Stray Feathers Journal of Ornithology for India and Its ...

CO NTENTS OF VO L . X.

NOS . 1 , 2 3 ,—December 1881 .

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION, byReid

A C ONTRIBUTION TO THE ORN ITHOLOGY OF G ILG IT, byScul ly (A reprin t from the Ibis

”

)PHAETON IND ICU S

,Hume . PHAETON E THERIUS

,Lin .

NOTE ON THE NIDIFIOATION OF ARDEA GOLIATH

NOVELTIES

Pious pyrrhothoraxC erthiaman ipuren sisPomatorhinusausten iTrochalopterum erythrolaema

firm BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE OF BIRDS

,VOL . V .

OTEs

On the occurren ce Of Erismatural eucocephalan earDelhi

On the occurren ce of Ful igulamarilaat AttockW oodcockat KurracheeButeo desertorum in Southern Ind iaOn the occurrence of Ful igulamarila, Anas marmorataC oracias garrula,at Gurgaon n ear Delhi

LETTERS To THE ED ITOR

On the occurren ce of Sypheotidesauritaat Al lahabadA. M . MARKHAM

On the distribution of Francol inus pictus in the

n eighbourhood of the Ghats—G . V IDAL

Notes on the occurrence of vari ous Game Birds .—F. WBUTLER

W ild Fow l In Sylhet .—M . EDEN

Excal factoriachin en sis, at the Vehar Lake, BombayandPoona—H . W ENDEN

Su lacyan opsat Kurrachi .—J . MURRAYGlareolalactea

,in Sin dh .

—H . E . BARNES

The Great Indian Bustard in Maduraand Tinn evelly.

C . A . TOSTEMS

Notes on the occurren ce of van ous species of W ildFow l .—J . H . MCLEOD

Black Partridge cal ling perched on atree .—J . B

MURDOCH

Barred-headed Geese an d Shelldrakes in Assam.-W .

FORSYTH

Page .

Reguloidcs trochiloides, Hororn is flaviven tris,Neorn is

assimil is .

—W . F . BROOK S

Pin tail an d Fan tail ' Sn ipe .—G . M . RAYMENT

Pain ted Sn ipe in Cashmere -E . L . HAW K INS

C ircus cin eraceus in S in dh .—J . MURRAY

Gal linago n emoricolain the W ynaad .—J . W . DITMAS

NO . 4-7 Ju ly 1882 .

A L IST OF THE BIRDS OF PEOU, by Eugen e“

W . OatesON THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS

A NOTE ON THE GENERA SOHrENIcOLA AND CATRISOU S ,by R

Bowdl er Sharpe , F .L S ., &c Departmen t of Zoology,

British Museum—Reprin t from the P .Z . S November 1 8 8 1

THE BRITI SH MU SEUM CATALOGUE OF BIRDS, VOL . V I . , byR . Bowdler Sharpe

FURTHER NOTES ON THE B IRDS OF G ILG IT, by Major J . Bid

dulph—Reprin t from the Ibis

”

ROUGH L IST OF THE B IRD S OF W E STERN KHANDESH,byJ Davidson ,Esq Bo C . S .

LETTERS To THE EDITOR

A corIection .—J . H . GURNEY

A femal e C ircus melan ol eucus in the plumage .O i the

adul t mal e .—J . R . C RIPPS

Zosterops pal pebrosus In S in dh .—J . MURRAY

NO . 5—March 1883 .

NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLE CTED ON THE N ILGH IRIS AND IN

PARTS OF W YNAAD AND SOU THERN MYSOR E, by W . Davison .

NOTE S

On the several occurren ces heretofore recorded of ErisInatural eucocephalawithin our l imits

LETTERS TO THE ED ITO R

The Lesser Florican breeding in W estern S ind .-JAMES

A . MURRAYNotes of the Black and Pain ted Partridges .

—F MON .

TRESOR

O n asmal l col lection of birds made '

In the N . Kanaraforests by Mr. A . T . C rawford .

—G . V IDAL

O ccurren ce of Grus commun isat Ferozepore on the 25thSeptember.

—H . A . K INLOOH

Add ition s and correction s to the “ First L ist of the

Birds of the South K onkan .

’-

.G V IDAL

On the occurren ce of Ful igulamarila(the Scaup)andC lan gu lag laucium (the Golden Eye) n earAttock.

-RN . STOKER

329

PaFurther occurren ces of the Golden Eye n ear ‘

Attock .—R.

N . STOKER

Accipiter steven son Ian d A Virgatus -J . II. GURNEY 426

Pain ted Sandgrouse In the Deccan -G . V IDAL

Erismatura l eucocephala, Querquedulaformosa,and

P terocl esal chatan ear Delhi . -W . N . C H ILL

S ome n otes on the Game B irds of Ind ia. - J MANDERSON

On the occurren ce of the Red Spur Fow l In the Pil l ibhitDistrict —W . C . PLOWDEN

On the occurIe nce of the C omb Duck In the Bari Doab.G . TREVOR

Orn itholog ical Nomen clature .—ALFRED NEWTON

No. 6—December 1887 .

NOTES SU PPLEMENTARY To MAJOR BUTLER’

S CATALOGUE OF

B IRDS OF THE DEC CAN AND SOUTH MAHRATTA C OUNTRY, byJ . MacgregorCATALOGU E OF THE B IRDS IN THE PROVINC IAL MUSEUM

,N -W .

P . AND OUDH . Notice by the EditorADDENDA To THE B IRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVI SION

by Geo. Reid

A TENTATIVE L IST OF THE BIRDS OF MANZEERABAD,MYSORE

by O . J W . TaylorA FEW ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE PULNI HILL S

byON FAL CO RARYLONICU S AND BARBARU S

, by J H . Gurney

(em Ibis )O UR IND IAN P ELICANS

O BSERVATIONS ON THE PELICAN V ISITING THE EASTERN NARRA

by Scrope B . Doig ,O .H.

NOTES

A plate of Pern is tweedal n ,Hume

Eggs Of Phoen IOOpteIuS roseuSand min orat the SambhurLake

The Attock an d N . .-W Pun jabH ills Hawfin ch distin ct

from the European species

Additional weights an d measuremen ts of the ScaupandGolden Eye recorded by MR R . N . STOKER

Detail ed measuremen ts w ith colours of the soft parts OfnumeIou S Specimen s of Falco babylon icus procured inS in dh

,recorded by MR . DO IG

W oodcock in the n eighbourhood of TonghooLETTERS TO THE ED ITOR

N id ification of Peafowl , &c .

,at Baroda.—H . L ITTLEDALE

Booksat Ludhiana—FRANK W . C HANTER

Pink-headed Duck in Oudh .—MAURICE TWEEDIE

Nid ification of Pittacoronatain the C en tral Provinces—IVEE MACPHERSON

C lose-barred Sand Grouse In Rewah .—J . C . BERK ELEY ”

W hite- faced S tiff-tailed Duck in Pil ibheet .—W . C .

PLOW DEN

W hite-faced Stiff-tailed Duck n earMultan .—T. ROMFORD

The Likh or Bastard Florican n ear BarodaIn MarchandApril —H . L ITTLEDALE

The ‘darn s in Tan naand other n otes .- J . D. INVERARITY

Grey Lag Geeseat the C hi lkaLake —G . R IPPON

W oodcock in the G urdaspur d istrict .—H . M . PLOWDEN

C eriorn is blythi , in the DaffiaH il lS .—RORERT ORAN

Theadu lt femal e of Fal co severuS .—E . BUTLER

The Game B irds of the KhordaSub-division of the Pooreedistrict (Orissa) .—JAMES H . TAYLOR

PREFACE.

ETWEEN the issu e of Parts 1 to 5, an d the

final number of th is volume , there has been u n

fortunate lyagreat gu lf in time—ahiatu s valdcdeflen dus .

The fact simply is, not that I have in any way lost myin terest in Orn ithology, but that the pressure of other work

,

which to me seems the more important of the two, has en tire lypreven ted my givingany time whatsoever e ither to Birds or toStray Feathers .

However, u nder the frien dly pressure of Old su pporters, Ihave n erved myse lf to do this mu ch, via, first to issu e this 6 thnumber of Vol . Xand so complete it an d, secon d ly, to publ ishas Vol . XI my very lon g paper on the birds of Man ipore ,Assam , Sylhetand Cachar, Wh ich has lain u pon my tab le ever

sin ce September, 188 1,an d which ,although dou btless Obsoletein some respects, W i l l, Iamassured, be usefu lasaplatform on

which others may commen ce real work.

ALLAN HUME.

STRAY FEATHERS .

Vol . X.] DECEMBER 1881 . (NOS . 1, 2 85 3.

tithe girds 011theEurknnwQiril Binisinn.

BY GEO . REID.

(Continued f rom Vol . IX., page

List.

‘i .-Vulturmonachas, Lin .

I have ne verbeenable to secureaspecimen of thismagn ificentbird,the C inereous Vu lture, bu t on e, now in the Luckn ow

Museum,was Shot afew years ago at Aj gaen in the U nao

d istrict. It may , therefore, beacceptedasan exceeding ly rarev is itor to the Div is ion .

2 .-otogyps calvus, Soap . Native name—Labsz‘ra

The Black or K ing Vu lture isafairly commonand permanentres iden t, though n ot n early soabundan t as P . bengalen sis . It

seems to be of arather sol itary d ispos ition . I have seen its n est

several times on high pipal trees, and on ce on atal l mangoetree, though from n on e of them was Iable to secure eggs .

4 .—Gyps indicus, Scop.

I in clude the Lon g -bi lled Brown Vu lture w ith some hes itat ion , though Capt. Irby , in his paper on the Birds of OudhandKumaon , vide the Ibis,VOI. III . for 186 1, p. 2 17, states that it isequal lyas common as bengalensz's ;an d that on e was caughtins ideahorse’s be l lyat Alumbagh.

” Now, there is‘

no Vu lturehCreas Common as bengalensis ; if there is, it is certain ly Singu larthat I have n ot obtained specimen s . On

’

the other haad'

, Ihave occas ional ly seen aVu lture that I thought cou ld not be

bengalen sis, bu t whe ther it was indicus or fit lvescena—not to

men tion the probability O f~pal lescens or tenuz

'

rostrz'

s occurring—Ican n ot say, but Shou ld think that it was ind icus .

0 G idfi isapplied toal l Vul tures.

2 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

5.—Pseudogyps bengalensis, Gm. Native name

Chamar Gidh .

The White-backed In d ian or Bengal Vu lture IS commonat al l season s . It breeds from November to the en d of

March, making its n est on tal l trees , as n ear their topsas poss ible ; and, in the V icin ity of Luckn ow

,at any

rate , I kn ow Of on e breed ing place Where at least 50 or 60

of the ir n ests may be found, frequen tly two or three on the

same tree . The n est is S imply alarge platform of sticks,

an d n ever, I think, con tain s more than on e egg, of ad irtygreen ish W hite color

,as aru le u n spotted, but occasional ly

beau tifu l ly spotted or blotched W ith brown or redd ish brown .

Four eggs in my possession measureAverage by in ches .LargestSmallest

6 .- Neophron gingin ianus, Law. Native name

Safaz’

d Gidh .

The Indian Scaven ger Vu lture is exceedingly commonwherever human habi tati on s are found

,and is, of course , a.perman ent residen t. In the d istrict it breeds in variably 0 11 trees,

except,perhaps

,W herean old mosque or tomb O ffersasu itable

S ite ; bu t in an d aroun d Luckn ow,

where old bu i ld ings,mosques

, &c .

,abou nd , it in variably selects these

,fighting w ith

the C ommon Kite (M . govinda) for the possession of e l ig iblebuildi ng places .

The on ly eggs (two) in my possession w ere taken from two

d ifferen t n ests— on e , on the 7th Apri l from an est on an O ld

mosqu e n ear Chinhu t, and the other on the 5th May froman est in apipal tree n ear the Rahimabad railway station . The

C hinhut egg was en tire ly russet brow n ; the Rahimabad on e

white, w ithafew minu te brown spots . They measure respec

tively

Brow n egg 28 by in ches .

W hite egg

The n est in both cases wasahuge platform composed Ofsticks, old rags, rubbish, &c . , that in the pipal tree, be ing on lyabout 15 feet from the ground .

8 .—Falcoperegrinu‘

s, Gm. Native name—B hyri .The Peregrine Falcon is on ly acold weather V isitor, an d,

though n everabun dan t, apair or two mayalways be met W ithin the vicmity of the larger j hils .

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION. 3

As remarked by Jerdon , “ the Bhyri has particu lar haun tsthat it frequen ts for days or w eeks together. Two or three

tal l trees by the S ide of ajhi l,al l the be tter if on rising or

high grou n d , may be cited as on e of these . From such a.re treat I have often n oticed the Peregrin e sal ly forth on the

report of ag un ,andafter sai l ing le isure lyabou t, as if in stin ctive ly searching for adead or w ou n ded b ird , retire to its

comman d ing perch, on ly to re peat the man oeuvre at eachsu cceed ing shot.The Bhyri is sti l l highly esteemed by that remnan t of

the “ Baron s of Oude ” w ho remember the days when it wassomething to follow the n oble Sport of Falcon ry—now, alas !dy ing ou t, if n otaltogether dead .

9 .—Fal co peregrinator, Sand . Native name—Kat i .The Shahin is

, perhaps, aperman en t residen t, bu t is SOexceed ing ly rare that I have on lyas yet succeeded in ge ttingas ing le spec imen . On two or three occas ion s ] have seen it in

the possession of the Falcon ers w ho v isit Luckn ow w ith nativen oblemen . Like the Bhyri, it is highly esteemed for the

chase .

11 .—Fal co jugger, J

'

. E . Gr. Native name—Laggar.

The Lagger Falcon is both acommon an d perman en tresiden t. It is, if n ot in variably ,at least popu larly cal led the

Pigeon Hawk in Lu ckn ow . TO my kn ow ledgeapair u sedto frequ en t “ C lau de Martin ’s ” mon umen t in fron t O f the

Martin iere , an d habi tual ly prey upon the blue-rocks of the

n e ighbou rhood . The Lagger, how ever, pre fers Open coun tryto c ity suburbs ,an d, l ike the Kestre l , may O ften be seen seatedon some em in en ce or ridg e , e ither de vou ring or waiting for itsprey . It breeds from December to March in the large sol itarytrees SO characteristic of the plain s of this part Of In dia. A

n est that I exam in ed in March last con tain ed three youngbirds, sem i-fledged .

12 .—Fal co babylon icus, Gum .

On the strength of Capt. Irby’s hav ing Obtain ed aSpec imenO f Gurn ey’s Falconat Barabanki in 1858 , I in clude it in this l is t ;bu t n ever hav in g comeacross the bird, though I have tried hard ,both personal ly an d through native agen ts , it can on ly

,I

think,heacceptedasarareand very exceptional V isitor.

In the “ Gazetteer of Oudh,” Major Cock g ives it in his l ist

of the birds Of the Kheri d istrict ; it is, therefore, probably amore frequen t v is itor to the Terai .

5 THE BIRDS O lf THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. .

Iii —Falco.

subbuteo, Lm -Native name—Moray .

The Hobby is on ly met w ith in the cold w eather,and thenbut rarely . It frequen ts, I think, by preferen ce w e l l-w ooded,marshy districts , where it may be found early in November'an das lateas March . It gen eral ly moves abou t in pairs , or

in smal l parties . In Jan uary last, I Shot on e of four thatcrossed my fron t when passing through adhak jung le at the

'

break Of day14.

-Falo severus, Horsf .

I can n ot say that I have ever seen the Ind ian Hobby in its

w i ld state but it doub tless occurs here ,as I have occas ional lyseen recen tly-captured birds in the Bazaar,and the spec imen sin the Museum were probably purchased l ocal ly. It must,

how ever, be very rare, or, I thin k, I Shou ld have Obtain ed it,as I make itaru le to Shoot, if poss ible, every Falcon I comeacross .

Natives do not recogn ize,the d ifferen ce between this species

and F. subbuteo.

16 .—Fal co chiquera, Daud . Native name—Tur

muti . *

8th November, Mala—Length, expan se,W ing , tai l, tarsu s

,bil l from gape, °90 ;

we ight, 5% Oz. Irides brow n cereand legs ye l low .

29 th October, Female—Len gth, expan se, w in g,tai l , tarsus, bil l from gape, we ight,

8% oz . Irides brown cereand legs ye l l ow .

The Red-headed Merl in is aperman en t residen t, ve ryabundan t during the cold w eather, but less so during the hot

and rainy season s .

On the 2 1st Apri l I found an estan d three fu l ly fledged youngon es n ear the top O f atal l mangoe tree . There was n othi ngto distingu ish the n est from acrow ’

s,and , con trary to my

expectation s,the paren ts did n ot protest (they are usual ly

plucky l ittle falcon s) again st the ir Offspring be ing made .

prison ers . I kept the youngsters for some mon ths, but fromsome cause or other they d ied rather sudden ly w ithin afewdays of onean other.The Red-headed Merl in is the u n re len ting enemy of the

social and other Larks on w hich it appears to feed bypreferen ce, probably because, from the bu shes they frequen t,sparrow sand other smal l birdsare more d ifficult to catch.

5 This name appears to be gen eral ly accepted as Tu rumti by writers who,

perhaps, fol low Jordon but the natives here pronounce it Turm ti or Turn ed “ ,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

6 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

everyaven ueand mangoe tope . The fol low ing is my record of

its n ests

Apri l l st Nestand three fresh eggs .

7th

16 th

May 5th Nestan d three fu l ly fledged young .

Average measuremen t of 9 eggs by Inches .

Measuremen t of large st eggM easuremen t of smal lest egg

The n ests, made Of sticks (smal l platforms ) , w ere al l on

mangoe tree s ; the eggsal l of apale blu ish white, rather chalkyoru ng lossy in appearan ce .

The Shikra, i t may be n oted,feeds occasional ly on the

C ommon Squ irre l (S ciuru s palmarum) . One that I saw capturedwas forced to descend the tree by on e bird, an d on reachin g theground was immed iately seized by asecond pouncing upon itfromabran chabove .

24.

—Accipiter n isus, L in . Native name— Basket .4ih November, Male, j un—Length, ; expan se, w ing,

tail , tarsus, bil l from gape, ° 70 ; w e ight, oz .

Irides ye l low legs d irty green ish y e l low .

The European Sparrow Hawk is on ly foun d in the cold w eather,and is then fairly common . It frequen ts much the same local itiesas the Shikraw ith w hich i t is often con founded . Though IhaVe frequen tly shotand preserved it, I find, curiously en ough,thatall my specimensare young birds .

25.—j-Accipiter virgatus, R einw . Native name

.Besra.The “ Besra” Sparrow Hawk is n ot common , and from the

thickets it frequen ts is rare ly seen . It isacold w eather v is I tor,very local ly d istribu ted,as I have n ever me t w ith it except inthe bamboo brakes scattered here an d there throughout theDivision . Through these thickets itmove s w i th great fac il i ty .

27 .—Aquilamogiln ik, S . G

’. Gm . .Native name

.BarraJ umiz i “ or Satangal .l 5ib February, ( sea: -Leng th, 3 1 °

expan se, 8 1 °

w in g , 24°

tai l, tarsu s, bil l,from gape , w e ight,

7 lbs . Irides cream color, spotted darker ; cerean d '

feet lemonye l low .

The Imperial Eag le is fairly common , e spec ial ly in dhak j ung les, where sol itary Ban ian an d other Fic i trees, u pon which it

Jamie is appl ied gen eral ly toal l large Eagles . The natives care nothing for

women.

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 7

usual ly rests, abound . I have n ot un frequen tly seen it in thedry beds O f j hil s, de vourin g crabs, w here ver it got them from,

an d on on e or two occasi on s eatin g carrion . The specimen ,

Whose d imen sion sare g i ven above , was shot w hi le feeding on thecarcase of asheep w ithalot of Vu ltures around it, the local itybe ingadhak j u ng l e .

27 bis —Aquilan ipalensis, Hodge .

3 l st Jan uary ,Mala—Length, expan se,

w in g, tail , tarsus, bil l,from gape ,

w e ight, lbs . C erean d legs ye l l ow ; irides l ight brow n .

The Bifasciated Eag le is n ot qu ite so common as the last, butl ike it, my on ly specimen,was Shot whi le feed ing on the carcase

O f asheep. Itappears to frequ e n t the same local ities, but Ikn ow n othing particu lar in regard to its habits .

28 .—Aquilaclanga. Pal l .15th February, Femal e, j un —Length, 27 °

expan se,w ing , tai l, tarsu s , 3 60 ; bi l l from gape,w eight, 4 12» lbs . Irides dark brown cere and feet

ye l low .

I kn ow but l i ttle regard ing the S potted Eag le . Itappears tobe abou t as common as any spec ies of Eag le (A. vindhianaexcepted ) .an d seems to frequ en t the same local itiesas the rest. Iprocuredaspec imen frequ en ting rathe r tal l dhak treesalongastream,

in al ocal ity w here Eag lesare rather n umerous, i . e.

,n ear

the Rahimabad Rai lway S tation .

*

29 .-Aquilavindhiana, Frankl . Native name

Ik hab.

12th November, Male—Leng th, expan se,

w i n g , tail,

tarsu s , bil l, from gape, w e ight,lbs . Irides brow n cere y el low .

The Taw ny Eag le isacommon an d perman en t resident. Ihave frequen tly seen it in my ow n compound an d in the

garden s about Luckn ow ; bu t i ts favorite resortappears to bedhak jung le or open coun try where sol itary treesabound .

33.—NisaGtus fasciatus, Viei l l . Native name

Oharwa(1)Bon el l i

’

s Eagl e is n ot common ,at l east I have n ever foun di t so. I have on lyaS ing le specimen (femal e j u v . ) an d can g iven o particu lars O f i ts habits from personal observatIO II .

‘l‘ Aqu i laf u lvescen s , Gray, the But? Eagle , Oughtalso to be included,as I have

seenaspecimen kil led in the n eighbourhood of Lucknow - A. O . H .

‘

8 THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISIoa.

38 .—Circaetus gal l icus, Gm. Native name—Jal

lar (P)8 th November, Mala—Length, 29 °

expan se, w ing,tai l , tarsus, bi l l, from gape, we ight,

lbs . Irides bright ye l low .

The Common Serpen t Eagle is aperman en t residen tandfairlyabundan t. It frequen ts Open coun try ,an d l ike A. vind/ n

'anamay often be seen seated on some so litary tree in its favoriteresort—low scrub or dhak ju ng le . I havealso seen it on the

open plains, seated on baboolan d other low trees .

From the open nature of the cou n try which it frequen ts, i t isoften difficu lt toapproach, especial lv in the morn ing ; bu tafteri t has breakfasted w el l,and during the beat of the day, it seemsl oath to fly,and may then be eas i ly shot .

39 .—Spilornis cheela, Lath.

The Indian Harrier Eagl e is very common during the c oldw eather, bu t does n ot, that I kn ow of, remain al l the yearroun d .

Itappears to leave for the hi l ls , or hum id submon tan e tracts,abou t the beg inn ing ofApri l, re turn ingagain abou t October. Inw e l l-w oodedan d jung ly d istricts it may be n oticed in the morningsand even ings sai ling slow ly over the treesan d fie lds, oftenatagreat height ; but during the heat of the day it gen eral lyremain s inactive, seated n ear the top of some tall ' tree, prettyw e l l con cealed from V iew .

40.-Pa.ndi0n hal iaetus, L in . Native name—Mecha

m’

yaand Mac/zi-mar.

The Osprey is, I be l ieve,apermanen t res iden t, though of thisIam not qu ite sure . I have frequen tly seen it hawking overlarge j hi ls, butalong the Ganges, Gog ra, Chowkaand Goomtirivers it is fairly abun dan t during the cold w eather. It maybreed in the V icin ity of these rivers, though I have n ever

found its n est,and poss ibly it retreats to the rocky torren ts ofthe outer H imalayas to breed . During the cold weather itmay often be seen fishing in the Goomtiat Lucknow .

41 .—Pol ioaetus ichthyaetus, Horsf .

The Ring-tai led Fish Eag le, l ike the Osprey, may be metw ithoccasional ly on large j hils, more frequen tly on rivers ; bu t itis by n o mean s abundan t, an d isawaryand d ifficu lt bird toapproach. I have on ly seen it during the cold weather,an dthen on ly on two or three occasion s .


41 bis —Pol ioa'étus plumbeus, Hodge.

The In d ian Fish Eag le is,O f course

,on ly acold w eather

V isitor,an d is also exce edin g ly rare . I m istook it at first forthe young O f iebtbyae

'

tu s . The on ly specimen in my posse ss ionwas shot on the Goomti at Lu ckn ow

,w here I foun d ital ter

hate ly dodg ing abou t an an cien t mangoe tope an d fishin g inthe shal low parts of the river. It hasaheavy ow l- l ike fl ight,an dappears to depen d more on steal th than activ ity in captu ring its prey . It has certain ly n on e O f the dex terity O f theO sprey,an d isal toge therapoor performer on the w ing foranEag le that may be said to l ive en tire ly on fish.

42 .—Hal iaetus l eucoryphus , Pal l . Native names

Macharang , Marduman d Mamba/cool .Pallas’ SeaEagl e is acommon an d perman en t res iden t.

There is n ot ajhi l O f any pre ten s ion s in the Div ision thatis n ot frequ en ted by apair or two O f these Eag le s, n or a.river that can n ot boast O f the ir presen ce . Nev erthe less it has

,

in my Opin ion , l ittle title to be con s ideredaFishing Eag le . It

se ldom,asaru le,attempts to catch the fi n n y tribe , bu t acts thepart O f apirate in robbing the O sprey , K ites, Marsh Harriers ,

&c . , O f the ir prey , w hile Sportsmen recogn ise it as the

poacher w ho n ever losesan opportu n ity of carry ing Off adeador w oun ded Duck

,O fte n from u n der the ir Very n oses . It

w i ll feed on almostan y thing—birds, snakes, rats, frog s, crabs,

turtles—an ythin g in fact bu t fish,u n less, O f course

,it can g e t

them w ithou t mu ch trouble . I may be hard on this o therw isemagn ificen t Eag le, bu t, if so

,it is becau se I have hadample

opportun ities of gaug ing his capab il ities .

It has, how ever,at least on e v irtue- it pairs, I think, for l ife lIt commen ces to bu ild as early as the begin n ing of October,making its n est on some tal l, sol itary tree overlooking somefavorite jhi l . The n est is s imply ahuge platform O f sticks

,occasional ly in terlaced w ith rags and snake skin s,an d is u sed

from year to year by the same birds or by the ir he irs or succes

sors . They u sual ly lay in Nov ember n ot more than three egg s,bu t seldom more than tw o. On the 3rd

,l 0th, 17th, 26th an d

30th O f that mon th I have foun d n ests con tain ing eggs ; on the

24than d 30th n e sts con tain in g youn g ; w hi le every n est that Ihave l ooked at in December was e ither empty or con tain edyoun g . On n ot on e O f the many occas ion s that I have sen t

m en to look at or rob the ir n es ts d id these Eag les e ver Showfight, though in n in e cases ou t O f ten the native cl imber hasg on eabout his work in fearand trembl ing .


47 .—Buteo plumipes, H odge .

The Harrier Buzzard is on ly aw in ter V is itor an d by n o

mean s common . It may ,how ever

,be met w i th occas ional ly

,

two or three in compan y , beatin g stead i ly Over dhak j ung l esan d ravinyand un du lating g roun d .

48 .— Butastur teesa, Frankl . Native name— Teesa.13th January , Female.

—Length, expan se ,w in g , tail , tars us

,b ill

,from gape ,

The White-eyed Buzzard is common at al l season s ,an d maybe m et w ith, gen eral ly in pairs, haw king over u sar plain s,dhak ju ng les,an dal ong the u ndu latin g an d rav iny ban ks of

streams ; n ow perching on some sol itary shrub or tree,n ow

on amoun d or te legraph post, bu t in variably repairingat n ight

to some shel tered man goe grove . It ge n eral ly fl ies low,mere ly

skimming the groun d, an d its flight at times is rapid an dgracefu l . It frequ en tly v isits road-s ide rai lway station yardsw here the grass is gen eral ly l ongan d fu l l Of grasshoppers . w herel izardsaboun d on the O ld railsand metal ly ing abou t,an d whe rerats an d m iceare O ften abun dan t, bothabou t the station bu i ldi ngsand in the mud fe n cearoun d the compou nd .

51 .—Circus macruras, S . G . Gm .

1 5th October, Mala— Le ngth, expan se,

w ing ,tail

,tarsus, bi l l, from gape, w eight,

oz .

The Pale Harrier is on ly acold w eather v is itor,bu tavery

common on e . Itarrivesas early as S eptember and leaves aslate as the end O f Apri l , though the majority may be said toleaveabout the en d O f March .

The fl ight O f this Harrier is u sual ly n oiselessan d s low , but

it is capable of mov ing along at con side rable speed, an d O fdropping in stan tan eous ly on its prey, n o matter how fast it maybe going . It may be found e ither s ing ly or i n pairs—occas ional ly in smal l parties— sy stematical ly hawking dhak jung lesan d patches Of cu l tivation , e v iden tly scan n ing the g roundmin u tely as i t progresses . On on e occasion I saw it pursu ingaLark in company w ithaRed-headed Merl in (Falco Chiquera) .The chase was both in teres tingan d lon gas the Lark en deavoured to escape by ascen ding , but in an ev i l mome n t it made tracksfor dhal l fie ld ,an d, though sw ooped at several times by theHarrier, it fe l laprey to theactive l ittle Hawk . The formerthen attempted to rob the latter,and but forafriendly mangoetope wou ld probably have succeeded .

THE Bi RDs OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIV ISION. 1 1

52 .— Circus cin eraceus, Mon t.

Captain Irby state s that Mon tague’s Harrier is foun d inthe same l ocalities as the Pal l id Harrier,and is perhaps moren umerou s . If this is so

,it is stran ge that I have n o spe c imen s

bu t I have occasional ly seen aHarrier, w ith acon spicuousblack w ing-patch, that may have be longed to this species .

*

53 .

—Circus melanoleucus, Forst.According to the same au thority (Captain Irby ) this

species is veryabu n dan t n ear the rivers Chow kaan d Grogra,on the plain s covered w ith thick grass abou t two fee t high .

I have n e ver seen this Harrier far away from g rass ju n g lew here itappears to replace the preced ing specie s an d the PaleHarrier,although theyare n ow an d then seen therealso .

”

In the low grass an d tamarisk ju ng les for m i les above an dbe l ow Byramghat, Harriers O f variou s kin ds are u n doubted lyvery abun dan t ; but I d on ’t recol lect e v er mee tin g w ith this

species, though I in clude it on Captain Irby ’

s au thority . It

can scarce ly, how e ver, be as plen tifu l, n ow -a-days, as hisremarks w ou ld lead on e to in fer.

54.— Circusaeruginosus, 13z°n . Native name—Katar .

15t/1 November, Male —Len gth, 20 ; expan se, w ing ,

tail, tarsu s , b il l , from gape ,The Marsh Harrier, Iam d isposed to think

,isaperman en t

res iden t, exceed in g ly rare in the hot an d rain y season s, it istrue , but very common in the cold w eather

,though for on e

adu l t then met w ith fu l ly 50 youn gsters, in al l shades Of

plumage , may be seen . As its triv ial name impl ies, it hab itual lyfrequ en ts marshes, jhils, river ban ks, in u n dated fields, &c .

,bu t

is sometimes me t w ith in almost al l kin ds Of local ities .

Its food is prin c ipal ly frogs, l izards, rats an dan y smal l orw eakly mammals or birds that it may comeacross .

W here Marsh Barriers are so n umerous as they are on

our j hi ls they are an u nm itigated n u isan ce to the’

sportsmanin qu est Of w i ld fow l . Often , w hen I have tried to ge t aparticu lar or rare du ck,

have these vil lain s deprived m e of the

coveted prize by sw oopin g at it or otherw ise frighten ing it

away . Teal O f al l kin ds particu larly dread them , an d w il lrise or d ive at the ir approach in abject terror

,w hile they

drive C oots in to fits O f fren zy as i f in m ere wan ton n essan dm ischie f . The dread they in spire arises, I think, from the

fact that when they capture adead or w ou nded b ird , asIn this Specie s the primaries are black, an d there isarather narrow black ish

bar on the grey secon daries, but hardly what would be cal led acon spicuous blackwmg opatch.

”—Ed .

12 THE BIRDS OF THE LucKNOw C IVIL DIVISION.

theV O ften do, they devou r it in the presen ce of almost everyduck on the jhil, by sel ecting for their repast, e itheraridg e on

its banks oram ud emin en ce in the water itse l f. Thu s seatedan d engaged, it is n ot an u n usual thing to see adozen or so

after sportsmen hav e been the ir roun ds it is, there fore, n ot

surpris in g that w ild fow l shou ld dread themand l ook upon al lthe ir action s w ith su spic ion , e spec ial ly as they immed iate lyseize upon any d isab led bird thataflock, on taking w ing , leavebehin d them . I have n ever, how e ver, seen the Marsh Harrier“strike home,” when the bird was Of any s izeand in possess ion

Of al l its pow ers .

55.—Ha.l ia.stur indus, B odd . Native name

Bahmin i Obtl .The Maroon -backed or Brahminy K ite isacommon an d per

man en t residen t,rare ly seen in the dry seasonatany d istance fromwater

,bu t u n iversal ly spread over the Divis ion during ,an d for a

w hileafter, the rain s . It is ge n eral ly fou n d in pairs,an d is veryfon d of crabs, judging from the accumu lated remain s of theseoccasional ly seen on the groun d ben eath some of its favoriteperches on the G oomti . Though i t breeds i n the Div is ion ,I have n ever been fortunate en ough to d iscover i ts n est, thoughI have had its eggs brought to me in March.

56 .

-Milvus govinda, Sykes . Native name Obi l .

The Common K i te is e verywhere abu n dan t. It breeds fromNovember to the en d O f April, makin g its n est O f sticksi ndiscrim inate ly on trees , mosqu es, m inarets, Old bu ildings, &c .

,

an d u sual ly lay s from tw o to thre e egg s of ad irty or green ish

w hite,Spotted or blotched w ith brow n of variou s shades, rare ly

twoalike,an d some very beau tifu l ly marked in deed .

Average m easuremen t O f 12 eggs by in ches .

Measuremen t O f largest eggMeesuremen t O f smal lest 2 ° l 2

Though i t is scarcely safe to ge n eral ize from acouple O f

in stan ce s,it is w orth record in g that on two occas ion s eggs

w ereagain laid in n ests from w hich I had seen i n cubated eggs

taken abou tamon th pre v iou s ly .

Though Kitesactual ly swarm in Lu ckn ow I have l ooked invain for Mi l vus maj or, Hume ; M . melan otis

,Tem . an d Schl ?

In the jun g le, too, w here I was most l ike ly to find i t, mysearches have bee n equal ly fru itl e ss ; bu t then , I was probablytoo particu lar in expecting to fin d aKite w i th a“ huge pu rew hite w ing

-

patch,” though I have seen so me O ld govin dasthat m ight pass mu ster if on e was n ot over-particu laraboutthe patch be ing pure white .

14 TH E B IRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

deserted bu i ld ings, w e l ls, mosqu es , &c . ,in the c ity and c ity

suburbs . I have seen it frequen tly in the ru in s O f the Bai leyG uard,an d occasional ly on tre es in the n e ighbourhood . I maybe w rong , bu t I hard ly think this Ow l is g u i lty of screechi ng ,at any rate , toany ex ten t. It Of cou rse breeds here, though Ihave n ever fou nd its n est.

61 .—Strix candida, Tick.

On on e occas ion I flushedasol i tary Ow l , w hich I took to bethe Grass Ow l , in grassan d scrub j ungle n ear Rahimabad

,an d,

though I fol low ed it from place to place , the Crow s keptbothering it, so that it n e ver rested in on e spot long en ough toal low me to ge tashot . Captain Irby m en tion s it u n der the

nam e O f G laux javan ica,an d I have l ittle doubt that it occurs,though sparing ly, in su itable l ocal ities, for i n stan ce , in the

jung les abou t the Chowkaan d G ogra, w here Mr. Anderson‘

seems to have met w ith it—See STRAY FEATHERS, Vol; III .

,page 388 .

65.—Syrn ium ocel latum,

Less. Native nameKhuska(f )

The Mottled W ood-Ow l is n otatal l common,bu t inhabits the

better w ooded parts of the Div is ion , especial ly w here groves of

an cien t mangoe trees ex ist. A Specimen was, how e ver, pro

cured for m e fromatree in the n o isy v ic in ity O f the RailwayW orkshopsat Charbagh. It isaperman en t res iden t.68 .

—Asioaccipitrinus, Pal l .During the cold w eather the Short-eared Ow l is v ery common

in the grassand tamarisk j u n gl e on the ban ks O f the Chow ka'an d Crograat Byramghat . I havealso flu shed it in patches O fsarpattaor thatching grassabou t Lu ckn ow ,

an d in other partsO f the Division , prin cipal ly in dhak ju ng lean d in broken g rassyrav in es an d n u l lahs . It appears to be g regariou s in i ts

habits— many be ingalway s foun d toge ther in su i table local ities,an d even in places less in v iting it is rare ly seen alon e . It

fl ies w e l l du ring the day ,an d i f pu rsu ed by Crow s, &c . ,as it

O ften is, w il l go for m i les w ithou tal ighting . It m igrates, Ibe l ieve,at the commen cemen t O f the hot weather.

69 .—Bub0 bengalen sis, Frankl . Native name

Gbugbu .

*

13th October, Male —Len gth, expan se, w ing,

tai l, 9 ; tarsus, bi ll,from gape, w eight, 2

—5Tbs .

A name e l sewhere,an d more appropriate ly (for It exactly represen ts this bird

’

s

double coo)appl ied to Tartar rasarias.—Ed .

THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 15

13th October, Female .-Len gth, expan se

,56 ; w in g ,

tai l , tarsus,

bil l,from gape, 2 ; w e ight,

(n ot recorded . )

The Rock Horn ed-Ow l is common in su itable l ocal i ties, andstragg lers may be me t w ith in the most u n l ike ly places at al lseason s . A favorite resort is acl ump of bamboos con tain ingome tal lan d state ly trees, in w hich it reside s, e spec ially i f inthe v icin ity of astream w ith rav in y and u n du lating banks .

I have flushed it occasional ly in dhak ju ng le , bu t more frequen tly in broke n an d rugged groun d . It fl ies w e l l during the day ,and is O ften d iffi cu lt to approach when on ce it is disturbed .

In the stomachs O f four spec imen s that I exam in ed I foun dn othing bu t large bal ls O f feathers, un questionably those Of

Mynahsan d Doves .

Does th is Ow l ever fish ? I shot on e on ce , justat dusk, inav ery su spic iou s position , i . e .

,on the bran ch O f atree abou t

two feet above astream,in ten tly watching something in the

water.

70 .—Bub0 coromandus, Latb. Native name—Jang l i

Ghughu .

13th October, Mala—Length, expan se,

w ing ,tai l

,tarsus, bil l

,from gape, w e ight,

(not recorded ) .13th October, Female .

—Leng th, expan se , w ing ,tai l, tarsus, bil l

,from gape, w e ight,

4 lbs .

The Dusky Horn ed-Ow l is acommon and perman en t res iden t

,frequen ting an c ien t mangoe topes,an d is very partial to

tamarind trees . In bamboo brakes, con tain ing high and

thickly fol iag ed trees , it is sometimes veryabu n dan t. It fl iesw e l l durin g the day , makin g its way through bran ches w ithfaci l ity . The common nati ve superstition about an i nmatedyin g , shou ld this Ow l commen ce bootin g abou t ahouse , isc urren t throughout the Divisi on . Of three specimen s thatI exam in ed I fou nd in the stomach Of each on ly on e huge bal lO f feathers .

72 .—Ketupaceylonen sis, Gm.

13th October, Mala—Leng th, expan se, w ing ,tai l

,tarsus, bi l l

,from gape , w eight, 4 lbIrides bright v e l low legs d irty ye l low bi l l slaty black.

The Brown Fish Owl is afairly common an d perman en tresiden t.A g lan ce at the date on which I Obtain ed specimen s Of thisand O f the two preced ing species, w i l l show that they w ere

al l Obtain ed on the same day . I found them inhabiting the

16 THE BIRDS OF THE LU CKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

same trees, chiefly tamarind an d pipal , in aden se bambooclump, e viden tly on ce an O ld fort, but n ow aj u n g le . It wasperfectly in fested w ith these large O w ls—Babe coromanduspredom inating—bu t they got sO w ide -awake from my fi ringat them that, in the long run

, I foun d it extreme ly d ifficu lt toget n ear en ough for ashot, though approaching s i len tlyan du n der cover.

Though essen tial ly aFish Ow ], K . ceg lon easis, l ike the rest

O f its tribe , does n ot stickat trifles . In the stomachs O f fourthat I e xam in ed I discovered n othing bu t ahuge bal l O ffeathers in each . I have, there fore , n ot the least doubt thatit takes readily to birds w he n its leg itimate food is n ot avai lable . The rain fal l O f 1 877, it mu st be remembered, waslamen tably deficien t ; many , if n ot al l , O f ou r SO-cal ledperen n ial stream s w ere dry or n early so

,as in deed w ere al l

the j hils, w ith the exception Of afew of the largest. Un der

these circumstan ces,i t is n ot surprisin g that K . ceg lonen sis had

to chan ge his u sual d ie t, espec ial ly as many tho u san ds Of

human beings had to do l ikew ise, or starve .

74 bis — 8 00135 sun ia, H odge .

Notw ithstan ding al l that has been w ritten about the l ittleScops Ow ls, Iam far from con v in ced abou t the specific dis ‘

tin ctn ess Of S . sum’a,Hodg son ’

s S cops Ow l . A specimen in mypossession appears to be chang ing from the ru fous to the greyphase O f plumage . I am,therefore

,in clin ed to think that

,

as in the case O f the Parad ise Flycatcher (M . parad isi, the

rufous stage is on ly tran s itory or seasonal ,ale though Iam n ot

qu ite prepared to main tain that it is so in the face O f avastdeal of e viden ce to the con trary . S til l , the specific d istin ctn essOf these l ittle Ow ls sad ly wan ts w orking ou t.

75 tern—Scope. bakkamoena, P enn .

Pen nan t’s Scops Ow l is v ery common abou t Lu ckn ow, an d is

aperman en t residen t. It bre eds i n holes in mangoe tree s in

the early part Of the y ear,an dafter the breeding season habitual ly frequen ts bamboo c lumps, in w hich it may be foun dgen eral ly seated in pairs . It appears to be qu ite sylvan in its

'

habits, rarely residing n ear human habitation s .

76 .—Carine brama, Tem . Native name—Kasuttea.

Towards duskan d early morn ing,an d throu ghou t moon l ightn ights, the Spotted Ow let may be heard an d seen in the

I t is certaIn ly n ot seasonal,an das I hav e myse l f procured two ol d bi rds W i th

four you n g on es,al l of the bright u n i form rufou s type, I do n ot th in k it i s tran sitory .

Man y grey bi rds Show a. great deal of rufous, but this is qu i tead ifferent ru fous to ‘

that Of sw im—Ed .


n e ighbourhood of almost every v i llage, an d almost in‘

everycompoun d in Lu ckn ow ,

many often squabbl ing an d screeching

tog e ther. It resides during the day in holes in trees ; O ften

on ly on bran ches,and, i f d isturbed, fl ies readilyand w i th fac il ity e ven in bright sun shin e .

On the 24th March I obtain ed six eggs of this species fromthree d ifferen t n ests,al l in holes in man goe trees . In on e n est

there w ere fou r eggs,an d on e in each O f the other two.

Average measu remen t O f 1 3 1 by in ches .

Measuremen t O f larg estMeasuremen t O f smal lest

77 . Glaucidium radiatum,Tick. Native name

Kalakaswt.The Jung le O w let is acommon and perman en t residen t. In

almost e very man goe tOpe apair or two, o ften many more, maybe fou nd . Asaru le, it isan in veterate sku lker, res iding in its

hole in spi te of any n oise . W hen d istu rbedan d seated on abran ch it remain s perfec tly sti l l ,an dappears to have the facu l tyof kn ow in g the momen t it is d iscovered , in stan tly takin g w ing ,and w i l l , if pu rsued, repeat the performan ce un ti lalucky shotbrin gs it to its bearing s .

The native superstition regarding B ubo coromandus appl ies, Ithink, equal ly to this O w l ; probably i n deed toany Ow l heardpersisten tly in the n e ighbourhood O f adwe l l ing .

81 .—Ninox lugubris, Tick.

13th December —Length, expan se, W in o,

tail,

tarsu s, bil l , from gape , ° 95 . Irides bri orlitye l low ; legs ye l low ; b il l dusky black .

5

The Brow n Hawk-Ow l is frequ en tly met w ith in bamboothickets, rare ly in man goe gro ves, bu t is n evertheless both acommon and perman en t re siden t. It is qu i te n octurnal in itshabits, rarely , if ever

,stirring ou t be fore dark . On e that I

w ounded an d su cceeded i n recovering cried very mu ch l ike ahare u nder simi lar c ircumstan ces . I have n ever heard itsnatural cal l , though for w eeks together apair frequen ted atamarin d tree nd

, and have n ever foun di ts n est.

82 .—Eirund Native name—Ababi l . *The Common Swal low is abun dan t during the cold season ,

making itsappearan ce in October an d departing at the commen cemen t of the hot w eather. A few stragg lers may even befoun d in the early part O f May . Here

,how e ver

,it is n ever the

‘5 Appl ied “ general ly toal l Swal lows,w fts an d Martin s

18 THE maps or THE LUCKNOW orvn . mv i srou .

household pet that it is in Eng lan d, frequ en ting for the mostpartopen coun try, espec ial ly in the v icm ity of Jl l l ls , an d i s n ot

un frequen tly found skimming over water i n vast n umbers . It

sometimes perches on the bare bran ches of trees,and i n somelocal ities probably spen ds the n ight

.

on them .

Italso frequen ts the telegraph W i res , bu t has n ot, that I kn owof,any l iking for native v i llages , though in tow n s it g etsattached to mosques, m inarets and old bu i ldings,about whi ch manymayalways be foun d .

84.—Hirundo fil ifera, Step lz.The W ire-tai led Swal low— perhaps the love l iest of its tribe—isaperman en t residen t, an d though n ever foun d in any greatn umbers, is un iversal ly spread over the Divisi on . It habitual lyfrequen ts j hilsand rivers, the mason ry bridges over the latterbe ing favouri te resorts bu t it may be met w ith in any local ityon its way toand from its espec ial haun ts .85.—Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes .The Red-rumped or Mosqu e Swal low is probablyaperman en t

res iden t, though it is on ly in the cold w eather that it isatal labundan t, the majority m igrating to breed e ither in the hi l ls or insu itable local ities on the plain s, though I do n ot see why Lu ckn owshou ld n ot su it itas w e l las most places. A few most l ike lydo breed in the old mosquesand minaretsabou t the city, bu ton every occasion I have fai led e ither to fi nd the ir n ests or tosee the birds.During the cold w eather,asalready remarked

,it is, how ever,

v ery common abou t Luckn ow,frequ en ting the deep cu ttin g

kn own as Hyder Al i ’s canal, as w e l l as the m osqu es andminarets in the ci ty, in vast n umbers . In the d istrict I haveoccas ional ly come across great flocks basking in the sun on

the groun d, gen eral ly in ploughed fie lds, an d san ding them

se lves l ike sparrows ; while,at other times, I have seen them

on the te legraph w ires,sitting in row s an d keeping up anin cessan t chattering or tw ittering . They occas ional ly perch on

bare trees,an d probably pass the n ight in mangoe topes in the

absen ce of more su itable restin g places . In n o other waycan Iaccoun t for their presen ce in local ities, remote even fromv il lages . w here 1 have seen them often in great n umbers atthe break of day .

89—001:e sinensis,J . E . Gr. Native Name Okota

Ababi l .The Indian San d-Martin is abun dan talong the banks ofal l

our riversand frequents Hyder Al i’s canal in vast n umbers .

THE BIRDS or THE LUOKNOW oivu . mvi srou . 19

It breeds from February to May , making its n est in variably in

holes in river ban ks, &c . ,w hi le its dai ly vocation appears

to con s ist of an in cessan t whirl ing to and fro, re l ieved byfrequen t v is i ts to its subterran ean quarters . During Maylas t I took many eggs from n ests in the ban ks of the Goom ti,of w hich by in ches is the average measuremen tof ten .

100.- Cypsel lusamn is, J . E . Gr.

The Common In d ian orW hite-rumped Sw i ft is veryabundan tabou t Lu ckn ow and in al l su itable l ocal ities .

It breeds,I think, tw iceayear,as I have seen inhabited n ests

as earlyas Februaryan das lateas August. The in side of theroo f of the Alumbagh Gateway is u sual ly covered w i th n ests,semi-globu lar in shapean d close ly packed together, somuch so thatif you took on e dow n hal fadozen others w ou ld come alongw i th it. Nestsare equal ly abu n dan t about deserted bu i ld ing s ,&c . ,

in andaround Luckn ow ,w hile sol itary pairs not un frequ en t

ly breed in bungalow verandahs . A pair that took up the ir

quarters in the veran dah of the house I res ide in were so

fond of tw itteringat al l hours of the n ight that 1 came to

regard them as an uisan ce and ban ished them from theprem ises .

Average measuremen t of six eggs, by in ches.102 .

—Cypsel lus batassiensis, J . E . G'r.

The Palm Sw ift appears to be astrictly rural b ird , rare lyfoun d, except in the immed iate v ic in ity of palm trees , those on

the banks of j hilsan d streams seeming ly preferred . It is aperman en t res iden t .

109 .—Caprimulgusalbonotatus, Tick.

15th December,Mala—Leng th, expan se

, 25°

w ing,tai l , tarsu s

, bill, from gape , B i l l black ;leg sand feet v inaceou s brow n .

The Large In d ian N ightjar is fairly common andaperman en tresiden t. As man yas tw en ty may some times be flushedflin somefavourite spot, but, as aru le, it is foun d sing ly or in pairs,gen eral ly in thick brushwood u nder the shade of trees

, bu t it isalso very partial to bamboo brakes an d thick dhak j ung le“When flushed , it u sual ly fl ies bu t ashort d istance and squatsagain , e ither on the ground or on the low an d spacious arm ofsome tree . O ccas ional ly it may be foun d restin g during the dayh igh up in thick bamboos,an d in c lumps of these it probablybreeds

, though I have n ever fou nd its n est. Bu t in w hatevertangled thickets it may rest for the day, it sal l ies forth at dusk

20: THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

to fie ldsan d open g lades, where it may be seen fly in g n oiseless ly’

along , or feed ingan d shu ffl ing about w i th g reatactivity on the

ground, changing the sce n e of its operation s every m in ute or

so, w hile at in tervals i ts fam i lar cal l—ckuk,c/zuk

, chuks low ly an d mon oton ously repeated, “ isaw e lcomeand pleas ingadd ition” to the voices of the n ight. ”

112 .—Caprimulgusasiaticus, Latlz.

l oth January , MaleJ—Leng th, 9 ; expan se, w ing ,

tarsus, °80 ; tai l, bil l, from gape, Legs fleshcolor irides dark brow n ; bi l l fleshy brow n .

The Common In dian Nightjar is by n o mean s so abu ndan thereas C . albonotatu s . In deed I have rare ly or n ever seen i t

‘

except w hen the shades of e ven ing”have so far advan ced as

to ren der shooting it n ext to imposs ible . It feeds,I thin k

,by

preferen ce on the mud by the water'

s edge of streams or j hils,where I have often , when waiting for geese, seen it fl ittingactive ly about.1 17 .

— Merops Viridis, L in . Native Name—Patanaand Hurrial .

121k January, Mala— Len gth, 9 ; expan se, w ing,tai l , tarsus

,bi l l, from gape, Bi l l black ;irides red ; legsan d feet plumbeous grey .

The C ommon In d ian Bee-Eater is aperman en t residen tan d very common

,be ing equal ly at home in our garden s and

in the less attractive parts of the Divis ion,inhabiting

e ven usar plain s, w here apair or two may occasional ly

be seen seated on some low shrub . It breeds here in

March, u sual ly making its n est in the mud wal ls of

compounds, in the banks of Hyder Al i’s canal ,an d in simi larl ocal i tiesabou t rav in esan d rivers . It u sual ly lay s fou ralmostroun d

,white eggs ; the average measu remen t of 13 be ingby in ches

,while the largest measures by

and the smal lest by 0 65 .

Towards the beg in n ing ,an dagain abou t the en d of the coldw eather

,they may be seen , al i ttle before sun set

,collecting

in great n umbers on some u n frequen ted road or dry san dylan d

,where they le isure ly rol labou t in the du st . The ir san d

bath over, they u sual ly take w in g together,an dafter indu lgi ng in afew circu laran d other evolu tion s,al l the w hile keepingup an in cessan t chatterin g , they separate in to smal l partiesfor the n ight. They also often in du lge in asim i lar practice inthe morn ings, bu t on su ch occasion s they col lect, I thin k, on

the w ing or on some tree , an d dispense altogether w ith theprel iminary sand or dust bath.

22 run BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

water in the s ide cu ttings, it may be seen along the rai lway ,s itting occasional ly on the te legraph w ires or posts, bu t u sual lyon the babool trees (plan ted as al ine fen ce) overlooking the

pools . It does n ot d ive for fish— habitual lyat least ;an d, thoughi t may catch them occasional ly, i tappears to depen d more u pong rasshoppers, &c .

,for food . It doubtless breeds here

,bu t I

have n ever found its n est.

134.

—Al cedo bengalen sis, Gm.

1 3th December, Mala—Len g th, expan se,w ing , tail , tarsu s , bil l, from gape, B i ll

,

above horny , be low verm i l ion legsand feet bright vermi l ionirides brow n .

The Common Ind ian Kingfisher is, here, fairly common andaperman en t residen t . It frequen ts j hils an d rivers

,and also

the s ide cuttingsalong the rai lway so long as these con tainwater, perching occasional ly on the te legraph w ires . U n l ikethe last Spec ies, it is n ever seen away from water

,u n less w hen

m igrating from on e l ocal ity to an other; is an expert fisher,

l i ving prin cipal ly upon smal l fish an d tadpoles, an d n ever,

according to my observation , condescen ds to scramble on theg roundafter grasshoppersand locusts . I kn ow n othing regardin g i ts n idification , except that it is said to breed in holes inriver banks from March to May .

136 .— Ceryle rudis, L in .

The Pied Kingfisher is exceedingly common on al l riversandjhils,an d is, of course ,aperman en t residen t .

U n l ike the last two spec ies, it l ives, I think,absolute ly on

smal l fish, which it in variably searches for on the w ing an d capture s byaperpen dicu lar plunge in to the water. Asapre l iminaryto d iving, it u sual ly hovers foraw hi le over its in ten ded v ictim

,

as if to make su re of itsaim,an d rare ly m isses i ts object. It

often remain s un der the water for acon s iderable time,where,perhaps, i t con tin u es the pursu it,as it se ldom emerges w ithou ta

fish, which it carries to the n earest perching place—gen eral lyatree or some e levated portion of the banks—an d devours

,or it

smal l swal low s, on the w in g . It breeds from February to Aprilin holes in the banks of riversan d jhils .

144.- Ocyceros birostris, Scop. Native name

Chakotra.l l tb October, Mala—Len gth, expan se

,w ing,

tail, tarsu s,2 ; bil l, from gape , weight,

oz . Irides redd ish-brown legs dark plumbeous.

run mas s or ru n LUCKNOW c i vrr. DIVISION. 23

The Common Grey Hornbil l is fairly abundan t in l ocal itiesw here thereare plen ty of pipal an d other spec ies of w i ld-figtrees , u pon the fru it of which it feeds . It is g en eral ly me t w i thin pairs, occas ional ly three or four toge ther,an d w hen on e fl iesfrom atre e , the others are sure to fol low i t immediate ly . Its

fl ight is s low an d u n du lating . Though it doubtless breeds here,I have n ot y et fou n d its n est.147 quat.—Palaeornis indoburman icus, Hume . Na

tive name— Pakaree Tota.The Indo-Burmese Paroquet on ly paysapassing v is it to the

Division . Itarrivesat Luckn ow in flocksabou t the m idd le of

Augu st, remain s to the en d of September, an d feeds almoste xc lus ive ly on the berries of the n eem trees , frequen tingaven ue sw here these treesare n ume rous very early in the morn in g . To

the b ird-catchers otLuckn ow it is qu iteagod-sen d ; they catchan dre tail it (pre viou sly g iving it some drug to make itappear tame )to European s and natives al ike,as abird broughtal l the wayfrom Nipal,and for which they con sequen tlyaskan d rece iveahigher price than they w ou ld o therw ise get. Perhaps it is theyoung of this species that the natives brin g from Nipal (so theysay ) for sale in Apri l an d May ; bu t if Hodgson ’

s birdP. n ipalensis) be real ly d istin c t, the youngsters may possiblybe l on g to that jab, probably to both ; bu t on this po in t I must

reserve judgmen t u n ti l I havean opportun ity of ge tting some ofthe young birds referred to.

l 4s.—Palaeorn is torquatus, Bodd . Native name

Tota.The Rose-ringed Paroquet is much too common to be

regarded in any other l ight than that of amost u nmitigatedn u isan ce . Notw ithstand ing that it often talks w e l lan d isanamus ingan d pleasan t cage-bird, its w holesale depredation s ingrain fie lds an d garden s, i f committed in merry Eng land,w ou ld bring u pon it aterrible vengean ce . Fan cy afarmerSee ingathou san d or two se ttle in afie ld of his

,an d on be ing

driven off depart, each,w ithan ear of his prec ious wheat !

Just imag in e his looks on d iscovering some hundreds of his

choicest fru it ly ing abou t on the ground,and then pictu re toyourse lf whatatoleran t be ing the m ild H in doo is, whose on lyremon stran ce again st such havoc isathreaten ing shou t or atiny mud projecti le

,which the birdsacceptas u ncon cern edly

as they do his corn an d fru it.The Rose-ringed Paroquet breeds here v ery gen eral ly in

March, n esting , I thin k, for choice in Jamin trees . From

the fol lowing record it w i l l be seen that I on ce found five

24 THE BIRDS OF THE LU CKNOW OIVIL DIVISION.

eggs inan est, bu t that fourappears to be the n ormal n umberlaid

March 10th n estan d 3 fresh eggs .

17th 4

1 7th 5 hard-set eggs .

24th 4 fresh eggs .

April 2 1s t 4 0mm ,

Average measu remen t of 1 1 eggs by 9 1 in ches .

Measurem en t of larges t egg 98

Measu remen t of smal lest egg 90

149 .

—Palaeorn is purpureus, P . L . S . Mu l l . Nativenam e m Lals iraTom.

The Rose-headed Paroquet is acommon an d perman en tres iden t, though n ot by any mean sasabu n dan tas P . torguatus .

In its habits it is mu ch the same , bu t pre fers w e l l-w oodedtracts

,an d is rare ly seen in any n umbers in the more open parts

of the coun try . It is particu larly n umerousal ong the C howkaat Byramghat w here an c ien t mangoe groves an d pipal treesaboun d

,and is fairly common in the v ic in i ty of Lu ckn ow

i tsel f. O n the 4th March, I found an es t con tain ing fouryoung fledg l ing s in ahole n ear the top of apipal tree ,andan other on the 15th Apri l con tain in g fou r fresh eggs . These

eggs measu re (average ) 0 98 by in ches .

160 .—Picus mahrattensis, Latk. Native name

Ku tpurwafi"The Ye l low -fron ted W oodpecker is both acommon andperman en t res ide n t

,frequen tmg garden s, aven u es , mangoe

groves, 820 . It gen eral ly moves abou t in pairsan d breeds fromFebruary to Apri l in holes

,artificial ly made , in decayed trees .

I have frequen tly found its n est,but cou ld n ever getat the

egg s .

164 .—Iyngipicus nanus, Vig .

The In dian Pigmy Woodpecker isalsoacommon and perman en t residen t . I have met w ith it s ing ly , in pairs,and ofte n insmal l parties, gen eral ly in mangoe g roves . It keeps We l l to thetops of trees, w here itmay be seen fly ing from bran ch to bran ch,an d even hoppingabou t l ikeaSparrow from bough to bough.

I foun dan est of this speciesan d two fresh egg s on the 24th

March. The n est was placed about e ight fee t from the groun d ,in ahorizon tal an d in ternal ly decayed (but n ot hollow ) boughof aman goe tree i n an eg lected garden in the native c i ty of

This name isappl ied gen eral ly toal l Woodpeckersand Barbets .

run man s or run LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVIS ION. 25

Luckn ow . The en tran ce aperture , on the under s ide of the

bough, was about gth of an i n ch in d iameter, g radual l yw iden ing to the egg cav i ty abou t 10 in ches away towards the

tru n k of the tree . The egg s w ere w hite,an d measured respec

tive ly° 70 by

°53and °70 by °52 i n ches .

l SQ—Brachypternusaurantius, L in .

The G olde n-backed Woodpecker is common in almost everyman goe grove ,an d frequen tly en ters compou nds an d garden s ,w hi le its shri l l sc ream ing cal l

,u ttered u sual ly as it fl ies from

tree to tree , is here qu i te afamil iar “w ood n ote w i ld . A

specimen that 1 sho t—now in the possession of M r. Hume

had the uppe r mandible abou taquarter of an in ch l o nger thanthe low er

,and taking its bil lasaw hole i t was, I think, abnor

mal ly long .

8 . auran tius breeds , I be lieve , tw ice ayear—first in Marchand Apri l,andagain after the rain s se t in . I have on two

occasi on s foun d its n es t, bu t could n ot g e t at the eggs w i thou tcutting in to,and probably destroying , the large mangoe trees

they were in .

188 .

—Iynx torquil la, Lin .

The W ryn eck is fairly common during the cold w eather. Ihave seen it frequ en ting dhak j ung le s ,and on two or three

occasion s have n o ticed i t in my ow n garden , but be ing aqu ietan d u n obtrus ive b ird

,it escape s de tection when others less

n umerous but less re tiring in the ir hab its, w ou ld surely be seen .

193 .—Megalaemacan iceps, Frankl .

The C ommon G reen Ban-be t isaperman en t residen t,an d isvervabun dan tabou t Luckn ow an d in l ocal i ties w here w i ldfru it tre es, e spec ial ly the ban ian , pipal , &c .

,aboun d, U pon thebe rries of w hich it feeds . Though s i le n t,asaru le , throughou t

the cold mon ths, it is n e verthe less the first toan n oun ce thecoming of the sprin g . Just w hen the daysare getting percep

tibly hotter in Jan uary , its loud s tartl in g cal l b eg in s to beheard i n the lan d,an d from then , ti l l the c lose of the breedingseason in Mav ,

mu st be famil iar to e verybody , though fewperhaps actually kn ow the bird . Duri ng the rain s i ts cal lis less frequen tly heard,an d ceases graduallyas the cold seasonadvan ces .

On the 23rd Apri l ,an d again on the 5th May, I foun d n ests

of this spec ies, each con tain i ng two fresh eggs . On e n est wasin ahole made by the b ird inan old mangoe tree , on lyabou ts ix fee t from the groun d, w hile the other was inas im i lar hole j u s tabout the same distance from the top ofatal l Jamun tree . The

4

26 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW OIVIL DIVISION.

egg-shel ls w ere tran slucen t, which gave the eggsafleshy-white

appearan ce . They measuredas follow sAverage of four by °8 6 in ches .Smallest egg °84«

Largest egg °88

197 .-Xantholaemahaemacephala, Mal l . Native

name—Basun ta.The C rimson -breasted Barbet is aperman en t residen t an d

on e of our most common ,as it isalso on e of our most brightlycolored, birds . I t feeds, l ike the last species, on fru itan d berriesan d youngand ten der buds . It beg in s to pair in Jan uary ,an dfrom then to the en d of May i ts loudand mon oton ou s cal lresoun ds in every tope , and is perhaps the most fam il iar heard .

Un l ike Palaeorm'

s torguatus, it in variably excavates the holefor its n est

,an d selects for that pu rpose e ither bran ches or trunks

of trees in ternal ly or ou tward ly decayed—the former, I think,for choice . It gen eral ly lays two eggs

— occasional ly three

smal ler of course,but of exactly the same shape and appear

an ce as the eggs of M . can iceps . My record of n ests is asfollow s

March 17th n estand 2 eggs (fresh )17th 2 (hatching off . )18th 2 (fresh.

24th 3 (sem i-in cubated . )May 8 th 2 young (just hatched . )

2 l st 2 (fledged )Average measuremen t of 6 eggs 9 4 by °6 7 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg° 9 7 °

70

Measuremen t of smal lest egg °90°64

199 .—Cuculus canorus, Lin .

Early on e morn in gabou t seven or e ight yearsago, whi le wandering le isurelyabou t the ru in s of the “ Bailey G uard

,

” I wasagreeably surprised to hear the C uckoo’s Wanderin g Voice ,”but d id n ot see the bird - fit v isitor to su chashrin e but I wasmore fortunate on the 29 th May last, w hen I both heard an dsaw it in arather forest-l ooking tract, in w hichapin eapplegarden flourishes u n der the grate fu l shade of s tate ly trees, an dthrough which ac lear ri vu let run s for e ight mon ths of they ear—ade lightfu l spot abou t two m iles to the n orth ofLu ckn ow .

Though the above record isal l I kn ow of the occurren ce ofthe Cuckoo in the Division

,others may have met w ith it often er .

S til l, its v is its l ike those of angels, must, I am afraid, befewand far between .

”

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION. 27.

205.—Hierococcyx varias, Vakl . Native name

The C ommon Hawk C uckoo is aperman en t residen t, frequen ting al ike garden s, grov es an d aven ues . Duri ng the

b reeding season , i . e .

,from March to the comme n cemen t of

the rain s in Jun e, i t is an oisy bird , particu larly in the

e ven ing an d early morn ing , three or four o ften goin g up the

gamu t toge ther, each tryin g to ou tdo or‘

silen ce the o ther ;while during moon l it n ights it O ften v ies w ith the Koe l intry ing to keep the w orld astir, bu t during the cold w eather it

i s shy an d re tiring , seldom seen an d n ever heard . It feeds

u sual ly,I think

,on fru i t or ten der buds

,bu t frequen tly on

smal l caterpi l lars for which it may be seen bun ting amon gthe leaves of trees . Smal l b irds often m istake i t for the

Shikra. Though i t doubtless depos i ts i ts egg s i n the n est of

some bird or other—probably in that of the Common BabblerI have n e ver been able to find any, if it is possible to d istingu ish them from the Babbler’s eggs .

208 .—Cacomantis passerinus, Vakl .

The Ind ian Plain tive C uckoo I have n ever seen , though foral l that it may occur in the Div is ion . Mr. Adam, I n ote,Wou ld seem to imply that it n ot on ly occurs bu t breeds heresee Nestsan d Eggs , page 137 bu t the large eggs to w hichhe refers as be l ong ing to this Spec ies w ere possibly the eggs

of Drymcecainornata, some of w hich vary greatly in s ize andcoloration .

212 .—Coccystes jacobinus, B odd . Native name

KalaP opc'

ya.The Pied Crested C uckoo, though n ot so common as the last

spec ies, is n e verthe less fairly abun dan t at al l season s ; fou ndal ike on high treesan d low shrubs

,an d even feeding on the

ground . During the breed ing season it also is an oisy bird,an d, l ike varius, deposits its eggs in the n ests of other birds .

214—Eudynamis honorata, Lin . Native name'

oe lan d KalaKae l i .The Ind ian Keel

,or Black C uckoo, isaperman en t res iden t,

v eryabun dan t during the rain s,bu t apparen tly m igrates to

some exten tas the cold weather sets in an dadvan ces . It feeds

prin cipal ly on fru it, be ing very fon d of the smal l berries of the

ban ian an d other Fiei . During the breed in g season severalmales may often be seen fol low ing the same female, and fromthis it may be in ferred that, l ike the true C uckoos, they do not

28 THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

pair. On such occas ion s they are very n oisy w hi le atthis season the ir w e l l-kn ow n cal l is often heardat n ight.

The Koe l , I think, i n variably d epos its its eggs in the nest of

the Common In dian G rey-n ecked C row splenden s) . I have

foun d them on several occas i on s . Detailsas fol low sJun e 30th 1 egg (fresh) n o Crow’

s eggs in n est.

30th 1

July 9 th 1 (hard-Sgt) 29 th 3 1

l 7th 0 0 . 1 (fresh ) 3 H

23rd 1 n o C row ’s egg in n est.

Average measuremen t of 6 by ‘8 8 in ches .M easuremen t of largest egg

°94

Measuremen t of smal lest egg °8 6

The above record is rather puzzl ing , bu t ten ds, I think to

show that the Koe l ejects the C row ’

s eggs from the n est w hen

depositing her own . I may alsoadd thatat Chinhu t, on the25thAugust, I saw aC row feedin gayoun g Koe l . The youngs ter, toattract theatten tion of the C row

,occas ional ly i ndu lged

i n acon tin u ou s caw ing” for al l the w orld l ikeayoung Crow .

It was fu l ly fledg ed , and flew from tree to treeafter its fosterparen t. On an otherand more recen t occasion I saw abatch of

three youn g Koe ls, be ing ledabou tand fed byapair of Crows,the young birds making very fairattempts to caw .

”

217 quat. —Centrococcyx intermedius, Hume—Native name—Mahala.

Hume’s Coucal or Crow Pheasan t—which, I bel ieve , is theon ly spec ies of this gen u s foun d in the Divis ion— isaperman en t

residen t. It is fairl yabun dan t bu t rather local ly d istributed,

frequ en tin g bamboo brakes, particu larly where these occurroun d tanks in the n eighbourhood of v i llages sugarcan e fie ldsin the V icin ity of j hils, an d gen eral ly, any odd patches of

j ung le bordering on water,from which latter it is seldom fou nd

at any d istan ce . In the Horticu ltural Garden sat Luckn ow itis rather common , an d breeds there in trees overrun w ithcreepers . It also breeds in bambooan d other thorny thickets ,g en eral ly in Jun e, bu t itmay hav e two broods in the year, as Ihave seen qu ite young birds in November. Of tw o n ests that Irobbed in Jun e on e con tain ed three an d the other two whiteeggs, rather du l lan d chalky in appearan ce . They average inmeasu remen t by in ches .220 .

- Taccocuasirkee, G ray .

The Bengal S il

rkeer isaperman en tan d fairly common res iden t,but Is also somewhat locally distributed. In wel l-wooded

30 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW’

CIVIL DIVISION.

larvae,an d, un l ike the W oodpeckers, moves w ith equal faci l itye ither up or dow n trees .

Though this is avery common birdabou t Lu ckn ow , it hasbattledal l my attempts to find its n est

,though I am pretty sure

thatapair had the ir n est inatree in my own garden .

254.—UpupaepOps, L in .

The Hoopoe , of'

Europe, is n ot common,an d is on ly found

here in the cold w eather. Its larg er s ize an d the white ban don its crest readily d istingu ish it from the n ex t spec ies . Bu t

the scarc ity of the bird here is,to my thinking , much more

remarkable than its presen ce , con s idering its reputedabundan cei n other parts of Ind iaduring the cold season .

255.—Upupaceylonen sis, R eich . Native name

Igudhud .

The Indian Hoopoe is acommon an d perman en t res iden t.It commen ces to pair in Decembe r, i f n ot earl ier,an d breedsin February an d March . On the 5 ih of the latter mon thI obtain ed an estan d seven fre sh eggs in an out-hou se in myow n compou n d . The n est was in ahole in the wal l ju st abovethe door, and was n o thing more or less than aShape lessan dgigan tic bun dle of tow an d rags, probably on ce asqu irre l’sn est.

Average measuremen t of °88 by °65 in ches.Measu remen t of larg est egg °9 1 6 8

Measuremen t of smal lest egg °83 °60

256 .—Lan ius lahtora

,Sykes . Native name—Safaid

Latora.The Indian G rey Shrike , though it may be fou n dalmostan ywhere in open cou n try , is n ume rical ly rare . It frequen tsdhak jun gles, often er babool an d o ther low trees on openplain s, and occasional ly teleg raph w ires . Though it feeds

m ostly on crickets , locu sts , &c . ,I have n e ver

,asappare n tly

oth

éars have don e

,seen it eve nattempt to se ize young or s ickly

bir s .

It breeds here from March to Ju ly, makingamass ive cupshaped n est in babool trees

, gen eral ly in sol itary on es on openplain s . A n est that I cameacross on the 2ath Jun e con tain ed. fou r young , sem i-fledged birds .

257 .-Lan ius erythronotus, Vig . Native name—L

Mattig/aLatora.

The Ru fous—backed Shrike is dec idedly common er than thelas t species and, l ike it, isapermanen t residen t, frequen ting

ran BIRDS OF THE LU CKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 31

the same local i ties, w ith perhaps less ofal iki ng for open plain s,bu t veryabun dan t in al l dhak jung les . In its habi ts it is mu ch

the sameas L . tabiora,an d breeds du ri n g the same season , bu tu sual ly in some thick w i ld coronadabush surrou nded by dhak .

On on e occasi on I saw it succeed in captu ringalarge moth onthe w ing .

260 .—Lan ius vittatus

,Val .

The Bay-backed Shrike is n ot common , bu t may be met

w ith occas ional ly in dhak j ung les an d in w e l l-w ooded bu shytracts . It appears to have the u sual habits of its tribe

,an d

isaperman en t res iden t.261 .

-Lan ius cristatus,Lin .

The Brow n Shrike is fairly common° in the cold w eather.

It frequen ts the same local itiesas the last species .262 .

—Lan ius isabel l inus, H emp . 5 EM .

The Desert Shrike is n ot common,an d is probably on ly

acold w eather v is itor. It frequen ts the same l ocal itiesas thepreceding speci es,an dappears to have, here, precise ly the samehabits .265.

—Tephrodorn is pondicerianus, Gm. Nativename—Kerala.

1 7tk November, Male — Length, expan se, w in g ,tail

,3 °

tarsu s,

° 90 bi l l,from gape, ° 90 ; w e ight, 55oz .

The Common W ood Shrike isacommon an d perman en t re s id en t, frequen tingal ike garden s, aven ues an d mangoe grovesbu t is rare ly, if ever, seen in low scrub or dhak jun g le . It

g en eral ly moves abou t in smal l parties, apparen tly searchingthe leavesand bran ches of trees for in sects, caterpi llars

,&c .

I have n ever fou nd i ts n est.

270 .—Graucalus macu

,Less . Native name—Khaki

Popiya.1 0th October, Female—Len gth, ex pan se, w ing,

tail,

tarsu s,The Large C uckoo Shrike is fairly common in w e l l-w ooded

tracts,an d frequ en tly V isits compoun dsan d garden s . A pecu

l iarity of this bird is, that it rare ly al ights on mangoe trees,pre ferring to pass over them on its way from on e tree to

an other ; whi le at other times it may be seen on baboo lbu shes

,ev iden tly obl iv iou s of the comparativ e ly magn ificen t

mangoe treesarou n d . I can n otaccou n t for this, especIal ly as

mangoe trees u sual ly swarm w ith the in sects, caterpi l lars, &c .

,

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVIS ION;

u pon which it prin c ipal ly feeds . Its fl ight is S l ow and un du'

lating , and it is se ldom seen alon e , general ly in pairs,an dsometimes

,though rare ly, in smal l parties . It breeds in the

Divis ion , though I kn ow n othingabou t its n idification , hav ingn ever been fortunate enough to find i ts n est.

271 .—Pericrocotus speciosus, Lath. Native name

Sat sale?) kap i . *I

'

7HI November, Female — Leng th, 9 °

expan se, w ing ,tai l, tarsus, °80 ; bil l, from gape, w eight,

oz .

At on e time I was in cl in ed to l ook upon this l ove ly bird , theLarge Min ive t, asarare an d very ex ceptional cold w eatherv isitor. Rare it un doubted ly is , bu t smal l parties, chiefly females ,may be met w ith occas ional ly , from November to the en d of

February , in mangoe topes al l over the Div is ion , w hile I havefrequen tly seen it in the Horticu ltural Garden s at Luckn ow .

It is strange that w hi le this spec ies V isits u s P . roseus does n ot.273 .—Pericrocotus brevirostris, my .

1 1th November, Male .—Le ng th, expan se , 1 1 °

w ing ,tail, tarsus, °70 ; bi ll, from gape, °70 ; w e ight,

°62 OZ.

1 1th November,Female .

-Leng th, expan se , w ing,tai l

,tarsus, °70 ; bil l, from gape, °70 ; w e ight,

‘62 oz .

The Short-bil led Min ivet beg in s to pu t in an appearance inO ctober, leav ing again at the end of the cold

‘

w eather,but

d uring its stay isafairly common v isitor to both ou r garden san d groves . It gen eral ly moves about in smal l parties, inw hich femalesand young in the ye l low garb u sual ly predomi

nate in the proportion of two or three to on eadu lt male keepsw e l l to the tops of trees , be they high or low ,an d seemsalwaysbusily en gaged hun ting for in sectsan d the ir larvae .

276 .—Pericrocotus peregrinus, L in .

1 1th November, Male—Len g th, expan se, w ing ,tai l

,tarsus , °60 ; bil l, from gape , °60 ; w e ight, °40 oz .

l l tb November,Femal e - Leng th, expan se,

w ing , tai l,

tarsus, °70 ; bill, from gape, °60 ;w e ight, °38 oz .

The Smal l M in ivet is acommon an d perman en t residen t.Like the last species, it is gen eral ly seen in smal l parties,frequen ting man goe topes an d garden s . I have n ev er beenfortunate en ough to fin d its n est.

This name isalsoappl ied to P . brevirostris .

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION 33

278 .—Buchangaatra, Herm. Native name

Bojanga.The Common Drongo Shrike or King Crow” is everywhere

common,frequen ting garden s,aven ues, groves, te legraph w ires,ju ng lyand cu ltivated tracts,and even low scrub on u ser plain s .

It g en eral ly perches in pos ition s when ce it comman ds agoodl ook-ou t ; often on the backs of cattle, where it watches forthe cricketsan d grasshoppers they disturb w hen graz ing . Itis an active, pugnacious and n oisy bird, particu larly duringthe breed ing season

,when its fami l iar cal l-n ote may be heard

long before su nrise an d after dusk. It has, how ever, apleasan t, prolonged, low tw ittering song, which it occasional lyindu lges inat dusk when the day’s labor’s don e .

On on e occasion , early in May, I saw what I thought wasacurious sight—aDrongo cutting such an tics on the w ingthat I n ever for amomen t suspected it was al l the whi lebelaboring apoor Tit or Warbler that it must have had in itstal on s . The l iberation of the l ittle captive fairly aston ishedme

,but judg ing from the rapid ity w i th which it made for the

n earest tree, it wasapparently more frighten ed than hurt.The earl iest record 1 have of the breed ing of this species

is the l 6th May , and the latest the 20th July ; bu t in termed iately I have come across many n ests , by far the mostfrom the 15th Jun e to the l 0th Ju ly . Out of 54 eggs Ihave of the two typical kinds—pure whiteand spotted

— 13 ofthe formerand 4 1 of the latter, in c luding four w ith on lyabouthalf adozen minute spots on each.

Spotted eggs

Average measuremen t of 41 eggs°99 by

°72 inches .°72 (l ongest )Measuremen t of largest 10 0 °78 i: (thickest )

Measuremen t of smal lest egg °9 1 °64

Pure white varietyAverage measurement of 13 eggs

°97 by °72 inches .

0

°72 ( l ongest )Measurement of largest eg g °76 (thickest )


281.—Buchangacaerulescens, L in .

The White-bel l ied Drongo is fairly common during the coldw eather in w e l l-wooded l ocal ities, but rare ly, if ever, seen in

such open cou ntryas the last Species . In its habits it is muchthe same , except that it n ever frequen ts cows’ backs,and sometimes sings sweetly . I bel ieve it migrates to the hi l ls at the

5

34 run BIBDS or THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

commen cemen t of the hot w eather at any rate, I have notbeen able to find its n est, nor have I seen it during the breedingseason .

286 .—Chibiahottentotta, Lin .

The Hair-crested Drongo can on ly,I think, be con sidered

as arare v isitor during the rain s . It is then occasi onal lybrought in to the market, but I have on ly on ce seen it in its

w i ld state frequen ting the outer trees of amangoe tope n earLucknow . It seems strange that it shou ld be foun d hereatal lduring the rain s,and n ot in the cold weather.

288 .—Muscipetaparadisi, L in . Native names

Shah-B u lbu lan d Sham-B u lbu l .

5tlrJune—B rown,Female.

—Length, expan se,

w ing , tai l, tarsus,

°62 bil l,from gape,

w e ight, °62 oz .

The Paradise Flycatcher, though by n omean s common , is un iversal ly spread over the Div isi on . Occas ional ly it may be seen

fl ittingabout mangoe topes, bu t often er in bamboo brakes andother thickets

,an d is afrequen t V is itor to the Horticu ltural

Gardensat Lu ckn ow , where it breeds . On the 6th Jun e last Itookan estand four eggs fromalow bran ch of amangoe tree .

The eggs, ofadel icate w hite salmon color, w ere mi nu te ly Spottedw ith red an d ringed w ith similar spots at the large end .

Their measuremen taverages by in ches .A complete accoun t of the changes of plumage of this

Species is sti l l very much requ ired . Personal ly, I am in cl inedto regard the chestn u t phase as its breeding plumage, thefemale havingashort,an d the malealong, tai l at this season ;whi le it is also the un iversal l ivery of the young , but for howl ong Heaven on ly kn ow s . .Atany rate, during May , June an dJu ly, these birds are gen eral ly in the chestn ut plumage, whiteon es being then the exception , though it is these very exception s that puzzle on e so much. Perhaps, some day , we mayget to kn ow al labou t them .

In the Gu l istan of Hafiz” the chestn utand whi te bird arecon sidered as distin ct species the wh ite—I w rite frommemory—being cal led the Shah, and the chestnu t bird theS ultanaBu lbu l .290 .—Hypothymisazurea, Badd .

The B lack-naped B lue or Azure Fly catcher is on lyacoldw eather v isitor

,and even then is by n o mean s common . It

does not seem to care for mang oe topes, in which I have n ever

seen it ; but in forest-looking tracts, w ith plenty of under

run BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION; 35

w ood or shrubs, it may occasional ly be seen , gen eral ly two orthree together.

292 .—Leucocercaaureola, Vieitl .

The White-brow ed Fan tail is common throughout the Divis ion , al ike in mangoe groves,aven ues, garden s, &c . It feeds

on smal l in sects, w hich it u sual ly se izes on the w ing , andbreeds from May to August. On the 25th July I was fortunate en ough to seeapair commen ce bu i ld ing the ir n est,and Iwatched its progress dai ly very careful l y . The place selectedwas ahorizon tal and s len der mangoe bran ch about Six feetfrom the groun d,atapoin t where the bran ch terminatedan dthree s lender u prights started . In this fork they commen cedthe n est by tw isting spider w ebs round the main or horizon talstem upon which their tiny stru cture was destin ed to stan d .

