. Kinloch saw a solitary bird by the Manalora

stream in the Nelliampathies. Ferguson says that he had never met with

the Greenshank in Southern Travancore but that in the north his collectors

met with flocks and obtained specimens at Yettamanna, Shertally and Vycombe.

There is, however, a male collected by Bourdillon at Quilon on February 25

in the British Museum.

On the eastern side it is recorded only from Madras, in Dewar’s list.

Philomachus pugnax (Linnaeus).

Tringa pugnax Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 148—Sweden.

The Ruff and Reeve have so far only been recorded in the Presidency

from the neighbourhood of Madras. In the British Museum there is a female

in the Tweeddale collection collected at Madras by Wardlaw-Ramsay on

December 2nd. The Madras Museum contains specimens collected at Madras

and at Vandalur, Chingleput district. It 1s of course a winter visitor.

Crocethia alba (Vroeg).

Tringa alba Vroeg, Cat. d’Ois. Adumb. (1764), p. 7—Coast of North Sea,

Holland.

Jerdon states (B. of J., ui, p. 694) that he obtained the Sanderling on the

coast at Nellore where it appeared to be tolerably abundant. There is a local

speicmen in the Madras Museum. It must of course be a winter visitor.

Erolia minuta minuta (Leisler).

Tringa minuta Leisler, Nach. zu Bechst. Nat. Deutsch. (1812), p. 34—

Germany.

Specimen collected:—1210 @Q 9-1-3830 Godavery Delta.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

1 ©) 22 101 42 22.5 mm.

The Little Stint is a winter visitor to the Presidency and before the Survey

obtained the above specimen it had already been recorded on the eastern side

by Dewar in his Madras list. On the west Hume says (S.F., x, 414) that

he had himself seen it below the Coonoor Ghat and Ferguson recorded it as a

fairly common winter visitor to the coast of North Travancore.

Erolia temminckii (Leisler).

Tringa temminckii Leisler, Nacht. zu Bechst. Nat. Deutsch. (1812), p. 683—

Germany.

Specimen collected :—1284 g 12-1-380 Godavery Delta.

Measurements :—

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

te 17.5 95 48 16.5 mm.

The above Survey specimen appears to provide the first explicit record of

Temminck’s Stint for the Presidency, with the exception of Dewar’s inclusion

of the species in his Madras list without comment.

258 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Erolia testacea (Pallas).

Scolopax testacea Pallas in Vroeg’s Cat. d’Ois. Adum. (1764), p. 6—Holland.

According to Ferguson, the Curlew-Sandpiper is found from October to April

on the coast of North Travancore, especially by Manakodam Bar. It is

apparently also fairly common on the eastern coast as Mr. H. A. Smith informs

me that he shot one at Masulipatam on 16 April 1918, Dewar includes it in

his Madras list, there is a local specimen in the Madras Museum and a pair

of adults collected by Wardlaw-Ramsay at Madras in December are in the

T'weeddale collection in the British Museum.

[Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield).

Totanus tenuirostris Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc., vol. xii, (May 1821),

p. 192-—Java.

Dewar’s inclusion of the Eastern Knot in his Madras list is probably based

on Jerdon’s record of obtaining a Knot Tringa canutus at Madras (B. of I.,

itl, 689), a record which is usually considered to refer to this species. |

Limicola falcinella (Pontoppidan).

Scolopaz falcinellus Pontoppidan, Danske Atlas, vol. i (1763), p. 623—

Denmark.

Very little is known about the occurrence of the Broad-billed Sandpiper in

the Presidency but Ferguson states that a single specimen was shot by his

collectors at Manakodam Bar in Travancore in January 1903. Three unsexed

specimens, two in winter plumage and one in worn breeding dress, labelled

‘Madras’ are in the British Museum. One of these is dated April 1876.

Lobipes lobatus (Linnaeus).

Tringa lobata Tiinnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 148—Hudson

Bay, America. ;

The Red-necked Phalarope is said in the Old Fauna (iv, 282) to occur on

the west coast of India and on the east coast as far north as Madras where,

at times, it is not uncommon. I have not found the source of this statement

but Jerdon said he had a single record for India, namely a bird obtained by

Dr. Stewart at Madras (B. of I., iii, 696) and the British Museum possesses

three specimens from ‘Madras’ dated September-October in the Hume collec-

tion. There ‘is also a local specimen in the Madras Museum.

Scolopax rusticola Linnaeus.

Scolopax rusticola Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 146—Sweden.

The Woodcock was not obtained by the Survey but it is well known as a

winter visitor to the hills of the Presidency and more particular to the western

side, where it is naturally best known as a sporting bird in the Nilgiris.

On the west Jerdon says that it is found in Coorg and A. G. Theobald

records (apud Hume & Marshall, iii, 311) that he has heard of their being

shot in the Wynaad.

Regarding the Nilgiris there is a good deal on record. For these hills

Captain Lambton (J.B.N.H.S., xx, 854) on the authority of the Hadfields

pere et fils gives the season as follows:—Woodcock invariably arrive on the

Nilgiris during the month of October and never has this month gone by

without a bird being bagged. The 9th October is the earliest date on which

the first bird was seen and killed but the third week in October is generally

the earliest that the first cock is accounted for. The October flight is as a

rule very small and the birds that put in an appearance can be numbered

on the fingers of one hand.

December and January are the months when cock drop in larger numbers

and by the end of March there is not a bird to come across.

William Davison (apud Hume & Marshall, 11, 310) would perhaps consider

the season a little shorter. They come in late in October, or early in Novem-

ber, he says, and depart again at the latest by the end of February. Col.

Baker (J.B.N.H.S., xxix, 564) puts their arrival in the first week of November

and Major Phythian-Adams (J.B.N.H.S8., xxxii, 607) considers February the

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 259

best month for Woodcock and adds that nearly all are gone by March 15th

or earlier if heavy rain falls. Major Logan Home (WJ.B.N.H.S., xxix, 841)

mentions an exceptionally late bird flushed on the Krurmand Mukerti Peak

track on 28 April 1923. The male dated 25 May Ootacamund (W. Davison)

in the Hume collection was doubtless a pricked bird.

As regards the number of Woodcock that visit the Nilgiris the general

and I fear correct idea is that they are decreasing. Captain Lambton was

informed that in the early ‘sixties’ of the last century a single gun was

known to have bagged 250 cock during one season. This, if not exaggerated,

was surely an exceptional case and not to be compared with the 30 or 40 birds

which Capt. Lambton considered a good season’s bag about 1910. He goes

on to say that the largest bag made by two guns within the last 35 years in

one day was 7 couple, all the birds flushed being accounted for, while 8 or 4

Woodcock are the normal number to be obtained in a day’s shooting. These

figures should be compared with Jerdon’s statement, made as a matter of

course and no doubt representing the normal sport of the ‘fifties and sixties’

that he had himself killed 8 in a forenoon and had known 16 and 20 killed

by two or three guns.

In 1921 Colonel H. R. Baker writes (loc. cit.):—'Now a single gun is

lucky, as I have been, if he gets 80-40 cock in a season and 6 in a day. In

1920-21 I got 35 and in 1921-22 I got 29 and in both seasons my best bag was

6 in a day out of 7 seen.’

In 1927 (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, 607) Major Phythian-Adams considers 25-30

Woodcock a good average season’s bag, it being remembered that small game

shooting on the plateau is now limited to two days a week. He has kindly

given me the figures for his own shooting for the seasons from 1928 to 1930

and the number per season varies from 12 to 27.

A note on weights will be found in our Journal in vol. xx, 1154, and a

good account of a typical day’s shooting by Col. H. R. Baker will be found

in vol. xxviii, 484-38.

Leaving the Nilgiris, Theobald says that he has shot Woodcock in the

Anamallais and in the Burghoor and Husinoor Hills of the Coimbatore district.

Fairbank says that they are certainly rare in the Palni Hills but that he

himself flushed one in the Kodaikanal in 1867 and that afterwards one was

shot by a Mr. Levinge.

In the Nelliampathies, Kinloch says it is very rare but I cannot make out

whether his idea that it dropped in on passage at the end of September and

beginning of October and again early in March is theory or based on observa-

tion. It seems at variance with what we know of the bird in the rest of

the area.

In Travancore, according to Ferguson, occasional Woodcock may be met in

grass land bordered by forest in South Travancore at about 4,000 ft. in the

winter. On the High Range, he adds, it used to be fairly common at this

period in similar localities, before the forest was cut down for coffee and tea.

Bourdillon considered it pretty common in the Assambo Hills, but only at

the highest elevations from November to March.

On the eastern side of the Presidency there is far less information. Ball

states (S.F., v, 419) that. he was assured by a Mr. Blaxland that Woodcock

had been several times seen and on one occasion shot on the higher plateaux

of Jeypore. One was shot by Mr. L. T. Harris, 1.c.s., at Salabam 4,000 ft.

on 26 February 1915 (J.B.N.H.S., xxiii, 777). Jerdon says that he knew of

it poe been procured at Masulipatam and at least once found in the Madras

market.

There is a specimen from the Shevaroys in the Madras Museum and, finally,

Theobald informs us that he had shot Woodcock on the Shevaroys and Javadi

Hills of the Salem district.

Capella nemoricola (Hodgson).

Gallinago nemoricola Hodgson, P.Z.S. 1836 (April 9), p. 8—Nepal.

The Wood Snipe was recorded by Colonel McMaster at Russeleonda_ in

Gumsoor (Hume & Marshall, iii, 326) where he obtained two. It has not

been otherwise recorded on the eastern side of the Presidency north of the

Shevaroy Hills where it was shot by Albert Theobald (Hume & Marshall, iii,

326) and H. R. P. Carter on December 28 (specimen in British Museum).

960 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

On the western side, it is of course far better known. It is usually met

with in the hills but Major E. G. Phythian-Adams shot one about 12° miles

north of Cannanore on 27 November 1933 VU B.N.A.S., xxxvu, 220). itis

found in Coorg (Hume & Marshall, iii, 326) and in the Wynaad where J. W.

Ditmas records (S.F., x, 178) that he saw 7 Woodsnipe in 18 years’ residence

and bagged three of them. Phythian-Adams considers that the bird is probably

commoner in the Wynaad than in the Nilgiris (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, 606).

‘On the Nilgiris’, says William Davison (8.F., x, 418), ‘it was never com-

mon and seems to be getting still more rare, year by year, and though when

on the Nilgiris last I had offered all the native shikaris a large price for any

specimens they could procure me, I failed to get any’. I doubt, however,

Whether Davison is correct in thinking the bird any rarer than it always

has been. Colonel H. R. Baker shot 5 in February and March 1922

(J.B.N.H.8., xxix, 564) of which 2 males are now in my collection. Major

Phythian-Adams has kindly given me details of 6 birds shot by him, viz.:—

one on 2 January 1924, two on 29 January 1927, and one on each date

2 January 1928, 16 February and 29 October 1929. Mr. R. F. Stoney has

also been good enough to tell me that he shot single birds on 3 December 1933

and 15 February 1935.

Albert Theobald (loc. cit.) shot the Woodsnipe in the Guddasal Hills of the

Coimbatore district, in the Annamalais and in the Palnis. In Travancore its

occurrence rests on a single bird shot in the High Range and in the Trivandrum

Museum when Ferguson wrote (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 10).

T have little doubt that the Woodsnipe is merely a winter visitor to the

Presidency and it has been recorded every month from 29 October to the

6th March.

Capella solitaria (Hodgson).

Gallinago solitaria Hodgson, Glean. Sci., vol. ui (August 1831), p. 2388—

Nepal Terai.

The solitary Snipe may perhaps just come into the Presidency list in

virtue of its occurrence on the Chilka Lake. Mr. H. B. Tilden killed one at

Nalban Island on 16 December 1921. It was identified by Mr. T. McDonnell

of Calcutta who informed him that several had been flushed in the same

locality by Mr. James Smythe of Calcutta at Christmas 1920 (J.B.N.H.S.,

Ravin, 1153).

This record may be correct but I feel by no means satisfied with the

identity of the specimen said to have been shot near Davala, S.-H. Wynaad,

in 1898 by Mr. F. W. F. Fletcher and Mr. W. Hamilton (Stuart Baker, Game

Buds, Whe-39).

Capella gallinago gallinago (Linnaeus).

Scolopaa gallinago Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. 1 (1758), p. 147—Sweden.

In the Madras Presidency, the Fantail Snipe is definitely less numerous

than the Pintail and it is not quite so generally distributed. Unfortunately

the recorded evidence is not sufficient to enable me to write a very satisfactory

account of the species.

In the north-east. of our area, there is not apparently a very great dis-

proportion between the numbers of the two species. In fact, about the Chilka

Lake and Ganjam, it is possible that the Fantail is actually the more numerous.

But as one works southwards the Pintail is found to be more and more

numerous compared with the Fantail and this is also the case along the

western side of the Presidency, as shown by the comparative totals cited in

the account of the Pintail. In the Nilgiris, or at least at higher elevations,

the Fantail does not normally occur, and I have no record of it at all for

the Travancore Hills or Eastern Ghats. Terry and Fairbank both, however,

record it in the Palnis, though the elevation is not given. In Ceylon it is

of course a rare straggler.

The times of arrival and departure are, for lack of exact evidence, hard

to define. In any case they evidently vary a good deal from year to year;

being no doubt largely dependent on existing conditions in the more northern

portions of the bird’s range, particularly in Northern India, which in turn

depend on the rainfall.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 261

I have not traced any actual records for this species in the Presidency

in August. There are a few records of the first Fantails being found in

September as follows:—Coorg 14 September 1908, 18 September 1909 (Major

J. C. Macrae); Cannanore 21 September 1929 (Major EH. G. Phythian-Adams) ;

Chingleput 28 September 1902, 11 September 1904 (R. F. Stoney); Madura

27 September 1903 (R. EF. Stoney). The majority however do not appear until

October or November and leave by the beginning of March though some may

be found throughout the month. There are a few April records :—Palnis

38 April (Terry); Quilon 21 April (Giles, J.B.N.H.S., xix, 749); Madura 6 April

1902, 5 April 1908, 138 April 1904 (R. F. Stoney). Birds seen on 4 May,

Palnis (Terry), Palamcottah in April and May and at Vellore Railway Station

(Theobald, Hume & Marshall, ii, 862) in May and June are said to have

belonged to this species. As the Vellore and Palamcottah birds are said to

have been in very poor condition and scarcely able to fly they may be dis-

regarded as their late stay was doubtless due to shot wounds.

Mr. Stuart Baken (Game Birds, 11, p. 63) gives a map of the migration

routes of this species, showing an orderly progress from north to south. It

is well to remember that this map is merely a picture of what the author

considers may occur, for existing records, which I have collated carefully, do

not justify any such deductions. My own impression is, morever, that the

Snipe arrive in a much more haphazard manner and that for Southern India

the dates given are far too early. This species does not apparently reach

Ceylon before December.

Capella media (Latham).

Scolopax media Latham, Gen. Synops. Birds, Suppl., vol. i (1787), p. 292—

England.

It is somewhat curious that all three records of the Great Snipe in India

refer to one small area of 8.-t&. India in places more or less in one straight

line. ‘T'wo of these are in the Presidency. The first specimen was obtained

hy Capt. C. Donovan, m.B.o.u., at Madras on 5 September 1899 under circum-

stances detailed in full in J.B.N.H.S., xii, p. 782. The other was shot by

Mr. G. L. Peters near Arkonam, N. Arcot district, on 80 March 1913 (Kinnear,

J.B.N.H.S., xxii, 631). This is not far distant from Bangalore where the

third Indian specimen was shot by Capt. A. Boxwell on 28 October 1910

(Jo. oS., xx, 1155).

Capella stenura (Bonaparte).

Scolopax stenura Bonaparte, Ann. Stor. Nat. Bologna, vol. iv (1830), p. 3385—

Sunda Island.

The Pintail Snipe is quite easily the most abundant and the most generally

distributed of the Game birds of the Presidency and there is therefore no need

to give in full the various records that I have accumulated on its occurrence.

On the eastern side of the Presidency it may be found and shot all along the

coastal plains from the Chilka Lake through Ganjam, Vizagapatam, the

Northern Sircars, the Godavery and Kistna rivers, Nellore, Madras, Chittoor,

N. and §. Arcot, Chingleput, Tanjore to Madura, though on this side I have

found no record whatsoever of its occurrence on the Ghats. On the western

side it is similarly found throughout the suitable areas of the low ground

from Cannanore to Travancore, extending also into the hills through Coorg

and the Wynaad to the Nilgiris where it is found up on the plateau, to the

Palnis and to the higher hills of Travancore, though here it appears to be

scarce at more than moderate elevations.

The Pintail Snipe is chiefly a winter visitor to the Presidency though of

course a large number of birds must drop in temporarily on passage on their

way to and from Ceylon.

The earliest date on which I have: any exact record of this Snipe in the

Presidency is 27 August 1904 when Mr. Stoney shot one in Chingleput but

Davison says that he has known it come in in the last week in August in

the Nilgiris. The first arrivals may however usually be expected in September.

T have accumulated the following records for September:—Cannanore 24 Sep-

tember 1927, 21 September 1929 (Phythian-Adams); Coorg 9 September 1982,

9 September 1934 (Betts); Nilgiris 28 September 1925, 23 September 1926,

262 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXiX

21 September 1933 (Phythian-Adams); 20 September 1931, 5 September 1932

(Stoney); Kistna 9 September 1905, 20 September 1923 (Stoney); Chingleput

15 September 1901, 21 September 1902, 28 September 1912, 20 September 1914

(Stoney); Tanjore 6 September 1908, 38 September 1909 (Stoney); and finally

Madura 22 September 1901, 13 September 1903, 22 September 1914, 24 Sep-

tember 1916 (Stoney). Ferguson also says that a few stragglers arrive early

in September in Travancore. The main body however do not come until con-

siderably later probably towards the end of October or November, but it must

be remembered that Snipe are far from regular in their movements which

depend on the season and particularly the amount of water or drought not

only in the Presidency but in other areas further north. They leave again

in March though a few birds linger on into April and I have the following

records for May:—-Wynaad 5 May (Davison); Nilgiri Plateau 4 May (Phythian-

Adams), 2 May 1922 (Limornin).

Mr. Stuart _Baker (Game Birds, uu, p. 97) gives a map of the approximate

dates on which the earliest examples (p. 95) of this species arrive at their

respective destinations. This shows a regular progress southwards and west-

wards as if the birds travelled in regular stages and according to this map

the terminal arrivals are Sindh 80 October and Ceylon 25 October and 1 Novem-

ber. Unfortunately for this map, Ticehurst has shown that in Sindh around

Karachi he met with it on 11 September 1918 and 4 September 1919 (Ibis 1924,

p. 183) while in Ceylon, according to Legge, it arrives in September, either

early or late according to season. In that island, Butler’s earliest date for it

was August 31 (J.B.N.H.S., x, 313). My own impression is that the Pintail

Snipe does not arrive in the orderly progress suggested by the map but that

it drops in more or less simultaneously in many widely spread localities. The

earliest dates for the Peninsula in the map are at any rate evidently a month

too late.

The Pintail Snipe is far more abundant in the Presidency than the Fantail

both on the east and on the west. Wall gave an interesting summary of his

shooting at Cannanore in the season 1903-1904 (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 722). This -

shows a total of 354 Pintails as against 73 Fantails. Major Phythian-Adams

has kindly given me his Snipe tables for Cannanore for the 10 seasons 1925-26

to 1934-35. 38,644 Pintails were killed in comparison with 856 Fantails. For

the 12 seasons 1928-24 to 1934-85 on the Nilgiri Plateau 526 Pintails were

killed and only one Fantail by the same sportsman.

Mr. R. F. Stoney has also been good enough to send me his Snipe tables

for the Presidency for the 87 seasons from 1898-99 to 1934-35. These show

a total of 13,530 Pintails and 2,312 Fantails for the whole period. The follow-

ing are the more important district totals:—Nilgiris 383 Pintails and no

Fantails; Coimbatore 121 Pintails, 6 Fantails; Madura 6,409 Pintails, 700

Fantails; Tanjore 331 Pintails, 110 Fantails; S. Arcot 259 Pintails, 99 Fan-

tails; Chingleput 5,875 Pintails, 1,233 Fantails. These figures all show beyond

question that in the main area of the Presidency the Pintail predominates

very largely. In the north-eastern area this is doubtless not the case and it

is interesting to note that Mr. Stoney’s totals for this area, though not large,

show very different proportions:—Nellore 25 Pintails, 55 Fantails; Kistna 89

Pintails, 63 Fantails; and Ganjam 20 Pintails, 35 Fantails.

Interesting notes by Mr. Stoney on the weight of Pintail and Fantail Snipe

in the Presidency will be found in the Journal (xxiii, 778; xxv, 306).

Capella megala (Swinhoe).

Gallinago megala Swinhoe, Ibis 1861, p. 843—Amoy.

When Mr. Stuart Baker wrote his first account of Swinhoe’s Snipe

(J.B.N.H.S., xx, 595) only two records of the species were known in the

area covered by the Fauna of British India, namely from Dibrughar and the

Shan States.

It was first identified in the Presidency in the shooting season of 1911-12.

Mr. R. I’. Stoney shot one in Chingleput on 3 December and one at Tindivanum

on 8 March. Mr. Graham Ross shot one and Mr. I. 8. Fraser shot three

in the Chingleput district (J.B.N.H.S., xxi, 1088). Since then Mr. Stonev

kindly informs me that he has shot one in Chingleput on 30 September 1914,

another in Madura on 29 November 1914 and a third in Madura on 8 Novem-

ber 1915.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 263

On the western side about Cannanore, Major E. G. Phythian-Adams_ has

killed 15 in the 10 shooting seasons from 1925-26 to 1984-35. Of this one

was shot on 21 September, 4 in November, 5 in December, 2 in January and

38 in February, the latest date being 22 February. Some of these were imen-

tioned in J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, 606.

We are, I think, now entitled to assume that it is a regular winter visitor

to the Presidency in small numbers, occurring from September to March and

somewhat generally distributed.

There are no specimens of Swinhoe’s Snipe in the British Museum from

Southern India but Major Phythian-Adams kindly sent me the two birds shot

in 1935.

Lymnocryptes minimus (Briimnich).

Scolopax minima Brinnich, Orn. Bor. (1764), p. 49—EHurope.

The Jack Snipe is a well-known winter visitor to the Presidency though

it is never found in the large numbers of the Pintail and Fantail Snipes.

I have traced no actual record of it in the north-east corner of the Presidency

above the Kistna river and it is evidently scarce or absent in the hills. Other-

wise it 1s so generally distributed that there appears to be no need to cite

the records in full. Nellore, Madras, Chingleput, 8. Arcot and Madura all

contain much good snipe ground and Mr. R. F. Stoney’s game books shew in

these districts between 1898 and 1925 a total of 126 Jack Snipe killed.

On the western side Major Wall’s bag for the 1908-1904 season at Cannanore

shows 1 Jack Snipe out of a total of 465 head (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 722). Major

Phythian-Adams’ record for this area for the 10 seasons 1925-85 shows a total

of 58 Jack Snipe. They are doubtless similarly distributed through the rest

of the low ground as near Nellamboor and Wondoor and in parts of Palghat

and South Travancore (Hume & Marshall, ii, p. 375). A few. birds mount

on to the Nilgiris and Palnis but Major Phythian-Adams has only killed 2 on

the Nilgiri plateau in the 12 seasons 1923-24 to 1934-35.

Bourdillon (loc. cit.) gives the stay of the Jack Snipe in South Travancore

as from September to April, or the early part of May but this appears much

exaggerated. A. Theobald, on the other hand, says that they come in. about

the end of November and leave again before the end of February.: ‘This. is

certainly a more correct estimate of the normal movements though Mr. Stoney’s

notes show 3 November and 9 November and 8 March and 10 March as early

and late dates for the species.

(I’c be continued).

THE BIRDS OF BOMBAY AND SALSETTE.

Sauim Att and Humayun ABDULALI.

Part II was not received in time for inclusion in this number.

It will appear in the next issue.

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALIT.

WitH Notes ON THEIR COMPARATIVE OSTEOLOGY AND PECULIARITIES

OF DENTITION.

A. G. L. FRASER, I.M.D.

(With 3 plates and 1 tezxt-figure).

PART LT

(Continued from page 82 of this volume).

VARIATIONS IN THE OSTEOLOGY OF THE SNAKE.

At the outset it may be remarked, that the various bones

which enter into the formation of the endoskeleton, show marked

specific differences in size, formation and shape, especially as

regards the head so that, given two skulls of the same species,

it would be easy to recognise them as belonging to one particular

type. This type resemblance is, however, subject to individual

deviations, as for example slight differences in one or other bones

of the head. Sometimes a single specimen will differ shghtly in

the formation on one side of the head as compared with the

opposite side. These variations, however, are minor in character

and do not warrant separation from the unit presentation, which

marks the type as a species. The skulls of young specimens are

different from older adult ones, in that the occipital and parietal

regions especially appear in the immature skull as much

shorter and fused together without any clear definition between

the two.

The same observations apply to the dentition. Family groups

show differences from one another; but the specific characters in

regard to number, kind and setting of the teeth in the various

situations in the mouth are well maintained. In fact the type

resemblance is preserved in a more regular way than is the case

with the bones. Comparatively fewer examples of deviations are

met with and the features of the dentition mark the species in more

precise a manner for purposes of identification than is possible with

the other characters snakes present and which are made use of for

separating out the species and family groups.

The variations in the skull, dentition, and vertebral column of

the families and species will be described in a general way in the

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 265

text to follow and detailed in the systematic list of the species at

the end of this paper.

THE ENDOSKELETON OF THE SNAKE.

General characters:—The Ophidian axial skeleton is composed

of two parts, skull and vertebral column.

Vertebral column:—The backbone is made up of a series of bony

perforated segments (vertebrae) placed in articular apposition so as

to form a canal, the continuity of which affords lodgement for and

protection to the spinal cord. The vertebrae articulate with one

another on the mechanical principle of a cup and ball joint and

the articular facets known as the zygapophyses at the ends of the

neural arches limit torsion and lateral flexion. There are no in-

tervertebral fibro-cartilaginous discs. Instead the centra and arches

are linked up by intervertebral hgaments of stout connective and

elastic tissue, overlaid by muscles, which give a certain freedom

between the successive vertebrae permitting of great flexibility in

the column length.

The column can be divided into five sections:—(1) cervical,

(2) thoracic, (8) dorsal, (4) cloacal, (5) caudal. These five divi-

sions are well defined in certain species, but become purely

arbitrary in others. These variable characters can best be

studied in the table of variations and text-figures to follow. But

before going on to outline the variations in tabular form, it will

be necessary here to give in a general way a description of the

characters of typical ophidian vertebrae. All the vertebrae. .are

dorsally saddle-shaped. They present four surfaces :—dorsal,

ventral, anterior, and posterior articular surfaces.

Dorsal surface:—This shows the neural arches and neural

spines, which conjointly form the roof oi the neural canal giving

lodgement to the spinal cord. They vary specifically in forma-

tion, being for the greater part of the axial length, but more so

in the posterior sector, fully-convexed, semi-convexed, or inclined

outwards and downwards as in the two sides of a triangle. The

anterior part is much narrower and shaped somewhat differently,

in that the arch is a single one, having superiorly a slight con-

vexity with its peaked ends supported by two laterally concaved

walls, which flank the sides of the neural canal. This arrange-

ment forms an articular surface for the posterior neural arches

of the vertebra, which overlap it in front. The neural arches in

the vertebrae of the Krait exhibit a unique divergence. In this

respect, this snake is the only exception in the Deolali series,

because of the winged extensions—or alae—projected laterally and

upwards from the base of the neural arches on either side. Cen-

trally in the axial length of the dorsal surface, the arches are

ridged by neural spines, or spinous processes, which are thin

squared plate-like extensions of bone uprising from the junction of

the neural arches. These also vary specifically, being large, small,

or rudimentary. The rudimentary variety shows the neural spines

reduced to an indefinite ridge ending posteriorly in a small

266 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXiX

tubercle or eminence. In the cervical vertebrae the spines

are finger-shaped processes rising abruptly from the anterior

neural arches and terminating in a peak above the posterior

arches.

Ventral surface:—This is formed by the centrum or body of

the vertebra, which represents the notochord of the embryo now

segmented and ossified and serving with the haemal arches joined

to it above on either side as the floor of the neural canal. The

centrum proper is seen ventrally lying, as if wedged in between

the ossifications surrounding it, evidenced by this surface being

erooved and ridged in the long axis. The centra of the vertebrae

are procoelous, that is, the centrum is cylindrical with the anterior

extremity showing a cupped depression or acetabulum and_ the

posterior end a rounded head or protuberance. The acetabulum

receives the articular epiphyseal head of the vertebra in front,

whilst its own head articulates with the cupped depression of the

vertebra behind. From below the epiphyseal head _ projected

downwards and backwards is a process—the hypapophysis—which

is present in the cervical and thoracic vertebrae of all snakes in

Deolali, with one exception, namely, Typhlops braminus. The

specific modifications arising from the presence or absence of this

process in certain situations of the vertebral column are so

greatly important that they will receive special consideration later,

and need not be detailed here. Laterally on either side of the

cupped depression are the articular processes for the ribs; they

consist of a small protuberance joined by a bony ridge to a smail

process pointing downwards, formed partly by the centrum and

partly by the continuity of the bone above it bearing the trans-

verse processes and pre-zygapophyses. The ribs override the

convexity of the bony ridge, protuberance and small. process

referred to above. The articulation thus formed enables the ribs

to execute a wide sweeping, laterally depressed movement from

before backwards, similar to the action of oars, when used in

propelling a boat.

The anterior articular surface:—This shows the anterior face

of the neural arch supported by two bony pillars joined below

to the centrum, all of which enclose the neural canal. Lateral

to the bony pillars and just below the peaked ends of the anterior

neural arch are articular facets—the metapophyses, articulating

with the sister facets or post-zygapophyses of the vertebra in

front. The intervertebral notches for the passage of the spina!

nerve lie below the metapophyses, being formed by the concavity

resulting in the union of the lateral pillars of the neural arch with

the pre-zygapophyses. The latter facets are borne upon the

transverse processes and articulate with the opposing facets—the

anapophyses of the vertebra in front. The transverse processes

themselves are superiorly convex, inferiorly concave and laterally

projected. At the junction of the transverse processes with the

pre-zygapophyses are the interbraterial foramens. The transverse

process laminae below enclose the acetabulum of the centrum and

also form the small process, which takes part in the articular

surface for the ribs. |

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 267

The posterior articular surface: —This presents the faces of the

neural spine joined to the two posterior neural arches. These

again are connected by the two haemal arches to the centrum

below, which here, shows the protuberance or epiphyseal head

previously mentioned. All of these surround the neural canal.

On the inner aspect, below the neural and above the haemal

arches at their internal junction, are the post-zygapophyses

already described, as being in articulation with the metapophyses

of the vertebra behind. PAS the lower extremity of the neural

arches, at their external junction wih the haemal arches and

inferior to the post-zygapophyses, are the anapophyses, which as

previously mentioned articulate with the pre-zyeapophyses of the

vertebra behind. The concavity of the haemal arches form the

roof of the intervertebral notches, which as stated give exit to the

spinal nerves. Below the epiphyseal head of the centrum and

projected ventrally downwards and backwards is a single haemal

process, the hypapophysis. This process is of definite importance

and merits attention, because by the presence or absence of. it

in certain situations the various species become divisible into four

distinct groups. It should be noted that the hypapophyses of

the vertebrae in the cloacal and caudal sections are not the single

processes as evidenced in the cervical, thoracic and dorsal vertebrae.

Instead they show the terminal end divided into two processes

pointing downwards in a somewhat semicircular fashion and by

the integumentary investments laterally and ventrally below it

form a canal for the passage of the caudal artery and vein.

Based upon these distinctions the first group of snakes includes

species, which possess the single hypapophysis in a markedly

developed form and of nearly uniform leneth throughout the first

three sections of the vertebral column. The second eroup shows

the process well developed in the cervical and thoracic divisions

and from thence feature a gradual diminution in its size up to the

cloacal region. The third group presents the process in a well-

developed and eradually decreasing form in the cervical and

thoracic vertebrae alone and the total absence of it in the dorsal

division. In the cloacal and caudal vertebrae of all the snakes

in the above three groups, the process is present in the bifurcated

form previously mentioned. The fourth group are entirely devoid

of the. process throughout the vertebral column. ‘This vertebral

grouping is shown arranged in the table on p. 268 along with

other variations noted in the vertebrae of the various species in

the four family groups at Deolali.

Dr. Boulenger (1893-96)! remarks upon the presence of the

hypapophysis and its modifications in the vertebrae of the Colu-

brinae of Madagascar. He divides them into two series according

to the differences shown in that process. He also mentions that

the Hydrophidae show the neural spines and the hypapophyses

in a very well developed form throughout the vertebral column.

* ‘A Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum’, by Dr. G. A. Boulenger

(893-96), vol. 1, pp. 170-1, Jbid., vol, ii, p. 265.

268 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

TABLE III.—VERTEBRAL GROUPING BASED ON MODIFICATIONS IN

THE HyPAPOPHYSIS OF THE VERTEBRAE IN DEOLALI SNAKES.

Hypapophyses

ais) a ie = dee

85 gs 3 Sa *

|S MIS 5 o

Species Palo alg ao ele

SHG oll oa2las

jo* Selo gS a oe 2 0

3 Si OM Dnly qao/a

SO lala f1/%e SPla

6 |sultglaes (2

ake 4 oy {

io)

Typhlops braminus

(Daud.) ge 1) EV ah arse cal ees a2 | es

Python molurus

(Linn.) sis Not investigated aoe

Eryx Conitcus

(Schn.) ped a 8 eee ee Yes

Nerodia piscator

(Schn.) Scilline laces

Rhabdophis — stola-

tus “(leintts)) ee. I |Yes

Polyodontophis sub-

eas te um! Not investigated

Macropisthodon

plumbicolor

(Cantor) elie ncs

Lycodon aulicus

(Linn. ) ge rg| all Ee! secetitnam hs NCES

Ptyas mucosus

(Linn.) TUG es veh, dees 1 ies

Zamenis fasciolatus

(Shaw) cota DL TA ee calergenn |e eS

Coluber helena

( Daud.) eal SUNT corer Altes Yes

Oligodon arnensis

(Shaw) TiS accu Mies

O. taniolatus

(Jerd.) sysnilee ON Whe seal peor mips as

Dipsadomorphus

ivigonatus

(Schn.) pete gL ere tose al CS

Dryophis myctert-

2anS seine) yee.) LP acai cell aes

Bungarus ceruleus

(Schn.) ooo Day eeeuines sas | at

Neural spines

Nil

Rudi-

men-

tary

Large

Small

Large

. (Small

Large

Small

Long

and

Small

Other variations

Very short caudal sec-

tion. Rudimentary

pelvis.

Short, thick caudal,

vestigeal hind limbs

Premaxilia dentiger-

ous.

Short, thick caudal

section. Small and

well-formed neural

spines only on caudal

vertebrae.

Tapering caudal.

Do. do.

Medium caudal length.

Do. do.

Tapering caudal.

Medium caudal length.

Do. do.

Tapering caudal.

Very long and whip-like

caudal section. Verte-

brae are long and

narrow.

Large | Medium caudal length.

Neural arches are win-

ged (Ala),

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 269

TaBLE III.—VERTEBRAL GROUPING, ETC. (Contd.).

PS TI EEE ST COT BES SS ESE SY PEE

Hypapophyses

= ae,

5516218 -a la

a: os is 3 q 0/2 é

Species aS Biel ocra 12 = Other variations

fo) lO ro) Qlqavrv Ou

5 lS on a Sole 3 wy

A) n =

e /meles besPle | B

O ae C § 3s ic Z

Naia naia, var

ceca (Merr.)

Nata tripudians

(Merr.) Wee Nies.|) ec. ... [Small] Moderately Tapering

Callophis trimacn- caudal.

latus (Datids) se Teas | Yes = es Nil | Short caudal length,

Vipera = russelli

(Shaw) ea WIVES: |o485 ee ... |Large Do. do.

Echis carinata

(Schn.) Seah[ ee WeeS ih sc, sie ss. (Large Do. do.

SpecWNs extraneous to Deolali

Dipsadomorphus

beddomei (Wall) | III |... |... Yes .. |Small|Long and whip like

Polyodontophis caudal.

collaris (Blgr.). | Il] ... |Yes sos ... {Small} Tapering caudal.

Dr. Sunder Lal Hora (August 1933)' commenting on the evo-

lution of the respiratory organs in fish says:—‘In all the instances

that so far have been studied, there is strong evidence that the

evolution or the modification of the respiratory organs in fishes

is purposive, and that it is the direct result of the habits of the

organisms concerned.’ The question arises, as to whether the

vertebral grouping based on the modifications of the hypapophyses

noted in the vertebrae of the Deolali species bears any relation

to the habits of the snakes involved. It is notable that the

vertebral grouping, per se, actually places the majority of the

snakes into a natural order consistent with the habits displayed.

As this point is of some interest, it will be necessary here to

digress in order to discuss these relations.

Group I, with Nerodia piscator as type, suggests a semi-aquatic

mode of existence. The vipers, however, falling into this group

furnish an obstacle, in that they are generally encountered in the

open fields. The finding of the vipers on land though, does not

necessarily preclude a semi-aquatic phase, which may be occa-

sionally resorted to by them, but not generally observed and

known. Our knowledge of the habits of snakes is greatly deficient

* ‘Respiration in Fishes’, by Sunder Lal Hora, D.sc., F.R.S.E., F.A.S.B.,

Journ., Bombay Nat, Hist, Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 3, p. 551 (15th August 1933).

270. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL -HIST. SQCTHTY, Vol. XXXIX

and the hfe history of any one of them has. as yet not been com-

pletely ascertained. On a closer study of the snakes in the first

eroup, the striking fact emerges that all of them without exception

have the costal scales strongly keeled. Whether the keeling of

the seales is purposive and. a helpful feature in allowing of a

semi-aquatic mode of life is difficult to say. Nerodia piscator is

definitely known to be semi-aquatic in its habits—in fact spend-

ing more of its life in water than out of it. Excepting the vipers,

the others in this group put in- an appearance during the wet

seasons and in the case of Macropisthodon plumbicolor, the writer

has found aquatic frogs Rana cyanophlictis (Schn.) in the ali-

mentary canals of very young specimens, 7 to 9 in. long, all of

which were at Deolali recovered near to streams perennially flow-

ing with water. That Rhabdophis stolatus aestivates during the

dry weather and reappears with the monsoon is generally well

known. Mr. Prater (April 1983)! in referring to this species

says:—‘Round Bombay these snakes disappear from the country

side during the dry months but are abundant in our fields as soon

as the rains break.’ ‘As regards the vipers, curiously enough all

of them—8 in number—were secured in the riverain tract

adjacent to Barnes’ High School. On its south side in close

proximity, the river Darna bounds the area. On the north side

of the school is a tributary stream known as the ‘Wadi’. The

school stands on the highlands of the delta formed by these two.

rivers. The vipers were all localised to this area. Mr, Flynn

(November 1932)? secured two Russell’s vipers from a local snake

sharmer who assured him that he had caught them at a place a

few miles from Malir Railway Station (about 18 miles from

Karachi) in a vegetable garden not far from a pool of water.

Again Mr. Rowland records the occurrence of the Russell’s viper

at Jherruck (Karachi District) on the Indus river (August 19388).°

Dr. Corkill (February 1932)* emphasises the fact that the four

specimens of Hchis carinata in his survey came from the Middle

Euphrates and none from elsewhere in Iraq. This area is subject

to inundations. Turning to the evidence furnished by Col. Wall°

in the distribution shown by him for these two vipers, we find the

Russell’s viper much more common in the basins of the great

rivers, like the Irawady and Indus and other riverain lands.

Hchis carinata is stated to extend through Rajputana (the parti-

cular locality is not defined), the Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan.

All of these are coursed through by large rivers, excepting Raj-

putana and Baluchistan, which are less rivered and more sandy

* "The ‘Social Life of Snakes’, by. S. H. .Prater; M.uic.,, ©:M.2:8., Journ;

Bembay. Nat. Hist. Soc., ‘vol. xxxviy No.2). p. 472) (April 1923).

* "~The Family of a Russell's; Viper’, by A. A. ia. Hiynm, y.D:.)-c.mz.0=

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 1, p. 271 (15th November

1982).

* ‘Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper in Lower Sind’, by J. W. Rowland,

Journ.,, Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi, No. 3,-p, 758. 5th August 1938).

* ‘The Snakes of Iraq’, by N. L. Corkill, m-3., cH.B., ¥.z.s., Journ., Bombay

Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxv,.No.\3, p. 570 (5th February 1932).

> “The Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of our British Indian Dominions etc.,

ete.’, by Col. #.. Wall, I.M.s., K.H.8., C.M.Z.8., pp. 58-4 and- 59-61 (1928),

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 271

and dry. In Baluchistan the terrain is for the most part barren,

but it is undermined with subterranean water galleries locally

known as ‘Kraiz’. Col. Wall (1928)! quotes Vidal’s figures for the

Ratnagiri District (which has an annual average rainfall of 108 in.),

where during 6 years Government rewards were paid on an average

of 225,721 phoorsas (Hehis carinata) per annum. When the

reward was raised 115,921 were paid for in eight days from

December 2nd to 10th, 1862. Although this snake has been

declared to be a desert form, the location and immense numbers

shown for it in Ratnagiri is certainly converse evidence. Helatively

few have been found in the dry sandy regions and there is an

absence of detailed information as to the particular localities in

the wide stretch of desert lands hke Rajputana. It would appear

therefore that the pecular habitat and distribution of these: two

vipers and possibly also other heavily keeled species of this family

and the sub-family of pit vipers, are controlled and influenced

by riverain tracts; that they tend more to hug the waterways

and extend on either side up the tributary streams, widening their

distribution as they go. The point as to whether or not there is

a semi-aquatic phase necessitated in their hfe history requires

investigation.

Group II, with the binocellate Cobra as the index point to

purely terrestrial forms. This is shown by their habits. It is

sienificant that all the Proteroglypha are included in this group.

Group III, with Dryophis mycterizans, a typical tree snake,

indicates a semi-arboreal series or class with some scansorial

powers. Most of the snakes in this category exhibit a capacity

for climbing. The author in search of evidence on this point tried

out living specimens belonging to this group and. verified that five

of these species are fairly efficient climbers, namely, Dipsado-

morphus trigonatus, Coluber helena, Oligodon arnensis, O, taenio-

latus, and Lycodon aulicus. The last of these gave the finest

demonstration. They readily negotiate, though somewhat. labori-

ously the perpendicular branches. The ascent is made in spiral

corkscrew fashion by alternate sectional body grips. The cervical

and thoracic regions first gain a hold and by muscular action the

dependant parts of the body are drawn up. The caudal section

then firmly secures a grasp, while the cervical slowly relaxes and

follows the head in its further ascent assisted by the thoracic

division, until in this entwining movement the elastic mits of

these parts are reached. The caudal part then releases its hold

and is drawn up with the dorsal section loosely encoiled. This

latter region of the body appears to take no active part in the

transaction. They can move easily and quickly over the broad

leaves of the smaller branching tops of a monkey fig tree. All

of these snakes are comparatively slender and light of body with

tapering tails. There are two exceptions in the long and uni-

formly muscular species Ptyas mucosus and the shorter but

stoutly formed Hryx conicus. A hali-grown specimen of the

1 ‘The Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes, etc. etc.’, by Col. F. Wall, 1.M.s.

(1928).

272 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

former, 4 ft. 11 in. in length, was found on the sloping branch

of a monkey fig tree, 15 ft. above the ground. There is no direct

evidence to bear in the case of Eryx conicus, which is a constric-

tor. The power of constriction though in itself should facilitate

climbing, while the fact that such snakes prey and feed on the

squirrel suggests that they may be also partly arboreal. One of

these snakes fell 80 ft. from the roof on to the verandah of a

building and this at least is some evidence of its capacity for

chmbing. These two species, although anatomically correlative

with and allied to group III, are nonetheless terrestrial in habits,

because of other specialisations, such as the speed attainment of

Ptyas mucosus and the constricting power and burrowing capacity

of Hryx conicus. It is remarkable, that here again in these two

species, there is featured a slight keeling of the costal scales.

Thus the morphological variations occurring as they do in several —

directions suggest adaptations fitting them to a variegated mode

of life, mainly terrestrial, partly arboreal and perhaps semi-aquatic.

In contrast with the aforementioned species, a Cobra 3 ft. 9 in.

long was tested in order to assess its powers for ascending heights

both vertical and slanting. It appeared to be considerably inhibit-

ed and did not show any prowess or sustained inclination for

ascending even the sloping branch upon which it was placed. On

the contrary it shd off and fell from a height of 10 ft. in its desire

to regain ‘terra firma’. This inability on its part may have been

caused by fright. Mention has been made of the finding of a

pipistrel in the stomach of one of these snakes, which points to

apparent if not real evidence of a climbing capacity. The species

in this group, however, are mainly terrestrial in their habits.

In group IV, there is but one species belonging to the family

Typhlopidae, namely, TJ. braminus. This worm-like snake is

typically burrowing. Observations, as regards Eryx conicus and

Oligodon taeniolatus, showed evidence of a like habit. When kept

in captivity in boxes well filled with sand and earth, both these

snakes remained during daylight at a depth of 4 in. or more in

the case of the former and 2 in. in the latter. A gardener in

raking up the gravel on a garden walk, brought to light a small

Oligodon taeniolatus. The snake hurriedly burrowed into the sand

again and insistently repeated the act on the several occasions

when it was disinterred. In the case of the other species main-

tained alive in sanded boxes, namely, (1) Dipsadomorphus trigo-

natus, (2) Oligodon arnensis, (8) Lycodon aulicus, (4) Macropis-

thodon plumbicolor, (5) Naia naia, (6) Coluber helena, (7) Nerodia

piscator, there was no evidence of burrowing habits. Rather on

the other hand (2), (8) and (6) experienced no difficulty in clinging

to the narrow divisions in the angles formed by the top and side

panels of the box and remained in that position all day, descend-

ing to the floor only at night. Number (7) rested during the day

immersed in the water receptacle, sometimes with its snout just

above the water level. The others when diurnally inactive coiled

themselves on the sand itself.

It should be mentioned that in Group I, Macropisthodon plum-

bicolor displayed evidence of some scansorial powers and surpris-

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 273

ingly enough, when hanging by its tail from a metal ring at

the end of a long metal rod, it was able to draw itself up by a

reversed muscular action directing the body backwards. It would

appear then that the vertebral variations and the differences in

the scaled exoskeleton suggest evolutionary gradations adapting

the snakes in various ways to the selected mode of life. The

references’ studied on the subject of variations in the vertebrates,

indicate that the modifications may be in the nature of progressive

and retrogressive mutations brought about possibly by environ-

mental factors, as a sequence of natural selection in their evolu-

tion from some pre-existing marine type. The standard develop-

ment attained would be represented by the characters presented

in the typical species, which occupy the key positions in each

group.

VARIATIONS IN THE VERTEBRAE AND Riss OF THE DEOLALI SPECIES.

The vertebrae commencing with the cervical series are small

in size. The numbers vary in the different species and range

from 8 to 8. They are recognised by the neural spines presenting

finger-like processes and the hypapophyses being well developed.

The thoracic vertebrae, in contrast, show the neural spines as

squared plate-like extensions.

The Atlas or 1st cervical vertebra, as will be noted in the

text-figures, shows minor individual differences in the formation

dependant upon the kind of snake. The articular principle is the

same in all and is in no way involved. The Atlas is unique in

character and consists of a narrow bony ring, broader superiorly,

and inferiorly constricted. The dorsal surface is comparatively

narrow and the neural spine is rudimentary. The ventral surface

has an abbreviated hypapophysis.

The anterior articular face has two apertures separated by a

cartilaginous septum. ‘The superior or neural canal is roofed over

by the neural arches for the passage of the spinal cord. The

inferior aperture receives in articulation the single condyle on the

occipital bone of the skull. It is bounded on either side by the

haemal arches and these along with the superior surface of the

hypapophysis form three articular depressions, which fit corre-

sponding eminences and the condyle of the occipital bone.

The posterior articular face presents similar features, as out-

lined above and articulates with the axis. Projected laterally and

* “The Origin of Species’, by means of natural selection, by Charles Darwin,

M.A. (1917 reprint of first edition published in 1859-60).

‘Manual of Zoology’, by H. A. Nicholson, M.p., D.sc., Ph.p.(Gott.), F.L.S.,

F.G.s., 7th edition, p. 43 (1887).

‘General Biology’, by J. F. Abbott, Professor of Zoology in Washington

University, pp. 199-241 (1914).

‘Zoology’, by E. ‘W. MacBride, F.R.s., pp. 73-81 (1918).

‘The Evolution of Living Organisms’, by E. 8. Goodrich. F.R.s., pp. 27-69

(1918).

2474 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

posteriorly from either side of the junction of the neural with the

haemal arches are processes in the nature of cervical ribs. Above

these at the termination of the neural arches are roughened

surfaces, which represent the post-zygapophyses.

The axis cr 2nd cervical vertebra is in all snakes 1 mm. larger

than the Ist cervical, except in the case of Dryophis mycterizans,

in which it is half a millimetre larger; this vertebra is also subject

to slight individual differences dependant upon the length, the

size, and kind. The dorsal and ventral surfaces show more accen-

tuated neural spines, arches and hypapophyses. There are two

of the latter processes on the ventral surface—the broader pro-

jected downwards from the antericr end has been designated in

the text-figures as the haemal process in order to distinguish it

from the posterior process or hypapophysis proper,

The anterior articular face articulating with the Atlas, shows

the neural arches covering the neural canal joined to the Odontoid

process, which projects forward as a prominent bony extension

fitting into the lower aperture on the posterior articular face of

the Atlas. Below the Odontoid is the haemal process already

mentioned.

The posterior articular surface shows the neural spines some-

what extended to a peak and the neural arches joined to the

centrum, which here features a protuberance or epiphyseal head.

Below this is the hypapophysis. From the junction of the neural

arches with the haemal arches spring the cervical ribs which are

much larger than those noted in the Atlas.

The successive cervical vertebrae increase in size, each being

one millimetre larger than the preceding one and in Dryophis

mycterizans half a millimetre larger. Except for the finger-like

neural spines in some snakes they show the same features as have

already been described for a typical vertebra.

The thoracic vertebrae in sequence gradually increase in size—

length, width and depth—and are similar in character to a typical

vertebra, numbering from 383 to 86. The largest dimensions are

attained about the middle of the vertebral column in the anterior

dorsal series. From thence there is a corresponding diminution

up to the tip of the caudal section. The dorsal vertebrae vary in

number and may be from 80 to 1380 or more dependant upon

the length of the snake.

The cloacal and caudal vertebrae show the same features as

described in a general way for a vertebra in any of the other

sections of the vertebral column, but they are differentiated from

them by the presence of short processes in the nature of false

ribs. The vertebrae in the cloacal section also vary in number,

sometimes being four in some and three in others, irrespec-

tive of the sex. So also in the caudal division, the num-

bers of the vertebrae vary and depend upon the species and

caudal length and may be in the ‘count from 23 to 140

vertebrae. The last three caudal segments are very minute

and inseparably fused.

A striking variation noted is that relating to the total number

of vertebrae in the body length. This is not a constant figure

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THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI

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and differs in the count even in the same species. <A. similar

meristic variation is encountered in the numbers of the ventral

plates on the belly. The ventral shields and the vertebrae are

numerically closely correlated. The ventral shields correspond

exactly with the number of vertebrae provided with free and true

ribs. A pair of these articulate with each vertebra in the cervical,

thoracic, and dorsal divisions, excepting the first and second

cervical, which are devoid of them, but as previously stated show

short rudimentary projections in the nature of cervical ribs fused

with the body of the vertebra. The true ribs terminate at the

junction of the last dorsal vertebra with the first cloacal. The

cloacal and caudal vertebrae on the other hand, although, having

no tree articulating ribs attached, show in the cloacal series a

pair of short rigid processes inseparably fused on either side with

the vertebral bodies and in the caudal section one shorter rigid

process on either side similarly ankylosed to the bodies of the

vertebrae. These short rib-hke extensions diminish in length pro-

portionately with the decrease in size of the vertebrae from the

region of the vent backwards and disappear in the last three fused

caudal segments in which they are reduced and represented by

tubercles. All of these pseudo ribs are shaped like the true ribs

with the convexity on the dorsal aspect, except in the case of

the second and lower placed processes of the cloacal group, which

are convex on the ventral surface and curve outwards and up-

wards toward the superiorly positioned process. They in conti-

nuity with the true artiewlar ribs round and mould the body in

these regions. There is no sternum in snakes. The distal ends

of the ribs are free. The terminal points are cartilagimous, some-

what bulbous in some and pointed in others, and attached by

muscular, connective and elastic tissue to the abdominal scutae.

They thicken in the length from without inwards toward the

proximal or vertebral termination. The dorsal convexity of the

rib is ridged and the ventral concavity is rounded. It is slightly

flattened in the dorso-ventral diameter and broadens out. at the

vertebral end, where it consists of a transversely placed rod of.

bone, which presents three articular portions: (1) capitulum or

head of the rib, (2) tubercle of the rib, with a shght depression

anterior to it, and (3) small process for the attachment of hga-

ments. The whole of this articular surface is adapted to fit cor-

responding formations previously described as in the vertebra and

completing the suspensorium or articular arrangements for the

ribs. The lengths of the ribs vary in snakes. They are of uniform

length throughout in some _ species, others show the shorter

lengths attached to the cervical and thoracic, gradually increasing

and being longest in the midbody, and then decreasing propor-

tionately toward the vent. Again as in the Cobra, the longest

ribs are those in the cervical and part of the thoracic regions

corresponding to the position of the hood, which in fact is caused

and produced by muscular action extending the ribs and expand-

ing the neck parts of the exoskeleton. The co-operation of the

muscles, ribs and the ventral plates secures mobility and loco-

motion.

276 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Voi. XXXIX

THE ANATOMICAL RELATIONS OF THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN WITH

THE UNDERLYING ORGANS AND VISCERA.

The underlying organs and viscera help in an arbitrary way

in distinguishing the various sections of the vertebral column,

because by their approximate relative positions the vertebral

divisions become designated. In this respect, these relations are

of some value in those species falling into the vertebral groups I,

II and IV, in which the peculiarities of the vertebral hypapo- ~

physes, as previously outlined present difficulties in separately

defining them. In mentioning these relations, advantage will be

taken of the opportunity here offered to briefly describe the viscera

and organs.

The relations in the case of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae,

which for convenience will be considered together, are the ali-

mentary canal, trachea, tongue and heart in the majority of snakes,

but in some the anterior parts of the lungs and liver also become

involved. The first two vertebral divisions roughly extend over

one-third of the body length. The dorsal section, dependant upon

the species and in particular the caudal length, is generally the

greatest in extent. Under these varying conditions the situation

of the organs and viscera differs in the various snakes.

The stomach consists of a long, distensible, funicular membrane

in correspondence with the elongated form of the snake. There is

no distinction as between the oesophageal tube and gastric enve-

lope, or stomach proper, as seen in the higher vertebrates. It

lies above the’ trachea and tongue and anteriorly communicates

with the mouth. Posteriorly it unites with the intestines by a

pyloric thickening.

The trachea is long and tubular and composed of cartilaginous

loops, which are ventrally un-united and held together by a fibro-

elastic investment. Around this again is a membranous covering.

Anteriorly the laryngeal opening les in the mouth above the

tongue. The hissing snakes use this during the respiratory act

by constricting the aperture in order to produce the characteristic

sound. Posteriorly it terminates in a blunted open end directly

into the canal of the right lung. There are no bronchial tubes

and no ramifications of them into the lung substance. The

posterior section of the trachea, close to the terminal lung end, is

in relation with the heart.

