o'

THE

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

INDEX AND TITLE PAGE

VOL. XXXVI

NOS* 3 & 4

Price .... Rs. 2-4-0.

MADRAS

Printed at the Diocesan Press

1934

INSTRUCTIONS TO BINDER

The contents of these two parts should be arranged in the

following order when they are being bound : —

Title page

Contents of Nos. 3 and 4 of Vol. XXXVI

List of Contributors

List of Plates

Index to Illustrations

Errata

To follow frontis-

piece in this order.

Index of Species

List of Office Bearers,

Life Members and Members

To go at the end of

two numbers.

THE

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

EDITED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE, Kt.. M.L.C., J.P., S. H. PRATER, C.M.Z.S., M.L.C., J.P

& C. MCCANN, F.L.s,

VOL. XXXVI

Nos. 3 & 4

Containing 3 Coloured Plates, 54 Black and White Plates,

60 Text-figures and 3 Maps.

Dates of Publication

Part III. (Pages 521 to 777) ... 15th August, 1933.

„ IV. ( „ 778 to 1023) ... 15th December, 1933.

LONDON AGENTS

DULAU & CO., Ltd., 32, Old Bond Street, London, W.L

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS

1934

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXV L

No. 3

Page

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j.,

ph.D., f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z.s. Part XII. ( With 1

coloured , 1 black and white plate and 2 diagrams.) 521

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency

By Rev. E.'Blatter, S.J., ph.D., f.l.s. Part XXI. (With 2

plates .) 524

Respiration in Fishes. By Sunder Lai Hora, d.sc., f.r.s.e.,

f.a.s.b. (With 4- plates and 21 text-figures) 538

The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats

(Ornithological section). By H. Whistler, m. b. o. u.,

assisted by N. B. Kinnear, m.b.o.u. Part V 561

The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State

with Notes on their Numbers, Migration and

Habits. By J. C. Higgins, i.c.s. Part II.. 591

Indian Dragonflies. By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s., f.e.s.

Part XLI (With 2 plates and 2 text-figures) . 607

Observations on Some of the Indian Langurs. By C.

McCann, f.l.s. (With 2 plates) 618

The Civet Cats of Asia. By R. 1. Pocock, f.r.s. Part II

( With 1 text-figure) 629

The India Caddis Flies. By Martin E. Moscly, f.r.s.e.

Part I. (With 3 plates) 657

The Flora of Waziristan. By E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s.

and J. Fernandez. Part I. (With 1 map and 1 plate)... 665

Fish of Afghanistan. By Sunder Lai Hora, d.sc., f.r.s.e.,

f.a.s.b. (With 1 map , l plate and 2 text-figures ) .......688

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey. By Salim

Ali. Part II. (With 2 plates) 707

Obituary : —

Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock, c.i.e., f.r.s 726

Lt.-Col. J. Stephenson, c.i.e., f.r.s ................ 728

iv CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXX Vi

Page

Reviews : —

The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon

and Burma. ODONATA. Vol. 1 732

The Book of the Tiger 732

Far off Things 735

Der Vogel Schnarch. Zwei Jafire Rallen-

FANG UND UrWALDFORSCHUNG IN CELEBES 737

What Butterfly is that ? 738

A Review of the Mysore Game Laws 738

Miscellaneous Notes

I. Panthers feeding on Tiger ‘ Kills By R. C.

Morris, f.z.s 742

II. Two experiences with Panther. By Capt. L. F.

Rusby 743

III. Wild Dogs killing a Panther. By R. C. Morris,

f.z.s 744

IV. Wild Dogs driving a Panther from its ‘ Kill ’. By

R. C. Morris, f.z.s 744

V. A newly born Bison Calf. By R. C. Morris, f.z.s. 746

VI. Game Reserves and Flashlight. By R. C. Morris,

f.z.s 746

VII. Occurrence of the Sind Babbler ( Chrysomma alti-

rostris sci?idicus , Harington) in the Dera Ghazi

Khan District of the Punjab. By H. W. Waite,

F.Z.S., m.b.o.u 748

VIII. The Black-backed Shrike (. Lanius nasutus nigriceps)

[Franklin]. By H. Whistler, m.b.o.u 748

IX. Note on the Vernay Scientific Survey of the

Eastern Ghats (Ornithological Section) with

reference to the races of Otocompsa jocosa , Chlo-

ropsis aurifrons , etc. By E. A. D'Abrew, f.z.s. 749

X. Occurrence of the Blue-throated Barbet ( Cyanops

asiatica ) at Murree. By Rev. E. A. Storrs Fox. 750

XI. Note on the development of the casque of the

Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill ( Anthracocei'os

albirostris). By E. P. Gee ( with a plate) 750

XII. Occurrence of the Woodcock ( Scolopax r. rusticola)

at Jhinjhana, U. P. By W. N. Roper-Caldbeck. 751

Contents of volume xxxvi v

Page

XIII. Occurrence of the European Bustard ( Otis tarda

tarda) in the North-west Frontier Province. By

G. Cunningham, c.s.i., c.i.e., o.b.e., i.c.s 752

XIV. On the occurrence of the Short-eared Owl (Asio

{lammeus f lawmens) in Madras City. By A. S.

Thyagaraju, m.a... 752

XV. Occurrence of the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps

cristatus cristatus) in Bikaner. By Surajmal

Singh 753

XVI. Masked Boobies ( Sula dactylatra) at sea 350 miles

from Bombay. By W. E. Wait.... 753

XVII. A case of osteogenesis imperfecta occurring in a wild

bird. By James M. Harrison, d.sc., f.z.s.,

m.b.o.u. ( With a block and 2 text-figures) 754

XVI II. Monstrosities in Trout Fry ( Salmo fario) in Kulu.

By M. Hamid Khan, m.sc., ll.b. ( With 4- text-

figures) 755

XIX. Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper ( Viper a russellii)

in Lower Sind. By J. W. Rowland 758

XX. The Saw Scaled Viper ( Echis carinata) about in

winter. By C. H. Strover, b.a 758

XXL Occurrence of Zeltus etolus near Cannanore, Mala-

bar. By Lt.-Col. W. M. Logan Home 759

XXII. Occurrence of Actias mcziias, Doubl. in Travancore.

By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s 759

XXIII. Flowering season of the spotted Gliricidia (G.

maculata). By D. S. Laud 760

XXIV. Fruit of Cryptocoryne tortuosa , Blatter and McCann.

By E. Blatter, s.J., ph.D., f.s.l., and C. McCann,

f.l.s. ( With 2 text- figures) 760

XXV. The Flying Fox {P. giganteus) and the Palm

Squirrel (F. tristriatus) as agents of pollinization

in Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. The Silky Oak.

By C. McCann, f.l.s. ( With 1 block and 2 text-

figures) 761

XXVI. ‘ Blue ’ Flowers. By S. Percy-Lancaster. 764

XXVII. Inflorescence of Aster acantha, Nees. By A.C. Joshi,

m.c. {With a text-figure). 765

Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

FOR THE YEAR 1932 768

vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXV /

No. 4

Page

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.J.,

ph.D., f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z.s. Part XIII.

( With l coloured , and 1 black and while plates and 3

text- figures.) 778

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency.

Part XXII. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.J., ph.D., f.l.s. ( With

1 black and white plate and a text-figure') 781

Notes on Some Indian Macaques. By C. McCann, f.l.s.

( With 5 plates 796

Description of a New Race of the White-eye ( Zosterops

palpebrosa.). 811

Report on Burmese Fishes, Collected by Lt.-Col. R. W.

Burton, from the tributary streams of the Mali Hka

River of the Myitkyina District (Upper Burma). By

D. D. Mukerji. Part I. ( With 1 map , 3 black and white

plates and 3 text- figures.')... 812

The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats

(Ornithological Section). Part VI. By H. Whistler,

m.b.o.u., assisted by N. B. Kinnear, m.b.o.u 832

The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State

with Notes on their Numbers, Migration and,

Habits. By J. C. Higgins, i.c.s. Part III 845

The Palm Civets or ‘ Toddy Cats’ of the Genera Para-

doxurus and Paguma inhabiting British India. By R. I.

Pocock, f.r.s. Parti. ( With 2 text-figures .) ... 855

A Visit to Whipsnade Zoological Park. By Lt.-Col.

R. W. Burton, i. A.... 878

The Shell-Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency. By

H. S. Rai, M.Sc. Part II. ( With 2 plates , 2 blocks a?id 3

text- figures.) . . . . 884

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey. Part III.

By Salim A. Ali. ( With 2 plxtes.)... 898

Notes on Some Birds from Southern Arakan. By Dr.

C. B. Ticehurst, m.a., m.r.c.s., f.r.g.s., m.b.o.u 920

Notes on the Foodplants of Indian Hawkmoths. By

Lt.-Col. F. B. Scott, i. a., f.e.s 938

On the Biology and Morphology of Epipyrops eurybra-

chydis, Fletch. LEPIDOPTERA, By B. Krishnamurti,

B SC. ( With a plate and a block.).

941

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVI vii

Page

The Flora of Waziristan. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.J., ph.D.,

f.l.s., and J. Fernandez. Part II. ( With 2 plates .).... 950

Earth-Eating and Salt-licking in India. By Rev. J. F.

Cams, s.J., f.l.s. and K. H. Bharucha, b.a., bsc.,

Analyses, XXVI-XXXI 978

Review — Mimicry 982

Miscellaneous Notes : —

I. Tiger Attacking an Elephant. By I. K. Swaine 983

II. A Spirited Old Bull Bison {Bibos gaurus). By

R. C. Morris, f.z.s 984

III. The Colour of White Bison ( Bibos gaurus'). By

A. A. Dunbar Brander, i.f.s. (Retd.) 985

IV. Curious Death of Cheetal (Axis axis) in captivity.

By Danushkoti Pillai 986

V. ‘ Fur Farming ’. By J. M. D. Mackenzie 988

VI. Notes on the Habits of Radcliffe’s Sibia (Leioptila

melanoleuca radcliffei). By T. R. Livesey ( With

a photo ) 993

VII. A Note on the Migration of the Swallow Shrike

(Artamus fuscus). By A. S. Thyagaraju, m.a.... 996

VIII. Speed of the Large Pied WTagtail ( Motacilla mader -

aspatensis). By Hari Narayan Acharya, f.z.s. 996

IX. Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States. By T. R.

Livesey. {With a plate) 997

X. Nidification of the Giant Nuthatch ( Sitta magna).

( With a block!). J 001

XI. The Brown Hawk-owl ( Ninox scutulata) feeding

on Bats. By C. McCann, f.l.s 1002

XII. The Nesting of the Shah in Falcon {Falco peregri-

nus) on the tree. By T. R. Livesey.... 1003

XIII. Riding down Partridges. By J. H. Stirling 1004

XIV. Hatching of Partridge Eggs exposed on a table.

By G. Grimes 1004

XV. Early Arrival of Snipe in the Andamans. By Major

A. Bayley-de-Castro, i.m.d 1005

XVI. Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna) in

the Mianwali District, Punjab. By H. W. Waite,

m.b.o.u ......................... 1008

viii CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVI

Page

XV I L The Occurrence of the Mallard (Anas platyrhyncha)

at Taunggyi, Burma. By S. St. C. Lightfoot. 1008

XVIII. Occurrence of the Baikal or Clucking Teal (Nettion

formosum ) at Katihar, Bengal. By P. Murphy.. 1008

XIX. A Toad (. Bufo melanostictus ) swallowing a Bronze-

backed Tree-Snake (. Dendrophis pictus). By R.

Foulkes, o.b.e., m.l.c.. 1009

XX. Social Life of Snakes. By Hari Narayan Acharya,

F.Z.S 1010

XXI. Fishing around Ahmedabad. By Hari Narayan

Acharya, f.z.s.. 1011

XXII. ‘ Butterflies of Lahore.’ By D. R. Puri 1011

XXIII. Note on the Sawfly ( Arge pagana. Pamz, var.

victorina , Kirby).. By Mrs. C H. Smith. ( With

3 text-figures)... 1012

XXIV. The Form of Colias hyale, occurring at Amritsar.

By D. G. Sevastopulo, f.r.e.s 1013

XXV. The Enemies of Danais chrysippus. By D. G.

Sevastopulo, f.r.e.s 1014

XXVI. On some Tingitidce fiom South India including two

new species ( Hemiptera ). By Carl J. Drake 1015

XXVII. A viviparous Fly and a Chamaeleon. By C. McCann. 1016

XXVIII. Mosquito Swarms. By Sir Frank Connor, Col.,

I.M.S 1017

XXIX. Rhythmic sounds produced by Termites at work.

By Sir Frank Connor, Col., i.m.s 1018

XXX. The small Red Ant ( Solenopsis geminata subsp. rufa

Jerdon) and its usefulness to man. By P. S.

Negi, M.sc. ( With a plate and a photo) 1018

XXXI. The Ashoka Tree. By Hari Narayan Acharya,

f.z.s 1021

XXXII. Note on the Ashoka Tree. By Theodore Hubback. 1023

Proceedings of the Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee

Meeting 1024

Supplement : —

The Wild Animals of the Indian Empire and the

Problem of cpheir Preservation. Suppl. pp. 1-58

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

VOLUME XXXVI

Nos. 3 and 4

Page

Acharya, Hari Narayan ;

The Ashoka Tree ... 1021

Speed of the Large Pied

Wagtail ( Motacilla maderas-

patensis.) ... ... 990

Social Life of Snakes ... 1010

Fishing around Ahmedabad. 1011

Alcock, Lt.-Col. A. W.,

C.I.E., F.R.S. ; Obituarial

Notice of *.. ... 726

Ali, Salim and Whisti.kr,

Hugh; The Hyderabad State

Ornithological Survey, Part II

{With two plates) ... 707

Part III. ( With two plates ). 898

Bayley-de Castro, A.; Early

arrival of Snipe in the Anda-

mans ... ... ... 1005

Blatter, E., S.J. Ph.D.,

F.L.S., and McCann, C.}

F.L.S.; Revision of the Flora

of the Bombay Presidency

Part XXI. ( With tzvo plates ) 524,

781

and McCann,

C.,f.l.s.; Fruit of Crypto-

coryne tortuosa, Blatter &

McCann {With 2 text- figures) 760

and Fernandez, J.; The

Flora of Waziristan. Part I.

( With one map and one plate) . 665

Part II. ( With two plates)... 950

and Millard,

W. S., F.Z.S.; Some Beauti-

ful Indian Trees. Part XII.

( With one coloured, one} black

and white plate and 2 dia-

grams) ... 521, 778

Page

Bombay Natural History

Society, Proceedings of the

Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee

Meeting ... ... 1024

Brander, A. A. Dunbar ;

The colour of ‘ White Bison ’

{Bibos gaurus) ... ... 985

Burton, Lt.-Col., R. W., I.A.

Retd.; A Visit to Whipsnade

Zoological Park ... ... 878

Caius, J. F., S. J., F.L.S. and

Bharucha, K. H,, B.A.,

B.Sc.; Earth-eating and Salt-

licking in India. Analyses

XXVl-XXXI ... ... 978

Connor, Col., F.P., I.M.S.;

Mosquito swarms ... 1017

Rhythmic sound produced

by Termites at work ... 1018

Cunningham, G.; Occurrence

of the European Bustard

{Otis tarda tarda) in the

North-west Frontier Pro-

vince ... ... ... 752

Drake, Carl J.; On some

T ingitidcs from South India,

including two new species

{Hemiptera) ... ... 1015

Dunbar-Brander, A. A.; The

Preservation of Wild Life in

India, No, 1. The Central

Provinces Supplement. 40-45

D’Abrku, E. A., F.Z.S.; Notes

on the Vernay Scientific Sur-

vey of the Eastern Ghats

{Ornithological Section) with

reference to the races of

Otocompsa jocosa , Chloropsis

aurifrons, etc ... ... 749

Editors ; Wild Dogs driving a

Panther from its’4 kill ’ ... 745

A newly born Bison

calf ... m ... 746

X

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Page

Editors ; Range of the Blue-

Throated Barbet ( Cyanops

asiatica) ... • •• 750

Notes on the Wood-

cock and Curlew ... ... 751

Range of the Great-

Crested Grebe {Police ps

cristatus cristatus ) ... 753

Tigers attacking

Elephants ... ... 984

The Colour of

‘ White Bison ’ ... 985

Casualties among

Deer in captivity ... 987

Riding down Part-

ridges ... ... „ 1004

Hatching of Part-

ridge eggs on a table ... 1005

- — — Food of Toads and

Frogs ... ... 1010

Cannibalism in

Snakes ... ... 1011

Fernandez, J. see Blatter,

E.

Foulkes, R., O.B.E., M.L.C.;

'A Toad ( Bufo melanostictus )

swallowing a Bronze-backed

Tree Snake ( Dendrophis

pictus) ... ... 1009

Fox, E. A., Storrs, Occur-

rence of the Blue-throated

Barbet {Cyanops asiatica) at

Murree ... ... 750

Fraser, Lieut. -Col. F. C.,

I.M.S., F.E.S. ; Indian Dra-

gonflies, Part XLI. ( With

two . plates and two text-

figures) ... ... 607

- Occurrence of Actias mcenas

Doubl. in Travancore ... 759

Gee, E. P. ; Note on the deve-

lopment of the casque of the

Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill

( A nthracoceros alb irostri s )

( With one plate) ... 750

Grimes, G., Hatching of

Partridge eggs exposed on

table ... ... ... 1004

Harrison, James M., D.Sc.,

F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., A case of

Page

Osteogenesis imperfecta occur-

ring in a wild bird ( With a

block and two text-figures) ... 754

Home, Lt.-Col. W.M., Logan;

Occurrence of Zeltus etolus

near Cannanore, Malabar ... 759

Higgins, J. C., I. C. S. ; The

Game Birds and Animals of

the Manipur State, with notes

on their numbers, migration

and Habits, Part II ... 591

-- ,

Part III ... ... 845

Hora, Sunder Lal, D. Sc.,

F.R.S.E., F.A.S.B., Respira-

tion in Fishes ( With four

plates and twenty -one text-

figures) ... ... 538

Fish of Afghanistan ( With

one map, one plate and two ,

text-figures) ... ... 688

Hubback, Theodore ; Note on

the Ashoka Tree ... 1023

Joshi, A.C., M. Sc.; Inflores-

cence of Asteracantha, Nees

{With one text-figure) ... 765

Khan, M. Hamid, M. Sc.,

LL.B.; Monstrosities in Trout

fry {Salmo fario) in Kulu

( With four text-figures) ... 755

Kinnear, N.B., M.B.O.U.; See

Whistler, Hugh.

Krishnamurti, B.. B.Sc.; On

the Biology and Morphology

of Epipyrops eurybrachy-

dis ... ... ... 944

Laud, D. S.; Flowering season

of the Spotted Gliricidia {G.

maculata) ... ... 760

Lightfoot, S. St. C.; The

Occurrence of the Mallard

Anas plaiyrhyncha at Taung-

gyi, Burma ... ... 100S

Livf.sey, T. R.; Notes on the

Habits of Radcliffe’s Sibia

Leioptila melanoleuca rad-

cliff ei { With a photo) ... 993

; Cuckoos in

the Southern Shan States

{With a plate) ...

997

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

xi

Livesey, T. R. ; Nidification

of the Giant Nuthatch ( Sitta

magna ) ( With a block ) ... 1001

; The nesting

of the Shahin Falcon ( Falco

P ere gr inus ) on a tree ... 1003

McCann, C., F.L.S.; Observa-

tions on some Indian Langurs

{With two plates) ... 618

; Notes on

some Indian Macaques ( With

five p lutes and one text-

figure) ... ••• 796

; The Fly-

ing Fox {P. giganteus) and

the Palm Squirrel ( F . tristri-

atus) as agents of polliniza-

tion in ( Grevillea robusta A.

Cunn). The Silky Oak ( With

one block and two text-

figures ... ... 761

— - ; The

Brown Hawk-Owl ( Ninox

scutulata) feeding on Bats ... 1002

; A Vivipa-

rous Fly and a Chamaeleon..., 1016

; See Blat-

ter, E.

Mackenzie, J. M. D.; * Fur

Farming’ ... ... 983

Millard, W. S., F. Z. S. : See

Blatter, E.

Monteath, G., I. C. S'.; The

Preservation of Wild Life in

India, No. 2. The Bombay

Presidency.

Supplement ... pp. 46 — 58

Morris, R.C., F.Z.S.; Panthers

feeding on Tiger ‘ Kill ’ ... 742

— ; Wild

Dogs killing a Panther ... 744

; Wild

Dogs driving a Panther from

its ‘ Kill ’ ... ... 744

; A newly

born Bison Calf ... ... 746

; Game

Reserves and Flashlight ... 746

; A spirit-

ed old bull Bison ( Bibos

gaurus) ... ... 984

Page

Mosely, Martin E.,

F.R.E.S.; The Indian Gaddi’s

Flies, Life-history, Collection

and Preservation , Part I

{With three plates) ... 657

Mukerji, Dev. Dev.; Report

on Burmese Fishes collected

by Lt.-Col.- R. W. Burton

from the Tributary streams of

the Mali Hka River of the

Myitkyina District (Upper

Burma), Part I {With one

map, three plates and three

text-figures) ... ... 812

Murphy, P. ; Occurrence of the

Baikal or Clucking 'Teal

{Nettion formosum) at Katia-

har, Bengal ... ... 1008

Negt, P. S., M. Sc ; The Small

Red Ant {Solenopsis geminata

rufa) and its usefulness to

man. ( With a plate and a

block) ... ... 1018

PERCY-LANC ASTER, S. j

“Blue” Flowers ... 764

Pillai, DanuShkoti ; Curious

death of Cheetal {Axis axis)

in captivity ... ... 986

Pocock, R. I., F.R.S. ; The

Civet Cats of Asia, Part II.

( With 1 text- figure) ... 629

; The

Palm Civets or ‘Toddy Cats’

of the Genera Paradoxurus

and Pag uma inhabiting

British India, Part I (2 text-

figures) ... ... 855

Prater, S. H., M.L.C.,

C.M.Z.S. ; The Wild animals

of the Indian Empire (an

address given at the Bombay

Natural History Society’s

Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee

meeting Supplement pp. 1-39

Puri, D. R. ; ‘ Butterflies of

Lahore’ ... ... 1011

Rai, Hardit Singh, M.Sc. ;

The Shell-Fisheries of the

Bombay Presidency, Part II.

( With 2 plates , 2 blocks , and 3

text-figures) ... ... 884

Xll

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Page

Reviews —

The Fauna of British India,

including Ceylon and

Burma. Odonata Vol. 1. ... 732

The Book of The Tiger ... 732

Far-off Things ... ... 735

Storche : Erlebnisse mit

dem Schwarzen and

Weissen Storch ... 736

Der Vogel Schnarch : Zwei

Jahre Rallenfang und

Urwald forschung in Celebes 737

What Butterfly is that ? ... 738

A Review of the New

Mysore Game Laws ... 738

Mimicry ... ... 982

Roper-Caldbeck, W. N. ;

Occurrence of the Wood-

cock ( Scolopax rusticola) at

Jhinjhana, U. P. ... ... 751

Rowland, J. W. ; Occurrence

ofthe Russell’s Viper ( ViPera

russellii) in Lower Sind ... 758

Rusby, Capt. L. F., D.S.P.

Two Experiences with

Panther ... ... 743

Scott, Lt.-Col. F. B., I.A.,

F.E.S. ; Notes on the Food-

plants of Indian Hawkmoths. 938

Scott, R. L. ; The colour of

‘ White Bison ’ - ... ... 986

Sevastopulo, D. G., F.R.E.S.;

The form of Colias hyale

occurring at Amritsar ... 1013

The enemies of Danais

chrysippus ... ... 1014

Singh, Surajmal ; Occurrence

of the Great-Crested Grebe

{Podiceps cristatus cristatus )

in Bikaner ... ... 753

Singh, T. C. N. ; ‘ Blue ’

Flowers ... ... 764

Smith, Mrs. C. H. ; Note on

the Sawfly ( Arge pagana var.

victorina ( With three text-

figures) ... ... 1012

Stephenson, Lt.-Col. J.,

C.I.E., F.R.S. ; Obituarial

Notice of ... 728

Page

Stirling, J. H. ; Riding down

Partridges ... ... 1004

Strover, C. H., B.A. ; The

Saw Scaled Viper ( Echis

carinata) about in winter ... 758

Swaine, I. K. ; A Tiger attack-

ing an Elephant ... ... 983

Thyagaraju, A. S., M.A. ; On

the occurrence of the Short-

eared Owl ( Asio flammeus

flammeus ) in Madras City ... 752

; A

note on the migration of the

Swallow-Shrike ( Artamus

fuscus) ... ... 996

Ticehurst, Dr. Claud B.,M.A.

M.R.C.S., F.R.G.S,, M.B.O.U.;

Notes on some Birds from

Southern Arakan ... 920

Wait, W. E. ; Masked

Boobies (Sula dactylatra)

at sea 350 miles from Bom-

bay ... ... ... 753

Waite, H. W. ; Occurrence of

the Sind Babbler ( Chrysomma

altirestris scindicus) in the

Dera Ghazi Khan district of

the Punjab ... ... 748

— ; Occurrence of

the Sheldrake ( T. tadorna) in

the Mianwali District, Punjab 1009

Whistler, H. ; The Black-

backed Shrike ( Lanius nasutus

nigriceps) [Franklin] ... 748

— — — ; De-

scription of a new race of the

White-eye ( Zosterops palpeb-

rosa) ... ... ... 811

; See Ali, Salim.

— ; and

Kinnear, N. B., M.B O.U.,

The Vernay Scientific Survey

ofthe Eastern Ghats (Orni-

thological Section), Part V.... 561

Part VI 832

Willingdon, Lord ; Letter re

Mammals of the Indian

Empire ... ... 1029

LIST OF PLATES

VOLUME XXXVI

Nos. 3 and 4

XIV

LIST OF PLATES

Page

Indian Caddis Flies —

Plate I. Fig. I. Wings of Mystacides nigra L., x 5

Fig. 2. Portion of a wing of a Lepidoptoron x 60

Fig. 3. Wing of a Lepidostoma hirtum , F. x 9

Fig. 4. Some of the scales on the wing of L. hirtum.

F. x 250 ...

Plate II. Trichoptera

Plate III. Trichoptera

Flora of Waziristan —

Map of Waziristan

Plate I. (A) Khajuri Bridge across Tochi River

(B) An aerial view taken in the neighbourhood of

Razmak ...

Fish of Afghanistan —

Map of Afghanistan and the neighbouring country

Plate Fish of Afghanistan

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey —

Plate I. Arti-Margoo, a rock-pool in a forest stream near

Utnoor

II. Tummalacheruvu tank near Nelipaka

Plate

Obituary —

Photo

of Lt.-Coi. A. W. Alcock, c.i.e., f.r.s.

of Lt.-Col. John Stephenson, c.i.e., f.r.s.

Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill Plate illustrating develop-

ment of casque

Indian Macaques —

Plate I.

Plate II.

Plate III.

Plate

IV.

V.

Burmese Fishes-

Plate I.

(A) Adult male of the Stump-tailed Macaque (M.

speciosa )

(B) Adult female of the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M .

speciosa ) ...

(A) ‘ Close up ’ of the face of the Stump-tailed Macaque

(3f. speciosa)

(B) ‘Close up’ showing profile of face and long

shaggy coat of a male Stump-tailed Macaque ( M .

speciosa)

(A) Adult male and female of the Stump-tailed

Macaque (M. speciosa)

(B) Hindquarters of male of the Stump-tailed Macaque

( M . speciosa)

Skulls of Stump-tailed Macaque ( M . speciosa)

Skulls and lower jaws of Stump-tailed Macaque (M.

speciosa) ...

Fig. 1. Lateral view of Nemachilus botia

Fig. 2. Lateral view of Psilorhuynchus balitora

Fig. 3. Ventral view of the anterior portion of the

body of the same

Fig. 4. Dorsal view of the same

Fig. 5. Pharyngeal bone and the teeth of Psilorhyn-

chus sucatio

Fig. 6. Lateral view of Barbus compressus ...

657

660

662

665

668

688

702

707

714

726

728

750

796

797

800

801

803

815

LIST OF PLATES

xv

Plate III. Fig. 1.

Fig.

Fig. 4

3.

Page

Plate II. Fig. 1. Lateral view of Elyptothorax sinense

Fig. 2. Lateral view of Labeo ( Labeo ) dyocheilus

Fig. 3. Ventral view of the anterior portion of the

body of the same... ... ... 820

Lateral view of the type specimen of Barbus

clavatus burtoni

Dorsal view of the anterior portion of the

body of Labeo {Labeo) dyocheilus

Ventral view of the anterior portion of the

body of Nemachilus botia

Dorsal view of the same ... ... 823

Plate III. (A) Rocky left bank of Chasmai River with Nannor-

hops ritchiea?ia

(B) Hyoscyamus muticus ... ... ... 950

Plate IV. (2) (A) Caves carved out of conglomerate in Barari

Tangi above Sararogha Fort

(B) Quercus ilex forming pure growth S. of Razani

Camp

(C) S. E. of Boya Fort ... ,.r... ... 955

Shell -Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency —

Plate I Fig. 1. (A) Panulirus ornatus var decoratus

(B) Peneus indicus ... ... ... 884

Plate II. Fig. ‘ Pag ’ in use in shallow water

2 ‘ Bokshi’ in position at Mahin, Bombay

3. Hauling the ‘ Para * out

4. ‘ Para’ being hauled into a boat... ... 890

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey —

Plate 1. (A) Yellow-throated Sparrow ( Gymorhis xanthoCollis )

at nest

(B) Nest of the Black-bellied Finch Lark {Eremopterix

grisea ) ... ... ... ... 899

Plate II. A congregation of Wire-tailed Swallows {Ftirundo

smithii fitifera) on the rocks of the Patalganga

Gorge at Deglur (Nander District)

Biology and Morphology of Epipyrops eurybrachydis

[LEP1DOPTERA) . An External Parasite of Eury-

brachys tomentosa ... ... ... ... 944

Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States —

Plate (A) Nest of the Burmese Stone-Chat ( Saxicota c.

burmanica ) in a section of hollow Bamboo lying on

the ground 22-4^33

(B) As above. Nest drawn out to photograph egg's.

3 eggs of the Burmese Stone-Chat and one of the

Khasia Hills Cuckoo {Cuculus Canorus bakefi) ... 997

The Small Red-Ant {Solenopsis geminata ruLi) ... 1018

Plate

The Wild animals of the Indian Empire and the problem of their

Preservation — ■

Supplement Page

Plate I. (A) Himalayan scenery above tree-line

(B) Himalayan scenery at the edge of the tree-line ... 16

LIST OF PLATES

XVi

Plate II.

Plate III.

Plate IV.

Plate I.

Plate V.

Plate VI.

Plate VII.

Plate VIII.

Plate IX.

Plate X.

Plate XI.

Plate XII.

Plate XIII.

Plate XIV.

(A) Sind : Typical desert vegetation

(B) Rajputana : Semi desert vegetation

(A) United Provinces : open deciduous forest

(B) Deccan Trap Country: Typical vegetation and

scenery

(A) Assam : Dense evergreen forest

(B) Assam : Interior of dense evergreen forest

The Indian Bison or Gaur ( Bibos gaurus) ...

The Gaur or Indian Bison ( Bibos gaurus ) ...

Banting or Tsaine ( Bibos birmanicus )

The Wild Buffalo (. Bubalis bubalis)

The Urial (Ovis vignei)

The Nyan or Great Tibetan Sheep ( Ovis ammon

hodgsoni)

Marco Polo’s Sheep ( Ovis ammon poll)

The Bharal or Blue Wild Sheep ( Pseudois nahoor)

The Tien Shan Ibex ( Capra sibirica almasyi )

The Sind Wild Goat ( Capra hircus blythi ) ...

The Pir Pinjal Markhor ( Capra falconeri cashmiriensis) .

Page

18

19

20

27

28

29

31

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

VOLUME XXXVI

Nos. 3 and 4

Page

6 88

702

726

550

552

556

Afghanistan, Fish of —

Sketch-map

Fish of, PI

Alcock, Lt.-Col. A. W.,

c.i.e., f.r.s., Photo of the

late

Amblyceps mangois.

Lateral view of, fig.

Anabas testudineus, fig

Andamia heteroptera, fig.

Anthracoceros albirostris.

Illustrating development of

casque, PL, figs. 1-4. ...

Arge pagana.

Insect depositing her eggs,

fig. 1

Freshly made incision,

fig. 2

Incision when eggs are

mature, fig. 3

Asteracantha longifolia .

Inflorescence of, fig.

Balitora brucei , fig

Barbus clavatus burtoni.

Lateral view, PI. fig. 1

compressus.

Lateral view, PL, fig. 6 ...

( Puniius ) sophore.

Dissection of the head

Bibos banteng birmanicus.

Pl. ... Supplement 29

~ gaurus , PL Supplement 28

Brachycentrus subnubilus.

Female carrying egg-sac,

Pl., fig. 5

Egg-sac after having being

placed in water, PL, fig. 6

Larva, removed from its

case, Pl., fig. 7

Pupal cases, Pl., fig. 15 ...

Bubalus bubal is.

Pl.

750

1012

763

546

823

815

539

660

662

Page

Caddis Flies —

Irichoptera Plate i. ... 657

ii. ... 660

iii. ... 662

Calicnemis mortoni.

Dorsal view of anal appen-

dages, Pl. i, fig. 11 ... 607

Left lateral view of same,

PL i, fig. 12 607

Calotropis procera , Pl 526

Capra hire us blythi.

Pl. Supplement 38

— falconer i cashmircensis.

PL Supplement 39

sibirica almasyi.

PL Supplement 37

Ceropegia poly ant ha.

Flowers and fruit, PL,

fig. 2 532

Cochlospermum gossypium , Pis.

521, 522

Coper a annulata.

Left lateral view of anal

appendages, Pl. i, fig. 7... 607

Dorsal view of same, Pl. i,

fig. 8... 607

Dorsal view of head ... 612

assamensis.

Dorsal view of anal appen-

dages, Pl. i, fig. 2 607

Left lateral view of same,

PL i, fig. 3... ... ... 607

marginipes .

Right lateral view of anal

appendages, PL i, fig. 5 . 607

Dorsal view of same, PL i,

fig. 6 607

Wing of, fig 607

Dorsal view of head ... 612

— - -super platypes .

Right lateral view of anal

appendages, PL i, fig. 15

Supplement 31

607

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

xviii

Dorsal view of same, PI. i,

fig. 16 ... ... ... 607

Dorsal view of head ... 612

Cop era v it tat a.

Left lateral view of anal

appendages, PI. i, fig. 9 . 607

Dorsal view of same, PI. i,

fig. 10 607

Dorsal view of head ... 612

Cryptocoryne tortuosa .

Fruit and seed, figs. A & B. 760

Dragonflies, India-

anal appendages, Plate i ... 607

Forest cable tram line, Ka-

valai, Cochin State, Plate ii. 609

Epipyrops eurybrachydis.

Biology and Morphology of,

PI 944

figs. A-C 915

Eremopterix grisea.

Nest of the Black-bellied

Finch-Lark, PL, fig. 2 ... 899 |

Fishes, Burmese

Map 812

Respiration in,—

Plate i. Torrential stream. 542

Plate ii. (A) Habitat of

Gyrinocfieilus

(B) Habitat of

Indian air-

breathing fishes 549

Plate iiL Mechanisms of

aerial respiration ... 552

Plate iv. Mechanisms of

aerial respiration ... 554

Gardenia lutida , Pis. 778, 779

Garra arabica.

(a) lateral view, fig.

(b) under surface of head

and anterior part of body,

fig. ... ... ... 545

Gastromyzon borneensis.

Lateral view of head and

anterior part of body, fig. 546

Goer a pilosa.

Larval cases, PL, fig. 9 ... 669

Grevillea robust a.

Flowers of, fig 761

Open flower and bud, figs. 762

Glyptolhorax pectinopterus.

Lateral view of head and

Page

anterior part of body,

fig 544

Glyptothorax sinense.

Lateral view, Pl., fig. 1 ... 820

Ventral view of anterior

portion, fig. 821

Gymnorhis xanthocollis .

Yellow-throated Sparrow at

nest, PL, fig. 1 899

Gyrinocheilus kaznakoi.

Lateral view of head and

anterior part of body, fig 549

Ventral surface of head and

anterior part of body, fig. 549

Hirundo smithi filifera

Wire-tailed swallows on the

rocks, PI 905

Hoya wightii, PL, fig. 1 ... 532

Hyderabad State Ornithological

Survey —

Arti-Margoo, a rock-pool in

a forest stream near

Utnoor, PL 707

Tummalacheruvu tank

near Nelipaka, PL ... 714

Hydropsyche sp.

Free larva, PL, fig. 13 ... 660

IndoCnemis kempi

Dorsal view of anal appen-

dages, PL 1, fig. 1 ... 607

Right lateral view of anal

appendages, PL 1. fig. 4. 607

Labeo ( Labeo ) dyocheilus

Lateral view, PL, fig. 2 ... 820

Ventral view, PL, fig. 3 ... 820

Dorsal view of anterior

portion, Pl., fig. 2 ... 823

Lampetra fluviatilis

Lateral view , fig. 2... ... 541

Ventral view, fig. 3 ... 541

Leioptila melanoleuca radclif-

lei

Nest and eggs, fig. -•-**„ 993

Lepidopteron

Portion of wing, Pl., fig. 2. 657

Lepidostoma hirtum

Wing, PL, fig. 3 657

Some of the scales on the

wing, fig. 4 657

Leptocercus albifrons

Pupa, PL, fig. 18 ...

662

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Limnophilus flavicornis

Larval cases, PL, fig. 11 ... 669

lunatus

Laval case, PL, fig. 8 ... 669

marmoratus

Pupal grating, PL, fig. 16.. 662

Pupa, Pl., fig. 19 662

Loricaria strigilaia

Ventral surface of head and

anterior part of body, fig. 543

Ventro-lateral view of head

and anterior part of body,

fig 544

Macaca speciosa , Pis. 1-5 ... 796

Micropterna sequax

Dorsal hooks on pupal

exuvium, PL, fig. 20 ... 662

Mystacides nigra

Wings, PL, fig. 1 657

Narcine timlei

Dorsal and ventral views of

young, fig. ... ... 542

Nemachilus botia

Lateral view, Pl., fig. 1 ... 815

Ventral view of anterior

portion, Pl., fig. 3 ... 823

Dorsal view, Pl., fig. 4 ... 823

griff it hii

Lateral view, PL, fig. 1 ... 702

Ventral surface of head and

anterior part of the body,

PL, fig. 2 ... 702

Neptunus sanguinolentus , fig . 893

Osteogenesis imperfecta in a

specimen of Par us major

maharattarum , figs. ... 754, 755

Ostracion cornutus

Lateral view, fig. ... 542

Ovis ammon hodgsoni , Pl.,

Suppl. p. 34

poli , PL, Suppl. p. 35

vignei , PL, Suppl. p. 33

Panulirus ornatus var. decor a-

tus, Pl., fig. 1 884

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus

hermaphroditus

Heads of, figs 870

Skulls, fig., c.d. 876

minor

Head of, fig. 870

2

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus

ravus

Head of, fig.

jerdoni

Anterior part of palate of a

very old specimen, fig. A

Anterior part of palate of

younger specimen, fig. B.

Parhomaloptera microstoma

Ventral surface of head and

anterior part of body,

fig-

Peneus indicus , Pl., fig. 2

Periophthalmus schlosseri ,

fig

Phryganea varia

Median leg of pupa, Pl.,

fig- 21 ...

Pithecus entellus

At drinking pool, Pl. 1,

figs. 1 and 2

— pileatus

Skulls showing the contours

at different ages, Pl. 2 ...

Platycnemis latipes dealbata

Right lateral view of anal

appendages, Pl. 1, fig.

13

Dorsal view of same, Pl. 1,

fig. 14 ... ... ...

Pseudois nahoor, PL, Suppl. p.

Psilorhynchus balitora

Lateral view, PL, fig. 2 ...

Ventral view, PL, fig. 3 ...

Dorsal view, PL, fig. 4 ...

Basipterygium, fig.

Air-bladder, fig.

sucatio

Pharyngeal bone and teeth,

Pl., fig. 5 ...

Randia brandisi , Pl., figs. 1,

and 2

Salmo fario

Abnormations in the fry,

figs. 1-4

— truita var fario

(Bamean Trout)

Lateral view, PL, fig. 3 ...

Ventral surface of head and

anterior part of the body,

PL, fig. 4

Page

870

876

547

884

555

662

618

626

607

36

815

826

830

815

787

757

702

XX

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Lateral view of head and

anterior part of the body,

fig. 1 ... ... ... 703

Arrangements of tooth-

bands, fig. 2 703

Saxicola c. burmanica

Nest, PL, fig. A. 997

Nest with 3 eggs and 1 of

Cuculus canorus bakeri,

PL, fig. B 997

Scylla s err at a, fig. . 892

Sewellia lineolata

Lateral view of, fig. ... 547

Part of the ventral surface

of head showing the

mouth and the associated

structures, fig. ... 548

Shell-Fisheries of the Bombay

Presidency

Larva of Crab, fig. 1 ... 884

Larva of Lobster, fig. 2 ... 884

Stage of Crab, fig. 3 ... 884

‘ Pag ’ in use in shallow

water, PL, fig. 1 ... 890

Bokhsi * in position, PL,

fig. 2 ... ... 890

Hauling the ‘Para’ out. Pl.,

fig. 3 ... ... 890

‘ Para ’ being hauled into

the boat, PL, fig. 4 ... 890

Sitta magna

Nesting-site, fig. ... 1002

SolenoPsis geminata rufa ,

Plate ... ... 1018

Nesting-site, fig. ... 1019

Stephenson, Lt.-Col. John,

C.I.E., F. R. S. Photo of

the late ... ... 728

Viverricula indica well si

Upper and lower side views

of skull, figs. A. and B,... 641

— - — baptistce

Lower side view of skull,

fig. C. ... ... 641

— , Flora of

Rocky left bank of Chasmai

River with Nannorhops

ritchieana, PI. I, fig. a ... 950

Hyoscyamus m u t i c u s ,

PL I, fig. b 950

Caves carved out of conglo-

merate in Barari Tangi,

above Sararogha Fort,

Pl. 3, fig. A ... ... 955

Quercus ilex , forming pure

growth S. of Razani

Camp, PL II, fig. B ... 955

S. E. of Boya Fort, Pl. 2,

fig. C ... ... 955

Wild animals of the Indian

Empire and the Problem of

their Preservation : —

Himalayan scenery above

tree line, Pl. I A.

Himalayan scenery at the

edge of the tree line, PL I

B. Suppl. p. 16

Sind : Typical desert vegeta-

tion, Pl. II A

Rajputana : Semi-desert vege-

tation, PL II B. Suppl. p. 18

United Provinces : Open decidu-

ous forest, Pl. III A

Deccan Trap Country : Typical

Vegetation and scenery, PL

III B. Suppl. p. 19

Assam : Dense evergreen forest

PL IV A. Suppl. p. 20

: Interior of dense ever-

green forest, Pl. IV B.

Suppl. p. 20

ERRATA

Vol. XXXVI, No. 4.

Page 814, line 28, for ‘ shall ’ read ‘ should

,, ,, ,, 38, for ‘ more difficult paths for miles etc.’ read

‘ many difficult paths for mules etc.’.

,, 915, ,, 5, from bottom (reference) for ‘ Zosterops pal-

pebrosa alii ’ read * Zosterops palpebrosa

salimalii. ’

,, 990, ,, 3, from bottom of the page the words ‘ for stuff ’

should read ‘ poor stuff

,, 1006, first three lines of last para. ‘ I have never adopted

the habit of some Shikaris of combing the

ground thoroughly up and down several

times, no matter how tempting the field or

oozy the patch ’ should read—

‘ I have never adopted the pernicious habit of

some shikaris, of combing the ground

thoroughly up and down several times till

all the birds have flown away, for this will

reduce their number to the feeding ground

very materially, no matter how tempting

the field or oozy the patch.’

INDEX OF SPECIES

Abramis sapa

Abutilon cornutum

fruticosum

indicum

Page

706

951

Acanthophyllum macrodon 957

sp 958

Acetes indicus 886

Acherontia spp. ... ... 939, 940, 941

Aconitum chasmanthum 672

dissectum 672

• laeve 671

lycoctonum 671

moschatum 671

— — napellus 672

— var% hian1? ... 672

s pica turn ... 672

violaceum 671

sp 672

Acosmeryx spp. 939

Acridotheres ginginianus 589

torquatus 590

tristis ... 723, 724, 725

melanosternus ... 589

tristis ... 589, 590

Acrocephalus agricola 562, 715

dumetorum 561, 715, 717

stentoreus brnnnescens 561, 714

Actias maenas

Actinodura egertoni ripponi ...

Adina cordifolia

Adiposia macmahoni

rhadinaea

Adonis aestivalis

var. squarrosa

A^githina typhia typhia

Aethiopsar fuscus mahrattensis

torquatus ...

Agestor spp

Agnosia spp

Agrobates brunnescens

Alauda deva

• grisea

gulgula australis

•- - tjriyialis ... .,. ...

... 759

... 923

... 781

... 694

... 669

... 923

... 590

... 982

... 940

561, 714

... 913

... 914

... 913

... 909

xxiv

INDEX OF SPECIES

Anthracoceros albirostris

Anthus campestris griseus

thermophilus

- hodgsoni

rufulus rufulus

— — trivialis haringtoni

— trivialis

Antichorus depressus

Aoria affinis

■ cavasius

merianiensis ...

(Macronoides) dayi 815

Aquila pomarina

Aquilegia olympica

viscosa

vulgaris

— — — ~ — var. caucasica

Page

... 750

... 910

... 931

911, 931

... 910

... 909

... 953

... 818

815, 818

... 818

, 816, 818

... 736

Arabidopsis campestris...

wallichii ...

Arabis albida

Arachnothera longirostra

affinis

pusilla

— magna magna

Aramidopsis plateni

Arborophila rufogularis intermedia

Arenaria holosteoides

„ — : — - neelgerrensis

serpyllifolia

Arge pagana

Argostemma courtallense

, — : — — verticillatum

Argyrolobium kotschyl

mucilagineum ...

— purpurascens

... — — roseum

strigosum

Artamus fuscus

Asclepias annularis

cordata

curassavica ...

~ daemia

dichotomy

echinata

laurifolia

microphylla ...

. odpratissima

— -- pallida

pseudo-sarsa

spiralis

— tenuissima

671

679

676

931

737

936

... 959

... 1012

... 783

... 965

... 964

712, 927, 996

... 529

... 528

... 527

528

530

528

525

527

531

524

527

530

INDEX OF SPECIES

XXV

Berberis lycium

pachyacantha

umbel lata

• — vulgaris

var. aitchisoni

var. calliobotrys

— ~ zabeliana

Berchemia lineata

sp

Bibos banteng,

birmanicus,

frontalis,

gaurus, 984, 985,

Bigelovia lasiocarpa

roxburghiana

— — stricta

Boleophthalmus sp.

Bombax ceiba .

malabaricum ...

Bondar

Borassus flabelliformis...

Borreria hispida

stricta

Botia berdmorei ...

■ hymenophysa

~ nebulosa

Boucerosia edulis

stocksiana ...

truncata-coronata

Brachycentrus subnubilis

Brassica campestris

napus

- oleracea

Page

672

673

... 673

... 963

Suppl. p. 26

Suppl. p. 29

Suppl. p. 28

Suppl. pp. 26, 27

794

555

952

523

856

552

795

794

817

815

817

536

537

662

680

764

660

Brunsfelsia (Franciscea) latifolia

Bubalis bubalis, Suppl. pp. 26, 31

Budytes beema 843, 908

• melanogriseus 909

Bufo melanostictus 1009

Bungia nigrescens

Butorides striatus connectens

Calandrella brachydactyla dukhun-

ensis

Callianthemum cachemirianum

Callichrous bimaculatus

pabda

705

937

815,

Calliope calliope

Calotropis gigantea

procera

Canthium angustifolium

didymum

* — - leschepaultii

911

668

. 818

... 694

... 926

523, 526

526, 1014

... 790

Canthium parriflorum

— rheedei

thyrsoideum...

— umbellatum ...

Capella gallinago gallinago

raddii

megala

• nemoricola

solitaria

Capocta steindachneri ...

Capoetobrama kuschakewitsc

Capparis decidua

— galeata

sodada

spinosa

var. galeata

Capra falconeri cashmiriensis Sup

• falconeri Suppl. pp

jerdoni

• megaceros

Page

790

782

790

849

852

853

847

849

693

706

683

684

683

684

p. 39

hi reus aegagarus

blythi

sibirica

almasyi

skyn

Suppl. p

Suppl. p,

Suppl. pp. 37, 38

Suppl. p. 37

935

Caprimulgus macrourus ambiguus

Caragana acaulis

— ambigua

• — argentea

■ brevisplua

gerardiana

spinosissima ...

— ulcina

Caralluma adscendens ...

■ var. attenuata.

var. fimbriata.

attenuata

edulis

fimbriata

truncato-coronata ...

Carpodacus erythrinus kubanensis

— roseatus

Caryopteris wallichidna

Casarca rutila

Cechenena spp

Cedrela toona

Celerio spp.

Centropus sinensis intermedia

Cephonodes spp.

Cerastium dichotomum

— viscosum

970

971

977

971

537

... 537

... 536

536, 537

... 537

... 837

837, 901

... 764

... 1007

... 939

... 961

940, 941

... 934

... 939

... 958

XXVI

INDEX OF SPEICES

Ceropegia attenuata

bulbosa

fantastica

hirsuta

— hispida

juncea

■ lawii...

■ — - — oculata

■ — polyantha

panchganiensis

stocksii

tuberosa

Certhia asiatica ...

erythrorhynchos

zeylonica

Chadara tenax ...

Chaetornis striatus

Chalcopareia singalensis assamensi

Chaptia aenea aenea

Charadrius dubius dubius

jerdoni

Chasalia virgata

Chaulelasmus streperus

x Eunetta fa

cata

Chibia hottentotta hottentotta

Chlorispora tenella

Chloropsis aurifrons

aurifrons

davidsoni

cochinchinensis cocbi

chinensis

hardwickii malayana

Chomelia asiatica

Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus gutt

cristatus ...

Chrysomma altirostris scindicus

sinensis sinensis ...

Chrysophlegma flavinucha flavin

cha

Ciconia ciconia ...

— — — nigra

Cimicifuga sp

Cinclus gularis

Cinnyris asiatica asiatica

intermedia ...

zeylonica

Circus melanoleucus

Cirrhina afghana...

burnesiana

mrigala

Page

534

535

536

535

536

535

534

535

534

536

535

916

918

917

952

567

931

929

937

793

591

606

929

683

749

923

749

923

786

933

748

922

932

736

671

923

916

931

917

935

693

692

756

INDEX OF SPECIES xxvii

xxviii

INDEX OF SPECIES

Page

Dicrurus macrocercus peninsu-

INDEX OF SPECIES

XXIX

Geophila reniformis

Geranium nepalense

pseudo-aconitifolium

rotundifolium

Glaucidium cuculoides bruegeli

rufescens

Glaucionetta clangula clangula

Gliricidia maculata

Glossonema varians

Glottis nebularia

Glycyrrhiza glabra ... ...

Glytosternon retie ulatus

Glyptosternum reticulatum 692, 696, 697, 706

Page

794

956

935

605

706

526

937

977

697

Glyptothorax botia

burmanicus

conirostre

— dorsalis ...

— — pectinopterus

sinense

Gobio gobio ... ...

7 lepidolaemus

Gcera pilosa

Golabachia laevigata ...

tetragona ...

Gracula intermedia

■ ptilogenys

■ - religiosa

— indica...

intermedia .

— — peninsularis

Gracupica burmanica ...

Graucalus javensis macei

macei siamensis

Grevillea robusta

Grewia betulaefolia

elastica

laevigata ...

populifolia

— sal vi folia

tenax

Gubernatrix cristata

Gurelca^7>.

Gymnena montanum

sylvestre

Gymnorhis xanthocollis

Gymnosporia montana

\ — rcyleana

Gypsophila stewartii

Gyrinocheilus kaznakoi

Habroptila wallacei

... 816

... 817

816, 820

... 816

... 544

815, 816, 820

... 693

... 705

... 660=

... 683

... 586

... 585

... 930

... 586

... 930

... 711

... 792

761, 764

953

... 952

953

952

952.

904

939

530

anthocollis 838, 901

... 962

962

... 958

549

.,. ... 737

XXX

INDEX OF SPECIES

xxxi

Ixora nigricans var. arguta ...

parviflora

polyantha

Jacaranda mimosaefolia

Jynx torquilla intermedia

japonica

Kalliina pp.

Kerivoula picta ...

Ketupa zeylonensis leschenaulti

Keyserlingia griffithii

Kigelia pinnata

Kittaeincla malabarica indica

Knoxia corymbosa

* sumatrensis

Krimnochelidon concolor

Labeo gonius

(Labeo) dyocheilus

Lalage sykesi

Lampetra fluviatilis

Lamprocorax panayensis

Lanius caerulescens

collurodes colluroides

cristatus cristatus

erythronotus

— excubitor lahtora

nasutus nigriceps

— schach caniceps

vittatus

Lasianthus sessilis

Lathyrus aphaca

inconspicuus

odoratus

Leander potamiscus

styliferus

sp.

Leioptila melanoletica radcliffei

Lepidinm draba ...

_____ Canescens

— — — chalepense ...

_ =, glabratum ...

pubescens ...

■ , ^ — — repens

var. typicum

Suppl.

-sativum

Lepidostoma hirtum

Leptadenia gracilis

imberbe

jacquemontiana

pyrotechnica

reticulata

spartium

Page

... 791

764, 765

... 933

... 982

p. 5

... 935

... 977

... 764

... 926

... 789

... 905

... 756

815, 816

... 711

... 541

... 586

... 713

... 927

709, 927

708, 709

... 707

... 748

708, 709

... 708

... 794

... 976

... 886

885, 886

... 886

... 993

... 681

... 657

... 533

Leptocerus albifrons

Leptopharsa ayyari

Leuciscus latus ...

Leucophlebia spp.

Limnocnida indica

Limnophilus flavicornis

lunatus

— marmoratus

Linium grandiflorum var. coccineum

strictum ...

Lobopelta ocellifera

Locustella naevia straminea ...

Loranthus longiflorus

Loticaria strigilata

Lotus angustissimus

corniculatus

gebelia

var. genuinus

-sp. ...

Loxia malabarica

malacca

oryzivora

• — - — philippina

— striata

Lymantria ampla

Lymnocrypta minima ...

Macaca mulatta

villosa...

- radiata

- speciosa

Macacus adusta

arctoides

brunneus

fuscatus

■ lioninus

maurus

— melanotus

nemestrinus ...

ursinus ...

Macrodus

Macroglossum spp.

Macropicus crawfurdi leucogaster

— — javensis crawfurdi

Malcolmia africana

Page

662

1016

705

939

772

660

662

953

... 953

... 1020

... 562

... 918

543, 544

... 970

835, 899

... 899

... 833

832, 898

... 834

... 1014

... 853

768, 769, 809

... 769

... 810

797, 798

... 808

797, 798

... 799

... 808

... 797

798, 799, 808

... 797

... 856

939, 940, 941

933

var. trichocarpa.

Malcomia maritima

— strigosa

var. incana

var. macrantha ...

Malva parviflora

rotundifolia

933

678

679

678

679

678

951

950

xxxii

INDEX OF SPECIES

Malva sylvestris

waziristanensis ...

Mareca penelopej.,

— — — x Eunetta falcata

Marsdenia lanceolata 531

tenacissima

volubilis

var. angustifolia.

var. lacuna

Page

950

951

592

606

532

531

532

531

Marumba ...

Mastacembelus armatus

Mastostigma varians

Maximilianea gossypium

Medicago arabica

denticulata

hispida

. — — — var. apiculata

lupulina

maculata

monantha ...

pseudogranatensis

•— — sativa

sp. ...

Megalurus striatus

Meganoton spp

Melhania futteyporensis

tomentosus ...

Melia azedarch

Melilotus dentatus

— -elegans

— — indicus

— — — messanensis...

— neapolitanus

* — officinalis

• — — sulcatus

- — — sp

Melittophagus spp.

Melophus melanicterus...

— — - — lathami

— — - subcristata...

...904,930,

940, 941

... 815

... 526

... 521

... 968

... 969

... 968

... 868

... 969

... 968

... 969

... 567

... 939

... 952

... 961

... 967

.. 968

... 967

... 679

... 868

... 967

... 968

.. 934

998

930

904

771

605

Meretrix

Mergus merganser orientalis ...

Merops erythfocephalus erythrocephalus 934

— orientalis burmanus ... ... 934

Metabolus coeruleus ... ... ... 784

Metapeneus brevicornis 885

— - — -■ lysianassa ... 885

— — - monoceros.. 885

Microloma^pyrotechnicuin ... ... 533

Micropterna sequax 662

Index of species

Xxxiii

Muscicapa rosea...

Muscicapula hodgsoni ...

melanoleuca

olivaceus poliogenys ...

rubeculoides dialilcema.

rogersi ...

rubeculoides

Mussaenda frondosa var. glabrata ...

glabrata

Myiophoneus temmincki eugenei

— — — temmincki.

Mystacides nigra ...

Myza sarasinorum

Narcine timlei ... ...

Nasturtium officinale

Page

710

926

786

926

657

737

542

676

um

var. microphyll-

... 676

... 781

781

782

purpurea .... ... ... 781

Nemachilus amudarjensis 706

— botia ... 815

boutanensis 706

— brauhi ... 698

griffithi ... 696,697, 699,706

— r- kangjupkhulensis.. 815, 816

Nauclea cadamba

cordifolia

elliptica

missionis

parvifolia

- kessleri ...

- malapterurus

longicauda.

multifaseiatus

— — oxianus

— paucifasciatus

stoliczkae ...

tenuis

• yasinensis ...

Neonauclea purpurea ...

Nephile

Neptunus sanguinolentus

Nerium reticulatum

Neslia paniculata

Netta rufina

Nettion albigulare

■ — — - crecca crecca ...

~ formosum

- — gibberifrons

Ninox scutulata

Notoceras canariense ...

693

706

.. 815

... 706

815, 816

695, 706

694, 695

695

781

941

892

524

682

599

1007

1008

1007

1002

677

593

595

xxxiv

INDEX OF SPECIES

Oriolus chinensis diffusus

■ galbula var. y....

indicus

— — — - oriolus kundoo ...

traillii

xanthornus ceylonensis

583

Page

583

585

584

722

930

585

maderaspatanus 584, 585

— xanthornus

Orthanthera viminea

Orthotomus sutorius guzurata

■ sutoria patia

sutorius sutorius ...

Osteogenesis imperfecta

Otis tarda tarda

Otocompsa emeria

■ flaviventris flaviventris

— — — fuscicaudata

jocosa

Ovis ammon hodgsoni Sup

poli Suppl. p

vignei Supp

cycloceros Supp

„ punjabienisis Supp

Oxalis corniculata

var. corniculata

repens...

foliosa

Oxyambulyx

Oxystelma esculentum ...

— var. wallichii

Oxy tropes polyphylla ...

Paederia foetid a

Paeonia albifiora

— var. sinensis

Palaemon carcinus

Panulirus fasciatus

ornatus var. decoratus

versicolor

Papaver decaisnei

— — - var. dieisianum

dubium

var. laevigatum

hybridum

nudicaule

opiiferum

pavoninum

var. freynei

— .... incornutui

rhoeas ...

somniferum

Papio melanotis ...

584, 930

534

562

929

715

754

752

749

925

749

. p. 34

34, 35

p. 33

960

940

526

527

973

942

672

886

893

674

673

674

673

674

797

Paradisea tristis

Paradoxurus

aureus

felinus

Page

589, 724

... 856

859, 862

... 867

hermaphroditus herma-

phroditus

Paradoxurus jerdoni caniscus..

— jerdoni ...

niger

typus

var. fuliginosus

zeylanicus

var.

-var.

.. 867

865, 866

863, 866

.. 867

859

fuscus 859, 860

montan-

us 859, 860

859

756

886

zeylonensis

Paramoecium caudatum

Parapeneopsis sculptilus

stylifera

uncta

Parapseudecheneis paviei ... 817

Paratelphusa (Barytelpliasa) jacque-

montii

Parexostoma stoliczkae

Parhomaloptera microstoma

Parosteobrama pellegrini

Parus caspicus

cinereus ...

kaschmirensis

major mahrattarum

— — — nepalensis

822

— peregrmus

Passer confucius ...

domesticus indicus

parkini

flaveolus

Passiflora laurifolia

Pastor blythii

— — ■ mahrattensis

— roseus

Pavetta hispidula

var. siphonantha

indica

Pavonia sp.

- — — — glechomifolia

var. glabra

tomentosa...

Peganum harmala

var.

enophylla ...

Pelecus cultratus...

Pellorneum ruficeps mandelli...

.. 892

.. 697

.. 547

817

843, 908

.. 921

.. 754

.. 921

.. 710

.. 902

838, 902

.. 902

.. 930

.. 764

.. 587

.. 590

723

792

951

955

706

922

586

INDEX OF SPECIES

Pellorneum ruficeps minor

snbochraceum

Peneus indicus

var. merguiensis

semisulcatus

Pentatropis cynanchoides

microphylla

spiralis

Pergesa spp

Pergularia daemia

extensa

minor

odoratissima

— pallida

■ ■ tomentosa ...

Pericrocotus brevirostris neglectus

— cinnamomeus

erythropygius erythropy-

gius 711

peregrinus peregrinus ... 710

— roseus roseus ... 710, 92 7

speciosus elegans ... 927

Periophthalmus schlosseri ...554, 555

Periploca aphylla

esculenta

tunicata

Phaseolus aconitifollus

sp .

Phragamaticola aedon

— ~ rufescens

olivacea

Phryganea varia

Pliyllontoehila ravana . . .

Phylloscopus affinis

— — griseolus ...

inornatns humei

lugubris

magnirostris

nitidus nitidus ... 570, 571, 719

plumbeitarsus... 929

virid antis 571, 719

556

.. 525

.. 526

.. 529

.. 976

567, 929

.. 567

567

662

1015

...569, 718, 929

570, 719

.. 571

571, 720

occipitalis

— pallidipes...

— — trochiloides ludlowi ...

t r o c h i 1 i -

oides

tytleri

Picus canus hessei

chlorolophus burmae ...

chloropb oides

572

720

572

571

572

569

932

(Macacus) arctoides...

Pitta brachyura

cyanea cyanea

nepalensis

Platychista

pallasii

Platycnemis lacteola

marginipes

Plectronia angustifolia

- — didyma

parviflora

rheedei

wightii

Plocens burmanicus

infortunatus burmanicus

manyar flaviceps ... 833,

— megarhynchus

797

919

932

931

856

867

609

790

833

930

832

832, 898

753

673

26, 30

686

99,

passermus

philippinus philippi nus

Podiceps cristatus cristatus

Podophyllum emodi

Poephagus grunniens ... Suppl. pp

Polygala hohenackeriana

persicariaefolia 685

sibirica 686

Polyplectron bicalcaratum bical-

caraturn ..- 936

Polyptychus spp. 939

Portulaca quadrifida ... 686

Prinia adamsi 580

albogularis 580

— beavani 580

brevicauda 581

buchanani 566, 717

3

kxxvi INDEX 01

Page

Prinia cinereocapilla 580

cursitans ... ... ••• ••• 716

gracilis ... ... ...564, 578,716

stevensi... ... ... 581

hodgsoni 579

humilis 580

- — — inornata blanfordi ... 581, 930

burmanica 581

franklinii ...577, 579, 582

fusca 57 7, 579, 580

— inornata 576, 577, 578, 579,

721

insularis ... 577, 581

terricolor 577, 578, 581

- — - — insignis 575

lepida ... , ••• 579

macroura... ... ••• 578, 579

maculosa ... ... ••• ••• 578

neglecta ... ... ... ... 579

poliocephala ... ... ••• 581

rufescens ... ... ... 575,579

rufifrons ... ... ... 578, 579

rufula ... ... ... ... 581

socialis brevicauda ... 574,581

inglisi 574

socialis ... ...573, 578, 720

stewarti 573, 579, 581

sylvatica gangetica ... 580, 581

neglectus 575

sylvatica 574, 578, 579, 721

— valida ... ... 575, 579

Prionailurus bengalensis 651

Pseudapocryptes sp 555

Pseudecheneis paviei 822

sulcatus 815, 822

Pseudodolbina spp. 941

Pseudois nahoor, Suppl. p. 36

Pseudoscaphirhynchus bermani ... 706

kaufmanni ... 706

Psilocnemis annulata 615

marginipes 609

— serapica 612,614

— striatipes 609

subannulata 615

vittata 612

Psilogramma 941

Psilorhynchus balitora 815, 816, 828

sucatio 817

Psittacula alexandri fasciata... ... 934

eupatria indoburmanica ... 934

himalayana finschii ... 934

' SPECIES

Index of species xxxvii

Rostratula benghalensis benghalensis. 854 !

INDEX OF SPECIES

kxxviii

Page

INDEX OF SPECIES

xxxix

Page

xl

INDEX OF SPECIES

Page I

Wendlandia exserta

notoniana

thyrsoidea

Xanthiscus fiavescens flavescens

vividus

Xantholsema hmmacephala indica

Xenentodon cancila

Xylocopa

Zeltus etolus

Zizyphus jujuba ...

var. hysudrica

nummularia

* sativa

spina christi

vulgaris

Zoothera marginata

Zosterops palpebrosa salimalii.

Page

782

925

933

815

982

759

962

. 926

811, 915

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

OFFICE BEARERS, 1934

Patrons.

H. E. The Viceroy of India, g.m.s.i., g.m.i.e.

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales9 k.g.

Vice=Patrons.

H.H. The Maharao of Cutch, G.c.S.i., g.c.i.e.

H.H. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, k.c.s.i., k.c.v.o.

H.H. The Maharaja of Rewa, k.c.s.i.

H.H. The Maharaja of Bhavnagar.

H.H. The Maharaja of Travancore.

Mr. F. V. Evans, Haymans Green, Liverpool.

Mr. A. S. Vernay, New York, and London.

Sir David Ezra, Ki., f.z.s. , Calcutta.

Benefactor.

Mr. C. 0. O’Donnell, U.S.A.

President.

H. E. The Right Hon’ble Lord Brabourne, g.c.i.e., m.c., c.m.g.

V ice=Presidents.

H.H. The Maharao of Cutch, g.c.S.i., g.c.i.e.

The Hon’ble Mr. R. D. Bell, c.S.i., c.i.e., I.C.S.

Executive Committee.

Rt. Revd. R. D. Acland, Bishop of Bombay ... Bombay.

Mr. Farrokh E. Bharucha ... ... ... ,,

Rev. Fr. J. F. Caius, s.j. ... ... ... ,,

Mr. C. B. B. Clee, I.C.S.

Mr. Alwyn Ezra, f.r.g.s., f.z.s. ... ... ,,

Mr. J. B. Greaves, m.l.c. ... ... ... ,,

Prof. V. N. Hate, b.sc. ... ... ... ,,

Mr. J. G. Ridland ... ... ... ... ,,

Col. S. S. Sokhey, i.m.s. ... ... ... ,,

Mr. A. Forrington ( Honorary Treasurer) ... ... ,,

Mr. P. M. D. Sanderson, f.z.s. )

Mr. H. M. McGusty } JL Honora r* Secretaries „

Advisory Committee.

LIST OF MEMBERS

LIFE MEMBERS

Aga Khan, H. H. Aga Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah a

(G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.)

Aitken, C. E.

Ali, Hamid A. (I.C.S.)

Alwar, Col. H. H, Sawai Maharaja Sir Jaisinghji

Bahadur (k.c.s.i., g.c.i.e.)

Armstrong, Dr. J. Scaife (m b., ch.B., d.t.m. & h.),..

Armitage, Capt. A. E. (r.e.) ...

Aylesford, The Right Hon’ble The Earl of

Bahawalpur, H. H. The Nawab Capt. Sir Sadiq

Mohammad Khan Abassi (k.c.v.o.) ...

Baini Prashad, Dr. (d.sc.)

Baker, E. C. Stuart (f.z.s.)

Balkrishna Vinayek Wassoodeo

Bansda, H. H. Maharaul Shri Indra Singhji Pratab

Singhji, Raja Saheb of

Baroda, H. H. The Maharaja Sir Sayaji Rao Gaekwar

(G.C.S.I. , K.C.S.I.)

Baria, Shrimant Maharaj Kumar Shree Subhaksinhji

Sahib of Baria ...

Baroda, Shrimant Yuvaraj Pratabsingh Gaekwar ...

Barton, E. L.

Bhavnagar, H. H. The Maharaja Shri Krishna Kumar

Singhji {Vice- Patron)

Bhopal, H.H. Col. SirMahommad Hamidullah Khan

Bahadur (g.c.s.i. ,c.s. i., c.v.o.)

Bikaner, Lt. -General H. H. The Maharaja Shri

Sir Gunga Singhji Bahadur (g.c.s.i., G.c.i.e.,

G.C.V.O., C.B.E., K.C.B., A.D.C., LL.D.)

Bikaner, Capt. H. H. Maharaj Kumar Shri Sadul

Singhji Bahadur (c.v.o.) ...

Bodenham, Count K. Lubienski

Bradshaw, J. P.

Bridgeman, Lt.-Col. Hon’ble H. G. O. (r.f.a.)

Brook, Carlton P. ...

Burton, Brig. -Gen. R. G.

Burton, Lt.-Col. Richard W. ...

Bute, The Most Hon’ble The Marquis of ...

Butler, SirHarcourt (g.c.i.e., k.c.s.i., I.C.S.)

Caccia, Major A. M. (i.f.s.)

Cambay, H. H. Nawab Hussain Yavarkhan Jafar Ali-

khan Saheb Bahadur .^.

Cassamali Jairajbhoy Peerbhoy

Chhota-Udepur, Maharawal Natwar Sinhji F

Christopher, Sydney A. (Bar. -at-Law)

Clarke, L. O. (c.i.E., I.C.S.) ...

Europe.

Bombay.

Satara.

Alwar.

New Zealand.

Quetta.

Aylesford .

Bahawalpur.

Calcutta.

England.

Bombay.

Bansda.

Baroda.

Devgad.

England.

Bhavnagar.

Bhopal.

Bikaner.

London.

Bombay.

England.

Ootacamund.

London .

England.

Cambay.

Bombay.

Chhota-Udepur

Rangoon.

London.

LIST OF MEMBERS

xliii

xliv

LIST OF MEMBERS

Ichalkaranji, Sardar Narayanrao Govind alias

Babasahab Ghorpade

Idar, H. H. Maharaja Shri Himmat Singhji Saheb

Bahadur

Indore, H. H, The Maharaja, Yeshawantrao Holkar.

Inglis, Chas. M. (f.z.s., m.b.o.u.)

Ivens, J. H. (p.w.d.)

Jamkhandi, Shrimant Shankarrao Parashuramrao

alias Appasaheb Patwardhan

Janjira State, H. H. Nawab Sidi Muhammadkhan

Nawabsaheb

Jind, H. H. Maharaja Sir Ranbir Singh (k.c.s.i.,

G.C.I.E.)/

Jodhpur, Lt.-Col. H. H. The Maharaja Sir Umaid

Sing Bahadur (k.c.s.i., k.c.v.o.) {Vice- Patron) .

Kaiser Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, S.M., Lt.-Gen.

Kerr, Dr. A. F. G. ...

Khairpur, H. H. Mir Ali Nawazkhan

Khetri, Raja Sardar Bahadur Singh

Khilchipur, H. H, Durjansal Singh

Kirk-Greene, Mrs. Leslie

Kolhapur, H. H. The Maharaja Lt.-Col. Sir Rajaram

Chhatrapati (g.c.s.i., g.c.i.e.)

Kotah, H. H. The Maharajadhiraj Lt.-Col. Sir Umed

Singhji Saheb Bahadur (g.c.i.e., c.b.e.)

Kya, Saw On (m.a.)

Lewis, J. Spedan

Long, G. R. (i.f.S.)

Lorimer, Major D. L. R. (c.i.e., i.a.)

Lowndes, Capt. D. G.

Ludlow, F. (m.a., m.b.o.u., i.e.s.)

Lynes, Rear Admiral Herbert (c.b., c.m.g.)

Mackenzie, J. M. D. (i.f.s.)

Mandlik, Narayan V.

Mangrol, The Shaikh Saheb ...

Marshall, Arch. McL.

Marshall, J. McL. ...

Maxwell, M.

McConaghy, Lt.-Col. C. B. (i.m.s.)

Ichalkaranji.

Himatangar.

Indore.

Darjeeling.

England.

Jamkhandi.

Janjira-Murud.

Jind.

Jodhpur.

Nepal .

England.

Khairpur.

Khetri.

Khilchipur.

London.

Kolhapur.

Kotah.

Hsipaw.

London.

England.

London.

Lansdowne.

Srinagar.

London.

Europe.

Bombay.

Mangrol.

England.

Scotland.

England.

Millard, A. W. P. ...

Millard, W. S. (f.z.s.)

Miraj, Shrimant Sir Gangadhar Rao Ganesh alias

Babasaheb Patwardhan (k. c.i.e.)

Mitchell, H. H. G. ...

Montagnon, D. J.

Monteath, G. (I.C.S.)

Morvi, H. H. The Maharaja Sir Lakhdiriji Waghji

(k.c.s.i.)

Mosse, Lt.-Col. A. H. E. (c.b.e., i.a.)

Murland, Lt.-Col. H. F.

Mysore, H.H. The Maharaja Sir Krishnaraj Woodayar

Bahadur (g.c.s.i., g.b.e.)

Miraj.

England.

Dibrugarh

England.

Morvi.

England.

Mysore.

LIST OF MEMBERS

xlv

Namjosi, V. K. ... ... ... ... Bombay.

Naraenji, Dwarkadas ... ... ... ,,

Narayanlal Bansilal, Raja ... ... ... ,,

Narsingarh, H. H. Raja Vikram Singhji Sahib

xlvi

LIST OF MEMBERS

Schmid, W.

Scott, R. L.

Seton-Karr, Capt. H. W.

Seymour-Sewell, Lt.-Col. R. B. (lm.s.) ...

Sirmoor, H. H. Maharaja Rajendra Prakash Bahadur.

Smith, A. Kirke

Smith, Major G. De Heriez

Smith, H. C.

Spence, Dr. Arthur D. (m.b., ch.B.) (Edin.)

Spence, Sir Reginald ( Kt ., K.Z.S.)

Standen, Sir B. (k.c.i.e., l.C.S. (Retd.) ...

Stanton, W. C.

Stewart, C. G. (i.p.S., m.a.)

Studd, E.

Suket State, H. H. Raja Lakshman Sen...

Surguja, Maharaja Ramanuj Saran Singa Deo

(c.b.e.)

Swaine, J.K.

Swithinbank, Mrs. B. W.

Tehri-Garhwal, H. H. Raja Narendra Shah Saheb

Bahadur (c.s. i.)

Thomson-Glover, Capt. J. W. (c.b.e.) ...

Udaipur, H. H. The Maharana Sahib Bahadur

Venning, Brigadier F. E. W. (c.b.e.), d.s.o.)

Vernay, A. S. ( Vice- Patron) ...

Waite, H. W.

Walker, Roland

Wauchope, Major R. S. (i.a.)

Whistler, Hugh (m.b.o.u., f.z.s.)

Williamson, Sir W. J. F. (c.m.g., f.z.s., m.b.o.u.) ...

Wilson, Sir Arnold (c.s.i., c.m.g., d.s.o., k.c.i.e.)...

Wyndham, P. (c.b.e., l.C.S.) ...

Germany.

Scotland

England.

London.

Nahan.

Delhi.

Ootacamund.

Burma.

England.

London.

England.

Rangoon.

Calcutta.

Suket.

Surguja.

London.

England.

Tehri .

Kashgar.

Udaipur.

England.

England and U.S.A.

Ambala.

Bombay.

Calcutta.

England.

London.

MEMBERS

Abdulali, Humayun N.

Acharya, H. N. (f.z.s., b.a.) ...

Acland, Rt. Rev. R. D. ( Bishop of Bombay )

Addyman, J.

Aitken, J. E.

Akka-Saheb Maharaj, H.H.S.S.

Alimahomed Mecklai

Ali, Salim A. (m.b.o.u.)

Alington, Capt. N. S. (m.c.) ...

Alipur, Agri. and Horticultural Society of India, The

Secretary

Ali Rajpur, Maharaj Kumar Capt. Fatteshing

Allen, Lt.-Col. C. H. P. (i.m.s.)

Alleyne, Lt. H. Massy

Allsop, F. (i.f.s)

Allworth, C. R. H. ...

Ambalal Sarabhai ...

American Museum of Natural History, The Librarian

Andheri.

Ahmedabad.

Bombay.

Ambernath.

Rajkot.

Kolhapur.

Bombay.

j y

Fort-Sandeman.

Alipur.

Ali Rajpur.

London.

England.

Rangoon.

J »

Ahmedabad.

New York, U.S.A.

LIST OF MEMBERS

xlvii

LIST OF MEMBERS

xlix

Cameron, Thos. KL (f.z.s)

Campbell, A. A. H....

Campbell, A. S,

Campbell, S.

Canning, Fred, (i.f.s., c.i.e.)

Capito, C. Erik (o.b.e.; m. inst. c.e.) ...

Captain, Mrs. A. H. C.

Cardew, Major C. G. (r.e.)

Carnegie Museum, The Director

Carrick, R. B.

Cassell, R. H.

Castens, H. E. (i.f.s.)

Cater, Sir Alexander (k. c.i.e., c.i.e., l.C.S.)

Cave, Capt. F. O. ...

Central Provinces, H. E. The Governor of

Chamba State, H. H. Raja Ram Singh ...

Chamier, Major R. O.

Champion, F. W. (i.f.s.)

Champion, H. G. (i.f.s.)

Champion-Jones, R. N.

Chance, P. V.

Charles, F. D.

Chaudhri, C. M. (i.f.s.)

Chevenix-Trench, C. G. (l.C.S.)

Chopra, Dr. B. N. (d.Sc.)

Christison, Major A. F. P. (m.a.)

Clee, C. B. B. (l.C.S.)

Clifford, Lt. -Col. R.

Clifford, W. Walters

Clough, R. J.

Clubs—

Bombay Club, The Honorary Secretary

Bombay Gymkhana Club, Ltd., The Secretary

Byculla Club, The Honorary Secretary

Central Provinces Club, Ltd.

Club of Western India, The Honorary Secretary ...

Cuttack Club, The Honorary Secretary

Darjeeling Club, Ltd.

Dhanbad Club

I. D. Gymkhana Club

Kolar Gold Field Club

Madras Club, The Secretary

Mawlaik Gymkhana Club, The Honorary Secretary.

Maymyo Club, The Secretary

Muktesar Club, The Honorary Secretary

Naini Tal Club, Ltd., The Secretary ...

New Club, Ltd. ...

Northern Shan States Club ...

Poona Club, Ltd.

Quetta Club, Ltd., The Secretary

Rangoon Gymkhana Club

Kanikhet Club, The Honorary Secretary

Devicolam.

Calicut.

England.

Bara Jamda.

Naini Tal.

San Fernando.

Bandra.

Poona.

U. S. A.

Madras.

Moniarah.

Akyab.

Quetta.

England.

C. P.

Chamba.

Belgaum.

Bahraich.

Dehra Dun.

Coimbatore.

Raipur.

Bombay.

Angul.

Udaipur.

Calcutta.

Fyzabad.

Bombay.

London.

Bijapur.

Calcutta.

Bombay.

Nagpur.

Poona.

Cuttack.

Darjeeling.

Dhanbad.

New Delhi.

Oorgaum.

Madras.

Mawlaik.

Maymyo.

Muktesar.

Naini Tal.

Calcutta.

Lashio, Burma.

Poona.

Quetta.

Rangoon.

Ranikhet.

1

LIST OF MEMBERS

Clubs — continued.

Royal Bombay Yacht Club, The Secretary

Secunderabad Club Library, The Honorary Secre-

tary ...

Saturday Club, Ltd.

Sind Club, The Honorary Secretary

Srinagar Club, The Secretary

Trivandrum Club, The Honorary Secretary

United Service Club, Ltd.

Wellington Gymkhana Club, The Honorary Secre-

tary ...

Willingdon Sports Club

Cocke, Lady H. G. ...

Coldstream, Hon’ble Mr. Justice J. (I.C.S.)

Cole, Lt.-Col. B. L.

Cole, Mrs. Elsie

COLLEGFS AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS —

The Agriculture College

Agricultural College and Central Research Insti-

tute, The Librarian

All Saints’ Diocesan College ...

American College, The Treasurer

Assumption College, The Principal

Baroda College, The Principal

Burma Forest School, The Director

Calcutta, The Presidency College

Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,

The Director

Carmichael Medical College, The Principal

Central College, The Principal

Central Research Institute, The Director

China, The Science Society of China Library

Daly College, The Principal.,.

Dayaram Jetharam Sind College

Forest Research Institute and College, The Forest

Botanist

Forest Research Institute and College, The Princi-

pal ...

Government English School, The Head Master ...

Gujarat College, The Principal

Gwalior, Victoria College, The Principal

Hafifkine -Institute, The Director

Indian Lac Research Institute

Institute of Plant Industry, The Director

Intermediate College, The Superintendent

Islamia College

Karnatak College, The Principal

King Institute, The Director

Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School

La Martiniere College, The Principal ...

Ludhiana, Government Intermediate College, The

Principal

Bombay.

Secunderabad.

Calcutta.

Karachi.

Srinagar.

Trivandrum.

Simla.

Wellington.

Bombay.

England.

Lahore.

Ajmer.

Peshawar.

Cawnpore.

Coimbatore.

Naini Tal.

Madura.

Bangkok.

Baroda.

Pyinmana.

Calcutta.

Bangalore,

Kasauli.

Nanking.

Indore.

Karachi.

Dehra Dun.

Virajpet.

Ahmedabad.

Gwalior.

Bombay.

Namkum.

Indore.

Bangalore,

Peshawar.

Dharwar.

Guindy.

Lovedale.

Lucknow.

Ludhiana*

LIST OF MEMBERS

Colleges and Scientific Institutions — continued.

Madras Forest College, The Principal ...

Maharaja’s College, The Principal

Mayo College, The Principal

Noble College, The Principal

Nowrosjee Wadia College, The Principal

Mrs. A. V. N. College, The Principal ...

Osmania University College ...

Pittapur Rajah’s College

Presidency College, The Principal

Rajkumar College

Rajkumar College, The Principal

Rajaram College, The Principal

Royal College of Medicine, The Professor

Royal Institute of Science, The Principal

Secondary Training College...

St. Joseph’s College, The Principal

St. Mary’s High School

Trivandrum, H.H. Maharaja’s College for Women

University College, The Principal

Victoria College, The Principal

Victoria Technical Institute, The Curator

Wilson College, The Principal

Women’s Christian College ...

Colombo Museum, The Librarian

Colvin, Lt. -Col. E. J. D. (i.a.)

Congreve, C. R. T. ...

Conley, Andrew

Connor, Maj. -General Sir Frank (A7.,d.s.o., f.r.c.s.,

I.M.S.)

Conservator of Forests, Bhopal State

Conservator of Forests, Cochin Government

Conservator of Forests, Working Plan Circle

Conservator of Forests, The Chief

Cook, Ardian H.

Cooke, E. Bernard ...

Cooper, Khan Bahadur D. B. (m.l.a.)

Cotten, Capt. J. C. ...

Covernton, S. H. (I.C.S.)

Cowasji Jehangir, Sir, Kt. (k c.i.e., o.b.e.)

Cowper, G. St. John

Cox, C. E. C. (I.F.S., f.z.s.) ...

Coyajee, Miss R. H.

Cranfield, J.

Crawford, William G. (i.f.S.)...

Crofton, R. M. (I.C.S.)

Croix, O. H. de St. ...

Crombie, A. D. (I.C.S.)

Cruickshauk, F. C. B. (I.C.S.)

Cumming, J. E.

4

Coimbatore.

Ernakulam.

Ajmer.

Masulipatam.

Poona.

Vizagapatam.

Hyderabad, Dn.

Cocanada.

Madras.

Raipur.

Rajkot.

Kolhapur.

Baghdad.

Bombay.

I >

Teppakulam.

Bombay.

Trivandrum.

Rangoon.

Colombo.

Pal ghat.

Nagpur.

Bombay.

Madras.

Colombo.

Srinagar.

Nilgiris.

Jamaica.

Madras.

Bhopal.

Chalakkudi.

Maymyo.

Srinagar.

Bombay.

Edinburgh.

England.

Satara.

Baroda.

Bombay.

99

9 9

Amraoti.

Bombay.

Travancore.

Rangoon,

Nagpur.

Delhi.

Madras,

Sitapur.

Madras,

lii

LIST OF MEMBERS

Cunningham, G, (c.i.e., o.b.e., I.C.S.) ...

Currie, A. J.

Currie, The Hon’ ble Mr. Justice M.M.L. (I.C.S.) ...

Dadachanji, R. R. ...

Dalai, M. P. M.

Dalai, Miss Perin P. M.

Dalai, Dr. Phiroz A. (l.m.s., d.t.m, & h.)

Danson, J. W. W. ...

Darby, A. W. (o.b.e.)

Darjeeling, The Curator, Nat. Hist. Mus.

Daultana, Khan Bahadur Mian Ahmadyar, M.L.C. ...

Davenport, Major C. (o.b.e., r.a.v.c.) ...

Daver, Framroze A....

Daver, The Hon’ble Mr. J. D. (Bar.-at-Law)

Davey, G. H.

David, Meyer I.

Davidson, E. R.

Davidson, M. N. D....

Davies, T. G. B. (a.r.s.m., st. M.i.p.t.) ...

Davies, Capt. V. K. N. (i.a. ) ...

Davis, D. (i.f.s.)

Davis, G. (I.C.S.) ...

Davis, P. W. (i.f.s.)

Davis, Dr. W. St. T.

Dawkins, C. G. E. (i.f.s.)

Delacour, Mous. Jean

Delme-Radcliffe, Lt.-Col. A. (d.S.o.)

Dent, T. V. (i.f.s.)...

Deo, Sri Balavadra Narayan Bhunj

DeRhe Philipe, C. W. V. (f.e.s.)

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, The Besch-

aii'ungsamt

Dewas (Sr.) Prince Vikram Singrao

Dickins, M. J.

Dickson, Lt.-Col. H.R. P. (c.i.e.)

Dinajpur, Maharaja Jagadish Nath Ray ...

Dinshaw, Kaikobad Cowasjee (j.p.)

Director of Museums, S. S. & F. M. States

Dixie, Capt. W. J....

Dobson, F.

Dods, W. K. (c.i.e.)

Donald, C. H.

Donald, Lt. J. O. S...

Donovan, Lt.-Col. C. (i.m.s.) ...

Doyle, Lt.-Col. E. E. (i.m.s.)...

Drake-Brockman, D. L. (c.i.e., I.C.S.) ...

Drake-Brockman, Lt R. F. H. (r.a.)

Dubash.J. K.

Duke, A. H.

Dunbar-Brander, A. A. (o.b.e., i.f.s.) ...

Duncan, Capt. D. L.

Duncan, John E. (p.w.d.)

Peshawar,

Bombay.

Lahore.

Bombay.

Rangoon.

Chandia.

Darjeeling.

Multan.

Bombay.

Kottayam.

Bombay.

Sudan.

Siam.

England.

Bombay.

) I

England.

Coimbatore.

Dwarbund.

Rangoon.

France.

London.

Darjeeling.

Keonjhargarh,

London.

Berlin.

Kolhapur.

Bombay.

Persia.

Dinajpur.

Bombay.

Kuala Lumpur

Karachi.

Panposh.

Calcutta.

Dharmshala.

Tank.

England.

Poona

Lucknow.

Bangalore.

Bombay.

Bangkok.

Scotland.

Loralai.

London.

LIST OF MEMBERS

liii

liv

LIST OF MEMBERS

lv

lvi

LIST OF MEMBERS

Krishnalal, Rai Bahadur Capt. (d.r.t.c., m. i. e & s.,

lviii

LIST OF MEMBERS

lix

lx

LIST OF MEMBERS

lxi

ixii

LIST OF MEMBERS

lxiii

lxiv

LIST OF MEMBERS

lxv

Watson, Col. J. W. (o.b.e., i.m.s.)

Watt, W. R. (m.a., b.sc., d.i.c., f.g.s.) ...

Webb, Lt.-Col. Geo. A. (v.d.)...

Webb, J. E. N.

Webster, Major W. J. (m.c., i.m.s.)

Weldon, Dr. R. P. (m.d.)

West, C. J.

Weston, A. T.

White, L. S. (I.C.S.)

White, Capt. S. J. ...

Whitehead, John (i.f.s.)

Whitehead, Capt. W. A.

Whymper, S. L.

Wickham, P. F. (c.e.)

Wight, W.

Wightwick, Lt.-Col. H. M.

Wilkes, J. S.

Wilkins, P.B. (m.c. , d.f.c.)

Wilkinson, Dr. S. A.

William, Major Chas. H. (i.a.s.c., m.b.o.u.)

Williams, Lt.-Col. C. E. (i.m.s.)

Williams, D. M.

Williams, Capt. G. B.

Williams, J. L. H. ...

Williamson, A. (I.C.S.)

Willis, Col. Sir George (r.e., c.i.e., m.v.o.)

Wilson, The Rt. Hon’ble Lt.-Col. Sir Leslie (p.c.,

G.C.I.E., C.M.G., D.S.O. )

Wilson, C. P. H.

Wimbush, A.

Winckworth, Lt.-Col. H. C. (r.a.m.c.) ...

Winterbotham, G. L. (m.l.c.) ...

Withers, D. S.

Withers, F. W. (i.f.s.)

Wolfe, Dr. E. D. B. (m.b., c.h.b.)

Wordsworth, Major R. G. (r.a.)

Workman, W. H, (f.z.s., m.b.o.u.)

Wrangham-Hardy, G.

Wrenick, C. I. T. ...

Wright, Capt. D. Moncrieff

Yates, J. A.

Yates, T. C.

Young, E. P.

Young, Major H.G. (d.s.o., r.f. a.)

Zerny, Dr. Hans

Zhob Militia, The Commandant

Zoologisches Museum, The

Zurmuhle, E.

London.

Cawnpore.

Mirik.

Adra.

Saidapet.

Chittagong.

Bombay.

London.

New Delhi.

Baroda.

Naini Tal.

Lucknow

London.

England.

Tocklai.

Kolhapur.

London.

Bombay.

J i

Bangalore.

London.

Katha.

Bombay.

Valparai.

London.

England.

Brisbane.

Rangoon.

Madras.

Dehra Dun.

Bombay.

Mariani.

London.

Kuala-Lumpur.

England.

Belfast, Ireland.

Darjeeling.

> )

Scotland.

England.

Katha.

Poona.

England.

Austria.

Ft. Sandeman.

Berlin.

Bombay.

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS— 1934. C283

JOURNAL

ft

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

EDITED BY

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

AND C. MCCANN, F.L.S.

VOL. XXXVI, No. 3

Date of Publication, 15th August 1933 .

or £ 1-0-0,

For terms of membership, see inside front cover.

Honorary Secretary's Address :

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY,

6, Apollo Street, Bombay,

LONDON AGENTS :

DULAU & Co., Ltd.,

32, Old Bond Street, W. I.

Price to Non-Members

... Rs. 13-8-0 .

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National Bank of India, Bishopsgate Street, London,' E.C.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVI, No. 3.

Page

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. Part XII. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D.,

f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z.s. ( With one coloured, one black and

white plate and 2 diagrams.) 521

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency. Part XXI. By Rev.

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s. ( With 2 plates.) 524

Respiration in Fishes. By Sunder Lai Hora, d.sc., f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b.

( With 4 plates and 21 text- figures.) 538

'The Yernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats (Ornithological

Section). Part V. By H. Whistler, m.b.o.u. , assited by N. B. Kinnear,

m.b.o.u 561

The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State with Notes on

Their Numbers, Migration and Habits. Part II. By J. C. Higgins,

i.c.s. 591

Indian Dragonflies. Part XLI. By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s., f.e.s.

( With 2 plates and 2 text- fig tires.) 607

Observations on some of the Indian Langurs. By C. McCann, f.l.s.

( With 2 plates.) 618

The Civet Cats of Asia. Part II. By R. I. Pocoek, f.r.s. ( With one

text-figure.) 629

The Indian Caddis Flies. Part I. By Martin E. Mosely, f.r.e.s. (With

3 plates.) 657

The Flora of Waziristan. Part I. By E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s.

and J. Fernandez. (With one map and one plate.) 665

Fish of Afghanistan. By Sunder Lai Hora, d.sc., f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b. (With

one map, one plate and 2 text- figures.) 688

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey. Part II. By Salim

Ali. (With 2 plates.) 707

Obituary.—

Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock, c.i.e., f.r.s * 726

Lt.-Col. J. Stephenson, c.i.e., f.r.s 728

Heviews. —

The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Odonata.

Vol. 1 732

The Book of the Tiger. 732

Far-Off Things. 735

Storche : Erlebnisse mit dem Schwarzen und Weis sen Storch 736

Der Vogel Schnarch : Zwei Jahre Rallenfang und Urwaldforschung in

Celebes 737

What Butterfly is that? 738

A Review of the New Mysore Game Laws. 738

Miscellaneous Notes. —

I. Panthers feeding on Tiger ‘Kills’. By R. C. Morris, f.z.s. 742

II. Two experiences with Panther. By Capt. L. F. Rusby 743

III. Wild Dogs killing a Panther. By R. C. Morris, f.z.s 744

IV. Wild Dogs driving a Panther from its ‘Kill’. By R. C. Morris,

f.z.s 744

II

CONTENTS OF Vol. XXXVI, No.

o

a

Page

Y. A newly bom Bison Calf. By B. C. Morris, f.z.s 746

VI. Game Beserves and Flashlight. By B. C. Morris, f.z.s 746

VII. Occurrence of the1 Sind Babbler ( Chrysomma altirostris scindicus,

Harington) in the Dera Ghazi Khan District of the Punjab.

By H. W. Waite, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. • 748

VIII. The Black Backed Shrike. ( Lanius nasutus nigriceps [Franklin]).

By H. Whistler, m.b.o.u. 748

IX. Note on the Vernay Scientific Survey of the Fjastern Ghats

(Ornithological Section) with reference to the races of Otocompsa

jocosa , Chloropsis aurifrons, etc. By E. A. D’Abreu, f.z.s. ... 749

X. Occurrence of the Blue-throated Barbet (Cyanops asiatica) at

Murree. By Bev. E. A. Storrs Fox 750

XI. Note on the development of the casque of the Indo-Burmese Pied

Hornbill ( Anthracoceros albirostris). By E. P. Gee. ( With a

plate.) 750

XII. Occurrence of the Woodcock ( Scolopax r. rusticola ) at Jliinjhana,

U.P. By W. N. Boper-Caldbeck 751

XIII. Occurrence of the European Bustard ( Otis tarda tarda) in the

North-West Frontier Province. By G. Cunningham, c.s.i.,

C.I.E., O.B.E., I.C.S . 752

XIV. On the occurrence of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus flam-

meus) in Madras City. By A. S. Thyagaraju, m.a 752

XV. Occurrence of the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps cristatus crist a -

tus) in Bikaner. By Surajmal Singh 753

XVI. Masked Boobies (Sul a dactylatra) at sea 350 miles from Bombav.

By W. E. Wait ... 753

XVII. A case of osteogenesis imperfecta occurring in a wild bird. By

James M. Harrison, d.sc., f.z.s., m.b.o.u. ( With a block and

2 text-figures.) • 75A

XVIII. Monstrosities in Trout Fry ( Salmo fario) in Kulu. By M. Hamid

Khan, m.sc., ll.b. (With 4 text- figures.) 755

XIX. Occurrence of the Bussell’s Viper ( Vipera russellu) in Lower Sind.

By J. W. Bowland 753

XX. The Saw Scaled Viper (Echis carinata ) about in winter. By

C. H. Strover, b.a 758

XXI. Occurrence of Zeltus etolus near Cannanore, Malabar. By Lt.-

Col. W. M. Logan Home 759

XXII. Occurrence of Actias mcenas Boubl. in Travancore. By Lt.-Col.

F. C. Fraser, i.m.s. " 759

XXIII. Flowering season of the Spotted Gliricidia (G. maculata). By

D. S. Laud 760

XXIV. Fruit of Cryptocoryne tortuosa, Blatter and McCann. By E.

Blatter, s.J., ph.D., f.l.s., and' C. McCann, f.l.s. (With

2 text- fig ures.) 760

XXV. The Flying-Fox ( P . giganteus) and the Palm Squirrel (F. tristri-

atus) as agents of pollinization in ( Grevillea robusta, A. Cunn.)

the Silky Oak. By C. McCann, f.l.s. ( With one block and

2 text-figures.) 761

XXVI. ‘Blue’ Flowers. By S. Percy-Lancaster. 764

XXVII. Inflorescence of Asteracantha Nees. By A. C. Joshi, m.sc.

(With a text-figure.) 765

Annual Beport and Statement of Accounts for the Year 1932. 768

Joukn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate ZO.

JohnBaJe.Sons &. DamelssoaLtd London

S.H.P.

The Yellow Silk-Cotton Tf?el.

Cochlospermum Gossypium, DC.

(✓£ nat. size)

Note.—

GAME BIRDS OF INDIA.

Mr. Stuart Baker’s serial on Indian Semi-Sporting Birds was not

received in time for publication in this issue. It will be continued

in the next Number. — Eds.

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society.

August, 1933. Vol. XXXYI. No. 3.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES

BY

E. Blatter,' s.j., pIi.d., f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z.s.

Part XII.

(With one coloured and one black and white plate

and 2 diagrams.)

(Continued from page 355 of this volume.)

Yellow Silk-Cotton Tree.

Popular Names : — Kumbi, Gabdi, Ganiar, Galgal, Gangal (Hind.);

TIopo (Santali); Gulgal (Kol.j; Gangam (Gond); Kontopalas

(Uriya); Kumbi (Pb.); Gajra, Kumbi (N.W.P.); Gungu, Kong,

Gondu-gogu (Tel.); Tanaku, Kongillam (Tam.); Betta tiovare,

Arisina Burga (Kan.); Chima-punji (Mai.); Ganeri (Bliil); Ganeri,

Gunglay, Kathalya gonda (Mar.); Katira-i-Hindi (Pers. and Hind.).

For the Gum: Nat-ka-katera, Nat-ka-katera-gond (Dec.); Hindi-

katera (Hind.); Tanaku-pishin (Tam.); Konda-gogu-banka, Konda-

gogu-pisunu (Tel.); Shima-pangi-pasha (Mai.).

For the Cotton: — Pili-kapas-ki-rui. Katere-ke-jhar-ki-rui (Dec.);

Tanaku-parutti (Tam.); Konda-gogu-patti (Tel.); Shima-pangi-

parutti (Mai.).

Cochlospermum Gossypium DC. Prodr. I (1824) 527. — Maximili-

anea Gossypium 0. Kuntze. (Order Cochlospermaceae). (From

the Greek Kochlos, a shell, snail, therefore anything spirally twisted;

sperma , a seed. Gossypium, cotton, in allusion to the silky wool

in which the seeds are embedded).

Description. — The Yellow Silk-Cotton Tree is usually a small or

medium size tree, averaging from 8 to 18 feet in height. Its

erect trunk, sometimes thicker than a man’s body, and covered with

smooth ash-coloured bark, supports a heavy crown of numerous

branches. The young branches are covered with a soft fine down

and marked with great scars of the fallen leaves. The leaves are

522 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

scattered about the ends of the branches. They are smooth and

bright green above and grey

below, from a covering of

whitish down. The leaf is

borne on a long thick

stalk ; it measures from 3 to

8 inches across the blade

and may have from 3 to 5

pointed lobes. The buds

appear in small clusters at

the end of the branches.

Their much contorted,

close-packed petals are

cupped in a calyx com-

posed of 5 silky, over-

lapping sepals, which are

shed when the buds open.

The leafless branches are

then decked in a glory of

large golden yellow flowers.

They stand out against the

dark boughs and provide a

brilliant note of fresh

colour to the bare stony hill

sides where these trees

mainly flourish. The flower

has 5 bluntly-oval, spread-

ing petals with deeply cleft

or irregular margins. The

stamens are free and numerous, forming with their long red-gold

anthers a dense cluster in the centre of the bloom. The dark

brown pod is almost as

large as a goose’s egg.

It measures about 2-3

inches in diameter, has 5

lobes and contains

numerous kidney-shaped

seeds embedded in soft

silky wool.

Leaf -shedding, Flower-

ing and Fruiting : The

leaves are shed during

the cold season. The

flowers appear about the

beginning of the hot

season at which time

the tree is destitute of

leaves, but they soon

succeed the flowers. The

fruit ripens in May and June, the

by the strong winds which are

beginning of the rains.

seeds being carried long distances

often prevalent before or at the

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate XX f

Yellow Silk Cotton Tree ( Cochlospermum Gossypium).

Photos by Mrs. G. Cron.

Flowers of the Yellow Silk Cotton Tree (C. Gossypium) .

Some beautiful Indian Trees

523

Distribution : Western sub-Himalayas tract from the Sutlej east-

wards up to 3,000 ft., Chota Nagpur, Bundelkliand, the drier parts

of the Indian Peninsula, and the dry region of Burma. Characteris-

tic of dry hilly country, occupying the hottest and stoniest slopes.

— Often planted in gardens and near temples. The tree does not

occur near Bombay, though quite common in the Khandesh Satpuras

and in the hills about Belgaum. It thrives well in gardens and

is quick growing.

Uses : The wood immersed in water for about 8 hours and

the water strained off, mixed with flour and fried, forms a nutritious

food in Sambalpur district. The wood is also used for torches. The

gum is known as Hog gum and the silk-cotton from the seed is

one of those known as Kapok. The leaves are used for the curious

rude leaf-bellows with which the natives of the hills near the Assam

valley smelt iron. The bark abounds in transparent gum, of which

the white ants seem fond, for they kill many trees. This is the

gum katira of the N. W. Provinces of India, and is substituted for

Tragacanth. Wood soft, and only used as firewood. The cotton of

its pods is used for stuffing pillows. The seeds possess a short but

very soft and elastic floss from which fact the plant has received

its specific name. This floss is much too short to be of

any service as a textile fibre, but, with the flosses of Bomb ax

malabarieum , Eriodendron anfractuosum, and Calotropis gigantea,

it has been classed as a ‘silk cotton.’ By some writers these

have recently been designated ‘kapok fibres,’ but there is every

reason to believe that the true kapok of the Dutch upholsterers is

the floss of Eriodendron anfractuosum. In some parts of India

the floss of this tree is collected and used for stuffing pillows, for

which purpose it would seem better suited than the floss from

Bombax malabarieum, as it is not so liable to get matted. It might

be found serviceable as a gun-cotton.

Medicinal Uses: The gum has the properties in a mild degree

of Tragacanth, for which it is proposed as a substitute. It is also

used as a mild demulcent in coughs. The floss has been recom-

mended as admirably suited for padding bandages, splints, etc.,

being soft and cool. On this account it has been suggested as

suitable for pillows and cushions used in hospitals, etc. The dried

leaves and flowers are used as stimulants.

(To be continued)

THE FLORA

REVISION OF

OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., pIi.d., f.l.s.

PART XXI.

(With 2 plates).

( Continued from page 320 of this volume.)

ASCLEPIADACEAE.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., pIi.d., f.l.s., & C. McCann, f.l.s.

ASCLEPIADACEAE, (Cke. ii, 144).

Genera 300. Species 1,700. — Mostly tropical, chiefly Africa, a few in tem-

perate regions.

Cooke gives 25 genera. We have added Cryptostegia, Asclepias and Orthan-

thera ; Daemia has been changed into Pergularia, and Pergularia into Telosma.

1. Hemidesmus R. Br.

Species 1. — India.

1. Hemidesmus indicus R. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. 1 (1811) 57; Grali. Cat.

Bomb. PI. (1839) 122; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. (1861) 147; Wight Ic. t.

594; Cke. ii, 146. — Asclepias pseudo-sarsa Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20; FI.

Ind. ii (1832) 39 ( excl . syn.). — Rheede Hort. Mai. x, t. 34.

Description : Cke. ii, 146.

Locality : Khandesh: W. Khandesh (Blatter & Hallberg !). — Konkan:

Common in Salsette (McCann !) ; Bombay Island (Blatter !). — W. Ghats:

Khandala (Blatter !) ; Pasarni Ghat (Blatter & Hallberg B1630 !) ; Purandhar

(Blatter & McCann !). — Deccan: Poona (Blatter !). — S. M. Country: Belgaum

(Ritchie); Castle Rock (Bliiva !). — Very common throughout the Presidency,

especially in hedges.

Distribution: Waziristan, N. India from Banda to Oudli, Sikkim, south-

wards to Travancore and Ceylon.

2. Cryptolepis R. Br.

Species 20. — Palaeotropics.

1. Cryptolepis Buchanani Roem. & Schult. Syst. iv (1819) 409; Dalz. &

Gibs. Bomb. FI. (1861) 148; Wight Ic. t. 494; Talbot For. FI. Bomb, ii

(1911) 236; Cke. ii, 147.— C. reticulata Wall. Cat. 1640; Royle 111. 270.—

Nerium reticulatum Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 19, FI. Ind. ii (1832) 8. — -

Echites reticulata Roth. Nov. Sp. (1821) 134. — Rheede Hort. Mai. ix, t. 11.

Description: Cke. ii, 148.

Locality: Konkan: Elephanta (Dalzell & Gibson); Karanja (Blatter !). —

W. Ghats: Khandala (Blatter !) ; Panchgani (Hallberg !). — Deccan: Near

Poona (Bliiva). — S. M. Country: Belgaum (Cooke !). — N. Kanara: (Kanara !).

Flowers : At the beginning of and during the rains. According to Talbot

throughout the year.

Distribution: Throughout India, Ceylon, Burma, China.

3. Cryptostegia R. Br.

Lofty climbers. Leaves opposite. Flowers large, in terminal 3-cliotomous

cymes. Sepals lanceolate. Corolla funnel-shaped, tube short, throat camp-

anulate; lobes broad, overlapping and twisted to the right. Coronal scales at the

base of the throat, subulate, entire or 2-cleft. Filaments short; anthers adnate

to the stigma, acute; pollen-masses in pairs in each cell, granular, appendages

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 525

subspathulate. Stigma convex. Follicles thick, divaricate, hard, 3-winged,

furrowed between the wings. Seeds comose.

Species 2. — Tropical Africa, Madagascar.

The following species has been introduced into India and is found as an

escape in many parts.

1. Cryptostegia grandiflora R. Br. in Bot. Reg. (1819) t. 435; Wight Ic. t.

832 and 111. ii, t. 182, f. 9; Bull. 104 Dept. Agric. Bombay p. 7.

Description : A large evergreen glabrous woody climber, stems up to 15

cm. diam., bark grey, juice copious milky. Leaves opposite, 5-10 by 3.8-5

cm., elliptic, usually abruptly narrowed at both ends, coriaceous, glossy above

green beneath, lateral nerves numerous slender arched; petiole 7.5-13 mm. long,

the bases of opposite pairs of petioles joined by a slightly raised line. Flowers

about 5 cm. across, pinkish purple, in terminal di- or trichotomous, few-flowe.red

cymes. Peduncle and pedicels stout, hoary or glabrous; bracts caducous. Calyx

glabrous or hoary, cleft nearly to the base, lobes ovate-lanceolate, acute,

with numerous glands at the base. Corolla funnel-shaped over 5 cm. long,

shortly tubular below, throat campanulate; lobes broad, acute, overlapping to

the right in bud, glabrous. Corona of 5 scales inserted at the base of the

throat, each scale cleft into two, long, subulate segments. Stamens with short

filaments, anthers adnate to the stigma, connectives produced into acute, pro-

cesses connivent over the stigma; pollen-masses granular, in pairs in each cell.

Ovary half-inferior; stigma convex. Follicles 10-12.5 cm. long by 2.5 cm.

broad near the base, woody, angled or winged, divaricate. Seeds 7.5 mm. long,

oblong, compressed; coma 3.8 cm. long. (Ex Parker.)

Locality : Grown extensively in gardens in the Bombay Presidency. Also

found as an escape.

Distribution : A native of Madagascar. Naturalized in many parts of

India.

Uses : See Troup, Silvicult. of Ind. Trees ii, 673,.

4. Periploca Tourn. ex Linn.

Species 12. — Temperate regions of Old World, tropical Africa.

1. Periploca aphylla Decne. in Jacquem. Voy. Bot. (1844) 109, t. 116; Cke.

ii, 148.

Locality: Sind: Tatta (Blatter & McCann D337 ! D539 !)' ; Soorjana hill,

1,800 ft. (Ticehurst 30874 !) ; Thano-Bula-Klian (Woodrow).

Distribution : Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, Waziristan. — Afghanistan, Persia,

Arabia, Egypt.

5. Toxocarpus Wight & Arn. (Cke. ii, 148).

Species 22. — Palaeotropics.

1. Toxocarpus Kleinii Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 61; Wight

Ic. t. 886. — T. concanensis Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 14.

We have united T. concanensis with T. Kleinii. Cooke ii, 149 says that

except in the size of the leaves, T. concanensis does not seem to differ from

T. Kleinii. Everybody knows how variable the leaves are in the Asclepiadaceae.

Gamble does not mention the species in his Flora of Madras (p. 830).

Locality : Only found in the Ivonkan.

Distribution : Konkan of the Bombay Pres. Bababudan hills of Mysore.

Kanara is very doubtful.

6. Genianthus Hook. f. (Cke. ii, 149).

Species 4. — Indo-Malaya.

1. Genianthus laurifolius Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 16. — Toxocarpus lanri-

folius Wight Contrib. 61, Ic. t. 598. — As clepf as laurifolia Roxb. FI. Ind. ii

(1832) 49.

Locality : Konkan and N. Kanara.

Distribution : Sikkim Himalaya in hot valleys, Chittagong to Pegu, .S,

Kanara.

526 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

7. Glossonema Decne. (Cke. ii, 150).

Species 6. — Tropical Africa and Asia.

1. Glossonema varians Benth. in Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii (1876) 748;

Cke. ii, 150. — Mastostigma variant Stocks in Hook. Ic. PI. 9 (1852) t. 863.

Description : Cke. l.c.

Locality: Sind : Jemadar ka Landa, near Karachi (Stocks 467); stony

ground, Karachi (Stocks 64).

Distribution: Sind, Waziristan, W. Rajputana.— Baluchistan, Persia.

8. Calotropjs R. Br. (Cke. ii, 151).

Species 3. — Tropical Asia and Africa.

See: Berteau, A.— Les Calotropis. L’Agric. prat, des pays chauds xii, S.

1, p. 102-109, 224-234, 324-333, 417-428, 467-475: S. 2, p.63-73, 133-143 (1912).

These articles give all the information about our 2 species, botanical,

geographical and economical.

1. Calotropis gigantea R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew ed. 2, ii (1811) 78; Cke.

ii, 151.

Description : Cke. l.c.

Locality : Gujarat : (Sedgwick !) ; Alimedabad (McCann !) ; along B. B.

& C. I. Ry. throughout (McCann !). — Konkan: Bombay Island (McCann !) ;

Salsette (McCann !) ; Uran (Blatter !) ; Pen (McCann !). — W. Ghats: Khan-

dala (Blatter & McCann !) ; Lonavla (McCann !) ; Panchgani (Blatter !). —

Deccan: Poona (Blatter !), along road from Poona to Wai (McCann !). —

S. M. Country: Belgaum Dist. (Talbot), along M. & S. M. Ry. (McCann !).

— N. Kanara: Kala Nuddi (Ritchie 424). — A common weed in waste places.

Distribution: Throughout India, Ceylon, Malay Islands, S. China.

‘Owing to the silky coma the seeds are carried to a considerable distance by

the wind, and the plants spring up readily on open ground and waste places.’

(Troup).

2. Calotropis procera R. Br. in Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, ii (1811) 78; Wight

Ic. t. 1278; Cke. ii, 152.

Description : Cke. l.c.

Locality: Sind: Karachi, Magho Pir (Sabnis B223 !), Clifton sands (Sab-

nis B807 !), Manora Island (Sabnis B828 !) ; Larkana (Sabnis B90 !, B481 !),

S eh wan, Kalar soil (Sabnis B589 !), Laki hill (Sabnis B13 !, B128 !) ;

Khairpur, Mirva canal banks (Sabnis B270 !) ; Nawabshah, Pad Idan (Sabnis

B505 !) ; Hyderabad, Phuleli canal banks (Sabnis B202 !), Ganja hills (Sab-

nis B1005 !) ; Thar and Parkar, Nasarpur (Sabnis B1123 !), Jamesabad (Sabnis

B969 ! B1102 !), Sanghar (Sabnis B626 !), Umarkot, sandy plains (Sabnis

B1089 !) ; Mirpur Sakro (Blatter & McCann !). — Cutch: Very common (Blatter

!). — Kathiawar: Common (Blatter !). — Gujarat: Abundant (Sedgwick). — Khan-

desh: Along Tapti (Blatter & Hallberg !). — Deccan: Poona (Cooke !). — S. M.

Country: Common in the dry parts of Belgaum Dist. (Talbot).

Flowers : Throughout the year.

Distribution: More or less in warm dry places throughout India, Waziri-

stan, Afghanistan, Arabia, Egypt, tropical Africa.

‘Springs up in abundance on, new sandy or gravelly alluvium in the beds of

rivers and is a common forerunner of riverain forests of Acacia catechu and

Dalbergia sissoo .’ (Troup).

9. Oxystelma R. Br. (Cke. ii, 152).

Species 10. — Tropical and subtropical regions.

1. Oxystelma esculentum R. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. i (1811) 40; Cke. ii,

152. — Periploca esculenta Linn. f. Suppl. 168; Roxb. Corom. PI. i, 13, t. 11.

Description : Cke. l.c.

Locality : Sind : Laki (Sabnis B64 !) ; Mirpur Sakro (Blatter & McCann

D59 ! D63 ! D64 !) ; Gulam, limestone hills (Blatter & McCann D60 !) .

Bughar River (Blatter & McCann D58 !). — Cutch: (Blatter !).— Gujarat :

Edges of stream, Watrak and Meshwa Rivers (Sedgwick !). — Konkan : Bombay

(Hallberg !) ; Matunga (Hallberg !) ; Salsette (Hallberg !) ; Uran (Blatter !).

— Deccan : Poona (Blatter !) ; river-bank near the Sangam (Cooke !). — S. M.

Country: Belgaum (Ritchie). — N. Kanara (Law).

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE I.

Flowers of Calotropis proper a B. Br.

Bush of Calotropis procera B. Br.

Photos by C. McCann.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 527

Distribution : Plains and lower hills of India, usually near water (W.

Bajputana), from the Punjab to Ceylon, Assam, Pegu and Tenasserim, Ava,

■lava.

Var. Wallichii T. Cooke, FI. Bomb, ii, 153. — Oxystelma Wallichii Wight

Contrib. (1834) 54; DC, Prodr. viii (1844) 543. — We drop this variety as Cooke

himself admits that in his opinion the question cannot ‘be _ever satisfactorily

settled’. Gamble FI. Madras 833, dees not mention Wight’s species.

10. Asclepias Linn.

Perennial erect herbs. Leaves opposite, alternate or whorled. Cymes umbel-'

liform ; flowers medium-sized or small. Sepals glandular within. Corolla rotate,

lobes often reflexed, naked, valvate. Coronal-scales 5, erect, adnate to the

column, spoon-shaped. Anther-tips membranous, inflexed; pollen-masses one in

each cell, pendulous, flattened, waxy. Stigma depressed, 5-angled. Follicles

turgid, beaked, smooth. Seeds comose.

Species 160. — America, Africa, especially United States.

1. Asclepias curassavica Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 215; Graham Cat. (1839)

120; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. Suppl. 54; Bot. Beg. t. 81.

Popular name : Bastard or Wild Ipecacuanha, Blood flower.

Description An erect undershrub 0.9-1. 2 m. high. Leaves opposite,

7.5-10 by 1.3-2. 5 cm., lanceolate, thin, membranous, narrowed at both ends;

petiole 5 mm. long. Flowers 7.5 mm. across, orange, in axillary umbels;

peduncle 2.5 cm. long; pedicels 1.8 cm^ long. Calyx 2.5 mm. long, cleft to the

base, lobes oblong-lanceolate. Corolla 6 mm. long, lobes reflexed in flower,

valvate in bud. Corona bright orange r of 5 erect processes adnate to the stipe

of the staminal column. Staminal column distinctly stipitate, anthers with

membranous inflexed tips; pollen-masses solitary in each cell, pendulous, flat-

tened, waxy. Follicles solitary, erect, 7.5 cm. by 7.5-10 mm., straight, tapering

at both ends, pericarp thin. Seed ovoid, 5 mm. long, dark brown; coma 3 cm.

lons-

Locality: Extensively grown in gardens, now naturalized, and run wild in

many places. Very abundant in the fields near the railway station at Poona;

found also at Gulam (Indus Delta) in a garden (Blatter & McCann D569 !).

Distribution: A native of the West Indies, introduced into the tropics.

11. Pentatropis (B. Br. ?) Wight & Arn.

Species 8. — Palaeotropics.

Cooke gives 2 species: P. cynanchoides B. Br. and P. microphylla Wight

& Arn. The former has to cede to P. spiralis Decne.

1. Pentatropis spiralis Decne. in Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2, ix (1838) 327, t. 11;

Boiss. FI. Or. iv, 58; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 19. — Asclepias spiralis Forsk. FI

Aeg. — Arab. (1775) 49. — Pentatropis cynanchoides B. Br. in Salt Voy. Abyss.

(1814) Append. 64; N. E. Brown in Dyer FI. Trop. Afr. iv, 380; Cke. ii, 154.

The specific name spiralis is the oldest (1775). Besides there is some doubt

as to whether the plant referred to by B. Brown is a Pentatropis. See Schu-

mann in Engler and Prantl Pflanzenfamilien iv, 2, 258.

Locality: Sind: Larkana, Sehwan, sand dunes (Sabnis B668 !) ; Hydera-

bad, Ganja hill (Sabnis B994 !) ; Thar and Parkar, Mirpurkhas, watercourse

(Sabnis B1029 ! B1041 !), Jamesabad, watercourse (Sabnis B973 !), Sanghar

(Sabnis B624 !) ; Gharo (Blatter & McCann D47 ! D50 ! D51 !) ; Mirpur Sakro

(Blatter & McCann D49 ! D52 ! D61 ! D62 !) ; Kulan Kote Lake, (Blatter

& McCann D48 !) ; Tatta (Blatter & McCann D17 !).

Distribution: Punjab, eastwards to the Jumna Biver, W. Bajputana, Baluchi-

stan, Waziristan, Afghanistan, Arabia, tropical Africa.

2. Pentatropis microphylla Wight & Arn. Contrib. (1834) 52; Wight Ife. t.

352; Decne. in DC. viii, 536; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 20; Cke. ii, 154. — Asclepias

microphylla Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 85; FI.' Ind. ii (1832) 35 —C.ynanchum

acuminatum Thuirb. Obs. in Cynanchum (1821) 5.

Description: Cke. ii, 154.

Locality: Cutch : Very common (Blatter). — Gujarat: Common on laterite

plateau, Talod (Sedgwick !), less common elsewhere (Sedgwick : !); Danos

528 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

(Bhiva).— Konkan: Malabar Hill, Bombay (Graham).— Deccan : Bijapur (Bhiva).

—S. M. Country : Gokak (Bhiva).

Distribution: Waziristan, India (Bengal, Pegu, E. & W. Peninsula,

Deccan), Ceylon.

12. Pergularia L. (non aliorum auctorum).

Twining pubescent or tomentose undershrubs. Leaves opposite, cordate.

Flowers medium-sized, greenish white, in axillary racemose or corymbose

pedunculate cymes; pedipels slender. Calyx 5-partite., 5-glandular, lobes acute.

Corolla-tube short, eampanulate or funnel-shaped; lobes 5, ovate, spreading,

overlapping to the right in bud; corona double, the outer membranous, annular,

5-lobed, the lobes truncate or dentate, the inner of 5 erect, laterally compressed,

lobes spurred at the base and produced above in long free often fimbriate tips

curved over the style-apex. Stamens 5, adnate to the corolla-tube ; filaments

connate in a column; anther-appendages membranous, indexed; pollen-masses

waxy; pendulous, attached in pairs to the shining horny pollen-carriers without

caudicles. Ovary of 2 distinct carpels; styles slender; style-apex slightly con-

vex at top. Fruit of 2 lanceolate, acuminate, smooth or softly echinate, often

recurved follicles. Seeds ovate, minutely pubescent, margined, ending in a

silky white coma; cotyledons suborbicular, radicle pointed.

Species 15. — Africa, tropical Asia.

According to N. E. Brown (Kew Bull. 1917, 323) the genus Pergularia as

established by Linnaeus (Mantissa i, 8) has hitherto been misunderstood. Now

it has become clear that ‘Linnaeus has very accurately and unmistakably des-

cribed the generic structure of the plants on which Bobert Brown afterwards

founded the genus Doemia (usually but incorrectly written Daemia).'

For this reason the species given by Cke. ii, 155 as ‘ Daemia extensa ’ must

be transferred to Pergularia and as the specific name daemia by Forskal is

older, the plant must be called Pergularia Daemia. The same applies to

‘ Daemia cordata ’ now P. tomentosa which was found by Sabnis in, Sind.

1. Pergularia Daemia Blatter & McCann nov. comb. — Asclepias Daemia

Forsk. FI. Aeg. — Arab (1775) 51. — Pergularia extensa N. E. Br. in Dyer FI.

Cap. iv, i, 758; Gamble FI. Madras 837; Haines Bot. Bih. & Or. (1922) 552. —

Doemia extensa B. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. i (1811) 50; Wight Contrib. (1834)

59; Ic. t. 596; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 21; Cke, ii, 155, Parker For. FI. Punjab

(1918) 342. — Cynanchum extensum Ait. Hort. Kew, ed. 1 (1789) 85; Jacq. Ic.

Bar. t. 54. — C. cordijolium Betz. Obs. (1781) 15. — C. echinatum Thumb, in

Cynanch. (1821) 8. — Asclepias echinata Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20. — Raphis-

temma cihatum Hook. f. in, Bot. Mag. t. 5704. — Daemia Forskalii Sehult. Syst.

vi, 113.

Description : Cke. ii, 155.

Locality: Sind: Gholam (Blatter & McCann D57 !), limestone hill

(Blatter & McCann D56 ! D568 !) ; Tatta (Blatter & McCann D54 ! D55 !) ;

Tatta Tombs (Blatter & McCann D53 !). — Clutch: Very common (Blatter !). —

Gujarat: Common in hedges (Sedgwick); Palanpur State (McCann !). — Khan-

desh: Along Tapti Biver (Blatter & Hallberg !). — Konkan: Bombay, common

(Hallberg !). — Deccan: Surwal (McCann !) ; Poona (Woodrow !) ; Wai (Mc-

Cann !). — S. M. Country: Belgaum (Bitchie) ; Dharwar (McCann !).

Distribution: Throughout India in the drier regions, Bajputana, Ceylon. —

Afghanistan, Arabia, tropical and S. Africa, Madagascar.

2. Pergularia tomentosa Linn. Mant. (1777) 53; Desf. FI. Atl. 1, 209;

Lam. 111. t. 176. — Daemia tomentosa (Linn.) Vatke in Oester. Bot. Zeitschr.

(1876) 146. — D. tomentosa Pomel Nouv. Mat. FI. Atl. 82; Muschler Verb.

Bot. Ver. Prov. Brandb. xlix (1907) 114.— D. cordata B. Br. in Mem. Wern.

Soc. Edinb. i, 50; Boiss. FI. Or. iv, 59— Asclepias cordata Forsk. FI. Aeg.-

Arab. (1775) 49. — Daemia incana Decne, in Ann. Sc. Nat. 2, ser. ix, 336

Description: Stems shortly tomentose, with or without a mixture of 'long

hairs, sometimes slightly hispid. Leaves deflexed; petiole 4-6 mm. long:

blade 1-2.25 cm. long, 10 mm. to 2.5-3 cm. broad, cordate-orbicular or cordate-

ovate, apiculate or shortly cuspidate, rather thick, tomentose on both sides.

Flowers in a corymb-like raceme, wdiich (including the peduncle) is 2-5 cm.

long, tomentose or shortly and softly hairy, as are also the 0.8-2. 5 cm. long

pedicels, and the 2-5 mm. long ovate acute sepals. Corolla-tube 2.5-5 mm.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 529

long; lobes 6-6.5 mm. long, oblong-ovate, acute, bearded along the margins.

Outer coronal-lobes 1 mm. long, subquadrate or oblong, obtuse., truncate or

denticulate; inner coronal-lobes 5.5-8 mm. long, fleshy, white, lanceolate,

attenuate into subulate entire or bifid points, rising much above the staminal

column and incurved over it, and with an acute spur about 2 mm. long,

arising below the middle (1-1.75 mm. above the base) of the staminal column.

Follicles 2. 5-5. 5 cm. long, ovoid, acuminate into a beak, more or less echinate,

sometimes nearly smooth, minutely tomentose. Seeds 8 mm. long, 5 mm.

broad, nearly flat, ovate, margined, minutely tomentose on both sides.

Locality: Sind: Laki hill (Sabnis B242 ! B282 !, Ticehurst 28219 !

St. X. C.).

Distribution: N. Africa, Nubia, Egypt, Arabia, Syria, Persia,

Baluchistan.

13. Holostemma B. Br. (Cke. p, 156).

Species 3. — Indo-Malaya, China.

Cooke has one species : H. Rheedianum Spreng. which has to be changed

into H. annulare K. Schum. H. Rheedianum Spreng. is an erect plant with

oblong cuspidate strongly nerved leaves, and therefore very different from FI.

Rheedei Wall. But this name cannot be retained as Asclepias annularis

Boxb. is older.

1. Holostemma annulare K. Schum. in Engl. & PrantI Nat. Pflanzenf.

iv, 2 (1895) 250; Gamble FI. Madras 834. — H. Rheedei Wall. Cat. (1828)

4469; Wight Contrib. 55, Ic. t. 597 ( corona non recte depicta tamquam

surgens e corolla).— Asclepias annularis Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20; FI. Ind.

ii (1832) 37. — Sarcostemma annulare Both Nov. Sp. (1821) 178. — Blieede Hort.

Mai. ix, t. 7. — Holostemma Rheedianum Cke. ii, 156 (non Spreng.).

Description: Cke. ii, 156.

Locality : Konkan : Sion (Blatter !) ; Malabar Hill (Blatter !) ; Salsette

(Blatter !) ; Neral (Bhiva). — Deccan: Kothrud near Poona (Kanitkar) ; Bowdhan

(Cooke). — N. Kanara: In moist forests (ex Talbot).

Distribution: Tropical Himalaya, Pegu, Burma, W. Peninsula, Ceylon,

China.

14. Cynanchum Linn. (Cke. ii, 157).

Species 120. — Tropical and temperate regions.

Cooke gives 2 species : C. Callialata and C. pauciflorum. The latter has

to be changed into C. tunicatum.

1. Cvnanchum Callialata Ham. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 56; Wight Ic.

t. 1279.'

Locality: Add: W. Ghats: Lonavla (Blatter!).

2. Cynanchum tunicatum (Betz.) Alston in Kew Bull. (1932) 60. — Peri-

ploca tunicata Betz. Obs. ii (1781) 15. — Asclepias tunicata Boxb. Hort. Beng.

(1814) 20; FI. Ind. ii (1832) 35. — Cynanchum pauciflorum B. Br. in Mem. Wern.

(Soc. i (1811) 45; Wight Contrib. (1834) 56; Ic. t. 354; Cke. ii, 157. — Cynoctonum

pauciflorum Decne. in DC. Prodr. viii, 528.

Description: Cke.. ii, 158.

Flowers greenish tinged with pink.

Locality: Konkan (ex Talbot), Deccan, S. M. Country, N. Kanara.

Distribution: Carnatic, E. slopes of W. Ghats, from the Pulneys south-

wards, Ceylon.

15. Sarcostemma B. Br. (Cke. ii, 158).

Species 12. — Tropical and subtropical regions.

Cooke has 3 species. Sarcostemma brevistigma will be changed into S.

acidum.

1. Sarcostemma acidum Voigt Hort. Sub. Calcutta (1845) 542. — Asclepias

acida Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20; FI. Ind. ii, 31. — Sarcostemma ■ brevistigma

Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 59; Ic. t. 595; -Jacq. Voy. Bot. 107, t.

113; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 26; Cke. ii, 158.

Description : Cke. ii, 158,

530 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXV 1

Locality: Sind : Umarkot, sanoy plains (Sabnis B1074 !). — Cutch :

Common in stony places (Blatter !). — Konkan (Stocks). — Deccan: In stony

places (Talbot); Poona (Cooke). — S. M. Country: Belgaum (Bitchie 1864).

Distribution: Bengal, Burma, Deccan, Carnatic, W. Peninsula.

2. Sarcostemma Stocksii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 27 ; Cke. ii, 159. —

S. hr achy stigma {per error em pro brevistigma) Hook. Ic. t. 861 ( florurn urn-

bellae axillares non recte delineatae) .

Locality : Sind : Gholam„ limestone hill (Blatter & McCann D523 !) ;

(Stocks 509). — S. M. Country: Dharwar Dist. (Talbot).

Distribution : So far endemic in the Presidency.

3. Sarcostemma intermedium Decne. in DC. Prodr. 8 (1844) 538; Wight

Ic. t. 1281; Cke. ii, 159. — S. viminale Wight Contrib. 59 ( non B. Br.).

Locality : Add : W. Ghats : Pasarni Ghat (Fernandez !) ; Katraj Ghat

(McCann !) ; Khandala Ghat, Satara Dist. (McCann !). — S. M. Country:

Dharwar Dist. {ex Talbot).

Distribution: W. Deccan, Carnatic.

16. Gymnema B. Br.

Species 40. — W. Africa to Australia.

Of the 3 species given by Cooke we omit Gymnema pergularioides Wight

& Gard. as it does not occur in the Presidency.

1. Gymnema sylvestre B. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. 1 (1811) 33; Cke. ii,

160.

Distribution: Central and W. Peninsula from the Konkan to Travancore,

throughout the Bombay Presidency in monsoon forests, common in hedges in

the Dharwar district, also at Mahabiesliwar. and Panchgani, and near the coast

of Karwar, Waziristan, Bundelkhand, Saharanpur, Bihar, N. Circars, Deccan

and Carnatic in dry forests, up to about 2,000 ft. in the hills. Ceylon, tropical

Africa.

Medicinal uses: See K. S. Mhaskar and J. F. Caius : A study of Medicinal

Plants ii Gymnema sylvestre Br. In Indian Medic. Besearch Mem. no. 16

(1930) 1-49.

2. Gymnema montanum Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 31; Cke. ii, 161.

Distribution: Konkan of the Bombay Presidency, W. Ghats, Nilgiris and

Anamalais at 4,000-7,000 ft.

17. Tylophora B. Br.

Species 50. — Palaeotropics.

Cooke gives 5 species. T. tenuis will be changed into T. tenuissima.

1. Tylophora fasciculata Ham. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 50; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iv, 40; Cke. ii, 162.

Distribution: Sub-Himalayan tract of Bohilkand, N. Oudh and Gorakhpur,

eastwards to the Khasia hills, N. Circars, Deccan, Carnatic, Konkan and S. M.

Country of Bombay Presidency.

2. Tylophora tenuissima (Boxb.) Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834)

49; Wight Ic. t. 588. — Asclepias tenuissima Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20;

FI. Ind. ii (1832) 41. — Tylophora tenuis Blume Bijdr. (1826) 1062; Decne. in

DC. Prodr. viii, 608; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 42; Cke. ii, 162.— T. carnosa Wall,

in Wight Contrib. (1834) 49; Wight Ic. t. 351 {non Dalz. & Gibs.).— Asclepias

dichotoma Bottl. in Wallich’s Cat. 8200, B.C.

Distribution: Bombay Presidency (doubtful, see Cke. ii, 163). — Madras

Presidency: W. Ghats, Palni hills and hills of Tinnevelly up to 7,000 ft;

W. Coast, along backwaters in Travancore, Bengal, Burma, Malay Peninsula,

Ceylon, Java, Borneo.

3. Tylophora rotundifolia Ham. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 50; Hook f.

F.B.I. iv, 43; Cke. ii, 163.

Distribution: Sub-Himalayan tracts of Bohilkhand and N. Oudh, Gorakh-

pur, Assam, Konkan, S. M. Country, Ganjam, Anamalais, W- Ghats at

5,000 ft. in Madras Presidency.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 531

4. Tylophora Oalzellii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 43; Cke. ii, 163. — Tylophora

carnosa Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. (1861) 150 ( non Wight).

Locality : Add: W. Ghats: Lonavla (Blatter !).

Distribution: Konkan, W. Ghats of Bombay Presidency. — Endemic (Hook,

f. mentions Malabar, but Gamble does not include it in his FI. Madras).

5. Tylophora asthmatica Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 51; Cke.

ii, 164.

18. Telosma Coville.

Twining undershrubs. Leaves opposite, usually cordate, membranous.

Flowers rather large, yellow or greenish, in axillary umbelliform cymes. Calyx

5-partite, minutely glandular within; lobes lanceolate. Corolla somewhat salver-

shaped, the tube swollen below, sometimes constricted at the throat; lobes

oblong or linear, overlapping to the right, spreading in flower; corona-processes

adnate to the back of the staminal column, erect, free above and sometimes

2-lamellate. Staminal column arising from near the base of the corolla-tube;

anthers with membranous tips; pollen-masses erect, waxy, attached to the

pollen-carriers by short caudicles. Ovary of 2 carpels, style short; style-apex

nmbonate or capitate. Fruit of 2 lanceolate terete rather turgid follicular meri-

carps. Seeds ovate, concave,, ending in a silky coma.

Cooke mentions 2 species under Pergularia, both of which have to be trans-

ferred to Telosma.

1. Telosma pallida (Roxb.) Craib in Few Bull. (1911) 418; Gamble FI.

Madras 844. — Pergularia pallida Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 42;

Wight 1c. t. 585; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 38; Cke. ii, 164. — Asclepias pallida Roxb.

Hort. Beng. (1814) 20; FI. Ind. ii (1832) 48.

Description: Cke. ii, 164 (under Pergularia).

Distribution: Tropical Himalaya, from Murree up to 5,000 ft. eastwards to

Sikkim, Central India, Bihar, Burma, N. Circars, Hyderabad, Gujarat, Deccan

and S. M. Country of Bombay Presidency, Bellary, foot of Anamalais.

*2. Telosma minor (Andr.) Craib in Kew Bull. (1911) 418; Gamble FI.

Madras 844. — Pergulana minor Andr. Bot. Rep. t. 184; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 38;

Cke. ii, 165. — P. odoratissima Wight Contrib. 43; Ic. t. 414. — Asclepias odoratis-

sirna Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 20.

Distribution: A native of the Himalaya. Largely grown in gardens. Siam,

Indo-China, China, Ava.

19. Marsdenia R. Br. (Cke. ii, 165).

Species 100. — Tropical and subtropical.

Cooke l.c. has followed N. E. Brown (Dyer FI. Trop. Afr. iv, 417) in com-

bining the genus Dregea E. Mey. with Marsdenia. Haines did the same in

his ‘Central Provinces’ List’ but again separated Dregea in his ‘Botany of Bihar

and Orissa’, because he found the two genera very distinct in his area.

We follow Cooke and retain 2 of his 3 species : M. tenacissima and M.

volubilis. But his Mi lanceolata we combine with M. volubilis.

See : W. Rothe, Ueber die Gattung Marsdenia R. Br. und die Stammflanze

der Condurango Rinde. Engl. Bot. Jahrb. Ii, 354-434.

1. Marsdenia tenacissima Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 41;

Cke. ii, 165.

Distribution: E. and W. Himalaya, ascending in Kumaon to 4,500 ft.,

N. Oudh, Rajmahal, Chittagong, Ava, Gujarat, W. Ghats, Lower Pulneys at

3,000 ft. in Madras Presidency, Ceylon, Timor, Java.

2. Marsdenia volubilis T. Cooke FI. Bomb. Pres, ii, 166; Gamble FI.

Madras 846; Craib in Kew Bull. (1911) 418. — Dregea volubilis Benth. ex Hook,

f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 46.

Locality: Add: Gujarat: Talod, climbing over trees (Sedgwick). — Kon-

kan: Salsette (McCann ‘ \).—W. Ghats: Panchgani (Hallberg !).

Distribution : Bengal, Assam, Konkan, W. Ghats, Deccan and S. M. Coun-

try of Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency: All plains districts and in the

hills up to 5,000 ft., in dry regions, common; Malay Peninsula, Ceylon, Java.

a. Var. Lacuna Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, MJ.—Hoya Lacuna Ham. in Wall. Cat.

8169; Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 39; Decne. in Jacq. Voy. Bot.

108, t. 114; Decne. in DC. Prodr. yiii, 639; Talbot For. FI. Bomb, ii (1911) 256,

532 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vot. XXXVI

Pubescence hoary or mealy.

Locality : More common than next variety.

b. Var. angustifolia Hook. f. P.B.I. iv, 47; Talbot For. FI. Bomb, ii (1911)

256, f. 419. — Marsdenia lanceolata T. Cooke, FI. Bomb. Pres, ii, 167.

A suberect velvety form.

Locality : Common near Poona and generally throughout the Deccan (Tal-

bot).

20. Cosmostigma Wight (Cke. ii, 167).

Species 1. — Indo-Malaya.

1. Cosmostigma racemosum Wight Contrib. (1834) 42; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv,

46; Cke. ii, 167.

Locality : Konkan: Salsette (Blatter !). — N. Kanara (Talbot).

Distribution: Sylhet, Chittagong, Konkan, N. Kanara, Deccan of the Ceded

Districts of Madras Presidency, Carnatic, Kollimalai hills of Tricliinopoly,

W. Ghats, Nilgiris, coast of S. Travancore, Ceylon, Java.

21. Heterostemma Wight & Arn.

Species 25. — Indo-Malaya.

1. Heterostemma Dalzellii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 48; Cke. ii, 168.

Locality: A very rare species. Konkan: Vengurla and Malvan. — Deccan:

Poona.

Distribution : Endemic.

22. Hoya B. Br. (Cke. ii, 169).

Species 100. — Indo-Malaya, Australia.

We retain the 4 species given by Cooke.

1. Hoya retusa Dalzell in Kew Journ. Bot. iv (1852) 294; Cke. ii, 169.

Distribution: In the rain forests of the Konkan and N. Kanara Ghats,

common near Yellapur, S. Kanara (not endemic in Bombay).

2. Hoya Wightii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 59; Cke., ii, 169.

Locality: Add: W. Ghats: Khandala, very common (McCann !).

Distribution : Bombay Presidency : Deccan Peninsula from the Bombay

Ghats to N. Kanara, on trees throughout the Konkan and N. Kanara, very

common on the Supa Ghats, mostly in rain forests. Madras Presidency:

W. Ghats, hills of Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Anamalais and hills of Tinnevelly, at

4,000-6,000 ft.

3. Hoya ovalifolia Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 37; Cke. ii, 120.

Distribution: N. Kanara: On the Ghats near Yellapur, common in rain

forests (Talbot); Madras Presidency: W. Ghats, from S. Kanara southwards,

not common.

Note: According to Talbot it ‘differs from H. Wightii by the shortly peti-

oled, fascicled and smaller ovate leaves with flat margins, smaller flowers and

a large distinct corona’.

4. Hoya pendula Wight Ic. t. 474 ( non Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib.);

Cke. ii, 170; Haines Bot. Bill. & Or. 561.

Distribution: Bombay Presidency: W. Ghats, Konkan (hills of Colaba

Dist.) ; Madras Presidency : N. Circars., Nilgiris ; Bihar.

Note: Hoya carrosa R. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. 1 (1811) 27, a native of

Queensland, and Hoya Griffithii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 51, indigenous in

the Khasia mountains are cultivated in the gardens of the Presidency.

23. Oianthus Benth. (Cke. ii, 171).

Species 4. — India.

Cooke has 2 species: O. urceolatus and O. disciflorus. We omit the latter,

as there are doubts about its identity as well as its locality. But we add

O. deccanensis Talbot.

1. Corolla urceolate; corona lobes 3-tootlied at the apex 1. 0. urceolatus.

2. Corolla tubular or ovoid-urceolate ; corona lobes en-

tire, rounded ... ... 2. O. deccanensis ,

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE II.

Flowers of Hoya Wightii Hook. f.

Photo by the late F. Hallberg.

Flowers and fruit of Ceropegia polyantha Blatt. & McC.

Photo by C. McCann .

REVISION OF 1 TEE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 533

1. Oianthus urceolatus Benth. in Hook. Ic. PL t. 1191; Cke. ii, 171.

Locality: Konkan : Bewadunda (ex Talbot). — Deccan: Poona (Woodrow).

- — S. M. Country: Hills near Belgamn (ex Talbot). — A very rare species.

Endemic.

2. Oianthus deccanensis Talbot For. El. Bomb. Pres, ii (1911) 260.

Description: A twining shrub; branchlets terete, yellowish pubescent.

Leaves ovate or lanceolate, 5-10 by 1.3-5 cm., acute or acuminate at the apex,

rounded or cordate at the base, thinly coriaceous, scabrous above when young,

glabrescent when old, pale and very sparsely pubescent particularly on the nerves

beneath; petioles about 6 mm. long, sparsely pubescent. Cymes few-flowered

usually sessile, interpetiolar ; pedicels 2.5-5 mm. long, pubescent. Calyx divided

to near the base; sepals 2.5 mm. long, oblong, obtuse with membranous mar-

gins, sparsely pubescent in the middle. Corolla thick, ovoid-urceolate or tubu-

lar, 1.3-1. 6 cm. long by 3.8 mm. diain. ; lobes 1.2 mm. long, triangular, valvate,

with intermediate, minute teeth; corona 5-lobed; lobes broad, incurved with

rounded margins.

Locality: Deccan: Ghats, 18 miles W. of Poona (Talbot).

Distribution : Endemic.

24. Leptadenia B. Br. (Cke. ii, 172).

Species 15. — Tropical Africa, Asia.

We retain the 2 species given by Cooke except that we substitute L. pyro-

technica for L. spartium.

1. Leptadenia reticulata Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 47; Wight

Ic. 350; Hook. f. E.B.I. iv, 63; Cke. ii, 172. — Cynanchum reticulatum Betz.

Obs. ii (1781) 15. — Leptadenia imberbe Wight Contrib. 48.

Locality: Add: Cutch: Bare (Blatter !). — Gujarat: Abundant (Sedg-

wick !) ; Surat (ex Talbot).

Distribution: Punjab, Burma, Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency:

N. Circars, Deccan, Carnatic, westwards to the E. slopes of the Ghats, up to

about 3,000 ft., chiefly in hedges, Ceylon, Ava.

2. Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forsk.) Decne. in Ann. Sc. Nat. (1838) 269;

Boiss. FI. Or. iv, 63. — Cynanchum pyrotechnicum Forsk. FI. Aeg. — Arab. (1775)

53; Del. FI. d’Eg. 54, t. 20, f. 30. — Sarcostemma pyrotechnicum Boem. &

Schult. Syst. vi, 116. — Microloma pyrotechnicum Spreng. Syst. i, 855. — Lepta-

denia Spartium Wight Contrib. (1834) 48; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv, 64; Cke. ii, 173.

— L. J acquemontiana et gracilis Decne. in DC. Prodr. viii (1844) 641.

Description: Cke. ii, 173 (under L. Spartium).

Locality: Sind: Larkana (Sabnis B468 !) ; Sehwan, Kalar soil (Sabnis

B24 !), river-banks (Sabnis B582 !), sand dunes (Sabnis B667 !) ; Laki hill

(Sabnis 83 !) ; Sukkur, Kalar soil (Sabnis B559 !) ; Khairpur, Mirva canal

banks (Sabnis B268 !) ; Nawabshah, Pad Idan (Sabnis B567 !) ; Hyderabad,

Ganja Hill (Sabnis B991 !) ; Indus banks near Kotri (Sabnis B396 !) ; Thar

and Parkar, Nasarpur (Sabnis B1124 !) ; Mirpurkhas (Sabnis B1054 !) ; Umar-

kot, sand dunes (Sabnis B1011 ! B1077 !) ; Mirpur Sakro (Blatter & McCann

D46 !) ; Bughar Biver (Blatter & McCann D45 !) ; Gliaro (Blatter & McCann

!). — Cutch: Very common (Blatter !). — Kathiawar: Abundant (Blatter !) ;

Perim Island (Blatter !) ; occasional near Ahmedabad, locally common in sand

and in other places (Sedgwick !) ; Palanpur (McCann !).

Distribution: Punjab, W. Bajputana, Waziristan, Baluchistan, Sind to

Gujarat, Arabia, Egypt, tropical Africa.

25. Orthanthera Wight (not in Cke.).

An erect virgate leafless shrub. Flowers small, crowded in dense ^)ed uncled

woolly cymes. Calyx-lobes lanceolate, eglandular. Corolla salver-shaped; tube

ovoid, equalling the lanceolate valvate lobes. Corona of 5 small erect scales

inserted in the sinuses of the corolla-lobes, sometimes with an inconspicuous

deshy ring below the anthers. Staminal column ovoid, anther-tips without appen-

dages, pollen-masses globose, stipitate, erect. Stigma included, flat, 5-gonal.

Follicles elongate, cylindric, opening out flat after dehiscence. Seeds comose.

Species 4.— Africa, India.

531 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVl

1. Orthanthera viminea Wight & Am. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 48; Boyle

111. 274, t. 66, f. 1; Decne. Jacq. Bot. Voy. 109, t. 115; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv,

64; Duthie FI. Upper' Gang. PI. ii, 65.

Description : A small erect leafless shrub with stiff glabrous branches about

as thick as a crow’s quill. Flowers dull brown, arranged in compact woolly

cymes; peduncles 0.6-2. 5 cm. long, pedicles very short. Sepals linear-lanceo-

late, nearly as long as the corolla. Corolla salver-shaped, 4 nun. long, villous

outside, tube ovoid; lobes erect, oblong, as long as the tube, keeled and glabrous

within. Follicles solitary, erect, 10-15 cm. long, linear, compressed; pericarp

thin, brown within. Seeds 4 mm. long, coma. 13 mm. long.

Locality: Sind (ex Duthie).

Distribution : Upper Gangetic Plain, Himalaya up to 2,500 ft. from Kumaon

to Peshawar, Punjab, Sind, Bajputana.

26. Ceropegia Linn. (Cke. ii, 174).

Species 125.- — Africa, Asia, Australia.

Cooke has 8 species. We add 4 more.

I. Stem erect

1. Leaves linear, less than 12 mm. wide ... 1. C.

2. Leaves not linear

a. Leaves acute at the base, glabrous ... 2. G.

b. Leaves subcordate at base; glabrous-hairy

above ... ... ... 3. C.

II. Stems twining

1. Calyx-segments shorter than the corolla

a. Leaves fleshy

f Leaves small, less than 12 mm. long

or o ... ... ... 4. C.

ft Leaves more than 12 mm. long, never

wanting ... ... ... 5. G.

b. Leaves membranous

f Corolla-lobes \ as long as the tube

§ Leaves and peduncles glabrous ;

corolla-lobes contracted into a

attenuata.

Lawii.

panchganiensis ,

juncea.

bulbosa.

tuberosa.

hirsuta.

oculata.

polyantha.

Stocks ii.

hispida.

fantastica.

1. Ceropegia attenuata Hook. Ic. PI. ix (1852) t. 867; Hook. f. F.B.I. iv,

67; Cke. ii, 175.

Locality : Konkan : Near Vengurla (Bitcliie) ; Malvan (Dalzell) ; Salsette,

Kanari Caves (Blatter !) ; Ivaranja Island (Blatter !). — Deccan: Junnar

(Woodrow).

Distribution : Endemic.

2. Ceropegia Lawii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 67; Cke. ii, 175.

Distribution : Endemic.

3. Ceropegia panchganiensis Blatter & McCann, nov. sp.

Asclepiadaceae. Sirnilis C. Lawii Hook. f. a qua tamen differt foliis basi

subcordatis nunquam acutis supra et marginibus bulboso-hirsutis , pedunculis

4-5 -floris, pedicellis 8-15 mm. long is, corolla basi multum inflata.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 535

Description: A coarse plant, up to 45 cm. liigli; root a 'tuber. Stem stout,

hard, succulent, slightly thickened at the nodes, pale green, upper part densely

pubescent, hairs with tiny bulbous bases which alone remain in the lower part

of the stem and which make the stem rough. Leaves 3 in a whorl, or opposite,

the lowest ovate-mucronate, the upper ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate,

up' to 9 cm. by 5 cm., base subcordate, never acute, bulbous-hairy above and

on margin, glabrous and subglaucous below, nerves and veins deeply depressed

above, very prominent below; petioles up to 25 mm. long, stout, deeply

channelled above, scaberulous. Flowers in pedunculate cymes; peduncles 4-5-

flowered, arising from between the petioles (not more than 2 peduncles between

2 leaves, sometimes the third leaf is replaced by a peduncle) stout, strict, hairy;

pedicels up to 8-15 mm. long, very hairy. Bracts linear-subulate, up to 3 mm.

long, bright green, glabrous. Calyx divided to the base; sepals 3-4 mm. long,

linear-lanceolate-acuminate, scabrous outside in lower half. Corolla 3-4 cm.

long, tube striate, greenish white or very pale lilac outside, turning purple or

dark blue on drying, much inflated at base, inflated part 8-10 by 5-6 mm., dis-

tinctly ribbed; lobes obovate-acute, incurved, forming a 5-lobed head, 5-6 mm.

long, 7-9 mm. diam., flattened on top, tips united, ventral side of lobes olive

green. Corolla inside: inflated part very dark purple, mottled light brown near

upper constriction, narrow tube dark purple below, getting brownish about the

middle, then turning bluish green just below the lobes; lobes olive green. Outer

corona: cup-shaped, dark purple, 5-lobed, lobes long, bicuspidate, ciliate with

long brittle, stiff hairs. Inner corona-lobes erect, fleshy, yellow, with a few

long stiff hairs, cylindrical, slightly thinner towards apex, 2 mm. long. Anthers

oblong, yellow. Fruit not seen.

Locality: W. Ghats: Panchgani, compound of Bicklan, in high grass

(Blatter 200 type).

Flowers : 24-7-26.

4. Ceropegia juncea Roxb. Corom. PI. i (1795) 12, t. 10; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iv, 68; Cke. ii, 175.

Distribution: S, M. Country, N. Kanara, N. Circars, Carnatic, S. Travan-

core, in dry forests.

5. Ceropegia bulbosa Roxb. Corom. PI. i (1795) 11, t. 7; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iv, 67 ; Cke. ii, 176.

Distribution: Punjab plains, Upper Gangetic plain, Sind (Agharkar),

Gujarat (Sedgwick), Konkan, S. M. Country, Deccan, N. Kanara, S. Kanara

and Malabar, Carnatic.

6. Ceropegia tuberosa Roxb. Corom. PI. i (1795) 12, t. 9; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iv, 70; Cke. ii, 176.

Distribution: Bombay Presidency: Konkan, Deccan, S. M. Country.

Madras Presidency : N. Circars, Deccan and Carnatic to the lower slopes of

the Ghats, up to about 3,000 ft., common.

7. Ceropegia hirsuta Wight & Arn. in Wight Contrib. (1834) 30; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iv, 71; Cke. ii, 177.

Locality: Add: W. Ghats: Khandala (Blatter !) ; Panchgani, in grass

and amongst rocks (McCann !).

Distribution: Mt. Abu, Konkan, Deccan, W. Ghats, Madras Presidency:

N. Circars in Ganjam, Rampa hills of Godavari, W. Ghats, Nilgiri hills,

Anamalais.

8. Ceropegia oculata Hook. Bot. Mag. (1844) t. 4093; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iv, 72; Cke. ii, 177.

Distribution : Konkan. — Endemic ip the Presidency.

9. Ceropegia polyantha Blatter & McCann in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.

xxxiv (1931) 936, with plate.

Description l.c. — When we described C. polyantha we had not seen the

fruit. We found it on the last of October 1932 in the same locality. Here is

the description: Follicles1 erect, parallel or divergent at a right angle, cylindric,

tapering towards a blunt apex, about 10 cm. long, by 0.5 cm. where thickest,

glabrous, smooth, green or greenish purple speckled with purple, tips deep

purple. Seeds ovate-oblong, flattened with a broad submembranous margin,

6.5 by 4 mm., coma about 3.5 cm. long.

Locality : W. Ghats : Lingmala hills near Mahablesliwar (McCann

636 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Fernandez 3470 A, B, C, D ! type, 3441 ! 3442 ! 3471-78 !) ; Khandala, on

top of 'Sausages’ (Blatter ! Herb. St. X. C.).

Flowers : Septr.

10. Ceropegia Stocksii Hook. f. F.B.I. iv (1883) 74; Cke. ii, 178; Gamble

FI. Madras 859.

Description : Cke. l.c. — “A rather large climber with corollas green shaded

with purple spots on the funnel part of the tube; follicles very slender, nearly

1 ft. long.” (Gamble).

Distribution: Bombay Konkan; Madras Presidency: W. Ghats, Anamalais

and hills of Travancore at 2,000-4,000 ft., in moist forests.

11. Ceropegia hispida Blatter & McCann in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.

xxxv (1931) 409, with plate.

Locality : W. Ghats: Panchgani, near Godauli (McCann & Fernandez

3566 !).

Flowers : October.

12. Ceropegia fantastica Sedgwick in Journ. Ind. Bot. ii (1921) 124.

Locality: N. Kanara: Sulgeri, 500 ft., rainfall 200 in. (T.B.D. Bell No.

4252 ! Herb. Sedgwick & Bell).

Flowers : Aug.

Sedgwick calls it ‘a curious species, at once recognisable by the enormously

long and fine calyx segments, bracts and bracteoles. The corolla is in general

shape typical of the genus, the segments of the swollen apical portion meeting

at their tips. The corona was quite indistinguishable in soaked-out flowers.’

27. Frerea Dalz. (Cke. .ii, 178).

Species 1. — Western Peninsula of India.

1. Frerea indica Dalz. in Journ. Linn. Soc. viii (1865) 10, t. 3; Cke. ii, 178.

Distribution : Deccan. — Endemic in the Presidency.

28. Caralluma B. Br. (Cke. ii, 179).

Species 65. — Mediterranean to E. India.

See: F. H. Gravely & P. V. Mayuranatham, The Indian Species of the

Genus Caralluma, in Bull. Madras Government Museum, new series, Nat. Hist.

Sect, iv (1930) pt. 1.

Cooke has 2 species : C. edulis Benth. and C. fimbriata Wall. We follow

Gravely etc. in making C. fimbriata a variety of C. adscendens. Finally we

add Boucerosia truncato-coronata Sedgwick under the name of C. truncato-

eoronata.

I. Flowers arising in or more usually close beside the

axils of the rudimentary and evanescent leaves

1. Outer lobes of corona distinct, 10 in number,

their filamentous apices widely separated

throughout

2. Adjacent pairs of outer lobes of corona fused

to form plates, from the distal end of each

of which arises a pair of long terminal

filaments, almost in contact with one another

at base

a. Angles of stem, at least towards base, rounded;

stems small and of about equal thickness

throughout ... ...

b. Angles of stem, at least towards base,

acute; stems larger, more or less strongly

attenuate distally

II. Flowers terminal, exactly umbellate

1. C. edulis.

2. C. adscendens.

var. fimbriata.

var. attenuata.

3. C. truncato-

coronata.

1. Caralluma edulis Benth. Gen. PI. ii (1876) 782; Cke. ii, 179; Gravely

& Mayur. 8 — Boucerosia edulis Edgew. in Journ. Linn. Soc. vi (1862) 205,

t. 1. — Boucerosia Stocksiana Boiss. FI. Or. iv (1879) 64.

Description : Cke. l.c. — Cooke has not seen the follicles. Edgeworth de-

scribes them like this: Follicles erect, terete, quite smooth and glabrous, very

attenuate. Seeds marginate, winged, long comose.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

Locality : Sind : Jamadar ka Landa (Stocks 533); Mulir, near Karachi

(Woodrow).

Distribution: Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan.

2. Caralluma adscendens R. Br. in Mem. Wern. Soc. i, 25. — Stapeiia

adscendens Boxb. Corom. PI. i (1795) 28, t. 30. — Caralluma fimbriata Wall.

PI. As. Ear. i (1830) 7, t. 8; Loddiges (1832) no. 1863, fig. Cke. ii, 179. —

C. attenuata Wight Ic. (1850) t. 1268; 111. t. 155b, fig. B.

Distribution : Probably occurs in suitable situations all over the Indian

Peninsula .south and inclusive of Poona in the west and G-anjam in the east

(ex Gravely etc.).

Var. fimbriata Gravely & Mayur. 13.

Stems small, not definitely attenuate, sometimes reddish distally, their

angles rounded; flowTers rather small, more or less pendulous, hairy.

Locality : W. Ghats : Pasarni Ghat, about 3,500 ft. (Blatter & Fernan-

dez !). — Deccan: Nira Eiver, 2,500 ft., rocky banks (Fernandez !).

Distribution: Kambakkam, . Nagari, Nagalapuram, Chingleput, Ceylon,

Burma.

Var. attenuata Gravely & Mayur. 13.

Stems, except when young and undergoing rapid growth, strongly attenuate

and usually much branched distally, usually with reddish streaks, their angles

always rounded; total height often well over 60.. cm., of which only the lower

part (less than half this height) is stout ; flowers hairy, less definitely pendulous;

than the preceding variety and often opening more widely when they are

about 15 mm. across, their markings usually dark purple in colour.

Locality: Deccan: Bapudi, 3 miles north of Poona (Ganpat).

Cooke put this plant under fimbriata, but Gravely etc. says that this record

‘almost certainly’ refers to attenuata.

Distribution: See Gravely etc. 13. — The most widely distributed of all

the varieties of C. adscendens.

3. Caralluma truncato=coronata Gravely & Mayur. 21. — Bouccrosia truncatd-

coronata Sedgw. in Journ. Ind. Bot. ii (1921) 125-

Sedgwick calls it an inconspicuous plant with elegant flowers and adds that

it differs from the other Indian species of Boucerosia in having the bifid corona

Ibbes reduced to a broadly truncate top with minute horns or teeth at each end.

(To be continued.)

RESPIRATION IN PISHES’.

BY

Sunder Lal Hora, d.sc., f.r.s.e., f.a. s.b.

Assistant Superintendent, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

With 4 plates and ‘21 text-figures

( Published with permission of the Director, Zoological Survey

of India, Calcutta).

Prefatory Note.

‘Respiration in Fishes’ was the title of my lecture given at the Indian

Museum on the 9th of December, 1932, as part of the series of the Winter

Course of Lectures for 1932-33. Every effort was made to treat the subject in

a popular way, but at the same time the results of all up-to-date researches

on the subject, as well as several new facts and inferences were embodied in

it. In consequence, it was thought advisable to publish the matter so as to

make it available for the university students and research workers. References

to the relevant literature are given at the ,end with the same object in view.

The lecture was illustrated with 44 lantern-slides, but it was not intended

to publish, a large number of figures, as owing to the serious curtailment of

the staff of the Zoological Survey of India and the consequent paucity of

artists in the Survey, it wras noti possible for me to get sufficient illustrations

made for this popular article.. However, after going through the article Mr.

S. H. Prater, Curator of the Bombay Natural History Society, advised me to

illustrate it properly so as to increase its usefulness for the general reader.

On explaining to him my difficulty, he very generously persuaded the Bombay

Natural History Society to make a grant towards the cost of the drawings,

most of which are original delineations of specimens and dissections. I am

very grateful to the Society and to Mr. S. H. Prater for this help.

The photograph showing the habitat of the peculiar fish Gyrinocheilus has

been sent to me by Dr. H. M. Smith of the Siam Fisheries and I am in-

debted to him for permission to reproduce it. The text-figures 7 and 15 are

taken from one of my notes in the Current Science, and I am thankful to

the Editor, Mr. C. R. Narayan Rao, for permission to use the blocks. Simi-

larly, the Director of the Zoological Survey of India has very kindly allowed

me to use the blocks of text-figures 9, 13 and 14, wdiich are taken from my

papers in the Records and Memoirs of the Indian Museum. The text-figure

10 has already appeared in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.

As it was not possible to refer to details of structures in a popular lecture,

the deficiency has now been made up by giving fairly comprehensive descrip-

tions* of figures.

My grateful thanks are due to Lt.-Col. R. B. S. Sewell, Director, Zoolo-

gical Survey of India, for helpful suggestions and for going through the

manuscript. To Babu R. Bagchi I am indebted for most of the illustrations,

which he has executed with great skill and care. Mr. D. D. Muker ji has

helped me in several ways for which I am thankful to him.

The specimens from which figures in plates 3 and 4 were drawn have been

presented to the Bombay Natural History Society.

* Dr. Das’s paper (16) has proved invaluable in writing up an account of

the figures in plates 3 and 4.

RESPIRATION IN FISHES o39

Respiration, as we all know, is a physiological process which

results in the aeration of blood. The essential feature of this pro-

cess is the taking in of oxygen and giving up of impurities in the

form of carbon dioxide. ‘Paradoxical as it may appear, a constant

supply of fresh air is as important to a fish as to ourselves, the air

being required for its contained oxygen.’1 There is, however, a

great difference in the manner in which oxygen is taken in by a

fish and by any higher vertebrate. The land animals breathe the

atmospheric air direct, and extract the oxygen from it by means

of their lungs, the fishes on the other hand by the use of special

organs known as gills, make use of oxygen contained in the air

dissolved in the water. This can be demonstrated very easily by

Text-fig. 1. — Dissection of the head from the side of Barbus ( Puntius ) Sophore

(Ham. Buch.) to show the passage of the, respiratory current (indicated

by arrows) and the nature and position of the gills. x4.

placing a fish in a vessel containing water from which all air had

been expelled either by the action of a pump or by intense heating.

The fish will speedily show signs of suffocation and will die of

asphyxiation within a very short period. This is true of most of

the fishes but there «,re a few brilliant exceptions which will be

referred to later. I have used the word brilliant advisedly, for

these fishes have made it possible to understand the probable

mode of evolution of the terrestrial vertebrates, including man.

It may be mentioned in passing that all the higher vertebrates,

whether amphibians, reptiles, birds or mammals, possess gill-like

structures of one kind or another at some stage of their lives, thus

providing a clear proof of their fish ancestry. In a human

540 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL BIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXvl

embryo of about 3 to 4 weeks the sides of the throat are provided

with four pairs of clefts, which not only correspond in position to

the gill slits of a fish, but their supporting skeleton and associated

blood vessels provide further resemblances. This fish like apparatus

is, of course, never used for breathing, and as development pro-

ceeds it becomes modified out of all recognition.

I shall not detain you over the anatomical features of the

structure of a gill, but attention may specially be directed to two

outstanding facts. In vertebrate animals all breathing organs, no

matter what their form, are closely associated with the upper

part of the food channel or alimentary canal. Secondly the

function of all respiratory organs is to bring the blood in close

contact with air, whether free or dissolved in water. For this

purpose an extensive area is provided in which blood circulates

in small vessels through extremely thin membranes. In this way

the chemical properties of Haemoglobin, the red colouring matter

of the blood, are brought into play, and result in the absorption

of oxygen and the liberation of carbon dioxide. This evening I

propose to confine my attention mainly to the mechanism of

respiration in fishes, and shall show you the diversity of res-

piratory surfaces in this group of animals.

The normal mode of breathing in a fish consists of an in-

spiratory and an expiratory phase. Inspiration is brought about by

the action of the coraco-mandibular, the coraco-hyoid and the

coraco-branchialis muscles which are attached behind to the pec-

toral girdle. When they contract, they (a) open the mouth, ( b )

lower the floor of the mouth (basihyoid) and (c) drag back the

branchial arches, thus causing' the gill slits to be closed. Now

water rushes in freely. Expiration, which follows soon after, is

brought about by an opposing set of muscles, the ‘lava tors’ of the

mandibular hyoid and branchial arches. These are attached to

the back of the skull and the most anterior part of the vertebral

column. By their action (a) the mouth is closed, (6) the floor of

the mouth- is lifted, thus diminishing the size of the buccal cavity

and (c) the branchial arches are pulled forward causing them to

diverge from one another like the ribs of an umbrella, thus opening

the gill sacs and allowing the water in the pharynx to escape to

the exterior. These respiratory movements are no doubt res-

ponsible for the familiar phrase ‘to drink like a fish.’ The author

of the phrase seems to have erroneously assumed that the regular

opening and shutting of the mouth is a prooF-that the fish drinks.

A fish drinks only to expel the water through the gill openings,

whereas a man who ‘drinks like a fish’ takes the liquid in his

system. There is another difference also. When deprived of a

‘drink’ the majority of fishes become ‘queer’, whereas men become

‘queer’ when they indulge in the habit of ‘drinking like a fish.’

There are, however, exceptions to this rule both among fish and

men. Some fish can go ‘dry’ for a short period, and there are

surely, men who can ‘drink like a fish’ for sometime at least

without any outward effect on their behaviour. So far as actual

drinking is concerned, it is doubtful whether a fish drinks at all,

for during respiration the gullet is so tightly closed behind the

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

541

last pair of pharyngeal clefts that little, if any, water is able to

find its way into the stomach.

Most of the fishes breathe in the manner described, but there

are some which, owing to their peculiar mode of life, have been

obliged to modify this process in accordance with change in their

habits. The Lamprey, for example, has adopted a parasitic

Text-fig. 2. — Lateral view of the Lamprey- Lampetra fluviatilis (Linn.), xl/3.

n: median nostril; b.c : branchial clefts.

habit, and spends a good deal of its time attached to other fishes

by means of its sucker-like mouth. It is obvious that when thus

attached it would be impossible to in-

hale water through the mouth without

losing its hold. The water then is

taken in and expelled from the bran-

chial sacs by their external openings

through the alternate expansion and

contraction of their muscular walls.

Freshwater Lampreys use their

mouths for holding on to rocks in

swift waters. The habits of the re-

lated Hag-fish are still more singular,

for it bores right into the fish it

attacks.

A Skate as judged from the build of

its body, is essentially adapted for a

life on the sea floor, and consequently

Text-fig. 3.— Ventral surface of its method of breaching has under-

suctorial gone modification. While swimming or

crawling about it is able to breathe

in the normal manner, but when rest-

mouth; p: papillated7 margin ing at the bottom there is a grave

of funnel ; t : teeth of buccal- danger of taking in sand with the

funnel ; t.t. : teeth on stream of water and thus clogging up

tongue. the delicate gill-filaments. The mouth

and the external .gill openings are on

the under side of the head, but there is a comparatively large opening

behind the eye. This special structure is known as a spiracle.

The Skate when resting at the bottom inhales water by way of

the spiracle and expels it through the gill openings in the normal

manner. Rand2 and Harbishire3 have observed the spouting of

head showing

mouth of Lampetra fluviati-

lis (Linn.). x2.

b.f. : buccal-funnel; m:

542 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

water from the spiracle and concluded that in addition to this

causing a respiratory incurrent

through the mouth, the fish

regularly employs spouting or

the spiracular excurrent either

‘as a means of keeping the eyes

unobstructed’ or ‘as a means of

ridding the pharynx of un-

pleasant matter’.

In the Trunk-fishes the head

and body form a strong bony

box and, therefore, the move-

ments of any part of the body

are difficult. Thus they are

obliged to keep up the flow of

water over the gills by a series

of rapid panting movements, as

many as 180 per minute. The

pectoral fins of this fish are

supposed to assist in respiration

by fanning a current of water

through the gill openihgs by

their constant motion. Professor

Goode4 writes: ‘when taken

from the water one of these

fishes will live for two or three

hours, all the time solemnly

fanning its fins, and when

restored to its native element

seems none the worse . for its

experience, except that, on

account of the air absorbed, it

cannot at once sink to the

bottom’.

Pulton5 has observed the re-

versed action of the gill cbvers

in Plaice. When clinging to the

sides of an aquarium tank with their snouts out of water the current

was drawn in from behind through the gill-openings and spouted

‘as a little fountain, an inch or so in height’. The advantage

of such a habit is obvious,, as in the circumstances the current

cannot be inhaled through the mouth,

Text-fig. 4. — Dorsal surface of head

and ventral view of a young speci-

men of the Skate, Narcine timlei

(Schn.) Nat. size.

g. cl.: external gill-clefts; m: mouth;

n : nostril ; sp : spiracle.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate I.

’• Baschi Phot°- TORRENTIAL STREAM.

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

543

We have so far considered isolated exceptions and seen how

the mode of breathing changes with the requirements of the

diverse types of fishes. This becomes very clear when entire

populations of abnormal habitats, such as torrents and marshes,

are taken into consideration. The cold and rapid waters of the

hill streams (pi. If are highly oxygenated and the fish living

in them are favourably placed, so far as oxygenation of the blood

is concerned, but there are other factors in this habitat which

bring about remarkable changes in the mechanism of respiration.

In swift currents the fish as a rule lie at the bottom closely adher-

ing to rocks and stones, and consequently their under-surface is

Text-fig. 6. — Ventral surface of head and anterior part of body of Loricaria

strigilata Hensel. x2.

Notice the broad, papillated lips that are reflected round the inferior mouth

and serve as organs of adhesion.

greatly flattened and horizontal. The mouth is usually small, and

is situated on the under surface considerably behind the tip of

the snout. In some fishes the dips^ are broad and reflected round

the mouth to form adhesive organs. As a result of these modifi-

cations the normal mode of breathing would seem hardly possible,

and judging from the structure of the Loricariidae , Regan6 be-

lieved that when these fishes fasten themselves to stones by means

of their sucker like mouth ‘respiration seems then to be effected

by taking" in water through the gill openings and expelling it out

by the same passage in a reverse direction’. We have already

seen that Lampreys breathe in this way when attached to another

fish or a rock by their suctorial mouths. This is, however, not

the usual mode of breathing in the hill stream fishes. With the

exception of a few species all hill stream fishes inhale water through

the mouth and expel it through the gill openings. But in spite of

544 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

this the mechanism of respiration is different. It has been observed

that during respiration the mouth remains open throughout,7’8

Text-fig. 7. — Lateral view of head and anterior part of body of Glyptothorax

pectinopterus (McClell.).

(After Hora, Current Science, p. 35, 1932).

a: opercular flap; b: gill opening; c: limit of the bony operculum.

and that the respiratory current is initialed and carried on by the

vigorous pumping action of the membranous flaps of the gill covers.

The current thus set up flows in through the mouth and out of

the gill openings. In the Indian hill stream fishes it is the upper

Text-fig. 8.— Yentro-lateral view of head and anterior part of body of Lori-

caria strigilata Hensel. x2.

a: Opercular flap; b: gill opening; c : limit of the body operculum.

portion of the opercular flap that performs this function, whereas

in Loricaria, a South American Cat fish,9 it is the lower portion

that is specially modified for this purpose.

The mechanism of respiration of a typical hill stream fish, such

as Garra, is like this : the anterior portion of the head is slightly

elevated above the substratum and the mouth is kept open. The

e

\

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

545

upper portion of the gill membrane beats vigorously and pumps out

the water from inside the gill chamber. When this happens a

further supply of water is sucked in through the open mouth,

and thus the respiration goes on. But every now and then, at

b.

Text-fig. 9. — Gan a arabica Hora.

a: lateral view; b: under surface of head and anterior part of body.

(After Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus. xxii, p. 678, 1921).

irregular intervals, the entire gill cover is lifted, as if the fish

takes a long breath. This movement is probably helpful in rid-

ding the pharynx of obnoxious particles. Another hill stream fish

Balitora was observed to ‘cough’ out undesirable particles with

considerable force, the object was sometimes thrown out to a

distance of an inch or so. The most interesting feature of these

fishes is that they are capable of suspending their respiratory move-

ments for a shorter or a longer period, and, I believe, this is helpful

in nature when the fish adheres very firmly to rocks. This

periodic suspension of respiration is made . possible by the

fact that the gill openings are greatly reduced so that water can

be retained in the gill chambers. The low temperature of the

waters of the hill streams and their high oxygenation will also be

helpful for this purpose. Moreover, while adhering to rocks by

546 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

mechanical devices, the fish does not expend much energy, and,

therefore, requires a smaller supply of oxygen.

In a general way I have given

the modifications of the hill

stream fishes, but to understand

them properly it seems advisable

to consider the members of one

group, Homalopteridae10 for

instance. As a result of the

flattening" of the body, due to the

ground habit of life of these

fishes, the mouth lias gradually

shifted from its anterior, ter-

minal position, as in Rohu and

Catla, to a subterminal or

inferior situation. For the flow

of ihe inspiratory current definite

channels are sometimes deve-

loped round the mouth as in

Path omal opt era. In most of

the Homalopteridae there is a

broad groove in front of the

mouth and the same extends

backwards round the corners of

the mouth. It seems probable

Text-fig. 10. Balitora brucei Gray, that the groove serves as a

(After Hora, Joum. Bombay ' catchment area for the water

Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxii, p.113, that enters underneath the fish

1 7^' at the anterior end. From this

groove the water flows into the mouth cavity from the corners of

the mouth. The number of barbels and tactile papillae that are

associated with this groove are no doubt used for testing the

inspiratory current. These characters are so important that they

distinguish genera and species in the family.

Text-fig. 11. — Lateral view of head and anterior part of body of Gastromyzon

borneensis Gunther. x 2.

a: opercular flap; b: gill opening.

Notice the position of the ■ gill opening, which is small and considerably

above, thb base of the pectoral fin.

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

547

In the Homalopteridae the gill openings are generally of a

moderate size extending obliquely in front of the pectoral fins and

Text-fig. 12. — Ventral surface of head and anterior part of body of Parhomal-

optera microstoma (Blgr.) to show the nature of the grooves round the

mouth, x 3|-.

(Modified after Hora, Mem. Ind. Mus. xii, pi. xii, fig. 7, 1932).

on to the under surface for a short distance. It is, however, the

upper small portion of the gill opening that functions during res-

piration. This modification is carried a step further in a number

of Homalopterid fishes, in which the gill opening is represented by

a small hole above the pectoral fin (text-figure 11). This re-

presents the functional portion of the gill opening, while the lower

portion seems to have disappeared altogether.

Among the Homalopteridae special mention lias to be made of

Sewellia, a very peculiar fish which I have associated with the

Text-fig. 13. — Lateral view of Sewellia lineolata (C.V.). x2.

Notice the greatly reduced gill opening behind the eye.

(After Hora, Mem. Ind. Mus. xii, pi. xi, fig. 10, 1932).

name of my distinguished chief, Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell.

The structure' of its rostral barbels and the rostral groove is unique

548 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

among fishes. Each rostral barbel is plate like at its base and

stretches across the rostral groove; it is provided with fringed

edges and terminates in a small barbel like process. The bases of

the two inner rostral barbels are united with each other, thus

forming a floor to the rostral groove in the middle. The most

Text-fig. 14. — A part, of the. ventral surface of head of Seicellia lineolata (C.V.)

showing the mouth and the associated structures. xl5.

(After Hora, Mem. Ind. Mus. xii, p. 316, 1932),

interesting feature of the fish is that near each corner of the

mouth the rostral groove possesses an oval aperture which seems

to communicate with the oral cavity. It is, therefore, highly pro-

bable that in Sewellia the inspiratory current is not taken in

through the mouth-opening, but passes directly from the rostral

groove through the aperture mentioned above into the oral cavity.

The peculiar rostral barbels act as guards to prevent the entry of

undesirable objects into the rostral groove.

So far no observations have been made on the living specimens

of Sewellia and it is a mere surmise that the mouth is not used

as an inlet for the respiratory current. In Gyrinocheilus , a moun-

tain Carp known from Borneo and Siam, and in Arges, a Cat fish of

the Andes in South America, it is a well known fact that on account

of the peculiar habits of these fishes the mouth no longer serves

as a passage for the inspiratory current, and that the gill openings

are modified in a remarkable way for this purpose. Each gill

opening is divided into an upper slit like portion, which serves

as an inhalant opening and communicates with the posterior part

of the mouth cavity immediately in front of the gills; and a lower

much wider portion which serves as an exhalant aperture and is

guarded by a large membranous flap. Vaillant11 attributed the res-

piratory movements of this fish to the expansion and contraction

of the walls of the _oral cavity, but Smith12 has recently observed

the vigorous movements of the opercular or the gill cover flaps —

230 per minute. I believe that in Gyrinocheilus , as in all other

hill stream- fishes, such as those that I have discussed already, the

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II.

H. M. Smithy photo .

Habitat of Gyrinocheilus.

D. Bagchi, photo.

Habitat of Indian air-breathing fishes.

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

(54§

respiratory current is initiated and carried on by the opercular

flaps of the exhalant openings.

Text-fig. 15. — Lateral view of head and anterior part of body of Gyrinocheilus

kaznakoi Berg.

(After Hora, Current Science, p. 35, 1932).

a : inhalant aperture ; b : opercular flap of exhalant aperture ; c : limit of

bony operculum.

Gyrinocheilus is said to feed solely on nutritional matter con-

tained in mud and the lips, which surround the mouth and form

a funnel like sucker,

are believed to scoop

up the mud as well as

to enable the fish to

cling to stones and

other objects. In a

typical hill stream

(plate II, top-fig.)

there is generally no

mud to scoop up, and,

therefore, I am in-

clined to agree with

Smith12 who after ob-

serving these fishes in

an aquarium states

that its mouth parts

are adapted for scrap-

ing algae from stones

and other submerged

objects. According to

him the favourite atti-

tude of the fish, as-

sumed for protracted

periods, was to lie in

a vertical position Text-fig 16,-yVentol surface of head and anterior part

, -ip , of body of Gyrinocheilus kaznakoi Berg showing

against the glass front the nature of the mouth and of the associated

of the aquarium seve- structures, xlj.

ral feet above the

bottom. The mouth, in the circumstances, has become so special-

ized for attachment that the circulation of water through the mouth

556 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

has become impossible, and if there were no other means for respi-

ration the fish would have to release its hold in order to breathe.

It is to obviate this difficulty that the gill openings have become

so peculiarly modified.

In Arges the lips are very broad and reflected round the mouth

and it is well known that they are used for fastening the fish to

the substratum. So in Arges , quite independently of the evolu-

tion in Gyrinocheilus, the gill openings have become modified in

exactly the same way. into inhalant and exlialant apertures.

There is one more hill stream fish — Amblyceps mangois — to

which attention may be directed before passing on to a very differ-

'Text-fig. 17. — Lateral view of Amblyceps mangois (Ham. Buch.). x2.

ent group of fishes that breathe air directly from the atmosphere.

Amblyceps lives in small streams at the base of hills and I have

studied this fish in its natural haunts in the Sevoke stream in the

Teesta Valley below Darjeeling. It is a very variable fish, especi-

ally with regard to its tail fin and the adipose dorsal fin. It is

a voracious feeder, bites viciously and is known to be capable of

living out of water for some time. The streams in which Amblyceps

Text-fig. 18. — Lateral view of head and anterior part of body of Amblyceps

mangois (Ham. Buch.).

a ; opercular flap ; b : flap of skin behind the gill opening.

is usually found are liable to become raging torrents after rain-

storms, while during the dry months these streams become cut

up into a series of pools and puddles. In a torrent it lives at the

RESPIRATION in fishes

5&1

bottom jamong stones and pebbles and breathes spasmodically like

most of the other hill stream fishes — the current enters the mouth

and is expelled through the upper portion of the gill opening, the

membranous flap of the gill cover initiates and carries on the cur-

rent. Unlike other hill stream lislies, the gill openings of Ambhj-

ceps are very wide, and consequently a flap of skin is developed

behind the gill opening which enables the fish to close the aperture

during periods of rest). This structure is not found in any other

fish. When the stream begins to dry up, the fish probably

wriggles itself into pools.

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. We shall now con-

sider the typical air breathing fishes and the circumstances that

gave rise to them.

In India we are quite familiar with a variety of air breathing

fishes, such as koi ( Anabas ), magur ( Clarias ), singi (Saccobranchus) ,

cuchia ( Amphipnous ), sauli ( Ophicephalus ) and others. Our

jugglers go about and exhibit some of these fishes walking on dry

ground. In this city boat loads of these fishes are imported from

outside, and get a ready sale, specially among the Bengali popula-

tion. They are considered very good for invalids as they are believed

to be light, nutritious, strengthening, invigorative and restorative.

These are the fishes that are supposed to fall from heaven, for they

seem to come from nowhere in ponds and ditches after a heavy

shower. The explanation for this is that during the dry season these

fishes bury themselves in the mud at considerable depths and aesti-

vate in that condition during the unfavourable season. After a

heavy rainfall, when the ground becomes soft, these fishes are

awakened from their enforced slumber and come out to populate

ponds and ditches, koi, sauli and cuchia are known to wander

from pond to pond in the early hours of the morning. There is a

persistent report that koi is able to climb cocoanut trees, and a young

Bengali has described to me how he watched this fish propelling itself

along a slanting date palm tree with the help of its gill covers and

other parts of its body. I am further informed that shoals of

Anabas can be seen migrating during the monsoons, and when a

slanting tree happens to lie in their way, they begin to climb it as if

they were going on land like the other members of the shoal. Of

course, the object of climbing is not 'to eat the cocoanuts. This part

of the account may be regarded as a mere fable i In scientific

literature the belief obtained currency through the statement of

a Banish naturalist, F. de Daldorf13 who stated to the Linnean

Society of London that he had himself seen an Anabas in the act

of ascending a palm tree which grew near a pond. He further

stated that the fish had reached the height of 5 feet above the

water, and was going still higher. In the effort to do this, it

held to the bark of the tree by the preopercular spines, bent its

tail, and stuck in the spines of the anal fins ; then released its

head, and raising it, took a new hold with the preoperculum

higher up. In the Malay language the fish is named the ‘Tree

552 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. NXXVI

Climber’ and in Tamil it is . called the ‘fish that climbs palmyra

trees’. In spite of these anecdotes and observations the tree-

climbing habits of Anabas were discredited and the Danish natu-

ralist’s account was characterized as foolish even by the most

Text-fig. 19. — Anabas testudineus (Bloch). x|.

The so-called ‘Climbing perch’ of India.

observant Indian naturalist, Francis Buchanan.11 According to

Buchanan-ITamilton15 the presence of Anabas on trees may be

due to tire following causes: ‘The palm, as is often the case with

those of its species ( Borassus flabeLliformis), may have been grow-

ing with its lower parts nearly horizontal, and the fish may have

then moved along it, as well as on the land; or the palm may

have been covered with the knobs, often left by the cultivators

when they remove the branches (stipites), and the fish may have

been left among these knobs by some bird, and might, no doubt

have continued wriggling among them’. Dr. Das16 does not doubt

the fact that these fish are sometimes found on trees, but he thinks

that crows and kites probably seize the fish and deposit it high

up in the forks of branches of trees to be devoured at leisure. This

is expecting too much from our crows and kites, for we know

that they will not wait to finish the juicy meal if they happen

to seize a fish. Das’s explanation, which seems to have been

based on Buchanan-Hamilton’s surmise, is far from convincing.

Dr. Sundara Raj,17 the Director of the Madras Fisheries, states that

one of his assistants was able to demonstrate experimentally

that the ‘climbing perch’ is really capable of climbing ‘up a nearly

vertical sheet of cloth, when held over the w^ater in the aquarium’

in which it was kept. Madaliar and Mitchell18 also carried out

experiments which show the reliability ofi the early reports. Highly

improbable as it may appear, it is likely that Anabas sometimes

climbs trees accidentally though I have never witnessed a display

of its extraordinary scansorial powers.

I hope you will excuse me for having digressed from the subject-

matter of my lecture to clear up an interesting point of great

biological interest, but my real object was to make it sufficiently

clear to you that Anabas, when progressing on land or climbing

a tree, is apparently like a terrestrial vertebrate breathing air

direct from the atmosphere. But if the fish keeps away from

Joukn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate III.

MECHANISMS OF AERIAL RESPIRATION.

RESPIRATION IN El SUES

553

water for more than 6 to 7 hours, it dies. This may probably

explain the fact that dead fishes are found on trees. Anabas

can climb with the help of its spines, but it can reach the ground

afterwards only by dropping down. It is likely, therefore, that

some fish after climbing get stranded and die through prolonged

desiccation. Water is still very essential for the proper respira-

tion of koi. On the other hand, it is equally true that Anabas,

as well as other air-breathing fishes, can be drowned by keeping

them in water and not allowing them to come to the surface to

breathe air. Day,19- 20 and other earlier workers demonstrated this

experimentally and recently Pas16 repeated some of these experi-

ments with similar results. Even in highly oxygenated waters

these fishes get suffocated. The explanation of this is to be found

in the habitat of the fish as well as in its organs of respiration.

On lifting a gill cover one sees a chamber situated above the

gills and formed as an outgrowth of the ordinary gill chamber

(plate III, fig. 1). Each chamber contains a labyrintlfiform organ,

composed of shelf like plates with wavy edges and supplied with

fine blood vessels. When the air is inhaled through the mouth

it enters this chamber and the labyrinthiform organ acts as the

Tung’ of the fish.

In sauli ( Ophicephalus ) the accessory respiratory organs are

in the nature of two lung like reservoirs in the head, developed

as pouches of the pharynx (pi. Ill, fig. 8). The inner lining of

these cavities are richly supplied with blood. The respirator-

chambers of cuchiA ( Amphipnous ) are of a similar nature (pi. Ill,

fig. 2). In this fish the gills are greatly reduced and it seems to

have lost practically all its power of aquatic respiration. In

magur ( Claoias ) there is an air chamber situated above the gills

into which tree like outgrowths project from the upper ends of

the gill arches (pi. IV, fig. 8). In singi ( Saccobranchus ) a long

fcubulai; sac grows backwards from the opercular or the gill cavity

and extends as far as the middle of the tail (pi. IV, fig. 1). This

sac bears a marked resemblance to the lungs of land vertebrates

(pi. IV, fig. 2).

Reference may also be made to some non-Indian air breathing

fishes31;. Hoplo sternum* lives in the swamps of the Paraguay-

an Chaco in South America and uses a part of its intestine as

the accessory respiratory organ. The respiratory part of the in-

testine is thin walled and transparent, and occupies the greater

part of the body cavity. In another fish — Ancistrus — that lives in

company with Hoplosternum the large U shaped stomach is always

full of gas during life and has been found to serve as a respiratory

organ. In Erythrinus the central part of the air bladder, which

extends throughout the whole length of the abdominal cavity and

occupies more than one half of its space, has become lung like,

is highly vascular and is consequently red in colour. In the thick-

ness of its walls are cavities similar to those found in lungs.

* Excellent illustrations of the habitat and structural modifications of Hoplo-

sternum, Ancistrus, Erythrinus, etc. are to be found in Carter and Beadle’s paper

referred to in the list at the end.

3

554 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

In Erythrinus, it has been mentioned, the air bladcler acts as

a lung, but the real fact is that the air bladder of our modern

bony fishes is a modified or degenerate lung. This conclusion has

been reached by studying the structure and, habits of an ancient

group of fishes, the Dipnoi or the real double breathers. The Dip-

noi are found in Australia, Africa, and South America in marshy

places where the water is poor in oxygen. The air bladder is used

as a clefinite lung and the structure of its walls are very much

like a vertebrate lung. During periods of drought the fish aesti-

vates in burrows where it forms a cocoon round itself leaving an

aperture through which it can breathe air. In their structure the

Dipnoi are considered to be intermediate between the true fishes

and the amphibians, and are no doubt the relics of an ancient

group that flourished as early as the Silurian and Devonian epochs.

It is strongly believed that animals with the habits and the struc-

ture of the Dipnoan fishes made the evolution of the terrestrial

vertebrates possible.

In the Silurian and Devonian epochs the conditions were pro-

bably very favourable for the evolution of the air breathing fishes

and such of their kind that were taking to an absolutely terrestrial

life, but later with the arrival of the fish eating reptiles and to

several other factors, a large number of them went back to the

sea probably for safety. In this environment they found an ade-

quate supply of oxygen for gill breathing and, in consequence, the

lungs more or less lost their respiratory function and became either

modified into a functionally different organ known as the air-

bladder, or disappeared altogether. It is believed that a majority

of our bony fishes, both freshwater and marine, are the descen-

dants of those that went back to the sea in the old days. Organic

evolution is both progressive and retrogressive. It is further seen

how different forms result simply by the modifications of pre-

existing structures induced by changes in habits and habitats. It

seems probable that fishes with gills and accessory respiratory

oragns are physiologically better adapted for invading brackish

waters than those that breathe by their gills alone, and today

most of the freshwater fishes, that are taking to life in brackish

waters, are those that are provided with means of breathing air

directly from the atmosphere.

Most of the air breathing fishes, in fact all those that we have

discussed so far, are found in shallow, stagnant, tropical fresh-

waters (pi. II, bottom fig.), which are liable to dry up during the

dry season. Aerial respiration in fishes seems to have evolved

in response to a lack of oxygen in the water, and it is conceivable

that periodic droughts provided the stimulus for migration on to

the land. There are, however, a few marine fishes that have taken

to aerial respiration, and to them, the above explanation cannot

be applied. Periophthalmus , the well-known mud-skipper, is very

common in brackish waters not very far from Calcutta. It

spends a considerable part of its time out of water, “walking” or

skipping about on the mud flats of mangrove swamps at low tides

in search of food. It is also fond of climbing on to the mangrove

roots or of basking in the sun perched on a stone in a pool. Some-

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate IV.

MECHANISMS OF AERIAL RESPIRATION.

RESPIRATION IN PISHES

555

how an absolutely wrong notion has gained currency in scientific

literature*' that this fish leaves its tail hanging in water for

the purpose of respiration. Those, who have studied this fish in

Text-fig. 20. — The Mud-skipper, Periophthalmus schlosseri (Pall.). On a piece

of broken pottery in an aquarium (Diagrammatic); Notice the fish is

entirely out of water and its caudal fin is turned' upwards (not an un-

common attitude), showing thereby that the story of caudal respiration in

Periophthalmus is only a myth. Attention may here be directed to the

bulging cheeks of the fish in which air is normally stored for respiration.

L = water level.

its natural haunts, are familiar with the fact that it spends most

of its time entirely out of water. In such circumstances its respi-

ration is aerial, the large opercular cavities are kept filled with air,

as can be readily noticed from their greatly bulging cheeks. It is

conceivable that the silt laden waters of the estuaries, the periodic

immersion and desiccation on account of the rise and fall of tides or

the habit of chasing prey may have caused the evolution of aerial

respiration in Periophthalmus. The fish propels itself with the help

of its paired fins and is very active in its movements. Its large

moveable eyes enable it to see in all directions and on the slight-

est provocation it jumps back into the water again.

There are several other estuarine Gobioid fishes, such as Boleoph -

thalmus, Taenioides and Pseudapocryptes , which live in similar situ-

ations as Periophthalmus. Though' they are not as active as Peri-

ophthalmus, their mode of aerial respiration is very similar. They

are capable of inhaling air direct from the atmosphere and storing

it in their opercular cavities. If not allowed access to atmospheric

air, they are readily ‘drowned’. Periophthalmus and Pseudapo-

cryptes have been found by me aestivating in the bed of dried up

pools at considerable depths from the surface.

Of all the air breathing fishes Andamia23 is the most re-

markable. It lives on rocks just beyond the surf line where it

is kept moist by the spray of the dashing waves. The sea water

is highly oxygenated in this region, and the fish has no prey to

chase as it lives on slime and algae encrusting rocks and stones.

The sucker behind the mouth and the broad and horizonal pectoral

fins enable the fish to adhere to rocks. This fish also possesses

moveable eyes and is very alert and agile in its movements .

m JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Andamia is a Blennid fish, popularly known as rock skipper.

Some of these live in the rock pools of the tropics and leap from

rock to rock with the agility of lizards. ‘One of them, Erpichthys

or Alticus saliens in Samoa, lives about lava rocks between tide-

marks, and at low tide remains on the rocks, over which it runs

Text-fig. 21 . — The Bock skipper. Andamia heteroptera (Bleeker) on a piece of

rock -just beyond the* surfline. Notice its bulging cheeks in which air is

stored for respiration.

(Modified from a photograph by Dr. S. B. Setna).

with the. greatest ease and with much speed, its movements being

precisely like those of Periophthalmus ’24 . The Blennids thus

provide an evolutionary series, but even then it is difficult to infer

what could have been the stimulus for adopting aerial respiration.

It may be that rock pools formed a nursery for the evolution of

such an adaptation. In Andamia the large opercular chambers serve

as accessory organs of respiration and, I believe, the pseudo-

branchs, which are well developed and project freely in this .chamber,

are used for the oxygenation of blood.

From what has been said it is abundantly clear that the ways

of Nature are greatly diversified, and that to attain the same object

it employs a number of apparently different methods. In each

case, however, one notices a close adjustment between the

organism and the external conditions of its existences. It is this

harmony pervading through Nature that makes its study so charm-

ing and interesting. To those, to whom Nature seems only ‘red in

tooth and claw’, the full significance of wonderful adaptations is not

clear. We have seen that whenever and wherever circumstances

demanded aerial respiration in fishes, it was evolved in so many

different ways.

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

557

References.

1. Norman, J. R. — A History of Fishes, pp. 33-53 (London:

1931).

2. Rand, H. W. — The function of the spiracle of the Skate.

Amer. Nat., xli, pp. 287-302 (1907).

3. Darbishire, A. D. — On the direction of the aqueous current

in the spiracle of the dogfish; together with some observations on

the respiratory mechanism in other elasmobranch fishes. Journ ,

Linn. Soc. London (Zool.), xxx, pp. 86-94 (1907).

4. Goode, G. B. — A study of the trunk-fishes (Ostraciontidae)

with notes upon the American species of the family. Proc. U.8.

Nat. Mus., ii, p. 273 (1879).

5. Fulton, T. W. — Ichthyological Notes, vi. Reversed action

of the gill-cover in Plaice. 22 nd Annual Report Fish. Board. Scot-

land, p. 287 (1904).

6. Regan, C. T. — A monograph of the fishes of the family

Loricariidae. Trans. Zool. Soc. London, xvii, p. 191 (1904).

7. Hora, S. L. — Mechanism of Respiration in Hill-stream

fishes. Current Science, i, pp. 34-36 (1932).

8. Hora, S. L. — Observations on the Fauna of certain -torren-

tial streams in the Khasi Hills. ‘Mechanism of Respiration in

Hill-stream Fishes’. Rec. Ind. Mus., xxv, pp. 591-596 (1923).

9. Hora, S. L. — Biological Notes on a Fish from Brazil in

the Society’s Aquarium. Proc: Zool. Soc. London, pt. i, pp. 205-

207 (1932).

10. Hora, S. L. — Classification, Bionomics and Evolution of

Homalopterid Fishes. Mem. I?id. Mus,, xii, pp. 263-330 (1932).

11. Vaillant, L. L. — Resultats Zoologiques de 1 ’expedition

scientific neerlanclaise au Borneo central. Poissons. Notes Leyden

Mus., xxiv, p. 108 (1902).

12. Smith, H. M. — Notes on Siamese Fishes. ‘Respiratory

movements in Gyrinocheilus’ . Journ. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Supp l.,

vii, pp. 187-189 (1931).

13. Daldorff, D. C. de — Natural History of Perea ( Anabas )

scandens, nov. sp. Trans. Linn. Soc. London (Zool.), iii, pp. 62, 63

(1797).

14. Day, F. — The Fish and Fisheries of Bengal in Hunter’s

Statistical Account of Bengal, xx, p. 28 (1877).

15. Buchanan-Hamilton, F. — An Account of the Fishes of the

Ganges, pp. 98-99 (Edinburgh: 1822).

16. Das, B. K. — The Bionomics of certain Air-breathing Fishes

of India, together with an account of the development of their

air-breathing organs. Phil. Trans. Riy. Soc. London (B.) ccxvi,

pp. 183-219 (1927).

17. Sundara Raj, B. — Notes on the Freshwater Fish of

Madras. Rec. Ind. Mus., xii, pp. 276, 277 (1916).

18. Jordan, D. S. — A Guide to the Study of Fishes, ii,

pp. 367, 368 (New York: 1905).

19. Day, F.— Observations on some of the Freshwater Fishes

of India. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pp. 274-288 (1868).

558 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

20. Day. F. — On Amphibious and Migratory Fishes of Asia.

Journ. Linn. Soc. London (Zool.), xiii, pp. 198-215 (1877).

21. Carter, G. S. and Beadle, L. C. — The Fauna of the

Swamps of the Paraguayan Chaco in relation to its Environment —

II. Kespiratory Adaptations in the Fishes. Journ. Linn. Soc.

London (Zool.) xxxvii, pp. 827-368 (1931).

22. Hickson, S. J. — A Naturalist in North Celebes (London:

1889).

23. Hora, S. L. — A Marine Air-Breathing Fish, Andamia

heteroytera Bleeker. Current Science , i, p. 51 (1932).

24. Jordon, D. S. — A Guide to the Study of Fishes , ii, p. 510

(New York: 1905).

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

PLATE I.

A torrential stream* in the Khasi Hills near Dumpep; Pun-wa-Sherra stream

below Shillong-Cherrapunji Eoad, 3 miles beyond Dumpep.

PLATE II.

Top: — The Khan River, Northern Siam. The Khan is a clear, cool and

swift stream: it is a tributary of the Ping River. Photograph taken by Dr.

H. M. Smith, 1932.

Bottom: — A swampy area overgrown with grass near Dhapa Lock, Calcutta.

It is a favourite haunt of several species of Ophicephalus and of other air

breathing fishes, such as Anabas, Clarias, Saccobranchus, etc.

PLATE III.

Mechanisms of Aerial Respiration.

Eig. ]. — Dissection of Anabas testudineus (Bloch), showing the nature and

position of its Respiratory Organs, ca xlf.

The accessory respiratory organs of Anabas consist of two air chambers

(a.c.), which are situated at the sides of the head above the gill cavities ( g.c .).

Anteriorly they extend as far as the' hinder end of the orbit and dorsally they

encroach upon the cartilages of the auditory regions. The air chambers con-

tain the remarkable ‘labyrinthine1 organs ( l ), each of which consists of three

plates and is known to have developed as an outgrowth from the epibranchial

segment of the 1st branchial arch. The entire structure is the result of two

successive outgrowths of the epibranchial shelf.

Each chamber communicates with the pharynx ( b.c .) through the first gill

slit, and with the gill cavity through a special air exit ( a.e .) just between

the hyoid and the first branchial arch. The air passes into the chamber

from the gill slit and out, of it through the special passage to the gill cavity.

The course of circulation of the air is controlled by valves.

The blood is oxygenated in the vascular lining of the labyrinthiform organs

as well as in the lining of the air chambers. It may be noticed that with

the development of accessory respiratory organs the gill cavities as well as

the gills (g.) are greatly reduced in size.

Fig. 2. — Dissection of Amphipnous cuchia (Ham. Buch.), showing the nature

and position of its Respiratory Organs. ca.X If.

The accessory respiratory organs of Amplupnous consist of a pair of lung

like sacs (a.c.) developed from the dorsal walls of the pharynx (b.c.). When

fully developed they extend as far back as the third branchaial arch. The inner

walls of these sacs are raised into complicated folds, so that the structure

comes to resemble superficially an Amphibian lung.

Each sac communicates with the mouth cavity through a large hole which

is surrounded by muscles. The hole opens, when the mouth is opened, thus

RESPIRATION IN FISHES

559

allowing the air to enter the air chamber. The expulsion of the air is brought

about partly by the contraction of the muscular walls of the sacs and partly

‘by the spring like action and pressure caused by the opercle and the subopercle’.

The air is thus forced out through the narrow gill slits and escapes by the

single, median branchial opening.

The blood is oxygenated in the air-sacs as well as in the pharynx, the inner

lining of which is also vascular. With the acquisition of air breathing habit,

the gills (gl, g% and </3) are greatly reduced, and in the adult condition they

are represented by a few linger like filaments on the second gill arch only. The

first and the third gill arches are provided with flaps of skin. The gill cavity

( g.c .) is very shallow. It is thus seen that Amphipnous is the most highly

modified of all the air breathing fishes, for in no other fish the organs of aquatic

respiration are so> greatly reduced.

Fig. 3. — Dissection of Ophicephalus punctatus (Bloch), showing the nature and

position of its Respiratory Organs. ca. X If. The buccal cavity is en-

larged by keeping a piece of cork in the mouth.

The accessory respiratory organs of Ophicephalus consist of a pair of in-

completely bipartitioned air chambers (a.c.), one on each side of the auditory

region of the skull. Each air chamber develops as a pouch of the pharynx

above the first gill arch, but grows backwards behind the auditory region and

in the adult condition extends as far as the last pharyngeal cleft.

Two processes — the hyomandibular process ( h.p .) and the epibranchial plate

of the first gill arch (e.p.) — project into the chamber. The epibranchial of the

second gill arch as well as the narrow base of the brain case send processes

into this chamber. The lining of tliesej processes and of the chamber is very

vascular. In the adult condition the lining of the hindermost portion of the

chamber is thrown into ridges and grooves, and presumably it is the chief centre

of aerial respiration.

Each air chamber communicates freely with the mouth. ‘When the mouth

is opened and the branchial apparatus pulled down air rushes into the air

chambers and below the ventral edge of the hyomandibular process into its

posterior division. When the mouth is shut and the gill arches raised this

process cuts off communication between the anterior and posterior regions of

the air chamber, and the air now escapes through the tube formed by the oppo-

sition of the two processes into the opercular chamber and so to the exterior’.

With the adoption of aerial respiration the gills and the cavities are con-

siderably reduced.

PLATE IV.

Fig. 1. — Dissection of Saccobranchus fossilis (Bloch), showing the nature and

position of its Respiratory Organs, ca x L|. The third ‘fan’ is raised to

show the opening between it and the second fan.

The accessory respiratory organs of Saccobranchus consist of a pair of long,

tubular sacs (a.c.), which develop as evaginations of the gill chambers (g.c.)

between, the hyoids and the first branchial arches. In the adult condition each

sac extends as far back as the middle of the tail region. ‘In the hindermost

part of the sac the epithelium is folded into a number of ridges, which unite

with one another and enclose ‘alveoli’ which resemble the alveoli of a frog’s

lung’.

The air chamber communicates with the bficcal cavity (b.c.) through a small

slit which is left between the third ‘fan’ and the second ‘fan’, when the

former comes to lie over the latter. This opening serves as a passage of air

in and out of the air chamber.

The blood is oxygenated in the walls of the air chambers which derive their

blood supply from the afferent and efferent vessels of the fourth branchial arch.

The gills are not very much reduced and the gill cavity is of fairly spacious

dimensions.

Fig. 2. — The hindermost part of the. air chamber of Saccobranchus fossilis (Bloch)

cut open to show the nature of its inner lining, ca x 2^.

The blood vessels (b.v.) indicate the vascular nature of the lining, and the

ridges (r.) show how the respiratory area of the sac has been increased.

Fig. 3. — Dissection of Clarias batrachus (Linn), showing the nature and position

of its Respiratory Organs, ca X 1£.

560 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

The accessory respiratory organs of Clarias consist of two tree like structures

(i.s.) which are contained in an air chamber ( a.c .) situated above the gills (g.),

the posterior one is the larger of the two, but both are developed from the

upper ends of the gill arches (second and fourth). The air chamber is a dorsal

outgrowth from the gill chamber; in the adult condition it occupies a large

space adjacent to the otic capsule. The two chambers almost approximate in

the mid ddrsal line. The tree like structures are covered with & highly vascular

lining, and vascular tongues also project from the sides and- roof of the air

chamber.

Each air chamber communicates with the gill cavity through a somewhat

narrow, tubular neck. ‘The uppermost gill filaments growing from each bran-

chial arch cohere to form a “fan” or “valve” which projects into the air chamber.’

Between the second and third ‘fans’ (/2, /3) is the opening through which air

passes from the pharynx into the air chamber, while the exit passage is situated

between the third and fourth ‘fans’ (/3, /4).

The blood is oxygenated in the vascular lining of the tree like structures as

well as of the air chamber. Though apparently the gills are not very much

reduced, a considerable part of the gills is modified into ‘fans’.

Explanation of Lettering in Plates III and IV.

a.b.— air bladder.

a.c. — air chamber.

a. e. — air exit.

b. c. — buccal-cavity or pharynx.

b.v. — blood vessels.

e.p. — epibranchial plate of first gill arch.

/I, /‘2, /3, /4 — ‘Fans’ or ‘valves’ to control circulation, of air inhaled.

g.— gills.

g 1, g 2, g 3 — first, second and third gill.

g. c.- — gill cavity.

h. p . — hyomandibular process .

1. — labyrinthine organ.

r.— ridges of the respiratory surface.

t.s.— tree-like structure for aerial respiration.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN

GHATS (ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION).

BY

Hugh Whistler, m.b.o.u., assisted by N. B. Kinnear, m.b.o.u.

Part V.

( Continued from page 352 of volume xxxvi).

Acrocephalus stentoreus brunnescens (Jerdon).1

Agrobates brunnescens Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., vol. x, 1839 (after

October) p. 269 — Trichinopoly.

Not obtained by the survey. There are surprisingly few records of the Great

Eeed- Warbler within our limits. Apart from unsexed and undated birds marked

Malabar 1848 (Eyton Coll.) and Coorg (2 Tweeddale Coll.) in the British

Museum. We have examined only two specimens namely $ 11-12-1879 Col-

legal, Coimbatore (Hume Coll.) and 9 26-4-1910 Thodupuzha, Travancore

(Nair),

Davison thought that he saw two in a rose hedge in a coffee-estate in

Charambady, Wynaad on 2 April (S.F., x, 390) and Ferguson obtained a single

specimen in Travancore (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 456).

The only other record we can trace is Jerdon’s statement, on which is

based the type locality, that he had met it at Trichinopoly. Colonel Sparrow

however informs us that on 1 February 1913 he found it common at the Colair

Lake near Bezwada.

Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth.

Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xviii, 1849 (after August)

p. 815 — India, Calcutta.

Specimens collected.— 17 9 11-4-29, 40-14 9 9 13-4-29, 69 9 17-4-29, 159 S

30-4-29 Kurumbapatti; 947 S 31-10-29, 995-998 9o? 9 11-11-1929, 1010 9

16-11-29 Nallamallai range 2,000 ft.; 1139 9 19-12-29, 1230-1233 o?o?cfo?

12-1-30, 1247-1249 9 $ S 14-1-30, 1253-1254 9o? 15-1-30, 1283 $ 20-1-30,

1301 o' 24-1-30, 1303 S 25-1-30 Godavery Delta; 1491 9 7-3-30, 1529 9 13-3-30,

1551 9 16-3-30, 1567-1568 9 9 19-3-30, 1583 $ 23-3-30, 1587 9 1596 Q 24-3-30,

1602 c? 26-3-30, 1619 9 28-3-30, 1631 S 31-3-30, 1641 9 2-4-30, 1672 R

12-4-30 Sankrametta 3,000-3,500 ft.; 1711 $ 20-4-30, 1712 9 21-4-30, 1751 9

30-4-30 Jeypore Agency 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

14 B 15-5-18 61-65-5 50-54 21-23 mm.

22 9 15-5-18 59-65-5 48-55 20-5-23 mm.

Wing formula: — 2 = 5/6 to 7/8, usually 6/7.

Blyth’s Feed Warbler is evidently a common winter visitor to the Presi-

dency, at any rate on the western side. In Travancore according to Ferguson

it is common in the hills and plains from November to April. There are Febru-

ary, March and April specimens in the. British Museum. In the Nilgiris also

1 The importance attached by both editions of the Fauna to the number of

tail feathers in the Warbler group is in my opinion quite unsatisfactory and

obscures their true relationships. It is not however the function of this paper

to discuss genera and families and we have, in consequence in these matters

merely followed the arrangement and order of species in the New Fauna.

562 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoL XXXFI

it is recorded as a very abundant winter visitor from the middle of December

to late in March (Davison) and this is substantiated by a good series in the

British Museum, collected at Coonoor and Ootacamund in January, February

and March. There must be some mistake however about Terry’s statement

(S.F., x, p. 476), that he shot a male at Pittur on 26 June. — the specimen is

not in the British Museum — and afterwards shot and lost one of a pair at Kukal.

Davison states that this species also occurs in the Wynaad and the Brahma-

gherries and a female collected by him at Manantoddy on 12 April 1881 is in

the British Museum.

On the eastern side our information is entirely confined to that provided by

the Survey, namely the five specimens collected at Kurumbapatti in April, the

October-November specimens from the Nallamallais and the December- January

series from the Godavery Delta, where they weref shot in scrub jungle and dense

wood in which they skulked in the thickest parts, uttering their characteristic

‘chuck’ note. Evidently the bird is a winter visitor on this side too.

A large series were also collected in March and April in the Vizagapatam

ghats where they were abundant in low bush country about 2,500 ft., ascending

also to the highest points 5,000 ft. These birds were exceedingly fat and evi-

dently on migration.

Acrocephalus agricola Jerdon.

Sylvia ( Acrocephalus ) agricola ' Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., vol. xiii, pt.

2 (1845), p. 131— Nellore.

Specimens collected : —1266 <$ 19-1-30, 1304 25-1-30, 1315 $ 26-1-30

Godavery Delta.

Measurements : — -

Bill. Wing.

2 14-14*5 56*5-58

1 9 14 59

Wing formula: — 2 = 7/8 (2) and 2 = 8.

Very little is known about the. status of the Paddy-field Warbler in the

Presidency and it is only known definitely to occur in winter, though I have

elsewhere (Ibis, 1928y pp. 449-453) discussed the possibility of its breeding in

the plains of India. It does not of course breed in Kashmir as stated in the

New Fauna, vol. ii, p. 395 (corrected vol. viii, p. 639).

In addition to the above three specimens from the Godavery Delta I have

examined a male in Colonel Sparrow’s collection from the Colair Lake shot on

2 February 1913.

Jerdon ’s original type came from Nellore where he found the species in

paddy-fields in the cold weather.

On the western side there is Hume’s record (S.F., x, 390) of a specimen

from the Wynaad, and. a pair in the British Museum (<$ 13-2-83, 9 14-2-83)

collected by William Davison in Coorg in the Brahmagherries.

Locustella naevia straminea Seebohm.

Locustella straminea Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. v (1873), p. 117

— Etawah.

There are two specimens of this Grasshopper Warbler in the British Museum

which suggest that it is a winter visitor to the Madras Presidency, though we

can trace no other information about it. They are a female shot on 2 February

1880 at Collegal, Coimbatore (Hume Coll.) and a male shot on 5 January

1871 at Dumagudiam, Godavery Valley (Blanford).

Tail. Tarsus.

53*5 20-21*5 mm.

57 21*5 mm.

Orthotomus sutorius guzurata. (Latham).

Sylvia guzurata Latham Index Orn. (1790) p. 554 — Guzarat.

Specimens collected: — 46-48 9 6 <3 14-4-29, 62-63 9 9 16-4-29, 84 $ 88 $

19-4-29, 120 9 24-4-29 Kurumbapatti; 259 <3 21-5-29 Shevaroy Hills 4,800 ft.;

398 juv., 400 S juv. 13-6-29, 416 15-6-29 Chitteri range 3,000 ft.; 571 9

21-7-29, 579 22-7-29 Gingee; 651 S 4-8-29, 665 8-8-29, 701 [9] 15-8-29,

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 563

715 <S 20-8-29, 723 $ 21-8-29 Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.; 793 <$ 4-9-29 Kodur

500 ft. ; 852 $ 30-9-29, 907 9 12-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft. ; 1332 9

6-2-30, 1363 9 10-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft. ; 1490 A <S 8-3-30, 1660 $ 4-4-30

Sankrametta 3,500 ft.

Measurements : —

The Tailor-bird appears to be so common and so generally distributed

throughout the Presidency that there is no need to enumerate the separate

records. On the eastern side it occurs* from sea-level up to at least 4,800 ft.

In Travancore, (from which country I have seen no skins) according to

Ferguson it is common in the plains and at the base of the hills, but presumably

he did not meet it in the hills, at any elevation. In the Nilgiris, it does not

occur much above 6,000 ft. A bird from Bameswaram Island agrees with the

Indian form.

About Madras Town, the breeding season appears to) be irregular and pro-

longed. Dewar says that it nests from February to August, the majority per-

haps in April. Bates however considers June and July the normal breeding

time there, and adds that he saw a newly-fledged family at St. Thomas’ Mount

in December 1929. On the western side, May, June and July are given as the

breeding months.

These Tailor-birds cannot be considered as belonging to the typical race

(Ceylon).1 This latter is a small bird with a comparatively heavy bill and

although the difference of colour from the Peninsula bird is not marked it may

be said of a series that the! rufous cap is more extensive practically absorbing

the grey of the nape,, the upper parts are a darker green and the lower parts

are more uniformly washed with buff. The summer and winter plumages

of the adult male in Ceylon are alike, with the central pair of tail-feathers

narrow and elongated as in the summer plumage of the Peninsula. Ten

males from Ceylon (British Museum: Colombo Museum) measure: — bill 15-17,

wing 45-5-49, tail 40-58-5 mm. This difference in the tail is emphasised

as one goes northward in the Peninsula. Eight males (summer dress) from

Bajputana and the Punjab, taken at random, have tails measuring 64-110 mm.

Cisticola exilis erythrocephala Blyth.

Cisticola erythrocephala Blyth, J.A.S.B., xx, 1851 (after October 17th), p.

523 — Nilgiris.

In the Madras Presidency, the Bed-headed Fantail-Warbler is apparently

confined to the western side. William Davison says that he only found it in

the Brahmagherries and in the Peria forest hills and that even there they

were rare.

Blyth’ s original type, collected by Dr. Jerdon in the Nilgherries, is in the

Indian Museum, Calcutta. It is undated and in the absence of any other

record of this species in the Nilgiris one is inclined to wonder whether it

really came from the Wynaad.

According to Terry, who seems however to have been really referring to

both this species and C. jj cursitans, it was very common at Kukal and near

Kodaikanal in the Palnis, and he gives a long note on the habits (S.F., x, 476).

A male shot by Fairbank on Mount Nebo 6,000 ft. on 12 June, when two

others were also seen, is recorded in Stray Feathers (v., p. 406). Mr. Howard

Campbell also found it common in small colonies in the Palnis (Neiv Fauna, ii,

p. 420).

In Travancore it is only recorded from the High Bange, where Ferguson

found it fairly common and resident on the grasslands.

1 Motacilla sutoria Pennant, Ind. Zool. (1769) p. 7 — Ceylon.

561 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

The breeding is unknown. Admiral Lynes (Review of Genus Cisticola, p.

20.1) says that judging- from- the dress of the specimens about May to August

would seem to be the principal breeding season, but four juveniles from Coorg

in February show that breeding is not confined to the summer.

Cisticola juncidis cursitans (Franklin).

Pnnia cursitans Franklin, P.Z.S. 1830-1831 (October 1831), p. 118 — Ganges

between Calcutta and Benares and in the Yindhyian Hills between the latter

place and Gurra Mandela on the Nerbudda.

It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the Rufous Fantail- Warbler

was not procured throughout the whole duration of the Survey and one feels

that it may be necessary to modify the oft-repeated statement that it occurs

throughout India. There are at any rate very few records for the Presidency

and these all apply to the western area. It must be cautioned however, that

Jerdon (B. of I., ii, 174) states that it occurs in every part of India and he

was much on the eastern side.

William Davison says that he met it a few times in the Wynaad near

Manantoddy. In Coorg, according to Betts, it is very common and there are

specimens from this area in the British Museum.

It occurs in the Palnis at 6,000 ft. and Terry’s long account of C. c. ery-

throcephalus (S.F., x, 476) probably applies in part also to this species.

In Travancore Ferguson only records it as occurring in numbers in the. paddy

fields about Cape Comorin and also about Trivandrum.

Nothing is recorded of the breeding season in the Presidency.

Franklinia gracilis (Franklin).

Prinia gracilis Franklin, P.Z.S. 1830-31 (October 1831), p. 119 — Ganges be-

tween Calcutta and Benares and in the Vindhyian Hills between the latter

place and Gurra Mandela on the Nerbudda.

Specimens collected: — 52 $ 14-4 29 Kurumbapatti; 637 o? 2-8-29, 644-645

cJ 9 3-8-29, 646 9 4-8-29, 654 5-8-29, 661 $ 7-8-29, 677 9 12-8-29, 683 9

13-8-29 Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.; 844-845 <5 9 28-9-29, 878 5-10-29, 923

17-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft.; 1349 S 7-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.;

1586 9 23-3-30, 1624 29-3-30 Sankrametta 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Franklin’s Wren- Warbler appears to be somewhat generally distributed in

the Presidency, where it is strictly resident. In the Vizgapatam Hills, La

Personne reports that it was not common at the higher altitude of the collecting

camps, but at a lower elevation in the Seschachalam and Palkonda Hills it Avas

very common, being found in scrub in thick forest or around villages and to

some extent in bamboo jungle. As specimens collected by Blanford about Raja-

mundri, Ellore and Dumagudiam are in the British Museum it is probably

common all down this side as far as those hills. The Kurumbapatti specimen

supplies the only other record for the eastern side.

In Coorg and the Wynaad and the slopes of the Nilgiris it is said to occur

but not commonly. There are two specimens from Coorg (including the* type of

Prinia albbgularis Walden) in the British Museum and three from Wynaad.

Further south in Travancore it is common in the plains and throughout the

hill range at all elevations. According to Ferguson it breeds there in May,

.Tune and July, preferably at elevations from 300 ft. to 1,000 ft. In one locality

he found numbers in the reeds all round the shores of a fresh-Avater lake.

Franklin’s Wren-Warbler is a very difficult bird to study. The summer

and winter plumages, each assumed by a complete moult in March- April and

September-October-November respectively, are quite distinct and must be

considered separately. In Avinter plumage the bird is brown above and white

below, with a long tail. The colour of the upper parts varies from uniform

THE VEBNAY SCIENTIFIC. SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 565

olive brown, washed on the wings ..and upper tail coverts with chestnut bro.wn,

to uniform ashy grey brown, the wings and tail coverts washed with brown.

In both phases the upper surface of the tail_ remains grey. The white under-

parts have a fulvous and grey wash, the fulvous being more pronounced in. the

first phase, and the grey more pronounced in the second phase, though both

phases have a grey look about the sides of. the neck and breast which is

characteristic of the species.

In summer plumage it is dark ashy above, white below with a broad ashy

pectoral band and the tail is short. The upper parts vary from dark ashy brown,

the wings washed with chestnut brown, to dark ashy grey,, the feathers washed

with brown. In the first phase the white of the underparts is faintly creamy,

in the latter pure. Unfortunately, though there appears to .be some correlation

between the respective phases of the summer and winter plumage, I am unable

to satisfy myself as to the extent in which the variation is geographical and

therefore subspecific, as the series from southern India and Ceylon in the

British Museum is very defective. I suspect, however, the existence of three

races, the typical race extending throughout most of Peninsular India, Assam and

Burma ; a small dark race in Ceylon with summer and winter plumage alike

of the summer type, and a ‘saturated’ race in the Duars. More material is

however needed and the problem may be commended to members of the Society.

There is an interesting point about the juvenile plumage of this species. The

British Museum contains two juvenile birds (Sikkim, Mandelli) hitherto always

accepted, as the young of Franldinia rufescens. They are very similar to the

adult summer plumage of that species with the contrast between crown and

back and the rufous upperside to the tail, but the sides of the head and the

underparts are washed most conspicuously with pale canary yellow. Prima facie

they are obviously the young of rufescens but the collection also contains an

exactly similar young bird of. gracilis from Mt. Aboo where rufescens is not

known to occur. Other juveniles of gracilis collected by Brooks in Maddapur

(where also rufescens is not known to occur) agree with these birds, but lack

the canary yellow wash though retaining rufous on the tail. It is evident that

both species are very closely connected from the point of view of evolution

and it is also significant that while in the Indo-Burmese countries the colour of

the.; tails is an important aid to the separation of the two species, in the

Indo-Chinese countries both species appear to retain a rufous tail in The adult

winter plumage. At any rate that is the only hypothesis on which I can

understand M. Delacour’s and Mr. Steven’s specimens.

During my examination of this species I found it necessary to examine the

British Museum series of Franldinia rufescens (Blyth, J.A.S.B., xvi, May 1847,

p. 456 — Arakan) as in winter plumage these two species are often confused.

It may be as well here to record the result of my examination.

This bird has in N.-E. India distinctive summer and winter plumages which

are well described in the New, Fauna, \ ol. ii, p. 427. It may. be distinguished

from F gracilis by the following points :

F . gracilis.

Winter Dress.

F. rufescens

Upper plumage duller, more olive in

tint; tail definitely grey brown.

Lower plumage pale fulvous white,

warmer on breast and flanks, a grey-

ish shade across breast.

Upper plumage brighter, more fulvous ;

tail, definitely bright fulvous.

Lower plumage fulvous, .becoming pure

white on. throat and centre of abdo-

men.

Summer Dress.

Upper plumage and tail uniform leaden Upper plumage fulvous brown, crown

grey, the wings washed with dull and nape leaden grey, wings washed

chestnut. with dull chestnut.

Lower plumage pale fulvous white, a Lower plumage fulvous white, warm-

leaden grey band across breast. er on sides of breast and flanks. .

F. rufescens generally has a heavier: beak than F. gracilis and that of the

former is said not to turn black in summer plumage.

566 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

I cannot, however, agree with Mr. Stuart Baker’s treatment of Beavan's

Wren-Warbler; he divides it into two forms. The typical race is said to be

found in ‘ South India to the foot of the Himalayas ; Burma south to Tenasserim ,

Yunnan, Siam and Annam’. F. r. austeni, described as differing in its darker

colour and larger size, is said to occur form ‘Kumaon to eastern Assam, North

and South of the Brahmaputra, Manipur.’

Taken together the above distributions appear to mean that Beavan’s Wren-

Warbler is found throughout practically the whole of India. This is incorrect.

I have seen no trustworthy evidence that it occurs anywhere in India except

along the lower eastern Himalayas from Nepal (? — one Hodgson specimen which

may have come from the eastern boundary of the kingdom) to the Duars, and

thence through Assam into Burma etc. There are two races but in my opinion

Mr. Stuart Baker has not correctly divided them. The type locality of rufescens

is Arakan. The original description is short and inadequate but Mr. Kinnear

has borrowed the type specimen from Calcutta and compared it with the two

Arakan specimens (Oates) now in the British Museum with which it agrees.

These two specimens agree with the type of austeni from Lhota, Naga Hills,

and with them agree the Sikkim-Duars-Assam series. Austeni is therefore

a synonym of rufescens.

Birds from Tenasserim and Malaya and Annam, however, differ from the

series of rufescens in being slightly darker, more saturated in tint above, with

less fulvous below. There is also far less difference in summer and winter

dress, the winter dress approximating to that of summer, and ipso facto differing

from the winter dress of the typical race in the contrast between crown and

back and in the shorter tail. There is* little difference in size between the races,

except in the length of the tails in winter, 48-54 in beavani and 51-64 in

rufescens. For this form there is already a name available viz. Prinia beavani

Walden, P.Z.S., 1866 (November 22), p. 551, of which the type (<$ 10-8-65

Sehouay Goon, Salween B., Beavan) is amongst the series in the British

Museum. The Tenasserim race therefore may be known as Franklinia rufescens

beavani (Walden).

Franklinia cinereocapilla (Horsf. and Moore) is a perfectly good species known

to occur not only in Nepal, Sikkim and the Bhutan Duars, as stated in the

New Fauna, but also as far west as Dhunda and Barahath (S.F., iii, p. 242).

There seems to be very little known about the breeding of this species as in the

New Fauna Mr. Stuart Baker can only describe one supposed nest and eggs.

Apparently he has overlooked the fact that he described five nests and their

eggs fully some years ago (J.B.N.H.S., ix, p. 15).

Franklinia buchanani (Blyth).

Prinia buchanani Blyth, J.A.S.B., xiii (1844), p. 376 — Bengal.

[Jerdon states that the Bufous-fronted Wren-Warbler is found in the Car-

natic and all through the tableland of south India. Old specimens labelled

‘Madras’ are in the British Museum. In spite of the above we feel that it is

very doubtful whether this species occurs in the Presidency and it was not

procured by the Survey.]

Schoenicola platyura (Jerdon).

Timalia platyura Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., vol. xiii (June 1844),

p. 170 — Goodalore in the Wynaad.

The Broad-tailed Grass- Warbler is confined in the Presidency to the western

side. Jerdon obtained his type specimen, since lost, among some reeds in

swampy ground close to Goodalore in the Wynaad at the foot of the Nilgiris.

William Davison also reports that he saw it two or three times during his trip

in the Wynaad, in the dense screw pine swamps. Mr. Betts informs me that

he feels sure he has seen it several times at close range in the lemon grass

and dwarf dates which cover the unforested slopes of the Nilgiris.

There are specimens in the British Museum (rf 25-6-81, Palnis 5,000 ft.;

$ 26-4-83 Pittur) obtained by Fairbank and Terry in the Palnis, but curiously

enough neither author mentions them in their published accounts of those hills.

Further south it is evidently common in grass-lands on the summits of

the hills in south Travancore, though according to Ferguson it does not occur

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 567

either at Pirmeerd or on the High Eange. A series of specimens from this

area, — Calathoorpolay Patnas 3,800-4,000 ft. (Bourdillon) , Muthukaly (Ferguson),

— are in the British Museum (see S.F., vii, 37; ix, 209-212 and J.B.N.H.S.,

xv, 457). Here Bourdillon considered that they were breeding in April. The

New Fauna overlooks the occurrence of this bird in Ceylon.

Chaetornis striatus (Jerdon).

Megalurus ? striatus Jerdon, Suppl. Cat. Birds (June) 1844, p. 169 — Nilgiris.

The only records of the Bristled Grass- Warbler which I can trace for the

Presidency are those of Jerdon, who states (B. of I., vol. ii, p. 72) that he

first obtained it on the Nilgiris in swampy ground, but afterwards found it

not rare at Nellore, during the cold season, in long grass and rice fields. These

records probably refer to the four specimens from Jerdon in the British Museum,

which are simply marked ‘Madras’ with no further data.

Phragamaticola aedon (Pallas).

Muscicapa aedon Pallas, Beise Buss. Beichs., vol. iii (1776), p. 695 — Dauria.

Specimen collected: — 1743 $ .29-4-30 Jeypore agency 3,000 ft.

Measurements : — ■

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

S 18-5 82 85 26

The above specimen was the only one met by the Survey and was very fat,

being evidently on migration. This is not the first record for the Presidency.

Jerdon says that he first procured this species in the Carnatic near Nellore, and

his specimen is still in the British Museum. Colonel Sparrow has kindly lent

mo a male in his collection, killed at Malappuram, S. Malabar, on 2 2° Decem-

ber 1912. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S., xv, 457) says: ‘I have only one specimen

shot at the foot of the hills’ in Travancore.

M. Stegman has recently divided this bird into two races, adding as a new

race Ph. ae. rufescens Jour. f. O., lxxvi'i, pt. 2 (1929), p. 250 — Amur. The

material in the British Museum is not sufficient to allow me to appreciate

the difference between the two races, but even if they are recognisable in

their summer quarters the identification of specimens in winter appears pro-

blematical, for the plumage of this species differs greatly according to wear.

Birds from Krasnoyarsk in worn breeding plumage are greenish olive brown

on the upper parts, i.e. much the same colour as Acrocephalus dumetorum. A

fresh moulted autumn specimen on the other hand is quite a rich fulvous brown.

Jerdon’si specimen from Nellore is the type of his Phragamaticola olivacea

ex Blyth MSS., Madras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xiii, pt. 2 (December 1844), p. 129.

It agrees closely with the description of M. Stegman ’s rufescens and if two

races are to be recognised Jerdon ’s name should doubtless be used for the

Ussuri-Amur bird.