Next morn ing the n est was bu t li ttle bigger than ,an dalmostasn eatan d compactasalargeacorn cup,an d en tirely unconn ectedw ithany of the u pright tw igs . During the n ext two daysg ood progress was made,an d on the fi fth day the n est wasaperfect fu l l-sized ske leton , hav ing its s ides firmly attachedto the three perpen d icu lar tw igs . The process of thicken ingthe S ides of the n est then commen ced,an d in 13 days, coun tingfrom the beg i nn ing , the n est was completed . On the fifteen thday it con tain ed two eggs of acreamy white color w ith azon e of brow n ish Spotsat the thick end of each.

Average measuremen t of the two °63 by 50 in ches.R t

'

t

°65 °50espec Ive measuremen S " 0

1°62 .50

295.—Cul icicapaceylonensis, Swe .

l 4ik November, Female .-Length, expan se,

w ing , tai l , tarsus .

°50 bil l,from gape we ight,

°25 oz .

The Grey-headed Flycatcher v isits the Div ision in greatn umbers during the cold w eather. It seems to be particu larlyfon d of man g o topes

,w here many mayalways be seen fl itting

agood dealabout the l ower bran ches, and sal ly ing forth in

al l d irection safter in sects .

297 .—Al seonax latirostris, Rafi .

The Earth-brown Flycatcher is by n o mean s abundan t, andIamatal oss whether to con s ider i t aperman en t residen t or

n ot . It certain ly v is its u s during the rain s but I have n o

record or recol lection of having seen itat other season s .

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

SOL—Stoporalamelanops, Vig .

The Verd iter Flycatcher is on lyacold w eather V is itor. It

is n ever, however,abun dan t,an d frequ en ts for the most partthe better w ooded tracts of the d istrict

,though I have seen it

in my ow n garden ,an d very often in the W ingfield Park andHorticu ltural Garden s, Lu ckn ow .

It breeds in Kumaon,where it was very plen ti fu l in Jun e .

On the l 0th of that '

mon th,I foun d an est and three fu lly

fledged young in adak bungal ow ou t-hou se . The n est, for

the most part bu i lt of moss, semi-g lobu laran d rather mass ivei n appearan ce,an d l in ed w ith fin e black roots

,was placed

betw een the roofand ridge-pole, resting on the latter. Again ,on the 12th, I tookan est of sim i lar con structi on from u n der

the exposed roots of atree in aroads ide embankmen t. The

eggs, three in n umber an d quite fresh,w ere of acreamy

w hite color, w ithal ight bu t w e l l-defin ed redd ish brown Zon eround the thick en d of each

,w ith the circu lar spaceat the en d

w ithin the zone of asti l l l ighter Shade . They measure respec

tively°76 by °54

,72 by °55,an d °78 by °56 in ches .

304.-0yornis rubeculoides, Vig .

The Blue-throated Redbreast is on ly acold w eather v isitor,n umerical ly rarean d se ldom seen , except perhaps in the guavag rovesand garden sabou t Luckn ow . In the d istrict it is occasional ly met w i th in mangoe topes, frequ en ting low bran ches,often smal l shoots projecting from the trunks of the trees, fromw hich it sal l ies forthafter in sects, rarely return ing to the sameperch,an d seldom to the same tree .

306 .—Oyornis tickel l i, B ly .

Tickel l’

s B lue Redbreast is perhaps rather common erthanthe last species, but is S im ilar in habi ts,an d frequen ts the samel ocal ities, keeping, how ever, more to the u pper than to the

l ower bran ches of trees . It is, of course, on ly acold weatherV isitor.323 .—Erythrosternaalbicil la, Pal l .

From hav in g for al ong w hi le con founded this, the EasternW hite-tai led Robin Flycatcher, w ith the n ext spec ies, I amu nable to say muchabout it, bu t my impression is that it isqu ite as common as E . parvaduring the cold w eather,an d inits habits exactly resembles that bird

, frequen ting the samel ocal ities .

323 bis .—Erythrosternaparva, B echst.

The W hite-tai led Robin Flycatcher is common during thecold weather in mangoe groves, gardens, &c .

,almost indeed

38 THE BIRDS or run LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

‘

dozen . During the heat of the day the party u sual ly retires. to rest in some bu sh overgrow n w ith long grass, where theymay be heard con vers ing in alow chatter. If d isturbed then ,

they makeag reat n oisean d scuttle through theadjoin ing grassin al l d irection s, becoming si len t as they hide or squat

,and '

remain ing so un ti l the in truder moves off,w hen they gen eral ly

t e-assemble e ither in the same bush or in some other c loseby . The male b ird sings v ery sw eetly, often est, I think, in thecold dewy November morn ings .

432 .—Malacocercus terricolor, Hodge. Native

name—Ghougkaian d Sat-bkai .l st November,Female — Length, 10 °

expan se, w in g ,tai l , tarsu s, bi l l

,from gape, w eight, oz .

The Bengal Babbler is very common in aven u es, garden s,

hedgerow s, man goe topes and dhak jung les—iafact w here

e ver there are trees or bu shes it is sure to be foun d .»

Jerdon sure ly cou ld n ever have m istaken this species forM . malcolmi, yet w e fin d him writing that the latter doubtless“exten ds through most of the N . W . Prov in ces, w hi lstM . terricolor, so faras w e kn ow ,

is n ot found there” B irds ofIndia

,Vol . IL, page The reverse is the case,an d so far

from M . terricolor not occurring i t is on e of the common est,an d probably the n oisiest

,bird in the N. W . Prov in ces . It is

un iversal ly kn own amongst the nativesas the “ Sat bltai, or

seven brothers ; “ babbler” or“chatterer” be ing the name

u sual lyappl ied to it by European s . Be ingacon stan t res iden tin garden san d compounds its habitsare Very gen eral ly kn ow n .

When the Shikra, as it sometimes does, makesasw oopataparty of babblers,it is curiou s to observe how si le n t they

become, sn eaking off sin gly to the tops of trees w here theyhide for some time

,and then beg in to fi le away to some otherl ocal ity where they stil l keep very qu iet un ti l w e l l in to thebusin ess of feed ingagain .

The ir breeding season extends from March to September ;but though by habit gregariou s, they n ever breed in company .

Orange, C itron , guavaand other low trees and shrubs arefavorite n esting places,as we l las the l ow er bran ches Of man goetrees . The ir n ests are mostly composed of coarse grassesl ined w ith fin er grass, but sometimes w ith coarse hair-l ike roots,the egg cav ity beingabout 5 by 4 by 2 i n ches . They gen eral ly lay three eggs, of adeep green ish blue (the shade variesin some) ,an d occasional ly four may be foun d in an est.

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs °99 by °77 in ches.M easuremen t of largest egg °79


THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION . 39

436 .—Argyamalcolmi, Sykes . Native name .

—Bhaina.S in ce the first part of this paper was publ ished,and longafter this part was in type , I met w ith this spec ies, the LargeG rey Babbler

,for the first time in this Div isi on in the dhak

j ung les in the n e ighbourhood of the Rahimabad Rai lwayS tation , where, on this occasion , I foun d them common . Duringthe day I Spen t there I mu st have seen some seven or e ightd ifferen t parties of from fi ve to ten ind iv iduals in each.

Though I have explored these jun g les before , times w i thou tn umber

,I have n ever prev ious ly n oticed this species . I cou ld

hardly have passed them over as terricolor, for malcolmi isalarger birdan d recogn izableat aglan ce when flying by the

w hitish color of the lateral tai l feathers . Sti l l this seems

more l ike ly than that this spe cies shou ld n ow ,for the first time

during several years , have made itsappearan ce here . Anyhowi t must be very local ly d istributed in the Divis ion ,an d it iscertain ly not found in the v ic in i ty of Lu ckn ow . The add itionof this Species brings my total n umber up to 4 14 (vide p . 501 ,Vol . IX . )

438 .—0hatarrhaeacaudata, Dam.

The Striated Bush-Babbler is acommon an d perman en tresident, veryabundan t in dhakand thorn j ung le less so in

patches of thatching grass, w hich italso frequen ts,an d is seen,

though n ot habitual ly , in hedgerow sandabout garden s,and isn ot u n common in the large, grass-hedged, guavagrovesaboutLu ckn ow .

It breeds from Apri l to August, makin g its n est u sual ly inthick bushes, espec ial ly in dhak jungles in the w i ld corou nda.The fol low in g isarecord of i ts n ests and the dates .ou whichI foun d them

May 5th n estand 3 eggs (hard-set. )31817 n o 3 (fl

‘

GSlL)Jun e 20th 3

July 2oth 3 n a;29th 3 young (j ust hatched . )

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs°8 1 by °62 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg °88 °75


The eggsare blueand g lossy .

460 .—0 tocompsaemeria, Lin . Native name

KangraB u lbu l .

The Red-whiskered Bulbu l is very common al l the yearround . It frequents garden sandavenuesabout Lucknow and

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW‘ CIVIL DIVISION.

abounds throughout the district in al l w e l l-w ooded tracts. It

breeds very gen eral ly in May : in that mon th I found the

follow ing n ests

May 5th n estand 3 eggs (fresh. )7th 1

l oth 2

3 l st 3

3 1st 3

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs,

°82 by

”°62 in clies .



It habitual ly breeds in thickly fol iaged shrubs, particu larlyin creepers run n ing up trees or lattice w ork,and in the Horticu ltural Garden s, here, n estsare con sequen tly very numerous .

462.—Molpastes haemorrhous, Gm. Native name

B u lbu l ,al so Gu ldam Bu lbu l .The C ommon Madras Bu lbu l is qu iteasabundan tas the last

species, and perhaps more gen eral ly spread, being frequen tlyfoun d in comparative ly w ood less tracts . Sti l l, it frequen tsmu ch the same local ities,an d is veryabundan tabout Lu cknow ,

w here it is prized by the natives for its fighting qual ities . In

the d istrict, too, it is train ed for the same purpose, and on

several occasi on s I have seen as manyasahundred perchedon

,and fasten ed to, separate sticks Shaped l ike the letter T, inthe courtyards of coun try magnates .

The eggs of this species are somewhat larger and redderthan those of 0 . emeria; but there is but l ittle d ifferen ce inthe size an d shape of the ir n ests,an d they breed in the samel ocal ities ; 0 . emeriavery gen eral ly in May, but this speciesapparen tly n ot un ti l Jun e or Ju ly .

The fol low ing is my record of its n ests

Jun e 13th n estand 3 eggs (fresh. )1 5th 2

2 6th 3 (hard-set. )Ju ly 18th 3 (partly in cubated . )7

Average measuremen t of 10 eggs°87 by °64 in ches .

Measu remen t of largest egg °95 °72


468—Ioratiphia, Lin .

1 8th November, Mala—Length, expan se, 3 w ing,tail , tarsus, °70 ; bi ll , from gape, °75 ; w e ight,

°62 oz. Legs dark plumbeous irides greyish brown bi ll darkhorny .

THE BIBDs or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 41

The Green Iora,orWhite-w in ged Green Bulbu l ,as Jerdon cal lsit,is afairly common an dgperman en t res iden t. It frequen tsaven ues

, garden s , mangoe topes , &c . , gen eral ly in pairs, butoccasional ly in smal l parties, keepin g w e l l outof sight,as it qu ie tlysearches the leavesan d bran che s of trees for its in sect food . On

the 16th Ju ly I foun dan estan d three eggs . The n est was ina.man goe tree on ahorizon tal bough (attached to thatan danu pright tw ig )about 20 feet from the groun d it was cup-shaped ,compactan d w e l l made of fi n e grass stems ( l in ed w ith fin er)an dc obw ebs

,an d so w e l l con cealed from V iew that I w ou ld hav e

given lon g oddsagain stany on e find ing it who had n ot,as I had,seen the birds bu i ld in g it. The eggs m easured °75 by °56

,

°75

by °56,

°73 by°58 in ches,an dare , I con s ider, the most beau ti fu l

in my collection , be in g of acreamy w hite color,beau tifu l ly

marked w ith long itudinal wavy streaks of fain t purpl ish brown .

470.—Oriolus kundoo, Sykes . Native name—m P i lak.

5ih October , Female,j un — Leng th, expan se, 15 °

w in g,tai l , tarsu s , °8 7 .

The Mango Bird or In dian Oriole , though aperman en t res iden t, is n ever soabundan t durin g the cold w eatheras i t is duringthe hotan d rainy season s from about the time the mangoe trees

begin to bloom to the en d of September. It frequen ts garde n s ,aven ues , man goe topes , an d is freque n tly seen in open coun try ,

taking l ong fl ights betw ee n trees, prin cipal ly the ban ian and

other Fici,u pon the berriesan d buds of which it feeds . I have

the fol low ing record of its n ests

Jun e 16th n estan d n o eggs (bu i ld ing) .Ju ly 2nd 2 eggs ( fresh) .2n d 1

5th 3

25th 3 young (ju st hatched) .Aug . 5th 2 (fledged) .Average measuremen t of 6 eggs by °84 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg °88

Measuremen t of smal lest egg °84

The n ests w ere al l al ike , cup-shaped, made up of coarse

grasses , tow , rags, &c .

,suspen ded to forks in bran ches ofmangoe

t rees,easi ly seen from ben eath but w e l l con cealed by leaves

above . A n est, which I saw the birds bu i lding , was ready forfu l lyamon th before it was u sed .

472 .-0riolus melanocephalus, Lin . Native name

.Paliari TOpt-d d ?” Pi lak.

12th November,Female—Len gth, cxpan se, 16 °50 w ing ,

tail, tarsus, bill

, from gape, weight, 2 50 Oz .

6

42 «ru n B IRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

U n l ike 0 . kundoo, the Black-headed Ori ole is muchmore com,

mon d uring the cold w eather than it is in e ither the hot or rainyseason ; man y e v iden tl y m igrating for these season s . In its

habits it c lose ly resembles the last specie s,an d frequen ts the samel ocal ities . I have n ever foun d its n est. It probably does n ot

breed here .

475 .— Copsychus saularis,Lin . Native name—Dhyal .

The Magpie Robin is aperman en t an d fami l iar residen t,

frequ en tin g compou n ds, garden s, guavaan d mang oe groves, asw e l las dhak j ung lesan d the treesand shrubs in the v icin ity of

V il lages . Its food mu st be v ery varied,for I foun d on e feed in g

on acen tipedeabout four in ches lon g that I made it drop w ithdiffi cu lty . O n exam in ing the cen tipede I foun d that l ife wasn ot qu ite extin ct.

During the pairing an d bre ed ing season s this Robin sin gssw eetly , particu larly in the early morn in gs an dat dusk. It

u sual ly n ests in holes in trees, but occasional ly in wal ls an dd eserted bu ildings, an d gen eral ly lay s four eggs , pale blu ishg reen , spotted or blotched w i th brow n . O f its n ests I have thefollow ing re cord

May 22nd n estand 4 eggs (fresh) mangoe tree .

Ju ly 9 th 2

1 2th 4 (hard set)l 5th 4 youn g (unfledg’edb,

Average measuremen t of 8 eggs 8 4 by in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg°86 °74

Measuremen t of smal lest egg 82 °75

480.-Thamnobiacambaien sis, Lain. Native name

Shama.

*

5 ih October , Female — Len gth, expan se , ;wing , 3 ;tail, tarsu s

, b ill,from gape, °62 ; w e ight,

°75 oz .

The fami l iar Brow n -backedRobin isaperman en t residen t,an d

frequen ts the same l ocal itiesas the last species . It is g en eral lysee n in pairs,an d du rin g the breed in g season hasapleasing song ,w hich it u sual ly warbles forthat morn an d even , dan cin gabou tal l the time w ith its W ing s in atrai lin g position and i ts taile rect. It gen eral ly—almos t in variably —n es ts i n hole s in hou ses,mason ry or mud wal ls,an d old deserted bu ild ings of any kin doccas ional ly in n u l lahsan d ravin es . The follow ing is my recordof i ts n ests .

March l oth n estan d 4 eggs (in cubated) .May 24th 3 (fresh) .J un e 15th 3Ju ly 7th 3

3 (hard set) .POpu laI ly so

, though the name properly pertain s to Cercotrickas‘macrura.

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVIS ION.

Average measuremen t of 12 ° 79 by °56 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg°83 °6 1

Measu remen t of smal lest egg 74 5 5

On e of the above n ests,which I fou n d in awal l of the

Secun der Bagh ru in s,was en tire ly composed of human hair l

An other, w hich I robbed on thre e occas ion s , each time leav in gthe n est, had soon afterwardsafou rth se t. Thi s time Ial low edthe egg s to remain

,an d had the satisfaction of kn ow in g that the

old lad y managed to rear her brood .

Pos sibly Iam,an d was, w rong in suppos in g her to have laidthe four c lutches ; but though I watched c lose ly ,

I was con

v in cedat the time that it was the same pair that kept abou tthe n est.

48L—Pratincolacaprata, L in . Native name—Kalap idha.

The Whi te-w ing ed B lack Robin is common in thin dhakan dtamarisk jun g le s, and scrub-covered, u n du lating an d rav in yg roun d ; bu t does n ot, hab itual ly at leas t, freque n t garde n sand w e l l-w ooded trac ts . It feeds on in se cts w hich it u suallycaptures on the groun d, dartin g down on them from some low

perch. It isaperman en t res iden t.483—Pratincolamaurus, Po l l .

The In dian Bu sh Chat, which is very common during the cold

weather,frequ en ts the same l ocal itiesas the las t spec ies, an d

i ts habitsare mu ch the same . It u sual ly makes i ts appearan ceabou t the beg in n ing of October an d leaves early in Apri lis in gen eralav ery wary b ird, keeping w e l l ou t of ran ge of

dan ger,an d fly in g from bush to bu shas on eapproaches, takingat last to thicke ts if persisten tly pursued .

49L—Sax icolaisabel l inus, B npp.

Men e tries’ W heat-ear is foun d on ly in the cold w eather, and

is n ot common,being rather l ocal ly d istribu ted, as it

frequ en ts, gen eral ly, rugged an d barren tracts an d the more

open parts of dhak an d scrub jung le . I kn ow n othin g partic u lar in regard to its habits .

492 .— Sax icoladeserti, Rnpp.

The B lack-throated Wheat-ear is s im ilarly on lyacold w eatherv isitoran d far from common . It frequen ts mu ch the same local itiesas the last species . On on e occasion I foun d some five or

s ix frequ en ting block kunker quarries, particu larly the materially ing exposedand scatteredabout, on the barren marg in of ajhilat Aj gaen .

44 THE BIBDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISIONJ

494.—Cercomelafusca, B ig . Native name— Davina.

The Brow n Rock Chat is fai rly common about Luckn ow ,but

I have n ot seen i t e lsew here . It frequ en ts the n umerou s old

bu ild ings an d wal ls in the C ity Subu rbs . A n est w hich I tookfroman old mosque on the 24th May c on tain ed three fresh

egg s of an u n iform pale blue color,marked w ith tiny spots of

d i fferen t shades of brow n ish red, chiefly towards the larger

en d w here the spots formedan i rregu lar dotted zon e . O f fi ve

eggs in my possession the average measuremen t is by06 2 in ches .

497 .—Ruticil larufiventris, Viei l l . Native name

Lalgon d ci .The Indian Red start—acold w eather V is i tor—makes its

firstappearan ce abou t the en d of September, stragg lers remainingas late as May . It is v ery common

,frequen ting garde n s ,

man goean d guavagroves, an d n ot u n frequ en tly ou t-houses ,wallsan d old bu ild ings . It feeds on in sects

,u sual ly capturing

them on the grou nd .

514 .—Cyanecu1asuecica, L in .

The Red-spot Blue-throat is very common in the cold w eather.

It habitual ly frequen ts damp places , su ch as patches of l ongg rass, sugarcan e, peafie lds , &c .

,in the v ici n ity of riversand

j hils ,an d is common in the tamarisk ju ng lesabou t Byramghat.It feeds on in sects .

518 bia—Luscin iolamelanopogon , Tem.

The Mou stached SedgeWarbler is fairly common inal l su itablel ocal ities, bu t on ly , I think, during the cold w eather. In the

low -lying grass-covered lan d s herean d there on the banks o f theG oomti, in the grassan d tamarisk jung le in the sem i-swampsabout Byramghat, an d i n sim ilar l ocal ities on the khad ir lan dsof the Oudh bank of the Gan ges, it is n ot u n common , w hileafew may sometimes be fou n d in the rushy swamps an d n ookson such rivers as the G oomti an d Saie . From its sku lkinghabits , it is d ifficu lt to getafair shotat i t u n lessat ve ry c losequarters , when it gen eral ly gets mang ledalmost past recog n ition .

520 .—Locustel lahendersoni, Goes .

The Eastern G rasshopper Warbler—probably on ly acoldw eather v is itor—frequen ts the same local ities as the last, thetw o be in g o ften foun d together, bu t it is dec idedly ag reatersku lk an d n umerical ly less common . The on ly specimen Ihave, I captured al ive after ag ood deal of trouble in

46 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

but the eggs are very d i fferen t, be ing of abrick-red color.

Theaverage measuremen t of six is °64 by °46 in ches .

539 .—Cisticolacursitan s, Frankl .

The Fan tail Warbler isaperman en t res iden t,abun dan t in al lsu itable l ocal ities, prin cipal ly in long grass wherever this is fou n d—in dhak jung les, where grass is abun dan t, an d In corn an dpea-fields in the n eighbourhood of

,or partial ly surroun ded by ,

sarpatta. grass ; bu t n e ver, 1 thin k, faraway from theseand su ch

l ike retreats . It feeds on smal l insectsand their larvae . I haven o n otes regarding its n idification .

543 .-Drymoecainornata, Sykes. Native name

Ghas-Phutki .The Earth-brow n W ren -Warbler frequen ts the same l ocal itiesas the last,bu t in far greater n umbers . In deed , it is on e of the

most common birds in the Division,always foun d in g reat

n umbers w herever thatching or sarpattagrassabou n ds . Whend isturbed, it u sual ly takesashort, j erky ,

fl ightan d darts againin to the grass, through w hich it moves w ith great fac i l ity .

Sometimes , when u n d isturbedan d alon e in i ts g l ory, it takesshort excu rs ion s i n to theair, jerksabou t forafew momen ts

,and

then return s to the grass to indu lge . in alow tw i ttering son g .

I t breeds very gen eral ly i n Ju ly . Betw een the l st an d 31stof thatmon th, I mu st have seen an d exam in edat least 100 n estsin the sarpattagrass clumps so common alon g the Goomti atLu ckn ow . The n ests w ere in variably made of fin e strips of

grass, which is alway s u sed when green an d pl iable, g ivingthem at first agreen appearan ce, bu t later on

,as it fades , a

straw color. In shape they are rather e lon gated oval structures,very n eatly w oven

,w ith the en tran ce hole n ear the top,an d

are gen eral ly about three or fou r feet from the grou nd in them idd le of ac lump of grass firm lyattached to fi ve or six of the

stems . The eggs are gen eral ly of apale blu ish-gree n , spottedw ith chocolatean d variou s shades of brow n

,the larg er e nds

g en eral ly w ith,bu t occasional ly w ithou t ,azon e of den ser spots

en tang led in‘alabyrin th of fin e hair- l ike l in es . An other

Variety , though s im i larly marked,have pure pin kish-w hite

grou nds, an d are very beau tifu l eggs . Out of 70 eggs in

my possess ion , 62 belong to the former,and e ight to the latter,variety . They measure respective ly

B lu isb varietyAverage m easuremen t °60 by °45 in ches .

Measu remen t of large st egg °62 °47

Measuremen t of smal lest egg°58

°44

5'e BIRDS or THE LU CKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 47

P inkish-white varietyAverage measuremen t °57 by °4 l in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg °59 °42'56 4 2

Measuremen t of smal lest egg . 59 4 0

551 .—Frankl in iabuchanan i, B y .

The Ru fous-fron ted W ren -Warbler is fairly common an daperman en t residen t. It frequ en ts v ery mu ch the same local itiesas the last spec ies, espec ial ly low thorn an d scrub jung le . It

makesan oblon g loose ly-con structed n est w ith the aperture n earthe top, an d lays three or four w hite eggs , m in u te ly spottedw ith d ingy red . Average measuremen t of four eggs, 0 60 bin ches .

554 .

—Phyl loscopus tristis, B ly.

The Brow n Tree-WaIbler is common durin g the cold w eatherin treesan d j ung le on the ban ks of the Chow kaat Byramghat,an d on the Goomtiabou t Lu ckn ow ,

espec ial ly in alarg e topeof youn g babool trees bel on g ing to the Horticu ltural Garden s .

I havealso seen it frequ en tin g man goe topes .

559 .—Phyl loscopus n itidus, B ly .

The Bright-green Tree-Warbler is on ly , I think, acold

w eather v is i tor, though I have shot it early in September,an das lateas .the en d of Apri l . It frequen ts man goe topes,an d isfairlyabun dan t in the babool fen cesalon g the rai lway .

565 bis .—Regul oides humu , B rook-S.

Hume’s Crow n ed Tree-Warbler is certain ly fairly common in

the mangoe groves abou t Luckn ow an d e lsewhere du rin g the

cold w eather. On the 1 1th October I shot two spec imen s,an d saw many more in the same tope

,an d have seen it often

S in ce .

582L— Syl viaaffin is, B ly .

The Al l ied W hite-Throat Is v ery gen eral ly spread m m the

Division during the cold w eather ; bu t I have n ever seen i t

anyw here so n umerous as it is in the babool trees alon g the

G oomti an d the rai lway . In the tal l dhak an d thorn j ung lesabdu t Rahimabad i t i s also pre tty common ; bu t i t n ever, Ithink

,except by chan ce

,en ters mangoe topesi

589 .—Motacil laInaderaspatensis, Tem. Native

The Large PiedWagtai l Isaperman en t residen t, bu t commonon ly, I think, on riversan d streams. On the Goomti, wheIe

48 mm BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

I have had opportun ities of observ ing it, I have se ldom foundmore than on e or tw o tog e ther,an d have n ever seen it assoc iat ing in flocks l ike otherWagtail s . W hen flushed it u sual ly fl iesbutashort d istan cealon g the river—alway s, I think, over thewater

,an d on al igl i tin g on the beach is often rudelyassai led

by on e of its ow n spe cies, each ev iden tly con sideringacertainrange his own particu lar beat.591 .

—Motacil lapersonata, Gou ld . Native nameDhobia.

*

The Black-faced Wagtai l is common during the cold w eather,making itsappearan ce early in Septemberan d remain ing toaboutthe en d of Apri l . It may be foun dalmostan ywhere , via, inploughed fie lds, grassy plain s , garden s, topes, andabout riversan d j hils, u sual ly run n ing brisklyabou tafter in sects .591 bis .

—Motacil la. dukhunen sis,Sykes .

The remarks abou t the last species apply equal ly to this,the Ind ian Whi te-faced Wag tai l , which is everywhere ascommon , frequen ting the same local ities .

592 .—Calobates melanops, Pal l .

I can n ot say that I have ever observed the Greyand Ye l lowWagtail , though it sure ly must occur during the cold w eather.

It is men tion ed in Captain Irby ’s paperas common,

” and itsoccurren ce can scarce ly be doubted , though I should n ot think itcould beatal labun dan t, or I cou ld hard ly have overl ooked it.593 bis.— Budytes melanocephalus, Licht. Native

name—P i lkya.The Black-cap Fie ld Wag tai l is common during the cold

w eather, com ing in early and remain ing late . After agoodshow er they may be seen in great n umbers on usar plain s ;are common in rice an d w e l l—irrigated corn -fields

,an d in the

n e ighbourhood of j hils and rivers . They sometimes perchon trees .

594.— Budytes calcaratus, Hodge.

The Black-backed Ye l low -headed Wagtai l is n ot qu ite so

common as the last spec ies,bu t is fairly abundan t in marshes,in un dated fieldsan d damp tracts in the Vicin ity of j hils and

rivers . It 18 on lyacold w eather V isitor.596 .—Anthus maculatu s, Hodgs .

The.Indian Tree-Pipi t is common during the cold w eather

,appearmg about the en d of Septemberand departingabout theApplied tomost Grey Wagtail s.

THE Bras s OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 49

end of Apri l . Some few may, how ever, remain to breed* as Isaw apair in amangoe tope so lateas the 29 th of May last .

This Tree-Pipit frequ en ts shady places, an d is abun dan t inal l mangoe groves w here the groun d is covered w i th veg etation , from which it may be seen fly ing up in to the treesas on eapproaches . In the garden sabout Lu ckn ow it isalso common .

It usual ly feeds on the ground, but frequen tly on trees .

597 .—Anthus trivial is, L in .

It is not easy to d istingu ish the European Tree-Pipit fromthe last species w ithoutacloser exam ination than on e u sual lyg ets in the fie lds ; bu t it appears to be equal lyas common

,

frequen ting the same l ocal itiesand very s imi lar in its habits .600 .—Corydal larufula, Viei l l .

The In d ian Tit-Lark is acommon an d perman en t residen t, foun d al ike in cu l tivated tracts

,open plain s, an d

dhak j ung les, bu t moreabun dan tly in damp and w et places,su chas thin patches of w i ld paddy and rice . When the thatching grass grow n in the suburbs of Luckn ow is cut in Apri lor May , man y w il lalways be foun d frequ en ting the stumps ortufts

,in which they doubtless make the ir n ests .

604.—Agrodromasordida, Rupp .

The Brow n Rock-Pipi t is n ot common . I have occasional lymet w ith it in cu ltivated tracts, ploughed fie lds , an d abou tmounds covered w ith broken brick an d scrub jung le . It is

on lyacold w eather V isitor.

631 .—Zosterops pal pebrosa, Tam. Native name

Baboona.

The W hite-eyed Tit is bothavery common and perman en tresiden t

,foun d in al l w e l l-w ooded tracts, very n umerou s in

mangoe topes,an d the compoundsand garden sabou t Luckn ow .

It is soc ial in its habits, man y being alway s foun d together,andappears to feed on smal l in sects . I have fou n d its n est on

several occas ion s . Detai lsas fol low sMay 18th n estan d 2 eggs (fresh) .

18th 1 l

Jun e 8th 3 (in cubated) .10th 1 (fresh) .Ju ly 23rd 3

it This seems extremely u n l lke l y ; up to the presen t this Species has never beenknown tobreedanywhere in the plain s—Ed .

50 THE B IRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

Average meas uremen t of 6 eggs’56 by °46 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg ° 60 °48

Measu remen t of smal lest egg '53 4 5

The n ests w ereal l on mangoe trees, suspen ded to thin tw ig sat the ex treme ends of bran ches, an d very carefu l ly hiddenby leaves , to the s tems of w hich they w erealso attached.

This Tit read ily forsakes i ts n est. Al l the n ests that Iexam in ed during con struction (an d I must have looked in to a.dozen or more) wereat on ceabandon ed .

660.-Corvus macrorhynchus, Wey l . Native Name

—Kala-itoma.The Bow -bil led Corby

,though n ot byany mean s SO common

as the n ex t spec ies, is dec ided ly plen tifu l wherever there arehuman habitation s

,and is often m et w ith in comparative lylon e ly places . It breeds in thickly -foliag ed trees, gen eral ly

mangoe or tamarin d,in March and Apri l . The fol low ing is

my record of ne sts

March 6 th n est and 4 eggs (fresh) .10th 4

15th 2

24 th 4

24th 4 ( in cubated) .Average m easuremen t of 10 eggs 1 7 4 by 14 inches .Measuremen t of largest eggMeasu remen t of smal lest egg

The n ests are stick platforms, always p laced high in thetrees .

663.—Corvus Splenden s, Vi ei lz. Native name

Kowa.The In dian Grey-n ecked Crow is, of course,abun dan t,an dasimpuden tan d fam i l iar here ,as it is elsewhere , w hi le its chief

characteristicsare too w e l l kn ow n to n eed recapitu lation . Imay men tion ,

how ever, that it robs n ests,if n ot hab itual ly, at

l east occasional ly , for I have more than on ce seen it despatching eggs w ith great gusto .

It breeds Very g en eral ly in Ju lyand Augu st, the first fal lof rain in Jun e be in g the signal for bu i ld i ng operation s tocommen ce . It may the n be seen v igorou sly steal ing the khu skhus from tatties, purl oin ing pea-sticks,an n ex in g tw igs, rags,&c .

,w ith w hich i t soon completes its n est. It u sual ly lay s

four eggs of agreen ish-blue colour, spotted an d blotched w i tha“

Shades of brown , some remarkably free fromany spotsata


The Koe l,it may be n oted, in variably lay s its eggs in the

n ests of this species .

674.—Dendrocitta. rufa, Seep . Native name

Mootri .

14113 November, Female—Length, 1 6 expan se, 18

w in g , tai l, tarsu s,

b il l,from gape,

w eight, 3 oz .

The Common Ind ian Tree-pie isaperman en t residen t,abu n

dan t in al l w e l l-w ooded tracts, as w e l las in the garde n san daven ues abou t Lu ckn ow . A Specimen that I shot hade v iden tly robbed some n est, for i ts b il l was smeared w i th theyolk of eggs . On an other occasion , I actual ly caught on e

in theact of robb ingaBabbler’s n est.This Tree-pie breeds g en eral ly from May to the en d of Ju ly,

making its n est on high man g oe trees , in variably very n eartheir tops . I have found the fol low ing n ests

May 8 th n estand 4 eggs ( fresh ) .17 th 2

2 l st 3

Ju ly 5th 4

7 th 5

In some n ests, the eggs w ere white w ith redd ish-brow n spotsin others Of al ight blu ish-green color w i th mu ch l ighte rbrow n spots . O f the former varie ty I have s ix eggs ; of the

latter ten . They measure respective lyWhite variety

by °8 1 in ches .

‘84' 80

B lue'

s/I varietyby °83 in ches .

0 86‘82

681 .-Sturnus vulgaris, Lin . Native names

Kusnaian d Ti lora.The C ommon Starl ing is very abun dan t during the cold

w eather, frequen ting Open cu l tivated tracts an d pu tting upfor the n ight in n eighbourin g trees . Itassociates in flockslarge or smal l . These flocks, be fore roosting , occas ional ly go

through afew evolutionary man oeuvres on the w ing at othert imes they may be seen at dusk flying very low ,

rising n ow

and then to clear trees,and eviden tly inagreat hurry to reach

52 .THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

some d istan t n ightly abode . When migrating in Apri l theyo ften depart in flocks of coun tless n umbers . W hen ou t on

the Volun teer Rifle Ran ge , on the 13th Apri l last, aflockpassed across the ran ge, covering its en tire length of 900

yards an d exten d in g far beyon d the Butts, presen ting a

den se an d zig-zag l ine fu l ly 40 yards in breadth—asight to

seean d hear.

There is,I think

,an other Starl ing that frequ en ts the

Division—probably S . purpurascen s bu t having n o spec imen s,I can n ot, of course, vou ch for its occurren ce .

683 .—Sturnopaster contra, Lin . Native name

Abu l /ca’“ Mynah.

The Pied Starl ing is acommon an d perman en t residen t .It feeds in flocks in company w i th Mynahs , swarms in the

v icin ity of every v i l lag e, an d rests for the n ight in trees inthe n eighbourhood . In Luckn ow it is v ery gen eral ly cagedfor its song ; indeed, w hen taken youn gan d brought up w ithinhearing of aw histl in g S/zama, ( C ercotrz’ehas macrura) it im itatesthe song of that b ird to perfecti on . It breeds v ery gen eral lyin Ju ly , n ever, I think, layin g more than fou r g lossy b lu e eggs .

Seen atad istan ce its n est m ight pass forashape less bun d le Of

old rag san d grass, paper, &c .

,of w hich, in deed, it is g en eral ly

con structed, in aperfect maze of tw igs in babool trees , oftenin the m idd le of av i l lage . In the absen ce of the babool, an ytree w ou ld

,how ever

,seem toan swer for its n est

,if i t on ly has

the recommen dati on of being in or n earav i l lage .

Average measuremen t of 13 eggs 10 9 by °77 in ches .Measu rem en t of largest egg °80


684.—Acridotheres tristis, Lin . Native name

Mynah.

The Common Mynah is very abu n dan t, particu larly so in

the v ic in ity of tow n san d v i l lages . When taken young it is"

easi ly domesticated,an d n eed n ever be caged,as it rare ly

abu ses its freedom by fly ingaway .

G en eral ly speaking , the Common Mynah, l ike the Crow( C . splenden s) , commen ces to bu ild w ith the first fal l of rainin Ju n e— early or late as the case may be—an d has don ebreed ing by the m iddle of September. It n ests in discrimi

nately in old ru in s, verandahs, wal ls Of hou ses,&c .

, but

U sual l y even In Oudh the bu d Is cal led “ Ablaka” from Ablak =pie ~bald,an d.not Abuhta.”—Ed .


whi le here it is capturedan d caged by the natives an d, thoughI can n ot say that I have ever heard it, it doubtless s ings w e l l ,and imitates other birds l ike the last spec ies .690.—Pastor roseus, L in . Name name—Golabi

I have sometimes been in cl ined to think that some few of

the Rose-colored S tarl ings were perman en t res iden ts . It is

on ly , of cou rse, from abou t the m idd le of February to the

en d of Apri l that they occur in vast n umbers, but occasionalstragg lers w i l l be met w ith throughou t the hot an d rainyseasons, and it' is fairly abun dan t as earlyas the commen cemen t Of October.

In the early part of the cold w eather they are seldom seen in

parties of more than four or five members,butare very gen eral lyd istribu ted, particu larly in w e l l-w ooded and jung ly tracts,in terspersed w ith j owar fields . As the cold season advan cesthese smal l parties w ou ldappear to l ose the ir i ndiv idual ity in ,or probably combin e and con sti tu te, the larg e flocks thattraverse the coun try in al l d irection s preparatory to migrating ,as 95 per ce n t . u ndoubtedl y do in Apri l or May at lates t.DO the few that remain warran t theacceptan ce of P . roseus,

asaperman en t res iden t694.

-Ploceus phil ippinus, L in . Native nameBaya.

The Weav er Bird or Bayais acommon an d perman en tresiden t. It is social in its habits, frequen ting some localities invast n umbers ; is easily tamed, an d w hen taken young maybe taughtal ot of tricks,an d on thisaccoun t isagreat favoritew ith the natives . It breeds from Jun e to the en d of September,but n ot very gen eral ly u n ti l the rain s have fairly set in ,making i ts n est u sual ly on trees stan ding in or over wate r.

Its con spicuou s retort-shaped n est in the babool fen cesalongthe railway mu st be fami l iar to every trave l ler. Palm trees

arealso favorite n esting places, from fi ve to fi fteen n ests be ingfrequen tly seen on on e tree . Occas ional ly three eggs may befound inan est

, but se ldom more than two, cylindrical in formand pure white .

Average measuremen t of 10 eggs °80 by °57 in ches.Measuremen t Of largest egg °86 °60

Measuremen t O f smal lest egg °75 °55

Most certain ly the Rosy Starl i n g is n owhereaperman en t residen t of the plain sO f In d ia. I very much doubt I f M r. Re id has e ver met w i th on eabou t Luckn owbetw een the 7th of Mayan d the 20th of Ju ly . I f he has, it can on ly have bee n afew isolated , w eakly or wou n ded bi rds . By the en d of Ju ly or the first w eek in August

( it varie s in d i ff eren t season s) they begin to return from their bridal tour (see alsoIX ,

456 ) -Ed .


695.—Ploceus manyar, Horsf . Native name

Te l ia-baya.Though Jerdon states that the Striated W eaver-bird does n otappear to occu r in the N . W . Prov in ces (B irds of India,Vol . II . , page he mu st, I thin k, have been m isin formed ,as it certain ly is n ot u n common here durin g the rain s,an d i nsu itable local ities throughou t both O udh an d the N . W .

Prov in ces . In Ju ly 1878 , w hen the Goom ti was in high flood,

some hun dreds of these birds commen ced bu ild ing the ir n es ts

in alarge j un g le of sarpattag rass w hich was then surrou n ded

by an d standing in water, the overflow of the river. Soonafterwards the rive r fe l l , leav ing the grass highan d dry ,an dn es ting operation s immed iate ly ceased . In on ly two n ests d idIafterwards fi nd eggs

—three in each ; theaverage measuremen t O f the six being °8 1 by °59 ; the largest measuring °841

by ”6 1an d the smal lest °78 by °56 in ches .

698 .-Amadinarubron igra, H odge. Native name

NakaZn or.

The Chestn ut-be l l ied Mun iais n ot very common , though itis aperman en t residen t. I have rarely seen i t,except w henthe thatching or sarpattagrass is in seed , on the l ong stalks ofw hich n umbers may often be seen feed ing . The Luckn ow birdcatchers, how ever, manage to secu re large n umbers w herever

they get them from ; bu t as n o two of these gen tlemen te l lt he same story w hen qu estion edabou t the hau n ts of an y bird ,I don ’

t be l ieve,an d w i l l n ot reproduce the yarn s they have to ld

meabou t this species .

699 .—Amadinapunctulata, Lin . Native name

S eena-bazan d S ing-baaThe Spotted Mun iais acommon an d perman en t residen t.

It may be found in dhakan d in deed in any j u ng ly localities,an d l ike the last species frequ en ts sarpattagrass w hen in seed .

I have al so frequen tly seen it in flocks in the tamariskan dgrass j un glesabou t Byramghat. It is also captured in largen umbersan d caged .

703 .-Ama.dinamalabarica, L in . Native name

Chirkwaan d Chiroka.The Plain Brown Man iais acommon an d perman en t

residen t, g en eral ly foun d in smal l parties in dhakan d grassyj un g les . Italso v is its garden san d compoun ds, and is easi ly

caught in trap cages bated w ithal ive bird or two of i ts ow n

spec ies . It u sual ly bu i lds in smal l thorny trees or shrubs,

making arugged, g lobu lar-looking n est of fin e grasses w ith

56 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION .

the en tran ceat the s ide ,an d lays from five to seven white eggs :

The fol low ing is my record of its n ests

Ju ly 7th n estand 7 eggs (in cubated) .Ju ly 2 l st 5 (fresh) .Sept. 1 1th 7

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs°59 by °46 in ches .


Measu remen t of smal lest egg °56 °45

704—Estrel daamandava, Lin . Native nameLal Man ia.

The Red Wax-bill, or Lal Mun ia, is also acommon an dperman en t res iden t, frequen ting thatching grass w hen it seedsin great n umbers . In the tamarisk and grass jung les abou tByramghat,an d in al l jun g ly looking local ities w herever m et

w ith,it isalmost sure to be foun dassoc iating in small or largeflocks . Like the last species, it is easily taken in trap-cagesin deed that is the method of capturing al l these Mun ias—an d

appears to be even happy in con fin emen t,often in du lg ing in its

short pleasan t son gafew days after its imprisonmen t . Largen umbers may always be had in the Luckn ow market

,w here

the males are sold for fighting—apastime in which the

natives take great de l ight.705.

-Estreldaformosa, Lat/z. Native nameHarri Man ia.

The Green Wax -bil l is n ot common ,an d, u n l ike the last°species, does n ot, habitual lyat least, frequen t jung les bu t keeps

,

according to w hat I have seen of it,to man goe topesan d hig lr

trees . It isalso capturedan d caged,an d is sometimes broughti n to the market in con s iderable n umbers . I bel ieve it to be apermanen t residen t.706 .—Passer domesticus, Lin . Native name

Gouri’

ga.The Hou se Sparrow is common en ough inal l con scien ce,and

is rather too perman en tares iden t to be got rid of easi ly, evenw hen you wan t the scamp to leave your ow n draw ing-roomIt is, therefore, n eedless to sayanythingabout him here .

711 .—Gymnoris flavicol l is, Frankl .

The Ye l low -throated Sparrow is bothacommonan d perman en tresiden t

,frequen ting mangoe topes,aven ues, an d occasional ly

garden s . When passing through dhak jung le in the coldw eather, I have Often seen it in large flocks feed ing abou tOu the groun d . Its cal l-n ote is very l ike that of the C ommonSparrow,and may be mistaken for it, but fortunately for man-g


kind its habits an d habitatare somewhat d ifferen t ! C ommonas it is at certain season s

,I have n ever foun d its '

n est,‘ and

,

though man y breed here , I am disposed to think t hat themajori ty e ither go to the hil ls or submon tan e tracts

,return Ing

again when the breed in g season is over.

716 .— Emberizabuchanan i , B ly .

The G rey-n ecked Bun tin g is common in larg e flocks during ,

the cold w eather on bare an d scrub-covered plain san d Open dhakjun g le . Though i t resembles the Ortolan of Europe,an d was

foralon g time con s idered iden tical, it rare ly, i f e ver,fin ds its

way to the table , in Lu ckn ow atan y rate,w here thou san ds of

socialan d other Larks, i f n ot Sparrow s,arean n ual ly passed off

as g en u in e Ortolan l722 .

— Euspizaluteola, Sparrm .

‘ Native nameGaudam.

The Red-headed C orn Bun ting isalsoacommon , but on ly aw in ter v is i tor. Itavoids w e l l-w ooded tracts, bu t is abun dan tin dhak j un g le wherever i t borders on c u ltivation . Italsofrequen ts thatching grass w hen in seed

,an d I have often seen it

in pipal trees— sol i tary on es in open cou n try .

724.—Melophus melan icterus, Gm. (M . cristatus

,

Vig . Native name—Ku lchira.The Crested Black Bun tin g is u sual ly seen sol itary or in pairs,fl ittingabou t grassan d dhak j ung les, but on ly du ring the cold

w eather. It is,how ever, fairly common abou t Luckn ow w hen

the sarpattagrass, w hich it frequ en ts, is seed ing in Novemberan d December ; an dagain abou t March or Apri l, then probablyon i ts way to the bil ls, or think ing abou t going .

738 .-Carpodacus erythrinus, Pal l . Native name

Tal i .The Common Rose Fin ch is perhaps on lyacold w eather v isi

tor. At the same time I am in c l in ed to think some may beperman en t residen ts,as I have seen it in the market for saleat

al l season s,an d have mysel f shot it early in September. At

any rate,it is fairly common in the cold w eather in the grovesan d garden sabout Lu ckn ow ,

an d in the district in dhak j ung lesan d bamboo brakes . It hasafeeble, prolonged, but somewhat

tw ittering song ,an d is common ly caged .

756 .—Mirafraerythroptera, Jerd . Native name

Agg ie .

The Red-w inged Bush Lark is acommon and perman en tresiden t, found in low scrub and dhak jung les an d dry grass

8

58, run BIRDS or; was LUCKNOW C IVIL DLigIsION.

lands,rarely seen In,other local ities. It usual ly rises to S i n g

from the top of some smal l bush, takesashort beavfl ight, an d drops down gradual ly On to the top of another,shrub . Though I have n e ver seen its n est, I l Iave met w ithy ou ng bi Ids—almost n estl ings760 .—Pyrrhu1audagrisea, Soap. Native name-ari

The Black-bel l ied Fi nchLark Is bothacommonand perman en tresideht fou nd in open , even usar, plain s an d ploughed and,fallow fie lds, gen eral ly in floCks O I small parties . I found,an est an d two egg s on the 22n d Apri lat the root of. atu ft of

r attagrass. The eg g s measure respective ly °73 by°57an d8

7

7.

by°58 in ches .

761 —Calandrel labrachydactyla, Lee'sl . Native name-Baghaira.

The Short-toed or Social Lark (the Ortolan of Indian d inn ertables) is on ly acold w eather visitOI (I w on der, how the

khan samas manage in the hot an d rainy season s w ithou t it) ,butavery common on e

,coming in early In Octoberand leav ing .

agai n In Apri l . It Is u sual ly seen i n open plain s an d scrub

j un g le ; O ften In ploughedand youn g com fields, an d in grassmeadow s in the v ic in ity i bi lsan d e lsew here,alway s .

inflockseither,

large or,smal l

,an d is

, looked uponas common property .

byalmostal l Of thehawk tribe .

7_

67;r ,

—Alauda. , gulgula, Frankl . Native nameChundu l .

The In dian Sky lark Isacommonan d perman en t residen t,and ‘

is fou nd In much the same l ocal itiesas the last spec ies . Italsoe quen tly en ters grassy compounds ,and Is very common inal l '

low -ly ing grassy patches, particu larly in those abou t thetamariskj un g les on the Chowkaan d G ogran ear° Byramghat.It ISafavori te song-bird with the natives

,and Is Consequen tly

very common ly caged . I have n ever foun d its n est.769 .

—Ga,lerita. cristata,Lin . Native name—Chundu l .The Crested Lark isalsoacommon residen t

,an d, l ike thelast species, isafavoiite ca ird. It u sual ly freque n ts ,open plain s, ploughed fieldsand scrubj ung le, avoid ing ,as”arule

, amp meadow lands. As in the case of

I haven ever found its n est.773 .

—Crocopus chl origaster, B ly . Native nameBarrial .

l st November, Mala— Length, expan se, w ing,tai l, tarsus , 1 ° bi l l, from gape, w e ight, 7 °75

,0z .

3“ More common ly,and I think correctly,appl iedtoMelanejcprgp’hal151°

]e ealc'

i taf j-Ifol

I‘

ffiii ruin s or rimIIIOKNOW dIVII. DIVISION. 59

The Sou thern G Ieen Pigeon Isbothacommonresiden t

,an d is strictly Ci

frugivorou s,be ing Ve of the

berries of the ban ian an d otheI Fici,In quest of which

.

it_

w i l le n ter garden sand compou n ds free ly . The natives here erron eously be l ieve that it n ever descen ds to the groun d, and even

preten d that, when shot, it l osesabou tapou nd In w e ight themomen t it comes in con tact w ith it ! Ifasked how it managesto quen ch its thirst, they w i l l te ll you that it settles u pon areed , w hich ben ds over w ith the we ight of the birdand enablesit to drink ! Beal l these yarn s ” as they may, it isarareoccurre n ce to see aGreen Pigeon on the g Iound

— sti l l rarerto see it drinking . I have taken n estsas follows

Jun e 6th n estand 2 eggs

20th

Ju ly 3rd

Average measuremen t of 6 egg s . by °95 in ches .

M easuremen t of largest egg °94:

Measuremeut of smal lest egg °9 6

The n ests,smal l platforms of tw igs, w ere al l high up in

mangoe trees .There Is

,Iam in cl in ed to think, an other species of G reen

Pigeon found in the Divis ion , but n ot having seen it of lateyears, Iam unable to iden titv it.787 .

—Palumboenaeversmanni, Bp . Native namePalzari Kabu tar .

The Ind ian S tock Pigeon makes itsappearan ce In vast flocksin March an d Apri l w hen the spring crops are ripen Ing andbeing cut , and d isappears in the beg In n Ing of May .

o

Theyin vaI ia'bly

'

re'

st during the heat of the day'

,and throughout then ight in’

mangoe topes, an d i f u nd istu Ibed keep to the samegrove for daysan d e ven w eeks together.

788 .— Columbaintermedia, S trickl

'

. Native nameKabu tar.

The Indian Blue Book Pigeon is acommon and permanen tresiden t, frequen ting the mosques, tombs, minarets an d palacesof Luckn ow In vast numbers, n o tw i thstan din g the many dailycaught an d sold for domestic use . The natives heI e do n ot

ven erate itas they do in Rajputana. 1t,

breeds, I think,al l the

year round inandabout the bui ldings it frequen ts .

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs by In ches .

Measuremen t of largest eggMeasuremen t of smal lest egg

But do they ever drin k ? f tli

ihk nbt. -Ed .


792 .

—Turtur pulchratus, ,Hoolys. Native name

Pahom} P er/oi .

The Indian Turtle Dove is on lyacold w eather v isitor, but isthen very common . Though it gen eral ly frequen ts mangoetopes, it is more partial to bamboo‘

clumpsan d dhak jungle, inwhich tal l trees aboun d . Abou t the beg in n ing of March itbeg in s to col lect in flocks,and towards the e nd of the mon th,when the crops have been cu t, may be seen frequen ting thestubble in great n umbers prior to m igrating .

794.—Turtur senegalen sis, Lin . Native name

OlzotaFachtaan d P erki .

The Little Brow n Dove isacommon and perman en t residen t.It frequ en ts garden s, groves of every description ,an dal l dhakand thorny jun g les, in cluding bamboo brakes . It breedsgen eral ly in Apri l an d May , making i ts n est,asmal l platformof sticks, in some low thickly- foliaged bush,an d lay s the usualtwo white eggs .

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs by °85 in ches .

M easuremen t of largest egg °88


795.- Turtur suratensis, Gm . Native name

Oki trokaFachtaan d Per/I i .The Spotted Dove is very common in every gardenan d grove,an d is, of course,aperman en t residen t . It isafamil iar bird ,often making i ts n est in veran dahs an d u n der the eaves of

ou t-houses and w ith, perhaps, the exception of amon th or two

in the cold w eather, breeds all the year roun d . It u sual lyse lects some moderately -s ized thorn y bu sh to bu i ld in , makingasmal l thin platform for 'an est

,an d lays two white eggs .

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs by °8 1 in ches .

Measuremen t of largest egg °85


These Doves hate the Common Tree-pie (Dendrocz’ttamfa)because it doubtless robs the ir n ests , an d on two or three

occasion s I have seen acouple of them succeed in driving itout of amangoe tope .

796 —Turtur risorius, Lin . Native name—DerFachtaan d P erki .

The Indian Ring Dove , though acommon and perman en tresiden t, is farmoreabun dan t in the cold w eather than it isatother season s . Many eviden tly migrate in Apri l, prev iously

62 THE RIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

frequen ting dai ly an d for w eeks together the same feedinggrou nds and the same treeat n ights . It feeds prin cipal ly on

grain , occasi onal ly on in sectsan d grubs,and even on snakesat any rate, years ago, asmal l snake was taken from the

stomach of on e in my presen ce . The breeding season here

exten ds, I thi nk,from Jun e to September. The majority

probably lay in August, judg ing from the n umber of smal lchicks brought in to Luckn ow for sale in October.

818 .—Francol inus vulgaris, S teph. Native name

Kala-TitanThough common in many parts of Oudh

,I have n ever

.

seen

the B lack Partridge strictly w ithin the l im its of the Division .

Stragg lers,accord ing to g ood testimony, have been shot w ithinits boundaries on the ban ks of the Goomti ; whi le nativeshikaris assert that shey res ide in the tamarisk and grassju ngles in the khad ir of the Ganges (U nao d istrict) . Fromthe nature of the local ities referred to, I am in cl in ed to bel ievethat they may be foun d in the v ic in ity of the Ganges, thoughI have not personal ly seen or heard them there .

During my rambles in Kumaon in Mayand Jun e I foun dthis Partridge very abun dan t in the valleys of the Sarj oo,Ramgunga,and Gori rivers (up the latteralmost to the sn ow s) ,and frequen tly saw it perched on trees ge n eral ly abou t thel ower bran ches ; but on ce abou t 80 feet high on the top of

adead tree w i th n othing bu t the tru nk an d the stumps of

some of the larger bran ches left. It was cal l ing lusti ly, bu tas n o on e thought of l ookin g at the tops of the trees it

bothered u s g reatly for some time, but wasat last d iscovered .

822 .

—0rtygorn is pondicerianus, Gm. Nativename—Ti tur’

.

The Common Grey Partridge, though found almost anywhere

,is n owhere very abun dan t, except, perhaps, in dhakan d

thorn jungles, to which it fl ies for shel ter w hen the spring cropsare out. From its sku lkin g habits it is often d ifficu lt to flush

,

an d con sequen tly affords poor sport ; but afew may alwaysbe bagged i n the Very early morn ing when out feedin g .

A few cal l birds,placed overn ight in asu itable place, w i l l

gen eral ly succeed in col lecting abou t themal l the males in thene ighbourhood, when abattue may be arranged the fol low ingmorn i ng .

This Partridge al so takes readi ly to trees . A pair that Iflushed some half adozen time s, w ithou t be ing able to bagthem, even tual ly took shelter in ahuge mangoe tree in w hichIt cou ld not see them,and from which they w ere w ith d ifficu lty

ran BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 63

d isl odged . Male birds,it may be n oted , are eagerly sought

after by the partridge -fighting commun ity of Luckn ow, and‘comman d agood price in the market. Indeed the steadydemand for these w il l probably resu lt in den uding the coun tryof birds ,aidedas it is hy' the havoc which some mammals andb irds of preyalso infl ict on the eggsan d you ng .

826 .—Perdicula

,asiatica, . Lam. Native name

Lowa.The Jun gle Bush Quai l is n ot common . It may , occasional ly, be flushed when beating abou t hedges an d patches of

grass in u n frequen ted groves or garden s, and sometimes inbushan d grass jung le in u n du lating an d rav iny ground . It

appears to be aperman en t res iden t, but of this I am not

qu ite sure .

829 .—Coturn ix commun is, B on n . Native names

.Bhater, G’lzag ir Bhatéran d B urraB lzate’r.

Essen tial ly am igratory bird, the C ommon or G rey Quai ldoes n ot arrive in any n umbers u n ti l March, the majori tyleav ingagain shortly after the spring crops are cut. It is,however, fairly common during the cold w eather, an ds tragg lers—doubtless remain ing to breed—may be flusheddu ring the hot and rainy season s . When abun dan t, largen umbersare taken in n etsan d brought in to Lu ckn ow for sale,prices rang ing from Rs . 2 to Rs . 248 per hu n dred . G oodmales are, howev er, advan tageously retai led for ~ fighting

—afavori te pastime among the Mahommedan commun i ty , of

Luckn ow .

830.- Coturn ix coromandel ica, Gm Native

name Ohim mg B hater.

The Rain Quai l—though aperman en t residen t— is n e ver

common u n ti l the rain s set in,but is . then very . abundan t’

in s tand ing crops an d grassy j ung les. Like the last S pecies ,i t is caught in n ets an d sold at prices rang ing from Rs . 1 8

toRs . 2 per hundred , real iz ing less than the G rey Quai l, ei ther.

because it is smal ler in s iz e , or because it is captured,as itu sual ly 13, in g reater n umbers during the rain s thanC . commun is ever is durin g the cold w eather

,or even in March

w hen . it is most abu n dan t. The males of this speciesarealsoprized for fightin g .

SSL—Excalfactoriachinensi s,: L in . Native nameGobal -B u tai .

This love ly bird— the Pain ted or B lue-breasted Quail— isexceeding ly rare,and is on ly, Iam pretty certain , foun d d uring .

64 THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION .

the rain s . Pro fessional Q uai l-catchers in form me that theyoccasional ly capture on e or tw o w hen ou t n e tting the RainQuai l, bu t that, l ike myself, they have n ever seen it duri ng thecold w eather.

834.

—Turnix j oudera, Hodge . Native name—Lows .

B utai .835.

—Turn ix dussumieri, Tom. Native namesG lzinwa-Lowaan d Chow-Lowe .

These Button Quai lsare perman en t residen ts, though n ot veryabun dan t, T. dussumieri predom inating . They are ge n erallyfoun d in dry grass j ungl e, but ow in g to the ir ret irin g habitsare seldom seen

,u n less spec ial ly looked for, w hen agood deal

of beating isalways requ ired to flush them . They also res ide

in l on ely garden s an d groves, w here the grass isal low ed togrow l on g , particu larly i f theseare surrou ndedan d in tersectedby row s of sarpattaor thatching grass , be ing gen eral ly, Ithink, fon der of shade than most of the Quai l tribe .

840 .—Cursorius coromandel icus, Gm. Native

name—Nukri .

The Indian C ourser or Courier Pl over is fairly common an daperman en t res iden t. It frequ en ts by preferen ce bare plain sand ploughed fie lds, gen eral ly in smal l parties, the in div idualmembers of which, how ever, keep w e l l apart. I have n ever

on ce heard it u tterasing le soun d or cal l of any kin d .

842 .—Glareolaoriental is, Leach .

Of the Larger Swal low Pl over or Eastern Pratin cole I '

haven o specime n s

,n or can I recol lect ever m eeting w ith i t ; but

Captain Irby say s it was “seen at Alumbagh (three m i les

from Luckn ow ) in Jan uary I therefore in clude it.843 .

—Glareolalactea, Tom.

The Smal ler Eastern Pratin col e or Swal low Plover occu rs onthe Gan ges at Caw n pore , an d probably also on the Chowkaan '

d G ograrivers at Byramghat . I have n ot observed it on

the Goomti,though it most l ike ly does occur on su itable reaches

of the river .

845.— Charadrius fulvus, Gm. Native name

Tu ral iIam in cl in ed to con sider the Eastern Golden Ploveraperma

n en t res iden t,

* having seen , or imag in ed I saw ,aflock of them in

i f“ Al though for the last tw e lve years th is bird has been closely watched by dozen sof keen o

l

i

giprvers, it has nowhere,as yet, been discovered breedinganywhere in India

proper,

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

Ju ly . But be thatas it may , theyare common en ough duringthe cold w eather

,andare u sual ly seen in flocks in fal l ow lan ds

an d ploughed fie lds in the n eighbourhood of j hils—n ow feed ingan d n ow movin g abou t in abody , from on e spot toan other,the whole day long .

848 .—}Egial itis cantiana, Lath.

The Ken tish Ring Pl ov er is common during the cold w eather.

If it is on ly , as I suppose it is , aw in ter v isitor,it certain ly

does n ot m igrate early , for I have seen it throughout the mon thof Apri l—then in its summer or breed ing plumage . It

frequen ts the banks of rivers an d j hils, an d occas ional ly usarplain s, bu t on lyafter they have been wel l saturated by rain .

849 .— }Egial itis dubia, Soap .

The Ind ian Ring Plover isaperman en t res iden t, frequ en tingthe same local itie s as, bu t in greater n umbers than

, the lastspec ies . It is

,how ever

,often met w i th s in g ly or in pairs in

the m ost u n l ike ly places but,asaru le, it occ urs gen eral ly in

‘

smal l compan ies of from 10 to 20 .

Though the in d iv idual members of aflock keep w e l l apartw hen feed ing , they u sual ly al l rise w hen on e is d isturbed

,

col lect together on the w ing ,and after adeal of whirl ing to

an d fro settle down on ly to part again .

85L—Vanel lus vulgaris, B echst. Native nameSaehoor (P)

The Crested Lapw ing or Eng l ish Pee-w it is on lyacoldw eather V isi tor, then fairly common , an d gen eral ly fou n d i Irflocksabou t j hilsan d marshesan d n eighbouring fields, u sual lyvery waryan d d ifficu lt toapproach.

852 .—Ghettusiagregaria, Pal l .

Though men ti on ed in Captain Irby’s l ist as “exceeding ly

common on open san dy plain s i n Jan uary,February an d

March,” an d n otw i thstan ding that it is l ike ly en ough to occu r,I have n ot come across this species, the Black-sided Lapw ing .

From this I con clude that i t can n ot be common , whateverc laim it may have toaplace in this l ist.853.—Chettusiavil lotaei, Audou in .

The W hite-tai led Lapw ing isacold w eather v is itor, frequen ti ng the same l ocal ities as the Pee-w it, but in mu ch smal lerflocks

, rare ly in lots of more than e ight. It w ou ld seem to be

avery qu iet bird ,an d ,asaru le , the members of aflock keepsome yards apart w hen feeding orat rest, and stan d stock

9


sti l l on being d iscovered . It is,how ever, very easily

approached,an d in this respect d iffers from my experien ce of

V. vu lgaris, which is both n oisy an d w i ld .

854.— Chettusiacinerea, E ly .

Captain Irby states that this spec ies, the Grey Lapw ing , is“ abu ndan t in the cold season abou t swamps an d j hils, seen

gen eral ly in lots of seven or e ight ; bu t the description so

aptlyappl ies to oil lotwi that I fan cy he has m istaken it for

cin erea. I have n ever seen the latter, n or do I think that itoccurs in Oudeatal l, sti l l less in the Luckn ow Div is ion .

855 .—Lobivanel lus indicus, Badd . Native name

The Red-wattled Lapw ing is aperman en t and commonresiden t, u sual ly found abou t water, though i t may be metw i th in the driest tracts . Itappears to breed v ery gen eral lyin Mayan d Jun e , layin g u sual ly four eggs on the bare grou n d .

A favorite breed ing place is the ku nker bal last on the railway,w here the birds may be n oticed getting off the ir n ests on the

approach of atrol ly or train . I can n ot imag in e how theymanage at n ight ; bu t on e w ou ld think that the v ibrationcaused by passing train s wou ld be fatal to successfu l in cubation .

Average measuremen t of 10 eggs by in ches .Measuremen t of larg est eggMeasuremen t of smal lest

856 .— Lobipluviamalabarica, Bodd .

The Ye l low -wattled Lapw ing is also aperman ent residen t,bu t not qu ite so common as the last species ,an d caring lessfor the v icin ity of water, is seldom seen near it u n less thishappen s to adjoin its feed ing groun ds . It moves abou tin pairs or in smal l parties,an d seems to be particu larly fon dof dhak jungle and any scrub-covered barren lan d, whiIe Ihave frequen tly seen it on u sar plain s. It breeds in May an dJun e

,usual ly lay ing four eggs on the bare ground .

Average measuremen t of 6 eggs by in ches .

Measuremen t of largest eggMeasuremen t of smal lest

857 .—Hoplopterus ventral is, Coo.

The Spur-w inged Lapw ing is n ot common , though it may be,

and doubtless is,aperman en t res iden t. In the cold w eatherI have occasional ly seen afew on the Chowkaand Gogra


riversabou t Byramghat, but n owhere else . It probably alsooccurs on the Ganges .

858 .- }Esacus recurvirostris, One .

The Large S ton e Pl over is fairly common during the coldw eatherabou t the C howkaand Gog rarivers in the n e ighbourhood of Byramghat, where it is u sual ly met w ith in flocks of10 to 20 or 30 gen eral ly in fal low lan d or n ew ly-ploughed fie lds .I have n ot observed it e lsewhere .

859 .—(Edicnemus scolopax ,

S . G . Gm.

The Ston e or Norfolk Plover, oras many prefer to cal l it,the

Bastard Florican , isaperman en t res iden t, and is fairly com

mon in al l dhak ju ng les, Italso frequ en ts groves, apair or

two even v isiting the Horticu l tural Garden sat Lu ckn ow ,where

,

on the 6 th May , I foun dan estan d two eggsat the root of ag uavatree . But its favori te breed in g place is some lon elymangoe tope, moderate ly studded w i th grass tu fts . I haven ever found more than two eggs in an est,and of e ight in mypossessi on , theaverage measuremen t is by in ches .

863.—Grusantigone, Lin . Native name—Sarus .

The Sarus is more gen eral ly d istribu ted during the rain sthan it is in the hotan d dry w eather, w hen itappears to collectin smal l flocks in the v icin ity of j hils, in m oistan d swampytracts, (though few then ex ist),andalong the banks of rivers ;It breeds during the rain s in Ju ly and Augus t, in the temporaryand shal low swamps then so common , making alargeplatform of mud

, grass,and rushes foran est, (rais ing it we l labove water-leve l), an d lays two eggs of adu l l white or

pale green ish color, gen eral ly spotted or blotched w ith redd ish

brow n, though some few are scarce ly marked at al l . An other

pecu l iarity abou t the eggs is, that, whi le the shel ls of some aresmoothan d g lossy, others have achalky appearan ce and arough pimpled surface . I have n oticed, too, that the latteraregen eral ly larger than the former .

Av erage measuremen t of 6 eggs by in ches .Measuremen t of largest eggMeasuremen t of smal lest egg

864.—Grus leucogeranus, Pal l . Native name

Tunhi .

The Snow -W reath or Great White Cran e is dec idedlyrare

,and is on ly met w i th in the cold w eather. Last cold

season I saw five in ashal low jhi l n ear San d i la,and determ in edat on ce to c ircumven t them . I had on ly ashot g un w i th me,so con cealed myself in some dhak bushes, feel ing certain they

68 m s BIRDS or THE LU OKNOW ow n . DIVISION.

w ou ld come in my d irection , an d W ithin easy range ; butalasfor human expectati on s bang ,” w en t acouple of

gun s to my right, before I had been ten m in u tes in position ,andaway w en t. the Cran es . My mortiflcation was comple teon d iscovering acou ple of natives fran tical ly endeavouringto catchawoun ded duck !865.

—Grus communis, B ecket. Native nameKu lang .

The Common Cran e is abun dan t during the cold w eather,and, though n otmet w i th every day, may , n e vertheless, be seen ,

occasional ly in vast flocks, e i ther on the w in g or restin g in

some of the larger j hils or in ri ver-backwaters, especial ly on

the Gogra, w here I have frequen tly seen it.

866 .—Anthropoides Virgo, Lin . Native name

l farkarra.’

The Demoisel le C ran e appears early in October— often Ithink in September— gen eral ly in vast flocks

, e ither flying in

astraight l i n e or in al in e w hich the le tter M . represen ts veryw el l . Occasional ly , bu t rarely , they w i l l settle on large shal lowj hils ; bu t on the Chow kaan d Gograat Byramghat they areoften n umerous, particu larly during the very cold weather.

They migrate in March, going ,as they came, in immen se flocks.868 .

—Gal l inago nemoricola, H odgs .

I have on several occas ion s,but n ot of late years, flushed

alarge dark solitary Sn ipe whe n ou t w i ld-fow l shooting . O n

the occasion s re ferred to it gen eral ly rose from amongst theweeds w i thin four or five yards of the jhi l s ide . It su relycou ld n ot have been G . solitam’a

,though it was certain l either

this or n emoricola. I should say G . n emoricola, theW oodSn ipe, ‘

from its dark coloration an d lazy fl ight .870 .—Gal l inago sthenura, Kukl .

The Pin -tai led Sn ipe is u n doubted lyacold w eather v is itorbut is, according to my experien ce , exceeding ly rare . It is

possible I may have overlooked this Sn ipe before I read for the

first time (on ly I thin k abou t four years ago) CaptainMarshal l’s paper in STRAY FEATHERS, Vol . I . , page 423 . Ihave on ly , that Iam certain of

,seen asing le spec imen , bu t it.

was in too man gledacond ition to be w orth preserving .

871 .—Gal l inago gal l inaria, Gm. Native nameChai m.

The C ommon Sn ipe beg in s to make itsappearan ce about theend of September, bu t it is not un ti l the end of October that

70 "

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION;

878 .— Numen ius phaeopus, L in . Native name

C liotaGoal inda.The W himbre l is qu iteas common hereas the Curlew ,

whichit resembles in habits and appearan ce, though, of course, i t is .

amuch smal ler bird .

880 .—Machetes pugnax , L in .

Ruffsand Reevesare very common during the cold w eather,an darealmostalways seen in large flocks frequen ting j hils, an dthe fie lds in the ir v icin ity . They arrive early in September andleave in Apri l , hav ing some time prev iou s ly partial lyassumedi ts breed ing plumage . In deed

,in some cases

,ind iv iduals com

men ce to ge t the ir summer plumage towards the e nd of Jan uary,and these

,it may be expected, assume i t en tirely before

m igrating .

882 .—Tringa. subarquata, Gn ld .

The C urlew S tin t is on ly acold w eather v isitor, gen eral ly

foun d abou t j hi ls from Oc tober to Apri l,but mostly during

these two mon ths, w hen it is u sual ly met w ith in con s iderableflocks . It is probably more of ab ird of passage than aw in terv isitor ; but many w i l l always be met w i th throughout theseason .

883.—Tringaalpina, Lin .

The Dun l in , l ike the last species , is on lyacold w eather v is itor,an darrives an d departs abou t the same time . In its habi ts itis much the same , frequen ting the same local ities .

884.— Tringaminuta, Leis i .

The Little S tin t is very abundan t during the cold w eather,and is always met w ith in large flocks, frequen ting river sandbanksan d the muddy foreshores of j hils .

885.—Tringatemmincki, Leisi .

The White-tai led S tin t is common during the cold season ,andfrequ en ts j hilsan d river sides, in factany pool of water whereverfoun d . Itarrives early in Septemberan d leaves late , probably .

n ot much before,some even after, the beg in n ing of May .

89L—Rhyacophi1aglareola, L in . Native nameToot-wari .

The Spotted San dpiper is common during the cold w eather,abou t e very poolan d jhil as w e l l as along rivers . Favoriteresortsare the side cuttings, con tain ing water,along the rai lway.

THE BIRDS OF THE Lucxuow CIVIL DIVISION. 71

When flushed it usual ly utters its sharp sibilan t note,“and

se ldom fl ies far.892 .—Totanus ochropus, Lin .

The Green Sandpiper is common during the cold weather,

frequen tin g the same local itiesas the last spec ies .

Iam in c l in ed to con sider this San dpiperaperman en t reside n t .During the latter part of the hot,and for the first half of therainy, season s, it is, n o doubt, exceeding ly rare . I may be

w rong , but my impression is dec ided ly in favor of recogn iz ingi tasaperman en t residen t, though the majority un doubtedlymigrate .

ak

893 .—Tringoides hypoleucus, Lin .

The Common Sandpiper is n ever so abun dant as the lastSpecies

,an d is on ly, so far as I kn ow ,acold w eather v is i tor

u sual ly seen sol itary or in pairsabout pools of water, j hils an drivers .

894.—Totanus glottis, L in . Native name—Tun

tuna.The Green shanks frequen ts the same l ocal ities as the last

Spec ies, an d is u sual ly seen alon e or in smal l parties, bu t on lyduring the cold weather.

895.—Totanus stagnatil is, B echst.

The Lesser Green shanks is common during the cold weather.

Though u sual ly seen al on e or in smal l gan gs, it is occasional lyme t w ith in vast flocks, an d frequen ts the same haun tsas thelast species .

896 .—Totanus fuscus, Lin . Native name—o Gn in i

or Soorma.My remarks on the last Speciesapply equal ly to the Spotted

Redshanks .

897 .—Totanus cal idris, L in.

The Redshanks is acommon cold w eather vis itor, u sual lyse en in flocks

,an d often very large on es , parti c u larly on

shal low j hil s, where they seem to congregate If n ot d i sturbed .

I t most certain ly is purelyacold season Visitan t to the Luckn ow Divis ion . Thefact of afew w eakly or woun ded birds, fail ing (if this be the fact) to make the

regularmigration , cannot en titleaspecies tobe con sidered permanen t residen ts—Ed .

72 THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISIoN‘

.

898 .—Himantopus candidus, B onn . Native name

—Gaj -paun an d Ting li n r.

The S ti lt or Long-legs is very common during the coldw eather, an d is u sual ly seen e ither in smal l or large flocksfrequen ting j hils an d rivers in the shal l ow water of which itusual lyal ights , remain sand feeds .

900 .—Parra. indica, Lain.

S ome five or six yearsago, the Bron ze-w inged Jacanawascommon on many large w eedy j hiis, w here afew may sti l l befoun d ; but ow ing to the scan ty rain fal l of recen t years

,water

has n ot beenabun dan t,and it has, in con sequen ce, made itse lfexceeding ly scarce .

901 .—Hydrophasianus chirurgus, Scop. Nativename— J /i i l -Moorgak.

The Pheasan t-tai led Jacanais acommon and perman en tres iden t, particu larl y on j hils covered w ith vegetation . Durin o°the drought of 1877-78 it frequen ted w eedy patches on thl;Goomti in great n umbers, w here I am qu ite sure (though In ever took its eggs) that it bred in Ju ly, making an est ofaquatic plan ts on masses of floating veg e tation . In years ofn ormal rain fal l it in variably n ests on su itable j hils .

902 .—Porphyriopol iocephalus, Lain. Native name—Khim0i .

The Grey-capped Purple Coot is also acommon and permawn en t residen t on al l rush or w eed-covered j hils, particu larly on

those where the lotus flou rishes an d c lumps of p ith trees

aboun d . Though it is said to commit havoc on rice fie lds, Ican n ot say that I have ever seen any ev iden ce of its depredation s . Indeed

,I have n ever seen it off the water except w henperched on bushes or c l imbing about bu lrushesan d tal l reed

g rass grow ing in j hils .

903 .—Ful ica.atra, Lin . Native names—Ari, K li ne

[mlan d Tkekari .The Bald Coot Is exceed ingly common on al l ’ large j hils

duri ng the cold w eather . It. is,how e ver

,aperman en t res iden t

,

though great n umbers m igrate in the hot w eather. In deed ,there has n ot been in the Di v ision of late years apatch of

water su ffic ien tly large to. tempt these Coots to remainal l theyear round .

THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW . C IVIL DIVISION. 73

905.

—Gal l inulachloropus, Lin .

The Water-Hen isafairly common and perman en t residen t,though n ot

, I think, so gen eral ly spread as the n ext species .

It frequen ts rush-covered j hi ls, spec ial ly those w ith plen ty ofcover, suchas long reeds or sugarcan e on their ban ks

,and

is very partial to streams s im i larly margin ed . It sw imsw e l l, bu t hides better.907 .

—Erythraphoenicura, Tem. Native names

K inatian d B un -morgli i .

The White-breasted Water-Hen isalsoaperman en t residen t,n ot in deed n umerou s

, bu t very gen eral ly d istribu ted . Fre

quen ting the same l ocal itiesas the last spec ies, it is much morefam il iar, and apair or two may , to acertain ty, be foun dabou t every V il lage tank surroun ded by bushes or bamboos .

In bamboo brakes, where pools of water exist, it is Often veryabun dan t909 .

—Porzanamaruetta, L each.

The Spotted Crake is on lyacold w eather V isitor,and is by n o

mean s common . It frequen ts,according to what I have seen

of it, rice fie lds al ong rivers an d bes ide jhils is d ifficu ltto flu shand se ldom seen

,n ever ven turingamongst the floating

v egetation on water.

910.—Porzanabail lon i, Viei l l .

Bail lon ’

s Crake '

is on ly , I think, acold w eather V isi tor,an d though it may be found in the same local ities as thelast species, it is often er seen in smal l parties on lotu s an dw eed-covered j hils . It sw ims w e l l an d keeps jerking its tai lw hen so engaged .

Thereareat least two others of the Rai l tribe foun d in the Divis i on during the cold w eather, of which I have n ot yet procuredspecimen s

,bu t bel ieve they w i l l prove to be P . f usca, the

Ruddy Crake,and P . akool, the Brown and Ashy Crake .

915.—Leptoptilus argalus, Lain. Native name

P eda-dhank .

During the rain s the Adju tan tappears to be n ot u n commonin smal l parties of from two to e ight or so bu t during the coldw eather it is much more scarce

,an d is then rare ly met w ith.

9 16 .

—Leptoptilus javan ica, Horsf .

I am in cl in ed to thin k that this, the Hair-crested Adjutan t,is the bird that I have seen so often on the ban ks of the

10


Goomti during the rains—javamcus Is qu ite BLACK above;argalas GREY. Its black backan d less erect an d stumpierform are the d istingu ishing features I go by in separating itfrom L . argalus.

917 —Xenorhyn chus asiaticus, Lain. Nativename—Lohnrj nnj .

The Black-n ecked Stork or Asiatic Jabiru—aperman en tresident —is n ot Often met w i th

,an d then on ly s in g ly or in

pairs, frequen ting the beds of smal l rivers and n u l lahs inthe hotand cold seasons. During the rain s it may be seen

s talking abou t fields . It also frequen ts j hils an d marshes .

On the 15th November last I cameacrossan est an d three-halffledged young on es . The n est wasahuge platform of stickson the top of apipal tree n earaswamp .

919 .—Ciconia.alba, B ecket. Native name k bnr.

The S tork is stated by Captain Irby to be ‘fcommon ,

special ly in the cold season ,

”O f course it is on ly acold

w eather v is itor, butaccording to my experien ce is anythingbut common .

920.-Dissuraepiscope, Badd . Native name—Lag

The White-n ecked Stork isalsoaperman en t res iden t, u sual lyseen in pairs or smal l parties , often in fie lds far away fromswampy tracts, though it general ly frequen ts these . It is

n owhere common , un less in wel l-watered ' local ities duringthe rain s

-Ardeacinerea,, Lin . Native names—SainandKabud .

The Heron is both acommon and perman en t residen t,frequen ting j hilsand rivers ; often in great n umbers . Thoughmany are u sual ly found toge ther in the same l ocal ity, theyin variably keep yards apart w hen standing i n shal low water

,

take w ing together when d isturbed, andassociate in colon iesto breed .

‘

924.—Ardeapurpurea, L in . Native name—Lal

Sain .

The Purple .Heron is,l ike the last,aperman en t residen t,

but by n o mean s as common . It is se ldom foun d inanyn umbers except in rush-covered j hil s and swamps, caring lessfor open shal low water than A. cinerea. It usual ly rests in treesfor the n ight.

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 75‘

924 bis .

—Herodiasalba, L in .

I did n otat first recogn ise the d ifferen ce betw een this, theW hite Heron , an d the n ext species, the Indian W hite Heron ,

but the on eappears to bealmostas common here as the other .

Both frequ en t w eedy j hils and marshesand creeks of rivers ;but may be met w i th almost anywhere, especially in w el lirrigated an d cu ltivated tracts . They roost in treesand makethe ir

‘

n ests thereon .

925.—Herodia.s torra, . B . Ham. Native name

Tar-bagla.

*

See remarks on last spec ies .926.

-Herodias intermedia, Haas . Native nameKarchin-bag la.

The Little White Heron is also common . It frequen tsthe same local i tiesas the last two species,and breeds in colon iesin trees .

927 .—I'Ierodias garzetta, L in . Native name

Knrchia-bag la.The l ittle Egret is acommon and perman en t resident,and

frequen ts the same local itiesas the preceding spec ies .

There isan other smal l White Egre t w ith black legsan d feet(in con trad istinction to this spec ies which has the feet ye llow)which I have n oticed, though I find I have n o spec imen sprol

iably H . melanopus, which Captain Irby in cludes in his

ist.

929 .—Bubul cus coromandus, B odd . Native

names—Soorkhia-bag laand Badami-bag la.The Cattle Egret is common throughout the year. I found

it breeding on the 18 th August inav i l lage n ear the RahimabadRailway Station . Two med ium-s ized tamarind trees w ere

l iteral ly covered w ith n ests, afew on ly con tain ing eggs , the

remainder young inal l stages . The n ests w ere made 0 sticks

smal l platforms, sl ightly depressed in the cen tre .

Average measuremen t of 12 eggs by in ches .Measu remen t of largest eggMeasuremen t of smal lest egg

Nameappl iedal so to H . alba.1' I have n ever seenany such bird from O udh or the North-W estern Provmces,an d

it is n o use quoting the nameapplied by Col p n el Irby .

as eviden ce, because In those

days when he wrote, the greatest con q Ion.prevai led as to the n omen clature pf

these smal l W hite H eron san d Egre ts—aconq Ion that even n ow has n ot been qu i te

cleared up. Captain Irby’

s remarksabou t the breast plumesare n ot very clear,an dit does n ot seem to meatal l certain that this bird was real ly .

d isti nct,as he thought,

from garzetta.—Ed .


930.-Ardeola. grayi , Sykes . Native names—Chanta

bag l ian d Bag ii .