The tongue les below the trachea and is attached to it for

approximately half its length. It is bifid and contractile and con-

sists of two cylindrical lobes of muscular tissue sheathed in a

connective tissue investment to which on either side and bound

by similar integument in close apposition are attached the two

filamentous hyoid bones. These are of bristle-like thickness in

the smaller snakes. They exhibit both rigidity and resilience, and

measure from 2 to 4 in. in length, dependant upon the kind and

length of the snake. The terminal points of these bones are

embedded in the mouth by a fibro-cartilaginous union, direct with

the subcutaneous tissue of the epiderm forming the floor of the

lower jaw between the two mandibles. The position of this

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 277

attachment varies in the different species. It is placed somewhat

forward in the mouth in those that hiss like the cobra, krait,

and most vipers, and lower down in others at a point correspond-

ing with the base of the skull. The tracheal aperture coincides

with these fixation points and is situated superiorly above them

and closely and firmly bound with the investment sheathing the

tongue and the hyoid bones. The posterior attachment of the

tongue and also that of the hyoid bones to the trachea for two-

thirds of their lengths is of a loose and free nature, being but

thinly covered by fascia lata. The hyoid bones at this extremity

meet behind and enclose the tongue, which is attenuated and

firmly welded to them by the investments. The muscular action

of the tongue causes the protrusions and at the same time draws

up and arches the hyoid bones, which lmit the extent of its

protractility. Retraction of the tongue is effected by muscular

relaxation and by the return of the hyoid bones to their former

rigidity, by which action the tongue is pulled back into its posi-

tion in the mouth. Apart from the action of the hyoid bones,

the tongue itself has in part an elastic recoil. This mechanism

enables the snake to use the tongue in the peculiar manner so

often seen.

The heart lies a little above the junction of the trachea with

the lungs and is partly supported by them and enveloped in the

- pericardial serous membrane. It is three-chambered, consisting

of right and left auricles, completely divided by a septum, and

behind these the connecting ventricle. This is partly sectioned,

but actually consists of only one chamber. Communicating with

the heart cavities are the main blood vessels. These are the right

and left aortic arches, the pulmonary artery and vein, and the

vena cava inferior. Anterior to the heart and supported partly

by its investments lies the thyroid gland. The position of the

heart varies in the species. In some it is situated below the

tracheal union with the lungs and it is then partly supported by

the lungs.

The lungs are unsymmetrical lobes. The right lung is elong-

ated and tubular. The left lung is rudimentary in character and

in the majority of snakes is missing. The right lung is well

developed and ends posteriorly in a membranous recess or air

chamber. This is a marked feature in Nerodia piscator, in which

it is a sausage-shaped capacious cavity. The lungs are largely

reticulated capillaries, between which are air spaces. They are

positioned dorsally above and related with the heart, stomach, and

the anterior parts of the liver. Normal respiration in the snake

is timed at 3 per 65 seconds.

The liver consists of two long, cylindrical lobes, the larger

and longer lobe lying to the right side and connected by a long

hepatic duct to the gall bladder which in most snakes is detached

at some varying length behind and away from the right lobe, at

a point corresponding roughly to the middle of the body. The

anterior end of the liver is connected to the heart by blood vessels.

The posterior terminal point of the right lobe ends a little below

the junction of the stomach with the small intestines, both of

978 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY ~ Vols Keene

which lie laterally on the left. The thoracic vertebrae here termi-

hate at a poimt midway in the liver leneth. |

The dorsal vertebral division is in relation with the posterior

half of the liver, the gall bladder and its duct, the lower end

of the air reservoir, the terminal end of the stomach, the

small and large intestines, the urino-genital appendages and

organs. | |

The small intestine lies to the left side of the body and is

transversely folded and covered by its mesenteric investments.

Here also in the larger species is a protective padding of fat lobules

lining the ventral aspect. The small and large intestines are con-

nected by an ileo-caecal union where also lies the pancreas.

Lateral to the large intestines on either side are placed the female

ovaries and oviducts and the male vasa deferentia, which are

long and open by separate apertures into the cloaca. The left

ovary and oviduct appear rudimentary. Dorsally above the

genitals he the urmary appendages terminating in the papillae

urinary situated in the common cloacal aperture. There is no

urinary bladder in the snake. The terminations of the large in-

testine and the urmo-genital appendages are in relation with the

cloacal vertebrae.

The caudal vertebral section:—Here there are only muscles

and no organs. On the ventral surface posterior to and imme-

diately behind the vent on either side are two small pores

connected by very short ducts to two glands, which secrete a

liquid substance. This fluid varies both in colour and consistency

in the different species, being creamy white, serous yellow, or

dark and viscid. The physiological significance and funetion of

these glands are obscure. It is beheved to be hedonic. These

glands are termed scent glands by Mr. Prater (1933), who from

the existing evidence as to the association of the sexes and the

widespread belief that the mate can trail out its ae companion

to wherever the latter may have been taken, advancts the theory

subject to certain reservations, that by the scent given off from

the glandular secretions, the sexes may be able to trace and find

each other. This is believed to be the function of the two pairs

of glands, one pair located in the throat and the second in the

region of the vent, in crocodiles. Lizards too have femoral pores

exuding a fluid said to serve some such purpose. In the case of

the snakes however, as Mr. Prater observes, ‘It is true in many

species of snakes these glands have been found to be active in

all stages of growth even in hatchlings which are not sexually

mature, and as such it is argued that the glands are not directly

connected with the sexual functions of the snake.’ The same

features also appear in the crocodile and instances are quoted of

baby crocodiles and alligators everting the glands inside out lke

the fingers of a glove when held by force. The glands are stated

+ “The Social life of Snakes’, by. 8S? H. Prater, M.0.c., CAs, mee

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi,; No. 2, p. 469 (15th April 1988)..?

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 279

to be active during the breeding season and can be stirred to

function under stress of fear and excitement. It is regretted that

no proper record was maintained on this aspect in the survey at

Deolali. The impressions gained however were that from young,

half-grown, and some adult specimens no gland juice could be

expressed. The adults and especially the gravid females certainly

produced a heavy secretion with a faint peculiar smell which

became oppressive when decomposed. In the instance of an adult

male killed by sun rays, it was found that the genital organs had

prolapsed, as they were protruding from the vent a little before

death actually occurred. The glands were also exuding their

juice. Cover slip and film preparations both from the organ and

gland were separately made and microscopically examined. That

from the genital organ showed dead spermatozoa and _ cellular

matter while the gland fluid was composed of cellular debris

alone. This male was a Macropisthodon plumbicolor. The secre-

tion from the glands of the gravid females showed in addition

to the cellular content numerous fat globules. The other males

in this survey showed dead spermatozoa in the expressed seminal

secretions. It is presumed that the zoosperms were dead because

of the absence of motility, which one would expect in post-mortem

specimens investigated some time after death. But in the first

case quoted, the expectation was to find motile sperms, because

the secretion was taken and examined at a time when the snake

was in a coma and still breathing fitfully. The heart was also

faintly audible on auscultation. Under the circumstances. the

death of the spermatozoa which were all possessed of very long

flagellae can only be attributed to the hyperpyrexia. It is hoped

at some future time to further explore the point connected with

the viability of the zoosperms.

It may be that the function of the gland juice is intended as

Mr. Prater suggests to guide the sexes together during the, as yet

unknown, periods of the breeding seasons. In the association of

the sexes, also, the glands are possibly stimulated under the

influence of the autonomic nervous ganglia, or the homologue of the

‘nervi erigentes’, which must exist most probably in the cloacal

region, whereby the glands of the sexes secrete fluids, the ad-

mixture of which at insemination form a medium suitable and

necessary for the viability of the spermatozoa until they are able

to reach the oviduct.

THE SKULL.

In the snake the skeleton of the head is well ossified and

made up of the cranium proper or brain case, which occupies the

posterior part of the skull behind the orbital apertures, and ‘the

several bones forming the anterior half of the skull inclusive of

the olfactory capsules. |

The cranial bones are the basi-occipital, ex-occipital, and the

supra-occipital. The basi-occipital serves -as the floor of the

posterior section of the cranial cavity and ventrally limits the

280 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

foramen magnum, where are featured the single condyle and the

two small eminences articulating with the Atlas.

The ex-occipital superiorly forms the roof of the posterior

section of the brain chamber and is in some species ridged by a

crest of bone, the supra-occipital, at the junction with the

parietals.

The parietal bones form practically the entire roof of the ence-

phalon. In the young immature skulls, centrally dividing the

bones can be seen the sagittal suture, which becomes obliterated

or nearly so in the older skulls. The bones end posteriorly in a

terminal point at the union with the supra-occipital.

The sphenoidal bones are the basi-sphenoid, the cesphengay

the pre-sphenoids and the orbito-sphenoids. The basi-sphenoid is

a median plate of bone inferiorly supporting the brain. In the

vipers there is a _ process projected downwards from it and

posteriorly curved and resembling in shape and formation the

hypapophyses of the vertebrae. It serves for the attachment of

the longus colli muscle. The ali-sphenoids are wing-lke bones

fused with the basi-sphenoids. They help in forming the floor

of the cranial cavity and are loosely related with the ecto-pterygoids

and palatine bones. The sphenoid is a forward extension of the

basi-sphenoid.

The pre- -sphenoids are laterally compressed with the basi-

sphenoids and in them the optic foramen is an aperture through

which the optic nerve connects the eye with the brain. Attached

to the pre-sphenoids are the lamellar orbito-sphenoids surrounding

partially the optic foramen and forming a wall separating the

eranium from the orbital aperture. These bones are continued

forward as the vertical inner walls of the orbit.

The squamosal bones are two separate, flat and long bones

which vary in shape and length in the species possessed of. it.

They are placed above the periotic region in articulation with the

mastoid surface and in relation with the occipital and parietal

bones. At the posterior portion of the free ends of the squamosals,

the quadrate or tympanic bones articulate.

The periotic comprise the auditory, mastoid and- temporal

regions of the cranium. ‘They consist of the pro-otic, epiotie and

opisthotic. In the adult skull they are fused to form an irregular

mass. Laterally below the squamosal bones the face of the

periotie is ridged and perforated by apertures. These are the

fenestra rotunda, fenestra ovalis and the foramen for the 5th

nerve. The fenestra ovalis takes part in the auditory apparatus

by the attachment of the Columella Auris to a stapes or stirrup-

like plate on its posterior lip. The Columella Auris is a thin

round rod of bone, which represents the ossicles of hearing and

at its spatulate ends, by fibrous unions, connects up the periotic

with the quadrate or tympanic. The hearing apparatus of the

snake: appears. structurally rudimentary and_ defective. The

ossicles are merely vestigeal in character and there is no mem-

branum tympanum proper and no external auditory meatus.

Furthermore there are the peculiar anatomical dispositions of the

muscles; namely: the digastric; the temporalis anterior, middle,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Pip AE Gey

Skull of Dipsadomorphus beddomei (dorsal and lateral view).

Skull of D. beddomei (ventral view).

Skull of Ptyas mucosus (ventro-lateral view).

For explanation of lettering see end of article,

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 281

and posterior; the cervico-squamosal; the cervico-angularis, and

the sub-occipito-angularis, which are well developed especially in

the vipers; as well as large poison glands, overlaid upon the periotic

surface and around the Columella Auris. The latter must be con-

siderably inhibited in the reception of sound waves and under the

circumstances audition in the snake cannot be very helpful.

This is borne out by the very behaviour of snakes. The

vipers certainly act as if they were deaf; and the majority

of them exhibit more a dependancy upon the acuity of

vision and probably the sense of smell to guide them rather

then hearing.

The bones entering into the formation of the anterior half of

the skull are the frontals, post- and prae-frontals, nasals, inter-

maxillary or praemaxilla, ethmo-turbinals and the vomers. The

separate bones in articular relation with some of the foregomg

are the mavxillaries, palatines, ecto-pterygoids and pterygoids.

These are bound by cartilaginous septa, muscles and hgaments

and kept in position.

The frontals in young specimens are divided mid-dorsally by

sutures, which are absent or represented by denser lines of

ossifications in the older skulls. They are thin plates of

bones placed centrally between the orbital apertures, where

superiorly above the pre-sphenoids they also partly roor it.

From the anterior portion a slender plate of bone is projected

vertically downwards partitioning the olfactory passages in

the ethmoidal region.

The post- trontals he in the posterior corner of the orbit and

furnish the zygomatic process, which circularly bounds the posterior

part of it.

The prae-frontals form the anterior orbital arch and superiorly

are suturally united with the frontals and separated from the

nasals by a depression which is bridged over by cartilaginous

connections.

The nasals are thin bony plates suturally divided in the axial

length and lying in front of the frontals, to which they are pos-

teriorly united by peaked terminals. Medially they broaden out

and anteriorly end in a_ point. They vary in shape in

different species. They cover the maxillo-turbinals and naso-

turbinals and anteriorly help to form the nasal apertures of

the exoskeleton.

The intermaxillary or praemaxilla is suturallv united with the

nasals and is projected forward and downwards, convexed dor-

sally and anteriorly and terminating in two lateral processes,

which are folded inwards to align with the ends of the maxillary

bones nearly touching them. In Python molurus this bone is

dentigerous.

The turbinal bones he beneath the nasals and mainly form the

olfactory capsules consisting of the maxillo-turbinals and the naso-

turbinals which bound the nasal cavities.

The vomers are rounded bony plates fused with the turbinal

bones on their ventral aspects. They occupy the anterior section

in the roof of the mouth just behind the intermaxillary.

982 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The maxillary bones are the most important in the skull of

the snake. The variations in their size, length, and formation,

and particularly the dental features, as has been stated, help in

the differentiations between the families Colubridae and Viperidae.

To these bones are ankylosed the poison fangs, which play so

significant a part in distinguishing the Thanatophidia. The

variations in the maxillary bones and the dentition will be

better appreciated by a reference to the text-figures of the

species dealt with. It was emphasised earlier in this paper

that in the Colubridae the maxillary is long, thin and_ hori-

zontally positioned, whereas ih the Vipers it is thick, short

and obliquely set.

The maxillaries are placed laterally on either side of the upper

jaw. They are in relation anteriorly with the praemaxilla and on

their inner aspects with the palatines and pterygoids, to both of

which they are joined by cartilaginous connections. Posteriorly

they directly articulate with the ecto-pterygoids or transpalatine

bones. It is by means of these latter bones that the maxillaries

can be depressed and protracted forward by muscular action, and

thus erect the fangs to assist in the act of biting and also in

holding and swallowing a bolus of food. The formation is

angular throughout its length, in the aglypha and_ opistho-

glypha. A dorso-ventral section would appear as in the following

diagram.

Superiorly the bones articulate with the inferior border of the

prae-frontals and in the ventral surface of the bone are embedded

the grooved fangs of the poisonous species and the non-perforated

teeth of the aglyphous types.

The ecto-pterygoids function chiefly in the act of biting and

swallowing. They are long, medium or short in length according

to the kind of snake. In most of them the anterior part is flat

and broadly spatulate. Dorsally it is slightly convex and angular

and placed in articulation over the posterior end of the maxilla.

Posteriorly it thins out and terminates in a point, where it is in

direct articulation ‘with the pterygoid. This arrangement con-

forms to the principle in Dynamics, whereby muscular action as

the ‘Power’ equivalent exerted along its dorsal surface depresses

the anterior end lying on the maxilla, which represents the

‘Weight’ to be lifted, while the ‘Fulcrum’ is the articular

point resting upon the pterygoid. In the Vipers the ante-

rior portion of the bone is broadened out into a winged

expansion articulating at almost a right angle with the obliquely

set maxilla.

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 283

The palatines are two vertically fixed plates placed in the roof

of the mouth on either side of the vomers and between the

maxillaries. The palatines themselves are divided by the central

cavity forming the nasal and orbital apertures opening into the

mouth and roofed over by the sphenoid. They are in relation

with the maxillary bones in front and _ posteriorly are joimed

with the pterygoids near to or a little below the nasal aper-

tures in the mouth. On the ventral aspect are ankylosed some

solid teeth, varying in number, from 8 to 9, in the different

snakes. .

The pterygoids are two vertically set bony plates, anteriorly

narrow and running almost parallel with each other on either

side below the sphenoid to which they lare ventrally related.

They broaden out from near the articulation of the ecto-pterygoid

and extend backwards past the base of the skull curving laterally

outwards, backwards, and downwards, terminating in a_ point,

which in many species touches the articular end of the mandible.

The posterior parts of the bone are grooved either ventrally or

laterally. To the ventral and inner ledge are attached numerous

non-perforated teeth.

The ethmoidal region lies below the frontals in front of the

cranial cavity. Posteriorly the cribriform plate partitions the

brain chamber and through its perforations pass the olfactory

nerves to the brain. Fused with the cribriform plate are laminae

which form the nasal cavity.

The lower jaws are the mandibles on either side. They consist

of two parts generally, but in the Typhlopidae and some of the

other related families, of three parts, namely, a dentary portion,

a ramus or articular part, and a coronoid. These several parts

are suturally united. A symphysis attachment unites them in

front and allows of a certain elasticity by which snakes are able

when swallowing to operate either side independently. As in

most bones of the snake, here too, there are variations in the

formation. The most divergent type is that seen in Polyodontophis

collaris, in which the dentary is sharply angulated inwards. The

dentition in this snake in all its toothed jaw bones, upper and

lower, is characteristically specific, in that the teeth are peg-

topped and quite unlike any of the other species in Deolah, in

which the teeth show fine points. In Typhlops braminus, the

dentary is unprovided with teeth, while in other species there is

set on its superior aspect a varying number of non-perforated

teeth.

The moveable quadrate bones articulating superiorly with the

squamosals of the skull and inferiorly with the lower jaw bones,

complete the mandibular arch which is thus formed posteriorly.

Above, the quadrate is generally broadly spatulate, and laid

on the posterior section of the squamosal. It ends below

in a protuberance fitting into a notch on _ the articular

end, or the ramus of the mandible. This arrangement allows of

a great lateral distension of the jaws and permits of a forward

and backward extension of the mandibles to a remarkable

degree.

XXXI

Vol.

CENTIMETRES.

NATURAL HIST: SOCIETY

SPECIES IN

BOMBAY

TasLE IV.—CoMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF THE SKULL AND

VERTEBRAL COLUMNS OF THE

284 JOURNAL

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62 . eja[datoo No nn o Nun Nommn i SNAnRR .NOONM SSOSSON OOH

o U0}9[9 3 SOX 5 : : : coOonnn Se) NH FORDM SOmMNKR RNS

avo }9[9 a 2 nen 3 Sse AIO SD A HNMinin OGON NNOININOOPD

an jo yysue'} at

passes POR NCeee sd pg eg eee hae 2 eeu Rca ae eel goede

2 =H Vel pene NAO OO CO HO CO MWOoOHONMrTH

pur [[nNys jo qsuaz[ejoy, =A See al coe NOS OD ae HAN Hininindegoeo SAA In HInin&

- a oe i as

a |

g | ty jo dy Se ee ood oS Re es ue ey uree scone murgars Se aes

pe : > : Bz 2 HOROD AHAininndnoonno HRHROKRNRDS

= 0} Sey Woy ae pa ie nN HO A651 OH =H FAN ATHHHOOS saANHtHsS

0 —

|__9seq [eqd1090 0} |i eooen | whortty | © TOUS D0 OOS Bal) ee Oe

emloshz |v}ao1jjsod jo. N 4 rites Seooor- SOndnAe roy ecooooococonn Sooocoeoeo

a, yoodsv [e}yiqio tory | © SS

@) ‘ = aueiaeet _ _ eae ee

2 SIxB suo] oq} UI Bie © seal tee coco Gere a) | ea Oe OO TRO OE OED Uh Sit OR es

: : : : S>OOOC Soo oc Se >¢ SsSoooooc Seoooeooo

“) 14) jqso Jo r9}0uIVIGq S os eoceos co) aoe

come = _| : -

Spee era ere ae |

dB [BWQIO IOIL3}UV |

z ae Ae ea ee ane: THT TOD SE aka alee ~ RNC Te tO LOT US AU Siete ae

Qe ere) = | & S56 Ssoecoac oooocor ° SEQSS50SSS9 ecoeoooo0oco

a | 0} AlVL[LXeUIezUL

7, jo dt} Wolly ee ee ey | eee Jin ats | ees —~

eS aseq [e}Id1090 <H ne 69 en 69 COIN ANMAOKD | on DOHMOWMDWNRON WDRMOMWNOO

0} Aley[Ixeultajul = = S So ee at iad SAA AAAN = CHAAR aH HAN Seen H AAA

jo dij wolg | ae a ee Sse

‘suotutseds Jo ‘ON = OUND OT UNO HH | NOTHIN a NON HINOMN ODS AN HINO h 0

“S : Z

iy s A Ss =

‘8 S 8 ag Ses =

| & S SAN sa ON ~~

ae: is oe 2 a Sou 3:

a g s¢ Seren SOO Sa

| Uv SI A Swe Yen

|; Ss Ss Go as Sq 2 a

~ NG eS 3A S

aN Q & L SS aS

S . ‘ ;

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 285

TaBLE IV.—CoMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF THE SKULL, ETC. (Contd.).

ENDOSKELETON =

Column| g Exo-

SKULL fe Skele-

oo =

a] Sof Cuel aa | eee ce hia

re ~ o “6 o | fo) gS! 2. 5) 2 i) n qu (es

OS Pals yw Be QS > ‘Sq

Beato 2 Oey aa Sita @ cg = Sex

glHa Ge Sa) BM) aas <8 Sa is oo

VIBoaaeos Aaa Og og & mB) PS Oa

Sy Roba eae | oO) eee ae eho a oo

Wye Sere at SS). So > (8 o

WISasie ese} e2 | sas) ga |= |weg

Ol, ola ght] 8s So | ot ose 2100 0

6| 2°| e=s|Sa| 885) = |S ee

7. oF a 4 Q ora H

Ptyas mucosus | 1} 3°4 ar 0S _1:4 212-0) {215°4 |225:'0 | Female

(Linn) | 2} 32) 10 | 08 | 14 | 1755 178-7 |185-0 | do.

| ‘

Zaments Time i9 0°6 05 | 08 76°7 =| 78°6 | 90:0 | Male

fasctolatus Zieeee 0°6 06 10 | 1048 |107°0 |117°5 | Female

(Shaw)

Coluber helena 1 2:0 0°7 0-4 | 0-9 | 74:5 76°5 | 80°0 do.

(Daud. ) Bo 92:5.) 20-0 3| 04 | 1:2 | Q11 | 93-6 [1050 | do.

| |

Oligodon slit Et 0°3 | 0:2 0°6 29°5 | 30°6 | 35°0 | do.

arnensis (Shaw) | 2) 1:0 Q°2 | 0:2 0°6 29:0 | 30°) | 33°5 do.

i at

Oligodon 1} 0°7 0-2 Ol | O04 18°0 | 18:7. | 20:0 :. do.

teniolatus (Jerd.) | 2} 0:8 0:2 G2 ea0sd 20 Sem ee W272 55 CO.

3|, 09 03 | O02 | 0-4 39°5 | 40-4 | 42°0 | do.

Dipsadomorphus | 1, O0°9 0°2 0:2 0:5 12°5 13°4 2 | Not

trigonatus | | | ascer-

(Schn.) | | | tained

2 082 0°3 06 47:0 48'1 | 50:0 | Female

Bly slide 0°35 0-4 0°7 970 | 584 62:5 | Male.

4) 14/ 03 | 04] O07 | 61:6 | 63-0 | 67-5 | Female

5) 14} 03 | 0-4] 0-7 | 586 | 69:0 | 645 | do.

6) 1:5 |; 0-4 04 Or S15: 0.8 ie7 725 | 82:57) do,

7), 15 | O04 0-4 O7 | ws Se Un ae do.

| | |

: | |

Dryophis mycte- ; Me : oO : : ;

vizans (Linn.) 1) 22 0-9 0-4 0-9 | 107-8 | 110°0|} 115-0} do.

Bungarus ceru- | \\ Vl 0:3 0:2 0°6 46°4 | 47°5 | 50:0 | do.

leus (Schn.) | 2 2°] 0°6 0°4 121 82°7. | 84:8 | 88:0 | do.

Bie 25 0°6 06 3) 0970 VIS 111593) | do.

Naia naia, var. | 1} 2:0; 0°6 0°5 0:9 vee | nee | ee do,

ceca (Merr.) 2; 21, 06 0°5 1:0 81°5 | 83°6 : 88°7 | do.

Cobra (binocel- 3, 2:2. 0°6 0°5 ei 707: 78°35. 850 | do,

late). Ai 223% OF (Os) ee ay” ee fel ess do.

| 5} 2:4 | 06 06 | 1:2 | 78:7 | 81:1 | 85:0 | do.

EE , = a - - i : t | * ~ meen)

286 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

TABLE IV.—CoMPaRATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF THE SKULL ETC.—(Continued).

A RE SSS SSS cS SS PE SSS SS Sa cS SS SSS,

( Exo-

ENDOSKELETON skele-

Fs Column ton

Mee SKULL

o ae pate 8

t cy

& ae | ar Ore rey alten vali o

Q\8S |Pas Poste |e: | 2

| rains) Sele KIS QO] oO | S& Co

3 (828 |8S5ioa|.54) 2. | 98 | ee

d omy.) Sully yy Bg no feeb! mM a

| Soles clo sgises| sa feo| wa

| 22 42 Sao e Fisga/s8 | wo

| © HI O ~ O°

'AZ2isasCl ao s/e@aleog; a | 8 o

Bw [oe o> oO One 2 c

8 | DAolac ain = S| | 4 on

f= ig ie are ° & a

is® jssaig |fas| & = O

1 = ~ |

sae | | ;

Callophis trima- | | |

cutatus 1} 05 | OL. j0:13) 0:33) 21-0 | 21'S | 23:0 | Female

(Daud) 2) 0°54) 0-1 0-14] 0-3 | 26-0 | 26°54] 8-5 do.

Vipera russelli

(Shaw)

ee ee ee, | ioe. eee) 5)

Echis carinata) 1| 1:0! 0:2 /6-4| 0-4 | 23-0 | 240 | 25:0! do.

(Schn.) | Boj 1°20: 3510744 105 | 29:0 | 30°2 | 32°5 do.

3) 14] 03 0-4) 07 | 43-1 | 445 | 47-5 | do.

Dipsadomorphus | 1| 15) 0-4 04) 07 | 83:0 845 90:0 | do.

beddomei (Wall) | | “ |

Polyodontophis | |

collaris (Bigr.) | 1 15/ O-4

0: , 0:8 | 73°5 | 75-0 , 85-0 | do.

PoIson GLANDS.

These glands are of various kinds and constitute the homologues

of the salivary glands in the higher vertebrates. In the snake,

however, they are more complex in structure and specialised for

a twofold purpose, defence and digestion.

In the Thanatophidia the glands are large and aciniform, parti-

cularly in the larger species such as the Cobra, the Krait and

some of the vipers, and proportionately graded in snakes of smaller

size like Callophis trimaculatus. They are placed behind the eye,

between it and a point near to the squamosal bones and are

lobulated membranous sacs both secreting and storing venom in

fair quantities up to 1 c.c. The glands in the vipers are denser

in structure and the venom required for immediate use is col-

lected in a mucous capsule anterior to the fang. There is also a

glandular chain along and under the supralabials (upper lip) and

in some species along the outer side of the dentary below the

teeth,

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 287

The Opisthoglyphous Colubridae are possessed of a_ salivary

gland. In the Deolali species the salivary or parotid gland was

tound lying along the upper lip, below and away from the eye and

reaching up to the angle formed by the upper and lower lip. The

glands were flat, tough, dull yellow structures, shotty to the feel.

There was found an ‘additional bilobed gland situated immediately

behind the eye and against it in the temporal region near to the

zygomatic process of the post-frontal bone. The uppermost lobe

appeared to be in the nature of a sac and contained a glairy fluid.

Some of the aglyphous Colubridae are provided with both

parotid and temporal glands. But in these the parotid glands

show as large, soft, lobulated masses, white in colour in contrast

with the presentation seen in the opisthoglypha.

Again other aglyphous snakes showed the presence of parotid

glands alone, similar in formation to those mentioned above for

the same class.

The species in the survey at Deolali are grouped as under.

A. Specialised aciniform glands served by reservoir :—

COLUBRIDAE: ‘PROTEROGLYPHA .

Naia naia, var. caeca (Merr.) Binocellate Cobra.

Bungarus caeruleus (Schn.) Krait.

Callophis trimaculatus (Daud.) Slender Coral Snake.

VIPERIDAE: VIPERINAE.

Vipera russelli (Shaw) Russell’s Viper.

Echis carinata (Schn.) The Saw-scaled Viper ‘Phoorsa’.

B. Hard, yellow, parotid gland and bilobed temporal gland :—

CoLUBRIDAE: ‘OPISTHOGLYPHA’.

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus (Schn.) Common Cat Snake.

Dryophis mycterizans (Linn.) The Green Whip Snake.

Dipsadomorphus beddomei (imported into Deolali).

C. Soft, white, parotid gland and a single temporal gland :—

COLUBRIDAE: ‘AGLYPHA’.

Lycodon aulicus (Linn.) The Wolf Snake.

D. Soft, large, white, parotid gland only :—

CoLUBRIDAE: ‘AGLYPHA’.

Nerodia piscator (Schn.) The Checquered Water Snake.

Rhabdophis stolatus (Linn.) The Buff-striped Keelback.

Polyodontophis collaris (extraneous to Deolali).

Macropisthodon plumbicolor (Cantor) The Green Keelback.

Ptyas mucosus (linn.) The Rat Snake ‘Dhaman’.

Zamenis fasciolatus (Shaw) The Fasciolated Rat Snake.

Oligodon arnensis (Shaw) The Banded Kukri Snake.

Oligodon taeniolatus (Jerd.) The Variegated Kukri Snake.

E. Small single temporal gland only :—

CoLUBRIDAE: ‘AGLYPHA’.

Coluber helena (Daud.) The Trinket Snake.

BorwaE: ‘Bornan’.

Eryx conicus (Schn.) The Earth Boa (red).

TYPHLOPIDAE.

Typhlops braminus (Daud.) The Worm Snake.

288 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

MECHANISM OF THE BITE.

Dr. Fairley’ at a meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine

(June 1984) dealt with methods of taking dental impressions of

the bite and the significance of the ‘maxillary index’ and the

‘quadrate index’ which he had introduced for determining the bit-

ing efficiency of the Australian colubrids. In snake-bite four dis-

tinct phases were recognized: (1) the strike; (2) opening the

mouth and elevation of the fangs; (8) closing the mouth and the

injection of venom; (4) retraction of the fangs. In the Australian

colubrids there was a wide range of variation in the mobility of

the fangs, the degree of elevation from extreme retraction to

maximal protraction varying from 10-15 to 45-50 in the different

species studied. Each pterygo-palatine-transverse arch acted as

a single entity, and when the protractor muscles of the palate drew

the endo-pterygoid forward, they invariably brought with it the

palatine bone and the ecto-pterygoid which impinged on the pos-

terior arm of the maxilla, driving the maxilla forwards and upwards

on the articulating surface of the prefrontal. This produced a

variable degree of elevation and forward rotation of the fangs

which were ankylosed to the inferior surface of the maxilla; its

extent could be judged by the angle formed at the ecto-pterygoid

maxillary junction which, in the resting position, formed a straight

line. Should this movement be doubted it could readily be

demonstrated by pithing the snake, dissecting up the mucous

membrane on the roof of the mouth and electrically stimulating

the protractor and retractor muscles acting on the palatine arch;

alternatively skulls could be prepared with the palatine arch in

different positions. In these snakes the smaller the maxilla (..e.,

the greater the maxillary index) the greater the forward move-

ment of the pterygo-palatine-transverse arch and the greater the

degree of forward projection of the fangs. This mechanism differ-

ed from that of the vipers, in which the movement of the maxilla

on the prefrontal was a true rotary one and not a forward and

upward sliding movement as described above.?

In the mechanism of the bite, emphasis is thus laid upon the

significant factors of the maxillary and quadrate indices. As the

maxillary index is governed by the size of the maxillary bone, the

biting efficiency of any snake other than the viper, becomes

dependant upon the possession of a small maxilla. The applica-

tion to the Deolali series of the principle enunciated results in

the following serial order into which the species fall in accordance

with the length of their maxillary bones. The figures have been

ascertained by actual measurement of the skulls and maxillary

bones. The lengths of the quadrate bone have also been included

to show the comparative proportions between it and the maxillary

bone.

‘ Fairley (N. Hamilton), ‘Snake Bite: Its Mechanism and Modern Treat-

ment’, Proc. Roy. Soc. Med. (June 1984), vol. xxvii, No. 8, pp. 1083-91 (Sec.

Trop. Dis. and Parasit., pp. 45-53).

* Tropical Diseases Bulletin, vol. xxxii, No. 5 (May 1935),

‘(ATO ‘DIDU DIDN) BAGOD ey} Jo pkey Jo WoOTQvasstq

eee

ant

NO i estines

“A WLVId

‘200 “ISIH “93eN Avquog ‘‘uanor

<n Fineten mance

Ama

oll

ste

eae

THE SNAKES OF DEOLALI 289

TABLE V.—SHOWING THE COMPARATIVE LENGTHS OF THE MAXILLARY

AND QUADRATE BONES OF THE COLUBRIDAE FouND IN DEOLALI.

(Measurements in Centimetres.)

| Length of | Length of | Length of

Species Skull Maxilla Quadrate

(cm.) (cm.) (cm.)

Proteroglypha

Callophis trimaculatus O°S2 | Onl 0-1

(Daud.) 0°5 | 01 | Oat

Rungarus ceruleus (Schn.) Zo 0°5 O-4

pa 0-4 0°3

17 0:5 0-2

Nata nata, var. caeca (Merr.) 2°4 0°6 0-9

23 OFS | 0°8

2:2 0:5 0°8

cal ES) 0°8

Z0 0-4 0°8

Opisthoglypha | -

Dipsadomorphus trigonatus ies 0°8 0°6

(Schn.) 1°4 0-7 0°5

1°4 0°7 0°

Dryophis mycterizans ( Linn.) 2°3 13 05

Aglypha a

Oligodon teniolatus ((Jerd.) 9°9 0°3 0:2

0°8 0:3 OZ

0°7 OFZ 0:2

Oligodon arnensts (Shaw) 11 0°5 0:2

1:0 0°4 eZ

Lycodon aulicus ( Linn.) 1 5 06 Des

13 0°6 0°3

1:0 0-4 | 0-2

0:9 (0-4 OZ

0°8 0°3 0:2

Rhabdophis stolatus (Linn.) Is3 Oa 0-4

Mocropisthodon plumbicolor 2°0 iGga | pall

(Cantor) 1:9 1:0 1:0

18 0°8 0:9

1°6 0:7 0°8

SS ae [= SEK. 7 -

:Verodia piscator (Schn.) 2°4 1°4 0°9

1°9 1:0 0°5

Ae 0°6 G3

Zamenis fasctolatus (Shaw) iS) 0-9 0°5

2°2 1:0 0°6

Coluber helena { Daud.) 7a) 16 0°6

2°0 125 0-6

Piyas mucosus (Linn.) 3°4 19 PS

| St2, 19 bia |

290 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

TABLE V.—CoMPARATIVE LENGTHS OF THE MAXILLARY AND QUADRATE BoNES—

(Continued).

Length of | Length of ; Length of

Species Skull Maxilla Quadrate

(cm.) (cm.) (cm.)

Colubridz extraneous to Deolali

Ohpisthoglypha 1:5 0°8 0°6

Dipsadomorphus beddomei (Wall)

Aglypha |

Polyodontophis collarits 15 1:0 0.7

Boidz found in Deolali

Eryx conicus (Schn.) 2°5 1°3 [22076

1°8 0°9 | 0-4

06 | 0°3

| 13

In the above Table, it will be observed that there are variations

in the lengths of the maxillary and quadrate bones, even in the

same species. It may not be remarkable, but it is none the less

significant that the Thanatophidia should head the list by the

possession of comparatively smaller maxillary bones. The evi-

‘dence in these figures definitely confirms the findings of Dr.

Fairley and small maxillary bones appear to be a specialization in

the snake determining its biting efficiency. In the figures shown

for the Cobra, it follows that the younger snakes would be able

to project their fangs much more forward and therefore become

capable of more effectively injecting a lethal dose than could the

older ones in whom the lower maxillary index functions less effi-

ciently. This also supports and explains Dr. Lamb’s! estimate

(quoted by Col. Wall, 1928) that 80 per cent of Cobra-bitten

subjects escape with a sub-lethal dose.

EXPLANATION OF LETTERING ON Puates III anp IV.

ana,—Anterior neural arch. aps,—Anapophysis. ac,—Acetabulum centrum.

ar,—Articular ramus. ar, R,—Articular surface for rib. bo,—Basi-occipital.

bs,—Basi-sphenoid. cr,—Cervical rib. cor,—Coronoid. c,—Centrum. cv,—

Cervical vertebra. ca,—Columella auris. d,—Dentary. eo,—Exoccipital. epg,—

Ecto-pterygoid (or transpalatine). ec,—Hpiphysis centrum. f,—Frontal. fm,—

Foramen magnum. fo,—Fenestra_ ovalis. fr,—Fenestra rotunda. fvn, —

Foramen for 5th nerve. hs—Hypapophysis. hp,—Haemal process. im,—

Intermaxillary (praemaxillary). irp,—Inferior rib process. _1f,—Lacrymal

foramen. me,—Mandible. m,—Maxillary. md,—Mastoid. mp,—Metapophysis.

ns,—Neural spine. na, a,—Neural arch alae. of,—Optic foramen. oa,—Orbital

aperture. odp,—Odontoid process. od,—Odontoid. og,—Orbital groove. pl,—

Palatine. pg,—Pterygoid. prf,—Praefrontal. pf,—Postfrontal. pc,—Periotic.

przs,—Praezygapophysis. ptzs,—Postzygapophysis. pna,—Posterior neural arch.

p,—Parietal. q,—Quadrate (tympanic). rfg,—Reserve fang. s,—Squamosal.

se, or gs,—Gland sulcus. sp,—Sphenoid. so,—Supra-occipital. srp,—Superior

rnb process. tu,—Turbinal. tp,—Transverse process. t—Temporal. v,—

Vomer.

1 “The Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of our British Indian Dominions, etc.,

etc.’, by Col, F. Wall, 1.M.s., K.H.s., C.M.z.8., p. 75 (1928).

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF

ANT IN SOUTH INDIA

CREMATOGASTER DOHRNI ARTIFEX, MAYER.

P. N. Krisuna Ayyar,

Lecturer in Entomology, Agricultural College, Coimbatore.

(With four plates).

INTRODUCTION.

This remarkable species of arboreal ant was discovered by the

writer for the first time in 8. India in the Sirumalai hills in the

vicinity of Dindigul town at an elevation varying from 2,500 ft.

to 3,000 ft. While on a brief visit to those tracts with a party of

Agricultural Students, early in January 1935, these insects attracted

his attention by the huge globular dark brown nests, about the

size of a foot-ball, attached to branches of various trees on either

side of the track at a height of about eight to nine feet from the

ground. ‘Those spherical enclosures were conspicuous in appear-

ance and were built round and embracing some fairly stout and

healthy branches of certain trees. Besides the larger branches,

several smaller ones passed right through the nests giving them

additional support. The nests, which were full of ants at the time

of collection, were singular both in the material used in construc-

tion and in their architecture; and the writer was naturally struck

with admiration at the wonderful foresight and great ingenuity

displayed in their construction.

The inhabitants of these curious nests are neither large nor

attractive in appearance. The ant concerned is comparatively a

very small one, ferrugineous in colour and varying in size from 3 to

5 mm.; but it is certainly one of the most skilful and talented

of all the tribes. The head is somewhat larger and square and

the thorax is provided at the hind part with a pair of prominent

sharp spines. A slender nodulose waist or pedicel connects the

flat triangular abdomen to the thorax. The abdomen itself is a

shade darker than the rest of the body and is often held bent

over and between the spines. The body has a thin covering of

abundant fine silky pubescence. So far as is known there is

no published record of this species in 8. India and probably this

is the first record of its occurrence in this country.

Since very httle is known about this species of ant an attempt

was made to make a thorough study of its biology and habits.

With this end in view fresh nests were obtained from the same

locality and were kept for observation and study for months

together. Some experiments were also conducted to elucidate

the natural history of the species concerned.

292 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

THe NEst.

In South India the species is probably confined to the Siru-

malai hills since no records of its capture from any other locality

are to be found. The nests are fairly abundant in the wooded

parts of those hills. They are very nearly globular enclosures built

around branches. Generally the site chosen for their construction

is at a pomt where one or more branches diverge. The main

branch around which the nest is built does not necessarily run

through the middle of it, and rarely exceeds 14 in. in diameter.

Several smaller branches are often included in the formation of

the nest and these vary in diameter from ,4, to very nearly 3 of

an inch. The supporting branches are all sound and healthy and

bear good green fohage, and, therefore, no direct damage is appar-

ently caused to that part of the branch where the nest is located.

Shape and colour.—The nests are generally globular, sub-

spherical or ellipsoidal, but may vary from oblong to eylindrical

in some exceptional cases (photographs). They are good, solid

nests having the appearance and colour of decomposed. and dried

cow-dung. ‘The general colour is dusky or dark brown with the

hardness and consistency of crude card-board.

Size.—The largest nests are about the size of an ordinary foot-

ball the maximum length and thickness noted being 12 and 9 in.

respectively; but there is a considerable range of variation in size

and in shape. The following measurements of half a dozen nests

may furnish a good idea of the extent of this variation.

Shape | Length Thickness

1. Largest size, more or less ovoid

(Pie) ne a al 114 inches 97 inches

2. Elongate cylindrical, one end broadly

rounded and the other less obtusely

rounded ne ie eae 2 be 7) na

3. Ellipsoidal nest Fig.2 ... oe: (a Geto: as

4. Medium size—oblong - at 11 re 6 “F

5. Small round—subspherical on 6 a 5 a

6. Small size, slightly damaged aes 4 - 5 ae

External Architecture.—The nest is made up of a multitude

of thin rough, very often leaf-like sheets, composed of a material

which has ‘the appearance (as mentioned already) of dried cow-

dung. The outer envelope is more or less uniform, but at irregular

intervals on the surface there are numerous convex bulges in

the form of irregular blisters. These blisters or projections, on

careful examination were found to be eave-like extensions with

small arched openings on their under surface. These openings

are gateways for the ingress and egress of the ants; they are

ike ‘afin rusyop sajspbojowmaig JO 4sou BOVIVO—"T “oT,

‘209 ‘ISI ‘3eN Aequog ‘*uanor

“1 ULV Id

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 293

semicircular, but present no regularity in size or shape. They

vary in size with a width and height ranging from 38 to 8 mm.

and are big enough to allow the passage of half a dozen workers

as also the winged sexual forms. The outer sheet or covering

may not be entirely continuous and unbroken all round the spheri-

eal body of the nest. The upper portions may have a stronger and

thicker covering due to the presence of more than one layer of

convex sheets extending irregularly down the surface. The convex

elevations and apertures are generally less numerous on the upper

surfaces. This covering is nearly as efficient as the rest of the

nest both in durability and hardness. On making a shght breach

in the outer envelope, the interior of the nest is seen to present

somewhat the appearance of a large sponge built out of several

layers of leaf-like sheets. These convex sheets are arranged one

over the other with interspaces enclosing a comb-hke mass ot

passages and a labyrinth of covered ways leading in different

directions. ‘This arrangement may be compared to the irregular

old-fashioned piling of heaps of tiles on the roofs of Indian

houses.

Internal architecture.—A vertical or transverse section care-

fully cut through the nest by means of a fine small saw will

reveal the nature of its internal structure (Photograph Fig. 3).

The interior is seen crowded with irregular anastomosing galleries

comprising small halls and corridors varying from 2 to 9 mm.

in diameter. They lead in different directions and are formed by

side walls and partitions built of the same material as the nest

disposed in thin layers. Not infrequently a whole or portion of a

dried leaf is taken advantage of to assist in making this labyrinth

of chambers. Occasionally such leaves are covered or coated with

this papery material. These galleries and chambers are the

abodes of the members of the community and the nurseries of

their brood wherein all functions and activities of the community

are carried out. From an examination of a number of nests

and their internal chambers it would appear that there are no

separate specialised chambers for the different categories or castes

of the colony. But this much can be ascertained, generally the

eges and young larvae are distributed more towards the inner

recesses and the pupae and the teneral adults are located near

the outer chambers, passages and halls. The winged males are

also met with in chambers near the periphery of the nest. The

queens and workers throng the interior of the entire nest. No

specially enlarged cells or chambers, set apart for queens, were

noticed. In these and other respects the mode of architecture

and allocation of quarters differ from certain other groups of

social insects like bees or termites.

Nest material.The ‘carton’ manufactured by the ants for

building their nests is a combination of several substances. A

variety of raw material is used in the making. Wood scrapings.

dust, fibre, leaf particles, scraps of bark, a little earth, and grains

of sand all apparently go into its composition. The sharp man-

dibles' and other mouth parts of the ants are the machinery

employed in its manufacture. The raw material is chewed and

294 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

with the help of a secretion from the salivary. glands worked up

into a kind of paste; probably faecal and proctodial matter are

also employed in the mixture. Thus is produced the woody

composition, sufficiently hard and strong when dry, with which

the nests are built. It is a hard compact material, which though

somewhat brittle, yet retains some flexibility which it owes

probably to the glandular secretions which enter into its com-

position. On the whole the ‘carton’ is more or less proof against

rough weather. The nests withstand the rain though the outer

layers become softened. That these nests are weatherproof was

fully demonstrated by the nests experimentally grafted on to trees

in the College grounds where they were exposed to the full force

of the monsoon. The inhabitants equally survived the complete

immersion of their nests in water.

The ‘carton’ has been subjected to a process of chemical analysis’ and

the following account may provide additional data as to its composition :—

1. Moisture a er a ue 10-00

Dry basis

2. Loss on ignition—organic matter att toss 81-20

3. Insoluble mineral... abs fee re 200%

4. Soluble mineral matter by difference _... ae 16-03

Total ... 100-00

Qualitative tests carried out with an hydrochloric acid extract indicated the

presence of the following acids and bases among others :—

1. Phosphoric acid (P,O;.)

2. Sulphuric acid (SO,).

3. Iron and Alumina (A1l1,0,+ F,O3).

4. Lime (CaQ).

5. Potash (K,O):

About 80-1 of the total dry matter of the nest consists of organic matter

and it is probable that very nearly the whole of it is derived from plant

materials such as leaves, twigs, bark etc. About 80-85 per cent. of the total

mineral matter is acid soluble and the rest comprises insoluble sand. The

fact that sand forms such a small fraction of the total mineral matter may

suggest that the minerals are all derived from vegetable matter alone and

no earth as such enters into the composition of the nest material. The material

is strong, tough and hard and is insoluble in water.

The flakes comprising the material of the nest are hard, firm and strong

though brittle. The material from which they are built appears to be impervious

to water vapour or even to water. Two pieces of carton taken from a nest

were placed in test tubes where one flake was brought into direct contact

with the water and the other suspended above it so that the aqueous vapour

might affect it. At the end of 24 hours there was no appreciable change in

‘the weight of the flake suspended above the water while the flake brought

into direct contact with the water showed a very slight loss. The experiment

indicates a high degree of compactness and the absence of porosity in the

carton despite its apparent thinness. The waterproof condition of the carton

may arise from a coating of the glandular secretion applied by the ants over

its surface and the secretion thus forms a cement-like coating which protects

the nest during the continuous rains of the monsoon.

ee ee = ——

‘The writer is indebted to Mr. Varahalu, Assistant to the Agricultura)

Chemist, for the chemical analysis and his thanks are herein recorded.

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 995

Tests with the following reagents on the flakes as also on powdered material

were conducted :—

1. Dilute caustic potash—decinormal solution.

Dilute sulphuric acid—decinormal solution.

3. Water (hot and cold).

4. Sulphuric ether—decinormal solution.

5. Ethyl alcohol (98 per cent.).

6. Chloroform.

Carbon disulphide.

. Acetone.

9. Benzol.

10. Nitrobenzene.

11. Pyridine.

After continuous shaking, these were kept overnight. They were filtered

subsequently and the residues left over after evaporating the filtrates showed

the presence of (1) vegetable colourmg matter, (2) fats and waxes. Of the

numerous solvents tried, pyridine extracted the largest amount of these sub-

stances from the material. ‘This was highly resinous and extremely sticky.

While shaking with pyridine, the material gradually tended to disintegrate

and soften. it lost its original firmness. No such changes were however

observable in the case of the other solvents. This points to the fact that the

cementing secretion of the material is pyridine soluble. Neither dilute sulphuric

acid nor water, hot or cold, softened the material. It retained its firmness

even after 48 hours of soaking. Caustic alkali caused (1) the swelling of the

material and (2) the gradual dissolution of it.

Construction.—The actual process of nest construction has not

been observed. The workers, after selecting a suitable building

site on a branch, probably spread the paste-like material in thin

layers and so gradually build up their globular nests. The labour

involved appears formidable but the industry and co-operation of

myriads of workers finally produce a structure which cannot but

rouse our admiration. ‘Together they collect the raw substances

and by their combined industry produce the most efficient non-

conducting building material which is proof against the elements,

and with this product they build themselves an edifice which is

both a fortress and a home—suited to all their requirements.

Trees infested.—These exclusive tree-dwellers seem to be partial

to a few trees commonly occurring in these hills as may be

gathered from the statement furnished below. Among these the

Valichai tree appears to be a particular favourite as may be

inferred from the number of nests occurring on it as also from

the maximum size these attain.

Scientific name Vernacular name Locality Remarks

Gardenta lucida Roxb. | Valichai os. | Sertimalai ... Nest fairly

| common on

branches, largest

sized

Abhania bifoliata Radlk.) Kookaimuthu ... | a Less common

Ochna squarrusa Linn, Chilandi raat 3

Occasionally

Ixora parviflora Vahl. | Kurachushundn. i found

996 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

OTHER KNown CARTON-BUILDERS.

Suspended carton nests are known to be built, according to

Wheeler, by many species of ants all over the world and these

mainly belong to the genera Camponotus, Polyrhachis, Azetica,

Dolichoderes, Crematogaster, Macronischa, Myrmecaria and Tetra-

morium. Among these the genus Crematogaster includes the

largest number of carton-building species.

Se SI SSE TS SE ESS SPP

Name of species Locality Authority

C. raiavalone a a Madagascar Forel.

island

tricolor oe i Fe on

schenckt aes 8 eS | os

inconspicua

. marginata

stadzlmannti

opaciceps

hova

peringueyt

. montezumia

sulcala 3 |

Africa | Mayr.

Smith

. ramulinida

sholli

. dincolata

Tropical America| Forel

ID) DAO OGG

In India the only species so far noted to be carton-builders are

C. kerbyi, C. rogenhoferi and C. ebeninus referred to by Rothney,

Wroughton and Mayr. The species of ant under discussion

C. artifex has been recorded as a carton-builder in Siam and Singa-

pore by Mayr. The writer has not come across any record of this

species from 8. India.

Crematogaster dohrni artifex, Mayr.

The species concerned is Crematogaster (Acrocoelia) dohrna

artifee Mayr. It belongs to the sub-family Myrmecinae, tribe—

Crematogastrini, genus—Crematogaster, sub-genus—Acrocoelia,

species—dohrni Mayr., sub-species—artifex Mayr., Verh. Zool.-

Bot, G.E.S. Wien, vol. xxviii, p. 682 (1878).

Distribution.—This appears to be the first record of its occurrence

iu S. India and probably in India. As stated already the species

has been recorded by Mayr. as occurring in Siam and Singapore.

The genus Crematogaster is.a large one and comprises a number

of species which are distributed over the whole of the warmer

parts of the entire world. They possess the most varied habits.

Some five species have been noted by the writer in 8. India

as common—C. rothneyi, C. contempta, C. subnuda, C. antheri-

cina. But all these are quite different from the species under

discussion particularly in their life economy and nesting habits.

The species C. rothneyi is a near ally of C. artifex in structure

and size, but entirely different in its nesting habits. The former

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A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 297

occurs in houses, gardens, plants and in a variety of other situ-

ations; but the nests are always found in the soil or in crevices

in the walls of buildings at a depth of 8 or 4 in.

MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.

There are three distinct types or castes of individuals in the

colony: (1) the females or queens, (2) the males, and (8) the

workers along with the immature forms, i.e., the larvae and

pupae of each of these. ‘he three adult castes differ much in

size, Structure and habits. The workers consist of two types—

the worker major and the worker minor. The workers possess

no noticeable difference either in structure or habits, but show

a slight variation in regard to size.

The Queen (Pl. HU, fig. 1).

There are two forms: the winged females and the dealated

ones; but the latter are rather rare as the wings are retained

during the greater part of their lives. ‘The female is a weill-

developed robust individual and is comparatively much larger than

the males or workers.

Length 85 mm. to 9:2 mm. with ovipositor extended; width in abdomen

2-5 mm. to 2-75 mm.; wing expanse l:o0d mm. to 1:64 mm. The general

colour of: the female is similar to that of worker, being dark yellowish brown

with dorsal aspec of head and thorav fuscous. The ocelli are clear and

transparent. ‘The abdomen is large and massive and is deep dark brown towards

apex. The ovipositor is just visible and not inconspicuous.

Head.—deep dull yellow—shining occiput—high—rounded slightly less broad

than anterior margin. Antennae.—moderately thick covered with short soft

hairs 11-jointed—scape gradually broadening towards end. Flagellum.—gradually

thickened to apex with a distinct club ot three terminal segments. Hyes.—

dark, placed about middle on the sides of head. Ocelli.—distinct, transparent.

Mouth parts (figure ).—comparatively large. Clypeus.—broad with anterior

margin very nearly straight. Mandibles.—thick and stout, shorter than those

of 2, possess 5 teeth not so pointed as in ¢G—the apical one longer than rest

folding closely into head with outer margins visible. Mazillary and labial

palps.—shorter and often thinner than of §. Thorax.—Pronotum more or less

depressed beneath large convex mesonotum which overhangs the prothorax

anteriorly but not completely. Metanotum.—oblique with a pair of very short

stout thick spines—just visible—tips of spines dark. Pedicel.—not long—first

joint broadened with rounded spines, concave from side to side and anteriorly,

transparent yellow, second joint dark yellow with a narrower squamiform node

rounded above. Abdomen.—much larger than that of 3. Sub-cordate darken-

ing towards apex, ovipositor just visible. Wungs.—hyaline, cells indicated by

_ yellowish nervures.

The number of queens present in a healthy active normal

colony may vary within considerable limits. The number is

comparatively high even in normal times. As many as _ fifty-

nine winged females have been recovered from a colony. Queens

are continuously developed probably in all months of the year,

as was seen from nests kept under observation for nearly eight

months. But the highest emergence takes place in April. On

emergence the queens frequently wandered out of the nest in

search of food and fed on the honey or jaggery syrup provided

for them. From several trials it was found that the reproductive

298 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

capacity of each female seems to be limited and is generally con-

siderably less than in most of the other species. ‘[his notwith-

standing, the community is one of the most populous. This has

to be accounted for more by the multiplicity of queens than the

individual rate of oviposition. Under artificial conditions, the

winged female on emergence or after aid not exhibit any great

tendency to flight. In nature this may be different. But it is

inferred from their habits in captivity, that the marriage flight

itself takes place within the vicinity of the nest, and the

majority of queens probably return after fecundation to the

parent nest. That fertilisation can take place outside the nest

is made clear from the fact that such females have been seen

to produce fertile eggs. The winged females attended by workers

frequently emerge trom the nests during cool morning hours and

also in the evenings. This tendency was markedly observed in

certain cages in the laboratory in which the exits were not well

secured thus permitting one or two queens accompanied by

workers to escape and wander about. Like the workers the

queens are impatient of drought and move from one side of the

cage to another or to a wet sponge for the sake of moisture.