Hippolais rama rama (Sykes).

Sylvia rama Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 89 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : —1097 S 13-12-29, 1140 $ 19-12-29, 1159 jj 23-12-29

Cumbum Valley.

Measurements : —

Bill.

2 o* 14-5-15

1 9 15

Wing. Tail.

61-5-63 51-55-5

58-5 49

Tarsus.

19- 5-21 mm.

20- 5 mm.

Wing formula: — 2 = 7/8 and 8/9.

There are not many records of Sykes’ Tree- Warbler in the Presidency.

William Davison mentions a specimen (9) obtained by Miss Coekburn at Kota-

568 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

gherry on 14 October 1874 (S.F., x, 393) and this skin is still in the British

Museum. It is a peculiarly worn and faded bird. Ferguson states that he

only got one specimen in Travancore, at Cape Comorin in December 1901, but

I have failed to discover it in the British Museum. On the eastern side we

have only — in addition to the Survey specimens — Dewar’s statement (J.B.N.H.S.,

xvi, 487) that hundreds of thousands visit Madras in the cold weather, their

harsh ‘chick chick’ seeming to issue from almost every bush. This statement

may be accepted with some reserve as Dewar’s writings show that he is not

very well acquainted with the various Warblers.

There; appears to be no reason to treat the two forms rama and scita as

species. In plumage and measurements they appear to be geographical races

of one form, intermediates between them are certainly found, and we have

seen no good evidence that both forms breed in one and the same area. The

current statement that both birds breed in Kashmir is certainly incorrect, as

there is no evidence at all that either do so.

Hippoldis rama annectens of Sushkin (1925, p. 76, S. E. Altai) is somewhat

of a mystery ta workers who are unable to examine the Leningrad collections.

We hazard a guess that this is the same as the intermediates between rama

and scita that appear in India in winter.

Field workers in India find considerable difficulty in separating rama and

scita and it certainly requires care. In fresh autumn and winter plumage

they are very different in colour. In rama the upper plumage is then a uniform

mouse grey brown, and the lower plumage is washed on the sides with the

same colour. In scita the upper plumage is a darker and more fulvous brown.

The wash on the lower plumage is fulvous brown and in addition is usually

darker and more extensive than in scita. In spring plumage the difference is

still appreciable but in autumn the adults usually arrive on migration in very

worn breeding dress, and as these birdsi have no spring moult they are then

terribly faded and ragged and the colour differences have practically disappeared.

The majority, however, can still be separated by size. In 50 specimens (both

sexes) of rama examined the beak measures 14.5-16.5, wing 58.5-66.5, tail

49-58 mm. In 40 specimens of scita bill 12.5-15, wing 57-65.5, tail 44-52.5 mm.

In both birds the first primary is 3.5 to 10 mm. longer than the primary coverts,

a point which allows of ready separation from Acrocephalus dumetorum and

agricola with which they are often confused. In the two latter the first primary

is minute, usually shorter than or equal to the primary coverts and never

exceeding them by more than 3 mm. The stronger rictal bristles and the more

graduated tails of the Acrocephali confirm the, identification.

There is a male in the Colombo Museum, collected at Manaar N.P., Ceylon

on 15 February 1905. It has not been previously recorded from the Island.

Hippolais rama scita (Eversmann).

Sylvia scita Eversmann, Add. Pallas. Zoogr. Bosso-Asiat., fasc., iii (1842),

p. 12 — Ural Mts.

Specimens collected:— 1074 o? 9-12-29, 1094-5 U 9 13-12-29, 1149 o? 21-12-29,

1161 9 23-12-29 Cumbum Valley; 1278 S 1282 9 20-1-30, 1293 S' 1297 <$

23-1-30, 1305 9 1309 S 25-1-30, 1310 9 1314 9 26-1-30 Godavery Delta.

Measurements : ■ — -

Bill. Wing.

5 S 13-14-5 59-5-65-5

6 9 12-5-14 58-65

Wing formula: — 2 = 6/7 and 7/8.

The only previous record of the Booted Tree- Warbler in the Presidency is

furnished by a specimen in the Hume Collection obtained at Coimbatore on

10-1-1873.

Sylvia hortensis jerdoni (Blyth).

Curruca jerdoni Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xvi (May 1847), p. 439 — Southern

India (Jaulnah).

The claim of the Eastern Orphean Warbler to a place in the Presidency

list still rests on Jerdon’s statement (B. of I., ii, 208) that he had seen it at

Tail. Tarsus.

47-50-5 18-5-20-5 min.’

46-52-5 19-21 mm.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 569

Trichinopoly, Madras and Nellore. It may well be commoner than this allows,

as it is evidently not uncommon in Hyderabad.

Sylvia althaea Hume.

Sylvia althaea Hume, S.F., vol. vii (1878), p. 60 — Jhansi.

There are only thrge specimens of Lesser White-throats in the British

Museum from the Presidency, namely two birds marked simply ‘Madras,

Jerdon,’ and one from the Hume Collection dated Coimbatore 10 January 1873.

The first two are clearly specimens of Hume’s Lesser White-throat with large

bills 14 and 15 mm. respectively. The third may also belong to this form, but it

is one of those intermediate specimens about which one cannot feel positive.

Jerdon’s statement that he once found a White-throat very numerous in a

hedgerow in the Carnatic and Dewar’s record as ‘fairly common’ at Madras

probably refer to this form.

Sylvia curruca blythi Ticeliurst and Whistler.1

Sylvia curruca blythi Ticeliurst and Whistler, Ibis 1933, p. 556 — Cawnpore.

Specimen collected: — 1350 9 8-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

12 65 56 20*5 mm.

Wing formula : — 2 = 7/8.

This was the only specimen of a Lesser White-throat collected by the Survey

and I have failed to find any other definite record of this form within our area.

Phylloscopus affinis (Tickell).

Motacilla affinis Tickell, J.A.S.B., vol. ii (November 1833), p. 576 — Borabhum.

Specimen collected : —1425 22-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

cJ 12 63-5 49-5 19*5 mm.

Tickell ’s Willow- Warbler is a very common winter visitor to the west of

the Presidency, keeping apparently to the hills. In the Nilgiris, according to

Davison, it is very numerous on the plateau and also on the slopes, from Decem-

ber to April. It is in winter somewhat social in habits, twenty or thirty

collecting together, and most of its time is spent in low brushwood or feeding

on the ground. William Davison gives an interesting account of its habits

(S.P., x, 394) and a large series collected by him is in the British Museum.

In the Palnis it is apparently common at Pulungi, and a specimen collected

by Pairbank as late as 3 April is in the British Museum. As regards Tra van-

core we have only Ferguson’s statement that he obtained it at 6,000 ft. in

the High Bange in winter.

The single specimen collected by the Survey provides the only record for

the rest of the Presidency.

Phylloscopus tytleri Brooks.

Phylloscopus tytleri Brooks, P.A.S.B., 1871 (September), p. 210 — Cashmere.

There are only two records of Ty tier’s Willow- Warbler in the Presidency.

A male, now in the British Museum, was shot by William Davison at Ootaca-

1 For the change of name from Sylvia c. affinis Blyth see Ibis 1933, pp. 554-

556.

4

570 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXxVl

mund on 10 March 1881, and a second specimen was shot at the same' place

by the same collector on 22 January (1882 or 1883) vide S.F., x, p. 394.

Phylloscopus griseolus Blyth.

Phylloscopus griseolus Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xvi (1847) p. 443 — banks of the

Hoogly.

[Jerdon informs us ( Madras Journ. Lit. Sci. vol. xiii, (1844), p. 131 that he

obtained this species ‘from the range of the Eastern Ghats’. As Mr. Salim

Ali obtained it at Nelipaka and Asifabad, both in Hyderabad State, and Mr.

D’Abreu obtained it at Parasgaon, Bastar on 24-1-14 its occurrence in the

Eastern Ghats is far from improbable, but until we have a more definite record

the Olive Willow-Wren can hardly be admitted to a full place on the Madras

Presidency, list.]

Phylloscopus inornatus humei Brooks.

Reguloides humei Brooks, S.E., vii (1878). p. 131 — North-west India, re-

stricted to Srinagar (Stuart Baker, New- Fauna, vol. ii, p. 469).

Specimens collected: — 1333 $ 6-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.; 1524 9 12-3-30

Sankrametta 3,000 ft.

Measurements : — -

examination I am of opinion that they belong to this race.

In the New Fauna (vol. ii, p. 469), Hume’s Yellow-Browed Warbler is

said to occur in winter south to the greater part of western India as far south

as Travancore. My own researches, however, confirm Oates’ opinion ( Old

Fauna, vol. i, p. 411) that it occurs on this side only as far south as Belgaum.

With the somewhat doubtful exception of Jerdon’s statement (B. of I., ii, 197)

that he had obtained it at Nellore, the above specimens furnish the only

authentic record of this species in the Presidency. It must be of course only a

winter visitor.

Phylloscopus nitidus nitidus

Phylloscopus nitidus Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xii (after 13 November 1843),

p. 965 — near Calcutta.

Specimens collected: — 13 9 10-4-29 Ivurumbapatti ; 862 || 2-10-29 Seslia-

chalam Hills 2,000 ft.

Measurements : — *

Bill.

(A 12'5

9 13

W ing form ula : — 2 = 6/7.

The Green Willow-Warbler is either not very common or else little noticed

in the Presidency where it must be a winter visitor or a passage migrant on

its way to Ceylon. On the eastern side the above specimens provide the only

records, save for Jerdon’s statement (Madras Jour. Lit. Sc., xiii, p. 131) that

he had obtained it at Nellore.

On the west, William Davison procured a male (now in the British Museum)

at Manantoddy, Wynaad, on 10-4-1881, remarking that he saw several others

in the. course of that trip.

In Travancore, Bourdillon considered it common in heavy jungle (S.F., iv,

401). Ferguson expands this to a winter visitor to the plains and hills through-

put. He adds that it is possible that some birds remain throughout the summer

Wing.

65-5

60-5

Tail.

49-5

43-5

Tarsus.

19 mm.

18-5 mm.

THE VERNA Y SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 571

as lie had two specimens shot at 4,000 ft. in July. The only Travancore speci-

men in the British Museum is an undated bird from My nail (Bourdillon).

Phylloscopus nitidus viridanus Blytli.

Phylloscopus viridanus Blyth, J.A.S.B., xii (after 13 November 1843), p. 967

— near Calcutta.

Specimens collected : —13 9 10-4-29, 76 3 17-4-29, 161 9 1-5-29 Kurumba-

patti; 972 o? 4-11-29, 989 3 9-11-29 Nallamallai range 2,000 ft.; 1326 <3

5-2-30, 1428 o? 22-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.; 1460 3 2-3-30, 1487 o? 6-3-30

Sankrametta 3,500 ft. ; 1723 9 24-4-30, 1742 9 29-4-30 Jeypore agency 2,000-

3,000 ft.

Measurements : — ■

Bill.

4 3 12-13

4 9 12-13

Wing. Tail.

59-5-64*5 47-49

59-62 43*5-47-5

Tarsus.

18-19-5 mm.

18-19 mm.

Wing formula: — 2 = 6/7, 7/8 or 8.

The Greenish Willow- Warbler is evidently a common winter visitor (and

also no doubt passage migrant through to Ceylon) in the Presidency, though

the above specimens provide the only authentic records for the eastern side. The

Kurumbapatti birds were very fat. On the west William Davison tells us that

it is the common Willow-Wren of the Wynaad and Nilgiris arriving early and

staying as late as the first week of April. This is substantiated by specimens

in the British Museum and in my own collection, of which the earliest and

latest dates are 18 September and 5 April.

I have seen no specimens from Travancore, but Ferguson says that it is

a fairly common winter visitor throughout the hills, most common at an eleva-

tion of 2,000 ft. to 3,000 ft. but occurring also in the High Bange and in the

low country.

Phylloscopus magnirostris Blytli.

Phylloscopus magnirostris Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xii ..(after 13tli Nov. 1843).*.

p. 966 — near Calcutta.

Specimen collected: — 875 9 4-10-29 Seshachalam Hills 2,000 ft.

Measurements : — •

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

9 — 67 49 19 mm.

Wing formula 2 = 7/8.

The Large-billed Willow- Warbler has not very often been recorded in the

Presidency. On the eastern side, in addition to the above Survey specimen, we

have only Jerdon’s statement that he obtained it at Nellore in the cold weather.

On the western side, William Davison obtained a specimen (now in the.

British Museum) at Manantoddy, Wynaad, on 18th May 1881. A specimen

collected by Bourdillon at Mynall on 15-11-1874 is in the British Museum and

he considered it ‘less abundant’ in Travancore than Phylloscopus nitidus.

Ferugson, however, considered it ‘probably rare,’ as he had only seen two

specimens at the summit' of the hills.

Phylloscopus trochiloides Iudlowi Whistler [/= liujiibm auct.] .

Phylloscopus trochiloides ludloivi Whistler, Bull. B.O.C., vol. liii, no, ccclv

(9 December, 1931) p. 62 — Maran Biver 5,500 ft., two stages from Kisbtwar.

Specimens collected: — 1531 9 13-3-30, 1627 o? 30-3-30 Sankrametta 3,000 ft.;

1732 3 27-4-30 Jeypore Agency 3,000 ft. ; 1765 3 4-5-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.

Measurements : — *

Bill.

13-13*5

12

Tarsus.

20-21 mm.

19*5 mm,

2 3

1 ?

Wing.

62-5-64-5

56

Tail.

51-5-52

46

672 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Wing formula:— 8/9, 9/10, 10/11.

The only previous record of the Dull-green Willow- Warbler in the Presi-

dency is that of Jerdon (B. of I., ii, 192) who states that he procured it in

the Nilgiris, in the Wynaad and also at Neilore. This record has previously

been described in both editions of the Fauna in view of the necessary con-

fusion on the older writers on the subject of this difficult group and the absence

of any specimens in the Hume collection from anywhere in Peninsular India.

It now seems more likely that Jerdon was correct. Two of the above specimens

were in moult and individuals of the eastern and western races are hard t6

distinguish, but after careful comparison I am of opinion that the Survey

specimens1 belong to the western race.

Phylloscopus occipitalis occipitalis (Blytli).

Phylloscopus occipitalis Blytli, J.A.S.B., Vol. xiv (after August 1845)

p. 593 — South India [ = Nellore].

Specimens collected: — 54 $ 15-4-29 Kurumbapatti ; 987 3 9-11-29 Nallam-

allai range 2,000 ft.; 1426 $ , 22-2-30, 1430 1439 o? 25-2-30 Anantagiri

3,000 ft.; 1649 <5 3-4-30 Sankrametta 3,000 ft.

Measurements : — •

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

5 S 13-5-14 59-5-69-5 45-5-52 16-5-19 mm.

Wing formula: — 2 = 6/7, 7, 7/8 and 8/9.

The Large-Crowned Willow-Wren is evidently a winter visitor to the

Madras Presidency, though we have not a> great deal of information about it.

On the eastern side, beyond the fact that Jerdon obtained the type specimen at

Nellore in the cold weather (Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., xiii., p. 131) the Survey

specimens furnish the only records. The Kurumbapatti bird was very fat and

evidently about to migrate.

On the western side the bird is only reported from Travancore. There

Ferguson says it is not uncommon in the winter months at high elevations

in the hills, going about in small parties.

Seicerus burkii whistleri Ticehurst.

Seicercus burkii whistleri Ticehurst, Bull. B.O.C., vol. xlvi (1925), p. 22 —

Dharmsala.

Specimen obtained: — 1466 $ 3-3-30 Sankrametta.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

13 54-5 43 18 mm.

The single specimen of the Blaick-browed Fly catcher- Warbler was shot in

very dense forest. It furnishes the sole record for the species and race in the

Presidency and is a slight extension southwards of the known distribution of

this species in winter. After careful comparison 1 consider that the specimen

belongs to the western race and the migration of this form is no doubt; south-

easterly in direction as with several other west-Himalayan birds.

Homochlamys pallidipes pallidipes (Blanford).

Phylloscopus pallidipes Blanford, J.A.S.B., vol. xli (June 1872), p. 162—

Sikkim.

Specimen collected: — 1677 12-4-30 Sankrametta 3,500 ft.

1 Since the above was written the Director of the Colombo Museum has

kindly allowed me to examine the series of Warblers under his charge. Amongst

them I have found a specimen of P. t. trochiloides 9 21-10-1921 from Matara,

S.P., Ceylon. This species is previously unrecorded from the island.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 573

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

Damaged 55 45 19- 5 mm.

The discovery of Blanford’s Bush-Warbler in the Yizagapatam ghats was

one of the surprises) of the Survey. Only the one specimen was obtained but

the testes were distinctly enlarged and it would be interesting to know more

about the species in this area. In any case the range in India as given in

tho New Fauna, vol. ii, p. 509 — Sikkim to Eastern Assam — must be considerably

extended, as B. B. Osmaston has already recorded (J.B.N.H.S., xxvi, p. 426)

that it occurs as far west as Dehra Dun. This specimen agrees with topotypes.

Prinia socialis socialis Sykes.

Prinia socialis Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (April) p. 89 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : —64 o? 16-4-29, 136 26-4-1929, 145 S 147 9 28-4-29

Kurumbapatti ; 1515 9 10-3-30, 1522 12-3-30, 1577 22-3-30, 1647 9

3-4-30 Sankrametta 3,000 ft.; 1709-1710 $ 20-4-30 Jeypore Agency 3,000 ft.

Measurements : — •

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

6 d 13-5-15 45-53 59-64 19-21-5 mm.

3 9 13-14-5 45-47 55- 19-5-20-5 mm.

The Ashy Wren- Warbler is evidently widely distributed and common in

the Presidency but as in the case of so many other common species we are

unable to trace its distribution very accurately. Specimens were only procured

by the Survey in the Yizagapatam hills and at Kurumbapatti, and to bridge

this wide gulf on the eastern side we have only Jerdon’s general statements

that it occurs in the Carnatic and throughout .southern India, and Dewar’s

more particular statement that at Madras it is not very abundant.

It is apparently commoner on the west, though in. Coorg, according to Betts

it is scarce. In the Nilgiris it is one of the most familiar and common War-

blers, occurring at all elevations on the slopes, but being most common above

5,000 ft. In the Palnis it seems to be found similarly at all elevations, and

that would seem to> be the case also in Travancore. At any rate Ferguson and

Bourdillon between them found it common both in the low country and in

the grasslands of Pirmeerd and the High Bange. Everywhere in its range this

Warbler avoids heavy jungle.

William Davison (N. & E., i, 292) tells us that in the Nilgiris the breeding

season is March, April and May and sometimes as late as the earlier part of

June. Miss Cockburn at Kotagherry considered the breeding season June

and July. In Travancore, Bourdillon says they breed on the lower slopes

of the hills in May and June and also in July.

The New Fauna does not seem to us very happy in its treatment of this

species. In volume ii, the author divides it into two races — P. s. socialis

of Sykes (type locality Deccan) and P. s. stewarti (type locality Agra) and

states that the only difference between the two forms .lies in the richer colour

of the lower parts of the latter bird. In vol. vii, p. 201, the type locality

for the typical form is changed to Sikkim, with no word of explanation, though

this change, if correct, gives both the northern and southern forms type localities

in the north.

This Wren- Warbler, like others, undergoes a complete spring and a com-

plete autumn moult, the former about April-May, the latter about October-

Novembei. It is important to consider these two plumages separately, as their

variation is of racial importance, a point which is overlooked by the New

Fauna where the winter plumage of P. s. stewarti is described under P. .s.

socialis.

In North-West India the difference between the summer and winter plumage

is very distinct. In summer the upper parts are a dark uniform slaty ash-

colour with the rump and upper tail coverts rufous brown. In winter the

574 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

upper plumage is rufous brown throughout, sometimes very bright, washed

with slaty ash-colour on the crown and nape ; the tail is then much longer.

In Southern India, on the other hand, there is very little difference between

the two plumages. The summer plumage agrees with the summer plumage of the

north-west, but the slaty ash-colour extends to the rump and upper tail coverts

and the wings and tail are darker, more saturated in colour. The winter

plumage only differs from the summer in a faint olive wash on the back,

not ; always noticeable in worn plumage. The difference in length of tail

is not nearly so great.

There is of course intergrading between the two extremes and it is unfortu-

nate that Sykes’ type locality lies in the intermediate area. It is, however,

safe to assign his name to the southern form.

This intergrading is also illustrated by the Vizagapatam series which in

the amount of rufous wash on the upper parts show a slight approach to the

winter plumage of the northern form.

Two more races must, however, be recognised. The first is the insular

race in Ceylon for which there is already a valid name

Prinia socialis brevicauda Legge:

Prinia brevicauda Legge, Birds of Ceylon (1878), p. 521 — Ceylon.

This agrees with the typical race in having the summer and winter plumage

alike. It is however slightly smaller with a shorter tail. A large series (sex-

ing indifferent but both sexes included) measures: —

Bill.

14-15

The second race is found in the Duars, N. Khasia Hills and Darrang. Of

this race no specimens in summer plumagq have been examined, but a large

series in winter plumage are very distinct indeed from P. s. stewarti. They

have not the bright rufous winter plumage of that form but are ashy blue, grey

above as in the southern typical form. They differ from that, however, in the

much darker, more saturated upper parts, the deeper rufous of the. flanks, and the

finer and shorter beak. This is, therefore, another of the perfectly good ‘satu-

rated Duars races’ and in the absence of an applicable existing name, I pro-

pose to name it after Mr. Charles M. Inglis, to whom I am indebted for much

fine material from the Duars: —

Wing. Tail.

43-49 (once 51) 42-54 mm.

Primia socialis inglisi subsp. nov.

Type. January 1876 Bhutan Duars (Mandelli), British Museum Register

No. 1886, 10-1-1660.

Prinia sylvatica sylvatica Jerdon.

Prinia sylvatica Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xi (January 1840),

p. 4 — Seegore Pass of the Nilgiris.

Specimens collected : —87 3 19-4-29 Kurumbapattr; 638 3 2-8-29, 653 3

5-8-29, 675 3 10-8-29, 693 3 700 3 15-8-29, 721 3 21-8-29, 730 22-8-29,

740 3 24-8-29, 769 9 28-8-29 Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.; 851 3 juv 30-9-29,

864 [3] 3-10-29, 874 3 4-10-29, 887 3 7-10-29, 923 3 14-10-29 Seshachalam

Hills 2,000 ft.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 575

implication in both editions of the Fauna that the species occurs throughout

southern India we can trace no record of it on the western side of the Presi-

dency, beyond Jerdon’s original statement: ‘I have only seen this species

hitherto in open forest jungle in the Seegore Pass of the Nilgiris’. The type

is lost and the bird has not since been recorded from this area, but we think

that there can be no doubt that Jerdon was really describing the Jungle Wren-

Warbler, as later generations have known it, for the measurements, wing 2T^

inches ( = 61 mm.) and tail 2r7^ inches ( = 69 mm.), are too large for any

other Indian species of the genus.

Jerdon’s own account of the distribution of sylvaticus (B. of I., ii, p. 181)

is that it is ‘only found in southern India, in low jungle in the Carnatic, in

thin tree jungle on the Eastern Ghats and in the more open parts of the forest

on the Malabar coast, ranging up the slopes of the Neilgherries to 4,000 ft.’ He

must also have found it in ‘the jungles skirting the base of the Eastern Ghats’

as he includes this in the range of his second form neglectus.

The Survey obtained it at Kurumbapatti and found it very common in

the Palkonda and Seshachalam ITills. Jerdon’s record of a nest at Nellore and

Mr. Hasted’s record for S. Arcot district (Inglis, p. 86) and a male in the

British Museum, collected by Blanford on 27 March 1871 near Ellore, conclude

the records for the Presidency.

There has been a great deal of confusion in the past over this large Wren-

Warbler, and the author^ of the New Faunal in suggesting the existence of a

grey race at Mount Aboo has overlooked Hume’s final and correct pronounce-

ment (S.F.* vii, pp. 217-218) that his rufescens and insignis were the winter

and summer plumages respectively of one and the same species. There are

seven specimens from Mount Aboo in the British Museum. Six of these are

in summer plumage and grey. The seventh is in winter plumage and fulvous.

They agree, thereby, with all other specimens from the north of the Peninsula,

a point sufficiently indicated by Hume in his original descriptions, and there

is no ground whatever for separation of a Mount Aboo race as such. There are,

however, two races in India and a third in Ceylon and they agree with other

Wren- Warblers in the importance which needs to be attached to the evolution

of the summer and winter plumages. In this the tail changes, which Mr.

Stuart Baker has disregarded, though! they were indicated in the Old Fauna,

are of the highest importance.

As with many other Wren- Warblers, this species has attained its highest

stage of evolution in north-west India. Here the summer and winter

plumages are very different. The summer plumage is meticulously described

by Hume as Drymoipus insignis (S.E., i, (1872), p. 10). We may summarise

it here as having the upper parts grey-brown in tint, and much white on the

lateral tail feathers. The winter plumage is described with equal care by

Hume as Drymoepus rufescens ( Ibis 1872, p. 110). This is ruddy fulvous in

tint and the white disappears from the lateral tail feathers. It will be remem-

bered of course that the post-nuptial moult is very late, from October to De-

cember.

For this race there is an earlier name than Hume’s, viz., Suya gangetica

Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 23— Upper Ganges. The description is very poor, but

the measurements (wing 2.25 ins. = 57 mm.: tail 3.75 ins. =95 mm.) and the pre-

sence of the type in the British Museum shows clearly that the Jungle Wren-

Warbler is meant.

In the Ceylon bird, the summer and winter, plumage is always alike., the

tail being of the winter type referred to above, without white on the lateral

tail feathers. The colour is a richer darker brown above than all continental

birds,— darker even than Brookes’ Muddapur series, which suggest that if the

distribution extended further north-east another ‘saturated’ race would be, deve-

loped in the Duars— and below a warmer, more yellowish fulvous. This is

correlated with a breeding season that lasts the year round, as explained by

Mr. Stuart Baker, Bull. B.O.C., vol. xl, no. ccl, p. 112. The correct name

for the Ceylon bird is Prinia sylvatica valida (Blyth).

The typical race from southern India — Hyderabad, Mysore and Madras

Presidency— lies between these extremes. In summer and winter the colour

shows little variation and agrees with the summer plumage of the northern

race. Only a proportion of the summer birds develop the white lateral tail

feathers, and I cannot yet make out whether this is due to dimorphism or a

less regular spring moult than in the north.

576 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Prinia inornata inornata Svkes.

Specimens collected : — 162 $ 1-5-29 Kurumbapatti ; 447 19-6-29 Harur

1,000 ft.; 470 [<y] 23-6-29 Tirthamalai ; 482 9 juv. 2-7-29 Trichinopoly ; 497 <3

3-7-29 Kalai, Trichinopoly; 575 9 21-7-29 Gingee; 815 $ 13-9-29 Kodur;

1292 G 23-1-30 Godavery Delta.

Measurements : —

There is surprisingly little information on record about the Indian Wren-

Warbler in the Presidency; in fact beyond general statements that the bird

occurs all over India the above specimens provide the only authentic evidence

of the occurrence of the typical race within our limits.

There is probably no species which has given us more trouble to work out

in the Survey than this common and well-known bird, partly because of the

racial importance of the relationship between the summer and winter plumages

and partly because of the difficulties of the synonomy. The Indian Wren-

Warbler agrees with the other two preceding species in having summer and

winter plumages alike in the extreme south and markedly different in size

and length of tail in the north; but as its range is greater than that of both

the Jungle Wren-Warbler and the Ashy Wren-Warbler it has developed a

larger number of races, of which the typical form is really the intermediate

between the others.

The summer and winter plumages are each preceded by a complete moult,

from March to May and July to November respectively, individual birds of

course not . taking the whole of these periods. There is, however, to add to

the difficulties some irregularity about the incidence of the moults, actual

breeding birds being sometimes found in moult or in winter dress whilst the

juvenile plumage is in character and colour somewhat between the adult sum-

mer and winter plumages. The normal difference between the summer and

winter plumages is as follows.

In winter plumage the upper parts are strongly rufescent, the lower parts

warm buff; the wings are hair brown, margined with dull ferruginous. The

tail is long and deeply graduated, rufescent brown, all the tail feathers much

the same colour with an imperfeci/ subterminal dark bar and a pale tip. The

bill is brown, with the greater part of the lower mandible yellowish horny.

In summer plumage the upper parts are dull earthy grey-brown, the lower

parts white with a faint yellowish tinge; the wings are earthy brown, margined

albescent. The tail is shorter and less graduated than in winter. The central

feathers are pale earthy brown, but - the lateral feathers grow paler towards

the external pair which is almost white. The subterminal dark bar and pale

tip is usually absent from the central feathers. The bill is black, yellowish

at the extreme base of the lower mandible.

These differences are easily appreciated in the birds of peninsula and

northern India, whence I have been able to examine a very good series from

the British Museum and other private sources. From north-east India, south-

west India and Ceylon the series available is far from sufficient to indicate the

plumage changes beyond possibility of error, but I am fairly satisfied that/ in

north-east India the changes are similar, and that in Ceylon summer and

winter plumages are alike. As regards south-west India the position is obscure.

It is, however, quite clear1 that we must recognise four races in India, apart

from the Ceylon and Burmese races.

It is not surprising therefore that in the last hundred years a variety of

names have been given to the members of the genera of Prinia and Frank-

Unia in India. Authors have happened individually on subspecific and

seasonal differences, have failed to understand them for lack of material and

in naming them have often; failed to give an adequate diagnosis. The result

is that these names have later; been wrongly applied, sometimes to even the

wrong species. We have therefore had to assemble first of all original des-

criptions of a large number of names, fix the species, race and stage, to which

5 d

2 9

Bill. Wing. Tail (summer). Tail (winter).

13-14 47-5-51 48-5-53 53-5

12-13 45-5-48-5 51

Tarsus.

18- 5-20 mm.

19- 19-5 mm.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 577

each applies and then fix the prior name for each race. Such types as are

noted as being in the British Museum we have examined. This has entailed a

very considerable amount of work and as it may prove of interest and value to

other workers we append hereto a table showing the priority of publication of

the various names with our identifications of them. A few referring to the

more distinct species, which' cannot be in doubt, have been omitted. Luckily

there is no doubt about the specific name of each species. With these remarks

1 detail the following races of Prinia inornata recognised in India and Ceylon.

Prinia inornata inornata Sykes.

Prinia inornata Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (July 31) p. 89 — Dukkun. Central and

Southern India, excluding the range of P. i. franklinii.

Bill. Wing. Winter tail. Summer tail.

23 S 12-14 46-5-54-5 53-5-70-5 48-5-55 mm.

Prinia inornata terricolor (Hume).

Drymoipus terricolor Hume, N. and E. of Indian Birds (1874) p. 349 —

N. W. India = Oudh, Agra.

N.W. Fronties Province, Punjab^ Sindh, United Provinces. Exact boundary

between this and the typical form; not yet known.

Paler and brighter in colour; tail more uniform in colour, the subter-

minal dark bar usually almost obsolete; tail much longer in winter.

Bill. Wing. Winter tail. Summer tail.

15 S 12-5-14-5 47-5-54 69-84-5 * 48-5-56 mm.

Prinia inornata fusca (Hodgson).

Drijmoica fusca Hodgson, P.ZS., 1845 (August) p. 29 — Nepal.

Nepal and Sikkim Terai, Bhutan Duars, Upper Assam.

Darker and more saturated in colour than the typical form with a more

pronounced fulvous wash below; tail longer in winter as in P. i. terricolor. (No

proper summer series available).

Bill. Wing. Winter tail.

13 <5 13-5-14-5 49-52 66-5-87 mm.

Prinia inornata franklinii Blyth.

Prinia franklinii Blyth, J.A.S.B., 1844 (after May), p. 376 — no locality

[S. India] — now restricted to Nilgiris.

Nilgiris and Palnis; probably also Travancore ranges.

Larger, Darker and browner than the typical form, with tail markings

much more distinct. (No proper summer series available and relationship

between summer and winter plumage obscure.)

Bill. Wing. Winter tail.

7 S 13-14 52-55 58-5-70-5 mm.

Prinia inornata insularis (Legge).

Drymoeca insularis Legge, Birds of Ceylon ( September 1879), p. 529 — Ceylon.

Colour as in last form but much longer beak. Summer and winter plumage

apparently alike with no difference in length of tail.

10 (5

Bill.

14-16

Wing.

00-54

Tail.

54-5-58 mm.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF NAMES APPLIED TO INDIAN WREN- WARBLERS.

578 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

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682 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVl

Prinia inornata franklinii Blyth.

This race of the Indian Wren-Warbler is a common resident all over the

Nilgiris, chiefly above 5,000 ft. Its favourite haunts are the grassy downs

of the plateau where it breeds in the patches of Berberis, Hill Gfoosebery and

St. John’s Wort which are so common in those areas. According to William

Davison it is found all down the slopes into the Wynaad. Southwards it is

common in the Palnis, chiefly above 5,000 ft. according to Fairbank, in long

grass and fern thickets.

Ferguson considered that two forms were found in Travancore, one on the

plains and hills up to 6,000 ft., and another apparently confined to the grass-

lands of Pirmeerd and the High Eange. It is to be hoped that the Travancore

Survey will provide material to settle the identity of these birds.

The breeding season in the Nilgiris is said to be from March to July.

Irena puella puella (Latham).

Coracias puella Latham, Index Orn., vol. i (1790), p. 171 — India, restricted to

Travancore (Stuart-Baker, Handlist, J.B.N.H.S. xxvii, p. 96).

Specimens collected: — 313 d ad. 2-6-29, 336 9 5-6-29, 346 juv. 6-6-29

Cliitteri range 2,000 ft.

Measurements : — ■

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

d 28 126 102-5 17 mm.

9 29 127 102 19 mm.

The Fairy Blue Bird is reported by LaPersonne to be fairly common

about 2,000 ft. in the Chitteri range and this appears to furnish the first record

o i the bird on the eastern side of the Presidency. On the west it is very well-

known and recorded as common in Coorg and the Wynaad, the Nilgiri slopes up

to about 5,000 ft., the Nelliampathis and Plains up to 4,000 ft.. and throughout

tlid hills of Travancore from the jungles at their base up to about 3,000 ft.

How far it occurs in the neighbouring lowlands is not very clear but there

are specimens from Cannanore and Calicut in the British Museum.

The Fairy Blue Bird is usually considered a strictly resident species but

in Coorg Betts (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, p. 546) implies that it is a cold weather

visitor, first noted . on November 26. The breeding season in Travancore is

said to be from January to May.

The fact that there arq two races of the Fairy Blue Bird in India has been

generally overlooked, though this might have been - expected in view of it's

limited distribution in the north-east and south-west corners of the country..

The difference is one of wing length. Twelve adult males from the latter-

area show a wing variation from 123 to 131 mm. Ten adult males from

Sikkim and the Duars, on the other hand, show wing lengths from 133.5 to

141 mm. These figures do not overlap and the difference should be recognised.

Latham originally described his Coracias puella on the basis of Lady Impey’s

drawings, with no more definite locality than India. As Lady Inrpey was at

Calcutta the natural implication is that her specimen icame from the Darjeeling''

area and it is unfortunate therefore that Mr. Stuart Baker has restricted the

name to the south, but' as he has done this twice ( Travancore , J.B.N.H.S..

xxvii, p. J967 Malabar, New Fauna, vol. ii, p. 2) it must be accepted. A

further advantage of restricting the name to the northern area would have

been in that Irena indica Blyth (J.A.S.B., xv. , pp. 308-309) would then have been-

available for the southern race. Blyth in naming this contrasted Malayan and

Indian examples, and added that Arrakan and probably Tenasserim birds

agreed with the Indian form. From his catalogue (p. 214) it is evident that

his Indian specimens came from South India, and as the typical race has been

restricted to South India indica becomes unfortunately a synonym of it. This

leaves the northern race without any available name, for Irena malayensis

Horsfield and Moore (Malayan Peninsula) with its much longer tail coverts

of course is quite different to both of the Indian forms. h

I therefore propose to call the northern race ‘

Irena puella sikkimensis subsp. nov.

Type Feb. 1911, Sukna, Darjeeling (H. King Robinson coll.).; .Brit. Mus.

Reg. No. 1921-7-12-504.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN CHATS 583

Oriolus oriolus kundoo Sykes.

Oriolus kundoo Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31) p. 87— Dukhum.

Specimens collected : —905 11-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft.; 1132 9

17-12-29, 1155-6 9 9 22-12-29 Cumbum Valley; 1256 9 ? 15-1-40 Godaveri

Delta.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

1 ^ 29 142 93-5 23 mm.

4 9, 28-5-31 132-5-138 80-5-92 21-5-23 mm.

The status of the Golden Oriole in the Presidency is not very clear, but

there seems little doubt that! the majority of, if not all, the birds are winter

visitors. On the eastern side we have very little information beyond the above

specimens. Dewar with his usual vagueness, says that it is not often seen

during the hot weather at Madras, but is fairly common there in the winter.

Captain Bates, however, tells me that there is a considerable movement of

Orioles through Madras in the first three months of the year, but all have

passed on elsewhere by April.

On the west there is rather more detail. In Coorg according to Betts, it

is very common in the cold weather from the end of October (earliest date

23 October) to the end of March. William Davison procured specimens in the

Wynaad at the end of March and the first week of April. In the Nilgiris it

is common at low elevations below 5,000 ft. and is rarely seen above 6,000 ft.

(Davison and Be.tts.) Here too they disappear about the middle of March

as Mr. Betts informs me. There are two specimens in the British Museum

collected by Wardlaw-Bamsay at Coonoor on 5 October.

Kinloch says that the Golden Oriole is very common in the Nelliampathis,

but gives no further details. In Travancore too, our information is not very

exact. Bourdillon said that it is not common but only ascends the hills in

the cold season. Ferguson calls it resident and not common, sparingly met

with in the plains and up tq 3,000 ft. The only specimens I have examined

from Travancore (Trivandrum and Mynall) were collected in November, Decem-

ber and March.

Oriolus chinensis diffusus Sharpe.

Oriolus diffusus Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. iii (1877), p. 197 — Mala-

bar .

The Black-naped Oriole was not met by the Survey, though there is a

male in the Tweeddale collection (British Museum) obtained at Vizagapatam

by Major Wynch (no date). It appears to be an uncommon winter visitor

to the western side of the Presidency. Jerdon states that he procured it from

the Malabar jungles and there are a pair marked Malabar 1870 in the Hume

collection as well as an undated female from Calicut. Hume says (S.F., x,

p. 388) that he had received a specimen from the Wynaad, probably from near

Manantoddy, sent to him as an unknown bird by a stranger. This specimen

appears to be no longer in the Hume collection. Ferguson says that it is an

occasional winter visitor to the low country in Travancore. He had a specimen

from Trivandrum and in the British Museum there are five Travancore speci-

mens (Fry: Bourdillon: Anjango) with no precise data.

There appears sometimes to be confusion between immature specimens of

this Oriole and O. o. kundoo, but the above records are satisfactory.

In the Catalogue of Birds, vol. iii, p. 197, Sharpe rejects the name Oriolus

indicus of authors on the ground that ‘Brisson’s description is totally inad-

missible, unless, indeed, a Golden Oriole with blue in its coloration remains

to be discovered, which is hardly likely ! ! ! Brisson, however, never saw such a

bird, but only took his description from the writings of others, viz. Aldrovandrus

and Johnston. Now Aldrovandrus in his Historia Naturalem, vol. xii, p. 862,

published about 1599, figures with very fair accuracy, a black-naped Oriole

which he calls De chlorione Indico, but in the description says that the mark-

ings on the head, wings and tail are ‘caeruleas’.

Johnston, Historiae Naturalis (1650-53) merely copies Aldrovandrus, but

Brisson translates ‘caeruleas’ as ‘bleue’, hence the Oriole with the blue marks.

According to the dictionary, however, ‘cseruleas’ also means ‘dark coloured’,

584 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

so that Aldrovandrus was not so far wrong after all. It is not suggested,

however, that indicus should be substituted for Sharpe’s diffusus, for in any

case Jer don’s Oriolus indicus, 111. Ind. Orn., pi. xv, 1845 (March), is pre-

occupied by Oriolus indicus of Daudin in the Hist. Nat. de Buffon (Didot’s

edition) Oiseau, vol. xiv, 1799, p. 327, which is based on Le Loriot des Indes

of the same work, vol. v, p„ 328,. and also of Brisson.

Oriolus xanthornus maderaspatanus Franklin.

Specimens collected: — 311 $ 2-6-29, 321 $ 3-6-29 Chitteri range 2,000 ft.;

694 S 15-8-29, 710 $ 19-8-29 Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.; 975 ?$ imm. 6-11-29

Nallamallai range 2,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

4 S 27-31 136- 5-138- 5 87 23-25 mm.

1 9 29-5 135 79-5 24 mm.

The Black-headed Oriole appears to be common and generally distributed

in the Presidency. It is a resident species though probably here, as elsewhere

in parts of India, it performs certain local movements.

In January LaPersonne found it abundant on wooded islands in the G-oda-

very Delta, where it was particularly partial to ‘English Tamarind trees’.

Between there and Madras, where Dewar considered it far from common, the

only records are furnished by the Survey specimens. In May and June in Salem

district the Survey found it common in the hills and the plains, particularly

at about 2,500 to 3,000 ft., occurring also up to 4,500 ft.

From the western side a specimen from Coorg (Tweeddale coll.) is in the

British Museum, though Betts does not include it in his list. It occurs in the

Wynaad (William Davison) and in the Nilgiris where it extends rather higher

than O. o. kundoo, Davison stating that he had met with it right up to Ootaca-

mund. A female from Palghat (7-12-1871) is in the Hume collection. Colonel

Sparrow obtained an immature female from Malappuram (22-4-1912). South-

wards it appears to be less of a hill bird than in other parts of its range. At

any rate Kinloch specifically states (J.B.N.H.S., xxvii, 940) that it does not

occur in the Nelliampathis ; and though Fairbank found it in the Palnis from

the base up to 5,000 ft. and Terry considered it common in the Pittur valley,

Bourdillon and Ferguson state that in Travancore it is a bird of the low coun-

try, where it is the commonest Oriole. Bourdillon said that it ascended the

hills in the cold season but this was later denied by Ferguson.

There are no records of the breeding season in our area.

The New Fauna divides the Black-headed Oriole into two races, namely

ceylonensis in Ceylon and the extreme south of Travancore, and xanthornus for

the remainder of the Indian range, and eastwards to Indo-China. According

to the key these are easily distinguished on wing measurement, ceylonensis

never exceeding 130 mm. We, however, find that out of twelve adult males

from Ceylon, seven exceed this measurement. We prefer, however, to treat

this species as falling into three races. If Himalayan and Cinghalese birds are

contrasted they are very different, both in size and certain details of colour-

ation. Peninsula birds, however, are definitely intermediate and do not fit into

a definition of either form. It therefore appears best to treat them as an

intermediate race and we accordingly recognise thei following forms.

Oriolus xanthornus xanthornus (L) .

Coracias xanthornus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat.

(a) Size large :

Bill.

20 S (Once 29-5)

30-5-33

( b ) The yellow on the inner secondaries and tertiaries is very extensive,

forming a wide edging.

(c) In first-year birds a broad yellow band on the forehead is accompanied

by yellow edging to all the black feathers of the crown and nape.

Sub-Himalayan ranges from Kangra to Upper Assam: the Gangetic plain.

ed. x (1758),

Wing.

135-5-150-5

p. 108 — Bengal.

Tail.

86-99-5 mm.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF The EASTERN CHATS 585

Oriolus xanthornus maderaspatanus Franklin.

Oriolus maderaspatanus Franklin, P.Z.S. 1830-1 (October 25, 1831). p. 118 — -

Ganges between Calcutta and Benares, and in the Vindhyian Hills between the

latter place and Gurrah Mandela on the Nerbudda; now restricted to Jubbul-

pore.1

(a) Size intermediate :

Bill. Wing. Tail.

17 (S 27-32 131-139*5 82-86*5 mm.

(b) Yellow on inner secondaries and tertiaries as in ceylonensis .

(a) In first-year birds there is a fairly broad yellow frontal band but the

yellow edging to the feathers of the crown and nape is much reduced and

often absent.

India south of the Gangetic plain, not occurring north and west of Mount

Aboo and Kathiawar.

Oriolus xanthornus ceylonensis Bonaparte.

Oriolus ceylonensis Bonaparte, Consp. Gen. Av., vol. i (1850), p. 347 — |

Ceylon.

(a) Size small : — -

Bill. Wing. Tail.

12 (S 27*5-31 124*5-135 77*5-84 mm.

(b) Yellow on inner secondaries and tertiaries reduced to terminal spots.

(c) In first-year birds the yellow on the head is reduced to a narrow or

almost obsolete frontal band.

It should perhaps be explained that in this Oriole the adult female only

differs from the adult male in the paler, less rich yellow of the upper plumage.

In first-year plumage, retained till the second autumn, both sexes agree in

having the black of the chin and throat replaced by black and white striping.

This was correctly diagnosed in thei Old Fauna though in the New Fauna the

first-year plumage is incorrectly given as that of the adult female. The vari-

ation in the size of the yellow patch on the primary coverts and the amount

of black in the tail is purely individual within our limits, though further

east the latter point apparently becomes of subspecific value.

Specimens of the Black-headed Oriole from the Andamans appear to be

even smaller than the Ceylon form, but there is apparently some doubt as

to the status of the bird in that group (vide S.F., ii, 230 and J.B.N.H.S., xii,

39G and xvii, p, 158).

Gracula religiosa indica (Cuvier).

Eulabes indicus Cuvier, Regne Anim., 2nd ed., vol. i (1829), p. 377, based

on PI. Enlum., vol. iv, pi. 268 (45) — India [ = S. India].

Not observed anywhere by the Survey. The Southern Grackle is a common

bird on the western side of the Presidency, occurring very commonly in Coorg,

the Wynaad, the Nilgiris up to 4,000 or 5,000 ft., the Nelliampathis, the

Palnis up to 4,000-5,000 ft. and in Travancore. In Travancore it is one of

the commonest, noisiest and most conspicuous birds found in the hills up to

3,000 ft. in the south and up to 5,000 ft. in the High Range, breeding most

abundantly from 1,500 to 3,000 ft. How far it occurs out of the hills is not

very clear but in the British Museum there are Tour specimens from Malabar

Tweedale Coll.) and one from Cannanore (ditto). Northwards out of our

boundary it extends to North Kanara and possibly also to the south-west of

Belgaum or even possibly the South Konkan ghats (S.F., ix, 414).

1 It may seem strange that Franklin should use the name maderaspatianus

for an Oriole described from the Central Provinces, but the explanation appears

to be that he considered it the same as Oriolus galbula var. y Latham, Index

Ornithologicus vol. i, p. 187, based on the Icterus maderaspatianus naevius,

Brisson Omithologie, vol. ii, p. 90, which in turn is based on the description

and figure in Ray’s Synopsis Avium, p. 195, table i, fig. 7, 1713, of the Mottled

Jay from Madras, i.e. a Black-headed Oriole.

As, however, the description appears to be taken from a specimen collected

by Franklin and not based on the description of Latham, Brisson or Ray

of a Madras bird, the type locality may he fixed as Jubbulpore.

s

586 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVl

The breeding season is apparently in the main from March to June, but

Stuart Baker adds January and February, and J. Darling September and

October to these months.

There are three clearly defined areas in India where the Grackle occurs

as a strictly resident species, namely the Himalayan foothills from near Al-

mora to Assam, the area to the south of Chota Nagpur, and south-west India

as given above. These areas are widely separated by huge tracts where the

species does not occur at all and there are recognisable differences between the

birds of all three areas, though they clearly grade into each other.

In south-west India the conspicuous side wattle is extended up the back

of the nape to the crown in the shape of a narrow tongue. This narrow

tongue is appreciably diminished in birds from North Kanara and it is entirely

absent in birds from the other two Indian areas. That part of the wattle

situated over the ear coverts is also, variable in different areas. The band

which connects the base of the two lobes is very narrow in the south-west,

so narrow that it barely shows save as a division in the feathers. In the

Himalayan race this band is broad and conspicuous, and there are further

differences in the typical race. As these differences are evidently only of

racial importance one must view with some suspicion the elevation of the

Ceylon bird Gracula ptilogenys to the rank of a full species, differing merely

in the total suppression of the wattle nn the eaij coverts though, a division in

the feathers recalls it. It is possible that further research will provide some

explanation for the existence side by side in Ceylon of two forms apparently

only . subspecific in value.

In dividing the Indian Grackles into two species and thinking the presence

or absence of the wattle on the nape of specific value, Mr. Stuart Baker appears

to have been misled by the old records for he has failed to realise that the

authors who variously record religiosa and intermedia from the area south of

Chota Nagpur were both referring to the same bird. Hume had already pointed

out that and showed that it was an intermediate (vide S.F., ii, 254 and vii,

222). From G. r. indica of the south-west the absence of the wattle from the

nape to the crown at once distinguishes it. From G. r. intermedia of the

sub-Himalayas it may be distinguished • by its finer and shorter bill and its

smaller size, bill 29-30.5, wing 158-164.5, tail 72-74 mm. as compared with

S bill 30.5-33, wing 169-176.5, tail 78-84 mm. in G. r. intermedia. We are of

opinion that this intermediate may be usefully recognised and propose for it

the name

- Gracula religiosa peninsularis subsp. nov.

Typd. (5* Sambalpur 1st January, 1873 (Hume collection). British Museum

[Register No. 1877-7-1-887.

Lamprocorax panayensis (Scopoli).

Muscicapa panayensis Scop., Del. Flor. et Fauna Insubr., vol. ii (1783),

p. 96 — Panay.

Although both editions of the Fauna pass over the record in silence there

appears no reason to disbelieve that the Glossy Starling has occurred near

Madras. In S.F., ix, p. 298,, Mr. W. F. Dique reports that a young female,

probably of the species that occurs in the Andamans and Nicobars, was cap-

tured at Poonamallee, about 12 miles west of Madras, on the 9th October,

1880. It was feeding on a Banyan tree among a lot of Mynahs, Barbets and

other birds.

Pastor roseus (Linn).

Tardus roseus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 170 — Lapland.

The Bosy Pastor was not reported! by the Survey and there is very little

accurate information about its status in the Presidency. There is an un-

dated specimen from Nursiputum near Bajamundri in the Hume collection.

Dewar .says that it D not common at Madras but Jerdon says that it usually

makes its appearance in the Deccan and Carnatic about November in vast

flocks, quitting the south of India again about March.

In Travancore, Ferguson says that it is found in large flocks both in the

low country and on the hills, from? September to April usually, though he had

seen them occasionally as late as May.

THE VHRNAY SCIENTIFIC SVliVHY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 587

The probability is that the numbers which -arrive in the Presidency vary

from year to year, depending on the food supply in other parts of India.

Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi Finscli.

Sturnus vulgaris poltaratskyi, Finch, P.Z.S.., 1878 (October) p. 713—

Marka Kul, Chinese Altai.

The Starling is) evidently an occasional straggler to the Madras Presidency

as I have examined two specimens, both of this race. The first is an unsexed

specimen in the Wardlaw-Bamsay collection in the British Museum labelled in

his handwriting ‘1876 Madras’. The second is an old and faded specimen from

Madras in the Madras Government Museum, kindly sent to me for inspection

by Dr. Gravely. Dewar’s remark that the Starling is only rarely seen at Madras

may be only based on these records.

Sturnia malabarica malabarica (Gmelin).

Tardus malabancus Gmelin, Syst. Nat. vol. i, pt. ii (1789), p. 816 — Malabar

Coast.

Specimens collected: — 1120 <$ 16-12-29 Cum bum Valley: 1205-6 9 $ 8-1-30,

1217-8 9 9 10-1-30, 1262-3 o? 9 19-1-30 Godavery Delta; 1570 9 19-3-30,

1585 $ 23-3-30, 1611A 1611B 1612 9 9 9 27-3-30 Sankrametta 2,000-3,500 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

3' ' <$ 20-5-22 101-104 60-64 23-5-25 mm.

8 9 20-22 94-104 55-65 22-24 mm.

LaPersonne reports that the Grey-headed Mynah was common in large

flocks in early March at Anantagiri and Sankarametta in the Vizagapatam

ghats. Towards the first week in April pairs were seen and some of the last

birds obtained had the organs enlarged. A specimen from Jevpore is in the

Tweeddale collection in the British Museum.

In January it was common on the wooded islands of the Godavery Delta in

largo flocks which principally fed at the flowers of the ‘English Tamarind’ tree

in company with Orioles. Common Mynahs and Drongos.

The specimen from the Cumbum valley and Dewar’s statement that the

bird is a fairly abundant winter visitor to Madras comprise the rest of the

records for the eastern side of the Presidency, though there is also of course

Jerdon’s statement (Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., xi, p. 23) that he had seen and

shot it in the Carnatic in the cold season.

On the western side, we have not been able to clear up the exact situation

between the typical race and blythii as explained in detail under that form.

It does, however, occur there though its status is not very clear.

William Davison states that it occurs sparingly in the Wynaad and this is

substantiated by a male in the British Museum collected by Darling on 21-11-1877.

Davisonl also tells us that it occurs sparingly on the slopes of the Nilgiris,

apparently not above 5,000 ft., and that he has seen it as late as the end of

April on the Coonoor ghat (S.F., x, 401).

In Travancore, Bourdillon and Ferguson call it common in considerable flocks

in the jungle at the foot of the hills, rarely aspending to 2,000 ft. These

accounts suggest that the bird is a winter visitor to this area, but one or

other race evidently breeds in Travancore, as Colonel Sparrow informs me that

he took two fresh eggs at Komili in the Cardamum hills on 4 April 1914. These

he attributed to the typical race.

Sturnia malabarica blythii (Jerdon).

Pastor blythii Jerdon, Madr. Jour. Lit. Science, vol. xiii (1844), p. 133 — -

Malabar .

Unfortunately the range of Blyth’s Mynah lies to the west of the area

covered by the Survey and no fresh material has therefore been obtained to

throw light on the exact distribution of this very good race in relation to

the typical form. As both races are local migrants there is some confusion on

the point and thigj confusion ha^ been heightened by the account in the New

Fauna which is very misleading. This states that Blyth’s Mynah is found

‘breeding on the Malabar coast and Travancore south of Belgaum.’ Belgauui

&88 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXX VI

seems to be the meeting-ground of the two races when breeding, and many

specimens from that district are intermediate between the two, whilst some

individuals are much nearer one than the other. Breeding birds from the

Wynaad, Nilgiris and' l’alnis all appear to be of this race.’

Blytli’s Mynah is only definitely recorded as breeding in N. Ivanara in April

(Davidson, J.B.N.H.S., xi, p. 660), in Coorg (Betts, J.B.N.H.S., xxxiii, p. 547)

and those parts of Mysore bordering on the Wynaad in April and May

(Macplierson apud Hume N. & E. second ed., vol. ii, p. 371) Davidson’s identi-

fication is evidently correct as his full account (loc. cit. and also vol. v, p. 109)

is substantiated by a series of skins in the British Museum. Macplierson ’s

identification was confirmed by Hume who received a skin with the eggs.

Mr. Betts does not appear to have actually collected any specimens and the

two labelled Coorg in the Tweeddale Muslim are not very definitely attri-

butable to this race, but his identification is probably correct as an adult

male and two juveniles in the British Museum collected by William Davison

on 11 and 13 May at Ivarote at the} foot of the Balasore peak in the Wynaad

(S.E., x, 401) suggest that this form also breeds in the Wynaad. We

have seen no evidence that either race breeds in the Nilgiris or the Palnis. In

regard to Belgaum Butler paid a great deal of attention to these two forms

which evidently interested him specially as he wrote on them at full length in

Stray Feathers (vol. ix, pp. 238, 267 and 414). His account is quite clear.

Of blythii he says: ‘They arrive in Belgaum in large numbers towards the

end of May and beginning of June in very bad plumage and remain all through

the rains, leaving again about October, by which time they are in perfect

plumage’. Examination of his fine series shows that during this rains’ visit

the birds undergo their post-nuptial moult and the intermediate specimens of

Mr. Baker’s account are evidently birds in moult from first year to adult

plumage. Malabarica on the other hand ‘arrives shortly after blythii has left

in October and is common all through the cold weather’ (S.F. ix. 238). There

is no evidence that either form breeds in the Belgaum area at all.

In the Madras Presidency the range and status of Blyths’ Mynah cannot at

present be satisfactorily defined. It is confined entirely to the western side

and we have traced the following records of it. In Coorg according to Betts

(loc. cit.) it is a very common resident, breeding in barbet holes in high trees

and roosting in the cold weather in large numbers in reed beds in company

with common Mynahs. In the Wynaad, according to Jerdon (B. of 4., vol. ii,

p. 332) it is found up to 2,000 ft. but William Davison evidently did not consider

it common, only meeting the specimens above mentioned.1

Otherwise it is only recorded from Travancore. Ferguson (J.B.N.H.S. xv.

462) says that he never met with it personally, but that F. W. Bourdillon

obtained it in the hills in March and his own collector took two specimens in

April at the foot of the hills. The Bourdillon specimen, dated 9-3-76, is in the

British Museum as well as two other birds from Travancore (Fry) with no

very definite data.

Six other specimens in the British Museum (Gould, Whitley, Indian Museum,

Tweeddale, Jerdon) are labelled Madras or Malabar, with no more precise data

and may be disregarded.

Temenuchus pagodarum (Gmelin).

Tardus pagodarum Gmelin Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. ii (1789), p. 816 — Malabar.

Specimens collected: — 83 9 18-4-29, 158 <$ 30-4-29 Kurumbapatti ; 763-765

cT juv. (S cT 27-8-29 Palkonda Hills 500 ft.; 928 18-10-29 Seschachalam Hills

2,000 ft.

Measurements : — •

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

4 20-22 99-109 60-5-74 25-5-29 mm.

1 9 20-5 99 58 29 mm.

Save for Jerdon’s statement that it is common in the southern portion of

the Northern Ci rears we can trace no record of the Brahminy Mynah in the

Madras Presidency north of the Seschachalam Hills and the Palkonda Hills,

1 In the reference quoted he only mentions two specimens but there arc three

from him in the British Museum.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 589

where the above specimens were procured by the Survey. About Madras, ac-

cording to Dewar and Benjamin Aitken (N. & E., 2nd ed., i, 376) it is one of the

commonest birds and at Poonamallee, 12 miles west of Madras, it is men-

tioned by Dique (S.F., iv, 298). About Kurumbapatti LaPersonne met occa-

sional pairs feeding around the village. Mr. A. G. K. Theobald records it’ as

breeding at Ahtoor in the Shevaroys (N. & E., 2nd ed., i, 376). Jerdon found

it numerous at Trichinopoly. It doubtless occurs all through this area as it

was obtained on Rameswaram Island (S.E., iv, 459), and Ferguson says that

in is not uncommon in Travancore in the extreme south about Nagercoil and

Cape Comorin.

On the western coast it is less numerous. Davison tells us that at Ootaca-

mund it is a straggler (doubtless from the Mysore territory), joining in with

the flocks of Jungle Mynahs,| but lower down it is probably, commoner, as the

British Museum possesses three birds obtained by him in February, at Segore

(Sigur) and a specimen collected by Wardlaw-Ramsay on the Coonoor Ghat on

5 October.

Fairbank found it well' up on the hillsides of the Palnis, but probably this

is only an extension from the plains on their eastern base.

As to the breeding season in the Presidency, Mr. Benjamin Aitken observed

young in nests at Madras in June and July and Theobald found eggs at Ahtoor

early in August.

This widespread and common species has no races.

Acridotheres tristis tristis Linn.

Paradisea tristis Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. xii, vol. i (1766), p. 167 — Philippines.

Specimens collected: — 301 d 1-6-29, 324 juv. 3-6-29 Chitteri range 2,000

ft.; 754 26-8-29 Palkonda Hills 500 ft.; 955 1-11-29 Nallamallai range

2,000 ft.; 1222 10-1-30 Godavery Delta; 1447 26-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

5 S 26-29 137*5-148 81*5-92 34-40 mm.

The Common Mynah appears to be so generally distributed in the Madras

Presidency that there is no need to cite the various records on the point. It

is not clear, however, whether it reaches the highest elevations of the hill

ranges of the south-west and in Travancore, Ferguson implies that it does

not ascend the hills, though Fairbank mentions it at 4,000 ft. in the Palnis.

Dewar gives an interesting note about the relations of the Mynah and the

King Crow at Madras (J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 364). Nothing is recorded about the

breeding season in the Presidency, except that Ferguson states it breeds in

April in Travancore.

One point requires attention. Legge (A. & M.N.H., 5th series, vol. iii, p, 168,

February 1879 reprinted S. F., viii, 72) remarks on the resemblance of speci-

mens from Travancore to the Ceylon race, melanosternus and Mr. Stuart Baker

(New Fauna, vol. iii, p. 53) suggests that they may require separation as an

intermediate form. There are, however, only three specimens in the British

Museum and it will be as well to await the further material from the Travancore

Survey to decide, the point.

Acridotheres ginginianus (Latham).

T urdus ging inanus Latham, Index Orn., vol. i (1790), p. 362 — Gingee.

Jerdon long ago remarked that in spite of its specific name taken from

Gingee in Madras the Bank Mynah does not occur in southern India. The

type locality was, however, probably correct and based on an actual specimen

from Gingee, for B. Sundara Raj, Zoological Assistant to the Madras Govern-

ment Museum, procured a single specimen on 14 January 1914 at Vandalur,

20 miles south of Madras (J.B.N.H.S., xxiii, 155). It was in company with

some Common Mynahs.

The southern boundary of this north Indian form is commonly said to be the

Nerbudda and Mahanadi rivers. It has however been recorded in small num-

bers from western Khandesh, Nasik and Bombay (Barnes, J.B.N.H.S., v, p. 106:

J. Davidson, S.F., x, p. 312). *

590 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Aethiopsar fuscus mahrattensis (Sykes).

Pastor mahrattensis Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (July 31), p. 95 — the Ghauts [near

Poona].

Specimen collected 252 9 19-5-29 Shevaroy Hills 4,500 ft.

Measurements: —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

25 125-5 73 33-5 mm.

A female, now in the British Museum, collected at Yereaud, Slievaroys, on

11 February 1869 by Theobald and the above specimen (incubation patch

marked on, label) are the only specimens examined from the eastern side of the

Presidency, but it is said by LaPersonne to be common in the Shevaroys and

Chitteri range.

On. the western side the Jungle Mynah js well known. It is common in

the Wynaad, and very abundant in the Nilgiris, especially on the higher

ranges. Terry says that it is common round most of the villages in the Palnis.

In Travancore, however, Ferguson says that it does not ascend the hills

but is common in well-wooded parts of the low country up to their foot.

The breeding season in Nilgiris is said by Wait (N. & E., 2nd ed., vol. i,

p. 384) to extend from the end of February to the beginning of July. Miss

Cockburn considered March and April to be the principal months for eggs and

other records agree with these limits. In Coorg Betts records nests in March

and May.1

Mr. Stuart Baker says (vol. iii, p. 57) that he ‘cannot separate mahrattensis

of Sykes. The southern bird differs only in the adult not acquiring a yellow

iris’. With this I am unable to agree. The Jungle Mynahs of the Indian

Empire fall into two distinct shades of colouration on the upper parts. The

birds of northern India, which breed along the outer Himalayas from Murrec

to Assam, are all slate coloured above, paler and grayer in the western Hima-

layas and darker and blacker in the eastern Himalayas. It is possible that

they really fall into the usual eastern and western races of this area, but I

have not examined a sufficiently good series to settle this point. All adults

have the iris bright yellow. This slate coloured bird represents the typical

race and as the type locality is merely ‘India’ I now restrict it to Sikkim

in case the west Himalayan bird should prove distinct.

The birds of southern and western India have the upper parts brown in

tint and iris grey, bluish white or pale blue. These are good racial differ-

ences and should be recognized under Sykes’ name mahrattensis.

Aethiopsar fuscus torquatus (Davison)2 from Burma and Malaya is a

perfectly good race, although unfortunately based on a colour aberration. Mr.

Stuart Baker says that it differs from the typical race only in being smaller,

wing under 120 mm. in his key. This is hardly correct. Six males taken at

random give wing measurements of 122.5-126 mm. The race is intermediate.

It has the yellow iris of the typical race and the brown tint of mahrattensis.

Sturnopastor contra (Linn.).

Sturnus contra Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 167 — India, Cal-

cutta.

Jerdon tells us that the Pied Mynah is found all along the Northern Circars

from Goomsoor to near Masulipatam. He adds that it is more abundant here

than anywhere else that he had seen, occuring in vast flocks of many hundreds.

LaPersonne states that the bird was quite common round Vizianagram town.

It is unfortunate that no specimens were procured as it is not safe to assume

the race of the bh'ds from this area and there are none in the British Museum,

unless a Gould specimen labelled ‘Madras’ came from there. This is pro-

bable as the Pied Mynah is not known to occur further south in the Presidency.

(To he continued ).

1 J.B.N.H.S., xxxiii, 546 Recorded in error as Acridothcres tristis, as Mr.

Betts has since informed me. #

2 Acridotheres torquatus Davison, Ibis 1892, p. 102— ^Pahang.

THE GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF THE MANIPUR

STATE WITH NOTES ON THEIR NUMBERS, MIGRATION

AND HABITS.

BY

J. 0. Higgins, i.c.s.

Part II

( Continued from page 422 of this' volume.)

The Crested, Falcated or Bronze=capped Teal ( Eunetta falcata).

A regular visitor, appearing in the bag since 1910. It has

been shot every year since 1921-22. The earliest recorded was

shot on November 6tli (1927), and the latest on March 81st (1927).

The greatest number shot in a year was 8, in 1927-28. It is more

than possible that a few more of this species have been shot and

classified as female Gad wall.

The Gadwall ( Ghaulelasmus strep crus) — Manipuri, thoidingnam

( ‘ sesamum-flavoured ’) .

Quoting Colonel Wood, Baker1 says that the Gadwall ‘begin

to arrive in Manipur about October 15th and leave about

the end of March’. This is generally correct, though stragglers

remain after March. The earliest recorded in the Game Book

was shot on October 28th (1917), and the latest on April 27th

(1924): my shikaris reported having seen two on June 14tli, 1925.

But it must be remembered that the number of duck in the valley

is not such as to tempt one to shoot them much before the last

week in October or first week in November and again after the

beginning of April. Snipe are very numerous in October and April,

and supply a counter-attraction. ECence, the earliest and latest

dates on which duck have been shot are not an accurate index

of their seasons of migration. Gadwall, generally speaking, are

not present in great numbers before the last week in November

or after the first week in March. The percentages of the total

bag of Gadwall from 1915-16 (when the figures began to be repre-

sentative) to 1931-32, killed in the various months of the season,

are : —

November

December

January

February

March

11 per cent

44 „

17

8

The percentage killed in December is, as in the case of all the

ducks, unduly high, the time available for shooting in that month

being greater than in other months, owing to the Christmas holi-

days.

1 Op. cit., p. 150,

592 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The best year for Gadwall was 1924-25, when 760 were shot.

Good days were : —

27-12-22

27- 12-24

28- 12-22

18-12-27

174

132

114

85

A curious feature of the migration of the Gadwall is that in

some years it is very noticeably common and in others equally

noticeably scarce. This characteristic has also been noted by

Baker1 in the case of the Wigeon. It will be seen from the records

that, whereas in 1922-23 the Gadwall provided upwards of 30 per

cent of the total bag of duck, in 1927-28 its percentage fell as

low as 7.33 per cent. Naturally the percentage of all ducks varies

with changing conditions of climate, water and feed, but the irregu-

larity in numbers is particularly obvious in the case of these two

species.

Both Baker2 and Finn3 agree that Gadwall, in the words of

the latter, ‘are not naturally remarkable either for shyness or its

opposite, though after persecution they give trouble enough to the

gunner’. My experience is that, if pursued in a boat, they very

soon become familiar with the range of a gun and keep out of

danger. But if one’s butt can be placed in a corner where they

want to settle, they continue to fly over it frequently and not too

fast, and a large bag can be made. The same applies in a varying

degree to all the duck, but Gadwall and, more rarely, Pintail are

sometimes extremely loth to give up their intended, resting-place.

Another characteristic of this species noticed by Colonel Wood

and quoted by Baker4 is the tendency to pair before migration.

This tendency is also characteristic of the Shoveller and is, perhaps,

even more noticeable in the Common and Garganey Teals. The

birds begin to pair at least a month and frequently two before

migration. I have not observed this habit in the Pintail or the

Pochards.

The Gadwall, as Baker5 remarks, is one of the best of the

table ducks. Personally, I give precedence to the Teals, closely

followed by the Spotbill and Mallard, closely followed again by

the Gadwall and the Pintail.

The Wigeon ( Ma reca penelope) — Manipuri, th an gg anginal (‘like

the Brahminy’, referring to the drake’s ruddy head).

The Wigeon is not a particularly early arrival nor a late stayer.

The percentages killed in the different months of the season are : —

November

December

January

February

March

10 per cent

38

24

1 Op. cit . , p. 157.

2 Op. cit., p. 151.

3 Op. cit., p. 8,

4 Op. cit., p. 150.

5 Op. cit,, p. 151.

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

593

But, as has already been mentioned in commenting on the Gadwall,

this species is a very irregular visitor in point of numbers.

Though it never carries this irregularity to the point of failing

to appear altogether, there have been several years when the

number bagged has fallen very low — noticeably 1931-32, when only

4 were shot, out of a total bag of upwards of 3,200 duck. But even

when it is comparatively plentiful, it is never found in such

numbers as the Pintail, Gadwall, the Teals and the Pochards, or

even the Shoveller, and only forms 1.12 per cent of the total

bag of duck. When, therefore, Baker1 says that ‘in some years

it is very numerous in Manipur’, he must be speaking compara-

tively. The best year’s bag was in 1924-25, when 111 birds were

shot, providing just over 3 per cent of the total number of duck.

This is followed by 88 in 1930-31 and 75 in 1927-28, forming 1.8 per

cent and 1.5 per cent respectively of the total bags for those years.

The next best is 48 in 1929-30 — less than 1 per cent.

The earliest date on which this species was shot was October

31st (1926), though in 1923 some were seen on September 30tli.

The latest shot was on April 17th (1925). Good days were: —

29-1-25 ... 26

27-12-24 22

1-3-28 ..! 22

Baker2 says of the Wigeon that they ‘vary very much in being

wild or the reverse, but, taking them everywhere,- they may be

said to be cute, wary birds’. This is very much the case in Mani-

pur. My experience of them is that they share with the Pintail

an uncanny quickness in noticing the slightest movement in the

butt and swerving away. This characteristic and their ‘swift,

powerful flight’ contribute largely to their scarcity in the bag. The

Wigeon is easy to identify in flight by the very conspicuous band

of white in the wing of the drake, and by its handsome lines. It

shares with the Pintail the distinction of possessing a beautifully

‘stream-lined’ body and delicately curved wings.

I have never noticed the large flocks referred to by Baker.8 As

a table bird the Wigeon in Manipur is definitely inferior.

The Common Teal ( Nettion crecca crecca) — Manipuri, surit :

some of the villages in the south of the valley also know it as

lemgdngchabi.

It seems to be a moot point whether this duck or the Garganey

Teal is the earlier arrival in India. Baker4 quotes Hume as saying

that the Garganey is the first in the field, but comes to the con-

clusion that they ‘arrive at much the same time, though one year

the Garganey may be the first and the next year the Common Teal’.

There is little doubt that this is correct. In Manipur the Common

Teal lias been reported as seen by shikaris on August 22nd

(1924), August 27th (1915 and 1927), and by a member of

1 Fauna of British India , vol. vi, p. 430.

2 Indian Ducks and their Allies, p. 158,

3 Op. cit., p. 159.

4 Op. cit., p. 169,

594 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

the Club on August 21st (1932): one was shot on September 20th,

1931. As regards the Garganey, it has been reported by shikaris

on August 19th (1929), and actually shot on September 12th (1926).

Of course, in the case of birds not actually shot, one species

may possibly have been mistaken for the other, especially at the

beginning of the season, before the drakes get their full plumage.

The Manipuri Muhammadan shikaris, who have a considerable

knowledge of birds, and are keen observers and skilful at identi-

fying duck on the wing, say that the Common Teal is usually the

first arrival in the valley. Finn1 says that October sees the arrival

of the main body. But in Manipur, as with most of the other

duck, the main migration takes place in November.

Whichever arrives first, there is no doubt as to which leaves

first. The Common Teal, by far the most numerous duck in Mani-

pur, especially during December and January (it forms 28.12 per

cent of the total duck bag for the period, and in 1928-29 rose as

high as 40.8 per cent of the year’s bag), begins to disappear in

February, is scarce in March, and very rare in April. The Gar-

ganey, on the other hand, is comparatively scarce before March,

and common in that month and early April. The monthly per-

centages of Common Teal shot are : —

November

December

January

February

March

Since 1910, out of a total of 15,982, only 595 have been shot

in March and 16 in April, the latest recorded being on April 21st,

1929.

The late Captain D. Dundas, 17tli Infantry, told me that he

had once found a duckling of this species, immature and unable

to fly, when shooting snipe in Manipur, early in the season. This

was doubtless bred by injured parents which had not been able

or inclined to migrate, as the Common Teal is not resident and I

have never heard of another instance of its breeding in the State.

17 per cent

52 ,,

16 ,,

12 „

3 ,,

1 Op. cit., p. 15,

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

595

Baker1 comments on the tameness of the Common Teal. This

is specially true on bits where there is cover, and in the middle of

the day, when the birds may often be seen sleeping on the water.

I remember shooting once with a party which included a Gurkha

Subadar of the 4th Assam Rifles. He started out with 100 cart-

ridges, and when the bag was totalled up, he produced 84 birds,

mostly Common Teal. Needless to say, none of the rest of the

party, who had been shooting from butts, could compete with

this average, though some had better bags. But I happened to

ask the Subadar, who had been shooting from a boat, whether

lie laid used) all his cartridges, when, to my surprise, he replied,

‘No, Sahib, only 52!’. But it is as a driven bird that the Common

Teal is ‘one of the most attractive of the duck tribe to the sports-

man’. It occupies the same relation with regard to the majority

of other ducks that the Frenchman does among driven partridges.

For, from the moment lie becomes aware of trouble ahead, the

Common Teal, instead of swerving off to one side, as do most

of the ducks, more often than not accelerates his speed and alters

his altitude, passing the butt like a bullet out of a gun. This

characteristic is shared to a lesser degree by the Garganey and the

Tufted and White-eyed Pochards. And when the Common Teal

does accelerate, he is probably only surpassed in speed by the

Pintail, if at all.

My observations confirm Baker’s2 conclusions that these birds

are expert divers when among reeds or floating grass, and avail

themselves of cover with baffling skill. But, when wounded, they

will often climb out of the water on to floating grass, like the Grey

Lag and the Spotbill — a thing the Pochards will never do.

This teal has been shot in the hills at an altitude of 5,000 ft.

The authorities are agreed on the excellence of the Common Teal

as a table duck : I think he is only surpassed in this respect

by the Garganey.

The Baikal or Clucking Teal ( Nettion formosum).

Only twice recorded. I shot one out of a small flock of 8 or 10

on March 16th, 1913, and another on November 28th, 1915. The

identification of the former was confirmed by the Society.

The Pintail ( Dafila acuta acuta) — Manipuri, meitungd (not

laitungd, as in Finn3 and Baker4).

Of the Pintail, Baker5 says that ‘in the East, few arrive until

November’. As mentioned above in noting on the Common Teal,

the main migration of all the duck into Manipur takes place in

November, and no species arrive in very large numbers before

that month. But the advance guard of the Pintails certainly

arrive early. My shikari reported having seen Pintail (an easy

Op. cit. , p. 170.

Op. cit., p. 171.

Op. cit., p. 12.

4 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 437.

5 Op. cit., p. 439,

596 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

duck to identify on the wing) on August 27th, 1915. I myself

saw some on September 6th, 1913 : and two were shot on October

1st, 1922. Respectable bags of Pintail are not infrequently made

in November. This species, like the Common Teal, leaves early

though I have shot one (probably a pricked bird) as late as May

13th (1917), and my shikari reported having seen one on July

28th, 1924. The percentages bagged in the different months of

the season are: —

November

December

J anuary

February

March

16 per cent

43 ,,

17 „

19 „

5

After the Common Teal, the Pintail is probably the most numer-

ous visitor to Manipur. But, as Baker1 points out, ‘they are

extremely shy, wary birds’, and it is this quality which brings them

as low as eighth in the bag, with a percentage of only 6.14 per cent.

The best year’s bag is 970 in 1929-30, but this is unusually high,

the next best being 464. Good days were : —

23-2-28

1-12-29

27-12-29

20-2-30

15-12-29

10-12-27

110

93

90

77

76

Baker2 comments on the fact that the Pintail sometimes occurs

in huge flocks. Such flocks, numbering at least a thousand, are

frequently found on the Loktak lake and on such of the smaller

bils as happen to attract them at various periods in the cold

weather. It is also a common thing to see line after line of Pin-

tails, each flock numbering several hundred individuals, fly in from

their night feeding-grounds to the bils, at a height that is well out

of shot. But although the Pintail is shy, a high swift flyer, and

extremely quick to notice the least movement in a butt and to

change his direction to avoid it, should the sportsman have the

good fortune to have his butt built in some corner where the birds

wish to settle, they will return to it again and again. Owing to this

characteristic, Colonel Goodall shot 101 on December 1st, 1929,

and I shot 60 on December 15tli, 1929.

The Garganey or Blue=winged Teal ( Querqueduia qucrquedula)

• — Manipuri, surit , or surit angoubd (‘the white teal’): also called

by the Hindus There, kherlaobi (‘calling “kher” ’), from their

rattling note.

Baker3 refers to the Garganey Teal as ‘one of the earliest duck

arrivals’, while Finn4 remarks that ‘it comes in. nearly or quite

1 Indian Duds and their Allies, p. 183.

2 Op. cit . , p. 183.

3 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 441,

4 Op. cit., p. 18,

LAML birds and Animals or manIpvr

507

its early as the Common Teal’. Whether this species or the

Common Teal arrives earlier has been discussed above in the note

on the latter, and, as Baker1 says, ‘it is a toss up as to which

first puts in an appearance’. But whereas the Common Teal makes

its departure early, the Garganey migrates late, and is the only

duck to remain in the valley in considerable numbers in April.

In March they undoubtedly increase, the number being probably

swelled by birds which halt to feed on the leaves of the sing liar a

( Trapa natans) on their migration northwards. This species has

been reported by shikaris on August 19th (1929) and shot on

September 12th (1926). On April 27th, 1924, 33 were shot, and

1 shot one on' the same date in 1929 and saw four on May 25th,

1919. I have no reason to believe, however, that the Garganey

remains and breeds in Manipur. The percentages shot in the differ-

ent months of the season are : —

November

December

January

February

March

April

Th us, March and April provide 33 per cent of the total bag

of Garganey and only 3 per cent of the bag of Common Teal.

In point of numbers the Garganey is fourth, forming 10.32 per

cent of the total bag of duck. This probably represents something

approximating to its true proportion of migration. The best year’s

bag is 560 in 1924-25, and good days were: —

3-3-29 ... 90

18-4-24 ... 82

21-2-15 ... 81

The bag of 82 on April 18th., 1924, was made on the Loktak by

Captain Williams and myself. I recorded in my Game Book that

no other migratory species were seen. It is unusual for Garganey

to stay so late in such numbers.

Quoting Hume, Baker2 refers to the Garganey as consorting in

large flocks: Dewar3 also refers to its Targe closely-packed flocks’.

But in Manipur the flocks of Garganey are certainly much smaller

than those of the Common Teal. Moreover, like the latter, they

almost invariably pair at least a month before migrating, in spite

of Baker’s4 statement that ‘pairs are hardly ever seen’. Another

statement of Baker’s5 which is not borne out by my experience is

that the Garganey Teal are ‘by no means first class divers’. I

do not pretend that they rank with the Pochards in this respect.

But I have found them as expert as any of the other ducks, espe-

cially in reeds and floating grass, where they avail themselves of

12 per cent

25 ,,

13 „

17 ,,

23 ,,

10 ,,

1 Indian Ducks and their Allies , p. 190.

2 Op. cit. , p. 191.

3 Op. cit., p. 205.

4 Op. cit., p. 191.

5 Op, cit., p. 193.

508 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol XXXVI

the least cover, remaining, like Cotton Teal, with only the head

out of water. Wounded birds also climb out of the water on

to floating grass, like the Grey Lag, the Spotbill and the Common

Teal. Finn1 classes the Garganey as a better diver than the Com-

mon Teal, which Baker2 admits to be no mean performer, espe-

cially in reeds. On the whole I should be inclined to agree with

Finn in awarding the palm to the Garganey, but there is not

much in it.

‘As to whether they are wild or tame opinions seem to differ

very much’, says Baker.3 I cannot agree with him that they are

one of the wildest of the duck tribe. I should class them as wilder

than the Common Teal, the Spotbill, the Cotton and Whistling

Teals, the Tufted and probably the white-eyed Pochard, being

more difficult to approach on the water. They possess, however,

the Common Teal’s pleasant characteristic of charging a butt bald-

headed, but to a less degree. While on the water a Garganey is

tamer than the Pintail, the Gadwall, the Common Pochard, the

Shoveller and the Wigeon.

Baker4 describes the Garganey as a ‘very silent bird as a rule’.

But perhaps Finn5 is nearer the mark in saying that they ‘are not

at all noisy birds . . . the note of the drake ... is a sort of gurgling

rattle . . . constantly uttered during courtship’. It is very com-

monly heard towards the end of the season and resembles nothing

so much as a small boy drawing a stick rapidly across wooden

palings .

Hume (and apparently Baker,6 as lie quotes him without com-

ment) agrees with Finn7 that the Garganey is not the equal of the

Common Teal for the table. Here again I join issue: the Garganey

gains condition much more rapidly than the Common Teal, and,

especially towards the end of the season, possesses a thick layer

of fat under the skin of the breast, which seems to provide a

natural basting medium. In this it resembles the Pintail Snipe.

I never hesitate to pick out a Garganey from the bag in preference

to a Common Teal.

The Shoveller (Spatula clypeata) — Manipuri, hliarci.

Baker8 describes the Shoveller as ‘a rather late arrival in India,

not arriving in any numbers until about the end of October’. He

says ‘it leaves late also’, while Dewar9 says ‘it arrives late and

sometimes stays late’. Individuals, however, are among the very

earliest arrivals. I have seen a Shoveller on September 24th

(1914), and recollect my shikari reporting having seen them in

August, in more than one year. The earliest recorded was shot

on October 26th, 1914. At the end of the season, a few are

always to be seen with the Garganeys after the other duck have

1 Op. cit., p. 17.

2 Op. cit;, p. 171.

3 Op. cit., p. 193.

d Op. cit,, p. 194.

5 Op. cit., p. 17.

6 Op. cit,, p. 173.

7 Op. cit., p. 17.

8 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 444.

0 Op. cit., p. 177.

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OB MANIPUR

599

left. I shot two on May 13th, 1917, and my shikari reported

haying seen one on June 14th, 1925. The percentages shot in the

different months of the season are : —

November

December

J anuary

February

March

14 per cent

... 42 ,,

... 16 ,,

... 18 ,,

The Shoveller does not occur in the same numbers as the Teals,

Common, Tufted and White-eyed Pochards, Gadwall and Pintail.

It is ninth in the bag, with a percentage of only 4.56 per cent.

The best year was 1927-28, when 313 were shot. Good days

were : —

24-2-29 ... 55

27-12-25 ... 54

27-12-27 ... 48

Baker1 and Dewar2 comment on the fact that the Shoveller

seldom appears in large flocks. I have never seen more than

thirty together. They appear to feed and move largely in pairs,

not only at the end of the cold weather, like many other duck,

but also at the beginning. Baker3 further remarks that it ‘flies well

and strongly’, but I think he overstates its capacities in this respect

when he says that ‘it holds its own with Teal and other swift

ducks’. This species is, as he points out, tame and easy of

approach on the water, and appears sometimes to be attracted to

a butt by curiosity. I have also noticed that the survivor of , a

pair sometimes flies over the butt again to look for its shot com-

panion—a characteristic which is very common in the Spotbill and

the Brahminy, and not unusual in the Grey Lag Goose.

None of the writers on ducks appear to have recorded what is

one of the most noticeable characteristics of the Shoveller, namely,

the creaking rustle made by its wings in rising off the water and

flying. It is easy to identify the bird, even in the dark, by the

noise of its flight, which far exceeds that made by other noisy

flyers, such as the Garganey.

‘As an edible’, says Baker,4 ‘they are one of the worst of the

duck tribe . . . ranking equal to the White-eye and inferior to the

Whistling Teal’. This I regard as an insult to the Wliite-eye.

Dewar5 is more correct in saying that it is, ‘after the Brahminy

and the Smew, the worst of the ducks for eating purposes’, f

have tried the Shoveller at various times in the season, out of

curiosity, and have never found it anything but definitely nasty.

The Red=crested Pochard ( Netia rufina)— Manipuri, irupi

(‘diver): the Manipuris call all the Pochards irupi , without dis-

tinction.

1 Indian Ducks and their Allies, p. 199.

2 Op. cit., p. 179.

4 Op. cit., p. 199.

5 Op. cit., p. 179.

600 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL tllSf. SOCIETY, Vol. XXxVl

A rare visitor to Manipur, only 70 of this species have been

shot since 1910, forming 0.12 per cent of the total duck bag. A

few are seen every year, but frequently the year’s bag does not

even contain one. The best year was 1922-23, when 12 were shot,

and the best day’s bag was 9 on December 25th., 1919. Their

rarity is strange, considering that they are far from uncommon in

parts of the Assam valley, only 55 miles north in an air line.

In 1922-23 I assisted at the shooting of 97 in the Nowgong district,

out of a total bag of about 2,000 duck.

The earliest recorded was shot on November 20th, 1913 (though

1 have seen them earlier), and the latest on March 24th, 1921. A

single male stayed on a large tank in the Kesidency garden from

April 17th to May 3rd, 1930.

The Pochard or Dun-bird (Nyroca ferina ferina) — Manipuri,

irupi (not thorclingnam, as in Finn:1 2 thoidingnam is the Gadwall).

Baker3 refers to the Common Pochard as ‘one of the later

ducks to arrive in India’: and ascribes their departure in the

North to ‘the third week of March or early in April’.3 In Manipur,

the main body arrives late in November or early in December, and

leaves about the middle of March. The earliest shot was bagged

on October 26th (1914), and the latest on April 14th (1926).

I saw several on April 27th, 1924. The percentages shot in

the various months of the season are : —

November

December

January

February

March

8 per cent

37 ,,

22 ,,

23 „

10 ,,

Baker4 says of the Pochard that it is ‘common in Manipur’.

This is true, especially in December, January and February on

the Loktak lake, where they find the surroundings which he de-

scribes as peculiarly suited to them — ‘a huge lake, covered in part

with jungle and in part having open expanses of water of some

depth, free of vegetation of a heavy character’. This species is

seventh in the total bag, with a percentage of 6.26 per cent. The

best year’s bag is 330, in 1926-27, and good days were: —

27-12-25

24-2-29

14-12-30

27-12-27

120

104

100

99

Millais5 says of the Pochard ‘they are not more or less difficult

to kill than other diving ducks’. He can never have been in a

1 Op. cit., p. 28: the error is repeated by Dewar (op. cit., p. 119), and

by Baker, in the Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 450.

2 Indian Ducks arid their Allies, p. 219.

3 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 452.

4 Indian Ducks and their Allies, p. 219.

5 British Diving Ducks, vol. i, p. 27.

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR 601

butt on a cold, foggy morning, with line after line of Pochard travel-

ling over at full speed and pretty high up. Their bullet heads,

bull necks and dense plumage make them extremely hard to bring-

down, unless hit well forward. When brought down, as Finn1

says, ‘winged birds will give plenty of trouble to bring to book’.

They possess extraordinary vitality, and a Pochard, hit in the head,

Avill often dive and remain under water for an appreciable time,

even in extremis. Others, apparently moribund, will suddenly

come to life and either fly or swim away, or dive and make their

way to cover. This characteristic is shared to a less degree by

the other Pochards, and it is a safe rule to give another barrel

to any wounded Pochard on the water which raises his head.

You will doubtless waste a few cartridges : but you will put in

the bag a far greater number of birds which would otherwise have

escaped. They are magnificent (livers, though the Tufted Pochard

probably surpasses them in dodging to and fro in open water. But

a winged Common Pochard will frequently disappear immediately

it hits the water, and, if there are any reeds or grass within 50

yards, will never be seen again. Wounded birds are wonderfully

quick at making their way to the nearest reeds or grass, and in

Manipur, where much of the water weed consists of floating masses

of matted vegetation, they, like the other Pochards, have the dis-

concerting habit of diving under the mass and disappearing entirely.

Presumably they are drowned. Another habit the Pochards pos-

sess in common with other ducks, especially the Teals and Shovel-

ler, but make more use of, is swimming when wounded with the

body low in the water and the head and neck stretched out hori-

zontally in front, along the surface of the water. In this position

they are extremely difficult to kill.

All the authorities agree that the Dun-bird is facile prince ps

among the Pochard tribe on the table. This is correct: but I think

Millais2 ranks it too high, at any rate as far as the Indian bird is

concerned, when he says ‘there is a tenderness and delicacy about

the flesh that renders it highly popular with the gourmand’. To

my mind, it cannot compare with the Garganey and Common Teal,

the Spotbill, Mallard, Gadwall or Pintail. However, he is talking

of the American bird, and possibly the diet of wild celery, which

it shares with its relative, the Canvas-back, may make all the

difference in its favour.

The White=eyed Pochard ( Nyroca rufa rufa ) — Manipuri, irupi.

Baker and Finn are silent as to when the White -eye invades

India. Dewar3 says that they ‘arrive in the plains of India in

the latter part of October and leave us in March’. This is more

or less true of Manipur : but they appear to be eariler arrivals than

the rest of the Pochards. The first recorded was shot on October

18th (1013), while my shikari reported their arrival as early as

September 16fch, in 1929. 1 shot one and saw several on April

27th, 1924, which is the latest record. The main body undoubtedly

arrives earlier and leaves earlier than the Tufted and Common

1 Op. cit., p. 27. 3 Op. cit., p. 28. 3 Op. cit.^ p. 125.

6

602 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXX Vi

Pochards. They breed freely in Kashmir and were suspected by

Hume of breeding in the plains of India, though this does not

appear to have been confirmed. But certainly none breed in Mani-

pur. The percentages shot in the different months of the season

are : —

November

December

January

February

March

26 per

41 ,

14 ,

12 ,

7 ,

cent

Baker1 refers to the Wliite-eye as ‘one of our most common

Indian ducks’, qualifying this statement elsewhere2 by saying that

‘in India the Wliite-eye is extremely common over the northern

portion, though it becomes less so to the east of longitude 9° (90° ?),

being still found, however, in considerable numbers throughout

Assam, Manipur, Cacliar, Sylhet, Chittagong and South Burmali’.

In Manipur, certainly, it is plentiful, especially in the first half of

the cold weather, and its numbers are probably correctly reflected

by its position in the bag, namely, fifth with a percentage of

6.56 per cent. The best year’s bag is 457, in 1926-27, and good

days were : —

16-12-28 ... 66

24- 11-27 ... 62

25- 1-31 ... 60

20-12-25 ... 48

Baker3 states that ‘the kind of water preferred by the Pochard

is that also which forms the favourite resort of the White-eyed

Pochard’. But Finn4 is nearer the mark when he says that the

White-eye Tikes cover’. In Manipur the Common Pochards are

nearly always to be found in open water and especially frequent

the Loktak lake. White-eyes, on the other hand, are almost always

found in small pools inside or along the edges of the large masses

of floating grass and weed, which are found on the Manipur lakes.

Most of the authorities condemn the White-eye as a table bird,

though there is some difference of opinion on this point. No one

would pretend that any of the Pochards compare with the Teals

and the aristocrats of the table, such as the Mallard. But I have

found the White-eye far from bad, and Dewar5 hits off the situation

when he says ‘it is not a particularly good duck . . . but I have

eaten many and am of opinion that their flesh is not nearly so

inferior as some people allege’.

The Eastern White=eye ( Nyroca rufa baeri) — Manipuri, irupi.

Baker6 mentions the Eastern Wliite-eye as having been ‘shot in

Manipur’. It is, as a matter of fact, a very regular though

1 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 454.

2 Indian Ducks and their Allies, p. 228.

3 Op. cit., p. 229.

4 Op. cit., p. 29.

5 Op. cit., p. 126.

6 Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 455.

GAME! BIRDS ’AND ANIMALS OF MANlPUli

60S

uncommon visitor. Since it was first noticed, in 1913, 51 liave been

shot and it has occurred yearly in the bag for the past nine years.

The earliest recorded was shot on December 4th, 1927, and the

latest on March 15th, 1913. The best year’s bag was 12, in

1925-26.

It is not unlikely that more are shot than are recorded, being

classified as N. r. tufa.

The Scaup (Ny roca marila mania).

As might be expected from its rarity elsewhere in India, this

species has only been shot twice in Manipur. A female was shot

on January 25th, 1925, by Captain L. Gamble, 4tli Gurkha Rifles,

and a male on December 27th, 1927, by Mr. J.P. Mills, I.C.S.

The identification of the former was confirmed by the Society. My

shikari reported having seen one on November 23rd, 1927.

The Tufted Pochard ( Nyroca fuligula juligula ) — Manipuri, irupi.

The authorities say nothing regarding the times of migration of

this species. In Manipur it arrives in large numbers a little later

than the White-eyed Pochard and before the Common Pochard,

and remains later than any duck except the Garganey Teal. The

first recorded was shot on October 26th, 1914, and the last on

April 27th, 1924. My shikari reported having seen them on Sep-

tember 24fch, 1926, and I myself saw some on September 29tli,

1912. I also* saw one on May 17th, 1930, and on May 25th, 1919,

and my shikari reported having seen one on June 14th, 1925.

The percentages shot during the various months of the season are : —

November

December

January

February

March

11 per cent

29 ,,

17 ,,

18 ,,

25 ,,

Early writers appear to have had little accurate information as

to the distribution of this species in eastern India. Baker1 quotes

Hume as saying ‘Damant records it and Godwin- Austen’s people

procured it from Manipur : but I have no information of its occur-

rence east of the Brahmapootra, whether in Assam, Kachar, Sylhet,

Tipperah, Chittagong or any portion of British Burmah ’. On the

other hand, Oates2 says, ‘we have no definite information ... till

we come to Manipur, where Mr. Hume observed, it to be very

abundant ... it may, I think, be said to be common over almost

evepy part of Upper Burma’. Hopwood,3 however, refers to the

Tufted Pochard as ‘occasionally met with’ in the Chindwin River

districts. Baker4 at first wrote that it is not common . . . through-

1 Indian Ducks and their Allies, p. 240.

2 Op. cit . , p. 349.

3 Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, vol. xviii, 2, p.433,

‘A Further List of Birds from the Chindwin’.

4 Op. cit., p. 241.

6oi Journal, Bombay natural hist, society, Voi. xxxvi

out Assam’, but subsequently modified his opinion,1 to the effect

that it is ‘very common in Assam’. In Manipur only the Common

Teal and the Pintail exceed the Tufted Pochard in numbers, and

it takes second place in the total bag, with a. percentage of 15.29.

It is strange, therefore, that it should be only occasionally met

with in the Upper Cliindwin district, immediately to the east of

the State. The best year’s bag is 980, in 1927-28, and good days

were : —

It will be noticed that five of these large bags were made late

in the season, and that 60 per cent of the Tufted Pochard bagged

are shot after January 1st, as against only 33 per cent of the

White- eyed Pochard.

The authorities differ as to the flight of the Tufted Pochard.

Oates2 quotes Hume as saying, ‘this species has an easier, smoother

and more rapid flight than most of the other Pochards, and rises

much more rapidly, with less fluster than these; but still, like

these, it strikes the water once or twice with its feet’. Baker3

says, ‘it rises with less fluster, noise and splashing than is caused

by the rising of other Pochards, and also gets off the water more

quickly’. Finn4 says that, the Tufter gets ‘sharply off the water’.

Dewar,5 on the other hand, says that he has not noticed it to be

‘exceptionally fast on the wing’. Millais6 says that it ‘rises . . .

with considerable splashing and some noise’. My experience is

that this species rises noisily and awkwardly — much more so than

the White-eyed, Pochard, which leaves the water cleanly, though

almost invariably with a loud alarm call. As regards beating with

the feet and splashing, there is little to choose between the Tufted

and Common Pochards.

Again the authorities differ as to the tameness or the reverse

of the Tufter. Oates7 quotes Hume’s remark that they ‘swim and

dive’ in front of a boat and occasionally dive instead of flying

when a shot is fired. Baker8 says, ‘however abundant it may be,

the Tufted Pochard does not, as a rule, form a very large portion

of a bag in a day’s shoot. This is due to the difficulty, first m

approaching the birds — for they are decidedly wild and shy — -and

secondly in getting a shot when once one has got within reach.

If the bird does not escape at once by diving, swimming or flight,

it is sure to dive before the sportsman has time to get a shot’.

1 Fauna* of British India, vol. vi, p. 459. 5 Op. cit., p. 134.

2 Op. cit., p. 352. 6 Op. cit., p. 55.

3 Indian Ducks and their Allies , p. 242. 7 Op. cit., p. 352.

4 Op. cit., p. 33. 8 Op. cit., p. 242.

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR 605

Finn1 says ‘sometimes a flock will prefer to dive rather than fly’.

Dewar2 says he has not noticed that it is ‘exceptionally Wary . . .

but . . . many individuals dive and swim under water to escape

the sportsman, instead of flying’, Millais3 says, ‘on the whole

the Tufted Pochard is not very easy to shoot on large sheets of

water . . . when little disturbed it is possible to sail within gunshot

of a flock on the open water’. But he also notes4 that they are

‘not as a rule very shy birds’, and remarks on their tendency' 10

swim away at a considerable pace wdien alarmed,. In Manipur the

Tufted Pochard is certainly not a wary bird, on the wing or in the

water. They can commonly be approached within shot in a boat.

As Hume and Millais have remarked, they swim away in front

of the boat and are usually the last to take to flight, when the

fact that thej^ are easy to bring down generally results in one or

two being left behind, though it will usually be found that one

at least is a diver and needs another shot to finish it off. On

March 13th, 1930, when a bag of 274 duck on the Loktak lake

contained 148 Tufted Pochards, and the birds kept to the open

water and refused to fly over the butts, Bajkumar Bhaskar Singh,

nephew of His Highness the Maharaja, left his butt early and

bagged 136 duck, of which the majority were Tufters, shot on the

open water. As regards their diving when approached or fired at,

I have noticed that this is only the case when they are taken by

surprise, as when a boat comes upon them suddenly round the

corner of a bed of reeds. When approached direct in open water,

they first swim away and eventually all take to flight. Wounded

birds always dive, with very considerable skill and cunning. They

share with the other Pochards the tendency noted above in the

Common Pochard, of making for the nearest cover and disappearing

under a floating mass of matted grass or weeds.

Baker5 condemns the Tufted Pochard as ‘a poor article of food’.

But Finn6 classifies it as ‘often good eating’ and Hume passes

them as ‘good enough’. They, like the White-eyed Pochard, are

not to be despised when better duck are not available, and are

undoubtedly superior to Whistling Teal, Brahminy and Shoveller.

Personally, I prefer them to Wigeon.

On December 2nd, 1928, Colonel Goodali shot an albino Tufted

Pochard, the dark parts of which were a pale brownish-buff. The

identification was confirmed by the Society.

The Golden=eye ( Glaucionetta clangula clangula).

Only one specimen is recorded, shot on December 17th, 1922,

and identified by the Society.

The Eastern Goosander ( Mergus merganser orientalis).

A single female, shot in the north-east of the Manipur valley

on a small bil at the foot of the hills, was brought in to me on

February 29th, 1928. I identified it with the help of Baker’s

Indian Ducks and their Allies (First Edition), which does not

1 Op. cit., p. 33.

2 Op. cit., p. 134.

3 Op. cit., p. 62.

4 Op. cit., p. 56.

5 Op. cit., p. 243.

6 Op. cit., p. 34,

606 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

differentiate between Mergus merganser merganser and M. m.

orientalis, but it probably belonged to the latter subspecies. I have

never seen any of the Merginae in Manipur, which is, perhaps,

strange in a country so hilly.

Hybrid Duck.

Four have been recorded : —

1. Mallard -{-Shoveller. A bird with the typical green head

and certain of the characteristic body markings of both species, and

with a slightly spatulate bill. It was shot on March 16th, 1915, hy

Captain A. C. Norman, 5th Cavalry, and the identification was

confirmed by the Society.

2. Common Pochard + Tufted Pochard, shot on January 6tli,

1924. I never saw this bird, and it is just possible that it may

have been a female Scaup, or a female of one of the two species

with some peculiarity of plumage, as the identification was never

confirmed. But Millais1 says that ‘a great number of hybrids be-

tween the Tufted Pochard and other ducks have been recorded,

and the cross with the Common Pochard seems to be the most

common’.

3. Bronze=capped Teal ^-Wigeon. A bird with many of the

characteristics of the males of each species. It was shot on Decem-

ber 20th, 1925, by Captain Williams, the identification being

confirmed by Mr. Stuart Baker.

4. Bronze=capped Teal p Gadwall. In this bird the plumage

of the body, the legs, the beak and the eyes were in no way

different from those of a Gadwall drake, but the whole of the

chin, throat and foreneck were light chestnut, and the crown and

nape bronze. I shot it on December 11th, 1930, and sent the

skin of the head and neck, with a description of the whole bird,

to the Society, where it was identified by an Assistant as an im-

mature Eunetta falcata. This it most certainly was not, being

a typical drake Gadwall, but for the plumage of the head and

neck. I have no doubt whatever that it was a hybrid between

the two species named above.

(To be continued).

1 Op. cit. , p. 63,

PLATE I.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

INDIAN

DRAGONFLIES.

Anal appendages of Dragonflies. (For explanation of plate see end of article.)

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES.1

BY

F. G Fraser, Lt.-Col., i.m.s., f.e.s.

PART XLI.

( With 2 plates ayid 2 text- figures).

( Continued from page 151 of this volume).

Genus: Copera Kirby (1890).

Platycnemis pars Ramb. Ins. Nevrop. p. 240 (1842).

Psilocnemis Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) .xvi, p. 168 (1868) ; Id. Mem. Cour.

xxxviii, p. 121 (1886); Laid. Fascic. Malay. (Odon), Part II, p. 7

(1907).

Copera Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 129 (1890); Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus. Yol. xm,

p. 336 (1917); Munz, Mem. Amer. Soc. Ent. No. 3, p. 54 (1919);

Eras. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Vol. xxix, p. 744 (1923); Id.

ibid. Vol. xxxv, p. 646 (1932).

Pseudocopera Fras., Mem. Dept. Agric. India (Ent.) Nt). 7, Yol. v:i, p. 56

(1923).

Zygopterous dragonflies of small size and rather slender build, with 'abdomen

less than twice the length of hindwings, coloured variably black or brown

1 Mr. D. E. Kimmins of the British Museum has called my attention to

what he believes to be. an important error in Part XXXIX of this series,

one however which is more apparent than real.

Dr. Laidlaw’s Revision of the genus Coeliccia was published in the Records

of the Indian Museum in the month of March 1932, whereas my paper (Part

XXXIX) dealing with the same genus, appeared in the previous month of the

same year. The authorship of the species C. vacca, loringae, loogali and

fraseri ascribed to Laidlaw, would therefore appear to belong to myself by

the laws of priority. As a matter of fact Dr. Laidlaw’s MS. containing the

descriptions of\ these species, passed through my hands and was forwarded to

the Editor of the. Records by myself personally long before my own paper was

completed, and sent for publication. Delay in the publication of the Records led

to my paper appearing first ; this should be perfectly clear from the synonymy

given in my paper which gives the MS. as in possession of the Editor of the

Records and shows that it was actually received for publication in the year

1931, The authorship of these species clearly belongs to Dr. Laidlaw.

F. C. Fraser,

608 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

with intricate or simple markings in white, yellow or pale brown, less com-

monly in pale blue, tenerals and sub-adults pure white with black markings

which gradually obscure the white background as the insect becomes fully

adult; wings hyaline, moderately rounded at apices, never falcate, petiolated

to the level of the proximal antenodal nervure; discoidal cell elongate, with

costal and posterior sides nearly equal in length, distal side about half as

long again as the basal so that the cell gradually dilates distad ; sectors of

arc arising from lower end of arc and markedly divergent from origin ; no

accessory basal postcostal nervures present; Ac situated about midway between

the two antenodal nervures; Ab always present and complete, continued on

as I A which extends for about the basal half of wings; Cuii extending about

5 to 6 cells beyond the. end of IA, about 12 cells in length; Riv+v arising

well proximal of the level of subnode; IRlii at the level of the oblique nervure

descending from it; pterostigma small, very oblique, diamond-shaped, braced,

covering about 1 cell; cells of wings mainly quadrangular; 2 cells between

the discoidal cell and the nervure. descending from the subnode.

Head narrow, eyes smaller than in species of Platysticta ; 2nd segment

of antennae as long as or longer than 3rd., occiput simple, deeply hollowed

out behind ; prothorax with posterior lobe simple rounded and without appen-

dages in both sexes; thorax and abdomen moderately robust, the latter cylin-

drical, very slim and long, dilated somewhat at the terminal segments, of

even thickness in the females; anal appendages variable in the species,

superiors usually considerably shorter than the inferiors.

Genitalia. — lamina deeply and narrowly cleft; hamules broad quadrate

plates meeting across the middle line; penis with apical end curled up but not

bifurcated at end, furnished on each side with long curling branches directed

somewhat backwards and outwards ; lobe flask-shaped. Legs in the males with

the tibiae broadly or very broadly dilated except in a few species ; females

differing rather broadly from the males in colour, shape and markings; vulvar

scales rather short and never extending beyond end of abdomen.

Genotype: Copera marginipes (Lamb.).

Key to species of Genus Copera.

The two hind pairs of tibiae white and

widely dilated

1. ( The two hind pairs of tibiae yellow, reddish

or brown, only moderately dilated

... 2.

... 3.

2.

/Legs very long, hind femora extending

nearly to end of segment 2 ; 2nd abdo-

minal segment wholly black on dorsum ;

inferior anal appendages strongly arched

downwards, black at apices ...

Legs short, hind femora extending only

to end of thorax ; 2nd abdominal seg-

ment with 2 dorsal blue spots ; inferior

anal appendages quite straight, white at

\ apices

C. annulata Selys.

C. superplatypes Fras.

(Superior anal appendages one-fourth

the length of inferiors

Superior anal appendages at least half

the length of inferiors

C. marginipes (Ramb).

... 4.

/Legs very long, tibiae not dilated, brown-

Iish ; posterior lobe of prothorax of female

without spines ... ... ... C. assamensis Laid.

Legs shorter, tibiae slightly dilated, citron

yellow or brick-red; posterior lobe of pro-

thorax of female with a pair of diver-

gent, forwardly directed spines ... C. vittata Selys.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc

PLATE II

The forest cable tram line, Kavalai, Cochin State. Copcra margimpes and

Copera annulata are found in the dark shady jungle bordering the. line,

whilst Platysticta deccanensis is found on small streams bordering the line,

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

COO

Copera marginipes (Hamb.).

Platycnemis marginipes Ramb., Ins. Nerop. p. 240 (1842).

Psilocnemis marginipes Selys, Bull. Acad. Be,lg. (2), xvi, p. 168 (1863);

Id. Mem. Cour. xxxviii, p. 127 (1886) ; Krug. Stett. Ent.

Zeit. p. 102 (1898) ; Selys. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. (2) x,

xxxii, p. 501 (1891).

Psilocnemis striatipes Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2), xvi, p. 169 (1863).

Platyenemis lacteola Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2), xvi, p. 167 (1863).

Copera marginipes Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 129 (1890) ; Id. Journ. Linn. Soc.

Zool. Vol. xxiv, p. 560 (1894); Mart. Mission Pavie, p. 18

(sep.) (1904) ; Laid. Fascic. Malay. (Odonata) Part ii, p. 8

(1909) ; Ris. Suppl. Ent. No. v, p. 18 (1916) ; Laid. Rec.

Ind. Mus., Yol. xiii, pp. 322, 337, PI. xiv, fig. 2 (1917);

Fras. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Vol. xxvii, p. 543 (1921);

Id. ibid. Vol. xxix, p. 744 (1923) ; Id. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol.

xxvi, pp. 428, 498 (1924); Laid. Spolia Mentaw. (Odonata)

Journ. Malay. Br. Roy. Asiatic Soc. Part ii, pp. 218-230

(1926); Fras. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol. xxxiii, p.448 (1931).

Male. — Abdomen 28-31 mm. Hindwing 16-18 mm.

Head. — Labium pale brown; labrum, bases of mandibles, genae, ante- and

post-clypeus pale greenish yellow, the latter with a small black spot on each

side of the middle line; frons and vertex with a broad bronzed black fascia

extending from eye to eye followed by a broad greenish white or bluish stripe

equally wide, which wraps round the sides of the posterior ocelli and runs

back as a narrow bordering to each eye to become nearly confluent with a

narrow similarly coloured stripe which traverses the occiput behind the eyes ;

these two pale stripes enclosing a broadly elliptical stripe on occiput; eyes

black above, greenish at sides and below and with a narrow equatorial

black band circumventing them; and confluent with the black stripe traversing

the vertex; beneath occiput broadly greenish white from the eyes inwards.

Prothorax bronzed black on dorsum and lower part of sides which are

traversed by a broad pale greenish yellow stripe invaded at two points by the

dorsal black ; lower border narrowly pale yellow ; posterior border very finely

yellow, this lobe shallow and very broadly rounded.

Thorax bronzed black on dorsum for rather more than halfway to the

humeral suture, the middorsal carina and border of antealar sinus very finely

bordered with yellow ; a narrow pale greenish yellow antehumeral stripe in

continuation of the lateral prothoracic one and bifurcated above by a small

black upper humeral spot ; this stripe followed by a broad black fascia narrow-

ing above and stippled on the middle of mesepimeron with tiny yellow spots ;

the sides beyond this pale greenish yellow as well as below thorax, marked

with an irregular black stripe on the anterior border of the postero-lateral

suture and a second curved and narrower black stripe on the middle portion

of metepimeron.

Legs variably bright orange to dull reddish ochreous, the posterior two

pairs of tibiae moderately broadly dilated and about equal in length to the

femora.

Wings hyaline; pterostigma pale brown with a fine frame of yellow and

thick black nervures, covering 1 cell, poorly braced; 12 postnodal nervures to

forewings, 9 in the hind; 5 cells after the pterostigma between costa and

radius.

Abdomen bronzed black as far as the middle third of segment 8 from

which segment to the end of abdomen is pale bluish white or pale creamy

white according to age ; segment 1 with the apical border narrowly and the

sides broadly pale greenish white but the latter bearing a short dark stripe;

segment 2 with a narrow middorsal pale greenish white stripe not quite extend-

ing to apical border, the sides of this segment also pale, clouded with brownish;

segments 3 to 6 with a pale stripe along the sides confluent with a narrow

pale green white annule at the base of each segment ; lower border of segment

9 and the basal third of 8 narrowly black.

Anal appendages pale yellow to white, inferiors tipped with black beneath.

Superiors half the length of segment 10, vestigial, tiny rounded tubercles with

the apex pointed and hooked strongly ventrad ; inferiors at least four times

as long as the superiors, broad at base, tapering but slightly t'o a rounded

obtuse apex, slightly separated at base, apices sloping inwards and finally

meeting, inner surfaces rounded or hollowed Out.

610 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Female. — Abdomen 29-30 mm. Hindwing 20 mm.

Differs from the male in several respects. — the abdomen more robust and

cylindrical, the ground-colour is drab and varying shades of brown, whilst

the darker and black markings are more restricted.

Head. — Labrum with a tiny medial point of black at base ; genae, bases of

mandibles and clypeus palest brown, the latter with the same two black

points seen in the male; frons warm brown; the broad black fascia on vertex

replaced by a broken black line which broadens into a large black spot against

the eyes ; 2nd segment of antennae and distal end of 3rd creamy white ;

rest of upper surface of head and occiput pale brown or fawn marked with

a narrow interrupted black stripe just behind ocelli, not extending out as far

as eyes, and a second longer, equally narrow black stripe on occiput behind

eyes ; beneath head dirty white ; eyes similar to the male but the polar cap

dark olivaceous brown.

Prothorax and thorax violaceous brown on dorsum with a similar bronzed

black fascia on middorsum as seen in the male, pale brown laterally with the

black markings largely obsolete, the upper humeral spot present but the post-

humeral black stripe reduced to a lower zigzagged marking, whilst the stripes

on the postero-lateral suture and metepimeron are mere black lines. Posterior

lobe of prothorax deeply notched, a small triangular lobe arising from the

centre of notch and projecting forwards slightly to overlap the middle lobe.

Legs brownish white or carneous ; femora with a speckled band or longi-

tudinal black stripe running the whole length of their outer sides, most conspi-

cuous on the hinder pair; tibiae undilated.

Wings similar to the male; 12 to 13 postnodal nervures to forewings, 11

in the hind ; pterostigma slightly paler and more elongate.

Abdomen warm brown on dorsum deepening to broad black apical annules

on segments 3 to 6 and the greater part of 7 ; markings on segments 1 to 7

similar to the male; apical half of segment 8 and the whole of 9 and 10 pale

brownish white or creamy white in sub- adults. Anal appendages shorter

than segment 10, pale brownish white; vulvar scale brown, barely reaching

end of abdomen.

Distribution. — This, the commonest species of the genus is widely distri-

buted throughout southern Asia and the Sondaic Archipelago. The type, which

I have been unable to examine, is from Java and formed part of the old

Serville collection and is now, I believe, incorporated in the Selysian collection.

Java specimens resemble those from Siam and Burma, the above description

being made from one from the latter country. The species shows an infinite

number of varieties, not only according to the age of the specimens, tenerals

being white with a few scanty black markings, but also according to the

locality of origin. Unfortunately even in the latter, varieties crop up so that

it is difficult to say that a number of races exist. It seems safer with our

present knowledge and material, to classify them all as jnere varieties of one

species. Several species however have been described which appear to me to

be Of no greater value than varieties. Among these is C. acutimargo Kruger,

recorded by Laidlaw from Mergui, Lower Burma. I possess specimens taken

in the same locality, but after careful comparison, am unable to appreciate

sufficient differences to separate them from specimens from Western India,

which I have valued as mere varieties of C. marginipes. All of these differ

from the Burmese form by segment 8 which is entirely black.

Ceylon forms. — Abdomen 34 mm. Hindwing 18 mm.

Usually long and slender abdomen, almost double the length of hindwing;

postclypeus and frons black forming a continuous black area with the vertex

as far back as the level of the antennae; 2nd and 3rd ''segments of antennae

black tipped with white; the broad black fascia on occiput divided transversely

into two stripes, a broad one anteriorly shaped like the propeller of an aero-

plane, and a narrow one lying well behind the former. Lateral markings of

thorax much reduced, the post-humeral stripe only present below and broken

up into tiny spots above ; the stripes on the postero-lateral suture and mete-

pimeron absent. Legs bright brick-red. Wings with 13 and 11 postnodal

nervures respectively; pterostigma black framed finely in yellow.

Abdomen black above on segments 3 to 8 with sharply defined pale blue

annules on segments 3 to 7 , very narrow on the latter ; segment 2 has the

pale middorsal stripe heavily bordered with black on each side and there is

an apical annul© the ends of which tend to encircle the ends of the stripes ;

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

611

segment 8 lias the apical border and a small diamond-shaped apical spot

pale blue, whilst segments 9 and 10 and the anal appendages are entirely

pale blue, only the extreme tip of the latter being black, whilst their shape

does not differ from type.

Female. — Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 18 to 19 mm.

Labrum and bases of mandibles bright yellow; postclypeus with the black

spots larger; black stripe on front of vertex more reduced; 2nd segment of

antennae only pale coloured ; occiput black except for a mere vestige of a

postocular stripe.

Posterior lobe of prothorax with the middle lobe longer and the lateral

forming small rounded lobes recurved forwards. The dark stripes on femora

broken up into a chain of tiny black dots. Abdomen very similar to type

but the black apical annules sending lateral prolongations basad which form

letters of U, the arms of which embrace the medial white stripe and bordering

black; segments 9 and 10 and anal appendages creamy white. (Described from

a pair taken in cop at Kandy, 2,000 ft. during August.)

Coorg forms. — Male. — Abdomen 32 mm. Hindwing 18 mm.

Black markings on head more extensive, the postclypeus, frons and vertex

forming one confluent area, the pale stripe separating this area from the occiput

very narrow and almost obsolete, the dark areas of occiput extending out

as far as the eyes, markedly bronzed, almost dark green metallic; the post-

orbital stripe very broad.

Prothorax and thorax with equally extensive melanism, the former with

a very narrow lateral stripe only, the middorsal bronzed area extending out

as far as the humeral suture above and nearly as far below; the post-humeral

stripe extending broadly upwards as far as base of wings and enclosing with

the dorsal black a narrow pale humeral stripe which traverses the humeral

suture obliquely from below upwards ; the black stripe on the sides more

extensive and made - up of stippled spots irregularly confluent.

Legs bright brick-red, the tibiae moderately dilated. Wings with 12 to 14

postnodal nervures and 11 to 12 respectively ; a very narrow pterostigma almost

twice as long as broad, dark reddish brown finely framed in pale brown.

Abdomen and anal appendages similar to the Ceylon forms but the inferior

appendages palely ochreous.

West Coast forms. — These are intermediate between the forms described

from Coorg and the type and come mainly from Maliableshwar and the ghats

near Bombay. The pattern of the black markings on head shows much varia-

tion but the pale stripe traversing vertex is moderately broad in all and the

black occipital fascia falls just short of the eyes; postclypeal markings vary

from large spots to entire blackness ; pterostigma long and narrow as in Coorg

forms; segment 9 with its sides, especially at the basal end broadly black;

inferior anal appendages black as far as base on the outer sides.

Deccani forms. — Abdomen 26 mm. Hindwing 14 mm.

These are from Poona, and Mhow, C.P. , and show a marked reduction of

melanism, especially in the females, the heads of which are entirely without

black markings and wholly pale khaki brown. Males from the Central Pro-

vinces have the postclypeus unmarked and the frons narrowly bordered with

pale brown in front ; the occipital black markings are reduced to two large

pyriform spots finely united by a median black line, the postorbital stripe

being nearly obsolete. The lateral markings of thorax obsolete save for the

lower part of the post-humeral marking. Legs carneous. Pterostigma markedly

narrowed. They represent the smallest forms of the species and their pale

colour is the outcome of their semi-desert surroundings.

In addition to the absence of black head markings in the female, the

lateral markings of thorax are obsolete and the middorsal bronzed area very

narrow ; markings on abdomen reduced to a mere middorsal dark brown stripe

extending as far as segment 8, whilst 9 has two subdorsal basal streaks and

10 is unmarked. The posterior lobe of prothorax shaped as for type. Wings

in adults deeply enfumed.

Assam forms. — Males closely resemble those from the West Coast, whilst

the females have the dark stripes on head broken up into isolated bronzed

green spots recalling strongly those, found in Sympycna. The lateral thoracic

markings much reduced. Posterior lobe of prothorax similar in shape to that

of the Ceylon form. These are obviously dry season forms and were taken

q-t Margherita, Assam during May.

612 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Bengal forms— A pair from Jalpaiguri show the black markings much

reduced, the occipital markings in the male tending to be broken up into

isolated spots, and in the female, represented only by tiny black points lying

in a pale area. Here again modification of the posterior lobe of prothorax

is found. A dry season form taken in March.

Fig. 2. — Dorsal view of heads of — (a) Copera superplatypes Fras. $ . ( b )

Copera annulata (Selys) . (c) Copera vittata (Selys) <$ , from Coorg.

( d ) Copera marginipes (Ramb) , from the West Coast,

Copera vittata (Selys).

Psilocnemis vittata Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xvi, p. 170 (1863) ; Id. Mem.

Cour. xxxviii, p. 121 (1886).

Copera vittata Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 129 (1890); Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol.

viii, pp. 342, 343 (1914); Krug. Stett. Ent. Zeit. p. 102

(1898) ; Fras. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Vol. xxix, p. 744

(1923); Id. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol. xxvi, pp. 428, 498 (1924).

Copera vittata deccanensis Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol. xiii, pp. 323, 327-329

(1923); Fras. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Vol. xxix,

p. 744 (1923); Id. Rec. Ind. Mus. Vol. xxxiii, p. 448 (1931).

Psilocnemis serapica Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xvi, p. 171 (1863).

Male. — Abdomen 30 to 32 mm. Hindwing 16 to 18 mm.

Head. — Labium pale reddish brown; labrum bright greenish yellow; genae

and bases of mandibles pale bluish green; anteclypeus pale; postclypeus, frons

and vertex black, the latter traversed from eye to eye by a moderately broad

pale bluish green stripe which passes between the anterior and posterior ocelli;

behind occiput a postocular narrow creamy white stripe ; eyes capped above

with black, olivaceous green below and with a narrow black equatorial stripe

circumventing the eyes.

Prothorax black with a narrow ochreous stripe on each side ; posterior

lobe broadly rounded.

Thorax bronzed black on dorsum nearly as far as humeral suture, the

space between the humeral and ante-lateral sutures dark chocolate brown or

blackish stippled with a few coarse yellow spots, the two dark areas separated

by a narrow humeral ochreous stripe; the sides posterior to the antero-lateral

suture bluish or yellowish, an obscure vestigial brownish stripe anterior to

the suture and a second more pronounced on the. middle of metepimeron ;

beneath thorax yellow. Legs reddish, the two hinder pairs of tibiae very

slightly dilated,

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

613

Wings hyaline; pterostigma much less elongated than in C. membranipes,

squared outwardly, dark reddish brown, paler at its circumference, framed in

black nervures, covering 1 cell, very poorly braced; 10 to 13 postnodal nervures

to forewings, 10 in the hind.

Abdomen black on dorsum and laterally as far as segment 10 which latter

is pale blue ; segment 9 also with a small apical blue, dorsal spot which some-

times extends halfway along segment towards its base; segments 3 to 7 with

very narrow pale blue basal annules and with the white of ventral surface

expanding subapically on to sides; segments 1 and 2 warm brown, the former

with the dorsum largely black, the latter with the middorsal carina finely

pale blue bordered with black.

Anal appendages. — Superiors pale blue or creamy white, as long as seg-

ment 10, conical, depressed, acute and tapered at apex; inferiors nearly twice

the length of superiors, broad at base, tapering to apex and directed somewhat

obliquely inwards so as to meet at apices, pale within, blackish brown exter-

nally and armed with a small obtuse spine at middle of inner border. Penis

broadly blunt at apex, the apical end curled over to embrace the stem of organ,

broadening at end where it is shallowly grooved to embrace the stem, the

outer angles being produced into a point but not branched.

Pemale. — Abdomen 28-30 mm. Hindwing 18 mm.

Differs rather strongly from the male. — the abdomen much more robust

and cylindrical throughout, the black markings more restricted.

Head. — Labrum bright yellow with a small medial basal black point and

its base also narrowly black; genae, bases of mandibles greenish yellow;

frons and vertex purplish brown with a moderately broad transverse black

band extending from eye to eye at base of antennae ; the transverse black

fascia on occiput absent but the postocular stripe present ; ocellar space paler,

forming an ill-defined pale stripe; 2nd segment of antennae white, the

3rd pale brown.

Prothorax blackish brown with a pale stripe on each side ; posterior lobe

deeply notched with a small median lobe lying within the latter and with

the angles of the lobe prolonged forwards as fine strongly divergent spines.

Thorax pale brown marked very similarly to the male. — the middorsal bronzed

area narrower, the middorsal carina and antealar sinus finely yellow; a large

black spot on upper part of humeral suture and the suture below this finely

delineated in black; the post-humeral black band •very ragged and interrupted

by large pale spots, extending for only two-thirds up the sides of thorax; the

band bordering the postero-lateral suture very broad ; two narrow stripes on

metepimeron, one of which lies just posterior to the suture and is interrupted

above, the other shorter and narrower bordering the thorax below. Beneath

pale brown marked with three large black spots.

Legs yellow, all femora with the speckled band on extensor surfaces.

Wings hyaline more or less palely enfumed; pterostigma subquadrate, shaped

very much as in the male but rather shorter, blackish brown framed in yellow

and black nervures, covering 1 cell, poorly braced; 14 postnodal nervures to

forewings, 12 in the hind.

Abdomen dark purplish brown changing to black on segments 7 to 10 ;

segments 1 and 2 similar to the male; segments 3 to 7 with narrow pale

yellow or white basal annules ; segment 9 with a broad brownish white

T-shaped spot on its dorsum, whilst segment 10 is entirely of that colour except

laterally. Anal appendages brownish white, conical, pointed, surmounting a

large conical protuberance. Vulvar scales dark brown, robust, extending to

end of abdomen.

Distribution. — Almost identical to that of C. marginipes if we consider

all the numerous species and varieties which have been described as differing

from the latter but which here are considered of not more, than racial value.

Colour and markings appear to have been the main reason for creating new

species but as varying degrees of melanism are found even in the same locality

and depend so much on the age of the specimen or the time of the year at

which it occurs, we.t and dry season forms undoubtedly occurring, markings

are no criterion for splitting up the species. C. atomaria Selys, from Borneo,

represents the maximum amount of melanism found in the species, whilst dry

season forms from the Deccan show remarkably little of this. The author

has been able to examine specimens from the West Coast of India, Coorg,

Nilgiris, Anaimallai Hills, Assam, Burma, and Siam and has found ail

614 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

infinite variety in the markings which are often confluent or as often discrete.

On the other hand none differs in the shape of the anal appendages, the legs

of the male or the posterior lobe of the prothorax of female. Dr. Laidlaw

has described the West Coast form as a subspecies under the name of C. vittata

deccanensis. Although during life or in spirit, these specimens appear to be

more brightly coloured than those from elsewhere, after death and dry age

they become rather drab insects. Thus during life the legs of C. vittata

deccanensis are bright citron yellow, the. sides of thorax bright greenish yellow

and the humeral stripes, abdominal markings and anal appendages pale blue,

these colours giving place to pale browns or ochreous etc. after death. C.

serapica Selys, from the Nicobars is most certainly a female of C. vittata, as

the shape of the posterior lobe of prothorax at once, determines it.

Males of C. vittata are readily determined from other species by the straight

anal appendages, the. superiors being half the length of the inferiors, and also

by the very slight dilatation of the tibiae.

Females are most easily determined by the divergent spines on the. posterior

lobe of prothorax, absent in other species, and by the three black spots beneath

thorax. The type is in the Selysian collection and has been erroneously de-

scribed as having the labrum black. Paratypes are to be found in most

national collections and a number of private ones. This species and C. mar-

ginipes inhabit the same spot and have identical habits ; they are to be sought

for in dark gullies or among the scrub of shady jungles, where the white

tenerals may be seen moving about as the so-called ‘Ghost forms’ and have

a highly characteristic sinuous flight. Adults being more cryptically coloured,

are seen with greater difficulty and must be gently beaten up.

They are rarely seen over water and the act of oviposition has never been

witnessed; they breed however in tiny brooks and runnels leading into larger

rivers.

Copera assamensis Laidlaw.

Copera assamensis Laid. Eec. Ind. Mus. Vol. viii, pp. 342, 343 (1914); Id.

ibid. Vol. xiii, p. 338 (1917).

Male. — Abdomen 32 to 34 mm. Hindwing 17 to 18 mm.

Head. — Labium palest brown; labrum yellow; bases of mandibles and genae

greenish yellow; anteclypeus pale brown; postclypeus, frons and vertex black,

the latter traversed from eye to eye by a moderately broad creamy white stripe

at level of ocellar space ; distal end of 2nd segment of antennae yellow ;

occiput reddish brown marked in full adults anteriorly and posteriorly by a

diffuse black border and by a narrow postocular black stripe lying behind an

equally narrow pale yellow stripe. Eyes dark brown above, olivaceous below

and circumvented by a narrow blackish brown equatorial belt.

Prothorax brown with the posterior lobe, three short parallel stripes on

middle lobe and a broad lateral stripe black.

Thorax brown or carneous marked irregularly with black as follows. — a

broad bronzed black band on middorsum extending out for rather more than

halfway to the humeral suture, which latter is finely delineated in black

but expands into a small black spot above ; middorsal carina and borders of

antealar sinus finely yellow or ferruginous; on the sides a continuation of

the lateral black belt seen on the. prothorax which extends for a short distance

oq to mesepimeron and breaks up into two obscure mottled fasciae ; postlateral

suture finely black and a short black stripe on the me.tepimeron ; beneath

yellowish. Legs reddish or reddish brown, the tibiae undilated (Laidlaw states

of the type that the hind pair only show a trace of dilatation but in the

example before me I am unable to see any sign of this so that it may be

variable).

Wings hyaline; pterostigma dark reddish brown framed in pale yellow

and thick black nervures, the distal side nearly straight, the proximal very

oblique, subquadrate, barely longer than broad, poorly braced, covering 1 cell;

13 jpostnodal nervures in forewings, 11 in the hind.

Abdomen black ringed with pale blue basal annules ; segment 1 ochreous

with a curved black stripe on each side and a short apical subdorsal black

stripe ; segment 2 with a pale creamy white stripe on middorsum bordered

heavily with black and not extending to apical border of segment and with

an apical crenate black line which embraces the ends of the dorsal pale and

Indian dragonflies

615

black stripes ; segments 3 to 8 black with narrow basal blue annul.es and the

black extending on to the sides at apex of segments to form broad apical

annules the sides of segments 3 to 6 pale ; segment 9 with its basal half black

or else entirely pale creamy white ; segment 10 entirely this colour except

laterally.

Anal appendages very similar to those of . C. vittata ; superiors creamy

white, triangular as seen from above, conical and subcylindrical as seen in

profile, hollowed out within; inferiors nearly twice the. length of superiors,

dark reddish brown, outer surface black especially towards apex, extending

straight back, obtuse at apex, broad at base, subcylindrical thereafter. Penis

similar to that of C. marginipes.

Female. — Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 17 mm.

Differs from the male by its more robust build, especially the abdomen

which is of even width throughout, and also by the black markings more ex-

tensive. Head marked as in the male but the occiput entirely black save for

the postocular pale stripes ; the black fasciae on vertex rather broader. Pro-

thorax coloured similarly to the male; posterior lobe shaped as in C. vittata,

but without spines.

Thorax with the humeral and lateral black markings more extensive and

mottled with coarse yellow spots. Wings similar to the male; legs yellowish,

femora with the characteristic beaded black band on extensor surface.

Abdomen blackish brown to black on the terminal segments, the 9th and

10th bearing pale brown dorsal spots. Anal appendages pale brown, conical,

pointed; vulvar scales robust, dark brown.

Distribution. — From Assam to Indo-China. The type in the Indian Museum

has the upper surface of head mainly brown and with no black markings save

for the transverse black stripe on vertex. A specimen from Siam in the

author’s collection has the markings more developed and are as described

above. The male is easily distinguishable from C. vittata by its much longer

legs without dilatation of the tibiae, this latter character separating it from

all other species of the genus. The female described above by Laidlaw

may not be that of G. assamensis as it does not differ materially from that of

C. vittata. (Forster stated that the females of this genus were dimorphic but

after examining many scores, I am unable to agree with or corroborate this;

it would be more correct to say that they are polychroic according to age

and season.

Copera annulata Selys.

Psilocnemis annulata Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xvi, p. 172 (1863); Id. Mem.

Cour. xxxviii, p. 124 (1886).

Psilocnemis subannulata Selys, (2) Mem. Cour. xxxviii, p. 125 (1886).

Copera subannulata Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 129 (1890) ; Laid. Bee. Ind. Mus.

Vol. xiii, p. 337 (1917).

Copera annulata Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 129 (1890) ; Laid. Bee. Ind. Mus.

Vol. viii, pp. 341, 342 (1914); Bis. Suppl. Ent. No. v,

pp. 17, 18 (1916) ; Laid. Bee. Ind. Mus. Vol. xiii, pp. 322,

337 (1917) ; Fras. Journ. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Vol. xxix,

p. 744 (1923).

Copera annulata stevensi Laid. Bee. Ind. Mus. Vol. viii, pp. 341, 342

(1914); Id. ibid. Vol. xiii, p. 337 (1917).

Copera arachnoides Fras. Mem. Dept. Agric. India (Ent.) Vol. vii, No. 7,

pp. 56, 57, PI. vii, fig. 4 (1922).

Male. — Abdomen 35 to 37 mm. Hindwing 22 to 23 mm.

Head. — Labium white; labrum, genae, bases of mandibles and clypeus

pale blue, the former with a tiny median black point at base, the latter with

a variable transverse black mark confined to the middle of postclypeus or

extending by a short median stalk to its base in others ; frons and vertex

in front and laterally pale blue with a broad bronzed black triangular area

which begins near front margin of frons and extends to back of occiput,

touching the eyes at a point only in line with the posterior ocelli, from which

point it recedes again to leave a clear pale blue area against the eyes ; this

dark area marked with a small oval or triangular white spot between the posterior

ocelli and bases of antennae, and on back of occiput by two large triangular

white spots near the middle line, whilst in some specimens there is a second

smaller triangular spot lying to the outer side of these ; occiput beneath

eyes bluish; eyes black above, olivaceous at sides and below.

616 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. itxXVI

Prothorax bronzed black with a lateral pale blue stripe extending its whole

length.

Thorax bronzed blackish green on dorsum marked on each side with a

narrow pale blue antehumeral stripe lying in juxtaposition to the humeral

suture; a small upper post-humeral white spot (in Burmese specimens) or a

white sickle-shaped mark (in Bengal or Assamese forms) ; laterally and

beneath palest blue, the postero-lateral suture broadly mapped out in black.

Legs pure white, the distal ends of all femora and extreme proximal ends

of tibiae black ; hind ffemora extending to end of second segment of abdomen ;

tibiae very broadly dilated; tarsi black.

Wings hyaline; pterostigma reddish brown framed in white and then

thick black nervures, poorly braced, covering 1 cell, more or less diamond-

shaped, less so in forms from Assam; 13 to 16 postnodal nervures in forewings,

12 to 14 in the hind, the greater number in Assam forms; petiolation begin-

ning just distad the level of proximal antenodal nervure.

Abdomen bronzed black on dorsum except segments 9 and 10 which are

pale blue (Assam forms have the basal third or more of segment 9 black,

whilst some Burmese forms have the whole of segment 9 and a small diamond-

shaped apical dorsal spot on segment 8) ; segments 1 and 2 with the sides

broadly blue but narrowing apicad on the latter, whilst all segments from

3 to 6 have the lower part of sides bluish ; segment 2 with its base narrowly

blue, segments 3 to 6 with narrow pale blue annules confluent laterally with

the blue on sides.

Anal appendages pale blue or white, the apical half of inferiors black.

Superiors conical, triangular, acute at apex, as long as segment 10; inferiors

broad at base, tapering to an acute apex, curved strongly downwards and

very slightly inwards.

Female. — Abdomen 33 to 37 mm. Hindwing 22 to 34 mm.

Differing in some respects from the male, as follows: — Head with an

extension of the pale blue into the apex of the black triangle, this very

variable (Assam forms are exactly similar to the males save for a pair of

obscure spots, one on each side of the anterior ocellus), the frons broadly blue

and more or less confluent with a series of spots on the ocellar space. — a

small triangular spot on each side of anterior ocellus, another between the

posterior ocellus and base of antennae as in the male, a median small triangular

spot between the posterior ocelli and a spot on the outer side of each postocular

spot often confluent with the latter. In some specimens, the whole of the

ocellar space blue except for a narrow black bordering to the inner sides

of the posterior ocelli.

Legs of great length, reddish or of the same colour as the males but with

none of the tibiae dilated.

Prothorax and thorax exactly similar to the male ; posterior lobe of former

simple, projecting back at the middle and with a slightly crenate border.

Abdomen similar to the male except for segments 9 and 10, the former with

two large subdorsal bronzed greeny black spots broadly confluent at base and

along basal half of middorsum, its apical border and the whole of segment

10 pale blue.

Anal appendages very short, pale blue, conical; vulvar scales pale, not

extending to end of abdomen.

Distribution. — Assam, Bengal, Malaysia, Indo-China and China. Selys also

gives Japan on the authority of a specimen labelled Yokohama, in the Zurich

Museum. The species, named from a female by Selys, from Malacca, as

Copera ciliata is probably not more than a variety of this species and Selys

expresses such an opinion in the Revision des Syn. Agrionlnes. This species

is quite easily distinguished from all others except Copera superplatypes by its

pronounced black colour with pale blue markings, by its broadly dilated white

tibiae, and from all other species by the shape of its inferior anal appendages.

The shape of the posterior lobe of prothorax and the very long hind-legs will

determine the female from other females of the genus. The type in the

Selysian collection, paratypes in most national collections and in the British

and Indian Museums.

Contrary to the habits of C. marginipes and C. vittata, both of which

breed in running water, this species breeds in weedy ponds and small lakes.

The author found it quite common in the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta, resting

on sedges at the borders of most tanks there. Many tenerals were flushed

out from beneath bushes in the neighbourhood of the tanks.

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

61 7

Copera superplatypes Fraser.

Copera superplatypes1, Fras. Bee. Ind. Mus. Vol. xxix, pp. 88, 89, figs. 6b

and 7b (1927).

Male. — Abdomen 26 mm. Hindwing 15 mm.

Head. — Labium white; labrum, anteclypeus and genae palest blue, rest

of head black save for a moderately broad pale blue stripe traversing the

vertex from eye to eye at level of ocellar space.

Prothorax black with a pale bluish white stripe and a spot of the same

colour on each side.

Thorax bronzed black as far lateral as the anterior suture marked with

pale blue antehumeral stripes bordering the humeral suture anteriorly ; laterally

pale blue, the postero-lateral suture mapped out in black, a black spot on

the mesepimeron confluent with the black in the humeral region, and another

large black spot on the centre of metepimeron ; beneath blue bordered with black.

Wings hyaline; pterostigma black, covering 1 cell, diamond-shaped, slightly

longer than broad, poorly braced or not at all; 12 to 13 postnodal nervures

in forewings, 11 in the hind; petiolation beginning well proximal of Ac wliicb

lies about midway between the level of the two antenodal nervures.

Legs very short, hind femora extending only to end of thorax, pure creamy

white with black spines but the distal halves of all femora black ; the two

hind pairs of tibiae enormously dilated, about two and a half times the

width of the hind femora.

Abdomen black, the sides of segment 1 bluish white; segment 2 with a

pair of oval blue dorsal subbasal spots (similar to those found in a similar

situation in several species of genus Agriocnemis), the sides of same segment

bluish, broadly so at apical end; segments 3 to 5 with the lower parts of

sides bluish and confluent with narrow pale blue basal " annules narrowly

interrupted on the middorsum ; segments 6 to 8 similar but the basal annules

more widely interrupted and the lateral blue extending sub-apicad for a short

distance up the sides; segment 9 unmarked; segment 10 with the. dorsum

palest blue.

Anal appendages creamy white, the inferiors blackish at base. Superiors

slightly shorter than segment 10, conical, depressed, acute at apices; inferiors

one-third longer than superiors, very broad at base, abruptly tapered and

ending in a sharp point.

Female unknown. Type in the author’s collection, the only known specimen*

Distribution. — A single male from Hasimara, Duars, Bengal. This species

which belongs to the group annulata, is easily distinguished by the following

characters. — the black vertex traversed by a blue stripe instead of the broad

black triangle spotted with white seen in C. annulata, the shape of the anal

appendages of which both pairs are directed back and are very similar in

shape, the enormous dilatation of the tibiae which are out of all proportion

to the small size of the insect, and lastly the very characteristic marking on

the dorsum of segment 2.

Explanation of Plate I.

1. Dorsal view of anal appendages of Indocnemis kempi Laid.

2. Dorsal view of anal appendages of Copera assamensis Laid.

3. Left lateral view of same.

4. Bight lateral view of anal appendages of Indocnemis kempi Laid.

5. Bight lateral view of anal appendages of Copera marginipes (Bamb).

6. Dorsal view of same.

7. Left lateral view of anal appendages of Copera annulata (Selys).

8. Dorsal view of same.

9. Left lateral view of anal appendages of Copera vittata (Selys).

10. Dorsal view of same.

11. Dorsal view of anal appendages of Calicnemis mortoni Laid.

12. Left lateral view of same.

13. Bight lateral view of anal appendages of Platycnemis latipes dealbata

Selys.

14. Dorsal view of same.

15. Bight lateral view of anal appendages of Copera superplatypes Fras.

16. Dorsal view of same.

1

(To be continued).

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OE THE INDIAN LANGURS.

BY

C. McCann, f.l.s.

(Assistant Curator, Bombay Natural History Society h

(With 2 plates.)

Introduction.

This paper is based on notes and observations, made at different

intervals in various parts of India, on four species of the genus

Pithecus. As far as possible my notes are restricted to the habits

of these animals in the truly void state. This remark particularly

refers to the Common or Hanuman Langur (P. entellus), which in

many parts of its wide range, lives under more or less semi-

domesticated surroundings, as a commensal with man. As it is

one of the commonest species, this langur lias naturally come

more under my observations than any of the others. I have had

opportunities of studying it in Kanara, the Western Ghats,

Gujarat and Rajputana. The Himalayan Langur (P. schistaceus),

I was able to observe only for a brief period while on an expedition in

the Terai. In the Naga Hills, Assam, I was able to collect some

information on the habits of the Capped Langur (P. pileatus).

My notes on the Nilgiri Langur (P. johnii) are based on specimens

collected and observed on the Palni Hills, Southern India, during

the time I was on the Society’s Mammal Survey. My notes on

this species have been augmented by some notes very kindly sent

me by Fr. Leigh of Trichinopoly.

In a recent work entitled The Social Life of Monkeys and Apes,

Zuckerman, the author, has very ably dealt with the subject of

the social behaviour of these interesting primates. The author has

taken very considerable pains collecting all available literature deal-

ing with their habits. It will be clearly seen from this work how

little is known of some of the commonest monkeys. To many

people, the commonest animals are much too ‘commonplace’ to be

worthy of observation. This frequently adopted attitude towards

common things accounts for the absence of information. Be this

as it may j the few notes I venture to record here, collected when-

ever opportunity offered, are but fragments put in towards com-

pleting the mosaic. I only regret that I had not more time and

opportunity for furthering my observations.

Pithecus entellus Dufresne.

The Common or Hanuman\ Langur.

Adults : A detailed description of this familiar langur is un-

necessary. The adults vary considerably in colour in different

localities, and at different seasons. Further in the same troup, there

is frequently every possible gradation, dependent much on age.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate I.

Common Langur ( Pithecus entellus ) at drinking pool.

Common Langur (P. entellus) at drinking pool. The langur in right bottom

corner is eating earth. Photos by Author.

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE INDIAN LANGURS

619

Young: The new-born young have deep brown fur through

which the pinkish skin shows up. Face, hands and feet are

brownish-black, suffused with the red glow of new birth; soon

becoming quite black like those of the parents. As growth pro-

ceeds, the fur gradually changes by canescence from brown to a

much paler colour than that of the adults. Judging from compari-

son, the change usually takes place in about two months after

birth. The yearlings are easily recognised by their much paler

colour than the adults in the troup. As the yearlings approach

maturity, the fur begins to darken, particularly, on the back, until

the final adult colouring is reached. From comparison I am in-

clined to the view that these langurs reach maturity when they

are about six to seven years of age.

Social habits: Common as this animal is throughout the

greater part of India, little definite information is recorded about

its social habits and breeding season. The only point that is defi-

nitely established is that it goes about in smaller or larger trOups,

but the proportion of the sexes in these troups has given rise to

many conflicting statements. For example, Blanford, in the

Fauna , British India (Mammalia), p. 28 (1888), writes, ‘The Hanu-

man is usually found in smaller or larger communities, composed

of individuals of both sexes and of all ages, the youngest clinging

to their mothers and being carried by them, especially when

alarmed. An old male is occasionally found solitary, as with so

many other mammals. The story that males and females live

in separate troups, though apparently believed by Blytli and

quoted by Jerdon, I agree with Hutton, in regarding as fictitious,

though, as the latter observer justly remarks, females with very

young offspring may keep together and temporarily apart from

the remainder of the troup to which they belong. ’

After much observation of this species, I am forced to the

conclusion that the observations of Blanford, Blyth and Hutton

need some explanation. Much depends on the time of the year

these observers made their respective observations as the habits of

the animals at any one particular season of the year are not

applicable the year round. A generalised statement will not

suffice to describe the habits of langurs throughout the year. In

different places the habits may vary slightly according to the climate.

In my opinion the Hanuman Langur has a more or less fairly

well-defined breeding season. It appears to me that, it is on

this account, we find these conflicting statements, as the behaviour

of the troups depend on this factor. The breeding season of this

langur is from November to March, though some young are born

in April. Most young appear to be born after January (in the Abu

Hills and the Gujarat). In the Western Ghats I have noticed, that

they breed about the same time.

During the non-breeding season the sexes are indiscriminately

mixed in single troups, but as the Hanuman is a true polygamist,

the trouble starts at the approach of the breeding season. A single

male tries to take charge of as many females, in fact, all the

females of the troup and establishes himself as their overlord by

driving out all the potent males, big or small. The youngest males

620 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

soon give way to tlieir elders, but it is the elders which frequently

enter into combat and the victor takes possession of the females.

Once a male has become the overlord, he makes every effort not

only to keep off all other males, from his troups, but also establishes

certain territorial rights. Other troups are not permitted in the

area. The females take no part in the breaking up, of the troup

and all surrender to the victor. The troup is now composed of

one overlord, females and impotent males (yearlings).

The males that were driven out of the original troup band

together and go about in company till the end of the breeding

season, when they again join the original troup, or from other

troups. How new troups are really formed I am totally unable to

say. The batchelors are as a rule very noisy and there is much

fighting among them in spite of the fact that they live in one asso-

ciation and have not the excuse of the disturbing female element.

Certain of these males appear to be held in respect by other

members of the band, and it is quite possible that the male troups

form the training ground for the next male which is to become

overlord of the female troup. It is in the male troup that

the future overlord probably establishes his superiority over the

other males which hold him in respect; however, this point needs

verification. Whether an overlord has only one term is open to

question.

The overlord of a female troup during the breeding season is

its sole protector and on no account will tolerate a potent male

within his troup. He is usually closely followed, by the females and

the yearlings or he will bring up the rear when} the troup is on the

move; but he always occupies a position from which he can keep

an eye on his family. In these seasonal troups, the young, includ-

ing impotent males, remain with their mother and follow her till

they are about three to four years old.

Early in the morning the troup goes out to feed, the leader

keeping a vigilant eye on all stragglers though he does not appear

to trouble much about they yearlings, but in a case of danger comes

to their rescue. To illustrate this point 1 shall narrate a little

incident which occurred while out collecting. I shot a female

which was carrying her baby (probably a couple of months old).

The body of the mother fell to the ground but the young remained

On the tree. The report of the gun dispersed the others. The baby

was most active but my attendant and 1 managed to isolate it on

a tree, as the span to the next tree was too great. I sent my

man up the tree to try and catch it. When it saw him it began

to squeal. The cries of the little one soon brought the others

around once more. I fired a. couple of rounds to disperse them.

Eventually, the leader of the troup came forward and, in spite of

every attempt to drive him away, he jumped across to the tree,

but before he could get to the young one I brought him down.

We finally caught the baby. This shows the strong social attach-

ment and protective instinct of the overlord of a troup. To return

to the movements of the troup. The morning is spent in feeding

and sitting about. Towards mid-day, they usually return to the

resting place, generally near water. As soon as they have finished

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE INDIAN LANGURS

621

feeding the animals go down to drink, after which they sit about

on the rocks and branches and rest for the afternoon.

When resting in the afternoon, the adults engage in picking one

another’s fur, sleeping and dozing, while the youngsters gambol about

among the rocks and branches. The yearlings, like children, spend

much time in play. During this period of rest, I have repeatedly

observed females presenting their hindquarters to the overlord.

Her action certainly appears to stimulate the sexual passions of

the male. If he be inclined, he will walk up to the presenting

female and coitus will take place. This behaviour may also be

observed even when the troup is out feeding. When presenting,

the female watches the movements of the overlord; in this attitude

she will remain for a few* moments but if her invitation is unheeded,

she either sits down where she is or goes away, to return sometime

later and repeat the action. I once observed a pair in coitus. To

my surprise, during the act other females attacked the favoured

one, squealing the while and slapping her.

During the period when an overlord is in sole possession of a

breeding troup, copulation is frequent. Coitus may be repeated with

the same female, each time she presents, or as I have seen with

what appeared to be a pregnant female. I am of opinion that

effective copulation only takes place in the breeding troup and that

all the females are fertilized by the end' of the particular season,

by the overlord in possession, before the other males are allowed

to join the original troup. In other words, the ruling overlord of

on© season is the father of the young born in the next season. The

time when the sexes are indiscriminately mixed would therefore

correspond to the non-breeding season and should copulation take

place at this period it would in all probability be with females that

are already pregnant. Considering the fact that coitus is most

frequent in the breeding season and that the birth-rate is also

highest during the same period, it appears reasonable to infer that

the period of gestation in the Hanuman Langur is about nine months.

The overlord generally sits aloof from his harem. It is the

females that approach him wdien they are sexually inclined. I have

never noticed the overlord going in quest of the females. Fre-

quently I have seen an overlord chastise a female by nipping and

slapping her for some reason which I could not understand.

After a couple of hours’ rest the troup moves off again to feed.

Usually one or two individuals lead, they are soon followed by a

few more and so on till the whole party is moving in the same

direction. Towards evening, the party moves ‘homewards’ in the

same fashion, to the roosting place. Langurs always return to the

same spot for the night. The roost is easily recognized by the

amount of excreta and urine on the ground. The rocks below,

begin to glisten, look wet, and in the course of time shine. In

spite of their wet appearance they are dry but sticky to the touch.

It is in the evening the overlord appears to herd his family, and

he is generally the last to retire. Thereus usually much quarrelling

among the members of the troup for place before they finally settle

down. I have repeatedly watched these animals returning to the

roost for the night, and have visited the place at different intervals

622 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

during the hours of darkness. It is surprising to find that when

they sleej), they do so in a sitting position at the extremities of

the branches and not as one might expect on the thicker boughs.

This is probably a protection against prowling carnivora which are

able to climb.

Pur-picking is usually commenced by an animal seated next to

another, but lying down in front or sitting close by, is usually

an invitation. This is an understood signal, and operations com-

mence almost immediately. When one has been done it will repay

the compliment. Young and old engage in fur-picking but it appears

to me that it is much more frequent with the adults. A mother

may frequently be seen picking her offspring and she will often

chastise her child for not keeping quiet during the process. While

the adults are thus engaged, the active little yearlings frolick about

among the branches, playing hide-and-seek or rolling over one

another.

The new-born young is freely handled by its older brothers

and sisters, but the mother keeps a vigilant eye on the proceedings.

Should danger threaten, she is immediately by its side, picks it up

and carries it off to safety. The movements of the new-born

baby are frequently controlled by the mother holding on to its

tail. At the hands of yearlings the new-born do not always

receive gentle treatment, and they usually protest; the squeals of

the baby attract the mother and she delivers it from the hands of its

tormentors. The young . are frequently punished by the mothers

when they do not obey. The mutual understanding of the adults

is so great that any member of the troup may take up a new-born,

except when the troup is on the move.

I have often observed yearlings feeding at the mother’s breast

though she may already have a new-born to suckle. Pregnant

females also allow their last baby to suckle. If disinclined, she

turns her back on the baby but should it persist she gives it a nip

and sends it off. Adults often slap or nip an impetuous child. This

is a frequent mode of defence and I have repeatedly seen a dog-

slapped by one of these monkeys. When a yearling cannot jump

a wide span it squeals ; immediately one of the adults near-by

comes to its aid, picks it up and jumps across with the yearling-

sticking to its belly. On reaching the other side, it is put down

again .

From the above it will be seen that my observations are not

in total agreement with those of Hutton who states, that, ‘The

only approach to a separation at any season consists in the males

of a troup keeping- together and the females doing the same if

there are very young ones among them; but the. two divisions form

but one troup; and I am not even yet quite sure that such a

trifling division really takes place.’1 Hutton clearly expresses a

doubt on the subject. As I have already indicated above, females

do not separate from the breeding troup at the time when they

have new-born young, but that the males are temporarily driven out

of the original troup by the overlord of the season.

ex The Social Life of Monkeys and Apes by Znckerman, p. 183.

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE INDIAN LANGURS

m

It is often suggested, and even stated, that troups of monkeys

post ‘sentinels’. My observations do not lend support to these

statements. Each animal is its own ‘sentinel’, and at the same

time a ‘sentinel’ for the' entire troup. The one which first espies

something suspicious, immediately gives the alarm which brings the

whole troup to attention. Erom the position or movements of the

alarmist each individual is able to ascertain the direction of

the enemy and all act accordingly. Should it immediately take

to flight the others do likewise without further investigation. As

soon as they have put distance between the enemy and themselves,

monkeys will frequently try to investigate the nature of the alarm.

While in the Abu Hills, I once heard the alarm call of a langur,

and I carefully went to investigate the cause. It was in a stony

watercourse where there was a small spring. On the trees of the

opposite bank a langur was seated swearing. It was just a little

past 5 o’clock in the evening and the sun was still well up in the

sky. When I reached the spring, I was surprised to find the wet

pug-marks of a panther on the hot rocks. I was just too late to

see it as it disappeared down the rocky bed. The langur’s gaze

was fixed in the direction the panther had taken and he kept up

the harsh barking. It did not pay much attention to me, but kept

its eye fixed on the retreating panther — just this one male kept up

the barking — ‘the females took no part in the proceedings. A

couple of mornings later I went down the same stream and to my

surprise found some old remains of a langur’s skeleton; just the

upper portion of the skull and facial region and also one of the

scapulars lying under a rock. The remains surely indicated what

was left of an old feast.

Food : From all accounts the Hanuman is a pure vegetarian, and

my own observations go to confirm this. On some of the railway

stations in Gujarat I have seen them feed on all possible kinds

of cooked food. They appear to be very, fond of the Indian hand-

bread or chaupatti. It seems extraordinary that though these

animals are very common on some of the platforms they never

make a raid on the wares of the Indian food- and fruit-vendors.

In the Abu Hills I was able to record the following species of

food-plants during the months of March and April 1932. At the

time most of the trees were bursting forth into bloom and leaf.

Bombax malabaricum DC. Flowers, seeds and cotton in tender

pods.

Terminalia bellerica Roxb. Tender shoots and inflorescences.

Odina Woodier Roxb. Inflorescences.

Balanitis Roxburghii Planch. Young leaves, buds and flowers.

Wrightia tinctoria R. Br. Young shoots, leaves and inflorescences.

Anogeissus laiifolia Wall. Young shoots, leaves and inflores-

cences.

Dalbergia Sissoo Roxb. Young shoots.

Saccopetalum tomentosum H.f. & T. Young leaves and flowers.

Acacia arabica Wild. Leaves.

Acacia (3 other species). Leaves.

Ficus glomerata Roxb. Young shoots. (No ripe fruit at the

time).

624 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Ficus bengalensis L. Tender shoots, stipules and fruit.

Ficus (2 other species). Fruit, tender shoots and leaves.

Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Young leaves and, flowers.

These langurs drink water regularly about mid-day, and some-

times also in the evening before retiring. In the Abu Hills I have

also observed these animals licking and eating earth near the spring

at which they drank.

PlTHECUS SCHI STACEUS Hodgson.

T)ie Himalayan Langur.

Adults : Like the other members of this genus, the males are

much larger than the females. Here also there is to be found much

individual variation.

Young: As in the Common Langur the new-born are deep

brown, with the face, hands and, feet dark. As they, grow older

the fur gets lighter. The yearlings in a troup are easily recognized

by the much lighter coat than their elders.

Breeding season: In my opinion, this species also has a de-

finite breeding season which is, like the Common Langur, during

the winter months. Breeding troups are dominated over by a

single overlord. Most females that I came across, during the

time I was in the Terai, (February), had new-born young or were

pregnant.

Social habits : The social habits of these animals appear to

be much like those of the Common Langur. They wander about

in fairly large troups. As stated above, breeding troups are com-

posed of females, yearlings and a single overlord. Presumably, there

is a mingling of the sexes when the breeding season is over. They

were quite common along the Soheli river.

Food'. Along the Soheli river I found this species feeding on

the young shoots of the Jambool ( Eugenia Jambylana Lam.), the

inflorescence of Trewia nudi flora L. and on the leaves and fruits of

the ail ah ( Acacia concinna DC.).

Pithecus johnii Fischer.

The Nilgiri Langur.

Social habits : To all appearances these animals move about

in much smaller parties than the Common Langur, but owing to

their shyness on the Palnis, due to constant persecution for their

flesh and skins, I was unable to obtain any definite data with

regard to the numbers composing a troup. Whether the troups

break up during the breeding season needs further investigation,

but such a course suggests itself if we take into consideration the

habits of the allied species. In the Palnis they inhabit the dense

sholas and may frequently be seen crossing the open stretches of

grass between the sholas.

I have frequently observed young females ‘solitary’ or two

together. Fr. Leigh in a letter to me remarks that the Kodaikanal

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE INDIAN LANGURS

625

solitary males are evidently tierce fighters and that practically

all had scars , or gashes, usually one of the ears was split and

wounds on the tail were common.

At Kodaikanal this langur is fond of sunning itself in the morn-

ing on the topmost branches of the tallest Eucalyptus trees near

the sholas. The afternoon is spent in sleeping and that soundly.

When cornered, they drop to the ground and run along at a

good pace. A favourite; way of hunting these animals is with the

aid of a dog. As soon as the monkey spots the dog it commences

to bark at it and so they both argue while the hunter creeps up

to the spot.

In Palni Hills this species does not descend below 3,000 ft.

whereas in the Tinnevelly Hills they are found at the foot of* the

hills (Leigh) .

Breeding season : Very little appears to be definitely known

about the breeding season of this species. Fr. Leigh supplied me

with the following data:- — ‘8th May 1919, shot a female, young

foetus in womb within a few days of delivery, fully formed’

(Kodaikanal). Two other records of young mentioned by Leigh

do not prove anything as the approximate ages are not mentioned.

For the Tinnevelly Hills, Leigh records: — ‘20th December (year?)

received a very young one; 29th December (year ?) received a

young one apparently just born.’ This meagre evidence seems to

show that the breeding is during the cold season, like those of the

other species mentioned above. The late birth of the Kodaikanal

specimen may possibly be exceptional but for want of proper data

this must be left an open question.

Weights and measurements:' — ■

The heaviest female recorded is a specimen collected by my-

self at Kukal, Palni Hills, which weighed 25 lbs. This specimen is

mentioned by Mr. Pocock, J .B .N .H .8., xxxii, 504, but wrongly

attributed to the collecting of O’Brien. The specimen mentioned

from Kukal is evidently my Ho. 138. Neither Shortridge nor

O’Brien collected at Kukal.

626 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

Attributed uses of the flesh : The flesh of this langur is highly

prized by the local natives and is attributed to possess certain

medicinal properties. According to the information I was able to

gather, the flesh etc. of this animal is used in the following ways: —

The blood when fresh is drunk by people and is supposed to be

a. medicine against all complaints. The flesh is hung up and dried,

or smoked and when required made into soup which is taken as a

cure for asthma and coughs. The gall is drunk and, like the blood,

is supposed a cure for all diseases.

PlTHECUS PILEATUS Blvth.

The Capped Langur.

Adults : Sexual characters: The males of this species like

those described above are much larger than the females. A point

which struck me most forcibly in the field at the time when I

obtained specimens of this species, was the appearance of the

male genital organs. The genital organ of most male monkeys is

frequently a prominent feature, particularly in the case of the

Macaques. The penis and scrotal sac are usually well-cleveloped.

In the other members of this genus that I have seen, the penis

and scrotal sac are clearly visible, but in the present species, the

scrotum is entirely absent. The skin about the hindquarters and

inside the thighs, is suffused with light cobalt blue in life. The

bluish tinge of the hindquarters is not so pronounced in the females

as in the males. The mammae are black.

It is extraordinary that neither of the older observers nor collec-

tors have remarked on the absence of the external scrotal sac.

Mr. Poccck1 in his paper on the Langurs does not mention this

point.

In the facial expression and contours, the Capped Langur is

very different from the other members of this group that I have

described. The face is much more flattened.

Young : According to Mr. Pocock1 the new~-born young of this

species is said to be ‘a uniform golden or orange red all over’. A

very young specimen which I secured and in which only the two

upper and lower incisors had barely cut through the gums, was a

creamy-white all over the body, with a slight ferruginous tinge

along a narrow portion of the back and the tail. As the teeth

in these animals appear very soon after birth, the question arises

whether the young, if at first ‘golden’ as stated by Mr. Pocock,

changes from golden to creamy- white or acquires the ferruginous

tinge after passing through a creamy-wdiite phase. As the change

of colour of the fur in juvenile monkeys is rapid, I am inclined to

the latter belief, namely, that the young are born creamy- white

and then change to ferruginous. When my specimen was in the

flesh I did not notice any ferruginous wash on the fur. The pinkish

colour of the skin of a new-born shows through the fur. Though

J.B.N.H.S. , xxxii, p. 660.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc,

PLATE II.

Left: new-born. Centre: yearling. Right: adult.

Skulls of the Capped Langur ( Pithecus jnleatus) showing the contours of the

skulls at different ages.

Photo by Author

(

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE INDIAN LANGURS

627

the adults and, yearlings have the face, the ears, the palms of the

hands, and the soles of the feet black , these regions in the newly-

born are pinkish flesh and not black. When the transition from

the pinkish colour to black takes place I am unable to say with

any degree of certainty; however, I suspect that the change takes

place in a few months after birth, as the yearlings of the previous

year exhibit the same colouring as the adults. Mr. Pocock in his

paper on the Langurs does not mention this point.

As growth proceeds, the fur gets more dense and more silky,

at length becoming greyish on the dorsal surface. The parts which

in the adults are ferruginous or golden are light fulvous. The. tints

intensify with age until the adult colouring is reached. In some

cases, the tail may be long-haired towards its extremity or covered

with hairs of uniform length throughout. However, the length of

hair and colour is a very variable character within reasonable limits,

and, in my opinion, is of little specific importance.

The yearlings of the previous year have a full complement of

20 teeth while the adults have 32.

Social habits : Unlike the Common Langur, this monkey does

not wander about in large troups. Most of the troups are com-

posed of from 8-10 individuals, an overlord, three or four females

and young of different ages and of both sexes. The species is poly-

gamous. These observations apply to the winter months which is

the breeding season of this species, when I was in their habitat.

Whether there is an indiscriminate mixing of the sexes and whether

larger troups are formed during the non-breeding season is open

to question. The Nagas say that they never band together

in large numbers. Beside the breeding troups, I have noticed other

troups, composed apparently of immature males (?), but even these

troups were not larger than the ones already referred to. It ap-

pears as though the young animals are driven out of the original

troups and that they herd together for company and safety. It is

possible that these non-breeding troups are the beginning of future

breeding troups; however, information is still required on the sub-

ject.

This species inhabits dense forests where there are streams, but

I have never observed them come down to water. Living in forests

where the dew is very heavy and the rainfall frequent, it is perhaps

unnecessary for them to come down to drink. On the whole, they

are very shy and on approach take to flight or conceal themselves

in the foliage of the topmost branches of trees where they remain

quietly till the danger has passed. Their progression is much like

that of the Common Langur, but I have never seen them descend

to the ground. Going through the forest, they make a. tremendous

noise, the branches bending and breaking under their weight, as

they jump from tree to tree.

The harsh bark, already mentioned as an alarm call in the case

of the other langurs, and the squealing are the only sounds I have

heard these monkeys make.

Once I shot two females, both with young. One of the babies

was only wounded. Its squeals attracted the attention of the

large male, who up to this time was somewhere in hiding. On

628 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

hearing the young one he came crashing through the branches in

its direction. As- L was -standing near it, he came straight at me

as though about to attack. His attutude was very menacing

indeed — barking and grunting at me with a toss of his head

and jumping about among, the branches. I. watched the proceed-

ings, prepared for eventualities, in fact, at one time he came so

close, that it looked as though his next leap would be upon me,

but suddenly he changed his mind and went off in the opposite

direction, but before lie could go far I brought him, down to add

to my collection. Probably the intention of the animal was to try

and rescue the baby and not attack, but seeing that he stood little

chance turned tail.

Food: As far as I was able to ascertain this species like its

cogeners is a vegetarian. Examination of the stomach contents

revealed buds, leaves and fruit.

Measurements of Pith ecus pileatus taken in the flesh. Measure-

ments in millimetres.

THE CIVET CATS OE ASIA.

BY ‘

E. I. POCOCK, F.R.S.

( Unofficial Assistant in the Zoological Department of

the British Museuv'i ),

Part II.

( Continued from page 449 of this volume).

( With 1 text- figure).

Genus: Viyerricula, Hodgs.

Viverricula, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 1, p. 152, 1838;

id. Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 10, p. 909, 1841 and of most subse-

quent writers including Blanford, Mamm. Brit. Ind., p. 100, 1888;

and Pocock, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1915, pp. 136 and 147 (feet and

glands).

Viverrula, Hodgson, Calc. Journ. Sci., 2, pp, 53-55, pi. 1, 1842.

(by error for Viverricula; misprinted Viriccula in explanation

of pi.).

Type of genus : V. indica.

Distribution: Peninsular India from Sind, the Punjab and the

foothills .of the Himalayas southwards into Ceylon and eastwards

into southern China, Indo-China, Burma, Malacca and Java.

Diagnosis : Distinguished from Viverra and Moschothera by the

absence of the dorsal crest and by the insertion of the ears, their

anterior edges being noticeably closer together on the forehead.

Feet like those of Moschothera in the absence of the skin lobes

protecting the claws of the 3rd and 4th digits of the fore foot.

(Text-Fig. 1, C.D., xxxvi, p. 425.).

Skull very distinct in the strong compression of the posterior

part of the cranial portion above, the large bullse considerably ex-

ceeding in length half the length of the upper premolar and molar

teeth, the comparatively short, weak muzzle, with the infraorbital

foramen set forwards above the junction line of the 2nd and 3rd

premolars, and the relatively longer subocular cheek- area, the suture

between the maxilla and the zygomatic arch being as long as the

upper surface of the nasals. The mandible has the condyle and

angular process projecting behind more prominently beyond the

coronoid which is lower and less backwardly sloped. (Text-Fig. 5,

p. 641). ' • - • ■

This genus was established by Hodgson for two previously des-

cribed forms then regarded as distinct species, namely, Viverra

indica and V. rasse. Since one of these is the type of the genus,

I select indica which antedates rasse by fourteen years.

For the following reasons I adopt indica as the name for the

one and only species of Viverricula admitted by most recent authors.

For over half a century the name malaccensis Gmelin ( Syst .

Nat., i, p. 92, 1788) has been used for it. Eobinson and Kloss,

630 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

for example, expressed the prevalent opinion in 1920 when they

wrote of malaccensis as the genotype of Viverricula, stating that

it was based upon the description and figure of a specimen obtained

by Sonnerat in Malacca. Sonnerat ( V oy . aux hides, ii, p. 144,

ph 19, 1782), it is true, published a description and a figure of an

animal he called ‘La Civette de Malacca’ and Gmelin named it

Viverra malaccensis. But the older French authors, Cuvier,

Geoff roy and Desmarest, wdio evidently knew something of the

facts, refused to admit malaccensis as symbolising a distinguishable

species. Sonnerat may admittedly have seen one or more of the

four species of Civets found in Malacca, but his description fits

none of them, perhaps the Viverricula least of all; and Desmarest’s

remark ‘it is known that the drawing of it was made in Paris

from a poor sketch of the Cape Genet’1 is tolerably conclusive

evidence that Sonnerat had no example from Malacca to use as

a model. It is not surprising that there are discrepancies between

the figure and the description. The figure resembles no known

Viverrine species; and it is impossible to guess to what extent the

description wras influenced by the sketch, for example, of the ‘Cape

Genet’ above referred to. Setting aside the figure as valueless,

I find some features mentioned in the description which prohibit

the view that it was taken from an example of Viverricula. Sonne-

rat described the colour as ‘pearly grey’, darker on the back, with

three black bands on the neck beginning behind the head and ending

at- the shoulders and three others extending over the loins to the

tail. It is, of course, possible that pearly grey, black-patterned

examples of Viverricula occur in Malacca, as they do in Ceylon

and India ; but the few Malaccan specimens known to me are rather

richly tinted, buff or ochreous on the interspaces and have the

pattern diluted with ochreous speckling. I have no wish to lay

undue stress upon that difference; but with regard to the stripes

it may, from my experience, be positively asserted that no repre-

sentative of Viverricula has three well-marked black stripes on the

neck, one, of course, being median, and only three on the loins,

there being at least five when the pattern is well defined. In the

features mentioned and others quoted below the description of

Viverra malaccensis fails to apply to Malayan examples of Viverri-

cula. It might, however, have been taken from a specimen of

Viverra zibetha resembling the one in the British Museum collected

by Bobinson and Kloss at Kuala Lumpur and identified as pruinds'a

(see p. 435). The ground colour of this specimen is ‘pearly

grey’, there is decided blackening of the middle line of the

neck making, with the two lateral bands, three stripes on the nape,,

and the confluence of the upper row of spots on the hind back

make, with the median black band, three stripes over the loins to

the root of the tail. Even Sonnerat ’s description of the tail of

malaccensis as having 10 rings can be approximately squared with

the tail of Viverra zibetha if the black and white rings are counted!

On the available evidence then it seems that a better case could

1 Mammalogie, pt. i, p. 207, 1820. Geoffroy even stated that the specimen

was from the Cape and was seen hv Sonnerat for the first time in Paris (Mag.

de Zool., 1836, p. 10).

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

631

be made for regarding ‘la Civette de Malacca’ as represented by

Viverra zibetha than by the Malaccan Viverricula ; and nothing

further need be said to justify the removal of malaccensis from

Viverricula and the adoption of the decision of the early revisers

of this group to discard the name as systematically valueless.

Another old name, included by some authors, e.g. Trouessart and

Lydekker, under Viverricula as a synonym of malaccensis, must

also be eliminated from that genus. This is Viverra leveriana Shaw

(Mus. Lever., ii, p. 19, pi. 1796). The description, copied from

Pennant, and the figure issued by Shaw, disagree in important

points. The figure reminds me of Genetta rubiginosa more than

any other Yiverrine. Most emphatically neither the figure nor the

description agrees with any form of Viverricula.

The next name in order of date is inclica which unquestionably

applies to a Viverricula. It was given by Geoffroy in his Catalogue

of the Paris Museum to a specimen brought by Sonnerat from

‘India’, which was not, as Geoffroy explained, the specimen Son-

nerat referred to as ‘la Civette de Malacca’. This Catalogue was

printed, and paged proofs were given to some of Geoffroy ’s friends,

but it was never published in the strict sense of the word,1 being

withdrawn by Geoffroy himself. This explains why Desmarest

quoted Geoffroy as the author of the name indica, a course

I have adopted, but the name must date from Desmarest ’s publi-

cation of it in 1817. Geoffroy described this specimen as dirty white

( blanc sale) in colour and marked with brown spots and lines, one

line on each side of the neck, two collars on the throat which, like

the rest of the under side, is greyish white; tail long, banded brown

and white. According to Desmarest the colour was yellowish white

( blanc jaunatre), with eight complete bands on the back. Both

authors agreed as to the generally pale whitish hue of the type;

but neither said anything about the length or texture of the coat;

and since the coat bleaches white, before being shed, in many

races of Viverricula, the description is not very helpful in the appli-

cation of the name to a particular race ; and the difficulty is

increased by the vagueness in those days of the meaning of ‘India’.

At all events it is quite clear from Geoffroy ’s published account of

Viverra indica (Mag. de Zool., p. 10, 1836) that he did not accept

Sonnerat ’s ‘India’ as signifying Hindostan in particular. In this,

his second, description of indica , he deliberately disregarded the

type as being discoloured and in poor condition and applied the

name comprehensively to all the known representatives of this Civet,

including the Javan rassc of Horsfield and the Chinese pallida of

Gray. Of specimens known to him he referred in particular to

examples from Cochin China and the Malabar coast of India. These

he declared to be alike in having the ground-colour tawny brown,

with numerous chocolate brown spots, five stripes on the back and

seven bands on the tail. He does not seem to have been aware

that four years earlier Sykes and Horsfield (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1832,

1 I understand from Dr. C. Davies Sherborn that only two copies of this

rare work are known. One, which was formerly his property, he transferred

to the Library of the Natural History Museum. It is to him that I am

indebted, for my information regarding it.

632 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

p. 22) had also applied the name indica to examples: of this Civet,

found in. the woods of the. Western Ghats, which were described

as ‘light grey inclining to yellow’. Since, moreover, Bobinson and

Hloss; apparently quite independently, identified examples from

Dharwar, in the Western Ghats, as indica, I abide by that decision

and regard the name as applicable in a subspecific sense to the form

of Viverricula inhabiting that and other parts of southern India.

But since all the known kinds of Viverricula belong, in my opinion,

to one species only, that species must take the name indica, the

oldest available, now that malaccensis can no longer be considered.

And that was the verdict of Geoff roy nearly a century ago.

VlVERRICULA INDICA MAYOR!, Subsp. nov.

Locality of type : Malia Oya, E.P., Ceylon.

Distribution : Ceylon.

Diagnosis : Distinguished from the South Indian race, described

below as indica, by its slightly smaller size on the average, shorter

tail and by the absence of noticeable change in colouration and in

the length and thickness of the coat throughout the year. The

general colour is on the whole tolerably uniform, varying from

grey to buffish grey on the interspaces; the pattern is normal,

always distinct and black or blackish brown in tint, but varies

a good deal in boldness not only in the width of the dorsal stripes

but in the extent to which they are broken up and more or less

coalescent. No two examples are exactly alike and there are several

instances of specimens from different localities being more like each

other than either is like a second example from its own locality.

The British Museum has a good series of skins collected in all

provinces of the island,, the most valuable being those procured for

the Mammal Survey by Major A. W. Mayor who recorded the

weights as wTell as the flesh-measurements. The dates of, capture

ranged from May 3rd. to December 3rd., passing from summer to

winter. Curiously enough all the specimens with full particulars

are marked as males. The dimensions are given in the following

table. The example from Matugama which was , not weighed was

presented by Mr. W. W. A. Phillips.

633

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

Bonliote (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), i, p. 120, 1898) with very

little material to judge from, assigned the Ceylonese examples of

this Civet to the same race as the Javanese described by Horsfield

as rasse in 1824 (cf. infra\ p. 655). In size, comparative shortness

of tail and uniformity of coat and colouration throughout the year,

the two are much alike; but the Cingalese race is on the average

paler and less olive grey in hue, and has the end of the tail whiter.

Skull measurements of some Ceylonese specimens : —

In English inches In mm.

These measurements show that the skull of this race is on the

average a little shorter than in the typical race, V. inclica indica

from South India, next described, and that the upper carnassial

tooth is a trifle smaller. The first specimen on the list is excep-

tionally large.

Viverricula indica indica, Geoff roy.

Civetta indica, Geoffroy, Gat. Mamm., p. 113, 1803.

Viverra indica, Desmarest, Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., 7, p. 170,

1817; id. Mamm., pt. 1, p. 210, 1820; Sykes and Horsfield, Proc.

Zool. Soc. 1832, p. 22; Geoffroy, Mag. de Zool. 1836, p. 10 (in

part; specimens from Malabar).

Viverricula malaccensis indica, Robinson and Kloss, Bee. Ind.

Mus., 19, p. 177, 1920.

Locality of type : ‘India’; Western Ghats (Sykes and Hors-

field); Dharwar (Kloss and Robinson).

Distribution : Southern India from the Western to the Eastern

Ghats, and, according to Robinson and Kloss, as far north as Lake

Chilka on the east coast.

The Survey procured a large number of skins which I assign

to this race.

Dharwar, 2,300-2,500 ft. (J. C. Shortridge). S , November

9, has the coat coarse, shaggy and long, 37 mm. ; the interspaces

8

634 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

are decidedly grey, almost silvery, and the pattern is rather obscure,

partly from the length of the coat, partly from being diluted with

buff Or ochreous buff; the pale stripes on the tail show very little

colour. $ December 8, differs in having the coat smoother, but

thickish and long, 38 mm., and in being dull buffy grey, not so

bleached, with the pattern, although diluted, more conspicuous and

the pale rings on the tail decidedly ochreous. Of three additional

males, dated December 11 and January 4, one is intermediate in tint

between the two described, but has the tail as in the second, the

others being like the second, the coat varying from 35 to 37 mm.

Medha in Satara, to the north of Dharwar. One specimen,

collected by S. H. Prater, on December 11, is like the Dharwar

series, pale buffy grey, with the blackish pattern diluted with ochre-

ous and the coat 42 mm. long.

Plaleri, N. Coorg, 3,555 ft. Pour skins, dated January 25,

February 4, 5, and 23, are like the Dharwar series, three of them

resembling the first in being greyish; but the January skin is a little

brighter coloured than the brightest of that lot. The coat in this

skin is 34 mm., but in the skin dated February 23, it is 40 mm.

Wottekolli, S. Coorg, 2,000 ft. January 7, resembles the

buffy or brow'nish grey Dharwar skins, the coat being 32 mm.

Kutta, S. Coorg, 2,843 ft., February 11, resembles the pale

grey Dharwar and N. Coorg skins, differing noticeably in its bleach-

ed coat from the Wottekolli skin. The coat too is longer, measur-

ing 37 mm.

Benliope in the Nilgiri Hills, 3,000 to 4,000 ft. A pair (J.

Riley O'Brien), dated July 10 and 12, closely resembles in colour

and pattern the skin from Dharwar, December 8; but the coat is

harsh and thinner and shorter, measuring from 26 to 30 mm.

Ootaeamund in the Nilgiris (P. H. Gosse). An undated skin

has the coat rather coarse, thick and long, about 35 mm. It is

very like the examples from Benhope and closely matches the skin

"from Haleri in North Coorg, dated February 23.

Payangadi in N. Malabar ( Major W. 8. Dallas). A male, Oct.

17, is dull, dusky greyish brown, without bright colour, and the

pattern is black; the coat is fresh and short. This specimen is

very like the one from S. Coorg, dated Jan. 7, and also like the

typical skins from Dharwar.

Trivandrum, Travancore (H . Ferguson). A young undated

skin is like the last.

The foregoing specimens from the Western Ghats and the Nilgiri

Hills, seem to represent typical indica. The following from the

Eastern Ghats I cannot separate from them.

Kurnool ( N . A. Baptista). Two examples, one collected at

Diguvametta, May 4, the other at Malakondapenta on May 17,

have the coat shaggy, harsh and long, about 37 mm., but thinner,

with less underwool than the winter skins from Dharwar and the

interspaces bleached white; the pattern distinct, blackish but in

one specimen tinged with ochreous. Tail with 7 and 8 rings res-

pectively. In harshness and length of the dead coat these speci-

mens are very like the first-described example from Dharwar dated

November 9 and the example from North Coorg dated February 23.

the civet cats of Asia

035

Kondagorlapenta, in tlie Palkonda Hills, Cuddapali, south of

Kurnool (N. A. Baptista). A female, July 15, is apparently in new

coat which is tolerably full but not long, only 25 mm. The

interspaces are clean white, without any buff tint, and the pattern

is bold and black. A male, July 24, and a female, August 2, on

the contrary, have the coat harsh, shabby and dead, with the moult

in progress; the interspaces are pale grey with a buffy wash. These

examples are very like the skin from Dharwar, dated November 9,

but the coat is not so thick and is shorter, only 29 mm., .and the

pattern is more obscure. There is a sharp contrast in colour and

in the length and texture of the coat between the first of these

specimens and the remaining two. The former seems to have com-

pleted the moult and grown the new coat earlier. It is an excep-

tionally black and white specimen for this race.

M'adhavaram in the Yontimutta Range, 325 ft., Cuddapah

(N. A. Baptista), September 14. A young male, with the coat

only about 26 mm., almost exactly matches the specimens from

the Nilgiri Hills referred to above.

Tirthamalai, Salem, 1,000 ft. (N. A. Baptista). A male,

July 2, has the coat coarse and brittle, 30 to 34 mm. ; the inter-

spaces are greyish white, but not quite so silvery as in the Kurnool

specimens, being intermediate between them and the coarse coated

Dharwar and ITaleri specimens.

Aigur in the Denkanikota Range, 3,062 ft., north of Salem,

October 22. A female has the coat fresh, about 30, mm. long, and

resembles in colour and pattern the better coloured Dharwar skinsJ.

Conclusion : The general colour of this race, when the coat is

soft and full, is decidedly dull, varyingHrom brownish or olivaceous

grey to lighter grey, with the pattern well defined, blackish,

brownish, sometimes with ochreous speckling rendering it less con-

spicuous. Occasionally brighter more ochreous specimens occur

like those from North Coorg, January 25, South Coorg, January 7,

and the Denkanikota Range, October -22; but these only differ

slightly from the better coloured examples from Dharwar. Quite

exceptional in the black and white colouration of the new soft

coat is the example from the Palkoncla Hills, July 15.

Before the moult the coat undergoes great change, but the date

of the moult does not appear to be constant. The two examples

from Kurnool, killed in May, appear to have started moulting.

They differ remarkably from the Dharwar skins, December and

January, in having scanty underwool covered by long, coarse and

brittle hairs, apparently bleached white in the interspaces. But

the example from Dharwar, dated November, is surprisingly like

these in the length, harshness and shabbiness of the coat. Possibly

the date is incorrect. I should have taken it for an April skin.

Two of the specimens from the Palkonda Hills and those from the

Nilgiris, all killed in July, have the coat thin, brittle and dead,

but it is shorter than in the Kurnool specimens. It is possible that

the tips of the long brittle hairs break off and shorten the coat.

Prom, these specimens it seems that the coat becomes harsh, brittle

and dead from May to August and is then changed. At all events

the skins from the, Yontimutta Range, September 14, the Denkani-

6aS. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NAfURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXVt

kota Range, October 22, and North Malabar, October 17, have fresh

soft coats like the December and January skins from Dharwar.

Some flesh-measurements and weights are entered in the follow-

ing table: — •

Some skull measurements of adult examples assigned to this

race are as follows : —

In English inches In mm.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

637

VlVERRICULA INDICA BENGALENSIS, Gray.

Viverra bengalensis, Gray and Hardwicke, III. Ind. Zool., i,

pi. 4, 1832.

Viverricula malaccensis bengalensis, Robinson and Kloss, Rec.

Ind. Mus., 19, p. 177, 1920.

Locality of type: ‘Most part of Bengal’ (Gray); arbitrarily

fixed by Robinson and Kloss as Calcutta.

Distribution: Apparently central portion of India, south of the

Ganges, from Calcutta to Gujerat and possibly Sind.

Gray published nothing but an indifferent, coloured figure of this

Civet, showing the head and back dark greyish brown, the flanks

and thighs apparently white with a huffish tinge, the tail with ten

dark rings and its pale rings buff -tinted.

The name bengalensis was ignored, except as a synonym, until

Robinson and Kloss revived it in 1920 for some specimens labelled

Calcutta. These they described as greyish buff, quite without any

rufous tinge and with the pattern black and sharply defined. They

distinguished the race from indica, occurring farther south, by its

paler colour, rather larger skull with the bullce longer, higher and

less compressed. Although these alleged cranial differences, referred

to below, do not hold good for the specimens I have seen, I provi-

sionally adopt the racial name bengalensis for a few specimens

obtained at scattered localities in Central India by the ‘Mammal

Survey’.

Yagodib, Hazaribagh, 600 ft. An adult pair collected on

April 17 and 18 by Crump at this locality some 200 miles N.-W. of

Calcutta should be the same as Robinson and Kloss ’s examples

from that town. The 9 is Pa^e yellowish buff with the dorsal

stripes diluted with rusty ochre and not sharply defined. The

coat shows signs of thinning but is still soft and about 30 mm.

long. The 8 is greyish buff on the head and forequarters but over

the loins the interspaces are bleached whitish and the long hairs,

up to 34 mm., are harsh and dead; the pattern is normally dark

and well defined.

Sohagpur, Hoshangabad, 1,000 ft., in Central India. Two

males collected on April 11 and 12. The coat is harsh and short,

measuring about 30 and 34 mm. In one the pattern is black and

well defined; the head and forequarters are buff, but the hind body

has the interspaces bleached whitish. In the other the hair is

moulting on the shoulders and neck and is everywhere bleached

and whitish, the pattern being diluted by rusty ochreous speckling.

Sehore in Central India, some 50 miles North of Hoshangabad.

A single specimen collected by C. H. Whitehead on July 21 is

greyish buff, with the pattern black, closely resembling the first-

described example from Hoshangabad. The coat is thin and short,

about 22 mm.

Palanpur in Gujerat, 150 ft. A young female collected on

March 22 has the coat full, soft and from about 30-35 mm. long;

the interspaces are silvery grey and the pattern is ochreous and

poorly defined; the tail is well tinted with ochre.

638 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Danta in Gujerat, 1,000 ft. One specimen (June 20) differs

greatly from the last in its strong, sharply defined black pattern

and thin, short coat measuring about 20 mm.; but the interspaces

are whitish. This specimen is very like the one from Sehore

collected in July.

Rajkote, Kathiawar, 100 ft. (December 10). A young male

resembling the example from Palanpur in its full, soft coat measur-

ing about 35 mm., and the interspaces whitish, but the pattern has

more black in it and is more emphasised. An adult female from

the same locality (December 25) has the coat about 30 mm., but

the ground colour is more buffy and the pattern of the back is

irregular and a mixture of rusty ochre and black.

The following are the flesh-measurements in English inches and

the weights of four of the adult specimens recorded above : —

These dimensions show no superiority in size to those of

examples from Dharwar described as indica. The same applies to

the skulls. Robinson and Kloss found that skulls of bengalensis

from Calcutta measured 103 and 105 mm. ( = 4.2 in.), whereas those

of indica from Dharwar were 94 and 95 mm. ( = 3.8 in.) in total

length. They therefore inferred that bengalensis was a, bigger

animal. But the only skull from Calcutta in the British Museum,

probably that of an adult S , and the skull of an adult S from

Hazaribagh are 3.9 in., which is about the average of S skulls

from Dharwar, and the largest S skull from Dharwar is 4.1 in. I

have also failed to find even an average difference between the

bullae of the Bengal and Dharwar examples, such as Robinson and

Kloss claimed to exist.

The specimens provisionally assigned to this race occur on

approximately the same latitude from Calcutta to Gujerat. They

are on the average decidedly greyer and paler than the more

southern Indian specimens described as indica, and none of them

exhibits the dark olivaceous or ochreous brown hue of some

examples of indica. On the other hand some of the grey examples

of indica are practically indistinguishable from them.

Possibly this race extends to the west of Gujerat as far as Sind.

At all events Mr. S. H. Prater secured a skin, without skull, date

or measurements, at Nanderoo, Larkhana in Sind to the west of

the Indus. The general colour is pale grey, with the pattern deep

brown; but the coat is shaggy, harsh, thin and longish, measuring

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

639

.38 mm. In the colour, texture and length of its coat this specimen

closely resembles the two examples of indica killed in May at

Kurnool and described above. Whatever its name may be, this

specimen is of great interest as disproving Blanford’s assertion that

Viverricula is not found in Sind.

It cannot be claimed that the following table of measurements

of the skulls from scattered localities assigned to this race, supplies

satisfactory data by which they can be distinguished from the skulls

of V. indica indica. More material is clearly required to settle the

point. The skull from Hoshangabad is exceptionally^ short , and

narrow and has a small carnassial for , an adult male; and the ave-

rage size of this tooth in all the specimens is less than in those

from Dharwar ; but I cannot substantiate the claim of Robinson

and Kloss that the skull is larger and has longer, higher and less

compressed bullae than in indica.

In English inches In mm.

* , K

Viverricula indica deserti, Bonh.

Viverricula malaccensis deserti, Bonhote, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.

(7), i, p. 120, 1898.

Locality of type : Sambliar, nr. Jaipur in Rajputana.

Distribution: Rajputana, so far as at present known,

640 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY L, Vol. XXXVI

The type of this race, an adult $ collected on December 17

by B. M. Adam, has a luxuriant coat with plenty of dark grey

underwTool, the long hairs being some 45 mm. long. The general

colour is decidedly grey. The stripes and spots form an obscure

irregularly clouded pattern, a mixture of grey, ochreous and clusky

brown, but no real black. The flesh-measurements are: head and

body just under 23 ins., tail 15 4/5 in.

A second specimen, collected in August at Nusserabad in Baj-

putana by Major J. W. Yerbury, has the coat very similar to that

of the type, thick and long measuring 42 mm. in length. The

general colour is also pale but washed with buff and not so grey.

The pattern also is obscure, mixed black and rusty ochre, but

forms hardly any definite stripes.

Although only these two specimens are known from Bajputana,

they appear to deserve the subspecific status given to them by

Bonhote on account of the extreme length of the coat which is

much longer and shaggier than the coats of the specimens assigned

to indica and bengalensis obtained in the same, or nearly the

same, months of the year. It is remarkable too that the coat of

the example killed in August is almost as long as that of the

example killed in December, assuming the dates to be correct.

The only known skull of deserti , of which the dimensions are

given above, is remarkably narrow in the waist, noticeably narrower

than in indica and bengalensis ; and this difference does not appear

to be a question of age. In other respects the measurements agree

tolerably well.

I have also added to the table of the skull-measurement of an

example from Dagshai, near Simla, 6,000 ft. ( Major H. N. Dunn)

which I cannot classify. The skull, that of an adult S , .is short

and narrow, as in the example assigned to bengalensis from

Hoshangabad; but the waist is narrower, the carnassial tooth

smaller, although not from wear, and the bullae shorter. The skin,

dated January 26tli., has a good coat, 38 mm. long, the general

colour is decidedly grey with the pattern black and sharply defined,

as in the examples identified as bengalensis ; the flesh measure-

ments are: head and body 22f ins., tail 13J ins. From its locality

this specimen should belong to the form described next; but the

general colouration is very different and the skull, including the

upper carnassial tooth, much smaller. More material from the

Upper Punjab is clearly needed to settle the identity of this speci-

men.

VlVERRICULA INDICA WELL SI, Sllbsp. nOV.

Locality of type : Ivangra, 2,000 ft. in the Upper Punjab.

Distribution: Ivangra, Ivumaon and ‘United Provinces’.

Description : Besembling deserti from Bajputana in the coales-

cence and confusion of the dorsal pattern, but differing in being on

the average more richly tinted, none of the specimens in full winter

coat (February and March) exhibiting the whitish hue of the type of

deserti from Jaipur, although the greyest of them nearly matches

the example of that race from Nusserabad collected in August.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

641

From the specimens assigned to bengalensis and indica, the skins

differ in being on the average much brighter in hue and in the indis-

tinctness of the pattern.

Some notes on topotypical examples from Kangra are here given.

They were collected for the Mammal Survey by Mr. H. W. Wells.

The largest specimen, March 25, is ticketed 9 but is, I suspect,

a 6 . The pattern is very obscure owing to its ochreous tinge blend-

ing with the buff hue of the hairs of the interspaces, which, however

are bleached basally. A second specimen, collected on March 25,

c

3

Fig. 5. — A. Upper view of skull of Viverricula indica wellsi from Ivangra. B.

Lower side of occipital region of the same. C. The same of V. indica

baptistce from Bhutan Duars.

and a third collected on February 27, closely resemble the first in

colour and pattern but are in better coat. Another S , March 25,

is not so richly coloured, the interspaces being bleached and whitish

grey. The larger of two females, March 27, is richer coloured

owing to the pattern being rusty ochreous in tint. The smaller

female, March 25, on the contrary has the pattern blacker and more

distinct than in the rest.

In addition to the six Kangra specimens, two were procured at

Ramnagar in Kumaon, 1,500 ft., by C. M. Crump. One, an adult

9, collected at Jerna, Jan. 21, closely resembles the typical Kangra

642 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

skins in colour and pattern, the dorsal surface presenting an irregu-

larly mottled appearance of buff, ochre and black, the interspaces

being buff and pattern black diluted with ochre. The other speci-

men, a half -grown 6 , from Dela, January 9, shows) the same dis-

integration of its dorsal pattern, but, being blacker, the pattern is

more conspicuous.

A series of ten flat skins, ticketed ‘United Provinces’ but with-

out skulls or further particulars, sent by E. St. George Burke,

seem to belong to this race. The coat in all is full, soft and long,

from 85 to 40 mm. They are mostly well coloured, rich ochreous

buff, but in some the ends of the hairs are bleached to greyish.

The pattern varies from blackish to rusty, but, even when blackish,

the dorsal stripes mostly lack definition, being narrow and confluent

and not arranged in 5 or 7 distinct bands as in indica and benga-

lensis. In this respect, as in colour, these skins resemble those

from Kangra.

The coat measurements in millimetres of some of the examples

referred to above are as follows : —

The following are the flesh measurements in English inches of

six specimens and the weight of one : —

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

643

These measurements suggest that wellsi is about the same size

in the head and body as indica , slightly larger than bengalensis, but

has a relatively shorter tail than either.

Of the previously described races of V . indica, wellsi most nearly

resembles in external features the two Chinese races recorded below,

especially the southern Chinese form pallida ; but the pattern is on

the average more distinct and the tail is less bushy.

The subjoined table of measurements suggests that the skulls

of adult males of this race are on the average slightly larger than

those of indica, bengalensis and deserti, with the waist narrower

than in the first two, a trifle wider than in the last; that the car-

nassial tooth is about the same as in bengalensis and deserti, smaller

than in indica , more particularly the Dharwar examples, and that

The bulla in the typical examples from Kangra is shorter than in

bengalensis, about the same as in the two others, but more constant

in size than in indica.

In English inches In mm.

Yiverricula indica baptists, subsp. nov.

Locality of type: Hasimara in Bhutan Duars.

Distribution : From Bhutan and Upper Bengal to Assam.

Description : Nearly resembling the well-coloured Kangra and

Kumaon skins in the buff or oclireous tint of the interspaces but

hardly so bright and differing in the distinctness of the pattern

and the shorter, fresh winter coat. The coat is also a little shorter

than the fresh winter coat of the southern Indian form indica, and

644 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

the colour on the average is richer, more tawny ochreous. The

difference in colour is still more marked in comparison with the

skins assigned to bengalensis.

Hasimara and Bharnabari in the Bhutan Duars, 600 ft.,

(C. A. Crump and N. A. Baptista). Nine skins of various ages

collected between November 7 and March 29. The coat is full and

soft in all, averaging 30 mm. in length in six adult or sub adult

specimens. The general tint of the interspaces is dull ochreous

buff, three of the richest tinted skins being dated November 14,

January 9 and February 20; but some skins are more olivaceous

and darker owing to dusky speckling on the buff, notably in two

dated November 7 and January 16. Only one skin approaches grey.

This is dated March 29 which suggests bleaching as the cause of

the paleness, but it has the same date as one of the richest tinted

skins mentioned above. The pattern in all is distinct, blackish or

brownish, sometimes a little diluted with ochreous. The under side

is buff or grey. The tail, which has from 8 to 10 rings, varies in

the amount of buff on the pale rings, but is usually well coloured.

The following specimens also match the Bhutan skins : —

Haldibari in Bengal, near Cooch Behar (0. A. Crump),

April 20. A young female with the coat soft and 27 mm.

bng.

Bahgownie in Dliarbanga, Bengal, 150 ft., December 13.

(0. M. Inglis). One male is indistinguishable from the Hasimara

skins; but a second, with the same date, is paler and greyer, with

the coat thinner, coarser and shorter, only 20 mm. long. Probably

the date is wrong.

Angara Khata in North Kamrup, 300 ft., December 5 and 14,

(II. W. Wells). Two skins exactly match some of the Hasimara

skins. The coat is full and 31 mm. long; the colour is ochreous

and the pattern blackish brown and distinct.

A few skins from Assam, all, with one exception, known to have

been collected in the winter months, with the colour varying from

rusty ochre to pale ochreous buff, without any grey, and the pattern

distinctly defined, attest the extension of this type to the south

and east of the Brahmaputra.

Mokokchung in the Naga Hills, 4,500 ft., January 8. d-

More richly coloured than most, but not all of the skins from Bhutan

described above, with bright ochreous interspaces and well-defined

black pattern; the coat full and soft, up to 35 mm. in length. A

female, February 3, is also decidedly ochreous but not so

rich in tint as the male; the coat is full but, in the young, only

26 mm.

Sadya. A skin, without date or measurements, given to

W. T. Blanford by J. Cockburn, is paler ochreous than the Naga

Hills specimens; since the coat is full and soft and 30 mm., this

is no doubt a winter skin.

Rasirunga in Golaghat, 250 ft., January 20. Like the Sadya

specimen in colour but the pattern more rufous; coat 27 mm. A

second specimen, a young one, is a little paler than the last but

not. grey; the coat is full and soft and 30 mm. long.

THE . Cl VET CATS OF ASIA

645

Coat measurements in millimetres of some winter skins : —

’.Dimensions in English inches : — -

These dimensions indicate a smaller race than the southern

Indian forms bengalensis and. indica and than the western Hima-

layan form wellsi.

A few old skins, without particulars, from Nepal (Hodgson)

seem to belong to this race rather than to the Kangra form judging

from the comparative shortness of the coat and distinctness of the

pattern. The general colour is very variable, no two being alike.

646 Journal , bomba y na tubal hist, society , voi xXxvi

Tlie skulls of this race, as shown by the following table, are

noticeably shorter and narrower than in the Kangra race, with the

waist and maxillary width about the same, but the bullse decidedly

longer and less widely separated anteriorly. The waist is narrower

than in bengalensis and indica and the bullae are also slightly larger

and closer together at their nearest point. In one example the

waist is actually as narrow as in deserti; but the skull is much

shorter and has actually longer, relatively much longer, bullae

(Text-Fig. 5, B.C. p. 641).

Five adult but unsexed skulls collected by Hodgson in Nepal

vary in total length from 3.6 to 4.1 in., in zygomatic breadth from

1.7 to 1.8, in waist from 3^ to 4, in maxillary width from .6 to .7, in

length of bullae from 18 to 21 mm., in space between them from 51

to 7 mm., and in the size of the carnassial from 7x5 to 8x5 mm.

The ‘pinching of the waist’ is even more pronounced on the average

than in baptistce and the bulla is almost* the same in length; but

in other particulars these skulls are about intermediate between

baptists and wellsi, as might be expected from their locality.

In English inches In mm.

* , , *

VlVERRICULA INDICA PALLIDA, Gray.

Viverra pallida, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc., p. 63, 1832, (no descrip-

tion); III. lnd. Zool. ii, pi. vi, 1834.

Viverricula pallida, Bonhote, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), i, p. 120,

1898 (in part), B. Howell, Proc. V. S. Nat. Mus. - 75, p. 31, 1929.

Viverricula malaccensis pallida, G. M. Allen, Amer. Mas. '.Nov it.,

No. 359, p. 3, 1929 (in part).

Locality of type : China, probably Canton.

Distribution: Southern China and Formosa.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

04?

The following skins in the British Museum are assigned to this

race : —

Canton (probably). The type of pallida, unsexed and undated.

(J. R. Reeves). Pattern not well defined, the stripes on the back

and spots on the flanks brown, a mixture of black and rusty-ochre,

not thrown clearly into relief by the huffish grey ground-colour ; no

transverse stripes on the throat and no spots on the shoulders.

Tail with nine dark, brownish rings. Hairs on back 37 mm., on

flank 35 mm., on tail 33 mm.

Hong Kong. Nov. 12 ( Capt . A. G. Ferguson). A young

specimen almost exactly resembling the type in colour and pattern.

Hairs on back 34 mm., on flanks 34, on tail 28.

Amoy. Apparently 8 . Undated. (11. Swinhoe). Pattern

rather brighter than in the type and more conspicuous, the ground-

colour being greyer; tail with seven, perhaps eight, dark rings.

Hairs on back 46 mm., on flanks 46, on tail 51.

Foochow. Nov. ( R . Swinhoe). Pattern bolder than in any

examples of this race I have seen, consisting of sharply defined

black stripes on the back and of spots on the flanks, showing up

clearly against the grey ground-colour which nearly resembles

that of the example from Amoy. Coat short, with less underwool;

hairs on back 30 mm., on flanks 28 mm., on tail 21 mm.

Formosa, Lauloni in the mountains of the centre of the

island. S • December 19. (P. A. Holst). Ground-colour greyish

as in the Amoy example but the pattern bolder, with more black

and rusty-ochre in it. Tail with nine dark rings. Hairs on back

33 mm., on flank 32, on tail 28 mm.

Formosa, northern district of island. Unsexed and undated.

(R. Swinhoe). Ground-colour greyish, almost as in the example

from Amoy but a little greyer and therefore throwing the brown

pattern into stronger relief. Tail with eight dark rings. This skin

is paler than Holst’s example from Lauloni, the pelage having less

black and less rusty-ochre, and being not so strongly speckled.

Hair on back 30 mm., on flank 30 mm., on tail 30 mm.

Schwarz (An?i. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), 6, p. 637, 1910) gave the

name taivana to some Formosan specimens which he described as

differing from pallida by their shorter coat, more distinct pattern,

brighter ground colour and quite differently shaped bullae. These

differences do not exist between the Formosan and Southern Chinese

specimens I have seen.

V I VERRICULA INDICA HANENSIS, Matscllie.

Viverricula hanensis , Matschie, Chin. Sdug. Filchner Exped.,

p. 196, 1907; Mell, Arch. Naturg., 88, pt. 10, p. 20, 1922.

Viverricula pallida, G. M. Allen, Mem. Mas. Comp. Zool.,

Harvard, 40, No. 4, p. 236, 1912; id. Amer. Mas. Novit., No. 359,

p. 3, 1929 (in part).

Locality of type: Hankow (restricted by Allen).

Distribution: The watershed of the Yangtse.

Note on the synonymy : Matschie gave the name hanensis to

two skins from Hankow and Kiang-Si. Allen subsequently cited

648 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

Hankow as the locality of the type. Matschie described these skins

as differing from those he identified as pallida by the absence of

oblique bands on the shoulders, the presence of six conspicuous

bands on the hind back and of eight, not six, dark bands on the

tail, these bands being narrower than the pale bands and not

narrower than the white tip. Allen discarded hanensis as a syno-

nym of pallida on the evidence of a skin from Ichang in Hupeh.

I am entirely in agreement with Allen in regarding the alleged dis-

tinctive features of hanensis, mentioned by Matschie, as systemati-

cally valueless; but I refer to hanensis the following skins in the

British Museum because of their occurrence in the valley of the

Yangtse and because they seem to differ in their more luxuriant

winter coat from examples collected farther south in China which 1

assign to pallida.

Nankin. 9' ad., November 28, ( E . B. Howell). Pattern

rather indistinct, consisting of stripes and spots mostly ochreous

and not sharply defined against the greyisli-buff ground-colour; tail

with seven, perhaps eight, dark rings, consisting of black, rusty-

tipped hairs. The hairs on the back 56 mm., on the flanks 41, on

the tail 45.

Nankin. 8 ad., November 9, ( E . B. Howell). Pattern with

more black in it than in the 9 and showing up more conspicuously

partly on that account and partly because the ground-colour is a

good deal greyer; the dark stripes of the tail, eight in number,

are also blacker with less rusty dilution and the pale bands are

whiter with less buff. This is a handsomer skin than the female

on account of its bolder pattern, but it is less richly tinted, less

affected by ‘erythrism’. Hair on the back about 59 mm., on the

flanks 47 mm., on the tail 47 mm. Plesh measurements: head and

body 26 in., tail 12 3/5 in.

Shanghai. December ( F . W. Sty an). A half-grown specimen

as shown by the skull. In its general buffy-ochreous hue closely

matching the female from Nankin; but the pattern is more broken

up and confluent, the back being mottled rather than banded.

Hair on back 42 mm., on flank 40 mm., on tail 36 mm., shorter

than in the Nankin specimens probably because of the immaturity

of the specimen.

Chung Yang in South Hupeh. January 13 (F. W. Styan).

A young specimen, about the same age as the last judging by the

skull. General hue like that of the male from Nankin; but the

pattern mottled as in the specimen from Shanghai. Hair on back

50 mm., on flanks 45, on tail 45.

China. Undated. (Fortune). A well tinted specimen almost

exactly matching in colour and pattern the female from Nankin,

but with the ochreous buff pervading the belly and throat. Hairs

on back 53 mm., on flanks 48 mm., on tail 47.

Of the above-described specimens the only one measured in the

flesh is the male from Nankin which is considerably larger than

the specimen from Ichang recorded by Allen, in which the head

and body were 21 3/5 in., the tail 11 3/5.

The British Museum has only a few skulls of the two Chinese

races of Viverricula here admitted provisionally and most of them

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

649

are unsexed, immature or imperfect in the occipital region. The

following measurements, however, are perhaps worth recording: —

In English inches In mm.

, , K

The data this table supplies are insufficient to establish definite

differences1 2 between the two Chinese forms. They suggest, how-

ever, that hanensis is larger in the skull than pallida; but the

range of variation is not greater than in the specimens assigned

to the following race, thai.

The skulls of hanensis are about the same in length and zygo-

matic width as those of wellsi from Kangra, a little larger if any-

thing, the waist is a trifle wider, and the bullae longer with the

same distance between them.

They are larger in every respect than in baptistce, the difference

in the space between the bullae being marked, although in actual

length the bullae are nearly the same in the two.

1 'l'liiB skull and the one procured by Swinlioe in Formosa, which are about

the same age, still carry the milk teeth. They are a good illustration of the

retention of the first dentition until the' skull has almost attained its full size,

a phenomenon common in the civets and distinguishing them from the cats.

2 The American Museum of Natural History is the only institution which

possesses the material to settle this point as regards both external and cranial

characters; but although G. M. Allen from examining this material decided

that examples from Laos and other parts of southern China belong to the

same race as those from the Yangtse Valley, it is possible that detailed measure-

ments of the skulls and of the coat in dated skins may bring out average

differences between the two such as are suggested by the British Museum

material.

9

650 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

The skull of pallida seems to be about the same size as in

baptistce, but the waist is wider and the bulke are noticeably

smaller and more widely spaced.

V IVEKRICULA INDICA THAI, KloSS.

Viverricula malaccensis thai, Kloss, Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc.,

Siam, 3, p. 352, 1919; Robinson and Kloss, Bee. Ind. Mus. 19,

p. 178, 1920.

Locality of type : Prapatom about 40 miles W. of Bangkok,

Siam.

Distribution: Siam, Indo-China and possibly Burma.

This race was diagnosed by comparing it with examples regarded

as typical malaccensis from Malacca, the size and pattern being

the same but the ‘buffy ground colour’ slightly paler and duller

with more black speckling and the tail more nearly white. There

are also some alleged cranial differences referred to below.

I have not seen the type of this race, nor examples from Pra-

patom or very near it; but the British Museum has a good skin

from the Me Wang River, 700 ft., 60 miles north of Ralieng in

Siam, which is no doubt referable to it. This skin collected in

February has a full, thick coat; the general colour is buffy grey,

not so bright as in Malayan specimens; the pattern is tolerably well

defined, mostly rusty-ochre but blacker on the mid-line of the hind

back; the tail has 7 blackish bands with a long white tip.

The following skins in the British Museum from Indo-China

(Delacour and Lowe) and referred by Thomas and Osgood to V .

malaccensis, without subspecific designation, I assign to this

race : —

Two from Saigon, Cochin China, January. One is slightly

more buffy than the example from Raheng, with the pattern the

same; the other is much greyer, with practically no buff tint. The

coat is shorter than in the Raheng specimen.

One from Kratie, Cambodia, February, has rather a coarse,

shabby coat, but it almost matches the Raheng specimen, being

merely a little greyer.

Annam. Four skins. A male from Dak-To, March, is grey

like one of the Saigon skins, greyer than the Raheng skin and with

the pattern blacker, less rusty. Another male from Thuy-Ba,

Quangtri, is grey like the last. Both have the coat long and full.

A specimen from Nahtrang (Dr. Vassal ) is grey like the last with

rusty black pattern; but the coat is short and comparatively thin

and sleek; no doubt a summer skin. The fourth specimen, also

a U , apparently from Paklia, is more richly tinted than the others,

huffier than the example from Raheng, and has the pattern blacker,

diluted with ochreous rather than rusty speckling; the dark bands

on the tail also are blacker and the white bands even to the tip

washed with buff. The example from Raheng is intermediate in

tint between this brighter coloured example and the grey specimens.

Two from Tonkin. A young male from Langson, 500 ft., is

a little better coloured than the Raheng skin, very like the brighter

Saigon skin, but not so well tinted as the one from Pakha, Annam.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

651

A kitten from Chapa, on the contrary, is a richer ochreous buff

than any of these Indo-Chinese skins.

The following are the coat measurements in millimetres of

some of the skins : —

Kloss suggested the possibility of the extension of thai into

Burma. The material in the British Museum from that country

is unfortunately too meagre to settle the question definitely; but

a few skins, mostly from Upper Burma, seem to agree with Indo-

Chinese skins better than with skins from Assam and the Malay

Peninsula. At all events in the decoloration and defective black

banding of the end of the tail and in the longer, looser winter coat

they differ! from the Assamese and Bhutan Duars skins described

above as baptistce.

The Chin Hills, 4,000 ft. in Upper Chindwin, 50 miles west of

Ivindat (J. M. D. Mackenzie). A flat imperfect skin, April 15,

almost exactly matches in coat and colour the brightly coloured

skin from Saigon in Cochin China referred to thai, the general

colour being bright and buffy, the pattern rusty, the coat full and

loose, 38 mm. on the back and flanks and 33 on the tail, thus

agreeing closely with winter Indo-Chinese skins.

Yin in Lower Chindwin ( G . C. Shortridge). A flat skin,

dated September 18, in rather poor coat, resembles in the black-

ness of its pattern and the greyness of the flanks the skin from

Thuy Ba, Quangtri, Annam, recorded above; but in the brownish

hue of the head and shoulders, due to buffy speckling of the hairs,

it is like the examples from Langson in Tonkin and Kratie in

Cambodia. The coat is shorter than in the winter skins assigned

to thai, being 33 mm. on the back and flanks and 34 on the tail.

Mt. Popa, 4,961 ft., d, September 5; and Allagappa Valley,

30 miles W. of Sagaing, October 13 (G. C. Shortridge). From

their localities it may be inferred that these skins belong to the

same race as the one from Yin in Lower Chindwin1, but> the coat

is short, thin, harsh and bleached on the flanks to whitish grey,

the pattern being blackish and sharply defined.

The localities of these skins are drained by the Irrawaddy or

its tributaries, and from Rangoon on the delta of this river the

1 Two imperfect skins from Pokokku, identified by T. B. Fry as V.

malacccnsis, are skins of the Bengal Cat ( Prionailurus bengalensis).

652 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL UlST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

British Museum- has a skin, presented by Col. Harrington, which

is in good pelage and resembles in general coloration the head

and shoulders of the specimen from Yin in Lower Oliindwin and

would pass as an unbleached representative of the skins from Mt.

Popa and the Allagappa Valley. It is strikingly different in tint,

from the series of skins from the delta of the Sittang river referred

to below under the Malayan race. Probably Lower Burma is the

district where these races pass into one another.

In his description of this race Kloss distinguished the skull

from that of the Malayan race he regarded as typical V. malaccen-

sis by the greater anterior distance between the bullae which in his

two old 9 specimens of thai from Prapatom was respectively 8.7

and 8.3 mm., indicated on my table as 8J+ and 8J — mm., the

corresponding measurements of two specimens from Malaya being

7.3 and 6.9, averaging 7. In the rest of the specimens entered in

my table the dimension in question is the narrowest space between

the bullae, possibly not quite the same as that quoted by Kloss.

Nevertheless the examples from Tonkin, Annam and Sagaing agree

tolerably closely with the two skulls of thai from Prapatom in that

and other respects. On the other hand the skulls from Mt. Popa,

Chittagong, Rangoon and Cochin China resemble the examples

from Malaya recorded below in the interbullate distance. The

differences between the bullae in the skulls from Mt. Popa and

Sagaing are instructive, since the localities are not far apart. They

may be compared with the similar differences exhibited by the

skulls of typical V. indica from Dharwar. Both races show more

fluctuation in the length of the bullae and the distance between

them than is usual. The skulls on the whole are very similar;

but the Indian skulls on the average are a little shorter and

narrower, but wider in the waist, the carnassial tooth being about

the same. So far as it is possible to judge from the scanty mate-

rial, there seems to be no difference of moment between the skulls

from Nankin referred to hanensis and those of thai.

Cranial measurements of the specimens identified as thai : —

In English inches In mm.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

65 &

In English inches In mm.

Note on the Viverricula of Hainan: In his paper on the Viver-

ridse of Southern China, G. M. Allen ( Amer . Mus. Novit., -No. 859,

p. 3, 1929) assigned to typical V. m. malaccensis a series of 20

skins from Hainan which were distinguished from the Chinese race

identified as V. m. 'pallida by being ‘uniformly slightly smaller in

size of skull, and, with one exception, representing the grey phase

of pelage, while the others [ pallida ] are larger of skull, have longer

tails and are practically all of the rufescent type’. I expected to

find the specimens from Annam and Tonkin in the British Museum

in agreement with the Hainan specimens referred to; but the

Tonkin skins are better coloured and although the grey phase is

evidently not uncommon in Annam, the skulls of these Indo-

Chinese examples are on the evidence I possess larger than in the

Hainan series, in which the average, condylo-basal length of five

adults is only 95 J mm., whereas the same dimension in an adult

male skull from Quangtri in Annam is 101 mm. and in an adult

and a subadult skull from Langson in Tonkin it is 103 mm. and

98 mm. respectively. These three skulls thus agree tolerably

closely in length with those of ten adult male skulls from China,

assigned by Allen to pallida, in which the average condylo-basal

length is just under 101 mm.

I may add that the adult male and female skulls from Nankin,

assigned by me to hanensis, are 106 mm. and 101 mm. respectively

in condylo-basal length, whereas the only, adult and com-

plete skull I possess of the form identified as pallida, namely, the

skull, from Lauloni in Formosa, (Holst), is only 92 mm., suggesting

that it comes into the same category as the Hainan series.. My

material is insufficient to elucidate the question further,

654 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

VlVERRICULA INDICA KL0SSI, Subsp. IlOY.

Viverricula malaccensis malaccensis, Kloss, Journ. Nat. Hist.

Soc.. Siam , 3, p. 352, 1919; Robinson and Kloss, Rec. Ind. Mus.f

19, p. 178, 1920. (Not Viverra malaccensis Gmelin.)

Locality of type : Pinang.

Distribution : Malay Peninsula, extending northwards appar-

ently into Lower Burma.

Description: Distinguished from V. indica thai and the other

races hitherto described by its brighter or better pigmented pelage,

the ground colour varying from bright yellowish buff to buffisli brown

with no grey upon the dorsal side or flanks; pattern distinct, blackish

brown to rusty brown.

I have seen the following three examples from the Malay Penin-

sula : —

Pinang (Type B.M., Dr. Cantor. 79.11.21. 277). A good but

unmeasured, undated skin ticketed U , but obviously $ by the

mammae, and tolerably old, judging from1 the fused sutures of the

skull. General colour huffy brown, decidedly darker and browner

than the skin from Raheng m Siam identified as V. indica thai,

with no grey speckling in the pelage except on the under side; the

pattern well defined and dark brown; coat comparatively short.

Judging from its tint this specimen seems to resemble tolerably

closely a poor skin, not preserved, from Patani on the eastern side

of the Malay Peninsula, noted by Robinson and Annandale as

‘greyish brown’ and referred to by Bonhote ( Fasc . Malay., pt. i,

p. 9, 1903).

A second 9 > subadult, from Pinang (E. J . House) is not so

dark, the general hue being rather lighter and buffier, and the well-

defined dark pattern considerably diluted with rusty ochre; the coat

also is somewhat longer. It is decidedly buffier and less grey than

the specimen of than from Raheng.

The third specimen, , from Taiping, Perak, collected in

June by Seimund, identified by Kloss as typical malaccensis and

belonging to the Federated Malay States Museum, is very like the

last-described skin from Pinang, but is still brighter in hue, the

ground colour being a slightly yellower buff; the coat is soft and

tolerably short.1

Evidence for the extension of this race northwards through

Tenasserim into Lower Burma is supplied by six flat, unmeasured

skins, dated March 4, procured for the Survey by Mr. J. M. D.

Mackenzie at sea-level in the delta of the Sittang River, 40 miles

south of Pegu town. They are practically indistinguishable from

the brighter Malayan skins from Pinang and Perak recorded above,

1 These specimens and Kloss ’s remarks about others from the Malay Penin-

sula bear out the statement made above that there is at present no evidence

of specimens from that district being ‘pearly grey’ with a black pattern, like

Sonnerat’s alleged ‘Civette de Malacca’, the type of malaccensis Gmelin.

Sonnerat also described the summit of the head as black and the. belly as

marked with a median band from the chest to the genitalia, and his figure

shows 10 distinct black rings on the tail. There are usually only 7 dark rings

in south-eastern examples of Viverricula, the 8th. when present, being very faint.

THE CIVET CATS OF ASIA

655

but brighter than the type from Pinang. The coat (March) is

decidedly less luxuriant and shaggy than that of the Raheng skin

and the Annam skins collected in January, February and March,

assigned to thai; the ground-colour in all is buff or ochreous, vary-

ing a little in richness, two being duller and paler in tint than the

rest; the pattern is well defined, varying from blackish to rusty

black; the tail has 7 or 8 dark rings and is noticeably white

terminally.

These, however, are the only Burmese skins which, on the avail-

able evidence, can with some assurance be assigned to the Malayan

race. But 30 miles north of Tonglioo, in the valley of the Sittang,

Mr. Mackenzie secured three examples of which one at least, col-

lected January 8tli., is more like klossi than thai as I understand

these races. The winter coat is full, close and soft, not loose as

in thai; and the general colour is rich ochreous, the under side is

also washed with ochreous; the pattern is black, obscured by rusty

speckling; the tail has 9 dark rings.

The other two specimens, dated March 18 and 23, are strikingly

different, the coat being coarser, thinner and shorter, the colour

pallid, without brightness, huffy grey or silvery grey on the flanks,

darker on the back; the pattern is black and sharply defined. These

are clearly skins in dead bleached coat with the moult imminent;

but the date seems to be wrong. They are very similar in coat and

colour to the September and October skins from Mt. Popa and

Sagaing referred to above under thai.

Except that this race seems to be on the average a little smaller

than thai and has the bullae a trifle closer together, there is very

little difference between them so far as the skull is concerned.

In English inches In mm.

VlVERRICULA INDICA RASSE, Horsf.

Viverra* rasse Horsfield, Zool. Res. Java, pp. 103-107; pi. 1824,

p. 345, 1824.

Viverricula malaccensis rasse , Bonhote, Ann. Mag. Nat, Hist.

(7), i, p. 121, 1898 (in part).

Locality o| type: Java.

656 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Distribution: Java, apparently restricted.

A very uniform series of 20 skins collected by G. G. Shortridge

at Tassikmalaja in Preanger, 1,145 ft., between December 31 and

February 1, at Batavia in July and August, at Buitenzorg, 835 ft.,

and on Kangean Island in November, shows no appreciable seasonal

variation in coat or colouration. The general colour is olive grey,

grey with a faint buff wash but no silvery tint; the pattern in all is

distinct, normal and usually blackish brown, but sometimes more or

less obscured by rusty ochre speckling. The tail has from 7 to 9

dark bands. The coat is short without much underwool and the

long hairs are about 25 mm. irrespective of season.

Measurements of largest specimens : —

Preanger and Batavia S, U • Head and body 22 2/5 in.,

tail 14 in.

Preanger 9- Head and body 21 3/5 in., tail 13 in.

Kangean Island 9 • Head and body 21 1/5 in-, tail 14 in.

These specimens agree closely with Horsfield’s good description

of Viverra rasse. The race differs from the Malayan and Indo-

Chinese and Burmese forms in having the tail typically dusky above

at the end and never exhibiting the long white tip of those races.

The coat too is dull, not bright in hue as in klossi and never luxu-

riant as in thai.

Cranial measurements : —

In English inches In mm.

In cranial measurements there is no apparent difference between

the Javan and Malayan races except that in the former the bullae

are on the average a little smaller and more widely separated at the

narrowest point between them. On the other hand the skull and

bullae of rasse are on the average a little shorter than in the Burmese,

Siamese and Indo-Chinese specimens assigned to thai, but the

distance between the bullae as Kloss stated, is about the same in

the two.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE I.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Photo M E.M.

TRICHOPTERA

Wings of Mystacides nigra L.X 5.

Portion of a wing of a Lepidopteron X 60.

Wing of Lepidostoma hirtum F. X9.

Some of the scales on the wing of L. hirtum F. X 250.

THE INDIAN CADDIS FLIES.

Life History, Collection and Preservation,

by

Martin E. Mosely, f.r.e.s.

Part I.

(With three 'plates ).

In this, the first of a series of articles dealing with the Caddis-

flies of the Indian fauna, I propose to describe what a caddis-fly

is, how it lives,, how it reproduces its species and the manner of

its death. I shall also tell of how it may be caught, where it may

be found, and how it should be preserved to the best advantage

in collections.

What is a caddis-fly? This is the first point. I might explain

it by stating that the caddis-flies are known to the entomologist

as the Trichoptera. This is not a very lucid explanation, yet to

those with some knowledge of the Creek tongue, it conveys a

sound definition. The name Trichoptera is derived from two

Greek words which mean ‘a hair, a wing’. That is to say, the

Trichoptera are ‘hairy- winged ’ . Similarly, the butterflies and

moths are known as the Lepidoptera, also derived from Greek words

for ‘a scale, a wing’. These insects, then, are ‘scaly- winged’. It

is a broad distinction, not by any means the only one between the

two Orders and it generally suffices.

Be it understood that, in the insect world, the words hairs and

scales have a particular significance. An insect-hair is not pre-

cisely similar to what we generally consider a hair such as the

hairs on our heads or the hairs which constitute fur, nor is an

insect-scale of the same substance as the scales of a fish, or a snake,

or a lizard. In insects, hairs and scales are composed of the same

substance and are merely a modification of each other. This

substance is called chitin and is a kind of skin which covers, not

only all the external parts of insects, varying in texture, pattern

and hardness according to the uses it serves, but encloses the in-

ternal organs as well. It resists the action of both acids and al-

kalis and, consequently, when only external structure is required,

specimens can be treated by both these reagents so that all parts

not compose^ of chitin may be dissolved away; then a clear tran-

sparent residue of these external structures is left for mounting as

a microscope object, a useful aid to the determination of a species.

The scales of the Lepidoptera are formed of flat plates with

striated surfaces and, generally, jagged apical margins. These

plates overlap one another like slates on a roof and are shown in

fig. 2. The hairs of the caddis-fly wing in some groups form a

dense mat as shown in fig. 1. In other groups they may be long

and widely scattered and there is one group, represented in India,

in which the wings have a white, glassy talc-like appearance with

merely a few short hairs here and there along the nervures or

658 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoZ. XXXF/

veins. In yet another group, some of the hairs on the wings of

the male insects only are modified, being much thickened. There

are considerably numbers of these insects in India and therefore a

whole wing is shown in fig. 3, fig. 4 being a much enlarged photo-

graph of a few of these thickened hairs which are also termed scales.

It will be noticed how different these caddis -fly scales are from

those of the Lepidoptera. My photographs are taken from a

British insect belonging to this group.

So much for hairs and scales. A very important structural

difference between the caddis-fly and the moth lies in the forma-

tion of the mouth-parts. The latter has a long flexible proboscis

through which it can suck the sweet juices of the flowers or any

other juices that may please its fancy, not always sweet and not

always derived from flowers. The caddis-fly has no such organ.

In fact, its mouth-parts are so ill-developed that it is practically

unable to feed at all. I say practically , because there are records

of caddis-flies having been taken at night with moths on sugar and

it may be that they are able to absorb very minute quantities

of liquid through a large fleshy tongue that is a conspicuous feature

of their mouths. Personally I have never found food in the ali-

mentary canals of the many thousands of caddis -flies that I have

made into microscope preparations, and I doubt whether they feed

at all even though they may be attracted by the scent of the

sugar solution. In any case they cannot absorb enough nourish-

ment by this method to sustain life and all serious feeding takes

place in the larval stage; life in the winged condition is very brief

and only serves for the reproduction of the species.

Readers of these opening paragraphs should now be able to

recognise a caddis-fly and I continue with a brief account of the

life and habits of these insects.

To begin at the beginning we will consider the egg. The eggs

of the caddis-fly are sometimes enveloped in a gelatinous secretion

and carried as a ball at the extremity of the abdomen of the female

insect as seen in fig. 5. They may be green in colour, brown or

yellow. Sometimes they may be deposited one by one under some

convenient rock or stone in the water at the bed of the stream or

pond, the insect crawling down a weed-stem or the side of a rock,

enveloped in a bubble of air, to select the desired spot. Or they

may be extruded in a gelatinous mass upon some leaf or twig

overhanging the stream, the young larvae dropping into the water

when hatched. When carrying the eggs at the oviducts in a mass,

the insect has been seen to descend beneath the surface and attach

the ball of eggs to a post or a rock to which it adheres. This,

perhaps, may even be the invariable practice.

Contact with the water causes the gelatinous secretion to swell

as seen in fig. 6. In the course of time, which may be a few

days or a few weeks or even longer, the eggs hatch and the young

larva, if of a case-making group, immediately proceeds to make

its case.

I will now introduce to your notice some curious little creatures

with which those of you who are fishermen are probably very fami-

liar though perhaps without realising what they are. All who have

THE INDIAN CADDIS FLIES

659

spent a few hours by the water-side, either river, pond or lake,

or even ditch, must, at some time or another, have noticed under

the water, little bits of sticks or even stones apparently moving

about by themselves. If they have been sufficiently interested to

investigate more closely the somewhat astounding phenomena,, the

explanation will have been forthcoming and they will have noticed

a head and a few legs protruding from one end of what is really

a little house or case and a live creature within which walks about

on the stones or mud of the bottom, dragging its home along with

it as does the snail its shell.

This is the caddis-grub or caddis- worm or just the caddis, as it

is sometimes called, and it is the larva of the caddis-fly. It bears

exactly the same relation to the winged insect as the caterpillar

bears to the butterfly or moth and it goes through precisely similar

changes before entering into the winged state though, naturally,

there are slight modifications of method due to these changes

taking place under water.

The cases are constructed in various patterns according to the

group to which the caddis-fly belongs; sometimes they are fashioned

entirely of stones, sometimes of bits of stick or weed or both.

They may be decorated with empty snail-shells or even living-

snails, or they may be formed of grains of sand or bits of broken

shell arranged so smoothly and evenly as, not only to equal, but

far excel in accuracy of workmanship any tesselated pavement

constructed by the hand of man. Some of these cases are shown

on PI. II. To every case there is an inner lining of a silky sub-

stance spun through the mouth of the caddis-grub and the outer

covering of stones or twigs is attached to this silken tube. The

larva is furnished at the tail-end with two powerful hooks with

which it clings to the case and drags it along. So firmly does it

attach itself with these hooks, that attempts to pull it out by the

head generally result in tearing it asunder.

As it grows, it enlarges its case in front, cutting it away at the

tail-end to the required size.

Travelling about the bed of the stream, it uses, of necessity,

the material that lies at hand for case-construction so that, in

practice, it is automatically camouflaged and always tones in with

its surroundings, thus being perfectly safeguarded, when at rest,

from its numerous foes.