The In dian Pond Heron is very common , frequen ting j hil s,riversan d pools of water where ver found . It breeds in Ju ly incolon ies, ge n eral ly in an dabout V il lages bordering on j hils an drivers

,making asmal l platform of s ticks foranestand lay ing

usually four pale green ish w hite eggs .

Average measuremen t of 6 eggs by in ches .

Measu remen t of largest eggMeasuremen t of smal lest

933 .—Ardettacinnamomea, G'm. Native name

Lal-bag la.In August last aspec imen of the Chesn u t B ittern was

purchased fromalocal fow ler for the Museum . I have n ot

myse l f n oticed it in astate of freedom, bu t it doubtless occurs ,though sparing ly, in su itable l ocal i ties, throughout the Division .

936 .—Botaurus stel laris, Lin . Native name—Mer

gaon .

The Bittern is n ot common,an d w i l l not be foundatal l except

on large rushy j hils, where , of course, it has to be w e l l lookedfor in the day—time as it is qu ite n octurnal in its habits . The

on ly place where I‘

have met w ith i t was inalarge reedy swampc lose to the C howkariver abou t three m iles up

-stream fromByramghat. It is, I bel ieve, on lyacold Weather v is itan t here .

937 .—Nycticorax griseus, L in . Native names

Tar-beg in, Kokraian d Wait .The Night Heron is common , but somewhat local ly d is

tribu ted, that is, it is most abundan talong the Goomti, Gaugesand Gograrivers . During the day it rests in mangoe topes, thosebordering on water preferred bu t I have n ot u n frequen tly, an dfor w eeks together, seen it inhabiting tamarind trees in my owncompound here . I have coun ted as many as 43 in two trees .

During the day, w ithout,so far as I cou ld see

,anything to

d isturb them they w ould occasional ly take w ing ,an d foraw hilefly

'

round the trees, u ttering the ir w e l l-kn ow n wait-wale cal l .At sun set they in variably made off to the ir feed ing groun dson the Goomti

,return ingagain very early in the morn ing when ,

forawhi le, they w ere both n oisyand restless .

938 .

—Tantalus leucocephalus, Farsi . Nativename— Jhangni l .

The Pe l ican Ibis is fairly common andaperman en t residen t,general ly veryabundan t during the rain s, but less so at other

78 THE BIRDS OF -THE LUCKNOW C IVIL DIVISION.

it is occas ional ly seen in large flocks in the V icin ity of jhilsor on swampy groun d ; at other season s gen eral ly in pairsor smal l parties frequen ting ploughed fie lds, grass meadows, &c . ,

bu t se ldom faraway from water.

943 .—Fal cinel lus igneus, S . G . Gm. Native names

K ewari, Chain .Bhaojaoraa.The G l ossy Ibis is common during the cold w eather, usual ly

seen in large flocks,occasional ly s ingly and in smal l parties,

frequen ting the edges of j hilsan d rivers .944.—Phoen icopterus roseus, Pal l . Native names—Hans

,Bag-Han san d Raj -Hans .

I have frequen tly seen the Flamingo in vast flocks duri ngthe cold w eather, particu larly on j hils in the U nao d istrict

,an d

abou t Rahimabad an d San d ila. It prefers shal l ow water ase xten siveas poss ible, though I have seen it on smal l w eed lessj hil s . Some yearsago, i f I remember rightly,atame one used

to kn ockabout the compoun d of the Lu ckn ow Museum.

945.—An ser cinereus, May . Native names—Han san d Raj -Hans .

The G rey-Goose is exceedin g ly common during the coldseason , coming in abou t the middle of Octoberan d leaving inApri l,always in vast flocks, though during their stay here theyare often met w ith in smal l parties . During the n ight theycollect in mu ltitudes on their favorite feeding g rou nds and breakup in to compan ies as they leave them in the morn ing for thelarge j hils or rivers

, to which they resort for the day . The irfeed ing grounds, it may be n oted

,are usual ly shal low-w eedy

j hils, w ith aforeshore of mud an d slu shan d the young greencorn fie lds, upon which they commit great havoc in the

V ic in i ty .

946 .—Anser brachyrhyn chus, Bai l l .

Though Captain Irby records that he saw aspecimen ki lledat Alumbagh on Jan uary 5th, I can n ot say that I have ever

seen the Pin k-footed G oose but it may , I think, be taken for

gran ted that it occasionally Visits the Divisi on .

947 .—An seralbifrons, Native name—Rhin

Han s .

There are two Spec imen s of this G oose in the Museum here,w hich the head-stu fferassures me w ere purchased al ive at thed oor some yearsago and some fow lers ,‘ to whom I shewed thebirds, have guaran teed to get me specimen s of thisand othes°

THE BIRDS or THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 79

rare Geese . They seemed to be perfectlyaware of the fact thatsome two or three d ifferen t species of rare G eese occur, an dhad names on the ir finger-en ds for themal l .948 .

-Anser minutus, Nanm .

The Dwarf G oose , l ike the last spec ies, may he l ook ed u ponas an occasional V isitor,an d Captain Irby also records it fromOudh . Mr. Humealso hasaspec imen procu red for him n earLu ckn ow by Dr. Bonav ia.Some years ago—I should say about e ight or n in e—I on e

morn ing shot abou t adoze n remarkably smal l g eese on aj hiln ear the Ajgaon Rai lway Station , w here I fou nd them in vastn umbers and comparative ly tame . They most l ikely w ere

this species, but I have n ot seen or shotany sin ce .

949 .—Anser indicus, Gm. Native names - Hansan d Kureyee

-Hans .

The Barred-headed G oose occurs in coun tless n umb ers,andis, I think, unquestionably the mos t abu ndan t

,though the

Grey Lag run s it very close in poin t of n umbers . Myremarks on the latterapply equal ly to this species .950 .—Sarcidiorn i smelanonotu s, P enn . Native name

— Nnhhia.The Nukhta,” orComb-Duck, or Black—backed Goose

,as

Jerdon erron eou sly cal ls it, isaperman en t residen t, common on

al l grassy j hils,and is easi ly stalkedan d .shot,be in g far froma.

wary bird . I have seen,it freque nt ing mangoe topes, though it

was n ot onany of these occasion s breed ing . In the early morn ingi t may frequen tly " be seen feed ing in recen tly-flooded paddyfie lds,and in swampsamong the ru shes

, g en eral ly in partiesrang ing from 4 to 30— n ever

,according to my experien ce

,in

larger n umbers .

S ir Samue l Baker,in his Albert N’

Yan za,

”refers toa.

Comb-Duck w hich is probably this species, whichappears to becommon abou t the Nile .

"e

951 .—Nettopus coromandel ianus, Gm. Native name

—~G i i °riaor Ghiera.The Cotton Teal isaperman en t residen t. Though it may be

cun d in large , open j hils, gen eral ly in smal l parties, it prefersthose covered w ith w eeds, s ingharaan d l o tu s plan ts . It doubtless breeds here

,bu t I have n otas y e t foun d any n est.

This was of course 8 .af rican ns, but whether this be real ly distinct from our birdseems doubtful . -Ed.

THE BIRDS OF THE LU CKNOW CIVIL DIVISION .

952 .—Dendrocygnajavan ica, Harsf . Native name

—Ch0 taS i lai .Like the last spec ies, the Whistl ing Teal is aperman en t

residen t,frequen ting the same kin ds of j hils, but n ot qu ite so

common . It is in gen eralavery stupid bird, s low on the w ingan d eas ily shot, an d from ahabit it has of c ircl ing rou nd theg un n er whe n any of its compan i on s are s lain , he may ,

i f he

chooses,bag the greater part ofaflock—say of ten—before

they goaway .

953 .—Dendrocygnafulva, Gm. Native name—Barn

S i lai .The Large W histl ing Teal is decidedly rare

,bu t is

,I think

,a

perman en t residen t. Though I have n ot myse l f shot i t late ly,thereare spec imen s of it in the Luckn ow Museum which w ere

doubtless purchased l ocal ly .

954.—Casarearutila, Pal l . Native name—Chahmi

chalawa.The Brahminy Duck,acold w eather v is itor, is common on

j hilsan d rivers,an d is gen eral ly met w ith in pairsan d in parties

rang ing from 4 to 30 . I can n ot say that, l ike other obse rvers ,I have ever seen it eating carrion ; but I have seen it, on tw o

or three occasion s, on the G ograat Byramghatassoc iating w ithVu ltures under very su spic ious c ircumstances . It is fortunatelyon e of the w orst ducks for the table

,be ing on ly fit forastew

hardly,I thin k

,for that.

956 .—Tadornacornuta, S . G . Gm. Native names

Rarariaan d Safaid -Snrhhab.

The Shel ldrake is decidedly rare,an d is, of course, on lyacoldw eather v isi tor. Though I have seen it on se veral occasion s

,I have on ly been able to secureas ing le specimen .

957 —Spatulaclypeata, Lin . Native names—Ghiranan d To/carwal la.

Average, three Females—Length, expan se,w ing , tai l, tarsus, bi ll from gape,w e ight, 1 lb . 5 oz .

Though se ldom seen in very large parties, the.

Shove l ler is,perhaps, the most common duck found i n the Di v i s i on . It 18,

of course , on lyacold w eather v isitor de l ights in shal low water,but does n ot, I think, e vin ce any marked pre feren ce for w eedyj hils, though it frequen ts these in great n umbe rs . Itassoc iatesmuch w ith other ducks,both on the waterand when fly i ng ,and

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION . 8 1

i t is n otan un common sight to seean old male leading aflockof Tealacross coun tryatarattl in g pace . It isany thing bu ta

.

good d uck for the table . I t is late in leav ing the Divis ion ,many males before departing having assumed the ir summer

plumage .

—Anas hoscas, Lin . Native names—Nir-rugian d N i ls ir.

The Mal lard can on ly be con s idered as an occasionalan drare cold w eather v is itor. After years of good rain fal l, when

the j hils are w el l fi l led,it may be met w i th ; but ow ing to its

scarc i tyat the bes t of times and the d ifficu lty of getting ashot, sportsmen rarely succeed here in bagg ing it. Further

w est, it is probably more common , though I kn ow of on ly on e

place—the San d i lake in the Hurdu i district— that it v is itsw ithanythin g l ike regu larity .

S trangeas it may seem ,Anas paci lorhyn chais, accord ing to

w hat I have both seen an d heard, frequen tly mistaken by g rifl'

s”

(w ideas the d ifferen ce is) for the Mallard,an d hen ce the

accoun ts on e occas ionally hears abou t the abu ndan ce of the

latter on particu lar j hi ls .

959 .-Anas poecilorhyncha, Farsi . Native name

Garm-pai .

12th December, Female—Length, expan se,w i ng , tail, tarsu s

,bil l from gape,

w e ight, 2 lb . 12 oz . Legs bright oran ge red c law s black, w ebsspotted w ith black ; b il l (upper man d ible) black, tipped w i thy e l low ,

w ith abright orange red ban d at base ; irides darkbrow n .

The Grey or Spot-bil led Du ck is acommon an d fairlyabun dan t res iden t. Duri ng the rain s it is u sual ly seen in pairsfrequ en ting smal l an d w eedy j hils or swamps ; bu t in the coldw eather

,w hen these patches of waterare dry , i t is compe l led to

resort to the larger j hi ls,an d may then be met w ith in flocksran g in g from 6 to 30 . It is on e of the very best ducks for thetable . It breeds during the rain s

,hu t I have n ot seen its n est.

9 60 .-Rhodonessacaryophyl lacea, Lain. Native

name Golab Lal -sir .

There is aspec imen of the Pink-headed Duck in the

Lu ckn ow Mu seum w hich Dr. Bonaviaprobably procured In

the local marke t . I saw two on ajhil n earRahimabad in December

,an d there is also aregu lar n et-w ork of j hi ls n ear

Mohun lalgu nj on the Lu ckn ow an d Roy Bare i l ly road,whi chit Visits in the cold weather. It is, however, then exceeding ly


rare bu t from en qu iries which I have late ly made,native

‘

Shikarees assu re me that it is met ~w ith more frequ en tly duringthe rain s probable en ough, but I have yet to verify the fact.96L— Chau1elasmus streperus, Lin . Native names

B hnaran d M i ia.Average measuremen t of sin: Males .

—Len gth, expan se,w ing , tai l, bi ll

,from gape ,

w eight, 1 ih. 13 oz .

The Gadwal l is on ly acold w eather V is i tor, bu t averycommon on e, gen eral ly associating in smal l flocks of from6 to 20 ; often s ing ly an d in pairs .

’

It is fon d of padd l in gin shal low water alon g the edges of j hi ls , e spe cial ly i n

sequestered n ooks, though, as aru le,i t pre fers to res ide in

the day -time in open wateratacon siderable d istan ce from the

shore . It isalsoagood duck for the table .

961 bis .— Querquedulaangustirostris , Mén e

’

ir.

Though I have n ot mysel f seen or shot the Marbled Tealw ithin the l imits of the Div isi on , last cold season aspecimenwas captu red by afow ler in the n eighbou rhood of Luckn owan d pu rchased for the Mu seum . It mu st

,the refore

,be in c luded

in this l is t. It is, of cou rse,on lyacold weather v is itor,an dI shou ld thinkan ex ceeding ly rare on e .

962 .

—Dafilaacuta, Lin . Native name— S irh-phar .

*

Average measuremen t of twoMales —Len gth, expan se ,w in g , tai l , tarsu s

,bil l , from gape ,

w e ight, 2 lbs . 1 1 oz . B il l black, w i th S ides of upperman dible blu ish irides dark brow n legs blackish grey .

Throughou t the cold w eather, Pin tai ls are veryabun dan ton al l large jhils . They are gen eral ly met w i th in immen seflocks , and are extreme ly wary an d d i fficu lt to Shoot, ascen din g , w hen d istu rbed, to heights beyon d g un shot. In the

earl ier part of the cold w eather,w hen Smal l w eedy j hilsan d

marshes ex ist, the Pin tai lalmost in variably repairs to them atn ight for the purpose of feed in g , gen eral ly leav ing the

larger j hils longafter dark. It is on e of the best ducks for thetable .

963 .—Marecapen elope, L i n . Native names Chain

Lal -sir, or P hariah .

l 2th December, Mala—Len gth , expan se,

w ing ,tai l

, tarsus, bi l l,from gape,

w e ight, 1 II) . bi oz .

at PS i n k-par th i s w hich mean s, skew er-feather, is the ordinary vernacular namei n the North-W est. S irlq

-phnr has n omean i ng . ,

—Ed .


The W idgeon is by n o mean s u n common,bu t is, I think,

rather erratic in its wan derin gs , be in g mu ch more common in

some years than others . During the cold w eather of 1878—79 ,w hen the j hils w ere much be low the iraverage sizean d man y w ere

al together dry , I d id n ot expect to fin d i t, bu t,asamatter of

fac t,it was much more common than I had e ver kn ow n it to be

before .

The resu lt of my experien ce is,in short

,that the W idgeon

is fairlyabun dan t in the Divis ion in some years, and exceed

ing ly scarce in others .

964 —Querquedulaorecca, L in . Native namesPatarian d Seachn raha.

Measu remen t of five Marlee—Leng th, expan se,W i n g , tai l

,tarsus, bil l

,from gape,

w e ight, oz .

The Common Tealarrives in myriads in October an d leavesagain by the en d of March or beg in n ing of Apri l

,though

stragg lers may be met w i th to the en d of the latter mon th .

I have seen flocks of Teal fl y in g abou t in Augu st, but n ever

hav ing su cceeded in then obtain ing spec imen s, Iam u n certainw hether it is this spec ies or the n ex t that arrives so early . Ithink the latter, bu t probably both come inabou t the same time .

The Common Teal is fon d of w eedy shallow lakes an d largeor smal l swamps, w ith often bu t l ittle more than afoot or twoof water in them ; bu tas these feedin g groun ds soon dry up,n ecessi ty obl iges it to resort to the larger jhils, aroun d thereedy edges of which

,often on the mud , Sportsmen may

s laughter itas they please in the early morn ing, an d con tin u eto do so throughou t the day if they care to pick up the

stragg lers that everan dan on re-V isit the shore .

965.—Querquedulacircia, L in . Native names

.Khiraan d P n iari .Average of four Males —Len gth, expan se,

w in g , tail, tarsus, bil l, from gape, w e ight,12 oz .

The B lue-w inged Teal is qu ite’asabun dan tas the last species,

arriv ing in cou n tless n umbers in Septemberan d October, thoughit is n ot u n ti l the lattermon th that they seem to settle downon the jhil s . The maj ority, how ev er, do n ot remain long ,

an dearly in Novemberappear to go dow n sou th .

” From then un ti l

they return again in February , they are n ot so common asQ. crecca

,though Sti l l far from be ing scarce . They are shy

an d w ild on arrival, keeping w e l l to the cen tre of j hi l s bu tasthe season advan ces, they become more civi l i zed, and may


then be foun d potterin gabout on the mud in company w iththe Common Tealan d Spatu laclypeata.966 bia—Querquedulafalcata, Gear. Native

name—KalaS inkhur .

*

The Bron ze-Capped Teal may be accepted as an occasionalcold w eather v is itor

,Dr. Bonav iahav in g ,

I su rm ise, obtain edhis specimen s in Luckn ow—s ide STRAY FEATHERS

,Vol IV .

page 225 whi le two y earsago I myse lf saw two or three in the

possession of anative fow ler, w ho w ou ld n ot part w ith themexceptat afan cy price—say in g he m ean t to take them,

w ith

alot of others that he had, to the ex-King of Oudh, w ho wouldpay him handsomely .

967 .—Ful igularufina, Pal l . Native name—Lal -sir.

l 2lbDecember, Female .—Len g th, expan se, w ing ,

tai l, tarsus,

bi ll, from gape, w e ight,2 lbs . 53

1 oz .

The Red-crested Pochard arrives rather late in the season ,

probably n ot mu ch before the en d of November, bu t is thencommon en ough on al l large j hi ls , gen eral ly in parties of adozen or so

,though sometimes in vast flocks . On e morn in g

in December I cameacross coun tless n umbers on ajhil in theFyzabad d istrict, cl ose ly packed , an d coverin g n early the

w hole surface ‘

of the water,w i th the ir red heads mov ingindepen den tly, whi le the breez e kept the ir crests in motion ; a

d istan t spectator might have mistaken them foravast eXpan seof beautifu laquatic flowers .

968 .—Ful igula. ferina, Lin . Native names—Lal -sz’ran d Lal-( Ji muehqL

The Pochard or Du n -bird is n earlyas common an das w ide lyspreadas the last species, an d its habi ts are much the same ,but I have n ever seen it in very great flocks . Itarrivesanddepartsabout the same timeas F. rufina.

969 .—Ful igula. nyroca, Gu ld . Native name—B urma

12th December, Female .—Length, expan se, w ing ,

tai l, tarsus, bil l,from gape, 2 °

w eight,1 lb . 2} oz .

The W hite-eyed Duck is very common throughou t the coldw eather. Though it may be met w ith on any jhi l, it is n ever

foun d in great n umbers , except on those covered w ith w eedsFami l iar to the fow lers of Luckn ow un der that name .

1' PLal -chon ch, or red-bil l,anamealwaysappl ied to F . rufi na, but neitherappl iedno:

°applicable toF . f erz’

na. -Ed .

THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION.

n est on several occas ion s,but have n ever been fortunate en ough

to obtain any eggs .

980.

— Larus brunneicephalus, Jerd . Native name.Bhomra.

The Brow n -headed G u l l isacold w eather v is i tor,bu t. is n ever

n umerou s . I have seen it frequen tly at Byramghat an d on

the l on g narrow j hils abou t Ajgaon , most ab un dan tly in thev ery cold mon ths . There is an other an d e ven larger G u l lw hich I have frequen tly seen ,abou t whose iden tity, howe ver, Iam n ot qu ite s ure .

9 83.

- Sternaangl ica, Mon t.

Iam doubtfu l whe ther the G u l l-billed Tern is aperman en tres iden t or n ot. It is certain ly common in September an dthroughout the cold w eather ; bu t Iam in c l in ed to think i t ison lyaseasonal v is i toran d does n ot breed here . It frequ en tsmarshes

,tan ks, river

,creeks

, &c .,often in great n umbers, but

general ly in smal l parties .

984— Hydrochel idon hybrida, Pal l .The Marsh Tern is very abundan t onal l jhils, marshes , rivers,

&c . It isaperman en t residen t.985.

—Sternaseena, Sykes .

The Large River Tern is also aperman en t res iden t, an d isparticu larlyabu ndan t on the G ograan d Chowkaat Byramghat,asalso on the Goomtiat Lu ckn ow an d the Gang esat Cawn pore .

It also freq uen ts , though n ot habitual ly, tan ks an d j hils,gen eral ly in pairs or smal l parties, and breed ing on riversand banks

, though I have n ot of recen t years come acrossany breeding colon ies .

988 .—Sterna. minuta, Lin .

Captain Irby states that he saw this Tern on ce or tw ice on

the G ogra,alway s in the cold season bu t I fan cy that it isequal ly as poss ib le, if n ot more probable , that the bird he sawwas e ither sinensis

, goaldi or saundersi, an d u n til I get spec imen s to settle the poin t, it is d ifficu lt to say which of these

forms actual ly does occur. Captain Irby’s iden tificati on ,how ever

,en titles minute to aplace in this l ist—atany rate

for the presen t .at Appl ied, I think, tomost Gul ls .


987 .—Sternamelanogastra, Tani .

The Black-be l l ied Tern isalsoapermanen t residen t, frequen ting an d breed ing in the same l ocal itiesas the last spec ies .

995.—Rhyn chops albicol l is, S ws . Native name

Pan cheem .

The Ind ian Skimmer isaperman en t res iden t,very common

on the Chowkaan d G ograat Byramghat, where it breeds onsan d-banks in Apri lan d May .

1003 .— Pelecanus javan icus, Horsf .

Captain Irby states that this Pe l ican is very common on

large j hils an d on rivers in the rainy season .

”Accord i ng to

my experien ce it is much more common during the coldw eather. Last season I came across ajhil l i teral ly coveredw ith these Pe l ican s , packedas c loseas they cou ld sit, and the“ l ittle fishes”— there w ere l ots in the jhi l—must have hadal ive ly time of i t.

1004.—Pelecanus philippen sis, Gm . Native namesC /zoiaHowasalan d Jalasin d .

The G rey Pe l ican is aperman en t residen t, most abundan td uring the rain s an d the early part of the cold w eather

,w hen

it may be fou nd on almostany jhi l, an d in deed on any patchof water

, two or three tog ether,and Often in vast flocks .

1004 bia— Pelecanus crispus, B ruc/z.

The Dalmatian Pe l ican is represen ted in the Museum by, Isuppose , local ly-purchased spe cimen s,an d Mr. Hume has Obtain edi t from n ear Fyzabad . There can , therefore , be l ittle doubt thatit occurs in the Divis ion

,at an y rate on the G ogra—ariver

very mu ch frequen ted by Pe l ican s .

Though I have n ot in cluded it,I am pretty certain that

P . onocrotalusalso occurs .

1005.

— Phalacrocorax carbo, Lin . Native name.Pan -lrowa, Jal -kowa.

The Cormoran t is pretty common during the cold w eatheron the Goomti

,Chowkaan d G ograrivers , an d is gen eral ly

foun d in or about creeks where the ban ks are high an drugged . It u suallyassoc iates i n large flocks, an d is probablyaperman en t re siden t. On on e occas ion I kn ocked over sixata.shot,and wounded many more, so closely were they packed .

88 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT .

1007 .—Phalacrocorax pygmaeus, Pal l .

The Li ttle Cormoran t isabundan t throughout the yearal ike onj hils, rivers an d streams . From the fact that it isalways mostcommon on j hils n ear rivers

,I con clude that it prefers run n ing

waterand habi tually resides w i thin easy reach Of streams .

1008 .— Plotus melanogaster, Pen n . Native name

E huawa.The Ind ian Snake Bird isacommon and perman en t residen t

,occu rring some times sing ly, in pairs ,an d in flocks . Duringthe day it is fond of sun ning itse l f on the grassy ban ks O fj hilsan d on the bare bran ches of trees on the ir marg in , flyingoff or darting in to the water on the approach of danger. It

is capable of moving for con siderable d istan ces u n der water,

an d u sual ly sw ims w ith n othing bu t its headan d n eck exposed,

though, w hen danger threaten s, every thin g bu t i ts bil l d isappears, ti l l it con siders it has gon e far en ough to be perfectlysafe

,when it gradual ly show s upagain .

(Reprin tf rom the

3 diontrihution to the dhrnithuleggall fi tlgit.BY JOHN S CULLY .

THE follow ing n otes on the birds of G i lg itare foun ded on acol lecti on of specimen s Obtain ed in that cou n try duringares iden ce O f n in eteen mon ths . Of this period n in e mon thsw ere passed in Major Biddu lph’s company ; and for the restof the time I wasalon e .

I have en deavou red to make my remarks qu i te supplemen tarytoMaj orBiddu lph’s in teresting paperon the birds of this reg ion ,publ ished in this Journal (republ ished STRAY FEATHERS, Vol .IX.

, p . I have restricted my Observation s here to the

precise l im i ts of cou n try laid dow n by Maj or B iddu lph,and,asamatter of con ven ien ce, have adopted his classification an dn umbers ; the species n ot preceded by n umbers i n my paperw ere om itted in his accoun t. This explanation ren ders un n e

cessaryareferen ce to my frien d’s paper un der each species .

My specimen s have been carefu l ly compared by me in thiscou n try and w i th referen ce to this matter I have toackn ow‘f As this paper formsamost importan t commen tary on Maj or Biddulph’s paper,

which I reprin ted , Iam obliged to reprin t thisalso. S . F.

90.A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT .

at abou t feet. A male Peregri ne , shot on the 25th

Apri l,agrees w ith Sharpe’s descri ption of theadu l t male (Cat.I . ,p . except that the feathers of the midabdomen are n ot

cross-barred , bu t have merely smal l dart-shaped marks the

flan ksare pale grey , cross-barred w ith black ; and the foreheadis n ot w hitish, bu t s late-grey, w ith black shafts

, l ike the restO f the head . Len g th, 16 i n ches w ing, tai l , tarsu s,

mid toe e .u .

,bi l l from gape, weight, l lb. 4 oz .

Falco sacer, Gm. (10)This species mu st be added to the l ist of birds of G ilg it.

A spec imen was captured in G ilg it in October 1879 , w hen itwas doubtless m igrating sou thwards . The bird was immature bu t

,after care fu l exam ination , its large size an d largeoval spots on the cen tre tai l-feathers left n o doubt that it wasatrue Saker.

7 .-Fa1co subbuteo, Lin . (13)The Hobby is very common in G i lg itat feet on

arrival,from the en d of Apri l to the secon d w eek in May , an d

again on its way sou thwards from the last w eek in Septemberto the m iddle of O ctober.

Out of e leven specimen s preserved, on ly three are fu l lyadu lt. Two males, shot in autumn ,are chang in g from adarkbrown u pper plumage to the s laty colour of the adu l t ; theyhave rich ferrug in ous thighs and under tai l-coverts ; andthe uropyg ials are regu larly barred across both w ebs . Six

immature birds al l wan t the rich ru fous thighs an d under

tai l-coverts of the adu lt, are more broadly s treaked on the

l ow er surface, have the un der w ing -coverts and ax i l lariesm ore ru fou s,andal l have pale marg in s to the feathers of the

u pper surface ; on ly on e of these specimen s has fain t bars onthe u ropyg ials . O f the e le ven spec imen s

,there fore, on ly

three have the uropyg iale barred ; and these exception s aremales .

8 .

-Fal co eesal on , Tnnst.

The Merl in , according to my observation , is on ly found inG ilg it in w in ter

,an d is n ot common . Con s iderable d ifferen ce

of Opin ion has prevailed abou t the plumage of the fu l ly adu ltfemale in this spec ies, Mr. Sharpe hav ing stated

,in the first

v olume of the Bri tish Museum Catalogue, that the adu ltfemale is blue-g rey above , l ike the male, whi le Mr. Dresser

has taken some pain s to prove, in his “ B irds of Europe,

”that

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT. 9 1

this is n ot the case . The eviden ce of the G i lg it specimen s isen tire ly in favour of Mr. Sharpe ’s V iew ,as I shal l n ow show .

It w i l l be n oticed that in Major B iddu lph’s n ote on this

spec ies he m en tion s afemale w ith the w ing in ches,and

says that i t is much paler than the male [adu l t] specimen ;he adds, “ the black ish ting e on the grey of the head andshou lders has almost en tire ly d isappeared .

”O n the 10th

December I shot afemale ,as proved on d issection by myself,of which the follow ing isadescription z—Len gth, in ches

expan se, w ing , tai l , tarsus, (feathered in

fron t) ; bil l from gape, c losed w ing s short of end Of tai l,w e ight, 6 2 oz . Above

,in cluding the secon darIes an d w ing

coverts, pale blue-grey , l ighter on rumpand upper tai l-covertsal l the feathers w i th d istin ct black shaft-s tripes

,most marked

on the head, where the crow n is l ightly tinged w ith bu ff ; a.broad ban d,i nc luding the s ides of the n eckand the nape, rich

ru fous, this colour being prolonged narrow ly above the earcoverts to hinder marg in of the eye, w here it meets the

superci l ium al l the feathers streaked or shafted black ; forehead, lores, superc i l ium, an d s ides of face su l l ied white ; 3.

smal l dark streak down wards froman terior comm issure of eye ;

ear-coverts pale ru fescen t,marg in ed w ith grey posteriorly ;

chin an d throat w hi te , bounded on each s ide byapale ru fousban d, w ith the feat-hers black-shafted en tire un derparts rufou sbu ff, paler on abdomen

, w ith med ian blackish shaft-stripes ;un der w ing-coverts whi te, barred w ith black, an d blackshafted ; qu i l ls grey ish black, barred w ith w hite on the in n erw eb

,and suffused w ith blu ish grey n ear the bases O f the ou ter

w ebs ; ou ter w eb Of first p rimary marg in ed w ith pu re w hite,

and al l the qu i l ls narrow ly marg in ed w ith grey ish White atthe ir tips ; tai l pale blu ish grey, w ith black shafts, abroadsubterminal band O f black and anarrow w hite tip ; ben eaththe inn er w ebs of al l but the uropygial s crossed byabout sevenblack ban ds, exclus ive of the broad subterm inal on e .

Mr. Gurn ey, who has examin ed the in teresting specimenabove described, suggests to me that the reason why the s tageof plumage it re presen ts is n ot better kn ow n in Europe , isprobably due to the fact that this Falcon is here se ldomal lowedto attain to Old age . The female Merl in doubtless takes acon siderably longer time to attain the fu l ly adu lt plumagethan the male ; bu t that the plumage I have described is n otexceptional is, I think, proved by the fact that of three Merl in sshot in G i lg it twoare females, both in g rey plumage .

*

I thin k theassumption of the compl e te blue pl umae of theadu l t mu st be rarean d exceptional in th e case of female s . I do n ot thin k have ever seen an “

in stan ceof this,an d there is not, I find,asingle specimen in ourmuseum of afemale in this

plumage—ED S . F .

92 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT.

9 .—Cerchneis tinnunculus, L in .

The Kestre ls in my collection from G i lg itare of the commonpale form ; bu t two spec imen s have the black bars on the

u pper surface rather strong ly marked, though n ot so greatlyas in the race cal led 0 . saturatus, B lyth. A male in tran sition from immature to adu l t dress has the chan ge mostmarked on the rump, n ex t on the head ,an d least on the tai l ;the tai l is u sual ly con sidered the first part to u n dergo change .

An Old female has the rumpan d u pper tai l-cove rts blue-grey ,w i th fain tly ru fous tips ; the tai l g rey, washed w ith ru fou s,e special ly at the marg in s, an d w ith in complete black bars,i n terruptedalong the shafts of the feathers .10.—~ Astur palumbarius, Lin . (2L )Goshawks are n ot u n common about G i lg it in au tumn

,on

m igration . In the au tumn O f 1879 many immature specimen s w ere captured in G i lg it i tse lf. The in stan ce men tion edby Major Biddu lph of aG oshawk be ing carried from the

val ley of the Oxus to Bombay ,an d many similar cases kn ow nto me, shou ld be born e in m ind in ass ign ing l ocal ities for°

train ed birds of prey . Thu s the fact that aRajah in the

Punjab hasatrain ed Falcon of acertain species shou ld cer

tain ly n ot be con sidered proof that the bird in question wasn ot captured in Cen tral Asia.1L—Scelospizias badius, Gme l . (23)A m igratory spec ies in G ilg it, pass ing n orthwards in Apri l

,

and sou thwards in S eptember. It is rare w ith us,or, atal l

even ts,makesavery short stay in the d is trict.

12 .-Accipiter n isus, L in .

Common from the first w eek in Apri l to the second w eekin December. In seven males the w ing measures 8 to

in ches ; tai l, 66 to tarsus,2 to 22 ; w eight, 5 to 53 oz .

S even females measure —W ing , 9 3 to 10 in ches ; tail,to 8 5 ; tarsus, to w e ight, 7 to 95 oz . Of thesefourteen examples, two males an d two females have fi ve barson the uropyg ials ; al l the rest have on ly four bars on thesefeathers .

14.

—Aquilachrysaetus, Lin . (26 )

An Old male, w i thou t any white on the tai l,shot on the

3rd Apri l, m easured —Leng th, 335 in ches ; expan se,w ing, 2 5 tai l, tarsus, 4 ; mid toe, bil l from gape,

weight, 7 lb . 3 oz . Irides du l l yel low.

94 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT'

.

18 .

—Buteo plumipes, Hodgs . (47)This Buzzard is found in smal l n umbers abou t G i lg it from

December to the en d of March. A female , shot on the 23rd

February, measured —Length, 19 in ches ; w in g , tai l,tarsus, bare portion of tarsu s in fron t

,1 b il l from gape, 16 ;

w e ight, 1 1b. 15 oz . Iris drab ; tai l w ith mottl in g an d tracesof imperfect barring n ear the shafts of the feathe rs on ly .

An other female, shot on the 2 1st March, measured —Len g th,2 1 in ches ; w in g , 16 ; tai l, tarsu s

,bare portion of tarsu s

in fron t, 1 . Iris hair-brow n ; tai l barred . Both these spec imen sare in the phase of plumage to which the title of B uteo

japon icus is usual ly applied .

19 .- 0ircus cyaneus, L in . (50)The Hen -Harrier is a. w in ter v is itor

,arriv ing in the last

W eek of Septemberan d leav ing early in May . Immaturemales, in the plumage of the female,and adu lts of both sexes,

have the irides ye l low ; the immature female has the irideshazel-brown .

20.-Circus macrurus, Gme l . (51 )

This spec ies mu st, I think, he con sidered aw in ter v isi tor,appearingat the en d of August,and leav ingabout the m idd leof May . I have shot it in G ilg it early in Jan uary, andobserved it throughou t the w in ter of 1879-80 . Like Circus

cyaneus, in this species the adu lts of both sexes and the

immature male have the irid es bright ye l low ,whi le the

immature female has the iris dark brown .

21 .—Gircus cineraceus, Mon t. (52)

This Harrier passes through G i lg it on migration , beingfairly common from the third w eek in March to the first w eekin May , an d re-appearing on its way s outhwards abou t thethird w eek in S eptember. In two adu lt males the iris wasbright ye l low ; in two immature males the iris was haze l ,s l ightly tinged w ith ye l low in on e, and pale straw-colour inthe other example .

22 .— Circusaeruginosus, Lin . (54)In tw elve specimen s, the males have the w ings 14 to l 6 ° 1

in ches the females 154 to 17 . Theadult female has n o greycolour on the w ings or tai l . If in this sex the plumage of the

adu lt male is ever assumed, the case must be as exceptionalas in the Kestre l .

fi

The adu l ts of both sexes have the iris“

yel low ; and the immature birds of both sexes have the irisbrown . In the male changing toadu lt plumage, the tai l is

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT. 95

the first part to become grey and at th is stage the iris is ofsome shade in termediate betw een brow n an d ye l low .

23 .-Milvus melanotis, Tem. gr Sent. (56 bis . )

The K ite re ferred to by Maj or B iddulph unde r the nameof M i lvus govinda, an d which I cal l M . me lanotis, isam igratory spec ies in G ilg it,appearing as early as the 2 nd February,an d passing over the val ley in large flocks u n til the beg in n ingof May . In fi ve males the w in gs measure to 20 in ches ;tai l , to 13 ; tarsus, 2 to 22 . In a. female, w ing, 20 ; tai l,13 ; tarsu s, 22 .

I can n otagree w ith Captain Marshal l that Mr. Brooks hascon clusive ly show n that M i lvus melanotis (=M, maj or,H ume) shou ld be cal led M . govindaw Follow ing Mr. G urn ey

( Ibis , 1879 , p . i t seems n ecessary to recog n ize three

races of K ites in In d ia, under the names of M melanotis,

M . govinda,an d M . afi n is . Of cou rse i f these three forms areto be con sidered as con stituting on ly on e species

,they must

al l be join ed under the title of M . govinda.Milvus govinda, Sykes . (56 )This med ium-sized Ki te, w hich is n ot included in Major

B iddu lph’

s l ist, appears to be astragg ler to G ilg it, probablyfrom some of the val leys to the south

,where it may be res i

den t. I obtain ed two adu l t females in Apri l , w hich have thew ing s 18 8 an d 189 in ches,and the tai ls an d 12 . These ,it w i l l be n oticed, are con spicuously smal ler than e ven the

males of the race I cal l M . melanotis . Iat first thought thatthese two spec imen s m ight be M ilvus migran s , w hich has bee nrecorded from Afghan istan bu t on comparison w ith spec imen sof the latter spe c ies from Sarepta, it became eviden t that theG ilg it birdsare d istin ct.24 .—Syrn ium biddulphi, Sp . Nov.

Adu l t f emale— C row n and space be tween the facial d isksun iform blackish brow n ; occipu t, nape an d hind n eck darkbrow n , the feathers i n de n ted on the marg in s w i th g rey ishw hite , g iv ing aspotted appearan ce to this reg ion ; back,m in or an d median w ing - coverts , rump and u pper tai l -covertsgrey ish brow n , profuse ly vermicu lated w i th grey ish w hi te ;the scapu lars an d med ian w ing-coverts w ith large white spotson the ir ou ter w ebs primariesan d the ir coverts dark brow n ,w ith pale ochraceou s-brow n bars an d tips, w hichare s tippledw ith dark brow n ; the bars on the outer w ebs of the third to

s ixth primaries creamy w hite, sl ightly mottled w ith brow n ;secondaries pale brown , freckled with irregu lar greyish white

9 6 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT.

bars,which become pure white on the marg in s of the inn er

w ebs ; u rOpyg ials pale grey ish brow n ,irregu larly vermicu

lated with dark brow n ,and hav ing on ly in d ication s of on e or

two very narrow imperfect bars n ear the tips ; the n ext pairof rectrices w i th the ou ter w ebs un barred

,an d coloured l ike

the uropyg ial s ; the in n er w ebs broad ly barred w ith du l lbrow n ; the rest of the tai l-feathers dark brow n , irregu larlybarred on bothw ebs w ith pale ochreous, w hich becomes n earlyw hite towards the margin s of the in n er w ebs ; al l the rectricestipped w i th w hite ; fac ial d isk grey ish w hite, the feathersw ith blackish shafts an d two or three narrow bars of darkbrow n across both w ebs ; the ru ff surrou n d ing the d iskblackish brow n

,beau tifu l ly barred w ith w hite

,above the

an teri or part of the eye ,an d on the chin the white bars suffusedw ith ru fous u n derparts white ,al l the feathers w ith acen tralbroad streak of blackish brow n

,an d complete tran sverse bars

on both w ebs of the same colour, the feathers of the fore-n eckhav ing on e

.bar, those on the breast two, on the abdomen

three,an d on the u nder tai l -coverts four ; un der w ing-covertsan dax i l laries w hite, irreg u larly barredan d spotted w ith brow n ;tibial feathers cream-colour

,tran sversely barred w i th brow n ;

feathers covering the tars i an d toes white , irregu larly mottledherean d there w ith brow n ; cere green ; b il l green , ye l low attip iris black . Leng th, 19 in ches ; expan se , w in g ,tail, tarsus, bi l l from gape, cere, closedw ing short of e nd of tai l, 2 .

Adu lt male .-S imi lar to the female in colour

,but the ear

coverts darker and more s trong ly barred ; cere O l ive ; bil lgreen , y e l low at tip ; iris dark brow n ; toe-scales pale green ;c laws black, s latyat bases . Leng th, in ches expan se

,

w in g, tai l,8 5 ; tarsus , bil l from gape, cere,

0 65 ; c losed w in gs short of en d of tail,

w eight, 1 lb . oz .

The measuremen ts g iven above w ere taken from fresh birds,the w ings being m easured on the u nder su rface . As this isn ot the u sual practice in measu ring w ings of large birds, Im ust men tion that, taken on the u pper surface w i th atape ,the w ing of the female hasaleng th of 14 in ches

,an d that of

the male , 13 .

This species d iffers from S . david i by its smal ler size , v erm icu lated (not plain ) rump,an d d ifferen t character of marking s .

From S . n ivicolum it d iffers in being larg e r, in n ot hav ing the

u ropygials barred, an d by its colou r.

* W i th the ordinaryform of Syrn ium aluco it cou ld n ot be con fou nded for a

As already n oticed , S . F . , IX ., p . 311n , I con s ider this mere ly the pal e w estern

form of Syrn ium n w i col um. I haveaseries of bi rds f rom the H imalayas of the

Pun jab,an y on e of w hich m ight hav e sat for the figure given by Dr. Scul ly ofsupposed n ew species,and whichan swer perfectly to his description .

98 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT.

27 .-Bubo turcomanus, Eversm. (68 quat. )Iagree w ith Messrs . B iddulph and Marshal l that this Owl

is specifical ly d istin ct from B ubo iguacus . I did n ot Obtainaspecimen of B . tureomanus . in G i lg it ; but, as far as my

'

memory serves me , Major Biddu lph’s specimen is iden ticalw ith the Eag le Owl I Obtain ed in Yarkand (STRAY FEATHERS,IV.

, p . 129 w hich is certain ly d istin ct from B . ignavua.E versman n s Eag le Owl is probably on ly arare stragg ler toG i lg it in w in ter.

Bubo ignavus, Forst. (68 tar. )A pale form of the Eag le O w l is not un common in G ilg it

in w in ter at an e levation of abou t feet. Two, malesmeasured z—Leng th, an d in ches ; w ing, 17 ° l an dtai l , 10 tarsus

,b il l from gape, O n e of these examples

w eighed 3 lb. 5 oz . ; the third primary is the l ongest, the

secon d al ittle lon ger than the fourth,and the first pr imaryi s in termediate in leng th betw een the fifthand s ixth .

Compared w i thalarge series of B . ignavus these specimen sd iffer greatly in colour

,be ing much paler and less ru fous

in deed two high au thorities on the birds of prey, on . see ingthese skin s

,w ou ld n ot admit that they w ere to. beass ign ed to

B . ig navus,an d Suggested that they shou ld be compared w i thB . bengalensis . But B . bengalensis is much smal ler, thelargest female n ot measu rin g more than 1 6 in ches in length

of w ing ( in four specimen s I have m easured, the . w ings varyfrom to the w ing is d ifferen tly shaped, the fourthqu il l be ing the longest, an d the secon d half an in ch shorterthan the fourth ; there is more black on the backand m in orw ing-coverts ; and the toesare less feathered .

My G ilg it birds are specifical ly d istin ct from the Yarkandspecimen s which I refer to B . turcomanu s, an dare doubtlessthe sameas the specimen recordedas follow s in P. Z . S . , 1860,p . 9 9 Mr. Sc later exh ibitedaspecimen of alarge Horn edO w l shot by Major W . E. Hay , F. Z . S .

,u pon the borders of

the Pangkong Lake, in Thibet. He was d isposed to con s iderthe bird as apale variety of B udo max imus .

” This form of

Eag le Ow l , which appears to be confin ed to the in terior of

the Himalayas, shou ld perhaps be d istin gu ished from B . ignavus,at leastasasub-species,and wou ld then probably bear the titleB ubo hemachalan us, Hume .

28 .— Scops pennatus, Hodgs .

In add iti on to the spec imen in my col lection men tion ed byMajor Biddu lph, I obtain ed afemale of this Owl in G ilg iton the 4thOctober, whichmeasured z—Length, inches W ing,

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT. 99

tai l, tarsus, 1 bi l l from gape, closed w ings beyon dthe tip of tai l, This example is in the dark grey phaseof plumage , w ith on ly some mottl ings Of rufous on the breas tand shou lders ; the male, the measuremen ts of which areg iven in Major Biddu lph’s paper, isabout hal f ru fousan d halfgrey . In both specimen s the secon d an d third primaries aresubequal an d longest, an d the first is in termed iate in leng thbetw een the fifthan d sixth . Some specimen s Of the variab leScope g inare hard ly separable from these G i lg it birds .29 .—Scops brucu , Hume . (74 sept. )

.I obtain ed five specimen s of this species in G i lg it, in March,April

,an d September. Twomales measured -Len gth, 8 in ches

w ing , 64 and tail, 3an d tarsus,

bi l l from gape,and Three females measured—Leng th, 8 to

in ches ; w ing , 64 5 to 6 7 ; tai l,

to 36 ; tarsu s, 1 1 to

b i l l from gape , to One of these examplesw e ighed oz . In these five spec imen s the third qu i l l is thel ongest, the secon d an d fourth are subequal

,and the first is

in termed iate in length between the s ixth and seven th. There

is n o appreciable variation in colour, al l be ing of the samecharacteristic brow n ish-bu ff tin t. After carefu l comparisonw ith the fine series of S cope gin an d al lies in the BritishMuseum , I do n ot doubt that Scope brucz

'

i isaperf ectly goodand d istin ct species .

30.—Hirundo rustica, L in . (82)Three females in my col lection , shot in Apri land May , have

the w ings 45 to inches,and the tai ls to Al l have

abroad black pectoral band .

31 .-=Hirundo rufula, Tem. (84. bis . )

This Swal low is asummer v isitor to G ilg it, but n ever

appears to be common . A female measured z—Len gth,inches ; w ing, tail, (to fork, tarsus

,b il l

from gape, From H irundo n ipalen sis, to which MajorB iddu lph referred it, the G i lg it red-ramped Swal low is d isting u ished by its smal ler size, fain tly striated lower surface

,an d

u n striated ear-coverts . In an ote to Biddu lph’

s paper Iiden tified the sp eciesas H . erytkropyg ia, Sykes bu t on fu llere xam ination I n ow fee l satisfied that i t is real ly H irundo

ruf u la. The d ifferen ce betw een these two forms is s l ight ;H . erythropygiais smal ler, and has the rump u n i form chest

n ut, whi le B . ruf ulais larger, an d has the chestnu t rumppal in g to n early w hite towards the upper tai l-coverts ; twofemales Of H. erythropyyz

'ahave the wing and 4 °3,aanda


male and five males Of H . ruf u lahave the w ing to

an d five females to Now my G i lg it specimenhas the rump pal ing to white towards the tai l

,and, though

rather smal l, must be referred to H . rzg’u la. *

32 .- Cotile rupestris, Soap .

A summer v isitor,arriv ingabou t the third w eek in March,

an d very common in the l ow er val leys throughou t Apri l an dMay . In the males col lected the w ings m easure to 54

in ches, and in the females to 5 . Eight specimen s shotin spring have dusky streaks an d

,mottl in gs about the chin ;

in some this marking is con fin ed to the poin t Of the chin ,whi le in others it extends to the throatan d cheeks .

Chel idon urbica, Lin . (9 2)The House-Martin is asummer v is itor, and is very com

mon in G ilg it in May an d Jun e . A female, shot in G ilg it

on the 10th May, agrees w ith many European examples w i thwhich I have compared it in the colour of theax i l lariesan dun der w ing -coverts, and in al l other particu lars . Length, 55inches ; w ing , 44 tail, tarsus, bil l from gape,the uropyg ials shorter than the ou termost tai l-feathers .

Maj or B iddu l ph does n ot i n c lude this spec ies in his l ist, bu tg ives the closely al l ied Chel idon caslzmiriensis

,which I d id

not obtain ; the length of the tarsus in his specimen is misprin ted 5 for 05 .

34.—Cypselus pekinensis, Swinhoe . (99 qnat. )

This Sw ift is asummer v is itor to G i lg it. It was commonin the l ow er val leys throughou t May an d the first half of

Jun e, but in Ju ly an d August was on ly found at e levation sof over feet. G i lg it specimen s agree perfectly w ith thetype of Cypse lus pekinen sis, Sw inhoe . This form,

as has beenoften poin ted out

,d iffers from the European 0 . apus in be ing

paler throughout, w ithamarked ly paler forehead, more whiteon the chin an d throat, an d w ith awhite margin above thean terior part of the eye . The differen ce is doubtless s l ight ;but on actual comparison Of specimen s it is man ifest. Manyaccepted Spec ies do n ot differ in agreater degree ; and it

seems that acolouration which is con stan t in su charangeasfrom Pekin to G i lg it is worthy of some n otice in our n omenclature .

In al l theadu l ts of ruf u lathat I kn ow of the w in g has more or less exceeded

If.in ches . Are there two races, alargerandasmal ler, in cluded in this species 1

’

D ., S. F.

102 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF OILC IT.

immature of th is spec ies ; an d I can n otagree w ith him thatthey con stitu te avery remarkable race .

”

Adu lt male P . himalayen sis d iffers from the adu lt maleP . maj or in hav in g the whole crow n crimson

,w hile the latter

has on ly the occ i put thus coloured,an d in several other

po in ts ; but the young males of these two spec ies are verymuch al ike both having the w hole crow n crimson an d the

l ower surface ye l low ishan d s l ightly dark-streaked . The youngbirds, how ever, can be readi ly separated by the colour of the

ear-coverts ; in P . maj or this part is whitish throughou t ; inP . bimalayen sis the an terior upper half of the same reg ion ,behind the eye, is dusky or blackish .

40 .

- Gecinus squamatus, Vig . (170)A perman en t residen t in the d istrict

,found in the l ower

val leys from November to May , an d durin g the rest of the

yearatan e levation of abou t feet. In six spec imen s‘

the w ing s measured 64 to in ches ; tai ls, 5 to 54 bi l l fromgape, to 2 ° l . The spec imen s men tion ed by CaptainMarshal l as hav ing the n eck an d back grey w ere probablyb irds abou t ayear old , w i th the feathers w orn an d faded,andat the next mou lt w ou ld haveassumed the u sual green colour.

A mou lting female in my col lec tion , shot on the 4th Augu st,has the hind n eckand upper back brown ish grey but afewn ew feathers, w hich have appeared on those parts, are qu itegreen . Mr. B lan ford

,in his “ Zoology of Persia

,p . 135,

describesaparal le l stage of Gecin us virz'

dis in aspecimen whichwas scarcely mature (probably abird O f the preced ing year)and w i th the plumage worn .

41 .—Iynx torquil la, L in . (188 )The Wryn eck is common from the m iddle O f Apri l to the

first w eek in October. A male shot on the 22nd Apri l hadthe irides haze l . In n one Of my spec imen s is there an y traceof rufous on the u n derparts

,as men ti on ed by Major Biddu lph ;

the colour which prevades these parts toavariable exten t isbuff-ye l low .

42 .—Cuculus canorus, L in . (19 9 )The Common Cuckoo is asummer v isi tor, an d is fairly

common from the beg inn ing Of May to S eptember. Someof my G i lg it spec imen s are rather smal l ; but they are al ldoubtless referable to C . canoras . Two adu lt males havethe w in g 86 to 88 in ches ; four fu l l-grown females have thew ing 8 1 to 8 7 and two females in hepatic plumage havethe w ing 75 and


43 .—Cuculus himalayanus, Vigors . (200)I did n ot obtain any spec imen s which can be re ferred to

this species ; n or did I e ver hear its cry in the G ilg it d istrict.Major Biddu lph

’s spec imen s

,which I think w ere immature

,

may have been mere ly rather smal l examples of C . canoras .

45 .—Certhiahimalayana, Vigors . (243)

A perman en t res iden t ; common at an e levation of

feet from the third w eek in O ctober to the en d of March,

an d during the rest of the y ear in the pin e -forests abovefeet . In seven teen specimen s the w ing measures 26 to

in ches ; tail, 2 2 to46 .—0erthiahodgson i, B rooks . bis . )

This spec ies is rare in G ilg it. Specimen s w ere on lyobtain ed in Jun ean d Ju ly , in the pin e-forests, atan e levationof over feet . In Cert/Etalwdgsom

‘

there is n o pale spoton the outer w eb of the first f our primaries . In alarge series

of C . fami l iaris I find that on ly the first three primariesareu uspotted, apale spot be ing con stan tly foun d on the ou terw eb of the fourth qu i l l . There are some other d istin ction s ;bu t the on e men tion ed suffi ces for the d iscriminati on Of the

Kashmir Creeper from its European al ly.

47 .—Tichodromamuraria, Lin .

A w in ter v isitor ; common at an elevation of abou tfeet from the m idd le of October to abou t the end of March .

Spec imen s ob tain ed from October to the midd le of Februaryhave the head brow n ; towards the en d Of Februaryand inMarch the brown cap is replaced by grey .

48 .— Sittal eucopsis, Gou ld .

I on ly obtain ed this Nu thatch from the beg i nn ing of Apri lto September ; it was n ever seen in the low er parts of theval leys away from pin e-forests . Ten specimen s measureW ing , to tail , to tarsu s

,to bil l

from gape, to The colour Of the feet in fresh specimen svaries from slaty to black .

49 .—UpupaepOps, Lin . (2541)I obtain ed the Common Hoopoe in G i lg it as early as the

25th February . Five spec imen s have the w ing 516 to

in ches ; bil l at fron t, to 2 3,andagree w el l in colour W i thexamples from AsiaMin or.

104 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT.

50.—Lan ius homeyeri, Cab. (256 bis . )This G rey Shrike is rare in G ilg it, an d is on ly foun d on

m igration in spri ngandau tumn . I Obtain edamale on the 27th

November, which measured z—Leng th, i n ches ; expan se,w in g, tai l

,tarsus

,bi l l from gape ,

cu lmen,

c losed w ings short of en d Of tai l, 3 ; ou ter tai lfeathers

,shorter than u ropyg iale . I proceed to g ive a

description of this specimen,by which the species may be

d iscrim inated from its n umerou sal l ies .

Forehead su ll ied white ; lores w hite,w ith fin e black shafts

to the feathers ; rump grey, the same colour as the back ;basal part O f u pper tai l-coverts w hite, the term inal hal ves of

these feathersapaler grey than the rump and back ; m i n orw in g

-coverts grey chin,upper throat, l ow er w ing-covertsand

ax i l laries,an d low er tail-coverts w hite ; rest of l ow er surface

pin kish w hite, w i th fain t cross bars on the breastan d upper partof abdomen , formed by narrow pale -brown marg in s to the

feathers ; al l the primaries w hite on both w ebsat the bases ;the secondaries w hite on both w ebs at the bases, except thei n n ermos t two, the white on the in n er w ebs run n in g narrow lydow n to the tips O f the feathers ; from the e ighth primary to

al l bu t two of the in n ermost secondaries w ith con spicuousw hite marg in s to the tips of the feathers ; ou termost pair ofrectrices w holly w hite

,the cen tral part of the shaftal on e black

n ex t pair w hite on outer w eb,the i n n er w eb w hi te, w ith a

large black patch abou t the midd le of the feather ; third pairw hi te at base an d tip, the in termed iate part black on bothw ebs ; fourth pair w ith more black than the precedin g on

both w ebs, especial ly towards the tip, where on ly half an in chO f white remain s ; fi fth pair w ith on ly asmal l spot O f w hiteat tip, an d l ittle more w hite at base than on the u ropygialsuropyg ials black, w hiteat base for in ch.

This specimen is , I be l ieve, correctly referred to L . homeyeri .

It d iffers from L . la/ztorain many particu lars , too n umerous tomen tion . From L. excubz

’

tor it d iffers in hav ing more white on

the lores, w ing s an d tai l, the s ize of the feet and the breadthof the tail-feathers being the same as in that spec ies .51 .

-Lan ius erythronotus, Vigors . (257)In my collection are specimen s of this Shrike shot in G i lg it

from the 18 th Apri l to the 28 th December ; bu t the last birdmu st be con sidered v ery late in migrating, as this speciesleaves u s, I think, in October.

52 .-Lan ius cristatus, L in . (26 1)

This species must be expunged from the G ilg it l ist. In

the rufous-tai led Shrikes there are two d istinct section s,

106 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF OILGIT.

Lanius phoen icuroides, Severtzofi '

. (262 bis . )

Lun ius phoe n icuroides, Severtzoff, STRAY FEATHERS,III .

, p. 430

This species was on ly Observed during the au tumn ml grattion . An immature specimen shot on the 8 th Septemberm easured z—Leng th, in ches w in g, tai l, 3-15 tarsus

bi l l from gape, cu lmen , Third and fourth primaries longest, secon d in termediate in len gthbetw ee n the fi fthands ix th head, '

rump, an d u n der tai l-coverts ru fou s,barred w ith

black ; rest of upper surface dark ru fou s-brow n , u n barredlow er surface white

, cross-barred w ith dark brow n .

Theadu lts of this spec ies d iffer from Lan ius isabel liuus inhav ing ad ifferen tly shaped W ing and tai l

,in the w in g -spe

cu lum being larger, the low er surface white, the w hole l ores~

black, the head more ru fous than the back,an d the qu il ls

more black . To phoen icuroz'

des must be re ferred z—Mr. Dres

ser’s figure of L . isabel linus before men tion ed ; Lord Walden ’

s

figure an d description of L . isabel l in us in The Ibis, 1867,

pp. 224, 226 , pl . v. , fig . 1 ; Schalow ’

s supposed youngL . arenarius

,J. f . O .

,1875, p . 143 Nos . 1an d 15 of the speci

men s men tion ed by Mr. Blan ford in his Zoology of Pers ia,

”

p . 140 an d the specimen referred toasaful ly adu lt male bythe sameauthor in his Zoology O f Aby ssin ia, p . 339 .

Severtzoff’s name of L . placen icuroides is happi ly chosen for

his species does bear agreat resemblan ce to L . pii cen icurus ;bu t,as I men tion ed u nder L . cristatus

,it be longs to ad ifferen t

section according to the characters Of its tai l .Lan ius col lurio, L in . (260 bis . )The Red-backed Shrike is foun d in G ilg it on ly on passage .

I Obtain ed three immature examples, on the 4th an d l 6th

S eptember an d 2nd November,during theau tumn m igration ,

but n ever Observed it at any other time . This Shrike is

recorded by Severtzoff as breed in g in Turkestan , an d isarareau tumn straggler to the plain s of Indiain the n orth-w est.My specimen s measure z—Length, 72 to in ches ; w ing ,tai l, 32 to tarsus, to bi l l from gape, 0 °8 to

c ulmen , to 0 7 . They agree perf ectly w ith aseries of

young Eng l ish examples of L . col lurio w ith which I have com

pared them . Young L . col lurio is very l ike y oung L . phoen i

euroides, bu t can easi ly be distingu ished from it thu s : in

L . col lurio the secon d primary is in te rmediate in length betw eenthe fourth an d fi fth

, an d the d istan ce between the lon gestsecondaries and longest primary is about equal to the leng thof the tarsus in L . phaem

'

curoides the second primary is in ter

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT .

’

107

mediate in len gth betw e en the fi fthan d s ixth,an d the d istance

be tween the tips of the secon dariesan d the poin t of the w ingis less than the leng th of the tarsus . There are also some

m in or d ifferen ces in colour,amoun t of cross-barring ben eath,an d in the re lative lengths of the urOpygials, and secon dprimary .

53.—Pericrocotus brevirostris, Vigors . (273)This species seems to be on ly aw in ter v is itor to the lower

val leys Of the G ilg it d istrict ; it is not un common from the

last w eek in October to the begin n ing of February . Al l theflocks I saw con s isted exclusive ly of females and youn g malesin grey an d bright ye l low plumage, the gorgeous blackandc rimson adu lt males be ing con spicuous by the ir absen ce .

S ix specimen smeasu red z—Length, 73 to 83 w ing, to

tail,4 to bil l from gape, to These examples

agree w e l l w ith aseries of Pericrocotus brevirostris from the

Himalayas further east, but have the ear-coverts paler grey .

54.—Buchangalongicaudata, Hay . (280)

This spec ies is on ly astraggler to G i lg it, probably from

some of the loweran d hotter val leys further sou th . A femaleshot in G i lgiton the 2nd O f Septembermeasured —Length, 108i n ches ;7 w ing, 5 3 tai l to fork

,4, to en d Of ou termost rectrices,

tarsu s,

bil l from gape, This wasan immaturebird w ith whole l ow er surface du l l black w ithou t g loss, the

u n der w ing-coverts barred and tipped w ith white, and theirides dark brown .

55.-Muscipetaparadisi, L in . (288 )

This Flycatcher is rare in.

G ilg it, an d appears to v isit us

on ly on migration . I Obtain ed amale on the 1 l th May, inchestn u t plumage an d w ith the short tai l ; the crest was w e l ld eve loped ,an d the ch in an d throat g l ossy black . An immature specim en procured on the 25th Aug ust is also in chest

n ut plumage , bu t w ith the crest short,an d the n eckan d breast

d u l l ashy . Severtzoff records this species as migratory to

Turkestan , w here it breeds ; so the examples Obtain ed atG ilg it may have been on m igration toand from that coun try .

56 —Hemichel idon sibirica, Gmel . (29 6 )This Flycatcherappears in G i lg itas early as the 1 1th May ,an d leaves for the sou th in September. From the m idd le of

May to the first w eek in Jun e it is common in the low erval leys

, prin cipal ly in orchards,at e le vation s of to

feet ; in the latter part of Jun e and throughou t Ju ly and


August it is on ly found in the forest above feet, whereit breeds . A young bu t fu l l-grown bird, shot on the 6 th

Augu st, differs al ittle from Mr. Sharpe’s descri ption Of the

y oung of this species (Cat. IV., p . Head sooty, narrow ly

streaked w ith w hite ; back brow n , streaked and mottled w i thbu ff ; rumpand upper tai l-coverts marg in ed and spotted w i thru fous bu ff ; low er tai l-coverts ru fescen t, edges of qu i l lsas ingp

u l t ; gape bright ye l l ow , base of mandible ye l low ; irisack .

57 .—Muscicapagrisola, L in . (299 bis . )This species is common from the m iddle of May to the

en d of September. In May ,an d during the last three w eeksof September, i t is fou nd in the l ow er parts of the val leys ; bu tfrom the beg inn ing of Jun e to the firs t w eek in September itis on ly met w ith in the pin e -forests , at e levation s of over

feet, where it breeds . Examples shot in Septemberhave the w ing-covertsan d seco n daries broadly marg in ed andtipped w ith pale fu lvous ; in m idsummer these feathersarenarrow ly marg in ed w i th white .

58 .—Siphiaruficauda, Swains . (307)

A summer v isitor on ly , arriv ing about the l 0th May ,anddoubtless breeding in the pin e -forests . The sexes do n ot

d iffer in any way in colour. The max i l lais dark brown andthe mand ible pale horn y .

59 .-Troglodytes neglectus, B rooks . (333 bis . )

This W ren is aperman en t res iden t in the d istrict,an d inw in ter is on e of the common est an d most fam i l iar birds inthe low er parts of the val ley s . Four spec ime n s measuredLen gth, to 3 8 in ches ; w ing , 1 8 to tai l , to 1 35

tarsus,

to 0 °7 ; bil l from gape , to 06 . C omparedw ith specimen s of T . n ipalen sis from S ikkim, I find that thed is tin ction s on w hich Mr. Brooks separated the KashmirW ren from the Eastern -Himalayan formare fairly born e out .

The G ilgit birds are paler in colour,an d have the feet smal leran d more slen der, w i th the claw s shorterand less pow erfu l thanin T . n ipal en sis .

60 .—Myiophoneus temmincki, Vig .

G ilg it specimen s are iden tical w i th examples from Kashmir.In males the w ings measure 7 1 to 76 inches ; in females,

to 68 .

1 10 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITEOLOCY or GILOIT.

n eighbouring val leys to the sou th. The bird,ayoun g male;i s profuse ly spotted, but has the m in or coverts blue ,an d the taiIedg ed w ith the same colour. Leng th, in ches ; w in g ,tai l, tarsu s

,bi l l from gape, 1 . Bi l l dusky gape pale

y e l low .

65 .—Monticolasaxatil is, L in . (351 ter. )C ommon in

,

G i lg it, on migration , from the 20th August tothe 3oth September. The adu lts seem to make n o stay in

the d istrict ; al l the birds Observed an d shot are immature .

In thirteen specimen s, in immature barredand spotted plumage,the w ings vary from to in ches .

67 .—Merulaatrogulari s, Tem . (365)

This spec ies is common atan e levation of about feetfrom the first w eek in October to the m idd le of May . In

thirteen examples from G i lg it the w ings vary in length from49 to 53 in ches . My spec imen s do n ot bear ou t MajorB iddu lph

’

s Observation that, w hen the black on the throat isfu l ly assumed, the ax i llaries an d un der w ing-coverts becomeearth-brow n , un iform w ith the flan ks .

*

68 .—Turdus viscivorus, Lin . (368)

I on ly met w i th this Thru sh in the G i lg it d istrict in summer,at e levation s of over feet, w here i t breeds . Myspec imen s agree perfectly in colour w i th examples from AsiaM in or. An adu lt bird has the w ing and ayoung bird,shot on the 28th Ju ly, has the w ing69 .—Trochalopterum s1mile, H ume . (41 8 bio)This fin e species is, w ith u s, s ing ularly local . I n ever saw

i t in G ilg it, but it is common an d aperman en t residen t inSharot an d Bargo, 15 mi les higher up the val ley,atan e levation of about feet. It is on ly foun d in places den se lycovered w ith trees and bushes . In e le ven specimen s thew ing varies in length from 4 to in ches ; al l these havethe ou ter w ebs Of the qu i l ls an d the subterm inal ban d on thetai l pu re grey, w ithou t any shade of ye l low , red

, or O l ive .

The ear-coverts are ashy, n ot dark brow n ; the grey ban d on

the uropyg ial varies in depth from 1 in ch to an d this

grey ban d in creases on the lateral tai l-feathers, en croaching

.more on the outer w eb ; the ou termost pair of rectrices aren ot markedatal l w ith black .

it V i damy n ote, S . F. , IX . , p . 319 . This is cl early some acciden tal mistake or

mispri n t in Maj or Biddulph’s paper. -ED . , S .

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT. 111

70.—Trochalopterum l ineatum, Vigors . (425)

A perman en t residen t, common an d w ide ly d istributed inthe d istrict, w herever bushesan d treesare fou nd

,at e levation s

of from to feet ; it breeds in Jun e . G ilg it examples are iden tical w ith spec imen s from the Kashmir val ley ,an dare rather largeran d pal er" than the birds from the moreeastern parts Of the Himalayas .

71 .-oriolus kundoo, Sykes . (470)

This Oriole is foun d throughout the summerabout orchardsin the low er val leys, an d apparen tly does n otascendabove

feet ; it migrates southwards from G i lg it in September.

It is remarkable that this spec ies, w hich is w ide ly spreadandseden tary in many parts of the plain s Of In d ia, shou ld be asummer m igran t to the val ley of Nepal

, G i lgit,an d even to

Yarkan d in Cen tral Asia. Specimen s from these three local ities

,how ever, are qu ite iden tical w ith examples from the

plain s of India.

Pratin colacaprata, L in . (48 1 )

Of this species, which is n ot included in Major Biddu lph’sl ist, I shot asing le spec imen in G ilg it on the 10th December1 879, when it was doubtless on migration ; this was the on lyoccas ion on w hich it was observed . The bird

, afemale,measured z—Length, in ches ; w ing, tail

, tarsus,bil l from gape, Bi l l

,fee t

,an d c law s black ; irides

dark brown ; upper tai l-coverts deep ferrugin ous, lower tai lcoverts bu ff . P . capratu has ,

been foun das far w est as the

val ley of the Atreck (Seebohm,P. Z . S .

,1879, p .

72 .—Pratincolamaura, Pu l las . (483) M e w .

This species is common in G ilg it from the last w eek inMarch to the m idd le Of May, an d again from the first w eekin September to the beg in n ing of November. It probablybreeds in the district at high e levation s . In seven teen spe

cimen s the w ings vary from 25 5 to in ches, and the tai lsfrom to 2 3 . The spec imen s men tion ed by Captain Marshal l w ith striated upper tail-coverts an d rump are, I thin k,certain ly n ot P . rubicola; the streaks referred to are much

l ess pron oun ced than in female P . rubicola, and apparen tlyi ndicateaphase of plumage of the immature P . mau ra.

As in the case of Syrn ium n iv icolum.—ED . , S . F.

1 12 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT .

73.—Pratin colarobusta, Tristram apud Marshal l ,

I bis, 1 881 , p. 55, n ec Tristram. (483)Pratin colarobustacan n ot be in cluded in the l ist Of G i lg itbirds . Can on Tristram’

s type of that species, from Mysorein the sou th of In dia, has recen tly been shown (STRAYFEATHERS, IX . , p . 133, 1880) tobe qu ite distin ct from the birdsrefe rred to by Captain Marshal l un der that name . The formmen ti on ed by Captain Marshal l w ou ld

,i f d i stin ct from

P . maura,requ irean ew name but w ithalarge series of these

birds from G i lg it, and after examin ing the specimen s inMr. Seebohm

’

s col lection an d in the British Museum, I can n otagree that the proportional length Of the tai l orany of the

other poin ts brought forward w i ll justify the Spl itting of

Pratincolamaurain to two spec ies .

74.—Saxicolaopistholeuca,* S iriokl . (488)This species is rare in G i lg it,and perhaps on ly occurs there

on passage to Turkestan , when ce Severtzoff records it, under

the name O f S . syem'

tica,as breed ing . According to my

observation s it appears in G ilg it, in smal l n umbers, in Apri land May on its way n orth, an d passes sou thwards again latei n au tumn . I have the fol low ing n otes of abird O f this

spec ies shot in G i lg it on the 23rd December - Length, 65

in ches w in g , tai l , tarsus, bi l l from gape ,B i l l, feet,an d c law s black ; gape ye l low ; iris brown the headand napeashy , formin g an i l l-defin ed cap. The young birddescribed by Major Biddu lph is possibly the young of Saxicola

75.—Saxicolapicata, B lyth. (489 )

Saxicolacapistrata, Gou l d .

A summer v isitor to G ilg it, an d exceed ing ly common fromthe m idd le Of March to the m iddle Of September. Of fiftyspec imen s in my collection , thirty are males, and these Showevery possible gradati on betw een the form w i th the greyishw hite cap (capistrata) and the on e hav ing the whole headpure black (picata) ; it is qu ite impossible to separate myseries in to two species . I have Observed an d shot examplesw ith the white cap throughou t the breeding-season in com

pan y w ith brown females qu ite un distingu ishable from thoseof picata, so that the females of both forms are certain lyal ike . W ith referen ce to Major Biddu lph’s remarks on this

Throughou t I haveal low ed the specific names to stan d in the femin in e, butcaxioola, framed on the model ofagricola, ought, I think, to be treated as manculuco—ED .

, 8 0 F0

1 14 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGfl '.

77 .— Saxicolamorio, Hemp . 55?EM . (490

8 1 .—Sax z’colahen derson i, Hume .

*

This species is common in G i lg it from the third w eek in

April to the en d of Jun e , an d again from the beg in n ing of

September to the first w eek in October. Most of the birdsthat v is it u s in spring go further n orth

,bu t afew probably

breed in the d istrict. I preserved fi fty-five spec imen s of thisspecies,an d after comparison w ith the types in the Bri tishMuseum , I en tertain n o doubt that Sax icolafiendsrson i is

merely asyn onym of S . morio. S . lwnderson i was describedfrom specimen s in au tumn plumage ; bu t I for some time

thought that even in breed ing-plumage it cou ld be d istingu ished from typical S . morio by hav ing more white on the

lateral tail-feathers . Every in termed iate stage , how ever, isrepresen ted in my col lec tion

,fromabroad black band on the

en ds of the feathers n ext to the u ropygials to the form in

w hich the w hite run s right dow n to the tips of these rectrices .

Major Biddulph has correc tly poin ted ou t that the female of

this species is qu ite u n l ike the male i n colour. In my seriesthe leng th of the w ings varies from 33 5 to 3 8

,an d the

secon d primary is in termediate in length between the fifthan d s ixth.

78 —SaxicolaVittata, H empr. §rEhr. b. )This rare speciesappears in G ilg it in very smal l n umbers,an d probably on m igration on ly . I Obtain ed two males, ofw hich on e, shot on the 11 th of May, is in fu l l breed ingplumage ,an d measu res -Le ng th, 6 in ches ; w ing , tai l,tarsu s, This specimen on ly d iffers from theadu lt maleS . mozz

'

o, in breed ing-plumage , in hav ing the chin,throat, and

breast pure w hite in stead of black. The other male, men

tion ed in Tire Ibis, 188 1, p . 59, is probably immatu re , asthe black feathers of the upper surface are narrow ly edged

w ith brown . The femal e re ferred to this species by MajorB iddu lph, on page 60, I fin d, on re—exam ination , to be real lyafemale of Saxz’colapicazaan d n ot of S . vittata.

79 .

—Sax icolaisabel l ina, R upp .

This spec ies is fairly common in G i lg it on migration ,from

March to the third w eek in Apri l, an d again from the lastw eek in September to the first w eek in November.

Mr. Blan ford , in his “ Zoology Of Pers ia,

” p . 148,remarks

that the len gth of the black tip on the lateral tai l-feathers of

0 I very much question this iden tification but un fortunate ly I can not get at myspecimen s u n ti l the summer, when I w il l take the question up. Ti ll then I must

ask my readers to suspend their Opin ion .—EO . , S. F.

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT. 115

S . isabel l in e is Q to in ch . This does n otatal laccord w ithmy experien ce . In s ix teen specimen s of this spec ies n ow

be fore me,the leng th of the black tip on the lateral tail-feathers

varies from 0 9 to in ch. Mr. Blan ford, in the passageabove c ited, seems to have con foun ded female Saxicolacenan t/zew ith S . isabel l in e . I should say that in the former species the

black tip to the ou ter re ctrices doe s n ot exceed g of an in ch,w hi le 8 . isabel l in e always has more than 3} of an in ch of blackat the end of the lateral tai l -feathers .

80.—Sax icolaoenanthe, Lin . (49 1 a. )

This W heatear passes G ilg i t on m igration , and is foundthere in smal l n umbers from the 20th of March to the 22ndApril . I d id n ot secu re an y spec imen s of this spec ies duringthe au tumn m igration . G ilg it examples have the w ings 3 7to 39 in ches, an d the amoun t of black on the lateral tai lfeathers varies from 0 6 to 0 7 they do n ot seem to be separable from European examples of S . ceme n t/w w ith which I havecompared them .

82 .—Ruticil larufiventris, Viei l l . (497)This

.

Redstart passes.

G ilg it on m igration , be ing commonIn Apri l an d May , on Its way n orthwards

,an d passing downagain late in September. Out of fourteen males procuredin spring n o less than $12: w ere In the plumage of the female .

84.—Ruticil laerythronota, Eversm . (498 bis . )This Redstart is aw in ter vis itor to G ilg it,an d is commonatan elevation of fee t from the m iddle of October to

the first w eek in March. In e leven males the w ings vary inleng th from 3 4 to 3 6 ,an d in fi ve females from 33 to 33 5 .

The females have two whi tish w ing-bars formed by the paletips of the coverts .

R . alascban ica,Prj eval sky , which is al l ied to this spec ies

by its chestn ut backan d w in g-markings,appears, n evertheless,to be qu ite d istin ct. R . erythronota, male, hasabroad band,comprisin g the lores

,ear-coverts, an d s ides of n eck

,black ;

w hi le in R . alascban icathese partsare grey, l ike the head an dnape . In R . erythronotathe secon d primary is in termediatein length betw een the seven th an d e ighth, bu t n earer to the

seven th in R . alasohan icathe secon d primary is equal to thee ighth . The females of the tw o species are probably verys imi lar in colour, but the d ifference in shape Of w ing w i l ldoubtless help to d istingu ish them.

1 16 A CONTRIBUTION To THE O’RNITHOL

‘

OGY or GILGIT .

85.—Ruticil laerythrogastra, Gu ld .

A w in ter v isitor, an d common at an e levation of ab0 u tfeet, from the middle of October to the m iddle of Apri l .

The males in autumn have the head blu ish white ; in Jan uaryan d February the cap becomes whi ter, and is pure w hite in

the latest-kil led Apri l b irds . In fi fteen males the w ingsmeasured from to in ches,an d e leven females have thew in gs to

Major Biddu lph men tion s aspecimen of which the sex isdoubtfu l bu t there shou ld n ever beany doubtabout the sex es

in this Species, as the young mal e, e ven in first plumage, hasalarge sn ow-white patch on the wing, which is n ever seen in

the female .

80—R'

utiCilla. frontal is, Vigors . (503 )Not un common at an e levation of feet on firstarrival in Apri l . The female of this han dsome Species maybe read i ly distingu ished from the other brow n -coloured hen sO f the gen u s by the black ban d, n early hal f an in ch deep,on the tips Of the lateral tai l-feathers . Mala—Len g th, 64in ches ; w ing, tail , 3 ; tarsu s, bi l l from gape ,Female . w ing, tai l

,tarsu s, bi ll

from gape,87 .—Ruticil lacaeruleocephala,

"

Vigors . (504 )Common in the forests from the third w eek in March to

the end of September. In the immatu re spotted p lumagethe males '

can be readily d istingu ished from the females bythe former having sn ow-white outer marg i n s to the in n ersecondaries .

88—Rutici11al eucocephala, Vigors . (506 )There does n ’

o’

t‘

seem to beany variation in ’

the pl umage O f

this species °due to season . S ix males have the w ings to

4 in ches ; tai l, 3 2 to and bil l from .gape , to

A female meas’ures z—W ing , tail , bil l f rom gape ,One of the male birds has as ingle chestn ut feather on the

black nape .

89 .—Tarsiger rufilatus, Hodge . (508 )

Nemurarufi lata. Hodgson , P . Z. S . , 1 845, p. 27.

.A summer v isitor, an d breeds in the pin e -forests at anelevation of abou t feet. This s pec ies is qu ite d istin ctfrom T. cyan urus, Pal las , u nder w hich name i t is en tered in

Major Biddulph’s l ist. In the male of T. cyanuras the lores

1 18 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT .

u nder this head , I may men tion that I have carefu l ly com

pared it, an d that it is u n doub ted ly an example O f the white

throated form of Cyan ecu lawolfi in fu l l breedin g -plumage .

I did n ot Ob tain an other example,u n less afemale

,shot on

the l st of September, ought to be assign ed to this species .93 .—Acrocephalus dumetorum,

B lyth . (516 )A summer v is itor on ly , leav ing the d istrict in S eptember.

In seven spec imen s the w ing s m easu re 2 4 to 25 in ches ; tail ,to tarsu s

,0 84 to 0 9 ; cu lmen

, 0 64 to 0 68 ; secon dprimary in termed iate betw een the fifthan d six th .

94 .—Dumeticolamajor, B rooks . (519 quot. )

A summer v is i tor on ly . In ten spec imen s the total leng thvaried from 59 to in ches ; w in g , to tai l , to

bi l l from gape , to The third or fourthprimariesare longes t, the se con d equals the seven th or e ighth,and the exposed portion of the bastard primaryaverages96 .

-Phyl loscopus tristis, B lyth . (554 )C ommon in the l ow er val leys on arri val from the first w eek

in March to the m iddle of April, an d again from the thirdw eek in September to the en d O f Nov ember, on its way to

the sou th ; in summer on ly fou n dabove fee t. I can n otdetect any d ifferen ce be tw ee n seve ral of my skin s an dexamples of P . sin dz

’an us, Brooks, described in STRAY FEATHERS,VIII .

,p . 476

97 .—Phyl loscopus lugubris, B lyth. (558)I have no spec imen in my col lection w hich can be referred

to this spec ies . The example obtain ed by Major Biddu lphmay perhaps have been P . magn irostris, w hich is closely al l iedto P . l ugubris . The latter has hitherto been con sid ered qu itean Eastern form ,

n ot occurring in the n orth-w est O f In d ia;w hi le P . magn irostris, accord ing to Mr. Brooks , breeds inKashmir,an d is therefore more l ike ly to occur in G ilgi t.

No superficial exam ination suffices to d istin gu ish many of these smal l sy lvin e

birds . The eye mu st be regu larly trai n ed to the group. W he n on e has n ot been lookin gat the se Phy l los copi forafew mon ths, it is ex treme ly d ifficu l t to separate many of the

species whichafteraw eek’

s w ork , w hen the eye has become habi tuated to the i r m in u te

d i ff eren ces,are man ife stly d istin ct . I in l ike man n er doubted the valid i ty of sm dzan usw hen M r. Brooks sen t me h is first specim en , bu tacare fu l comparison of al l the typesw ith our en ormous series of tri stzs show ed me (S . F . ,

IX ., 99 ) that it was qu ite d isti n ct .

Asaru le the colour suffices to separate i t from tristi s, bu t occas ional ly tris tis i tse lf

approaches close ly to the n eg lectus, ramaan d s i ndz’anus type of colou rin g,an d then the

shape of the l i ttle first primary must be looked to, but I have n ever seenatrista's qui tethe colour° Of sindianus .

—ED . , S.

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT. 119

98 .—Phyl loscopus viridanu s, B lyth . (560)I secured spec imen sas lateas the 23rd September at G i lg it,

on m ig ration sou th .

Phyl loscopus n itidus, B lyth . (559 )This species mu st

,I be l ieve

,be added to the G ilg it l ist

on the e viden ce of as ing le example shot there on the 23rd

S eptember . This spec imen,afemale , has w in g in ches ; tail,

bil l from gape , exposed portion of bastard primary,on e (l ow er) w in g-bar. C ompared w i th several specimen s

of P . viridan us shot on the same day , its brighter green co lourabove

,an d con s iderably more ye l low u nderparts , seem to decide

in favour of its be ing re fe rred to P . n itidus ; and this v iewis streng then ed on comparison O f the spec imen w ith Mr

S eebohm’

s fin e series of both species ; bu t u n fortunately theG ilg it skin is in bad con d ition .

100.

—Phyl loscopusaffin is, Tioke l l . (56 1 )A summer v is i tor, arri v ing early in May , and migratin g

sou thwardsabou t the en d of September. In May , part of Ju ne ,an d September i t is foun d in the l ow er val ley ; bu t in the

in termed iate mon ths i t is confined to the forests at high elevation s, w here it breeds .

101 .—Phyl loscopus indicus, Jerdon . (562)

I foun d this spec ies le ss common than its al ly P . qfi n is .

A specimen was Ob tain ed as late as the 14th Oc tober, whichshow s that P . ind icus is rather late in leaving the d istrict.102 .