Food.—A queen can attend to her toilet without the assistance

of the workers but rarely seeks her own food when in their com-

pany. When solitary she has been observed partaking of liquid

food in the shape of honey or sugar syrup, as also to attack and

catch a soft-bodied quiet termite nymph. When in the company

of workers a queen is fed by her attendants, the process of feeding

is effected by a mutual application of the mouth parts. She

exhibits another striking tendency. She apparently is fond of

proctodial matter exuded by the workers. She forcibly holds the

gaster of a worker with her front legs and applies her mouth parts

to the tip, the while gently stroking the abdomen with her

antennae tickling the creature to induce the flow of the liquid

coming out of the anus. This is rather a common proceeding

among ants and in the present instance appears to be a modifica-

tion of the habit of milking ‘ant cattle’.

Behaviour.—Though several queens were kept together in

separate cages or in slices of nests with and without a retinue

of workers there was a complete absence of any hostihty. They

lived together in peace and amity, often congregating together

huddled up in a family circle. KEven queens from different nests

were not antagonistic. But it was frequently observed that

workers of a particular nest never tolerated the presence of an

alien queen. Such intruding queens were mercilessly attacked

and killed. |

Fecundity.—In the queens fecundity appears to be compara-

tively low. To test their egg-laying capacity several queens were

isolated in artificial cages, with or without workers. They were

provided with sufficient moisture and food in the shape of honey

or sugar syrup. Eggs were never laid till after six or seven

days after emergence. The maximum number laid by a single

queen per day never exceeded 3 or 4. In about a dozen observed

cases the total number of eggs laid by a single individual never

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 299

exceeded 21. A few queens were dissected under a_ binocular

microscope seven days after emergence to gain some idea of

individual egg-laying capacity. The number of eggs in various

stages of development in the ovaries was found to be fairly con-

stant for three individuals so tested. It varied from 42 to 46

averaging 44. When unattended by workers the queens collected

eges if scattered and shifted them from place to place often

under or over a wet sponge; but such eggs fail to hatch in the

absence of workers.

Founding new colonies.—It may have been apparent from the

description of the nests and the elaboration of the material for

their construction that the queens, though large-sized, may not by

themselves be able to establish new colonies. The ordinary mode

of founding a nest is probably by a process similar to ‘swarming’

in the case of honey bees, i.e., a certain contingent of workers

headed by a queen or a number of, queens may leave the parent

colony and emigrate to new and suitable places to establish a

separate colony. That this may be the usual method is strongly

suggested by the continual marchings of an army of workers pre-

sided over by two or three queens after escaping through cloth

coverings from artificial cages in the laboratory.

Longevity.—The longevity of the queens in isolation or in com-

pany with workers was tested in several cases. In each instance

a plentiful supply of food in the shape of termites or maggots

and honey or sugar syrup was provided. The maximum life span

under these conditions never exceeded 58 days in April (9th April

1985 to 5th June 1935). The queens generally retain wings

either throughout life or at least for 380 to 85 days. In rare

eases the wings were pulled off by workers earher.

Males (Pl. I, fig. 2).

These are feeble insects, slender, delicate and winged. They are much

smaller than the workers. Length 3-5-3-75 mm.; width 1:0 mm. across thorax

(the broadest part of body).

The whole body is covered with smooth erect hairs. The general colour is

dull yellowish brown. Head smaller and a shade darker than thorax, with

large and prominent eyes placed high on sides of head. Ocelli clear and tran-

sparent. Antennae 12-jointed; scape very short. Flagellum without club, the

last joint much longer than the rest, first joint rounded in form (globose).

Mouth parts (fig. ) delicate. Mandibles slightly rounded below—conical—

and more or less tapering. Apex with a minute cleft. Mazillae and labium

comparatively larger. Thorax very similar to 9 but completely devoid of

spines and legs are very delicate. Pedicel more or less similar to 9, second

joint transversely oval. Abdomen of a deeper yellow brown, abdominal tip

not pointed as in Q. Genitalia present and visible and well defined (fig. )

consisting of the usual parts. Wings hyaline but not as glassy as in Q.

Nervures yellowish.

The males on emergence are not active. They are often

dragged about and harassed by the workers, who sometimes

forcibly pull off the wings and carry them about between their

mandibles. The males are often attacked by ectoparasites in the

form of small mites.

Longevity.—The males are shortlived and have not been

observed to imbibe any food. Maximum period of hfe observed

in cages is 11 days.

300 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Workers (Pl. II, figs. 3 & 4).

Description—The workers are of two types, worker major and_ worker

minor. These are structurally more or less identical with slight differences in

size of head, thorax, antennae but the main difference is only in size.

8 major 4:10-5:11 mm.; 8 minor 3:25-3:82 mm.

The larger workers are at least twice as numerous as the smaller ones. Both

the forms are equally active and industrious sharing and attending to the

duties of the colony.

The worker is a dark reddish brown insect with the abdomen varying

from dark to dark brown. The body is very nearly covered with whitish

hairs fairly long. The head is approximately square in shape with an indistinct

trace of fine longitudinal striations.

Mouth parts.—Mandible long with five sharp teeth; maxillary and labial

palps somewhat longer than those of 99 or Go. The worker major has a

slightly broader head than the minor. Antennae distinctly clubbed at the tip.

Eyes placed at sides of head. Thorax.—The metanotum is rather broad with

long pointed divergent spines directed backwards. Abdomen flat and _ broad

with the sting conspicuous. Stylets sharp tapering and very fine at the tip.

Longevity.—Workers are comparatively shortlived. They lived

on an average for about 5 to 6 weeks in captivity. The maxi-

mum period noted in isolated cages was about 7 weeks.

IMMATURE STAGES AND LARVAL ANATOMY.

Oviposition.—Several queens were isolated in cages for record-

ing their egg-laying capacity with and without workers. Eggs

were laid by queens even when unattended by workers. Hence

it is inferred that no special oviposition stimulus is derived from

the presence of workers; but the eggs invariably fail to hatch

in their absence. The queen takes some care of the eggs but

even then they get mouldy. Eggs were laid singly, and were

glued on to glass surfaces, corks or even cloth plugs. The number

laid by an individual per day is generally 8, but occasionally 4

may be found. Egg-laying was never observed earlier than at

least 7 days after emergence. The maximum number laid never

exceeded 21 by any single individual in artificial cages; but it

varied from 18 to 21 in the month of April for 11 individuals under

observation. The queen continues to lay eggs for 6 or 7 days with

irregular breaks.

The egg.—It is nearly white in colour, elliptical, slightly

thickened in the middle; ends obtuse rounded, one end a shade

narrower. The surface is lustrous indistinctly shagreened under

high-power microscope. Chorion—elastic with no markings other

than a longitudinal white streak (Pl. III, fig. 1).

Length 0:46-0:52 mm. average being 0-47 mm. for 40 snecimens. Average

thickness in middle region 0-27 mm.; broad rounded end 0:27 mm.; other end

0-255 mm.

Incubation period.—The incubation periods of the eggs in

artificial cages with queens and workers were noted for quite a

large number during April and May 1935. The incubation period

varies considerably if the cages are not provided with sufficient

moisture to make conditions of incubation entirely favourable; but

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A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 301

it is generally short, about four or five days. The eggs seem to

show a state of growth just before hatching. Towards the begin-

ning of the third or the fourth day colour slightly fades, but not

very perceptibly. The egg now assumes a dull creamy tinge and

the larvae may be discernible through the thin chorion under

the microscope.

Larva.—Upon hatching the larva is hardly larger than the egg

and remains curved for a short while. It closely resembles the

larvae of other species of the genus and has much in common

with the grubs of the family. As is usual with the family, the

erubs are soft apodous, vermiform, glassy covered by a trans-

parent membrane having a small conical projection marking the

narrower anterior end and slightly broader approximately straight

hind end. The usual 183 segments are not clearly marked at this

stage. Like other larvae they are incapable of exertion. They

possess a sparse covering of small rigid hairs projecting from

minute tubercles or elevations on the integument, which are

helpful for providing easy transport. Some of these hairs show

a tendency to be tipped or incipiently forked (Pl. III, fig. 8).

The young larvae are fed by the workers on liquid disgorged

food and the diet of the older ones probably includes bits of

solid substances in addition. In cages provided only with

vegetable food, grain, syrup, ete., the development of the larvae

appeared to be slow and delayed. The quantity and the quality

of the food effect changes and produce irregular growth in the

larvae. After the fourth or fifth day it is easy to tell a queen

grub from a worker one by the size and growth (Pl. III, fig. 2).

The older worker larva.—Length 1.05 mm.; width 0.64 mm.

These worker grubs at this stage are covered with different kinds

of hairs which can be classified under five distinct kinds. Some

hairs are simple. Others are tipped; still others are forked. The

majority are furcate or tipped with a double hook so that they

look lke miniature anchors. A few are imperfectly anchor-

shaped. The hairs are about 1/20th of the width of the larvae.

The full-grown worker larva possesses only a few scattered

hairs. Length 2.60-2.75 mm.; width 1.0 mm.

The queen larva.—The full-grown queen larva is much stouter

and longer in size and is dull creamy white in colour. It is almost

smooth save for sparse minute hairs. Length 4.9-5.2 mm.; width

2.2-2.5 mm. The mass of meconium is only indistinctly visible

in these grubs (Pl. III, fig. 2).

The grubs of males have not been identified as such by the

writer.

Pupa.—When full grown the larva discharges as usual the

meconium and passes on to semi-pupa stage. Unlike the larvae

of Camponotus these grubs transform themselves into pupae

without a cocoon. The pupae are naked and in this stage the

various castes including worker major and minor are easily

distinguished by size, appearance and colour. |

The queen pupae (PI. IIT, fig. 4) are dull creamy white in

colour and are comparatively in size. Length 7.1-7.4 mm.;

width 2.1-2.38 mm.

302 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL (HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The male pupae (Pl. III, fig. 5) are a little shorter than those

of the workers; but more robust at the thorax with developing

wings. They ‘are ‘easily distinguished from worker pupae not

only by colour, size and the presence of wings; but also by the

distinct visibility of three oecelli and pinkish eyes. Length

2.9-3.2 mm.; width 1.21-1.35 mm.

The worker pupae (Pl. III, fig. 6) are dull dirty white, some-

times greyish white to slight brown in colour. Length 3.6-3.75

mm:: width 1.1-1.20 mm.

The worker, queen and male pupae are in the earliest stage

whitish in colour and devoid of any markings except the reddish

eye spots. As they develop they assume a shade of brownish

yellow which gradually deepens. They are devoid of any cocoon

and the thin fragile pupal skins are shed when the callow

emerges. These pupal skins are seen to be easily disposed of

by workers, probably devoured.

The Callows.—The callows or newly-hatched workers are

vellowish white which changes to medium brownish yellow and

soon after to brown or dark brown. They take a little over

two days to assume the adult colouration. The helpless callows

are not entirely idle during the period. They are not strong

enough to undertake the labours of foraging or defence; but the

enaaae obsession of nurture of the hacod is displayed by them.

Some time after emergence, they have been seen to shift the

egos and larvae as also to constantly lick them with their soft

mouth parts.

LENGTH oF LIFE CYCLE AND DEVELOPMENTAL PERIODS.

The total period of the life cycle varies very much not only

in the different castes but also in the same caste according to

conditions of temperature, humidity and food supply. Several

experiments in artificial cages were conducted to gauge the

period of the egg, larval and pupal stages and a regular and

systematic observation of about six complete nests was con-

tinued in the laboratory for nearly eight months. From four to

five broods were reared in the nests beginning from the middle

of January. The one essential condition was to keep one or

several queens and a number of workers along with the eggs

and larvae as otherwise the eges fail to hatch and the larvae do

not mature. Another factor equally important is to provide as

nearly natural conditions as possible including the quality and

the quantity of food supplied. Several separate trials of isola-

tion of a known number of workers with a queen or two intro-

duced in a small slice of an empty and cleaned nest were carried

out and the total minimum period for the emergence of a fresh

brood of workers was noted. Since the development period of

the larvae is difficult to determine separately, the length of egg

stage and pupal stage were separately worked out. In one case

eggs were laid on 16th April 1985 and the first emergence of

callows was noted on 24th May 1985 and continued up to 26th

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 303

June 19385. Thus the period varied in April and May from

388 days to 71 days.

Egg period noted—4 to 5 days.

Pupal period—l@ to 21 days.

Larval period—24 to 47 days.

The minimum pupal period of queens has been noted to be

10 to 11 days; but it is almost certain from observation in nests

kept in the laboratory that the length of the life cycle is much

shorter in nature. It may be even a little less than a month.

SEASONAL VARIATION AND SWARMING PERIOD.

The study and observations of these ants were confined to a

period of nearly eight months commencing from January 1935

and hence the account of their seasonal activity is restricted to

results obtained during this limited period.

T'he colonies were noted to be most populous from March

to May when the sexual winged forms as well as the workers

are found in incalculable numbers. It may be inferred from the

presence of a varying number of queens or females at all times,

that the females are probably developed in small numbers all

through the various seasons of the year as also the worker indi-

viduals. From about the middle of March small numbers. of

winged males begin to emerge and by about the middle of the next

month thousands of males are produced. Thereafter there is a

slow and gradual decline in numbers till about the beginning of

May. From this period males are seen only rarely and in small

numbers. Towards the end of March the numbers of winged

females begin to show an increase attaining a maximum by about

the middle of April. They continue to emerge for about a week.

This period, i.e., the end of April appears to mark the peak of

emergence and hence the real swarming season and the period

of marriage flights are confined largely to this part of the year.

From the beginning of May till early June the number of queens

produced gradually ‘decreases. Soon after the appearance of queens

the production of workers is hastened and the largest numbers

are found in May and the beginning of June. After the middle

of June the numbers undergo a oradual diminution so that only

the normal activities are contac: By about the end of July

considerable numbers die and the colony has a precarious existence

under artificial conditions. It has been seen that the males put

in their appearance early in the field, i.e., about two weeks before

‘the swarming of queens. It is inferred that the queens naturally

require a longer period of development than males.

Sex Ratio.

It is difficult to estimate the sex ratio with any accuracy as

the winged sexual forms continue to emerge day after day during

the swarming season and long after. In order to arrive at some

idea of the proportion of the sexes a few swarms of males and

females that emerged out of the nests on particular days in the

304 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

zenith of the swarming season were collected and a few such

computations were actually made. The percentage of winged

females -varied slightly, but was never seen to exceed 3 per

cent. of the emerged sexual forms.

HABITS IN GENERAL.

These ants are markedly carnivorous and depend mainly on

animal food for their sustenance though they exhibit a partiality

for any sweet liquid such as honey or syrup. They were reared

for months in the laboratory on a supply of termites or soft fleshy

maggots, hairless caterpillars, the flesh diet being varied with an

occasional provision of jaggery syrup or honey. Soft bodied

insects like termites are their main prey though they will attack

small beetles and flies. Their chief weapons of attack are their

sharp mandibles. It is said on excellent authority that the sting

is rarely used by ants of:this genus but the writer’s experience to

the contrary is based on long and continuous observation in the

laboratory. The ants attacked insects introduced into their cages

with their sharp and powerful mandibles but if resistance was

offered the sting was freely used. The sting is thrust direct into

the body of the victim by turning the tip of the mobile gaster or

the ant in the accustomed manner elevates its abdomen above

its back or head and squirts the acid into the wound made _ by

its mandibles. Occasionally in the scuffle a turbulent termite

would get hold of an ant by a leg or an antenna. In its efforts to

free itself the ant would bring its sting repeatedly into play, some-

times it was helped by a passing comrade who coming to the

rescue equally used its sting as the more effective weapon of

attack. In the process of stinging the stylets pierce the soft body

of the victim and a minute drop of frothy liquid is injected into

the wound. The writer has had personal and intimate experience

of the methods of these ants in attack, particularly when collect-

ing their nests from the trees, when the ants dropped hke rain

upon him, entered his clothing and brought their stings and

mandibles into continuous and painful use.

The ants carry their victims into their nest holding them

between their mandibles. Foraging parties of workers will bring

in live and dead insects of various kinds. They feed on all kinds

of animal matter, including the dead of their own species, evincing

a trait of cannibalism which is apparent in the spoils conveyed

by the workers to their nests. Occasionally a few workers join

hands in transporting a particularly heavy object to the nest.

Such team work is rare in this species; but in one instance the

captives in our laboratory gave a marvellous example of co-

operation and team work. Their objective in this instance was

some powdered jaggery heaped on a high glass cube in the proxi-

mity of the nest. Some of the workers succeeded in climbing

the smooth walls of the cube, while the rest crowded round the

bottom. The workers at the summit of the cube attacked the

pile of sweet stuff, each ant taking a particle between its mandibles,

earried it to the edge of the cube and now, instead of descending

with their burdens down the slippery surface of the cube, the ants

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe.

—Worker ant with bent abdomen.

Tig. 2.—Lepisma subnigrina cotygii in nest of Crematogaster d.

PLATE Iv.

artifex.

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 305

dropped the particles over the edge, then cleaning its antennae

and mandibles each ant went back to the pile for more. They

kept steadily at their labour till the pile of food was cleared and

every particle of it dropped over the edge. The legion of workers

below were not idle. They picked up the particles as they were

dropped by the workers above and carried them in a continuous

stream to the nest.

The partiality of this species for honey and syrup or sugary

liquid has already been commented upon. An ounce or two of

Jaggery syrup or honey solution kept inside their cages was con-

sumed in the short space of an hour. In the act of feeding they

presented a beautiful sight, arranging themselves in a regular row

round the brim of the shallow vessel, drinking with their mouth

parts dipped into the liquid. When satiated they remained

motionless and inactive. In addition, these ants like some other

species imbibe ‘honeydew’ from various Aphids and Coccids.

This pastoral habit of ‘milking’ different kinds of Homoptera for

the supply of ‘honeydew’ is not as strongly developed in these

as in some other ants. But when available the syrupy fluid

given out by these insects is eagerly sought after, as was

observed when the ants’ nests were placed on trees infested with

coccids or when the ants were supplied with leaves or twigs

covered with these minute insects. In rapid movement parti-

cularly when excited or alarmed the workers hold the abdomen

curved over the back (PI. IV, fig. 1). It is a trait characteristic

of the genus, though a closely allied species, C. rothmeyi, the

commonest of the fraternity in South India seldom displays this

peculiar gait. The action of holding the mobile gaster bent over

the back is probably a defensive device—in this position the

sting is held hke a lance in rest ready for action—it is a warning

of prompt attack. When disturbed, the workers swarm out of

the nests in thousands and their movements en masse produce

a characteristic rustling sound like the patter of light rain on

dead leaves.

Their relations among themselves and with others of alien

colonies.—The workers of the same colony do not show any great

tendency to team work and co-operation except perhaps in the

process of nesting and occasionally in the face of a common enemy

when they seem to act together. In the course of their normal

activities they often meet one another in their marches and have

been observed to exchange greetings by antennal wavings and

strokes. Sometimes two individuals will stand with their mouth

parts interlocked for about half a minute to exchange food. One

noticeable feature is their occasional behaviour towards the frail,

helpless winged males. These latter were often dragged, pulled

out, mangled and thrown out from the nests.

Hostility among workers of different nests.—Great antagonism

is exhibited by workers of different nests. About half a dozen

nests were kept under observation in the laboratory at a distance

of two to three feet from one another. Not infrequently batches

of workers escaped from cages through holes bitten through the

thick cloth covering. They marched on the table in groups and

306 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL AIST. SOCIETY @ Vols XXXTX

naturally encountered similar battalions from neighbouring nests.

On such oceasions great battles ensued between the parties and

clusters of struggling ants interlocked in mutual assault and piles

of dead were seen between the cages on the table. The workers

do not of course possess any striking odour, but what httle odour

they emitted was certainly disagreeable.

Battle with black ants.—In order to find out whether it would

be possible to establish these ants on trees in the plains as also

to study their habits outdoors a few nests obtained from the

hills were kept under observation attached to branches of suitable

trees on the college premises. One such was grafted on to a

branch of a Peltophorum tree and another to a Neem tree.

Within a few hours after introduction the ants began to stream

out along branches in small numbers. In the cool of the morn-

ing or evening particularly, large swarms of workers sallied forth

in continuous streams along different branches and, as the sun

erew hotter, returned with spoils of diverse kinds to the nest.

Except during the hottest part of the day they were busy with

their normal duties such as foraging, milking ant cattle, etc.

But soon they were faced with a formidable enemy in the shape

of the common black ant (Camponotus compressus). The soldiers

and workers of the giant ants began to attack them all along

their routes and attempted to storm their fortress after their

retreat into the nests. The black ants possess the advantage of

bodily size and strength and a more powerful armature of man-

dibles; but they were more cumbrous and certainly less agile

in movement. Any unwary crematogaster caught between the

ereat mandibles of a black ant was immediately killed. The

smaller ants vahantly defended their nests against the intruding

enemy; but despite the courageous defence they put up theirs

was a losing fight. They were no match for the giants in single

hand to hand fighting. But they soon developed different tactics

and attacked their antagonists by rushing out of the nest biting

a leg or antenna and immediately retreating into the nest. As

many as twenty or thirty ants would engage in this hit and run

battle against one of the giants, who knew not how to defend

himself. Thus by their agility and the weight of their numbers

they were able to stem the attack. Thus they defended their

nests for days. The battle field round the nest and branches

and on the ground below was strewn with many dead and dying

black ants literally covered with numerous dead and dying

crematogasters firmly clinging to legs, antennae and other parts.

The colonies continued to flourish for about a fortnight. They

were apparently not much affected by the weather. The nests

withstood some heavy April showers except that the outer

portions were slghtly softened. But the colonies soon dwindled,

probably on account of climatic changes, but chiefly as the result

of an increase in the number of the black ants—too strong an

adversary for these small ants to resist indefinitely. Ultimately

one of the colonies was wiped out, and the other removed to

the laboratory for observation,

A NEW CARTON-BUILDING SPECIES OF ANT 307

Provisions in the Colony.—These ants do not keep any store

ef provisions in the nest. ‘hey appear to depend upon their daily

labour for sustenance. Large quantities of the remains of termites

and other used up food, mutilated wings, empty head capsules are

sometimes found in the superficial compartments of their abodes.

These are regularly cleared by workers from the nests. These ants

have not been observed to keep any ‘ant cattle’ inside their

habitations.

Guests in the Colony.—In almost all nests a good number of

small dark-coloured Lepismids (Pl. IV, fig. 2) were commonly

found. No other living creatures were noted associated with or

living inside these curious nests. These small Lepismids were never

seen in close communion with their hosts. They were observed

gliding furtively through the galleries of the nests. The nature of

their food or their precise relationship with their hosts have not

been ascertained. ‘The Lepismid is a dark insect with a_ broad

thorax and tapering abdomen. Size.—Length 4.0 mm.; width at

thorax 1.8 mm. They are very agile in their movements and highly

elusive and therefore escape being caught. The specimens probably

obtain their food from small droplets of sweetish liquids spilt

during exchange of food by the ants. In their general appearance

they have a close resemblance to the Lepisimid Atelura (Lepismina)

recorded by Janet. The specimens have been identified by

Dr. Silvestri as Lepisma subnigrina Silv. cotygit.t Are they

Myrmecocleptics ?

CENSUS OF THE COMMUNITY

The strength of the ant colony must greatly vary according to

the supply of food. The colonies examined were invariably very

populous. In order to obtain an idea of the population of a nest

and to discover also the ratio of different castes, a nest from the

branch of a tree was removed intact and enclosed with all its occu-

pants in a long-cloth bag. The nest in question was a comparatively

small one 74 in. by 53 in. in size. The entire nest in the bag

was put in a closed glass jar and chloroform introduced. After a

time it was found that the occupants of the innermost recesses

were not killed. The nest was now cut up by a fine saw into

four shees and its occupants were again chloroformed. The

contents of the nest were later on emptied carefully and weighed

and the numbers of individuals in sample weights were actually

counted and the results are presented as below:—

Worker major including callows ... -39,082

Worker minor including callows Peel LZ

Males winged bee ae ... 4,614

Females winged ee ee > 59

Female pupae Ee _ oe 816

Female larvae large size a or 654

Hees oe 37

Smallest larvae probably of O and J ... 2,744

Pupae of $ and ¢ ~ ite eee ra (O10)

——

* My thanks are due to Dr. Silvestri for the identification of the specimen.

308 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

CONCLUSION.

In the foregoing paragraphs an attempt has been made to

present the life-economy, structure, life-history, relations, nesting

architecture etc., of these wonderful ants. Their natural history

on the whole constitutes one of the most fascinating and instruc-

tive chapters particularly in respect of animal instinct and inge-

nuity.

REFERENCES.

1. Atkinson, G. F,, Amer. Nat., vol. xxi, p. 770. (1686).

2. Bingham, C. T., Fauna of British India—Hymenoptera, vols. 1 and u

(1903).

3. Dornisthorpe, H. St, J. K., British Ants (1927); The Guests of British

Ants (1927)).

4. Hmery, C., Gen. Ins. Fasc., 174 (1925).

5. Forel, A., The Senses of Insects (1908).

6. Hingston, R. W. G,, J.B.N.H.S., vole xxix; pp. 192;.362,*908 G924)e

vol, xxx, p. 541 (1925),

7. Kirby, W., The Bridgwater Treatises, Lond., vol. ii, p. 840 (18385).

8. Krishna Ayyar, P. N., ‘The Biology of the Common Black Ant’, Bulletin

of Entomological Research, Lond., vol. xxxvi (1935).

9. Mayr, Cr., Annalen Des. K.K. Nat. Hofmuseums, vol. xvi (1901).

10. McCook, H. C., Ant Communities (1909).

11. Rothney, G. A. J., Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond., p. 355 (1889).

12. Rothney, G. A. J., Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond., p. 211 (18965).

13.. Silvestri, F., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xxvi, p. 311 (1924).

14. Sykes, W. H., Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond., vol. i, p. 99 (18885).

15. Wheeler, W. M., Ants (1910).

16. Wheeler, W. M., Foibles of Insects and Man (1928).

17. Wheeler, W. M., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. viii, p. 28 (1918).

18. Wroughton, R. C., J.B.N.H.S., vol. vii, pp. 89, 179 (1892).

-1oyjynn fiq oJoUg

‘(snuinba sojo01lun vsny) aequeg ueteyeyy

‘205 ‘ISIE ‘JeN Aequog ‘‘uanor

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR

(RUSA UNICOLOR EQUINUS).

W. 5S. THom.

(With a plate).

The Sambar is described as the typical forest deer of South-

Eastern Asia. Various races of this animal have been recognised

within the wide area of its distribution. The typical form, the

Indian Sambar (Rusa unicolor unicolor), ranges through India and

Ceylon. It is the largest of all sambar and carries the finest

horns. The Malay race, Rusa unicolor equinus, inhabits Assam,

Burma and the Malay countries.

A Malay stag averages about 5 ft. in height, while a full-grown

male weighs about 500 lbs. The horns of a mature Malayan

sambar are set closer as a rule and average about 30 in. in length,

but any horn over 85 in. is good. While the horns of the

Malayan sambar are shorter than those of the Indian animal,

they are massive and have a good if not greater average girth.

The brow tine is usually much longer in proportion to the beam

than is the case with the horns of Indian sambar. A heavy pair

of antlers reaching 35-38 in. in length is a trophy worth having.

The largest Malayan stag shot by me had a head of the following

dimensions :—Length 424 in., girth 94 in., tip to tip 80 in.; widest

inside 81 in. points 8 in. + 8 in. The head judging from the

measurements given in the Burma Game Manual of the year

1929 is the record head for Burma. For India, the record is, I

believe, the famous head from Bhopal which tapes 507 in.

So far as Burma is concerned, the best heads of deer, especially

samabar, and of Bovines in general are to be found wherever there

is a plentiful supply of food and water throughout the year and

numerous Salt-licks rich in bone and horn forming properties,

together with a luxuriant growth of good grazing grass, under-

growth, evergreen tree and bamboo forest. Good feeding and horn

and bone forming mineral salts seem to me to be material essential

to the development of good heads. I am aware of course that

in the dry zones of both India and Burma, where the pasturage

cannot compare with what obtains in other parts of these coun-

tries, excellent heads are developed. But perhaps in these dry

areas the absence of good grazing is compensated for by the

presence of salt-licks rich in substance conducive to the growth

of bone. My explanation may not be correct but I put it forward

as a theory which may explain the prevalence of good heads in

particular areas of the Sambar’s distribution.

The average colour of the Malay Sambar is darker than the

Indian species, approaching to black or slaty grey in old stags.

3810 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The hair is coarse and long and forms a heavy ruff round the

throat in mature stags.

Sambar are found pretty nearly all over Burma wherever there

is sufficient cover for them. JI have come upon them in every

type of country, and at all elevations in both heavy or open

bamboo and tree forest, in khaing or elephant grass, in thickets

of wild plantain and evergreen ponzoes or deserted cultivation.

Sambar are however never found in the open scrub jungle, usually

frequented by Thamin i.e. Brow Antlered Deer (R. thamin).

Sambar are rarely found together in any numbers. Stags and

hinds are often found singly, but small herds of from six to a

dozen in number are commonly met with. .

Sambar feed mainly at night and, as such, are described as

nocturnal animals, but hinds and young stags come out to feed

with systematic regularity in the late afternoons and do not usually

seek cover till the sun is well up in the morning. Old stags are

more seclusive in habit. They often occupy very inaccessible

places during the day and he up on the tops of precipitous rocky

slopes, where a good breeze is available to keep off the flies. Or,

they resort to well-wooded plateaus at the head of steep rocky

streams, from whence they are able to command a good view

of the surrounding country. A sambar makes hardly any move-

ment and no sound when resting on the ground. The oceasional

flicker of an ear or a slight movement of the withers Pere his

presence only to the trained practised eye.

Sambar love wallowing in mud wallows, especially during the

cold weather and frequently resort to dew ponds, pools and the

beds of drying streams, or they frequent wallows excavated by

pigs, elephants and rhinoceros. They also visit salt-licks at night.

A habit to which they are more addicted, in my opinion, than

any of the other large or smaller game in Burma.

The question as to how often sambar drink depends a good

deal on season, temperature, climate and on the amount of water

available in the area. An important factor is the extent to which

the animals have been subject to harassment. According to some

of my Burma hunters, sambar drink nightly, others imchne to

the belief that they drink only every second or third night. If

believe that these animals can go without water for even longer

periods if obliged to, but if undisturbed, they drink regularly.

Thamin, on the other hand, though living in hot dry regions,

are very abstemious as compared with other deer and do without

water for long periods.

Sambar are perhaps the most alert of all animals found in the

jungles of Burma, with the exception perhaps of the Tapir. Like

other animals they seem to have a sixth sense. At the slightest

sign of danger, a sambar is able, in the darkest night, to dash

through the jungle, carrying his spreading antlers through the

tangle of trees and covering the most dangerous and precipitous

eround in its headlong stride.

Compared with bison or tsaing, the sambar lives in closer

association with Man. Its most deadly enemy in the jungle is

undoubtedly the Wild Dog. My experience with these vermin

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR 311

is that the victim is hamstrung and not emasculated as is gener-

ally supposed. I once had the unusual experience of coming

upon a huge emasculated boar, covered with wounds, limping

painfully along, surrounded by about 20 wild dogs. None of the

dogs showed any signs of injury. I succeeded in shooting two of

them with charges of buck shot and put an end to the misery of

the boar who, champing her jaws to the last, made a gallant effort

to get at me. I have heard sambar scream on several occasions

at night when seized by wild dogs. <A pack of wild dogs will take

mouthfuls out of a sambar whilst the animal is alive. I have

heard the same agonising cry of fear from a wounded sambar

seized to have its throat cut or halalled. It is a heart-rending

sound impelled by overwhelming fear, Fear, occasioned by the

imminence of death, must be potent in its effect on such highly

strung and sensitive animals as deer. I have seen two instances

of very young sambar fawns dying from fright. In both instances

my hunters captured fawns that had run into our party instead

of bolting with their dams. There were no injuries of any des-

cription on either occasion, for I made a careful postmortem

examination and, although I had no means of diagnosing the cause

of their death, I could only assume that, as neither of the animals

had been roughly treated, they had died of heart failure, induced

by fright. In one case the animal died in my hunter’s arms within

a few feet of me after a very brief struggle.

The sambar’s customary ‘bell’ is a familiar sound in the Indian

jungle. Peacock in his Game Book for Burma says he has not

heard in Burma the loud belling notes made by sambar stags

when disturbed. It seems to me that he has been somewhat

unfortunate in this respect, as I have often heard them bell loudly

in various parts of Burma. A stag sambar in full horn will in-

variably utter these loud belhng notes of alarm on scenting a tiger

or when disturbed or when suspicious of some noise it has heard

in the jungle and cannot fathom. Any sound out of the common

—like the fall of a heavy branch from a tree will cause sambar

to bell repeatedly. A sambar taken by surprise gallops off with

a succession of leaps and bounds for some distance and then, as

often as not, pulls up suddenly and turning round to face the

danger makes the welkin ring with its ‘belling’, while it alsc

stamps its feet from time to time. Which brings me to the

subject of ‘stamping grounds’.

Sambar have regular ‘stamping grounds’. In open grounds as

well as in the jungle, one often comes across these circular bare

patches, devoid’ of all vegetation which have been stamped bare

by the hooves of sambar. These stamping grounds may be

anything from 10 to 40 feet in diameter. The smaller grounds

I suspect, are the work of solitary stags. Do these stamping

erounds serve any particular purpose? Why do sambar make

them ?

Fletcher in his book Sport in the Nilgiris states that he could

never account for these clear circular spaces made by sambar

always under an overhanging tree. He did not credit the ex-

planation given by the local shikaris that they were ‘swinging

319° JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY Vol XxX

places’ and that a stag hooked his fore legs over the overhanging

branch and swung backwards and forwards, his hind legs trailing

on the ground kicking the space clear. A stamping ground is not

necessarily made under overhanging trees. The sambar being

essentially a forest animal, it 1s natural that the majority of these

‘clearings’ are found under trees. But I have found such stamp-

ing grounds right out in the open where there were no trees or

bushes in their immediate vicinity. ‘Josh’, Fletcher’s tame

sambar solved the riddle as to how these stamping grounds were

made. Fletcher discovered one of these open patches under a tree

close to his bungalow and, feeling sure it was ‘Josh’s’ work, he

watched him. A few mornings later he saw ‘Josh’ go to the tree

and indulge in the most extraordinary antics. He pawed up the

ground turning slowly round and round at the same time, and

then stood straight upon his hind legs like a goat. This was

repeated over and over again. Many a morning and evening

afterwards, Fletcher saw ‘Josh’ going through the same gymnas-

tics, but the animal’s reason for doing so were not clear to him.

He suggests that his sambar was working of a redundancy of

animal spirits. All wild animals are blessed with an excess of

vigour and spirits which takes expression in curious ways.

Village cattle and wild cattle, for no apparent reason, will suddenly

begin digging up the ground or a mound of earth with their hooves

and horns. It may be, as Fletcher suggests, that these antics

are an outlet for surplus energy, but why sambar select and adhere

to a special site for their performances is a puzzle. It is well

known that many animals have the habit of resorting to a parti-

cular spot for dropping their excreta. It is suggested that in

social animals this habit may serve as a guide in keeping indi-

viduals of a herd together. The stamping grounds of sambar

may serve a similar purpose and provide a sort of meeting ground,

particularly during the mating season. Fletcher unfortunately

does not mention the age of his tame sambar, nor tell us whether

it was a stag or doe, or the time of the year when the animal

carried out its antics. It is signficant that these stamping

grounds are never seen in the rains, but are most in evidence in

the beginning and through the cold weather, which coincides with

the main breeding season of sambar. At this period, the majority

of stags are in rut; they commence to challenge each other. Such

a stag might well give vent to its feelings in rearing up and

stamping. Its antics would then result in making one of these

‘clearings’ or ‘stamping grounds’ which may thus become a meet-

ing ground for combats and a place for continuous resort. I once

had the good fortune to witness a fight between a couple of stags,

surrounded by about 8 or 10 does and immature males in one of

these ‘clearings’. The particular stamping ground was right out

in the open or the top of a watershed in the Yomah hills, at an

elevation of about 4,200 ft. There was no jungle anywhere with-

in 200 yards of the scene and I came upon the animals in broad

daylight—an unusual circumstance, as from my observation their

meetings seem to occur more often on bright moonlight nights.

Two stags of the herd were engaged pounding away at each

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR 313

other with their horns and hooves, frequently standing up on their

hind leg as goats do when they fight. The clash of their horns

as they met in mid air could be heard some way off. The stamp-

ing ground on which this encounter took place had a diameter

of 30 ft.

During the pairing season old stags stalk about with erected

tail, outstretched muzzle and everted face glands and are then

by no means pleasant-looking animals. At this time, in captivity

at any rate, they are highly dangerous. The period of gesta-

tion, as I have observed it in Burma, is about 8 months. Most

of the fawns being dropped during the monsoon at the end of

June or about the beginning of July. But to this rule there are

exceptions for I have several times seen a hind with a newly

born fawn at heel in the early spring in Burma.

As to the season of horn shedding, sambar are said by most

sportsmen to shed their antlers annually from about May to July

and to be in hard horn again in December. In Central and

Southern India, the majority of stags are said to cast their horns

between the end of March and mid-April. The horns commence to

grow in May and are in velvet during the rains. Dunbar Brander,

writing of sambar in his Wild Animals of Central India, says that

he had never heard of sambar being in full horn in August or

September. RR. C. Morris records shooting a stag in full horn in

September in the Billigrirangan Hills, 8. India and Mr. H. G. M.

Dunn, in the first week of September, shot a fine stag which

had certainly been in full horn during the latter part of August.

My record sambar head for Burma, referred to previously, was

shot about the 20th of September. Fletcher in his Sport in the

Nilgiris says that he has shot stags in perfect hard horn in July

and August, when they ought to have been carrying undeveloped

heads; whilst he once bagged a stag in velvet in December.

Forsyth agrees that sambar do not shed their antlers annually.

There appears to be then much variation both as to the pairing

season in sambar and the time at which the antlers are shed.

Both are perhaps interconnected since the ability of the stag to

fight and gain possession of a harem of females would depend

upon the conditions of his horns. Variation in the time at which

horns are fully developed would imply variation in the seasons

of breeding and a parallel variation in the time at which females

are ready to breed. This annual shedding of the horns by deer

is a remarkable phenomenon and it has often puzzled me why

Nature.should, in the case of the deer tribe alone, build up a

huge bony structure only to destroy her handiwork every year

and begin the whole process de novo.

Another matter which has been the subject of comment is the

frequent prevalence on the throat of a peculiar bare and hairless

patch, about 6 in. in diameter, usually referred to as ‘Sore Neck

in Sambar’. I will not go so far as to say that every wild

sambar in Burma has this sore, because I, and other people whom

I could name, have come across several animals without it. I

have even been told that a similar sore has often been seen on

the necks of thamin or brow-antlered deer (hucervus thamin) and

314 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

observed, in one instance at least, on the neck of a barking deer.

fiven sambar fawns are occasionally affected. Sambar bred in

captivity, both does and stags, are however free from such dis-

figurement. Peacock in his book states that the animals are free

trom these sores in India, but this is not the case at all. Several

writers in India have commented on it. The cause, according to

some writers, is said to be due to the attack of some parasite,

but, so far as is known, this parasite has not been satisfactorily

isolated or identified. A note on the subject appeared in the

Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam under the sig-

nature of Mr. P. R. Kemp, who was engaged on survey work.

Mr. Kemp shot several sambar in Siam and during the months

of December and June he observed that they were all affected

by a peculiar sore situated in the middle line of the throat. The

actual sore was about 14 inches in diameter and the skin around

it was devoid of hair which had apparently been rubbed off over

an area about 8 inches long by 6 inches wide. The sore was

superficial and did not extend deeply. Mr. Kemp states that

this disease is recognized among the Siamese as the Khi-Ruon-

Kwang or the leprosy of the sambar. It is believed to be due

to the animals eating the fruit of the Ma-Kawk tree, a kind

of wild plum generally ‘known as the ‘wild olive’. Mr. Kemp

unfortunately does not give the botanical name of this wild ‘plum’

or ‘olive’. The appearance of the sore in these animals is stated

by the Siamese to synchronise with the time of the appearance

ot fruit on the Ma-Kawk trees. To take Mr. Kemp’s theory, so

far aS my experience goes the only ‘wild plums or olives’, if one

can call them such, which both sambar and barking deer eat in

this country are the ‘Gwethee’ (Spondias mangifera) and _ the

‘Zibyuthee’ (Phyllanthus emblica). The people of this country eat

a cultivated and larger variety of Spondias mangifera which is

quite palatable. I have seen as many as 12 ‘or 18 bleached

stones of the latter fruit lymg on the ground where sambar have

rested, bringing up the stones from time to time and leaving them

on the ground. If I have correctly identified the ‘olive’ or ‘plum’,

referred to by Mr. Kemp as causing the disease among sambar

in Siam, would not barking deer which also eat both these fruit

develop the same disease ?

' The same disease has been observed by members of the

Bombay Natural History Society in Assam and, it would be

interesting to know if this has been the case in other parts of

India. Mr. Dunbar Brander (see pp. 937 and 988 of vol. xxvii,

No. 4 of 81-7-21 of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History

Society) says, ‘I was much interested in the notes regarding the

mark or disease observed on the throats of sambar. I have several

times observed the same thing on sambar in the United Provinces,

always during the period that hair and horn were undergoing a

change. At this period sambar do not come under much observa-

tion and I am inclined to think the wound is more common than

is generally thought. The sore has always emanated from the

centre of a whorl of hair on the throat and, as it has only been

observed by me during the time the animal was changing coat

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR 315

or horn, I naturally connected the two and came to the conclusion

that the sore or mark was the result of the changes taking place.

I can only throw this out as a suggestion.’

I wrote to the officiating Director of Veterinary Services,

Burma, Rangoon, Captain 8. R. Rippon, in June 1935, about

this subject and asked him to kindly go into the matter if possible

and see whether he could not ascertain why, these sores on sambar

existed. He informed me that the Director Mr. Mitchell was

then away on leave and that he would go into the question on his

return in October 1935, as he, personally, had no opportunities

of shooting any sambar. I have since heard from Mr. Mustill,

Game Warden, Burma, that Mr. Mitchell has supplied him with

some test tubes containing preservative and that he, Mr. Mustill,

was going to collect some of the exudation from the sore of the

next sambar he shoots so that Mr. Mitchell may be in a position to

make an attempt to diagnose the disease, if disease it is. The

wound always emanates from the centre of a whorl of hair on the

throat, as stated by Mr. Dunbar Brander, but it should be indi-

cated that there is, normally, very little hair on the portion of the

throat where the sore appears. If the sore or circular patch on the

sambar’s neck is not the result of a parasite or a secretory gland

such as is found on elephants, camels, black buck, etc., then i

may be the result of bites by ticks and the intense irritation set

up by the animals pushing their way through khaing or elephant

erass, ‘theke’, and under growth. The sore is finally enlarged by

the animals rubbing their necks for relief against every tree trunk

and branch they come across, the enlargement of the wound caus-

ing more ticks to be finally attracted to the spot. It should not

be forgotten also that there are several plants that cause the skin

to itch like the devil, as for instance, a climber with yellowish

coloured hairy beans or pods and besides at least two kinds of

stinging nettles, not to speak of a horribly itchy plant with largish

leaves known in Burma as the petya. Then again there are the

fine hairs of the bamboo which also set up an irritation when

brought in contact with the skin. It is many years since I shot

a sambar, but so far as my memory serves me, these wounds or

sores on the necks of sambar, which I first noticed in 1890, although

red in appearance, hardly bleed at all and only exude a kind of

whitish-looking oily or watery substance. When sambar push their

way through grass and tick-infested jungle, especially during the

cold weather, when ticks seem to be more plentiful than at any

other time, the animals hold their heads well up and these insects

then find the throat and neck the most convenient spot on which

to gather. Could this be the cause of the sore? Captain Rippon

in his letter to me says that the skin on the bare patch on the

tame sambar’s neck in the Rangoon Zoological Gardens appears

to be quite normal, i.e. there were no signs of any parasitic disease

to the naked eye nor does it appear as if the hair has been lost

by rubbing. Captain Rippon also thinks that the bare patch is

probably a normal characteristic of the species and he doubts

whether the sores are due to rubbing. He states also that it

certainly would seem to be too much of a coincidence to find only

316 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

this area on the neck affected in that way in every case, ticks

must be found on other parts of the body as well where the

skin is protected by a full growth of hair which at the same time

is capable of being rubbed by the animal at will. Captain Rippon

in his letter to me also goes on to say that Dunbar Brander’s

theory would appear to suggest that the sore may be connected

with rutting. This, he says, is interesting as the sore might be

some secretory gland which functions only at times of sexual

activity, but is there, he remarks, any evidence that the sores

are seen only in the cold weather i.e. during the mating season?

Major C. P. Evans in his book Big Game Shooting in Upper

Burma has a lot to say on the subject of the sambar sore, vide pp.

144-8 of his book, but I will only quote a few extracts. He says

that the Burman and Indian Shikaris state that the sambar is

attacked by a parasite (I doubt whether they could explain

what a parasite was) and that the sore is caused by the animal

rubbing itself to get relief from the irritation. This he says no

doubt is true so far as it goes; but they are quite unable to

explain why sambar should invariably be attacked in exactly the

same place, or why the sore should be as circular as if it were

made by a pair of compasses, and why sambar alone of all deer

should be so afflicted. But are sambar the only deer so afflicted ?

Haven’t black buck in India got it? Evans goes on to say that

he does not himself believe in the rubbing theory. If the beast

rubbed itself against a tree or branch to get rid of the irritation

it would do so with an up and down motion and the result would

be irregular scratches along the throat. But strange to say in

spite of the forbidding appearance of the sore sambar do not appear

to be at all inconvenienced by it. Evans says that he has watched

sambar, when out in the open both in India and Burma for halt

an hour or more at a time, on purpose to see whether the animals

rubbed the sore; but he never saw any sambar whether young

or old pay the slightest attention to it. That the disfigurement

is caused by a peculiar parasite which only attacks the sambar

is according to Evans quite certain; but why it should invariably

confine its attentions to the throat, or why it should cause a com-

plete circular sore and having done so, desist from further attack

he is unable to explain. Judging by the bleeding spot in the

centre of the circle it looks, according to Evans, as if the parasite

having reached its limits, returned to the original spot and fed

there, since it is, in full grown animals always quite raw, the

remainder of the circle being merely bare and pink-looking. Seen

in the early dawn this raw spot has quite a gruesome appearance.

Colonel C. H. Stockley also comments on the ‘sambar sore’

or ‘sore neck’ on page 158 of his book Big Game Shooting in the

Indian Empire, but he adds nothing new except to say that he

has shot sambar without the sore as well as with the sore.

However let us hope we will have a complete or at least a partial

solution of the mystery after Mr. Mitchell has examined the

contents of the test tubes which will no doubt be forwarded to

him by Mr. Mustill in due course.

The hunters in the Ruby Mines District of Upper Burma have

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR 317

stories about a small active little animal they call a Sat Kalauk

which, although perhaps larger than a weasel, is said to be not

unlike that animal in appearance. This creature is said to spring

at and hang on to the throats of sambar as they move through

the jungle. It appears they seize the sambar by the throat with

their teeth and, after hanging on for a few seconds and drawing

blood, drop off again. I wrote to Mr. Mustill, Game Warden,

Burma about this matter and asked him whether he could make

enquiries to get to the bottom of the matter. He promised to do

so. Sat Kalauk in Burmese means the sambar’s bell, sat mean-

ing sambar, and kalauk a bell, or wooden neck knocker, or

clapper. These bells are worn round the necks of elephants and

buffaloes when they are loosed in the jungle so that their owners

may know where the animals are as the clapping sounds of these

bells can be heard quite a long way off. Why this ferocious little

animal the Sat Kalauk should want to attack such large animals

as sambar is a mystery. I see Mr. Peacock on page 274, of his

book A Game Book for Burma ete. refers to the Indian Marten

(Charionia flavigula) Burmese Nabashing as being the Sat Kalauk.

He also says that many jungle Burmans insist that Martens

occasionally run down and kill barking deer. There is no doubt

about this. It is a very destructive animal and is often caught

killing fowls, seizing the birds by the throat. As a matter of

fact, there is a general belief in the Ruby Mines District, that

the Sat Kalauk will kill and feed on the body of any animal it

can pull down and all seizures by it are evidently made at the

throat. Mr. Ryan of the Ruby Mines shot one of two pine

martens that had killed a village goat and were eating it when

he appeared on the scene and shot one of them. The death

wound on the goat in this case was also on the throat. The pine

marten is also very destructive to fruit and Indian corn gardens.

The most commonly seen game track in Burma is that of the

sambar, yet, as Mr. Peacock truly remarks, one may hunt for

days without seeing a single specimen. Stalking sambar on foot

is by far the most sportsmanlike way of killing them, but I am

afraid more are shot now-a-days from cars and in beats, or drives,

or by hunters at night on foot equipped with electric torches, than

by the legitimate means of stalking. The eyes of the animais

are plainly seen at night when a eel is used and many a sambar

has been done to dear at night by this means and has had a

charge of buek shot fired into its body at random only to get

away to die, sometimes days afterwards, a miserable lingering

death. Sambar are difficult animals to drive, marvels at finding

a weak spot in a beat and most determined in breaking back.

It is perfectly marvellous, as Rohilla says, with what complete

silence so heavy a beast with his spreading head will make his

way in front of the line through dense cover and over broken rocks.

The sportsman may have sat ‘for ain hour with exemplary patience,

silent, motionless and noiseless, at his post. A big sambar may

have come up close without the ‘gun’ having had the faintest

inkling of it, and may have been standing suspiciously sniffing the

alr, eal listening with its huge ears, making up its mind for Q

o18 JOURNAL, BOMBAY: NATURAL (HIST. (SOCIETY« Wol, XXXix

further advance, should the beaters approach too near. Should the

sportsman under such circumstances, seeing the beaters close up

and imagining that all is over, move even an eyelid, the wary

beast is off with a plunge and a crash, either back through the

line of beaters, or down hill to turn their flank, sometimes giving

the occupants of the less sought for posts below a chance of a

shot. Another moment or two of motionless silence and the

occupant of the post would have had an easy shot at the huge

deer, as he walked delicately like Agag along the well known

path, or quietly scrambled up the rocky defile to the top. All

the other animals come along with much less concern or conceal-

ment; only the sambar stag is thus cautious.

It is certainly much grander sport following and stalking the

sumbar on foot. The ground may be difficult, steep, dangerous

and rocky; but where a deer can climb a man can climb also.

The jungle may be dense, and the foliage luxuriant, but the sports-

man content to wander all day in the forest rifle in hand for the

chance of obtaining a shot accompanied by only one or two men

is sure to meet with ultimate success although he will probably

not bring to bay so many animals as the man who lurks behind

a tree or rock, and has the game driven up to him to be murdered

at point blank range, or as the man, who dazzles the vision of

an animal at night with the headlights of his car and then

slaughters it in cold blood at five or ten yards range.

I have already referred to the large sambar stag shot by me

the measurements of whose antlers I have given. I came upon

this animal suddenly at about fifteen paces in more or less open

country, when turning a bend of a stream in the Thayetmyo Yoma

hills, where the rushing sound of the water drowned the foot-steps

of myself and hunters. Two soft-nosed bullets from a double

hammerless 803 Enfield Rifle accounted for him. The first bullet

got him in the neck paralyzing him, whilst the second shot went

through his heart and brought him down with a crash. Although

a stag sambar does not appear to possess the vitality of some

animals of lesser size that I have shot, I am of opinion that the

303 is not powerful enough for these large deer. A -400, -4258,

-318 or even a -375 would be more effective. Some people have

of course shot them at close quarters in a drive using a 12 bore

shot gun and lethal ball or even with L.G. or 8.G. buck shot.

Sambar are, or were, until quite recently hunted on foot with

dogs by sportsmen armed only with long hunting knives. The

animal, which is not a great stayer at any time in any country,

and seems also to succumb more easily to a rifle bullet than most

animals, is easily run down and bayed by the dogs, when the

sportsman steps in with his knife and administers the coup de

grace. It is a highly exhilarating but dangerous sport as I have

experienced myself in Ceylon. A sambar stag can inflict a dan-

gerous wound with his horns, whilst the hunter has also to be

in the pink of condition to stay the pace. These animals can also

rear up and strike out with their fore feet besides using their

horns to gore one. Sambar when exhausted and run down by

dogs or by human agency take, as often as not, to the nearest

THE MALAYAN OR BURMESE SAMBAR 319

stream, and stand at bay in the deepest pool they can find until

the end comes. It seems a pitiful end for such a grand beast.

They take to water readily and swim with the body submerged,

only the face and the antlers showing above the surface.

The skin of a sambar is useful if properly tanned and con-

verted into leather for trunks, kit bags and foot wear. As a trophy

the skin is useless because of the coarseness of the hair.

The horns, when in velvet, are much valued by the Chinese

for medicinal purposes. Such horns when obtained are smoke-

dried and sold for about Rs. 25 to Rs. 80 per pair. A Russian,

at the present time, is doing a roaring trade in Korea by farming

deer with the object of sellng horns when in velvet to the Chinese.

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN.

SALIM ALI.

With Notes by Huecu WHistTLErR.

Parr VII.

(Continued from page 85 of this volume).

SUB-FAMILY: BUBONINE.

Ketupa zeylonensis leschenaulti (Temm.). The Bengal Brown TF ish-Owl.

Specimen collected: 932 ¢ 3-12-83 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris golden yellow; bill pale greenish grey, dusky

on culmen and tip; legs and feet dusky yellow; claws horny brown.

[The specimen (¢) measures:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

50 379 190 71 mm.

No other Travancore specimens seen.—H. W. |]

Occasional solitary birds were observed on rocks in the Periyar River at

dusk. A pair at Nemmara had their domicile among large trees in the com-

pound of the Travellers’ Bungalow. In this locality the species was noted

as fairly common. Its call—a subdued eerie ventriloquistic boom-boom etc.—

was heard chiefly at dusk. On the whole, the Brown Fish-Owl is perhaps

commoner in our area than the Survey records suggest. According to Ferguson

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 667) it is ‘common in forest land in the low country [of

Travancore] near the sea coast’. He mentions specimens that had lived in

captivity in the Public Gardens, Trivandrum, for 10 years. Elwes (Ibis, 1870.

p. 527) found this owl common in the lower valleys of the Cardamom Hills.

In the Palni Hills, both Fairbank and Terry (S.F., v, 892 and x, 469)

have recorded it from Kodaikanal. In Ceylon it is represented by the typical

race which has a general distribution up to 4,000 ft.

Breeding: The testes of the specimen (8 December) measured 10x5 mm.

Fergmson gives the breeding season in Travancore as March and April.

Bubo bubo bengalensis (Franklin). The Indian Great Horned-Owl.

Specimens collected: 628 ¢ 19-4-38, 6388 92 Q21-4-33 Aramboli 250 ft.

Hlsewhere noted at: Nemmara (800 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright reddish-orange; bill horny brown; feet

greyish-brown; claws horny brown.

[These specimens extend the known range of this' species. The ¢ measures:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

42, 365 185 mm.

—H. W.]

The Indian Great Horned-Owl has not been previously recorded from Tra-

vancore or Cochin. It was, in fact, not known to occur in South India south

of about Madras on the east and the Nilgiris on the west,

' THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 321

At Nemmara (Cochin) only a single example was observed in open teak

forest at the base of the Nelliampathy Hills, on the edge of the Palghat Gap.