How, some lines back I made use of the words when describing

the first action of a newly-hatched larva, if of a case-making

group. These words correctly imply that there are some groups

in which the larvae do not make cases. Some make merely a

loose web of silken threads attached to neighbouring weed-stems

and they live in the centre of it like a spider, pouncing out and

devouring any living thing that is swept by the stream or unluckily

swims into its meshes. The web differs from that of the spider,

lacking its symmetry; it is a confused collection of silken pockets

somewhat like the pockets of a trammel fishing-net. A caddis of

this group is shown in fig. 13. Another group of caddis-larvae

contains caseless insects which merely wander about the bottom,

keeping for safety under the stones, feeding as and when they

660 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoZ. XXXFI

can (fig. 14). Both groups of these free larvae, however, make

cases of stones for a protection when about to pupate, but more

of this anon.

We will return to our case-making caddis where we left it,

namely enlarging its case to keep pace with its growth and roam-

ing about over the bottom in constant search for food. Some feed

on algae, diatoms or water- weeds, some on animal matter as well.

I remember watching three or four caddis-grubs feeding busily on a

big carpenter bee which had fallen into the water and, dead, was

slowly circling an eddy in a Corsican stream. They do not hesi-

tate to attack each other. The front of the case is amply pro-

tected by the horny head with its powerful jaws and, by the active

legs, but the tail-end is more vulnerable and the caddis is com-

pelled to take special precautions to guard its hinder parts. It

therefore constructs a door, consisting of a hard plate perforated

by a single round hole as seen in fig. 12. The plate pro-

tects its rear and yet allows' the water free passage, for a stream

of water passing through the case is essential for the insect’s

breathing; attached to the abdomen there is a complicated series

of filaments which, waving about in the stream, extract the air

which passes into the breathing system; without a constant supply

of fresh water, our caddis would promptly die and it obtains this

supply, sucking it into the case, by undulating its abdomen.

The caddis does not always wander about in search of food.

There is one group, of which the fly shown in fig. 5 is an example,

where the larva moors its case, fore and aft, to some weed or

rock and stretches its median and posterior legs out at the front

waiting for what providence in the form of the stream, may bring

vyithin its reach. When any living creature touches these legs

there is a snap, the legs clouble up and the victim is impaled on

a formidable row of spikes that line the inner edges of the limbs;

the pair of much . abbreviated fore legs serves as hands, conveying

the food to the ever- waiting mandibles. Big. 7 shows one of these

larvae removed from its case. Note the unprotected abdominal

segments, the strongly developed posterior and median legs with

the inner spikes just faintly indicated, and the abbreviated fore

legs. It is obvious that this insect can only live in a comparatively

fast' stream as, in stagnant water, it would starve whilst waiting

for chance visitors to swim within its reach. My photographs are

of a British fly, known to trout-fishermen as the Grannom, but a

near relation, having the same habits, lias been discovered high

up in the Kashmir Mountains.

Well, whether the caddis lives in a case or is free, in the course

of time, generally ten or eleven months, it attains its full growth

and then there comes a startling change. It ceases to feed and

all its energies are bent to the preparation for its brief life above

water. Its first concern is to provide for safety during the help-

less pupal stage.

If it is a free caddis, it proceeds to make a rough case of stones,

an oval mass attached to some large stone or rock, generally on

the under side; certain species make a cocoon, brown and of a

horny nature within the stony covering. If it is a case-making

PLATE II

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Photo M.E.M.

TRICHOPTERA

Fig. 5. Br achy centr us subnubilus Curt. ? carrying egg sac X l|.

Fig. 6. Egg sac after having been placed in water X 2.

Fig. 7. Larva of B. subnubilus Curt, removed from its case X 4j.

Fig. 8. Larval case of Limnophilus lunatus Curt. X 1§.

Fig. 9. ,, cases,, Goera pilosa F. X lj.

Fig. 10. ., ,, (unknown) X l|.

Fig. 11. ,, ,. ,, Limnophilus flavicornis F. X l|.

Fig. 12. Perforated plate guarding the tail-end of the larval case X 8.

Fig. 13. Free larva ( Hydropsyche species) X 3.

Fig. 14. ,, from Kashmir, genus and species unknown X lj.

THE INDIAN CADDIS ELIES

661

caddis, it seals both ends either by attaching to them bits of stone

or water-weed, or else boldly attaching the tail-end of the case to

a large stone or even to another caddis and merely securing the

front door. Fig. 15 shows a group of the caddis of the Grannom

which have attached their cases to one another, three or four deep,

for pupation. Within these outer defences it constructs a very

elaborate grating varying in its nature according to the group

to which the fly belongs. Sometimes it is a horny perforated

plate, sometimes a silken net. Always is it so constructed that

the water may flow freely in and out. Two forms of this grating

are shown in figs. 16 and 17.

Then there comes a resting stage and slowly and gradually the

adult fly is built up within the pupal envelope. As occurs with

the caterpillar, the larval skin is shed and pushed down to the

tail-end of the case which takes the place of the caterpillar’s

cocoon.

The pupa of the caddis-fly differs in some respects from that

of the caterpillar. It has to work hard before the fly can emerge

into the air and, to this end, it has to be specially prepared. There

is the stony case, sealed at each end, in which it is imprisoned

and from, which escape must be made. Then there may be several

feet of water through which it will have to swim. These actions

have to be performed by the pupa and it has accordingly to be

fitted with a technical equipment to enable it to fulfil its destiny.

If we examine a pupa, we shall find that nothing has been over-

looked. The various parts are not locked away together in a horny

case as occurs in the chrysalis of the moth but each limb is con-

tained in its own separate covering and is available for use when

required. We see a pair of powerful mandibles for cutting a passage

through the sealed front-door; also rows of strong hooks which are

mostly directed downwards to aid the pupa in wriggling up and out

of its case (fig. 20). Paddles are provided in the form of fringed

legs to enable the pupa to swim through the water (fig. 21).

Everything is there that the pupa can possibly require.

All those highly specialised organs are used solely in the tran-

sition from the case under the water to the air. Afterwards they

no longer have a value and are consequently left behind, with the

pupal skin. A wonderful set of tools evolved through the long

ages, used but once, perhaps only for a few minutes and then dis-

carded! Pupae belonging to two different groups are shown in

figs. 18 and 19.

In some groups, as the pupa reaches the surface, the1 fly emerges

from the pupal skin and flutters to shelter in the sedges and

rushes that fringe the banks. In others, the pupa climbs out of

the water and fixes its claws in the crevices of a rock or to some

weed-stem and there may be a considerable interval before the

fly emerges. In both cases there is no gradual development or

swelling of the wings as in the Lepidoptefa. The wings have been

folded within the pupal wing-cases and are withdrawn full size.

They have only to harden and even before they have hardened,

in fact' immediately on their withdrawal, they are available for

short, fluttering flights.

662 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

A day ok two is spent amongst the sedges with periods of

flight generally towards evening or at night but sometimes in full

sunlight and then copulation takes place in the shelter of the

rushes and the final act approaches.

When the female is ready to lay its eggs, as was explained at

the beginning of this article, it often descends beneath the surface

of the water and fixes them in some suitable spot. Then, having-

taken} all precautions to safeguard the race, it allows the current

to sweep it from its hold and so it dies.

One might imagine that a creature such as the caddis-grub,

living as it does beneath the surface of the water, would be im-

mune from the attentions of Ichneumon flies. This is not the

case. At least one species of Ichneumon has been observed to des-

cend into the water and, enveloped in a film of air, run about quite

easily over the stones of the stream-bed in search of the particular

caddis that is to serve as the involuntary host to its children. Not

every caddis will serve. The Ichneumon requires a species

which weights its case with heavy stones as shown in^ fig. 9, and

the grub within must either have pupated or else be about to

pupate. Having found a suitable host, our Ichneumon forces its

ovipositor between the outer stones of the case and lays an egg

on the grub within.

In the course of time, the egg hatches and the young larva

devours its host and itself undergoes its transformation to the

adult fly. This fly hibernates in the case of the host, enveloped

in a large air-bubble collected in some not well-understood manner

by the larva before pupation, and it emerges in the following

spring. The necessity for the heavy weighted case now becomes

apparent. Without the heavy stones the bubble of air within would

cause the case to rise to the surface and it would be carried away

by the stream.

I have now arrived at the second part of my subject and it re-

mains for me to describe how the flies may be caught and how pre-

served. I would like to preface these instructions by a few re-

marks on why they should be caught and preserved. Collecting

is a fascinating hobby, indulged in by nearly every boy in every

land and it forms a useful and attractive ground- work for future

entomological researches. Unfortunately only too often the hobby

ends where it began. Everywhere, throughout every country, there

are partial collections of Lepidoptera crumbling away in boxes

and cabinets and nearly always, a mere repetition of collections made

by previous generations. Here in England, the British Museum

is encumbered with these collections which have little or no value

to science. On the other hand, were the energies that have gone

to waste directed into other entomological channels, a great advance

could be made in many Orders where scientific knowledge is in

its infancy. One of these Orders where information is much

wanted is the Triclioptem or the caddis-flies. India is a big coun-

try with every condition required for the development of these

insects. There are the big rivers and the hill streams. The snow-

clad mountains with their countless spring-fed rivulets are the

natural habitats of many diverse genera and, in India, the Order

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE III

Fig. 15.

Fig. 16.

Fig. 17.

Fig. 18.

Fig. 19.

Fig. 20.

Fig. 21.

Photo M.E M.

TRICHOPTERA

Brachycentrus subnubilus Curt, pupal cases X lij.

Pupal grating, Limnophilus marmoratus Curt. x9.

Kashmir species, (unknown) X 9.

Pupa of Leptocerus albifrons L. X 6.

Pupa of L. marmoratus Curt. X 2.

Dorsal hooks on pupal exuvium of Micropterna sequax McL. X 18

Median leg of pupa of Phryganea varia F. x 1J.

THE INDIAN CADDIS FLIES

663

is practically untouched. Here is a field for original research which

should arouse the enthusiasm of almost every collector who has

at heart the desire to forward the progress of science.

It is with a view to encouraging this work that I am writing

these articles in an Indian journal. I would appeal particularly

to my fellow trout-fishermen to make collections. Caddis-flies are

of much importance as food for trout and moreover, many of the

artificial patterns owe their origin to these insects. Throughout

the British Empire, fly-fishers come in contact with these water-

insects and entomology owes much to their efforts.

The Trichoptera of New Zealand and South Africa were practi-

cally unknown until the trout invaded their waters and now, our

knowledge of the water-insects of these countries may be said to

be chiefly due to the enthusiasm of the fly-fislierman.

There is a large field for scientific work in India in connection

with fishing and I feel sure Indian trout-fishers will lend a hand.

The equipment required for the collection of caddis-flies is the

same as that used for the collection of Lepidoptera though a slight

modification of the net may be of advantage. I myself prefer to

have my nets with white bags rather than green or black. It is

easier to spot the insects within them. The best material I have

found for these bags is known as book-map muslin. It is a very

close fabric and very strong. The ordinary butterfly-net material

allows the smaller caddis-flies to escape through the meshes.

Lightness in the frame should be sacrificed to strength, as caddis-

fiies, during the day-time, are mainly taken by beating and a very

light frame soon gives out.

Many species are attracted to light and full advantage should

be taken of this instinct. The ordinary killing-bottles may be used,

preferably laurel, which acts both as a killing and relaxing agent.

The next point is ‘where to collect’. Almost any permanent

water- course, where the water does not become unduly warm,

should produce some form of caddis-fly though the Order is more

largely represented in the cold mountain-streams. The snow-clad

Himalayas are ideal hunting-grounds but actual glacier-streams are

barren and should be avoided. Where there is everlasting snow

there are abounding springs and spring-fed torrents and these

produce caddis-flies in quantity. Lakes and ponds all provide their

quota and the wayside drainage ditches are sometimes full of

varied forms. Springs oozing through the herbage, water trickling

down a rocky wall, cascades, anywhere in fact where there is per-

manent water, generally reward the seeker.

The best method of collecting is to sweep the vegetation by

the water-side or to tap the net under overhanging branches.

Sometimes I carry a stout stick to beat out possible hiding-places

too well guarded by thorns for the net to be brought into direct

contact. Insects can be caught as they fly out.

The short herbage, wet with spray, bordering water-falls, should

not be neglected and often harbours distinctive species. At high

altitudes many caddis-flies may be found sheltering from the keen

winds on the undersides of rocks and stones.

It is unfortunately of little use to collect larval forms. Until

664 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vot. XXXVI

the knowledge of the adults is far more advanced, it will not

often be possible to determine their identity and to associate them

correctly with the adult flies.

We now come to my last heading ‘How should the caddis-fly

be preserved?’ The ideal is a duplicate method, half the material

pinned and set, half in fluid. Whenever it is possible, captures

should be set fresh. These insects are difficult to relax and seldom

make good cabinet specimens when relaxing has been necessary.

Nevertheless unset material is always preferable to no material at

all, and specimens can be broken up and their parts examined

separately if there should be any doubt as to their identity.

The best collecting fluid is a mixture of 1 part of 90 per cent

alcohol to 2 parts of 2 per; cent formalin. A 2 per cent solution

of formalin, is made by taking 1 part of commercial formalin,

which is a 40 per cent solution of formic aldehyde, and diluting

it with 19 parts of water.

On the return home it is advisable to transfer captures from

the 'collecting fluid1 and store them in 2 per cent formalin solution

without any alcohol. 2 per cent formalin alone is too dense a

medium for direct collecting as it will not readily penetrate the

tissues, hence the preliminary use of the collecting mixture.

Pinned specimens will of course be preserved in cabinets or boxes.

In connection with these articles, assistance is cordially invited

with a view to obtaining as full a record as possible of the Indian

caddis-flies and collections may be sent to the Bombay Natural

History Society, who will arrange for the determination of the

species and their record.

My next article will deal with the classification of the Order.

(To be continued).

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., pIi.d., f.l.s. and J. Fernandez.

Part I.

(With 1 may and 1 ylate).

1. History of the Botanical Exploration of Waziristan.

It can be told in a few words. In 1860 John Lindsay Stewart,1

m.d., Assistant-Surgeon, accompanied the First Mahsood Ex-

pedition. The, force had assembled near the city of Tank. They

left this place on the 17th April 'and advanced up the Tank Zam

as far as Palosina Kats. Here the force divided, two thirds

proceeding uj> the Sliaur valley and the remainder going into stand-

ing camp at Palosina. Amongst the latter was Stewart. After

the forces had joined again they proceeded via the Pass Anai, the

Barrara Pass, Barapita, Bungiwala, Kaniguram, Barpit, Doboi,

Makin, Tandachina, Razmak, Dirdoni, Razani, Siroba, Dwa Warklia

and arrived finally at Bannu on the 20th May 1860.

In all rather more than 400 species of plants were collected

between Tank and Bannu, ‘about 70 of these being wood-climbers,

shrubs, or sub-herbaceous, the rest herbaceous’.

Stewart gives a short but interesting sketch of his botanical

results in voi. xxxii (1862) of the Geographical Journal, pp. 316-884

under the title: ‘Notes on the Flora of the Country passed through

by the Expeditionary Force under Brigadier- General Chamberlain,

against the Mahsood Wuzeeris; April 17th to May 19th, I860.’

In 1888 and later on in 1891 a considerable collection of plants

was made in Tank and S. Waziristan by Rev. Dr. J. Williams.

His plants are preserved in the Herbarium at Dehra Dun.

1 Stewart was born about 1832 at Fettercairn, Kincardineshire. He was in

India from 1856-69 and returned there in 1872 and died at Dalhousi© on the

5tli July 1873. The plants he collected in many places are at Kew and Edin-

burgh. His chief publications are: — •

Forests and Fuel Plantations of the Panjab. Lahore, 1868.

Panjab Plants. Lahore, 1869.

Memorandum on the Peshawar Valley and its Flora. Journ. As. Soc.

Bcng., 1863.

The Sub-Sewalik Tract with special reference to the Bijnour Forest

and its trees. Journ. Ag. Hort. Soc. Ind. xiii, 1865.

Journal of a Botanising Tour in Hazara and Kaghan. Journ. Ag. Hort.

Soc. Ind. xiv, 1866.

Tour in the Panjab Salt Range. Journ. Ag. Hort. Soc. Ind. i (new

series) 1867.

Notes of a Bot. Tour in Ladak and W. Tibet. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb.

x, 1869.

The Forest Flora of North-West and Central India, commenced by J. L.

Stewart, continued and completed by D. Brandis. London, 1874.

10

(Be Journal , boMbAy natural just, society, Voi. xXxVI

In 1895 J. F. Dutliie sent liis collector to Waz iris tan, who

gathered, chiefly in 8. Waziristan, over 200 specimens. One set

is being kept at Kew, and another at Dehra Dun.

In 1927 the Resident of Waziristan asked for a collector to

gather Natural History specimens in that country. Fr. Blatter

was asked on the point and he recommended his friend Joseph

Fernandez who had just returned from Oman, where he had been

attached as collector to the D’Arcy Exploration Party under Mr.

Lees. When arriving in Waziristan Fernandez was given a map

with the following places marked out for examination: Datta Khel,

Miram Shah, Razani, Razmak, Sararoglia, Jandola, Sarwekai and,

if there should be time, Tank. The whole tour had to be done

in 3 months. Fernandez arrived in Waziristan on the 22nd March

1927 and left it on the 30tli June. Considering the short time

it is amazing that he brought home an extensive collection of about

9,000 plants in addition to a considerable number of animal speci-

mens. The plants are at present in Fr. Blatter ’s herbarium.

In September 1927, Capt. W. R. Hay, then Political Agent

of S. Waziristan, made an ascent of the highest mountain in

Waziristan, viz. Pre Ghal. He described the journey under the

title ‘Pre Ghal in Waziristan’ in the Geograpliical Journal, vol.

lxxii (1928) 305-324. A small but interesting collection of plants

was named at the Botanical Department of the British Museum.

At the invitation of Mr. A. D. F. Dundas, at the time Political

Agent of N. Waziristan, and Capt. J. A. Robinson of the 13th

Frontier Force Rifles, Fr. Blatter undertook, in company of Fr.

F. Palacios, Professor of Zoology at St. Xavier’s College, Bombay,

and Mr. J. Fernandez, an extensive exploration tour in Waziris-

tan. They spent a little less than 3 months in that' country,

supplementing the collection made by Mr. Fernandez 3 years

j^revious by about 3,000 botanical specimens.

2. Area dealt with.

In addition to N. and S. Waziristan we include in the area

of our Flora part of Tank, a subdivision of Dera Ismail Khan.

Practically speaking only plants growing at Tank and in its neigh-

bourhood and between Tank and Waziristan in a north-westerly

direction are thus considered. We do this because Stewart,

Williams and Duthie’s collector started their exploring expedi-

tions in that area. The localities given for the various species

are therefore grouped under three headings: N. Waziristan, S.

Waziristan and Tank.

We shall deal with the meteorology and ecology at the end of

the list of plants.

Up to now we have published the following papers on the vege-

tation of Waziristan:

H. N. Dixon : Mosses collected in Waziristan by Mr. J.

Fernandez in 1927. Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxxiii (1929)

279-283.

E. Blatter: Plantae Novae Waziristanenses. Collectae a

Josepho Fernandez et descriptae ab E. Blatter. Journ. Ind. Bot.

Soc. ix (1930) 199-207.

'THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

66?

E. Blatter and J. Fernandez: Waziristan Mosses, with

some new species described by H. N. Dixon. Jo urn. I?id. Bot.

Soc. x (1931) 145-153.

E. Blatter: A new Gentian from N. Waziristan. Journ.

Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxv (1932) 861.

E. Blatter: New plants from Waziristan. Journ. Bomb.

Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi (1933) 477-484.

The following abbreviations have been used :

N.W. := Northern Waziristan.

S.W. '= Southern Waziristan.

B. = Blatter.

F. = Fernandez.

DICOTYLEDONEAE.

RANUNCULACEAE.

700 species. — Chiefly N. temperate regions.

Clematis E.

220 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Clematis montana Ham. ex DC. Syst. i (1818) 164.

Locality : #.W. : In the upper regions (Stewart).

Distribution : Himalaya from the Indus eastwards, 7,000-9,000 ft., Khasia

Hills, 12,000 ft.

*Clematis montana Ham. var, rubens Wilson.

Locality: S. W. : Bazmak, planted in garden (B. & E. !).

Clematis barbellata Edgew. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xx (1846) 25.

Vernacular name: Periae, Parvateae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft., along raised wall round fields (F.

2826 ! 3008 !).

S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (E. 1819 ! 1822 ! 1827 ! 1967 ! 1968 ! 2462 !

2465 ! 8055 ! 3234 1 3240 !).— Pre G-hal (Duthie’s Collect. 15794 !). — E. of

Bazmak, on grassy slope (B. & F. 1955 !). — N. of Bazmak, on way to Springs,

6,700-7,300 ft. (B. & F. 1763 !). — W. of Bazmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. &

F. 1719 !).

Flowers: 7-5-1895 (Pre G-hal).

Distribution: W. temperate Himalaya from the Bavi eastwards, 5, GOO-

12, 000 ft.

Clematis grata Wall. Cat. (1828) no. 4668.

Locality: S.W. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1904 !); below Springs, 7,700 ft.

(B. & F. 1831 !). — E. of Bazmak, on grassy slope (B. & F. 1956 !). — Near

Kaniguram, about 6,500i ft. (Stewart).

Distribution: Kuram Valley, N.-W. Himalaya, 2,000-8,000 ft., Upper Burma,

China.

Clematis graveolens Lindl. in Journ. Hort. Soc. i (1846) 307.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1842 ! 1886 ! 1889 ! 1910 !

1935 ! 3082 !). — Kaniguram (Duthie’s Collect. 15753 !).

Flowers: 14-5-1895 (Kaniguram).

Distribution: Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, W. temperate Himalaya to

Kumaon, 6,000-14,000 ft.

Clematis graveolens var. Aitkisoni O. Kuntze.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Herb. Dehra Dun 7763 !).

Fruit: 3-8-1888 (Pre Ghal).

(568 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIS f. SOCIETY , Vol. XXxVl

Clematis orientalis L. Sp. PI. (1753) 543.

Vernacular name : Parvateae.

Locality: $.IF. : On way to Springs N. of Razmak, 6,750-7,300 ft. (B. &

F. 1789 !).

Flowers : 25-4-30 (Razmak).

Distribution : Dry inner valleys of the Himalaya from the Indus eastwards

lip to 14,000 ft., temperate Asia, from Persia to Manchuria.

Clematis connata DC. Prodr. i (1824) 4.

Locality: $.!F. : Razmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1826 !). — N. of Razmak, below

Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F. 1863 1).

Fruit: 25-4-30 (Razmak).

Distribution: Himalaya, 4,000-10,000 ft., from Kashmir eastwards.

Clematis sp.

Locality: S.W.: About Kaniguram (Stewart).

Anemone L.

120 species. — ‘Cosmopolitan.

Anemone biflora DC. Syst. i, 201; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 12.

Vernacular name: Makhai (Waziri).

Locality: iS.TF. : Razmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1567 ! 1581 ! 1582 ! 1589 !).

Flowers : May 1927.

Distribution: Afghanistan, Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, Kashmir, Turke

stan, and east to Persia.

Thalictrum Tourn. ex L.

85 species. — N. temperate regions.

Thalictrum pauciflorum Royle 111. 5; Hook. f. & Th. in FI. Brit. Ind. i

(1872) 11.

Locality: S.W. : Pre Ghal (Hay).

Distribution: W. temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon, 7,000-

13,000 ft.

Thalictrum minus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 546, var. glandulosum Koch. — T. vagi-

natum Roy lei 111. 52.

Locality: <S.TF. : Pre Ghal (Dutliie’s Collect. 15598 !). — E. of Razmak,

on hillside, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1900 ! 1901 !).

Flowers: 17-5-1895.

Distribution: Europe, Tibet.

Thalictrum minus L. var. majus Hook. f. & Th. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i

(1872) 14. — T. majus Jacq. FI. Austr. v, 9, t. 430. — T. kemense Fries FI. Hall,

i, 94. — T. Maxwellii Royle 111. 52.

Locality: #.IF. : Pre Ghal (Herb. Dehra Dun 7764 !). — N. of Razmak,

below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B.& F. 1827 ! 1828 !) ; on stony ground, 6,300 ft.

(F. 1815 !).

Fruit : 9-8-1888.

Distribution : N.W. Himalaya.

Thalictrum sp.

Locality: SHF. : Upper regions (Stewart).

Callianthemum C. A. Meyer.

5 species. — Mountains of Europe and Central Asia.

Callianthemum cachemirianum Camb. in Jacq. Voy. Bot. 5, t. 3.

Locality: S.W. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15795 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 19-5-1895.

Distribution: Inner ranges of the Himalayas, 9,000-13,000 ft.,

Kashmir to Sikkim.

from

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE I.

FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN.

1. Khajuri Bridge across Toclii River.

2. An aerial view taken in the neighbourhood of Razmak.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

669

Adonis Dill, ex L.

10 species. — N. palaeotemperate regions.

Adonis aestivalis L. Sp. PI. ed. ii, 771 ; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 15.

Vernacular name: Chadangul, Lavang (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, in fields, 5,000 ft. (F. 2222 ! 2765 !

2933 !). — Near Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1425 ! 1432 !). — ■

Ivhunai Kiver near Dossali, 5,000 ft. (B. & F. 1117 !). — Boya, in cultivated

fields and along canals, 4,000 ft. (F. 998 ! 1097 ! 1138 ! 1171 ! 1177 !).

S.W.: (Duthie’s Collect. 15659 ! 15745 !). — Slopes of Shuidar, 7,000-

9,000 ft. (B. & F. 1563 !). — W. of Bazmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F.

1700 !). — N. of Bazmak, 6,700-7,300 ft. (B. & F. 1764 !).— Jandola, 2,270

ft., on open stony ground (F. 631 !). — Sararogha, 4,000 ft., on stony plain

(F. 136 !).

Tank (J. Williams 9133 !).

Flowers: March; April; 12-4-30 (Dossali); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel) ; 18-4-30

(Shuidar) ; 20-4-30 (Bazmak) ; 15-5-1888.

Fruit: March; April; 17-4-30 (Datta Khel); 18-4-30 (Shuidar); May.

Distribution: Afghanistan, Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, W. Himalaya from

Peshawar to Hazara, Kashmir and Kumaon, temperate Europe and Asia.

Adonis aestivalis L. var. squarrosa Boiss. FI. Or. i, 18. — A. squarrosa Stev.

in Bull. Mosq. ii (1848) 272.

Vernacular name : Sravzah (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: In a side valley of Ivhunai Biver below Bazani, 5,100

ft. (B. & F. 1109a !).

Flowers & Fruit: 12-4-30 (Bazani).

Distribution : Of type.

Banunculus (Tourn.) L.

300 species. — Cosmopolitan, especially N. temperate regions.

Ranunculus aquatilis L. var. trichophyllus Hook. f. & Th. in Hook. f. &

Th. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 16.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, in ponds and ditches (F. 331 ! 876 !).

S.W.: Wana Plain, in marsh (F. 3512 !).

Flowers & Fruit : April 1927.

Distribution: Temperate N. & S. hemispheres, Afghanistan, E. & W.

Tibet, Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, Punjab, Kashmir to Kumaon.

Ranunculus falcatus L. Sp. PI. 556.

Locality : N.W. : On hills skirting the right hank of Ivhunai Biver, 2 miles

above Dossali Fort, 5,100 ft. (B. & F. 1119 ! 1119a !).— 4 miles below Datta

Khel, on gravel in shade of trees, 4,550 ft. (B. & F. 592a ! 598a !).

S.W.: Between Makin and Bazmak (Stewart).

Flowers : May.

Flowers & Fruit: 30-3-30 (Datta Khel); 12-4-30 (near Dossali).

Distribution: S.-E. Europe, W. Asia, Afghanistan, Kuram Valley, Balu-

chistan, Punjab, Kashmir.

Ranunculus pulchellus C. A. Mey. in Led. FI. Alt. ii, 333.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 2350 !).

Distribution: Afghanistan, W. alpine Himalaya, Kashmir to Sikkim, Sibe-

ria, Mongolia.

Ranunculus hirtellus Boyle III. 53; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 18.

Locality: N.W. : Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2746 ! 2757 !).

<S. IF.: Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15606 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 17-5-1895.

Distribution: Temperate and subalpine W. Himalaya, up to 14,000 ft.

Ranunculus sceleratus L. Sp. PI. 551; Hook. f. & Th. in Hook. f. FI. Brit.

Ind. i (1872) 19.

Locality: N.W.: In the lower regions (Stewart).

'SMF. : Wana, 4,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect, 15676 !),

670 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Flowers : 7-5-1895 (Wana).

Distribution: N. temperate zone, Punjab and Bengal valleys, valleys of

the Himalaya up to 5,000 ft.

Ranunculus diffusus DC. Prodr. i, 38; Hook. f. in FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872)

19. — R. subpinnatus W. & A. Prodr. 4 ; Wight Ic. t. 49.

Locality: SHF.: Bazmak, about 6,000 ft. (F. 1944 ! 2806 ! 2808 !).

Distribution: Temperate Himalaya from Kashmir to Bhutan, 6,000-

10,000 ft., W. Peninsula, Sumatra, Java.

Ranunculus laetus Wall. Cat. 4702: Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 19;

Aitchis. FI. Kuram Valley (1880) 30.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2913 !).

S. IF. : Sararogha (F., 40 ! 46 ! 52 ! 57 ! 61 ! 74 ! 79 ! 82 ! 93 !

100 ! 109 !). — Kaniguram, 6,500 ft. (Duthie-’s Collect. 15746 !). — Bazmak,

6,500 ft. (F. 1722 ! 1726 ! 1741 ! 1744 ! 1796 !).— Pre Ghal (Herb. Dehra

Dun 7765 !). — Barrarra Pass, in wet places (Stewart).

Flowers & Fruit : May 1927 ; 14-5-1895.

Fruit: 9-8-1888 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Kuram Valley, temperate Himalaya and W.

Tibet, inner ranges of Sikkim.

Ranunculus muricatus L. Sp. PI. 555.

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel, along irrigation channel in garden, 4,600 ft.

(B. &' F. 1392 !). — Bed of Chasmai Biver, in clay in water (B. & F. 219 !

243 !). — Miram Shah, cultivated fields (F. 367 ! 368 !).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Chasmai Biver); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Fruit: 23-3-30 (Chasmai Biver); 14-4-27 (Miram Shah); 17-4-30 (Datta

Khel).

Distribution: Europe, W. Asia, Punjab, N. America.

Ranunculus arvensis L. Sp. PI. 555; Hook. f. in FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 20.

Vernacular name: Peri makhlak (Waziri), Kanjarvaliai (at Boya), Sarsun-

dan (Waziri), Zirgulac (at Miram Shah).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel (F. 1200 ! 1207 ! 1251 ! 1252 ! 1305 !

1311 !).— Boya (F. 563 ! 576 1 1003 ! 1006 ! 1019 ! 1028 ! 1031 ! 1032 ! 1044 !

1161 !); along canal (F. 1140 !).— Bazani (F. 2819 ! 2829 ! 2830 ! 2892 !

2911 ! 2918 ! 2945 ! 4456 !). — Miram Shah, in fields (F. 368 ! 869 !). — Shakai.

6,700 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15644 !).

S.W.: Sararogha (F. 34 !). — Kaniguram, 6,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect.

15754 !).

Flowers: March; April; May.

Fruit: March, April, 30-4-1895 (Shakai); May; 14-5-1895 (Kaniguram).

Distribution: Europe, N. Africa, temperate Asia, N.-W. Afghanistan, Balu-

chistan, Kashmir to Kumaon, Mt. Abu, W. Siberia.

Ranunculus Fernandezii Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 199.

Locality: S.W.: Sararogha along Tank Biver (F. 21 ! 33 ! 35 !).

Ranunculus echinatissimus Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 200.

Vernacular name: Zadavankiae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (F. 2912 ! type); Boya (F. 563 !).— Near Shewa

Post, right bank of Kuram Biver (B. & F. 919 !). — Bight' bank of Chasmai

Biver, sandy clay, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 324 !). — Datta Khel, garden along irriga-

tion channel, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1392 ! 1429 !).

<5. IF. : N. of Bazmak, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F. 1802 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-3-30 (Chasmai Biver); April 1927 (Bazani); 5-4-30

(Shewa Post); 8-4-27 (Boya); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel) ; 25-4-30 (Bazmak).

Ranunculus dasycarpus Boiss. FI. Or. i, 28.

Locality: S.W.: Slopes of Shuidar, 7,000-9,000 ft. (B. & F. 1594 !);

W. of Bazmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1699 !).

Fruit: 18-4-30 (Shuidar) ; 24-4-30 (Bazmak).

Ranunculus nanus Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 199.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (F. 2934 !),

Flowers ; April 1927.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

671

Aquilegia (Tourn.) L.

75 species. — N. temperate regions.

Aquilegia vulgaris L. Sp. PL 583.

Locality: S.W.: S. of Razmak (Stewart). — Razmak, planted (B. & F.

1927a !).

Distribution : Temperate Europe! and Asia.

Aquilegia olympica Boiss. FI. Or. i, 71. — A. vulgaris var. caucasica Ledeb.

FI. Ross, i, 56.

Locality : IF. : Sur Bar Hills (Dundas !).

Flowers : 27-6-30 (Sur Dar Hills).

Distribution: Persia, Caucasus, alpine and temperate W. Himalaya,

10,000-14,000 ft.

Aquilegia viscosa Gouan FI. Monsp. 267.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Hay).

Distribution: Armenia, W. Tibet, alibi ?

Cimicifuga L.

12 species. — N. temperate regions.

Cimicifuga sp.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Play).

Delphinium Tourn. ex L.

150 species. — N. temperate regions.

Delphinium uncinatum Hook. f. & Th. in FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 24,

Locality: N.W.: Khaisora (Stewart).

Distribution: Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, Salt Range, W. Himalaya.

Delphinium saniculaefolium Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 91.

Locality : Tank (J. Williams !).

Distribution: W. Punjab, from the Indus to the Jhelum, Afghanistan.

Delphinium Stocksianum Boiss. Diagn. ser. ii, 1, p. 12; FI. Or. i (1867) 77.

Rostrum, calyx necnon pedicellus pilosa. Filamenta basi multum dilatata,

in parte dilatata superior e ciliata.

Locality: N.W.: Razani, 5,000 ft.* in stony plain (F. 2190 !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution: Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

Delphinium sp.

Locality: Waziristan (Duthie’s Collect. 15673).

Aconitum Tourn. ex L.

110 species. — N. temperate regions.

Aconitum laeve Royle 111. Himal. (1834) 45, 56; Stapf Aconites of India

in Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta x (1905) 136, pi. 92. — A. Lycoctonum

Hook. f. & Th., FI. Ind. i, 5.5; Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i, 28.

Vernacular name: Kasturae (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Razmak, along stream, 6,500 ft. (F. 1629 ! 1747 1

1752 ! 1753 ! 1754 !).

Distribution: Himalaya, from Chitral to Kumaon, 5,000-12,000 ft.

Aconitum ? moschatum Stapf in Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta x (1905)

139.

Vernacular name: Malava-gru (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, 3,150 ft. (F. 399 !).

Distribution : Kashmir.

Aconitum violaceum Jacquem. Mss. Herb. Kew; Stapf in Ann. Roy. Bot.

Gard. Calcutta x (1905) 144.

Locality: S.W. : E. of RazmaP, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1888 !).— N. of

Piazmak, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F. 1849 !). — Razmak (F. 1854 !)'.

672 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

In bud: 25-4-30, 6-5-27 (Eazmak) ; 25-4-30 (Bazmak, Springs).

Distribution : Alpine zone of Himalaya, from Gilgit to Kumaon, 10,000-

15,000 ft.

Aconitum chasmanthum Stapf ex Holmes Mus. Bep. Pharm. Soc. Great

Brit. (1903) 2. — A. Napellus var. spicatum Du'thie in Bee. Bot. Surv. Ind. i,

no. 3, 37. — A. Napellus Stewart Panjab PI. 2 ( partim necnon Linn.). — A.

Napellus var. hians Goris in Bull. Sc. Pharmac. iii (1901) 112, fig. 28. — A.

hians Watt, in Agric. Ledger (1902) no. 3, 101 ( non Beichb.). — A. dissectum

Watt. l.c. 100 ( partim necnon D. Don).

Locality: >9. TP. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (P. 1552 !). — N. of Bazmak, below

Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & P. 1829 !).— Slope of Slmidar, 9,000-10,000 ft. (B.

& F. 1551 !). — E. of Bazmak, on hill, 6,800 ft. (B. & P. 1890 !).

In bud: 25-4-30 (Bazmak).

Distribution: Subalpine and alpine zone of the W. Himalaya, from Chitral

and Hazara to Kashmir, between 7,000 and 12,000 ft. (Stapf).

Aconitum sp.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak (P. 1857 ! 1930 !).

PiBONiA (Tourn.) L.

15 species. — Europe, Asia, W. N. -America.

*Paeonia albiflora Pall. PI. Boss, i, ii, 92, var. sinensis Steud.

Locality: $.TF. : Bazmak, in garden (B. & P. !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution: Siberia, China, Japan.

MENISPERMACEAE.

350 species. — Warm countries.

Cocculus DC.

15 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Cocculus pendulus Diels in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv (1910) 911. — C. Lcacba DC.

Syst. i (1818) 529; Hook. f. in PI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 102.— C. Cebatha DC.

Syst. i (1818) 527; Blatter FI. Arab. pt.( 1 (1919) 4.

Vernacular name: Jadhai, Parvatiae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W. : Dwa Warkha, abundant (Stewart). — Boya, 4,000 ft.,

found climbing on Acacia modesta (F. 1485 !). — E. of Miram Shah, 3,600 ft.

(B, & F. 566 !). — Spinwam (B. & P. 861 !).

S.W.: Above Khirgi in Zam valley N.-W. of tank, hanging abundantly

from the cliffs (Stewart). — Sararogha, 4,000 ft. (P. 41 ! 44 ! 85 ! 113 !).—

Jandola, along Tank Biver (F. 709 ! 714 !).— Sarwekai (F. 3996 !).

Tank : (J., Williams 7961 ! Herb. Dehra Dun 7160 !).

Flowers: April; 18-6-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Central and S. Africa, Abyssinia, Kordofan, Eritrea, Nubia,

Egypt, Cape Verde Islands, Arabia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Kuram Valley,

India.

BERBERIDACEAE.

200 species. — N. temperate regions, tropical mountains, S. America.

Berberis (Tourn.) L.

190 species. — N. hemisphere, S. America.

Berberis Lycium Boyle 111. 64.

Vernacular name: Sarghazie, Sakazie, Khadavanai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: On stony ground at foot of nearest hill E. of Spinwam,

2,800 ft. (B. & F. 761 ! 785 !).

5. TP. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1747 ! 2445 !). — Near Kaniguram, about

6,500 ft., also at 8,200 ft. (Stewart). — Wide shingle plateau of Tandachina

(Stewart). — On a spur of the Pre Ghal (Stewart).- — Between Makin and Baz-

mak (Stewart).

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

673

Flowers: April, May.

Distribution: Baluchistan, Outer N.-W. Himalaya from Kashmir to Garh-

wal, 3,000-8,000 ft.

Berberis vulgaris L. Sp. PI. (1753) 330* var. Aitchisoni in Herb. Delira

Dun. — Var. calliobotrys C. Iv. Schneider ( non Bienert, Aitchison, Koehne).

Locality: £.W. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15620 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 15-5-1895.

Distribution : Europe., temperate Asia.

Berberis umbellata Wall. Cat. (1828) no. 1475.

Vernacular name: Sakarzhai, Sarghazai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Below Dossali Port, side nala opening into the Ivhaisora

Biver (B. & F. 1176 ! 1177 !). — Below Bazmak Narai, 7,225 ft. (B. & F.

1198 !). — Bazani (F. 2760 !).

S.W.: Bazmak (F. 2802 ! 2813 ! 3072 !).

Flowers: 13-4-30 (Dossali); 30-4-27 (Bazmak).

Distribution: Temperate Himalaya, 4,000-9,000 ft.

Uses : Browsed by camels; fruit eaten by man.

Berberis pachyacantha Koehne Deutsche Dendrol. (1893) 170.

Vernacular name: Sagharzae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 684 !).

SHF.: N. of Bazmak towards Springs, stony ground, 6,750-7,300 ft.

(B. & F. 1784 !, F. 1843 !).

Flowers: 25-4-30 (Bazmak).

Distribution: N.-W. Himalaya, 6,000-12,000 ft.

Uses : Fruit eaten.

Berberis zabeliana C. K. Schneider in Bull. Herb. Boiss. ser. ii (1905)

667.

Locality: $.W. : Bazmak (F. 1832 !).

Flowers: 6-5-27 (Bazmak).

Distribution : Kashmir, Upper Kagan Valley.

Berberis chitria Lindl. in Bot. Beg. (1823) t. 729.

Vernacular name: Sakazie (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak (F. 3269 !).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, 6,000-9,000 ft.

Podophyllum L.

5 species. — N. temperate regions.

Podophyllum eitiodi Wall. Cat. 814.

Locality: /SMh. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15599 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 11-5-1895 (Pre Ghal).

PAPAVERACEAE.

600 species. — Chiefly N. temperate region.

Papaver Tourn. ex L.

110 species. — Europe, Asia, America, S. Africa, Australia.

Papaver pavoninum F. & M. Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. ix, 82 ( non Boiss.

& Buhse.) .

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel (B. & F. 1336a !).

S.W.: Wana, 4,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15630 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 16-4-30 (Datta Khel); 1-5-1895 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: Turkestan, Baluchistan, Afghanistan.

Papaver pavoninum F. & M. Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. ix (1838) 82, var.

incornutum Fedde in Engler’s Pflanzenr. iv, 104 (1909) 334.

Vernacular name: Kakavai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel village, along irrigation channel, 4,600 ft.

(B. & F. 1446 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution of var, ; N, Persia, W. Turkestan?

674 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Papaver pavoninum var. Freynei Fedde in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 104 (1909)

834.

Locality: N.W. : E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. & F.

1352 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 16-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: N. Persia.

Papaver rhoeas L. Sp. PI. (1758) 507 ; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 113.

Vernacular name: Zirdgul, Kolejhdarai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft., in fields (F. 2152 ! 2560 !).

S.W.: Eazmak, -6,500 ft. (F. 2300 !).

Flowers : April, May.

Fruit: May.

Distribution: Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Kash-

mir, Tibet.

Papaver dubium L. Sp. PI. (1753) in append. 1196.

Locality: S. W. (Stewart).

Distribution: Central Europe, Macaroesia, Mediterranean, Orient, Abyssi-

nia, N. Africa.

Papaver dubium L. Sp. PI. (1753) in append. 1196, var. laevigalum (M. B.)

Elkan ex Fedde in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 104 (1909) 318.

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient to N.-W. Himalaya.

Papaver Decaisnei Hochst. & Steud. in Schimp. PI. Arab. exs. (1835) no.

125 ex Boiss. in Ann. Sc. Nat. 2, ser. xvi (1845) 372.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Datta Kliel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. &

F. 1336 !). — Bed of Khunai Biver, above Dossali Fort, 5,050 ft. (B. & F.

1084 ! 1130 !).— Bazani (F. 2152 ! 2560 !)..— E. of Miram Shah, hills, 3,550 ft.

(B. & F. 544 !). — N. of Datta Khel, in shade of trees (B. & F. 588 fi

(SMF. : W. of Bazmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1713/ ! 1954 !).

Floioers & Fruit: 29-3-30 (Miram Shah); 12-4-30 (Dossali) ; 16-4-30 (Datta

Khel); 23-4-27 (Bazani); 24-4-30 (Bazmak).

Distribution : Mediterranean, Persia.

Papaver Decaisnei var. Dielsianum Fedde in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 104 (1909)

344.

Vernacular name: Pir khatel (Waziri).

Locality: N.tP. :• E. of Miram Shah Fort, hills, 3,600 ft. (B. & F. 581 !).

— Below Dossali Fort, left bank of Khaisora Biver (B. & F. 1147 !).

Flowers: 29-3-30 (Miram Shah); 13-4-30 (Dossali).

Distribution: Kuram Valley, Baluchistan.

Papaver hybridum D. Sp. PI. (1753) 506.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. &

F. 1353 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 16-4-30 (Datta Khel). '

Distribution: Central Europe, Mediterranean, Central Asia.

Papaver nudicaule L. Sp. PI. (1753) 507.

Nota : Tota planta glaberrima.

Vernacular name: Kakavai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel village, in cultivated ground, 4,600 ft.

(B. & F. 1445 !).

Flowers: 17-4-30.

Distribution: Arctic and N. part of subarctic region, subarctic Asia,

Central Asia, temperate E. Asia, Afghanistan, W. Himalaya, 16,000-17,000 ft.

Papaver somniferum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 508; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 116. —

P. opiiferum Forsk. FI. Aegypt. — Arab. (1775) cxiii, no. 336.

Vernacular name: Afin; Kolijhdarai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, cultivated (F. 300 ! 301 ! 311 ! 860 !). —

Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B, & F. 1430 ! 1492 !). — Bazani (F. 2148- !).

Flowers & Fruit: April.

Distribution: Generally cultivated -in the warm and temperate regions of

Europe, Asia and N, Africa,

THE FLORA OF WAZIRI ST Ati 675

Hypecotjm Tourn. ex L.

18 species. — Mediterranean, Central Asia.

Hypecoum procumbens L. Sp. PI. (1753) 181; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 124.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak (Stewart).

Distribution : Canaries, Mediterranean region, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Kuram

Valley, Baluchistan, Punjab.

Hypecoum pendulum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 124; Schenk Sp. PI. it. Aeg. Arab.

Syr. (1840) 45.

Vernacular name : Margaypal, Zirgulaki.

Locality : N.W. : Boya, 4,000 ft., along canal (F. 1030 ! 1158 !).— W. of

Datta Khel, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 610 ! 1334 !). — E. of Miram

Sliah, stony plain, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 505 ! 970 !). — N. of Dossali (B. & F.

1038 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-3-30 (Boya); 30-3-30 (Datta Khel); 9-4-30 (Miram

Shall); 10-4-30 (Dossali); 16-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: Mediterranean region, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Baluchistan,

Afghanistan, Turkestan.

Uses: Extract used as a cooling drink (F.). (

Hypecoum parviflorum Kar. & Kir. in Bull. Soc. natural. Moscou xv.. (1842)

141, no. 54.

V ernacular name : Kiaspotai.

Locality: Tank: Beyond Tank, on hill (J. Williams 9135 !).

Flowers: 12-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Soongaria, Desert of Syria?

Bcemeria Medic.

10 species. — Mediterranean to Afghanistan.

Roemeria hybrida (L.) DC. Syst. ii (1821) -92.

Locality: S.W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15726).

Flowers & Fruit: 26:4-1895 (Barwand).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient, Afghanistan.

Roemeria hybrida (L.) DC. var. eriocarpa DC. Syst. ii (1821) 93.

Locality: N.W.: Boya, cultivated fields, 3,550 ft. (F. 1096 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 5-4-27.

Distribution : Of type.

Roemeria dodecandra (Forsk) Stapf Ergebn. Polak. Exp. Pers. in Denkschr.

Akad Wien li (1886) 295. — R. orientalis Boiss. in Ann. Sc. nat. ser. 2, xvi

(1841) 374.

Locality: N.W.: Boya, right bank of Tochi River; on gravel, 3,550 ft.

(B. & F. '1673 :!).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-4-30 (Boya).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient, Baluchistan, Afghanistan.

Fumaria Tourn. ex L.

40 species. — Europe, Asia, Africa, chiefly Mediterranean.

Fumaria Vaillantii Loisel. in Desv. Journ. Bot. ii (1809) 358, et Notice (1810)

102; Pugsley in Journ. Linn. Soc. xliv (1919) 315.

■ Vernacular name: Chaniae (Waziri).

Locality: S. W. : Bazmak (F. 1660 ! 2285 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 7-5-27 (Bazmak).

Distribution: From Spain across Europe to the Altai Mts. and Indian

frontier, Kuram Valley, Afghanistan.

Fumaria asepala Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 135.

Vernacular name: Shavtora (Waziri).

Locality: ' N.W. : Near Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B & F. 1431 !). —

Miram Shah, on a grave-, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 25 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 19-3-30 (Miram Shall); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: Persia, Turkestan, Mesopotamia, Kurdistan,

676 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Fumaria Schrammii Pugsley in Journ. Linn. Soc. xliv (1919) 319. — F. Vail-

lantii var. Schrammii Haussk. in Flora lvi (1873) 444.

Locality : N.W.: Razani (F. 2062 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 20-4-27 (Razani).

Distribution: Kashmir, Chitral, Persia, Turkestan, Transcaucasus, Europe.

Fumaria parviflora Lam. Encycl. Meth. ii (1788) 567. — F. tenuifolia Roth.

Catal. fasc. ii (1800) 82.

Vernacular name: Lavang (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart).— Datta Khel (F. 1206 !

1210 ! B. & F. 1342 !).

S.W.: To Razmak (Stewart, F. 2245 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 25-3-27 (Datta Khel); 7-5-27 (Razmak).

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, Canaries, N. Africa, to Afghanistan

and Baluchistan.

Fumaria indica Pugsley in Journ. Linn. Soc. xliv (1919) 313. — F. Vail-

lantii var. indica Haussk. in Flora lvi (1873) 443. — F. parviflora subsp.

Vaillantii Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1872) 128.

Vernacular name: Levanai, Lavang, Margyapal, Sevae, Parparie (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel (F. 1208 ! 1250 !). — Boya (F. 562 !

1008 ! 1034 !). — Miram Shah, in plain, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 134 ! 640 !,

F. 490 !).

S.W. : Razmak (F. 2288 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 25-3-27 (Datta Khel); 8-4-27

(Boya); 7-5-27 (Razmak).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkestan,

Soongaria, Mongolia.

Uses : An extract of this plant is drunk for the purpose of cooling the

body and also applied externally for the same purpose.

CRUCIFERAE.

(The specimens collected by Blatter and Fernandez were kindly identified

by O. E. Schulz of Berlin.; see Fedde; Rep. xxxi (1933) 162-168.)

1,900 species. — Cosmopolitan, but chiefly N. temperate and especially

Mediterranean.

Nasturtium L.

50 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Nasturtium officinale R. Br. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, iv, 109.

Vernacular name: Thermera, Dalamira (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya Fort, bed of Tochi River, 3,550 ft. (B. & F.

91 !, F. 534 !).— Datta Khel, 4,600 ft. (F. 1266 ! 1310 ! 1326 !).

SHF.: Jandola, along Tank River, 2,270 ft. (F. 747 ! 751 ! 753 !

755 ! 767 ! 774 !). — Sarwekai, along stream of brackish water, 3,500 ft.

(F. 4156 ! 4160 ! 4161 ! 4395 !). — Wana, along stream, 4,500 ft. (F.

3621 !).

Flowers: 21-3-30 (Boya).

Distribution : Temperate regions of N. hemisphere.

Nasturtium officinale R. Br. var. microphylluni Boenningh.

Vernacular name: Dalamira (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel, 4,600 ft. (F. 1243 ! 1322 !).

S'. IF. : Jandola, along Tank River, 2,270 ft. (F. 762 ! 765 ! 792 !).

Uses : Eaten as greens and also cooked with meat.

Nasturtium sp.

Locality: S.W.: About Kaniguram (Stewart).

Arabis L.

220 species. — N. temperate and S. American.

*Arabis albida Stev. in Fisch. Cat. Hort. Gorenk. 51.

Vernacular name: Rock-Cress.

Locality: S. IF, ; Razmak, in garden (B. & F, I).

THE flora of WAzinisTAN 61 1

Flowers : April.

Distribution : Europe, Mediterranean, Orient.

Barbarea B. Br.

15 species. — N. temperate.

Barbarea vulgaris Br. Hort. Kew. ed. ‘2, iv, 109.

Locality : uSHF.: Near Kaniguram brook (Ste.wart).

Distribution : Temperate and subalpine Himalaya, 6,000-10,000 ft., Orient,

Europe, N. & S. Africa, Australia.

Notoceras E. Br.

2 species. — Mediterranean.

Notoceras canariense E. Br. Hort. Kew ed. 2, iv, 117.

Locality: N.W. : Shewa Post, bed of Yolam Eiver, 2,150 ft. (B. & E.

902 !). — W. of Spinwam Fort,, slopes of Chota Darweslita, gravel and boulders,

2,750-3,000 ft. (B. & F. 699a !). — W. of Spinwam Fort, stony plain, 2,650 ft.

(B. & F. 849 !). — Near Miram Shall Fort, bank and bed of Chasmai Eiver,

gravel and sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 254 ! 286 !). — E. of Miram Shah Fort,

stony plain, on sand, gravel and clay, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 158 ! 159 !). — Dwa

Warkha (Stewart).

Flowers : 23-3-30 (Chasmai) ; 2-4-30 (Chota Darweslita) ; 5-4-30 (Shewa

Post).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Afghanistan, N.-W. India, Arabia, Mediterra-

nean, Canaries.

Farsetia Tuna.

10 species. — E. Mediterranean.

Farsetia Hamiltonii Eoyle 111. Bot. Himal. (1839) 71.

Locality: N.W.: Spinwam Fort, bank of Ivaitu Eiver, on sand (B. & F.

753 !).

Flowers: 2-4-30 (Spinwam).

Distribution: Sind, Afghanistan, Arabia, Algeria.

Farsetia Jacquemontii Hook. f. &, Th. in Journ. Linn. Soc. v (1861) 148.

Locality: Tank: Pass of Zam near Tank (J. Williams 7767).

Flowers: 5-7-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: N. India, Sind, Baluchistan, Bajputana Desert, Afghanistan.

Uses : Much preferred by camels, less by goats, least by cattle (J. Williams).

Alyssum Tourn. ex L.

120 species. — Mediterranean, Europe.

Alyssum desertorum Stapf in Denkschr. Akad. Wien (1886) 33.

Locality: N.W.: Plain E. of Miram Shah, sandy clay, 3,150 ft. (B. & F.

153 I). — Near Miram Shah, bed of Chasmai Eiver, gravel and sand, 3,100

ft. (B. &. F. 252 !). — Gravel plain S. of Miram Shah, 3,150 ft. (B. & F.

478 I). — Near Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1449a I). — Boy a, bed

of Tochi Eiver,. 3,550 ft. (F. 542 !), in fields (F. 1043 ! 1118 ! 1121 ! 1123 1

1131 !).

Flowers: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 28-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Persia, Mesopotamia.

Alyssum marginatum Steud. Nom. ed. ii, i, 68.

Locality: N.W.: Gravel plain W. of Datta Khel Fort, 4,600 ft. (B. & F.

617 I).— Stony plain E. of Datta Khel, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1350 ! 1377 !).—

Boy a, open stony plain (F. 906 1 937 I).

Fruit: 30-3-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia.

Descurainia Webb. & Berth.

18 specigs.—N. temperate, S. America.

Descurainia Sophia (L.) Webb, ex Prantl in Engl. & Prantl Pflanzenf.

iii, 2 (1890) 192.

6?8 Journal, bombAy natural hist, society, Vol. xxxvt

Locality : N.W. : Miram Shall Fort, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 637 !).— E.

of Miram Shah Fort, stony plain (B. & F. 969 !). — Boya, cultivated ground

(F. 1125 !).— Datta Khel (F. 1205 ! 1223 !).

/S'. IF. : Wana, 4,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15656 !). — In the upper regions

(Stewart).

Flowers & Fruit : 31-3-30 (Miram Shah); 2-5-1895 (Wana).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Europe, Arctic region, Central Asia, Balu-

chistan, Afghanistan, temperate E. Asia.

Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb, forma exllls O. E. Schulz.

Locality: N.W.: Plain E. of Miram Shah Fort, in meadow, locally

abundant, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 141 !). — Datta Khel Fort, on gravel, 4,600 ft.

(B. & F. 1393 !).

Flowers: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Malcolmia B. Br.

35 species. — Mediterranean.

Malcolmia africana (L.) B. Br. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. iv, 121.

V ernacular name : Kurar.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, bed of Chasmai Biver, gravel

and sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 264 !). — N. of Miram Shah Fort, clayey bank

of channel 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 468 !). — Miram Shah village, bed of Tochi

Biver, gravel and sand, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 503 !). — Datta Khel (F. 1225 !

1228 ! 1230 ! 1323 !).

zS.lF. : N. of Bazmak Camp, towards Springs (F. 2281 !). — Zam valley,

above Kirge (Stewart).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Chasmai).

Distribution: Punjab, Kashmir, W. Tibet, up to 13,000 ft., Baluchistan,

Orient, Mediterranean.

Uses : Eaten by animals.

Malcolmia africana (L.) B. Br. var. trichocarpa Boiss. FI. Or. i, 223.

Vernacular name: Shingulaki (Waziri).

Locality: N.W. : Shewa Post, bed of Kuram Biver, 2,150 ft. (B. & F.

920 1). — Khajuri Fort, bed of Tochi Biver, gravel and sand, 2,250 ft. (B. &

F. 419 1). — E. of Miram Shah Fort, plain, gravel and sand, 3,150 ft. (B.

& F. 148 ! 160 ! 978 !). — Boya, fields and stony broken ground, 3,550 ft.

(F. 1151 !).

Flowers: 26-3-30 (Khajuri); 5-4-27 (Boya); 5-4-30 (Shewa Post).

Distribution : Persia.

Malcolmia strigosa Boiss. Ann. Sc. Nat. (1842) 70.

Vernacular name: Kazbira, Pevra.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, bed of Volam Biver, sand, 2,150 ft. (B. &

F. 892 1). — W. of Miram Shah Fort,; stony plain on gravel, 3,150 ft. (B. &

F. 1 1). — E. of Miram' Shah Fort, sand near water channel (B. & F. 125 !

136 ! 137 1 163 1 315 !). — Near Anghar village (Lieut. Meynell 753b !). —

Boya, open stony plain, 3,550 ft. (F. 902 !). — W. of Datta Khel Fort,

gravel plain, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 614 !).— E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony

plain (B. & F. 1351 !).— Datta Khel (F. 1195 ! 1196 ! 1197 ! 1198 !

1215 !).

Flowers: 19-3-30 (Miram Shah); 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 30-3-30 (Datta

Khel) ; 5-4-30 (Shewa Post).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Persia.

Malcolmia strigosa Boiss. var. macrantha O. E. Schulz. Notizbl. Bot G. u.

Mus. Berlin Dalhelm 9 (90) (1927) 1087.

Locality: 'N.W.-: Near Miram Shah Fort, right bank and bed of Chasmai

Biver, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 208 ! 214 ! 290 !). — E. of Miram Shah Fort , stony

plain, on sand, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 133 !). — Miram Shah, (F. 808 !). — Boya

Fort, right bank of Tochi Biver 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 105 !), open stony plain

(F. 905 !). — Datta Khel village, nala 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1474 !). — Datta Khel

(F. 1212 ! 1214 ! 1230 !).

S.W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15701 ! 15716 !).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Chasmai); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel); 27-4-1895 (Barwand).

Fruit: 23-3-30 (Chasmai); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel); 27-4-1895 (Barwand).

Distribution of type: Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia.

Tm flora of WAzinisTAN

67U

Malcolmia strigosa var. macrantha, forma incana 0. E. Schulz, l.c. 1088.

Locality: S.W.: Wana, 4,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15627 !).

Flowers: 1-5-1895 (Wana).

*Malcolmia maritima (L.) E. Br. Hort. Kew. ed. 2, iv, 121.

Trade name : Virginia Star.

Locality: N.W.: Mirani Shall, Officers’ garden, cultivated, 3,150 ft.

(B. & E. 627 1).

Flow ers : 31-3-30

Distribution : Mediterranean.

Alliaria Marsh, DC.

5 species. — Temperate Europe., Asia.

Alliaria officinalis Andrz. ap. Marsh. — Bieberst. El. Taur. — Cauc. iii (1819)

445.

Locality: S.W.: N. of Eazmak Camp, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. &

E. 1820 !). — E. of Eazmak, hillside, above 6,800 ft. (B. & E. 1911 !). — Eazmak

(F. 2316 !).

Flowers: 25-4-30 (Eazmak).

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, Orient, Central Asia.

Sisymbrium (Tourn.) L.

50 species. — N. temperate regions of the Old World.

Sisymbrium irio L. Sp. PI. (1753) 921.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, gravel, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 26 !). —

E. of Miram Shah Fort, sand near water, channel (B. & E. 126 ! 138 !). —

in the plains (Stewart).

Tank (J. Williams 7106 !).

Flowers: 19-3-30 (Miram Shah); 11-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Europe, N. Africa, Orient, Baluchistan,

Punjab, Eajputana Desert, China.

Sisymbrium irio L. forma minimum Pourret.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, clayey bank of irrigation channel,

3,150 ft. (B. & E. 450 !).— Miram Shah; Fort (B. & E. 524 !).

Flowers: 28-3-30 (Miram Shah village).

Sisymbrium irio L. var. dasycarpum O. E. Schulz.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Miram Shah Fort, hills, 3,600 ft. (B. & E.

582 !). — Miram Shah (E. 382 ! 522 !).

Flowers: 29-3-30 (E. of Miram Shah).

Arabidopsis Schur.

11 species. — Europe, W. Asia.

Arabidopsis campestris O. E. Schulz.

Locality: N.W.: Loargai Narai, 6,600 ft. (B. & E. 1306 ! 1314 !).

■SHE.: N. of Eazmak Camp, towards Springs, 6,750-7,300 ft. (B. & F.

1778 !). — E. of Eazmak Camp, grassy slope of hills (B. & E. 1915 ! 1958 !). —

Eazmak (F. 3149 1).

Flowers: 16-4-30 (Loargai Narai); 25-4-30 (Eazmak).

Arabidopsis Wallichii (Hook. f. & Th.) Busch in El. Cauc. crit. iii, 4

(1909) 457 in obs.

Locality: <S'.lTr. : N. of Eazmak Camp, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. &

E. 1857 !). — S.W. of Eazmak Camp, on hillside, 6,950 ft. (B. & E. 1945 !).

Flowers: 25-4-30 (Eazmak).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, Salt Eange, Afghanistan.

Coronopus Eupp. ex L.

20 species. — Subtropics, Europe.

Coronopus didymus (L.) Smith forma pilosus 0. E. Schulz.

Locality: N.W.: Plain E. of Miram Shah Fort, flat on sand near water,

080 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vot. XXXV I

3,150 ft. (B. & F. 140 !).— Miram Shall Fort, Officers’ garden, 3,150 ft. (B.

& F. 010 !).

Flowers: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 31-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Fruit : 22-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Bras sica (Tourn.) L.

85 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, Asia.

*Brassica campestris L. Sp. PI. (1753) 666.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, cultivated (B. & F. 489 !).

Flowers : 28-3-30.

Distribution : Cosmopolitan, cultivated.

*Brassica campestris L. subsp. Napus L.

Locality : Waziristan (Dutliie’s Collect. 15743).

Distribution : Cultivated throughout India.

*Brassica oleracea L. Sp. PI. (1753) 667.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, cultivated, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 646 !

647 ! 647a !).

Flowers: 31-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Cosmopolitan, cultivated.

Diplotaxis DC.

20 species. — Europe, Mediterranean.

Diplotaxis Griffithii Hook. f. & Th. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i, 388.

Vernacular name: Tarmerai, Katel (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, left bank of Volam Biver, 2,150 ft. (B.

& F. 868 !). — Spinwam, banks of Kaitu Biver (Lieut. Meynell 254a !). — E.

of Spinwam Fort, sandstone ridge, 2,800 ft. (B. & F. 779 !). — Spinwam Fort,

bed of Kaitu Biver, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 445 !). — Near Miram Shah, bed of

Chasmai Biver, on sand and gravel, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 249 !). — Miram Shah

village, bed of Tochi Biver, gravel and sand, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 496 !). — -

Anghar village, (Lieut. Meynell 753a !). — W. of Miram Shah Fort, on sand

in river-bed, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 2 !). — Hills E. of Miram Shah Fort, 3,550 ft.

(B. & F. 548 !). — Miram Shah (F. 396 ! 416 ! 809 !).

S.W.: Dargai Post, 3,790 ft. (F. 3781 !).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Chasmai); 27-3-30 (Spinwam); 3-4-30 (Spinwam); 5-4-30

(Shewa Post).

Distribution: Punjab, Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

Uses : Eaten as greens.

Eruca Tourn. ex Adans.

10 species. — ‘Mediterranean.

Eruca sativa Gars. Traite pi. anim. ii (1767) 166, t. 259.

Locality: N.W.: S. of Miram Shah Fort, stony plain, 3,150 ft. (B. &

F. 975 !).

Flowers : 9-4-30.

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, N. Africa, Orient, Brit. India, Tur-

kestan, China.

Eruca sativa Gars. var. eriocarpa (Boiss.) Post. FI. Syr. Palest. Sin.

(1883-96) 79.

Locality: N.W.: Datta Kliel village, in nala, 4,600 ft. (B; & F. 1503 1).

Flowers: 17-4-30 (Datta Kliel).

Douepia Camb.

1 species. — N.-W. India, Sind.

Douepia tortuosa Camb. in Jacq. Voy. Ind. iv, Bot. (1844) 18, t. 18.—

Moricandia tortuosa Hook. f. & Th. in Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Bot. v (1861)

172.

Locality : Tank (J. Williams 7768 I 7958 1).

Fruit : 23-6-1888.

THE FLOliA OF WAZlMsTAN

681

Distribution: N.-W. India, Sind.

Uses : Decoction of its flowers rubbed on for eczema (J. Williams).

Mokicandia DC.

10 species. — Mediterranean.

Moricandia sinaica Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 386.

Vernacular name: Leiloghul (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya Fort, bed of Tochi River, 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 90 !,

F. 1127 ! 1128 !).— Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15696 !).

Flowers: 21-3-30 (Boya); 30-4-1895 (Shakai).

Fruit: 30-4-1895 (Shakai).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Persia, Arabia, Egypt.

Lepidium L.

100 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Lepidium draba L. Sp. PI. 645. yA

Locality: S. W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15710 !). — Wana,

4,500 ft. (Dutliie’s Collect. 15663 !)•

Flowers & Fruit: 26-4-1895 (Barwand); 4-5-1895 (Wana).

Distribution: S. Europe, Orient, Afghanistan, Punjab, Baluchistan.

Uses : Eaten with bread ; said to possess antiscorbutic properties ; also

controls bleeding if used raw; used as stomachic and tonic (Herb. Dehra Dun).

Lepidium draba L. subsp. chalepense (L.) Thell.

Vernacular name: Baslika (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, in fields, 3,150 ft. (F. 832 !).

Lepidium draba L. subsp. chalepense (L.) Thell. var. typicum Thell. forma

glabratum Thell.

Locality: N.W.: Boya, fields, 3,150 ft. (F. 1095 !).

. S. W. : Razmak* gravel plain, common, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1745 1

1988 !).

Flowers: 24-4-30 (Razmak).

forma pubescens DC.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, bank of Chasmai River,

3.100 ft. (B. & F. 291 !). — Above Chasmai River* in fields (B. & F. 341 !). —

Stony plain E. of Miram Shah Fort (F. 492 !).— r-N. of Miram Shah Fort (B.

& F. 466 !).— Boya, 3,550 ft. (F. 566 ! 1027 ! 1173 !, B. & F. 75 !).— Datta

Ivhel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1211 ! 1213 1 1439 !).

S.W.: Slope of Shuidar, 7,000-9,000 ft. (B. & F. 1569 !).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Chasmai); 28-3-30 (Miram Shah); 17-4-30 (Datta Kliel).

forma canescens DC.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort (B. & F. 235 I).

Flowers: 23-3-30 (Miram Shah).

var. repens (Schrenk) Thell.

Locality: iSMF. : N. of Razmak, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F.

1819 !, F. 1588 ! 1699 ! 2368 ! 2780 ! 3089 ! 3094 !).— Sararoglia, 4,000 ft.

(F. 83 !). ...

Flowers: 25-4-30 (Razmak). ’ ' ’ ' " ,

*Lepidiuui sativum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 899.

Vernacular name: Halayo. '• ■

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 192 !).

Tank (J. Williams 7101 !).

Flowers: 28-3-30 (Miram Shah); 15-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution : Cultivated everywhere.

Uses: Used medicinally.

Thlaspi (Tourn.) L.

60 species. — N. temperate regions.

Thlaspi alpestre L. Sp. PI. ed. ii, 903. — T. Griffithianum Boiss. FI. Or.

i (1867) 329.

682 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HlST . SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

Locality: . /SHF.: Pie Glial (Dutliie’s Collect. 15609 !).

Flowers : 17-5-1895 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: Afghanistan, temperate and subalpine Himalaya, Alps of

Europe, Asia, America, Andes.

Thlaspi arvense L. Sp. PI. 641.

Locality: $.1F.: Razmak (Stewart).

Distribution: Throughout the temperate and subalpine Himalaya, Asia,

Europe.

Thlaspi cochleariforme DC. Syst. ii, 381.

Locality: $.17. : N. of Razmak Camp, slopes of Shuidar, 8,000-9,000 ft.

OF. 1617 !).

Flowers : 8-5-27.

Thlaspi praecox Wulfen. in Jacq. Coll, ii, 121, t. 9.

Locality: S.W.: Slope of Shuidar, 9,000-10,900 ft. (B. & F. 1520 l

1521 I).

Flowers : 18-4-30.

Distribution : Mediterranean.

Iberis Dill, ex E.

30 species. — Europe, Asia.

*Iberis amara L. Sp. PI. (1753) 649.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, cultivated, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 524 !).

Flowers : 28-3-30.

Neslia Desv.

1 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, N. Asia.

Neslia paniculata Desv. Journ. iii, 162. — Vogelia j)aniculata (L.) Hornem.

Hort. Hafn. ii, 594.

Locality: N.W.: Razani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2129 l 2155 !) ; Datta Khel vil-

lage, nala, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1499 !, F. 1226 !).

Tank (J. Williams in Herb. Dehra Dun).

Distribution : Punjab-Himalaya, Kashmir, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Per-

sia, W. Asia, temperate Europe.

Euclidium R. Br.

1 species.— -E. Mediterranean.

Euclidium syriacum (L.) R. Br, in Hort. Kew. ed. 2, iv, 74.

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (F. 1234 !).

Distribution: Kashmir, Punjab, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Soongaria, west-

wards to Central Europe.

Crambe Tourn. ex L.

20 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, Asia, Polynesia, Patagonia.

Crambe cordi folia Steven in Mem. Soc. nat. Mosc. iii (1812) 267, var

kotschyana (Boiss.) O. E. Schulz, in Engler Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919) 236.

Vernacular name: Navgra (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Shuidar, 9,000-10,000 ft. (F. 1595 !).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Central Asia.

Raphanus (Tourn.) L.

10 species. — Mediterranean, Europe, Java.

*Raphanus sativus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 935.

Vernacular name: Radish.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, cultivated,

490 !).

Flowers : 28-3-30.

Distribution: Old World, temperate regions.

3,100

ft.

(B. &

THE FLORA OF WAZinlST an

683

Goldbachia DC.

2 species. — N. temperate regions of Old World and Yunnan.

Goldbachia laevigata DC. Syst. ii (1821) 577. — G. tetragona Led. Ind. Sem.

li. Petrop. (1822) 9. — G. torulosa DC. Syst. ii, 577.

Locality : N.W.: Razani (Stewart).

Distribution: Kashmir, 5,000 ft., Punjab, westwards to S. Russia.

Chorispora R. Br.

12 species. — E. Mediterranean, Central Asia.

Chorispora tenella DC. Syst. ii, 435.

Locality : N.W.: Plain N. of Boya Port towards Tochi on sand, 3,550 ft.

(B. & E. 77 ! 115 !). — On cultivated ground (F. 1169 !). — 4 miles from

Datta Khel Fort, wayside under shade of trees (B. & F. 596 !). — Datta Khel

village, clayey bank of irrigation channel, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1498a !).— Datta

Khel (F. 1209 ! 1231 !).

S.W.: Slopes of Shuidar, 7,000-9,000 ft. (B. & F. 1584).

Floivers: 21-3-30 (Boya); 30-3-30 (Datta Khel); 18-4-30 (Shuidar).

Distribution: Asia Minor, Orient, Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

CAPPARIDACEAE,

450 species. — Tropical and warm temperate regions.

Cleome L.

70 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Cleome papillosa Steud. Nomenicl. ed. 2, i (1840) 382; Boiss. FI. Or. i

(1867) 413. — C. linearis Stocks ex T. Anders, in Journ. Linn. Soc. v, Suppl.

i (1860) 3.

Locality: N.W.: Lower regions (Stewart).

Distributioii: Kordofan, Nubia, Abyssinia, Somaliland, Eritre^, extending

through Arabia to Baluchistan, Sind, Rajputana.

Cleome brachycarpa Vahl. ex DC. i (1824) 240; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 412.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, bank of Yolam River (B. & F. 881 1

910 !). — E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone ridge, 2,800 ft. (B. & F. 805, !).

/SHU. : Razmak, stony ground, 6,500 ft. (F. 1532 ! 1538 !).

Flowers: 3-4-30 (Spinwam); 5-4-30 (Shewa Post) ; June.

Fruit : 5-4-30 (Shewa Post) ; June.

Distribution: Kordofan, Abyssinia, Nubia, Somaliland, Socotra, Central &

S. Arabia, Baluchistan, Punjab, Sind.

Cleome sp.

Poor material, very likely C. simplicifolia Hook. f. &' Th.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, 3,000 ft. (F. 393 I).

Capparis (Tourn.) L.

200 species. — Warm regions.

Capparis decidua Edgew. in Journ. Linn. Soc. v (1862) 184; Pax in Engl.

& Prantl. Pflanzenf. iii, pt. 2, 230, 231. — Sodada decidua Forsk. FI. Aeg.—

Arab. (1775) 81.— C. aphylla Roth. Nov. PI. Sp. (1821) 238.— C. sodada R. Br.

in Desch. Trav. 255; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 419.

Vernacular name: Kirra (Pu.) ; Karil (Hind.).

Locality: N.W.: Spinwam (Stewart). — Shewa Post, bed of Kuram River

(B. & F. 948 !).

/S'. PH. : Zam Yalley N.-W. of Tank (Stewart). — Jandola, open stony

plain and nalas, 2,200 ft. (F. 691 ! 697 !. 4101 ! 4102 ! 4125 !).— Sarwekai,

stony ground, 3,200 ft., not very common (F. 3955 ! 3956 !). — Above Khirgi

(Stewart). — Palosina (Stewart).

Flowers: April; 5-4-30 (Shewa Post); May.

Fruit: April, May.

Distribution: Upper Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia, Darfur, Somaliland, Soco-

tra, Central and S. Arabia, Persia, Baluchistan, Punjab, Sind, Deccan,

Gujarat to Tuticorin.

684 journal, Bombay natural i-iisT. society, voi. xXxvt

Capparis spinosa L. Sp. PL (1753) 503; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 120.

Vernacular name : Katmavae (Waziri); Kamarkuniae (Bettani).

Locality : N.IV. : -Dwa Warkha (Stewart). — Ivhajuri Post, left bank of

Sua Algad, 2,400 ft. (B. & F. 379 !). — Mirani Shall, overhanging rocks (F.

978 ! 979 ! 980 !).

S'. IF. : Near Palosina (Stewart). — Sarwekai, along stony slopes of Tank

River 3,300 ft. (F. 3653 ! 3995 !). — Jandola (F. 252 !).

In bud: 26-3-30 (Kliajuri Tost).

Flowers: April 1860 (Palosina).

Distribution: Mediterranean region, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghan-

istan, Baluchistan, Ivuram Valley, Punjab, Australia.

Capparis galeata Fres. in Mus. Senckenb. ii, 111. — C. spinosa var. galeata

Hook. f. & Tli. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1875) 173.

Vernacular name: Buthiuane (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Ivhajuri Post, left bank of Sua Algad, 2,450 ft. (B. &

F. 378 !). — E. of Spinwam Fort, on hill (B. & F. 766 !).

S.W.: Jandola, along Tank River (F. 743 !).

In bud : 3-4-30 (Spinwam).

Distribution: Persian Baluchistan, Arabia, E. Africa near the sea.

RESEDACEAE.

60 species. — Chiefly Mediterranean, also in Europe,, Asia, S. Africa, Cali-

fornia.

Reseda Toiirn, ex L.

55 species. — Mediterranean, Europe.

Reseda bracteata Boiss. Diagn. 1, vi, 22, FI. Or. i (1867). 433.

Locality: <SMF. : Dargai Post, on slopes of hills (F. 3729 i 3730 ! 3734 !

3748 ! 3769 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 22-6-27 (Dargai Post).

Distribution: Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

Reseda pruinosa Del. 111. FI, d’Eg. (1813) 15; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 433.

Locality: N.W.: Kliajuri Each, 2,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15739 !).

S.W. : Dargai Post, hillsides (F. 4069 ! 4083 !). — Sarwekai, hillsides,

4,000 ft. (F. 3931 ! 3932 ! 3941 !).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams !).

Flowers & Fruit: 22-5-1895; June; 7-6-27 (Sarwekai); 22-6-27 (Dargai Post).

Distribution: Tropical Africa, Egypt, Arabia, Punjab, Sind.

Reseda Auc heri Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, i (1842), 5, FI. Or. i (1867) 434.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah village, bed of Tochi River, on gravel

and sand (B. & F. 476 ! 494 !).

S.W.: Sarwekai, hillsides, 3,200 ft. (F. 3925 ! 3929 ! 3930 ! 3949 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 28-3-30 (Miram Shah); June; 7-6-27 (Sarwekai).

Distribution: Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan,

Sind.

Reseda? Bungei Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 433.

Note. — Boissier says of Reseda Bungei that it can be distinguished ‘ ab

omnibus speciebus Orientalibus agminis petalis tanturn 2-3 partitisj. It is

for this reason that we put our specimen under Boissier ’s species, but we

cannot be quite sure as we have not seen the fruit.

Locality: <8. IF. : Tenai Post, on stony ground, 3,200 ft. (F. 4058 !).

Flowers: 21-6-27 (Tenai Post).

Distribution: Persia.

*Reseda odorata L. Sp. PI. (1753) 646.

Vernacular name: Mignonette.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, in garden (B. & F. 628 !).

Flowers: March, April (Miram Shah).

Distribution : Origin unknown. Cultivated everywhere.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

685

Reseda sp.

Vernacular name: Makdanai (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Eazmak, in dry torrent beds and slopes, 6,500 ft. (F.

1987 ! 2004 !).

Oligomeris Cambess.

5 species. — Africa, India. S.-W. United States.

Oligomeris sutulata Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 435; Blatter FI. Arab. pt. i

(1919) 48. — Reseda subulata Del. 111. FI. d’Eg. no. 464. — Oligomeris

glaucescens Camb. in Jacq. Yoy. Ind. iv, 24, t. 25.

Vernacular name : Hurmly.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewart). — Near Miram Shah, bed of Chasmai

Biver, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 311 !). — Khajuri Post, sandy clay (B. & F. 423 !).

Tank (J. Williams 7112 ! 7197 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-3-30 (Miram Shah); 5-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: N. Africa, Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Sind,

Western N. America.

VIOLACEAE.

300 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Viola Tourn. ex L.

250 species. — Cosmopolitan, chiefly N. temperate.

Viola serpens Wall, in Boxb. FI. Ind. Ed. Wall, ii, 449.

Vernacular name: Khojhakai (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 3151 !). — Pre Gfhal (Duthie’s

Collect. 15797 !, J. Williams 7773 !).

Flowers: 16-5-1895 and 2-8-1888 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: Kuram Valley, Punjab, throughout the temperate Himalaya,

Ivhasia Hills, Nilgiris, Ceylon^ Java, China.

Viola sylvatica Fries Mant. iv, 121; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 459.

Vernacular name: Yuvrie (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2923 ! 2926 !).

S.TF. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1623 ! 1800 ! 3130 !).

Flowers : April, May.

Distribution: All over Europe, Transcaucasus, Persia, N. Asia.

Viola canina L. Sp. PI. 935; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 459.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2616 1 2922 !).

S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1579 !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution: All over Europe, Caucasus, Siberia.

Viola oblonga Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 200.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 2017 ! 1550 ! 2332 !).

Flowers & Fruit : April.

Distribution : Endemic.

*Viola tricolor L. Sp. PI. 935.

Vernacular name: Pansy, Heartsease.

Locality: S.W.: Bazmak, in garden (B. & F. !)

Flowers: April.

Distribution : Europe.

Viola sp.

Locality: SAW. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 3202 !).

POLYGALACEAE.

700 species. — -Cosmopolitan, except New Zealand, Polynesia and Arctic Zone.

Polygala (Tourn.) L.

475 species. — Distribution of family.

Polygala persicariaefolia DC. Prodr. i (1824) 326. \

Vernacular name: Khotjakai (Waziri),

686 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoL XXXFZ

Locality : <SMF. : Eazmak (F. 3118 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 5-5-27 (Eazmak).

Distribution : India , temperate and subtropical Himalaya, 5,000-9,000 ft.,

Yunnan, Siam, Philippines, New Guinea, Australia, tropical Africa.

Polygala Hoiienackeriana F., & M.. Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. iv, 42.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, 3,000 ft. (F. 396 ! 408 ! 411 ! 414 !). —

On gravel of left bank of Volam Eiver below Shewa Post (B. & F. 880 !). —

Loargai Narai (B. & F. 1327 !). — Dossali Fort stony plain, 4,900 ft. (B. &

F. 985 1 1281 !). — Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 648 1

748 !).

S.W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15703 !).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams !).

Flowers: April (Miram Shah, Barwand); 16-4-30 (Loargai); Macy (Tank).

Fruit: April, 5-4-30 (Shewa Post); 16-4-30 (Loargai).

Distribution: Persia, Afghanistan, Caucasus, Kuram Valley, Baluchistan,

Punjab.

Polygala sibirica L. Sp. PI. 702. — P. elegans Wall. Cat. 4186.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15600 !). — Near Kaniguram

brook (Stewart).

Flowers: 17-5-1895 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: Afghanistan, tropical and subtropical Himalaya, Khasia

Hills, Nilgiris, Ceylon, China, Japan, Siberia.

PORTULACACEAE.

225 species. — Cosmopolitan, but especially American.

PORTULACA L.

20 species. — Tropical, and subtropical.

Portulaca quadrifida L. Mant. (1767) 73.

Vernacular name: Zhinai (Waziri); Perkhadai (Bettani).

Locality: N.W.: On slope of hills E. of Miram Shah Fort, 3,600 ft. (B.

& F. 568a ! 571 !).— In bed of Volam Eiver at Shewa Post (B. & F. 889 !). —

On limestone hill N. of Spinwam Fort, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 811 !). — E. of Spin-

wam Fort in sandstone; nala (B. & F. 671 !).

S.1F. : Palosina (Stewart). — Jandola (F. 275 !), W. of Fort, along Tank

Eiver (F. 739 !).

Flowers: April 1860 (Palosina).

Distribution : Tropical Asia and Africa.

JAMARICACEAE.

100 species.— Temperate and subtropical. Desert, shore and steppe plants.

Tamarix L.

65 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, Asia.

Tamarix aphylla Lanza in Boll. Orto. Bat. Pal. viii (1909) 82.— T. arti-

culata Vahl. Symb. ii (1791) 48, t. 32. — Thuya aphylla L. Cent. PI. i, 32.

Vernacular name: Khugal (Williams).

Locality: N.W.: Boya, bed of Tochi Eiver, 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 102 !). —

Miram Shah Fort, planted in avenue, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 750a !). — Miram Shah

village, bed of Tochi Eiver, gravel and sand (B. & F. 497 !). — Miram

Shah, bed of Chasmai Eiver, gravel and sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 255 !). —

Khajuri Post, bed of Tochi Eiver, 2,250 ft. (B. & F. 421 !). — E. of Spinwam

Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 658 1). — Shewa Post, bed of Volam

Eiver (B. & F. 867 !).

$.TF. : Tenai Post, along stream (F. 2820 !).. — Sararoglia, along Tank

Eiver (F. 230 ! 234 !). — Jandola, along Tank Eiver (F. 698 !).

Tank (J. Williams 7778 !).

Distribution: Sind, Baluchistan, Cuteh, Mt. Abu, Punjab, Arabia, Algeria,

S. Africa.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN ’

687

Tamarix dioica Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 22.

Vernacular name: Kliwa (Pushtu); Lai, Pilclii (Punjabi); Jhau (Hind.);

Gkuz (Pers.).

Locality : S.W.: Sararogha (F. 219 !), along shingle and sandy bed of

Tank Biver (F. 230a !). — Dargai Post (F. 3745 1).

Tank : Common as jungle (Stewart).

Floioers : 22-6-27 (Dargai).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Sind, Gujarat, Assam, Burma.

Tamarix Troupii Hole Ind. For. xlv, 247.

Locality: N.W.: Khajuri Post, bAd of Tochi Biver (B. & F. 417 !).

8.W.: Dargai Post, marsh (F. 3739 ! 3774 !).

Distribution: Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab, United Provinces.

Uses : Browsed by animals.

Tamarix strida Boiss. Diag. ser. 2, fasc. 2 (1856) 57.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, torrent bed, forms extensive and almost

pure formations (B. & F. 956 !).

S.W.: From Tenai to Spin, along stream (F. 3822 ! 4013 ! 4016 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-6-27 (Tenai to Spin).

Distribution: Sind, Baluchistan.

(To be continued).

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN.

By Sunder Lai Hora, d. sc., f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b.,

Assistant Superintendent , Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

(With a map, a plate and 2 text-figures).

(Published with permission of Director, Zoological Survey of India.)

CONTENTS

. -I. PAGE

Introduction ... ... H ... ... N ... 688

Physical Features of Afghanistan ... ... ... 689

Historical Sketch ... ... ... ... 690

Description of the Collection ... ... ... 596

A SMALL COLLECTION OF FISH FROM THE PAGHMAN RIVER ... ... 696

Glyptosternnm reticulaium McClelland ... ... ... 697

Ncmachilus griff ithii Gunther ... ... ... 697

Oreinus sinuatus var. griff ithii McClelland ... ... 700

A NOTE ON A SPECIES OF TROUT FROM THE HlNDU IvUSH ... ... 700

Addendum ... ... ... ... ... 705

Introduction.

With the exception of inadequate and highly confusing descrip-

tions of certain species collected by Griffith and reported by

McClelland1 in 1842, very little is known about the ichthyology

of Afghanistan. It is a matter of great pleasure, therefore, to be

in a position to report, after a lapse of about 90 years, on a

collection of fishes from this region. This happy result is due to

the persistent efforts of Mr. S. H. Prater, Curator of the Bombay

Natural History Society, who, at my suggestion, interested the

members of the British Embassy at the Court of Afghanistan

to make a collection of fish in the Kabul River and the adjoining

provinces. In 1931, a specimen of the trout, ‘Salmo orientalis

McClelland’, was received from Sir Richard Maconacliie, and in

September 1932 the Bombay Natural History Society received

a fine lot of four specimens collected at Paghman in the Paghman

River by the Military Attache, British Legation, Kabul. The

interest of these collections lies in the fact that they enable us

to understand the systematic position and the specific limits of

certain fish described by McClelland. Griffith made extensive

collections and it is not likely, therefore, that many new forms

will be discovered in Afghanistan, especially in the regions

traversed by him. Unfortunately, a part of Lis collection was

either lost or badly damaged in transit, and, consequently, the

material in McClelland’s hands was not very trustworthy and a

number of new species were described from drawings only. It is

to be regretted that McClelland’s reproductions of these illus-

trations are very poor, and that the whereabouts of the originals is

1 McClelland, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist., IT, pp. 575-586 (1842).

jourii., ±somDay wat. Hist.

Map of Afghanistan and the neighbouring country showing the position of the

various places, rivers and mountains referred to in the text. Modified

from the map in the Imperial Gazetteer of India , v, p. 64 (1908).

Note. — Broken line indicates the boundary of Afghanistan.

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN

G80

not known. Since Griffith’s time the ichthyology of Central Asia

has received considerable attention, and the names given by

McClelland to Afghanistan fishes are being used for species known

from widely separated localities. A very wide interpretation is

being given to McClelland’s species in view of the fact that, in

most cases, his descriptions and figures have nothing specific about

them, and that they are equally applicable to a number of species.

The five specimens of fish received from Afghanistan have helped

to clear up highly controversial points regarding the taxonomy

and provenance of certain genera and species, and it is confidently

to be hoped that further collections from Afghanistan will be

made available before long for the proper understanding of the

ichthyology of the country. I take this opportunity to extend

my warmest thanks to all those who have put me in a position to

report on the fish of Afghanistan, and to direct the attention of

likely collectors to the nature of the material to be looked for and

the localities that should be thoroughly investigated.

Physical Features of Afghanistan.

‘Afghanistan is a long, oval-sliaped country, stretching through

700 miles, narrowing to a point on the north-east, where an arm

is extended outwards to the Pamirs. Bight across it, from west

to east (but curving upwards to touch this extended arm at its

eastern extremity), is a band of mountains, which separates the

basin of the Oxus on the north from that of the Indus and the

Helmand on the south, but which still leaves space for a river

(the Hari Bud, or Biver of Herat) to form a basin of its own on

the north-west.’1 Afghanistan lies between 29°23’ and 38°31’ N.

and 60° 45’ and 72 °0’ E., with a long narrow strip extending to

74°55’E.; and its total area is estimated to be 246,000 square miles.

There are three main river basins in Afghanistan : namely,

those of the Oxus, the Helmand, and the Kabul. ‘With the Oxus

basin may be included those of the Murghab and the Hari Bud,

though neither of these rivers finds its way to the Oxus, both being

lost in the great desert lying to the north-west of Afghanistan,

the former near Merv and the latter in the Tejend Oasis.’2

‘The Oxus basin occupies the whole breadth of Northern

Afghanistan from east to west. With its affluents it drains the

Western Pamirs; and its southern watershed is defined by the

Hindu Kush; the Koh-i-Baba, and the Band-i-Baian, which

separate it from the basins of the Kabul and Helmand.’ The

Oxus empties itself in the Aral Sea. ‘The Helmand ( Etymander )

river with its tributaries, drains all the south-western portion of

Afghanistan. It rises in the Western slopes of the Paghman

range, between Kabul and Bamian, and flows in a south-westerly

direction through the Hazarajat, being joined about 35 miles south'

west of Girishk by three great tributaries, the Arghandab, the

Tarnak, and the Arghastan. . . . The basin of Kabul river is

1 Holdich, Society of Arts Journal of March 11, 1904.

2 Clarke, Imperial Gazetteer of India, V, p. 29 (1908).

690 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

divided from that of Helmand by the Paghman range, an offshoot

of the Hindu Kush. This river rises about 40 miles west of Kabul

city, near the Unai pass, and flows in a general easterly direction

to Dakka, where it turns northwards, forming a loop enclosing

much of the Mohmand country. It then turns east and south again,

and eventually joins the Indus at Attock’.

Historical Sketch.

In the years 1836-88, Lieut. -Col. Sir Alexander Burnes was

sent on a mission to Kabul, and in the party that accompanied

him Hr. P. B. Lord acted as Naturalist in addition to his other

duties. In sending the mission, ‘The objects of Government were

to work out its policy of opening the river Indus to commerce,

and establishing on its banks, and in the countries beyond it,

such relations as should contribute to the desired end.’1 In pur-

suance of this policy the mission went all the way up by- river as

far as Attock, thence to Peshawar and from there over the Kliyber

Pass to Kabul. During this journey drawings of animals were made

and about ‘200 specimens of natural history’ were collected. The

drawings with a letterpress by Dr. Lord and the specimens were

presented by the Supreme Government to the Asiatic Society of

Bengal in Sej^tember 1838, and it was once the intention of the

-Society to publish coloured lithographed copies of these zoological

sketches. I have indicated elsewhere2 how, after spending nearly

six thousand rupees, the Society gave up its intention in 1847 by

not issuing even the printed copies of these illustrations. A very

careful search of the rooms of the Society has not revealed the

existence of any published copies of this work.

In Burnes’ collection of drawings there are illustrations of 32

species of fish, but only two of these are stated to have been

collected in the Kabul Biver. Of these two, one is said to be

common to ‘Biver of Cabool and Attock’. Unfortunately the pre-

cise locality of these two species is not indicated, though in

nearly all other cases the names of towns are mentioned. It

is not certain, therefore, whether any fish was collected in Afghani-

stan or not, as the species stated to have been collected in the

Kabul Biver may have been obtained outside the geographical

limits of that country. As many as 29 species of fish figured

in this collection are those that are commonly found in the plains

of India, while Oreinus sinuatus, (probably 0. plagiost omus, pi.

vi MS), Schizothorax Jabiatus (pi. vii MS) and Schizothorax

esocinus (pi. vii Ms) are typically Central Asiatic forms, which

are known to occur in the Kabul Biver and its tributaries much

higher up. It is interesting to note that both the species of

Schizothorax are said to have been found at Attock. According

1 Burnes, Cabool (London: 1842).

2 Hora, Journ, An, Soc , Bengal (n.s.), xxii, pp. 117-125 (1926),

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN

691

to Burnes the rivers of Afghanistan are ‘well stored with fish’ and

Ghoorbund, Purwan and Punj sheer, are rapid brooks with stony

beds. In winter they can be easily forded, while in spring and

summer they are much swollen. These streams unite and 20

miles from Kabul near Tungi Gharoi there is a waterfall. ‘It is

one of the great amusements of the people to ensnare the fish as

they leap up this cascade.’1 Afghans, as a rule, are not good

collectors of zoological specimens, and fish, of which their rivers

are said to be heavily stocked, does not form an important) article

of their diet.

The ichthyology of Afghanistan was made known for the first

time through the researches of Mr, William Griffith, who seems

to have possessed a considerable knowledge of the freshwater

fishes of India. Griffith entered Afghanistan through the Bolan

pass and studied the fishes of the Plelmand system, and from there

he went to the Oxus system on the northern slope of the Hindu

Kush. The fishes of the Kabul Biver were next investigated and

then on his way back to India he studied the fish of the streams

in the Kliyber Pass. It is thus seen that Griffith made collections

in all the three principal river systems of Afghanistan. Griffith’s

own remarks on these collections are included in the introductory

part of McClelland’s account, and they give a very good general

idea of the fish-fauna of Afghanistan. A perusal of this account

leaves an impression that there are many species of fish, which

were observed by Griffith but have not been reported by McClel-

land probably through lack of material. In all McClelland records

20 species of fish from Afghanistan, of which 5 repre-

sent the Indian element in the fauna, the remaining 15 being

typically Central Asiatic. Of these 15 species, 2 occur in the Oxus

basin, 5 in the Helmand basin and as many as 11 in the Kabul

basin. These species may be listed below, as follows: —

Oxus System.

1. Bacoma gobiodies McClell. Bamean -River.

2. Salmo orientalis McClell. Northern declivities of the Hin-

du Kush, and Bamean River.

Helmand System.

1. Bacoma brevis McClell.

2. Schizothorax asocinus Heck.

8. Schizothorax intermedium Me-

dell.

4. Schizothorax ritchieana Mc-

Clell.

5. Oreinus ylagiostomus Heck.

Helmand River.

Tributaries of the Helmand and

Kabul rivers.

Tarnak River and Kabul River at

Jalalabad.

A variety with the small dorsal

spine in the Helmand River.

Helmand River at Girdun He-

war.

Burnes, Cab'ool, p. 154 (London; 1842),

G9-2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Kabul System.

a. Central Asiatic forms.

1. Racoma chrysochlora Mc-

Clell.

2. Racoma nob ills McClell,

3. Racoma labiatus McClell.

4. Schizothorax esocinus Mc-

Clell.

5. Schizothorax intermedins

McClell.

6. Schizothorax edeniana Mc-

Clell.

7. Schizothorax ritchieana

McClell.

8. Schizothorax barbatus Mc-

Clell.

9. Oreinus maculatus Mc-

Clell.

10. Oreinus griffithii McClell.

11. Glyptosternum reticula-

tum McClell.

‘Lolpore’.

?

Pashat, Kunar River.

Tributaries of the Helmand and

the Kabul rivers.

Kabul Kiver at Jalalabad and

Tarnak Kiver.

Ivoti-i-Ashraf, Mydan Valley and

Sir-i-Chushmah.

Afghanistan. A variety in the

Helmand.

Jalalabad.

Gandamak, Khyber Pass, Hima-

laya.

Pashat, Kunar Kiver.

Sir-i-Chushmah, Kabul Kiver.

b. Species allied to Indian fauna.

1. Girrhinus burnesiana Mc-

Clell.

2- Opsarus bicirratus Mc-

Clell.

3. Ophiocephalus montanus

McClell.

4. Silurus indicus McClell.

5. Pimelodus anisurus Mc-

Clell.

Jalalabad.

Jalalabad, Khyber Pass.

‘Baisoot, Jalalabad, Himalaya

and Sadoo.’

‘Loodianah, the Punjab, and the

Cabool river at Jalalabad/

‘Loodianah and Cabool river at

Jalalabad. ’

In the above list* the names given by McClelland to the various

species are used, and till we become more familiar with the Afgha-

nistan fishes it may he advisable to refer to the species by these

names. The above list shows that there are 3 species that are

common to the Kabul and the Helmand river systems. The

sources of these rivers are not very far apart, and it is not un-

likely, therefore, that several other common species may be dis-

covered later on. The second point of interest is that Jalalabad

forms the furthest limit to the north-west to which the species of

India extend. We have already seen from Burnes’ collection

of drawings that Attoek is the limit to which the Central

Asiatic species of the Kabul River extend downwards to the

south-east,

Visit of Afghanistan

603

In 1880, Day1 2 wrote an article on the ‘Fishes of Afghanistan’,

but a perusal of the paper shows that his material was collected

in the highland of Kelat and Quetta, and from Gwadur on the

Mekran coast. These places once formed part of Afghanistan, but

are now included in Baluchistan. Day’s account applies to the

fish of ‘a range of hills stretching from, the valley of the Indus,

their utmost southern point being near Kurracliee; and in their

course they divide Sind from Baluchistan.’ As is to be expected,

the major portion of the fish-fauna of this tract is similar to the

Indian fauna. The genus Scaphiodon is characteristic of Balu-

chistan, though one species is found in the Salt Range,* Punjab, and

three others in the Nilgiris in South India.3 The fauna of Balu-

chistan, on the whole, has little affinity with the Central Asiatic

fauna, and, therefore, with the typical fauna of Afghanistan.

Dr. J. E. T. Aitchison, when attached to the Afghan Delimi-

tation Commission, made a collection of Zoological specimens along

the southern, western and north-western boundaries of Afghanis-

tan. The fish collection was reported on by Gunther, 4 and the

following species5 were recorded : —

1. Cirrhina afghana Gunther.

2. Discognathus lanita (H.B.).

3. Capo eta steindachneri Kess-

ler.

4. Schizothorax intermedins Mc-

Clell.

5. Schizothorax raulinsii Gun-

ther.

0. Gobio gobio Linn.

7. Nemnchilus kessleri Gunther.

Nusliki and Kushk.

Helmand River and Kushk.

Nushki and Kushk.

Kushk .

1 lari Rud River near Kliusan,

Bezd, Jam River.

Kushk.

Nushki.

This collection reveals for the first time the nature of the fish-

fauna of the Murghab River basin, and it is a matter of great

surprise that a member of the common Indian genus Cirrhina

should have been found as far afield as Kushk. It is equally

interesting to notice the occurrence of Capoeta at Nushki. The

fish-fauna of the Murghab River possesses affinities with that of

Western Turkestan, Persia and eastern portion of the Central

Asiatic region. The fauna of the Hari-rud contains an endemic

species of Schizothorax, which is a typically Central Asiatic

genus.

The fauna of Seistan is known from two collections one madb

by Sir Henry McMahon and other officers of the Seistan Arbitra-

tion Commission of 1902-1904, and the other by officers of the

1 Pay, Proc. Zool. Soc., London, pp. 223-232 (1880).

2 Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus., XXV, pp. 379-382 (1923).

3 Day, Fish. India, pp. 551, 552 (1877).

4 Gunther, Trans. Linn. Soc., London (2) V, pp. 106-109 (1889).

5 After a perusal of an advance typed copy of this article, Prof. L. S. Berg

has discussed the specific limits of the species obtained by the Afghan Delimi-

tation Commission in a short article {Rec,. hid. Mas., XXXV, pp. 193-196, 1933).

694 journal , Bombay natural tiist. society , Voi. xXxvi

Zoological Survey of India in the winter of 1918. The study

of these collections has shown that in Seistan there are representa-

tives of 9 species of fish,.1 which are listed below: —

1. Scaphiodon macniahoni Be-

gan-

2. Qarra adiscus (Annandale).

B. Gary a phryne (Annandale).

4. Schizothorax zarudnyi (Nikol-

sky).

5. Sc hizopygo'psis stoliczkae

Steind.

6. Schizocypris brucei Began.

7. Nemachilus ■ tenuis Bay.

8. Adiposia macniahoni

(Chaud.).

9. Adiposia rhadinaea (Began).

Delta of the Helmand.

Nasratabad and Hamun-i-Hel-

mand.

(Quetta and Bishin districts of

Baluchistan, Hamun and del-

ta of the Helmand.

Hamun-i- Helmand.

Delta of the Helmand.

Headwaters of streams and

rivers on the north side of the

Himalayas and Hindu Kush.

Waziristan, streams in the

neighbourhood of Nasratabad.

KusIik, Bud-i- Seistan, Oxus

river system.

Delta of the Helmand, streams

near Nasratabad.

Delta of the Helmand.

The fishes listed above may be separated as a whole into two

geographical divisions. ‘The Oyprinidae, which do not occur in

the highlands of Central Asia, represent an element derived from

the country lying south and south-east of the Helmand basin;

while the Scliizothoracinae and the Cobitidae have been brought

by the Helmand from the Hindu Kush and are probably descended

from the fish-fauna of the ancient and once extensive Oxus sys-

tem.’ We have already noted above that some of the species

are common! to the Helmand and the Kabul basins.

Major G. E. Bruce made a small collection of fish in the Wana

Toi, a tributary of the Gomal river in Southern Waziristan.

Began,2 who reported on this collection, found six species in it,

viz., Callichrous pahda (H. B.), BariWus vagra (H. B.), Scaphiodon

irregularis Day, Crossocheilus barbatulus Heckel, Garra ■ wanae

Began and Schizocypris brucei Began. With the exception of the

last species, all the others are allied to Indian forms. Schizocypris

represents the Central Asiatic element in this fauna, which is

mainly a mixture of the Indian and Baluchistan forms.

The fish-fauna of Persia is scanty and has very little affinity

with that of Afghanistan. The fishes of South Persia are remark-

ably similar to those of Sind and Baluchistan. The fishes of

1 Annandale and Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus., XVIII, pp. 151-191 (1920).

2 Began, Ann. May. Nat. Hist. (8), XIII, pp. 261-263 (1914).

fish of Afghanistan

61)5

Western Turkestan1 are mainly those that have descended from

the north or those that have populated the country from the east or

west. There is also' a certain amount of a Central Asiatic element

in this fauna. A species of Salmo is found in Western Turkestan,

as well as in the rivers on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush

in Afghanistan. On the whole the fauna of Western Turkestan is

quite distinct from that of Afghanistan.

The fishes of the countries lying along the north-eastern boun-

dary of Afghanistan are better known. My colleague, Dr. B. N.

Chopra, made a, large collection of fisli in the Chitral Valley from

which waters drain into the Kabul Kiver near Jalalabad. There

seem to be representatives of five species in this collection, and all

of these are typically Central Asiatic and have been recorded by

Griffith from Afghanistan. The species belong to the generh Glyp-

tosternum , Nemacliilus, Schizothorax and Oreinus. The fishes of

the Pamirs are known to us- from the collection made by Alcock as

member of the Pamir Boundary Commission, 1895. In a general

way, the Pamirs are simply the broad alluvial valleys of the Aksu

and the Ab-i-Panja rivers. On the Pamirs only four species of

fish, were found, viz., Schizothorax fedschenkoi Kess., Schizopy-

gopsis stoliezkae Steind., Schizopygopsis sewerzowi Herz. and

Nemachilus tenuis Day. Though the number of species is small,

it was observed by Alcock2 that ‘Fishes, all of the Carp family,

were numerous in every stream and pool, both adults and fry, the

commonest being Schizopygopsis stoliezkae . It must be either this

fish, or a Schizothorax which I identify as S. fedschenkoi , that

travellers in this region have spoken of as “trout”. That fishes are

so abundant is probably due to the fact that they have few ene-

mies, and that food, in the form of water-snails and larvae of

chironomid flies, is plentiful. Schizopygopsis would generally take

the small fly-spoon, and Schizothorax was best caught with a sunk

bait of raw meat’. In describing the fishes of the Pamir Expedi-

tion 1928, Berg3 records the same four species which were collected

by Alcock. The fauna of this tableland is thus seen to be limited

as regards the number of species. On his way to the Pamirs,

Alcock collected fishes in the Yasin river and obtained the1 follow-

ing species of fish: — Schizothorax nasus Heck., Schizothorax

hodgsonii Giinth., Ptychobarbus conirostris Steind., Nemachilus

stoliezkae (Steind.) and Nemachilus yasinensis Alcock. All the

species are known to be fairly common in Kashmir and the Hima-

layas. The fish-fauna of Kashmir, with the exception of the few

Indian genera that are found in the valley, consists of the Schizo-

thoracinae (several genera), Cobitidae (Nemachilus) and Sisoridae

( Glypto sternum) .

1 Kessler, ‘Pisces’ in Fedtschenko’s Reise in Turkestan (1874).

2 Alcock, Report of the Natural History of the Pamir Boundary Commission,

pp. 67-68, 91-92 (1896).

3 Berg., ‘Pisces’ in Abandlungen der Pamir Ex2)edition , 1928, VIII, pp. 23-28

(1932).

69o Journal, Isom bay natural hist, society, Vol xXxvi

From, the above sketeli of the ichthyology of Afghanistan and

of the countries in its immediate neighbourhood, it is clear that

Afghanistan forms an important region from a zoo-geographical

point of view. The Hindu Kush forms the southernmost limit

(leaving out of consideration the Sailmonidae introduced in India)

of the Salmonidae ancl of several other kinds of fish characteristic

of Turkestan, and of the countries lying to north, east and west

of it. The typical fishes of Sind,; Baluchistan and Persia have no

representatives in Afghanistan, and the Indian element in its fauna

does not extend beyond Jalalabad. The affinities of the Afghan-

istan fish-fauna have to be looked for in the fauna of the countries

lying to the north-east of it. The Schizothoracinae, so characteris-

tic of the Tibetan Plateau, seem to have spread into Afghanistan

from the north-east, and extended their range to the south-west

as far as Seistan, the basins of the Hari Kud and the Marghab

Kivers, and other water courses in the west and north-west of

Afghanistan. The physical features of Afghanistan are such that

they appear to form natural barriers in connection with the geo-

graphical distribution, of fishes. The extension of the Central

Asiatic forms into Afghanistan may have taken place when the

Oxus basin was very extensive.

Description of the Collection.

a. A small collection of fish from the Paghman River.

The following description of the Paghman Itiver has been sup-

plied by the Secretary, British Legation, Kabul: — ‘The Paghman

stream is a hill torrent which rises in the Paghman range, and

runs past Paghman, about fifteen miles from Kabul. When in

flood this stream probably joins the Kabul river, near Kabul City,

but in normal times nearly all its water is taken off for irrigation,

and wliat little is left disappears underground. The stream bed

is rocky and there is practically no vegetation in it. The current is

swift. In late summer and autumn the stream, which is snow

fed, dwindles down to a mere trickle ’ , In August 1932 the Surgeon

to the British Legation sent a small collection of fish from the

Paghman river to the Bombay Natural History Society. It con-

sisted of 4 specimens, one of (Hyptosternum, two of Nemachilus

and one of Oreinus. The two specimens of Nemachilus appear to

belong to N. griffithii Gunther, though on account of their small

size they exhibit important differences from the type-specimens

preserved in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.). A complete descrip-

tion of the specimens is given below. Glyptosternum reticulatum,

though originally- described from the Kabul Piver, is now known to

be widely distributed in the headwaters of the Indus and of Amu-

Darya and the Syr- Darya in Western Turkestan- The young speci-

men of Ore in us appeal’s to belong to 0. sinualus var- griffithii Mc-

Clelland.. The systematic position of the last two forms has not

been properly understood so far.

FISH OF A F G HA N I ST A N 69?

Glyptosternum reticulatum McClelland.

1842. Glyptosternon reticulatus, McClelland, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist.,

II, p. 584.

1876. Exostoma stoliczkae, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 782.

1905. Parexostoma stoliczkae, Regan, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7), XV, p. 183,

1932. Glyptosternum reticulatum , Hora, .4nn. Mag. Nat. Hist. (10),, X,

pp. 176-179.

1932. Glyptosternum reticulatum, Hora, Current Sci., I, p. 130.

The single specimen of Glyptosternum reticulatum is about 5

inches in length, and is in a fairly good state of preservation. The

species was originally described from ‘Sir-i-Chushma, at the source

of the Kabul river’. Griffith in his notes no doubt refers to this

fish when he says that in the small channels by which the springs

at Sir-i-Chushmah run off: ‘The most remarkable fish however

is a dark coloured Loach-like Silurus, which is not uncommon

about Julraiz’. G. reticulatmn was insufficiently characterized by

McClelland, and has been the source of considerable confusion in

the taxonomy of certain Sisorid fishes. After an examination of

a very large collection of this species from the Chitral river, it was

pointed out by me that Parexostoma stoliczkae (Lay) is probably

a synonym of G. reticulatum McClelland. The discovery of a

specimen of this species from a stream, near Kabul leaves no doubt

whatsoever about the systematic position and specific limits of

McClelland’s much-discussed species. With this knowledge, it will

now be possible to apply the generic names Glyptosternum, Glypto-

thorax, Exostoma, etc., in terms of the International Buies of

Zoological Nomenclature.

G . reticulatum is found in the headwaters of the Indus and in

Eastern and Western Turkestan.

Nemachilus griffithii Gunther.

(Plate, figs. 1 and 2).

L. 2/7; A. 2/5; P. 10; V. 8; C. 16, besides smaller rays at

the sides.

The two specimens of Nemachilus griffithii are long and narrow

with the head markedly pointed anteriorly and the body tapering

gradually towards the posterior end. The opercular region of the

head is very prominent. The head and the part of the body in

front of the ventrals are somewhat depressed and flattish both on

the dorsal as well as on the ventral surfaces. The length of the

head is contained 5 to 5.1 times in the total length with the caudal

and 4.1 to 4.2 times in the length without the caudal. The height

of the head at occiput is contained 1.7 to 1.8 times in the length

of the head, while its width is contained 1.3 times in its length.

The eyes are small, dorso-lateral in position and are not visible

from the ventral surface; the diameter of the eye is contained 5 to

6 times in the length of the head, 2.2 to 2.6 times in the length

of the snout and 1.4 to 1.5 times in the interorbital width. The

snout is somewhat longer than the postorbital part of the head.

The nostrils are situated immediately in front of the eyes ; the

12

608 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

posterior nares are well-marked, while the anterior ones are small

and tubular and are situated at the bases of broad and triangular

processes which' cover them completely and hide them from view'.

The mouth is small, lunate and subterminal. The lips are fleshy

and continuous at the angles of the mouth; the lower lip is inter-

rupted in the middle. The- upper jaw forms, a vertical plate which

is convex at its free end; the lower jaw is sharp and shovel-like.

When the mouth is closed the upper jaw lies in front of the lower

jaw. The barbels are thin and long; the outer rostral and the

maxillary barbels are sub equal, being almost as long as the snout.

The inner rostral barbel is much shorter. . ,

The body is devoid of scales; it is greatly shrivelled up due to

preservation so that its height is difficult to judge, but so far as

it can be ascertained the greatest depth of the body is contained

9 times in the total length and 7.3 to 7.4 times in the length

without the caudal. The caudal peduncle is compressed from side

to side, its least height is contained 2 to 2.2 times in -its length.

The lateral line is almost complete; it is only irregularly inter-

rupted towards the end. . '

The commencement of the dorsal fin is almost equidistant be-

tween the tip of the snout and the base of the caudal fin; it may

be slightly nearer to the latter -than to the former. The free end

of the dorsal fin is sub truncate with the anterior corner more or

less rounded ; the dorsal fin commences considerably in advance

of the ventral; the second divided ray is the longest and it is as

long as the greatest width of the head. The ventral fin is long

and narrow: it extends considerably beyond the anal-opening, and

is separated from the anal fin by a short distance. The caudal

fin is slightly shorter than the head and is preceded, both above

and below, by a number of small rays. It is obliquely truncate

with the upper portion slightly longer than the lower.

Of the two specimens, the larger one appears to be a male,

though the characteristic secondary sexual characters of the male

are not well clefined in it. There is a shallow groove in front of

the eye, but the tubercular pads associated with it are absent. The;

four outer rays of the pectoral fin, to a certain extent the fifth ray

also, are broad, bony and curved, but they lack the tubercular

pads on the dorsal surface. Secondary sexual characters of a

similar nature are found in the males of N. brauhi .

The smaller specimen is more conspicuously marked than the

larger one. The latter is greyish above and olivaceous below. The

dorsal surface, especially in front of the dorsal, is marked with

faint cross bands. The caudal and the dorsal fins are minutely

speckled, while the other fins are provided with indistinct marks.

In the smaller specimen the body is much darker and 7 short,

saddletshaped bands on the dorsal surface are well marked. The

dorsal surface of the head is irrorated with small, black dots; while

the caudal, dorsal and pectoral fins are conspicuously marked with

irregular black bands formed of series of blotches. The ventral

fin is provided with one series of spots across it and the anal fin

with two, similar series. The inner rostral barbels as well as the

tips of the other two pair are deep orange-red in colour.

FISH OF . AFGHANISTAN

699

Measurements . in millimetres.

Total length including caudal fin

Length of caudal

Depth of body

Length of head ...

Length of snout

Interorbital distance

Diameter of eye

Height of head at occiput

Width of head

Length of caudal peduncle

Least height of caudal peduncle ...

Longest ray of dorsal

Longest ray of anal

Length of pectoral

Length of ventral

Distance between pectoral and ventral fins

Distance between commencement of dorsal and

tip of snout

Remarks. Griffith in his noties says that ‘in the small channels

by which the springs (at Sir-i-Cliaushmali) run oft, a loach is very

common’. It is quite probable that Nemachilus griffithii is the

species which was observed to be very common by Griffith at the

source of the Kabul River. The only other record of this genus

from Afghanistan is, as, I have shown elsewhere,1 from the Arghan-

dab near Kandahar. The type specimens in the British Museum

differ from the two specimens described above and these differences

may be tabulated below as follows : —

Paghman river specimens.

Type specimens.

Length of head 4 times in total

length without caudal.

Ventral fins extend considerably

beyond anal-opening, and al-

most reach base of anal fin.

Outer rostral barbel as long as

snout.

Mouth-opening small.

Length of head 5 times in total

length without caudal.

Ventral fins just reach anal

opening, and are separated

from base of anal fin by con-

siderable distance.

Outer rostral barbel 2/3 length

of snout.

Mouth- opening relatively wider.

In evaluating the above characters it should be borne in mind

that the two specimens from the Paghman River are 3:4 and 4

inches in length respectively; while the two type specimens are

‘Five and a half inches long’.

According to Griffith the loach of Sir- i- Cliu s h rnal i is also said

to occur ‘in the Helmand at Girdun Dewar, altitude 10,500 feet’.

We have already seen that ai number of species are common to the

Helmand and the Kabul basins, and it is likely that N. griffithii

is fairly widely distributed in Afghanistan.

Hora, Journ. As. Soe. Bengal (n.s.) XXIV, pp. 481-484. (1929).

TOO JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoL XXXFI

Oreinus sinuatus var. griffithii McClelland.

1842. Oreinus Griffithii, McClelland, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist., II,

p. 581.

1842. Oreinus maculatus, McClelland, ibid., p. 580.

Specimens of the genus Oreinus seem to have been collected

by Griffith from the head of the Ali Musjid stream (Ivliyber Pass),

Gandamak, Pashat and Girdun Dewar. The Helmand river

examples (Girdun Dewar) were referred by McClelland to

0. plagiostomus Heck., while those collected at Pashat (Kunar

river) were described as 0. griffithii. The other specimens from the

Ali Musjid stream and Gandamak were referred by him to his

earlier species — 0. maculatus — from the Simla Hills. In the case

of the last species there seems no doubt that he had only young

specimens. 0. griffithii is similar to 0. sinuatus Heckel, but the

species of this genus are so ill defined that it seems advisable to

retain the Kabul river form as a separate variety at least for the

time being.

The specimen from the Paghman River is 4.6 inches long, and

corresponds in all essential respects with a large number of

specimens collected by my colleague Dr. B. N. Chopra in the

Chitral Valley from the Chitral River (or Kunar River) and its

tributary streams. Among the characters of 0. griffithii McClelland

mentioned, ‘Dorsal spine large, vertical scales at the anal obsolete,

posterior margin of the operculum round, snout smooth’, and pointed

out that the ‘species although perfectly distinct, differs but little in

appearance from Oreinus plagiostomus’ . Unfortunately no specimen

of 0. griffithii was despatched by McClelland to the ‘Museum at the

India House’, though a number of examples of the other species

were sent.

b. A note on a species of Trout from the Hindu Kush.

Ip. his notes concerning the fishes of Afghanistan Griffith1

remarked that ‘On crossing the great chain, separating Afghanistan

from the plains of Toorkistan, which may be accomplished without

exceeding an altitude of 13,000 feet, even by taking the highest

route, that of the Erak Pass, a great change in the fish appears

to occur, and Salmonidae appear to take precedence of the

Cyprinidae’. He found that a species of trout, ‘abounds in the

Bamean river, and up its small tributaries derived from the Koli-

i-Baba to an altitude of 11,000 feet’. ‘The curious change in the

fish’, he further observed, ‘does not appear to be accompanied by

any marked change in the physical configuration of the country,

in its plants, animals, or birds’. This trout was described as

Salmo orientalis by McClelland2 and stated to ‘differ from all

known members of the family in the size of the head and the

depth of the body. He remarked further that this was the ‘first

instance of Salmon having been found anywhere in the vicinity

of India. There are no Salmonidae in Afghanistan, or any of the

1 Griffith, Calcutta Journ. Nat.. Hist. II, p. 55G (1842).

2 McClelland, ibid. p. 585 (1842).

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN

701

countries to the south of the Hindoo Ivoosh; the latter would

therefore appear to be the boundary between the peculiar species

of India, and those of Europe and northern Asia’. Next ‘year,

1843, he1 published a ‘Memorandum regarding Salmo orientalis,

or Bamean Trout’, in which he tried to explain the absence of

Salmonidae from Indian waters (a few species of Trout have since

been introduced, in the Nilgiris and the Kulu Valley) by assuming

that ‘However suitable the Himalayan and other mountain

streams south of the boundary just noticed might be in

point of temperature, and other circumstances adapted to

the development of the young Salmon, yet the tropical

seas into which these waters fall would be fatal to

them, so that the absence of Salmon may be easily

accounted for in all countries, the rivers of which have no com-

munication with the seas of the temperate climates. The sea is

essential to Salmon, indeed it is their natural abode, as they

leave it only for the purpose of spawning. It is evident, therefore,

that the Salmon must ascend the Oxus from the Sea of Aral, a

distance of 1,200 miles, to the place where they were discovered

by Mr. Griffith at an elevation of 11,000 feet, nearly equal to the

mean elevation of the highest chain of the Alps, from Mount

Blanc to Mount Kosa’. Though McClelland had given a new

name2 to this trout, he was very diffident about it and remarked

that ‘as specimens have been sent to England3 with the collections

of Mr. Griffith, the question may there be decided’. According to

Griffith the Hindu Kush trout ‘takes the worm greedily, generally

gorging the hook. In sunny days, in winter, it takes the fly freely,

although the cold is exceedingly severe’.4 The species is also found

at Bajgah a few marches from Bamean nearer the plains of

Turkestan where according to Captain Hay it is said to attain

a considerable size, and its flesh is very delicately flavoured.

Though McClelland had sent 3 specimens of the Bamean Trout

to England, it seems that they were not available in the British

Museum when Gunther5 wrote his Catalogue of Fishes, for he

says regarding the Trout from the rivers of the Hindu Kush that

‘This species appears, to be the southernmost in Central Asia, and

the nearest to the Indian region. There are no Salmonids in

Afghanistan or any of the countries to the south of the Hindoo

Kush. McClelland named this fish Salmo orientalis, which name

cannot be retained, if the fish should prove to be a distinct species,

as it was given to another fish by Pallas. The notes added by

McClelland allude to characters of the genus only; and the figure

(pi. 1) is too rude to assist in the determination of the species’.

1 McClelland, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. Ill, pp. 283-287 (1843).

2 McClelland’s choice of the name Salmo orientalis was, apart from other

considerations, unfortunate as a trout with the same name had already been

described by Pallas in 1811.

3 Prom the list of specimens sent to England by McClelland (Cal. Journ.

Nat. Hist., II, p. 573) it is seen that 3 specimens of Salmo orientalis were, sent

by him to the Museum at the Indian House.

4 McClelland, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. Ill, p. 287 (1843).

5 Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., VI, p. 115 (1866).

702:' JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Since McClelland’s time Salmo oxianus has been described by,

Kessler1 from Darant river which falls into Kizil-su, one of the

upper tributaries of the Oxus. Berg2 has described Salmo

aralensis from the same river system. Boulenger3, however, re-

garded the southernmost trout as Salmo trutta var .fario Linn. To

an ichthyologist there is no other group of fishes which offers so many

difficulties with regard to the distinction of species as the Sal-

monidae, and as there is no material of this group in the collection

of the Indian Museum I am not in a position to express an opinion

on the specific position of the Bamean Trout, but having recently

obtained a specimen from the Hindu Kush I propose to describe

it in detail for convenience of reference in future.

The Bamean Trout.

(Plate, figs. 3 and 4).

Mr. (now Sir) R. R. Maconachie sent to the Secretary of the

Bombay Natural History Society in February, 1931, a specimen

of a trout from N. Afghanistan with the following remarks: ‘It

appears to be a brown trout and is called a trout by the Afghans,

but British officers in India with whom I have discussed the sub-

ject are very sceptical as to the occurrence of true trout in Afgha-

nistan. The specimen sent was caught at Bamean 100 miles north

of Kabul, and similar fish are said to be abundant in rivers north

of the Hindu Kush’. The specimen is, unfortunately, not in a,

good state of preservation as it has become hard and crooked on

account of desiccation. There is no doubt, however, that it repre-

sents a true trout and the same species to which reference was

made by Griffith. In the collection of the Zoological Survey of

India there are two other specimens collected in north Afghanistan.

One4 of these , (No. 11406) was collected by Dr. G. M. Giles of the

Gilgit Mission at an elevation of 8,000 ft. from the Kokcha river

which lies in the north-east of Afghanistan. The other5 speci-

men (No. F 1560/1) was obtained by Sir Henry Hayden at an

altitude of 10,000 ft. from a small stream running into Ak (Agh)

Robat Kotal (Pass) to join Bamean river, N. Afghanistan. The

last two specimens are labelled Salmo oxianus Kessler and S. fario

oxianus Kessler respectively. The specimen obtained by Sir

Henry Hayden is in a good condition and, consequently, the fol-

lowing description and figures are made from this example, which

is about 6.5 inches in total length (Parr-state).

1 Kessler, ‘Pisces’ in Fedtschenko’s Reise in Turkestsn, p. 35 (1874).

2 Berg, Ann. Mus. Zool., St. Petersburg, XIII, pp. 315-323 (1908).

3 Boulenger, Field, cxi, p. 393 (1908). (Not seen, quoted from Berg, op. cit.,

p. 48).

4 On the 17th December, 1886, 4 specimens of Salmo (Nos. 11403-11406) were

registered as having been obtained by Dr. G. M. Giles (Gilgit Mission) in

the Kokcha river; but, unfortunately there is only one specimen n6w, the

liistorv of the other three is not given in the register.

5 This is also one of the three specimens obtained by Sir Henry Hayden,

the other two cannot be traced in the collection,

Journ. Bombay Nat.

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN.

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN

703

D. 8/8; A. 2/9; P. 13; Y. 9; C. 19.

In the Bamean Trout the .head and the body are gracefully

stream-lined and are compressed from side to side. The length' of

the head is contained 3.5 times and the greatest depth of the body,

which is just in front of the • commencement of the dorsal, is con-

tained; 3.8 times in the total length without the caudal. The

width of the head is contained 1.7 times and its height at occiput

1.6 times in its length. The diameter of the eye is contained

4.6 times in the length of the head, 1.2 times in the length

of the snout and 1.3 times in the inter-orbital width.

The . opercular bones

are . thin and the hind

border of the gill-

cover is obtusely

rounded ; the suboper-

culum projects beyond

the : operculum and

forms the hindermost

projection of the gill-

cover. The posterior

point of junction of

operculum and sub-

operculum is slightly

nearer to the lower an-

terior angle of the sub-

operculum than to the

upper end of the gill -

Pig. 1. — Lateral view of head and anterior part

of body of the Bamean Trout ( Salmo trutta var.

fario Linn.).

opening. The pre-

operculum has a very short lower limb; its hind border is rounded

and convex. The operculum is short, its length being ^contained

1.3 times in its depth. The snout is rather

short and obtusely pointed; the maxillary

bones are much longer than the snout and

extend to below the posterior margin of the

orbit. The eyes are fairly large, almost

lateral in position, slightly visible from the

dorsal surface, but not visible from the

ventral surface. The diameter of the eye

is contained 4.6 times in the length 'of the

head, 1.2 times in the length of the snout

and 1.3 times in the interorbital distance.

The nostrils are; small and are placed much

nearer the. eyes than the tip of the snout.

The mandible, maxillary, intermaxillary and

palatine bones are provided with small,

sharp and inwardly-directed teeth. There is

a single row of 7 to 8 teeth in the middle

line of the anteripr portion of the vomer and

there is a double row of teeth on the tongue.

The dorsal fin commences considerably in advance of the

ventral, and its commencement is much nearer to the tip of the

tooth-bands of the Ba-

mean Trout ( Salmo

truttar var. fario Linn.).

Diagrammatic.

704 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

snout than to the base of the caudal. The adipose dorsal is short

and is situated posterior to the base of the anal fin. The longest

ray of the anal fin is twice the length of its base. The pectoral

fin iis pointed and is much shorter than the head; it is separated

from the ventral fin by a distance equal to the post-orbital portion

of the head. The ventral fin is much shorter than the pectoral and

is provided with a fleshy appendage in its axil. The anal-opening

is situated at the base of the first ray of the anal fin and is pre-

ceded by a narrow groove bordered by scaly flaps. The caudal fin

is slightly emarginate. The caudal peduncle is very muscular; its

least height is contained 1.7 times in its length.

The lateral line is complete and distinguishable; it runs from

behind the gill-opening to the middle of the base of the caudal fin.

The scales are small and silvery; there are about 27 rows of scales

between the lateral line and the base of the dorsal fin.

There are about 8 broad, dusky cross bars on the body which

are distinguishable when the specimen is kept in spirit. There

are numerous, irregularly distributed black spots on the head,

above the pectoral fin and more particularly on the sides of the

body above the lateral line. The fins are without any special

markings. Behind the eye there is usually a patch of black pig-

ment, and also just near the hinder end of the gill-cover.

Measurements in millimetres.

Total length without caudal ... ... ... 125.0

Length of head ... ... ... 35.3

Width of head ... ... ... 20.0

Height of head at occiput ... ... ... 21.8

Length of snout ... ... ... 9.7

Interorbital width ... ... ... 10.0

Length of maxillary ... ... ... 17.5

Diameter of eye ... ... ... 7.7

Depth of body ... ... ... 33.0

Length of caudal peduncle ... ... ... 24.0

Least' height of caudal peduncle ... ... ... 14.0

Length of pectoral ... ... ... 25.5

Length of ventral ... ... ... 19.3

Length of dorsal ... ... ... 22.5

Length of anal ... ... ... 21.0

Remarks.1 Kessler2 in decribing his Sahno oxianus referred to

S. orient alis McClelland ( nec Pallas), but regretted that it was

not possible to define the specific limits of McClelland’s species

from his descriptions and figures. He indicated that his species

was closely related to S. fario, several varieties and subspecies of

which were known to occur in fresh waters throughout their lives.

Berg3 in describing Salmo trutta aralensis referred to the Turke-

stan Trout and indicated that it should be designated as Salmo

1 Mr. L. Bogdanov has helped me with the Russian text of Kessler’s and

Berg’s descriptions of species, and for this I offer him my sincerest thanks.

2 Kessler, ‘Pisces’ in Fedtschenkoi’s Reise in Turkestan, p. 36 (1874).

3 Berg, Ann. Mus, ZooJ . Acad. Imp. Sci., St. Peters, xiii, pp. 315-316 (1908).

FISH OF AFGHANISTAN

705

fario oxianus Kessler (the specific name orientalis of McClelland

being preoccupied). In liis opinion the Turkestan variety could be

distinguished from the typical form by its longer head and greater

number of gill-rackers. The Aral Salmon was characterized by

him as a subspecies of Scdmo trutta, and distinguished from the

typical form by its longer head, longer maxilla and mandible, and

by the relatively shorter distance between the pectoral and the

ventral fins. He also pointed out the differences between the Cas-

pian Salmon and the Aral Salmon, both of which are considered

as varieties of Salmo trutta. Further it is known that 8. fario is-

subject to a great range of variations. It is for this reason, I

believe, that Boulenger1 assigned an extensive range of distribution

to S. trutta fario and included in it the Turkestan Trout.

ADDENDUM.

An advance typed copy of the above article was sent to Pro-

fessor L. S. Berg of the Institute of Ichthyology, Leningrad, for

favour of criticism and suggestions. Prof. Berg has very kindly

made a few observations in a letter which throw further light on

our knowledge regarding the fish of Afghanistan. In consequence,

I have thought it advisable to publish the following abstracts from

this letter to facilitate reference in future as well as to complete

the above account. I am very grateful to Prof. Berg for the great

interest and trouble taken by him.

‘From the zoogeographical point of view the fish-fauna of Afghan-

istan is of extraordinary importance, this land being situated at

the limits of Mediterranean (Amu-daria and its drainage, Murghab,

Hari-rud, drainage of IPamun Lake), High-asiatic (Pamir, probably

Kafiristan also) and Indian (the lower Kabul) subregions.’

‘In a paper by E. Keserling entitled “Neue Cypriniden aus

Persien” ( Zeitsclirift fur die Gesammten Naturwissenschaftefi xvii,

pp. 1-24, pis. i-ix, 1861) are described some species from N.-W.

Afghanistan, viz. from the Hamun basin and the Hari-rud Eiver.

‘P. 3. Barbus microlepis , pi. i, from a river at Anardareh between Herat

and Lash, system of Hamun Lake. Nomen praeoccupied = Schizothorax zarudnyi

(Nik.).

‘P. 11. Scaphiodon heratensis, pi. v, from Hari-rud at Herat. = Varicorhinus

heratensis.

‘P. 14. Scaphiodon asmussi, pi. vi, from warm springs at Sultan Karaul,

8 miles N.-E. of Herat. = a form of V. heratensis with deeper body.

‘P. 16. Discognathus variabilis Heck, from a rivulet at Anardareh. = Dis-

cognathichthys rossicus (Nikolsky) or D. rossicus infraspecies nudiventris (Berg)

1905.

‘P. 19. Bungia nigrescens, pi. viii, from Hari-rud at Herat. Probably =

Gobio gobio lepidolaemus with broken pharyngeal teeth (5-5 according to Keser-

ling, instead of 5. 2-2. 5).

‘P. 21. Squalius latus, pi. ix, from Hari-rud at Herat = Lends cus latus.

‘More details are to be seen in my Fishes of Turkestan, Faune

dc la Russie and Poissons des eaux douees: de la Russie.

Boulenger, Field, cxi, p. 393 (1908).

706 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

‘Besides the species mentioned by K,eyserling there are known

from the rivers Hari-rud ( = Tejen or Tedslien) and Murghab the

following species : —

‘ Schizothorax pelzami Kessler.

Alburnoides bipunctatus eichwaldi (Filippi).

Nemachilus malapterurus (Yah).

C obi l is aurata Filippi.’

‘If you include Salmo orientals, or S. oxianus, in the fauna of

Afghanistan, you have to enumerate also all the species occurring

in the Upper Amudaria, viz., Pseud, os cap hirhync hus kaufmanni

(Bogdanov), Ps. hermam (Kessler), Salmo trutta aval crisis morpha'

oxianus ( fario ), Rutilus rutilus aralensis Berg, Aspiolucius

esocinus (Kessler), Varicorhinus heratensis steindachneri (Kessler),

Barbus capito conocephalus Kessler, Barbus brachycephalus Kessler,

Schizothorax interm edius McClelland, Alburnoides bipunctatas eich-

waldi (Filippi), Gapoetobrama kuschakewitschi (Kessler), Cyprinus

carpio, Abramis sapa (Pallas), Pelecus cultratus (Linne), Nemachilus

oxianus Kessler,. A. amudarjensis Bass, N. stoliczkae (Steind.), N'.

malapterurus longicauda (Kessler), Silurus glanis Linne and (I ly pi os-

ier num reticulaitum McClell.’

‘I do not doubt that S. orientalis McClell and S. oxianus

Kessler refer to the same fish. It is a fresh- water form (morpha

fario) from the anadromous Salmo trutta aralensis Berg. I do

not regard it as synonymous with S. fario Linne; the last form is

a fresh water derivative from the northern S. trutta trutta. The

synonyms under Salmo fario in my book ‘Fresh-water fishes of

Bussia’, 1916, pp. 47-48, refer to all the three subspecies of S.

trutta, viz., S. trutta trutta, S. trutta labrax, S. tp'utta aralensis.

The morphae fario, of these subspecies although bearing the same

name fario, are distinct- In my Fauna de Bussie, Poissons, the

same names are used everywhere for parallel morphae, for example,

high forms of Cyprinidae are designated as morpha elata, 'elongate'

ones as morpha elongata (without any author’s name).

‘It would be of interest to ascertain the number of vertebrae

in Salmo oxianus. The Mediterranean brook trout described as

S. macrostigma Bum., has fewer vertebrae (average 57.0) than the

northern S. fario (average 58.7 from the Baltic drainage).

‘To the fauna of Afghanistan must be added also Nemachilus

houtanensis McClell., N. griff ithii Gunther and Silurus afghana

Gunther. ’

Explanation of Plate.

Nemachilus griff i thii .

Fig. 1.--— Lateral view of Paghman specimen x lj.

Fig. 2. — Ventral surface of head and anterior part of body of same x 1J.

The Bamean Trout.

Fig. 3. — Lateral view, of the specimen obtained by Sir Henry Hayden in N.

Afghanistan. Same size.

Fig. 4. — Ventral surface of head and anterior part or body of same. Same size.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate I.

Photo by

Author.

Arti-Margoo, a rock-pool in a forest stream near Utnoors the hot weather refuge of the

bird-life for miles around.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

BY

Salim Ali

With Notes by Hugh Whistler-

Part II

( With two plates).

( Continued from page 390, Vol. xxxvi).

EAMILY : LaxIIDTE .

Lanius excubitor lahlora Sykes. The Indian G-rey Shrike.

Collurio lahtora Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832, p. 86 (Deccan).

Specimens collected: 23 $ 5-10-31, 44 § \ 7-10-31 Mananur! 2,000 ft. ; 22$ 9

3-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft. ; 491 U 1-3-32, 498 <$ 2-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.;

692 $ (jnv.) 15-4-32 Aurangabad 2,000 ft, ; 708 U 18-4-32 Kannad 2,000 ft.;

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City Environs, Malkapur (Nalgonda Boad),

Mukher, Kaulas, Basal (Nizamabad District).

Iris dark brown; bill horny-black; mouth pale pink or pale greyish-pink;

legs and feet blackish-brown.

[After careful examination I can only confirm that the resident G-rey Shrike

of India is referable to the one race.. — H.W.]

The Grey Shrike is sparingly but generally-distributed in the western

portion of the . State but is absent in the eastern. I cannot but consider the

specimen obtained at Borgampad to be an aberrant straggler. Besides this

solitary example I did not meet with the species at all anywhere east of

Malkapur (‘common’) ca. 25 miles E.S.E. of Hyderabad , City and due 'North of

Mananur. However, I find a note in my diary .of 14 October 1925 recording

it as ‘common’ near Talamadri village ‘15 miles, from Utnoor’. No Grey Shrikes

were seen by the Survey anywhere within 50 miles of Utnoor between April

1-10 (1932) and I cannot account for the above note except on the assumption

that the! birds disperse far and wide during the winter months, in which case

the Mananur and Malkapur (3 January) birds could also perhaps be accounted

for this way ! Jerdon saw it all. the year round at Jalna. (Jerdon, B. of I.,

vol. i, p. 401.)

This shrike haunts open scrub and cultivated country interspersed with

hedges and Babool trees, such in fact as commonly obtains in -the Nander,

Aurangabad and other districts of the Mahrattwada. Even here it ivas no-

where abundant, however, but pairs were frequently met with at intervals.

No. 708 was the only example seen at Kannad. . The specimen is remarkable

in having the lower mandible twisted sideways and growing upwards beyond

the upper mandible as in the Crossbill ( Loxia ). At Bhamarvadi the spefeies

was apparently absent.

Breeding: In No. 491 (1 March) the testes had enlarged to ca. 8x5 mm.,

the bird being one of a pair which were either breeding or about to. No. 498

(2 March) also showed identical genital development. At Kaulas (27 March)

H. found a nest in a Babool tree at about 15 feet with 2 full-fledged young

(apparently just out of it) in the immediate vicinity. These could fly with

difficulty, and it appeared probable that the nest contained more chicks which

had moved further away. At Basar Bailway station (Nizambad Dist., — 29

March — a nest was discovered in the fork of a Babool at ca. 10 feet, along- the

railway embankment containing five three-quarter fledged chicks crowded into

it with difficulty. The nest was a deep globular cup of thorny Babool twigs

on the outside, with soft grass, tow, twine &c as lining. One of the parents

approached while the nest was being examined, uttering a harsh ‘ Che-clie' which

708 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

was responded to by the young in similar tones. No. 692 (15 April) was

one of four full-fledged young just out of nest (skull very soft !) which, in

the absence of a gun, H. was lucky enough to bring down with a stone. The

testes of No, 708 measured ca. 6x3 mm. and appeared to be developing.

From the above evidence it appears that during the months of March and

April, breeding is at its height.

Davidson and Wenden found it breeding abundantly in the Poona and

Sholapur collectorates at the end of the hot weather, also at Nulwar and

Raichur. It was observed to be very rare in the Satara district. (S.F., vol. vii,

p. 79.

Lanius vittatus Valenc. The Bay-backed Shrike.

Lanius vittatus Valenc., Diet. Sci. Nat., xl (1836), p. 227 — Pondicherry.

Specimens collected: 3 3 , 5 3 25-9-31, 10 3 (imm.) 27-9-31 Hyderabad City

Environs 1,800 feet; 79 $ 10-10-31, 134 3 (imm.) 14-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft;

512 9 5-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 600 3 23-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.; 724 9

20-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Mahbubnagar District (along Jedcherla-Achampet Road),

Borgampad, Nelipaka, Paloncha, along road from Nekonda to Narsampet, Asif-

abad, Malegaon (Mrs. Tasker !), Utnoor, Aurangabad, Kannad.

Iris dark brown; bill horny-brown or black — in immature birds paler at

base of lower mandible; mouth pink in adult, yellow in juvenile; legs, feet

and claws plumbeous or horny black, paler in young birds.

[This species has no races. H.W.]

Common throughout the State, frequenting open scrub jungle, cultivation and

fallow or water-logged land with a sprinkling of Babool trees. Occasionally also

found in deciduous forest. Usually met with singly or in pairs, but sometimes

small parties of parents and young keep together.

Breeding : No. 10 (27 September) was one of five fully-fledged young

in immature plumage in company of parents who kept a very vigilant lookout

and warned the young of approaching danger by a harsh chur-r-r note. On

3 and 4 October (Mananur) also, many such immature-plumaged birds were

observed in company of their parents. No. 134 had the skull still soft on 14

October. No. 512 (5 March) was apparently moulting from juvenile into adult

plumage. No. 600 (23 March) had the testes ca. 5x4 mm. and was obviously

preparing to breed.

The breeding season given in the Fauna> viz. April to July, would seem to

apply to this area also except that in some cases it may manifestly be pro-

longed to August or September, as suggested by specimens Nos. 10 and 134. By

about the middle or end of March males were heard singing a pretty, rather

subdued little rambling song from the interior of bushes, and from the general

behaviour of the pairs about this time it was clear that they were about to

breed.

, Col. Sparrow found nests at Trimulgherry from 20 February to 14 June.

He considers March and April, as the best months for them.

Lanius schach caniceps Blyth. The Grey-backed Shrike.

Lanius caniceps Blyth, J.A.S.B., xv (1846), p. 302 — India — Madras (see

J.B.N.H.S., xxxiv, p. 396).

Specimens collected: 39 <3 (imm.) 6-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft. ; 200 ? 30-10-31,

229 (imm.), 230 3 3-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft; 355 $ • (imm.) 21-11-31 Paloncha

300 ft.; 611 9 24-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City Environs, Nelipaka, Nekonda, Nar-

sampet Asifabad, Malegaon (Mrs. Tasker!), Kandahar, Mukher, Nander, Jalna,

Bhamarvadi.

Iris dark brown; bill dark horny-brown, paler at gape and base' of lower

mandible; mouth pale greyish-pink, yellower in younger birds; legs and feet

slaty-brown or black.

[It is quite likely that the birds seen at Aurangabad and Bhamarvadi were

really erythronotus as in a great part of its range it is a summer visitor only,

and those birds must winter somewhere down in the Peninsula. All the

specimens are caniceps in my opinion. The two races are very close. — H.W.]

Generally distributed, common and abundant everywhere in the neigh-

bourhood of cultivation and in open scrub country, often in association with

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY ?09

Lamm _e. lahtora and L. vittatm. At Borgampad it was noted as ‘the com-

monest shrike’; at Bhamarvadi as ‘not common’. Very partial to groves of

young date and Borassus palms. Has a harsh complaining cry as if in distress,

some of these notes also being exactly like those of a frog caught by a snake.

At Narsampet, one was observed hawking insects in the air, launching short

sallies, turning and twisting on the wing and returning to its perch with

the quarry. On 1 December I have first recorded that the birds had commenced

‘singing’ from exposed but shady perches during the heat of the day.

The birds at Aurangabad and Bhamarvadi appeared to be less grey and

more rufous on the back, and nearer erythronotus.

Breeding : No. 39 (6 October) was a young bird with a soft skull. 229 (3

November) and 355 (21 Nov.) were also young but slightly older than 39. The

former had two soft patches on the skull while in the latter the unossified

portion was confined as a single patch to the centre. These examples were

apparently of broods fairly late in the monsoon.

On 13 April, near Jalna, H. observed from the running train a bird at its

nest in a Babool tree by the line, apparently feeding young.

Col. Sparrow found nests near Trimulgherry between 20 April and 26 August.

He considers June, July and August the best months for eggs.

Lanius cristatus cristatus Linnaeus. The Brown Shrike.

Lanius cristatus Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x (1758), p. 93 — Bengal.

Specimens collected : 279 9 (imm.) 9-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 366 24-11-31

Paloncha 300 ft.; 650 ? 4-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Deglur (14-3-32).

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, paler at gape and base of lower mandible;

mouth pale pinkish-flesh; legs and feet bluish-grey; claws brown.

[I have seen other specimens from Hyderabad in Col. Sparrow’s collection

as follows: <$ 6-11-12, $ 9-12-10 Trimulgherry; $ 10-12-10 Nadiarum and

c? 18-2-11 Mirzapalli.

All the three Survey specimens are first year birds. The two obtained in

November are in body moult and the spring bird (No. 650) is undergoing a

complete moult. See Fauna Vol. ii, p. 283 and correction by C. B. Ticehurst,

J.B.N.H.S. xxxi, p. 495.— H.W.]

In the cold weather this species appears to be sparingly distributed throughout

the State, though perhaps it is somewhat more common in the eastern than

in the western portions. I have always seen it singly. It is likely, however,

that this bird is often confused with some of the immature-plumaged examples

of Lanius s. caniceps although with field-glasses there should be no confusion

between the two. The colour of the upper parts from bill to upper edge of

rump, is conclusive, being grey in caniceps and rich brown in cristatus.

No. 279 (9 Nov.) was a young bird with soft skull.

Tephrodornis pondicerianus pondicerianus (Gmelin). The Wood Shrike.

Muscicapa pondiceriana Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i (1789), p. 930 — Pondicherry.

Specimens collected : —62 S 8-10-31, 76 $ 10-10-31, 118 13-10-31 Mananur

2,000 ft.; 253 , 254 ^ 5-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 431 9 6-12-31 Pakhal Lake

800 ft.; 499 S 2-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 603 23-3-32 Kaulas 1,300 ft.;

736 9 (juv.) 737 9 (juv.), 22-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.; 747 juv. 25-4-32

Kannad.

Elsewhere noted at : Hyderabad City and Environs, Singarenni Collieries,

Nelipaka, Paloncha, Asifabad,, Mukher, Utnoor, Aurangabad, Kannad. “Common

at Trimulgherry’’ (Col. Sparrow).

Iris greenish-brown; bill horny-brown, darker on culmen and at tips; mouth

greyish-pink; legs and feet horny-brown, claws darker. In the1 three juveniles:

Iris brown ; bill horny-brown ; gape cre#m colour ; mouth pale lemon yellow ;

legs and feet bluish-slate; claws brown.

A generally distributed species throughout the Dominions, inhabiting boulder

country, scrub and secondary jungle as well as deciduous forest, both hill and

plain. Noted as particularly abundant at Utnoor and Bhamarvadi — in deciduous

forest — and in full song.

It is usually met with in parties of 3 or 4 birds flying from tree to tree

and commonly as a member, of the localised forest associations. The call is

of several pleasant whistling notes, generally a “wheet-wheet" etc, ending in

a quick interrogative “ wlii-whi-whi-whee ?”

710 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXV 1

Breeding : The first signs of genital development were noted in specimen

No. 499 (2 March) whose testes measured ca. 4x2 mm. and appeared to be

enlarging. On 23 March (Kaulas) a nest was taken containing three hard-set

eggs within a couple of days of hatching. No. 603, shot off this nest, had

tire testes ca. 6x3 mm., very pulpy in texture. Nos. 736 and 737 (juvenile, 22

April). were both taken from a single nest, strangely enough both females.

On 23 April a third nest was taken containing 1 fresh egg. While the female

was sitting on this,, the male was seen to ‘tread’ her. No. 747 (25 April) was

a. juvenile, just. able to fly.

The breeding, season apparently is March and April and seems well-defined.

Col. SparrowT considers April as the best month for eggs in the neighbourhood

of Trimulgherry. The nests are neat cups .composed of soft bark, fibres &e.

cemented with .cobwebs and draped on the . exterior with bits of papery bark

&c. which render them inconspicuous among - the supporting branches. One

measured 50 mm. (diameter of cup) X . 30 mm. deep. All 3 nests were in

open deciduous, forest on leafless saplings, 16, 6 and 18 feet from the ground

respectively.

- The eggs are pale greenish-grey in ground colour, with browrn specks thicker

and forming a ring round the broad end. Three measured 18x15 mm. each.

Both parents share in incubation and care of the young.

Family: Pericrocotidal

Pericrocotus rcseusroseus (Vieillot). The Bosy Minivet.

Muscicapa rosea Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat.^ vol. xxi, 1818, p.486 — -

Bengal.

On 23 April a pair was seen in the deciduous forest along the -Oil-tram Ghat

Boad at Bhamarvadi (2,500 ft.). Unfortunately a specimen could not be secured

as I hadn’t a gun with me at the time, so this record must be accepted with

reservation. The nearest definite record is Blanford’s specimens (1 $ adult

and 1 U imm. — January 1871) from the Godavari Valley near Dumagudiam,

which are now in the British Museum. D’Abreu obtained specimens at Nagpur

as follows : 2-4-1912, $/ 15-12-1911, 9 28-1-31.

Jerdon says however that he obtained it from various parts of Malabar

(B. of 1. 4 vol. i, p. 423).

Pericrocotus peregrinus peregrinus (Linn.) The Small Minivet.

Pams peregrinus Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. xii, vol. i (1766) ^ p.342 — No

locality. Bestricted to Ambala. (Bull. B.O.C. xl (1920), p. 115.)

Specimens collected:—^ [9]? 53 ? (imm), 54 7-10-31, 115 13-10-31

Mananur 2,000 ft.; 243 ? (imm.), 244 f (imm.), 4-11-31, 245 |ff 5-11-31 Bor-

gampad 160 ft.; 388 ? (imm.) 30-11-31 Narsampet 800 ft.; 727 9 20-4-32,

743 o 24-4-32 Bhamarvadi, 2,500 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Nelipaka, Asifabad,

Kandahar, Utnoor, Aurangabad, Kannad.

Iris brown; bill horny-black; mouth pinkish-orange; legs, feet and claws

horny-brown.

The claims of the two names peregrinus and cinnamomeus have been dealt

with at length in the Eastern Ghats Beport J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxvi p. 343 —

and it is there shown why the former has been restored.

[I consider that peregrinus restricted to Ambala as type-locality originally

by Stuart Baker must be used for the bird of the Peninsula from the

upper Punjab down to the Cauvery Biver. To this form the Survey birds

belong.— H.W.]

A generally distributed species, frequenting gardens, deciduous forest and

the neighbourhood of cultivation wherever groves of Mango, Tamarind, Nim and

other large trees are present.

Breeding : Five of the specimens procured between 3 and 30 October were

immature as evidenced by the imperfect, ossification of their skulls. By the

beginning of March it was observed that flocks had commenced to break up

into pairs, and by the middle of that month pairs had become the general

pule.

: The first evidence of genital development was furnished by Sp. No. 743

(24 April) — in general body moult — Whose testes measured ca. 4x2 mm., were

THE HYDERABAD. STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY Til

firm in .texture., and appeared, to be enlarging. When the breeding season

actually commences I have no first-hand information, but it evidently con-

tinues till late in the monsoon, i.e. September or thereabouts... At Trimulgherry

Col. Sparrow found nests, . between 22 June and 25 August. He considers the

end of June and July the best time for eggs.

Davidson & Wenden (S.F., vol, vii, p.80) found it breeding in the rains

in the Bhlma Valley, while at. Poona Aitken. has recorded a newly fledged

young as late as 11 November (N.& E.,vol. i, pp. 339-343)

Pericrocotus erythropygius erythropygius (Jerdon). The White-bellied Minivet.

Muscicapa erythropygia Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xi (January 1840;

after May 1840) p. 17 — Jungle on the top of the Ghats near Ajanta.

Specimen collected: — 110 B 12-10-31 Mananur . .2,000 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Iris dark brown ; bill dark horny-brown ; . mouth . yellowish-brown ; legs and

feet dark? horny-brown.

[I have also seen the following Hyderabad specimens: <$ 30-5-09 Aurang-

abad. Shot in scrub jungle in dry bed of nullah (Col. H. E. Baker) ; B 14-3-13

Eswantaraopet and 9 26-12-10 Medepal (Sparrow)'. Jerdon first procured it

at Ajanta and afterwards saw if at Hyderabad (B. of I., i, 425) — H.W.]

The Survey specimen was one of a small flock of 4 or 5 in tall grass

Country interspersed with thorny bushes. It was not again met with in this

locality or elsewhere within the State.

Breeding : Col. Sparrow took a clutch of 3 fresh eggs on 9-8-14 and found

young in another nest on 16-8-14 in the jungle about 25 miles N.-W. of

Trimulgherry.

Lalage sykesi (Strickland). The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike.

Lalage sykesi Strickland, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (1) xiii (1844), p. 36 —

Calcutta. : ■ :

Specimens collected: 20 9 '27-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs 1,800 ft.;. 250

(imm) 5-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft. ; 263 9 8-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 566

9 18-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Mananur, Kandahar. It was noted as ‘absent’ at

Bhamarvadi.

In adult: Iris dark brown; bill, legs, feet and claws horny -brown.

•In first winter birds: Iris hazel brown; bill horny-brown, basal 2/3 of lower

mandible yellowish; gape and mouth yellow; legs and feet’ dark slate; claws

dark brown.

[No. 20 is adult. 250, 263 and 566 are all first winter birds. This bird

has no races. It is to some extent migratory and Davidson and Wenden (S.F.,

vii, 80) call it a winter visitor to the Bhima Valley. There is much other

evidence that it is a migrant both further north and also further south of

Hyderabad, but it is apparently found in Hyderabad all the year round as

Sparrow says that at Trimulgherry it is common and breeds. He obtained eggs

from 21 June to 8 August, mostly in; July. — H.W.] .

The Black-headed Cuckoo- Shrike keeps to secondary and open deciduous jungle

and groves of Mango, Nim etc., mostly in pairs. During the months in which

I came across it in Hyderabad it was silent.

No. 250 was recovering from an injury on the shoulder apparently caused

by the claws of some raptore.

Breeding: No. 250 (5 November) was an immature bird with soft skull.

In none of the specimens were there any traces of genital development. Also

see supra.

Graucalus javensis macei (Lesson). The Large Indian Cuckoo- Shrike.

Garucalus macei Lesson, Traite (end of 1830 or beginning of 1831), p.349—

Bengal, now restricted to Calcutta.

Specimens collected: 163 S 18-10-31 Farahabad 2,800 ft. ; 380 B 26-11-31 — -

Paloncha 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Mananur, Borgampad, Nelipaka, Asifabad, Kandahar,

Utnoor, Kannad.

-Iris reddish-brown or orange-brown; bill black; mouth greyish-pink; legs,

feet and claws slaty-black.

No. 163 is adult; 380 a first-year bird,.

712 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL MIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVi

Commonly distributed in the well- wooded portions of the State. Met with

singly or in pairs or small parties following one another among the tops of

tall forest trees and uttering a shrill ‘ Tee-eee ’ (accent on 2nd syllable). I

frequently observed it feeding on the figs of Ficus religiosa and F. glomerata

in company with numerous other birds.

Col. Sparrow found it common in the cantonments at Trimulgherry in the

cold weather but thinks that it returns to the jungles in the hot weather and

rains, as he never succeeded in getting a nest.

Breeding : The organs of both the specimens were in an undeveloped con-

dition, and no other evidence as regards breeding was obtained.

Family: Art amidol

Art am us fuscus (Vieillot). The Ashy Swallow-Shrike.

Artamus fuscus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., nouv. e., vol. xvii (1817)

p. 297 — Bengal.

Specimens collected : 179 $ 19-10-31 Earahabad 2,800 ft. ; 421 9 3-12-31

Narsampet 800 ft.

Elsewhere noted at : Borgampad, Asifabad.

Iris dark brown ; bill bright sky-blue, black at tips ; mouth dark slate ; legs

and feet bluish-slate or slaty-brown ; claws black.

[In its wide range of distribution this bird appears to have no races. — •

H.W.]

This bird appears to be rather patchily distributed in our area, being present

in some localities and strangely enough absent from others to all appearances

equally suitable. It was not common anywhere. On the whole, I noted it

as more partial to Borassus palm country than to any other facies, but the

precise biological connection between the two was not clear. At Earahabad

8 or 10 birds were observed hawking insects high above a grassy clearing

near the Bhil hamlet of Mallapuram in the midst of extensive forest. Their

distinctive harsh 1 Chek-chel^-chek, cries can be heard when the birds themselves

are at a considerable height in the air. On a Borassus palm at Narsampet

3 birds were noted in some sort of display, spreading their wings eagle-wise

and screwing their outspread tails from side to side to the accompaniment of

the usual harsh cries.

The stomach of No. 179 contained among other unidentifiable insect remains,

two large dragonflies .

Breeding: Neither of the specimens showed any genital development, nor

was any other evidence as regards breeding secured.

Family: DicruriDvE.

Dicrurus macrocercus peninsularis Ticehurst. The Black Drongo.

Dicrurus macrocercus peninsularis Ticehurst, Bull. B.O.C., vol. liii, No.

ccclxii (November 1932), p. 20 — Madras City.

Specimens collected: 17 S (imm) 27-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs 1,800 ft.;

51 3 7-10-31, 63 ? 8-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 189 29-10-31, 226 9 (imm.)

2-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 296 13-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 430 6-12-31

BakhaJ. Lake 800 ft.; 481 18-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft.; 514 9 7-3-32 Mukher

1,350 ft. ; 630 9 2-4-32' Utnoor 1,250 ft.; 726 $ 20-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.

Iris brownish-crimson; bill black; mouth pinkish-brown, slaty-black or slaty-

pink. In young birds the iris is dark brown or reddish-brown; mouth pale pink.

[The Fauna is wrong in giving the type-locality of macrocercus as Orissa.

It is really Java and this of course upsets all the arrangement in the Fauna.

The Survey specimens belong to a race intermediate in size between minor of

Ceylon and the large Himalayan bird. The Eastern Ghats Survey birds also

belong to the same form. — H.W.]

The Black Drongo is one of the commonest and most widely distributed

species in the State, chiefly frequenting cultivated areas and a constant attendant

on grazing cattle. It is also found in deciduous forest often as a member of

the localised forest associations. At Mananur it was commonly observed in forest

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY 713

in company with D. coerulescens-, and its defiant shikra-like calls were amongst

the commonest bird voices at dusk.

At Borgampad (cultivated country) it was noted as most abundant, while

it was distinctly scarce at Utnoor and Asifabad; specially at the latter.

The Drongo is invariably present on the blossoms of Bombax malabaricum

Erythnna indica and E. suberosa, Butea froyidosa and B. suyerba and it un-

doubtedly plays an important part in the cross-pollination of these species.

Specimens shot off the dowers showed large quantities of pollen adhering to

the feathers of the chin and throat.

Breeding : From the state of ossification of the skull it was clear that

No. 17 (27 September) and 226 (2 November) were immature — probably bred

late in the monsoon. By 6 March the birds had commenced the ‘scolding

duets’ which are such significant forerunners of the breeding season.

No. 514 (7 March) was excessively fat though its ovaries were in an un-

developed condition. In 630 (2 April) the ovarian follicles were clearly visible

and appeared to be developing ; in 726 (20 April) they measured ca. 1 mm. in

diameter. From the fact, moreover, that by the last date the birds were mostly

in pairs and somewhat excited, it was apparent that they were preparing to

breed. The breeding season presumably commences in May and continues till

about the end of the rains.

Dicrurus longicaudatus longicaudatus Jerdon. The Ash-grey Drongo.

Dicrurus longicaudatus Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sci. , xiii, pt. ii (1845),

p. 121^7Segour Pass, Nilgiris.

Specimens collected: 143 9 16-10-31, 175 9 19-10-31 Faraliabad 2,800 ft.;

651 ■<$ , 652 c? 5-4-32, 666 o 7-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Iris brownish-red, reddish-brown or orange-red; bill, legs, feet and claws black;

mouth brownish-pink, pale pink or slaty-pink.

This species was only met with in deciduous forest, never in open cultivated

country like the foregoing. It was usually seen singly or in pairs, and frequently

among the localised forest associations.

Breeding : ' The birds observed at Utnoor between 1 and 10 April were

very noisy and appeared to be preparing to breed shortly. No. 652 (5 April)

had testes measuring ca. 3x2 mm., while in No. 666 (7 April) they were

somewhat larger. In both these specimens they appeared to be enlarging.

Dicrurus cserulescens cserulescens (Linn.). The White-bellied Drongo.

Lanius ccerulescens Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. xii (1766), p. 134 — Bengal.

Specimens collected: 49 A- 7-10-31, 116 9 13-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 145?

16-10-31, 149 <5 17-10-31, 173 9 19-10-31 Faraliabad 2,800 ft.; 246 9 5-11-31

Borgampad 160 ft.; 379 $ 26-11-31 Palo-ncha 300 ft.; 653 9 5-4-32 Utnoor

1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Nelipaka, Narsampet, Pakhal Lake, Asifabad, Xaulas,

Bhamarvadi, Vijapur (Aurangabad Dist., 18-31 October 1924). Also at Trimul-

gherry and Eswantaraope.t by Col. Sparrow.

Iris brownish-red ; bill black ; mouth pale pink, slaty-pink or pale pinkish-

yellow ; legs, feet and claws black.

Commonly distributed throughout the State in well-wooded tracts, both hill

and plain. It is a forest bird and I never met it in open cultivation far

from groves or jungle. It is a frequent member of the localised forest asso-

ciations and has a pretty call of 3 or 4 whistling notes which is amongst

the commonest bird voices of the forest. It is also an excellent mimic; I

have heard it taking off the Iora and Tailor-bird to perfection. In the case

of the former not only were the various whistling notes reproduced, but also

the occasional chr-r-rs with which these are punctuated.

I frequently observed this Drongo hawking insects in the air in the manner

of a fly-catcher, turning and twisting on the wing with great agility, and keeping

up the hunt till well after sunset when almost dark.

Breeding : By the beginning of April the birds had become particularly

noisy — a significant phase with the Drongos — and were frequently observed

chasing one another. Specimen No. 653 (5 April) had some of the ovarian

follicles enlarged to over 2 mm. in diameter and it was obviously preparing

to breed.

13

714 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL MIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

Dissemurus paradiseus grandis (Gould). The Racket-tailed Drongo.

Edolius grandis Gould, P.Z.S., 1836 (9 April 1836), p. 5 — Nepal.

Specimens collected: 370 <$ 25-11-31 Palonclia 300 ft.; 423 <$ 5-12-31,

428 G 6-12-31 Paklial Lako 800 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Borgampad (Henricks !), Nelipaka, Narsampet.

Iris brown or reddisli-brown; bill, legs, feet and claws black; mouth

pale greyish-pink, sometimes mottled with brown, yellow and slate.

[All the 3 specimens belong to the big northern race with the fine crest,

thereby giving a slight extension of range. They are all adult. — H. W.]

Strangely enough I failed to come across this species on the Amrabad

Plateau or at Asifabad, Utnoor or Bhamarvadi, all wooded-country and

apparently well suited to its requirements. Even where occurring it was

nowhere common, only being met with occasionally in pairs and that invari-

ably as a member of localised forest associations together with Turdoides

somerzille and Dendrocitta vagabunda. The birds were exceedingly shy every-

where. They have a large repertoire of loud musical rather metallic notes,

some being a rich whistling what-what-vAiat-what &c.

At Borgampad, Henricks noted an example on two successive days perched

on the same stake in cultivation close to the village and at about the same

time in the morning, on both occasions calling loudly. This is rather curious

considering it was open cultivated country here with the nearest likely jungle

at least two miles away ! This was the only example seen in the neighbourhood.

Breeding : No. 370 (25 Novem.) was exceedingly fat. None of the speci-

mens showed any gonadal development.

Family : Sylviid m .

Acrocephalus stentoreus brunnescens (Jerdon). The Indian Great Reed-

warbler.

Agrobates brunnescens Jerdon, Ma,dras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol.. x, 1839 (after

October) p. 269 — Trichinopoly.

Specimens collected: 280 G 9.11.31, 333 <J, 334 , 335 ^ 17.11.31

Nelipaka 160 ft; 387 <J 30.11.31 Narsampet 800 ft.; 496 $ 2.3.32 Kandahar

1,400 ft; 520 ? 7.3.32, 524 S 8.3.32 Mukher 1,350 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: — Paloncha, Pakhal Lake, Deglur, Kaulas. Also Trimul-

gherry & Chinapur on 10.11.12 and Chintakani on 4.2.13 (Sparrow). Jerdon

records it from Jalna.

First seen 8 November (Nelipaka) ; Last 18 March (Kaulas).

Iris pale hazel-brown or olive-brown; bill pale flesh colour, culmen and tip

of lower mandible dark brown; gape and mouth bright orange or orange.-brick ;

legs and feet pale greyish-brown; claws horny-brown; soles lemon yellow.

[I have recently had occasion (J.B.N.H.S. xxxv, pp. 450-452) to go into

the question of the Indian races of this species and to discuss its breeding

records in India. The possibility of its breeding in the vicinity of Bombay was

discussed (loc. cit.) and Davidson (S.F., x, p. 307) thought that it possibly

bred on the Tapti River below Prakasha. I do not, however, expect that

it breeds up on the Hyderabad Plateau, though a female collected by Col.

H. R. Baker at Aurangabad on 4-4-09 (now in my collection) extends the

dates afforded by the Survey. — H.W.]

The Indian Great Reed- warbler was abundant in the beds of ‘Tamarisk’

(Phyllanthus Lawii Grab.) growing on mud-banks and spits on the edge of the

Gadavari River at Nelipaka. Elsewhere, single birds or 2 or 3 examples were

noted haunting the bushes bordering or overhanging village tanks and water-

logged fields. They are great skulkers and can be made to leave the thickets

only with difficulty and after much beating. Everywhere the males were

warbling vociferously, and this invariably was the first indication of their

presence in any locality. A single note uttered as the bird hops among the

bushes is a loud and harsh Ke repeated every few seconds and very reminiscent

of Turdoides somervillei.

Only on one occasion did I meet a bird at any distance from water. This

was in a dense clump of Bamboos along a cart track — probably for shelter

from the mid-day heat — and it was warbling from time to time.

Jottrn. Bombay Nat. Hist. kSoc. Plate II.

Tummalacheruvu tank near Nelipaka, a favourite bird haunt.

THE Hyderabad state ornithological survey

7 15

It is significant that all the specimens, save one which could not be

determined, are males although some of them were actually silent when shot.

No. 496 (2 March) was very fat, but none of the specimens showed any

genital development.

Acrocephalus dumetorum Blytli. Blyth’s Heed- warbler.

Acrocephalus dumetorum Blytli, J.A.S.B., vol. xviii, 1849 (after August),

p. 815 — India, Calcutta.

Specimens collected: 349 9 20-11-31 Palonclia 300 ft.; 389 $ (inim) 30-11-31

Narsampet 800 ft.

Iris hazel brown; bill pale flesh-colour, eulinen and tip brown; mouth in No.

389 (male) orange-brick, in No. 349 (female) pale lemon yellow; legs and feet

greyish-brown ; claws dusky.

[It is very difficult to distinguish this bird from Hippolais rama in the

field, but its heavier beak, somewhat darker colour and graduated tail should

often be appreciable. In the hand, the minute first primary, equal to or

shorter than the primary coverts, at once distinguishes it from both rama and

scita,— H.W.]

A common and generally distributed winter visitor, frequenting bushes and

undergrowth where it hops about among the stems in search of insects,

uttering chuck-chuck or chur-r , chur-r (fee. Usually single. This species is

very confusing with Hippolais and I omit field notes based on sight records

as in most cases it is impossible to say with certainty that they refer to

this bird and not to the other. Both are skulkers and resemble each other

closely in their habits. This Need- warbler (or may be both?), were very

plentiful in the ‘Tamarisk’ ■ beds of the Godavari River at Nelipaka.

No. 389 was an immature bird with an unossified patch in the centre of

its skull. No genital development was noticeable in No. 349.

Acrocephalus agricola Jerdon. The Paddy-field Warbler.

Sylvia ( Acrocephalus ) agricola Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xiii,

pt. 2 (1845), p. 131 — Nellore.

Specimens collected : 390 9 >, 391 9 30-11-31, 408 Q 2-12-31, 445 Q 8-12-31

Narsampet 800 ft.

Iris olive-brown, in No. 445 pale straw colour; bill pale flesh-colour, dark

brown along culmen ; mouth pale greyish-yellow, in 445 pale orange-yellow ;

legs feet and claws pale greyish-brown.

All the specimens -were obtained amongst tall reeds standing in water ' on

the edge of tanks. It was noted as common in the neighbourhood of Narsam-

pet and partial to standing water-logged paddy crops.

None of the specimens showed any gonadal development.

[The possibility that this Reed-warbler may breed in Hyderabad State should

not be lost sight of, a point which I have already discussed in the Ibis (1928,

p. 450).— H. W.]

Orthotomus sutorius sutorius (Pennant). The Tailor Bird.

Motacilla sutoria Pennant, Ind. Zool. (1769), p. 7 — Ceylon.

Specimens collected : 311 U , 312 ? 14-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 670 U 8-4-32

Utnoor 1,250 ft.; 733 ? 22-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Enviorns, Hanamkonda (Warangal

List.), Mananur. (‘exceedingly common in forest’), Farahabad (‘less common

than at Mananur’), Singare’nni Collieries, Borgampad (‘fairly common’),

Paloncha, Narsampet (‘common’), Kandahar (‘common’), Nirmal.

Iris orange; bill pale flesh colour, brownish on culmen and near tip of

lower mandible ; mouth pale flesh colour ; legs and feet brownish flesh colour ;

claws dusky.

[Additional specimens examined from Trimulgherry (Sparrow) and Aurang-

abad (H. R. Baker).

A. good series of Tailor-birds from Ceylon is necessary to settle the question

whether Indian and Cinghalese birds are subspecifically the same. The few

specimens I have seen from Ceylon appear to be smaller and more saturated

green above, with shorten central tail-feathers and no difference between summer

716 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

and winter plumage. Should they prove separable, the prior name available for

our Indian bird is apparently Sylvia guzurata Latham, Index. Orn. (1790),

p. 554— Guzurat.— H. W.]

Generally distributed throughout the State frequenting gardens, scrub country

especially in the vicinity of cultivation, as well as deciduous jungle where it

usually keeps to the undergrowth. At Paloncha it was often met with among

the localised forest associations. In the Islander District where mango groves

abound, it was invariably seen hunting the insects attending on the blossoms.

It was also noted as a regular frequenter of Butea frondosa flowers for nectar

and very probably assists in their cross-pollination.

Breeding : Specimen No. 311 (14 September) had the testes ca. 3x2 mm.,

very pulpy in texture, and the bird was in heavy post-nuptial moult. The

gonads of the rest gave no evidence as regards breeding. According to Mr.

B. K. Burnett, a former principal of Nizam College, the Tailor Bird is a

common host of the Plaintive Cuckoo ( Cacomantis merulinus) in the environs

of Hyderabad City.

Cisticola juncidis cursitans Franklin. The Streaked Fantail Warbler.

Prinia cursitans Franklin, P.Z.S. 1830-31 (October 1831), p. 118 — Ganges

between Calcutta and Benares.

Specimens collected: 123 [(5] 13-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 369 3 (imm)

25-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft.; 443 3, 444 3 8-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft.; 559 3 ,

560 [d'] 16-3-32 Degliir 1,300 ft.; 621 3 1-4-32, 683 3 9-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Trimulgherry (Col. Sparrow!). Not observed at

Aurangabad, Kannad or Bhamarvadi.

Soft parts in 3 3-. Iris hazel brown, olive-brown, khaki or straw-colour;

bill upper mandible horny-brown, lower mandible flesh-colour; mouth black in

first summer and adult summer, fleshy-pink in first winter and adult winter.

Nos., 443 and 444 were in extremely worn summer dress as late as 8 Decem-

ber.

The Streaked Fantail Warbler was rare at Mananur, but fairly common

elsewhere in suitable country which consists of areas covered with tall grass

or standing paddy crops etc. It has a rambling, undulating flight — in which

the fan-shaped tail is conspicuous — sometimes skimming over the crops, at

others rising high in the air in aimless zig-zags and after a few yards suddenly

diving into the stems. It utters a feeble chip, chip, chip as it flies.

Breeding : In No. 369 (25 November) the skull showed the last traces, of

immaturity, while from the testes (ca. 4x2 mm., rather pulpy) and plumage of

443 and 444 it was apparent that they had recently finished breeding. The

rest of the specimens had the organs in a quiescent state.

Col. Sparrow has taken eggs between 18 August and 18 September at Trimul-

gherry.

Franklinia gracilis Franklin. Franklin’s Wren-Warbler.

Prinia gracilis Franklin, P.Z.S. 1830-1831 (October 1831), p. 119 — Ganges

between Calcutta and Benares.

Specimens collected: 71 3 , 72 3 9-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 293 3 (juv)

12-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 371 3 25-11-31 Paloncha Hill 1,100 ft.; 451 ?

11-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft.; 527 ■ 3 8-3-32 Mukher 1,350 ft.; 565 3, 569 3

18-3-32, 594 3 22-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.;, 639 3 3-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.; 745 $

24-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City Environs, Borgampad, Kandahar,

Kannad.

Iris yellow to orange-brown : eye-rim brownish-yellow ; bill black — in a first

winter bird horny-brown — the commissure and tip paler; mouth black or dark

brown; legs , and feet pale yellow, brownish-fleshy or yellowish-fleshy; claws

dusky.

In No. 293 3 juv.: Iris brownish-buff; bill brownish on culmen and gonys

pale yellow on commissure, tips and sides of lower mandible; mouth pale

flesh colour with brown blotches ; legs and feet brownish-yellow; claws dusky.

[This species is evidently generally distributed as Blanford obtained speci-

mens at Bajamundri, Dumagudiem and S.E. Berar west of Chanda, all along

thq boundary of Hyderabad.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

717

The series of Franklin’s Wren-Warbler available in the British Museum

and elsewhere is not very satisfactory, but on wdiat I have examined I have

so far failed to define any races in spite of the wide distribution. — H.W.]

Generally distributed in the State, affecting secondary and scrub jungle—

both hill and plain — as well as tall grass-and-scrub country in deciduous forest.

It is usually met with in flocks of 5-10 birds, the members of which keep in

touch with one another by loud, pleasant tinkling notes. In October, males

were observed warbling vociferously from exposed tips of trees in scrub jungle,

or while clambering about the undergrowth. The song consists of a musical

chiw ee, chiwee, cJliw ee, chip , chip, chip, chip, commencing low and feebly, the

chips rising in crescendo and ending abruptly. This species is also a frequent

attendant on the blossoms of Butea f rondos a for the nectar.

Breeding : The testes: of Nos. 71 and 72 (9 October) were enlarged to 5x3

mm. and the birds were apparently breeding. The plumage and condition

of the skull of No. 293 (12 November) showed that it was juvenile. In the

rest of the specimens the gonads were undeveloped.

Col. Sparrow, wdio found it breeding commonly in the neighbourhood of

Trimulgherry, obtained eggs between 11 July and 25 August,

Franklinia buchanani Blyth. The Kufous-fronted Wren-Warbler.

Prinia buchanani Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. -xiii, 1844, p. 376. — Bengal.

Not met with by the Survey, but there is a specimen in Col. Sparrow’s col-

lection labelled : $ 23-9-1912 Trimulgherry.

Hippolais rama rama (Sykes). Sykes’ Tree Warbler.

Sylvia rama Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 89 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : 231 9 > 232 ? 3-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft. ; 264 $

8-11-31, 309 $ (imm) 14-11-31, 326 ? (imm) 16-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 463 9

13-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft.; 510 S 5-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.

The Sparrow collection contains the following specimens: $ 17-1-12, 9

17-3-12 Trimulgherry.

Iris hazel brown, or olive brown; bill pale flesh colour, culmen brown;

mouth pale lemon yellow or bright yellow; gape yellowish-buff; legs and feet

greyish-brown ; claws dusky ; soles pale lemon yellow.

[I have already given in the Eastern Ghats Survey Beport (J.B.N.H.S., vol.

xxxvi, p. 568) my reasons for considering rama and scita as races of one

species. — H.W.]

A very common winter visitor throughout the Dominions, frequenting gardens,

scrub jungle and Babool bushes separating fields, and in fact any country

where bushes abound, save actual forest. It is met with singly clambering

amongst the undergrowth or hopping from stem to stem in search of insects.

It is an elusive bird seldom showing itself, but the subdued chur-r, chur-r —

which is the only note I have heard it utter — issues from almost every bush.

By the beginning of April the birds had become markedly scarce and 12th April

was the last date on which one was seen.

Hippolais rama scita Eversmann. The Booted Tree-Warbler.

Sylvia scita Eversmann, Add. Pallas Zoogr. Bosso-Asiat., fasc. iii (1842)

p. 12— Ural Mountains.

Specimens collected : 325 9 (imm) 16-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 460 ? 13-12-31

Asifabad 1,200 ft.; 550 S 14-3-32, 563 $ 16-3-32 Degliir 1,300 ft.; 605 ?

24-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.; 685 ? 9-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Soft parts as in H. r. rama, but the upper mandible is horny brown, lower

mandible yellowish-flesh colour, dusky towards tip.

[The last 2 specimens of the Survey series are very poor and identification

is therefore not quite certain but they appear to be this. I have seen the

following additional specimens from Hyderabad : 28-10-06 Aurangabad (Col.

Baker); 3-3-12, U 27-3-11 Trimulgherry (Col. Sparrow). — H.W.]

The differentiation of this bird from II. f. rama and from Acrocephahis

dumetorum is difficult in the field. In their habits they are likewise very similar

and in winter all three of them are very common and generally distributed

in the State.

In No. 325 (16 November) the skull was imperfectly ossified, showing that

the bird was on its first migration to its winter quarters,

718 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Sylvia hortensis jerdoni Blyth. The Eastern Orphean Warbler.

Curruca jerdoni Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xvi (1847 May) p. 439 — Southern India

(Jaulnah).

(For restoration of the name jerdoni see New Fauna vol. viii, p. 640, based

-on, Ticehurst and Whistler, Ibis 1929, p. 673.)

Specimens collected: 490 $ 1-3-32, 506 9> 507 3 4-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.;

554 9 15-3-32 Degliir 1,300 ft.

The following specimens in) Col. Sparrow’s collection extend the above dates:

1-11-13, 17-1-?, 18-1-13 Trimulgherry.

Elsewhere noted at : Miikher.

Iris yellowish-white to lemon yellow; upper mandible and tip of lower

mandible brownish-black, remainder of lower mandible pale grey; mouth in

first winter bird (No. 490) pink, in adults greyish-pink; legs and feet greyish-

brown ; claws brown.

[This bird must be a common and generally distributed winter visitor in

the . Deccan as I have, the following further records :

Deccan: ‘Common’ (Fairbank, S.F., iv, 260).

Deccan: ‘Commonest in Sholapur during the cold season. We procured

it in February, April and May’ (Davidson and Wenden, S.F., vii, 84).

Jaulnah: Type locality. Procured there by Jerdon (B. of I. ii, 208).

Ahmednagar : A series of 8 specimens in the British Museum (Bruce and

Fairbank) one December, one January, three March, three April (latest 27th).

— H.W.]

The Orphean' Warbler was met with singly by the Survey and in

the Nander District only. It frequented stony country with a sparse growth

of stunted thorn bushes, also Babul trees and scrub separating fields of cotton

and jowari. It utters chuck-chuck while skulking through the bushes, something

likef the note of the Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca ) or of Acrocephalus dumetorum,

but rather louder and deeper in tone. I sometimes observed it descending to the

ground to pick up an insect.

Specimens Nos. 506 and 507 (4 March) were excessively fat and apparently

preparing to emigrate.

Sylvia althoea Hume. Hume’s Lesser Whitethroat.

Sylvia althaea Hume, 'S.F., vol. vii (1878) p. 60 — Jhansi,

Specimens collected: 19 , 7 3 25-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs, 1,800 ft.;

258 9 6-11-31 Borgampjid 160 ft.

Elsewhere noted at Asifabad, Kandahar and Miikher.

Iris brown or hazel brown; bill horny brown, lower mandible paler; mouth

fleshy pink; legs, feet and claws horny-black or bluish slate, claws brown.

Similar in habits to Acrocephalus dumetorum and Hippolais rama and like

them common in winter. It affects the same type of open bush-and-Babul

country and the chuck-chuck it constantly utters is also practically indis-

tinguishable from their notes.

Sylvia curruca affinis Blyth. The Indian Lesser Whitethroat.

Curruca affinis Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xiv (after Aug. 29) 1845, p. 564 — -

S. India.

Specimens collected: 458 9 13-12-31, 466 9 14-12-31, 480 3 18-12-31

Asifabad 1,200 ft.; 492 $ 1-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.

Col. Sparrow’s collection contains the following specimens from Hyderabad:

3 15-11-12, 3 - .17-1-12, .. 3 26-1-12 Trimulgherry 3 25-1-11 Jalna.

Iris brown; bill horny brown, lower mandible paler; mouth pinkish flesh,

in No. 406 orange-pink; legs and feet bluisli-slate; claws brown, slaty-black

or dark horny -brown.

A winter visitor, almost indistinguishable in the field from S. althoea

and doubtless often confused with it. Its habits and habitat are identical

with the above.

Phylloscopus affinis (Tickell). Tickell’s Willow- Warbler.

Motacilla affinis Tickell, J.A.S.B., vol. ii (November 1833) p. 576—

Borabhum.

Specimen collected; 377 3 26-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft,

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

7 IQ

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, gape and lower mandible orange yellow;

legs and feet yellowish-brown, back of tarsus and soles lemon yellow-

[This record is a slight extension of the known range. On the west it

is recorded from Khandala and Mahableshwar and it is a common winter

visitor to the Nilgiris extending also to Travancore. On the eastern side it

is not known to occur below the Chota Nagpur area to Baipur and Ananta-

giri. In between these two areas, west and east, there is no previous

record. — H.W.]

A winter visitor, frequenting scrub and secondary jungle, clinging upside

down to sprigs of leaves, and making short sallies in the air after winged

insects like a flycatcher.

Phylloscopus griseolus Blyth. The Olivaceous Tree-Warbler.

Phylloscopus griseolus Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xvi (1847), p. 443 — Banks of

the Hoogly.

Specimens collected: 283 G 10-11-31 Nelipaka ca. 400 ft.; 471 9 15-12-31

Asifabad 1,200 ft.

Iris brown; bill brown, lower mandible yellow; mouth yellowish flesh-

colour; legs & feet, yellowish-brown; claws brown; soles yellow.

[A very slight extension of range, the southern fringe , of its known winter

range being previously the localities Mahableshwar, Ahmednagar, S. E. Bexar

and Parasgaon, Bastar. — H.W.]

Winter visitor. Met with singly in tall trees in deciduous forest. The

note usually uttered is a finch-like pink-pink.

Phylloscopus inornatus humei (Brooks). Hume’s Willow-Warbler.

Reguloides humei Brooks, S.F., vol. vii (1878), p. 131 — N.W. India.

The Sparrow Collection contains a specimen labelled: 9 3-11-12 Medehal,

Deccan.

Phylloscopus nitidus nltidus Blyth. The Gfreen Willow-Warbler.

Phylloscopus nitidus Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xii (after November 13) 1843,

p. 965 — near Calcutta.

Specimen collected: 47 ? (imm) 7-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.

Iris dark brown; bill, upper mandible horny-brown, lower mandible pale

flesh-colour; mouth bright lemon yellow; legs, feet and claws pale horny-brown;

soles lemon yellow.

Phylloscopus nitidus viridanus Blyth. The Greenish Willow- Warbler.

Phylloscopus viridanus Blyth, J.A.S.B.* vol. xii (after November 13) 1843,

p. 967 — near Calcutta.

Specimens collected: 69 & 9-10-31, 78 ? (imm) 10-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.;

416 ? 3:12-31 Narsampet 800 ft.; 623 ? 1-4-32, 640 S .3-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

In the Sparrow Collection there is the following additional material from

Hyderabad: 9 2-11-10, $ 3-11-10, 9 9-11-12 Trimulgherry.

Iris brown; upper mandible horny-brown, lower mandible pale flesh-colour or

pale yellow ; mouth lemon yellow ; legs and feet greyish or greenish-brown ;,

soles lemon yellow.

Winter visitors. First noted 30 September (Hyderabad City) ; last 12 April

(Nlrmal).

Both these subspecies are certainly the commonest of the migratory warblers

that visit the Dominions during the winter months — to judge from the speci-

mens— the latter, viridanus being the more abundant of the two. They frequent

secondary and deciduous forest keeping mostly to the foliage of the taller trees

where they move about with surprising energy in search of insects lurking

amongst the leaves and blossoms. Some of their habits closely resemble

those of a flycatcher while others, such as clinging to sprigs upside down,

are distinctly tit-like. They have a perky, penetrating chiwee call which is

repeated at intervals of a few seconds. At Paloncha — and also elsewhere—

these warblers were often observed amongst the localised forest associations.

Usually they are met with singly.

In No. 47 the skull was imperfectly ossified and the specimen was very

fat. Nos. 623 (1 April) and 640 (3 April) were also fat and from this and

the condition of their moults it was apparent that they were getting readv

to emigrate shortly.

720 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Phylloscopus magnirostris Blyth. The Large-billed Willow-Warbler.

Phylloscopus magnirostris Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xii (after November 13)

1813, p. 966 — near Calcutta.

Specimen collected: 50 $ (imm) 7-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, commissure and base of lower mandible

paler ; mouth bright yellow ; legs and feet pale horny-brown ; soles lemon yellow.

Obtained from a tall tree in deciduous forest. Single. The skull was

imperfectly ossified and the bird was very fat.

Phylloscopus occipitalis occipitalis (Blyth). The Large Crowned Willow-

Warbler.

Phyllovneuste occipitalis Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xiv (after August) 1845, p.

593— S. India (— Nellore).

Specimens collected: 435 ? (imm), 436 $ 7-12-31 Pakhal - Lake 800 ft.

Iris brown; bill orange-brown, lower mandible pale orange; mouth pale

orange ; legs and feel slaty-brown ; soles lemon yellow.

Shot from a party of 5 or 6 in a lofty tree overhanging a stream in

dense forest by the lake. The birds were flitting restlessly from sprig to

sprig, clinging upside down on the leaves or making short graceful sallies

after winged insects. The flycatchers Culicicapa ceylonensis and Hypothymis

azurea and the tits Pams and Machlolophus were other members of this

association.

Prinia socialis socialis Sykes. The Ashy Wren-Warbler.

Prinia socialis Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (April.) p. 89 — Dukliun.

Specimens collected: 83 U 11-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 234 <$ 3-11-31

Borgampad 160 ft.; 570 $ 18-3-32, 593 22-3-32 Kaulas 1,300 ft. ; 669 9

8-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Narsampet, Mukher.

Iris rich orange-brown; eye-rim ditto; bill black; legs and feet brownish-

yellow or brownish-flesh colour; claws dusky. . Mouth, summer plumage. (Nos.

83 and 234) black; winter (Nos. 570, 593 and 669) brown, blackish-brown or

slaty-pink.

The Ashy Wren- Warbler is commonly distributed throughout the Domin-

ions but was, noted' as absent at Kannad and Bhamarvadi (16-26 April, 1932)

although Prina inornata seemed to be fairly common there. At Mukher it

was less numerous than P. inornata, while in the neighbourhood of Utnoor it

was by far' the, more abundant of the two. It is a familiar bird in Hyder-

abad City and Environs and there is hardly a garden where a pair or two

are not in evidence. It also inhabits open scrub jungle and the outskirts of

cultivation.

Breeding : On 18 October (1928) I took a nest with 3 fresh eggs at

Saifabad (Hyderabad City). On 28 September (1931) a nest was seen at

Khairatabad (Hyderabad City) containing 3 young, five or six days old. Their

mouths were a conspicuous bright orange-yellow. The testes of both Nos. 83

(11 October) and 234 (3 November) were enlarged to breeding size and the.

birds were warbling excitedly from exposed perches. On 23 October (1931)

in the same garden at Saifabad a pair of Ashy Wren-Warblers were observed

feeding and fussing over a full-fledged young Plaintive Cuckoo ( Cacomantis

meruhnus) whose open gape was capacious enough to accommodate the entire

head and neck of the foster-parents 'as it was inserted with food ! Mr.

E. Iv. Burnett (Stuart Baker, P.Z.S. 1923, p. 287) discovered the extraordinary

fact that this Cuckoo parasitizes the nests of the Ashy Wren-Warbler in

Hyderabad City, while a few miles outside the1 common fosterer is the Tailor

Bird ( Orthotomus sutorius). Mr. Burnett collected a fine series of eggs to

show the remarkable resemblance of the cuckoo eggs to those of P. socialis in

Hyderabad City and to those of 0. sutorius in the surrounding areas.

In Hyderabad, the breeding season is chiefly the latter part of the mon-

soon, though at Trimulgherry Col. Sparrow obtained eggs mostly between

21 June and 24 August. I have seen both types of nest, viz. the Tailor-

Bird type and the oblong purse of woven fibres. The type of structure evi-

dently depends upon the nature of the available nesting site as Vidal records

(J.B.N.H.S., viii, 427) the two different types of nest made by one identical

pair in Poona.

According to Dayidson and Wenden (S.E., vii, 83) this warbler nests in

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

721

August in the Bhima Valley, while Butler took eggs in Belgaum in July and

August (N. & E. i, 293). In the neighbourhood of Bombay I have taken

nests in August, September and October.

The plumages and races of this and the following Wren- Warblers have

been fully discussed by Mr. Whistler in the Eastern Ghats Report,

J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxvi, p. 573.

Prinia sylvatica sylvatica Jerdon. The Jungle Wren-Warbler.

Prinia sylvatica Jerdon, Madr. Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xi (1840, January) p. 4 —

Seegore Pass of the Nilgiris„

Specimens collected: 4 G, 9 9 25-9-31, 18 $ 27-9-31 Hyderabad City

Environs 1,800 ft.; 346 $ ((imm) 20-11-31, 372 9 25-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft. and

1,100 ft.; 453 $ 12-12-31, 473 S \ 474 (imm) 15-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft.;

597 & 23-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.; 636 [9] 3-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Iris: d orange; 9 orange-straw, straw or drab; juv. olive-brown.

Bill : horny-brown, lower mandible pale flesh in juv. ; ad. cf summer

black; in other stages horny-brown* lower mandible fleshy; in juv. lower

mandible bright yellow, gape pale yellow.

Mouth : ad. $ summer black ; in other stages brownish pink.

Legs and feet : fleshy- or pale fleshy-brown ; claws similar or darker.

[Distribution not very well known but there are specimens from Nasik

(Davidson) and Mahableshwar (Hume Coll.) in the British Museum. — H.W.]

Generally distributed in Hyderabad but I failed to meet it on the Amra-

bad Plateau or at Kannad or Bhamarvadi. It haunts boulder-hillock and scrub

country and also scrub jungle on the edge of forest.

Breeding : No. 4 (25 September) and 18 (27 September) were both warbling

vociferously though the pulpy condition of their enlarged testes suggested that

they had probably finished breeding. The imperfectly ossified condition of

the skulls of 346 (20 November) and 473 and 474 (15 December) showed that

they were young of the year, born in the latter part of the monsoon. Col.

Sparrow found it breeding commonly in the grass jungles in the neighbour-

hood of Trimulgherry where he took eggs between 11 July and 20 September,

mostly July and August.

In the Raipoor District (Central Provinces) according to Blewitt (N. & E.,

i, 299) it breeds from the middle of June to the middle of August.

At Panchgani, 4,400 ft. (Western Ghats) I have taken eggs in June.

Prinia inornata inornata Sykes. The Indian Wren-Warbler,

Prinia inornata Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 89 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : 45 9 7-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft. ; 205 ? 31-10-31

Borgampad 160 ft.; 508 <$ , 509 5-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 558 S 16-3-32

Deglur 1,300 ft.; 571 -<$ 18-3-32, 580 S 19-3-32 , 608 ? 24-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft.:

645 ? 4-4-32, 684 9 9-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at : Nelipaka., Narsampet, Pakhal Lake, Hanamkonda,

Asifabad, Aurangabad, Kannad, Bhamarvadi > Hyderabad City Environs.

Iris orange-yellow or brownish-orange; bill horny-brown, paler at base of

lower mandible ; mouth pinkish, also pale pink or pale yellowish-flesh streaked

with brown; legs and feet brownish-yellow; claws brown.

Generally distributed. Singly or in pairs, affecting hedges near cultivation,

grassland or open scrub-and-boulder country such as obtains in the environs

of Hyderabad City, Warangal and elsewhere on the Deccan Plateau. It is

also very partial to date scrub and tussocks of rank grass on water-logged

ground.

Breeding : On 12 October I found a nest — woven purse of fine grass strips —

among grass stems in tall grass-and-scrub country at Mananur. It was built

about 2 feet off' the ground and contained the usual 4 blue eggs with red

blotches, apparently fresh. Other pairs also seemed very excited at this season

and were presumably breeding. I do not know if the birds have a brood

.earlier in the year also, but the testes of No. 571 (18 March) clearly suggested

such a possibility; they1 measured ca. 3x2 mm.

Col. Sparrow has taken eggs at Trimulgherry between 18 July and 9 October,

but considers August-September as the best time for them. In the neighbour-

hood of Bombay and in the Konkan it breeds principally between August and

October.

Both parents, take part in building' and in the.' care of the young.

722 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Family: Oriolid;e.

Oriolus oriolus kundoo Sykes. The Indian Oriole.

Oriolus kundoo Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 87 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : 304 9 14-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 394 9 30-11-31

Narsampet 800 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Achampet (Mahbub-

nagar District), Kazipet, Borgampad (‘commoner than x author nus ') , Paloncha,

Asifabad, Kandahar, Miikher, Utnoor (‘fairly common’).

Soft parts: No. 304 Iris crimson; bill flesh-pink; mouth pink; legs and

feet slaty-blue; claws dusky. No. 394 Iris brown; bill horny-brown, slightly

paler on lower mandible; mouth pink; legs and feet slaty-blue; claws brown.

The above differences may be accounted for by the fact that No. 304 is pre-

sumably a two-year old bird while 394 is a first winter example.

[The possibility must be borne in mind that this Oriole is probably both a

resident and a winter visitor to Hyderabad. The vast numbers that breed in

Turkestan, Kashmir and the Punjab are summer visitors only and presumably

winter somewhere in the Peninsula. In N. Kanara (Davidson, J.B.N.H.S.,

xi, 665) it is a cold weather visitor, being found in great numbers everywhere

from November to the end of April. Not seen in the rains and believed not

to breed. — H.W.]

The Indian Oriole is generally distributed in the State, frequenting groves

of trees especially mango and tamarind, gardens and all well-wooded localities.

It is also often mef) with in deciduous forest where I observed it as a member

of the localised associations. The note most commonly uttered is a harsh chee-ah.

In the Nander District when mango trees were in flower, it was invariably

to be seen hunting the attendant insects, and was also a constant visitor to the

blossoms of Erythrina indica and E. suberosa for the nectar. It was' commonly

observed feeding on the figs of the Peepal ( Ficus religiosa).

Breeding : The ovaries of the specimens were in an undeveloped condition.

Col. Sparrow, who describes it as a common resident about Trimulgherry, took

eggs between 25 June and 21 July, but found that most clutches had hatched

by mid- July.

According to Davidson and Wenden (S.E., vii, 837) it breeds in the Bhlma

Valley, where it is common, in June, and July.

Oriolus xanthornus maderaspatanus Franklin. The Indian Black-headed

Oriole.

Oriolus maderaspatanus Franklin, P.Z.S., 1830-1831 (October 1831), p. 118 — -

Vindhyian Hills between Benares and Gfurra Mandeli on the Nerbudda.

Specimens collected: 107 S , 108 9 12-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 146 d

16-10-31 Farahabad 2,800 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Kazipet, Borgampad,

Nelipaka, Paloncha, Utnoor (‘fairly common’).

d ad. Iris blood red; bill and mouth livid pink; legs and feet slaty-brown;

claws black. In No. 108 (1st Winter 9) bill black; mouth pale pink.

[The division of the Black-headed Oriole into three races in India and

Ceylon and the reason for the adoption of this name have already been dis-

cussed in the E. Ghats Survey Report (J.B.N.H. S., vol. xxxvi, p. 584). I have

also explained there that the Neie Fauna, has wrongly attributed to the adult

female — which in fact has a completely black head, throat and breast like the

adult male — the plumage of the first-year birds in which the male and female

are alike with streaked chin, throat and breast (vide specimen No. 108). —

H.W.]

I failed to comb across this bird in the Nander and Aurangabad Districts

although in the former at any rate, kundoo appeared to be common. While fre-

quenting gardens and groves like the foregoing species, my impression is that

it prefers more densely wooded country. I met it oftener in deciduous forest,

especially when in leaf after the monsoon, and there, also frequently among the

localised associations. Its food consists largely of Ficus fruits, particularly the

small Peepal figs.

The organs of the specimens were in a quiescent state,

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

723

Family: Sturnid^l

Pastor roseus (L. ). The Rose-coloured Starling.

Turdus roseus Linnaeus Syst. Nat., ed. x (1758), p. 170 — Lapland.

Specimens collected: 373 $ (imm), 374 $ (imm) 25-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft.

First met 26 October (Kazipet) ; last 14 April (Aurangabad).

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, yellow at gape and basal half of lower man-

dible; mouth bright lemon yellow with gullet livid pink in 373 and greyish

pink in 374; legs, feet and claws horny-brown.

Both specimens are approximately the same age and are the same sex, so

the difference in gullet colour may possibly be only individual, or else depending

upon one bird being somewhat more advanced in age than the other. They

are immature, having imperfectly ossified patches in the centre of their skulls,

and evidently on their first migration.

A very common and abundant winter visitor to every part of the Dominions,

attending on grazing cattle, especially on water-logged ground, and feeding

largely on fruits of Zizyphus cenoplia and Bridelia hamiltoniana , besides Fici

of many kinds, of which they act as important dispersal agents. They are a

serious menace to the ryot and in jowari-growing areas the damage they cause

to the crops is enormous. In the Nander District I often saw numerous flocks

of three or four hundred birds' each, looking like locust swarms at a distance,

descending upon the ripening grain at all hours of the day. In the heat of

the day the flocks retire into the surrounding Babool trees and spend the inter-

vals between their intermittent ravages in chattering. I commonly found

them roosting with Psittacula krameri, Acridotheres tristis and Temenuchus

pagodarum in patches of Butea frondosa bushes. Smaller flocks may be regularly

seen on trees of Erythrina indica, Bombax malabaricum, and Butea frondosa

feeding on nectar from the flowers, and as I have shown elsewhere' (J.B.N.H.S.,

vol. xxxv, p. 577 et seq.) it is more than likely that they are important agents

in the cross-pollination of these species.

The Rosy Pastor is one of the birds whose economic status in India needs

to be accurately determined, as to compensate for the loss it causes to the

ryot directly, it destroys locusts on a large scale and is also beneficial in a

number of other ways to agriculture and vegetation.

An excellent account of the breeding biology of this species in Russian Turkes-

tan, whence a great many of our winter visitors presumably come, 1 will be

found in the Journal fun Ornithologie, vol. lxxix (1931), pp. 29-56.

Sturnia malabarica malabarica (Gmelin). The Grey-headed Myna.

Turdus malabaricus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. ii (1789), p. 816 — Malabar

Coast.

Specimens collected: 328 Q 16-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 447 9 8-12-31 Nar-

sampet 800 ft.

Iris china white or greyish-white ; bill, upper mandible lemon-yellow,

greenish at base, lower mandible grey at base passing into greenish-yellow

and terminating in bright lemon yellow ; mouth pale slaty pink or slaty-blue ;

legs, feet and claws brownish-yellow.

[Not obtained by Col. Sparrow. I suspect that this bird may be a migrant

in the Dominions as in Belgaum (Butler, S.F., ix, 238) and Madras (Dewar,

J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 488) it is said to be a winter visitor only. — H.W.]

This bird (winter visitor ?) appears to be patchily distributed, as besides

the above two localities it was not noted elsewhere. It was not common at

either place, though more so at Nelipaka than at Narsampet. Small flocks

were observed in company with A. tristis and T. pagodarum feeding largely on

the ripe black drupes of Zizyphus cenoplia.

The flight is exactly like that of Sturnus or Pastor.

The ovaries of the specimens were undeveloped.

Temenuchus pagodarum (Gmelin). The Black-headed Myna.

Turdus pagodarum Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i (1789), p. 816 — Malabar.

Specimens collected: 46 7-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 208 9 1-11-31

Borgampad 160 ft.; 646 'S 4-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft,

724 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Earahabad, Nelipaka,

Paloncha, Narsampet, Asifabad, Kandahar, Kaulas, Kannad, Bhamravadi.

iris bluish-white or yellowish cream colour; bill, basal half including gape

and nostrils greenish lead colour, terminal half lemon yellow; legs, feet and

claws lemon yellow; mouth greenish plumbeous or bluish-slate.

[This species has no races. Col. Sparrow’s collection has specimens dated

October, November, April and May from Trimulgherry, and Col. H. R. Baker

collected specimens at Aurangabad in March and August. It seems to be very

Common and generally distributed and resident in the Peninsula. — H.W.]

The Black-headed Myna is generally and abundantly distributed throughout

the State but was noted by the Survey as being much more numerous in the

Eastern portions of area than in the Western (i.e. Aurangabad and Nander

District's). It frequents every type of country, being specially partial to water-

logged ground where it may be seen following grazing cattle in company with

A. tristis for grasshoppers and other insects. Besides insects, its food largely

consists of Ficus, Zizyphus, Bridelia and other fruits and berries while it is

also extremely fond of the nectar of Bombax, Butea and Erythrina flowers,

pollen of which I have frequently found adhering to the throat feathers. It

also feeds to a considerable extent on Mhowa ( Bassia latifolia ) flowers and is

at times destructive to ripening jowari crops.

Breeding : By the beginning of March the birds had begun to pair off.

Between 1 and 10 April I constantly observed pairs prospecting for nesting sites

in tree-holes in the deciduous forest at Utnoor, and the males were then in

full ‘song’. The testes of No. 646 (4 April) measured ca. 5x3 mm., and the

bird — one of a pair — appeared to be preparing to breed. On 11 June (1928)

Mrs. Tasker observed a full-fledged chick being tended by its parents at

Begumpet (Hyderabad City Environs). At Trimulgherry, Col. Sparrow has

taken eggs between 10 May and 17 June.

According to Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85) the breeding season

at Satara is May, while at Panchgani (4,400 ft.) in the Western Ghats I found

June to be the month most favoured.

Acridotheres tristis tristis (Linn.). The Common Myna.

Paradisea tristis Linn., Syst. Nat., xii ed., vol. i (1766), p. 167 — Philippines

err ore, India.

No specimens collected.

Noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Jedcherla, Achampet, Mananur,

Earahabad, Singarenni Collieries, Borgampad, Nelipaka, Paloncha, Narsampet,

Asifabad, Kandahar, Mukher, Deglur, Kaulas, Utnoor, Aurangabad, Kannad,

Bhamarvadi and elsewhere.

The Sparrow Collection contains 4 specimens from Trimulgherry.

A very common and familiar resident all over the Dominions, both in and

around towns and villages as well as away from human habitations. On the

whole, however, it is more partial to open cultivated country than to forest.

In some localities it is a serious menace to the ryot and does enormous damage

to ripening jowari crops. Its food consists largely of locusts, grasshoppers

and other insects besides Ficus figs, drupes of Zizyphus and many other species

in the dispersal of whose seeds it plays an important part. The fleshy flowers

of the Mhowa tree are also eaten.

Mynas are amongst the most regular visitors to the blossoms of Bombax,

Butea and Erythrina and in the flowering season the throat and forehead

feathers of the birds may be invariably seen coated with pollen from them.

They have regular roosts (in Opuntia. brakes, Butea patches etc.) to which

thousands repair to roost night after, night. The din of their bickerings before

they finally settle down for the night may be heard for over half a mile.

Their numbers here are usually augmented by Pastors, Parakeets and Black-

headed Mynas, all of whom contribute to the noise. At Utnoor, hundreds of

these birds collected to drink every evening before dusk on the grassy edge

of a tank near the village, whence they retired in parties and flocks to roost

as it grew darker.

Breeding: On 26 April several pairs were observed nesting (presumably)

in holes in the scarp of- rock at the back of Kailasa Cave, Ellora. At Trimul-

gherry Col. Sparrow obtained eggs between 13 June and 1 July. In the'Bhima

Valley the breeding season is May and June (Davidson and Wenden, S.F.,

vii, 84), the same as T have found it to be in the Konkan (Kolaba District).

725

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

Sturnopastor contra contra (Linn.). The Indian Pied Myna.

Sturnus contra Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 167— India.

Specimens collected: 188 d 29-10-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 286 d 10-11-31

Nelipaka 160 ft.

Iris brownish-orange or orange-buff; orbital skin orange; bill, basal portion

orange-red, terminal pale flesh colour; mouth leaden-black; legs and feet

y ello w i sh - brown .

[More specimens of this species are badly wanted. The two races given

in the New Fauna as contra and dehrce appear to bej satisfactory if only the

material in the British Museum is consulted, but they are not substantiated

by the small amount of other material which I have been able to examine.

These two Hyderabad birds are quite indistinguishable from Duars birds

(upper parts black; white of lower plumage with a pearly grey tint) which are

S. contra contra, though by distribution Hyderabad birds should be S. c. dehrae

— H.W.]

The Pied Myna appears confined to the eastern portions of the State only.

Apart from the localities whence the specimens were obtained, it was only

met with in any numbers at Paloncha. At Narsampet (8 December) a single

pair was noted in company with A. tristis and T. pagodarum and no more

thereafter.

At Borgampad and Nelipaka where it was not uncommon, it was observed

to keep almost exclusively in the immediate vicinity o.f villages, being es-

pecially partial to cattle enclosures or pens. In places where two villages lay

a miles or two apart, practically none would be seen in the intervening country

though the birds would be numerous in both villages.

This Myna has a number of pleasant musical notes, some of which are

rather similar to snatches from the flight-song of Eremopterix and Ammomanes

larks.

The testea of the specimens were in an undeveloped condition.

(To be continued).

OBITUARY.

Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock, .c.i.e., f.r.s., 1859-1933

Tlie sad and sudden death of Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock, c.i.e.,

m.b., ll.d. , f.r.s., i.m.s. (Retd.), on March 24, 1933, will be

deplored by his large circle of friends and admirers throughout

India .

Alcock was educated at Millliill, Blackheatli, and Westminster,

and after graduating as a Zoologist served for about two years as

an Assistant Professor of Zoology in the University of Aberdeen

under Professor H. A. Nicholson, f.r.s. He passed the compe-

titive examination for the Indian Medical Service and came out

as a Lieutenant in 1885 to this country where he had spent several

years previously, first as a teacher of Classics in Darjeeling and

later as an assistant on one of the plantations in Bihar. He served

as a medical officer with the Punjab Frontier Force from 1886-88,

and was then selected for the post of the Surgeon-Naturalist to

tliq Marine Survey of India. In 1892 lie served for a short- period

as the Deputy Sanitary Commissioner, Bengal, but on the retire-

ment of Mr. J. Wood-Mason, Superintendent of the Indian Museum,

in 1893, he was appointed, to succeed him and served in this capa-

city till his retirement from service in 1907. He also acted as

the Professor of Zoology in the Medical College, Calcutta, during

his tenure as the Superintendent of the Indian Museum. In 1895

he accompanied the Pamir Boundary Commission as a Naturalist

and did extremely valuable biological work in the little-known areas

visited by the Commission. After his retirement from India he

worked as a Lecturer in Medical Entomology in the London School

of Tropical Medicine and in 1919 was appointed the Professor of

Medical Zoology in the LTniversity of London. He retired from the

latter post in i924.

Col. Alcock ’s work as a Zoologist, as a Museum Administrator,

and his connection with the pioneer literary and scientific society

in India — the Asiatic Society of Bengal — deserve special considera-

tion, and in the following paragraphs a short account of his activi-

ties in these lines is given.

Reference has already been made to his working as an Assis-

tant Professor of Zoology in the Aberdeen University for about two

years after graduation, but it was only after his appointment as the

Surgeon-Naturalist to the Marine Survey of India that he began

original research work in Zoology. Every year during the monsoon

season when the Survey ship ‘ Investigator’ was laid un in the

Bombay harbour, Alcock came to Calcutta and worked out, in

collaboration with the authorities of the Indian Museum, the zoo-

logical collections made by him during the preceding survey season.

His first zoological paper published in the Journal of the Asiatic

Society of Bengal in 1890, dealt with the peculiarities of the gesta-

tion of Indian sharks and rays. During the next two years he ex-

tended his observations on this interesting phenomenon, and in

Jaurn., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock,, c.i.e., f.r.s.

( Born 1859; died 24th March 1933).

■

OBITUARY

T21

collaboration with Wood-Mason published two papers in the Pro-

ceedings of the Royal Society of London. Two further papers on

the same subject were published during the next two years in the

Annals and Magazine of Natural History. It is impossible to include

here a detailed account of his zoological contributions, but it may

be noted that up to the time of his retirement in 1907 Alcock had

published nearly fifty papers on marine zoology. His systematic

papers include accounts of Anthozoa, Echinodermata, Bracliiopoda,

Mollusca, Crustacea and Fishes. Amongst these contributions

those on deep-sea fishes and Crustacea deserve special mention. The

series of papers entitled ‘Materials for a Carcinological Fauna of

India’ published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal from

1895-1900 may be specially considered. These papers in which he

critically treated most of the marine families of Brachyurous Crus-

tacea, are a rich mine of information and are indispensible to every

worker in Carcinology, and particularly to workers on Indo-Pacific

forms. His Catalogues of Decapod Crustacea in the Indian Museum

similarly contain very elaborate and carefully drawn up accounts

of the rich crustacean fauna of Indian waters. After liis retire-

ment Col. Alcock published, in 1910, a very valuable monograph

on the Potamonidae, or the freshwater crabs of India. In addition

to the works mentioned above Col. Alcock published a number of

papers on Viviparous Fishes, on an Instance of Natural Effect of

Warning Colours, on the Toxic Properties of Saliva in certain C'olu-

brine Snakes, on a New Flying Lizard from Assam, an Account of

the Beptiles collected by the Afghan Boundary Commission, and

on a New Apodous Amphibian from India; in the last paper is in-

cluded a very learned discussion on the changes in the configur-

ation of the various continents as deduced from the distribution

of the limbless Amphibians.

In 1905 Col. Alcock developed a special interest in Entomology

and, in collaboration with Capt. J. B. Adie, published a paper

on the occurrence of a malaria- carrying Anopheles mosquito in

Calcutta. On his appointment as Lecturer in Entomology in the

London School of Tropical Medicine, Alcock not content with, book

knowledge only, started working out the different forms of insects

which are of interest as disease-carriers, and in 1911 published his

monumental work entitled ‘Bemarks on the Classification of the

Culicidae, with particular reference to the Constitution of the Genus

Anopheles’ in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. About

the same time he performed an even greater service to tropical

zoology by the publication of liis wonderfully conceived and very

lucid text-book entitled Entomology for Medical Officers.

As the Superintendent of the Indian Museum, Col. Alcock had

to work under very disheartening circumstances, but he carried

out reforms of an outstanding nature in the general management

of the institution and did very valuable work in connection with

the preparation and arrangement of the exhibits in the various

public galleries under his charge. The exhibits which he set up

in the galleries were mostly prepared with his own hands and are

an ample proof of the time and care he bestowed on their prepa-

ration. As the Superintendent of the Indian Museum he tried to

728 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXV l

improve the administration of the Museum as a whole and I can-

not do better than quote what his successor, the late Dr. Annan-

dale, wrote regarding the condition in which he left the Trustees’

office on his retirement: ‘The admirable organization of his office,

which enabled his successor to take up the threads of routine

mechanically, is another matter for which it is impossible to be

too grateful : although changes necessarily take place as the

Museum grows and develops, the ground-work will always be that

constructed by Col. Alcock, too often without recognition, and in

spite of obstacles of which nothing was known beyond the Museum

walls.’ To popularise the Museum and make it possible for the

lay public to understand the exhibits Col. Alcock wrote a series

of very handy and interesting guide-books. These guide-books and

the Naturalist in Indian Seas published in 1902 are outstanding

examples of Col. Alcock ’s erudition and perspicuity, while the

literary style of these books ‘in which the strong infusion of Shakes-

peare and other Elizabethan authors is never pedantic, never fri-

volous, and never dull’, adds to their charm.

No account of Col. Alcock ’s zoological work in India will be

complete without a reference to his connection with the Asiatic

Society of Bengal. He joined the Society in 1888 and continued

as an active member till 1906 when he left India on leave prepara-

tory to retirement. He was elected the Natural History Secre-

tary of the Society in 1894, General Secretary in 1895, Vice-Presi-

dent in February 1901, and in 1911 was elected as an Honorary

Fellow.

For his researches on the marine zoology of India he received

the honorary degree of ll.d. from the University of Aberdeen m

1904, and was awarded the Barclay Memorial Medal by the Asiatic

Society of Bengal in 1907. He was elected a Fellow of the Boyal

Society of London in 1901, and was a corresponding member of

the Zoological Society of London, and of the Netherlands Zoological

Society, and an Honorary Member of the California Academy of

Sciences, Philadelphia. His services in the Indian Museum were

recognised in 1903 by the grant of the title of c.i.e.

A list of his publications on Indian Zoology was published in

the Records of the Indian Museum , vol. ii, pp. 4-9.

B. P.

Lt.-Col. J. Stephenson, c.i.e., f.r.s.

Lt.-Col. John Stephenson, c.i.e., m.b., cIi.b., f.r.c.s., d.sc.,

F.r.s. , f.r.s.e., i.m.s. (Retd.) died on 2nd February, 1933, of a

heart attack in his 62nd year after a very distinguished career as a

medical man, zoologist ,and educationist and as a student of

Oriental literature.

Colonel Stephenson was born in 1871 at Padiham, Lancashire,

and was educated at the Burnley Grammar School and the Univer-

sity of Manchester. In Manchester he had a very distinguished

career in zoology and medicine. After qualifying as a doctor

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Lt.-Col. John Stephenson, c.i.e., f.e.s.

(Burn 1871; died 2nd February 1933).

O&ITUARY

729

Stephenson acted for a time as the House Surgeon in the Manches-

ter Royal Infirmary and the London Hospital for the Diseases of

the Chest till in 1895 he passed the competitive examination for the

Indian Medical Service, For the first five years of his service in

India he was on military duty and saw active service with the

North-West Frontier Expedition of 1897. He was posted as a

medical officer on plague duty in the Punjab in 1900, and up to

1906 served as a Civil Surgeon in Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Ambala and

other places. Early in 1906 he went on leave and passed the

Fellowship examination of the Royal College of Surgeons, London,

with a view to appointment as Professor of Surgery in the Lahore

Medical College. Fortunately for the study of zoology in India,

the recent experiment of the transfer of the teaching of pure

science subjects, like botany and zoology, from the Medical College

to the Government College, Lahore, had not, for want of properly

qualified teachers, proved the success that its initiators had hoped.

The then Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, SiFDenzil Ibbetson,

who was a personal friend of Colonel Stephenson, knew that

Stephenson had studied zoology in Manchester under the famous

professor A. Milnes Marshall, and knowing Stephenson’s capacity

as an organiser and worker, he prevailed on him to undertake the

duties of the recently created professorship of biology in the Govern-

ment College, Lahore. He held this position till 1912 when, in

addition to being the Professor of Zoology, he was appointed Prin-

cipal of the Government College, Lahore. He retired from

service in India in September 1921, and went over to Edinburgh

where he was appointed Lecturer in zoology in the University.

In November 1929 he left Edinburgh for London and till shortly '

before his 'death he used to carry on zoological researches in the

British Museum of Natural History as an unofficial worker.

On his appointment as Professor of biology in 1906 Stephenson,

who had been out of touch with zoology for nearly eleven years,

started earnestly to brush up his knowledge of the subject and bring

it up to date. Though he had a fairly good teaching museum at his

disposal there was neither a properly equipped laboratory nor any

library worth the name in the Government College, Lahore. Pie

was, however, able to get together before long a first-rate teaching

museum, a very good working library and by 1914 had succeeded

in having a new biological laboratory built for the institution in

which he was working. As a result of' his labours, zoological

instruction in Lahore attained a very high standard, in a few years

and he was able to found a very productive school of zoology in

the Government College. Several students from his laboratory, in

whom lie instilled the faculty of critical work and careful investi-

gation from the very beginning, are now holding influential zoolo-

gical positions throughout the country, and it was solely due to

his initiative and interest that a really flourishing school of zoological

research was established in Lahore. His tenure of office was

marked by conspicuous success as a teacher, while his administrative

qualities were responsible for making the institution under his

charge into a really first-rate place of instruction. He also took

a very active interest in the affairs of the Punjab University and

780 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

in addition to serving for several years as the Dean of the Faculty of

{Science, lie acted during the last year of his stay in India as the

Vice-Chancellor of the Funjab University.

Stephenson was not content with teaching zoology only, but

started research work in zoology soon after Ins appointment m La-

hore and by 1909 had produced a thesis which earned for him the.

degree of Doctor of Science of the London University. His resear-

ches from tihe very beginning were concentrated on the Oligochaetes,

and from 1907 onwards till shortly before his death he published

numerous papers on Oligochaetes of India and other areas. The

results of his systematic work on Indian Oligochaetes of India for

over 16 years were collated in his volume on the Oligochaetes

in the Fauna of British India series and since that date he was

recognized as one of the two chief authorities on this group of

worms. In 1929 he completed the masterly morphological and

systematic monograph on the Oligochaetes which was published

in 1930 by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. In addition to the

systematic studies on the Oligochaetes he carried out researches

of outstanding character on the intestinal respiration of Oligochaetes

and worms in general, and published, several very important mor-

phological papers on the structure of these worms in the Trans-

actions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Proceedings of

the Royal Society of London. His monograph on the Oligochaetes

clearly indicates liis extensive knowledge of the structure and classi-

fication of the Oligochaetes and a very thorough acquaintance with

the literature on the subject. In addition lie dealt in detail with

such important questions as convergence, the polyphyletic origin

of the various genera and families and the geographical distribution

of earthworms. In connection with the distribution of these worms

he discussed in detail the former existence of an Antarctic continent

and land-bridges between India and Australia on the one hand

and the Peninsular India and Africa on the other. He also

published a very valuable account of the Nemertines of the River

Clyde in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Stephenson was a great linguist and all his spare time was

devoted to the study of early Arabic and Persian literature. Before

His appointment as Professor of Biology in the Government

College, Lahore, he had been working on the manuscripts of the

Hakim Sanai’s ‘Hadiqatu-l-Haqiqat’, and collated edition of

these manuscripts, together with an English translation of the work

was published by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in the Bibliotheca

Indica series. Within recent years lie published an English trans-

lation, with annotations of the Nuzhatu-l-Qulub in the publications

of the Royal Asiatic Society of London.

For his work as an administrator and teacher Colonel

Stephenson was awarded the title of C.I.E. in June 1919. His

contributions to the advancement of knowledge were recognised by

the award in 1920 of the Keith Memorial Medal of the Royal

Society of Edinburgh and of the Barclay Memorial Medal of the

Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1925. He was a Fellow of the Royal

Society of Edinburgh, and the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and

received the blue ribbon of science on his election as a Fellow

OBITUARY

731

of tiie Boyal Society of London in 1930. He was appointed Editor

of the Fauna of British India series in May 1928 in succession to

the late Sir Arthur Shipley and since 1931 he worked as the Zoo-

logical Secretary of the Linnean Society of London.

Colonel Stephenson was a very brilliant teacher and eloquent

lecturer: those who had the privilege of attending his lectures will

never forget the care and pains he took in making the subject of

his lectures as interesting and instructive as possible. He was a

sincere and loyal friend and all his friends will miss him for his

sound judgment and ever-ready help in all matters relating to

education and more particularly to the advancement of zoology

in India. His extensive circle of friends feel his untimely death

as a personal bereavement and extend their heart-felt condolence

to Mrs. Stephenson in her irreparable loss.

B. P.

REVIEWS

THE FAUNA OF BEITISH INDIA, INCLUDING CEYLON AND BUlIMA.

ODONATA. Vol. I. By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s. (Taylor & Francis.)

Col. Fraser, the author of the first volume on the Oclonata or Dragonflies

of India in the ‘Fauna’ series, is well known to the readers, of the Journal of

the Bombay Natural History Society, as since 1918 he has published a series of

over forty very well- written and beautifully illustrated papers on these insects

in this Journal. The present volume, the first of the series, is not, as the author

modestly suggests in the introduction, merely a compilation from his previous

accounts, but is an entirely new work based on an examination of the old and

well-known European collections and the extensive collections made by the

author himself and his friends and colleagues in almost all parts of India.

In all about 90 genera and 500 species of Dragonflies are known from the

Indian limits and in the present volume 39 genera and 168 species and sub-

species of the suborder Zygoptera are critically treated. In the introductory

part the author has given a concise but very comprehensive account of the

biology, ecology, methods of collecting, preservation and storage of the Dragon-

flies. This is followed by an account of the classification and structure of

these insects. The very clear illustrations of the wings and the detailed

comparative account of the terminology of the venation according to the Sely-

sian, Comstock-Needham and Tillyard’s Notation should make it possible for

even the uninitiated to understand the structures without any difficulty.

The descriptions of the various species, which are very detailed, are. based

on well-preserved specimens and often on examination of fresh material. As

a result of his examination of large series of individuals from different areas,

several of the so-called species w7ere found to be only colour varieties or, at

the most, local varieties or races, and in several cases the author has rightly

used a trinomial! nomenclature for some of the forms. The information about

the location of the type-material of various species should prove? very useful to

future workers.

Owing to the sad and sudden death of the Editor and the volume having

to be issued within the financial year a number of corrections and addenda

and corrigenda failed to be sent in to the printers, and, as we are informed,

the Glossary at the beginning was not as complete as the author would have

liked it to be. Even with these omissions the work is up to date and will, it

la hoped, be a standard work of reference on the subject.

The volume is well illustrated, the figures being true to nature and at

the same time beautifully executed.

B. P.

The BOOK OF THE TIGEB by Brigadier-General B. G. Burton. (Hutchin-

son & Co. Ltd., Publishers, London.)

General Burton in his preface recognises the difficulty of writing a book

on a subject which has been so exhaustively treated as the Tiger, inevitably

therefore The Book of The Tiger contains much which has already been said,

and apart from actual quotations, it is obvious the works of previous authors

form a large foundation to the book under review; the author’s own

facts, experiences, observations and deductions being relatively less important,

and seldom pressed. It is therefore by the extent of the reading of the author,

and his selection from previous works, and the uses he makes of these selections

that the Book must be chiefly judged. In doing this the Author has produced

an exceedingly interesting volume, and moreover has approached the subject

from an entirely new angle. The contents are not merely confined to tiger,

as there are many dissertations on other animals and animals in general, cover-

ing the general theme of the Tiger as a background. It is natural to all authors

writing about animals and their own experiences, to retail in detail anything

REVIEWS

733

extraordinary, or unusual, that may happen, rather than the ordinary, or normal;

and in the quotations perhaps the former have been given rather too much promi-

nence without a warning ‘caveat’ to the unexperienced reader on the lines,

that humanity cannot be judged in terms of Dr. Johnson and Napoleon. The

book therefore is essentially one for the reader who possesses previous knowledge

of the subject, and it will be surprising if the author had not this in view,

consciously or subconsciously, when he wrote it. As is to be expected when

a large number of different authors at different times are quoted, contradictions

appear and many of the controversial questions regarding tiger are raised and

elaborated; but the author generally contents himself with summing up, leaving

the verdict more or less open to the j udgment of the reader : we wish that the

author with his wide reading and great experience had pronounced judgment as

well. An opportunity appears to have been missed of settling some points finally,

whereas it is probable that the effect of the book may be to reopen the un-

profitable discussion of points about which everything possible seems to have

already been said. To all those who revel in speculation the book will have

an irresistible appeal. Gfiven below is a brief resume of the chapters of the

book with some comments on each , which struck your reviewer during their

perusal.

The first Chapter is headed Prehistoric Types and discusses the sabre-toothed

tiger, the ancestral type-; general and particular structure: the ‘prominent

papillae’ on the tongue enabling the tiger ‘to remove surface flesh from bones,

and to keep itself clean’ are referred to. We are told that cleanliness is a

necessity for reasons of health, but in an effort to be original the author gees

on to suggest as an additional reason, that cleanliness reduces the probability

of detection by scent on the part of a prospective prey. Surely this theory

borders on the fantastic, and cannot have been an operating cause in the habits

of cleanliness.

The next Chapter deals with protective colouration, Paces of Tigers, White

and Black Tigers, and the well-known letter of Buckland re the Chittagong

Tiger is referred to, but we are not told what the author’s own views on the

subject are. He arrives at the conclusion that the peculiar colouration of the

tiger has been evolved to further concealment, but seems to have some unneces-

sary hesitation in the matter, as tigers in India hunt by night ‘when colouration

is of little or no service,’ a statement which few will accept. We are else-

where warned in the book against applying human standards to animals, a

mistake which he appears to have made himself, as who can say what the

powers of -vision of animals are at night? Certainly very different from, that

of man, and the stripes may be of the greatest service in concealment by night

an well as by day. I have a dog who is put to his kennel every night about

9 p.m. : the kennel is enclosed by a light wire-netting frame work: one of the

panels is hinged. On the very darkest nights when one can see nothing, on

rounding the corner of the house, the dog knows instantly if the panel is open

or shut : if the former, he "trots on ahead, if the latter, he stays by my heel.

No one would select the dog as an animal particularly adapted for night vision.

Chapter III is devoted to discussing the size of tigers and we are given a

large number of quotations belonging to the past. Decent claims are also referred

to, notably the case of the two Viceroys: no mention is made of a claim from

Bihar and Orissa, and another by a Mr. Sewell from Madras, which were made

when the correspondence on the Viceroyal tigers was in progress: probably the

author thought them unworthy of notice. One is left with the impression that,

the author does not believe in the animal of monstrous size and naturalists

and sportsmen will be indebted to General Burton in the effect this chapter

will have in keeping claims within bounds, and it happens to be most oppor-

tune, as rumour' has it that ‘the Disease’ may again break out.

The next Chapter deals with Geographical Distribution and is of great

interest, giving the reader much information about the early history of the tiger

gleaned from the earliest writings, showing a knowledge and study of these,

rarely possessed by the qualified Shikari. While agreeing with these authors

in. believing the tiger to be an immigrant from the North, General Burton pre-

dates its entrance to 5000 B.C. a conclusion based on the finding of a single

coin on which a tiger’s image is impressed. The fact that tigers are still

intolerant of the Indian heat is not founded on fact. We are told: — ‘In tropical

climates all animals are impatient of heat and thirst, and the young of all

734 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

animals have thicker, longer and softer fur than they have in maturity;’ an

assertion that will not bear critical examination.

Chapter V deals with breeding and gestation. Cubs and Hybrids are dis-

cussed, and some interesting stories are related.

The author’s actual experience has been that males exceed females in number

but this is based on a census of the number of animals killed, and considers

the sexes balance each other. G-iven a jungle to contain an equal number of

both sexes the probabilities are that a shooting party would secure more tigers

than tigresses: the bag therefore is an insecure basis in which to apportion the

sexes : a census of the pug marks being much more reliable. For a number of

reasons tigresses more often escape. It is significant that on page 194 General

Burton refers to the cunning of two tigresses : if he refers to a tiger in1 this

way 1 have overlooked it : and I should imagine that in most books on Shikar

where elusive cunning is in question tigresses figure much more prominently

than tigers. Under the chapter — Character and Habits — the variability of

these is emphasised and illustrated both from the experiences of the author

and with stories recorded by others: there are dissertations as the Wild Dog,

Buffalo, Pig and Jackal. The curious Sambar-like call uttered by tigers is

briefly referred to. One would have welcomed a more comprehensive treatment

of this interesting subject, as well as other calls; and points not prominently

mentioned in previous publications, and thus not featured by the author on his

own authority. The Chapter on how tigers hunt is largely occupied with a

discussion of the relative importance of scent, hearing and sight, and com-

parisons with the lion. Subsidiary reasons are given for his preference to

hunting by night, but we, might have been told as the main reason, that the

animals he hunts are then on the move themselves, and are thus more easily

hunted. The Chapter on Tigers and their prey discusses and summarises

the tiger’s method of killing, with quotations from past authorities on whom

possibly too much reliance has been placed, as those men had not themselves

seen a tiger kill, but asserted as fact what was merely conjecture, based on

deductions from wounds, and what natives said. The Chapter concludes by

describing how the tiger deals with his dead prey. Attention is rightly drawn

to the almost incredible amount a hungry tiger will sometimes eat, ‘perhaps

200 lbs or more of beef may be eaten at a sitting.’ This far transcends our

possibilities of belief. We are told elsewhere in the book that a good sized

tiger is round about 400 lbs. What! eat half his own weight at a meal?