—Reguloides occipital is, B lytk. (563)I Obtain ed specimen s of this spec iesas earlyas the 1 1th May ,an d young birds in Ju ly . Major B iddu lphappears to be right

in n ot adm i tting P . troo/eiloia’es orflavo-ol ivacens to the G i lg itl is t.103 .—Reguloides humii, B rooks . (565 bis . )

C ommon from the 2 l st March to the en d of September.

You ng b irdsare m ore gree n above than adu l ts , have the se condarics con spicuously marg in ed an d tipped w ith buff,and havetwo prom in en t green ish-ye l l ow w ing -bars .

104.

—Regu loides subviridis, B rooks . (566 bis . )This species arrive s in G ilg i t as earlyas the 19 th March,an d leaves i n the beg in n ing of O ctober. It hasavery markedcry , an d can always be d istingu ished from otheral l ied speciesby i ts note .

120 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITEOLOGY or GILOIT.

105—Regulus cristatus , Koch . (580)A summe r v isitor

,on ly fou nd in the forests at high e leva

tion s,an dapparen tly n ot common . A male w i th w ing

in ches, b il lat fron t has two d istin ct whi tish w ing-bars .

Sylviaj erdon i, B lyth . (58 1 )This Eastern lon g -bil led race of Sy lviaorp/zeaappears to

have been acc iden tal ly om itted from Major Biddulph’s l ist,as he had Obtain ed aspec imen in G ilgi t before his paper wasw ri tten . It on ly passes through G ilg it on m igration , in Mayan d Jun e

,andagain early in September.

106 .— Sylviaaflin is, B lyth.

I have on ly three spec imen s, Obtain ed in April, May , andSeptember, whi ch can be re fe rred to this form . The w ingsmeasure 26 to an d the secon d primary is in termed iatebe tw een the s ix th and se ve n th. The September specimen hasthe upper parts m ore brow n than the other two, and this is

probab ly du e to its having freshly mou l ted .

107 .— Sy1viaalthaea, H ume . (582 ter. )

A summer v isi tor,an d common from the 25th Apri l to the

en d of September ; it breeds at an e levation of abou tfeet. In males the w in g s vary from to in afemalethe w ing measures 27 . There can be n o doubt abou t theiden tification ,

as my skin s have been compared w ith atypicalspecimen in Mr. Seebohm

’

s charge .

108 — Sy1viarufa, B odd . (582 gaat. )SO far on ly Obtain ed du rin g the au tumn m igration . Two

spec imen s measured —W ing , 28 in ches ; tai l , 2 6 andtarsus, an d

109 .-Hen icurus scouleri, Vigors . (587)

A perman en t res iden t,at e levation s of to fee t.

It is n early con fin ed to the smal l streams,bu t is occas ional ly

foun d in w in ter on the banks of the larger ri vers , and has forassoc iates Rutici l laleucocephalaan d Cin clusasiaticus . I can n otde tec t any d ifferen ce be tw een G i lgit examples Of H. scouleri

an daSpecimen from Moupin in Easte rn Thibe t.110 .

—Motacil lahodgson i, Gray . (589 bis . )Two males of this Wag tai l, shot on the 20th May , measure—Leng th, 8

° l an d 82 i n ches ; w in g, an d tai l, 4 and4 2 tarsus, an d 0 9 3 ; bil l from gape, 0 73 cu lmen ,and A female, Shot on the l 6th May—Length, w ing,

122 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT .

116 .

—Budytes calcaratus, Hodgson . (594 )A summer v is itor,an d breeds in G i lg it . In n in e specimen s

the w ings measure to theadu lt female has the backcoal-black, as in the male, bu t is smal lerand has ‘less whi teon the w ing .

117 .—Budytes citreolus, Pal las . (594 bis . )

This Wagtail isasummer v is i tor, an d breeds in the G ilg itd istric t. I Obtain ed spec imen s from the 6 th March to the

6 th Ju n e ,an dagain from the 18 th Augu st to October. I cancon firm Major Biddu lph

’

s observation that the fu l ly adu l tfemale of this spec ies is coloured precisely l ike the adu lt malein breed ing-plumage ; but man y O f the females appear to

breed in ayounger stage of plumage , w hen the head is O l ive ,w ith abright y el low superci l ium and dark ear-coverts . In

tw en ty -two males the w in gs vary from 3 3 to in ches,an d

in tw e lve females the w ings measure to 3 2 .

118 .

— Anthus trivial is, Lia. (597 )A summer v is itor

,arrivin g abou t the midd le Of Apri l

,an d

m igrating sou thwards i n September ; it breedsat an e levationof abou t feet. In the series col lected, every stage of

plumage can be exactly matched '

by European spec imen sprocured at l ike season s . The Eastern form,

A . macu latws ofHodgson ,

is qu ite d istin ct from this species .

120 .—Anthus rosaceas, Hodgs . (605)

Common on passage from the 22nd Apri l to the en d of May ;n ot observed d uring the au tumn m igration . Ten specimen s,in fu l l breed ing-plumage, have the w in g 33 to i n ches ;an d tail , 26 to m in or w ing-coverts green ; edge of w ingan dax il laries su lphur-ye l l ow .

122 .

—Anthus blakiston i, Swinboe . (605 gaat. )C ommon from the m idd le O f O ctober to the beg in n ing of

April . In the males the w ing s vary in len gth from 3 4 to

in ches,an d the tails from to 29 ; in female s the w ings

measure to an d the tails from 2 5 to 2 9 . B irdsshot in G ilgit in Novemberagree perfectly w ith Mr. Sw inhoe

’

s

type of Andrus blakiston i from .Amoy , w i th w hich I have

compared them .

124.—Leptopoecile sophias, Sea. (633 bis . )

The occurren ce of this in teresting Spec ie s in the Indusval ley, at an e levation of l ittle over feet, show s howl i ttle this reg ion has been explored by Indian orn itholog ists .

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT . 123

Had this portion of our territories been w orked,w e shou ld

have‘

secu red this bird l o ng be fore M . Severtzoff , w ho has so

accurate ly described it. The fol low ing are m easu remen ts of

an adu l t pair of L . sop/tics, Shot in the G i lg it district i nJan uary at an e levation of abou t feet —Male .— VVing ,in ches ; tail, tarsu s

,cu lmen ,

04 . Female .

VVing , 2 in ches ; tail,

tarsu s , cu lmen,0 4 . The

ou termost tai l-feather, shorter than the u ropygial s ;exposed portion of first primary , fou rth, fi fth,and Sixth

primaries equal an d l ongest ; third primary equal to seven th

in length .

125.— }Egithal iscus leucogenys, Moore . (634 bis . )

This species is a. perman en t residen t in the d istrict,bu t is

v ery local . I on ly foun d it al ong the course of the mainval ley above G i lg i t, in atractabou t s ixteen m iles in len g th,from Bargo to S ingal , at e levation s O f from to

feet ; there it was fairly common in summeran d w in ter in theforestsan damong the tamarisk bu shes along the banks of

the river.

In the adu lt the bil l is black irides pale creamy or whitefeet pale oran ge c law s dusky or brow n . The y oun g are ou t

of the n est by the m iddle Of May . In ayou ng b ird, obtain edon the 19 th of that mon th, the stripe dow n the throat is palepinkish

,w ith d usky bases to the feathers ; the head is paler

than in the ad ul t ; the w ing-feathers are marg in ed on the

ou ter w ebs wi th pale ru fous,an d the flan ksan dabdomen are

buff . In moreadvan ced birds the throat-stri pe is dusky .

—Parus melanolophus, Vig . (638 )Con fin ed to the pin e forests from to feet. The

sexesare al ike, the female on ly averag ing sl ightly smal lerthan the male . In fresh specimen s the tars i an d toesarealwaysabl u ish leaden colour.

127 .-Parus rufonuchal is, B lyth . (640 )

This Tit is also aden izen of the pin e forests, where it

breeds ; but i t is occasional ly foun d low dow n in the mainval le s after heavy w eather ; thus I shotaspec imen in G ilg iti tsel f fee t) on the 2 l st Apri l . A young b ird, Obtain edon the 2oth Ju ly at an e levation of fee t, has the partsthatare ve lve t-black in theadu l t replaced by du l l sooty , the

back and abdomen are su ffused w ith O l ive-colour, and the

axil lariesand under tai l-covertsare pale buff.

124: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT.

128 .—Parus n ipalen sis, Hodgs . (645)

This is on e of the most fami l iar birds in the G i lg itd is trict

,w here itaboun ds throughou t the year in al l the low er

val ley s . In w in ter it is qu i te gregariou s, an d may be con

s tan tly seen feed ing on the grou n d after the man n er of aSparrow . The y ou n g , w hich d iffers greatly from theadu l t,has been fu l ly described (S . F. , IX .

,In fi veadu lt spec i

men s the w i n gs measure to in ches ; tai l, 26 to

tarsi,

to

129 .-Accentor n ipalen sis, B odys . (652 )

Accord ing to my experien ce this Accen tor on ly occu rs insmal l n umbers in the d istrict in m i ld or ordinary w in ters . In ever saw it in such n umbersas Major B iddu lph records forthe exceptional ly severe w in ter of 1877-78 . G ilg it spec imen s are decidedly paler above an d less ru fou s than mostspecimen s of A . n ipalen sis from S ikkim ; bu t that species isso close to A . alpinus, Bechst. , that it is impossible to in sertan in termediate spec ies be tw een them . The G i lg it b irdagrees best w i th A . n ipalen sis, an d is, n o doubt

,properly

re ferred to that form .

l 3o.—Accentoraltaicus, B randt . (653)

A rare cold-w eather v is itor, except in s evere w in ters . Amale shot in Jan uary atan e levation O f feet measuredW ing , 3 8 in ches ; tai l, tarsu s, c u lmen

,

131 .

—Accentor j erdon i , B rooks . (654 bis . )G i lg it spec imen s of this Accen tor are iden tical w ith an

example from Dharmsala, Obtain edan d named by Mr. Brooks .

This spec ies seems to be perfectly d istin ct from the easternA . s irep/riatus , Hodg son . The d ifferen ces are poin ted ou t

by Mr . Brooks in his orig inal descriptio n (J . A . S . B .

,1 872

,

p. In A. j erdon i the head,be tw een the lateral black

s treaks, is qu ite plain , while in A. strep/name the head isboldly streaked exactly l ike the back . I n ote , how ever, that thebil l is variable,an d that there is n o con stan t d iff erence betweenthe two species in this respect. I have exam in edaspecimenof Accen tor mu ltistriatus, Dav id, from Yan gkyonpo,” in Mr.

Seebohm’

s col lection ; and it seems to me the same in everyrespectas A. strop/ziatus .

132 .

—Accentoratrogularis, B ran dt. (655)A w in ter v isi tor on ly to the main val ley ,arriv ing abou t the

m idd le O f Oc toberan d leavin g in the third w eek in March .

The birds are usual ly found in pairs,andare not very shy .

A. CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF GILGIT.

’

136 .

—Corvus levail lanti, Less .I can n ot con cur w ith Major Biddu lph in his V iew that thereare two spec ies of C row s of this type in G ilg it.

"e O n the con

trary , I am satisfied that w e have on ly on e spec ies— theLon g-taile d Hil l-C row ,

so common in the Himalayas . The

supposed di fferen ce in habit re ferred to is mere ly du e to

season in w in ter these C row s affect the l ow er val ley s ,are gregari ou s ,an d c irc le about in the air in afashion thathas O ften been described ; in summer they are foun dat higherel e vation s

,an d then , O f cours e, mostly associate in pairs , as

they are breed ing . As to the smal l s ize of some of Maj orBiddu lph

’

s spec imen s, I suggest that these w ere females, an dpossibly w i th the w ings and tai l n ot fu l ly grown . It is sin

gular thatalarge proportion of these Grow s in collection s aremou lting the . w ing an d tai l-feathers

,so that, w ithou tacare

fu l exam ination of these parts , some e xamples may eas i ly be

con sidered so smal las to represen tad istin ct race .

My series of this Crow from G ilg i t agrees perfectly w ithMr. Sharpe

’

s description of CoronaZevai l lan ti (Cat . III ., p.

I do n ot think that the separation of Coronean d Corvusasgen era,asadvocated by Mr. Sharpe (Oat. III. , p. 5) can be

main tain ed on the shape O f the w in gs . I fin d two spec imen s

of C . sin en sis (w hich is the sameas (J. l evq i l lan ti, an d shou ldbe re ferred to Coron e

,accord ing to harpe ) w ith the w in g o f

C orvus, i . e . first primary equal to l ongest secon daries ; w hilethe type of C . cu lminatu s ( w hich is Corvus,apud Sharpe ) hasthe . first primary about an in ch shorter than the l on gestsecon daries

,an d w ou ld there fore fal l u n der C oron e.

138 .

— Corvus umbrinus, H edenb. (660 bis . )I think it v ery improbable that this spec ies occurs in G ilg it.

C . umbrin u s is e ssen tial lyabird of the dese rtan d of low e le vation s , an d is therefore n otatal l l ike ly to be foun d in ahighlymoun tainous cou n try atan el e vation of feet. I n e ver

saw any true Raven in the G ilg it d is tric t bu t some ‘

examplesof 0 . coma: may possibly stray there occas ional ly .

139 .— Corvus frugilegus, Lin . (6 64 )

The Rook is common in the d istrict from the third w eek inOctober to the third w eek in Apri l . I t keeps aloof from the

C row s,bu t associates am icably w ith the Jackdaw s an d

Starl ings, the two latter be ing often foun d in aflock of Rooks .

The G ilg it birdsagree perfectly w ith specimen s from Eng landan d Turkestan . .

VidaS. F IX ., p. 3411 n .

—ED . , S: F.

(A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT.

140.

—Coloeus monedula, Lin . (665)The Jackdaw i s n ot un common from the m idd le of O ctober

to the first w eek in December, an d again from the beg in n in gof March to the third w eek in Apri l . It does n ot breed in the

d istri ct ; an d I n ever n oticed it during the season o f extreme

cold .

Coloeus col laris, Drnmmon d . (6 65 bis . )Tw o spec imen s , both females , procured in March an d

October,are referable to this sub-spec ie s or race . They have amarked white hal f-col lar ex ten d i ng from the sides of the n eck

an d above the in terscapu lary reg ion ; an d the breast an dabdomen are paler an d more grey than in C . monedu la. The

m easuremen tsare —W ing s , 9 3 i n ches ; tai l , tarsus,and

bil l to gape , an d 14 . The second primary isabou t04 shorter than the fi fth, in stead of be in g equal as in myexamples O f C . monea’u la.

141 —Nucifragamultipunctata, Gon ld .

Two youn g birds, Obtain ed in the third w eek in Ju lyatane l evati on of feet

,have the head an d nape much palerbrow n than in adu l ts, the tippin g s to the w ing

-covertsarefu l vous (n ot white ) ,an d on the un der surface of the body the

feathers are pale fu l vou s,w ith narrow cen tral streaks of w hi te .

Tw o adu l ts , shot in the m idd le of May , are m ou l ting , thebody-feathersand the primaries be ing equal ly in process of

ren ewal .142 .

—Picarustica, 8 0039 . (668 bis )The G i lgit Magpie is qu ite iden tical w ith European spec i

men s of P . rustica. In n on e of my examples does the whiteon the i n n er w ebs O f the qu il ls extend to the tip,as in the racecal led P . leucoptera the tips of the primariesare blackish forabou t three-quarters of an in ch.

143 .

— Fregilus graculus, LinIn seven specimen s the w ings vary from to 123 in ches .

After an exam ination Of alarge series of these birds fromvariou s parts of the Himalayasan d from Europe, I qu ite agreew ithMr. Sharpe (Oat . III .

, p. 147 ) that F. l i imalayai zus, Gou ld,can n ot be separated from F. gracu lus .

144 .

- Pyrrhocoraxalpinus, Viei l l .This spec ies is far less common in

'

the distric t thanF . gracu lus . I on ly fou nd it tw ice n ear G i lg i t,at the end O f

Decemberand in Jan uary ;


145.

— Sturnus vulgaris, Lin .

This S tarl ing is n ot u n common on passage south in October,an d again on its way n orth from the m idd le O f March to them iddle of April ; afew b irds remain in the val ley throughou tthe w in ter. In six spec imen s preserved the u pper parts fromhind n eck to tai lare green .

146 .

—Sturnus purpurascen s, Gou l d . (68 1 ten. )This species is foun d in G ilg it at the same season as

S . vu lgaris,an d in abou t equal n umbers . I have killed examplesof the tw o spec ies at on e shot. In the fi ve skin s pre

served the u pper parts from the hin d n eck downwardsarepurple .

147 .—Sturn iapagodarum,

Gme l .

The occurren ce of this spec ies so far n orthas G i lg it is n otew orthy . A male shot there on the 26 th Augu st measu redin the flesh —Leng th, 8 in ches w ing , tai l

,tarsu s

,bi l l from gape, l . Gape an d base of bi l l cobal t-blue ri ngrou n d bil l at n ostri ls green ; an terior half of bi ll In d ian ye l low ;irides blu ish white ; feetan d claw s green ish yel low .

149 .-Passer indicus, Jami Se lb. (706 )

This Sparrow is main ly am igratory spec ies w ith u s,be ing

asummer v isitor,an d breeding in the l ow er val ley s ; bu t inthe w in ter of 1879-80

,I observed i t in smal l n umbers

throughou t the w in ter,an d preserved specimen s in November,

December,Jan uary , an d February . I su spect that it on lyl eaves the d istrict complete ly in severe w in ters,an d does n ot

m igrate v ery far. In my series the males have the w ings 3 to

3 2 in ches,an d the females 29 to 3 05 .

150.

— Passer hispan iolen sis, Tani .

A rare w in ter v isitor. I shot on lyapair, abou t the en d

O f November, when i t may have been mere ly pass ing sou th

wards .151 .

—Petron iastulta, Gn i e l . ( 711 bis . )A w in ter v isitor, an d common from the third w eek in

November to the third w eek in March . In thirtee n males thew ings varied in len g th from to in ches

,an d in four

females from 3 7 to 3 9 .

152 .—Emberizaleucocephala, Gme l . (712)

The Pin e-Bun ting is tolerably common in the main val leyin mi ld w in ters ; it often associates w i th Emberizastrachey i

’

,

130 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT.

in show ingafain t indication of the chestnut breast-band of themale bird .

157 .

—Emberizaschoeniclus, Lin . (720 ier. )A w in ter v isi tor in smal l n umbers from December to March.

A male shot in G ilg it on the 15th December measuredLen gth, 6

'3 inches ; w ing, 3 3 ; ,tai l 3 ; tarsus, 0 75 , bil l to gape ,G i lg it examplesCb f this species agree comp lete ly w ith

specimen s from Eastern Turkestan , Kan dahar, an d As iaM in or. As to “ E . schaem'

clus,var. B . Pal las,” men tion ed

S . F., IX . , 346, this has been shown by Mr. Seebohm (Ibis,

1 879, p. 39 ) to be E . passei ina, Pal las,aspecies qu ite d istinct

from E . scl ioem'

clus, Lin .

158 .—Euspizaluteola, Sparrm. (722 .

Merely abird of passage w ith u s ; obtain ed from the thirdw eek In August to abou t the m idd le of September, w hen it

was doubtless on its way sou th. In 7 113 Ibis, 1880, p. 66,Capt. Ward law -Ramsay g ives an in teresting accoun t of the

n idification of this Species . He had n ot then m et w ith anyaccoun t of its breed ing habits, hav in g overlooked my n ote on

the subj ect In STRAY FEATHERS, 1876 , p. 167 . I found the

biId breed ingabun dan tlyabou t Yarkand In 1875.

Euspiza, Spfi"A s ingle immature bird of this genus,amale, shot in G ilg it

on the 28th Augu st, d iffers so much from examples of

E . l uteolaof the same sexan dage, that it probably represe n tsad istin ct species . The fol low ing is adescripti on - Head

,

hin d n eck,an d back w ith al l the feathers broad ly streakeddow n the cen tre w i th brown ish black,and the ir marg in s bu ff,su ffused w ith green ish yel low ; rump an d upper tai l-covertsgreen ish y e l l ow , w ith narrow dark-brow n shaft-streaks rec

trices dark brow n,the outermost pair paler, an d al l w i th paleye l low ish marg in s to the ou ter w ebsand tips ; w ing-coverts,

primaries,an d secon daries brow n,al l marg ined on the ou ter

w ebs and tips w i th su l l ied White ; loresand chin bu ff ; cheeks

an d ear-coverts san dy brow n , fain tly washed w ith yel low ;whole low er surface du l l ye l l ow ; the throat, breast, an dflanks boldly striped dow n the cen tres of the feathers w i thdark-brow n axil laries pale ye l low , w ith greyish-white bases ;u nder w ing-coverts greyish white, spotted w i th brown n earthe edge of the w in g .

'

Lon gest secon daries shorter thanl ongest primary , in termed iate in length betw een the e ighthit Th is possibly belon gs to the spodocephala, p ersonata, suh flmratagroup.

Though too large for this , the plumage seems to be very close to that of immaturespodooepkala.—ED . , S . F.


and n in th qu i l ls . Leng th, 65 in ches ; w ing, 33 ; tai l,tarsus, cu lmen

,

This bird differs from immature E . lu teolain hav ing thethroatan d breast striped w ith brow n , an d i n the w in g be ingd ifferen tly shaped . In E . luteolathe d ifferen ce betw eenthe longest secondaries an d longest primariesaveragesthe longest secon dary be ing in termediate in len g th betw eenthe s ixth an d seven th qu i lls . In the Bri tish Mu seum there

is an un determin ed specimen of aBun ting , rece ived fromthe Moscow Museum, coloured exactly l ike my G ilg it bird . It

measures —W ing , 3 4 in ches ; tai l , cu lmen , secondarics short of poin t of w ing , This bird is certain lyn ot any stage of E. aureola. I do n ot propose any namefor it, as I have on ly examin ed specimen s in immatureplumage .

159 .—Euspizamelanocephala, Soap . (7

This species merely passes through the d istrict on m igrati on ,an d is rare . I Obtai n ed on ly on e immatu re specimen

,on the

1 7th September. In immature dress this Bun ting can on lybe d is tingu ished from the same stage of E . lu teolaby its superior s izean d n otably larger bi l lan d coarser feet.160 .

—Mycerobas carn ipes, Hodgs . (728 )I have compared G ilg it examples of this spec ies w i th others

from Kan su an d Thibet,an d can n ot detect any d i fferen ce in

s ize or colours. There can n ot be any doubt that Cocoo

tkraustes specu l z’

gera, Bran dt. , from Northern Pers ia, is merelyasyn onym Of C . carn ipes, Hodgson .

161 .—Pyrrhulaaurantiaca, Gou ld. (732)

The fol low ing are measuremen ts of e ight specimen s of thisBu l lfin ch —Len gth, 5 7 to w ing , to 33 ; tai l, to

tarsus, bi l l to gape , to 0 5 ; cu lmen,

to 0 4 . Theadu lt female has the head, nape, ear-coverts, ands ides of n eckashy, the hin d head be ing tin ged w i th dark greybackand man tle ol ive, w ithafain t tinge of red fore n eckan dbreast redd ish ash, rest of low er surface du l l ye l low the

remain ing partsas in the male . Youn g males, in the m idd leof October, c l osely resemble the female in colou r ; bu t thehead, hin d n eck

,an d ear-covertsare overlaid w i th the ol ive hue

of the back.

162 — Carpodacus mongol icus, Swinhoe . (732 bis A. )ErytkrOSp izaincarnata, Severtzoff .Very common in large flocks throughou t the w i n ter,atan

elevation of l ittle less than feet ; from May to October


it is on ly foun dat higher e levation s, where it breeds . I havecompared G ilg it specimen s of this bird w i th Sw inhoe

’s type

of Carpodacus mongolicus (in Mr. Seebohm’s col lection ) ,an d

fin d that the species is iden tical . The Chin ese bird is n ot

darker than G ilg it or Turkestan examples n e ither does i t d ifferfrom them in an y respect whatever. The adu lt female on lyd iffers from the male in be in g sl ightly smal ler an d in hav in gthe rose colour less in ten se . The fol low ingare the extreme

d imen s ion s of s ixty-e ight spec imen s of this spec ies z—Len g th,53 to in ches ; w ing, to tai l

,to tarsus

,

to bi l l to gape, 0 4 to164 .—Carpodacus erythrinus, Pal l . (738 )

Common from the 18th Apri l to the m iddle of September.

In tw en ty adu l t specimen s the w in gs in the males measureto in ches

,an d in the females to 3 3 .

165.—Propasser rhodochlamys, B rand i . (741 )

This spec ies is very common ,an d is foun dat feetan dless throughout the w in ter ; in summer it occurs up toane levati on ofabou t feet. I can n ot detectany d ifferen ce incolour, in e ither sex , due to season an d

,in fact

,in my serie s

of this bird there is less variation amon g in d ividuals than inan y other species Of which I have examin ed equal n umbers .

Females are rather smal ler than males , but n ot con stan tlyso young malesareabsolu te ly in separable from adu lt femalesin size an d colour. I did n ot Obtain an y immatu re malesshow ing the tran si tion from the female to the male plumage .

The follow ing are measuremen ts taken from thirty fresh

spec imen s —Length, 6 9 to in ches ; wmg , 3 4 to 3 8 ; tai l,28 to tarsus, to 0 9 ; bi l l to gape, to

168 .—Carduel is can iceps, Vigors . (749 )

This G oldfin ch, which is the same as C . orien talz’s, Evers

man n,is very common at an e levation of abou t feet

from the first w eek in November to the first w eek in March ;in summer it is on ly foun d in the districtat higher e levation s,w here it bre eds . In tw en ty-four spec imen s the males havethe w ings to 3 3 in ches,an d the females 3 to169 .—Metoponiapusil la, Pal l . (751 )

A perman en t residen t in the d istrict,and common ; foun dat feet throughout the w in ter. Birds shot in April

,

when they must have been abou t n in e mon ths Ol d,have on ly

on e or two red feathers on the head . In twen ty-four spec imen s, of both sexes, the w ings vary from to inches .


S eptember to the first w eek in November on its way sou th.

In adozen specimen s the males have the w ings 3 5 toin ches

,and the females 3 4 to

176 .—Melanocoryphabimaculata, Mén e’l r. (76 1 ter. )

This Lark passes through the d istrict in smal l n umbers onmigrati on i n October an d March ; afew pairs may remainW i th u s i n mi ld W i n ters

, as aspecimen was shot in G i lg it onthe 9 th December.177 —Calandrel lapispoletta, P u l l . (762 quui f )This Lark is of rare occurren ce in G i lgit,an d has on ly been

secured during theau tumn migration . I Obtain ed on e spec imen , afemale , on the 14th November

,Of which I n oted the

follow ing particu lars : w Len gtl i , 63 in ches ; w ing , 4 ; tai l,tarsu s, hin d c law

,cu lmen , secon daries short of

longest primaries In colouran d markings this exampleis iden tical w ith the spec imen described and figured byDresser in the “ Birds of Europe” as C . pispoletta, Pal las ;but it is to be n oted that, accord ing to Herr v . Homeyer

(J . f . O .

,1873, p . this form is not the tru e Alauda

pispolettaof Pal las, but shou ld stan d as Calandritis Imim'

z’

,

Homeyer.

178 .—Alaudulaadam’

si, Hume . (762 l er. )This spec i es 18 not foun d in G i lg it. I was w ron g in my

surm ise (quoted by Major Biddu lph ) that I had Obtain edspec imen s of this Lark .

179 .

— 0 tocorys pen icil lata, Gould . (763)

V ery common at an e levation of feet, from the en d

of October to the midd le of Apri l . The follow ing are measuremen ts of adozen fin e mal'es z—Len gth, 7 3 to in ches ;w i ng , to tai l, 32 to tarsu s, to bil lfrom gape, to

I w ish to n otice, in con n ex ion w ith this species, the v eryd istin ct 0 . longirostris , G ou ld, w hich has been con siderediden tical . w ith 0 . pen ici l lataby Messrs . Hume and Dresser.

The accompanying w oodcu ts of the adu lt males in breedingplumage of these two spec ies w i l l, I thin k, show that the birdsare qu ite d ifferen t.0 tocorys longirostris does n ot occu r in G i lg it, bu t is

common at the head O f the Astor val ley,abou t e ighty m iles, inad irect l in e from G ilg it. The fol low ingare measu remen ts of

males of 0 . longirosiris, for comparison w ith those g iven aboveOf 0 . penicil lata:—Length, to 85 inches ; w ing, to


tai l, 3 6 to tarsus, to bil l from gape,to I w i l l n ow men tion the main d istin ction s betweenthese two forms

,premising that I refer to adu lt males in

breeding-plumage . (7. longirosiris is acon spicuou s ly largerbird than 0 . pen ici l lata; it has n o black ban d on the forehead, w hi le 0 . pen ici l latahas abroad on e ; the black ban don the side of the n eck is separated from the black patch on

the breast byan in termed iate w hite baraquarter O f an in chi n w idth, whereas In 0 . pen ici l latathe b lack on the side of

the n eck is qu ite con tin uou s w ith the breast-patch ; the sin cip ital tu fts are shorter in the larger bird,an d the bil l is l onger,more slen der

,an d more curved . There are other m in or

d iff eren ces in the plumage ; an d the femalesare eas i ly d istingu ishable . The habits of the two species are qu ite d ifferen t.C . long irostrz

’

s is astrictly alpin e bird, n ever qu itting the

moun tain s ; 0 . pen ici l lataswarms in W in ter in the G ilg itval ley an d about Yarkan d and Kashghar ; an d of al l the

large n umber O f larks of this type shot by Major Biddu lphand myself in the l ocal ities ju st men tion ed, n ot on e can be

re ferred to 0 . longiros l ris .

The fact that the val idity of 0 . long irostrz’

s has beenquestion ed is probably due to several cau ses . In the first place,the name 0 . 10ngirosti

'

z’

s at on ce raises aprejudiceagainstthe spec ies ; in agroup l ike the Larks, where the bi l l is sovariable

, the title se lected is rather u n fortunate . 0 . pen icil latacertain ly has the bil l very variable in size ; an d some

Pers ian specimen s especial ly have alarge and deep bi l l .

bu t sti l l n ever qu ite l ike that of the spec ies Iam en deavourin gto de fen d , which, moreover, by n o mean s depen ds on its bi l lalon e for recogn i ti on . Again , 0 . pen ici l latain w in ter has theblack of the n eck and breast mu ch con cealed by pale tips tothe feathers ; an d thus, in some specimen s, the breast an dn eck-patches seem to be qu i te separated,as in 0 . longirostris

the bases of the feathers, how ever, w i l l be fou nd to be blackin these examples ; an d su ch cases are real ly n o reason whythese two species shou ld be un i ted . Due regard being paidto sex , ag e, an d season , the two formsare readily separated .

Mr. B lan ford (STRAY FEATHERs,1879

,p . 183 ) main tain s the

d istin ctn e ss of 0 . longirostris and 0 . pen ici l lata; and I qu i teagree w ith him .

180 .—A1audadulcivox , Hodgs . (766 )

This large Sky-Lark, so common in G ilg it in w in ter, is distin ct from the n ext spec ies (A . gu ttata), but on ly doubtfu l’lyso from A . arvensis . After comparison of my birds w i th alarge series of A. arvens i’s from Europe, I find that the G ilg it

136 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT .

examples average larger an d paler, but I can n ot make out

any perfectly con stan t d ifferen ces . In e ighteen males the

w ings measure to in ches,and in seven females

to

181 —Alaudaguttata, B rooks . 767 bis . )It is d ifficu lt to dec ide whether our summer Sky Lark

shou ld be re ferred to Alaudagu lgu la, Fran kl . , or con s ideredd istin ct from that spec ies it seems to be mere lyalarge palerace of A. gu lgu la. In ten males the w ings measure 3 9 to

in ches,an d in fou r females 3 6 to182 .

—Galeritacristata, L in .

The G ilg it race Of this common spec ies is smal land verygrey

-colou red . In the males the w ing s measure 4 to 4 1 in ches,an d in the females to

183 .—Al socomus hodgson i, Vig . (783)

A summer v isitor on ly to the forests,

n ot found in the

main val ley . A male example from G i lgit agrees complete lyw i than adu l t male from Moupin in Mr. Seebohm

’

s col lection .

The female d iffers from the male in hav ingal l the coloursmore du l l ; the cap is ashy , there are fewer white spots on

the coverts, the ruddy triang u lar marks on the feathers ofthe l ow er parts beg in on the chest on ly, an d do n ot exten d

to the fore n eck the flan ksare more in vaded by d uskyashcolour and the s ides of the n eckare more u n iform grey .

In n on e of the spec imen s I have examin edare thereanywhite spots on the flanks .

184 .—Columbacasiotis, B onup . (784)

This W ood-Pigeon is afairly common summer v is itor ; itarrives abou t the m idd le of Apri l,an d leaves in the midd le of

November. It breeds in the forests above fee t, an d is

foun d in the main val ley at about fee t,on arrival in

Apri lan d May ,an dagain in October an d November on its

way dow n south. Adu l ts O f this spec ies are w e l l d istingu ished from the European 0 . palambas by hav in g abu ffin stead of apure white n eck-patch ; bu t young birds, be forethe assumption of the n eck-patch

,are prec ise ly s imi lar in

both forms .

186 .—Col umba. l ivia, Bonap . (788 bis . )

I can n ot agree w ith Maj or B iddulph that w e have two

species of Pigeon'

of this ty pe in G i lg it. I paid muchattention to these birds, shot scores of them, and preserved the

138 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or CILGIT.

As to the d ifficu l ty experien ced by Captain Ward law-Ramsayin recon cilin g Eversman n ’s descri ption of the tai l ofT. f errago w ith the Dove n ow un der con sideration, I thinkal lbecomes plain if w e suppose am isprin t of on e w ord ; foralbis” substitute “ fasc is,” and the description wi l l bequ ite correct— thu s

,

“rectricibus apice albis, exceptis duabus

m edis totis f uscis .

”

190.-Turturauritus, Gray . (792 bis. )

This Species appears to be asummer v is itor on ly,and ismu ch less common than T. f errugo. I d id n ot secure aspe

c imen . Its occu rren ce in G i lg it is very in teresting ; it isn ot fou nd in any other portion of British Ind ia

,except

Quetta. ’le

191 .—Turtur cambayensis, Gmel . (79 4)

I also on ly obtain ed on e specimen Of this Dove in G ilg it,on the 27th January it is ev iden tly very rare w ith u s . Thisspecies, w hich has been supposed to be the sameas T. sevegalaus is, d iffers from examples Of the latter which I have exam in edin its smal ler size

,less bright colours

,and brown rump an d

upper tai l-coverts,whichare precisely the same colour as the

back. T . senegalen sis hasadark grey rump ; but I do not

kn ow that these d ifferen cesare con stan t.

192 .—Turtur suratensis, Gme l . (795)

Accord ing to my Observation this Dove is on ly foun d abou tG i lg it from November to March ; I n ever met w i th it in

summer.

193 .—Tetraoga11us himalayensis, Gray .

A fin e male of this species measured in the flesh -:Length,in ches ; w in g , tai l , tarsus

,bil l to gape ,

it w e ighed 5 l b. 1 1 oz . Examples from EasternTurkestan ,w hich have been re ferred to T. bimalayanus, differ con siderably from my G i lg it spec imen s ; the former are palerandmore brown , w ith n ot n early such strong con trasts of colours .

Five eggs of this species, taken in the Gi lg it d istrict on the28th April at an e levation of abou t feet, measure inlength 2 5 7 to in ches,an d in breadth 1 8 4 to

This is n ot qu ite COIrect, for in April 1874, Mr. Man del l i obtainedafin e spec imen of this species from Native Sikhim , now in our M useum

, an d I have seenaS pecimen obtain ed in the Sind Val ley, Cashmere . Both were, of course, w ere straggl ers—Eu , S . F.

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or GILGIT. 139

194.a~ 0accab’

is chukar, Gray . (820)The G ilg it Chikoreagrees exactly w i th the race from Ladak(C . pal lescen s of Hume ) . This form ought possibly to be

separated from O ahu/bar ; it is n ot m ere ly apale form of

that species,as the name m ight lead readers to in fer, but is

d istingu ished by an appreciably difl'

eren t colouration . In the

G ilg it spec imen s the u pper parts and w ingsare v ery grey ,arufous-brown tinge being on ly presen t on the hin d head an das aban d across the in terscapu lary reg ion the breast is pureFren ch grey ; (

and the black bars on the flan ks are w iderthan in typical 0 . cliukar . The Chikore of Eastern Turkestan( C . pal lidus of Hume) , how ever, is on ly sl ightly paler an dmore san dy-coloured than C . chukar from the sou thern slopesof the Himalayas, an d shou ld n ot be separated from the

latter.

195.—Coturn ix commun is, B on n (829 )

The Common Quai l isasummer V i si tor to G ilg it,and breedsthere in smal l n umbers .

‘

It arrives about the en d of March,

an d leaves at the end of September. I n ever saw it in

w in ter.

196 ,- 0tis tetrax, Lin . (836 ter. )

This species appears to be merelyastraggler to G i lg it ;and it seems to me certain that it does n ot breed in thed istrict.197 .—Charadrius fulvus , Gme l . (845)

This species appears mere ly to pass through the d istrict inspring ; in autumn it occurs in smal l n umbers, and hardlymakes any stay . I secured two specimen s

,both males, on

the 27th September an d 3rd October ; the w ings measure62 an d in ches ; and theaxi l lariesare dark grey .

-1Egia1itis curon ica, Gme l . (849)This Plover is common in G i lg it on passage from the end

Of March to the first w eek in May , and from the third w eek

in September to‘

the m idd le of October. Eight specimen spreserved have the w ings to in ches,andagree cOmplete ly w ith European examples .

200i°— }E

'

g1al itis hiaticula, Lin . (849 bis . )This spec ies seems to be on lyarare straggler to G ilg it inau tumn . I Obtained but on e spec imen ,afemale i n immatu replumage : and lacking the

’

black fron tal ban d, on the 1 1thOctober 1879 . This example agrees completely w ith Eng l ish


specimen s of the sameage ,an d measures —Leng th, 7 in chesw ing , tai l , tarsu s

,m id toe an d claw,bil l from gape, zEgialitis Ii iai icu lahas on ly on ce , w ith

certain ty, been recorded from the plain s of Ind ia(STRAYFEATHERS, VIII .

, p . 198,

201 .

—Vanel lus vulgaris, B eobst . (851 )C ommon in spring an d au tumn on passage ; bu t afew

remain in favourable spots throughou t the w in ter ; they do n ot

leave the d istrict for the n orth, u n ti l abou t the first w eek in

April . As to the n ote abou t the colouration of the sexes

(an te, p . it is certain that the adu l t female has the lore s,chin , and throat black as in the male ; the spec imen s hav in gthese parts white w ere probably immature . The adu l t femalein breeding plumage on ly d iffers from the male in havingashorter crestand the colours less v ivid .

202 .—Chettusiagregaria, Pal lus . (852)

This species passes through G ilgit on migrati on in sprin c'°

an dautumn , w ithou t making an y stay . Occasional spec imen sw ere secu red between the 4th Marchan d 8 th Apri l .203 .

—Lobivanel lus indicus, Badd . (855)Apparen tly on ly astragg ler to G ilg it in spring . I heard

its u nm istakable cry on ce,in Ju n e 1879, but n e ither saw n or

heard itafterwards un ti l the fol low ing year, when I secured

afin e specimen on the 24th Apri l .204 .—G‘rrus Virgo, L in . (866 )

A fl ock passed over G ilg it on the 21stMarch, flying n orthwards .

205.—Scolopax rusticu la, Lin . (867)

The W oodcock is fou nd abou t G i lg it, in ord inary w in ters,on ly in very smal l n umbers . It may breed in the d istrict,

in the moun tain s at high e levation s,bu t certain ly n ot in the

G i lg i t val ley . A pale-colou red female,shot in December,

had the w ing in ches in len gth,an d w e ighed oz .

206—Gal l inago sol itaria, Hodgs . (869 .

I foun d this fin e Sn ipe in fair n umbers abou t the m idd leof O ctober, in asmal l val ley n ear G i lg it, at an e levation of

fee t. It very rare ly occurs in the main val ley .

207 .—Gal l inago scolopacina, .Bonap . (871 )

My dates for the arrival an d departure of the commonSn ipe qu iteagree with those g iven by Major Biddulph. Very

142 A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNIT’

HOLOeY O'

r GILGIT'

.

the 4th September; an d I'

sliotastraggleras late’as the 29thDecember.

216 .

— Totanus glottis, Lin . (89 4)

This species is tolerably common in Gilg it on its n orthward an d’

sou thward m igration s. I Obtained an umber of

Specimen s during the latter half of Apri land in the first halfof September.218 .

—Totanus cal idris, Lin . (89 7)The Redshank on ly occurs : on passag e , an d then in very

smal l n umbers . I shotaSpecimen on the l 0th Apri l,an d savv’

others in ’ the first week in September.

219 .—Himantopus candidus, B on na‘ i . (89 8 )

Passes through the d istrict, in smal l n umbers, in sprin gand’au tumn . Specimens w ere shot on the 18th Apri l an d l -5th

Se ptember.

Hydrophasian‘

us chirurgus, So’

op . (9C1 )

This Species, n ot in cluded in Major Biddu lph’s l ist, seemsto be mere lyastraggler to our d istrict. The on ly specimen°

seen . in G i lg it, an adu l t male in breeding-plumage, was shoton the 26th Apri l ; it was foun d on apool of water n ear the '

G i lg i t river, an d was sol itary . The follow ing are m easuremen ts of this example z—Length, 1 7 in ches w ing , tai l

,:

tarsu s, 2 ; m id-toean d c law , hind c law,

bil l togape,220.

—e -Ful icaatra. Lin . (903)Common in Sprin gan dautumn on passage . I n ever observed

it in w in ter: Many spec imens w ere obtain ed from the firstweek in March to'

the middle of April .221 .

-Gal l inulachloropus, Lin . (905)I foun d this species common on passage , throughou t” Apri land October on ly .

222 .—Porzana. maruetta, Leach. (909 )

My specimen s of this Rai l w ere obtain ed from the 12th to

the end of Apri l . Some b irds breed in the d istrict“

; but,ow ing to the ir shy d ispos itiou , . I failed toascertain the date wof

their departure inautumn .

A CONTRIBUTION To THE ORNITHOLOGY or CILeIT. 143

223.-Porzanabail loni, Viei l l .

A summer v is i tor in smal l n umbers to the main val leys,espec ial ly where rice is cul tivated. A few pairs breed aboutG ilg it.224.—Porzanaparva, Scop . (9 10 bis. )

This species appears mere ly to pass through the d istrict inspringan dau tumn . It is foun d in S in dh in w inter ; and the

birds that v is i t u s probably breed further n orth . I shot

three spec imen s in G ilg it betw een the 5th October and 2nd

November ; an d theseagree perfectly w ith Eu ropean examplesof this Rai l w ith which I have compared them .

225.

—Crex pratensis, B ockst. (9 10 guai . )I obtain ed on ly asin g le specimen of the C orn crake at

G i lgit, on the 8 th October ; the bird was foun d on asmal lwatercourse w hich ran by the s ide O f afie ld of Ind ian corn .

The spec ies was n ever Observed on any other occasion . Myexample,afemale , measured -Leng th, 10 in ches w ing ,tail

,tarsus , ;middle toean d c law ,

bi l l from gape, 1 .The bi l l was flesh-coloured

, greyat the tip ; irides brow n ; feet

drab ; claw s pale brown . The spec imen agrees perfectly inplumage w ith Eng l ish examples w ith which I have com

pared it.

226 .

- Ral lusaquaticus, Lin . (9 14 bis . )A m igratory species in G ilg it, occurring in smal l numbers

from the m idd le of March to the en d of April . I d id n ot

ascertain the date Of its passage in autumn ; bu t it does n otseem to breed in the d istrict

,an d certain ly is n ot found

there in w in ter. My specimen sagree perfectly w ith Europeanexamples of this spec ies . Ral l ns in dicus, O f w h ich I haveexam in ed Chin ese, Japan ese, an d In dian examples, is d istingu ished from R . agnaticus by havin g adark brow n or duskystripe con tinu ed from the l ores u n der the eyean d over theu pper part of the ear-coverts but there isapparently no othercon stant d ifferen ce .

227 .—Cicon ianigra, Lin . (9 18)

The B lack S tork is found in G ilg it on ly on migration inSpringan d au tumn . On its passage n orth it was observedfrom the m iddle of February to the third w eek in Apri l,sometimes in large flocks of over on e hun dred birds ; in

au tumn it seems to pass over w i thou t halting in the d istrict.A fin eadult male shot on the l 6th April measured z—Length,


43 5 in ches ; w in g , tail,

tarsus,

bil l from gape,w e ight, 7 1h .

228 .—Ardeacinerea, Lin . (923)

This Heron is common in G i lg i t, accord ing to my Obser

vation , throughou t March and Apri l, w hen on its way to then orth,an d from the m idd le of August to the begin n ing of

October, w hen repairing sou thwards . I have n o eviden ce of

i ts breed ing in the d istrict. My specimen sagree complete lyw ith European examples,an d con sequen tly do n otaccord w iththe description of Ardeabrag from Cashmere .

229 .—Ardettaminuta, Lin . (935.

I on ly secu red on e specimen of the Little Bi ttern in G ilg it ;it was captured in arice -fie ld on the 20th S eptember. The

example,an immatu re male

,agrees w e l l in plumage w ith

specimen s ofasim i larage from Hollan d . Len g th, 143 in ches ;tail

,tarsu s, mid-toean d c law ,

2 ° l ; bi l l from gape,Iris bright pale y e l low ; orbi tal skin pale g reen ; bi l l pale grey,duskyalong cu lmen feet green c law s black .

230 .

—Nycticorax griseus, Lin . (937)The N ight

-Heron is asummer v isi tor to G i lg it, bu t is on lyfoun d there in very smal l n umbers ; afew pairs probablybreed in the d istrict . An adu lt female , obtain ed on the 5th

May, w i thaw ing 1 1 in ches, hadacrest 6 in ches long, andw eighed 14 oz.

233 .— Spatulaclypeata, Lin . (957)

The Shovel ler is n ot u n common in G i lg it on m igration insprin gan d au tumn . I shot spec imen s from the m idd le of

Apri l to the first w eek in May ,an dagain throughout September.

A female , shot on the 30th September, is remarkablein having precisely the plumage w orn by theadu lt male fromJu ly to O ctober the lesser w ing -covertsare g l ossy g rey-blue,an d the in n er half of the specu lum bright green .

234.

—Anas boscas, Lin . (958)Although some spec imen s of the Mal lardare to be obtain ed

throughou t the w in ter in G ilg it, i t is most common there in

O ctober an d November, an d again in Marchan d April, thegreater n umber Of the birds that v isit us ev iden tly w in teringfurther sou th.

235.

—Anas strepera, Lin . (9 6 1)This Duck merely passes through the d istrict in springandautumn

,hardly making any stay in G i lg it, which is not a

146 PHAETON INDIC US,Hume . PHAETON a smus

,Lin .

247 .

—Hydrochel idon hybrida, Pal l . (9 84)This Tern is tolerably common abou t G ilgit in spring an dau tumn . I shot many specimen s from the 22n d Apri l to the1 3th May, when on its way to its breed ing -haun ts

,an d again

from the 23rd August to the 8 th October, whi le it was passingsou thwards .248 .—Hydrochel idon n igra, L in . (984 ter )

This species must be expunged from the l ist of birds ofG i lg it. Major B iddu l ph misunderstood my remarks abou tthe five Tern s I had shot. I was re ferring to somethingthat had been publ ished abou t the d iag n os is of the three

species of Hydrocneh'

don and I in tended to say that,if

measuremen ts al on e w ere to be rel ied u pon,some O f my

spec ime n s m ight be H . leuOOpteraor H . m’

gra. As amatterof factal l the examples re ferred to are immature H . hybrida.It is to be hoped, there fore, u n der these c ircumstan ces thatG i lg it w i l l n ot be quotedasalocal ity for the Black Tern .

249 .—Phalacrocorax carbo, L in . (1005)

This Cormoran t is tolerably common al on g the larger riversin the d istrict. It isasummer v isitor to G i lg it,and doubtlessbreeds there . I observed it con tin uou s ly from the first w eekin March to the m iddle of September, bu t n ever saw it in

w in ter. The follow ing are the m easuremen ts and w e ight ofafemale in the plumage of the first year, shot on the 2 l st

Apri l —Len gth, 306 in ches ; w ing, tai l, 7 ou ter toe an d

c law,

tarsus,

bi l l from gape, 8 6 ; w eight, 3 Th.

13 oz .

Phaeton indicus, Hume . Phaeton aetherius, Lin .

IN STRAY FEATHERS,Vol . I .

, p. 286, I fu l ly described thecommon Phaeton of the In dian Ocean , Pers ian G ulf and RedSeaan d Bay of Ben gal .In Vol . IV . , p. 48 1, I gave further d imen s ion san d particulars of th is species, w hich I separated as P . in dicus

,on the

groun ds that it wasal toge therasmal ler bird than P . cetlrerius,

w ithaw ing alway s un der 12, again st aw ing of over 13 inwtlzerius cen tral tai l feathersalways un der 13 , again st 20 to

30 ; abil l n ot exceeding 23 at fron t, again stabil l of 2 5

to 2 7 in cetherius , and asmal ler tarsus, &c . Also on the

grounds that it n ever assumed the pu re white p lumageattributed to the perfect adu l t tetherin g . I show ed also that

PHAETON INDIOUS, Hume. PHAETON E THERIU S,L in . 147

Heugl in’

s measuremen ts and experien ce en tirely con firmed

my v iew .

In Vol . V . , p . 302,further particu lars w ere g iven , an d both

Captain Bu tleran d Mr . Dav ison from in depen den t observation s con firmed my v iew of the d istin ctn ess of our As iaticbird .

Qu ite recen tly , despiteal l this, I find in an ew ly publ ishedw ork

,P . ind icus calm ly treatedas asy n onym of P . wtherz

’

u s .

U nder the circumstan ces,this is s imply in defen sible, and w ere

i t n ot that it may m is lead others,who have n ot had the

Opportun ity of examin ing both species, I shou ld n ot have n oticedit . As it is, afew additi onal remarks on the subject mayperhaps preven t the further propagation Of this miscon ception .

I have n ow obtain ed and examin ed 28 specimen s of the

As iatic species, some of which w ere shot in every mon th ofthe year, except Apri land September.I havealso Obtain ed, though w ith great d iffi cu l ty, aspec imen of the Atlan tic bird, procured, I bel ieve, at Ascen si onIslan d .

Al l the differen ces, in s ize of w ing, length of cen tral tai lfeathers, length of bi l l

,size of tars i , above poin ted ou t

,held

good in al l the 23 specimen s of indicus, and in the sing le

spec imen of net/zeriu s .

Further, comparing the specimen s, I n otice the follow ingadd itional d iffere n ces . Whether in variably con stan t

,hav ingon ly on e spec ime n of cat/zerius, I can n ot of course say ; bu t they

are su chas can be eas ily verified w here n umerous specimen sof cetlzerius ex ist. The d iff eren ces in d ime n sion s an d tai ldeve lopmen t are alon e su fficien t to separate the tw o species,bu t these further d ifferen ces

,i f con stan t, w i l l con clusive ly

demon strate the ir distin ctn essFirst as to bi lls : Though l onger, the bil l in wtkerius is

perceptibly s len derer,an d has thean g le of the gon ys d istin ctlymarked, w hereas in in dicus there is practical ly n o ang le .

In e very specimen of indicus, the bil l was when fresh (and isso stil l) adu l l red, more or less oran ge towards the base of

the l ow er man dible,an d there was

,and is, adark l in e

d istin ctly markedalon g the en tire commissure the bil l is brightcoral red ,and there is n o trace of this lin e in my wtfierius .

Secon das to plumage : l n indicus, . there isadistin ct, though.

v ery narrow ,black l in e from the n ostri ls to the gapealon g

the marg in of the feathers ; there is n othing of this in the

cetherius before me . In cat/zerius, al l bu t the first two pri

maries have acon spicuou s w hi te marg in to the ou ter

w ebs,w hi le in in d icus, the fifth or in some birds ' the

s ixth,primary is the first to show this . In cei lzerius the

cen tral tai l feathers are black or dusky shafted for ful ly

148 PHAETON INDIOUS,H ume . PHAETON E THERIUS, Lin .

seven in ches beyon d the tips of the l ongest u pper tai lcoverts, w h i le in indicus this is the case for less than two in ches( in some specimen s for less than one in ch) . The barringson the u pper surface, specially on the scapu lars of cet/zeriu s,areasort of d usky slatey, w hile in indicus they are j et blacki n some spec imen s,and al l bu t black in the rest. A s im i lard ifferen ce in colour is n oticeable in the w hite margin ed tertial sof the two species

,an d even in that of the subax i l lary flan k

tufts .

Thirdas to fee t. Thereappears to be more black on the feet

of indicus ; in aft/wrin g the in n er long toe is on ly black on

the nai l and smal l term inal j oin t,w hereas in ind icus the

black covers the secon d j oin talso .How far

,as I have already said

,these minor d i fferen ces

w ou ld prove con stan t in alarge series of wiherius, I can n otsay ; but the d ifferen ces in the colour of the plumage an d bil ls ,at any rate, w ou ld certain ly seem so, to j udge from the

fo llow ing remarks by my friend Major Butler, con tain ed in al etter recen tly rece ived from him

“ A w ord n ow abou t tropic birds . I think I remember yourd iscu ss ing the subject of plumage , length of tai l , &c .

,in STRAY

FEATHERS in the diagn osis of Phaeton ind icus of the MekranCoast

,and on thataccou n t I madeapoin t of exam in in g tw o or

three skin s of the St. He lenab ird,w hich I take from memory

(n o books on board) to be P . eetlzerius w ith the fol low ingresul ts

Firstly—The cen tral tail feathers seemed to m e greatly to

exceed the leng th of any of the I nd ian specimen s I haveseen

,via, 25f eet from ven t to tip of the longest pair I measur

ed ; the feathers w ere mu ch w ornan d show ed scarcely anytraces of the w eb towards the tips .

Second ly— The color seemed to me to d iffer from that

of the Ind ian specimen s, via, (ex tract from my n ote book)‘Plumage above beau tifu l ly pen c i l led w i th dark s laiey grey ,e xten d ing to the thighs on e ither s ide of the body . Low er partspure g lossy w hite l ike satin . B il l bright coral red .

’

“ Now ,as faras I recollect, in the birds I shot along the

M ekran Coast the markingsabove w ere black or n early so,andthe tai l very much shorter. As regards the colour of the bi ll, too,there may be some d ifferen ce ; they d id n ot seem the samesomehow , but this can be easi ly settled by referen ce to the

t icke ts of your birdsan d those I sen t you .

It is to be hoped that hen ceforth n o on e w i l l place P . indicus

asasyn onym of P . ceikerius w ithout specify ing clearly w hythey reject the former species, or w ithoutacarefu l comparisonof aseries of both forms .

A. O . H .

g ori l las £7Pious pyrrhothorax ,

Sp . Nov . 7

L ike P. cathphariu s , bu t d ifi‘ers in both sexes having an in ten se redgorget, in the mu ch greateramoun t of wki l e on i ts qu i l l s an d lateraltai l f eathers , an d i n thef emal eal so Izavingabroad crimson occipi talban d , &c .

AT Aimol e, in the Eastern Man ipu r hi l ls, I procured tw ospec imen s ofamost l ove ly li ttle W oodpecker which I bel ie veto be n ew .

At any rate,i t is n on e of our hitherto recorded In dian

B urmese or Malayan spec ie s it is n ot on e of the Chin esespe cies in c luded by Peré Dav id an d O ustale t ; n or is itanyPalaearctic spec ies in c luded by Dresser ; n or is it in Malherbe

,

the P. E . or P. O .,the Fau naJapon ica, orany other book I can

think of.

It m ore resembles P . cat/zpharius than any other species,but d iffers , in teral ia, in its in ten se red gorge t, presen t in bothsexes in the m uch greater amoun t of w hite on the qu il lsan dlateral tail feathers ; in the femalealso exhib itingahuge, broad,fiery crim son occipital ban d, &c .

The follow ingare particu lars of my two specimen s

Len gth . Expe n se . Tail . W in g. Tarsus . B i l l from gape . W e ight.6 8 2 85 3 72 0 6 0 95 oz

6 8 1 2 0 3 85 08 2

Femal e —Legs an d feet dusky lavender ; c law s brow n ; bi l lblackish horny , greyishat base of low er man d ible ; irides lac red .

Male—Leg s and feet du l l sap g reen ; claw s horny du sky ; ‘

bil l leaden du sky , palerat base of low ermand ible irides lac red .

The female , which I procured on the 18 th April,and of w hich

I qu ote my fu l l description w ri tte n be fore the bird was skin n ed,

has the fron tal ban d rusty w hite ; the rest of the foreheadand crow n black ; lores , aban d over an d be low the eye ,cheeks , an d ear-coverts s ilver w hite abroad black man dibu lar s tripe dow n the sides of the n eck to the breast ; chinan dupper throat w hi te lower throat bu ffy .

U pper breast betw een the en ds of the man d ibu lar stri pesin ten se crimson ; from the low er marg in of this crimson patcb, and the ends of the man dibu lar stripes

,strong ly

marked s treaks O f black rad iate ou t over the en tire breast,the

g roun d of w hich is w hite, more or less ting ed w ith rusty,an dthis is the colour of the abdomen and sides, though most of thefeathers are dark shafted

,an d there isadecided reddish ting e

on the l ow erabdomen , ju stabove the ven t ; l ow er tai l-covertsw hi te

,tippedan d tinged w i th rather du l l crimson .

NOVELTIES . 151

Back of n eck black sides of n eck, between thisand mand ibu lar stripe, pale crimson , the w hite bases of the feathersshow ing through en tire occipu t in ten se crimson

,the feathers

leng then ed soas to formashort fu l l crest.Rest of upper surface black, (al ittl e brow n ish on primariesan d rectrices, ) w ith the follow ing w hite markin gs secon ~

dary , greater an d median cov erts pu re w hite ; al l theq u il ls , bu t the first abortive on e

,w ith white spots on both

w ebs,forming in most cases imperfect bars, bu t there is on ly

on e w hite spot, qu ite at the base , on the ou ter w eb of the

second (first lon g ) primary ,an d on the n ex t three there aren o w hi te spots on the in n er w ebs correspon ding w i th the on e ,two

,or three terminal on es on the ou ter w eb on ly ten v isible

tai l feathers,the fi fth on each side tipped w ith white,and w ith

tw o white barsabove this, the upper on e more or less imperfect fourth s im i lar

,but w i th on ly on e bar ; third w ith on lya

trace ofatippi ng .

Axi l laries an d w ing l in i ng (exceptablack patchabout theshou lder of the w ing ) w hi te .

I was s ittin gat the door O f my but, w hen the birdabove described came an d perched, or rather clun g , on abou t the le ve l ofmy eye n ear the top of asmal l tree grow ing dow n the s lope .

My gun was on my lapan d I in stan tly shot it. After that Ihu n ted highand low for others,an d on the 26th I shotan other,amale .

The male on ly d iffers in having the black man d ibu lar stripess ti l l broader

,an d in hav i ng the black streaking , w hich, in the

female , is con fin ed to the breast, den ser,an d ex ten d ing over theu pperabdomen

,s idesand flanks ; in hav in g the grou n d of the

low er surface sl ightly darker ; in the w hite spots on the qu i l lsbe ing smal leran d less con spicuous an d in having less white on

the lateral tai l feathers .

This may beayou ng bird , an d the adu l t mal e may proveto be somewhat d ifferen t

,bu t the spec imen seemsadult.

Certhiaman ipuren sis, Sp . Nov . .7

L ike 0 . d iscolor, bu t w ith along er bi l l ; (08 2again st w ithapurebufi

'

throatan d breast, andad ingy bufi’

y grey l owerabdomen , &c .

This was the on ly C reeper I met w ith in Man ipur,an d thaton ly in the Eastern hi l ls, w here from to feet It wasn ot very un common , though by n o mean sabu ndan t.

Len gth . Expen se . Tail . W in g . Tarsu e. B il l from gape We ight .

6 2 8 2 2 72 0 641“ 76 O 36 oz

6 1 8 0 2 85 2 6 0 64 0 7

152 NovELTIEs .

Male—Legs and feet pale fleshy brown ; upper mand ibleblackish lower man d ible very pale fleshy pin k irides haze l .Female—Leg s and feet brow n ,

w ithafleshy tin ge ; upper

man d ible dark brow n ; lower man dible pale horny pink iridesbrow n .

This Creeper bel ong to the un barred-tai led section (videS . F. , V . ,

In this section 0 . n ipalen sis has the tail plainbrow n, the other three stol iczlcee, d iscolor and man ipuren sis al l

have the tai l d istin ctly rufous .

A g lan ce at the lower surfaces w i l l suffice to d istinguishthe three

Throatand B reas t. Low erabdomen;W hite , w ithawarm bu ff tinge . R ich ferrugin ou s brow n .

Din gy earthy ol ive brown , W i th D irty brown ish grey.

afain t ye l low ish shade .

C . man ipnren szs Pure buff . Din gy bu ffy grey .

This species is n earest to d iscolor, w i th w hich I can n othel p thin king it may have hitherto been con foun ded . The

upper surface of the twoare almost the same,on ly the pale

markin gs are less buffy,an d the bar on the ou ter w ebs O f theprimaries

,w hich isawarm bu ff in d iscolor, isalmost w hite in

man ipuren sis . Moreover, the bi l l in this latter is longer, run n ingto 08 2 (though severalare less) from forehead to tip straight,again st asamax imum (the majority are rather less) indiscolor.

NO detai led description is n ecessary . The upper partsm ight be m istaken for discolor, the low er n ever, when specimen sof the two speciesare compared . Even inamu ch w orn w eatheredspec imen

,in w hich the bu ffy throatan d breastare become du l l

an d somewhat grey ish, the con trast betw een the colour of theseparts in the two speciesat on ceattracts n otice .

Pomatorhinusausten i, Sp . Nov . 9

L ike P . ochraceiceps , bu t w ith the upper surface ol ive brown and theflan ks ol ivaceous .

There isasub-group of three spec ies of this gen us,al l characterized by long , compressed s lender b ills

,of w hich on e spec ies

has now to be described for the first time . They may be thu sd iag n osed

Upper surface Breastand Upper Abdomen . Flanks .

(1 ) O l ive brow n . W hi te . O l ivaceou s . P austen i .(2 ) tin ged ochraceou s .Fu l vous bu fi

‘

. Fu lvous . P . stenorhg n cbus .

(3 very stron gl yt i nged ochraceous . W hite . O chraceous . .P . ocbracciceps .

The first I on ly kn ow from the Eastern Man ipur hil ls . The

second I on ly know from the easternmost parts of the Debru

154 NOVELTIES .

formed by the greater secon dary coverts be ing amore or lessrichan d pure maroon red . This sub-grou p d iv ides in to two ; thefirst d ivis ion has the plumage of the n eckal l round

,u pper back

an d breas t, u n iform ly colored, i . e un spotted . O f this d iv is ionT . me lanostigma, Bly th, is the type , an d w ith this d ivision w e

n eed n otat prese n t con cern ourse lves further.

The second d ivision alway s has the plumage of the n eck

al l roun d,and more or less of the upper back an d breast, moreor less marked w ith darker subterminal lun u les or spots . Thissub-d ivision includesat least four spec ies

Che cks and throatI—En tire topand back blackish 1 T . erythrocephal um , Vig .

of head red . Cheeks an d throatu n i form w ith crow n 2 T . e rythroleema, Hume .

II—H in der part of

crow n, occipu t and nape j

red .

Ch in an d ear-covertsgrey 3 T . ruficapil lum, B ig .

Chin black, ear-covertsI l I .

-Occiput on ly red { black, margin ed sil

very 4 T . chrysopterum,Gou ld .

I on ly Obtain ed on e spec imen of this n ew spec ies, which,.though com in g from the Eastern hi l ls of Man ipur (n earMatchi ) , is far more n earlyal l ied to the W estern Himalayanergtlzrocepbalum than to the Eastern H imalayan clzrgsopterum,

or the Assamese hi l l ruj icapi l lum .

The fol low ing are the dimen s ion s an d other particulars of

my spec imenMale —Length, 10 3 ; e xpan se , tai l , w ing,

tarsus, bi l l from gape , W e ight, 23 6 ozs .

Legs an d feet fleshy brown , pinker on feet ; bi l l blackishbrow n irides gre y .

The l ores blackish du sky ; the extreme tip of the chin duskyrest of chin , en tire throat

,cheeks

,ear-coverts

,upper n eckal l

roun d, forehead, crow n,occipu tan d u pper part of nape , deep

che stn u t red,alittle brighter on top of head ,al ittle du l ler on

the throat ; u pper breast s im i larly colored bu t paler ; low erbreastan d u pperabdomen paleragain ,and mu ch ye l low er an drustier ; m ost of the feathers on these parts w ith subterm inalb lackish spots

,beyon d w hich the tips are frin ged paler ;

middle of low erabdomen pale ferrug in ou s, un spotted .

S ides of bodyandabdomen , flanks, ven tan d low er tai l-covertsadu l l ol ivaceous earth brow n ; tibial plumes much the same ,but w ith justafain t touch of the colour of the m iddle l ow erabdomen ; w in g l in ing grey, but some of the feathers justtipped w ith reddish or orange ferrug in ous ; in terscapu laryreg ion apale green ish O l ive grey, al l the feathers w ith largeblackish brow n subterminal spots

,su cceeded by apaler fringe

space betw een in terscapu lary reg ion , an d w here the un iformred of the nape ends, simi lar and simi larly spotted to the

THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE OF BIRDS, VOL . v . 155

former,bu t more or less overlaid w ith the bright red of the

crow n,and w i thaye l low er tinge of this ; l ow er back, rump,

upper tai l-coverts, te rtiaries an d tai l, where n ot tinged w ithg olden , the same pale green ish ol ive grey,as the groun d of the .

in terscapu lary region . A l l the tai l feathers tin ged an dmargin ed on the ir outer w ebs

,most stron g ly towards the ir

bases,w ith asomew hat ol ivaceou s golden ; ou ter w ebs of

primariesan d secondariesabrighter shade of this same goldenin n er w ebs deep hair brow n primary coverts mostly goldensecon dary an d tertiary greater coverts rich maroon chestn u t

the ir median and lesser on esapaler tin t of this m ing led w ithy e l low .

85119 grittst wuseum diatalngueall Birds, 4801. V .

8 11 84mmfirrbnhm.

I HAVE too longalready de layed to n otice this valuableadd ition to Orn itholog ical Literature, and yet even n ow I find itimpossible to make the time to review i t al ike as its meri tsdeserve ,andas in the in terests of our favourite sc ien ce w ou ldbe desirable .

To delayany longer, how ever, in cal l ing atten tion to themass of hon e st pain stak ing labour which this v ol ume repre

sen ts,w ou ld be an act of ingrati tude to on e to whomal l orn i

thologistsare greatly in debted an d I mu st,there fore

, faute dem ieux

,con ten t myse lf w ith such brief remarks as shal l induce

brothers of the craft in Ind iato study it for themse lves,an d

leave toatime of greater le isure the detai led review that tomy m in d this volume spec ial ly deman ds .

In Volume V . w e are presen ted w ith acatalogue of thekn ow n spec ies of the Family of the TURDIDE , as de fin ed byMr. Sharpe—adefin ition w hich I can n ot bu tagree w ith Mr.

S eebohm fails to syn thesize anatural group, an d on thecon trary in clude s parts of two qu i te d istin ct groups . Toavo id

,

as far as possible,the con fus ion that wou ld resu l t from this

arrangemen t,Mr. S eebohm d ivides al l the species fal l ing

w i thin Mr. Sharpe’s defin iti on in to two sub-fam il ies -the

SYLVINJE orWarblers,an d the TU RB INE or Thrushes . O f coursethis on ly partial ly mee ts the d ifficu lty , for the defin ition of theTurdidae

,be ing su chas it is , man y of the most c loselyal l ied

gen erafin d themse lves in dif eren t fam il ies, while un ited in the,

same family w ith many bu t d istan tly re lated on es .

It is,how ever, on ly fair to recal l that Mr. Sharpe himse l f was

ful ly cogn izan t of the diffi cu l ties which his modification of

156 THE. BRITISH MU SEUM CATALOGUE or B IRDS, VOL . v .

Sundeval l ’s system,equal ly w ith this latter

,in volves . He

remarks (Vol . IV . , p . 6 )In attempting to draw ahardand fast l in e betw een g roups

w hich nature has con n ected by in termed iate forms , the d ifficu l tyof deal ing w i th the con n e cting l inks has to be faced . I havepreferred toacceptal in e which is capable of defin ition even in

cases where forms ,apparen tly n earlyal l ied , must be separated,be ing con v inced thatany l in e, wherever draw n , must be subject

to the same Objection .

”

This is e qu ivalen t to theassumption that the l in e in questioni s as good as any other that can be draw n ; but w hen I findthat lin e

,to g ive two in stan ces, un itingag round feed ing Thrushl ike Coclroa, w ith Hemipus an d Tep/l rodorn is ,and theseagain

w ith Platy loplzus and n ocol ius, an d on the other handd ivid ing Off in to d ifferen t fami l ies Cel tic and Prin ia, I con fessthat I, personal ly, think bu t -poorly of that l in e, an d lookforward to the draw ing of avery d ifferen t l in e, open to much

less serious objection s .

Mr. Sharpe’s work isadmirable, but, to my idea, the framein which he has placed it is mostartific ialan d un natural .But to return to the presen t volume . In amost in teresting

preface Mr. Seebohm g ives some ideaof the principles byw hich he has bee n gu ided in his w ork . He explain s that hehas rejected the old-fashion ed ax iom that g en eramu st be

foun ded upon stru ctural characters, because he is con vin cedthat these so-cal led structural characters have n o gen eric valueatal l ,an d has fal len back for his gen eric characters u pon colours ,or pattern of col our,asacharac ter which in fact dates further

back than the shape of the w ing s, tail, or bil l .W i thou t stopping to e nqu ire for the proof on which this lastassertion is based, I may say that to my m ind the resu lts ofthis n ove l sy stemappear in the highest degree u n satisfactory ;an d that, for in stan ce, each of Mr. Seebohm

’

s gen eraGeocichla,Tu rdu san d Meru lacon stituteame lan choly jumble of d iserepan t forms . If w eare to have citri na

,Latb.

,mon ticola, V ig . ,

an dwardi . , Jerd, i n on e gen u s, then at least le t u s return to the

simp l ic ity of Lin né, and keeping on ly Turdus, d iscard,alongw ith al l the o ther gen era, Geocicli laand M eru la. There is

n o log ical standpoin t between Turdus, solusand some fifteen or

seven teen gen era.But the ideaof structual characters for gen erais not theon ly Old-fashion ed n otion that Mr. Seebohm has fe l t impe l led to

reject. He fee ls equal ly bound to rej ect those ru les of the BritishAssociation C ode of sc ien tific n omen clatu re , which do n ot mee t

his approval . Of course he g ives very w eighty reason s for hisv i olations of the law—reason s that, if con sidered on ly w ithreferen ce to the particular in stan ce, might we l l beal lowed to

158 NOTES .

of l ongan d patien t toil,an d w i l l prove of the greatest ‘

serviceto e very orn itholog ist . An immen se mass of in tricate sync

n ymy has been d isen tangled, aw on derfu l n umber of factshave been collectedan d carefu l lyarranged an d though of courseon avas t n umber of poin ts of de tai l e very orn itholog ist issure to d iffer, very few , i f any , cou ld pre ten d to be l ieve thatthey themse lves cou ld

,on the whole, have produced equal ly

satisfactory resu l ts .A. O . H .

Qantas .

IN VOL . VIII . , p . 456 , I recorded the capture , by C olon e lO . St. John , of apair of Whi te-faced S tiff-tai l Ducks ( .Ert

'

smaturaleucocephala) in the n e ighbourhood of Khe lat-i-Ghilzi

,

and I predicted the occurren ce of this species as astragg leri n the Pun jaban d S indh.

In Vol . IX .,p . 296, I had the pleasure of record ing that Mr.

F. Fie ld had actual ly procured aspecimen of this speciesaboutami le from the c ivi l station of Loodhiana, Punjab .

Now,much further east, aspecimen

,amale ( immature,l ike the three other prev i ously obtain ed specimen s) has beenprocured at the Najafgarh Jhil n ear Dehl i ; it is almost n eedless to say by Mr. W . N . Chil l , to whom I have ow ed more

rarities in the way of water birds than to any other col lectorin India.

ANOTHER rare Duck,an immature female Scaup (Fu lz'gu la

mari la) was kin dly sen t me by Mr. R . M . Stoker,w ho pro

cured it on the 3rd of Novembe r, on the In du s,n ear Attock .

He recorded the fol l ow ing particu lars in the fleshLength, expan se , tai l from v en t, wmg ,

tarsu s,

bi l l from gape , We ight, oz .

Irides ye l low .

Hodg son , I be l ieve, sen t home on e spec imen , or perhaps more ,from Nepal . Whether this or any of these w ere adu l t I don ot kn ow the on ly other three specimen s that I know to havebeen procured w i thin our l im its are this presen t specimen ,and two others from Cashmere, al l immature . It is m uch

to be regretted that n o adu lt has eve r been procured , forthe smal l s ize of al l ou r spec imen s leads to the suspicionthat they may possibly,afteral l , n ot be ass ignable to the tru e

Fu l igu lamari la, bu t rather to the smal ler l ittle kn ow nF . mariloides

, Richardson , of which Mr. Swinhoe sen t home l ive

Nora's. 159

specimen s in 1873 to the Lon don Zoo, bu t of which I havehi therto been unable to procu re specimen s for comparison .

MB . J . STRIP w rites to say that be flushedaW oodcock in

on e of the Ku rrachee garden s, though he was u nable to procure it, as . ow ing to the n umber of men , w omen ,an d chi ldrenal l around

,i t was too risky to fire . It w il l be remembered

that some w in ters ago, Major Bu tler bagged aW oodcock inthe Lyaree Garden s, Kurrachee .

THE question of the occurren ce of B uteo desertorum in the

B ri tish Asian Empire has been already agood deal discussedin this journal (0 . f . IV . , 359, V . 65

,an d the con c lu sion

arrivedat both by Mr. G urn ey an d myse lf was that Jerdon ’

s

B . rufiven ter was B . plumipes, and that the occurren ce of

B . desertorum at al l in Indiawas extremely doubtfu l . Now ,how ever, w hi le no doubt n eed be en tertain ed as to the firstcon clusi on , it seems almost certain that desertorum does occur,as w el las p lumipes, in the hi l ls of Southern India.O n the l 6th Apri l 188 1 my friend Mr. Dav ison shot a

smal l Buzzard on the Brahmagari hi l ls, of w hich he recordedthe fol low ing particu lars —Male .

—Leng th, expan se,tai l , w ing , tarsu s, bare portion of

fron t of tarsus,

bil l from gape, We ight, l g lbs .

Legs, feet, cere an d gape yel low ; claws and bil l black,pl umbeou sat base of low er man d ible irides whitey brown .

Now ,w ithaw ing of on ly 134 , I cou ld make n othing of

this but desertorum ; it cou ld n ot be plumipes w ith aw ingof on ly 134 ,

and moreover, though it is d ifficu lt to describein w ords, the plumage was un l ike that of any of the specimen sof p lumipes that I have exam in ed .

A very importan t questi on of d istribu tion be ing in volved,I sen t the spec imen to my kind frien d Mr. G urn ey, our lastappeal when in doubtas toany Raptorial birds, and I n ow

subjoin his decisionYour curious l ittle Buzzard has reached me safely it is,I think, e itheran u ndescribed species, or an abn ormal ly short

w in ged specimen of B . desertorum . W e have 23 specimen sof B . deseo'torum in the Norw ich Museum, but al l of them

w ith the w in g over 14 in ches . The fol low ingare the measuremen ts of on e of the smal lest,amale, from the Volgaz—W ing,

tarsus, mid-toe, 14 .

“ At the same time it w i l l be remembered that at pages 65.an d 6 6 of STRAY FEATHERS , Vol . V .

, I gave measuremen tscon siderably below this, via, 13 8 and 137 , andquoted from Dresser on e of on ly 135 .

160 LETTERS To THE EDITOR.

The plumage of this Volgaspec imen on the upper partsisalmost exactly like y ours, in clud ing the barring on the tai l

,

but on the under surface there is more white on the breastan dabdomen than in your bird

,and the brown patches on these

partsare smal ler ; but this does n ot go for much, as in B .

desertorum it is rare to see two ind ividuals exactly al ike inthe markings of the u nder surface , and I, there fore , do n ot

attach much importan ce to the fact thatal l our Norw ich spec imen s d iffer more or less in this respect from your bird, somebeing more w hite coloured on the u nder surface an d some lessso, besides many variation s of tin t or of the shape of the

markings . I in c l in e to think that your bird may be averysmal l example of B . desertorum, bu t if others shou ld be here

after obtain ed equal ly smal l,I shou ld look u pon itasad istin ct

sub-species . I may add that females of B . desertorum u sual lymeasure in the w ing over 15 inches, an d w e have on e thatmeasures over 16 in ches . So far as I can judge from our

spec imen s,the style of col ouring an d markin gs in your smal l

bird comes n earer to B . desertorum than to B . plumipes .

”

fishers to the (Editor.

I W RITE to in form you thatavery fine Life/c Florican ,

in fu l l bre ed ing plumage , has just been shot in the l ow land bythe race course be low my house . A pair were flushed together,but the hen escaped . I am in one sen se very sorry that thebird was shot,as they w ere doubtless breed ing but imprimis,the business may have been con cluded, and the female mayn ow carry it onalon e ; and in secundis, I doubt if the broodcou ld be rearei n the l ocal ity, as it w i l l be put under watern ext mon th. I have begged the sportsmen to spare the birdi f she be flushedagain . But the Rain Quai lare in thousandsthere, and there are half adozen gun s ou t morn ing ande ven ing , so I fear she has bu t l i ttle chance if she stays onthis s ide .

The ear-plumesare ful ly five inches long .

A. M. MARKHAM.

ALLAHABAD, l 6th Ju ly 1881 .

As the d istribution of the Pain ted Fran col in is sti l l al ittle un certain , I think it may be w orth recording that I cameacrossagood lot of them this year at Karl i in the W estern


Florican foraBustard . My in forman t was very positive thatthe bird does come in to the Ganges Kadir to breed .

In my n ote on this bird,w h ich is publ ished in Vol . III . of

the GAME B IRDS,

” I told you that the Bu stard was n otan common in the Mozuffern ugger d istrict. During the cold w eatherof 1879-80 aBustard was shot in that districtan d brought in toRoorkee .

THE BENGAL FLORIOAN, Vol . I . , page 25, et seq.

In alate n umber of the Asian Mr. A. M. Markham statesthat “ the Bengal Florican is very common in the Kadir of

the Ganges (right bank) in the Mozu ffern ugguran d Saharunpore d istricts , especial ly in the former.

I mu st beg to d iffer from Mr. Markham . The bird is occasional ly met w ith in Mozuffern uggur, bu t it is v ery rare in the

Saharu npore d istrict. I shot from 1 8 7 1 to 1879 stead i ly in theGanges Kadir of the Saharunpore d istrict,an d n ever on ce cameacross the b ird in it. Durin g this lon g period I repeated lyshot in the Ganges Kad ir of the Mozuifern uggur Tehsi l, an don on ly on e occas ion did I ki l l, or even flush

,aFlorican . I

shot too for three w eeks on e y ear in the Jausat Tehsi l (Mo

zutfernuggur) w hich adjoin s the Meerut d istrict. I kn ow the

Ganges Kad ir w el l from Hardwar to Bhokaheri , fairly w e l lfrom be l ow that to the edge of the Meeru t d istrict. I havefrequen tly shot over this coun try w ith two, three ,an d fourgun s . Duringal l these years that I was in the Saharu npored istrict, this tract was steadily shot too by the ofiicers of theRoorkee garrison ,an d ridden over both by them and by the

offi cers of the Meeru t garrison , ye t I n ever heard ofaFloricanhav ing been ki l led byan offi cer of e ither garrison . I kn owthat abrace or two of Florican are yearly ki l led in the GangesKad ir somewhere between Hurdwar an d the edge of the

Al igurh d istrict in the Kad ir of the Ganges, bu t the bird cann ot be said in this tract to be anywhere very common

,

”

even common .

I saw abrace of Florican ki l led in the Doodlaswamp, orrather n ear it, on the left bank of the Ganges in the B ij n ored istrict . Colon e l J . T. Watson of the Bengal Army ki l ledabrace of Florican in the Ganges Kadir of the Saharun pore dis

trict,some ten or twelve yearsago. I have heard of three or

four brace of Florican hav ing been ki l led byaparty some yearsago n ear the Seekree jhee l, which is below Bhokaheri, in theMozutfern uggur d istrict. I have tw ice flushed Florican myselfin the Saharunpore d istrict, on ce n ear Bussee

,and on ce n ear

Deobund . Neithermace is in the Ganges Kadir or n ear it.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 163

THE PAINTED SANDGROUSE, Vol . I ., page 59, et seq.

I saw tw ice these birds bein g haw ked abou t for sale lastrain sat Jubbu lpore in the Cen tral Provin ces . A Gond toldme that these birds w ere n ot un common on the tops of thej ung le covered hi l lsadjacen t to the station .

THE GREY LAG GOOSE, Vol . III .

, page 56, et seq.

This bird is cal led in the upper part of the Doab bad lbag” w i th heavy dal . The den tal soun d is clearly pron oun cedto d istingu ish the bird from the pig , common ly cal led in thoseparts bud .

”The Grey Lag is very common in the Saharun

pore and Mozu ffern uggur d istricts . I have n ever shot anyother kind in them . I n ever heard the word Sonaappl ied to

agoose in those d istricts .

THE WHISTLING TEAL, Vol . III .

, page 109, et seq .

This bird is common in Saharunporealong the GaugesandEastern Jumnacanals from May to O ctober. The bird hered isappears .

F. W . BUTLER, Maj or.

ETAH,March 30st, 1 881 .

I SEE that you have n o corresponden t from thi s partof Sy lhet,an d I, therefore, send you afew n otes . I shal l dealchiefly w ith the W i ld Fow l

,as that is the chief shooting w e get

here .

The Grey Lag G oose occurs here in great numbers in afavourable year, that is to say , when there is plen ty of waterin the bheel s . The last season

,1880-8 1, there have been very

few . The season before , 1879-80, they w ere in great n umbers .

Theyare very d iffi cu lt to get n ear.The Barred-headed Goose is rare here . I have ki l led on e

this season . There wasaflock of s even . I saw the remain ingsix several times afterwards

,bu t d id n ot succeed in ki l l ing

an other. From the l ittle I have seen of them I shou ld saythey w ere n ot n early so w i ldas the G rey Lag .