At Aramboh (South Travancore), however, the birds were not uncommon.

During the daytime they kept to fissures and hollows among the gigantic

boulders on the hillocks flanking the Aramboli Gap, whence they issued forth

at dusk with deep resonant hollow calls of Bu-bo etc. At this hour they were

usually seen perching on the summits of boulders etc. whence they presently

glided off on outstretched wings for enormous distances—occasionally covering

half a mile or more without a flap—to their accustomed feeding grounds in

the cocoanut plantations and cultivated country about the town.

It has not been met with in the Palni Hills and it evidently does not

occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens (19 and 21 April) were inactive.

No other data in this regard was procured by the Surveys.

Huhua nipalensis nipalensis (Hodgson). The Forest Kagle-Owl.

Not met with by the Surveys.

_Ierguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 667) states that this owl is not common in

Travancore. ‘Two specimens taken alive in the low country forest lived for

some time in the Public Gardens at Trivandrum. Another was shot in the

High Range.

It has not been recorded in the Palnis, but it occurs in the Ceylon hills.

Breeding: According to J. Stewart (Fauna, iv, 418) the breeding season

in Travancore is December and January.

In dense mixed forest at Thattakad (200 ft.—February 1933) and also at

Tenmalai (500 ft.—March 1933) after dark and frequently all through the

night, was heard the long-drawn kite-like whistling call of an owl, the identity

ef which I was unable to establish. A specimen of this bird was shot while

ealling in December 1932 in the Biligirirangan Hills (Coimbatore District),

but unfortunately lost in the scrub in the darkness. In the beam of the

electric torch it looked about the size of a kite. Can it have been this Eagle

Owl?

Otus bakkamoena bakkamoena Pennant. The Ceylon Collared Scops Owl.

Specimens collected: 459 Q juv. 16-3-33 Rajampara 1,350 ft.; 983 Q

3-12-83 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Kottayam; Chalakidi.

Colours of bare parts: Juvenile (459): Iris yellow; bill pale horny brown;

feet greenish-plumbeous; claws horny brown. Adult (9338): Iris brown; bill

horny brown, paler on lower mandible; mouth pink; legs and feet brownish

flesh colour with a pale creamy tinge; claws pale horny brown.

[Additional specimens examined:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 2 8-38-96 Zoo Gardens, Trivandrum (Nair); 0? no date

Trivandrum (Fry); 000? no date Mynall (Bourdillon). Cf. S.F., vii, 34.

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

299 21-22 144-147.5 68.5-69.5 27.5-30.5 mm.

The juvenile No. 459 of this species is remarkably different from the adult,

but I have no doubt that it is correctly identified as a juvenile in my col-

lection from Sikkim of the closely allied O. b. lettia exhibits very similar

differences. The upper plumage is grey on the forehead, crown, sides of the

head and nape, and browner on the mantle, back, rump, upper tail coverts

and lesser wing coverts, the feathers finely stippled and vermiculated with

dark sooty brown; wings and tail, including tertiaries and greater and primary

coverts as in the adult (grey phase); chin whitish; remainder of lower

plumage greyish-fulvous, the ruff somewhat brighter, all feathers faintly barred

and stippled with sooty brown.—H. W.]

This little owl was fairly common in the localities named where it kept

to well-wooded compounds in villages and towns, and also to deciduous forest.

Its mellow but monotonous wut?-wut? note, repeated at intervals of 3 seconds

322 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

or so, was usually heard at dusk and late into the night, and then again in

the early mornings. It probably continues throughout the night.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 667) describes the Scops Owl as very common

throughout the low country in Travancore, but says that it does not ascend

the hills. Bourdillon (apud Nidification, iii, 516) says that it also occurs

in the foothills of Travancore and up to 2,000 ft. elevation.

There is no record of this species in the Palni Hills. It is common and

generally distributed in Ceylon, up to 8,000 ft.

Breeding: Specimen No. 459 (18 March) was a juvenile with a very soft

skull. It appeared to be about a month old and was moulting out of down

plumage.

Bourdillon (Fauna, iv, 424) found this owl laying its eggs in holes in

buildings in Travancore, but elsewhere it is said to nest in natural holes in

trees. The breeding season in Travancore is given as January and February

(Nidification, ii, 516).

[Otus sunia rufipennis (Sharpe). The Indian Scops Owl.

Not met with by the Surveys. Mr. Whistler mentions (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxxvill, 236) that in the British Museum there is a @ collected by R. H.

Morgan in the Palghat Hills in April 1876, and three Anjango specimens

without precise data. The species probably occurs in our area since the

Palghat Hills are sufficiently close to the northern boundary of Cochin State

to allow of the probability even if the Travancore evidence is ignored, knowing

that the ‘Anjango’ specimens are often of uncertain and doubtful origin. |

Athene brama brama (Temminck). The Southern Spotted Owlet.

Specimens collected: 538 ¢ juv., 589 Q juv., 540 @ juv., 541 @ ad.

8-4-38, 565 Q juv., 566 ¢ juv. 11-4-83 Cape Comorin ca. §.L., 702 9 21-7-38

(Beach), 856 0? (Golf Links, ca. 100 ft.) Trivandrum.

Elsewhere noted at: Aramboli (250 ft.); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Trichir; |

Ernakulam,

Colours of bare parts: Juvenile: Iris lemon yellow or greyish yellow; bill

pale sea green; feet greenish grey; claws horny black. Adult: ‘Iris yellow;

bill plumbeous; mouth bluish pink; feet plumbeous; claws brownish black’

(Pillai).

[No additional specimens with proper data seen.

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

ies 21 158 71.5 mm.

299 Dil. 156 68-71.5 mm.

The post-nuptial moult is complete and there is no spring moult. The

post-juvenal moult does not appear to include the wings and tail.

Dr. C. B. Ticehurst reports on the down plumage of this owlet as follows:

‘Pure white, short and very soft prepennae cover body, except apterions of

lateral neck, lateral body in front and each side of spinal tract above. Some

preplumulae of same type of down on lateral apteria in front..—H. W. ]

This species is without doubt the commonest owl in Travancore. In our

experience and that of Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 668) it is confined to the

low country, but Nidification (iii, 525) says that it is also found in the Travan-

core hills up to 1,000 or 1,500 ft. elevation.

The birds may be met with usually in the neighbourhood of villages and

cultivation, and wherever there are topes of large trees—especially old mango,

tamarind and the like—with hollow trunks and branches to furnish harbourage.

Old buildings and crumbling walls also provide suitable dwelling and nesting

sites. As in Ferguson’s day, they freely continue to inhabit the old ruins of

the fortified ‘Travancore Lines’ near Cape Comorin.

Sunlight does not seem to inconvenience this owlet greatly and it may

frequently be seen on the move during the day when, however, it is merci-

lessly chivvied by other birds.

Tt has not been recorded from the Palni Hills and it does not occur in

Ceylon.

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COGHIN 323

_ Breeding: Four of the April specimens were juvenile in various stages

of the down plumage. There is a marked discrepancy in the sizes of the

young in a brood which suggests that incubation commences from the laying

of the first egg. As the full clutch consists of 3 or 4 eggs there may often

be a difference of as many days between the ages of the first and the last

to hatch.

At Cape Comorin and Aramboli, between 8 and 16 April, numerous nests

were found in holes in crumbling walls and buildings or rotten tree trunks

and branches. All these nests contained either hard set eggs or downy chicks.

The nests emitted a strong and nasty stench. A number of family parties

were also observed about at this period. ,

Ferguson gives the breeding season in Travancore as March and April.

Glaucidium radiatum malabaricum (Blyth). The Malabar Jungle Owlet.

Specimens collected: 33 6 7-1-83 Maraiyir at 4,500 ft.; 461 9 18-3-88,

471 3 19-38-33 Rajampara 1,350 ft.; 781 Q 3-8-33 (Kovalam ca. 70 ft.), 880 @

11-8-33 (Pulayanarkotta, near Veli Lake) Trivandrum Environs.

Elsewhere noted at: Kauriarkitti (1,600 ft—Annemalai Hills, Cochin).

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright lemon yellow; bill and feet dirty

greenish-yellow; claws horny brown.

| Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: Q 12-38-78 Travancore (Bourdillon); ¢¢ 92 no date

Mynall (Bourdillon).

Measurements:

Bull. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

4oo 19.5-21.5 128-135 65-69 22 mm.

5 99 19.5-21 124.5-134 61.5-68 20-22 mm.—H. W.|]

The Jungle Owlet is not uncommon in the deciduous forest tracts of

Travancore and Cochin, chiefly in the low country and foothills but occasionally

up to about 2,500 ft. One of the specimens was shot at 4,500 ft. elevation.

It was usually met with, singly or in pairs, in secondary open deciduous

jungle, especially the bamboo facies. The bird gives itself away by fussily

flying off from its perch on the approach of the observer, and seems little

inconvenienced by bright sunlight. It settles on another branch or tree a

short distance away, sitting upright and motionless but with head screwed

round and staring hard at the intruder, looking all the time exactly lke

the stump of a dead branch.

. There is no record of this owlet from the Palni Hills though it probably

occurs in the deciduous country about their eastern base. Glaucidiwm casta-

notum found in a wet zone in Ceylon may possibly prove to be a race of this

species. (See Hastern Ghats Survey, J.B.N.H.S., xxxviil, 287.)

Breeding: Specimens Nos. 461 and 471 (18 and 19 March) were evidently

preparing to breed shortly. Some of the ovarian follicles of the former were

1-1.5 mm. in diameter, while the testes of the male measured 6x4 mm. No

other breeding data was procured by the Surveys.

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 669) the Jungle Owlet breeds in

Travancore in March.

Ninox scutulata hirsuta Temm. & Lang. The Southern Indian Hawk-Owl.

Not met with by the Surveys but I have seen a specimen in the Trivandrum

Museum labelled o? 19-6-1893 Trivandrum, and another in the museum of

the Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, obtained in that neighbourhood.

[Specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: fg 26-11-79, g¢ 24-2-78, § 3-12-74 Mynall (Bourdillon).

38 ¢¢ measure:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

22-23.5 197-198 114-116 mm.—H. W.]

Ferguson writes (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 668) that the Hawk-Owl is not uncommon

in the Travancore hills at about 2,000-2,500 ft. elevation, and that it. also

occurs in forest land in the low country.

324 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The Surveys appear to have overlooked this species completely. Bourdillon

(S.f., 1v, 378) says that it frequents heavy jungle and the borders of clearings

where on moonlight nights during winter numbers may be heard calling to

one another. He describes the call as a monotonous double hoot (the first

syllable prolonged, the second cut short) uttered from the bough of some

bare tree.

In Ceylon this Hawk-Owl is generally distributed up to 4,000 ft.

Breeding: January to May are said to be the breeding months in Travan-

core (Bourdillon, Nidification, ii, 586).

ORDER: ACCIPITRES.

FAMILY : PANDIONIDAE.

Pandion haliaetus haliaétus (Linn.). The Osprey.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Cape Comorin.

Ferguson states (J,B.N.H.S., xv, 668) that in Travancore the Osprey is a

winter visitor to the lakes near the coast. Its status in Cochin is possibly the

same although it cannot be anything like common since the Survey failed

to come across it there altogether. In Travancore also it was not noted

about the Vembanad Lake or in such other hkely localities by the backwaters

in February. Only a solitary bird was observed by Humayun Abdulal near

an irrigation tank, a couple of miles inland from Cape Comorin, on 9 April

by which time the hot weather emigration had presumably commenced.

FAMILY: AUGYPIIDE.

Sarcogyps calvus (Scopoli). The Black, Pondicherry, or King Vulture.

Specimen not collected:

Noted at: Maraiyur (8500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.); Peermade (8,200 vito) es

Kumili (8,000 ft.); Chalakadi; Padagiri (8,000 ft.).

This species is perhaps the commonest vulture in Travancore and Cochin,

and is generally distributed throughout the area. At Maraiyur it was noted

as practically the only vulture. While their numerical proportion to other

vultures at wayside carcases of cattle remains more or less constant in the

low country—namely the usual two or three birds to each gathering—on one

occasion at Peermade (8,200 ft.) over 20 of these birds had collected at a car-

case to the almost complete exclusion of the other species. At Padagiri also

an assemblage of about 380 Black Vultures were observed in company with

others of their ilk at the viscera and some scrappy remains of a Nilgiri Tahr

after the rest had been cut up and removed by the coolies. I have not seen

such large concentrations of this vulture elsewhere.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.F'., v, 391) observed it rarely at the base

of the hills, and Terry (S.F., x, 468) more frequently at Pulungi. It is not

found in Ceylon.

Breeding: There is no published record of its breeding in Travancore

or Cochin.

Howard Campbell has found it breeding at Kodaikanal in the Palni Hills

(Nidification, iv, 7).

[Gyps fulvus fulvescens Hume. The Indian Griffon Vulture.

Specimen not collected.

IT include this vulture in my Travancore list with diffidence and with a

full realisation of the fact that no authentic records apparently exist from

further south in the peninsula than Dtimaguidiem on the Godaveri River. I

must admit also that I often find it extremely difficult to differentiate between

this vulture and indicus in the field and that under the circumstances the

bare sight records can carry no real scientific value. However, as the note

was made in the field with a proper realisation of these difficulties and under

the two species separately, 1t might be as well to transcribe it for what it

is worth, in the hope that a future collection of vultures may prove or disprove

its correctness. The record I have is as follows: “Kumili 3,000 ft.—28 February.

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 395

Often suspected, but at least one definitely of this species seen in an assem-

blage at a carcase near the Travellers’ Bungalow’.

Vultures have been consistently neglected by collectors due, as in the

present case, to lack of storing accommodation which of necessity has to be

restricted owing to the itinerant nature of survey work. ‘These and the larger

birds of prey generally constitute, on this account, the weakest section of

most collections. Yet they are a most important group and our knowledge

concerning them is in many cases surprisingly deficient. Their collection may

be recommended to people who are more or less permanently stationed in

various localities and who are not obsessed by immediate difficulties as regards

the storage and transport of their material. |

Gyps indicus indicus (Scopoli). The Indian Long-billed Vulture.

Specimen not collected.

Noted as follows: ‘Maraiyur 3,500 ft.—13 January. 7 or 8 birds appeared

suddenly at a carcase of a dog when not a single one was in evidence in

this locality during the last 10 days.’

‘Kumili 8,000 ft.—28 February. Several at a carcase near Travellers’

Bungalow.’

‘Padagiri 8,000 ft.—19 December. Over 15 birds of this species at

remains of Nilgiri Tahr in steep valley, in association with S. calvus and

Kites.’

The Long-billed Vulture is not common as vultures go, but generally

distributed in small numbers in Travancore, and its status in Cochin is about

the same. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 668) considered it rare in the former

area. He mentions a live specimen brought in from Nagercoil, and that was

the only locality he knew where it had been obtained in Travancore.

Fairbank and Terry both include it in their Palnis lists where, however,

it does not seem to be common. It does not occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘There are no published records of its breeding in our area.

Pseudogyps bengalensis (Gmelin). The White-backed or Bengal Vulture.

Specimen not collected.

Noted at: Peermade (8,200 ft.); Kumili (8,000 ft.); Aramboli (250 ft.),;

Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.).

This species is perhaps the commonest vulture in Travancore and Cochin

though by no means as abundant as it is, for instance, in the Deccan and

in many other parts of the peninsula. Carcases, whether in the low country

or on the hills, seldom elude these birds for long. In an assemblage of

about 40 vultures at the remains of a Nilgiri Tahr shot in the Nelliampathies

(ca. 8,500 ft.) only 2 or 38 individuals of this species were observed, however.

On these hills, according to Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) the White-backed

Vulture comes up as a temporary visitor from the plains and only roosts un

there if gorged. This is probably true of the Travancore hills also.

Fairbank and Terry appear to have overlooked it in the Palni Hills.

Breeding: According to T. F. Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.8., xv, 669) a colony

of these vultures used to build regularly every year in a bit of forest adioining

Oliver’s estate [?] in the Ashambu Hills in South Travancore. When the

forest was cleared for coffee, the birds entirely deserted the place. He gives

the breeding season in Travancore as February to April.

Neophron percnopterus ginginianus (Latham). The Smaller White Scavenger

Vulture.

Specimen not collected.

Noted at: Nagercoil; Cape Comorin; Aramboli (250 ft.); Wadakkancheri

(400 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.)-

The Scavenger Vulture is not uncommon in the dry low country of South

Travancore—and in similar facies also in Cochin—though nowhere abundant.

It frequents the neighbourhood of towns and villages the population of which

provide it directly or indirectly with sustenance.

Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 279) only observed a solitary bird by some

coolie lines in the Nelliampathy Hills.

326 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

In the Palni Hills, on the other hand, Fairbank (S.F., v, 392) and Terry

(S.f., x, 468) found this vulture on the slopes and occasionally on the tops of

the hills up to 5,000 ft. Whether it is a resident on these hills or merely

ae them temporarily from the plains in search of food—as is likely—is not

stated.

It is a straggler into Ceylon.

Breeding: At Aramboli '(18 April) a nest was located on a ledge of an

inaccessible rock-scarp which evidently contained young. One of the owners

visited the nest with a beakful of food that through field glasses looked like

ordure. No published records of its breeding in Travancore or Cochin are

available.

FamiIty: FALCONIDA.

SUBFAMILY: FALCONINA.

Falco peregrinus calidus Latham. The Eastern Peregrine Falcon.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted (either this or the next species?) at: Kottayam backwaters near

Alleppey (18 February); Cape Comorin (10 April).

The Peregrine is evidently an uncommon winter visitor to Travancore and

Cochin. The Survey definitely recognised it only once when a bird swooped

down on a wounded Caspian Tern and attempted to carry it off.

Ferguson states (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 672) that his collectors secured a single

specimen on the backwaters in North Travancore in December 1903 and saw

a second, also near the backwaters, at Quilon.

Falco peregrinus peregrinator Sundevall. The Shahin Falcon.

Not met with (?) by the Surveys.

Fenguson records (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 673) a single specimen shot by a Mr.

Walch in Trivandrum and sent to the Museum in November 1893.

Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 9438) says the Peregrine is common on the

Nelliampathy Hills and breeds on the precipices of the northern slopes. Mr.

Whistler points out (J.B.N.H.S., xxxviil, 418) that this is probably the race

to which Kinloch refers.

[Falco jugger Gray. The Laggar Falcon.

I have a doubtful sight record for this species from the Urimbikera Reserve

Forest, near Mindakaéyam, ca. 1,000 ft. elevation—16 February. A_ solitary

bird was being chivvied by Astur badius.

There are no published records of its occurrence in Travancore or Cochin,

and apparently only 2 for the whole of the Madras Presidency (Whistler,

J.BWN AOS .; xxv, 419)2]

Falco severus rufipedoides Hodgson. The Indian Hobby.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Cape Comorin (ca. 8.L.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.)?

Mr. Whistler has seen the following specimens in the British Museum:

3S no date Travancore (Bourdillon); ¢@ 27-4-1874 Kowdiar, 8. ‘Travancore;

3G 14-2-14 Aneichardi (Stewart).

The status of the Hobby in Travancore and Cochin is in some doubt.

The Bourdillon brothers considered that it might breed in Travancore, but

Ferguson says (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 673) that it may be seen on the hills and

occasionally in the low country in the cold season. He evidently believed it

to be only a winter visitor to Travancore.

Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) found it not uncommon in the Nelliam-

pathy Hills. As he does not specify any season, it is evident that he also

believed it to be a resident.

Nidification (iv, 34) says: ‘It certainly occurs and must breed in the

Travancore hills.’

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 327

Falco tinnuaculus tinnunculus Linn. The European Kestrel.

Specimen collected: 918 [¢ ad.] 29-11-86 Wadakkancheri 400 ft.

Additional specimen seen by Mr. Whistler:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 3 imm. Travancore (Fry).

Falco tinnunculus objurgatus (Stuart Baker). The Indian Kestrel.

Specimens collected: 551 Q 9-4-88, 573 Q 12-4-83 Cape Comorin §8.L.

Elsewhere noted (races undifferentiated): Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Santhan-

para (8,500 ft.); Peermade (8,200 ft.); Camp Deramalai (3,000 ft.); Kuriar-

kutti (1,600 ft.); Nemmara (300 ft.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.); Kartpadanna (ca.

Sali

[Additional specimens of objurgatus examined :

Brit. Mus. Coll.: @ ad. 2-12-78 Travancore (Bourdillon); [¢ ‘ad.] @

20-2-14 Aneichardi (Stewart); [¢ ad.] ?-8-75 Hridge (Bourdillon).

Measurements :

Wing. Tail.

oad. Go 228-235 148-163 mm.

3 99 237-257 145.5-169 mm.—H. W.]

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; eyelids, cere and basal portion of

lower mandible greenish-yellow; bill plumbeous with horny brown tips; mouth

greyish pink; tongue flesh coloured with dark tip; legs and feet bright chrome

yellow; claws black.

The Indian Kestrel as a resident is fairly common but not abundant in

Travancore and Cochin, in the low country as well as on the hills. During

the breeding season it is probably commoner in the latter where it is said to

nest on the crags and precipices. Its numbers are augmented in winter by

the influx of the migratory European race, but the two are by no means

easy to differentiate in the field.

‘he birds were usually met with singly, perched upon dead trees, telegraph

poles or stones on grass-covered hillsides, in open cultivated country and by

the backwaters. They also resorted to the stubble and scraggy grass-covered

patches by the seashore. They frequently occupy the same look-out post day

after day, and appear to have well-defined feeding territories. The birds either

quarter the ground, hover and pounce upon their prey—field-mice, lizards,

locusts etc.—or procure it in the manner of a shrike, swooping down on the

ground from their perch and returning with it.

both Fairbank (S.f., v, 392) and Terry (S.f., x, 469) found the Kestrel

fairly common in the Palni Hills. The former observed it at 7,000 ft. elevation

on Mount Nebo till the middle of June and considered it a permanent resident

on the top of the Palnis.

The European race is found as a winter visitor in Ceylon, but there is no

proof that the Indian Kestrel occurs there at all.

Breeding: Specimens Nos. 551 (9 April) and 573 (12 April) both had

conspicuously granular ovaries—with the follicles measuring 1 mm. or more

in diameter. They were apparently in pre-nuptial body moult and preparing

to breed shortly.

T. F. Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 673) observed a pair feeding their young

in a nest on an inaccessible ledge of rock at ca. 2,800 ft. elevation during

April.

Nidification (iv, 44) states that Bourdillon and Stewart knew it to breed

in North and South Travancore and that it has also been obtained in June

and July in the Nelhampathy Hills.

[Aquila nipalensis Hodgson. The Steppe Eagle.

North Travancore has been included in the distribution of this eagle (Fauna,

v, 71) on the authority of J. Stewart. As Mr. Whistler has pointed out in

the Journal (xxxviii, 423), however, eagles are notoriously difficult to identify,

and, as Stewart apparently did not preserve the specimen for comparison with

authentic examples, further proof is desirable before we can accept its

occurrence within this area. |

)

328 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

[Aquila pomarina hastata (Lesson). The Small Indian Spotted Eagle.

Lhe Fauna (v, 75) and Nidification (iv, 52) both say that this eagle is

uncommon in ‘Travancore. On what authority its occurrence is based is not

known since no specimens apparently exist. |

Hieraétus fasciatus fasciatus (Vieillot). Bonelli’s Hagle.

Not met with by the Surveys, neither included in Ferguson’s Travancore

list. Apparently, however, Stewart took many nests in Travancore (Nidification,

iv, 54).

Hieraaétus pennatus (Gmelin). The Booted Eagle.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 669) describes the Booted Eagle as an occasional

winter visitor to Travancore. The Trivandrum Museum in his time possessed

a single specimen shot in that locality in February. I have seen another

specimen in the same museum labelled: o? 5-11-93 Thottam.

Lophotriorchis kienerii (Sparre). The Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at Maraiyur (above Kumarikkaimalai, 7,000 ft.—l0 January); Thatta-

kad (200 ft.—8 February).

On both occasions single birds were observed soaring above afforested hill-

sides. ‘The ferruginous underparts were conspicuous and diagnostic.

Ferguson says (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 669) that the Rufous-belhed Hawk-Hagle is

rare in Travancore. He shot an example at the foot of the hills in South

Travancore in April 1901, and mentions that F. W. Bourdillon had a specimen

given to him which was shot at an elevation of 2,200 ft. in the act of swooping

at a chicken. According to the Fauna (v, 81) in Travancore it is commonest

between 1,500 and 3,000 ft. elevation. .

It is said to occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: A. M. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xvii, 1027) obtained a nest with

a young bird in the Annemalai Hills in December 1906. Since then, Stewart

(apud Nidification, iv, 57) has taken many nests and eggs in Travancore, and

he gives a good account of its breeding habits. It evidently breeds in heavy

forest between 1 and 4,000 ft. elevation, but principally between 1,500 and

3,000 ft. He took eggs—invariably c/1—from 27 November to the end of

March.

Ictinaétus malayensis perniger (Hodgson). The Indian Black Eagle.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Maraiytr (8,500-7,000 ft.); Santhanpara (38,500-5,000 ft.); Muthu-

kazhi, Ashambu-Hills (at 4,000 ft.); Kuariarkutti (1,600-4,500 ft.); Nemmara

(800-1,000 ft.).

This eagle is a fairly common and resident species in the well-wooded

portions of both the States, from the foothills country up to the highest eleva-

tions. In the Nelliampathy Hulls, Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 942) describes

it as very common.

The birds were usually seen singly—sometimes in pairs—sailing majestically

above the wooded ravines and hill-forest. In the Cardamom Hills, a_ trio

(parents training full-fledged young?) were observed on one occasion indulging

in a remarkable display of gliding, soaring and nose-diving above a grassy

hilltop at ca. 4,000 ft. From my level, or a little below, they rose with no

perceptible effort on motionless wings to about 200 ft. above in less than

15: seconds. Within a couple of minutes the birds were quite 5 to 600 ft.

above me, without once flapping their wings. They were quite obviously dis-

porting themselves for sheer pleasure.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 392) observed 8 of these eagles at. different places in

the Lower Palnis at about 4,000 ft., circling slowly just above the tree-tops

in the valleys.

It is found in Ceylon.

Breeding: According to Nidification (iv, 59) Stewart took eggs in Travan-

core at elevations between 1,000 and 4,000 ft., normally from November to

February but also once on 9 September. The nests are said to be built in

tall trees in evergreen forest, often so overgrown with creepers as to conceal

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 399:

the nest completely. Sometimes they are built in more conspicuous positions

ln opener trees. A single egg is usually laid, but very rarely 2 may.be found.

Bourdillon gives a very different account of its breeding in Travancore. He

says it builds on cliffs (!) at elevations of 2,000 ft. and upwards in January

and February, laying from 1 to 8 eggs (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670).

Nisaétus cirrhatus cirrhatus (Gmelin). The Indian Crested Hawk-Eagle.

Specimens collected: 12 9 5-1-3833 Maraiyur 3,500 ft.; 248 ¢ 6-2-3383 Thatta-

kad 200 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright lemon yellow; cere and rhampotheca

slaty black, greenish-grey at gape and plumbeous at chin; mouth pink; feet

dull yellow; claws black.

[The specimens measure :

Bill. “Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

25d 43-44 351-416 244-280 90-105 mm.

, N.B.—The wing and tail of the bird with small measurements are very

worn and are therefore somewhat below normal.—H. W. |

The Crested Hawk-Eagle is perhaps commoner in Travancore and Cochin

than the Survey records suggest. Both the specimens were shot on the edge

of mixed deciduous and evergreen forest.

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670) this species is common in

the low country of ‘lravancore and less so on the hills. In the Nelliiampathy

Hills, Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvu, 943) found it very common. The former

says it is very destructive to poultry, the latter that it feeds on Jungle Fowl.

Breeding: Specimen No. 12 (5 January) was presumably breeding. Its

testes measured 19X9 mm.

Ferguson gives the breeding month in Travancore as March.

Nisaétus cirrhatus ceylonensis (Gmelin). The Ceylon Crested Hawk-Hagle.

The Fauna (v, 87) and Nidification (iv, 64) both extend the distribution of

this race to include South Travancore -where Stewart claims to have found it

very numerous and to have taken many eggs between early December and

the end of March. a ;

I do not know if Stewart ever actually collected specimens of the birds,

and if so where these are at present, and whether he correctly attributed

them to this form. The only ‘Travancore specimen to which Mr. Whistler has

had access is an “‘Anjango’ bird in the British Museum which is the type of

Hiume’s Spizaétus sphynx (S.F., 1, 319).

Nisaétus nipalensis kelaarti Legge. The Ceylon Feather-toed Hawk-Hagle.

Specimens collected: 868 ¢ 15-11-86 Parambikolam, ca. 1,600 ft.—Annamalai

Hills, Cochin.

Elsewhere not recognised or noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright lemon yellow; bill including cere horny

slate; mouth pink; feet dull yellow; claws black.

[The specimen ¢ measures:

Bull. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. -

46 402, 261 98.5 mm.

Additional specimens examined :

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 0 18-12-76, 0 9-7-78, o juv. no date Mynall (Bourdillon).

—H. W.] |

This Hawk-Hagle is undoubtedly rare in Travancore where Ferguson says

(J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670) it is found as such only on the hills.

The specimen was killled with a stick by a fireman of the Cochin Forest

Tramway in the act of swooping down on his chickens! Parambikolam

is a.cluster of a few huts at the terminus of the tramway amidst fairly

heavy mixed deciduous and evergreen forest.

880 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Breeding: The testes of the specimen were inactive. Stewart (apud Nidi-

fication, iv, 68) has taken nests and eggs in the 'l'ravancore hills, mostly

between 1,000 and 38,000 ft., im dense evergreen forest. Occasionally also in

deciduous forest with trees of immense size and considerable undergrowth. The

nests are placed at heights of 80-100 ft. The season is said to be from Decem-

ber to the end of March most eggs being laid in January. C/1 is said to

be the invariable rule.

Circaétus ferox (Gmelin). The Short-toed Hagle.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Apparently no specimens exist from actually within the boundaries of

Travancore or Cochin. A bird that died in the 'l'rivandrum Zoo recently was

sent for examination to Mr. Whistler by Mr. N. G. Pillai, the Museum

curator. Regarding this specimen, the latter writes: ‘From the Zoo records

f can only make out that a couple of these birds were caught alive from

Thiruppuramkunram, a village in the ‘innevelly District. The Zoo curator

assures me that he has seen this species round about Aramboli.’

As the Tinnevelly District of Madras adjoins Aramboli in Travancore and

the terrain in both these areas is very similar—light deciduous scrub jungle

and cultivation—there is no reason to doubt the possibility of the Short-toed

HKagle occurring here.

‘he species has not been recorded from Ceylon.

Breeding: According to Nidification (iv, 69) ‘Stewart took two or three

nests in the open on the outskirts of forest’ in Travancore. The season is not

specified, but it is given for most of its range as December to March.

Hamatorais cheela melanotis (Jerdon). The Crested Serpent- eae

Specimen collected: 63 ¢G 11-1-33 Maraiyur 3,500 ft.

Hisewhere noted at: Munnar (5,000 ft.—tKanan Devan Hills); Santhanpara

(8,500 ft.—Cardamom Hills); Thattakad (200 ft.); Peermade (8,200 ft.); 'len-

malai (500 ft.); Balamore Estate (2,000-4,000 ft.—Ashambu Hills); Kuriarkutti

(1,600-2,500 ft.—Annemalai Hills); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.);

Padagiri (8,000 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills).

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright golden yellow; cere, skin above eye and

eyelids lemon yellow; bill plumbeous, brownish on culmen and at tip; legs

and feet dirty yellow; claws black.

[Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: ¢ 22-1-67 Nundur; ¢ no date Travancore (Fry); od

9-10-74, dG ?-8-76 Mynall (Bourdillon).

Trivandrum Mus. Coll.: CS 24-10-03 [Travancore].

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

666 425-46 357-434 211-279 91-106.5 mm.

For the supposed occurrence and breeding of both this and the Ceylon race

at different altitudes in Travancore (Nidification, iv, 72-75) see Eastern Ghats

Survey Report, J.B.N.H.S., xxxvui, 426-27.—H. W.]

The Crested Serpent-Hagle is a fairly common resident species in the well-

wooded tracts of Travancore and Cochin, evergreen as well as deciduous. It

is found in the low country and up to at least 5,000 ft. in the hills, and no

doubt higher still. The birds were usually observed in pairs, soaring and

circling on motionless. wings—often at great heights—above forest-clad hills

and sholas, or perched in some lofty tree within or on the edge of forest. Its

call of three loud, high-pitched screaming notes—Kee-ki-ki were commonly

heard when the birds were soaring and helped to reveal thir identity at

tremendous heights.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S.f’., v, 392) only saw a single pair which

would suggest that it is rather uncommon there.

In Ceylon it is replaced by the smaller race H. c. spilogaster Blyth.

Breeding: The testes of the specimen (11 January) were inactive. The

bird was exceedingly fat. No first hand data as regards breeding was pro-

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 331

cured by the Surveys. Stewart (apud Nidification, iv, 72) found nests of this

Serpent Hagle in trees beside the Ptnalur, Kallar and Shencottah streams in

Travancore, and gives the season as December to March. Only a single egg

is said to be laid.

The same collector is also credited in Nidification with having found the

Ceylon race breeding in some numbers chiefly between 500 and 2,000 ft. in

the hills of South Travancore from January to March. As pointed out by

Mr. Whistler, there seems to be some confusion here and further authentic

data and material seem desirable in order to prove that both the forms do in

fact occur.and breed in Travancore. It is apparently not easy to trace the

specimens collected by Stewart and on which his statements are based.

Butastur teesa (Franklin). The White-eyed Buzzard-Hagle.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Apparently overlooked as according to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670) it is

not uncommon in the low country of South Travancore, but does not ascend the

hills. However, under the circumstances I cannot but imagine that it must be

somewhat rare since a large and familiar bird as this is not easy to miss.

Haliaeétus leucogaster (Gmelin). The White-bellied Sea-Eagle.

Not met with by the Surveys, neither recorded in Travancore or Cochin by

previous observers. '

It is not known on what authority the definite statement in Nidification

(iv, 78) that it breeds in Travancore is based. That it may occur and breed

along the coast, however, is not improbable. ]

Ichthyophaga ichthyaétus (Horsfield) subsp.? The Grey-headed Fishing Eagle.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at: Periyar Lake (8,000 ft.) Travancore (at Thekaday and Camp

Deramalai ends).

Several of these fine eagles were observed at long intervals, perched singly

on tall forest trees by the margin of the lake, or soaring and circling high up

in its vicinity. The birds seemed to be rare and were shy and difficult to

approach.

Stuart Baker (Nidification, iv, 84) says that Travancore birds are inter-

mediate between the typical race and plumbiceps of Ceylon, but nearer the

former.

Breeding: Stewart found the Grey-headed Fishing Eagle breeding in Tra-

vancore and took eggs on 2 March (Nidification, iv, 82).

Haliastur indus indus (Boddaert). The Brahminy Kite.

Specimens collected: 710 0? 28-7-38, 785 9, 7386 Q 27-7-83 Beach, Trivan-

drum.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.); Kottayam (ca. $.L.); Vembanad

Lake; Alleppey; Kuamili (Periyar Lake 3.000 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Cape

Comorin (ca. §..); Shorantr; Chalakidi; Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara

(300 ft.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.); Kartpadanna (ca. S..); Ernakulam; Cochin

Harbour.

Colours of bare parts: ‘Iris yellowish-brown; bill horny black or dark

plumbeous, yellowish at gape; mouth bluish-pink; legs and feet yellow; claws

black’ (Pillai).

[Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 8 ad. 25-83-77 Mynall (Bourdillon); Q ad. 28-2-75

Colachul (Hume Coll.).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail.

tog ad: 88 359 180 mm.

200° ad. 33.5-36 379-391 189.5-200 mm.

1 9 imm. 33.5 378 197 mm.—H. W.]

The Brabminy Kite is a common resident species throughout the low

country of Travancore and Cochin, and was also found locally and_ patchily

332 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

on the hills up to at least 3,000 ft. It is commonest about the coast and

backwaters, but was also noted as abundant at the Thekaday end of the

Periyar Lake in the vicinity of the sluice gates. Numbers were usually to

be seen here perched on the trunks and bare branches of the partly sub-

merged trees. By the backwaters it lives chiefly by pilfering from the fish

yards and on the large variety of garbage floating on the surface especially

near the kopra depots and habitations, and in the harbours of Alleppey and

uae aa Pillai notes that one of the specimens had a number of tadpoles

in its bill.

In the Nelliampathy Hills, Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) says that

this kite only comes from the plains in fine weather as a temporary visitor,

presumably not roosting on the heights. At Padagiri, in the same hills, I

observed 3 or 4 examples amongst a gathering of about 50 vultures at the

scrappy remains of a Tahr that had been shot.

Both Fairbank and Terry include this species in their Palnis lists. The

former’ found it abundant about tanks and ponds near the base of the Hills

and observed it up to 4,000 ft. The latter saw a pair hawking about over

the lake at Kodaikanal.

The same race is a common resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimens (23 and 27 July) were in a

quiescent state. In Travancore Bourdillon found most ‘birds breeding in

January and February (Nidification, iv, 87).

Milvus migrans govinda Sykes. The Common Pariah Kite.

Specimens not collected.

Noted at: Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Munnar (5,000 ft.); Santhanpara

(3,500 ft.); Kottayam (ca. 8.L.); Peermade (3,200 ft.); Kumili (8,000 ft.);

Rajampara (1,350 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Trivandrum; Cape Comorin; Aram-

boli (250 ft.); | Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Nemmara (3800 ft.); Padagiri

(3,000 ft.); Trichtr; Kartpadanna; Ernakulam; Cochin.

The Pariah Kite is common and generally distributed in the low country

of Travancore and Cochin about towns and villages, and is also found on

the hills (up to 5,000 ft.!) by human habitations. It is less dependent on

the neighbourhood of water than the Brahminy Kite, but the two are com-

monly found in association.

A few birds were usually to be seen in the vicinity of coolie lines even

in remote cardamom, tea and coffee plantations. Here they are great chicken

robbers and a source of continual annoyance to the owners.

Near Padagiri (ca. 38,500 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills) 8 or 4 Pariah Kites

were noted amongst a gathering of about 50 vultures at the scanty remains

of a Nilgiri Tahr. According to Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) it ascends

these hills only as a daily visitor from the plains. and like the Brahminy

Kite, does not roost up there.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 392) found the Pariah Kite common at the base of the

Palni Hills, but did not notice one above 3,000 ft. Terry (S.F., x, 469) says

that it is rather scarce on the tops of the Palnis, and that he never saw

more than one or two pairs in the same place. It is common in Ceylon.

Breeding: In November and December breeding was in full swing in the

low countrv of Cochin. The birds were observed in conula very generally,

and on 29 December an ind:vidual was noted carrying building material into a

cocoanut valm at the edge of the backwaters.

According to Fereuson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670) in Travancore it usually breeds

during February and March.

Flanus caeruleus vociferus (Latham). The Black-winged Kite.

Snecimens collected: 186 4 380-1-88 Santhannara 3,500 ft., Cardamom Hills.

Kilsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.): Kuamili (3.000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: .Iris bright pale claret: bill horny black. cere and

gape yellow; legs and feet yellow; claws horny black.

[The specimen <¢ measures:

Rall. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

22 273 124 30.5 mm.—H. W.]

Tn the experience of the Surveys, the Black-winged Kite is decidedly rare

THE ORNITHOLOGY. OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 333

in Travancore and Cochin. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 670) believed it to

be only a winter visitor to Travancore. He had a specimen from Trivandrum

and another from Sastancottah in the low country near Quilon, both killed

in March. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) considered it somewhat rare in

the Nelliampathies, occasionally visiting the hills during the day and returning

to the plains at night to roost. His remarks, however, do not suggest its

seasonal status.

In Travancore it was met with singly in grassland and open deciduous

and grass jungle, usually either perched on some favourite tree-stump or

flying about with deliberate wing beats as of a Roller (Coracias) alternated

with short spurts of sailing and hovering like a Kestrel. One of Ferguson’s

specimens had caught a lizard in its claws. Its food comprises mostly of

these reptiles and of mice, locusts and grasshoppers.

Neither’ Fairbank nor Terry appear to have come across it in the Palni

Hills. The same race is fairly well distributed in Ceylon.

Breeding: The gonads of the specimen (380 January) were inactive. No

record of its breeding in Travancore or Cochin is available.

Circus macrourus (S. G. Gmelin). The Pale Harrier.

Specimen collected: 945 ¢ 5-12-38 Nemmara 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted (this or pygargus 9): Maraiytr (8,500 ft.); Peermade

(3,200 ft.); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Padagiri (8,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris greenish-yellow; cere and gape lemon yellow;

rhampotheca horny black, plumbeous at base of lower mandible; mouth greyish-

pink; legs and feet pale chrome yellow; claws black.

; Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 9 28-12-75 Colathoorpolay Valley 3,000 ft. (Bourdillon) ;

0? 22-2-14 Aneichardi Estate (Stewart).—H. W. |

The Pale Harrier is a winter visitor to Travancore and Cochin and found

in the low country and hills alike. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 671) obtained

it at 6,000 ft. on the High Range. It frequents paddy cultivation, fallow

land and the open hillsides as at Peermade, covered with grass tussocks inter-

mingled with bracken bushes and stunted Phoenix palms. It quarters the

ground on outspread motionless wings, sailing gracefully a few feet above the

surface and pouncing now and then on some lizard, locust, mouse or frog.

It is a winter visitor also to Ceylon.

Circus pygargus Linnaeus. Montague’s Harrier.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted (see under macrourus).

According to Ferguson (J.B.N./T.S., xv, 671). Montague’s Harrier is a

winter visitor to the plains as well as hills of Travancore, arriving about a

month later than the foregoing species, i.e. in December.

Circus melanoleucus (Pennant). The Pied Harrier.

Specimen collected: 83 ¢ 18-1-33 Maraiyur 3,500 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Colours of bare parts: Iris bright lemon yellow; cere lemon yellow; rham-

potheca horny back, plumbeous at gape and basal portion of lower mandible;

mouth pinkish slate; legs and feet chrome yellow; claws black.

[ Additional specimen seen:

Rut. Mus. Coll.: 0? 18-4-77 Colathoorpolay Patnas 3,800 ft. (Bourdillon).

'—H. W.]

The Pied Harrier is evidently a scarce winter visitor to Travancore, and

probably Cochin as well. There is, however, no record from the latter. The

specimen was a solitarv bird perched on a mound in a dry stubble field.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 671) says it visits Travancore occasionally. stay-

ing on later than the other harriers. He saw specimens in the beginning of

April.

It is a rare winter visitor to Ceylon.

38384 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXX1X

Circus zruginosus eruginosus (Linn.). The Marsh Harrier.

Specimens collected: 304 Q 18-2-33 Kottayam (Vembanad Backwaters).

Elsewhere noted at: Vellayani Lake (near Trivandrum); Aramboli

(300 ft.); Nemmara (800 ft.); Kartpadanna (backwaters).

Colours of bare parts: Iris hazel brown; cere yellow; rhampotheca horny

black, plumbeous at gape and chin; legs and feet yellow; claws horny black.

The Marsh Harrier is, as Ferguson remarks (J.B.N.H.S8., xv, 671), the

commonest harrier in Travancore during the cold weather, and to this I can

add Cochin also. It is, however, confined to the low country where, as its

name implies, it is found about water-logged paddy fields or shallow tanks

with grass and reeds, and in the vicinity of the backwaters. It is almost

invariably met with as a solitary bird. Ferguson found it in Travancore from

October to April. The last date the Survey has recorded is 21 April.

It is a winter visitor also to Ceylon.

Buteo buteo burmanicus Hume. The Japanese Desert-Buzzard.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 671) states that he often saw these birds on the

grass land at Ponmudi, but that the Trivandrum Museum possessed no specimens.

Regarding a specimen collected in Travancore by F. W. Bourdillon and

identified by Hume as plumipes, Mr. Whistler remarks (J.B.N.H.S., xxxvill,

431) that this is, in reality, the smaller form burmanicus which is undoubtedly

the one that visits south-west India in winter.

Bourdillon (S.F., iv, 358) writes: ‘This bird, a winter visitor, seems to be

not uncommon during December, January and February, preferring high open

country where 2 or 3 may be seen steadily quartering the ground and occa-

sionally pouncing on some mouse or lizard. I have seen them perch both

on trees and on stones, and once saw one as low as 2,000 ft. elevation, where

it was beating forwards and backwards over a field of young coffee.’

This Buzzard is a winter visitor also to Ceylon.

Astur badius badius (Gmelin). The Ceylon Shikra.

Specimens collected : 493 9 7-3-3838 Kuamili 3,000 ft.; 555 9 ad., 556 0?

and 557 0? downy chicks 10-4-33 Cape Comorin ca. §.L.;.776 Q 3-8-33 Kovalam

ca. 70 ft.—Trivandrum Environs.

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiyar (8,500 ft.); Mundakayam (Urimbikera

Forest, ca. 1,000 ft.); Rajampara (1,350 ft.); Wa dal banches (400 ft.); Nemmara

(300 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Adult (Q): Iris bright yellow; cere greenish yellow,

rhampotheca plumbeous, blackish on upper mandible except at base; legs and

feet greenish yellow; claws horny black. Downy nestling: Tris ereyish-brown;

cere and gape creamy yellow; rhampotheca horny black, bluish-grey at base;

mouth pink; tip of tongue blackish; legs and feet pale greenish-yellow; claws

plumbeous.

[Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: 8&9 no date Aneichardi Estate (Stewart).

Measurements :

Bill. Wine. Tail.

Bb COor au. 20-20.5 172-180 128-131 mm.

AT2O ade 29-93 186-206 149.5-161 mm.

Measurements include a Fry Collection bird without precise data.

Travancore birds are really intermediate between this and dussumieri, but

in the Eastern Ghats Survey I have decided that it is better to keep them

with badius.

Dr. C. B. Ticehurst reports on the down plumage as follows: ‘Down short,

dense, covering nearly all the body, apparently prepennae and preplumulae

mixed. White below, buffy white above and on wings.’—H. W.

The Ceylon Shikra is a common resident species in Travancore and Cochin,

principally in the low country about villages and cultivation, but it was also

met with by the Surveys up to about 3,500 ft. elevation in fairly open deciduous

jungle. It avoids evergreen forest. It was not observed around Padagiri

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 335

(8,000 ft.), but was common at Nemmara at the northern base of the Nelliam-

pathies. Kinloch, however, lists it as ‘common’ on these hills (J.B.N.H.S.,

Xxvu, 948).

Neither Fairbank nor Terry record it in the Palm Hills. It is a common

resident also in Ceylon.

Breeding: Nos. 556 and 557 (10 April) were downy nesthngs and 555—

with ovaries reverting to non-breeding condition (follicles ca. 1-1.5 mm.)—

their mother. The nest was built of twigs etc.—very like a crow’s at the

base of the leaf-stalks in a Borassus palm amidst sparse scrub and cultivated

country. The owners beat off crows and other birds from its proximity, but

made no effort at defence when the nest was chmbed up to. From the behaviour

of other pairs also, it was evident that the birds were breeding generally at

this time.

According to Bourdillon the season in Travancore is January to April, the

normal clutch comprising of 3 to 4 eggs. Stewart found the birds commonly

building in rubber trees in rubber estates. Kinloch took eggs on the Nelliam-

pathy Hills on 27 March (Nidification, iv, 102).

Astur trivirgatus trivirgatus (Temm. & Lang.). The Crested Goshawk.

Not met with (overlooked?) by the Surveys.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 672) describes the Crested Goshawk as resident

but by no means common in Travancore. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948)

seems to have found the species common in the Nelliampathy Hills. His

identification is confirmed by a specimen he collected in December 1923 and

sent to Mr. Whistler.

It is said to affect heavy jungle (F. W. ‘Bourdillon, S.F., iv, 355).

Breeding: According to Stewart and Bourdillon (Nidification, iv, 107) this

hawk breeds in Travancore from the foothills up to 3,000 or 8,500 ft. They

have taken eggs—c/2 or c/8—from 2 March to 25 May, the latter being an

unusually late date. On 14 April, Bourdillon found a nest at Mynall contain-

ing two juvenile birds.

Accipiter nisus nisosimilis (Tickell). The Asiatic Sparrow-Hawk.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 672) lists this species as a rare winter visitor to

Travancore. He mentions F. W. Bourdillon securing a single specimen on

the hills (Mynall 2,400 ft., S.F., vii, 33). This—an immature Q—is now in

the British Museum Collection.

Mr. Whistler has also examined the only other Travancore specimen in

the British Museum—an immature ¢—collected by Fry.

Accipiter virgatus besra Jerdon. The Southern Besra Sparrow-Hawk.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at Padagiri (8,000 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills).

Ferguson does not include this species in his Travancore list, but Stuart

Baker, evidently on the authority of J. Stewart, says (Nidification, iv, 112-13)

that it is common in Travancore and on the Malabar Coast, but seems to be

rare elsewhere. It is described as a bird of deep evergreen forest from 2,000

to 4,000 ft. elevation or higher.

Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) found it ‘very common’ in the Nelliampathy

Hills, where the Cochin Survey also came across it on two occasions. Solitary

birds were observed perched on tall dead trees on the verge of evergreen

jungle.

The same race occurs also in Ceylon.

Breeding: According to Nidification, Stewart took nests and eggs of this

Sparrow-Hawk in Travancore between January and May. Most eggs were

found in March and April. The normal clutch consists of 3 or 4 eggs.

Pernis ptilorhynchus ruficollis Lesson. The Indian Crested Honey-Buzzard.

Svecimen not obtained.

Noted at: Santhanpara (3,500 ft.—Cardamom Hills); Peermade (3,200 ft.);

Kumili and Periyar Lake Environs (38,000 ft.): Camp Deramalai (3,000 ft.—

Panthalam Hills); Rajampara (1,350 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Aramboli

(250 ft.); Balamore Estate (2,000-3,000 ft.—Ashambi Hills).

336 JOURNAL, BOMBAY. NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The Honey-Buzzard was not uncommon in the well-wooded tracts of Tra-

vancore. State, but not abundant. Usually single birds were observed soaring

or circling above sholas. It has a high-pitched, rather prolonged whistling

scream wheew.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 672) secured a single specimen at ‘Peermade’

near the Periyar Dam in January 1901, and considered the species a rare

winter visitor to Travancore. Its status, however, has apparently not been

properly determined.

Kinloch does not include the Honey-Buzzard in his Nelliampathies list, and

strangely enough the Survey lhkewise failed to record it in Cochin during

November and December.

It is found in Ceylon possibly as an immigrant, but its status in the island —

is also uncertain.

Baza leupliotes leuphotes (Dumont). The Indian Black-crested Baza.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Mr. Whistler has examined a specimen in the British Museum, collected by

Stewart in Aneichardi Estate, Travancore, on 19 February 1914. °

Breeding: According to Nidification (iv, 120) Stewart obtained nests of

this species frequently at 2,000-2,500 ft. elevation in Travancore. He _ took

most eggs in March and April—as early as 10 February and also as late as

4 July. The normal is said to be c/2 or c/3.

Baza ierdoni ceylonensis Legge. Legge’s Baza.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Stewart, the only observer to record this species in Travancore, states

(Fauna, v, 176) that it is rare and difficult to locate.

Breeding: The same observer is credited (ibid., 175) with having taken

nests and a very fine series of eggs of this Baza in Travancore. According

to him, the breeding season in this area is from February to the end

of April, the normal clutch consisting of 2 or 3 eggs.

ORDER: COLUMBA.

FAaMILy: CoLUMBIDA.

SUBFAMILY: ‘'T'RERONINA.

Crocopus phenicopterus chlorigaster (Blyth). The Southern Green Pigeon.

Not noted by the Surveys. ;

The Southern Green Pigeon was evidently not observed by Ferguson either

in Travancore. There is no information concerning it in this area beyond that

given below under ‘Breeding’, and it must be pointed out that no Travancore

specimens are available for examination, which makes the use of the trinomial

somewhat conjectural.

In the Nelliampathy Hills, Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S8., xxvii, 943) describes this

species as very common in October, November and December. Its exodus

from those hills begins about the middle of January and none are to be seen

after the middle of February. Occasionally, however, a few birds remain

behind to breed.

Fairbank (S.F., v, 408) obtained this Green Pigeon in the avenues near

the northern base of the Palni Hills. Terry (S.F., x, 479) took a nest with

one fresh egg in the Pittur Valley on 7 April, but did not meet with the

species at higher elevations.

Breeding: Nidification (iv, 127) records the taking of its eggs in Travan-

core by Stewart in January.

Dendrophassa pompadora affinis (Jerdon). The Grey-fronted Green Pigeon.

Specimens collected: 401 @ 5-38-83 Kuamili 3.000 ft.; 644 @ 23-4-33 Bala-

more Estate 2,500 ft.—Ashambia Hills; 687 ¢ 18-7-83 Pulayanarkotta ca.

200 ft.—Trivandrum Environs,

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND. COCHIN . 337

Elsewhere noted and/or shot at: Santhanpara (8,500 ft.—Cardamom Hills);

Thattakad (200 ft.); Peermade (3,200 ft.); Wadakkancheri (400 ft.); Padagiri

(3,000 ft.—Nelliampathy Hills).

Colours of bare parts: Iris, outer ring bright pink, inner ring lapis blue;

bill, cere and lower mandible near gape yellowish-green rest pale grey; mouth

yellowish grey-pink; legs and feet dull magenta or plum. colour (‘Deep red’—

Pillai); claws horny grey; soles yellow. |

[Additional specimens seen:

Brit. Mus. Coll.: @ 18-12-78 Mynall (Bourdillon); ¢@ 7-1-73 Assambo

Hills (Hume Coll.).

Sparrow Coll.: SG 20-38-14 Cardamom Hills.

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

4G 19-20 143.5-147 88 20-23 mm.—H. W.]

The Grey-fronted Green Pigeon is a common species in the well-wooded

portions of the low country of Travancore and Cochin, and extends through

the foothills upward to at least 4,000 ft. elevation. It is said to be an alti-

tudinal migrant to some extent. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 948) states that

in the Nelhampathy Hills it becomes increasingly common as_ chlorogaster

becomes scarce; it is extremely common there during February and March,

but that it also goes down to the low country before the burst of the South-

West Monsoon.

The Surveys usually came across the birds in small flocks of up to a

dozen or so. When not feeding they are fond of perching on dead or leafless

trees on the edge of jungle and uttering their mellow whistling calls.

In the Palni Hills, Fairbank (S8.F., v, 408) obtained specimens of this

Green Pigeon at Periur, where flocks came to feed on ripening Zizyphus fruits.

The typical race is abundant in Ceylon up to 4,000 ft.

Breeding: A female shot on 18 December at Padagiri had a complete

oviduct egg and the largest ovarian follicles measuring 12 mm. in diameter.

In these hills Kinloch records this species as breeding solely in January and

February.

Specimen No. 401 (5 March) was also breeding as evidenced by the testes

which had enlarged to 13x7 mm.

T. F. Bourdillon found a nest with one egg in the Ashamba Hills at

2,400 ft. on 24 February.

Dendrophassa bicincta subsp.? The Orange-breasted Green Pigeon.

Not met with by the Surveys.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S8., xvi, 1) says that this species is by no means as

common in Travancore as the foregoing, but that it may be met with in the

low country forest not far from the coast.

In Ceylon it is replaced as a common coastal species by D. b. leqggqet.

Breeding: Nidification (iv, 181) records that Stewart found breeding in

Travancore birds which almost certainly belonged to the Ceylonese race. It is

perhaps preferable, however, to keep this binomial for the present in view

of the difficulty explained by Mr. Whistler (J.B.N.H.S., xxxviii, 673-4) over

the correct names of the races of this bird. No specimens are available from

the tvvical locality to show to which form the typical name should be rightly

applied.