This is one of the few original remarks and shakes our confidence.. In dis-

cussing the length of tigers the author invites us to depict a 12-ft. tiger on

the wall. In imagination and applying a similar process I propose, to model

tiger from a lump of clay but half the mass of that clay has to be introduced

somehow in the form of recently swallowed beef. The conception is utterly

grotesque. A Chapter is devoted to man-eaters in which a number of jungle

tragedies are related, followed by an account of. some of tha curious and past

methods of hunting, and killing tigers. Hunting, on elephants and on foot are

then dealt with on the usual lines. Mention is made of tigers being killed

with one discharge of buck shot and wTe are then told ‘The only other instance

of two tigers being killed with one bullet is that recorded by Captain Forsyth

who fired at one, and found that the bullet had killed another.’ Colonel

Pollock not only killed two at a shot, but a 3rd as well with the other

barrel. Moreover it was done deliberately. In his Reminiscences he writes as

follows.

‘1 waited until the two heads were close together and firing at the junction

of the neck and the head I rolled over the two with one shot. It passed clean

through both and my left barrel caught one of the youngsters (§ grown) in

the stern. The tigress was stone-dead, the tiger showed some signs of life,

so I put an express bullet into his head. I had no difficulty in killing the

third because she waa unable to move, the conical bullet having entered high

up on the buttock, traversed the body and gone out by the chest, smashing

the fore quarter to atoms. ’

There is a chapter on rifles and camp equipment, admitted by the author as

being now possibly out of date, but the main principles are as true to-day as

they were in the days when he hunted, viz. : to use a heavy bone smashing

knock out weapon and to see that the willing co-operation of the local people

ig. ensured by fair and considerate treatment. A very interesting chapter on

REVIEWS

735

History and Literature follows to which a Bibliography is appended. It is

to be regretted that E. D. Baker’s book Sport in Bengal was not included,

as no matter how select the list, Baker’s book is worthy of an honoured place

therein. What he wrote rings true, and his account of the Sandarbans is quite

unique : it is hoped that in future editions the author will find a place for

such a fine sportsman and writer.

The book concludes with a chapter on Myths and Superstitions and a chapter

on the Indian Lion in which much interesting matter is quoted from authors

who wrote when lions were still plentiful in India : the author makes no

reference to the comparatively recent reports of lion in the Banda and Gonda

districts. Further relating to the early ‘sixties’ no mention is made of the

very interesting records of the Central Indian Horse at Goona, which show

that quite a bag of lions could be secured in a season’s hunting; then shortly

after they suddenly and completely disappeared, as also happened from time

to time over wide tracts: the author’s views on the solution of this mystery

would have been welcome : it is still a mystery. The book contains 16 illustra-

tions, some of which are hardly relevant and rather poor.

A word to the reader of this review. The Bombay Natural History Society’s

Journal is a publication of a < scientific or quasi-scientific nature, and an author

who subjects his work to review by it, must expect a critical examination of

what he wrote, as opposed to a more general survey common to ordinary publi-

cation. The reader is asked to bear this fact in view, as otherwise he might

attach too much importance to a few out of a number of possible criticisms, and

wrongly conclude that the book is of little value. It is far otherwise; General

Burton has written an exceedingly informative and interesting book, unique

of its kind and one of greaf difficulty.

Within comparatively recent years a vast change has taken place in what

the public demands from the sportsman naturalist who decides to publish.

The slipshod methods where effect was paramount to scientific accuracy will

no longer suffice; this implies no blame to the past generations, or on those

whose experience is drawn from that period; they are an expression of their

times. Anyone who attempts to handle the vast material at the disposal of

General Burton should possess an equal or greater knowledge of the subject he.

is handling on the lines of Modern thought and requirement, so far therefore

as critical insight into what others had recorded within the past century regard-

ing the characteristics and life history of the tiger is concerned the author is

insufficiently equipped.

The work will rest on the author’s excursions into ancient history, to which

we wish he had devoted far more space; and had, he done so the book might

have justified its proud title.

A. A. D. B.

FAB-OEE THINGS by B. L. Spittel. C. A. C. Press, Ceylon, Bs. 8-50.

Dr. Spittel’s new book is a fitting sequel to his first volume Wild Ceylon,

a work with which all lovers of the wild places of Ceylon are familiar.

In his new book, Dr. Spittel devotes the first three chapters to an outline

of the ancient history and folklore of the Island and then returns, in his next

three, to his first love — the Veddas, the aboriginal wild men of the jungles of

the Eastern and Uva Provinces.

Dr. Spittel is the acknowledged authority of these fast-disappearing people

and his knowledge of their quaint customs and strange habits is unequalled,

He writes with an intimate insight that is denied to others.

Members of the Bombay Natural History Society and Sportsmen and Natu-

ralists in general, will however, most probably, find their greatest interest

in the subsequent chapters on Elephants, the Devil Bird and Snakes. The

Pannikyans or professional elephant nopsers of Ceylon, whose .methods Dr.

Spittel describes in detail, ara unique in their dangerous calling; their courage

is of an exceptional quality and their knowledge of the ways of the elephants

they capture is profound. In this chapter,, also the author quite rightly con-

demns the cruelty of the Elephant Kraals, as conducted in Ceylon.

The identity of the Devil Bird, that much-discussed and elusive bird, has

always been a matter of much interesting controversy and Dr. Spittel’s chapter on

it will be read with special interest. There would not seem to be any room for

738 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL BUST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

doubt that Dr. Spittel has proved, beyond question, the identity of the author

oi the ghastly cries, generally attributed to the Devil Bird, in the forests

oi the dry Low-Country but I do not find him so convincing when he attempts

to maintain his theory that there is one and only one source of the Devil

Bird’s cry, both in the mountain forests as well as in the dry zone jungles.

In the first place his Devil Bird, the Crested Hawk Eagle, is not generally

found above 2,500 ft. whereas the Devil Bird’s cries have been heard, by

reliable observers, at altitudes of 5,000 ft. and over. Again there are at least

two authentic instances of the Devil Bird having been shot while uttering his

appalling cries and in both, the culprit was the Forest Eagle Owl.

The Forest Eagle Owl is uncommon but resident in the Hills as well as> in

the low lands and I, personally, am quite convinced that he is, on occasion,

the author of the Devil Bird’s cries. Readers of Far-off Things will, however,

judge for themselves on the evidence put forward.

As an eminent Surgeon, Dr. Spittel’ s views on ;the hearing of snakes in

relation to Snake-charming, will be read with more than usual interest and

his account of the wiles of the Snake-charmers and of a fight between a large

Cobra and a grey Mongoose will appeal to all on whom snakes exercise their

fascinations.

The remaining chapters deal with ‘far-off things’ in far-off places in Ceylon

jungles and are of equal interest with the preceding chapters.

The book is illustrated with sixty-five excellent photographs and drawings,

of various subjects, and contains verse, which will appeal to the poetically

inclined, as well as prose — I have only one criticism to make and that is that

the' author indulges in the unfortunate Ceylon habit of misnaming^ some of the

wild beasts that he talks about; he calls the Langur Monkey the Ape, the

Mouse-deer the Moosedeer and the Monitor lizard the Iguana.

W. W. A. P.

1. STORCHE : ERLEBNISSE MIT DEM SCHWARZEN UND WEISSEN

STQRCH. By Horst Siewert. Pp. 208. 80 Plates — Berlin : Dietrich Reimer

Ernst Volisen. 1932. Price RM 4.80.

To readers of the Journal fur _ Ornithologie . Horst , Siewert requires no

introduction. His excellent studies of the breeding-biology of various European

birds notably the Spotted Eagle ( Aquila pomarina ) and mor,e recently of the

Goshawk (Astur gentilis) are examples of what indefatigable patience coupled

with careful and intelligent observation can achieve in the way of getting an

insight into the complex psychology of the breeding bird. To get an insight

into its intricacies is one thing, however, and to be able to describe, one’s

experiences in clear and precise language so as to pass on the fullest benefit

of one’s opportunities and labours to others is quite another. In both these

Herr Siewert has proved himself to excel. In fact he goes a step further : in

support of the written word lie presents to his readers a remarkable pageant

of pictures from his camera which for clearness and beauty can scarcely be

rivalled. Manv of them indeed are unique, and all of them are a pleasure to

behold.

Such is the case with his book that now lies before us. It deals with two

species of storks : the Black Stork ( Ciconia nigra) and the White Stork

( Giconia ciconia ), both winter visitors to India, about half the book being devote'd

to each species. Very little authentic and connected information existed in regard

to the breeding-biology of the former, and Herr Siewert ’s complete and detailed

account is a most valuable contribution to the subject. It describes the. life-

history of the birds — a nesting pair of which the author had under observation

in East Prussia — from the time of mating right up to when the young were

old enough to leave the nest. The observations recorded and the excellent

camera studies were made from a hide built on a neighbouring tree almost on

a level with the nest and represent something like a thousand hours’ patient

apd unremitting labours !

Our knowledge of the breeding-biology of the White Stork has been more

complete on account of its being such a common and familiar breeding species

in Northern Europe, but it has been distinctly enriched by the, very remarkable

camera studies which accompany this part of the letterpress.

The book contains in all 80 full-page reproductions from the author’s photo-

graphs, half of which are devoted to each species. To those at all conversant

with modern printing costs it is astounding that such a profusely and beautifully

REVIEWS

737

illustrated book can be offered at the low price of E.M. 4.80 (about Bs. 3/10).

The plates justify in every way the reputation for excellence they have

earned for the author and are by themselves worth much more than the cost

of the book. It is to be hoped that the book will have the wide circulation

it deserves even with nature lovers not fortunate enough to read German.

S.A.A.

2. DEE VOGEL SCHNABCH : ZWEI .TAHBE BALLENFANG END

UBWALDFOESCHUNG IN CELEBES. By Gerd Heinrich. Pp. 196; 63

Plates. Berlin: Dietrich Beimer/Ernst Vohsen. 1932. Price EM. 4.80. -

This is the record of a two-years’ expedition (March 1930 — April 1932) in

Celebes, financed by Dr. L, C. Sanford of the American Museum of Natural

Plistory, New York,, and carried out by the author under the direction of Prof.

Dr. Erwin Stresemann of the Berlin University Zoological Museum, to which

institution half of the material collected is to go.

The expedition was sent out principally in search of the Flightless Bail

[Aramidopsi.s plateni (Bias.)] — the ‘Schnarc-h’, or ‘Snore’, from its peculiar call —

a species discovered in Minahasa (W. Celebes) some 40 years back and since

then unheard of. Among its other important aims was to re-discover the

IToney-eater ( Myza sarasinorum ) which was as yet known only from a single

young bird brought back by Sarasin from the northern peninsula years ago.

How thoroughly and successfully Herr Heinrich was able to carry out the

work entrusted to him is already well known to readers of the Ornithologische

Monatsberichte, in several past numbers of which the preliminary results of

the expedition have been published by Dr. Stresemann. Herr Heinrich has to, his

credit two entirely new genera of Ground Thrushes, namely Heinriclua and

Geomalia, besides numerous other novelties in the way of species and sub-

species. Among some of his very interesting acquisitions, besides the principal,

Aramidopsis plateni, which was secured in a dramatic manner towards the

close of two years’ rigorous search, were complete specimens of the rare and

chiefly terrestrial Woodcock ( Scolopax celebensis Eil.) in the Latimodjong Moun-

tains and of Habroptila wallacei, another rare and flightless rail in Halmahera.

The former was originally named and described by an American naturalist many

years ago merely from a wing and pieces of the skeleton, and the specimens

now obtained by the expedition represent the only complete examples known

to science.

The vast amount of material collected is being worked out at the Berlin

Museum, and will naturally take a long time to examine thoroughly and report

on, but when finished we have no doubt it will form the most complete work on

the birds of these interesting islands.

The vicissitudes of the expedition during the time it was in the field are

graphically described. Impenetrable cane-brakes, swamps, leeches, cloudbursts

and swollen streams, all the indispensable adjuncts of tropical forests, find their

proper place and help to convey to the sit-at-home reader some idea of the hard-

ships and discomforts under which the work of an expedition of this nature,

with financial limitations, has to be carried out.

The author was accompanied by his wife and sister-in-law who between

them were mainly responsible for the preparation of the skins. We cannot

sufficiently admire the pluck of these two women to whom much credit for

the success of the expedition must go.

Herr Heinrich has not only given ns a most graphic and readable account

of the work, difficulties and achievements of his expedition but he has also

supplied us with much valuable and' interesting information of a general nature

concerning the country, its people, their customs and so on, and also in regard

to much of the indigenous fauna outside the scope of his immediate enquiry.

The book contains 63 excellent reproductions of the author’s photographs

depicting the country, its inhabitants human and otherwise and various1 aspects

of the activities of the membersi of the expedition.

S. A. A.

738 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FoL XXXF/

‘WHAT BUTTERFLY IS THAT?’ by G. A- Waterhouse. Cloth 8|x6|xlJ:

291 pages : 25 'Coloured plates of butterflies : 9 uncoloured plates of early stages :

4 text-figures. Published December 1932 by Angus and Robertson, Sydney for

12 shillings and 6 pence and obtainable in London from the Australian Book

Company, 16 Farringdon Avenue: E.C. 4.

The object of the book is to enable collectors in Australia to identify their

captures easily and to encourage them to fill in gaps in existing knowledge. The

introduction (pp. 1-23) describes in simple language — the position of the

butterfly in nature — the life history — structure — classification — variation — and dis-

tribution. Eor each subfamily there is a short introductory chapter,, followed by

a chapter for each coloured plate. Within the ‘plate’ chapters the butterflies

are numbered as in the plate, followed by : —

The Trivial name;

The Latin generic and specific name, followed by the name of the describe!

and the year of publication;

The Distribution ;

Short Description ;

Brief life history, where known.

Notes on habits and other matters of interest ; each subspecies being-

dealt with separately. The book closes with a chapter on collecting (times and

places) and on collecting apparatus: there is a good index.

This is a most fascinating book and fulfils its purpose in an ideal manner.

The title and the gaudy paper' cover, depicting the Priamus Birdwing seated in

a red query sign, strike a somewhat frivolous note, but the subject matter

is complete, accurate and up-to-date, as was to be expected from the pen of

Dr. Waterhouse, the leading expert on Australian Butterflies. The coloured

plates have been beautifully executed by Mr. Neville Cayley and perfectly

reproduced : the figures of the larger butterflies have been reduced to half

size, but the detail is so clear and accurate that identification presents no diffi-

culty whatever. The reviewer was sent proof copies of the plates depicting

the skippers by Dr. Waterhouse and was able to assign the correct name in

every case without any hesitation. Every butterfly is figured, upperside and

underside, as well as both sexes, subspecies and varieties, where the differ-

ences are remarkable. The short descriptions fulfil every requirement, while

there are no references, synonyms or technical terms to deter amateurs.

Our Society may take credit for the fact that Dr. Waterhouse has utilised

the introduction to a certain extent as well as many of the trivial names con-

tained in their own publication — The Identification of Indian Butterflies. The

excellent coloured illustrations have, however, enabled Dr. Waterhouse to dis-

pense with complicated keys. It is to be remembered that compared with

Australia, there are over four times as many species of butterflies in the Indian

Empire, so that a similar work for India would run to four volumes. The

cheapness of the book is surprising and indicates the very high standard reached

in Australia.

Only two minor criticisms arise. Trivial names for species are very desir-

able, but their extension to subspecies seems needless. A consecutive list of

the butterflies dealt with would have been useful, particularly as the descriptions,

following the plates, are not in the correct order: a number in brackets, indi-

cating the order, is given after the Latin name.

Australia has set a very high standard for works of this class and it is to

be hoped that other countries will follow suit.

W. H. E.

A REVIEW OF THE NEW MYSORE GAME LAWS by Major E. G.

Phythian-Adams, I. A. (Retired), f.z.s.

On 8th April 1901 a Regulation (No. 2 of 1901) was passed by the Govern-

ment of Mysore ‘to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of Wild Animals and

Birds, and to provide for the protection of Game and Fish in Mysore’;

and Rules under the Regulation were issued on 11th December 1901. The

REVIEWS

739

Mysore Government have now prescribed fresh Rules which came into force on

1st July 1931. A summary of these is given below.

Area Affected.

1. The Regulation and Rules extend to the whole of the Mysore State

including Jaghir and Inam areas, and thus presumably cover both public and

private lands.

Definition of Game.

2. ‘Big game’ includes antelope, ibex, jungle-sheep, sambhur and all other

descriptions of deer, bison and tiger; while ‘Small game’ comprises hares,

jungle fowl, peafowl, partridge, sandgrouse, quail, woodcock, bustard, florican,

duck and teal. It may be noted that there are no ibex in the State, and that

Imperial, blue-rock and green pigeons, geese and snipe are not classified as game,

though the last two benefit by the close season for migratory birds.

Other animals.

3. The capture and killing of boar, panther and other animals not included

in the above definition, and any necessary action for crop protection are not

affected by the Rules.

Elephants.

4. Elephants are dealt with under a separate law.

Protection.

5. The killing of any of the following is prohibited :

(a) Females of bison, sambhur, antelope, ibex or any deer.

(b) Immature males of the above i.e. bison with less than 30 ins. spread,

and sambhur and spotted deer with horns of less than 24 ins.

(c) Sambhur or spotted deer stags if hornless or in velvet.

(d) Antelope and peafowl up to 30th June 1935.

(e) Monkeys, brahminy kites and parrots; while the killing or capture of

“birds of song or of bright coloured plumage’’ is also forbidden.

Tigers.

0. Tigers are now classed as game and as such their pursuit requires a

licence, but in Municipal areas and in places where they have, become a source of

danger to people or cattle, they may be killed without a licence on the. recom-

mendation of the Deputy Commissioner.

Game and Tiger Preserves.

7. Certain State forests have been set aside as game preserves in which no

shooting or fishing is permitted without special sanction. Other areas have

similarly been allocated as tiger reserves.

Close Seasons.

8. Close seasons are as follows: —

All small game other than duck and teal 1st March to 1st September.

Duck and teal “and other migratory birds” 1st May to 1st October.

All big game except tigers 15th June to 15th October.

It may be noted that though geese and snipe are not classed as “game”, still

they may not be shot till after 1st October, and that there is no close season

for tiger which is reasonable.

740 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Licences.

9. The cost of licences which are obtainable from the D.F.O. concerned, are

as under : —

(a) Big game excluding tiger and bison, Rs. 25.

(b) Big game including tiger and bison, Rs. 50.

(c) Small game, Rs. 10.

A big game licence covers the right to shoot small game.

“Professional shikaries” pay double the above fees, but there seems to be

considerable doubt as to their definition.

A licence is current from 1st July to 30th -Tune following and is available

for one District only and not for the whole State,

A deposit equali in value to the cost of the licence lias to be made at the

time the licence is taken out.

Sale of game.

10. The sale of any game during the close seasons is prohibited.

Limit of Bag.

11. The aggregate under a single licence shall not exceed 2 of each of the

following: — *

Tiger Spotted deer.

Bison Barking deer.

Sambliur

In the case of a licensee with licences for 2 or more districts, the aggregate

shall not exceed 3 of each. Animals once wounded count towards the limit

whether brought to bag or not.

Special Conditions.

12. Sitting up over a waterhole, saltlick or fruit tree for the purpose of

shooting game is prohibited.

It should be noted that ‘game’ includes tiger but does not cover panthers,

bears etc.

A return of big game shot has to be submitted at the end of the year under

penalty of forfeiting the deposit.

A licence holder is not permitted to shoot in any reserved forest without

previously giving notice to the local forest official.

Penal.

13. Any breach of the conditions of the licence or of the rules renders the

offender liable to a fine not exceeding Rs. 100.

Fishing.

14. Certain waters have been set aside as preserved and fishing in these

except with rod and line, under a Rs. 5 licence (covering the whole State) is pro-

hibited. The poisoning of any waters with a view to the capture or destruction

of fish, or the use of dynamite, fixed engines or small meshed nets is forbidden.

Close Seasons.

15. The D.F.O. with the approval of the D.C. is authorised to declare by

notification in the official gazette any waters as closed against fishing during

any year or part of a year, or during the spawning seasons. The latter are

declared to be :

Streams running towards the West coast, 1st March to 31st August.

Streams running towards the East coast, 1st June to 31st October. '

All other waters including tanks, 1st June to 31st October.' -

Penal.

16. Any breach of the conditions of the fishing licence or of the Ashing rules

will render the offender liable to a fine not exceeding Rs. 100.

REVIEWS

741

Rewards.

17. Rewards not exceeding the amounts noted below will be granted for

shooting wild dogs :

Rs. 50 for a bitch, and Rs. 30 for a dog.

For a tiger killed in Municipal areas or In the cases given in para. G above,

the reward is Rs. 25 but the skin lias to be surrendered to the D.F.O.

Remarks.

18. The Game Laws as such are sound enough provided that they are en-

forced, but until the subordinate officials realise more, fully their responsibility

in the matter of game preservation, no great improvement can be expected. At

present poaching is very extensive among the villagers who obviously have' no

idea that they are committing an offence by offering small game for sale in

the- dose season. Certain Europeans also are great offenders ; and the use of

cars for shooting at night is common. For such offences a fine, is of little use,

and confiscation of the car and all the weapons (as we understand is the procedure

in East Africa) should be imposed.

Points of interest in the laws are:

(1) Whether the rules can legally be made to apply to private land. At

present it would appear that a Jaghirdar or other owner will not be able to

shoot on his own land nor permit his guests to do so without a licence. This is

certainly carrying the idea of game protection much further than has been done

in any part of British India.

(2) The inclusion of tiger as game (with certain modifications) is a sound

step; which might well be copied by districts outside the State.

(3) The necessity for the protection of blackbuck till 1935 is not very

obvious. In spite of much poaching they have increased greatly in many parts

and cause much damage to crops. Presumably the villagers can shoot them at

any time under the plea of crop protection, so there is no reason why they should

not be included in the licence,

(4) The size limit of 24 ins. for stags is certainly on the small side in the

case of spotted deer, though probably correct for sambhur, at any rate in most

districts.

(5) The demand for a deposit in addition to the -lieenee fee in the- case of

residents is scarcely justified, and it would have been better either to leave it to the

discretion of the D.F.O. or to impose it in the case of non-residents only. Resi-

dents should also receive the benefit of reduced fees especially as such large

areas have ben set aside as Game Preserves which the ordinary licence holder is

not permitted to enter.

(6) The omission of a minimum bore of shooting bison (-333 H.V. with a

bullet of not less than 300 grs. is suggested), and of a rule prohibiting the use

of cars or artificial light for the pursuit of game, is* to be regretted; the latter

is most necessary.

(7) The clause protecting ‘birds of song and bright plumage’ is too vague to

be effective. It would be of more use to declare all birds protected except such

species (to be named) as are injurious to fruit or crops.

Game Associations.

19. The formation of Game Associations in the various districts would do

much to assist in the enforcement of the Game Laws with adequate help from

Government. Such an Association was formed in the Mysore district in 1929, but

up to date its functions have been purely advisory, it has no funds with which

to maintain a staff of game watchers and to reward informers in cases of poach-

ing, If Government would sanction the fees for licences being handed over to

the Association, as is done in the Nilgiris, much might be effected.

E. G. P.-A,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

I.— PANTHERS FEEDING ON TIGER ‘KILLS’.

I had known of panther turning up and feeding off tiger kills,

and had often wondered what would actually occur if the tiger

happened to come along and catch the panther unawares.

On the 23rd of this month I had the opportunity of satisfying

myself in this respect. News of a tiger kill, was brought in to me

late in the afternoon, the result being that I had to get the maclian

up in a hurry and was in fact not seated on the machan till after

dark. A good deal of the kill had been eaten, not from the but-

tocks, where a tiger generally commences to feed or from the

stomach where a panther usually starts, but from the neck. I

had had no time to look for tracks, and so when a panther turned

up shortly after my men had gone I came to the conclusion that

the kill was the work of two panthers. On this assumption I shot

the panther expecting its mate to turn up as had occurred on two

previous occasions, when a pair had been bagged over a kill the

same night. About an hour later, I heard what I at first took to

be the approach of a big panther, and then realised it to be a

tiger. The tiger made the usual detour and finally approached

the kill on the side the panther was lying. Stopping short on

seeing what he thought was the panther feeding on his kill, he

paused, for a moment, and then with a terrific leap he was on

the panther, and before I could switch on my torch the latter had

been dragged into high grass.

The end of this tale is a sad one. In an opening in the grass

a few moments later I fired at what I thought to be the tiger’s

chest, but really another portion of its anatomy, and although I

followed the tiger up the whole of the following day and, when all

blood tracks ceased, searched all likely areas for the next three

days, I lost my tiger to my deep regret. It is easy to be wise

after the event, but of course I should have allowed the tiger to

demolish the panther and return to its kill later in the night or the

following night.

Strangely this happened to be the third occasion in one month

in which a panther turned up at a tiger’s kill, affording in one of

the instances an opportunity for daylight photography, which Mrs.

Herman Cron (a first rate sportswoman, big game photographer,

and authoress of the charming book, The Roaring Veldt ) took full

advantage of as the panther came early.

It may not be out of place to mention here that Mrs. Cron

possesses unique photographs, taken by her in daylight from a hide,

of tigers feeding on their baits.

Honnametti Estate,

Attikan P.O., R. C. MORRIS,

Via Mysore.

March 20, 1933.

F.Z.S.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1 43

11.— TWO EXPERIENCES WITH PANTHER.

The following two stories which are authentic will show how

much a bold panther will stand.

Two panthers, one big and one small,' were harassing a village

in the West Khandesh District. When I arrived there, t I found

many of the village cattle bitten severely in the throat and one cow

in a dying condition. As there was no ‘ gam ’ it was rather difficult

to decide how to proceed; however, I selected a tree more or less

on the panther’s usual line of approach and tied up a bleating

goat. Before I got up, a villager came running along to say that

a large panther had just killed a calf about 3 miles away in the

jungle. I jog- trotted to the place and found that the panther had

moved on, dragging, the calf with him. The tracks were perfectly

clear and we traced him quite easily to a small nullah, overlaid

with bushes. As it was impossible to get in a clear shot,* I decided

to drive him off the kill and drag it to a more convenient place.

My Bhil orderly and I therefore stoned him out of the nullah. He

was very reluctant to go, and made a deuce of a song about it

but eventually he went, and my orderly climbed down into the

nullah and pulled up the calf while I covered him with my rifle.

I selected a convenient tree about 20 yards away and got up

hurriedly. Within 10 minutes I heard the panther come

snarling along, and within a quarter of an hour he was on the

kill. I switched on my light and he immediately bolted and ,1

sent an ineffectual shot after his tail. Cursing myself for my rotten

shooting, I climbed down and went back to the village, when I

found I had left my wrist watch in the machan. I left instruc-

tions for it to be looked for the next morning and went home. My

Sub-Inspector of Police arrived the following morning with my

watch which was smashed, and told me that the. panther had again

come back, had climbed the tree and had ripped everything to

pieces.

The second story is certainly not one to be proud of, but is

worth mentioning.

A panther killed a dog and dragged it half way up the side

of a precipice. When 1 got there I found that there was only one

tree, entirely bare of branches, and most unsuitable for a machan.

1 therefore decided to sit on the ground and my orderlies covered

me with branches. About 6 p.m. I saw the panther coming along

the top of the precipice behind me. He came down the hill pass-

ing me within touching distance and went straight on to the ‘kill’.

His method of approach and subsequent behaviour were strangely

at variance. He took fully half an hour to move 200 yards and

sat down about half a dozen times. He gave me a beautiful

broadside-on shot which I gracefully missed whereupon he jumped

about 5 yards in the air, and sat down to think about it, giving

me. another opportunity which I again failed to take, after which

he bolted. I ’was about to blow my whistle to summon my men

when I saw a yellow paw coming out from behind a bush, and to

my astonishment I saw the panther again coming on to the kill.

This time I made no mistake and sent him to the bottom of the

1U JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

precipice with a bullet through his heart. This was an enclosed

place and a oOQ express rifle made tire very devil of a noise, yet,

though on his approach he had suspicion written on every line

of him, two ear-splitting explosions failed to turn him off the kill.

Dhulia. L. F, BUSBY, d.s.p.,

January 21, 1933. Captain.

111. — WILD DOGS KILLING A PANTHER.

Yesterday I came across an interesting case of a panther having

been killed by wild dogs. Apparently wliat occurred, was this: —

A pack of wild dogs were lying up in some thick cover, and one

of their number went down to water, and was immediately

pounced upon by a panther. The noise it made when it wasvseized

brought the whole pack down. In the furious fight that followed

the panther was torn to pieces. I discovered no traces of other

dogs having been killed in the fight.

Honnametti Estate,

Attikan P.O., B. C. MOBBIS,

Via Mysore, S. India. f.z.s.

February 15, 1933.

IV.— WILD DOGS DBIVING A PANTHEB FBOM ITS ‘KILL’.

I have received a most interesting account olj wild dogs turning

up at a panther’s kill at night and driving the panther off from

Col. J. Pottinger of Kotagiri. I give below Col. Pottinger’s

account of the incident : —

‘The panther first made me aware of his presence about

6 p.-m. by the gentle crushing of a leaf a little way behind me.

Nothing more happened till 7 p.m.; when an old porcupine — very

hot and bothered — -came down the fire-line and “winding” the

panther pushed off in the other direction “at the rate of knots”!

Nothing more occurred till 9 p.m., when from the fire-line behind

me, I heard a peculiar noise of which I was unable to diagnose

the maker. I was certain it was nob the panther, but some other

animal which had winded it — until (after making a small detour)

the maker of the noise turned up from another fire-line and stood

by the kill in the ..Brilliant moonlight, intently looking down the

fire-line behind me towards where I felt certain the panther was

in hiding: it was a single red dog! The latter was thoroughly

on the alert,- but showed no sign whatever of fear. Keeping an

eye all the time in the -panther’s direction he took a few hasty

mouthfuls; then whipped round and cantered off to call his pals.

ktsdELLANEOUS NOTES

745

Within a couple of minutes I heard their peculiar gentle whistling-

call, which was repeated trom the other side of me, and the next

moment a strong pack of between 10 and 15 hail appeared on the

scene with the ghostly silence of a transformation scene at a pan-

tomime ! Almost immediately three or four of them detached

themselves from the rest of the pack and started patrolling along

the edge of the jungle, making a noise as though several dogs were

having a real good “scrap” though I could clearly see in the brilliant

moonlight that they were not scrapping at all with one another.

Twice this patrol went along the edge of the jungle making this

fighting demonstration — obviously intended to intimidate the pan-

ther, who, I had all along felt sure, was concealed near the edge

of the fire-line close to where they were patrolling — watching.

The patrol had hardly joined their friends round the kill for

the second time — none had so far started to feed — when all of a

sudden they all looked away from the kill down the fire-line, which

passed behind me on my right. The next moment, like an arrow

from a bow, the whole lot dashed past me up the fire-line, and

pandemonium was, let loose! Every red dog was making the fight-

ing noise, referred to, at the top of its voice, while the panther,

which obviously had the “breeze vertical” shouted his disapproval

and alarm with the subterranean grunts and snarls which they

make when scrapping with one another! It was really a thrilling

moment and I decided, that as they were all so busy with their

own affairs I could turn round and see the scrap (which was going

on behind me) as well as hear it, and that I possibly might get

a shot at the panther at bay before he bolted.

Unfortunately, however, before I had .time to kneel up and fully

turn round, the panther had been driven off and the pack were

returning to the kill! So I once more turned round and sat down,

deciding to “out” as many red dogs as I could since there was

little chance of the panther coming back. I must say that I would

much rather have seen and heard, all that occurred even though it

meant not bagging the panther, than to have got the panther with-

out any unusual incident. I had, of course, often heard of red.

dogs driving both panther and tiger off their kills, but had never

witnessed such a proceeding.’

Honnametti Estate,

February 8, 1938.

[Wild Dogs will attack both leopards and tiger not as quarry

but as the result of a quarrel over a kill or from their inborn love

of baiting an animal.

In an early issue of the Journal (Vol. v, p. 191), Mr. A. Wright

gives an account of two! panthers ‘tsreed’ by Wild Dogs' He and

a friend tried to bag the panthers, whereupon one of them leapt

down and was immediately pursued by the pack, the other

Attikan P . 0 . , .

Via Mysore, S. India.

E. C. MOEEIS,

F.Z.S.

15

746 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL Hi ST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

was shot, but stuck in the fork of a tree, Some of the pack came

back and were seen standing on their hind legs to Lick up the

blood as it streamed from the dead beast, out of their reach in the

tree.

lu Vol. xviii, p. 194 of the Journal, Lt. -Col. Jones recorded

a similar case of wild dogs chasing a panther which took refuge

in a tree. A curious incident, related by Mr. I). Bourke of the

Forest Service (Vol. xxiii, p. 343), is that of a panther being kept

away from its kill by two village, pie dogs! The dogs resented

being disturbed at their meal and stood their ground barking

furiously. They did not give away an inch and kept the panther

away for an hour till called off by Mr. Bourke ’s shikari. — Eds.].

V.— A NEWLY BORN BISON CALF.

An interesting event took place while a party of us (Col. and

Mrs. Newcomb, Mr. and Mrs. Salim A. Ali, Mrs. Morris and my-

self) were watching a herd of bison.

One of the cows calved. Ten minutes after birth the calf was

walking about, and 20 minutes later when the herd took alarm

and went off the calf galloped after its mother.

Hoxnametti E state ,

Attikan P.O.,

Via Mysore, S. India

January 5, 1933.

[In an early issue of the Journal there is a reference by Mr.

J. B. Inverarity to a new born bison calf which he came across.

It lay crouched in the long grass with its neck stretched, along the

ground — a position in which it was not readily noticeable — its light

yellow colouring blending with the dry grass. The mother on

being disturbed left it and joined the herd which Inverarity was

tracking. The herd made a circuit of a? mile or two and eventually

came back to the place where the calf had been left. — Eds.].

VI. — GAME RESERVES AND FLASHLIGHT.

Mr. I'. W. Champion has in accusing me of being hasty in my

letters to the press committed this very error, and it would rather

seem as if he had been touched on the raw by my note together

with other articles that have appeared on the subject in the

Field.

It is obvious that Mr. F. W- Champion has taken my note as

a hit against all Flashlight Photography. It is nothing of the kind.

I consider Mr. Champion’s book With a Camera in Tiger Land a

R. C. MORRIS,

F.Z.S.

MISCELLANEOUS notes

?4?

classic ol its kind, and the reader, does not have to be a photo-

grapher to realise the infinite pains and trouble involved in the

taking of those very excellent photographs for which nothing but

praise is due. My note however is a criticism of the ‘mass pro-

duction’ photographer. I have seen the work of one of them, and

I again assert that nothing in my opinion is more disturbing to

game. This opinion is shared by men of Mr. Champion’s Service

and others of the Civil Service to whom the matter was referred

by the Madras Government. A flashlight camera in the hands

of Mr. Champion, and others who do the work in a similar sports-

man like manner, renders a service by the studies of nature pro-

duced, but in the hands of a man who is out for monetary gain

or other reasons it is a nuisance and a disturbing factor in the

jungle.

I will quote the instance of a man whom I was with. With

the exception of one or two cameras placed over kills the others

were invariably over water holes and salt licks, and on account

of the work involved in setting the collection of cameras he started

in at about 10 a.m. Half or more of the exposures would be taken

by birds touching the wires, and these as often as not were reset

in the afternoon. The flashlight powder was so arranged that the

explosion went off with a loudish report, and these reports could

be heard all over the jungle day and night. The photographer

admitted to me that he would not think of erecting cameras at

pools over which I have observation maclians, for one of my

hobbies in the dry weather is to spend moonlight nights on these

machans observing game. I do not know what has made Mr.

Champion think that I am (‘and others like me’!) a slaughterer.

With a few exceptions I have for years now confined my hunting

to the destruction of rogue elephants and occasionally cattle killing

tiger and panther. I have always been ready however to help

sportsmen who are less favourably situated than I am for one of

the finest sports in the world, big game hunting.

Mr. Champion may be interested to hear that I am keen on

animal photography myself, daylight photography and on foot,

which requires as much skill and other attributes as is involved

in the taking of Flashlight Photography, and I work for the Preser-

vation, of Game in South India. Without wishing to decry the fine

sport that Wild Life photography is, it cannot be gainsaid that the

risks incurred in this form of sport are not equal to the issues

involved in the hunting of what might be called the ‘dangerous’

Indian big game with the rifle, with the exception perhaps of

elephant and bear.

Mr. Champion in his enthusiasm for his hobby errs in taking

up a bigotted attitude against big game hunting. A man can

be a shikari and still be a thorough sportsman and a lover of wild

animals, a fact which Mr. Champion is possibly unable to appre-

ciate. Further, if every one laid aside their guns and rifles, Science

would be the poorer. I venture to say that just as much Natural

Scientific knowledge has been accumulated from the examination

of relics of the dead as from a study of live animals in their natu-

ral state. Admittedly, big game hunting can be overdone, but

74$ JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXV 1

so can animal photography, whether flashlight or daylight; my

note was never meant to be a criticism, of an ‘occasional flashlight',

and Mr. Champion should have realised this, and not rushed into

print with a note which, in part, has not been written in the best

of taste.

Honnametti Estate,

Attikan P.O., R. C. MORRIS,

Via Mysore, S. India, f.z.s.

November 29, 1932.

VII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE SIND BABBLER

( CHRYSOMMA ALTIROSTRIS SGINDICUS, HARINGTON)

IN THE DERA GLIAZI KHAN DISTRICT OF THE PUNJAB.

This race of Chrysomma has hitherto been known only by the

type specimen in the British Museum, which was collected by

Blanford near Sukkur and described by Harington in this Journal

(vol. xxiii, p. 424) in 1918. It is, therefore, of interest to record

that I came across a small party of some half a dozen of these

birds on the Indus, near Jampur in the Dera Ghazi Khan District

on November 29, 1932. The locality was exceedingly dense grass

jungle, four to six feet high, on the bank of the main stream. They

did not appear at all shy or inclined to skulk, and I had no diffi-

culty in collecting two of them. These have been compared with

the type by Mr. H. Whistler^ who writes that they are ‘rather

greyer, but that may be because the type is not a mature) bird —

there could hardly be two races in the riverain of the Indus’. I

only met with the bird on this one occasion in the course of three

weeks camping up and down the river between Ghazi Ghat and

Kot Chutta.

Dandote,

Jhelum District,

Punjab.

February 8, 1933

VIII. — THE BLACK BACKED SHRIKE ( lANIUS NASUTUS

NIGRICEPS [FRANKLIN]).

In the Mission Babault clans les Provinces Centrales cle VInde,

Region Hhnalayenne et Ceylan 1914, Residtats Scientifique (Paris,

1920), pp. 156-157, mention is made and a plate is given of a

shrike obtained by M. Babault at Chitailongri, C.P., on March 30,

which he describes as a hybrid between nigriceys and erythronotus .

Owing to the kindness of M. Berlioz of the Paris Museum I have

been enabled to examine this specimen as well as the three others

obtained by M. Babault at Sijhora (February 9), Subkar (March 18),

and Garhit (March 20). All these four birds belong to one form

H. W. WAITE,

F.Z.S. , M.B.O.U. ,

Indian Police.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

749

which is the grey backed Black-headed Shrike the true Lanius nasu-

tus nigriceps (Franklin). It is easy to see why M. Babault con-

sidered the one bird a hybrid, for he <was comparing it with the

rufous backed birds of Sikkim and Assam, hitherto erroneously

called by Franklin’s name. But it is not easy to see how he con-

sidered it different to the other three. Except for a slightly larger

white speculum and wear and bleaching of the mantle and a doubt-

ful retention of some outer juvenile tail feathers, it agrees with

them closely.

Caldbec House,

Battle, Sussex.

November 13, 1932.

[The above note is intended as an amplification of Mr. Whistler’s

observations on this shrike, published in the last issue of the

Journal (Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats, Part IY,

J.B.N.H.S., xxxvi, p. 334) — Eds.].

IX.— NOTE ON THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY

OF THE EASTERN GHATS (ORNITHOLOGICAL' SECTION)

WITH REFERENCE TO THE RACES OF OTOCOMPSA

JOGOSA, CHLOROPSIS AU RIF RONS, etc.

On page 757 of vol. xxxv of the Journal, Mr. Whistler records

the fact that the range of the races of 0. jocosa is very imperfectly

known. So far, all birds from the Central Provinces have been

put down as fuscicaudata by McMaster, Moss-King, Osmaston,

myself and others. The Red- Whiskered Bulbul is not universally

distributed in these Provinces but is confined to elevated

forested areas only. It is common in the Melghat (Chikalda) and

at Pachmarhi and I have also seen it near Rougher, 1933 in the

Balaghat district and in the Chhindwara district. Recently, for the

first time, after a long residence, I secured one of a pair at Nagpur

which turned out to be emeria and not fuscicaudata. These I

take to be stragglers from the East. I sent this specimen to

Mr. Whistler and he agrees with my identification but it was too

late to make mention of it in his paper. We have mounted speci-

mens from Chikalda which appear fo be fuscicaudata and most

probably the Pachmarhi birds are also of this race as well, for birds

from the Western Ghats have a tendency to invade the Central

Provinces from this direction. Birds from Balaghat and Chind-

wara will have to be examined. I shot some at Laugher,

while moving camp, but, as we were unable to make a half the

next day, the birds could not be skinned and we never came across

them again.

Chloropsis aurifrons davidsoni. — The range of this bird also

extends into the Central Provinces. I found it common on the

banks of the Indravati River in the Aliiri Zamindary adjoining

the Bastar State. Wing measurements ranged from 100-102 mm.

in the males. McMaster ’s statement in the Old Fauna that it is

found at Chikalda is sure to be verified.

H. WHISTLER,

M.B.O.U.

750 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Saxicola caprata burmanica. — 1 took a slightly advanced clutch

of four eggs on the 22nd May near Yeroaud on the Shevaroy Hills

at an altitude of 5,000 ft.

Central Museum, E. A. D’ABREU,

Nagpur. f.z.s.

December 22, 1932.

X— OCCURRENCE OF THE BLUE-THROATED BARBET

{GY AN OPS ASIATIC A) AT MURREE.

I shall be glad if you can let me know whether the Blue-

throated Bar bet {Cyamops asiatica) is considered to be a common

bird in Murree. I gather from the bird books in my possession

that it is usually found at lower altitudes than this (over 7,000 ft.)

and it is also rather indicated that it is not as a rule found west-

of Chamba. Yesterday, however, walking along the Mall in the

snow, I saw. a Blue-throated Barbet sitting on a tree close by eat-

ing berries. As I had my glasses with me I had a good look at

him and there could be no mistake about what he was, and also

when I returned that way a' couple of hours later he was still in

the same tree. I shall be much obliged if you can give me some

information on this point.

The Parsonage, E. A. STORES EOX,

Murree. Chaplain.

January 3, 1933.

[The Blue-throated Barbet ranges from Murree to Kashmir

through Nepal, Sikkim and Assam and practically through the

whole of Burma. It is however rare anywhere east of Nepal. It

was not recorded by H. A. F. Magratb , J .B .N .PI .S . , xix, 142, in

his list of the birds of Murree and the Gallies. — Eds.].

xi.— note on the development of the casque of

THE INDO-BITRMESE PIED HORNBILL {ANTHRACO-

CEROS ALB1ROSTRIS).

( With a plate).

Possibly some doubt may exist as to how long it takes for the

casque to develop on the beak of this hornbill, in which case the

following account of a tame bird in my possession may be of in-

terest.

On July 4, 1929, the Mikirs brought to me a very young bird,

which could not even stand up and was only partly fledged (see

photo No. 1). Its home was more than twenty miles away, so

I could not return it, but fortunately I was entirely successful in

the difficult task of rearing it. It became extraordinarily tame,

and stayed with me till December of the same year, when it appa-

rently flew away with some older ones which continually came

to roost in a bamboo barfi close to my bungalow.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

1. Young bird partly fledged.

July 4th 1929.

2. Same bird fully fledged. End

of August 1929.

3. Same bird December 1929.

o 'months after capture. The casque

is just forming.

4. Hornbills reared by the author in

1932. Fully fledged without the sus-

picion of a casque.

Indo -Burmese Pied Hornbill.

(. Illustrating development of casque)-

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

751

Photograph No.. 2 shows the same hornbill just after it had

become fully fledged, and was taken about the end of August, after

I had kept it nearly two months. There is very little suspicion

of a casque forming yet. Photo No. 8 was taken not long before

the bird flew away, at the beginning of) December as far as I can

remember. It might have been taken at the very end of

November, but in any case, it was taken about 5 months after the

bird was brought to me. In this photo there are unmistakable

signs of a casque forming, so I conclude that it must take about

7 to 9 months for the casque to mature.

Photo No. 4 is of hornbills I reared in 1932, taken on August

19, and the evidence from it coincides with that from photo No. 2

of the 1929 bird, namely that when these birds are fully fledged

there is practically no suspicion of a casque.

Baudlipar Tea Go.,

Hantley P.O., Assam. E. P. GEE.

November 16, 1932.

XII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE WOODCOCK (SCOLOPAX.

R. RUST I COLA) AT ,J II INDIANA. U.P.

In case it should interest your Society, I have to report that

I shot a Woodcock on 27th instant near Jhinjhana, some 30 miles

due west of Muzaffarnagar in the United Provinces. As this dis-

trict is definitely a plains one and not sub-montane, the occurrence

may be worthy of record.

A very heavy thunderstorm with rain on night 23rd-24th instant

presumably drove the bird down whilst on migration.

I may say 1 have seen Curlew (not Whimbrel) on six occasions

this month in this district. I do not know how common this

species is in India but I have only seen it once previously in nine

and a half years out here.

The Black Watch, W. N. ROPER-CALDBECK.

Meerut, U.P.

December 31, 1932.

[In India, the Woodcock is merely a casual migrant to the

plains the great majority of Himalayan birds being resident or

moving to lower levels in winter. The Curlew which visit

India in the cold weather belong to two races. The Common Cur-

lew (Numenius arquata arquata) is fairly common during the cold

weather in the north-west and straggles down southwards to Ceylon.

Baker gives the eastern limits of its distribution as Delhi and

states that nearly all the birds from eastern India are referable

to the second race, i.e. the Eastern Curlew (N . a. Imeatus) which

differs from the western form in having much finer and paler streaks

on the lower plumage; the axil lari es are pure white with pale

streaks on the longest feathers (they are boldly streaked with

black in the western race). — Eds.].

752 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

XIII.— OCCURRENCE OE THE EUROPEAN BUSTARD

(OTIS TARDA TARDA) IN THE NORTH-WEST

FRONTIER PROVINCE.

It may interest you to learn that a villager brought in to me

yesterday a female Otis tarda tarda which he had shot the day

before. Its measurements were: — wing 20 inches; spread from

tip to tip 67 inches; length 33 inches. It weighed pounds,

having been cleaned before I got it. Its colouring was exactly as

described in Stuart Baker’s book, the chestnut band of the male

being visible only as patches at the. side of the lower throat.

Curiously enough, it was I who obtained the specimen recorded

on page 145 of Stuart Baker’s Game Birds, volume ii, as having

been sent to you by Sir George Boos Keppel on whose staff

I was then serving. The weather at that time, I remember, had

been unusually cold and it is interesting to note that on Friday

last (December 23rd) there was a fairly heavy fall of snow over

all the higher hills to the north.

The plumage of the specimen now brought in has been somewhat

damaged and it is not worth sending the skin to you.

Another female Otis tarda tarda was shot some miles south-east

of Mardan (Peshawar District) on 8th January. Its measurements

and weight were as follows : — length 32 inches ; spread 66 inches ;

wing 19 inches; weight 8J pounds.

Government House, G. CUNNINGHAM,

Peshawar, N.-W.F.P. i.o.s., c.s.i., c.i.e., o.b.e.

December 30, 1( 1932.

XIV.— ON THE OCCURRENCE OE THE SHORT-EARED

OWL (. ASIO FLAMMED S FLAMMEUS) IN MADRAS

CITY.

The first edition of the F.B.I., vol. iii, p. 272, says that the

bird is ‘less common to, the southward during its migratory winter

flight’. In the second edition this statement is modified to ‘it

has been found within our limits as far south as the Malay Penin-

sula and is some years a comparatively common visitor to Ceylon’.

(Vol. iv, p. 394ff.).

Being a migratory bird that wanders southwards from Asia

and Central Europe, it will be very interesting to record its winter

habitat.

It has been occasionally recorded in Madras, but during the

past ten years, I noticed this bird in the city, only one cold weather,

and that was towards the end of November 1923. I have never

seen these birds again in Madras.

These birds seemed to have arrived in large numbers that year

and a few of them took up their residence in the large stretches

of seashore grass, Svinifex squarrosus, that was abundant in

those days on the foreshore, opposite Fort St. George. The

birds stayed on in this place till the end of January, when they

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

753

disappeared totally. One reason for their not being noticed in that

locality now, may be due to the foreshore being converted into

playgrounds and the disappearance of all the Lantana bushes and

stretches of Spinifex grass.

The pellets found in these grass patches were examined and

found to contain the skulls and bones of not only some species

of field mice but also of bats. One curious thing that I noticed,

during the stay of these birds on Madras beach, was that the

birds invariably roosted in the female patches of Spinifex, I flushed

many birds from these grass-patches and found their pellets in

Jarge quantities, but not one stray pellet was found in the stretches

of male Spinifex close by.

These birds did not seem to be disturbed in the least by the

numerous people on the seashore, but sat here and there, lazily

flapping now and then, from place to place like the Brahminy

kites that were in large numbers on the sea edge. They of course

became more active as the night deepened.

Madras Christian College, A. S. TH YA GARAJU,

Madras. m.a.

November 30,. 1932.

XV. — OCCURRENCE OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE

( PODIGEPS GRISTATUS GRISTATUS) IN BIKANER.

I am sending under a separate parcel, the skin of, I think,

a Great Crested Grebe, which was shot by the Heir-Apparent on

the Gajner Lake, Bikaner, on the 20th February, 1933. This f|

the first bird of its kind ever shot in Bikaner and the! Prince will

be grateful by your kindly letting me know: —

(a) Whether it is the ‘Great Crested Grebe’?

(5) Whether its occurrence in this part of the country is

unknown so far or otherwise ?

Bikaner, SURAJMAL SINGH,

March 20, 1933. Secretary , -

Heir- Apparent of Bikaner.

[The bird forwarded by the Secretary to the Heir- Apparent

proved to be a Great Crested Grebe (P. c. cristatus) . There appears

to be no previous record of the occurrence of this bird in Bikaner.

In India it breeds in Kashmir and it lias been recorded from Oudh,,

Behar, Bengal and Assam during the cold weather. — Eds.].

XVI. — MASKED BOOBIES (SURA DACTYL AT R A) AT SEA

350 Miles FROM BOMBAY.

The first morning out from Bombay there was a, flock of Masked

Boobies — Sula dactylatra — which kept up with the ship from

about 10 a.m. till lunch time. There were 8 in all, two of them

immature birds. We were 350 miles from Bombay at mid-day.

It was impossible to identify the sub-species. Apparently there

are not many records of the species from Indian seas, so the

occurrence may be of interest.

Colombo. W. E. WAIT,

December 14, 1932.

754 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

[A note on the occurrence of the Masked Booby in Bombay

Harbour appeared in vol. xxi, p. 1334. These birds are occasionally

blown inshore by the monsoon gales. There are three in the

Society’s collection taken in Bombay Harbour during July and

August, and a fourth which was caught in the Railway Workshops

at Parel in August. 1927. — Eds.].

XVII.— A CASE OF OSTEOGENESIS IMP ERE EOT A

OCCURRING IN A WILD BIRD.

(With a block and 2 text-figures).

Amongst the ornithological material received by Mr. Hugh

Whistler, who is at. work on the birds collected during the recent

Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey, is an immature male

example of Paras major maharattarum collected by Mr. Salim A.

Ali on October 5, 1931 at Mananur.

Scale of photograph approx. 1/1.

Photograph by E. Fielder, Sevenoaks.

Mr. Ali recognizing the fact that there was a gross abnormality

of the cranial vault made the skin up with the skull still exposed

as is shown in the accompanying plate. There was apparently

nothing in the bird's behaviour to lead one to suppose that it was

in any way affected, and the condition was only discovered on

skinning the specimen.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

755

The figure shows very plainly the deficient ossification affecting

the whole of the cranial vault, the lesion which is remarkably

symmetrical measures 11 mm. in the antero-posterior diameter,

and 12*5 mm. in the transverse diameter. It is bounded ante-

riorly by the frontal bones, laterally by the temporal portions of

the parietals, and posteriorly by the occipital. All these bones

possess normally ossified hard outer tables, contrasting markedly

with the thin, in places almost membranous irregularly and poorly

ossified, vault. The edge of the normally ossified bone is not

unduly heaped up, suggesting very strongly that, the lesion re-

presents therefore a deficiency in normal development and not

an inflammatory process. The abnormal area is roughly divided

transversely by a more or less bony ridge, giving rise to a sulcus

immediately behind the frontal region and a somewhat similar one

in front of the occipital bone. This ridge probably represents an

attempt on the part of the ossific centres to effect calcification in

the vault. The cranial capacity is apparently normal.

The condition would appear to be analogous to osteogenesis

\ imperfecta , in which it is principally the bones. of the cranial vault

which are affected, and in which normal ossification has failed

to. occur,

I am indebted to Mr. Whistler for referring this interesting

and unusual specimen to me.

March 23, 1933.

XVITL— MONSTROSITIES IN TROUT FRY (SALMO

FAR 10) IN KIJLU.

( With four text-figures).

Alterations in the normal condition of light and darkness, and

changes in the temperature produce remarkable effects on animal

Kent,

England.

TAMES M. HARRISON,

D. SC. , F.Z.S., M.B.O.F.

756 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

development. The hatching period, for instance, in fishes varies

with the temperature of the water, and it can be prolonged or short-

ened by lowering or raising the temperature. In Trout ( Salmo

fario), for example, the hatching in 37°F takes 165 days, while

in 52 °F temperature of water, it takes only 38 days. The eggs can

be successfully transported over long distances by packing them in

ice and thus retarding their development and prolonging the hatch-

ing period. Opliicephalus marulius takes 54 hours to hatch out in

61 °F to 79°F, and 30 hours in 83°F to 92°F temperature of water;

and Labeo gonius, Cirrhina mrigala , Wallago attu and other local

carps and cat fishes take less than twentyfour hours to hatch out

in temperature ranging from 76°F to 98°F.1 ‘So dependent on the

temperature is the rate of development that if one side of an, egg

be only heated then development on that side will be more rapid

than on the other and the embryo will become bilaterally asym-

metrical. ’2 Monstrous forms can be produced in a culture of Para-

moecium caudatum by reducing the temperature to 30°C and then

allowing it to rise again to the normal temperature of the room.

Ultra violet radiation produces similar results.3 4 ‘Experiments on

the developing hen ’s egg showed that if the ultra violet rays were

directed against the shell no results were obtained, but if a window

was made in the shell, so that the rays could pass through, then

a number of changes took place, among which were the production

of double monsters or the duplication of parts.

Five thousand ova of Salmo fario, kept in light, saved from the

direct rays of the sun, but exposed to all external influences, and

five thousand kept in dark sheds, inside covered troughs, exhibited,

on hatching, the following characteristic differences: —

Fry hatched out in light. Fry hatched out in dark.

1 . Light in colour.

2. Weaker but active.

3. Death rate 3 per cent in

the troughs, in the

Hatcheries.

4. Death rate in transit \ per

cent. They stood the

journey better, moved

swiftly when released into

the stream, and tried to

swim against the current.

1. Dark in colour.

2. Robust but not active.

3. Death rate 2 per cent in

the troughs, in the

Hatcheries.

4. Death rate in transit 1.2

per cent. They seemed

to be exhausted when

taken out of the fish

carriers and sank down to

the bottom.

5. Yolk sac absorbed earlier.

6. Abnormalities noticed.

5. Yolk sac absorbed later.

6. No abnormalities.

1 Sewell, R. B. S. Presidential Address, 18th Ind. Sc. Cong. 1931.

2 ‘de Garis, C.F. Journ. Exp. Zool. vol. xlix, p. 133, 1927’ as quoted by

R. B S. Sewell, Pres. Add. 18th Ind. Sc Cong. 1931.

• 3 ‘Hinrich^ M. A., Journ. Exp. Zool. vol. xlvii, p^309, 1927' as quoted bv

Jb B. S. Sewell, Pres. Adi. 13th Ind. Sc. Cong. 1931, '

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

157

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Abnormations noticed in the fry were:

1. Fry with double head and body, with one yolk sac, un-

divided tail and single caudal fin (fig. 1). They died before they

commenced feeding. They

measure 12 mm. in length

each.

2. Fry in which yolk sac

has been almost absorbed, body

and tail are normal, but there

are three distinct eyes. It

measures 18 mm- in length, and

has got well developed dorsal,

pectoral, ventral, anal and

caudal fins. Mouth open. Head

broad, possessing two lateral and

one median eye (fig. 2).

3. Twin fry, in which the

yolk sac has been absorbed. Two

normally developed heads, open mouths, double

pair of pectoral fins, two dorsal fins. Ventral

parts, behind the operculum, united up to the

posterior end of the caudal peduncle. One pair

of ventral fins and single anal fin. The tail is

one, but it possesses two caudal fins. Length

17 mm. (fig. 3).

4.

metrical body, coiled like a

snail’s shell. Pectoral, dor-

sal, ventral, anal and caudal

fins well developed. Yolk

partially absorbed. Yolk

sac still a prominent struc-

ture upon which the body

lies coiled, either on the left

or the right side. The fry

when coiled measures

8 mm., but when its bod;y

is opened the length is 17 mm. (fig. 4).

Production of monstrous forms in Trout fry

is evidently due to the effect of light on deve-

loping eggs. Fry hatched out in light though

apparently weaker, possess more vitality, and fare

far better during transit, than those hatched but

in the dark.1 Darkness often breeds fungus,

parasites and produces other afflictions injurious

to young fish.

Lahore, M. HA-MID KHAN, m.sc., ll.b.,

Punjab. Fisheries Research Officer.

January 18, 1933.

Fry showing asym-

1 Hooper, G. L. 1916, Fishing Gazette, 15th April, 1916.-

7o8 Journal, Bombay natural hist, society, voi xXxvi

With reference to the concluding sentence of the note on page

27:2. of the current issue of the Journal, regarding the occurrence of

the Russell’s Viper in Lower Sind, it may be of interest to know

that on four successive nights in March 1923, I killed full grown

specimens of this snake under my bed at Jherruck, Karachi district.

The alarm in each case was given by my dog. I watched the

first one to see what it would do. It made straight for the hurri-

cane lamp and coiled itself up in the angle of the mud wall near

which it was standing, where it was practically invisible.

1 conclude there must have been a nest nearby.

XX. THE SAW SCALED VIPER (. EGHI8 GARIN AT A)

ABOUT IN WINTER.

This afternoon at 3 o’clock, during the course of a walk over

the stony, arid plain that lies beteen Islamia College and the mouth

of the Khyber Pass at Jamrud, I killed a snake which I identified

by Col. Wall’s ‘Poisonous Terrestial Snakes of India’ as a Phoorsa,

(Echis cannata). The remarkable thing was that a few yards

away was a sheltered pool of seepage water from a tiny irrigation

channel which was completely frozen over, though it was the

warmest time of the day. There have been heavy frosts here lately

and a snake was about the last thing I expected to see. I have

always understood that in this part of the world they hibernated

until late in February. During seven years residence I have never

seen one at this time of the year. The snake was apparently

sunning itself on a small sandy mound, near a hole from which it

had possibly crawled. It appeared to be asleep. Having no stick,

and there being no trees or shrubs near by from which one could

be obtained I lobbed a heavy stone, of about 8 lbs. weight, upon

it. It hit it fairly on the coils and roiled off. As it made no move-

ment whatever, 1 concluded it was done for and went forward to

examine it. It suddenly drew back on itself and struck at me as

quickly as lightning. I did not notice whether it hissed or not,

as any sound it may have made was lost in the noise I made, break-

ing the world’s record for a standing backwards jump. It made

for the hole in the mound but I got it with another large stone

before it reached it. It was about 17 inches long.

This note may be of interest as regards the hibernating habits

of these creatures. The day was warm in the sun and I pre-

sume its burrow was not far under the surface of the sand, the

warmth of which had brought it out for a sun-bath.

Bel gaum.

December 2, 1932.

J. W. ROWLAND,

Supt. of Police.

Islamia College,

C. H. STROVER, b.a.

Peshawar.

Janaary 8, 1933.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

759

XXI.— OCCURRENCE OF ZELTUS ET0LU8 NEAR

CANNANORE, MALABAR.

I think it will interest members of the Society who are Ento-

mologists to, know that I took a 8 ‘ Zcltus etolus (Evans. H. 84)

on the Matanur-Manantoddy road at mile 34 from Cannanore at

11 am. on 1st December. It was settling on damp earth in a

quarry just off the road. Brigadier Evans gives its locality as

‘ Sikhim — Burma’. N.R. but Yates took it in Coorg. The spot

where I took it is in Malabar, and a long way from the actual ghats,

it was a perfect specimen evidently just hatched out. 1 saw

another flitting about a tree out of reach, 20 feet from the ground,

at the same sj)ot about an hour later.

Cannanore, W. M. LOGAN HOME,

S. India. Lt.-CoJ.

December 9, 1932.

XXII.— OCCURRENCE OF ACT I AS MMNAS DOUBL.

IN TRAVANCORE.

During a short visit last year to Munar, Travancore, I was able

to examine a small collection of Lepidoptera in the possession of

the Rev. Shackle, mainly collected by himself in the Travancore

Hills.

Among the specimens I was surprised to see a pair of Actias

which seemed unaccountably odd to me. The male was a typical

selene , but the female was enormous and quite different to any

other specimen of that insect I had seen heretofore. Mr. Shackle

has kindly given me the two insects for closer study and I am

now able to see that the male is indeed a typical A. selene but

the female, one of A. mcenas. This latter insect, to my knowledge,

has not been reported from south of the Himalayan tracts and

Burma; Hampson giving its habitat as Sikhim, Bhutan, Khasi

Hills and Sibsagar, Assam and Burmah.

The present specimen is a little rubbed but the greater part

of the groundcolour remains and is a rich citron yellow; the lunu.le

in the forewing extends to posterior of the 4tli median nervure,

viz, to through and beyond the diseoidal cell; the antemedial and

postmedial waved lines are very obscure but may have faded some-

what : the marginal pink bordering to wings is typical in the fore

wings, and very heavy purplish in the hind, and, extending here to

well beyond the middle of tails; the thorax and abdomen are

unmarked. The expanse of this magnificent specimen is exactly

200 mm. as compared with 172 mm. given by Hanrpson. These

differences are so slight as hardly to give a racial value to the

insect.

Coimbatore.

February 20, 1933.

F. 0. FRASER,

Lt.-CoL, i.m.s.

fM JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXxVl

XXIII.— FLOWERING SEASON OF THE SPOTTED

GLIBICIDIA (G. MAGULATA).

In the article by Father Blatter and Mr. W. S. Millard on the

Flowering Tree Gliricida maculata (Journ. B.N.H.S., vol. xxxvi,

No. 1, pp. 138-140) it is stated that this tree flowers between Febru-

ary and March.

But it is interesting to note that the tree is in profuse bloom in

the Victoria Gardens at present (January). There are three trees

in these Gardens, all in bloom, including two shown in the plates

in the Journal with the article above referred to. The flowering

spikes commenced to appear about the middle of November and

the trees are in their perfect bloom now.

Victoria Gardens, D. S. LAUD,

Bombay. Superintendent,

January 6, 1933. Municipal Gardens.

XXIV.— FRUIT OF CRYPTOCORYNE TORTUOSA BLATTER

AND Me C ANN .

(With 2 text-figures).

When in September 1930 we found at Mahableshwar Crypto-

coryne tortuosa ( Araceae ) the plant

was only in flower and we were not

able to describe fruit (This Journal ,

vol. xxxv, p. 16.). On the 31st-

October 1932 one of us discovered the

same plant in fruit. Whilst § of the

flower was buried in .the ground, the

whole fruit was about 4 inches below

the surface, and consequently quite

white. The peduncle does not

elongate in fruit. The syncarpium is

sub globose, flattened on the adaxial

side, 12 mm. long, 13 mm. diam. 5

or 6 ovaries are developed. The seeds

are spindle-shaped, curved, 5 mm.

long, almost 2 mm- broad at the

base, longitudinally and irregularly

verrucose-rugose. Of the twelve seeds

in every ovary about 3-5 are fully

developed. Albumen copious.

B. Seed.

Panchgani.

November 2, 1932.

E. BLATTER, s.j., fR.d., f.l.s.

C. McCANN, f.l.s.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

761

XXV.— THE FLYING-FOX (P. GIG ANTE US) AND THE PALM

SQUIEBEL (F. T BIS TR I AT US) AS AGENTS OF

POLL 1NIZ ATION IN (GREVILLEA BOBU ST A, A. GUNN.)

THE SILKY OAK.

( With one block and 2 text-figures).

The Silky Oak or . Silver Oak, as it is frequently called,

( Grevillea to bust a. A. Cunn.) is commonly grown at Panchgani.

It grows well, producing an abundance of flowers and fruit during

the months of October and November.1 To those who are not

familiar with the. tree, the popular names are somewhat mis-

leading, as the tree is not an oak at all, but belongs to quite a

different order; the Proteaceae ; an order which is best represented

in Australia. -

Flowers of the Silky Oak ( Grevillea robusta A. Cunn.).

The flowers of the Grevillea . are peculiarly constructed, and appear

to- be provided by nature with the means of self-pollination if cross-

fertilization is not effected. In bud, the exceedingly long style

forms a big loop. The stigma, at its extremity, encompassed by

the perianth, presses against the anthers. The anthers ripen before

the stigma becomes erect. Once the style has left the embrace

of the perianth, the latter splits into four parts, and the1 upper por-

tions become reflexed, exposing the open anthers on the under side

1 I noticed manv trees in flower again in April' (1933).

16

?62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XNxVl

of the brush-like inflorescence. The stigmas ripen some time after

they have freed themselves from the grip of the tepals. Before

leaving, the stigma carries along with it some of the pollen from

the open anthers. The pollen grains are triangular in outline.

Most of the pollen remains in the open anthers which are now

turned downwards (see Big. 1). Each flower secretes a fair amount

of nectar which is held in position between the style and the

perianth. To the taste the

nectar is sweet. Nectar is the

bait offered to flower visitors

and honey eaters, who in their

quest for the sweet liquid

unconsciously aid plants in

effecting cross-fertilization, which

is considered to be of

more advantage than self

fertilization.

Willis, in Flowering Flants

and Ferns, 3rd. ed. (1908),

p. 413, writes the following-

under the heading of the genus

Greviillea : — ‘Trees and shrubs

with leaves of various kinds and

racemose infls., with 2 firs, in

each axil. The styles project

from the bud as a long loop, the

stigma being held by the

perianth until the pollen is shed

upon it. Then the style

straightens out, and the pollen

may be removed by visiting-

insects, the stigma not being

receptive ; presently the female

stage supervenes, and if all the

pollen has not been removed,

autogamy may occur-

In a paper On a case of

Natural Hyb7'idism in the genus

Grevillea, Musson and Fletcher

[ Proc . Linn. Soc. of N. S.

1 Vales, vol. lii, (1927)], the authors suggest that birds are possibly

responsible for cross-pollinating “. . . . the result probably being

that a nectar- seeking bird visiting the flowers of one species may

carry the pollen away from flowers of one part of the head, their

position not matching with that of the receptive stigmatic surface

of the other species. The result would be, that cross-pollination of

other flowers in the same or in other racemes of one type could

take place, whilst in other species with raceme types differing it

could not be effected.

Experimental investigation into these interesting details is much

to be desired. At present we have little or no data for consider-

ation.” (l.e.y p. 126).

Open Flower.

Miscellaneous notes m

It is quite clear from the above that little appears to be known

with regard to the fertilization of the flowers of this genus. In

order to make things clear I shall deal with the two different

animal agents under their respective headings.

Flying Foxes : While at Panchgani, during the flowering season

of the Grevilleas this year (1932),. I noticed large numbers of these

bats coming up from the valleys and concentrating their attention

on the flowers of the Silky Oaks. Like most people, I was under

the impression that the bats fed on the flowers. What puzzled

me most, was that in spite of their regular nocturnal visits the

amount of flowers on the trees did not seem to diminish. How-

ever, not being interested at the time, I. gave the matter no iurther

thought, until my wife persuaded me to shoot some Flying Foxes

for the pot. Many had spoken of the savoury dish that could be

made from these bats. They certainly proved to be quite good.

However, this is not the place to speak of the Flying Fox as a

table delicacy. As I hacl shot the animals, I turned my attention

to the stomach contents to see what they really ted on. To my

surprise I found that in all cases the stomachs were ‘empty’ with

the exception of a quantity of nectar — the flowers were not touched.

This investigation led me to review the situation from quite a

different angle. Had the bats anything to do with the fertilization

of the flowers?

I found that their faces were covered with a yellowish dust,

undoubtedly pollen. A microscopical examination revealed that it

was identical with that of the Grevilleas. Pollen was also present

in the stomach, but that was not what the bats were after — it

was the nectar.

Incidently, I might mention that none of the local trees were

in fruit with the exception of the figs which still had a long time

to go before they would be ripe. Bats, shot at different times of

the night, showed nothing but nectar in their stomachs. It seems

extraordinary that so large an animal could survive for several

weeks on nectar alone and that collected by the ‘chop’ with con-

siderable amount of trouble.

Having satisfied myself that the bats did not eat the flowers,

I now commenced to observe them. With a powerful headlight

and prismatic binoculars I kept a patient eye on the movements

of the bats. I also shot several at different intervals for examin-

ation, and incidently for the pot when I had done with them.

The binoculars soon convinced me that the bats first came in con-

tact with the anthers and finally with the stigmas as they examined

the flowers for nectar. The tongue of the Flying Fox is quite

suitable for the extraction of nectar as it ends in a fine point.

As the bats pushed their snouts in between the flowers, com-

mencing from the lower end of the raceme, their faces came in

contact with the open anthers which were facing downwards, and

as they raised their heads they brushed the stigmas. There appears

to be little doubt that the pollen first shed by the anthers on the

stigmas would be brushed away and fresh pollen substituted in its

place, thus effecting cross-fertilization.

Examination of the bats that I had shot only went to prove

Ye£ journal, bombAy natural hist, society, Voi. xXxvi

my- observations more substantially. The head was covered with

pollen uji to the ears, the sparingly hairy snout being licked clean

by the tongue. The body and wings were also sprinkled with pollen,

but there is no doubt that the face is the chief carrier which always

came in contact with the styles.

The Palm Squirrel • During the day the Palm Squirrel re-

placed the services of the Flying Fox. Early in the morning they

could be seen going through the racemes of flowers licking up what

was left by the bats. The flowers appear to open during the

hours of daylight, but 1 was not able to establish this point

definitely .

The squirrels, like the bats, commenced from below the racemes

and then crept over the inflorescence. In the case of the squirrels,

the head and shoulders were dusted with pollen, so much so that

the fore part of the animals appeared quite yellow. I have re-

peatedly watched these little animals moving about among the

inflorescences of the Grevilleas.

Other visitors: I have frequently seen the short nosed Fruit

Bat ( Cynopterus sphinx) hovering about and around the Grevilleas

but I have never seen one alight on the flowers. Ft is quite possible

that this bat also feeds bn their nectar, . as it is one of the nectar

feeding bats. In volume xxxv, p. 467, of this Journal I described

the visits of this bat to the flowers of the Sausage Tree ( Kigelia

pinnata, DC.). Among the birds1 I have seen the Jungle Crow

( Corvus macrorhynchus ) inspecting the inflorescences. There were

also a number of small insect visitors, but I am of opinion that, the

bats and squirrels are of much more service than the insects.

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., C. McCANN, f.l.s.,

Bombay. Assistant Curator.

November 30. 1932.

' XXVI.— “BLUE FLOWERS.

. Mr. SinglFs note on Scent in relation to. Flower Colour.

Might I point out that none of the flowers he refers to can be

said to bear blue flowers — the colour may have a blue base but

none are blue like Commelina selloiviana for instance.

Qaryopteris Walliehiana is a lavender blue, Angelonia grandi-

flora pale purple — Passiflora laurifolia lias the actual petals white

while the . corona lias a violet band.

Jacaranda mimosaefolia is blue with a violet tinge' and the

P)runsfelsia (Francis ce a) latifolia and Hopedna violet blue.

S. PERGY-LANCASTEE.

Alipur Road, Alipur, Calcutta.

December 6, 1932.

1 In the Journal of the Linn. Soc. of N.S. Wales , Vol. lviii (1933), p.. 33,

Mr. P. Brough lias an interesting article on The Life-history of Grcvillca robusta

(Cunn.) in which he deals with the fertilization of these plants by birds (p. 65).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

765

With reference to your letter dated the 9th. December, 1932,

I wish to draw the attention of Mr. S. Percy-Lancaster (apart from

my own personal observations) to pages 387, 415, 416, 502 of

Firminger’s Manual of Gardening for India, 1918 (Sixth Edition),

Bevised and edited by Dr. W. Burns, wherein it will be found that

the species referred to in his letter (dated 5th. December, 1932)

are possessed of blue colour. The flowers of Jaearanda mimosae-

folia dependent chiefly on my observations at Lucknow and Cut-

tack, are of blue colour without any tinge of violet.

Botany Department, T. C. N. SINGH.

Bavenshaw College,

Chanliaganj P. 0.,

Cuttack.

December 25, 1932.

XXVII.— INFLOBESCENCE OF AST E RAG ANT HA NEES.

( With one text-figure .)

Asteracantha is a small genus, consisting of but one species A.

longifolia Nees. By some authors it has been put under Hygrophila

B. Br. and this is the position assigned to it by Hooker in the

Flora of British India (4). More recent writers, however, have put

it in a separate genus by itself and this is the rank given to it

in the Pflanzen-Familien (3). The genus is distributed all over

India, Ceylon, Singapore, Tropical and South Africa. Its habitat

lies among ditches and swampy grounds and in such localities it

is fairly common over the greater part of the country.

The genus is peculiar in the arrangement of its leaves in apparent

whorls of six, in the presence of six spines at every node in the

axil of these leaves and the arrangement of the flowers apparently

in axillary whorls. On going through some of the Indian Floras,

the writer found that the last feature, namely, the inflorescence,

has been incorrectly described in some of them, as for instance,

in Duthie’s Flora of the Upper Gauge tic Plain (3) and' in Cooke’s

Flora of the Presidency of Bombay (1). The purpose of the

present note is to bring this point to notice and to give a correct

description of its parts.

Both D ut hie (2) and Cooke (1) describe the flowers to be

grouped 'in sessile axillary whorls of 8 (4 pairs) at each node,

surrounded by rigid spines.’ Lindou in Pflanzen familien (3) has

given a more elaborate description as follows :

‘Flowers in dense, abbreviated, cymose, axillary inflorescences,

composed of thrice-branched dichasia. The central flower of the

dichasium modified into long thorns, only that of the tertiary

dichasium developed.’

So according to him also the number of flowers at a node

would be eight. Beallv, however, the number of flowers at each

node is much larger and the arrangement is not so simple as would

appear from the descriptions given bv the above authors. This is

766 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

clearly brought out by the ground plan of a node sketched in the

accompanying figure,.

In the centre of the diagram is shown the quadrangular stem,

ST and it bears two leaves, Lx & L2 in an opposite fashion. The

presence of six leaves at a node in whorls is only apparent. These

are really arranged in opposite and decusssate manner. Each of

these leaves bears in its axil a branch as usual. These branches

bear two leaves only, one L3 & L4 and the otherN L5 & L6 and are

themselves modified into stout spines Spx & Sp2 opposite the leaves

Lj & L2 respectively. The leaves of these axillary branches are so

pushed out and pressed to the level of the leaves Lx & L2 that all

the six leaves appear to be arranged in a* single whorl.

The rest of the structure can be described by considering the

axilliary parts of one of the four leaves L3, L4, L5 and L6, as all

these are similar in every respect. We may take for example the

leaf L5. Like the leaves Lx and L2, it bears a branch in its axil

which ends in a stout spine Sp5 and bears two leaves Br4 & Br2.

The .latter have been described, as the bracts. Since there are

four such leaves as L5, there are four spines at a node, Sp3, Sp4,

Sp5 and Sp6 in the axils of the leaves L3, L4, L5 and L6

respectively and these taken along with the spines Sp3 and Sp2 in

the axils of the leaves L2 and L2, give the six spines which are

characteristic of every node of Asteracantha.

The bracts, Brx and, Br2 in their turn again bear axillary

branches each of which bears two foliar organs brx and endsj in the

flower F4. Since there are only eight such bracts as BR3 and

BR2, there are only eight flowers of the order F3. The two foliar

members brx act as the bracteoles for the flowers, E15 but as

bracts for the flowers of the next order F2. These flowers of

this set have again each two bracteoles br2 which act like bracts

for the flowers of the next order F3. These flowers also possess

two bracteoles but the buds in their axils were found to be

undifferentiated even very late in the season. In the diagram

these are represented by mere black dots.

The real situation then in Asteracantha is this. At every node

there is a pair of opposite leaves and each of these bears a dichasial

cyme in its axil. In the first two branchings the axes of the di-

chasia end in spines, in the subsequent ones in flowers. All the

parts of the node are so much compressed and condensed that every

thing, the leaves, the spines, the bracts and the flowers appear to

be situated in whorls. There is no true distinction between bracts

and bracteoles. Bracteoles of one flower act as bracts for those

of the next younger set.

Another feature of the inflorescence of Asteracantha is that the

flowers of the different sets do not develop simultaneously. A great

deal of time, extending to some weeks, elapses between the open-

ing of the flowers of one order and those of the next higher one.

So there is a time when the flowers only of the order Fx are in

flower. Those of next order F2 developing only perhaps after about

2 or 3 months when the former have reached the fruiting stage.

This is probably the cause of the mistakes made by Duthie, Cooke,

etc. In their material perhaps flowers only of the F order were

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

ASTERACANTH A LON GI FOLIA.

1. ST— Stem.

2. Lj and L2 — Outermost leaves of the node.

3. Spj and Sp2 — Spines in the axils of the leaves L1 and L2.

4. L3, L4, Ls and L6 — Leaves of the second set on‘ the spines Sp4 and Sp2.

5. Sp3> Sp4, Sp5 and Sp6 — Spines in the axils of the leaves L3, L4, L5

and Le respectively.

6. BRt and BR2 — Bracts on the spine Sp3.

7. Fj — Flowers of the first order in the axil of the bracts BRlt BR2, etc.

8. br4 — Bracteoles on the flowers F4 and acting as bracts for the flowers of

the next order F2.

9. F2 — Flowers of the second order in the axils of brx.

10. br2 — Bracteoles on the flowers F2 and acting as bracts for F3.

11. F3 — Flowers of the third order in the axil of the bracts br2. Each of

them has got 2 bracteoles, each with one undifferentiated bud in its axil re-

presented by a small black dot in the figure.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

767

developed and as there are only 8 flowers of this type two in the

axil of every leaf L3, L4, and, Ls and L6, they gave the description,

flowers in axillary whorls of 8 (4 pairs).

A. C. JOSHI, m.sc.

Department of Botany,

Benares.

November 20, 1932.

Description of the Figure.

This figure shows the ground plan, of one of the nocles of Astera-

cantha longifolm. What have been described as leaves are shown

merely in outline, with the midrib marked by a large black dot.

Spines are shown by black circles in the axils of the leaves. Stem

is in the centre. Its vascular tissue is shown in black. Flowers

are represented by circles with a cross inside. What have been

described as bracts and bracteoles are shown in black to distinguish

them from the leaves.

ANNUAL REPOET OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

FOR THE YEAR ENDING- 31st DECEMBER 1032.

ADMINISTRATION

President. — H. E. The Right Hon’ble Major-General Sir Frederick Sykes,

F.C., G.C.I.E., G.B.E., K.C.B., C.M.G.

Vice-Presidents. — H. H. The Maharao of Cutch, g.c.s.i., g.c.i.e., Rev. E.

Blatter, S.J., The Hon’ble Mr. R. D. Bell, c.s.i., c.i.e., i.c.s.

Executive Committee. — Right Revd. R. D. Acland, Bishop of Bombay, Mr.

H. D. Ash, Mr. Farrokh E. Bharucha, Rev. Fr. J. F. Cains, s.j., Col. Sir

Frank Connor, Kt., d.s.o., f.r.g.s., i.m.s., Mr. Alwyn Ezra, f.r.g.s., f.z.s.,

Mr. J. B. Greaves, m.l.c., Prof. Y. N. Hate, b.sc., Mr. J. G. Ridland, Major

S:. S, Sokhey, i.m.s., Mr. A. Forrington ( Honorary Treasurer) , Mr. P. M. D.

Sanderson, f.z.s., Sir Reginald Spence, Kt., m.l.c., f.z.s. ( Joint Honorary

Secretaries), Bombay,

Advisory Committee. — Dr. C. F. C. Beeson, d.sc., m.a., i.f.s., Dehra Dun.

Mr. T. R, Bell, c.i.e., i.f.s. (Retd.), Karwar. Mr. C. H. Donald, f.z.s.,

Dharmsala. Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s., Coimbatore. Dr. F. H. Gravely,

d.sc, ) Madras. Mr. S. F. Hopwood, i.f.s., Rangoon. Mr. C. M. Inglis,

M.B.oiu. , f.z.s., Darjeeling. Mr. R. C. Morris, f.z.s., f.r.g.s., Coimba-

tore. Major E. G. Phythian Adams, F.z.s., Mysore. Dr. Baini Prashad, d.sc.,

Calcutta. Mr. H. C. Smith, Burma. Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley, o.b.e., d.s.o.,

m.c., Meerut. Major W. B. Trevenen, Jubbulpore.

Staff. — S. H. Prater, m.l.c., c.m.z.s. (Curator). C. McCann, f.l.s. and

Y. S. LaPersonne, m.b.o.u. ( Assistant Curators).

THE HONORARY SECRETARY’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1932.

The Society's Journal. — The Thirty-fifth Volume of the Journal was com-

pleted and Part I of Volume XXXVI was issued during the year under review.

Scientific Papers. — Mammals. — Mr. R. I. Pocock continued during the year

his important contributions on Indian Mammals which have become a feature

of the Journal during recent years. His papers constitute a revision of various

families and genera based on all the records and data now available and form

an, important preliminary to the publication of the new edition of the Mammalia

of India in the Fauna of British India Series, which Mr. Pocock is engaged in

writing in collaboration with Mr. Martin Hinton.

Papers published during the year deal with the Brown and Black Bears of

Europe and Asia and the Rhesus Macaque ( Macaca mulatto). In Part I of

his paper on the Bears the author gives the distinguishing characters of

European and Asiatic Brown and Black Bears and provides analytical keys

for determining the four genera. Seven races of Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos) are

recognised by him. The author is unable to give subspecific rank to the various

supposed races or species of the European Brown Bear. Individual variation

in the size and shape of the cranium or teeth in specimens from the same

or adjoining districts is very, striking and shows the untrustworthiness of these

characters which have been used by systematists for the differentiation of the

European Brown Bears into species and local races. As regards the so called

Burmese Brown Bear, described by Thomas under the name Ursus arctos

skanorum , this race is known from a single specimen alleged to have, been

obtained in the Shan States, Burma. It was sent to the British Museum

by the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and was originally received from a dealer

in Wild Animals. Mr. Pocock doubts the correctness of its alleged origin

as no brown bears have been recorded from any locality near the Shan States.

The Brown Bear of Thibet ( U . arctos pruinosus), whose general colour is

blackish, seems to be nearly allied to the Manchurian race but its claws are

typically pale liorn-coloured and not black and, while the skull is on the average

smaller, it is furnished with relatively larger teeth. The Kashmir Brown

Bear ( Ursus arctos isabellinus) ranges from the Thian Shan Mountains to the

Western Himalayas and probably Hindu Ivush. It is a well-marked race. The

material available indicates that, the Kashmir Bear may be white, silvery-grev,

red or brown, the range of colour being from the Polar Bear to thati of the

dark European Brown Bear. The race is distinguishable by its smaller skull

PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

76ft

aiid teeth apart from differences ' in colour which separate it from the 5 other

races of this species which occur beyond Indian limits.

In Part II of his paper the author deals with the Sloth Bears ( Melursus ),

the Black Bears (Selenarctos) and the Malay Bears ( Helarctos ). The author

recognises two races of the Sloth Bear — The Indian and the Singhalese. He

states that the Singhalese race has a shorter and much less shaggy coat than

the Sloth Bears of Northern and Central India. He believes it probable that

the South Indian Sloth Bear will prove inseparable from the Singhalese form,

but in the absence of any skins and skulls the author is unable to draw definite

conclusions. Skins and skulls of Sloth Bears - from South India are required

for comparison. Mr. Pocock recognises 7 races of the Black Bear

[Selenarctos thibetanus). The geographical limits of the typical race — the Hima-

layan Black Bear ( Selenarctos t. thibetanus) range apparently from the, Nepal

Terrai eastwards through Assam, Burma, Siam, Annam and probably Southern

China. The author establishes a new race for the Kashmir Black Bear under

the name ( Selenarctos thibetanus laniger) and distinguishes it from the

more eastern form by its longer, softer and altogether more luxuriant coat

and heavy under-fur. To the Black Bear of Baluchistan he temporarily gives

the sub specific name gedrosianus . The name wras originally applied by Blanford

to two distinctly ‘brown’ skins obtained at Tump, which he at the time believed

to represent a distinct species. Blanford subsequently concluded that the Balu-

chistan Bear was little more than a race of the Himalayan Black Bear. Mr.

Pocock provisionally admits this race which is said to be smaller in size and,

while its coat is apparently the same as in the typical race, the colour is a very

dark brown, or rufous brown as indicated in the skins obtained in Mekran.

So much for the Indian races of this! bear. The remaining 3 races recog-

nised by the author occur in China, Manchuria, Amurland and the moun-

tainous parts of the Japanese Archipelago.

The Malayan Bear ( Helarctos malayanus) is distinguished from the Hima-

layan species mainly by its shorter and broader head, its small rounded ears,

its modified rhinarium and more protrusible lips and tongue. A perusal of

Mr. Pocock ’s papers will indicate the scanty nature of the material available

in the collections both in India and in England. Will members of the Society

-who have the opportunity help by sending skins and skulls of Bears either to

the British or the Society’s Museum.

Mr. Pocock’s second paper deals with the Rhesus Macaques ( Macdca mulata).

Though a common and familiar species this monkey has never been adequately

studied from the point of view- of individual, seasonal, or local variation. The

colouration varies considerably even among individuals from the same area and

this character is useless for determining racial differences. The condition of

the coat is also subject to seasonal change. It is at its best between November

and February. During the hot weather it 'wears a dead and shabby look

till the moult which apparently occurs during June and July. In the author’s

opinion several races of this Macaque are recognizable. Within our limits he

establishes three. The typical race occurs in Northern and Central India,

through Assam and Upper Burma, extending eastwards to Annam. A West

Himalayan form is found in Kumaon, the northern districts of the Punjab arid

Kashmir. To this race the author ascribes the subspecific name villosa. It is

a heavier, and on the average slightly larger, monkey, but the differences are

not very marked and there is no doubt that the Kashmir race intergrades with

the typical race at the lower levels. The Macaque which inhabits the warmer

parts of Kafristan and the lower end of the Chitral Valley is apparently even

larger than the Kashmir form. It is also less brightly coloured and more

dusky olive in tone. To this third race the author ascribes the name mac-

malwni after Sir Henry Macmahon, an old member of the Society, who founded

the Quetta Museum. Three other races are recognised which occur outside

our limits.

Birds'. — Three papers dealing with the bird collections made during the

Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern G-liats were published during the year

under review. The author Mr. H. Whistler, who is being assisted by Mr.

N. B. Kinnear of the British Museum, published an introductory account of

the genesis of the survey in Volume XXXIV of the Journal. The Madras

Presidency is the least known part of India, from the viewpoint of its Ornitho-

logy and the report of the Survey is written in the form of an account of

the birds of the Mad ras Presidency and mentions all the species hitherto

recorded from the area whether they have been met with by the Survey or

770 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

not. The authors further deal with the species from the standpoint of their

general distribution within the boundaries of British India. From a careful

study of all published records, the collections made available by the Survey,

and through other sources they have set themselves the task of revising the

hitherto recognised geographical races of the species they deal with. In many

instances they have been compelled to differ from the conclusions arrived at

in the New Fauna. A perusal of the papers so far published emphasises

how much still remains to be learnt about Indian Birds, especially as regards

their distribution, migration and local movements. The distribution of even

our commonest species is imperfectly known. The Beport helps to indicate

what deficiencies remain to be filled and how exactly local observers can help

to fill them.

Ornithologists in India owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. A. S. Yernay

whose generosity made this important survey possible.

The thanks of the Society are due to the authors, Messrs. Whistler and

Kinnear. The painstaking thoroughness and the great care that they have

devoted to the preparation of the report have made it one of the most important

contributions to Indian Ornithology of recent years.

Mr. S. A. Ali contributed a paper on ‘Flower Birds and Bird Flowers’ in

India. The importance of bees, butterflies and other insects in the cross

fertilisation of flowers is well known, but the significance of birds as fertilizing

agents has been consistently underrated. It is a subject which has received

little attention from workers in India. The present paper is possibly the

first comprehensive: contribution to the subject as regards Indian species. The

author gives a list of flowers observed to be visited regularly by birds in

India and under each species records the species of birds which visit them.

56 species of trees are mentioned representing various orders and families.

The number is supplemented with a, further list of 16 species, indigenous or

introduced, which have been recorded as partly or entirely ornithophilous.

Fifty-two species of birds are recorded as regular visitors to the flowers of

these trees. In addition to habitual honey feeders such as the Sunbirds,

Flower-peckers and White-eyes, which are structurally adapted to this method

of sustenance, the list includes a number of species which, without being

specially equipped for the purpose, are nevertheless regular nectar seekers.

The paper provides the basis of an interesting field of investigation for workers

in India and forms a useful guide to what has hitherto been ascertained or

partly ascertained and the lines on which further research should be conducted.

Reptiles and Amphibians . — Dr. Malcolm Smith, who is revising Boulenger’s

volume on the Beptilia in the Fauna of British India Series and whose first

volume dealing with the Crocodiles and Chelonians was published in 1931,

contributed an article on Indian Monitors. A critical examination bv the

author of specimens in the British Museum and in the collections at Bombay

and Calcutta indicated the necessity of revising the distribution of several

species as given in Boulenger’s Fauna. The paper further amends Boulenger’s

key to the identification of the species, and provides one which will be found

more practicable to field workers who have not the advantage of adequate material

for comparison.

Dr. Norman Corkhill, late of the Iraq Health Service, published a paper

on Snakes of Iraq which supplements the previous contributions on the subject

in the Journal by Dr. Boulenger and the late Miss Proctor. A very interesting

paper on Indian Batrachians' by C. McCann, Assistant Curator of the Society,

was published during the year. The author contributes notes and observations

on the life history and habits of species which, in the majority of cases, were

reared by him from spawn. Mr. McCann’s observations on the breeding habits

of the Chunam Frog ( Rhacophorus malabaricus) are particularly interesting since

they imply a unique departure from the normal methods of fertilisation of the

ova, known to exist among frogs. In the present case, a female in captivity

produced, in the absence of the male, fertilised ova from which tadpoles subse-

quently emerged. The author submits the theory that with this particular species

amplexusi takes place previous to the actual discharge of the ova, the departure

being due to the peculiar situations in which the ova are laid. Their fertilization

at the time of their discharge may be effected by spermatozoa deposited and

carried on the body of the. female. Further investigations are necessary to prove

the correctness of the theory.

Fishes. — A paper ‘On Fishing for Bombay Duck’ ( Harpodon nehersus), indi-

cating the destructive methods now in use in netting them, was contributed

PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

771

by Dr. Setna of the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay. The Bombay Duck

is one of the more important economic species of Western India. It forms

an important source of food supply to the poorer classes. The author indicates

that the type of nets in use for the taking of these fish results -not only in

the capture of fishes of all sizes and all stages of growth but also in the

wastage of thousands which are crushed and rendered unsaleable.

Molluscs. — During the year we published the first part of Mr. Rai’s Report

on the Survey of the Shell Fisheries of the West Coast, recently undertaken

by him on behalf of the Society. The author visited the principal, shell fishery

centres on the Bombay and Sind Coasts, where he studied the economic con-

ditions under which the Industry is being carried out with a view to suggesting

measures for their improvement. Part I of Mr. Rai’s report deals with the

Molluscs. Dealing with the Oyster Fisheries, Mr. Rai shows that the supply

of oysters is at present unequal to; the demand. A survey of the oyster beds

in Sind and in the Ratnagiri Districts has shown that immense harm has been

done to the beds and continues to be done by crude and unregulated! methods of

fishing. Beds which formerly produced an excellent supply have been completely

destroyed. The Clam fisheries are perhaps of even greater importance. They

provide a cheap and nutritious food, particularly during the monsoon, when

fish is scarce, and give employment to a very large number of people.

The total production of this type of shell fish (two genera are mainly involved — ■

Tapes and Meretrix) is estimated at 4 million pounds per annum at the

approximate value of Rs. 1,02,000. The report gives data relative to species

of economic importance and furnishes information as regards the distribution

of the Clam Beds and the fishing and marketing of clams. As in the case of

the oysters, the methods in vogue are wasteful and result in the destruction

of enormous quantities of shell-fish. Specific measures are recommended for

the greater conservation of the resources of the Clam and Oyster Fisheries

which, with some regulation and the introduction of improved methods, could

be , placed on a very much more satisfactory basis. These measures include

the introduction of legislation against indiscriminate fishing, the fixing of

a close season, prescription of a size limit and, finally, measures for the

improvement of the sources of supply. The report further stresses the necessity

for investigations relative to the species which are of economic importance so

as to provide data essential to the development of the Industry.

In 1931 the Government of Bombay deputed one of their officers to

investigate and report on the Fisheries of the West Coast. The report we

understand is shortly to be published and we await its recommendations.

There is abundant need for the better control and regulation of our fisheries

and for improvement in methods of fishing and marketing. But until it is

possible to establish in Bombay a department whose special purpose will be

the care and development of the fishing industry ; whose aim will be to carry

out continuous research and* investigation' so as to be in a position to recommend

those beneficial measures essential to its development, our fisheries, which are

of undeniable importance to a maritime population, must continue in their

present condition of oblivion and neglect.

Insects. — Part III, being the conclusion of Mr. Rhe de Philipe’s paper

on the Butterflies of .the Simla Hills, was published during the year under

review. We were also able to publish an important paper by Brigadier W. H.

Evans on the ‘Butterflies of Baluchistan’. The only previous contribution

to this subject was a. paper published by Col. Swinhoe in 1895. The present

paper lists 108 species as occurring in Baluchistan which is a considerable

advance over the 48 mentioned in Swinhoe ’s list. It includes several new' races

and species and a number of forms, previously unknown to> occur within Indian

limits. Brigadier Evans’ collecting days in India are over, but it is fortunate

that he was able/ to close his career of 38 years in India in such a fascinating

and interesting country as Baluchistan. We take this opportunity of expressing

to him the thanks of the Society for the continuous assistance that he has

given it in all matters relating to his special subject and we are glad that

he proposes to maintain his long and valued connection with us although he

has left India.

During the year we published Part XL of Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser’s paper

on Indian Dragonflies. The serial commenced 16 years ago in the Journal

and has continued practically without interruption up to date. Its purpose was

to> provide systematic descriptions of the families, genera and species of Dragon-

flies occurring within the Indian Empire a,nd now includes descriptions of a

772 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

large number of new genera and species since established mainly as a . result

of the author’s researches. Lt.-Col. Fraser has been commissioned to write the

new volume on Dragonflies in the Fauna of British India Series and, as this

will imply duplication of work, he suggests that the serial in its present form

should be discontinued. Such papers as are published in future will be limited

to revisions where necessary and to notes on the distribution or habits etc.

of species.

The thanks of the Society are due to Lt.-Col. Fraser for his important

contributions to our Journal. In their scope they are at present the onlv

comprehensive account of the Odonate fauna of the country and we take this

opportunity of congratulating him on his selection to carry out a work for which

he is eminently fitted.

Further observations on the Freshwater Medusa ( Limnocnida indica) form the

subject of a paper by H. Srinivasa Rao of the Zoological Survey of India.

Since its sensational discovery in the Satara District by Professor Agarkhar in

1911 various attempts have been made to investigate the life history of this

Hy droid, which, however, remains obscure. The present paper gives an account

of the habits and habitat of the Freshwater M edits cc, comments on the present

distribution of the genus and discusses its origin in India from data made

available by geological evidence.

Botany. — During the year we published Parts XVII, XVIII and XIX of

Rev. Father Blatter ’s Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency. The

parts deal with the Orchids and were written in collaboration with Mr. McCann.

They include descriptions of several new species and make a number of additions

to the Flora of the area.

A new species of Gentian discovered by Capt. D. G. Lowndes in N.

Waziristan was described by Fr. Blatter.

In an editorial note published with the second issue of the Journal in 1932

we offered, our congratulations to Fr. Blatter on his being awarded the Johannes

Bruhl Medal by the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in recognition of his

conspicuously important contributions to the knowledge of Indian Botany. ' In

spite of very indifferent health Fr. Blatter has continued his researches and

we hope that he will be spared for many- years to continue his great services

to Indian Botany.

Popular Articles:— During the year under review we published Parts VI,

VII, and VIII of Mr. Stuart Baker’s popular serial on Indian Waders which

when completed will form the 5th volume of his work on the Game Birds of

India.

Parts VIII, IX and X of the serial on Beautiful Indian Trees by Rev.

Fr. Blatter and Mr. W. S. Millard were issued during the year. Unfor-

tunately owing to the need for reducing costs it has been found necessary to

publish only one coloured plate with each part instead of two. This will extend

the publication of this interesting serial over a longer period than was originally

anticipated. It is intended eventually to issue the papers in book form.

Our thanks are due to Mr. Stuart! Baker, to Father Blatter and Mr. W. S.

Millard for these contributions which add so much to the interest and attrac-

tiveness of the Journal.

An article on the Game Fishes of the Bombay Presidency was written by

Sir Reginald Spence and S. H. Prater. Iti gives general information as to the

fishing localities in and around Bombay and the neighbouring districts, provides

descriptions! of the common game fishes of local reservoirs, lakes and streams

and indicates the species which might be introduced, and recommends measures

necessary for the improvement of conditions in local waters. Thanks to the

generosity of Mr. F. V. Evans- the Society was able to illustrate the article

with 14 coloured plates. Separate copies of the article are available.

The Society is anxious to develop the popular side of the Journal and would

welcome contributions from members on subjects dealing with Sport and Natural

History. Unfortunately the Society is not in a position to pay for contributions

and so loses many interesting articles by writers of merit who otherwise might-

have contributed to its pages. But our Journal has been dependent since its

inception upon voluntary contributions by members of the Society and the

position which it holds to-day redounds greatly to the credit of those who have

helped the Society by their voluntary work. We appeal once more to members

to continue to send their notes and observations to the Journal and to induce

their friends to do so. We should be glad to receive any suggestions which

would help to add to the interest and attractiveness of the Journal.

PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

m

Preservation of the Fauna of India. — We are glad to be able to announce

that Ave propose to issue shortly in the Journal a series of articles dealing

with the, preservation of the fauna, of this country. They are being written by

various authorities with intimate knowledge .of game conditions in different

provinces. As an accompaniment to this series we propose to issue a serial

oh the Mammals of the Indian Empire which will be profusely illustrated in

colours and black and AA'hite. Mr. F. Y. Evans, a Vice-Patron of our Society

and one of its most generous benefactors, has very kindly offered to pay the

cost of illustrating these articles. His Excellency the Viceroy has very kindly

consented to write a foreword to this? series. Its purpose is to awaken interest

in India on the subject of the preservation of its fauna. It is felt that much

of the apathy in this respect is due to ignorance and we believe that the

first essential step is the spread of information among people regarding the

beautiful and varied fauna of the country and the need for its conservation.

The Society intends eventually to issue these papers in pamphlet form and

to distribute them as widely as possible.

Publications. — The Society issued during the year a second edition of

Brigadier Evans’ Identification of Indian Butterflies. The book is a revised

and enlarged edition and contains much new data.

During the year it was decided to issue in book form the coloured illustrations

of Indian Birds, recently published by the Society in the. form of charts.

It is believed that in this form they will be more convenient for individual use.

A limited number of copies have been bound and are available.

Expeditions and Explorations. — The Society Avas able during the year to

undertake an Ornithological Survey of Travancore State. The Vernay Survey

of the Madras Presidency emphasised the need for further study of the Birds

of the South Indian Begion particularly of Travancore. The Society was again

fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Salim A. Ali who volunteered to carry

out the work; Our grateful thanks are due to His Plighness the Maharaja of

Travancore for a grant of Bs. 2,000 made by him toAvards the cost of the

expedition and to his officers for the assistance they gave us.

An expedition was undertaken on behalf of the Field Museum, Chicago to

Xheri, GarliAval and the Abu Hills to collect material for Museum Groups.

Mr. C. McCann was in charge and remained in the field from January to

April. Our thanks are due to Capt. L. D. W. Hearsey, for the assistance

which he gave the expedition.

Expenditure and Receipts. — The total anticipated income of the Society

for the year 1932 Avas Bs. 36,343-6-4. Actual receipts amounted to

Bs. 35,549-11-11 asi compared with Bs. 40,312-4-6 during 1931 showing a drop

of Bs. 4,762-8-7.

The drop in revenue is mainly due to reduced receipts under the folloAving : —

The reduction in receipts was partly made up by increased revenue under

the following item : —

1931. 1932.

Bs. Bs.

Sales of Journals ... ... 1,072 2,272

Life Membership ... ... 350 1,050

The following figures show comparatively the number of members on the

roll of the Society (excluding Life Members) on the 1st. of January 1932

and 1933 and the number Avho paid their subscription during the year : —

No. of Members

on Boll.

... 1,024

963

No. of Members

who paid

subscription.

961

893

1932, 1st. January

1933, 1st. January

774 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

As indicated in the Circular issued to members early in 1932 the Society

is passing through a critical period owing to the difficult conditions which

now prevail.

During the past three years it has lost 325 members from resignations,

while new members for this period, amount to 193 showing an adverse balance

of 132. To a Society depending for its income entirely on the support of

members this loss is serious. By retrenchment and in other ways the Society

is doing all that it can to tide over these lean times and yet to continue its

work and maintain the high standard of its Journal. The various numbers

issued during 1932 will indicate this.

The year 1933 is the Jubilee year of the Society in which it completes

50 years of continuous progress. To enable the Society to continue what it

is so successfully doing it requires the generous support of its members. This

help they can give most effectively by continuing theii; membership and inducing

their friends to join. We would greatly appreciate the active co-operation of

members at the present; time.

Staff. — The Committee take this opportunity of placing on record their

appreciation of the services of the Curator and his staff whose labours have

enabled it to continue and maintain the standard of its work under the difficult

conditions which prevail at present.

P. M. D. SANDEESON,

BEGINALD SPENCE,

Joint Honorary Secretaries.

13 th March, 1933.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

Proceedings and accounts

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(Sd.) A. F. FERGUSON & CO., (Sd.) A. FORRINGTON.

Chartered Accountants , Auditors . Honorary Treasurer.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

PROCEEDINGS AND ACCOUNTS

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PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS, AND PUBLISHED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE FOR THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, BOMBAY,

77T

British Museum Catalogue of Birds

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Eggs $ Volumes; in all 37 Volumes .... £ 45

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Complete with all Supplements, Extra issues,

General indices, etc. Bound red Morocco.

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Novitates Zoological

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Journal Siam Natural History Society

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Apply to : —

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Required : — Butterfly Catchers in the Himalaya Mountains

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Herm. Wernicke, Inh. H. Kotzsch, Dresden=Blasewitz, Germany,

FOUNDED IN 1897.

Pictures of

COMMON INDIAN BIRDS.

Coloured illustrations of 196 Common Indian Birds, neatly

bound in book form, as a Volume of reference.

Price Rs. 40. Postage and packing extra .

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I

BIRD-LIFE IN INDIA.

BY

Capt. R. S. P. Bates, M.B.O.U.

Profusely illustrated with black and white plates.

Price Rs. 9/- net.

1 { \ ' ' •

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J ; . ; p . 'V C , , j) ■ ■ ^ ^ .V

Apply to :

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BOMBAY.

GAME-BIRDS OF INDIA, BURMA & CEYLON.

BY

E. C. STUART BAKER, C.I.E., O.B.E., F.L.S., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.. H.F.A.O.U.

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THE

J OXJUN AL

OF THE JAN 2'}

Bombay Natural History Society.

EDITED BY

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

AND C. MCCANN, F.L.S.

VOL. XXXVI, No. 4.

Date of Publication, 15th December 1938-

Price to Non-Members ••• ••• Bs. 15-0-0 .

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CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXVI, No. 4.

Page

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. Part XIII. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j.,

ph.D , f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z s. ( With one coloured and one

black and white plates and 3 text-f igures . ) 778

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency, Part XXII. By

Rev. E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s. ( With one black and ivhite plate

and a. text-f igure. ) 781

Notes on Some Indian Macaques. By C. McCann, f.l.s. {With 5

plates.) . 796

Description of a New Race of the White-eye {Zosterops

palpebrosa.) 811

Report on Burmese Fishes. Collected by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton,

from the tributary streams of the Mali Hka River of the Myitkyina

District (Upper Burma). By D. D. Mukerji. Part I. {With one map,

3 Black and white plates and 3 text-figures.) 812

The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats. (Ornitho-

logical Section). Part VI. By H. Whistler, m.b.o.u., assisted by

N. B. Kinnear, m.b.o.u 832

The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State with Notes

on their numbers, migration and habits. Part III. By J. C.

Higgins, i.c.s 845

The Palm Civets or ‘ Toddy Cats ’ of the Genera Paradoxurus

and Paguma inhabiting British India. By R. I. Pocock, f.r.s.

Part I. {With 2 text-f igures.)..... ... 855

A Visit to Whipsnade Zoological Park. By Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton,

i.a ......... . 878

The Shell- Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency. By H. S. Rai,

m.sc. Part II. ( With 2 plates , 2 blocks and 3 text-f igures.) 884

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey. Part III. By

Salim A. Ali. ( With 2 plates) 89&

Notes on some Birds from Southern Arakan. By Dr. C. B. Tice-

hurst, M.A., M.R.C.S., F.R.G.S. , M.B.O.U 920

Notes on the Foodplants of Indian Hawkmoths. By Lt.-Col.

F. B. Scott, i . a . , f.e.s y 938

On the Biology and Morphology of Epipyrops eurybrachydis . By

B. Krishnamurti, b.sc. ( With a plate and a block.) 944

The Flora of Waziristan. Part II. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D.,

f.l.s. and J. Fernandez. ( With 2 plates.) 950

Earth-Eating and Salt-Licking in India. By Rev. J. F. Caius, s.j.,

f.l.s., and K. H. Bharucha, b.a., b.sc., Analyses XXVI-XXXI. ... 978

Review. Mimicry 982

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

I. — Tiger attacking an Elephant. By I. K. Swaine. 983

II. — A Spirited old Bull Bison {Bibos gaurus). By R. C. Morris,

f.z.s 984

III. — The Colour of White Bison {Bibos gaurus). By A. A.

Dunbar Brander, i. f.s. (Retd.) 985

IV. — Curious death of Cheetal {Axis axis) in captivity. By

Danushkoti Pillai ; 986

V. — — * Fur Farming ’ . By J. M. D. Mackenzie 988

VI. — Notes on the habits of R.adcliffe’s Sibia {Leioplila melano-

leuca radcliffei) . By T. R. Livesey. {With a photo.) ... 993

ii CONTENTS OF Vol. XXXVI , No. I

r. ' ' \ \ ' • •

Page

VII. — A Note on the migration of the Swallow Shrike (Artamus

fuse us). By A. S. Thyagaraju, m.a. 996

VIIL — Speed . of the large Pied Wagtail [Motacilla madgraspatensis) ,

By Hari Narayan Acharya, f.z.s 996

IX. — Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States. By T. R. Livesey.

-( With a -plate,) 997

X.— Nidification of the Giant Nuthatch ( Sitta magnet). ( With a

block.) .,..,,..^ .4....,,.. 1001

XI. — The Brown Hawk-Owl ( Ninox scutulata) feeding on bats.

By G. McCann, f.l.s, 1002

XII. — The Nesting on theShahin Falcon {Falco peregrinus ) on a

tree. By T.’R.-Ciivesey* 1003

XIII . — Riding down Partridges. By J. H. Stirling. . 1004

XIV. — Hatching of Partridge eggs exposed on a table. By

G. Grimes. 1004

XV, — Early -arrival of Snipe in the Andamans. By Major A. Bay-

ley-deCastro, i.m.d. 1005

XVI. — Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( T aderna iadorna) in the

Mianwali District, Punjab. By H. W. Waite, m.b.o.u.... 1008

XVII. — The Occurrence of the Mallard ( Anas platyrhyncha) at

Taunggyi, Burma. By S. St. C. Lightfoot 1008

XVIII.— Occurrence of the Baikal or Clucking Teal ( Nettion for-

niosilm) at Kalihar, Bengal. By P. Murphy. 1008

XIX.— A Toad {Bufo melanostictus) swallowing a Bronze backed

Tree Snak z (Dendrophis pictus) . By R. Foulkes, o.b.e.,

m.l.c. .L a, t • 1009

XX. — Social life of Snakes. By Hari Narayan Acharya, f.z.s. 1010

XXI.— Fishing around Ahmedabad. By Hari Narayan Acharya,

f.z.s. .,n......... 1011

XXlI.—‘ Butterflies of Lahore.’ By D. R. Puri. 1011

XXIII.— Note on the Sawfly Arge pagana, Pamz var. Victorina.

Kirby. By Mrs. C. H. Smith. (With S text- figures.) ... 1012

XXIV.— The Form of Colias hyale, occurring at Amritsar. By D. G.

Sevastopulo, f.r.e.s 1013

XXV. — The enemies of Danais chrysippus. By D. G. Sevastopulo,

f.r.e.s. .-. It A 1014

XXVI. — On some Tingitidae from South India including two new

species {Hemiptera) . By Carl J. Drake. 1015

XXVII.— A viviparous 'fly and a Chamaeleon. By C. McCann. ...... 1016

XXVIII.— Mosquito swarms. By Sir Frank Connor, Col. i.m.s 1017

XXIX.-^Rhythmic sound produced by Termites at work. By Sir

Frank Connor, Col. i.m.s 1018

■

XXX.— The Small Red, Ant Solenopsis geminata sub. sp. Rufa,

XXXr. — The Ashoka Tree. By Hari Narayan Acharya, f.z.s 1021

XXXIL-^Note om the Ashoka Tre.e, By Theodore Hubback 1023

Proceedings of the Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee Meeting, 1024

Supplement. — The Wild Animals of the Indian Empire and the

Problem of their Preservation. T .

Plate 2 1 .

Jouen. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

John B&ie. Sons &. Pihieisson.Lt<* Lender, .

The Brilliant Gardenia.

Garde n ia lucida , Roxb.

(about '/2 nat.size)

Note .

GAME BIRDS OF INDIA.

The concluding parts of Mr. Stuart Baker’s serial on Indian

Semi-Sporting Birds will appear in the next issue. — Eds.

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society.

December, 1933. Vol. XXXYI. No. 4.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s., and W. S. Millard, f.z.s.

Part XIII.

( With one coloured plate, one black and white plate,

and 3 text-figures).

( Continued from page 523 of this volume).

Plate XXI. The Brilliant Gardenia.

Popular Names : Dikamali (Hind,); Konda manga, kokkita,

tetta manga, kuru (C.P.); Dikamali (Mar.); Dikamali (Guz.); Papar

(Bijeragogarlr) ; Iiumbi (Tam.); Karinga, karaingi, karung, tella-

manga, china karinguya (Tel.).

Popular Names of the Gum-Resin: Dikmali (Hind.);

Dekamali (C.P.); Dikamali (Bomb.); Ivumbai, dika-malli (Tam.);

Tella-manga, chinaka-ringuva

(Tel.); Dikke-malli (Kan.);

Kolalakada (Sing.); Kunkham

(Arab.).

Gardenia lucida. Roxb.

Hort. Beng. (1814) 15.— G.

resinifera Roth. Nov. Sp. 150. —

Belongs to the family Rubi-

aceae. Gardenia was named so

after Alexander Garden, m.d.,

of Charleston, S.C., a corre-

spondent of Linnaeus; lucida

means shining, brilliant.

Description. A large smooth

shrub or small tree reaching 20-

25' in height. The bark is

smooth and grey, when young

greyish green. Shoots are smooth

and shining and covered with a

thin yellowish coating of resin

which frequently forms globules

at the tips. The leaves vary

from 2|-8 long by 1-3" broad. They are elliptic-oblong in outline,

d;AN 2 7

779 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

with partially blunt or fine pointed tips

. The base of the leaf

is narrowed into the

short leaf stalk. The

slender main nerves of

the leaf are prominent

on the underside. The

stipules between the

opposite leaves are large,

broadly egg-shaped,

pointed and thin in

texture. The flowers

are large and fragrant.

They rise singly in the

axils of the uppermost

leaves near the extremi-

ties of the branches; the

flower stalks vary from

in length. The

calyx is f " long and

softly hairy, the teeth

are 3/8" long, erect,

lance-shaped and taper-

ing to a fine point.

The corolla is large,

pure white on opening, soon turning yellow, the tube is 1^-2"

longer slender, covered with fine hairs

.on the outside. The five petals are obo-

vate, blunt, lj-j", spreading, veined and

smooth. The fruit is elliptical or round-

ed in outline, f-1" in diameter, smooth,

marked with longitudinal lines . and

crowned by the persistent calyx, the

outside is thick and woody. The flowers

open in the evening, soon turn from

white to yellow and die (Cooke).

Distribution : Growing wild in

Burma, Chittagong, from the Konkan

southwards, N. Kariara, Deccan and

Carnatjc, in deciduous forests in all the

dry districts of the Madras Presidency.

Gum-Resin : The remarkable gum-

resin, dikamali, or cumbi- gum, is ob-

tained from this species and from G.

gummifera Linn. f. The exudation from

both species is apparently identical, and in both cases forms trans-

parent tears from the extremities of the young shoots and btids.

These shoots and buds are broken off with the drops of gum-resin

attached, and exposed for sale either in this form, or after agglutin-

ation into cakes or irregular masses.

Commercial Dikamali is sold either in the form of the twigs

coated with and agglutinated by the gum-resin, or as irregular

earthy-looking masses, of a dull olive-green colour which consist of

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE XXII.

Tree of the Brilliant Gardenia ( Gardenia lucida Roxb.).

Photos by C. McCann.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES

780

the resin more or less mixed with bark, sticks, and other impuri-

ties. It has a peculiar and offensive odour like that of cat’s urine.

When carefully collected and free from impurity it is transparent

and of a bright yellow colour. The gum-resin has been found to

contain two distinct resins. One of these, an amorphous greenish-

yellow substance, is by far the largest constituent; the other occurs

only in small proportion, and is obtained in slender, pale, yellow,

crystalline needles. To the latter the name of Gardenin has been

applied, and from it is derived a very interesting brilliant crim-

son, crystalline substance called gardenic acid.

Medical Uses : Ainslie in his Materia Indica writes: ‘Cumbi-

pisin or cumbi-gum is a strong-smelling gum-resin, not unlike

myrrh in appearance, and possessing, the Hakims say, nearly simi-

lar virtues; it is, however, far more active, and ought, on that

account, to be administered in very small doses; as an external

application, it is employed, dissolved in spirits, for cleaning foul

ulcers, and, where the balsam of Peru cannot be obtained, might

be used as a substitute for arresting the progress of sphacelous

and phagedenic affections, which that medicine has the power of

doing (at least in hot climates) in a very wonderful manner. ’

The drug is considered anti-spasmodic, carminative, and when

applied externally, antiseptic and stimulating. It is accordingly

employed by the Natives of Southern and Western India, in cases

of hysteria, flatulent dyspepsia, and nervous disorders due to

dentition in children, also externally as an application to foul and

callous ulcers, and extensively to keep away flies from sores. It

has also been employed in European practice for the last purpose

with marked success, both in hospitals and in veterinary work,

and is said to be a successful anthelmintic in cases of round

worm (Watt).

‘The gum of the tree melted in oil is applied to the forehead

to check headache’ (V. Ummegudien, Madras).

Wood: Yellowish white, close-grained, hard, containing no

heartwood, weight 39 lbs. per cubic foot. It is useful for turning,

and is employed for making combs by the Natives.

Gardening: Eor sowing it is preferable to separate the nume-

rous seeds, though in nature a whole fruit will rot and the seeds

germinate in a heap. The seedlings do best in partial shade

(Haines).

(To be continued).

REVISION OE

THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s.

Part XXII.

(Continued from page 537 of volume XXXVI).

RUBIACEAE

BY

E. Blatter, s..t., ph.D., f.l.s., and C. McCann, f.l.s.

(With one plate and one photo).

1. Sarcocephalus Afzel. ex R. Br. (Cke. i, 578).

Species 10. — Palaeotropics.

1. Sarcocephalus missionis Haviland Rev. Naucl. in Journ. Linn. Soc. xxxiii

(1897) 32; Talbot For. FI. Bomb. Pres, ii, 84; Cke. ii, 578. — Nauclea missionis

Wall. Cat. 6099; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 27; Gamble FI. Madras 582.— N.

elliptica Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. (1861) 118 (non Bedd.).

Distribution : N. Ivanara, Madras Presidency: W. coast, in Malabar and

Travancore up to 1,500 ft., on river-banks.

2. Anthocephalus A. Rich. (Cke. i, 579).

Species 3. — Indo-Malaya.

A. indicus given by Cooke has to be changed into A. Cadamba.

1. Anthocephalus Cadamba Miq. FI. Ind. Bat. ii (1856) 135; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iii (1880) 23. — Nauclea Cadamba Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 14; Bedd. FI. Sylv.

t. 35. — Anthocephalus indicus A. Rich, in Mem. Soc. Hist. Nat. Par. v (1834)

238; Gamble FI. Madras 583. — A. morindaefolius Korth. Verh. Gesch. Bot.

(1839-42) 154.

Distribution : Konkan, N. Kanara, throughout India, often cultivated, Burma.

— Ceyion, Sumatra, Borneo.

3. Neonauclea Merr.

(Nauclea ouct., non Linnaeus (Cke. i, 580)'.

Nauclea purpurea Roxb. given by Cooke has to be changed into Neonauclea

purpurea Merr.

1. Neonauclea purpurea (Roxb.) Merr. in Interpr. Herb. Amb. (1917) 483;

Gamble FI. Madras 584. — Nauclea purpurea Roxb. Corom. PI. i (1795) 41, t.

54; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 26 ( partim ); Cke. i, 580.— N. elliptica Bedd. Ic. t.

19 (non Dalz. & Gibs.).

Description : Cke. l.c.

Distribution : Bombay Presidency : Konkan, N. Kanara. Madras Presidency :

N. Circars, hills of Godavari at 2,000 ft., in moist valleys, Deccan, hills of

Coimbatore, W. Ghats, from S. Kanara to Malabar, up to 3,000 ft.

4. Adina Salisb. (Cke. i, 580).

Species 15. — Tropical Asia, Africa.

1. Adina cordifolia Hook. f. in Gen. PI. ii (1873) 30; F.B.I. iii (1880) 24;

Brandis For. FI. t. 33; Cke. i, 581. — Nauclea cordifolia Willd. ; Roxb. Corom.

PI. t, 53; Bedd. FI. t. 33.

Locality : Konkan : Bombay (Blatter !) ; Tulsi Lake (McCann !). — W.

Ghats: Kliandala (McCann !). — Deccan (ex Cooke).

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 782

Distribution : Nonkan, W. Ghats, Deccan of Bombay Presidency. In the

Madras Presidency in ail dry deciduous forests in the Circars, Deccan and

Carnatic, less common in the W. Ghats. . Prom the Himalayas to Burma and

through Central and S. India to Ceylon, Mt. Abu.

Note: See C. E. C. Cox, Note on Haldu ( Aclina cord.). In Ind. For.

Dept. For. Bull. 42 (1921) 23 p.

5. Mitragyna North. (Cke. i, 581).

Species 12. — Tropical Asia, Africa.

1. Mitragyna parvifolia North. Obs. Naucl. Ind. (1839) 19; Cke. i, 581. —

Stephegyne parvifolia North. — Nauclea parvifolia Willd. ; Eoxb. Hort. Beng.

(1814) 14; Corom. PL t. 52; Bedd. FI. Sylv. t. 34.

Locality: Add: Sind: Sukkur, forest nursery (Sabnis !). — Gujarat: Fre-

quent in Modasa Petha (Sedgwick !). — Konkan: All over Salsette (McCann !). —

W. Ghats : Nhandala (Blatter !) .

Distribution : Throughout the drier parts of India.— Ceylon.

6. Hymenodictyon Wall. (Cke. i, 582).

Species 8. — Tropical Africa and Asia.

We retain the 2 species given by Cooke.

1. Hymenodictyon exceLum Wall, in Eoxb. FI. Ind. ed. Carey ii (i8241

149; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 35 (vide syn. ibidem ); Cke. i, 582.

Description : Cke. l.c. — The capsule valves persist when the tree is leafless

(Gamble) .

Locality: Add: Konkan: Salsette, above Nanari Caves, common (Blatter

& McCann !). — W. Ghats: Nhandala (McCann !).

Distribution: Along the base of the Punjab Himalaya, W. to the: Eavi,

ascending to 5,000 ft., from Nepal eastwards to Chittagong and Burma, and

southwards to Central and S. India, Mt. Abu. — Java.

2. Hymenodictyon obovatum Wall, in Eoxb. FI. Ind. ed. Carey ii (1824)

153; Cke. i, 583.

Description : Cke. l.c. — Flowers greenish or greenish white or . white.

Locality: Add: N. Kanara: Castle Bock (Blatter !).

7. Wendlandia Bartl. (Cke. i, 583).

Species 20. — Indo-Malaya, China.

We retain the 2 species given in Cooke, but change W. notoniana Wall,

into W-. thyrsoidea Steud.

1. Wendlandia exserta DC. Prodr. 4 (1830) 411; Hook, f, F.B.I. iii (1880)

37 ; Cke. i, 584. — Rondeletia exserta Eoxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 14.

Distribution : Tropical Himalaya, from the Chenab eastwards to Nepal

and Sikkim, up to 4,500 ft., Orissa, Central India, Nonkan and Deccan of

Bombay Presidency, N. Circars of Madras Presidency.

2. Wendlandia thyrsoidea Steud. Nom. ed. 2, ii, 786. — Webera thyrsoidea

Both. Nov. Sp. (1821) 149. — Canthium thyrsoideum Eoem. & Schult. Syst. v,

207. — Wendlandia Notoniana Wall. Cat. (1828). 6273; Wight & Arn. Prodr.

(1834) 403; Wight Ic. t. 1033; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 40; Cke. i, 584.

Description : Cke. l.c. — Flowers white or pale yellow, fragrant.

Distribution: Bombay Presidency: Nonkan, W. Ghats, S. M. Country,

N. Nanara; Madras Presidency: Deccan, hills of Cuddapah, Bellary and Coim-

batore, above 3,000 ft., W. Ghats, hills of S. Nanara to the Nilgiris, Pulneys

and hills of Travancore, above 5,000 ft., Shevaroy hills. — Ceylon.

8. Dentella Forst. (Cke. i; 585).

Species 1. — Indo-Malaya.

1. Dentella repens Forst. Char. Gen. (1776) 26, t. 13; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 42; Cke. i, 585.

Locality: Add: Konkan : Tardeo, Bombay Island (Hallberg !) ; Salsette

(Hallberg !) ; Pen (Hallberg !).

783 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

9. Argostemma Wall. (Cke. i, 585).

Species 85. — Asia, Africa.

We retain the 2 species given in Cooke.

]. Argostemma courtallense Arn. in Ann. Nat. Hist, iii (1839) 22; Wight

Ic. t. 1160; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 42; Cke. i, 585.

Distribution: S. M. Country, N. Kanara, W. Ghats of the Madras Presi-

dency up to 3,000 ft., on rocks in shady places.

2. Argostemma verticiilatum Wall, in Eoxb. FI. Ind. ed. Carey ii (1824)

325; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 43; Cke. i, 586.

Distribution : Konkan, Anamalais, temperate Himalaya, from KumaOn to

Sikkim, 2,000-6,000 ft., Khasia Mts., 4,000 ft., Burma (not in Malay Peninsula).

10. Oldenlandia Plum.

Many botanists now unite Hedyotis Linn, and Oldenlandia Linn, under

Oldenlandia Plum, as it is difficult to find characters to keep the1 two genera

separate.

Haines (Bot. Bihar & Orissa p. 144) though admitting that ‘some of the

herbaceous species are only separable by the more dilated stipules and the

wider base of the sepals which characters are only relative and not always

evident,’ keeps the two genera separate. His only reason for doing so is

because both genera are large and because he wants to avoid the multi-

plication of synonyms.

We unite the two genera, giving first the diagnosis of Oldenlandia Plum.

Shrubs, undershrubs or herbs, usually dichotomously branched. Leaves oppo-

site, rarely ternately whorled ; stipules interpetiolar, free or connate with the

petioles, often pectinately or pinnatifidly fringed. Flowers white or pink,

sometimes blue, in axillary or terminal, often paniculate, cymes, rarely soli-

tary. Calyx-teeth 4, rarely 5, persistent. Corolla rotate campanulate or fun-

nel-shaped; lobes 4, rarely 5, valvate. Stamens 4 or 5, in the, throat of the

corolla-tube, included or exserted. Ovary 2-celled; ovules numerous, on placen-

tas attached to the septum; style filiform; stigmas 2, linear. Fruit a capsule,

membranous or chartaceous, dehiscing septicidally, the cells splitting ventrally,

or loculicidally in the upper part, or sometimes indeliiscent. Seeds usually

many, in cavities on the rounded placentas, smooth or angular; testa usually

reticulate or pitted; albumen fleshy.

Species 180. — Warm countries.

As to the species of Oldenlandia given by Cooke we retain all of them

except that we change O. cry stall in a into 0. pumila and add a new species,

0. Sedgwickii.

Key after Cooke and Gamble :

A. Capsule indehiscent or late dehiscent or the

crown only dehiscing loculicidally

I. Capsule indehiscent

II. Capsule loculicidal on the crown only

1. Leaves linear-subulate, aristate

2. Leaves elliptic or linear-lanceolate, acute

B. Capsule dehiscent loculicidally in the upper

part, sometimes nearly to the, base

I. Corolla-tube short

1. Peduncles 1-4-flowered from the lower

or all the axils

a. Leaves linear, not exceeding 3 mm.

broad ; bases of calyx-teeth not

touching the fruit

f Top of capsule flat, not protruded

§ Flowers pedicelled, usually in

pairs

§§ Flowers sessile or nearly so,

solitary ... ...

ft Top of capsule rounded, pro-

truded

1. O. auricularia.

2. O. pygmaea.

3. 0. glabella.

4. O. corymbosa.

5. 0. diffusa.

6. 0. herbacea.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 784

C.

b. Leaves elliptic, exceeding 3 mm.

broad; base of calyx-teeth touching

fruit

2. Peduncles many-flowered, chiefly from

the axils

a. Flowers in umbels; pedicels very

short ... ...

b. Flowers in axillary clusters, sessile or

nearly so; capsule hairy ...

c. Flowers on long capillary pedicels or

in slender panicles; capsule minute,

glabrous

II. Corolla-tube long

1. Leaves whorled

a. Branches scabrid with whitish points;

capsule scabrid

b. Branches retrorsely hispid; capsule

glabrous

2. Leaves opposite, not whorled

a. Corolla-tube 11 mm. long; lobes ob-

tuse; capsule obovoid

b. Corolla-tube 4 mm. long; lobes acu-

minate; capsule globose ...

Capsule compressed, as broad as long, open-

ing by transverse slit in crowns ; seeds rough

4 (1891) 25; Gamble FI. Madras 597. — Hedyotis auricularia Linn. Sp. PI.

(1753) 101; Hook. f. F.B.I. hi (1880) 58; Cke. i, 587.

Distribution: Throughout E. Bengal from Nepal, Sikkim and the Khasia

Mts. to Assam. Chittagong, Malay Peninsula, Konkan, S. M. Country,

N. Kanara, Circars, Deccan and Carnatic of the Madras Presidency, W. Ghats

and W. coast from S. Kanara southwards at low levels.— Ceylon, Malay Archi-

pelago, S. China, Philippines, Australia.

2. Oldenlandia pygmaea 0. Kze. Rev. Gen. PI. 292. — Hedyotis pygmaea

Wall. Cat. 6199. — Hedyotis coerulea Wight & Arn. Prodr. (1834) 412; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 60; Cke. i, 587. — Oldenlandia coerulea Gamble FI. Madras 597.

[The specific name coerulea is preoccupied by Oldenlandia coerulea O. Kze.

Rev. Gen. PI. 292. — Metabolus coeruleus Bl. Bijdr. (1825) 992. — Hedyotis

vestita R. Br. in Wall. Cat. (1828) n. 847.]

Description : Cke. l.c.

Distribution : Dharwar, E. coast of Madras Presidency, Ganjam and Tan-

jore, on coast sands, W. coast, in S. Kanara.

3. Oldenlandia glabella 0. Kze. Rev. Gen. PI. (1891) 292. — Hedyotis gla-

bella R. Br. in Wall. Cat. (1828) 886; Bedd. Ic. t. 36. — Hedyotis nitida Wight

& Arn. Prodr. (1834) 412; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 61; Cke. i, 587. — Olden-

landia nitida Gamble FI. Madras 597.

Distribution : Dharwar, N. Kanara, hills of the N. Circars, W. Ghats

from S. Kanara southwards, Ceylon, Burma. — Java.

4. Oldenlandia corymbosa Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 119; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 64; Cke. i, 588.

Locality : Add: Gujarat: Very common in Savannah (Sedgwick !). —

Konkan: Parel, Bombay Island (Blatter !). — W. Ghats: Khandala (Blat-

ter !).

5. Oldenlandia diffusa Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 11; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 65; Cke. i, 589.

Flowers white.

6. Oldenlandia herbacea Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 11; Gamble FI. Madras

601. — H edvotis herbacea Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 102. — H. Heynii R. Br. in Wall.

Cat. (3828) 867. — Oldenlandia Heynii G. Don Gen. Syst. iii (1834) 531.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Malvan (Blatter !). — W. Ghats: Khandala;

(Blatter !).

785 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

7. Oldenlandia pumila (Linn, f.) DC. Prodr. iv, 425. — Hedyotis pumila

Linn. f. Suppl. (1781) 119. — 0. crystallina Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 11;

Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 65; Cke. i, 589.

Locality: Konkan: Bombay Island (McCann !). — S.M. Country : Belgaum

(Bitchie 1781).

Distribution: Punjab Plain below Jammu, and in the W. Himalaya near

Simla and in Garhwal. Elsewhere in E. Bengal and in the Deccan, Konkan,

S. M. Country, Madras to Negapatam, Travancore.— Java.

8. Oldenlandia umbellata Linn. Sp. PL (1753) 119; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 66; Cke. i, 590.

Flowers lilac.

Distribution: Orissa, Bengal, Burma, Deccan of Bombay and Madras

Presidency, Circars and Carnatic, in dry places.

9. Oldenlandia trinervia Betz. Obs. Bot. fasc. 4 (1786) 23; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 66; Cke. i, .590 —Hedyotis trinervia Boem. & Schult. Syst.

iii (1818) 197.

Distribution: Chittagong, Burma, Konkan, E. and W. coast of Madras

Presidency, in damp places, from Madras and S. Kanara southwards. — Ceylon,

Malay Peninsula, Malay Islands, tropical Africa.

10. Oldenlandia dichotoma Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 67 ; Cke. i, 590 —

Hedyotis dichotoma Koen. ex Both Nov. Sp. (1821) 93.

Distribution: Bundelkhand, Deccan, S. M. Country, N. Circars and Deccan

of Madras Presidency* in hilly country up to 4,500 ft., usually on rocks.

11. Oldenlandia aspera DC. Prodr. iv (1830) 428; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 68; Cke. i, 591. — Hedyotis aspera Heyne in Both -Nov. Sp. (1821) 94.

Flowers rose-coloured (Bitchie), pale blue (Dalzell), white. (Gamble).

Distribution: Punjab, Bohilkhand, W. Bajputana, Deccan, S. M. Country,

Deccan of Madras Presidency, on dry stony lands in Cuddapah, Anantapur,

Bellary and Coimbatore. — Tropical Africa.

12. Oldenlandia retrorsa Boiss. FI. Or. iii (1875) 12; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 68; Cke. i, 591.

Distribution: Sind, Arabia.

13 Oldenlandia gracilis Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 68; Cke. i, 591. —

Hedyotis gracilis Wall, in Boxb. FI. Ind. ed. Carey i (1824) 371.

Distribution: Tropical Himalaya, 1,000-5,500 ft., from Garhwal to Sikkim,

Burma and plains of N. Bengal, S. M. Country, Deccan in Coimbatore hills

at 4,000 ft., Carnatic, in Tinnevelly and S. Travancore, Ava.

14. Oldenlandia senegalensis Hiern in Oliver FI. Trop. Afr. iii (1877) 56;

Cke. i, 592. — 0.? senegalensis Hiern in Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 68. — O. nag-

porensis Brace in Haines Bot. Bill. & Or. 448.

This is a very doubtful plant. Hook. f. l.c. put it under O. senegalensis

Hiern with hesitation. In Haines we find the same Chota Nagpur plant

(collected by C. B. Clarke at Hazaribagh) under O. nagpurensis Brace. We

have not seen Woodrow’s specimen gathered at Poona. Cooke says that the

material is still insufficient for accurate determination.

15. Oldenlandia Sedgwickii Blatter in Journ. & Proc. Asiat. Soe. Bengal,

new series, xxvi (1930) 344.

Locality: N. Kanara: Karwar, in wet place in evergreen above the sea

(Sedgwick 6653 ! type).

11. Anotis DC. (Cke. i, 592).

Species 25. — Indo-Malaya, 1 S. America.

We retain the first 7 species given by Cooke, but exclude A. Ritchici as

there is no evidence that Bitchie gathered the plant within the limits of the

Presidency.

1. Anotis Leschenaultiana Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii (1873) 59,

& Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 72. — Hedyotis Leschenaultiana Wight & Arn. Prodr.

411; Wight 111. t. 125.

Flowers red-purple (Cooke), pink or blue-purple (Gamble).

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 7 86

Distribution: S. M. Country, W. Ghats of Madras Presidency, 4,000-7,000

ft., usually in wet places.

2. Anotis lancifolia Hook. f. in F.B.I. iii (1880) 73; Cke. i, 593.

Locality : Add : W . Ghats : Forming pure formations on Tableland of

Panchgani and other places; likes a variety of habitats: rocks, gravel, mea-

dows, pools, dry slopes.

Floivers: Aug. (Panchgani).

3. Anotis Rheedei Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii (1873) 59; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 73; Cke. i, 593.

Distribution : Konkan, W. Ghats, W. coast and W. Ghats of Madras

Presidency, hills of S. Kanara and Mysore to Cochin and Anamalais.

4. Anotis carnosa Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. ii (1873) 59, Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 74; Cke. i, 594.

Distribution: Konkan, N. Kanara, seashore of S. Kanara.

5. Anotis quadrilocularis Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 74; Cke. i, 594.

Distribution: S. M. Country, Bababudan hills of Mysore at 6,000’ ft., hills

of Travancore and Tinnevelly, rare in Nilgiris.

6. Anotis Montholoni Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 73; Cke. i, 595.

Distribution: Deccan, S. M. Country, N. Kanara, W. Ghats from Mysore

and S. Kanara to Malabar.

7. Anotis foetida Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PL ii (1873) 59, & Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 74; Cke. i, 595.

Distribution: Konkan, W. Ghats, S. M. Country, N. and S. Kanara.

12. Ophiokrhiza Linn. (Cke. i, 596).

Species 80. — Indo-Malaya.

Ophiorrhiza Harrisiana Heyne in Cke. will be called O. prostrata D. Don.

1. Ophiorrhiza prostrata D. Don Prodr. FI. Nep. (1825) 136. — 0. Harrisiana

Heyne in Wall. Cat. (1828) 6236; Cke. i, 596.

Flowers white or pinkish.

Locality: Add: N. Kanara: Castle Rock (McCann !).

13. Mussaenda Linn. (Cke. i, 596).

Species 60. — Palaeotropics.

Cooke has only 1 species: M. jrondosa Linn, which has been split up by

Gamble into several species. Our Bombay species must be called M. glabrata

Hutch.

1. Mussaenda glabrata Hutch, in Gamble FI. Madras 610. — M. jrondosa

var. glabrata Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 90.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Salsette hills (McCann !). — W. Ghats: Maha-

bleshwar (McCann !).

14. Chomelia Linn, (non Jacq.).

( Tarenna Gaertn.) (Cke. i, 597).

Species- 30. — Tropical Asia, Africa.

1. Chomelia asiatica O. Kze. Rev. Gen. PI. 278. — Rondeletia asiatica Linn.

Sp. PI. (1753) 172.— Tarenna zeylanica Gaertn. Fruct. i (1788) 139, t. 28, f. 3;

Cke. i, 598. — Webera corymbosa Willd. Sp. PI. i (1797) 1224; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iii (1880) 102.

Distribution: Konkan, N. Kanara; Madras Presidency: dry forests in all

plains districts, common, W. Ghats, Shola forests ' of the Bababudan hills,

Nilgiris, Anamalais, Pulneys, and Tinnevelly hills at or over 5,500 ft.

15. Randia Houst. ex Linn. (Cke. i, 598).

Species 125.— Tropics.

To the 4 species given by Cooke we add R. Brandisii Gamble.

787 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Key after Gamble :

A.

B.

Armed

I. Berry with seeds embedded in pulp

1. Spines short, sharp, in 1-2 pairs at the

ends of arrested branchlets ; leaves

large., obovate or oblanceolate, obtuse

or sometimes acute when young, up to

20 cm. long by 10 cm. broad. Flowers

solitary, dimorphic, in larger flowers up

to 5 cm. diam., fruit ovoid, smooth,

up to 7.5 cm. long; seeds smooth

2. Spines axillary, opposite or alternate;

flowers single or in fascicles of 1-3;

corolla under 2.5 cm. diam.

a. Leaves obovate, under 4 cm. long,

18 mm. broad; calyx-lobes about

5 mm. long, ovate with occasional

intermediate appendages ; fruit glo-

bose or slightly ribbed, about

20 mm. diam.; seeds smooth

b. Leaves usually more than 4 cm. long.

Calyx-lobes ovate, often with subu-

late appendages like the tube,

densely hairy, 5 mm. long; leaves

elliptic or obovate with prominent

regular hispidly villous nerves,

which have tufts in their axils, up

to 7.5 cm. long, 4 cm. broad; fruit

ovoid-globose, ribbed, 2.5-4 cm.

diam. ; seeds smooth and usually

minutely reticulate

II. Berry with seeds not embedded in pulp ...

Unarmed; a climbing shrub

1. R. uliginosa.

2. R. dumetorum.

3. R. Brandisii.

4. R. malabarica.

5. R. rugulosa.

1, Raudin uliginosa DC. Prodr. iv (1830) 386; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880)

110; Cke. i, 599. — Gardenia uliginosa Betz. Obs. ii (1781) 14; Koxb. Corom.

PI. t. 135.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Vehar Lake (Blatter !) ; E. bank of Vehar

Lake (McCann !) ; Borivli (McCann !) ; Kanari Caves (McCann !) ; Keltan,

Thana Dist. (Byan 722 !) ; Wada (Evan 600 !). — S.M. Country : Londa (Dr.

Burns !). — ■ N . Kanara: Castle Bock (Herb. Econ. Bot. Poona !).

Distribution: Bihar, Bengal, U. Provinces, Central India, Guiarat, Konkan,

S. M. Country, N. Kanara, all dry districts of Madras Presidency in open

forests, in wet places, savannah lands and on black cotton soil, in the hills

up to 3,000 ft., Ceylon, Burma.

2. Randia dumetorum Lam. Tab. Encvcl. ii (1793) 227; Hook. f. F.B.I.

iii Q880) 110 (vartim) ; Cke. i, 599 (partim) ; Wight Ic. t, 580. — Gardenia dume-

torum■ Betz. Obs. ii (1781) 14.

Gamble FI. Madras 615, has separated from Hook, f.’s synonymy: R. longis-

pina Wight & Arn. Prodr. 398.

more in diam., woody or fleshy.

Key:

I. Branches without spines ... ... ... 1. C. didymum.

II. Branches with spines

1. Flowers 5-merous. ... ... ... 2. C. Leschenaultii.

2. Flowers 4-merous .... ... ... 3 . C. parviflorum.

1. Canthium didymum G-aertn. f. Fr. iii (1805) 94, t. 196; Bedd. FI. Sylv.

t. 221. — Plectronia didyma Kurz For. FI. ii (1877) 35 ; Gamble FI. Madras 624. —

Canthium umbellatum Wight Ic. t. 1034; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 132. —

Plectronia Wightii T. Cooke FI. Bomb, i, 606.

2. Canthium Leschenaultii Wight & Arn. Prodr. 426; Wight Ic. 826. —

Dondisia Leschenaultii DC. Prodr. iv (1830) 469. — Canthium Rheedii DC. Prodr.

iv (1830) 474; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii . (1880) 134.— Plectronia Rheedii Bedd. For.

Man. in FI. Sylv. (1874) cxxx — -5; Cke. i, 606. — Canthium angustifolium Boxb.

FI. Ind. i (1832) 533; DC. Prodr. iv (1830) 474; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 135.—

Plectronia angustifolia Bentli. & Hook. f. ex Kurz in Journ. As. Soc. Beng.

xlvi (1877) 154; Kurz For. FI. ii (1877) 37.

Description : Cke. i, 606.

Distribution : Sundribuns, Sylhet, Chittagong, Konkan, S. M. Country, N.

Kanara, W. Ghats and W. coast from S. Kanara southwards up to 5,000 ft.

Ceylon.

3. Canthium parviflorum Lam. Encycl. Meth. i (1785) 602; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 136; Boxb. Corom. PI. t. 51 .—Plectronia parviflora Bedd. For.

Man. in FI. Sylv. (1874) cxxxiv — 5; Gamble FI. Madras' 625; Cke. i, 607.

Distribution: Deccan, of Bombay Presidency, S. M. Country, N. Kanara, all

dry plains districts of the Madras Presidency, in scrub forest, especially on

laterite and near the coast, very common.

20. Vangueeia Juss. (Cke. i, 607).

Species 40.— Tropical Africa, Madagascar, Asia.

We retain the 1 species given by Cooke.

1. Vangueria spinosa Boxb. Hurt. Beng. (1814) 15; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 156; Cke. i, 607.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Ivanari Caves (Blatter !).— W. Ghats : Khan-

dala (Blatter !).

Distribution: N. Bengal, Konkan, Deccan, W. Ghats, S. M. Country, N.

Kanara, most plains districts of Madras Presidency, Burma, Pegu. — Java.

791 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoT. XXXVI

21. Ixoea Linn.

Species 200.— Tropics.

Cooke has 7 species. We retain them all, but change I. polyantha into

I. coryrnbosa and I. nigricans into affinis. I. nigricans Br. var. arguta Hook. f.

we. restitute to the rank of a species, I. arguta Br.

Key:

A. Calyx-teeth longer than the ovary

I. Calyx 6 mm. long; corolla-tube reaching

18 mm. ...

II. Calyx 12 mm. long; corolla-tube reaching

36 mm.

B. Calyx-teeth as long or shorter than the ovary

I. Leaves drying black

1. Stipules shortly triangular at base, cus-

pidate with a long stiff bristle

2. Stipules linear-lanceolate acuminate

II. Leaves not drying black

1. Peduncles 10-18 cm. long

2. Peduncles less than 8 cm. long

a. Flowers white. Small trees

t Corolla-tube less than 6 mm. long,

flower-buds globose

ft Corolla-tube exceeding 6 mm.,

flower- buds ellipsoid

b. Flowers bright scarlet, a shrub

1. I. lanceolaria.

2. I. coryrnbosa.

3. I, affinis.

4. I. arguta.

5. I. elongata.

6. I. brachiata.

7. I parvi flora.

8. I. coccinea.

1. Ixora lanceolaria Colebr. in Eoxb. FI. Ind. ed. Carey i (1820) 397;

Wight Ic. t. 827; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 138; Cke. i, 608.

Distribution: Southern districts of the Bombay Presidency, hills of Tinne-

velly and Travancore, in evergreen forests.

2. Ixora coryrnbosa Heyne in Wall. Cat. (1828) 6155. — I. polyantha Wight

Ic. t. 1066; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 140; Cke. i, 609.

Distribution: Konkan, N. Kanara, coast in S. Kanara, Malabar and Tra-

vancore.

3. Ixora affinis Wall. Cat. (1828) 6144.— I. nigricans Br. in Wall. Cat.

(1828) 6154; Wight Ic. t. 318; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 148; Cke. i, 609.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Bombay Island (Blatter !).

Distribution: Konkan, W. Ghats, N. Kanara, W. Ghats of Madras Presi-

dency, in evergreen forests, up to about 5,000 ft., common.

4. Ixora arguta Br. in Wall. Cat. (1828) 6157; Eidley FI. Malay Penins.

ii, 92. — I. nigricans var. arguta Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 149; Cke. i, 610.

Description : A bush, glabrous, with thin branches. Leaves thin coriaceous

(drying black) broad oblanceolate. to obovate abruptly short acuminate, base

much narrowed; nerves 6-7 pairs; 9-15 cm. long, 3. 8-5. 7 cm. wide; petioles

5-10 mm. long. Stipules linear-lanceolate acuminate. Corymbs lax on peduncles

short or up to 5 cm. long, 5-7.5 cm. across, often many-flowered. Calyx less

than 2.5 mm. long, campanulate narrow, teeth narrow lanceolate acuminate

acute, as long as tube. Corolla white, tube slender, 7.5-13 mm. long, lobes

narrow, acute oblong. Style exsert. Fruit globose, pea-like.

Distribution: S. M. Country, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Malaya.

5. Ixora elongata Heyne in Wall. Cat. (1828) 6131; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii

(1880) 141; Cke. i, 610.

Distribution: Konkan, Deccan, S. M. Country, N. Kanara, W. Ghats from

S. Kanara to the Wynaad and Atapadi hills of Malabar at about 2,000 ft.

6. Ixora brachiata Eoxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 10; Wight Ic. t. 710; Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 142; Cke. i, 610.

Distribution: Konkan, W. Ghats, N. Kanara, W. Ghats from S. Kanara

to Travancore at low elevations.

7. Ixora parviflora Vahl Symb. iii (1794) 11, t. 52; Wight Ic. t. 711;

Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 142; Cke. i, 611.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 792

8. Ixora ’occinea Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 110; Cke. i, 611.

Flowers bright scarlet, sometimes yellow or pink.

22. Pavetta Linn. (Cke. i, 612).

Species 90. — Palaeotropics.

We retain the 2 species given by Cooke, adding a new variety to P. indica

Linn.

1. Pavelta indica Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 110.

Locality: Add: W. Ghats: Panchgani, Pasarni Ghat, between Panch-

gani and Mahableshwar, very common (Blatter I).

Pavetta indica L. in full bloom.

a. Var. glabra var. nov. Blatter & Hallberg. — Pedicelli glabri.

Locality : Konkan : Pen (Blatter & Hallberg) .

b. Var. tomentosa Hook. f.

Locality: On laterite near the seacoast, also in the dry deciduous forests

of the Dharwar district and elsewhere throughout the Presidency (Talbot).

2. Pavetta hispidula Wight & Am. Prodr. (1834) 431, var. siphonantha

Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880) 151.

Flowers white or yellowish.

Locality: Add: W. Ghats: Khandala (Hallberg !).

23. Morinda Linn. (Cke. i, 613).

Species 45. — Tropics.

We retain the 2 species given by Cooke, omit var. elliptica Hook. f. (of

M. citrifolia ) and raise var. bracteata Hook. f. to the rank of a species.

793 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Key :

I. Leaves 12-20 cm. long, glabrous, shining

1. Flowers without bracteoles

2. Flowers subtended by 1-1.5 cm. long, leaf-

like bracteoles persisting in fruit

II. Leaves 10-15 cm. long, tomentose, dull, not

shining

1. M. citrifolia.

2. M. bracteata.

3. M. tinctoria var. tom-

entosa.

1. Morinda citrifolia Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 176; Hook. f. F.B.I. iii (1880)

155; Cke. i, 613 ( partim ).

An introduction in the Presidency.

2. Morinda bracteata Poxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 15 ( nomen nudum); FI.

Ind. ii (1824); 198. i (1832) 544; Ham. in Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii, 534; DC.

Prodr. iv, 447; Wight Ic. t. 126; Daiz. & Gibs. Bomb. FI. (1861) 114;

Brandis For. FI. 278; Merrill FI. Manila (1912) 453; An Interpr. of Bumph.

Herb. Amboi. (1917) 490. — Morinda citrifolia var. bracteata Hook. f. F.B.I.

iii (1880) 156; Cke. i, 614.

Regarding the variety bracteata Cooke (l.c.) says: ‘This ought perhaps to

take rank as a separate species. It is certainly indigenous along the coast,

while M. citrifolia is an introduction. ’ It has been found wild from Malvan to

Marmagao along the coast.

Hook. f. (l.c.) united M. citrifolia and bracteata though, according to his

own words, ‘Roxburgh who alone seems to have studied these Morindas keeps

them apart.’ And he adds that Roxburgh ‘gives us other distinctive characters’

of bracteata than the foliaceous calyx-lobes and included anthers. (See Rox-

burgh’s description l.c.).

3. Morinda tinctoria Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 15, var. tcmentosa Hook. f.

F.B.I. iii (1880) 156. — Morinda tomentosa Heyne in Roth Nov. PI. Sp. (1821) 147.

Distribution: Deccan, S.M. Country, N. Circars, Central Provinces, Bengal.

24. Psychotria Linn. (Cke. i, 615).

Species 400. — Tropics.

Cooke has 6 species. We retain them all.

We add a few notes about the distribution of some species.

3. Psychotria Dalzellii Hook. f. — Not endemic in the Bombay Presidency.

Occurs also on the W. coast in S. Kanara, Malabar and Cochin.

4. Psychotria flavida Talbot. — Not endemic in the Bombay Presidency.

Also found in the W. Ghats and on the W. coast from S. Kanara to Travancore.

6. Psychotria octosulcata Talbot. — Not endemic in the Bombay Presidency.

Occurs also in the W. Ghats of the Madras Presidency.

25. Chasalia Commers. ex DC. (Cke. i, 618).

Species 15. — Palaeotropics.

Cooke has 1 species which we retain. — In 1894 Talbot described a new

species Ch. virgata (see List of Trees etc. p. 114), but it has been omitted in

his For. FI. of the Bombay Presidency.

26. Saprosma Blume (Cke. i, 619).

Species 20. — Indo-Malaya.

We retain the 1 species given by Cooke, but change the name Sap. indicum

into S. glomeratum.

1. Saprosma glomeratum Bedd. For. Man. Bot. 134/11. — Dysodidendron glo-

meratum Gardn. in Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist, vii G847) 3. — Serissa glomerata

Bedd. in Madr. Journ. Sc. ser. iii, i (1864) 50. — Saprosma indicum Dalz. in New

Journ. Bot. iii (1851) 37 ; Cke. i, 619.

Distribution : Bombay Presidency: W. Ghats, S. M. .Country, N. Kanara,

Madras Presidency: W. Ghats, from S. Kanara to Travancore, 2,000-4,000 ft.

in evergreen forests.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 794

27. Geophila D. Don.

Species 15. — Tropics.

1. Geophila reniformis D. Don Prodr. PI. Nep. (1825) 136.

Distribution: Sylhet, Khasia hills, Tenasserim, Andamans, Konkan, W.

Ghats of Madras Presidency, in moist districts, about 2,000-5,000 ft., not

common, Ceylon.

28. Lasianthus Jack. (Cke. i, 620).

Species 90. — Indo-Malaya.

Of the 2 species given by Cooke we retain L. sessilis and drop L. venulosus,

because we have not seen any authentic specimen.

1. Lasianthus sessilis Talbot Trees & Shrubs Bomb. ed. i (1894) 114; For.

FI. Bomb. Pres, ii, 131, tig. 363.

Locality: N. Kanara: Bain forests from Yellapur southwards to G-ersoppa,

common and often gregarious in the undergrowth in some of the kans (Talbot).

29. Hamiltonia Boxb. (Cke. i, 621).

Species 4. — Indo-Malaya, China.

We retain the only species given by Cooke.

1. Hamiltonia suaveolens Boxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 15.

Locality: Add: Konkan: Kanari caves (Blatter !).— W. Ghats: Panch-

gani (Blatter !).

Distribution : Tropical and subtropical Himalayas, Central India, Konkan,

Deccan, W. Ghats, N. Kanara, N. Circars and Deccan, in dry forests, south

to Mysore, up to, 4,500 ft. — China.

30. Hydrophylax Linn. f. (Cke. i, 622).

Species 3. — Coast of Indian Ocean.

1. Hydrophylax maritima Linn. f. Suppl. (1781) 126; Boxb. Corom. PI.

t. 233; Wight Ic. t. 760.

Distribution: Sandy seashores of the Orissa coast, Kathiawar, Konkan, E.

and W. coasts of Madras Presidency, on sand dunes, Ceylon; a sand-binding

plant.

31. Borreria G. F. W. Mey. (Cke. i, 623 under Spermacoce ).

Annual or perennial herbs, the branches usually 4-gonous. Leaves opposite,

sessile or petioled; stipules connate with the petioles in a broad truncate tube

with marginal bristles. Flowers very small, in axillary or terminal fascicles;

bracteoles many, of soft filiform bristles. Calyx-tube obovoid or turbinate;

lobes 2-4, often with intermediate teeth or bristles. Corolla funnel-shaped or

hypocrateriform ; lobes 4, valvate. Stamens 4, on the throat or tube of the

corolla; anthers linear or oblong. Ovary 2-celled; ovules solitary in each cell

on septal placentas; style filiform with 2 short arms or stigma capitate. Fruit

of 2 coriaceous or crustaceous mericarps which dehisce ventrally, the mem-

branous septum sometimes remaining. Seed oblong, ventrally grooved ; testa

thin; albumen horny or fleshy; cotyledons small, foliaceous; radicle terete,

inferior.

Species 95. — Tropics.

We retain the 2 species given by Cooke, but put them under Borreria.

1. Borreria stricta K. Schum. in Engl. & Prantl Nat. Pflanzenf. iv, 4

(1891) 143; Gamble FI. Madras 654. — Spermacoce stricta Linn. f. Suppl. (1781)

120; Cke. i, 623. — Bigelovia stricta Blume Bijdr. 945. — B. lasiocarpa et roxbur-

ghiana Wight & Arn. Prodr. 437.

Distribution: Throughout India (Bajputana Desert, Konkan, Deccan, S.M.

Country, all districts of Madras, Presidency, and up to 5,000 ft. in the hills,

usually in forest undergrowth, common, Ceylon). — tropical Asia and Africa.

2

/9S JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

2. Borreria hispida K. Schum. in Engl. & Prantl Nat. Pflanzenf. iv, 4

(1891) 144; Gamble FI. Madras 654. — Spermacoce hispida Linn. Sp. PI. (1753)

102; Cke. i, 624. — S. articularis Linn. f. Suppl. 119; Eoxb. FI. Ind. i (1832)

373. — S. scabra Willd. Sp. PI. i, 572; Eoxb. l.c. 371.

Locality : Add: W. Ghats: Khandala (Blatter !). — S. M. Country :

Dharwar (Blatter !) .

Distribution : From subtropical Himalaya south to Ceylon.

32. Gaillonia E. Eich. (Cke. i, 624).

Species 12. — Nubia to India.

1. Gaillonia hymenostephana Jaub. & Spach 111. PI. Or. i (1842) 146,

t. 79; Cke. i, 624.

Distribution : Sind, Baluchistan, Punjab, Afghanistan, Waziristan.

33. Bubia Linn. (Cke. i, 625).

Species 15. — Europe, Asia, America.

1. Rubia cordifolia Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12, iii/ (1768) 229; Cke. i, 625. —

R. munjista Eoxb. Hort. Beng. (1814) 10; Wight Ic. t. 187. — R. purpurea

Decne. in Jacq. Voy. Bot. 84, t. 92.

See : , Daveau, J., Dioscorea verticillata Lamark et Rubia cordifolia Linn.

Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 75 (1928) 254. — Dioscorea verticillata has been described from

specimens without flower and fruit in the young form of Rubia cordifolia.

Locality : Add : W. Ghats : Pasarni Ghat and Panchgani to Mahablesh-

war (Blatter !). — Deccan: Near Poona (Blatter !).

*2. Rubia hnctorum Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 109; Cke. i, 626.

Cultivated in Sind. — It is the madder, formerly cultivated for its dye, alizarin,

now prepared artificially.

*34. Coffea Linn.

Species 45. — Palaeotropics, especially Africa.

1. Coffea arabica Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 172.

Locality : W. Ghats : Panchgani and between Panchgani and Mahablesli-

war, 4,000 ft.

See: W. H. Ukers. All about coffee, 796, p. 77 col. pi., 102 portraits,

29 maps and diagr., 569 other ill. New York, 1922.

Ealph Holt Cheney. Coffee, a monograph of the economic species of the

Genus Coffea Linn. New York, 1925, 244 p. 77 pi., 8 maps.

(To be continued).

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc,

Plate I.

Adult female of the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M . speciosa F. Cuv. ).

Photos by A uthof.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

BY

Charles McCann, f.l.s.

Assistant Curator, Bombay Natural History Society.

(With 5 plates and 1 text-figure).

Introduction.

There are perhaps few of the larger mammals so difficult

to describe accurately as the monkeys in general. They are ex-

tremely varied in form and colour. What adds greatly to this

difficulty is our lack of knowledge of the various colour-phases and

forms they pass through from birth to maturity. In some instan-

ces there is a distinct difference between the sexes. Monkeys

have been kept in captivity from the earliest times and many of

the scientific descriptions have been based on captive specimens,

which are, generally speaking, not at their best. Not a few des-

criptions have been based on poorly preserved material. To add

to all this, there is yet another factor which is seldom taken into

consideration, namely, the fading of skins in even the best pre-

served collections. Much also depends on the way the skins have

been dried in the field. Experience both in the field and with

museum collections has shown me that very often the most care-

fully preserved specimens fade in a short time ; the specimens

appearing unlike what they did in the flesh. The colour of the

soft parts offer another stumbling block. Unless the colours

are noted immediately after the animals are shot, they are fre-

quently lost, as they fade rapidly after death. The colours of

the face and hindquarters are generally accentuated in breeding

individuals, a sign of sexual maturity. Immature individuals

do not exhibit this trait. In the off-breeding season the colours

diminish in tone or disappear.

In my opinion,, the length of fur is of little or no specific im-

portance. There is frequently a greatly marked variation in its

colour and length, possibly due to season, and, age. Local con-

ditions also play an important role. Unfortunately, these factors

only impress themselves on the field-worker after he has had varied

experience. The factors taken conjointly make matters doubly

difficult for the museum systematist, who has to rely on dried

skins and what notes the collector may have made. Here it is

that we can find an excuse for the very often incomplete and in-

adequate descriptions. Today it is very important that quality

and not quantity collecting is required and to achieve this, mere

skinners are not satisfactory.

Monkeys vary so much inter se in the same troop and at differ-

ent ages and seasons that even the most detailed description of

a single individual will not suit the next. When making a des-

cription it is perhaps a good plan to record the time of the year

797 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

when the specimens were collected. This I think will help some-

what. Until such time as we are able to connect up the seasonal,

local and age variation, a general description will have to suffice.

What is most desirable is to collect series of species from new-

born to adult whenever possible. In some species the coat and

cranial characters are very different in the sexes as will be seen

in the plate illustrating the skulls of the Stump-tailed Macaque

(M. speciosa F. Cuv.) PI. IV. In such cases it would be useful

to have separate descriptions for those characters of the female

and young which are not exhibited by the male.

In this paper I will deal principally with the Stump-tailed

Macaque ( M . speciosa) over which there is apparently much con-

fusion. I shall refer to the Pig-tailed Macaque (M. nemistrina

sub. sp.), the Rhesus Macaque (M. mulatta), and the Bonnet

Macaque (M. racliata), only in order to record such observations

as have come to my notice.

Macaca speciosa F. Cuv.

The Stump-tailed Macaque.

Macacus speciosus, F. Cuv. Hist. Nat. des Mammif. Fev. 1825,

pi. xlvi.

Macacus arctoides, Is. Geoff. St. Hil. Mag. de Zool. 1883, cli,

pi. ii.

Macacus maurus , Is. Geoff. St. Hil. Voy. de Belanger Zool.

1834, p. 63.

Papio melanotus, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon. 1839, p. 31.

Cynopi'thecus speciosus , Lesson, Sp. des Mammif. 1840, p. 102.

Inuus (Mainon) arctoides, Wagner, Schreber, Saugeth. Suppl.

vol. i, 1840, p. 146.

Macacus ursinus, Gervais, Hist. Nat. des Mammif. 1854, p. 93.

Inuus (Inuus) arctoides, Wagner, Schreber, Saugeth. Suppl.

vol. v, 1855, p. 57.

Pithecus ( Macacus ) arctoides , Dahlbom, Stud. Zool. Fam.

Aeg. An. 1856, pp. 116, 118.

Pithecus arctoides, Blainville, Osteogr. Mamm. vol. i, p. 44,

1839-64, atlas ii, pi. vii (skull).

Macacus melanotus, Gray, Cat. Monkeys and Lemurs, B.M.

1870, p. 29.

Macacus brunneus, Anders. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon. 1871, p.

628; 1872, p. 203, pi. xii (juv.); 1874, p. 652.

Inuus speciosus, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xliv (1875),

ex. no. p. 6.

Synonymy.

There has undoubtedly been much confusion in respect to the

status of this species. The reason for this confusion may be due

to three main causes, namely, (a) that the original description was

based on a drawing by Duvaucel; ( b ) the lack of sufficient material;

and (c) the lack of our knowledge of the changes, both external

and internal, exhibited by this species from birth to maturity.

With the material I have before me, nine specimens collected by

myself and a single male collected by Mr. F. C. Lowis, I shall

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II.

‘ Close up ’ of the face of a male Stump- tailed Macaque (M. speciosa F. Cuv.).

Close up ' showing profile of face and long shaggy coat of a male Stump-tailed

Macaque ( M. speciosa F. Cuv.).

Photos by A uthor.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

798

endeavour to fill certain gaps. All my specimens were obtained

in the Naga Hills, Assam, while I was on expedition work in

that region from January to March, 1930, This expedition afforded

me a splendid opportunity of collecting and observing this species

in its natural habitat, whenever time allowed.

I have adopted the name M. speciosa F. Cuv. in preference to

M. arctoides Is. Geoff, because Cuvier’s name antedates the latter

by eight years. In spite of the fact that Cuvier (1825) described

the animal from a drawing by Duvaucel, authorities appear to be

agreed that it is the same species described by Geoffroy eight

years later (1833), regardless of the fact that no1 locality is given

to Cuvier’s type and that the type does not exist. According to

Anderson (An. Zool. Res. 1878, p. 50), the drawing made for

Cuvier was of a specimen in the Barrackpore Park, and he (An-

derson), after considering Temminck’s view, namely, that the

drawing was made of a Japanese monkey, remarks that: —

‘There is, however, no evidence to support such a view; and within the

last few years, since, my attention has been directed to this subject, four

examples of these brown, red-faced, stump-tailed monkeys have passed under

my notice in the Calcutta market, and all of them had come from the Assam

region or Cachar. As F. Cuvier’s drawing of M. speciosus is a better repre-

sentation of these monkeys, all of which are referrable to ill. brunneus and

ill. melanotus, than it is to the Japan ape, with its differently coloured fur

and rather long well-clad tail, as markedly distinct from the tail of ill. arctoides,

it seems highly probable, that F. Cuvier’s drawing is founded on an animal of

the Assam or Cachar region that had probably been presented to the Viceregal

collection at Barrackpore by some Government official — a source from which

the menagerie has been frequently enriched, and to which it has always been

more or less indebted from its commencement. The second example of ill.

brunneus that came into my hands was given to me with the option of pre-

senting it to the Barrackpore collection.

‘There can be no doubt that while the drawing of ill. speciosus is not

a good representation of the Japan monkey, it is so of the form from the

Cachar and the Kakhyen hills on the frontier of Yunnan; and as ill. arctoides,

which I hold to be the adult, is from Cochin China, if my hypothesis of the

origin of the type of ill. speciosus is rejected, there is the further alternative,

as suggested by Temminck, that it may have come from some Javan port.

If so the probability would appear to be that it was carried to Java by one

of the trading vessels between that island and Cochin China and not from

Japan.’

Blanford [ Fauna British Indict (Mammalia) 1888, p. 18] refer-

ring to the nomenclature of this species writes: —

‘Blyth refers the present form to M. speciosus of F. Cuvier, a name gene-

rally applied to a Japanese species, and Anderson is disposed to concur,

ill. speciosus is said by Temminck ( Fauna Japonica) to have been founded on

a drawing by Diard or Duvaucel of a monkey living at Barrackpur near Cal-

cutta. The figure resembles a pig-tailed Monkey (ill. nemestrinus ) with most

of the tail cut off as much as it does either ill. arctoides or the Japanese species.

I agree with Anderson that the name ill. speciosus should be dropped.’

It is quite clear from the comparison of the respective state-

ments of Anderson and Blanford that the former was of the opi-

nion that Duvaucel ’s drawing was that of M. speciosus F. Cuv.

and not of the Japanese monkey as stated by Blanford. Anderson

merely adopted the name M. arctoides Is. Geoff, on the ground

that the type of Geoffroy ’s description existed in the Paris

Museum, as is clearly seen from his own remarks (l.c. p.- 51): ‘I

799 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

have adopted the term M. arctoides in preference, because the

type of the former exists in the Paris Museum,1 whereas the latter

solely rests on a drawing by Duvaucel reproduced by F. Cuvier. ’

If Cuvier’s description was ample to distinguish the species

and he was the first to describe it, I see no reason why his name

should not be accepted, as it is the oldest. In which case M aba-

cus speciosus has the right of priority over M. arctoides of Geof-

froy. The late Mr. Oldfield Thomas2 [ Proc . Zool. Soc. Lon.

(1927), p. 43] adopts Geoffroy’s name of M. arctoides mainly on

the ground that Geoffroy’s specimen has a definite locality and

that the type is preserved in the Paris Museum (like Anderson),

whereas Cuvier’s rests on a drawing without any locality. As we

have seen above, the drawing was made at Barrackpore Park and

from the evidence before us the specimen probably came from

Assam, which seems most likely. Mr. Pocock refers to this species

under the name M. speciosa in his paper on The External Charac-

ters of the Catarrhine Monkeys and Apes, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon.

(1925), p. 1497. In a footnote to the same paper (p. 1571) Mr.

Pocock says “I entirely agree with those authors who maintain

that Cuvier’s description and figure of M. speciosus apply to the

short-tailed Burmese Macaque and not to the Japanese Macaque

(M. fuscata).,> Then again, Mr. Pocock (J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxv,

1931, p. 297) refers to this species as M. speciosa in a foot-note to

his paper on ‘The Pig-tailed Macaques ( Macaca nemestrina)’ , but

I can find no paper on the revival of this name. Undoubtedly

Mr. Pocock had a good reason for adopting it. Considering the

facts that: (a) Cuvier was the first to describe it; ( b ) though his

description was based on a drawing, without locality, it was suffi-

cient to recognise the species; and (c) most, if not all, systematists

are agreed that Cuvier’s M. speciosus is conspecific with Geoffroy’s

M. arctoides, there is no alternative but to accept. Cuvier’s name

in place of Geoffroy’s which it antedates by eight years.

Description.

Coat : In order to facilitate description, I propose to consider

my specimens individually according to their approximate ages.

Newly-born: No. 12, Lakhuni, ca 2,000 ft., 2-2-30. This

specimen was brought in alive. The general colour of the fur was

creamy- white with a light brown tint showing up over the rump.

A few days later similar small brown patches appeared over the

scapulars. Limbs creamy- white. Tail very thinly clad with white

hair. The face, hands, ears, testes and buttocks flesh-pink — the

colour was slightly intensified when the animal was irritated. As

the animal grew older the brown patches appeared to intensify

very rapidly. The hair of the neck and shoulders was distinctly

longer (27 mm.) than the rest of the body (rump 15 mm.). Un-

fortunately the animal died.

The following is a description of the skin in its present condi-

1 The italics are mine.

2 Mr. Thomas, withdraws his opinion expressed here vide Proc. Zool. Soc .

Lond, (1928), p. 1427 : •

.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate III.

Tail-*-

Adult male and female of the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M . speciosa F. Cuv. ).

*

•«-Tail

Hindquarters of male Stump-tailed Macaque ( M. speciosa F. Cuv.)

showing abbreviated tail.

Photos by A uthor.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

800

tion, as it is of interest. Head very pale yellowish white intensi-

fying in tone on the shoulders; small brown, patches over the

scapulars; the brown on the rump very marked, with a distinct

spinal streak rising towards the scapulars ;. the limbs suffused with

a very pale brown. Chest and abdomen thinly clad with light

hair.

Yearling : Ho. 71, d , Changchang Pani, 500 ft., 2-2-30. Gene-

ral colour light brown with distinct darker vandyke-brown behind

the head and on the rump. The brown appears as though it would

have gradually spread all over the body. This point we

shall see presently confirmed in specimen No. 135. The brown

behind the head is interspersed with light hairs. There is no

indication of moult. Limbs uniformly brown like the body, but

paler on the insides. The colour of the face and other soft parts

when in the flesh, was flesh-pink tinged with ochre. Chest and

abdomen, well clad with light brown hair. Hairs from the shoul-

ders measured 37 mm. and from the rump 29 mm.

Immature females : No. 135, 9> Changchang Pani, 500 ft.,

26-2-30. General colour a rich vandye-brown throughout, the

darkened portions of the hairs accounting for this colouring; below

the darkened portions of the fur is greyish brown. Head slightly

lighter than the rest of the body. In this specimen there is no

indication of the hair being annulated. Below the chin there is

a small dark beard interspersed with light hairs. Chest and ab-

domen thinly clad with light brown hair. Soft parts flesh-coloured

tinged with ochre. Hairs from the shoulders measure 66 mm.,

those of the rump 38 mm. and those of the chest 52 mm.

No. 139, 9 Changchang Pani, 500 ft., 26-2-30. In general

tone this specimen is much like No. 135, but the hairs are be-

coming distinctly annulated throughout. Vandyke-brown alter-

nates with bright golden yellow. There are 3-4 annulations on

each hair. This individual is older than the last (No. 135) as will

be seen when I come to the comparison of the teeth. The chest

and the abdomen is clad with brown hair. Soft parts as in the

last. Length of hairs from the shoulder 74 mm.

Adult female: No. 137, 9> Changchang Pani 500 ft., 26-2-30.

General colour brown but lighter than the two immature females.

The hairs are all distinctly annulated throughout — 5-6 annulations

to each hair. The whole animal now presents a grizzly appear-

ance. Head slightly lighter than the rest of the body. Pace and

hindquarters pinkish purple tinged with deep purple and brown

patches.

Adult males : No. 131, d, Changchang Pani, 500 ft., 22-2-30.

In general appearance like the adult female (No. 137), but decid-

edly darker. Head lighter than the rest of the body. Hairs dis-

tinctly annulated — 8-10 annulations to each hair extending for

about } its length down. Pace sparingly hairy, much wrinkled,

the main wrinkles running transversely and with minor reticula-

tions between. The colour is a deep pinkish purple with pink and

darker shades of purple and brown blotches. The hindquarters

and testes are coloured like the face, the latter being a deep pur-

pie with brown patches.

801 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

No. 133, U, Changchang Pani, 500 ft., 26-2-30. Much like

the last (No. 131).

No. 95, d, Changchang Pani, 500 ft., 9-2-30. This ainmal is

older than the other two males. The coat is somewhat lighter

and more grizzly. Hairs of the shoulder measure 115 mm. In

this specimen there are as many as 16 annluations to each hair.

Old Male : No. 97, rf , Changchang Pani, 5Q0 ft., 13-2-30.

This solitary old male is decidedly lighter than the other males

described above. The coat is interspersed with entirely grey hairs.

The coat is distinctly annulated. It is the bands of bright golden

yellow which go grey before the other bands of brown. The chest

and abdomen are poorly clad. The vivid colouring of the face and

hindquarters as exhibited by the other males was completely lost,

being a sallow colour. This animal was thin and emaciated.

The face was haggard and the configuration of the bones could be

clearly seen — a good example of a wizened up old veteran. Other

characters indicating age will be dealt with below.

A single specimen collected by F. C. Lowis is in the collection

of the Bombay Natural History Society. It is an example of a

male in the prime of life. It was collected ‘between 20°.40/ and

26°.45/ on the western slope of Divide between Salween and Irra-

waddy’ in 1914. This specimen is more ferruginous along the

flanks than those collected in Assam. The dorsal region is some-

what darker. The head is decidedly more grizzly above and darker

behind than Assam specimens. No measurements are given.

The following gives the measurements of the animals taken

in the flesh: —

; The animals were slightly swollen when measured..

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate IY.

Skulls of the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M. speciosa F. Cuv. ) arranged according

to age from left to right showing the variation of the contours. The same skulls

are shown in the 3 photos.

Top row: Nos. 97; 133; 95; 131. Bottom row: 137; 139; I35J 7H I2»

Photos by A uthor.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

802

Anatomical Characters.

Vertebrae : Caudal 10, Sacral 3, Lumbar 7, Dorsal 12, Cer-

vicle 7. Bibs 12 on each side. Caudal vertebrae very consider-

ably reduced towards the end.

Pelvis : The following table gives the principal measurements

in millimetres : —

Skulls : The following table gives the measurements of the

skulls in millimetres : —

1 The numerator denotes the external orbital width and the denominator

the internal orbital width.

2 The numerator denotes the length of molars and premolar combined and

the denominator the length of the molars alone.

803 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Below I give the progress of the cranial characters as develop-

ment takes place according to the approximate ages of the speci-

mens : - — -

No. 12, c? • Bones not fused. Muzzle very short; a slight in-

dication of the postorbital process of frontal bone. Point of union

of the frontals clearly visible. Orbital portion of malar bone later-

ally oblique; not markedly widened. Orbital ridges of frontal

not pronounced. No bony partition between the palatine fora-

mina. Teeth : The formula for the milk-teeth as in the genus,

I. 213, C. -j— M. . In this specimen the incisors have

been completely .erupted in both the upper and lower jaws.

Canines have just pierced the gums. 1st molar in both jaws

erupted, quadri-cuspidate; the lower molars are slightly longer

than the upper.

No. 71, U • The dovetailing of the cranial sutures distinct.

Frontals completely fused; muzzle silghtly more protruded than in

No. 12. Postorbital processes of frontals distinctly prolonged into

a sharp point. Orbital portion of malar wider and its face directed

more forward. Orbital ridges of frontals distinct. Slight indica-

tion of septum between the palatine foramena. Teeth : Full set

of milk-teeth erupted; incisors show signs of wear. Canines fully

cut.

No. 135, 9 • Bones completely fused. Muzzle pronounced.

Postorbital processes of frontals distinct and well developed; or-

bital portion of malar wide with its face directed forward. Two

distinct cranial ridges arise from the orbito-malar suture and

traverse the cranium in a backward curve. Septum of palatine fora-

mena formed. Teeth : Formula for permanent set as in the

genus— I. C. Pm. M. |j|. In this speci-

men only 28 teeth have been erupted. The incisors exhibit consi-

derable wear in the upper jaw, the cutting edges have been worn

down flat; in the lower jaw the chisel edges are retained; canines

pre-molars and the 1st and 2nd molars only erupted. The wear

indicated by the 1st molar shows that it is erupted before the pre-

molars. In the lower jaw the 2nd premolar of the right side has

not been cut, but the new tooth is visible in the cavity.

No. 139, 9 • Bones as in the last but showing greater strength

and development. The cranial ridges are more clearly pronounced.

Teeth : The condition of the teeth in this specimen is as in the

last (No. 135) except that the last molars of the upper jaws are

just cutting the gums, while those of the lower jaw have been

almost completely erupted. The premolars show slight signs of

wear.

No. 137, 9- Bones as in the last. Cranial ridges converging

towards one another. In the females the cranial ridges do not

fuse to form a single crest as in the males. Teeth : All the teeth

with the exception of the last molars show signs of wear; the

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate V.

Nos. 137; 139; 135 71 ; 12.

Nos. 97 ;

133 ;

131

Nos. 97; 133; 131-

Skulls and lower jaws of the Stump-tailed Macaque ( M. speciosa F. Cuv.

showing the dentition.

Photos by A uihor .

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

804

inner cusps being worn down before the outer in the upper jaw,

while in the lower it is the outer cusps.

No. 131, 3 . An adult male in the prime of life. The two

cranial ridges prominent, converging from the orbits over the cra-

nium to the occipital ridge, the latter fairly prominent. Teeth :

Full set of permanent teeth present; last molars newly erupted

in both jaws. The 1st premolar of lower jaw slopes obliquely

and forward from the apex of the cusp down to its anterior root,

its anterior surface articulates with the upper canine and acts as

a ‘hone’ to keep the sharp backwardly directed edge of the latter

keen. The deep groove on the anterior surface of the canine

narrow. All the teeth with the exception of the last molars show

signs of wear.

No. 133, 3 . The condition of the skull as in the last but the

cranial ridges are beginning to fuse to form the cranial crest.

Occipital ridge more highly developed to form a ‘shelf’ ( ca . 8 mm.

broad) across the base of the skull. Teeth : The canines somewhat

larger than in the last example (No. 131) but considerably worn,

the lower canines showing greater wear where they articulate with

the teeth above. The sharp posterior ridge not so keen as in the

previous specimen; the groove on the anterior surface wider and

shallower. The cusps of all the molars have been greatly worn

down.

No. 95, 3 . Cranial characters as in the last save that the

cranial ridges have completely fused to form a single crest.

Teeth : A curious point about the teeth in this case is that in the

upper jaw one of the lateral incisors of the left side was either

not erupted or was lost early in life with the result that the re-

maining three teeth have centralised themselves over the four

lower ones. The two right incisors being obliquely positioned and

in consequence showing greater wear than the single one on the

left. The premaxilla of the right side is also slightly broader than

and out of alignment with its neighbour. In spite of this re-

arrangement of the teeth the interval between the canines and

incisors is equal on both sides.

No. 97, 3 . This is perhaps the most interesting skull as it

indicates the wear of the teeth due to age. Most of the teeth are

worn down almost to the roots. The incisors are worn down flat

in both jaws; roots very near the surface. Canines worn flat or

nearly so in the upper jaw, in the lower, two blunt projections with

hollows between, corresponding with the articulation of the upper

teeth remain. Premolars worn down to almost the bifurcation of

the roots. The 1st molar of the right upper jaw has been shed

and the cavity is filled with bone. In all the molars they have

been worn down to almost root-level. The roots of all the teeth

are near the surface of the irregularly margined sockets. The

sockets have been filled from below with bone thus pushing the

roots nearer and nearer the surface. In the upper jaw the wear

of the teeth slopes from the outer margin to the inner whereas

in the lower it is the reverse. In some cases the wear is so

pronounced that the Separation of the roots from one another (of

the same tooth) is very near. There does not appear to be any

805 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

signs of dental decay. In this skull the premaxillary bones are of

a spongy texture.

Baculum : The baculum of No. 131 measured 57 mm. in

length; its greatest diameter at the proximal end is 7 mm., while

the distal extremity 3 mm. The proximal portion is strongly

laterally compressed forming a ridge some 18 mm. in length above,

while the lower portion is rounded. After this it is rounded for a

short distance, then it is once more laterally compressed to almost

Baculum of adult Stump-tailed Macaque ( M . speciosa).

the extremity. The distal end is rounded. Below, the baculum

is rounded throughout its length. The figure indicates its shape.

The specimen described by Anderson ( P.Z.S. , 1872, p. 209) iis evi-

dently of a very young animal.

General Observations.

These monkeys are robust, powerful animals with short limbs,

the hindlegs being shorter than the fore, the body line sloping

down from the shoulder to the rump. The coat is long, thick

and shaggy varying in colour according to age (and possibly sea-

son). A curious fact arises from the comparison of the skins and

teeth in relation to the annulation of the fur. There appears to

be some correlation between these two characters. In my speci-

men No. 135, a young female, the coat is entirely brown and

shows no signs of annulation. The last molars have not been

erupted and an examination of the jaw shows that they would

have been cut only after a considerable time. In specimen No.

139, another young female, but evidently older than No. 135,

clearly shows the fur becoming annulated and in this specimen

the last molars are just being erupted, hence I conclude that there

must be some evident relation between the appearance of the last

molars and the annulation of the fur — possibly an indication that

the animal is nearing maturity.

It is clear from the evidence that we now have before us that

this monkey passes from a creamy-white phase, through a brown

juvenile phase, and then eventually becomes grizzly, which is

the adult phase. Coupled with the change in coat, there is the

colouration of the face, which is a sign of sexual maturity.

notes on some Indian macaques

806

The limbs are short and powerful, well adapted to a terrestrial

habit. The tail is very short and kincked in old animals, a point

already noticed by Anderson, with the dorsal surface devoid of

hair as it is sat upon. In the juvenile stage it is carried erect

in an upward curve resembling a U-tube.. In old animals it is

hardly, if at all, erected. Hence the animal appears tailless.

The males are considerably larger than the females. The testes

are extremely large, another indication that this species is terres-

trial in habit, as in monkeys that are more arboreal the organ is

not so large. In the skulls there is considerable difference and

contour. The largest male skull obtained by me scaled 156 mm.

Distribution.

Little definite information is available with regard to the dis-

tribution of this species. Cuvier’s type was in all probability from

Cachar (as indicated above) and Geoffroy’s type is from Cochin

China. No specimens were collected by the Society’s Mammal

Survey. According to Anderson, this species has- a wide distri-

bution and probably he is right. It appears to be distributed in

the hilly tracts of Upper and Lower Assam, Naga Hills, Upper

Burma and probably throughout the hilly districts of Lower Burma,

the Malay Peninsula, Siam and Cochin China. In the Naga

Hills I secured them -at elevations ranging between 500-1,800 feet.

The specimen from the Salween-Irrawaddy Devide (F. C. Lowis)

was shot at 5,000 feet above sea level and the one seen by. Davison

and Bingham at Mulyit, at an elevation of 7,000 feet. The speci-

mens collected by me were obtained during the winter months.

Probably the species goes to higher altitudes during the hot

weather.

Habits and General Notes.

The newly-born specimen was brought in alive and together

with it the yearling No. 71, but as the latter was badly injured

I put it out of its misery. The former was kept alive for some

days but one evening it found its way into a basin of water and

caught a death of cold. Nobody in the camp was anxious to

keep this little fellow on his person on account of the very strong

unpleasant odour emitted by it which remained on the clothes.

Being very young it naturally wanted to cling to somebody, a

common trait in all young monkeys. When approached it made

the usual grimaces customary with macaques and would squeal

to be taken up. This was my first introduction to the Stump-tail

in the flesh.

Being naturally interested in the two young specimens I was

anxious to obtain adults. Locally the Stump-tail is known as

the Chantee and is fairly common in the Naga Hills. These ani-

mals go about in large parties composed of 25 to 30 individuals of

807 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

varying ages and of both sexes. However, there seems no doubt

that there is a single leader of the troop. They are extremely noisy

and appear to fear nothing, at times not even Man. Owing to

the dense nature of the forest they are not easy to obtain moving

away rapidly through the undergrowth if alarmed.

The Stump-tail is essentially terrestrial, feeding for the greater

part on the ground and only ascending trees for the sake of

leaves or fruit, and when danger threatens, and that only when

pushed to it. These animals are very troublesome to the Naga

cultivators doing considerable damage to the crops, like the Rhe-

sus in the plains:.. Potato fields have a special attraction for

them, thus depriving the Nagas of the little they do cultivate.

According to the Nagas, when chased from the fields, they fre-

quently show fight. I do not discredit this as when one of a

troop is shot others will attempt to retrieve the wounded one

in the face of a gun. They are apparently very pugnacious when

disturbed. The Nagas are somewhat timid of them at times on

account of their vicious habits. Possibly they may attack a lone

man or woman. Some of the Naga tribes eat the flesh.

The alarm note is a short harsh bark. When feeding they

keep up a continuous squealing and chattering. On the ground

where a party of these monkeys has been feeding there are to

be seen innumerable scratchings and holes, made by them in their

quest for roots and tubers.

Solitary males are occasionally found but these are generally

veterans which have been driven out of the troop by stronger

opponents. The old male (No. 97) that I secured was an excel-

lent example of old age exhibited by animals. The faded and

greying coat, coupled with the condition of the teeth clearly in-

dicate that animals do grow ‘old and grey’ if they are able to

escape their enemies and die eventually from starvation occa-

sioned by their worn teeth and eventual loss of them. In this

example we see senile decay in the true sense of the word. A

condition rarely seen in Nature, as animals are generally destroy-

ed long before they can become old.

Blanford [ Fauna British India (Mammalia), p. 9] under the

subtitle of ‘Habits of Hylobates lav’ writes: —

‘At the same time there' appears to be a large, not yet identified, ape in

the mountains of Tenasserim, but whether it belongs to the anthropoid apes,

or is a large tailless or nearly tailless Macacus, it is impossible to say. The

only observers who have seen this animal, so far as I am aware, are Mr.

W. Davison and Captain C. P. Bingham. The former writes to me that

when collecting birds for Mr. Hume, on Muleyit, a mountain about 7,000 feet

high, east of Moulmein, he came suddenly on a number of monkeys feeding-

on the ground in a very dense part of the forest. He had a good look at one

standing erect about 10 feet away, and considered it too large for a Hylobates,

as its height was about 4 feet. It was, in front a deep ferruginous colour,

and as it moved away it was distinctly seen to be tailless. Mr. Davison does

not remember the colour of the back, but thinks that it was the same as the

underparts. *

In the above description, I clearly see that the supposed ape

is no other than the Stump-tailed Macaque, which certainly ap-

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

808

pears to be absolutely tailless at first sight. With regard to the

erect posture, this is quite in accordance with this species as it

stands up to investigate, so do also other Macaques. It remains

in the upright position for quite a long time following the actions

of the intruder. Blanford himself (l.c., p. 18) was inclined to this

view. He writes: ‘It is quite possible, too, that the large tail-

less ape seen by Mr. Davison and Captain Bingham in the Tennas-

serim mountains, and described in the notes on Hylobatcs lap (ante,

p. 9), may be an ally of M. arctoides, though probably much larger

than that species.’

Food.

These monkeys are probably omnivorous, but I have found that

they feed largely on leaves, roots and fruit. Some of those that

I secured had their pouches crammed with leaves that had been

partially chewed. The contents of a single pouch of a male re-

vealed a mass of leaves, and five mature seeds of a palm, Zalacca

secunda, Griff., one of the few spiny plants in these hills. Each

seed is almost round and about an inch or more in diameter, and

ever so hard. One of the seeds had been partially eaten. The

young example I had alive would eat almost anything by itself,

plantains, rice and milk (tinned milk, as fresh milk was unob-

tainable).

Mac AC A NEMESTRINA Sllb. Sp.

The Pig-tailed Macaque.

This species inhabits the same forests as the Stump -tailed

Macaque ( M . speciosa ) but is by far more arboreal, and keeps

strictly to the dense evergreen forests. In the Naga Hills I found

it somewhat difficult to obtain or observe owing to' the dense

nature of the jungle. I was only able to secure four specimens,

three females and one immature male. Two of the four were

collected for the American Museum of Natural History, New York,

and two are now in the collection of the Society.

The two specimens in the Society’s collection agree fairly well

with one collected by Mr. G. C. Shortridge at Bankachon (No.

4624, 4-2-15), named M. adusta Miller, but have much longer

and darker coats, The hairs are distinctly brown-tipped, parti-

cularly along the lower dorsal region. In my specimen No. 84,

the short beard is distinctly rufous and so also the inner sides

of the thumbs. The feet somewhat darker than the rest of the

body. The lower part of the abdomen slightly, but distinctly ru-

fous. The tail darker brown above. The face and hindquarters

flesh-coloured and somewhat ochreous. Crown of the head dark

in both specimens. Eyes light brown. All the females had foetus

in the womb.

809 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The following tables give the body and skull measurements in

millimetres : —

Measurements of skulls in millimetres.

This species is known to the Magas as the Kangh. It is a

rather shy animal keeping to the tree tops in case of danger. I

have only once heard the call of this animal, a sort of short note,

which may be interpreted by its vernacular name — Kang. Whether

it is the note of alarm or not I am quite unable to say. The food

consists of leaves and fruit. In this species the testes are very

considerably smaller than in the case of the Stump-tail, no doubt

in keeping with its more arboreal habits. They are coloured like

the face. As I did not get any mature males I am unable to say

what the mature colouring is like.

Judging from the condition of the embryos, it is possible that

this species breeds about April or May.

The specimens secured by me when in the flesh appeared like

M. lioninus as figured in the Proc. Zool. Soc. Lon. 1870, pi. xxxv,

p. 664.

Macaca mulatta Linn.

The Rhesus or Bengal Macaque.

This species varies much in colour of the coat in the same troop

depending probably much on sex and age. The males are decid-

1 The animals were slightly swollen.

NOTES ON SOME INDIAN MACAQUES

816

edly more heavily built than the females. There is much change

of colour of the face in breeding animals. The face and buttocks

are a bright reddish-pink but otherwise a pale yellowish flesh tint.

These animals possibly breed the year round but of this point I

am not certain. Many of the young appear to be born during

the cold season.

The Bhesus roams about in large parties composed of 50 to 60

individuals of all ages and of both sexes. On the whole this species

is terrestrial in habit, preferring the open plains to the forest clad

country. In Assam I have found that they inhabit the margin

of the forest and the open plains but do not enter the densely

forested areas. They abound in the plains of the United Pro-

vinces and are very destructive to crops. In the United Provinces

I have frequently seen these animals sporting in the canals during

the hotter parts of the day. They are good swimmers. Young

and old are fond of water. They stand on the bank, jump in and

then swim ashore to repeat the action. In this way they cross

some of the broadest canals, the very young clinging to the

mother’s back and being thus conveyed across.

Mac ac a radiata Geoff.

The Bonnet Macaque.

The Bonnet monkey is much more arboreal than the Bhesus.

It inhabits forested areas and rocky cliffs and wanders about in

parties. The troops are smaller than in the case of the Bhesus.

Their longer tails, darker coats and the radiating hairs on the

crown readily distinguish them from the Bhesus.

The Bonnet Macaque is quite common in the hills of Southern

India where it ascends to about 5,000 feet — I have not seen it

higher. It is likewise quite common in the Western Ghats. At

Khandala it is frequently met with on rocky cliffs and in the

forests. It is also plentiful, but shy on the hills of Salsette Island

and Trombay. In Salsette I have observed this species feeding

on the flowers of Butea Frondosa and the young shoots and fruits

of Dalbergia Sissoo. They are very destructive feeders tearing off

far more than they require.

The alarm note is a short sharp Ghar-rac repeated at intervals

as long as the intruder is in view.

a

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW RACE OF THE WHITE-EVE

(. ZOSTEROPS PALPEBROSA).

BY

Hugh Whistler, m.b.o.u.

I have had occasion recently to study the White-eyes of India

in connection with the tine series obtained by Mr. LaPersonne in

the Vernay Eastern Ghats Survey and by Mr. Salim Ali in the

Hyderabad and Travancore Surveys. I find that the specimens

obtained in various ranges of the south-eastern ghats,, viz. the

hills in extreme south-eastern Hyderabad (Mananur and Farahabad)

and the Nallamallais, the She varovs and the Cliitteri range in the.

Madras Presidency cannot be attributed to either Zosterops pal-

pebrosa palpebrosa (N.-E. India), Z. p. occidentis (N.-W. India) or

Z. p. nilgiriensis (S.-W. India). The upper parts are a very clear

yellow-green, yellower even than in occidentis , the bill is very small

and fine, and the lower parts have very little of the dark wash notice-

able in the other races. This form approaches the Ceylon form

Z. p. cgrcgia but can be separated from it by being neither quite

such a rich golden yellow above, nor so deep a yellow on the throat,

and by the finer and shorter bill. The bill in cgrcgia measures

12-18 mm., the majority being 18 mm., whereas in this new race.

10 males have the bill 11.5 to 12 mm. in length. For this new

race I propose the name

Zosterops palpebrosa salim alii subsp. nov.

Type. Hyderabad .Survey No. 166. $ 18-10-1981, Farahabad

2,688 ft., S.-E. Hyderabad (deposited, in the British Museum).

' Named after Mr. Salim -A. Ali in recognition of his careful

work in connection with the Ornithological Survey of Hyderabad

State.

FISH OF THE MALI HKA EIVEE.

E. Bagchi del.

Sketch Map showing the provenance of Lt.-Col. E. W. Burton’s collections of

fishes from the tributary streams of the Mali Hka Biver in Upper Burma.

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES COLLECTED BY

LT.-COL. E. W. BURTON FROM THE TRIBUTARY

STREAMS OF THE MALI HKA RIVER OF THE

MYITKYINA DISTRICT (UPPER BURMA).

BY

Dev Dev Mukerji,

Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta.

(Published with permission of the Director,

Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum, Calcutta).

Part I.

(With one may, 3 plates and text-figures 1 to 3).

Introduction.

Burma is a land of surprises for the ichthyologist. Its fish

fauna is very rich both as regards the number of individuals and in

the variety of forms. In addition to a number of endemic species,

it includes forms which are identical with or related to Indian fishes,

particularly those found in the adjacent provinces of Bengal and

Assam ; while there are others which are essentially Chinese or

Indo-Australian in their affinities. The inland fish-resources of

the country are enormous, and fisheries, both in Upper and Lower

Burma, which materially “contributed to the revenue of the

country before the days of the British occupation, are still one of

the most profitable of the assets of the Province’’.1 Dr. Francis

Day’s Report on the Fresh-water Fish and Fisheries of India and

Burma (1873) includes a valuable account of these fisheries and

may be referred to in this connection.

Unfortunately, our knowledge of the ichthyology of Burma is

still very limited. Apart from Day’s Fishes of India and the fish

volumes in the Fauna of British India, which include accounts of

only a certain proportion of both the endogenous and exogenous

Burmese fishes, no exhaustive account of the freshwater fishes of

this country, based on an extensive faunistic survey, has so far

been published. The following reports dealing with the fishes of

Burma may be specially mentioned.

1. The name of Major Berdmore will always remain asso*

ciated with the fish-fauna of Burma, as he was perhaps the first

naturalist to make a fairly representative collection of fishes from

the Sitang River and its tributaries in the Tenasserim District of

Lower Burma. A report on this collection was published by Dr.

Edward Blyth in 1860.

2. The most important contribution to the Burmese ich-

thyology, after Blyth ’s account of the fishes of the Sitang River,

1 The Imperial Gazetteer of India (New ed.), IX, p. 208 (1908).

Sl3 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVl

is that of Dr. D, Vinciguerra (1889), which appeared about thirty

years later. This excellent report is based on the extensive col-

lections made by M. Leonardo Lea during his travels through the

different districts of Burma.

3. In order of publication Dr. G. A. Boulenger’s (1893)

“List of fishes collected by Mr. E. W. Oates in the Southern

Shan States and presented by him to the British Museum” is

the next account of Burmese fishes.

4. Dr. N. Annandale’s (1918) account of the “Fish and

Fisheries of the Inlb Lake” is a unique contribution to our know-

ledge of the fish and fisheries of the Burmese lakes. The collec-

tions which were made by him chiefly in the Inle Lake and in the

neighbouring fresh- waters of the Heho basin in the Southern Shan

States, comprise amongst others a number of remarkable endemic

lake forms.

5. A collection of fishes from the hitherto unexplored

mountain streams of the Putao Plains (Hkamti Long) on the nor-

thern frontier of Burma, was made by Dr. Murray Stuart and

reported on by Dr. B. L. Chaudliuri (1919). Several extraordinary

and new forms were found in the collection.

6. Since Dr. Annandale’s faunistic survey of the Inle Lake,

the Indawgyi Lake of the Myitkyina District in Upper Burma,

the largest lake in the country, was explored by a party of the

Zoological Survey of India, led by Dr. B. Chopra, in 1926. A

more or less thorough survey of the lake and of the adjoining

streams and freshwaters of the Indawgyi area and of certain other

mountain- streams of the Myitkyina District was made, and the

extensive collections, brought back by the party were reported on

by Dr. B. Prashad and myself (1929). Several remarkable endemic

forms found in the lake and the adjoining streams are dealt with

in detail in this paper.

7. Of a number of occasional reports on small collections

of Burmese fishes published from time to time by Dr. S. L. Hora,

his revision- of the “Loaches of -the genus Nemachilus from Burma”

(1929) is of the greatest value.

Besides these above mentioned important publications which

deal exclusively with the Burmese fishes, other small but useful

notes and lists have also been published by various authors from

time to time. The existing accounts of the fishes of the countries

lying in the immediate neighbourhood of Burma, such as Siam,

Yunnan etc., also have a considerable bearing on the fish fauna of

Burma; but it has often been a matter of difficulty to the system-

atists to readily get at such scattered references. Dr, G; S. Myers

(1924) published a list of references on the ichthyology of Burma;

but this list, though very useful, is not exhaustive. The list of

references given at the end of the present report is not intended

as a complete bibliography, but it includes almost all the impor-

tant publications on the fishes of Burma.

The present report is based on a collection of fishes made in

March, 1930, by Lt.-Col. B. W. Burton in the three tributaries,

viz. Phungin Hka, Sinan Hka and Tang Hka of the Mali Hka

Biver of the Myitkyina District of northern Burma lying between

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

814

Lat. 26°25 ' and 26°45 ' ( vide Map).1 The Mali river flows due

south through the Shan State of Putao (Hkamti Long) and passes

through the wild hilly tracts inhabited by the Kachins to its junc-

tion with the ’Nmai Hka, the eastern branch of the Irrawaddy.2

Through the courtesy of Mr. S. H. Prater, the Curator of the

Bombay Natural History Society, the collection was received

by the Zoological Survey of India in June, 1930, and was kindly

placed by Dr. S. L. Hora in my hands for study and report. Un-

fortunately, the pressure of other work has caused considerable

delay in the preparation of a report on this collection.

The fishes dealt with in this paper are of special interest, as

they were collected in a hitherto unexplored area of northern

frontier of Burma, where streams and rivers are not easily acces-

sible. In forwarding his collection Col. Burton remarked :

“To collect fish in these parts one wants more time at each

halting place without thought of pushing on in hopes of catching-

fish for sport.

I have but very little to say concerning the fish. In these

Kachin Hills all is food that comes to the people whether fish

or flesh in any form. They come to search the river sides for all

sorts of water insects and put them into the cooking pot. So all

the fish are edible. The Kachins are expert at obtaining fish by

traps and sieves of bamboo, by poisoning pools with crushed

leaves, ‘milk’ of certain trees, etc., and by damming up streams.

It is only the deepness and rapidity of the main streams and

many tributaries also which save the fish supply from serious

depletion.

I think there shall be 80 species available. I have only got

50. There are fish up these rivers which occur nowhere else. T

feel sure new varieties will be forthcoming.

The country is very difficult and Mali river only accessible at

certain places; but it is close to a motorable road for 50 miles north

of Myitkyina. Further north it can only be got at here and there,

until it gets to the Putao District where it has many tributaries

and is more easily accessible. That is over 200 miles and I only

went up 130 or so. I rather wish I had gone on, but I was poorly

equipped for such a climate, incessant rain and thunderstorms,

more difficult paths for miles etc. One wants plenty of time and

no thought of doing anything else.”

This throws sufficient light on the merit and the importance

of the collection of fishes from these areas, and although there

is only one new form in Colonel Burton’s catches, they are, as

he expected, none the less interesting. The collection contains

78 specimens comprising 32 different species belonging to the

families, Siluridae, Amblycepidae, Sisoridae, Psilorhynchidae.

1 According to Colonel Burton’s field-notes the area from which he made

collections is confined to Lat. 26°30' and 26°45'. But on referring to a map

of the localities concerned I find that the tributary Sinan Hka does not lie within

this area. It. is situated between Lat. 26°25' and 26°45'.

2 Hertz, W. A .—Burma Gazetteer, Myitkyina District (Rangoon, 19121

'815 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Homalopteridae, Cobitidae, Cyprinidae, Belonidae, Nandidae,

Mastacembelidae and Ophicephalidae. I give below a complete list

of the species obtained from the tributaries of the, Mali river:

Siluridae :

Silurus cochinchmensis Cuv. & Yal.

CaUichrous bimaculatus (Bloch).

Aoria cavasius (Ham. Buch.).

Aoria ( Macronoides ) dayi (Vincig.).

Amblycepidae :

Amblyceps mangois (Ham. Buch.);

- Sisoridae:

Glyptothorax sinense (Began).

Pseudecheneis sidcatus (McClell.).

; Psilorhynchidae :

Psilorhynchus balitora (Ham. Bucli.).

, _ . , Homalopteridae :

Homaloptera rupicola (Prashad & Mukerji).

Cobitidae :

Botia liymenophysa (Bleek.).

v Nemachilus botia (Ham. Bucli.).

Nemachiins paucAjasciatus Hora.

Nemachilus multifasciatus Bay.

i N cmachilus kangjupkhulensis Hora.

Cyprinidae :

Garra lamta (Ham. Bucli.)..

Crossochilus latius (Ham. Bucli.).

, . Labeo ( Labeo ) dyocheilus (McClell.).

Barbus compressus Bay.

. , Barbus tor (Ham. Bucli.).

, Barbus clavatus burtoni, subsp. nov.

Barbus chagunio (Ham. Buch.).

Barbus chola (Ham. Bucli.).

Barbus sarana caudimarginatus Blytli.

Semiplotus semiplotus (McClell.).

Rohtee duvaucelii (Cuv. & Yal.).

. Barilius barna (Ham. Buch.).

Barilius barila (Ham. Bucli.).

Danio ( Danio ) aequipinnatus (McClell.).

Belonidae :

Xenentodon cancila (Ham. Bucli.).

Nandidae :

Badis badis (Ham. Buch.).

Ylastacembelidae :

Mastacembelus armatus (Lacdp.).

Ophicephalidae :

Ophicephalus. gachua (Ham. Buch.)

) otjrn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc

FISH OF THE MALI HKA, U. BURMA.

REPORT ,0N BURMESE FISHES

816

Of the 32 species enumerated above, Aoria ( Macronoides ) dayi,

Homaloptera rupicola and Nemachilus paucifasciatus are endemic

in Burma, while the following are recorded for the first time from

the Burmese waters :

Glyptothorax sinense, Psilorhynchus balitora, . • Nemachilus

kangjupkhulensis, Labeo (Lab go) dyocheilus and Barbus com-

pressus. ■

Of these 5 species, Glyptothorax’ sinense is' a Chinese species,

while Psilorhynchus balitora, Nemachilus kangjupkhulensis and

Labeo (Labeo) dyocheilus l (s. sir.) have so far been found in North-

eastern Bengal and Assam only. The species Barbus cOrnprcssus

has been doubtfully known from Kashmir from a single1 specimen

and has not so far been rediscovered. Its occurrence in Burma is

of special interest.

The rest of the species from the- tributaries of the Mali river

are widely distributed in the streams and rivers =of India and Burma,

and except for a variety of Barbus clavatus, which is described in

this report as new, and appears to be an endemic form in Northern

Burma, do not call for any special remarks,

All the specimens in Colonel Burton’s collection are fairly well-

preserved. and most of the species are represented by a moderate

number of specimens. Unfortunately, however, the method of

tagging the specimens was faulty in that the fish have been tagged

with wire passing right through the mouth. As a result, the jaws

and the lips are in several cases badly damaged. As is well known,

the characters of the mouth, the jaws and the lips are of great

value in connection with the taxonomy of fishes, and proper care

should, therefore, be taken by field-collectors in preserving and

tagging the specimens. The easiest and the most suitable method

of tagging is to pass the wire or the thread through the fleshy root

of the tail.

In the systematic account of the different species of the Mali

Hka fishes I. have given detailed descriptions with additional notes

and figures in such cases as have been found necessary. No

attempt has been made to give lists of synonyms as most of the

species are well-known and their synonymies are clear. Original

and subsequent references have, however, so far as it was necessary,

been cited. Under the caption of each species has been- given a

list of number of specimens represented in the collection together

with their measurements, respective localities and Kachin names.'

I have made ample use of the field-notes of Colonel Burton which

were received with the collection, and the local names of the

different fishes and their weights etc, are as given in these notes.

In addition to the 32 species of fish from the Mali Hka system

of which a list lias been given above, the following genera and

species have aUo been critically annotated or otherwise referred to

in this report :

Amblyceps horae Prashad & Mukerji.

Glyptothorax conirostre (Steind.).

Glyptothorax botia (Ham. Buck.).

Glyptothorax dorsalis Vincig.

817 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Glyptothorax burmanicus Prashad & Mukerji.

Parapseudecheneis Hora.

Parapseudecheneis paviei (Vaillant.).

Psilorhynchus McClelland.

Psilorhynchus sucatio i (Ham. Buch.).

Chop-raid Prashad & Mukerji.

Botia berdmorei (Blyth).

Botia nebidosa (Blyth),

Garra Hamilton Buchanan.

Discognathus Heckel.

Crossochilus latius punjab ensis, subsp. nov.

Tor Gray.

Tor tor (Ham. Buch.).

Barbus clavatus McClelland.

Barbus spilopholus McClelland.

Rohtee Sykes.

Osteobrama Heckel.

Parosteobrama Tchang.

Parosteobrama pellegrini Tchang.

Rohtee vigorsii Sykes.

Rohtee duvaucelii (Cuv. & Val.).

Rohtee feae Yincig.

Rohtee alfrediana (Cuv. & Val.).

Rohtee cotio (Ham. Buch.)

Rohtee cumna (Tickell) Bay.

Rohtee roeboides Myers.

Barbus nicholsi Myers.

Barbus nicholsi Vinciguerra.

Barbus vinciguerrae, nom. nov.

Barilius barnoides Vinciguerra.

Barilius ornatus Sauvage.

Danio browni Regan.

Ophicephalus Bloch.

Channa Scopoli.

I have to express my gratitude to Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour

Sewell and Br. B. Prashad, the successive Birectors of the Zoolo-

gical Survey of India for kindly reading through the manuscript

and making many valuable suggestions. To Br. S. L. Hora I am

greatly indebted for the facilities and help extended to me in the

preparation of this report. The drawings illustrating the paper

were executed under my supervision by Mr. R. C. Bagchi with

care and precision, and for this my best thanks are due to him.

Systematic Bescription.

Family: Siluridae.

Silurus cochin :hinen>is Cuv. & Val.

One specimen (85 mm.) from Phungin Hka : ‘ Hkaram ’.

The maxillary barbels extend almost to the base of the ven-

trals. The mandibular barbels are about half as long as the head.

The colouration is uniformly greyish, except for the head which is

rather dusky. The maxillary barbels are black.

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

818

Callichrous bimaculatus (Bloch).

One specimen (118 mm.) from Phungin Hka : lBuman\

The width of the head is almost equal to its length behind the

middle of the eyes. The maxillary barbels reach the origin of the

anal fin. The pectorals are almost as long as the length of the

head behind the base of the maxillary barbels; its spine is as long

as the head behind the posterior margin of the orbit.

The ground colouration of the body is dirty white with patches

of dark brown to black spattered thickly: all over. A faint dusky

spot is present on the shoulder just behind the gill opening.

On examining a large series of C. bimaculatus from different

places in India and Burma, I find that the species presents con-

siderable variability, irrespective of locality and age, in regard to

the colouration, lengths of the maxillary barbels and of the pectoral

spines, and the depth of the body in relation to its length.

Aoria cavasius (Ham. Buch.).

One specimen (210 mm.) from Phungin Hka: ‘ Gawk Kyik' .

The species is very variable, specially in regard to the lengths

of the different barbels. In the specimen under report*, as also in

most Burmese individuals, the nasal barbels are shorter than the

length of the head. In half -grown and young specimens the maxil-

lary barbels do not as a rule extend beyond the anal fin, while in

adults they reach the base of the caudal fin or even extend a little

beyond it. Ordinarily, the outer mandibular barbels reach the tip

of the pectorals, but they may, in some specimens, be much longer

so as to meet the insertion of the ventrals. The inner mandibulars

are almost invariably as long as the length of the head. The dorsal

spine is shorter than the head and has minute serrations in the

posterior upper third. The maxillary barbels are dusky above and

whitish below. The characteristic black spot on the basal bone of

the dorsal fin is present.

According to Day (14) the species attains “at least 18 inches in

length”. Colonel Burton has noted in his field-book that the fish

grows “up to 20 lbs.”.

Aoria (Macronoides) dayi (Vincig.).

One specimen (80 mm.) from Phungin Hka: 'Nbang Baw\

One specimen (78 mm.) from Tang Hka: 'Nga Hka'.

One specimen (53 mm.) from Phungin Hka: ‘ Sizing gyang'.

The species was originally described and figured by Vinci-

guerra (53) from ‘Meetan’ and ‘Toungoo’ in Burma. In 1921,

Hora (23) separated this species along with Aoria affinis (Blyth)

and A. rnerianiensis (Chaudhuri) into a distinct sub-genus, Macro-

noides, which is characterised by “short barbels which do not ex-

ceed the length of the head, by possession of pores on the under-

surface of the head and by the fact that the mandibular pairs of

barbels are placed almost in a horizontal line”. In 1929, the

species was reported, for the second time from Burma, by Prashad

and Mukerji (45) from the Indawgyi lake and rocky streams at

Kamaing in the Myitkyina District. In the collections from the

819 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Mali Hka system the fish is represented by three specimens as

listed above. Unfortunately, they are not in a good state of pre-

servation. I have, however, compared them with the other specimens

of the species from the Myitkyina District and also with one of the

type-series from ‘Toungoo’ kindly presented to the Indian Museum

by Dr. D. Vinciguerra, and, so far as I can judge, all of them are

referable to this species, although they have different Kachin

names in the same and in different localities.

It appears that the number of serrations of the pectoral spines

is variable. There are more serrations in the spines of the adults

than in those of the half-grown and young individuals. The charac-

teristic blackish patch at the free border of the dorsal fin and the

one below its base are very faint. The body is clouded all over

with fine brownish pigment.

Family: Amblycepidae.

Amblyceps mangois (Ham. Buch.).

One. specimen (120 mm.) from Sinan Hka: lNcja Yan\

One specimen (80 mm.) from Phungin Hka: ‘ Nga Yari.

One specimen (58 mm.) from Tang Hka: Uyan'.

Among the Siluroid fishes that inhabit the hill-streams of India,

Burma and elsewhere, there are few that can surpass Amblyceps

mangois in the matter of its wide range of variability of the struc-

ture of the caudal fin, the length and the shape of the adipose

dorsal and the nature of the jaws, etc. In fact, the differences be-

tween the -two extreme forms of the species are often so very wide

and well marked that nothing seems more contrary to the idea, of

natural species than to consider them conspecific ; and this has

been directly responsible for the creation of. a number of so-called

species under this genus.

Recently, both Dr. S. L. Hora and I have collected abundant

material of A. mangois from the Sevoke stream in the . Teesta. valley

at the base of the Darjiling Himalayas, which yields a series of

intermediate forms and convincingly illustrates the perfect transi-

tion from one extreme form of the fish to the other. As Dr, Hora

is making a thorough study of the structural peculiarities of the

various divergent forms of A. mangois , and of its ecology and bio-

nomics etc. , I refrain from going into details.

The specimens from the Mali Hka system appear to be com-

paratively darker than usual. To my knowledge, the specimen

from the Sinan Hka tributary is the largest (120 mm.) one of the

species so far recorded.

Recently the range of distribution of A. mangois has been ex-

tended from India' and Burma to Siam by Smith (50).

I take this opportunity to point out that through an unfortu-

nate error, a new fish from the Myitkyina District of Upper Burma

was described in 1929 by Prashad and Mukerji (45) as Amblyceps

'home. On re-examination of the material it has been definitely

ascertained that the species is referable to the genus Olyra. I am

grateful to Dr. Hora for kindly drawing my attention to this point.

Jotjrn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

r. Bagchi del. FISH OF THE MALI HKA, U. BURMA.

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

820

Family: Sisoridae.

Qlyptothorax sinense (Regan).

(Pl. II, Fig, 1).

One specimen (105 mm.) from Phungin Hka: lNga sharp.

Regan (48) described the species from a single specimen, 65 mm.

in total length and collected from Tungting in China. He remarked

that “this is the first Chinese species of the genus”. But, so far

as I know, Steindachner’s G. conirostre is the first species of< the

genus to have been discovered in that country, and it was taken

from the “mountain streams running into the Min River, Sze

Chuen” in China and reported by Gunther in 1892. 1

In the collection of fishes from the Mali Hka system in Northern

Burma there is a single specimen which agrees in all essential

details with G. sinense; but it shows certain minor variations

in regard to the relative proportions of the depth of the

body, and the length of the head, etc. For comparison with the

type specimen of G. sinense which is preserved in the British

Museum (Nat. Hist.), the present form from Burma was sent to

Mr. J. R. Norman, who very kindly remarked: “I have compared

the specimen of Glyptothomx from Burma with the type of G.

sinense (Regan) and, as far as I can judge, it is the same species.

The differences in the relative proportions of depth of body and

length of head are almost certainly due to the difference in size

of the two specimens”.

In view of the fact that the original description of the species

is short and based on a single half-grown specimen, a detailed

description and figures of the Burmese specimen are given below :

D. 1/6; A. 2/9; P, 1/9; V. l/5;-,C. 17.

The head is longer than broad and nearly Twice as broad as

deep. Its length is contained a little over 4 times and the maxi-

mum height of the body about 6 times in the length' of t-lie body

excluding the caudal fin, which latter is slightly shorter than the

length of the head.

The snout is rather broadly rounded anteriorly and is as long

as the postorbital portion of the head. The eyes are small, supe-

rior and situated almost in the posterior half of the head. The

orbital widtl^is contained nearly 10 times in the length of the head.

The interorbital space is convex and is 3 times the diameter of the

orbit and /half the distance between the nostrils.

The rtiaxillary barbels are fairly broad at their bases and extend

a little beyond the base of the pectoral fins. The outer mandibular

barbels are half as long as the maxillaries, while the" inTtef mandi-

bulars are much shorter. The nasal barbels extend to the middle

of the distance between their bases and the anterior margin of

the eyes.

1 In Pratt’s To the Snows of Tibet through China, p. 245 (London, 1892).

821 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The upper jaw is longer than the lower. The width of the gape

of the mouth is almost equal to the length of the snout. The

teeth are minute and sharp. In the upper jaw they are arranged

in a single semi-lunar band, while in the lower jaw they are in two

crescentic patches. The teeth of the mandible are longer than

those of the maxilla. The lips are fairly well developed and more

or less papillated. The adhesive structure on the chest (Text-

fig. 1) is rhomboidal in shape and considerably longer than broad.

It does not appear to have any definite depression in the centre.

The anal opening is slightly nearer to the tip of the snout than

to the base of the caudal.

The dorsal fin is inserted midway between the tip of the snout

and the anterior margin of the base of the adipose dorsal. Its

spine is very coarsely serrated, having 3 to 5 blunt denticulations

on its posterior border. It is as long as the head behind the eyes.

The longest ray of the dorsal is considerably longer than the greatest

height of the body. The adipose dorsal is more or less triangular

and about 3-5 times longer than high. Its base is nearly 2-5 times

in the distance between its anterior end and the posterior margin

of the base of the rayed dorsal. The pectorals are as long as the

length of the head behind the nostrils. The spine is strong, dorso-

ventrally flattened and has from 10 to 12 strong and sharp denti-

culations. The ventrals are inserted slightly behind the posterior

end of the dorsal fin and are shorter than the pectorals. The anal

fin is situated slightly in advance of the point of insertion of the

soft dorsal. The paired fins are not plaited below.

Text-fig. 1. — Ventral view of anterior portion of body of Glyptothorax sinense

(Began) from the Mali Hka system, x2.

HE PORT ON BURMESE FISHES

822

The skin is more or less smooth except for a portion of the head

which is finely tuberculate. The colouration of the specimen in

alcohol is greenish brown with two faint and irregular darker

patches, one below the rayed dorsal and the other below the adi-

pose dorsal. The rayed dorsal has a broad, black longitudinal band

in the middle.

Remarks : The tuberculate structure of the skin and certain

other characters that the type-specimen from China has in common

with G. botia (Ham. Buch.) induced Began to place G. sinense

nearest to G. botia. But from an examination of the larger speci-

men of the species from Northern Burma, in which the skin is more

or less smooth, it appears to be more reasonable to consider G.

sinense a closer ally of G. dorsalis Vinciguerra than of G. botia.

In fact it is an intermediate form between G. dorsalis and G. bur-

manicus Prashad and Mukerji (45). The species is here recorded

from Burma for the first time.

Measurements in millimetres.

Length of body without caudal ... ... 105.0

Height of body ... ... ... 18.0

Length of head ... ... ... 23.0

Breadth of head ... ... ... 18.0

Height of head ... ... ... 12.0

Length of snout ... ... ... 11.0

Diameter of eye ... ... ... 2.5

Interorbital width ... ... ... 7.0

Height of dorsal fin ... ... ... 16.0

Length of pectoral fin ... ... ... 22.5

Length of ventral fin. ... ... ... 16.0

Length of anal fin ... ... ... 15.0

Length of caudal fin ... ... ... 21.0

Length of caudal peduncle ... ... ... 17.0

Least height of caudal peduncle . ... ... 7.0

Pseudecheneis suicatus (McClell.).

One specimen (110 mm.) from Sinan Hka : ‘Nga hpai'.

Until very recently the genus Pseudecheneis oi Blyth embraced

two species, viz. , P. suicatus (McClell.) and P. paviei Vaillant.

Of these two, P. suicatus, the geno-type, is the only Indian species,

having a range of distribution from the Darjiling Himalayas through

the Abor Hills, the Khasi Hills, the Manipur Hills to Putao Plains

(N.-E. Burma) and ‘Catcin Cauri’ in the neighbourhood of Bhamo,

while P. paviei is a Chinese species obtained at Lai-chow in Tonkin.

In a recent paper by Hora and Chabanaud (34) the former author,

after having thoroughly examined' the type-specimen of P. paviei,

has rightly assigned the Chinese species to a new genus, Parapseu-

decheneis , while the latter has given an elaborate description of

Parapseudecheneis paviei and compared in detail its differ-

entiating characters with those of P. sidcatus. Pseudecheneis thus

reverts to a monotypic genus.

$23 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVL

The specimen from the Sinan Hka does not differ in any way

from the examples of the species from different jfiaces in India

and Burma preserved in the collection of the Indian Museum.

Family : Psilorhynchidae.

Genus Psilorhynchus McClelland.

There had been a certain amount of confusion regarding the valid-

ity and systematic position of the genus Psilorhynchus of McClel-

land and of the two Indian species, P. sucatio and P. balitora. The

question of selection of the type — species has also been rather a

difficult one, since McClelland himself did not select the type^ and

of the two species referred to the genus, P. sucatio , the first one

in order of McClelland. ’s descriptions, was not definitely known

to any earlier author, excepting Hamilton Buchanan who is the

author of both the species. Below I have reviewed the views of

the different authors in order to clear up the whole matter.

In his Gangetic Fishes Hamilton Buchanan (20) described for

the first time the two species under the denominations ‘ Cyprinus

sucatio’ (p. 347) and ‘Cyprians balitora ’ (p. 348) from the “rivers of

Northern Bengal” and those “towards the north-east Bengal” res-

pectively. In order of description of the different species of Bucha-

nan’s composite genus Cyprinus, C. sucatio and G. balitora occupy

the 85th, i.e. the last but one, and the 86th, or the last positions,

respectively. In Buchanan’s original manuscript notes of the

Gangetic Fishes it is stated on page 225 that he procured

‘ Cyprinus sucatio ’ or ‘ Stole phorus sucatio’1 from ‘Baruni’ on the

‘20th March 1809’, while the next species ‘ Cyprinus balitora’

(‘ Stole phorus’) which is described on page 226, was obtained from

‘Gualpara’ on the ‘10th of June 1808’. Among his unpublished

drawings there are illustrations of these two species which were

subsequently published by McClelland in the 19th volume of the

Asiatic Researches (pi. i, figs. 1 & 2).

In 1839, in the Asiatic Researches (41) McClelland proposed

the genus Psilorhynchus for Buchanan’s C. sucatio and C. balitora.

Unfortunately for the definition of his genus, as well as for the

descriptions of the two species, McClelland had no examples of

these species before him except a single one of P. balitora \ which

he received from ‘Upper Assam’, and he, therefore, depended largely

on Buchanan’s descriptions and the manuscript drawings. His

definition of the genus is thus very short and inadequate and the

descriptions of the two species are even less diagnostic than those

given by Buchanan. Throughout the account of the Indian

Cyprinidae in the Asiatic Researches McClelland did not select any

type for any of his genera described therein, and, likewise, no

type was selected by him for Psilorhynchus . Like Buchanan he,

1 In his manuscript notes Hamilton Buchanan first used the generic name

‘ Cyprinus ’ for the two species and later the name ‘ Stolepliorus’’ ; and although

he labelled his unpublished drawings as S. sucatio and S. balitora he never

published the name 1 Stolephorus’ .

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate III

■' Ba^cM del- FISH OF THE 'MALI HKA, U. BURMA.

8 ‘24

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

however; gave P. sucatio: the first place, but unnecessarily changed

the name of the second species, P. balitora into P. vanegatus,

presumably in reference to the variegated colouration of the. fish.

In 1868, Gunther in his Catalogue of Fishes (19) as well as in his

Introduction to the study of fishes (1880) recognised the genus

Psilorhynchus and included it in the group Homalopterina with the

remark: “I follow McClelland in associating the. following genus

with Homaloptera. Besides its general outward appearance,

scarcely anything is known of its characters, and it is not impossible

that future researches will assign to it another place in the system

(1868, p. 343). He, however, recognised both the species P.

sucatio and P. balitora without further, comment; but it appears

that Gunther did not examine any specimens of either of the two

species.

In 1871, in his Monograph of the Indian Gyprinidae (11) Day

assigned Psilorhynchus to the subfamily Cyppninae and published

a more or less elaborate definition of the genus with the remark:

‘.‘In removing this genus from the group of the Homaloptermac

I must observe that I have only had opportunity of examining one

of the two known species, the P. balitora, H. Bucli. apud

McClelland, and it does not appear at all impossible that, the other,

P. sucatio , H. Bucli. may be destitute of an air-bladder and would

thus form a distinct genus appertaining to the subfamily Homalop-

terinae”. Thus Day also had no specimen of P. sucatio before

him. He, accordingly, gave P. balitora, the known species, the

first jfiace in his descriptions (p. 106), and published a ventral

view of the fish (pi. ix, fig. 1.).

In 1878, in his Fishes of India (14) Day maintained the genus

Psilorhynchus, but recognised P. balitora as the only valid species.

He remarked: “This genus, as illustrated by a single example de-

scribed, is a connecting link between Homaloptera and Discogna-

thus’> (p. 527). He published a lateral (pi. cxxii, fig. 3) and a ven-

tral view (pi. cxxii, fig. 7) of the fish. As for the other species, P.

s.ucatio’, . Day doubtfully and wrongly relegated the form to . the

synonymy of Homaloptera bilineata Blyth1, with the remark that

the latter species “appears to be closely allied to Buchanan’s fish

from the rivers of Northern ’Bengal, which, however, is said to have

the snout much longer than the remainder of the head.” (p. 526).

In his Fauna volume (16) Day upheld the preceding views about

the genus Psilorhynchus and the species P. balitora, but seems to

have relinquished all doubts about P. sucatio being conspecific with

Homaloptera bilineata. This can be clearly judged from his definite

statement that H. bilineata is “found in Northern Bengal and the

Tenasserim provinces” (p. 244). Day was fully aware of the fact

that H. bilineata is restricted to “the Tenasserim provinces” of

Lower Burma (1878, p. 526), and unless he considered P. sucatio,

which occurs only in Northern Bengal, to be the same as

1 In its correct interpretation , Homaloptera bilineata Blyth is essentially an

endemic form of Lower Burma (vide, Hora, S. L., ‘Classification, Bionomics

and Evolution of Homalopterid Fishes’, Mem. Ind. Mas., XII, No. 2, p. 288,

1932).

S2£ JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XkxVt

H. bilineata he would not have extended the range of the latter

species to Northern Bengal.

In 1889, Vinciguerra (53) discussed the relationships of P.

sucatio at some length and established that Buchanan’s Cyprinus

sucatio is not only not a synonym of Homaloptera bilineata, but

it is not congeneric with it.

In 1919, Jordan in his Genera of Fishes (39) considered Psilor-

hynchus a synonym of Homaloptera, but selected Cyprinus sucatio

of Buchanan as the logotype1 of the former. In 1923, he (40)

erroneously assigned the genus Psilorhynchus to the family Cobi-

tidae.

In 1920, Hora (22) discussed the affinities of the genus Psilor-

hynchus at some length and pointed out that it is “abundantly

distinct from the Homalopteridae ’ ’ ; and basing his arguments on

the evidence then available to him, he referred Psilorhynchus to

the family Cyprinidae and redefined it. But as he had only two old

and rather deteriorated specimens of P. balitora before him and

none of P. sucatio, his definition of the genus naturally remained

to be further emended and the description of P. balitora to be greatly

added to. He considered P. balitora, the only species known to

him, as also to most of the earlier authors, to be the type-species

of the genus Psilorhynchus (pp. 207-215). Subsequently, in

1921, lie (25) published a detailed description (pp. 731-734) and

excellent figures (pi. xxix, figs. 1 & la) of P. sucatio from three

well-preserved specimens obtained from “the foot-hills of the Eastern

Himalayas below Darjiling”. In 1925, Hora (30) again referred

to the question of the systematic position of Psilorhynchus, and

ably discussed the views of the earlier authors. He definitely

placed the genus in a distinct and well defined family which he

called Psilorhyncliidae. He remarked: “From the arrangement of

the pharyngeal teeth and the presence of a number of simple rays

in the paired fins it is clear that Psilorhynchus does not belong to

the family Cyprinidae. The absence of barbels and the presence

of a free bladder in the abdominal cavity separate it from the

Plomalopteridae. From the Cobitidae it is distinguished by the

presence of large scales, by the presence of several simple rays in

the horizontally placed paired fins, by the absence of barbels and

its general facies” (pp. 459-460).

Recently, both Dr. S. L. Hora and I have collected abundant

material of the species P. sucatio from pools and streams near

Siliguri at the base of the Darjiling Himalayas and also a series

of P. balitora from the Mahanaddi river at Siliguri and Sevoke

stream in the Teesta valley. Messrs. G. E. Shaw and E. O.

Shebbeare’s collection of fishes from the different streams

and rivers of northern Bengal has also considerably added to the

number of examples of these species in the collection of the

Indian Museum. I have thoroughly examined the extensive fresh

materials of these two species, and I am fully convinced that

1 According to Dr. D. S. Jordan, ‘A logotype is one selected by the “first

Veviser’’.’

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

826

both the species P. b alitor a and P. sucatio are congeneric and valid.

I am in full agreement with Hora’s views that Psilorhynchus should

be referred to a distinct'. family for the reasons which he has already

pointed out. Further, in skeletal preparations of the pelvic fins

and girdle of the species P. sucatio and P. balitora , I find that,

unlike any member of the family Cyprinidae as also that of the

Cobitidae, the basipterygium of Psilorhynchus has undergone com-

plete ossification so as to form a perfect shield-like structure, some-

what similar to that found in the family Homalopteridae, but

differing from it chiefly in the absence of lateral horns and the

lateral foramina.