The Cotton Teal is common hereal l through the year. Theyare in the greatest n umbersat the beg in n ing and en d of the

rain s . In the mon ths of November, Decemberand Jan uary,w hen the bheelsare swarming w ith other kin ds of Teal, Duck,an d Geese, you hard ly see any of the C otton Teal . I don ’

t

know the reason of this, but such is the fact.

164 LETTERS To THE EDITOR .

The W histl ing Teal isalso common here throughou t the year,an d breeds, though n ot in any great n umbers . They breedhere chiefly in the thick grass on the bhee ls, an d do n ot, Ithink, frequen t trees mu ch—at least I have n e ver seen on e onatree . This season , ow ing to there be ing l ittle water on the

bheels,al l the Whistl ing Teal d isappeared abou t the end of

November, an d have n ot pu t in an appearan ceagain yet. In

1 879-80, the W histl ing Teal w ere in en ormous n umbers inNovemberand December.

I hav e seen flocks of at least They w ere v eryw i ld

,and the on ly way w e cou ld getat them was by stan ding

u p to our waists in wate r,an d sen d in g boats rou nd to drive ; in

this way they gave very pretty shooting .

The larger Whistl ing Teal is by n o mean s u n common here .

The season of 1879-80, selfan dafrien d u sed to shoot on anaverage at least on ce aw eekal l through the season ,an d w efrequ en tly kil led the larg er W histl ing Teal for tw en ty commonW histl in g Teal w e w ou ld getabou t three or four largerWhistlingTeal . This last season W e have n ot ki l ledan y , though w e haveshot regu larlyal l through the season . Whe ther or n ot theybreed here Iam u nable to say , bu t I expectafew do.

The Ruddy Sheldrake is fairly common here,u sual ly see n

in pairs or smal l parties of four or five . I have n ever seen

them in large flocks , though afrien d te l ls me that in thec old w eather of 1878 he frequ en tly saw them in largeflocks here . Theyare fearfu l ly wary birds, chiefly frequen tingsmal l pools

,and in aflat cou n try l ike this you may imag in e

theyare n ot very eas i ly circumven ted . They arrive hereaboutthe en d of October,an d leaveabout the end of March .

The Common She ldrake is, I fan cy,avery rare bird here . Ihave ki l led on e this season , an d the boatmen w ho w ere w ith

m e said they had n ever seen aduck l ike that before . I haveseen altogether five . U pon the first occasion , upon w hich I sawthis

”duck

,there w ere four of them,and I managed to kil l on e

at very long range . (This was on Jan uary 9 th, The

remain ing three se ttl edabou taquarter of am i le off on the

mud,bu t I cou ld n ot get w ithin shotagain . O n March 6th

,I

saw on e of these birds . He was sw imm ingabout on asmal lpool , w ith some Common Teal, but was very wary,and thoughI d id my best, I cou ld n ot getashot.Shove l lers, Pin tai ls, C ommon and Blue-w inged Tealareal l

fairly n umerous from December to abou t the begin n ing of

March. Here they are al l very w i ld—the Shove l ler, I think,being least so .

W' ith regard to Sn ipe I think the Fan tai ls predominate in

the early part of the season ,an d the Pin tailsat the en d . The

Sn ipe weare getting now in scrub jungleareal l Pin tai lsalmost

166 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR .

en tire ly white, the hind n eck an d round to below the n ude

pouch are mottled w ith dusky, as isalso the lower back and

rump and the lesser coverts .

The follow ing are the m easuremen tsMale—Length, bil l at fron t, 4 ; gape, tai l from

v en t, 8 tarsus

,2k. Irides lemon y e l low ; bi l l horny, blackishatbase ; both man dibles den ticu lated or serrate for on e-half the ir

l ength from tip ; head, n eck, u pper back, breast,abdomen , an dl ow er tai l-coverts w hite

,w ithavery s l ight ye l low ish tinge the

feathers of the n eckal l rou nd from be low the n ude pouch,andalsoasmal l space behind each eye, tipped w ith dusky brown , alsothose of the low er backan d rump

,but broad ly the primaries

w ere cut by the fisherman w ho brought in the bird,andas

much as can be seen are chocolate brow n , an dalsoare the

secon daries,tertiaries

,scapu larsan d greater coverts the bases

of al l w hite lesser coverts white, w ith tipping s and broaddashes of the same chocolate brow n the ou ter w ebs of

some of the scapu lars are w hite ; tai l chocolate brow n , or ashade darker than the primaries legsand feet slaty blu e .

Can this be ayoung ’16 bird ? It was got on the 9 th July .

The fisherman w ho brought it in Said there w ere three flocks of

abou t 30 in each,abou t three m i les out of the harbour,an d that

the spec imen I have en tang led itself in his n et. The manalso said it was the first of its kind ever seen in or abou t theKurrachee Sea.KURRAGHI, JAMES A. MURRAY .

26th August 188 1 .

I BELIEVE that G lareolalacteahas n ot yet beenrecorded from S ind . I found them very common at Kotri . Myfirst specimen s w ere obtain ed on the 20th February . On dissec

t ion I fou n d that they w ere abou t to breed . Early in MarchI un fortunate ly sprain ed my kn ee, an d was u nable to goafterthem,

but on the l 0th I managed to drive along the ban ks ofthe In dus,an dabou tami le down stream I foun dasmal l islandl iteral ly swarming w ith birds, eviden tly breed ing . They com

prised the fol low ing kinds —S ternaseena, R legnchops albicol lis,G lareolalactea, an dapair of Esacus recurvirostris . I madearran gemen ts n ext day to hav e the eggs taken . I cou ld n ot go

myself as 1 cou ld scarcely pu t my foot to the groun d, so I sen t

aBbccl shikaree w ith my gun , but he was arrested before he

had gon e half am i le for carrying arms, an d the gun takenfrom him,an d it was on lyafteradeal of bother that I got it back .

O n the 15th I again drove -down , but foun d that during the

3? Yes, clearlyan immature bird .—ED . , S . F.

LETTERS To THE EDITOR. 167

n ight the river had un expectedly risen , and my island hadd isappeared . On the 3rd Apri l Iagain w en t down

,an d cross

ing the river made as thoroughasearchas was possib le . On

the san dy ban k just be low Kotri, I foun d it very try ing w ork,as my cru tches (I cou ld n ot d ispen se w ith them ) sank severalin ches in to the mudat every step. My d il igen ce was rewardedby find in g three n ests (or holes w ould be the more correctterm) con tain ing, respective ly, two, two,an d on e egg ,al l hardset, n ot so mu ch

,bu t I made decen t spec imen s of them . The

two pairs w ere of the u sual type,bu t the s ing le egg was very

deficien t in color,an d den sely c louded at the larg er end w ithpale u n derly ing patches of purple . I attribute the fact ofthere being bu t on e or two eggs in each hatch to the birdshav ing commen ced to lay on the islan d before it was flooded

,

an d w ere forced to fin ish lay ing in the n earest su itable place .

The spot w here I procured these eggs was n otan un frequen tedon e , n e ither was itaspit of lan d ru nn ing in to the water, andscores of people passed it dai ly, yet the eggs w ere n ot in anyway con cealed . This, I bel ieve, is con trary to their usualhabits .

I can on ly findarecord of on e spec imen of Tcl n'

treaparadisihav ing been obtain ed in the provin ce . I shotasecon d on e in a.baboo l g rove to the east of the camp . There seems also a.doubt of the occurren ce of Gal l icrex cin ereus . I flushed on e

fromacaper thicket in 1879 during the in undation . I was n otawareat the time of i ts rarity, so did n ot preserve the skinthere is n o m istake , I kn ow the bird w e l l, hav ing examin edspecimen s in the Kurrachee Mu seum

,and in addition the des ic

cated remain s w ere seen by Mr. Murrayaday or twoafter.

I am n ot aware thatan y eggs of Coccgstes jacobinu s havebeen recordedas taken in S ind . I took on e on the 20th August1879 froman est of Chatarrhceacaudata.

H . E . BARNES .

HYDERABAD SIND,

26aApri l 1881 .

REGARDING the Great Indian Bastard let me in formyou that I shot on e some years ago, three m iles w est of

Arupacottah, alarge v i l lage in the Madurad istrict. On thatoccas ion I saw seven or e ight Bastard . I have repeated ly seene ight or ten of amorn ing n ear the same place, which is on theborders of Maduraan d Tin n eve l ly .

The Tami l name for the Bustard seems to me veryappropriate . It is cal led the Kanal-Mg le (the l

” is not pronounced


in the double w ord), or“ Mirage PeaFow l, from the Tami l

w ords Kanal, mean ing M irage, an d Mg le, aPeaFow l . The

Bustard come to these plain s (in Tin n eve l lyan d Madura)abou tSeptemberand O ctober.

In the Kurn ool d istrict (Deccan ) Bustardare often to be hadin the cold w eather.

In the first w eek of Jun e this year aFlorican (km , of

the Lesser Florican or Likh) was caught n ear this place ,Rajahmun dry, byanative shikari,an d brought in to me . Ihave n ever before come across them in this d istric t so earlyasthis . I have shot threeand fou r ofamorn ing in Decemberan dJan uary . About Ongole, in the Ne l lore d istrict of this Presiden cy, thereare plen ty of Florican .

RAJAHMUNDRY, CHARLES A. TOSTEMS,

l oth Ju ly 1881 . Maj or, S tag?” Corps .

THE foll ow ing n otes may be u sefu ll st—The Pink-footed Goose (Anser brac/zyrlzyn clzus) . I shot

on e of these ou t ofaflock of abou t 20,on the Kanawé n jhee l,

n ear G urdaspore , Punjab, in 1853, w ithabu l let.2nd .

-W histl in g Teal (Dendrocygnajavan ica) . The first Iever shot wasat Kishnagur, n ear Calcutta, in 1849, an d the

n ext I shot wasat Firoza, Bhaw u lpore , in 1879 .

3rd .—The Shieldrake (Tadornacornuta) . I shotapair of these

in 1873 on some sal t lakes in the sand hi l ls between theChenaban d the Indus, n ear Moozuffern uggur.

4th.-In December 1879 I shot several Marble Duck at

Firoza(133 m i les dow n In dus Val ley Rai lway ) in the

Bhaw ul pore territory,an dalso n ear Gu rdaspore, Punjab .

5th.—In December 1 8 79 , at Firoza, Bhawu lpore, I shota

female Anas falcata. I had it stu ffed,an d I show ed it to

Major Marshal l w ho was then at Lahore,an d he said i t was

afemale Anas falcata.6th—In May 1878 I shotafemale Mergan ser at Tangrote

Ferry, on the Poon ch river.

C ONOOR, J . H . MCLEOD, Maj or-Gen eral8th February 1881 . Retired R. A.

I SEE you sayat page 12, Vol . II .

, of the GAME

B IRDS,”that you yourse lf have n ever seen the B lack Partridge

cal l in g from offatree . I may men tion that this morn ing (Apri l1 5th

,I watched for some timeaBlack Partridge (male)


Seebohm has borrow ed the white-be l l ied spec imen ’“

you len tme , and he won

’t be back ti l l the en d of this mon th from

Ru ss ia. W e w i l l have aregu lar de l iberation over the birdbefore I return it to you . I w i l lalso try an d get your Sy lviaaltli ea’rthat he borrow ed .

I w en t to the British Museum last w eek an d examin edthe types (three ) of Hororn is flaviven tris, Hodg son . Al l

are from Nepal, an d w i thout dates . Above they are

mu ch abou t the same ton e of colour as Dumeticolaafi n is ; be l ow they are much l ike aye l low ish Hororms

j ortipes . There is n o spotting on the breast, bu t on e

is very sl ightly mottled on the chin an d upper throat .The breast is brow n er than the throat and abdomen . The

ton e of the bird below by n o mean s warran ts the name offiaviven tris . On e of the three has the l ow er tai l-covertstolerably perfect. These are brown , W ith broad, pale brow n ishw hite marg in s in the true Dumeticola, Triburaan d Locustel lafash ion . The w ing is also that of aDumeticola, an d so is

the very rou nded tai l,w ith the ou ter feathersagood half in ch

short of cen tral feathers . The w in g s of on e specimen measure l °9 7 ; of the qu i l ls t he third= 7th

,fourth= 6th, and

second= 12th or 13th.

This bird has the most perfect w ing of the three, an d maybe rel ied u pon . The leng th of tai l is tarsu s

,

°75 bi l lat fron t, °33 ; from cen tre of n ostri l , °29 .

To me the spec ies looks mu ch l ike u n spotted Triburacfi n is

(Dumeticolaafi n is, an d may be the you ng of thatspecies or the bird in aye l low ish plumag e ; bu t Iam n ot sure

abou t its be ing afi n is,for the latter has ,asaru le

,al on ger

w ing ,and the third feather is proportional ly l onger, there beingagreater d istan ce or step between secondan d third than in

flaviven tris .

You w i l l see by the above formu laof the w ings that thebird is n ot B ororn is at al l . In this con c lu sion B ly th wasqu ite right. The birds you have from Maudel l i as H . j laviven trisare , I think, Hororn is (Neorn is)fianc-ol ivacea.I examin ed the types of Hororn is assimi l is, on e presen tedby the Secretary of S tate for Ind ia, an d the other by B . H .

Hodgson . The colouration is precisely that of f ortipes .

No. l .—W ing , tai l

No. 2 .-W ing, tai l, tarsu s

,

Both are from Nepal . You long ago suggested that thiswas the young of f ortipes . Seebohm thinks them on ly f ortipes,and I think so too . They are rather smal las regards w ing ,

’l ‘ An d of course has n ot re turn ed it .—ED S . F.

1 This, let me do him the j ustice to say, he has return ed—Eu , S . F


but you w i l l see when you compare your examples w ith theabove d imen sion s . I think I w ou ld d iscard Horcrn is assimi l isas abad species . Triburaflaviven trisalso appears ratherdoubtfu l, for w e have n ot met w ith the bird sin ce Hodgsongot it.

On l ooking at my Muddapur ki l led S ton echats, on e,an

au tumnal bird, turn s ou t to be leucura. So the bird i sfound about that part of the coun tryafteral l . It is aredderon e than those I got in S ind . It is not mou ltedand in raggedsummer plumage .

l 4lb April 1881 . W . E . BROOKS .

Extract from Ann . and Mag . of Natural H istory, Vol . XVIII ,

1 846, p . 252 .

M . SUNDEVALL ON THE BIRDS or CALOUTTA.

18 .—Aca.nthizatrochiloides, n .

Ol ivaceo-v irid is, subtus alba, an tice flavo tin cta cauda.in tegrapen naextimabreviora, apice in tu salba. Lin eaperocu los fusca.5‘ l 5ik February .

—Capu t pau l lu l um fusco tin ctum supere il iae longatapal l ide flava. Alasubtu salbatectrices superioresapice pal lescen tes . Caudafuscescen s, obsolete tran sversimn udato-mican s . Rostrum subtus album , supern e et pedespal l ide fusci . Long . 5 poll ; ala47 mil l im ; tarsus 19 ; cauda45 ; rostrum efron te 9 . Rostrum apice levi ter compressum .

Rem iges 3an ticae gradates 2a= 10a4 et 5 rel iqu is long iores .

Pen nae cubitiad 5-6alae flexes exten sa.

This l i ttle bird has agreater in terest for u s on accoun t ofi ts remarkable resemblan ce to our Sy lviatrocl i ilus . I haveon ly seen the above described spec imen ,and can say n othinge lse abou t its way of l iv ing than that even in itsaction sit has an ex traordinary resemblan ce to Sy lvial roc/zilus, so

that I fu l ly be l ieved I had foun d that species un til anexam ination of its flatten ed, much broader beak,an d the somew hat differen t formed w ings proved my m istake . Thesearethe on ly poin ts in which the gen u s Acan tlziza(Vig . et Horsf. )d iffers from our Sy lvia. The beak is even un like that of our8 . hippolais .In New Hol land there are several species to be found .

I heard n o n ote from the bird described . This is most l ike lythe bird to w hichau thorsal lude who speak abou t the IndianSy lviatroohi lus . (For example, Edwards in . the text to

plate


THE follow ing scraps may be in teresting,al thoughyou probably kn ow al labout themalreadyI saw n o Pin tai l Sn ipe in Pishin , Shorawak, the Bolan , or

Huruai passes, or at Muskafi or Dadur ; al l that I shot w ereJack or Common .

The season of 1876-77 was agood sn i pe season in

Hyderabad, Deccan ,an d I noticed that the Pin tai l ou tn umberedthe Common by three to on e ; pu ttingas ide Jack an d Pain ters,three birds, out of four w ou ld be Pin tai l . 18 77-78an d 1878-79w ere in different season s,and I found that the Pin tai l w ere much

more rare,the C ommon be ing in the majority . My ow n idea

is that the Common w ereas plen ti fu las u sual , and the Pin tailfor some season had n ot come in to the d istrictas they hadd on e in 1876-77 .

G . M . RAYHENT,Vely . Surgeon ,

BANGALORE,

l st M . Light Cavalry .

June 12th, 1881 .

IN Vol . III of your Work on the “ GAME BIRDS

of INDIA, you w rite (page 882) 1 have n o record of the cc

currence'

of this species (the Pain ted Sn ipe) in Ku lu , Kashmir,”and I have , therefore, en closed to you the sk in of abird of thisSpec ies which I shot at Sumbu l, on asheet of the Wool larLakes, on the 14th September this year . I shot three others thesame morn ing ,al l l ike the on e I send, which I Ope nedand foundto beamale . The birds sat very close, n ot ris ing ti l l cl ose uponthem, con sequen tly the others I shot w ere too much injuredto skin . The W ing feathers I encloseare those of abird shotat Bun n ir n ear the Wool l'ar by an officer of the 65th, who

also saw n umbers . I do n ot how ever think I saw any femalesat least I did not secure on e . I do n ot think the Pain tedS n i pe remain s l ong in Cashmere as

,though I was ou t several

day s shooting after the m idd le of September, I '

saw veryfew .

EDWARD L. HAWKINS,

MORAR, Lieutenan t Colone l,9th November 1881 .

J‘UST a' l ine‘

to in form you that I havean addition “to the Sind List in the shape of C IRCUS C INERA

'

cEUs,Mon t.

No, vide Vol . VII, p. 503 .—ED . , 8 . F.

174 L ETTERS To THE EDITOR .

found him,but brought him down w i th the second barrel . In

l ooking for himamongst the l on g grass and rushes asecon dbird was flushed, which 1 Winged? w i th my secon d barre l

,and

bagged, bu t In doing so w e l ost the first bird that I had kn ockedOver ; an d though w e hun ted for it for over half an hour w e

cou ld n ot find it. I have n o doubt bu t that some on e of us

most have trodden on it,an d cru shed it dow n in to the mud

w hich, in parts, was n earlyafoot deep, as otherw ise the dogsw ou ld have found it.I think it w i l l be in teresting to you to kn ow that On two

occasi on s these birds w ere found in company ,in 1879 , therebeing three birds w ithin arad ius of 50 yards,an d in 1 882 two

birds w ithin 25 yards O f each other.

I see that Captain Baldw in says theyare particu larly gameybid s an d most excel len t for the table . My experien ce of

them i s that theyare very much in ferior to the Pin tail in flavor,

an d the meat i s coarser in texture . Exceed ing ly handsome

birds In appearan ce they feel soft an d flabby to the touch

when compared w i th the fi 1mn ess of aPin tai l .The w e ight of the n emoricolabagged to-day was 75 oz .

On rising he gaveahoarse sort Of croak,as described by CaptainBaldw in ,an d the same , bu t mu ch l ouder, w hen picked upw ithabroken w in g . The first bird to-day rose s i len tly .

A pecu l iarity of the Pin tai l this season is that the maj ori ty rises i len tly

,and con sequen tly many get away which othei wise

w ould n ot do so.

J . W . DITMAS .

I have l ong had by meacol lection of Birds kind ly sen t me

by Mr. Chi l l . Amongst these I n ow find,afin e adu lt female

Scaup, kil led n ear G urgaon , on the 5th of Ma1 ch 188 1, w hich,except in hav ing the w ing rather shorter -an d hav i ngthe bill rather shorteran d broader, the white on the primariespurer

,and the grey speckl ing on the back rathermore exten ded

,

does n ot seem to me to d i ffer from my Eng l ish spec imen s .Mr. Chi ll also sen ds ay oung female Scaup

c

procu 1 edat thesame place on the 14th March an dafine male of the MarbledTeal,also shot n ear G u1gaon , on the 28 th Apri l 188 1 . Lastly,he sendsaspecimen of Coraeias garru la, which he shot thereon the 3oth Of May 1881 .

—ED. , S . F.

STRAY FEATHERS .

Vol . X.] JULY 1882. [No. 4 .

afi ist 1111the finds 1111Br EUGENE W . OATES .

THE orn ithology of aportion of Pegu was dealt w i th byMr. Hume in aformer v olume Of STRAY FEATHERS (III, pp .1 an d subsequen tly, (IV, pp. 295—451) Dr. Armstron ggave u sal ist of the birds met w ith by him in the de ltaicportion of the provin ce . The follow ing paper isan attemptto compileacomplete l ist Of the birds of the w hole of Pegu .

Thearean ow deal t w i th is boun ded on the n orth by thefron tier l in e separating British from In depen den t Burma

,

an d run n ing eastan d w est at abou t the latitude of 19°40

’

n orth ; on the east the boundary is the S ittang river ; on

the w est, the Irrawaddy river,an d its most w esterly d ischargechan n el

,the Basse in creek . The seaforms the sou thern l im it

of the area. The provin ce,as thu s defin ed, isabou t 300 mi lesin length, byan average breadth of abou t 100 m i les .

The Pegu hi lls run dow n the cen tre of this tract of coun tryfrom the fron tier to Rangoon , or forabout 200 m i les . Theyexten d lateral ly n early down to the ban ks of the Irrawaddyan d S ittang rivers, leav ingacomparative ly narrow be lt on lyof leve l or u ndu lating coun try along the marg in s of these

two rivers . The remain ing portion isavast plain , l ittle, or notatall

,e levatedabove high water of spring s ides .

The hi l lsare covered w ith den se forest,an d an undergrow thof shrubs an d can es . On the eastern s ide the vegetation isv ery luxurian t,an d mostly evergreen . On the w estern s ide,it is composed of trees w hichappear to do w ith less moisture

,

an d the un dergrow th is less den se . The d ifferen ce in the

rain fal l betw een the two s ides Of the hil ls is probably 30 in ches .A vast n umber of b irdsare found on the eastern s lopes w hichare n ever seen on the w estern .

The vast plain s which occupy the sou thern third of the

prov in ce are,where not cu ltivated, covered w ith e lephan t

g rass an d reeds . The plain is everywhere i n tersected bytidal channels,and is more or less permanen tly flooded during

23

176 A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF PEGU .

the rain s . The floods, however, are n ot as aru le Of suchanatureas to preven t cu ltivation ,an d vast portion s of the plainare yearly plan ted w i th rice .

The rain fal l varies fromabout 40 in chesat the fron tier to 130in chesat Pegu . This variation has

,how e ver

,less to do w i th the

d istribu tion of birds than m ight be expected . Many spec ies,w hich afew years ago w ere thought to be exc lu s ive lycon fin ed to the drier portion s of Pegu, are n ow kn ow n to bev ery abun dan t further sou th in the same provin ce

,exten ding

eve n in to Tenasserim where the rain fal l is excessive .

The materials for this paper have been furn ished by largecol lection s made by myse lf in almost e very portion of the

areacomprised u nder the gen eral name of the prov in ce of

Pegu . For man y years I collected at or n ear the town of

Pegu ,asm‘al l place abou t 60 m iles n orth-east O f Rangoon .

Near Pegu is the smal l v i l lage Of Kye ikpade in on the ban ks ofthe canal which I was con stru ctin g , and here most Of therarer

,an d more in teresting , species of reed birds andaquatic

b irds w ere procured .

The tract of coun try dealt w ith by Dr. Armstrong has n ot

been explored by me except in ahurried man n er,an d con

sequen tly his in vestigation s have enabled me to defin e the

d istribu tion of man y spec ies w i th greater exactn ess . In the

fo l low ing paper abou t tw en ty spec ies are in serted on his

au thority, which w ou ld otherw ise have been om itted .

O f the spec ies in serted by Mr. Hume in his l ist of the birdsof U pper Pegu I have n ow omitted the follow ing five

An lkocinclaphayrii .P lzy l loscopusaflin is .

in dicus .

Passerassimi l is .

Gal l inago gal l iazzcla.

*

1 am n ot satisfied that an y of these birds have occurredw ithin the l imitsasabove defin ed .

The occurren ce of the follow ing birds requ ires confirmation .

They are recorded by Bly th in his “ B i rds of B urmaas hav ing been received from Pegu . They have n ot againbeen d iscovered in Peg u s in ce his time

,an d it is probable thatthey do n ot occur in Pegu as defined in this paper. 1

’ Theyare SIX

C ircus cin eraceus . Rbyaeorn is f u lz’

ginosus .

Volvooivorasylcesi . Al lotm’

u s me lanotis .

C /zaz‘arr/macaudata. Lobz’

pluviamalabarica.

But th is certain ly occurs in Pegu,as I have hadaspecimen from n ear the mouth

of the Basse in ri ver .—ED . , S . F

1' I also om i tted al l these from the Pegu paper, Vol III, for the same reason ,but I was wrong about the last, which must be admi tted—En , S. F.

178 A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF PEGU .

5 .—Falcoperegrinator, San d .

Major Lloyd appears to have procured aspecimen atTounghoo. (B . of B . , p .

6 .—Pol iohierax insign is, Wald . (16 bis . )Fairlyabun dan t from the fron tier dow n to Prome

, exten d in gto the w est as faras the ridge of the Arakan hi l ls . CaptainRamsay got itat Tounghoo.

7 —Cerchneis tinnunculus, Lin .

Veryabun dan t from November to March inalmost al l partsof the prov in ce .

8 .—Cerchneisamuren sis , Radde . (19 bis . )The bird procuredat Thyetmyo by Captain Feilden (S . E ,

III, p . 22)appears to be long to this spec ies, j udg ing from whatMr. Hume say satalater date (S . F.

,V

, p . I have n ever

met w ith this bird .

9 .—Microhierax caerulescensfi L in . (20 .

I have procured this smal l Falcon at Thyetmyo an d Prome ,w here it is abun dan t. It probably occurs in other parts of

Pegu . 1’

10.-Astur rufitinctus, MoOl e l l . (22 bis . )

The on ly specimen I have ever m et w ith was ki l led on the

Pegu hi l lsas recorded in S . E ,III

,p . 24 .

11 .—Astur pol iopsis, Hume . (23 bis . )Gen eral ly distributed,an d common .

12.-Accipiter n isus, L in .

The Sparrow Haw k was procured at Thyetmyo by CaptainFe i lden an d by myse l f,an d i t was gotat Tounghoo by CaptainRamsay . Itappears to be rare .

13.—Accipiter virgatus, R einw .

Captain Fe ilden procured this Hawk at Thyetmyo,1 an d Imet w ith it on the Pegu hi l ls j ustabove Pegu . It does n otappear to be common .

Shou ld stan d u s eutolmus . Hodgson ,aide G urn ey, I bis, p. 272 , 188 1 . I may addw ith re feren ce to what M r. G urn ey says further on , that I personal ly fee l qu ite

certain that thi s species n ever occurred at Ban galore In aW i ld state , though I haveheard of specimen s , brought from the Himalayasan d trai n ed to k il l Sparrow s, havin gbe en seen at the Hyderabadand Mysore Courts—Eu ,

S . F .

'

f Blan ford produced it on the h i l ls of the Basse in d i strict . I have al so received aSpecimen label led Basse in —ED S . F .

I I n ever saw Fe i l de n’

s specime n . which , how ever, from the d escription I be l ieve

to have been v irgatu s but M r G u rn ey , who d id see the specimenat one time,atanyrate, iden tified Itas A . rhodogaster, Schl .—ED .

, S .

A LIST or THE map s or PEGU . 179

14.

—Aqui1anipalensis , Hodgs . (27 bis. )Captain Fe ilden foun d this Eag le common at Thyetmyo, an d

i t occurs al ong the ban ks of the canal n ear Pegu , w here Ihave shotafew spec imen s every yearabout November.15.—Aquilaclanga, Pal l . (28 )I procured some specimen s in 1875at the jun cti on of the canal

w ith the Pegu river from December to March,an d I do n ot

recollect ever meeting w ith itagain . Captain Fe i lden procureditat Thyetmyo16 .—Hieraetus pennatus, Gm. (3L )Procured by Captain Fe i lden at Thyetmyo.

17 .—Limna

'

e

°

tus cal igatus, Rafi”

.

G en eral ly d istribu ted in w e l l-wooded local ities, and pretty

common .

18 .—Spilornis undulatus, Vig . ; S . chee la, Lath. (39 )Occursalong the fron tier from Thyetmyo to Tounghoo, andappears to be replaced e lsewhere by the n ex t species .

19 .-Spilornis rutherfordi , Sw inb. (39 ter. )

G en eral ly d istri bu ted in the prov in ce, except al ong or n ear

the fron tier, where the larger spec ies on lyappears to be fou n d .

I have n ever me t w ith any bird w hich m ight be con s ideredin termediate to the two species

,n or have I ever shot the two

birds in the same local i ty .

20.—Pandion hal iaétus, L in .

Two or three pairs of the Osprey may be seen dai ly i n boththe Pegu and the S ittang rivers during the dry w eather,an dI fan cy that afew birds remain i n Burmathroughout the

year, but I can n ot make certain of this fact.ale

21 .—Pel ioae

°

tus ichthyaetus, B orsf . (41 )Very g en eral ly d iffused over the l ow er an d more swampy

parts of the coun try . I foun d it ex cess ive ly common in theforests w est of Shwaygheen where they w ere breeding n earPe l ican sand Adjutan ts .

22 .—Hal iaétus leucoryphus, Pal l . (42 )Veryabun dan t in the plain s ly ing betw een the Pegu an d

S ittang rivers ,an d espec ial ly soal ong the banks of the canal .Note this also from the Southern Coast, from n ear the mouth of the Bassein

river.—ED S .

A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF PEGU .

23.

—Ha1iafétus leucogaster, Gm. (43)Frequen tly seen al on g the sou thern coast of Pegu,an d on on e

occas ion I observed i t n ear the town of Pegu .

24.

—Buteo plumipes, B odys . (47)Recorded from Thy etmyo by Mr. Hume

, to whom aspec imen was sen t by Captain Fe i lden .

*

25.—Butastur tessa

,Frankl . (48 )

Apparen tly re stricted to the n orthern portion of the prov in ce .

I t is common at Thye tmyo,an d al l the way down to Prome .

Captain Ramsay records it from Tounghoo.

26 .

—Butastur l iventer, Tem . (48 ter. )Although n otabun dan t this bird is foun d in every portion of

the provin ce which is su i ted to its habits . It frequ en ts the

plain s an d creeks,an d does n ot appear to be fou n d in forest

coun try or dry hi l ly groun d .

A y oun g bird, reared from the n est, escaped at the age of

three mon ths ,an d had to be shot. At thi s ag e the w hite barse xten d up to the m idd le of the be l ly . The edg e of the w in gis w hite

,the breast is brow n , an d the throat

,w i th the l ores

and forehead,n early pure w hite ; the top of the head is ru fou s

,

and the plumage gen eral ly is brow n w here,in the adu lt

,i t is

grey ; the bars on the tail,w hich in the old b ird are in terrup t

ed,are in the young very clearly defin edan d unbroken .

27.—Circus macrurus, S . G . Gm; (51 )Tolerably common du ring the cold season in al l the plain s of

the southern portion of the provin ce .

28—0ircus melanoleucus, Fars i ) ”Veryabun dan t from the en d of September to the m iddle of

May in all parts of Pegu , except the hi l ls, where it is n ot foun datal lA you ng b ird d iffers from that figured by Mr. Sw inhoe

(Ibis, 1874, pl . X) in bei ng very rufou s w ithout atrace of

ye l low in its p lumage .

29 .—Circusaeruginosus, Lin . (5

Asabun dan tas the preceding,an d foun d in the same tractsdurin g the cold season .

An other specimen received from n ear Tounghoo.—Eu , S . F.

f P erm.—ED . , S . F.

182 A LIST on THE BIRDS or PEGU .

38 .—Syrnium seloputo, Horsf . (65 bis . )I found this han dsome Ow l abundan t in agrove of trees

abou t two m i les from Kye ikpade in . I have seen birds whichw ere shotat Rangoon ,an d the Ow l re ferred toas hav ing beenprocuredat Thyetmyo by Captain Fe i lden (S . E ,

III,p . 37 )

was probably this species . It appears to be gen eral ly distribu ted but somewhat l ocal .During the day this Ow l s its on the bran ch of alarge tree

n ear the summit,and can be d iscovered w ith l ittle d ifficu lty i fi ts presence is suspected . It does n ot beg in to move ti l l aftersun set.

A young n estl ing has the u pper plumage white, barred w ithchocolate brow n . The rectrices are exten s ive ly tipped w ithv ery pure w hite,an d the w ebsare sl ightly barred . The l owerplumage is w hi te , c losely barred w ith brow n . The thighs areplain fu lvou s white . Fac ial disc as in the adu l t

,spotless

bright ferrug in ous .The sexesareal ike in plumage ,an d they d iffer l ittle in s ize .

A fin e pair, the paren ts of the n estling described above,

measured respective ly —Len gth, 18 5, 1 8 3 expan se, 48, 47tail, w ing, 144 ,

14 ; tarsus, bi l l from gape,the first figures in each case referrin g to the male .

The bil l an d cere are dark horn colour ; iris dark brownedges of the eyel ids pink ; feet and c laws dark brown ;underside of toes whitish .

39 .—Asioaccipitrinus, Pal l .Captain Wardlaw-Ramsay procured this Owlat Tounghoo.

40.— Bubo n ipalen sis, B odys . (71 )Recorded from Tounghoo by Captain Ramsay .

41 .—Ketupaceylonensis, Gm. (72)Veryabundan t in every part of the provin ce .

42 .—Ketupajavanen sis, L ess . (73 bis . )Appears to be con fin ed

,in Pegu, to the del ta

Irrawaddy, where it is common .

43 .—Scops pennatus, Hodgs . (74)I procured two specimen sat Kye ikpadein , which have beeniden tified for me by Mr. Gurneyand Mr. Sharpe . Cap tain

Fei lden got itat Thyetmyo.

A LIST on THE BIRDS or rnou . 183g

44 .—ScOps lettia, Hodgs . (75)A very abun dan t species roun d Pegu an d Kyeikpadein ,and probably gen eral ly d istributed throughou t the provin cefile

45.—Carine pul chra, Hume . (76 quai . )

Abundan t from Thyetmyo to Prome for ad istan ce of 10

or 15 m i les from the Irrawaddy46 .—Glaucid ium cuculoides, Fig . (79 )Foun dabun dan tly throughout the prov ince . It comes ou t

some time before sun set, and remain s out ti l l late in the

morn ing .

47 .—Ninox lugubris, Tick. (8 1)I gather from Mr. Hume

’s remarks (S . F.

, VI, p . 40) thatthe Pegu birds are n ot his burmam’

ca. In this case ,al l ow ingthe d istin ctn ess of al l the races of this bird

, the Pegu on e

w i l l be lagabriaTThis Hawk Owl is very common in every part of Pegu .

48 .—Hirundo rustica, Liai (82)Extremely common throughou t the year in al l parts of theprovin ce . It does n ot, howe ver,appear to breed here .

49 .—Hirundo horreorum,

Bari . (82 ter. )Judg in g from w hat Mr. Dresser says about the d ifferen t

races of Swal low in his article on Hiru ndo rustica(B . of B . ,part XXXIX ) I have l i ttle doubt bu t that tytleri is asyn onym of the above . § W riting of these two forms hesays

“ Shou ld it prove froman examination of aseries of specimen s that it ( tytleri) does n ot have the dark band con tin uousAdd 75 quin t.

—Scops l empij i, Horsf .

O n e specimen from n ear Ran goon cl early belon gs to this species by i ts compl ete lyu n feathered toes . L ettiais n o doubt the common Peg u bi rd , but I have seen twospec imen s from Upper Pegu that w ere qu ite in termediate be tween the two Specie s,besides this on e from Low er Pegu w hich is l empij i , par et samp l e -ED . , 8 .

1 Yes ; I fin dal l my Pegu specim en sare Zugubris .—ED S . F.

I But n ote thatal l the Pegu birds I have seen be long to the smal ler race , guttural i s . S cop.

-ED . ,S . F .

I can n ot say that I am disposed toagreeas yet. I t is ag reat pity Mr. Oatesd id n ot himse lf careful ly compare aseri es of adu l ts of the tw o forms . Had hedon e so,an d pron oun ced them Iden tical , I shou ld have had n othin g further to say, asI kn ow how care fu l h l s work is But I compared some score of adu l t tytl eri w ithfouradu l t horreorum kin dly l en t me ,an d they seemed to m e to d i ffer perceptibly .

O f course they are v ery l i ke each other, qu ite the same type of bi rd , but I cameto the conclusmn that they w ere d istin ctan d immed iate ly d istin gu ishable . I regretthat before return in g the birds I did n ot n ote the d i fferen ce s

,an d so many years

have passed that I have quite forgotten w he rein I supposed the d i ffere n ces to

exis t, bu t I am very carefu l in making comparison s,and I cann ot but believe thatvali d differences do exist- ED , S . F.


across the chest, there w il l then be n o character by whichit can be d istingu ished from the American form .

”

Now the ban d of tytleri is con stan tly in terrupted, an d in

n o in stan ce have I ever seen it con tinuous . Mr. Hume alsocon firms this (S . F.

,VI

,p .

The American Barn Swal low v is its Pegu in large n umbersalmost every w in ter. In 1874 they w ere remarkably n ume

rous n ear Pegu , and it w ou ld be in terestin g to know w hether

the w in ter of 1873-74 was .very severe in North America) “Un der the head of H . tytler i, M r. Hume quotes some

remarks of m in e (S . E,III, p . 4 1) which I certain ly in tended

to apply to H . rustica. I n ever got the former bird atThye tmyo to the best of my recol lection .T Be fore the

paper on the bird s of U pper Pegu was complete ly w ri tten , Iwas tran sferred from Thye tmyo to Pegu , and it was fromthe latter l ocal ity I sen t Mr. Humeaspec imen of H . tytleri .

50 .—Hirundo fil ifera, S teph. (84)Lieu tenan t Ram say records this spec ies from Tounghoo. I

have n ever met w i th it. I have reason to be l ieve it is commonn ear Rangoon .

51 .—Hirundo n ipalensis, Hodgs . (85 bis . )The on ly Red-rumped Swal low I have procured in the pro

vin ce is this Spec ies . It isabundan t,and some may be seen .

in e very mon th of the year.

52 .—Cotile riparia, Lin . (87)1 procured two birds in the Pegu river, an d I have n o

doubt the bird is common in the dry w eathe r. I have frequ en tly seen aSand Martin larger than the n ex t, and i t musthave been53 .

—Cotile sinensis, J . E . Gr. (89 )Veryabun dan t in the Irrawaddy, Pegu ,an d S ittang rivers .

54 .—Cypselusaffin is, J . E . Gr. (100)I n oticed apair of these Sw ifts in Jan uary at aplaceabou t 30 m iles above Rangoon , on the road to Pegu . Theyhadan est underaw ooden bridge . To my great d isappom t

But please n ote that they have been met w ith in myriadsat Daccaan d other

places in Eastern Ben gal in June . Th is does n ot look as If they came from

America—ED S . F.

1'l‘h i s isamistake ; my frien d Mr. Oates sen t me aspec imen , whi ch Is sti l l In our

mu seum . marked ru sti ca, but cl early ty tl eri i t is marked “ male , Palow , Thye tmyo

d istrict, 1 1th May 1873

” No doubt he al so sen t me two specimen s , al so In the

r

fiuse um . from Pegu, which bear date 20th March 1874 an d February 1875.

D,S . F.

186 A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU .

‘

62 .—Lyncornis cerviniceps, Gou l d . (114 bis . )I have heard of this b ird be ing common about 15 mi lesabove Pegu . Captain Ramsay met w ith i t on the Pegu hills n earthe fron tier. The on ly time I ever met w ith the bird was in“

December at the foot of the Arakan hi lls . It is n o doubtfairly common in the prov in ce in su itable local ities;

63.

— Harpastes erythrocephalus, Gou l d . (116 )Occurs in al l heavy forest both In the hi l lsand plain s, but

far moreabun dan t In the former.

64.—Harpactes orescius

”

, Tem. (1 16 bis . )I saw on e specimen on the Pegu hi l ls n ear the fron tier,and

I procured afew birds of this species in the tract of forestbetv

‘

veen the Sittang and the hi lls . It is rare w ithin myl imits.65.—Merops viridis, L in . (1 17

1

Excess

ive

lycommon in al l parts of Pegu, except the higher

hi l l8 .66 .—Merops philippinus, Lia. (1 18)Asabun dan tas the preced ing, but more confin ed to the large

riversand their n eighbourhood .

67 .— Merops sw inhou, Hume . (1 19 )General ly distributed, but comparatively rare .

68 .—Nyctiornis atherton i, J . (t' S . (1 22)I met w ith this bird on ce n ear Pegu ,and Captain Ramsay

got itat Tou nghoo. It Is rare in the Pegu provin ce .

69 .

— Coraciasafiin is, McC lei i . (1 24)Veryabundan t in al l parts of the provin ce where the ground

is open or the forest not very thick .

70 .—Eurystomus oriental is, L ia. (126)I found this species abundan t up the Pegu river afew

mi les above Peg u . I also procured i t at Tounghoo an dShwaygheen .

'

I' It isabird of heavy forests,an d I have n ever

seen it i n the open .

"3 B lan ford al so procured itat Bassein —E 1) , S F .

1 Thisalso is recorded by Blan ford from Bassein .—ED . S. F

A LIST on THE BIRDS or rnnu. 187

71 .- Pe1argopsis burmanica, Sharpe. (127 bis . )Found common ly throughou t the prov in ce in wooded

n u l lahs . O n the hi ll s it is e special ly abu ndan t. I have n otobserved them in the tidal treeless streams of Low er Pegu ,an d I see that Dr. Armstrong does not record it from theI rrawaddy de lta.72 .

—Pelargopsisamauroptera, P ears . (128 )Dr. Armstron g procured this bird at the mouth of the

Rangoon river. I have it from other parts of the de lta,andi t seems to be con fin ed to tidal waters in Pegu .

9k

73 .—Halcyon smyrnensis, Lin . (1 29 )

Thereare few parts of the prov in ce where this bird mayn ot be seen an d heard . It is extreme ly abundan t.74.

—Hal cyon pileata, Badd . (130)I procured on e specimen on the Irrawaddy between Promsand Thyetmyo, where it appears to be rare . I observed it

common in the streamsan d fisheries ly ing between the S ittangan d the Pegu hi l ls, n orth of Paghein ,an d it seemsabun dan t inthe Irrawaddy de lta. 1‘

-Hal cyon coromanda, Laib. (131 )I got on e bird n ear Pegu, and observed an other somewhat

further n orth n ear Shwaygheen . It seems rare in the

provin ce .

76 .—Hal cyon chloris, Badd . (132)

A bird of tidal creeks. I gotasol itary specimen n earPegu,an d i t seems to be common in the del tai77 .— Carcineutes pul chel lus, Harif . (132 ter. )S in ce procuringapair in the evergreen forests of the Pegu

hi l ls,I have n everagain met w i th i t.

78 .-Ceyx tridactylus, Pal l . (133)

This Kingfisher is n ot un common in the evergreen forestsof the eastern sl opes of the Pegu hi l ls . Ialso shot two birdsn ear Kyeikpade in in asmal l n u l lah .

79 .—Al cedo bengal en sis, Gm. (134)Very abun dan t in every part of the prov in ce in swamps

,paddy -lan dan d n u l lahs ru nn in g in open coun try . This is n ot

aforest species atal las the n ex t is .

Yes,w e have rece ived it from n ear the mouth of the Bassein river.

—ED . , S . F.

1“ Especial ly in places n ear the seawhere thereare man groves .

—ED . , S . F.

I W e have received it from n ear the mouth of the Bassein riven—En , S . F.


80 .—Al c’ edomen ingting. H 07

'

s)”

(135 fer ; quat. )U n ti l I have hadan opportun ity of comparing my series of

this bird w ith others from Indiaan d Java, I prefer cal l ing thePegu birds by theabove name .

* It is common in the w oodedn u l lahs ru n n ing in to the Pegu river above Pegu ,an dalso ina.patch of hi l ly j ung le two m iles n orth of Kye ikpade in , where

I have found n umerous n ests . I have n ot observed it anywhere e lse .

Young birdsable to fly have the bi l l black w i th ' the tipwhite the legs pale redand the iris dark brown . On e youngb ird

, probablyamale , has the w hole upper plumage j ust asbrightas the adu ltmale , and the cheeks and ean coverts blue .

An other, probably afemale, has the upper plumage mu ch

du l ler than theadu lt. The ear-covertsand checks are ru fousw ith asl ight i n termixture of blue . Adu lt females have thecheeksan d ear-coverts bluean d ru fous

,m ixed in abou t equal

quan ti ties . In theadu l t male the ear-covertsare black,an dthe part u n der the cars, as wel las the checks,are blue, obso

l e te ly barred w i th black .

81 .—Ceryle rudis, Lin . (136 )

Excess ively common , but con fined en tirely to the plain s .82 .

—Psarisomus dalhousiae, Jam . (138 )I have observed this bird on ly in the eve rgre en forests ly ingon the rou te from Thyetmyo to Tounghoo on the eastern sl opesof the Pegu hi l ls . Itappears to be tolerably common in theseparts .

83.- Serilophus lunatu s, Gou ld . (139 bis . )

Appears to be common over the w hole of the Pegu h i l ls in ,

good thick forest. I also shot on e bird as low down asKyeikpadein an d took its n est there .

84.- Cymborhynchus affin is, .B ly . (139 quail . )

Althoughab ird of the Arakan bil ls, this species comes in tothe l imits of this paperat many poin ts betw een Basse in andRangoon . Mr. S trettel l gave me a. specimen labe l led “ 10

m i les east of Rangoon . I have man y Specimen s procuredn ear Yandoon on the Irrawaddy . Foran ote on the plumageof this bird, see S . F. , III, p . 336 .

85.—Dichoceros cavatus, Shaw . (140)

Abundan t throughou t Pegu in forest cou n try . It does n ot

come ou t much in to the comparative ly tree less plain s of LowerPegu, except w hen the peepu l treesare in fru it.

Both our Pegu bi rds are of the in termediate form, w h ich in Vol . V I . p. 84,

I have en tered as A . bod caw ‘

. Th is form d i ffersas explai ned, loc cat, and IV, 383,al ike from beavan i and memngimg .—ED.

,S .

190 A LIST on THE BIRDS or PEGU . :

93.—Palaeornis fasciatus, P . L . S . Mu l l .

Less common than the other species of the plain s . This birdoccursalso in the hi l ls , where it is very fond of c learings . It

occurs in every part of the prov ince .

94.—Loriculus vernal is, Sparrm. (153)An abu ndan t species in the w e l l-w ooded portion s of the

provin ce . It is on e of the few birds that Burman s catch w ithbird-l imean d keep in captivi ty .

95 .—Picusanal is, Horsf . (157 ier. )This species, w hich is n otatal l common , has been foun d in

the Thyetmyo d istrict by mysel f, in Tounghoo by Capt.

Ramsay,an dat Elephan t Poi n t by Dr. Armstrong . Theseare

places ve‘

ry d istan t on e from the other, an d the presumption ”

is that this W oodpecker is of gen eral d istribu tion over the

provin ce, but undoubtedly rare in many parts .96 .—Picus mahrattensis, Lu lb. (160)Appears to be con fin ed to the u pper or n orthern part of

the prov in ce . It is common in the Thye tmyo d istrict andCaptain Ramsay procured itat Tounghoo.

97. —Iyngipicus can icapi l lus, B ly. (163 bis . )

This smal l W oodpecker is found in every portion of the

provin ce,and isabundan t.98 .—Hemicercus canente, Less . (165 bis . )Common throughou t the province .

99 .—Mig1ypteS Jiigularis, B ly . (165 quat. )I procured on e specimen on the Pegu hi l ls, and have n ever

s in ce met w ith it.100.—Chrysocolaptes sultaneus, Hodgs. (166)

One of the common est spec ies of Woodpecker ; found everywhere in the prov ince .

101 .—Muel leripicus pulverulentus, Tem. (1 68 )

This large W oodpecker is found in al l the thick forests of

the Pegu hi l ls,and less frequen tly in the plain s.102 .—Thriponax fedden i, B lauf . (169 ier. )

Is confined to the n orthern portion of the provin ce " ; isBlanford, however, obtained Itat Bassein .

-ED S. F.

,A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU . 19 1

abundan t in the Thyetmyo d istrict, and becomes less commonto the eastward

,d isappearingal together, I think, at the sum

mit of the ridge of the Pegu range .

*

103 .—Gecinus striolatus, B ly . ( 171 )

Con fin ed, as far as my. experien ce goes , to the Thyetmyoand Promo d istricts,bu t I n otice that Mr. B lan ford records

i t from the Irrawaddy delta, and Lord Tweeddale fromTounghoo.

104—Gecinus vittatus; Viei l l (1 71 biS-lDistribu ted overal l parts of Pegu ,an d gen eral lyabundan t.

105.—Gecinus erythropygius, E l l iot.

There can be l ittle doubt that Mr. Hume’

s n igrigen is is

th e same as this .T I have procured it at Tou nghoo, an dit does n ot seem to cross the S ittang river in to my l imitsin large n umbers . I kn ow n othing of its habits frompersonalacquain tan ce w ith the bird .

106 .—Gecinus occipital is, Vig . (172)

On e of the commonest W oodpeckers, and found al l over

the provin ce .

107 .—Chrysophlegmaflavinuchus, Goul d . (173)

Abun dan t in al l think forests, more espec ially on hi l lygroun d .

108 —Chrysophlegmachlorolophus, Vie i l l . (174I have observed this bird on ly in the n orthern portion of

the provin ce from Thyetmyo to Tounghoo, betw een the fron ,

tieran dal in e paral le l to it abou t 30 mi les south of it Itis tolerably common .

109 .—Gecinulus viridis, B ly . (177 bis . )

C ommon on the Pegu hi l ls betw een Thyetmyoand Tounghooboth in dry and in evergreen forest. I have not observed ite lsewhere .

3“ B ut reappearing in the plain s coun try between the S ittan g and Salw een ,an din the h i l ls further east—Eu , S .

1 Time W i l l show . E l l i ot’

s bird is from Cochin China. I adm i t that theNorthern an d C en tral Siamese bird Is the same as m in e

,but I think that the

C ochin Chin ese bi rd di ffers as n oted in Vol . I I, 47171, for I have ascertain edgi s t

S

the plate and dimension s g iven in the Nouvel les Archives are accurate,DJ’

0

192 A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU . .

110.—Micropternus phaeoceps, B ly.

Very common on the eastern slopes of the Pegu bil ls from thefron tier right dow n to Rangoon , round which town it is

special lyabundan t.*111 .—Tigajavanensis, s mg . (1844)

Spread over the whole prov in ce in great numbers . It is Ifan cy the W oodpecker most general ly met w ith,and itaffectsal ldescription s of jung le .

112 .—Sasiaochracea, Hodge .

I got one specimen on the Pegu hi l ls on the eastern side inheavy evergreen forest. It probably occurs in other places .

113 .—Iynx torquil la, Lin .

A common cold w eather visitor. I have procured it n earThyetmyoan dalso n ear Kyeikpadein .

114.—Megalaemahodgsoni, Ep . (19 2 )

Every mi le of forest in the prov in ce con tain s dozen s of thisbird . It is equal ly common in the dryand in the evergreenforests .1 15.—Megalaemaasiatica, Lalk.

As common as the preceding, but con fined to the dump ever

green forests ou the Pegu hi l l s .116 .—Xantholaemahaemacephala, P .L. S .

U n iversal ly d istribu ted throughout the plains, chiefly in sparejung le,and in cu ltivated lands .117 .—Mega,laemacyanotis, B ly. (198 ter. )

An inhabitan t of thick forests from the fron tier down toRangoon ,and not occurring, I think, on the western side of thePegu hi l ls .118 .—Cuculus canorus, L in .

I have procured this bird from August to February roundPegu an d Kyeikpadein . It is fairly common

, but (probablyow ing to the season it visits u s) I have n ever heard it cal l .I got aspecimen at Prome in November. Capt. Ramsay heardthe cal l of this Cuckoo qu ite common ly in Karen n ee . The

w ings of Pegu birds run from to

An d w e have several specimen s from Thyatmyo, and others from Bassein ,whereal so Blan ford procured it .—ED . , S . F

194 A LIST or THE maps or m en .

spec ies an d n ot the preceding, was shot by meat Thyetmyd.I " have also got the bird from Karen n ee , the on ly perfectlyadu lt male I have . W e may con c lude that it occurs in al lsu i table local i ties in the provin ce .

It frequen ts orchardsan d clumps of trees,an d l ivesamongst

the leaves, where it is n ot easy to detect it . I have not heardi ts n ote .

At n o age does the female everassume the v i olet plumageof theadu lt male , n or even as ing le viol et feather. I feelpretty certain that both basal is

,Horsf.

,an d malayanus, Raff ,

are based on females of this spec ies .

It is to be n oted w ith referen ce to this that in the l ist ofthese birds g iven at page 506, S . F.

, VI, al l Mr. Hume’

s

wan t/iorlzyn c/iws are ' males, al l his malayaml sfii except‘

one

u n sexed bird,are females .

In the adu lt female,the whole low er surface

,from the chin

to the tip of the un der tai l-coverts , the l ores,cheeks, ear

cover'

tsan d s ides of n eckare white,clos e ly barred across w ith

green ish bron ze ; the bars on the u n der tail -coverts arebroader an d w ider apart than e lsew here ; the head, n eck,back

,rump an d u pper tail-covertsare shin ing bron ze, ~ tinged

w ith copper on the head ; the forehead an d over the ey e arespeckled w i th w hite ; the l esser w ing -coverts are bri l lian tbron ze

,each feather narrow ly edged w ith ru fous the greater

coverts are less bri ll iant, an d are broad ly n otchedal l roun dw ith ru fous ; primaries brown , g lossed w ith green , v erynarrow ly edged w ith ru fou s

,an d the later on esalso tipped

”

w ith the same ; the in n er w eb of al l w ithabroad streak of’

ru fo‘

u s along the basal two-thirds of the edge secon dariesan dtertiaries green ish bron ze, edgedal l roun d w i th ru fou s cen tre

pair of rectrices u n iform bron ze green , tinged w ith blue n earthe tip ; the n ext pair has on each w eb alternate trian gu lar'

patches of green ish brown and rufou s the bases of the brown”patchesand theapices of the ru fou s on es ly in g n ext the shaft.In the n ex t pair the brown patches are less in exten t

,each

pair being fu l ly separated from the n ext by the rufous ; thet ip is W hite ; the n ext pair again is very s im i lar, the brownbe ing sti l l further reduced an d the w hite tip broader ; theouter pair is rufou s

,w ith four black bars ,and on the outer

w eb betw een each pair of black bars there is awhite patch ;the tip is broad ly white .

In less mature females the cen tral rectrices are barredgreen ish brow n an d ru fous ; the wh ite spots on the ou ter pair

But I ’fi n d . in the museum two specimens of malayan u s, sexed by d issection byfi

v is

gn

Fas males . I don

’

t think he could have made two mistakes l ike this.

J

A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU . 195

exten d to both w ebs the upper plumage ev erywhere is cl ose lybarred w ith ru fous the l ow er plumageatal lages is the same .

The description of malayaml s agrees w el l w ith theabove,

except that the l ow er tai l feathersare said to be barred w ithbrown , blackand w hite . This is the on ly d iscrepan cy . I haven ever seen afemale which had n ot avast deal of ru fou s inthe tai l .Horsfield

’

s descri ption of basal is also an sw ers w el l to theabove . Of the tai l he say s z—Reclrices ex terme supravirid i

f uscescen tes i nf ran igrescen tesalbido macu latoe, rel iquae (duabusin termed iis exceptis) basi castaneoe,apicealbido fasciatoe .

I g ive the d imen sion s ofafemale —Length, 69 expan se,tai l

,w ing , tarsu s, 5 ; bil l from gape to tip,

°8 5. Iris reddish brow n eyel ids green ish, the edges pale red

i n side of mou th salmon colour ; bi l l brown , paler ben eath,an d orang eat gape leg san d claw s brown .

Theadu lt male i s w e l l kn ow n . Immatu re males have fromav ery earlyago on e or more v iolet feathers* shew ing ou t in

the plumage, an d the ir recogn ition is con sequ en tly easy . The

chan ge goes on by an easy tran si tion an d n ot byamou lt.By February the fu l l plumage is assumed . In October the

change appears to have j ust begu n . The young male n ever

assumes theadu lt plumage of the female, the change to maturemale plumage taking place w hi le the upper surface is den selybarred w ith ru fous . The you ng male d iffers in n othing fromthe young female , except that the green bars beloware much

broaderan d furtherapart.The qu ite young bird is described (S . E

,III

,p . by

Mr. Hume, from aspecimen procured by me at Thyetmyo.

He states that the bird is n ot an estl ing . This is true,inasmuch as the specimen has al l the feathers fu l ly grow n ;bu t I am of opin ion that the bird is n ot more than afew w eeks old In birds of this gen u s the n estl ing appears to

I suspect th is is n ot in variably the case ,an d that our two male malayan us areyoung males whi ch happen n ot to haveas ye t developedan y v iole t feath ers . I f n ot,de spi te the ir extreme s im ilari ty of female wan thorhyn chusan d malayan u s, w e mu stcon clude that the latter is real ly distin ct, both sexes exh ibitin gaplumage very close

to, if n ot iden tical w ith, that of the female of the former. An d w e mus t rememberthat the Austral ian specimen s I have of lu cidus or basal is (I do n ot kn ow which

they are ) are n ot separable from my Malayan malayaml s, an d that in Australiawan thorhyn chus does n ot occur.

I myse lf have lon g in c l i n ed to the v iew M r. Oates n ow sets forth, in con sequen ceof Mr. C ripps havi n g sen t me several Specimen s of wan thorhyn chus an d mal ly/an usfrom D ibrugarh , which w ere al l got at the same time an d place,an d w hi ch beaffirmed of h i s ow n observati on w ere malesan d females of the same species . Butagain stthis w ere my two u n doubted mal e malayan u s, the tw o perfectly sim i lar birds fromAustral ia(on e sexedamale) ,an d the n on -occurren ce of wan thorhyn chus in Austral ia.I do n ot thin k w e are ye t in aposition to decide the question , I f basal ts an dmalayanusare n ot distin ct from wan thorbyn chu e, then w e shou ld have, it seems to

me, to suppress the latter an d cal l al l l u cidus, Gm for the Austral ian birdsare , i t

9 0 9 1118 to me , iden tical W i th the Malayan 5 but then how is it thereare noviolet bi rdsin Austral ia—ED . , S. F.

196 A LIST or run B i RDs or PEGU .

assumead istinct plumage forashort time,an d then the changetowards adu lt plumage rapidly progresses . Some in terestingremarks on the al l ied Au stral ian C uckoos w i l l be foun d inP. Z . S .

,1865, p . 460, by Mr. Edward P. Ramsay .

128 .— Coccystes jacobinus, Badd . (21 2)

Con fin ed to Thyetmyo and its n eighbourhood where it is

common .

129 .—Coccystes coromandus, Lin . (213)

Distribu ted over the whole province,and fairly common .

130.—Eudynamis malayana, Cab.aH ein . (213)

C ommon al l over Pegu from February to Jun e . I haveprocured n estl ing birds in May .

131 .—Rhopodytes tristis, Less . (21 5)

A very common bird in al l parts of the prov ince . Con sidering however whataremarkable tai l it has, it is w on derfu l howse ldom i t is seen . It g l ides very gracefu l ly from bran ch tobran ch

,con ceal ing itself admirably .

132 .—Centrococcyx intermedius, Hume . (217 quot. )

Birds fromal l parts of the provin ceare s imi lar. It is verycommon , except in the thicker forests, where I have n ot

observed it.133.—Centrococcyx bengalensis, Gm. (218 )

Extremely abundan t in al l the lower open parts of the

coun try . It is n ot aforest bird, but rather on e of grass land,espec ial ly w here swampy . The length of the u pper tai l-covertsin this bird is, I think, en tire ly dependen t on age and n ot in

any way conn ected w ith season or sex .

The young birds in first plumage are cl othed in theadu ltw in ter plumage hen ce it happen s that in S eptemberandOctober birds in both stages of plumageare found together.

If w e are to gather from this that Mr. Oates has ascertain ed that the whiteshafted plumage is the n ormaladu l t w in ter plumage , the fact is importan t.H itherto the question s i n ce I touched upon it, S . E , III , 84,an d men tion ed for the

fi rst time on M r. Simson’

s au thority, that this stage of p lumage was seasonal , thematter has been subj udi ce . I have p resumed that the brow n w h i te shafted plumagewas that of the cold w eather, because the great maj ority of my specimen s, kil ledbe tween the 15th Novemberan d 15th March, w ere in th i s stage several ki l led be tween1 5th Marchan d the end of Apri l in an in termed iate stage, an d the great maj ori tyk i l led between 1st May an d 1st November in the black stage . Bu t then I haveperfectly black birds k il ledat the en d of Novemberan d in Jan uary,an d brown birdsk i l led i n May an d Jun e . B ut Iam n ot sure that these dates

, whichare Man de lh’s,are rel iable ,an d certain ly every spec imen of our own col lectin g , or of which thedatesare certain ly rel iable, confirm Mr. Oates’ presen t statemen t—Bb q S. F.


That this bird u n dergoes any change of plumageatal l isqu ite con trary to my experien ce . I have males in fu l l pluinage shot in every mon th of the y ear, an d I have takenseveral n ests in March

,w hen certain ly the male birds were in

fu l l dress . The fact is that the y ou ng male is plumaged l ikethe female ti l l the fol low ing February, an d that during the

w in ter mon ths there are more you ng malesabou t than old

on es, ow ing to this species hav ing two ‘

or more broo dsayearfi“141 .

-Diceeum cruentatum,Lu lh. (2 3 6 )

Extremely common over the whole of the provin ce .

142 .—Biessum trigonostigma, Soap. (236 bis)

I have on ly on e female of this species shot at Kyeikpadein .

Itappears to be very rare .

143 .— Biessum chrysorrhoeum,

Tem. (237)On ly procured n ear Ran goon , where it is n ot un common .

Captain Ramsay records i t from Toun ghoo.

144.—Piprisomaagile, Tick.

S everal specimen s, shot at Kyeikpadein , are iden tical w ithan Ind ian specimen . I have procured it n ow here e l se w ithinmyl imits . My men got aspecimen at Mal ew oon in Sou th

T enasserim which I iden tified w ith Prionochilus modestus,

Hume, ti l l I got an Ind ian example of P . agi le w ith which toc ompare it. The two seem very c lose to each others!

145.— Sittaneglecta, Wal den . (250 bis)

This Nuthatch is fou nd in al l the dry forests of the lowerhi l ls an d plain s over the whole provin ce . It also freque n tssecon dary ju ng le, compounds and open coun try where there

areafew trees.

a: I have n o doubt M r. Oates is right at the same time w e have very few mal esin ful l plumage shot in the w in ter,an d i t seemed fair to con clude

.that the se w ere

on ly exception s, that as in'

the paral lel case of as iati caretai n ed the breed i n g

plumage right through . Abou t on e in fifty I shou l d say of.

asw ti cus do thi s on

,the average , thou gh this is common er in damp warm local i ties, an d rarer In dry

cold on e s . In th e case of flammax i l laris , I on ly w en t by av ery large seri es of

specimen s . But Dav ison con firmed this v iew by h i s ow n personal observati on of

the e xtreme d i fficu lty of ge tti n g fu l l-pl umaged mal e s duri n g the w i n ter. F,

1' I hOpe M r. Oates w i l l again compare h i s spec imen s . I rather doubt Prp resomuagi l e occu rrin gatMalewoon . The fact is that though u sual ly , broad ly speaki n g , thi sspecies isapale grey brown W i th afai n t gree n i sh ti n ge , an d P . modestus apuregreen , yet I have see n faded bi rds of the latter u n d i sti n gu i shable, so faras colour

w e n t, from fresh l y mou l ted on es of the former. Bu t the bi l ls d i ffer al toge ther ; thatof modestu s is con siderably longer,an d yet the gonys of agi l e is athi rd lon ger thanthat of modes tus ! If P . agi l e real ly occursat Malewoon , i t i san in teresti ng

fact.—ED . , So Fa

A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU . 199 ~

146 .-Dendrophilafrontal is, Home: (253)

C ommon al l over the Pegu hi l lsand ran g ing in to the.

plainsw here the vegetation isatal l e vergreen ,and su i table to It.

*

147 .-Upupalongirostris, Jerdon . (254. big)

Extreme l y common i n al l the dry forests of the plain s,as

w e l las in cu l tivatedan d bare grou nd . In thick d ry fores t,su ch as there is at En tagan , 13 m i les sou th of Pegu, on theRangoon road, it is remarkablyabun dan t.148 .

— Lan ius n igriceps, Frankl . (259 )C ommon in the rain s

,somewhat rarer in the dry w eather,

in the grassy plain s betw een the Pegu and the S ittang rivers ..

Ial so procured itat Pron i e, and Captain Ramsay got it atTounghoo.T

149 .—Lan ius col luroides, L ess . (260 l er)

C ommon at Thye tmyoan d Prome . Also throughout LowerPegu it occurs in con siderable n umbers but it is n ot commonexcept in U pper Peg u . It leaves the provin ce from abou tFebruary to Ju ly to breed,and perhaps goes to native Burmafor the purpose .

150 .—Lan ius cristatus, Liu . (26 1)

Excessi vely common over the w hole provin ce from S eptember to Apri l in the plain s , frequen ting open groundand then e ighbourhood of housesan d v i l lages .

151 .—Tephrodorn is pelvicus, Hodge . (263 )

Occurs in al l parts of the provin ce in forests and wel lw ooded l ocal i ties .

152 .-Tephrodorn is pondicerianus, Gm. (265)

Very abu ndan t everywhere, but abird more of the opengroun dand of cu l tivation than of the forest.153 .

-Muscitreagrisola, B ly . (266 )Apparen tly rare . I have procured on ly on e spec imen which

I shot on the banks of the canalabout ten m i les from Pegu .

154 .—Hemipus picatus, Sykes . (26 7)

Not a'

common bird, ,but very gen eral ly d istribu ted over.

the prov in ce .

W e have received it from Bassein ,an d Blan ford alsoappears to have procin edIt there—ED S . F

1' Also near themouth of the Bassein river.-ED ., S. F.

200?

A LIST or THE BIRDS or

155 .

—Volvocivora*‘avensis, E ly. (2 68 bis)Fairly common everywhere, but n ot so n umerous as the

r ext . It frequen ts orchards and c lumps of trees, but is n dt

found, I think, in forests .156 .

— VolvocivoraIntermedia, H ume . (269 bis . )

M ore common than the preced ing , bu t more of aforest bird .

I think it is con fin ed to the sou thern portion s of the provin ce .

157 —Graucalus maci i , Less . (2 70)Fairly common in al l parts of Pegu .

158 .

—Pericrocotus elegan s, MoC le l l . (271 l er)This bird is common inal l ' the forestsand w e l l-wooded parts

.

of the prov in ce .

159 .

— Pericrocotus roseus, Viei l l . (275)1 have fou n d this species v ery common n ear Pegu an d

Kye ikpadein . Captain Ramsay got it at Tounghoo,an d Dr.

Armstron g at Rangoon an d Syriamd‘

160 .-Pe

‘

ricrocotus peregrinus, L iu . (2 76 )Extreme ly abu n dan t everywhere , except perhaps i n the

thicker forests on the hil ls .

16L—Pericrocotusalbifron s, J erd . (277 bis)C on fin ed strictly to Thye tmyo an d afew m iles south of

this place . It probably exten ds farabove the fron tierdl:162 .

—7Pericrocotus cin ereus, Luf r. (2 77 Quad)

On e S i ng le bird, afemale “

, procured at Kye ikpade i n , i s,

referable to the presen t spec ies, an d d iffers in man y impoi' tan t

particulars from the n ex t Spec ies . I have compared it w itha:spries in the B

ritish Mu se um .

163 .— Pericrocotus can tonen si s, Sw ink . (277 l er)

I have three females of this spe c ies , two kil led at Kye ikqpade in and on e at Malewoon , in Tenasserim . The three'

spec imen sareal lalike .

The follow ing remarks apply on ly to females,al l ‘my birdsbe ing of this sex

I i i cinereus the upper plumage is adark brown , an d the'

rump an d upper tai l-coverts con colorous w ith it .

fig I prefer tg retain .

Volvocivorafor the p e n Asyi tje

Species ,an d restri ct Cumpophagato the metall i c-g lossed-plumaged Afri can spe ctra,ED S F .

1 An d Blan ford got itat Bassein —E n S . F .

I Blan ford procured itas faras Pagan w—BB , S. F.

202 A LIST or THE BIRDS OF'

PEGU.

Pegu and Rangoon . I have n ot seen i tatany other time '

of

the year.

It is gen eral ly con sidered that the birds w i th White on the

breast and abdomen are youn g , an d that the black birdsareadu lt. Is this proved ? Dr. Dohrn (P. Z . S .

,1 866, p . 327 )

says of D . modestus “ The old er they grow the more the

t ips of the feathers of ' the abdomen and breast are Whitebordered .

”

166 .—Buchangalongicaudata, A . Hay .

This ashy black Dron go, exactly of the same tin t of colouras the Malabar b ird,appears to d iffer in the exte n t to w hichthe tai l is forked- avery importan t poin t in this fam i ly . Ihave on ly on e In d ian spec imen

, an d the fork is 2 2 deep. In

Bu rmese birds i t varie s from I f ) to The colou r of this

bird mu st pre ven t it ever be ing con fu sed w ith the two n ex t

w hichare c learashyan d n otashy black .

The presen t species isacon stan t res iden t,and fairly common

in al l fores t coun try in Lower Pegu .

167 .- Buchangaintermediafi“ B ly. (280 bis . )

The ashy Drongo,atotal ly d ifferen t coloured bird from the

preced ing, is common throughout the prov in ce in w oodedl ocal ities . W ings, to tai ls

,56 to fork of tai l,

1 7 to

168 — Buchangapyrrhops, B odys . (280 bis . )A larger form of the preceding w i th w in g fork of tai l

,

2 0 . I have n o specimen of i t, bu t Lord Tw eeddale examin edspecimen s col lectedat Rangoon by Captain Ramsay . 1

’

169 .

—Chaptiaaenea, View . (282)Spari ng ly d is tribu ted over the whole provin ce .

170.

—Bhringaremifer, Tem. (283)G eneral ly fou nd, bu t rather rare .

as Th is an d the n ext are certain ly n ot s eparable ; e very i n termed iate s i ze occurs .

I t is simply abs urd to pick out al l the large bird s an d cal l them on e species, andal l the smal l on esan d cal l theman other .

Then as to d iff eren ce of colour i t is most de cidedat the two en ds of the scale, but

w e have fu l ly on e h un dred specimen s ly in g be tw een the extrem e form s, an d absol u te ly bridgin g over the d iff eren ce . I t may be con ve n i e n t to re tain on e name toin dicate thi s form ly in g betw een long i caudatu s an d l eu cophcea, bu t i t is absol u te lyi l logl cal foran y on e who adoptsatraas the title for al l the black K i n gcrow s , to go

an d make two speci es here . W hyatrain cludesat least _

fi ve races , each m uch more

d i s tin ct (I speak of typical examples of each) than is pyrrhops from en ter

med ia.- ED

,S .

1' An d Armstron g procured n umbers there an d e l sewhere alon g the Pegu

coast,and we have specimens from the Bassei n river estuary .—ED . , S . F.

A mm or run maps or men . 203

171 .—Dissemur

'

us paradiseas, L in . (285)In afoot n ote to an accoun t of the n idification of the G reat

'Racket-tailed Drongo which I w rote (S . F. ,fVl II, p . Mr.

Humeasks w he ther paradiseu s or grandis is mean t . After

shooting these birds for some y ears in al l parts of Pegu ,andexam in ing specimen s procured by my men in Tenasserim, Iamn ow of the opin ion that the two can n ot be separated .

* UpperPegu birdsare larger,and have more ample crests than thosefrom Low er Pegu an d Te nasserim bu t n o l in e can be draw nbetw een the two

,an d the difficu l ty is best met by rang ing them

al l in un der on e name .

172 .- Chibiahottentotte , L in . (286)

This bird seems to wan derabou tagood deal in flocks,andthereare few places where it is n ot common at on e time of they ear or the other.

173.—Artamus fuscus, Viei l l . (287)

G en eral ly d istribu ted, an d very common in many places,

su ch as Thye tmyo, bu t apparen tly capric ious in its choice of

l ocal ity . In many tracts of coun try I have n ever met it.

174.—Muscipetaamn is, A . Bay . (289 )

Fairly common in al l parts of Pegu . In Septemberlarge n umbers sweep through the provin ce, apparen tly on

migration .

175.—Hypothymi sazurea, Badd . (290)

Excess ive ly common everywhere .

176 .— Leucocercaalbicol l is, Viei l l . (29 1)

G en eral ly d istributed, bu t n owhere common .

177 .— Leucocercaaureola, Viei l l . (292)

C on fin ed to the upper portion s of the provin ce n ear Thyet

myoan d Toun ghoo. I have n ever met w i th it e lsewhere .

The great mass of the birds from al l over Peguan d Tenasserim are n u ques .

t ionably paradiseas . B ut true gran das i s perfectly separable . Very l ike ly M r. ( Dateshas n ever see n on e in Burma. W e have on ly two, on e from the North Arakan hil ls,and on e from the extreme n orth of Tenasserim .

But from Thye tmy o in Pegu , w e have two specimen s , which m ight pass for gran d is ,but which, when c lose ly exam in ed , have smal le r cre stsan d smal ler bi l ls , though largerthan those from Ran goon . &c . Iagree there fore w ith M r. Oates n ow , that i t i s be st

to keepal l the Pegu bird s as parad i seas B u t i f he mean s that true grand is is

n ot separable from parad iseas, then I mu st d i ffer from him—five birds in ahu n dredmay be foun d in termed iate be tw ee n the two n ear the j un ction s of the ir respec tive

areas I adm i t bu t how abou t keepin g i n termed iaan d py rrhop s separate when posi

tive ly fi fty ou t of every hun dred bi rds are in te rmed iate be tw een these two forms an dbo th occ uras aru le in the same areas I may n ote that on the last l in e of p. 22 1,Vol . VI, Pegu has been prin ted for Arnhem- En , S . F

7204 A msr or was BIRDS or. race .

178.

—Cul icicapaceylonensis, Swains . (295)In Upper Pegu it seems to be con fined to the hi lls, but in the

l ow er parts it is gen eral ly d istribu ted as acold w eatherV is i tor.179 .

—Hemichel idon sibiricus, Gm.

A rather rare bird in general, -but appears to occur inal lparts of the prov in ce .

180—A1seonax latirostris, Rafil . (297)Excess ive ly common in Low er Pegu during the dry weather,

particu larly n ear Rangoon an d Peg u . Captain Ramsay got itat Tounghoo, but I d id n ot meet w ith itat Thye tmyo.

181 .~ Al seonax ferrugineus, Hodge .

O f rare occurren ce . I have got tw o spec imen s n ear Ky e ikpadein in the course of five or s ix years . Thyetmyo (B lyth)

’

182 .

—Stoperalamelanops, Fig . (301 )During on e dry season this bird was excess ive lyabun dan t

roun d Kye ikpade in , and I' procuredas man yas I wan ted . I

have seen it e very year again , bu t n ot in such large n umbers .

Dr. Armstrong got itat Syriamand Elephan t Poin t. ’le

183 .— Cyornis rubeculoides, Vig . (304)

A common bird over the whole prov in ce in the dry weather.

184 .—Erythrosternaalbicil la, Pal l . (323 )

Common over the whole province during the dry w eather.

185. Erythrosternamaculata, Tick. (326 )I shot on e

" bird at Kye ikpadein in the cold w eather. It isvery rareapparen tly .

186 .—Myiophon eus eugenu, H ume . (343 big . )

C on fin ed to the rocky streams in the Peg u hi l ls w here it iscommon . Does n otappear to cross the Irrawaddy river to thew es t, where temmin ckl replaces it.1 87 .—Hydrorn is oatesi, H ume . bis . )

C ommon in certain streams of the evergreen forests of the

And Blan fordat Bassein , whence wealso have received ih. -ED , S . F.

A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGIL‘

.

198.—Pyctorhisaltirostris, Jerdon . (386 big . )

I havealreadv described this bird (S . F. ,V,p . S in ce

I became acquain ted w i th the n ote of this . spec ies I have heardi t very frequ en tly in the vast plain w est of the canal

,and

have procured many specimen s . It is very di lficu l t to shoot,

as it c l ings to the l ow er parts of the e lephan t grass, an d isse ldom seen . I have foun d it the best plan to goafter themin acan oe during high floods . Nothing bu t the tips of the

g rassare then avai lable for shelter,andafew birds are securedw i th tolerable ease .

They are abundan tal ong both s ides of the reclamation bundexte nd ing from the head of the canal to the road from Pegu

to Tou nghoo. Also down the canalas faras Wan . In marchingthis y ear from Pegu to Tounghoo I heard the n ote every dayn early up to Tounghoo w herever there was e lephan t g rass . Asis w e l l kn ow n , Dr. Jerdon procured itat Thye tmyo . Italsoprobably occurs in the plains in other parts of the Irrawaddyval leRynote is pecu l iaran d un l ike that of any other bird . It is

however impossible to describe it. Although n ot g regarious,y et the bird is seldomalon e

,an d several may frequen tly be

heard cal l in g an d an sw ering from the same c lump of grass .It feeds in the rain s chiefly on larg e grasshoppers whichabound, “

toan incred ible ex ten t, in al l the flooded lands.199 .

—Trichastomaabbotti, E ly . (387)Very common throughou t the sou thern portion s of

'

the'

provin ce in garden s, orchards, an d damp forests, providedthat in these there is aden se undergrow th of smal l anden tang led brushw ood . It has aremarkably pretty n ote,u ttered so frequen tly , and in such rap id succession , that i t ‘

may be said almost to have asong . It feeds chiefly on the

ground, but I have seen it in trees peering under the leavesof the smal ler bran ches for in sects . ‘

—Al cippe phayru, B ly . (388 bis . )I procured this bird on ly in the evergreen forests of the

Pegu hi l ls, where it was common .

201 .-Stachyrhis n igriceps, Hodge. (39 1)

Appears to be fairly common in the Pegu hi l ls on theEastern s lopes, where I have tw ice taken its n est.

Add 388 .—Alcippe n ipal en sis, Hodgs .

I have examinedaspecimen of this from the North Pegu hil ls—Eu , S. F.

aLIST or THE Bu ms or PEGU .

'

207

202 .—Sta.Chyrhis rufifrons, Hume . (393 bis . )

I have n o doubt this bird is pretty common on the Pegu

hil ls,bu t I on ly met w ith it on ce or tw ice .

203.—Mixerais rubricapil lus, Tick. (395)

Excessive ly common in al l parts of Pegu , except perhapsin the drier parts n ear Thyetmyo, Where I do n ot rememberto have obse rved it204.—Timal iabengalensis, Goal -Am t. (396 )

C ommon in al l parts of the prov in ce in the plain s both in

brushw ood an d in e lephan t grass . In al l the plain s roundPeg u it is common toadegree .

205.—Pel lorneum tickel l i, B ly . Trichastomamin us,

H ume Drymocataphus fulvus,Wal den .

(387 bis) .Mr. Hume favored me some time ago w ith aspecimen of

the bird he cal ls P . ticl’

cel l i,an dalso w i th one of his T . m in us .

The latter is u n doubted ly * the bird described by B lv th an dTicke l l

,and also the bird I recorded from U pper Pegu (S . F

III,p . M r. Hume

’s P. tickel l i

,which is much streaked

on the breast, w i l l requ ire an ew name I think .

I think the Marqu is of Tw eeddale was right in classingthis species u n der Drymocataphus . It is hard ly aPel lorneum .

(See Ibis, 1877, p .

1 foun d this bird common on the Pegu hi l ls in n u l lahs,

creepin g on the groun d in brushw ood on the banks .

I w ish to n ote that Mr. Hume’s P . tic/tel l i appears so rare

in Tenasserim that Mr. Dav ison got on ly on e spec imen . O f

Tricbastomaminus he got ten ,an d Tickel l is therefore hard lyl ike ly to have got the formeran d n ot the latter . l

L

206—Pel lorn eum subochraceum,Swinhoe ; P. m in u s,

H ume .

C ommon in every part of the provin ce, except perhaps on

some portion s of the hi l ls .

207 .—Pomatorhinus nuchal is, Tweeddalei (403 .

In the l ist of the birds of Upper Pegu , (S . E,III, p . 12 1)

it This is rather beggin g the question . I say p er con tra, an d have quotedboth description s, that they absolute ly do n ot apply to T . min us

, an d doexactly, word for word,agree w ith the bird I cal l ti cke l l i . But quot homin estot sen ten tiw—EDT

'I‘his is the on ly real poin t again st my v iew , but can that ou twe igh he

fact that the d e scription s exactly fi t on e bird, While they can on ly, w ith difficu l ty,be made to cover the otherP—ED . , S . F.

I This is P . l eu coyaster. G ou ld . I have fu l ly d iscu ssed this question , 8 F IX , 251,

On e Thyetmyo specime n that we have is typical schis ticeps , w ln le another isin separable from aSim lal eu cogaster . I su spect M r. Oate s had overlooked mye laborate exposmon of this question loo. cat. sup .

-ED . , S . F.

208 A LIST or THE man s or man .

this bird is en teredas schi stz’ceps, Hodgs . Hav in g rece ivedabird late ly from Mr. Hume from Mr. Maudel l i’s collectionmade in Sikkim, I find that the Thyetmyo bird is clearlyd ifferen t from the Sikk im bird

,d iffering in the flanks being

ferrugin ous in stead of ol ive brow n , an d by the absen ce of

w hite streaks on the lateral breast feathers,andalso by havingapale ferrug in ous collar on the nape .

I fou nd this species common roun d Thyetmyo, bu t haven ot observed itanywhere e lse .

alt

208 .—Garrulax belangeri, Less . (407 bis . )

Distributed over every portion of the provinceandabundan ti

209 .—Garrulax chinensis, Soap . (408 ter. )

Rare ly met w ith. I have got it on ce or tw ice n earKyeikpade inan d to the w est of Shwaygheen .

210.—Garrulax pectoral is, Gou l d . (41 2)

Abun dan t n ear Thyetmyo and across the Pegu bil ls to

Tounghoo,appparen tly n ot further south than the latitude of

Prome .