Ducula badia cuprea (Jerdon). Jerdon’s Imperial Pigeon.

Svecimen collected: 409 @Q 6-8-8383 Kumili 3,000 ft.

Elsewhere shot and/or noted at: Santhanpara (8,500 ft.); Thattakad

(200 ft.); ‘Peermade (3.200 ft.); Camp JDeramalai (8,000 ft.); Raiampara

(1,850 ft.); Tenmalai (500 ft.); Balamore Estate and Muathuktzhi (between

9.500 and 4,000 ft.—Ashambia Hills); between Kuvallé Incline and Kuriarkutti

(Cochin Forest Tramway); Padagiri (8,000 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris brown; eyelids magenta; bill magenta except

corneous tip which horny brown; legs and feet magenta; claws like tip of bill,

3388 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

[Additional specimens seen: 7 specimens (November-December, January-

March) Mynall (Bourdillon) in British Museum.

Sparrow Coll.: Q 9-38-14 Cardamom Hills.

Measurements :

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

ais 32 221-428 — —

oe) 30-33.5 225-235 164-174.5 29.5-31 mm.—H. W.]

Jerdon’s Imperial Pigeon is a common resident species in the evergreen

biotope of Travancore and Cochin. It was met with chiefly in the heavily

forested foothills, and in wooded ravines and sholas at elevations up to at

least 4,000 ft. It was usually observed singly or in pairs—occasionally 3 or

4 birds together. Its loud, throaty, booming calls gu-gu- --goo and goo-goo-goo,

rising in crescendo, commonly resounded through the forest. In timbre and

volume these may be placed between the call of the Crow Pheasant and that

of the Entellus or Langur Monkey.

This Pigeon has evidently not been recorded in the Palni Hills though

it must doubtless occur there. It has doubtfully been recorded as breeding in

Ceylon.

Breeding: The specimen (16 March) was ready to breed shortly. Its ovary

was mature, the largest follicle measuring over 7 mm. in diameter. On 16 March

(Camp Deramalai) two twig nests, about 30 ft. apart, were noted in a large

Ficus tree about 25 ft. up, within a mixed shola, off which the sitting birds

were disturbed. From the general behaviour of the pigeons about this time,

breeding was undoubtedly in full swing. On one occasion, a remarkable display

of antics were observed. A bird—presumabiy male—launched itself into the air

from a lofty branch. After flying some distance it suddenly closed its wings,

and utilising the momentum shot upwards almost perpendicularly for 30 ft. or

so. On the crest of the wave, as it were, the bird turned round and _ nose-

dived, wings still closed. When back to about its former level, it flew a few

yards more horizontally with great velocity and then suddenly closing its wings

repeated the manoeuvre again. These acrobatics were reminiscent of the breed-

ing display of the Roller (Coracias), but were infinitely more spectacular.

According to Stewart and Bourdillon (Nidification, iv, 139) the breeding

season in T'ravancore is January to May. The latter says that it has two

broods a year—in April and again in November. Only one egg is said to be

laid at a time.

Muscadivora enea pusilla (Blyth). The Ceylon Imperial Green Pigeon.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted at Thattakad (200 ft.).

[The only Travancore specimen IT have examined is an unsexed ‘Anjengo’

skin in the British Museum. Bill 31; wing 210 mm.—H. W.]

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 2) this fine pigeon is only found

in the low country forests in Travancore, and he is doubtless correct. The

Travancore Survey only came across it at Thattakad, where it was not uncommon

in the mixed deciduous-and-evergreen jungle.

It was not met with by ie Cochin Survey. Kinloch (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii,

943) describes it as rare in the Nelliampathy Hills and occurring only towards

the foot of the Southern slopes. He thought it may probably be common in

the immense forests of the Nelliampathy Valley.

Fairbank and Terry do not record it in the Palni Hills. It is apparently

a common resident in Ceylon.

Breeding: Stewart and Bourdillon took many nests and eggs in Travan-

core in February, March, April and June (Nidification, iv, 142).

Chalcophaps indica indica (Linn.). The Indian Emerald Dove.

Specimens collected: 9 G 4-1-83 Maraiytr 3,500 ft.; 987 3 juv. 16-12-33

Padagiri (at 4,000 ft.).

Elsewhere noted at: Santhanpara (3,500 ft.); Thattakad (200 ft.); Peermade

(3,200 ft.); Camp Deramalai (3,000 ft.); Rajampara (1,850 ft.); Tenmalai

(500 ft.); Balamore Estate (2,000-3,000 ft.); Kuriarkutti (1,600 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Adult: Iris brown; bill coral red, magenta on cere;

legs and feet pinkish red; claws horny-brown, Juvenile; Iris brown; bill slaty

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 339

brown with ivory tip; orbital skin slaty brown; mouth pink; legs and feet

pinkish-grey; claws horny brown.

[Additional specimens examined:

Brit. Mus. Coil.:. g 29-2-76, Q 2-11-78, @ 14-1-76 Mynall 2,400 ft.

(Bourdillon); also 2 Peermade skins no date (Fry).

Measurements:

Bull. Wing.

4 dod 21-23.5 153-157 mm.

The juvenile of both sexes resembles the adult female, but the green is

confined to the mantle and a broad band across the median and lesser wing

coverts; the green is duller without any trace of blue in it, the feathers are

more ‘decomposed’ and some are tipped with a band of rufous brown. Kemain-

der of coverts and wing-quills dark brown, most of the feathers edged and

tipped and with their imner web marked with rufous brown, some of the

inner coverts being largely of this colour. Lower plumage, except for the

pale chin and throat, uniform brown, darker than in the adult, the feathers

taintly vermiculated and narrowly barred with dull black, especially on the

breast and fianks. Under tail coverts black.—H. W. |]

The Surveys found the Emerald Dove common in the forested tracts of

Travancore and Cochin, both in the low and foothills country as well as up

to about 4,000 ft. in the hills. The birds were almost invariably seen singly

or in pairs, feeding on the ground along paths or roads through jungle and

coffee or cardamom plantations. At Maraiyur they were noted as partial to

the Castor plants which spring up so luxuriantly in old abandoned taungya

clearings, amongst whose branches they were almost invariably to be met.

Specimen No. 9 was a casualty caused by impact of the bird dashing itself

against the whitewashed wall of a building. I was told that Bronze-winged

Doves here were constantly coming to grief in this way and numbers had

been picked up from time to time lying dead at the foot of this wall. The

birds, flying as they do at great speed, no doubt take the sunlit patches of

this wall (as seen through the dense surrounding shrubbery) to be the open

sky and rush towards it with fatal results to themselves.

In the Palm Hills the status of the Emerald Dove is probably the same

as in our area. Fairbank (S.F., v, 409) shot one and saw another at Periur

and Terry (S.F., x, 479) obtained a specimen at Pulungi.

In Ceylon the endemic race C. i. robinsoni is generally distributed.

Breeding: ‘The testes of the adult specimen (4 January) measured 6x4 mm.

987 (16 December) was a juvenile just growing rectrices, remiges and contour

feathers. It was one of a brood of two, out of nest, in a dense evergreen

patch in a ravine at ca. 4,500 ft. elevation. The young birds flew up noiselessly

from the ground, in and out through cane brakes etc., settling again at a

short distance, remarkably like a nightjar. Indeed in the poor light and amidst

the dense vegetation they were at first actually mistaken for that bird!

Bourdillon says that in Travancore this dove breeds in April-May and

again in November-December, and Kinloch found the same to be the case on

the Nelhampathy Hills (Nidification, iv, 147).

SUBFAMILY: COLUMBINZE.

Columba livia intermedia (Strickland). The Indian Blue Rock Pigeon.

Specimens not collected. No Travancore or Cochin specimens have been

available to Mr. Whistler for examination, hence the trinomial is merely

conjectural.

Noted at: Maraiyur (3,500 ft.); Cape Comorin, Aramboli (250 ft.); Wadak-

kancheri (400 ft.); Karipadanna (ca. S.L.).

Most of the Blue Rock Pigeons met with in Travancore and Cochin were

in all probability tame or semi-domesticated birds. They were usually observed

340° JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

gleaning in cut paddy fields etc. in the vicinity ‘of villages but were nowhere

common or abundant.

A small colony living in the ceiling and among the rafters of the outhouses

of the Travellers’ Bungalow at Karupadanna provided the Survey party with

the welcome change of Pigeon-pie on several occasions !

According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 2) during the dry months these

pigeons ascend the hills up to 2,500 ft. elevation in South Travancore, feeding

there during the day and returning in the evening to their roosting places

in the low country. The colony referred to by Ferguson in 1904 on the rock

that rises out of the sea at Cape Comorin, was observed to be in occupation

still (1933).

Fairbank (S.f., v, 408) did not find this species abundant on the Palni

Hills. He observed a flock by the fall of Levinge’s brook. Terry (S.F., x, 479)

records a large colony on the cliffs near Pittur.

It has a very local distribution in Ceylon.

Breeding: Nothing appears to be recorded about the season in our area.

Columba elphinstonil (Sykes). The Nilgiri Wood Pigeon.

Specimens collected: 60 ¢ 10-1-33 Maraiyur 3,500 ft.; 146 0? 24-1-33 San-

thanpara 3,500 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Thattakad (200 ft.).

Colours of bare parts: Iris (60) bright khaki, (146) pale khaki or greyish-

brown; bill, basal half including cere magenta; corneous portion old ivory

white; mouth greyish-pink; legs and feet magenta; claws greyish ivory-white.

[ Additional specimens examined :

Brit. Mus. Coll.: @Q 22-6-77, Q 28-6-77 Kodaikanal 7,000. ft.. (Fair;

bank); @ 28-9-74, ¢ imm. 5-10-74 Mynall (Bourdillon).

Measurements:

Bill. Wing. Maal:

re OT 203 —_

1 Q 27 202 158 mm.

No. 146 appears to be in juvenile plumage, similar to that of the adult

but with the neck-spotting duller, less clearly defined.+H. W.]

The Nilgiri Wood Pigeon was not uncommon in the evergreen forest tracts

of Travancore, chiefly in the hills but also lower down, e.g. Thattakad (200 ft.).

Single birds or pairs were met with amongst tall trees in forest and cardamom

sholas.

Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S.,- xvi, 8) found it common at the summits of the

hills in South Travancore and at Peermade, and also on the High Range.

Kinloch does not include this pigeon in his Nelliampathies list (J.B.N.H.S.,

xxvii), but in The Birds of South India he is quoted as having found it

sparingly in those hills.

In the Palnis, Fairbank (S.F., v, 408) obtained it both in the Kodaikanal

at 7,000 ft. and on the lower hills at 4,000 ft. Terry (S.H., x, 479) describes

it as common in most of the big sholas there.

In Ceylon it is replaced by another species, C. torringtoni.

Breeding: ‘The gonads of the specimens furnished no clue in regard to

breeding. According to Stewart (Nidification, iv, 155) this pigeon breeds in

the Travancore ranges from 4,000 ft. up. He only once took an egg, but

omits to give the date.

Capt. Horace Terry obtained a nest with one egg at Kukal in the. Palni

Hills on 17 May. WNidification (iv, 154) gives the general breeding season as

from March to July, most eggs being laid in May and June. n

Streptopelia chinensis suratensis (Gmelin). The Indian Spotted Dove.

Specimens collected: 695 ¢ 20-7-33 (Thirumalai ca. 120 ft.), 858 ¢ downy

nestling, 859 0? downy nestling (nest twin of 858) 2-8-8838 (Golf Links ca.

100 ft.) Trivandrum Environs. : oe

THE ORNITHOLOGY OF TRAVANCORE AND COCHIN 341

Elsewhere noted at: Maraiyur (8,500 ft.); Santhanpara (3,500 ft.); Thatta-

kad (400 ft.); Kottayam (ca. 8.L.); Kuamuili (3,000 ft.); Kajampara (1,35U tt.);

Cape Comorin; Aramboli (250 ft.); Wadakkancheri (4UU ft.); Neinmara (800 tt.) ;

Kartpadanna (ca. 8.L.).

Colours of bare parts: ‘Adult: Iris claret; bill horny black; mouth slaty ;

legs and feet red; claws horny brown. WNestling: Iris bluish black; bill upper

mandible slaty, darker near tip, whitish near base; lower mandible horny black

tipped brownish-white; legs and feet brownish-black; claws horny brown,

tipped paler’—(Pillai).

[Additional specimens examined : 208

0? 21-6-77 Vellarney Lake (Hume Coll.).

Measurements :

Bill. Wing.

Ysa net 18-19 139-140 mm.

A note on the moult of this race will be found in Ibis, 1985, p. 487.—

H. W.]

The Spotted Dove 1s a common and resident species in Travancore and

Cochin. lt was met with both in the low country and on the hills up to about

3,500 ft. elevation, but was noted as definitely absent at Munnar (5,000 ft. High

Range). According to Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 3), however, it ascends the

hills in the dry weather only. In most of the localities mentioned, it was the

only species of dove to occur. The birds were usually observed in pairs, in

the neighbourhood of cultivation and human habitations, gleaning seeds and

paddy grains in harvested fields and on fallow land.

Kinloch’s Nelliampathies list does not include this dove, and the Cochin Survey

also failed to observe it at Padagiri (3,000 ft.) on these hills during December.

Both Fairbank and Terry (S.f., v, 409 and x, 479) say that it is very

common in the Palnis, on the lower hills as well as at the base, especially

near villages.

In Ceylon, the endemic race S. c. ceylonensis replaces it and is abundant

up to 38,000 ft. elevation.

Breeding: On 6 December (Nemmara) a nest was discovered on a_ hori-

zontal teak branch ca. 16 ft. up, in open deciduous forest, containing 1 egg

and 1 chick just hatched out. On 10 January (Maraiyur) a pair were observed

in copula. The testes of No. 695 (20 July) measured 7X5 mm. On 2 August

Mr. Pillai saw a nest ca. 5 ft. up on a beam supporting creepers in a garden

at the Trivandrum Golf Links. It was the usual flimsy ‘two cross-twig’ plat-

form, and contained 2 eggs. The downy specimens were taken from another

nest on the same date.

According to Bourdillon (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 3) in Travancore the Spotted

Dove has 2 or 3 broods in the year. It would perhaps be more correct to say

that it breeds here more or less all the year round.

Terry (S.F., x, 479) obtained a nest with two eggs at Pittur in the Palni

Hills at the end of April.

Streptopelia senegalensis cambayensis (Gmelin). The Indian Little Brown Dove.

Specimen not collected.

Noted only at Aramboli in dry open country with boulder hillocks, cactus

and sparse scrub. Here it was noticeably commoner than the Ring or Spotted

Dove, but not abundant.

Ferguson says about it (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 8) *. . . by no means common

and is only to be found in the dry region of the extreme South [of Travancore]

not far from Cape Comorin.’

In the Palnis Fairbank (S.F., v, 408) observed it at the base of the hills

and on the lower hills, while Terry (S.F., x, 479) records it from the slopes

below Pulungi and in the Pittur Valley, where it is not common.

It does not occur in Ceylon.

Breeding: ‘There is no published record of its breeding in Travancore or

Cochin.

842 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Streptopelia decaocto decaocto (Irivalsky). The Indian Ring Dove.

Specimen not obtained.

Noted only at Cape Comorin and Aramboh, frequenting scrub and boulder

country with scattered cultivation. It was decidedly rare.

In the Palnis, Fairbank (S.F., v, 409) found it in the plains, presumably at

the base of the hills, and Terry (S.F., x, 479) in the Pittur Valley, but they |

both mention that it is not common.

It has a local distribution in North-West Ceylon. |

Breeding: No information with regard to its breeding in our area is

available.

(To be continued).

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‘I GLvId ‘208 ‘SIH ‘JeN Avquog ‘‘uinor

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST.

IN. KESAVA PANIKKAR, M.A., M.SC.

(With three plates).

INTRODUCTION.

Though the resources of the prawn fisheries of the backwaters

adjoining the south-west coast of India have been realized by the

people long ago, only very recently have attempts been made to

take the best advantage of the highly favourable physical and

biological conditions enabling the culture of edible prawns on a

large scale. As fresh prawns have a ready local market, they

are caught and sold at random wherever they are available, and

only in a few localities do we find prawn fishing conducted on

an industrial basis, allowing of regular exports to other places

The importance of the industry has been realized only by a few

even in these days and there is much to be done for the better-

ment of the existing conditions. There is excellent scope for

prawn culture and prawn fishing in Malabar and the States of

Travancore and Cochin; with properly planned marketing facili-

ties, this will become an important commercial occupation as on

the Bombay and Sindh coasts, if proper attention be paid both

by the governments concerned and by the people. It will be

well worth our while to examine the different aspects of an industry

so full of promise. This study is made with particular reference

to the conditions in Travancore, in order to compare them with

those of the prawn fisheries of the Bombay Presidency, an ex-

cellent survey of which was recently conducted by Mr. H. 8.

Rai, under the auspices of the Bombay Natural History Society .?

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

As is well known, the geography of Travancore is peculiar in

having a large number of backwaters bordering the coast-line, into

which open the many hill-streams from the Western Ghats. On

the whole, the backwaters occupy an area of about 180 sq. miles.

The chain of backwaters is separated from the sea by a narrow

strip of land, composed of sand and black clay or silt, and vary-

ing from about ten miles to half a mile in width; and often the

two come so close that only the sandy beach separates them.

There are also frequent communications between the sea and the

* J wish to thank Messrs. N. P. Auseph, M. R. Panikkar and G. R. Menon

for much valuable information, Dr. N. P. Panikkar and Mr. Auseph for

some of the photographs, and Prof. R. Gopala Aiyar for helpful suggestions.

2 Rai, H. S., ‘Shell Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency’, Part II, Journ.,

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxxvi (1933).

344 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL Hist. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

backwaters; either they are permanent openings allowing free

admixture of salt and fresh-water, as at Neendakara and Cochin,

or they are only periodical openings, allowing a flow of water from

one to the other only during certain seasons of the year, as at

Paravoor, Kayenculam, etc. In several places, the sand bank

separating the sea and the backwater is so shallow as to allow

the water to flow from the sea into the backwater during high tide.

Owing to these factors and the ‘brine percolation’ throughout the

coast, the backwaters contribute to the formation of characteristic

brackish-water zones extending over a wide area in association with

the low-lying lands, paddy-fields and the net-work of canals.

During the South-West Monsoon, from June to September, the

backwaters are in a flooded condition as the amount of water

brought down by the rivers is immense and, at this time of the

year, the water in them is almost fresh. The level of the water

considerably falls after the North-east Monsoon, during November,

when the secondary maximum period of rainfall is passed. A

month hence, the water in the backwaters is distinctly brackish.

The optimum conditions for the life of brackish-water animals are

obtained from January to March. Though the salinity is slightly

higher in the succeeding months of April and May, the conditions

are unfavourable as most of the shallow regions dry up during

this period.

As the paddy fields have an important role in prawn-fishing

operations, some of the relevant details about these may be in-

cluded here. There are usually two periods of paddy crops, one

from December to March and the other from July to October.

Prawn fishing is mostly carried on in the paddy fields; hence the

prawn season corresponds to the period when the fields are

uncultivated. In those parts of North Travancore where this

industry has developed to a certain extent, the paddy fields

adjoining the backwaters, Pokkali fields as they are called, are

cultivated only once in the year, and that during July—October,

unlike the fields far off (Punja and Virupu fields) which may

annually yield two paddy crops and an intervening crop of pulses

and vegetables. Prawn fishing is carried on an industrial basis only

in Pokkali fields that remain uncultivated for the major part of the

year. In southern and middle Travancore, the December-March

period is the one in practice, though in many places, where the

tields are on a higher level, there may also be a supplementary

crop during the Monsoon. |

THE Prawns oF TRAVANCORE.

The prawns that inhabit the backwaters include three groups

of species: (1) brackish-water species which have made the back-

water more or less their permanent home; (2) marine euryhaline

species which periodically migrate into the backwater; and (8)

migrants from freshwater to the brackish-water. The distinction

between the first and the second groups is not easy as some of

the marine prawns exhibit remarkable capabilities of adjustment

and have a simultaneous distribution along the sea coast as well

as in the coastal backwaters. Many of them are periodical migrants

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST é $45

that live in the brackish water during their early and juvenile

stages. Much retains to be known of the migratory habits of

these prawns, but it has been observed in several places that the

Penaeid prawns, which unlike most other Decapod Crustacea hatch

out at an early developmental stage as tiny pelagic nauplii, enter

the backwaters as young ones, and grow there for about an year,

after which they go back to the sea to breed.!? It is highly

probable that the conditions in the brackish-waters at the mouths

of rivers and adjoining backwaters where a large amount of organic

matter is brought down, being rich in food supply, afford optimum

conditions for the quick growth of young prawns. In many of

these species, acclimatisation for brackish-water life is only partial.

Though inhabiting the backwaters during a phase of their life

history, they are ‘apparently unable to breed and propagate there.

Ii may be that the sexually ripe individuals and early larvae are

not able to survive low salinity conditions, and that the peculiar

brackish-water environment is not conducive to the proper deve-

lopment and dehiscence of sexual products.

Of the three groups above enumerated, the first and the second

are of greater commercial importance than the third, as fresh-water

prawns have only a local sale in the fresh state. They comprise

the species of Penaeus, Penaeopsis and Parapenaeopsis among the

Penaeidae, and of Leander among the Palaemonidae. Rai

observes that the most abundant species on the Bombay coasts

are Penaeus semisulcatus de Haan, Penaeopsis monoceros (Kabr.)

and Leander styliferus (M. Edw.). The common species . the

Travancore coasts are Penaeus indicus M. Ed., P. carinatus Dana,

P. semisulcatus de Haan, Penaeopsis monoceros (Fabr.), P. dob-

soni (Miers), P. lysianassa (De Man), and en ere styli-

fera (M. Ed.). It is probable that the numerous other species

recorded from other parts of India are also present here since

many of them have a wide distribution in the Indo-Malayan

coasts.® The fishing season for common prawns begins with the

month of November and extends to about the close of March.

This statement applies only to those localities in North Travan-

core where prawn-fishing has assumed something of the nature

of an industry.

A few observations on the biology of brackish-water prawns

may be included here. Adults of Penaeids, especially of P. cari-

natus and P. indicus, are beautifully coloured. The former is a

deeply pigmented species, varying in shade from bluish brown to

dark grey, with dark transverse bars on the abdomen, and bright

yellow markings at the bases of the pleopods. P. indicus is

pink with numerous red patches on the body. In both these

* Kemp, Stanley, ‘Crustacea Decapoda’, in the Fauna of the Chilka Lake

Mem. Ind. Mus., vol. v (1915).

2 Dakin, W. J., ‘Presidential Address’, Proc. Linn. Soc., New South Wales,

wol.. ix. 0, xxyu (1935).

5 Vide Alcock, A., Catalogue of the Indian Decapoda Crustacea in the Col-

lection of the Indian Museum, Part III, Fasc. i; Henderson, J. R., Trans.

Linn. Soc., vol. v, ser. ii (1898); De Man, Siboga Expeditie, vol. xxxix,

Part I (1911); and Kemp, 8., Mem. Ind. Mus., vol. v, (1915).

346 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

species, the deep pigmentation is observed only in fully-grown

individuals. Penaeopsis monoceros and P. dobsoni are somewhat

semi-transparent when alive. Specimens of all these species turn

red in alcohol or formalin.

The young prawns found in the backwaters always prefer a

muddy bottom for their habitat. The question of their food

habits needs much further elucidation; they appear to subsist

mainly on algae at least in a few places investigated in detail

by the author. Some of the larger fish found in the backwaters

prey upon young prawns. Nothing is known of their moulting,

but as will be shown later, their growth appears to be fairly rapid.

The freshwater prawns comprising the third group include

several species of Palaemon which migrate into the backwaters

when the latter have a low salinity. Palaemon carcinus Fabr.

which grows to a large size is the common popular freshwater

prawn of Travancore. The other species include P. idae Heller,

P. scabriculus Heller, P. sulcatus Hend & Math., and P. dolicho-

dactylus Hilgendorft.' Specimens of P. carcinus are available in

large numbers in the lower reaches of most of the rivers; the

season is from September to December; and an inquiry in the

markets of Kottayam and other neighbouring places reveals that

the largest specimens are obtained in the month of November.

It is believed that the migratory individuals of P. carcinus are

mostly the ‘berried females’, as judged by the proportion of sexes

in fresh- and brackish-water. Henderson and Mathai? obtained

both adult females and males from the brackish-waters near Cochin,

and they state that this is the only species of Palaemon which

they have met with in salt-water. Jemp,* however, has recorded

several other species from brackish-water in the Clilka Lake and

has made some interesting observations regarding their habits. So

far as Palaemon carcinus is concerned, the larvae seem to be

liberated in brackish-water, whence they migrate into freshwater

and grow into the adult, a phenomenon quite contrary to that

observed for Penaeid prawns. The migration of ripe individuals

into the backwaters takes place soon after the monsoon, when

the salinity is rather low.’ According to the records of the Tra-

vapcore State Fisheries Department, this migration for the libera-

tion of the larvae occurs in October and November.?

' Henderson, J. R. and Mathai, G., “On certain species of Palaemon from

South India’, Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. v, pp. 277-805, pls. xv-xvil (1910).

* Ibid., pp. 277 and 282.

SO weit.

' Reviewing the conditions in the Chilka Lake, Kemp (op. cit.) observes :—

‘Only females of Palaemon malcolmsoni and P. lamarrei have been found in

the lake and our observations lead us to conclude that these species visit its

waters only for breeding purposes. This is also the case with the remaining

species of the genus, P. rudis, the males of which accompany the females at

this period. Adults of these three forms do not live in water as salty as that

of the Bay of Bengal; but the young of P. rudis were found in tke outer

channel at the salt-water season, while adults of P. lamarrei are sable to

tolerate a considerable degree of salinity. P. malcolmsoni was found only in

freshwater.’ (Op. cit., p. 264. Vide also p. 208.)

° Report of the Agricultural and Fisheries Department, Travancore State,

for 1097 M.E., Trivandrum.

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST 347

History oF THE INDUSTRY.

On a rough estimate, it is about sixty years since the industry

began in Travancore. Originally, the prawns were collected by

ordinary fishing methods which did not involve any large scale fish-

ing, and the operations lingered for the greater part of the year.

The open backwaters and not the paddy fields were the fishing

areas. As will be seen from the following accounts of the methods

of fishing, this condition prevails even now in many parts of Tra-

vancore, though the vield from this is negligible as compared with

that from the adjoming fields. Modern improved methods of

fishing have been in existence only for the past twenty years. The

industry first flourished in the backwaters adjoining Parur Taluk.

Owing to an increasing demand for prawns and to the high prices

which dried prawns began to fetch, the industry rapidly spread to

the adjoining taluks of Sherthalay and Vaikam, and to several

places in the Cochin State. This became more or less the regular

occupation of fishermen inhabiting the banks of the Vemban: id

Lake, and several industrial establishments sprang up for the col-

lection and preservation of prawns for the market. But hardly

had the industry assumed a permanent character, when the price

of dried prawns fell and the enthusiasm in this direction waned

with the onset of adverse trade conditions. Before discussing

this aspect of the question, the methods of capture and the pro-

cesses involved in geting the prawns ready for the market may

be considered.

FISHING OPERATIONS

The season for the fishing operations commences in November,

soon after the North-East Monsoon, with the gradual onset of

brackish-water conditions in the backwaters. In Travancore, the

brackish-water prawn fisheries are best exploited in the Taluks of

Parur, Vaikam and Sherthalay. Of these, the produce from the

first mentioned place is by far the most important and contri-

butes to about fifty per cent of the total annual produce of the

state. In the Cochin state, the important prawn-fishing centres

are the villages adjoining the Narakkal canal.

The conditions in the fisheries of the Parur taluk may be taken

as more or less typical. Here, the paddy fields closely adjoin the

backwaters, and they are on a slightly higher level. As pointed

out before, the paddy crop corresponds to a period when the

water is fresh. The harvest being over by about the end of

September, the fields are free, and for about a month or two

the water from the backwaters is allowed to get in and out freely.

The flooding caused by the October-November rains often keeps

the paddy-fields in direct communication with the backwaters and

associated canal systems. The fields contain a lot of organic

matter like hay and the November floods bring down plenty of

organic as well as inorganic materials. The bottom of the fields

remains muddy owing to the loose consistency of the characteristic

black soil. The activities of the prawn fisheries begin with the

348 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

lowering of the water-level after the monsoon. The bunds sur-

rounding the fields are strengthened and the communications

between the canals and the fields are restricted to a few sluice

gates, usually one for each field (Plate II, fig. 1). These gates are

earefully guarded by elaborate wooden frameworks, and with the

proper manipulation of a series of adjustable planks, the water

level in the fields is carefully regulated. The rains having prac-

tically ceased, there is no appreciable flow in the canal systems,

and the tidal effects are hence markedly felt. The water becomes

increasingly brackish. The tidal range is subject to some amount

of variation from place to place; it is maximum in places where

the shallow waters have been re-claimed into paddy fields which,

after reclamation, are cut off from the backwater, leaving only

narrow canals amidst them. At Paravoor and Kayenculam, the

range is two and a half feet, while in the canals associated with

the prawn-fishing centres of Nedungad, Varapuzha, Ezhikara and

Chathanad, the tidal range is slightly above the former, and the

onset of ebb or flow is attended by a powerful flow of water.

The tidal action is of great advantage to the fisherman. He

keeps open the sluice gates during high tide and allows brackish-

water to get in freely into the paddy-fields. The prawns, which

abound in the backwaters at this period, get into the paddy-fields

along with the inflowing water. The gates are closed with the

onset of the flow tide. This process is carried on regularly for

about a month, whereby the number of young prawns in the paddy-

fields is gradually increased. To effect a proper change in the

water of the fields, the gates are opened about thrice a week

during flow tide and water is allowed to drain off to a certain

extent. But to prevent the young prawns from escaping, the

gate is guarded by a special contrivance, which consists of a

number of flexible twigs of wood joined together to form a

lattice-work.

The post-larval stages of Penaeids enter the backwaters

wherever the latter are in communication with the sea. They

are then beautifully transparent and usually measure 1-2 em.

in length. As we know nothing of the breeding habits of marine

prawns, it is not possible to ascertain definitely the commence-

ment and duration of the migration of young individuals into the

backwaters. Young specimens ranging from 8 to 5 em. in length

are found in the backwaters during many months of the year,

especially from August to December. This observation, consider-

ed along with the well known fact that most Penaeids are not

known to breed in brackish-water, would suggest that several

batches of young individuals from the sea enter the backwaters.

Their rate of growth is astonishingly rapid. Nothing definite is

known of the conditions favourable or otherwise to their growth.

The prawns entering the fields vary in length from 5 to 8 cm.

The actual fishing of these prawns takes place only after two

or three months from the time they have entered into the fields.

There is, however, considerable variation from place to place in

the period allowed to elapse between the time of entry of the

prawns and the commencement of fishing. Size is the main

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE IL

1. Bund with sluice gate.

2. Two boats tied together to support the net between them.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PEATE “Pe.

FISHING WITH CHINESE NETS.

1. The Net raised.

The Net lowered.

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST 349

deciding factor; those usually fished from the paddy-fields are

8-12 cms. long; and the largest ones, obtained after some months

since the beginning of fishing operations, are some 18 ems. long,

which is about the maximum size to which Penaeids grow in

brackish-water. With the increase in size of prawns in the fields,

the salinity of the water also increases as the rains gradually

diminish. This has given rise to a curious belief among the fisher-

folk that the prawns really grow by absorbing more and more of

salt from the water.

The commencement of the regular course of fishing is an

exciting event for the fishermen. The first catch is usually made

during the Thiruvathira festival. which comes off at the end of

December or at the beginning of January. A large conical net is

fitted to the outside of the sluice gate, the wide portion surround-

ing the gate. This net is a strong one, with close meshes varying

from + to 4 inch and very much resembles the bokshi of Sindh

coasts described by Rai. When the level of water outside the

fields begins to fall with the onset of flow tide, the planks retain-

ing the higher level of water in the fields are removed one by

one, allowing the water to force its way outside. The numerous

prawns that swim out of the fields are caught in the conical

nets; they accumulate in the narrow side of the cone. Usually

one man waits here and periodically removes the prawns, an easy

process as the narrow side of the cone is adjustable.

Fishing is usually done at night and the period corresponds

every day to the onset of flow tide; hence the successive

periods change according to the phases of the moon. A_ power-

ful light is often placed in the sluice gate to lure the prawns to

the net.

Fishing in backwaters and canals is also prevalent in addition

to that of the paddy fields. Two characteristic methods of open

backwater fishing are worthy of note. One is designed to capture

prawns swimming in shoals. Two country boats are tied together

as shown in the photograph (Plate IT, Fig. 2), with the intervening

space supporting large nets which trap the prawns that try to

swim through. These boats are stationed in key positions fre-

quented by the crustaceans.

The next method is an extremely picturesque one which no

one who has visited these backwaters can forget. In almost every

edge of the backwaters, a large stellar framework of wood may be

seen, supporting large fishing nets locally called the cheena valai

or kamba valai. This peculiar fishing implement is believed to

be of Chinese origin, and it is considered as a remnant of ancient

trade relations that existed between China and the West coast

of India. Fishing with Chinese nets is not mainly intended for

prawns; but the latter are caught in large numbers during their

season of abundance. The method of fishing with the Chinese

nets is an exceedingly simple process and will be clear from the

accompanying photographs (Plate IIT, Figs. 1 and 2). Fishing

is usually done only at night, and a lantern is hung to the wooden

frame-work when the net is lowered into the water, so as to lure

the prawns and fish to the net,

350 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

CURING OF PRAWNS.

Two industrial processes are in vogue for the preparation of

prawns for the market: Sun-drying and boiling. The first process

is the more common on the Bombay coast, while the latter method

followed by drying is the more popular one in Malabar. On the

West Coast, boiling is employed in all places where the produce

is considerable and sufficient for export to other places. Sun-

drying without boiling is employed in the preparation of prawns

in those parts of Travancore where the produce is much less than

in places like Parur Taluk; they form an article of cottage industry

catering only to local demands. In both methods of preparation,

the operations should be begun soon after the capture of the

prawns, as putrefaction sets in rapidly. Usually, not more than

three hours is allowed between the time of capture and the

commencement of the first process. Boiling has the advantage

of being partially independent of weather conditions. For boiling,

the prawns are first put into wide flat copper vessels in a wet

state, and often a little extra water is added to prevent them

from getting roasted. They are boiled for about half an hour;

and when they assume a dark reddish-brown colour, they are

removed from the vessels and dried in the sun for several days.

Iv should be noted here that in many places, salt is not generally

added when the prawns are cured. The belief among those en-

gaged in the industry is that the salt present in the brackish-water

is sufficient for the purpose, and hence, salting is tabooed as being

a deceitful measure to increase the weight of dried prawns. Rai

observes that the fishermen of the Sindh coasts add a little salt

to the fresh prawns when they are boiled. It appears that im-

proper curing is the chief reason why the dried prawns from the

West Coast do not remain long in a good condition,

The next process is to get rid of the shells, ‘prawn-skins’ as

they are often called, which include the carapace, rostrum and

limbs. For this purpose, large jute sacks are taken and filled

with dried prawns to about a fourth of their capacities, after

which they are closed and tied up. Women are especially in

charge of this part of the work. They swing round each sack

and hit it hard on a block of wood until the carapace and limbs

fall off, leaving the fleshy parts intact. The latter are removed

and sorted out separately; they are popularly called prawn

kernels.1 The kernels are once again dried; the pieces of shell

adhering to them are carefully removed by hand; and _ finally,

they are packed up in jute bags for export.

The discarded ‘skins’ are heaped up separately. They are of

much use to the agriculturist as they form an important source

of manure, especially for coconut palms. Their value as food for

poultry has been realized only by a few. Large quantities of

‘prawn-skin’ used to be exported to Germany and other European

countries; but of late, the exports have fallen considerably. The

present market rate for prawn-skin varies from Rs. 8 to Rs. 10

per candy.

ee SS

' Chemmeen-parippu in Malayalam,

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST 351

MARKETING OF PRAWNS.

Dried prawns do not command a wide market in India at

present. The only place where they are in demand is the Bombay

Presidency, where a portion of the local produce caters to the

local demands. About half the produce of the Sindh and Bombay

coasts is consumed locally, while the rest is exported to different

places outside India, mainly to the Far East. The best markets

for Indian dried prawns are Rangoon, Singapore, Colombo,

Hongkong and Mauritius. As only fresh prawns are popular

among people of the West Coast, especially in the important

prawn-fishing centres, almost the whole of the produce that is

boiled and dried is exported. From statistics available, Rangoon

has been the best purchaser for many years. The dealers in

Travancore send their supplies to businessmen in Rangoon, who

dispose off the material. The price of dried ‘prawn-kernels’ ranged

from Rs. 150 to 800 per candy before the present economic crisis;

in some years (1929-30) the figure rose so Ingh as Rs. 850 in the

wholesale exporting markets of Cochin and Alleppey. Like all

other commodities, the prices have fallen during the past few

years; but recently, there has been considerable improvement,

the figures having steadily risen from the lowest index of Rs. 50

per candy in 1933 to about Rs. 150 at the time of writing.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE INDUSTRY.

In discussing the possibilities of improving the prawn industry

on the West Coast, we have to examine critically the factors

which have been responsible for the present fall in prices. As

pointed out before, the general decline in price levels consequent

on the current trade slump has considerably affected the com-

merce of prawns, but the fall in this instance has been mainly

due to the numerous handicaps under which the present prawn

dealer has to transact his business. First of all, there is no

scheme of planned production. Secondly, the method of prepara-

tion of prawns for the market is very imperfect. Dried prawns

from the West Coast are fit for human consumption only for

about four months from the time they are dried and_ packed.

In this respect, the West Coast producer is unable to compete

with his Bombay competitors who sell goods of a better quality.

The markets where prawns from the West Coast are in demand

are rather few at the present time; in these few places, the

goods are sold by middlemen. For example, the producers m

Cochin and Travancore export their goods to brokers in Rangoon,

who sell them to the local dealers under the current market rate,

and often take a very high percentage of discount for their

services. There have been occasions when about 50 per cent uf

the net proceeds have been discounted by these agents; and

further, prohibitive charges are made for retaining the unsold

goods in the godowns. In spite of all these handic caps, the

industry has slowly progressed since the capital required is so

small as compared to the profit. Whatever the producer gets from

prawns is a decent income which compares very favourably with

352 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

what he gets from paddy crops for which his fields are primarily

intended.

The increase in the annual produce of prawns from the West

coast, depends upon the chances of spreading the industry to

other places where prawn-fishing is not extensively carried on

and the possibilities of increased output from those areas that are

now being exploited. It was pointed out before that in Travan-

core the best yield is from Parur Taluk. The particular advantage

of this place hes in the low level of the paddy fields, the high

salinity of the backwaters, and the tidal phenomena. Similar

facilities are equally enjoyed by certain other places in Travancore,

such as the fields adjoining the backwaters of Kayenculam and

the lake of Ashtamudi near Quilon. The species of prawns (both

the brackish-water as well as the migratory forms) collected from

Parur are obtained at those places also. But here, the methods

of paddy cultivation are not quite suited to the conversion of

these fields into ‘prawn-yards’. As an experimental measure, it

would be desirable to attempt finding out if the methods of

cultivation followed at Parur may be copied here, with a view

to introducing an intervening prawn season. It should be men-

tioned, however, that in such a change the factors involved are

many. Every possible means of effecting suitable changes in

periods of cultivation should be explored so as to ensure a regular

output of prawns in addition to paddy. If successful, this would

be of considerable advantage to the owners of paddy fields, as

the income from paddy has been steadily on the decline for the

past so many years, and any supplementary income would be

of much benefit to them.

For increasing the output of prawns from those localities where

the industry already exists, we must know much more about the

feeding, breeding, and migratory habits of the prawns in question,

about which so httle is known at the present day. It should also

be found out if the continuance of the paddy crop in the fields

is of advantage or of disadvantage to the industry. It is reason-

able to expect better produce in certain fields near the sea if

they are converted into permanent prawn-yards more or less on

the lines of the prawn-fisheries of the Sindh coasts.

Improvements in methods of preservation, whereby the dried

prawn kernels could be kept properly for longer periods, would

be highly useful as it would enable export to far off places. A

constant supply throughout the year could also be ensured in this

way. There may also be an increased demand for dried prawns

from inland towns of India. But in popularising prawns in

Indian markets, methods which will enable their being sold fresh

are hkely to meet with better results than those intended for the

distribution of dried material. Small quantities of fresh prawns

are at present sent from important prawn fishing centres on the

West Coast to Madras, Trichinopoly and other places. They

are packed along with ice, in large deal-wood boxes, and sent by

the Railway; and in the markets of the above mentioned places,

iced-prawns are soon sold out. In the present state of the

industry, it is doubtful if large-scale brine-freezing and _ allied

THE PRAWN INDUSTRY OF THE MALABAR COAST 353

methods for the distribution of fresh prawns would meet

with immediate success in India; but this may become beneficial

with increased output and with increased demand for fresh

material. With proper organization, the producers could have

their own establishments in. the best selling centres and

the loss through the middlemen could thus be eliminated.

The Government trade agencies could do much to popularise

the product. It would thus be seen that for the improve-

ment of the industry, there must be planned production,

improved marketing facilities and co-operative enterprise amongst

those engaged in the industry. Biological research has much to

contribute towards the success of the industry by providing

accurate and detailed information on the bionomics and_ life-

histories of prawns of economic importance, which will event-

ually help in the proper exploitation of the available fishery

resources. Much important statistical data are also badly needed.

In course of time, protective legislation may be necessary to

prevent over-fishing and wastage which are detrimental to any

fishing industry. With all these factors attended to, it is not

unreasonable to anticipate the development of a very important

and lucrative industry from organized prawn culture and prawn

fishing in the West Coast.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Prats I.

Fig. 1.—An ovigerous female of Palaemon sp. (about natural size). J/,, the

second thoracic leg which grows to an enormous size in the male;

ov, developing eggs.

Prats II.

Fig. 1.—The sluice gate between the paddy-field and the adjoining canal. The

fisherman on the boat is holding the conical net tied to the gate. Photo-

graph taken from a locality near Parur (North Travancore).

Fig. 2.—Open fishing in the backwater, with two boats fastened together,

intended to catch prawns swimming in shoals. Photograph from

the same locality as the above.

Prats IIT.

Figs. 1 and 2.—Two views of the characteristic Chinese nets in the backwaters

of Travancore and Cochin. In fig. 1 the net is in the raised

position, while in the second it is partly lowered.

NOTES ON MURREE BIRDS.

Rev. E. A. Storrs Fox.

The following notes are chiefly by way of a commentary on

previous notes by Lt.-Col. R. H. Rattray which appeared in vol.

xvi of the Journal, and those by Major H. A. F. Magrath which

were published in vol. xix. These present notes do not however

include the birds of the Galis, unless specially mentioned, but

only those found on the Murree hill itself. I was stationed myself

in Murree during the years 1932 to 1935 including one complete

winter and parts of two other winters, and have therefore had

opportunities, such as do not appear to have been enjoyed by the

two former writers, of observing the Murree bird life at all seasons

of the vear.

The following observations are intended to supplement those

already made by the two writers above-mentioned.

Dendrocitta rufa. The Indian Tree Pie. This bird is not mentioned either

by Col. Rattray or Major Magrath. I have never seen one as high as Murree

itself, but have noticed it several times near Company Bagh (4,500 ft.) on

the road down to 'Tret.

Garrulus lanceolatus. The Black-throated Jay. Very much in evidence all

over the station during the winter (and rather less so in summer), but I have

never seen it going about in flocks as e.g. at Mussoorie.

Machlolophus xanthogenys. The Yellow-cheeked Tit. I should not call this

a rare bird, as Col. Rattray does, but it is certainly not as common as the

other four Murree tits. Nor is it really shy and I have often seen it on the

Mall and in my own compound within a few feet of the house.

Lophophanes melanolophus. The Crested Black Tit. The commonest of the

Murree tits in winter but much less often seen in summer.

Lioptila capistrata. The Black-headed Sibia. Common in winter but less so

in summer.

Pieruthius erythropterus. The Red-winged Shrike Tit. Fairly common in

winter, but I have not seen it during the summer months.

Cephalopyrus flammiceps, The Fire-cap. I have only seen this bird at Murree

in April, so conclude it was then on the way up to higher levels, as Col.

Rattray mentions it as being quite common on the high hills near the Galis.

Molpastes intermedius. The Punjab Red-vented Bulbul. I saw a few of

these birds on a number of occasions in January 19383 when the snow was

lyimg thick. What made them come up to Murree at this particular time of

year I cannot think. I have never seen them at any other season.

Molpastes leucogenys. he White-cheeked Bulbul. I have never seen these

birds on the Murree hill in summer higher than about 5,500 ft. By the end

of November they begin to come into Murree, and after the snow has fallen

they become very abundant (attracted I suppose by the very plentiful supply

of berries). As the spring advances they retire downhill again. Major

Magrath says that he saw a pair in Murree on April 29th, but this is rather

late for them. :

NOTES ON MURREE BIRDS 355

Sitta kashmirensis, Brook’s Nuthatch. Neither Col. Rattray nor Major

Magrath mention this bird. It is rare in Murree, but I have occasionally seen

one during the summer.

Sitta leucopsis. The White-cheeked Nuthatch. Like Major Magrath, and

unlike Col. Rattray, I have not found this bird uncommon at times. I am

not sure however that it breeds in Murree and am rather inclined to think

that it does not. About the middle of October it becomes rather plentiful

for a few weeks and after that scarce again, which leads me to suppose that

Murree is only being made a temporary halting place. I have however seen

specimens in mid-winter and as late as June 26th, but none after that date

until the following October.

Dicrurus ater. The Black Drongo. This bird seems common in summer,

though perhaps not as common as the Ashy Drongo.

Anorthura neglecta. The Kashmir Wren. Common in winter; November

llth is the earliest date I have seen it and none later than March 15th.

Regulus cristatus. The Goldcrest. Fairly common between the beginning

of December and the middle of February, but I have not noticed it during

the summer.

Cryptolopha xanthoschista. Hodgson’s Grey-headed Flycatcher-warbler. Like

Col. Rattray, I have not found this bird common. Major Magrath notes it as

being very common in April. I have certainly seen it most often about then;

I have also noticed it at the end of December.

Campophaga melanoschista. The Dark Grey Cuckoo-shrike. Comparatively

plentiful in the summer of 1935, but I only saw one in 1933 and none in 1934.

Oriolus kundoo. The Indian Oriole. Very common in summer. First makes

itself evident towards the end of April.

Aethiopsar fuscus. The Jungle Myna. Col. Rattray seems to have found

it common. My own experience has been the opposite, as I only saw two

pairs nesting in 19383 and one pair in 19384, though a few more in 1935.

Hemichelidon sibirica. The Sooty Flycatcher. Colonel Rattray notes these

as very rare; Major Magrath found them common till the middle of May.

Personally I remember none during 19383 and 1934, but saw quite a number

between the end of April and the beginning of August during 1985.

Terpsiphone paradisi. The Indian Paradise Flycatcher. Major Magrath

mentions a single specimen. I have never seen one in Murree, but have heard

of them being seen below Sunny Bank and near the Brewery.

Rhipidura albifrontata. The White-browed Fantail Flycatcher. I have seen

this bird in summer above the Brewery and below the Lawrence College, but

I believe it to be rare.

Pratincola maura. The Indian Bush-Chat. Quite common after the middle

of March up to 7,000 ft.

Oreicola ferrea. The Dark-grey Bush-Chat. Abundant in summer. Begins

to arrive about the middle of March.

Enicurus maculatus. The Western Spotted Forktail. Not common on the

Murree hill; I only saw two or three pairs in 1933 and 1935, and only one

pair I think in 1934.

Chaimarrornis leucocephalus. The White-capped Redstart. I have never

scen this bird in Murree itself, but I noticed one at Company Bagh (4,500 ft.)

in January 1938, and another at Chrrapani (4,000 ft.) in January 1935.

Ruticilla frontalis. The Blue-fronted Redstart. Fairly common in winter ;

not seen before November 21st or later than April 30th.

Ruticil'a erythronota Eversmann’s Redstart. Fairly common during winter ;

first seen on November 28th.

lanthia rufilata. The Red-flanked Bush Robin. Tairly common from Octo-

ber to April.

356 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Adelura ceruleicephala. The Blue-headed Robin. Begins to arrive about

the end of October (first seen on October 26th), and is extremely abundant

throughout the winter. Last seen on March 22nd.

Merula castanea. The Grey-headed Ouzel. I have not noticed this bird in

Murree during the summer, but it is fairly common in winter from the begin-

ning of November.

Merula atrigularis. The Black-throated Ouzel. Begins to arrive in Murree

in considerable numbers in November (first seen on November 21st), and there-

after becomes very abundant, especially after the snow has begun to lie,

during which period no bird in Murree is in greater evidence. With the arrival

of spring the bird departs, but I have seen a few at any rate as late as

April 24th. Possibly some remain into the summer.

Pyrrhula aurantiaca. The Orange Bullfinch. Not very common, but occa-

sionally seen during mid-winter, and as late as March 16th in 1935.

Propasser grandis. The Red-mantled Rose Finch. Common from the middle

of November till the end of March.

Carduelis caniceps. The Himalayan Gold Finch. Not very common, but

seen sometimes in January when the snow is lying deep.

Callacanthis burtoni. The Red-browed Finch. I once saw a pair in January

1988, but none since.

Metoponia pusilia. The Gold-fronted Finch. This bird is seen occasionally

in small flocks in mid-winter.

Hypacanthis spinoides. The Himalayan Greenfinch. Common from the latter

part of the summer onwards. The ripening of the sunflower-seeds always seems

to be the signal for a great invasion by flocks of these birds.

Emberiza stewarti. The White-capped Bunting. TI have not found this

bird as common as Col. Rattray seems to indicate, but I have seen it in

Murree from April onwards.

Chelidon urbica. The Martin. Col. Rattray speaks of the Kashmir Martin

not being found in Murree, while Major Magrath mentions this same _ bird

(Chelidon kashmiriensis) breeding in ponsiderable numbers in the verandahs

gf bungalows near the water tanks; he also thinks that the European House

Martin occurs in some of these colonies. Nowadays there is a large colony of

Martins breeding every year at 8. Denys’ School (near the water tanks), and

I have had plenty of opportunities of studying them closely. Although I have

not actually killed a specimen, I have watched them so often through my

glasses on their nests only a few yards away as to be convinced that all these

birds are urbica and not’ kashmiriensis.

Motacilla personata. The Masked Wagtail. One or two specimens seen

in March.

Motacilla hodgsoni. Hodgson’s Pied Wagtail. A pair once seen in Sep-

tember near Lower Topa.

Motacilla melanope. The Grey Wagtail. I have seen a number passing

through in April and early May, and again at the end of August. One pair

(presumably the same each trip) always halts in my garden ‘for a week or

so both on the upward and downward journey.

Anthus trivialis. The Tree Pipit. I have seen a few specimens late in

April and early in May, and once a pair at Patriata in the first week in April.

Gecinus occipitalis. The Black-naped Green Woodpecker. Colonel Rattray

seems to have found this bird fairly common. J never came across any till

October 1985 when I saw two, pairs.

Hypopicus hyperythrus. The Rufous-bellied Pied Woodpecker. Rare; I only

saw two during the summer of 1933 and one in summer of 1934; commoner

in 1985.

Dendrocopus auriceps. The Brown-fronted Pied Woodpecker. Much more

common in winter than in summer. but never so abundant as Gecinus squa-

matus or Dendrocopus himalayensis (the two commonest Woodpeckers in Murree).

NOTES ON MURREE BIRDS 357

Picumnus ianominatus, The Speckled Piculet. I have once seen this bird

in November 1934.

Cyanops asiatica. ‘The Blue-throated Barbet. Common in summer after the

beginning of May, though never as common as the Great Himalayan Barbet

(which is abundant all the year round). I once saw this bird on January 2nd

sitting on a tree in the snow by the side of the Mall, but this is the only

specimen I have seen during the winter months.

Upupa epops. The European Hoopoe. Common after the middle of March.

Cypselus melba. The Alpine Swift. I have only thrice been able to

identify this bird for certain when I saw a large number on November 7th,

1934, hawking above the old Terrace Hotel, and again in July and August 1935.

Cuculus canorus, The Cuckoo. First heard on April 15th; very common

thereafter, and also very tame.

Cuculus saturatus. The Himalayan Cuckoo. First heard on April 20th.

Not quite so common as canorus, and rather more bashful as a rule.

Palzornis schisticeps.. The Slaty-headed Paroquet. Common in summer,

though not I think as plentiful as in some hill stations. I have rarely seen

it in winter, but once remember noticing a large and very dejected looking

flock sitting on a bare tree near the Mall in a snowstorm during January.

Glaucidium cuculoides. The Large Barred Owlet. 1 have seen this bird

but do not think it is common.

Glaucidium brodiei. The Collared Pigmy Owlet. From my own observations

this bird seems much commoner than the last-named.

Gypaétus barbatus, The Lammergeyer. Neither Col. Rattray nor Major

Magrath mention this bird, but it is very common in Murree.

Buteo ferox. The Long-legged Buzzard. I have seen a good number of

(what I take to be) these birds.

Astur palumbarius. The Goshawk. I have seen this bird once or twice

in winter.

Sphenocercus sphenurus. The Kokla Green Pigeon. I have seen it in

Murree, but should not have thought it common there now.

Palumbus casiotis. The Eastern Wood-Pigeon. Seen in winter in flocks.

Turtur ferrago. The Indian Turtle-Dove. Col. Rattray found it common

in summer, while Major Magrath apparently only noticed it migrating at the

end of April. My own experience agrees with the former.

Genneus albicristatus. The White-crested Kalij Pheasant. Col. Rattray

did not think this bird common in 1905. I have only seen (and eaten) it

dead in Murree, and believe that it has probably been more or less extermi-

nated by now in the immediate vicinity of the station.

Caccabis chucar, The Chukor. I have not seen this bird wild in Murree,

and think that its numbers too have probably been reduced to a negligible

quantity since Col. Rattray wrote.

Hydrophasianus chirurgus. The Pheasant-tailed Jacana. I saw one of these

birds on the water tanks on May 31st 1933, and understood that they some-

times migrate by way of the Jhelum valley; but it cannot be often that a

specimen finds itself on the top of the Murree hill.

ON TWO NEW SPECIES OF ANTHOCEROS LINN. 1753 FROM

SOUTHERN SHAN STATES, BURMA, WITH A COMPARATIVE

CHART OF THE DIOECIOUS DARK SPORED SPECIES

OF THE GENUS.

L. P. Kaanna,

(Biological Department, University of Rangoon).

The material for this paper was obtained from the Southern Shan States,

Burma.

Anthoceros meggitti sp.n.* (Pl. I, Figs. 1-5).

Locality.—Kalaw.

Dioecious. Thallus 12-15 x 8-8, slightly depressed in the centre, the margin

lobed. Surface cells 0.04-0.06 x 0.08-0.04, each with a large chloroplast; caver-

nous. Involucre 6-7 long x 0.5 broad, cylindrical, shghtly narrowed at the

nearly truncate apex. Capsule 46-55 long x 0.5 broad, dark brown; stomata

0.075-0.09 x 0.042-0.05. Spores 0.04-0.045 black, thickly granular-papillate;

pseudoelators 1-5 celled, dark brown, thin walled. Male plants smaller than

the female. Antheridia 0.17 x 0.105, in groups of many in receptacles with

a denticulate margin, scattered over the dorsal surface of the thallus.