Instead of hav-

ing lateral horns

for the attach-

ment of mus-

cles, the basi-

pterygium

of Psilorhynchus

has the lateral

marginal por-

tion of the

osseous element

on either side

rolled upwards

and inwards to

form grooves/

(Text-fig. 2).

With regard to

the question of

selection of the

type-species of

the genus Psilof-

hynchus, the

final decision,

yet to be ar-

rived at, must

be judged in

the light of the

two different se-

lections by ‘sub-

sequent desig-

nation’ made

first by Jordan

and later by

Hora. In 1919,

in his Gefiera of Fishes , Jordan designated P. sucatio, the first

species in order of both Buchanan’s and McClelland’s descriptions,

into a shield-like structure and the upwards, and

inwards rolling up of bones at the lateral mar-

gins, xlO.

1 Detailed studies on the modifications of the pelvic fins and girdles of the

torrential fishes found in India and elsewhere are being carried on by me., and

the results will be published later on.

4

827 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

as the logotype of the genus, but as has already been mentioned

above, he considered Psilorhynchus a synonym of Homa-

loptera, and later in 1923 referred it to the family Cobitidae.

It is evident that the true identity of the genus Psilorhynchus and

its systematic position were not definitely recognised and under-

stood by Jordan, nor was the true status of the two species referred

to the genus by McClelland critically studied by him. In selecting

P. sucatio as the type of the genus he, therefore, simply adhered

to the ‘first species rule’ (Recommendation ‘s’ of the Rule ‘g’ of

Article 30 of the International Rules of the Zoological Nomen-

clature). Unfortunately, the selection of the first species as the

type in this and in similar cases does not seem to be a happy one,

for, it has to be admitted that though both P. sucatio and P.

balitora are equally well-known now, in 1919 and till much later

the species P. sucatio was known only from Buchanan’s descrip-

tion and figure, P. balitora , on the contrary, was to most authors

the better known of the two species, and McClelland, the author

of the genus, actually examined a specimen of this species at the

time he proposed the genus. This brings the case within the

purview of the Recommendations ‘n’ and ‘g’ of the Rule of the

Zoological Nomenclature mentioned above. According to these

Recommendations, in selecting types by ‘subsequent designation’,

preference is to be shown (L) to the ‘best known’ species and (ii)

‘to a species which the author of the genus actually studied at or

before the time he proposed the genus’.

In 1920, Hora, as already mentioned, examined a few speci-

mens of P. balitora preserved in the collection of the Indian

Museum, and, apparently unaware of Jordan’s previous selection,1

designated this species as the type of the genus Psilorhynchus.

He did not assign any definite reasons for his selection of P.

balitora as the type.. It is presumable, however, that he adhered

to the Recommendations ln and ‘q’. But in view of the fact that

there is no existing code % of the Zoological Nomenclature that

invalidates Jordan’s first selection, unhappy though it was, and

that both the species P.. sucatio and P. balitora * are equally well-

known now, it seems, in my opinion, highly desirable to avoid

confusion in future by accepting P. sucatio as the type of the

genus.

The genus Psilorhynchus is represented in India so far by two

species only, viz., P. sucatio and P. balitora. In 1920, Hora (22)

published a description of a species of Psilorhynchus from a few

immature specimen obtained by him in a hill-stream at Piphima

in the Naga Hills in Assam. To him the species appeared to be

new, but in view of.> the immaturity of the specimens he

did not name the fish specifically. He, however, remarked: “the

new species is readily distinguished from those previously known

1 Dr. D, S. Jordan’s Genera of Fishes, Part II was issued in July, 1919.

while Dr. S. L. Hora’s revision of the genus Psilorhynchus appeared early

in 1920.

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

828

by its straight profile, by the absence of any grooves on the under

surface of the head, and by the position of the eye, which is con-

siderably nearer to the tip of the snout than to the posterior mar-

gin of the operculum” (p. 732, 1921). I have very thoroughly

examined these specimens from the Naga Hills, and, on comparing

them with series of young specimens of 1J. balitora from the Sevoke

stream in the Teesta valley and from elsewhere, I find that they do

not differ in any essential characters from P. balitora except for

the position of the eyes which are situated slightly more anteriorly

in the head. In the absence of any specimens of P. balitora of

the same size, for comparison, it is not possible to arrive at any

definite conclusion, but I am inclined to believe that the Assamese

specimens represent immature stages of P. balitora, which is

known to occur in Assam.

Of the two species, P. sucatio and P. balitora, the former lias

been, as already mentioned, properly defined and figured by Hora;

and I have nothing to add, except as regards the number of its

pharyngeal teeth. Hora has remarked: “In the preparation of P.

sucatio, one or two normal teeth are present and the remaining are

of the nature of flat teeth with truncate crowns. The apex of

such flat tooth is somewhat crenulated”. But my preparations of

the pharyngeal bones and teeth of P. sucatio definitely show 4 teeth,

which are looked at the tip and arranged in a single row (pi. I,

fig. 5). It seems probable, therefore, that the structures being

very minute and delicate, 2 of the 4 teeth might have dropped off

or broken in Hora’s preparation.

It has already been pointed out elsewhere that owing to the

paucity of material of P. balitora in 1920, it was not possible

for Hora to give a detailed description of the species in his revision

of the genus. In recent years, however, large series of fresh

material of P. balitora have accumulated in the collection of the

Indian Museum; and I take this opportunity to give below a more

or less detailed description of the species for reference in future.

All the drawings of the fish so far published are rather inaccurate

and poor for the purpose of determining the diagnostic features.

Fresh figures of the different views of the fish are, therefore,

supplied with the description.

Psilorhynchus balitora (Ham. Buch.).

(PI. I, figs. 3 & 4.)

One specimen (48 mm.) from Phungin Hka : ‘ Hang-hka ’.

One specimen (56 mm.) from Tang Hka: lUhtang\

D. 3/9; A. 2/5; P. 6/10; V. 2/7; 0.17 (excluding the small

compact outer rays); L. 1. 32-34; L. tr. 6 (3-|- / 2 J.) .,

In its general facies the species has a very close resemblance to

a Homalopterid fish. The dorsal profile rises from the tip of the

829 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vot. XXX VI

snout, forms a slightly concave margin between it and the anterior

edge of the orbit, ''and then slowly rises to the insertion^ of

the dorsal fin. Beyond the commencement of the dorsal fin the

outline slopes down gradually to the root of the caudal fin.

The ventral profile is more or less horizontal or very slightly

convex. The under-surface of the head and the" chest region are

flat and horizontal like those of the Homalopterid fishes of fast

currents.

The head is rather small and conical. Its length is almost

equal to or a little less than the maximum depth of the body below

the dorsal fin, and is contained from 4.4 to about 5.3 times in the

length of the body without the caudal fin. It is slightly broader

than it is high. The snout is flat and obtusely pointed anteriorly,

and its length is contained from 2 to nearly 2-5 times in the length of

the head. There is a shallow depression across it in front cjf the

eyes. In grown-up individuals, and specially in males, there are

minute horny and pointed tubercles on the snout and on the cheeks.

The eyes are large and situated almost entirely in the posterior

half of the head. They are placed high in the head and are, there-

fore, scarcely visible from the ventral surface. In adult individuals

the diameter of the eyes is contained nearly 3 times in the length

of the head, while in young specimens, the eyes being compara-

tively large, the proportion of the diameter is about 2.5 times.

The interorbital region is almost flat or very slightly concave.

It is not so wide as the orbit. The gill openings are narrow. They

extend from the anteriormost point of the lateral line down to

a point in front of the ventral base of the pectoral fins, and, verti-

cally below the posterior margin of the orbit. The external nostrils

are more or less large and are situated much -nearer the anterior

margin of the eyes than the tip of the snout.

The mouth is sub-ventral and its narrow opening is more or

less transverse. The upper jaw overhangs the vestibulum of the

mouth. Both the upper and the lower jaws are provided with sharp

cutting horny edges, which suggest the fish’s habit of scraping and

rasping off food from the rocky bed of the streams it inhabits.

The lips are moderately fleshy and continuous. The lower lip is

capable of being everted out from the jaw. Minute post-labial

fold-like structures are present at the angles of the lips. A dis-

tinct lateral groove passes on either side from the post-labial groove

to the sides of the snout. Just behind and below the lower lip

is a shallow depression, beset with minute papillae which probably

acts as an accessary means of attachment.

The dorsal fin is inserted in advance of the ventrals and is situ-

ated much nearer the tip of the snout than the root of the caudal

fin. It is almost as high as the depth of the body below it,: and

its outer margin is more or less straight and oblique. The pectoral

fins are horizontally placed and are longer than the head : they

Iiav'e a somewhat rounded outer margin and they do not reach the

ventrals. The ventrals are similarly situated and have' a similar

shape but are shorter than the pectorals : they are separated from

the insertion of the anal by a considerable distance. The anal

830

REPORT ON BURMESE FISHES

fin is rather short and lias a straight outer margin : when laid

flat it almost reaches the root of the- caudal fin. The caudal fin

is considerably longer than the head and its own height: it is

bilobed, the upper lobe in most -cases being longer than the

lower.

The lateral line is straight and runs to the middle of the base

of the caudal fin. The scales are fairly large and arranged regu-

larly on the body. There are 10 scales before the dorsal fin and

10 to 12 round the caudal peduncle. The

anterior portion of the chest is devoid of

scales, while the portion confined between

the bases of the pectorals is covered with

reduced scales. The anal opening is situ-

ated between the middle of the ventral fins .

The air-bladder (Text-fig. 8) is, as

already described by Hora (22), generally

very much reduced but is more or less of

the Cyprinid type. In most cases the

larger anterior chamber is partly or wholly

covered with a thick fibrous tissue. The

pharyngeal bones and the teeth are very

minute and slender. On each side of the

pharyngeal bones there are 4 slender and

more or less hooked teeth arranged in a

single row like those of P. sucatio.

I have noted the colouration of the fish

in its natural habitat and have found that

it is very variable. The young specimens

are more gorgeously coloured, having a very bright silvery ground

with 6 to 8 shining dark patches on the dorsum and along the

sides. In grown-up specimens these patches become somewhat

diffused and the fish has a more or less uniform blackish-blue to

brownish ground colour with irregular white patches here and

there. The under surface is. silvery. All- the fins are diaphanous

excepting the dorsal and the caudal fins. The dorsal has

generally a blackish band towards the free margin, while

the caudal has invariably two similar vertical . bands. In some

adult individuals these bands break up into irregular blackish

patches.

Remarks: P. balitora is found in the fast streams and shallow

rivers of Northern Bengal and Assam, specially where the bottom

is rocky. I have never found the fish living in any sluggish stream

with a muddy bottom. In the S evoke stream and in the shallow,

clear and rocky parts of the Mahanaddi river, I have observed

series of P. balitora adhering tightly to the rocky substratum with

the expanded paired fins and the chest applied to the rocks. Like

other torrential fishes, it always points its head against the flow

of the current. The variegated colouration of the fish harmonises

so perfectly with the surroundings that it is. hard to detect its pre-

sence even from a short distance. The species is here recorded

from Burma for the first time.

831 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Measurements in millimetres :

Mali Hka System Northern Bengal

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Fig. 1. — Lateral view of Nemachilus botia (Ham. Buch.) from the' Mali Hka

system, xlj.

Fig. 2. — Lateral view of Psilorhynclius balitora (Ham. Buch.) from the Mali

Hka system, xlj.

Fig. 3. — Ventral view of the anterior portion of the body of the same, x2.

Fig. 4. — Dorsal view of the same, x2.

Fig. 5. — Pharyngeal bone and the teeth of Psilorhynclius sucatio (Ham. Buch.),

x30.

Fig. 6.— Lateral view of Barbus compressus Day from the Mali Hka system,

ca Nat. size.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE II.

Fig. 1. — Lateral view of Glyptothorax sinense (Began) from the Mali Hka

system, ca. Nat. size.

Fig. 2. — Lateral view of Labeo ( Labeo ) dyocheilus (McClell.) from the Mali

Hka system, xf.

Fig. 3. — Ventral view of the anterior portion of the body of the same, x§.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE III.

Fig. 1. — Lateral view of the type specimen of Barbus clavatus burtoni, subsp.

nov. from the Mali Hka system, ca Nat. size.

Fig. 2. — Dorsal view of the anterior portion of the body of Labeo (Labeo)

dyocheilus (McClell.) from the Mali Hka system, x f.

Fig. 3. — Ventral view of the anterior portion of the body of Nemachilus botia

(Ham. Buch.) from the Mali Hka system, xca, 1J.

Fig. 4. — Dorsal view of the same, xca 1|.

(To be continued).

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN

GHATS (ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION).

BY

Hugh Whistler, m.b.o.u., assisted by N. B. Kinnear, m.b.o.u.

Part VI.

( Continued from page 590 of volume xxxvi).

Ploceus philippinus philippinus (Linn).

Loxia philippina Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii, vol. i (1766), p. 305 — Philippines

errore — Ceylon.

Specimens collected. — 26 $ 28 d 11-4-29, 150 <$ 28-4-29, 166-168 cT 9 $

1-5-29 Kurumbapatti; 491-492 3-7-29, 519-521 S 6 d 6-7-29 Kalai, Trichino-

poly ; 1122 9 1124 cl 16-12-29, 1127 [9] 17-12-29, 1170-1171 cfd' 1178 [9]

25-12-29, 1174 9 1176 $ juv. 26-12-29 Cnmbum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

11 17.5-18.5 70-76.5 44-52 19.5-22 mm.

7 9 17.5-18.5 67-71 42-47 20-22 mm.

We have not got a great deal of information about the Common Bay a

Weaver in the Presidency and I cannot in fact trace any record of it in the

area to the north of the Godavery river. South of that, the Survey found

it common in the Cumbum valley, at Kurumbapatti and at Kalai, Trichino-

poly. At Kurumbapatti, Mr. LaPersonne tells us that they were going about

in April in flocks of 20-30 birds and they were still in flocks on the 6th May.

Although the males obtained there are in winter plumage their testes had

started to enlarge by 11 April. The Kalai specimens were in full breeding

plumage but the Cumbum valley series were again in winter dress. This

weaver seems fairly common also in the neighbourhood of Madras Town.

On the eastern side, there is but little information. William Davison says

it occurs throughout the Wynaad. Colonel Sparrow has shown me specimens

obtained at Malappuram, S. Malabar in July (breeding plumage.) and December.

In Travancore, Ferguson and Bourdillon say that it is common in the low

country but does not ascend the hills. There they give, the breeding season

as from May to August. Captain Bates informs me that at Madras he con-

sidered the breeding season to be in the North-East Monsoon, commencing

about September. In his last year there, however, he found a colony building

in May after an abnormal downpour of rain, and a number of colonies hard

at work in July.

I cannot avoid the conclusion that Ploceus philippinus and Ploceus passerinus

(of the New Fauna, vol. iii, pp. 67 and 70) are merely races of the same

species. After a careful examination of all available specimens and records

I find no reason to believe that philippinus and passerinus ever breed in the

same area. They certainly intergrade with each other in Nepal (cf. Scully,

S.F., viii, 332) and about the Chota Nagpur area; and though Stanford

(J.B.N.H.S., xxxiv, 910) apparently considered that his specimens of philip-

pinus, shot in February in winter-dress in the Prome. district, represented the

local breeding colonies of Bayas, proof is lacking and I feel sure that it is

much more probable that they were winter visitors from India. Ticehurst has

shown that the name passerinus cannot stand nor can Mr. Stuart-Baker’s further

emendation (vol. viii, p. 651) of it to Ploceus atrigula. Birds from the East

Himalaya area agree with those of northern Burma and they should in future

therefore bear the name P. philippinus burmanicus Ticehurst (Bull. B.O.C.,

vol. Iii, no. ccclvii, March 1932, p. 104 — Akyab.)

Ploceus megarhynchus Hume still remains somewhat of a mystery. Hume

at first (see S.F., 153) was inclined to group under this name not only his

833 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

original birds but also certain specimens of passerinus [ = burmanicus ]. How-

ever in Stray Feathers, vol. vi, p. 400 he realises that the two original speci-

mens remain unique. I have carefully examined them. They are two females

or males in winter plumage, shot in December 1866 near Kaladoongee below

Naina Tal. They are both just completing an entire moult, the wing feathers

still showing traces of the sheath at their base. In colour they would pass

as philippinus. In size they are immense: — bill from skull 21-5 (type) and

22; wing, 77 and 80-5; tail, 56 and 59 mm. I cannot match these measure-

ments in a large series of philippinus and burmanicus and I am not able to

accept the suggestion ( New Fauna, iii, p. 70) that megarhynchus breeds in

the Duars. All specimens thence in the British Museum, as well as others

collected by Mr. H. Y. O’Donel and Mr. Inglis and given or loaned to me,

belong beyond dispute to burmanicus. The series of skins presented to the

Bombay Natural History Society can no longer be traced in their collection.

Ir Finn (Ibis, 1901, p. 29) wras right in considering his cage-birds as exam-

ples of megarhynchus in breeding dress it must be a very distinct species.

Ploceus manyar flaviceps Lesson.

Ploceus flaviceps Lesson, Traite d’Orn. (1831), p. 435 ex Cuvier MS. —

Pondicherry.

We can only trace, two localities for the Streaked WTeaver-bird in the

Presidency, namely the type locality Pondicherry (where - it was collected

by Leschenault) and the Vellarney Lake, a few miles out of Trivandrum (Tra-

vancore). From this latter locality there are in the British Museum an adult

male and a juvenile collected on 21 June 1877 by Bourdillon. He tells us

(S.F., vii, p. 39) that on that date he found thousands just beginning to

build amongst the reeds which formed floating islands on the lake.

[Munia oryzivora (Linnaeus). :j

Loxia oryzivora Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. xii, vol. i (1766), p. 302 — Asia = Java.

The Java Sparrow is stated by Oates ( Old Fauna, vol. ii, p. 182, footnote)

to be ‘now met with in the wild state in Madras’ as an introduced species.

I have found no further information on the point and do not know whether

it is still to be found wild in the Presidency.]

Munia malacca (Linnaeus).

Loxia malacca Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. xii, vol. i (1776), p. 302— China, Java

and Malacca error e — Belgaum.

Not procured by the Survey. The exact distribution of the Black-headed

Munia in the Presidency is not very accurately known. Colonel Sparrow

obtained specimens at the Kolair Lake on 1st February 1913 and there is a

series of 8 specimens from Madras in March in the British Museum.

On the western side William Davison met with it on two or three occasions

in the Wynaad. A. Gf. R. Theobald’s account of the breeding at Pothanore,

in the Coimbatore district, is given in Hume’s Nests and Eggs and one of

his skins from this locality is in the British Museum. Terry found it fairly

common in the Lower Palnis, breeding in the Pittur valley. In Travancore

it is only found in the low country where it is common, especially about the

backwaters. Bourdillon has given us an account of a breeding colony in the

\ ellarnay Lake near Trivandrum (S.F., vii, 39). This munia seems very

dennitey addicted to swampy ground and the neighbourhood of water.

Within our limits the breeding season is variously given as latter half of

October (Pathanore), April (Pittur valley) and May to August (Travancore).

Mr. Stuart Baker recognises two races of this Black-headed munia in

Southern India, malacca and oriental is, though his account of their distribution

is far from clear and certainly includes very large areas where the species

has not been recorded. I have been able to assemble a small series, supple-

mentary to the British Museum, and am of opinion that the race orientalis

cannot be upheld. The differences given for it depend on wear of plumage

and make of skin. I think it is, moreover, highly probable that Munia atri-

papilla should properly be itself considered a race of Munia malacca.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 834

There is some confusion over Mr. Stuart Baker’s restrictions of the type

locality of this species. Inj his Handlist (p. 97) he restricted it to Malacca

where it does not occur. Then in the New Fauna, vol. iii, he has restricted

it successively to Belgaum and Ceylon on the same page (78). The first of the

possible restrictions must stand.

Uroloncha striata striata (Linn).

Loxia striata Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii (1766), p. 306 — Isle of Bourbon

err ore — Ceylon.

Specimens collected 329, 330, 332 S 6 6 5-6-29, 359 361 o? 7-6-29

Chitteri range 2,000 ft.; 1353 8-2-30 Anantagiri 3,000 ft.; 1505-1507 <? <5 <*

9-3-30, 1656 o? 4-4-3<i Sankrametta 3,500 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

8 S 12.5-13.5 52-55.5 39-42 13-14 mm.

The White-backed Munia appears to be fairly common and very generally

distributed in the Presidency. Jerdon tells us that it occurs sparingly in the

Northern Circars but in the Vizagapatam District LaPersonne found it com-

mon at Anantagiri and at Sankrametta ‘chiefly on the bazaar grounds

after shandy (market) day’.

Dewar considered it not common at Madras. LaPersonne saw it about

at Kurumbapatti in April. Here however he specially records that they had

apparently left the neighbourhood by the end of the month and it is possible

that the bird is a partial migrant between the hills and plains as it was

common in June in the Chitteri range and Hume received the nest from

Yercaud.

On the western side Betts found it a common resident in Coorg. It breeds

commonly in the Wynaad and in the Nilgiris. Betts informs me that it is

a common resident at 3,500 ft. in the Ochterlony valley. It occurs, higher

than this and at Kotagherry, Miss Cockburn considered it not numerous, shy

and a migrant for breeding only.

It is an abundant and familiar species on the. Malabar coast, according

to Jerdon, seen constantly on the roadside, about houses and in stable yards,

gathering also into vast flocks that feed in the rice fields.

Terry found a flock in the Pittur valley of the Palni Hills. In Travancore,

it is common, occurring up to 2,500 ft. (Ferguson).

This munia probably breeds chiefly in the rains as, both in Coorg and the

Nilgiris, it breeds in July and Hume’s nest from Yercaud contained 6 eggs

on 28 September. In the Wynaad, however, Mr. J. Darling Jnr. found

nests from April to June and aiso in November and December.

The Survey series from the Chitteri range and birds from South India

generally cannot be distinguished from a series from Ceylon. The Vizaga-

patam series however differ from them as follows : — the upper parts are

browner, less black with more marked shaft streaks; the shorter upper tail

coverts agree with the. back in colour and contrast with the longer tail coverts

which are black; the ear-coverts and sides of the neck are browner; and

finally the flanks show traces of fine black squamations. In other words

these specimens show passage towards the special characteristics of the sub-

Himalayan race U. s. acuticauda. Beavan’s specimens from Manubhum agree

with them and these intermediate characters are found in a greater or less

degree in other specimens in the British Museum from the eastern Central

Provinces. Until the distribution is known in better detail, however, we

think no useful purpose will be served by the naming of an intermediate race.

The present series of skins shows that this species undergoes a complete

moult between March and July.

Uroloncha kelaarti jerdoni (Hume).

Munia jerdoni Hume, Nests and Eggs Ind. Birds, Pt. ii (1873), p. 448 —

Wynaad.

The Rufous-bellied Munia has hitherto been only known from the hills

of South-Western India from Coorg to Travancore, unless evidence is to

be attached- to the statement that Mr.' Laird procured' it in the jungles W.

835 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

of Belgaum (S.F. , ix, 415). It is common in Coorg, the Wynaad, the Nilgiris

(breeding up to 4,500 ft. and straying up to the plateau), the. Palnis and

the whole of the Travancore ranges. About Kotagherry Miss Cockburn con-

sidered the species a breeding visitor only but its migrations must be neces-

sarily very limited.

The breeding season is said to be from July to September in the Nilgiris

and March to July in Travancore (Stuart Baker).

It is unfortunate that the well-known name of Amadina pectoralis Blyth

cannot be used for this species but it is preoccupied by Amadina pectoralis

Gould, if both birds are to be placed in the same genus which seems desir-

able. I do not in any case see how one can avoid the conclusion that it is a

subspecies of Munia kelaarti Jerdon, Birds of India, vol. ii (1863), p. 356 —

Ceylon. The plumage of both birds contain the same characteristics, varying

only in their degree of development. Jerdoni differs from kelaarti in the adult

summer plumage as follows: — the rump is similar to the back, the upper

tail coverts less black, more approaching the colour of the rump, the cruciform

markings pinkish and nearly obsolete.; the lower parts below the black gular

patch are pale pinkish buff with pale shaft streaks, the cruciform markings

confined to a small area on the vent; the lower tail coverts have the cruciform

markings replaced by pinkish buff shaft streaks.

The so-called immature plumage differs from the corresponding stage of

kelaarti in that the chin and throat lack the black and wffiite spangles and

resemble the remainder of the lower plumage, which lacks the dark broken

cross-barring of kelaarti.

Uroloncha kelaarti vernayi subsp. nov.

Specimens collected: — 1558 9» 1560-1561 q? q? 17-3-30 Sankrametta 3,500 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

2 13-13.5 57-59 37-39 14-15 mm.

19' 13 59 39 14 mm.

These three birds killed on the same date and presumably from the same

flock are all in the so-called immature plumage, but no. 1560 is in body

moult which is sufficiently advanced to show^ that all three specimens belong

to the kelaarti group, in wrhich they are very close to jerdoni. They differ

from the corresponding stage of jerdoni, however, in the following details;

the upper plumage is much paler, earth-brown as opposed to chocolate brown;

the lower plumage is very much paler, greyish brown on the breast, greyish

white elsewhere, faintly tinged with pink as opposed to (in jerdoni ) buffy browm

on the breast, huffish wffiite elsewhere, the whole suffused with warm fulvous.

In no. 1560 the adult feathers that have moulted through show that the lower

parts will be a much paler more pearly pink than in jerdoni.

It is evident that these specimens represent another of the peculiar Vizaga-

patam ghat forms, and the extension of the range of this South Indian species

is most interesting.

We have much pleasure in naming the novelty after Mr. A. S. Vernay.

Type no. 1558 9 17-3-30 Sankrametta 3,500 ft. Deposited in the British

Museum.

Uroloncha malabarica (Linn).

Loxia malabarica Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. x, vol. i (January 1758), p. 175 —

India, Malabar Coast.

Specimens collected: — 471 9 23-6-29 Tirthamalai 1,000 ft.; 487 9 2-7-29

Trichinopoly ; 524-525 q? 9 6-7-29 Kalai; 570 9 21-7-29 Gingee; 766-767 9 c?

27-8-29 Palkonda Hills 500 ft.; 778-779 9 c? 31-8-29, 795 9 10-9-29 Kodur

500 ft.; 883 q? 6-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft,; 1121, 1123, 1125 c? c? c?

16-12-29, 1172 c? 25-12-29 Cumbum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. W'ing.

10-11 53.5-57

10.5-11 53-56

Tail. Tarsus.

45-52.5 13-14 mm.

44.5-49 13-14 mm.

s <y

7 9

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 836

I can trace no record of the White-throated Munia in that part of the

Presidency which lies to the north of the Godavery. South of that river,

however, it appears to be common and very generally distributed from sea level

up to 2,000 ft., at least in the Seschachalam Hills, all down the eastern side

as far as Cape Comorin. It is essentially a bird of dry open country and it

therefore is absent from the western side of the Presidency. Bulger’s state-

ment (P.Z.S. 1866, p. 571) that it is tolerably common in the Nilgiris appears

to be mistaken ; at least no one else has recorded it there.

In Travancore, where it only occurs about Cape Comorin, Ferguson says

that the breeding season is from December to March.

In spite of its wide distribution the White-throated Munia cannot be

separated into races.

Uroloncha punctulata lineoventer (Hodgson).

Munia lineoventer Hodgson, As. Res., xix, pt. i (October 1836), p. 154 —

Nepal.

Specimens collected: — 513-514 $ 9 5-7-29 Ivalai, Trichinopoly ; 734 9 23-8-29

Palkonda Hills 1,000 ft.; 777 J 31-9-29 Kodur 500 ft.; 994 9 11-11-29 Nalla-

mallai range 2,000 ft.

M easurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

2 <5 12.5-13 56-57 39-40.5 14.5-15 mm.

3 9 12-13 54.5-56 39-40.5 13.5-14.5 mm.

There is at present no record of the Spotted Munia in the Presidency from

the area north of the Godavery, but south of that river it is probably very

generally distributed. In addition to the localities supplied by the Survey

specimens and Jerdon’s statement that it is found in various parts of the

Carnatic, Dewar tells us that it is found occasionally at Madras. Theobald’s

account of the breeding habits at Sooramungulam, in Salem (N. and E., 2nd ed.

vol. ii, p. 144) implies that the bird is common in that district. Ferguson says

that it is common in the low country of Travancore and Colonel Sparrow has

lent me specimens collected at Malappuram. How far it occurs in the hill

ranges of the west is not very clear.

Ferguson says that it does not ascend the Travancore ranges and, in the

Palnis, Fairbank only met with it twice in the lower hills. In the Nilgiris,

on the other hand, it is common, being abundant round Ootacamund, and in

these hills, according to Miss Cockburn, it is a migrant from the lower

country arriving in June, breeding and remaining till the end of October.

Otherwise she noted occasional birds in December in flocks of Avadavats.

The breeding season at Coonoor, according to Mr. Wait, is any time between

February and September, most eggs being laid in April and May. This hardly

agrees with Miss Cockburn ’s statement, confirmed to me also by Mr. Betts,

that the bird is a migrant and she gives the breeding season as July and

August. At Sooramungulam Theobald also says that it breeds in August but

in Travancore Ferguson says it breeds from April to July.

Stictospiza formosa (Latham).

Fringilla formosa Latham, Index Ornith., vol i (1790), p. 441 — India.

Specimens collected: — 1495-1497 o?^ 9 8-3-30, 1572-1573 9 c? 20-3-30, 1591

9 24-3-30 Sankrametta 3,000 ft. ; 1687-1688 S 9 Jeypore Agency 3,000 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

3 S 10.5-11.5 48-49 37-38.5 13.5-14.5 mm.

4 9 10-11 46-49.5 34.5-39 13-14.5 mm.

LaPersonne writes: — This handome bird was common at Sankrametta 3,000

ft., frequenting open boulder strewn scrub jungle. They were not shy and

would, allow a close approach while feeding. There was no genital development.

These specimens afford the first record of the Green Munia for the Presi-

dency though Mr. D’Abreu informs me that it occurs at Bhanpur in Bastar

837 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

State which is not far distant. The New Fauna gives Jhansi as the northern

limit of distribution, but, although the breeding records for Lahore (Currie,

J.B.N.H.S. xxiv, 594) may perhaps be attributed to escapes, there is no

reason for not accepting the statement that the Green Munia is an un-

common resident in the Lucknow division (Reid S.F. x. 56). There are no

races. This genus seems hardly worth separation from Amandava.

The original drawing from which Latham took his description is in the

British Museum. It was made for a Mrs. Wheeler, a resident in Calcutta and

was doubtless painted from a cage-bird as the Green Munia does not occur

at Calcutta.

Amandava amandava amandava Linnaeus.

Fringilla amandava Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. x, vol. i-(1758), p. 180 — India

orientalis, now restricted to Northern Guzerat.1

Not obtained by the Survey. In both editions of the Fauna the Red

Avadavat is said, to> occur throughout India. It may be as well therefore to

emphasise the fact that in addition to Jerdon’s statement that it occurs here

and there throughout the Carnatic I can only trace records for two areas

in the Presidency. It is common in the Nilgiris ascending to 6,000 ft. and

breeding apparently any time from May to December.

Terry records a large flock at Pulungi in April (S.F. x. 478).

The New Fauna has failed to mention the fact (pointed out by Ticehurst

Ibis 1922, pp. 646-7) that the male of this munia assumes the well-known red

plumage merely as a breeding dress * reverting in the non-breeding season

to a brown plumage similar to that of the female. I suspect that this

is the case in several other species e.g. Stictospiza formosa though as yet I

have not sufficient material to prove it beyond doubt. The point may be com-

medned to workers in the field.

The Burmese Red Avadavat ( Amandava flavidiventris Wallace) is certainly

a race of this species.

Carpodacus erythrinus roseatus (Blyth). 2

Erythrospiza roseata Blyth J.A.S.B., 1842 p. 461 — Calcutta.

Specimens collected: — 171-172 9 6 2-5-29 Kurumbapatti; 1462-1463 <Jo?

3-3-30, 1474 9 5-3-30, 1481-1482 9 1488 S 6-3-30, 1508 S 9-3-30, 1514 9

10-3-30, 1518 9 11-3-30, 1528 9 12-3-30, 1530 9 1533 J 13-3-30, 1548 S

15-3-30, 1555-1556 $ S 17-3-30, 1700 S 30-3-30 Sankrametta 3,500-3,800 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill.

6 adult - 14-15

4 imm. 13.5-15

7 9 14-15

Wing.

84.5-87.5

82-88

81-85

Tail. Tarsus.

57.5- 60.5 17.5-19.5 mm

55.5- 59.5 17-19.5 mm.

51.5- 60 18.5-19 mm.

The Survey found the Common Rose Finch at Sankrametta in extremely large

flocks on migration during the month of March. By the middle of April

their numbers decreased considerably and by May none were seen. All the

specimens procured were very fat. It was otherwise only procured at

Kurumbapatti on 2nd May when a pair, also extremely fat, were shot feeding

off the figs of a Banyan tree. In none of these birds had the organs started

to enlarge.

These are the only records' we have traced for the eastern side of the

Presidency. On the west it is well-known as a late winter visitor. In Coorg

Betts states that a Rose Finch evidently this — is a somewhat) uncommon winter

visitor in large flocks, first noted on 22 November. William Davison tells us

1 According to Professor Newton’s Dictionary , p. 11 the name avadavat,

with its variants amadavat, amidavad, etc. is a corruption of Ahmedabad the

town in Guzerat whence, more than 200 years ago, according to Fryer (New

account of East India etc. London, 1698), examples were brought to Surat.

' 2 -We agree 'with Ticehurst (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, p. 345) that it is useless

recognising the intermediate race hubanensis .

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 838

that it is found all over the Wynaad and extreme Southern Mysore, but is

particularly numerous on the Nilgiris. Here it is always' in flocks which

feed in gardens and cultivation and are somewhat shy. They arrive in

December and stay until the end of April.

In the Nelliampathies the Rose Finch is also fairly common (Kinloch). In

Travancore it is only found in the High Ranges and not further south. Here

too it is fairly common in flocks in sholas and open country from December

to March.

The unusual and marked season for the Rose Finch in the South-west of

the Presidency has probably some, connection with the fruiting season of

mulberries and bamboos further north. It breeds late in the Himalayas laying

from the middle of June to the end of July.

Gymnorhis xanthocollis xanthocollis (Burton).

Fringilla xanthocollis Burton, Cat. Birds Mus. Fort Pitt, Chatham- (1838),

p. 23 — Ganges between Calcutta and Benares.

Specimens collected 547-549 $ 9 18-7-29, 564 9 20-7-29, 578 o? 22-7-29

Gingee; 918 U 14-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft.; 1154 $ 21-12-29

Cumbum Valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing.

3 d1 14-14.5 79.5-85

3 9 14.5-15 78-80

Tail. Tarsus.

46-52 16.5-17.5 mm.

43.5-50 16.5-18 mm.

There is very little information about the status of the Yellow-throated

Sparrow on the eastern side of the Presidency, the only previous record being

for Madras where Dewar says it is fairly abundant.

On the Eastern side, Betts says that it is common and resident in Coorg.

William Davison saw it in the Wynaad and says that it occurs on the slopes

of the Nilgiris up to about 4,000 ft., being most numerous on the Seegore

Ghat.

Fairbank found it plentiful at Periakulam near the base of the Palnis.

In Travancore it is said to be fairly common in the low country, breeding

there in May and June (Ferguson).

Passer domesticus indicus Jardine and Selby.

Passer indicus Jardine & Selby, Illustr. Orn., vol. iii, pi. 118 (1835) — India,

Bangalore.

Specimens collected: — 442 $ 18-6-29 Harur 1,000 ft.; 494 9 3-7-29 Kalai.

Measurements: — -(9 is in moult).

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

<S 15 75.5 51 18 mm.

Unfortunately the House Sparrow Was neglected by the Survey and we have

therefore; no information at all as to whether it occurs in the Presidency north

of Madras, though one may perhaps assume that it is generally distributed

wherever there are human habitations. This, at any rate, is the case throughout

the west of the Presidency and in the Nilgiris the bird occurs at all elevations.

In Travancore, however, Ferguson says that it ascends the hills ‘at times’.

In the low country lie, gives the breeding season as February and March. Else-

where the breeding season is not recorded.

I am unable to agree with Mr. Stuart Baker in his division of the House

Sparrows of India proper into two forms about the line Bihar-Chota Nagpur.

The series from Southern India available is admittedly weak but those which

I have examined (and with them also agree a small series obtained by the

Hyderabad Survey, reported on elsewhere) do not appear to me to differ

in colour or size from the birds of North India, south of the Himalayas. It

was unnecessary for Mr. Stuart Baker to restrict the type locality to Karachi

as Selby’s specimens were obtained for him by Lt. Atherton at Bangalore (see

Kinnear, Ibis 1925, p. 752).

839 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Emberiza icterica Eversmann.

Emberiza icterica Eversmann, Uchen. Zap. Kazansk. Univ., 1841 (1), p.

161 — Eocky eastern shores of Caspian Sea.

The Bed-headed Bunting evidently occurs as a winter visitor to the Presi-

dency. There are two males in the British Museum marked ‘Madras Jerdon’,

and Jerdon himself says (B. of I., vol. ii, p. 379) ‘I have seen it rarely in

Coimbatore, in Mysore, Cuddapah and the edges of the Eastern Ghats’. Hume

tells us (S.F., x, 403) that he believes it occurs in the Wynaad at times.

Beyond this I have no information about it in our area.

Delichon urbica urbica (Linnaeus).

Hirundo urbica Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 192 — Sweden.

The House Martin has only been recorded from the western side of the

Presidency and there but seldom. William Davison says that he once met

with it in the Nilgiris — though no specimens appear to have been preserved —

when a small party were flying about a steep cutting on the old road between

Ootacamund and Coonoor. Hume recorded (S.E., i, 323) that he received 3

specimens from Coimbatore from Mr. H. E. P. Carter. These are in the

British Museum and are dated 10-1-73 (<J9) and 28-1-73 (B) and there is

a fourth undated bird from the same locality. There is also a Travancore

specimen in the British Museum from Surgeon-General Fry but it has no

more precise data. The bird is doubtless only a winter visitor in this area

and one cannot help feeling that there may be a mistake about the breeding

colony reported (Coussmaker, N. & E., ii, 177) in the bed of the E. Tunga

in the Shemogali district, Mysore, on May 1st. At any rate if the specimen

from Shemogah in the Hume collection, dated 27-4-1875, has any connection

with this record it is undergoing a complete moult and can hardly therefore

have been breeding.

Riparia rupestris (Scopoli).

Hirundo rupestris Scopoli, Annus I. Nat. Hist. (1769), p. 167 — Tyrol.

William Davison tells us that the Crag Martin is a cold weather visitor,

though never numerous, to the Nilgiris in the neighbourhood of Ootacamund.

All leave by the end of March.

It probably is more widely spread than this record indicates as Terry

(S.F., x, 469) was under the impression that a number of Crag Martins seen

by him round some high' cliffs at Pittur in the Palnis belonged to this species.

Riparia concolor (Sykes.)

Hirundo concolor Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (July 31), p. 83 — Dukhun = Poorundhur

4,000 ft., W. Ghats.

Specimens collected: — 877 S 5-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft.; 1044-1045

< $ <S 5-12-29 Cumbum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

3 S 10 109-110 45.5-46 9-9.5 mm.

The Dusky Crag Martin is not known to occur in the Presidency north of

the Krishna Eiver. Below that in addition to the localities furnished by the

Survey it occurs at Udyagiri, Vellore, whence Dr. Gravely kindly informs me

there is a specimen in the Madras Museum.

On the western side I have examined a specimen (Coll. Bombay N.H.S.)

obtained by Mr. J. P. Cook on 11th January in the Wynaad. In the Nilgiris,

according to William Davison, it is found at all elevations as a not un-

common winter visitor, a few birds also staying to breed.

Hirundo rustica gutturalis Scopoli.

Hirundo gutturalis Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insub., vol. ii (1786), p.

96 — Antique in Panay, Philippines.

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 840

Specimens collected: — 1076 imm. 1078 ad. 10-12-29; 1084 $ ad.

1086 o? imm. 11-12-29 Cumbum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Central Tail. Outer Tail. Tarsus.

2 S ad. 10.5-11.5 110-117 39-41 moult 10 mm.

1 E imm. 11 113 40.5 62.5 9.5 mm.

I can find very little recorded about the. Swallow in the Madras Presidency.

On the eastern side, the above Survey records are only supplemented by Dewar’s

bald inclusion of the species in his Madras list. On the west, it is certainly

a common winter visitor and doubtless also a passage migrant on its way to

Ceylon. In Coorg Betts tells us that it is common and that his earliest date

for it is September 28th. In the Wynaad and Nilgiris, Hume (S.F., x, 345)'

considered it generally distributed though not ascending the hills to any great

height. In Travancore Ferguson says that it is fairly common throughout the

hill country.

Ticehurst (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, p. 349) has carefully discussed the differences

between H. r. rustica and H. r. gutturalis and shown that the best of the

usual characters given for their separation is size. Unfortunately however the

Swallow, both adult and immature, moults in its winter quarters and on

this account, it is impossible to verify the racial identification of the large

proportion of the available specimens from Peninsula India. This difficulty

is aggravated by the unreliability of the sexing of a further proportion of

specimens. I have therefore not been able to work out the ranges of these

two forms in India with any accuracy though my impression is that the

typical form is more confined to the North-West and West than is usually real-

ised whilst gutturalis overlaps the borders of its range and occupies the rest

of the Peninsula. The Survey specimens certainly belong to the race guttu-

ralis as does also the only other specimen, $ 28-2-80 Quilon (Bourdillon,

British Museum), which I have examined from our limits.

Hirundo javanica domicola Jerdon.

Hirundo domicola Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Sci., vol. xiii (1844 after

April), pt. i, p. 173 — Nilgiri Hills.

Mr. Betts informs me that he has found a pair of these birds living and

breeding in a bungalow at Mercara, Coorg. This is the first record of the

Nilgiri Swallow north of the Nilgiris where as its name implies it is a common

resident, very familiar and tame. Southwards it is common on the hilly

downs of the Cochin Nelliampathies (Kinloch, J.B.N.H.S., xxix, 565) the

Palnis (Fairbank and Terry) and the Travancore ranges at 4,000 ft. and up-

wards (Bourdillon and Ferguson).

The Nilgiri Swallow is said to be double brooded and to breed from the

last wreek of February until June in the Nilgiris, April perhaps being the

month in which most eggs are to be found. In Travancore, Ferguson and

Bourdillon say that it breeds in March, April and May.

Our Indian and the Ceylon birds are said to differ from the typical race

(Java) in having a smaller bill and the gloss of the upper parts greener in

colour. Unfortunately the series available is not very satisfactory but we are

far from certain that these distinctions hold good. Fresh material may be

expected in the Travancore Survey and we shall then hope to settle the point.

Hirundo smithii filifera Stephens.

Hirundo filifera Stephens in Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiii (2) (1826), p. 78 —

India.1

The Wire-tailed Swallow is only recorded from the N.-W. borders of the

Presidency where it reaches the southern limit of its distribution. The only

published record is that of Vipan (S.F., i, 495) who on 2 February 1871 shot

three specimens and saw others about 5 miles from Cannanore and about 200

1 Based on Latham, Gen. Hist, of Birds, vol. vii, p. 309 ‘From the drawings

of Sir J. Anstruther’, who was Chief Justice of Bengal and therefore probably

obtained his specimen near Calcutta.

841 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

yards from the coast. The following specimens are in the British Museum

and they probably came from much the same area though, precise data is

lacking: — One Coorg (Tweeddale Coll.), two Malabar (Tweeddale and Sharpe),

two 1868 Coonoor (Hume Coll.), one Madras (Elliot).

Hirundo fluvicola Blyth

Hirundo fluvicola Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xxiv (1855), p. 471— Bundelkliund.

The Indian Cliff-Swallow is only included in the Presidency , list in virtue

of a specimen in the British Museum obtained by Mr. Carter at Coimbatore

on 28 August 1873. This furnishes the most southerly record of the species.

In the Old Fauna the easterly limit of distribution of the Cliff- Swallow

was given as Etawah. This has since been extended to Gonda (Field, J.B.N.H.S.,

xxviii, 759) and Mirzapur (Gill, J.B.N.H.S., xxix, p. 767). The New

Fauna is however wrong in extending it still further east to Sikkim on the

strength no doubt of 4 birds in the Seebobm collection labelled by Seebohm

10-2-1876 Darjeeling (Mandelli). These birds bear also Andrew Anderson’s

original labels marked simply with the scientific name, sex and date but

no locality. It is evident that Seebohm obtained them through Mandelli and

assumed that the latter collected them in the Darjeeling district, whereas as a

matter of fact they had been collected in the United Provinces by Anderson.

Hirundo daurica erythropygia Sykes.

Hirundo erythropygia Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (July 31), p. 83 — Poona, Dukhun.

Specimens collected: — 488-489 cf ad. o? ad. 2-7-29 Trichinopoly ; 517 d

imm. 5-7-29 Kalai; 784 d ad. 2-9-29, 812 9 ad. 13-9-29 Kodur 500 ft.; 885 d

imm. 7-10-29 Seschachalam Hills 2,000 ft.; 1666 9 ad. 6-4-30 Sankrametta

3,500 ft.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Central t. f. Outer t. f. Fork. Tarsus.

2 ad. d 9 106-109 40-40.5 72.5-78 32.5-39 13-14 mm.

2 ad. 9 10 106.5-107 42.5-43 70.5-75.5 28-32 13-14 mm.

Sykes’ Bed-rumped Swallow must be very generally distributed in the

Presidency, doubtless as a resident species. Jerdon says that he saw it in

Gumsoor. The Survey found it common and breeding at 5,000 ft. at Sankra-

metta and LaPersonne remarks that it may be met with anywhere in the hills

of Vizagapatam district. Bed-rumped Swallows were also seen by the Survey

commonly over the plains of the Yelikonda valley (Cuddapah), on the Sheva-

roys and on the Chittiri plateau in addition to the specimens enumerated above.

On the west, Betts says that it is a fairly common resident in the drier

parts of Coorg and a specimen from there is in the Tweeddale Collection.

William Davison says that it is common throughout the Wynaad and the

Nilgiris at all elevations up to the summit. There are six specimens from

various places in the Nilgiris in the British Museum. Terry saw it in April

at Pulungi in the Palnis. In Travancore, Ferguson says it is found throughout

the low country and he shot one in the High Bange at over 5,000 ft. A

Travancore specimen (Fry) is in the British Museum.

The breeding season in the Nilgiris is said to be in April and Davison

relates a curious case of a Swallow being walled up alive in its nest on its

young and perishing there.

Motacilla alba dukhunensis Sykes.

Motacilla dukhunensis Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (31 July), p. 91 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected: — 1075 d 9-12-29, 1118 9 15-12-29 Cumbum valley.

There are very few records of the White Wagtail in the Presidency in

addition to the above specimens obtained by the Survey. Hume says (S.F.,

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 842

x, 395) that it is common below the foot of the Coonoor Ghat. Ferguson says

that he collected specimens in 1901, both at Pirmade and on the High Bange

in Travamcore and again in the low country at Alwaye in North Travancore

in January 1903. These specimens are not in the British Museum.

Motacilla maderaspatensis Gmelin.

Motacilla maderaspatensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. ii (1788), p. 961 —

Madras.

Specimens collected: — 495 9 3-7-29, 527-529 7-7-29 Kalai, Trichinopoly ; 584-

585 G $ 22-7-29 Gingee; 791 $ 3-9-29, 801, 802, 805 G 9 G 11-9-29, 836-837

9 20-9-29 Ivodur 500 ft.; 1073 9 Cum bum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

5 S 19-20 92-101.5 97.5-107 25.5-27 min.

8 9 I 18.5-20.5 93.5-97 95-103 25-26.5 mm.

There is no record of the Large Pied Wagtail in the Presidency north

of the Krishna Biver. South of that river it appears to be very generally

distributed as a resident throughout the low country, and there is no need

to cite individual records. How far it ascends the Eastern Ghats is not very

clear and on this side there is as yet no available evidence that it is found

in the hills. On the west it is to some extent a hill bird for a few pairs

frequent the lake at Ootacamund (Davison) and the Pykara Biver (Betts).

Terry saw one at the end of May beside a stream at Pumbarrah in the Palnis.

In Travancore, according to Ferguson, it does not ascend the hills at all.

In Travancore Ferguson says that the breeding season is at the end of the

year and H. B. P. Carter (apud. Hume, N. & E., ii, 203) reported c/3 eggs on

17th December and 2 more eggs in the same nest on 20 January by the banks

of the Cauvery. There is no other information about the breeding season

in the Presidency.

This fine Wagtail has been treated as a race of the White Wagtails of

Europe and Northern Asia, apparently merely on the grounds of geographical

replacement. But those who hold other criteria for the recognition of races

and desire to extract as much information as possible from their study as an

aid to the significance of evolution and geographical distribution will have no

hesitation in considering this a well defined species without any races of its

own.

The alba group of the northern hemisphere have as their characteristics a

complicated sequence of summer and winter plumages, differing to a larger

or smaller extent according to both age and sex; the corollary of a fairly

complete spring moult; a soft type of feathering. The forehead, the earcoverts

and to some extent the moustachial streak are plastic and important features,

but the superciliary streak is less important. If maderaspatensis is an oriental

race of this group one would expect some play on these characteristics ; one

would expect it to be smaller than the northern forms and one would expect

that in the north-western Himalayas (where both forms meet for I have met ;

both breeding on the same island in Kulu) intermediates would be found.

The facts are far otherwise. The summer and winter plumage are absolutely

alike, both sexes are alike; the plumage sequence is of the simplest, both male,

and female in first winter being alike and merely dull editions of the adult.

There is no spring moult. There is no white forehead, the earcoverts and

moustachial stripe have lost any distinctive feature ansd emphasis is on the

supercilum. The plumage is tough. The size is larger than in the alba group

and no intermediates have ever been recorded.

I have nos hesitation in regarding our Indian bird as a well marked species

with no racesi in its somewhat restricted distribution ; to this opinion Ticehurst

has also independently arrived (J.B.N.H.S., xxviii, p. 1089).

Gmelin ’s name was based on La Bergeronette de Madrest of Brisson, Orni-

thologie 1760, vol. iii, p. 478, Motacilla maderaspatana Brisson himself never

saw a specimen but based his description on Bay’s Motacilla maderaspatana

nigro alboque mixta, Synopsis Avium (1713), p. 194, Nos. 3 and 4.'

5

843 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Motacilla cinerea caspica S. G. Gmelin.

Pams caspicus S. G. Gmelin, Eeise Buss., vol. iii (1774), p. 104, pi. 20,

fig. 2 — Caspian Sea.

Specimens collected: — 1000 9 11-11-29 Nallamalai Hills 2,000 ft.; 1093

o? 12-12-29 Cumbum valley.

Measurements : —

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

2 specimens 15.5-16 82-84 90-92 19-20.5 mm.

As a winter visitor and a passage migrant on its way to and from Ceylon

the Grey Wragtail is well known in the Madras Presidency. It is an early

arrival — for in Ceylon it appears regularly in August (Brown, J.B.N.H.S.,

xxxii, p. 375) — and to that fact and its own sprightly and distinctive appearance

it owes the fact that it occupies in the Presidency much the same position as

the Swallow in England, its arrival and departure being regularly noticed.

On the western side it is very general and common in Coorg, the Nilgiris,

Nelliampathies, Palnis and Travancore. In the last area Ferguson says that

it is only found in the hills above 1,000 ft. The earliest dates which I find

recorded are 21 August, Coorg (Betts), 23 August Nilgiris (Betts). The majority

apparently leave by the end of March or middle of April but some birds, by

then in breeding plumage, stay on into the beginning of May even as far

south as Travancore. The latest record is 22 May (Nilgiris, Betts) but this

is exceptional. Captain Bates has an interesting record at Mercara on 27 April

1924 when he saw large numbers flying down the Sidapur nala in the evening.

It appears to be far less common on the eastern side as there is no record

at all north of the Kishtna river and the Nallamalai specimen has a note on

the label that it was the first seen by the Survey. Dewar says that it is not

in large numbers at Madras. Captain Bates met it at St. Thomas’ Mount

and he informs me that he first saw it there on 17 September 1929. There

is a specimen from the Shevaroys in the Madras Museum.

Motacilla flava beema (Sykes).

Budytes beema Sykes, P.Z.S. 1832 (July 31), p. 90 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : -1079-1081 S 6 10-12-29, 1166-1167 3 [9] 23-12-29

Cumbum valley; 1229 <T 11-1-30, 1241 9 1243 9 3246 [c?] 13-1-30, 1284 9

20-1-30 Godaveri Delta.

Measurements: — (No. 1229 omitted as sex and identity is not quite satis-

factory.)

Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

5 J 15-16 78-84 67-71.5 23-25 mm.

4 9 15-16 77-78 67.5-71 22-23.5 mm.

The Old Fauna gave the winter range of Sykes’ Blue-headed Wagtail as

extending in India as far south as Belgaum but in the New Fauna it is said

to occur as far south as Travancore, a considerable extension based apparently

on two Anjango specimens in the Hume Collection, of which the identification

does not appear to me to be beyond dispute. Be that as it may the, above

Survey Series provides the only satisfactory evidence for the occurrence of this

form in the Presidency. LaPersonne says that they were abundant in ploughed

fields and on low sandbanks in the Godaveri delta in January and their num-

bers appeared to increase as the month wore on.

Published descriptions omit the point that the white supercilum of the male

often includes a few yellow feathers and very occasionally these are numerous

enough to make the supercilium appear yellow rather than white.

Motacilla flava thunbergi Billberg.

Motacilla thunbergi Billberg, Synops. Faunae Scand., pt. ii (1828), p. 50 — ■

Lapland.

One would expect the Grey-headed Wagtail to pass through the Madras

Presidency in considerable numbers as in Ceylon (Wait, p. 153) it is said to

be one of the commonest passerine visitors arriving about the middle of Septem-

THE vernAy scientific survey of THE EASTERN GHATS 844

ber and leaving again in April. Yet it is possible that these birds reach Ceylon

by way of the Andamans and I have been unable to examine any specimens

from the Presidency except two very old ones marked ‘Madras’ in the British

Museum, whose data, condition and identification are not beyond doubt. Hume

said (S.F., x, 396) that he had seen it from the Wynaad. Dewar says that

great flocks occur at Madras every cold weather and Captain Bates tells me

that one year on the evening of April 17th he disturbed a flock of about

200 birds, obviously migrating, in a dry rice field near St. Thomas’ Mount.

In neither case, however, do specimens appear to have been obtained in confir-

mation of the identification and yellow wagtails are notoriously difficult to tell

both in the field and in the cabinet.

[Motacilla citreola citreola Pallas.

The New Fauna (vol. iii, p. 274) states that this race (or M. c. werae which

at that time Mr. Stuart Baker did not recognise) occurs as far south as Tra-

vancore and Madras. It may do so and the species certainly occurs in Hydera-

bad State and is recorded in N. Kanara. The only record for the Presidency,

which I can trace however, is an old skin of M. c. werae marked ‘Madras

Jerdon’ in the British Museum and this is perhaps hardly sufficient to justify

the inclusion of the Yellow-headed Wagtail in the Presidency list as yet.].

Dendronanthus indicus (Gmelin).

Motacilla indica Gfmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. ii (1789), p. 962 — India.1

The statement, given currency in both editions of the Fauna, that the

Forest Wagtail is found in winter in India east of a line between- the Sutlej

Valley and the Gulf of Cambay' is very misleading. The Sutlej valley is evi-

dently based on Stoliczka’s record (J.A.S.B., 1868) that he had shot the

bird in April near Koteghar in the Simla Hills. This must however have been

a straggler as there is no other published record in Northern India west of

Darbhunga where Inglis obtained a single bird, also evidently a straggler,

on 1st October 1913 (J.B.N.H.S., xxii, p. 625). South of Koteghar and Dar-

bhunga I can trace no other definite record until Mahableshwar (Fairbank)

and the Godavery valley (Blanford) are reached and it seems probable that

this species, like others, must reach its winter quarters in Southern India and

Ceylon by way of the Eastern Ghats or the Andamans. It was not, however,

procured by the Survey.

In the Madras Presidency, the Forest Wagtail is only recorded on the eastern

side by Jerdon, who says that he met it in hig garden at Nellore, and twice

at Madras by Dewrar. On the west it is better known.

In Coorg, according to Betts, it is a well distributed winter migrant though

never very numerous. His earliest date for it was October 16th. In the

Wynaad and the Nilgiris William Davison says that it is general but rare.

Kinloch considered it quite a common bird in the Nelliampathies. There is as

yet no record for the Palnis but in the Travancore Hills, Bourdillon (S.F., iv,

401) recorded it as a winter visitor arriving soon after and staying nearly as

long as the Gray Wagtail — a description which proves not to be very precise.

(To be continued).

1 Based on Sonnerat with no precise locality. It must however refer to

either the Coromandel or Malabar Coasts.

THLGAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF THE MANIPUR

STATE WITH NOTES ON THEIR NUMBERS, MIGRATION

AND HABITS.

BY

J. 0. Higgins, i.c.s.

Part III.

( Continued from page 606 of this volume.)

Snipes.

Both the Eantail and the Pintail Snipe visit Manipur in large

numbers, between August and May. The best year’s bag recorded

is that of 1926-27, when 5,900 were shot. Good days were: —

The bag of 221 (142 Eantail, 72 Pintail, 6 Jack, 1 Wood) was

made round the edge and on islands on the Loktak lake, at the

Christmas shoot of 1927 : that of 212 (161 Eantail, 49 Pintail,

2 Painted, with 26 Golden Plover and 1 Black Partridge) on graz-

ing grounds, after a sudden rise of the rivers had flooded all the

bits and driven out the snipe : the bag of 210 (192 Eantail, 18 Pin-

tail, with 1 Garganey) was made in newly transplanted paddy:

those of 208 (205 Eantail and 3 Pintail, with 1 Golden Plover)

and 204 (193 Eantail and 11 Pintail, with 1 Golden Plover) on a

bil covered with dhup grass, with pools and patches of open mud,

interspersed with clumps of low reedy grass and a water plant

locally known as chaokhong. I do not know the scientific name

of this plant : it has a small red flower and, when dead, a black

jointed stem, and snipe are very fond of lying in it. On September

28tli, 1929, my shikaris, who live on the edge of this bil, told

me I could get 50 couple there. I went out next day, shot 167,

and ran out of cartridges. On October 2nd, I went out again,

and found the birds just as numerous. But unfortunately a strong-

wind got up in the afternoon and made them very wild: but for

that I should have gone near 150 couple. In 1930, another gun

and I bagged 143 birds on the same bit on October 4th. On

October 8th I returned and shot 204, though the birds were not

quite so numerous as in the previous year. On October 12th,

two guns bagged 100 over the same ground. In 1931. however,

the water was too high when the Fantail migration was taking

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

846

The Woodcock ( Scolopax rusticola rusticola) — Manipuri— sabal

kaodruk (not kangdruk, as in Finn1 and Baker,2 which is the

Painted Snipe).

The Woodcock is a regular winter visitor to Manipur, where

it is found in small wooded streams at the foot of the hills sur-

rounding the valley, and also in suitable thickets in the large

gardens which surround the houses of the inhabitants, especially

when a stream flows through the village. I have seen Woodcock

on four occasions in the Residency garden, in the middle of the

town of Imphal. The earliest recorded was shot on November

11th (1916). One was reported on August 4th of the same year,

but of this I am very doubtful. Another, reported on October 14th,

1930, was probably really a Woodcock, as my informant was very

reliable. The latest I have shot were two birds on April 5th,

1930, but Colonel A. E. Woods, who was then Political Agent,

noted in his tour diary that he shot three on April 17th, 1903, and

two next day. It is just possible that these may have been Wood

Snipe, as the localities from which they were obtained harbour

both species, and I have known the Wood Snipe to be claimed

as a Cock before now. But on the other hand, I think there is

no doubt that the Woodcock does stay in Manipur till the end of

April. A Manipuri, in whose village the Woodcock is a regular

visitor and who is very familiar with the bird, having regularly

given me hhubber of them several years, reported having

seen one in his village on April 29th, 1932, and another in a

? Fauna of British India, vol. vi, p. 252,

1 Op. c it . , p. 92.

847 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

neighbouring village on the following day. When I went to look

for them on May 2nd, they had disappeared. A bird reported on

June 14th, 1925, was probably not a Woodcock at all. I do not

think the Woodcock breeds in Manipur. My shikaris, on hearsay

evidence, used to declare that it did. But although I offered a

reward for birds, nests or eggs in the breeding season, they failed

to produce them, and now admit that it is improbable that it does

breed in the valley. It is possible that it may breed in the sur-

rounding hills, which run up to nearly 10,000 ft. in places.

The best years recorded are 1927-28 and 1928-29, when 29 were

shot, and 1930-31, which yielded 41. They were plentiful in the

latter year, and upwards of 50 could have been bagged, if several

regular guns had not been on tour in the hills for part of February

and most of March. The best day’s bag was made on January

30th, 1931, when I shot 7 in a chain of Manipuri villages, and

saw an eighth at which I did not get a shot. Five have been bagged

on three occasions.

Finn1 quotes Hume as saying that the Woodcock is ‘a sluggish

flyer and easily shot’. This is true of the very rare occasions on

which he comes out into the open, though I once saw a very fair

shot miss, probably out of sheer astonishment, when two got up

literally at his feet in a field of frozen turnips. He had every

reason to be surprised, for what they were doing there, at least

half a mile from the nearest wood, is a mystery. But a bird that

is twisting through the trees, whether driven across a narrow

ride in a wood in England or flushed from a stream or swamp in

an Indian jungle, is a very fair mover and remarkably easy to

miss. But the village Woodcock in Manipur is not so difficult

as the wild one, except for the fact that one has to be continually

on the watch not to bag one of the numerous spectators as well

as or instead of the bird. From constant association with man,

it is reasonably tame and flies from one thicket or clump of bamboos

to another, usually settling not very far away. In fact, I have

known a bird to be shot the seventh time it was flushed. But with

its uncertain flight, dodging between houses and through hedges,

it often gives the unexpected sporting shots which make it so

interesting to pursue.

Baker2 refers to the Woodcock as ‘rather, a stupid bird and an

easy prey to trappers’. This it is in the Manipuri villages, where

I have not uncommonly heard of them being knocked down with

a stick. I have on several occasions seen them running along a

hedge or ditch in a, village, and once saw a bird, flushed by beat&rs,

settle on a high mud wall.

The Wood Snipe ( Gcupella nemoricola) — Manipuri, che-klaobi

amiuba (‘the black snipe’).

The question to what -extent the Wood Snipe migrates, if at all,

does not seem to have been satisfactorily settled. Baker3 says of

1 Op. cit., p. 92.

Game~Bifds of India , Burma " and Ceylon , vol. ii, p 32

3 Op; cit., p. 50. 1

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

848

it that ‘it will probably be found that its migrations are of a very

local character and it would not surprise me to find that over the

greater portion of its habitat it is a permanent resident’. The

earliest bird recorded in Manipur was shot on September 9th, 1931,

and the latest on May 12 (1932). But only 6 have been shot

in September and 4 in May. The bird shot on May 12th was very

probably migrating, as it was in very poor condition and appeared

to weigh little if any more (I did not actually weigh it) than the

very fat Pintail snipe shot on the same day. The percentages of

this species shot in the various months of the season are : —

The high percentage of March is due to the fact that a number

of Wood Snipe are bagged out partridge shooting in damp patches

of grass at the foot of the hills. Baker1 quotes the late Colonel

A. Wilson, 8th Gurkha Bifles, as having found ‘many Wood

Snipes’ in May, in a glen of the Manipur valley on the east. I

have never found or heard of more than an odd one in that month,

though they are comparatively common in April. But this does

not prove that they do not exist in the valley in May, as the

scarcity of snipe and the difficulty of moving over the roads after

April reduce shooting to a minimum. As in the case of the

Woodcock, the shikaris formerly used to declare that the Wood

Snipe bred in Manipur. But the offer of a reward has never pro-

duced bird, nest or eggs, and they have come to the conclusion

that it does not breed.

Baker2 quotes Damant as saying that the Wood Snipe was

‘common in Manipur’, on the strength, of having shot 5 in a morn-

ing. But Damant was only speaking relatively, in comparison with

other localities. Wilson bagged 8 on October 2nd, 1896, and

could have killed more: but although I have shot frequently in

the neighbourhood of his camp, I have never been able to identify

the ‘Choonbutti’ to which he refers (there are numerous lime-kilns

in those parts), nor have I ever seen more than an occasional

Wood Snipe. Good days in the past twenty years have been : —

12-11-16

14-12-29

28-12-24

18-3-28

8-2-29

6

5

“ Op. cit., p. 50,

Op. cit., p. 51,

849 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The total bag of Wood Snipe since 1911 is only 207, the best

year being 1929-80, when 25 were shot.

The description given by Baker1 of the Wood Snipe’s flight as

‘slow and owlish’ is an excellent one, and they are very easy to

shoot. Finn2 refers to it as being ‘always alone’, but this des-

cription may have been borrowed from Hume, who qualifies it by

saying that ‘it is always solitary (in the hills at any rate)’. In

the swamps and grassy valleys of Manipur the Wood Snipe not

infrequently occurs in pairs, and I have seen three or four get up

out of the same small patch of grass.

The Wood Snipe is inferior to the other snipes as a table bird.

The Eastern Solitary Snipe ( Gapella solitaria) — Manrpuri, chek-

laobi.

Baker3 does not record the Solitary Snipe as having been

obtained in Manipur, though he mentions Cachar on the west and

the Chin Hills on the south in its habitat. I have shot two, one

on December 20th, 1916, in the stony bed of a tributary of the

Manipur river in the south of the valley, at 2,700 ft., and the

other on February 7th, 1931, in a small stream in the north of

the valley, at 3,000 ft. I missed another in the latter stream,

almost in the same spot to a yard, three or four years ago. Mr.

A. Chrystall shot one in another small stream in the north of the

valley, at 3,200 ft., on December 14th, 1929. All these birds

were close to the foot of the hills. No others have been recorded,

but on April 3rd. 1929, my shikari reported having seen a large

light-coloured snipe in a bog in the valley at about 2,500 ft., distant

from the hills: this bird may have been a Solitary Snipe.

Baker4 quotes Hume as saying that this species and the Wood

Snipe may be ‘flushed within a short distance of each other’. I

shot a Wood Snipe this year almost to a yard where I shot the

Solitary Snipe in February, 1931.

Finn5 says that the Solitary Snipe breeds in the Chin Hills.

I have no information of its breeding in Manipur, where the hills

are higher, and which lies north of the Chin Hills.

The Common or Fantail Snipe ( Gapella gallinago gallinago) — -

Manipuri, cheklaobi (‘calling “chek” ’), not, as given by Baker,6

cheklonbi.

The description of the Fantail Snipe’s migration given by

Baker7 applies to Manipur: he says that ‘it arrives by twos and

threes at the end of August and by innumerable thousands in Sep-

tember and October ... In North-East India . . . few birds stay

after the middle of April, but a few are shot now and then even

in May’. The inward migration does not really begin until Sep-

tember is well in, and the crest of the wave is reached in the last

week of that month and the first of October, when the largest bags

1 Op. cit., p. 53,

3 Op. cit., p. 39.

5 Op. cit., p. 83.

7 Op. cit., p. 260.

“ Op. cit,, p. 83.

4 Op. cit., p. 43.

• Fauna of British India , vol. vi, p. 259.

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

850

are made. Many of the birds must pass on, as they become much

scarcer in the cold weather, returning again, but in far smaller

numbers, in the spring. The earliest recorded was shot on August

16th, 1931, and my shikari reported having seen one (probably

the same bird) on the previous day: but they are very rare in

August, only 12 having been shot in that month since 1911. They

are found in April, in the proportion to the Pintail of about 1 to 4,

but fade away rapidly after the middle of the month. In May

they are scarce: 134 have been shot since 1911, of which number

exactly half were bagged in one extraordinary day. The last

recorded shot was bagged on May 20th, 1917. Five reported by

my shikari on June 4th, 1929, may not have been pricked birds,

but another seen on June 27th, 1932, and one shot by Colonel

Goodall on July 9th, 1930, almost certainly were. The last men-

tioned had been seen in the same place once or twice in June.

The relative numbers of the Fantail and the Pintail are discussed

by Baker1 in his chapter on the latter bird. He quotes Blanford

as saying that ‘in Assam, Sylhet, Cachar and throughout Burma,

Gallinago stenura is the snipe of the country’. This is, on the whole,

incorrect of Manipur, where the relative proportions-, calculated on

a total of upwards of 56,000 birds killed, are almost exactly 3 Fan-

tails to 2 Pintails. But, as Baker2 points out, the ‘number of

Pintail compared with Fantail varies very greatly in accordance

with seasons’. In the years 1918-19, 1921-22 and 1923-24 the bag

of Pintails exceeded that of Fantails. The table below compares

the numbers and percentages of Fantails and Pintails shot in each

month since 1911 (the year from which the classification of the

snipes began) : —

1 Game Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon, vol. ii, p. 91, -

5 Op. clt. , p. 91,

851 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

This bears out Baker’s1 statement that ‘to the east the Pintail

predominates enormously during the early and late periods of its

stay’ — August, early September, and April.

The best year’s bag of Fantail Snipe is 3,602, in 1927-28, and

the best month’s 1765, in October, 1926. Good days were: —

Twenty- three other bags of between 100 and 150 (exclusive of

Pintail) have been recorded. On May 1st, 1927, Colonel Goodall

and I shot 67 Fantail and 14 Pintail — an extraordinary large bag,

both of snipe generally and Fantail Snipe in particular, for the

time of year.

Baker,2 discussing the vexed question as to whether the Fantail

is harder to shoot at home than in India, definitely and rightly

decides that it is, on account of it being wilder and also flying-

faster in Europe. Finn3 supports him, saying they ‘afford easier

shots in India’. Nearly all the snipe I have seen at home are

very much wilder than the Indian bird. Baker records an

orderly having caught a snipe in his hand, and one of my Labradors

caught one which had certainly not been wounded that (lay. Such

a thing is, I think, impossible at home. I remember one winter

shooting in water meadows, with snow on the ground and all the

pools covered with ice, when we saw between 50 and 100 snipe

and never succeeded in getting near enough to them to get one

single- shot, though we bagged some mallard and teal. Another

factor in favour of Indian shooting is the light, which is very seldom

as dull as it often is at home : a bright sunny day (if not too

hot) makes birds very much easier to hit, Irrespective of the fact

that they may also be rising closer and flying more slowly.

Another point discussed by the authorities, and with far less

unanimity, is whether it is better to shoot at snipe as they rise,

or to let them get well on the wing. Both Baker4 and Finn5 agree

that it is a matter of individual taste and habit. Without pre-

suming to the skill of either Mr. Cornish or Mr. E. B. Baker,

I personally incline towards letting them have it as soon as possible,

especially if they are on the wild side. But you will miss a lot

of birds both ways.

Finn6 quotes Colonel Tickell as saying that snipe like ‘puddles

coated over with a film of irridescent oily matter’. In Manipur

I have found exactly the reverse, and snipe definitely seem to

dislike dirty water of this kind.

1 Op cit., p. 92.

4 Op. cit., p. 70.

s Op. cit., p. 67.

5 Op. cit,, p. 78.

3 Op. cit., p. 78.

6 Op, cit., p. 77,

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR

852

Radde’s Snipe or The Eastern Fantail Snipe

raddii ) .

(Oapella gallinago

There is no record of this species having been shot in Manipur,

though it probably occurs. I have noticed Fantails with peculiarly

white under- wings, but have never had the patience to examine my

bags closely and systematically for subspecies.

The Pintail Snipe (Gapella stenura) — Manipuri, cheklaobi.

The Pintails begin to arrive at the very beginning of August

and sometimes in July. The earliest shot was on August 2nd

(1930), and in the past 7 years some have been bagged annually

before August 10th. The shikaris often report odd birds towards

the end of July, and in 1926 my shikaris and others reported

having seen several as early as the 18th and 19th July. I

myself saw a bird on July 20th, 1912, and chased it for a con-

siderable distance, but I cannot swear to it being a Pintail. One

shot on July 5th, 1932, by Captain Bulfield, was presumably a

late stayer and not an early arrival, as was another reported on

July 13th, 1932. The latest recorded were shot on May 24th, 1919.

The shikaris had reported seeing about 30 two days previously,

after heavy rain. The distribution of the bag among the different

months of the season has been recorded above in the note on

the Fanfcail Snipe.

The best year’s bag of Pintail was in 1931-32, when 2,381

were shot: this was an excellent year for them, especially in

the spring, April yielding 723. The best month’s bag was 864

in September, 1926. Good days were: —

18-4-32

20-4-19

8-9-26

27-4-19

11-4-24

142

132

107

106

103

On December 28th, 1927, 72 were shot — a large bag for the

time of year. But 10 guns were out.

The Pintail’s readiness to settle on dry ground as well as

in wet, remarked upon by Baker1 and Finn,2 is very noticeable in

Manipur. The Fantail is essentially a bird of the bils, though

when it first comes in it settles on the wet grazing grounds with

the Pintails, if the water in the bils is too high. The Pintail starts

in the grazing grounds at the end of the rains, is found in the

cold weather in gardens, streams, small wet patches in the paddy

stubbles near the foot of the hills, and dry bogs containing pools.

In April it is found in the bogs, wet and dry.

Baker3 recounts how a friend of his was able to distinguish

with certainty between the Fantail and the Pintail on the wing.

I have never succeeded in doing so, except when the bird turns

1 Op. eit., pp. 96, 97. 2 Op. pit., p. 80,

Op. cit., p. 102.

S53 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

so as to expose the underside of the wing. But my shikari never

makes a mistake, and says that he distinguishes them by the

difference in the call, but more surely by the flight, the Fantail ’s

wing movements being swifter than the Pintail’s. This goes to

confirm the opinions of Hume, Stuart and Parker, quoted by

Baker. Hume is certainly correct in saying that the Pintail’s

flight is ‘less zigzaggy’ than that of the Fantail, and I am inclined

to think it is more silent.

I join issue with Baker1 and Finn2 as to which is the better

table bird. The Pintail, I have always found, gets into condi-

tion far more rapidly than the Fantail, and shares with the Gar-

ganey Teal the quality of possessing a thick layer of fat between

the skin and the breast, with which it bastes itself. I always

pick the Pintail out of the bag for the house.

Swinhoe’s Snipe ( Capella megala).

Like Badde’s Snipe, this species probably occurs occasionally

in a place where snipe are as plentiful as they are in Manipur,

and where several of the more easterly species occur as stragglers.

But it has not been recorded, and here again the reason is doubt-

less to be found in the fact that no one has taken the trouble

to examine their bags with sufficient care.

The Jack Snipe ( Lymnocryptes minima ) — Manipuri, cheklaobi.

Of the migration of the Jack Snipe, Baker3 says that it

‘possibly arrives a little later than the Fantail and never stays

quite as late as the latest Fantails or Pintails’. In Manipur the

Jack arrives later and departs earlier than the Fantail, without any

doubt. The earliest record of Jack Snipe is one shot on Septem-

ber 24th, 1916, but this is the only occasion on which it has

been bagged in September, and it is far from common in October.

It again becomes increasingly rare in February and March, and

only 6 have been shot in April, the latest recorded having been

killed on April 11th, 1924. The percentages shot in the different

months of the season are : —

Baker4 says of its distribution that it is ‘very irregular and

not nearly as common as the Pintail or the Fantail’. This is

very true of Manipur, where the Jack Snipe is decidedly scarce,

having provided only 539 birds since 1911. or 96 per cent of the

2 Op. cit., p. 81, a Op. cit., p. 117,

1 Op. cit., p. 103.

4 Op. cit., p. lit).

GAME BIRDS AND ANIMALS OF MANIPUR 854

total snipe bag. As regards the irregularity of migration, com-

mented on by both Baker1 and Finn,2 it may be noted that the

Manipur bags vary from 1 in 1921-22 to 81 in 1915-16. The last

is the only year in which I have ever seen the Jack really plenti-

ful, and provided the only occasions on which anything approach-

ing a real bag of them was made. On January 2nd, 1916, two

guns shot 28 Jack, out of a bag of 75 birds, and on November

22nd, 1915, a bag of 40 snipe contained 17 Jack.

Baker3 has remarked on the Jack’s peculiar affection for cor-

ners and cover. In Manipur it is almost certain to be found in

bits where a certain dark green grass, some 1| ft. high, grows in

clumps and patches among the dhup grass and mud.

The Jack Snipe is, in my opinion, far superior to his bigger

cousins as a table bird.

The Painted Snipe ( Rostratula behgkalensis benghalensis ) —

Manipuri, hangdruh.

This species resides and breeds. It is not really plentiful, in

comparison with the migratory snipe, and is not so common in

Manipur as it is in parts of the Assam valley, though I have

seen ten to fifteen in one place. No large bags are made, as

they are not usually shot, except for the pot or by novices. The

best year’s bag is 103, in 1916-17.

(To be continued).

1 Op. cit., p. 112.

3 Op. cit., p. 117.

2 Op. cit., p. 87.

THE PALM CIVETS OR ‘TODDY CATS’ OF THE

GENERA PARADOXUEUS AND PAGUMA INHABITING

BRITISH INDIA,

BY

R. I. POCOCK, F.R.S.,

Unofficial Assistant of the British Museum ( Natural History).

Part I.

(With 2 text- figures).

Introduction.

This paper is based mainly upon the splendid collection of

skins, mostly measured in the fiesfi and dated., and skulls obtained

by the collectors employed by the Bombay Natural History

Society’s Mammal Survey of British India and by forest officers,

sportsmen and others interested in the project. Before this col-

lection came to hand, the material in the British Museum consisted

of a comparatively small number of unmeasured, generally un-

dated and frequently imperfectly localised skins, with skulls to

match.

For the identification of the old collection, including Hodgson’s

Nepalese specimens, Gray was responsible till 1869 when his Cata-

logue appeared. Blanford attempted a revision of Gray’s results

in 1885 and 1888; and in the early years of the Survey all the

specimens in the Museum at that time were examined and most

of them identified by Schwarz. Finally Wroughton, with most

of the Survey material in his hands, published in 1917 brief diag-

noses of the species he considered valid; and Fry determined sub-

sequent additions from Wroughton ’s paper. My conclusions set

forth in the following pages differ very materially from those of

my predecessors, especially, I regret to say, from Blanford ’s.1

The Palm Civets here dealt with are the dominant members

of a compact subfamily of the Viverridae , the Paradoxurinae , which

comprises in addition the Binturong ( Arctictis ) and a rare genus

from Celebes, Macrogalidia. They differ essentially from the Civet

Cats or Viverrinac , described in my previous paper (Journ. Bomb.

Nat. Hist. Soc ., xxxvi, pp. 423-449 and pp. 629-656, 1933), in

being short-legged, more plantigrade species, adapted to scanso-

riial habits with well developed pads behind the plantar pad on

the feet for grasping the branches of trees after the manner of

bears. The perfume glands also are very differently and less ela-

1 Even with the small amount of material at his disposal Blanford made

many puzzling mistakes. His statement that the South Indian Palm Civet,

he named niger, has no pattern, when there were specimens in the Museum

showing it very manifestly, is a case in point. But a perusal of his monograph

of 1885 enforces the conclusion that his disapproval, if not personal dislike, of

Gray biased his judgment, urging him to set aside on any pretext the conclu-

sions of that author, an earlier reviser of the group, even when probably correct.

Gray, for instance, rightly in my opinion, assigned the name hermaphroditus

to the common South Indian form. But Blanford, for no good reason, trans-

ferred it to the Malayan and Sumatran form and his decision on that point

has been accepted to the present time.

THE PALM CIVETS OR TODDY CATS'

856

borately constructed, consisting in the male of a large area of naked

skin in front of the scrotum and surrounding the prepuce in front

and in the female of a similar but smaller naked area with the vulva

near its centre.

The two genera Paradoxurus and Paguma may be at once dis-

tinguished by the following cranial characters : —

a. Skull of adult, especially of the. male, deeply constricted

behind the frontal or postorbital processes forming

a conspicuous ‘waist’ narrower than the interorbital

area and abruptly expanding into the swollen part of

the cranium behind it ; palate only produced to a com-

paratively small extent beyond the teeth; the mesop-

terygoid area relatively much longer and narrower ... Paradoxurus.

a'. Skull without pronounced constriction behind the post-

orbital processes, the ‘waist’ about as wide as the

interorbital area and gradually expanding into the

cranium behind it ; the palate considerably produced

beyond the last molar; the mesopterygoid area rela-

tively short and broad ... ... ... Paguma.

Genus: paradoxurus, Cuv. & Geoffx,

Paradoxurus , E. Cuvier & Geoffroy St. Hilaire, Hist. Nat.

Mamm., pt. xxiv, p. 5, 1821 (type typus Cuv. & Geoffr. = herma-

phrodita, Schreber).

Platychista, Otto, Nov. Act. Acad. Caes. Leop., xvii, p. 1089,

1835; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 531, (type pallasi Otto =

hermaphrodita, Schreber).

Bondar , Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 531, (type bondar

Desm.).

Macrodus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 536, (type macro dus

Gray).

Distribution : Ceylon, Peninsular India, the Himalayas from

Kashmir to Assam, thence eastwards and southwards to China and

throughout the countries and islands of S.-E. Asia as far as the

Philippines, Borneo and the Moluccas.

It is needless to repeat the characters of this genus given

above; but the systematic part of the paper may be preceded by

some observations of general interest on the skins and skulls of the

British Indian races mainly collected by the Survey.

The Coat-change, its dates and effects.

The coat-change has a profound effect upon the general appearance of

the skins, in some races more than others, and has been the cause apparently

of erroneous identification of specimens and of confusion in synonymies. The

coat consists of two elements, shorter underwool of varying length and long

stiffer hairs always longer than the wool and when the latter is short lying

smoothly over it and concealing it. These longer hairs,' when fresh and un-

bleached, are black to a very variable extent at the tip, sometimes through-

out, but most of them are pale below the tip, the pale portions being very

frequently crinkled or wavy and hardly distinguishable from the underwool

where they emerge from it.1 The pale areas of the long hairs and the outer

1 In the measurements of the coats given below, always in millimetres, the

approximate mean length of the hairs is taken, not the length of the very

longest, from the skin; the wool is similarly measured from the skin approxi-

mately to the distal portion of the pale areas of the hairs , although the wool

itself does not in all cases reach that level.

85 7 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

portion of the wool may vary individually in the same race from silvery , grey

to oohreous buff; but on the back and flanks there are typically definite areas

where the hairs and the wool are blackish throughout. These dark areas

stand out as a pattern of black stripes on the back and of spots on the

flanks, sometimes also on the thighs, shoulders and nape, in contrast to the

pale or coloured areas which separate or surround them. But the contrast

is sometimes superficially dimmed, in rare cases nearly entirely obliterated,

when the hairs of the intervening spaces have the tips so extensively black-

ened as almost to conceal the light areas below. In one race, identified as

bondai , the pattern of the complete winter coat may be purely superficial and

formed by the linear confluence of the black tips of the long hairs so that it

is readily disarranged. 1

The pattern is most in evidence in specimens in which the long hairs have

been moulted and the skin is covered with a new coat of short, soft hair.

Specimens undergoing coat-change are very difficult to determine because the

colour, pattern and texture of the coat all alter; but the Survey fortunately

procured in most instances skins from different localities in complete coat,

enabling me to make use of the winter pelage as a distinguishing racial

character.

Both the under- wool and the hairs are moulted, but not simultaneously.

There is, however, no available series of skins collected in one district through-

out the year to show the precise details and sequence of the coat-changes

and the months of their incidence; and there are still many puzzling features

connected with the phenomenon. All that can at present be stated is that

as a general rule ‘summer’ skins collected from May to October are in poorer

coat than those collected in December and March, and that in March the

coats are usually at their best and begin to deteriorate in the following

month, although the long hairs of the winter coat, harsh and often faded,

may persist till summer is well advanced.

Phases of the moult are exhibited by the following specimens : —

1. Singar Gaya, 1,400 ft., in the Patna Division of Bengal, May 21

(Crump). The coat on the back consists in the main of only long, coarse hairs,

the underwool being negligible in quantity, just sufficient to show faint traces

of pattern lierq and there; on the tail, however, the long hairs have mostly dis-

appeared except at the base and tip, the rest being clothed with short, smooth,

apparently new hair. This skin shows that the underwool is moulted before

the long hairs of the winter coat are shed.

2. Kangra, 2,000 ft., skin of an adult Q, dated March 28’ (Wells).

The neck, shoulders and fore-back are clothed with a short, close coat of soft

greyish-white new hair showing a very distinct normal pattern at the base of

the scanty long hairs which still persist on these areas ; but on the hind-back

and rump there is practically no underwool and the long hairs are here more

abundant than forwards. This skin seems to represent the phase of coat-

change succeeding the phase represented by the skin from Singar Gaya ; but

the date must, I think, be wrong especially as a number of additional skins

from Kangra, all dated March, are in full winter coat.

3. Nepal Tarai. An undated skin, the type of strictus Horsfield, appar-

ently exhibits a stage following that of the Kangra skin. The whole of the

dorsal surface is covered with short, close, soft grey hair with a strongly-

contrasted pattern, a few long, coarse, dead and partly bleached hairs still

being in place on the neck, shoulders, hind-back and rump.

4. Skins from Guna in Gwalior, October 26; Makut, S. Coorg, Janu-

ary 11; Udugama, S. Ceylon, April 28; and Madras, undated, are in general

appearance very like the skin from Nepal, except that the long hairs are more

abundant on the fore-quarte.rs and the short, soft coat is longer on the

hind-back and rump, where there are practically no long hairs, the pattern

here being strongly pronounced.

5. Bahgownie in Darbanga, Upper Bengal. One skin, July 28, has

the coat composed mostly of long greyish white wool, with the long coarse

hairs considerably thinned out, especially on the neck, shoulders and rump,

the pattern being rather obscure. Another, September 6, is very similar in

appearance but the long hairs are apparently new, being shorter and softer.

6. Sagaing in Upper Burma, July 9 and 13, three skins with the

underwool scanty or absent but the long hairs, apparently of the winter coat,

THE PALM CIVETS OR ‘ TODDY CATS’

$58

retained mostly but moulted in one skin on part of the fore quarters which

is clothed with soft new grey fur showing the pattern.

The Breeding Season.

The record by Taylor of a kitten, supposed to be a month or two old but

still with its mother, being brought to him in Khondmals in May suggests

that it was born in March or April; but the skins of several adult females in

the British Museum attest by the appearance of the mammary areas, the

teats being large and isolated by the nakedness of the surrounding

skin, that the young are suckled between the autumn and the spring. The

dates and localities of these skins are as follows: — September 15, Rajputana;

Dharwar, November 3 and December 8; S. Coorg, January 11; N. Kanara,

February 9; Hazaribagh, March 8; Kangra, March 28. On the other hand

adult or nearly adult female skins collected on April 30, S. Ceylon, on July

25 and 27 and August 25 in tha Eastern Ghats, show no indication of suckling

young, the teats being small and concealed by hair. But in the case of the

Burmese race a skin from Lower Chindwin, June 4, and three from Sagaing,

July 9 and 13, attest suckling of young in mid summer. Possibly there are

two litters in the course of the year.

All the above mentioned females have three pairs of teats and I have never

succeeded in finding more or fewer than that number in Paradoxurus despite

Hodgson’s statement that a female he named hirsutus: had only two pairs, like

Paguma. The anterior pair, however, is always the smallest and often diffi-

cult to detect. Probably Hodgson overlooked it.

Age and Order of the Tooth-change.

As in other members of the Viverridce, the milk-teeth of the Palm Civets

aro retained until the animal has reached almost full size. An example of this

is supplied by the specimen, collected at Mingun near Mandalay by Major

Harrington, of which the flesh and skull measurements are given below. That

the change sets in eight or nine months after birth is suggested by the skull

and by Mr. J. Taylor’s account of the type of nictitans, which was brought

to him as a kitten in May 1891 at Khondmals in Orissa, when it was judged

to be a month or two old. He kept it alive for seven months, until November.

Its skull in the British Museum is only 10 mm. shorter in condylo-basal

length than the skull of an almost adult (J from the same locality. It has

its full complement of milk-teeth except that pm2 of the upper jaw has been

pushed out by the corresponding tooth of the permanent set of which nearly

the entire crown projects beyond the bone. The only other tooth of the per-

manent set exposed is m1 of the upper jaw of which the entire crown, but

not fully erupted, is displayed behind pm4 of the milk set. The shedding

of this latter tooth was, however, imminent. In the lower jaw the teeth are

more backward, none of the permanent set being up, m1 has split the bone

although it was still covered by gum, and the point of pw2 is just showing

beneath the corresponding milk tooth. From these facts it seems probable

that the tooth-change in Paradoxurus is completed when the animal is about

a year old.

A young skull from Tenasserim is in exactly the same condition as regards

the tooth-change of the upper jaw as the skull from Orissa; but the lower

jaw is more advanced, pw2 being fully up and m, just through the bone.

From the skulls examined, it seems that pm2 and m1, above and below, are the

first of the permanent set to come into use; of the premolars upper pm3 and

lower pm4 are the last to cut; lower m2 is a little behind or a little before

pm4 and upper m2 is the last of all to appear.

Descriptions of the Species and Subspecies.

The three species of Paradoxurus, here admitted, inhabiting

British India, may be distinguished as follows : —

a. Hair on neck reversed in growth directed forwards

up to the head; pattern absent or evanescent.

a1 A little smaller, colour paler brown to greyish brown,

facial vibrissae buffish white: skull with smaller teeth

and short prepalatine foramina ... zeylonensis.

6

839- : JOURNAL, BOMBA Y- NATURA L BIST r -SOCIETY , Vol. XXXV 1

uJ X ' little- larger,'' colour dark brown to; grizzled black,

vibrissse black-; " skull' with larger -teeth ' and

exceptionally long prepalatine foramina . ... jerdoni.

. b . Hair on neck normal in growth, directed backwards;

pattern typically strongly pronounced; prepalatine for-

■ ' arnina not lengthened ... ... ... hermaphroditus.

Paradoxuru s zeylonensis, Scb rebel*.

. . Viverra" zeylonensis (Pall.) Schrebcr, Sang., iii, p. 451, 1777;

changed to zeylanica by Gmelin, Syst. Nat., ed. xiii, i, p. 89,

1788. -

Paradox urns zeylanicus, Ivelaart, Prodr. Faun. Zeylon., p. 39,

1852; Blytli, Journ. As. Soc. Beng., 'xx,~ pp. 161 and 184, 1852.

Paradoxurus zeylonensis, Blanf., Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 612.

V Paradox urns aureus, Cuvier, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. ix,

pi 48, pi. 4, 1822; Blanf., Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885; p. 782, id. Fauna

Brit, lnd., Mam m., p. 110, 1888; and of subsequent authors.

Paradoxurus zeylanicus var.. fuse us or mont anus, Kelaart.

Prodr. Faun. Zeylon, p. 40, 1852; montanus, Blvth, Journ. .Is. Soc.

Beng., xx, pp. 161 and 184, 1852.

Locality of - type of zeylonensis, Schr. ( = zeylanica Gm.) : '

Ceylon.

Locality of type of aureus, Cuvier: unknown.

Locality of type of fuscus or montanus, Kelaart: Newera •

Eliya, Ceylon.

0 Distribution: Ceylon; said to be found only in. the hills.

Note on the synonymy. The original specimen of this species

was from Ceylon. as recorded by Pallas, who sent the description of T

it to - Schrebcr for publication. Gmelin epitomised this descrip-

tion but altered the name to . zeylanica, this inadmissible emend-

ation being accepted .by. Kelaart and Blythe.. In June. 1885.. Blanf orcLo

adopted Kelaart ’s decision, but quite- "rightly took Schrebcr ’s-

older name and quoted the species as Paradoxurus zeylonensis.

Eive months later, however, lie changed liis opinion because

Sclireber’s description did not exactly fit the specimens with which

he x was acquainted . He candidly admitted being unable to sa\

to- what Ceylonese, Carnivore the description of zeylonensis

applied, if not .to the Brown Palm Civet ; but he evaded that

difficulty by assuming the locality to be wrong, and chose Cuvier’s

name aureus based on a young specimen from. an unknown country!

It is not unlikely that Cuvier’s specimen came, from Ceylon, al-

though the only young example of the Brown Ceylonese species I

have seen is bloYynish grey not golden brown like Cuvier’s. I can

find ho good reasons for dissenting from Kelaart ’s identification of

this species. Pallas described his specimen as grey overspread

with brown, paler below, blackish on the hinder part of the back

and tail, the vibrissae being white. This description does not .suit

the few examples in the British Museum at the time Blanf ord

wrote , liis revision of the Palm Civets in -November 1885 and

860

The palm civets or 'Toddy cats'

summarised in his volume in 1888; but- specimens subsequently

procured through the Survey show that the colour is much more

variable than Blanford’s descriptions suggest, varying * as enumer-

ated below, from grey tinged with brown to a deep rich brown,

with sometimes a dark blackish tinge on the back and upper side

of the tail.

The name fuscus ( mont&kus ) was given by Kelaart to a

supposedly darker variety from Newera Eliya.

Description: The hair in front of the shoulders radiating from

two whorls and growing forwards along the nape and sides of the

neck to the head;, on the throat also it grows forwards, radiating

from a single median whorl. General colour above usually toler-

ably uniformly paler or darker brown, with the pattern on the

back obsolete or represented by faint stripes and spots on the

body; the limbs much the same tint as the body, the> belly a little

paler, the tail and face noticeably paler buffy grey and the face

without grey markings; the vibrissae dirty white. Occasionally,

perhaps always in young specimens, grey is dominant over the

brown even on the upper side.

The following skins are in the British Museum: —

1. An adult 9 from Newara Eliya (Ivelaart, No. 520. 5. 9.

18) is tolerably uniformly ochreous' or golden brown above, a trifle

paler below but with the tail and face noticeably greyer, the cheeks

buffy grey, the vibrissae dirty white; a few stripes on the back

just traceable; the coat is full and moderately long. W'

2. A younger unsexed specimen from the same locality

and donor {No* 52. 5. 9. 17), the type' of fuscus ( montanus ), is

very like the last but has the coat longer and is decidedly darker, a

deeper, more rusty brown with pattern not traceable. In these

two skins the younger is the darker of the two, whereas, according

to Blyth who had two living examples received from Kelaart, the

colour gradually darkened with age.

3. ‘Ceylon’ (White, No. 77. 11. 1. 3.) Adult cf, not so

full in the coat as Kelaart ’s specimens and less richly tinted than

the paler of the two, the flanks- especially being greyer; and the

pattern slightly better defined ; the tips of the long hairs of the

upper side greyish buff and lustrous.

4. The same history (No. 77. 11. 1. 4.). A subadult a*,

a little paler than the last.

The difference in tint between Nos. 1 and 4 is very marked,

ranging from rather rich ochreous brown to buffy brown; but the

gradation between them supplied by 2 and 3 is complete.

5. A young 8 from Mousakande, Gammaduwa, 3,000 ft..

C.P., September 24 (W. W. A. Phillips; No. 27. 11. 28. 1), has a

thicker, softer coat than the others and is darker even) than No. 1,

the deep brown hue being more sepia in tint and less rusty dr

ochreous, the hairs of the flanks ha; ving lustrous tips, while those

of the back have very deep brown tips especially on the croup

whence a sharply defined dark band runs along the . summit of

the tail, the hawer side of the tail being noticeably grey and the

belly greyer than in Nos. 1 to 4.

861 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol XXxVI

6. An immature specimen with the same history (No. 27.

11. 28. 2) is grey with a brownish tinge above and quite grey

below. Except that this specimen does not exhibit the ‘blackish’

hairs on the hind-back and tail, it agrees closely in colour with

Schreber’s description of the type of zeylonensis. But the older

specimen, No. 5, from the same locality is noticeably more heavily

pigmented on those areas.

7. An adult 9> the condition of the three pairs of teats

suggesting the weaning of young, from Maha Oya, E. P., August

12 (E. W. Mayor), has apparently a somewhat faded coat, as if

the moult was imminent, dull greyish brown without any rufous,

ochreous or buff hue and the belly is greyer than in Kelaart ’s

and Whyte’s specimens. The tail has a white tip and there is

a white patch on the hind-belly.

8. An adult 8 from Lipton’s Tea Estate, Koslanda, S.

Ceylon (W. P. Lowe), March 25, is intermediate in tint between

the dark brown Gammadum and the pale brown Maha Oya speci-

mens but the tail becomes* gradually whiter from the base to the

point and the coat is fuller and larger than in the example from

Maha Oya, about 38 mm.

The flesh-measurements in English inches and the weights of

this specimen and of the larger sent by Phillips are entered in the

following table with the data supplied by Kelaart: —

Of the skulls represented by the skins above described, one of

the two received from Kelaart consists of the jaws only and is

that of an old female with the teeth much worn; the other, the

type of his var. fuscus or montanus , is immature,. Of the two

collected by Whyte, one (No. 77. 11. 1. 3) is fully adult, but is

obviously rickety and belonged no doubt to a specimen reared in

captivity; the other (No. 77. 11. 1. 4.), entered below, is a young

adult S • The skull of Mr. Phillips’ well coloured example from

Gammaduwa is S but not adult; the other is quite immature.

Finally, the skull procured by E. W. Mayor at Maha Oya is

that of a just adult- 9 •

THE PALM CIVETS OR 1 TODDY CATS'

862

The following are selected for measurement1 * : —

In English Inches. In Millimetres.

An interesting point connected with this table is the variations in

the size of the teeth. The first and last skulls on the list are

practically full sized. The postorbital processes are small in both

but both have a complete low sagittal crest.

The data are unsatisfactory. They show, however, that the

teeth are smaller than in the next species, jerdoni, that the single

adult 9 skull is decidedly smaller than the old 9 skull of that

species from the Nilgiri Hills, and that the young adult 3 is also

decidedly smaller than the young adult 3 from Trivandrum, al-

though subequal to the one from the Palni Hills. The measured

teeth, pm4 and m1, it may be added, have theiir inner lobes more

robust and less constricted than in Ceylonese and Indian examples

of kermaphroditus and in this respect are more like those teeth in

the large Burmese race ravus2

1 The skull-measurements in this paper are as follows: — ‘ Total length from

the occipital crest to the edge of the premaxillae; zygomatic width across

the_ arches at their widest point ; interorbital width the same in front of

the postorbial processes; maxillary width the muzzle just above the canine

teeth ; bulla the length of the inflated portion (entotympanic bone) including

the paroccipital process which clamps it behind; pm 4 the large upper, carnassal

tooth along its outer 'edge and across its anterior portion; m1 the large tooth

behind it along its outer edge and across its middle.

2 There are three skulls in the British Museum (Nos. 1036, b, c, d) named

P. aureus and received from the Zoological Society’s Museum in 1855 and

1858, without locality and without names, except that one is entered in the

register as Genetta. These are probably the skulls Gray referred to in his

Catalogue as possibly substantiating Kelaart’s claim to' the occurrence of two

varieties of this species in Ceylon. On the label of one of them Schwarz en-

dorsed its identification as aureus, X can find no reason for thinking they

belong to that species.

863 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Paradoxurus jerdoni, Blanf.

Paradoxurus jerdoni, Blanf ord, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 618

and p. 802, pH 49; also 1886, p. 420; and of subsequent authors.

Locality of type : Kodaikanal in the Palni Hills.

Distribution : Southern India from Coorg to Travancore and

eastward to Madura.

Description : Resembling the Ceylonese species, P. zeylonensis,

in the reversal in growth of the hairs on the neck and throat but

a little larger and, although sometimes very similar in colour,

usually considerably darker and either deep brown all over or

brown or black with the back and flanks speckled with silvery or

buffy grey; the dorsal pattern is only occasionally just traceable

and the vibrissae are blackish, not rufescent as in zeylonensis .

Skull a little larger with markedly larger teeth, when unworn,

and with much longer anterior palatine foramina which extend

backwards beyond the posterior edge of the upper canines. In the

length of these foramina P. jerdoni differs from all the other species

of Paradoxurus ; but the length varies in adult skulls from 8 to

11 mm., being usually 9 mm., and shortens with age. In a very

old skull, with the teeth much worn, from Kateri in the Nilgiri

Hills, the length is only 6J mm., whereas in a young skull 21 mm.

shorter in total length, from Haleri, N. Coorg, the length of the

foramina is 7 mm. In other species, hermaphroditus and ze.ylonen-

sis, the foramina extend back approximately to the middle of the

canines and are from about 4 to 6 mm. long, varying in length

individually within subspecific limits (Pig. 2', A, B, p. 953).

Judging from the skins in the British Museum there appear to

be two distinguishable races of this speces differing as follows : —

a. Face uniformly coloured1 or with faint traces of grey-

tipped hairs; less grey on the body ... ... jerdoni.

b. Face with distinct grey pattern; more grey-tipped hairs

on body ... ... ... ... caniscus.

Subsp. jerdoni, Blanford.

Bibliographical references as above.

The type of this subspecies is a skin and skull in the British

Museum from Kodaikanal in the Palni Hills; but the skin is practi-

cally denuded of hair by moth, -a& recorded by Blanford who took

his description and illustration from an example collected by F.

Day probably in the Animallai Hills. Fortunately Mr. C. McCann

collected for the Survey three adult examples in the Palni Hills,

which enable the race to be adequately described. Their charac-

ters are as follows : —

Adult 9 > topotype of the race from the Pamber River,

Kodaikanal, 7,000 ft., May 16. The colour is uniformly dark

glossy brown all over, with ,some faint buffy speckling but no pat-

tern and the underwool is dark grey; the coat is long and thick.

Adult U from Tiger Shola, 5,600 ft., April 22. Differs from

the last in haying the head, forequarters and limbs blackish brown,

and the back behind the shoulders, the flanks and belly speckled

with clear grey, the base of the hairs on the proximal half of the

THE PALM CIVETS OR TODDY CATS'

864

tail brownish grey and a few grey- tipped hairs in front of the ears

with slight indications of grey speckling on the forehead and below'

the eyes.

Adult S from the same locality, 5,700 ft., April 27, is like

the last but rather more profusely grizzled on the body, with the

base of the hairs on the proximal portion of the tail yellower

brown and a small white tip to the tail.

The difference in colour between the uniformly brown female

and the two grizzled males is striking. It is probably an indi-

vidual variation and not a seasonal or sexual phase.

The following specimens are also assigned to this race: —

? Animallai Hills. F. Day’s specimen, figured by Blan-

ford, resembles McCann’s examples from Tiger Shola in the Palni

Hills, but the dorsal pattern is faintly traceable.

Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills, December 11 (('apt. Sapte).

An unsexed but probably male specimen is like McCann’s female

topotype in being a uniform deep brown . hue but the colour is a

rather richer brown, the underwool . greyer and the coat, doubtless

in accordance with the season, is considerably fuller, 40 mm. long.

Kateri in the Nilgiri Hills ( G . F. Hampson) . An old cf ,

undated, differs from the last as the female from the Palni Hills

differs from the males, the back and flanks being distinctly speck-

led; but the speckling is huffy grey not clear grey, as in the Palni

Hills males and the head and forequarters are browner.

These two examples from the Nilgiris are decidedly lighter

brown even than the brown Palni Hills specimen and not black

like the males.

Travancore, northern end of the Range ( H . S. Ferguson).

A male, January, hardly differing from the example from Kateri

in the Nilgiris, except that the buffv speckling is noticeably less

conspicuous; the coat is shorter, about -35 mm.

Travancore, Trivandrum (H. S. Ferguson). A flat imper-

fect female skin is dominantly huffy grey and more extensively and

profusely speckled than any of the previously described skins,

the speckling extending over the shoulders on to the neck, but it

is not so clear grey as the examples from Tiger Shola .

? Travancore. An aberrant skin of a specimen that died in

the Trivandrum Zoological Gardens I regard as a rule s cent - variety

of this race. It is bright, rather reddish brown in hue, has a

clearer reddish tip to the tail and reddish vibrissae. In tint it is

more like a well coloured specimen of the Ceylon species than,1 any

of the specimens of jercloni described; but if it were zeylonensis the

vibrissae would be white.

The variations in hue of the specimens above described is con-

siderable. Those from “the Palni and presumably 'A.nimallai “Hills

are alike and differ somewhat from the Nilgiri and northern Tra-

vancore specimens which are also alike. The one from Trivandrum

is different from both sets. More than one race may be involved

but the skins are inadequate to settle that question. At all events

the skins assigned to this .race agree and differ from the following-

in the suppression, complete or almost so, of facial pattern.

865 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Subsp. caniscus nov.

Locality of type : Yirajpet in S. Coorg.

Distribution : Coorg, so far as at present known.

Description : Distinguished from typical jerdoni by having the

grey and biack facial pattern as well developed as in some Indian

examples of P. hermaphroditus and consisting of a large grey patch

in front of the ear separated by a black streak from a similar patch

below the eye; also a grey patch above the eye and conspicuous

grey speckling on the brow, the greyness combining to define

the blackness of the crown of the head. There is also a little more

greyish white speckling on the back, flanks and belly and more

white on the hairs of the tail, although this feature intergrades

with typical jerdoni.

This race is represented by three skins : —

8 (type) from Yirajpet in S. Coorg, 8,000 ft. ( G . C. Short-

ridge No. 13.8,22.23 and 2449), January 29. Characters as above

described with the hairs on the basal half of the tail about the

same tint as in the palest tailed specimen of jerdoni from the

Palni Hills.

9 same locality and history (No. 13.8.22.24 and 2430).

January 28. Like the S but with the hairs on the basal half of

the tail paler, dirty white.

8 (young), Haleri, N. Coorg (J. A. Graham; No. 3555).

Differs from the Virajpet specimens in having the back, flanks and

belly considerably more profusely speckled with grey and much

more white on the tail which is mainly white with a black dorsal

stripe and black tip.

The following particulars regarding the size of the two races

here admitted, apparently the only ones available, were recorded by

the Survey collectors : —

THE PALM CIVETS OR TODDY CATS'

866

This table shows no difference in size between the two races

but suggests that caniscus has a shorter coat.

The following skulls have been selected for measurement to

show the range in variation; —

In English Inches. In Millimetres.

* — w — *

These measurements supply no evidence of cranial or dental

differences between the two races. Of the skulls assigned to typi-

cal jerdoni only two are sexed, namely the d from Tiger Shola

and the 9 from the Pamber River, both collected by Mr. McCann,

who also secured the skull from Khukal in the Palnis, but this had

no skin. The sexes of the other skulls have been guessed from

their characters. The only parts of the skull that vary noticeably

are the bulla and the teeth. The effects of wear on the teeth with

age is shown by the skull from Kateri in the -Nilgiris, in which they

are reduced to approximately the same size as the newly erupted,

unworn teeth of the young d of 1\ zeylonensis from Gammadum.

In the other skulls the teeth, especially the first upper molar, are

larger than in the Ceylon species. The skull also is a little

larger, but not very much although the old 9 °f jerdoni from the

Nilgiris noticeably exceeds the adult 9 °f zeylonensis from Maha

Oya.

The measurements of the immature d skull of caniscus from

N, Coorg have been inserted for comparison with those of the

867 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

young cT skull of P. zeylonensis from Gammadum. The dimen-

sions agree very closely; but the skull from Coorg carries its milk

teeth with no sign of shedding, whereas the skull from Gammadum

has the permanent cheek teeth fully erupted.

Paradoxeres hermaphroditic, Schr.

The principal characters of this , species are given above.

The bibliography is included under the subspecific headings.

Distribution : From Ceylon and India eastwards to Borneo

and the Philippines.

Paradoxurus hermaphrodites hermaphrodites Schr.

Viverm hermaphrodita (Pallas) Schreber, Sdugeth., iii, p. 426,

1778.

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p.

582 (not of Blanford 1885 and 1888 and recent authors).

Viverra nigra, Desmarest, Mamin., p. 208, 1820 (not Viverm

nigra), Peale and Beauvois, 1796; (see Hollister, Proc. Biol. Soc.

Wash., xxvii, p. 215, 1914).

Paradoxurus niger, Blanford, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1885, p. 792 and

Mamin. British Ind., p. 106, 1888 (in part); Wroughton, Jo-urn.-

Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xxv, pp. 48-51, 1917.

Paradoxurus typus, F. Cuvier and Geoffrov, Hist. Nat. Mamin.,

pt. xxiv, p. 5, pi. 186, 1821; and of many subsequent authors;

Robinson and Kloss, Bee. Ind. Mas., xix, p. 178. 1920 (as subsp.

of hermaphroditus) .

Paradoxurus typus var. fuliginosus , Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882,

p. 65.

Platychista pallasii, Otto, Nov. Act. Acad. Caes. Leop ., xvii,

p. 1089, pis. 52-58, 1885 (not P. pallasii, Gray, 1832).

Paradoxurus felinus, Wagner, Suppl. Schreb. Sdugeth. ii, p.

349, 1841.

Locality of type of hermaphrodita, Schreb.; unknown, said to

be ‘Barb ary’.

Locality of type of nigra, Desm. ; Pondicherry.

Locality of type of typus, Cuv. & Geoff r. ; Pondicherry.

Locality of type of fuliginosus, Gray; ‘S. India’.

Locality of type of pallasii, Otto; unknown.

Locality of type of felinus, Wagner; unknown.

Distribution: Southern India, southwards from the Narbada

River, and Ceylon.

Notes on the Synonymy .

In 1864 Gray adopted' the name hermaphroditus for the common

Palm. Civet of Ceylon and Southern India. Blanford in 1885

THE PALM CIVETS OR TODDY CATS'

868

rejected this view and applied the name to a so-called species

ranging from the Himalayas through south-eastern Asia. In my

opinion Gray was right. At all events the Palm Civet to which

hermaphroditus was first given was described as having long hah;,

grey near the skin and black at the tips, the black being dominant;

there were three black dorsal stripes and the only facial pattern

mentioned was a light grey rim in front of the ears. As a brief

diagnosis this terminology could hardly be improved for the majo-

rity of specimens from Southern India; but I cannot believe that

Pallas would have described in those terms any example of the

comparatively short coated Sumatran and Malayan forms to which

the name hermaphroditus has been restricted by recent zoologists,

following Blanford 's lead. The name for this form is musanga.

The name niger , which Blanford and, following him, Wroughton,

applied to the Ceylonese and Peninsular Indian Palm Civets is in

any case inadmissible because, as pointed out by Hollister, Viverra

nigra was given to an American skunk many years before Des-

marest gave it to a Palm Civet from Pondicherry. After Hollister

published this discovery, Robinson and Kloss resuscitated for the

Palm Civets in question the name typus given by Cuvier to a

specimen from the same locality and source as Desmarest’s nigra.

But hermaphroditus is an older name than typus; and in connec-

tion with the allocation of hermaphroditus here adopted, it is

significant that Desmarest himself, although setting that name

aside as indicating an insufficentlv characterised species, astutely

detected that ‘when established it should take place alongside’

his Viverra nigra — not, be it observed, alongside his Viverra

bondar.

Gray introduced the name fuliginosus , omitted by Blanford,

for blackish S. Indian specimens; and pallasii and felinus, given

to specimens from unrecorded localities, were apparently correctly

regarded by Otto and Wagner respectively as synonyms of herma-

phroditus, Blanford seems to have agreed with Otto in this

matter.

Description : Distinguished in complete coat by the shortness

and thinness of the pale woolly under hair as compared with the

long hairs, and by the excessive elongation of the black tips of

the latter, which more or less mask the pattern by overlying and

obscuring the pale interspaces between the stripes and spots;

the colour of the interspaces usually grey, sometimes decidedly

buff, very rarely rich ochreous buff, varying individually in

specimens from the same locality. The black pattern of dorsal

stripes, with usually later spots, present but very variable in

conspicuousness according to the season, boldly pronounced when

the long black tipped hairs are thinned or absent owing to

the moult.

In the following notes on the skins in the British Museum,

the specimens are arranged geographically, approximately from

south to north, beginning with Ceylon.

Specimens from Ceylon: Only a few skins are available and

those that are dated, four in number, were collected by Major E, M.

869 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

Mayor, between April 28 and May 2. Hence there is no proof

that any of them is in complete coat. The colour is individu-

ally very variable. In a young adult d , ticketed ‘Ceylon’ (Colombo

Museum) the colour is dominantly black, the grey of the under

hair showing as irregular streaks where it is not concealed by the

black tips of the abundant longer hairs; the brow band is represen-

ted by small grey speckling. From the general condition of the

coat and the profuseness of the long black hairs, this skin appears

to be in complete coat. A 9 from Kandy (Whyte) has the ground

colour grey as in the last, but the coat is thinner and the long

blacktipped hairs less abundant on the dorsal side, so that the

grey ground tint is much more exposed and the pattern better

defined; the brow band and sub-ocular spot are also more evident.

An adult d from Tammanewa, N.C.P., May 2, has the coat

in good condition, the ground colour buff y- white and exposed on the

sides of the dorsal surface and flanks where the long black tipped

hairs are apparently moulted; black is dominant along the middle

of the back and the pattern consists of the normal stripes and

spots.

A young d from Nakiyadenyia, S.P., April 28, closely resem-

bles the last in coat, colour and pattern.

An adult 9 from Udugama, S.P., April 30, differs principally

from the last two in having the ground colour rich, almost

ochreous buff and the face mostly white owing to the large size

of the nasal and subocular spots and the inconspicuousness of

black on the brow-band.

A young d from PTdugama, April 30, is the same general

colour as the 9> but the moult is more advanced, the coat being

shorter, and the long hairs mostly gone from the hind back and

loins, the pattern here being strongly defined.

Specimens from Madras and the Eastern Ghats: Seven skins

from South-Eastern India are of some importance from the

practical certainty of their racial identity with the specimens

named niger and typus by Desmarest and Cuvier, An adult

d, from Madras ( Jerdoni ) is very similar in coat and pattern to

the d skin from Udugama; but the moult, is still more advanc-

ed and the general tint duller, not so yellow, looking like

faded buff.

Six specimens from the Ghats were collected by Baptist a who

recorded the dates, flesh measurements and weights. They vary

similarly to the Ceylonese series.

Dharmapuri Bange, N. Salem. A 9 from Hogainakal, 850 ft.,

August 25, has the coat in good condition, long but not thick;

the ground tint is whitish grey with a faint tawny wash on the

spine; the dorsal surface is a tolerably even mixture of black and

grey, without, any distinct pattern.

A 6 from Nagampatti, 1,650 ft., September 13, is . almost a

duplicate in colour and coat of the example from Tammanewa

in Ceylon, the colour being buffier grey and the pattern more dis-

tinct than in the specimen from Hogainakal, with the coat a

little fuller.

THE PALM CtVETS OR ' TODDY GAfS' £70

Denkanikota Range, N. Salem. A 3, from Aiyur, 3,062 ft.,

October 18, has the coat thinner and shabbier than in the other

Salem specimens arid the colour richer buff like the Ceylonese

skins from Udugama.

Palkonda Hills in S. Cuddapah. A $' from Balopalli, 1,000

ft., August 11. The coat is long, thin and harsh, with much less

underwool than in the Dliarmapuri specimen of August 25;

closely resembling the Dendanikota specimen but less buffy ; the

pattern well emphasised. Two 9 s from Kondagorlapenta, 1,500

ft., July 25 and 27. One has a much thicker and better coat

than the Balopalli specimen, with the pattern indefinite; the

ground colour is ochreous buff as in the 3 from Aiyur in the

Denkanikota Range. The other example is clearer grey, with

the pattern better defined because there is much less black hair

on the back.

Fig. 1. — A. Head of the Common Indian Palm Civet (P. hennaphroditus her-

maphroditus) from Satara. B. The same from the Palkonda Hills show-

ing individual difference of pattern. C. The same of the Burmese Palm

Civet (P. h. ravus) from Mingun showing the broad frontal band charac-

teristic of the race. D. Head of the Lesser Palm Civet (P. h. minor),

from Victoria Point, Tenasserim.

Specimens from Western Ghats : Makut in S. Coorg. An

adult 9 (&• C . Shortridge), January 11, closely resembles the ex-

ample from Madras. The moult is in full force, most of the long

87 1 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXV 1

hairs being absent from the rump and hind back, exposing the buffy

grey under hair, and showing pronounced pattern. Judging from

the teats this animal was suckling young.

Haler i , N. Coorg (J. G. Graham). A young dY December 20

and a young 9 January 24, are alike in having good coats and

the pale interspaces on the dorsal side largely obliterated by the

black tips to the hairs, thus obscuring the stripes; but differing in

colour, the under hair of the 9 being pale huffy grey and of the

(S rich ochreous buff on the back, paler on the sides.

Murdeshwar, N. Kanara. Sea-level (A. G. Edie). An adult

suckling 9 , and a young one, February 9 and 10, in good coat,

are both darkish specimens, the dorsal surface being striped with

black and dark grey.

Dharwar ( G . C. Shortridge). Several specimens, mostly young.

One subadult 9’ suckling, December 8, is in full moult; on the

rump and hind back the wool is very thin and many of the long

hairs are gone; the general colour is darkish grey with black stripes.

A younger, but also suckling 9 from Alnavar, November 3, is

like the 9 from N. Coorg, the pale grey interspaces of the dorsal

area being largely obliterated by the black tips of the hairs, but

on the sides the ground colour is more exposed and the pattern

more conspicuous. Six half grown specimens from Dharwar and

one from Boothapaundy in Travancore ( Pillay ) have long coats and

the dorsal area streaked with alternate black and grey or buffy grey

bands.

Khed in Batnagiri ( S . H. Prater). Two young specimens in

good coat are dominantly black but still exhibit a, dorsal pattern of

definite stripes.

Helwak in Satara (S. H. Prater). A subadult 8 and an. adult

9 , December 7 and 13, are in perfect coat and almost all black,

with abundance of long hairs on the back almost concealing the

pale under hair which shows merely as buffy grey patches in the

■S , clearer grey in the 9 • These are the blackest examples of this

Palm Civet that I have seen and are the extremes of the ‘fuligi-

jiosus’ variety named by Gray. The examples from Batnagiri come

nearest to them, but these are only a little blacker than the speci-

men from Ceylon (Colombo Museum).

Specimens from Central India. Three examples from Hoshan-

gabad (Crump) referred by Wroughton to Paradox urus ‘crossi’.

Two adult males from Bari ghat, 2,500 ft., March 5, and Pach-

marhi 3,300 ft., March 21. are in full coat, fuller on the average

than in specimens from further south. In both the ground colour

is grey, whiter in the one from Pachmarhi Jbhan in the other, but

heavily overlaid with black, obscuring the pattern, almost as in

the examples from Satara. The third from Sohagpur, 1,000 ft..

April 1. is very like the others except that the coat is thinning in

places and has lost a good deal of ijts long hair.

In the fulness of the coat as compared with most of the southern

Indian forms but not those from Satara, these Hosliangabad speci-

mens, as might be expected, approach the examples from Gwalior

described below.

THE ..PALM. Cl V.ETS OR. TODDY CATS'

872

The following are the flesh measurements and weights and the

coat lengths of specimens assigned to this race, arranged geogra-

phically from north to south.

In English Inches. In Millimetres.

873 JOURNAL , $OMbAy NATURAL tils?. SOCIETY , FoL XXX V/

In English Inches. In Millimetres.

This table shows approximate equality between adults of the

two sexes in the measurements of the head and body and tail, as

well as in weight. In fact the young adult 9 from Dharwar is

longer in the head and body than all the d examples, except one

from the Palkonda Hills, which it equals; and the young adult 9

from Udugama in Southern Ceylon is the longest of the series from

that island. It may be noticed, however, that the tail in this

specimen is exceptionally short and it is possible there is some error

in the two dimensions. There are one or two other points of inter-

est. Examples from Ceylon are not smaller than those from S.

India, judging from the available data. Nor are those from

Hoshangabad, in the valley of the Narbada, larger than those to

the south, although they were assigned by Wroughton to crossi

which he said was larger than the southern specimens he identified

as niger. The two examples collected by Prater at Satara also

call for notice, not only on account of the exceptional weight of

the male and the exceptionally long hair of both, but on account of

the apparent shortness of the hind foot. The foot of the male,

which the skull shows to be almost adult, is actually shorter than

in any adult or young found elsewhere, except the adult; female, a

smaller animal, from Murdeshwar; and the latter has the foot

nearly half an inch longer than in the adult female from Helwak.

Possibly the ‘personal equation’ of the collector has to be reckoned

with in this case.

THE PALM CIVETS OR ‘TODDY CATS'

874

In the following table1 of skull measurements Indian specimens

are separated from Ceylonese. Under these two headings the skulls

are divided according to sex, the arrangement being roughly geo-

graphical from north to south.

1 In this and other tables in this paper skulls are entered as ‘adult’ when

the basioccipital suture is closed. When it is still visible in skulls otherwise

showing signs of approximate maturity they are called ‘young adults’ (yg. ad.).

Young skulls are those manifestly undeveloped but with the milk teeth replaced

by the permanent set. Immature (immat.) skulls are those retaining the milk

dentition. Bracketed figures are estimated total lengths when the occipital

region is broken.

7.

875 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

This table1 bears out the conclusion, derived from the skin

measurements, that the examples from Hoshangabad. are not larger

than those from further south. The individual variation between

the skulls from Pachmarhi and Borighat, both about the same age,

fully developed and closely resembling the old male skull from

Bellary, which has no skin, is considerable. The table also shows

that d skulls are on the average bigger than $ skulls, despite' the

equality in bodily measurements between the two sexes. It sug-

gests, moreover, that the skulls of Ceylonese specimens are smaller

1 In this and other tables in this paper skulls, are entered as ‘adult’ when

the basioccipital suture is closed. When it is still visible in skulls otherwise

showing signs of approximate maturity they are called ‘young adults’ (yg.

ad.). Young skulls are those manifestly undeveloped but with the milk teeth

replaced by the permanent set. Immature (immat.) skulls are those retaining

the milk dentition. Bracketed figures are estimated total lengths when the

occipital region is broken.

THE PALM CIVETS' OR 'TODDY CATS'

876

than those from India; but more and better material than I have

seen is required to confirm or refute that conclusion. Most of those

from Ceylon are not full sized. The male skull from Tammanewa

is too broken for its age to be determined. It is certainly, if not

quite, adult but would not have exceeded in length the smallest

Indian adult male skull, the one from Rorighat, The larger of

Fig. 2. — A. Anterior part of palate of a very old specimen of P. jerdoni

showing the - shortening of the foramina with age. B. The same of

younger specimen from Tiger Shola, Palni Hills. C. & D. Upper

and lower views of exceptionally well developed male skull of P. h.

hermaphroditus from Bellary. All 2/3 nat. size.

the two skulls from Kotiyagalla, both presented without skins by

Mr. Phillips, is unfortunately not sexed, but the one marked 9

is a trifle smaller than the smallest Indian adult female skull.

Nevertheless the female skull from Kandy, which is changing its

teeth, is bigger than the one from Alnavar in Dharwar, in which

the tooth change is completed.

The bullae in adult Indian skulls vary considerably in length,

as illustrated by the male specimens from Bellary and Satara and

the females from Coorg. The teeth also vary. Both the upper

carnassial (pm4) and the first molar (m1) are a millimetre larger

each way in the male skulls from Satara and North Coorg than

in the skull from Rorighat, Hoshangabad, and the difference is

very noticeable visually. The measurements of the young female

877 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

skull from Alnavar in Dliarwar have been entered mainly for com-

parison with the adult female skull from Hazaribagh described

below under nictitans.

The sagittal crest is well developed in adult U skulls. It is

about 4 mm. high in the skull from Pachmarhi, Hoshangabad, and

reaches 6 mm. in the old skull from Bellary. The postorbital pro-

cesses on the frontal bone become broad at the base with age and

set more transversely, their posterior edges being approximately in

a straight line. In adult and old 9 skulls the crest is complete but

only about 1 mm. high, as in the skulls from Satara, S. Coorg and

the Palkonda Hills; but the crest is late in forming. In the skull

of a young adult 9 from Dharwar the ridges are 5 mm. apart on

the frontals and 10 mm. on the parietals. In the younger 9

skull from Haleri, N. Coorg, which has the last molar just up,

there is scarcely even a trace of the temporal ridges.

(To be continued).

A VISIT TO WHIPSNADE ZOOLOGICAL PARK.

BY

Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton, I. A. (Retd.).

Of those who visit Whipsnade but few have been to other

parks of the kind in foreign countries, yet the impression of one

and all is that here is the best, as it is the largest, of its kind

in the World!

The Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park were instituted more

than a century ago (1829) by the Zoological Society of London, and

it is nearly sixty, years, since the writer first witnessed the 4 o’clock

feeding of the lions, and other sights so entrancing to a small

boy.

Since those days many improvements to the London Zoo have

been carried out and visitors at the present time see a number of

animals and birds in a less restricted state of captivity; yet, great

as the additions and improvements to the Zoo have been, the

acquisition by the Society of Whipsnade Park has given compara-

tive freedom to many animals and birds amid beautiful surroundings

and a greatly ameliorated restraint to several species of carnivora.

The area of the Park is about 500 acres, at an elevation of

600 to 700 feet, on the edge of the Dunstable Downs which are a

part of the Chiltern Hills in the County of Bedfordshire. The

elevated site so wisely chosen for this Park for the breeding and

exhibition of wild animals, and as a sanctuary for British Wild

Birds and British Wild Plants, affords views of much natural

beauty within the boundaries of the estate itself, and wide pros-

pects of the surrounding country from various view points.

On the upper slopes, to the west especially, where the visitor

can rest at ease with an unrestricted view of valley and rolling

hills spread out before him, will great enjoyment be attained.

Here, on the edge of the downs, and above the great White Lion

which has been so skilfully formed by means of chalk as an abiding-

landmark to attract the eye from many miles, the peace and

quiet of this English landscape can answer to the influence of the

hour notwithstanding that within a minute’s walk are lions and

tigers, bears and bison, and that now and again there is borne

to the ears the wild sonorous call of the Sarus Crane — that stately-

pacing bird so well known to the inhabitants of India — the roar

of a chital stag, and perchance other sounds of a wild life strange

to the countryside.

Since the Park was opened in May 1981 much has been done,

yet less than half the area has been developed. All is proceeding-

on a preconceived, ordered plan; and what has been accomplished

879 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

in so short a period is good augury for the perfection which the

future years will bring.

There are many approaches to Whipsnade by rail and road from

ail parts of the country and the distance is but an hour (35 miles)

by car and little more by bus from King’s Cross station. For the

man;y who will wish to visit the Park for more than the hours

available in one day there is hotel accommodation at Luton, Tring,

Dunstable, and other neighbouring towns.

Entering by the Whipsnade (Tate at the junction of Central

Avenue and Duke’s Road the Bird Sanctuary is close by on the

left, and a short distance up the Avenue is the enclosure contain-

ing the Demoiselle Cranes. These lovely silvery- grey birds with

graceful black chest plumes are well known to the peoples of the

greater part of India aS cold weather visitants from their far-distant

breeding grounds beyond the Himalaya Mountains; with them are

some jungle fowl, the progenitors of all the domestic fowl of the

world, and other interesting birds; while on the paths and lawns

in the vicinity peafowl display their gorgeous plumage.

Close at hand, in the Central Paddock, is .a herd of Highland

cattle and adjoining it is Wallaby Wood where one can feed and

stroke sundry extremely tame animals of this docile species. Here

also are Tree Kangaroos.

Further up the main avenue the half dozen Dingo dogs of

Australia claim attention of all visitors by their playful friskings

and gambolings. It is a delight to watch them romp about in

happy contention for possession of a chance- won piece of cloth,

and at feeding time it can be seen how very tame these animals

have become; more tame indeed than one of their kind which the

writer acquired as a pet from the Durban Zoo in 1918. Snappy

she was, and not entirely safe to handle.

Beyond the Dingo’s are the Home and Chartley Paddocks which

contain Fallow* and Red deer and a herd of splendid cream-coloured

Chartley Cattle (Chartley Park, Staffordshire). The proud owner

of the finest horns among the Red deer is friendly to visitors so

has a much-stroked nose.

In and around a pond near the Hill Farm Restaurant are several

varieties of water birds — geese, ducks, moorhens — all very tame, also

flamingos and other waders. The inhabitants of the Beaver Ponds

do not seem to appear during visiting hours, but perhaps these

most interesting animals will in course of time be less retiring in

their habits.

_ At the end of the Central Avenue the road bears round to the

right (west) as the large open fields which are straight ahead have

not yet been developed. The public has access however, and as

the, shadows lengthen and the animals, as is their habit, come

into the open to feed, one can wander slowly along the hedgerows

to be rewarded with the fascinating sight of herds of Chinese

Water- deer, the white variety of Red deer, the Swamp deer of

India, and the Muntjac or Barking deer of tropical countries. All

those are free to wander .whei’e they will within the precincts of

the: park and have all -of them-, produced -fawns since their arrival

at Whipsnade. So quickly indeed are these animals increasing--

A VISIT TO WHIPSNADE ZOOLOGICAL PARK

880

the Chinese Water deer have more than trebled their numbers —

that the showy black and white Spanish Sheep introduced to help

to keep the grass in order will soon be no longer required; and the

Park will be self-supporting as to meat for the carnivora. Besides

the deer, many of the birds common to the fields and1 hedges will

be observed, and a number of rabbits which have as yet not real-

ized that in this place they have no enemy in man.

Here it may be mentioned that for the full enjoyment of all

the park has to offer the use of field glasses is necessary; for

many of the enclosures are so spacious that without them it is

often not possible to observe some of the animals and birds.

Following along the main path five large paddocks are found on

either hand. In the Round Close are Nilgai — the male of which

is the Blue Bull of India, one of the largest of the antelopes; and

Sarus Cranes, stately grey-plumaged birds with red heads which

pair for life and are unmolested by any of the peoples of the plains

of Hindustan.

Among animals in the other paddocks will be seen Camels of

three species; Llamas and Alpacas from South America; Mongolian

Wild Horses; the Yak, the wild ox of Tibet, the hybrid of which

is known as the Zho; and the Wild Ass of the same country, com-

monly called the Kiang, whose inquisitiveness has spoilt the careful

stalk of many a sportsman in pursuit of the wild sheep of Ladak.

In a somewhat secluded paddock at the back of Bluebell Wood

are two male Lechwe of South Central Africa, handsome Water-

buck of light tawny colour with long sublyrate horns. Like many

wild species they have a white hoof band, and by their evident

timidity and some want of condition it can be seen that they are

enjoying recently granted liberty. Now, after all their terrifying

experiences since they were first sighted by those desiring their

capture in their native swamps, they have before them a happy

care-free life, and will soon learn that the roars of the lions and the

tigers have no menace for them.

In the wide expanse of Spicer’s Field are Zebra and a male

Ostrich, a Pigmy Hippopotamus from West Africa, a Marabou

Stork, and cranes of three varieties including the conspicuous

Crowned Crane of West Africa. The Ostrich does not approve of

the zebras as they appear to enjoy pulling out his tail feathers with

playful nips. All that was visible of the hippo was his rotund

recumbent form in the centre of the field. At the back of this

large paddock is a small field in which are six young ostriches

appreciative, in common with many of the birds and animals afford-

ing pleasure in this way to visitors old and young, of ground nuts.

Below Escarpment Avenue on the slope of the Downs are the

tiger, lion, and polar bear enclosures; also other excavations from

the chalk— -some being of very ancient date — which have been

adapted for the accommodation of various animals. The lions seem

to the casual eye to be better off under present arrangements,

which are said to be experimental ; but considering all weathers

it is probable that the tigers have the advantage. Yet there is much

room for improvement as to their accommodation which will no

doubt be carried out when funds permit.

881 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

One of the polar bears is a real clown, and affords endless

amusement to himself and his laughing visitors by his somersaults

over a floating fir-log, and his toyings with an empty tin which

he dives for and throws into the air in never-ceasing play.

The inhabitants of the Woodchuck, Marmot, Wombat, and

Porcupine enclosures are not always visible and it is well to as-

certain their feeding time. The porcupines emerged to a patient

watcher, and it was interesting to observe the hostile attitude

of one which rattled the quills of its hinder parts towards another,

and the rabbit-like warning stamp of the hinder foot of the poss-

essor of the ground nuts which had been thrown as a camera

bait.

On the northern slopes, the American Bison herd lives with a

number of Moufflon, while the field below contains Barb ary sheep

and the semi- wild sheep of the Island of Soay, St. Kilda, Hebrides.

As regards the bison it may be that the Society has in mind the

successful Canadian experiment of crossing these fine animals with

domestic cattle and so providing for the home producer the valuable

Cattalo, as the hybrid is termed. In the vicinity of the bison en-

closure coveys of quite tame partridges can be seen about the

Old Flint Pit.

Space is running short and there is so much to describe!

Turning in the direction of the main entrance, a path takes

one close to the Ouseley Pond on the reedy edges of which several

saurians of Africa or America can be seen, also sundry water

birds, flamingos and the like. It is a very realistic pool giving-

one the impression that it might contain anything unpleasant

from a tropical country. Then we see a herd of chital in a piece

of thorn jungle which looks as if it has been transplanted from

the natural habitat of these lovely spotted deer, the Axis Deer

of India. Two of the stags are in combat and after a lengthy

battle he of the larger antlers prevails, gets his adversary on the

run, and speeding him with prods behind announces his victory

by a wild challenging roar which brings to memory many a jungle

scene. The keepers have a wholesome respect for the pugnacity

of these stags during the rutting season.

The roomy bears enclosure contains two shaggy Sloth Bear of

the plains of India; a fine specimen of the Himalayan Black Bear:

and two brown European bears. All of these afford no end of

amusement to visitors, the larger of the brown bears being equal

in clownish antics to the polar bear we have just seen. It is inter-

esting to notice how The three species keep themselves to them-

selves and pass impolite remarks to one another when they meet,

as they must do now and again. When first turned into this en-

closure they had trees into which to climb and make platform

nests but have stripped off all the branches, and the big brown

fellow was seen exerting all his strength in a successful effort to

detach the only remaining projection from the main trunk.

A movie picture of these animals would afford many amusing-

incidents. At time of writing the Himalayan Bear is ten years

old. I saw him as a baby soon after he had been captured by Mr.

K. Hf Paddison near the hill station of Kanikhet, in the United

A VISIT TO WHIPSNADE ZOOLOGICAL PARK

882

Provinces of India. He is a first class beggar and has attained

aldermanic proportions . Please give him a tin of condensed milk !

Lastly we arrive at the fir wood in which are the wolves in

almost natural surroundings, for one can easily imagine snow on

the ground, and the gloom of the forest is before the eyes. They

snatch up pieces of raw meat thrown by the keeper at feeding

time but will eventually become tamer, as can be seen, for one

of them will almost take meat from the hand. The Timber Wolf

is large but the others seem smaller, in comparison, than the

wolves of India. The wolves and the dingoes have both bred so

well that there are some young animals for disposal to suitable

purchasers.

Next to the wolves is a Tibetan mastiff, a fine dog similar

to many one has met on hill paths in the Himalayas and so

I told him he ought to be given human companionship and not

shut up next to his wild progenitors.

In Wallaby Wood is a large oak tree — to be known as Tarzan

Tree — which is the centre piece of an enclosure for some two score

Rhesus monkeys. These will be a great attraction to visitors: as

also will be the Chimpanzees when on summer holiday from the

London Zoo. The grey squirrels found when the Park was ac-

quired have been destroyed, and the red squirrels introduced are

increasing. The air of Whipsnade seems to be very invigorating;

for not only have there been all the increases noted but the tigers

have young ones, also the beavers; and such birds as the Sarus

Crane and the Rhea have hatched their eggs.

And now we have seen most of what the Park has to show,

yet something remains. There are the Shetland and New Porest

ponies, the Anoa or Dwarf Buffalo of the Island of Celebes, the

minute Pudu deer from the Chilian Andes, and the elephant on

which you may ride for six pence; and an hour of quiet observa-

tion in the bird sanctuary where are the beautiful Alimerst

pheasants of Eastern Tibet and China, and other gorgeous pheasants

of Burma and India, the Brush Turkey of Australia, and other show

birds.

Your field glasses will be wanted to watch all these and those

species (67 have been observed in the park) of our indigenous birds

which have their home in this quiet wood. Here also barking deer

creep about in the undergrowth exactly as they do in their native

jungles, and perhaps you may be fortunate and see a tiny fawn.

Enough! The reader can well realize that even three days

can be fully occupied if all that is seen is to remain in the memory.

Nature demands quiet contemplative observation and cannot be

rushed; so it is during the evening hours that Whipsnade should

receive most attention from the visitor who is desirous of carrying

away those charming memories which are due to all that this

beautiful park has to offer. And in any case there will surely be

a feeling of real gratitude to the Royal Patron, and the Council

of the Society the work of whose Secretary is for ever com-

memorated by the thousand yard avenue to be opened up from

the future southern entrance at Dagnall Gate and so fitly named

‘Sir Peter’s Way’.

S83 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

An Afterthought.

The question of the Safeguarding of Wild Life in India (as in-

deed throughout the World) is now much to the fore.

In his learned book of Essays — ‘S. V. A.’ — Sir George Bird-

wood suggested many years ago that the Field of all the Panipat’s

— those historic battles for the supremacy of power in Hindustan —

be dedicated by the Government of India to the perpetual service

of the public as an inviolable sylvan sanctuary on the scale, and

after the manner, of the Yellowstone National Park (and others

of its kind now established in many countries) as an Indian National

Park worthy of the Imperial Delhi of the Past and of the Future.

Hindu-Moslem Unity! Here is an idea which seems worthy

of attention by the Government and the Leaders of the two

Communities.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate I

Panulirus ornatus var. decoratus Heller. Peneus indicus (E. Edw.).

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

Report of the Bombay Natural History Society's Survey.

BY

Hardit Singh Rai, m.sc.

(. Professor of Zoology, Wadia College, Poona).

Part II,

( With 2 plates, 2 blocks and 3 text- figures).

( Continued from page 847 of volume xxxv).

Tlie present paper deals with the shell-fish belonging to the

group known as Crustacea, which includes a large and varied num-

ber of animal forms. The majority of Crustaceans are marine.

The most important and1, well-known are the Prawns, Lobsters and

Crabs, constituting the higher members of the group. They usually

possess 20 segments and 19 pairs of appendages. Being generally

aquatic, they are good swimmers, but many are adapted to walk-

ing. The head and thorax, fused to form what is known as the

cephalothorax, is encased in a calcareous shell — the carapace. The

3

Fig. 1. Megalopa larva of Crab. 2. Phyllosoma larva of Lobster. 3. Loea

stage of Crab.

abdomen is visibly segmented, each segment being dorSally pro-

tected by a calcareous surface, like that of the cephalothorax.

The appendages, the feelers, legs, swimmerets, etc., are modified

885 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

to suit the various functions to which they are adapted. Res-

piration is carried on by the bronchia or gills which are enclosed

in the carapace. The sexes are separate. Fertilization is exter-

nal. The eggs are usually carried in a mass under the abdomen

of the females by the aid of a portion of the swimmerets. Prawns

in egg are sometimes referred to as ‘Berried’ Prawns. Between

the egg stage and the adult there is frequently a striking, varied

and interesting metamorphosis.

In typical cases the newly-hatched larva is called a zoaea. In

the zoaea stage the thorax is well developed while the abdomen,

particularly the hindmost portion of it,' is rudimentary. After the

zoaea stage, the larva passes through yet another, the my sis, in

which it more closely resembles the adult. A series of successive

moults are gone through before reaching maturity — the entire exo-

skeleton being cast at each moult.

Prawns.

Prawns are in great demand by many sections of the popula-

tion. Containing a high percentage of protein and soluble fat, they

form a nutritive and valuable food.

The shells are used as manure or fertilizers. Recent investi-

gations have indicated that the ‘bran’, or powdered shells, is very

nutritive and consequently valuable food for farm animals, such

as pigs, poultry, etc. Hundreds of tons are annually exported

from Karachi to foreign countries. At Karachi, the price varies

from Rs. 3 to 4 per maund.

Species of economic value. There are about a dozen species

found along the Bombay coast. The most important and abun-

dant species are, Peneus semisulcatus (de Man), Leander stylife-

rus (M. Edw.) and Metapeneus monoceros (Fabr.). Peneus is the

commonest genus and is the typical representative of the order

Penacidea. Peneus semisulcatus varies in size from 7 to 8 inches,

but giants of 10 to 12 inches are obtained. Leander styliferus may

be distinguished from P. semisulcatus by its smaller size, a phyllo-

branchia and a chela on each of the first two pairs of legs. Be-

sides the marine, there is the freshwater prawn, Palcemon, found

in the sluggish rivers and tanks. In some localities, such as Surat,

this prawn attains a very large size, at times a foot in length and

a pound in weight.

The following table will indicate the other species met with : —

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OP THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 886

Breeding season and migration. Apparently prawns are migra-

tory and their movements are associated with the breeding habits.

They are most abundant in our coastal waters between August

and October, when the majority of egg-laden prawns are taken.

We may conclude that this is the breeding season and that these

Crustacea at this time migrate to shallow water. The Norwegian

Prawn, Pandalas borealis , has been observed, during the time of

its scarcity along the coasts, to migrate to deeper waters. There

is an ‘inshore and offshore phase’ of its migration. The same

phenomenon may possibly be exhibited by our Indian species.

Their migratory habits may also be attributed to the following

causes : —

(1) Physical and ' chemical conditions of the water; parti-

cularly temperature, salinity, rainfall and the nature of the cur-

rents etc.

887 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

(2) Spawning: the urge for suitable breeding grounds.

(3) Food: the necessity of suitable feeding grounds.

Distribution. Prawns are exceedingly common on the Sind and

Bombay coasts. Though obtained in waters along sandy

shores they appear to prefer wates with muddy bottoms, where

they are most sought for by the fishermen. Prawns creep

along the bottom but are also equally adapted for swimming.

Backward progression is frequently resorted to. This is effected

by rapidly flexing the abdomenal region under the rest of the

body.

Value of yields. Millions of pounds of prawns are caught annu-

ally. Apart from local consumption, large quantities are despatch-

ed inland and also exported to foreign countries. The total con-

sumption along the Bombay coast alone may be estimated at

12,000,000 lbs., valued roughly at Rs. 2,500,000. The prawn in-

dustry alone, along this coast gives employment to about 20,000

men, women and children.

Sind Prawn Fisheries. The Sind coast is well known for its

valuable fishing grounds and here is found, one of the largest

prawn fisheries in India. The fishing grounds extend from Karachi

on the west, to Patiani creek on the east, an extent of about

100 miles. The coastal areas in Sind are composed of low lying

mud flats of deltaic origin. Large portions of these flats are cov-

ered with mangroves and are submerged at high tide. They

stretch for miles and are intersected by numerous channels con-

necting many small creeks. The creeks communicate with the

sea. With the exception of the rise and fall of the tides, these

waterways are but; little affected by the sea. The water in them

is muddy and contains an abundance of algae. The principal

creeks in which prawn fishing is extensively carried on are : —

Gizri, Kharanja, Piti, Khaderi, Khai, Pitiani and Dubha.

Most fishermen restrict their operations to the creeks, at com-

paratively short distances from the shore, some, however, go out

to sea. The season is at its height from November to January

when enormous numbers of prawns enter the creeks. They appa-

rently form ideal spawning and feeding grounds. Numerous fish-

ing camps are established on suitable sites. In selecting a fishing

camp it is all important that the site should be on dry, preferably

sandy, beaches. Pitiani is one of the largest fishing camps. Hun-

dreds of fishermen and their families move out to it during the

fishing season and return to their homes by the end of March.

Drinking water is the chief difficulty in these areas. It is brought

in bulk from either Bram-hydri, Rohri and other distant places,

or is brought by the boats which call daily at the fishing camps

and return to their home ports laden with fresh and dry fish for

market.

Value of produce. It is estimated that the total catch in Sind

is over 6,000,000 lbs. valued approximately at Rs. 1,500,000.

Statements showing the export of dry prawns and their shells

from Karachi to other ports, Indian and foreign, during the years

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 888

1927-28, 1928-29, and 1929-30 are as follows : (from the Records

of the Customs Department, Government of Bombay): —

Bombay Prawn Fisheries. Much prawn fishing is done along

the Bombay coast. The fishermen confine their activities to waters

889 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

within 10-12 miles of the home ports. In some of the coastal

ports the industry reaches considerable proportions, depending much

on the proximity of large towns where the demand is great.

To the north of Bombay, in the Thana and Surat districts,

prawn fishing is carried out on a large scale. The chief prawn

fishing centres are, Palghar, Maroli, Umbergaon Creek, Nawapur,

Kalwe, Arnala, Bassein Bunder and Yersowa. To the south, Ali-

bag, Jaigad, Yaorda, Ratnagiri, Purangad, Jaytapur, Vizedrug,

Malwan and Yengurla. The further south one goes from Bombay

prawn fishing appears to decrease. The scattered prawn industry

along the North Kanara coast is on a smaller scale than elsewhere

in the Presidency. The most important centres along this coast

are, Karwar, Tadri and Honaver.

Craft employed. Along the Bombay coast the usual type of

fishing smacks are used. They vary in size and in the number

of the crew according to the dimensions of the craft. These fish-

ing smacks range between 20 and 40 feet in length and are capable

of carrying a load of J to 1 ton.

Nets and methods of fishing. Pishing methods differ only in

minor details in different places. The nets employed for prawn

fishing are much the same along the whole Bombay coast, includ-

ing Sind. Slight difference may be noticed in their size and

quality. The catches vary much with the season and the time

of’ fishing. The largest catches are made near the surface, as

prawns usually frequent the surface strata of water at night, when

most prawn fishing done. Nets are shot round a shoal when spot-

ted and hauled in. The gleam of the phosphorescent bodies in

the dark water reveals the portion of the shoal.

The following types of nets are used :

(1) ‘Dip net’ — Yedi.

(2) ‘Cast net’ or ‘Purse Seine’ — Pag.

(3) ‘Wall Seine’ — Para or Jali.

(4) ‘Bag Seine’ — Bokhsi or Dot.

(1) ‘Dip net’ — Yedi. A rectangular sheet of netting 12 feet

long by 8 feet wide. A bamboo pole is attached to each of the

shorter sides. The mesh is generally very fine and consequently

little escapes from it. These nets are used in shallow waters.

Two men are required to work it; one stationed at each end. The

net is drawn through the water at an oblique angle and after

the men have traversed a certain distance in this way, it is lifted

out and its contents collected.

(2) ‘Cast net’ — Pag is in universal use along the coast and

well suited for both shallow and deep water. A circluar net. The

size of the mesh varies according to the type of fishing, but rarely

exceeds J of an inch. Its circumference is weighted at short

intervals with lead. A long string is attached to the centre of

the net. The other end of the string is wound in a loop round

the wrist. The net. when cast opens out to its full circumference

and the weights soon carry it to the bottom. When used in deep

water, after it has gone to the full length of the line, the weights

converge and close the bottom of the net thus securing its

c,4

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate II

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 890

contents. When used in shallow water once the net reaches the

bottom it is gradually hauled, in, the weights coming together in

the process and closing it.

(3) ‘Wal Seine’ — Para. Composed of a length of net which

varies from 200-400 feet with a width of 10-15 feet. The upper

margin is attached to floats, placed at frequent intervals, to keep

it at the surface. The lower margin is weighted. Two stout

ropes at the extremities serve in hauling it in. The number of

men employed to handle the net varies according to its size. The

method of laying the net is as follows : — One end is held by men

in shallow water while the rest is paid out from a boat which de-

scribes a wide circle till the entire net is set. The two ends are

now gradually brought to within a few feet of one another and

the net is gently drawn ashore.

(4) The ‘Bag Seine’ — Bokshi and Dol. There are two types,

differing only in size. The smaller Bokhsi is intended for use in

shallower waters than the Dol.

The Bokhsi is conical in shape. Its size varies with the loca-

lity. It averages about 30 feet in length with a mouth 8-10 feet

in diameter. The narrower extremity is about a foot in diameter.

At this end there is a small removable bag-like appendage. The

mesh diminishes in size from 1|-1 inch at the mouth to about

\ inch at the narrower end.

The Dol is very much larger frequently measuring 5-700 feet

with a mouth 2-300 feet in circumference. In both cases the

upper margin of the mouth is suspended by means of floats, while

the lower is weighted. Both nets are set against the tide which

sweeps the catch into them. These nets are emptied with the

turn of each tide. Before setting either the Bokhsi or the Dol,

the ‘cast net’ is used to locate the prawns.

Preparation of catches for Market. Fresh prawns are packed

between layers of ice and sent to inland towns. Prawns are either

packed whole or the cephalothorax is removed in order to save

space and freight. Those intended for local consumption are sent

directly to market on arrival of the fishing smacks.

Large quantities of prawns are preserved in the dry state, either

by sun drying or by boiling.

Sun. drying is by far the commoner method of the two. The

fresh prawns are removed to places set apart for drying. Here

they are spread out and, left to dry in the sun. When they have

dried hard they are trampled to remove the shells. The (frying is

effected in 2-3 days when weather conditions are favourable.

Boiling. Used on the Sind coast. The prawns are placed in

kettles containing enough sea water to submerge them — a little

salt is generally added. They are boiled for about half an hour,

then removed to drying platforms, where they are spread out in

a thin layer. In about two days they are perfectly dry. They

are now ‘threshed’ with sticks to remove the shells. After this

process they are further cleaned by women, who again beat them

with small wooden boards to remove any remaining portions of the

shells. When cleaned, the prawns are sorted out according to size

and packed ready for despatch.

8

891 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXVt

Quantities. Large quantities of fresh and dried prawns are

sent to the Bombay markets from the following localities. No

reliable figures are available. The following table gives approxi-

mate quantities and values and the results of inquiries made in the

Bombay markets and in the moffusil.

Market rates. The following table gives the market rates of

fresh -prawns together with the vernacular names. The rates

differ, with the season.

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 892

Crabs.

In places along the coast crabs are a well established food.

There is a great demand for them in large towns. ‘Crab curry’

is a reputed cure for asthma.

Crabs belong to the sub-order Branchyura of the Crustacea ,

in which the abdomen is greatly reduced and permanently flexed

under the cephalothorax. In common with the other members of

the Crustacea the entire exoskeleton is cast periodically. During

the time of moult crabs secret themselves until the fresh carapace

has hardened. After every moult there is a decided increase in

size. Barnacles are frequently seen on the carapace of crabs.

The eggs, also known as ‘egg cake’ or ‘sponge’ are carried in a

mass under the cephalothorax and held in position by the flexed

abdomen and the reduced swimmerets. The young pass through

two free swimming stages, the zoea and the magalopa.

Breeding season. Crabs appear to breed during the monsoon

months. I have taken numerous larvae during the month of

October. They are collected by fishermen almost all the year

round but the largest catches are made from August to October.

During the hot season crab fishing is discontinued as they are not

considered to be of any value at that time.

Species. There are three marketable species that are com-

monly found along the Bombay Coast: —

(1) Scylla senata (Forskal) is the commonest of the Bom-

bay crabs. It is widely distributed and is to be met with in all

markets along the coast. Size, 8 inches broad by 6 inches long.

Claws large and strong.

Scylla s errata (Fordkal).

(2) Neptunus sanguinolentus (Herbst.) common on the coast

south of Bombay. Somewhat smaller than the foregoing species.

Colour, red brown, with three scarlet patches on its back. Claws

long and slender.

(3) Paratelphusa ( Barytelpliasa ) jacquemontii Rathbum.

Collected in large numbers along the coast and sent to the Bom-

bay markets. Colour, dark; size 5 inches.

893 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Methods of fishing. Crabs are generally trapped in ‘dip nets’

in which a bait has been tied. In shallow water and in creeks

crabs are caught with sieve nets. The nets are so arranged that

Neptunus s an cfuino lentus Herbst.

once the crab gets in it is unable to escape. Another method of

collecting crabs is by means of a hooked iron rod, which is used

for extracting the crabs from the rock crevices between tides.

Marketing . Crabs are generally marketed alive. To effect

this they are kept in earthern urns.

Value of yield. The total number of crabs annually sold in

the Bombay markets may be estimated at 80,000 roughly valued

at Rs. 10,000. The combined total of the Bombay and Sind

catches may be estimated at 5,00,000, approximately valued at

Rs. 30,000.

Lobsters.

Species . There are two species of Lobster obtained along the

Bombay- Sind coast : —

(1) Panulirus ornatus var decoratus Heller cf. P. versicolor

(Lath), the spiny or Rock lobster is the commoner of the two.

Its average length is about 10 inches; weight about 1| lbs. It

inhabits, preferably, the hard and rocky portions below the tidal

waters, but is also found in deep water.

(2) Panulirus fasciatus (Eabr) is larger in size and inhabits

deep water. In colour it is a beautiful purple with darker purple

and white bands.

Breeding. Egg-laden females are generally taken from

November to January. The male lobster carries what is

known as a ‘sperm cake’ on the ventral surface of the thoraxic

region. The larvae pass through a very characteristic form known

as the Phyllosoma (Fig. 3). Several specimens of this stage were

secured by me during the month of October.

Methods of Fishmg. Lobster are chiefly caught from Novem-

ber to March, in ‘bully nets’ locally called Gadas, in ‘wall seine

nets', and in ‘lobster pots’.

‘Bully nets’ — Gadas or Fage. Small, like a ‘tow net’, semi-

conical in shape, seldom: exceeding 2 feet in length with a mouth

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 894

1J feet in diameter. In the centre of the net is tied the bait, —

generally fish. The nets are arranged in rows on the sea bottom,

at intervals of 10-15 feet, and kept in place by weights. They

are hauled up one by one and their contents emptied into the

boat. In the case of the ‘Wall Seine’ the lobsters get entangled

in the mesh. These nets are set in localities where lobsters are

abundant. The mechanism of ‘lobster pot’ is that of the ordi-

nary rat-trap. The lobster gets in but cannot get out. It is a

box-shaped device with the top and bottom of wood and the sides

of netting with one or two funnel-shaped entrances. These traps

vary in size. They are left under water and are periodically hauled

to the surface and emptied of their contents. After rebaiting, the

traps are returned to the bottom.

Value of yield. Bombay Markets are supplied from the

following localities. The table shows the amount caught at each

place : — -

Lobsters are sold at the rate of 6-8 annas a pair. The annual

catch is estimated at 60,000 along the Bombay coast approxi-

mating a value of Bs 15,000.

Conclusion.

It is very apparent from the foregoing account that the Shell-

fish Industry is an important one both from the economic and

academic points of view. I would add that the specimens and

results obtained by the survey have fully justified the trouble

and expense incurred. It is to be regretted that no regular

and accurate statistics are available and, that nothing has so far

been done to improve this industry along the Bombay coast. The

fishermen are absolutely ignorant of the scientific methods so

extensively employed in other maritime countries of the world.

Fisheries along the Bombay coast are carried out on the old

fashioned lines, the most primitive methods being employed, in

fishing, preserving and the marketing of the products. There is

much waste, so much so, that there is no thought of the future

which is a very important factor. It may be said of these ig-

norant folk that they are gradually ‘killing the goose that lays the

golden egg’. However, in defence of the fishermen, we must ask

how much has been done by (jovergment to improve their methods ?

895 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Then again the whole case needs a thorough investigation as

to the application of methods suitable to local conditions. It is

not within the province of Government to undertake capitalistic

enterprises, but it is the duty of the State to supply data essen-

tial to commercial success.

In order to improve this industry it is essential that the fish

themselves must be studied, their distribution, breeding season,

development, habit, food, and so on. Migration is an all impor-

tant factor. A systematic biological study of the species con-

cerned is essential to the better understanding and development

of the industry. Our knowledge of the life-history and habits of

even the most important forms is very rudimentary and needs

further investigation. The edible oyster is the only shell-fish

which has been worked out by Awati and myself (2).

The further development of the industry depends on two im-

portant points. Russell and Yonge (16) has emphasized that ‘Any

development of the shell-fish industry is dependent on the solu-

tion of two problems of purification and cultivation of which the

former is the more pressing but the latter the more fundamental

in the long run.’

The shell-fish collected from creeks and backwaters, in the

neighbourhood of large towns where the sewage is discharged into

the beds (like Bombay and Karachi) stand a very great chance

of contamination from the polluted waters passing over them.

Shell-fish collected from such areas is likely to be a danger to public

health, as potential sources of dysentery and enteric fever. Legis-

lation is necessary to prohibit the sale of shell-fish collected in

such localities unless the catches are sterilized.

Artificial cultivation is a practicable proposition, a little care

and occasional attention being required during growth to ensure

a rich harvest. An idea of this may be gained from the following

extract from the official report of the Ministry of Agriculture and

Fisheries of Great Britain: — ‘It has been calculated that an acre

of the best mussel grounds will produce annually 40,000 lbs. of

mussels, equivalent to 10,000 lbs. of meat with a ‘fuel’ value of

3,000,000 calories and, a money value of about ^250, and this at

a cost of practically no capital expenditure and only such labour

as is involved in transplantation to prevent overcrowding, and to

secure the best conditions of growth and fattening. No known

system of cultivation of agricultural land can produce correspond-

ing values in the form of animal food.’

„ It is probable that many of the unproductive shallow waters

could be converted into profitable areas if the . cultivation of suit-

able areas was carried out on scientific lines which research alone

would be able to achieve.

Public opinion created in the right direction would help to

bring about a clearer realisation of the importance of the fisheries

and the greater need of concerted and properly directed effort for

its preservation and development. Firstly, by working out the Bio-

nomies of the important shell fishes, secondly, by establishing use-

ful and needed legislation for the protection of the industry and

lastly, by creating a proper department- to look- after the interests

THE SHELL-FISHERIES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 896

of the industry. The duty of such a department should be to

arouse interest in the shell-fish industry, to adopt measures for its

improvement, to teach and encourage the fishermen to use better

methods and instruct them how to restock beds. After a survey

of the areas, to introduce better methods of farming shell-fish

suitable to the various localities and conditions; and better ways

of preserving, marketing and despatch of their commodities.

The following suggestions may be of use for the further deve-

lopment of the industry : —

(1) Statistical inquiry. As no real progress is possible with-

out an accurate knowledge of the different fisheries, it is essential

that such an inquiry should be undertaken by the local Governme'nt.

(2) Experimental Station. Experimental farms should be

established at suitable places which should act as model farms for

the benefit of fishermen. At present there exists no experimen-

tal station in the Presidency where the study of shell-fish can be

carried out. It is essential to establish a well equipped laboratory

conducted by a competent staff for the investigation of the pro-

blems of the industry.

(3) Methods should be adopted to improve the quality of

the shell-fish and thereby increase the output.

(4) Size limit. There should be introduced a size limit for

all shell fish thereby preventing a waste of immature individuals.

(5) Close Season. A close season should be enforced during

the spawning period.

(6) Co-operative Societies and education for the fishermen

should be encouraged to improve moral and material conditions

as in the Madras Presidency.

Literature.

1. Abercrombie, A. (1894), ‘The Common Marine Shells of Bombay’, Jour.

Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. viii, pt. 3.

2. Awati, P. B. and Bai, H. S. (1931), ‘Ostrea cucullata’, Indian Zoolo-

gical Memoirs, iii.

3. Bertram, J. G. (1865), ‘The Harvest of the. Sea’, London.

4. Brown, J. Coggin (1923), ‘On the Occurrence of Ostrea gryphoides

(Schlotheum) in Calcutta’, Jour, and Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. xix, pp.

75-80.

5. Comber, E. (1906), ‘A List of the Marine Mollusca in the Bombay

Natural History Society’s Collection’, Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xvii,

pt. 1, p. 207.

6. Hornell, James (1909 and 1916), ‘Beport on the Marine Zoology of

Okhamandal in Kathiawar (India)’, Parts I and II.

7. Hornell, James (1910), ‘The Present Depletion of the Oyster-beds of

Sind — its causes and remedies’, Bombay, 1910.

8. Hornell, James (1910), ‘The Practice of Oyster Culture at Arcachon

(France) and its lesson for India’, Mdaras Fisheries Bulletin, No. 5.

9. Hornell, James (1916), ‘A Note on the Edible Oyster’, Madras Fisheries

Bulletin, No. 8, pp. 1-10.

10. Hornell, James (1918), ‘The Edible Mollusca of the Madras Presidency’,

Bulletm of the Madras Fisheries Department, vol. ii, pp. 1-51.

11. Kellogg, J. L. (1910), ‘Shell Fish Industries’, New York.

12. Mitsukuri, K. (1904), ‘The Cultivation of Marine and Fresh Water

Animals in Japan’, Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries (Washington), vol. xxiv,

pp. 278-83,

897 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

13. Pelseneer, P. (1906), ‘A Treatise on Zoology’, Pt. v. Edited by Lan-

kester E. Bay.

14. Eai, H. S. (1929), ‘A Short Account of the Oyster Industry in the

Island of Bombay and Salsette’, Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc.

15. Peeve, L. A. (1878), ‘Conchologia Iconica’.

16. Bussel, F„ S. and Yonge, C. M. (1928), ‘The Seas’, London.

17. Yonge, C. M. (1928), ‘Queer Fish’, London.

18. Yonge, C. M. (1903), ‘Beport of the Commissioner, United States

Commission of Fish and Fisheries’, pt. xxix, Washington (1903).

19. Yonge, C. M. (1923), ‘Marine Products of Commerce.’. Edited by D. K.

Tressler.

20. Comber, E. (1906), ‘The Economic Uses of Shells’, Jour. Bom. Nat.

Hist. Soc., vol. xvi, No. 3.

21. Comber, E. (1907), ‘Protective Legislation for Indian Fisheries’, Jour.

Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xvii, p. 637.

22. Sale, F. L. (1906), ‘Pearls in the Thana Creek (W. India)’, Jour. Bom,.

Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xvii, p. 228.

23. Walunger, W. A. (1907), ‘Estuary Fishing — Some Eemarks on its de-

cadence as an industry — in the Konkan’, Jour. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., vol. xvii,

p. 620.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY.

BY

Salim Ali.

With Notes by Hugh Whistler.

Part III.

{With two 'plates).

{Continued from page 725, vol. xxxvi).

Family: Ploceidal

Ploceus philippinus philippinus (Linnasus). The Baya.

Loxia philippina Linn.., Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i (1766), p. 305 — Philippines

error e — Ceylon.

Specimens collected: 19 $ 27-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs 1,800 ft..;

400 C (imm), 401 $ 1-12-31, 437 <5 8-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft.; 489 ’$ 1-3-32

Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 677 8-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Jedcherla, Acbampet, Mananur, Singarenni Collieries,

Borgampad, Nelipaka, Paloncha.

Iris brown; bill yellow, brownish on culmen and tip of lower mandible;

mouth pink or brownish-pink in adult, yellowish-pink or yellow in immature;

legs and feet pale- to brownish-flesh colour; claws duskier. In No. 489

(albino) iris hazel brown; bill pale yellow; mouth pale pink; legs and feet

pinkish-white.

[I have already given in the Eastern Ghats Survey Beport (J.B.N.H.S.,

vol. xxxvi, p. 832) my reasons for considering Ploceus philippinus and P. passer-

inus auct. as races of one and the same species.

The name passerinus cannot stand vide C. B. Ticehurst, Bull. B.O.C., vol.

lii, No. ccclvii, p. 104, who proposes burmanicus in lieu of it. — H.W.].

The Baya is generally distributed over the Dominions. However, I found

it much commoner in the rice-growing tracts of the Telingana than in the

western and drier portions of the country. Even in the Mahrattwada it seemed

to me to be confined to the neighbourhood of paddy cultivation, which provides

it both with food and with nesting material. The stomach of a specimen

(No. 677) shot out of a flock feeding on ripening paddy contained 125 grains,

which is sufficient indication that the damage they cause must often be con-

siderable. No. 489 was a partial albino and was a conspicuous object even at a

distance of over a quarter of a mile ! It seemed however to be perfectly

healthy and was very fat.

Bayas are popular with bird-fanciers in Hyderabad City and are largely

sold in the Chowk Market at prices ranging from 4 annas to 1 rupee or more.

They are usually carried about perched on a finger, secured by a string brace

which gives them liberty of wing movement. The birds are taught a number

of tricks, one of the commonest being to retrieve a ring thrown into a well

in mid-air, before it touches the water.

Breeding : The breeding season, as in many other parts of its range,

coincides with the South-West Monsoon. The nests, hung chiefly on Babool

trees in water-logged fields or over tanks, streams, kutcha wells etc. were in

my experience, never in large colonies as is the case in manv localities e.g.

the Konkan. Ten was the largest number I noted in Hyderabad, and even

these were not huddled together but scattered over the tree. Four was

the largest clutch of eggs in anv one nest, the more usual number being two

or three. My observations tended to confirm the findings recorded in mv paper

on the nesting habits of this species (J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxiv, pn. 947-957) spe-

cially as regards one cock having several hens and nests. Here also, as a

general rule, the nests were found to be suspended on the eastern side of the

899 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

tree presumably for protection from the South-West Monsoon. Paddy leaf

constituted the only building material in all the nests examined.

The White-backed Munia ( Uroloncha malabarica ) was everywhere noted as

a regular user of Bay a nests for laying purposes, some apparently quite new

ones, and as I have suggested elsewhere (ibid) it would not be surprising

if in course of time this species develops a habit of parasitism on the Bay a.

Davidson and Wenden found the Baya breeding in July in the Bhlma

Valley (S.F., vii, 85).

Ploceus manyar flaviceps Lesson. The Striated Weaver-Bird.

Ploceus flaviceps Lesson, Traite d’Orn. (1831), p. 435 ex Cuvier MS. — Pondi-

cherry.

Not met with by the Survey, but Col. Sparrow’s collection contains the

following specimens from Hyderabad: $ 11-7-12, <3 31-7-14 Trimulgherry.

[It is by no means certain that there are two races in India (vide Ticehurst,

Ibis 1922, p. 645) and a good series from Travancore and South India is

necessary to settle the point. The above specimens are too worn for the

p urpose . — H . W . ]

Munia malacca (Linnaeus). The Black-headed Munia.

Loxia malacca Linn., Sys.t. Nat., ed. xii, vol. i (1776), p. 302 — China, Java

and Malacca err ore — Belgaum.

On 7 December a flock of about 15 birds was observed in tall rank grass

on marshy savannah land near Pakhal Lake, in company with Uroloncha

malabrica and U. punctulata.

[The nearest locality where this species was known to me to occur was Kolair

Lake, between the Godavari and the Krishna, where Col. Sparrow met it and

obtained specimens in January and February 1913. — H.W.]

Uroloncha malabarica (Linn.) The White-throated Munia.

Loxia malabarica Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (January 1758), p. 175 —

India, Malabar Coast.

Specimens collected: 15 9 > 16 6 27-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs 1,800 ft.

Elsewhere noted at : Mananur, Singarenni Collieries, Borgampad, Nelipaka,

Paloncha, Narasampet, Pakhal Lake, Asifabad, Utnoor, Kandahar, Kannad.

Iris dark brown; bill slaty-blue; legs, feet and claws purplish-pink.

[This* species has no races. I have seen specimens in the Sparrow Collection

from Dichpalli, Navidet and Trimulgherry and in Col. Baker’s collection from

Aurangabad. — H.W.]

This Munia is a very common resident species throughout the State.

It affects orchards, open grasslands or cultivated country and its neighbour-

hood, and is usually met with in flocks of upto 20 birds. Old Baya nests are

habitually used as dormitories, as many as six birds frequently occupying

a single nest. All such nests examined had holes bored near the egg chamber

which served as exit.

Breeding : No. 15 (27 September) had soft eggs in the ovaries, while in

No. 16 (its pair) the testes were enlarged to breeding size, measuring ca.

6x4 mm. The birds were busy building in a small lime tree.

On 29 October (Borgampad) a nest was found containing 4 full-fledged

chicks ready to leave in a couple of- days. Between 30 October and 6 November

many fresh eggs were found in disused Baya nests. This was also noted

subsequently at Paloncha and elsewhere.: It appears to have become a regular

habit with this species to utilise Baya nests for laying purposes, and legiti-

mate Munia nests were rarely observed in localities where these ' were avail-

able. It is always possible to tell where a Baya nest has been used for

rearing a brood of Munias by the masses of filth left behind - by the birds.

Unlike the Baya, this species does not seem to bother about removing the

excreta of the chicks. The same is the case with their own nests too.

On 14 November a pair was observed building at Nelipaka. The breeding

season appeared to be in full swing between September and November, but

as elsewhere, it is probably not strictly confined to any particular period.

The nests, when made by the birds themselves, are. untidy globular structures

of grass &c. with entrance at the side. They are placed in Ber or Babool

bitshes and the like (usually between 5 and 10 feet high) growing in fields

Jottrn. Bombay Nat. Hist, Soc. Plate

Photos by Author.

1. Yellow-throated Sparrow ( Gymnorhis xanthocollis) at nest. 2- Nest of the Black -bellied Finch-Lark (Eremopterix grisea.)

( Note bird — female — panting with the heat ; shade temperature

ca 100° F.).

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

900

and on bands &c. In the cotton-growing districts of the Mahrattwada (Nander,

Parbhani &c.) the nests were often composed exclusively of cotton-wool filched

from neighbouring fields. I have frequently flushed three or four birds from

a single nest containing fresh eggs, and it may be that at times nests are

used as dormitories even while a clutch is being incubated. None of the

nests examined in the Hyderabad State contained more than 4 eggs or chicks.

Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85) found it breeding at all seasonsi in the

Bhlma Valley.

Uroloncha punctualata lineoventer (Hodgson). The Spotted Munia.

Munia lineoventer Hodgson, As. Bes., xix, pt. i (October 1836), p. 154 — Nepal.

Specimens collected: 235 9 3-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 294 (imm),

295 ? (imm) 12-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 378 S 26-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Mananur, Pakhal Lake, Narsampet.

Iris orange- or reddish-brown; bill slaty-black; mouth slaty with prominent

cream coloured crescent on palate; legs, feet and claws slate colour.

In immature birds (Nos. 294 and 295): Iris brown; bill horny-brown, paler

on lower mandible; gape pale yellow; mouth pale yellow with slate coloured

crescent on palate; legs and feet bluish-grey; claws duskier.

[Himalayan and Indian continental birds are the same, and Kloss

(Treubia, xiii, p. 363 (1932) ) has shown that the above is the correct name

for them. There is a specimen from Hyderabad State in Col. Sparrow’s

collection labelled : ^ 31-8-12 Mulkaram.— H.W.J

The Spotted Munia is much less common and more restricted in its distri-

bution than the preceding species; at all events, I met with it only in the

eastern and southern (afforested) portions of the State having obtained no

record from the Nander and Aurangabad Districts. It was also noted as

keeping in flocks and inhabiting the same sort of country as the White-

throated Munia.

In the BhTma Valley, Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85) found it a

common breeding species. Fairbank (S.F., iv, 260) considered it rare in the

Ahmadnagar District while at Poona, Betham (J.B.N.H.S., xiii, 687) records

it as fairly plentiful during the monsoon but. disappearing with the rains.

He believed however that a few did remain to breed.

Breeding : Nos. 294 and 295 (12 November) were immature birds with

imperfectly ossified skulls and in the plain brown juvenile plumage. Many

examples in this phase of plumage were noted amongst the flocks at this

period. No. 378 (26 November) had the testes enlarged to 8x5 mm. and

was obviously breeding, while on 8 December (Narsampet) I followed a bird

carrying nesting material to a Ber bush with 2 partly completed nests within

a foot of each other, at a height of about 7 feet from the ground. They, were

the usual Munia structures — untidy balls of grass.

In Poona the breeding season is August and September according to Betham

(J.B.N.H.S., xiv, 398). In the neighbourhood of Bombay and in the Konkan

(Kolaba District) I have found it nesting between July and October.

Stictospiza formosa (Latham). The Green Munia.

Fringilla formos a Latham, Index Orn., vol, i' (1790) p. 441 — India.

I did not personally come across this bird in the Hyderabad State, but

the Gond Baja at Utnoor who takes a rather more than casual interest in

his surroundings, described it to me so accurately that I cannot help including

it in this list. He was shown a female Bed Munia to test whether he really

knew his bird, but ha stoutly . maintained that the other was quite different

and described it unmistakably. It is said to frequent tall grass in that

locality.

[It is recorded from Chanda in the Central Provinces (‘I met . with this

rather scarce bird in the Chanda Forest region on the Pranhita near Ahiri

always in or near forest’ — Blanford, J.A.S.B., 1869, p. 186) and the Wardha

Valley (‘Only found east of the Wardha and very local’ — Blanford, J.A.S.B.,

1871, p.274); also S 14-4-67 and <$ 28-4-74 Pranhita (Hume Collection —

B.M.) — on the one border and on the other border in the Konkan (Lloyd, List

of Konkan Species) and near Mahableshwar ‘rare’ (Fairbank, S.F., iv, 261). — •

H.W.]

901 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Amandava amandava amandava Linnaeus. The Red Munia.

Fringilla amandava Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 180 — India

orientalis — Northern Guzerat (restricted in the Eastern Ghats Survey Report).

Specimens collected: 446 ? (imm) 8-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft; 671 <$ , 672 9>

673 U, 674 9 675 ?, 676 ? (imm) 8-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Iris hazel brown or brownish-orange ; bill blackish-brown in very young

birds, changing to reddish-brown; in adults or nearly grown birds bright

coral red, blackish on culmen; mouth in immature bird (No. 446) pale yellow

with tiny slate-coloured spots ; legs and *feet brownish- or pinkish-flesh colour ;

claws brown.

Not common. Small flocks of 5 to 12 birds were observed in tall grass

country and in the neighbourhood of swampy paddy cultivation. Stomachs of

the specimens contained grass seeds almost exclusively. Their gonads were in

an undeveloped condition.

According to Blanford (J.A.S.B., 1871, 274) it occurs in the Wardha

Valley, and Betham who found it plentiful in and around Poona (J.B.N.H.S.,

xiii, pp. 381 and 686) says it breeds there in October.

Carpodacus erythrinus roseatus (Blyth). The Common Indian Rose-Einch.

Erythrospiza roseata Blyth, J.A.S.B., 1842, p. 461 — Calcutta.

Specimens collected: 439 , 440 ? (imm), 441 9 8-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Iris pale brown; bill pale horny-brown; mouth pale pink; legs, feet and

claws pale horny-brown.

A winter visitor to Peninsular India and Hyderabad State. Not common.

Flocks of 10 to 15 birds were seen in scrub country in the neighbourhood of

the town. All the specimens were in heavy general moult. No. 440 had the

skull imperfectly ossified and was a first winter bird.

[This Rose-Finch is an unusually late migrant to arrive in Southern India

and it should be possible to correlate this fact with the seeding and flowering

seasons of certain crops and bamboos in Northern and Central India. — H.W.]

Gymnorhis xanthocollis xanthocollis (Burton). The Yellow-throated Sparrow.

Fringilla xanthocollis Burton, Cat. Birds, Mus. Fort Pitt, Chatham (1838),

p. 23 — Ganges between Calcutta and Benares.

Specimens collected: 106 12-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 397 1-12-31

Narsampet 800 ft. ; 578 9 19-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft. ; 660 U 6-4-32 Utnoor

1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Borgampad, Nelipaka, Asifabad, Kandahar, Aurang-

abad, Bhamarvadi. The Sparrow Collection contains specimens from Nander,

Kharkheli and Eswantaraopet.

Iris brown or hazel brown ; bill pale horny-brown, paler (blue-grey) at

base; bill in breeding season (U) blackish-brown; mouth greyish-pink; legs,

feet and claws greyish-brown.

The Yellow-throated Sparrow is commonly distributed throughout the

Dominions. My impression is that it is a resident species here though there

are vague suggestions by various authors such as Vidal (South Konkan, S.F.,

ix, 72), Butler (Deccan and S. Mahratta Country, S.F., ix, 416), Whitehead

(Sehore, J.B.N.H.S., xxi, 162) and Briggs (Mliow, J.B.N.H.S., xxxv, 390)

to the effect that it is wholly or partially migratory in those areas. This

is a point that needs settling by careful observation.

- It frequents the neighbourhood of cultivation and scrub jungle, as well

as deciduous forest, being met with in flocks of upto 30 birds or more during

winter but breaking up into pairs with the approach of the hot weather. At

Utnoor I have recorded it as the commonest bird in the deciduous forest. The

flocks retire into shady bushes or leafy Bcr trees during the heat of the day

and indulge in much chattering and chirruping. They are very partial to

the flowers of the Mhowa ( Bassia latifolia) on which they feed extensively

in the season. Even after the flocks have broken up, 10 or 12 birds may

frequently be seen feeding together on the ground.

Breeding : March and April appear to be the months when breeding is at

its height. In the specimens obtained prior to 19 March the gonads were

in an undeveloped condition. Uo, 578 (19 March) had soft ovarian eggs and

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

902

was breeding ; it had a prominent incubation patch on the abdomen and a

similar dishevelled thinly feathered patch on the back caused presumably

by the treading of the cock. The testes of No. 660 (6 April) measured ca.

8x5 mm. Numerous pairs were observed in copula at this period. Unlike

the House Sparrow, the cock flies directly on to the hen’s back from a

neighbouring branch and returns to the same or a similar perch before

repeating the operation, 3 or 4 times, at intervals of half a minute or so.

At Utnoor, Kannad and Bhamarvadi, between 1 and 29 April, these

Sparrows were observed nesting in holes in rotten trees all over the forest.

The nest is usually an untidy pad of grass and feathers at the bottom of a

hollow.

Passer domesticus indicus Jardine & Selby. The Indian House Sparrow.

Passer indicus Jardine & Selby, Illustr. Orn., vol. iii, pi. 118 (1835) — India

Bangalore.

Specimens collected: 21 $ , 22 <$ (juv.) 30-9-31 Hyderabad City; 197 <$

(imm.), 198 9 ? (imm.), 199 U ? (imm.) 30-10-31 Borgampad 160 ft; 302 9

13-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 395 S (imm.), 396 Q 1-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft.;

693 U (imm ?) 16-4-32, 706 9 , 707 S 17-4-32 Kannad 2,000 ft.

Iris brown; bill, in adult pale horny-brown, in immature more flesh-

coloured; mouth, in adult pale pink, in immature yellowish-pink with lemon-

yellow gape; legs and feet brownish flesh-colour; claws duskier.

[In the new Fauna (Vol. iii, pp. 170-172) Mr. Stuart Baker divides the

Indian House-Sparrow into a Northern and a Southern race,, the differences

given being apparently both of colour and size. I regret that I am quite

unable to agree with this. I have carefully compared the Hyderabad Survey

series, together with others in the British Museum and elsewhere from south-

ern India, with a good series from northern India and I can find no difference

at all in colour, so long as birds in a corresponding state of w-ear are con-

sidered. The colour differences relied on by Mr. Stuart Baker appear to be

purely seasonal, depending on the state of wear. As regards size, I measure

two series as follows :

Bill from skull. Wing. Tail.

12 $ S S. India. 13-15 71.5-78.5 49-57.5 mm.

12 S6 N.W. India. 13-15 75-79 54-58 mm.

and the proportionate between these two measurements is maintained however

many other birds are measured until one reaches the outer Himalayan races

when intergrading with the larger P. cl. parkini of the Trans-Himalayas

commences.

In any case Mr. Stuart Baker was wrong in calling his Northern race

P. d. indicus and his Southern race P. d. confucius. Apart from the fact,

pointed out by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst (J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, 346), that if the

Burmese and South Indian House- Sparrows are really the same bird, Passer

confucius Bonaparte is antedated by Pyrgita nigricollis Burton, Mr. Stuart

Baker could not restrict the type-locality of Passer indicus to Karachi to use

it for his Northern race for Jardine and Selby’s description wras taken from a

bird from Bangalore, namely the male of a pair collected there for' Selby by

a Lieut. Atherton (vide Kinnear, Ibis 1925, p. 751). — H.W.].

A very common resident throughout the State in towns and villages. It

had not yet penetrated to Farahabad which is a small Bhil hamlet of some 6 or

8 hovels in the midst of dense forest.

Breeding : I am doubtful if the House- Sparrow has anything like a definite

breeding season. All the time I was in Hyderabad (September to May) the

breeding was certainly in full swing. The nest is built in any convenient

hole in buildings or under rafters, and every Dak Bungalow invariably holds

its quota.

A pair at Saifabad attempted for well over a month (January-February)

to build on the wooden battens casing electric wires in the drawing room.

The available surface was barely two inches wide and the natural result was

that as soon as a couple of grasses were collected they fell down. The birds

persisted day after day from morning till night, and every evening a small

basketful of rubbish had to be removed from underneath the impossible site !

903 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The organs of the specimens were as follows: No. 21 (30 September) testes ca.

6x4 mm.; 395 (30 November) testes ca. 10x5 mm.; 396 (30 November) one

full sized and other smaller soft eggs in ovary; 693 (16 April) testes ca. 7x6

mm. ; 706 (17 April) ovarian follicles ca. 1-1.5 mm. ; 707 (17 April) testes ca.

6x4 mm. In the rest the gonads were in an undeveloped condition; those of

302 (13 November) had apparently reverted to normal size, but she was

busy feeding chicks in the thatch of our ceiling.

An extraordinary fact was brought to light by a careful dissection of the

specimens which suggests that young cocks begin to breed soon after assuming

adult plumage, even before their skulls are perfectly ossified. Thus No. 395

(testes 10x5 mm., adult plumage) was observed in copula with No. 396 (organs,

see above). The birds were captured immediately after the act, and the skull

of the male was found to be distinctly soft in the centre. On the abdomen

of the female was a prominent incubation patch indicating that she was

brooding. Similarly No. 693 (organs, see above) who was the owner of a nest

in the rafters of the Kannad Dak Bungalow also had an unossified patch in

the centre of its skull.

Copulation appears to continue from the ‘pre-oestral’ period right through,

till well after thq chicks are born. A pair who had a nest in a thatch ceiling

containing two naked chicks just hatched and two eggs on the point of hatching

(Deglur, 14 March) were repeatedly observed in copula. This was also the

case with another pair the parents of a nest of cheeping young among the

rafters. A male was once observed feeding a full-fledged young out of the

nest, the female parent not being in evidence.

At the end of April I noted that the female of a pair having a nest behind

a picture on the drawing room wall in a bungalow at Saifabad, regularly

captured moths and other insects coming to the electric light and fed them

to the clamouring brood often upto 10 o’ clock at night when the lights were

turned off. If this is not an isolated instance then surely we have a breed

of super-sparrows in the making wdiich keeping pace with human ingenuity

are striving to break through the restrictions imposed upon their activities

by natural causes such as failure of daylight I1

Four is the largest clutch of eggs or brood of young that came under

my notice in Hyderabad.

Emberiza buchanani Blyth. The Grey-necked Bunting.

Emberiza buchanani Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xiii (1844), p. 957 — Afghanistan.

Specimens collected: 485 , 486 9 1-3-32, 497 9 2-3-32 Kandahar

1,400 ft.; 690 9> 691 9 14-4-32 Aurangabad 2,000 ft.; 710 9, 711 ? 18-4-32

Kannad 2,000 ft.

^ ^Elsewhere noted at Asifabad. Specimen 9 18-1-11 Karkah (?) in Sparrow

Iris brown; bill pale brownish-yellow or brownish orange-yellow; mouth

yellowish flesh-colour; legs and feet brownish flesh-colour.

Winter visitor. Flocks of from 8 to 20 birds, sometimes in company with

Emberiza icterica, were observed feeding in open stubble country, or on broken

hillsides with sparse stunted thorn or Opuntia bushes. The flight, gait and

general behaviour are very like those of the Pipits (Anthus) but the white

ring round the eyes is conspicuous as also is the distinctly forked tail, especially

in flight. The birds appeared to be shy on the whole.

The gonads of the specimens were in non-breeding condition, but Nos.

690 and 691 (14 April) and 710 and 711 (18 April) were all very fat. This,

coupled with the fact that the) birds were in freshly moulted plumage suggested

that they were preparing to emigrate to their northern breeding grounds.

Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli. The Black-headed Bunting.

Emberiza melanocephala Scopoli, Annus i, Hist. Nat. (1769), p. 142— Carniola.

I did not come across this Bunting in the Hvderabad State, but Mrs. Tasker

who has been good enough to let me see her field notes, has recorded it from

Malegaon (Nander District) on 30-12-29. There are, moreover, two specimens

Since the above went to press, I have had occasion to observe identical

behaviour m the case of another 9 in Dehra Dun, U. P.

the Hyderabad state ornithological survey 904

in the Sparrow Collection labelled : 13-1-11 Manwath Eoad, and $ 30-1-11

Partur.

It is a common winter visitor to the Deccan being recorded as such in

the Bhlina Valley by Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85) and in the Deccan

and Southern Mahratta Country by Butler (S.F., ix, 417). In Ahmadnagar

District also it appears ini flocks (Fairbank, S.F., iv, 261).

Emberiza icterica Eversmann. The Bed-headed Bunting.

Emberiza icterica Eversmann, Vehan. Zap. Kazansk. ITniv., 1841 (1),

p. 161 — Bocky eastern shores of Caspian Sea.

In my diary of 15 October (1925) I have a record of a small flock observed

on the way from Nerargonda to Talamadri village en route to Utnoor. I noted

small flocks again on several occasions in cultivated country in March (1932)

near Kandahar, sometimes in company with E. buchanani, and Mrs. Tasker

has it in her list for Malegaon (Nander District) 30-12-29.

The Sparrow Collection contains the following specimens : $ 28-1-12,

6 $ 22-12-10, U 27-12-10, $ 2-2-11 Trimulgherry.

Winter visitor. In the Ahmadnagar District, Faibrank met with odd birds

occasionally, especially in the eastern part of the district (S.F., iv, 261). David-

son observed it at Akulkote in February (S.F., vii, 85), while Butler records

it as common at Belgaum (S.F., ix, 417).

Melophus lathami subcristata (Sykes). The Crested Bunting.

Emberiza subcristata Sykes,, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 93 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected: 712 18-4-32 Kannad 2,000 ft.; 718 $ , 719 C

20-4-32, 730 $,731 $ 21-4-32, 732 $ 22-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft.

Elsewhere not noted.

Iris brown ; bill dull orange-brown ; mouth pale pink ; legs and feet purplish-

brown; claws brown.

[The old familiar name of both editions of the Fauna , Melophus melanicterus ,

can no longer be used for the Crested Bunting of India. Hume first of all

(S.F., vii, pp. 517-8) and Dr. C. B. Ticehurst later (Bull. B.O.C., vol. liii,

No. ccclxii, p. 15) showed that the Fringilla melanictera Gmelin is not the

Crested Bunting at all but some species of Hypochera from Africa. In its

place Emberiza lathami Gray (Zool. Misc., February 19, 1831, p. 2 — China and

India, type in the British Museum collected by J. B. Beeves at Canton)

should be used. In checking the Survey series I have compared Indian and

Chinese birds and find that they must be separated as different races. The

Indian race differs from the Chinese race in the shorter finer beak, in the

more uniform and more glossy black of the upper parts on which the brown

fringes to thg feathers are greatly reduced or even absent, in having the under-

tail coverts usually black or black fringed with chestnut in place of chestnut with

pale fringes. In the female the underparts are browner, not so yellowish -

fulvous.

Emberiza cristata Vigors, P.Z.S. 1830-31, p. 35 (Himalayas) is preoccupied by

E. cristata Swainson, Zool. 111. 1823, iii, p. 148 (= Gubernatrix cristata) so the

first available name for thq Indian race will be that of Sykes, above. — H.W.]

At Kannad I only came across a single pair on a stony hillside with cactus

and light scrub, of which the male (No. 712) was secured. No others were

seen; yet at Bhamarvadi, only 8 miles to the north, these Buntings were

found to be abundant, parties of 4 or 5 — on one occasion 10 — being commonly

met feeding on the ground close to the bungalow or on the Outram Ghat

motor road. In these flocks I remarked that there was a large excess of

males over females. Unlike the Kannad pair, the birds here were tame and

confiding.

Breeding: No. 712 (18 April) had the testes measuring ca. 4x2 mm., and

they appeared to be enlarging. The bird was singing excitedly from his perch

on a branch every few seconds, for over ten minutes at a stretch, while the

hen fed on the ground nearby. The song is of several pleasant notes, very

similar to that of Saxicoloides but with this peculiarity that it invariably com-

mences with a detached single — sometimes double — chick.

This species is not uncommon in the neighbourhood of Poona (Barnes,

J.B.N.H.S., v, 320 and Butler, S.F., viii, 339). The breeding season at Satara

according to Betham (J.B.N.H.S., xiv, 399) is June and July. At Panchgani

905 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

4,400 ft. in the Western Ghats, I have taken nests with eggs (usually two)

from June till the end of August.

The note commonly uttered as the birds move about on the ground, and in

flight, is a pink-pink like a Munia but louder.

Family: Hirundinid^e.

Krimnochelidon concolor (Sykes). The Dusky Crag-Martin.

Hirundo concolor Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 83 — Poorundhur 4,000 ft.

on the Western Ghats.

Specimens collected: 493 9, 494 $ 2-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft. In the Baker

Collection there is a specimen labelled: 9 29-8-07 Aurangabad.

Elsewhere noted at : Hyderabad City Environs (boulder hillocks near Mir

Alam Tank), Nlrmal, Aurangabad, Ellora Caves, Kannad, Bhamarvadi.

Iris dark brown ; bill blackish-brown ; mouth pinkish-grey ; legs and feet

pinkish-brown ; claws brown.

A resident species, frequenting boulder hillocks, rock caves and ruins of

forts and the like, usually in pairs or small parties of 4 or 5 birds.

Breeding : The ovaries of No. 493 were in an undeveloped condition, but

the testes of the male (4x2 mm.) were firm in texture and appeared to be

enlarging.

A disused nest was examined in a deserted overgrown ruin, attached to

the wall under an arch. It was an oval saucer 5 in. long x 3 in. wide composed

of mud-pellets. A clearance of lj in. was left between the top of the saucer

and the arch. The depression was lined with soft fine tow-like rootlets,

supplemented by feathers of parakeets and other birds.

Davidson and Wendon (S.F., vii, 77) found this species breeding in abundance

in the Sholapur District in the rains and in February, and at Egatpoora in

the W. Ghats in the middle of March and again in the first week of August.

In the Hyderabad State we have breeding records from Secunderabad (Bates,

J.B.N.H.S., xxxi, 287) and Jalna (Jerdon, B. of L, i, 165).

Hirundo rustica gutturalis Scop. The Common Swallow.

Hirundo gutturalis Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insub., vol. ii, (1786),

p. 96 — Antique in Panay.

Specimen collected: 64 9 18-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Borgampad, Nelipaka, Kaulas.

Iris dark brown; bill, legs, feet and claws dark horny-brown; mouth pale

lemon-yellow.

[The single specimen obtained (Wing 111, tail 40.5-89 mm.) appears to

belong to this form rather than the typical, and this is what I should expect

from my knowledge of the distribution of the two forms in the Peninsula.

The great majority of swallows in collections' from the Indian Peninsula are

either in moult or in juvenile dress which renders racial identification very

hazardous; we shall not, therefore, be able to understand the respective distri-

butions of the two forms properly until more adults in good plumage are

obtained. Both forms may occur in Hyderabad. — H.W.]

Usually seen hawking insects gregariously near or over water. At Mananur

I observed a party skimming over the surface of a jheel for insects. It was

noted that the birds flew up wind with slow and deliberate wing beats,

scanning the surface and scooping up insects, while after a certain distance

they wheeled round and shot back to the starting point, aided by the wind,

without attempting to pick up insects on the way. From here they gradually

worked their way up again taking full advantage of the wind resistance.

In the beds of ‘Tamarisk’ ( Phyllanthus Lawii ) growing in the Godavari

River at Nelipaka, thousands of these swallows gathered every night to roost

in company with "Wagtails, Reed-warblers, Wire-tailed Swallows and numerous

other small birds.

The ovaries' of the specimen were in a quiescent state.

Hirundo smithii filifera Stephens. The Wire-tailed Swallow.

Hirundo filifera Stephens in Shaw’s- Gen. Zool. vol. xiii (2)j (1826), p. 78 —

India.

JOTTRN. BOMBAY JN AT. MIST. KOC. Plate II

A congregation of Wire-tailed Swallows ( Hirundo smithii filifera ) on the rocks of the Patalganga Gorge at

Deglur ( Nander Dist. ).

the Hyderabad state ornithological survey 906

Specimens collected: 529 $ 9-3-32 Mukher 1,350 ft; 699 9 16-4-32 Kannad

2,000 ft.

Iris brown; bill, legs, feet and claws blackisli-brown; mouth pale lemon yellow.

Other specimens from Hyderabad seen as follows: $ 15-2-11, Q 17-2-11

Malapet and Bhiknur, (Sparrow Collection); $ juv. 22-5-07 Aurangabad (Baker

Collection.)

A generally distributed and common resident throughout the Dominions,

usually met with flying over ploughed fields, pools, jheels and in the neighbour-

hood of water generally. At Nelipaka, large numbers resorted to the Tamarisk

beds in the Godavari to roost every night, while a great many -were observed

to congregate on the rocks of the Patalganga Gorge near Deglur regularly.

My impression however is that usually they keep together in smaller numbers

than the preceding species. The assemblages at the Patalganga Gorge included

many full-fledged young without the ‘wires’ in their tails, with greyish-sooty

or dull broAvn heads and much of the steel blue of the adult plumage replaced

by sooty. Many of the youngsters kept tugging playfully at the wires of

their elders’ tails — literally wire-pulling !

Breeding : Specimen No. 529 (9 March) had the testes enlarged to 6x4 mm.

and was obviously breeding. On the same date a pair of full-fledged chicks

were observed being tended by their parents. At Deglur (12-17 March) many

such young birds were observed among the colony at the Patalganga Gorge

whose steep rocky sides afforded suitable nesting sites. Many disused nests

were seen attached to the, rocks here, and on 13 March a pair was observed

busy repairing one of these — an oval saucer of mud-pellets about 5 ins.x3 ins. —

The mass of white excreta adhering to the rock-wall under one end of this

nest indicated that the preparations were for a second brood.

No. 699 (16 April) had the ovaries in a quiescent state.

A full account of its habits is given by Aitken (S.F., iii, 212). According

to him it is a resident in Berar and breeds there from February to June.

Hirundo fluvicola Blyth. The Cliff Swallow.

Hirundo fluvicola Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xxiv (1855), p. 471 — Bundelkund.

The following specimens from Hyderabad State and neighbouring areas

examined; and 3 9 9 14-11-10 Trimulgherry ; 9 3-2-11 Purnah (Sparrow

Collection); ^9 13-1-71, 9 ?-l-71 Dumagudiam (Blanford, British Museum

Coll.).

Not met with by the Survey.

This species occurs in Satara and Sholapur and is common but local in

Nasik (Barnes, J.B.N.H.S., iv, 2). According to Butler (S.F., vii, 76) it

breeds in great numbers under the railway arch over the Sholapur tank.

It also breeds about Poona (Betham, J.B.N.H.S., xii, 781), while in Berar,

Aitken (S.F., ii, 213) found it breeding at Akola. They build here directly

after the rains and also have a second brood in February.

Hirundo daurica erythropygia Sykes. The Striated Swallow.

Hirundo erythropygia) Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 83 — Poona.

Specimens collected: 495 2-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 613 9> 614 (J

26-3-32 Kaulas 1,350 ft. Also S 25-1-11 Jalna, in Sparrow Collection.

Elsewhere noted at: Mananur (Mrs. Tasker!), Deglur, Utnoor, Aurang-

abad, Kannad, Daulatabad Fort.

Iris brown; bill, legs, feet and claws brownish-black ; mouth pale yellowish-

grey.

A fairly common resident species. Frequents ruined forts, mosques and

buildings. It was also occasionally met with in deciduous forest where small

flocks were seen perched on the bare topmost branches) of some tree, sallying

forth every now and again to hawk winged insects.

Blanford (J.A.S.B., 1869, p. 172) and Aitken (S.F., iii, 212) in Berar and

Sykes in Poona (P.Z.S., 1832-33) have commented upon the appearance of

enormous flocks of Striated Swallows during the winter months, and in the

Konkan I have myself observed similar gatherings in the Kolaba District at

the same season. The birds are specially partial to telegraph! or power trans-

mission wires, and early one January morning (before 8-30) I noted an immense

concourse of this nature with the birds closely huddled together, occupying

several hundred yards of the line ! The birds dispersed for feeding as the

9

907 JOURNAL, BOMBAY -NATURAL H-iS-T: -SOCIETY-, Vol XXXV 1

sun rose higher and the. flock . had evidently moved further afield during the

day as there were none about the place when visited again at dusk.

In. Mr. -Whistler’s experience, however, the -race comprising such large -flocks

is -usually either nepalensis ■ or japonica -both -of which are migratory species

and winter visitants to peninsular India.

Breeding : Specimen No. 495 (2 March) had the testes in an undeveloped

condition, but the gonads of 613 an-d 614 (26 March) showed a tendency

•towards enlargement, those of the $ measuring 4x3 mm.

Ai-tken (ibid) found it breeding . in Berar and it is more than likely ■ that

it. does so in the- Hyderabad -State also. In the -Konkan I have taken eggs

in-- May.

Family : Motacilldle.

Motacilla alfca di.kLunensis Sykes. The Indian White Wagtail.

Motacilla dukhunensis Sykes,. B.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 91 — Dukhun.

Specimens, collected: 190 cl (imm) 29-10-3T Borgampad 160 ft. ; 322 9

(imm), 323 9 (imm) 16-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. The Sparrow Collection contains

the following: 9 26-3-11, 9 11-11-12 Trimulgherry ; 9 25-1-11 Jalna;9

10-2-11 Basar..

Iris brown: bill, legs, feet and claws brownish-black ; mouth yellow and

greyish-pink or greyish-pink; gape in 190 bright yellow.

A common cold weather visitor throughout the Dominions. Last seen

17 March (Degiur), .Sykes (P.Z.S., 1832, 91) describes it as the most common

and abundant wagtail in the Deccan.: The Survey found it very common at

-Nelipaka where large numbers, were regularly observed on the grassy mudbanks

of the Godavari River 'feeding in company with other wagtails. At night they

roosted by the hundred' among the dense tamarisk beds.

All the specimens were immature with skulls in varying stages of ossification.

Motacilla maderaspatensis Gmelin. The -Large Pied Wagtail.

Motacilla maderaspatensis Gmelin, Syst. Nat.', vol."'i, pt. ii (1789), p'. 961—

India.

Specimens collected: 30 9, 31 S 5-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 201 9

30-10-31 Borgampad 160 ft. Other specimens examined: S ’2-1-71 Dumagudiam

(Blanford) and U 23-11-69, 9'- 25-10-69 Secunderabad (Slaughter) in B. M.

Collection; 28-10-06, 9 30-9-06 Aurangabad in H. R. Baker’s collection.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Dornakal, Kazipet,

Singarenni ■ Collieries, Nelfpika; Narsampet, Asifabad, Kand'ahar, . Mukher,

Degiur, Nirmal, Kannad.

Iris brown; bill horny-black; mouth slaty-black; Tegs, feet and claws horny-

black.

[As I have shown in the Eastern Ghats Survey Report (Vol. xxxvi, p.

842) this is not a race of Motacilla alba. — H. W.J. . "

The Large' Tied Wagtail is commonly distributed throughout the -Hyderabad

Stale where it is resident. It is usually met with in pairs in the neighbourhood

of streams , jheels and village tanks etc., especially those partly dry with

shingly or rocky beds. It often frequents the vicinity of human habitations

where it may commonly be seen perched on roof-tops and' the like.

At Nelipaka many pairs were 'regularly observed feeding on the- mudbanks

of the Godavari River in company with other wagtails., Every now and again

a bird, or a pair, 'would fly out over' the water chasing one another or members

of other pairs, "but I never saw them cross over to the opposite bank into

British territory.' Both' chaser and- chased invariably wheeled round when

about midstream and returned 'to Nizam’s territory! At night the birds resorted

to the Tamarisk (Phylldrttlius Lawii) beds to roost in mixed company.

The' song uttered by the male at most seasons, but chiefly with the advent

of breeding, is pleasant and sweet, in parts not unlike that of the Magpie Robin

(Copsychus).

Breeding : The gonads of the specimens (all October) were, in an undeveloped

.condition. Between 6 and! 10 March I observed, at Mukher that almost every

"masonry" well had a pair in occupation, and that the males were generally

singing from the tops of wooden stakes! of the water-lifting gear or thereabouts.

the Hyderabad state ornithological survey ms

On 16 March (Deglur) two pairs were observed building at the base of tussocks

of grass growing out of the crevices in a lock midstream in the Patalganga

Gorge. The material employed consisted chiefly of scabs of algae from drying-up

pools in the river bed, and other rubbish which in one case was a piece of

old fine-meshed fishing net. The two nests were within .3. feet of each other.

On 12 April (Nirmal) a nest was found at the base of: a tussock ofi grass

growing from a crevice in a rock in a roadside pool. The nest was a pad of

roots, hairs,- wool etc.,- with a cup-like depression in the centre. TtJ contained

4 eggs-— 3- hardset, 1 cracked and addled. They measured 21x15 mm. (3) and

20x15 mm. (1); In appearance the eggs were very like* those of the House-

Sparrow— -greyish- white with brown specks all over, specially thick round the

broad end.

According -to Davidson and Wenden (S.E-., vii, 84) the Pied Wagtail breeds

in the Deccan (i.e. the Bhima Valley, principally) in the cold weather and

rains. In the neighbourhood of Poona, Betham (J.B.N.H.S., jxiii, 381 and. 687)

found it breeding in March. He also took 2 clutches of ‘4 eggs each on 14, and

26 - September.

Motacilla cinerea caspica S. G. Gmelin. The Eastern' Grey Wagtail.

Tarus casyicus S. G. Gmelin, Boise Buss., vol. iii (1774) p. 104, pi. 20,' fig. 2

— Caspian Sea.,

Specimens collected: 135 $ 16-10-31 Earahabad 2,800 ft.; 438, 9 8-12-31

Narsampet 800 ft.; 624 9 1-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.; 700 9 16-4:32 Kannad

2,000 ft.

Elsewhere noted, at: Singarenni Collieries, Nelipaka, Deglur.

Iris brow;n; bill horny-grey, blacker on culmen and tip of lower ' mandible;

mouth pale yellowish-pink or greyish-pink; legs and feet brownish flesh-colour;

claws brown. Y ,,

Winter visitor. The Grey Wagtail Was usually met with .singly . near

streams or rocky pools in forest, never away from water. It was nowhere

abundant. The earliest and latest dates of meeting are supported by specimens.

A long note on the migrations of this bird by Mr. Whistler which sum-

marizes the literature on the point, will be found in J.B.N.H.S., xxix, 287.

The organs of all the specimens were in a quiescent state. Both Nos. 621

(1 April) and 700 (16 April) were very fat and presumably preparing to

emigrate.

Motacilla flava beema (Sykes). The Indian Blue-headed Wagtail.

Budytes beema Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (duly ,31), p. 90— Dukhun.

.Specimen collected: 501 G 3-3-32 .Kandahar 1,400 ft. Other, specimens

from Trimulgherry in the Sparrow Collection are as follows: G 16-3-11, <S 6

21-3-11, G 26-3-11. -

Iris brown; .bill horny-brown, paler at base of lower mandible; gape dull

lemon-yellow; mouth yellowish-pink; legs,, feet and claws horny-black.

The specimen was shot on the grass-covered marshy margin of the village

tank .where this wagtail appeared to be . common. Owing, however, to the

difficulty of identifying, with certainty, the different .'members of this group in

their various plumages in the. field, I . refrain from giving sight records. It is

probably a fairly common species in winter in the, Deccan.

The testes of the specimen showed no departure from the normal non-

breeding condition.

Motacilla flava thunbergi Billberg. The Grey-headed Wagtail.

Motacilla thunbergi Billberg, Synops. Fauna Scand. pt. ii '(1828) , p. 50 —

Lapland.

Not obtained by the Survey.

[Two males, not however in full plumage, in. the Sparrow Collection collected

at Trimulgherry on 5-11-12 and 10-11-10 appear to belong to this form. One

would expect it to occur in Hyderabad as it is found in Travancore and Ceylon,

though it is possible that the Ceylon winter visitors arrive via the Andamans. — ■

H.W.]

Davidson and Wenden (S.E., vii, 84) considered it a common winter visitor

to the Deccan and observed it at Poona as late as the end of March.- Butler

909 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vul. XXXV I

(S.F., ix, 410) collected specimens (now in the British Museum) at Belgaimi

in September and records it as common there.

Motacilla feldegg melaaogriseus Homeyer. The Black-lieaded Wagtail.

Budytes melanogriseus Homeyer, Jour, fur Orn., 1878, p. 128 — India.

Specimen collected: 534 9 12-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

Elsewhere noted at : Nrrmal.

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, paler at base of lower mandible; gape dull

lemon-yellow; mouth yellowish-pink; legs, feet and claws liorny-black.

The specimen was procured in the neighbourhood of flooded paddy-fields

close to the town, where the birds were fairly abundant. Its ovaries were

undeveloped but it was excessively fat and apparently preparing to emigrate.

On 12 April these Wagtails were still present, several being observed about

the tank at Nirmal in full breeding plumage.

Motacilla citreola werae Buturlin. The Yellowy-headed Wagtail.

Motacilla citreola werce Buturlin, Orn. Monatsb., 1909, p. 197 — Simbirisk,

S.-E. Bussia.

Specimens collected: 532 ? 9-3-32 Mukher 1,350 ft.; 533 9 12-3-32, 552 U

15- 3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft. Other specimens from Hyderabad in the Sparrow

Collection as follows: $ 6-11-12, 8-11-12, 7-11-12, 16-3-11, 9

?-3-ll Trimulgherry.

The British Museum Collection has $ 20-3-75 Alimadnagar (Fairbank) ; <$

16- 2-70 S.-E. Berar (Blanford).

Iris brown; bill horny-brown, paler at base of lower mandible; gape dull

lemon-yellow; mouth yellowish-pink; legs, feet and claws horny-black.

Winter visitor. All the Survey specimens were shot near water. At Deglur

these wagtails were very partial to the flooded paddy-fields on the outskirts

of the town, where numbers could always be seen in company with M. /. mela-

nogriseus and other species.

The specimens were all undergoing body moult into the yellow-headed

breeding plumage, the rectrices and tectrices being fresh. The last 2 examples,

moreover, were very fat and it was clear that the birds were preparing to leave

shortly for their northern breeding grounds. Their gonads as yet were un-

developed.

Dendronanthus indicus (Gfmelin). The Forest Wagtail.

Motacilla indica Gmelin, Syst. Nat., vol. i, pt. ii (1789), p. 962 — India.

On 12 October (1931) a pair was noted in a small grassy clearing in forest

at Mananur, and a single bird w~as observed flying over the Forest Bungalow at

Farahabad (2,800 ft.) on 17 October. When alarmed, the birds flew up into

the nearest tree like Pipits, and both while perched and on the wing uttered

a pink-pink reminiscent of the Crested Bunting ( Melophus lathami).

I did not come across this wagtail elsewhere within the State.

[Recorded by Blanford from the Godavari Valley (Ball, S.F., vii, 219)

(Original record not found). I have, traced no other record at all between the

sub-Himalayan tracts, where it is evidently a casual straggler, and the Western

Coast where it is recorded in numerous localities from Mahableshwar to Travail-

core. It was not obtained by the Eastern Ghats Survey at all, and on the

eastern side I only know of it at Nellore (Jerdon, B. of I., ii, 227) and Madras

(‘Seen twice by me’), Dewar, J.B.N.H.S., xvi, 490. — H.W.]

Anthus trivialis trivialis (Linn.). The Tree-Pipit.

Alanda trivialis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, vol. i (1758), p. 166 — Sweden.

Specimens collected: 504 c? , 505 9 3-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.

Iris brown; bill, upper mandible and tip of lower mandible horny -brown,

rest of lower mandible flesh-colour; mouth pale pink; legs and feet brownish

flesh-colour.

Other specimens from Hyderabad State in the Sparrow Collection are as

follows: 9 28-1-12, 9 2-11-12 Trimulgherry; o? 20-12-10 Medchal ; U 23-1-11

Jalna.

The Survey specimens were secured out of several birds feeding toge-

ther in a scattered flock on moist grassy land bordering the tank. They

were also observed in stubble fields and on the ground under mango topes.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

910

On account of the possible confusion with other species and races, I omit

sight records as they can obviously be of little value.

No. 504 (3 March) had apparently completed a general moult; it was in

fresh plumage and very fat. No. 505 was just completing its moult into

fresh plumage.. I conclude from these particulars that the birds were getting-

ready for the outward migration.

Anthus Irivialis haringtoni Witherby. Harington’s Tree Pipit.

Anthus trivialis haringtoni Witherby, Bull. B.O.C., vol. xxxvii (1917),

p. 43 — Khagan Valley.

Specimens collected: 487 $ 1-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 564 $ 16-3-32'

Deglur 1,300 ft.; 622 $ 1-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.; 734 $ 22-4-32 Bhamarvadi

2,500 ft.

Iris brown; bill, upper mandible and tip of lower mandible horny-brown;

rest of lower mandible flesh colour; mouth pale pink; legs and feet brownish

flesh colour.

Met with singly and in parties of 4-10 birds in chilli fields, fallow land

and light deciduous jungle, at the edge of forest.

No. 487 (1 March) was in general moult — body, wings and tail. No. 564

was undergoing heavy body moult only, having the rectrices and tectrices

fresh, while both Nos. 622 (1 April) and 734 (22 April) were in freshly moulted

plumage. Nos. 564 and 622 were very fat.

[The new Fauna , vol. iii, p. 281, informs us that Harington’s Tree Pipit

is a very sedentary form and very seldom wanders into the lower hills of

N.-W. India. This statement has always seemed to me very questionable as I

never met with it in winter in any of the lower and middle ranges of the

North-West Himalayas, and it could hardly be expected to live in winter on

the high hills where it breeds. The discovery of the winter quarters at last is

therefore of the highest interest.

In good plumage haringtoni differs from the typical race in the more earthy

less olive-fulvous brown of the upper parts, the paler fulvous of the breast

and flanks, the slightly heavier streaking of the breast and the broader deeper

bill. In worn breeding plumage the only recognisable difference is that of the

bill.— H.W.]

Anthus campestris thermophilus (Jerdon). Blyth’s Pipit.

Corydalla thermophilus Jerdon (ex Hodgson), Birds of India, vol. ii (1863),

p. 233— Nepal.

Specimens collected : 207 9 (imm) 1-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft. ; 261 ? 8-11-31

Nelipaka 160 ft. Col. Sparrow’s collection contains the following: $ $ 27-10-10

Trimulgherry.

In the British Museum Collection there are the following specimens from

the Deccan: 9 ?-2-70 S.-E. Berar (Blanford), o? -10-74 Shah Dongar, Ahmad-

nagar (Fairbank).

Iris brown; bill flesh colour, dusky on upper mandible and tip of lower

mandible; legs and feet pale yellow; gape and mouth bright yellow.

[This form is now believed to be a race of campestris and not richardi as

apparently it breeds in part in the same areas as richardi. The correct name

for striolatus = godleicslcii is thermophilus, vide C. B. Ticehurst, J.B.N.H.S.,

xxxii, 352— H.W.]

Met with singly or in pairs or small parties in stubble fields, grass and

fallow land &c. or on the edge of cultivation.

No. 207 (1 November) was a young bird of the vear with imperfectly ossified

skull.

Anthus campestris griseus. Nicoll. The Eastern Tawny Pipit.

Anthus campestris griseus Nicoll, Bull. B.O.C., vol. xli (9 November 1920),

p. 25 — Turkestan.

Specimens collected: 75 (imm) 10-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft.; 556 ?

15-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

Iris dark brown; bill pinkish flesh-colour, dusky on culmen; legs and feet

brownish flesh-colour; claws dusky.

Met with singly or in pairs or small parties in open country — cultivation,

fallow land etc.

911 JOURNAL, BOMBAY-NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

No. 75- (10 October) was*, immature with imperfectly ossified skull.

Blanford mentions it from the Wardha Valley (J.A.S.B., 1871) while Fain-

bank considered it a common bird in the Deccan' (S.F., iv, 260),

Anthus rufulus rufulus Vieillot.. The Iudian Pipit.

Anthus rufulus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d ’Hist, Nat:, nouv. ed., vol. xxxvi

(1818), p. 494 — Bengal.

Specimens Collected: 198 3 30-10-81, 220 § (imm) 2-11-31 Borgampad

160 ft. ; 262 3 8-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft. ; 354 3 (imm) 21-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft. ;

399 3 1-12-31 Narsampet 800 ft. ; 625 3 1-4-32 Utnoor 1,250 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Kandahar, Kaulas, Kamareddi, Nirmal, Aurangabad.

Iris brown; bill, upper mandible and tip of lower mandible horny-brown, rest

of lower mandible pale flesh-colour; gape yellow; mouth bright yellow in im-

ipature, yellowish-pink in adult; legs and feet pale yellow or brownish flesh-

colour ; claws dusky.

Like the other pipits, this species frequents open grassland, fallow or newly

ploughed fields and the edge of cultivation, in pairs or small scattered

flocks. It is common and generally widespread in the Peninsula and a resident

everywhere.

[No. 220 is much paler than the others and I do not feel quite sure whether

it is an unusually small specimen of A. campestris griseus or a winter migrant

of the pale form of rufulus in the N.-W. which I am naming in the Eastern

Ghats Survey: Report. :

I can find no point by which to decide 'whether rufulus and other races

should be regarded as races of richardi or whether there should be a separate

species rufulus with its own races.— H.W.]

Breeding : Specimens No. 220 (2 November) and 354 (21 November) were

young birds of the year with imperfectly ossified skulls. In No. 399 (1 Decem-

ber) the testes still showed no signs of development, but from about the third

week of March up to the time the Survey was in the field the birds were

mostly observed in pairs and they were breeding. On 28 March (Basar) a

bird was noted carrying food to nest on dry fallow land covered with short

grass and deep hoof-prints of cattle. No. 625 (1 April) had the testes enlarged

to 10x6 mm. and it had a prominent incubation patch on the abdomen. It

was one of a pair on the dry grassy edge . of a tank from) whose behaviour

it was obvious that they were breeding. The nest itself, however, was not

located.

At this season the males were constantly rising in the air, soaring a few

feet and singing -a feeble, little song-, somewhat like, but much inferior to and

shorter than that of the Skylark ( Alauda ). : .

Family : Alaudid^e .

Calandrella brachydactyla dukhunensis Sykes. The Rufous Short-tailed Lark.

Alauda dukhunensis Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 93— Dukhun.

Specimen collected: 537 9 (imm) 12-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

' Not noted elsewhere.

Iris brown ; bill greyish flesh colour, dusky on culmen ; gape; cream colour ;

mouth' pale pink; legs and feet brownish flesh coloun ... •

. [Three specimens obtained by the Eastern Ghats Survey in the Godavery

Delta (19-26 January) and three specimens collected by Butler at Belgaum

(26-28 February, Hume Collection) provide the most southerly records of this

race but Davison (J.B.N.H.S., xi, 674) considered (probably correctly) that two

or three flocks of Short-toed Larks seen by him in North Kanara belonged to

this race. — H.W.]

A flock of over a hundred birds kept to broken sparsely.-shrubbed country

near, cultivation on the outskirts of the town, and was observed on three succes-

sive days coming to the river to drink at one particular spot near the Patalganga

Gorge at about 8 aim. I have also noted before . this habit of coming to drink

in the morning at favourite tanks in the! Kolaba District between the months

of November and January.

The specimen was a young bird with imperfectly ossified skull, ...

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

912

Mirafra javanica cantillans Blyth. The Singing Bush-Lark.

Mirafra cantillans Blyth, J. A. S.B., vol. xiii (after December 1844), p.960—-

Bengal.

Specimen collected : 536 G 12-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

Iris hazel brown'; bill horny-brown on culmen, pale flesh colour on lower

mandible and commissure ;. mouth bright lemon yellow; legs and feet pale

flesh colour.

The above was -a single bird perched on the dry grassy bund of a paddy-field.

A specimen, in the Sparrow . Collection is labelled as follows : . $- 5-8-12 . Tri*

mulgherry. According, to the collector it is a common resident species in this

locality.

[Throughout its range this Bush-Lark seems to have one unfailing character-

istic: that it is extremely local being common in one small patch of country and

then absent for miles — no doubt some ecological significance in this. Indian

birds are best treated as a race of javanica. — H.W.].

Breeding : The testes of the specimen measured about 2x1 mm. and appeared

to be developing.

Captain Bates found 2 nests at Secunderabad : (no details— J.B.N.H.S., xxxi,

287), while at Trimulgherry Colonel Sparrow has taken eggs between 9 April

and 18 May. He considers April to be the best month for them. As, however,

there is no mention of Mirafra affinis at all in his MS. notes, the above records

must be accepted with caution.

Mirafra affinis Blyth. The Madras Bush-Lark. - -

Mirafra affinis Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xiii (after December 1944 — Groomsur

in G-anjam.

Specimens collected : 11 G 12 G 27-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs' (Uirida

Sagar Tank) 1,800 ft.; 29 G 5-10-31, 109 12-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft. ; 251 ?■

5-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 284 $ 10-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 404 9 2-12-31

Narsampet 800 ft. Also examined : G 3-3-12 Trimulgherry (Sparrow Coll.)

Iris hazel brown; bill horny-brown on culmen, pale flesh on lower mandible

and commissure; mouth pale pink; legs and feet pale flesh colour; claws

duskier. . ,/_

[This is certainly not a race of ass arnica as I shall explain in the E, Hhats

Survey Beport. It must either be treated as a separate species or as a face

of Mirafra erythroptera. The differences in plumage bet ween these two forma

are only such as are' ordinarily of subspecific value whilst their ranges are

largely complementary. — H.W. ] .

Both affinis and erythroptera were undoubtedly obtained by the Survey in .the

southern and eastern portions of Hyderabad State (see localities of specimens),,

though it is clear on the whole that the former is the more eastern and southerji

form, while the latter is the northern and western.

Further observation is necessary to determine whether in areas where their

occurrence coincides, both forms occupy different terrain or whether the occa-

sional overlapping is due. to seasonal wandering.

Mirafra larks are commonly and abundantly distributed all over the Do-

minions. They are usually met with singly or in pairs in open scrub country,

stony grassland, castor fields, on footpaths and small clearings in tall grass,

and sometimes even in secondary forest.

The male utters, a squeaky weet-weet like the Purple Sunbird (Leptocoma

asiatica) as if rises 30 or 40 feet in the air to soar and sing, and parachutes

in spirals or zigzags on motionless outstretched wings and dangling legs to

p.erch on a , stone or bush, or even, quite high up, .in ..a tree. The song i:S

raither a feeble piping chee-wichee, chee-wichee , chee-wichee &c. .It also

frequently sings . from its perch on bush- and tree-tops. Besides the song, it

has a mousy*, quick-repeated chip -chip -chip -chip which is uttered from a perch,

the sound being something between the low cheeps of the Small Minivet

( Pericrocotus peregrinus ) and . the notes /of the Elowerpecker ( Dicceum

erythrorhynchum).

When alarmed the birds often fly up into the nearest tree like Pipits ,

shooting up into the branches without wing-beats after the first flutter.

I found these, birds most often, iri laterite and moorum country where the

Colour of their wings matched the soil, to perfection,

913 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

In both Nos. 11 and 12 (27 Sept.) the testes measured 3x2 mm. and were

apparently reverting to non-breeding condition. In the rest of the specimens

the gonads were minute.

Mirafra erythroptera erythroptera Blyth. The Bed- winged Bush-Lark.

Mirafra erythroptera Blyth, J.A.S.B., vol. xiii (after December 1844), p. 958

— N. Indian Peninsula = Northern Deccan.

Specimens collected: 13 S (imm?), 14 S (imm?) 27-9-31 Hyderabad City

Environs (TJmda Sagar Tank) 1,800 ft.; 464 S 13-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft. ; 511

S 5-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.; 521 S 8-3-32, 522 9 Mukher 1,350 ft.; 709 S

18-4-32 Kannad 2,000 ft.; 725 S 20-4-32 Bhamarvadi 2,500 ft..

Other specimens from Hyderabad and neighbouring areas seen by Mr. Whistler

as follows: S 21-1-70, o? 2-70 S.-E. Berar (Blanford — B.M. Coll.); S 11-11-10,

S 12-3-11 Trimulgherry (Sparrow Coll.); 9 4-7-07, S 18-7-07 Aurangabad

(H. B. Baker Coll.).

Soft parts same as in M. af finis.

The habits and habitat of all the three foregoing species of Mirafra larks

are more or less identical, and it is difficult to differentiate the birds in the

field.

Breeding : Specimens No. 13 and 14 (27 September) were undergoing post-

nuptial moult (body and wings) while their testes which measured 3x2 mm.

appeared to be reverting to normal non-breeding condition. Strangely enough

their skulls were imperfectly ossified. The testes of No. 511 (5 March) and

those of 709 (18 April) were enlarging. In the former they measured 6x3 mm.

and in the latter 4x3. The rest of the specimens showed no gonadal

development.

Col. Sparrow, who found this a common resident species at Trimulgherry,

took nests between 13 March and 9 June, principally during April and May.

Jerdon (B. of I., ii, 419) records it as very common about Jalna in low jungle,

while between Poona and Baichur, Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85)

mention it also as very common, dozens being seen all along the railway line,

many perching on the telegraph wires.

Galerida deva (Sykes). Sykes’ Crested Lark.

Alaada deva Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832 (July 31), p. 92 — Dukhun.

Specimens collected : 8 9 25-9-31 Hyderabad City Environs (Mir Alam

Tank) 1,800 ft.; 500 S 2-3-32, 502 S , 503 S (imm.) 3-3-32 Kandahar 1,400 ft.;

530 S', 531 9 9-3-32 Mukher 1,350 ft.; 561 9 562 9 16-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

Other specimens examined by Mr. Whistler: S 18-7-12, 9 27-10-10

Trimulgherry (Sparrow Coll.); S 16-9-06, S 4-7-07, 9 9 18-4-07, 9 30-10-06

Aurangabad (H. B. Baker’s Coll.); [c?] 10-8-18 Bolarum (A. J. Currie);

9 S 30-6-74 (with eggs), 9 13-7-74 Sholapur (Hume Coll, in B.M.).

Iris hazel brown; bill pale flesh colour, horny-brown on culmen; mouth

pinkish-yellow; legs and feet brownish flesh colour. In No. 561, gape yellowish

cream colour.

These larks were found frequenting bare stony, broken country with straggly

grass and sparse stunted bushes. They were met with either in pairs or small

flocks which flew about in disorderly fashion.

Breeding : No. 8 (25 September) was breeding. The ovary contained ‘soft

eggs’, the largest of which measured 9 mm. in diameter. 503 (3 March) was

a young bird with the skull as yet imperfectly ossified in the centre. The

gonads of the other specimens showed no departure from the normal non-breeding

condition.

Col. Sparrow found this species breeding in the neighbourhood of Trimul-

gherry between 12 March and 25 September, chiefly during July and August

when he took most eggs. At Sholapur it breeds from July to September

(Davidson, J.B.N.H.S., v, 325) and in the Bhima Valley (Davidson and Wenden,

S.F., vii, 86) in July and August.

Jerdon observed Sykes’ Crested Lark at Jalna (B. of I., ii, 432).

Alauda gulgula australis Brookes. The Indian Skylark.

Alaada australis Brookes, S.F., vol. i (1873), p. 486 — Ootacamund.

Specimen collected: 547 S 14-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

914

Another examined by Mr. Whistler in the B.M. Coll. : <$ 5-3-70 S.E.

Chanda (Blanford.).

Iris hazel brown; bill horny-brown on culmen and tip of low7er mandible,

pale brownish flesh colour on rest ; mouth orange-pink ; legs and feet brownish

flesh colour.

One of a pair on moist grassland with sparse bushes &c. on the margin

of a tank near the town. Apparently breeding or about to. The testes of

the specimen measured 6x5 mm. and he was continually soaring and hovering,

ant] singing for well over 5 minutes at a time.

Another pair observed in similar facies,- also with the male soaring and

singing, at Nlrmal on 12 April was also very probably this species.

[An interesting record. Single specimens of Skylarks are notoriously

difficult to identify and a series is really necessary to eliminate the possibility

of error, but the above bird seems to agree with Nilgiri specimens. — H.W.]

At' Satara where it is not uncommon, Davidson took what he supposed -was

a nest of this species in May. (Davidson and Wenden, S.F., vii, 86).

Ammomanes phcenicura phoenicura (Franklin). The Bufous-tailed Finch-Lark.

Mirafra phcenicura Franklin, P.Z.S. , 1830-1831 (25 October 1831), p. 119 —

Between Calcutta and Benares and in the Yindhyan Hills between thq latter

place and Gurra Mandela.

Specimens collected: 212 , 213 cf 1-11-31 Borgampad 160 ft.; 270 $

9-11-31 Nelipaka 160 ft.; 462 9 13-12-31, 478 S 16-12-31 Asifabad 1,200 ft.;

609 tf, 610 9 24-3-32 Kaulas 1,400 ft.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City Environs, along Jedcherla-Achampet

Road (Mahbubnagar Dist..), Singarenni Collieries, Kandahar, Basar, Nlrmal,

Utnoor, Aurangabad, Kannad.

Iris hazel brown ; bill horny-brown, darker on upper mandible and tips;

mouth dull orange, orange-pink or flesh colour varying presumably writh age ;

legs and feet brown ; claves darker.

The Rufous-tailed Finch-Lark is a very common resident species over the

entire State as it is throughout the Deccan. It frequents ploughed fields,

fallow land and the neighbourhood of cultivation, being usually met with in

small parties wffiich break up into pairs with the advent of the breeding season.

It has a pleasant song which is not infrequently uttered even while the bird is

perched on a clod or stone on, the bund of a field. While moving along the

ground to feed — which it does in short runs — I have often noticed it flicking

open its wings. I believe this is a manoeuvre to dislodge little insects from

their hiding places in the various nooks and crannies or under the grass etc.

This method, as I have remarked elsewhere, is also employed by many different

species of birds. Their food chiefly consists of grass seeds, but insects are also

taken. Though not shy ordinarily, they become extremely • wary and circum-

spect in the breeding season, so that it is by no means easy to mark down their

nests by their movements.

Breeding : 609 and 610 (a pair — 24 March) were breeding. The testes of

the male measured 6x5 mm. while the female had a number of ‘soft eggs’

the largest measuring 10 mm. in diameter. Both the birds wrere in fresh

plumage and the female had a prominent incubation patch on the abdomen.

On 29 March a pair were observed (both birds) carrying grass blades in

fallow land with boulders and sparse scrub at Basar, while on the same day

another bird was noted carrying an insect in its bill for the young. The birds

at Aurangabad and Kannad were also obviously breeding.

The gonads of the specimens prior to 24 March were in an undeveloped

condition.

Col. Sparrow found nests of this species between 28 February and 18 April.

In the neighbourhood of Poona, where it is common, the breeding season is

April and May (Betham, J.B.N.H.S., xiii, 687). In the Sholapur District also

it nests at the same season (Davidson and Wenden, S.F., vii, 85) while at

Nasik, according to Davidson (J.B.N.H.S., v, 322) February and March appear

to be the most favoured months.

Eremopterix grisea grisea (Scopoli). The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark.

Alauda grisea Scopoli, Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr.. vol. ii (1786), p. 94 —

Gingee.

915 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL. XXXVI

Specimens collected: 65 8-10-31 Mananur 2,000 ft. ; 362 ■ $ 23^11-31, 383

9 27-11-31 Paloncha 300 ft.; 555 $ 15-3-32 Deglur 1,300 ft..

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City Environs, Jedcherla-Achampet Eoad

(Mahbubnagar District), Singarenni Collieries,- Borgampad, Nelipaka, Kandahar,:

Nlrmal, Aurangabad, Kannad.