Mr. Hume remarks (S . E , III, p. 123) that, as far as hekn ow s, this speciesan d the n extarealways foun d together. Inthe greater portion how ever of the Pegu prov in ce ,

mon ilz’

qer

on ly is found . I n otice also that in Tenasserim Mr. Davisonsaw the presen t Spec ies on ly on ce,1’ w hereas be procured a,large series of the n ext. These pecu l iarities in the d istribu tionare good eviden ce of the total d istin ctn ess of the two species .211 .

—Garru1ax mon iliger, Hodgs. (413)V ery abun dan t throughout the prov in ce, m ing l ing w ith

pectoral is where that species is foun d, bu t being foun d alon e inthe greater part of Pegu .

212 .—Ghatarrhaeaearl i i , E ly . (439 )

Veryabundan t in the grass plain s w est of the canal . I‘al so

met w ith itat Hen zada,and Mr. B lan ford says he got it atThyetmyo.

Add 402 .—Pomatorhmus sch1st1ceps, Hodgs .

W e had on e typical specimen of this form from Thyetmeyo an d so i f l euco

gaster is retain ed d istin ct, this (schi sti ceps) mustal soappear in the Pegu l ist.1' Bu t this seems to have been amere personal idiosyn cracy , for Darl i n g got lots

of pectoralzs, an d B i ngham has foun d both species e qual ly common in Tenasserim,

(v ide S . F. , IX,I have seen . I may add , specun en s of pectoral i s from n ear

Rangoon .-ED S . F

210 A LIST or'rn s BIRDS or PEGU .

Poin t, and Mr. Blan fordat Bassein . He records it under thename of fin layson i, w hich, how ever, is n ot foun d w est of the

S ittang river. The l imits of these two birdsare very clearlyan d curiou sly defined by the S ittan g . On the same day Ihave shot davison i on the w est bank, and fin layson i on the

eas t, but I have n ever kn ow n e ithe r of the birds to be foun don the con trary s ides of the river to these.217 .—Ixos blanfordi, Jerd . (452 qu in t. )

Very abun dan t in al l the plain s portion of the prov i nce,

an d common as it isat Thye tmyo an d Upper Pegu gen eral ly ,

i t is much common er in some places in Lower Pegu, suchasPeguan d Kyeikpadein .

218 .

—Iole viridescens, B ly . (452 dec. )This Bu lbu l is spread gen eral ly over Low er Pegu , in the

h il ly coun try chiefly, an d extends up the S ittang val ley to

Tounghoo.

219 .—Rubigulaflaviventris, Tick.

C ommon throughou t Sou thern Pegu, an d ex ten ding up to

Tounghoo both in the hil lsan d plain s .

220 .—Brachypodius melanocephal us, Gm. (457 bis . )

V ery common rou nd Rangoon and up to Pegu , then ce

exte nding some m i les in to the hi l ls . I have n ot met w i th it

e lsewhere .

ale

22L—Brachypodius cinereiventris, El} . (457 quat. )I have n o doubt myself that this is ad istin ct spec ies . I

have n ever foundany bird w ith the l ow er plumage m ixed upw ith yel low ish green ; the grey is always un iform . Mr.

Hume’

s theory (S . F.

,VI

,p . 320) that the skin of cin ereiven tris

has ceased to secrete the ye l low pigmen t isav ery con ven ie n ton e,

i f you w ish to makeaway w i th the speciesf l The sameBut B lan ford got it at Bassein—ED S . F .

1‘ I have n ot the l east w ish to makeaway W i th an y species . I merely stated the

fact that the d i ff eren ce be tween me lan ocephalus . cin ereiven tri s an d chal cor'ephal u scon sisted sole ly in the ex ten t to w hich the skin d i d or d id not se crete s certainy e l low pigmen t . I d istin ctly said

,whe ther theseare species or local races ,” or w hat

n ot, thi s is the sole d ifferen ce be tween them . Now whe ther such d i fferen ces con sti

t u te valid specie s, depen ds sol ely on w he ther they are n ormal an d con stan t in abody of birds overacertain area, or w hether they are abn ormal or sporad ic,affectin g, l ike al bin ism, particu lar in d ividual s on ly, an d n ot the bu lk of the bi rds

of any local ity . From what w e read, (I do n ot know the thin g of my ow n

k n ow ledge ) the en tire inabil i ty to secre te the ye l low pigmen t, w hich g ives u s

chal cocephalu s, isacon stan tan d persisten t character of avas t n umber of bird s

coverin g ah uge , but d efin i te area. I f this he so. then chal cocephalu s must be

adm i tted asagood Species . B ut w e kn ow n othing of the same k in d abou t the

partial inabi li ty to secrete the yel low pigmen t, which gives us cmereiven tris. On the

A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU . 2 11

argumen t might, w ith equal justice , beappl ied toany other pairof s im i lar spec ies,an d on e of the twoabolished .

The presen t species hasapparen tly the same d istribu tion asthe preced in g . I n ote, how ever, that Lieutenan t Ramsay got i tat Toun ghoo, where he does n ot seem to have observed melanocephalus .222 .

—0 tocompsaemeria, Lin . (460 )Extremely common , commen c ing from Prome, extend ing

down to Sou thern Pegu ,and reaching up to Tou nghoo, w here

Captai n Ramsay w rote to me it was veryabun dan t. Not foun don the hil ls .

223.

—Pycnonotus burmanicus, Sharpe. Cat. V I .,

p. 1 2 5 . (462 quat. )Of common occurren ce everywhere in Pegu except the hi l ls .

I can n ot fin d that birds differatal l from each other from on e

en d of the prov in ce to the other.

1 recorded the find in g of the n estan d eggs of P . in termedius

in Pegu (S . F.

,V , p . This n ote must be can cel led . It

appl ies to P . burman icus .

224 .—Phyl lorn is chlorocephalus, Wald . (463 bis . )

C on fin ed to the e vergreen forests of the Pegu hi l ls fromRan goon up to the fron tier,an d pre tty common .

225.—Phyl lorn isaurifron s, Tam.

Exten ds from Thyetmyo dow n the val ley of the Irrawaddy .

Is common throughou t Southern Peguand run s up toTounghoo .

It is I think con fin ed to the plain s .

226 .

—Iora. typhia, L in .

Extremely common in al l parts of the~provin ce in garden s

and waste land .

227 .

— Irenapuel la, Lath.

Con fin ed to the evergreen forests of the hi l ls, and n ot

descend ing far in to the plain s u n less the forest is very thick.

It is extreme ly common w herever it occurs .

con trary , so faras w e y et kn ow , this partial inabi l i tyappears to be rather sporadic .aff ec ti n g on ly in d i vi d ual birds,an d n ot gen eral or common to the bu lk of the birdsanywhere . If this be so

,w e can n o more admit c in ereiven tri s as aspecies, than

w e can the bright yel low Xan tholwmaheemacep hala, Palaeorn is torguatus , an dpurpu ren s , oran y other of the fifty odd famil iar,an d con stan tly recurri n g forms of

albin ism an d lati n ism . I be l i eve that this form is more common i n Tipperah thane l sewhere, but even there i t did n ot seem to me to aff ect on e pe r cen t . of the

birds . Stil l,

i f hereafter in any areathis partial inabi l i ty to secre te the ye l low

pi gm en t shal l prove to be an ormal , pers isten t, he red i tary characteristi c of anycon siderabl e body of birds

,I shal l W i l l i n gly accord specific rank to this form . At

presen t, I m ust repeat . (an d it is aq ue stion I have carefu l ly s tud i ed) thatal l

§vai la§le

F

9 V1dence is opposed toany such gen eral di ffusion of this pecul iarity .

D" O 0

2 12 A LIST or THE BIRDS or man :

Young birds of both sexes are cl othed in the plumage of‘

the female . The male changes in toadult plumage w hen about '

n in e mon ths old or about March. The chan ge takes placew ithou t amou lt. In on e y oung bird n early changed in to ’

adu l t plumage, the cen tres of the upper feathers are sti l l ofthe du l l blue of the female .

228 .—Oriolus indicus, Jerd .

C on fin ed, as far as my experien ce goes, to Lower Pegu .

It ISabundan t n ear Rangoon and Pegu ,an d in the i n termediatetract.229 .

—oriol us tenuirostris, E ly . (471 ter. )C ommon in the Thyetmyo d istrict

,an d ex ten d i ng dow n to

Ran goon an d Low er Pegu gen eral ly , but rare there . MajorL loyd appears to have sen t it from Tounghoo. Where found

,

itaffects the same j ung leas indicus .230 .

— oriolus melanocephalus, L in . (472 )Extreme ly common in every part of the provin ce .

231 .—oriolus trail l i, Vig . (474 )

Captain Ramsay records this from Tounghoo, and I haveseveral specimen s shotafew m i les east of that place .

232 .—Copsychus saularis, L in .

Very common in al l parts . It does n ot asaru le frequen tforests, bu t I have occas ional ly seen them in such places .

233.—Cercotrichas macrura, Gm.

A forest bird, remarkablyabu ndan t in al l parts of Pegu .

234.- Pratincolacaprata, Lin .

Very abu ndan t in al l parts of the prov in ce in the plain s .

I have not recorded yet the find ing of the n est of this birdin Burma. I may as w e l l do so n ow . I foun d the n est on

the 20th Apri l in afoot-prin t in an old paddy fie ld, and itcon tain ed three eggs qu ite fresh . This was n ear Pegu .

235.

—Pratincolamaurus, Pal l .G en eral ly d istributed as adry w eather visitor throughou t

the provin ce in the plain s on ly.236 .—Pratincola1eucurus, B ly . (484 )

I on ly procured this speciesat Thyetmyo, where it is ratherrare .

214 A war or THE BIRDS or PEGU .

on the breast varies much, in some being very pronounced,an d in others obsole te .

It is an ex treme ly common spec ies from Kyeikpadein up to

My itkyo, remain ing from the beg in n ing of October to the

m idd le of May . Al though fon d of patches of grass, it is

fou n d more frequen tly in trees,bamboo hedges,an d w eeds .

It has ahoarse croakin g n ote wh ich deve lops in to somethingl ikeasong in Apri lan d May .

In orien talis,the secon d primary equals the fourth,an d they

fal l short of the tip of the third , the longe st by ' 04 to ' 08 ;some times the secon d is long er than the fourth byatrifl e .

In sten toreus,the secon d primary is equal to the fi fth or

thereabou ts,an d they fal l short of the tip of the third

,the

l on gest, by ' 15 in typical examples .

In s ize an d plumage both species are so mu chal ike thatthey cannot be d iscriminated by thesealon e .

245.

— Acrocephal us dumetorum,E ly . (516 )

Rare,as compared w ith agricolus . Frequen ts paddy, andwhen this is cu t, takes to long grass . I have procured iton ly n ear Kyeikpadein .

246 .—Acrocephalusagricolus, Jerd . (517)

Very abundan t from Kyeikpade in up to My itky o in paddyan d e lephan t grass . In marchin g up to Tou nghoo this y earI saw it on the banks of the S ittang on ce or tw ice,an d I haven o doubt it is common in most parts of the plain s . Burmese

examples are very ru fous,striking ly more so than birds fromIn dia.

247 .—Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Swinh. (517 ter. )

Apparen tly very common,bu t so d ifficu lt to get that six

specimen s in on e season is good w ork . Itarrivesat the com

m en cemen t of November, my first bird hav ing been procuredon the 5th of that mon th . On i ts arrival it takes to the

paddy fields, an d remain s ti l l the crops are cu t,when it

betakes i tse lf to the thicker patches of grass . It movesabou tfrom stalk to stalk, searching for min ute in sects,an d hasalown ote . I have n ever heard any thi ng l ike ason g proceedingfrom the bird . It remain s in this coun try at least as lateas the 15th Apri l , on w hich day I shotaspec imen .

This bird u n dergoes n o change of plumage during the fiveor six mon ths it remain s in Pegu . The sexesalsoare al ike inplumage .

A l in e from the n ostri l over the eye to the nape is paleyel low ish buff ; over this runs abroader streak of blackish

A LIST on THE BIRDS or PEGU . 2 15

brown , ’

w iden ing posteriorly lores brow n cheeks, ear-coverts,s ides of n eckand breast

,an d the flan ks, the same as the eye

s treak, bu t darker ; breast, abdomen,ven t

,and u nder tai l

c o '

verts pale ye l low ish bu ff ; chin an d throat w hite , tinged w i thy e l low ish ; the head an d whole u pper plumage ol i ve brow n ,tinged w ith rufou s, brightest on the rump an d upper tai lcoverts ; al l the qu il ls brown , edg ed narrow ly on the outerw ebs w ith the colou r of the back and upper plumage ; tai lbrow n

,very narrow ly edged ru fous upper w ing-covertsbrow n

,very broad ly edg ed w ith ru fous ol ive brown .

male measu red z—Len g th, expan se , tai l,

w ing , tarsu s,

' 08 ; bil l from gape , ° 68 . The iris wasbrow n ; mou th pale ye l low ; upper man dible brow n ; l ow erman d ible flesh-colou red

,sl ightly dusky at tip legs plumbeousflesh colour ; soles of feet ye l low ; an d the claw s horn colour.

I have met w i th this bird on ly in the immediate v icin ity ofI

l

i yeikpadein , chiefly in the plain in fron t of the bungalowt ie re

I may as w el l add that the first primary is u n common lylarge for birds of this gen u s, measuring halfan in ch in len gth .

The secon d primary equals the se ven th, or fal ls sometimesbe tw een the s ix th an d seven th. The third, fourth,and fifthprimariesare n early equal in length.

248 .—Arundinaxaedon , Pal l . (51 8)

Very abun dan t in al l the coun try ly ing w est of the canal,an d also for some d istan ce away from i ts eastern ban k .

Captain Ramsay got it at Tounghoo,an d Dr. Armstrong atElephan tPoin t. It seems, therefore, to be un iversally d istributedover the prov in ce .

It is far more aquatic than any of the five Acrocepkal i j ustn oted . It is gen eral ly foun d on the ban ks of streamsan dponds in . long grass, or even in shrubs .

lan ceolata, Tem. (520 bis . )This bird is v ery common n ear Kye ikpadein from the m iddle

of October to the en d of February , an d probably later. O n

first arrival i t g oes i n to the paddy, an d when this is cu t,i t

remain s i n the stubble,an d when this is trodden down or

burn t it takes refuge in grass, the thickest clumps be in gselected . As l on g as the paddy fie ldsare w et it feeds fromstalk to stalk, bu t when the grou nd gets dry, it seems to feed

habitual ly on the groun d , run n ing aboutamong the roots ofthe herbagean d rice .

Mr. Hume has described this bird at length (S . F. , I,p . 409 3 VI, p .

$216 A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU .

The secon d primary is gen eral ly equal to the fourth . Outof 50 b irds on ly three have the second equal to the third .

The first varies in len gth from ' 35 to ' 5 .

The streaks on the l ow er surface become reduced in whatI take to beag ed birds . The bird least marked in my series

has afew streaks on ly on the cen tre of the breastand on the

flan ks, w ith on e or two fain t marks on the u n der tai l-coverts .In this state it is very l ike the Ind ian L . fienderson i . The

majority of the birdsare den se ly streaked from the chin to the

tai l-coverts , except on theabdomen ,an dal l theseare characterized by aricher ton e of colouring ben eath.

The tai l-coverts vary in the most ex traord inary mann er;In man y of the birds theyare en tire ly u nmarked in othersd en se ly s treaked

,an d this fol low s n o ru le v iew in g it in con n ec

tion w i th the amoun t of streaking on the other parts of thel ow er plumage . I can make n o dedu cti on s of value from the

e xaminati on of my large series . W e requ ire au then ticatedb irds of the year, an d ol d b irds shot off the n est beforeanything can be made out for certain .

250 .-Locustel lacerthiola, Pal l .

An other bird, which is extreme ly common n ear Kye ikpadeinan d portion s of the canal, bu t one w hich is n ever by anychan ce seen except by acciden t. It swarms in in un dated

.

addy fields toan in cred ib le ex ten t. I have procu red it fromthe 18th October to the l 6th December. At this latter datethe paddy harvest begin s, and the bird d isappears en tire ly ;U n l ike lanceolatait does n otappear to go in to grassatal l .It frequen ts those fie lds in w hich the paddy is very highand thick,an d very swampy . It risesat on e ’s fee tan d settlesagain at on ce

,afford ing on ly asnap shotatabout two yards

‘

d is tan ce .

The young bird up to O c tober has the whole upper plumage,in cluding the covertsan d tertiaries, blackish brow n the featherso f the head narrow ly

,an d al l the others broad ly

,marg in ed

w ith ‘

redd ish brow n ; rectrices chiefly blackish brow n,irregu larly marg in ed w ith ru fous brown , an d very broad ly

terminated w ith whitish.

The low er plumage is buff,pale on the throatan d u pper

breast,dark on the breast

,an d i n creas ing in depth of colour

down to the tai l-coverts the throat and breast are c loselyspotted w ith trian gu lar blackish brow n marks stripe over theey e ,an dastreak from the bi l l u n der the cheeksan d ear-coverts,ye l low ish bu ff ; ear-coverts hair brow n ; u n der w ing

-covertswhitish ; primaries and secondaries dark brown , narrowlyedged w ith reddish brown .


birds in adu l t plumage there are afew tiny marks on the

feathers of the s ide breast.The secon d primary is equal to the fourth

,an d the first

primary proj ects very s l ightly in deed beyon d the tips of the ,

primary coverts .

I have m islaid my measuremen ts of this bird in the flesh,an dalso the n ote s on the colours of the soft parts .

In sk in s the w ing measures 23 to an d the tarsu stai l

,2 ° l to

25L— Triburataczanow skia, Swi nk. 1 871 ,

p. 355 . Triburain termedia, Oates, S . E , IX ,

p. 220 . (522 A . )M r. Brooks has recen tly examin ed in Eng lan d the you ng

specimen of this species which was Sw in hoe’

s type , an d he

assu res me that the tw o speciesare iden tical . The first speci

men s I got I iden tified w ith taczanow skia,an d u n der this namei t w il l be foun d re corded in my l ist of Bu rmese b irds furn ishedto the B . B . Gazetteer . Mr. Brooks

,howe ver, was of opin ion

that the bird was n ew,and I was induced to describe itas

in termedia.The adu l t bird was described (I. on ) ,an d it n ow remains to

d eal w ith the immature plumage . Mr. Sw inhoe’s descript ion

appl ies to the birdafter the firstau tum n mou lt,in which,as in

L . cert/ziola, the b ird is characterized by i ts y e l low ton e of

plumage . The w hole upper plumage is ol ive brown , as in the

adu l t ; the w ingsan d tail hair brown , margin ed w ith the colourof the upper plumage ; shafts of rectrices

,v iew ed from

bel ow ,con spicuou sly pale ; ear-coverts, hair brow n ; super

c il iary streak, cheeks,u n der the ear-covertsan d whole l ow er

plumage '

y e l low ish buff, tinged w ith ol ive brow n on the

breast,sides of body

,thighs, an d tail-coverts ; the cheeks are

fain tly barred w ith olive brow n . This description is takenfromab ird shot in February ,an d in beau ti fu l n ew plumage .

Several b irds shot in Novemberan d Decemberare, I thin k,birds of the y ear before the au tumnal mou lt ; the chin an dthroat are n early w hite ; the breast is tin ged w ith brow nan d spotted ; the w hole remain ing u n derparts are ochraceousbrow n

,except the tips of the u n der tail-coverts, w hich,as in the

adu lt,are broadly whitish the supercil iary streak and cheeks

are ye l low ish brown , the latter con spicuou sly barred .

The b ird was so fu l ly dealt w ith w hen I described it firstthatany further description appears u n n ecessary .

I metagain w ith it this year from November to the midd leof February, an d had better opportun i ties of observin g its

habits . On firs t arrival , an d u n ti l the cropsare cu t,it keeps

to the standing paddy together w ith the Locuttel las and

A LIST or run BIRDS or PEGU . 219

Acroceplialz'

,an d i t is impossible to d isting u ish on e species ’

frontan other til l dead, an d in the han d . Al l hav e the same habitof springing upat your fee tan d se ttl ingagain afew feet off .

W hen the rice is cu t, i t remain s in the s tubble,creepin g

abou t on the groun d, and n ever shew ing i tse l f. At sun set i t

frequen tly fl itsabou t in are s tless man n er,an d it was at this

time that I fou nd it poss ible to ge t afew specimen s w ithtolerable certain ty .

The bird isal so foun d in scrub an d grass jung le , run n ingabou t amon g the roots on the grou nd . It is abun dan tal lroun d Kye ikpade in ,an d n ear the ban ks of the Pegu river.

252 .— orthotomus sutorius, P en n .

V ery abundan t over the w hole prov in ce in the plain s andl ow er hil ls .

253 .—orthotomusatrigularis, Tem. (580 bis . )

I have fou n d this bird common from Rangoon to Pegu , an df urther up in to the hi l ls i n the Pegu river val ley . It isaforestspecie s, u ttering i ts lou d cal l from the top of some high tree

,

w hich the preced ing species n ever does I think .

254 .

—Prin iaflaviventris, D e l ess . (532)I foun d thi s species common i n the swamps roun d Rangoon ,an d i t occu rsabu n dan tly in the thick grass on the upper partsof the canal ,an d in the plain to the w est of it.255.

—Prin iagracil is, Fran /cl . (536 )A common bird over the w hole prov in ce . It does n ot

appear to occur on the hil ls or in thick forest where the n ex t

spec ies replaces it.256 .

—Prin iabeavan i, Walden . (538 bis . )I have observed this bird in every part of the prov in ce I

have v isi ted . It frequen ts the forests, or atall even ts veryw e l l-w ooded l ocal ities .

257 .-Cisticolacursitan s, Frankl . (539)

An excess ive ly common b ird in al l grass lan dan d cu l tivatedgroun d,an d gen eral ly d istribu ted in the plain s .

258 .— Cisticolavol itan s, S teamboat (541 )

O riginal ly found in Formosa. This l ittle Warbler, l ike so

Blyth’s name has

,I be l ieve , preceden ce . I can n ot

.

d iscover w here B ly'

th firstpubl ished the name

,bu t as early as 1 856 he w rote 11: on the t i cke ts of l y tler s

D e ccaSpecimen s . So I presume he mu st have publ i shed i t at orabou t that time

bu t w he re ? Swmhoe’

s name was firs t publ i shed i n 1859 i n the Journ . N . C h in .

A . S J erdon on ly publ i shed B lyth’

s nam e i n 1863 . So of course i f Bly th h im se l f

d id n ot publ ish the nam e , Swm hoe’

s name WI11 stand . But I feel pretty sure Blyth

d id pubhsh the name—ED S . F.

220 A LIST or THE mans or PEGU .

man y other Chin ese spec ies, occurs very abun dan tly alongthe

.ban ks of the canal w herever there is thick grass an ddeserted patches of cu ltivated lan d . In habits it resemb lescursitan s, bu t it has av ery d ifferen t n ote , and on e eas i lyrecogn izable from it. It fl ies in theair in the same eccen tricman n e ras cursitans .The male in breed ing plumage has the top of the head from

the bil l to the nape g olden ful vous ; the nape dusky fu lvou s ;ear-coverts whi tish ; cen tre of the abdomen an d under tai lcoverts whi te . W ith these excepti on s the whole l ow er surfaceis pale y e l low ish bu ff ; the back an d scapu lars are darkbrow n , each feather broad ly edged w i th grey ; w ing-covertsan d w ings brow n , edged w ith ru fous g rey ; tai l very darkbrow n

,almost black

,each rectrix narrow ly tipped w i th

Whi te rumpan d upper tai l-coverts plain fu l vous .

The female in breeding plumage is d ifferen t from the malein the fol low ing respects —The ~ top of the head is streakedw i th blackish b row n the nape is darker, an d the tips to thetai l feathers are double the w idth, n earlyas w ide in factasin curs itan s . The amou n t of s treaking on the head variessomewhat, in some be ing very thick, in others rather spare .

Mr. Sw inhoe’s tvpe was measured by Mr. Dresser

, andrecorded in the B irds of Europe in the artic le re lating to

C . cursitans . The w ing measured tai l, 1 ° l tarsus,

°77 andcu lmen , °42 .

In tw o Pegu spec imen s, both males, the'

measuremen tsw ere —Leng th, expan se , tai l ,w i ng . tarsus, °7,

°72 and bi l l from gape to tip,°5,

°55 .

The femalesareabou t the same size .

The third , fourth,and fi fth primaries are abou t equal andl on g est the secon d isabou t °2 shorter,an d the first primary meas ures

°4 in leng th, the tip projectin g beyond the w i ng-covertsby

° 25. The outer tai l feathers fal l short of the tip of thetai l by °25 .

I can n ot describe the bird in w in ter plumage, but I thinkthe male then has the head streaked l ike the female , for I havean Apri l bird w i thagolde n head, bu t w i th on e black featherin the cen tre . The female probably undergoes n o change .

Breed ing operati on s commen ce in the m idd le of May . Onthe 28th of this mon th I foun d two n ests, on e con tain ing fouregg s , sl ightly in cubated ,an d the other, two qu i te fresh.

The n est isasmal l bagabou t four in ches in he ightand tw o tothree in d iameter,w ithan open in gabou t on e in ch in d iame tern earthe top. The gen eral shape of the n est is oval . It is composede n tirely of the whi te feathery flow ers of the thatch grass .

The walls of the n estare very thin , but strong . The n est is

222 A LIST or THE BIRDS or radi i .

fication is correct. fAl l I knowabout this bird is recorded‘

inS . F. ,

III, p. 139 .

263.

- Phyl loscopus fuscatus, B ly . (555)Very abundan t al l over the provin ce . It is aground

Warbler, being found in grassand b rushwood,an d not in trees

asaru le .

264.

—Phyl loscopus boreal is, B las . (556 bis . )I have procured afew specimen s n ear Pegu an d Kyeikpadein . It can n ot be cal led acommon bird . It frequen ts

mangoan d other trees in fested w ith m in u te in sects .

The first primary of this spec ies is always v ery m inu te ,vary ing in len gth, in seven birds, from °3 to °45 ; and the

secon d primary is very con stan tly in termediate in lengthbetw een the fi fthand s ix th. In on e spec imen on ly was it equalto the sixth. It is on e of the easiest spec ies to d iscriminate .

265.—Phyl loscopus schwarzi

,Radde . (556 ter)

Apparen tly rare . I procured on e spec imen at Kye ikpadeinin the same j ungle w i th Locustel laan d Tribura. This species

has been very fu lly dealt w i th in various volumes of STRAYFEATHERS .

266 .

—Phyl loscopus tenel l ipes, Sw inh. (556 quat. )On e of the rarer species . I have procured it two or three

times n ear Kyeikpade in .

A male specimen measured z—Len g th, expan se,tail

,w ing , tarsus

,

°

73 b il l from gape , ° 63 ; upperman dible brow n l ow er man d ibl e pale fleshy , dusky at tip ; legsan d claw s pale flesh colour iris brow n ; the secon d qu i l l isintermed iate betw een the s ix than d seven th . The pecu l iar tin t ofbu ff on the plumage is alon e sufficien t for the iden tificationof this spec ies .

267 .— Phyl loscopus lugubris, B ly . (558 )

On e of the common est spec ies . Appears to be gen erally .

d istri buted throughou t Sou thern Pegu . It abou n ds roundKye ikpadein ,and Dr. Armstrong got itat Elephan t Poin t.268 .—Phyl loscopus pl umbeitarsus, (558 big . )

This isav ery common spec ies rou n d Peguand Kye ikpadein ,from September to Apri l . It is stric tlyarboreal in its habits

,

and I have n ever foun d it n ear the groun d .

I do n ot kn ow how the spec ies e ver cou ld have got confounded w i th viridanus. Comparing 29 specimen s of the latter

A LIST or THE mas s or PEGU . 223

from India, w ithalarge series of plumbeitarsus, the di fferen cesbetwe en them are sufli cien tly strikin ou The smal ler s ize, thecon stan t two w ing bars, an d the abrupt con n ection of the

c olour of these w ith the adjoin in g green ,arealways sufficien tto separate plumbeitarsus from viridan us .

The w ing of this spec ies varies from to 25,the latter

d imen sion be ing however exceptional ly large . The tail variesfrom to the tarsus from °68 to 75 the secon dprimary is almost always in termed iate between the seven th

an d e ighth in one or two cases it is equal to the e ighth.

The upper man dible is brow n , the low er clear ye l low ; irisbrow n ; mou th y e l low ; legs pale plumbeou s brown ; and thetoesare tin g ed w i th ye l low the claw s are pale horn colour.

Mr. Brooks has n ow come to the con c lusion that P . barmanicus mu st be suppressed in be ing on ly plumbeitarsus w iththe secon d w ing bar w orn269 .—Phyl loscopus coronatus, Tam. Schlee.

(563 bis . )Not

'

un common during m igration in Septemberand April,but I have n ot me t w ith itat other times .270.—Phyl loscopus trochiloides, Sund

It seems qu ite clearly proved n ow that flavo-olz’

vaceus,Hume ,and e irz’dipen n is j Blyth,are syn onymous w ith the presen tspec ies . It is abun dan t in al l parts of the provin ce d uringthe w in ter mon ths . Burmese birds can n o t be separated fromthose procured in Bengal .271 —Phyl loscopus supercil iosus, Gm. (565)By far the common est species of P/l yl loscopns in Pegu . It

abou nds everywhere from October to Apri l . I have n ever met .

w ithaspec imen which cou ld be m istaken for humu orme nde l lu .

272 .— Cryptolophatephrocephalus,Anders . (569 bis . )

A veryabundan t cold w eather v isitor to al l parts of the

prov in ce I have v is ited,except perhaps in the northern portion s,

w here itappears to be rare .

M r. Oates is doubtless correct, but this is n ot the tenor of al etter from M r.

Brooks from Canada, receivedat the same time as this paper.—ED . , S . F.

1 The iden ti ty of fiavo-ol ivaceus w ith trochi loides is d i scu ssed, an te . p. 169 , butthe iden tity of v iri d ipen n is w ith this latter i s n ot on l y n ot proved , bu t I be l ieven ot even supposed fi ow by any orn ithologist but my frien d Mr. Brooks—violaforthe distin ctn ess of v irid ipen n is , n ot on ly the n umerous n ote s in this j ournal, bu tthe B . M . O .

,V,53 . Posslbly how ever M r. Oates mean s oiri d ipermz

’

s, B ly th , ap udJ erdon , which may be iden tical w i th trooki loi des , thou gh it is by n o mean s proved .

Note that if this bird is to be retain ed as Pkg/ZZOSCOPUS , the gen u s R egu loid esbein g suppressed , then it must stan d un der B lyth

’

e name P hy l loscopus regu loides ,w hich dates from 1842

, again st 1846 for Sun deval l ’s name If , how ever, you retainthe gen us R egu loides, as I prefer to do, then Sun deval l ’s specific name wi l lstand—En , S . F.

224 A ms : or THE BIRDS or PEGU.

273 .-Abrorn is supercil iaris, Tick, (574)

I procured this on the,

hi l ls betw een Thye tmyo an d Tounghoo,an d I have met w ith it in Sou thern Pegu between Peguand Rangoon . Itappears to be rare .

274.—Henicurus immaculatas, H odgs . (585)

Very common in al l the rocky hi ll streams of the Pegurange of bil ls .

275.—Motacillaleucopsis, Gou ld . (590)

Veryabundan t in the plain s of the w hole prov in ce fromthe m idd le of September to Apri l . Accord ing to my v iew sthis species n ever has more than amere patch of black on the

breast, varying in breadth from hal f toaquarter of an i nch .

Birds justarrived in earlyautumn , an d those leav ing in latespring, are un iform ly the same w ith regard to this patch.

Notaparticle of black is ever presen t on the throat .276 . fel ix, Swis h. P . Z . S . , 1 870, p . 121 .

(590 .

This is in my opin ion aperfectly good species,always to be

d istingu ished from the preced ing by the presen ce of black on

the u pper breastan d throat.It may be said that Wagtai ls w ith this amoun t of black

on the throat are mere ly l eucopsis in breed ing plumage . Iam

,how ever, very certain theyare n o su ch thing .

ale Leucopsis

Suchav ery positiveassertion pu ts me in apecul iar position . I have the greatestrespectand regard for my frien d Mr. Oates . I kn ow what apatien t an d earn estuestion er of nature he is, and w hen I read this statemen t, I accepted it unfiesi tatingly . I kn ew that I had agood many specimen s of f el ix,an d I thoughtI w ou ld separate these out and have the catalogue corrected .

There are about 100 specimen s of th is species in the col lection , but I had toget ou t al so those in the Assam col l ection , in the Malayan col l ection , an d inthe dupl icate col lection—iaal l over 400 specimen s I spen t the whole day, yesterday, in gettin g these outan d studyin g them ,an d n ow I am compe l led to say thatin my humble opin ion M r. Oates is qu ite w ron g, an d that f e l ia: is n othing but

the breeding plumage of l eucopsis . My con viction is foun ded on the fol lowmgfacts1 . From every l ocal ity where Mr. Brooksan d I made, or cau sed to be made, syste

matic col lection s of l eu copsis, v iz ,Darj ee lin g , D i napoor an d Patna

, Calcutta,Cachar, Sh il lon g, Debrugarh, Ran goon , an d Northern Tenasserim, w e have bothl eucopsis an d f e l ix .

2 . O ut of this immen se series, there is on ly on e sin gle specimen kil led betweenthe l st September and the l eth February,at al l of the f e l ix type , an d that is on lyso far of this type that the patch on the breast isabout g of an in ch deep.

3 . Every single bird kil led on and subsequen t to the 18th March is d istin ctlyf e l ix , or passin g tof e l im.

4 . Fu l ly half the birds kil led betw een the l stan d 17th March show distin ctlythat they are passin g to the f e l ix stage .

5 . A few specimen s obtain ed in the latter hal f of February show more or lessof the same

,an d on e ki l l ed 2sth February is d istin ctly f e l iaz.

Now Mr. Oates refers to Apri l birds . In e very local i ty in which our col lection sw ere made the mass of the bi rds d i sappeared by the e nd of March . They come in

qu i teat the beg i n n in g of September, we have at l east fifty September specimen s,

226 A LIST or THE man s or PEGU .

other parts of Lower Pegu . It does n otarrive ti l l November,an d remain s on to Apri l, when they are in perfect breedingplumage .

Males up to December have the head pure black . Afterthis date the black g ives place toan ash, more or less markedw ith black,an d in Apri l the pure black is resumed .

Females from first arrival up to the ir departure have thehead more or less m ixed blackan dashy . I have n ever seen

ablack-headed female, n or is the head in this sex ever pureashy .

The u pper plumage in both sexes is alwaysapure grey .

In the breed ing plumage, both sexes are black from the

bil l dow n to the breast. In w in ter the chin an d throat becomew hite , but therearealways traces of black spots on the throat,espec ial ly on its s ides .

The '

w hite on the w ing -coverts is n ot of great exten t,be ing

about the sameas i n duklzun en sis . In other respects the plu

mage does n ot d iffer from dukbunen sis f

A male measured — Leng th, 8 °

expan se, 12 ° tai l, 4 '

w ing,tarsu s, °94 ; bil l from gape, °8 .

The iris is brow n legsan d c laws black bil l black, sl ightlyplumbeou sat the base .

The femalesare rather smal ler than the males .It . is avery sprightly bird,an d very se ldom seen away from

water.

279 .-Calobates melanops , Pal l . (592)

A fairly common bird,an d probably exten ding to al l partsof the provin ce.280 .

—Budytes cinereocapil lus, Sam'

. (59 3)Extreme lyabundan t in al l the swampsan d paddy fie lds of

the prov in ce . A. very large series of these ye l l ow Wagtai lssen t to Mr. Brooks w ereal l iden tified by him w ith this species .

I n otice that Dr. Armstrong fou nd B . flavacommon in the

Irrawaddy de lta,bu t he d id n ot get the presen t spec ies . I

fear there must have been some con fus i on of species, the moresoas B . flaw of Dr. Armstrong ’s Catal ogue (S . F.

,IV

,p . 329)

is n umbered 593 guat by M r. Hume ; W hereas there is n o

such n umber in the Catal ogu e,Birds of In dia,T(S . F. , VIII) .Mr. Brooks is

,however, su ch avery exce l len t au thority of

these birds that ' I en ter cin ereocapi l lain this l ist,an d excludeExcept in the con spicuous black l in e through the lores, by which the bird isat

on ce d i sti n gu ished—Eu ,S . F .

No, but flavawas 593 quat in the old catalogue, which the l ist published inVol . VIII . S l ipcrscded.- ED .

, S. F.

A LIST or run mans or race . 227

flava,about the occurren ce of which there may be reasonabledoubts .

"e

281—Limon idromus indicus, Gm. (59 5Rather rare, but found in al l parts of Pegu .

282.—Pipastes maculatus, Hodgs . (596 )

A very common w in ter species abounding in al l parts ofthe provmce .

283 .-Pipastes trivial is, L in . (59 7)

I have on ly met w i th this bird on ce on the Pegu hil ls(S . F. III, p .

284.—Corydal larichardi, Viei l l . (59 9 )

Veryabun dan t throughout Lower Pegu in paddy fie lds andshort grass, in w in ter on ly .

285.—Corydal larufula, View . (600)

Also very abundan t in Low er Pegu throughout the year.I do not remember to have met w ith it in the n orth.

286 .—Anthus cervinus, Pal l . (605 bis . )

An abundan t cold w eather v is itor throughout the vastplains of Lower Pegu .

287 .—Herpornis xantholeucus, Hodgs . (630 )

Appears to be gen eral ly d istributed . I met w ith i t on theh i l ls betw een Tounghooand Thyetmyo,an dalso on some lowspurs some few mi les from Pegu .

288 .—Zosterops palpebrosa, Tam. (63 1)

A comparative ly rare spec ies . I have procu redafew specimen s at Kyeikpadein ,and Captain Fe i lden got itat Thyetmyo.

Add 592 ter .— Budytes beama, Sykes .

The orien tal form of B udy tes flaw s,Lin . , certain ly occurs in Pegu ; n ot on ly

d id Dr. Armstron g brin g me two specimen s which I iden tified for him,bu t I have

an other specimen from 1 2 m iles n orth of Ran goon , an d on e from the Basseinriver Con siderin g that at page 297 Dr. Armstron g expressly says that I iden

tifiedal l his specimen s for h im ,an d that on ly atyro cou ld possibly make am istake betw een flaw s an d cin ereocap i l lus , I can n ot th ink M r. Oates j ustifiedin omittin g this species, simply because he n ever happen ed to mee t w ith i t . Dr.

Armstron g himse l f of course d l d n ot in those days kn ow on e bird from another ; hewas on ly comm en cin g, he happen ed to shoot twoflaw s

,an d foral l I kn ow may have

observed n umbers of cin ereocap i l lus,an d though t them the same ,an d so con cl udedthatflavus was very common . I shou l d say , see ing how few specimen s of this,an dhow man y of the former, w e have from Pegu , that flavus, ia, beema, was rare,an d c in ereocap i l lus common . In Northern Tenasserim beemd is stil l rarer. I haveon ly on e specimen from n orth of Mou lme in , an d Dav i son n ever me t w ith it northof this . B ut sure ly this is n o val id reason for exclud in g abird, the occuren ce

of which has bee n du ly re corded by are l iabl e col l ector,al l of whose specunen shave been careful ly iden tified byacompeten t orn i tholog ist—ED, S. F.

228 A Li sr or rain BIRDS or race .

289 .—Zosterops siamensis, E ly . (631 quat. )

Veryabun dan t from Rangoon up to Kye ikpadein and Pegu ,goingabout in flocksand frequen ting tal l trees .290.

—Parus n ipalen sis, Hodgs .

A rather rare bird, hitherto on ly found in the Thyetmyod istrict. *29L—Melanochlorasultanea, Hodgs . (650)C ommon on the Pegu hil ls, n ot descen d ing , I think, in to the

plain s .292 .

— Corvus macrorhyn chus, Wey l . (66 0)Common in al l parts of Pegu, both in the j ungle and in

townsan d v i l lages .

293.

— Corvus insolen s, Hume . (663 big . )Excessive ly common in al l parts of the provin ce, except on

the higher hi l ls.294.

-Ga.rrulus leucotis, Hume . (669 bis . )I got th is bird at Tounghooandat Shwaygheen , and Mr.

O l ive , Superin ten den t of Pol ice, w ho kn ow s the bird w e l l,

assures me he has shot '

it on the hi l ls n ear Prome . It is how

ever rare in the provin ce .

295.—Urocissaoccipital is, B ly. (671 )

I can n ot separate the Pegu birds from several birds fromthe H imalayas w ith which I have compared them . The colourof the iris an d legs is apparen tly the on ly poin t in which thetwo races d iffer.It is common in the Thyatmyo district, and Captain Ramsay

met w ith itat Toun ghoo.

296.—Cissachinensis, B odd . (673)

Abun dan t on the hi l ls, bu t not foun d in the plains.297.—Dendrocittarufa, Scop. (674)

Veryabundan t in al l parts of the prov ince .

298 .—Crypsirhinacuculata, J erd . (678 ter)

C on fin ed to the coun try betw een Thyetmyo an d Prome,andextend ing lateral ly on both s ides the Irrawaddy to the foot of

the hi l ls .

But see that Armstron g says , IV, 350 M et wi th abun dan tly in the opentidal j un g le bordering portion s of the coast

,be tw een E lephan t Poin t an d Ch ina

Bakeer, an d al so in sim i lar local itiesalong the margin of the Rangoon riverat Eastern Grove.” —ED . , S . F


t inged w ith pale ye l low ish buff ; the l ow er n eck, breast,andabdomen grey . W ith this exception the whol e lower plumageis abeau tifu l rosy bu ff

,deeper in colour on the flanks .

Tail black, the ou ter five pairs of feathers broadly, the,

m idd le pair narrow ly, tipped w ith bu ff .A younger bird has some of the secondaries plain brow n , the

w ing -coverts an d scapu lars pure w hi te ,and the rosy bufl'

tingeon the low er surface is much du l ler. In other respects itresembles theadu lt.A male measured —Len g th, , expan se , tai l

,

w ing , tarsus,

bi l l from gape, The b il l wasu n i form ly blue the mouth darker ; iris white legs plumbeousc laws horn colour.306 .

— Sturn iaburmanica, Jerd . (689 bis . )Very abu ndan t in the Thyetmyo d istrict, becomin g less

common,bu t exten d ing south down to Rangoon . In the

S ittan g val ley I have n ever seen it, but I n ote that CaptainRamsay got itat Tounghoo.

307 .—Sturniasturnine, Pal l . (689 sex . )

I have on ly seen this bird on ce . It was aSpecimen in Mr.

Raikes’s col lection ,and was shotabou t ten mi les n orth of Pegu .

I t wasan adu lt bird, w ithad istin ct patch of v iolet black on

the head .

308 .-Eulabes intermedia, A. Bay . (693)

Very common over the whole prov in ce . It also extendsw ithout change down to the ex treme end of Tenasserim

,from

which province I have alarge series . t Malewoon,how ever,

an other qu ite d istin ct species is also met w ith, w hich , if n ot

javanen sz’

s,is the Malaccan spec ies indicated by Lord Walden .

(Ibis, 1871, p .

From in termediait d iffers in the very large size of the bi l land legs,and in hav ingalonger tai l and w ing . The featheredpatchacross the s ide of the head is join ed on to the ear-coverts,or is separated by an in terval less than the thickn ess of ahair pin , w hereas in in termedia, -and I have examin ed ahundred birds or more—the in terval is n ever less than ' 15 of

an in ch—avery striking d ifferen ce. The first primary is“ 9 long ; in in termed iaon ly ' 75 . The fifth primary is frequ en tly the longest,an d in n o case fal ls short of the others bym ore than ' 1

,whereas in in termed iu the fifth primary isalways

abou t °25 shorter than the longest. The colour of the bil l indried specimens of the two species is striking ly differen t.

A LIST or THE BIRDS or race . 231

Mr. Hume does n otadm it these I havehow ever examin ed en ough spec imen s of both these spec ies to

con v in ce myse l f of the irabsolu te d istin ctn ess . I can of courseform n o opin ion of the other Ind ian spec ies . They areprobably l ike the Pfiy l loscopi, al l very much al ike

, ti l l smal lstructural d ifferen cesare d iscovered .

309 .—Saraglossaspiloptera, Vig . (691 )

Captain Ramsay records this bird from Tounghoo. I havenot met w ith it. ’r310 .

—Ampel iceps coronatus, B ly . (693 ier. )A few spec imen s have been procured by me n ear

Kyeikpadein in the course of some years . It appears to berare . It is recorded from Toun ghoo d istrict) by both B ly than d Maj or Lloyd, and Dr. Armstrong got i t at Elephan tPoin t.311 .—Ploceus baya, E ly . (694 bis . )

Very common over the whole prov in ce in the plains.312 .—Ploceus manyar, Horsf . (695)

V ery common , bu t con fi n ed to the grassy plain s, n ever

bu i ld ing its n est in any thing but e lephan t or simi larly largegrass .

313 .—Ploceus bengal ensis, Lin . (696 )

Mr. B lan ford records this from Thyetmyo. I have n ever

met w ith itJ;314.—Ploce

°

el lajavanensis, Less . (696 bis . )I think Mr. Hume w i l l prove to have been correct in separat

ing the Peg u bird from the Javabird (S . F. , VI, p . 39 9 n . )u n der the name of c/zrysea. Our birdappears to be remarkablyl ocal , n ot even occurrin g in Tenasserim . It is very commonin the Pegu prov in ce, ex ten ding up to Thyetmyoan d Tounghoo.

The S ittangand Irrawaddy appear to be the boundaries of itsd istribu tion .

3“ N0, becau se whil eadmitting that thesean d adozen other min ute differen ces

can be poin ted ou t between groups col lected in d ifferen t localities, I hold that asal l these can be shown to be bridg ed over by in termed iate forms , n on e of these

races are en titled to specific rank . There is n o dispu te abou t the facts ; it is merelyaquestion of opin ion as to how we shal l treat them .—ED . , S . F.

1_

Dr. Armstron g gave me apair shot n ear Elephan t Poin t, and we have threeother specimen s from n ear Rangoon .

—ED . , S .

I Nor have I ever seen it from an y part of British Burma,an d when B lan fordw rote the paper referred to he was on ly j ust takin g up birds, an d I am by n omean ssure that there was not some mistake in his iden tification—Eu , S .

232 A LIST or run BIRDS or PEGU .

The g enus Ploeee‘

l lamay b e described thus : Tail rounded,

the outer tai l featlears fal l ing short of the cen tre on es byd ouble the d istan ce of that in P loceus ; bil l from n ostri ls to

tipas lon g as the height of the bil lat the n ostri ls . Its m od eof n id ification removes it w ide ly from P loceus as alreadypoin ted ou t (

“ Nestsan d Eggs of In d ian Birds ” )The male commen ces to chan ge in to breed ing pl umageabout the m idd le of May,and the fu l l change is e ffected by the

l st Jun e . In the w in ter mon ths ' the male is u ndistingu ishablefrom the female .

315.—Amadiiia-rubron igra, B odys . (698 )

Veryabun dan t in al l the plain s of the prov in ce . .

316 .—Amadinasuperstriata, H ume . (69 9 bis . )

Pegu birdsappear re ferable to this speciesan d n ot to subun

du latu .

* It is excess ive ly common over the w hole provin ce ins u itable local ities .

317 .—Amadin eacuticauda, H od gs . (702)

C omparative ly rare,bu t foun d in ‘al l parts of Pegu .

318 .—Estreldaflavidiventris, Wal l . (E . burman ica,H ume . ) (704 bis . )Very common in the plain s on both s ides the Canal “an d

exte n d ing dow n to Rangoon and Elephan t Poin t.Theadu lt male un derg oes n o changes of plumage, be ing the

sameal l the year round . i The s ides of the face,the chin

,

throat, breast,an d s ides of n eckare crimson , the two latter partsspeckled w ith w hite s ides of the body pale red

,much spotted

w ith white ; bel ly an d v en t ye l low ish red ; the u nder tai lc overts vary somewhat. In most theyare blackish brow n or

black,tipped w ith maroon . Some have the cen tres of the

feathers w hi tish, tinged w i th pink, the edges paler,an d the tipsmaroon ; in others the feathers are u n iform ly blackish brow n .

U pper surface of body pale green ish, washed w ith crimson ; therump w ith short tran sverse l in es or e longated spots of white ;u pper tai l-coverts crimson

,speckled w ith w hi te tai l b lack

,

the four ou ter pairs of rectrices tipped white ; the u pper series

of w ing-coverts plain brow n , the others brown , each featherw ithaterminal spot of white ; qu i l ls plain brown , the tertiaries w ith white tips .

I am in fau l t here . This species is very variable . Hav in g n ow procured animmen se series i n Man ipu r, when ce G od win -Au sten

’

s types came , I fin d that subu n

d u latacovers both sup ers triataan d i ng l is i , an d in my accoun t of the bi rds of

Man ipur I have suppressed both these species—ED S . F .

1' This is very remarkable . Is M r. Oates qui te certain of the fact ? I n the very

c l ose ly al l ied E . aman dava, the adu l t male .has tw o qui te distinct plumages, the

breedi ng crimson ,and non -breeding brown .- ED , S. F


an d claw s fleshy plumbeous. The female differs in havmgthe bil l flesh col oured .

A pair of these birds hadan est w i th young on es in Radotebu ngalow at the end of March . The n est was placed in

exac tly the sort of placeaSparrow u sual ly cho oses .

The fol low ing are the d imen s ion s of amalean d femaleLength, expan se, tai l

,2 ° l

, w ing, 27 ,tarsus, °62,

' 6 ; bil l from gape, °52 .

321 .- Passermontanus, Lin . (710)

Excessively common in al l parts of the p rov ince .

322 .—Emberizafucata, Pal l . (719 )

This Bun ting is fairly common in some portion s of the plain sroun d Pegu, in

323 .—Emberizarutila, Pal l . (722 bis)

Mr. B lan ford records this from n ear Basse in ,and CaptainRamsay from Tou nghoo. I have n ever me t w ith it. 1‘

324.—Emberizaaureola, Pal l . (723)

Extreme ly abundan t in every porti on of the plain s of thesouthern part .

of the prov in ce,and exten d ing up to Thyetmyoand Tounghoo sparingly j:325.

-Carpodacus erythrinus, Pal l . (738)Captain Ramsay records this bird from Tounghoo. I have

n o doubt it occurs in o ther parts of the prov ince . §

326 .—Miraframicroptera, H ume . (755 bis . )

Very abun dan t at Thyetmyo, and n ot,I think, found else

where in my l imits .

327 .-Alaudularaytal , B ly .

Very abundan t on the banks of the Irrawaddy from thefron tier down to Prome .

328 .—Alaudagulgula, Frankl , (7

A very common bird in the cu l ti vated portion s of Low erPegu, exten d ing up the S ittang to abou t Shwaygheen . It is

9“ Al so w est of Tou n ghoo,an d “ betw een Tounghooand Thye tmyo.—ED .

, S . F .

1 The first specimen I think I ever saw of th is species was sen t from Ran goon ,andprocured in i ts immed iate n eighbourhood—ED S . F .

I M r Oates does n ot n otice that Bly th g ives 724. M ELOPH U S M ELAN ICTERU S , Gmfrom Peg u . I have n ever seen i t then ce ,an d I th in k i t very doubtfu l w hether i toccurs there , though w e go t it in the plain s coun try of Tenasserim between theS i ttan gan d Salw een ,and l have received it from Arakan .

- ED ., S . F.

W e received it from nearThyetmyoa—ED, S. F.

A LIST or THE‘a s or PEGU .

‘ 235

n ot fou nd to my know ledge in the Irrawaddy val ley, but wasprocured by Dr. Armstrong in the Rangoon d istrict.

329 .-Treron n ipal ensis, B odys . (771 )

Common inal l the hi l l tracts, descendingat times to the we l lw ooded portion s of the plain s .

330.—Crocopus viridifrons, B ly. (773 bis . )

Commonal ike in the hi l lsan d plain s .

331 .—0 smotreron bicincta, J erd . (774)

As common or more so than theabove .

332.—Osmotreron phayru , E ly . (776 )

Con fined to the hi l ls where it is333 .—Sphenocercus sphenurus, Vig . (778 )

Con fined to the hi l lsan d the forests skirting them .

334.—Carpophagaaenea, L in . (780 .

Veryabundan t in every portion of the provin ce .

335.—A1s

‘

ocomus pun iceus, Tick . (782)G en eral ly d istributed, bu t comparatively rare .

336 .—Turturmeena, Sykes . (793)

Abundan t ‘

on the hi lls, but less so in the plains .337 .

—Turtur tigrinus, Tem. (79 5 bis . )Very common inal l the plain s of the provin ce .

338 .—Turtur risorius, Lin . (796 )

I met w ith this bird on lyat Thyetmyo, where it is decidedlyrare .

339 .—Turtur humil is, Tam . (797 bis . )

Not very common anywhere, bu t gen eral ly spread over theprov i n ce . It is common er in the Thyetmyo and Promed istricts than '

e lsewhere .

340.— Chalcoph

_

aps indica, Lin . (798 )Common in every part of the provin ce, in bamboo jungle

gen eral ly .

34L—Pavomuticus, L in . (803 bis . )An extreme ly d iffi cu l t bird to get, bu t very common in most

( parts of the prov in ce Where the forests are thick .

as Blanford gives this from the Irrawaddy del ta, nearBassein .—ED.

, S. F.

236 A‘

LIST on THE Bl ue s on PEGU .

-Euplocamus l ineatus, Lal k . (81 1 ter)Foun d wherever there is rocky'

groundan d good cover,andextreme lyabun dan t on the higher 'hil ls .

343.—Gal lus ferrugineus, Gm. (81 2 )

Abun dan tal ike in the hi l lsan d‘

plain s .

344—Francol inus chinensis, Osb. (8 19 bis. )C onfin ed to the Irrawaddy Val ley from abou t Prome up

to the fron tier, where i t' is c ommon . It is n ot foun d in the

S ittang val ley ti l l the moun tain s on the eastare reached,far

ou t of my l imits .

345 -Arboricolabrunneopectus, Tick. (824; ier. )C on fin ed to the moun tain streams of the evergreen forests,

where it isabundan t.346 .

— Arboricolachloropus, Tick . (824. quat. )Of the same d istribution . as the an d equal lyabundan t.*347 .

— Coturn1x coromandel ica, Gm . (830)I have found this bird on ly iathe Thyetmyo d istrict where

i t is common .

348 .—Excalfactoriachinensis, Lin . (831 )

Arrives 1n Low er Pegu in great quan tities in May,an dafter breeding goesawayagain I think . In the cold w eatherI have n ever met w ith the bird . In Jan uary 1874 I trod on

asmal l n estl ing Q uai l which must have been ayoung on e of

this species, or the preced in g . It was too young to make sure .

The presen t bird I kn ow breeds in August,an d it qu ite puzz lesme toaccoun t for this chick .

349 .—Turn ix plumbipes, Hodgs . (833)

A tolerably common spec ies, foun d s ing ly or in couples overthe whole prov ince . Pegu birdsare iden tical w ith Malaccaspecimen s.

350 .

—Turn ix maculosa, Tem. (834 bis . )The common es t species of Tu rn ia: foun d everywhere : fromAdd 829 .

- Coturn ix commun is, B on n .

Procured by B lan ford in Pegu , an d of w h ichasin gl e specimen was sen t us fromn ear the mou th of the Basse in ri ver -E l ) S . F.

1 Bu t I have received it from the Bassem district from close down to the seaED .

, 8 . F.


360 .—}Egial itis minuta, Pal lfit (850)

I got this bird at Thye tmyo,and I have not met w ith it

e l sewhere .

36L—Chettusiacinerea, B ly . (854)C ommon 1n al l large swamps .

362 .

—Lobivanel lusatronuchal is, B ly (8 55 bis . )A common bird throughout the provin ce, even ascend ing the

h i l ls)~363 .—Hoplopterus ventral is, Ouv . (857)

Distribu ted over the provin ce in the larger rivers, but notvery common .

364—JEsacus recurvirostris, One . (858)Foun d sparing ly in the large rivers .

365.- (Edicnemus crepitans); Tem. (859 )

Fairly common in al l parts .

366 .—Strepsilas interpres, L in . (860)I shot on e youn g bird of this species i naflooded paddy

fi eld,n ear Kyeikpadein , on the 23rd September.

367 .—Grusantigone, Lin . (863)

Common in the vast plain s of Lower Pegu , bu t becom ing le ssc ommon e very year. I d id n ot fin d it at Thye tmyo, butCaptain Ramsay got itat Tou nghoo.

368 .—Scolopax rusticula, L in . (867)

A W oodcock is shot in the prov ince almost every year. AtTounghoo it is far from rare . Iam in formed thatan officer inthat station has shot seven in on e morn ing .

369 .—Gal l inago sthenura, Knhl . (870)

The common Sn ipe of the coun try .

S*

F

M ust stan d as E . j erdon i , Legge. Ramsay procured it at Tounghoo .—Es qi

t'

Add 856 .—Lobipluviamalabarica, B odd .

Procured by B lan fordat Thye tmyo—ED . , 8 . F.

I Sure ly S . G . Gmelm’

s specific name scolopax has precedence - Em, S . F.

A LIST on THE BIRDS or PEGU .

370.-Gal linago gal linaria, Gmfi“ (871)

Less common than the preceding,arriving much later) "

371 .—Rhynchaeabengalensis, Lin ) (873)

Tolerably common in su itable local i ties .

372 .—Pseudoscolopax semipalmatus, Jerd . (874 )

O f this rare wader I have on ly been able to shoot two spec imen s . This was n ear Kyeikpade in on the 29 th September.I n ever met w ith it again . They w ere apair. The malesti l l shewedagood deal of the breeding plumage ; the breastand flanks being rufous, as w e l l as the edges of the backand scapu lar feathers . The female was in w in ter plumagew i th n o trace of rufou s .The male an d female measured —Length, 135 , 134 ;

expan se, 23, 215 ; tai l , 29 , w ing, tarsus, 2 °05 ;bi l l from gape, 29 ,

The bil l is black, turn ing to plumbeou s at base ; iris darkbrown ; legsan d toes dark plumbeou s c law s black.

They vsere feeding on the ban ks of asmal l pool, and w ere,as far as I cou ld see , probin g the mud w i th their bi l ls . The

white on the w ing is very con spicuous when the bird is flying .

373 .—Limosaaegocephala, Lin . (875)

Abundan t in the S ittangan d the Canalan dadjacen t creeks . §The 1 1th May is the latest date I have seen them.

374 .—Terekiacinerea, Gn ld . (876 )

Dr. Armstrong procured this speciesat Elephan t Poin t.

375.—Numen ius l ineatus, One . (877)

Not u n common in Lower Pegu .”Captain Fei lden found itat Thyetmyo.

Must stand as G . coel estis , Frenal .—ED . , S . F.

TAdd 872 .— Gal l inago gal linu la, Lin .

This species certain ly occurs i n Pegu ,as I had aspecimen sen t me shot somewhere n ear the mou th of the Bassein river in Pegu . I n ote too that, though he n ow

exc ludes this species, Mr. Oates himse lf formerly said of it refe rring to U pper Peg u :

A sin gle specimen is occasional ly ki l led , but i t is v ery far from common,

I II,I fin d too that I had two n otes for The Game B i rds”—on e thataJack Sn ipe

was kil ledabout seven yearsago n ear Ran goon ,an d an other of on e bei ng k i l led n earToun ghoo. I t is doubtless ex treme ly rare , but there can be n o question that thebird has occurred asastraggl er in man y parts of Pegu

—ED ., 8 .

M ust stand as R . capens zs , Lin .-ED .

,

An d I have rece ived i t from the Basse in estuary . F.

I] Very common al l along the coast l ine, and in its neighbourhood from the

Bassein river to the Sittang - Em, S . F.

240 A LIST or THE BIRDS or PEGU.

376 .

—Numen ius phaeopus, L in . (878 )Less common than the preceding, but gen erally d istributed .

377 .—Machetes pugnax ,

Lin . (880)V eryabundan t in the creeks n ear the mouth of the S ittangand n ear the Canal . *

378 .-Tringacrassirostris, Tem. oi Scbl . (88 1 bis . )

Dr. Armstron g procured this species in the ChinaBukeer,on e of the n umerous streams of the Irrawaddy de lta.379 .

—Tringasubarquata, Gn ld . (882)C ommon in the creeks of Lower Pegu in tidal waters, and

n e ighbou ri ng lagoon s .

380.

—Tringaminuta, Leis i .Rather rare . I have procured it n ear Kyeikpadein, and

Dr. Armstrongat Elephan t Poin t.381 .

—Tringaruficol l is, Pal l . (884 bis . )A common bird in al l parts of the prov in ce .

382 .—Tringatemmincki , Leis l . (885)

The rarest of the smal l waders . I procured aspecimenat Thyetmyo,and on e at Kyeikpadein .

383 .—Limicolaplatyrhyn cha, Tem .

Appears to be rare . I have on ly met w ith it on ce at Kyeikepade in . Dr. Armstrong procured it in the Rang oon river.

384—Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus, L in . (887)Dr. Armstrong prcured this s pec ies at Elephan t Poin t. I

have n e ver met w ith it in Pe gu , bu t I have specimen s procuredon the Arakan ese coast.385.—Cal idrisarenaria, Lin . (888)

This isan other Spec ies, for the d iscovery of which,in Pegu ,

w e are in debted to Dr. Armstrong . He shot itat Elephan tPoin t.386—Rhyacophila, glareola, Lin . (89 1 )Not common bu t gen eral ly d istribu ted .

387 .- Totanus ochropus, L in . (89 2)

Fairly common in al l parts of the prov in ce .

at Also sen t from the Bassein estuary .—ED S . F.

242 A Li s‘r or THE BIRDS or race .

I on ce saw the bird in aforest stream afew mi les w est of

Shwaygheen . Lieu tenan t Lloyd, R .E . , brought me afin especimen from Karen n ee shot d uring the expediti on sen t ou t to

d emarcate the boun daries betw een Burmaan d Karen nee.I t is u ndoubtedlyarare bird in the provin ce of Pegu .

400.—Gal l icrex cinereus, Gm. (9 04)

A common bird inall su itable l ocal ities .

401 .—Gal l inulachloropus, Lin . (905)

I on ly procured this Waterhen at Thyetmyo. CaptainRamsay fou nd itat Tounghoo.

402.—Erythraphoen icura, P enn . (907)

Veryabu ndan t in al l the plain s where there is wateran d tree,or bamboo jung le .

403.—Porzan‘ahs il loni, Viei i l .

I got on ly on e specimen at Kyeikpadein in a. paddy fie ld.

I t may be,an d probably is, common .

404.—Porzanafusca, Lin . (9 11 )

G en eral ly distributed,an d fairlyabundan t.405.

—Bal l inaeuryzonoides, Laf r . (9 12)I procured on e specimen at Thyetmyo, and have seen no

other from my l im its .406 —Hypotaen idia. striata, L in . (9 13)V eryabundant in al l parts of the provin ce whichare su itable

to it.

407 .-Leptoptilusargalas, Laih. (9 15)

O ccurs in immen se n umbers in some parts of Low er Pegu,w here it arrives in October,an d immed iate ly commen ces to

breed . It leaves abou t February or March. A few birdsappear to remain throughou t the year.408 .

-Leptoptilus javan icus, Horsf . (9 16 )Occurs throughou t the prov in ce, bu t n ot in very large num

bers . It does n ot migrate toany great exten t.409 .

-Xenorhynchusasiaticus, Laib. (917)O ccurs s ing ly or in pairs, more numerously in Lower than in

U pper Pegu .

A LIST or run mans or PEGU . 243

410.—Dissuraepiscopa, Bodol . (9 20)

The remarks abou t the preceding bird apply equal ly to

this .

411 .-Ardeacinerea, L in . (923)

Rather acommon bird in the plain s throughout the dryw eather,and probably occurs also in the n orthern dry parts,though I do not remember see ing it there .

*

412.—Ardeapurpurea, Lin . (9 24)

Extreme lyabundan t in al l parts of the provin ce .

413 .

—Herodias torra, B . Ham. (9 25)As the preced ing . W ing, 136 to bil l at fron t, 4 0 to

4 6 ; tarsus, 52 to

414.—Herodias intermedia, Bass . (926 )

Less common than the preced ing , but general ly distributed .

415.—Herodias garzetta, Lin . (9 27)

Very common in al l parts of the provin ce . W ing, 96 tobi l lat fron t, 2 8 to tarsus, to

416 .

— Bubu1cus coro'

mandus,

.Bodal . (9 29 )Foun d pretty common lyal l over Pegu .

417 .—Ardeolagrayi, Sykes . (930)

Extreme ly common .

418 .—Butorides javan ica, H orsf . (931 )

Abundan t inal l rivers and creeks,the banks of which are

w e l l w ooded .

419 .—Ardettaflavicol lis, Lain.

“ (932)Very common in al l the plain s,and found also sparingly in

the n u l lahs on the hi l ls .420.—Ardettacinnamomea, Gm. (933)

421 .—Ardettasinen si s, Gm . ( 934)

Both theseare equal ly common , but of course comparativelyseldom seen .

But Fei lden sen t it from Thyetmyo.-ED . , S . F.

TAdd 928 bi s .—Demiegrettasacra, Gm.

From near the mouth of the Bassein estuary—Em, S. F.

244 A LIST or run BIRDS or PEGU .

422 .—Botaurus stel laris, Lin . (936 )

Captain Jenkin s shot .two of these B ittern s n ear Pegu on

the 2nd December. He saw se veral others . These w ereal lin aswamp surrounded by paddy lan d .

Both birds w ere females an d measured —Length, 28expan se, 46 an d 44 ; w ing, 12 5 and 122 bi l l from gape,and 38 0.

Iris ye l low ; eyel ids green ish ; l ow er man d ible an d marg in sof the u pper pale green ; remainder of upper man dible

, an di n front of ey e , smoky brown ; legs green , w ith a. tinge of

ye l low ; c law s horn colour.423 .—Nycticorax griseus, Lin . (937)

Very common al l over the provin ce .

424.—Tantalus leucocephalus, Pen n . (938)

Occurs n umerously from Pegu down to Rangoon ,and upthe Irrawaddy ri veras far as ‘

the plain s ex tend . It is farmore n umerous i n the rai n s than at other times .

425.-Anastomus oscitan s, B odd . (9 40)

I procured on e specimen'

at Thyetmyo many years ago, andhave n ever met W i th i tagain .

426 .—Ibis melanocephala, Lain. (941)

Occurs in very large flocks in al l the plain s of Lower Pegu .

427 .—Graptocephalus davison i, Hume, (942 bis . )

A few pairs of this bird may be gen eral ly seen in the lessfrequen ted parts of the plain s on e ither side the Canal

,but they

are very waryan d d ifficu l t to shee t. In the dry w eather theyare fond of recen tly burn t up patches of g rass lan d, wherethey may be seen stalking about for hours looking in to cracksof the soi l for smal l reptiles .

I have heard of there be ing Black Ibis in the Irrawaddyval ley,about Hen zadaand Basse in ,and I expect they be longto this species .

A n ote on the n idification of this Ibis w i l l be foun d inS . F. , V, p . 168, u nder the name I . papil losu s. At the breed ingseason it hasamost fearfu l cry which can be heard acoupleof miles off .An adu l t bird from Pegu had the bil l blu ish, the iris oran ge ,

the ski n of the head blackish brow n , an d the ban d rou nd then eck w hite

,tinged w ith blue ; the legs pale coral colour,and the

claws brown .

246 A man or rain BIRDS or race .

438 .—Larus ichthyaetus, Pal l . (979 )

During the cold w eather con siderable n umbers of this largeG u l l may be seen in the S ittang river

,n ear Kayasoo,an d occa

s ional ly on the Canal . Theyare mostly y oung birds . O ne you ngbird measured —Leng th, 257 ; expan se, 62 ; tai l , w ing ,tarsus

, bil l from forehead, middle toe an dc law ,

26 .

The iris was dark brown the edges of the eyel ids black gapeand basal half of the marg in s of the bil l pale ye l low remai nderof the bi ll very dark brow n ; in s ide of the mouth pale salmoncolour ; legs, feet,and webs pale purpurescen t brown ; clawsblack .

This young bird agrees ,

exactly in colour an d d imen smn s

w ithabird shot in the Akyab harbour. It isalso u ndoub ted lyof the same species as four adu lt birds, two in ful l summer

plumage, shotat Bhamo . In theseadu lt birds the colourationof the bil l, so pecu l iar, clearly shew s them to be

As Mr. Hume hasalready poin ted ou t,the fu l l grown b ird has

the tai l pure w hite,and n ot w ith ablack baracross . This barseems pecu l iar to the young birds on ly .

439 .—Larus brunneicephalus, Jerol . (9 80)

Very common in al l tidal waters . I do n ot remember to

have ever seen it far from salt water.440 .

—Sternacaspia, Pal l . (982)U ncommon . I shot two in the S ittang river during agale

of w in dand rain ,an d have n ever met w i th itagain .

441 .-Sternaanglica, Mon t. (9 83)

Doctor Armstrong procured this speciesat Elephan t Poin tfi“442 .

—Hydrochel idon hybrida, Pal l . (9 84)Abundan t inal l the riversan d creeks of Lower Pegu in the

cold w eather.

443 .— Hydrochel idon leucoptera, Mcis. 3 Sohl .

(9 84 bis. )A large series of these birds have been kin dly iden tified for

me by Mr. Howard Saun ders . It isas common as the preced ing ,and found in the same local ities .

444.—Sternaseena, Sykes . (985)

Veryabun dan t over the whole3“ An d I have received it from the Bassein es tuary —Eu , S , F,

t Add 985 bi s— Stern e. dougal l i , Mon t .

Several specimens from the Bassein estuary .-ED . , S. F.

A LIST or THE mans or PEGU . 247

445.—Sternamelanogastra, Tom. (987)

Distributed l ike the preced ing , but n ot qu i te so common .

446 .

—~Sternagoul di, H ume . (9 88 quai . )Al l the l ittle Tern s of Pegu be l ong to this species . It is very

common in the Peguand S ittang rivers , and probably also inthe Irrawaddy, though I do n ot remember to have seen it inthat river.

’Ie

447 .— Sternaful iginosa, Gm . (9 9 2 bis . )

I shot on e spec imen in the dusk of the e ve n ing as it wasfly ing al ong the Canal . There w ere tw o b irds . I have n e ver

m et w ith itagain . By some overs ight Mr. H ume return ed methe spec imen labe l led Anous stoliu’u s

,an d Mr. Howard Saunders

drew my atten tion to the m istake l’448 .—Rhynchops albicol l is, Sws . (995)

Veryabun dan t in al l the streams;449 .

—Pelecanus phil ippensis, Gm. (1004)This Pe l ican is gen eral ly d istribu ted over the prov in ce ,

bu t is common on ly in the vast plain s of the l ow er portion sof the prov in ce which are in tersected by tidal s treams

,and

covered w ith pools of water. From October to Februarvthereare more birds than atany other period of the year,andBurmais u n doubted ly the ir chie f breed in g place .

I have kept this bird in captiv i ty for years, rearing they oung birds from the n est,an d n oting the chang es of plumagefrom year to year. I hope to g ive aful laccoun t of thesechanges soon in an other place .

450.— Pelecanus minor, B upp . (1003)

The Pe l ican ,which u sual ly fig ures u n der the name of java

n icus is abu n dan t in Sou thern Pegu from Aug ust to FebruaryAdd 989 .

—Sternaberg ii, Licli t.C ommon n ear the mou th of the e stuary of the Bassein river.

Add 99 1 . Sterna. sumatrana, Rafi .

Two specimen s from the sou th coast, n ear the mou th of the Bassein estuary .

En . ,S . F .

1'l‘

h'

ese birds, w ere al l named by my frie nd M r. Daw son .

Add 993 .-Anou s stol idus, L in .

I hav e aspecimen procured off the south coast of Pegu , between Cape Negraisan d Ran goon —ED S .

1 Add 997 .— Phaeton flav irostris, Bran d i .

Has been procured on the sou th coast of Pegu n ear the mou th of the Basse inestuary .

998 .— Sulaaustral is, S taph.

Specimen proc ured on voyage from Cal cuttato Ran goon after roun di n g CapeNegra1s .

—ED S . I!

248 on THE FLIGHT or mans.

or March . I have had its breed i ng places indicated to me byBurman s , but I have n ot been able to v is it them.

The w hite Pe l ican s are too d i fficu l tagroup of birds to bedealt w ith here in Burma. I have stud ied them care fu l lyfor years,and I hope to be able to throw some l ight on themw hen w orking up my series of these birds in Eng lan d .

at

45L—Phalacrocorax carbo, Lin . (1005)Extremely abun dan t in al l the streams an d fisheries of

Low er Pegu ,an d somewhat rare in the high n orthern parts ofthe prov in ce .

452—Phalacrocorax fuscicol l is, S teph. (1006 )In some parts of Pegu this C ormoran t is very common .

Such is the case in the Canal an d the S ittan g riverabou tMy i tkyo . Elsewhere it does n otappear to be common , occurring in pairs on ly , or in very smal l flocks .

453—Phalacrocorax pygmaeus, Pal l . (1007)G en eral ly d istributed,an d very common both in largeand

smal l streams .

454.-Plotus melanogaster, P en n . (1008)

As the preceding , bu t perhaps n ot qu ite so n umerous .

61911 the Qfilight 111}353115.

THERE isahigh hi l l behin d my house, rising toan e levationof above feet, w hich I o ften ascen d in the early morn :ings . A l ittle be low the summit isabroken precipitou s s lope ,n earlyaquarter of ami le in len g th, c lose al ong the base of

w hich,in the early morn ings , Lammergeyersan d Vu ltures (the

latter almost exclusive ly Gyps li imalayen sis, n obis) , are w on tI too have been studyin g these Pel ican s for years , an d have se veral hun dred

specimen s col l ected fromal l parts of the Bri tish As ian Empire . U nabl e to procure

Specimen s of on ocrotalu s from Europe , I can n ot decide w hat bird i t is ; bu t I amcertain that the three spec imen s

,s ti l l in the As iatic Society’

s M use um , on wh i chJ erdon foun ded h is three supposed spec ies, on ocrotal u s, Lin

, mi tratu s,Lich t

,an d

javan i cus , Horsf . , on e an d al l be lon g to the same species . I poi n ted this ou t

n i n e years ago, u ide S . F , I , 128 . O f course there i s asmal l Pe l i can in Low er

B en gal , an d that i s what Jerdon had seen an d re ferred to u n der P . javan icus ,bu t there is n o specimen of this in the As iatic Society

’

s M use um , n or, thoughI hav e tw ice seen it, have I e ver procured aspecimen , an d the bi rd he d idd escribe have ve rified the measuremen ts) . an d w h i ch i s in the Asiatic Society

’

s

M u se um,i s n ot of this smal l speci e s , but of the same species as those he d escribed

u n der onocrotalu s an d m i tratus . I f M r. Oates W i ll on ly se t u s right by care fu lcomparison as to what the B urmese javan i cu s , of which I have some 70 spec im e n s

of d i ffere n t sexesan dages real ly i s, i t W i l l be agreat boon to In dian orn i tholo

g ists .—ED S . F .

250 on THE FLIGHT or BIRDS .

me,and be tw een 26 an d 27 m i les the greatest speed . At

the same time, I bel ieve that e lsewhere, w hen n ot thinkingof al ighting , or w ishin g to exam in e the groun d c lose ly ,they trave l w ith far g reater rapidity . As far as I canmake ou t that portion of the Mahassu ridge , above w hichthey gen eral ly first appear, is almost exactly four mi lesd istan t from my post of observation , an d on more thanon e occas ion on ly six or seven m in u tes have e lapsed betw een myfirst sightingabird over the ridge,an d its passing me , whichw ou ld g iveaspeed of 34 to 40 m iles an hour. Bu t then ,

of

course , it is imposs ible to be certain that I real ly sighted the birdd irectly it d id t0p the ridge . I may on ly have caught sightof it after it had progressed some con s iderable d istan ce towards my position .

Be thisas it may, as aru le , the majority of the Vu lturespass my station at ave loci ty of betw een 12and 15 m i les perhour.

These Vu lturesareabou t four feet l ong , havean expan se of

abou t n in e feet, an d w e igh from 181bs . to 20lbs . But in fl ightthey retract the n eck,an d soappear mu ch less than the ir fu l lleng th, an d laying ou t afreshly ki l led bird

,w ith the n eck

drawn in as in flight,an d w i th w ings an d tai l spread to the

u tmostand tracing the outl in e, I foun d thatat the outside the

flying V u l ture does n ot subten d atotal surface of above 12

square feet.It is to be observed that when you shoot these birds dead

,

they fal l l ike ston es w hen you w oun d on e bad ly , in the body,i t also fal ls l ike aston e for 10, 15 or 20 yards,an d then t e

coverin g itse lf byafew laboured strokes, sai ls away,w i thout

an other flap of the w ings, qu ite ou t of sight. Nay ,at times,i f you on ly sudden ly frighten them

,dow n they dropas i f

shot. There is aprojecting poi n t, which they gen eral lypass very c losely . On several occasion s I have hid in ac lump of bushes, w hich is ju st at the hang of the poin t

,an d

w hen abird has been abou t to pass meat the d istan ce of a.v ery few yards have started up shou ting and firing bothbarrels (w ith powder on ly ) ju stas he was abreast of me . In

many cases, thusassai led, the birds have mere ly g iven ashud

der, an d have sw ung on w ith the irresistible sw eep of someplan et in its course . But

, occas ional ly, almost exclus ive ly in

the case of young, striped or l in eated birds, the Vu lture hasfal len head over heelsas if w oun ded , on ly recovering itselfafteraperpen d icu lar descen t of several yards .

Near my favou rite post of observation l ive two pairs of BlackC row s ( C . macrorbnycfius) . These Crow s kn ow me perfectly ;they are qu iteaware that, though I do carryagun , I shal l n otshoot them, but sti ll, on p rin c iple, ,they disapprove of men

ON THE FLIGHT or BIRDS . 251

going abou t w i th gun s, an d some time or o ther during mymorn ing’s v is i t

,they think it their du ty to cal l in

,an d c irc l in g

s low ly roun d an d rou nd above my head atahe ight of n otmore than 20 yards , solemn ly protest, in voices tremu lou sw ith emotion , again st mv persisten t v iolation of what theycon sider good man n ers . For there is n othing in regard to

w hichaC row fee ls an d expresses himsel f so s trong lyas in thematter of what he holds to be that pern icious an d low habitof carry ing ag un .

I remember,when Brooks was rearing some young Eag les,

he hadat first occasion to shootagood many C row s, e ight or

ten dai ly, to satis fy the crav in gs of his in teresting n urse ling s .

W i thin aw eekafter he began this massacre of the in n ocen ts ,l e t him bu t show his face ou ts ide his house , carryingagun ,ande very Crow seemed to have le ft the cou n try . He might peer

an d poke abou t, bustle upan d hu n t, bu t there was n ot aCrowto be seen . On e m ight have fan cied that he had ki l led offal lthe C row s of the n e ighbourhood . Bu t let him issue

,as on

Sun day, w i thou t agun ,and presto I the whole place wasal ivew i th Crow s, cu rs ingan d sw earing at him in language w hich,had I u n ders tood it, w ou ld, I fee l sure, have been too dreadfu lto record,an d w hich wasal l the more shocking for hav ing beenin du lged in on the Sabbath. It was n o u se his pu tting up as tick

,an d pre ten ding that it wasag un ; on ly the most in fan ti le

C row s w ere thus imposed upon ; the great maj ori ty receivedthe demon stration w i th deris ive cheers, and ren ewed andin ten sified obj urgation s .

I n ever ki l l Crow s myse lf—I haveastrong l ikin g for them ;perhaps I have some fain t remembran ce of the time, in longpast ee on s w hen I was aC row , (or w hat then represen ted aC row

,) my sel f—I have five or s ix pairs about my g roun ds ,some of w hom are qu ite tame ; on e espec ial ly w ho

,if he be

d rin kingatasu n ken water barre l,d istin ctly dec l in es to move

toal low of my fi l l in g awatering pot. But thereby hangs atale

,for on e day hearing agreat splashingand run n ing up

to the bu tt, 1 found this Crow ,in articu lo mortis, w et through

an d fast s inking . The water was low he had fal len in , therewas n o foothold

,an d he was drow n ing . I caught hold of his

b il l,an d l i fting him gen tly ou t

,laid him on asun ny plot

of turf w here he soon recovered . Letme do that Crow (an dmy fe l lowmen w ho are mostly equal ly in te l l igen t) the justicet o record, that

,from that day forth, he has treated me w ith

an un iformly p ity ing con tempt.But this isad igression . I often careful ly watch my Crow s

up hi l l as they c ircle s low ly roun d an d roun d over head,

tenderlyadmon ishing meagain st the evi l habitof carryingagu n ,and I notice that when there is no wind, an d it is quite calm,

252 ON ran FLIGHT or BIRDS .

they w i l l sai l roun dand roun d very s low ly, s ix,e ight, even ten

times,in the course of five to ten m in u tes , w ithou t even on ce

mov ing the ir w ings, on ly s lightly in cl in ing the tai l in vary ingd irection s so as to risean d fal l al i ttle, 'as they revolve ,the ir roun ds be ing n ot c ircles, bu taseries of ascendingand descen d in g spirals .Now what keeps the Vu l tures up,an d dc fortiori, w hat keeps

these Crows u p Stu ff aC row carefu l ly ,as I have don e , w i thw ings an d tai l extended ; let your s tu ffed Crow , l ike m in e

,

w e igh 5éozs . in stead of l lb. 80 zs . w hich the l ive Crow w e ighs ;ge t amu ltiply ing w hee l w ithathin s ilk tw in e, 30 yards l ong ,w e ighingan oun ceat most ;attach it to the skin so that this w i l lsai l straight w ithou t tw isting ; place the skin on the top ofapost1 5 or 20 feet high soas to g ive itagood start ; then w hirr thew heel, and your dead C row she l l w i l l come through theairto you three times as fast as e ver the l ive C row su cceed

ed in making his way , skin w i l l have hit theg roun d before reaching you . Yet the l ive Crow ,

w e ighingmore than four times what the skin does

,c ircles roun dan d

round my head w ithou t on e s in g leaction that cou ld, w i th referen ce to resistan ce of theair, &c . , accoun t for its n ot fal l ing, atcertain ly less than on e-ten th of the ve locity which I

,by

mechan ism,impart to the skin .

I ven ture to hope that n o on e w i l l fatuou sly rev ive that oldexploded fal lacy of air-ce lls fi l led w ith heated air. If al lthe cel ls w ere fi l led in the case of aC row w i th air atatemperature of 1 60

°F. ,

the outside air be ingat 70° F.,

the rais ing pow er thus eng en dered w ou ld n ot su ffice to sus tainas ing le ou n ce w e ight, w hereas my skin that won ’t keep up,w e ighs on ly 5§ozs . again st l lb. 8ozs . of the l ive bird .