A. curnowit Stephani 1916, A. hkoshyi° Khanna 1936, A. minutus Mitten.

A. miyakeanus Schiffner 1899, are separated from the present form by the solid

structure of their thallus and their shorter involucres; A. chabensis Kashyap

1917, A. cucullatus Stephani 1916, A. fawrianus Stephani 1916, A. lamellatus

Stephani 1916, A. myriandroecius Stephani 1916, A. parkinsonii Khanna 1988,

A. pichinchesis Stephani and A. telaganus Stephani 1916, differ from the present

form in having smaller involucres and in the size of their capsules; A. cheva-

lier. Stephani 1923 and A. erectus Kashyap 1915 are distinguished from the

present type by their longer capsules; A. weist Khanna 1932 differs from

the present form in the size of the plant and stouter involucre; A. ferdianus

Stephani 1916 differs from the present form in having bigger capsule and

bigger spores. It is therefore necessary to create a new species for which I

propose the name Anthoceros meggitti sp.n.

Anthoceros burmani sp.n. (Pl. II, Figs. 6-10).

Locality.—-Taunggyi.

Dioecious. Thallus 12-17 x 7-8, prostrate, with irregularly divided seg-

ments; segments linear or oblong, channelled, with the margins ascending

and sinuate. Surface cells 0.050-0.065 x 0.02-0.04; cavernous. Involucre 6-8

long xX 1.3-1.5 broad, cylindrical, narrowed towards the apex, the mouth

lobulate. Capsule 12-15 long x 0.3 broad; stomata 0.06 x 0.04. Spores 0.058,

black with numerous spines; pseudoelators thick walled, dark brown, 1-4 celled.

Male plants much smaller than the female. Antheridia in groups of 12 or

less scattered over the dorsal surface of the thallus.

The longer involucre and the shorter capsule separates the present form

from A. chambensis Kashyap 1917, A. chevalieri Stephani 1923, A. cucullatus

Stephani 1916, A. erectus Kashyap 1915, A. fauwrianus Stephani 1916, A. lamella-

tus Stephani 1916, A. myriandroecius Stephani 1916, A. pichinchesis Stephani

and A. telaganus Stephani 1916; the cavernous structure of the thallus from

A. curnowtt Stephani 1916, A. koshyii Khanna 1986, A. minutus Mitten and

' All measurements are in millimetres.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I.

"05mm Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Anthoceros meggitti sp.n.

For explanation see end of text.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe. PLATE II.

‘Ob mm

ig. 9:

Anthoceros burmani sp.n.

For explanation see end of text.

359

SHAN STATES

TWO-NEW SPECIES OF ANTHOCEROS FROM 8.

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3860 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

A. miyakeanus Schiffner 1899; shorter capsule and bigger spores from A. ferdi-

nandi Taylor, A. meggitti sp.n. and A. weistii Khanna 1932; longer involucre

and bigger spores from A. parkinsonii Khanna 1988. It is, therefore, neces-

sary to create a new species for which I propose the name Anthoceros burmani

sp.l.

In the table above the differences between the present forms and the

previously described dioecious dark spored species are tabulated.

REFERENCES.

_ \kashyap, 5. R., Morphological and Biological Notes on New and Little

Kknown West Himalayan Liverworts, No. 3, New Phytologist, vol. xiv, pp. 1-18

(1915).

Kashyap, 8. R., Liverworts of the Western Himalayas and the Punjab,

No. 2, Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xxv, pp. 279-81 (1917).

Kashyap, 8. R., Liverworts of the Western Himalayas and the Punjab

Plain, Part I, The University of the Punjab, Lahore (1929).

Khanna, L. P., A New Species of Anthoceros from Rangoon, Bot. Gaz.,

vol. xcni, pp. 103-4 (1982).

Khanna, L. P., A New Species of Anthoceros from Burma, The Journal

of Botany, pp. 125-7 (1938).

On Indian species of the genus Anthoceros Linn. 1753, with a description

of a new specis from Trivandrum, Jour. Ind. Bot. Soc., vol. xv, No. 4, 1986,

pp. 235-40.

Stephani, F. Species Hepaticarum, pp. 972-1007 (1912-17).

Stephani, F'., Species Hepaticarum, pp. 425-9 (1917-25).

REFERENCE FOR THE TEXT-FIGURES.

Anthoceros meggitti sp.n.: Fig. 1—Female plant; Fig. 2.—male plant;

Fig. 8.—dorsal epidermal cells; Fig. 4.—stoma, Fig. 5.—spore; Antho-

ceros burmani sp.n.: Fig. 6.—female plant; Fig. 7.—male plant;

Vig. 8.—dorsal epidermal cells; Fig. 9.—stoma; Fig. 10.—spore.

THE MEDICINAL SPIDERWORTS OF INDIA.

J. E. CAIUS. San, F..8:

The COMMELINACEAE are perennial herbs generally distributed in

the Tropics and Subtropies, a few in China and Japan, the

Southern United States and in Australia. The family includes

30 genera with about 400 species.

Many species possess an abundant mucilage, which is alimen-

tary after being cooked; and the tuberous rhizomes of some con-

tain, besides mucilage, starch, which adds to their nutritive

qualities. The species credited with medicinal properties belong

to 8 genera: —ANEILEMA (Tropics); ComMELina (Tropics and Sub-

tropics); Cyanotis (Tropical Asia and Africa); FLoscopa (Tropics);

Pauisota (Tropical Africa); Potrt1a (Old World Tropics and Sub-

tropics); TinantTrA (Mexico to Brazil); TRApDEScANTIA (Tropical and

North America).

The medicinal Spiderworts of India belong to 4 genera:—

ANEILEMA, COMMELINA, CyAnoTIs, FLOSCOPA.

I. Capsule loculicidal. Stamens 38, perfect; with 1-3

staminodes.

1. Cymes solitary, included in a spathe. Ovary 3-celled;

cells, 1-2 ovuled ee se .. COMMELINA.

2. Cymes naked, panicled, rarely in a spathe ... ANEILEMA.

II. Capsule loculicidal. Stamens 6, perfect.

1. Cymes from imbricating bracts, scorpioid, or 1-2-few-

flowered. Corolla tubular below a ... CYANOTIS.

2. Flowers panicled. Stem erect one ... FLoscopa.

ANEILEMA.,

This genus numbers 85 species, tropical and subtropical, chiefly

Asiatic.

In the Gold Coast Colony the leaves of A. beninense Kunth.

and A. ovato oblongum P. Beauv. are used in enemas to cure

constipation.

Four Indian species are used medicinally either in India or in

Malaya.

I. Cells of ovary 8-8-ovuled; cells of capsule 1-38- or

more-celled.

1. Stout plant with large leaves; seeds 3 or 4 in a

cell, smooth oe oe .. 2. A. lineolatum.

2. Tufted herb; seeds 5 or 6 in a cell, superposed,

sharply 3-gonous ba gan w. 4. A. seapiflorum.

If. Cells of ovary 2-ovuled; cells of capsule 2-seeded.

Small herb, decumbent rn . & A. nudiflorum.

T1I. Cells of ovary 1-ovuled; cells of capsule L-seeded.

Stout herb 1. A. conspicuum.

862 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXxtx

1. Aneilema conspicuum Kunth. is found in the Patkai Hills

of Assam, whence it extends to Burma and Siam, Penang, Malacca,

Sumatra and Java.

The plant is used medicinally by the Malays, and is said to

be a powerful emmenagogue.

Malay: Poko tampoh kalin—.

2. Aneilema lineolatum Kunth. occurs throughout Tropical

India; in the Western Ghats from the Konkan to Travancore; and

from Sikkim, Bhotan and the Khasia Hills up to 2-4,000 ft., to

Burma, Malaya and the Malay Islands.

The plant is used by the Malays as an abortifacient.

Malay: Poko mati hidup—.

3. Aneilema nudiflorum Br. is to be found throughout India;

from the North-West Himalaya ascending to 6,000 ft, eastwards

and southwards to the Khasia Hills, Burma, the Deccan, Travan-

core and Ceylon. It is a common weed in waste ground and dry

sundy places throughout the Malay Peninsula. Tt is also met

with in China.

The herbage cooked in oil is employed in the treatment of

leprosy and ringworm.

Malay: Rumput kurunit, Rumput lipah lumbu, Rumput sarang tupai, Rum-

put tapah burong—.

4. Aneilema scapiflorum Wight is a native of the Himalaya.

It is spread from the Upper Gangetic plain to Bhotan, Travancore,

Tenasserim, Ceylon and the Shan Hills.

The root is said to have astringent and tonic properties. It is

considered useful in headache, giddiness, fever, jaundice and deaf-

ness. It is also regarded as an antidote to poisons, and as a

cure for snake-bite.

The root-bark dried in the shade is said to have been employed

with benefit in asthma. It is. commonly used in colic, piles and

infantile convulsions. It is a remedy of great repute for im-

potence and spermatorrhoea and also for incontinence of urine.

The dried powder is much used in combination. Mixed with

sugar it 1s employed as an aphrodisiac. With the juice of the

tulsi leaves it is given for pains in the kidneys, and is one of

the chief remedies used | »v the Hakims in spermatorrhoea. With

long pepper it 1s prescribed in bites of mad dogs, both internally

and externally

Mhaskar ail Caius have shown experimentally that the drug

is not an antidote to snake venom.

Bengal: Kureli—; Gujerati: Sismulia—; Hindi: Siyahmusli—; Persian:

Mushi-e-riyah—.

COMMELINA.

This genus includes 115 tropical and subtropical species.

Many species are used medicinally in various parts of the

world: —C.. communis Linn. in China; C. pallida Willd. and

THE MEDICINAL SPIDERWORTS OF INDIA 363

C. tuberosa Linn. in Mexico; C. deficiens Herbert in Brazil; C.

barbata Lam. and C. benghalensis Linn. in La Reunion; C. mada-

benghalensis Linn. in South Africa; C. nudiflora in the Gold Coast.

The species used therapeutically in India number five.

I. Capsule 8-celled; two cells with 2, and one with 1 seed.

1. Leaves elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 2 to 3 in. long,

glabrous; seeds cylindric reticulate, black Soe:

2. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 3 to 6 in. long, nearly gla- |

brous; seeds globose, smooth, truncate, black

powdered with white se Ae: us 4. C. Salicrfolia.

3. Leaves elliptic or ovate, blunt, 1 to 8 in. long, pube-

scent; seeds closely pitted - w. L. C. benghalen-

SIS.

. nudiflora.

YI. Capsule 3-celled, subequally 3-valved.

Leaves lanceolate oblique acuminate, many-nerved,

6 in. long; seeds ellipsoid compressed, lead-coloured,

margins often marbled ee aes pen OULiqiia.

IIT. Capsule 2-celled.

Leaves ovate-lanceolate acuminate, 3 in. long, scabrid

pubescent; seeds ellipsoid rugose, straw-coloured

or brown :

5. C. suffruticosa.

1. Commelina benghalensis Linn. occurs in the peninsula

of India generally, and is fairly common everywhere. It is also

found in Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, China and Tropical

Africa.

The plant is described by Ayurveda as bitter, useful in leprosy,

and a good regulator of the nervous system.

In La Reunion the plant is reputed emollient and mucilagi-

nous. It is much used in the form of a decoction as a drink,

a lotion or a bath.

The Sutos prepare from it a medicine for treating barrenness

in women.

Bengal: Kachradam, Kanchara, Kanchura, Kanshira, Kanuraka—; Cana-

rese: Hittagani—; Hnglish: Day Flower, Dew Flower—; Gujerati: Mhotun-

shishmuliyun—; Hindi: Kanchara, Kanuraka—; La Reunion: Grosse herbe

d’eau, Grosse trainasse—; Malay: Rumput mayiam—; Marathi: Kena—;

Pampangan: Biasbias—; Philippines: Alibangon, Anagalide azul, Uligbong-

gon—; Punjab: Chura, Kanna, Khanna—; Sanskrit: Kanchata: Marishajalaja,

Paniya, Tanduliya—; Santal: Kana arak—; Sind: Chura, Kanna, Khanna—;

Sinhalese: Deyamainaireya, Diyameneriya—; Spanish: Anagalide azul—; Suto:

Khotswana—; Tagalog: Alicbanggon—; Tamil: Kanangakarai—; Telugu: Niru-

kassuvu, Vennadeviruka—; Twi: Onyame bewu na mahu—; Visayan: Cabilao,

Sabilao, Sabilaonggalabaan—.

2. Commelina nudiflora Linn. is very common in waste land

everywhere. It is frequent in Bengal and extends to Burma, the

Malay Peninsula and Ceylon. It is distributed to most of the

tropical and subtropical countries: Africa, Madagascar, the Sey-

chelles, Mauritius, the Sandwich Islands, Australia, ete.

The leaves are used by the Malays for poulticing sores.

The natives of the Gold Coast Colony use the plant to cure a

disease. called ‘okwaha’—a swelling in the groim—producing very

itchy spots and sores and swellings. The leaves are pounded,

364 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Yol. RX

mixed with the seeds of Leea guineensis G. Don. and those of

Jong pepper. The mixture is then put in a plantain leaf, which

has first been warmed to prevent it from splitting too easily,

applied to the affected parts, bound, and kept there for three

days. The application first affords relief; and when it is removed

on the fourth day it is found that the swelling bursts.

Ashanti: Onyame bewu na mawu—; Awuna: Agbenokui nokui, Agbormaku

maku—; English: Day Flower, Dew Flower—; Hwe: Agbenkui nokui, Agbor-

maku maku—; Fanti: Nyame bewu ansang na mewu—; Ga: To lilairy—;

Gujerati: Shishmuli, Shishmulhyun—; Hausa: Balasa, Balasaya, Kunungura—;

Hindi: Kanshura—; Malay: Pulau aur, Rumput kukupu, Tapak eti—;

Marathi: Kina, Velichibhaji—; Nzima: Nyamele wua ngwosu—; Philippines :

Aligbangon—; Sanskrit: Katsapriya, Koshapushpi—; Spanish: Anagalide

azul— ;;_ Twi: Onyame bewu na mawu—.

3. Commelina obliqua Ham. is common over the low moist

parts of India, flowering during the rainy season chiefly. It also

occurs on the lower Himalaya, ascending up to 7,000 ft. in

altitude. It is distributed to Ceylon and Burma, and hence to

the Malay Peninsula where it is HNO found in the shady spots

of the forests.

The root is a refrigerant and ees useful in strangury and

costiveness. It is used in vertigo, fevers and bilious affections,

and as an antidote to snake-bites.

Mhaskar and Caius have demonstrated that the root is not an

antidote to snake venom.

Bengal: Jatakanchura, Jatakanshira—; Bijnor: Kana, Korna—; Hindi:

Kana, Kanjuna—; Kumaon: Kanjura—-.

4. Commelina salicifolia Roxb. is common in wet places in

the peninsula of India, especially in Bengal, Coromandel and

Bombay. It is distributed to Burma and to the Malay Peninsula

where it is met with in abandoned rice-fields. It also occurs in

Java.

The plant is used in dysentery and insanity.

Bengal: Languli, Panikanchira—; Hasada: Madtonggaara, Madtonggata-

sad—; Hindi: Jalpipari—; Sanskrit: Jalapippali, Languli, Langulu—; San-

tali: Bir kana arak’—.

5. Commelina suffruticosa Bl. is a native of Bengal. It is

found in Tropical India from Nepal, Sikkim and Bengal to Central

India and the Malay Peninsula. It is distributed to the Malay

Islands.

The Santals apply the root to sores.

Santali: Dare orsa—.

CYANOTIS.

This genus consists of 85 palaeotropical species, two of which

are used medicinally in India.

1. Cymes enclosed in biseriate falcate imbricating

bracteoles ae . 2. Cy tuberosa,

2: Cymes from the leat Sheanne axillary ea we OL. GC. aaillaris.

THE MEDICINAL SPIDERWORTS OF INDIA BHD

1. Cyanotis axillaris Schult. f. is a herbaceous annual, met

with in many parts of India, in the plains from the Upper

Gangetic valley to Assam and southwards to Ceylon. It may be

found in rice-fields in some parts of Malaya. It is distributed

to Siam, China and Australia.

The Indians occasionally drink a decoction of the plant for

dropsy.

On the Malabar Coast it is considered as a useful remedy in

tvmpanitis.

In Behar it is used as an external application in cases of

ascites, especially when mixed with a little oil.

Bombay: Itsaka—; Hindi: Baghanulla, Soltraj—; Jolo: Hauli—; Tamil:

Nirpulli—; Teiugu: Golagandi—.

2. Cyanotis tuberosa Schult. f. is found in Chota Nagpore,

the Deccan Peninsula—on the west side from the Konkan to

Travancore—and in Ceylon.

The root is given in long-continued fevers, and also for worms

in cattle.

Santali: Hodojerengarak , Meromchunchi—.

FLOSCOPA.

The genus consists of 15 tropical and subtropical species.

Floscopa scandens Lour. occurs throughout tropical India, in

swamps from Eastern Nepal, Sikkim and the Khasia Hills to

Travancore, Ceylon and Malacca, where it is common in muddy

ditches. It is distributed to Eastern Asia and tropical Australia.

In Lakhimpur (Assam) the juice of the stem is put into sore

eyes.

Lakhimpur: Karahimlu—; Malay: Rumput kumpai tikus, Rumput tapak

eti—.

ABOUT SPIDER COLLECTION.

T. V. SUBRAHMANIAM.

(With 1 plate and 8 teat-figures).

We look at a butterfly or bird with admiration and love. But

the spider! the very name we abhor. Perhaps this dislike on

our part is due to its lack of attractiveness or beauty. Volumes

have been written about butterflies and birds but comparatively

little interest is taken in spiders. Much remains to be done before

we can have a complete list of them. The Morphologist with his

books and microscope can name the specimen in his hand. But

he has got a poor stock with him. He looks to the Field Naturalist

to assist him with specimens. To his disappointment the collector

brings him butterflies and birds, but no spider.

Our negligence, however, is not wholly justifiable. A study

of the habits of spiders, of their infinite variety reveals a field of

ereat interest. Their strategic ways of concealing themselves from

their enemies and their perseverance in building their complicated

webs are engrossing subjects. One who is interested in field

Natural History, therefore, can well spend an hour daily in

collecting spiders. Experience will justify that it is both an

interesting and paying hobby.

For a better appreciation of this note I give below a_ short

account of spiders and also some of the characteristics of a few

of the main families which are commonly found-in India. I have

not attempted to give a comprehensive description of all the

families. If the collector desires to know how spiders are

identified he will have to consult some standard reference book

such as the volume on Arachnids by Pocock in the Fauna of

British India.

Spiders form a large Order known as Araneae under the Class

of Arthropoda, the Arachnida.

They are distinguished by two characters: a round and unseg-

mented abdomen (except in Liphistiide) and a distinct waist

between the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The cephalothorax

is covered by a single dorsal shield—the carapace. The eyes are

usually simple, six or eight in number, arranged in two rows,

the anterior and the posterior lines. The arrangement and the

disposition of the eyes are important in the classification. At

the posterior end of the abdomen are two to four pairs of knob-

like prominences, the spinnerets, with which the spider spins its

threads. The mandibles or chelicerae are two-jointed with open-

ings of the poison glands. The pedipalps in the males are

modified to aid in fertilization into what are called Palpal organs.

There is a marked sexual dimorphism in spiders: the females

being larger than the males. The female spider lays a large

number of eggs in a season all enclosed in a cocoon, which

varies in size and shape. The young when hatched out resemble

the parent except that they are minute in size.

Soc.

Argyope and its web.

[ooh =

ABOUT SPIDER COLLECTION 367

According as the abdomen. is segmented or not the whole group

is. divided into two: Mesothele and Opisthothele.

The Mesotheles include a single family the Liphistiide. The

tribe is distinguished by a segmented abdomen. They have ag-

eregate eyes set on a distinct tubercle but this is not a characterstic

possessed by the Mesothele alone. Some Opisthothele e.g.

Theraphosidea have also eyes set on a tubercle. The spinnerets

are eight in number situated in the middle of the lower surface

of the abdomen.

All the common. spiders with which we are familiar come

under Opisthothele. Here the abdomen is unsegmented and the

spinnerets are six or Jess in number situated at the posterior end

ot the abdomen. There are two divisions under Opisthothele,

the Mygalomorphe and the Arachnomorphie. In mygalomorphic

spiders the basal segments of the mandibles project forwards from

the fore-extremity of the cephalothorax, the articulation lying

in a vertical plane. In Arachnomorphic spiders, on the other

hand, the basal segments of the mandibles project downwards

from the extremity of the cephalothorax the articulation lying

in a horizontal plane.

MyYGALOMORPHIG SPIDERS.

Atypids.—Spiders with coxa of palp having a large maxillary process. Six

spinning mamillae; carapace anteriorly broad with median conical ocular

tubercle; large mandibles without rastellum; weakly-spined legs with three

claws. They inhabit burrows in the ground.

Ctenizids.—Differ from the Atypids in the presence of a mandibular rastellum ;

coxa of palp without large maxillary process; only four spinning mamillae,

anterior pair contiguous and posterior ones usually short; tarsi without ungual

tufts. They are brownish black in colour and are common under stones. Some

of them are trap-door spiders.

Diplurids.—Resemble Ctenizids in having three claws without ungual tufts.

No mandibular rastellum. Again, posterior spinnerets are long and anterior

ones widely separated.

Barychelids.—-Medium-sized spiders (except one genus Sason) with mandi-

bular rastellum (like Ctenizids) but unlike the two preceding families possess

ungual tufts and only two weakly-toothed claws; spinnerets are like those

of Ctenizids. They are burrowing in habit some being trap-door spiders.

Theraphosids.—Medium- or large-sized spiders differing from Barychelids

in. having. apical segments of posterior spinnerets cylindrical and as long as

the second segment; rastellum absent; eyes like those of Liphistiidae set on

a distinct tubercle. Common under stones and in natural crevices.

ARACHNOMORPHIC SPIDERS.

Eresids.—Are small- or medium-sized spiders of dull white colour. Cephalic

region of carapace wide and usually high with low

clypeus. Four median eyes form a small quadrangle,

narrower in front. Anterior lateral eyes on either side

of the head, posterior ones far removed from rest.

Mandibles flattish in front; fang-groove scarcely toothed.

Maxillae inclined obliquely inwards; legs strong and

weakly-spined. Abdomen oval. Hresids and Psechrids

possess a spinning plate or cribellum in front of the

anterior mamillae.

Psechrids.—Medium-sized cribellate spiders. Unlike 1. Hresid.

the above they possess slender legs, anterior two pairs

being longer than the posterior two. The tarsi with ungual tufts. Head

moderately elevated with clypeus high. Mandibles strong and toothed below.

Abdomen oval or cylindrical. 5

368 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Hersiliids.—Hunting spiders found usually on the bark of trees and under

stones living in irregular webs. Carapace as

wide as long with cephalic region raised but

narrow. Hyes of anterior and posterior lines

both recurved; weak mandibles at most weakly-

toothed below; maxillae inclined obliquely on

labium; legs except third pair long and

slender. Abdomen short. Posterior spinnerets

very long; colulus or a mamilliform process

present.

Argyopids.—Sedentary spiders spinning

geometrical webs. Carapace with clypeus low.

Lateral eyes on the sides of the head typically

close together away from the median quad-

rangle. Mandibles strong and movable and

— with strongly-toothed fang-grove. Maxillae not

» inclined on labium. Legs strong. Abdomen

2. Argyopid. large and variable. Spinnerets subequal in

length; a colulus is present.

Theridiids.—Small spiders with oval abdomen. Differ from Argyopids by

the presence of a set of spines forming a comb on the

tarsi of the fourth pair of legs and by the untoothed

fang-groove. Moreover the clypeus is usually high.

Their webs are irregular.

Urocteids.—Carapace reniform, rounded in front

and emarginate behind; eyes compact; mouth parts

weak. Short but strong legs subequal in length with to

spines. Abdomen truncate anteriorly, oval behind; 3. Theridid.

posterior spinnerets longer than anterior ones. A_ en

colulus is present. Anal papillae present furnished with a fringe of hairs.

Pholcids.—Carapace flat and round with a distinct groove; clypeus high ;

head small and abdomen

large. Anterior median eyes,

very small, others large

forming a group on either

side of clypeus. Legs very

long and slender. Common

in corners of houses. They

construct irregular webs.

Ly c¢osid s,—Poisonous

hunting spiders without a

regular web (except Hip-

| pasa); carapace narrow in

' front, high. Eyes of pos-

terior line’ recurved and

| large, anterior ones usually

small and compact; man-

dibles strong and_ with

toothed fang-groove; maxil-—

lae short not inclined in-

wards; legs strong and

spiny; abdomen oval rarely elongate; spinnerets subequal.

Oayopids.—Eyes form a compact subcircular group;

anterior line recurved and the posterior procurved. =>

Mandibles are weak and long weakly-toothed. Carapace | —

oval and distinctly elevated; abdomen oval in front a

and narrowed behind; legs strong and spiny. |

Abundant in grass. L

Attids.—Small-sized vagabond spiders without webs. =» _

They jump from place to place in search of insects. . Lf

Legs strong; tarsi with ungual tufts and only two |

claws. Anterior median eyes very large, eyes of |

the ee line forming a square on the sides of the |

head.

4. Pholecid.

ABOUT SPIDER COLLECTION 369

Clubionids.--Hunting spiders with powerful mandibles and _ toothed fang-

grooves. Maxillae project forwards and not inclined on the labium. Legs

strong and spiny with scopulate tarsi and protarsi. Ungual tufts present

and only two claws. Anterior spinnerets in contact. Colulus absent. The

carapace flat, usually wider than long; clypeus suppressed; the median eyes

arranged in a recurved crescent. Tarsal claws unarmed (Selenopineae).

Sparassids (Heteropodids).—Differ from the above in having the carapace

about as wide as long; the clypeus low;

the median eyes forming a normal quad-

rangle and the claws armed with teeth.

Thomisids.—Small spiders with weak

mandibles weakly-toothed. The third and

the fourth legs shorter than the first and

the second. When chased or frightened

they move sideways and are hence called

laterigrade spiders. In the general shape

they resemble crabs in miniature and are

called crab-spiders. Many possess pro-

tective colours. Some are excellent mimics. 6. Sparassid.

‘Spiders poms formed to a life of rapacity, their habits are

calculated to deceive and_ surprise.’ Being

surrounded by enemies like birds, lizards and

solitary wasps they are very dexterous by

nature. Many possess various protective colours

and so evade the collector’s notice. Some are

excellent mimics and the common Myrmachene

is easily mistaken for the red ant. Attids and

Lycosids are quick in their movements and

Pigg ehbrehes easily conceal themselves. Altogether, the

spider. collection of spiders is not so easy a task as

we expect it to be.

Luckily, spiders are ubiquitous. They lve under diverse con-

ditions: deep beneath the soil; in damp and moist places; in

the scorching deserts and some even survive in hot-water springs.

They have the power to withstand climatic and environmental

variations. Locally they can be sought for in holes and crevices,

in corners and along the walls of old houses, under stones and

rubbish, along the bark and branches of trees, on the underside

of leaves and in hundreds of other places.

No mathematically constructed or elaborate equipment is

necessary in order to capture a spider, but only the overcoming

of a natural repellance to these creatures and a keen eye. <A

medium-sized Kilner Jar (or any wide-mouthed bottle with a lid)

containing some dilute spirit or formalin and a pair of forceps

is all the equipment required.

Among the leaves of small bushes and trees many _ spiders

hide themselves in search of insects. Shake a small branchlet of

a tree or shrub with some force, and the spider if present either

drops to the ground or hangs by its thread and toils to ascend

upwards. Place the jar underneath and with a quick tap with

the lid let the animal drop into the spirit. Replace the lid lest

the animal escape. This is a method of capture usually practised

by spider collectors.

Spiders which jump or run along the ground or stems of trees

ean, with a little nimbleness, be caught with the hand, Forceps

370: JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

may also be used to catch spiders but in so doing I have often

failed and found my victim escaping from the forceps minus its

limbs. A handkerchief, or a piece of cloth, will protect one from

bites and the spider is better captured with the hands.

A butterfly net as is described in the Bombay Natural History

Society Journal, vol. xxvill, No. 2, p. 509, is also useful in col-

lecting spiders. The net may be a little stronger and its colour

need not be necessarily green. A sweeping stroke among bushes

and grass will fetch numerous specimens which can be transferred

into the spirit jar.

Members of the Family Pholcide are very common in un-

frequented localities, in roofs and among rafters of old houses, in

holes and hollows of trees—always remaining suspended and

working their legs, at the shghtest disturbance, like the Garden

Harvestman (Phalangium). Their webs are of hmited extension

and irregular. But touch the web and the spider will try to

escape you but it is not difficult to tap it into your jar. Pholcids

as far as possible avoid bright sunhight and rain. They live con-

fined in houses or in the shade of trees.

Members of the families of Thomiside, Oxyopide, Argyo-

pide and Clubionide are usually arboreal: they can be collected

in plenty in gardens.

Some Thomisids and Oxyopids live inside flowers and one may

mistake their legs for the floral stamens. Such spiders besides

protecting themselves from their enemies also easily prey upon

insects which visit the flowers for honey.

No group of spiders constructs webs so attractively and with

such geometrical precision as the Argyopide. Their prominent

webs enable a collector to detect their presence easily. The webs

are mostly octagonal and wheel-lke in shape with a central hub

or axis where the spider usually sits. From the central point

various ribs radiate outwards and meet the external foundation

lines. All the radii are further reinforced by concentric cross-

threads. There is a fine description of the web of Araneus (Argyo-

pide) and of the Giant Wood Spider, Nephila maculata (Argyo-

pide) in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society,

vol, xxvii, No. 38, p. 642.

Argyope is a gorgeously coloured beautiful spider belonging to

- this family. It sits in the

centre of its spacious web.

It is difficult to miss it.

Other members like the

Tetragnatha and Argyroe-

peira generally construct

their snares among leaves

of trees and plants, grass-

es or weeds standing near

water. Many hide them-

selves on grass-blades_ or

8. Tetragnatha. the green stems of plants

stretching their legs in a

linear fashion, At the slightest disturbance they run away or

ABOUT SPIDER: COLLECTION 371

drop down by their threads. Place collecting jar under the

dropping animal and it is yours.

Members of Sparasside and Clubionide construct small silken

webs on the undersides of leaves. Some roll up the leaves into

a cylinder and live within. Species like Playstes flavidus and

Peucetia viridana are green in colour and are difficult to detect

among green foliage.

Attids are vagabonds and do not construct webs of their own.

Generally they are all small in size about } in. to 2 in. in length.

They are found everywhere: inside houses, on fences and in

gardens. They are good jumpers and quick in movement. They

leap from leat to leaf and from plant to plant in search of small

insects and spiders. Attids are exceedingly agile. Attempt to

seize one and it will probably forestall you by Jumping on your

hand and with another jump disappear.

Eresids commonly construct irregular nets on bushes and

branches of trees. The threads are white in colour and pasty to the

touch. When disturbed they move very slowly along their snares.

The Common Indian Eresid is colonial in habit. Many live

in a single saccular nest. The webs are generally constructed

along fences or bushes bound about some of the twigs. The web

resembles a cloth or paper irregularly folded. The size of the

central house (the nest proper) varies according to the number of

the members of the colony. There are numerous entrances to

the house. Closely attached and forming a part of the nest there

is usually an extensive sheet with strong foundation lines. This

sheet is mainly intended to capture prey. I have seen an Eresi-

dian web measuring about 3 ft. and whose foundation threads

equalled ordinary twine in strength. It is a sight to see scores

of Hresids pulling homewards an insect which has accidentally

fallen into the net.

The collection of the colonial Hresids is easy. Tear open a

net and shake the contents into the jar. You are sure to secure

at least a dozen spiders. Solitary Bestia can be caught by the

tapping method.

Of all spiders perhaps the most astute and cunning are the

Lycosids. They cleverly escape the eye. Most of them are

hunting spiders without proper abodes. The common Hippasa,

however, constructs a tubular web by the side of stones among

the leaf-whorls of pandanus, pineapple suckers ete., and by the

buttress roots of trees. The tubes continue deep into the ground.

Their mouths are strengthened by extensive additions of thread

woven in irregular fashion. These spiders always sit at the mouths

of their nests watching for visiting insects. At the sight of man

they draw back into their deep retreat with astonishing rapidity.

Unless the collector is as quick as the spider securing “them is a

difficult task. Even if caught with forceps the spider will leave

its legs behind and save itself. The best way to capture one is

to dig out the net, tear it open and catch the animal as it runs

out.

Then there are spiders of the mygalomorphic group the most

common genus being Acanthodon, of the Family Ctenizide. This

372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

spider lives under stones and rubbish. Its nest is generally a tube

lined with silk, which (in all trap-door spiders) continues outside

ws a circular door protecting the entrance. These spiders can

easily be detected by their dark colour and prominent abdomen.

Ctenizids are bad runners and can be caught with the hands. The

species Acanthodon constructor is common in Madras.

The spiders being killed when caught the next thing the

collector wants to do is to preserve them. Sort out the collection

and put the different kinds into separate tubes with slips of

paper containing the following particulars:—(1) Date of Collec-

tion; (2) Locality; (8) Collector’s Name. Close the mouths of

the tubes with folded tissue paper. Immerse all the tubes in

a big Kilner Jar containing light spirit or formalin.

A’ detailed description as to how a spider should be set and

exhibited can be expected only from a Museum expert. In the

Madras Museum the usual procedure is to fix the animal in its

natural position on a mica sheet either with celluloid glue or in

case of large specimens by stitching the legs and body of the

spider carefully to the sheet. The mica sheet itself is inserted

vertically into a glass jar containing spirit. Formalin may also be

used but it hardens the specimens. The mouth of the jar is

closed airtight.

There is no comprehensive list of all the existing species of

spiders. If at all there are any they are in French. The only

book that deals in a systematic way with spiders and is available

to many is Pocock’s Arachnida (Fauna of British India). A close

examination of this book, however, will reveal that families like

the Attids, Thomisids, Theridiids etc. are not entirely worked out.

Among the lving authorities on spiders I cannot mention but

with gratitude the name of Dr. Gravely, Superintendent of the

Madras Museum, under whose guidance I had the fortune to work

for some months. His worthy additions to the Spider literature

are of immense assistance to those who work in this line. He

himself is an enthusiastic spider collector and there are many of

his collections preserved in the Museum Laboratory. Our thanks

are due to him for his excellent papers on Clubionide, Sparasside

and Argyopide. He has supplemented and revised the old list

of species. JI am sure that a spider collector can get the most

reliable and correct information regarding his or her specimens

from the Madras Museum.

AN APOLOGY.

In the December 1934 number of this Journal, in an Article

headed ‘Hunter’s Moon’, Mr. Randolph Camroux Morris of

Attikan Estate, Billigirirangan Hills, Mysore, wrote what pur-

ported to be a review on Major Leonard Handley’s Book,

Hunter’s Moon, published by MacMillan & Co. in March 19838,

22 months before.

We desire to state that this article came to the Journal un-

solicited and that it was published as a contribution without full

appreciation of the reflection it might involve on Major Handley.

We do not associate ourselves or the Journal in any way with any

criticisms of Major Handley conveyed by the article. Also if the

publication of this Article has in any way injured the character,

Ait or reputation of the Author, Major Leonard Handley, we

tender our sincere apologies.

REVIEWS

NATURAL HISTORY. Edited by CuHartes ‘TaTr REGAN, D.sec., F.R.S.,

Director of the Indian Museum, Natural History. 16 coloured plates and

over a 1,000 photographs. Ward Lock & Co., London, 19386. 265s.

The term Natural History, to give it its wider meaning, is the study of

the earth, the sky and the seas ori all things animal, vegetable and mineral

which they contain. But in the popular mind, it covers a more limited scope

and is confined to the study of the Plant and Animal Kingdoms, or is limited

more often to the study of Animals alone. The Natural History before us

is a Natural History of Animals. Of the varying aspects of Nature, this is

a subject which makes the widest popular appeal. ‘The demand for books

on Animals has been continuous. It has resulted in the production of numerous

works which, in a single volume, more often in a series of volumes, have given

in more or less detail an account of the Animal Kingdom.

But the progress of Science, exploration and research in various quarters

of the Globe, are constantly throwing new light on various aspects of animal

life and constantly adding to the sum of our knowledge. We are no longer

content with discovering and describing new species of animals, though such

discoveries particularly among the lower and no less interesting forms of animal

life are constantly being males

We are now |more interested than ever in the study of animals under the

conditions in which they live, their social and communal life, their relationship

to each other, their adaptations to changing conditions, their food, their habits

and their economic value. This study of animal life under natural conditions

has brought out many new and interesting facts about them and has altered

many previous conceptions. The data which the progress of Science has made

available has rendered obsolete most of the existing works on Natural History.

To provide, then, a comprehensive volume which would give a summary of

present-day knowledge of the Natural History of Animals has been the objec-

tive of the present work. In these days of specialised knowledge, when

scientists confine their study not to the great Classes of the animal kingdom,

but to single family or tribe, no single man could deal authoritatively with

so vast and complex a subject as Animal life in its entirety. It is a task

which requires the co-operation of many scientists.

In producing this book, the publishers have been exceedingly fortunate in

obtaining the co-operation of so distinguished a team of authors, each an

authority in his special branch of zoology, who have contributed chapters to

the book. The work of editing and presenting the picture as a whole has

been carried out by Charles Tate Regan, the Director of the British Museum,

Natural History. The result has been the production of an up-to-date com-

pendium of concise information, accurate in detail, precise and scientific in its

method of presentation. What is more important to the average reader, the

book is written in a language which is intelligible. As such the book pro-

vides a good work of reference both to students and laymen. No popular

work on Natural History would be sufficient without its complement of illustra-

tions. There are 16 coloured plates in the book and more than a thousand

photographs, most of them photos of animals under natural conditions. They

reveal the wreat advance that has been made in Nature photography.

We recommend the book to any one who requires a readable and authoritative

work on the Animal Life of the world.

2, daa ARs

LES SERPENTS DE L’INDOCHINE. Par René Bourret. Two vols.;

pp. 141 and 505. Toulouse: Henri Basuyau; 1936. Price Francs 40 and 110.

This excellent work will be welcomed by herpetologists all the world over;

for, in addition to its high scientific standard, it presents a certain amount of

originality in plan and treatment. The book is, moreover, clearly printed on

a good grade of paper and its numerous illustrations—203—are above reproach.

REVIEWS 375

The first volume is of a general character and deals with the ophidian

fauna of Indo-China. It opens with an historical account which is a remarkable

example of patient and painstaking research. The notes on morphology and

distribution, and the tables for identification—based on external characters only

—are very good; but that which marks the book as an indispensable addition to

Indian libraries and laboratories is the bibliography, so very detailed and

complete as to make future work in Indian serpent lore not only easy but

pleasurable.

By means of judicious cross references this bibliography enhances the value

of the synonymy in the second volume, and infuses life into an otherwise dull

subject. This second volume contains detailed descriptions of 203 species and

49 varieties belonging to Indo-China proper, and 92 species and 24 varieties

belonging to adjacent countries. The descriptions, the synonymy and the identi-

fication tables are all that could be desired. The volume concludes with an

index in which some 1,400 names are listed.

Orders from India ought to be sent to R. Bourret, Institut océanographique

de UVindochine, Nha Trang, Indochine Francaise, French Indo-China.

J. EH. C,

QUESTIONS AGRICOLES. Paris: Editions du _ centre polytechnicien

d’études économiques—Document No. 5; 1937. Pp. 266. Price 15 francs.

At a time when the improvement of agriculture in India is being generally

discussed the perusal of this book will prove useful to many who are animated

with the best intentions but little realise the complexity of the problem to

be tackled. Let it not be objected that this is the work of Frenchmen

debating the future of agriculture in their own country; the fundamental

principles of agricultural research hold equally good for every country in the

world, and they are here laid down with characteristic French conciseness

and clearness.

Dike @,

OBITUARIES.

A. J. W. MIDROY;

By the death of A. J. W. Milroy, Conservator of Forests,

Assam, on the 26th September 1936, was removed from our midst

not only a man who had the cause of game preservation in India

very close to his heart, but also one who introduced a new method

of elephant hunting which revolutionised that art as practised in

Assam.

Milroy’s activities for the cause of Game Preservation in India

are well known and he wrote much on the subject, but what is

far better, he also translated his words into deeds. It is safe to

say that no one knew the Kamrup or Kaziranga Game Sanctuaries

as he did and it is also safe to say that no one will ever know

them so well. During the activities of the far flung poaching

organisation, financed by wealthy traders, which nearly wiped out

the rhinoceros in these two sanctuaries in 1930, Milroy was inde-

fatigable in launching a counter offensive which finally broke up

the organisation and landed many of its members in jail. It is

entirely due to him that we can now say that for the present these

two sanctuaries are safe.

During his time as Conservator in Assam, a third Game

Sanctuary has been added to the list. He was also instrumental

in creating recently a buffalo sanctuary and it is hoped that his

name will be perpetuated by having this sanctuary called after

him.

It is not generally realised that modern methods of elephant

hunting in Assam and the immense pecuniary gain the Assam

Government has derived from this type of forest produce are due

to this man who, by force of argument and personality, persuaded

Government to allow him to try out his method which he had

himself evolved due to his unique knowledge of that animal.

Prior to 1920, the hunting of elephants in Assam was in the

hands of Assamese and Kampti Mahaldars, who paid a royalty

to Government on each elephant caught. In these days it is

difficult to realise, that the methods of only 16 years ago, involving

the most unheard of cruelty to the animals, were ever tolerated

for a moment. It is only charitable to think that the Government

of those days did not know or did not realise that such cruelty

existed.

A sketch of the methods of a native mahaldar, no matter how

harrowing it may be to the feelings of those who love animals,

must be given if the amazing transformation to modern methods

is to be fully understood.

The method of catching elephants in Assam by which the herd

is driven from a salt-lick to a stockade built nearby, or along one

of their own paths into a stockade built astride it, is well known

OBITUARIES 377

and Milroy himself wrote an illuminating article in the Bombay

Natural History Society’s Journal describing it.

In the old days it was thought by the native mahaldars that

if was impossible to take koonkies into a stockade until the wild

elephants had been weakened by hunger and thirst. Hence it

was the practice to leave the herd in the stockade for anything

up to a fortnight or even three weeks before any attempt was

made to remove them. The condition of the animals after the

lapse of such a period was beyond belief and cannot be imagined

by anyone who has never seen it.

The interior of the stockade would be littered with the carcases

of the calves killed by hunger, thirst or gored by maddened

tuskers; the tails of the rest, would have Neen bitten off. The

picture of those left with sides fallen in, heads down and mouths

open with blackened tongue protruding and covered with filth

and blood would be a sight never to be forgotten.

Such was the condition of the stockade when the doors were

opened and the sleek well-fed koonkies marched in and _ the

captives were noosed. The wild elephants would be too exhausted

to give any trouble in the stockade, but when dragged out the

sight of the open jungle all around and perhaps some glimmerings

of their life ahead would urge some of the stronger to make one

last effort for freedom. Any attempt of this kind was promptly

dealt with by the phandies, who slashed open the skin at the

back of the neck where the noose fitted and rubbed some sand

into the wound.

The tottering beasts were then dragged to the depot leaving

a few more dead from exhaustion on the road.

Arrived at the depot the elephants were tied up fore and aft

and the training proceeded on the principle that the more an

elephant is hurt the sooner it learns obedience; hence spears were

freely used. As may be imagined, the mahaldar did not engage

any Veterinary Surgeon to look after the captures with the result

that all abrasions went septic and the most appalling wounds,

maggot infested, were a common-place.

Casualties during training were very high; as high as 48 per

cent and for the whole catch might amount to as much as 80 per

cent.

Such was the condition of elephant hunting in Assam when

Milroy started his agitation after the War for more humane

methods in hunting and training. He argued that a noble animal

like the elephant would respond to kindness and humane treat-

ment like every other animal, and that the methods hitherto in

force could not be tolerated by any civilised Government.

He started on a small scale, and having become convinced of

the truth of his arguments he obtained the permission of Govern-

ment to conduct extensive hunting operations in the North Cachar

Hills in 1920-22

By his operations in the North Cachar Hills, Milroy at once

revolutionised elephant hunting in Assam. In the two years,

training casualties were reduced to 1 per cent and the total casual-

ties to not more than 3 per cent.

378 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

How did this come about? In the first place must come the

man himself. Milroy possessed the most wonderful personality

and charm of manner. He _ spoke Assamese—particularly the

Kamrup dialect, extraordinarily well. His knowledge of elephants

and of jungle life generally was such that few Kuropeans acquire

and anything ‘that ‘Milily Sahib’ said would be sure to be

favourably, if critically, considered around the camp fires in the

training depots.

Naturally when he said that no wild elephants were to be left

in a stockade more than 72 hours the wails of lamentation rose

to heaven. Further when he said that no spears were to be taken

into the stockade the phandies broke down weeping and said ‘we

are already dead’.

It was characteristic of the man that he rode a koonkie into

the stockade that housed his first catch. What must have been

his pride as he saw all the elephants taken out without a scratch.

In the depot it was the same thing. A trained Veterinary

Surgeon was always present and wounds were properly treated

twice a’day: no spears were allowed and anyone who used one

got a lambasting with the handle thereof.

By the time the operations were over Milroy’s method was a

proved success and that suecess has been repeated over and over

again in subsequent mahals. This method is now accepted as the

only method to be followed in Assam and woe betide the Assamese

mahaldar whose casualties exceed the prescribed minimum.

Among other benefits his method proved that elephants could

be trained in a very short time; that cruelty was not at all neces-

sary in training; that casualties in the training depot could be

reduced to almost negligible proportions; and that an elephant

trained by a mixture of firmness and kindness was in every way

superior to a broken-spirited animal trained according to the

former brutal methods.

When elephant hunting, Milroy was indefatigable. He drove

with the drivers or acted as doorkeeper at the stockade, or as one

of the stops and often bestrode an elephant as a_ phandie

in training. In fact he knew the business from A to Z. He

refused to accept defeat and on one occasion he drove a_ herd

for seven miles only to see it break through the wings and escape.

Most men would have been content to call it a day but not Milroy.

He roused the disheartened drivers and conducted them off by

a short cut to the place where his knowledge of the country led

him to believe the elephants were making for. He headed the

elephants and drove them back and succeeded in capturing the

whole herd. .

Like all animal lovers, Milroy himself shot very little. He

was, howéver, most generous to junior officers and most of those

in the Forest Service in Assam have to thank him for their first

tiger.

A man of most singular charm with a great sense of humour

he is sadly missed by his numerous European and Indian friends.

Nee Bs

OBITUARIES 379

SIR GEORGE HAMPSON.

Sir George Francis Hampson, Br., who died at his residence,

Thurnham Court, Maidstone, at the age of 76, was a distinguished

entomologist who was for many years on the staff of the Natural

History Museum, London.

This is an ancient family descended from Henry Hampson, of

Bradwell, Oxon, who was living in 1512. The first baronet,

created in 1642, was Master of the Statute Office. George Hamp-

son was born on January 14, 1860, the eldest son of the Rev.

W. 8S. Hampson, rector of Stubton, Lincolnshire. He went to

Charterhouse (Gownboys-Girdlestonites) in 1871, when the school

was still in London, and left in 1875 for Exeter College, Oxford.

After taking his degree, he entered the Natural History Museum,

South Kensington, in which he rose to be an Assistant Keeper.

In 1896 he succeeded his uncle, Sir G. F. Hampson, Royal Scots

Greys, who was a Crimean veteran, as tenth baronet. Sir George,

who was a Fellow of the Zoological Society was the author of

Illustrations of Heterocera, 1891-93, published by the British

Museum, ‘The Moths of India’ in The Fauna of India series, pub-

lished by the India Office, 1892-96, the Catalogue of the Lepidop-

tera Phalaenae in the British Museum, vols. 1 to xii, and two

volumes of supplement, 1898-1923, and New Genera and Species

of Noctuidae, 1926. Hampson’s volumes on the ‘Moths of India’,

issued in the Fauna of British India series, were considered by

him no more than a preliminary setting in order of a vast subject

so as to reduce it to a workable state. To keep pace with the

erowth of the subject, which he dealt with in his work, he publish-

ed a supplementary series of papers in the Journal of the Bombay

Natural History Society. These papers were issued in 33 parts

and were published between 1897 and 1911.

He married in 1898 Minnie Frances, daughter of the late Col.

John Clark-Kennedy, of Knockgray, Kirkcudbrightshire; she died

in 1928. They had, with two daughters, one of whom died un-

married, a son, Dennys Francis, who succeeds to the title. He

was born in 1897, was educated at Eton and Christ Church,

Oxford, and served in the Rifle Brigade in the War, when he

was wounded.

DEV DEV MUKERJI (1908—1937).

We record with deep regret the death of Mr. Dev Dev Mukerji

at Calcutta after a brief illness on the 21st of January, 1937. His

death at an early age of 34 years is a great loss to Science. Of

his several valuable contributions to Indian ichthyology, speciat

mention may be made of the four reports which he published in

the Journal of the Society. His exhaustive treatment of the

Burmese fishes collected by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton will ever

remain a masterly piece of systematic research.

We extend our profound sympathies to the members of his

family in their great loss.

Syeda, cell.

MISC Ei AN E OUS N@ tas:

I.— OBSERVATIONS ON THE GREY MUSK SHREW

(SUNCUS CCERULEUS).

It is commonly accepted that this common shrew is mainly

insectivorous, but though it feeds largely on insects, it also includes

meat, bread and other dainties from the human larder in its menu.

It also feeeds on refuse and small creatures that it can overpower.

The distress call of a Bull-Frog (Rana tigrina), presumably

caught by a snake, attracted my attention late one night. Out

I went to investigate. On reaching the spot I was surprised to

find that the frog had been caught by a Grey Musk Shrew (S.

coeruleus). The shrew held the frog down firmly and was chewing

at its spinal column at the base of the skull. To my mind, the

shrew’s capture of the frog, was due partly to the frog’s ‘foolish’

habit of sitting still and partly to the agility of the shrew. A

frog will often sit quite still and allow itself to be gently touched

before it will leap away. The frog was about four inches from

snout to vent and the tables might just as well have been reversed,

as these frogs are quite capable of swallowing shrews and other

small mammals. This statement is supported by actual experience.

In. the F.B.I. (Mammalia), p. 237, Blanford writes, ‘Sterndale

quotes from the Asian an account of a shrew that attacked a large

frog.’

As nothing appears to be recorded (vide /.B6.1., 1c) of the

breeding habits of this shrew, I mention such instances as I have

observed. The main breeding season, in Salsette Island, appears

to be during the monsoon months, when food is plentiful. I have

taken naked young from the nest in June, half grown young in

July and August, and females with foetuses during July, August

and September. The number at a birth varies from two to four

the latter number being rarely, if ever, exceeded. A rude nest of

dry leaves, paper, rags or other oddments is constructed. In the

collecting of the nesting material both parents take part. At

nesting time, shrews are particularly destructive; this I learnt

to my cost as a pair of shrews destroyed some of my manuscripts

and other papers, bits of which I later found in the nest. Outside

the breeding season they do little or no damage. The nest is

usually secreted in a corner among rubbish, in a trunk or in a

drawer. It is surprising what a narrow slit will admit them. The

young do not leave the nest till about three-quarters grown.

When unmolested, this shrew becomes quite fearless. During

the rains one frequently visited my writing table while I was at

it and collected the insects that were attracted to the light. The

particular individual had two young in a box behind my table.

On the whole it is a useful creature about the house.

BomBay NatTurAL History SOcIETy,

BomBay. C, McCANN.

October 25, 1936.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 381

IIl.—BLACK TIGERS.

The Evening News, London, 1toth October 1936, published an

account received through Reuter’s Agency, Assam, of ‘a- Black

Tiger of the Royal Bengal Type’ captured in a forest in Dibrugarh,

Assam. According to Reuter, ‘the Manager of a local Tea Estate

set an iron cage with a bait inside. The tiger entered and was

trapped’. The report adds that the animal ‘was about 12 feet and

iS a rare specimen’.

The Conservator of Forests, Assam, requested by the Society

to verify the report, kindly sent us a statement from. the Accoun-

tant, Forest Office, Dibrugarh, who saw the animal after it was

trapped, but was unable to get a clear view of it in its cage.

The animal was trapped on the 4th September in the Nepaphoo

Tea Estate owned by Bagchi Bros. of Dibrugarh and was subse-

quently sold to Messrs. P. K. B. Akuli of Barrackpore Road,

Calcutta, dealers in wild animals.

Dr. Baini Prashad, Director of the Zoological Survey of

India, Indian Museum, Calcutta, at our request made enquiries

at Calcutta and was told by the present owner of the animal that

it was a black leopard and not a tiger as described by Reuter.

The capture of a black tiger would have been: an event!

Though black tigers have been seen, in no single instance has

a skin been obtained. Pocock in his monograph on_ Tigers

(j.B.N.H.S., xxxiii, p. 505) mentions three records of black tigers.

One was the Black Tiger of Chittagong reported by Mr. C. F.

Buckland in the Field (vol. Ixxiii, p. 42, p. 789), whose letter was

reprinted in the Society’s Journal (vol. iv, p. 149). The animal was

found dead and was too decomposed to remove the skin. The second

was seen in 1013 by Niece 1. Hauxwell (J-B.N.AsS., xxxi, 788}

near Bhamo and was wounded by him but escaped. The size of the

pug marks, 1 ft. 8 in. in circumference, indicated that the animal

could not have been a leopard. The third record (Field, 1928,

p. 656) is that of a black tiger found dead in the Lushai Hills,

Assam. In this instance again the skin could not be saved.

In addition to these three records, there is a note by Col.

S. Capper in our Journal (vol. xxiii, p. 343). Col. Capper when

shooting in the Cardamom Hills, S. India, saw a black animal

lying on a rock, which he examined through a telescope and which

he believed to be a tiger. The presence of black leopards in the

area where this black tiger was seen has given rise to doubts as to

the correct identification of the animal—size being a very uncertain

factor to rely on for the identification of an animal in the field.

Similiarly, in the case of the black tiger seen and wounded by

Mr. Hauxwell in Burma, it has been pointed out by Brigadier-

General Burton in his book Sport and Wild Life in the Deccan,

that the deceptive effects of light and shadow in the jungle fre-

quently lead one to wrong conclusions regarding the colour of an

animal.

The publication of Reuter’s account referred to above of the

trapping of a black tiger elicited letters from various correspon-

dents which add further to the list of records of ‘Black Tigers’.

382: JOURNAL, BOMBAY .NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Captain Guy Dollman of the British Museum, Natural History,

in a letter to the Times, 14th October 1936, says that he received

information of two cases of melanism in the tiger. Captain Dollman

says the first refers to a young individual shot in the Central

Provinces some years ago. The specimen was of a dark brown

colour all over, with stripes appearing black on the dark ground.

The second case concerns an animal shot in 1915 by some natives

in Assam, east of Dibrugarh. This black tiger is spoken of as

being a magnificent animal. ‘There can be no doubt’ says Captain

Dollman ‘that the animals I have referred to above were tigers and

not leopards’.

Commenting on Captain Guy Dollman’s letter, Mr. W. H. Carter

(Times, 16th October, 1936) writes “I was much interested in

Captain Guy Dollman’s letter on black tigers in the Times of

October 14th, having been resident in the neighbourhood mentioned

by him for years. In one of the official district Gazetteers of Bengal

(Khulna or Backergan}) there is mentioned a local variety of tiger

which had lost its stripes as camouflage in the open sandy tracts

of Sunderbans. The uniform colour scheme adopted was however,

brown and not black, but perhaps his cousin in the hinterland found

black more suited to his background. The author of the Gazetteer

in question is, I believe dead’.

BomBpAay NaTuRAL History SOcIETY,

January 26, 1937. Ss. 4H PRA

III.—RAVAGES BY TIGER AND INCIDENCE OF

MAN-EATERS IN NORTH COIMBATORE

BETWEEN 1860 AND 1880.

Coimbatore District Manual.