Iris c? reddish-brown (Indian red), 9 yellowish-brown; bill pale horny-grey,

duskier on culmen ; mouth pale pinkish with admixture of yellow in young'

birds. ; . legs, feet and claws brownish flesh colour.

This Lark is' even commoner everywhere in the Dominions than the foregoing.:

It inhabits similar terrain and is, besides, particularly fond of squatting on and

feeding along roads. It is a familiar sight, to see the birds — pairs or. small

parties — rise up suddenly when a car is almost upon them, with rapid (‘hovering’)

wing beats followed by short spells of sailing, often one bird chasing another,

turning and twisting close to the ground. After a hundred yards or so both

birds mount almost perpendicularly up in the air and sweep round to about

the same spot whence they rose and settle down on the road once more. The,

males have a very pleasant and powerful little song which they sing while

soaring and hovering. While singing they also indulge in a variety of aerobatics

especially in the breeding season, shooting perpendicularly to earth when the

song is over.

Breeding : The season is apparently much prolonged. Nos. 65 (8 October)

and 362 (23 November) both had testes measuring about 6x4 mm. suggesting

that they were breeding, while between 1 March and the end of April the

breeding was certainly in full swing. No. 555 (15 March) had the follicles

enlarged, the largest measuring about 2 mm. and it had an incubation patch

on the abdomen. A female carrying Bombax down in her bill was followed up

on the same day to a nest under a projecting stone in open stony country'.'

The following nests were further located —

Kaulas : 26 March. (1) At base of diminutive Acacia bush. 2 eggs.

(2) In similar situation about 100 yards distant. 2 <*ggs.

(3) At base of small thistle-like plant ( Argemone mexicana ) on open

shingly ground near stream. 2 eggs.

(All the above were, within a radius of 300 yards.)

Kannad : 16 April. (4) In freshly ploughed field under shelter of a

clod (on eastern side). 2 eggs.

The nests are tiny circular depressions lined with grasses sometimes bordered

with small stones etc. and 2 seems to be the usual number of eggs laid.

On 14 April (Aurangabad) a male was observed carrying food to young on

the open stony country- surrounding ‘Bibi-ka-Maqbera’.

While trying to photograph the nests of these Larks, 1 discovered that

the female , was always the more fearless of the pair when on or approaching

the nest with; an observer nearby. Both parents share in incubation and

care of the young.

In the Bhima Valley, Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 85) were' of the

opinion that it breeds at all seasons, while in the neighbourhood of Trimulgherry

Col. Sparrow found nests between 19 October and 29 April. He considers

November and April the best months for eggs.

[Captain Bates has given me a detailed account of nests at Madras, where

he found 4 nests within 130 yards, 2 of the nests being only 4 paces apart.'

It is. clear that in this species there is no question of ‘territory’ and I think

that in most species the value and existence of ‘territory’ has been much

exaggerated. It is probably the exception and not the rule we are led' to

expect. — H.W.]

Family: Zosteropim::

Zosterops palpebrosa salimalii Whistler. The White-eye.

Zosterops palpebrosa alii ^Vhistler, T.B.N.H.S. Vol. xxxvi, p. 811.

Specimens collected: 73 9 9-10-31, 104 9 12-10-31 Mananur 2,000'; 166

9 18-10-31 Farahabad 2,800/ ; 567..$ _18-3-32 Kaulas 1,350. : ' L

Elsewhere, noted at: Faloncla, Asifabad, Deglur, Utnoor, Kannad, Blia-

rharvadi,

916

THE HYDERABAD ST A TE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

Iris hazel brown; bill brownish-slate, paler (bluish-grey) on lower mandi-

ble; legs and feet bluish-grey; claws dusky; mouth pink or yellowish-pink.

The White-eye is common in the better wooded portions of the State.

In the eastern districts it appears to be chiefly confined to the hillsi It moves

about in flocks usually of 8-10 birds who keep up a mewing ‘cheeping’, un-

mistakable when once heard. It frequents scrub and secondary jungle,

hunting among the foliage for insects. It is partial to Peepal figs ( Ficus

religiosa ) on which it was frequently observed feeding in company with other

birds. Mocks were also regularly noted on Mhowa trees in blossom, probing

into the flowers and eating the fleshy portions. I also saw it commonly

probing into Loranthus flowers for nectar and have no doubt that it is to

some extent responsible for their cross-pollination.

Fairbank (S.F., iv, 269) records the White-eye as common everywhere

in the .Deccan and Sahyadris, and Davidson and Wenden (S.F., vii, 84) de-

scribe it as not rare in the Satara District.

Breeding : The testes of No. 567 (18 March) showed signs of enlarging.

They, measured ca 3x2 mm. The organs of the other specimens, collected

in October, were in a quiescent state.

At Poona, ca 2,000/ where, according to Betham, it is common, it breeds

from April to September (Barnes, J.B.N.H.S., v, 97-99). E. Aitken took a

clutch of 3 eggs in this locality on 21 July (N. & E. i, 144).

Family: Nectarinid^l

Cinnyris asiatica asiatica (Latham). The Purple Sunbird.

Certhia asiatica Latham, Index Orn. vol. i (1790) p. 288— India. r

Specimens collected: 365 <J 24-11-31 Paloncha 300/; 424 $ 5-12-31 Nar-

sampet 800/.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and environs, Mananur, Farahabad,

Kaulas, Borgampad, Nekonda, Asifabad, Kandahar, Utnoor, Aurangabad and

Bhamarvadi.

Other specimens from Hyderabad State and neighbouring areas examined

by Mr. Whistler as follows: Several in the Sparrow Collection dated March to

December from Trimulgherry, and in the Baker Collection dated December

and April, from Aurangabad. A series from Ahmadnagar (Fairbank) in the

British Museum dated January, April, September, October, November and

December. Also 9 21-2-71 Bhadrachalam (Blanford) B. M. Coll.

Iris brown; bill brownish-black; mouth pinkish -yellow; legs, feet and claws,

brownish-black.

The Purple Sunbird is a common and familiar resident species throqghout

the Dominions, frequenting gardens, groves, scrub country and light forest.

Its food consists to a large extent of the nectar of flowers into which it .may

invariably be seen probing with its bill. It plays a more important part than

is generally suspected in the cross-pollination of many, species. The following

are some of the species whose blossoms I observed to be visited by this Sun-

bird and it^ . Purple-rumped congener in the Hyderabad State. An asterisk -be-

hind the name indicates where microscopic examination showed pollen adhering

to forehead, chin or bill :

Both exotic garden plants.

Russelia juncea Zucc.)

Holmskialdia sanguinea

Vitex negundo

Moringa oleifera

Mschynomene coccinea

Millingtonia hortensis (mostly ‘short-cuts’).

Erytlirina indica *

Erythrina suberosa*

Bauhinia pupurea

Opuntia sp. ' (Cobra Cactus)

Butea superba

B.-jrondosa *

Woodfordia fruticosa

Goniocaulon glabrum Cass,

917 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Loranthus longiflonis Desr.*

Grewia flavescens*

Carica papaiya

Bombax malabaricum*

Also the papilionaceous flowers of a species of Vetch.

Both this species and the next were moreover frequently observed sipping

the sap exuding from Borassus palms tapped for toddy. They are likewise fond

of the fleshy flowers of the Mhowra ( Bassia latijolid).

Breeding : The organs of the Survey specimens were in an undeveloped

condition. On 18 March (Kaulas) a nest was found in a Babool bush at about

3/ from the ground, containing 2 eggs and another on the tip of a thorn

branch forming a guard round a newly planted roadside tree, also at about

30 was nearing completion. On 24 March (Kaulas) a third nest was dis-

covered hung in a thorn bush over a dry nullah at about the same height,

containing 2 eggs. On 1 April (Utnoor) a nest was being built in a thorn

bush at about 40 in scrub country. On 14th April (Aurangabad) a female

was observed gathering cobwebs near the ‘Bibi-ka-Maqbera’. On 22 April

(Bhamarvadi) two full-fledged young were observed in the company of their

parents.

Only the female builds, but the cock is generally in attendance. The

brooding is also done exclusively by the lie.n.

March and April seem to be the months when breeding is at its height.

At Akola (Berar) Benjamin Aitken took a clutch of 2 eggs as early as

19th January (N. and E., ii, 256).

Cinnyris zeylonica (Linnaeus). The Purple-rumped Sunbird.

Certhia zeylonica Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii, vol. i (1766) p. 181 — Ceylon.

Specimens collected : 38 B - 6-10-31 Mananur 2,00(F ; 305 B 14-11-31 Nelipaka

160'; 425 B , 426 B , 427 B (imm) 5-12-31 Narsampet 800!.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Borgampad, Paloncha,

Kandahar, Kaulas, Utnoor (15-10-25).

Iris orange-brown or reddish-brown ; bill brownish-black ; mouth dull orange-

pink or pinkish-brown; legs, feet and claws horny brown or black; soles yel-

lowish flesh colour.

Other specimens from Hyderabad and neighbouring areas examined : O

(juv.) 18-11-10. B 4-12-10, (9) 24-2-11, Trimulgherry (Sparrow Coll.); 9-2-70,

B 21-1-70 S. E. Berar (Blanford), B-2-73 near Bhadrachalam (Blanford) B.M.

Collection.

This Sunbird appears to be much less generally distributed in the State

than the foregoing. It was noted as absent at Faraliabad, Asifabad, Kannad

and Bhamarvadi, wdiile at Borgampad, Kandahar and Kaulas it w?as far less

common than the Purple species. I also failed to meet with it at Utnoor

though my diary for 1925 records it thence.

According to Fairbank, Barnes, Davidson and Wenden and other observers

it is common everywhere in the Deccan and Southern Mahratta country.

It was not observed by Fairbank at Khandala or Mahableshwar (S.F., iv, 256)

however, and Barnes (J.B.N.H.S., iv, 84) states that in the Nasik District

Davidson never noticed it further east than Nasik itself and that similarly

in Sholapur it did not come further east than Pandharpur !

Breeding : Nos. 38 (6 October) and 305 (14 November) both had testes

enlarged to ca 5x3 mm. and they appeared to be breeding. In Nos. 425 and

426 (5 December) they had reverted to non-breeding condition, wdiile No. 427

w?as a young bird of the season with imperfectly ossified skull.

I have a record of a nest in a garden at Saifabad (Hyderabad City) on

S October 1925 which contained 1 egg and 1 naked chick. The next morning

the second chick had also hatched out. In the Konkan I found the breeding

season to be between July and October, the period of incubation being 14/15

days. The female alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs, but the male

assists in feeding the young.

At Poona, Benjamin Aitken found a nest with eggs hatching on 25 March

1871 (N. and E., ii, 266) while at Madras Dewar records numbers of nests

in the same month.

THE HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY

918

Family: Dic^iile.

Dicsum erythrynchos erythrynchos (Latham) Tickell’s Flowerpecker.

Certliia erythrorhynchos Latham, Index Orn., vol. i (1790) p. 299 — India.

Specimens collected: 42 9 6-10-31, 77 9 10-10-31 Mananur 2,000' ; 586

21-2-32 Kaulas 1,350'.

Elsewhere noted at: Hyderabad City and Environs, Farahabad, Paloncha,

Utnoor ('Not common’), Kannad.

There is a specimen, 9 15-3.13 from Eswantaraopet in the Sparrow Col-

lection.

I found the distribution of Tickell’s Flowerpecker in the Hyderabad State

to be dependent entirely upon the presence or absence of the Loranthus tree

parasite, on the berries of which it largely feeds and for which it acts as

practically the exclusive seed disseminator. Wherever I failed to meet Loran-

thus, there also was noted a corresponding absence of this species : such was

the case at Borgampad, Narsampet, Asifabad and Kandahar. Besides dis-

persing the seed, this Flowerpecker also assists in some measure in the fertilis-

ation of the Loranthus blossoms by springing open the mature buds and

probing into the flower tubes for nectar. In the course of this operation it

transports the ripe pollen, adhering to its forehead feathers, to the stigma of

other flowers. Elsewhere1 I have described in detail the role of Sunbirds and

Flowerpeckers in the propagation of Loranthus longiflorus Desr., and my

observations in Hyderabad tend fully to support my former conclusions.

Berries of Vis cum spp. and of Phyllanthus reticulatus are also eaten,

as also is the fleshy portion of Mhowa flowers. The guts of No. 586 con-

tained one Loranthus and two Vis cum seeds.

Breeding : On 21 February (Saifabad) a full-fledged young except for

the tail (which was as yet stumpy), and just able to fly with difficulty,

was observed being fed by its parents apparently on the pulp of Loranthus

berries. The mouth of the young) bird was bright' orange in colour.

No. 586 (21 March) had the testes enlarged to ca 4x3 mm. The ovaries of

both the other specimens (6 and 10 October) were undeveloped.

Records of Davidson, Barnes, and Butler show that the breeding season

in the neighbouring Deccan areas and in the Southern Maharatta country

extends from February to- May.

Piprisoma agile agile Tickell. The Thick-billed Flowerpecker.

F ring ilia agilis Tickell, J.A.S.B., vol. ii (Nov. 1833) p. 578 — Borabhum and

Dholbhum.

Specimens collected: 167 <5, 168 18-10-31, Farahabad 2,800'; 298 9

13-11-31 Nelipaka 160'.

Elsewhere noted at: Mananur, Paloncha, Narsampet, Pakhal Lake, Asifa-

bad, Kaulas, Utnoor, Kannad and Bhamarvadi.

Iris orange- brown; bill horny grey, duskier on upper mandible; legs and

feet dark slate colour ; claws dusky ; mouth bright yellow and pink.

The Thick-billed Flowerpecker is fairly common in orchards and well-

wooded country throughout the State, though not really abundant anywhere.

This species also feeds largely on Loranthus and Viscum berries but is by no

means so dependent on them as the foregoing. The shape and structure of

its bill and tongue, moreover, preclude; the possibility of its obtaining nectar

from Loranthus flowers in a manner that would conduce to their cross-polli-

nation. I observed it as very partial to ripe figs of the Peepal ( Ficus religiosa)

and the Gulair (F. glomerata ) as also to the soft juicy portions of Mhowa

flowers. At Kannad it was observed to be feeding largely on Lantana berries.

Breeding : The gonads of the specimens wTere. in a quiescent state. On

26 March (Kaulas) a pair was observed building at the tip of an outhanging

branch in a large Pithc colob ium tree at a height of about 18'. Both birds

were working at the tiny purse of reddish fibres attached along a twig for

about IF'-

1 “The Role of Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers in the Propagation and Distri-

bution of the Tree Parasite Loranthus longiflorus Desr. in the Konkan”.

J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxv, pp. 144-149.

919 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXV 1

In the Nasik District, according to Davidson and Barnes (J.B.N.H.S. iv,

87), it breeds from the end of February through March and April. At Kihirn

(Kolaba District), Konkan, I have found a nest with two partly fledged young

on 11 May.

Family: PiTTiDiE.

Pitta brachyura Linnseus. The Pitta.

Corvus brachyurus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii, vol. i (1766) p. 158 — Ceylon.

Specimens collected : 35 6-10-31 Mananur 2,000^; 150 9 17-10-31 Fara-

habad 2,80QC

Elsewhere not noted.

Iris in No. 35 dark brown, in 150 hazel brown; bill orange, brownish -dn

commissure and af--tip; mouth in No. 35 pale pink, in 150 brownish orange-

pink with bright orange gape; legs and feet brownish flesh colour; claws

duskier. - .

The Pitta was usually met with singly on the Amrabad Plateau, where

it was not uncommon, in thorny scrub jungle or heavy Bamboo forest. It was

silent. No. 35 had the bill coated with damp mud suggesting that the bird

had been digging for food.

Its status in Hyderabad needs to be determined. In a great many portions

of its range, the bird is a local seasonal migrant. ■■ . .

Breeding : The organs of the specimens were in an undeveloped condition.

No. 150 (17 October) was very fat.

The nearest breeding record we have is from Chanda in the Central Pro-

vinces where Macpherson found a nest with young on 30 June (S.F._, x, 519).

(To be continued).

NOTES ON SOME BIEDS FEQM SOUTHEEN , ABAKAN;

BY

Claud B. Ticehurst, m.a., aj.r.q.s., e.r.g.s., m.b.o.u.

In January 1930 the Society was able to arrange that. Mr, Henricks should

accompany Mr. Villar, I.E.S., on a tour through, part of Southv Arakan with

the idea of making such a collection of birds, of this little-known province as

was feasible. Mr. Villar leaving Prome proceeded to Herndon just within

the boundary of the Thayetmyo district on January 7. Prom there he zig-

zagged along the foothills of the Arakan Yomas, camping at. various places

till he reached Mindon on January 19th, round which town collections were

made till 28th when he proceeded up to Ngakon -Forest Eest House (3,000 .feet),

in the. neighbourhood of which, in the Mindon Yoma Beserve, collecting . was

continued. On February 6th the crest of the Yomas was crossed (4,200 feet) and

the party proceeded down the Gamon Chaung to the foothills on the Sandoway

side, close to the Kyaukpyu boundary. From the 15th to 22nd they were near

Mad village (50 feet), .and then proceeded along the Indo-Burmese Telegraph

line: to Taungup which they reached on March 2nd. A detour was made-.: on

March 3 lojNgapali bn. the sea-coast for a week’s stay and they then returned

to Taungup. From the latter Town they went by the Taungup-Prome cart-road

to the. crest of the Yomas (3,000 ft.). The party descended the Prome side of

the Yomas on March 22nd and the tour finished in the Kinyang Eeserve, lie nz a da

district, on March 27.

The total collection numbered 357 skins comprising 258 forms, and although

there was no large series of' any species the collection is an exceedingly useful

one, since very few birds have been collected in Arakan since. Phayre and Abbot

collected there about 85 years ago. Moreover, there were hardly any skins

available of those forms which Blyth described from Abakan in the forties

of . last century— about 27 in number. This cQllection, then, helps, to , fill . this

gap in supplying 13 of these Arakan topo-types. The collection has also pro-

duced new forms of Alcippe nepalensis and Stachyridopsis rufifr.ons , and has

enabled me to add 10 .species to the Arakan avifauna. ' ■

, Unfortunately . Mr. Villar is not" an ornithologist and so there are no field

notes available.; I have held back the account of this collection hoping that

I could ’ induce Mr. Villar to write .some account of the Country. Generally

speaking the east side of the Yomas are dry bamboo jungle and on the 'west

side damp evergreen jungle. .

Finally, I .may, say. that a great deal more collecting must be done in Arakan

before -we- cghr a-seertain what forms un-habit the-Yomas, -or- arrryer at any conclu-

sion about distribution. V

I have indicated with some precision the exact localities where the specimens

have been obtained since : birds were collected in the low ground and foothills

on each side of the Yomas, as well as on the. crest -in two .localities , The

day has long since passed when localities' on labels' such as Arakan, Chin

Hills, Southern Shan States, . etc. were considered sufficient ; we need more

exactness now arid looseness, in data in the past has become to be a great

hindrance to progress in the present. .

I have given in most cases the, actual locality and the district it is in, as

well as the elevation, and all these, localities are easily to be found on the

Forest maps.

The thanks of the Society are due to Mr. Villar for the, great help he has

given in making this collection and to Mr. Henricks for the excellent specimens,

prepared often under great difficulties.

Urocissa erytfarorhyncha inagnirostris (Blyth). , .

Two from Khay auk Chaung and Thani Chaung . at the foot of Ihe. Arakan

Yomas, south of Thayetmyo in ' January. . The white parts of the -plumage':,

-when fresh, are a lovely pale pink and the underside, of the. webs of nthe •pii!.-

maries- a gloire-de-di'jon yellow-.. These birds are . practically topo-types:.;: of The

lace described from, the- hills separating Arakan from. Pegu. This lace .is ?said

nb¥jto-; have - white tips -to the primaries, but both These specimens certainly; {hawe

them. : ..a-j. • r. m

(5 W. 206, T. 445, B. 41 from base (35 exp.) ;9 W. 19.0, : T : 435 , B . a3 7 (28)$:"

921 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vat. XXXVI

Cissa chinensis chinensis (Bodd.).

One from Ngapali, Sandoway (sea-level). W. 150, T. 202.

This specimen, now 3J years old, still retains its green colouration; individual

feathers of it removed and placed in sunlight became blue in three weeks. Blyth

long ago recorded that specimens in captivity change from green to blue. It

would be interesting to know whether this is normal in wild birds when the

plumage gets very worn.

Dendrocitta vagabunda sclateri Baker.

Four from Kyauk Chaung, Mibauk and Yaga Chaung in the Thayetmyo

Arakan foothills. 4 9 9 W. 151-159, T. 247-262.

The Tree-Pie’s of Burma have been divided up into forms sclateri from

the Chin and Kachin hills, kinneari from the east of Burma (except Kawkarick

Mi. where saturatior occurs). From the area of sclateri there are only eight

adults in the British Museum, only two of which are sexed. These measure

W. 145, 156-166, T. 240, 260-285. The smallest measurement is that of the

only sexed adult female; the rest appear to be males.

From Tounghoo, the type locality of kinneari, there is a small series, and

a few others from Bangoon and Pegu. These measure W. 140-155, 157, T. 213*

242, 275; three are sexed as males, four as females. It would seem that

kinneari is a smaller as well as a duller coloured bird, but it will be noticed

that the largest bird, a 3 from Yatho, is as large as most sclateri.

I provisionally put these Arakan birds as sclateri but the material from

Burma generally of this very common bird is too scanty to be sure of races

or distribution.

Crypsirhlna cucullata Jerdon.

9 Khyauk Chaung, Thayetmyo. W. 108, T. 185.

Parus major nepalensis Hodgs.

9 Monda in the foothills, Thayetmyo. W. 64. The white wedge in the

penultimate tail feather measures 25 mm.

I cannot differentiate this and other Burmese birds from birds from Nepal.

They have a larger (23-30 nun.) white wedge than have cinerens from Java

(9-20 mm.) and in this and in colour they match Nepal birds, which are smaller

and slightly bluer on the upper parts than kaschmirensis ; nepalensis (ex Burma)

3 W. 62.5-67.5 against 69-76 in kaschmirensis . 5 3 3 Java 64-70 mm.

Sitta frontalis corallina Hodgs.

3 Nabudaung, Sandoway Arakan Yomas. W. 76; 9 Mindon Y'oma, Arakan.

W. 73.5.

I have already pointed out that frontalis came from Ceylon and that the

Northern form is smaller and must bear Hodgson’s name.

Garrulax leucolophus hardwickii Ticeh.

Two from Arakan ; one from the crest on the Taungup-Prome cart-road and

one from Salu in the foothills (1,600 ft.) in Sandoway district. I have already

(J .B.N.H.S., xxxiv, p. 669) suggested that probably it would be found that the

race of this Laughing Thrush which inhabited the Arakan Yromas would not

be the same as the Pegu bird ( belangeri ).

Garrulax pectoralis pectoralis (Gould).

One from Iihyauk Chaung, Arakan foothills, Thayetmyo.

Birds with black ear-coverts from Arakan were named melanotis by Blyth,

but an examination of a large number of this species does not convince me that

this feature is constant enough to warrant a separation. It is true specimens

from Arakan have black ear-coverts. On the other hand I have seen several

from Sikkim similarly marked; on Mt. Victoria birds have, white or black or

pied ear-coverts. ‘S. Burma’ is said to be inhabited by G. p. semitorquata

with buff tips to the tail. In the above specimen the tips are white as in

pectoralis. There is a good deal of variation in the colour of the underparts

in this species; some are much more warm-buff than others and this seems

to be purely individual.

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN

922

Garrulax moniliger moniliger (Hodgs.).

One from Kyat Chaiing, Arakan foothills, Sandoway is clearly the typical

race and not fuscata.

Trochalopteron erythrocephala erythrolaema ? Hume.

One from Mindon Yoma Reserve, Arakan crest (4,200 ft.) is nearest to

this race; it has fewer spots on the mantle than any specimen in the British

Museum and further specimens from Arakan are desirable. Not previously

recorded from Arakan.

Chrysomma sinensis sinensis (Gm.).

Two from Hlwa Chaung and Yin Chaung in the foothills, Thayetmyo district.

I note that the winter tails in this species from Burma measure 94-103 mm.,

often longer than in Indian specimens; Chinese birds have similarly long tails

and both these and Burmese birds are no doubt true sinensis.

Pellorneum ruficeps minor Hume.

Four; one from Leindon, Thayetmyo and three from Ngapali (sea-level)

Sandoway. 2 W. 70, 2 $ $ 65.5-66.

Minor was described from Thayetmyo and I have examined the type —

a very bad skin; it and all the above have the dark, pale edged, feathers between

the cap and the mantle as mandellii has. The streaks on thei underparts are

finer than in mandellii and the ear-coverts and flanks paler. Minor W. 64-70,

mande;llii (mostly) 70-74 mm. I think minor is a recognizable race and it has

a very limited distribution; I have examined skins from the following places.

Mt. Victoria, Mt. Popa, Meiktila, San-Kawton Road, Pakkoku district, Sando-

way, Henzada and Thayetmyo. Birds from Mingin and Kain, (Upper and

Lower Chindwin), are near mandellii. Birds from Tenasserim, ‘Pegu’, Rangoon,

Tounghoo, Karennee, and ‘S. Shan States’ are subochraceum, which lack the

dark feathers between the cap and the mantle.

The upper parts in all races of ruficeps vary very much; in minor I note

the upper parts as richer olive-brown and greyish olive-brown in birds shot at

the same place on the same day. Minor has certainly nothing to do with

subochraceum, as has been suggested by some, and it may be that the latter

should stand as a separate species.

Stachyridopsis rufifrons pallescens Tice. (Bull., B.O.C., liii, p. 18, October

1932).

Mr. Villar followed the Gramon Chaung from the Ngakon Forest Rest House,

Mindon Yoma, as he proceeded westwards from the crest of the Yomas and at

the foothills at 500 ft. on this stream (Sandoway district) he obtained this bird.

It differs markedly from both rufifrons (Pegu Hills) and ambigua (N. Cachar).

From the former it differs in being less brown, more olive-grey on the upper

parts, edge of wing and tail, and paler below, having a creamy wash on the

under-parts and flanks instead of buff. Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Mixornis gularis rubricapilla Tickell.

Five from foothills, Thayetmyo district and one from Ngapali, Sandoway

district. All are the same and belong to the above race and not to sulphur ea

with finer throat streaks.

Alcippe nipalensis Stanford! Ticeh.

In the J .B.N .H .S., xxxiv, p. 672, I drew attention to this Alcippe, which

inhabits the Arakan Yomas, from a specimen obtained by Mr. J. K. Stanford at

Nyaunggyo on the crest of the Yomas by the Taungup-Prome cart-road, and

I pointed out that it differed considerably from any known race of nipalensis.

I, however, hesitated to name it from two specimens. Fortunately Mr. Villar ’s

collection contained three morej from exactly the same locality and so I named

this Arakan race (Bull., B.O.C., 1, p. 84, 1930) as above. It is more olive-grey

on the back, edges of wings and tail, instead of olive-brown as in nipalensis,

and the underparts are considerably paler. It also occurs on Mt. Victoria.

Alcippe poiocephala phayrej Blyth.

Four specimens; one from Gamon Chaung, Kyaukpyu- Sandoway boundary,

one, the crest of the Yomas at Nyaunggyo and two, the foot of Yomas at Nyaung-

chidauk on the Prome road. These, with Mr. Stanford’s series of Arakan birds,

10

923 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

all topo-types of phayrei, clearly show that the Assam bird is not the same and

should be called fusca of Godwin Austen (J.A.S.B., xlvii, p. 197). The type

is in the British Museum from the Naga Hills. This race is much more rufous

on the upper parts, especially on the lower back, upper tail-coverts and edge of

the wing, and the under parts have a brighter rufous wash instead of cream-

colour as in phayrei. To fusca belong birds from Naga Hills, Cachar and

Tippera ; those from Manipur are slightly intermediate and those from Upper

and Lower Chindwin and Mt. Victoria are phayrei. A series of phayrei from

Arakan measure W. 68.5-72, T. 64-66.5, B. 15.5-17 (13-14 exp.).

Actinodura egertoni ripponi 0. Grant.

One from Gamon Chaung, Kyaukpyu- Sandoway boundary at 2,250 ft. on

the crest of the Yomas. Hitherto only recorded from Mt. Victoria and the

Chin Hills.

Staphidia castaneiceps castaneiceps (Horsf. & Moore).

One from the crest of the Yomas on the Taungup-Prome road. From exam-

ination of Staphidias in the British Museum I must come to the conclusion

that rufigenis, striata and castaneiceps are all one species. There are specimens

of rufigenis from Sikkim, Manbhum and Brahmakund (N. Assam) ; striata from

S. Shan States, Tounghoo and N. Tenasserim, and castaneiceps from Manipur,

Khasia Hills, ‘S. Assam Hills’, Garo Hills, Chin Hills and Mt. Victoria. From

the Naga and Lhota Naga hills there are three birds which have the striated

head mixed with chestnut and are intermediates. Should this be constant in this

area they might well stand as a linking race.

Herpornis zantholeuca zantholeuca Blyth.

Three specimens, from the crest of the Yoma above Mindon and from the

foothills on each side.

Though Blyth made a slip in compounding this word as Erpornis, the rules

of nomenclature clearly allow for amendment to Herpornis.

Aegithina typhia typhia (L.).

Three from Mindon, Thayetmyo, and Mai, Sandoway from low elevations.

Chloropsis aurifrons aurifrons (Temm. & Laug.).

Five from the low ground near Mindon, Thayetmyo.

Chloropsis hardwickii malayana Boh. & Kloss.

One from the crest of the Yomas) on the Taungup-Prome road. B W. 88.

Chloropsis cochinchinensis cochinchinensis (Gm.).

Two from Mindon Yoma (2,250 ft.) and one from Mai, Sandoway (50 ft.).

B W. 89; 9 9 W. 77.5, 81.5.

Criniger flaveolus flaveolus (Gould).

A pair from Gamon Chaung (500 ft.) near Sandoway-Kyaukpyu boundary.

W. 103.

There has been considerable confusion over the forms of Criniger inhabiting

Burma. The Fauna of British India, Birds, edn. ii, Vol i gives five races of

Criniger tephrogenys. In Vol. vii these are rearranged into two and three

forms of two species, viz. .Criniger gutturalis ochraceus, and C. gutturalis

henrici (replacing grandis) ; and C. gularis flaveolus, burmanicus, griseiceps.

In vol. viii it is explained that there are* two species and that as the name

tephrogenys is preoccupied, gularis is used instead. Apart from the fact that

gularis is much the older name of the two and should have been used, if

tenable, in the first case, the fact is that it is not tephrogenys which is pre-

occupied but, as Hartert and Collin pointed out (Novit. Zool. 1927, p. 51), Turdus

gularis of Horsfield ( = Criniger gularis ) 1822 is preoccupied by Turdus gularis

Latham (Supp. Ind. Ornith. 1801, p. xi) ( — Cinclus gularis).

The next oldes*t specific name is flaveolus. I have examined all the

specimens in the British Museum of Burmese Criniger more than once and

it is evident that a great deal more field-work and collecting will have to be

done on these birds in Burma before a quite satisfactory arrangement of this

difficult group is arrived at and the interest- in them centres round Eastern

Pegu and Northern Tenasserim.

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ABAKAN

924

To begin in tbe north, C. flaveolus is found in the north-east sub-Him-

alayan tract through Assam to Burma where it is found, so far as is known,

in the Lower Chindwin in the Katha District, . and in Arakan. The measure-

ments of the wing given in „ the Fauna, edn. ii are 88-96; I measure a long

series has W 98-108 mm.

Criniger flaveolus burmanicus Oates.

The series in the British Museum shows that this bird ranges from the

Tounghoo and Karen Hills, Karennee and S. Shan States southwards to

Tavoy in Tenasserim. That is to say it extends past the area robinsoni in-

habits into the range C. gutturalis ochraceus.... In the Journ. Bomb.

Nat. His. Soc., xxxiv, p. 901 I rather doubtfully referred the Arakan Criniger

to burmanicus; further examination with more material from Arakan con-

vinces me that the Arakan birds are flaveolus. On comparing burmanicus

and flaveolus with the Javanese bird ( gularis of Horsfield) one would hardly

hesitate to say that here we have geographical representatives of one species.

From flaveolus the most striking difference is the larger amount of grey in

the forehead and crown. A long series measure W 100-107 mm.

Criniger gutturalis ochraceus Moore.

In the Fauna, edn. ii this bird seems to have been missed out altogether

for, although in Vol i, p.362 there is an account of Criniger tephrogenys

tephrogenys and in Vol. vii the name is altered to Criniger gutturalis

ochraceus , the account of the bird at p. 362 belongs to tephrogenys and not to

ochraceus. Hence the distribution ‘extreme South Tenasserim’ does not apply.

Ochraceous is found in Tenasserim from at least as far north as Ye, southwards

to the limit of Tenasserim and into Peninsular Siam (Chong Trang etc.) and

has an extensive range eastward into Cochin-China.

Now at Chong Trang the true Criniger tephrogenys tephrogenys also

occurs and, therefore, the two cannot be conspecific. Beference to Criniger

gutturalis gutturalis of Borneo leaves little doubt that ochraceus is a race of

that bird.

Criniger gutturalis is said to be preoccupied (Delacour (L’Oiseau, Vol. x,

no. 12, 1929) ). I can find no grounds for this statement. The species was

described as Tricophorus gutturalis by Bonaparte in 1850 and this is not set aside

by T urdus gutturalis of Muller, which is a South African Shrike. Though

Bonaparte seems to have taken the name from a label or a MS of Muller’s, he

described the bird as Tricophorus gutturalis.

Criniger tephrogenys robinsoni Tieeh. (Bull. B.O.C., liii, p. 19, October

1932).

At Yea, Amherst and Moulmein there occurs a White-throated Bulbul

hitherto overlooked, which could be referred to no known form. There are

specimens from each of the above places in the British Museum and to the late

H. C. Bobinson belongs the credit of first differentiating them. Bobinson was

evidently working at the group shortly before he died and left MS. in a box

with the specimens in the British Museum; however, he never gave this

form a name nor indicated to which species he referred them. To draw

attention to these birds I have: recently named them after Bobinson. Until we

have more information on the White, -throated Bulbuls of N. Tenasserim and

more specimens ^ a final decision cannot be reached as to which species these

birds represent. At Yea, Criniger gutturalis ochraceus certainly occurs, so that

on the face of it robinsoni cannot be a form of gutturalis ; nor is the bird in

the least like gularis bunnanicus which occurs in North Tenasserim also.

From ochraceus, robinsoni can be, distinguished by the more yellow-green

colour, not so grey, of the upper parts, and from tephrogenys by the head

being concolorous with the back and having paler under-tail coverts.

Tentatively I put robinsoni as a race of tephrogenys which has no represen-

tative in Tenasserim. Further research may show that robinsoni has a

different distribution in elevation than ochraceus; that is one of the many points

in this group for future collectors to pay attention to.

Criniger tephrogenys griseiceps Hume.

Hume described this bird in 1873 and from then until Oates published

Vol. i of the Fauna (edn. i) in 1889 this and burmanicus were confounded.

925 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Hence in all notes on the species prior to 1889 burmanicus was included

under griseiceps.

Oates, who supplied Hume with the specimens, obtained them in the

evergreen forests of the E. Pegu Hills and he gives the range in these Hills

as from the latitude of Thayetmyo to that of Eangoon. Since then, we have

no information on this bird and no one seems to have met with it ; at least

there are no specimens in the British Museum other than Oates’s five original

ones, and sight records cannot be accepted.

Criniger burmanicus certainly occurs in the Tounghoo Hills, Karen Hills,

Karennee, Pahpoon etc. and so occurs in the same area as griseiceps and is

so unlike the latter that I think the two cannot be conspecific. I, therefore,

tentatively place griseiceps as a form of tephrogenys and robinsoni seems to

be a connecting link.

Microscelis psaroides nigrescens Baker.

Three from Mindon Yoma, 3,000 ft.

Molpastes cafer burmanicus Sharpe.

Two from the low country between Thayetmyo and Mindon.

Xanthiscus flavescens flavescens Blyth.

Three birds from Mindon Yoma 3,000. ft.

This bird was described from Arakan by Blyth and these three may be taken

as topotypes. As regards the yellow in the under parts, this is present on the

belly, vent and undertail coverts, but the amount on the breast has to be looked

for. In birds from Tenasserim and the Shan States the upper-parts are a

little darker and the yellow on the breast is obvious at a glance ; these are

vividus of Baker. Birds from the Chin Hills and Assam are quite the same

as Arakan birds, and therefore X. /. pallens of Kloss becomes a synonym of

flavescens (not of vividus as stated in The Fauna, ed. ii, vii, p. 80). 3 $ $

W. 87-88.5.

Otocompsa flaviventris flaviventris (Tickell).

Two from Khyauk Chaung (650 ft.), Thayetmyo, and one from Kyaukpyu-

Sandoway boundary (150 ft.) are the same as Bengal birds.

lole virescsns virescens Blyth.

Four from Ma-i, north boundary of Sandoway, and Ngapali, Sandoway both

at sea-level; and from the crest of the Yomas on the Taungup-Prome Boad

(3,300 ft.). These are topotypes of the race. W. 79.5-85 mm.

Mons. J. Delacour considers (L’Oiseau, vol. x, December 1929) that lole

lonnbergi and lole cinnamomeoventris are indistinguishable from lole propinqua

of Oustalet (type locality, Pa Mou, near Bed Biver, Tonkin). With this I

cannot agree. A series from Tonkin measure W. 85-94 mm., whereas Tenas-

serim birds measure W. 78-84 mm. ; propinqua is also a darker bird. lole

cinnamomeoventris was described from Tenasserim Town, and the type and

birds from farther south in Tenasserim agree fairly well and seem separable.

Birds from Northern Tenasserim I cannot differentiate from virescens. I do

not feel at all sure, however, that cinnamomeoventris is separable from lonn-

bergi described from N. Siam.

Pycnonotus finlaysoni davisoni (Hume).

Two males from Ma-i and Ngapali, Sandoway. W. 88, 91 mm. The

type locality is not Arakan as given in The Fauna, ed. ii, but ‘12 miles north

of Bangoon’. Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Pycnonotus blanfordi blanfordi Jerdon.

One from Monda near Thayetmyo is a topotype.

Saxicola caprata burmanica Baker.

Two from Tonbo, Prome, and Taungup, Sandoway in the plains. Males

from Luzon, Lombok, Timor etc. ( caprata ) W. 68-74, B. 14.5-15.5; males from

Burma W. 66-73, B. 13.5-14.5. A poort race separably only on slightly shorter

bill. The wing measurements for caprata in the Fauna (ed. ii) are quite wrong.

Saxicola torquata stejnegeri Parrot.

One at the foot of the Mindon Yoma (400 ft.).

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN

926

Rhodophila ferrea ferrea (Gray).

Three, Salu, Sandoway (1,600 ft.) and Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.).

Enicurus inimaculatus (Hodgs.)

Two from Khayauk Chaung, foot of the Yomas, Tliayetmyo.

Calliope calliope (Pall.).

One from Khayauk Chaung.

Copsychus saularis saularis (L.).

Five specimens from the foothills on both sides of Arakan Yomas, in

Thayetmyo, Prome and Sandoway districts.

Kittacincla inalabarica indica Baker.

Two males, Khyangin Beserve, Henzada and Ma-i, Sandoway, both in the

plains. Birds from Northern India and Burma differ from the typical form

from Malabar in the shortness of the tail.

Turdus dauma dauma Lath.

One ; Ma-i, Sandoway.

Zoothera marginata Blyth.

One from Nyaunggyo (3,000 ft.) (9 W. 134, B. 34, 26 exp.) is a topotype.

Monticola solitaria affinis Blyth.

One near Mindon, and one halfway between Taungup and the crest of the

Yomas (1,300 ft.) on March 13.

Myiophoneus temmincki temmincki (Vig.)

One : Hlwa Chaung near Thayetmyo, west side of Irrawaddy.

Myiophoneus temmincki eugenei Hume.

One: Sadon Chaung near Thayetmyo, west side of Irrawaddy. These last

two birds were obtained on 24th and 17th of January on two small tributaries

of the Mindon Chaung within eight miles of each other.

Muscicapula hodgsonii (Verr.).

Two males from Mindon Yoma February 3rd and 5th at 3,000 ft. New to

Arakan.

Muscicapula melanoleuca Blyth.

One from Taungup-Prome road, Sandoway, at 2,300 ft., March 16.

Muscicapula rubeculoides rubiculoides (Vig.).

Six specimens between January 7th and February 5th from Leindon and

Monda, Thayetmyo in the , foothills and one from Mindon Yoma 3,000 ft.

Muscicapula rubeculoides dialiloema (Salvad.).

One from the Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.) on February 5th. The distribution

of these two forms in Burma badly needs investigation; both seem to occur

together in winter. In Arakan too the question is complicated by a third

form, rogersi described from Arakan by Mr. Kinnear.

Muscicapula olivaceus poliogenys (Brooks).

Two from Gamon Chaung (500 ft.), Sandoway, February 9.

Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Anthipes monileger gularis Blyth.

By a fortunate chance a specimen of the White-gorgeted Flycatcher was

taken on March 16th, near the crest of the Arakan. Yomas in the Sandoway

district (2,600 ft.). As long ago as 1847, Blyth described this bird from Arakan

and it had apparently not been obtained since. This specimen clearly shows

that the Arakan race is nearer to leucops than to the typical form, from which

it differs much in the same way as the races of the two species of Alcippe do;

that is to say, the upper-parts and wing edges are much paler olive-brown,

cheeks and ear-coverts paler grey, and it is paler on breast and flanks,

927 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Hypothymis azurea styani (Haiti.).

Six specimens from the plains and foothills on both the Tliayetmyo and

Sandoway sides of the Yomas.

Lanius colluroides colluroides Less.

Lanius cristatus cristatus L.

One of each from the foot of the Mindon Yoma.

Hemipus picatus picatus (Sykes).

Four from the foothills on the Thayetmyo side and G-amon Chaung, Khyauk-

pyu (2,250 ft.).

Tephrodornis gularis pelvica (Hodgs.).

Four from the Yomas (2,200-2,700 ft.) in the Mindon Yoma Eeserve and

from the Taungup-Prome Eoad. W. 113-120. Eather intermediate in size

between pelvica and annectens as I have before recorded from Arakan

(, -J.B.N.H.S. , xxxiv, p. 906).

Pericrocotus speciosus elegans (McClell.).

Four from Sadon Chaung, Thayetmyo (300 ft.) ; one from Thani Chaung,

Prome (1,700 ft.) and one from Mindon Yoma (1,700 ft.). The first two

primaries lack the' red spots in the males and the first three lack the yellow

spots in the females. 3 W. 92.5-96.5, T. 88-94; 9 W. 92.5-95, T. 90-91.

T have already dealt with the validity of this race.

Pericrocotus brevirostris neglectus Hume.

A male from the crest of the Yomas on the Taungup Eoad on March 16.

W. 84.5, T. 90.

Pericrocotus roseus roseus (Vieill.).

A male from the crest of the Yoma^ on the Taungup Eoad on March 16.

Graucalus macei siamensis Baker.

Two males from Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.). W. 180, 183; a female from

Iiyauk Chaung in the foothills (1,000 ft.). W. 179.

Artamus fuscus (Vieill.).

Two from Kyaungin Eeserve, Henzadar (100 ft.) and one from Hman,

Thayetmyo (400 ft.).

[Dicrurus macrocercus (Vieill.).

I have recently examined all the Black Drongos in the British Museum

as well as many others in Mr. Whistler’s and my own collections, and from

Colombo Museum, those of the Madras Survey and a series of breeding birds

from Bengal and as my results do not quite tally with the account given

in the F.B.I. ed. ii. I take this opportunity to give a resume of them.

In the first place in the Fauna the type of Dicrurus macrocercus is said

to have come from ‘India, restricted to Orissa’. Dicrurus macrocercus of

Vieillot (1818 was based on plate 174 in vol. iv of LeVeillant’s Ois. Afr.

No locality is specified. In 1823 Lichtenstein based his Muscicapa biloba on

the same plate ; Dicrurus bilobus (Licht.) becomes therefore a pure synonym

of Dicrurus macrocercus. Cabanis (Mus. Hein, iii) fixes the type locality of

D. bilobus as Java and, therefore, the type locality of D. macrocercus must

also be Java. The type locality for macrocercus was again restricted to Java by

Lord Walden in Blyth’s Birds of Burma, p. 129.

In the second place, series of measurements of Drongos in which first year

birds and adult birds are mixed together are quite useless and misleading.

It is the mixing of these two together which gives the very small minimal

measurements in the Fauna and which makes average measurements meaning-

less. To take two examples: — In the British Museum there are from Nepal

7 adults and 5 first year birds (the latter recognizable after) the post-juvenile

moult by the browner, less glossy wing feathers), and these measure:

Adults: W. 152-161.

First year: W. 143-152.

Or again, a series from the Punjab measure:

Adults: W. 145-158, T. 156-179

First year: W, 137-149, T, 144-152.

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ABAKAN

928

All the above birds are D. m. albirictus, but in The Fauna the average

measurements given for this race W. 149.1, T. 159.5, are too short in

the wing, and in the tail only just reach, the minimum for adult birds. Hence

it is obvious that the average measurement for any race can be reduced or

increased by including more or fewer first year birds. In the measurements

which I give below only adults are included.

1. Dicrurus macrocercus macrocercus (Vieill.)

The Javan race is a bird with a short wing, as in the Ceylon form, but

with a long tail. 10 $ W. 128.5-139, 142, T. 141, 145, 146, 154-167.

Obs. — Series not good; very old specimens; none dated. Probably the short-

tailed birds are visitors? Javan birds seem more intensely black with more

violet- blue than green gloss and to have narrower tail feathers than in other

races. Eectal spot always absent.

2. Dicrurus macrocercus minor Layard.

The shortest winged (with the Javan bird), and the shortest tailed form.

10 <5 9 : W. 126, 130-140, T. 131-147.

3. Dicrurus macrocercus albirictus Hodgs.

The largest winged and longest tailed form; white rectal spot usually

present.

7 <S 9 > Nepal: W. 152-167, 161, T. 167-175, B. 25-28 (Topotypes).

13 B $ , North-West Himalayas : W. 145-159, T. 159-180, B. 24.5-27.

18 3 9, Punjab Plain: W. 145-156, T. 156-179,, B. 24.5-27.

10 $ 9, United Provinces: W. 143-157, T. 152-171, B. 24.5-27.5.

18 <5 9, Bengal: W. 143-154, T. 152-180 (11 of them breeding birds),

B. 24-27.5.

Obs. — In all the measurements I have had to include together the measure-

ments of males and females as sufficient series from all over the range of the

Black Drongo of properly sexed birds do not exist. The best sexed series

are those from the Punjab and judging by these the sexes of Black Drongos

cannot be differentiated on measurement as there is a large overlap both

in wing and tail measurements in the two sexes. The females tend to have

the shorter wings and tail and the smaller bill.

The excellent series of breeding birds collected in Calcutta especially for

this revision shows that these birds cannot be separated from albirictus.

4. Dicrurus macrocercus peninsularis Tice. (Bull. B.O.C., October 1932).

When we come to consider the Black Drongo from the south of the

(roughly) G-angetic Plain the facts are clear enough though the interpreta-

tion into zoological nomenclature is more difficult. The facts are that, as

in so many cases, the birds from the Peninsula of India become gradually

smaller from north to south, until in Ceylon the smallest birds (minor) are

found. Already a slight diminution in size is seen in the birds from the

United Provinces though these are best united with albirictus. A further

diminution in size is seen in birds from the -Central Provinces.

9 S 9 : W. 141-148, T. 147-164.

while those from Hyderabad, Deccan, measure

9 S 9 : W. 138-152, T. 137-162.

Decidedly smaller again are birds from Madras Presidency.

20 U 9 : W. 130-145, T. 135-161, B. 23-26.

The only two I have seen from Travancore seem much the same as the

last

U9: W. 136-143, T. 147-151.

In the F.B.I. ed. ii, it is considered that the Bengal race extends through-

out India to the extreme south and migratory movements are called in to

explain the presence of small birds in the range of the larger race and vice

versa. My examinations have not confirmed this and, as I have already stated,

small birds occur in every race and are first year birds.

1 have already shown that birds from Bengal are not separable from Nepal

birds. Birds from the Madras Presidency and Hyderabad show much the same

measurements whether they are summer or winter birds and since there is

very little overlap between them and albirictus it seems clear that albirictus

does not wander, at all events, as far south as these Provinces. As birds

from the Peninsula of India cannot be placed with albirictus nor with minor

929 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

1 have had no alternative but to give them a name but, as explained above,

peninsularis grades into albirictus as one proceeds north.

The differences between the Madras birds and albirictus were clearly pointed

out by Jerdon (Ibis 1872, p. 119) and peninsularis is, of course, the same bird

as described by Herman from Tranquebar as Muscicapa atra, a name which

is pre-occupied.

5. Dicrurus macrocercus cathaecus Sw.

Birds from South China have the following measurements : —

16 + 9 : W. 142-150, T. 137-154. Bill from skull 24-27, mostly 27.

These birds are almost of the same size as peninsularis, the tails are not

quite so long and the bill is decidedly larger. The white rectal spot is often

absent, but not invariably so. This is the only race in which, in adults,

the tail may be shorter than the wing. I find that the tail exceeds the

wing in length by — 7 to +5mm.; in the Javan race the other extreme is found

and in most birds the tail exceeds wing by +18 to +30 mm. In other

races the measurement is about + 5 to + 25.

To this race I assign all birds from Tenasserim : —

16 + $ : W. 139-153, T. 133-153, B. 25-26 mm.

In the F.B.l. ed. ii, birds from ‘extreme south-west and south Burma’ are

said to belong to the Javan race. The localities cited are vague, but if any

birds belong to the Javan race one might expect those of Southern Tenasserim

to do so. However, out of six birds thence five are too long in the wing and

all are short in the tail for that race. They fit better with cathcecus.

Material from Burma proper is none too plentiful ; winter birds from

Rangoon, Pegu, Tounghoo, Karennee, and Southern Shan States all fall within

the measurements of cathaeus and a breeding bird from the Yunnan border

near Bhamo I also place as cathcecus. I have examined single birds from

Akyab, Henzada, Rangoon, and several from the Chindwin which do not seem

to be different to albirictus and have tails 162-170. These are all wintetf birds.

Probably in Upper Burma cathaecus grades with albirictus .]

Dicrurus leueophoeus mouhoti (Wald.).

A female on Mindon Yoma (1,700 ft.). W. 140, T. 155.

Chaptia cenea cenea (V-ieill.).

Three males from the foothills of Prome and Thayetmyo districts. W. 119-

124.

Chibia hottentota hottentota (L.).

Five from the foothills on both sides of the Arakan Yomas in the Sando-

way and Thayetmyo districts. W. 161-168; 9 156-158. The long ‘hairs’

on the head in this bird do not spring from the posterior part of the crown

(Cf., Fauna, ed. ii, p. 370) but from thd base of the bill.

Dissemurus paradiseus rangoonensis (Gould.).

Two from the foothills, Thayetmyo district. W. 173, T. 440, B. 37.5

from base; o W. 162, T. 345, B. 32.

Orthotomus sutoria patia Hodgs.

One from the foothills of the Yoma, Thayetmyo district.

Franklinia gracilis (Franklin).

Three from the foothills in Thayetmyo district. 2 W. 44.5, 46, T. 51,

52.5; 9 W. 45, T. 48.5.

Franklinia rufescens rufescens (Blyth).

One from the crest of the Yomas on the Taungup Road; topotype.

Phragniaticola aedon (Pall.).

One from'Ma-i, Sandoway (50 ft.).

Phylloscopus affinis (Tickell).

Phylloscopus nitidus plumbeitarsus (Sw.).

■One of each from Sadon Chaung, Thayetmyo (300 ft.).

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN

930

Primia inornata blanfordi (Wald.).

One from Pemyauk Chaung in the foothills, Thayetmyo district.

Irena puella puella (Lath.).

Four; Kaukyodama Chaung, Sandoway-Kyaukpyu boundary (sea-level) and

Ngapali, Sandoway (sea-level).

Oriolus xanthornus xanthornus (L,).

Three; Thani Chaung, Prome and Leindon and Monda, Thayetmyo. These

are not distinguishable from Himalayan examples.

Oriolus traillii (Vigors).

Three from Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.). A female on February 2nd had

ova in ovary well advanced in size; the throat is almost as black as in an

adult male, but the rest of the underparts streaked. W. 136. Another female

has the throat streaked like the rest of the underparts and the tail feathers

narrower, evidently a one year old bird; W. 130.

Oracula religiosa intermedia (L.).

Specimens from Taungup, Sandoway (50 ft.) and from the Mindon Yoma

(3,000 ft.).

Sturnia malabarica nemoricola Jerdon.

Mindon Chaung, Thayetmyo (400 ft.).

Gracupica burmanica (Jerdon).

Three from low hills near Thayetmyo are topotypes. (J W. 119-122.

Ploceus infortunatus burmanicus Ticeh.

Five males and four females from near Taungup, Sandoway (50 ft.) and

from Mindon Chaung, Thayetmyo (300 ft.). $ W. 72-77; 9 70-74 mm. All

are typical burmanicus. As I pointed out (Bull. B.O.C., vol. lii, pp. 104-5)

passennus and atrigula could not be used for this Weaver and I, therefore,

named it burmanicus.

Ploceus manyar flaviceps Less.

One from Mindon Chaung, Thayetmyo, January 19, appears to be this and

not peguensis. Further specimens and observations on Weavers in Burma are

desirable.

Uroloncha striata subsp. ?

In the report on the Prome collection made by Mr. Stanford ( J.B.N.H.S. ,

xxxiv, p. 911) I left the determination of the Arakan White-backed Munia

open, as only one specimen was available. Although there are four in this

Arakan collection from the foothills on the Thayetmyo side, not one is in full

adult plumage.

Passer flaveolus Blyth.

Three males from the foothills of the Yomas on the Thayetmyo side.

Emberiza rutila Pall.

Three.; Taungup-Prome Road (2,900 ft.) on March 19 and Mindon Yoma

(3,000 ft) on February 1. 2 J W. 77.5, 80; 9 W. 72.

Melophus lathami (Guay).

One: Taungup-Prome Road (2,900 ft.). As I have pointed out (Bull.,

B.O.C., October 1932) melanicterus cannot be used for this Bunting as the

name is founded on a plate of a Hypochera.

Hirundo smithi filifera Stephens.

One from Yin Chaung (400 ft.), Thayetmyo.

Hirundo daurica japonica (Tern. & Schl.).

Three from Hlwa Chaung (275 ft.), Thayetmyo, and one from Taungup-

Prome Road (2,500 ft.), Sandoway. These are slightly larger and more

coarsely streaked than nepalensis.

931 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Motacilla alba leucopsis Gould.

Three; Thuni Chaung, Prorne; Kkyauk Chaung, Thayetmyo; Gamon

Chaung, Sandoway; all in the foothills.

Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Motacilla cinerea caspica (Gm.).

One; Kyauk Chaung, Thayetmyo.

Motacilla flava simillima Hart.

Two males from Sadon Chaung, Thayetmyo (300 ft.).

One gathers from the Fauna ed. II, vol. iii that, excluding a single record

of taivana, the Blue-headed Wagtail which occurs in Burma is thunbergi.

There are two types of M. flava in Burma ; one is a bird which exactly matches

thunbergi except that it has a noticeably longer and rather stouter bill, and

has rather longer hind-claws. The differences are small ones, but it is

noticeable that many of the Burmese birds and all of those which occur in

China on passage in spring — Yangtse. Valley, Fokien, Shaweishan, Kiang-su,

etc. — show these distinctions. I measure thunbergi Bill from skull 15-16.5,

hind claw 8.5-10.5 mm.

These eastern birds, which are macronyx Stresemann, measure $ Bill from

skull 17.5, hind claw 12.5 mm.

The other form is a bird with a white eye-streak and very dark ear-coverts

and these exactly match Kamsckathcan breeding birds — simillima of Hartert.

I think thunbergi may, however, also occur in Burma.

Dendronanthus indicus (Gm.).

Two; Thani Chaung Reserve, January 10; Kyangin Reserve, Prome,

March 27.

Anthus hodgsoni Richm.

Five specimens ; from the crest of the Yomas at Mindon Yoma and on the

Taungup Road, and from the foothills in Henzada and Sandoway districts;

latest date March 27.

Anthus rufulus rufulus Vieill.

Four; Taungup and Ngapali, Sandoway (sea-level) and near Thayetmyo.

Chalcopareia singalensis assamensis Floss.

Two from Fhyauk Chaung (600 ft), Thayetmyo.

Floss’s name wras published on May 7, 1930, Baker’s rubinigentis on May

14, 1930.

Cinnyris asiatica intermedia (Hume)

From the foothills, Thayetmyo.

Arachnothera magna magna. Blyth.

One from Nyaungcliidauk (200 ft.), Prome at the foot of the Yomas. This

bird certainly belongs to the typical race ; it is interesting to note that

Mr. Stanford obtained the other race ( aurata ) about 40 miles distant from

Nyaungchidauk at Theme in the Pegu foothills on the other side of- the Irra-

waddy valley.

Archnothera longirostra (Lath)

One from Gamon Chaung, Kyaukpyu (500 ft.). Blyth (J.A.S.B., xv, p. 43,

1846) described a race affinis from the east coast of the Bay of Bengal, Arakan

to Malacca and as the name was pre-occupied by Horsfield he changed it (Cat.

B. As. Soc., p. 328) to pusilla. I cannot, however, differentiate this single

bird from the typical form from Bengal.

Diceum cruentatum ignitum (Begbie.)

One; Mindon Yoma (2,250 ft.).

Diceum concolor olivaceum. Wald.

Two: Taungup road (2,900 ft.) and Ngapali (sea level) Sandoway.

Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Pitta nepalensis (Hodgs.)

One: Mindon Yoma reserve (3,000 ft.).

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN

932

Pitta cyanea cyanea Blytk.

One; Prome-Taungup road (2,000 ft.); topotype.

Picus viridanus viridanus Blyth.

Four from between Ma-i and Taungup along the line of the Indo-Burma

telegraph, Sandoway, (50-100 ft.) W. <$ 140; 141.5 9, 144, 144, B. $ 36.5;

38, 9 36, 37-5 from base. Topotypes.

In spite of Mr. Floss’ excellent note on the forms of Picus vittatus, P.

viridanus, and P. xanthopygceus ( striolatus auct.) (Ibis. 1926), Mr. Baker ( Fauna

ed. ii, vol. viii) still maintains that all three are conspecific. The distribution

in Burma of viridanus and xanthopygceus according to Mr. Baker’s idea is that

the latter inhabits the Chin Hills and the former the rest of Burma. This

distribution may fit in with his theory, unfortunately, however, it does not

tally with the facts. Owing to Mr. Baker’s inability to distinguish these two birds

he has overlooked, as Floss already pointed out, that xanthopygceus extends

very much further south in Burma and has been obtained in Thayetmyo, Prome,

Toungkoo as noted by Oates and Tweeddale and in the Pakkoku district

(Eippon) (Specimens in the British Museum). Picus viridanus also occurs at

Tounghoo and in Pegu and, therefore, I consider that these two birds cannot be

conspecific. Moreover in Burma there is no sign of any intergradation between

the two, each specimen being at once referable to either viridanus or to

xanthopygceus. The wings of viridanus in the Fauna arei given as measuring

125-148 mm. ; none is as small as 125, the smallest measures 135. This

woodpecker does not vary throughout its range in Burma and Tenasserim, but as

soon as the Fakchan estuary is crossed a smaller (W. 126-132) and darker bird

is. found in Perlis State and is meridianus Floss. (Ibis, 1926, p. 689.)

As regards Picus xanthopygceus ( striolatus olim.) Mr. Baker has separated

the N.W. Himalayan form as P. x. dehrce., because of its larger size. Picus

xanthopygceus came from Nepal and a series from Nepal and Sikkim I measure

as $ 126-137. Of the N.W. Himalayan bird I measure 12 $ $ as 131, 135.5-142.

From the Nilgiris 9 c5* 126.5, 130-138; from other parts of S. India.

10 (A 6 128-134.5. Only three of the N.W. Himalayan birds exceed those from

other parts of India and therefore, I cannot consider dehrae a recognisable

race. Though Mr. Baker gives wing measurements of xa?ithopygaeus as 122-

130, ih the Fey it is given as ‘110-130 nearly always under 125 mm.’; this

latter is quite wrong.

The wings of Burmese birds measure. — 11 (J $ 135-144.

It will be seen that some large birds are found in N.W. India, in the

Nilgiris and in Burma * and it seems probable that if larger series were avail-

able any difference in wing length in any defined geographical area would

largely disappear. Certainly if one accepts dehrae one must admit that it

also occurs in Burma with a discontinuous distribution from N.W. Himalaya.

Picus canus hessei (Gfyld.)

Four; from foothills below the Mindon Yoma Reserve (at 400-600 ft.),

Thayetmyo, 3 $ W. 150-156 B 41-44 9 W. 158 B 41 mm. from base. Males

of hessei W. 142-156; of gyldenstolpei 140-146, series measurde of each. Hessei

averages longer in wing and bill but the two forms are not very distinct.

Picus chlorolophus chlorophoides (Gyld.)

Two; Yinchang (600 ft.) and Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.), Thayetmyo. This

is the same as burmae ; chlorophoides was described from Foon Tan, Siam.

Birds from S. Shan and from Sai Yohi, Siam are the same as Burmese birds.

Chrysophlegma flavinucha flavinucha (Gould)

One from Mai-i, Sandoway and a juvenile from the crest of the Yomas

on the Taungup road on March 18.

Juvenile $ . Like adult above but the crest paler yellow; gular streak pale

yellow, chin and throat white spotted with black; rest of underparts as adult,

but belly greyer.

Dryobates atratus (Blyth).

Two from Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.). Not previously recorded from Arakan.

Dryobates analis longipennis. (Hesse)

One; Hman (400 ft.), Thayetmyoi 9 W. 95.

933 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Dryobates nanus canicapillus (Blyth)

A pair were obtained on the Taungup-Prome road (2,900 ft.) and another

pair at Chaungri Chaung (120 ft.) Kyaukpyu- Sandoway boundary. The pair

from the low ground differ from the pair from the crest of the Yomas in

having, like the rest of Burmese birds, sharper and finer streaks on the under-

parts. Whether two forms are found or whether this is individual variation

cannot at present be determined for lack of further specimens from the Yomas.

Canicapillus was described from Arakan and Bobinson and Kloss have stated,

no doubt on good grounds, that the type came from Bamree Island.

Dinopium javanense intermedium (Blyth)

One from Minidaung, just north of Taungup, Sandoway is practically a

topotype (type locality, Arakan; restricted by Bobinson and Kloss to Bamree

Island) (S W. 147. B. 32 from base.

Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus guttacristatus (Tickell).

Four: Ma-i and Yahu Chaung, Sandoway (100 ft.) and Nyaungchidauk,

Prome (300 ft.). S W. 170, B. 54; 3 $ $ W. 164, 168, 177, B. 48-52 mm.

Macropicus javensis crawfurdi. (Gray).

A male, Yin Chaung, Mindon Yoma foothills, Thayetmyo. W. 208, B. 51

from base.

In vol. vii of the* Fauna ed. ii, p« 319, the name of this bird is altered

to M. crawfurdi crawfurdi because Picus javanensis Horsf. is said to be pre-

occupied by Picus javanensis of Ljungh, and so crawfurdi is used as the specific

name and crawfurdi leucogaster as the name of the Malay bird. In the first

place this could be correct as the name leucogaster was given in 1826 and

crawfurdi in 1829. In the second place, however, Horsfield (Trans. Lin. Soc.,

vol. xiii, p. 175, 1821) did not call this bird Picus javanensis, but Picus

javensis.

The Becommendation in article 36 of the International Buies of Zoological

Nomenclature states that ‘if from the radical of a geographic name two or

more adjectives are derived, it is not advisable to use more than one of them

as specific name in the same genus, but if once introduced they are not to be

rejected on this account.' Therefore, Picus javensis of Horsfield is not invali-

dated by Picus javanensis Ljungh and the name for the Javan bird becomes

Macropicus javensis javensis.

Sasia ochracea reichenowi Hesse.

One from Ngapali (sea-level), Sandoway.

Jynx torquilla intermedia. Stegm.

In Jynx t. japonica the underparts are yellower and more barred than in

torquilla so that the distinction between the colouration of the throat and rest of

the underparts is less. In this respect these Burmese birds resemble, japonica,

but on the upper parts they are paler and greyer than is japonica. Moreover

japonica from Japan is a smaller bird: W. 78.5-85 (12 measured) whereas

these Burmese birds measure W. 87, 88. They should, I think, be called

intermedia. Mr. Villar obtained two from Hman, Mindon Yoma foothills,

Thayetmyo 400 ft. on January 22.

Thereiceryx lineatus hodgsoni (Bp.).

Two females : Thayetmyo foothills. W. 134, 139.

Large series : Nepal, Bhutan and Buxa Duars. 9 W. 119-139.

Large series : Southern Shan and Tenasserim. <$ 9 W. 119-135.

Intermedins was described from Pahpoon, Tenasserim, but it seems that

birds from this area are of the same size as Himalayan ones. Further

south, in S.-W. and Peninsular Siam, Bobinson and Kloss give measure-

ments of a series as W. 118-128 and it appears possible that it is this form

which needs a name.

Cyanops asiatica asiatica (Lath.).

Three from Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.) , and from the lower hills (500 ft.) on

each side of it. W. 104-109.

Xantholaema haemacephala indica (Lath.).

One: Gamon Chaung, Sandoway (500 ft.).

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN 934

Eudynamys scolopaceus malayanus. (Cat. & Hume.).

Two males; Sabyin and Ngapali (sea-level), Sandoway. W. 199, 211.

Rhophodytes tristis longicaudatus (Blyth).

Two females; Sadon Chaung (300 ft.), Thayetmyo, W. 175; Ngapali,

Sandoway, W. 156. The former is long in the wing for longicaudatus but it

has the grey, not ochraceous, wash on the breast, as in that race.

Centropus sinensis intermedia (Hume).

Two from the foothills on the Thayetmyq side, W. $ 193; 9 206.

Psittacula eupatria indoburmanica (Hume).

One; Monda, Thayetmyo.

Psittacula himalayana finschii (Hume).

Two males; Mindon Yoma Reserve (1,300-1,700 ft.). W. 153, 156, T. 247,

251.

Psittacula alexandri fasciata (Mull.).

Nine specimens; from the lower hills on both sides of the Yomas in Thayet-

myo, Kyaukpyu and Sandoway (50-1,600 ft.).

Muller gave this name, fasciatus, to the bird depicted in the Planches

Enlum. pi. 517 and there called the ‘Perruche de Pondicherry’; Muller gives no

locality. In the Fauna (ed. ii), Pondicherry is given as the type locality. As

this bird does not occur anywhere near there, Pondicherry cannot be accepted.

I fix the type locality of Psittacula fasciata as Arakan.

Coryllis vernalis verna'.is (Sparr.).

Three; Ma-i, Sandoway (50 ft.).

Coracias benghalensis affinis McClell.

One; Ma-i, Sandoway.

Merops orientalis burmanus Neum.

One; Sadon Chaung, Thayetmyo (300 ft.).

Merops erythrocephalus erythrocephalus Gm.

Three; Mindon Yoma (3,000 ft.) and Hpaukyin near Taungup, Sando-

way (50 ft.).

The genus Melittophagus for this species seems unnecessary. The only-

distinction seems to be that the central tail feathers do not extend beyond

the others. But in shape they are pointed in comparison with the rest of

the tail. In the juvenile plumage of other members of Merops the central

tail feathers are not elongated, and in the adults the elongation varies very

much e.g. from 15 mm. in some M. apiaster to 80 in some M. orientalis. It

is all a question of degree ; it seems absurd to put two birds with a difference

of 65 mm. in this measurement in one genus and separate into two genera

two species with only 15 mm. difference.

Alcemerops athertoni (Jerd. & Selby).

One from the crest of the Yomas (3,000 ft.) on the Taungup Road. I

cannot separate Burmese birds in any way from those of S. India.

Alcedo atthis bengalensis Gm.

Four: from foothill streams in Thayetmyo and Prome districts.

Ramphalcyon capensis burmanica (Sharpe).

Two: from Yin Chaung, Mindon, Yoma Reserve (400 ft.).

Halcyon smyrnensis fusca (Bodd.).

Two: from foothills, Thayetmyo.

Halcyon pileata (Bodd.).

One : from Ngapali, sea coast of Sandoway.

Sauropatis chloris armstrongi Hume.

One; from Ngapali. Mr. Baker refers all Burmese birds and those from

Siam, Malay States, etc. to the typical form whereas- Robinson and Kloss

recognise a northern form armstrongi (Siam) and a southern form humii (Selan-

935 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

gar). At present I maintain armstrongi as distinct from the typical race on

the smaller wing length, as pointed out by Oherholser (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.,

vol. lv, p. 373).

Hydrocissa malabarica leucogastra (Blyth).

One; near Taungup, Sandoway (500 ft.) and a juvenile from Thani Chaung

Reserve in the foothills, Thayetmyo, on January 9th.

Juvenile. A dull edition of the adult with but little gloss on the black

parts of the plumage. Area round eyes and sides of chin bare as in adults.

Casque smaller and of different shape. Tail feathers narrower. Black marks

on casque not so extensive. As regards malabaricus, it is stated in the Fauna

ed. ii, Jhat the casque begins to grow when the bird is about 8 months old.

I think this can hardly be correct. This juvenile is still in its unmoulted

juvenile dress and yet the casque is about 28 mm. high or morei than half the

height of that of the adult and it seems highly improbable that it has held

its juvenile plumage for 8 months. This is a point that field-naturalists in

India and Burma might wrell be able to elucidate.1

Upupa epops orientalis Baker.

One; in the foothills, Thayetmyo. Seems to belong to this race ($

W. 126.5, B. 48.5), but the difficulty in working out these races of Hoopoes

is always accentuated by lack of properly sexed breeding birds from both

India and Burma.

Harpactes erytlirocephalus erythrocephalus Gould.

Three; from low elevations to sea coast in Sandoway, and Nyaungchidauk,

Prome (200 ft.).

Harpactes oreskios uniformis (Rob.).

One; from Ngapali, sea coast, Sandoway.

Caprimulgus macrourus ambiguus Hart.

One; Gamon Chaung, Kyaukpyu boundary (1,200 ft.).

Ketupa zeylonensis leschenaulti (Tenum.),

One; from Ma-i, Sandoway. cf W. 405.

Glaucudium cuculoides rufescens (Baker).

Four; from Ma-i and Zani, Sandoway.

The collector notes that this Owl was much commoner in the west than

the east side of the Yomas.

This race varies very much in the rufescence of the plumage and though

typical birds are easily separable, there occur others in its range which are only

very slightly more rufescent than is cuculoides. Such birds are the usual

type to be found in Arakan, as I have, indicated before ( J.B.N.H.S. , xxxv,

p. 38), and all six from that locality and Prome are exactly alike. Fulvesens

from Tenasserim does not seem separable from bruegeli from Bangkok.

Circus melanoleucus (Penn.).

One; Lamu, Sandoway.

Astur badius poliopsis (Hume).

One; Thani Chaung Reserve, Prome.

Crocopus phcenicopterus viridifrons (Blyth).

Two; from foothills, Thayetmyo; feeding on fruits of Zizyphus jujuba.

Dendrophassa pompadora phayrei (Blyth).

Three; from Sandoway from 50 ft. to the crest of the Yomas.

Treron curvirostra nepalensis (Hodgs.).

Three; from Sandoway up to 1,000 ft.

These last two species are so very alike in plumage that probably sportsmen

often confuse them. They can be readily differentiated by the following

points: — phayrei lacks the white on the vent and short under tail coverts, and

the yellow-green of the face extends above the eye, which part in nepalensis

is bare.

1 Vide Misc. Note, by E. P. Gee, J.B.N.H.S., vol. xxxvi, p. 750 — Eds.

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM SOUTHERN ARAKAN

936

Sphenocercus sphenurus sphenurus (Gould.).

Two; from Ma-i, Sandoway and Mindon Yoma, 3,000 ft.

Muscadivora oenea sylvatica (Tickell).

One; Lamu Eeserve, Sandoway (100 ft.); had fed on fruit of Terminalia

cliebula; and one near Nyaungchidauk, Prome (100 ft.).

Streptopelia chinensis tigrina (Temm. & Knip.).

One; from the foothills, Thayetmyo.

Polyplectron bicaicaratum bicalcaratum (L.).

One; from Mindon, Yoma Eeserve (2,750 ft.).

Gennaeus lineatus oatesi Grant.

A male and two females from Taungup-Prome' road (1,500-2,900 ft.) on the

Sandoway side and on the crest of the Yomas ; a female from Mindon Yoma

Eeserve, Thayetmyo (2,750 ft.).

These are topotypes of G. lineatus oatesi. In the Fauna, ed. ii, vol. v, the

type locality is given as Prome and in vol. vii it is given as Prome, Arakan

Hills. This is a little confusing as Prome is not in the Arakan Hills and the

Lineated Pheasant which occurs near Prome on the east side of the Irrawaddy

is G. lineatus lineatus. The locality should have been given at lat. 19°,

Arakan Hills, Prome Division. The types almost certainly came from the

vicinity of the Taungup-Prome cart-road, which was then and still is the

only route up into the Yomas at approximately lat. 19°. A male and a

female from Oates’ collection, the latter the type of oatesi, are available

for examination. The male collected by Mr. Villar is identical with Oates’

and differs from lineatus in the slightly coarser blacki markings' on the upper

parts, the far less white streaking on the sides of the breast and flanks, and

more (black) vermiculation on the outer webs of the central tail feathers. So

far as can be judged from this meagre material the males are stable.

I may here remark that Gennaeus lineatus Vigors was said to have come

from the Straits of Malacca ; this must be an error and due tq the vagueness

of localities given at that period. I, therefore, fix the type locality as the

East Pegu Hills.

When we turn to the females we find not one of the three is alike. The

general scheme of the upper parts is the same but the colouration is noticeably

different; in one this is bay (Eidgway pi. ii) ; in another Saccardo umber

(l.c. , pi. xxix) and in the third the colour is intermediate between these two.

The tails are still more strikingly different ; their general colour partakes of

the rest of the plumage ; in the bay-coloured bird the tail is bay very faintly

mottled with dark brown or black on the outer webs, more decidedly so on

the inner webs; in the second bird the tail is also bay coloured except the

centrals which partake of the colour of the upper parts ; the mottling is rather

decided. In the intermediate the general colour is as in the second but

the mottling ’very heavy. On the underparts the whitish streaking is much

heavier in the intermediate bird. I have gone rather into detail over these three

birds as the two extremes were collected in almost the same spot and marked as

near laying and, in absence of any proof to the contrary, one must suppose

they all belong to the same race and it shows what very considerable allowance

must be made for individual variation in Gennaeus, a point overlooked apparently

by those in the past who have named no less than 24 species of this genus from

Burma alone ! Tails of the three females vary from 201-234 mm.

May I appeal once more to sportsmen and naturalists to send me even

rough skins of Silver and Kalij Pheasants from any parts of Burma, with a

note on the leg colouration and locality of each specimen? The question of

the variation in these Pheasants is a very difficult one and also very inter-

esting, but no progress can be made without more specimens.

Arborophila rufogularis intermedia (Blyth).

Three males and four females from the Mindon-Yoma Eeserve at 2,750 ft.

in heavy ‘Gayin’ jungle ( Melocanna bambuscides ) and at 4,200 ft. on the

crest in heavy evergreen jungle. This excellent series of topotypes are very

constant in colour. I have compared these with all the Manipur birds in the

British Museum and many thence are much more rufous above and the

937 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

chestnut colour of the scapulars and coverts occupies more of each feather

giving the whole a more rufous, less olive appearance. However at the same

place Aimole m Manipur, we find more rufous and more olive-coloured birds

side by side, the latter exactly matching Arakan examples.

These birds were usually in pairs or two pairs together; they are, industrious

workers, scratching deep holes in the ground to get food. In damp or wet

weather they get up into trees, call frequently but are very hard to see.

Turnix suscitator pallescens Bob. & Baker.

Turnix maculatus maculatus Vieill.

One of each from Kyangin Eeserve, Henzada (200 ft.).

Charadrius dubius dubius Scop.

One; Ma-i, Sandoway, February 19, in winter dress.

Charadrius dubius jerdoni. Jerdoni.

Two; Mindon Chaung, Thayetmyo, January 26 in breeding dress.

Hoplopterus duyaucellii (Less.).

One; Dabongyi, Thayetmyo.

Tringa hypoleucos. L.

Ngnpali, Sandoway; one in complete moult with two outer primaries old, on

March 3, another same date in worn plumage, but with wings newly moulted,

except the outer two primaries.

Tringa ochropus. L.

One ; Chayauk Chaung, Thayetmyo.

Tringa glareola. L.

One; Ma-i, Sandoway.

Glottis nebularia (Gunn.).

One; Hala Chaung, Thayetmyo; some body moult on January 21.

Dissoura episcopus episcopus, (Bodd.).

One; near Lamu Eeserve, Sandoway.

Anastomus oscitaus. (Bodd.).

One; Kyangin Eeserve, Henzada.

In the Fauna ed. I, iv, p. 377 footnote, doubt seems to be cast on the

supposition that the gap between the upper and lower mandibles is caused

by wear. In this specimen both upper and lower mandibles are exceedingly

worn, but only in the region of ‘the gap ; in the upper mandible the wear is

so great that the outer horny layer is completely worn through. This bird was

undergoing a complete moult of wings (March 26).

Egretta intermedia. (Wagler).

One; Yonywa, Sandoway. Apparently not recorded from Arakan previously.

Butorides striatus connectens Strese.

Two males from low ground, Thayetmyo and Sandoway. W. 180, 192. The

Indian, Burmese and Indo-Chinese birds appear to be intermediate between

striatus and javanicus ; abbotti is a synonym of connectens.

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (Gm.)

One; Thani Chaung, Prome; had been killed by a Shikra.

NOTES ON THE EOODPLANTS OF INDIAN HAWKMOTHS

BY

Lt.-Col. F. B. Scott, i.a., f.e.s.

The Bev. Miles Moss, in a paper on the Hawkmoths of South

America, remarked that he found a very close connection there

between Hawkmoths and the plants on which their caterpillars

fed, so much so, that having found the caterpillars of a certain

species feeding on a certain plant, he confidently expected to find

caterpillars of closely allied species feeding on the same, or on

closely allied plants.

It may be of interest to examine the foodplants of Indian Hawk-

moths to see if there is evidence of a similar close connection in

India.

There are one hundred and eighty-one species of Hawkmoths

(family Sphingidae) known to occur in the limits of the Indian

Empire, including Burma, and Ceylon. Information regarding

the foodplants of these 181 species which has been published up to

now is very scanty, and if we were dependent on the published

information no conclusions could possibly be drawn, but my friend

T. B. Bell, late of the Forest Department and myself have now

bred and kept a record of the foodplants of nearly one hundred

species. The foodplants of twenty-two more Indian species, which

extend to South China, have been recorded by Budolph Mell in his

Biologie und Systematik der Siidchinesischen Sphingiden (1922),

and it is fairly safe to assume that these twenty-two species feed

on the same, or on closely allied plants in both areas. Informa-

tion collected from other sources brings the total number of species

of which one or more of the foodplants are known, up to one

hundred and twenty-four, those of the remaining fifty-seven species

being unknown. This gives us enough data to examine the ques-

tion.

The foodplants of the one hundred and twenty-four species

cover a very wide range botanically, as they belong to no less

than fifty-eight Orders of plants, extending from the Order Dil-

leniac'eae (ii) to Gramineae (clxxiii), that is, a range of one hundred

and seventy-two Orders comprising many thousands of species.

In order to show the relationship between the genera of Hawk-

moths inter se, the number of each Indian genus, in the order

in which they appear in A Revision of the Lepidopterous Family

Sphingadae, Noviates zoologicae, Yol. ix, Supplement (1903) by

Bothschild and Jordan, has been entered against each, and the

number of each Order of plants, as given in Flooker’s Flora of

British India has been entered against each Order, to show the

relationship inter se of the plants. These numbers will indicate

at a glance the closeness or otherwise of the relationship between

the different genera of Hawkmoths and of the different Orders of

plants.

11

S3& JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Caterpillars of the genus Clanis (14) appear to feed exclusively

on plants of the Order Leguminoseae (1). Four out of the five

species of this genus which occur in India have been found to

feed on plants of this Order. Here, as in South America, we

may confidently expect to find the fifth species feeding on a legu-

minous plant. Caterpillars of the three species of the genus Satas-

pes (33) which occur in India have also been found only on plants

of the same Order. Two of the three species of the genus Haemor-

rhagia (31) feed on Caprifoliaceae (lxxiv) and on the closely allied

Order Rubiaceae (lxxv), and the third species may be expected to

be found feeding on one of these two Orders. The two species of

the genus Cephonodes (32) which is closely allied to Haemorrhagia

(31), feed entirely on Rubiaceae (lxxv). The five genera Cizara

(45), Gurelca (47), Sphingonaepiopsis (48), Rhodosoma (50) and

Rhopalopsyche (52), which, as may be seen from the numbers are

closely allied, all feed only on Rubiaceae (lxxv), and thirteen

species of the genus Macroglossum (51), closely allied to the above,

also feed on plants of this Order, though other species of the genus

feed on widely separated Orders. The two species of Polyptychus

(16) feed only on Boragineae (c). Tire genera Cypa (24), Smerin-

thidus (25), and Degmaptera (26), all closely allied, feed only on

Cupuliferae (cxl). The two species of Leucophlebia (15) are found

only on Gramineae (clxxiii). In these cases a very close connec-

tion may be seen between closely allied species or genera of Hawk-

moths and the plants on which their caterpillars feed, and a* less

close connection may be seen in the case of some other genera.

In the genus Acherontia (3) for instance, the two Indian species

have common foodplants of the Orders Leguminoseae (1), Solana-

ceae (cii) Verbenaceae (cxi) and Labiateae (cxii), but each of

the species has foodplants of other Orders which are not common to

both. Some of the caterpillars of each of the genera Pergesa (54),

Hippotion (55), Theretra (56), Rhagastis (58) and Cechenena (59)

feed on Geraniaceae (xxxii), Ampelideae (xliii) and Aroideae (clxvi)

but they and other species of these genera feed also on plants of

many other Orders, and the same applies to Ampelophaga (37),

Acosmeryx (40), Theretra (56) and Cechenena (58), which feed on

both Ternstroemiaceae (xxiv) and Ampelideae (xliii).

The cases where little or no connection is apparent are more

numerous. There are three Indian species of the genus Megano-

ton (4). One species feeds on Anonaceae (iv), but we must jump

to Verbenaceae (cxi) for the foodplants of the second species, and

to Laurineae (cxxviii) for that of the third. There is thus a gap

of one hundred and seven Orders of plants between the foodplants

of the first two species, and of seventeen between the second and

the third. There are fourteen Indian species of the genus Theretra

(56), the foodplants of eleven of which are known. These eleven

species feed on plants belonging to no less than nineteen Orders

ranging from Dilleniaceae (ii) to Aroideae (clxvi), an immense

range. The finding of a Theretra caterpillar on a plant of one

of these Orders would not help one much in searching for those of

others of the genus, or of those of allied genera.

There are two Indian species of the genus Rhodoprasina (20).

A iOTPS ON ME POODPLAnTS OF INDIAN HA WK MOTHS 940

One of these feeds on Sapindaceae (xliv) while the other feeds on

Cupuliferae (cxl), a hundred Orders intervening. It must be re-

membered that each Order of plants has a large number of species,

and that the number of species of plants separating the two food-

plants would run into thousands. The genera Oxyambulyx (13)

and Marumba (17), with the foodplants of seven of their species

known in each case, range over ten Orders of plants each. Ache-

rontai (3) and Hippotion (55), the former with two and the latter

with five Indian species, also range over ten Orders, widely sepa-

rated in the botanical scale, in each case. Many more instances

of a similar nature might be quoted, but enough have been given

to show that closely allied species and genera frequently feed on

widely separated Orders of plants.

There are also many examples of widely separated genera of

Hawkmoths selecting plants of the same Order or even of the same

species, for their food. Two Marumba (17) and a Theretra (55)

select plants of the Order Malvaceae (xxvi) for their food. The

Order Tiliaceae (xxvii) provides food for an Oxyambulyx (13), two

Marumba (17), an Agnosia (22), a Macroglossum (51) and a There-

tra (55). The Order Rosaceae (li) is selected by a Marumba (17),

a Langia (19), a Macroglossum (51) and a Gelerio (53). An Ache-

rontia (3) and two Theretra (55) feed on plants of the Order Myf-

taceae (lix). One plant of the Order Pedalineae (cvii) provides

food for one Acherontia (3) and one Hippotion (50). It is clear

that except for a dozen genera it would not be safe to predict

the foodplant of any Indian Hawkmoth from a knowledge of those

of allied genera or species.

Mention has been made above of five genera of Hawkmoths

sharing three Orders of plants for their food, and this raises the

interesting question as to why certain Orders or species of plants

are selected by the moths as foodplants for their caterpillars.

What quality is there in the leaves of certain plants which make

them alone suitable as food for the caterpillars of certain species?

Further research is necessary before this question can be settled

beyond any doubt. We can only collect information by breeding

as many species as possible, and record it for the use of some

genius who with microscope, chemical reagents and what not, may

find the true solution. Some of the species of five genera feed on

Geraniaceae (xxxii), Ampelideae (xliii) and Aroideae (clxvi), and

another genus selects Ampelideae and Aroideae for its food. What

is the connecting link betwen Geraniaceae (balsams), Ampelideae

(vines) and Aroideae (arums) which causes the moths of five or six

genera to pick them out and their caterpillars to feed on them,

starving in the midst of plenty if given the leaves of the plants

of the numerous Orders in between? The moths do not feed on

the flowers of the selected plants. They suck the honey from

the flowers of the petunia, plumbago, phlox and other plants

which do not form the food of any Hawkmoth caterpillar, and

mafly of them do not feed at all, so no connecting link can be

found there. One might suspect that the botanist’s arrangement

of the Orders is wrong, and that the Hawkmoth is a better botanist

than the professor, but even the layman can appreciate the differ-

§41 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

ence between the balsam, the grape vine and the cockoo-pint.

Again, if we doubt the botanist's classification, we should have

to place the Orders Sapindaceae (xliv) and Cupuliferae (cxl) toge-

ther, to account for the predilection of the two species of Rhodo-

soma, and make many equally impossible adjustments. Further,

we should be at a loss to account for the fact that five widely’

separated genera select plants of the Order Tiliaceae (xxvii) for

their food, and that the Order Leguminoseae' (1) provides for seven

widely separated genera. The one species of Herse (1) feeds on

Leguminoseae (1), Gompositae (lxxvni) and Convolvulaceae (ci).

It is the only species of Hawkmoth which is known to feed on the

Order Gompositae. The one species of Psilogramma (5) feeds on

four Orders of plants, ranging from Sabiaceae (xlv) to Verbena-

ceae (cxi). One of the two species of Pseudodolbina (8) has select-

ed plants of the Order Acanthaceae (cix) for its food, and it is

the only species known to feed on plants of this Order. The one

species of Dolbina (11) feeds on Oieaceae (xcii), which it shares

with Acherontia (3) and Psilogramma (5). The one species of

Gompsogene (12) feeds on Guttiferae (xxiii) and Anacardiaceae

(xliv), sharing the latter foodplant with four Oxyambulyx (13).

The one species of Daphnusa (18) feeds on Sapindaceae (xliv),

which it shares with one Marumba (17), one Macroglossum (51)

and one Geletio (53). Two species of Deilephila are confined to

the Order Apocynaceae (xciv), which they share with Nephele, (46);

a second species feeds on Rubiaceae (lxxv) and a third on Gorna-

ceae (lxxii). Most- of the species of Rhagastis (58) feeds on Ampe-

lideae (xliii) and Aroideae (clxvi), but one species breaks away

from the rest and feeds on Saxifragaceae (lii).

In the numerous examples given above there is evidence here

and there of some method in the selection of foodplants by the

moths, and but for this evidence we should be driven to believe

that the selection had been made entirely haphazard. Some further

evidence of method in selection is however afforded by the prefer-

ence shown for certain Orders. No less than thirty-four species

belonging to thirteen genera feed on plants of the Order Rubia-

ceae (lxxv), twenty- six belonging to eleven genera on Ampelideae

(xliii), fifteen species on Aroideae (clxvi) and thirteen species on

Leguminoseae (1). On the other hand there are no less than

nineteen Orders on which only one species feeds.

Up to now only Orders of plants havb been mentioned. It

does not follow that if a caterpillar will feed, on one species of an

Order that the other species will be equally acceptable. This is,

in fact, very far from being the case. Only a few species of each

Order are selected as foodplants. The Order Leguminoseae is a

very* large one:, with over eight hundred Indian species, but only

twenty-one of these form the foodplant of any Hawkmoth, many

common species ■ being refused by caterpillars which feed on other

plants of the Order. Only thirty-five species of the Order Rubia-

ceae1, with over six hundred Indian species are accepted. Of the

large Order Compositae, with hundreds of Indian species, only two

sixteen Orders of plants, all with many species, of which only

NOTES ON THE FOODPLANTS OF INDIAN HAWKMOTHS

942

one species is accepted in each case. An examination of the species

selected within each Order reveals the same result as in the case

of the Orders themselves. Sometimes closely related and some-

times widely separated species are chosen. Some of the species

selected as foodplants seem very curious. In the Order Logania-

ceae the leaves of the deadly strychnine-tree are eaten by four

species of Hawkmoths. In the Order Solanaceae the poisonous

datura is eaten, as well as the potato, brinjal and tobacco. The

spurges and arums, poisonous to mammals, are eaten by many

species. The foetid smelling leaves of Paederia foetida are eaten

by some species as readily as those of sweet smelling species by

others.

From observations made in the field it appears that the selection

of certain plants, haphazard or otherwise, having once been made,

the moths keep most faithfully to their choice. An egg of some

common and prolific species may occasionally be found on a blade

of grass growing close to the leaves of the true foodplant, but

generally the eggs are deposited with the utmost certainty on the

proper leaves. Some of the daylight-flying species may be watch-

ed, first darting about, then hovering over a tangled mass of her-

bage and daintily manoeuvring for position to deposit an egg,

while still hovering, on a leaf or twig of the chosen plant. We

do not know how it picks out the leaves of its foodplant from all

the surrounding leaves, but it seldom makes a mistake. This is

another problem which further investigation may solve.

The distribution of Hawkmoths, and the number of individuals

of any species occurring in any locality, is intimately connected

with their choice of foodplants, and by the distribution of those

foodplants. The moths themselves, being fast and powerful flyers,

may be found at some distance beyond the range of their food-

plants, but they can only maintain themselves and reproduce their

kind in areas where at least one of their foodplants grows. The

choice of their foodplants is thus a very important factor, affecting

their very existence in any locality. The disappearance of a plant

may cause the disappearance of a species of Hawkmoth, and the

spreading of a plant, by natural or artificial means, may cause

another species to extend its range. Certain species feed on plants

which are grown as crops, and occur in great numbers wherever it

is cultivated. One species feeds on apple and pear, and finds its

way to newly started orchards, thus extending its range. There is

some evidence to show that vigorous species are willing to adopt

a new foodplant, and this may lead to an extension of their range

or to a local increase in numbers. One species of Rhagastis feeds

on the hydrangea in Shillong. It must have adopted the hydrangea

as its food after this plant had been artificially introduced into

the gardens there. It is a hardy species, and neither its egg nor

its larva appears to be attacked by any parasites, and it has

thriven and multiplied exceedingly. Thousands of its caterpillars

are destroyed every year by indignant malts; many more are killed

by ants when they are on the ground looking for fresh bushes to

attack or when about to pupate; but it swarms in apparently un-

dirpinished numbers each season. The nioth has become one of

943 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

the most common of the Hawkmoths locally, but away from the

station of Shillong it is rarely found. Rudolph Mell has found

the same species feeding on a closely allied plant in South China.

The walnut, Order Juglandeae, is another plant which has been

artificially introduced into Shillong, and a species of Oxyambulyx,

which feeds on a tree of the closely allied Order Myricaceae, has

adopted the walnut also as one of its foodplants. The lantana

has been introduced into India comparatively recently, and one

of the Acherontia, which feeds on other plants of the same Order,

has adopted it also, and other similar cases might be quoted.

The range of any species of Hawkmotli is by no means coin-

cident with that of its foodplant or plants. While some of the

common species may be found wherever any of their foodplants

are available to support their caterpillars, other species have a

range which is far more restricted than that of their foodplants.

The wild vine and the wild arum are found at suitable elevations

throughout the Khasi Hills and, the Himalayas, but some of the

species which feed on these plants are confined to the Khasi Hills

and the Eastern Himalayas, others to the Western Himalayas;

some to the Khasi Hills alone. Some species are found only in

very restricted areas, though their foodplants cover a wide range.

One species of a genus may be common and widespread, another,

closely allied and feeding on the same plant, rare and restricted.

It will be seen that there are many problems regarding the

choice of foodplants by Hawkmoths, and with regard to their distri-

bution, which require further investigation.

Journ., Bombay Nat, Hist. Sdc.

For explanation of Plate see end of article.

ON THE BIOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF EPIPYROPS EURY-

BRACHYDIS FLETCHER ( LEPIDOPTERA ).

(An External Parasite of Eurybrachys tomentosa Fb. : Fulgoridae,

Rhynchota) .

BY

B. Krishnamurti, b.sc.

( With one plate and a block).

( Officiating Senior Assistant Entomologist, Department of Agriculture in

Mysore, Bangalore).

Nearly 50 per cent of the adult females of Eurybrachys tomentosa collected

from species of Acacia, for life-history work were found parasitised by one stage

or other of the larva of Epipyrops eurybrachydis ( Zygaenoidea — Lepid.). The

larva was usually found underneath one of the wings of the host, holding

fast to the abdominal terga, by means of the prolegs, with the head pointing

posteriorly and the mouth-parts, buried in the soft fatty tissue, close by the

tip of the abdomen, which is covered profusely with white cottony wax, so

characteristic of the female Eurybrachys tomentosa (Plate 1 a). The presence

of the larva is always indicated by the raised position of the tegmen and the

wing of one side. When the larva is only partially grown the extent to which

the wing is raised is not so marked as when it is between the third and fifth

instars. The fulgorid parasitised by a full-grown larva can be spotted out

in its natural environment even from a distance of a few yards.

The Egg. — Each egg is about .5 mm. in length and dirty golden-yellow

in colour; oval in shape. The apical end is broader and almost flat, showing

a dark ring. The surface of the chorion is granular and sparsely covered

with minute strands of whitish meal (Plate 2, fig. 3).

The egg hatches in 6-8 days after being laid. The larva emerges by bursting

open a circular lid at the apical end of the egg.

The First Instar Caterpillar.

Length — about 1.25 mm. Body is tapering towards the posterior extremity.

Head is triangular; antennae 3-jointed, the apical joint bearing minute papil-

lae and two long sensory bristles; ocelli are six in number, circular and situ-

ated on the epicarnial plates ; mandibles well developed with two pointed

teeth each; maxillae long, cylindrical and three-jointed, the apical joint having

minute sharp spines. The spinneret is also well developed.

Thorax. — The tergum of the prothorax is lightly chitinised and appears like

a brown cross band behind the head ; three sizes of minute sharply-pointed

setae, apart from the more minute ones with which the. body cuticle is pro-

fusely covered, are noticeable; there is a pair of prothoracic spiracles situated

almost intersegmentally and a pair of stout, five- jointed legs terminating in

a single curved chitinous claw, is present (Plate 2, fig. 7).

The meso and metathorax are devoid of any brown band on the terga; in

addition to the sets of minute setae, noticed in the* prothorax, there is seen,

mostly across the middle of the ventra) a row of short slightly capitate setae;

two hind pairs of thoracic legs are present; spiracles are absent (Plate 2, fig. 8).

Abdomen. — There are ten abdominal segments; they are narrower towards

the tip ; the segments 3-4-5-6-10 bear a pair of prolegs each ; the pair of the

tenth segment is comparatively long and has three pairs each, of curved

and sharp crochets, which are the claspers. (Plate 2, fig. 9) ; the other prolegs

are short and stumpy and bear 5-6 crochets each (Plate 2, fig. 8); the capitate

setae are present on most of the abdominal ventra; the first seven segments

bear a pair of spiracles each,

945 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

The posterior extremity (7-10 segments) is tinged bluish-green.

The spiracle (Plate 2, fig. 10) is of a typically lepidopterous larval kind;

circular-oval, with the tips of the opening fringed with very minute, branched

hairs.

The further instars of the caterpillar (2nd. to 5th. instars).

The points of difference between the first and the subsequent instars are : —

1. Marked increase in size; the full grown caterpillar measuring about

7-8 mm. long and 3-4 mm. broad at the middle..

2. The capitate setae, present on some of the thoracic and abdominal

segments of the first instar caterpillar are not seen.

3. Body cuticle gets much folded in 4th. and 5th. instars, so that the

segmental lines are slightly obscured.

4. The wax pores (Plate 2, fig. 8) are seen in the 5 instar arranged

in the first, second, third, ninth and tenth abdominal segments — a pair in each.

5. True claspers are not present, the last pair of prolegs being very

short and stumpy as the others.

6. The number of crochets of prolegs increases towards the later

instars and the full-grown caterpillar bears 35-38 crochets, approximating in

arrangement, to the transverse uniserial type (Plate 2, fig. 12).

7. In the caterpillars of the later instars, the crochets of the posterior

row are slightly longer (Plate 4, fig. 14).

8. The anal prolegs have only the anterior row of crochets.

Ecdysis of caterpillar. — For about 48 hours before the process begins, the

caterpillar is quite still and does not feed. The process is undergone either

on the body of the host under cover of the wings (in the later instars) ; or

outside among the leaves (in the first instar) ; the caterpillar assumes a semi-

doubied-up position and is fixed to the surface by means of sucker feet; later,

a slit appears along the mid-ventral line from the head down to the tip of

the abdomen and the emerging caterpillar slowly creeps out by a steady

peristaltic movement caused by the surging of the body fluid combined with

a series of contractions and relaxations of the segmental muscles ; the original

cuticle is gradually pushed behind, dry and much wrinkled. The whole process

takes about 10-12 hours.

A. A. young caterpillar sticking to the left of the abdomen of the host Fulgorid

Eurybrachys tomentosa.

B. 1. Full-grown caterpillar.

2. Same covered over with white cottony silk.

3. Pupa protruding out of the cocoon.

4. Adult moth.

Q, Egg-mass of Epipyrops eurybrachidfs ,

BIOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF EPIPYROPS EUIiYBRACHYDIS 946

Ecdysis occurs altogether four times, there being five instars of the cater-

pillar during the prepupal stage.

The full-grown caterpillar. — Length 7-8 mm. Width 3-4 mm. The head

is largely oval and highly chitinised. The epicranial plates are wide and

triangular, each bearing six circular ocelli near the antero-lateral margin.

Above the ocelli, is the pair of three- jointed antennae.

Between the epicranial plates are the frons and the clypeus ; the frons

extending as far downwards as the inner posterior margins of the epicranial

plates (epicranial suture), the adfrontals generally present in a lepidopterous

larva, not being differentiated here. The median epicranial suture is not very

prominent (Plate 2, fig. 4).

The mouth-parts of the caterpillar (fig. 5) consist of a labrum (fig. 11),

a pair of mandibles, a pair of maxillae and a specialised labium with spinneret.

Mandibles are long, well developed, each having a pair of sharply-pointed

teeth, which, sometimes overlap. They work like a pair of shears as in the

case of mandibles of certain epidermis-feeding larvae. The sharp teeth are

also pierced into the soft fatty portions of the host’s body and thus the im-

bibing of minute quantities of the body juices is helped.

Maxillae are more or less vestigial and consist only of a broadly-cylindrical

cardo and a small cuboid stipes, bearing a two-jointed palp, the tip of which

is provided with sharply pointed spines. The vestiges of lacinea and galea

are probably represented by the two small conical structures attached to the

stipes at the’ outer margin. There is also present a maxillary lobe at the

distal extremity consisting of a broad base with 3-4 pointed papilla-like

structures (Plate 2, fig. 6).

Labium is situated on the ventral region of the head between the maxil-

lae; it is a single, wide, lightly-chitinised structure; the submentum, mentum

and prementum of a typical labium are not clearly differentiated here ; the

region ok the submentum is broad and that of the prementum, narrow. Proxi-

mally is a long cylindrical, chitinous, median, perforated process, the spinneret

hinged on to a semi-circular, chitinous framework.

Food of the caterpillar.

Fletcher ( Proceedings . of the Third Entomological Meeting, Pusa, 1919,

p. 979) has hinted that ‘the larva probably sucks the juices of its host’. The

observation made by the writer in regard to the feeding habits of the larva,

and the structural features of the mouth-parts, largely confirm that view.

Several caterpillars have been noticed to feed on the soft, fatty tissues of

the body of the host, specially in the neighbourhood of the lateral margins

of the abdomen and also on the soft membranous parts between the pronotum,

scutum, and scutellum of the thorax. Many young caterpillars have, been

observed, to scrape the surface of the hind margin of the tegmen of the host,

in the same manner in which some caterpillars of other families scrape the

epidermis of leaves, so as to leave behind only the veins; the scraped patches

are to be easily distinguished from the non-scraped ones in the immediate

neighbourhood. The young caterpillars have also been noted in the act of

cutting the minute strands of cottony wax on the posterior margin of the

abdomen of the host, perhaps, preparatory to scratching thq tissue there. This

sort of cutting of the cottony wax is often likely to mislead one to suppose, that

the caterpillar feeds on the stuff ; dissecting out the digestive svstem of a

caterpillar apparently feeding on the wax, did not reveal any of the material

inside.

Some habits of the caterpillar.

The first instar caterpillar, wanders about a lot among the leaves and

young twigs of the plant on which the eggs are deposited by the female

moth, before it finally gets on to the body of the host Eurybrachys; a few

of them have been observed to be in an upright position, clinging to the

edges of leaves by means of the claspers and keep oscillating in the manner

of a G-eometrid larva, or a leech, presumably waiting for the host bug to pass

by, in' order to climb on to the latter’s body. Successful finding of the host

under natural conditions, before establishing there, appears to be largely a

matter of chance, primarily because of the very minute size of the first instar

caterpillar. In one case where 400 first instar caterpillars and half a dozen

947 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

adult host bugs were present on the leaves' and the twigs of a small Acacia

plant in a pot, only one host bug was observed after 5 days to have been

infested with three caterpillars ; most of the others had died by that time.

Very probably, in nature, only a very few succeed in getting on to their

hosts and the majority die away; the large number of eggs laid by the

female moth clearly bears out this fact; the parent makes ample provision for

risks.

There appears to be no doubt, that the adult female — Eurybrachys, alone —

is preferred as host, to either the male adult or the several nymphal stages

of the bug. The writer has not come across a Eurybrachys1 nymph nor a male

adult harbouring the caterpillar. Numerous female adults have been obtained

infested with caterpillars of all stages of growth from the second to fifth,

in different situations on the body. The last three instars have usually been

found hidden beneath the wings, on one or both sides of the mid-dorsal

line, with the head end pointing towards1 the posterior extremity, sticking fast

to the surface by means of the prolegs and with mandibles buried into the

fatty portions of the abdomen. The younger stages have been noted to be

wandering on to the ventral surface as well as the tegmen, whose surface

they go on scratching specially at the margins.

The duration of the larval period — 6-6J weeks is generally well within

the life-span of the adult host. Six to seven days after the final moult the

caterpillar leaves the host and selecting a suitable place on the undersurface

of a twig begins to spin a cocoon round itself and then pupates. The host,

dying prematurely, the caterpillar, not yet full-grown, also gradually dies

away; for, the latter, does not thrive with feeding on the dead remains of

the former.

The effect of the larva on the host-bug is sometimes apparent in the slow

and only occasional movements of the latter (also due, in some instances,

to a gravid condition). That the larva is of the nature of an external parasite

of the fulgorid (somewhat like the external acarine parasites of domestic

animals) there cannot be any doubt, judged specially from the habits of the

former; but it cannot be anything more than a feeble external parasite. The

normal life-span of the fulgorid host does not seem to be shortened by any

marked degree, nor the egg laying capacity, by the parasitic habits of the

larva. Two sets of female Eurybrachys, one with the larva, the other without,

kept under observation under exactly similar conditions in the laboratory

lived for about 7 weeks and oviposited thrice, there being 80-90 eggs each

time in separate clusters covered over by white cottony meal. More than

four larvae of different stages of growth have been observed on the same

individual host.

Cocoon-Spinning The caterpillar first stations itself firmly on the surface

on which the cocoon is to be spun by means of the sucker-feet. Then begins

a series of back and forth and up and down movements of the head and

the thorax; the spinneret situated on the ventral surface of the head, sends

forth a continuous stream of tough white silk ; the latter is woven, as a

result of the series of movements, into a cocoon, layer over layer. The whole

process occupies about three hours.

The Cocoon is of milk-white cottony silk, oval in shape and has a flat

bottom by which it is firmly stuck on to the undersurface of twigs and a

semi-dome-like upper. The surface is smooth except for a few shallow furrows

and short blunt elevations 2-5 in number, usually along the upper middle

line and rarely one or two on a side.

The Pupa is of a dark blue colour and varies in size with the sex of the

adult moth into which it is transformed. The antennal and wing cases are

very clearly marked, as also the region of the compound eyes of the future

moth. The abdominal portion of the pupa, is pale blue and less heavily

c.hitinised than the head and thoracic portions. Five pairs of spiraCular open-

ings are also clear on the first five abdominal segments. The abdomen has

a small anal slit and two papillae (Plate 2, fig. 18).

Eclosion of the moth. — Through a transverse slit, at one end and at the

point of contact, of the cocoon with the surface of the twig, the anterior

heavily chitinised part of the pupa is thrust outwards and upwards; next a

longitudinal slit along the mid-ventral line of the extruded portion forms the

exit for the moth. With the head inside the anteriormost portion of the,

extended part of the pupa, acting as a pivot, the tfiorax, first and the abdomen.

BIOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF EPIPYROPS EURYBRACHYDIS 948

next, are slowly drawn out ; the wings and legs also appear at about the same

time and gradually unfurl and straighten* themselves. In this condition the

moth rests for some time; finally the head is extricated; with the whole body

thus entirely out of the pupa, the moth rests for a second time before active

movement.

The Adult moth (Plate 1 b). — Epipyrops eurybrachydis is one of ‘the three

most commonly-occurring species of the only Indian genus Epipyrops, of the

family Epipyropidae under the super family Zygaenoidea’ (Fletcher, Proceedings

of the Third Entomological Meeting, Pusa 1919, ‘vol. iii, p. 979).

There appears to be a marked variation in size of the different individuals

of the same species, apart from the difference in size between the male and

female, the latter being on the whole slightly larger.

The head is circular-oval, consisting of a narrow epicranium, a wide, deeply -

sculptured fronto-clypeus occupying the greater portion and the labrum. The

compound eyes are large and round.

The antenna is long, 14-16' jointed (14 joints in the male and 16 in the

fefnale as a rule) each joint having a pair of different sized lateral branches

which again branch into a large number of small setae, the whole presenting

the appearance of a plumouse structure.

In addition to the setae, the lateral branches have a number of sensory

pits lined with extremely, delicate sensillae.

A true proboscis is absent; vefy probably, in nature, the moth does not

feed; in the laboratory, however, it was attracted by dilute honey and appeared

to imbibe it in extremely small quantities. Labial palps are highly vestigial.

Wings are well developed and their expanse is greater in the female than

in the male. The moths’ are capable of a low jerky flight. In the natural

sitting position the wings are held in a steeply-sloping, manner, while the. body

is also similarly poised; the head being farthest upwards from the surface and

the first pair of legs extended. The hind part of the body is usually completely

hidden.

The legs are long and slender.

The abdomen is stouter in the female than in the male. Seven abdominal

segments are clearly visible.

Under laboratory conditions several moths lived from 8 to 10 days and

the female began to oviposit 24-36 hours after emergence. Each female laid

not less than 400-500 eggs, stuck on the leaves and twigs of Acacia sp. one

of the host plants of the fulgorid. The eggs are laid in groups of irregular

rows (Plate 1, c).

Acknowledgments. — The author desires to express his gratefulness to late

Dr. K. Kunhi Kannan, Entomologist, at whose suggestion the study of this

parasite was taken up and to Dr. Leslie C. Coleman, Director of Agriculture,

and Mr. T. V. Subramaniam, Officiating Entomologist, who both read through

the manuscript and offered several valuable suggestions.

Deferences.

1. T. B. Fletcher, ‘Indian Epipyropidae’, Report of the Third Entomological

Meeting, Pusa, 1919, vol. iii, p. 979.

2. A. D. Imms, Text Book of Entomology, pp. 402-415.

3. Needham Frost and Tothill, Leaf-Mining Insects, pp. 35 and 53.

4. H. S. Pruthi, ‘Observations on the Biology, and Morphology of the Im-

mature Stages of Aulacodes peribacalis Wlk’ ( Hydrocampinae lepidoptera),

Records of the Indian Museum, 1928, vol. xxx, Part III, pp. 353-356.

5. F. Silvestri, Contributioni Alla conoscenza dei Tortricidi Delle Querce

(1-11), 1923.

6. T. V. Subramaniam, ‘Some Natural Enemies of Mango Leaf-hoppers

(Idocerus sp.) in India’, Bull. Ent. Res., vol. xii, p. 4, February 1922.

Detailed Explanation of Plate.

Fig. 1. — Head of an adult moth.

1. Antenna. 2. Epicranium. 3. Fronto-clypeus. 4. Compound eye. 5.

Labrum. 6. Epipharynx.

Fig. 2. — Portion of antenna of adult moth.

Fig. 3.— Egg.

Fig. 4. — Head of caterpillar. Dorsal yiew,

949 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

1. Mandible, 2. Labrum. 3, Antenna. 4. Clypeus. 5. Epicranium. 6.

Front. 7. Ocelli.

Fig 5. — Head of caterpillar. Ventral view.

1. Mandible. 2^. A-htenna. 3. Ocelli. 4. Labrum. 5. Spinneret.

6. Maxilla. 7. Maxillary palp. 8. Maxillary lobe.

Fig. 6. — Maxilla of caterpillar.

1. Cardo. 2. Stipes. 3. Palp. 4. Maxillary lobe. 5. Papillae of maxil-

lary lobe.

Fig. 7. — Prothorax of caterpillar. Ventral.

1. Spiracle. 2. Thoracic leg. 3. Claw.

Fig. 8. — Abdominal segment of caterpillar. Ventral.

1. Spiracle. 2. Abdominal proleg. 3. Wax pore. 4. Capitate setae.

5. Crochets.

Fig. 9. — Claspers of first instar caterpillar.

1. Claspers. 2. Crochets of clasper.

Fig. 10. — Spiracle.

1. Sensory hairs lining the opening. 2. Elastic fibre to open the spiracle.

Fig. 11. — Labrum of caterpillar.

Fig. 12. — Crochets of abdominal leg.

1. Anterior crochets. 2. Posterior crochets.

Fig. 13. — Pupa.

1. Wing cover. 2. Antennal lobe. 3. Spiracle. 4. Tubercles of the tip

of abdomen.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate III

Rocky left bank of Chasmai River with Nannorhops ritchieana H. Wendl.

Hyoscyamus muticus L.

Photos by J . Ferri(inde%.

THE FLOEA OF WAZIEISTAM.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s and J. Fernandez.

Part II.

(With two plates).

( Continued from page 687 of this volume).

MALVACEAE.

700 species. — Tropica! and temperate regions.

Althaea (Tonrn.) L.

15 species. — Temperate regions of the Old World.

Althaea Ludwigii L. Mant. (1767) 98.

Vernacular name: Nagamboti (Williams).

Locality: N.W.: S. of Miram Shah, gravel, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 475 !)

S.W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15773 !).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams).

Fruit: 28-3-30 (Miram Shah); 26-4-1895 (Barwand); 23-5-1891 (Tank).

Distribution: Deccan, Sind, W. Asia, Mediterranean, S. Africa.

Althaea villosa Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot Soc. ix (1930) 201.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah along Tochi Biver (F. 804 !). — Miram

Shah, gravel plain, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 980 !). — Near Miram Shah, right bank

of Chasmai Biver in cultivated fields, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 333 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-3-30 (Chasmai Biver); April; 9-4-30 (Miram Shah).

Distribution : Endemic.

Althaea villosoides Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 202.

Vernacular name: Chaplaverkie (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah along Tochi Biver, 3,000 ft. (F. 805).

Flowers & Fruit: April.

Distribution : Endemic.

Malva (Tourn.) L.

30 species.— N. temperate regions.

Malva sylvestris L. Sp. PI. (1753) 969; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 819.

Vernacular name: Chota gul kharru (J. Williams).

Locality: N.W. : E. of Miram Shah Fort, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 118 1).

Tank (J. Williams 7117 1).

Flowers: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 4-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Orient, Mediterranean, Europe, N. Africa, Siberia.

Malva rotundifolia L. Sp. PI. (1753) 688 ( partim ); Boiss. Fl. Or. i (1867)

820.

Vernacular name:. Wahankai, Naghankai, Nahankai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2186 ! 2575 ! 2592 ! 2735 !). —

Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1496). — Miram Shah village (B. & F.

452 !). — Bank of Chasmai Biver, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 204a !).- — Bed of Sua

Algad (B. & F. 367 !). — -N. of Dossali Fort (B. & F. 1033 !). — Above Dossali,

bed of Khunai Biver, 5,050 ft. (B. & F. 1104 1). — W. of Spinwam Fort, gravel,

2,660 ft. (B. & F. 847 !). — Below Spinwam Fort, bed of Kaitu Biver (B. &

F. 441 !). — Shewa Post, on Kuram Biver (B. & F. 936 !).

S.W. : Wana, stpny plain, 4,500 ft. (F„ 3483 ! 3492 !). — Bazmak, open

stony ground, 6,500 ft. (F. 1899 !’ 1900 ! 2650 !). — Sararogha, 4,006 ft. (F.

222 !).

Flowers & Fruit : March, April, May.

951 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vo t. XXXVl

Distribution : Europe, N. Africa, N. & W. Asia, Persia, Afghanistan,

Baluchistan, Ivuram Valley, Sind.

Malva parviflora L. Amoen. Acad. ed. 2, iii (1787) 416.

Note.—Numerus 491 hab&t carpella marginibus dorsi distincte alata sinuata

et semina brunnea.

Vernacular name: Ngankai, Tikalai (Waziri).

Locality : N.W.: Datta Khel in stony plain, 4,600 ft. (E. 1272 ! 1312 !). —

Miram Shah (F. 491 ! 831 !).

S.W,. : Near Kaniguram brook (Stewart). — Razmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 1971 !

1977 !).

Flowers & Fruit : April.

Distribution: Mediterranean region, Nubia, Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan,

Baluchistan, N.W. India, Sind.

Uses : Eaten as greens.

Malva waziristanensis Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 202.

Vernacular name: Pathivai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, 3,000 ft. (F. 493 !).

Distribution : Endemic.

Uses: Eaten as a pot herb (F.).

Sida L.

70 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Sida rhombifolia L. Sp. PI. (1753) 684.

Locality: S.W.: Jandola (F. 4140 !).

Distribution : Throughout the tropics.

Sida veronicaefolia Lam. Encycl. i (1783) 5.

Locality: N.W.: In the plains (Stewart).

Distribution : Tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Abutilon Tourn.

120 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Abutilon indicum Sweet Hort. Brit, i (1827) 54; Wight Ic. t. 12.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, on hills, 3,000 ft. (F. 281 ! 282 1 1382 1

1387 !). — E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 649 !).

S.W. : Near Palosina (Stewart).

Flowers : April (Palosina).

Distribution : Spread throughout the tropical zone of the whole world.

Abutilon fruticosum Guill. Perr. & A. Rich. FI. Senegamb. i (1830) 70;

Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 836.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, open stony plain, 3,000 ft. (F. 939 !

1456 !). — W. of Spinwam Fort, gravel plain, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 828 ! 859 !). —

E. of Miram Shah, hills, 3,600 ft. (B. & F. 5641 !).

S.W.: Sararogha, 4,000 ft. (F. 198 ! 215 !). — Jandola, stony ground,

2,200 ft. (F. 4136 !).

Tank (J. Williams 7780 !).

Flowers: 4-4-30 (Spinwam); 11-8-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Canaries, tropical Africa, Palestine, Arabia, Sind, Baluchis-

tan, Punjab, Ceylon.

Abutilon cornutum T. Cooke Flora Bomb. Presid. i, 98.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, bed of Volam River (B. & F. 907 1).

Distribution : Sind.

Pavonia Cav.

70 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Pavonia glechomifolia Garcke in Schweinf. Beitr. FI. Aeth. (1867) 54.

Locality: N.W.: Dossali Fort (B. & F. 475a !).

Fruit: 10-4-30 (Dossali).

Distribution: Gujarat, Cutch, Sind, Baluchistan, Arabia, tropical Africa.

Pavonia sp.

Locality: S. W. : Razmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 3242 !).

9$2

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

Hibiscus E.

160 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Hibiscus Trionum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 697.

Locality : SHF.: Pre Ghal (J. Williams 7779 !).

Flowers : 8-8-1888 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution : S. Europe, tropics of the Old World.

Hibiscus sindicus Stocks in Hook. Ic. PI. (1852) t. 802.

Locality: Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams 7783 !).

Fruit: 14-8-1888 (Tank).

Distribution : Sind, Baluchistan.

Hibiscus sp.

Locality: S.W.: Jandola, 2,200 ft., cultivated (E. 1528 ! 1529 1).

BOMBACACEAE.

140 species. — Tropical, especially American.

Bombax L.

60 species. — Tropics.

Bombax ceiba L. Sp. PI. 511.

Locality: N.W.: Planted at Miram Shah (B. & F. !).

Flowers : March, leafless at the time.

Distribution : Throughout hotter parts of India. — Malaya.

STERCULIACEAE.

660 species. — Chiefly tropics.

Melhania Forsk.

45 species. — Africa, Asia, Australia.

Melhania futteyporensis Stocks ex Mast, in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i (1874)

373. — ill. tomentosus Stocks ex Mast. l.c.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewart). — Miram Shah (F. 886 !).

SHF. : Spin, open stony plain (F. 3836 I).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams 7782 I).

Flowers: 13-8-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Central Provinces, Punjab, Gujarat, Sind, Bajputana Desert,

Trans-Indus.

Melhania sp. ? — Material too scanty.

Locality: SHF. : Tenai Post, open stony ground (F. 3799 !).

TILIACEAE.

380 species. — Tropical and temperate regions, chiefly S.-E. Asia and Brazil.

Grewia L.

150 species. — Asia, Africa, Australia, especially tropical.

Grewia laevigata Vahl Symb. i (1790) 34.

Locality: S.W.: E. of Bazmak, grassy slope of hill (B. & F. 1731 I

1962 !).

Distribution: India, tropical Africa, Malaya, Australia.

Grewia salvifolia Heyne ex Both Nov. PI. Sp. (1821) 239.

Locality: N.W.: Dossali Fort, nala (B. & F. 1070 !).

Distribution: India (W, Peninsula), N.-W. Provinces, tropical Africa.

Grewia tenax Fiori Bos. Piant. legn. Eritrea (1909) 246; Blatter FI. Arab,

in Bee. Bot. Surv. Ind. viii, pt. 1 (1919) 88. — Chadara tenax Forsk. FI. Aeg. —

953 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Arab. (1775) p. cxiv and p. 105. — G. populifolia Vahl Symb. i (1790) 33. —

G. betulaefolia Juss. in Ann. Mus. Paris iv (1804) 92, t. 4, f. 1.

Vernacular name : Shihari Mewa (Kohat).

Locality : N.W.: On gravel of left bank of Volam River near Shewa

Post (B. & F. 877 !). — Dossali Fort, nala (B. & F. 1182 !). — Spinwam Fort,

low limestone hill, 2,650 ft. (By & F. 832 ! 833 !).

S.W.: Jandola, stony ground and nalas (F. 635 ! 727 !).

Tank : Zam Valley N.-W. of Tank (Stewart).

Flowers: 5-4-30 (Shewa Post).

Distribution: Punjab, Rajputana Desert, dry parts of Bombay and Madras

Presidencies, Cutch, Sind, Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, tropical

Africa, Mauritius, Ceylon.

Uses : Eaten by goats and sheep.

Grewia elastica Royle 111. Bot. Himal. (1839) 104, t. 22.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (F. 940 ! 941 !).

Fruit: 13-4-27 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Sub-Himalayan tract and valleys ascending to 3,500 ft., Salt

Range.

Triumfetta Plum, ex L.

75 species. — Tropics.

Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacquin En. PI. Carib. (1760) 22 et Select. Am.

(1763) 147, t. 90.

Locality: S.W.: Jandola (F. 3292 !).

Fruit: 29-5-27 (Jandola).

Distribution: India, tropical Africa, Malaya, China, America.

Corchorus (Tourn.) L.

40 species. — Warm regions.

Corchorus depressus Stocks, in Proc. Linn. Soc. i (1848) 367 .—Antichorus

depressus L. Mant. (1767) 64. — Corchorus antichorus Raeusch Norn. ed. 3

(1797) 158.

Locality : Tank (J. Williams 7784 !).

Fruit: 12-7-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Cutch, Kathiawar, Gujarat, Deccan, Sind, Rajputana Desert,

Afghanistan, Arabia, Cape de Verde Islands, tropical Africa.

Corchorus trilocularis L. Mant. (1767) 77.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala (B. & F. 653 !). —

W. of Spinwam Fort, stony plain, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 850 !). — Shewa Post,

right bank of Iluram River, 2,150 ft. (B. & F. 935 !). — Dwa Warkha (Stewart).

Frud: 1-4-30 (Spinwam).

Distribution: Deccan, Gujarat, Rajputana, Afghanistan, tropical Africa.

LINACEAE.

150 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Linum Tourn. ex L.

95 species. — Temperate and subtropical regions, especially Mediterranean.

Linum strictum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 279

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart).

Distribution: Punjab, W. Tibet, 10,000 ft., from Soongaria to. N. Africa

and Italy.

*Linum grandiflorum Desf. var. ccccineum Hort.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, 3,150 ft., gardens (B. & F. 629 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 31-3-30.

Distribution : Algeria.

THE FLORA OF WAzlRlSTAN

954

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE.

160 Species. — Tropics and subtropics xero- or halophytes.

Tribulus Tourn. ex L.

12 species. — Africa, Asia, America, Mediterranean.

Tribulus terrestris L. Sp. PI. (1753) 387.

Locality: N.W.: In the plains (Stewart). — Boya, right bank of Tochi

Biver, 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 1669 !). — Miram Shah (F. 362 !). — W. of Spinwam

Fort, gravel plain, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 844 !). — E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone

hills, 2,800 ft. (B. & F. 794 ! 814 !).

S. IV. : Jandola, along Tank Biver (F. 663 ! 782 !).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams 9201 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 4-4-30 (Spinwam) ; 14-4-27 (Miram Shah) ; 21-4-30 (Boya) ;

25-5-27 (Jandola).

Distribution: Warmer regions of the world.

Tribulus biimicronatus Viv. Dec. PI. Aeg. 9, t. 2, f. 4.

Vernacular name: Kliaiarbita (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (F. 321 !). — E. of Spinwam Fort, rocky

nala, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 659 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 1-4-30 (Spinwam); 16-4-27 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Arabia,. Egypt.

Tribulus macropterus Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, i, 61.

Locality: S.W.: Tenai Post (F. 4031 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-6-27 (Tenai)

Distribution: Afghanistan. Persia, Egypt.

Fagonia Tourn. ex L.

20 species, — Mediterranean, S. Africa, - California, Chili.

Fagonia cretica L. Sp. PL (1753) 553.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewart).

Distribution: Mediterranean, N. Africa, Arabia, Syria.

Fagonia mollis Del. 111. FI. d'Eg. (1813) 86, t. 28, f. 2.

Vernacular name: Spilakhzai, Sussa, Drab, Ackzikai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. & F.

1330 !, F. 1257 ! 1259 !). — Left bank of Dariawasti Algad near Datta Khel

Fort, on rocks (B. & F. 1646 !). — Near Datta Khel village (B. & F.i !). — Boya

(F. 1474 !). — E. of Miram Shah Fort, gravel plain, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 156 !). — -

Miram Shah (F. 994a !). — N. of Dossali Fort, stony plain, 4,900 ft. (B. &

F. 1102 ! 1298 !).— Bazani (F. 2127 !).

S.W. : Bazmak (F. 3251 !). — Sararogha (F. 89 !). — Wana (F. 3578. !).

Flowers: 12-4-27 (Miram Shah) ;. 15-4-30 (Dossali); 16-4-30 (Datta Khel);

19-4-30 (Dariawasti Algad); 20-4-27 (Bazani).

Distribution:. Egypt, Sinai.

Uses : Eaten by camels.

Fagonia Kahirina Boiss. Diag. ser. 1, viii, 122; FI. Or. i, 905.

V e macular name : Spe.lakzai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 1059 f).— Miram Shah (F. 295 ! 304 !).

S.W.: Jandola, along Tank Biver (F. 730 !).

Flowers: 28-3-27 (Boya); 16-4-27 (Miram Shah). 1 - -

Fruit: 26-5-27 (Jandola).

Distribution: Syria, Egypt, N. Africa.

Medicinal uses : The plant is crushed and boiled in water and the decoc-

tion drunk; considered to be a blood-purifier.

Fagonia Bruguleri DC. Prodr. i (1824) 704; Boiss< FI. Or. i, 905.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (F. 17- ! 994 !). — Miram Shah, right bank

of Chasmai Biver, on sandy clay, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 214 !). — Eplof Spinwam

Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 663 !).

S.W:: Jandola (F. 4123 !).— Spin (F. 3867 !).— Tenai (F. 3817 \

4041 !).

955 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Flowers & Fruit : 23-3-30 (Chasmai Biver); .1-4-30 ( Spin warn) ; 12-4-27

(Miram Shah); 29-5-27 (Jandola); 21-6-27 (Tenai).

Distribution : Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia,

Egypt, Algeria.

Fagonia Bruguieri var. laxa Boiss. El. Or. i, 906.

Locality : N.W.: Bed of Chasmai Biver, 3,100) ft. (B. & F. 302 !). — W. of

Spinwam Fort, Chota Darweshta, 2,700-3,000 ft. (B. & F. 715 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 24-3-30 (Chasmai Biver) ; 2-4-30 (Spinwam).

Distribution : Persia .

Fagonia arabica L. Sp. PI. (1753) 553 ( non FI. Brit. Ind.).

Locality : N.W.: Boya (F. 927 !). — Miram Shah (F. 481 !). — Near Kha-

juri, left bank of Sua Algad on hill (B. & F. 395 !).

S.W.: Sararoglia (F. 160 !). — Jandola (F. 652 ! 4117 !). — Sarwekai

(F. 3966 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 26-3-30 (Khajuri); 12-4-27 (Miram Shah); 20-5-27 (Sara-

rogha); 29-5-27 (Jandola); 7-6-27 (Sarwekai).

Distribution : Baluchistan, Persia, Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Egypt, Tripoli-

tan ia.

Fagonia parviflora Boiss. Diag. PI. Or. ser. 1, viii (1849) 124.

Vernacular name: Spelaczai (Waziri).

Locality: S.W. : Sararogha (F. 613 !).

Fruit: 16-5-27 (Sararogha).

Distribution: Persia, Egypt, Nubia, Abyssinia.

Peganum L.

4 species. — Mediterranean, Asia, N. America.

Peganum harmala L. Sp. PI. (1753) 444.

Vernacular name: Spelane (Pu.) ; Sponda (Waziri); Spelannai (near Spin-

wam) .

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewart, F. 2093 !).— Datta Khel (F. 1185 !).—

Boya (F. 1379 ! 1479 !). — Miram Shah (F. 1404 !). — Spera Baga, N.-W. of

Spinwam (Meynell !). — Sua Algad near Khajuri (B. & F. 356 !).

S.W. : Zam valley above Khirgi, frequent (Stewart). — Between Makin

arid Bazmak (Stewart). — Bazmak (F. 2710 !). — Sararogha (F. 153 ! 218 !). — -

Jandola (F. 650 !).— Sarwekai (F. 3897 !).— Tenai Post (F. 3809 !).— Wana

(F. 3405 ! 3467 !).

Flowers : March to May.

Fruit : May' to June.

Distribution: Kashmir, Punjab Plain, W. Deccan, Sind, Baluchistan, Af-

ghanistan to Arabia, N. Africa, S. Europe.

Peganum harmala var. stenophylla Boiss. FI. Or. i, 917.

V ernacular name : Sponda (Mashudi).

Locality: S.W.: Dargai Post (F. 4084 !).— Spin (F. 3864 !).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Afghanistan.

GERANIACEAE.

650 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Monsonia L.

30 species. — Africa, Asia.

Monsonia heliotropioides (Cav.) Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867) 897.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, nearest sandstone hill, 2,800 ft.

(B. & F. 796 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 3-4-30.

Distribution: From Egypt and Nubia through S. Persia to the Punjab,

Sind and Bajputana Desert.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. So<5.

1?LATE It.

Caves carved out of conglomerate in Barari Tangi above Sararogha Fort.

These are inhabited in winter while in summer the people move into

tents and shelter of trees.

Quercus ilex L. forming pure growth S. of Bazani Camp.

S.-E. of Boya Fort. At the base Nannorhops ritchieana H. Wendl. Large

trees of Olea cuspidata Wall, and Monotheca buxifolia Dene. Small

buslies of Withania coagulans Dunal.

Photos by J. Fernandez .

1

THE -FLORA OF WAZlRlSTAN

956

Geranium (Tourn.) L.

300 species.' — Cosmopolitan, especially temperate.

Geranium rotundifolium L. Sp. PI. (1753) 683.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Miram Shall Fort, slope of hills, 3,600 ft. (B. &

E. 561 ! 572 !, F. 591 !).

Flowers: 29-3-30 (Miram Shah); 13-4-27 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: W. temperate Himalaya, 6,000-9,000 ft., Punjab, Afghanistan,

Baluchistan, Siberia, westwards to Europe and N. Africa.

Geranium pseudo-aconitifolium Blatter sp. nov. — G. aconitijolium Edgew.

& Hook. f. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i, 429 (non L’Herit).

Description in Hook. f. Brit. Ind. l.c. Vide Kunth in Engler’s Pflanzenreich

iv, 129 (1912) 126, in nota.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Glial (Hay).

Distribution : W. Tibet.

Geranium nepalense Sw. Geran. i (1820-22) t. 2.

Locality : S.W.: To Bazmak (Stewart).

Distribution: N.-W. Himalaya 5,000-9,000 ft., to Sikkim, Khasia Hills,

Nilgiris, Pulneys, Ceylon, Japan.

Geranium sp.

Locality: S. W. : About Kaniguram (Stewart).

Geranium sp.

Radix lignosa, verticalis, 10 cm. longa. Folia reniformia.

Locality: N.W.: Low hills W. of Miram Shah Fort, between rocks,

3,300 ft. (B. & F. 12 !).

Erodium L’Herit.

65 species. — Temperate regions.

Erodium cicutarium L’Herit. ex Ait. Hort. Kew ed. 1, ii (1789) 414.

Vernacular name: Ivhotol (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel ....village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1332 ! 1449 !

1486 !). — Boya (F. 1103 !). — Miram Shah (B. & F. 562 !). — Bed of Tochi

Biver (B. & F. 502 !).— Chasmai Biver (B. & F. 200 ! 323 !). — Spinwam

Fort (B. & F. 443 !). — Dossali Fort (B. & F. 1154 !). — Common everywhere.

S,.IV.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15719 !). — N. of Doboi,

5,000 ft., on a feeder of the Zam* abundant (Stewart). — Bazmak, 6,750-7,300 ft.

(B. & F. 1718 ! 1755 ! 1780 !).

Flowers & Fruit : March to May 1930.

Distribution: Throughout Europe and temperate N. Asia, America.

Erodium cicutarium var. trixiale Trautv. in Acta Hort. Petrop. iv (1876) 122.

Locality: #.1F. : N. of Bazmak Camp, near Springs, 6,750-7,300 ft. (B.

& F. 1765 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 25-4-30.

Distribution : Of type.

Erodium cicutarium var. primulaceum Brumli. Mon. Uebers. Erod. (1905) 54.

Vernacular name: Kliotol (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1485 O.^Boya,

3,550 ft, (F. 1107 !).

S.W.: Bazmak, 6,750 ft. (F. 2293 !).

Flowers & Fruit : April to May 1930.

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, Orient, temperate N. Asia.

Erodium Stephanianum Willd. Sp. PI. iii (1800) 625.

Locality: N.W.: Boya Fort, clayey sand, 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 76 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-3-30. ,

Distribution: Temperate Asia.

Erodium bryoniaefolium Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, i (1842) 61.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, bed of Volam Biver, 2,150 ft. (B. & F

911 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 5-4-30.-

Distribution : Mediterranean, Orient, Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

957 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Erodium friangulare (Forsk.) Muschler FI. Egypt, i (1912) 558.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. &

F. 650 !). — Boya, on gravel, 3,550 ft. (B. & F. 1668 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 1-4-30 (Spinwam Fort); 21-4-30 (Boya).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient, Abyssinia.

Erodium adenophorum Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi

(1933) 477.

Locality: N.W.: Khajuri Post, bed of Sua Algad, gravel and sand (B. &

F. 368 !).

Floicers & Fruit: 26-3-30.

Erodium heterosepalum Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi

(1933) 478.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Miram Shall Fort, right bank of Chasmai Biver,

on sand between rocks, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 201 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 23-3-30.

Erodium nanum Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi (1933) 477.

Locality: N.W.: W. of Datta Khel Fort, gravel plain (B. & F. 613 !).

Floicers & Fruit : 13-3-30.

Erodium malacoides Willd. Phyt. 10.

Locality: N.W.: In a bed of Kuram River near Shewa Post, 2,150 ft.

(B. & F. 954 !).

Flowers : 5-4-30.

Distribution: Punjab, westwards to S. Europe, N. Africa.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE. 1

(The specimens collected by Blatter & Fernandez were kindly identified

by Prof. Dr. Joh. Mattfeld of Berlin. See Fedde, Repertorium xxxi (1933)

334-336.)

80 genera. 1300 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Dianthus L.

250 species. -^Europe, Asia, Africa, especially Mediterranean.

Dianthus crinitus Smith in Trans. Linn. Soc. ii (1794) 300.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Hay). — Sarwekai, 3,500 ft., nala (F. 4008 !).

— Spin, 2,900 ft., stony plain (F. 4057 !).

Flowers : 8-6-27 (Sarwekai) ; September.

Distribution: N.-W. India, Persia, Asia Minor.

* Dianthus barbatus L. Sp. PI. 409.

Vernacular name : Sweet William.

Locality: S'.TF. : Eazmak, in garden (B. & F. !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution : Russia to China and south to the Pyrenees.

* Dianthus Caryophyllus L. Sp. FT. 410.

Vernacular name: Carnation, Clove Pink, Picotee, Grenadine.

Locality: S. W.: Razmak, in garden (B. & F. !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution: Mediterranean region, W. Asia.

Dianthus sp.

Locality: S.W.: Near Kaniguram (Stewart).

Acanthophylltjm C. A. Mey.

25 species. — Western Asia, Siberia.

Acanthophyllum macrodon Edgew. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i, 216.

. Locality : N.W.: N.-E. of Razmak (Stewart). — Siroba (Stewart).

1 This order should be. inserted after the Polyyalaceae.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRIST AN

958

Flowers: May (Razmak, Siroba).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Acanthophyllum sp.

Locality: S.W. (Duthie’s Collect. 15777 !).

Gypsophila L.

55 species. — Europe, Asia, especially E. Mediterranean.

Gypsophila Stewartii Thoms, in Hook. f. El. Brit. Ind. i, 210.

Locality: Waziristan (Stewart).

S'. IE. : (Duthie’s Collect. 15792 !).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

SiLENE L.

320 species. — N. temperate, especially Mediterranean.

Silene conica L. Sp. PI. (1753) 598.

Locality: N.W.: In the plains (Stewart).

Distribution: Central and S. Europe, Orient.

Silene conoidea L. Sp. PI. (1753) 598.

Vernacular name: Khoda (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Near Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & E. 1423 !

1424 !).— Boya, W. of fort, 3,550 ft. (F. 1363 !).

Flowers: 7-4-27 (Boya); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, W. Tibet 8, 000-11, 0Q0 ft. westwards to the

Atlantic Ocean.

Silene arenosa C. Keh. in Linnaea xv, 711. — S. leyseroides Boiss. Diagn.

_ser. i, 1, 41. — S. salsa Boiss. T.c. 8, 77.

Locality: N.W.: In the plains (Stewart).

Tank: Near Tank (,T. Williams 7113 !).

Flowers : 9-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: W. Punjab, Afghanistan, Persia, Armenia-

Silene aff. Moorcroftiana Wall. Cat. 626.

Locality: S.W.: Pre Ghal (Hay).

* Silene Saxifraga L. Sp. PI. 421.

Locality: S.W.: Razmak, in garden (B. & E.

Flowers : April.

Distribution: Europe, Asia Minor.

Cerastium L.

100 species. — Northern temperate.

Cerastium dichotomum L. Sp. PI. (1753) 628.

Locality: N.W.: Near Datta Khel Fort, left bank of Daria wasti Algad,

4,500 ft. (B. & F. 1649 !).— N. of Dossali Fort, 4,900 ft. (B. & F. 1061 !).

5'. IE. : N. of Razmak towards Springs, stony ground, 6,800 ft., (F.

2412 ! 2424 !).— S.W. of Razmak, 6,950 ft. (B. & F. 1932 !). — N. of Raz-

mak Camp, below the Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F. 1798 !). — Slopes of Shuidar

Peak from Datta Khel, 5,700 ft. and below. (B. & F. 1609. !). .

Flowers : 11-4-30 (Dossali Fort) ; 18-4-30 (Shuidar) ; 25-4-30 (Razmak) ;

2-5-27 (Razmak).

Distribution : Spain, Mediterranean, Orient.

Cerastium viscosum L. Sp. PI. 627.

- Locality : ACTE. : Razani (Stewart).

S.W. : Kaniguram (Stewart).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Greece, Syria, almost cosmopolitan.

Stellaria L.

100 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Stellaria media (L.) Cyrill. Char. Com. (1784) 36.

Locality: S.W.: Upper regions (Stewart).

959 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Distribution: Punjab and temperate regions of India, up to 14,500 ft. in

Western Tibet, all arctic and north temperate regions.

Stellaria Blatteri Mattf. In Feddes Bep. xxxi (1933) 334-336. Spec. nov. —

Nearly related to Stellaria Kotschyana Fenzl., but the flowers are considerably

larger and the calyx segments long acuminate; the leaves are sessile, broadest

at the base and then slowly getting narrower towards the apex.

Locality: N.W. Datta Ehel, stony plain, 4,600 ft, (B. & F. 1333 ! in

herb Berol. 1360 !).— 4 miles outside Datta Khel Fort, right side of road

in shade of trees (B. & F. 607 !).

Flowers : 16-4-30 (Datta Khel) ; 30-3-30 (near Datta Khel).

Fruit: 16-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Minuabtia L.

Minuartia Meyeri (Boiss.) Bornm. in Beih. Bot. Centralb. xxvii, ii. (1910)

318.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. &

F. 1357 !).

Flowers : 16-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Persia, Turkestan, Afghanistan.

Arenaria Bupp. ex L.

100 species. — Northern temperate.

Arenaria neelgerrensis Wight & Arn. Prodr. (1834) 43. , ' ■>-

Locality: N.W.: Slope of ravine below Bazmak Narai, 6,400 ft. (B. &

F. 1208 !).

S'.TF. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15607 !). — E. of Bazmak, stony

plateau, 6,800 ft. (F. 1921 !). — N.-E. E. of Bazmak, Bare patch hill, 7,500 ft.

(F. 3184 !).

Flowers: 14-4-30 (Bazmak Narai); 5-5-27 (Bazmak); 12-5-1895 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: N.-W. Himalaya, Nilgiris, S. districts of Bombay.

Arenaria serpyllifolia L. Sp. PI. 423.

Locality: N.W.: Hills E. of Miram Shah Fort, 3,600 ft.. (B. & F.

535a !). — Bed of Chasmai Biver, on sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 304 !). — N. of

Dossali Fort (B. & F. 1059 !). — 2 miles above Dossali Fort, in sandy bed

of Khunai Biver (B. & F. 1134a !). — Below Bazani, in bed of Khnnai Biver,

5,050 ft. (B. & F. 1124 !).— Bazani (F. 2170 !). — Below Bazmak Narai in

ravine, 6,650-7,000 ft. (B. & F. 1223 !).— Stony plain E. of Datta Khel

Fort, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1367 !).

S.W.: N. of Bazmak Camp, below the Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F.

1793 ! 1807 !, F. 2399 !). — E. of Bazmak Camp, slope of hill above 6,800 ft.

(B. & F. 1919 !).

Flowers : 24:3-30 (Chasmai Biver) ; 29-3-30 (Miram Shah) ; 11-4-30 (N. of

Dossali Fort); 12-4-30 (Below Bazani); 14-4-30 (Below Bazmak Narai); 23-4-27

(Bazani)'; 25-4-30 (Bazmak); 2-5-27 (Bazmak).

Distribution: Subtropical and temperate Himalaya, western Tibet up to

18,000 ft., Afghanistan, temperate Europe and Asia.

Arenaria holosteoides Edgew. in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. i. 241.

. Vernacular name: Makhlak (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel Fort, Scouts’ garden, 4,600 ft. (B. & F.

1382 ! 1383 !). — Datta Khel village, along water channel, 4,600 ft. (B. &

F. 1448 !).— Plain E. of Datta Khel Fort, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1359 !).—

4 miles from Datta Khel Fort, under shade of trees (B. & F. 594 !). — Bazani

village, 5,000 ft. (F. 2191 ! 2197 ! 2748 ! 3132 ! 3192 !).

S.W.: Kaniguram, 6,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15768). — N. of Baz-

mak Camp, below Springs, 7,700 ft. (B. & F. 1798a ! 1799 !).

Flowers: 30-3-30 (Datta Khel Fort); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel); 23-4-27 (Baza-

ni); 25-4-30 (Bazmak); 13-5-95 (Kaniguram).

Distribution: W. temperate Himalayas, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, west-

wards to Asia Minor, Soongaria.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

960

Spergularia J. et C. Presl.

20 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Spergularia diandra (G-uss.) Boiss. FI. Or. i, 733.

Locality : N.W.: Plain E. of Miram Shah Fort, sandy soil, 3,150 ft.

(B. & F. 143 !). — Right bank of Chasmai River, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 209 !

263 !). — Khajuri Post, left bank of Tochi River (B. & F. 420 !).

Flowers : 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 26-3-30 (Chasmai).

Distribution: Southern Europe, Mediterranean, Abyssinia, Orient, Soon-

garia, Siberia.

Spergularia rubra J. & C. Presl FI. Cech. 94.

Locality : iS.IF. : In the lower regions (Stewart).

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, Orient, Siberia.

Spergularia media Presl FI. Sic. (1819) 17. — Spergula media Bartl. <fc

Wendl. f. Beitr. Bot. ii, 64.

Locality: Lower Zone (Stewart).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient, Siberia.

Spergula L.

3 species. — Temperate regions.

Spergula flaccida Aschers. in Verh. d. Bot. Ver. Prov. Brandby. xxx

(1889) p. xxxiv-xlix. — Arenaria flaccida Roxb. FI. Ind. ii (1832) 447. — Spergula

pentandra L. Sp. PI. 630.

Locality : Tank (J. Williams 7775 !).

Fruit: 28-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean, Orient, throughout the northern hemi-

sphere.

OXALIDACEAE.

870 species. — Mostly tropical and subtropical.

Oxalis L.

About 800 species. — Cosmopolitan, chiefly S. Africa and America.

Oxalis corniculata L. Sp. PI. (1753) 435.

Vernacular name: Indian Sorrel; Tervikai (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Near Kaniguram brook (Stewart).

Flowers : September 1860 (Kaniguram).

Distribution : In all tropical and temperate climates.

Oxalis corniculata L. var. corniculata Zucc. in Abh. Akad. Munch i

(1829-30) 230.

Locality: N.W.: Near Datta Ivhel Fort, right bank of Dariawasti Algad,

on gravel (B. & F. 1647 !) ; Boya, along irrigation channel (B. & F. 117..!). —

Dossali Fort, nala (B. & F. 1048 ! 1054 !).— Below Dossali Fort, left bank

of Khaisora River (B. & F. 1156 !) ; stony plain, 4,900 ft. (B. & F. 981). —

Razani (F. 2924 !). — Razmak Narai, 6,650 ft. (B. & F. 1248 !).

S.W. : N. of Razmak, on gravel on way to Spring, 6,750-7,300 ft.

(B. & F. 1790 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 21-3-30 (Boya); 10-4-30 (Dossali); 19-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution : Of type.

Oxalis corniculata L. var. repens Zucc. in Abh. Akad. Munch, i (1829-30)

230.

Locality: S.W.: -Tandola, 2,270 ft. (F. 276 !). — Razmak, stony plain

(B. & F. 1711 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-4-30 (Razmak).

Distribution : Of the type.

Oxalis foliosa Blatter in .Journ. Ind. Bet. Soc. ix (1930) 203.

Locality: N.W.: Razani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2599 ! 2915 ! 2940 ! 2943 !

4455 !).

&61 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

S.W. : Eazmak, in open stony plain, 6,300 ft. (F. 1636 ! co-type,

2717 !). — Sararogha, 4,000 ft. (F. 173 ! type, 144 ! 170 !).

Flowers : April, May.

Fruit : May. ' i

BALSAMINACEAE.

430 species.— Asia, Africa, Europe, N. America.

Impatiens Eiv. ex L.

340 species. — Tropics and N. temperate regions, especially Mountains of

India and Ceylon.

Impatiens sp

Locality: S.W.: Pre Glial (Hay).

Impatiens sp.

Locality: S.W.: Near Kaniguram (Stewart).

Impatiens sp.

Locality: S.W. : S.-W. of Eazmak Camp, river-bed, 6,750 ft. (B. & F.

1928 !).

RIJTACEAE.

800 .species. — Tropical and temperate regions, especially S. Africa ' and

Australia.

Citrus.

10 species. — Palaeotropics and subtropics.

*Citrus aurantium L. Sp. PI. (1753) 782.

Vernacular name: Navrajh (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Sliah (F. 1089 !).

Flowers : 16-4-27 (Miram Shah).

MELIACEAE.

600 species. — Warm countries.

Melia L.

15 species. — Palaeotropics and subtropical regions.

*Melia Azedarach L. Sp. PI. (1753) 384.

Vernacular name: Persian Lilac, Bead Tree, Bastard Cedar, Bakanra,

Drakh (Pu.).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (B. & F. !). — Spinwam (B. & F. 960 !).

Flowers: March, April; leaves coming out.

Distribution: Sub-Himalayas, Persia, China.

Cedrela.

100 species. — Tropical Asia, Australia, America.

*Cedrela Toona Eoxb. ex Eottl et Willd. in Ges. Naturf. Fr. Neue Schr. iv

(1803) 198.

V ernacular name : The Toon Tree.

Locality: N.W.: Bova, introduced, 4,000 ft. (F. 997 ! 1063 !). — Miram

.Shah 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 41 !).

Flowers : 19-3-30 (Miram Shall) ; April (Boya).

Distribution: Indo-Malaya* Australia.

CELASTRACEAE.

480 species. — Tropical and temperate regions.

Euonymus L.

100 species. — N. temperate and S.-E. Asia.

Euonymus hamiltonianus Wall, in Eoxb. FI. Tnd. ed. Carey ii (1824) 403. ..

THE FLORA OF WAZIRI ST AN

962

Locality : S.W. : Slopes of Shuidar, 7,000-9,000 ft. (B. & F. 1601 !).

Distribution : W. Himalaya, 4,000-9,000 ft., Trans-Indus.

Gymnospobia Benth. & Hook. f.

• 80 species. — Tropics and subtropics, especially Africa.

Gymnosporia montana Benth. FI. Austral, i (1863) 400.

Locality : S.W.: Jandola (F. 4098 !).

Gymnosporia royleana Wall. Cat. (1828) 4317.

Vernacular name : Sagharzai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Near Spinwam Fort, slopes of Chota Darweshta, 2,750-

3,000 ft. (B. & F. 717 !).— Hills E, of. Miram ■ Shah Fort (B. & F. 529 !).—

Shewa Post, left bank of Volam Biver (B. & F. 894 !). — Boya (F. 567 !).

Flowers : 2-4-30 (Spinwam); 5-4-30 (Shewa Post);

• .Fruit of previous year:, 8-4-27 (Boya).

Distribution : W. Himalaya, 1,000-4,000 ft., Kumaon to ' Garhwal, Salt

Kange, Afghanistan.

RHAMNACEAE.

500 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Zizyphus Tourn. ex L.

40 species. — Indo-Malaya, tropical America, Africa, Australia, Mediterranean.

*Zizyphus Jujuba Lam. Encycl. iii (1789) 318.

Vernacular name: Berra (Pu.) ; Ber. (Hind.); Berae, Karkana (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, planted (B. & F. !, F. 799 !). — Spin-

wam, abundant (Stewart). — Boya (F. 1521 !).

S.W.: Palosina (Stewart); Sararogha (F. 225 ! 226 !).— Tenai Post

(F. 4283 !).

Tank (Stewart).

Flowers: April 1860 (Palosina). .

Distribution: Indigenous and naturalized throughout India and Burma, as-

cending to 6,000 ft. in the Himalayas.

*Zizyphus Jujuba var. hysudrica Edgew. Journ. Linn. Soc. vi, 201.

Locality: S.W.: Jandola, on dry slopes and banks of Tank River (F.

776 !).

Zizyphus nummularia W. & A. Prodr. 162,

Vernacular name : Karkan (Pu.) ; Jharberi (Hind.) ; Ivarkana, Bera

(W aziri) .

Locality : N.W.: Miram Shah (F. 796 !).— E. of Spinwam Fort, base of

nearest hills, on gravel (B. & F. 765 !).

S. W. : Jandola (F. 4103 !). — Sarwekai (F. 3971 !).

Tank (Stewart).

Distribution: Sind, Baluchistan, dry region of N.-W. India and the

Deccan, Persia.

Zizyphus Spina Christi Willd. Sp. PI. (1797) 1107.

Vernacular name: Karkana (Waziri).

Locality: S.W.: Sararogha, dry open country (F. 606 !). — Spin (F.

'3842 !).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, tropical Africa.

Zizyphus sativa Gaertn. Fr. i (1788) 202.— K. vulgaris Lam. 111. i, 316,

t. 185; Boiss. FI. Or. ii, 11. — Rhamnus Zizyphus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 194.

Vernacular name: Karkanbera (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 428 !).— Miram ' Shah, open stony ground

(F. .436 !).

S'. W. : Upper regions (Stewart).— Sarwekai (F. -4407 !).— Sarwekai to

Dargai (F. 3711 !).

Distribution: Punjab, Trans-Indus, Punjab Himalaya, wild and cultivated,

Baluchistan, Orient, Europe, China, Japan.

963 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

Berchemia Neck.

15 species. — Palaeotropics, Atlantic N. America.

Berchemia lineata DC. Prodr. ii, 23.

Locality: S.W. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15610 !). — Between Makin

and Bazmak (Stewart).

Fruit: 19-5-1895 (Pre Ghal); September 1860 (Kazmak).

Distribution : N.-W. Himalaya, Sikkim, China.

Berchemia sp.

Locality: S.W.: Near Bazmak (Stewart).

Bhamnus Tourn. ex L.

100 species. — Cosmopolitan.

Rhamnus dahuricus Pall. FI. Boss, ii, t. 61. — Rhamnus virgatus Boxb.

FI. Ind. i (1832) 604.

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewart).

Flowers: May (Bazani).

Distribution: Temperate Himalaya, from Jammu and Simla, to Bhutan,

4.000- 9,500 ft. Punjab, W. Peninsula, China, Japan.

Sageretia Brongn.

12 species. — Warm E. Asia, N. America.

Sageretia Brandrethiana Aitch. in Journ. Linn. Soc. viii, 62.

Vernacular name: Mumani (Afgh.).

Locality: ^.W. : Near Anai, above Palosina, abundant (Stewart). — N.-E.

of Bazmak (Stewart).

Distribution : N.-W. India, Salt Bange, westwards to Persia and Arabia.

Uses: Fruit very pleasant (Stewart).

VITACEAE.

450 species. — Mostly tropical and subtropical.

Yitis (Tourn.) L.

40 species. — N. hemisphere.

*Vitis vinifera L. Sp. PI. (1753) 202.

Vernacular name: The Grape Vine; Melawa, Angir (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (B. & F. !, F. 1070 !). — Boya (F. 891 !).

S. W.: Wana (F. 3617 !).

Distribution : Indigenous in the Barbary States to the Transcaucasus.

SAPINDACEAE

1,000 species. — Tropics and subtropics.

Dodonaea L.

50 species. — Tropics, especially Australia.

Dodonaea viscosa L. Mant. PI. ii (1771) 149. — D. Burmanniana DC. Prodr.

i, 616.

Vernacular name: Zadavanai (Waziri); Levanai vojair (Mashudi).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (F. 1408 !) ; cultivated (B. & F. 28 !). —

Isha (B. & F. 28a !). — W. of Spinwam Fort, dry nalas of Chota Darweshta,

3.000- 4,800 ft. (B. & F. 735 !). — N. of Dossali Fort, plain and nalas (B. &

F. 1289 !). — Dwa Warklia, abundant (Stewart).

/SMC. : Near Anai above Palosina, common (Stewart). — Sararogha (F.

183 ! 190 ! 203 !). — Jandola, planted in garden (F. 3891 !).

Flowers : 19-3-30 (Miram Shah) ; 2-4-30 (Spinwam).

Fruit: 21-5-27 (Sararogha).

Distribution: All warm countries.

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

964

ANACARDIACEAE.

500 species; — Chiefly tropical, but also Mediterranean, E. Asia, America.

Bhus (Tourn.) L.

130 species. — Subtropical and warm temperate.

Rhus cotinus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 267.

Locality: N.W.: In the upper regions (Stewart).

Distribution : Western subtropical Himalaya, 3,000-5,000 ft., from Murree

to Kumaon. — From Syria westwards to France.

Pistacia L.

5 species. — Mediterranean, E. Asia, Mexico.

Pistacia integerrima Stewart ex Brandis For. FI. (1874) 122, t. xxii. —

P. Kinjuk Stocks in Kew Journ. iv, 143. — P. Kinjuk Stocks var. Stocksii Engl,

in DC. Monogr. Phan, iv, 291.

Vernacular name : Vojgai, Ushgai (Waziri). Fruit called Sna (Waziri).

Locality : N.W.: Kazani (F. 2054 !).— Boya (F. 1378 ! 1380 !).

S.W.: Wana (F. 3676 ! 3677 ! 3678 ! 3680 ! 3684 ! 3685 !), on hills

among rocks (F. 3423 ! 3679 ! 3693 !).

Flowers : 6-4-27 (Boya); 20-4-27 (Bazani).

Fruit: 16-6-27 (Wana).

Distribution: N.-W. Himalaya, 1,500-8,000 ft., Punjab, Salt Range,

Baluchistan.

Pistacia mutica Fisch. et Mey. in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. (1838) 338. —

P. cabulica Stocks in Kew Journ. iv, 143.

Vernacular name: Shnee (Pu.) ; Sravan (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (Stewrart). — Chota Darweshta, rocky slope,

3,000-4,000 ft. (B. & F. 730 ! 731 !).

Distribution: Baluchistan, Kuram Valley, Afghanistan, digit, Mediter-

ranean.

Schinus L.

12 species. — Mexico to Argentine.

*Schinus Molle L. Sp. PI. 388.

Vernacular name : The Pepper Tree.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (B. & F. 426a !).

S.W.: Wana (F. 3661 !).

Flowers: March, April.

Fruit: April.

Distribution : America.

PAPILIONACEAE

Argyrolobium Eckl. et Zeyli.

60 species. — Africa, Mediterranean to India.

Argyrolobium strigosum Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 205.—

Standard whitish with long purplish streaks, wings pale pink, keel white

tinged reddish brown tipped.

Vernacular name: Tervikai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. &

F. 657a !) ; gravel plain (B. & F. 848 !). — Miram Shah, banks of Tochi

River, 3,100 ft. (F. 359 ! 363 !) ; left bank of Chasmai Biver, 3,150 ft.

(B. & F. 279 ! 300 !). — Khajuri Post, ridge on left bank of Sua Algad,

2,450 ft. (B. & F. 388 !). — Boya, cultivated ground (F. 1122 !). — W. of

Miram Shah Fort, nearest, hills, rocky top, 3,200 ft. (B. & F. 23 !). — W. of

Sphrwam Fort, gravel and boulder slopes of Chota Darweshta, 2,730 ft.

(B. & F. 702 !). — Spinwam Fort, left bank of Kaitu Biver, 2,600 ft. (B. &

F. 446 !). — Bazani (F. 2734 !). — 'Above Dossali Fort, bed of Ivhunai Biver,

5,500 ft. (B. & F. 1087 !). '

965 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

S. W. : Sararogha, 4,000 ft, (F. 163 !). — Tenai Post on stony ground,

3,200 ft. (F. 4046 !).■ — Dargai Post (F. 4972 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 19-3-30 (Miram Shah) ; 24-3-30 (Chasmai River) ;

26-3-30 (Khajuri); 27-3-30, 1-4-30 (Spinwam) ; 5-4-27 (Boya) ; 12-4-30 (Dossali);

19-4-27 (Razani) ; 22-6-27 (Dargai Post).

Uses: Viscid when crushed and smelling badly; eaten, considered to be

cooling.

Argyrolobium Kotschyi Boiss. Diagn. ser. i, 6, p. 32; FI. Or. ii (1872) 33.

Locality : N.W. : Miram Shah, along bank of Tochi River, 3,200 ft. (F.

2597- !).

S.W. : Jandola, open stony ground and nalas, 2,300 ft. (F. 666 !).

Flowers : April, May.

Fruit : May, June.

Distribution : Persia.

Argyrolobium roseum Jaub. & Sp. in Ann. Sc. Nat. ser. 2, xix, 51.

Locality: N.W.: N. of Dossali Fort, nala (B. & F. 1067 !).

#.TF. : Pre Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15706 !).

Flowers: 11-4-30 (Dossali); 27-4-1895 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: N.-W. India up to 7,000 ft., Baluchistan, Persia.

Argyrolobium mucilagineum Blatter in Journ, Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.

xxxvi (1933) 481.

Note : Viscid when crushed, evil-smelling.

Locality: N.W.: Below Shewa Post, left bank of Volam River, 2,150 ft.

(B. & F. 870 !) ; E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala 2,650 ft. (B. & F.

657 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 1-4-30 (Spinwam); 5-4-30 (Shewa Post).

Argyrolobium purpurascens Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi

(1933) 480.

Locality: N.W.: Near Datta Khel Fort, Dariawasti Algad, 4,600 ft.

(B. f F. 1642 !).

V lowers & Fruit: 19-4-30.

Crotalaria Dill, ex L.

350 species. — Tropical and subtropical regions.

Crotalaria Burhia Ham. in Wall. Cat. (1828) 5386.

Locality: Tank (Stewart).

Flowers: April 1860 (Tank).

Distribution: N.W. India, Rajputana Desert, Gujarat, Sind, Baluchistan,

Afghanistan.

Uses: ‘A plant with a remarkably tough fibrous bark, which might possibly

be of use as a textile material.’ (Stewart).

Trifolium (Tourn.) L.

290 species. — Temperate and subtropical regions.

Trifolium resupinatum L. Sp. PI. i (1753) 1086; Reichb. Ic. xxii, t. 107,

fig- ii- — T . bicorne Forsk. FI. Aeg. — Arab. 139. — T. suaveolens Willd. Enum.

Hort. Berol. t. 108.

Vernacular name: Shevtalai, Shevtala, Sliatal.

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel, 4,400 ft., cultivated (F. 1301 !). — Boya,

3,400 ft., cultivated (F. 1157 !).— Miram Shah,. 3,100 ft., cultivated (F. 299 !,

B. & F. 495 !). — Razani, 5,000 ft., cultivated (F. 2214 ! 2215 ! 2216 !).

Tank (J. Williams 9133 !).

Floicers: 12-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Mediterranean, Caucasus, Mesopotamia, .Persia, Afghanistan,

Ivuram Valley.

Uses: Eaten by horses. (Williams). . .. .

Trifolium pratense L. Sp. PI. 1082.

Locality: S.W.-: Kaniguram, 6,-500 ft. (Duthie’s --Collect. 15749). V

Flowers: 14-5-1895 (Kaniguram).

Distribution : Europe, Orient, Afghanistan, Arctic Russia", Siberia.

THE FLORA OF WA'ZlRl ST AN 966

Trifolium fragiferum L. Sp. PL (1753.) 1086; Boiss. PL Or. ii (1872) 135. — •

T. neglectum F. & M. Ind. Petrop. ix, Suppl. p. 21.' — -T. corCgestum Link.

In Linnaea ix (1834-5) 584 (non Gruss.) ; DC. Prodr. ii, 202.

Locality: S.W.: Wana, open stony plain, 4,500 ft. (F. 3497 ! 3500 !

3510 !). — Sarwekai 3,500 ft. (F. 3978 !).

Flowers : June.

Distribution: Central Europe, Mediterranean, N. Africa, Abyssinia, Syria,

Palestine, Persia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Kashmir.

Trifolium repens L. Sp. PL 1080.

Locality: S.W.: Kaniguram, 6,500 ft. Duthie’s Collect, 15747 !). — Near

Kaniguram brook (Stewart). — In nala below Springs N. of Kazmak, 7,700 ft:.

(B. & F. 1800 !).

Flowers: 25-4-30 (Bazmak) ; 14-5-1895 (Kaniguram).

Distribution: Europe, Orient, Siberia, N. America.

Trifolium sp

Vernacular name: Shevtalai.

Locality: S.W.: Kazmak, 6,300 ft. (F. !).

Trigonella L.

70 species. — Mediterranean, Europe, Asia, S. Africa, Australia.

Trigonella incisa Benth. in Koyle Illustr. Him. 197. Reducta ad T. poly-

ceratam Linn, a cl. Baker.

Vernacular name: Malakint (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, bed of Cliasmai Kiver, in gravel

and sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 222 ! 257 !). — E. of Miram Shah Fort, sand near

water, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 147 ! 150 !).— Datta Khel Fort, 4,600 ft. (B. & F.

1329 ! 1354 ! 1395 !). — Boya Fort, right bank of Tochi Kiver, 3,550 ft.

(B. & F. 104 !).— Kazani (F. 2571 .!).— Dossali Fort (B. & F. 1127 ! 1185 !).

S.W.: W. of Kazmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1746 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 22-3-30 (Miram Shah) ; 23-3-30 (Chasmai Kiver) ; 12-4-30

(Kazmak); 17-4-30 (Datta Khel) ; 23-4-27 (Kazani). — 24-4-30 (Kazmak).

Distribution : Baluchistan.

Trigonella polycerala L. Sp. PL 777.

Locality: S.W.: Palosina, profuse (Stewart).

Flowers: April (Palosina).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, up to 6,000 ft., Punjab Plain, extending to

W. Siberia and S. Europe.

Trigonella emodi Benth. in Koy. 111. 197.

Locality: S.W.: Kaniguram brook (Stewart).

Distribution: W. Himalaya, from Kashmir to Nepal, 4,000-10,000 ft., Af-

ghanistan, Persia, Orient.

Trigonella dimorpha Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 204,

Locality: ' N.W. : Kazani (F. 2583 !).

S.W.: Kazmak, 6,300 ft. (F. 3285 ! 3306 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 23-4-27 (Kazani); May 1927 (Kazmak).

Distribution ; Endemic.

Trigonella Noeana Boiss. Diagn. ser. ii, 2, 11.

Nostris in plantis calyx dimidiam corollam attingit. Legumen pilosum.

Vernacular name: Makhlindai (Waziri).

Locality: N .W . : Datta Khel village, along irrigation channel, 4,600 ft.

(B. & F. 1447 !). — S. of Miram Shah Fort, stony plain, 3,150 ft. (B. & F.

976 !). — N- of Dossali Fort, in . nala (B. & F. 1063 1).— E, of Miram Shah

Fort, bank of1 Chasmai Kiver, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 278 !).— Near Shewa Post,

bed of Kuram Kiver (B. & F. 945 !). — E. of Datta Khel Fort broken stony

plain, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1376 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 23-3-30 (Chasmai) ; 5-4-30 (Shewa Post) ;' 9-4-30 (Miram

Shah); 11-4-30 (Dossali) ; 17-4-30 (Datta Klie'l village).

Distribution: Asia Minor, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia..

967 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Trigonella psilorhvnchos Blatter in Joiun. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi

(1933) 479.

Locality : S.W.: W. of Razmak Camp, stonv plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F.

1721 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 24-4-30.

Trigonella lasia Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi (1933) 479.

Locality : N.W.: Below Razmak Narai, slope of ravine, 7,000 ft. (B. &

F. 1210 !).

SHF.: Razmak, 6,750 ft. (F. 1841 ! 1883 ! 2320 !). — E. of Razmak,

small stony plateau, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1905 ! 1925 !). — Bare Top Hill, E. of

Razmak, 7,000 ft. (F. 3373 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 25-4-30; 6-5-27 (Razmak).

Trigonella subracemosa Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 73.

Locality: N.W.: Dossali Fort, left side of river-bed of Kliaisora (B. &

F. 1164 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 13-4-30 (Dossali Fort).

Distribution : Asia Minor, Armenia.

Trigonella longe^pedunculata Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 204.

Perennial. Standard with faint lines, midvein broader and purple. Compare

T. calliceras Fisch.

Vernacular name: Tervikai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Razani (F. 2165 ! 2224 !). — Below Razmak Narai, slope

of ravine, 7,000 ft. (B. & F. 1234 ! 1247 !).

S.W.: Razmak, 6,300 ft. (F. 2376 ! type; 3044 ! co-type; 2439 !

3023 ! 3025 ! 3041 !). — E. of Razmak Camp, slope of hill, 6,800 ft. (B. &

F. 1906 !). — W. of Razmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F. 1695 ! 1731 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 14-4-30 (Razmak Narai); 23-4-27 (Razani); 25-4-30, 2-5-27

(Razmak).

Distribution : Endemic.

Trigonella sp. affinis T. subracemosae Boiss.

Villosa. Calyx corolla vix brevior ; pedunculus folio longior ; foliola obovato-

roiundata subemarginata obtuse denticulata. Legumen deest.

Locality: S.W. : W. of Razmak Camp, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F.

1727 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-4-30. ,

Trigonella sp.

Resembles Trigonella long epedunculata Blatter, but the flowers are larger

and the peduncles are much longer. — No fruit.

Locality: S.TF. : Razmak, 6,300 ft. (F. 3098 !).

Flowers: May.

Melilotus Tourn. ex Hall.

20 species. — Temperate and subtropical regions of the Old World.

Melilotus indicus E. Sp. PI. (1753) 1077.

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart).

Distribution: Europe, Orient, India, introduced in many other regions.

Melilotus officinalis Descr. in Lam. Diet, iv, 63.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, rocky bank of Chasmai River,

(B. & F. 324 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-3-30 (Chasmai River).

Distribution: Europe, Orient, Siberia.

Melilotus messanensis (L.) Desf. FI. Atl. ii (1798) 192.

Locality: N.W.: Razani (F. 2910 !).

Distribution : Mediterranean, Mesopotamia.

Melilotus dentatus Pers. Encli. ii, 348.

Vernacular name: Spestlarie (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Razani (F. 2137 !). — W. of Spinwam Fort, boulder and

gravel slope of Chota Darweshta, 2,750-3,000 ft. (B. & F. 712 !).

THE FLORA OF WAZlRlSTAN

968

Flowers & Fruit : 2-4-30 (Cliota Darweshta).

Distribution : Europe, Caucasus, Siberia, Daliuria.

Melilotus elegans Salzmann in DC. Prodr. ii, 188.

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel village, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1508 !).

S.W. : Razmak (F. 3204 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution : Europe, Mediterranean, Abyssinia.

Melilotus neapolitanus Ten. FI. Nap. Prodr. Suppl. i, 56.

Locality: N.W.: Khajuri Post, bed of Tochi River, 2,250 ft. (B.‘ & F.

424 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 26-3-30.

Distribution: Mediterranean, Abyssinia, Orient.

Melilotus sulcatus Desf. FI. Atl. ii (1798) 193.

Vernacular name: Speshterai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, in fields (F. 829 !).

Floioers & Fruit : 16-4-27.

Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean.

Melilotus sp.

Vernacular name: Spetlarai, Peshlarai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Razani, cultivated fields.

Uses : Eaten as greens.

Medicago Tourn. ex L.

50 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, S. Africa.

Medicago sativa L. Sp. PI. (1762) 1096.

Locality: Waziristan (Duthie’s Collect. 15757).

A. IF. : Miram Shah Fort, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 972 !).

S.W. : Pre Ghal (Hay).

Distribution : Mediterranean, Europe, cultivated elsewhere.

Uses : Grown for fodder.

Medicago arabica All. FI. Pedem. i (1785) 315. — M. maculata Willd. Sp.

PI. iii, 1412.

Locality: N.W.: Dwa W'arkha (Stewart). .

Distribution: Persia, Mediterranean, Europe.

Medicago lupulina L. Sp. PI. (1753) 1097.

Vernacular name: Tervikai, Spesta (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Razani (F. 2219 ! 2863 !).

-SUF. : To Razmak (Stewart); Razmak (F. 1730 !), on gravel slope and

long stream, 6,300 ft. (F. 1996 !). — N. of Razmak, stony plain, 6,300 ft.

(F. 1659 ! 2313 ! 2458 !). — W. of Razmak, stony plain, 6,800 ft. (B. & F.

1738 !). — Sararogha (F. 4424 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 23-4-27 (Razani); 24-4-30, 30-4-27, 7-5-27 (Razmak);

18-5-27 (Sararogha).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Orient, Abyssinia, Mediterranean, Europe,

temperate Asia.

Medicago hispida (Gaertn.) Urban in Monogr. Medicago in Verb. Bot.

Ver. Prov. Brandbg. xv (1873) 74.— M. denticulata Willd. Sp. PI. iii, 1415;

Boiss. FI. Or. ii, 102.

Vernacular name: Malkondae, Malkendi (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Razani (Stewart). — Near Miram Shah, cultivated field

on bank of Chasmai River, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 223 ! 334 !).— Near Datta Khel

village on gravel, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1483 ! 1501 ! 1511 !). — Near Miram

Shah village, bed of Tochi River in gravel and sand (B. & F. 498 ! 516 !). —

Spinwam Fort, forming pure formations on sand in Kaitu River, also infest-

ing cultivation (B. & F. 444 !). — 4 miles N.-E. of Datta Khel, in shade of

trees (B. & F. 603 !).— Boya (F. 1167 !).— Datta Khel (F. 1199 ! 1249 !).—

N. of Miram Shah village, clayey bank of irrigation channel, 3,150 ft. (B. &

F. 465a !).

Flowers: 24-3-30 (Chasmai River); 25-3-27 (Datta Khel); 27-3-30 (Spin-

969 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

warn) ; 28-3-30 (Miram Shah village.) ; 5-4-27 (Boya) ; 5-4-30 (Shewa Post) ;

17-4-30 (Datta Kliel).

Distribution : Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Arabia, Egypt, Eritrea.

Uses : Eaten as greens, cooked with meat and eaten (F.).

Medicago; hispida var. apicuiata Blatter. — Medicago apiculata Willd. Sp.

PI. iii, 1414.

Vernacular name: Malakmdai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Near Boya Port, bed of Toclii Biver, 3,650 ft. (B. &

F. 97).

Flowers & Fruit : 21-3-30.

Distribution: Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia.

Medicago pseudogranatensis Blatter sp. nov. [ Papilionacea . Affinis M. grana-

tensi Willd. a qua distinguitur foliolis infra parce hirsutis stipuVs. 1 obliquis

profunde pinnatifido dentatis, pedunculis aristatis, leg uminis facie non reticu-

lato-nervosa .]

Annua. Caules glabri graciles ad 30 cm. alti. Folia ad 17 mm. longa. Foli-

ola obovato-cuneiformia apice truncata vel emarginata, Yertia parte superiore

denticulata 7 mm. longa apice 4 mm. lata infra parce appresse pilosa supra

glabra. Slipulae obliquae profunde pinnatifido-dentatae, ad 3 mm. longae.

Pedunculi 1-2 -flori, aristati, foliis aequilongi. Flores flavi ca. 4 mm. longi.

Calyx parce hirsutus 3 mm. longiis, tubus segmentis longior, segmenta 1 mm.

longa, lanceolata. Legumen discoideo-compressum, glabrum, laeve cinereum

utnnque planum 4 mm. diam. inclusis spinis 7 mm. ; spirae 5-6 laxiusculae

laeves, facie non reticulato-nervosae, margine obtuso utrinque sulcato distiche

spinigerae ; spinae conico-subulatae hamosae erectae in parte inferiore bicrures

crure posterior e e nervo mar g ini parallelo oriundo.

An annual herb. Stems glabrous, slender, up to 30 cm. high. Leaves up

to 17 mm. long, petioles sparingly pilose. Leaflets cuneiform-obovate, truncate

or emarginate at the apex, denticulate in the upper third, 7 mm. long,

at the apex, 4 mm. broad, below sparingly appressedly pilose on

the upper surface glabrous, petiolules pilose. Stipules oblique, deeply pin-

natifid-dentate, up to 3 mm. long. Peduncles 1-2-flowered, awned, as long

as the leaves. Flowers yellow, about 4 mm. long. Calyx sparingly hirsute,

3 mm. long, tube longer than the segments ; segments 1 mm. long, lanceolate.

Pod discoid-compressed, glabrous, smooth, grey, flat on both sides, 4 mmi

diam., including the spines 7 mm., face not reticulated-veined; spirals 5-6,

somewhat lax, margin obtuse, on ' both sides sulcate, distichously spine-bearing;

spines conico-subulate, hooked, erect, sulcate towards the base, the posterior part

arising from a nerve parallel to the margin.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah, left bank of Chasmai Biver, 3,150 ft.

(B. & F. 320 ! type), near Miram Shah, bed of Chasmai Biver, on gravel with

sand, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 251 !).— Plain E. of Miram Shah Fort, on sand

near water, 3,150 ft. (B. & F. 120 !). — Near Shewa Post, left bank of Yolam

Biver, on gravel (B. & F. 871 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 24-3-30 (Miram . Shah) ; 5-4^30 (Shewa Post).

Medicago monantha Blatter sp. nov. [ Papilionacea . Valde affinis M. pseudo-

granatensi Blatter sed facile distinguitur pedunculis unifloris foliis brevioribus.]

Quadrat in omnibus pedunculo excepto cum specie cui est affinis. Loco

diagnosis reiterare opportet integram descriptionem speciei M. pseudogranatensis

supra datam. Verba ‘ Pedunculi L flori . . . foliis aequilongi, delenda sunt in

quorum loco ins er ere placebit: 1 Pedunculi uniflori foliis multo brevioribus.1

Non sum ignarus 7iomen M . monanthae prius (1841) datum fuisse a cl.

Trautvettero sed planta quam refert ad genus pertinet. Trigonellae.

This new species agrees in every detail with M. pseudogranatensis Blatter

except that the peduncles are '1 - flowered and much shorter than the leaves.

Locality: N.W.: W. of Spinwam Fort, in sandy plain, 2,650 ft. (B. &

F. 839 ! type).' — E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala,. 2,650 ft. (B. & F. 660 !

cotype).

Flowers & Fruit: 1-4-30; 4-4-30.

Medicago sp. near M. laciniata All.

For want of fruit indeterminable.

970

THE FLORA OF WAZlRISTAN

Locality : N.W.: Boya, 3,400 ft. (F. 1167 !).

Flowers : April.

Lotus (Tourn.) L.

15 species. — Temperate Europe, Asia, S. Africa, Australia.

Lotus corniculatus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 1092.

Locality : N.W. : Shakai, 6,700 ft. (Duthie’s Collect.' 15651 !).

S.W.: Wana (F. 3648 !).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 ! (Shakai); 15-6-27 (Wana).

Distribution : Europe, N. Asia, Orient, Afghanistan, India on hills, Japan,

Abyssinia, New Holland.

Lotus angustissimus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 171.

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart).

Distribution : Mediterranean, Europe, Orient, Soongaria, Siberia.

Lotus Gebelia Vent. Hort. Cels. t. 57, var genuinus Boiss. FI. Or. ii

(1872) 168.

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, bed of Chasmai River, clayey

soil, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 242 ! 242a ! 242b !).

Flowers & Fruit : 23-3-30.

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient, to/. Persia.

Lotus sp.

Folia minima, c arms a. Legumina cylindrica , glabra, 2.5 cm. tonga. Semina

10. Flores desunt .

Locality: S.W.: Wana, S.-E. of Camp (F. 3643 !).

Fruit: 15-6-27.

Indigofera L.

350 species. — Warm regions.

Indigofera oblongifolia Forsk. FI. Aeg.-Arab. (1775) cxviii, no. 455, p. 137. —

I, paiicifolia Del. FI. d’Eg. (1812) 251.

Vernacular name: Sussa (Waziri).

Locality: N.W . : Miram Shah, among rocks, 3,140 ft. (F. 389 ! 1406 !

1407 ! 1459 1).

S.W.: Tenai Post, open stony ground (F. 3810 1 3821 !). — Dargai Post

(F. 4082 !).— Spin (F. 3856 1).

Distribution: India, Ceylon, Baluchistan, Arabia, Java, tropical.

Indigofera acanthinocarpa Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi

(1933) 482.

Locality: S.'W.: Dargai Post, open stony ground (F. 4066 ! 4075 !).—

Tenai Post, stony ground (F. 4030 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 22-6-27 (Dargai Post).

*Robinia Linn.

6 species. — N. America.

* Robinia Pseud=acacia Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 722.

Vernacular name: False Acacia, Robinia, Black Locust.

Locality: N.W. : Miram Shah, cultivated (B. & F. 645a !).

Flowers: 30-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Distribution : Indigenous in the United States.

Cara qan a Lam.

40 species. — Central Asia, China.

Caragana acaulis Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc. xviii (1881) 44.

Locality: N.W.: Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15648 . !).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 (Shakai).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

IB

971 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Caragana brevispiaa Benfch. in Boyle. 111. 198.

Locality: Waziristan (Duthie’s Collect. 15708 1).

Distribution: Temperate W. Himalaya, Afghanistan, Chinese Tartary.

Caragana Gsrardiana Boyle. 111. 198, t. 84; f. 1.

Vernacular name: Ghad zariae.

Locality: .SHF. : Shuidar, on top, 10,900 ft. (F. 2496 ! 44G1 !). — Pre

Ghal (Duthie’s Collect. 15596 !).

Flowers: 8-5-27 (Shuidar); 19-5-1895 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution : Temperate and alpine W. Himalaya, Garhwal, Kumaon,

Kuna war.

Caragana ulicina Stocks in Hook. Journ. iv, 145.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, open stony ground, 3,000 ft. (F. 484 !).

-S'. IF. : Sarwekai, 3,200 ft. (F. 3999 ! 4004 !). — Sararogha, dry nalas,

W. of Camp and along dry stony slopes of the nala area, 4,000 ft. (F. 581 !

599 !).

Waziristan, 2,000-8,000' ft. (Brandis, in MS.).

Flowers : May.

Distribution : Baluchistan.

Caragana spinosissima Blatter in Journ. Ind. Bot. Soc. ix (1930) 205

( non Benth. quae est C. Gerardiana Boyle.).

Vernacular name: Makhai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya, open stony ground along foot of hills, 4,000 ft.

(F. 907 ! 910 ! 913 !).

Flowers : March.

Distribution : Endemic.

Caragana ambigua Stocks in Hook. Journ. iv, 145; Boiss. ii (1872) 199.

Locality: N.W.: Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15687 I).

S.W. (Duthie’s Collect. 15613).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 (Shakai).

Distribution : Baluchistan.

Astragalus Tourn. ex L.

1,600 species. — Cosmopolitan, with the exclusion of Australia.

Astragalus polyacanthus Boyle 111. 199.

Vernacular name: Zariae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: N. of Dossali Fort, stony nala, 4,900 ft. (B. & F.

1271 !). — 2 miles above Dossali Fort, 5,100 ft. (B. & F. 1113 !).— rN. of

Dossali in nala called! Bosh, 4,900 ft. (B. & F. 1028 !). — Bazmak Narai, in

ravine, 7,000 ft. (B. & F. 1235 !).

Flowers: 10-4-30 (Dossali); 14-4-30 (Bazmak Narai); 15-4-30 (Dossali).

Distribution: N.-W. India, Kumaon, Garhwal, Afghanistan.

Astragalus polyacanthus var. villosa Blatter var. nov.

Foliola infernc villosa. Calyx villosulus. Pedicelli villosissimi.

Locality: N.W.: Shewa Post, left bank of Volam Biver, 2,150 ft. (B.

& F. 887 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 5-4-30.

Astragalus Stocksii Benth. ex Bunge Monogr. Astrag. (1868-69) pt. 1, 6,

pt, 2, 4.

Vernacular name : Zariae, Spinkaya ackzai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, among rocks, 3,140 ft. (F. 1406 !). —

Datta Khel (B. & F. 593 ! 1348 ! 1658 !).— Boya (F. 559 ! 1433 !).

S. W. : Sarwekai, 3,500 ft. (F. 3990 !).— Wana (F. 3574 1), N.-E. of

Camp on lower slopes and in stony plain, 4,500 ft. (F. 3874 !). — Tenai (F.

4022 !), — Tenai Post, fairly common, 3,200 ft. (F. 3815 !). — Barwand, 4,000 It.

(Duthie’s Collect. 15729 !).

Floivers & Fruit : March, April.

Distribution : Baluchistan, Afghanistan.

Astragalus polemius Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 306.

Vernacular name : Levokota, Sessai.

TttF flora of WAziristan

m

Locality : N.W. : Razani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2089 ! 2090 ! 2206 ! 2856 !

3004 !). — Miram Shall (F. 450 1). — Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect.

15684 ! 15685 !).

(S.W. : Kaniguram, 6,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15756 !). — Razmak, on

hill (B. & F. 1913 I).

Flowers : April, 25-4-27 (Razani) ; 30-4-1895 ! (Shakai) ; 14-5-1895 (Kani-

guram).

Distribution : Baluchistan.

Astragalus Infestus Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, ix, 95.

Locality: N.W. : Razani (F. 2089 ! 2090 1).

Flowers : 20-4-27 (Razani).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Astragalus stipitatus Benth. in Griff. Cat. 1504; Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 305.

Locality : N.W. : Razani (F. 2856 1).

Flowers : 19-4-27 (Razani.)

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Astragalus lasiosemius Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, ix, 96.

Locality: N.W.: W. of Spinwam Fort, Chota Darweshta, 3,000-4,800 ft.

(B. & F. 734 1).

Flowers: 2-4-30 (Spinwam).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Astragalus tribuloides Del. FI. Aegypt. 111. 70 ( non Kotzschy).

Locality: S.W.: Wana, 4,500 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15661).-— Kaniguram

(Stewart).

Flowers : 4-5-1895 (Wana).

Distribution: Punjab Plains, Afghanistan to the Canaries.

Astragalus raphiodontus Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, 9, 96.

Locality: Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams 9208 t).

Fruit: 30-7-1888 (Tank).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Astragalus anisacanthus Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, ix, 129.

Vernacular name: Makhai, Zariae (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 1466 ! 1467 !).— Datta Khel (F. 1286 1).—

Miram Shah (F. 443 ! 447 !).

S.W.: Barwand, 4,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15636 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 29-4-1895.

Distribution: Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

Astragalus congestus Baker ex Aitch. in Journ. Linn. Soc. xix (1882) 158.

Locality: N.W.: Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15688 !).—

Razani (F. 2075 ! 2085 !).

(S'.PF. : Kaniguram, 6,300 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15758 1). — Razmak (F.

1845 ! 2021 ! 2032 ! 2045 ! 2416 ! 3046 r 3107 !).

Tank (J. Williams 9209 1).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 (Shakai); 1-8-1888 (Tank).

Fruit: 14-5-1895 (Kaniguram).

Distribution : India.

Astragalus camporum Benth. ex Bunge Astrag. ii, 3.

Vernacular name : Makhai, Vojhakai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Near Miram Shah Fort, bed of Chasmai River, 3,100

ft. (B. &■ F. 276 1). — 2 miles above Dossali Fort, right bank of Khunai River,

5,150 ft. (B. & F. 1133 ! 1187 !). — Razani (F. 2145 ! 2980 I), along stream

(F. 2981 !).

S.W.: Wana, 4,500 ft, (Duthie’s Collect. 15628 !).— Razmak (F. 3295 !).

on stony ground, carpeting (F. 1909 !). — W. of Razmak Camp, stony plain

(B. & F. 1741 !). — Slopes of Shuidar, grassland (F. 1585 !).

Flowers & Fruit : 23-3-30 (Chasmai River) ; 12-4-30 (Dossali) ; 23-4-27

(Razani); 24-4-30 (Razmak); 1-5-1895 (Wana) ; 5-5-27 (Razmak).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Baluchistan.

Astragalus eremophilus Boiss. Diagn. ser. i, 2, 54.

973 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vo!. XXXVI

Locality: N.W.: N. of Dossali Fort, riala (B. k F. 1023 !). — Shewn

Post, right bank of Kuram Elver (B. & F. 874 ! 931 !).

Flowers k Fruit: 5-4-30 (Shewa Post); 10-4-30 (Dossali).

Distribution : Baluchistan, Arabia, Egypt.

Astragalus amherstianus Bentli. in Boyle. 111. 199.

Vernacular name : Gulakai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: E. of Datta Khel Fort, stony plain, 4,600 ft. (B. k

F. 1343 !). — Boya (F. 901 !). — E. of Miram Shah Fort, stony plain, 3,150 ft.

(B. k F. 128 !). — Near Miram Shah, bed of Chasmai Biver, 3,100 ft. (B. k

F. 265 ! 277 !). — Shewa Post, right bank of Kuram River (B. k F. 937 !).

Flowers k Fruit: 22-3-30 (Miram Shah); 27-3-27 (Boya); 5-4-30 t Shew a

Post) ; 16-4-30 (Datta Khel) .

Distribution : Afghanistan, N.-W. Himalaya.

Astragalus subumbellatus Klotzsch in Beise. Pr-Wald. Bot. 159, t. 3.

Locality: N.W.: Sliakai, 6,000-7,000 ft, (Duthie’s Collect. 15697 I).—

2 miles above P>ossali Fort, 5,100 ft. (B. & F. 1112 !). — Bazani (F. 2211 !

2573 !). — Bazmak Narai, slope of ravine, 7,000 ft. (B. k F. 1207 !). — Loargai

Narai (B. k F. 1325 !).

S.W.: Bazmak (F. 1808 !).

Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams !).

Flowers: 12-4-30 (Dossali); 16-4-30 (Loargai Narai); 23-4-27 (Bazani);

30-4-1895 (Sliakai); 10-5-27 (Bazmak).

Distribution: Punjab, Hazara, Kashmir up to 6,000-7,000 ft., Baluchistan,

Afghanistan.

Astragalus lasius Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxvi (1933) 480.

Locality: N.W.: Below Spinwam Fort, banks of Kaitu Biver in grass-

land 2,600 ft. (B. & F. 754 !). — Near Miram Shah, bed of Chasmai Biver,

on gravel and sand, 3,100 ft. (B. k F. 261 !).

Flowers k Fruit: 23-3-30 (Miram Shah); 2-4-30 (Spin want).

Astragalus Fernandezianus Blatter in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. (1933)

482.

Vernacular name: Siringai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Alexandra Picket, above Bazani, 8,000 ft. (B. & F.

1261 1).

S.W.: Bazmak, 6,800 ft. (F. 3174 ! 3278 ! 3279 ! 3113 1).

Astragalus sp. — aff . A. psilacanthus Boiss.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shall (F. 456 !).

Astragalus sp. — -Flores lilacini laxe tacemosi, ■ stig mate barbatulo ; peduncuU yd

10 cm. longi. Legumen non visum.

Locality: (S'. IF, : E. of Bazmak Camp, slope of hill, above 6,800 ft. (B.

k F. 1910 !).

Flowers: 26-4-30 (Bazmak).

Astragp.lus sp. aff. A. Candolleanus Boyle.

Locality: (S.B7.; Sararogha (F. 585 ! 612 !).

Astragalus Sp. Sect. Myobromae Bunge. — Calyx quadruplo corolla brevier ,

dentes obscuri.

Locality: *S.1F. : Bazmak, 6,800 ft. (F. 2343 !).

Flowers: 7-5-27.

OxVTftoms DC,

175 species. — North temperate regions.

Oxytropis aff. polyphylla Ledeb.

Locality: S.W. r Bazmak, open stony plain (F. 2719 !).

Flowers: 29-4-27 (Bazmak).

Taverniera DC.

7 species.: — N. Africa, W. Asia.

Taverniera cuneifolia Arn. in Wight Ic. t. 1055. — T. nummularia Baker in

Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. ii, 140 ( partini , non DC).

THE FLORA OF WAZIRISTAN

974

Locality : N.W.: Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15699 !).

Tank : At and near Tank (.J. Williams !).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 (Shakai); 31-5-1891 (Tank).

Distribution: Bombay Presidency, Sind, Baluchistan, Persian Baluchistan.

Ebenijs L.

14 species.- — Mediterranean to India.

Ebenus stellata Boiss. Diagn. ser. 1, ii (1843) 100. — E. tragacanthoides Jaub.

& Sp. 111. Or. iii, 158, t. 254. — E. horrida et E. ferruginea Jaub. & Sp. be.

159, 160.

Vernacular name: Kliara zariae (J. Williams); Khada sussai (in Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel, Son Khel, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect.

45761 !). — Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s Collect. 15690 !). — Boya (F.

1491 !).— Razani (F. 2091 ! 2631 ! 2633 ! 2638 ! 2639 ! 2643 !).— Miram Shah

(F. 430 ! 485 !)..— Datta Ivhel (F. 1293 1 1294 !).

S.W.: Sararogha (F. 62 ! 90 !). — Wana (F. 3601 !).

Tank : Near Tank (J. Williams 9211 !).

Distribution: Punjab Himalaya, 4,000-8,000 ft., Baluchistan, Afghanistan,

Persia, Arabia.

Onobrychis L.

100 species. — Europe, Mediterranean, Asia.

Onobrychis dasycephala Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc. xviii (1886) 48.

Locality: N.W.: Shakai, 6,000-7,000 ft. (Duthie’s. Collect. 15645 !).

Flowers: 30-4-1895 (Shakai).

Distribution : Afghanistan.

Alhagi Tourn. ex Adans.

3 species. — Mediterranean, W. Asia.

Alhagi camelorum Fiscli. Ind. Hort. Gorenk. ed. 2 (1812) 72. — A. maurorum

Stewart (1869) 57; Baker in Hook. f. FI. Brit. Ind. ii (1876) 145 ( non Tourn.).

Vernacular name: Tandan, Tandah, Tundunh (Waziri); Camel Thorn.

Locality: N.W.: Boya, open stony ground and in gravelly fields, 4,000 ft.

(F. 1048 !). — Neighbourhood of Datta Khel Fort (B. & F. 1443 !). — Miram

Shah, stony ground and also here and there in fields, 3,000 ft. (F. 878 !, B.

& F. 225 1).

S.W.: Sarwekai, stony ground, 3,200 ft. (F. 3896 !). — Jandola, dry

open ground and dry slopes of Tank River, 2,200 ft. (F. 785 !). — Wana, open

stony plain, 4,500 ft. (F. 3489 !). — Tenai Post, common all over on slopes

and stony plains, 3,200 ft. (F. 3811 !). — Spin, forming pure formation on stony

plain (F. 3827 ! 3850 !). — Dargai Post, stony slopes (F. 3740 ! 3741 !).

Tank (Stewart).

Flowers : May, June.

Fruit : June.

Distribution: From Greece and Egypt through Arabia, Persia, Afghanistan,

Baluchistan, N.-W. India, Sind, Rajputana Desert.

Vicia Tourn. ex L.

150 species. — N. temperate regions, S. America.

Vicia sativa L. Sp. PI. 736.

Vernacular name: Common Vetch, Tare.

Locality: N.W.: Upper region (Stewart).

Tank (J. Williams 7138 !).

Fruit: 5-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution : Wild in Europe, introduced into India.

Vicia sepium L. Sp. PI. (1753) 1038.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, Officer’s garden, 3,150 ft. (B. &

F. 643 !). — Near Miram Shah, left bank of Cliasmai River (B. & F. 328 !).

Flowers &. Fruit: 24-3-30 (Chasmai River); 31-3-80 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Europe, Orient, Siberia.

975 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Vicia peregrina L. Sp. PI. (1753) 737.

Vernacular name : Pereikesai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah, 3,150 ft. (F. 830 0, Officer’s garden,

3,150 ft. (B. & F. 642 !).

S. W. : Sararogha (F. 24 !).

Flowers: 31-3-30; 16-4-27 (Miram Shah).

Fruit: 13-3-30 (Miram Shah); 16-4-27; 18-5-27 (Sararogha).

Distribution: Punjab Plains, Europe, Orient.

Vicia angustifolia Both. Tent. FI. Germ, i (1788) 310.

Locality: N.W.: Bed of Tochi Eiver near Miram Shah village, 3,150 ft.

(B. & F. 507 !). — Datta Khel Fort, Scouts’ garden, 4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1390 !).

Flowers: 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Flowers and unripe fruit: 28-3-30 (Miram Shah).

Distribution: Europe, W. Africa, Orient to Afghanistan.

Vicia angustifolia Both. var. jjusilla-] Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 575. — Foliola

apice mucronata.

Locality: N.W.: E. of Spinwam Fort, sandstone nala, 2,650 ft. (B. &

F. 679 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 1-4-30 (Spinwam).

Vicia calcarata Desf. FI. Atl. ii, 166; Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 590.

Vernacular name: Kiassa (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani (F. 2202 !).

Flowers & unrine Fruit : 23-4-27.

Distribution: Mediterranean, Orient.

Vicia sp. af finis V. iranicae Boiss. ( Flores carneae, deinde cyaneae).

Locality: N.W.: Bight bank of Chasmai Biver (near Miram Shah), 3,100

ft. (B. & F. 327 ! 340 !).

Flowers & unripe fruit : 24-3-30.

Vicia sp. af finis V. villosae Both. (Flores carneae).

Vernacular name: Margaibpsha (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 1052 !).

Flowers & Fruit: 28-3-27.

Vicia sp. — Pedunculus uniflorus brevis simus ; stipulae laciniatae. Folia 3 -fug a,

ecirrhifera. Foliola inferiora obovata. Calyx regularis. Stylus apice circum-

circa hirsutus.

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 1055 !).

Flowers & unripe ) fruit : 28-3-27.

Vicia sp. — Flores coerulei 13 mm. longi; pedunculi 1-3-flori, ca. 2 cm. longi.

Folia ramose cirrhifera; generatim 7-juga. Stylus sursum circumcirea hirsutus.

Stipulae bipartitae, unum segmentum laciniatum. Calyx irregularis.

Vernacular name: Margaibsha (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Boya, in cultivated fields and along water channels

(F. 1153 !).

Flowers & unripe fruit : 5-4-27.

Vicia sp. Foliola 4-5 -juga. Folia racemose cirrhifera. Calyx regularis paul-

lum corolla brevior.

Vernacular name: Mait (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Datta Khel (F. 1299 !).

Flowers : 25-3-27.

Vicia sp. Folia 8-juga, cirrhus simplex. Foliola anguste linearia, apice

acuta. Calyx irregularis corolla triplo brevius.

Locality: N.W.: Boya, cultivated fields (F. 1176 !).

Flowers : 5-4-27.

Vida sp. — Folia 7-10 -juga; cirrhus racemosus. Stipulae bipartitae, segmenta

lanceolata. Stylus ad latus inferius apicis barbatus.

Locality: N.W.: Boya (F. 1037a 1).

Young fruit : 28-3-27.

Vicia sp. Folia 4-5-jugata, racemose cirrhifera. Stipulae bipartitae prof unde

dentatae.

THE FLORA OF WAZIR1STAN

976

Locality : N.W.: Near Miram Shah, on gravel, right bank of Chasmai

River, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 227 !).

Lathyrus (Tonrn.) L.

115 species. — N. temperate regions and mountains of tropical Africa and

S. America.

Lathyrus aphaca L. Sp. PI. 729.

Vernacular name : Lakai, Rogopsha, Margatel (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Dwa Warkha (Stewart). — Lower slope of the nearest

hills E. of Spinwam Fort, 2,600 ft. (B. & F. 762 !). — Datta Khel village,

4,600 ft. (B. & F. 1235 ! 1512 !). — Boya (F. 1142) !). — Chasmai River, right

bank, 3,100 ft. (B. & F. 326 !). — Dossali Fort stony plain, 4,900 ft. (B. &

F. 1276 !).

Floicers : 24-3-30 (Chasmai) ; 3-4-30 (Spinwam) ; 5-4-27 (Boya) ; 15-4-30 (Spin-

wam) ; 17-4-30 (Datta Khel).

Distribution : Throughout N. India, up to 7,600 ft., W. Asia, N. Africa,

Europe.

Lathyrus inconspicuus L. Sp. PI. (1753) 730. — L. erectus Lag. GTen. & Sp.

Nov. 22; Boiss. ii, 613.

Locality : Tank : Near Tank (J. Williams !).

Flowers : 29-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution: Sind, Baluchistan, Kashmir, Punjab, Afghanistan, Orient, S.

Europe.

*Lathyrus odoratus L. Sp. PI. 732.

V ernacular name : Sweet Pea.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah (B. & F. !).

Distribution : Italy. Cultivated everywhere.

Phaseolus (Tourn.) L.

160 species. — Tropics and warm temperate regions.

Phaseolus aconltifolius Jacquin Ohs. Bot. pars 3 (1768) 2. t. 52.

Vernacular name : Mong.

Locality: Tank: Near Tank (J. Williams 7132 !).

Flowers: 21-5-1888 (Tank).

Distribution : Himalayas to Ceylon.

Phaseolus sp.

Locality: S.W.: .Tandola, open stony ground and nalas (F. 673 !).

Rhynchosia Lour.

120 species. — Tropical and subtropical regions.

Rhynchosia minima DC. Prodr. ii (1825) 385.

Vernacular name : Praweti.

Locality: S'.W.: Pass of Zam (J. Williams 7799 !).

Tank (J. Williams 7140a ! 7140bis !).

Floicers: 11-5-1888 (Tank).

Fruit: 27-6-1888 (Zam).

Distribution: Throughout India, Ceylon, tropics generally.

Dalbergia Ij. f.

120 species. — Warm regions.

Dalbergia Sissoo Hort. Beng. (1814) 53.

Vernacular name : Shewa (Pu.).

Locality: S.W. : Jandola, planted in fields, on the Zam River, 2,200 ft.

(F, 745 ! 788 !). — Valley of Zam above Khirgi, common (Stewart).

Fruit : May.

Distribution: Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, sub-Himalayan tract and in the

outer valleys from the Indus to Assam, up to 5,000 ft. Planted and selfsown

all over India.

977 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

SOPHORA L.

25 species. — Tropics and warm temperate regions.

Sophora Griffith!! Stocks in Hook. Kew Journ. Bot. iv (1852) 117. — Keyser-

Ungia Griffithii Boiss. FI. Or. ii (1872) 630.

Vernacular 7iame : Vojair, Gojair.

Locality : N.W. : Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2199 ! 2204 ! 2855 ! 2857 ! 2998 !

3002 ! 3005 ).— Miram Shah, 3,500 ft. (F. 381 ! 413 !).

iS'.lF. : Wana, on hills, N.-E. of Camp, about 4,800 ft. (F. 3440 ! 3441 !

3444 ! 3559 ! 3560 ! 3653 ! 3687 ! 3697 ! 3888 !). — Bazmak, stony plain,

6.500 ft. (F. 2001 !). — Sararogha, few plants found, 4,000 ft. (F. 189 ! 197 !

202 ! 205 !). — Sarwekai, near Old Sarwekai Fort, in open plain (F. 3451 !).

Flowers : April.

Distribution : Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Salt Bange.

Sophora mollis Grab, in Wall. Cat. (1828) no. 5335. — Edwaria mollis Boyle

111. t. 32, fig. 2.

Vernacular name : Vojair, Gojair (Waziri) ; Gorja.

Locality : N.W. : Miram Shah, among high hills, about 3,500 ft. (F. 378 !

495 ! 1396 1 1405 ! 1411 ! 1416 1 1417 !).— Boy a, on high hills S. of the

Post, about 4,500 ft. (F. 550 !).— Bazani, 5,000 ft. (F. 2060 ! 2074 ! 2092 1

2194 ! 2200 ! 2208 ! 2853 !). — W. of Spinwam Fort, Chota Darweshta, 3,000-

4,800 ft. (B. & F. 725 !). — N. of Dossali, stony plain and nalas, 4,900 ft.

(B. & F. 992 !). — Bazmak Narai, ravine, 7,000 ft. (B. & F. 1250 !).

S.W.: Bazmak, open stony ground, 6,500 ft. (F. 1870 ! 1871 ! 1891 !

2026 ! 2249 ! 2319 ! 2321 ! 2322 ! 2656 ! 2791 ! 3062 ! 3070 ! 3079 !

3081 ! 3087 ! 3208 ! 3216 ! 3219 ! 3227 !).— Above Palosina (Stewart).—

Near Kaniguram, about 8,200 ft. (Stewart). — Wide shingle plateau of Tanda-

china (Stewart). — On a spur of the Pre Ghal (Stewart). — Pre Ghal (J. Williams

7803 !).

Flowers : 2-4-30 (Spinwam); 14-4-30 (Bazmak Narai).

Fruit: 10-4-30 (Dossali); 1-8-1888 (Pre Ghal).

Distribution: Afghanistan, Kuram Valley, Baluchistan, Salt Bange, N.-W.

Himalaya as far as Nepal, ascending to 6,000 ft.

Halimodendron Fisch. ex DC.

1 species. — N. and W. Asia, on salt steppes.

Halimodendron argenteum DC. Prodr. ii (1825) 269; Boiss. FI. Or. ii

(1872) 198. — Robinia halodendron L. f. Suppl. 330; Pall. FI. Boss. t. 46.—

Caragana argentea Lam. Encycl. i, 616. — Halimodendron cuspidatum et emargi-

natum Jaub. & Spach in Ann. Sc. Nat. xviii, 237.

Vernacular name : Zariai (Waziri).

Locality: N.W.: Bazani, on stony slooes, 5,000 ft. (F. 2979 !).

S'.W'. : Bazmak, 6,500 ft. (F. 2807 ! 3085 !), on stonv ground (F. 2248 !

2318 ! 2805 ! 3086 ! 3088 ! 3090 ! 3325 !).

Distribution : Persia, Turkestan, . Soongaria, Siberia, Altaica.

Glycyrrhiza Tourn. ex L.

12 species. — Temperate and subtropical.

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. Sp. PI. 1048.

Vernacular name: Called in the. Punjab Mallati.

Locality: N.W.: Between Datta Khel and Boya, along water channel,

4.500 ft. (B, & F. 606 !).

Distribution: Europe, N. Africa, Orient, Afghanistan, Soongaria.

Bauhinia L.

250 species. — Tropics.

*Bauhinia variegata L. Sp. PI. (1753) 375.

Locality: N.W.: Miram Shah Fort, 3,150 ft., in garden (B. & F. !).

Flowers : 28-3-30.

Distribution: Sub-Himalavan tract and Outer Himalaya, up to 4,000 ft.

from the Indus eastwards to Burma, China.

(To be continued).

EARTH-EATING AND SALT-LICKING IN INDIA.

BY

J. F. CAIUS, S.J., F.L.S.

and

K. H. Bharucha, b . a . , b.sc.

( Pharmacological Laboratory, Patel, Bombay).

ANALYSES XXVI-XXXL

XXVI. — Soil from Salt-Lick.

Serial No. 157.

Locality — Two miles west of Nagerhole Forest Rest House,

South Coorg.

Collected and sent by — G. Robinson Esqr., Chief Forest-

Officer, Mercara, Coorg.

Oak brown earth and hard clayisli lumps with numerous rust

brown spots. Powder rough and soapy.

aces of humus, sodium, and

Remarks: — 1. The soil contains ti

soluble silica.

2. The lick is situated but a short distance from

Salt-lick No. 156.

XXVII. — Soil from Salt-Lick.

Serial No. 13.

Locality — Banda Range, Banda Forest Division, United Pro-

vinces.

979 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXX VI

Collected and sent by— The Range Forest Officer, Banda

Range, Banda, United Provinces.

Grey lumps and brownish grey earth with a few bits of straw

and twigs. Powder soft.

EARTH-EATING AND SALT-LICKING IN INDIA

980

Manganese (Mn) ... ... ... 0.016 per cent.

Ferric oxide (Fe203) ... ... 1.966 , ,

Moisture and organic matter ... ... 2.200 ,,

Remarks : — 1. The soil contains traces of sodium and chlorine.

2. The sample was taken from the forest adjoining

Salt-Lick No. 13.

XXIX. — Soil fhom Salt-Lick.

Serial No. 20.

Locality — Reserve Forest, Kota Bilaspur Division.

Collected and sent by — The Divisional Forest Officer, Kota

Bilaspur.

Buffy hard lumps. Powder soft.

Remarks. — The soil contains traces of carbon dioxide.

XXX. — Common Earth.

Serial No. 21.

Locality — Reserve Forest, Kota Bilaspur Division.

Sent by — The Divisional Forest Officer, Kota Bilaspur.

Buffy hard clayish lumps. Powder

soft.

Minerals

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Moisture

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve)

Insoluble in nitric acid

Potash (K„0)

Magnesia (MgO)

12.05 per cent.

16.04

68.03

0.14

2.59

85.355

73.100

3.411

0.641

981 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fob XXX VI

Lime (CaO)

Alumina (A1203)

Silica (Si02) soluble

Phosphorus (P203) ....

Perric oxide (Fe203)

Moisture and organic matter

Remarks : — 1.

0.378 per cent.

2.780

... 0.641

... 0.004

... 2.235

2.140

The soil contains traces of humus, sodium, sul-

phur, and manganese.

The earth is from an area inhabited by animals

which visit Salt-Lick No. 20.

XXXI. — Soil from Salt-Lick.

Serial No. 27.

Locality — Level country some 30 miles from the foot of the

Himalayas, near Murtiha in the Reserved Forest of Bahraich Dis-

trict, United Provinces.

Collected and sent by — The Divisional Forest Officer, Bah-

raich .

Buff coloured hard clayish lumps. Powder soft.

per cent.

Remarks . : — 1. The soil contains traces of chlorine.

2. The lick has been frequented for many years

by wild animals, especially chital.

REVIEW.

MIMICRY by G-. D. Hale Carpenter, m.b.e., d.m. and E. B. Ford, m.a.,

b. sc. , pp. i-viii and 134 (illustrated), Methuen & Co., Ltd., London.

Evolution and Natural Selection like most other scientific subjects has grown

into so vast a study that specialization has been more or less forced on the

student. One of these special branches is that of Mimicry and in the short

monograph under review, Dr. Hale Carpenter and Mr. E. B. Ford have dealt

with the enthralling subject not only as those who have studied under the

learned Professor to whom they have dedicated the work, but also, in the

case of the former, from the standpoint of the field-naturalist. In this book

Dr. Hale Carpenter gives us actual facts observed by himself in British East

Africa, facts which will be hard to refute even by the most bigoted opponent

of the theory of Mimicry.

The work is . divided into three parts together with a short introduction

which the student will be well advised to master before he proceeds to’ Part I,

as in it will be found the explanation of terms employed throughout the book.

Part I gives a short account of the original work by Bates, Wallace, Trimen

and Fritz Muller, whilst Part II is an essay on the more modern work on

the subject. The two parts are co-ordinated by a system of reference numbers,

the paragraphs in Part II being numbered to correspond with similarly numbered

points in Part I which they serve to amplify; the student may thus refer for-

wards or backwards as1 he proceeds with his studies.

Part III which has been written solely by Mr. E'. B. Ford, deals with

the genetics of Mimicry and will be found of more interest to the biologist.

Examples of Mimicry were first discovered among the Lepidoptera so that,

as one would expect , this Order holds a prominent place in the work under

review. This, from the Indian student’s point of view, is rather unfortunate as

the Indian Lepidoptera are by no means rich in mimics although we do

possess some, outstanding examples. Of these we may mention Hypolivmas misi -

ppuSj the female of which mimics Danais chry sip-pus ; the Papilios of the Age-

stor and Clytia groups which copy Danais and Euploe respectively, and the two

species of Kallima which mimic a fallen dead leaf so marvellously, and which,

to heighten the resemblance, turn flat on their side as they alight on the

ground ! Another striking example, which has imposed itself on collectors is

that of Sataspes infernalis, a daylight flying Sphingid which copies bees of

the ge'nus Xylocopa.

Examples have however not been confined to this order and several others

are exemplified such as the Goleoptera and Hymenoptera which are as rich in

mimics in thjs country as in Africa. The two plates refer to - these and it

would have much enhanced the work if there could have, been more- of such.

Much original work still remains to be done by the student interested in

this branch of biology and for him no better work could be recommended to

introduce what is not only an interesting study but a fascinating hobby.

The value of the book would be considerably enhanced if in future editions

a short appendix was added giving examples of Mimicry found in various coun-

tries. Students in this country have, no access to examples of African Lepidop-

tera or other Orders from that continent and this is a study which above all

needs living examples to point the moral.

F. C. F

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

I. — A TIGER ATTACKING AN ELEPHANT.

As promised, I am sending you particulars of an attack on a

mature cow elephant by a tiger.

The incident came to my notice on the 15th May this year,

when Mr. E. J. Davy who is an Elephant Hunter and Control

Officer in the Plus Valley, Perak, E.M.S., invited me to accom-

pany him on his inspection of the patrolled ‘rentice’ or track be-

yond which it is the duty of the patrols to drive all wild elephants.

This track, which is 13| miles long, lies on an average 5 miles

from the cultivated land which it protects. It is inspected daily

by Sakai and Malay patrols, and if wild elephants cross they are

followed, turned and driven back. Only in extreme cases, when

they refuse to be driven and show signs of truculence, is shooting

resorted to.

This is ‘by the way’ and merely explains the object of my trip .

The jungle track follows the bank of the Kerbau river, a con-

siderable tributary of the Plus River, the latter being the main

tributary of the Perak River. We enter the jungle at the village

of Jalong which it is now possible to reach by car. On arrival at

Jalong, we found an elephant waiting to take our bedding and

kit. Mr. Davy drew my attention to a scar about two feet long

stretching from behind the elephant’s right foreleg and finishing up

under her belly. He told me this happened about six months pre-

viously. Savage, the Government Geologist, had hired the ele-

phant and stopped: the night in the jungle, as we were doing, near

the .junction of the Plus and Kerbau rivers. The elephant was

let loose as usual to feed at night with a ‘singkah’ (rattan shackle)

on to prevent her straying too far.

In the morning she appeared at the camp with a huge wound

and a piece of flesh and skin hanging almost1 to the ground. In-

vestigations showed tiger tracks where she had been lying and it

was evident from an inspection of these tracks that the tiger had

attacked her as she lay, probably clinging on with teeth and

claws and tearing the flesh by its weight as the elephant got up.

The victim would not allow anyone to touch the wound, and

a suggestion by the Health Officer to cut away the hanging flesh

could not be carried out. She could not of course be worked after

this and was left to her own devices; her recovery being due en-

tirely to her own efforts.

On every possible occasion she bathed the wound with mud

from certain wallows which she selected, possibly for their heal-

ing qualities, and when not doing this she continuously fanned the

wound with a light switch of Talang’ grass held in her trunk.

In this way she kept flies and other insects from the wound.

The torn flesh gradually shrivelled up and fell away and at

the end of three months she was fit for work again, a slight scar

MISCELLANEOUS NOLES

984

being the only evidence of what was no doubt intended for a

murderous attack on her vital organs.

Her temper remains as placid as ever and she shows no signs

of nervousness when released near the scene of the attack or when

a tiger is known to be about.

To the best of my knowledge the above incident is without

parallel in Malaya and I have not heard of a similar case in Suma-

tra. It is possible that you may have recorded a like case in

India. Elephant calves have, I know, been attacked but I have

never read of an entirely unprovoked attack on a mature elephant.

If you think the above will interest your members you may

publish all of it or such parts as you think fit.

Sports Club,

St. James’s Square, I. K. SWAINE.

London, S.W. 1.

June 21, 1933.

[There are a few instances on record of Tigers attacking ele-

phants. Sanderson shot a tiger in Chittagong which had killed a

young elephant about 4| ft, at the shoulder and weighing perhaps

600 lbs. He also heard of a tiger in Assam severely mauling an

elephant which had been hobbled and turned out to graze. A

note in the Journal (vol. vii, p. 119, 1892) by Q. G. Corbett,

Deputy Conservator of Eorests, gives a few instances. A female

elephant and calf turned loose to graze were attacked and mauled

by a tiger. This occurred in the Pegu Yomas. The tiger went

for the calf and mauled the mother when she tried to rescue it.

The calf was killed and found partly eaten the next day.

In the same area a full grown female elephant was* severely

clawed and bitten on the shoulders and back by a tiger. The ani-

mal sprang on her when she was asleep. Four days later a big

tusker was attacked, in a narrow nullah. The tiger leaped on him

from the bank, was shaken off more than once but attacked again

and again. The elephant got off with dreadful wounds along the

whole length of its back. It is presumed that the same tiger was

responsible for the three separate instances recorded by the writer;

his initial success with the calf and mother emboldening him in

the pursuit of quarry which tigers usually recognise as beyond

their powers . — Eds . ] .

II. — A SPIRITED OLD BULL BISON ( BIBOS GAURUS).

It is not often that a Gaur charges at the first shot, but this

was our experience recently when I was out with that fine sports-

man, Mr. Herman Cron.

The bull, a solitary, was standing in thick cover on the edge

of a narrow strip of evergreen jungle. He was turned out by our

trackers, sent round for this purpose, while we waited1 for him to

cross our front. We were standing well downhill on an open grass

hillside. The bull literally bounced out after demonstrating at our

985 JOURNAL. BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

trackers and, spotting us, as Mr. Herman Cron raised his rifle,

wheeled and faced us. On receiving Mr. Cron’s first shot the bull

immediately put its head down and charged from a distance of

about 12 yards, but was turned by a second shot and bagged a few

minutes later.

This bull had been mauled by a tiger previously, and this may

have accounted for his irritability although the scars were old.

Curiously enough this was the third solitary bull found to have

been previously mauled by a tiger and shot in succession in the

same area.

Honnametti Estate,

Attikan P.O., R, C. MORRIS.

Via Mysore, S. India. f.z.s.

March 80, 1933.

111.— THE COLOUR OF ‘WHITE BISON’ (BIBOS

GAURUS).

I was much interested in Mr. Morris’ account of the ‘White

Bison’: the colour of which lie describes as being ‘sandy or light

fawn’. In Wild Animals of Central India I referred to the fact

that Bison are ‘very occasionally dormouse-coloured’ .

This description is synonymous with Mr. Morris’, and there is

no doubt that we are both describing, the same variety of Bison.

The term ‘white’ is a misnomer and should be discarded. As my

publication of the fact that this variety of Bison occurs gave rise

to no comments I assumed it was a well known fact to those,

who were really familiar with Bison. Mr. Morris’ letter however

makes me suspect that it is not so well known; and it would' be

interesting to know . whether this variety of Bison occurs ip num-

bers.

Ivybank, A. A. DUNBAR BRANDER.

Bishopmill,

Elgin, N.B.

June 5, 1933.

In regard to Mr. A. A. Dunbar Brander’s note oh ‘White

Bison’ I am fully aware that in Wild Animals in Central India

the author refers to the fact that Bison are occasionally ‘dormouse-

coloured ’ .

This, however, can in no way be said to describe the colour of

the ‘white’ Bison. In my note on ‘White Bison’ (J .B .N .H .S . ,

vol. xxxvi p. 492) I mentioned that a large number of the Bison in

the ‘white Bison’ area are of a somewhat lighter colour than is

usually the case in other districts of South India, i.e. the Western

Ghats, the Nilgiris and Wynaad, and the Billigirirangans, and

these light coloured Bison can certainly be described as ‘dormouse-

coloured’, and are evidently the variety referred to by the author

of Wild Animals in Central India.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

986

The ‘white’ Bison however are far lighter than this, being of

a very light sandy or fawn shade, and Mr. Dunbar Brander’s de-

scription is not applicable in their case as he would himself admit

were he to see them. I consider that the term ‘white’ should be

retained, as although this does not closely describe their colour it

serves the purpose of distinguishing the variety.

Honnametti Estate,

Attikan P.O.,

Via Mysore, S. India

June 21, 1933.

[Mr. Dunbar Brander has sent in the following letter from Mr.

R. L. Scott: — “Certainly the light coloured bull Bison which I

saw in the Banjar Valley, in company with another good bull of

normal colour, could in no sense be described as ‘White’. My

recollection is that the whole body was about the same colour as

the top part of the head of the old normal bull which I have

mounted, which you may remember was a very old one. This

head has been hanging for some years in the light, but I do not

think the colour has changed. I should say that ‘dormouse’ de-

scribes it very fairly — certainly not ‘white’.”

Concluding Mr. Dunbar Brander writes: — “As I have not seen

the bison, Morris refers to, and he has not seen the areas I refer

to, precise determination of the matter is difficult.

However, the following point emerges; having kept dormice as

pets and having asked others who have kept them : we are un-

animously agreed that the colour of a dormouse is ‘a very light

sandy or fawn shade’: so Mr. Morris and I are describing the

same colour in different terms.

The colour is found on the flanks of a cheetal before the brown

merges into the white.

In my opinion Science and Natural History cannot possibly

benefit by the adoption of an inaccurate term: the term ‘White’

is no doubt more sensational but the animals should be called

‘Sand or dormouse coloured Bison’.

In the Central Provinces some jungles tend to produce a darker

or lighter type of normal bison as the case may be : but these

dormouse coloured animals do not appertain to any particular tract

and may be found associated with animals of the darkest colour.

I am certain that the animals to which I refer in Wild Animals in

Central India are essentially the same as those to which Mr. Morris

now refers.” — Eds.].

IV. — CURIOUS DEATH OF CHEETAL (AXIS AXIS)

IN CAPTIVITY.

There were kept in an enclosed run in the Palace here 8

spotted deer — 2 stags and 6 hinds of different ages. This morning,

news was brought that 7 of the animals including a stag were

found dead; while one of the stags had jumped out and was

14

R. C. MORRIS,

F.Z.S.

987 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

roaming about in the garden. I found thaf all the dead animals

had thrust wounds, invariably in the hind, quarters, on or below the

hind legs. One had a wound behind the front shoulder blade. A

hind was found in a trench outside the enclosure with a small por-

tion of the hind quarters, including the tail eaten away by some

animal. The flesh eaten away was not much — possibly the work

of a jackal or a dog. The surviving stag was seen in the garden,

quietly resting in a shed and chewing the cud. We did not go near

him for fear of disturbing him and making him jump over the

garden walls. He did not seem to have received any wound nor

was he in any way affected by the occurrence. I am not able to

explain how so many animals were gored to death; 6 of them

being hinds. During the rutting season, I have seen stags fight-

ing and killing each other, but I have never known of a

stag running amok in this way. All the books consulted do not

throw any light. A keeper in the local zoo told me that in the

zoo there is a fierce stag which fights and gores other animals, in-

cluding hinds. They have now separated him and given him a

solitary cell. Till yesterday evening, the watchers tell me, there

was no indication of any rutting trouble and the animals were all

quiet. What can be the explanation of so many deaths? From

the bruises received on the nose and lips, it is plain that all the

animals made frantic attempts to squeeze themselves between the

bars while they were being gored. Would an angry stag gore

and kill wholesale SO' many hinds both mature and immature? Or

can it be that a jackal or a wild cat entered the cage and the

deer taking fright stampeded, and in the attempt to escape,

received thrust wounds from the antlers of the stag? But the car-

cases were all lying scattered in different places inside the cage

and not huddled up in one corner. If the culprit was the stag-

found outside, how and why did he jump out of the enclosure?

I may say that the antlers of the two stags are neither well-formed

nor big but really misshapen and very poor. A broken tip of the

antler of the escaped animal, about 4 inches long, was found in-

side the pen.

I shall feel thankful if you will kindly throw light on this in-

cident.

[Dr. Laud, Superintendent of the Victoria Gardens, Bombay,

offers the following explanation for the occurrence : —

“I have read the letter from the Conservator of Forests, Tri-

vandrum, giving an account of casualties among so many spot-

ted deer. From my experience, I do not think that the deaths

were caused by the stag going wild and running amok, especi-

ally in face of the fact that his horns were poor and not well

formed. During the rutting season, the males fight with one

another and one may cause the death of the opponent by goring

Trivandrum.

June 21, 1933.

DANUSHKOTI PILLAI,

Conservator of Forests.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

988

and possibly may injure a hind or two but there would not be

such a wholesale slaughter. I have reason to believe, from my

experience of such happenings in our Garden also, that a. stray

dog or jackal or some wild animal may have entered the en-

closure, and caused a panic. The deer made frantic attempts

to escape from the barred enclosure with the result that there

were so many wounds and deaths. This is the only explanation

I can offer. We have had stray dogs entering our enclosure,

causing deaths amongst deer and even kangaroos in like manner;

the animals either being injured by the dogs or killing themselves

in trying to escape.” — Eds.].

V.— ‘FUR FARMING’.

Furs are probably the oldest form of clothing in the world and

we can well imagine that our ancestors who were still living in

caves, first of all saw them purely as a wrapping to keep out the

cold and later allowed them to become a sign of wealth and well-

being. In those days, the best hunter was probably the weal-

thiest man, and it was just the best hunter who was able to

secure for himself the choicest and most beautiful pelts. For a

great many years our old friend the rabbit has been bred, partly

at any rate for his skin, and today in, say, the ‘Show Angora’ or

‘Chinchilla’, one can hardly recognise the humble rabbit of the

warren. The ‘Fitch’, which is really only a specialised Pole Cat,

a form of ferret, has also been bred in Europe for probably some

two or three hundred years. The breeding of animals for their

fur w'as what may be called a cottage industry. Recently, fur

farming, that is the farming of animals with their pelts as the

main object, has come more and more to the fore.

I think the animal originally farmed on a big scale in this

way was the Silver Fox and the causes which led to his being

bred in captivity were different from those in the case of other

animals. The Silver Fox, or more correctly, the Silver Black Fox

is a melanistic sport of the American Red Fox ‘ Vulpes fulva’ .

It occurs very rarely in the litters of red parents, and it has re-

cently been proved that the silver-blackness is an ordinary reces-

sive Mendelian characteristic, that is, the offspring of a red and

a black fox will be all red and the f2 generation will be in the

proportion of B reds and one black. Two blacks, will of course,

produce nothing but black offspring; but this is only partially

true, as the blackness is developed to a variable extent and you

actually get both wild and in captivity, all stages from the red

to the pure black. The fox in which the black parts are pure

black is technically ‘A Silver Fox’ the other stages are known as

cross or patch foxes. I believe efforts were made as far back as

1860 to breed black cubs in captivity. The Silver Fox skin in

those days was a very great rarity and the big prices fetched gave

promise of unheard of returns to the man who could manage to

keep up a permanent supply. It was somewhere about 1890 that

989 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

a Bed Indian is said to have come into a Hudson Bay post with

three wriggling black cubs in a bag which were bought and reared.

They did not breed for a year or two but in 1894 a litter of cubs

was successfully raised. Brom these animals one line of Silver

Boxes was started. At first casualties were frightfully heavy but

with growing experience the stock increased. About the same

time, al hough neither knew of the other, another pioneer was de-

veloping a similar strain in Alaska. Eventually the two strains

were united in Prince Edward Island. The credit of establishing

the strains from which the modern Silver Box is descended belongs

to Charles Dalton and Bobert Oulon. As much as 1,800 dollars

was paid in 1900 for a skin and from time to time a few others

came on to the London market. Eventually friends were let into

the business and a big boom set in. Just before the War the

average pair of live foxes was fetching as much as 16,000 dollars

and a special pair is said to have been sold alive, for breeding

for 25,000 dollars (£5,000). The War caused a considerable set-

back and by the time it was over, the available stock was consi-

derable and prices were more reasonable. In 1920 the first farm

in Great Britain was started near Alness, in Boss-shire, and since

then the industry in this country has increased enormously. The

Silver Box Breeders’ Association now has about 200 members;

many of these keep their foxes on farms owned by others, of

which there are about 70 in the country, But the British contri-

bution is still only a, drop in the world supply of pelts.

In the case of the Silver Box, the reason which led to their

being bred in captivity was their extreme rarity. In the case of all

other animals — Nutria from South America, Mink, Silver Badger,

Blue Boxes, Cross Boxes, Baccoons, Bisher, Musquash, Marten,

etc. — the reason is different. Bur bearing animals all like solitude

and quiet. Every time a clearing is made or a new farm or mine

is .established, we cut into the area available for them. A man

making a clearing in a forest not only frightens the animals from

his actual clearing but from the country around it, and so the

whole tendency of civilisation is to restrict the areas available for

fur bearing animals, and therefore the supply of furs. Until quite

recently, the loss of suitable country in one direction could be made

up by the extension of trapping operations into still more remote

and inaccessible places, but there is a limit to this. In North

America, Arctic conditions prevail in the extreme north, and this

point has now been reached.

I believe that recently somebody perfected a species of wheat

which takes 10 days shorter to ripen than normal wheat. In

Canada, the Wheat Belt is limited by the time available between

the thawing of the snow at the end of one winter and the start

of the next ; therefore the shortening of the time required for

ripening, allows the Wheat Belt to spread to the North, into

country where this period is shorter. This is an example of what

cuts into the country left available for trapping. The northern

limit has been reached, therefore the area becomes smaller; there-

fore, in turn, trapping becomes more intensive and finally, even

with the most careful protection, certain fur bearing animals

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

990

become so rare that it no longer pays to try and trap them. This

stage has not yet been reached, but it is disinctly in sight, and the

result is that attempts have been made to breed almost every fur

bearing animal in captivity. In the case of a Silver Fox, the

scarcity and value of his pelt was the factor which led to his

partial domestication. In the case of other fur bearers, it. is the

fact that we are now within measurable distance of their becom-

ing almost as scarce as the Silver Fox once was, which has led to

their being bred in captivity.

Breeding each species has its own technique, as is natural, but

the same general rules apply. Cleanliness and sanitation, security

against escape, combined with sufficient room for exercise. In

the case of Silver Foxes, which is what I know most about myself,

almost as many types of pen have been developed as there are

farms. I favour one of the simplest — it is a wire netting pen

30 feet by 10 feet by 6 feet high. 20 feet of this can be shut off

by a door, and has a floor of 1 inch boards. These are much

easier to keep clean than earth, and I find that it decreases the

incidence of worms. The end 10 feet has an earth floor with a

wire net mat a foot under the ground which gives the foxes a

chance of digging, and I keep the puppies out of it until they

are about 2 months old. Other types may be up to 1,000 square

feet in area or even more; 40 by 40 feet or 50 by 25 feet; for

these a board floor, is of course, out of the question. The wire

netting of the sides is dug into the ground for about 2 to 3 feet

at the foot, and in place of a roof, we have a 2 -foot overhang the

whole way round. Combined with pens one often finds large en-

closures of half an acre to an acre in which the foxes are turned out

for exercise. I myself, managed to keep 6 adults in such a pen last

year, but this year when I tried 20, there was a good deal of

scrapping and fighting and finally one afternoon my headman

came down to me with a very nice brush in his hand and said

‘this is all I can find of one of your vixens; I do not think she can

be very well ! ’ Except for 3 feet and about six square inches of

fur, this is about all we ever found of her, and large pens for

adults have since been at a discount, but for cubs until they are

say about 8 months old, they are splendid. One certainly loses an

occasional beast, but one loses that in any case and if they were

confined in small pens, the losses due to the confinement, would

probably equal the losses due to the big pens, while the animals

would not be nearly so fit at the end of the season.