But foral l that the l ive birds do keep up, an d there hasn ever yet been , so faras Iamaware, any explanation of the irso doing , that can , w hen tested , beaccepted .

The real explanation is simple en ough, but I do n ot doubtthat when I set it forth, especial ly w hen I explain ,as I mus t

,

how I was led to su spect it, my statemen t w il l be rece ivedmu ch as the C rows used to rece ive Brooks’ walking-sti ckdemon stration s .

The on ly d ifferen ce w i l l be , that, w hereas the Crow s, havin oron ly in stin ct to g u ide them , w ere right in the v iew they tookof the case ; the i n te l lectual people , w ho w i l l rejec t my e xplanation

,w i l l be wrong . W e l l , they w il l kn ow better some day .

Every great tru th isafolly to the gen eration in which it firstshow s itse lf.Now didany of my readers ever hear of E throbacy ? Of

cou rse the majority reply :“ Is it an y thing to dri nk ? Is it

good No, it is n otapotable article ; i t isafan tastic name,

254 A NOTE ON THE GENERA SCH‘IENICOLA AND CATRISCUS .

v ery exceptional c ircumstan ce s, acqu i red by human beings,is n ormalan d inheren t in the g reat majori ty of w inged birds .

B u t it varies very greatly in poten cy in d iffe ren t famil iesand g en era, an d w hi le in some it operates almost whol ly ton e utral ize the attrac ti on of grav ity, in others it on ly sl ightlyd im in ishes the ten sion of this .

This pow er is d irectly con n ected w ith what w e may cal l, e ven

in ab ird, the m in d prin ciple ,an d is l iable to be suspen ded byany

sudden shock or fright, w hich for the momen t checks the out

going of w il l pow er in that d irection .

This e xplanati on of mu ch that has l on g pu zzl ed u s in con n ection w i th the flight of birds , is n otan hypothe s is , bu t a.

fact ;butas Iam n ot in apos ition to g i ve that demon stration of it

,

w hich Iam w e l laware phys ical sc ien ce must in s ist on be foreacceptingan ythi ng asafact, I on ly ask my readers to treat itasahypothe sis ,and tes t how far it sy stematizes an d explain sthe many hi therto in expl icable facts con n ec ted w i th the fl ightof birds .

A. O . H .

a(fi nitean the Gen iu s 5rhwnirulaandQatrisrua£ 3;3 . SeawaterShame, &c. ,fireartmwtat 20010531; Egritish i tinerant.

(Reprin tf rom the P . Z . S .

,November

DURING the last two yearsagreat deal of in terest has beenshow n in Ind iaw ith respect to Jerdon

’

s S ehaen icolaplatyura,al ittle Reedbird, w hich was described by him as Timaliaplatyura(Madr. Journ .

,x i ii

,p . and was afte rwards

made the type of the ge n u s S chaen icolaby B ly th (J . A . S .,

Beng . ,Xxx iii .

,p . The typical spec imen was lost ; an d

the bird remain ed u n iden tified for years , mere ly rece ivinga.short n otice, in 1863, from Jerdon in his B irds of of In dia” (ii . ,p

. In 1878 , how ever, Mr. Fran k Bourd il lon me t w i th thespec ies in Southern Travan core ,as recorded by Mr. Hume in

the seven th volume of S tray Feathers (p . Again , inCapt . Legge

’

s Birds of C ey lon ,” re feren ce is made toaspec imen

w hich had been s in ce 1854 ly in g u ndetermin ed in abox in theBritish Museum ; but Capt. Legge (somewhat in con sisten tlyi n my

opin i on ) on ly gave itaplace in his w ork in afoot-n ote .

There is n ot the sl ightest reason for be lieving that the spe cimen

i n que stion is n otagen u in e C eylon ese skin ,as it was purchasedby the Museum from Mr. Cam ing , w ho rece ived i t doubtlessfrom on e of his corresponden ts, perhaps Mr. Thwaites or

A NOTE ON THE GENERA SCHGENICOLA AND CATRISCUS. 255

Mr. Layard . Anyhow , I have n o doubt that the bird occurs inCeylon

,an d has escaped observation there justas it did for so

l on g in In dia.In the n in th v olume of Stray Feathers” several n otices of

this bird are published . At p . 209 Mr. W . Edw in Brooks,who has made the Warblers of Indiahis especial study, g ivesamin u te accoun t of the gen eric features of Schcen ieola, basedon the Travan core specimen procured by Mr. Bourdil lon (Mus .

A . 0 . Hume) andat p . 2 1 I,Mr. Hume g ivesan ed itorial n ote,

w ith additional in formation from Mr. Bourd il lon,record ing

the capture of three more specimen s . Tw o of these have sin ce

passed in to the collection of the British Museum,an dare marked

by the col lector as breeding” astatemen t on w hich Capt.Butler afterwards commen ts . At p . 234, Mr. Hume recordsthe capture of aspec imen by Captain Butlerat Belgaum,

an dsuggests the possibil ity of S choen icolo being iden tical w ith theAfrican gen us Catriseus . Lastly , at p . 260 of the samevolume of “ S tray Feathers,” M r. Hume g i ves an exce l len tresume of the history of S chaen icolaplatyuraas far as kn ow n ,and Capt. Butleradds some most in teresting n otes on the n est

in g of the spec ies at Belgaum . In the space of two years,there fore this in teresting bird has been rescued from the obl iv ion in to which it had fallen

,an d w e n ow kn owagood dealabou t its habi tsan d gen eral econ omy .

It is w ith the objec t of an sw ering Mr. Hume’

s question asto the possibi l ity of the Indian bird being iden tical w ith theAfrican Catriscus apical is, that I w rite these few l in es . Aperception of affin ities has been on e of M r. Hume

’s most

n oticeable qual ities as an orn ithologist an d hisassociation of

S ehaen icolaw ith Catriscus turn s ou t to be perfectly correct ;but the Ind ian species is n ot exactly the sameas the Africanon e . The follow ing I bel ieve to be the l iterary history of the

gen us, w ith its two speciesSCHcENICOLA.

Schwn icoltz, Blyth, J . A. s . Beng . , x i i i .,p . 374,

(1844, n ec . 1850 )Catriscus, Cab. Mus . Hein . Th.

,i .,p . 43 (1850) S . apical is .

C lovi s . speczerum .

a. Saturate ru fescen ti-brun n en s, region e paroticapileo con colori ; hypo.

chon dri is saturate rufescen ti-brun n eis subcaudal ibus fu l vescen t ibn svel rufescen ti-brun n eis platyura.

b Pal l ide rufescen ti-brun n eis, region s paroticapal l ide brun n ea; hypochon dri is ful vescen tibus ; subcaudal ibus n igrican t ibus pal l ide marginatis

1 . SCHCENICOLA PLATYURA.

Timal iaplatyura, Jerdon Madr. Journ .

,xii i . , p . 170 (1844)

Gray, Hand-1 . B. i . p . 315, no. 4706 .

api cal is .

256 THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE or BIRDS, voL. VI.

Schaen icolaplatyura, B lyth, J . A. S . Beng . , x i i i . , p . 374

( 1844) Jerd . B . In d .,i i . , p . 73 Hume

,S tr. F. , 1878,

vol . vn . , p. 37 ; id . Str. F.,1879 , p . 97 ; Brooks, S tr. F.

,1880,p . 209 ; Hume

,t. cit. , p . 21 1 Legge, B . C ey lon , p . 532

,note

(1880; Hume, Str. F. ,

1880, pp. 234,260 ; Butler, Cat. B . of

Sou th Bombay Press, p. 43

The In dian Broad-tai led Reed-bird inhabits Southern Ind ia,an d has been procured by Capt. Butler at Be lgaum in 16

°

N .

lat. also by Jerdon in the Goodalore Ghat, Wynaad, 1 1 ° 30’N . lat. ; again , in Sou thern Travan core, in 8 ° 30

'

N . lat.( Bourdi l lon ) ; an d extends i n to C ey lon ( spec. in Mus . B rit.

the exact local ity be ing unknown , though Mr. Hume suggests

abou t 7 ° N. lat.2 . SCHCENICOLA APICALIS .

Sylviaapical is, Licht, MS . in Mus . Berol .,unde .

Catriscus apical is, Cab. Mus . Hein . th. ,i . , p . 43 (n ote)

G urn ey, Ibis, 1863, p. 323, id . Ibis, 1866, p. 140 ; Heng l . , Ibis,1 869 , p . 8 1 ; id . O rn . N. O .

-Afr., p. 273

,tab. ix . (1869)

Shel ley , Ibis, 1875, p . 71 ; Sharpe, ed . Layard B . S . Afr.

,p .

283

B radypterus brevirostris, Sandev . K . Vet.-Akad. Forb.

Stockh . , 1850, p . 483.

Cettiaapicalis, Licht. Nomen cl . Av . Berol . , p . 29 .

Sphenwacusalexina’, Hen g l . J . f. O . 1863,p . 166 .

Drymoieaapical is, Layard , B . S . Afr.

, p . 96 , no. 173 (1867)Gray , Hand-l . B . , i . , p . 201, n o. 2833

Calamodytabrevirostris,Gray,Han d-l . B .

,i . , p . 209

,n o. 2958

In North-eastern Africathe African Broad-tai led Reed-birdwas met w ith by Heugl in in the vast grass-lands on the

afll uen ts of the Gazel le river. In South Africaitappears tobe found on ly in Natal .

©heBritishminimumchihuahua01) Birds, 3301. V I .

BY R. BOWDLER SHARPE .

THE n ew Volume of the Catalogue con tain s aporti on of

the Fami ly of the TIMELIDZEas defined by Mr. Sharpe, Vol .IV . 7 .

This Volume is by Mr. Sharpe himself, and w ell maintainsthe high standard of this importan t w ork.

By some oversightat page 1, on ly the follow ing sub

fami lies are stated .to be in cluded in the TIMELIDE , via, theB rachypodinee, the Trog loa’ytinw,and the Timelince (proper

258 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT .

from the plain s of Ind ia, hav in g made its influen ceapparen t.The en d of Ju ly an d the beg in n ing of August, which, in

.

ordinary years, is the hottest season in G ilgit, was markedby ten day s’ con tinuou s rain an d stormy w eather. In con

sequen ce of this the autumn m igration commen ced afortn ight earl ier than u sual,an d on the first two days in Augu st

n u umber of water-birds an d waders,

such as Ibidorhyn chusstru thersi

,Machetes puynaw, Triage temmincki, Totaizu s g la

reola,Totanus cal idris, &c .

,appeared : amongst themaspec ialprize

,in Trinyaacuminata, was secured . I also saw several

K ites (Mi lvus melanotis or M . yovinda. )In Ju ly an d August I sen t native col lectors to the Dare l

val ley , to the Deosai plain ,an d to the Shan dur plateau , w hichd iv ides the G ilg it-Yassin val ley from the Chi tral val ley . The

jealou sy of the Dare l is caused them to regard my men asspies who had come to study the nakedn ess of their lan d

,for

w hich purpose orn i thology was bu t atran sparen t ve i l ; an dmy men w ere obliged to return after fou r day s’ stay in the

val ley . They brought back forty-six specimen s, represen tinge ighteen spec ies . Of these, three do n otappear in the G i lgitl ist

,v i z .

,Garru lus lanceolatus

,0 tocorys longirostris, and

Hydrobatal eucogaster, the last-named be in g hitherto u n recordedsou th of the H imalayas . Orcecetes cinclorhyn chus, which on lyappears as an occasi onal stragg ler in G ilg it, seems to be

e xceedingly common in Dare l,together w ith Garru lus lan ceo

latus, w hich appears to be equal ly abun dan t. The vegetationof Darel, w hich val ley has remain ed ti l l n ow un v isited by anyEuropean , probably approaches in character more n early to

that of Cashmere than to that of the G ilg it and Astor val leys .

My collector who v is ited the bleak Deosai plain wasalsou n fortunate in having en coun tered w eather so bad as to

make any prolonged stay impossible, even in Ju ly ,at so greatan e levati on . He brought back fi fty-seven specimen s, represen ting twen ty

-four spec ies,on ly on e of which, 0 tocorys

lony irostris, does n otappear in the G ilg it l ist.The man who v is ited the Shan dur plateau was more fortu

nate in be ing w e l l rece ived by the people of the coun try,an d

remain ed there for overafortn ight. During this he collectedn umerou s specimen s, which tend to show that the plateau isafavourite breeding-

ground for many of our G ilg i t birds thatare forced to seekacon siderable e levation for the purpose .

Further observation has tended to con firm my formerconjecture, that the Indus val ley forms the chief rou te byw hich m igran ts betw een Cen tral As iaan d Northern Ind iapass an d repass . This is also born e ou t by theappearan ceof several spec ies of rare or previously unkn ow n occurren cein Ind iahaving been recorded at Attock in the pages of

FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT. 259

STRAY '

FEA'I‘HERS during the last few years . Punjab orn i

t-holog ists w i l l probably find themse lves w e l l repaid by a.carefu l collection of species during the mon ths of October,November, December, and Jan uary at Derbund , where the

In dus emerges from the H imalayas in to the plain s of the

Punjab .

The Indian G overnmen t hav in g dec idedagain st the furtherreten tion ofaBritish officerat G ilgit for the presen t, it w i l lprobably be some time before any further con tin uou s orn ithological Observation s at that spot can be made

,though

man y sportsmen w i l l n o doubt find their way up to so goodasporting local ity . Up to the time of my departure I contin ned to add n ew Species to the l ist, w hich n ow comprises265 species . Of this n umber on ly on e

,the Ow l namedafter

me by Dr. Scu l ly, is n ew to scien ce . Fiveare of doubtfu l identification

,n o specimen hav ing been secured

,though in each

in stan ce there is n o doubt that aspecies n ot otherw ise re

corded in the l ist was Observed . These are Vu ltur mouachus,

N eophron perci iOpterus, Corvus umbrinu s,B ran tarufina,an d

Mergus castor. The absolu te identification of Gyps f u lvesceusmust also remain u ndec ided, for reason s hereafte r stated .

My iden tification s of Corvus culminatusand Columbal iviamayalso beaccepted w ith hesitation , as also the Spec ific d istinotion of C orvus col laris. W i thout taki ng these in toaccoun t

,

tw en ty-on e species , n ot prev i ous ly recorded, or of doubtfu l

occu rren ce, in India, accord ing to Mr. Hume’

s l ist of l stMarch 1879 , must n ow beadded to the n umber of ou r In d ianspecies . They are Cere/meis vesperti na, Lan ius homeyeri,Lam'

us phan ieuroides, Turdus hyemal is Sax icolavittata,

Saxicolatenan t/re, Leptopoeci le sophice, Accen tor f u lvescen s,S turnus purpurascens, Petrouiastu lto

, Emberizahortu lana,Erythrospizaincarnata, Propasser blythi, Linariacan nabina

,

Fring i l lamon ti'

f ri ng i l la, Leucosticte braudti,

”urtur aurita

,

E gial itis hiaticu la, E yialitis j erdon i, Tr inyaacuminata,andCrew praten sis . The occurren ce of Hydrobataleueogasterw ithin In dian l imits, though n ot in cluded in the G ilg it l ist, isalso recorded for the firs t time .

1 .—Vultur monachus, L in .

I may have been w rong in my iden tification of those birds ;but they w ere certain ly n ot the young of Gyps himalayens isThey w ereapair of adu lt birds of atotally d ifferen t spec ies .2 .

— Gyps fulvescen s, H ume . (8 bis . )I regret that I did n ot bring this specimen home for comparison . To the best of my recol lection , how ever, it was an

3? I haveadded our catalogue n umbersas usual—Em, S. F.

260 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT.

adu l t bird . O w ing to the d i fficul ty Of tran sport,I left this

andafine spec imen of A. chrysaetos behind me .

9a. -Cerchneis vespertina, L in .

A s ingle spec imen ,ayoung male in immature plumage, wasobtain ed in O ctober. Length, in ches ; w ing, tai l

,

tarsus, Irides l ight brown ; legsan d cere orange ; c lawspaler. 1 have compared this specimen w ith those of C . amu‘

rensis and C . vespertinain Mr. Seebohm’

s col lection ,and haven o doub t of its iden ti ty w i th the latter spec ies, though theimmature specimen sare d iffi cu lt to discriminate .

12 .-Accipiter n isus, Lin .

Out of twen ty-on e Sparrow Hawks from G ilg it Mr. Sharpeiden tifies on ly thirteen as true A . m

'

sus,the restappare n tly

belong in g to the larger race which I have cal led A. melaschistus of Hume .

18 .—Buteo plumipes, B odys . (47)I obtain ed amale in the rufous stage of plumage from the

Deosai plain .

29 .-Scops brucu , Hume . (74. sept. )

A fin e spec imen was brought to meal ive , but n umbed w ithcold,after some bad weather in the beg in n ing of Ju ly.

33.— Chel idon cashmirensis, Gou l d .

33a. —Chel idon urbica, L in .

During the time of our be ing in G i lg it together, Dr. Scu l lyan d myself fai led to n otice that w e had more than on e HouseMartin

,and w hile he on ly obtain ed 0 . urbica

,I on ly oh

tain ed 0 . caskmiren sis .

In the beg inn ing of Ju ly 1880 the w eather,after be ingin ten sely hot, sudden ly changed, an d for four days rain fe l lon the n e ighbouring hi lls, en d ing in heavy s n ow during then ight of the fourth day, when the thermometer in G ilg it fe l lto 45

°

Fahr.

The follow ing morn ing an umber of Martin s w ere pickedup, e ither dead or so n umbed w ith cold as to be unable tom ove ; an d I then observed that there were two kinds . Ofadozen brought to me five proved to be 0 . uréica

,an d the

remain ing se ven 0 . cashmiren sis,al l adu lts .

Amale of C . urbicameasures : Length, inches w ing,tail , tarsus

,A female measures Length, 59 w ing,

tai l, tarsus,


able in the colour of the w ings an d tailm Most specimen sShowafain t white streak exten d ing from the n ostri ls to the

eye, and afain t circ le of w hite round the eye . I procuredthis Flycatcheralso from Darel .58 .— Cyorn is ruficauda, Swai nson .

This Flycatcher ex ten ds in to the Dare l val ley, when ce mycol lector brought me several spec imen s .

59 .—Troglodytes neglectus, B rooks . (333 bis . )

B irds ki l ledat the same time of year are scarcely distingu ishable from T . n ipalen sis , Hodgs . ; bu t T . n eg lectus isal ittle smal ler and paler u n dern eath. The freshly mou ltedautumn birds and those kil led in summerare more d istin ct,and paler than T. n ipalensis in every way but in the w in tertheyare hard ly d istingu ishable .

62 .—Hydrobatacashmirensis, Gou ld .

I procu red an adult specimen of this Dipper from the

Deosai plain , but d id n ot meet w ith it in G ilg it. Dr. Scu l ly’sspecimen was procured in aval ley betw een G ilg itand Dare l,where its occurren ce is somewhat remarkable

, as' I rece ived

from Darel , w hich is sti l l further to the south,an adu lt maleof H. leucogaster bis) in fin e plumage—the first in stan ce, Ibe l ieve, of its occurren ce on the Indian side of the H imalayas .Dr. Scu l ly ’

s specimen is u ndoubtedly H . casbmirensis .

64.— 0rcecetes cinclorhynchus, Vigors . (353)I shot ayoung male of the year, in G i lg it, in August 1880,and later observed twoadu lt males . The spec ies appears to

be common in the Darel val ley, when ce my man brought meback several specimen s . Young males of the yearare easi lyd istingu ishable from the females by the w hite w ing

-bar,whichappears to be assumed in the earl iest stage of plumageand beforeany trace of blue isapparen t.66 .

—Turdus hyemal is, Dybowslci . (2 3641 bis . )The specimen which, in my former paper, I c lassed as

T. ruficol l i s (Ibis, 188 1, p . I have compared w ithalarg en umber of specimen s in the British Museum and other coll ection s ; and I find that it can n ot stan d u nder that nameIt isaful ly adu lt male, shot in Jan uary. The markings areessen tial ly the sameas those of T. rufiool l is an d T. atrogu laris,w ith the exception of the colouring of the tai land breast. The

tai l is rufous, hardly so v iv id as in typical specimen s Of

T, ruficol lis, but much more v ivid than in any spec imen of

T.atrogularis . The breast isafine deep vandyke-brown , much


darker than inany spec imen Of T . ruficol lis,an d easi ly d istingu ishable from that of T . atrogu laris .

It isappare n tly Dybow ski’s T . byemalis but I leave it forMr. Seebohm to pron oun ce on i ts merits as ahybrid orag ood Spec ies . Mr. S eebohm

’

s col lecti on con tain s as im i larspecimen from Lake Baikal ; and I have also on e shot in

Yarkan d .

67.

—Turdusatrogularis, Tem. (365)When I w rote con cern ing this Spec ies in aformer paper

(Ibis, 188 1, p . I d id n ot observe that I had before me a.

Specimen of an adu lt male in amelan i stic form of plumage .

The feathers of the head and hin der part of the n eck aretinged w i th black ; the tai l is much darker than in other spe

cimen s ; an d the ax i l lariesan d u nder coverts are d u l l brown .

Al l other specimen s that I have seen have theax il lariesandu nder w ing-coverts du l l ru fous .

70—Trochalopterum l in eatum, Vigors . (425)My G ilg it spec imen s of this Babbler are mu ch paler than

those I have from Cashmere,w hich

,again , are paler than

those sen t me by Man del l i . The d i fferen ce betw een G i lg itan d S imlaforms

,however

,is greater than betw een the

S imlaan d Darjeel ing forms . Specimen s of S ibiacapistratafrom Murreean d S ikkim Show the same d ifferen ces of

colouration .

72 .—Pratin colaindica, B lyth.

Pratincolamaura, Pu l l .73.— Pratincolarobusta, Trist‘ram .

Dr. Scu l ly has show n (Ibis, 188 l , p. 441 ) that our largeG i lgit Bush-Chat is n ot Can on Tristram ’

s spec ies ; but I cann ot al low that al l the C hats of the P . indicu (or maura) typeare re ferable to as ing le spec ies . My col lection con tain sforty-e ight adu lt spec imen s from di fferen t l ocal i ties . TheseShow tw o races

,more or less w e l l marked, and differing in

S ize an d colour, but con n ected by in termediate forms, w hichmay be hybrids, as the two races apparen tly ex ist s ide byS ide in G i lg it and in some other local ities . As in some spe

cimen s the measu remen ts s l ightly overlap, I have n ot takend ifferen ce of S ize as apoin t of d iagn osis, bu t S imply colour;The males show acon stan t d ifferen ce in theamoun t of whiteon the back part of the n eck . The race which I w i l l cal lForm A show s awhite patch on the S ide of n eck

,bu t

n ot extending round to the back of it. In no specimen is

.264 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS or GILGIT.

thereany w hite d iscern ible on the nape of the n eck . The other

race,which I w i l l cal l Form B

,also hasawhi te patch on

each side of the n eck,w hich exten ds roun d to the back, meeting

the w hite from the other side,soas to formacomplete dem i

collar w hen v iewed from above . This is most Oon spicuousin breeding-plumage but spec imen s procured at al l season sshow some trace of whi te on the nape . Separating the n in eteen males in my col lection w ith referen ce to this poin t alon e,I fin d they measureas fol low s

W ing-measurement. Season .

Kumaon TeraIo n G i lgit 0 0 0

0 0 .

0 0 .

0 .

0 0 0 0 . 0 0 .

W ing-measurement. Season .

N .B .—The last two Specimensare in ful l breeding-plumag e .

The females al so show w e l l-marked d ifferen ces in colour.

Those which in gen eral appearan ce much resemble the male sof Form A in n on -breeding plumage, have “ broad rufescen t

marg in s to the feathers of the back, the w ing-coverts,andw hite secondaries, w hile the tai l-feathers are broadly tippedan d marg ined w i th the same ,an d thereare narrow ru fescen t

edg ings to the feathers of the head an d n eck . These I havereferred to Form A. The others are al together of amuch

darker ton e, hav in g the w ingand tai l-feathers n early u n iformdul l brow n

,w ith very fain t in con spicuou s pale edg ings,an d the

s triation s of the head an d back very broad and dark, w ithnarrow marg in s,an d the whole ton e of colouration less rufes

cen t. These I refer to Form B . Separating twen ty-four

fi 66 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT.

can affect total ly to ignore when treatin g of two very c l ose lyal lied species foun d in the same l ocal ity ; or it may be thatsome of those classedas females w ou ld have bee n foun d by

more carefu l examination to be males that had n ot got rid of

female plumage . W hatever may be the explanation of this,I be lieve that w e have here tw o spe cies .

The smal ler spec ies of Chat,w hich I have cal led Form B

,

is ev iden tly the P . indicaof B ly th but it is more d ifficu lt to

say which is the P . mauraof Pal las .

74 .—Saxicolaopisthol euca, S irioklun d . (488 )I find that I got four Spec imen s of this Chat in G ilg it

three at the beg in n ing of Apri l,an d on e in December . The

young bird prev iously referred to (Ibis, 18 8 1, p . 55) turn sou t

,on further comparison , to be ayoung spec ime n of

S . morio. There is n o reason to suppose that S . op istl ioleucabreeds in the d istrict.75 .

— Saxicolaniceta, B lyth.

Dr. Scu l lyand myse lf have broughtaway from G ilg it 18 1Spec imen s of this Chat. O f these thereare 102adu lt males

,

4 6adu lt females, the rest be ing of both sexes in d ifferen tstages of immaturity . I can add l ittle to w hat hasalreadybeen saidabout this bird . The Spec imen s of the males beforeme show every gradation , from the creamy-w hi te head to je tblack ; but those w ith pure black headsare the most n umerousn ext in n umber come those in d ifferen t phases, whi le thosethat have en tire ly w hit-e headsare the scarcest.The adu lt femalesare al l of the same ty pe, w i th the excep

ti on of asin gle Specimen , which differs in having the low erthroat n early black . Dr. Scu l ly tel ls me that he hasalsoaprecise ly s imilar female specimen . There is n o doub tas tothe determ ination of the sexes of these two spec imen s ; bu t thew ing -formu lais the same as in al l other spec imen s of

S . picata. Among the immature spec imen s females areun distingu ishab le from males .

77 .—Saxicolamorio, H empr. §rEhr.

Dr. Scu l ly an d I have brought away from G ilg it al together 153 Spec imen s of this Chat. Dr. Scu l ly ’

s assertion ofthe iden tity of this species w ith S . benderson i must, I thin k,he accepted . The Spec imen s of adu lt males show cl early thegradation of plumage from the black, w ith pu re-white,

cap, ofthe breed ing-stages, to the S . henderson i type of autumn .

Two specimen s,of 27th Apri l an d 23rd May , Show a, few fain tbrow n specks on the back an d head . Four specimen s, of

18 th, 2 l st, and 25th July, have the freshly mou lted secon

FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT . 267

daries and w in g-coverts broadly marg in ed w ith pale ru fes

cen t, an d the head much in fuscated . August spec imen s haven early reached the Iwnu

’erson i stag e , bu t stil l re tain acertain

amou n t of b lack on the back . No Spec imen was procuredafter Ju ly of theaccepted morio black-an d-w hite type .

The femal es vary con siderably in the colour of the low erthroat

,w hich, how ever, does n otappear to be conn ected w i th

the season it may possibly beaquestion of age, birds of thesecon d y eaI becom ing very dark .

I took an est of this Chat In Astor on the 26th Jun e, atane le vation of 7

,000 feet, con tain ing five hard-set eggs . It wasplaced,aboutafoot deep, in awal l of l oose ston es supporti ngabu ilt-up road on the moun tain -s ide , over which was con stan ttraffic . The eggs w ere very pale blue, w ith smal l dusky -red

freckles thin ly scattered over the surface,sl ightly ten d in g

towards azon e at the thicker end,and measured “725 in ch

i n length by ’565 in diame ter.

78 .- SaxicolaVittata, H empr. §rEbr. (49 1b. )I procured one specimen

,an adu l t male, in G ilg it, on the

4th Jun e. Three others w ere seen at the same tIme .

82 .-Ruticil larufiventris, Vi ei l l .

I procured aspec imen as lateas 27th November. It apparen tly breeds on the Shandur plateau

, when ce I rece ived

an immature specimen in Aug ust.

84.—Ruticil laerythronota, Eversm. (49 8 bis . )

A female of this bird was, by m istake , passedas R . bodgson i,w hich it mu ch resembles in my former paper (I bis, 188 1,p . After n oting the specimen I m is laid it

,and was

u nable to pu t my hand on itagain . It has S in ce turn ed up,and proves to be long to this Species . It is to be d istingu ishedfrom R . bodgson i by the double w i ng-bar an d con spicuouspale edg ings to the secondaries . R . lwdgson i, w hich is

m u ch w hi ter on the abdomen , must be expunged from the

G ilg it l ist.87a.—Rutici l 1aful iginosa, Vigors . (505 )I procuredas ing le spec imen ,ayoung bird of the year in

immature plumage , 0 11 the 8 th of Ju ly . There is n othingremarkable In the

b

occurI en ce of this Spec ies in G i lg it ; but itis somewhat curious that

,w ith the exception of thia

D

Spec imen,

n e ither DI . Scu l ly n or I have observed any of this spec iesd u I ingape I iod ex ten d ing al together over four years, e i therin or n ear the G ilg it district.

268 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGI'I‘;

The Plumbeou s Water-Robin is atrue flycatcher ; and Ihave o fte n watched apair hawking at i n sects on the w ing,and return ing to the ir post on aston e or tree-stump at the .

water’s edge .

90.— Cal l iope pectoral is, Gou l d .

I rece ived specimen s of this bird both from Dare l an d the

Deosai plain . My largest spec imen hasaw ing of exactly threein ches . Through some m istake in my former paper it wasstated to measure i nches .

92 .—Cyaneculal eucocyanea, B rebm. (514 bis . )I t may be u sefu l here to men tion that in 1874 I found this

species very common on both s ides of the Digar pass, betw eenthe Nohraan d In dus val leys, during the last w eek of June .

W ith the exception of the spec imen secured by Dr. Scu l ly,I n ever sawan other of the species in G i lg it.93.—Acrocephalus dumetorum, B lyth.

Out of twen ty-four specimen s brought away from G i lg it,I find that n in eteen w ere procured in Aug ust (mostly in thelatter half of the mon th),and the remain ing five in the firsthalf of September. In the summer of 1880 they first appeared in G i lg it on 22nd August.93a.—Locustel lastraminea, Severtz.

I shotan adu lt female of this species on 1st September,an dsawan other on the follow ing day . Length, in che s w ing ,

tai l, tarsu s, Irides dark brown ; legs fleshyred .

97 .—Phyl loscopus lugubris, B lyth .

This spec ies must be expunged from the G ilg it l ist.99 .—Phyl loscopus tytleri , Brooks . (560 bis . )I obtain ed al together three Specimen s, in May, Jun e, an d

Augu st ; so it n o doubt breeds in the d istrict. Ialso got itin Astor in May .

103a.—Reguloides proregulus, Pu l lus .

I “ ob tain ed three specimen s, two femalesand on e male,in

G ilg it, in Jan uary .

105—Regulus cristatus, Koob. (580 )I procured three specimen s in Jun e at an e l evation of

feet, in a; val ley leading towards Darel . Ialso procured specimen s in the Astor val ley, where itappears to be

'


120.—Anthus rosaceu’

s, Hodgs . (605)I procured twoadu lt specimen s in July from Dare l .

121 .—Anthus cervinus, P u l lus . (6 05 bis . )

In add i tion to the specimen s previously recorded I procured two on 2 1stand 22nd October.

123 .—Cephal opyrus flammiceps, B urton . (633)

I Obtain ed spec imen s in Jun ean d S eptember. The gen eralcolouration is paler than in spec imen s sen t me by Mande l l i .B irds in fu l ladu lt plumage appear to lose the ye l low ish-greenmarg in s of w ingan d tai l-feathers .

124.—Leptopcecile sophiae, Severizofi'

. (633 bis . )I was m istaken in supposing this to be aw in ter v is itor

on ly . In Jun e I procured an umber of Spec imen s of bo thsexesatan e levation of feet in asecluded val ley c l oseto the In dus, w here they w ere doubtless breed ing . The malesat this season have the w hole abdomen v in ous purple, w ithou t the bu lf space in the cen tre that al l w in ter spec imen sShow the colouring of the head isalso more v ivid .

125.—}Egithal iscus leucogenys, Moore . (634 bis . )

I obtained several specimen s from the Dare l val ley .

127.-Lophophan es rufonuchal is, B lyth . (6 40)

Theamoun t of ru fous in the n uchal spot appears in somedegree seasonal . Two w in ter-kil led Spec imen s Show much

m ore ru fous than any procured in summer. I procured thisTitalso from Dare l .129 .—Accentor n ipal ensis, Hodgson . (6 52)

Captain Ward law -Ramsay has show n me spec imen s of

M . Severtzoff’s A . rufi latus, whichare iden tical w ith G ilg it

spec imen s of A . n ipalen sis . It w ou ldappearas if A . alpinu sandA . n ipalen sis w ere on ly the two extremes of on e spec ie s, w hichare bridged over by in termed iate f orms , i n the same way asthe eastern and w estern forms of TrOOhaZOpterum l ineatum .

131 .

—Accentor j erdoni, B rooks. (6 54 bis . )I procu red this species both from the Deosai plain and the

Shandur plateau .

A rubecu loides does n ot appear to exten d further westwardthan the Astor valley , where I have procured it.139 - Corvus frugil egus, L in . (664)Earl iestautumn appearan ce in G i lg it on the 19 th October.


147 .—Temenuchus pagodarum, Gme l . (687)

I gotal together fi ve specimen s during four summers I spen tin G ilg i t—three in Mayan d two in Jun e .

149 .— Passer indicus, Jurd . do Se lby . (706 )

During the w in ter of 1880-8 1 which was n otasevere on e,

I procured afew spec imen s,al l males . They were, however,scarce .

152 .-Emberizaleucocephala, S . G . Gmel . (712)

The earl iest specimen s w ere observed on the 1 1th

November,and the latest on the 3rd March, but it was on ly inDecember thatany quan tity was obtain ed .

154 .— Emberizastewarti, B lyth .

.

I procured asin gle specimen , afemale , in December, inG Ilgit. W ith this exception , n o other specimen was observedlater than 4th O ctober.

155 .—Emberizabuchanan i , B lyth . (716)

I rece ived specimen s of this Bun ting from the upper partof the Yassin val le y ,

n ear the foot of the Shan dur plateau, inAugust. In the G i lg it d istrict I n ever saw it except inSeptember.

158 .—Euspizaluteola, Sparrm .

I procuredamale in adu lt plumage on the 19 th May ; n o

others w ere seen at the time . In August I procuredamalean d female,an d in September two males, al l four in immature plumage . I also procured amalean d female, in August,from Yassin

,atan e levati on of over feet .

I have examin ed the Euspizamen tion ed by Dr. Scu l ly(Ibis, 188 1, pp. 575, as appearing to be long to this

species . Several of my immature specimen s show the samed ifferen ce in measuremen t be tw een the longest secon dariesan d lon gest primaries, and three specimen s also show sl ightspots on the breast, though in n on eare the spots so large an dcon spicuous as in Dr. Scu l ly ’

s specimen . The bird is,how ever

, so l ike E . luteolain every other particu lar that Ican n ot be l ieve it to be long toan other spec ies .

162 .

—Erythrospizamongol ica, Sw iub. (732 bis A . )I obtain ed amale in breeding plumage in Jun e,atan ele

vation of feet. The two w ing-

patches, w hich in otherspecimen s are dusky-white , in this are pure w hite

,whi le the

tips of the larger coverts, whichare Of afain t rose-colourat

FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILGIT .

other times,are bright carmin e . The underpartsare washed

w i th bright carm in e in stead of fain t rosy, asat other season s,an d the

o

rump an d superci l ium are bright rosy . Out of alarge n umber of specimen s obtain ed by Dr. Scu l lyan d myse l fthis is the on ly on e in this stage of plumage , w hen it d iffers

so greatly from those obtain edat other times of the year, thati t mightalmost pass musteras ad ifferen t species . Mr. S ee

bohm’

s collection con tain s several ’

s imi lar specimen s fromC en tral Asia. As my collection con tain s an umber of spe

c imen s shot w ithin afew days of this on e ,an d w hich, thoughmuch brighter than ordinary w in ter Specimen s, do not showany thing like su ch bright markingsas this on e , I am in cl in edto think that this plumage is n ot assumed by adu lt malestil l after the secon d mou lt

,that is in the third year of the ir

ex isten ce . The males of the Propasseran d Carpodacus g roup,as faras is kn ow n

,al l breed in female plumage the first y ear,

an d there is n o reason w hy some su ch de lay in assuming fu l lbreed ing plumag e shou ld n ot sim i larly occur in the E

'

rytbros

pizagroup. The colou ring of E . g itbagin eaappears to u nder

goasomewhat simi lar chan ge .

Gou ld’s plate in pt. x x ix . of the “ BiIds of Asia” showsamale in the plumage I have described,andafemale in w in ter

plumage . The figure in Dav id and Oustalet’s Oiseaux delaChin e is of aSpecimen in w in ter plumage .

166 .—Propasser blythi, Sp . uov . (744)

I Obtain ed altogether two malesan d five females of thisspecies in asecluded val ley c lose to the In du s . The malesagree w ith B lyth’

s type of Propasser f rontal is in the

CalcuttaMuseum . B lyth first described this spec ies in theJournal of the Asiatic Society” for 1863 ; bu t in his

Appen d ix to the “ B irds of In d ia,Jerdon writes that B ly th

had ceased to re gard itas specifical ly d istin ct from P . thuru .

I t is,however, certain ly d istin ct,and hasaw ing averaging

from ° l O to°25 in ch lon ger, both in the malean d female .

The w hole colouration Is fain teran d softer,an d the gen eral

g roun d-colour of the upper parts is du l l earthy brow n , u nm ixed w ith rosy, in stead of dark ru fou s brow n as in P . tbura

,

or dark crimson -brow n,as in P . rbodopeplus, whi le the bi l l

is fin er an d less Py rrhu l in e . The female has the u nderpartsand rump tinged w ith pale ye l low ish chestn ut

,w hich in

P . t/Iura. are deep reddish chestn u t, and the upper partsandw ingsare free fromany tinge of ru fous .B lyth’s specific name has, un fortunately , been g iven to

aRose Fin ch in North America. The generic d istinctn ess of

the Carpodacus and Propasser groups does not appear we l l

274 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF GILeIT.

175.

-Calandrel labrachydactyla, .Lois l .

I procured n umerous specimen s from the Deosai plain inJu ly,an d from the Shan dur plateau in Augu st. Itappearsto breed in both places . Five spec imen s

,procured in Astor,

an d higher up the Indus,n ear Iskardo,appear paler than

others .176 .

—Melanoeoryphabimaculata, Me’

ue’

lr. 76 1 l er . )During the last w in ter I was at G i lgit this Species was

common from the l oth November to 2 l st December.

179 .—

,Otocorys pen icil lata, Gou ld . (763 )

I obtain ed three adu lt specimen s andan umber of youngbirds from the Shandur plateau in Augu st, which is, n o doubt,abreed ing-groun d of the species . The young are spotted ,l ike the young of other species of Obocorg/ s . Theyappearedin G i lg it for the first time on 14th October,an d in cousiderable n umbers . M y specimen s of 0 . laugirostris complete lybear ou t Dr. Scu l ly ’

s remarks (Ibis, 188 1, p . I first

procured the Species in the Pangong d istrict in 1 873, an dlater on the Burzi l pass in 18 76 an d succeed i ng years . Ihave S ix males and two females from the latter place, threemales an d four females from the Deosai plain ,an d three malesand three females from the high grou n d betw een G ilg itan dDarel

,but from the Dare l side of the watershed, so it can n ot

be coun ted among the G ilgit species . Non e of these Spec i

men s cou ld poss ibly be m istaken for 0 . pen icil lata. The

Horn ed Larksare exce l len t eating .

189 .—Turtur ferrago, Eoersm. (79 2 )

I obtain ed young birds of this species, in G i lg it,as lateas1 9th October.

191 .—Turtur cambayensis, Gmel . (794)

I procuredaltogether four Specimen s of this Dove , two inJan uary , on e in March, an d on e in October. In al l, therumpan d upper tai l-covertsare brown

,l ike the back.

192 .—Turtur suratensis, Gme l . (795)

I procured specimen s of this Dove from the 7th Octoberto 18 th Apri l .192 u .

—Turtur humil is, Tem. (797 bis . )A s ingle specimen , amale, was brought to me on 23rd

Jun e by anative, w ho shot it in the midd le of G i lgit,and saidthat he had seen apair of them. The measuremen ts were as


fol low s z—Len gth, in ches w ing, tai l,

tarsus,Leg s blackish pu rple irides dark brow n .

This bird is the tru e T. humi lis of Temm in ek,as is show n byLord Walden in his paper on the “ Birds of the Phi l ippin eIslands” (Tran s . Zool . Soc . ,

IX . , pp. 219,

It is darke ran d richer in colourin g than the In d ian Red Dove , w hich

standsas T . tranquebaricus, Herm . ,an d has the u n der w ing

coverts dark ashy . The most d istin ctive poin t is in the size,

T . tran guebaricus averag ing in ches in length, w ith a.w ing 52 (STRAY FEATHERS, IV . , p.

I have exam in ed the series in the British Mu seum,an d the

d ifferen ce be tw een the tw o Spec ies holds good throughou t,aSpec imen from Amoy be in g u n distingu ishable from the

G ilgit Spec imen . In the Museum serie sare several of this

spec ies obtain ed in Nepal by Mr. B . H . Hodgson . O n e of'

them is labe l led E . murmen sis, prin ted by m istakeJE . murwen sis in the “ Zoological Misce l lany,” p . 85

,an d cor

rected by Mr. Hodg son in his ow n han dwriting in the Bri tishMuseum copy . G iebel , in his “ Thesauru s O rn itholog ies ,(sub voc . I u rtur humil is ) , and Bonaparte, in “ Comptes Rendus,

”XLI.

,p . 659 , m isprin t this spec ific term muroen sis .

192 b.—Pteroclesarenarius, Pu l lus . (799 )

I secured aSing le specimen,afemal e

,in the Sai val ley, on

the 19 th December. No others w ere seen .

198 .— 1Egial itis cantiana, Latbam. (848)

I procuredamale in adu lt plumage on 13th August.

199 .— }Egial itis phil ippen sis, Soap . (849 )E gial itis curon ica, Gmel .

I shot an umb er of specimen s of this Plover in the firsthalf of August.

200a.— IEgial itis j erdoni , Legge . (850)I procu red tw o spec imen s of this Plover, both females, on e

on the 1 1th May , an d the other on the 27th September. It

d iffers from E . curon icain the basal half of the l ow er mand ible be ing y e l l ow ,

in the absen ce of ablack fron tal ban dn ext to the bi ll, an d in hav in g afleshy-ye l low ring to the

eye l ids . It is also s l ightly smal ler,an d the female is smal le r

than the male ; w hereas in 1 143. curon icathe female is the

larger.

zos u .—Ibidorhynchus struthersi, Vigors . (are )

On the 6 th August I procuredayoung female in immatureplumage in G ilg it.


209 —Machetes pugnax , L in .

I obtain ed four spec imen s in the beg in n ing of August,andobserved others . They al l show dark markings on the breastan d flanks .

209 u .-Tringaacuminata, Horsf (8 83 bis . )

I Shotasing le spec imen ,amale, in adu lt plumage, in G ilg iton the 1 st Aug ust. It was fly in g abou t w ithan umber of

Machetes pugnax . It measured z—Length, in ches w ing ,tai l

,tarsi, cu lmen , This is

,I be l ieve, thefirst n otice of the occurren ce of thi s species so far to the w est

ward, or w i thin Ind ian l imits . It was first described byHorsfield from Java, in 1821 , in the follow in g terms Suprafuscu s, plum is dorsal ibus ferrug in eo tectricibu s griseo marg inatis ; subtu salbidus, pectore sublutescen te , rectricibus acum inatis .

”It was afterwards figured by G ou ld in his Birds

of Au stral ia” un der the name of S cbwn iclus austral is . Sw in

hoe met w ith i t in North China, w here it was very abun dan tin Augu st (Ibis, 1863, p . He states thatat the en d of

August it goes sou thwardalon g the coastand retu rn s in May .

The measuremen ts he g ives are smaller than those of myspecimen , viz .

-Length,. 8 4 in ches ; w ing, tai l, tarsi,; cu lmen , 1 .

In breeding plumage this species is easily distingu ishablefrom T. alpine by the abdomen be ing pure w hite, sparing lyspotted w i th l ight brow n , whereas T. alpine has the w holeabdomen du l l black. T . acumin e te also has the ground-colourof the u pper breast ru fou s, w ith large dark-brown spots, whileT. alpin e hasafain t ru fous tinge in some specimen s on ly, w i thsmal l streaks . The best poin t of d istin ction is in the tai lfeathers

,al l of whichare poin ted in T. acumin e te (when ce the

name) , wh ile in T. alpine on ly the cen tral on esare poin ted .

210.—Tringasubarquata, Gu ld .

I shot . three adu lt Spec imen s, al l females, on the 2ndand9th Augu st. The en tire un derparts are ru fous

,w ith black

markings in two out of the three specimen s . O n e shoton the 4th September has complete ly assumed the w in terplumage .

211 .-Tringaminuta, L eis l .

I Obtain ed two spec imen s in G i lg it in the m iddle of August.

212 .—Tringatemmincki, Leis l . (885)

I obtained on e specimen . in Ju ly, and agreat number inAugust.


the tips of the secondaries are edged w ith white , forming aban d, but in L . ichthyaetus n ot on ly the tips , bu t both edges

of the secon dariesare distinctly marg ined w ith white f or alongway up each f eather . Again in L . ichthyaetu s the tail presen ts abroad u niform darh band (on ly the outer feathers be ingedged w ith w hite ) , w hereas in L . afi nis, &c . , the tai l is mottledw ith dark markings, an d the band is complete ly broken up.

O ther poin ts of d ifferen ce exist,bu t to describe them w ou ld

on ly be con fusing ,as theaboveareample for recogn iti on .

I have n otas yet been able to examin e ayoung bird Of

the same year as that in w hich it was hatched, when the

plumage is fresh. An other “ l in k which is m issing is the stagebetw een the follow ing April, when the man tle is main ly grey ,but the w ing s an d tai l are brown , an d the springaf ter that,w hen the man tle is w hol ly grey, but there are sti l l somebrown mottl in gs on the carpals an d primary covertsandal i ttle dark on the tai l ; the black hood is then assumed for thefirst time .

L . ichthyaetus must, therefore, be substituted for L .afi n isin the l ist of G i lg it birds .

246 .- Geloche1idonangl ica, Mon t.

I secured an adu lt male passing through on l st August ;the black of the head is chan g ing to the w in ter stage ofplumage . Two days later I securedayou ng bird of the year ;the head is white, marked w ith brown streaks,and the wholeback is smeared w ith brown .

must Eistall the fends 011W esternEthaiidesit.By J . DAVIDSON, ESQ ,

AFTER man y appl ication s it su ited the con ven ien ce of apaternal G overnmen t, i n October 1879 , to tran sfer me to

Khan de sh,an d from that time ti l l May 18 8 1 I was on du tythere . U n fortunate ly my w ork was con fi n ed to the w esternpart of the d is trict,and I was u nable e ven to v isit the maj orportion of the easte rn talukas . S ti l l w hat I saw gave meavery fair ideaof the orn ithology of the w estern hal f

,at

any rate , of this great d istrict, an d I manag ed to pick upacon s iderable n umber of specimen s both of birds an d of eggs

‘

.

The re su l ts of this yearan dahalf’s observation s in Khan deshI n ow chron icle at the request of the‘

Editor.

* ‘

At the

same,t ime I must cau tion every on e

,in du lgen t en ough to ‘

readthrough it, that the subj oin ed l ist does n ot pretend to beanexhau stive on e

,even of those parts of Khan desh which I have

v isited,much less of the orn ithology of Khan deshas awhole ,

as, up to the very last day of my stay,I hard ly passedaw eek

w i thou t meeting w ith species n ew to me . It may , how ever;be of u se to any on e subsequen tly v is i ting the d istrict,andis, so faras it goes ,asaccurateas I can possibly make i t.Khan desh, the larg est of the C ol lectorates in the Bombay

Pre siden cy , was,w hen w e obtained it in 18 18

,in great part

almost u n inhabi ted . Though on ce w e l l cu l tivated , success ivewarsan d raids by the Pindarees an d the Holkars had pre

ven ted the v i l lag ers cu l tivating ,an d vast tracts hav ing lapsedin to jung le w ere .then on ly i nhabited byafew wandering Bhee lsan d by w i ldan imals, w ho proved most u npleasan t n e ighbou rsto any adven turous se ttlers and the ir cattle . It was then

aperfect parad ise for sportsmen . Now , settled G overnmen t and i n crease of cu ltivation an d popu lation have , in

s ixty years, tran sformed these w i ld j ung les i n toahuge blacksoi l plain , crowded w ith v il lages,and covered

,as faras the eye

can reach, w ithwheatan d cotton fie lds, an d inhabited by a.peasan try better Off, less d iscon te n ted ,and in every way superiorto that of any other part of In d ia, I have ever served in .

The orig inal kingdom of Khan desh was 'ahuge s lice of

cou n try compris ing , ou ts ide the presen t l imits of the d istrict,the We stern portion of Nimar on the east,and the g reaterpart

'

of the Nas ik Col lectorate on the w est.

The presen t d istrict con sists of 'along strip of lan d follow i ngthe river Ta'pti for over on e hu ndred

‘an d s ixty mi les,an dU P to date n oth in g has everbeen put on record concern ing the Ornithology of

Khandesh—En , S . F.

280 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF W ESTERN KHANDESH .

varying ,

in breadth from fifty to a‘ hun dred m i les at variou sparts . Thereare

,in add ition

,n in e or ten Dan g States in the

extreme w est of Pimpaln ir'

,an dalso fi ve or s ix Mewas S tatesw est of Talodain c luded u n der the Khan desh Pol itical Agen cy .

AS I have n ever v is ited an y of these S tates, they are n ot

in cluded in thean n exed sketch map.

Khandesh natural ly d ivides itself in to three paral le l bel tsextending from east to w est. The n orthern con s is ts of the

Satpuras, the cen tral of the plain val ley of the Tapti,an d the

sou thern of the Satmu l las or Ajun tahi l ls,an d the ran ges

extending from them,spread ing ou t on the w est to the table

lan d of Nizampur, and the many barren ranges of hi l ls inthe w estern half of the Dhu l iataluka.The Satpuras con sist of aseries of rang es of bil ls thirty or

forty mi les broad, an d form the northern boundary of Khan :desh .

In the eastern portion , i .a, in Sawda,Chopra

,an d East

Shirpur, on ly the ou ts ide rangesand the spurs from them aren ow i n Khande sh, Lord Ly tton

’

s governmen t hav ing pre ;sen ted n early 200 square mi les of coun try, and that con tain ingthe bestf orests in Khandesh, to the Maharajah B olkar

, presum

ably in return for his con spicuous loyal ty in 1857 . The

Satpuras, as w e proceed w estwards , d imin ish in w idth whi lein creasing in he ight,an d on ly the spursare in Khan de shal ongthe

'

borders of the Shadataluka. W hen they reach Talodatheybreak in to two bran ches—on e, the highest, stretching sou th-w est

through Tal oda, whi le the other,amuch l ow er range , skirtsthe Nerbudda, there the boun dary of Khan desh ; betweenthese l ies the table lan d of the Akran i .LThe rain fal l is con s iderable al l through the Satpuras,andthe talukas n orth of the Tapti hard ly ever su ffer from wan t ofrain In the Akran i itself the rain fal l is excessi ve .

The Satpuras, though Of trap rock,are,asaru le , w el l w ooded,largeareas be ing u nderforestmanagemen t as reserved forest.Nearly every tree fou nd in W estern In d iais found grow ingthere

,an d though the common est tree is the w orthless Salai

(Boswel liathurifera) , the beautifu l blue Anjan (Hardw ic/ciabinata) is foundabundan tly through Shirpur an d Chopra, andagain al ong the

.

Nerbudda. Khair (Accaciacatechu) is al soabun dan t through the bi lls, an d there isagreat deal of good,

teak, particu larly in the w estern forests . The'

best forests arethose form ing the Toran -mal reserve, con s istin g of over

,

acres, bu t ow in g to the difficu l ty of tran sport theyare n ot much w orked, Some

.

of the trees in the val leys thereare very fin e . In the cen tral part of the Akran i there is agreat deal of cu ltivation , the people there be ing main ly POWraRajputs . Theseare capital husbandmen and l ive in‘

sc'attere'

d

282 ROUGH LIST OF THE mRDs OF WESTERN KHANDESH.

They .form the . boun dary between K han desh an d '

the hightable‘land of the Deccan . There are afew v il lag es iof theC hal isgaum talukaabove the ghats on the Deccan plai n ,an d '

en tire ly s urrounded by the Nizam’

s te rri tory ; bu t, asaru le , Khan desh on ly reaches the edge of the hi l ls . In the

w est of 'Pimpaln ir the Sahyadraran g e reaches in to handesh

, separating Nowapur from the rest of Pimpaln ir.Rang es of hi l ls pass from them along the sou th of the Pim

pal n iran d Dhu l iatalukas, separating them from Nasik,andspread ing outal l « over the Dhu l iataluka. These are e x ten

s ive ly c l othed . in places w ith Anjan ” trees,bu t theyare n ot

g ood ,and have been much out as food for cattle—apracticew hich, how ever, is n ow stric tly prohibited . O ther rangesfrom the . ghats spread through N izampur, separatin g Nandurbar from it, an d pass ing through the n orth of the Dhu l iataluka. Nizampur is con sequen tly e n tirely e n closed amongthese rangesan d formsabarren table lan d . The soi l throug hout this part of the sub-d i vis ion

,exceptalong the smal l ' rivers,

is v ery poor, an d w il l n ot bear acrop more than two years .

consecu tively . Thereare largeareas un cu ltivated ; much of thisis , n om inal ly, Governmen t forest, but the barre n hi l lsand stun tedshrubs do n ot deserve the name . Alongal l the Pin ipaln ir andDhu l iari vers thereare old bandharas” opposi te n early every.

v i l lage, form ingasmal l tankat w hich the v il lag e cattle drink,

and irrigating some v i l lage lands be low . These are kept upby G overnmen t, an d depen den t on the water are exten s ivegarden s grow ing wheat

,sugarcan e , rice

,and other crops,

though the amoun t of rice is very smal l . There are alsolarge lmango grovesaroun dalmost al l the large v il lages alongthe Panj ra,

'

forming agran d breed ing g roun d for Syrn iumocel latum,

: Ketupacey lon en sis, an d Ocyceros birostris, al l of

w hichare common throug hou t this part of the d istrict.The rain fal l is scan ty in the cen traland sou thern parts of

Khandesh, though n on e of the d istricts have e ver su ffe red fromwan t of rain so m uch as the n e ighbouring Deccan d istricts .

The rain fal l from 18 6 1 to 1871averaged from 20 to 30 in ches,

the heav iest rain fal l being at Pachora,an d the leastat V irde il .Khande sh is 'avery hot d istrict, (not on ly in the black soi lplain s but throughou t the Satpu ras,) the thermometer in March,Apri l and May frequen tly ris ing to from 105

°to 1 11

°

in

the Shade ; the n ights , how ever,are g en eral ly fairly cool,e xcept

in the early '

part of the rain s . In spite of al l that is said tothe con trary, except in the w es tern parts of Pimpaln ir, andNan durbar, , the c l imate is fairly heal thy, both to European san d Natives, i f moderate care be taken ; av isi t, howe ver, toW e s tNan durbar orPimpaln ir, except in the hotw eather or earlyrain s, isalmost certain to be fol lowed by bad malarious fever.

ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH. 283

Khandesh was orig inal ly . on e of the best d istricts for biggame shooting in the pres iden cy , an d very larg e bags w e re

frequen tly made .'The g reat in crease of cu l ti vation ,an d per

pe tual persecu tion ,have how e ver vas tly d imin ished the amou n t

of game s ti l l from 18 65 to 1879,i n clu sive , there w ere 193

tigers an d 658 pan thers kil led in the d istrict. At presen ttigers, on ce foun dal l over the d istrict, are very few an d arerestricted to the Satpu ras an d the babool j ung les eas t of thePurnas ing lean imalsare , how ever, occas ional ly foun d i n the

w est,

of Nandurbar, the Kondabhari Ghat of Pimpal n ir,andsome times e ven amon g the Aj un tahil ls . Pan thers are , on the

othe r han d,fairly common al ong al l the rocky hil ls , except in the

four cen tral d is tric ts—Amaln ir, Eraudole , Nas irabad , andV irdeil . There are afew hun ting leopards and lyn xes in the

Satpuras, bu t they .are v ery scarce .

Bears , orig inal ly very common ,have d imin ished mu ch late ly .

They have been practical ly exterminated in Pimpal n ir, w he re

they formerly aboun ded,and have become scarce everywhereexcept in the Akran i .B ison are fou n d in con siderable herds in the Akran ial l the

year through, an d they visi t the Khandesh Satpuras in the

rain s an d cold w eather, bu t, except in the Akran i , they arese ldom found w ithin Khan desh l im i tsat other season s .

Sambu r, though in d imin ished n umbers ,are foun d throughout the Satpuras an d Satmul las, and occas ional ly about the

Kon dabhari Ghat,

Chee tu l (Ax is macu latus) w ere formerly very common in the

j ung les east of the Purnariver, bu t w ere so persecu ted durin gthe making of the G reat In d ian Pen in su laRailway that theyalmost de serted the d istric t. There are s til lagood man y inthe babool j ung le in Ed labad,an dafew smal l herds in Shadaand S hirpur,and I be l ie ve on e herd in the Aj un tahi l ls . Barking Deer ( Cervu l us aureus) are n ot common

,but I have seen

them in various places in the Satpuras,C hinkara(,Gazel labennetti)are common throughal l the rocky

hi l ls ; thereareafew he rds of An te lope (A. bezoartica) spreadabou t the plain coun try ,an d,

afew ,I be l ie ve

,are occas ional ly

me t w i th in the Deccan v il lag es bey ond the ,ghats in Chal isgaum .

Nilghai (Fortaz pictus), lormerlyabu n dan t everywhere,Iam

told,are n ow res tric ted to the edges of the hills . There are afew s til l in NiZaInpur,andaherd visit the Kooran s n ear Dhu l iae very rai n s .

Pig are common In the hi l ly cou n try , bu t the groun d makesrid ing them almost hope less . Jackalsare dec ided ly scarce , butthereare loads of . foxesan d hares,and the coun try 15 In many .

places very w e l l su i ted for coursing .

The smal l game shooting is not very good . Some years

284 ROUGH‘

LIST OF THE BIRDS OF W ESTERN KHANDESH .

’

thereare agood‘

man y Quai l ,an d I had very n ice shooting atthem on e Apri l in the Shadaan d Talodatalukas in the bazris tubbles . Theyare how e ver l ocal , bu t the shootin g is very

n ice when they are n umerou s,varied as it is by Pain ted

Partridges,afew of which gen eral ly find the ir way in to thebag e verywhere .

There are few marshy placesan d n ot many tanks in Khandesh,an d except the Makhtian d Paw latan ks non e are large .

W ith the excepti on , how ever, of the Makhti tan k,w hich is

rocky an d has n o feed ing , theyare ge n eral ly w e l l s tocked w itlr‘

Duckand Teal . In Nizampur, particu larly , some of the smal ltan ks are very good , an d as the native commun ity there ,re veren c ing the orde r of some forgotten superin ten den t of

pol ice ' n ot to d isturb the Duck,rese rve the shooting for the

sahibs, capital sport may occasionally be got. The tan ks,how

ever,are very smal l

,an d w il l n ot stan d more than acouple o f

days shoo ting atatime , but the sport is good . On e day I fired'

be tw een 80 and 90 shots w ithout mov ing , having waded ou t

an d got she l ter behin d asmal l bu sh .

The resu l ts w ere d isappoin ting ,as n ot hav ingadog , and n o

attempt being made to pick u p the slain til l I had exhau s tedal l ~my cartridges , the w oun ded birds got l ost in the reeds or

swam ou t to the deep water, an d w e on ly picked up 33 or'

34 Duck . There are few Sn i pe roun d the '

tan ks,an d few otherplaces W here theyare foun d . I have n ever got more than tenbrace in aday ,an d that on ly on on e occasion .

Thereareafew placesalso on the Tapti where Duck maygen eral ly be foun d, an d fair shooting can be gotat them, particu larly if you haveaboat an d l et it drift dow n the m idd leof the stream

,as the Duckand Teal keep passing w ithin shot

be ing u nw i l l ing to leave the river. San dgrouse are fairly »

common through the plain s, an d thereare Peafow l in al l thej ung les,an dafew Jung le Fow l in the Satpuras, but these canhard ly be said toafford much sport.Now ,

how ever,to turn to my proper subject, the l ist of

Khandesh birds ; I fin d I have en tered in al l 294 spec ies .

O f these , however, Nos . 9 40, 1 18 , 194, 2 11 , 285, 492 ,544bis , 705, 722, 842, 865, 908 , 9 11 , 934,an d 1004are en teredas doubtfu l ,as I have procured n o specimen s, an d i t is justposs ible that some m istake may have been made .

O f the remain ing spec ies,al l those marked w i th an asterisk,2 10 in n umber, have been subm i tted to M r. Hume for v erification , an d he has ki ndly verified

,an d in agood many case s

corrected,my iden tification s ; the rest are mostly large and

common species ,abou t which there can be n o dou bt,an d which‘

w ere not con sidered w orth send ing . An exam ination of the sketchwhichaccompan ies this

,In which the portion s of the d istrict

286 ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS OF W ESTERN RHANDESH .

5 .—Pseudogyps bengalensis, Gme l . The In dianW h ite -backed Vu l ture .

Very rare,and on ly n oticed on on e

i

or two occas ion s in thecold w eather. I do n ot think it breedsanywhere in W estern

Khan desh.

6 .—Neophron i

ginginianus, Lath. The In dianScavenger Vu l ture .

Perman en t res iden t . C ommon throughou t the distI ict ; breedIng he I e almost i n variably on c l ifts . I have taken egg s fromthe beg in n ing of Februai y ti l l May .

9 .— FalcO peregrinator, S und . The ShaheenFal con .

In December 1880 I n oticedapaiI of Falcon s fly in g rou ndon e of the c l iffs be l ow the Bh:Ime i I fort,and cal l ing vig O Iou s ly .

'I bey w e Ie ve red undern eath,an d Iam su I e w e I e n ot LaggarFalcon s U n lucki ly I had n otagun w ith me at the time

,

z”

andw hen I retu rn ed n ext day they w e re g on e . It was

_

very u n

l ucky,as they le t me watch them w ithin 50 or 60 yards w i tha.

g ood g lass . I have also seen Falcon samong the Satpuras whichI be l ieve be longed to this spec ies .

11 .

—Fal co jugger, J . E . G r. The Laggar Fal con .

Perman en t res iden t. Moderate ly common through the

Dhu l ia, V irde il and Pimpaln ir talukas . It is how ever scarceal ong the Tapti . Several n ests w ere taken by me w i th eggsandyoung in Jan uaryan d February .

16 .—Fal co chiquera,* Daud . The Red-headedM erl in .

Perman en t residen t. Fairly common , partic u larlyalong theTapti val ley among the g I oves I oun d the v i l lag es ; n ot n earlyso common how eve i"as in Sholapu I and the Deccan gen eral ly .

Nests w ith eggs were taken by me in Feq ary and MaIch17 .— Cerchneis

'

tinnunculus, Lin . The Kestrel .

A w in ter v is itan t. Not byany means very common ,and noneremain ing to breedabout the Satpuras or Kondabhari ghat.23 .—Astur badins, G in . The Shikra.Ve common everywhere during the cold weather on ly

noticed by me in theplains on on e or two occasion s during thehot w yeathe i though on on e they hadan est. It seems to migrateto the Akianiand highei SatpiIras as aru le to breed .

ROHGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH . 287

Apri l ’

it was breed ing everywhere in the Akranian d 'al ong theh igher ran g es of the Satpu ras an d as the trees w ere then

almost leafless , fou r or fi ve of its n ests cou ld easi ly be found inamorn ing’s w orkalong the hi l l val ley s .

24.—Accipiter nisus, L in . The Sparrow-hawk .

A rare w in ter v is i tan t I think . O n ly on e specimen was obtai ned by me in the Dhu l iataluka, but doubtless had I been shooting smal l Hawksasaru le, others w ou ld have turn ed up.

27bis .—Aquila. n ipalensis,* B odys . The EasternImperial Eag le .

This Eag le is very abun dan t from November to April al lal ong the plain at the foot of the Satpuras,and is gen eral lyd istribu ted through the rest of the d istrict,as faras I kn ow i t,during the cold w eather. I have n ever been n ear the Satpuraslater than the en d of April, so can n ot te l l if this Eag le en tire lyleaves them . In April, how e ve r, they certain lyappeared much

scarcer. I saw n o sig n s of the ir breed inganywhere .

29 .-Aquila. Vindhianafl‘ Frankl . The Indian TawnyEagl e .

Perman en t residen t. Very common everywhere both al on e

the jung les at the foot of the Satpuras and through the blacksoi l an d scrub d istricts . It breeds abun dan tly in Novemberan d December,an d manyare the n ests I have taken , and the

d isappoin tmen ts they have occasion ed, particu larlyalong the footof the Satpu ras,w here , tempted by hope ofagood ‘

reward, someBhee l w ou ld dec lar e he had foundan est of the burajat” on lyakoss off , bu t always in an un ridable d irec tion , an daftera.walk of m ile s through long grassan d upand dow n abominablySteep-ban ked n u l lahsan est w ou ld be poin ted ou t, bu talas in

e very case an un lucky oin dhianapaid the pe nal ty of be in gmistaken for its larger s ister. Two fresh egg s w ere broughtto me in the en d O f Apri l froman es t on the sou th bank of the

Tapti. It was n ot ve ry far from my camp, bu t I was too don eto go my se l f, and the man sen t e ither m issed or cou ld n ot ge t

the b ird . I f they be long ed to this spec ie s they mu st havebeenavery late n es t, but they may have be longed to A. clangaabird I have n everactual ly procured in the d istrict.31 .

-Hieratus pennatus, Gm. The Booted Eagl e .

This Eagle is rare,but I have seen itatal l season s of the year,

so I suppose it mustb eaperman en t res ide n t . As its eggsarescarce

, I took n o end of trouble to 100k for n ests, but never

288.ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or W ESTERN KHANDESH .

foun d the sl ightest s ign of its bre ed ing . 1 have seen pairsv ery n oisy in the cold w eather,and in March I foun dafami lyo f four or fiveatKoperlee on the Tapti the you n g w ere , how ever,qu i te strong on the w ing,an d they may have bred e lsew here .

33 .

—Nisaétus fasciatus, Visiti . Bon el l i’s Eagl e .

Rare ; on ly n oticed on two or three occas ion s in Pimpaln ir,Ni zampurand Nandurbar.

35.—Limnaetus cirrhatusf" Gm. The C rested HawkEagl e .

This Eag le isaperman en t re s iden t,an d very common .in the

Akran ian d Satpu ras, and fairly so al ong the ghats n earKondabhari . I have also n oticed it on several occasion s al ongthe spu rs of hi l l in the Nandurbar taluka. I have n e ver seen

i t in the plain coun try . I have fou n d many of its n ests in

February , March and Apri l . In Khan desh it seems almostin variably to fix on ahigh tree grow i ng on the bank of

on e of the dried-up n u l lahs along the Satpuras . The on lyother n es t I found was on ahug e banyan or peepu l c lose toalarge v i l lage , but overlookingadried-up tank (there was, howe ver, loads of j ung le up to the very v i l lage wal ls) . In n o casehave I foun d it bu i ld ing two years run n ing in the same n est,

an d on e gen eral ly finds two or three n ests of this bird (on eon ly occupied) w ithin acouple of hundred yards . Mr. V idalsays that he found it shy in Rutnagherry ,and that if its n est wasv is i ted it was s ure to dese rt it. I certain ly have n ot foun d thisto be the case . The ve ry first n est I fou nd was in December,andthough I had the tree cl imbed e very three w eeks ti l l February,i t d id n ot desert. I tookan egg from this n est early in March,and even then the birds hu n gabout the n estand laidagain on the

22nd April . This secon d egg was, howe ve r, avery smal lspec imen . Next year this pair of birds bredabout 300 yards offon the bank O f adried-up n u l lah.

38 .—Circaetus gal l icusfi" Gm. The Common Serpen t

Eagl e .

U n common ,bu t gen eral ly d istributed in the cold weather.

I have seen n o sig n of its breed ing anywhere .

39 .— Spilornis cheela.,ale Lath . The Indian HarrierEagl e .

U ncommon ;an d on ly n oticed by me along the Satpurasan d in West Nan durbar. Is probably aperman en t res iden t,

as avery richly-colored Eag le’s egg was brought to me In

Apri l taken from s n est along. arun n ing n u l lah in the heart

290 Roucn’

msr or THE BIRDS or WESTERN KHANDESH.

59 .

—Ela.nus Deaf . The Black-W ingedK ite .

This Kite,formerly rare in the Deccan

,after the scarc ity in

1876-77-78,became v ery abu ndan t there

,an d w hen I was

first sen t to Khan desh in October 1879 , I foun d it c ommonal l around Dhu l iaan d through Virde i l, ob tain ing n ests w i thsmal l y oungan d hard-set eggs in the midd le ot

'

.

November.

After that it seemed to d isappear,an d I don ’

t think I saw hal fa.dozen specimen s during the last fi fteen mon ths I was in Khandesh .

Now w hat became of al l these birds ? Did they go sou th an djoin the crowds of this species that had take n up their quartersin the Deccan ; or w ere they l ike the Deccan birds mere lyn ew imm igran ts ? An d have these latter also again left? It

w ou ld be most in teresting to find out i f the bird is s ti l lascommon in the Poonaand Sholapur d istricts n ow as it wasin 1879 .

60.

—Strix javanica,* Gm. The Eastern Screech

Owl .

I have repeatedly come across s ing le spec imen s of this Ow lin the jun g les, along the base of the Satpu ras, an d also inthe Akran i in the hot w eather. Eleswhere I thin k it is moreor less m igratory. In Apri l 1880 I found betw een 30 or 40

i n asmal l v i l lage grove in the Shadataluka, while the re w e re

certain ly n on e there in December ; an d I have s imi larly come

on l ittle groups of say fi ve or s ix on several occas ion s . Two eggs ,said to be long to this Ow l , w ere brought to me in the Akran i inApri l , an d I saw an old we l lamong some j ung le where I wastold they bred e very year.

65.

— Syrn ium ocel latumf“ Less . The Mottl ed Wood;

O wl .

This Ow l isaperman en t residen t, and very common in the

man go g roves everywhere . It breeds in Decemberasaru le,but I obtain ed eggsat Bhadgaum as late as February.

68 .

—Asio accipitrinus,* Pal l . The Short-earedOw l .

A w in ter v is itan t. Moderate ly common among the stubblesand grass fields .69 .

—Bub0 bengalen sis,* Frankl . The Rock

Horn ed-Ow l .

This bird is common along the clay cl iffs through the

Satpuras, and also among the Pimpaln ir hi l ls,andalong the

ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or. WESTERN KHANDESH . 29 1

Tapti ; _

e lsewhere it is scarce . I t isap erman en t res ide n t,an dbreeds early , egg s be ing taken by me in November,and you ngbirds n earlyable to fly early in December.

70 -Bubo coromandus,‘ Latham . The DuskyH orn ed -Ow l .

Probably aperman en t res iden t, bu t scarce . I on l y cameacross it tw ice , in both case s in December, breed ing . The firstn est I obtain ed con tain edas ing le egg n early ready to hatchan dasmal l you ng on e ,an d was in the heart of the Satpu ras .

The secon d was in an old n est of L . cirrhatus . It had con

tain ed two fresh egg s bu t I was on ly in time to find

alarge rock snake fin ishin g the last mou thfu l of them .

72 .—Ketupaceylonensis,* Gm. The Brown Fish

Ow l .

A perman en t res iden t ; foundal on gal l the streams in whichthe water ru n s ti l l the en d of March . It breeds in Jan uary

,

laying,asaru le , o n ly on e or two eggs . In on e case, how e ver,after waiting aw eek I shotahen off asing le egg . On skin

n in g her I foundashe l led egg ready to be laid,and athird

fu l l- sized egg w hich on ly wan tedashe l l,so that three egg sareoccasional ly laid . The Bhee ls have the greate st obj ection to

this bird,an d in variably try to ki l l it w hen they ge tachan ce ,

an d more than on e pair, w hose eggs I expected to obtain , 1found had been ki lled or driven away by them .

74sept—Scops brucufi’ Hume . Bruce

’

s S copsO w l .

A Scops Owl is common in the Akran i and in the deepval ley s ru n n in g in to the Satpuras . It is, how ever, averys ile n t shy b ird , remain ing al l day in holes in trees

,an d very

l ike ly to be passed ove r. Seve ral of its eggs w ere brought to

me early in March, an d loads of its y ou ng in April . The

Bhee l s,how e ver, cou ld n ot or w ou ld n ot catch the old on es

,andI n ever cou ld ge tachan ce of shooting on e e xcept w hen big

game of Sorts was supposed to be abou t, and I always pu t

off shooting them w ith the u sual resu l t. A very youngspec imen

, sen t to Mr. Hume, probably be longs, he i n forms

me, to this spec ies .

76 .- Carine brama, Temfi“ The Spotted Owl et.

Perman en t residen t common up to the edge of the ju ng les,bu t n e ver seen by me in the Akran i or in the deep val leys ofthe Satpuras . Lays in Marchand Apri l .

292'

ROUGH LIST on THE BIRDS or W ESTERN KHANDESH .

766is .

— Heteroglaux blew itti,* Hume . The Forest

Owl e t.

This bird was n ot discrim inated by me, bu t three spec imen sw ere in c luded amon g those of bramasen t to Mr Hume .

From the dates of the spec imen s I remember very d istin c tlyabou t them . Al l w ere shot in the heavy jung le be l ow the

Satpuras, an dal l w ere Shot late in the morn i ng s ittingal on eon the tops of thin tre es . This be ing suchan extraord inaryposition for bramaI shot the birds to make su re , bu t n ot hav in gspecimen s of bramato compare them w i th

,stupid ly took for

gran ted they w ere on ly brama. Theyare n ot u n common inthis den se j ungl e ,an d I have re peatedly seen others si tting on

exposed tre e s . I do n ot thin k theyare foun d in the Akran ior higher Satpuras,as I have n e ver seen any Ow l of the bronzetype there T77 .—Glaucidium radiatumf Tie/c. The Ju ngl e

Ow l et .

I have on ce or tw ice n oticed this bird during the coldw eather in Nizampuran d Nan durbar, bu t on ly as acas ualv is i tan t. It isaperman en t res iden t i n the ghats in Pimpaln ir,and is veryabu ndan t in the Satpuras an d Akran i . It is alatebreeder. In 188 1 I took agreat n umber of its n ests in ho lesin moderate-sized trees from 15 to 25 feet from the ground .

82 .- Hirundo rusticafi" L in . The Swal low .

A common cold weather v is itan t, but l ocal .83 .—Hirund0 fi l ifera, S ieplz. The W ire-tail edSwal low .

Perman en t residen t. Common throughout the d istric t.Breedsalong al l the ri vers an d n u l lahs over water from February to May .

85.—Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes . The Mosqu eSwal low .

Perman e n t residen t. C ommon throughout the d istrict.Breeds in the rain s .

1 The type of this hitherto very rare species was shot in December 1872 in theden se fores ts of the w estern portion s of the Tribu tary M ehal s (in N . E .

Pen in su lar I ndia) by my late lamen ted frien d M r. F. R . B lew itt A secon d

specimen was procured several years later by my frien d M r. Valen tin e Bal l in Karial ,s ti l l in N . E Pen in su lar In d ia, but about 150 m iles sou th of where the type wasprocured . No more specimen s had been obtain ed u n ti l my frien d M r. Dav idsonobtain ed the three re ferred to in the tex t in N. W . Pe n in su lar In d ia, 550mi les to the west of where the former specimen s had been procured .

-ED S F.

294 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH.

100 .—Cypsel lusaffin is,* J . E . Gr. The Common

In dian Swift.‘

Perman en t res iden t. Common everywhere ; apparen tlybreedingatal l season s .

102 .

— Cypsel lus battasien sis,* J . E . Or . The Palm‘

Sw ift .

Probably aperman en t residen t. On ly n oticed by me in theShadaan d Tal odatalukas , w he re there are afew palmyrapalms rou nd most of the v il lage s O II the fringe of the Satpuras .

There w ereapair or two breed ing in the hot weather in almoste very on e of these .

104 .

— Dendroohel id0n coronata,* Tic/c. The IndianC rested Swift.

Restricted to the l ow er ran ges of the SatpuIas, the plain sj ung leal ong the ir bases, the ghats n ear Kon dabhari,an dafew of

the spu i s through Nandu Ibar. I have n eve I n oticed it in theIan i O I highe I

b

Satpuras . It breeds early in J . In uaIy an dthe beg in n in g of FebruaIy, n e sting s in g ly in the low plain sj un g l e . At Wn aum in Shada

,du 1 ing the last w eek of

FebI uaIy, I found four n ests on con secu tive day sat he ightsvalwIg from e ight to tw en ty-five feet fi om the grou n d ; three of

these how eve r con tain ed each ayoun g bird , and the fourthcon tain edafresh egg ofapale ston e colour. The n estsare eas i ly ,

fou n d,as the male keeps fly ing roundan d rou n d the place in ac irc le of a' hun dred yards or so,»an d the hen an sw ers him occas ionally from the n est

,so that find ing it is on lyamatter of

al ittle patien ce .

107 .— Caprimulgus indicus," Lath.

The Jun gl e

Nightjar.

Very common In the hot w eather in the Satpuras . It isave Iy n oisy bird ,and its cal l can n ot possibly be m istaken . Ihave I epeated ly follow ed the my an d fou n d the biId s ittin g on

atree—afact I have n ot n oticed In the case of otherNightjars .

112—Caprimulgus asiaticus,* Lark. The In dianN l o

’ll tJal 'Permanen t residen t. Very common al l through the d istrict

wherever there are rocks an d scrub j un g le . It breedsabundau tlyal l round Dhu l iain July, August,and the beg inn ing of

September.

ROUGH LIST or THE B IRDS OEW ESTERN KHANDESH. 295

113.

—Caprimulgus malirattensis,ale si tes ; Sykes’

Nightjar.

On ly obtain ed during the cold weather. Appears scarce .

Caprimulgus monticolus,* Fran/cl . “

Frankl in

’

s Nightj er.A perman en t res iden t. Very common through the Satpuras

in the cold weather,andagain al l round Dhu l iain the rain s .

I Shot ayoung on e in August barely able to fly, an dn o doubt this species breeds at this season . At that timeI Offered acon siderable reward to the herd boys forNightjar’s n ests

, and very many w ere shown to me . In

e very '

case w hen I w en t myse lf,an d shot the bird, it turn edout to be as iaticus . In two cases, how ever, w hen I sen t

asepoy , amon ticolus was brought back. In on e of these

cases the eggs are qu ite d ifferen tly shaped and lon ger thanany I have of asiaticus, but in the other I can d iscover n o

d ifferen ce . On cross examination the sepoy ackn ow ledgedthat he Shot the bird on each occasion n ear the n est, s ittingafter it had flow n on ce or tw ice ; an d i t is possible that,as bothspec ies are common , he may have chang ed the bird he wasfollow ing . However, there is n o doubt that the bird breedsabun dan tly in the d istrict.117 .—Merops viridisf

“ Lin . The In dian Bee-eater.

Perman en t residen t. Breeding abun dan tly in Marchalongthe Tapti .118 .

— Merops phil ippinus, Lin . The Blue-tailedBee-eater.

I saw aflock,apparen tly m igrating , in Pimpal n ir in May

1880,an das in g le spec imen in N izampur in the same m on th.

The flock was fly in g sou th-w est . As no specimen was secured Ien ter thisasadoubtfu l species .

120.—Merops persicusf

‘s Pal l . The Egyptian Bee

eater.

A w in ter v isi tan t. Large flocksappear in the beg inn ing of

October, an d stay for acouple of mon ths or so about theMukhtiand Goon door tanks n ear Dhu l ia.123.

—Coracias indi ca,* Lin . The In dian Rol ler.

Perman en t residen t. C ommon al l through the d istrict in thecold w eather. In the hot w eather m igrates to the Satpuras,Akran i

,Pimpaln irand Nandurbar jung les, where it breeds in

Marchand Apri l .


124.—Coracias garrulafi" Lin . The Rol ler.

A s ing le specimen was obtained by meat Dhul iain September 1880.

127.-Pelargopsis gurialfi P ears .

“

T he Brownheaded Kin gfisher.

Rare . I have,however, seen specimen s along most of the

rivers run n ingamong the Satpurahi l ls ; alsoas ing le Specimenon the Panj raat PImpal n ir.

129.—Hal cyon smyrnensisf

i L in . The W hitebreasted Kin gfisher.

Parman en t residen t ; scarce . Breedsabout Dhu l iain Ju ly .

134.—Al cedobengal ensis,* Gm. The In d ian Kingfisher.

Perman en t residen t. Moderately common along al l the rivers .

136 .—Ceryle rudisfi

i L in . The Pied Kingfisher.

Perman en t residen t. Very common alon g al l the rivers. Itbreeds in Jan uaryand February .

144.—Ocyceros birostrisf

“ S cop . The Grey Hornbil l .

Perman e nt res iden t, scarce in the Satpuras, bu t very commonin al l the mango groves In Dhu l iaand Pimpaln ir,and fairlycommon in Nandurbar. It breeds in April,an dappears almos tin variably to return to the same n est-hole . III 188 1 I obtain edeggs from every n est I had found in 1880, though, from the

s tupid ity of some of the people who d iscovered them,the hens

had been ki l led in 1880 .

147 .-Palaeorn is eupatrius,* Lin . The W est

e'

rn Rose-ban d Parroqu et.Perman en t res iden t. Restricted to the Akran i,and the higher

hi lls in the Satpuras, though occasional ly straggl ing afewm i les from the ir base . It breeds earl ier than e i ther of the

other Parroquets, the young being able to fly frequen tly byChristmas time, though I fou nd on e n est con tain ing smal lyoung on esas lateas the middle of March . This Parroquet

1' The name eupatri d appl ies to the C in gal ese form

, the Sou thern Rose-ban dParroquet . This w es tern form d iffers—it d Iffers eve n more mai kedly from the

n orthern form n ipal en sis (Hodgson ) . the eastern form in doburman i cus (Hume ) , andthe An daman ese form mag n irostris (Bal l ) . W he theral l these five forms shou ld be keptd i stin ct, or

“ l umped ,”w i l l always remain amatter of O pin ion . I f kept d istIn c t

the w es tern form w i l l requ ireaname , bu t it is the least dIstInct of the five,and I don ot, mysel f, propose to name it. -ED . , S . F.