Felis tigris—The tiger is an inhabitant of all the jungly parts

of the district. Of late years, prior to the Autumn of 1873, he

appears to have increased and multiplied to an alarming extent in

some of the taluks, but more particularly in those bordering on

the rivers Moyar and Bhavani. The Satyamangalam taluk has

been notorious for several years as the ‘locale’ of man-eating tigers.

One of these terrible pests (a tigress) was shot at Kongrapalaiyam,

a village eight miles east of Satyamangalam, on the 16th of August

1879, by Major Davies, Superintendent of Police in the Coimbatore

district, and another demon of ‘equal atrocity (also a tigress) was

destroyed by Captain Caulfeild and myself by strychnine on the

14th of July, 1873, a few miles to the north.

It is an error to suppose that all man-eating tigers are mangy,

or that they become so in consequence of having acquired this

evil propensity. Both the tigresses here mentioned, as I can testify

from. personal observation, were as sleek as a Derby winner.

Mange and want of condition are consequent on age and _ its

concomitant infirmities.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 383

In the Autumn of 1873, after our successful employment of

strychnine, Captain Caulfeild was appointed tiger slayer to the

presidency by the Madras Government. He at first confined his

operations to the Coimbatore Collectorate (being ably assisted by

the Collector, Mr. A. Wedderburn), and by means of poison, traps

and other devices, he very soon materially thinned the ranks of

the ‘striped’ family. In 1874, 93 tigers and 32 panthers were

destroyed in the district. Only one man was killed, and the number

of cattle destroyed fell from 2,183 in 1873 to 265 in 1874. These

short statistics speak for themselves, and do not require any

comment from me.

Mr. Wedderburn has very kindly furnished me with the following

interesting particulars on the destruction of tigers, etc. :—

‘The destruction of tigers was formally in this wise. When

a cow or ox had been killed, the herdsman brought the intelligence ;

if there were shikaris in the village, they would go out, erect a

platform of branches in a tree, or make an ambush of thorns on

the ground, near the dead animal, and when the tiger returned

about sunset they fired their long matchlock (with a barrel of five

or six feet) loaded with a large charge of coarse powder and a

bullet or two, and never missed their aim. In this way about

twenty tigers were shot annually, but no great impression was

made on their numbers, and the amount of cattle destroyed remained

very much on an average. Occasionally by the intervention of the

herdsman in defence of his cattle, he himself became a victim, and

in this way one or two deaths occurred. But in one particular

locality, under the hill range behind the town of Satyamangalam, a

family apparently of man-eaters appeared. One, after committing

great ravages, was shot by Major Davies, acting Superintendent

of Police in 1869. After an interval of two years another appeared

in the same locality, and was the terror of the neighbouring

villages for nearly two years. The Magistrate of the District

offered first Rs. 100, then Rs. 200 and finally Rs. 500 to any one

who would shoot the pest; but it was much too wary to be

approached. It carried off its man, partially eating him, and

dropped him if pursued; and as the country was so difficult that

it could not be beaten, it occurred to the Magistrate to ask per-

mission to place strychnine in the body; but this was not approved

of by the Government. Finally, however, this plan was adopted

with success, and in July 1873 this scourge of the taluk was put

an end to. ;

‘The idea of poisoned baits then occurred as a good plan when

the forest could not be beaten. Dr. Shortt, the Superintendent of

Vaccination, suggested that the ointment of strychnine might be

applied to a live bait, which, on being seized, would cause the

tiger’s death, but the plan did not succeed, the bait died of the

ointment. Captain Caulfeild was appointed by the Government for

the purpose of destroying tigers. As, however, his operations could

only be conducted in one or two places at the same time, and

the area of tiger-infested forest extended over some 200 miles, it

occurred to the Magistrate of the district to ask Government to

allow him to employ the headmen of all the villages in poisoning

384 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

the carcases of cattle killed by tigers. It was in opposition argued

that these village officers would destroy more lives by poisoning

the cattle than the tiger had done, and a letter of warning was

addressed to Government by an officer in a high position to that

effect, but the Government did not appreciate the risk. So soon

as permission was given, the Village Magistrates were supplied

with small phials duly sealed, each containing six grains of

strychnine, and were directed, so soon as the village herd reported

a kill, to repair to the spot before sunset and apply the poison.

The result was, that in fifteen months from the time of the plan

being sanctioned, poison was applied in seventy cases, and _ thirty

tigers were found dead near the baits, the others which had eaten

disappeared; occasionally their remains, totally decomposed, were

found at considerable distances, showing that though death had

not been immediate, the animal had ultimately succumbed to the

effects of the poison. Several tiger cubs were taken alive after vain

search had been made for the dams which had eaten the bait.

But the best proof of the effective remedy which had been applied

was in the decrease in the losses of cattle—a matter of great

importance to the ryot cultivators, who can ill afford to lose their

cattle on which their cultivation so much depends. The losses of

cattle fell in the short period of 15 months from 2,000 to a tenth

of that number, and thus from £1,500 to £2,000 value of stock

was saved to the people. The Government viewed this success

with approbation.

‘That with such extensive forests the race of tigers will ever

be exterminated cannot be expected, but the number is reduced

proportionately with the game on which they used to subsist while

the number of guns now used by the people, who shoot in season

and out of season—watching in the hot season by water-holes at

which the poor animals of the forests and hills come to slake their

thirst, and at salt-licks in the rains which are equally attractive—

have greatly reduced their numbers. The common food of the

forest tiger consists of wild pigs, which are most destructive to

cultivation, so the tiger is not without its use in the animal

economy, but it is not interfered with till it turns its attention to

the villagers’ cattle, and then its first meal frequently proves its

last.’

Felis jubata (the cheetah)—This animal is only sparsely distri-

buted over a small portion of the district bordering on the river

Bhavani, about Vellamundi and Kotamangalam, where it preys on

the antelope which abound in the vicinity of those places. Colonel

Davies informs me that about four years ago, in looking over

some skins of wild animals that had been killed in the district

and sent to the Collector’s office at Coimbatore, he saw five good

skins of the Felis jubata, and that his impression at the time was

that ‘they came from the low hills about Kotamangalam’. ‘I was

surprised,’ he continues, ‘at finding the leopards’ skins among the

panthers’, as I had not heard that Felis jubata was found in the

district. The skins were in good order and undoubtedly those of

Felis jubata.’

Mr.Wedderburn also informs me that he has seen skins of the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 385

hunting leopard at the cutcherry, and I think he has one in his

possession now that was obtained near Bolampatti.

1623 to 1672—During this period the Compiler of the Manual

states that wild beasts were so common, especially in the forest

taluks, that one missionary lost thirty of his acquaintance within

six months by their ravages.

HONNAMETTI ESTATE,

September 27, 1936.

IV.—TIGER SMOKED TO DEATH IN A CAVE.

Tigers had been reported to have caused considerable loss and

annoyance with their predilection for village cattle at several villages

in Upper Burma. So persistent were their depredations that they

caused the D.C. of the district to take notice and to issue an

open invitation to sportsmen generally. Several parties visited the

area, I was also tempted to help. I fear most were disappointed,

but as is well known, news of tigers cannot be supplied or obtained

with any accuracy or speed to enable sportsmen to be sanguine of

success or even of getting a possible shot.

On arriving at the villages mentioned in the invitation I gathered

that no recent news of tiger or kills had been received and that

the tiger or tigers had left the neighbourhood.

However having arrived, I elected to stay a few days to look

around and await possible news. Late one evening I heard casually

that a tiger had attacked two bulls killing one outright and so

severely mauling the other that it was not expected to live.

This occurred in a village several miles from where I was

camped. Very early next morning, I proceeded to the scene of the

kill and was just in time to see the carcase of a full grown tiger

measuring between pegs 8 ft. 6 in., being carried out of a cave in

which it had been asphyxiated that night with wood smoke. It

Was in its prime and in excellent condition. No part of its skin

or teeth being damaged in any way.

The circumstances and procedure were as follows, and may

interest your readers. The tiger had attacked and killed one of two

bulls within 1oo yards of the village, and then dragged the dead

bull into a nullah and dined off a considerable portion of the carcase.

It began its meal with the hump which was unusual!

Early in the morning the villagers led by a young man of 26,

traced the foot prints to a cave or tunnel in the nullah further

away. This tunnel was situated in a sharp bend of the nullah.

It led through a promontory projecting on the nullah. The

opening on one side was large enough for the tiger to enter, while

the other opening was too small and narrow for the animal to escape.

The entire tunnel measured about 30 ft. The villagers blocked

the larger entrance with thorn bushes cut and collected in the

3886; JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

vicinity, and put cross-pieces of young trees 3 or 4 inches in

diameter, holding these in position by forked pieces to ft. long

planted strutwise. The smaller opening was blocked up with rocks

and earth leaving sufficient opening to fan in the smoke from a

fire from a large pile of dried wood. This asphyxiated the tiger,

but it was fortunate for the villagers that it ‘was’ dead when they

opened the cave to ascertain the result of their labours. Pluck,

coupled with fool-hardiness and luck is the only conclusion one

can arrive at for the success of the enterprise. Had luck not served

them some of them would have been hurt to a certainty.

18 CHURCHILL RoapD,

RANGOON. S. A. CHRISTOPEER:

October 16,1936,

V.—TIGER LORE IN BURMA.

While sitting in the village an 80 year old Burman repeated to

me a Burmese rhyme which I immediately recorded and I send it

you. It is exceedingly interesting to me and it may interest your

readers.

Kyaung a kyi—Gaung ga cie.

Thit a lat—Kha gah hpyat.

Kya a htwai—Hpin ga Iway.

Literally translated is as follows:

A large cat—rides the head (begins meal at the head).

A medium leopard—cuts the waist (begins meal at the waist).

A small tiger—munches the stern (begins meal at the stern).

This is an allusion to the well known habit of the leopard

commencing its meal with the stomach, while the tiger usually

begins with the hind quarters of the kill. This must have been

known to ancient Burmans long before successive sportsmen have

come to the same conclusion.

The Burman believes that you are likely to get into trouble if

you make a mistake in your food or the way you eat your food.

The expression is ‘A sa hma the’.

The unusual way the tiger referred to in the note above began

its meal, according to the wise old man, was a sure sign that it

was to meet its death.

Another expression or legend known to ancient Burmans is the

saying ‘if a tiger had to depend on its nose (i.e. sense of smell):

it would starve to death.’ The controversy as to the acuteness of

the sense of smell of the carnivora still goes on amongst sportsmen.

18 CHURCHILL Roab,

RANGOON. Sa 2 -CHRISPORMER:

October 11, 1937.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 387

VI.—YOUNG ELEPHANT KILLED BY A TIGER.

While on a shooting trip in the Cochin State during December

1935 I found a young elephant, 39 inches in height at the shoulder,

which had been killed by a tiger.

Young elephant killed by a tiger.

~The tiger killed the elephant near a swamp. It is difficult

to say if the elephant was one of a herd or merely accompanied

by its mother. The area in which the killing had taken place

consisted of large clumps of bamboos, the surroundings were much

trampled by elephants and numerous bamboos pulled down by them

while feeding. It is possible that the young elephant was alone

when attacked by the tiger.

It was killed by being bitten on the back of the neck. There

was a large flap of skin torn back which may have happened when

the tiger was shaken off. The shoulders and back were also

marked by the tiger’s claws. After being killed it had been dragged

about fifty yards down a slight gradient and was hidden at the foot

of a bamboo clump in such a manner that it would have been

difficult for it to have been seen by vultures.

The elephant, according to my Kardar trackers, had been dead

about three or four days and the tiger had been feeding on the

two back legs and the saddle.

The kill was discovered by my seeing the tiger lying practically

on his back and asleep at 9-30 in the morning. I fired at him

with my .500 cordite, but due to the position he was in, the bullet

was not immediately fatal. The tiger was able to struggle up

and made for dense cover, where he could be heard breathing and

388 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

in a bad way. He was left to die but during the night had made

for water and entered a very thick piece of jungle into which it

was impossible to follow up.

He was subsequently found dead and I had the skull and

claws sent to me. The skull measurements showed him to be

approximately g ft. g in. length.

TANJORE. CG. HH. BIDDUILP Ek.

December 30, 1936.

VII]-THE RESULT OF EXCESS POISON FOR WILD,DOGS.

Wild Dogs have recently been killing cattle and calves to an

alarming extent here; ‘Atlas’ poison was accordingly issued out

to the herdsmen with careful instructions as to its use. Soon after

this another kill occurred and the herdsmen, instead of pouring

a little of the poison diluted by 50 per cent water into deep cuts

and jabs all over the carcase as instructed, splashed the ‘Atlas’

neat over the kill thinking the results would be much more of a

certainty. Seeing the herdsmen retire the dogs (a pack of twenty

returned and fed, and in a few moments were staggering about

obviously very sick; all the dogs were then seen to vomit up

the meat they had devoured, and they then lay about with every

appearance of feeling most uneasy. In about an hour however the

pack got to their feet and straggled away, seemingly little the

worse. Some days later the decomposed remains of one dog were

seen, but the remainder apparently recovered and have been seen

frequently since but appear to be fighting shy of cattle! This is

a good example of the use of an excess quantity of poison on

carnivore, be it arsenic or strychnine. It is essential to use the

poison both diluted and sparingly. I lost a herd of 24 buffaloes

through their being allowed to graze on my boundaries where the

undergrowth had been treated with diluted ‘Atlas’ Tree-killer. <A

Planter in this district lost cattle through painting posts in a shed

with ‘Atlas’ Wood-preservative, and cattle have been killed both

in South India and Burma through their coming in contact with

spots where skins had been treated with ‘Atlas’ Skin-preservative ;

in every case the material treated with ‘Atlas’ being licked by

the unfortunate animals !

HONNAMETTI ESTATE,

ATTIKAN P.O., via Mysore. R. C. MORRIS:

November g, 1936.

VIIL—IHE STRIPED HYAINA AS A MAN-EATER

The Times of India of the 11th July 1936, contained a report

from a correspondent at Mainpuri, U.P., describing the depreda-

tions of a ‘pack’ of Hysnas which were said to be attacking and

killing people in the Mainpuri District, U.P. In India, no authentic

cases of Hyenas attacking and killing human beings have been

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 389

recorded; further, as the instance of the Striped Hyzna—normally a

solitary animal—hunting in packs appeared unusual, the Society

referred the newspaper report to the Chief Conservator of Torests,

iP. aor enquiry. We have since received from Mr. i. WW.

Champion, Deputy Conservator of Forests, U.P., a report on the

incident by the Tahsildar, Mainpuri, forwarded to him by Dr. 5. S.

Nehru, I.c.s., Collector, Mainpurt.

The Tahsildar’s report reads as follows :—

‘With reference to letter No. 144/XXV-5, I beg to state that

the animals referred to in the above letter are really hyzenas and

not wolves. The animals are striped and quite different from

wolves.

‘They were reported in an open area between Ali Khera and

Jagatpur, Tikri and Hatpau villages in Tahsil Bhongaon.

‘They killed a girl at Partapur and another girl at Sultanganj

—both in Tahsil Bhongaon. Two Hynas were killed—one at Tikri

by thakurs with gun and spear and the other near Rampura by

Banjaras. The latter were rewarded Rs. 10 by the District

Magistrate.

‘A third was killed by the Kanjars of Mainpuri at Saidpur

Baghauli in this tahsil which adjoins tahsil Bhongaon.

‘It is said that they are still near Tikri.

‘Tahsildar Sahib Bhongaon had seen the killed animals. I

have also seen one killed in this tahsil.

‘It is called Charkh and Lakar bhagga. The head and the

face of the animal were round.’

Pursuing the enquiry further we received the following report

from the Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri :—

‘The only case in which the animal or animals were actually

seen taking any child away was that of a woman who was working

outside in a field. She left her child lying on the ground and

was attracted by the cries of the child. She looked up and saw

an animal taking the child away in his jaw. She ran after the

animal and rescued her child after a great struggle. She described

the animal as one exactly tallying with the description of a hyena.

She was later on shown a dead animal and the skin of one and

she confirmed the first impression. This does not leave any doubt

in the matter, though this is the only sure testimony on the subject.

Hyznas were killed and shot in a large number here - after

the reported outbreak, as the reward for their heads was increased

atter the reported incidents. The newspaper report published

in the Times of India was not quite correct in details. For instance

there is no evidence to the effect that the animals in question were

seen in packs by any one. It is a common knowledge that wolves

attack human beings only in packs and they move from one place

to another very quickly. Wolves are known and recognised by

every villager and the woman in question seems to be quite definite

that it was not a wolf in her case, and also that tke animal was

alone when she saw her child being taken away.

‘I personally think it was a Hyena.’

The facts recorded above appear to provide evidence of a Hyena

attacking human beings and, at least in one case, the animal was

390 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

seen carrying away a child. This is as far as we are aware the

first authentic instance. 7

In India, the Striped Hyzena is a scavenger by habit though

it occasionally attacks sheep and goats and more often dogs. In

Africa, the Striped .Hyzena appears fo be far more aggressive.

Writing of this animal in his Somali Book, Captain A. H. E. Mosse

says that he was told by his shikari that it (the Striped Hyzena)

will run amok amongst a herd of sheep and goats killing a dozen

or more from sheer lust of slaughter’. He hardly credited the story

at the time, but it has since been corroborated by Drake-Brockman

(Mammals of Somaliland), who says that it 1s always an old animal

that acts in this fashion and is then given by the Somalis the

distinctive name of Whera, the usual Somali name for the Striped

Hyena being Didhar; while the Spotted Hyzena (Crocuta crocuta),

a far more aggressive species, is known as Warba. This species

according to Drake-Brockman frequently attacks human_ beings

sleeping out in the open and sometimes attacks children.

The case of a Striped Hyena attacking children as_ recorded

above is probably an individual trait developed or developing in

a particular animal. It may have been induced, as is frequently

the case with man-eating tigers and panthers, either by the chance

killing of a human being or from difficulty in finding food for

the cubs. |

Bombay NaTuRAL History SOCIETY, Sole RAR

6, APOLLO STREET, BOMBAY.

IX.—A VERY LARGE SAMBAR STAG.

I yesterday shot from the Billigirirangan Hills, a Sambar stag

(Rusa unicolor) carrying a very good head, measuring 38 in. and

36 in., one antler being 2 in. less. The horns were about a week

or 1o days out of velvet; again this year Sambar are in hard horn

early, but not so early as last year when many were in clean horn

in August.

It was not so much the size of the head but of the animal’s

body that astonished me, it was unusually large as the following

details will show:

Weight (ungralloched): 776 Ibs.

Height at shoulder: 5ft.

Length of ‘body: 7 ft. .4 1m.

Leneth of tails a 1G 62 in.

These measurements indicate an immense Sambar, which

indeed it was. Dunbar Brander, in his Wild Animals in Central

India, refers to another ‘quite exceptional’ Sambar weighing

vo7 Ibs., measuring 59 in. at the shoulder.

HONNAMETTI ESTATE,

ATTIKAN P.O., via Mysore. R. C. MORRIS.

September 22, 1936.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 391

X.--AN BIG BUFFALO HEAD.

Seeing the measurements of a bull buffalo (B. bubalis) horn by

Mr. Griffith I send you the measurements of a head in my possession

which is as follows :—

Length

on Circumference ‘Tip to Tip hiner vewe

outside curve

643” 19% 64 67 —

I acquired the head from the estate of the late Mr. Victor

Iden, who was a relative of the Van Ingen family of Mysore. He

was a keen shikari and before his death I very often accompanied

him on shoots. In all probability he got the head in the Irrawaddy

Delta in the neighbourhood of Kadonkani or Abya as I know he

was a constant visitor to these parts. I regret I never got the

particulars from him.

RANGOON, Sd CHRIS TOP EER,

September 23, 1936. BAR-AT-LAW.

XI.—GAUR BULLS ATTACKING A WOUNDED BULL.

An extraordinary sight was witnessed by Captain Napier (of

Bangalore) and myself on the 22nd November 1936. Captain Napier

had wourded a bull bison (B. gaurus), which prior to this had

been ‘milling’ with two other bulls in the same herd, the breeding

season being on. Far from taking afright at the shots the two

bulls rushed up directly they saw their late antagonist fall and

gave the unfortunate bull a very bad time as it attempted to rise;

the rest of the herd also trotted up and stood around, interested

spectators. On our approach the bulls and herd showed no haste

in their departure, leaving the scene obviously reluctantly.

I have heard of similiar instances occurring in connection with

stags in the rutting season; and have actually had two bull bison

pass me within a few yards (both saw me), engaged in a running

fight, without doing more than swerve aside, so wrapt up were

they in their own affairs; here again during the breeding season.

HONNAMETTI ESTATE,

ATTIKAN P.O., via MYSORE. R. C. MORRIS.

December 3; 1936.

XII.—WHIPSNADE ZOO.

The Whipsnade Zoological Park has made steady progress since

1932 (vol. xxxvi, No.4, dated 15th December 1933) and members

may be interested to have this supplementary account, the outcome

of a visit by the writer in July of this year—1936.

It is not only within the Park that changes are apparent, for

the attractions of the Zoo and the very favourable elevated site,

392 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

are together causing development in several ways. On the north-

western slopes of the Downs, where the great White Lion which

is two hundred yards long affords a striking landmark, the planes

of the London Gliding Club can be seen gracefully quartering the

hillside like giant birds of prey; and along the main road just below

are the beginnings of a Bungalow Town, complete with Golf

Course and Club. Near by is the Dunstable Swimming Pool and

the Whale Cineina. - It is to be hoped this new Garden City will

not become too large, and that ribbon building now in progress

will be kept within reasonable bounds.

The number of animals in the Park is now near 3,000 and

includes elephants, hons, tigers, bears, wolves, wild dogs, hunting

leopards, bison, zebras, giraffes, large Indian rhinoceros, pigmy

hippopotamus, llamas, wild horses, deer and antelope of several

kinds, several species of cattle, kangaroos, wallabies, monkeys,

chimpanzees, ostriches, emus, storks, cranes, and many of ‘the

smaller mammals.

A few of this host of creatures are necessarily kept in roomy

fenced enclosures, or otherwise restricted in movement, but many

are free to roam where they will within the beautiful five hundred

acre estate. Such are the Chinese water deer, swamp deer,

muntjac, kangaroos, wallabies, wild turkeys, cattle egrets, guinea

fowl, and SSUES species of pheasants and partridges; red and

blue macaws, tame as any caged parrot, fly about without thought

of w andering afield, and the indigenous Red Squirrel may be seen

living at peace among his native firs.

Apart from the above most of the animals are in such large

enclosures and paddocks that their movements are little restricted.

It is a commonly expressed criticism of the Park that owing to

the size of the enclosures the animals cannot be closely observed.

Animals should not be thrust into a cage to be stared at from every

angle. They should not be exhibited ‘unless they can be observed

in as close approach to their natural state as possible, and the

first consideration to this end is space. It has been found at

Whipsnade that even exotic creatures can live, thrive, and breed

if given ample space and shelter in bad weather. Two of every

kind there should be as it is certain that animals feel loneliness.

Solitary confinement is a punishment much dreaded by human

beings, and in a scarcely less degree it 1s a cruel infliction upon

the unoffending creatures behind the bars. If visitors to Whipsnade

allow entice time it is possible to view alJl the animals at

sufficiently close quarters. Let those who like to see animals in

cages go to the Zoo in London.

The Official HMlustrated Guide gives a great deal of interesting

and general information, including two suggested itineraries for

visitors. Taking much the same walk as four years ago the new

Elephant House at once attracts attention. Here are four elephants

in circular glass-roofed stalls, each having access to a_ bathing

pool. The building is in the modernist style and wholly suitable

to the housing of the animals while at the same time not unpleasing

to the eye, standing as it does with green lawns in front and

backed by the greenery of firs. The attendants have excellent

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 393

control over their charges by use of ordinary ash walking sticks

instead of the iron driving hook of the Indian elephant driver.

They have taught the animals several tricks. If you give the

amimala coin it, will. not be surrendered to the. keeper until a

biscuit is tendered in exchange !

Near the elephant house is the new enclosure for hunting leopards

now occupied by a pair of these easily tamed, handsome creatures.

Close to it is a buffalo enclosure under construction, as also one

for white-tailed gnus. During 1937 work will include the surround-

ing of 7 beech trees by a moat of water, so making an island for

gibbons; and there will also be an enclosure for wild pig and

wart hogs.

Tarzan Tree has been wired in to make a happy home for a

number of Rhesus monkeys, and not far away is an island on

which four young chimpanzees give a non-stop entertainment to

delighted onlookers by their ceaseless antics. On the island are

two bare limbed trees connected by a much used tight rope, and

a monkey puzzle tree the ample foliage of which attests to the

fitness of its popular name. The gift of a few pieces of cloth

largely contributes to the merriment of the show and the obvious

delight of animals and spectators alike.

The wild dogs have been moved to an enclosure near the wolves,

the space so available being now a picturesque island and pond

for flamingos and various species of waterfowl. It is good to note

that the Tibetan mastiff is no longer ‘exhibited’.

The tiger chalk pit 1s successfully used as a breeding enclosure

while the new Tiger Dell gives to four of those animals the

amenities of trees and natural ground, with sleeping shelters and

a bathing pool. The four male lions afford a grand spectacle at

feeding time. They have formed two pairs of pals. The lion

which killed the man who ventured into the enclosure to retrieve

a hat in 1933 is growing old—his head has a palsy shake and his

jaw hangs loose, so at feeding time he is bullied by the opposite

pair. It is obvious he is afraid to mingle with the others when

the meat is coming along, and the slightest sign of an advance

is met by roaring rushes and angry demonstrations. Then begins

the spectacle of his pal savagely protecting him by charging at

the aggressors. With teeth and claws a-bare he shoulders them

off, rolls them over, tears out tufts of yellow fur, and it 1s only

the distraction of the keeper’s arrival with the meat which

separates the furious combatants. Then each lion has his share—

the old fellow last of all, and peace reigns—until next feeding hour !

Giraffes have a new roomy shed and enclosure near to which

is a field in which the Great Indian Rhinoceros presented by

the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief, of Nepal leads a well

fed and well bathed life of ease.

In Dagnall Paddock are yak, and in the long grass of Lay

Meadow the sika deer of Japan and the sambar of South East

Asia run almost as naturally free as in their native wilds; among

them stalks the Sarus Crane. In the spacious Round Close, nilghai

roam at ease with the Indian antelope which chase and display

graceful high bounds just as they do in the plains of India.

394 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

By the side of the road near the Polar Bear enclosure is a

toposcope dial, presented by Sir Chalmers Mitchell, giving the

direction and distance to some twenty-five chief towns and villages.

One of the chief charms of Whipsnade are the open grass downs

which afford such delighful walks. There is a grand panoramic

view over the country, and if time permits a walk to the top of

Ivanhoe Beacon will well repay the slight effort entailed.

This short account may well close with an extract from the

Official Guide, for it so aptly sets out the aims and objects of

the Society as to the future development of this spacious Park,

which is the largest and best appointed of its kind in the whole

world at the present time. ‘The Society was a century old when

it bought Whipsnade Park, and it proposes to develop it not as

an ephemeral exhibition, but, slowly and surely, as a permanent

addition to the beauties of England. It will be content if, at the

second centenary, in 2029, its wise foresight will be applauded and

its plans prove to have been well and truly made. Ultimately, it

is hoped, every wild plant, tree, shrub or flower native to the

chalk downs, upland pastures and rough woodland, will flourish;

every British wild bird, resident or migrant, that the district suits

will find itself in sanctuary, and the animals which have been

introduced from other countries will live and breed in almost

natural freedom, separated from the visitors not by visible bars

and fences, but by ditches which do not offend the eye, and with

concealed shelters, warmed where necessary by electric heaters.’

By road or by rail Whipsnade is but thirty-five miles from

London so all who go to England should not fail to see it.

K.-W BURTON, -Er--Cor,

XIII.—DO BIRDS EMPLOY ANTS TO RID THEMSELVES

OF ECLOPRARASIEES:

The day after I had read Mr. Salim Ali’s very interesting note

on the above subject in Volume xxxviil, No-3,%p. 628, 1 had =the

good fortune to watch a Song Thrush ‘anting’ itself—to borrow

the term Mr. Ali suggests.

My wife and I were walking along the Sandgate Road in

Folkestone, Kent, when the peculiar antics of the bird drew our

attention. Although we approached to within six or eight feet,

it continued to bathe in red ants which were issuing from a crack

in the flags close to the railings. Not only did it pick up one,

two, or sometimes three ants in quick succession and stuff them

in between the tail feathers, into the tail-coverts, primaries, and

under the wings, but, with tail and wings outspread, it often

wallowed amongst the ants which could be seen swarming all

over it.

It did not appear to me to be swallowing the ants, and |

could plainly see many motionless dots adhering to the plumage

which I feel certain were the squashed ants rubbed in by the bird.

We watched the perfermance for six or seven minutes, until the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 395

bird hopped back through the railings on the approach of another

pedestrian. Incidentally, it appeared to both of us to be in rather

poor condition.

MEERUT, Rios 2 BATES; MASOR.

January 8, 1937.

XIV.—SOME RARE BIRDS IN NORTHERN BURMA.

The following birds were obtained in 1935-6 in the Myitkyina

district and the skins identified by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, whose

notes on them are given in square brackets.

Pomatorhinus ochraceiceps. Austen’s Scimitar — Babbler.

According to the Fauna, no race of this Scimitar Babbler is

known between Karenni in Eastern Burma and Eastern Manipur.

My skinner Lazum Naw, shot a male on March 8th, 1936, on the

hillside below Laukkaung military police post, at about 4,000 ft.

The iris was straw yellow with an outer ring of pink and the

bill salmon-colour. [This bird matches the only two austen in

the British Museum, both of which (one is the type), came from

Aimok, Manipur. There are seven specimens of stenorhynchus

from Tengi Pani, Naga Hills, and Tippook. Austeni seems distinct

in being greyer and paler above, and in having the flanks greyish-

buff instead of warm-buff, but better series of both, and more

knowledge of their distribution, are required. |

Sphenocichla roberti. Robert’s Wedge-billed Wren.

My skinner, above mentioned, shot one on the same hillside out

of a party of three on March 8th. He showed me the place a little

later, a bamboo clump at about 4,300 ft. on the edge of a small

dry ravine. The birds were in a comparatively open patch, whence

firewood had been cut, and disappeared into the depths of an

extremely precipitous and heavily forested evergreen hillside, which

I later attempted to search twice without success. The hillside,

in fact, is as difficult and impenetrable as anywhere I know in the

Kachin Hills. I made notes of the soft parts at the time: iris

very dark red, bill, upper mandible brownish-horny, tip gray, lower

gray, blue-gray nearer nape, legs and feet dark chocolate-brown,

claws horny brown. There are no previous Burma records, but it

has occurred in North Cachar and Manipur. [There are only four

specimens of this species in the British Museum from Konchung

Peak, Manipur and Hemeo Peak, Naga Hills. Little is known

about it. |

Turdus merula albocinctus. White-collared Blackbird.

I shot a female on February 11th, 1936, about 5 miles from

N’Ding in the Hukawng Valley. I had previously, with glasses,

had a view of what I was sure was a male near the same place. In

this part of the Hukawng Valley, the new cart road runs for miles

396 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, XXXIX

through magnificent evergreen forest with an undergrowth of ferns.

The most noticeable features of the bird life were the numerous

thrushes, Oreocincla dauma and mollissima and Turdus dissimilis

all being obtained as they came out on to the road. This is the

only record of this species in Burma. [I see no reason to suppose

that this is a race of merula as described in the Fauna. |

Prunella immaculata. Maroon-backed Accentor.

Lord Cranbrook got specimens in the Adung Wang in 1931, and I

had one sent me from the Laukkaung neighbourhood in March 1934.

In March 1936 I found it common in pairs and small parties between

miles 62 and 64 on the Seniku-Hpimaw road, where the mule track

has been cut out of the solid rock, and paved with moss-grown

rock. The accentors were either hopping up on the rock face or

feeding among fallen leaves and brushwood on the edge of the

khud. They were not at all shy and might have been mistaken

for tree pipits as they flitted up into the bushes. At close quarters

the gray head, maroon back and dark red under-parts are most

distinctive. This must be a very local bird, as I saw 15 to 20 in

about a mile of this particular section.

Delichon nipalensis. Nepal House Martin.

Mr. A. K. Thomson, Burma Frontier Service, sent me a skin of

one shot by him on January 2nd, at Sumprabum (4,000 ft.), about 120

miles north of Myitkyina. He wrote ‘A large number of them made

their appearance—they disappeared in the evening. Snow has been

visible on the Kumon range for the last three days and I fancy

the extreme cold has driven the birds down here’. There is only

one previous record of one obtained by Major Mears in the Upper

Chindwin (date and locality not mentioned). [Besides Mears’

record J. C.. Hopwood has stated that this species breeds in the

cliffs of Kyaukpandoung, Arakan, in April and May and that it is

rare elsewhere. There seem to be no Arakan specimens, however,

to bear out this record, nor is it mentioned in the Fauna. |

Delichon cashmeriensis. Kashmir House Martin.

I obtained one in February 1934 at Myitkvina (Ibis, April 1935).

On January 15th, 1936 I saw a flock on the China border near Sima

(4,500 ft.) and shot one out of a flock on January t1oth just north of

Myitkyina. A very large flock of swallows and sand-martins seen

on a sand-band on January 28th also undoubtedly contained some of

these birds.

This bird on the wing looks much more like a sand-martin

with a white rump than wrbica or nipalensis, both of which are

steely-blue in appearance on the upper parts. [I have given reasons

(].B.N.H.S., xxxu, 348) for believing that cashmeriensis -is not a

race of urbica; it seems, however, that it may well be a race of

daoypus. |

Circus cyaneus. Hen Harrier.

There appear to be no published records of the Hen Harrier in

Burma, I have more than once seen very white Harriers in Burma

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 397

which I assumed to be macrourus but never managed to obtain

one until January 26th 1936, when I shot a male Hen Harrier

hunting in willow scrub on the Irrawaddy just below Myitkyina.

Mr. T. R. Livesey says that he has seen it on the Inle Lake and

there are numerous records from Yunnan. From an examination

of specimens in the British Museum it is clear that the Pale and

Hen Harriers would be difficult to distinguish when on the wing.

Since Oates’s day (1889) the published notes on all harriers are

very meagre and I can find no later records of the Pale Harrier,

so that it is to be hoped that some Burma naturalist will turn his

attention to them.

Railus aquaticus indicus. Indian Water Rail.

A specimen of this bird was obtained by Mr. J. A. Edwards of the

Indian Police of March 9th 1935, a few miles north of Myitkyina. I

had previously flushed a number out of a marshy corner of a jheel at

Chaungwa in the Indaw Valley while duck-shooting in late January

1935, but the skin of the only one shot by me went bad and had

to be destroyed. This bird is described in the Fauna as ‘migratory

in winter to Burma’ but the only published records of any one

having met with it are below. [Blyth recorded this bird from

Arakan and Captain Shopland informed Oates that he had obtained

it there, doubtless near Akyab where he was stationed. It is listed

by Rippon as occurring on the Inle Lake, S. Shan States. |

Charadrius placidus. Long-billed Ringed Plover.

The only previous Burma record is of one shot by me on March

27th 1933 in the N’Mai Valley. I got one out of three on February

Ist 1936, near Tasang on the Irrawaddy and thought I saw another

near Myitkyina about a fortnight later. But it seems a rare bird,

easy to overlook on the big shingle banks of the Upper Irrawaddy.

Nyroca marila marila. Scaup.

I shot a female scaup on a jheel near Katcho on November

roth 1935. It. was with an immature tufted duck and one other

(unidentified) duck and the whitish patch all round the face in front

of the eye was most noticeable. There are no previous. Burma

records, but four from Chittagong and Assam.

AUSUSE TOR0. TAGs TANDOR DEC...

XV.—CURIOUS NESTING SITES OF ‘THE LARGE

PIED WAGTAIL |MOTACILLA LUGUBRIS

MADERASPATENSIS (GMEL.)|

In The Birds of Southern India by Baker and Inglis, mention

is made of the fact that these birds nest in all sorts of places

in holes, wells, bridges and buildings, in crevices of rocks ete.

In 1934 several nests were found and in four instances the nests

were built on the bottom flanges of small girder bridges on the

398 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

railway over which more than twenty trains passed each day. The

nests observed were in each instance directly under the running

rails and not more than from 2 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. below them.

It seems curious for these birds to have selected these bridges

as the chances of rearing their young seem doubtful owing to the

risk of splashes of hot water, oil, hot cinders and ash falling from

passing locomotives destroying them.

Details of nests found are as under :—

(1) 1 -3-34. Nest with 4 fresh eggs.

(2) 10-4-34. Two nests in the same bridge about four feet

apart, one with 4 eggs and the other with

SREB ES:

(3) 20-4-34. Nest newly constructed, eggs not laid.

‘TANJORE. CG. (Pav BIiDDpULEPT:

December 30, 1936.

XVI.—THE HABITS OF VULTURES.

A note on the eyesight of vultures was published in the last issue

of the Journal by Mr. Dunbar Brander which is of much interest,

as the habits of vultures seem to have escaped the notice of

ornithologists to some extent. Mr. Brander’s description as to how

the vultures find the carcases and offal they feed- on is largely

correct, but I question the accuracy of some of his remarks on

their habits.

Vultures do not start their soaring as early as he suggests.

They are particularly late risers, and it is only after a good deal of

shaking out of their filthy plumage that they venture to put it to the

test of flight. Then they start out—like most birds—in the coolness

of the morning to search for food—only they are later out than most.

In big-game jungle, vultures may be seen in pairs, or solitary,

quartering the hill sides looking eagerly down into the jungle for

a possible tiger or leopard ‘kill’. They work it methodically like

a harrier at the various levels. It is only when the day begins to

heat up that vultures in company with other birds of prey start

their soaring—which is not, I think, as Mr. Brander supposes for

the purpose of finding their food but to escape the heat of the

day by keeping aloft at several thousand feet elevation. Of course

they are on the lookout for food too—combining pleasure with

profit—but I do not think food is their primary object in soaring.

This habit of soaring of birds of prey is well known and observed

by falconers. Vultures that are gorged with offal will omit of

course the morning search for food, and they then sit in numbers

on some high tree working it off, but most of them will be seen

to go soaring up later in the day—as if for pleasure. The Jodhpur

desert—for example—can be very hot at ground level—even for

vultures, and by going up a few thousand feet they get into cool

air,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 399

Harriers and other birds of prey may often be seen soaring up

with vultures and they are obviously not seeking their prey. They

are seeking the cool air at a high altitude.

Mr. Brander describes very well how the sky is ‘drained’ of its

vultures as soon as a carcase 1s found—vulture after vulture follow-

ing on the direct and purposeful flight of those that give the show

away—only it is not only the crow that gives the first indication.

In many places crows are absent or scarce. Dogs, wolves and

jackals are especially watched by vultures for this purpose and

probably the big cats too.

On their own—without a pointer—vultures can be very silly and

pass quite close to a carcase without spotting-it. This is often to

be seen when waiting in hiding for a tiger or leopard over a ‘kill’.

The inability of vultures to find such ‘kills’, points to their having

little or no sense of smell.

Recently instances of vultures descending to feed on a tiger

‘kill? by night have been recorded—presumably by moon light. In

view of their terror of the tiger such instances are noteworthy. I

have seen a tiger at noon charge out on to vultures that had the

temerity to descend onto the ‘kill’, and leap up at them and try

to claw them down—a pretty sight!

How long can vultures go without food? How often do they

drink? There are a number of interesting questions to ask about

these filthy fowl. The Lammergeyer has always intrigued me for

I have never seen one feeding yet!

Would Mr. Donald give us some information about the soaring

of birds of prey?

TAUNGGYI, BURMA. VIR: LIVESEY.

September 30, 1936.

XVIT.—EAGLES ON THE NILGIRIS.

A few years ago I was having a talk on the verandah of the

Ootacamund Club with two sportsmen who were discussing their

day’s shoot on the downs. Their bag consisted of three or four

jungle fowl, all hens, and a brace of woodcock, and they were

deploring the shortage of game generally on the hills. My sug-

gestion that the shooting of jungle fowl be restricted to cock birds

only did not find favour, and when I remarked that perhaps the

various eagles met with were responsible they told me there were

no eagles here, and that if I meant kites or sparrow hawks, they

certainly did no harm. Shortly after this I was asked by a lady if

I would call round at her house to shoot a kite which was going

off with her fowls and pigeons. I could understand the lady not

knowing that it was not the common kite which was the culprit,

but it surprised me very much that two men who were out with

their guns every shooting season did not know better. When,

later on, I was prompted to write an article on eagles to a certain

newspaper I sent each of them a copy.

400 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

I have recently come across this article and find, that while

my descriptions of these birds are such that will make identification

easy to people like myself who have not taken up natural history

as a study, they will not assist the naturalist readers of your

journal in the same way. I am however writing these notes on the

same lines and trust they will prove of interest.

There are three eagles on these hills. The Black eagle, Bonelli’s

eagle, and a bird which may be the Imperial eagle. The last is

not often seen and, I think, is only an occasional visitor. The

first one I saw was on the hill above the Toda cathedral at the

top of the Sigur ghat. It was on the summit of a cliff and was

feeding on what looked like a hare. I was able to approach to

within about fifteen yards when it rose and flew away from me,

but 1t went only a short distance and then came at me with talons

extended, and it was all I could do to keep it off with a heavy

walking stick. I gradually increased my distance away from the

kill, but it was some time before I got clear and felt safe.

I mentioned the story that evening to a friend, and he arranged

to come out with me to the spot next morning. We were fortunate

to see two birds this time. They were at first circling above us

with a dozen or more vultures, obviously all interested in some

dead beast in the valley below. Presently the two eagles separated

from the others and flew over us at no great height. My friend

felt sure they were golden eagles and I was not any the wiser

at the time, but I have since been told that they may have been

the Imperial eagle and I have seen three or four others since.

The bird is dark brown and closely resembles the Golden eagle,

but it has not the same easy flight of either the Golden or the

Bonelli’s eagle, and I can well imagine it has not the speed of the

latter.

Tue InpiaAn BiAck EAGLE (Ictinaétus malayensis perniger).

This is a very handsome bird. All black except for its feet

which are bright yellow. I have seen it at close quarters many

times, and on one occasion I saw one chivy a snipe which I had

put up near the Avalanche bungalow. It hunts after the method

of the harrier, beating the hill side, and at times checking its

flight and dropping into tall grass. I once drew a friend’s attention

to one which was beating over some low scrub, and his remark

that it was a kite somewhat darker than the ordinary might be

made by any one who was not a keen observer. It does not look

much bigger than a kite, but the span of its wings is quite five

to five and a half feet, and the greenish horny bill and fierce

looking eyes proclaim it as something more savage than the homely

old kite.

These eagles are to be seen, either singly or in pairs, all over

these hills and especially where the plateau falls away to the low

‘ [Neither the Golden Eagle nor the Imperial Eagle are known to occur on

the Nilgiris. The Small Indian Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina hastata) has

been obtained at Kotagiri.—Ebs. |

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 401

country. I have seen them on both the Gudalur and the Metta-

palliam ghats.

BonEvui’s EaGLe (Hieraaétus fasciatus).

These birds are common on the Nilgiris although I have never

seen more than two at a time. I have also never seen one by

itself. They hunt in pairs and put in some wonderful team work.

It is surprising to know how very few people there are up here

who have any knowledge about them, and it is pretty certain that

many who keep poultry and pigeons think that the birds they have

lost have been taken by kites or sparrow hawks, whereas the culprit

is one which comes under the ‘true eagle’ class.

Pigeons are taken in flight while a chicken or perhaps a full

grown hen is swooped on from a height and disappears before the

owner is aware of what has happened. People on the Nilgiris who

read this article might like to have a description of the bird, or

would want to know where to look for it, and I can best describe

it as having a white breast with the under-parts of the wing a

browny white, and the upper parts a dark brown throughout. The

wing expanse is a full six feet, and although this might be dis-

credited when the birds are seen by themselves high up in the air,

a better idea of their size is obtained if they are seen in close

proximity to crows or kites. The description given will help

towards identifying the bird, and I suggest that if a flock of pigeons

is seen in flight over the bazaar, or any where else, a patient watch

might be rewarded. Ordinarily the pigeons will be circling round

together, but if it is noticed they have suddenly separated into

twos and threes and commenced zig-zag and faster flighting it

means they have spotted the enemy, perhaps a mile up overhead,

or perhaps already on the downward swoop. The speed is terrific

and the noise as they approach is just as though a huge rocket

was going through the air. I have more than once seen a chase

from start to finish, and although there are two eagles which do

the pursuing it is usually only the one pigeon that they pursue.

Sometimes the eagles hunt independently and chase two birds, but

as a rule they rely on team work to make certain of getting one.

It is probable that while the eagles have been watching the

pigeons from above they have been able to gauge the speed of

the fliers and make their decision accordingly. A few young birds

in a flock can, no doubt, be easily picked out, and perhaps the

decision, to follow only one, is made if all the pigeons are mature

and strong on the wing.

If it so happens that the eagles are seen before they have

swooped, it will be noticed that they give the appearance of not

being in the least interested. They move slowly, one behind the

other, and the leader’s dive is so sudden as to be almost un-

expected. No. 2 waits a few moments till it knows which bird

is to be chased and sometimes it makes a kill with its first swoop.

If it misses, it allows itself to be taken up by the momentum of

its dive, and a succession of dives may be repeated in this way.

No. 1 eagle meanwhile pursues relentlessly, and whether the pigeon

turns to right or left, or does a spiral dive or a quick rise, the

402 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

eagle is just behind, and if it is not fast enough to catch up with

the pigeon the other one is almost certain to get it. I don’t say

that all pigeons can be caught. I have seen some get away, but

the fact that the average pigeon, which is a fast flier, can be caught,

means that the eagle is gifted with considerable speed. The

Bonelli does considerable damage among poultry and also takes

toll of the small game on these hills, and I should not be surprised

to know that a swoop down to the tanks in the low country supplies

him with an occasional wild duck or teal.

Bonelli’s eagle is to be seen on the Nilgiris at all seasons of

the year and I think it must nest on the rocky crags of Mukerti

or Nilgiri Peak, or perhaps on the cliffs above Masingudi. From

two to three thousand feet below I have watched a pair fly out

and return to a ledge on the cliff side where I feel sure there must

have been a nest.

One wonders how this eagle gets its food during the monsoon

when the skies are overcast for weeks and months at a time. It

hunts in the open and needs good visibility to search out game,

and apparently it never leaves its haunts, as I have seen a pair

at work almost as soon as a blue sky has appeared after a lapse

of many days. The solution must be that a flight of an hour or

so would take it into bright sunshine either in a north easterly

or south west direction according to the time of the year. Its

hunting beat must cover a very extensive area when it is realized

that if flighting a mile or so above the highest mountain tops,

its range of vision can take in places so far as apart as Gudalur

and Coimbatore in one direction, and Nilambur and Sathamangalam

in another.

The flying man can best appreciate this but he has not the eye

of an eagle. The eagle must do a good one hundred and twenty

miles an hour on a downward flight so that a drop down from

Dodabetta to Gudalur would not take much more than ten minutes.

It is curious how deceptive are the sizes of birds when viewed

on the wing. I once pointed out two Bonelli’s eagles to a man

who estimated the span at three feet, which is just one half the

actual size. I recollect also reading a report of an address given

by a lady in Ootacamund, in which she mentioned the span of an

albatross as very nearly four feet, and her audience were astonished

to know that this gull was so big.

Some years ago I was travelling by steamer between Adelaide

and Fremantle and dozens of these birds followed us for three or

four days. Passengers were interested to know actually how big

they were and the general opinion among them was that the wing

span was not less than five feet, and all were surprised to learn from

the ship’s officers that ten feet' was nearer the mark. Occasionally

one of these birds gets knocked out by coming into contact with

the rigging and one which fell on deck was measured and taped

—

1 J. F. Green (Ocean Birds, p.5) says that the largest albatross out of

well over a hundred measured by him had a span Of Jit fe? sin irom sari

to tip.—Eps. ]

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 403

out at over ten feet. Bonelli’s eagle, as I have said, measures six

feet. A certain buzzard on these hills is very like the Bonelli.

Its flight is somewhat similar and it looks to be almost as big,

but it can be distinguished by its darker breast and slightly striped

colouring on the lower parts of the wings. I have not seen them

hunt game and they take no notice of pigeons but on many

occasions I have seen them knock down a honey-comb. It is

in the bright sunny days of spring that Bonelli’s eagle is most

frequently seen, and it is also then a common sight to see them

mobbed by crows. The reason is that the eagle sometimes goes

off with a young crow as he would a pigeon and in consequence

is hated by the tribe.

In concluding these notes I would like to say something about

falcons. The Peregrine! and the Lugger are both found here at

certain seasons and I have had opportunities to watch them on

shikar. Both are destructive to small birds, and while both no

doubt are capable of taking pigeons and poultry I feel sure that

of the two the lugger does most damage. He kills pigeons and

jungle hens bigger than himself, and for persistence in the chase

has no equal. Bonelli’s eagle can be scared off his attack on

pigeons by shouting and clapping of hands, but nothing frightens

the lugger. I saw one chase a pigeon for a full half hour and

catch it eventually. The pigeon seemed to have the speed and

at times got well ahead but the lugger did not give in, and the

end came so suddenly that I think the pigeon gave up in despair.

It collapsed in mid air when the lugger was some yards behind

and was caught before it dropped to earth. The whole chase took

place in a valley between two high spurs and the finish was im-

mediately above me. I had the satisfaction of shooting the lugger

as he came to earth astride the dead pigeon.

OoTACAMUND. H. E. BURGESS.

July 1936.

XVIII.—THE DISTRIBUTION AND NIDIFICATION

OF Thr GREATER SROPTTHD WAGEE (AQUILA

CLANGA PALLAS) IN SIND.

Hume considered A. clanga to be the commonest eagle in Sind.

This however was in 1872 and the scene since has changed

considerably. Clanga is no longer as abundant now as it was

64 years ago.

The Greater Spotted Eagle is a bird of well watered and fairly

well wooded tracts, where rivers, perennial canals, swamps or

lakes provide it with a plentiful supply of frogs, its staple food.

* [The Peregrine (F. peregrinus calidus) and the Sahin Falcon (F. p. pere-

grinator) both occur on the Nigiris. The latter is said to be rare. The Lugger

Falcon (F. jugger) has not been recorded from the area, though it has been

obtained in the Wynaad. Unfortunately Mr. Burgess did not send us the specimen

obtained by him for identification. Skins of the larger birds of prey from

the South Indian Hill ranges are wanted; the Society would be glad to receive

specimens.—EDs. ]

404 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

In drier tracts, it is seldom if ever met with and is replaced

by the Indian Tawny Eagle (Aquila vindhiana), a degenerate

species so far as eagles go, and the butt of that black bounder,

the ‘common or garden’ crow.

In the United Provinces I have seen this eagle, when on the

ground after offal, baited and its tail well pulled by a single pair

of Jungle Crows. So much for its aquiline dignity, if it ever had

any. In Sind it also stoops to eat offal and I have seen it hanging

on to the fringe of a heaving mass of vultures gorging on _ the

carcass of a-camel. J have little respect for it, forsan cagile vit

has little majesty, except perhaps when on the wing and then it

cannot help itself.

It is at present the commonest eagle in Sind and is, perhaps

just as well, seldom met with, where the Imperial, Bonelli’s and

the Greater Spotted Eagle, truly majestic birds, are found.

Before the construction of river bunds, the Indus when in

spate, yearly overflowed its banks, the spill waters flooding more or

less well defined tracts and leaving in their wake numerous lakes,

some very extensive, which provided the habitat necessary for this

eagle.

A great volume of water overflowed the left bank of the Indus

and winding through the sand dunes on the eastern borders of

the Sukkur district, along the Raini Nai, the Karo Naro and other

well defined channels, entered the Eastern Nara and so followed

‘the course of the Hakro, the lost river of Sind, through Khairpur

State and Thar Parkar into the Dhoro Puran, which emptied itself

into the Runn of Cutch, a few miles west of Rahim-ki-Bazaar.

This mighty volume of. water formed numerous dhands on both

banks of the main discharge channel, the Eastern Nara, throughout

its length of about 276 miles and here in the ‘seventies and eighties’

Doig found the Greater Spotted Eagle common and believed that

it bred in November and December, though he never actually found

a nest,

The construction during the past 60 years of hundreds of miles

of bunds and extensive canal systems has greatly changed the

physical features of these old flood tracts.

Perennial lakes, extensive broads and miles of swamps where

wild fowl, snipe and other waders collected in thousands, providing

sport, which is now but a recollection, have ceased to exist. The

Samaro dhand where Doig found the Large Cormorant (P. carbo)

breeding in hundreds is now as dry as a bone and the great Makhi

dhand, an area of about 20 square miles, in Sanghar taluka, where

Bachu ‘Badshah’ and Piru ‘Wazir’ two notorious Hur outlaws had

their stronghold in 1894, is now just a vast depression, practically

the whole of. which is under cultivation.

The total extinction of so many large lakes and swamps 1s

undoubtedly the cause of clanga not being as abundant now as

it was in the days of Hume and Doig.

The scene, however, may again change and perhaps, as far as

clanga is concerned for the better. The existence now, owing to

the Sukkur Barrage, of numerous, great perennial canals must affect

in time the fauna of Sind, and perhaps in years to come, when the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 405

thousands of trees planted along the banks of the Barrage Canals

reach maturity, the Greater Spotted Eagle, a fine bird, will once

again come into its own and be as common as it was 64 years ago.

It is still to be met with throughout Sind in riverain and

other suitable tracts. 1 have found it in such localities in every

district in Sind, but it is nevertheless, far from common.

On the 1st March 193i I was walking along the banks of the

Mahie canal, near Mir Kosh, about 6 miles from the Indus, in

Sukkur district, when. I spotted an eagle’s nest on a large babul

tree. I could see that a bird was seated in the nest. While

still about 100 yards away, another eagle was seen making a bee-

line for the tree on which the nest was situated. The approaching

bird swooped gracefully down and glided over the nest, so low

that the bird seated in the nest was able to take easily, what

later proved to be a large bull frog, from the talons of the bird

in flight, which almost immediately and without apparent effort

picked up elevation and speed by a few rapid beats of its powerful

wings. It circled round majestically and perched on a large tree

about 200 yards from the nest, apparently well satisfied with what

it had accomplished. Meanwhile the bird in the nest appeared

to be pecking at what had been brought by its mate. On my

approach to about 50 yards of the nest it stopped pecking and

turned its head in my direction, watching me closely. On my

approach still nearer, it stood up in the nest and on clapping my

hands flew off, enabling me to identify it with certainty as a female

Greater Spotted Eagle.

The male, which remained perched, permitted me to approach

within about 4o yards. He was a smaller bird than his mate and

from his rich colouring a young adult. While the nest was being

taken both birds circled round but made no attempt to attack the

climber.

The nest which was placed about 25 feet high, was a fairly

large structure of sticks, mostly ‘babul’ and ‘kandi’ lined sparingly

with dried ‘sar’ grass and a few stems of ‘pan’ and ‘deer’. It

contained a single egg, perfectly fresh, and I believe the first of

this Eagle taken in Sind.

The egg was typical of the species, a broad, blunted oval,

richly splashed and blotched with pale purple and reddish brown.

A very handsome egg and a prize worth securing.

The remains of a Purple Coot, a mud fish, frogs and a Ring

Dove were found in the nest and on the ground below.

The nest which was firmly put together was about 30 inches in

diameter and 4 inches in depth interiorly.

It was larger than the average nest of the Tawny Eagle. I

visited the place about a month later but found no trace of the

birds. In December 1933 I came across a pair near Bogar dhand

about 5 miles further west, but failed to locate their nest. It is

doubtful if they had one, as it was rather too early in the season

for them to be breeding.