Prices for good stock at present run from about £100 to

£125 per pair, and it is to be emphasised that it is no good

attempting to do anything with bad stock. The food bill for an

adult pair and say 3 cubs runs into £15 to £18 a year, which is

absolute out of pocket expenditure and unless you can realise the

amount from the sale of your increase, the result of your year’s

working is actually a loss instead of a gain. With good stock it

is not difficult to do this, but it is a very difficult matter with

poor stuff; and I, personally, would not accept for stuff, even

as a gift. The usual method for a beginner to start in the busi-

ness is to go to an established farm, buy stock from it and ranch

991 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

that stock with the farmer for a year, while learning the job him-

self. Tuition is free to purchasers of stock and the time taken

for a man of ordinary commonsense is two to three months, com-

bined with one or two visits to learn essential jobs such as tattoo-

ing and pelting at the proper time of year.

This is not the time or place to enter into a dissertation upon

all the details of the routine of a fox farm, and I am only giving

a few points of general interest. The food consists of meat, — beef,

venison, mutton, rabbits, hares, tripes and occasional horse (al-

though I do not like it very much), usually fed raw; porridge con-

taining various cereals, milk, eggs, soup, biscuits and fox meal,

which is very similar to hound meal and, in fact, almost anything

which you would feed to a valuable dog, except that the propor-

tion of meat is considerably higher. The menu for a sample

week here is made up approximately as follows : —

2 tripes, 24 hares, 100 lbs. venison, 100 lbs. beef, 25 couple

rabbits, 100 eggs, 7 gallons milk, 4 lbs. salts, 5 gallons soup,

100 lbs. porridge, 10 lbs. biscuits, 10 lbs. fox meal, 5 lbs. bone

flour, 10 lbs. vegetables, 64 lbs. brown bread, 2 pints cod liver

oil.

The puppies are inspected by an inspector appointed by the

Silver Fox Breeders’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland who

passes them if they reach a certain standard, and they are each

tatooed in the ears with identification letters and numbers — Each

breeder has his letters, — mine are DM — and each year has a letter.

The cubs belonging to each breeder are serially numbered; thus

a fox — DM J21 is cub No. 21 born in 1932 on the Sidlaw Fur

Farm, and he can never be mixed up with any other animal.

Certificates of registration are issued and all changes of ownership

have to be registered on the Certificates. Any application for

transfer must be signed by the owner of the fox, so there is not

very much chance of losing your animal.

While Silver Fox Farming cannot in any way be compared

for security to say, War Loan or even a good Debenture, it can

be made as safe as any form of live stock breeding, and the

interest which it pays on the capital laid out is, luckily, also

not comparable to that paid by War Loan. I reckon at the

present time it is 15 to 20 per cent and that the business is as

safe as anything paying returns of this nature.

There is a method by which a man with about £1,200 to

£1,500 capital can work up to a stock of 40 pairs in six years,

financing each year’s expansion out of profits. It takes about

5 or 6 years, and means hard work for that time, but should yield

an income of about £800 to £1,000 a year on Pelt sales, once

the farm has finished growing. But the owner must have a small

income to keep himself up till then. It was worked out for

a man with a small pension and a gratuity and provident fund

for capital.

There has been a good deal of discussion lately about the re-

spective merits of the small and the large farm. To begin with,

I think everyone agrees that the excessively small farm — of 10

or 12 pairs is not an economic proposition. It is all right as a

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

992

side line to some other business or a hobby, but the overheads

are too high, and the profit is too small to yield a living. It is

the same with everything — the village post office is only possible

when run in conjunction with a small shop.

For breeding stock, the small farm, say 20-24 pairs, is un-

doubtedly the best. This is borne out by Show results; at last

year’s London Show, 5 out of 6 major awards, 6 out of 7 colour

championships, 20 out of 27 first and 23 out of 24 seconds were

won by small farms; a small farm headed the list of prize winners

by a considerable margin, and there were only two big farms in the

first 9. It cuts no ice to say that there are better beasts left

behind than those brought up to the Show. Everyone naturally

tries to bring up their best, and as shows and wins at shows

are the best and cheapest form of publicity, very much atten-

tion need not be given to those who are too proud to show.

The success achieved by the small farms is due to a variety

of causes, chief among which are the careful personal attention

which can be given and the lack of room in which to house any-

thing but the best, which leads to continuous improvement. Where

there is no room for poor animals, there can be none of their

progeny for sale.

The large farm certainly offers certain advantages, and is best

for the man who does not want the trouble of looking after his own

stock; but in such a case, he has to pay for his facilities either

directly or indirectly, and he cannot expect such high returns as the

man who runs his own business himself, while the continued exist-

ence of the concern as a whole often depends entirely on one man,

and has all the risks attendant on such conditions. For the man

who is willing to work himself and who wants to get as high a

return for his capital and time as he can, there is no doubt that

it is best not to be tied down to the level inseparable from any

large stock-raising concern, but to own his own farm, and to start

from a farm with similar ideals.

It is a most intensely interesting business for a man used to

the open air, and fond of animals; but he must have certain fairly

obvious qualifications — the power of observation for one. I’ve

heard of a man who thought a fox had been asleep for a whole

day — until he found it had been dead. The city clerk who has

never even kept a clog has about as much chance, without special

training, as one of us would have if we tried to understand his

accounts. Another source of failure is shortage of capital. One

must be able to build pens, buy stock, and keep it while it is

increasing, and feed and keep oneself while the process is going

on. I reckon that the minimum on which one can set up for

oneself and start earning an income, is about £2,000, though this

may be reduced by various circumstances. Given the necessary

capital, and aptitude, I can imagine no business more congenial.

J. M. D. MACKENZIE.

Perthshire,

Scotland.

May 22, 1938.

993 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

VI.— NOTES ON THE HABITS OF RADCLIFFE’S

SIBIA ( LEIOPTILA MELANOLEUCA

RADCLIFFEI STUART BAKER)..

(With a 'photo).

The Sibias with their lovely plumage, and with their sweet,

clear, and plaintive call notes are among the most fascinating of

the hill birds.

Radoliffe’s Sibia which I have found common in some parts

of the Southern Shan States seems to have escaped the notice of

observers, in spite of its tameness and persistent call.

There have been but four skins hitherto in collections — or that

is, what is on record — and these have not received the careful atten-

tion they deserved. So it is that the description of this bird in the

Fauna is meagre and inaccurate.

It is known to' the Toungyos as ‘ Nget kya’ , or the pied bird,

and they certainly know a great deal about it. All the information

they gave me concerning this bird turned out to^ be correct. ■ When

they brought me blue eggs capped and marked with rusty red and

told me they were the eggs of this bird, I was more than doubtful,

as the eggs which I had already obtained myself were pale blue

and immaculate. They were however quite right as I subsequently

found out for myself.

Nest and eggs of Eadcliffe’s Sibia (L. m. radcliffei ).

Radcliffe’s Sibia in the field appears to be a sleek black and

white bird, with lovely clean cut lines. Rather shrike-like and

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

994

extremely tame. Tliey are very affectionate birds and always

in pairs — though several pairs will go about together, even in the

breeding season. I very reluctantly had to shoot a few specimens

to authenticate the eggs I took, and for scientific purposes. In

doing so the distress shown by the mate of the bird I had killed

induced me to shoot it also. I need hardly say I shot the minimum

required — I think it was five in all. Now the skins have been sent

to the British Museum we may hope for an accurate description

of them in subsequent works.

As I have no skin before me now I: am unable to give here such

a description, but I can say in relation to the description in the

Fauna that the deep, glossy black of the upper parts passes im-

perceptibly into a warm, deep chocolate brown on the back and

mantle. It is a peculiar colour that* I have not noticed in any

other bird. It lias a small spot of black on the chin at the base

of the lower mandible. The bases of the primaries — and to a less

marked degree of the secondaries — are white (except the first

small primary which is wholely black) and this gives the bird a

white wing patch in flight. This is an important recognition

patch. I did not notice any variation in these birds — either in the

skins, or in the field.

Nidification.

As nothing is apparently on record, I will endeavour to fill in

the gap. I first found the nest in 1929, in May. It contained two

pale blue eggs of very delicate colour and texture. The shells were

fragile. The nest was shrike-like and abouh 12 feet up in a tree.

This year, I continued my observations and on March 20 found

the first nest in a very similar place. I shot the parent bird, and

took photographs of the nest and eggs. The eggs were two in

number, and, as before, immaculate pale blue. They measure ap-

proximately 23 by 16.5 mm. They are of delicate shape and Eton

blue. Like most blue eggs they fade rapidly.

Subsequent nests and eggs found were' at first of this type, the

nests being lined with a coiled, black hair-like substance1 which

comes off some tree. It is used by the Toungyos (who get it from

the Sibia’s nests) as a remedy for headache! They make an in-

fusion of it in hot water etc.

Some nests were well concealed in the outer branches of heavily

foliaged trees, and were only discovered by watching the parent

birds. None were lower than about 7 feet, and some were as high

as 30 feet.

About this time, say the middle of May,. I was brought some

eggs by the Toungyos which they said were Sibia’s. These eggs

were the same size but very different in appearance being rather

greener and well marked with red. There was, as far as I knew,

only this one species of Sibia in the neighbourhood. I put the

eggs aside, and continued my search, and very soon found several

1 Samples of this hair-like substance submitted to us proved to be the stalks

of a species of fungus which grows on fallen decomposing leaves.

995 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

clutches of marked eggs, shooting the parent birds in two instances

to make absolutely certain.

The full clutch of Radcliffe’s Sibia appears to be one egg, or ,

two — and rarely three. I found several sitting on one egg.

I found fifty eggs before finding a clutch of three eggs. Curi-

ously enough in this clutch was a giant egg twice the size of an

ordinary egg, but in every other respect exactly like the other two

of the clutch.

It was only after finding about 30-40 clutches that I came across

eggs intermediate in character, i.e., sparsely marked. Then I got

a few — some showing a few scroll lines approximating to Bar-

wing’s eggs.

It then appears that this bird lays eggs of two distinct types —

immaculate and marked. The marked eggs are generally capped —

rarely zoned with rusty red. The variation in size is rather wide.

Suspecting the proportion of marked to unmarked eggs to be

almost equal, I reviewed the first 40 eggs and found that I had

exactly 20 marked eggs and 20 unmarked! Up to that time I

had seen no clutch of 3 yet nor had I seen any eggs of an inter-

mediate type.

The breeding season I found to be from the end of March to

early June. No cuckoos’ eggs were found in this Sibia ’s nests.

Habits.

I have alluded already to their affectionate nature and their

being always in pairs. They were already calling when I; came up

into their district in January.

They play follow-my-leader from tree to tree like the Blue Mag-

pies do, and like those birds, they usually settle low in a tree and

climb up towards the top with quick, long hops from branch to

branch. They feed a good deal on the wild yellow raspberries that

there abound.

The call is one of the most beautiful sounds to greet you as

you get up beyond the 4,000 foot level. It is a sweet, thrilling-

cadence of double notes — falling, and the last prolonged plaintively.

The alarm note, a rather shrike-like abuse.

They call before dawn, and all through the day, but very little

after about 3 p.m. It is a real bird of the morning in its happi-

ness.

The flight is rather weak, and direct; only undertaken to get

from one place to another. I did not notice any birds actually on

the ground, butf they are often within a foot or so of the ground

when searching for fruit.

I hope to hear the Sibias calling again next year — and I shall

then come as a friend and not to kill or despoil them.

Yaungwhe, T. R. LIYESEY.

S.S.S., Burma.

June 18, 1933, j

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

996

VII. — A NOTE ON THE MIGRATION OF THE SWALLOW

SHRIKE (ART AM US FUSGUS VIEILL.)

Though Jerdon includes the Northern Circars in the list of

areas where he found this species most abundant, yet it is not

reported by the Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats.

And the most probable reason is, think Whistler and Kinnear (see

vol. xxxvi, p. 347 of this Journal), that the bird is a migrant in

this area. As there is no further record until Madras is reach-

ed, my notes on its occurrence in Elwinpet, Cocanada, may be

of interest.

From pretty close observation, ranging over a long period, I

think this bird comes to Cocanada during the hot weather for breed-

ing purposes. It makes its presence known by its constant harsh

screeches, made when driving away every other bird from the vici-

nity of the tree — usually a Palmyra palm, which it selects for its

home. Lrongos, crows, hawks and even kites flee before its

lightning swoop. It is not an uncommon sight to see a dozen of

more of these birds huddled together in the fronds of the Palmyra.

The birds appear in large numbers about the beginning of April

and building operations begin almost immediately. Some nests

are completed by the end of April; while other birds are seen, still

tugging at coir or jute or carrying straws, even during the middle

of June.

Immediately after June, the noise and din made by these birds

ceases and they are not seen again until the month of September.

They disappear again about the end of September and reappear

towards the end of December or beginning of January and are not

seen again till the beginning of April.

During these ‘non-active’ months, one may occasionally see a

bird or two flying very high up as if bound on some distant jour-

ney, uttering its shrill call. They never appear to come down.

The truth seems to be, that, like the koels, these birds spend part

of the year in the interior and appear along the coast only during

the summer months — April to June. They appear to shun civi-

lization and are found only in open and uncultivated tracts.

They come with the beginning of the hot weather and disappear

before the monsoon sets in, about the middle of June.

Elwinpet, Cocanada, A. S. THYAGARAJU,

God A VARY. M.A.

June 10, 1938.

VIII.— SPEED OF THE LARGE-PIED WAGTAIL

( MOTAGILLA MADERASPATENSIS GMELIN).

While motorcycling sometime back, I had two occasions to test

the flying powers of the Large-Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla maderas-

patensis).

On a fine stretch of road between Dakor and Mahudha (Kaira

District), I started some Large Pied Wagtails feeding in the middle

997 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

of the road. Others flew away, but a couple of the birds went

ahead, straight in front of my bicycle. In order to find something

about their power of flight, I slowed down to a mere twenty miles

an hour. At this speed, it appeared that the birds were drawing

away from me, so I accelerated to twenty-five. Then the distance

between the birds and myself began to remain constant. The

moment I went to 27 miles per hour, the cycle drew nearer the

birds. This went on for about a couple of hundred yards. Then

came a sudden turn in the road, the birds kept on flying straight,

while I had to swerve to the right thus getting no further chance

to continue the observation.

Next day, when cycling from Nariad to Kaira, I had another

opportunity to repeat the experiment. This time there was only

one bird which maintained its distance at 25 miles per hour. It

was flying at about four yards from the front wheel, level with

my head and went on for about 300 yards. Then it swerved and

flew away.

On both these occasions, the birds on wing did not show any

fright, in spite of the great din created by the open exhaust and

also by the single cylinder bike of my friend who was driving

abreast of me; my mount being a ‘twin Indian’ which is a silent

machine. The trip was from Ahmedabad to Baroda and back.

Ahmedabad, HARI NARAYAN ACHARYA,

N. Gujarat. f.z.s.

March 29, 1933.

IX.— CUCKOOS IN THE SOUTHERN SHAN STATES.

( With a plate).

To those interested in the parasitic cuckoos, the following sum-

mary of 47 days spent this year in search of their eggs in the

Southern Shan States is recorded.

The locality searched was in the neighbourhood of Taunggyi,

and on the same range of hills at an elevation of 4,000-6,000 ft.

The first cuckoo’s egg (Cuculus canorus bakeri) found was on

April 6 and it was on the point of hatching. So it would appear

that this cuckoo begins to lay in the latter half of March.

The first cuckoo was heard calling on March 9, about a week

earlier than is usual in the Shan States.

The locality was left on May 22 when the rams had set in.

As many fresh eggs were then being found — and among them eggs

of certain birds not previously obtained — it is probable that they

go on laying throughout June.

The total number of cuckoo’s eggs found in the period of 47

days was 103.

1 Of these, 90 were eggs of C. c. bakeri. The remaining 13 eggs

seem to belong to four different species of cuckoo, and of them,

mention is made at the end of this note.

The eggs of G. c. bakeri being as many as ninety in so short

a period, and in one small area may be considered in more detail

as giving a general idea of this cuckoo’s habits in the Shan States.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Nest of the Burmese Stone Chat ( Saxicola c. burmanica) in a section of

hollow bamboo lying on the ground. 22-4-33.

As above. Nest drawn out to photograph eggs. 3 eggs of the Burmese

Stone Chat and one of the Khasi Hills Cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus bakeri).

Photos by the author ,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

998

The Eggs.

The eggs of C. c. bakeri in this area are not unlike those found

in Kashmir in the nests of Emberiza cia stracheyi, but the resem-

blance to the eggs of the fosterer here in the Shan States ( Saxicola

caprata burmanica) is more marked. They are of two distinct

types : —

1. The commoner has the ground colour pinkish, or yel-

lowish white — freely marked with flecks and spots of dull light red

— mostly at the larger end, and tending to form a zone.

The markings are not, however, very distinct, and the general

appearance of most eggs is of soft and suffused colour.

No eggs of this type were found showing any tinge of greenish,

or blue, in the ground colour.

Of 90 eggs all but 14 were of this type — including 4 eggs which

were so pale as to be almost uniform white.

2. Immaculate, pale blue eggs.

Out of the 90, 14 were like this, one only showed traces of

marking.

The eggs varied greatly in size. Some were very large, and

but slightly under the maxima measurements given in the Fauna,

vol. iv.

One egg was well zoned at the wrong end. Two were heavily

and darkly zoned — laid presumably by the same bird.

One egg was very small, but was included as of this species,

having the particular character of C. c. bakeri eggs.

One egg only was found to have an excessively fragile shell.

In no instance were more than two cuckoo’s eggs found in the

same nest; but two cuckoo’s eggs were found in one nest on

three occasions — and in each nest the two eggs (as is to be ex-

pected) appeared to be the produce of two' different birds.

Fosterers.

In these States the Burmese Stone Chat ( Saxicola caprata bur-

manica) is the usual fosterer for cuckoos laying the common type

of egg, and the Eastern Bark Grey Bush-Chat ( Oreicola ferrea

haringtoni) for those laying the blue egg.

For these 90 eggs the fosterers were as follows : —

Saxicola caprata burmanica ... 74

Oreicola ferrea haringto7ii ... 12

Melophus melanicterus ... 3

Suya s. superciliaris ... 1

Total ... 90

It may be noticed that of the 14 blue eggs, all except two

were laid in nests of the Bark Grey Bush Chat, to the eggs of

which they are perfectly adapted except for size. Of the remaining

two, one showed traces of red marking and was found in the nest

of a Stone Chat (could this be the egg of a cuckoo deviating from

the ancestral habit of victimising the Bark Grey Bush Chat, laying

999 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

an immaculate blue egg and now in process of adapting itself as

a parasite on the Stone Chat which is a far more common bird

in this part?) The other was found in the nest of Suya s. super-

ciliaris the eggs of which have bluish ground colour.

The only other species of bird which I have noticed (in a pre-

vious year) victimised by this cuckoo in the Shan States is the

Indian Pipit, although a number of possible fosterers abound such

as the Bulbuls, Burmese Shrike, Suyas, Spotted and Yellow-eyed

Babblers, etc. etc,

The eggs are well adapted to the Stone Chat’s eggs and are

zoned, but the greenish-bluish ground colour of the Chat’s egg is

not present in any egg seen.

Habits.

In these States the cuckoos leave the hills for the plains and

wide valleys in the winteir. None were seen on the hills ijn

January and February. Numbers came up in March and started

calling about the middle of that month.

It is possible that the attentions of the cuckoo are not so re-

sented by the fosterer as has been made out. Perhaps they are

flattered by it. A Stone Chat was seen deliberately to seek out

a cuckoo and sit beside it, showing the greatest interest, going and

returning several times while the cuckoo appeared to be in a

sleepy trance.

The male cuckoo seems to assist in the finding of suitable nests

for his mate, otherwise it is hard to account for their persistent

watching of the terrain. A male cuckoo (a calling bird) was seen

to fly deliberately down to a very well concealed chat’s nest and

inspect it. This nest was in a, deep hole and it would have been

very difficult for a cuckoo to have got in and reached the nest

with her head. As a matter of fact no cuckoo laid in it — and

probably for that reason. His interest could not have been in

any way a parental one, since it contained only the chat’s eggs,

and the only explanation is that he set out to find it in order to

show it to his mate to gain her affections.

Nearly all these Stone Chat’s nests are placed in holes and

narrow little places under clods of earth and wedged in among

rocks etc. where it is difficult to get one’s hand in; so that it

would appear impossible for a cuckoo to get her egg in by laying

it in direct. The egg must be introduced into the nest by the

head. A photograph of a chat’s nest in such an awkward posi-

tion— in a section of bamboo lying on open ground — and from

which I took a cuckoo’s egg is reproduced to illustrate this. In

this nest I could not get my hand in to reach the eggs but had

to draw the nest out to the entrance with two fingers to obtain

them. The instance of another cuckoo’s egg found in a nest of

Suya supetciliaris has been mentioned. It is ridiculous to suppose

such nests are laid directly into — it is quite impossible.

Most likely the cuckoo conveys her egg to the chosen nest in

her throat, having laid it previously iin a quiet and suitable place.

To carry it to the nest in her beak would be clumsy, and it would

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1000

be at once noticed by crows, etc., and give rise to her pursuit.

It would have also been noticed on many occasions by people

who have so often seen the cuckoo fly away from the fosterer’s

nest with one of the fosterer’s eggs in her beak (a Toungyo saw

this with me this year). Nor is it likely that the egg is laid just

outside the fosterer’s nest, for the place is rarely flat and suitable,

and the cuckoo would be liable to interruption during this process.

Again it would be clumsy, and Nature is rarely clumsy. On the

other hand one would expect if the egg had been regurgitated, to

find it slimy and sticky. But such is not the case. Two cuckoo’s

eggs were obtained immediately after the cuckoo had flown away

from the nest — still warm! but they were quite clean and dry.

So the mystery deepens — and we can but try again.

One cuckoo’s egg was brought to me by a small boy with

another egg in appearance very like an English robin’s egg (no —

not a Forktail’s!). Both these eggs he said he found together

lying on the top of a tree stump a few feet up, but in no kind of

nest — just lying on the bare wood. Both eggs were fresh.

A small pale egg laid by a certain cuckoo ( ? her first season)

was found on four occasions lying 3-8 inches outside the chat’s

nest. These nests were no more difficult of access than other

chat’s nests in which cuckoo’s eggs had been found. It appears

to have been the habit of a certain cuckoo — and' a bad habit.

To conclude with a mention of the remaining 13 cuckoos’ eggs

which seem to belong to four different species of parasitic cuckoos.

1. A brightly coloured pink and yellowish egg — the colouring

of which reminds one of eggs of the Yellow-eyed Babbler : but

the markings remind one of eggs of the Blackcap. These eggs are

seven, and were found in a variety of fosterer’s nests. The eggs

measure approximately 21 by 14.8 mm.

Two in nests of the Shan Scimitar Babbler.

One in a nest of Salvador’s Scimitar Babbler.

One in a nest of the Indian Pipit.

One in a nest of the Burmese Wren Warbler.

One in a nest of the Crested Bunting.

One in the nest of the Yellow-eyed Babbler.

I do not yet know to which species they belong. The Hima-

layan Cuckoo was not seen or heard. I have not noticed it in

the Shan States.

2. A cuckoo’s egg found in a nest of Suya crinigera to the

eggs of which it bears some resemblance. It is larger and broader

than any eggs of the Plaintive Cuckoo I have seen. The ground

colour is a dark, warm biscuit colour and it has a suffused darker

zone. It measures 19 by 14 mm.

? an egg of the Bay-banded Cuckoo. These birds were on the

hill.

3. Four eggs of the Burmese Plaintive Cuckoo. It is curious

that though this bird begins to call early in February a month

before G. c. baheri, it does not appear to lay till the rains have

set in, i.e., till the end of May. It is the same in the Chin Hills,

1001 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fol. XXXFI

where their eggs may be found in nests of Austen’s Hill Warbler

during July.

Of these four eggs two were found in one nest — in a nest of

Suya superciliaris. One egg was a long bluish egg well marked,

and the other a pinkish white egg also nicely marked. The third

egg was found in a nest of Franklin’s Wren Warbler, and the

fourth in a nest of a species unknown to me (the egg is about

the size and appearance of Suya superciliaris but very short and

capped with red and is said to have been found in a cup nest

placed in the outer twigs of a tree.)

4. A deeply coloured green-blue egg, unmarked, measures

approximately 21 by 16 mm.

Found in a Yellow-eyed Babbler’s nest.

Yaungwhe, T. R. LIYESEY.

S. Shan States,

Burma.

June 1, 1933.

X.— NIDIFICATION OF THE GIANT NUTHATCH

(. SITTA MAGNA WARDL. -RAMSEY).

(With a\ block).

Nothing seems to have been recorded about the nesting of this

magnificent Nuthatch. It is not uncommon in some localities of

the Southern Shan States between 4,000 and 6,000 ft. It has a

variety of loud notes, and the bold flight of a woodpecker, and

country flying from one small tree to the next, and heard it utter

then a curious cry like some mammal’s. At other times I have

noticed it flying boldly and direct with the dipping flight of a

woodpecker through forest from one big tree to another uttering

a call not unlike that of the smaller pied woodpeckers.

The Giant Nuthatch is well named, for he is three times the

size of an ordinary nuthatch, and a bold bird that will come to

see the intruder sitting generally upsidedown on the tree trunk

to do so. Not so restless as the smaller nuthatches, it is not a

difficult bird to watch. One of the call notes is a clear flutelike

pipe, followed by a loud and harsh Get-it-up, — get-it-up — get-

it-up ’ .

I found the nest this year on April 4, but it contained three

half -fledged young ones. It was situated in a natural hole in a

tree trunk some seven feet up off the ground. The hole had been

rounded off slightly by the parent bird, I suppose, and opened

skywards. There was no sign of any mud plastering. Evidently

the nuthatch thought it would get its brood off before the rains

came. From this it may be concluded that it is an early breeder

and lays early in March.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1002

The young appeared to be resting on a pad of nesting material

such as nuthatches use, and were about nine inches down the

Nesting site of the G-iant Nuthatch (Sitta magna .Ward!. -Ramsey).

hole. The entrance being barely large enough to admit the parent

birds did not give me much chance of observing the young, and

I was unwilling to open it out and disturb them. The whole

time the parent bird was hanging upsidedown a few feet away

and calling its anxiety.

I had to content myself with a photograph of the nesting hole.

Returning a fortnight later after the young had flown I could

make out a few fragments of the egg shells but these were scarcely

large enough to be of any use.

Others were searched for but the season was too far advanced

to give hopes of success.

Yaungwhe,

S. Shan States, T. R. LIVESEY.

Burma.

June 1, 1933.

XI.—1 THE BROWN HAWK-OWL ( NINOX SCUTULATA

RAFFLES) FEEDING ON BATS.

During my stay in the Naga Hills, Assam (1930), I secured a

specimen of the Brown Hawk-Owl (A. scutulata). This bird was

quite plentiful, coming out at dusk. The flight is somewhat

rapid and jerky, but when going to its perch it would plane down

15

1003 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

from a height. From time to time, the bird would make short

flights from a tree and return to it or to another. After watching

the bird for some time I was convinced that it was after bats

that were about at the time. The specimen in question had

caught a Pipistrel and was eating it when I shot it, which con-

firmed my suspicions.

Stuart Baker ( F.B.I. , Birds, vol. iv, p. 456) records the fol-

lowing with regard to the food of this owl: — ‘Their food is more

exclusively insectivorous than most owls but they occasionally also

feed on mice, small birds, frogs and lizards and I have once

found the remains of a small grass-snake in a nest.’

It is surprising to find that this bird is able to catch such fast

fliers as the Pipistrels on the wing, as the flight of the latter is

very rapid and jerky. The birds when catching the bats go

through all possible evolutions in the air but owing to the feeble

light it was difficult to follow the whole process.

Bombay Natural History Society, C. McCANN,

Bombay. Assistant Cura'tor.

August 14, 1933.

XII.— THE NESTING ON THE SHAHIN FALCON

(FALCO PEREGRINU8 ) ON A TBEE.

Six years ago I was following the tracks of an old solitary

Bison in the States of Karenni in Burma. Passing along the

crest of a hill about 3,000 ft. in elevation and about four miles

east of the Salween river a pair of ‘Peregrine’ falcons attracted

my attention. The female — a magnificent bird — kept sailing

backward and forwards before me. I noticed how dark she was

— the upper plumage almost black, and the deep black of the

sides of the head seemed to me more extensive than usual. She

had her nest there at the top of a pine tree, and by climbing

above it I was able to look into the nest and could see 3 or 4

nestlings in play down within it. The date would be about April

10.

In the Fauna of British India, 2nd edn. — two birds of this type

are described from the Indian region — Falco peregrinus calidus

Lath. — the Eastern Peregrine — and Falco peregrinus peregrinator

Sund. — the Shahin. The former is not recorded as breeding in

the Indian region, and is generally a paler bird than the Shahin.

The Shahin breeds in India, etc. and is a dark bird. It has not

been recorded as nesting on trees, however, and so this record

is of interest.

It struck me that it was its own nest, and not an old one of

another species used, as there were no crows or kites about that

locality, and it appeared to be a well founded and new nest.

A pair of these fine falcons’ nest on a precipice near where I

am writing this — on the mountain range on which Taunggyi stands

in the S. Shan States. It is at about 6,000 ft. These feed on the

Inle Lake 4,000 ft. below — killing Pintail and Garganey Teal.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1004

On the lake they may be seen sometimes searching for prey

when it is almost dark. They never seem to attack the flocks of

the Lesser Whistling-Teal, however, — I fancy because these little

ducks are extraordinarily clever — or is it for the same reason I let

them off myself — as bad meat?

Yaungwhe,

S. Shan States, Burma. T. R. LIVESEY.

April 14, 1933.

XIII.— RIDING DOWN PARTRIDGES.

A common way of catching the ordinary Grey Partridge here

is to chase them on ponies or with dogs. They fly from 2 to 4

times and are then completely ‘done in’ and can be picked up by

hand from the ground or bush into which they have run. I know

of no other bird which can be caught in this manner and should

be much obliged if you could tell me if this is a peculiarity of the

partridge and is due to some special formation or lack of forma-

tion, of their lungs or chest.

Jodhpur,

Rajputana. J. H. STIRLING.

May 9, 1933.

[Partridges, like other Gallinae, a family which includes all

the true land Games Birds from megapodes to quail, have strong

well built legs, well fitted to progress over ground. But with

the rather short, rounded wings, characteristic in all these birds,

they are ill adapted to long and sustained effort in flight. Abel

Chapman in his ‘Retrospect’ refers to a similar method of driving-

partridges on the Coto Donana in Spain. They are driven by

horsemen through scrub and brushwood into water logged marsh-

land and, having no line of escape between the ‘devil and the

deep’, make stupendous efforts to fly ever higher and higher out

of reach of the guns. Those which succeed are usually incapable

of further movement and can be picked up by hand. ‘Yet’ con-

cludes Chapman ‘they could barely have covered a mile’s distance

after all’. — Eds.].

XIV.— HATCHING OF PARTRIDGE EGGS EXPOSED ON

A TABLE.

I am writing on a subject in which I thought perhaps your

Society might be interested. On Sunday morning last, 21st in-

stant, six partridges’ eggs were brought in and handed over to a

poultry enthusiast, thinking they might be hatched and reared.

The latter laid them on his table, in his apartment (quite

1005 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXX VI

openly) and this morning (Friday) lie was surprised to find that

all the eggs had hatched during the night and the small birds

chirping away.

This may not be unusual, but it struck me as being quite un-

natural, as a great deal of trouble is essential to rear such birds

in England.

2nd. Bn., The Essex RegHent, G. GRIMES.

Nasirabad, Rajput ana.

May 26, 1933.

[With regard to the above note there does not appear to be

anything very exceptional when we consider the temperature of

Nasirabad (Rajputana) during the month of May and also that

the eggs were near hatching. Exposure under such conditions

would not be sufficient to chill the eggs to such an extent as to

kill the life of the embryos. — Eds.].

XV.— EARLY ARRIVAL OF SNIPE IN THE ANDAMANS.

Under the above caption in the Journal dated the 15th April

1933, Mr. J. Miles Stapleton, I.C.S. — Deputy Commissioner of

Port Blair, has written a small note. He states that he shot a

couple of snipe on the 28th August 1932.

For five years I always got my first couple of brace on the

3rd September; but in the middle of August I always looked over

a few well known sites, and invariably found the birds already

there.

I should, however, like to mention one fact which may possibly

not be known to Mr. Miles Stapleton and a good many more in

Port Blair. There are a few places where snipe remain practically

all the year round. I say practically, because I have seen them

as late as the 10th April and as early as the 25th July. The

places to look for them are the Dover Gardens at Haddo; around

the tank below the cane fields at Haddo (this is a very sheltered

place below the Jailor’s Bungalow); at an oozy green patch along

the borders of the rice field, near the bamboo clumps at the top

end of Brigade Creek and at Manpur.

I have also on one occasion found a couple in the forest on the

right hand side of the road going to Naia Shair from Sipi Ghat.

It would be most interesting to know where these birds go to

from the middle of April to the end of July. Personally, I am

of opinion that they do not leave the Andamans. April and the

first half of May are pretty hot and dry months in Port Blair,

but by the 19th of May the monsoon invariably breaks.

By the first week in September the birds are fairly plentiful

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1006

all over, but these are birds that have migrated and they will be

found to be in poor condition.

I was very pleased to note that Mr. Miles Stapleton mentions

that the birds he shot on the 28th August 1932 were ‘in excellent

condition’, for this goes to support my theory that some snipe do

permanently remain in the Andamans.

I have had some very interesting experiences with snipe in

Port Blair. On one occasion (16th March 1926) I went out to

a place called Chauldari. The paddy had been cut but not all

removed from the field. At one place I put up no less than seven

fine fat snipe. A right and left took toll of two, while the re-

maining five went over a hedge right into the middle of a sugar-

cane field five and a half feet high, Now everybody knows that a

dense sugarcane field does not afford the open space necessary

for the spring or ‘take off’ of a snipe before he is in flight proper.

When I entered this patch of cane and finally flushed the birds

they rose with a fluttering — unavoidable and obvious — similar to

that made by a partridge taking flight from a bush. On another

occasion I came upon snipe in forest on the road to Naia Shair

1 had entered the forest to a depth of about 50 yards; I had really

gone in to bag an Imperial Pigeon, — when I flushed these birds.

In passing I would like to mention that by the end of the

first week in September snipe are fairly plentiful in the Sipi

Ghat Valley, but most of these are migrant birds judging from

their condition. On the 8th September 1927, Hennessey, the

Senior Medical Officer, Slack, the Deputy Commissioner, and my-

self shot over just one field here from 4-30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and

our total bag was 12| couple, but shooting in this valley is most

exhausting because of the difficult going through the rice fields,

and the excessive heat.

Protherapore is undoubtedly the best snipe ground in Port

Blair, for many reasons. Although it is a small area, it is easy

of access — a pleasant drive along a well kept metal road, easy

going through the fields, and good light for shooting. But the

birds never remain in any numbers here for more than 36 hours

or so, and so as soon as one has got ‘Khabbar’ of their arrival,

it is necessary to get down to the spot with the least possible delay.

One evening on my own I bagged 18J couple here in about a

2 hours’ casual shoot.

I have never adopted the habit of some Shikaris of combing

the ground thoroughly up and down several times, no matter how

tempting the field or oozy the patch, if it has no snipe. I remem-

ber one afternoon, I was out with a Forest Officer named Bonington

and, after our shoot, we sat down on the grassy slope near the

Geracharama Police Post, about 50 yards from a buffalo wallow.

Suddenly we heard the sharp whistle of a snipe from this buffalo

wallow, and a few seconds later three snipe dropped down there.

Apparently the sound of the whistle carried up to the snipe that

were flying over, on the other hand, the note can be heard for

a considerable distance in the case of birds flying 100 or 150 yards

up in the air, from where of course the sound would be well

deflected and diffused.

1007 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

Another rather remarkable trait I noticed in snipe was that

they often flew away from the ‘snipe ground’ into the patches

of ‘touch me not’ ( Mimosa ) plants that are spreading all over

Haddo and Jungley Ghat. I think one can again trace a very

good reason for this, namely protection from the wily Shikari.

The little pricks one gets from these plants cause a feeling of dis-

comfort and lead to little ulcers, so that no one who can possibly

avoid it cares to tramp through a Mimosa patch.

There are many good grounds in the Settlement, of Port Blair,

where good bags can be made, for instance, the old lime gardens

and the rice fields at Mamonagar. Here one forenoon with Col.

Ferrar, the Chief Commissioner and a young District Officer we

made a bag of 46 in about half an hour, but the going here is

very tiring. In the soft slimy mud in the rice fields you sink very

nearly up to the knees at every step.

With a couple of good shots, and, going over two or three known

areas, a bag of a hundred snipe or more could be made any after-

noon. But again I must mention that on the receipt of news

that there are snipe in certain fields, you must go out immedi-

ately for the birds are constantly moving on.

Behind the butts of the rifle range, I have twice put up and

shot the Great Snipe ( Gallinago major) (7J and 7J oz.) and, on

one occasion close to the village in the Anny-Kate Valley * a Swin-

hoe’s snipe. The Pintail ( Gallinago stenura) are certainly the com-

monest to be got, and I have found them the commonest also in

Sind and in Burma.

To digress a little I would like to mention that on two occa-

sions, duck have been found in the Andamans. In April 1922 a

jailor named E. Monin captured a Brahminy Duck ( Casarca rutila)

and in December 1927 I shot a Spot Bill ( Anas poecilorhyncha).

On both these occasions there had been cyclonic weather, so it

is safe to infer that these birds were blown across from India or

Burma. In April 1922 after the cyclone, one morning I saw two

vultures on one of the coconut trees on the Haddo Road. Besides

the Andaman Teal ( Nettion albigulare), the Oceanic Teal ( Nettiom

gibberifrons) and the Common Teal ( Nettiom crecca) are found in

the Andamans. The Smaller Whistling Teal ( Dendrocycna java-

nica) is also an inhabitant of the Islands.

On several occasions I have seen the Yellow pegged or Nicobar

Button Quail (Turnix albiventris ) at Dundas Point.

I think Swamp Partridge ( Francolinus gularis) would thrive

in Port Blair, and also the Chukor on Mount Harriat.

I took a lot of care of the Grey Partridge in the Dover Gardens,

and, though I often saw coveys of from six to nine young ones,

the total adult birds never seemed to increase in proportion, and

the reason I am sure was the depradation of wild cats. I often

wonder what has been the fate of the dozen wild fowl ( Gallus

ferruginous) I imported from Burma and let loose at Haddo.

Medical College, A. BAYLEY-deCASTRO,

Calcutta. Major, i.m.d.

June 10, 1933.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1008

XVI.— OCCURRENCE OF THE SHELDRAKE [ TADORNA

T ADORN A (L.)] IN THE MIANWALI DISTRICT— PUNJAB.

The Sheldrake is an uncommon visitor to the Punjab and it is

therefore of interest to1 record that there were several of these

birds on the Nammal lake at the foot of the Salt Range in the

Mianwali District when I was there in the middle of January this

year. On one occasion I observed five, and on another three,

together on the mud flats at the east end of the lake.

Dandote, H. W. WAITE,

Jhelum District, m.b.o.u.,

Punjab. Indian Police.

April 5, 1933.

XVII.— THE OCCURRENCE OF THE MALLARD (ANAS

PLATYRHYNCHA LINN.) AT TAUNGGYI, BURMA.

As Stuart Baker in his work, Ducks and their Allies, vol. i,

p. 152, notes but few instances of the occurrence of this species

in Burma, it is interesting to record that two, a male and a

female, were shot on the 13th of this month, within two! to three

hundred yards of the road between Yawnghwe and Fort Stedman,

by a resident of Taunggyi, Major Rodriguez, late of the Medical

Service- — they were quite alone in shallow water.

In all my wanderings in the Shan States, I have never come

across this bird, although I have heard that many years ago an

officer stationed with his regiment at Kengtung bagged one or two.

The drake weighed 2 lbs. 14 oz. and the duck 3 lbs. 2 oz. She

had about a dozen eggs, and judging by the size of the biggest of

them, she would have been laying within a short time.

Were they going to settle and breed in these parts?

Taunggyi, S. St. C. LIGHTFOOT.

S. Shan States, Burma.

April 28, 1933.

XVIII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE BAIKAL OR CLUCKING

TEAL ( NETTION FORMOSUM [GEORGI] AT KATIHAR,

BENGAL,

I would like to record that while out duck shooting at Katihar

(Purnea District) on the 2nd April 1933 Mr. Bruse, a friend of

mine shot and winged a Clucking Teal drake ( Nettion formosum).

As it was only slightly winged he put it in his tealery, where it

seemed to be doing quite well.

Both Mr. Bruse and myself have shot in the Purnea and Mon-

ghyr districts for the last 20 years, but never before have we come

1009 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

across this bird. There were plenty of Garganey Teal on the Jheel

also a batch of Widgeon, I shot one of the latter. Is it not rather

late in the season for Widgeon?

Tire identification of the Clucking" Teal was from Frank Finn’s

Indian Sporting Birds on page 19 of which there is a very good

plate of the bird.

Paksey, Pabna District,

Bengal. P. MURPHY.

April 6, 1933.

XIX.— A TOAD ( BUFO MELANO ST ICTUS) SWALLOWING

A BRONZE-BACKED TREE SNAKE ( DENDROPHIS

PICT US).

The popular belief is that snakes eat frogs and toads. Though,

of course, snakes consume other food as well, this belief is true

enough to have become traditional. At any rate we may say that

the snake is the mortal enemy of the frog, and most of us have

had occular demonstration of this truth. We know that snakes

enter bath-rooms and other damp places in search of frogs, and

readily take to water in pursuit of them. No one who has ever

heard it can forget the terrified scream of a frog when seized by

a snake. It sounds so human and uncanny, that I think it is

impossible to hear it unmoved, when one recognises what it is.

I confess that I have often found myself compelled to rescue the

poor little victim from its terrible fate. This is not difficult to do,

because a snake, unless it is a very large one, always captures a

frog by one of its hind legs, and swallows it slowly in this position,

so that the wretched little creature has plenty of time to call for

help, and can easily be located.

One’s sympathies thus being always with the frog, it was with

great glee that I once watched the tables turned. I was living in

a tent in a compound in Madras, One day, I discovered that 1

was sharing it with an enormous toad ( Bufo melanostictus), the

biggest I think, I ever saw (it measured a shade over 6 ins. from

snout to tail). We soon made friends, and in a day or two it

was hopping about around my feet picking up insects, quite un-

concerned by my presence. I was watching it one morning in its

favourite corner, partly hidden with straw, when I became aware

of a snake ( Dendrophis pictus) about 3 ft. in length, moving

along slowly in the angle at the foot of the wall. If it continued

its course it could not avoid running into the toad, so the situ-

ation became exciting. When the snake was 3 or 4 feet away the

toad saw it, and at once put itself into a ‘fighting’ attitude. The

snake was apparently not yet aware of its enemy’s proximity, and

had approached to within about a foot, when, with a startling

suddenness that made me ‘jump’, the toad leapt forward and

seized the snake by the neck, sideways, and just below the head.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1010

with a bull-dog grip which never relaxed all through the struggle

that followed. The snake made desparate efforts to free itself

from its assailant but altogether failed, and after 5 or 6 minutes

appeared to become utterly exhausted. The toad then with an-

other sudden movement took the head of the snake, which was

still alive, into its mouth and began to swallow it. The fight seem-

ed over, and the toad had won. But at this point I could bear

it no longer. A gentle tap on the toad’s back induced it to eject

the snake, which without delay turned and rapidly disappeared,

apparently none the worse for its adventure!

There can be no doubt that the toad intended to swallow the

snake, but though Dendrophis belongs to a slender family, 8 feet

of it would seem to be beyond the capacity of even a very large

toad. On the other hand, one often sees toads swollen to more

than double their normal size after feasting on a swarm of ter-

mites.

But, however that may be, the interesting point is that, revers-

ing all tradition, the toad was eating the snake !

Fischer’s Gardens,

'Madura, S. India.

May 28, 1938.

[Toads and frogs eat any creature they can overpower — scaled,

furred or feathered. We have seen a large bull-frog with his

mouth crammed full of newly hatched water snakes. The Emperor

Akbar, we are told, kept bull-frogs, wdiich were trained to capture

sparrows! Eds.]

XX.— SOCIAL LIFE OF SNAKES.

With reference to the article on the ‘Social Life of Snakes’ by

Mr. S. H, Prater ( Journ . B.N.H.8., vol. xxxvi, p. 469), I do

not know if the following incident has got any bearing on the

subject and I should like to know what you think of it.

It happened some years back, though the whole incident is

vividly engraved on my memory. The time was an evening in

midsummer. The place was a country lane about 15 ft. wide

banked high on, both sides with thorn bushes. A snake, about 3

to 4 ft. long, was seen dragging another snake — apparently dead

— across the road. A crowd of children had collected at a res-

pectable distance. The snake, which was jet black, was hampered

in its progress by the deep ruts and was constantly disturbed by

passing cattle and bullock-carts. The snake was unmindful of

the surroundings though the traffic was continuous. It was intent

on getting the dead snake across the road. Once while trying to

go through the thick hedge on one side, the inert snake was

caught fast. When every effort to free it was frustrated, the live

snake went in search of another opening. Finding a suitable

passage, it came back for its load and again dragged it through

the hedge. It was getting dark and hence I cannot say what

happened afterwards. Whence it came with its load nobody in

R. FOULIvES,

O.B.E., M.L.C.

1011 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

the crowd knew. But this much is certain; the snake underwent

great risk of being crushed under the feet of passing cattle and

was not scared away by the brick bats thrown by the crowd. They

said it was a Q cobra, dragging her mate. They could nob have

been in copula because I saw the live one separated from the

inert snake at least twice.

Can you offer any explanation for this strange behaviour of the

reptile ?

Ahmedabad. HARI NARAYAN ACHARYA.

May 24, 1933.

[It is difficult to explain the incident. We suggest the attrac-

tion of a prospective meal. Cannibalism is frequent in snakes. —

Eds.].

XXI.— FISHING AROUND AHMEDABAD.

The remark ‘Near the village of Wassin-Baroda, 34 miles from

Ahmedabad, along the Kaira Road, some of the finest fishing in

India is available in the, Subermati River’ (J.B .N.H.S., xxxvi, 34)

is highly complementary to North Gujarat. It appears that the

river meant by the authors of this excellent article is the Watrak

River and not Sabarmati (nor Subermati) as the ‘village Wassin-

Baroda’ (in fact, they are two separate villages, situated on oppo-

site banks, Wassin, a British village and Baroda, owned by a

petty chieftain) is on the banks of the Watrak, whose confluence

with the Sabramati is about two miles away.

The Watrak does possess really big fish and plenty of them,

though it is mainly famous for crocodiles. In a morning’s walk,

you come across a dozen or more of these reptiles, their snouts

peeping out of water, and some basking in the sunshine. They

are hunted practically all the year round and specimens of 13 to

15 ft. are not unknown.

Ahmedabad,

N. Gujarat.

March 29, 1933.

XXII.— ‘BUTTERFLIES OF LAHORE’.

I have read Brigadier W. H. Evan’s comment on my reply

to his original note on my paper on the ‘Butterflies of Lahore’

(Bulletin of the Department of Zoology, Punjab University, vol. i,

pp. 1-61, pi. i-iv, April, 1931) published in the Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society, vol. xxxv, No. 4, dated 15th

July, 1932. I would once more emphasize the fact that only one

specimen each of the four species under discussion was collected

by me from Lahore. It is not certain whether those species occur

in a wild state in Lahore, or the specimens I collected had been

imported from elsewhere.

HARI NARAYAN ACHARYA,

F.Z.S.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1012

According to Brigadier Evans ‘Mr. Antram’s record of Melitaea

didyma from the Punjab is certainly incorrect’. I may point out

that the above species has been recorded from the Punjab by

Bingham also ( Fauna of British India, Butterflies, vol. i, 1905,

p. 454).

Brigadier Evan’s remark that the species which Mr. Rhe-

Philipe missed from Lahore and which were subsequently collected

by me ‘have doubtless existed there for centuries’ seems to imply

that the butterfly fauna of a locality does not undergo any change.

Such an assumption would not be in accordance with observed

facts.

Government College, D. R. PURI.

Lahore.

December 5, 1982.

XXIII.— NOTE ON THE SAWFLY ARGE PAGANA , PAMZ

YAR VICTORINA. KIRBY.

(With three text-figures).

This black Sawfly with a yellow thorax has been doing a lot

of damage to my rose trees. It was a long time before I discovered

the cause of numerous slits and scars on the underside of the

young shoots. A short time ago> 1 was lucky enough to find one

in action. It attaches itself, head downwards, on the underside

of a young shoot and inserts its ovipositor, working gradually

down, making a fine slit, laying its eggs at the same time inside

the slit in herring bone pattern. The slits are about f of an inch

Fig. 1 represents the insect depositing her eggs.

Fig. 2 represents the freshly made incision.

Fig. 3 represents the incision when the eggs are mature.

long and the process takes about 20 minutes. As the eggs mature,

the slit opens until it is a gaping wound, the eggs hatch out in 12

1013 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

or 13 days into minute yellowy green caterpillars with black

heads, about a dozen out of one slit. They attach themselves

under the tender leaves and rapidly strip a whole branch, if not

detected, The shoot usually snaps off owing to the slit and the

caterpillars finish the leaves that are left. I have had many rose

trees' stripped by this pest.

British Legation, Mrs. C. H. SMITH.

Nepal.

June 26, 1933.

XXIV.—1 THE FORM OF COLIAS HYALE, L. OCCURRING

AT AMRITSAR.

When reading Mr. D. F. Sander’s note (J .B .N .H .8., xxxiv,

p. 591) I was reminded of some peculiarity in my Amritsar ex-

amples of this species but was unable to recall it exactly.

I have now had the opportunity of re-examining my short series

of six specimens taken in 1925, and find it extremely interesting.

Classification in accordance with Evans’ Identification of Indian

Butterflies is easy. There are: —

A. Two males hyale hyale L. taken 13-4-25.

B. Two males ab. crate, Esp. ( = ativitta , M. : glicia, Fruhs.)

taken 13-4-25.

C. Two females ab. pallida. Stg. taken 22-3-25 and 13-4-25.

Comparison with my French series at once shews that A is not

true hyale hyale, the ground colour of the Amritsar specimens is

of a deeper yellow and the subapical spots of the forewing more

prominent. The two specimens B also have the same deep yellow

ground colour.

Turning to the Indo-Australian section of Seitz’s Macrolepidop-

tera of the World, I find that the two specimens A agree exactly

with the description and figure of the male glicia, Fruhs., the

original description of which is as follows: — ‘ glicia , subsp. nov. is

the not rare and apparently constant form occurring in Kashmir,

which is conspicuous by the continuous, relatively large, yellow

subapical spots on the fore wing and recalls sareptensis, Stg. from

South Russia’, whilst the two specimens C agree with the figure

of the female of glicia, which, however, is not described. The

specimens B agree with the figure and description of /. lativitta,

Moore.

Opinions appear to be divided as to whether erate, Esp., which

Seitz treats as a good species, is really a form of hyale and syno-

nymous with lativitta, Moore or not. There can, however, be no

doubt that glicia, described as having particularly prominent sub-

apical spots on the forewing, must be distinct from both erate

and lativitta, which are distinguished by the absence of the mar-

ginal spots.

Basing myself on the scanty material described above, I am of

the opinion that the usual form of Golias hyale i L. occurring in the

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1014

Amritsar district is subsp. glicia Fruhs. with a large percentage

of the male form ab. lativitta, Moore ( erate , Esp. being treated

as a good species).

XXV.— THE ENEMIES OF DANA.IS CHRYSIPPUS , L.

Dr. F. M. Jones’ very interesting paper on Insect Coloration and

the Relative Acceptability of Insects to Birds (Trans. Ent. Soc.

Lond. lxxx) lays stress on the fact that insects feeding on the Asc-

lepiadaceae are unpalatable, not only to birds, but also to insect

enemies such as ants. The following notes on the enemies of Da-

nais chrysippus , which, in India, feeds on Calotropis procera, one of •

the Asclepiadaceae , may, therefore, be worthy of record.

Firstly as regards internal parasites, I have frequently bred

batches of a Hymenopteron from chrysippus pupae and I have

also bred what appears to be the same species from the Lymantriids,

Dasychira mendosa, Hubn. and Lymantria ampla, Wlk?, the one

feeding on Lagerstroemia and the other on Cassia. The acrid juices

of the Calotropis are, therefore, no deterrent to this parasite which

also attacks larvae feeding on other families of plants.

As regards other enemies, a larva which escaped from the breed-

ing cage was stalked and eaten by a Gecko while climbing the wall

of my room.

The small larvae are very common up to the time that they

are about half an inch long, whilst full grown ones are much more

scarce. In captivity, however, they prove to be very hardy and

deaths are extremely rare. The only possible cause, therefore, for

the comparative scarcity of full grown larvae is the attack of ene-

mies and I am firmly of the opinion that they are preyed on by-

ants and also by Polistes wasps.

Pupae kept in an imperfectly closed box have been attacked and

destroyed by house ants.

I have no records from personal experience of attacks on the

perfect insect, but the following are recorded : —

By lizards and spiders, in Tenerife (G. IT. Gurney, Entomo-

logist, February 1928).

by sparrows in Rajputana (K. A. C. Doig, Proc. Ent. Soc.

Lond., 1929).

by a Gecko at Pusa (T. Bainbrigge Fletcher, Proc. Ent.

Soc. Lond., 1929).

by the Mantid, Hemiempusa sapensis , in Kenya (K. A. C.

Doig, Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1930).

London. D. G. SEVASTOPULO,

July 12, 1933.

London.

D. G. SEVASTOPULO,

July 11, 1933.

F.R.E.S.

1015 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

XXVI.— ON SOME TINGITIDAE FROM SOUTH INDIA

INCLUDING TWO NEW SPECIES ( HEMIPTERA ).

Through the kindness of Dr. T. V. Ramakrishna Ayyar of the

Agricultural Research Institute, Coimbatore, South India, the

writer has received a small collection of lace bugs for identification.

This collection contains six species, two of which are described be-

low as new to science.

Monanthia nilgiriensis Distant.

Coimbatore District, Bailur Forests, November 23-28, 1913, col-

lected by Dr. T. V. Ramakrishna Ayyar; 4 specimens.

Cystoechila delineatus (Distant).

Bangalore, August 26, 1931, on a red-flowered tree; 4 specimens.

Urentius maculatus, n. sp.

Allied to U. chobanti Horvath, but distinguishable by the shape

of the paranota and the biseriate basal portion of costal area of

elytra. Whitish, each elytron with two or three small brown spots.

Head armed with five, moderately long, whitish spines; brown,

with white pubescence. Bucculae brown, contiguous in front, with

long white hairs. Rostral channel wide, open behind; laminae

armed with short spines; rostrum extending between intermediate

coxae. Eyes large, transverse, reddish. Antennae moderately

long, slender, clothed with a few long pale hairs, whitish testa-

ceous, the apical half of last segment embrowned; segments I and

II stout, very short; III, slender, two and a half times as long as

IV, the latter fusiform and swollen distally. Paranota completely

reflexed, extending to the median carina, beset with numerous long-

spines. Lateral carinae short, converging anteriorly. Median ca,ri-

nae well developed, composed of one row of small areolae. Collum

narrowly elevated in the middle in front, there forming a very

small, compressed hood. Elytra extending considerably beyond tip

of abdomen, slightly constricted beyond the middle, armed with

long spines; costal area moderately broad, mostly uniseriate, biseri-

ate in front; areolae hyaline. Margins of elytra, paranota and medi-

an carina armed with long sharp spines. Legs moderately long,

slender, the tarsi embrowned.

Length, 2.29 mm.; width, 1. 30 mm.

Type, female, Sagoda, Purma R., Buldana, Central Provinces,

India, February 9, 1928, N. C. Chatterjee, in collection of author.

Paratypes taken with type, and from S. India — Kistna District,

Mathimuthanagudem, June-August, 1923. The brown spots are

each formed by one or two coloured spines and nervelets.

Phyllonto child ravana Kirkaldy.

N. Malabar, Taliparamba, July-August, 1918, taken by P. S.

Nathan. Feeds on Vitex trifolia.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1016

Leptopharsa ayyari, n. sp.

Pale testaceous, with fuscous markings. Antennae moderately

long, slender; segments I and IX brown, thick, very short; III very

slender, testaceous, enlarged at tip, three times the length of four;

IV brown, considerably swollen, clothed with a few long hairs. Head

brown, with five moderately long spines. Pronotum brown, trian-

gular portion whitish, tricarinate behind; hood large, covering most

of front half of pronotum, scarcely projecting anteriorly, sub globose,

the nervures largely infuscate. Paranota moderately broad, biseri-

ate, slightly reflexed, the areolae moderately large. Elytra con-

srticted beyond the middle, rounded and overlapping behind, nerve-

lets marked with fuscous; costal area irregularly biseriate, with a

more or less distinct band near the middle; sutural area considerably

embrowned; discoidal area impressed, with three areolae at widest

part, extending slightly beyond middle of elytra. Rostrum extend-

ing almost to end of rostral channel.

Length, 2.29 mm.; width, 1.10 mm.

Type, female, S. Arcot, Cuddalore, Madras Presidency, on Jas-

mine, May, 1931, in author’s collection. Paratypes, 13 specimens,

taken with the type. This insect is named in honour of Dr. T. V. R.

Ayyar, Entomologist, of South India. It is very different from any

known species of Leptopharsa , and perhaps should be placed in a

new subgenus. The hood is large, sub globose and extends back a

little behind the middle of the pronotum. The lateral carinae are

parallel, short and terminate at the hind margin of the hood.

Stephanitus typicus Distant.

S. Malabar, January 30, 1916, collected by Dr. Ayyar on leaves

of Plantain (Musa). Known also to feed on Cardamon plants ( Hedy -

chium) and allied Scitaminae.

Ames, Iowa, CARL J. DRAKE.

U.S.A.

May 31, 1933.

XXVII.— A VIVIPAROUS FLY AND A CHAMAELEON.

Recently my chamaeleon caught a large viviparous fly. Soon

after the fly was eaten, I noticed that the reptile showed signs of

great discomfort. It appeared as though it were trying to get rid

of a nasty taste. I also noticed that the fly deposited some of

its larvae in the mouth of the lizard while it was being chewed.

I gave the matter no further thought at the time but a couple

of days later, the chamaeleon appeared very uneasy and one of

its nostrils was oozing, Now and again there appeared a whitish

object from the affected nostril which, on close examination, looked

like a fly maggot. I tried to remove the object with fine forceps

but couid not as it would immediately go in beyond reach. As

this method was useless I attempted an injection of salt water

with a hypodermic syringe. The larva now became uncomfortable

1017 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

(so did the chamaeleon) and, on showing itself, was extracted. The

chamaeleon was none the worse for the operation.

At the time when the larvae were deposited by the fly they

were about two millimetres in length but the one I extracted was

quite a centimetre long. No others appeared at this point. The

larva had apparently entered the nostril through the internal nasal

openings and eaten its way up the nasal passage. From this, it

seems evident that even the consumption of its food may result

in danger to the chamaeleon.

While on the subject it is interesting ta note that large insects

are not easily captured by chamaeleons, only such insects as will

easily adhere to the club-like tongue. A chamaeleon is quite

unable to eat large beetles for example. They invariably drop off

the tongue due to their own weight. Before striking both eyes

must be focussed on the object.

Bombay Natural History Society, C. McCANN,

Bombay. Assistant Curator.

June 8, 1988.

XXVIII.— MOSQUITO SWARMS.

Many observations have been recorded with regard to the

swarming of mosquitoes and gnats. It will be interesting to know

if others confirm the, following observations as to one possible ex-

planation for the swarming of mosquitoes.

I have noticed that the small swarms seen after sunset over

the heads of individuals sitting out, perhaps after a game, of tennis,

are all males. As a rule those wearing dark clothes are picked

out, and the reason for this seems to be that the female mosquitoes

select a dark background where possible to settle for a feed of

blood. When a sudden movement of the victim disturbs a gorged

or partly gorged female, she flies up rather clumsily and is im-

mediately pursued by one or more of the males in the swarmy and

sexual union may be seen to occur in the air, or the successful

male flies away to some neighbouring shrub clasped to its mate.

If this observation is correct, and I have observed it happening

on various occasions, it explains one reason for the swarm, why

they are all males, and why they prefer darting about above the

head of an individual clothed in dark raiment. Attempts are

being made to introduce a mosquito trap by reproducing by elec-

trical means a buzzing sound which will attract mosquitoes. If

the above theory is correct, the buzzing sound produced by a

swarm of male mosquitoes might be copied with success and

attract both male and female mosquitoes.

8, Heneker Drive,

Colaba, Bombay. F. P. CONNOR,

April 8, 1988. Col., i.M.s.

Journ

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

SOLENOPSIS GEMINATA EUFA, Jerdon.

1. Worker minor, dorsal view x20.

2. Worker major (soldier) general outline, dorsal view x20.

a — antenna,

md. — mandibles,

n — nest,

p — waist.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1018

XXIX.— RHYTHMIC SOUND PRODUCED BY TERMITES

AT WORK.

Is it generally known that the work done at night by termites

is carried out with a regular rhythm ? When I accompanied the

well-known naturalist, the late Dr. N. Annandale, during his re-

searches on ants and termites in the island of Barkuda in the

Chilka Lake, I called his attention to the characteristic rhythmic

sound produced by thousands of termites biting dry leaves during

the early hours of the night. The pucca platform or ‘chabootra’

on which our camp beds were placed was covered with dry leaves

and these were being eaten by termites. The sound produced bv

their multitudinous bites in unison resembled that of thousands of

pins pricking parchment or dry leaves simultaneously, and this

occurred in a regular rhythm reminding one of the timing of the

rhythmic flash of swarms of fireflies on a dark night, so beautifully

seen in the Terai districts after the rains.

This rhythmic sound can only be heard on an intensely quiet

night and even then one must listen carefully. When once heard

it is unmistakable and quite impressive in its way — a graphic

record of great industry and perfect team work.

April 8, 1983.

XXX.— THE SMALL RED ANT SOLENOPSIS GEM IN AT A

sub. sp. RUFA, JERDON, AND ITS USEFULNESS TO MAN.1

The ant is widely distributed in the province of Bihar and Orissa

and is also reported to occur in abundance nearly all over the

tropics of both hemispheres. But in spite of its wide occurrence

and use to man in more than one way, very little is known of its

activities beyond its notorious bite.

In the course of my investigations from the year 1928 to 1930,

I have found that the ant collects and destroys : —

(1) The lac predators and parasites in the field as well as

in the lac godowns.

(2) The termites (white ants).

(3) The bed bugs.

The ant, therefore, can be used in a practical way to get rid

of the aforesaid insects in the manner discussed in this note.

The ant may be recognised by the following' characters : —

(1) The waist is two jointed in all the sexes.

(2) The worker minor (PL, fig. 1) is dark reddish yellow in

colour.

1 This note is the modified form of the paper read at the eighteenth session

of the Indian Science Congress, 1931.

16

3, Heneker Drive,

Colaba, Bombay.

F. P. CONNOR,

Col.. I.M.S.

(With a plate and a block.)

1019 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

(3) The antennae (feelers) are 10 jointed in the worker

minor.

(4) The worker minor measures from one-eightli to one-fifth

of an inch.

(4a) The worker major (PL, fig, 2) is from one-fourth to

one- third of an inch in length,

Nesting site of the Small Red Ant (S. geminata sub. sp. nifa Jerdon). The

black dots show entrances to' the nest.

(5) The nest (see photo) is generally situated under a tree

or in the open field or at the base of the outer walls of houses. On

the surface of the nest fine excavated earth is found heaped with

a number of small round holes or holes of other shapes in it. The

nature of the soil affects the appearance of the nest, e.g. in the

rains the heap of excavated earth may not be prominent and the

holes are seen in loose earth only.

(6) The ant guards its nest very cautiously and the intruder

is attacked by a number of workers, each inflicting a very painful

sting. The ant catches and holds the skin of the intruder with

its mandibles, curls its body and thrusts the sting into the skin

near the place held by its mandibles.

To check the activities of these ants the colonies should be

collected and used as follows : —

La\c predators and parasites. — If the ant be absent in the

vicinity of lac godowns, it should be brought' in empty baskets or

kerosene tins with loose earth from its nest. The earth should be

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

1020

heaped in a comer of the godown or in a place nearby to give

the ant easy access to the lac. If the colonies are collected from

more than one nest they should be kept separately. The ants

will first make a nesf and then attends to lac.

To make the best use of the ant, the cultivator should scrape

all the lac, except the portion to be used as brood, soon after reap-

ing from the field. The same should be done with the lac used as

brood after its removal from the trees. The lac should then be

spread in the godown. This prompt scraping will by itself kill a

good number of the enemies of the lac insect, and a large majority

of the enemies that have been exposed during scraping will be

removed by the ant, which avoids the lac and dead or crushed lac

insects but assiduously removes the exposed and partly exposed

stages of the lac predator, parasites and scavengers. By doing so,

it saves a fairly good portion of the stored lac from the damage by

the predatory larvae and beetles, which feed on the stick lac and

prevents a large number of the enemies of the lac insects from reach-

ing the adult stage. These otherwise would infest the lac crop

in the neighbouring fields. The ant, therefore, along with the

other ants, might profitably be used for the control of predators

and parasites of the lac insect in lac godowns from the time the

crop is reaped to the time the stick lac is converted into seed lac.

The other household ant which is almost equally useful in

removing the various stages of the lac enemies from stored lac is

the common small black ant Iriclomyrmex i anceps, Roger. Its bile

is not painful.

Termites (white ants) : — The colonies of the ant- should be

brought as stated previously and let loose in the field. The white

ant passage-ways should be exposed occasionally: by turning over

the soil at the surface to a depth of about two inches, and the

termitaries should be dug up. This exposes the termites to the

ant which picks them up very quickly, as they offer little resistance

and carries them to its nest. I have tried and found the ant a

successful check against termites in my kitchen garden, and at

my suggestion Mr. P. M. Glover, the Entomologist at the Institute,

tried it in his flower garden. He has recorded a summary of

these observations in A Practical Manual of Lac Cultivation 1931.

It has also been used to circumvent the activities of termites in

the Namkum plantation. However, in localities where termite

nests are too deep and abundant it would be more economic to kill

the queens and workers in the nests by fumigation.

In addition t*o the ant S. geminata sub. sp. tufa there are

several other species of ants which attack termites at Namkum.

The most efficient of these is a black ant Lobopelta ocellifera, Roger

of the sub-family Ponerinae.

Bed Bugs. — Boiling water should be poured over infested fur-

niture and infested clothes should be boiled well in water for some

time. By doing so, some of the bugs and their younger stages

die, others are partly scalded with hot water and lose their agility.

Furniture and clothes, after the above treatment, should be shifted

directly to an open space near the nest of the ant. In places where

it is not possible to do so, furniture and clothes should be removed

1021 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

to a separate room and the ant brought and left in the room, as

suggested under the control of lac predators and parasites. The

ant frees clothes and furniture of bugs and their younger stages

very quickly. But if infested furniture and clothes are not treated

with hot water as stated above, the ant takes more. time. It gene-

rally first removes the eggs and next the nymphal and adult stages,

because the latter are more agile and faster runners than the ant

itself. To paralyse or disable a bug or an older nymph the indivi-

dual ant may take from 15-30 minutes, but the task is performed

more easily and quickly when more than one ant attack simulta-

neously.. I would also suggest that if the ants are found visiting

bedsteads or if they are used to control the bed bugs in houses,

the inmates of the house should plug their ears with cotton before

they go to sleep, otherwise, if the ant perchance enters the ear

and is unable to crawl out it may cause a great deal of incon-

venience.

I wish to express my thanks to Dr. C. F. C. Beeson of the

Forest Research Institute, Delira Dun, for suggesting modifica-

tions in the paper and to Mr. E. Heber for drawing the figures

and taking the photograph.

Indian Lac Research Institute, P. S. NEGI, m.sc.,

Namkum. Acting Entomologist.

March 20, 1933.

XXXI.— THE ASHOKA TREE.

Tiie vernacular synonymy in the article on ‘Beautiful Indian

Trees’ (J.B .N.H.S., xxxvi, 2) give Asliopalava as the popular Guja-

rati name of ‘Asoka’ ( Saraca indica ) tree. This, I am afraid, is

not the case because the tree which is generally known as Aslio-

palava in Gujarat appears to be an altogether different species from

the one illustrated in the Journal. The flowers of Asliopalava are

creamy white — white with a yellowish tint. The leaves resemble

those of a mango tree (vide specimen) and when young are a won-

derful sight — the whole tree being enveloped in shining dull red

foliage. The fruit (as you will see from specimen sent under

separate cover) resemble unripe jujub (Guj). I think Asliopalava

is a species of 'the Asoka though different from the one described

by the learned authors. Here I may add that ancient Indian

writers on medicinal plants describe two species of Ashoka — one

with brilliant red flowers (called ‘Hema Puslipa’ Golden flowered)

i.e. Ashoka ( Saraca indica) proper, and the other with white

i.e. Asliopalava.1

Asliopalava is also different from the Ashoka tree about which

so much is written by Samskrta writers. If there is any tree

1 The specimen sent by the writer was identified as Polyalthia longi folia

Benth, and Hooker, f. — Eds.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

3022

which has received most attention in Samskrta love poetry, it is

Ashoka. Its flowers are compared to the ruddy heels of a young

and beautiful woman. A riot of colour, the very sight of these

golden flowers is considered to increase passion. They form one

of the five arrows of Puspadhanvan the Indian God of Love (the

remaining four are the Red Lotus, Mango, Navamailika and Blue

Lotus). Indian Plant Lore also says that the flowering of an

Ashoka tree is dependent on 'the gentle kicking of the tree by a

young energetic and beautiful damsel whose ankles are ornamented

with Nupura-s. To continue, the other unfortunate (shall we call

them fortunate) trees and plants which have to depend for their

flowering on the sweet will of the fair sex are: —

Tilaka tree flowers when a beautiful woman glances

lovingly at it .

Kuravakd (a species of Amaranth), when embraced

by a lovely maiden.

Priyangu, by the gentle touch.

Bakula ( Mimusops elengi ), when sprinkled with wine

from the mouth.

Mandara (Coral tree E. indica), by witty remarks or

light pleasantry.

Champaka, when a lovely woman gently laughs near

it.

Mango tree, when fanned by the gentle fragrant breath

of a beautiful damsel.

Nameru (Rudraksha tree), hearing sweet music.

Karnikara, when a damsel dances in its presence.

(By the by I may mention that this strange belief in flowering

of certain plants through human agency has been explained away

by a Samskrta writer as the peculiar experiments conducted by

experts to make plants, trees, etc., flower before their time.

The Ashoka tree also figures in religious rites. Hindus, parti-

cularly women, observe a vow called ‘ Tri Ratra’ (for three nights)

for the removal of misery and impending danger. ‘Ashoka Purni-

ma’ or 15th of the bright half of the month of Phalguna (March)

is celebrated in honour of the tree, as an aid to love. The 6th

day of the bright (also dark) half of Chaitra (April) is observed

to get happiness and the blessing of a son. The 8th of the bright

half of Chaitra is also observed in honour of Ashoka.

On page 354 of the Journal, it is mentioned: ‘18th day of the

month Chaitra i.e. 27tli December ’ which clearly is a slip. Chaitra

is a summer month and may correspond to April or May or both.

I wonder how the authors arrived at the exact date ‘27th’!

Ahmedabad.

May 24, 1933.

HARI NARAYAN ACHARYA.

1023 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

XXXII.— NOTE ON THE ASHOKA TREE,

The article in the April number of the Journal describing the

Ashoka Tree has encouraged me to write a note on uses for the

fruit and flowers of a variety of this tree which have not, so far

as I know, been recorded.

In Malaya there is a tree called in the vernacular Tengelan or

Tenglan, which is classed by the Eorest Department as a Saraca

of an unidentified species. The illustrations on plates 19 and 20

of the flowers and fruit of Saraca indica (the Asoka tree) might

easily pass as illustrations of those of the Tenglan.

The seeds of the Tenglan are eaten by Malays, who either

place the pod in the fire and eat the cooked or half-cooked bean

or take the beans out of the pod and boil them. Sometimes they

eat the beans raw. Malay medicine-men utilize the sap from the

bark of the tree as an astringent for the dressing of superficial

wounds or ulcers. I do not think any use is made of the juices

as an internal medicine.

The flowers of the Tenglan, which often grow on the bole of

the tree, are eaten by the Two-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros

sumatrensis), which seem to appreciate them whenever they come

across a tree in flower and the flowers are within their reach.

I have never seen where the pods or seeds have been eaten by

them, although the Rhinoceros sumatrensis is very fond of many

jungle fruits and seeds.

Bukit Betong,

Pahang, F.M.S.

June 24, 1983.

THEODORE HUBBACK.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY

JUBILEE MEETING.

A Special Meeting to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary

of the Bombay Natural History Society was held at' the Cowasjee

Jehangir Hall on the 10th August 1933 at 9-45 p.m. Sir Hugh

Cocke, the Sheriff of Bombay, was in the chair. His Excellency

the Viceroy was unfortunately unable to be present, but a special

message was received from His Excellency the Governor of Bom-

bay, the President of the Society, congratulating the Society on

the great work it had accomplished during the 50 years of its

existence and wishing it all success in the future.

The election of the following New Members who joined be-

tween the 1st January and lltli August 1933 was announced: —

The Librarian, University of Michigan, Michigan; Rev. E.

A. Storrs-Fox, Murree; The Principal, Presidency College, Cal-

cutta; The University of Bombay, Bombay; Col. J. C. S. Oxley,

Jubbulpore; Dr. J. D. Mistri, Bombay; Capt. L. F. Rusby,

Dhulia; Col. Sir George Willis, R.E., C.I.E., M.V.O., Nasik

Road; Mr. M. J. Dickins, Bombay; The Honorary Secretary, Asso-

ciation for the Preservation of Game in U.P., Agra; Mr. C. H.

Martin, Bombay; The Secretary, Maymyo Club, Maymyo; The

Principal, La Martiniere College, Lucknow; Mr. J. S. Neaves,

Jubbulpore; The Honorary Secretary, Muktesar Club, Muktesar;

Mr. D. Stewart, I.E.S., Haldwani; Mr. J. Ortcheson, I.C.S.,

Rawalpindi; Mr. M. N. Katrak, Bandra; Khan Bahadur Mian

Ahmadyar Daultana, M.L.C., Luddan; The Hon’ble Sardar Sir

Jogendra Singh, Kt., M.L.C., Lahore; The Raja of Awagarli,

Awagarh; H. H. Thakore Saheb Shri Dharmendrasinliji of Raj-

kot, Rajkot; Rajkumar Digvijaichand, Heir Apparent of Jubbal

State, Jubbal; Mr. Saw On Kya, M.A., Hsipaw; Mr. A. H.

Stein, I.F.S., Bombay; Mr. P. V. Chance, B.A., Raipur; Raja

Ambekeshwar Pratap Singh Salieb, M.L.C., Gondal; The Hono-

rary Secretary, Rangoon Gymkhana Club, Rangoon; The Second-

ary College, Bombay; The Chief Conservator of Forests, Srina-

gar; The Registrar, Patna University, Patna; Raja Indrajit Pratap

Bahadur Sahi, Gorakhpur; The Principal, Rajkumar College,

Raipur; Mr. J. E. Cumming, Madras; Mrs. A. T. Ransford,

Bombay; Mr. Theodore R. Hubback, Pahang, F.M.S.; The

Secretary, Peshawar Club Ltd., Peshawar; The Mess Secretary,

3 /1st Punjab Regt., Lucknow; H. E. Sir Herbert Emerson,

K.C.S.I., C.S.I., C.LE., C.B.E., Governor of Punjab, Lahore; Dr.

F. R. Barucha, Bombay; H. E. Sir James Sifton, K.C.I.E.,

C.S.I., I.C.S., Governor of Bihar & Orissa; The Librarian, New

Club Ltd., Calcutta; Mr. C. M. Wright-Neville, Arrali; Mr. R. N.

Champion- Jones, Valparai; Mr. W. K. Langdale- Smith, Rungli-

Rungliot ; The Conservator of Forests, Travancore; H. H. The

Maharaja Manikya Bahadur of Tripura, Agartala; H. E. Sir

Michael Keane, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., I.C.S., Governor of Assam,

Assam; H. E. Sir Hugh Stephenson, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E., Burma;

1025 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol XXXVI

Mr. G. W. Benton, Begumpet; Sardar Bahadur Sardar Mohan

Singh, M.L.C., Rawalpindi; Mr. John Neyill Eliot, Ferozepore;

Mrs. A. J. Smith, British Legation, Nepal; Mr. W. M. Petrie,

Bombay; Mr. J. Humphrey, Bombay; Mr. G. B. Gilby, Karachi;

The Chief Conservator of Forests in Mysore, Bangalore; Lt.-Col.

W.C. Spackman, Bombay; Mr. C. R. H. Allworth, Bhamo; Mr.

P. F. Garthwait, I.F.S,, Bliamo; The Principal, Noble College,

Masulipatam ; Mr. A. K. Thompson, Haka; Miss H. Coyajee, Bonn,

bay; Capt. Raja Durga Narayan Singh, Tirwa; Lt.-Col. M. E. S.

Johnson, B.S.O., Srinagar; Mr. M. Ruttonji, Panchgani; Capt.

J. C, Cotton, Baroda; Mr. C. C. Longstaff, Bombay; The Conser-

vator of Forests, B. & O., Hinoo; Mr. W. R. Ward, Bombay;

The Sister Superior, All Saints’ Diocesan College, Naini Tal; The

Secretary, Central Provinces Club, Ltd., Nagpur; Mr. Leslie Blunt,

Bombay; Mr. P. B. Wilkins, M.C., D.F.C., Bombay; Capt, Robert

Gove, Bombay.

Mr, P, M. D. Sanderson, Honorary Secretary, gave a brief

History of the Progress and Development of the Society. He

was followed by Mr. S. H. Prater, the Society’s Curator, the sub-

ject of whose address was the “Problem of Wild Life Protection

in India’’.

The text of Mr. Sanderson’s speech is not published as it is

proposed to issue shortly a special Jubilee Number of the Journal

which will give an account of the origin and growth of the Society

and provide a record of its various activities during the last 50

years of its existence.

The thanks of the Committee and Members of ' the Society are

due to Mr. A. S. Yernay who has given the Society a special

donation to meet the cost of printing this Special Number.

The text of Mr. Prater’s address on Wild Life Protection ap-

pears on page 1 of the Supplement to this Issue. In this con-

nection the Society must record its appreciation of and grati-

tude to those who have made it possible for it to publish the

Supplement which deals with the Wild Animals of the Indian

Empire and the problems of their Protection. Mr. F. Y. Evans

is paying for the large number of illustrations, coloured and black

and white, which will appear with the series. A special donation

of Rs. 5,000 has been received from His Highness the Maharaja

of Travancore, who lias recently been elected a Yice Patron of the

Society, a donation of Rs. 500 from H. H. the Maharaja of Jodh-

pur, Rs. 250 from H. H. the Maharaja of Bhavnagar and Rs. 100

from H. H. the Maharaja of Cliamba, to cover the cost of printing

these articles which the Society hopes to make available for distri-

bution.

The creation of sane public opinion on the question of Wild

Life is essential to the success of any effort directed to this end.

A necessary preliminary to the creation of such opinion is the

spread of knowledge about our Wild Life, from this alone can

come that interest which will engender a wider recognition of the

need for its preservation.

The thanks of the Society are also due to all those authors

who have contributed to the series of articles dealing with the

subject and have so helped in the cause.

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS, AND PUBLISHED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE FOR THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, BOMBAY.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE

INDIAN EMPIRE

AND THE

Problem of their Preservation.

WITH A FOREWORD BY

HIS EXCELLENCY THE VICEROY.

The Vicbroy's House.

New Delhi

Jl/ ^ November 1933

Having read with interest for many years the

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society I

strongly commend to the notice of the reading public

their series of articles on the Mammals of the Indian

Empire .

The whole purpose of these articles is, as I

understand it, to increase interest in all the wild

life of the country with a view to ensure that necessary

steps will be taken to prevent the wholesale destruction

of our wild animals.

When I call to mind the vast areas in Canada

(where I lived for four happy years) which are set

aside as sanctuaries for this purpose, and realise that

the same thing has been done in many other countries, I

feel that more could be done in this country by

reserving certain areas of our great forests in order

to preserve in the future all the varied Fauna of

India.

As a lover of Nature^one who can look back on

many happy days spent in Indiafs- vast jungles, I trust

that these articles may do much to achieve the great

purpose which their wishes hope to secure.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE.

PART I.

Introduction.1

The Preservation of Wild Life in the Indian Empire.

The purpose of the present series of- articles is to give a general

account of the Mammals of the Indian Empire.

For many years, the Bombay Natural History Society,

through the medium of its Journal and other attractive publica-

tions, has endeavoured to create and stimulate in India an interest

in the wild life of the country.

The necessity for this interest, particularly among our educated

classes, is becoming more and more evident with the passing

of time. During the past, extensive undisturbed areas of

primeval forest, jungle and desert gave safe harbourage to wild

creatures, and provided sure guarantee of their survival, But

changing conditions in the country, the gradual conquest of forests

and waste lands, above all, the - building of new roads and the

radical improvement in methods and rapidity of transport have left

few areas in the Peninsula of India which are free from' intrusion

by Man. These factors have had and are continuing to have a

disastrous effect on the wild life of the country. The danger to it

has been accentuated in recent years by the enormous increase of

firearms in use and by the inability of many of the Provincial

Governments to enforce such laws as exist for the protection of

wild animals.

In the past, similar conditions existed in most western coun-

tries. Forests were cut down, streams polluted and their live-

stock exterminated to meet the needs of the moment with no

thought of the morrow. Even in tropical lands, gradually per-

meated with the spirit of material progress, primitive Nature has

had to give way little by little to invading towns and settlements.

Ruthless destruction of wild life and a prodigal wastage of natural

resources have invariably preceded the establishment of material

and prosperous civilization. Thus the magnificent animal life of

many tropical and sub-tropical lands — and our country is no ex-

ception— has been driven to its ultimate retreat in fast diminish-

ing forests and is to-day threatened with utter extermination.

Even the great marine animals of the sea — the whales and

fur-bearing seals — have not escaped this menace of extinction. The

solitudes and vast spaces of the ocean have not been able to

shelter them from the rapacity of man. Like the terrestrial

species, they have been subjected to ceaseless persecution, made

1 An Address given by Mr. S. H, Prater, m.l.c., c.m.z.s., the Society’s

Curator, at the Jubilee- Meeting of the Society held in Bombay on the 10th of

August, 1933.

2

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

more easy by the perfection of methods employed in the destruc-

tion of life — both human and animal.

A Changed Outlook and Home Reasons jor it.

But in recent years- a gradual change has developed in Man’s

outlook upon the Domain of Nature. This change has been

brought about partly by the spread of education and enlighten-

ment. It is engendering a growing opposition to this wanton de-

struction of life, however much it may profit the destroyer. It.

is creating the more humane conception that it is the duty of

Man to see that the wild creatures of the world are not annihi-

lated. But apart from humanity, which in itself should impel

Man to grant to lesser creatures the right of existence, there are

other considerations which must influence him.

The spirit of this age, with its urge for discovery and research,

with its marked tendency towards the popularization of Science

among the masses and the dissemination of its truths and disco-

veries is fostering a widespread and intelligent recognition of the

immense value to man of the myriads of species, vegetable and

animal, which share with him this Planet. Today there is no edu-

cated man who does not realise that the realm of Nature provides

Science with a vast and productive field for research. There is

none who is not impressed with the belief that such research has

given and will continue to give us results of great practical and

educational value.

There are numerous investigations, anatomical, physiological,

ecological, geographic and evolutionary which .can only be made by

the study of animal life. While considerable data has been accu-

mulated by the study of dead specimens in museums or of the

living creatures in the laboratory, the ‘whence, how and where’

of his existence which Man is seeking to discover cannot be dis-

covered by these means alone, The study of the living creature

under the natural conditions of its natural environment is equally

important.

It is also true that there are material considerations apart from

scientific. We have been accustomed to look upon Beasts of

Prey as creatures to be exterminated. But with a clearer under-

standing of the role they play in maintaining the balance of life

we know now that even, predatory animals have a distinct value.

They are a controlling influence against over-population by species

whose unchecked increase would adversely affect the interests of

Man. On the other hand, there is the utilization for Man’s benefit

of animal products such as furs, hides and horns which in them-

selves represent a valuable economic asset. Furs collected from

all parts of the world and assembled in London for sale during the

current year were assessed at a value of £3,000,000. There is

necessity for conserving the sources of supply which are not in-

exhaustible. Again, Science has revealed and is continuing to

reveal hitherto undreamed of possibilities in the uses of animal pro-

ducts and their employment in the treatment of human debility and

disease. Who can say what products still remain to be discovered

which will one day be of priceless value to Man? Finally the wild

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

3

life of a country is a source of sport and enjoyment to its people —

It gives healthy recreation to all classes and is a constant attraction

to visitors. It is also a definite source of income to the State

because of the revenues realised from the sale of shooting licenses

and on the imports of sporting arms and ammunition. But obvi-

ously it is also an asset which may vanish without reasonable efforts

for its conservation. For these and other reasons, it is now ad-

mitted generally, both in Europe and America, that the natural

beauties of a country, its varied fauna and flora are an asset to

its people, an asset to be protected and preserved to their own

advantage and to the advantage of future generations.

What other Nations are doing to Preserve Wild Life.

It is interesting and instructive for us in India to know what

other nations are doing to preserve wild life.

The movement for the protection of Nature had its origin

barely 50 years ago. It is the European nations and the American

people who set an example to the World as to what could and

ought to be done to preserve wild life within their lands. In the

United States of America, the rapid development of the country,

the spread of agriculture and industry threatened the destruction

of its indigenous fauna. The tragedy was averted by establishing

great National Parks or Reserves which not only give inviolable

sanctuary to wild animals, but also offer the people an added attrac-

tion because of their scenic beauty, their historical, geographical

or archaeological interest.

These National Parks provide the means by which the clash

of interests between Man and the Animal is obviated; whereby secu-

rity is found for the creature without imposing undue restraint

upon human progress. The idea gained ground because of the

people’s approval, Today, in the United States, there are no less

than 40 great National Parks covering more than 3 million acres

of land set aside for the protection of wild life.

This magnificent effort for the protection of Nature has its

parallel in the British Empire, so rich in the varied aspects of

its wild life. In Canada, in New Zealand, Australia and the Union

of South Africa great reserves have been created which give shelter

and security to the wild life of these lands. The Kruger National

Park in South Africa is the largest in the British Empire if not in

the world. It covers over 8,000 square miles of territory. No

park in the world contains a more marvellous assemblage of wild

animals. Quite apart from the protection given to the wild life

of the country, this magnificent park fully justifies its existence

by way of the yearly increasing revenues it brings to the State.

The effort for the conservation of wild life has been equally splendid

in Canada. Here again the public response evoked by the numer-

ous National Parks within the Dominion has resulted in bringing

in a great amount of money into the country. These measures

have been taken by a race of people who are keenly concerned in

the progress and development of their countries and nevertheless

realise the advantage of making provision to safeguard their wild

life from destruction.

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

Within the last 20 years other nations have followed the exam-

ple set by the Anglo-Saxon peoples. Switzerland has established

her splendid national park amid the scenic grandeurs of the En-

gadine.: Italy and Spain have created similar sanctuaries.

Sweden surpasses all Continental countries with her 14 national

parks. Finland and Austria have established numerous reserves

for the protection of wild animals. Poland and Czecho- Slovakia

have created a common park on their frontiers in the region of

Tatara and thus incidentally, in a common desire for the protection

of Nature, they have found a happy solution of a vexed territorial

problem. Belgium, if not the first in the field, has been equally

energetic. The great wild life sanctuary in the Belgian Congo,

known as the Parc National Albert, was created by Royal Decree

in 1925 and by 1929 increased tenfold in area. Five hundred

thousand acres of mountain and forest have been set apart for the

protection of African wild life, This great reserve is open to, the

students of the world and in the years to come it will prove of in-

estimable value to scientists and to all who love Nature and are

interested in it.

The cause of conservation has been advanced also by various

International Conferences the last of which was held in Paris in

1930. In 1900, the British Government convened a conference

in London of the representatives of the Powers which resulted in

the London Convention for the Preservation of Animals, Birds

and Fish in Africa. It was signed by the Plenipotentiaries of

Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Por-

tugal, and is described as the Magna Charta of wild life in Africa.

In 1913 an International Conference for the Protection of Nature

was held at Berne at which 17 Governments were represented.

The principal conclusions of this Conference was the decision to

establish a central organization to deal with the question of Wild

Life Preservation on an international basis. The war made this

impossible and it was not till 1928 that the recommendations

of the Berne Conference were given effect. A central Bureau,

designed to develop as the pivot of an international movement for

the protection of wild life was established at Brussels. It is

known as the ‘International Office for the Protection of Nature’.

Similarly, within the British Empire, the London Conference

resulted in the foundation of the Society for the Preservation of

the Fauna of the Empire, which has given a great impetus to

the movement in England and the Colonies and has now for

many years exercised its great influence in the promotion of all

terms of wild life protection. Reference must also be made to

the American Committee for International Wild Life Protection,

representing a unity of the large museums in the United States

and to the Dutch Society for International Wild Life Protection.

It will be seen from what has been written that in all civilized

countries there is a general recognition of the need for concerted

and practical measures to stop the forces of destruction which

threaten wild life in all parts of the world. There is in India, too,

the gravest need for such concerted action.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

5

India’s Wonderful Fauna.

In its Fauna and Flora, Nature has endowed India with a

magnificent asset. An asset which cannot fail to be generally

appreciated by its people if they were led to know something of

its worth and interest.

All those reasons which have made the people of western coun-

tries strive for the protection of Nature within their borders apply

with just as much if not more force to our country. Its wild

life, in its interest, its beauty and its marvellous variety, com-

pares favourably with that of any country in the world. There

are more than 500 different species of mammals found within the

Indian Empire. They include the Elephant associated in India

from time immemorial with the splendour of her princely page-

antry, the Gaur or Indian Bison, the largest of existing bovines,

the Great Indian Khinoceros, the greatest of all the rhinos now

inhabiting the world, the gigantic wild sheep of the Himalayas,

probably the largest of their race, the Swamp Deer, the Thamin

and the Spotted Deer, one of the most beautiful of all deer and

the Nilghai, the Four-horned Antelope and Indian Antelope or

Black Buck the only representatives of these genera. The beasts

of prey include the Lion and the Tiger, the most magnificent of

all the great cats, and such splendid creatures as the Clouded

Leopard, the Ounce and the Marbled Cat. Other species, like our

Himalayan foxes, martens, gorgeous flying squirrels and silky-haired

langurs are remarkable for the beauty and value of their fur. The

Musk Deer and the Civets provide the musk of commerce. Other

species are remarkable for the beauty of their colouring. Our

little Painted Bat ( Kerivoula picta) with its brilliant vermilion and

black wings, is, without exception, the most vividly coloured mam-

mal in the world. Peculiarity in form and structure is displayed

by that strange creature the Flying Lemur, which is neither lemur

nor bat but which bears the same relationship to the shrews as

the flying squirrel does to the squirrels, or by the Scaly Ant-eater

which, with its long scaly body, looks more like a reptile than

any form of mammal. Apart from the interest in their symmetry

of form, largeness of size, beauty of colouring or strangeness of

structure or habits there is always that attraction and charm which

the presence of wild life gives to our forests and plains — so dear

to the many that live for the out-door life.

A further interest attaches to our wild life from its association

with the folk-lore and the legendary beliefs of the country. It

is an interest not confined to India alone, but which has spread

among men of culture everywhere because of the esteem and ad-

miration in which her Sacred Books and writings are held.

Some 30 different mammals are mentioned by name in the

Samhitas (i.e. the four principal Vedas). Among them is the Ele-

phant, the favourite of Indr a, whose sanctity is enhanced by the

belief that eight elephants guard the eight celestial points of the

compass. The Langur or Hanuman Monkey is held in veneration,

as is commonly known, because of its association with other warrior

monkeys winy helped Kama in his campaign against Kavana. The

6

JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Lion is one of the many incarnations of Vishnu; the Tiger finds

mention in the later Vedic texts. The Mungoose figures in the

MaJiab hat at a as a teacher of wisdom to King Yudhisthira. The

Leer is always associated with Brahma, the Creator and is the con-

stant companion of the god Mahadeva. The Wild Boar is referred

to as the ‘Boar of Heaven’. It is told how in the primordial

floods Vishnu, taking the form of a boar, raised the submerged

earth from the waters and supported it on his tusks. One could

cite many more references from the Sacred Books concerning the

animal life of the country.. But apart from this, it is of much

interest for us to know that the earliest known record of measures

taken for the protection of animal life comes from India. The

earliest record, which we possess today, is the Fifth Pillar Edict

of Asoka by which game and fishery laws were introduced into

northern India in the third century B.C. In this inscription, the

Emperor had carved on enduring stone a list of birds, beasts, fishes

and possibly even insects which were to be strictly preserved. The

mammals named are ‘Bats, Monkeys, Rhinoceros, Porcupines, Tree

Squirrels, Bara singha = Stags, Brahminy Bulls, and all four-footed

animals which were not utilised or eaten’. The edict further or-

dains ‘that forests must not be burned, either for mischief or to

destroy living creatures’.

Centuries later, the Moghul Emperors, sportsmen, men of

action and born observers that they were, displayed a deep interest

in the animal life of the country. Their writings are full of des-

criptions, some in great detail, of the animals, the plants and

flowers of the country over which they ruled. While Babur, Huma-

yun, the great Akbar and Aurangzeeb display in their writings

their great love of Nature, Jehangir was a born naturalist. It is

said of him that had he been the head of a great Natural History

Museum instead of being the Emperor of India, he would have

been a better and happier man. His profuse and engrossing

memoirs are a real Natural History of the animal life of India.

The Problem of Wild Life Protection in India.

We have endeavoured to show how great an asset to our country

is its wild life and to give the many reasons why we should do

everything for its protection. But for the protection given to the

Lion in Junaghad State and the Great Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal

and Assam these two interesting animals would have been exter-

minated long ago. The Cheetah or Hunting Leopard, once com-

mon in Central India, is now almost extinct in the wild state.

The Lesser One-horned Rhinoceros and the Asiatic Two-horned

Rhinoceros, once said to be common in the grass jungles of Assam

and the Sundarbans have been practically exterminated in these

areas. In many districts wild animals have been totally wiped

out. In others, where they were once common, they are now

hopelessly depleted. One does not wish to overdraw the picture.

There are parts of India where the position of wild life is still

satisfactory though insecure. But equally, there are extensive

areas where conditions are so appalling that, if left unchecked,

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

7

they must lead to the complete destruction of all the larger wild

creatures which live in them. There is yet another point' which

must be stressed. Any scheme for the Protection of Wild Life

would be incomplete without due provision for the protection of

our Birds. Quite apart from a sentimental value, birds render in-

calculable service to Man. While certain species may damage

crops, such harm as is done by birds is overwhelmingly offset by

the benefits we derive from them. Without their protection, our

crops, our orchards, our food supply would be devoured or de-

stroyed by hordes of ravaging insects. Birds are the principal

agency that controls the bewildering multiplication of insect life

which, if unchecked, would overwhelm all life on this planet. Birds

by reason of their predominating insect food are an indispensable

balancing force in Nature. The abundant bird life of this country

is one of its valuable possessions. Those who appreciate its value,

cannot but strive for its conservation.

If we accept this principle of Conservation as it is now accepted

by almost all civilized countries, what methods must we employ

to give it effect? It is obvious in a country like India, where

conditions in different provinces vary so greatly, the methods of

conservation must also vary, but it is necessary to arrive at some

understanding of the broad, principles which’ underlie the problem.

The land may be classified for this purpose into three main cate-

gories: urban lands, agricultural lands and forest and waste lands.

Agriculture and Wild Life Protection.

As far as our wild life is concerned, one cannot expect its

preservation in urban lands.. Nevertheless, we believe that it is

time that measures should be taken for the protection of birds

in urban areas. Areas actually under the control of Municipalities

or local Boards could be made, with advantage, Bird Sanctuaries,

where the killing of birds should be forbidden. There is need to

put an end to the wanton destruction of familiar birds which takes

place in the immediate vicinity of towns.

The second category — land under cultivation — provides at once

the opportunity for a clash between the interests of Man and the

Animal. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the areas

under cultivation in India are extending and will continue to

extend to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing population. This

has increased by 35 million within the last decade! The need of

increasing the available sources of food supply can be met only

by the continued absorption of waste lands or forest — the natural

domain of wild life. Secondly, there is the equally imperative need

of protecting these cultivated areas from wild animals. The depre-

dations of wild animals present one of the most •serious handicaps

the ryot has to face. In addition to loss of cattle, there is the

damage done to crops and, not uncommonly, loss of human life.

Therefore, whatever the views of the protectionist, this much is

clear. Human progress must continue and in the clash of interests

between Man and the Animal human effort must not suffer. But

this problem has been faced by other countries, Cannot a reason-

s

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

able effort be made to face it in our own? That an intensive

development of the agricultural resources of a country may accom-

pany1 a sane and adequate policy for the conservation of its wild

life is shown by the measures taken to this end by all progressive

nations.

If our wild life is to find protection at all, it must find it some-

where in our forests. It is often claimed that the proximity of

forests to agriculture makes them a constant source of harassment

to the cultivator. If this argument is pushed to its logical con-

clusion, the only remedy would be to remove ' such protection

as is now given to wild animals in our forests, for it would not

be possible to remove this menace entirely, until all the large

wild animals in them were killed, died of wounds or were exter-

minated over large areas because of their inability to breed. Surely

our goal is not the total extermination of our wild life — which

is what must inevitably happen unless some form of protection

is given to it within its natural domain, While it is essential that

the cultivator should have reasonable latitude to defend his pro-

perty, it is equally essential that there should be certain areas or

reserves where the shooting of animals is regulated and where the

laws for their protection are rigidly enforced. Such reserves exist

— roughly about one-third of British India and Burma consist of

Beserved Forest — but, while we have extensive forests to shelter

and laws to protect it, our wild life is everywhere on the decrease.

The time has surely come when it is necessary for us to review

the position and to take such measures as are necessary to give

real protection to the wild life of the country. It is the opinion

of some that these great State-owned forests, where laws now

operate for the protection of animals, are and must continue to

remain the natural sanctuaries of wild life in this country and

that they would adequately fulfil the purpose of protection if they

were effectively warded. The correctness of this view depends en-

tirely on actual conditions in a particular Province. The extent,

and nature of the forests, their accessibility, the density of the

population and the extent to which cultivation surrounds them are.

factors which must influence the issue. It may be found

that in certain Provinces the establishment of a national park or

reserve, in specially selected areas, will provide the only means

of giving adequate protection to wild life without hampering ag-

ricultural development. It is certain that the creation of such

a reserve or national park would give a special status to it, and

thus facilitate the passing of special laws made applicable to such

an area. Further, the actual selection and declaration as a Nation-

al Park of certain definite areas would have the practical effect of

forcing on the attention of successive generations of officials the

importance of saving these areas from any danger of disafforestation

and of taking all practical measures for the preservation of the

wild animals found within them.

The Need for a Special Organization to Protect Wild Life .

Whether our reserve forests remain the principal sanctuaries

for wild life in this*- country or whether in some of the Provinces

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

9

the purpose is affected by establishing national parks, there is

need for a real organization whose sole concern will be the

protection of wild animals in these preserves. Our efforts to pro-

tect wild life have failed mainly because of the haphazard methods

we employ, the lack of any co-ordinate policy and the lack of any

real protective agency to carry that policy into effect. The

Forest Department which ordinarily administers the Forest laws

has multifarious duties to perform and, while the Forest Officer

has discharged this trust to the best of his ability, he cannot give

the question his personal attention, nor can he find time, except

in a general way, to control the protection of wild life in our

forests. Experience of other countries has shown the need of a

separate and distinct organization whose sole concern is the pro-

tection of wild life in the areas in which it operates,

Further, the existing laws, as now applicable in many of our

Provinces, are obsolete. Naturally, their primary purpose is the

protection of the forest rather than its wild life. These laws re-

quire consolidation and bringing up to modern standards of con-

servation. No better guide to1 our Provincial Governments seeking

to amend their game laws exists than the recently issued report

of the Wild Life Commission in Malaya. Volume II of this Re-

port gives the general principles of conservation. It shows how

these principles may be embodied in an Act and indicates new

administrative methods, based on actual experience and on the

laws of other countries. With modifications, where necessary,

it will serve as a model for Protective Legislation in India.

Lastly there is the all-important question of making adequate

financial provision for carrying out the work of conservation.

In these days of depression, when most Governments are faced

with deficit budgets, the apportioning of money for this purpose

must be a matter of difficulty but, unless and until suitable finan-

cial provision is made by the State for the conservation of wild

life within its borders, the effort cannot succeed. This much is

clear. Our present haphazard methods have failed. The experi-

ence of other countries indicates the system that should replace

them. The effective introduction of this system depends upon

money being provided to work it. In the United States and in

other countries the problem of financing the work of conservation

has been helped by the creation of special funds.

The recent Wild Life Commission in Malaya, which made a

careful study of this aspect of the problem, strongly urges the

creation of such a fund to be termed the Wild Life > Fund and to

be used solely for the purpose of conservation. The idea is that

all fees which could be collected under Wild Life Enactments,

including any licenses or fees for riverine fishing, as well as reve-

nues from all sporting arms licenses, permits, duties on arms

(sporting) and ammunition (sporting) should be credited to the

Wild Life Fund. If any of these fees are collected by another

department, then the cost of collection should be borne by the

Wild Life Fund. It is the only means by which financial provi-

sion can be made expressly for the purpose of conservation. It

i$ the only means by which the money devoted to this purpose

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

will have a definite relation to the revenue derived by the State

from wild life sources and which, therefore, can be expended with

every justification upon the conservation of these sources. It is

the only way to ensure an equitable system of conservation; the

only way in which a properly organised department can be stabi-

lised. It is the solution advocated in other countries and one

which is equally applicable to any country which undertakes the

conservation of wild life on sound lines. If the idea of creating

a Wild Life Fund is not acceptable and, if we are yet serious in

our intention to do what is possible for the conservation of wild

life in India, then we must replace the Wild Life Fund by an

alternative policy, which will ensure the allocation of sufficient

money to meet the requirements of adequate conservation, It is

so easy to refuse a constructive policy and then put nothing in

its place. The necessity for conservation being clear, the impor-

tance of an adequate financial policy to support it cannot be

ignored.

So much for the broad outlines of the problem. Th^y resolve

themselves as we have seen into the formulation of a co-ordinate

policy for the protection of Wild Life in India, into the selection

of suitable areas where our wild life can be protected without

undue detriment to human interests, the creation of a special agency

for carrying out the work of protection and finally, a revision,

wherever necessary, of such laws as exist in order to help these

agencies to carry out their task effectively.

It is obvious that in a country so vast as India, with its vary-

ing climate and physical conditions, methods in conservation will

vary in different provinces. The Society therefore proposes to

publish a series of papers by different authors on the protection

of wild life in the different Provinces of India. These articles

have been written by authorities who have made a special study

of the problem in the areas of which they write. Their knowledge

and experience enable them to indicate exactly what measures

ought to be taken for the protection of wild life and how these

measures can be given effect to in a particular Province,

Those who are contributing to this instructive and helpful

series are :

Central India, Mr. A. A. Dunbar Brander (late Conservator

of Forests, C.P.); Southern India, Mr. R. D. Richmond (late

Chief Conservator of Forests, Madras Presidency); Punjab, Mr.

C. H. Donald (Director of Fisheries, Punjab); United Provinces,

Mr. F. W. Champion, I.F.S. (Conservator of Forests, U.P.); Assam,

Mr. A. J. W. Milroy (Conservator of Forests, Assam); Bombay

Presidency, Mr. G. Monteath, I.C.S.; Burma, Mr. H. C. Smith

(Honorary Game Warden, Burma); Kashmir, Capt. R. G. Wreford

(Game Warden, Kashmir); Hyderabad, Mr. Salim A. Ali; Mysore,

Major E. G. Pythian-Adams (Nilgiri Game Association).

We have indicated what other countries are doing for the pro-

tection of wild life but it must be apparent that the measures

which they have taken, whether initiated by acts of Government

or by private enterprise must owe their success to the support

of public opinion. There is need for the creation of sane public

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

11

opinion on the subject of wild life protection in India. At

present, such opinion hardly exists and even if it does, in some

quarters it may be antagonistic. This is mainly because people

do not know, nor has any attempt been made to teach them some-

thing of the beauty, the interest and the value of the magnificent

fauna of this country. In most western countries there is a

wealth of cheap and popular literature dealing with the natural

history of those lands. In India such literature as exists, is

either unintelligible to the average reader or sold at a price beyond

popular reach. Again, in most western countries, Nature Study

teaching is a serious part of the earlier stages of the school curri-

culum. While its main object is to develop the child’s powers

of observation, it creates a love of Nature and a sense of com-

panionship with life out of doors. It is true that in India feeble

attempts are made from time to time to introduce Nature Study

teaching into our Primary and Secondary schools. But often such

teaching as is given, deals with pine trees and acorns, with polar

bears and robin redbreasts, and has little or no relation to the

child’s own environment. The present series of articles is there-

fore written with the purpose of providing a popular and well

illustrated account which will give people general information

about the Mammals of the Indian Empire. Its object is to

arouse interest in the Fauna of the country with a view to its

protection and not its destruction. It is proposed to issue this

series in six parts, dealing separately with the various orders

of Mammals. While the series will appear in the Society’s

Journal, separately bound copies will be available for distribution.

An important and essential feature of these articles is the large

number of coloured and black and white illustrations. An attempt

is being made to illustrate most of the more important species of

mammals found within our limits. Our ability to undertake this

expensive work is due to the generosity of Mr. F. V. Evans, a

Vice-Patron of the Natural History Society and one of its most

generous benefactors. He is paying for these illustrations. Mr.

F. V. Evans was in fact the initiator of these articles on Wild Life

Protection in India. It is a subject in which he has always inter-

ested himself and the great encouragement and very material

assistance which he has given to the Society in advancing this

cause must earn for him the gratitude of all those who are inter-

ested in this question.. Our thanks are also due to the American

Museum of Natural History, New York, and to the Field Museum,

Chicago, for permission to use some of the pictures which accom-

pany these articles. Acknowledgements are due to Mr. Pocock of

the British Museum and to Mr. W. S. Millard for the help they

have given in supervising the preparation of the illustrations.

The Society hopes that these articles will clo something to-

wards drawing the attention of people in India to the magni-

ficent heritage which Nature has given them in this country.

It hopes they will help them to realise the need for preserving

this legacy to their own advantage and to the enjoyment of

generations to come, who with the spread of education will be in

a better position to appreciate its worth than we are today.

12 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

PART II.

The Distribution of Mammals.

In the distribution of its Wild Life few regions of the Earth

exceed British India in interest. The Indian Empire covering an

area of approximately 1,800,000 square miles displays in its physical

characters and in its temperature and climate the most remarkable

variation. Its widespread frontiers include the Himalayas, soaring

for thousands of feet above the level of perpetual snow, the deserts

of Sind and Rajputana, the luxuriant rain swept forests of' Assam

and the Malabar Coast, the cold and arid plateaus of Ladak and

Tibet.

Across our northern frontiers stands the chain of the loftiest

mountain range in the world, while our shores are washed by an

ocean which stretches south to the bleak Antarctic forming an in-

superable barrier to the dispersal of our wild life.

It is proposed before describing the mammals of the Indian

Empire, to give a picture of the varied conditions under which

they live — these conditions being the factors which influence their

distribution.

Animals are dependent directly or indirectly upon plants for

their food. The vegetation of a country is therefore one of the

main factors which influences the character of its animal life. But

the type of vegetation, which will grow in any country, depends

upon its climate and the climate upon its physical features — the

level of the land, the presence or absence of mountain or hill

ranges, the height and aspect of these ranges. Hence the distri-

bution of animal life upon this Earth, as we know it today, is

based entirely upon the changes which have taken place in its

surface through the long ages of its history.

All through time the surface of the Earth has been changing.

Mountain ranges stand in areas once submerged beneath the sea.

Expanses of land have broken up to become separate continents,

divided by oceans, and on the other hand dividing seas have

receded to form continuous stretches of dry land.

It is believed that during the early part of the Tertiary epoch

the Peninsula of India — the triangular tableland which stretches

from the highlands of Central India to Cape Comorin — was a

large island. This island during a still more remote period was_

perhaps united to Africa. But during the Tertiary period it was

separated from the mainland of Asia by shallow seas which

covered the plains of northern India and the whole of Kashmir.

The Himalayas and the greater part of Tibet, formerly submerged

beneath the sea, were then a land of moderate elevation drained

by great rivers, which flowing east and west poured their allu-

vium and silt into the adjoining seas. During the millions of

years that elapsed, while no great changes have been traced in

the ancient island, the whole of those gigantic forces which

created the great Himalayan ranges exerted their influence. They

raised the land and drained the seas covering Assam and gave

birth to the Eastern Himalayas. Thus was formed the first land

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

13

connection between India and the Continent of Asia. Thus was

provided a land bridge by which all the forms of life developing

in Central Asia were able to enter and colonise the Indian Penin-

sula.

It is believed that after a great interval of time, a second

upheaval took place. It produced the main Himalayan ranges

and converted what was left of the intervening sea into the plains

of northern India. After an epoch of quiescence, a third upheaval

crumpled and ridged up a strip of this plain to form the outer

ranges of the Himalayas — the group of hills known as the Siwa-

liks. So was formed in the course of ages the Sub-Continent of

India.

What animals inhabited the country during this distant era ?

The remains of extinct creatures discovered in the upper layers

of the Siwalik range and in other parts of the country give us

a glimpse of a wonderful wealth of animal life during the Tertiary

epoch. Mastodons and great herds of elephants of various species

trumpeted and tramped through the swamps and reedy forests

of this region. With them lived hippopotamus, rhinoceros of

various kinds and a colossal four-horned ruminant the Sivatherium.

There were troops of giraffe, of large and pigmy horses, camel,

herds of wild oxen, buffalo, bison, deer, many kinds of antelope,

wild pig and pig-like creatures. Further, the fossil beds reveal

the existence in the Siwaliks of chimpanzees, orang-outans and

baboons, of langurs and macaques. The beasts of prey included

a type of cheetah or hunting-leopard, sabre-toothed tigers and vari-

ous large and small felines; wolves, jackals and foxes, civets,

martens, rat els and otters. The bears were represented by a species

similar to our sloth bear, the rodents by various genera including

bamboo rats, mole rats, porcupines and hares.

A striking fact, emerging from the comparison of the fauna

of the past with that of the present, is the wonderful variety of

forms which lived in those remote times and the relatively fewer

forms of our day. It must be remembered that our records are

incomplete. Yet we know that eleven different species of ele-

phants and mastodons lived in the Siwaliks as compared with the

solitary living form we have now. There were 6 different species

of rhinoceros and several representatives of the wild boar, some

of gigantic dimensions. The beasts of prey were also more numer-

ous than those now living in that region.

This marked impoverishment of the Fauna is not peculiar to

India, The remains of extinct animals unearthed in various parts

of Europe, Asia and North America reveal a similar loss.

It is interesting also to note how many forms of life akin to

those of that distant epoch still continue to flourish in India after

millions of years. Langurs, macaques, various species of felines,

hyaenas, jackals and foxes, sloth bears, ratels, mole rats, porcu-

pines, hares, rhinoceroses, bison, and elephants allied to those

which lived in the Tertiary age, still live in this country; how

many again still inhabit other regions of the Earth though no longer

found in India? Chimpanzees, baboons, hippopotamus and giraffes,

eland, kudus and other antelope survive in Africa, though not

14 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

in India. A considerable affinity has been traced, between the

fauna of the Siwalik period and the wild animals now living in

India and Africa. Rhinoceroses, elephants, antelopes, various

species of felines, hyaenas, jackals, foxes, ratels, mungooses and

several forms of rodents exist in both countries. It is believed

that a very large proportion of the animals which formerly existed

in the Siwaliks and the allied species now inhabiting Africa and

India were derived wholly or partly from the same ancestors,

which may have originally migrated southward from Europe and

Central Asia. The remains of extinct animals discovered in

Europe and Central Asia show that elephants, rhinoceroses, hippo-

potami, tapirs, antelopes, lions and tigers once inhabited these

regions. During this epoch it is believed that the northern coun-

tries enjoyed an almost tropical climate. But owing to a change

in climate and other causes all those forms of life which were

unable to adapt themselves to changing conditions perished, . or

migrated southwards.

It is well known that during the latter part of the Tertiary Era

the climate of Europe was becoming gradually cooler and that this

refrigeration ended in a Glacial Epoch or ‘Ice Age’ in which the

northern countries were subjected to an Arctic climate. The ‘Ice

Age’ also produced glacial conditions in the Himalayan region,

but whether these conditions extended into the Peninsula of India

is not known.

It is assumed that all forms of life inhabiting the countries so

affected were compelled to adapt themselves to the changing con-

ditions, to migrate or perish. Some were able to react to the

new conditions, many were exterminated, while others migrated

southwards to colonise warmer tropical countries. Thus is ex-

plained the disappearance of numerous forms of life from the

Northern Hemisphere and the Himalayas and the survival of their

descendants both in India and Africa in our time.

Many forms of life, represented in the older fauna, disappeared

from this country. Their place appears to have been taken by

others which subsequently migrated into India from the countries

lying to the east of the Bay of Bengal. Many Indo-Chinese mam-

mals, not represented in the older Siwalik fauna, are believed to

have migrated into India from the hill ranges of Assam and the

countries further east. The majority of them settled in the East-

ern Himalayas, while others spread through or colonised parts of

the Peninsula. About 70 per cent of the mammals living in the

Himalayan forests between Kashmir and Bhutan are found equally

in the hill forests of Assam, Burma, South China, while some

Malayan types, like the Mouse Deer and the Borises, inhabit parts

of the Peninsula. A stream of migration has also come from the

West. Such species as the Indian Lion, the Indian Gazelle and

the Oorial of the Punjab and Kashmir from their westerly range

or their affinity with species inhabiting regions lying to the west

are believed to have extended into India through her western

frontiers.

Thus we see that the wild life of India is derived not only

from species which were indigenous to it, which are found in no

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

15

other country in the world, but also from forms, descendants of

ancestors that have migrated into India from the regions which

adjoin its borders. It is composed of an admixture of Indian,

Malayan, Ethiopian and European elements. These foreign forms

naturally predominate in parts of the country most suited to their

habits. The Malayan forms abound in the damp sheltered forest

clad valleys of the Eastern Himalayas and occur again with fre-

quency in the rain swept forests of the Malabar Coast. The fauna

of Kashmir, and the Higher Himalayas is marked by a predomi-

nance of European types. The main Peninsula is described as the

home of the true Indian fauna. The desert tracts of Sind and the

Punjab shelter an animal life somewhat uniform with that of the

great Palaearctic Desert which extends westwards from Sind to

the shores of northern Africa.

With this brief review of some of the factors which influenced

the character and composition of the Indian fauna we may now

consider its present general distribution.

India with south-eastern Asia forms part of the Oriental

Region, one of the six great Zoological Realms into which the

Earth has been divided to study the distribution of its animal life.

Each of these Realms supports its characteristic animal life.- That

the animals and plants of one country or group of countries may

differ from those of another must be apparent to most people. But

the Indian Empire, while it forms part of the Oriental Region,

presents in itself such contrasts in physical characters, such vari-

ation in climate and vegetation that its animal life naturally varies

with conditions in different parts of the country.

This vast Empire has been divided into various zones or sub-

regions each of which supports its characteristic assemblage of

wild animals. There is no sharp line of demarcation between

these zones. It would be difficult to plot them out exactly on

a map. The animal life of one zone merges imperceptibly into

that of another and there are widespread species which live in one

or more zones. But on the whole it may be claimed that the

animal life of a particular zone is sufficiently distinctive to be

distinguishable from that of another.

The Himalayan Sub-Region.

The Himalaya Mountains, enclosed by the Indus in the West

and the Brahmaputra in the East, support an animal life more

or less distinct from the rest of India. But the great range of

altitude of these mountains has naturally resulted in marked

peculiarities of distribution in its plants and animals.

Three distinct zones, each with its characteristic assemblage

of animals, are now recognised, The first covers the whole of the

forested slopes of the Himalayas from the eastern frontiers of

Kashmir to Bhutan. The second includes the Western Himala-

yas from Kashmir and eastern Ladak to Chitral, the third the

arid plateaux of eastern Ladak and Tibet. The bare towering

peaks above the tree line and a strip of upland grass country

16 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

which lies between the main Himalayan Range and the Plateau

of Tibet is regarded as a transition zone. Here the animal life of

the Plimalayan forests merges into one which is characteristic of

Europe and Central Asia.

The foothills and lower valleys or ‘dhuns’ of the Forest Zone

are covered with dense tropical vegetation. These lower forests

are inhabited mainly by animals which are found in the forests

of the Peninsula. Tiger, elephants, gaur, sambhar, and muntjac

are common. In the swamps and forests of the Terai — the strip

of low lying country which adjoins the foothills — gaur are replaced

by buffalo, and cheetal, hog-deer and swamp-deer are found.

When an altitude between 5,000 to 6,000 feet is reached the

character of the vegetation changes. The forests become dark

and gloomy.. Oaks, magnolias, laurels and birches covered with

moss and ferns replace the sal, silk-cotton trees, and giant bam-

boos of the foothills. At an elevation of about 9,000 to 12,000

one enters forests of pine and fir trees, of yew and juniper with

an undergrowth of scrubby rhododendrons and dwarf bamboo. We

enter a temperate zone with a temperate vegetation. But there

is no sharp line of demarcation between the tropical and tempe-

rate forests. The transition from one to the other is gradual;

much depending on the height of the intermediate ranges and the

depth of the inner valleys. In the Eastern Himalayas, exposed to

the full blast of the monsoon, tropical trees reach higher levels

than in the colder and drier climate of the Western Himalayas.

The animal life of the temperate zone is distinguished by the ab-

sence of many species which inhabit the Indian Peninsula and by

the presence of many Indo-Chinese forms, which do not occur in

the Peninsula, but are common in the hill forests of Assam, Burma

and Southern China. Racoons, hog-badgers, ferret-badgers, crest-

less porcupines, and those curious goat-antelopes the goral and

the serow are some of the typical inhabitants of these tem-

perate forests. They are not found elsewhere in India

but range widely in similar forests through Assam and the countries

further east. The Indo-Chinese element in the fauna is very

marked in the Eastern Himalayas but, as one travels westward,

it gradually disappears, until in Kashmir and the countries further

west, it ceases to be the principal constituent. The probable colo-

nization of these forests by emigrants from the hill ranges of

Assam has already been commented upon.

The second great zone of the mountain system extends from

Kashmir and Western Ladak to Chitral. The Indo-Chinese

mammals of the Central and Eastern Himalayas are here replaced

largely by Indian species and by an infusion of forms allied to

European and more northern Asiatic types. Many animals

living in the plains of India are or were found in this zone among

them the Muntjac, the Blackbuck and the Chinkara. The Sam-

bhar is absent, The most distinctive deer is the Kashmir Stag,

a relative of the Red-Beer of Europe. Again, typically northern

animals, such as the Ibex and Markhor range through these west-

ern mountains, but, like the Kashmir Stag, do not extend into

the Eastern Himalayas. The Oorial or Shapu is also not found

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE L

By courtesy of

Himalayan scenery above tree line.

R. B. Holmes & Co,

By courtesy of

Himalayan scenery at the edge of the tree line.

R. B. Holmes & Co.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

, 17

far beyond Kashmir but extends its territory westward through

the Punjab, Baluchistan and Afghanistan to the Persian hill

ranges. Kashmir appears then to have received its fauna from the

Indian Peninsula and the countries lying to the north and west.

The bare peaks above the tree line and the strip of luscious

grass country lying between the mountains and arid plateaux of

Tibet is described as a transition zone — a meeting ground between

the animal life of the Oriental and the northern or Palaearctic Re-

gions. It is obvious that the huge mass of the Himalayas, must

be a great barrier to the free migration of animals. This obstacle

combined with the great difference in climate north and south

of the range has resulted in a fairly sharp line of demarcation at

about the 28°, between two distinct faunas — the Oriental in the

south and the Palaearctic in the north. Evidence of this is . parti-

cularly marked in the Eastern Himalayas. Here north of this

line live such typically northern animals as moles, water- shrews,

mouse-hares, marmots, musk-deer and the bharal, while south of

it, the forests are inhabited by typically Oriental animals like

flying-foxes, fruit-bats, tree-shrews, civets, mungooses and Oriental

squirrels.

The Tibetan Plateau together with the Eastern Ladak is re-

garded as a distinct faunal area. The zone does not include the

low lying wooded portions of eastern Tibet but covers the barren

hills and plains which lie beyond the Himalayas but within the

northern frontiers of India from Kashmir to' Bhutan. It is a wind-

swept region of scanty rainfall, intense cold and high elevation

and is described as the only region of the globe where desert

and arctic conditions prevail. The Wild Ass, which is found in

various desert parts of Asia, lives in this zone which also shelters

the Arctic Hare. The Great Tibetan Sheep, the Bharal and the

Yak are also typical inhabitants of these cold, desolate and barren

mountains. So much for the wild life of the Himalayan Region.

Its greaf range of altitude and variety of climate and temper-

ature; its vegetation ranging from tropical to alpine and its geo-

logical history make it one of the most interesting zoological regions

in the world.

Assam and Burma are included in the same zoological pro-

vince as the forest region of the Himalayas. There is the same

gradation from tropical to temperate vegetation though the purely

Alpine flora of the higher Himalayas is largely absent. The dis-

tribution and character of the animal life is similar, except in

Tenasserim, where the fauna is distinctly Malayan in type. These

Malayan types are traceable all through the province into the hill

ranges of Assam, with an intermingling of peculiar forms. Of the

wild animals of Burma some, like the Gaur, are identical with

those of India, others, like the Sambhar or the Thamin, are re-

garded as Burmese representatives of Indian forms.

The Main Indian Region.

India proper from the base of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin,

with the exception of the Malabar Coast, is regarded as a single

2#

18 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

sub-region — the eis-Gangetic or Indian Peninsular sub-region. The

northern part of this sub -region comprises the alluvial plains of

the Ganges, the Indus and the Brahmaputra rivers and their tri-

butaries. It covers the greater part of the Provinces of Assam,

Bengal, Bihar, the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sind. This

immense tract of level land from 90 to BOO miles wide and

stretching for 1,400 miles from sea to sea separates the main

Indian Peninsula from the Himalayas. South of the Gangetic

Plain, the Peninsula takes the form of a triangular tableland;

varying in altitude from a thousand to three thousand feet, broken

up at intervals by the valleys of its intersecting rivers. The

northern side of the tableland rests on confused hill ranges known

collectively as the ‘Vindhya Mountains’. Its two other sides are

formed by the Eastern Ghats, stretching in fragmentary spurs down

the Madras coast and the Western Ghats, which form the great,

almost continuous, sea wall of the Bombay Presidency. The

face of the triangular plateau is scarred with scattered peaks and

hill ranges — outliers of the Ghats. The most notable are the

Nilgiris, the Annamalais and the Pulni Hills of Southern India.

The animal life of the Indian Peninsular region is character-

ised by the absence of many of those Indo-chinese species which

are so abundant in the hill forests of the Himalayas. It is the

home of the true Indian fauna of which, the Spotted Deer, the

Nilgai, the Blackbuck, the Pour-Horned Antelope and the Sloth

Bear are typical representatives;. They are found nowhere else.

Other species like the Gaur, the Sambhar and the Muntjac occur

both in India and the Malay countries.

The Indian Desert Region.

The Trans-Indus districts of the Punjab, Western Sind and

Baluchistan really form the eastern limits of a great desert region

which extends through Persia, Mesopotamia and Arabia to the

shores , of North Africa. Naturally the character of the wild life

of the Indian Desert region differs markedly from the rest of

India. It consists mainly of species which have migrated into

it from the desert lands lying beyond its borders, and of species

from the Peninsula which are able to live under the conditions

prevailing in these arid and sandy wastes.

The Gangetic Plain.

The general distribution of animals in the Indian Sub-Region

corresponds to a large extent with the character of the vegetation

which is again dependent on variations in climate and soil. In

the great plain of the Ganges the rainfall is moderate and the

winter temperature is correspondingly low. In the north-western

portions of the Plain, in the Punjab and Western Rajputana the

vegetation gradually merges into that of the adjoining desert zone.

In this area live many desert forms of animals such as the desert

cat, the desert fox, the desert hare and various species of desert

gerbilles — colonists from the desert zone. These desert forms dis-

appear as one travels eastwards into the more humid part of, the

Gangetic Plain. A feature of the dry zone' of the Gangetic Plain

JouRisr. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE II.

Rajputana : Semi-desert vegetation,

Photos by V. McCann.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE III.

United Provinces : Open deciduous forest.

Photo by C. McCann.

Photo by Salim, A. AIL

Deccan Trap country : Typical vegetation and scenery.

THE WILD ANIMALS OP THE INDIAN EMPIRE

19

is also the presence of large herds of antelope and gazelle. In

the humid plains of Bengal, the semi-desert vegetation of the

northern plain gives place to luxuriant groves of mangoes, figs and

palms, such as one finds in the moist coastal tracts of the Penin-

sula. The wild life of this humid area differs little from that of

the moister and more cultivated parts of the Peninsula* Further

east, at the mouths of the Ganges, the great plain is transformed

into a wilderness of swamp and forest, — the Sunderbans. It is

a region of grassy savanahs and muddy islets covered with man-

groves and dense evergreen forests. These forests shelter most

of the larger animals found in the forests of the Peninsula with

the addition of swamp-deer, buffalo, rhinoceros and such animals

as have a preference for this amphibious terrain.

The Main Peninsula.

While the drainage areas of its intersecting rivers are covered

with green woods and cultivation, the greater part of the tableland,

which forms the main Peninsula of India, presents a scene of wide

undulating plains separated by ranges of flat-topped hills. A por-

tion of the plateau, comprising the eastern parts of Central India,

Gujerat and the Deccan is sheltered from the monsoon by the

great wall of the Western Ghats. It is a dry region of moderate

rainfall. This dry zone extends to the low lands of the Carnatic

and stretches south to the plains of southern India. These are

again cut off from the monsoon by the southern hill ranges. Tho

dry zone of the tableland has its characteristic vegetation due to

climate and to soil. From the Bombay coast to the neighbour-

hood of Nagpur, from below Belgaum to Goona in, Central India,

over some 200,000 sq. miles of country, black cotton soil predomi-

nates. It is derived here from the underlying volcanic rocks known

as Deccan Trap which forms the unbroken substratum throughout

this area. Black soil produces its characteristic wild and cultivated

vegetation. The wide grass-covered plains and the bases of the

flat-topped hills in the Trap country are scattered with clumps of

thorny acacias, species of Zizyphus, small trees and shrubs which

are either leafless or burnt up in the hot weather. Forests, where

they exist, are mainly deciduous and composed of stunted teak,

bamboos and sundry small trees. In the open grasslands and

scrub jungle, herds of gazelle and antelopes are again common.

Other typical animals of the open country in the Peninsula are

the Jungle Cat, the Common Fox, the Common Mongoose, the

Indian Wolf, palm squirrels, hares and a variety of field rats and

mice. Gaur, sambhar, spotted deer, sloth bear and wild dogs

are found in its open deciduous hill forests. As one leaves the

Trap country and penetrates the humid region lying north and

east of Nagpur, one enters a zone; where the climatei is somewhat

similar to the plains of Bengal, the character of the soil and of

the vegetation changes. Teak ceases to be the dominant tree of

the forests. It gives place gradually to Sal, while the familiar

crops of the Trap country millet, pulses, and cotton yield to watery

rice and cane fields, The wild life of the forests of this humid

20 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

zone is enriched by the presence of wild elephants, buffalo and

swamp-deer, which occur in this area.

The Malabar Coast.

The Western Ghats, in sharp contrast to the adjoining dry

zone of the Deccan, presents a region of great humidity and

heavy rainfall. The forests covering the western slopes are at

times very dense and composed of lofty trees, festooned with nume-

rous perennial creepers. Bamboos form a luxuriant undergrowth.

In parts of the range, the forests are more open and the banks of

clear streams running through them are covered with spice and

betel groves.

The Nilgiris, an off-shoot of the Western Ghats, rise precipi-

tously to form extensive grassy downs and tablelands seamed with

densely forested gorges or sliolas. They are composed of tall ever-

green trees with a dense undergrowth. Sholas, similar to those of

the Nilgiris, occur in the Annamallai, Pulni Hills and other South

Indian ranges. They provide the main shelter to wild elephants,

gaur and other large animals of these hills. The most interesting

feature of the higher level forests of the Nilgiris is their affinity

to the higher forests of the Assam hill ranges. Many of the trees

found in these high sholas and some of the forms of animal life

are common to both areas. The forests of the Western Ghats and

the South Indian hill ranges have a richer fauna than the remain-

ing areas of the Peninsular Region. Among the species limited

to these forests are the Nilgiri Langur, the Lion-tailed Macaque,

the Nilgiri Brown Mongoose and the Striped-necked Mongoose,

the Malabar Civet and the Spiny Mouse. In the higher levels

of the Nilgiris and the Annamallais are found such characteristically

Himalayan animals as the Thar and the Pine-Marten.

From this general description of the composition and distri-

bution of the mammals of the Indian Empire and of the varied

conditions under which they live, it will be seen that they share

with all other living things the strong natural tendency to increase

their sphere of action, to extend their territory. We find animals

which have originated in countries beyond our frontiers or in our

northern mountain ranges extending their range and colonising

the Peninsula. When a species thus spreads into a new territory,

where the climate, the vegetation and the enemies it has to face

are different from its original home, it must either adapt itself

to these changed conditions or it will fail to establish itself. These

different conditions may produce differences in its appearance and

habits, in other words, produce a variation from the typical parent

form. If these colonists are subsequently isolated from the parent

stock by impassable barriers, produced as a result of geological

and other changes, they will tend in the course of centuries to

differ more and more' from the parent stock. Glacial conditions

which obtained in the Himalayas during the Ice Age are believed

to have driven the Thar with other animals to colonise

the Indian Peninsula, which is assumed to have enjoyed a more

temperate climate during this epoch. The return of tropical con-

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE IV.

Assam : Dense evergreen forest.

Photos by C. McCann.

Assam : Interior of dense evergreen forest.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

21

ditions in India is believed to have resulted in the extermination

of the Thar in the Peninsular Begion. But those which were able

to obtain a refuge in the temperate climate of the higher altitudes

of the Nilgiris and Annamallai Hill ranges survived. Isolation

from the parent Himalayan stock, different conditions of life,

produced in the course of centuries those differences in colouring

and texture of coat, shape of horn and other characters which now

distinguish the Nilgiri from the Himalayan Thar. In other words r

a new and distinct species was evolved. But if no impassable,

barriers are created, the new varieties evolved in different con-

nected areas remain more or less alike. There is interbreeding

and consequently an intergradation of characters between these

varied geographical races linking them with the parent form. Thus,

among many widespread species of animals, we find more or less

easily distinguishable geographical races, evolved as a result of

the different conditions under which they live in different areas of

their range. In the case of the Gaur or Indian Bison, which extends

from India through Burma and the Malay countries, there are well

marked differences in the shape of the skull which enable us to

differentiate between the Indian Gaur and the gaur living in the

forests of the Malay Peninsula. While the Gaur of Burma and

Assam intergrade between these two extreme types.

In the past naturalists were content to classify animals in

accordance with the salient characters or marked differences be-

tween species. In recent years it has been recognised that it

is not only necessary to classify species but it is equally or more

important to systematically record geographical variations where

they exist in a species. This data, when sufficiently multiplied,

will in future furnish information for the investigation of problems

connected with the variation and distribution of species. There-

fore, in more recent publications dealing with Indian animal life,

we find due attention paid to the description of geographical races

wherever these occur.

It will also be seen that a knowledge of animal life gives us

a better knowledge of ancient geography. It reveals changes which

have taken place in the distribution of land and water and shows

how the present distribution of land animals has been brought

about. We have seen also some of the factors which have influenced

this distribution or produced changes in or the extermination of

numerous forms. In our day, the agency which accelerates these

changes is Man. In India, irrigation by human agency in the

desert tracts of the Punjab and Sind has resulted in the conversion

of vast tracts of desert land into fertile country. This is bringing

about a change in the character of the animal life of these areas.

Desert species are retreating from them. They are being replaced

by forms more adapted to the changed conditions. Again, Man

sweeps away forests, dams rivers and wipes out of existence races

of animals which are the culmination of centuries of evolution.

While Man is a destructive agent, he can also become a preserver

and protect wild creatures from the destructive effects of his own

handiwork. The need for saving the wild creatures of this world

from annihilation is recognised in most countries of the world.

22 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Various factors, as a result of human activity, are threatening the

wild creatures of India with extermination. There is, as we have •

seen, great need in this country for adequate measures to pre-

serve wild life from the destruction which threatens it.

The pages which follow contain illustrations and brief descrip-

tions of the Mammals of the Indian Empire. They are based

mainly on the observations of sportsmen and Naturalists who have

contributed to the pages of the Journal oh this Society during the

past 50 years, whose writings have added so much to the sum

of knowledge of the Natural History of the Indian Empire.

Among other books referred to are:

Dunbar Brander, A. A. ‘Wild Animals in Central India’.

Evans, Major G. P. ‘Big Game Shooting in Upper Burma’.

Burrard, G, (Major General) ‘Big Game Hunting in the

Himalayas and Tibet’.

Stewart, A. E. (Col.) ‘Tiger and Other Game’.

Stockley, C. H. (Lt.-Col.) ‘Big Game Shooting in the

Indian Empire-’.

Champion, E. W. (I.F.S.) ‘With a Camera in Tigerland’.

,, ,, ,, ‘Sunlight and Shadow in the

Indian Jungle’.

Lydekker, It. ‘The Great and Small Game of India’.

,, , , ‘-Catalogue of Ungulate Mammals (B.M.).’

Blanford, W. T. ‘Eauna of British India, Mammalia’.

Jerdon, T. C, ‘The Mammals of India’.

British Museum, ‘Game Animals of the Empire’.

PART III.

Ungulates or Hoofed Animals.

The Ungulates or hoofed animals are included in four well

defined Orders of Mammals :

(1) Poboscidea : Elephants.

(2) Perissodactyla: Rhinoceros, Tapir and Horses.

(3) Artiodactyla : Cattle etc., Deer, Camel, Hippopotamus

and Pig.

(4) Hyracoidea : Coneys.

' Afl of them are ground dwelling animals, all of them exclusively

or . mainly vegetarians in diet. With this common mode of life

there is a common general plan in their structure. Unlike the

clawed limbs of beasts of prey or the grasping hands of apes and

monkeys, the feet of Ungulates are unsuited to any function beyond

supporting and moving the body. Their main purpose is progres-

sion. They are built to withstand rough wear and to support and

carry the body with speed over long distances.

With the exception of camels and the coneys, all Ungulates

have the ends of their toes encased in a, large horny hoof or pro-

tected by large hoof-like nails. A few among them are clumsy

and slow moving creatures. The majority are slender-limbed and

fleet ’ of foot. In the open spaces in which many of them live,

speed of movement is their main protection against numerous

foes*

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

23

Hoofed animals walk on the very ends of their toes, not on

the soles of their feet. By this means the full extent of the

limb comes into action. Its stride is increased. Now, an animal

moving on the tips 'of its toes presents the narrowest possible

portion of its body to the resisting earth. Its body obtains suffi-

cient support and leverage. Its feet can be disentangled from the

ground with greater facility. It moves with greater speed because

rapid mechanical progress over the unyielding surface of the ground

depends largely on one factor. The points of a moving bod}'

which come in contact with the ground must be few in number

and small in area. Besistance to movement is thereby decreased.

When the area presented to the ground is increased, as in the case

of an animal which walks on the soles of its feet, speed is dimi-

nished. Among hoofed animals the extent of the foot coming in

contact with the ground is further limited by a reduction in the

number of toes. With the exception of the elephant, no Ungulate

has more than four functional toes. Some have three, the majo-

rity two, horses only one. Among these animals Nature’s plan

has been to lengthen and strengthen the bones of one or more

of the original five toes and to dispense more or less completely

with the others. Coupled with this perfecting of the foot as an

organ for rapid movement there is a corresponding development

in the length and system of articulation of the bonelets of the

wrists and ankles. These developments have given greater firm-

ness to the foot, making it less liable ‘to give’ under pressure and

more suited to animals which run.

Speed and surety of movement has been reached not by the

immediate invention of a new limb for this purpose. Nature has

availed herself of existing structures — of the normal 5-toed foot.

From this she has evolved the form of limb suited to the different

needs of different hoofed animals. So far as can be judged, the

various hoofed animals are derived from several stocks or primitive

5-clawed ancestors. In each of them the hoofs have been inde-

pendently evolved in adaptation to similar habits of life. The

varied modifications which have taken place in the limbs of Un-

gulates is seen by comparing modern types with those which

flourished in the distant past. In the instance of the Horse, a

complete transition is traced from a 5-toed ungulate of the Eocene

or ‘Dawn Age’, walking partly on the soles of its feet, to a 4-toed,

then a 3-toed horse and so finally to the modern horse which has

a single toe on each foot and treads the earth on the very tip

of these toes. The modern horse carries the rudimentary vestiges

of the second and fourth toes in the shape of ‘splint bones’ on

each side of the long bone of its fore and hind feet. Of its first

and fifth toe no trace remains.

The gradual perfecting of the fore and hind limbs as running

organs in hoofed animals has been put down to the changing con-

ditions in their environments. It is believed to be due to changes

in the earth’s surface, to the raising of the level of the land and

the consequent change in its climate and vegetation, These

changes resulted in the. conversion of marshy and forested tracts

into upland, open, grass-covered plains, where the safety of these.

24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

animals from numerous foes now depended on their capacity for

rapid flight. The same reasons are believed to explain the modi-

fications, which took place in the course of long ages, in the teeth

of Ungulates. There has been a gradual change in the shape of

the teeth. An early type, still seen in man and many mammals —

a type suited to a mixed or even carnivorous diet has given place

to teeth with flat grinding surfaces, complicated by folds and

ridges of enamel. This is seen in the molar teeth of the majority

of later Ungulates. In the horse for example, the grinding surface

pf the cheek teeth are made up of hard enamel ridges. These

ridges are braced on either side by layers of softer dentine. The

massive grinding organs are thus composed of substances of differ-

ent density. An effective irregular grinding surface is always

maintained by the persistence of the harder enamel and the wear-

ing away of the softer dentine. The food of the Ungulates, con-

sisting in most cases entirely of vegetable substances which require

much mastication, is believed to be the inducing cause for the

complex structure of the cheek teeth in the more specialised kinds.

While their grinding teeth have undergone special development there

is a decided tendency among the more specialised representatives

of the Order to a reduction either in the size or in the number

of the front teeth. The canine teeth are frequently small or

absent; while the incisor teeth in the upper jaw and more rarely

both the incisors and canines in the upper and lower jaws may be

wanting. All the earlier Ungulates and the modern pigs have

however well-developed tusks as well as the full number of front

teeth.

Artiodactyla or Even-toed Ungulates.

Ungulates are divided into four Orders in accordance with cer-

tain common structural characters which the members of each of

these groups exhibit. Three of these Orders are represented in the

Indian Empire. The first comprises the Artiodactyla or even-toed

Ungulates, Indian representatives of which are oxen, sheep, goat,

antelope, deer and pig. These animals differ from other Ungulates

in a number of characters. The most important is the arrange-

ment of the toes. If has been indicated that the feet of the

majority of Ungulates show a reduction in the number of toes

and that this reduction has been effected in different ways. The

Artiodactyla always possess either two or four toes, hence their

name even-toed. In all of them the first toe is absent. The

second and fifth toes are either wanting or reduced in size. They

form the ‘petty-toes’ of cattle and pigs, which are either rudi-

mentary, or do not touch the ground when walking. The third

and fourth toes are large and equal in size. They are perfectly

symmetrical. Together they support the full weight body. The

centre line of the foot passes between them. The two hoofs which

encase these toes present a flat surface to each other, and appear

like a single large hoof cleft in two; hence the name cloven-hoofed,

applied to these animals. This characteristic alone is sufficient to

distinguish all the members of this group.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

25

Artiodactyla which are extraordinarily numerous both in genera,

species and individuals are divided into four main groups or

sections , namely : —

(1 ) Pecora, Typical ruminants — Oxen, Sheep, Goat, Ante-

lope, Giraffe and Deer;

(2) Tragulina or Chevrotain;

(3) Tylopoda or Camel and Llama;

(4) Suina or Pig, Peccaries and Hippopotamus.

PECORA.

Oxen, sheep, antelope and deer are classed as typical rumi-

nants. They are believed to be of comparatively recent evolution.

Descendants of primitive Artiodactyles mainly inhabiting the old

world, they first appeared about the middle of the Tertiary Era.

The centre from which they spread over the earth is apparently

northern Asia. Thence they extended their territory into northern

Europe on the one hand and north America on the other. Later

they spread southwards to tropical countries. Kuminants are dis-

tinguished by several well-marked characters. Like all cloven-

hoofed animals they have only two functional toes on each foot,

but the long bones, immediately connected with these toes, are

fused into a single long bone called the! ‘cannon bone’. The side

toes are rudimentary or altogether wanting. The limbs and . feet

of ruminants are highly specialised both for speed and endurance.

Their cloven hoofs give them a surer hold on rough and irregular

ground and, as they expand when sinking ancl close on extrication,

a firmer footing in marshy land. Their teeth are distinctive.

Euminants, in general, have no cutting teeth in the upper jaw.

Their place is taken by a soft pad. The tongue is used to draw

the food into the mouth. To do this effectively its surface is

covered with rough points all directed towards the throat just

as in the tongue of a lion or a cat. The molar or cheek teeth

have long crowns capped with crescent shaped tubercles, which

with wear grind down into crescentic patterns.

The name ‘ruminant’ describes their well-known habit of rumi-

nating or ‘chewing the cud’.

There is considerable advantage in this habit to these bulky

though timid animals. They require large quantities of a parti-

cular type of food which must be thoroughly chewed before -its

nutrition becomes available. Through the process of rumination

large quantities of food can be eaten rapidly. The necessarily

longer process of chewing it can be continued when returning from

the feeding grounds or during rest, or put off till a place of safety

is reached. The complex stomach of the ruminant is specially

designed to assist in this process. It is divided into four separate

chambers. The first and largest — the paunch, serves to contain

the hastily swallowed food. Here it undergoes a softening process

and is returned in small quantities to the mouth to be thoroughly

chewed in that familiar slow and deliberate manner. As each

mouthful is reduced to pulp it is swallowed and immediately re-

placed by another. The pulped food now enters the second division

26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

of the stomach— the reticulum or honey-comb bag, so-called because

its walls resemble a honeycomb. In the honeycomb bag the food

is pressed and shaped and sent up the gullet again. It then

passes into the third and fourth divisions of the stomach. The

actual work of digestion takes place in the last chamber.

Typical Ruminants found within Indian limits are grouped in

two families :

(1) The Bovidae or hollow-horned Ruminants which include

oxen, sheep, goat and goat-antelope, antelope and gazelle,

(2) The Cervidae which includes the deer.

BOVIDAE OR HOLLOW -HORN ED RUMINANTS.

The horns of oxen, sheep, goat, antelope and gazelle consist

of two parts — a core of bone and an outer cap of tough, true,

horn. In the majority of genera both the core and its horny

cover are permanent during the life time of the animal. In the

deer the same core of bone is present and forms the substance

of the antlers. As with the hollow-horned ruminants the horns

of deer are covered with a skin pad. This covering — the velvet

lasts only for a certain period and is then rubbed off by the

exertions of the animal, leaving behind the bony core which is

popularly termed the horn. Stags however periodically shed this

bony part of the horn, a state of affairs which has no parallel

among hollow-horned ruminants.

The Bovidae or hollow-horned ruminants are a very extensive

family, containing all the cattle, goats, sheep and the antelopes.

They are distributed throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

Eleven genera are found within Indian limits. These are includ-

ed in 5 sub-families: (1) Bovinae, Domestic and Wild Cattle; (2)

Caprinae, Sheep and Goats; (3) Rupicaprinae , Serow, Goral and

Takin; (4) Tragelaphinae, Nilghai; (5) Antilopinae, Antelopes and

Gazelle.

Sub-Eamily 1. Bovinae : Gaur, Banting Yah and Buffalo.

The Bovines are as a rule large and massively built animals.

The neck is short and thick, the tail always long and tufted at

the tip. The muzzle broad, naked and moist.

In the Indo-Malayan region there are 4 species belonging to

this group, i.e. the Gaur ( Bibos gaurus), the Banteng ( Bibos ban-

tehg , . the Yak ( Poephagus grunniens) and the Indian Buffalo

( Bubalus bub alls).

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE No

Indian Bison oi Gaur ( Bibos gaurus, H. Smith).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

27

THE GAUR ( BIBOS GAURUS, H. SMITH).

The Gaur, one of the noblest animals of the Indian forest, is

apparently the largest of existing Bovines. A striking character in

the build of a Gaur is the muscular ridge upon its shoulders which

slopes down to the middle of the back where it ends in an abrupt

dip. With its huge head, the muscular ridge crowning its deep

body and its sturdy limbs the Gaur is the embodiment of vigour

and strength. A bull may stand 6 ft. 4 ins. at the shoulder. The

average height is between 5 ft. 8 ins. and 5 ft. 10 ins. Cows are

about 4 ins. shorter. Gaur appear to attain their finest develop-

ment in the South Indian hill ranges and in the forests of Burma

and Assam.

The horns are large and massive, considerably flattened and

corrugated at the base, rounded, smooth and turning inwards at

the tips. Cows have smaller and less sturdy horns. They are

rounder and have a narrower sweep. In bulls, a good average horn

is 27 ins., anything over 30 ins., is a fine head. The spread of

the horns taken together with the girth is the real test of a good

head.

The newly born Gaur : is a light golden yellow which soon

changes to fawn, then to light brown and so to coffee brown or

reddish brown — the colour of young bulls and cows. Old bulls

are jet black — their bodies almost hairless. In the dim light of

the forest an old cow may be mistaken for a bull; it looks almost

as black. The dark colouring of the body is set off by an ashy

coloured forehead and yellowish or white stockinged feet. Though

often described as pale blue, the eye of the Gaur is brown. It is

true that when the light falls on it at certain angles, the eyes are

a beautiful blue. This is caused by the Tapetum lucidium, the

membrane behind the eye-ball which is of a lovely peacock blue.

Though found in low forest in the neighbourhood of hills, Gaur

are essentially mountain animals. They usually live in small herds,

believed to comprise single families which, in quest of pasturage

or from other causes, may unite to form larger herds. They graze

at dusk or in the early morning and retire during the hotter hours

of the day to the seclusion of the jungle. Except when breeding,

they are peaceful animals and bulls of all sizes herd in perfect

amity with the cows, A young bull, when mature, generally lives

away from the herd, alone or in company with other bulls. These

usually keep in the vicinity of the main herd, but wander more in

quest of grazing. In the mating season, the younger bulls are

driven away by the master bull who obtains possession of his

cows by right of conquest. The herd bull generally returns to his

accustomed hermit existence till the urge to- mate is on him when

he will again seek the cows and dispute with other aspirants the

right of lordship. Really old beasts past the urge or capacity to

mate lead truly solitary lives.

Gaur are by nature timid animals usually shunning the neigh-

bourhood of man. They have a keen scent but comparatively

poor eyesight and hearing.

Gaur range through the larger hill forests of India, Burma and

28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

the Malay Peninsula. The eastern limits of their territory is im-

perfectly known. The Gaur of the Malay forests is regarded as

a distinct race. It is distinguished from Gaur inhabiting the In-

dian Peninsula by the shape of its forehead which is less concave,

the great arch of bone between the horns being less prominent or

practically absent.

The Gyal or Mythun ( Bibos frontalis) is the product of inter-

breeding between a bull Gaur and domestic cattle. At the fourth

generation the true stage of mythun is reached — an animal of lesser

stature than the Gaur, shorter limbs and usually a well developed

dewlap. The arched ridge between the horns and the concave

forehead of the Gaur disappear. In the Mythun the vertex of the

skull between the horns is straightened and the forehead flat.

The horns show a slight upward curve without the terminal inward

sweep. If breeding with domestic cattle is continued, the high

dorsal crest is reduced to a mere hairy thickening on the back,

the horns become more cow-like and the domestic cows’ varied

colouring begins to appear. Mythun are found in the mountainous

tracts from North Cachar; through Manipur, to the Lushai and

Chin Hills, They are the peculiar and characteristic possession

of the hill tribes inhabiting this region.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE V.

Prince of Wales’ Museum, Bcmbay ,

The Gaur or Indian Bison (Bibos gaurus, H. Smith).

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE .VI

Banting or Tsaine ( Bibos banteng birmanicus. Lyd.).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

29

THE BANTING OR TSAINE ( BIBOS BANT ENG

BIRMANICUS LYD.).

The Banting, the Wild Ox of Burma, is a smaller animal than

the Gaur, nevertheless he is massively built and stands quite 5 ft.

6 ins. at the shoulder or even higher. He is longer in the leg and

the dorsal ridge is less prominent but he has the same sturdiness

of limb and displays the same agility and vigour of movement as

his relative.

The high concave forehead and ‘roman’ nose of the Gaur is

wanting in the Banting. The horns are connected by a hairless

mass of horny substance as hard as the skull beneath. The

horns grow differently. They stand out at right angles to the

skull and then turn upwards and inwards somewhat abruptly.

They have the same rugged corrugations in front as in, the horns

of a Gaur, but are less massive. The colouring is perhaps lighter.

Good average horns measure about 24 ins. in length with) a girth

of 14 ins. and a spread of 25 to 30 ins, Anything over 25 may

be regarded as a good head. Young bulls and cows have cylindri-

cal horns, those of cows grow almost straight upwards, are smooth

throughout with but little girth.

Cows and young bulls are a bright chestnut with a white face,

white stockings and a distinctive white patch on the buttocks.

Young bulls sometimes show white spots on the flanks which in

time merge and turn a dirty grey. Older animals are described as

being yellowish brown, sometimes turning into a soiled grey on

the sides. Old bulls usually have the face down to the muzzle

dirty white, almost approaching grey, The coat may be entirely

grey or khaki, sometimes dark chocolate brown, more rarely, quite

black like the Javanese Banting. Ordinarily, in Burma, the older

the bull the lighter in colour it becomes. Burmese domestic cattle

tend to resemble Banting, in colour they have white patches on the

buttocks and white stockings. Banting occasionally consort with

domestic cattle.

The Banting, unlike the Gaur, prefers flat or undulating country.

In hill country they do not ascend to great elevations and keep to

the lower slopes. During the early rains they enter bamboo jun-

gles to browse on the young shoots and during the hot weather may

seek the shade of heavy jungle and cane brakes. In general they

prefer lighter kinds of forests. They wander about visiting different

grounds at different seasons of the year, their migrations being

influenced by the pasturage.

The herding and mating habits of the Banting are in no way

different to the Gaur. Master bulls take possession of the cows

during the mating season and otherwise lead a solitary existence.

The Banting is a shyer and much warier animal than the

Gaur, the sense of scent, sight and hearing are acutely developed.

The range of the Banting includes Burma, Siam, the Malay

Peninsula, Borneo and Java. About 5 races have been described

within this area.

30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

THE YAK ( POEPHAGUS GRUNNIENS ).

An adult bull Yak stands about 5 ft. 6 ins. at the shoulder and

may reach over 6 ft. It is a massively built animal with a droop-

ing head, high humped shoulders a straight back, and short sturdy

limbs.

Shaggy fringes of coarse hair hang from its flanks, cover chest,

shoulders, thighs, the lower half of . the tail and form a bushy

tuft between its horns and a great mane upon its neck. Its great

bulk, wild unkempt appearance and glaring eyes give the Yak a

formidable aspect. Conspicuous and distinctive as is this clothing

of long hairs, the Yak receives additional warmth through the rigo-

rous winters from a dense under-coat of soft closely matted hair.

In the spring the under fur is shed; it comes away in great masses

and, though completely separated from the skin, adheres in un-

tidy scattered patches to his hairy body. A baby Yak differs mark-

edly from its parents in the absence of the long hair fringes, which

are not noticeable in the calves until the second or third month.

The horns of a Yak are more or less rounded and quite smooth.

In old bulls, the horns may be slightly compressed at the base

but are never flat or corrugated as in the Gaur or Banting.

The colour of a wild Yak is a uniform blackish browm with

a . little white about the muzzle. Domestic Yaks of mixed breed

frequently display a tendency to piebald colouring.

An inhabitant of the coldest, wildest and most desolate moun-

tains of the Tibetan Plateau, where both arctic and desert condi-

tions prevail, the Yak lives in a continuous struggle with the

fiercest elements of Nature.

They are seldom found in very large herds, except in the spring

when the cows and calves congregate on the grazing grounds.

Bulls are generally solitary or found in small parties of three

or four, except in the rutting season in late autumn and winter

when the master bull is usually accompanied by 4 or 5 cows. Wild

Yak cross freely with Ladaki cattle.

Yak feed in the mornings and evenings on the wiry grasses

which grow in the valleys and have been noticed eating quantities

of salt earth which in some parts cover the ground with a white

crust. They retire to the steep barren hillsides to rest and as-

cend to great elevations.

Yak display an amazing agility in climbing; a herd is said to

travel in single file, each member carefully placing its feet in

the imprints left by the hoofs of the one preceding it.

The Yak is restricted to Tibet and the adjacent districts of

China.

Jotjrn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE VII

The Wild Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis, L.).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

31

THE INDIAN WILD BUFFALO OR ARNA {BUB ALUS

BUBALIS, L.).

Wild Buffaloes are much larger than the tame buffalo and

generally more hairy. A bull from the Godaveri district scaled

2,001 lbs. A large bull stands 5 ft. 6 ins, at the shoulder and

may even reach 6 ft. Though it has a finer carriage, the Wild

Buffalo differs little from the tame. Domestication has scarcely

changed it.

There are said to be two varieties of Indian Wild Buffalo — one

with straight horns turned up at the tips; the other with horns

which curve upwards to form a semicircle. Both types may be

found together in the same herd and there is much inter-grading

between the two forms. The horns are flat and triangular in

section; those of cows are less massive and vary less in shape.

Occasionally, a cow with a fine length of horn is seen. The

largest known horn — a cow’s — is 77 3/8 ins. in length. Giants of

this size must be exceptional.

Like the tame, the Wild Buffalo is a slaty black animal. The

legs are a dirty white beginning just above hock and the knee —

in this they resemble Gaur. The new born calf is light coloured —

almost yellow. Some domestic buffaloes have the same white

legs and some show a white patch between the horns.

Wild Buffaloes move about in small herds. In their social life

they follow the custom of their tribe. During the rut, the younger

bulls are temporarily driven out, the master bull taking possession

of the cows.

The younger bulls or a solitary old bull, powerless to obtain

lordship over a herd, frequently mix and breed with tame buffaloes

which are driven into the forests to graze.

The rut is said to commence at the end of the rains and the

young are born mainly between March and May.

Wild Buffaloes live almost entirely upon grass. Grass lands —

not always marsh — interspersed with nullahs provide the conditions

they prefer. They have no fear of approaching villages, come to

village tanks to drink and, during the rains, frequently enter

cultivation.

In India, the Wild Buffalo is found in the grass jungles of the

Terai, in the plains of the Ganges and Brahmaputra in Assam,

in Midnapore and Orissa and in the south-eastern portion of the

Central Provinces. The numerous herds of Wild Buffalo, once seen

in the C. P., are now a mere tradition. Association with domestic

cattle places the Wild Buffaloes in constant danger to disease to

which it is very susceptible. This is one of the animals which

requires strict protection if it is not to be exterminated. An allied

race of our Wild Buffalo occurs in Borneo — it is smaller in build

and carries smaller horns.

32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoW XXXVI

ii. Sub-Family II. : Caprinae.

Sheep and Goats.

Sheep and Goats form the second division of Bovines. The

majority of species inhabit the Highlands of Central Asia. This

is in marked contrast to Africa where only 3 members of the

group are present and these restricted to the northern parts of

the Continent. Three species of wild sheep and three species

of wild goats are found within our frontiers. They inhabit the

Himalayas and the trans-Himalayan countries, the hill ranges of

the Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan. The Himalayan and the Nilgiri

Thar are also included in the present group.

Sheep differ in some ways from Goats. Their horns curl for-

wards by the sides of the face or outwards in an open spiral. The

horns of Goats are situated close together, immediately above the

eyes and spring upwards in the same plane as the forehead. They

are either spirally twisted or scimitar shaped. Sheep usually have

shorter tails, the males do not grow a beard nor have they the

strong unpleasant odour of goats.

Most sheep have a small gland below the eye which lies in a

corresponding depression in the skull and a small gland in each

foot between the hoofs. Goats have no face glands, no gland in

the hind feet and in some cases none in the fore feet. The purpose

of these foot glands in Ungulates appears to be the lubrication or

greasing of the hoofs and the prevention of injury from friction.

Domestic goats have glands in the fore but not in the hind feet.

A hind quarter of a goat with hoofs attached therefore can be at

-once distinguished from a sheep’s by the absence of the hollow

feet-pits — a point of some domestic interest when an attempt is

made to substitute goat’s mutton for sheep’s.

Some wild goats, like the Himalayan Ibex, are hunted for their

dense soft uncler-fur, It is used as lining for shawls, for stock-

ings and gloves and is woven into fine cloth called tasi. No wool

is so rich, so soft and so full. The hair is manufactured into

coarse blanketing for tents and twisted into ropes. The skin of

the Himalayan Ibex, when tanned, provides the best leather for

the sock-like boot worn in Kashmir and the Pamirs.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE VIII,

The Urial ( Ovis'vignei , Blyth).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

33

THE SHAPU OR URIAL ( OVIS VIGNEI BLYTH).

The Wild Sheep known as the Shapu in Ladak, the Oorial in

the Punjab and the Gael in Baluchistan lives under widely differ-

ing conditions, in its extensive range. Three geographical races

are distinguished by colour and size and the form of the horns.

They are the Ladak Oorial ( Ovis vignei vignei), the Afghan Oorial

( Ovis vignei cycloceros) and the Punjab Oorial ( Ovi's vignei pun-

jabiensis).

The Ladak Urial stands about 3 ft. or more at the shoulder.

In summer its coat is rufous grey or fawn, in winter a mixture

of grey and brown. The Punjab Urial is smaller and redder in

colouring. The adult Urial ram wears a great black or grizzled

ruff growing from either side of the chin and meeting and extend-

ing down his throat. In older rams the ruff is grey or white in

front passing into black behind. In its sleeker summer coat much

of the ruff is shed. It is best developed in the Punjab race. The

horns are strongly wrinkled. They are set close together and

curve round in a circular sweep. In the Ladak Urial the horns

usually turn inwards at the tips, in the Afghan race they tend

to turn outwards and form an open spiral, in the Salt Range,

Punjab, they tend to form a circle. But there is much variation

in horn curvature, these divergent types may be seen in the same

herd, within the same area. The record horns of the three races

are as follows: — Ladak Urial 39 ins.; Afghan 41| ins.; Punjab

38-|- ins .

In Ladak, this sheep inhabits open valleys and hill sides; in

Astor, the grassy mountain slopes at moderate elevations below

forest. Its environment in the Punjab is rocky scrub covered hills,

in Sind and Baluchistan it is found in the barren stony ranges.

Urial are sturdy active sheep ever wary and alert. As with

most wild sheep, the older rams live apart from the ewes, except

during the breeding season. In the Punjab hills, the rut occurs

between October and November, and the lambs are born 5| months

later, in April and early in May. In Astor, lambing takes place

in June. Urial cross freely with domestic sheep.

The Ladak Urial ranges from Astor to the Zaskhar range in

Ladak and probably eastwards into Tibet. The Punjab race is

found from Jhelum Salt Range northwards; the Afghan race is

from Baluchistan and Afghanistan and is said to include the

Urial inhabiting the Khirthar range and its lower spurs in Sind.

34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVl

THE NYAN OR GREAT TIBETAN SHEEP

(OVIS AMMON HODGSONI BLYTH).

The Argali ( Ovis ammon), the largest of all wild sheep, in-

habits the Himalayas and the highlands of Central Asia. Over

this extensive region this sheep varies in different areas in the form

of its horns, colouring or size. Several more or less distinctive

races are recognised. Two races of the Argali — the Ny an or Great

Tibetan Sheep (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) and Marcopolo’s Sheep ( Ovis

ammon poll) occur within our frontiers.

The Great Tibetan Sheep stands from 3| to 4 ft. at the shoul-

der. Long in the leg, graceful and light — it suggests an antelope

in build. Its massive wrinkled horns, 16 to 19 ins, in girth, curve

in almost complete circle. The record, a picked-up head, measures

57 ins.

The ram is light brown with darker withers. His throat, rump,

underparts and limbs are white. Adult rams have white heads

and develop a white ruff about the neck much of which is shed

with the winter coat.

The Tibetan Plateau, where Nyan live, presents a wilderness of

desolate plains and low undulating sand hills, scorched in summer

and swept by icy winds through the freezing winters. In this

desert terrain the sheep are naturally migratory and wander to

wherever food and water is to be got. In the spring, when the

melting snows cause the scanty herbage to sprout, they frequent

the borders of the snow line or enter the ravines, some of which

hold trickling streams whose banks are covered with low bushes

and herbage. They summer in the higher levels above 15,000 ft.

and in winter descend to the shelter of the lower valleys. They

feed early in the morning and again in the evening and climb

some bare hillside to rest during the day. They avoid the damp

snow and select some dry spot, on the stony slope, kicking out

with their feet a shallow ‘form’ in which to lie down. Their

colouration is highly protective. It is difficult to discover them

except in movement. When lying down they usually keep their

heads erect but, when sleeping, lie with outstretched necks, the

big rams resting their great curling .1 Torus on the ground.

In the spring, the sexes, separate. Through the , summer the

older rams herd together in small parties and usually live apart

from the ewes and yearlings. They rejoin them in the late autumn

when the mating season begins. The young are born in M,ay and

early June, when the ewes seek the shelter of the more seeluded

valleys to lamb. This sheep was. once plentiful in the country to

the. eastward of Chang-Chemo in Ladak and across the Tibetan

border in the region lying to the north-east of the Pangkong Lake.

They occasionally cross into Spiti, Nepal and Kumaon and are

also found in the neighbourhood of the Tso Lhama Lake in the

extreme north of Sikkim.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE IX.

The Nyan or Great Tibetan Sheep ( Ovis ammon hodgsoni, Blyth).

Journ. Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE X.

Marco Polo’s Sheep ( Ovis amnion poll, Blyth).

35

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE]

MARCOPOLO’S SHEEP ( OVIS AMMON POLI BLYTH).

Marcopolo’s Sheep is a race of the Argali. It has less massive

horns which form an open and extended spiral;

An adult ram is from 11, to 12 hands high at the shoulder and

scales about 250 lbs. Like the Nyan, he is long1 legged aiid light

in build. His magnificent horns, deeply wrinkled and the colour of

old ivory, curve in a circle, then extend outwards in a bold sweep,

The record pair is 75 ins. in length. The average length is about

52 ins. with a girth of 15 ins. at the base. In winter the adult

ram has a creamy white head, legs and belly. His flanks are

grey, merging into the darker brown of the back. The general

colouring is that of the bare boulder strewn terrain in which this

sheep lives. The colour makes the animal almost invisible, ex-

cept in movement. Young lambs are uniform dark grey yearlings

a lighter mouse grey. The heavy winter coat is replaced about the

end of May by the short paler summer pelage.

Rolling boulder strewn plateaux, cut up by broad stony nullahs;

set against a sky line of snow-capped mountains— this is the dead

and desert region in which Ovis poll live. In the spring the little

patches of grass along the snow line and the nullahs, where a

small lake or winding stream produces herbage, form their habitual

resorts. Their food is then limited to the bunches of wiry grass

and later to a species of wild onion which springs up in the sandy

tracts. After a hard winter, conditions are most arduous and-

inariy die of starvation. In the summer, when there is a fair growth

of grass over the Pamirs, the veteran males ascend into the higher

and more remote nullahs, They feed morning and evening and

go up some bare hillside to rest during the day; always moving in

single file, the big ones leading. Excellent of sight and wonder-

fully keen in scent, when alarmed, they stand stock still or crowd

together stamping the ground with their forefeet, even advancing

nearer. All at once one bounds away, the herd follows heads held

high, galloping with long easy strides but, intensely curious, they

go a short distance, then turn and stop to see what disturbed them.

In their breeding habits differ in no way from, the Tibetan Nyan.

The rams fight as sheep do — a frontal attack with lowered head,

the horns meeting in a clash which can be heard at long way off,

or they charge alongside to strike sideways at the ribs and flanks.

Within Indian limits, Ovis poll are found only in Hunza . The

Mir of Hunza has given them for some years strict protection in

his territory. They exist in more or less reduced : numbers in most

of the side valleys of the Tagdumbash Pamirs. In the Russian

Pamirs they still seem to be plentiful.

36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

BHARAL (PSEUDO IS NAHOOR HODGSON)/

In structure and habits the Bharal holds a place intermediate

between the sheep and goats. Its horns are rounded and smooth,

and curve backwards over the neck. This sheep has no face

glands. Their position is however marked by a small bare patch

of skin. In these characters the Bharal approaches the goats. But

a Bharal ram is not bearded nor has lie the unpleasant ‘goaty’

odour. Again, Bharal may have glands between the hoofs in all

four feet; in goats these are always absent in the hind limbs.

A Bharal ram is about 3 ft. at the shoulder, stout and power-

fully built. It scales, according to the time of the year, from

120 to 150 lbs. Its coat is dense. The general colour of the head

and upper parts is brownish grey, suffused with slaty blue, brow-

ner in summer and more distinctly slaty grey in winter. The

colour in any season blends perfectly with the blue shale and rock

of the open hillsides where Bharal live. The face and chest in old

rams is black. A black stripe runs along the middle of each flank

and down the front of the legs. All these black markings are

absent in ewes. The horns are smooth and marked with fine stri-

ations — lines of growth. They curve outwards, and downwards and,

in well grown rams, curl backwards at the tips. The record head

from near Gyantse, Tibet, is 33J ins.; 23 ins. may be described as

a good head.

To find Bharal one must seek the higher altitudes, neighbour-

ing on 16,000 ft. in summer, and rarely below 12,000 in the winter.

In the main Himalayan Range they are found on the levels be-

tween the tree and snow line where there is rich and abundant

grass. In the Zaskar and Ladak ranges the slopes above tree line

are bare and they find their food in the occasional patches of

coarse grass, moss and dwarf shrubs. Bharal climb like goats and

take to the most difficult and inaccessible places when disturbed

but never enter forest or scrub. They live in large flocks, number-

ing as many as 200. These mixed flocks of rams and ewes may

contain well grown males but the mature rams keep somewhat to

themselves. In spring and summer the really old rams seek the

higher levels and rejoin the females and younger males in Sep-

tember.

Unlike the Urial the . Bharal will not cross with tame sheep nor

is it as easy to tame.

Though typically a Tibetan animal, the Bharal is also found

in Sikkim, Ladak and Nepal,

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

The Bharal or Blue Wild Sheep Pseudois nahoor, Hodgs).

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE Nil.

The Tien Shan Ibex ( Capra sibirica almasyi, Lorenz).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

37

THE ASIATIC IBEX (CAPRA SIBRICA MEY.).

The Genus Capra (Goats) is represented in our area by three

species: — The Asiatic Ibex ( Capra sibrica), the Sind Wild Goat

(Capra hircus blythi ) and the Markhor (Capra falconeri).

There are various geographical races of the Asiatic Ibex— a

species closely related to the Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex ) of the Swiss

Alps. The Asiatic animal is considerably larger in size; standing

as high as 42 inches at the shoulder. It is a sturdy, thick set

goat, with a great beard and a coat of coarse brittle hairs. In

winter, a dense under-fur of wool helps it to withstand the in-

tense cold of its native mountains. The colour is variable. In

general, the winter coat is yellowish white more or less tinged

with brown and grey. In summer, the general hue is dark brown

with irregular white patches. A male in good condition, weighs

slightly over 200 lbs. The female is yellowish brown and insigni-

ficant to look at. The great scimitar shaped horns of the buck

are flat and bossed with bold ridges in front. They are usually

larger in the Tian Shan Race (Cap fa sibrica almasyi). The record

length being 58 ins. The Kashmir Ibex is known as Capra sibrica

skyn. It is a paler, brown-coloured animal with rather shorter

horns than the Tian Shan Ibex. The record head from Gilgit is

55 ins. The various races of Asiatic Ibex, said to be distinguishable

by the form of the horns, and differences in general colouring,

cannot be satisfactorily separated by these characters which vary

considerably in the same areas.

Ibex live in flocks numbering from a dozen to 40 or 50, though

much larger herds have been seen. Their favourite grounds lie

in the higher elevations well above the tree line. Here, on the

precipitous sides of some cliff or nullah, patches of grass and small

plants give them grazing. They feed early in the mornings and

evenings and then climb up higher into the forbidding shelter of

rock and snow to rest. Sentinels, usually an old ewe or ewes,, are

posted on some projecting rock or commanding point. Ever vigi-

lant, they utter- the shrill whistle of alarm which sends the flock

dashing down and then upwards again, away to shelter among the

precipitous steeps.

In spring and early summer, the old, males are usually with or

near- the females and young but later in the summer the patriarchs

retire to the more inaccessible mountains. They rejoin the main

herds about October. The young are born in May and early June.

The Himalayan Ibex inhabits the Western Himalayas on both sides

of the main Himalayan Range and the mountain ranges which lie

beyond in Kashmir and Baltistan. Its eastern limits are set by the

upper reaches of the Sutlej River, east of which it does not occur.

3.8 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXV l

THE SIND WILD GOAT (CAPRA HIBCUS BLYTHI

HUME).

The Sind Wild Goat is a relative of the wild goat of the Cau-

casus ( Capra- hircus aegagarus). It is distinguished by its smaller

size. The species is of special interest as being the chief ancestral

stock from which the various breeds of domestic goats are derived.

A full grown buck is from 32 to 37 inches at the shoulder — a

handsome bearded goat; brownish grey in winter, close haired, yel-

lowish or rufous brown in summer. The under parts are whitish.

Old males are lighter coloured. Well grown bucks have a dark

stripe running from the nape of the neck along the back to the root

of the tail and a cross stripe down each shoulder. The: face, the

chin with its beard, the throat, the tail, front of the legs, except

the knees and a stripe along the flanks are dark brown. The horns

are long and scimitar like. They sweep back in a graceful curve.

Unlike the flat and regularly knobbed horns of the Ibex, they are

compressed in front into a narrow jagged keel. The record length

is about 52 ins. Anything over 40 ins, is a good head.

The Sind Wild Goat lives in small or large herds. In the bar-

ren hills of the Khirthar range their environment is one of jagged

rock and loose stones, thorn and cactus with little or no water —

a furnace of heat in summer ; freezing cold in winter. Like all

goats they are active, agile and surefooted leaping from ledge to

ledge, stopping short on the steep hillside to balance on a pin-

nacle of rock where there is scarce a foothold. They go to rest

on some commanding ridge from whence the sentinels of the flock

can obtain a view of the surrounding slopes.

The ‘bezoar stone’ formerly famed in Europe and regarded in the

East as an antidote to poison and as remedy in many diseases is

a hard concretion found in the stomach of this goat.

The Sind Wild Goat inhabits the barren hills of Baluchistan

and Western Sind, but not east or north-east of the Bolan Pass

and Quetta. Here it is replaced by the Markhor.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE XIII.

The Sind Wild Goat ( Capra bircus blythi, Hume).

Joubn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE XIV,

The Pir Pinjal Markhor {Capra falconeri cashmiriensis, Lyd.).

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

89

THE MARKHOR ( CAPRA FALCONE HI WAGNER).

The Markhor, the grandest of all wild goats, stands about

41 ins, high at the shoulder. An old male, with his great horns,

flowing beard and his mane, falling from his neck and shoulders

to his knees, has a dignified and patriarchae appearance. The long

and silky haired winter coat is a rusty iron grey; in summer, the

hair is shorter. It takes a reddish brown tinge. Old males become

more or less white. Young bucks are equally shaggy though not

as copiously bearded as the veterans. Female are dark fawn and

about half the size of a well grown male. Some wear a scanty

beard, Markhor carry magnificent horns. These show more or

less constant variation in form in different areas. Otherwise there

is nothing to really distinguish the 4 known races. The typical

Markhor ( Capra falconeri falconeri) inhabits Astor. In this area

the horns diverge widely and form an open spiral. The maximum

recorded length is 60 ins. Horns of this type are also seen in

Baltistan and Gilgit. Markhor from the Pirpinjal and Kaj-i-nag

Mountains ( Capra f. cashmiriensis) have horns which diverge less

and, in fine heads, show" two complete twists or spirals. The re-

cord is 65 ink. This type is also common in Baltistan, Gilgit and

Cliitral. In the hills on the northern edge of Peshawar, the horns

lose their imposing spiral and assume the straight corkscrew pat-

tern, typical of Markhor living in the mountains of North Afghan-

istan. The race is known as Kabul Markhor ( Capra f. megaceros).

The straightening of the horns and the accentuation of the spiral

twist reaches its extreme in the Suleman Markhor (Capra f. jercloni),

which is Tound in the Suleman Mountains in the Trans-Indus

District of the Punjab, The Markhor of the mountain ranges of

Baluchistan, curiously enough, show two forms of horns — one,

resembling the wide spanned, Astor type and the other the Pir-

pinjal form with its more modified sweep.

The character of the country through which Markhor range

varies greatly. The Sulemans and the hills of the North-West

Frontier are covered with thorn and scrub and exposed to terrific

heat in summer. There Markhor must live under very different

conditions to those whose environment is the pine forests and snow

bound scarps of the mountains of Kashmir. Markhor associate in

small herds usually selecting the most broken and precipitous coun-

try, They do not like snow and seldom go higher than the snow

line and, in winter, descend* to comparatively low levels. Their

sensitiveness to cold is „ attributed to the absence of under-fur or

pashm with which the Ibex is so well provided. Unlike Ibex, which

keep to the rugged ravines above the tree line, the Markhor delights

in rocky forest and seeks concealment as much as possible. They

are sometimes in large mixed herds but in summer the veterans

generally live apart, alone, or four or five males together. The rut

is said to take place in December in the Himalayas and in October

and November with the straight horned races.

(To be continued).

THE PRESERVATION OF WILD LIFE IN INDIA.

No. 1. THE CENTRAL PROVINCES.

BY

A. A. Dunbar-Brander.

(Late Conservator of Forests, Central Provinces.)

Ga?ne Country: Status and Jurisdiction.

Good game tracts exist both in Indian State and in British

India.

The British Government has no jurisdiction over the game in

Indian States. Most of the Indian Princes protect game, and there

is a growing tendency for this movement to spread and become more

vigorous. In most States thei laws or rules for the protection of

wild animals are effectively enforced,

No more need be said about the States. With regard to British

India, game is found in country having a different legal status,

and this must be differentiated : —

(a) Private land.

( b ) State land.

Generally speaking, game in (a) has no owner. It belongs

neither to the owner of the land nor to the State. The Govern-

ment, however, has the right to pass laws regulating the slaughter

of game, and in most cases such laws have been passed. I shall

refer; to this in more detail when dealing with game laws.

With regard to State land the great bulk of which consists

of Government forest, the State owns the: game, and special laws

dealing with its protection throughout India have been passed.

These laws are administered by the Forest Department. I shall

also refer to this in some detail later on.

Types of Game Country.

There arei four main types of country in which game is found

and which I have designated as follows : —

(1) Himalayan.

(2) Terai.

(3) Central Plateau.

(4) Southern.

Position with regard to Protection in each Type.

Himalayan. — The terrain in which the game is. found is its

chief protection. To destroy it entails arduous and whole- time

’ HE PRESERVATION OF WILD LIFE IN INDIA

41

work, quite incompatible with any prospective profits to the poach-

er, and, save with regard to certain species which frequent the

outer hills, no special measures are called for with regard to this

tract.

The Terai. — Very much the same applies to the Terai, but for

different causes. This tract of country extends from Dehra Dun

along the Himalayan foothills eastward into Assam and thence

southward towards the Bay of Bengal. In it the jungle and

grasses are so dense that no serious slaughter of game can take

place without the extensive use of elephants. These, of course,

cannot be employed without sanction and regulation. The amount

of game and species to be killed can, therefore, be regulated; game

is holding its own and no special measures seem called for in this

tract.

The Central Plateau.— This tract embraces the great mass of

India and was at one time the finest shooting country and con-

tained the finest fauna in the East. The forest is generally open

and although often hilly the hills are no deterrent to a hunter.

Unlike the other tracts, nature of the terrain in the Central Plateau

is an inadequate protection. Further, the game-holding tracts are

not only surrounded by a dense population, but a large interior

population of aborigines exists inside the forest itself, to an extent

not found in the other tracts. It is in this, tract that the recent

disappearance of game has been so lamentable and calls for the

most urgent remedial measures.

I left India in 1922 but revisited it in 1928, and was appalled

to find such a change in so short a period, quite common species

being found only with difficulty. The finest game, country in this

tract is found in the Central Provinces, , and I shall deal at some

length with the causes which have brought about this state of

affairs in that area, as I believe they have a very wide application.

The Southern Type. — As I do not know this country personally

I write about it with some diffidence. I have, however, taken

a very deep interest in all that pertains to game during my whole

service in India, and I believe the following to be fundamentally

true. The country is very mountainous and the cover is often

dense: less mountainous, of course, than even the outer spurs of

the Himalayas, and less dense than the Terai. Nevertheless the

combination of these two factors in the same area makes the des-

truction of game by no means easy; and so far as I know the

game is fairly well holding its own except in outlying portions.

Position of Game on Private Lands.

As already stated, the game in private lands has no owner.

The State has passed laws prohibiting the killing of does and imma-

ture animals, sitting over water, and the use of various methods of

destruction. To all intents and purposes the laws are a dead

letter as there is no preventive staff. The two main preventive

services in India are the Police and the Forest Service. The latter

has no jurisdiction outside State forest, and the Police take no

interest in enforcing the rules. Prosecutions are very rare, and

any interest the local constable may take in the matter would

42 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

often be to share in the booty. The result is that game has al-

most disappeared from private lands. The main Bombay- Allaha-

bad line runs through some 200 miles of antelope country. Twenty

years ago one was almost constantly in sight of herds. In 1928

in four hours I only saw two small herds, watching from the train.

The only fauna left in private lands is a few chit al and sambhar

in specially favoured localities, pig in considerable numbers, and

a sprinkling of antelope, also lesser carnivora.

The great mass of the country, however, is blank and it will

be readily understood that these blank unprotected spaces sur-

rounding Government forest which contain game act as a constant

drain on the stock of fauna in the protected lands : there is con-

stant leakage to destruction. In my opinion nothing can save

the fauna in these private lands. Its extermination is certain.

The people have been educated to destroy it: there is no staff to

protect it, and even if the Indian Legislatures could be induced

to take measures, financial considerations preclude adequate pro-

tection.

State Lands: Position of Game.

These mostly consist of State forests where the Forest Act and

the rules made thereunder apply; amongst these are included the

rules regulating the killing of game. On the whole, these are ex-

cellent, and, although I shall suggest certain stiffening to meet

modern conditions, nevertheless it is not in the rules themselves

but in their application that failure arises. As regards the Euro-

pean and Indian sportsmen who enter the forest to shoot under

permit, the rules are absolutely efficacious, and this type of sports-

man does no harm. Where they fail is in the prevention of

poaching. There is lucrative trade in game; the initial detection

of poaching often rests with a lowly-paid forest guard. Men

possessing guns often command respect, and the guard finds the

easiest plan is to take a percentage of the profits. Moreover,

special rewards, which the rules sanction in poaching cases, are far

too sparingly given, and the magistrates’ sentences , are often quite

inadequate.

The Main Reasons why the Destruction of Game has

Recently Increased.

(1) During the war the rules were relaxed. In certain cases

the shooting of does was permitted to make leather jackets for

sailors. There was a general activity in the trade in the products

of game: tanneries came into being, and what was previously an

occasional trade has now become an active competitive one with

wide ramifications : a slaughtered deer no longer means ■ merely

a gorge of meat for the local aborigines, if is an article of commerce

and a valuable one,

(2) There has been a very large increase in the number of gun

licences issued as well as a large increase in, unlicensed or illegal

guns. It. is easy to see that with a large number of guns legally

possessed, the defection of illegal guns becomes more difficult.

THE PRESERVATION OF WILD LIFE IN INDIA

43

Be the causes what they may, the State forests are surrounded by

guns, many of which are constantly used in destroying game both

inside the forest and just outside it. In the present political situ-

ation any attempt to regulate the number of guns to actual require-

ments for crop-protection is hopeless. The guns have come, and

to stay.

(3) The Motor Ca(r. — This is perhaps the biggest factor of all,

in the disappearance of game, although without the two previous

causes its significance would be small. Since the war whole

tracts have been opened up — in fact no tract is inviolate — cars

penetrating along dirt tracks into country in one day which pre-

viously took a week’s marching with camels and horses. Every

car that moves by day or night has one or more guns in it, and

practically every animal seen which presents a fair chance of

being killed, without further questions asked, is fired at. More-

over, expeditions go out at night with strong moveable searchlights

and shoot down whatever is encountered, and the car enables the

booty to be removed. The destruction is terrible. I came across

glaring cases during my short three months’ trip in 1928. The

present game laws were framed before this menace arose, and

they require to be reviewed and amended in consequence.

Some Remedial Measures Suggested.

(1) An attempt to check the increase of guns, even reduce

them.

(2) Much stricter control and regulation of tanneries ' and busi-

nesses trading in wild fauna and its products.

(3) Complete review of the rules so as to deal with the motor

car amongst other things, and to bring the owner and the driver

of any car within the penalties of law-breaking.

(4) Press for stiff er sentences in poaching cases and rewards to

subordinates detecting the same. These rewards are at present

optional, but should be made as a matter of course, save for

definite reasons.

(5) Establishing associations for the protection of Wild Life

and housing enlightened Indian opinion, and enlisting influential

men as members of such Societies.

Sanctuaries.

As will be seen from what I have written above, the Himalayan

and Terai areas are hardly suitable places, even if required, in

which to create National Sanctuaries. With regard to the Central

and Southern areas, the case is different. In these tracts they

will form a useful and interesting purpose, especially in the former,

where the fauna can be readily observed, will readily tame,^ and

be a delight to visitors.

My knowledge of the Southern tract does not enable me to

suggest any particular area, but as I know every square mile of

the Central Provinces I can definitely assert that one area is suited

par excellence for a National Park. This is known as the Banjar

Valley Reserve.

44 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

The Ban jar Valley Reserve.

Situation. — Situated in the South Mandla Forest Division, 80

miles south-east of Mandla, which is the District Head-quarters.

Mandla is almost 60 miles, due south of Jabalpur, and served

by first-class road and light railway. There is a fair weather motor

road from Mandla to Khana in the centre of the valley.

Maps. — Splendid forest maps on the 4 inch to 1 mile scale

made by the Forest Survey can be got from the Map Office,

Delira Dun. These show 25 feet contours, and, if desired, maps

showing grass-lands, sal forest and mixed forests (Stock Maps)

can be purchased.

Area.- — From memory the area is about 40,000 acres, but for

the purposes of a National Sanctuary some 30,000 additional and

adjoining acres should be included. The Banjar Valley is merely

a name given to a forest unit.

General Descriptions — Broadly speaking the area is a huge

amphitheatre surrounded in a circular manner by a range of hills

about 3,000 feet high. The bulk of the area is within these hills,

but the forest extends down the outward slopes of the hills until

the cultivated plains are reached. It is well watered throughout,

but this of course could be improved, especially on the hill- tops.

The low-lying portions consist of grass maidans -or open plains,

young trees being cut back annually by frost. As soon as the

contour above the frost level is reached pure Sal ( Shorea robusta ,)

forest is found. This, however, only extends a; short way up the

hillsides, wdiere it gives place to the usual mixed forest of 200 or

300 species and bamboos. The rock and soil are metamorphic

sand with occasional pockets of black cotton soil.

The Game. — In 1900 this tract contained as much game as

any tract I ever saw in the best parts of Africa, in 1908. I have

seen 1,500 head consisting of 11 species in an evening’s stroll. It

is nothing like! that/ now, but it is still probably true k> say that

it contains more numbers and more species than any other tract

of its size in the whole of Asia.

Banjar Valley.

THE PRESERVATION OF WILD LIFE IN INDIA

45

It will thus be seen that the tract contains all the game ani-

mals of the plains of India except chinkara, elephant, buffalo,

lion. In 1900 elephants and buffaloes were regular rain visitors.

The latter would probably return if given encouragement.

Legal Position.

This area is one of the oldest State reserves and belongs to

Government. It contains valuable timber and is policed and ad-

ministered by the Forest Department. Government would not

care to give up working the valuable timber in the area, but this

need not interfere with the Sanctuary.

It is essential that the area remain State Forest, otherwise the

Forest Act would not apply. Also it is absolutely essential for

our purposes that the Act should continue to apply. Some form

of ‘dedication’ could no doubt adjust this as there is no incom-

patibility.

If the Act applies, as it must, and if the Forest Department

continues to manage the Forest (timber), as it will, it is clear that

our staff must be also the Forest Staff. Otherwise there will be

two staffs in the same area, and one will be in opposition to the

other. Moreover, the Forest Department has managed the game

in India, against great difficulty, with signal success in most

cases, and to deprive them of these functions would create resent-

ment, especially, unless it could be shown to be reasonable and

necessary.

Ban jar Valley.

The shooting of game is strictly regulated, but a tremendous

lot of poaching takes place. Part of it is. always sanctuary, but

these sanctuaries which are found in numbers in all districts are

merely administrative shooting sanctuaries, resting blocks, pend-

ing opening to shooting again. They have nothing like the status

of a National Sanctuary.

Some Suggestions.

The local Government might agree to the area being declared

a National Sanctuary but would, I consider, be more inclined

to give the proposal favourable consideration if it was initiated by

Indian gentlemen. It might, therefore, be the best course to first

obtain the support of the non-official members of the Legislative

Gouncil and it is believed that the conservation of Indian wild

life for the benefit of the Indian People is a plea which no party

can lightly thrust aside.

Conclusion.

I consider that action in India is urgently required, perhaps

more so than in Africa. There are I know questions of detail

which apply to particular areas and particular species which I

have not touched upon but in the above I have attempted to tell

you something about India as a whole, and in particular what

definite action that might be taken in the Central Provinces.

No. 2. THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

BY

G. Monteath, i.c.s.

It is five years since I left India, and a good many more since

I was last in some of the Forest districts in which I have served.

Those that I knew are all, with the exception of Thana, in the

Central and Southern Divisions of the Presidency. Sind and

Guzerat; Surat, the Panch Mahals, and the Dangs are ‘terra in-

cognita’. Anything I say therefore is subject to the qualification

that my personal knowledge of conditions is limited to certain

districts, and my experience hardly up to date.

In some Forest districts a heavy decrease in the numbers of

certain species- — those that afford, in addition to the sport of hunt-

ing them, desirable trophies — had taken place before the question

of protection began to be considered seriously and rules were made

under the Forest Act to impose some limit on killing. It must be

admitted that up to that time — that is till after the beginning of

this century — the main agent of destruction was the ‘European’

sportsman, to give him the title established by long usage in India.

Neither the indigenous ‘shikari’ nor the wild dog- — two kinds of

‘poacher’ frequently accused — can properly be blamed for it.

To take the villager first — his share of the damage done in

the past in this part of India, where, as far as I have been able

to find out, he has had no inducement of profit worth considering,

is negligible, and his present activities hardly make enough im-

pression by themselves to counterbalance the natural increase of

the species he is generally concerned with. His usual method of

hunting — a long and wearisome, and more often than not fruit-

less, watch by night, whether lawfully in liis - field or unlawfully

and surreptitiously over water or a game-path in the adjoining

forest — practically precludes: such a result. He is little, if at all,

more efficiently armed, and it is scarcely to be supposed that he

is a better marksman or sees better at night, than his predeces-

sors-— most of whom, as Forsyth says, were bunglers at this kind

of work. When a number of villagers combine, as they some-

times do — most often in my experience in the Ivanara district —

with nets or dogs or both, they may do a little better, but even

these hunts are not on the whole, I think, much more productive

of result than the solitary watch. The fact that they are illegal

makes it necessary to keep them as dark as possible, and since

they cannot be conducted without numbers and some noise,

secrecy — unless there is connivance on the part of local subordi-

nate officials — is not altogether easy. They do not therefore

take place very often, and when they do the total result after a

good deal of work, involving much careful preliminary investi-

gation and placing of nets, hardly, according to my observation,

warrants the conclusion that this kind of hunting causes any real

decrease in the numbers of the species that is their main object —

THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

47

in the Kanara district for our purposes cheetal, which seldom go

far from the comparatively easily worked forests adjoining village

sites. I say ‘for our purposes’ because I am dealing just now

with forest species that are in need of protection. Pig of course

are hunted too — pig and cheetal are the two kinds of forest-

dwellers that do most of the trespassing on cultivation that vil-

lagers complain about — but pig are prolific and in no need of pro-

tection— in Kanara perhaps rather the contrary. Cheetal also, if

considerably less prolific, have still a natural rate of increase that

would more than counterbalance the occasional killing of a few

of them by villagers, as long as this was all they had to fear.

Provided that due care and discrimination are exercised in the

matter of gun licences for crop protection, there is not very much

danger that the occasional unlawful use of a gun will do more

harm than it has done in the past, and the evidence seems to

show that this has been inconsiderable. In fact, if the grant of

licences for smooth-bore guns — -which are all that is needed for

protection of crops, and all that villagers usually want (most* often

single-barelled ones and nearly always muzzle-loaders, for financial

reasons) — is proportioned to the area of cultivation (and of

course conditioned by the respectability of the individuals con-

cerned), inhabitants of forest villages will do very well, other

things being equal, if they hold their own against deer and pig.

If sometimes for the sake of meat one or another of them sits

up with his gun in a forest, or a number of the ‘lads of the village’

combine for a hunt with nets and spears (in this case usually

their only armament, for guns are noisy and likely to be more

dangerous to hunters than hunted) and they happen to be caught

at it, I should be inclined to be lenient with them. After all it

is arguable that the motive is as good a one as the desire for a

trophy, which if the animal shot is a large one — say a bison — often

involves, in Kanara at any rate, almost entire waste of the car-

case.

Trade in hides and horns.

If there was money in it for the villagers, illicit hunting in

Forest districts- might be a more serious matter, but I never found

much evidence of that kind of inducement. Ho doubt there has

always been some illegal trade in ‘Forest produce’ — horns, hides,

or meat for the purposes of this article— and no doubt it continues.

Sambur leather I know is exported to England, but I do> not

think much, if any, of it comes from our part of India. I could

never in fact discover that there was enough of this kind of trade

in the districts I knew to matter very much— unlike some Pro-

vinces, to judge by what I have heard and read- — or that most

of what there was was done through the agency, or to the pecu-

niary advantage, of Forest villagers.

Protective Legislation.

However, such trade is admittedly illegal, and under modern

conditions could increase very considerably in the absence of more

48 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

effectual obstruction than seems to be possible at present, owing,

I gather, to the interpretation so far allowed of the words ‘Forest

produce’, which makes it incumbent on the prosecution to prove

that any animal that is the subject of a case was actually killed

in Government Forest. Certain animals . are forest-dwellers where-

ever they may happen to be at the moment they are killed. It

is not in this context the killing that is the offence, but commerce

in certain kinds of ‘Forest produce’, an offence which by its nature

is, in part at any rate, committed outside Forest limits. The

contention that the particular animal in question was killed else-

where than in Government Forest ought not in fact to be relevant.

At least the burden of proving it should be on the defence (though

I doubt whether that would get us much further). If an amend-

ment of the definition is likely to be of use it would probably be

easy to make it, but 1 think myself that what is wanted is legis-

lation of a wider scope, to include animals that are normally found

in non-forest country, for at the present time they are in a more

parlous state than the others.

I said that up to date there was not much of this kind of trade

in the Bombay Presidency, or rather that I had not seen much evi-

dence of it up to the time when I left India. It has been a

problem however in some other Provinces. I read for instance

not long ago in the ‘Field’ that in Assam similar difficulty of

proving locality had been an obstacle in the way of effective pro-

tection of rhinoceros, for which there are sanctuaries. Under the

conditions of today the question is quite likely to become a good

deal more serious here than it is as yet, and steps ought to be

taken in time — our present ‘hunting and shooting’ rules were made

almost too late for some districts, and altogether too late to save

certain species in them. It is not the local villager but a differ-

ent kind of ‘poacher’ that we shall have to look out for, and it

is I think about time to get ready for him. I will come back

to him later.

Predatory Animals.

Before I go on I had better dispose as well as I can of the

case against the wild dog, a very interesting creature with a bad

name, for he shares in some degree with the inhabitants of vil-

lages in or adjacent to forest the odium of causing game to dis-

appear faster than it can breed. There is a good deal of mis-

apprehension about the actual amount of damage done by wild

dogs, based partly on the impression they give of being much

more numerous than they really are, and partly on the natural

exasperation and prejudice caused by the fact that when the visit

of a troop synchronises with that of a sportsman to a particular

bit of jungle they undoubtedly often spoil the latter’s chances,

since the game is for the time being more or less disturbed, and

the local tiger, finding his hunting interfered with, moves off. But

a troop seldom remains in one place more than a few days. It

makes its kill — with luck perhaps a second kill — and departs, and

is seen again perhaps twenty miles away, creating the. illusion

that there are twice as many wild dogs in that area. of. forest as

THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

:49

there really are. The game settles down again, the tiger re-

turns, and the status quo is restored as soon as the dogs disappear,

and it is a fact to be noticed that their most regular visits are to

those places in which deer — their usual quarry — continue to be

numerous.

Predatory wild animals do not, till man intervenes, increase

out of proportion to their food-supply. Another thing to be borne

in mind is the wild dog’s method of hunting, which, like that of

his co-accused the local villager, seems to me to settle the conten-

tion that he does enough damage to justify his proscription. The

whole troop of dogs hunts one animal — most often a. female or

a young one — and sticks to the line (a pack of hounds might learn

a lot from them) till that animal is run into, which may take

half a day or longer. And a fair-sized troop hardly eats as much

at a meal, so far as I have been able to observe, as one able-

bodied tiger. I would do away, with the price put on the wild

dog’s head — it is unnecessary for one thing, and for another I have

never known it claimed. Instances could be given in support of

what I have said, but this article is likely to be long enough with-

out them.

I have argued this subject with Forest officers, some of whom

were disinclined to agree, but it seemed to me that they had

not thought much about it. I used myself to' accept what was

told me about the ‘jugli kutta’ but long ago came to the conclu-

sion that most of it was, to say the least, exaggerated. Certain

Forest officers however of great experience did agree with the

views I have just put forward— there is no' harm in mentioning

here that one of them is Mr, T. R. Bell, Late Chief Conservator of

Forests, Bombay Presidency.

Local Conditions.

Some of the old books about ‘Wild Sports’ in India — classics

of their kind — show how little the keen sportsman in the past,

District officer, or soldier, or whatever hie vocation might be,

thought in the midst of comparative abundance about the future,

and that the idea of protection of any kind — even of a close

season other than what might be enforced by the season of the

year — hardly occurred to him. Too often, as in Africa, he slew

while he had the opportunity and spared not — (only in India we

have not had the professional hunter). Even in Forsyth’s time

the result was beginning to be apparent, for ‘now-a-days’ he com-

plains (writing of bison in Nimar as far as I remember — I am quot-

ing from memory) ‘a keen and active sportsman on a fortnight’s

leave would be lucky if he kept up his average for that period

to one bison a day’. Fourteen in a fortnight— a poor bag! I do

not know whether there are any bison left now in the Khandwa

district — there are none in that part of Khandesh which adjoins it.

The aggregate of execution done in any area depended natu-

rally on its accessibility from large cities, cantonments,, or railway

centres— in other words on the number of sportsmen that would

visit it in a year. We have a good enough example in the Bombay

4*

50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

Presidency in a comparison of the state of things in North Kanara

with that in Thana at the time when rules and a system of licen-

sing were first put into force. In the latter district when I left

it bison survived only in a small herd in one part of the forests,

and today I am told are extinct : sambur were scarce : cheetal

though pretty widely distributed were in small and scattered herds

(and I need hardly say that their size generally indicates fairly

well whether species that habitually go in herds are plentiful or

not) : the usually harmless bear, which, like bison, had been not

Uncommon twenty or thirty years previously, had disappeared

altogether. Most parts of Thana, with its two main lines of rail-

way and a sufficiency of tolerable roads, were easy enough of

access in pre-motor days from Bombay, Poona, or one of the two

or three hot- weather resorts on its borders, to make it worth

while for any one with a taste for ‘shikar’ and only two or three

days — say a week-end — to spare, to spend them on a shikar ex-

pedition in the Thana district. Kanara was a different propo-

sition. Even after completion of the Southern Maratha Railway

it took a good deal of time to get to Kanara for any one not resi-

dent in one of the adjoining districts, so that considerable pre-

paration and ‘bandobast’ were necessary. Short expeditions

repeated at more or less frequent intervals were consequently for

most people out of the question. So when ‘rules and regulations

to govern hunting and shooting’ were macle there was still in

Kanara plenty of game of all the species indigenous to it. It

can hardly be argued that the local ‘poacher’ was so much less

efficient in Kanara than in Thana as to account for the difference

between the two districts, and the conclusion seems to be obvious.

Local Regulations : (1) Southern Circle.

The regulations in force in the Southern Forest Circle are in

one main respect different from those governing the forest areas

of the rest of the Presidency, in that the former include, and are

in fact based on, the Central Provinces ‘block’ system. Mr. Bell

and I drew them up in consultation, and they were sanctioned

in the face of some opposition on the part of more than one Divi-

sional Forest Officer, but I think Forest Officers in the Southern

Circle would be sorry now to see the present system done away

with and the old one reverted to. Elsewhere the views of those

consulted prevailed, namely that the existing rules were good

enough and the ‘block’ system was unnecessary and not easily

workable in their circles.

That the present state of things in the Southern Circle forest

areas is on the whole, as I think it is, satisfactory, is attributable

mainly or very largely to the fact that the ‘block’ system and

attendant rules were introduced in good time, that is before the

general use of motor transport had begun to make many parts of

North Kanara so much more accessible than they were in former

days. The restrictions imposed by the old rules — consisting of

little more than the necessity, for the purpose of shooting in

Government forests, of buying a licence available for a year, and

THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

51

a limit of the number of head of certain species that might be

shot by an individual licensee — would hardly have been enough

by themselves to counteract the effect of a much greater annual

influx of sportsmen, with the, inveterate' tendency of the majority

to follow one another into well known and favoured localities. The

system now in force seems to provide as adequately as any set

of regulations can against overshooting of those parts* of the

Southern Circle forests to which it applies by means of a three-

fold check. First the ordinary form of licence, that for a block,

is valid for a certain period, during which the' licensee has a vir-

tual monopoly of that block. Secondly, there is the definite limit

to the number of certain species that may be shot in a year by

one licensee. The third and perhaps most important check is the

limit to the number that may be shot in one block — it varies of

course according to conditions, but when the number fixed for

any block is reached in respect of a particular species no more of

that species may be shot there for the rest of the year. These pro-

visions seem sufficient to counteract over- shooting on licence.

Obviously their effectiveness depends a good deal on co-operation

on the part of sportsmen, for instance by reporting any cases

noticed of unauthorised shooting or other breaches of the law and

by furnishing correct returns of their own ‘bag’. Such co-operation

though occasionally an individual may be neglectful about his

return, can for the most part be counted on.

All this has so far worked very successfully. The additional

provision, by which certain blocks may be closed altogether to

shooting for a» series of years in a rotation which depends on the

responsible Forest officer’s observation of the stock of game com-

pletes the general measures for protection in the Southern Circle.

In the result the position there seems, as I have said,; to be on

the whole satisfactory. Bison are apparently safe enough— they

have nothing much to fear except rinderpest, and although at

intervals they have suffered rather heavily from that, the intervals

have been fairly long ones, and their numbers have been made up

again, with the assistance of judicious closure, more rapidly than

might have been expected. Sambur and cheetal are in little dan-

ger from the licensed sportsman, the indigenous shikari, or their

natural four-footed enemies. I particularise these species because

of forest species in the Bombay Presidency it seems to be they

that chiefly require protection. Others are either not much

sought after or are pretty well able to look after themselves, al-

though I should like to put in a word for that interesting character

the bear. I do not know that many bears are shot in the Southern

Circle, perhaps not enough to warrant a limit being placed on

the number assigned to a licence, but it is to be remembered that

they were once fairly numerous in Thana and have disappeared

from that district. They are nervous creatures and apt to be

hasty in action if startled, but generally speaking do no harm.

It is a suggestion which I put forward for what it may be worth.

About elephants I do not feel myself qualified to make any sug-

gestion at all. At present I believe there is carte blanche to shoot

them, owing to their destructiveness to crops, a proposal to

$2 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXVI

institute ‘Kheddah’s* or adopt some other means of capture having

come to nothing. But it' is likely that their case will sooner or

later call for reconsideration. I do not believe that the total

extent of their depredations is great, though of course that is no

consolation to the individuals whose crops may happen to find

favour with a herd.

It is unnecessary to go further into details in regard to the

Southern Circle regulations, and in fact, though I helped to draw

them up, my recollection of details is not very definite; but there

is just one rule in which I should like to see an alteration made,

namely that which lays down a fine for the killing by a licensee

of a female of any of certain species. In practice, as far as I

remember, the maximum fine was more often than not exacted

in such cases. It is an irritating rule, and unnecessary in my

opinion. Nobody shoots a female on purpose, and with species

that ordinarily go about in herds marriageable females predominate

so much over mature males that the occasional accidental killing

of one of the former does no harm — it may indeed be beneficial,

since the female killed in mistake for a male (it is most often a

bison) is likely to be pretty well on in years. It seems unfair that

an error of judgment that is practically innocuous and usually

made known by the licensee’s own report of it should involve a

penalty — the maximum fine in many, if not most, cases — while

the offence of unlicensed shooting goes so often unpunished be-

cause it cannot be brought home to the offender. It might very

well be laid down that if a female of one of the ‘scheduled’ species

is shot by a licensed sportsman and the fact duly reported, it

should count as one of the number allowed by the licence. Such

a provision would do no harm at all, and the sportsman would

probably be more cautious in future about believing what his

orderly or shikari told him.

(2) Northern Circle :

So much for the Southern Circle. The position, as was said

above, is less satisfactory elsewhere. What it was like in Tliana

when I left that district — rather a long time ago — I have roughly

indicated, and one can hardly suppose it has improved, regulations

notwithstanding. Khandesh — or East Ivhandesh, the part I knew

— was better off. The bison had gone, but there were plenty of

sambur and, in practically the only locality in the district in

which they are now found, there was a pretty good stock of

cheetah I believe at one time, not very long before I came to

Khandesh, these had diminished considerably in numbers from

over-shooting, but owing to measures taken by Mr. Simcox — a

short open season, a limit of one head per licence, and the prohi-

bition of any form of hunting other than stalking on foot, or, more

accurately, ‘still-hunting’ — they recovered rapidly, and in a few

years were again numerous. But I doubt whether measures that

were ample for their purpose when horse-back, or that instrument

of torture the Khandeshi ‘chakra’, was the sportsman’s ordinary

method of getting to his destination will be enough by themselves

THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

53

to prevent over-shooting in the future, now that it is easy to reach

the chosen spot by motor car. It will probably be found necessary

sooner or later here as in the Southern Circle to limit the total

number of head that may be shot during the year, and the only

way of enforcing such a limit seems to be the way in which it

is done there. I have never been able to see any difficulty in

using the same system that has proved its value in one part of

the Presidency in any other district of it in which there is enough

forest, and ex hypothesi enough forest fauna, to' make rules of

any kind for protection worth while at all. If the ‘block’ system

can be worked in Khandwa it can equally well be worked in Khan-

desh, and unless it is introduced in Thana I doubt if effective pro-

tection is possible there. It may be admitted freely that the well-

armed sportsman of today, ‘European’ or Indian, is usually, apart

from legal restrictions, more moderate of his own accord than his

predecessor, and that his presence is of definite assistance to the

Forest officer in the latter’s role of game-keeper. Nevertheless,

whatever limits are laid down for the individual, their object is

pretty certain to be defeated in the end by any considerable increase

of the. numbers that visit a given area, if there is no further

check. It has proved to be the case elsewhere. If the Thana

forests — to take that district alone — were divided up like those of

Kanara it should be possible even now to increase the head of

sambur and cheetal (bison T am afraid are past praying for) by sys-

tematic closure of a certain, number of blocks in rotation, for as

long in each case as the results observed from year to year showed

to be necessary, the areas open to shooting having of course each

its own annual limit as in the Southern Circle. An obvious ad-

vantage of the system over the old one is appreciable simplification

for the already hard- worked Forest officials of the task of super-

vision.

With districts in the Northern Division other than Thana I

have no acquaintance, but my impression is that they are not

now-a-days much visited by non-resident sportsmen except ' for

small game shooting. The existing rules may be enough in their

case for the time being, but if at any future date the forest areas

of these districts came more into favour with the seeker after

larger game it would no doubt be well to make the changes just

advocated for Thana and Khandesh.

Sanctuaries.

To sum up, the system of licensing that is in force in the

Southern Circle having so far proved on the whole adequate there

for its purpose, its extension to other parts of the Presidency

where there are considerable tracts of forest in fairly regular re-

quest for shooting seems desirable. In fact I can see no other

means at present available by which the gradual disappearance of

the species most generally sought after may possibly be stayed,

or the stock increased. Nor can I think of any further measures

in supplement that would be feasible. The establishment, for

instance,, of sanctuaries on the lines of the African Game Reserves

54 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXVI

(but of necessity on a smaller scale), which I have seen advocated

for some parts of India, and which may (though I doubt it) be a

practical proposition for them, is manifestly out of the question

for Bombay, and likely to be so for a long time to come. Expendi-

ture on a special establishment to look after them could never be

justified, and the burden of supervising much larger areas closed

to shooting, which would consequently fall on the Forest staff,

would be made no lighter for them — rather the contrary — by the

absence as a matter of course of licensed sportsmen. Sanctuaries

indeed other than those of manageable size provided under the

rules by temporary closures of blocks, plus such natural ones as

still exist in parts of different districts by reason of inaccessibility

combined with climate, might very well in the end prove to be

no sanctuaries at all.

Wild Animals in Non-Forest Areas.

If it may be granted that in some of the districts that have con-

siderable areas of forest the state of the native fauna is not un-

satisfactory, and in others of them is still capable of improvement,

it is very different in the non-forest parts of the Presidency, that

is of course in much the greater part of it. Antelope and gazelle

(blackbuck and chinkara) when I left India had begun to disappear

from many places where they used to be numerous,, and doubtless

the process continues. Here again local ‘poachers’ may be acquit-

ted of blame, if one can call ‘local’ the peripatetic sort — Pardi,

Har an- Shikari, or whatever his label. The ordinary villager seldom

bothered his head about blackbuck, further than to scare them

away from his crops. The others, from time immemorial, have

wandered from one place to another — a gang of them does not want

to camp long anywhere, and could not if it would, for they are

‘criminal tribes’ and the Police see to it that they move on. Their

numbers are not large, and their painstaking method of snaring

their quarry never produced results worth considering. They may

do better with partridges and quail, or hares — I am inclined to

think they do — but on the whole they can be counted out. Nor

for that matter did the toll taken by the sportsman in the past

affect perceptibly the stock of these species — blackbuck quickly

learnt to adapt themselves to the range of improved weapons, and

the chinkara is seldom an easy mark.

The extension of motor transport and *the greatly increased

number of licences for rifles are what has made the difference.

The modern high-velocity magazine rifle of foreign make is cheap

enough to be bought, even new, by many who could not have

afforded the .shorter-ranging express, and motor cars or cycles can

go almost anywhere. Obviously any one who can own or part-own

some kind of motor vehicle can also pay for a rifle — new or second-

hand. He can often do so when he can only afford to travel

by public conveyance.

Protection in Non-Forest Areas.

The difficulty of dealing, with this comparatively recent departure

is plain, and I must confess I can see. no very efficacious way of

THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

55

doing it. Certain measures can of course, and should, be taken,

but it is one thing to prescribe rules and penalties, and another

to secure their operation, with no particular agency for the most

part to rely on. Still, the knowledge that they exist might count

for something.

So far little or nothing seems to have been done to limit killing

of the species I am now considering. Yet they are clearly no less

property of the State than the forest-dwelling species to protect

which elaborate regulations are in force. The State is — in theory

at least — the owner of all land in a rayatwari Province, with un-

important exceptions, and, as a corollary, of all game to be found

on it. If indiscriminate slaughter of game animals elsewhere than

in Government forests cannot be stopped altogether — and doubt-

less it cannot — yet it is time and more than time for some attempt

to be made to delay its- progress by rendering certain acts illegal.

A licence for the possession of a rifle can be granted for the

purpose of self -protection, of crop-protection, or of sport, for all

three purposes, or for any two of them. For self-protection a

rifle is with rare exceptions unnecessary and unsuitable, and for

crop-protection smooth-bore guns are the most that is needed.

Remains sport. In the first place, then, when that is the osten-

sible object, the licence should prescribe certain definite restric-

tions on the species of game, and the number of each, allowed to

the holder during the period for which it is available. The fee for

it should be raised to an amount sufficient to emphasise its dual

character — fire-arm and game licence : it should apply only to

non-forest lands in the district for which it is issued, all fodder

reserves or ‘Kurans’,. whether in charge of Forest or of Revenue

officials, being excluded: and the species allowed should be only

those usually or frequently found outside the main forest tracts —

in this Presidency blackbuck and chinkara, but not cheetal. Fur-

ther, the licensee should be required, like the holder of a licence

issued under the Forest Act, to furnish a return of what he has

shot within the period of his licence. Such returns, on which very

little reliance could be placed, — but they should be required ail

the same — could be rendered most conveniently perhaps to the

Mamlatdars of the licensee’s ‘home’ talukas.

So much for the licence to own a rifle (or gun) for sport, and

the conditions to which it should be subject. The next thing to

consider is the motor — privately owned, or public conveyance. It

should be definitely forbidden, under pain of an adequate fine, to

shoot from, or from the cover of, any kind of motor vehicle, and

more especially to shoot by the aid of motor head-lights. I be-

lieve this prohibition already obtains in forest areas. The provision

that no shooting at all should be allowed from or within a certain

distance of a highway should be added, in supplement, but it must

be admitted that in any case, since cars can be — and are— taken

over the roughest tracks across country, it would in practice be

chiefly the users of public conveyances that these prohibitions would

affect. Still, that would be something.

The last measure of those that I can think of is that to which

I referred further back. The sale and purchase of meat or trophies

56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol XXXVI

of any kind of game animal, and not only such as can be brought

within the definition of ‘Forest produce’, should be made illegal,

and the penalty should be heayy enough to make both buyer and

seller cautious. It goes without saying that the bribery of subor-

dinate officials, by the present for instance of part of the meat of

an animal shot, is ‘illegal gratification’, and it is equally clear

that it is an offence nearly impossible to detect : — information

offered by a jealous rival is about the only means by which it is

ever brought to light.

The Motoring Poacher.

It was in this context that I mentioned that it was time to

get ready for another kind of ‘poacher’ — one very different from

and a good deal more efficient than the resident variety — and this

brings me back to the forests, where he has already arrived, though

he has not as yet perhaps done very much execution on the whole.

The opening up by means of roads for the exploitation of timber

of more and more of the high forest areas puts more and more

places that were previously hardly accessible within reach of the

man who can command, the use of a motor car. So far not much

advantage seems to have been taken by the unlicensed shikari of

roads other than the main Public Works routes that run through

forest land, and little damage has been done to .species other than

cheetal — the most ‘get-at-able’ for the motoring ‘poacher’ — but quite

sufficient, I am told, to them in some places to give reason for

nnxiety. If he widens his sphere of operations by taking to Forest

roads other species may suffer, but it should be easier to obstruct

him here than on the public routes — he will be more noticeable

and less mobile, and there is greater likelihood of his falling in

with some of the Forest Staff. On the main roads I think the most

that Forest officers can generally do is to keep these gentry moving,

but the illegality of shooting without licence should be emphasised

by adequate punishment of the offender when lie does happen to

be brought to book — including attachment of his gun or rifle, which

may be unlicensed, or if licensed has probably been brought outside

the district for which it is licensed. Ordinarily of course a licence

to possess a rifle — or even gun — for sport should not be valid beyond

the boundaries of the district in which it is sanctioned.

If distance and the offender’s mobility combine to render the

already hard- worked Forest official’s task difficult in this respect by

day, at night it will still more seldom be possible to catch the

poacher in the act of poaching — -he can get away too quickly. The

most that can be done is to watch likely places for him at occa-

sional and irregular intervals — a constant or regular patrol is out

of the question — and trust that the knowledge that he may be

looked out for, and if caught will be severely punished, will im-

pair the accuracy of his aim. It must always be remem-

bered that this sort of duty is not only arduous and discouraging

in its results, but may at times - be dangerous. It is a good deal

to -ask of a lonely Forest Guard that he should outbluff an armed

and probably truculent man — perhaps two or three men — and he

may well be excused if he sometimes looks the other way.

the Bombay presidency

Agencies for the Protection of Wild Animals.

If things are thus difficult for the Forest staff in their domain

it is clear that the Police — the only agency to all intents that we

have in the very much larger non-forest areas — ^cannot be

expected to do much in the way of enforcing the measures I have

suggested. Inspection of fire-arms licences comes within the scope

of their duties under the Arms Act, and that is almost all they

can do. If a constable witnesses or is told of a breach of any

of the rules — supposing that something like what I have indicated

is done — he will, it may be hoped, report it, and the charge against

the offender may be substantiated, but evasion, is likely to be easy.

The Police have too much to do otherwise; for it to be possible to

put any of them on special duty as gamekeepers. Local

public opinion, what there is of it, will probably be on the side

of the offender rather than of the law. If there were large zamin-

daris in this part of India the problem would be easier, for some

measure of non-official assistance could then be looked for, and

perhaps local associations formed, as I believe has been done else-

where, but in a rayatwari Province very little of that sort of thing

is possible. Neighbouring Eulers of States can no' doubt be counted

on to set an example, and jagirdars whose holdings are large

enough to provide some measure of harbourage would in most

cases be willing to co-operate to the best of their ability. For the

rest, we shall probably have to wait till educated opinion — likely,

one may hope, to be sympathetic but for the most part concentrated

in the cities and towns — begins to influence the country-districts.

By that time, it is to be feared, the herds of blackbuck and chin-

kara will have vanished from many places where they used to be

a frequent and most pleasing sight.

However, the difficulty of enforcing measures is no argument

against their being taken, if there is agreement about the object.

These species will not have been exterminated of course. Black-

buck when hard enough pressed take to the forests, and chinkara

are always partly forest-dwellers, being found when undisturbed

mostly on the border-line. In forest limits both can, like other

species, find present sanctuary, and perhaps indulge the hope of

returning some day to their old haunts. I said further back that

the formation of larger sanctuaries than what the Forest Game

laws afford, to be looked after by a special department,; were out

of the question in Bombay for financial reasons. I add here my

definite opinion that for forest areas they are also unnecessary.

The officers concerned have managed the laws for the protection

of game in their own sphere of authority efficiently, and can be

trusted to do so in the future, so long as their discretion is not

unduly interfered with. The example of Africa, sometimes cited,

is clearly no precedent for India — I need hardly set forth the rea-

sons, for that would be> to elucidate the obvious. The motor car

is likely, it is true, to be an increasing embarrassment, but a special

Game Department would, be, as. far as I can see, in no. better case

5*

58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXV I

than the Forest staff for dealing with it. However, I am wander-

ing into an academic discussion — a Game Department is anyhow

not a practical proposition for Bombay.

If any rules and prohibitions on the lines of what I have suggest-

ed have been enacted already, or are in contemplation, I am sorry

for my superfluousness, and can only plead that it is five years

since I left India, and that I should have been glad if some one

with up-to-date knowledge had been induced to> write this article,

instead of me. If not, I need only say that except on some such

basis I can see no way of reducing even to a slight extent the

super-abundfmce of fire-arm — and especially rifle — licences, or deal-

ing with that infernal invention — how happy we were, game in-

cluded, without it! — the motor car, and not even a distant hope of

restoring to {he country-side one of its most characteristic ornaments

— blackbuck: feeding confidently within view of the highway.

i

(To be continued.)

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS— 1938. C9164.

JOURNAL

Bombay Natural History Society

GENERAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS

AND AUTHORS

FOR VOLS. XXXI-XXXVI

-

MADRAS

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS

1938

JOURNAL

Bombay Natural History Society

GENERAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORS

FOR VOLS. XXXI TO XXXVI INCLUSIVE

ABDULALI, HUMAYUN. — Eleven Koel eggs in a Crow’s nest, xxxv, 458.

ABU, (mount)— See INSECTS (Butterflies Geography)

ACCOUNTS.— For 1926, xxxi, 232 ; for 1927, xxxii, 815 ; for 1928, xxxiii, 742,

for 1929, xxxiv, 610 ; for 1930, xxxv, 238 ; for 1931, xxxv, 924 ; for 1932;

xxxvi, 776.

ACHARJIE, M. N. — On the occurrence of the Grey-backed Shrike ( Lanius

tePhronotus) in the suburbs of Calcutta, xxxiv, 807-

ACHARYA, HARI NARAYAN— The Magpie-Robin ( Copsy chits saularis )

in north Gujarat, xxxv, 455 ; The occurrence of the Pied Crested Cuckoo

( Clamator jacobinus ) in north Gujarat, xxxv, 458 ; Age of animals

xxxv, 884; The occurrence of the Common Chamaeleon ( Chamaeleon

calcaratus ) in Gujarat, xxxvi, 513 ; Speed of the Large Pied Wagtail

{Motacilla maderaspatensis) , xxxvi, 996 ; Social Life of Snakes, xxxvii

1011 ; Fishing around Ahmedabad, xxxvi, 1011 ; The Ashoka Tree,

xxxvi, 1021.

AFGHANISTAN — See FISHES.

AHMEDNAGAR — See SNAKES (Geography Bombay)

AIYAR, T.V. RAMAKRISHNA. — Recent additions to the Indo-Ceylonese

Coccid Fauna, with notes on known and new forms, xxxi, 450.

ALI, HAMID A., i.c.s. — Occurrence of the Panther in the Sind Desert,

xxxv, 671.

ALI, SALIM A.— A Solitary Cow Gaur xxxi, 518 ; Mating habits of the

Common Kite (Milvus migrans govinda) , xxxi, 524 ; Jackal and Hare, xxxi,

812 ; How do Wild Dogs Kill their prey ? , xxxi, 813 ; The mating of Crows,

xxxi, 823 ; The Mogul Emperors of India as Naturalists and Sportsmen,

Part I (3 Plates) , xxxi, 833 ; Part II. ( 4 Plates ), xxxii, 34 ; Part III, xxxii,

264; Black Leopards, xxxi, 1207; The Breeding of the Indian Rhinoceros

{Rhinoceros unicornis) in captivity, xxxi, 1031 ; Extension of Habitat of

Hume’s Scimitar Babbler {Pomatorhinus horsfieldi obscurus) to Orissa,

xxxi, 1032; Mating habits of Paroquets, xxxii, 218 ; On the vitality of the

Centipede ( Scolopendra sp.) , xxxii, 231 ; A Sind Lake, Manchar (6 Plates}

3 text-figures) , xxxii, 460 ; A unique Lion Photograph ( Plate ), xxxii, 583,

2

GENERAL INDEX

788 ; The Racket-feathers of Dissemurus paradiseus {Photo) , xxxiii, 709 ;

Occurrence of the Bar-tailed God wit ( Limosa lapponica lap ponied) in

Salsette (BombaySuburban District), xxxiii, 716; The Ornithological Station

at Heligoland, a short account and some reflections {4 plates , 1 diagram ),

xxxiv, 743 ; The nesting Habits of the Baya ( Ploceus philippinus) (7 plates ,

11 text-figures) , xxxiv, 947 ; The occurrence of the Grey Hypocolius

{Hypocolius ampelinus) in north Konkan, xxxiv, 1061; Casualties among

the eggs and young of small birds, xxxiv, 1062 ; Notes on the Pied

Crested Cuckoo {Clamator jacobinus) in Alibag Taluk a (Kolaba District),

xxxiv, 1071 ; The role of Sunbirds and Flower-Peckers in the Propagation

and Distribution of the Tree-Parasite ( Loranthus longiflorus) in the

Konkan (W. India) ( 2 Plates , 4 diagrams ), xxxv, 144; The Indian Great

Reed Warbler ( Acrocephalus stentoreus brunnescens) , xxxv, 453; The

Migration of the Rosy Pastor ( Pastor roseus) , xxxv , 457 ; Flower-Birds

and Bird- Flowers in India ( 4 Plates, 4 text-figures), xxxv , 573.

ALI, SALIM. With notes by WHISTLER, H.

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey, Part I ( 1 map,2 plates ),

xxxvi, 356 ; Part II ( 2 plates ), xxxvi, 707 ; Part III {2 plates ), xxxvi, 898.

ALLARD, H.A. — Hovering Flight of Birds and no wind, xxxiv, 1079.

AMBALLA. — See Birds (Geography).

ANDAMAN ISLANDS— See Birds (Geography) .

ANDERSON, JOHN C.— See Obituary Notices.

ANDERSON, R. K.— /-Tigers and Elephants, xxxi, 514.

ANDREWS, E. A. — Crows and Koels, xxxii, 796.

ANDREWES, H. E. — On a collection of Ground Beetles ( Carabidce ) from

Waziristan, xxxv, 862.

ANIMAL LIFE IN TORRENTIAL STREAMS — (1 plate, 10 text-figures) ,

xxxii, 111.

ANNELIDS (Leeches) — See H^emadipsisle.

ANNUAL REPORT — xxxiii, 737 ; xxxiv, 602 ; xxxv, 918 ; xxxvi, 768.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

A.T. — Venom of Snakes, xxxiii, 217.

A.P.M. — Iguanas, xxxiii, 217.

F. H.— Poisonous Lizards, xxxiii, 218.

H.M.McG. — Brain-Fever Bird, xxxiii, 218.

G. R.E.— Flame of the Forest, xxxiii, 218.

E.L.S.— What is the effect of Castration on horned animals, xxxiii, 463.

A.J. — How many species of Cobras are there in India ? Is the black cobra a

distinct species ? What is the General Distribution of cobras ?, xxxiii, 463.

GENERAL INDEX

3

W.J.W. — What is the longest known migratory journey performed by any bird ?,

xxxiii, 464.

R.Li.E. — Where do Bees obtain the wax with which they build their combs ?,

xxxiii, 466.

A.F.B. — Are there Carnivorous Plants in India ? How do they absorb food ?,

xxxiii, 465.

R.S.K.— Huxley’s Bathybius — information wanted, xxxiii, 735.

P.R.L. — An Enquiry re. sense of smell in moths, xxxiii, 736.

ANTS— See INSECTS ( Hymenoptera) .

APHIDS — See INSECTS (Hemiptera).

ARACHNIDS

Scorpions — Death from the sting of a Scorpion, xxxi, 830 ; An appeal for

Scorpions, xxxiii, 412 ; The Toxicity of the venom of Indian Scorpions,

xxxiii, 680, 952 ; xxxiv, 230, 266, 788 ; Scorpions in Iraq, xxxiv, 265 ; A

Scorpion ( Buthus ) feeding on a Galeod Spider ( Galeodes agilis), xxxvi,

* 281.

Whip-scorpions — Occurrence of Phrynichus phipsoni in Salsette Island,

xxxv, 230.

Spiders — Preying Habits ofthe Tent-building Spider, xxxii, 381 ; Migration

of Spiders ( text-figure ), xxxiii, 215 ; Description of anew ant-mimicking

Spider ( Synemosynci transversa) , ( 2 text-figures) , xxxiv, -200 ; Effect of

Spider-bite on man, xxxiv, 592 ; Ant-mimicking Spiders as victims of

Wasps {Photo), |xxxiv, 831 ; A Spider {Myrmarachne plataleoides) that can

change the colour of its eyes at will {4 plates , 4 text-figures) , xxxv, 132.

ASANA, J. J.— The Natural History of Calotes versicolor , the Common

Blood-sucker, xxxiv, 1041.

ASSAM — See Mammals (Systematic).

See— Botany (Alg^e).

ASSAMESE, Names of Birds— See Higgins, J. C.

ATKINSON, G. — An Albino Chital ( Axis axis), xxxv, 888.

AWATI, P. R., i.e.s. — An account of the Pearl Fisheries of Tuticorin, March

and April, 1927 {4 plates), xxxii, 524.

AYYAR, P. N. KRISHNA, b. a. — Notes on some Rats damaging Crops in

South India, xxxiv, 937.

AYYAR, Dr. T. V. RAMAKRISHNA, b.a., ph.d., f.z.s. — Notes on some

Indian Lepidoptera with abnormal habits, xxxiii, 668 ; A Fish Pest of

Fields along the Coromandel Coast {Ophichthys boro), xxxvi, 276.

AYYAR, T.V. RAMAKRISHNA, b.a., ph.d., f.z.s. ; and MARGABANDHU,

V., m.a. — Notes on Indian Thysanoptera with brief descriptions of new

species {2 plates , 1 text-figure ), xxxiv, 1029.

4

GENERAL INDEX

AYYAR, T. V. RAMAKRISHNA and MENON, N. KRISHNA— Notes on

an Acridiid Grasshopper ( Gesonia punctifrons ) ovipositing into stem of

‘ Colocasia ’ Plant (1 plate), xxxvi, 517.

BAILEY, Lt.'Col. F. M. — Description of a new Lycmnid Butterfly, Lyccena

( Heodes ) irmae, xxxv, 697.

BAKER, E. C. STUART, j.p., f.l.s., f.z.s., m.b.o.u,— The Game Birds of

India, Burma, and Ceylon (See BIRDS. (Systematic) ; Notes on the Fauna

of British India: Birds, Vols. IV, V, & VI. (New edition), xxxv, 873.)

BALUCHISTAN (British) - See BIRDS (Geography).

See MAMMALS (General).

See INSECTS (Systematic).

BANERJEE, KANTI GOPAL. — An instance of anomalous branching

of the conjugation tubes of an Indian form of Spirogyra neglecta (plate),

xxxiv, 842.

BANGALORE. — See INSECTS (Butterflies — Geography).

BANKS, E. — Some measurements of the Estuary Crocodile (Crocodilus

porosus) from Sarawak, xxxiv, 1086.

BARTON, C. G. — The Occurrence of the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in

Burma, xxxiii, 450.

BASIL-EDWARDES, S., m.b.o.u., r.a.o.u. — On the occurrence of the Giant

Water-Bug (Belostoma indicum) in Simla, xxxi, 229 ; A contribution to the

Ornithology of Delhi, Part I (2 plates ), xxxi, 261 ; Part II, xxxi, 567.

BASIL-EDWARDES, S.— See OBITUARY NOTICES.

BATES, Capt. R. S. P., m.b.o.u.— Bird nesting with a camera in India

(14 plates ), xxxi, 277 ; Impressions of Pachmarhi Birds (4 plates ), xxxi, 918 ;

A Reed-bed in the Dal Lake, Kashmir (6 plates ), xxxiii, 656 ; A note on the

nidification and habits of the Travancore Laughing Thrush (Trochal-

oPterum jerdoni fairbanki) (plate), xxxv, 204; Migration of Paradise

Flycatcher (Tchitrea paradisi), xxxv, 896.

BATS — See MAMMALS.

BATTYE, Lieut. R. K, M. — Malformation in skull of a Thar (Hemitragus

jemlaicus) (photo), xxxiv, 1057 ; How does a Tiger make a ‘ kill ’ ?, xxxvi,

488.

BAYLEY-DeCASTRO, Lieut. A, i.m.d. — Pochard perching in a tree, xxxiii,

716 ; Vigils at waterholes, xxxiv, 802 ; Early arrival of Snipe in the

Andamans, xxxvi, 1005.

BEADON, W. R. COLERIDGE.— The ‘ Sambhur ’ Call of Tigers, xxxi, 515.

BECKETT, J. — Death of an Elephant from Rabies, xxxvi, 242.

BEES — See INSECTS (Hymenoptera) .

BEGINNER, A. — Notes on Tiger preferring carrion to live bait, xxxi, 1025,

GENERAL INDEX

5

BELL, T. R., c.i.e., i,f,s, (Retd.)— The Common Butterflies of the Plains of

India (including those met with in the Hill Stations of the Bombay

Presidency) Part XXXVI, xxxi, 323; Part XXXVII, xxxi, 655; Part

XXXVIII, xxxi, 951 ; Are Terias Iceta and T. venata seasonal forms of one

species ?, xxxiii, 729.

BERESFORD, Lt.-Col., G. de la P., m.c.— Migration notes from Kohat

N.W.F.P.. xxxiv, 810 ; Notes on the migration of birds in the North-West

Frontier Province, xxxv, 461.

BERKELEY, Capt, M, H. — Occurrence of the Tufted Pochard ( Nyroca

fuligula ) in Gil git, xxxiv, 809.

BERRIFF, Arthur H,— Mating of the Jungle Crow ( Cor7>us coronoides

intermedins ), xxxii, 217 ; Extraordinary pugnacity of the Rusty-cheeked

Scimitar Babbler ( Pomatorhinns erythrogenys) , xxxii, 599; Number of

cubs in a Tiger’s litter, xxxv, 670.

BETHAM, Brig. Gen, R, M,, m.b.o.u. — The transport of Birds’ Eggs

{text-figure) , xxxi, 527; The breeding of the Indian Lesser Whitethroat

{Sylvia curruca af finis) at Quetta, xxxi, 1035 ; The attitude of Birds

towards their young, xxxiv, 573.

BETTS, F. N.— Notes on the Birds of Coorg, xxxiii, 542 ; Migration of the

Pied Crested Cuckoo {Clainator jacobinns), xxxiii, 714 ; Distribution of the

Brown Shrike {Lanins cristatus cristatus), xxxiii, 714 ; Bird movements in

Coorg, xxxiii, 718 ; Migration notes in 1929 from the Nilgiri District, xxxiv,

569 ; The Bulbuls of the Nilgiris {2 plates ), xxxiv, 1024 ; Notes on some

Ceylon Birds, xxxvi, 257.

BHADURI, J. L.— A note on the occurrence of Rana hexadactyla in Bengal,

xxxvi, 514.

BHARUCHA, K. H .-See Caius, J. F.

BHATIA, m l., m.sc. and CHAUDHURY, s.s., m.a,, m. sc,— Some observa-

tions on the Common Indian Millipede {Spirostreptus) {plate), xxxii, 382.

BHELING VALLEY, Tehri Garhwal — See BIRDS (Geography).

BIBLE (the) Ornithology in, xxxii, 553.

BIRDS ( Geography) —

Persia and Mesopotamia, — Additional Notes on the Avifauna of Iraq,

xxxi, 91 ; Corrigendum to Fauna of Iraq, xxxii, 376 ; Some Birds from

the north-west corner of Fars, Persia {Map), xxxiv, 922.

Baluchistan. — The Birds of British Baluchistan, Part I {2 plates, 1 map),

xxxi, 687; Part II (2 plates), xxxi, 862; Part III {1 plate), xxxii, 64:

Notes on the Birds of Baluchistan, xxxiv, 575 ; xxxv 893 ; Some notes

on the Birds breeding round Quetta {2 plates), xxxiii 598; Birds of

Quetta, xxxiv, 246.

Kashmir. — The Rock Horned-Owl in Kashmir {photo), xxxi, 523 ; The

Mammals and Birds of Kashmir and adjacent Hill Provinces, Part VI,

xxxi, 1 ; Part VII, xxxii, 711 ; Notes on the Birds of Kashmir, Part I,

{1 plate , 1 Map), xxxi, 975. Part II [plate), xxxii, 134.

6

GENERAL INDEX

A Tour in Further Kashmir ( 2 plates ), xxxiv, 108 ; Vernacular names for

Kashmir Birds, xxxiv, 571 ; Occurrence of the Tufted Pochard ( Nyroca

fuligula) in Gilgit, xxxiv, 809,

Tibet. — Stray Bird Notes from — ( 2 plates ), xxxiii, 78.

Everest (Mount.) — Bird Notes from the Mount Everest Expedition of

1924 (1 plate), xxxii, 320.

Nepal.— The Common Central Asian Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis pallasii ) in

Nepal, xxxvi, 508.

North West Frontier Province. — Occurrence of the White-headed, or

Stiff-tailed Duck (Erismaiura leucocephala) in the N.W.F.P., xxxiv, 576;

Occurrence of the European Bustard ( Otis tarda tarda) in the N.W.F.P.,

xxxvi, 752 ; Note on the Birds of Peshawar District (Map), xxxii, 744;

The Bearded Tit (Panvrus b. russicus) an addition to the Indian list,

Vol. xxxii, 217.

Sind. — Addenda to the avifauna of Sind and of British India, xxxii, 376 ;

The Occurrence of the Gold-fronted Finch (Metaponia pusilla) at Sukkur,

xxxv, 207 ; Occurrence of the Nukta or Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis

melanotus) in the Larkhana District, xxxv, 898 ; Occurrence of the Smew

(M. albellus) in Sind, xxxv, 900.

Punjab. — Note on the Breeding of the genus Capriwulgus (Nightjars)

in the Punjab Salt Range, xxxi, 821 ; Occurrence of the Pamir Horned

Lark (Otocoris penicillata albigula) in the Punjab, xxxii, 218 ; The Rock

Sparrow (Petronia siulta) in the Punjab, xxxii, 218 ; Occurrence of the

Trumpeter Bullfinch ( Bucanetes githaginea crassirostris) in the Punjab

Salt Range, xxxiii, 989 ; Occurrence of the Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca

halimodendri) in the Punjab, xxxiv, 575 ; Occurrence of the Stiff-tailed

Duck in the Shahpur District, xxxiv, 577 ; A note on the occurrence of

the Turkestan Penduline Tit (Remiz coronatus) in the Punjab, xxxv, 202 ;

Occurrence of the Sind Red-winged Bush-Lark ( Mirafra erythroptera

sindianus) in the Rawalpindi District, xxxv, 458 ; Occurrence of the

Falcated Teal (Eunetta falcata) in the Jhelum District, xxxv, 459 ;

Occurrence of the Sind Babbler (Chrysomura altirostris scindicus)

in the Dera Ghazi Khan District of the Punjab, xxxvi, 748 ; Occurrence

of the Blue-throated Barbet (Cyanops asiatica) at Murree, xxxvi, 750;

Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadcrna) in the Mianwali

District, Punjab, xxxvi, 1008 ; Further notes on the Birds of Amballa

District, xxxi, 1000 ; Further notes on Birds about Simla, xxxii,

726; Notes on some Birds seen in Lahul and Kulu, xxxiv, 569.

Delhi. — A contribution to the Ornithology of Delhi, Part 1 (2 plates ),

xxxi, 261 ; Part II, xxxi, 567.

United Provinces. — List of the Birds observed in the Bheling Valley,

Tehri Garhwal, 1 April 1896 to 25 May 1926 from 2,000 to 13,000 feet,

xxxi, 817 ; Occurrence of the Sheldrake in the United Provinces, xxxiif

800 ; xxxiii, 446 ; Occurrence of the White=fronted Goose (Anser albifrons

albifrons) in the United Provinces, xxxiii, 716 ; A List of some birds of

the Seven Hills of Naini Tal, U.P., xxxiv, 821 ; Birds observed in the

neighbourhood of Ranikhet, xxxiv, 1072 ; Occurrence of the Clucking or

Baikal Teal (Netiion formosum) near Hardoi, xxxv, 211 ; Occurrence of

the Woodcock (Scolopax r , rusticola) at Jhinjhana, U.P., xxxvi, 751.

GENERAL INDEX

7

Bengal. — Giant Heron ( Ardea goliath ) in the Khulna District, Bengal,

xxxi, 523 ; The Status of the Indian Black-headed Shrike ( Lanius

nigriceps ) in Lower Bengal, xxxvi, 259 ; Occurrence of the Baikal or

Clucking Teal ( Nettion formosum ) at Katihar, Bengal, xxxvi, 1008 ;

On the occurrence of the Grey-backed Shrike ( Lanius lephronotus) in the

suburbs of Calcutta, xxxiv, 807 ; Bulbuls in Calcutta and its suburbs,

xxxv, 894 ; The Status of Geocichla ciirina cilrina in the district of

24 Parganas (with a note on nestling colouration), xxxvi, 501.

Bihar and Orissa. — Occurrence of the Sheldrake in Bihar, xxxii. 221-22.

Extension of Habitat of Hume’s Scimitar Babbler ( Pomatorhinus

horsfieldi obscurus) to Orissa, xxxi, 1032 ; Occurrence of the Sheldrake

{Tadorna tadorna) in the Darbhanga District, Bihar, xxxii, 799 ; The

Black-capped Kingfisher ( Halcyon pileata) in the Darbhanga District,

Bihar, xxxii, 798 ; Late stay of the Grey Quail ( Coturnix coturnix) in

Bihar, xxxiv, 255 ; Occurrence of the Baikal Teal ( Nettion formosum )

in the Darbhanga District, N. Bihar, xxxiv, 578 ; First Indian Record

of the Eastern Grey Duck ( Anas poecilorhyncha zonorhyncha) and

the occurrence of the Eastern White-eyed Duck ( Nyroca rufa baeri)

in Bihar, xxxiv, 810.

Rajputana and Central India.— Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhy fi-

chus) and Mallard ( Anas boscas ) in Jaipur, xxxi, 522 ; Occurrence of

the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps cristatus cristatus ) in Bikanir, xxxvi,

753 ; A note on the Birds in the neighbourhood of Mhow, xxxv, 382.

Central Provinces. — Impressions of Pachmarhi Birds, xxxi, 918 ;

Occurrence of the Wood Snipe in the Central Provinces, xxxii, 600.

Kutch.— Occurrence of the Bronze-capped or Falcated Teal ( Eunetta

falcata ) in Kutch, xxxv, 899.

Bombay Presidency. — Occurrence of the Bar-tailed Godwit ( Limosa

lapponica lapponica ) in Salsette, xxxiii, 716 ; The Magpie Robin

( Copsychus saularis) in North Gujarat, xxxv, 455; The Occurrence

of the Pied Crested Cuckoo in North Guijarat, xxxv, 458; Masked

Boobies ( Sula dactylatra ) at Sea 350 miles from Bombay, xxxvi,

753 ; Occurrence of the Grey Hypocolius ( Hypocolius ampelinus) in

North Konkan, xxxiv, 1061 ; Comment on the occurrence of the Grey

Hypocolius in India, xxxv, 454 ; Notes on the Pied Crested Cuckoo

( Clamator jacobinus ) in Alibag, Kolaba District, xxxiv, 1071 ; Indian

Courser ( Cursorius coromandelicus ) at Panchgani, xxxi, 820 ; Extended

Distribution of the Wynaad Laughing Thrush ( Garrulax delesserti)

to North Kanara, xxxvi, 503.

Madras Presidency — The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern

Ghats, Ornithological Section, Introduction, xxxiv, 386 ; Part I, ( 2 maps ),

xxxv, 505 ; Part II, 737 ; Part III, xxxvi, 67 ; Part IV, 324 ; Part V, 561 ;

Part VI, 749 ; Occurrence of the Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus

flammeus) in Madras City, xxxvi, 752 ; The Bulbuls cf the Nilgiris

[2 plates ), xxxiv, 1024; The occurrence of the Common Ruby-throat

{Calliope calliope) in the Godaveri Delta, xxxvi, 504.

Travancore State — Occurrence of the Christmas Island or Frigate Bird

{Fregata andrewsi) at Quilon, xxxiii, 445,

8

GENERAL INDEX

Hyderabad State. — The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey, Part I,

(7 map , 2 plates ), xxxvi, 356 ; Part II (2 plates ), xxxvi, 707 ; Part III

(2 plates ), xxxvi, 898.

Mysore and Coorg — Arrival of Snipe in Mysore, xxxi, 1033 ; Compara-

tive frequency of Fantail, Pintail and Jack Snipe near Bangalore

xxxv, 900 ; Notes on the Birds of Coorg, xxxiii, 543.

Ceylon — Birds seen on a trip from Pottuvil to Kumma, xxxiv, 815 ;

Notes on some Ceylon Birds, xxxvi, 257.

Assam— Occurrence of Swinhoe’s Snipe in North Lakhimpur, xxxii, 221 ;

The White-fronted Goose ( Anser albifrons) in Manipur, xxxv, 460

Early arrival of Fantail Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago) in Manipur,

xxxv, 687 ; The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State with

notes on their Numbers, Migration and Habits, Part I, xxxvi, 406

Part II, xxxvi, 591 ; Part III, xxxvi, 845.

Burma — Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna) and Lapwing

( Vanellus vanellus ) in Upper Burma, xxxi, 823 ; xxxii, 220 ; Wood Snipe

(i Gallinago nemoricola ) in Burma, xxxi, 1033 ; Birds of Upper Burma

Hills, Part I (7 map , 3 plates ), xxxiii, 800 ; Part II, xxxiv, 46 ; Part III,

xxxiv, 337 ; Occurrence of the Mallard ( Anas platyrhyncha ) in Upper

Burma, xxxiv, 577 ; Further record of the Mallard in Burma, xxxv, 209 ;

Occurrence of the Spotbill or Grey Duck ( Anas p. pcecilorhyncha ) in

Upper Chindwin, Burma, xxxv, 209 ; Occurrence of the Tufted Pochard

(Nyroca fuligula ) and the Eastern White-eye ( Nyroca baeri ) in Burma,

xxxv, 210 ; Occurrence of the Bronze-capped or Falcated Teal

(Eunetta lalcata ) in Burma, xxxii, 899 ; Occurrence of the White-

throated Babbler (Argya gularis ) in Lower Burma, xxxv, 262 ; A note

on the Buntings in Burma, xxxvi, 263 ; The Short-eared Owl [Asio /.

flammeus) in Burma, xxxvi, 265 ; The occurrence of the Lesser Kestrel

( Cerchneis naumanni ) and Knot ( Tringa canutus) in Burma, xxxvi, 265 ;

The occurrence of the Lesser Kestrel ( Cerchneis naumanni) in Burma,

xxxvi, 508 ; Notes on Some Birds from Southern Arakan, xxxvi, 920 ;

The occurrence of the Mallard (Anas platyrhyncha) , at Taunggyi,

Burma, xxxvi, 1008 ; The Birds of the Prome District, Lower Burma,

Part I (map), xxxiv, 666 ; Part II, xxxiv, 901 ; Part III, xxxv, 32.

Andaman islands. — Some Andaman Birds, xxxv, 891 ; Early arrival of

Snipe in the Andamans, xxxvi, 507, 1005.

India General. —

Pallas’s sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) within Indian Limits,

xxxi, 522 ; The Bearded Tit (Panurus b. russicus) an addition to the

Indian List, xxxii, 217 ; Occurrence of the Christmas Island Frigate Bird

(Fregata andrewsi) or Man-of-War Bird on the West Coast of India,

xxviii, 445 ; The occurrence of the Grey Hypocolius (Hypocolius ampeli-

nus) in India, xxxv, 454 ; On the Distribution of the Eastern Grey Duck

(Anas zonorhyncha) , xxxv, 460, 687 ; xxxvi, 267 ; Place of the Java

Sparrow (Munia oryzivora) in the Indian Avifauna, xxxv, 683.

BIRDS ( NIDIFICATION )

Timaliid^e — A note on the nidification and habits of the Travancore

Laughing-Thrush (Trochaloptcrum jerdoni fairbanki) (plate), xxxv,

204 ; Notes on the nidification of Radcliffe’s Sibia (Leioptila melanoleuca

radcliffei) (photo), xxxvi* 994,

GENERAL INDEX

9

Pycnonotid^e — Nidification of Bingham’s White-headed Bulbul ( Ceraso -

phila thompsoni ), xxxiii, 991 ; Note on the Nesting-habits of the Southern

Red-whiskered Bulbul ( Otocompsa emeria fuscicaudata) , xxxiv, 250;

Notes on the Nesting-habits of the Red-vented Bulbul {Molpastes cafer) ,

xxxv, 680.

Sittid^e— Nidification of the Giant Nuthatch (Sitta magna) ( photo ),

xxxvi, 1001.

Sylvihxe — Breeding of the Indian Lesser Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca

affinis) at Quetta, xxxi, 1025; Nidification of the Sind Hill-Warbler

{Suya cinigera striatula ), xxxii, 797 ; Note on the Breeding of the Tailor-

bird ( Orthotomus sutorius ), xxxiii, 710.

Laniid^e — Further notes on the nesting of Lanius nigriceps, with

observations on juvenile plumage {1 plate) , xxxvi, 499.

Turid^e— -Notes on the ‘ Whistling School Boy ’ or Malabar Whistling

Thrush {Myiophoneus horsfieldi) , xxxv, 202.

PloceiDjE — The Amadavat ( Amandava amandava ) in Mesopotamia

xxxiv, 576 ; The Nesting-habits of the Baya ( Ploceus philippinus)

(7 plates , 11 text-figures) , xxxiv, 947 ; Double nests of the Weaver Bird

{Ploceus philip pinus) {1 diagram) , xxxv, 681.

Zosteropid.iE — Nesting of the White-eye {Zosterops paipebrosa) , xxxvi,

504.

PiciiD^E — The Nesting of the Malabar Heart-spotted Woodpecker {Hemi-

circus canente cordatus in Travancore, xxxv, 207.

Capitonid^e — Breeding of the Great Himalayan Barbet ( Megaloema virens

mar shall or urn) in the Punjab Salt Range, xxxi, 825.

Bucerotidae — Nesting-habits of the Northern Grey Hornbill {Lophoceros

birostris ), xxxiii, 444; Note on the Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill {Hydro-

cissa malabaricus leucogastra) {1 plate), xxxvi, 505.

Upupid^e — Mortality amongst Hoopoe nestlings, xxxii, 990.

Micropid^e — On the Nesting of the Crested Swifts {2 plates), xxxiv, 772.

Cuculid^e — Koel {Eudynamis scolopaceus) parasitising nest of Indian

Oriole {Oriolus o. kundoo) , xxxi, 1032 ; Eleven Koel eggs in a Crow’s nest,

xxxv, 458 ; Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States, xxxvi, 997.

Falconid^e — The nesting of the Besra Sparrow-Hawk {Acci piter virgatus

affinis) at Simla, xxxv, 208 ; Some observations on the nesting of a pair of

Ceylon Shikra Hawks {As fur badius badius), xxxvi, 509 ; The nesting of

the Shahin Falcon {Falco peregrinus) on a tree, xxxvi, 1003.

Phasianid^e — Nesting of the Grey Partridge {Francolinus pondicerianus) ,

xxxvi, 512 ; Hatching of Partridge eggs exposed on a table, xxxvi, 1004.

Gruid^e — Nesting of the Sarus ( Antigone antigone), xxxiv, 582.

Rallid^e — Note on the breeding of the Indian Moorhen {Gallinula chlo-

ropus parvifrons) , xxxv, 685.

Burhinid^e {or CEdicnemid^e) — Breeding of the Great Stone-Plover {CEdic-

fiemus recurvirostris) , xxxiv, 809,

10

GENERAL INDEX

Ciconid^e— Nesting of the Open-bill Stork ( Anastomus oscitans) in Purulia

Manbhum District, xxxi, 323 ; Nidification of Storks (photo), xxxiv, 579.

Ardeid^e — Note on nidification of the Western Reef Heron (Lepterodius

asha) in Karachi City, Sind, (plate), xxxi, 823.

Anatid^ — Breeding of the Spot-bill Duck (Anas poecilovhyncha) , xxxii,

221 ; Breeding of Geese and Ducks in Chinese Turkestan, xxxiv, 255.

BIRDS ( Nidification— Local observations and general notes.)

Birds nesting in the Dras and Suru Valleys, xxxi, 186 ; Birds nesting with a

Camera in India, Part VI (14 plates), xxxi, 277; Some Notes on the

Birds breeding round Quetta (2 plates), xxxiii, 598 ; Mortality amongst

Hoopoe nestlings, xxxiii, 990 ; The Incubation of eggs during the hot

weather, xxxiv, 247 ; The attitude of Birds towards their young, xxxiv,

573 ; Casualties among the eggs and young of small birds, xxxiv, 1062.

BIRDS (Habits) —

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur Indus indus) swimming, xxxi, 526 ; Extra-

ordinary tameness of the Garganey Teal (Querquedula querquedula),

xxxi, 826 ; A jungle-fowl Problem, xxxii, 374 ; A Lost Snipe, xxxii, 374;

An assisted passage of a House-Crow, xxxii, 598 ; Extraordinary

pugnacity of the Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler (Pomatorhinus

erythrogenys), xxxii, 599; Snipe and Woodcock in South India, xxxii,

606 ; Crows and Koels, xxxii, 796 ; The Rufous-breasted Blue Flycatcher

(Cyornis hyperythra) at high levels, xxxii, 796 ; A Quail’s queer retreat,

xxxii, 799 ; Speed of the Indian Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle ruais leucomel-

anura), xxxiii, 204 ; A strange Pet (photo), xxxiii, 712 ; Pochard perching

on a tree, xxxiii, 716; Little Indian Grebes or Dabchicks (Podiceps

albipennis) mobbing a snake, xxxiv, 1081 .

Notes on the White-headed Duck or Stiff-tail (Erismatura leucocephala) ,

xxxv, 211, 687; xxxv, 213; The Indian Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus

stentoreus brunnescens, xxxv, 450 ; Nestling of Indian Pied Kingfisher

(i Ceryle rudis) attacked by lame of Parasitic Fly, xxxv, 897 ; Disease

among Crows, xxxv, 100; A case of Twin-Embryos in the egg of a Domes-

tic Fowl, xxxvi, 268; The Black-backed Shrike ( Lanius nasutus nigriceps ),

xxxvi, 748 ; Riding down Partridges, xxxvi, 1004 ; Mating-habits of the

Common Kite (Milvus migrans govinda), xxxi, 524; Mating of Crows,

xxxi, 823 ; xxii, 217 ; The mating of Paroquets, xxxii, 218 ; Habits of the

Indian Spur-winged Plover (Hoplopterns ventralis), xxxii, 219 ; Birds-of

Prey and their uses (4 plates), xxxii, 737 ; The Babblter as a Barometer,

xxxiii, 442 ; The Peacock as a Barometer, xxxiii, 443 ; A Hawk incident,

xxxiii, 714 ; Kissing habit among Birds, xxxiii, 717 ; Different Birds

nesting in company, xxxiii, 718 ; The mating of the Blossom-headed

Paroquet (Psittacula cyanocephala) , xxxiv, 254; The attitude of Birds

towards their young, xxxiv, 573, 574 ; Bathing Habit of the Indian

Roller (Coracias benghalensis) , xxxiv, 578 ; Birds of a Himalayan

Torrent — a study in Behaviour, xxxiv, 811 ; Courtship of the Scarlet

Minivet (Pericrocotus speciosus), xxxiv, 1061 ; Notes on the Pied Crested

Quekoo (Clamator jacobinus) in Alibag Taluka (Kolaba District), xxxiv,

GENERAL INDEX

li

1071 ; Notes on the Whistling School Boy or Malabar Whistling Thrush

[Myophoneus horsfieldi) , xxxv, 202 ; Habits of the Travancore Laughing-

Thrush ( Trochalopteron jerdoni fairbanki) ( plate ), xxxv, 204.

The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State with notes on their

numbers, migration and habits, Part I, xxxvi, 406 ; Notes on the Habits

of Radcliffe’s Sibia ( Leioptila melanoleuca radcliffei) ( photo ), xxxvi, 993 ;

Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States [plate), xxxvi, 997.

BIRDS (Age)—

Age of Animals (Birds), xxxv, 885.

BIRDS (Food) —

A short-cut by birds to the honey in the flowers of Sesbania grandiflora ,

xxxii, 378; Birds eating butterflies, xxxiii, 204; Food of Hornbills,

xxxiii, 206 ; Pelicans and Turtles, xxxiv, 1081 ; The Red-legged Falconet

[Microhierax etolmus ) hawking butterflies, xxxi, 826 ; xxxii, 377 ; Is

the Large Hornbill ( Dichoceros bicornis ) carnivorous?, xxxii, 374;

Pallas’ Fishing-Eagle [Haliaetus leucoryphus ) killing Crane, xxxii, 207 ;

Flower-Birds and Bird-Flowers in India ( 4 plates , 4 text-figures ), xxxv,

573 ; Flower-Birds and Bird-Flowers, xxxvi, 267 ; The Stork-billed King-

fisher ( Ramphalcyon capensis gurial) eating birds, xxxiii, 713 ; Fish-eat-

ing habits of the Sarus Crane ( Antigone anti gone) , xxxiv, 582 ; The

Browm Hawk-Owl ( Ninox scutulata ) feeding on Bats, xxxvi, 1002.

BIRDS (Migration)—

Migration of Wild Fowl, xxxi, 1034 ; xxxii, 222 ; xxxiii {Map), 446, 719, 970 ;

xxxiv, 229, 568 ; xxxv, 901, xxxvi, 507 ; Arrival of Snipe in Mysore, xxxii,

375 ; Migration of the Pied Crested Cuckoo [Clamator jacobinus) , xxxiii,

136, 714 ; xxxiv, 252 ; xxxv, 458: Distribution of the Brown Shrike (Lanius

cristatus cristatus ), xxxiii, 714 ; Bird movements in Coorg, xxxiii, 718 ;

Migration notes from Kashgar, Chinese Turkestan, xxxiii, 989 ; Migratory

habits of Wagtails, xxxiv, 253 ; Migration notes in 1929 from the Nilgiri

District, xxxiv, 569 ; Migration notes from Kohat, xxxiv, 810 ; Bird

migration notes from Port Blair, xxxv, 448 ; The Migration of the

Rosy Pastor ( Pastor roseus ), xxxv, 457 ; The migration of the White

Stork [Ciconia ciconia) , xxxv, 459 ; Notes on the migration of Birds in

the North-West Frontier Province, xxxv, 461 ; Migration of the Paradise

Flycatcher ( Tchitrea paradisi), xxxv, 675, 896 ; xxxvi, 498 ; Sex differ-

ences in the migration of the Common Teal ( Nettion crecca ), xxxv, 680 ;

The Study of Indian Birds, Part X ( 1 text-figure) ( migration ), xxxv,

848 ; The Game Birds and Animals of the Manipur State with notes on

their numbers, migration and habits, Part I, xxxvi, 406 ; A note on the

migration of the Swallow Shrike ( Artanius fuscus ), xxxvi, 996 ; See

Bombay Natural History Society’s Bird ringing Scheme.

BIRDS (Variation and Plumage)—

An Albino Bustard ( Eupodotis edwardsi), xxxi, 526; An Albino Coot

( Fulica atra atra ), xxxi, 526 ; An Albino House-Sparrow [Passer dotnes-

ticus ), xxxiv, 253 ; Down-plumages of some Indian Birds [plate), xxxi,

12

GENERAL INDElX

368 ; Description of and notes on the female Chestnut-mantled Koklas

[Pucrasia m. castanea ) from Chitral, xxxiv, 1062. Some races of the

Red-billed Chough {Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) , xxxv, 213 ; Description

of the immature plumage of the Indian Pratincole or Swallow Plover

( Glareola m. maldivarum) , xxxv, 686.

BIRDS (Abnormalities ) —

A case of Osteogenesis imperfecta occurring in a wild bird ( Parus major

mahrattarum ) (7 block, 2 text- figures), xxxvi, 754.

BIRDS (Structural) —

The Study of Indian Birds : —

Part I — The Origin of Birds ( 2 plates ), xxxiii, 166.

Part II — The Feathers {2 plates ), xxxiii, 311.

Part III — External Characteristics of Birds — The Beak ( 4 plates ), xxxiii,

776.

Part IV— Some External Characteristics of a Bird — The Wings (7 plates,

1 diagram ), xxxiv, 27.

Part V— Some External Characteristics of a Bird— The Foot (7 plate, 6 text-

figures), xxxiv, 276.

Part VI — Some External Characteristics of a Bird — Colouration (7 plate,

2 text-figures), xxxiv, 720.

Part VII — The Reproduction of Birds, Preliminary Remarks, xxxv, 89.

Part VIII — The Reproduction of Birds — The nest (7 plate), xxxv, 312.

Part IX — The Reproduction of Birds — The Egg (7 plate, 1 text-iigure) ,

xxxv, 635.

The Tail-Racket of Dissemurus paradiseus, xxiii, 709 ; xxxiv, 250 ; Peafowl

without a train (a Burmese belief), xxxiv, 583.

BIRDS (Economics)—

Game Preservation in the Nilgiris, xxxii, 339.

The Common Mynah (A. tristis) as a pest in Seychelles, xxxiv, 806.

The Role of Sunbirds and Flower-peckers in the Propagation and Distribu-

tion of the Tree Parasite {L. longiflorus) in the Konkan (W. India),

xxxv, 144.

Birds of Prey and their uses ( 4 Plates), xxxii, 737.

BIRDS (Shooting)—

Notes on Small Game Shooting in the Khasia Hills, xxxi, 728 ; Notes on

Duck Shooting in the Roorkee District, U.P., in the years 1903 to 1927

{graph), xxxii, 600 ; Woodcock in Burma xxxiii, 207 ; Notes on Wood-

cock near Rangoon, xxxiii 715.

BIRDS (Systematic) —

Description of a new race of the White-eye ( Zosterops p. salimalii),

xxxvi, 811.

The Game Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon — {The Waders and other semi-

sporting Birds.)

Part I — The Indian Water Rail {plate), xxxi, 233.

GENERAL INDEX

i3

Part II — The Purple Coot ( plate ), The Kora or Water-Cock, The Indian

Moorhen, The Coot, xxxi, 533,

Part III— The Ruddy Crake, The White-breasted Water Hen, The Brown

Crake, Elwes’ Crake, The Banded Crake, The Malayan Banded Crake

[plate) , The Andamanese Banded Crake, xxxii, 1.

Part IV — The Spotted Crake, The Little Crake, The Eastern Baillon’s

Crake [plate), The Corn Crake or Land Rail, The Blue-breasted Banded

Rail, The Philippine Blue-breasted Banded Rail, The Andaman Blue-

breasted Banded Rail, The Indian Blue-breasted Banded Rail, xxxii, 23 7.

PartV — The Demoiselle Crane [plate, figure 1), The Eastern Common

* Crane [plate, figure 2), xxxii, 397.

Part VI — The Black-necked Crane [plate), The Great White or Siberian

Crane, The Hooded Crane, xxxii, 617.

Part VII — The Indian Sarus Crane [plate), The Burmese Sarus, xxxiii, 1.

Part VIII — The Masked Fin-Foot, The Crab-Plover [plate), xxxiii, 223.

Part IX — The Bronze-winged Jacana [plate, figure 2), The Pheasant-tailed

Jacana, xxxiii, 473,

Part X — The Indian Stone-Plover, The Persian Stone-Plover, The Great

Stone-Plover [plate), The Australian Stone-Plover, xxxiii, 745.

Part XI — The Cream-coloured Courser, The Indian Courser, Jerdon’s

Courser [plate, figme 1), The Collared Pratincole, The Large Indian

Pratincole or Swallow Plover, The Small Indian Pratincole or Sand-

Plover [plate, figure 2), xxxiv, 1.

Part XII — The Western Grey Plover, The Eastern Grey Plover [plate,

figure 1), The Kentish Plover, The Indian Kentish Plover [plate,

figure 2), The Chinese Kentish Plover, The Malayan Kentish Plover

xxxiv, 613,

Part XIII— The Oyster-Catcher, The Chinese Oyster-Catcher [plate,

figure 1), The Eastern Ringed Plover, The Chinese Little Ringed Plover,

The European Little Ringed Plover, Jerdon’s Little Ringed Plover

[plate, figure 2), The Long-billed Ringed Plover, The Pamirs Lesser

Sand-Plover, The Large Sand-Plover, xxxiv, 859.

Part XIV— The Golden Plover, The Eastern Golden Plover [plate, figure 1)

The Lapwing, Peewit, or Green Plover [plate, figure 2), The Sociable

Lapwing, The White-tailed Plover, xxxv, 1.

Part XV— The Spur-winged Plover, The Indian Red-wattled Lapwing

[Plate, figure !), The Mekran Red-wattled Lapwing, The Burmese Red-

wattled Lapwing, The Yellow-wattled Lapwing [plate, figure 2), The

Grey-headed Lapwing, xxxv, 241.

Part XVI— The Black-wunged Stilt, [plate, figure 1) , The Avocet, The

Ibis-Bill [plate, figure 2), xxxv, 475.

Part XVII— The Curlew [plate, figure 1), The Eastern Curlew, The

Whimbrel, The Eastern Whimbrel, The Black- tailed Godwit, The

Eastern Black -tailed Godwit, The Bar-tailed Godwit [plate, figure 2), The

Snipe-billed Godwit, xxxv, 703.

i4

GENERAL INDEX

art XV III — The Green Sandpiper [plate, figure 3 ), The Marsh Sandpiper

[plate, figure I), The Common Sandpiper, The Wood-Sandpiper,

[plate, figure 2), xxxvi, 1.

Part XIX — The Redshank [plate, figure 1), The Central Asian Redshank,

The Spotted or Dusky Redshank, The Greenshank [plate, figure 2),

Armstrong’s Sandpiper, xxxvi, 293.

The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats, xxxiv, 386 ; xxxv, 505,

737 ; xxxvi, 67, 334, 561, 749, 832.

The Hyderabad State Ornithological Survey — Part i [1 map, 2 plates),

xxxvi, 356 ; Part ii [2 plates), xxxvi, 707.

%

BIRDS (Fauna of British India)—

Ticehurst, Claud B., Some Notes on the {Second Edition. Vols. i and ii

xxxi, 490 ; Vol. iii, 344 ; Vols. iv, v, and vi. xxxiv, 468.

Baker, E. C. Stuart, Notes on the Fauna of British India : Birds,

vols. IV, V and VI (New Ed.), xxxv, 873.

D’Abreu, e.a. Notes on the Fauna of British India ; Birds, chiefly with

reference to the Centi'al Provinces, xxxv, 217.

BIRDS (Speed, Flight)—

Speed of the Indian Pied Kingfisher [Ceryle rudis leucomelanura), xxxiii,

204 ; Speed of the Large Pied Wagtail [Motacilla maderaspatensis) ,

xxxvi, 996; The Flight of Birds at high altitudes, xxxiii, 449 ; Effect

of wind on the Flight of Birds, xxxiii, 992; Hovering flight of Birds and

no wind, xxxiv, 1079.

BIRDS (EGGS)—

The transport of Birds’ Eggs [text-figure) , xxxi, 52 7.

BISWAS, K. P., m. a.— Contributions to our knowledge of the Fresh-water

Algae of Manipur, Assam [4 plates), xxxiv, 189 ; Glimpses of the Vegeta-

tion of South Burma (3 plates), xxxvi, 285.

BLATTER, Rev. E., s.j., ph.d., f.l.s.— Facts and Hypotheses in the

Problem of Evolution, xxxi, 12 ; Revision of the Flora of the Bombay

Presidency Part I, xxxi, 547 ; Part II, xxxi, 897 ; [Parts II1-XI, see

Blatter and McCann] ; Part XII, xxxiv, 291 ; Part XIII, xxxiv, 623 ;

Part XIV, xxxiv, 8 77 ; Part XV, xxxv, 13 ; Part XX, xxxvi, 307.

Luminescence in Plants and Animals, xxxi, 748; Viviparity in a Thistle

[plate), xxxi, 1039 ; A list of Orchids, with some new species from the

High Wavy Mountains (Madura District) [1 plate), xxxii, 518; New

Commelinacece from the Western Ghats ( 2 text-figures) , xxxiii, 73 ; A

new species of Balanophora from Mahableshwar, Bombay Presidency

[plate), xxxiii, 309 ; Mosses of the Bombay Presidency, The High Wavy

Mountain and Mt. Aboo, xxxiii, 869.

The Flowering of Bamboos, Part I, xxxiii, 899 ; Part II, xxxiv, 135 ;

Part III, xxxiv, 447 ; What age can a Tree reach ?, xxxiv, 594 ; A

Request for material of Trapa (Water Chestnut), xxxiv, 597.

GENERAL INDEX

15

A Terrestrial Orchid found epiphytic, xxxiv, 599 ; A new Ceropegia from

the Western Ghats, xxxiv, 936 ; Some Notes on the flowering of

Bamboos, xxxiv, 1097 ; A new Gentian {Gentiana lowndesii) fromN.

Waziristan, xxxv, 861 ; A Plantago new to the Bombay Presidency, xxxv,

915 ; New Plants from Waziristan, xxxvi, 477.

BLATTER, Rev. E., s.j., ph. d., f.l.s., and McCANN, C.

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency-

Part III, xxxii, 14 ; Part IV, xxxii,. 281 ; Part V, xxxii, 408 ; Part VI,

xxxii, 622 ; Part VII, xxxiii, 7 ; Part VIII, xxxiii. 229 ; Part IX, xxxiii,

481 ; Part X, xxxiii, 753 ; Part XI, xxxiv, 12 j1 Part XVI, xxxv. 254 ;

Part XVII, xxxv, 484 ; Part XVIII, xxxv, 722 ; Part XIX, xxxvi, 13 ;

Part XX,, Part XXI, xxxvi, 524 ; Part XXII, xxxvi, 781.

Two new species of Grasses from Panchgani (Satara District) (2 plates),

xxxii, 357 ; Some new species of Plants from the Western Ghats {plate),

xxxii, 733 ; A new Ceropegia from the Western Ghats {plate), xxxiv, 936 ;

Another new Ceropegia from the Western Ghats {plate), xxxv, 409.

Fruit of Cryptocoryne torluosa ( 2 text-figures) , xxxvi, 760.

BLATTER, E. and FERNANDEZ, J.—

The Flora of Waziristan. Part I {1 map , 1 plate) , xxxvi, 665 ; Part II

{2 plates ), xxxvi. 950,

BLATTER, Rev. E. and MILLARD, W. S.

Some Beautiful Indian Trees

*Part I {2 coloured , 2 black and white plates , 4 text-figures), xxxiii, 624.

Part II {2 coloured Plates, 2 black and white plates, 5 text-figures), xxxiii,

851.

Part III {2 coloured, 2 black and white plates, 4 text-figures) , xxxiv, 83.

Part IV {2 coloured, 2 black and white plates, 4 diagrams) , xxxiv, 271.

Part V {2 coloured, 2 black and white plates , 5 diagrams) , xxxiv, 716.

Part VI {2 coloured, 2 black and white plates , 5 diagrams), xxxv, 60.

Part VII [2 coloured , 3 black and white plates, 7 diagrams) , xxxv, 289.

Part VIII {2 coloured, 2 black and white plates , 6 diagrams) , xxxv, 525.

Part IX {1 coloured, 1 black and white plate, 2 diagrams) , xxxv, 824.

Part X {1 coloured, 1 black and white plate, 2 diagrams) , xxxvi, 139.

Part XI {1 coloured, 1 black and white plate, 2 diagrams) , xxxvi, 353.

Part XII {1 coloured, 1 black and white plate, 2 diagrams) , xxxvi, 521.

Part XIII {1 coloured, l black and white plate, 3 text-figures) , xxxvi, 778.

BLOECH, E. O. — Notes on Woodcock near Rangoon, xxxiii, 715.

BOAS, H. A. — Noosing Tigers, xxxii, 790.

BOMBAY— See FISHES, MOLLUSCA, BOTANY.

‘ BOMBAY DUCK %-See Fishes.

* Appeared under Title of ‘ Conspicuous Flowering Trees of India ’ .

B

16

GENERAL index

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY—

The Founders of the, xxxv, 196.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY—

Annual Report, xxxiii, 737 ; xxxiv, 607 ; xxxv, 918 ; xxxvi, 768.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY—

Report on the work of, and the Progress of the Natural History Section,

Prince of Wales’ Museum, xxxi, 197.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S INVESTIGATION INTO

THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-LICKS—

Earth-eating and Salt-licking in India.

Part I — xxxiii, 676.

Part II— xxxiv, 220.

Part HI — xxxiv, 522.

Analyses xiv — xxv, xxxvi, 218.

Analyses xxvi — xxxi, xxxvi, 978.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S SURVEY REPORT—

The Shell-Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency (5 plates, 2 text-figures ),

xxxv, 826.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S INVESTIGATION INTO

THE TOXICITY OF THE VENOM OF INDIAN SCORPIONS—

xxxiii, 689, 952 ; xxxiv, 230, 266, 526, 1051.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S BIRD-RINGING SCHEME—

xxxiii, 970 ; xxxiv, 229, 568 ; xxxv, 901 ; xxxvi, 507.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S SURVEY OF INDIA,

BURMA and CEYLON— See MAMMALS (Systematic).

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Memorandum of Association,

Name and objects, rules, regulations, etc., xxxii, 385.

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Founders of, xxxv, 196.

BOR, N. L., i.f.S. — Musth in Elephants, xxxii, 594 ; Extraordinary glands in

Elephants, xxxii, 794 ; A careless Tiger, xxxiii, 194.

BORRADAILE, Lieut. J. W.— A Journey across the Himalayas (4 plates),

xxxii, 163; A Sporting Trip to British Somaliland (six plates), xxxii,

299.

BOSE, Prof. S. R. — On the true nature of the nuclear divisions in old inter-

nodes of local Tradescantia stems (plate) , xxxiv, 840.

BOTANY (Geography) —

List of Orchids, with some new species from the High Wavy Mountain,

Madura District (1 plate), xxxii, 518 ; Some new species of Plants from the

Western Ghats (plate), xxxii, 518 ; New Commelinacece from the Western

GENERAL INDEX

17

Ghats ( 2 text-figures) , xxxiii, 73 ; Mosses collected in Waziristan, xxxiii,

279 ; Mosses of the Bombay Presidency, The High Wavy Mountain and

Mount Abu, xxxiii, 868 ; Some Orchids not previously recorded from the

Ganjnm District, Madras Presidency, xxxiii, 1003 ; Glimpses of the

Vegetation of South Burma (5 plates ), xxxvi, 285.

New Plants from Waziristan, xxxvi, 477.

The Flora of Waziristan, Part I (7 map , 7 plate), xxxvi, 665; Part II,

(2 plates ), xxxvi, 950.

Bombay, Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency — Part I, xxxi,

547 ; Part II, xxxi, 897 ; Part III, xxxii, 14 ; Part IV, xxxii, 281, Part V,

xxxii. 408 ; Part VI, xxxii, 622; Part VII, xxxiii, 7; Part VIII, xxxiii,

229 ; Part IX, xxxiii, 480 ; Part X, xxxiii, 753 ; Part XI, xxxiv, 12 ;

Part XII, xxxiv, 291 ; Part XIII, xxxiv, 623 ; Part XIV, xxxiv, 877,

Part XV, xxxv, 15 •, Part XVI, xxxv, 254 ; Part XVII, xxxv, 484 ,• Part

XVIII, xxxv, 722 ; Part XIX, xxxvi, 13 ; Part XX, xxxvi. 307 ; Part XXI }

xxxvi, 524 ; Part XXII, xxxvi, 781.

BOTANY— (Notes on individual species)

Viviparity of a Thistle {plate), xxxi, 1039 ; A new species of Balanophora

from Mahableshwar, Bombay, xxxiii, 309 ; A preliminary note on the

pollination of the Coral Tree Erythrina indica (2 plates ), xxxiii, 460;

Notes on the Flowering of Strobilanthes callosus , xxxiv, 264 ; A

yellow variety of the Silk Cotton Tree {Bovibax mala baricum) , xxxiv,

593 ; Introduction of the Gul Mohur ( Poinciana regia) into Bombay,

xxxiv, 594; A request for material of Trapa (Water Chestnut), xxxiv,

597 ; Notes on Tacca pinnatifida (7 text-figure) , xxxiv, 597.

Loranthus longiflorus—The role of Sunbirds and Flower- Peckers in the

Propogation and Distribution of the Tree Parasite {L. longiflorus) in the

Konkan (W. India) {2 plates , 4 diagrams) , xxxv, 144.

BOTANY (Systematic).

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency —

Part I — Menispermacece , xxxi, 547.

Part II — Turneracece, Capparidacece , Moringacece, Violacece , Bixacece ,

Cochlospermacece , Flacourtiacece , Sarny dacece, xxxi, 897.

Part III — Graminece , xxxii, 14.

Part IV — Graminece , xxxii, 281.

Part V — Graminece , xxxii, 408.

Part VI — Graminece , xxxii, 622.

Part VII — Graminece , xxxiii, 7.

Part VIII — Graminece , xxxiii, 229.

Part IX — Graminece. xxxiii, 480.

Part X — Graminece , xxxiii, 753.

Part XI — Graminece (Key to the Genera), xxxiv, 12.

Part XII - Annonacece, Nymphaeacece , PaPaveracece , Cruciferce , Pittos-

poracece , Polygalacece, Frankeniacece. Caryophyllacece , Portulacacece ,

Tamaricacece , xxxiv, 291.

GENERAL INDEX

Part XIII — Elatinacece , HyPericacece , Guttiferce, Ternstroemiacece ,

Dipterocarpacece , Malvacece, Bombacece , xxxiv, 623.

Part XIV — Sterculiacece , Tiliacece, Linacece , Malphighiacece , Zygo-

phyllacece , Geraniacece , Oxiladacece , Tropceolacece , xxxiv, 877.

Part XV — Aracece , xxxv, 13.

Part XVI — Orchidacece (Part I), xxxv, 254.

Part XVII — Orchidacece (Part II), xxxv, 484.

Part XVIII — Orchidacece (Part III), xxxv, 722.

Part XIX — Orchidacece (Part IV), xxxvi, 13.

Part XX— Balsaminacece , xxxvi, 307.

Part XXI — Asclepiadacece , xxxvi, 524.

Part XXII — Rubiacece, xxxvi, 781.

The Flora of Waziristan.

Blatter E. and Fernandez, J. — Part I {1 map , 1 plate) ,~ xxx\\, b§5 \

Part II (2 plates ), xxxvi, 950.

Conspicuous Flowering Plants of India.

Parti — Indian CoralTree ( E . indica) , Silk Cotton Tree (B. malabaricum)

( 2 plates , 2 black and white plates , 4 text-figures) , xxxiii, 624.

Some Beautiful Indian Trees.

Part I— See under Conspicuous Flowering Plants of India.

Part II— The Gul Mohur ( 1 coloured , 1 black and white plate), The White

Gul Mohur, The Flame of the Forest (7 coloured , 1 black and white

plate), The Climbing Palas, xxxiii, 851.

Part III — The Lignum Vitse Tree, (7 coloured, 1 black and white plate),

The Indian Cork Tree (7 black and white plate), xxxiv, 83.

Part IV— The Pagoda Tree, (7 coloured plate , fig. 1, black and white plate,

fig. 2), The Frangipani (7 coloured plate, fig. 2, black and white plate,

fig. 2), The White Frangipani, The Bhendi Tree (7 coloured, 1 black and

white plate), xxxiv, 271.

Part V — The Scarlet Bell Tree, (7 coloured, 1 black and zvhite plate),

The Rusty Shield-Bearer, (7 coloured, 1 black and white plate),

xxxiv, 716.

Part VI — The Indian Laburnum (7 coloured, 1 black and white plate) ,

The Burmese Pink Cassia (7 coloured, 1 black and white plate), xxxv, 60.

Part VII — The Java Cassia (2 ptates ), The Busuk-Busuk {plate fig. 2),

The Red Cassia, The Horse Cassia, The Sacred Barna {plate), xxxv,

289.

Part VIII — The coloured Sterculia (7 coloured, 1 black and zvhite plate).

The Queen’s FlowTer (7 coloured , 1 black and white plate), xxxv, 525.

Part IX — The Scarlet Cordia or Aloe-w'ood (7 coloured and 1 black and

zvhite plate), xxxv, S22.

Part X — The Spotted Gliricidia ( 7 coloured and 1 black and white plate),

xxxvi, 139, 760.

GENERAL INDEX

19

Part XI — The Asoka Tree ( 1 coloured , 1 black and white plate') , xxxvi,

353. 1

Part XII — Yellow Silk Cotton Tree (7 coloured , 7 black and white plate),

xxxvi, 521.

Part XIII — The Brilliant Gordenia (7 coloured 1 black and white plate),

xxxvi, 778.

Cryptogamic Plants.

Flowerless Plants : —

Part I — The Algae (7 coloured , 2 black and white plates ), xxxiii, 570.

Part II — The Fungi (7 coloured , 5 black and white plates), xxxiii, 793.

Part III — The Lichens (7 coloured, 2 black and white plates), xxxiv, 40.

Part IV — The Bryophyta (5 plates , 2 text-figures) , xxxiv, 420.

Part V — The Pteridophyta (7 plates ), xxxiv, 992.

Algae.

Contributions to our knowledge of The Fresh-water Algae of Manipur,

Assam ( 4 plates), xxxiv, 189.

An instance of anomalous branching of the conjugation-tubes of an Indian

form of Spirogyra neglect a {plate), xxxiv, 842.

Bryophyta.

Mosses collected in Waziristan, xxxiii, 279 ; Mosses of the Bombay Presi-

dency, The High Wavy Mountain and Mount Abu, xxxiii, 869 ; A List of

Mosses from Darjeeling District, xxxiv, 600.

Hepaticle.

The Discovery of Germination of Cyathodimn spores, xxxiii, 1001.

Collecting of Liverworts at Maymyo, xxxiv, 599, Some Liverworts of the

order Marchantiales from Burma, xxxiv, 844.

BOTANY (Order).

Asclepiadace^e,

A new Ceropegia ( C . polyantha) from the Western Ghats, xxxiv, 936 ;

Another new Ceropegia from the Western Ghats, xxxv, 409.

PL ANTAG I NACEJE .

A Plantago new to the Bombay Presidency, xxxv, 915.

GRAMINiE.

Two new species of Grasses from Panchgani (Satara District): Dichan-

thium panchganiense and D. McCannii (2 plates), xxxii, 367 ; Note on

Broomcorn with five brushes, xxxiv, 847; Cultivation of Broomcorn in

India, xxxiv, 847 ; Some Seagrasses from the Presidency of Bombay,

xxxvi, 284.

COMMELINACE^E .

New species from the Western Ghats {2 text-figures), xxxiii, 73 ; On the

true nature of the nuclear divisions in old internodes of local Tradescantia

stems {plate), xxxiv, 840.

1 Cf. xxxvi. 1021. 1023.

20

GENERAL INDEX

Orchidace^e — List of Orchids with some new species from the High Wavy

Mountain (Madura District), xxxii, 518 ; A Terrestrial Orchid found

epiphytic, xxxiv, 599.

Bamb ‘ 2E. — The Flowering of Bamboos : —

Part I, xxxiii, 899.

Part II, xxxiv, 135.

Part III, xxxiv, 447.

Some Notes on the Flowering of Bamboos, xxxiv, 1097, 1099.

Balanophorace^e.— A new species of Balanophora from Mahableshwar,

Bombay Presidency ( plate ), xxxiii, 309.

Pteridophyta, Ferns and Allies. — Ferns and their allies ( 7 plates) ,

xxxiv, 992 ; The Hot-weather Ferns of Mahableshwar, xxxvi, 188.

Gentianace^e. — A new Gentian (Gentiana lowndesii) from Waziristan,

xxxv, 861.

Cycadace^e. — The Fern-Palm (photo), xxxiv, 1101.

BOTANY (General).—

Luminescence in Plants and Animals, xxxi, 748.

* Nervous mechanism in Plants ’ (Critical Review of Sir J. C. Bose’s),

xxxi, 1009: Viviparity in a Thistle (plate), xxxi, 1039 ; The Stud}7- of

Plant Life, Part I (2 plates and 5 text-figures), xxxii, 692 ; Part II,

(3 plates and 4 text-figures ), xxxiii, 35 ; Part III, (1 plate , 2 blocks and

26 text- figures), xxxiii, 262.

Plants and Insects, xxxii, 809 ; Weeds of the Indian Wayside, xxxii, 810 ;

A new species of Balanophora from Mahableshwar, Bombay Presidency

(plate), xxxiii, 309 ; A note on the occurrence of buds in the axils of the

Cotyledons (2 plates ), xxxiii, 731; Notes on the Flowering of Strobilanthes

callosus , xxxiv, 264 ; Notes on some of the wild species of Aroids,

xxxiv, 518.

What age can a ‘ Tree reach ’, xxxiv, 594 ; On the occurrence of Vegetative

Buds on the root of Gram ( text-figure ) , xxxiv, 841 ; The Fern-Palm

(photo), xxxiv, 1101 ; An abnormal fruit of Dipterocarpus tuberculatus ,

xxxiv, 1102 ; On the Fertilization of the Flowers of the Sausage Tree

( Kigelia pinnata) by Bats (3 diagrams ), xxxv, 467 ; Occurrence of

Isoeles in the Bombay Presidency, xxxv, 471 ; Bird-Flowers and Flower-

Birds in India (4 plates, 4 text-figures ), xxxv, 573 ; xxxvi, 267 ; A rust

Fungus (Puccinia helianthi) on the Sun-Fiower ( Helianthus annuus),

xxxv, 916 ; Cotyledonary Vegetative Reproduction in mango (Mangifera

indica) (1 diagram), xxxv, 917 ; Glimpses of the Vegetation of South

Burma ( 3 plates ), xxxvi, 285.

Scent in relation to Flower-colour, xxxvi, 287 ; New Plants from

Waziristan, xxxvi, 47 7 ; Flowering season of the Spotted Gliricidia

(G. maculata), xxxvi, 760; Fruit of Cryptocoryne tortuosa ( 2 text-

figures), xxxvi, 760 ; ‘ Blue ’ Flowers, xxxvi, 764, 765 ; Inflorescence of

Aster acantha (1 text-figure ), xxxvi, 765.

Notes on the Food plants of Indian Haw'kmoths, xxxvi, 938 ; The Ashoka

Tree, xxxvi, 1021 ; Note on the Ashoka Tree, xxxvi, 1023.

GENERAL INDEX

21

BOULTBEE, Lt. -Commander, G. E. — Fishing in the Persian Gulf, xxxi, 228.

BOYD, LORNA. — The Human ear used as a burrow by a Sphegid Wasp,

xxxiv, 263.

BOYLE, DAVID. — Height in Elephants, xxxiii, 437.

BRAIN-FEVER BIRD, - See Answers to Correspondents.

BRANDER, A. A. DUNBAR. — On the colour of the eye of the Gaur or Indian

Bison (Bibos gaurus), xxxi, 220 ; How Wild Dogs kill their prey, xxxii;

591 ; Tiger Tracks, xxxiii, 972 ; Mr. Pocock’s Article on Tigers, xxxiv,

548; An enormous Estuary Crocodile ( Crocodilus porosus ), xxxiv, 584,

The colour of * White Bison ’ (Bibos gaums) , xxxvi, 985,

The Preservation of Wild Life in India — No. 1. The Central Provinces,

xxxvi, Suppl. pp. 40-45.

BREADON, G, (or C ) — Local migration of the Flying-Fox (Pteropus

giganteus) in the Punjab, xxxv, 439.

The occurrence of the Flying-Fox (Pteropus giganteus ) in the Punjab

xxxv, 670.

BRIGGS, Rev. F. S. — A Note on the Breeding of the Tailor-Bird (Orthotomus

sutorius) > 'x.xx iii, 710 ; Birds observed in the neighbourhood of Ranikhet,

xxxiv, 1072 ; A note on the Birds in the neighbourhood of Mhow, xxxv,

382. The Migration of the Paradise-Flycatcher (Tchitrea paradisi),

xxxv, 675.

BRIGGS, Rev. F. S. and OSMASTON, B. B., m.b.o.u., i.f.s., (Retd.)— A

Note on the Birds of Peshawar District (map), xxxii, 744.

BROWN, GEORGE. — The arrival of Snipe in Mysore, xxxii', 375 ; Birds seen

on a trip from Pottuvil to Kumna, Ceylon, xxxiv, 815.

BROWNLOW, A., i.p. — A Clouded Leopard (Felis nebulosa ) attacking man

(plate) , xxxii, 789.

BROWNLOW, A. L., d.s.p. — ’Large Head of Malay Sambhar (Cervus unicolor

equinus), xxxv, 199.

BRUNSKILL, Major E. A. S.— A Panther and flashlight (plate), xxxii, 588,

BURMA.

See MAMMALS (Systematic).

See BIRDS (Geography).

See LIZARDS.

See SNAKES.

BURTON, Brig. -Gen. R. G. — Old Deccan Da3?s, xxxiii, 26 ; xxxv, 761 ;

Proportion of sexes in Tigers, xxxiv, 556 ; Vernacular names, xxxvi, 288.

BURTON, Lt.-Col. R. W., i.a., (Retd.)— Three months up the Valley of the

Sutlej River, Part I (plate), xxxi, 23; Part II (2 plates ), xxxi, 352 5

Wild animals in Central India, xxxi, 215.

22

GENERAL INDEX

About Tigers and Leopards, xxxi, 216 ; Jungle Tragedies, xxxi, 220 ;

Malformed heads of Markhor and Ibex (photo), xxxi. 222; The use of

patent bullets in shot guns, xxxi, 1041 ; Some extracts from my Shikar

Diary, mainly for Novices, xxxiii, 244; ‘Clicking’ noise made by

Muntjac, xxxiii, 439 ; The Tiger’.s method of making a ‘ Kill ’ ( photo ),

xxxiii, 974 ; Panther climbing up to a Machan, xxxiii, 978 ; Abnormal

horns of Sambur ( Cervus unicolor) ( photo ), xxxiv, 1058 ; A variety of the

Thamin or Brow-antlered Deer ( Rucervus thamin ), xxxiv, 1059; In a

Burmes'e Jungle, xxxv, 156 ; Cannibalism in Panthers, xxxv, 440 ; The

number of Pups in a Wild Dog’s litter, xxxv, 442.

BURTON, Lt.-Col. R. W. — A visit to Whipsnade Zoological Park, xxxvi, 878.

CAIUS, Rev. J. F. — An appeal for Scorpions, xxxiii, 412 ; The Toxicity of the

venom of Indian Scorpions, xxxiii, 680, 952 ; xxxiv, 230, 266, 788, 1051.

CAIUS, J. F., S.J., f.l.s. and BHARUCHA, K H., b.a., b.sc. — The Bombay

Natural History Society’s Investigation into The Composition of Salt-

Licks — Earth-eating and Salt-licking in India : Part I, xxxiii, 676 ; Part II,

xxxiv, 220 ; Part III, xxxiv, 522 ; Analyses xiv-xxv, xxxvi, 218 ; Analyses

xxvi-xxxi, xxxvi, 978.

CALCUTTA — See BIRDS (Geography) .

CAMERON, GORDON L. and CURZAI,C. L.— A note on the Fishing Industry

at Danda [plate), xxxv, 906.

CAMERON, I. L. — Comparative shape and measurement of the fore feet in

Tuskers and Tuskless Elephants, xxxi, 512 ; Body measurements of a

Gaur ( Bibos gaurus) [photo), xxxiii, 983.

CAPITO, C. ERIC, o.b.e., f.z.s. — Some Birds from the North-West Corner of

Fars, Persia [map), xxxiv, 922.

CARLISLE, Lt.-Col. T. H., r. a.— Wild Dogs killing by night, xxxvi, 239.

CASTRO, A. BAYLEY-DE — A case of Snake-bite due to Cantor’s Viper

[Lachesis cantoris ), xxxii, 223 ; The poison of centipedes, being a special

reference to the Andaman species, xxxii, 232 ; The Effects of Bee Venom,

xxxii, 805.

CAVE, C apt. F. O. — Unusual behaviour of a Tigress with live bait (plate),

xxxii, 587.

CENTIPEDES — See (Myriapoda).

CENTRAL PROVINCES—

See FISHES.

See BIRDS (Geography).

CESTODA, (Tape-worms) — A cure for Tapeworm, xxxvi, 282.

CETACEA — See MAMMALS (Geography).

GENERAL INDEX

23

CEYLON — See FISHES, See Phillips, W. W. A. See BIRDS (Geography).

CHAMBA — See MAMMALS (Systematic).

CHAMPION, F. W., i.f.s., Wild Elephants in the United Provinces (4 plates ),

xxxii, 127 ; Tiger Tracks (4 plates), xxxiii, 284 ; With a Camera in Tiger

Land, an apology, xxxiii, 411 ; Monkeys and Carnivora, xxxiii, 424 ;

On ‘ Natural Deaths ’ in Wild Elephants, xxxiii, 433 ; The Distribution of

the Mouse-Deer ( Moschicla meminna) {Map), xxxiii, 985 ; The Alarm-call

of Langoors, xxxiv, 543 ; Game Reserves and Flash light, xxxvi, 255.

CHAMPION, H. G. — Flower-Birds and Bird-Flowers, xxxvi, 267.

CHAUDHURY, S. S., m.a., m. sc. — See Bhatia, M.L.

CHAVAN, R. Y„— Measurements of a large Indian Wolf {Canis pallipes),

xxxiv, 1055.

CHEESMAN, Major R. E., m.b.o.u., f.r.g.s.— See Ticehurst, Claud B.

CHERIAN, M. C., b.a., b.s.c., d.i.c. and GEORGE, C. J., m.a.— On Psara

phoeopteralis as a pest on Grasses in South India {plate), xxxi, 529 ; Life-

history notes oh Lainprosema indicata {Py rail dee) , a caterpillar pest of

Chrysanthemums, xxxiii, 857.

CHOPRA, B., d.sc. , f.l.s. — The History and Progress of the Zoological Survey

of India. Part III — Crustacea Section — ■, xxxiv, 502.

CLIVE, Capt. J., Mc.C — Extraordinary tameness of the Garganey Teal,

{Querquedula querquedula) , xxxi, 836; A Tussle between Tiger and

Buffalo Bait, xxxii, 586 ; Circamstantial account of a Panther attacked by

Wild Dogs, xxxii, 590; Occurrence of the Wood Snipe in the Central

Provinces, xxxii, 600.

COLE, F. H. — The occurrence of the Gold-fronted Finch {Metaponia pusilla)

at Sukkur, Sind, xxxv, 207.

COLTHURST, IDA. — Shells of the Tropical Seas, Part I {photo) , xxxiii, 380;

Part II, {4 plates, 15 photos), xxxiii, 552: Part III {two plates, 1 text-

figure), xxxiii, 828.

COLYER, Sir FRANK, k.b e., f.r.g.s. — Abnormal Tusks of Elephants

{6 plates) , xxxiv, 694.

CONNOR, Col. F. P., i.m.s.—

Mosquito Swarms, xxxvi, 1017.

Rhythmic sound produced by Termites at work, xxxvi, 1018.

CONTINENTS AND OCEANS. — The Origin of, according to the Displace-

ment Theory, xxxiv, 754.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MUSEUM.— From January 1 to September 3Q

1930, xxxiv, 855.

24

GENERAL INDEX

COOKE, Lieut. E. H,' — Woodcock in Burma, xxxiii, 207.

COOPER, G. E. R.— Notes on the rarer Lyccenidce ,xxxiv, 258.

COORG— INSECTS— Butterflies— (Geography).

CORK1LL, NORMAN L. — Notes on the Desert Monitor (Varanus griseus) and

the Spiny-tailed Lizard ( Uromastix microlepis) , xxxii, 608 ; On the Occur-

rence of the Cheetah ( Acononyx jubatus) in Iraq ( photo ), xxxiii, 700 ; The

Caracal in Iraq (photo), xxxiv, 232; Some notes on Scorpions in Iraq,

xxxiv, 265 ; The Snakes of Iraq, xxxv, 552.

COVELL, Major G., m.d., D.ph., d.t.m. & h., i.m.s.— The Malaria Problem

in Bombay, (map), xxxiv, 736.

COX, Sir PERCY, g.c.mg., g.c.t.e., k.c.s.i., m.b.o.u.— See Ticehurst,

Claud B.

CRAWFORD, D. G. — Extension of the range of Hidari bhawani. Elymnias

pealii and Bhima undulosa, xxxv, 228.

CRAWFORD, W.M., f.e.s. — Dwarf specimens of Butterflies (plate), xxxiv,

261.

CRIMMINS, Col. M. L., U. S. Army (Retd.).— Treatment of Snake-bite,

xxxv, 690.

CROCODILES.— The Occurrence of the Ghavial (Gavialis gangeticus) in

Burma, xxxiii, 450 ; The Distribution of the Mugger, xxxiii, 721 ; The

Survival of the Gavial (Gavialis gangeticus) in Burma (3 text-figures),

xxxiii, 995 ; An enormous Estuary Crocodile (Crocodilus porosus) , xxxiv,

581 ; Some measurements of the Estuaiy Crocodile (Crocodilus porosus)

from Sarawak, xxxiv, 1086.

CROSS, ALEXANDER.— Malay Beliefs and Legends about Tigers and Wild

Dogs, xxxiv, 235.

CUNNINGHAM, Colonel A. H.— Notes on Duck shooting in the Roorkee

District, U.P., in the years 1903 to 1927 (graph), xxxii, 600.

CUNNINGHAM, G., i.c.s., c.s.i., c.i.e., o.b.e.— Occurrence of the European

Bustard (Otis tarda tarda) in the North-West Frontier Province, xxxvi,

752.

CURRAN, E. J., r.a.m.c. — Tucktoo versus Dhaman, xxxv, 901.

CURZAI, C. L —See Cameron, Gordon L.

D’ABREU, E. A., f. z. S. — Indian Cuckoo Notes — Koel (Eudynamis s.

scolopaceus) parasiting nest of Indian Oriole (Oriolus o. kundoo), xxxi,

1032 ; An albino Turtle, xxxii, 608 ; Notes on the Fauna of British India ;

Birds, chiefly with reference to the Central Provinces, xxxv, 217 ; Notes

on Monitor Lizards, xxxvi, 269; The occurrence of the Green Pit Viper

GENERAL INDEX

25

( Trimeresurus graminetis) at Nagpur, xxxvi, 512 : Note oil the Vernay

Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats (Ornithological Section) with

reference to the races of Otocompsa jocosa , Chlorcpsis aurifrons, etc.,

xxxvi, 749.

DALY, M. O. — Decoying Tiger by sound, xxxiii, 696.

DARJEELING — See BOTANY (Cryptogamiq Plants).

DAS, G. M., m.Sc. — Observations on the Trifid Tails in two specimens of

Hemidactylus flaviviridis with a note on the artificial regeneration of

double and triple tails of the 1 Tokkak ’ Lizard ( Gecko verticillatus )

(7 plate , 7 text-figure') , xxxv, 657.

DAS, RAMSARAN, m.Sc.— Narain, Dharam.

DASTUR, R. H. — A critical Review of Sir J. C. Bose’s nervous mechanism of

Plants, xxxi, 1009.

DECCAN — See SNAKES, (Geography).

DECCAN — See BURTON, Brig. -Gen. R. G.

DELHI— See BIRDS (Geography).

DERHE-PHIL1PE, G. W. V., f. e. s. — The Butterflies of the Simla Hills

Part i, xxxv, 172 ; Part ii, xxxv, 415 ; Part iii, xxxv, 621.

DESHPANDE, D. S.— See Kurulkar, G. M.

DIXIT, S. C., M.Sc., m. a . — Some Seagrassts from the Presidency of Bombay,

xxxvi, 284.

DIXON, H N., m.a., f.l.s. — Mosses collected in Waziristan by Mr. J.

Fernandez in 1927, xxxiii, 279.

DONALD, C. H., f.z.s., m.b.o.u. — Mating-habits of the Common Kite

( Milvus migrans goiinda ), xxxi, 524; The Breeding Habits of the

Panther ( Felis pardus ), xxxi, 809 ; Birds of Prey and their uses (4 plates) ,

xxxii, 737 ; The speed of the Indian Pied Kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis

leucomelanura) , xxxiii, 204 ; The Babbler as a Barometer, xxxiii, 442.

DOVER, CEDRIC — Aquatic Rhynchota in the collection of the Agricultural

College, Coimbatore, S. India, xxxii, 614; The Duration of Life of some

Indian Mammals, xxxvi, 244.

DOYLE, Lt.-Col. E. E. — Nesting of the White-eye ( Zosterops palpebrosa) ,

xxxvi, 504.

DRAGON-FLIES. — See INSECTS — Neuroptera — (Systematic) .

DRAKE, CARL J. — On some Tingitidce from South India, including two new

species {Hemiptera) , xxxvi, 1015.

DRUMMOND, Major J. G. P.— Flying Frogs, xxxv, 688,

26

GENERAL INDEX

DUKE, J. A. — After Bison and Buffalo in the High Sal Forests, xxxiii, 419 ;

A stalwart pariah dog, xxxiii, 428 ; A brown variety of the Sloth Bear

{Meluvsus ur sinus) , xxxiii, 702.

DUPONT, P. R. — The Common Mynah [A. tristis) as a pest in Seychelles,

xxxiv, 8C6.

DUTT, N. B.— Bulbuls in Calcutta and its suburbs, xxxv, 894.

DUTTON, Lt.-Col. H. R., i.m.s. — Occurrence of the Baikal Teal ( Nettion

for mo sum) in the Darbhanga District, N. Bihar, xxxiv, 578.

EARTH-EATING & SALT-LICKING IN INDIA.— Part i, xxxiii, 676;

Part ii, xxxiv, 220 ; Part iii, xxxiv, 522 ; Analyses xiv-xxv, xxxvi, 218 ;

Analyses xxvLxxxi, xxxvi, 978.

EARTHWORMS.— See OLIGOCH^ETA.

EATES, K. R. — A Note on the Nidification of the Western Reef Heron

{Lepterodius asha) in Karachi City, Sind {plate), xxxi, 823 ; The effects

of a recent cyclonic storm on Bird Life in Karachi, and its environs,

xxxi, 1035.

EDITORIAL.— xxxi, 207, 506, 803, 1020; xxxii, 199, 366 {plate), 575, 781;

xxxiii, 184, 413, 689 ; xxxiv, 1048 ; xxxv, 874.

EDITORS.—

Cannibalism amongst Panthers, xxxi, 219 ; Colour of the eye of the

Gaur or Indian Bison, xxxi, 221 ; Comparative shape and measure-

ment of the fore-feet in Tuskers and Tuskless Elephants, xxxi, 512 ;

Wild Dogs in Mysore, xxxi, 516; An Albino Coot {Fulica atra atra),

xxxi, 526 ; Earth Snake {Silybura macrolepis) , powder to coil itself tightly

round an object, xxxi, 528 ; A Panther shoot at sea, xxxi, 809 ; Breeding

Habits of the Panther, xxxi, 810 ; Number of Tigress’ Cubs, xxxi, 811 ;

Twin Elephant Calves, xxxi, 814 ; Butterflies hawked by Birds, xxxi,

826 ; Deaths from the sting of a Scorpion, xxxi, 830 ; Tiger preferring

carrion to live bait, xxxi, 1026; Ships’ Cats, xxxi,, 1028; Wild Dogs in

Mysore, xxxi, 1029 ; Arrival of Snipe in Mysore, xxxi, 1033 ; Migration of

Wildfowl, xxxi, 1034 ; Effects of a recent Cyclonic Storm on Bird-life in

Karachi and its environs, xxxi, 1037 ; Observations on the Habits of the

Slow Loris {Loris lydekkerianus) , xxxii, 206.

Panther treeing its kill, xxxii, 210 ; On rewards for killing Wild Dogs, xxxii,

211 ; Sense of hearing in Bats, xxxii, 213 ; Bison and Cultivation, xxxii,

216; Breeding of the Spot-bill Duck {Anas pcecilorhyncha) , xxxii, 221 ;

Migration of Wild Fowl, xxxii, 222 ; map, xxxiii, 446, 719, 970 ; xxxiv,

229, 568 ; xxxv, 901 ; xxxvi, 507 ; Snakes of Sholapur, xxxii, 225 ; Game

Preservation in India, xxxii, 359 ; Tigers attacking Elephants, xxxii, 370 ;

Temperature and range of animals, xxxii, 370 ; The Flying Lemur

{Galeopterus peninsula) , xxxii, 373; Are Hornbills carnivorous?, xxxii, 374 ;

Fish devouring birds killed over water, xxxii, 375 ; Birds eating Butter-

flies, xxxii, 377 ; Game Preservation in India, xxxii, 583 ; White Tigers,

xxxii, 585; Panther attacked by Wild Dogs, xxxii, 590 ; Wild Dogs,

GENERAL INDEX

27

xxxii, 591 ; Emasculation by Wild Dogs, xxxii, 592 ; xxxiii, 705 ;

Measurements of Record Tusker, xxxii, 596 ; A fine Nilgiri Tahr,

xxxii, 597.

Pugnacity of Bombay Babblers ( Turdoides somervillei) , xxxii, 599; Mr.

Slater’s death from Snake-bite, xxxii, 611 ; The Truth about ‘ a Unique

Lion Photograph ’, xxxii, 788 ; On the Clouded Leopard ( Felis nebulosa ),

xxxii, 790 ; Elephant with extraordinary glands, xxxii, 793 ; Recovery

from the bite of a Phoorsa {Echis carinata) , xxxii, 801 ; Tigers climbing

trees, xxxiii, 196; Wild Dogs, ' xxxiii, 199; Altitude records for the

Barking Deer ( Muntiacus vaginalis ), xxxiii, 201; Aborted Tusks in

Elephants, xxxiii, 203 ; Velocity of birds and ground animals, xxxiii, 205 ;

‘ The Man-eaters of Tsavo ’ ( plate ), xxxiii, 424 ; Breeding habits of the

Common Mungoose, xxxiii, 426 ; Correct method of measuring height of

Elephants, xxxiii, 437 ; On the Pangolins or Scaly Ant-eaters, xxxiii, 440;

The Peacock as a Barometer, xxxiii, 443 ; Nesting-Habits of Hornbills,

xxxiii, 445.

Occurrence of the Ghavial ( Gavialis gangeticus) in Burma, xxxiii, 451 ;

Note on the pollination (by birds) of the Coral Tree {Erythrina indica) ,

xxxiii, 462 ; Sense of smell in Indian Felidce , xxxiii, 695 ; Decoying Tiger

by sound, xxxiii, 697 ; Vitality of a Panther, xxxiii, 699 ; Brown varieties

of the Sloth Bear {Melursus ursinus) , xxxiii, 702; Bison eating bark,

xxxiii, 707 ; Food of Kingfishers, xxxiii, 713 ; Distribution of the Brown

Shrike {Lanins cristatus cristatus ) xxxiii, 714 ; Different Birds nesting in

company, xxxiii, 718.

Menu of the Bull-Frog {Rana tigrina ), xxxiii, 724; Oak-leaf Butterfly

{Kallima hqrsfieldi) near Bombay, xxxiii, 727; Food of the Slow Loris

{Nycticebus coucang), xxxiii, 971 ; Mortality amongst Hoopoe nestlings,

xxxiii, 990 ; Effect of wind on the Flight of Birds, xxxiii, 994 ; Means of

Defence in Insects, xxxiii, 1000 ; Distribution and colouration of the Lynx

( Lynx lynx) , xxxiv, 234 ; Distribution of the Hunting Leopard ( Cyncelurus

jubatus), xxxiv, 235; Season of Shedding and Growth of Antlers in the

Swamp Deer ( Rucervus duvaucelli) , xxxiv, 236 ; The Incubation of eggs

during the hot weather, xxxiv, 249 ; Nesting-habits of the Red- whiskered

Bulbul {Otocompsa emerid) , xxxiv, 251 ; Notes on Scorpions, xxxiv, 265.

Swarming of the Tenebrionid Beetle {Ly props curticollis) , xxxiv, 267 ;

Plyaenas killing Cattle tied up as bait, xxxiv, 562 ; Record head of Nilgiri

Tahr, xxxiv, 563 ; The attitude of Birds towards their young, xxxiv, 573 ;

The Mallard ( Anas platyrhyncha ) in Burma, xxxiv, 577 ; Bathing-habit

of Rollers, xxxiv, 578; Measurements of Crocodiles, xxxiv, 584 ; Venom

of Spiders, xxxiv, 593 ; Two Tigers with one shot, xxxiv, 797 ; Panther

climbing up to a machan, xxxiv, 797 ; Distribution of the Malay Bear

( Ursus malayanus ), xxxiv, 799; Dewlap and colour of the eye in the

Gaur {Bibos gaurus), xxxiv, 802 ; The Heart-shot in Game, xxxiv, 805 ;

The Common Mynah {A. tristis ) as a pest, xxxiv, 807.

Ant-mimicking Spiders as victims of Wasps, xxxiv, 832 ; Food of Vampire

Bat {Lyroderma lyra ), xxxiv, 1052; The Stripe-necked Mungoose

{Herpestes vitticollis) , xxxiv, 1054; The Indian Wild Dog {Cuon

dukhunensis) . xxxiv, 1055; Records of heads of Swamp-Deer {Rucervus

duvaucelli ), xxxiv, 1060; Little Indian Grebe or Dabchick mobbing

28

GENERAL INDEX

a Snake, xxxiv, 1081 ; Cannibalism in the Indian Cobra, xxxiv, 1083 ;

Size of the Common Krait ( Bungarus cceruleus ), xxxiv, 1083 ; A leaf-

mining Moth, xxxiv, 1093 ; Note on the original rooms used by the

B. N. H. S., xxxv, 197 ; Hybrid between Jackal and domestic Dog,

xxxv, 199 ; Record Head of Malay Sambhar, xxxv, 199 ; Subspecific

differences between the Spot-billed Duck ( Anas p . pcecilorhyncha ) and

the Burmese Grey Duck (A. p. haringtoni) ,xxxv , 210.

A ‘ Flying’ Frog, xxxv, 225 ; The Colouration of the tail of the Common

Skink {Lygosonia punctatum) and of the Sand-Boa {Eryx johnii) , xxxv,

465 ; Distribution of the Flying-Fox ( Pteropus giganteus ) in the Punjab,

xxxv, 670 ; Number of cubs in Tigei’s Litter, xxxv, 671 ; Sex differences

in the migration of The Common Teal, xxxv, 680 ; Age of animals, xxxv,

885 ; The Nukta or Comb Duck ( Sarkidiornis melanotus ) in Sind, xxxv,

898 ; Range of Falcated Teal, xxxv, 899 ; Range of Smew {M. albellus ),

xxxv, 900 ; Disease among Crows, xxxv, 901 ; Tucktoo versus Dhaman,

xxxv, 902 ; The Fat-tailed Lizard {Eublepharis hardwickii) , xxxv, 903.

Monitors, xxxv, 905 ; xxxvi, 270 ; Black Leopards, xxxvi, 237 ; A carnivorous

Bear, xxxvi, 238 ; Food-supply of Trout in the Nilgiris, xxxvi, 279 ;

Methods of dealing with plagues of ants, xxxvi, 279 ; The Indo-Burmese

Pied Hornbill ( Hydrocissa malabaricus leucogastra) , xxxvi, 506 ; Nesting

of the Grey Partridge ( Francolinus pondicerianus) , xxxvi, 512 ; Intestinal

Parasites of the Python, xxxvi, 513 ; Occurrence of the Common

Chameleon at Abu Hills, xxxvi, 514 ; Fresh Water Eels, xxxvi, 517 ;

Wild Dogs attack Leopards and Tiger over ‘kills’, xxxvi, 745;

Cannibalism in Snakes, xxxvi, 1011.

Range of the Blue-throated Barbet ( Cyanops asiatica ), xxxvi, 750; Range

of Woodcock and Curlew, xxxvi, 751 ; Masked Boobies ( Sula dadylatra )

in Bombay Harbour, xxxvi, 754 ; Tigers attacking Elephants, xxxvi, 984 ;

Riding down Partridges, xxxvi, 1004 ; Hatching of Partridge eggs exposed

on a table, xxxvi, 1004.

EDWARDS, Lt.-Col. D. B. — Nesting of the Grey Partridge ( Francolinus

pondicerianus) , xxxvi, 512.

ELLISON, BERNARD C., f,r.g.s., c.m.z.s., f.l.s.— Game Preservation and

Game Experiments in India (3 plates), xxxiii, 120.

EVANS, F. V, — Fishing in Lonavla {figure), xxxi, 828.

EVANS, Brigadier W. H., c.s.i., c.i.e., d.s.o., f.r.g.s., f.z.s., f.e.s.—

The Identification of Indian Butterflies, Part ix {plate), xxxi, 49;

Part x {Plate), xxxi, 427; Part xi {plate), xxxi, 615; On the correct

name of the Butterfly {Appias indra shiva), xxxi, 529 ; Notes on Indian

Butterflies, xxxi, 712 ; On a new form of Hesperid Butterfly {Baoris

canarica yatesi) from Coorg, xxxiii, 1000 ; ‘ Butterflies of Lahore ’,

xxxv, 914 ; The Butterflies of Baluchistan, xxxvi, 196.

EVEREST, Mount.— See BIRDS (Geography) .

EVOLUTION. — Facts and Hypotheses in the Problem of Evolution, xxxi, 12.

general index

29

The Problem of Evolution. — Part I. Experimental Modification of Bodily

structure, xxxv, 115 ; Part II. The Trend of Evolution under natural

conditions, xxxv, 347.

EWBANK, R. B., c. i. e., i. c. s., f. l. s. — The Hot-weather Ferns of

Mahableshwar, xxxvi, 188.

FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA. — See BIRDS.

FAUNTHORPE, Colonel J. C , i.c.s., c.b.e., m.c., v.d.— Wild Dogs, xxxii,

590 ; Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna ) in the United-

Provinces, xxxiii, 446.

FAUNTHORPE, JOHN CHAMPION. — See OBITUARY NOTICES.

FELLOWES-MANSON, C.E. — Two new species of Sphingidce (Hawk-moths)

from the Oriental Region, xxxiv, 202 ; The Life- History of the Silk-moth

( Lcepa newara ), xxxiv, 262,

FERNANDEZ, J. — A List of Mosses from Darjeeling District, xxxiv, 600.

FERNANDEZ, J.— See Blatter, E.

FERRAR, Lieut. -Colonel M. L.—Bird migration notes from Port Blair,

xxxv, 448.

FINLAY, J. D. — The Nesting-Habits of the Northern Grey Hornbill

( Lophoceros birostris), xxxiii, 444.

FISHES—

A Record Pirao ( Caranx jarra) caught in the Persian Gulf, xxxi, 228 ;

Notes on Fishes from Bombay, xxxi, 770 ; {two plates ), xxxiii, 100 ;

Parturitions of Electric Rays in the Marine Aquarium, Madras, xxxi, 828 ;

Notes on some Shore Fishes from Bombay, xxxii, 253 ; The Record

Cubbany Mahseer ( plate ), xxxii, 613 ; xxxiii, 210 ; Mahseer {Barbus tor')

in Burma and their habits (2 plates and l text-figure ), xxxiii, 302 ;

List of Fishes taken in Travancore from 1901 to 1915, xxxiii, 347 ;

Early stages in the Development of Gold Fish {Carassius auratus),

xxxiii, 614 ; On the Fishes of the Manchar Lake, Sind, xxxiv, 165 ; A

Giant Perch from Bombay Harbour, xxxiv, 268.

How Trout were introduced into Kashmir, xxxiv, 491 ; Local names of some

Fish from the Teesta River, xxxiv, 586 ; The Fish-suppty of the West

Coast of India Part I {3 plates), xxxiv, 973 ; Part II (5 plates), xxxv, 77 ;

On a small collection of Fish from the Bbavani River, S. India {3 text-

tigures), xxxv, 162 ; Weighing Fish with two or more scales, xxxv, 226 ;

Cannibalism among 'Fisl:es, xxxv, 227 ; On a small collection of Fish from

the streams in the Billigirirsngan Hills (S. India), xxxv, 359.

Determining the age of Indian Fishes from their scales, xxxv, 466 ; An

Appeal — Fresh water Eels in British India, xxxv, 880 ; A note on the

Fishing Industry at Danda {plate), xxx, 906 ; Game Fishes of Bombay,

The Deccan and the neighbouring Districts of the Bombay Presidency

{19 plates), xxxvi, 29; A Fish Pest of fields along the Coromandel Coast

30

GENERAL INDEX

( Ophichty's boro) ( 1 plate), xxxvi, 276 ; The Food Supply of Trout in the

Nilgiris, xxxvi, 278 ; Respiration in Fishes, xxxvi, 538 ; Fish of

Afghanistan (7 map , 7 plate , 2 text-figures) , xxxvi, 688; monstrosities

in Trout fry ( Salmo fario) in Kulu, xxxvi, 755 ; Report on Burmese

Fishes collected by Lt.-Col. R. W. Burton from the Tributary Streams

of the Mali Ilka River of the Myitkyina District (Upper Burma) Part I

(7 map, 3 plates, 3 text-figures) , xxxvi, 812.

FISHING — Fishing in Lonavla, xxxi, 828.

Fishing around Ahmedabad, xxxvi, 1011.

Mahseer Fishing in the Deccan Lakes, xxxi, 120 ; Mahseer Fishing at

Tangrote, Jhelum District in December, xxxiii,999; Methods of Fishing

in the Punjab (7 plate), xxxiv, 193 ; Mahseer Fishing in the Zhob River,

xxxiv, 587 ; Fishing in the Rivers of the C.P., xxxiv (3 text-figures) ,

700 ; Mahseer Fishing in Burma, xxxiv, 829 ; The Ways of Fishing

Shikaris, xxxiv, 1088 ; Sea-fishing on the Bombay Coast, xxxv, 410 ;

Fishing for ‘ Bombay Duck ’ ( Harp'odon nehereus) (7 plate , 2 text-

figures), xxxv, 867.

FLAME OF THE FOREST— see Answers to Correspondents.

FLIGHT — see BIRDS -Flight.

FLEMMING, Lt.-Col. W. E. — Occurrence of the Stiff-tailed Duck ( Eris -

matura leucocephala) in the Shahpur District, Punjab, xxxiv, 577.

FLORENCE, J. — The Occurrence of the Butterfly (Appias indra var. aristoxe-

nus) in the Nilghiris, xxxi, 529.

FLYNN, A. A. L., v.d., c.m.z.S.— The family of a Russell’s Viper, or

Chain Viper ( Vipera russelli ), xxxvi, 271.

FORSYTH, W. — A useful type of Machan (7 diagram), xxxv, 672.

FOSTER, Major RODNEY — Jackals in residential compounds, xxxii, 211 ;

Large flocks of the Comb Duck ( Sarcidiornis melanonotus) , xxxii, 222.

FOULKES, R., o.b.e., m.l.c. — A Toad ( Bufo melanostictus) swallowing a

Bronze-backed Tree-Snake ( Dendrophis pictus), xxxvi, 1009.

FOWLER, HENRY W. — Notes on Fishes from Bombay, xxxi, 770 ; Notes on

some Shore Fishes from Bombay, xxxii, 253 ; (2 plates), xxxiii, 100. . Notes

and descriptions of Fishes from Ceylon (2 plates), xxxii, 704.

FOX, E. A. STORRS — Occurrence of the Blue-throated Barbet ( Cyanops

asiatica) at Murree, xxxvi, 750.

FRASER, Lt.-Col. F. C., i.m.s., f.e.s. — Note on the nesting-habits of the

Southern Red-whiskered Bulbul ( Otocompsa emeria fuscicaudata),

xxxiv, 250 ; A Note on some Malabar Lepidoptera, xxxiv, 260 ; A new

Indian Dragonfly (Order Odonata) (2 text-figures) , xxxiv, 752 ; Additions

to the Dragonfly ( Odonata ) Fauna of India with descriptions of new species

(4 text-figures), xxxvi, 460 ; Occurrence of Actias mcenas in Travancore,

xxxvi, 759.

GENERAL INDEX

31

FRASER, Lt.-Col. F. C., i.m.s., f.e.s. — Indian Dragonflies: Parts xxiii —

xli — ^INSECTS (Neuroptera) (Systematic).

FREI, MAX — The ‘ Clicking ’ of the Muntjac ( M . vaginalis ), xxxi, 521

FREND, G. V. R. — Arrival of Snipe in Mysore, xxxi, 1033.

FRERE, Lt.-Col. A, G., f.z.s. — Notes on the Life and Habits of the Common

Carpenter Bee (A ylocopa amethystina) ( 3 diagrams') , xxxii, 225 ; Breeding

Habits of the common Mongoose {Herpestes edwardsi), xxxiii, 426.

FROGS AND TOADS— A Bull Frog swallowing a Rat, xxxi, 228 ; Occurrence

of the worm-like Batrachian ( Ichthyophis monochrous) at Khandala, Poona

District, xxxi, 1039 ; Do Frogs eat Snakes ?, xxxiii, 724 ; Menu of the Bull-

Frog, xxxiii, 724; Animal Barometers, xxxiii, 725, A ‘Flying’ Frog

{plate), xxxv, 220, 688 ; Congenital absence of a fore-limb in a Bull-Frog

{Rana tigrina) {2 photos ), xxxv, 462 ; Notes on Indian Batrachians

{10 plates , 2 text figures) , xxxvi, 152.

FRY, T. B., i.f.s. (Retd.) — Proposed Classification of the Smaller Indian Field,

or Jungle mice, xxxiv, 916 — ^MAMMALS (Systematic) ; see OBITUARY

NOTICES.

FRYE, Capt. M. C. — Occurrence of the Falcated Tea] {Eunetla falcala ) in the

Jhelum District, xxxv, 459.

GAMBLE, Capt. G. M. — Abnormal Antlers of a Kashmir Stag {Cervus hangln)

{photo'), xxxiii, 438,

GAME AND WILD LIFE IN CEYLON (The present state of the) (5 plates ),

xxxiii, 942.

GAME PRESERVATION, ETC.— Game Preservation in the Nilgiris, xxxii,

339 ; xxxiii, 947.

Game Preservation in India, xxxii, 359 ; Readers’ views on, xxxii, 580.

Game Preservation and Game Experiments in India {3 plates ), xxxiii,

120.

The Shwe-U Daung Game Sanctuary, Upper Burma, with a note on the

Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros {R. sumatrensis ) {plate), xxxv, 446.

GAME RESERVES — Game-Reserves and Flashlight, xxxvi, 746.

GATES, G. E. — Notes on the seasonal occurrence of Rangoon Earthworms,

xxxi, 180.

GEE, E. P. — Note on the Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill {Hydrocissa mala-

baricus leucogastra ) (/ plate), xxxvi, 505; Note on the development of

the casque of the Indo-Burmese Pied Hornbill {Anthracoceros albirostris)

{1 plate), xxxvi, 750.

GEORGE, C. J., m. a. — see Cherian, M.C.

GHARIAL— see Crocodile.

C

32

GENERAL INDEX

GHARPUREY, Lt.-Col. K. G., i.m.s. — Snakes of Sholapur, xxxii, 224 ; Note

on Snakes collected at Belgaum, xxxiv, 585 ; An unusually large Shaw’s

Rat Snake ( Zamenis fasciolatus) , xxxiv, 1084; xxxv, 906; Snakes

of Nasik, xxxiv, 1085 ; Number of ventral scales in the Fasciolated Dhaman

{Z. fasciolatus), xxxv, 465; Note on the Fasciolated Rat Snake ( Zamenis

fasciolatus) (a correction), xxxv, 906 ; Snakes in Ahmednagar, xxxvi, 272 ;

Cases of Snake-bite, xxxvi, 274.

GHATS, (EASTERN) — see BIRDS (Geography).

See MAMMALS (Systematic), (Geography).

GHATS, (WESTERN) — see Hora, Sunder Lal.

See BOTANY (Geography).

GHOSH, EKENDRANATH, m sc. , m.d. — Local names of some Fish from the

Teesta River, xxxiv, 586.

GOUDDSBURY, C. P. — The Big Bull of Sembutollavu {plate), xxxii, 678. .

GRASSHOPPERS — see INSECTS— (Orth optera).

GRIFFITHS, H. M. — Mortality amongst Hoopoe nestlings, xxxiii, 990.

GRIMES, G. — Hatching of Partridge eggs exposed on a table, xxxvi, 1004.

GUHA, B. S,, m.a., Fh.D. — Zoological Survey of India (The History and Pro-

gress of) Anthropological Section, xxxiv, 514.

GULATJ, A. N., M.sc. — Phosphorescence in a Bombay Myriapod, xxxvi,

519.

GUPTA, S. N.— see Negj, P. S.

GWALIOR STATE — see MAMMALS (Systematic).

GWILLIM, LADY [ELIZABETH] — Wood, Casey A., on, xxxi, 486.

H^MADIPSIN/E — How abundant are Land Leeches ?, xxxv, 701.

HAMADRYAD— 5^ SNAKES.

HANHART, S. — An Experience with a Tigress, xxxiii, 976.

HANNA, Capt. J. R. MUSGRAVE — Comments on Mr. J. K. Stanford’s

‘ Occurrence of the Sheldrake and Lapwing in Upper Burma’, xxxii, 220.

HARE, Lt.-Col. G. A.— The Record Cubbany Masheer {plate), xxxii, 613.

H ARMAN, A. C. — Occurrence of the Golden-eye {Glaucionetta clangula) in the

Champaran District, xxxv, 899.

HARRISON, JAMES M., d.sc., f.z.s., m.b.o.u.— A case of Osteogenesis

imperfecta occurring in a wild bird {1 block, 2 text-figures), xxxvi, 754.

HEARSEY, Capt. L. D. W.— Tiger killing Swamp Deer or Gond {Rucervus

duvaucelli) , xxxv, 885 ; Small bore rifles and Big Game, xxxvi, 254.

HELIGOLAND— The Ornithological Station at Heligoland {4 plates , 1 dia-

gram), xxxiv, 743.

33

GENERAL INDEX

HENDERSON, C., i.c.S. — Some Orchids not previously recorded from the

Ganjam District, Madras Presidency, xxxiii, 1003.

HICKIE, A. D. — Cannibalism amongst Cobras, xxxv, 906.

HICKIE, Lt.-Col. C. C. — Little Indian Grebes or Dabchicks ( Podiceps

albipennis) mobbing a Snake, xxxiv, 1081.

HICKIE, W. A. — Tigers Swimming, xxxiv, 555.

HIDE, PERCY — Comment on the occurrence of the Grey Hypocolius ( Hypo -

colius ampelinus ) in India, xxxv, 454.

HIGGINS, J. C., i.c.S — Assamese names of certain Birds used in Nowgong

District, xxxi, 819 ; The Mithun, xxxv, 444 ; The White-fronted Goose

(A. alb'ifrons) in Manipur, xxxv, 460 ; Distribution of the Eastern Grey

Duck (Anas zonorhyncha) , xxxv, 460 ; xxxvi, 266 ; The Malay Bear (photo),

xxxv, 673 ; Note on the breeding of the Indian Moorhen (Gallinula

chloropus parvifrons), xxxv, 685; Early arrival of Fantail Snipe (Galli-

nago gallinago) in Manipur, xxxv, 687 ; The Game Birds and Animals of

the Manipur State, with notes on their numbers, migration and habits,

Part I, xxxvi, 406 ; Part II, xxxvi, 591 ; Part III, xxxvi, 845.

HILL, Lieut. A. J. R., r.e. — Nesting of the Sarus (Antigone antigone ),

xxxiv, 582.

H1MALAYAHS — see Borrowdaile, J. W.

HINGSTON, Major R. W. G., i.m.s.—

An Oriental Sphex or Hunting Wasp, xxxi, 147 ; The Mason Wasp

(Eutnenes conica ) Pait I, Architecture (7 plate and text-figures) , xxxi,

241; Part II, Architectural Problems, xxxi, 754; Part III, Experiments,

xxxi, 890 ; Comments on strange behaviour of a Fly, xxxi, 1037 ;

The Potter Wasp (Rhynchium nitidulum) (2 plates 3 text-figures)

Part 1, xxxii, 98 ; Part II, xxxii, 246 ; Habits of the Indian Spur-

winged Plover (Hoplopterus ventralis ), xxxii, 219 ; Bird Notes from the

Mount Everest Expedition of 1924 (1 plate), xxxii, 320 ; Preying-habits of

the Tent-building Spider, xxxii, 381; Foraging Termites (plate), xxxii,

717; A Shield-making Beetle (Sindia clathrata) (plate), xxxiii, 60;

Migration of Spiders ( text-figure ), xxxiii, 216 ; A Study in Insect Protec-

tion (2 plates), xxxiii, 341 ; The Flight of Birds at High Altitudes, xxxiii,.

449 ; A Grasshopper Mimic (Isoptera pedunculata) , xxxiii, 497 ; xxxiv, 1095 ;

The Life of a Mealy-Bug (Monophlebus stebbingi) (1 plate , 3 text-figures) ,

xxxiii, 880 ; Effect of wind on the Flight of Birds (2 Diagrams), xxxiii,

992 ; Wolves in Sheep’s clothing (Acanthaspis and Chrysopa ) (7 text-figures) ,

xxxiv, 170; The Habits of Millipedes (Marptodesmus sp.), xxxiv, 404;

The Stinging Caterpillar (Euproctis icilia) (5 text-figures-) , xxxiv, 778 ;

Birds of a Himalayan Torrent. — A Study in Behaviour, xxxiv, 811.

HOME, Lt.-Col. W. M. LOGAN, i.a. — The Occurrence of the Pink-footed

Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) and the Mallard (Anas boscas) in Jaipur,

Rajputana, xxxi, 522 ; Readers’ views on ‘ Game Preservation in India’,

xxxii, 581 ; What is the Record Panther ?, xxxii, 587 ; The Bray of the

Chitral stag, xxxii, 594 Hamadryads in the Kumaon Terai, xxxii, 610;

Ants taking to water, xxxiii, 730 ; Occurrence of Zeltus etolus near Canna-

nore, Malabar, xxxvi, 759.

34

GENERAL INDEX

HOPWOOD, S. F., i.f.s. — Tigers and Elephants, xxxi, p. 514 ; The Red-

legged Falconet ( Microhierax eutohnns) hawking Butterflies, xxxi, 826 ;

Some Notes on the Pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ) ( plate ), xxxiii, 439.

HORA, SUNDER LAL, d.sc., f.r.S.e., f.l.s., f.z.s., f.a.s.b.— On some

interesting features of the Fauna of the Western Ghats, xxxi, 447 ; Animal

Life in Torrential streams (7 plate, 10 text-figures) xxxii, 111; The

Mogul Emperors of India as Naturalists and Sportsmen, xxxii, 802 ; The

Value of Field Observations in the study of organic evolution, {9 text-

figures), xxxiv, 374 ; Zoological Survey of India (The History and Progress

of), Fish Section, xxxiv, 510 ; Indian net-veined midges or Blepharoceridce

(7 plate, 4 text-figures) , xxxv, 342 ; Respiration in Fishes {4 plates, 21 text-

figures), xxxvi, 538 ; Fish of Afghanistan (7 map , 7 plate , 2 text-figures) ,

xxxvi, 688.

HOWE. P. A. W. — Encounter with a Hamadryad ( Naia bungarus ), xxxv,

225.

HUBBACK, THEODORE — Note on the Ashoka Tree, xxxvi, 1023.

HUDSON, Major-General CORRIE— A List of some birds of the Seven

Hills of Naini Tal, U.P., xxxiv, 821.

HUFFAM, W. T. E. — Case of recovery from the bite of a Phoorsa ( Echis

carinata ), xxxv, 688.

HUGHES, Commdr. JOHN, H., m.b.e.— Ships’ Cats, and an instance of their

homing instinct, xxxi, 1027.

HUNDLEY GORDON.— Twin Elephant Calves {plate), xxxii, 214.

HYDERABAD STATE ORNITHOLOGICAL SURVEY—

Part I (7 map, 2 plates), xxxvi, 356; Part II {2 plates), xxxvi, 707.

Part III {2 plates), xxxvi, 898.

HYDROZOA (Jelly Fishes) —

Further Observations on the Freshwater Medusa {Limnoenida indica)

(7 plate, 1 text-figure ), xxxvi, 210.

IGUANAS— See Answers to Correspondents.

INGEN,- EUGEN M. VAN — See Obituary.

INGEN, VAN AND INGEN, VAN— An unusual find in a Tiger’s skull

{photo), xxxiii, 195.

INGLIS, CHAS, M., f.z.s., f.e.S., m.b.o.u.— The Black-capped Kingfisher

{Halcyon pileata) in the Darbhanga District, Bihar, xxxii, 798 ; Occur-

rence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna) in the Darbhanga District,

Bihar, xxxii, 799 ; First Indian record of the Eastern Grey Duck {Anas

poecilorhyncha zonorhyncha) and the occurrence of the Eastern White-eye

{Nyroca rufa baeri) in Bihar, xxxiv, 810 ; The nesting of the Malabar

Heart-spotted Woodpecker {Hemicircus canente cordatus) in Travancore,

xxxv, 207 ; The Distribution of the Eastern Grey Duck {Anas poecilor-

hyncha zonorhyncha) , xxxv, 687.

GENERAL INDEX

35

INSECTS LEPIDOPTERA—

Butterflies (Systematic) —

The Common Butterflies of the Plains of India —

Part XXXVI. — Telicota, Padraona , Halpe , xxxi, 323.

Part XXXVII. — Baracus , Cupitha , Baoris , xxxi, 655.

Part XXXVill.— Gegenes, Notocrypta Sancus, Udaspes , Hyarotis,

Lambrix , xxxi, 951.

The Identification of Indian Butterflies —

Part IX. — Hesperidce , xxxi, 49 ;

Part X. — Hesperidce , xxxi, 427.

Part XI. — Hesperidce , xxxi, 615.

Heliophorus , Revisional notes on the genus (25 text-figures) , xxxiii, 384.

Lyccenidz , Notes on the rarer, xxxiv, 258.

Butterflies (Geography).

BALUCHTSTaN — The Butterflies of Baluchistan, xxxvi, 196.

Punjab —

The Butterflies of the Simla Hills, Part I, xxxv, 172 ; Part II, xxxv, 415 ;

Part III, xxxv, 620 ; Butterflies of Lahore, xxxv, 913 ; xxxvi, 1011 ;

The form of Colias hyale occurring at Amritsar, xxxvi, 1013.

United Provinces — Butterfly collecting grounds at Mussoorie, United

Provinces, xxxiv, 836.

Jodhpur and Mount Abu — Notes on a collection of Butterflies made in

1924, 1925, 1926, xxxii, 228.

Kathiawar — A note on the Butterflies (and Hawk-moths) of Kathiawar,

xxxiii, 888.

Nilgtrts — The Occurrence of the Butterfly Appias indra var. aristoxe-

nus in the Nilgiris, xxxi, 529-

Coorg — The Occurrence of the Wood Mason Butterfly Parantirrhoea

marshalli in Coorg, xxxil, 230 ; xxxiii, 455 ; xxxiv, 587 ; The Butterflies

of Coorg, Part I, xxxiv, 1003 ; Part II, xxxv, 104.

Mysore — The Butterflies of Bangalore and neighbourhood, xxxvi, 450.

Malabar — A note for some Malabar Lepidoptera, xxxiv, 260.

Butterflies (General) —

Notes on some new and interesting Butterflies from India and Burma

Part I. ( plates ), xxxi, 248 ; Part II [plates), xxxi, 579 ; Notes on Indian

Butterflies, xxxi, 712.

Notes on some Indian Lepidoptera with abnormal habits, xxxiii, 668 ;

Migration of Butterflies, xxxiii, 726; A note on the Butterflies and

Hawk-Moths of Kathiawar, xxxiii, 888 ; A Butterfly Hunter’s Ramble in

the Tavoy District, Burma, xxxiii, 931 ; Dwarf specimens of Butterflies

[plate), xxxiv, 261 ; Curious behaviour of Butterflies in the interior of

extremely dense evergreen forest, xxxv, 229.

Butterflies (Notes on Individual Species) —

The occurrence of the Butterfly Appias indra var. aristoxenus in the

Nilgiris, xxxi, 529 ; The Occurrence of the Wood Mason Butterfly

[Parantirrhoea marshalli) in Coorg, xxxii, 230 ; xxxiii, 455 ; xxxiv, 589 ;

36

GENERAL INDEX

A Short Note on a Lymantrid Caterpillar ( Dasychira mendosa)

feeding on Mango leaves {block), xxxiii, 458; Occurrence of the

Oak-leaf Butterfly {Kallima horsfieldi) near Bombay, xxxiii, 726 ;

Note on the Breeding of Terias Iceta and T. venala and the

probability of their being seasonal forms of a single species, xxxiii,

727 ; A new form of Hesperid Butterfly {Baoris canarica yatesi) from

Coorg, xxxiii, 1000 ; Notes on Pathysa antiph.ites naira , xxxiv, 589 ;

On the occurrence of Vanessa atlanta and Pararge schakra in

Baluchistan, xxxiv, 590 ; Occurrence of Colias hyale hyale and Pieris

canidia indica in the plains, xxxiv, 591 ; A freak Papilio polytes

romulns 5 {plate), xxxiv, 832 ; Notes on Parantirrhoea marshalli and

Prioneris sita, xxxiv, 833 ; Notes on Appias libythea libythea §,

xxxiv, 834 ; Specific identity of the Butterflies Terias venala and T.

Iceta, xxxiv, 1094 ; Extension of the range of Hidari bhawani,

Elymnias pealii and Bhima undulosa, xxxv, 228; Description of a

new Lyccenid Butterfly [ Lyccena ( Heodes ) irmce ]., xxxv, 697 ; Dist-

inctive characters of the Butterflies Appias libythea libythea <$ and

Appias albina darada {1 diagram ), xxxv, 698; Dry and wet season

forms of the Butterfly Prioneris sita , {plate), xxxv, 700; Note on

Zesius chrysomallus, xxxv, 911 ; Mycalesis anapita, xxxv, 915 ;

Occurrence of Zeltus etolus near Cannanore, Malabar, xxxvi, 759 ;

Occurrence of Actias mcenas in Travancore, xxxvi, 759 ; The enemies

of Danais chrysippus, xxxvi, 1014.

Moths (Systematic) —

Geornetridce from Upper Burma. Part I, xxxi, 129; Part II {plate),

xxxi, 308 ; Part III, xxxi, 780; Part IV, xxxi, 932 ; Notes on Indian

Hawk-Moths {3 plates, 9 text-figures) , xxxv, 362.

Moths (General) —

Psara phxpteralis a pest on grasses in South India, {plate), xxxi, 529 ;

Life-history notes on Lamprosema indicata {Pyralidce) , a caterpillar pest

of Chrysanthemums, xxxiii, 857 ; Two new species of Sphingidse (Hawk-

Moths) from the Oriental Region, xxxiv, 202 ; Life- History of the Silk-

Moth {Lcepa newara), xxxiv, 262; The Noctuid Moth {Eublemma

amabilis), A Predator of the Lac Insect, and its control {one coloured, four

black and white plates and ten diagrams), xxxiv, 431 ; The Stinging

Caterpillar {Euproctis icilia) (5 text-figures) , xxxiv, 778; A Leaf-

mining Moth, xxxiv, 1091 ; Notes on the Foodplants of Indian Hawk-

Moths, xxxvi, 938 ; On the Biology and Morphology of Epepyrops eury-

brachydes {1 plate, 1 block), xxxvi, 944.

NE UR OPT ERA—

Dragonflies (Systematic)—

Indian Dragon flies—

Part XXIII —Cyclogomphus, Davidius (1 plate and 3 text-figures),

xxxi, 158.

Part XXI W —Burmagomphus, Platygomphus, Davidioides , Anisogom-

phus, Temnogomphus (2 plates and 5 text=figures), xxxi, 408.

Part XXV —Macrogomphus , Acrogomphus, Perissogomphus, Anoryno-

gomphus (1 plate and 5 text-figures), xxxi, 733.

Part XXVl'—Leptogomphus, Sieboldius (3 text-figures), xxxi, 882.

GENERAL INDEX

37

Part XXVII, — Zygoptera , Rhinocypha (4 plates and 1 text-figure), xxxii,

183.

Part XXVIII. — Rhinocypha (3 plates), xxxii, 3li.

Part XXIX. — Rhinocypha , Calocypha , Libellago (3 piates), xxxii, 450.

Part XXX. — Micromerus , Libellagiwx (Larvae) (3 plates), xxxii, 683.

Part XXXI. — Epallage , Bafadera , Aniso pleura, Dysphcea (3 plates),

xxxiii, 47.

Part XXXII. — Allophxa , Pseudophcea , Indophcea , Philoganga , Epalla-

gince (Larvae) (4 plates), xxxiii, 288.

Part XXXIII. — Neurobasis , Veslalis, Echo , Climacobasis , Mnias ,

Matrona, Caliphaea (2 plates and 2 text-figures), xxxiii, 576.

Part XXXIV. — Megalestes, Orolestes , Lestes (2 plates and 4 text-figures),

xxxiii, 834.

Part XXXV. — Lestes, Platylestes , Ceylonolestes, Indolestes, Sympycna

(one plate, 4 text-figures), xxxiv, 87.

Part XXXVI. —Lestes (addenda), Burmagiolestes, Rhinagrion, Mesopo-

dagrion (7 text-figures), xxxiv, 965.

Part XXX VI I . — Protosticta (1 plate and 2 text-figures), xxxv, 66.

Part XXXVIII. — Platysticta, Ceylonosticta, DrePanosticta (2 plates and

1 text-figure), xxxv, 325.

Part XXXlX.—Cceliccia (1 plate and 1 text-figure), xxxv, 645.

Part XL. — Calicnemis (3 text-figures), xxxvi, 141.

Part XLI. — Copera (2 plates and 2 text-figures), xxxvi, 607.

Additions to the Dragonfly (Odonata) Fauna of India with descriptions of

new species . (4 text-figures ) xxxvi, 460 ; A Revision of the genus

Zygonyx Selys. ( text-figure ), xxxi, 762; A New Indian Dragonfly

(Order, Odonata ) {2 text-figures) , xxxiv, 752.

Lace-wing Flies—* Wolves in Sheep’s clothing ’ ; Chrysopa ( 4 text-figures) ,

xxxiv, 174.

TRICHOP TER A -

Caddis Flies (Systematic) —

The Indian Caddis Flies. Part I {3 plates ), xxxvi, 657.

ORTHOPTERA-

Grasshoppers, Crickets, Mantis, Locusts, etc. —

The North-West Locust in Sind, xxxii, 231 ; A Grasshopper ( Isopsera

pedunculata) , A mimic of the Black Ant ( Camponotus compressus)

{plate), xxxiii, 497 ; xxxiv, 591, 1095 ; The Grasshopper ( Aularches

miliaris) unpalatable to the Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) , xxxiii,

1000 ; Notes on the Coffee Locust Aularches miliaris, xxxv, 229 ;

The Giant Locust ( Saga ephippigera) , xxxv, 908 ; Notes on an

Acridiid Grasshopper ( Gesonia punctifrons) ovipositing into stem of

* Colocasia ’ Plant, xxxvi, 517 -

COLEOPTERA—

Beetles—

A Shield-making Beetle ( Sindia clathrata) {plate), xxxiii, 60; Sound

Production by a larva of Cybister {Dytiscidce) , xxxiii, 653; Swarming of

the Tenebrionid Beetle {Lyprops curticollis ), xxxiv, 267; On thp

38

GENERAL INDEX

peculiar cross-vein-like structures in the Hind-wings of Crocefilipennis

( RemoPteridce ) (3 Micro-photographs ), xxxiv, 834; A live Beetle

(Protactia alboguttata) in the external auditorv meatus of the human

ear, xxxiv, 1096 ; Notes on the Beetle Platypria echidna , xxxv, 466 ; On

a collec'ion of Ground Beetles (Carabidcz) from Waziristan, xxxv, 862.

HEMIPTERA—

Plant Bugs —

Aphididce cf Mysore, xxxiii, 211 ; xxxiv (13 text-figures) , 411 ; Anoplce-

nemis phasiana (a study in Insect Protection)' ( 2 plates ), xxxiii, 341 ;

The Life of a Mealy-Bug (Monophlebus stebbingi ) (7 plate and 3 text-

figures ), xxxiii, 880; ‘ Wolves in Sheep’s clothing ’ Acanthaspis (3 text-

figures ), xxxiv, 170 ; Lac Insect (Laccifer lacca) and Ants, xxxiv, 182.

On some Tingitidce from South India including two new species

(Hemiptera) , xxxvi, 1015,

HO MO PTE R A-

Coccids, Scale Insects, Cicadas—

Recent additions to the Indo-Ceylonese Coccid Fauna with notes on

known and new forms, xxxi, 450 ; The Cicada (Lethama locusta )

(5 text- figures) , xxxv, 430.

THYSANOPTERA-

A new species of Gynaikothrips from Bangalore, xxxiii, 667 ; Notes on

Indian Thysanoptera with brief descriptions of new species (2 plates , 1

text figure), xxxiv, 1029.

HYMENOPTERA—

Bees and Wasps—

An Oriental Sphex or Hunting Wasp, xxxi, 146.

The Mason Wasp (Eumenes conica ), Parti. Architecture (plate and

text figures) , xxxi, 241; Part II. Architectural Problems, xxxi, 754 ;

Part III. Experiments, xxxi, 890.

The Potter Wasp (Rhynchium nitidulum) (2 plates , 3 text-figures ),

Part I. xxxii, 98; Part II. xxxii, 246.

Notes on the Life and Habits of the Common Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa

amethystina) (3 diagrams), xxxii, 225; Foraging Termites (Eutermes

biformis) (plate), xxxii, 717 ; The Effects of Bee Venom, xxxii, 805 ;

The Human ear used as a burrow by a Sphegid Wasp, xxxiv, 263 ;

Methods of dealing with plagues of Ants, xxxvi, 279 ; Behaviour of the

Red Tree Ant (CEcophyla smaragdina) , xxxvi, 280.

Ants —

The Large Black Ant (Camponotus compressus) mimicked by a Grass-

hopper (Isoptera pedunculata) (plate), xxxiii, 497, 591 ; xxxiv, 1095.

Ants taking to water, xxxiii, 730 ; Report on a collection of Ants in the

Indian Museum, Calcutta, xxxiv, 149 ; Ants and the Lac Insect

(Laccifer lacca), xxxiv, 182; Termite Fungi (plate), xxxv, 909;

Rhythmic sound produced by Termites at work, xxxvi, 1018 ; The

Small Red Ant (Solenopsin geminata) subsp. rufa and its usefulness

to man (7 plate, 1 block), xxxvi, 1018.

Ichneumon Flies—

A New Ichneumon (Aphahteles acherontice) (Plate), xxxi, 726.

GENERAL INDEX

39

Saw Flies—

Note on the Savvfiy {Arge pagana) var. Victorina (3 text-figures) , xxxvi,

1012.

D1PTERA—

Flies —

India net -veined Midges or Blepharoceridce ( 1 plate, 4 text-figures) ,

xxxv, 342.

Mosquito Swarms, xxxvi, 1017.

Lac Insect ( Laccifer lacca) —

Ants and the Lac ..Insect (3 plates ), xxxiv, 182; Some Aspects of the

Bionomics of the Lac Insect, xxxv, 150.

JODHPUR — See Insects (Geography),

JOHN, A. W.— A Large Tusker Elephant, xxxii, 596; A good Nilgiri Tahr

{Hemitragus hylocrius) , xxxii, 597.

JONES, A. E., m.b.o.u. — On Capt. Searight’s List of Birds observed in the

Bheling Valley, Theri Garhwal, xxxi, 818 ; Further Notes on the Birds of

the Ambala District, xxxi, 1000; A note on the occurrence of the Turk-

estan Penduline Tit ( Remiz coronatus) in the Punjab, xxxv, 202; The

Nesting of the Besra Sparrow Hawk ( Accipiter virgatus affinis) at Simla,

xxxv, 208.

JONES, A. J. — Occurrence of the Mallard (Anas platyrhyncha) in Upper

Burma, xxxiv, 577.

JONES, Capt. W. H. C.— Mahseer Fishing at Tangrote, Jhelum District in

December, xxxiii, 999.

JOSHI, A. C., m. sc. — Inflorescence of Asteracantha ( 1 text-figure ), xxxvi,

765.

JOUGUET, H. — Artificial and Natural Mimicry, xxxii, 379; Plants and

Insects, xxxii, 807 ; Weeds of the Indian Wayside, xxxii, 810 ; On some

common Indian Lizards, xxxiii, 452 ; Animal Barometers, xxxiii, 725.

KANGRA- See MAMMALS (Systematic) .

KANNAN, K. KUNHI -Ant-Mimicking Spiders as victims of Wasps {Photo),

xxxiv, 831.

KASHGAR, CHINESE TURKESTAN — See BIRDS (Migration).

KASHMIR —

See BIRDS (Geography) (General).

See MAMMALS (Systematic).

KATHIAWAR — See INSECTS (Lepidoptera) .

KEAYS, R. W. — An unpleasant experience with a Python, xxxiii, 721.

KHAN, M. HAMID, m. Sc., ll.b. — Early Stages in the Development of Gold

Fish {Carassius auratus) {2 plates ), xxxiii, 614; Methods of Fishing in

the Punjab (7 plate), xxxiv, 193 ; Monstrosities in Trout fry {Salmo fario)

in Kulu {4 text-figures ), xxxvi, 755.

40

GENERAL INDEX

KHANNA, L. P. m.Sc. , f.i.s. — Collecting of Liverworts at Maymyo, xxxiv,

599 ; Some Liverworts of the order Marchantiales from Burma, xxxiv, S44 ;

An abnormal fruit of Dipterocarpus tuberculatus , xxxiv, 1102 ; Cotyle-

donary Vegetative Reproduction in Mango ( Mangifera indica) (7 diagram ),

xxxv, 917.

KHASIA HILLS — See BIRDS (Shooting) .

KINLOCH, A. P., f.z.S., m.b.o.u. — The Nilgiri Tahr ( Hemitragus hylocrius)

{plate), xxxi, 520 ; Earth Snake {Silybura sp. ) and Chicken, xxxi, 528 ;

Man-Eating Tigers, xxxii, 209 ; Bison and Cultivation, xxxii, 215 ; A Fine

Muntjac, xxxii, 216.

KINLOCH, ANGUS PETER — See OBITUARY.

K1NNEAR, N. B., f.z.S. , m.b.o.u., and WHISTLER, H., f.z.s., m.b.o.u.—

The Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats. Ornithological section

xxxiv, 386 ; {two maps 1 text-figure) , xxxv, 505.

KINNEAR, N. B., m.b.o.u.— See Whistler, Hugh.

KIRWAN, N.— A Panther shoot at Sea {photo), xxxi, 803.

KLOSS, C. BODEN — The Rufous-breasted Blue Flycatcher {Cyornis

hyperythra) at High Level, xxxii, 796.

KNIGHT, H F., i.c.s. — Preying Habits of the Tent Building Spider, xxxii,

381 ; Movements of Tigers, xxxiv, 555.

KOHAT, N.W.F.P.— See BIRDS (Migration).

KOUL, SAMSAR CHAND — Vernacular names for Kashmir Birds, xxxiv, 571

Disease among Crows, xxxv, 900.

KRISHNAMURTI, B., b.sc. — Aphididae of Mysore, xxxiii, 211 ; xxxiv,

{13 text-figures) , 411 ; On the Biology and Morphology of Epipyrops

eurybrachydis {1 plate , 7 block), xxxvi, 944.

KULU —See BIRDS (Geography).

KURULKAR, G. M. and DESHPANDE, D. S. — Congenital absence of a

forelimb in a Bull-Frog {Rana tigrina) ( 2 photos), xxxv, 462.

LADAK— See LaPersonne, V. S.

LAHUL — See BIRDS (Geography).

LAL, K. MOHAN, i.f.S. — Curious behaviour of Butterflies in the interior of

extremely dense evergreen forest, xxxv, 229.

LAMBRICK, H.T., I.C.S.— Occurrence of the Nukta or Comb-Duck {Sarkidi-

ornis melanotus) in the Larkana District, Sind', xxxv, 898 ; Occurrence of

the Smew {M. albellus) in Sind, xxxv, 900.

LAPERSONNE, V. S., m.b.o.u. — A Collecting Trip to Ladak, Part I ( 1 map ,

5 plates ), xxxii, 505 ; Part II {2 plates), xxxii, 650; Migration of spiders

{text-figures) , xxxiii, 215 ; A strange pet {photo), xxxiii, 712 ; Description

of notes on the female Chestnut-mantled Koklas {Pucrasia m. castanea)

GENERAL INDEX

41

from Chitral, xxxiv, 1062; Description of the immature plumage of the

Indian Pratincole or Swallow Plover ( Glareola m. maldivaruni) , xxxv, 686 ;

Remarkable behaviour of a Tigress, xxxvi, 235 ; Wild Dogs, hunting and

killing by night, xxxvi, 240 ; Extended Distribution of the Wynaad

Laughing Thrush ( Garrulax delesserti) to North Kar ara, xxxvi, 503 ;

The Occurrence of the Common Ruby-throat ( Calliope calliope) in the

Godavery Valley Delta, xxxvi, 504 ; The Common Central Asian King-

fisher ( Alcedo athis pallasii) in Nepal, xxxvi, 508.

LATHAM, H. D. — Good Head of Nilghiri Tahr, xxxiv, 563.

LAUD, D. S., g.b.v.c., f.r.h.s , f.z.s.--- Pelicans and Turtles, xxxiv, 1081 ;

The Fern-Palm {photo) , xxxiv, 1101 ; Flowering Season of the Spotted

Glirioidia ( G . maculata), xxxvi, 760 ; Deaths of Cheetal ( Axis axis) in

captivity, xxxvi, 987.

LAURIE, A. S.— An Elephant with extraordinary glands {plate), xxxii, 792.

LAW, SATYA CHURN — The Nesting of the Open-bill Stork {Anastomus

oscitans) in Purulia, Manbhum District, xxxi, 223 ; Fish-eating habit

of the Sarus Crane {Antigone antigone ), xxxiv, 582; Some races of the

Red-billed Chough {Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) , xxxv, 213 ; Place of the

Java Sparrow {Munia oryzivora) in the Indian Avifauna, xxxv, 683 ; The

status of the Indian Black-headed Shrike {Lanius nigriceps) in Lower

Bengal, xxxvi, 259 ; Further notes on the nesting of Lanius nigriceps

with observations on juvenile plumage (7 plate), xxxvi, 499 ; The status of

Geocichla citrina citrina in the district of 24-Parganas, with a note on

nestling colouration, xxxvi. 501.

LEECHES — See HyEMADIPSIN-TE.

LEIGH, C., s.J.— Weights and measurements of the Nilgiri Langur {Pithecus

johnii ), xxxi, 223; Notes on Snakes, xxxi, 227 ; Notes on the Indian Python

{Python molurus) in captivity, xxxiii, 208.

LEMARCHAND, W.M.— Occurrence of Swinhoe’s Snipe in North Lakhimpur,

xxxii, 221.

LIGHTFOOT, S., ST. C.— Occurrence of the Mallard {Anas platyrhyncha) at

Taunggyi, Burma xxxvi, 1008.

LIMOUZIN, E. — A Record Panther, xxxiii, 699.

LINDBERG, K. — Snakes on the Barsi Light Railway, (Deccan), xxxv, 690.

LINDSAY, Mrs. Helen M, — See MAMMALS (Systematic). A note on

Viverra civettina {2 plates ), xxxiii. 146.

LIVESEY, T. R. — Drumming sound made by Leopards, xxxiv, 1056 ; The

Gayal or Mithan {Bos frontalis) {plate), xxxv, 199 ; Notes on the habits of

Radcliffe’s Sibia {Leioptila melanoleuca radcliffei) {photo), xxxvi, 993 ;

Cuckoos in the Southern Shan States {plate), xxxvi, 997 ; Nidification of

the Giant Nuthatch {Sitta magna) block, xxxvi, 1001 ; The Nesting of the

Shahin Falcon {Falco peregrinus) on a tree, xxxvi, 1003.

42

GENERAL INDEX

LIZARDS — House Gecko ( Hemidactylus sp.) shows a sweet tooth, xxxi, 827 ;

List of Lizards from Panchgani, xxxii, 280 ; Notes on the Desert Monitor

( Varanus griseus) and the Spiny-tailed Lizard {Uromastix microlepis) ,

xxxii, 608 ; Some common Indian Lizards, xxxiii, 452 ; How the Monitor

Lizard sits in its burrow, xxxiv, 255; The Monitor Lizards of Burma,

( 2 plates), xxxiv, 337; Capturing Monitor Lizards and Pythons, xxxiv, 828 ;

The Natural History of the Common Blood-sucker ( Calotes versicolor ),

xxxiv, 1041 ; Occurrence of Charasia dorsalis outside the Mysore Plateau,

xxxiv, 1086 ; The colouration of the tail of the Common Skink ( Lygosoma

punctatum ) {photo), xxxv. 463; Some Notes on the Monitors {2 plate),

xxxv, 615, xxxvi, 269 , Observations on the Trifid Tails in two specimens

of Hemidactylus fl-aviviridis with a note on the Artificial Regeneration of

double and triple tails of the ‘ Tokhak ’ Lizard {Gecko verticillatus

{1 plate, 1 text-figure) , xxxv, 657 ; Tncktoo v. Dhaman, xxxv, 901 ; The

Fat-tailed Lizard {Eublepharis hardwickii), xxxv, 903 ; Some notes on

Water Monitors in the Garo Hills, Assam, xxxv, 903 ; Chamaeleon and a

Viviparous Fly, xxxvi, 1016.

LIZARDS (POISONOUS) — See Answers to Correspondents.

LOCUSTS— INSECTS (ORTHOPTERA) .

LOGAN-HOME, Major Wi. M.— A Panther treeing its kill {photo), xxxii,

209 ; Boldness of Panthers, xxxii, 588 ; Alarm-call of Langoors, xxxiii,

971.

LOUDON, J. — Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper in the Brahmaputra Valley,

xxxiv, 256.

LOW, G. CARMICHAEL, m.d., f.r.c.p.— An Elephant with extraordinary

glands, xxxiii, 707.

LOWNDES, Capt. D. G. — Distribution and colouration of the Lynx {Lynx

lynx), xxxiv, 234 ; Notes on some birds seen in Lahul and Kulu, xxxiv,

569.

LOWSLEY, C. O. — The Incubation of Eggs during the hot weather, xxxiv,

247.

LUARD, Lieut-Col. C. E. (the late)— Ornithology in the Bible, xxxii, 553.

See Obituary.

LUDLOW, F.— Dongtse or Stray Bird notes from Tibet {2 plates), xxxiii, 78.

McATEE. W. L. — The Grasshopper {Isopsera pedunculata) a supposed,

mimic of the Black ant {Camponotus compressus), xxxiv, 591.

McCANN, C., f.l.s. —Occurrence of the Indjau Courser {Cursorius coroman-

delicus) at Panchgani, xxxi, 820 ; House Gecko {Hemidactylus sp.) shows

a sweet tooth, xxxi, 827 ; Comments on Fr. Leigh’s notes on Snakes,

xxxi, 827 ; Notes on the Long-armed Sheath-tailed Bat {Taphozous longi-

manus) {photo), xxxi, 1030; Occurrence of the worm-like Batrachian

Ichthyophis monochrous at Khandala, Poona District, xxxi, 1039 ; Note on

the Desert Gerbille ( Cheliones hurriancs) , xxxii, 213 ; Habits of the Porcupine

Hystrix leucura, xxxii, 214 ; 791 ; The Record Four-horned antelope

{Tetraceros quadricornis) {photo), xxxii, 592 ; Note on Green Whip Snake

GENERAL INDEX

43

(. Dryophis mycterizans ) and young ( photo ), xxxii, 612 ; The Study of Plant

Life Part I {2 plates and 5 text-figures ), xxxii, 692; Part II {3 plates and

4 text- figures) , xxxiii, 35 ; Part III ( 1 plate , 2 blocks and 26 text-figures) ,

xxxiii, 262 ; Reply to Mr. Phillips’ note on page 371, Vol. XXXII, re colour

of the Long-armed Sheath-tailed Bat ( Taphozous longi manus) , xxxii, 791 ;

Notes on the Common Indian Langur {Pithecus entellus) {plate), xxxiii,

192 ; Notes on the Flowering of Strobilanthes callosus. xxxiv, 264 ; Notes

on some wild species of Aroids ( 3 plates , 2 text-figures) , xxxiv, 518 ;

Nidification of Storks {photo), xxxiv, 579; Notes on Tacca pinnatifida

{1 text-figure) , xxxiv, 597 ; Courtship of the Scarlet Minivet {Pericrocotus

speciosus ), xxxiv, 1061 ; The effects of a bite of a Centipede {Scolopendra

sp.), xxxiv, 1097; A Centipede {Scolopendra sp.) after its moult, xxxiv,

1097 ; Notes on the Whistling School Boy or Malabar Whistling Thrush

Myiophoneus horsfieldi, xxxv, 202 ; Notes on the Coffee Locust {Aularches

miliaris ), xxxv, 229 ; Occurrence of Phrynichus phipsoni in Salsette

Island, xxxv, 230 ; The Cicada {Lethama locusta) , (5 text-figures) , xxxv,

430 ; Notes on the Beetle Platypria echidna , xxxv, 466 ; On the Fertiliza-

tion of the Flowers of the Sausage-Tree {Kigelia pinnata) by Bats

{3 diagrams) xxxv, 467 ; Occurrence of Isoetes in the Bombay Presidencv,

xxxv, 471 ; Notes on the Nesting-Habits of the Red-vented Bulbul {Mol-

pastes cafer) , xxxv, 680; Nestling of the Indian Pied Kingfisher {Ceryle

rudis) attacked by larvae of Parasitic Fly, xxxv, 897 ; Termite Fungi

{1 photo), xxxv, 909; Notes on Indian Batrachians {10 plates , 2 text-figures ),

xxxvi, 152 ; A Scorpion {Buthus) feeding on a Galeod Spider {Galeodes

agilis), xxxvi, 281; A cure for Tapeworm, xxxvi, 282; Notes on the

Colouration and Habits of the White-browed Gibbon or Hoolock {Hylo-

bates hoolock) {2 plates ), xxxvi, 395 ; Observations on some of the Indian

Langurs {2 plates ), xxxvi, 618 ; The Flying Fox, {P. giganteus) and the

Palm Squirrel {F. tristriatus) as agents' of pollinization in Grevillea robusta

{1 block , 2 text-figures ), xxxvi, 761; Notes on some Indian Macaques

(5 plates, 1 text-figure) , xxxvi, 796; The Brown Hawk-Owl {Ninox

scutulata) feeding on Bats, xxxvi, 1002 ; A viviparous fly and a

chamaeleon, xxxvi, 1016.

McCANN, C. — See Metjsebeck, C. F, W., See Blatter, Rev. E.

MACDONALD, A. — Occurrence of the Wood Snipe {Gallinago nemoricola ) in

Burma, xxxi, 1033; Mahseer {Barbus tor) in Burma and their habits

{2 plates , 1 text-figure) , xxxiii, 302 ; Strange behaviour of a Tigress,

xxxiv, 231 ; Late stay of the Grey Quail ( Coturnix coturnix) in Bihar,

xxxiv, 255 ; Weighing Fish with two or more Scales, xxxv, 226 ; An

Appeal to Anglers, xxxvi, 226.

MACDOUGALL, Capt. H. SCOTT — Occurrence of the Clucking or Baikal

Teal { Nettion\formosum ), near Hardoi, U. P. , xxxv, 211.

MACGREGOR, Capt. L. E.— A Hawk Incident, xxxiii, 714; A true Snake

story, xxxiii, 722.

MACGREGOR, Capt. S. C.~ Masheer Fishing in Burma, xxxiv, 829.

MACHAN — A useful type of {1 diagram), xxxv, 672.

44

GENERAL INDEX

MACKENZIE, J. M. D., i.f.s. — Wild Dog and Barking Deer, xxxiii, 705;

Food of the Slow Loris ( Nycticebus coucang), xxxiii, 971 ; Notes on

Berdmore’s Squirrel ( Menetes berdmorei), xxxiii, 9S0 ; Nidification of

Bingham’s White-headed Bulbul ( Cerasophila thompsoni ), xxxiii, 991;

Means of Defence in Insects, xxxiii, 1000 ; ‘ Fur Farming ’, xxxvi, 988.

MACKIE, Lx. -Col., A. A., r. a. m.c.— Indian Snake Venoms, xxxii, 801.

MACPHERSON, Lx. -Col. A. D., c.i.e.— Notes on a collection of Butterflies

made in Jodhpur and Mount Aboo during the years 1924, 1925, and

1926, xxxii, 228.

McCULLOCH, EDWARD— Notes on Small Game Shooting in the Khasia

Hills, xxxi ; 728.

McCULLOCH, E. L. — The Use of patent bullets in shot guns, xxxi, 1040 ;

xxxii, 384.

MACFIE, D. F. — A White Elephant Calf, xxxii, 214.

MADANSINH OF KUTCH — A Carnivorous Bear, xxxvi, 238.

MADRAS PRESIDENCY — See Boxany (Geography).

MADURA DISTRICT (High Wavy Mounxain)— See Boxany (Sysxemaxic)

MAHABLESHWAR — See BOTANY (pxeridophyxa) .

MAHENDRA, BENI CHARAN, m.sc.— Do Frogs eat Snakes ?, xxxiii, 724 ;

The colouration o,f the tail of the Common Skink ( Lygosoma punctatum)

(photo), xxxv, 463 ; How the Monitor Lizard sits in its burrow, xxxiv,

255 ; Cannibalism in the Indian Cobra, xxxiv, 1082.

MAHON, Col. A. E., d.s.o. — The Kissing Habit among Birds and Animals,

xxxiii, 717 ; The Ways of Fishing Shikaris, xxxiv, 1088.

MALARIA — The Malaria Problem in Bombay (map), xxxiv, 736.

MAMMALS (Geography) —

Iraq — Occurrence of the Cheetah (Acononyx jubatus) in Iraq (photo),

xxxiii, 700 ; The Caracal in Iraq (photo), xxxiv, 232.

Persia — Do Lions still exist in Persia ?, xxxv, 671.

Baluchistan — Notes on the Mammals of Baluchistan, xxxiv, 567.

Kashmir — The Mammals and Birds of, and the adjacent Hill Provinces:

Part VI (plate), xxxi, 1; Part VII xxxii, 711; Part VIII (plate),

xxxiii 65 ; Report of the Mammal Survey of India (Kashmir and

Punjab Areas) , xxxi, 403 ; Notes on the Kashmir Stag (Cervus ha??glu)

(photo), xxxi, 814.

Nepal — A new Flying Squirrel from, xxxiii, 565.

Sikkim — Mammals of the Suydam Cutting Sikkim Expedition, xxxvi, 181.

Sind — Report of the Mammal Survey of India, xxxii, 40 ; Rice Rats of

Lower, and their control (1 plate, 3 diagrams), xxxii, 330; Ocurrence

of the Panther in the Sind Desert, xxxv, 671.

Punjab— Local migration of the Flying Fox (Pteropus giganteus) in the

Punjab, xxx, 439, 670.

GENERAL INDEX

45

United Provinces — Wild Elephants in the United Provinces (4 plates) ,

xxxii, 127.

Orissa — Wild Elephants in Orissa {map), xxxiii, 430 ; The Distribution

of Wild Buffalo in Orissa, xxxiv, 242.

Gwalior State — Report of the Mammal Survey of India, xxxi, 379.

Bombay — On the occurrence of Tigers on the islands of Bombay and

Salsette, xxxiii, 973.

Mysore — Wild Dogs in Mysore, xxxi, 1028.

Madras Presidency — Nelliampathy Plateau and Palni Hills, Report

of the Mammal Survey of India, xxxi, 591.

Trvancore — A list of Cetaceans taken in Travancore from 1902 to 1925,

xxxi, 1,315.

Ceylon — Measurements and Notes on some little known Ceylon Mammals

(7 text-figure), xxxv, 606.

Assam and MiShmi Hills — Report of the Mammal Survey of India,

xxxi, 383 ; Rogue Elephants in the Khasia Hills, xxxv. 674.

Burma — Mergui — Report of the Mammal Survey of India, xxxi, 42, 379,

383, 403 ; Flying Squirrels in Tenasserim, xxxii, 373 ; Report No. 46

(Supplementary) on the second, third and fourth collections from

Toungoo, made by J. M. D. Mackenzie, between 9 February 1927 and 2

March 1928, xxxiii, 636 ; Some Experiences amongst Elephants and the

other Big Game of Burma from 1887 to 1931 {2 plates), xxxvi, 321.

MAMMALS (Habits) —

Primates— Observations on the Habits of the Slow Loris {Loris lydek -

kerianus) {plate), xxxii, 206 ; Habits of the Flying Lemur {Galeopterus

peninsulce) , xxxii, 372 ; Home of the Eastern Gorilla {lmap, 10 plates),

xxxii, 436 ; Notes on the Common Indian Langur, {Pithecus entellus)

{plate), xxxiii 192; Monkeys and Carnivora, xxxiii, 424; Alarm-call

of Langoors, xxxiii, 971 ; xxxiv, 543 ; Food of the Slow Loris

{Nycticebus coucang), xxxiii, 971, 1000; Notes on the Colouration

and Habits of the White-browed Gibbon or Hoolock {Hylobates

hoolock) {2 plates), xxxvi, 395.

Chiroptera — Bats — Notes on the Long-armed Sheath-tailed Bat

{T. longimanus), xxxi, 1030.

Pteropodid^e — Flying Foxes— Bats fertilizing the flowers of Sausage

tree, xxxv, 467 ; Local migration of the Flying Fox in the Punjab,

xxxv, 439, 670 ; The Flying Fox {P. giganteus) and the Palm Squirrel

{E. tristriatus) as agents of pollinization in Grevillea robusta, xxxvi,

761.

Felidae — Cat Tribe.— Cannibalism amongst Panthers, xxxi, p. 219;

The Sambar call of Tigers, xxxi, 515; xxxiii, 197 and 198 ; Breeding

habits of the Panther, xxxi, 809 ; Tigress with Five Cubs, xxxi, 810 ;

Notes on Tigers and Buffaloes, xxxi, 1025 ; Ships’ Cats and an Instance

of their Homing Instinct, xxxi, 1027 ; Man-eating Tigers, xxxii, 209 ;

A Panther treeing its kill, xxxii, 209 ; Tigers and Elephants, xxxii, 370 ;

Panther committing suicide, xxxii, 371; A tussle between a Tiger and

Buffalo bait, xxxii, 587 ; Unusual behaviour of Tigress with live bait,

xxxii, 587 ; Panther and Flash Light, xxxii, 588 ; Boldness of Panthers,

xxxii, 588 ; Clouded Leopard attacking man, xxxii, 789 ; Tigers prefer-

ring carrion to live bait, xxxi, 1025 ;» xxxii, 370 ; Unusual find in

Tiger’s skull, xxxiii, 195; Tigers climbing trees {plate), xxxiii, 196;

GENERAL INDEX

A careless Tiger, xxxiii, 194; Tiger ‘Pooking’, xxxiii, 197; Tiger

tracks (4 plates'), xxxiii, 284; The Maa Eaters of Tsavo {plate),

xxxiii, 424 ; Wounded tiger returning to kill, xxxiii, 425 ; The sense of

smell in Indian Felidce, xxxiii, 695 ; A wounded Sam bar seized by a

tiger, xxxiii, 695 ; Decoying tigers by sound, xxxiii, 696; Vitality of a

Panther, xxxiii, 699 ; Tiger tracks, xxxiii, 972 ; The proportion of sexes

in Tigers, xxxiii, 972 ; On the occurrence of Tigers in Bombay and

Salsette, xxxiii, 973 ; Tiger’s method of making a kill {photo), xxxiii,

974; An experience with a Tigress, xxxiii, 976; xxxiv, 556; Sense of

smell in the Lion, xxxiii, 977; Wounded Panther returning to kill,

xxxiii, 977 ; Pauther climbing up to a machan, xxxiii, 978 ; xxxiv,

797 ; An Elephant mistaken for a Tiger, xxxiii, 981 ; Behaviour of a

Tigress, xxxiv, 231 ; The Caracal in Iraq, xxxiv, 232 ; Malay beliefs

and legends about Tigers, xxxiv, 235 ; A duel between a Cat

and a Cobra, xxxiv, 257 ; Movements of Tigers, xxxiv, 555 ; Tigers

swimming, xxxiv, 556 ; xxxv, 555 ; Tigers eating their young, xxxiv,

557 ; A Panther incident, xxxiv, 798 ; Drumming sound made by

Leopards, xxxiv, 1056 ; The Panther as I have known him, Parts i and ii

{2 plates ), xxxiv, 350; Part iii, xxxiv, 673; Part iv, xxxiv, 1015;

A Panther’s strange behaviour, xxxv, 440 ; Cannibalism in Panthers,

xxxv, 440 ; Panthers in Sind Desert, xxxv, 671 ; Do Lions still exist in

Persia, xxxv. 671; Tiger killing Swamp Deer, xxxv, 885; Vitality of

Bison mauled by Tiger, xxxv, 888 ; Remarkable behaviour of a Tigress,

xxxvi, 235 ; Tigers, xxxvi, 250 ; How a Tiger makes its kill, xxxvi, 488 ;

Panthers feeding on tiger’s kill, xxxvi, 742 ; Panther driven from its kill

by Wild Dogs, xxxvi, 744 ; Two experiences with Panther, xxxvi, 743 ;

Panther killed by Wild Dogs, xxxvi, 744 ; Tiger attacking an elephant,

xxxvi, 983.

CanidjE'— Dog Tribe. — A Stalwart Pariah Dog, xxxii, 428; Wild Dog

and Barking Deer, xxxii, 705 ; The Indian Wild Dog {Cuon dukhunensis) ,

xxxiv, 1054 ; An incident with a Wild Dog in Nimar, xxxv, 442 ; Do

Wild Dogs hunt and kill by night ?, xxxv, 673 ; Jackal and Hare, xxxi,

812 ; Jackals in residential compounds, xxxii, 211 ; Jackal attacking

a goat, xxxvi, 490 ; Wild Dogs in Mysore, xxxi, 516 ; Wild Dogs

and further Jungle tragedies, xxxi, 811; How do Wild Dogs kill their

prey?, xxxi, 813 ; Wild Dogs attacking Cattle, xxxii, xxxiii, 199, 211 ;

Wild Dogs attacking Panther, xxxii, 590 ; How Wild Dogs kill their

prey, xxxi, 813 ; xxxii, 591 ; xxxiii, 704 ; Sambhar and Wild Dog, xxxiii,

198; A note on the Malayan Wild Dog {Cuon rutilans) {plate), xxxiii,

200 ; Wild Dogs and Barking Deer, xxxiii, 705 ; Malay1 beliefs and

legends about Wild Dogs, xxxiv, 235 ; Wild Dogs Killing by night,

xxxvi. 239, 240 ; Carcases of animals dying of rinderpest avoided by

Jackals & other carnivora, xxxvi, 242 ; Wild Dogs, xxxvi, 491 ; Wild

Dogs Killing a Panther, xxxvi, 744; Wild Dogs driving a Panther

from its kill, xxxvi, 744 ; Comments on the Aard Wolf from Somaliland,

xxxiii, 20.

Viverrid^e — Civets, Mungooses, etc. --Breeding habits of the Com-

mon Mongoose {Herpestes edwardsi), xxxiii, 226; On the Himalayan

Palm-Civet {Paradoxurus grayi) , xxxiii, 703.

Hyaenhle. — Hyaenas— Hyaenas Killing cattle tied up as bait, xxxiv,

561 ; Courage and cowardice of a hyaena, xxxiv, 1055.

GENERAL INDEX 47

Urside — Bears. — Notes on the Malay Bear, xxxiv, 198 ; xvxv, 673.

Sciuride — Souirrells. — Notes on Berdmore’s Squirrel ( Menetes

berdmorei) , xxxiii, 980.

Murids— Rats and Mice, etc. — Note on the Desert Gerbille

( Cheliones hurriance) , xxxii, 213 ; Notes on Rats damaging crops,

xxxiv, 937.

Leporide — Hares and Hystricide.— Porcupines. — Habits of the

Porcupine ( Hystrix leucura), xxxii, 214, 791 ; Sounds made by

Porcupines, xxxiv, 799.

Proboscide, Eouide, Rhinocerotide and Tapiride. — Tigers and

elephants, xxxi, 514, 1025 ; Wild Elephants in the United Provinces,

xxxii, 127 ; Twin elephant calves, xxxii, 214 ; Musth in elephants, xxxii,

594; Observations on Wild Elephants in Orissa, xxxiii, 430; Natural

deaths in Wild Elephants, xxxiii, 433 ; A jungle tragedy (sequel to a

fight between two wild Bull elephants), xxxiii, 707; Encounter with

Elephants in the Billigirirangan Hills, xxxiv, 237 ; Elephant tusk

wedged in a tree, xxxiv, 242 ; Solitary Elephants, size of Elephants,

speed of Elephants, xxxiv, 800 ; Rogue elephants in the Khasia Hills,

xxxv, 674 ; Some experiences among Elephants and other Big Game of

Burma from 1887 to 1931, xxx'vi, 237 ; Death of an Elephant from

Rabies, xxxvi, 242 ; Elephants eating earth, xxxvi, 496.

Bovide — Bison, Mithun, etc. — Solitary Elephant and Bison, xxxi,

517 ; A solitary cow Gaur, xxxi, 518 ; The Nilgiri Tahr ( H . hylocrius ),

xxxi, 520 ; Bison and cultivation, xxxii, 215 ; Bison eating bark, xxxiii,

706 ; Notes on an expedition after Ovis poll, xxxiv, 142 ; On distinguish-

ing between males and females and other controversial matters pertain-

ing to the Gaur, xxxiv, 801 ; The Mithun, xxxv, 199, 444 ; Vitality of

Cow mauled by a Tiger, xxxv, 439 ; Vitality of Bison mauled by Tiger,

xxxv, 888 ; A newly born Bison calf, xxxvi, 746 ; A spirited old Bull

Bison ( B . gaur us), xxxvi, 914. Drinking habits of antelopes, etc.,

xxxi, 218; Sounds made by Gaur or Indian Bison ( Bibos gaums ),

xxxvi, 243.

Cervide. — Deer. — Clicking noise made by Muntjac, xxxi, 215, 521 ;

xxxii, 216, 593, 795 ; xxxiii, 439 ; Notes on the Kashmir Stag, xxxi, 814 ;

Peculiar cries emitted by Sambhur Stags fighting, xxxii, 216 ; The

Bray of the Chital Stag, xxxii, 594 ; Unusual, altitude record for the

Barking deer, xxxiii 201; Season of growth and shedding of antlers in the

Swamp Deer (R. duvaucelli) in Assam ; xxxiv, 236 ; Habits of the

Muntjac (M. malabaricus) , xxxvi, 497 ; Curious deaths of Cheetal ( Axis

axis) in captivity, xxxvi, 986; Distribution of the Mouse Deer, xxxiv, 563.

Manide — Pangolins. — Some notes on the Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla)

{plate), xxxiii, 439.

Siren ia. — The Dugong of or Sea Cow {Halicore dugong) (4 plates ),

xxxiii, 84 ; How the female Dugong carries her young, xxxiii, 987.

Suide. — Pigs. Partial disappearance of Wrild Pig (5. cristatus)>

xxxiv, 245.

D

48

GENERAL INDEX

MAMMALS.

Hybrids.— A case of Hybridization between the Wild Dog and the Jackal

{photo), xxxv, 198; A cross between an Ibex and a Tame goat, xxxi,

519.

Colouration. — Black Tigers, xxxi, 216; Colour of eye of the Gaur or

Indian Bison, xxxi, 220; Black Leopards, xxxi, 1027; xxxiii, 293; xxxvi,

236; Wild Dogs (Colouration of) , xxxi, 516, 1028; A White Elephant

Calf, xxxii, 214 ; Colour-change and sexual differences in colour in the

Long-armed Sheath-tailed Bat ( Taphozous longimanus) , xxxii, 371, 791 ;

Albino Goral ( Nemorrhcedus goral) in Chamba, xxxii, 373 ; White Tigers,

xxxii, 584 ; Wild Dogs, xxxii, 590; Brown Variety of the Sloth Bear

( Melursus ursinus ), xxxiii, 702; Distribution and colouration of the

Lynx ( Lynx lynx), xxxiv, 234 ; The size and markings of Indian Tigers

{Photo), xxxiv, 553; A Variety of the Thamin or Brow-antlered Deer

{Rucervus thamin), xxxiv, 1059 ; An albino Chital {Axis axis), xxxv,

888 ; The skin of a Persian Panther, xxxvi, 236 ; Notes on the Colouration

(and habits) of the White-browed Gibbon or Hoolock {Hylobates hoolock)

(2 plates), xxxvi, 395 ; ‘ White ’ Bison, xxxvi, 492 ; The Colour of ‘ White

Bison’ {Bibos gaums) , xxxvi, 985, 986.

Weights and Measurements. — Length of Tigers, xxxi, 217 ; Weights

and Measurements of the Nilgiri Langur {Pithecus johnii), xxxi, 223 ;

Measurements of Game animals, xxxi, 509 ; Comparative Shape and

Measurement of the fore-feet in Tuskers and Tuskless Elephants, xxxi,

512 ; Measurements and Weight of a Malay Tapir, xxxi, 522 ; Measure-

ments of Muntiac, xxxii, 216 ; Record Panthers, xxxii, 587 ; The Record

Four-horned antelope {Tetraceros quadricornis) {photo), xxxii, 592 ; A

Large Tusker Elephant, xxxii, 596 ; A good Nilgiri Tahr {Hemitragus

hylocrius), xxxii, 597; xxxiv, 563 ; The Big Bull of Sembntollavu {plate),

xxxii, 678 ; Weight and Measurement of the Common Indian Langur

{Pithecus entellus ), xxxiii, 192 ; Measurements of Panthers, xxxiii, 426 ;

A Large Tusker from South India {Plate), xxxiii, 434; Height in

Elephants, xxxii, 437 ; A Record Panther, xxxiii, 699 ; Tiger or Panther,

Mr. Limouzin’s specimen, xxxiv, 544, 547 ; Body measurements of a

Gaur {Bibos gaurus) {photo), xxxiii, 983; xxxiv, 562; The Size (and

markings) of Indian Tigers {photo), xxxiv, 553 ; Notes on the 9th edition

of ‘ Records of Big Game,’ xxxiv, 564 ; Size of Elephants, xxxiv, 800 ;

Measurements of a large Indian Wolf, xxxiv, 1055 ; Measurements of Big

Game, xxxiv, 1056 ; Swamp-Deer {Rucervus duvaucelli) head with

nineteen points {photo) , xxxiv, 1060 ; Large Head of Malay Sambhar

{Cervus unicolor equinus) , xxxv, 199 ; Measurements and Notes on some

little-known Ceylon Mammals {1 text-figure) , xxxv, 606.

Abnormalities. — Malformed heads of Markhor and Ibex, xxxi, 222 ;

Panther with Abnormal Feet, a correction, xxxi, 505 ; Worn down tips

of Bison horns, xxxii, 216 ; Abnormal Blackbuck and a good Chinkara

head from Bikanir {ptate), xxxii, 593; Birth of a freak Calf at Indore

{photo), xxxi, 597 ; Elephant with extraordinary glands {plate), xxxii,

792 ; xxxiii, 707 ; Aborted tusks in Elephants, xxxiii, 202 ; Abnormal

Antlers of a Kashmir Stag {Cervus hanglu) {photo), xxxiii, 438 ; Rogue

Elephants with malformed tusks {photo), xxxiii, 979; Malformed

Cheetal Head {Axis axis), xxxiv, 245; Abnormal Tusks of Elephants

{6 plates) , xxxiv, 694 ; Malformation in skull of a Thar {Hemitragus

GENERAL INDEX

49

jemlaicus) ( photo ), xxxiv, 1057; Abnormal horns of Sambur ( Cervus

unicolor ) ( photo ), xxxiv, 1058 ; Unerupted Tusks of Elephants, xxxv,

889.

Breeding. — Breeding-seasons of the Gooral ( Nemorhoedus goral ) and

Himalayan Tahr ( Hemitragus jemlaicus) , xxxi, 812 ; Breeding of the

Indian Rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis) in captivity, xxxi, 1031 ; The

number of pups in a Wild Dog’s litter, xxxv, 442 ; Number of cubs in a

Tiger’s Litter, xxxv, 670 ; Twin Elephant calves, xxxi, 813 ; xxxii, 214 ;

Breeding habits of the Panther, xxxi, 809 ; Tigress with 5 cubs

xxxi, 810 ; Newly born bison calf, xxxvi, 746 ; Proportion of Sexes in

Tigers, xxxiii, 972.

Ace. — Longevity of Tigers and Leopards, xxxi, 216 ; Age of Bison, xxxvi,

493 ; Elephants — Age to which they live in captivity, xxxvi, 494 ; Age of

Mammals, xxxv, 884 ; Duration, of life of some Indian Mammals, xxxvi,

244.

Migration. — Local Migration of the Flying- Fox (Ptero pus giganteus) in

the Punjab, xxxv, 439.

MAMMALS.

Shooting. — Hunting Straight-horned Markhor, xxxi, 172 ; Takin shooting

in the spring (plate), xxxi, 274 ; An Elephant Shoot on the Baragur

Hills, (Coimbatore District), xxxi, 720 ; (plate), xxxiii, 861 ; A Panther

shoot at sea (photo), xxxi, 808 ; The use of patent bullets in shot-guns,

xxxi, 1040; xxxii, 384 ; After Buffalo and Bison in the High Sal Forests,

xxxiii, 419 ; Decoying Tigers by sound, xxxiii, 696 ; The sawn-pff shot-

gun— The watchman’s gun, xxxiii, 987; The Luck of hunting, xxxiv, 567 ;

Three Tigers at a kill, xxxiv, 796 ; The heart shot in Game, xxxiv, 805 ;

A tale of Five Tigers (photo), xxxv, 405 ; Some suggestions on Panther

shooting, xxxv, 441 ; Use of artificial light in Panther shooting, xxxv,

887 ; Record of Big Game shot in the Nilgiri area 1905-1931, xxxvi, 252 ;

Small bore rifles and Big Game, xxxvi, 254.

Trapping.— Noosing Tigers, xxxii, 790.

MAMMALS (Systematic).

Bombay N.H.S. Mammal Survey of India, Burma and Ceylon. — A

Survey of Mammalian Fauna of India, Burma and Ceylon.

Reports of the Mammal Survey Collection. — No. 38, Sind by Mrs. Helen

M. Lindsay, xxxi, 40; No. 39, Mergui Archipelago, by Mrs. Helen

M. Lindsay, xxxi, 42 ; No. 40, Gwalior State, by Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay,

xxxi, 379 ; No. 41, Assam and Mishmi Hills, by Martin A. C- Hinton and

Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay, xxxi, 383 ; No. 42, Kashmir and Punjab areas,

by Martin A. C. Hinton and Oldfield Thomas, f.r.s., xxxi, 403 ; No. 43,

Nelliampathy Plateau and Palni Hills, by Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay, xxxi,

591 ; No. 44, Kangra and Chamba, by Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay, xxxi,

597 ; No. 45, Punjab Salt Range and Murree by Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay,

xxxi, 606; No. 46, Toungoo, Burma, xxxii, 545; No. 46, (Supple-

mentary) on the second, third and fourth collections from Toungoo,

Burmah, made by J. M. D. Mackenzie, i.f.s., between dates February

9, 1927 and March 2, 1928, xxxiii, 636.

Primates. — The Langurs, or Leaf Monkeys, of British India :

Part 1. (1 coloured, 1 black and white plate, 21 text-figures) , xxxii, 472 ;

Part II. (2 plates, 3 text-figures) , xxxii, 660.

SO GENERAL INDEX

Mammal Survey of the Eastern Ghats : — Report on the Monkeys, xxxv,

51 ; The Long-tailed Macaque Monkeys ( Macaca radiata and M. sinica)

of Southern India and Ceylon, xxxv, 276 ; The Pig-tailed Macaques

(. Macaca nemestrina ), xxxv, 297; The Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca

mulatto) (1 plate , 2 text figures ), xxxv, 530 ; Observations on some of the

Indian Langurs {2 plates), xxxvi, 618; Observations on some Indian

Macaques (5 plates, 1 text- figure) , xxxvi, 796.

Carnivora.

Felidce (Cats). — Tigers (1 coloured, 12 black and white plates), xxxiii,

505 ; The Panthers and Ounces of Asia Part I ( 6 plates), xxxiv, 64 ;

Part II (7 plates), xxxiv, 307 ; Mr. Pocock’s article on ‘ Tigers’, xxxiv,

548, 555 ; The Lions of Asia (5 plates, 1 Map) xxxiv, 638 ; A

few notes on Persian, African and Indian Lions in the first century after

Christ, xxxv, 406 ; The Persian Panther ( P . pardus saxicolor) in

Baluchistan, xxxv, 886 ; The Balinese Tiger ( Panthera tigns balike) ,

xxxvi, 233 ; The skin of a Persian Panther, xxxvi, 23 j ; Panthers of the

North-West Frontier, xxxvi, 489.

Viverridae. — A note on Viverra civettina (2 plates), xxxiii, 146; The

Stripe-necked Mungoose Herpestes vitticollis , xxxiv, 1054; The Civet

Cats of Asia Part i {4 text-figiires) , xxxvi, 423; Parc ii (1 text

figure), xxxvi, 629; The Palm Civets or ‘ Toddy Cats’ of the Genera

Paradoxurus and Paguma inhabiting British India (2 text-figures),

xxxvi, 855.

Ursid^e. — The Black and Brown Bears of Europe and Asia Part I

*(11 text- figures), xxxv, 771 ; Part II (2 plates, 12 text-figures)-, xxxvi,

101.

Insectivora.

Soricidce (Shrews) .-—Indian Shrews, by Mrs. Helen M. Lindsay, xxxiii,

326.

Rodentia.

Muridae.— On the generic position of the Afghan Jerboas ( Alactaga

indie a) by Oldfield Thomas, xxxii, 133; Proposed classification of

the smaller Indian Field or Jungle mice, xxxiv, 916.

Sciuridae.— Squirrels. — Two new Flying Squirrels from the Mergui

Archipelago by Oldfield Thomas, xxxi, 22; A new Flying Squirrel

from Nepal, xxxiii, 565 ; Further examination of the Singalese species

of Funambulus and description of a new subspecies by Mrs. Helen

M. Lindsay, xxxi, 239.

Cetacea (Whales) .—List of cetaceans taken in Travancore from 1902 to

1925.

MANN, HAROLD H. — The North-West Locust ( Acridium peregrinum) in

Sind, xxxii, 231.

MARGABAN DHU, V;, m.a.— See Ayyar, T. V. Ramakrishna.

MARTIN S. J — On the Himalayan Palm-Civet ( Paradoxurus grayi ),

xxxiii, 703.

MASSON, Lx. -Colonel JAMES, i.m.s.— The Distribution of the Banded

Krait ( Bungarus fasciatus ), xxxiv, 256.

GENERAL INDEX

51

MATHEW, A. P., b.a. — A Jungle Tragedy, sequel to a fight between two

wild bull Elephants, xxxiii, 707 ; A Spider ( Myrmarachne plataleoides)

that can change the colour of its eyes at will {4 plates , 4 text- figures') ,

xxxv, 132.

MAXWELL, MARIUS. —The Home of the Eastern Gorilla (1 map, 10 plates ),

xxxii, 436.

MEADEN, Lt.-Col. A. A., r. a.m. c. — Recovery from the bite of a Phoorsa

{Echis carinata) , xxxii, 800.

MEARS, C. E. D. — Birth of a freak calf at Indore ( photo ), xxxii, 597.

MEDUSAE — See Hydrozoa.

MEGGITT, F. J.— Effect of Spider-Bite on man {photo), xxxiv, 592.

MENON, N. KRISHNA — See Ayyar, T. V. Ramakrishna.

MERGUI — See MAMMALS (Systematic) .

MEUSEBECK, C. F. W.--A new Ichneumon Fly of the genus Aphanteies from

the Death’s Head Moth {Acherontia styx) with a note on its Life History

by C. Me Cann {plate), xxxi, 726

MHOW — See BIRDS (Geography).

MILLARD, W. S., m.b.o.u. — Introduction of the Gul Mohur {Poinciana regia)

into Bombay, xxxiv, 594.

The Founders of the Bombay Natural History Society, xxxv, 196.

MILLARD, W. S., m.b.o.u. and BLATTER, Rev. E.— Conspicuous Flowering

Trees of India, Part 1 {2 coloured , 2 black and white plates , 4 text-figures ),

xxxiii, 624.

[Continued under ‘ Some Beautiful Indian Trees ’]— See blatter, s. j. and

Millard, w. s.)

M I LL1 PEDES — See Myriapoda.

MILNER, C. E. — Occurrence of the Bronze-capped or Falcated Teal {Eunetta

falcata) in Burma, xxxv, 899.

MILNER, E.— The occurrence of the Spotbill or Grey Duck {Anas p. poecilor-

hyncha) in Upper Chindwin, Burma, xxxv, 209.

MILROY, A. J. W., i F.S.— Comparative Shape and measurement of the fore-

feet in Tuskers and Tuskless Elephants, xxxi, 512 ; Tigers and Ele-

phants, xxxii, 370 ; Extraordinary glands in Elephants, xxxii, 793.

MIMICRY, ARTIFICIAL and NATURAL, xxxii, 379.

MINERALS — Bombay, xxxiii, 618.

MISHMI HILLS -See MAMMALS (Systematic).

M1SRA, M. P., NEGI, P. S. and GUPTA, S. N.—The Noctuid Moth Eublemma

amabilis a Predator of the Lac Insect, and its control (7 coloured , 4 black

and white plates and 10 diagrams ), xxxiv, 431,

52

GENERAL INDEX

MISRA, M. P .—See Negi, P. S.

MITCHELL, F. J. — How Trout were introduced into Kashmir, xxxiv, 491.

MODI, Dr. SIR JIVANJI JAMSHEDJI, kt., b.a., ph.d., c.i.e., ll.d. — A few

notes on Persian, African and Indian Lions in the first century after

Christ, xxxv, 496.

MOGHUL EMPERORS OF INDIA as Naturalists and sportsmen. Part I {3

plates ), xxxi, 833; Part II ( 4 plates ), xxxii, 34; Part III, xxxii, 264 ;

xxxii, 802.

MOLLUSCA— On the Breeding Habits and Fecundity of the Snail ( Lirnnaea

luteola ) ( 2 plates , 2 graphs ), xxxii, 154 ; The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries, xxxii,

274 ; An account of the Pearl Fisheries of Tuticorin, March and April 1927

{4 plates') , xxxii, 524 ; Preliminary report on the anatomy and Life-history

of the common edible Backwater Oyster {Ostreamadrasensis) , xxxii, 548 ;

Shells of the Tropical seas Part i {photo}, xxxiii, 380 ; Part ii {4 Mates , 15

photos ), xxxiii, 552; Part iii {2 plates , 7 text-figure ), xxxiii, 828; A

short account of the Oyster Iudustry in the Island of Bombay and Salsette

(5 plates , 3 text-figures) , xxxiii, 893 ; The Shell-Fisheries of the Bombay

Presidency, Part i (5 plates , 2 text-figures) , xxxv, 826 ; Part ii {2 plates ,

2 blocks, 3 text-figures ), xxxvi, 884; The Andaman Shell Fishery

(5 plates ), xxxvi, 94.

MONTEATH, G., i.c.s.

The Preservation of Wild Life in India : —

No, 2 The Bombay Presidency, xxxvi Suppl. pp. 46-58.

MOONEY, H. F., i.f.S. — Some Observations on Wild Elephants in Orissa

{map), xxxiii 430 ; The Distribution of Wild Buffalo in O/rissa (7 photo,

1 map) , xxxiv, 243.

MOORE, J, PERCY — How abundant are Land Leeches ?, xxxv, 701.

MORDEN, WILLIAM, J. — Notes from an Expedition for Ovis poli {2 plates),

xxxiv, 142.

MORRIS, CHAS, W. G. — A wounded Sambhar seized by a Tiger, xxxiii, 695.

MORRIS, R. C. — Record of a death from the bite of a Hamadryad or King

Cobra {Naia hanna) , xxxi, 226 ; A wonderful sight, xxxi, 513 ; Solitaries,

xxxi, 517 ; An Elephant shoot on the Baragur Hills (Coimbatore District)

{plate), xxxi, 720 ; {plate), xxxiii, 86 ; A Tigress with five cubs, xxxi, 810;

Wild Dogs and Further Jungle Tragedies, xxxi, 811 ; Wild Dogs attacking

cattle, xxxii, 211; Solitary Cow Gaur, xxxii, 215; Worn-down tips of

Bison horrs, xxxii, 216; Clicking noise made by Muntjac, xxxii, 216;

Peculiar cries emitted by Sambhar stags fighting, xxxii, 216 ; A Jungle-

Fowl Problem, xxxii, 274; Habits of the Porcupine, xxxii, 791; On

Natural Deaths in Wild Elephants, xxxii, 794 ; A night on an Observa-

tion Machan' in the Billigirirangans, xxxiii, 191; Tiger ‘Pooking’,

xxxiii, 197; Sambhar and Wild Dog, xxxiii, 198; Aborted Tusks in

Elephants, xxxiii, 202 ; Wounded Tiger returning to kills, xxxiii, 425; The

sense of smell in Indian Felidce, xxxiii, 695; Are there more than one

species of Panther in India ?, xxxiii, 697 ; Proportion of the sexes in

Tigers, xxxiii, 972; Wouucjed Panther returning to ‘ kill ’, xxxiii. 977;

GENERAL INDEX

53

Elephant mistaken for a Tiger, xxxiii, 981 ; Encounters with Elephants

in the Billigirirangan Hills, xxxiv, 237 ; Elephant Tusk wedged in a tree,

xxxiv, 242; Partial disappearance of the Wild Pig ( Sus cristatus ),

xxxiv, 245 ; An experience with a Tigress, xxxiv, 556 ; Tigers eating

their young, xxxiv, 557 ; Hyaenas killing cattle tied up as bait, xxxiv,

561 ; Body measurements of a Gaur, xxxiv, 562 ; Panther climbing up to

a Machan, xxxiv, 797 ; Sounds made by Porcupines, xxxiv, 799 ; Observa-

tions on the Indian Elephant, — Solitary Elephants, Size and Speed,

xxxiv, 800; On distinguishing between Males and Females and other

controversial matters pertaining to the Gaur ( Bibos gaums) , xxxiv, 801 ;

The Heart-shot in Game, xxxiv, 804 ; The Indian Wild Dog ( Cuon

dukhunensis) , xxxiv, 1054; A Tale of five Tigers {photo), xxxv, 405;

Vitality of a Cow mauled by a Tiger ( two text-figures), xxxv, 439; A

Panther’s strange behaviour, xxxv, 440 ; Use of artificial light in Panther

shooting, xxxv, 887 ; Vitality of Bison mauled by a Tiger, xxxv, 888 ;

Unerupted Tusks of Elephants, xxxv, 889 ; Game Preserves and Flash-

light Photography, xxxv, 891 ; Carcases of animals dying of Rinderpest

avoided by Jackals and other carnivora, xxxvi, 242 ; The Duration of Life

of some Indian Mammals, Tigers, xxxvi, 250 ; Record of Big Game shot

in the Nilgiri area 1905-1931, xxxvi, 252 ; Wild Dogs, xxxvi, 491; *' white’

Bison, xxxvi, 492 ; Age of Bison, xxxvi, 494; Elephants eating earth,

xxxvi, 496 ; Habits of the Muntjac ( M . malabaricus) , xxxvi, 497 ; Intes-

tinal Parasites of the Python, xxxvi, 513; Panthers feeding on Tiger 1 kills ’,

xxxvi, 742 ; Wild Dogs Killing a Panther, xxxvi, 744 ; Wild Dogs driving

a Panther from its kill, xxxvi, 744 ; A newly-born Bison Calf, xxxvi, 746 ;

Game Reserves and Flashlight, xxxvi, 746 ; A spirited old Bull Bison

(. Bibos gaums), xxxvi, 984 ; The colour of ‘ White Bison’ ( Bibos gaums)

xxxvi, 985.

MOSELY, MARTIN, E., f.r.e.S,— The Indian Caddis Flies, Part 1, (3 plates),

xxxvi, 657.

MOvSES. S. T., m.a., f.z.s., f.r.a.i.— A Preliminary Report on the Anatomy

and Life History of the common Edible Backwater Oyster ( Ostrea

madrasensis) (2 plates), xxxii, 548.

MOSSE, Lieut. Col. A.H.E., i. a., f.z.s. —Note on the Breeding of Terias Iceta

and T. venata and the probability of their being seasonal forms of a single

species, xxxiii, 727 ; A note on the Butterflies and Hawk-moths of

Kathiawar, xxxiii, 888 ; The Panther as I have known him, Parts i and ii

(2 plates), xxxiv, 350 ; Part iii (1 plate), xxxiv, 673; Part iv, xxxiv,

1015 ; On the Food of the Vampire Bat (Lyroderma lyra ), xxxiv, 1052 ;

Specific identity of the Butterflies Terias venata and 7*. Iceta, xxxiv, 1094.

MOSSES— See Botany systematic — bryophyta.

MOULTON, DUDLEY — A new species of Gynaikothrips from Bangalore,

xxxiii, 667.

MUELLER, H. C., d.sc.— Sea-fishing on the Bombay Coast, xxxv, 410.

MUKERJEE, DURGADAS — Sound Production by a larva of Cybister ( Dytis -

cidce), xxxiii, 653 ; Report on a collection of ants in the Indian Museum,

Calcutta (1 plate , 6 text-figures) , xxxiv, 149 ; Description of a new ant-

mimicking Spider (Synemosyna transversa) (2 text-figures) , xxxiv, 200 ;

54

GENERAL INDEX

On a small collection of Fish from the Bhavani River (S. India) ( 3 text-

figures ), xxxv, 162 ; On a small collection of Fish from the streams in the

Billigirirangan Hills (S. India) , xxxv, 359; Report on Burmese Fishes

collected by Lieut-Colonel R. W. Burton from the Tributary streams of the

Mali Hka River of the Myitkyina District, Upper Burma, Part 1 (1 map , 3

plates, 3 text-figures) , xxxvi, 812.

MUKERJI, S., m.sc. — A short note on a Lymnntrid Caterpillar ( Dasychira

mendosa ) feeding on mango leaves (block), xxxiii, 458; On the peculiar

cross-vein like structures in the hind-wings of Croce filipennis £ ( Nemop -

teridce) (with three micro-photographs ), xxxiv, 834.

MULL AN, J. P.— A list of Snakes and Lizards from Panchgani. xxxii, 380 ;

Occurrence of the ‘ Slimy ’ Coecilian (Ichthyophis ghitinosus) in Panch-

gani, xxxiii, 723.

MUNNS, F. A. C. — Further record of occurrence of the Sheldrake (Tadorna

tadorna) in Bihar, xxxii, 222 ; Pallas’ Fishing-Eagle (Haliaetus leucory-

phus) killing Crane, xxxiii, 207.

MURPHY, P. — Occurrence of the Sheldrake in Bihar, xxxii, 221 ; A Krait

(Bungarus cccruleus) with divided sub-caudals, xxxiii, 722 ; Occurrence

of the Baikal or Clucking Teal (Nettion formosum) at Katihar, Bengal,

xxxvi, 1008.

MURREE— See MAMMALS (Systematic).

MUSEUM — Prince of Wales — Report on the Progress and condition of the

Natural History Section, xxxi, 201 ; Principles and Extent of the Educa-

tional Service rendered to the Schools by Museums in America, xxxii, 169;

Modern Museum Methods, Part I (six plates , 5 text-figures) , xxxii, 532 ;

Part II (2 plates), xxxii, 762 ; Part III (7 plates ), xxxiii, 149.

MUSSOOREE, U.P. — See Lepidoptera (Geography).

M YR1APODA — Centipedes, Millipedes — On the Vitality of the Centipede

(Scolopendra sp.) , xxxii, 231; The poison of Centipedes — being a special

reference to the Andaman species, xxxii, 232; Some observations on the

Common Indian Millipede (Spirostrepius) (plate), xxxii, 382 ; The Habits

of Millipedes (Marptodesmus sp.) (2 text-figures), xxxiv, 404 ; The Effects

of the bite of a Centipede Scolopendra sp., xxxiv, 1097, A Centipede

Scolopendra sp. after its moult, xxxiv, 1097.

Phosphorescence in a Bombay Myriapod, xxxvi, 519.

MYSORE— See INSECTS— Butterflies (Geography).

NARAIN DHARAM, m.sc., and DAS, RAM SARAN, m.sc,— On the Ana-

tomy of two new Trematodes of the genus Dicrocoelium with a key to the

species of the genus (plate) ; xxxiii, 251.

NARAYEN, VICTOR — A comment, on ‘ Tigers and Elephants ’ and Notes on

Tigers and Buffaloes, xxxi, 1025.

NAYAR, Prof. K. KARUNAKARAN — A ‘ Flying ’ Frog (plate), xxxv, 220 ;

Cannibalism among Fishes, xxxv, 227,

GENERAL INDEX

55

NEG1, P.S., m.sc. — The Small Red Ant ( Solenopsis geminata) (subsp. rufa )

and its usefulness to man ( 1 plate , 7 block) , xxxvi, 1018.

NEGI, P, S., MISRA, M.P., and GUPTA, S.N.— Ants and the Lac Insect

{Laccifer lacca) {3 plates), xxxiv, 182.

.Some aspects of the Bionomics of the Lac Insect, xxxv, 150.

NEP1RU, S. S., i.c.s. — Note on Broomcorn with five brushes, xxxiv, 847 ;

Cultivation of Broomcorn in India, xxxiv, 847.

NELLIAMPATH Y PLATEAU — See MAMMALS (Systematic).

NEPAL — See MAMMALS (Geography).

NILGIRIS — See MAMMALS, (Economics), (Shooting).

See BIRDS, (Economics), (Migration), (Geography).

See INSECTS, (Geography).

NORTON, Col. E. F.— Notes on the Birds of Baluchistan, xxxv, 893.

‘ NOVICE, A ’ — The Luck of Hunting, xxxiv, 557.

OBITUARY NOTICES — S. Basil-Edwardes, xxxi, 508 ; H. H. Sir IJdaji Rao,

Maharaja of Dhar, xxxi, 508 ; Edward Maxwell West, xxxii, 205 ; Angus

Peter Kinloch, xxxii, 205 ; Charles Eckford Luard, xxxii, 580 ; John

William Yerbury, xxxii, 786 ; Eugen M. Van Ingen, xxxii, 786 ; Oldfield

Thomas, xxxiii, 966 ; Herbert Christopher Robinson, xxxiv, 527; John

Champion Faunthorpe, xxxiv, 528 ; John C. Anderson, xxxv, 184 ; Miss

Joan Proctor, xxxv, 663 ; G. M. Ryan, xxxv, 879 ; Thomas Burges Fry,

1850-1931 (7 photo), xxxvi, 225 ; Lt. Col. A. W. Alcock ( photo ), xxxvi,

726 ; Lt. Col. J. Stephenson ( photo ), xxxvi, 728.

O’DONOVAN, Capt. M. J. W.— Occurrence of the White-fronted Goose

( Anser albifrons albifrons) in the United Provinces, xxxiii, 716.

OGILVIE, G. H. — Bison eating bark, xxxiii, 706.

OLIGOCHuTCTA — Notes on the seasonal occurrence of Rangoon Earthworms,

xxxi, 180.

OLIVIER, Col. HARRY D. — Sense of Smell in the Lion, xxxiii, 977.

OLLENBACH, O.C. — A freak Papilio polytes romulus 2 {plate), xxxiv, 832 :

Butterfly collecting grounds at Mussooree, U.P., xxxiv, 836; Mycalesis

anapita (7 text-figure) , xxxv, 915.

ONIAL, J. Ni- — The Fat-tailed Lizard {Eublepharis hardzvickii) , xxxv, 903.

ORGANIC EVOLUTION — See Hora, Sunder Lal.

ORISSA— See BIRDS (Geography) .

OSMASTON, B.B., c.i.e., i.f.s., (Retd.)- — Birds nesting in the Dras and Suru

Valleys, xxxi, 186 ; The Rock Horned Owl in Kashmir {photo), xxxi, 523 ;

Notes .'on the^Birds of Kashmir, Part I (7 plate and 1 map), xxxi, 975 ;

56

GENERAL INDEX

Part II ( plate ), xxxii, 134 ; A correction, xxxii, 607 ; Clicking noise made

by Muntiac, xxxii, 795; A Tour in Further Kashmir ( 2 plates ), xxxiv,

108 ; Some Andaman Birds, xxxv, 891.

OSMASTON, B. B., m.iko.u., i f.s. (Retd.).

See Briggs, Rev. F. S.

PACHMARHI— .SVtf BIRDS (Geography) .

PALNI HILLS — See MAMMALS (Systematic).

PANCHGANI (Satara District)— See BOTANY (Systematic) .

See SNAKES (Geography),

PARANDEKAR, S. A., m.sc. — Puccinia helianthi, a rust fungus on the Sun

Flower {Helianthus annuus ) (7 diagram) , xxxv, 916.

PARRY, N. E., i.c.s. — On the Flowering of Bamboos, xxxiv, 1099.

Some notes on Water Monitors in the Garo Hills, Assam, xxxv, 903.

PAURI, G1. B. — Migration of Wild-fowl, xxxi, 1034.

PEACOCK, E. H.— A note on the Malayan Wild Dog ( Cuon rutilans ) {plate)

xxxiii, 200 ; The Shwe-U.-Daung Game Sanctuary, Upper Burma, with

a note on the Asiatic Two-horned Rhinoceros ( R . sumatrensis) ( plate ),

xxxv, 446.

PEARL FISHERIES — See MOLLUSCA.

PEARSON, JOSEPH.— The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries, xxxii, 274.

PERCY-LANCASTER, S. — ‘ Blue ’ Flowers, xxxvi, 764.

PERSIA (Gulf of)— See Wilson, Sir Arnold, T.

PERSIA— See BIRDS (Geography) .

PESHAWAR DISTRICT — See BIRDS (Geography).

PHILLIPS, W. W. A., f.z.s., m.b.o.u.— The Natural Instinct in the Dwarf

Pipistrelle {P. mimus mimus ), xxxii, 211 ; The Colour-change, and

sexual differences in colour in the Long-armed Sheath-tailed Bat ( Tapho-

zous longimanus ), xxxii, 371, 791 ; The present state of the Game and

Wild Life in Ceylon (5 plates) , xxxiii, 942 ; The Sawn-off Shot Gun — The

Watchman’s gun, xxxiii, 987 ; Some observations on the nesting of a pair

of Ceylon Shikra Hawks ( Astur badius badius ), xxxvi, 509.

PILLAI, DUNUSHKOTI— Curious death of Cheetal {Axis axis) in captivity,

xxxvi, 986.

P1LLAY — R. SHLTNKARA NARAYAN, c.m.z.s. — List of Cetaceans taken in

Travancore from 1902 to 1925, xxxi, 815 ; List of Fishes taken in Travan-

core, from 1901 to 1915, xxxiii, 347 ; Notes on the Star Tortoise ( Testtido

elegans), xxxiv, 828,

GENERAL INDEX

57

PITMAN, C. R. S. — Comments on the Aardwolf ( Proteles cristatus , Sparrm),

mentioned in ‘ a sporting trip to Somaliland \ in this Journal, xxxiii, 201 ;

Birds eating Butterflies, xxxiii, 204 ; The Food of Hornbills, xxxiii, 206.

P1ZEY, R M. — Black Leopards, xxxvi, 236 ; Sounds made by Gaur or Indian

Bison ( Bibos gaurus), xxxvi. 243.

POCOCK, R. I., f.r.s.— The Langurs or Leaf Monkeys of British India

(7 coloured , 1 black and white plate , 21 text-figures) , Part I, xxxii, 472 :

Part II {2 plates and three text-figures ), xxxii, 660; Tigers ( 1 coloured ,

12 black and white plates ), xxxiii, 505 ; Black Panthers — an Enquiry, xxxiii,

693 ; An appeal to sportsmen, xxxiii, 734 ; The Panthers and Ounces of

Asia, Part I ( 6 plates ), xxxiv, 64 ; Part II (7 plates ), xxxiv, 307 ; Tiger or

Panther ? Mr. Limouzin’s specimen (2 plates), xxxiv, 544 ; The Lions of

Asia (5 plates , lmap), xxxiv, 638; Wanted Bears!!!, xxxiv, 1052; The

Mammal Survey of the Eastern Ghats : Report on the Monkeys, xxxv, 51,

The Long-tailed Macaque Monkeys ( Macaca radiata and M. sinica) of

Southern India and Ceylon, xxxv, 276 ; The Pig-tailed Macaques ( Macaca

nemestrina) , xxxv, 297 ; The Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta) (7 plate,

2 text-figures) , xxxv, 530.

The Black and Brown Bears of Europe and Asia, Part I (11 text-figures ),

xxxv, 771 ; Part II (2 plates , 12 text-figures ), xxxvi, 101.

The Persian Panther ( P . pardus saxicolor) in Baluchistan, xxxv, 886 ; The

Baiinese Tiger (Panthera tigris balica) , xxxvi, 233 ; The skin of a Persian

Panther, xxxvi, 236.

The Civet-Cats of Asia, Part I (4 text-figures), xxxvi, 423 ; Part II (7 text-

figure ), xxxvi, 629.

Panthers of the North-West Frontier, xxxvi, 489.

The Palm Civets or ‘ Toddy Cats ’ of the Genera Paradoxurus and Paguma

inhabiting British India (2 text-figures) , xxxvi, 855.

POWELL, R. — Swamp-Deer (Rucervus duvaucelli ) head with nineteen points

(photo), xxxiv, 1060.

POYNTZ, A.R. — The pairing of Sea Snakes (photo), xxxi, 1038.

PRASHAD, B., d.sc. , f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b., f.l.s., f.z.s.— History of the

Zoological Survey of India: — The Public Galleries, xxxiii, 926; The

Library, xxxiii, 928 ; Mollusca Section, xxxiv, 212.

PRASHAD, B., d.sc., f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b. and MUKERJI, D.D., m.sc. — On

the Fishes of the Manchar Lake (Sind), xxxiv, 164.

PRATER, S.H., c.m.z.s., m.l.c. — Measurements and Weight of a MalayTapir,

xxxi, 522 ; On the occurrence of Pallas’s Sandgrouse within Indian Limits,

xxxi, 522 ; The occurrence of the Giant Heron (Ardea goliath) in the

Khulna District, Bengal, xxxi, 523 ; Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus

indus) swimming, xxxi, 526 ; Principles and Extent of the Educational

service rendered to the schools by Museums in America (4 plates ), xxxii,

169 ; Large brood of eggs of the Checkered Water Snake (Nerodia

piscator), xxxii, 225; Modern Museum methods, Part 1 (six plates and

five text-figures) , xxxii, 532; Part II (2 plates), xxxii, 762 ; Part III

(1 plates), xxxiii, 149: The Dugong or Sea-Cow (Halicore dugong)

58

GENERAL INDEX

[4 plates ), xxxiii, 84 ; Occurrence of the Christmas Island Frigate-Bird

( Fregata andrewsi ) on the west coast of India, xxxiii, 445 ; On the

occurrence of Tigers on the Islands of Bombay and Salsette, xxxiii, 973 ;

Note on a Formosan Viper ( Trimeresurus vtacrosquamatus) from the

North-east Frontier, xxxiii, 998 ; The social life of Ants, xxxiv, 269 ;

Tiger or Panther?, Mr. Limouzin’s specimen, xxxiv, 547 ; The migration

of the White Stork {Ciconia ciconia) , xxxv, 459; Double nests of the

Weaver Bird ( Ploceus philippinus) (7 diagram ), xxxv, 681 ; Behaviour of

the Red Tree ant {CEcophyla smaragdina) , xxxvi, 280 ; Non-poisonous

Snakes, xxxvi, 391 ; The Social Life of Snakes (7 plate ), xxxvi, 469.

The Wild animals of the Indian Empire — Part i Introduction, Part ii The

Distribution of Mammals, Part iii Ungulates or Hoofed Animals xxxvi,

Suppl. pp. 1-39, plates i — xiv.

PRATER, S. H., c.m.z.s., m.l.c —See Spence, sir Reginald.

PRESERVATION OF WILD LIFE IN INDIA.

No. 1. the central provinces. By A. A. Dunbar-Brander, xxxvi,

Suppl. pp. 40-45.

No. 2. the Bombay presidency. By G. Monteath, i.c.s., xxxyi,

Suppl. pp. 46-58.

PROCEEDINGS— xxxi, 230, 531, 831 ; xxxii, 235, 394, 616, 813 ; xxxiii,

220, 468, 761, 1004; xxxiv, 268, 606, 850, 852, 1103 ; xxxv, 232,472;

xxxvi, 290, 775, 1024.

Proceedings of the Fiftieth Anniversary Jubilee Meeting, xxxvi, 1024.

PROCTER, Miss JOAN. — See Obtiuary notices.

PROUT, LOUIS B., f.e.S. — On a Collection of Moths ( Geometridce ) from

Upper Burma made by Capt. A. E. Swann ( Plate ) Part I, xxxi, 129 ;

Part II ( plate ), xxxi, 308 ; Part III, xxxi, 780; Part IV, xxxi, 932.

PRUTHI, HEM SINGH, m. sc., ph. d., f.z.s. — Zoological Survey of India

(History and Progress of) Entomological Section, xxxiv, 506.

PUNJAB DISTRICT — See MAMMALS (Systematic), See Fisher, See

BIRDS (Geography).

PURI, D. R. — 1 Butterflies of Lahore’, xxxv, 913 ; xxxvi, 1011.

PYTHIAN-ADAMS, major, E. G., i. a. {Retd.)— Wild Dogs in Mysore,

xxxi, 1028 ; Game Preservation in the Nilgiris, xxxii, 339 ; xxxiii, 947 ;

Snipe and Woodcock in S. India, xxxii, 606; Note on the Malay Bear

( Ursus malayanus) ( photo ), xxxiv, 798 ; The Stripe-necked Mungoose

{Herpestes vitticollis) , xxxiv, 1054; The Food-supply of Trout in the

Nilgiris, xxxvi, 278.

QUETTA— See BIRDS Nesting (General); See BIRDS (Geography).

RAI, HARDIT SINGH, m. sc.— A Short account of the Oyster Industry in the

Island of Bombay and Salsette (5 plates, 3 text-figures) , xxxiii, 893;

The Shell- Fisheries of the Bombay Presidency Part I (5 plates , 2 text-

figures ), xxxv, 826; Part II {2 plates , 2 blocks and 3 text-figures ),

xxxvi, 884-

GENERAL INDEX

59

RAJ, B. SUN DARA— Parturitions of Electric Rays and a Sea-Snake in the

Marine Aquarium, Madras, xxxi, 828.

RAMANUJAN, S. G. MANAVALA.— -Occurrence of Charasia dorsalis outside

the Mysore Plateau, xxxiv, 1086.

RANIKHET— See BIRDS (Geography).

RAO, H. SRINIVASA, m.a., d. Sc.— The History and Progress of the

Zoological Survey of India, Part II Invertebrate Section, xxxiv, 205 ;

Further Observations on the Freshwater Medusa Limnocnida indica

(7 plate , 1 text-figure ), xxxvi, 210.

RAO, C. R. NARAYAN, m. a. — Observations on the Habits of the Slow Loris

(. Loris lydekkerianus) ( plate ), xxxii, 206

RAO, H. H. Sir UDJAI, Maharaja of Dhar. — See Obituary.

READE, L. L. — Rogue Elephants with Malformed tusks ( photo ), xxxiii, 979 ;

Rogue Elephants in the Khasi Hills, xxxv, 674.

RECORDS OF BIG GAME.— Lt. Colonel Stockley’s Notes on the 9th Edition

of Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game, xxxiv, 564.

REVIEWS. — The Vegetation of Burma from an Ecological Standpoint, xxxi,

210 ; Indian Nature Studied for Children, xxxi, 211 ; A Handbook of the

Birds of Eastern China, xxxi, 211, 501, 802 ; xxxii, 773 ; xxxvi, 227 ;

The Families of Flowering Plants, xxxi, 212 ; Indian Bird Life, xxxi, 500 ;

Manual of the Birds of Ceylon, xxxi, 500 ; The Aquarium Book, xxxi,

502; Account of a Photographic Expedition to the Southern Glaciers of

Kanchenjunga in the Sikkim Himalaya, xxxi, 503 ; Life of Plants, xxxi,

504 ; Gold Fish Culture for Amateurs, xxxi, 800 ; Big Game Hunting in

the Himalayas and Tibet, xxxi, 800 ; The Journal of the Darjeeling

Natural History Society Vol. No. 1, xxxi. 801; The Palms of British

India and Ceylon, xxxi, 801 ; Bird Study in India, xxxi, 1015 ; In

Unknown Arabia, xxxi, 1015 ; Nomogenesis or Evolution Determined by

Law, xxxi, 1017; An Introduction to Experimental Embryology, xxxi,

1018 ; A Shikari’s Pocket Book, xxxi, 1019.

A Naturalist in East Africa, xxxii, 197; Novitates Macrolepidopterologicse,

xxxii, 197 ; Stalking Big Game with a Camera in Equatorial Africa with

a monograph on the African Elephant, xxxii, 571 ; Popular Zoology

(in Marathi), xxxii, 573 ; A Bird Book for the Pocket, xxxii, 573 ; Tiger

and other Game, xxxii, 573; The Littoral Fauna of Krusadai Island in

the Gulf of Manaar with Appendices on the Vertebrates and Plants, xxxii,

773; With a Camera in Tiger Land, xxxii, 775; xxxiii, 411; Dwellers

in The Jungle, xxxii, 779 ; In the Green Jungle, xxxii, 779 ; Big Game

Shooting in the Indian Empire, xxxiii, 177 ; A Critical Revision of the

genus Aristida, xxxiii, 179 ; A Garden Book for Malaya, xxxiii, 180 ;

Popular Handbook of Indian Birds, xxxiii, 180 ; Beautiful Flowers of

Kashmir, xxxiii, 182 ; Some Freshwater Fishing in Malaya, xxxiii, 403 ;

Sport and wild Life in the Deccan, xxxiii, 403 ; Shikar, xxxiii, 405.

Birds at the Nest, xxxiii, 407 ; Birds and Beasts of the* Roman Zoo, xxxiii,

407 ; Game Birds, xxxiii, 409 ; Bulletin of the Raffles Museum,

Singapore, xxxiii, 410 ; Queer Fish, xxxiii, 681 ; Blue Blood in animals,

xxxiii, 681 ; Tales from Eastern Jungles, xxxiii, 683 ; Mishmi the

60

GENERAL INDEX

Maneater, and other tales of Big Game, xxxiii, 686 ; Beautiful Flowers of

Kashmir, xxxi, 689 ; Centenary History of the Zoological Society of

London, xxxiii, 954 ; The Cowbirds, xxxiii, 957 ; The Plant in Relation

to Water, xxxiii, 964 ; ‘ The Field-Book of a Jungle-wallah ’, being a

description of Shore, River and Forest Life in Sarawak, xxxiv, 223 ; Trout

Fishing from all angles, xxxiv, 225 ; A guide to the Orchids of Sikkim,

xxxiv, 226.'

What Botany really means, xxxiv, 227 ; Bird Haunts and Bird Behaviour,

xxxiv, 531; The Third annual Report and Records of the Central

Provinces Angling Association (Head-quarters, Jubbulpore), xxxiv, 532;

Growth and Tropic Movements of Plants, xxxiv, 533 ; First Steps in

Zoology (Illustrated), xxxiv, 534; The Flora of the Indus Delta, xxxiv,

535 ; Die Zytologie der Blutenpflanzen, xxxiv, 537 ; A Treatise on the

British Fresh-water Algae, xxxiv, 538 ; The Flowering Plants of Madras

City and its immediate neighbourhood, xxxiv, 539 ; A Monograph of the

genus Aristida , xxxiv, 541 ; Plant Biology, xxxiv, 542 ; Systema

Avium Aethiopicarum, Part II, xxxiv, 790; Handbook of the Birds of

West-Africa, xxxiv, 791.

The Motor Mechanism of Plants, xxxiv, 791; Lehrbuch der Allgemeinen

Pflanzen geographic, xxxiv, 793 ; Plant Studies, xxxiv, 794 ; Zoology,

xxxiv, 794 ; General Botany, xxxiv, 795 ; The Game-Birds of India,

Burma and Ceylon (Pheasants and Bustard-Quail) Vol. III., xxxv,

185 ; The Formenkreis Theory and the Progress of the Organic World,

xxxv, 186 ; An Introduction to Zoology, xxxv, 188 ; Bird Life in India

xxxv, 437 ; Difficulties of the Evolution Theory, xxxv, 437.

Short History of the Ceylon Game and Fauna Preservation Society, xxxv,

665 ; Butterflies of Lahore, xxxv, 665 ; The Bombay Oyster, xxxv, 667 ;

An Introduction to Plant Physiology, xxxv, 668 ; A Book of Man-Eaters,

xxxv, 668; The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma—

Reptilia and Amphibia Vol. I xxxv, 881; A Text-book of Elementary

Zoology, xxxv, 882 ; Botanische Versuche ohne Apparate, xxxv, 883;

Hand-list to the Birds of Samoa, xxxv, 227 ; The Riddle of Migration,

xxxvi, 228 ; Size and form in Plants, xxxvi 230 ; Pocket-lens Plant Lore,

xxxvi, 231 ; Les Oiseaux de l’lndochine Francaise, xxxvi, 485.

The Nidification of Birds of the Indian Empire Vol. I, xxxvi, 485 ; The

Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma — Odonata Vol. I.,

xxxvi, 732 ; The Book of the Tiger, xxxvi, 732 ; Far-off Things, xxxvi,

735 ; Storche : Erlebnisse mit dem schwarzen und weissen Storch,

xxxvi, 736 ; Der Vogel Schnarch : Zwei jahre Ballenfang und Urwald-

forschung in Celebes, xxxvi, 737; What Butterfly is that ?, xxxvi, 738 ;

A Review of the new Mysore Game Laws, xxxvi 738 ; Mimicry,

xxxvi, 982.

RHYNCHOTA— Aquatic Rhvnchota in the Collection of the Agricultural

College, Coimbatore, South India, xxxii, 614.

RIBEIRO, JAYME, i.c.e. Bombay Minerals, xxxiii, 618.

RICE, Capt, H. J., i.m.S. Cannibalism amongst Panthers, xxxi, ?19.

RICHARDSON, J.M., i.m.d. The Hunting Leopard ( Cyncelurus jubatus ) in

the Central Provinces, xxxiv, 235.

RICHES, FRANK C. Capturing Monitor Lizards and Pythons, xxxiv, 828.

GENERAL index

61

RICHMOND, R. D., c.i.e., i.f.s. Elephants — Age to which they live in cap-

tivity, xxxvi, 494.

RIJK, L. A. J. How Wild Dogs Kill their Prey, xxxiii, 704.

RILEY, N. D. Revisional Notes on the genus Heliophorus ( Lycccnidce ) with

descriptions of new forms (28 text- figures ), xxxiii, 384.

RIMELL, Capt. F.J. Unusual Size attained by the Common Krait (Bungarus

cceruleus), xxxiv, 1083.

RITCHIE, Lt. -Col. W. D., i. m.S. A yellow variety of the Silk Cotton Tree

(Bombax malabaricurn) , xxxiv, 593.

ROBINSON, F. B. White Tigers (Photo), xxxii, 584.

ROBINSON, HERBERT CHRISTOPHER — See Obituary.

ROBINSON, Mrs. M., b.a., — Flowerless Plants, Part I (one coloured, 2 black

and white plates ), xxxiii, 590 ; — Part II (one coloured , 5 black and ivhite

plates ), xxxiii, 793 ; Part III (one coloured , 2 black and while plates ),

xxxiv, 40 ; Part IV (5 plates , 2 text-figures ), xxxiv, 420 ; Part V

(7 plates ), xxxiv, 992.

ROORKEE DISTRICT, U.P. — See BIRDS (Shooting).

ROPER, Lieut. J. R. STOCKLEY, r.a., — Measurements of Panthers,

xxxiii, 426

ROPER-CALDBECK, W. N.— Occurrence of the Woodcock (Scotopax r.

rusticola ) at Jhinjhana, U. P., xxxvi, 751,

ROWLAND, J. W.— Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper (Vipera russelli ) in

Lower Jaind, xxxvi, 758.

RUSBY, Capt. L. F., d.s.p. — Two Experiences with Panther, xxxvi, 743.

RYAN, G. M.— See Obituary Notices.

SAKIA, J., m.o. — Record of symptoms and treatment of a bite from a

Formosan Viper (Tr inter esur us macrosquamatus) , xxxiii, 998.

SALT-LICKING AND EARTH-EATING IN INDIA, Part I, xxxiii, 676 ;

Part II, xxxiv, 222 ; Part III, xxxiv, 522 ; Analyses xiv-xxv, xxxvi. 218,

Analyses xxvi-xxxi, xxxvi, 978.

SANBORN, COLIN CAMPBELL. — Mammals of the Suydam Cutting Sikhim

Expedition, xxxvi, 181.

SANDERS, Major C. W. — Strange behaviour of a truncated Fly, xxxi, 1037 ;

Courage and Cowardice of the Hyaena, xxxiv, 1055.

SANDERS, D. F. — Occurrence of Colias hyale hyale and Pieris canidia

indica in the Plains, xxxiv, 591.

SANGSTER, A. A. K.— An unusual attitude record for the Barking Deer

Muntiacus vaginalis , xxxiii, 201.

SCHMIDT, JOHANNES. — An appeal — Freshwater Eels in British India,

xxxv, 880.

SCORPIONS— See Arachnids.

62 GENERAL INDEX

SCOTT, Lt.-Col. F. B., i.a., f.e.s. — Notes on Indian Hawk Moths (3 plates ,

9 text-figures ), xxxv, 362.

Notes on the Foodplants of Indian Hawk moths, xxxvi, 938.

SCOTT, R. L. — The colour of ‘ White Bison ’ ( Bibos gauriis), xxxvi, 986.

SEARIGHT, Capt. E.E.G.G. — The Breeding Seasons of the Gora

[Nemorhoedus goral), and Himalayan Tahr {Hemi tragus jemlaicus) ,

xxxi, 812 ; A List of Birds observed in the Bheeling Valley, Tehri

Garhwal, April 1st, 1926 to May 25th, 1926 from 2,000 feet to 13,000 feet,

xxxi, 817; Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna) in the

United Provinces, xxxii, 800 ; Comparative frequency of Fantail, Pintail

and Jack Snipe near Bangalore, xxxv, 900.

SESHAIYA, R. V., M.A.-On the Breeding Habits and Fecundity of the

Snail ( Lhnncea luteola ) ( 2 plates , 2 graphs), xxxii, 154.

SETNA, S. B., m. sc., ph. d. — Determining the age of Indian Fishes from

their scales, xxxv, 466 ; Fishing for ‘ Bombay Duck ’ ( Harpodon nehereus )

(7 plate , 2 text-figtircs ), xxxv, 867 ; The Andaman Shell Fishery

(5 plates ), xxxvi, 94.

SEVASTOPULO, D. G., f.r.e.s, — The form of Colias hyale occurring at

Amritsar, xxxvi, 1013 ; The enemies of Danais chrysippus, xxxvi, 1014.

SEWELL, Lt.-Col. R. B. SEYMOUR, i.m.s., m.a., d.sc., f.a.s.b., f.l.s.,

f.z.s. — The History and Progress of The Zoological Survey of India ,

Introduction, xxxiii, S22.

The Problem of Evolution , Part I, Experimental modification of Bodily

structure, xxxv, 115 ; Part II, The Trend of Evolution under natural

conditions (7 plate), xxxv, 347.

SHAH, SADEG Z. — Tigers climbing trees ( plate ) ; xxxiii, 196 ; A case of

Hybridization between the Wild-Dog and The Jackal {photo), xxxv, 198.

SHAW, G. E. — Birdseating Butterflies, xxxii, 377.

SHELLS' -See MOLLUSC A.

SHERRI FF, Capt. G., r. a.— Migration notes from Kashgar, Chinese Tur-

kestan, xxxiii, 989 ; Breeding of Geese and Ducks in Chinese Turkestan,

xxxiv, 255.

SHIKAR — Extracts from Shikar Diary, xxxiii, 244.

SHOLAPUR — See SNAKES (general).

SHORTT, W. H. O. — Tigers preferring Carrion to live bait, xxxii, 370 ;

Panther committing suicide, xxxii, 371 ; The use of Patent Bullets in

Shot-guns, xxxii, 384.

SHUKLA, G. S.» l.m. & S.— Death from the sting of a Scorpion, xxxi, 830.

SIMLA — See BIRDS (Geography) —

See INSECTS (Lepidoptera) (Geography) —

SIMMONS, R. M.— Migration of the Pied Crested Cuckoo ( Coccystes

jacobinus ), xxxiv, 252 ; An incident with a Wild Dog in Nimar, xxxv,

442 ; Jackal attacking Goat, xxxvi, 490.

GENERAL INDEX

63

SINCLAIR, RONALD, fr.g.s.— Do Lions still exist in Persia ?, xxxv, 671.

SIND — See MAMMALS (Systematic) .

See Alt, Salim —

See FISHES.

See BIRDS (Geography) —

SINGH, RAM — Albino Goral ( Nemorrhoedus goral) in Chamba, xxxii, 373.

SINGH, SURAJMAL— Abnormal Blackbuck and a good Chinkara Head from

Bikanir (: plate ), xxxii, 593 ; Malformed Cheetal head ( Axis axts) ( photo ),

xxxiv, 245 ; Occurrence of the Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps cristatus

cristatus ) in Bikanir, xxxvi, 753.

SINGH, T. C. N. — A preliminary note on the pollination of the Coral Tree

( Erythrina indica ) ( 2 plates), xxxiii, 460 ; On the occurrence of

vegetative buds on the root of Gram (text-figure) , xxxiv, 841 ; Scent in

relation to Flower-colour, xxxvi, 287.

‘ Blue’ Flowers, xxxvi, 765.

SINHA, B. N.— A case of Twin-Embryos in the egg of Domestic Fowl,

(2 text-figure) , xxxvi, 268.

SMITH, Mrs. C. H. — Note on the Sawfly ( Arge pagana var. victorina)

(3 text-figures) , xxxvi, 1012.

SMITH, H. C., i.f.s. — The monitor Lizards of Burma ( 2 plates ), xxxiv, 367 ;

Peafowl without a train (A Burmese belief) , xxxiv, 583.

SMITH, Capt. H. G. GREGORY. — Wild Dogs attacking Cattle, xxxiii, 199.

SMITH, MALCOLM A. — The Distribution of the Mugger, xxxiii, 721 ; The

Survival of the Gavial ( Gavialis gangeticus) in Burma ( 3 text-figures) ,

xxxiii, 995 ; Some Notes on the monitors (7 plate), xxxv, 615.

SNAKES— (Geography) —

Bombay Presidency — Snakes : A List of Snakes and Lizards frorp

Panchgani, xxxii, 380 ; List of Snakes of Sholapur, xxxii, 224 ;

Occurrence of the Slimy Coecilian in Panchgani, xxxiii, 723 ; Snakes of

Nasik, xxxiv, 1085 ; Snakes of Ahmednagar, xxxvi, 272 ; Snakes of the

Barsi Light Railway, xxxv, 690.

Central Provinces— Occurrence of the Green Pit Viper at Nagpur,

xxxvi, 572.

United Provinces— Hamadryads in the Kumaon Terai, xxxiii, 610 ;

The Distribution of the Banded Krait ( B . fasciatus ), xxxiv, 256:

Assam— Formosan Viper (T. macrosquamatus ) in the North East Frontier,

xxxiii, 998 ; Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper in the Brahmaputra Valley,

xxxi, 528.

Burma — Snakes collected in— in 1925 (Block), xxxi, 558.

SNAKES (Habits).

The Reticulate Python, xxxi, 84.

Notes on Snakes (Pythons and Cobras), xxxi, 227 ; Earth Snake and

chicken, xxxi, 528; An interesting encounter with a cobra, xxxi, 528;

Comments on Father Leigh’s Notes on Snakes, xxxi, 827 ; Notes on the

E

64

GENERAL INDEX

Indian Python in captivity, xxxiii, 208 ; An unpleasant experience with

a Python, xxxiii, 721; A true snake story, xxxiii, 722; Cannibalism in

the Indian Cobra, xxxiv, 1082. The social Life of Snakes (7 plate),

xxxvi, 469, 1010 ; A Toad swallowing a Bronze-Backed Tree Snake

( Dendrophis pictus) , xxxvi, 1009; Duel between a cat and a cobra,

xxxiv, 1082 ; Encounter with a Hamadryad, xxxv, 225 ; The Saw-

Scaled Viper about in Winter, xxxvi, 758.

SNAKES (Breeding and Gestation) — Parturition of a Sea-Snake ( Distira

cyanocinctus ) in the Marine aquarium, Madras, xxxi, 828; Pairing of

Sea Snakes, xxxi, 1038 ; Large brood of eggs of the Checkered Water

Snake ( Nerodia piscator ), xxxii, 225; A note on the Green Whip

Snake ( Dryophis mycterizans ) and young (photo), xxxii, 612; The

Social Life of Snakes (1 plate), xxxvi, 469 ; The family of a Russell’s

Viper (Vipera russelli ), xxxvi, 271.

SNAKES (Colour) — Colour of end of tail of the Common Sand-Boa

(Eryx johnii ), xxxv, 464 ; 465.

SNAKES (Snake-Bite) — Record of a death from the bite of a Hamadryad or

King Cobra (Naia hanna) , xxxi, 226; A case of Snake-bite due to Cantor’s

Viper (Lachesis cantoris ), xxxii, 223 ; Mr. Slater’s death from , xxxii,

611 ; Recovery from the bite of a Phoorsa (Echis car inata), xxxii, 800 ;

xxxiii, 723 ; xxxv, 688 ; Venom of Snakes, xxxiii, 217 ; Record of

symptoms and treatment of bite from a Formosan Viper ( Trimeresurus

macrosquamatus) , xxxiii, 998; Treatment of Snake-bite, xxxv, 690;

Cases of Snake- bite, xxxvi, 274.

SNAKES (Poison) — Non-poisonous Snakes, xxxvi. 391.

SNAKES— (Size and Lepidopsis) .

Unusual size attained by the Common Krait (Bungarus cceruleus ), xxxiv,

1083 ; An unusually large Shaw’s Snake (Zamenis fasciolatus), xxxiv,

1084; xxxv, 906; Number of ventral scales in a Fasciolated Dhaman.,

( Z . fasciolatus) , xxxv, 465.

SNAKES— (Parasites) .

Intestinal Parasites of the Python, xxxvi, 573.

SNAKES (Systematic).

Descriptions and Lepidosis— The Reticulate Python ( Python reticulatus) ,

xxxi, 84.

SODY, H. J. V. The Balinese Tiger (Panthera tigris balica) , xxxvi, 233.

SOMALILAND (BRITISH). See Borradaile, J. W.

SPENCE, Sir REGINALD, Kt., m.l.c., f.z.s,, and PRATER, S. H.

C.M.Z.S. , M.L.C.

The Fish Supply of the West Coast of India, Part I (3 plates ), xxxiv, 973 ;

Part II (5 plates), xxxv, 77.

Game Fishes of Bombay, the Deccan and the neighbouring districts of the

Bombay Presidency (19 plates), xxxvi, 29.

SPIDERS. See Arachnids.

STABLE, Capt. R. H., i.a. A lost Snipe, xxxii, 374.

GENERAL INDEX

65

STANFORD, J. K , m.b.o.u., m.c., i.c.s.

Occurrence of the Sheldrake ( Tadorna tadorna ) and Lapwing ( Vanellus

vanellus) in Upper Burma, xxxi, 823 ; xxxii, 220 ; The Birds of the

Prome District of Lower Burma with Notes on the collection by

Dr. Claud B. Ticehurst, Part I, {Map), xxxiv, 666 ; Part II, xxxiv, 901 ;

Part iii, xxxv, 32 ; Occurrence of the White-throated Babbler {Argya

gularis ) in Lower Burma, xxxvi, 263; A note on the Buntings of

Burma, xxxvi, 263 ; The Short-eared Owl ( Asio f . flammeus ) in Burma),

xxxvi, 265 : The occurrence of the Lesser Kestrel {Cerchneis naumanni )

and Knot {Tringa c. canutus ) in Burma, xxxvi, 265.

STAPYLTON, J. MILES, i.c.s. Early arrival of Snipe in the Andamans,

xxxvi, 507.

STIRLING, J. H. Riding down Partridges, xxxvi, 1004.

STOCKLEY, Lt.-Col. C. H., d.s.o., o.b.e., m.c.

Hunting Straight-horned Markhor {plates), xxxi, 172; Measurements of

Game Animals, xxxi, 509; Twin Elephant Calves {photo), xxxi, 813 ;

Notes on the Kashmir Stag {Cervus hanglu) {photo), xxxi, 814 ; The

size and markings of Indian Tigers {photo), xxxiv, 553; The Distribu-

tion of the Mouse-Deer, xxxiv, 563 ; Notes on the 9th Edition of Records

of Big Game, xxxiv, 564 ; Notes on the Mammals of Baluchistan, xxxiv,

567 ; Notes on Birds in Baluchistan, xxxiv, 575 ; Mahseer Fishing in the

Zhob-River, xxxiv, 587 ; On the occurrence of Vanessa atlanta and

Pararge schakra in Baluchistan, xxxiv, 590 ; Measurements of Big

Game, xxxiv, 1056.

STRIP, S. A.

Recovery from the bite of a Phoorsa {Echis carinata), xxxiii, 723 ; Fresh

Water Eels, xxxvi, 576.

STROVER, C. H. #

The Saw-Scaled Viper {Echis carinata) about in winter, xxxvi, 758.

STURM, G. De LTSLE.

A Panther Incident, xxxiv, 798; The Stiff-tailed Duck {Erismatura

leucocephala) , xxxv, 687.

SURGUJA, MAHARAJA OF.

Some suggestions on Panther shooting, xxxv, 441 ; Do Wild Dogs hunt and

kill by night?, xxxv, 673; Black Four-horned antelope {Tetraceros

Quadricorn is), xxxv, 674.

SiUTLEJ RIVER— See Burton, R. W..

SWA1NE, I. K. A Tiger attacking an Elephant, xxxvi, 983,

SWANN, Capt. A. E. See— Prout, Louis B.

SWIRE, Major C. Three Tigers at a kill {photo), xxxiv, 796.

TAINISH, Lt.-Col. J. RAMSAY. The Giant Locust {Saga ephippigera) ,

xxxv, 908.

TAMBE, G. R., m.a B.sc., l. m: & S. A Leaf-mining Moth, xxxiv, 1091.

66

GENERAL INDEX

TERMITES — See INSECTS (Hymenoptera). Termite Fungi, xxxv, 909.

THEOBALD, CHARLES, f.z.s.

Clicking noise made by Muntjac, xxxii, 593 ; Mr. Slater’s Death from

Snake-bite, xxxii, 611.

THEOBALD, WILLIAM, H.

An interesting encounter with a cobra, xxxi, 523.

THOM, W. S.

Some experiences amongst Elephants and the other Big Game of Burma

from 1887 to 1931 (2 plates), xxxvi, 321.

THOMAS, OLDFIELD, f.r.S.

Two new Flying Squirrels from the Mergui Archipelago, xxxi, 22 ; On the

generic position of the Afghan Jerboa ( Alactaga indica) , xxxii, 133.

THOMAS, OLDFIELD. See OBITUARY NOTICES.

THYAGARAJU, A. S., m.a.

On the occurrence of the Short-eared Owl ( Asio flammeus flamrneus) in

Madras City, xxxvi, 752 ; A note on the migration of the Swallow Shrike

( Artamus fuscus ), xxxvi, 986.

TIBET. See BIRDS (Geography) .

TICEHURST, CLAUD, B., m.a., m.r.c.S., m.b.o.u.

On the Down- plumages of some Indian Birds {plate), xxxi, 368; Some

notes on the Second Edition of the Fauna, British India ; Birds, vols.

i & ii, xxxi, 490 ; vols. iii, xxxii, 344 ; vols. iv, v vi, xxxiv, 468.

The Birds of British Baluchistan, Part I ( 2 plates, lmap), xxxi, 687 •

Part II {2 plates), xxxi, 862 ; Part III (7 plate), xxxii, 64.

Birds of Quetta, xxxiv, 246; The Amadavat {Amandava amandava) in

Mesopotamia, xxxiv, 576 ; Notes on a collection of Birds from the Prome

District of Lower Burma, Part i (7 map) , xxxiv, 666 ; Part ii, xxxiv, 901 ;

The Occurrence of the Lesser Kestrel {Cerchneis naumanni) in Burma,

xxxvi, 508 ; Notes on some Birds from Southern Arakan, xxxvi, 920.

TICEHURST, CLAUD B., m.a. , m.b.o.u., f.r.g.S. Cox, Sir Percy, g.c.m.g.,

g.c.i.e., k.c.s.i. , m.b.o.u., and Cheesman, Major r.e., m.b.o.u., f.r.g.S.

Additional Notes on the Avifauna of Iraq {plate), xxxi, 91.

Addenda to the Avifauna of Sind and of British India, xxxii, 376 ; Corri-

gendum to Fauna of Iraq, xxxii, 376.

TIWARY, N. K., m.sc .

A short-cut by birds to the honey in the flowers of Sesbania grandiflora ,

xxxii, 378 ; A Note on the occurrence of Buds in the axils of the

Cotyledons {2 plates ), xxxiii, 731 ; The discovery of Germination of

Cyathodium spores, xxxiii, 1001 ; An albino House Sparrow {Passer

domesticus), xxxiv, 253; Migratory Habits of Wagtails, xxxiv, 253;

The Mating of the Blossom-headed Paroquet {Psittacula cyanocephala) ,

xxxiv, 254 ; Bathing Habit of the Indian Roller {Coracias benghalensis)-,

xxxiv, 578.

TONGOO. See MAMMALS (Geography).

GENERAL INDEX

67

TRA VAN CORE.

See Cetaceans.

See FISHES.

TREMATODA See WORMS (Parasitic).

TRENCH, C. G. CHEVEN1X.

The Breeding of the Spot-bill Duck ( Anas pcecilorhyncha) , xxxii, 221;

Breeding of the Great Stone Plover {CEdicnemus recurvirostris) , xxxiv,

809.

TRESIDDER, Lt.-Col., A. G., i.m.s.

A Live Beetle in the external auditory meatus of the human ear, xxxiv,

1096.

TREVENEN, Major W. B.

Mahseer Fishing in the Deccan Lakes ( plates ), xxxi, 120 ; Fishing in the

Rivers of the C. P. (3 text-figures) , xxxiv, 700.

TUCKHER, W. A.

Different Birds nesting in company, xxxiii, 718.

TURKUD, D. A., m.b.c m., (Edinb.)

Swarming of the Tenebrionid Beetle ( Ly Props curticollis) , xxxiv, 267.

TURNER, G. M.

Further record of the Mallard ( Anas platyrhyncha ) occurring in Burma,

xxxv, 209 ; Occurrence of the Tufted Pochard ( Nyroca fuligula) and

the Eastern White-eye {Nyroca baeri) in Burma, xxxv, 210.

TURTLES.

An albino Turtle, xxxii , 608 ; Notes on the Star Tortoise ( Testudo elegans ),

xxxiv, 828.

TUTE1N-NOLTHENIUS, A. C., f.z.s.

Measurements and Notes on some little-known Ceylon Mammals {1 text-

figure), xxxv; 606.

TUTICOR1N. See MOLLUSCA.

TYTLER, Maj. Gen. H. C.. c.b., c.m.g., c.i.e., d.s.o.,, f.e.s.

Notes on some new and interesting Butterflies from India and Burma

( one coloured and one black and white plate), Part I, xxxi, 248 ; Part II,

{one coloured and 2 black and white plates ), xxxi, 579.

UNITED PROVINCES. See BIRDS (Geography).

VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS.

Ornithological Section, xxxiv, 386, xxxv ; {2 maps , 7 text-figure ), xxxv,

505, 737 ; xxxvi, 67, 334, 561, 749 and 832.

VERNAY, A. S. — Vitality of a Panther {Photo), xxxiii. 699.

VICK, Miss H,— A Duel between a Cat and a Cobra, xxxiv, 25 7.

68

GENERAL INDEX

VIJAYARAJJI, Maharaja Kumar Shree [H. H. Prince Vijayatajji of

Kutch] An albino Bustard ( Eupodotis edwardsi ), xxxi, 526; Occurrence

of the Bronze-capped or Falcated Teal ( Eunetta falcata ) in Kutch,

xxxv, 899.

WADIA, D. R. D. — A Large Tusker from South India ( plate ), xxxiii, 434.

WAGLE, P. V., m. Ag. — The Rice Rats of Lower Sind'and their control (7 plate ,

3 diagrams) , xxxii, 330.

WAIT, W. E., m. a., f. z. s. — The origin of Continents and Oceans, according

to the Displacement Theory (7 plate , 5 text-figures ), xxxiv, 754 ; Masked

Boobies ( Sula dactylatra) at sea 350 miles from Bombay, xxxvi, 753.

WAITE, H. W., f. z. s., m. b. o. u. — Note on the Breeding of the genus

Caprimulgus (Nightjars) in the Punjab Salt Range, xxxi, 821 ; Breeding

of the Great Himalayan Barbet ( Megalcema virens marshall orum) in the

Punjab Salt Range, xxxi, 825 ; The Nidification of the Sind Hill Warbler

(, Suya crinigera striatula), xxxii, 797 ; Occurrence of Trumpeter Bullfinch

( Bucanetes githaginea crassirostris) in the Punjab Salt Range, xxxiii, 989 ;

Occurrence of the Whitethroat(.Sy/t'7# curruca halimodendii) in the Punjab,

xxxiv. 575 ; Occurrence of Sind Red- winged Bush Lark ( Mirafra

erythroptera sindiana ) in the Rawalpindi District of the Punjab, xxxv, 458 ;

Penduline Tit ( Remiz coronatus) in the Punjab, xxxvi, 257 ; Occurrence

of the Sind Babbler ( Chrysomma altirostris scindicus) in the Dera Ghazi

Khan District of the Punjab, xxxvi, 748 ; Occurrence of the Sheldrake

( Tadorna tadorna) in the Mianwali District, Punjab, xxxvi, 1008.

WALL, Col. F., c. m. G., k. h. s. — The Reticulate Python {Python reticulatus)\

xxxi, 84 ; Snakes Collected in Burma in 1925 {Block), xxxi, 558.

WARD, Col. A. E. — The Mammals and Birds of Kashmir and the adjacent

Hill Provinces Part VI, xxxi, 1 ; Part VII, xxxii, 711 ; Part VIII {plate),

xxxiii, 65.

A cross between an Ibex and a tame Goat {photo), xxxi, 519.

WATER-HOLES — Vigils at Water-holes, xxxiv, 802.

WAZIR1STAN— See BOTANY (systematic) (geography).

See INSECTS (coleoptera) .

WEEKS, T. D. — Occurrence of the White-headed or Stiff-tailed Duck

{Erismatura leucocephala) in the N. W. F. P., xxxiv, 576.

WESCHE-DART, G. — Migration of Butterflies, xxxiii, 726 ; Occurrence of the

Oak-leaf Butterfly {Kallima horsfieldi) near Bombay, xxxiii, 726.

WEST, Capt. E. MAXWELL. — Takin Shooting in the spring {plate), xxxi, 274

vSolitary Cow Gaur, xxxii, 215.

WEST, EDWARD MAXWELL-— See Obituary

WHALES — See Cetacea

WHIPSNADE Zoological Park — A visit to,—— — , xxxvi, 878.

WHISTLER, HUGH, f. l. s., f. z. s.— A Note on the Birds of Kulu, xxxi, 458;

The Bearded Tit {Panurus viarmiQUS russicus) an addition to the Indian

69

GENERAL index

List, xxxii, 217 ; Occurrence of the Pamir Horned Lark ( Otocoris Penicillata

albigula) in the Punjab, xxxii, 218 ; The Rock- Span ow ( Petronia stulta )

in the Punjab, xxxii, 218 ; An example of an assisted passage, xxxii, 598 ; A

correction to Mr.B.B. Osmaston’s Notes on the Birds of Kashmir, xxxii, 607;

Further Notes on Birds about Simla, xxxii, 726 ; The Migration of the Pied

Crested Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) ( map ), xxxiii, 136.

The Study of Indian Birds Part I ( 2 plates) , xxxiii, 166 ; Part II ( 2 plates ),

xxxiii, 311 ; Part III {4 plates), xxxiii, 776 ; Part IV (3 plates, 1 diagram),

xxxiv, 27 ; Part V (7 plate , 6 text-figures ), xxxiv, 276 ; Part VI (7 plate, 2

text-figures), xxxiv, 720 ; Part VII xxxv, 89 ; Part VIII (7 plate), xxxv,

312; Part IX (7 plate, 1 text- figure) , xxxv, 635; Part X (7 text- figure) ,

xxxv, 848 ; The Tail Racket of Dissemurus paradiseus, xxxiv, 250 ; On

the Nesting of the Crested Swifts (2 plates), xxxiv, 772 ; An open Letter

to The Editors, xxxv, 189 ; The Indian Great Reed Warbler ( Acrocephalus

stentoreus brunnescens) , xxxv, 450; The Migration of the Paradise Fly-

catcher ( fchitrea paradisi), xxxvi, 498 ; The Black-backed Shrike ( Lanius

nasutus nigriceps) , xxxvi, 748 ; Description of a new race of the White-eye

(Zosterops palpebrosa — Z. p. salimalii), xxxvi, 811.

WHISTLER, HUGH, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. & KINNEAR, N. B., m.b. o. u.— The

Vernay Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats (Ornithological Section),

Part I ( two maps, 1 text-figure ), xxxv, 505 ; Part II, xxxv, 737 ; Part III,

xxvi, 67 ; Part IV, xxxvi, 334 ; Part V. xxxvi, 561 ; Part VI, xxxvi, 132.

WHISTLER, H., f. z. s., m. b. o. u.— See Kinnear, N. B.,

See Ali Salim.

WHITE, N. THIRKELL— -Occurrence of the Mallard ( Anas platyrhyncha) in

Burma, xxxiv, 577.

WHITEHEAD, Capt. W. A. — Notes on the White-headed Duck or Stiff-tail

(Erismatura leucocephala) , xxxv, 211.

TAPEWORMS— See Cestoda.

THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE and the Problfm of

Their Preservation, xxxvi, 1026 ; suppl. with a foreword by His Excel-

lency the Viceroy, xxxvi, 1029.

Part I, Introduction. Part II, The Distribution of Mammals. Part III,

Ungulates or Hoofed Animals. By S. H. Prater, m. l. c., c. m. z. s., xxxvi,

Suppl. pp. 1 — 39, plates i-xiv.

WICKHAM, P. F. — Notes on the Birds of the Upper Burma Hills, Part I (7

map and 3 plates), xxxiii, 800 ; Part II, xxxiv, 46 ; Part III, xxxiv, 337.

WILLIAMS. C. E, — See Williams, Major C. H.

WILLIAMS, Major C. H,. m. b. o. u. and WILLIAMS, C. E.— Some Notes on

the Birds Breeding round Quetta (2 plates) , xxxiii, 598.

WILLINGDON, LORD, G. m. S. i., g. c. m. g., G. m, i. e., G. b. e,— The wild

animals of the Indian Empire and the problem of their preservation

Foreword, xxxvi, suppl.

WILSON, Sir ARNOLD T., k. c. i- e., c. s. i., c. m. g., d. s. o. etc— A Sum-

mary of Scientific Research in the Persian Gulf, xxxi, 638.

70

GENERAL. . INDEX

WINCHWORTH, Major H. C., r. a. m. c.— The Occurrence of the Wood

Mason Butterfly Parantirrhoea marshalli in Coorg, xxxii, 230.

WINDLE, Capt. G. E.— Wild Dogs in Mysore, xxxi, 516.

WOOD, CASEY A., m. d., m. b. o. u.— Lady [Elizabeth] Gwillim, Artist and

Ornithologist, xxxi, 486.

WOOD, W. S.— Habits of the Flying Lemur ( Galeopterus peninsulce) , xxxii, 372;

Flying Squirrels in Tenasserim, xxxii, 373; Is the Large Hornbill

( Dichoceros bicornis ) carnivorous ?, xxxii 374; A Butterfly Hunter’s Ramble

in the Tavoy District (Burma), xxxiii, 931.

WORMS, — (parasitic) Anatomy of two new Trematodes of the genus

Dicrocoelium with a Key to the species of the genus ( plate ), xxxiii, 250.

WRIGHT, Capt. D, MOFCRIEFF, — Season of Shedding and Growth of

Antlers in the Swamp Deer ( Rucervus duvaucelli) in Assam, xxxiv, 236.

WYATT, M. D. N. — Sex differences in the Migration of the Common Teal

{Nettion crecca) , xxxv, 680.

WYATT, Miss SARAH ,— The Stork-billed Kingfisher {Ramp halcyon capensis

gurial) eating birds, xxxiii, 713.

YATES, J. A. — Some Notes on the Travancore Evening Brown Butterfly

{Parantirrhcea marshalli ) in Coorg, xxxiii, 455 ; xxxiv, 587 ; Notes on

Pathysa antiphates naira , xxxiv, 589; Notes on Parantirrhoea marshalli and

Prionems sita, xxxiv, 833 ; Notes on Appias libythea libythea % xxxiv 834 ;

The Butterflies of Coorg Part I, xxxiv, 1003 ; Part II, xxxv 104 ; Distinctive

characters of the Butterflies Appias libythea libythea and Appias albina

darada $ {1 diagram ), xxxv, 691 ; Dry and wet season forms of the

Butterfly Prioneris sita {1 phfte) , xxxv, 700 ; Note on Zesius chrysomallus ;

xxxv, 911 ; The Butterflies of Bangalore and neighbourhood, xxxvi, 450.

YERBURY, JOHN WILLIAM, — {See Obituary.)

ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, — (The History and progress of the),

Introduction Part I — By Lt. Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, xxxiii, 922 ; The

Public GallerieST-By B. Prashad, xxxiii, 926 ; The Library— By B. Prashad,

xxxiii, 928; Invertebrate Section— By H. Srinivasa Rao, xxxiv, 205;

Mollusca Section— By B. Prashad, xxxiv, 212 ; Crustacea Section — By B.

Chopra, xxxiv, 502 ; Entomological Section — By Hem Singh Pruthi, xxxiv,

506 ; Fish Section — By Sunder Lai Hora, xxxiv, 510 ; Anthropological

Section — By B. S. Guha, xxxiv, 514.

ZUTSHI, B. N.— A Bull Frog {Rana tigrina) swallowing a Rat, xxxi, 228.

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN P&ESS, VEPERY, MADRAS — 1938. C989

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