IXARACHI. Oe ed Dey

September 4, 1936. F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.

406 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

XIX.—NUMBER OF EGGS LAID BY THE INDIAN SHIKRA

[ASTUR BADIUS DUSSUMIERI (TEMM. AND LANG.)].

In March 1934 a pair of these birds were frequently seen in my

compound and by watching their movements the nest was found

on a banyan tree.

When the bird was observed to be sitting three eggs, fresh,

were taken on 11-3-34. The birds remained in the vicinity and

on 23-3-34 another fresh egg was taken from the same nest. It

was thought that this would have ended the female’s egg-laying for

the season, but on seeing her sitting again on 4-4-34 a further

three fresh eggs were obtained. It will thus be seen that this

Shikra laid seven eggs within a month against a normal clutch

of from three to four eggs.

The average measurement of the eggs was 1.45” x 1.17”, which

shows them to be shghtly smaller than the measurements given

by Baker and Inglis in The Birds of Southern India.

The birds remained in the vicinity until the end of May 1934

but did not lay again.

The same pair it is presumed built again in the compound in

#1935 and 1936; the nest’ in=19035 /beme "ona. dillcrent tree. yam

1936 the same tree as was used in 1934 was selected, the nest being

constructed on a different part of the tree:

Although it is September when this note is being written the

birds are still seen flying around and cause the smaller birds many

anxious moments.

‘TANJORE. C. i. BI DDULE EL

December 30, 1936.

XX.—THE STATUS OF THE KOEL [EUDYNAMIS

SCOLOPACEUS (L.)] IN SIND.

(With a map.)

The status of the Koel in Sind is peculiar. How, and from

whence it originally came and established itself in Karachi, situated

as it 1s between desert and sea, has long been a mystery.

It is common and resident in Cutch but between Cutch and

Karachi lie some most inhospitable and arid desert tracts, devoid,

except where the hand of Man is evident, of all vegetation necessary

for the existence of the species, which is arboreal, mainly fruit-

eating and as habitat must have large leafed, shady, trees, groves

and fruit gardens. The Crow, another factor necessary to its

survival is of course as ubiquitous in Sind as elsewhere in India.

The occurrence of a species in any tract of country is accounted

for either by natural extension of range or by introduction.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

BAHAWAL PUR

STATE.

JAISALMNIR

STATE

JopH PUR

STATE

Py DERABAD |

Digg.

ROUGH

SKETCH MAP

SIND

Scale of mites

a 50 19 20 39 ho L.

KATHIAWAR

The Distribution of the Koel [E. scolopaceus (L.)] in Sind.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 407

C. B. Ticehurst who energetically worked Sind during the latter

years of the Great War remarks, ‘its arrival around Karachi

whether by natural extension of range or by introduction is uncertain,

though the latter seems more likely, as it is still absent from other

suitable towns further east.’

He, not unnaturally, arrives at this conclusion because of the

fact that the Koel then, had a very restricted range in Sind, and

was more or less localised in Karachi and its environs with Malir,

about 12 miles distant, as its limit of extension into the hinterland.

Opportunely I was posted to Sind in February 1920 and was

thereby enabled to take up observations very soon aiter Ticehurst

left Ikarachi.

S. A. Strip, a keen naturalist and an accurate observer, tells

me that he ts perfectly sure that the Koel was not in Karachi in

1875, but that on his return from Kathiawar in 1887 he found it

present and to all accounts a permanent resident; EF. A. Butler

1879, catalogues the species as a permanent resident in Cutch and

Kathiawar, and tolerably. common, except in Sind, where it is

scarce; Murray 1884, also says that it is common in Cutch and

Kathiawar but rare in Sind, where it occurs only during the

rains.

In 1885, H. E. Barnes writing on the Birds of the Bombay

Presidency says, ‘The Indian Koel is very common throughout

oe district excepting Sind, where it appears to be somewhat

re.

Later, in 1895, Blanford writing on its distribution in the Baa

of India says, ‘Rare in Sind and .the Punjab and is not known

further west. To the eastward.it ranges to China.’

E. H. Aitken (EHA),. writing in 1907 on the birds of fect

lists the species, among others, as a familiar garden bird.

Dr._C. B. ‘icehurst,, who-.worked Sind from .October 1917 to

January 1920, writes in The Birds of Sind, ‘Ibis’, 1922-4:— | -

‘Contrary. to general statements of the inhabitants ot Karachi,

the Koel is resident there and not a hot-weather..visitor; its-lack

of noisiness in winter causes it to escape casual observation.

‘The Koel has a very unique distribution in Sind; so far as

I am aware it only occurs at Karachi and the neighbourhood, Malir

etc. Mr. Gordon intorms me that it certainly does not occur in

Jacobabad or at Mirpurkhas, nor have I seen it at any of the many

places I have visited in Central Sind.

‘Doig never met with it in the Eastern Nara, nor Barnes at

Hyderabad; Butler writing in 1878, says that it is decidedly rare,

and he only saw it once and that was. at Hyderabad in June;

Butler who was certainly in Karachi for a part ot the hot weatner ot

1877 and 1878, evidentiy did not meet with it then, and had it

been as common there then as it is now, one could not be a day

in the Cantonment without hearing it at that season. On _ the

other hand, Hume (1872) stated that it was very seldom seen

during his cold weather visit, but Malden informed him he had

more than once killed it at Jacobabad, It is fairly common at

Mandvi in Cutch.

‘It would seem, therefore, that the Koel is a fairly recent

408 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIxX

arrival around Karachi (it was there in 1907), whether by natural

extension of range or by introduction is uncertain, though the

latter seems more likely, as it is still absent from other suitable

towns farther east.

‘It is now excessively common both in the Cantonment and

in the Lyari Gardens; it begins calling at the end of the third

week in February, and its incessant and monotonous voice can

be heard from then to well on into September, occasionally in

October or even early November, after which. date it becomes

inconspicuous and _ retiring.’

EF. C. Stuart-Baker, fauna. of Jndiad, 1927, writing *Oneits

distribution says that it is rare in Sind and the Punjab while Hugh

Whistler, 1935, says that in Sind it is only locally common; lastly

I think it very necessary to mention that Douglas Dewar writing

in the fournal of the Bombay Natural History Society 1908, on

the migration of certain species, says, ‘There is not the least doubt

that it is merely a summer migrant to Lahore.

‘Not a Koel is to be seen in that place between the send ot

October and the middle of March, but throughout the hot weather

it is exceedingly abundant.’

The foregoing is a summary of the information | have been

able to collect on the distribution of the Koel in Sind prior to

1920, on observations made by ornithologists such as Hume, Scrope,

Doig, Butler, Barnes, E. H. Aitken, Prank Ludlow:and Dr--@2a,

Ticehurst.

My own observations in Sind now cever an unbroken period

of 16 years and include the whole of the Province with the exception

of the Khirthar mountains and the southern and eastern portions

of the great Thar desert, regions to which the Koel is never likely

to venture, even as a straggler.

On peneniicion in February 1920, I was posted to Karachi

and during the course Of a couple of years found the species

common, a permanent resident and Puce freely in Karachi,

Malir and Landhi.

Between 1920 and 1928 I took many crow’s nests, some con-

taining as many as six eggs of the Koel, and sent Stuart-Baker

a series including the eggs of the foster parents in all cases the

Sind House Crow.

Up to the winter of 1928 the Koel -certainly.. did’ not extend,

as a permanent resident, beyond Landhi, about 15 miles distant,

eastward of Karachi and northward beyond the trans-Lyari Sewage

Farm, as I failed to locate it at Mangho Pir and also never found

its eggs there, though I examined several years in_ succession,

numerous crow’s nests around Mangho Pir and at Dharmao further

north, where numbers of house crows breed regularly.

On my return to Karachi in 1936, I discovered that it had found

its way north to Mangho Pir, where it had permanently established

itself.

I did not meet with it at Kotri, Hyderabad or Badin in the

summer of 1922, nor again 1n Hyderabad in March 1929, OF further

north at Matiari, Sekhat, Khebar, Hala or Saidabad in March and

April the same year, but in June 1934, from the 16th to the 3oth,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 409

I found it common and breeding at Kotri, Hyderabad and Palijani,

about 18 miles north of Hyderabad.

I was stationed in Sukkur from the 1oth January 1930 to the

4th February 1934, and tailed to find it anywnere in the district,

tnough there is suitable habitat at Sukkur, Rohri, Pano Aki,

Ghotki, Chak, Shikarpur and many other places.

On the ist June 1933 I thought I heard a bird call once, in

the mango and date gardens on the Rohri banks of the Indus.

I failed, however, to locate it and after again visiting the spot

the following day and going through about 3 miles of mango and

date groves, in the broiling heat of a June sun, without hearing

or seeing a bird, 1 was convinced that {£ had mistaken the shrill

ko-ee ot small boys, who were about the gardens keeping off

crows, minas and babblers, for the familiar ko-e-o of this bird.

As crows were nesting in some numbers in the mango and date

groves, any koels in the locality would assuredly have made known

their presence during the course of the afternoon and evening I

Spent there:

In Bahawalpur State, which borders Sukkur district on the north,

not a bird was seen or heard during a three-days’ visit to Bahawalpur

in late March 1933.

Similarly in Khairpur State, south of Sukkur I failed to meet

with it anywhere, though most suitable localities exist, during the

course of frequent hot weather visits. to the State in 1930 and three

succeeding years. |

At Larkhana, on the southern border of the Upper Sind Frontier

district, I failed to come across it, during short visits in July 1933

and August 1934. Young crows though everywhere much in

evidence, the majority just able to fly and still being fed by the

parent birds, koels, either adult or young were conspicuous. by

their absence and were nowhere to be found. --

Malden informed Hume in 1872 that he had more than .once

killed. it at Jacobabad, in the Upper Sind Frontier district, but

this I feel-sure is a case of mistaken identity, to use police parlance,

and that the birds killed by Malden were in reality Puied-crested

Cuckoos, which are common in Jacobabad during the hot weather.

On the other hand Gordon, now Chief Engineer in Sind, informed

Ticehurst that it did not occur in Jacobabad.

To the correctness of this I can fully testify, as I was stationed

at Jacobabad from July to middle November, 1934 and found it

totally absent, not only in Jacobabad itself, which is well wooded,

but throughout the length and breadth of this district. During

many wanderings beween Ghari Khairo and Kashmor and in suitable

localities along the Desert and Begari canals, during July, August

and September though I came across numbers of young crows still

under parental care and in July found some birds still on eggs

or rearing callow young I failed to find any trace whatever of the

Koel. If, as Malden said, the bird was found in Jacobabad more

than once then, there is no apparent reason why it should not still

be found, not only in Jacobabad but in the adjoining. districts

of Sukkur and Larkhana also, where there is suitable habitat

and fruit trees aplenty, in the way of mango, pipal, bar,. date,

410. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

guava, fig, papia and mulberry, all suitable to the palate of the

noel.

In Mirpurkhas, Thar Parkar district, | failed to find it during

the summer of 1922, but on my return there in January 1936, 1

found it abundant and extending south as far as Digri, 38 miles

distant. In January, February and March the same year | did

not succeed in coming across it further eastward and failed to

locate it at either Samaro or Umarkot, the city of the desert, on

the edge of the wonderfully fertile Nara valley, where there is

suitable environment almost everywhere and much in the way of

Koeline fruits.

At Mirpurkhas and Digri I found it common and _ frequently

saw both sexes feeding on pipal and bar (banyan) berries in company

with bulbuls, mynahs, tree-pies and crows. In the former place |

both heard and saw birds daily, when in headquarters between

the 4th January and the 23rd March and am authoritatively informed

that it is now a resident species and breeds, laying its eggs as usual

in the nests of crows.

In Nawabshah the headquarters of the district, I found it

common and quite noisy on my arrival there in April 1935 and

daily, as is its wont, it became more, and more noisy and

irksome as the heat increased and the breeding season of the crows

approached.

The species in Nawabshah itself 1s a permanent resident and

breeds in June and July. 3, SG ery eee pee

The_ presence of bar, pipal and nim-trees in theofficial .resi-

dential area and mangoes, guavas, figs, and grapes in most. gardens,

which provide food and leafy shelter for the birds all the year

round, is undoubtedly the cause of it now being a regular resident.

It certainly extends, as a straggler at all events, as far south-west as

Sakrand, 12 miles distant, where I met with a young male, fully

fledged and well able to fly, on_the 9th October 1935, though I

failed to find it on the 6th April_1929 when I was at Sakrand for

a day and again in May, June, July, November and December,

1935- | | S

I did not succeed in locating the bird further north in Nawab-

shah district during the summer of. 1935, though there is most

suitable habitat and much summer fruit available around Abji,

Mithiani, Darbelo and Tharushah, where mangoes, figs, dates,

pipal, bar and oranges grow in abundance, in extensive gardens

and groves on the banks of the Nai Lakho canal and where crows

of course, a very necessary factor, are common and breed in great

numbers.

From April to the end of December 1935, excepting the one

occasion in October when I came across a lone bird in Sakrand,

I failed to find it anywhere outside of. Nawabshah itself and am

confident that at present, the species, as a permanent resident, Is

restricted to the limits of the residential area in the immediate

vicinity of Nawabshah.

In Karachi district in 1934 I was not surprised to find it at

suitable places along the Pinyari canal, which takes off from the

left bank of the Indus below Jhirruck and enters the Sir creek

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 411

below Jati, also called Mughal Bin, after flowing a southerly course

of about 73 miles through the talukas of Mirpur Bathoro, Sujawal

and Jati. It has 33 branches totalling 240 miles in length and

over 3,000 distributaries, and practically irrigates the whole of

Mirpur Bathoro and Jati, and a part of the Sujawal taluka.

At Mughal Bin the Gadap and Sher Khan wahs take off and

flow in a south-easterly direction, while the Hajia and Saida wahs

take off and flow roughly south-west. The Sher Khan wah, which

flows towards Cutch and tails off into a branch of the Sir creek,

has a total length, from its head at Jati, of about 4o miles.

In late March and April 1934 I more or less followed the course

of the Pinyari canal from Bano, 2 miles below its take off from

the Indus, to Jati, below which it enters the Sir creek, the middle

and lower reaches of which divide Cutch from Sind, and found

the Koel in gardens and groves at Bano, Laikpur, Daro, Musam

and Mughal Bin. At Daro an old Cutchi mali, who had_ been

there some years told me that the bird was well known and

common in Cutch and that he had seen it at Daro, during the

hot weather only, for several years in succession.

They arrived, he said in March or: April and left in

September.

Crossing the Indus at Sujawal in April the same year I found

the bird fairly common and quite noisy at Tatta, and in March

1935, the year following, | met with it at Ghulamalla, on the bank

of the Baghar canal, which in 1817 was the main channel of the

Indus to the sea.

It takes off from the right bank of the Indus a few miles below

Tatta and enters the Shisha creek after flowing a circuitous course

in a generally westerly direction of about g0 miles. The village

of Ghulamalla, where there is suitable habitat, is about 12 miles

south-west, as the crow flies, of Tatta. Here again the mali, an

old Purbia from the United Provinces, where the bird is commor

and only too well known, informed me that koels came there

every hot weather and remained in the gardens till after the

rains.

I left Tatta on the 15th April 1934 and at Jhirruck 42 miles

up-stream failed to meet with it between the 15th and 17th, though

conditions were suitable in the way of mango groves and _ fruit

gardens growing guava, mulberry, fig and pipal.

Further south and: south-west at Sujawal and Mirpur Sakro,

where conditions are not so favourable I failed to meet with it

in May and June 1934. At Malir, a distance of about 50 miles

as the crow flies from Tatta, in February 1935, it was common,

and seen and heard daily from the rath to the 20th. Similarly

in Karachi it was seen and frequently heard, early mornings, in

December 1934 and January and February 1935.

As the hot weather approaches it becomes more and more noisy,

and now in June (1936), birds are everywhere splitting the air,

each trying to out-shriek the other, with their incessant cries of

‘who-are-you’.

Lastly in May 1936, I paid several visits to Mangho Pir, ro

miles directly north of Karachi where I failed to find it from 1923

412 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol: XXXIX

to 1928, and both heard and saw the bird frequently. In late

June the same year I found several crows’ nests containing eggs

of the koel in the gardens on the Gadap side of the hot springs,

where dates, mangoes, guavas and papias are grown, and a local

Mekrani informed me that the bird had been resident there for

the past 3 or 4 years.

The continued observations of Dr. Ticehurst and myself ex-

tending over a period of about 20 years, have resulted in the

collection of most interesting data regarding the status and distri-

bution of the Koel in Sind.

It is evident that in 1920 the species was only locally common

and occurred as a permanent resident only at Karachi and eastward

as far as Landhi, about 15 miles distant.

Elsewhere, it was met, if at all, as a rare straggler and then

not beyond the northern and eastern boundaries of Hyderabad

district.

It is now, 16 years later, common and resident as far north

as Nawabshah and north-east as far as Mirpurkhas. It naturally

cannot extend south and due west of Karachi, nor will it ever

extend north-west into Baluchistan.

My discoveries have convinced me that its presence in Karachi

cannot be accounted for by introduction as firstly, the species,

contrary to popular practice in the United Provinces, is never

caged and secondly, for it to be commonly caged it must necessarily

occur as a permanent resident elsewhere in Sind and this, as

established by this paper, is definitely not the case, the hvpothesis

therefore that its occurrence in Karachi is due to introduction must

fall through.

The only other theory which can be put forward is the natural

extension of its range and this I believe to be the real reason

for its occurrence in and around Karachi, where for years it has

been localised as already mentioned.

Now the point left for decision is whether it originally came

to Karachi from the Punjab or from Cutch.

We have it from a reliable observer like Douglas Dewar that

the bird up to 1908 was merely a summer migrant to Lahore.

Similarly H. Whistler writing in the ‘Ibis’ on the birds of the

Thelum district (1916) and the Rawal Pindi District (1920) records

it as a hot-weather visitor from April to October. It is thus

clear that the bird is a summer migrant to the Punjab.

If we contend that it came to us from the Puniab, we must

admit that the only route by which it can reach Karachi is by

following the course of the Indus as far as Hyderabad or Tatta.

-Tf it did this orginally, there is no earthly reason why some

birds at least should not continue to do so now, particularty

during the hot weather, and any birds taking this route, like the

Pied Crested Cuckoo, must necessarily pass through Upper Sind

and follow the course, down-stream, of the Indus through Khairpur

State and the districts of Larkhana, Nawabshah and Hyderabad,

yet during my long stay of four years in Sukkur District and

subsequent visits to Bahawalpur, Upper and Central Sind, I found

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 413

it everywhere totally absent, in spite of being continually on the

qui vive for it, and did not fall in with it as far north as

Hyderabad till 1934, though apparently it had established itself

there a few vears previously and had obviously migrated there

from Karachi District, and extended from there north as far as

Nawabshah, and east as far as Mirpurkhas, which so far as I am

aware is at present the limit of its extension north-east, though

it will in all probability extend in time to the Nara valley and the

tracts drained by the Jamrao and Mithrao canals where there is

suitable habitat.

since I failed to meet with the species anywhere north of

Nawabshah during the course of six consecutive summers, in spite

of the long existence in this tract of many suitable localities where

the species could easily have survived I have no_ hesitation in

recording that the Koel has not entered Sind from the Punjab.

Let us now consider the alternative route from Cutch which is

separated from Sind by the Sir creek south of Jati.

As previously stated I found the bird in March and April 1934,

on the left bank of the Indus, in Karachi district, along the Pinyari

canal, from Jati to Bano and along the banks of this canal and

in the tracts drained by it are to be found numerous mango groves,

and in most large villages pipal and bar trees and gardens growing

mango, guava, papia and fals and in some places date and mul-

berry, which provide the Koel with food and the environment

necessary for its existence on passage as a migrant. Similarly

on the right bank of the Indus at places where there is suitable

habitat I found it, at Tatta and Ghulamalla.

Now the only intervening tracts on this route presenting any

kind of difficulty in respect of habitat, lie between the limit of its

extension north-west of Cutch Mandvi and Jati and between Tatta

and Landhi. The distance, as the crow flies, from Cutch Mandvi

to Jati is about 130 miles, while that from Tatta to Landhi is

only about 45 miles.

These intervening spaces admittedly embrace in one case a

saline desert, with the barest scrub and coarse grasses the only

vegetation and in the other, a waterless waste, except in the rains,

of sand and desert scrub with no groves of leafy trees, yet the

distances in both cases are not so great as to prevent the Koel,

a strong flier, from crossing these inhospitable broken links in

the chain in a few hours. The presence of the bird in the hot

weather along the Pinyari. canal on one hand, and _ its total

absence on the other, north of Nawabshah, is I think sufficient

proof that it does cross these broken links in the chain of suitable

habitat between Cutch and Karachi and arrives in ,Sind from

Cutch.

I believe that roughly its route of migration into Sind is from

Cutch to Jati, from whence it follows the course of the Pinyari

canal to Daro and Bano, about where it crosses the Indus to Tatta

and thence to Landhi, Malir and Karachi.

Thus I think that the mystery of the occurrence in Karachi

of the Koel has at last been solved and its extension over Sind

from south to north, which is undoubtedly taking place, should

414 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. \SOCLE LY > Viol. Xxx

during the course of the next decade prove of great ornithological

interest.

KARACHI, KR BATES:

July 2, 1936. FiZ.S:) = M. B-Ovue

XXI.—THE DISTRIBUTION AND NIDIFICATION OF

THE LARGE INDIAN PAROQUET (PSITTACULA

EUPATRIA NEPALENSIS [HODGS.]) IN SIND.

Alexander the Great after conquering the Punjab in 326. B.c.

sailed down the Indus into Sind, where he made extensive ex-

plorations.

On his return to Europe he took back specimens of this Paroquet,

which was incidentally named after him by, I think, Linnzeus. It

is not definitely known however, whether the birds taken to Europe

were from Sind or the Punjab. Jerdon records that, doubtless

it was taken from the Punjab, where it is common, while EHA

commenting in the Sind Gazetteer on the subsequent change

of its specific name from alexandri to nepalensis writes that, it

is now named nepalensis in contempt of Alexander the Great, who

took the species back with him from Sind. As I was neither in

Sind nor the Punjab in 326-325 B.c. I prefer to keep out of the

controversy, though I must say that from my knowledge of its

present distribution in Sind, I think that Jerdon is nearer the

probable.

Nepalensis is fairly common in and around Karachi where it

is resident and breeds in chimney stacks, roof eaves and _ suitable

trees preferably, the cocoanut palm.

Stuart Baker records that Bulkly obtained its eggs near

Karachi in 1881. The majority of birds kept in captivity however

are not locally obtained but are brought down from the Punjab

as fledglings and hawked for sale in the streets of all large towns

at anything from 8 annas to 2 rupees a bird. It is of course com-

mon in the Punjab and I have frequently come across it near Kot

Sabzal, in Bhawalpur State (Punjab) about 3 miles from the Sind

border. ;

Ticehurst writing in the Ibis 1923, considers that Karachi birds

are the descendants of escapes, as there were no certain records

of it down to 1886 and because it had not been found outside

of Karachi.

As this paroquet is a favourite cage bird in Karachi it is likely

that some of the Karachi birds are the descendants of escapes, but

not all, as Ticheurst was not aware that it was abundant, though

very local, in parts of Upper Sind, whence it has probably found

its way south to Karachi.

In Sukkur district, where I was four years, there is more or

less a regular, north to south, cold-weather migration from about

November, the birds moving as far down as Kandhra, 8 miles

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 415

below Rohri and about 7o miles from Ubauro, on the northern

boundary of Sind, where it is resident and abundant.

Rirds in couples and small flocks, apparently strays from this

movement, have been met with as far south as Nawabshah, whence

they doubtless find their way to Karachi, as when in couples or

small flocks away from their strongholds in the north of Sind,

they are relentlessly pursued and kept on the move by their smaller

cousins, the Rose-ringed Paroquet (Pal@ornis torquata) which

swarms throughout the Province.

It is therefore not unlikely that the colony in Karachi is added

to frequently by strays which find their way south from Nawabshah,

a distance of about 125 miles as the crow flies.

I do not think that the birds met with in Nawabshah district

could have been from Karachi as I have not met with this Paroquet

anywhere in the intervening district of Hyderabad or beyond

Landhi, 15 miles east of Karachi, though there is suitable habitat,

both east and west of the Indus in Karachi district from Jhirruck

to Ghorabari.

I first came across it on the roth May 1930 at Ubauro, in the

north of Sukkur district about 8 miles from the Punjab border.

The birds were very plentiful and I noticed numbers of young

flying about with adult birds. In June the same year I was again

at Ubauro and the birds were just as plentiful.

In November I found them fairly common at Mirpur Mathelo

about 15 miles south west of Ubauro and in December a few birds

were seen around Ghotki about 14 miles south of Mirpur Mathelo.

On the 11th December 1930 I again had to visit Ubauro and found

many birds paired off and courting.

Two nests were located on the r2th December, both in simal

(silk-cotton) trees. In one the female was seated inside the entrance

with her head out. The nest contained a few feathers. In the

other the male was inside the nest. Both nests were apparently

ready for eggs. Want of time prevented me from searching for

other nests on this occasion, but on my again visiting the place

on the 21st January 1931, I was able to continue my observations

for several days without interruption.

The town of Ubauro situated 9 miles north west of Daharki,

the nearest Railway Station on the main line to Lahore, dates

back to about a.p. 987. Sometime later it was fortified and

surrounded by a moat, the north and south entrances to the town

being crossed by substantial brick bridges, which still exist, though

some of the spans are crumbling and numberless bricks from the

main structures have been taken away and used by the towns-

folk for building purposes. These moat bridges are now the homes

of spotted owlets, house sparrows, pigeons and some _ rose-ringed

paroquets.

On the outskirts and in the town itself are many great siris,

pipal, lai and talli trees which provide ideal nesting places for the

Large Indian Paroquet. Outside the town are several very old

gardens growing bhan (white poplar), simal, pipal, siris, mango

and date trees, where also this paroquet is provided with suitable

nesting sites,

416 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST: SOCIETY, Vol. XOXOXIX

The roads approaching the town are lined with siris, lai, babul

and khandi trees, but these, as nesting places are appropriated

mainly by the smaller species, which seldom ventures to breed in

the preserves of its larger and stronger relative.

On the 21st January 1931 I examined 14 nests. All except two

contained young, mostly callow. One nest held 3 young and an

egg on hatching point and the other, two young and an addled

egg. The day following 17 nests were examined. All with the

exception of one, in which there were two fresh eggs, contained

young. On the 23rd a further 5 nests were examined and all

contained young except one, which had 4 well incubated eggs.

In February I was again able to visit the locality and found,

from the roth to the 14th, six more nests all of which, strange

to say, contained eggs, apparently a late laying.

On the 15th I visited Khumbra, a fairly large village on the

Dahar canal about 12 miles north of Ubauro, a few miles from

the Punjab border and there found this paroquet breeding in fair

numbers on siris, pipal and tall trees in and around the village.

I examined about half a dozen nests, all of which contained either

young or well incubated eggs.

On the 23rd February I paid a flying visit to the Ubauro colony

and found numbers of young birds well able to fly. The day

following I was at Mirpur Mathelo about 15 miles south west

of Ubauro and met with about a dozen adult birds during the few

hours I was there. The year following, when at Mirpur Mathelo

from the roth to the 16th December, I found a few birds breeding

in pipal and siris trees around the environs of the town. At Ubauro,

where I encamped from the 18th to the 23rd of the same month,

breeding was in full swing.

On the 26th June 1932 I came across a single adult male at

Mirpur Mathelo and between the 19th and 23rd July, met with it

for the first time at Pano Akil about 28 miles further south, where

I daily saw about a score of birds.

From the oth to the 13th November 1932, I daily came across

this paroquet in small flocks at Kandhra, 9 miles south of Rohri,

on the borders of Khairpur State and on the 14th of the same

month found several pairs preparing to breed in holes in siris, lai

and bhan trees on the Ghotki-Adilpur road, about 28 miles south

of Ubauro, the stronghold of this species in Sind.

When I was posted to Karachi in 1920 this paroquet though

locally common had not apparently extended east to Malir, where

it has since established itself. I was encamped at Malir from the

12th to the 2zoth February 1935 and daily saw several birds in the.

fruit gardens, where it was always to be found in cocoanut groves.

On the 27th October 1935 I came across a single pair of birds

in a mango tove on the banks of the Nai Lakho canal at Tharushah,

Nawabshah district. The birds were being given a rough passage

by the smaller species, which swarmed everywhere and gave them

very little peace. They remained in the locality several days and

then disappeared. Although I had paid Tharushah several visits

previously and had thoroughly explored the numerous and extensive

fruit gardens in the locality I had never before come across this

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 417

paroquet, whose distinctive call, which it oft repeats both on the

wing and when perched, cannot be mistaken.

Exactly two months later on the 27th December 1935, a small

flock of about five birds visited Nawabshah and were given a very

rough reception by the smaller species, which swarmed in hundreds

and literally mobbed the minority, singled out individuals and

chased them from tree to tree. The day following not a_ bird

was to be seen. Whether they continued south and reached Karachi

about 125 miles distant or returned north to again meet with per-

secution till they arrived within their own domains in the extreme

north of Sukkur district, is a matter of conjecture.

In Sind it is an early breeder and commences to lay quite two

months ahead of the smaller species. In several instances two and

even three nests were found in the same tree. In many cases

birds used old holes but quite a few had been freshly cut out by

the birds themselves. Nests were placed from 12 to go feet high

and some contained a few feathers besides the usual small chips

of wood. The full clutch of eggs laid is four and the period of

incubation about 16 days.

The courting antics of this paroquet are quite as grotesque and

amusing as those of its smaller relative, the Rose-ringed Paroquet

and to watch a wooing would, I think, even interest a cockney

of my acquaintance, whose sum knowledge of birds was, that

they, ‘was fings wiv fevvers, some yer can heat and some yer

Cann:

In Karachi a favourite food of this paroquet is the dried seed

of the casuarina, while in Upper Sind it is partial to the seed and

tender shoots of the white poplar, lasora and nim berries, and the

beans of the siris and talli.

I have occasionally seen it feeding on the ground in small flocks

on dried nim berries during November and December. Unlike its

smaller relative it is, in Sind at any rate, not destructive to standing

crops.

The smaller species plays havoc with standing wheat, juar and

bajri wherever it occurs and I have frequently seen it in scores

on wayside railway platforms feeding on bagged wheat, much of

which is wantonly wasted as the bags are bitten through and the

grain strewn all over the place. What is not appropriated by the

railway menial staff is devoured by pigeons, doves, mynahs and

squirrels.

In Sukkur district nepalensis is known as Takru, literally

meaning ‘of the hills’.

Residents of Ubauro and Khumbra and Seraikis of the border

informed me that this bird had been resident there for generations

and that it had been known as ‘Takru’ from time immemorial.

They believe that it originally came from the hills. What hills,

they cannot say. This of course is merely conjecture, as there are

no hills in Sind where this paroquet could be resident. The species

has obviously extended to Sind from the Punjab, where it is

abundant.

At present it is only resident in the extreme north and south

of the Proyince, in Sukkur district and around Karachi. I have

418 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

met with it nowhere else, except as a straggler and then only

in Nawabshah district.

The Rose-ringed Paroquet, except in the desert and Kohistan

tracts, is extremely common everywhere and since there is suitable

habitat and much in the way of parrot food in districts where

nepalensis is at present absent, it is not unlikely that the existence

now of great perennial canals, both east and west of the Indus,

will in time result in the extension of its range to that of torquata,

which has at present, more or less the monopoly of the Province.

KARACHI, K. R. EATES,

October’ 2,-1030: F.2Z.S:; -M.BsO.U:

XXI1.— THE CEYLON HOOPOEUPUPA EPOPS

CEYLONENSIS REICHB.).

Mr. Salim Ali in the fourth part of his admirable Ornithology

of Travancore and Cochin in the Journal of 1st December appears

to be in some doubt as to the local movements in the hills of the

Ceylon Hoopoe.

While not actually in the territory of the survey, the area of

the Anamallai Hills under tea, coffee and other cultivation is near

enough to be typical of the area covered at about 3,500 ft. elevation

and in the evergreen biotope. Ater a period of seven years’ study

of the Avi-fauna of the district a few observations of the movements

of this bird may be of interest.

To start with the South West Monsoon period of from the

latter end of May to the end of August and sometimes well on

ito September, the bird is not found, though if September be

unusually fine, towards its latter end a pair or two may be seen—I

saw a pair this last September on the 24th, but they usually go

down to drier climes on the outbreak of the N. E. Monsoon in

October, and stay till it.is over returning in ones and twos sometimes

as early as December, though usually about the middle of January.

I saw a single bird on the oth of this month. During February,

March and April they become increasingly numerous and may be

seen in pairs on any road and heard calling the familiar ‘hoop-po-po’

mostly during the hottest part of the day. Adults and young fully

fledged may be seen at the beginning of May but all disappear

with amazing suddenness at the first showers, forerunners of the

approaching monscon.

NabDuAR ESTATE,

VaLparRal P.O.,

R, N. CHAMPION-JONES.,

| MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 419

Sai NOPE ONCTEE SANDPIPERS IN THE PATNA

DISTRICT, BEHAR, RECORDING THE OCCURRENCE

OF THis AVOCE TL SANDPIPER: THE CURLEW STINT

AND THE BROAD-BILLED STINT FROM INLAND

LOCAL TTS:

The following is a list of the Sandpipers taken by me in the

Patna District recently, whilst investigating the birds of this place.

It may prove of interest as some sea-shore and estuarine forms

are recorded far inland. The date in brackets indicates the earliest

date on which the birds were seen:

Numenius arquata orientalis, Brehm. The Eastern Curlew.

(7th September).

Numenius phaeopus, Linn. The Whimbrel. (7th September).

Limosa |. limosa, Linn. The Black-tailed Godwit. (1oth

August).

Limosal. melanuroides, Gould. The Eastern Black-tailed God-

wit. (7th October).

Limosa |. lapponica, Linn. The Bar-tailed Godwit.

The above birds are met with on the Ganges as well as on

inland jheels.

Terekia cinereus, Gulden. The Avocet Sandpiper. (11th Sep-

tember).

A specimen was obtained from a local bird-catcher on 11-g-36

and another seen with the same man on _ 10-10-36.

Tringa ochropus, Linn. The Green Sandpiper.

Common on inland jheels, less so on the Ganges. 7

Tringa stagnatilis, Bechstein. The Marsh Sandpiper. (26th

August). - ,

Common on inland jheels, less frequently met with on the

Ganges. This bird should be removed to the genus Glottis; the

pattern of its plumage is very similar to that of the Greenshank

and its bill is also upturned.

Tringa hypoleucos, Linn. The Common Sandpiper.

Only noticed on the Ganges where it is usually solitary.

Tringa glareola, Linn. The Wood Sandpiper. (26th August).

Plentiful both on inland jheels and on the Ganges.

Tringa t. totanus, Linn. The Redshank. (26th August).

Very common on the Ganges where it is sometimes met with

in very large flocks, also observed on the jheels.

Tringa erythropus, Pallas. The Spotted Redshank. (26th

August).

Frequently taken on inland jheels, rarely observed on the Ganges.

Glottis nebularia, Gunn. The Greenshank.

Extremely common on the Ganges, also seen on jheels.

490 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Philomachus pugnuax, Linn. The Ruff and the Reeve. (26th

August.

The number of these birds which are hawked about by_ bird-

catchers is enormous; they are found in very large flocks on jheels.

I have never noticed them on the Ganges. These birds are most

variable in colouration and I have collected about eight different

phases in plumage but none had ruffs.

Erolia m. minuta, Leisler. The Little Stint. (27th August).

Very common both on the Ganges and on jheels; many birds

were in Summer plumage on arrival.

Exolia temminckii, Leisler. Temminck’s Stint. (roth October).

Common on jheels, less on the Ganges.

Erolia testacea, Pallas. The Curlew Stint. (8th September).

A few specimens taken on. jheels.

Erolia a. alpina, Linn. The Dunlin.

Taken on the Ganges only.

Limicola falcinellus sibirica, Dresser. The Eastern Broad-billed

Sandpiper. (8th September).

A few specimens taken on jheels.

Capella g. gallinago, Linn. The Common Snipe. (29th Sep-

tember). re

A few taken on jheels.

GULZARBAGH, E.. A. -D ABREU ,#.2Z3s.

PATNA.

December 19, 1936.

XXIV.—SARUS FLOCKS.

A letter on this subject appeared in your August issue. I have

noticed that Sarus Cranes flock together in India (Rajputana) and

in Burma (Karenni), but if I remember right they only do so at

a certain season of the year—in March and early April. I have

put such gatherings down to an annual, matrimonial gathering where

and when the young birds are given the opportunity of meeting

their kind and advice that parents usually offer to their children

on such occasions. I believe such marriage marts are held in the

case of other species of cranes and any information on the subject

from naturalists who can tell us about them would be most

interesting. Does not a certain amount of dancing take place

before the debutantes ?

Taunccyl, S. SHAN STATES. TR EIV ESE?

September 30, 1936.

|Sarus Crane are usually found in pairs or accompanied by one

or two young. Occasionally these crane collect in flocks, but whether

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 421

in large or small numbers, the birds are always in pairs each pair

acting independently of other pairs forming the flock. Such con-

gregations of Sarus, it is explained, are due to the birds collecting

in dry weather or seasons of drought, in the few localities where

water is available. The monsoon sees their dispersal. In Hume

and Marshali’s Game Birds of India there is an interesting note

by Mr. Davis who observed flocks of Burmese Sarus (a racial

form with identical habits) in the month of August in mid-monsoon.

He saw several flocks of these birds in the kRhendas, 12 miles north

ate Phatone. They varied im mumber from Sor 10 to fully 6o,

and contained birds of both sexes. The appearance of these birds

in large flocks early in August, and the fact that Dr. Anderson

had also observed large flocks passing overhead at Prome,

apparently migrating, led Hume to enquire whether the species

is not to a certain extent migratory in Burma. Numbers of the

Upper Burma birds, coming south near the Gulf of Martaban to

breed? There seems to be little doubt that conditions of water

and food cause Sarus to congregate in favoured areas, but whether

Sarus are locally migratory in India or Burma and whether the

birds congregate before migrating 1s a point which requires further

observation.

The common Crane (Megalornis grus) and the Demoiselle crane

(Anthropoides virgo), both species in which the tribal instinct is more

strongly developed and which usually gather in great flocks, arrive

at their breeding grounds in flocks of two to three hundred

individuals. About the second week after arrival, the flocks break

up into pairs, which disperse all over the country, but even when

so dispersed, the birds were observed to reassemble in the morning

and evening and go through those curious antics described as

dancing. The Sarus indulges in similar exercises but never in

assemblies. Captain Butler says that in the breeding ‘season two

old birds may be seen engaged in a kind of ‘nautch’, they spread

their wings and lower their necks until they look like two game

cocks about to fight; then all of a sudden they raise themselves

and begin to dance, trumpeting loudly all the time. Then one or

the other springs high into the air descending again to perform

the same absurd antics.—Ebs. |

XXV.—A MUGGER (CROCODILUS POROSUS) WITH

A BROKEN LOWER JAW.

I enclose a photograph of the skull of a mugger measuring 5 ft.

10 in. in Jength which I shot in September 1936. It will be seen

that the lower jaw on the left side had been broken and displaced

causing the jaw to twist to one side. The result was that the

teeth of the lower jaw on the other side came in contact with the

palate and had formed small sockets in which they rested.

The skin covering the jaw had evidently been cut through but

had healed, leaving a-lighter line which can be seen in the side

view of the head.

499 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

The head was boiled to examine the bones near the break

and it was found that the broken ends of the jaw had been joined

by a new growth of bone which had a spongy appearance. It

appeared that the injury may have taken place only a few months

previously as the join in the bones opened out due to the boiling.

The mugger was in normal condition. |

While on the question of injuries noted on crocodiles it may

be of interest to record that Mr. C . V. Stephens, Executive

Engineer, P.W.D., Tanjore, shot a crocodile measuring g ft. 7 in.

in September 1936 with the right front foot missing from above

the elbow joint. The injury was an old one and had quite healed,

the crocodile being in good condition and in no way handicapped

by the loss of almost the entire limb.

With my previous note No. XXVII on page 184 of vol. xxxix,

No. 1, of the Journal and the Editor’s note on the same article

it is observed that there are now three recent records of crocodiles

with missing right fore feet and it raises an interesting point as

to how the right fore leg appears to be injured in each case and

the cause. ;

If the loss is due to fighting it seems to point to the fact

that a favourite grip must be by the fore legs which are damaged

in consequence.

It would be of interest if members recorded instances that are

known to them of crocodiles with similar or more serious injuries.

TANJORE, C..H.: BIDDULPE:

December 30, 1936.

ite

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 498

AXVI,

NG@TES ON its POND TERKAPIN (GHGEMY DA

f, TRIJUGA) IN SALSETTE ISLAND.

During the early part of the monsoon, | obtained two female

specimens of G. ¢t. tryuga through Mr. H. Ah. Both specimens

were caught at Andheri. This species is apparently common on

the island, but is seldom seen on account of its nocturnal habits.

During the rains they wander about much at night.

Both the specimens referred to I kept in captivity. During the

early part of October, I cast one of them for the Museum. When

opened it was found to contain numerous eggs, the largest of which

were about 1.5 cm. in diameter and quite spherical. On the 2oth

of the same month, the surviving terrapin laid five eggs in her

cage, early that morning. The five eggs were laid in tairly quick

succession. The two largest measured 48 x 26 mm. each, the next

in size 46x 27 mm. and the remaining two 44 x 26 and 44x 25 mm.

respectively. These measurements agree tairly well with those

given in the /’.B.J. (new ed.) Reptilia, for the race G. t. thermalis

from Ceylon.

The eggs are elliptic, narrowing down slightly towards the

poles. Both the poles are equally domed. The shell is firm and

calcarious, white, with a slight pinkish tinge.

With regard to food, I am of the opinion, that this species

is entirely vegetarian. The captives, referred to, refused to take

meat of any kind, but would always readily take such vegetable as

tomatoes, and cucumbers (they were very partial to the latter),

but would not eat pumpkins. They would occasionally eat boiled

rice from the dog’s plate.

These creatures appear to be very docile, never attempting to

bite or to fight among themselves, though sometimes one would

snap at the other over food. The two lived on amicable terms

with a Star-shelled Tortoise (T'estudo elegans) in the same cage.

The scent glands in this species are well known, and | can

only confirm this. When very agitated these terrapins emit a

very powerful and disagreeable stench—presumably a means of

detence.

Bompay Naturat History Society,

BomMBay. C. McCANN.

October 25, 1930.

XXVIIT.—NOTES ON THE BREEDING OF THE

RAT-SNAKE OR DHAMAN (ZAMENIS MUCOSUS)

Col. F. Wall referring to the breeding of the Rat-Snake

(Z. mucosus) in his interesting serial published in the Journal entitled,

‘A Popular Treatise on the Common Snakes of India’ (vol. xiii, p.

268), remarks that the periods of gestation and incubation are

494 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

unknown to him, yet he gives the periods of deposition of the

eggs and hatching with fair accuracy.

On several occasions I have observed these snakes in copulation

during the months of April, May and June. Specimens dissected

in June. and July have had eggs -in. the uterus.. On. the aith

August this year (1936) eleven eggs were taken a few inches under

the soil. The number of eggs for this species as recorded by Col.

Wall is. between nine-and tourteen. The: eges were in. the “shape

of a long ellipse with both the poies equally domed; chalky white

and non-adherent. (Wall: “The eggs laid in adherent clusters and

deposited, I believe, in holes in the earth. They are white, glossy

and parchment-like, with the poles equally domed.’) ‘The largest

egg measured 50x25 mm. and ithe smallest 43x24 mm.; the

others were all in the neighbourhood of 46x26 mm. These

measurements agree well with those recorded by Nicholson

(2 ile)

On opening one of the eggs I discovered that it. contained an

embryo about seven to ten days old. The remaining ten eggs

I kept in a desiccator with a little water at the bottom, while the

eggs rested on a tray above. At intervals I opened the eggs to

get an embryological series. At. first the egg shells were firm

and quite taut, showing no indentations, but as development

progressed the shell showed deep depressions here and there. On

the 12th November I opened the last eggs that 1 had kept to hatch

to establish the identity of the species. On this day the egg looked

as though it was going bad, which was really the reason for my

opening it. To my surprise, I discovered that it contained a nearly

mature embryo, which would have come out in about four days

toa week. Allowing ten days in the beginning and another seven

days at the end this would give us an aggregate of 110-days (or

three months and twenty days) as the incubation period.

BomBay NaturRAL History SOCIETY, |

BoMBAY. Se a C. McCANN.

November. 15, 1936:

XXVII.—SNAKES’ METHOD OF SWALLOWING PREY.

With reference to the remarks on the manner in which snakes

swallow their prey in the very interesting article on the ‘Snakes of

Deolali? which appeared in the last number of the Journal, the

following experience may be worth recording.

As I was passing a small pond some years ago, a@ large frog

quite three and a half inches in length of head and body, leapt

off the bank into the water and was instantly seized by the hindleg

by a snake which had been lying in hiding behind a stone half

in and half out of the pond. The snake was about two and a

half feet long and of slender build, the head being little more

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 425

than half an inch across at its widest. Though it looked a physical

impossibility for it to swallow the frog, the snake had no doubts

on the matter and retreating to its lair behind the stone, set to

work. It had caught the frog about halfway down the leg, and

it first worked its way back till the foot was in its mouth and

then started literally to crawl outside its victim. The jaws worked

alternately from side to side. Getting a purchase with the top jaw,

there followed a violent heave until the lower jaw could grip a

little further on, the two becoming entirely dislocated and the gape

enormously stretched as it reached the thicker portion of the frog’s

body. The frog struggled violently until one leg was engulfed

after which it seemed to become resigned to its fate and lay quite

passive though still alive. Reaching the base of the first leg, the

snake worked its way across the caudal region of the body and

with considerable difficulty managed to double up and swallow the

other hind leg. After that it was comparatively plain sailing though

the gape and throat looked as if they might split at any moment.

The whole process took about twenty minutes.

In this case the snake made no attempt to turn the frog round

and swallow it head first. If it had tried to do so, it (the latter)

would very probably have managed to break away, and it seems

likely that most small, non-venomous snakes which devour their

prey alive must swallow it as they catch it in whatever position

"it may be:

CoOOVERCOLLY,

SOMWARPET, COORG. . FE. N. BETTS,

jlannary: 3, 1927.

~ XxX ITHe GIANT WOOD SPIDER:

I give below an account of the interesting behaviour of a

species of small fly with a Giant Wood Spider (Nephila maculata)

which is very common in the Coffee at this time of year. If

you consider it worthy of record please publish it in the Journal.

During Coffee crop harvesting operations I noticed one of these

spiders on the top of a Coffee bush having had its web torn

down and was surprised to see a small fly crawling about one

of its palpi. I watched to see what the spider would do to such

a daring adventurer; but not content with its dangerous position

the fly stepped on to the mandibles and put its head seemingly

into the very jaws of its giant hereditary enemy. In a few seconds

I was watching with even closer attention as the fly’s abdomen

was visibly swelling with the intake of some liquid and when about

twice its original size the fly departed. Now what was the liquid

imbibed from the lips of so formidable an enemy of all flies in

general? Was I a witness to the equivalent, in the Arachnid tribe,

to the African Crocodile Bird?

4296. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL .HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

Further investigation may bring fresh light on the subject, but

the fly being so small and easily overlooked there is remote chance

of ever seeing such an interesting incident again. ‘The spider took

not the slightest notice of the fly, at anyrate did not appear to

resent its presence. I was unable to see exactly how or from

whence the fly sucked up the liquid as the nearer I moved my

head the further the spider moved away.

NapbuarR ESTATE,

VALPARAI P.O., 5S. INDIA.

january 20; 1937. R. N. CHAMPION-JONES.

XXX.—NOTES ON THE MOULTING PROCESS OF THE

SPIDER (MYRMARACHNE PLATALEOIDES, CAMB.)

(With four text figures)

Though it is generally believed that the spiders do not undergo

any metamorphosis except the development of the palpal organs

in the males after their final moult, yet a kind of transformation

not only in the tarsal segment of the pedipalp of the male but

also in the mandibles, teeth and fangs takes place in Myrmarachne

plataleoides, Camb., and some other of Attid spiders.

Sometime ago I collected a specimen of Myrmarachne_ platale-

oides, apparently a female, and put it in a glass tube. The next

morning I was surprised to note a remarkable change in _ the

contour of its body. The specimen had, by now, become a fully

developed male, provided with the copulatory organs at the digital

joints of the palpi; the chelicerz being nearly half as long as

the body. These characteristics were not at all noticeable on the

previous day when the specimen was actually collected. This

marked transformation led me to investigate the details of the

moulting habits of this species of spider, particularly with reference

to the changes that occur during the final moult.

Colour.—After emergence from egg, the young M. plataleoides

looks yellow with a continuous black line over the anterior row of

eyes. The young ones come out of the retreat after 5 or 6 days.

They measure about 1 to 1°5 mm. in length. At this stage the

dorsum of the cephalothorax is almost black with a slight yellowish

tint. The anterior portion of the abdomen, both dorsally and

ventrally, is orange or reddish-yellow in colour, while the posterior

half is deep black. The cephalic portion is high and flat, but the

thoracic portion slopes with a slight upward curvature in the middle;

the abdomen is oval with a slight depression on the dorsum.

Moults.—Within seven to ten days after emergence from the

retreat, the young spider changes its skin. The second moult takes

place ten to fifteen days after the first, a slight depression appearing

at the middle of the cephalothorax. The young spider now appears

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 427

rather broader than long owing to the shortness of the pedicel.

After the third moult, the body becomes elongated and assumes

the form characteristic of the species. The blackish shade of the

anterior portion of the body is by this time replaced by a reddish-

yellow tint, while the region round the eyes retains the original

blackish shade which persists throughout life. Two or three days

after the fourth ecdysis, the abdominal black tint disappears within

a few hours. An orange or yellow colour then becomes prominent

all over the body with a few black specks on the cephalic region.

The appearance or disappearance of markings or spots in_ the

spider follows each fresh moult. After the fifth moult, the spider

approaches the normal size of an adult, the colour becoming brick-

red with distinct white markings on the dorsal aspect of the

abdomen and on the sides of the cephalothorax.

Uptl the final moult (i.e. the sixth) all the immature forms

resemble mature females, the sexes becoming distinct after the

final moult. The habit, biology, external structures, size, colour

and markings of the body and even the number and arrangement

of teeth in the chelicerze of the sex-undetermined immature forms

are in all respects similar to those of the mature females. The

tibial and tarsal joints of the pedipalpi of both mature and immature

forms are identical. The distinction between the two sexes before

the final moult is so negligible that immature specimens cannot be

separated with respect to their potential sexes (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1.—Hnlarged photograph of a sex-undetermined

specunen of M. plataleoides, after the penultimate

moult.

Very striking changes take place in the immature forms of

the male sex, (potential) during the final moult. Two or three days

428 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIX

previous to casting off its last integument the immature spider

spins an oval shaped retreat composed of loosely woven silk and

rests quietly within it without taking any food. During the

progress of moulting the spider attaches itself to the thread of

the retreat by the claws of its legs. The old chitinous cuticula

covering the dorsum of the cephalothorax is the first to give way

laterally and is raised up like a: lidhinged, as it were, to the

posterior extremity of the cephalothorax (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.—Enlarged photograph of the process of the final ecdysis

of the apparent female of M. plataleoides. The cuticle of the

cephalothorax is raised upwards and the minute mandibular

cuticles are cast off (shown in front of it) and two club-

shaped mandibles are seen in progress of growing.

The body then works itself out and the appendages are

gradually disengaged from their exoskeleton. During this progress

the chelicerze are drawn out from their old cuticle and undergo

growth and transformation while still soft. The pedipalpi are then

drawn out of the slough along with the first and second pair of

legs. The palpi which were flat before the last moult become now

rounded and provided with a copulatory bulb and a tibial apophysis

or copulatory claw, as we might call it, since it plays an important

part during the act of mating. When the newly formed dorsal

shield of the cephalothorax has become exposed by the uplift of

the old cuticle, a pair of stump-like bodies, which are flat on

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 429

the upper and inner faces, appear to come out, from inside the

original minute mandibular integument by pushing upwards

(Fig. 3).

Fig. 8.—a External structure of the pedipalp of sex-undetermined

specimen and adult female of M. plataleoides; b the pedipalp

of the male after the final moult; ¢ the chelicera of the sex-

undetermined specimen of M. plataleoides; d the chelicera of

male which grows out of a minute one as shown in ¢ during

the final moulting.

After a few minutes, globular swellings with rudimentary uncinate

processes appear at the apices of these stump-like bodies. Gradually

these swellings increase in length and project out in the same plane

as the cephalothorax. As a result of this growth, the chelicera

becomes half as long as the spider’s body. The uncinate processes,

which are articulated at the apices of the chelicerz, gradually

begin to show signs of rapid growth and extend as far as the

bases of the chelicerze. The length of the uncinate process equals

that of the chelicera. The inferior ridge in the chelicera comes

out of the old cuticle armed with about twelve to fourteen teeth,

all of which are bent forward and placed at equal intervals through-

out the whole length of the stem, while the superior ridge contains

five teeth equally distributed in the fore half of the chelicera. The

basal half of the chelicera, when viewed dorsally, looks transversely

rugose and its extremity assumes abrupt enlargement, giving the

spider much the appearance of a spoon-bill. Black spots, which

are absolutely absent before the moulting, appear at the apices

of the chelicere. The third and fourth pair of legs come out of

the old cuticle almost simultaneously along with the abdomen

Le (Fig. 4).

The whole process of the

last moult is completed within

half an hour or (so. utter sulle

moulting is over, the spider

takes rest for a considerable

period of time during which

the whitish colour of the body

turns brick-red.

With the females, however,

the armature of the epigynum

characteristte of the adult

females becomes fully develop-

: . ed after the sixth jon fmal

Fig. 4.—Enlarged photograph of the moult, and the colour of the

second stage of final moult of M. plata- atriolum becomes dark brown

leoides (3). Extrication of the abdomen and conspicuous. The im-

and hind legs is in progress. ; :

2 eee mature form of the female sex

by this time becomes sexually mature.

A paper dealing with above in details will be published later.

REFERENCES.

1. J. Blackwall. ‘Notice of several recent discoveries in the structure and

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‘Researches into the structure, functions and economy of the Arachnida.’

Ann. & Mag. of Nat, Hist., Lond., vol. xv, p. 230 (1845).

‘A History of the spiders of Great \Britain: and dreland.’’ Pt. 11) wlond,

Intro, 4p. 7 (MDCCCLX).

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and T. Sec., pp. 502-3 (1897-1901).

6. J. H. Comstock. The Spider Book, pp. 183-84 (New “York, +1920).

7. KE. Warren...“ Note on the Ecdysis of a’ Spider? (Amn. of (the sNatal

Museum, vol. v, Pt. 2, pp. 231-234 (1925).

8. P. Bonnet, ‘La mue l’autotomic et la régénération chez les Araignées’.

Bull. Soc. d@’Hist. Nat. de Toulouse., T. Cinquante-neuviéme., pp. 237-504, 65e

(Année, 1930).

g. C. Warburton. ‘Arachnida Embolobranchiata’ Camb. Nat. Hist., vol.

iV, Pp: 338 (1909).

10. E. .f. Staveley. —British: Spiders, p.2229 (Lond. 1866).

tr A. P. Mathew. ‘The Wife’ History of the “spider W~ plataleordes.

jour. Bom. Nat: Hist.Soc., vol. Sxxvilj7 pp. 37112373 01984).

12.1. H. Savory. The Spiders and alied orders of the Brit lsles2™ pao

(1935).

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