ROUGH LIST OR THE BIRDS OE WESTERN KHANDESH.

‘

holes examin ed e very Monday, bu t the birds deserted the spot.The on ly egg I Obtain ed was sen t to me early in Jan uary from ,

an est in the Satpuras in ahole in atree in which the bird hadbred the year before . TW O n ests, foun d n ear Shirpurat Christmas 1880, each con tain ed on e young on e j ustable to fly . The

young w ere very han dsome, the crest being flame-colored .

They seem to breed,asaru le, every year in the same immediaten e ighbou rhood , but almost always I think in an ew hole .

They on ly lay on e,

egg , I think, and certain ly I have n ever

seen the O ld on esaccompan ied by more than on e young bird .

175.—Ghrysophl egmachlorigaster,* Jerd ,

'

The

Sou thern Yel low-naped W oodpecker.

Probably aperman en t res iden t. Found throughout al l thejung le d istricts . It is however scarce everywhe

180—Brachypternusaurantius,* Li n . The Gol den

backed W oodpecker.

Perman en t residen t. C ommon in al l the jung les, an d found ‘

pretty w e l l al l over the d istrict in the rain s f It breeds in :

February, March and Apri l , an d probably sometimes earl ier,laying on e or two eggs (in on e case on ly I found three ) . The

form found in Khan desh is, Mrs Hume w ri tes, “ in termediatebetween

‘auran ti’us an d, pun cticol l is, bu t

-n eareraurantius,”an dprobably w ith larger series d ilutus

,1’

punoi icol l isand aurantiusw i l lal l be merged in on e .

188 .—Yunx torquil la, L in . The Wryn eck .

C old w eather v isitan t. Common everywhere among the

scrub ju ng le . This bird is very tame,an d hasal lowed me to

Strike it down w ithariding whip~w hile rid ing .

193bis . inornata,* Wal d . The W estern

Green Barbet.Perman en t residen t in the Akran i, Satpuras, the Kondabhari

Ghat,an d wherever there . is tree jung le . It is fairly common,breed ing in Apri l an d lay ing gen eral ly three eggs, though I

have f ound on ly two eggs n early fu l ly in cubated .

9 194 .

—~Megalaimaviridis, Badd . The Smal l Green'

Barbet .I think I

.

have on ce or tw ice n oticed this bird in the

Satpuras, bu t u n lucki ly have n ever gotany specImen s .

1 As I pointed ou t n early ten yearsago, 8 . F.,I .

,171-3, d i lu te s is n ot only n ota

species, but is barely, ifatal l, distingmshableasalocal raw—En S. F.

ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH . 299

—Xarntholaemahaemacephalafit P .

’

L . S . Mu l l .

The Crimson -breasted Barbet.Not n oticed by me in the Akran i or higher Satpuras, bu taperman en t reside n t, and common everywhere else . In breeds

from February to Apri l .199 .—Cuculus canorus, Lin . The Cuckoo.

On ly n oticed by me on two occasion s . I have, how ever,been several times told by others that they had heard it,an dthat it is common in the Satpuras in the early part of the

ram s .

201 .— Cuculus pol iocephalus,* Lain.

“

The Smal lC uckoo.

Passed through Dhu l iain large n umbers from the midd le of

September to the m idd le of October. I did not n otice it on itsre turn m igration .

205._ Hierococcyx variusfii Vahl . The HawkC uckoo.

Tolerably common abou t Dhu l iain the raIn s from July toOctober. It must breed, bu t I found n o eggsanywhere thatI cou ld bel ieve to be long to this spec ies .

i zl L—‘

Chrysococcyx hodgsoni, Moore. The Emeral d C uckoo.

I bel ieve I have n oticed this bird in the Satpuras, bu t haven ever gotany Spec imen s .

212 .—Coccystes jacobinus,* Badd . The Pied Crested C uckoo.

Arrives early in Jun e . Is very common in al l the scrub

jung les roun d Dhu l ia, laying i n the n ests of A. maloolmian dC . caudata; from the eggs of the latter its eggs are easi lyd istingu ishable . It leavesabout September,and isan oisy birdin the breed ing season .

214.—Eudynamis honoratafi" L in . The Koel .

Permanen t residen t. Common throughout the d istrict. Laysin Jun e .

217 .—Cen trococcyx rufipennis, I l l . The C rowPheasan t.

Perman en t,

residen t. Common throughout the d istrict ;breed ing In July and the beg in n ing of Augusta]. donot remember it’ In’

the Akran i or Satpuras .

300 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS or WESTERN KHANDESH.

‘

220 .

—Taccocuasirkee,ale Gray . The Bengal Sirkeer.

Pe rman en t res iden t. Common throughou t the Satpuras,an din Pimpal n ir, and seen occas ional ly inal l parts where there Is

any scrub jung le . I was n ot fortunate en ough to find anyn ests .

232 .

— C innyris zeylon ica,* Lin . The Amethyst

rumped Hon eysucker.

A scarce s tragg ler. On e immature spec imen Obtain edatDhu l iain May .

234 .-Cinnyris asiaticafi" Lark. The Purpl e

Hon eysucker.

Perman en t residen t. Common al l over the district. Breeds

in March, Apri lan d late in February .

238 .—~ Dicaeum erythrorhynchusfi

i Lain. Tickel l’

s

Flow erpecker.

Probablyaperman en t re s iden t. Rare,and on ly observed by

me in Nizampur an d Pimpaln ir, i . e . , the ex treme sou th-west

Of the d is trict. A n est j u st fi n ished was found by meatPimpaln ir in the beg in n ing of February246 .

- Salporn is spilonotusfi‘ Fran lcl . The Spotted

Gray Creeper.

A pair w ere obtain ed by me at Dhu l iain October 1880 .

They w erealso n o ticed by me in Jan uary at the Kon dabhariG hat

,an d w ere n otatal l un common al lalong the l ow er an d

higher Satpurasan d the plain j ung le be low them,so much so

that I frequen tly saw three or fou rpairs in an ord inary morning ’

s strol l through the j ung le . I foun d n o n ests .

250 .

— Sittacastaneoventrisfii Fran /cl . The Chestn utbe l l ied Nu thatch .

Probably aperman en t residen t. Fairly common in the

Satpu ras from November to May . It was abundan t in theAkran i in Apri l , an d was n o doubt breed ing ,as in that mon thI fired at asmal l bird on the top of arotte n tree ,and on the

report on e of this species flew ou t of some hole pre tty highup. The bird d id n ot return

,an d the Bheels cou ld n ot find the

hole, so,as I cou ld n ot cl imb the tree myse lf, I was forced to

leave it.254.—Upupaepopsfi‘ Lin . The Hoopoe .

Cold weather visitan t. Common throughout the district.

302 ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or WESTERN KHANDESH.

'

270.— Graucalus macu ,

* L esson . The Large C uck’

o'

o

Shrike .

This spec ies was common al l through the d istrict fromNovember to May . During Jun e it was very common in

Dhu l ia, be ing then,as it was at the other times

,in fam i lies .

I t d isappeared from the beg inn ing of Ju ly t il l October,an d Isuppose bred in the Satpuras .

276 .

— Pericrocotus peregrinus,alt L in . The Smal l

M in ivet.

Perman en t residen t. Common everywhere,breed ing in Julyand August round Dhu l ia.

277 .—Pericrocotus erythropygius,

* Jerd . The

W hite-be l l ied M in ive t.

Perman en t res iden t . This is the C ommon M in ivet of thed istrict,an d I n oticed ital l through the Satpu ras , in Nan durbar,Nizampur, &c .

,during the hotan d cold w eather. During the

rain s I n oticed it on ce or tw ice abou t Dhu l ia, bu t though the reare man y thousan dacres of scrub aroun d Waran d G undoor,w hich I searched thoroughly for Nightjars, I foun d n on e of

these birds breeding . I how ever happen ed to be s tay i ng afewdaysat Arvee in the e xtreme sou th of Dhul ia

,an d found this

bird breeding there in con siderable n umbers . This was inthe end of August (26th to 3 1st),and I was rather late , mostof the n ests con tain ing y oung ,and in some cases the youngw ereable to fly . I however found e ight n e sts w i th eggs , (mostof them very hard set) . Al l the n ests w hichare smal land lessornamen ted than those of peregrin us w ere p laced from three

to four feet from the groun d in asmal l common thorny scru b .

They w ere al l placed in low thin j ung le,an d n ever where the

ju ng le was thickan d d ifli cu l t to walk through . A g reat dealof the jung le round Arvee is fu l l of Anjan trees, but n on e of theb irds seem to breed in these .

278 .-Buchangaatra,* H erm. The King Crow .

Perman en t residen t. Common al l through the plain s, breedingabundan tly in Jun e .

280.—Buchangalongicaudate,* Bay . The Longtail ed King Crow .

Probably apermanen t residen t. Obtain ed in the Satpurasand in Pimpaln ir.

ROUGH LIST OF'

THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH . 303

281 .—Buchangacaerulescens,* L in . The W hitebel l ied King Crow .

Perman en t residen t. In the cold w eather gen eral ly d istribu ted . In the hot w eather fairly common throug h the Satpurasand along the Pimpaln ir Ghats . Two n ests on ly w ere seen

by me . They w ere on adjoin in g trees in the Akran i Theyw e re larg ish n ests

,n ot l ike those of aim

, bu t more re sembl in gthose de scribed In

“ Nests an d Eggs”of l ongicaudala. O n e

nest con tai n ed three you ng on es, the other was on l y '

bu ild ing ,an d n o thing cou ld have been more plucky than the way theold on es de fen ded the ir n est .

285.

-Dissemurus paradisif " Lin . The Lesser

Racket-tailed Drongo.

I have n ever seen this bird my sel f, but I have been told byOfii cers that they have seen this bird in the W estern Dang .

288 .-Muscipetaparadisi,* L in . The ParadiseFlycatcher.

C ommon abou t Dhu l iain the early part of the rain s , becoming scarcer later. A few how e ve r in immatu re plumage w ere

seen al l through the rain s . In the cold and hot w eather a.fe w pairs and s ingle spec imen s w ere n o ticed in both w hiteandchestn u t pl umage , but I saw n o sign s of the ir breed ing .

290.— Hypothymisazureaf‘ Badd . The B lack-napedBl ue Flycatcher.

C ommon abou t Dhu l iaduring the rams In Immature plumage . Noticed in fu l l plumage occas i onally in the cold an d hotw eather, bu t scarce .

292 .—Leucocercaaureolaft Viei l l . The W hitebrowed Fan tail .

Perman en t residen t. C ommon ; breed ing in Mayan d Jun e .

It Is common er than the n ext spec ies everywhere n orth OfDhu l ia.293 .

-Leucocercaleucogaster,* One . The White-r “

spotted Fan tai l .Perman en t re siden t. C ommon , except along the Satpurasbreedsabundan tly in May

“and Jun e295. ceylonensis,

* Swainsu The Greyheaded Flycatcher

A W in ter v isitan t. Common through the d istrict.

304 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS O F W ESTERN KHANDESH.

297 .-Al seonax '

Rafl . The SouthernBrown Flycatcher.

Appears at the end of the rain s,an d is then n ot uncommon .

Seemingly stays on lyafew w eeksand passes on .

301 .—S toporalamelanopsf Vig . The Verditer

Flycatcher.

A straggler ; rare . Specimen s obtained in Marchat Shada.306 .

— Cyorn is tickell i,”e B lyth. Tickel l

’

s Blue Redbreast .

Permanen t res iden t. Fairly common Wherever there is jungl eor groves . Noticed in al l parts of the d istrictatal l season s .310 —Muscicapulasupercil iaris,* Jerd . The White

brow ed B lue Flycatcher.

A s in g le specimen was Obtained by me in the Akran i inMarch 18 8 1 .

323 bis .—Erythrosternaparvafi" B ecket. The W hite

tail ed Robin Flycatcher.

W in ter v isi tan t. C ommon from October to March ; the

malesassuming the red breast before leav ing .

345—Pitta. bra‘chyura,* Lin . The Indian GroundThrush .

Rare . I have on ly tw ice Obtain ed Specimen s, on e in Dhu l iainthe beg in n ing of July ,an dan other in the scrub ju ng le somewheren ear this s tation , in August . The last was brought by someBhee l herd-boys who said they had caught it on its n est. Theyproducedan est w hich m ight have belon ged to the bird, butthe eggs there in w ere those of A. malcolmi, though the n est

d id n ot be long to this species . The spec imen of braohyurawasal ive, bu t had lost its tai l,an d the boys had '

pu l led ou t its w ingfeathers to preven t it fly ing . It had c learly been sitting on

eggs,an d I have n o doubt that they had caught it on its n est,but having broken the eggs, they substitu ted the first eggsthey cameacross afterwards .

351 .—Cyanocinclus cyanus,* Lin . The B lue Book

Thrush .

Cold w eather v isitant. Not common , but found in al l therocky hi l ls .

3 06 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH .

462 .-Molpastes haemorrhous,ale G in . The MadrasBu lbu l .

Perman en t residen t. C ommon everywhere, breed ing in

August, Septemberand October463 .

—Phyl lornis j erdon i,at B lyth. The Green

Bu lbu l .

Probably aperman en t res iden t ; rare . Noticed al ong the

gle n s bel ow the Kon dabhari Ghat in Mayan d June,andaS ing lepairat Talodain December 1880 .

468 .-Ioratyphiaj t L in . The B lack-headed GreenB ulbu l .

Perman en t residen t. C ommon al l through the d istrict.Breeds in Ju lyand August .

468653 .—Iora. n igroluteafii Marsh. Marshal l ’s Green

Bu lbu l .

Perman en t residen t Noticed by me in the Dhul iaan dNizampur talukas on ly ,an d thereapparen tly pretty m uch re

s tricted to the dry scrub j un g les . It breeds in Ju nean d Ju ly .

470 .—oriolus kundoofit Sykes . The In d ian Oriol e .

Probably aperman en t res iden t. In the en d of the rain s ,cold an d hot w eathers, found through the plain s

,hil ls, an d

j un g les . Most leave Dhu l iain Jun e, but afew stay andprobably breed .

472 .

—0riolus melanocephalus,* L in . The Blackheaded Oriol e .

Perman en t residen t in the Satpurasan damon g the Pimpaln irG hats, spread ing in the cold w eather through the d istrict.475.

-Copsychus saularis;it L in . The MagpieRobin .

Perman en t residen t. Fairly common al l through the

d istrict. I however f oun d n o n ests .

479 .—Thamnobiaful icatafi“ L in . The In dian B lackRobin .

Perman en t residen t. Very common everyw here , e xceptin the Akran i an d higher Satpuras ( where 1 saw n on e) .I t breeds fromMarch to Augu st . S ome of the specimen s fromthe north of the Tapti Showatenden cy towards cambayensis,

ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH. 307

and n on e of the Khan desh specimen s seem qu i te as darkas those from further sou th .

481 .—Pra.tincola. caprate ,* Lin . The W hite-W ingedBush C hat .

C ommon in the rain san d cold w eather, apparen tly leav ingIn the hot w eather. I saw no s ign s of breed i ng .

483 .—Pratin colamaurafi" Pal l . The In dian BushC hat

C old w eather v is itan t. Common asaru le e verywhere exceptin the jung les .

488 .—SaxicolaOpistholeucusfi" S trickl . Strick lan d’sW hite -tai l ed W heatear.

C old w eather v isitan t. Rare an d on ly n oticed s ing ly on

pe rhapsadozen occas ion samon g scrub j ung le on the ban ksof the Taptian d in Nizampuran d V irdeil .49 1 .

-Sax icolaisabel l inus,* Rupp . Men etries’

Wheatear.

C old w eather V Isitan t rare n oticed how ever on several occaS Ion s .

- Sax icoladeserti, B npp . The B lack-throatedW heatear.

Iam sure I have seen thi s spe c ies in the cold w eather on on e

or tw o occasion s . bu t,as I have n e ver shot any specimen s, Ien ter itas doubtfu l .497 .—Ruticil larufiventris

,

* Vie i l l . The In dianRedstart .

C old w eather v is i tan t. G en eral ly d istribu ted . Common fromthe m idd le of September to the beg in n i ng of the hot w eather.

514.

—Cyaneculasuecicafi“ Lin . T he Red-spot B l ue

throat .

C old w eather v is i tan t . Common e veryw here where there IS

any swamp,an dalsoalong the s ides of bu shy n u l lahs .

515.—Acrocephalus stentoriusfi

lE H emp . and Ehr.

The Large Reed Warbl er.

Noticed by m e in the reedy n u l lah be l ow the M ukhti tank n earDhu l ia, in Septemberand October ; also in May the re . Noticedin Decemberand Apri las very abundan t on the bushy islands

308 ROUGH LIST"

OF THE BIRDS or W ESTERN KHANDESH.

in the Tapti be low Prakasha. From the way the bird s w ere

s ing ing both on the w in gan d on the bushes I can n ot he lp thinking they w ere going to breed .

516 .—Acrocephalus dumetorum,

"s B lyth . The Lesse r

Reed Warbl er.

Cold w eather v isitan t. Tolerably common throughout the

d istrict in su i table places .

530.

— 0rth0t0mus sutoriusf‘ Fars i . The Ind ianTailor Bird .

Perman en t residen t. Common throughout the districtbreed ing in Jun ean d Ju ly

535.— Prin iastewarti ,* E ly . The Lesser AshyW ren Babbl er.

Perman en t re s iden t. Common al l through the plains. Breedsabun dan tly i n Ju lyan d August round Dhu l ia.

536 .—Prin iagracil is,ale Frankl . Prin iahodgson i ,B lyth.

,Fran kl in ’

s W ren Warbl er.

Perman en t residen t. Common al l over the d istrict. It

breeds in the rain s, but its n es ts are d ifficu lt to fin d . Al l theeggs found w erean un spo tted blue .

'539 .-Cisticola. cursitansfi“ Frankl . The Fan tailWarbler.

Probablyaperman en t res iden t. On ly how ever n oticed byme du ring the cold w eather

,an d on ly in the w est of Dhu l ia

an d in Pimpaln ir. It was commo n there in marshy spotsalongthe Panj ra.

543.—Drymwca. inornata,* Sykes . The Earth-brow nW ren

‘

Warbl er.

Perman en t res iden t. Not common bu t fou nd through the

plain d istricts Breeds in Septemberand October round Dhu l ia.? 544bis .

—Drymoecarufescens, Hume . The GreatRu fous W ren Warbl er.

A large W ren Warbler was n oticed by me at Lal ing in

S eptember,and its n est w ith three eggs fou nd there . O n e of

these I sen t to Mr . Hume,w ho repl ied that he thought it to be

the egg of this bird . I was n otable to ge taspec imen .

3 10 ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS . or W ESTERN KHANDESH .

582ter.

— Sylvia. adthaa,ale Hume.-Hume

’s Al l ied

W hite -throat.Cold w eather v isi tan t. Notas common as the last spec ies .589 .

—Motacil lamaderaspatensisfit Gm . The LargePied Wagtail .

Perman en t re s iden t. Moderate l y common al ong al l therivers . Breed ing i n ' Jan uaryan d February .

59 l bie .—Motacil ladukhunen sis,* Sykes . The In dian

W hite-faced Wagtai l .Cold w eather v is itan t. Common throughout the d istrict.

592 . Calobates melanopefile Pal l . The Grey andYe l low Wag tail .

C old w eather v is itan t. C ommon through the Satpuras, inPimpal n ir,an d w here ver there is run n ing water.

593 .—Budytes cinereocapil lus,* Savi . The Slatyheaded Fie ld Wagtai l .

Cold w eather v is i tan t. Common al l along the n u l lahs andrivers,and in every

' muddy place n earav i l lag e .

593bis .

-Budytes melanocephalus,* Eic/i t.. The

B lack-cap Fie ld Wagtail ,Cold w eather v i s itan t. Equal ly common w i th the last.

594bis .—Budytes citreolusfi Pal l . The Grey

-backed Ye l low W'agtai l .

Cold weather visitant . Very common in al l su i table l ocal ities .597 .

—Anthus trivial is, L in ,

ale The Tree Pipit .

C old w eather v is itan t. Very common al l through the d istrict .600.

— Corydal larufula,ale Viei l l . The Indian Tit

Lark .

Perman en t residen t. M oderately common through the d istric t. I think however it is scarcer in the rain s than in theo ther season s .

602 .—Agrodomacampestris,* Lin The S ton e Pipit.

A few Specimen s ob tainedat Dhul iain '

O ctober.

ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS or WESTERN KHANDESH 311

604.-Agrodomasordida,* Rupp . The Brown Rock

PipitW in ter V i sItan t. '

Scarce, but ge neral ly distributed throughthe stubble fie lds .

63I.

'

-Zosterops palpebrosa,at Tem. The W hite-eyedTit.

This bird , w hich I found common al l over the d istrict wherev er thereare g rove s or jun g le during the cold an d hot w eather, leaves Dhu l iai n the rain s . It n o doubt breeds in theSatpurasand other jung lesat that season .

645.—Parus n ipalen sis,ale Hodgs . The Indian G reyTit.

Probablyaperman en t residen t; C ommon In the Satpuras,and gen eral ly through the d is trict ; n ot n oticedabout Dhul iainthe rain s,at which season n o boubt it breeds .

648 .

—Machlolophusaplonotusfi“ B lyth . The South

ern Ye l low Tit.

Perman e n t residen t. Common throughout the d istrict. I sawapair bu ild i ng in the hole of alarge mango tree at Malpur inPimpaln ir in the en d of .May .

660.

— Corvus macrorhynchus, Wag l . The IndianCarrion Crow .

Perman en t res iden t. C ommon throughou t the district, breeding in March, Apriland May .

663 .- Corvus splendens,* Viei l l . The Indian Greyn ecked Crow .

Perman en t res iden t. C ommon breeding in Mayand Jun e .

674.

—Dendr0,citta. rufafi? Scop . The In dian Magpie .

Perman en t re siden t. Common al l over the w ooded part ofthe d is tric t. Not common abou t Dhu l ia. It breeds abun dan tlyin Apri l in the Akran i, but I do n ot thin k it breeds in the

plain s .

684.—Acridotheres tristis,”5 L in . The Myna.

Perman en t residen t. Common al l through the district bothin the plain sand Satpuras . It breeds in Juneand Ju ly .

40

319. ROUGH LIST or‘

THE B‘

IRDs’

oE'

W ESTERN k HANDESHfi

685.—Acridotheres

.

"

g mglmanus; ls Latli The .

Bank Myna.1 A w in ter v isitan t. Coming In O ctoberand leav ing early . Itis n ot common .

687.—Sturnia; pagodarum,

* Gm.

“

The Black-headed .

Myna.Perman en t res iden t. Very common through the Satpuras

n Iode Iate ly common e lsewhere . Breeds spaI iug ly about Dhu l ia.in the beg in n ing of Ju ly .

688 .—Sturniamalabarica, Gm . The Grey-headedMyna.

Noticed in smal l flocks feed ing on the flowers of the s i lkcotton tree in the Satpuras: in Apri l .690.

—Pastor roseusfi" The Rosy Pastor.

C old w eather v isitan t. Arrives early and stays ti l l Apri l .V ery common eve where In the plain s.694. Ploceus phil ippinus,“E L in . The W eaver

bir

Pe Iman e n t residen t. Very common . Breeds abundan tlyroun d Dhu liaIn Augustan d S . .eptember

— ;Ama,dinapunctulata,}E L in . The Spotted

Mu n ia.Permanen t '

residen t ; local ; A few s een in the Shadatalukabe low the Satpuras , in Apri l . In

'

Jun e there w ere con s iderable :flocks In Dhu l ia. These stayed til l Aug ust w hen they scattered ’

t lIIough the s'

mub j un g le . They bred there ,and I gotan estat Arvee In the sou th of Dhu l iaIn September.

703 .L—Amadinamalabaricafi ‘ L in . The PlainBIown M un ia.

Q

Permanen t res1den t’

. Comrrion everywhere in the plain s?and SC l ub jung les. B I eedsatal l season s .

-Estrel da.amandava,? L in . The Red Waxbil l .

Perman en t resident , rather l ocal A large flock kept aboutthe scrub j ungle n eaI hu liamm May to SeptembeI w hen

they paiI ed and bred al l along the n u l lahs be low the tan ksatMukhtian d G un door. . I also found it breeding abundan tly,along the Pauain Pimpaln iI and between thatand Dhu l ia

3 14 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF WESTERN -~KHANDESH.

738i—Carpodacus erythrinusfi Pal l . The Common Rose Fin ch .

Cold w eather v is itan t. C ommon in the fie lds through Shada,Tal odaan d Nandurbar ;an d ‘

noticedalso in the other talukas .

756 .—Mirafra. erythroptera,* Jerd .

'

The‘

R'

ed-W in ged Bush Lark .

Perman en t residen t. Very common in Dhu l ia,Pimpal n ir,and V irdei l . Breeds from Jun e to November ; al l the many n ests

foun d by me w ere covered over w i th the e n tran ce at thes ide .

758 .

-Ammomanes phoen icuraf i Frankl . The Ru ;

fous-tail ed .Fin ch Lark .

Perman en t res iden t. Common al lalong the black soi l d istricts, eve n in S ing le fie ldsamon g the Satpu ras . Numerou s n e s ts

w e re found by me from the beq n Ing of March to the en d of

April .

760.—Pyrrhulaudagrisea.,ale S eep . The Blackbe l l ied Fin ch Lark .

Perman en t residen t. Breeds from Jun e to December . Verycommon in al l the plain s .

761 .—Calandrel la Leis i . TheShort-toed Lark

A very ru fous form of this bird was common in the coldw eather through the plains . I have seen flocks con s isting of

thousan ds .

765. deva,* Sykes . The Smal l CrownCrest Lark .

‘

Perman en t residen t. Moderate ly common in Virde il,

Dhu l iaand Pimpaln ir beed ing from Ju ly to October.

773.- Croc0pus chlorigaster, B lyth. The Southern

G reen Pigeon .

Perman en t res iden t. Found sparin g ly through the rain sal l over the district w herever there are groves . In the hot

w eather it leaves the plain s for the Akran i, Satpuras, and the

other forest tracts . It is common there,and breeds fromFebruary to May .

ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or W ESTERN KHANDESH. 3 15

788 .-Colurnbaintermedia, S iricki . The In dianB l ue Rock Pigeon .

Perman e n t res iden t. C ommon al l over the plain s thoughn ot in the larg e n umbers I have see n in parts of the Deccan ;foundalso on the rocky c l iffs in the Satpuras .

792 .- Turtur pulchratusfi"r Hodgs . The In dianTurtl e Dove .

Foun d by me during the cold and hot w eather in moderaten umbers, through the Akran i an d Satpu ras . I am in c l in edto thin k that this bird isaperman en t res ide n t. It certain lyis found from December to the en d of April . during which

mon ths on ly I have been in the Satpu ras . I foun d on e n es t

w hich I be l ieve be longed to thi s spec ies in the Satpu ras in

March. The n est wasamere platform of sticks, some 30 fee t

u patree ,and con tain ed tw o fre sh eggs . U n lucki ly I m issedthe bi rd as it flew off

,an d the l ight was so bad I cou ld n ot

absolu te ly be certain w hat bird i t was .

79 4.-

'

Turtur senegalensis,"e L in . The Littl e Brown

Dove .

Perman en t residen t. Common al l ov erthe plain s, but hardlye n tering the Satpu ras . I t breedsatal l season s . I have fou ndthree eggs in the n est of this bird .

795.—Turtur suraten sisf “ Gm . The Spotted Dove .

Perman en t res iden t. This is the Common Dove of the Satpuras

,breed in g abu ndan tly in the hot w eather the re . I have

n oticed ital l o ver the n orthern part of the d istrict, an d of

course ,in Pimpaln ir in the cold w eather ; an d it vis its Dhu l ia

in the rain s .

796 .

—.Turtur risorius, Lin . The C ommon RingDove .

Perman en t re siden t. C ommon al l over the d istrict. It'breeds common ly atal l season s e verywhere I have been bothi n the plain sand in the Satpuras .

797 .— Turtur tranquebaricusfi" H erm. The RuddyR in g Dove .

Perman en t residen t ; very local . Breeds in the rains on

babool treesado nIng tanks.

.ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS OF WESTERN KHANDESH.

:800.-Pterocles . fasciatus,* 8 0017 . The

‘

Pain tedSan dgrou se .

J

Perman en t res iden t. Moderate ly common along the base ofthe Satpuras ,an d throughal l

i

the scrub ’jung le in the Nan durbar, Pimpaln ir, Jamn eran d Dhu l iatalukas . It probably breedsatal l season s,as

'

I have taken eggs in November, Jan uary,March

2and Mpy b in al l cases fresh .

SOT—Pterocles exustus,

at Tem. The San dgrou se .

Perman en t residen t. C ommonal l through Khandesh '

e irceptn orth of the Tapti . I have taken eggs at Nandurbar inFebruary .

803 .

—Pavo cristatus, Li n . The PeaFow l .Perman en t residen t. Fairly common through the Akran i

Ian d Satpuras,an d i n Pimpaln iran d Nizampur. Scarceamongs tthe Dhu l iahil ls . It is qu i teafore st b ird here

,an d the natives

do n ot ven erate itatal l . It lays i n Septemberand O ctober.

8 13.— Gal lus§ sonnerati, Tem . The G rey Jungl eFow l .

Perman en t -residen t ; rare»; an d on ly found in the Akran iandalong the val leysamong the higher Spurs of the Satpuras .

I Obtain ed eggs in the’

en d of Apri l . The Bheels catch boththis birdand PeaFow l , by simply runn ing them dow n . This Ihave seen them do. They hear on e cal l an d scatter al l o vertheadj om ing forest for some hundred yards al l round . Oneman then chases the bird, w hich fl ies two or three hundred

yards, an d then settles . As there are alot of men about ,some on e immed iately starts it again , an d on its settl ing asecon d or third time, italmost in variably ru n s to the n eares tthick can e, gen eral ly “ born

”reeds, where it al lows itse lf to

be caught.

814 .—Ga.l loperdix spadiced s, Gm. The Red Spur

fow l .

Perman en t residen t. Moderately common in the Satpuras,,an d in the Pimpaln ir hil ls.

819 .

—Francolinus pf

ictus,ale Jard . and Se lb. The

Pain ted Partridge .

Perman en t res iden t. Very common al l through the Satpuras,and moderately ’

common'

w herever”

thereisany forest or gardenland . It breeds in September.

3 18 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS or WESTERN KHANDESH.

’

834.—Turn ix j oudera, B odys . The Large ButtonQ uai l .

Rare . The on ly spec imen I saw I caughtamong some g rassamong the Satpuras . This was in March.

835.—Turnix dussumieri, Tam. The Smal l ButtonQuai l .

Rare . A few spec imen s seen In the cold w eather in

Nizampur, an d in the rain s in Dhu l ia. I obtai n ed on e n est in

S eptember. Probably they are common er than I supposeas I beat few places for Quai l .836 .

—Eupodotis edwardsi, J . E . Gr. The IndianB ustard .

Moderate ly common in the hot an d cold w eathers in theplain al on g “

the f l‘apti , an d in Pimpaln ir and Nizampur. I

have seen flocks of at least twen ty birds in the Nan durbartaluka.839 .—Sypheotides aurita, Lath . The Lesser Flo

rican .

Breed s in moderate n umbers in afew places in the district,roun d Dharamgaum

'

in Erandole , n earKapurnain the n orthw est of Dhu l ia,an d in afew ' o ther places . I have seen i t»

occas ional l y in the cold w eather in Nan durbar, bu t I thinkalmostal l the birds leave the d istrictat the en d of the rain s .

—Glareolaoriental is, Leach . The EasternPratin col e .

Rare—

In November 1879 there w ere acon siderable flockof Pratin coles at Prakashaon the Tapti . They u sed to flybackwardsan d forwardsal ong the G omaO II the bank of

‘

w hic lI

I was en camped in the even ing . I stupid ly n eg lec ted to procure any spec imen s , so en ter it as doubtfu l as it is j ustpossible that the birds may have been G . pratincola.845.—Charadrius fulvus, Gm. The Eastern Gol denPlover.

Cold w eather v isitan t ; rare . . On ly n oticed by me on on e or

two occas ion s,an d n ever in large flocks .

850 .- }Egia.l itis Jerdon i,

"s L egge . The Lesser

. R in g Plover.

Perman en t re s iden t. Common al ongal l the rivers,and alongthe s ides of the Mukhti tank. I took eggs on the TaptI In

ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or WE STERN - KHANDESH. 3 19

Marchand Apri l ,and saw young n ew ly hatched near Dhu l iain May . The birds how ever breed much earlier,as I have seen

them maki n g n ests in December an d Jan uary . This is the

on ly Ringed Plover I fou n d in Khan desh.

852 — Chettusiagre'

garia,* Pal l . The Black-sidedLapw in g

C old w eather v i sitan t ; rarean d local . C on siderable flocksw ere scattered all through the stubbles arou n d ShadainF ebruary 188 1,an d I have n oticed i t in Nandurbar.

853 .

— Chettusiavil lotaei . * The W hite -tail ed LapW i n g .

C old w eather v isitan t rare . On ly noticed by me on ce inDecember 1880

,at Nan durbar. There w ere four birds in al l,

v ery tame,an d I shot three .of them .

855.—Lobivanel lus indicus, Badd . The Red-Wattled Lapw i n g .

Perman en t res iden t. Very common al l through the d istrict.Breedsabundan tly in the hot weatheran d rain s .

856 .

-L0bipluvia. malabarica, Badd . The Y el lowwattl ed Lapw in g .

Perman en t residen t. Not common,but found sparing ly in

al l talukas,Eggs w ere obtain ed by me both in the rain s an d

cold w eather.

—}Esacus recurvirostris,’e Cue . The Large Ston ePlover.

Perman en t res iden t. O n ly n oticed by me on the Tapti . It

isabu ndan t on the rocky islan ds be low Prakasha, an d four or

fi ve mi les bel ow Kukurmoon da. I obtain ed several eggs atthe latter place in March 188 1 .

859 .—(Edicnemus scolopaxf S . G . Gm . The

Ston e Pl over.

Perman en t res iden t. Not common , but gen eral ly d istributedthrough the scrub jung le .

863 .— Grusantigon e, Lin . The Sarus.

A straggl er. A single spe cimen was n oticed by me .ou Apri l21st, 188 1, on the sou th bank of the Tapti . I have been toldthatapair u sed to breedatasmal l tank among the hi l ls in

Nizampur, but in Jan uary ;1881 , when I v isited it, there w eren on e to be seen the tan k however was one exceptionally suited

41

320 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS OF W ESTERN KHANDESH.

'

for this bird,and I shou ld not be surprised if they real ly bredthere in the rain s .

?865.—Grus communis, Becket. The C ran e .

I . have been repeated ly told by officers that this Cran e iscommon in the cold w eather, an d that they have often shoti t. I do n ot remember ever see ing on e mysel f

,so en ter the

speciesas doubtfu l .

866 .

—Anthr0p0 ides Virgo, Lin . The Demoisel l e

C ran e .

Cold w eather v isi tan t. Abundan t al on g the Tapti val ley,

an d n ear Dhu l ia. In the m idd le of March 1880 large flockspassed n orth-east over the Satpuras .870.—Gail inago sthenura,* Ki m. The Pin tailSn ipe .

W in ter v isitan t. Notas common as the n ext species, per

haps one st/Ien urabe ing shot to every four coelestis .

87L—Gal l inago coelestis,* Frenzl . The Commonor Fan tail Sn ipe .

W in ter v is itan t. Not common in Khan desh, but d istribu tedthrough the rice fie lds an d Wherever marshy places ex ist .

I saw asn ipe, bu t I do n ot kn ow of which species, as early

as 14th September 1880.

872 .—Gal l inago gal l inula,* L in . The Jack Sni pe .

Cold w eather v is itan t. Not as common as e ither of the

other species .

873 .—Rhynchaea. capen sis, L in . The Pain ted Sn ipe .

Perman en t residen t. Not very common . Breeds in Apri l .

875.—Limosaaegocephalaf " L in . The Black-tail edGodwit .

Cold w eather v isitan t. Foun dal ong the Tapti an d gen eral lythrough the d istric t, though it is by n o mean s common . Bythe en d of Apri l, when it leaves, some of the birds are in fu llsummer plumage .

877 .

-Numenius l ineatus, On e . The Curl ew .

Cold weather v isitan t ; rare . On ly observed by .me at theMukhti tank in October.

322 ROUGH LIST O F THE B IRDS OF W ESTERN KHANDESH.

’

n oticed it on the tanksat Nizampur,at G undoor n ear Dhu l ia,both In the cold w eatheran d w e l l on in

,

the hot w eather. Therewas v ery l Ittle rainabou t Dhu l iaIn Jun e

, ‘

Ju ly, an d Augu st1 880

,an d the tan ks at Bhokaran d G undoor were dry , so there

was n o chan ce of birds breed in g there that year.

902 .—Porphyrl o pol iocephalusf" Lath. The IndianPurple C oot.

Possibly aperman en t res iden t ; rare . Not n oticed by me ti l lJu ly 1880, w hen I foun d three or four pairsamong the reeds

in the n u l lah betw een the M ukhti tank and the Panj ra; alsoafew along the Panj ra. They w ere e viden tly breeding , bu t Ifo

S

uud n o n ests. I noticedapair in the Makhti nu l lah in May1 8 1 .

903 .—Fulicaatra,* Lin . The Bal d Coot.

C old w eather v isi tan t. Common on al l theKhandesh tanks .

905.—Gal l inul lachloropus, L in . The Water-hen .

Cold w eather V Isitan t. Not common .

907 .—Erythraphmnicura,ee P enn . The Whitebreasted Water-hen .

Pe rman en t res iden t I think, but am n ot sure . Commone n oughabout Dhu l iain the rain s .

908 .—Porzan 9. akool , Sykes . The Brown an dAshy C rake .

I sa‘v‘v three or four Rails I bel ieve of this kind, in areedyplace c l ose to the v i l lage Of G u ndoor. This was in October 1879 . I d id n ot un fortu nate ly shootaSpec imen , and n ever

saw on e sin ce, the year 1880 be ing suchadry season .

909 .

— Porzanamaruetta, L each. The Spotted

Crake .

Cold w eather v isitan t ; rare . A s ing le specimen Shotat Gundoor in October 1879 , w hi le Sn ipe shooting .

?QIL fusc’a, L in . The B uddy C rake .

A s ingle spec imen of what I be l ieve to have been this birdgot u at my feet whi le walkingalong the Mukhti n u l lah inS eptember 1880 . I however had n o gun w ith meat the time,and n ever saw itagain .

ROUGH LIST or THE BIRDS or W ESTERN KHANDESH . 323

915.—Leptoptilusargalus, Lat/i . The Adjutan t.

W in ter v isitan t ; rare . I have on ly on ce come across it.This was in Jan uary 188 1, in the n orth-w est of Dhu l iataluka,an d i t was fighti ng w i thalot of Vul tures over the carcase of asheep .

9 18 .

—Cicon ia. n igra, Lin . The Black S tork .

Cold w eather v is i tan t. Not comm on , bu t n oticed al ong the

G omain Shada,an d along the Panj ra. It is very shyand

d ifficu l t to shoot.919 —Cicon iaalba, B ee/i st. The W hite S tork .

C old w eather v isitan t ;_

rare . I have on ly seen it tw ice,on ce

in Nan durbar n ear the Tapti in Apri l ,and on ce at Gundoor inOctober.

920.—Dissuraepiscopa, B odd . The W hite-n eckedS tork .

Probably aperman en t residen t. Not common,but g en eral ly

d istributed in the coldan d hot W eather.

923 .—Ardea. cinerea, L in . The Heron .

Not u n common . Thereare ge n eral ly afew about at al lseason s

,but I do n ot be l ieve they breed in the d istrict.

924 .

—Ardeapurpurea, Li n . The Purpl e Heron .

Notas common as cinerea, bu t sti l l I have seen odd birdsatal l season s .

925.—Herodia.s torra, B . Hami l ton . The LargeEgret .

C old w eather v isitan t. Not common I think .

926 .—Herodias intermedia, Bass . The Littl e WhiteH eron .

C old w eather v isitan t. C ommon throughout the d istrict. It

may breed, but I have foun d n o n ests .

927 .-Herodias garzetta,* Lin . The Littl e Egret.

Perman en t res iden t. Very common . Breeds along the

Panj rain Apri l .929 .

—Bubulcus coromandus, Badd . The Cattl eEgret .

Probably aperman ent residen t ; breeding in the rain s inPimpaln ir, where I found large flocks in May in breedingplumage .


930.

—Ardeola. grayi, Sykes . The Indian PondHeron .

Perman en t res iden t. Common throughon t the d istrict. Itbreeds from May to Ju ly along the Panj ra, and probablye lse where .

931 .

—Butorides javan ica,* Horsf . The Little GreenB ittern .

Perman en t residen t. Not very common .

? 933 .

—Ardettacinnamomea,Gm. The Chestn ut

B ittern .

I n oticedapair of what I bel ieve w ere this spec iesamon gsome thick reeds along the M ukhti n u l lah in August 1880 .

I d id n ot shoot them as I expected they w ou ld breed . Theyhow ever disappeared .

937 .

—Nycticorax griseus, Lin . The Night H eron .

Probablyaperman en t re s iden t. C ommon in Dhu l iai n therain s

,an d n oticed in d ifferen t parts of the d istrictatal l season s .

938 .—Ta.ntalus leucocephalus, Fars i . The Pe l icanIbis .

A w in ter v isitan t. Not un common along the two largerrivers .

939 .—Platalealeucorodia, Lin . The Spoonbil l .

A w in ter v isitan t. Not common an ywhere ; i ndeed I haveon ly seen two or three pairs in the e ighteen mon ths I have beeni n Khandesh .

940.—Anastomus oscitans,* Bodd . The Shel l

Ibis .

ICold w eather v isitan t. Fairly commonal ong the Tapti andin the n orthern part Of the d istrict.941 .

-Ibis melanocephala, Lath. The W hite Ibl S .

C old w eather v is itan t. Fairly common throughou t thed istrict , particu larly in the upper parts of the Panj rainPimpaln ir.942 .

—Inocotis’

papil losus, Tam. The Black Ibis .

Poss ibly aperman en t residen t ; very local, and sparing lyscattered through the d istrict.

326 ROUGH LIST OF THE BIRDS or WESTERN‘

KHANDESH .

962.-Dafila.acutafi L in. The Pin tail .

C old w eather v is itan t ; common . I saw the latest,asing lebird,on 9 thApri l 188 1, on the Tapti.

963.—Marecapenelope, L in . The -W igeon .

Cold w eather v is itan t. Fairly common throughou t thed istrict.964 .

—Querquedulaorecca, Lin . The Common Teal .W in ter v is itan t. Very common w herever there isany water.

I saw acon siderable flock on 19 th S eptember 1880 .

965.— Quequedu1acircia,* Lin . The Gargan ey .

W in ter v isitan t ; also very common . There w ere large flocksat Dhu l iain the beg in n ing of May 18 8 1,and I saw asing le birdthereas lateas May 10th.

968 .—Ful igulaferina, L in . The Pochard .

W in ter v is itan t ; rare . On ly n oticed by meat Til tana.969 .

—Ful igulanyroca, Gn l d The White -eyedPochard .

W in ter v i s itan t ; common on al l the tanks .

971 .—Ful igulacristataf‘ Lin . The Tufted Pochard .

W in ter v is itan t. Fairly common and gen eral ly d istributed .

975.

— Podiceps minor, Gm . The L ittl e Grebe .

Perman en t residen t ; common . I found an umber of n ests

w i th fresh eggs in asmal l tan k in the Virde il talukain November 1 880, bu t that year there had been ve r

'

,7 l ittle rain in the

early part of the mon soon ,an d the tan ks had n ever fi l led .

982 .— Sterna. caspia,* Pal l . The Caspian Tern .

A straggle r. I shot on e in May on the Makhti tank,an dhave seen them at other season s .

985— Sterne. seena.* Sykes . The Large River Tern .

A stragg ler. Occas ional ly seen in the cold an d hot weather”along the Taptian d Panj ra.987 .

- Sternamelanogastra, Tem. The Black-be l l ied

Tern .

1 have seen afew occas ional ly along the rivers, but it isn ot common .

LETTERS To THE EDITOR. 327.

2.—Pelicanus philippensis, Gm. The Grey

Pel ican .

I found e ight Pel icans, I ' bel ieve, of this Species, at the

Mukhti tank"

‘

in the beg in n ing of’

May 1881. I cou ld not

get n ear endugh to procurea‘

spe‘

cime

1006 .—Phalacrocorax fuscicol l is,* S teplz. The Les

ser Cormoran t .“

Both thisand the n ext speci esare very common along the

Panj ra,an dalso fairly commonalong both the Gomaand Tapti;I think I have seen them in large flocks at al l season s, but Ihave “

n ever seenany sign s of their breeding .

1007 .-Phalacrocorax n IiIaeus,* Pal l . The Littl e

C ormoran t.Equal ly common w i th the larger spec ies.

1008 .

—Plotus melanogaster, P enn . The IndianSnake Bird .

Probablyapermanen t residen t. Moderately common onal lpieces of water.

Ti ters to the (Editor.

I REQUEST permi ssi on to correct an inadvertent errorin my letter, prin ted in STRAY FEATHERS, Vol . X .

,p . 159 .

I there said that al l the 23 specimen s of B uteo desertorum

preserved in the Norw ich Museum have the w ing measuremen tover 14 in ches, but I ought to have l im ited this statemen t to20 out of the 23,as three of the smal ler specimen s men tion ed inthe succeed ing paragraph also form part of the series in theMuseumat Norw ich.

Iam,yours

, &c . ,

J . H. GURNEY .

BY to-day’s post I have sen t you the Skin of afemaleC ircus melanoleucus . NO m istakeabout the sex . It was flyingpast the bun galow w ith some bird in its claw s, an d it wasmore to find out what it had caught that I shot it. Taking

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR;

it to be amale I got the boy to rip open its s tomach,when,to myaston ishmen t, I found it wasafemale . I had it skinn edjust to let you see that the sex does, at times, assume the

male plumage . It was very thin , but did n ot appear to be

s ickly . It had robbed the n est of Stuo'nopnstor con traof ayoung one .

J . R . CRIPPS‘

.

BOBBAM, ASSAM.

[I am puzzled w ith this skin . It seems tome too smal l for afemal ew ing barely 14 in ches ; tarsus, 31 7at the outside. Most of ourascertain ed young femalesare larger,and this must be avery old bird . The

plumage on ly differs from that of the normaladult male in having thew inglet, primary greater coverts,and secondariesadark iron g rey in steadOf amore or less silvery grey, but I have seen males show ing this samevariation —ED . , S

ANOTHER bird to record from Sind, via, 631 .-Zosterops

palpebrosus . Mr. J . Cumming shot it in the Lyaree Garden s,and sen t it to me to-day . It isayoung bird, and I have no

doubt,after seeing the eggs col lected by Mr. Cumming lastyear at about the same time, that the Species breeds in S ind .

The eggs shown to meas hav ing been taken last year are av ery pale blue . The specimen an swers Jerdon ’s descriptionv ery w el l, except that it is abou t one-eighth smal ler in size .

ghe w ings tooare smal ler, the under w ing-covertsandabdomenare .

J . MURRAY,Curator, Frere Museum

See for di stribution in Western In dia, III . , p. 49 1.—Eu . S . F.

330 NOTES ON SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIs

gherries ,arange of hi l ls separating C oorg from the W ynaad ,an d on lyabou t 20 miles in ad irect l in e from Banasore (or m orecorrec tly perhaps Balasore) , the peak where Jerdon procured hist i e .y lIt w il l be foun d in the paper that I have om itted birds which

m u st occur. For in sthn ce , I have n ot en teredan y of the W hite

Eg re ts . These I have om itted,becau se I was u nable to iden ti fy

the spec ies w ith certain ty . I d id n ot d uri ng this trip procureany Specimen s

,bu t I saw w hi te Egrets on se ve ral Occas ion s ; the

same w i th Dendrocygna. A Den drocyg naoccu rs on the G undalupet lake , bu t not having procured spe c imen s late ly , I cou ld n ot

v en ture n ow , at this d istan ce O f time, ( it isabou t 12 years

s in ce I was last du ck-shooting there) to state w he ther it wasD . maj or or D . javan ica, though from w hat I can rememberI thin k it was the former possibly both spec ies occur.

I had i n ten ded to have g iven ade scription of the cou n trypassed through, bu t this is , 1 thin k, hard ly n ec essary, an d w i l lon ly ten d to make the paper u n n ecessarily long . There w i l lbe hard ly an y of my readers w ho do n ot kn ow what the Nilghiris are l ike , u ndu lating g rassy hil ls , w ith the rav in es be tw eenthe hi lls fi l led w i th s trips of e vergreen fore st, mostly smal l ,cal led sholas . S ometimes

,how e ve r

,the fore st does n ot con fi n e

i tse l f to the rav i n e,bu t Spreads over the hil ls on e ither s ide

more or less , some time s coverin g several hi l ls,an d thu s form ing

an ex ten s ive fore st. Most of the sholas haveastream ru n n ingthrough them ,

an d n earlyal l tai l off in amarsh . M os t of theforests are e ve rg reen , the u nderg row th con s isting chiefly of

S irobi lan thes,an d easy en ough to ge t about in , but O fte n the

u n derg row th con s ists of athin bamboo,abou t the thickness O f

on e’

s fin ger.

As on e ge ts dow n the S l opes, the evergree n forests g ive wayto agreat exten t . to dec idu ous trees an d large bamboos

,

e spec ial ly on e very thorny kin d ,an d the j u ngle becomes thin .

This is chiefly on the Seegore an d Coon oor s ide of the hil ls .

Bu t on the Nedd ivu ttum s ide , the ghat lead ing in to the W y naad ,the evergreen forests con tin ue much low er

,be ing somewhat

broken abou t Goodalore, bu t soon recomme n c ing .

The Wynand of course is n ow,toave ry g reat e xten t, den uded

O f i ts forests, plan tati on s of coffee an d chin chonahav i ng takenthe ir place , bu t large ex ten ts of forests are stil l ex is te n t, chieflyon the ghats overlooking the low cou n try towards Cal icu t.A bird ’s-ey e v iew of Wynand w ou ld show itasacoun try

of in n umerable l ittle hi lls,w ith marshy g rou n d betw een the

hi l ls,the hi l ls mostly cu ltivated w i th coffee, &c .

,many sti l l

c overed w i th forest, and the marshy ground between mostlyu nder rice cu l tivation .

AND IN PARTS or WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORIB. 83 1

Pass ing from the Wy naad to the My sore coun try,the

character of the vege tation con tin ues much the same up to

Rampore , on the l in e of d iv is ion betw een Mysore an d the

Wy naad . From here the cou n try beg in s again gradual l y tochan ge , the soil becom ing san dy ,and the trees stun ted , e spec ial lyteak and blackw ood w hen they occur ; sti l l further on it

changes stil l more,al l fores t d isappearing , an d thorny scrub

takin g its place ; the soil ge ts more s teri le an d Iocky,ti l l n ear

G u ndalupe t it becomes very rocky in deed . The coun tryaboutBan d ipur though is d ifferen t

,con s isting O f Open jung le w i th

fin e grassy g lades,an d on ly he re an d there in the rav in e s den sescruband bamboo ,an d so it con tinues for most of the way ti l lGoodalore isagain reached .

To M r. Rhodes Morgan I am greatly indebted ,an d i t ismain ly ow ing to his ass istan ce that I was enabled to procurespe c ime n s O f T . j erdon i,an d I have to thank Mr. Hume for

his kindne ss in veri fyin g in many cases my iden tification s .Al l the birds col lected during the tripare n ow in Mr. Hume

’

s

Museum.

[Mn Dav ison en umerates 28 1 spec ies . Of these, 4. Gyps

ind icus,an d

, 9 86 .— Sternafluviati l is , probably Shou ld s tan das,

4 bis . G . pal lescen s,an d 987 bis .— Sternaalbigeua. 135 quat

Alcedo beavan i, is doubtfu l ,and probably , if iden tical w i th theTravan core bird

,shou ld bearad istin ct name . As for 105 .

Bairachostomus mon i l iger, there is real ly n o g ood reason forbe l ie v in g that it occu rs on the Ni lghiris . I have added inbrackets 50 spec ies

*that I know to have occurred w i thin the

l im its to w hich Davison ’

s l is t re fers ; an d there are ful ly anequal n umber of specie s which I am qu ite su re mu st occurthe re , bu t in regard to w hich I have no certain record ,at leaston which I can at the momen t lay my han ds . On e poin t hasto be remembered : Dav ison ’

s trip in the low coun try was veryhurried

,an d was made during Apri l an d May afteral l the

m ig ratory ducks,&c . , had le ft, so that

,despi te his longan d

acc urate kn ow ledge of the Upper Nilghiri birds , it is n ot. sur

pris i ng that his l ist (w ri tten away from the m useum,and

w he n he was i l l) shou ld con tain on ly , say , 280 , ou t of a.probable total (in round n umbers ) of 400 spec ies .

—ED .

, S . E ]

2 . Otogyps calvus, Soap . The B lack Vu l ture .

As Vu ltu res count this speci es 18 not abun dan t on the

Nilghiris, for, w hen perhaps as many as forty or fiftv otherS in ce this has been in type, Mr. Davison himse l f . in correctin g the pron fs ' has

con firmed from his own expe i ien ce the occurre nce of 8 or 10 of these 60 Spec ie s .—ICD .

332 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGH IRIS

Vu l tures may be con gregated n earabody,on ly two or three ,

se ldom i ndeedas manyas hal fadozen , of th is specie s , w i l l befoun d w ith the mob. At other times they are met w i th s inglyor in pairs .

On tw o occas i on s I have come across this V u l ture feedingon carrion hid away in the depth of heavy forest . O n ce wasin Burmab

,w hen in company w i th M r. A . L . Hough,

ascen d ing the Pakchan , w e came across on e tearing at the

bod y of afre shly k il led m ugg ur. In this case the body layon atiny sandban kabu tti ng on the bank of the s tream an d,al though v is ib le from the can oes , was so overshadow ed by theden se v egetation g row ing on the ban k as to be

,I shou ld

think,qu ite in v isible from ahe ight o f e ve n fi ve or six fee t .

The other occasion was on the Nilghiris ; walkin g up the bed

of as tream in ath ick shola,I flushed on e off the pu trid remai n s

of w hatappeared to be the body of adog or jackal bu tas thebody was partial ly subme rged ,an d the sme l l in tole rable , I d idn ot stop to make sure . The repas t to that V u l ture was n o

doubt extreme ly n ice to j udge from the re luctan ce w i th w hichi t qu itted it . It was fac ing me ,an d m ust have seen me w hen Iwas 30 yardsaway ; ye t I approached w i thin ten yards an dthen stood

,bu t it took n oapparen t n otice of me . But on on e

of my dogs pu tting in an appearan ce , i t (the Vu l ture an d n ot

the dog ) took acouple of ungain ly hops towards me . Ris ingw i thal umbering fl ight it passed ove r m y headat ahe ight of

abou t six feet, in to the open , throughabreak in the trees .

III my tri p through the Wy nandan d part of Mysore I sawit bu t tw ice to iden ti fy i t w i th certain ty—on ce at Goodaloreand on ce at Su l tan ’

s Battery .

I too have n oticed w hat Jerdon say sabout the fear shownby Gypabengalen sisand G . ind icus of this spec ies .

4 .—Gyps indicus, Soap . The Long

-bil l ed BrownVu l ture .

5 .—Pseudogyps benga1ensis, Gm. TheWhite backed

Vu l ture .

Both these species " occur on the N ilghirisan d its sl opes,an dthrough the Wynaad . The former is , comparative lv , n ot verycommon , especial ly on the Nilghiris, where I have on ly n oticedi t occas ional ly . The latter isabun dan t everywhere .

I th i nk it very doubtful w hether the Ni lghii i bird is ind icus ; it is more probablypal l es ceus .

—ED . , S . F,

334 NOTES ON SOME _B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

[16 .—Fal co chiquera, Dead . The Turum-tee .

Has occurred at the base O f the N ilghiris on the Bangaloreroad

,and doubtless throughou t the low coun try .

-A . O . H . ]

17 .— Cerchneis tinnunculus, Lin . The Kestrel .

I obtain ed spec imen s O f both races O f the Ke stre l on theNilghiris

— the pale m ig ratory race an d the dark ru fou s res identrace . The dark re side n t race is n ot con fi n ed to the Nilghiris ,bu t spreads through the W y naad . I shot on e n ear Karoteat thefoo t of the Banasore Peak

,an d saw acouple of o thers on the

Bramagherries .

I think i t n ot improbable that Dr. Jerdon was in error ins tating that he foun d the Lesser Kestre l breed in g O 11 C l iffs on theN ilghiris he p1obably m is took it for the re s iden t race O f the

common Kes trel,w hich does b1 eed on c l iffs, &c . A pair have

,

for many years , as l ong as I can 1 emembe 1 , frequen tedan dy early bred on the c l i ffsat the e n tran ce to Ootacamund fromCoon oor. This year (Jan uary 1883) theyare s til l there .

The res iden t race is common on the Ni lghiris an d the irslopes, frequen ting the mom open and c u l ti vated t1ac ts . Theyfeed chiefly on reptiles, bu t occas ional lyatany rate 0 11 b irds .

I have seen on e pou n ce dow n , se izean d car1y Off aQ uai lM101 operdz

’a: 6 7ytkrmbyn c/w s) .

22 .—Astur trivirgatus, Tem . The Sou thern -crested

Goshawk .

This spec ies is n ot common on the Nilghiris and its sl opes,

but occu rs somewhat more n umerou sly in parts of the Wynaad .

Asaru le i t keeps to the forest or its ou tskirts , bu t I have, 0 11several occas ion s , seen it frequ en tin g isolated t1 ees O 11 g rassyland . It p1ey s large ly 0 11 smal l bi1ds , bu t al so seize s l izai dsan d l ocusts . It 1s ve 1y qu ickand sure in i ts movemen ts . On

two occas ion s I have seen Hypsipetes gan eesase ized by it in

thick j ung le . It is n otashy bird ,an d w he n it has se ized anyprey i tal low s of avery n earapproach . Jerdon say s that “ it

is n ot very rare in the Nilghiris, and occasional ly comm i tsdep1edation s on pigeon s, chicken s , &c .

d It may n ot have beenra1 e on the Nilghh is w hen he w

*

,1 ote bu t my ow n experien ce

is that 111 three or four mon ths ha1d collecting on the Nilghi i is

on e may seen 1 e two or th1 ee specimen s du1 ing thatatime

,

w hereas 1n the W ynaad , bee tw een Ne l lacottaand De vala, Ihave see n as man y as fi ve 1n on e mo1 11 1n o

' As to its dep1 edat ion samong pigeon san d chicken s , I have n e ver seen i t comeabou t hou ses . The bird that does commit sad havoc 111 pou l tryyardsand dovecots 1s Bon e l l i’s Eag le (Nisae'tus fasciatus) .

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE .

‘

335

The fol low i ngare the d imen si on s an d colours of soft partsO f af namaleashot l n the ca1damum forests, Peria, Wynaad,on the 2nd of May 188 1Mal e —Len gth, expan se , tai l , w ing ,

tarsus, bi l l from gape , l ‘ l ; w e ight, 8 ozs . Irides orang e ;leg s and feet chrome y e l l ow ; c law s, upper man d ible , edg e

an d tip of low er man d ible black ; rest of l ow er man dibleplumbeous blue ; gape , cere, edges of eye l ids and fac ial sking reen ish ye l low .

23 .-Astur badins, G'm. The Shikra.

This specie s is n ot u n common on the plateau of the Nilghiris,bu t occurs more common ly on the s lopes of the hi l lsand in the

W ynand .

24.—Accipiter n isus, L in . The Sparrow Hawk .

A w in ter v is itan t, an d occurring sparin g ly on the hi l ls .

A female shotat O o tacamun d on the 7th o f February 1 88 1 is

u n dis tin gu ishable from many European specimen s, show ingn oapproach to melaschistus .

25.

—Accipiter virgatus , R ein w . The B esra.This spec ies is rare 0 11 the Nilghiris . I ob tain edacouple on the

C oon oor Ghat,an d have seen i t several times in the sam e l ocal ity . I d id n ot m e et. w ith i t in the Wynaad or the Mysorecoun try . It isafores t-lov in g bird , ke eping to the fore st or itsou tskirts,an d n e ver that Iamaware

,com in g any d is tan ce in to

the ope n . I have occas ional ly seen i t taking short c i1 c l ingfl ightsabove the t1 ee tops , bu t u sually it ke epsb

low dow n ,on

the l ow e 1 bl 1 n ches of the la1ger t1e es , or i n the u n de 1g 1ow th,takin g short 1apid fl ights from t1 ee to tree

, gen e1al ly g i vingi tse l fashake O 11al ighting . It 1s ve 1y watchfu l an d d iffi cu l t toapproach on ce i t su spec ts dan ger On e spec imen I shot

,a.

male , had se izedaCarpodacus erytfirin n s,an d in its stomach Ifou n d the remain s of ag reen tree-l izard and ablack w oodbee tle . It is , I thin k,ave ry s i len t b ird

,an d on ly on ce have I

heard its n ote—arather prolong ed so ft doub le w his tle , ratheran odd n o te foraHaw k. It is I thin kaperman en t res iden t,bu t I have n ever foun d i ts n est.[3L—Hieraetus pennatus , Gm. The Booted Eagle .

Not u n common in the Wynaad, from w hich I rece ivedapairmany yearsago.

- A. O . H . ]

32 .—Neopus malayen sis, R e inw . The Black Eagl e .

This fin e Eag le 1S n ot u n common on the N ilghi1 is and i ts

slopes . Je1don has so w e l land ful ly described its habits that I

336 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

have n othing toadd, except that I can , w i th certain ty , speak of

its,occas ional lyatan y rate

,feed ing 0 11 rep ti les,as I have found

the remain s of asmal l snake in on e .

33 .— Nisa.etus fasciatus, We i l l . Bon el l i

’

s Eagl eThis Eag le is n ot very rare on the Nilghirisan d its S l opes

,

an d I have also seen it in the plain s coun try at the foot of thehi l ls . It is very bold ,an d commi ts g reat hav ocamong domesticpigeon s . I have seen on e poun ce dow n an d carry , Off alarge-sized Eng l ish hen that certain ly must have w e ighedasheavyas it d id i tse lf ; and on an other occasion I saw on e maketwo un successfu l s toopsatahare

,strikin g it, how ever, the third

time . U sual ly it is seen in pairs ,an d I have n ot u n frequ en tlyseen apair circl ingatacon siderable height over the stationof Ootacamu nd .

[35.—Limnaetus cirrhatus , Gm. The C rested HawkEag l e .

C ertain ly occurs n ot on ly 0 11 the Nilghiris themse lves , w he n ceI have had spec imen s, bu t also in the Wynaad an d S . WMy sore .

—A. O . H . ]

36 .

—Limnaetus n ipalensis, H odgs . Hodgson’

s

Hawk-Eag l e .

I kn ow of bu t on e specimen of this species ob tain ed on the

N ilghiris ,an d that was g i ven to m e in Jun e 1872 for Mr.

Hume by Mr. F. L . C hapman of O otacamun d .

* This spe c ie sisalwav s , as poin ted ou t by Mr. Hume (vide S . F.

,I . ,

d istingu ishedat on ce from the other In d ian Hawk-Eag les bythe feathering O f the tarsi run n ing down bevond the firstj oin t of the m id toe .

I on ce at Nedd ivu ttum saw alarg e crested Hawk-Eag leperched 0 11atree by the roads ide , w hich was probably alsoO f this spec ies .

39 .—Spilorn is cheela, Lath. The Ind ian Harrier

Eagle .

I Obtain ed on e spec imen of this Spec ies,afemale at Ku l lar,at the foot of the Coon oor G hat 0 11 the l s t of February 188 1 .

The w in g m easu red in ches . This spec ies I should sayis very rare in Southern In d ia.

I can n ot n ow fin d this skin ,an d I can n ot, therefore , be sure that this specimen

d id n ot belon g to the sou thern form cal led 8 . Icelaarti by Maj or Legge.- ED . , S . F .

338 NOTES ON SOME BrRDS COLLECTED ON THE'

iNl LGHIR‘IS

I '

may '

men tion ibatu l Observed that this specIes in thbW ynaad appeared to frequen t by pre feren ce

‘

those tracts ofcoun try covered w i th bamboo, an d in terspersed . w i th g rassyg lades, w ith l iere and there isolated trees or . smal l c lumps ofthese . W hen I Observed it n ear any exten s ive forest it was Ohthe outskirts .

47 .-Buteo plumipes, H odgs . The HarrierBuzzard.

I saw aspecImen,aBuzzard,in the dark f1il ig ino

'

u s plumageof plumipes in aswamp w i thin the station of Ootacamun d

,

but hav ing n o gun with me at the time I failed to secure it.

In former y ears, w hen res ide n t on the fNilghiris , I have seen

Bu zzards on seve ral occas ion s,bu t the gen us IS rare on the

Ni lghm s .

7 47 bis—Buteo desertorum. The African Buzzard .

Male .—Bramagherries , 16 th Apri l 1882 . ex

pan se,

tai l , w i ng, tarsu s , bil l from gape,w e ight, lbs . Leg s , feet,cere, gape ye l l ow c law s an d

bi l l black ; l ow er mandible plumbeous at base ; irides w hiteybrow n .

This, the only }Spec imen of aBu zzard that I . obtain ed, hasbeen re ferred

'

to'

desertorum by Mr. Hume,in

,w hose . v iew M r.

G urn ey con curs .

* The type of colou ration more n earlyapproaches that of p lumipee than of deserlorum . I have

,how

ever, I shou ld n ote,n e ver seen aspec imen of desertaram

,an d

judge en tire ly by the figures in Le Vail lan t, Breean d Dresser.

'

Amon g ou r larg e series of plumipes there are several '

w hich

very c lose lyapproach my spec ime n in colouration . But whathas led to our assign ing the bird to desertorum rather than toplumipes is its size, the w ing measu ring on lyIn 34 spec imen s of p lumipes, the measu remen ts of whichare

recorded by Mr. Hume (S . F.

,IV 36 1

,an d V .

,the w ing

varies from 1 43 in the smal les t male to 15 9 in the largestfemale . In our mu seum is qu i teayoung bird from Cashmerew ith the n estl ing dow n s ti l l adhering to the feathers, an d inthis the w ing is although its bill, tars i and feetare smal lerthan in my specimen .

51 .—Circus macrurus, S . G . Gm . The Pale Harrier.

This Harrier isacold w eather v is itan t, on ly, to the Nilghiris,coming in about the en d of October,an d I have seen itas lateas the last w eek in Apri l .It is veryabu ndan t, frequen ting , by pre feren ce , the cu l tivatedlandabou t the Badagav il lages, . bu talso foun d common lyabou t

Vedaan te, p. 159 .

AND IN PARTS or wrNAAn—AND S OUTHERN. MYSORE . 339

the bare “

grassy hi l ls an d swamps . It av oids thickly-w oodedg roun d . It

'

feeds chie fly on reptilesan d fie ld m ice, bu talso onbirds . I saw on e carry off aMyna(Acrz

'

dot/l eres malzrattensis)from out of aflock of abou t thirty that Were feedin g on the

'

groun d . I fol low ed the Harrier upand shot it ; the My naqu i te dead, bu t in exce l le n t cond ition,bu t it was bl in d of on e

'

ey e . 1 have also fou n d the remain s of y ou ng Quai l (111 .

ery thror/zyn cfius) in the stomach of'

one shot n ear C oon oor.The fol low ingare the d imen sion s, &c .

,of three n early adult

females z— Leng th, 200 to e‘

xpan se , to 46 6 tai l , 93to 10 6 w in g, 140 to 14 7 ; tarsus, 28 to bil l from gape,1 3 to w e ight, 1 5 to_

1 6 ozs .

Irides bright y e l l ow legs an d feet chrome ye l l ow ; cere‘

green ish ; c law s black bil l plumbeou s, shad ing to blackat tip.

Jerdon , in his description of the female of this spec ies,says

Ben eath dark ochraceous , w i th brow n s treaks con tin ued on

the l ow e r tai l-coverts , &c .

” Now the low er surface is n otalway sdark ochraceous in tw o out of my three female s, w hichareal l '

v ery n early adu lt, the low er surface is w hite,broad ly streaked

w i th brow n in on e , narrow ly in the o the r. In the third spec imen tIIe loafer surface is apale ochraceous bu ff s imi larlys treaked .

In the y oun g male, which is n ot described by Jerdon, the

“

l ow er su rface is w hat I shou ld cal lawarm ochraceou s bu ff,

this colou r exten d in g in anarrow somew hat in terrupted band‘

Comple te ly rou n d the n eck asu perc il ium ,astreak b e l ow the

ey e ,an dafring in g to al l the w ing-coverts , an d some O f the

tertiaries,are of this same colou r ; the ou termost three tai lfeathers on each s ide on the ir upper su rfac es are ochraceous,broad ly tran sve rse ly ban ded w ith du l l black the other tailfeathers are hair brow n , w ithaS i l very g rey Shade towards the irbases , indis tin ctly tran sverse l y ban ded w ith black

, an d w itha.broad subterm inal b lack ban d w hich is very narrow ly fringedw i th ochraceou s . The res t of the u pper surface isawarm hairbrow n

,darkest on the head .

53 .

— C ircus melanoleucus, Pen n . The Pied Harrier.

The Pied Harrier occurs bu t sparing ly on the N ilghiris , the irsl ope s,an d in the Wy nand . The you n g are I thin k more O ften

s ee n than adu l ts . In habits an d food this spec ies does n ot

d iff er from the preced in g ,an d l ike i t, i t is of course on ly acoldweather v isitan t . A you n g 1nale , Shot n ear Manan toddy , in theW ynaad , was in the tran si tion stag e to thead u l t plumage, Showin g amottling of black feathers on the head, n e ck

, man tle,s ides of face,an d throat.

I

v

aM

340 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGBIRIS

54i—Gircusaeruginosus, L in . The Marsh Harrier.

~

This Harrier is n ot un common 0 11 the N ilghiris and the irS l opes . U sual ly it keepsabou t marshy g round, but n ot u n freque n tly it may be seen hun tin g over the g rassy s ide of ahi l l,or d ry cul tivated groun d . It isabold fearles s bird

,and I have

on more than on e occasi on seen on e strike at w ounded S n ipean d Quai l . Young birds are much more common ly met w i ththan adu lts .

55.—Hal iastur'

indus, Badd . The Brahminy K ite .

'

This species is n ot ve ry n umerous on the N ilghiris . It is

much more common in the Wy naad, and on e or more may befound in almost e very paddy -fie ld . Jerdon has g iven suchane xce l len t desc ription of the hab its , &c .

,of this bird

,that

I can add n othi ng . A few pairs may alway s be found abou tthe Swampy shores O f the lake at Ootacamu nd . If the n e st or.

egg s of this speciesare tou ched, o ften , if the n est is m ere l v

l ooked in to, the b irds w i l l ,asaru l e , forsake the n est, breaki n gany eggs that thereare in it.

56 .—Milvus govinda, Sykes . The Pariah Kite .

From December ti l l the commen cemen t of the rain s in

Jun e this Spec ies is common about Ootacamun d , bu t ve ry few

are to be see n d u ring the S . W . Mon soon . I have n oticed theKites abou t here very c lose ly , bu t I haven ’

t see n e ither thelarge melanotis, Tem . an d Schl . or the smal l afi zzis

,G ou ld.

V e ry few in deed dreed on the Nilghiris .

57 .—Pern is ptilorhynchus, Tem. The C rested

Hon ey B uzzard .

I have n ever n oticed this spec ies on the plateau of the

Nilghiris, or on the more e le vated portion of the s lopes , bu ti t occurs on the l ow er portion of the S l opes and through the

W ynaad . I procured two females, on eat Manan toddyand theother at Ban d ipu r in Mysore , in both of w hich the cre s t wasm u ch more deve loped than In the mass of birds from U pperInd ia.Both Specimen s had been feed ing on hon ey an d you ngbees ; and in on e was the half-dig ested remain s O f ayoung

snake .

59 .—Elan

lgs caeruleus, Deaf . The B lack W ingedite .

This species . is rare on the hi l ls . Some yearsago I shoton e at Neddivuttum, and my shikaree , got an other bel ow


ban ded on ly on the ir outer w ebs w i th brow n,w hich becomes

paleran d less de ve l oped on each succeed ing feather,the two

ou termost feathers on each side be i ng pure u n su l l ied white ;the d isc , ru ff

,and e n tire l ow er parts

,in cludi ng w in g

l in ing , ax il laries, tibial , an d tarsal plumes, pure w hi te, w i ththe follow ing exception s : there is adeep brow n spot at thein n er an g le of the ey e ; the ru ff

,w hich is o therw i se of apure

satiny w hi te , is s l ightly tinged w ith bu ff ; there isatin ge of the

same colour 0 11 the u ppe r breast,and each feather of the breastan d abdomen has asmal l brow n trian gu lar spot ; the s idesof the shou lderan d w ing ,alon g carpal j o in t

,bu ff ; the feathers

of each s ide of the n eck w ith asmal l triangu lar spotat thetip.

63 .

—Syrn ium indranee, Sykes . The Brown W ood

Ow l .

This Ow l is n ot u n common on the Nilghirisan d the ir sl opes,bu tis l ess common in the W'

y naad . Some times i t is foun d in pai rs,sometimes s ing ly . It g en eral ly ke eps to the sholas d uring the

day , comin g ou t by dusk ; bu t I have flushed it fromamongrocks . It is very fond of pe rching 0 11 the roo f of ahouse atn ight an d hoo ting , remain ing O ften for an hour or m ore

,

hen ce i t is that it is so dreaded by the native s , who be l ie vethat such v is its are bad omen s, portend ing the death of one

of the inmates of the hou se . There is n o thing very dread fu lin the soun d of its hoot

,which is n ot u n l ike that of byrn i dm

n ivicolum,on ly con sistin g of fou r hoots in stead of on ly a

double boot. I have heard the boot many hundreds of times,

bu t I have n ever heard it u tter the dole fu l cries attribu ted to

i t by Captain Legge an d o thers . It seems to see w e l l duringthe day ,an d on ce d isturbed is by n o mean s easy of approach .

It is n ot u n frequ en tly flushed w hen beating the sholas '

for

ame .gThe fol low ing are the d imen sion s recorded in the flesh of

two fine females — Leng th, 1 8 6 ,1 9 0 ; expan se , 42 , 45 ;

tai l, w ing , tarsus,

bi l l from gape,1 6 ; w e ight, 22 and 26 ozs . Irides dark brow n ; bil l blu ishhorny exposed portion of fe et blu ish fleshy ; c law s palebrow n ish horn y . In this spec ies the colour of the d isc appearsto vary con siderably . In aspe c imen in our mu seum fromC ey l on , the ou ter marg in isadark ochraceou s . In on e of mySpec imen s the ochraceou s of the d isc is very much paler thanin the Ce y lon Spec ime n

,w hile in my other specimen the

ochraceou s is stil l paler, an d is c l ose ly tran sversely ban dedw ith black . This barring of the d isc is probably as ign of

n onage,as the spec imen that has i t is apparen tly n ot qu iteadu lt.

AND IN PARTS OF WANAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 343

[65.—Syrn ium ocel latum, L ess . The Mottl ed W ood

Ow l .

Sou thern base of the Nilghiris, n orth of the Collegal'

taluk.

Sou th-w est My sore —A. O . H . ]

[68 .4 Asi0accipitrinus , Pal ’ The Short-eared Ow l .

C ertain ly occurs on the low er s lopes of the N ilghiris, as itdoesalso by the way on the Pu l n eys .

—A. O . H . ]

69 .— Bubo bengal ensis, Frankl . The Rock Horn ed

Ow l

Very rare on the N ilghiris . On two occasIOn S I have flushedi t from u n derabush g row ing on the ban k of adry rav in e

,

an d 0 11 se veral occas ion s I have flushed alarge ow l fromamon g rocks which I at the time iden tified as S . indranee

,bu t

w hich probably real ly be longed to this spec ies .

71 .—Bubo n ipalen sis, H odgs . The Forest Eagl e-Ow l ,This grand Ow l occu rs sparing ly on the Nilghiris, con fin ingi tse l f to the larg er sholas, so that the on ly time it is seen is

w hen heating for big game,for e ve n after d u sk it se ldom leaves

the she l ter of the j ung les . U sual ly I have foun d it sing ly ,occasional ly in pairs . It is ape Iman en t residen t on the

Nilghiris . The nati ve shikarees say that it con tin ual ly ki l lshares

, youn g jackalan d young m u n tjac .

72 .—Ketupa. ceylonen sis , Gm . The Brow n Fish-Ow l .

This Fish Ow l u sed to be n ot u n common in the sholas of the

Nilghiris, bu t of late years it seem salmost to have d isappeared .

It ex ten dsalso through the Wynand, for I flushed on e on the

banks of the river n ear Manan toddy . As s tated by Jerdon , itsf ood con s ists largely of crabs

,w hichaboun d inal l the swamps

and marshes on the Nilghiris . It is u sual ly fou nd 1n pal rs .

[u s—Scops pennatus,Hodgs . The In d ian Scops Ow l .I be l ieve I have seen this from Nilghiris ; an d apair w e re

certain ly sen t 11s from the W ynaad ,— A. O . H . ] I have s in ce

obtain ed abeau ti fu l spec imen of thIS specIes from Seegore .

‘

75 quat. —Scops malabaricus, Jerd , The MalabarScops Ow l .

The Malabar Scops Owl does notascen d the hi l ls toany he ight.I have n ever seen itabove fee t, bu t w hen i t does occur,

i t isapparen tly n ot very rare, for every n ight its rather melan


choly double metal l ic boot is su re to be heard, bu t it isad iffi cu l tb ird to obtain spec imen s of, as itapparen tl y n e ver comes forthti l l n ight has w e l l set in . It feeds l ike al l the other Owle ts onin sec ts chiefly, bu talso captures fie ld m ice .

76 .-Carine brama, Tem. The S potted O w l et.

I have n ever met w ith the S potted Ow le t on the Nilghiris orits sl opes ; it isapparen tly confin ed to the plain s cou n try ,an dthere it is common en ough . It is the earl iest of al l the ow lstoappear,an d the last to d isappear.

ale I have seen italmos timmed iately after sun set

,an d in the morn ingas lateas 8 o’c lock.

I t i s s uchan oisy l ittle bird that it alway s attracts atten tionand i ts habits mu s t be so w el l kn ow n to everyon e w ho hase ver been in the plain s that it is n ot w orth my w hile say inganything furtherabout it here . I may ,

how ever,remark that

the spec ies seems to vary con siderably in depth of colour, birdsfrom Southern In d iabe in g u sual ly mu ch darker

,w i th the

marking s 0 11 the head smal ler (approaching in this re spect pu l

chra) than those from Upper In d ia, S in dh, c bu t this is n ot

an i n variable ru le . On e of the palest birds In the museum is

from Madras ,andaspec ime n from S in dh, 0 11 the other han d,is

und is tingu ishable from the darkest Sou thern Ind ian bird nor

does the charac ter O f the markin gs hold good . My spec imen s

are al l very dark co loured, qu i te as darkas pale-bra, bu t thew hite markings, e spec ial ly those of the head ,are n ot SO smal l

,

an d the ban d on the throat con spicuously l ighter than in thatlatter species .

77 .—Gla.ucidium radiatum, Tick. The J ungl e Ow l e t .

I have care fu l ly comparedafin e adu l t male shotat S eegore(at the foot of the C hat lead ing in to Mysore ) w i th o thers fromAnjango, Al lahabad , &0 . It is greyer e ven than birds fromAl lahabad , w ith the w hite barrings broaderand more con spicu

ous . An d an other spec imen from C oon oor is very s im ilarto the Seegore bird, though n ot qu ite so g rey perhaps, thoughs ti l l show i ng 110 approach to the form separatedas malabaricum .

S in ce the above was w ritten I have obtain edan o ther typicalSpe c imen of rad iatum

,qu i te as grey as the o ther.

Though n o doubt typical forms of malabaricum an d rad iatum are very d is tin ct, ye t in alarge series e ven from the samed istrict the tw o forms w i l l be foun d to g l ide in to each other,form in g aperfect u n broken series be tw een the two varietIes .

This Ow le t ascen ds the hi lls upas highas C oon oor, w here Ihave shot it . '

It seems to see w e l l in the day . It is moreExcept G . cu cu loid es

, Wt h on e often sees in the Eastern H l l ls out In the openat m idday .—ED S . F.

346 NOTEs-

ON SOME BIRDS C OLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

bu ild ing are tort-shaped n est. They g en eral ly, though n ot

alway s, breed se veral toge ther, an d some times three or four.n estsare join ed tog ether. The male o ften con tinues to leng thenthe e n tran ceafter the female is s itting . I on ce foundan est

of this spe c ies w i th the en tran ce wal led up w i th pe l le ts of clay ,an d on open ing the n est I foun d aswal l ow dead and qu itedried up in the tubu lar n eck of the n est. Jerdon says : “ The

e gg sare white,fain tly marked w i th ru sty coloured spots .

”

This is the e xcepti on , n ot the ru le . As aru le,the egg sare pure ,

spotle ss white . The spec ies is common,n ot on l y on the

Nilghiris an d its s lopes,bu t occu rs common ly throu gh the

W ynaadand the Mysore coun try abu tting on the Nilghiris .

The fol low ingare the d imen s ion s taken in the flesh O famaleLen g th, 65 ; expan se , tai l

, w ing, tarsus ,bi l l from gape,90.—Ptyonoprogne concolor, Sykes . The Dusky

Martin .

Not un common during the cold w eather 0 11 the Nilghiris

an d s lopes , but very few appare n tly remain to breed . It is on lyfou ndabou t rocky places , or in the ir immed iate v ic in ity . It.

o ccu rs from the le ve l of the plain s to as high upas C otacam u n d . The fol low in g are the d ime n s ion s o f amale take n inthe flesh — Len g th, 50 ; expan se . l l

‘4 ; tail , w ing , 43tarsu s

,bil l from gape, 0 5 . B il land c law s black ; legsan d

fee t pale fleshv brow n .

9L—Ptyonoprogne rupestris, S cop . The Moun

tain Martin .

A cold-w eather v is i tan t on ly , and n ever very n umerous .

I have observed it on ly in the immed iate v icin ity of Ootaca;m u n d

,an dalway s abou t rocky c l iffs . By the en d of Marchal l have apparen tly departed . The follow ing are the d imen sion so f amale take n i n the flesh —Len g th, 59 ; expan se , l 3 '

5 ;tai l . w ing, 4 9 ; tarsus, bi l l from gape, w e ight,0 62 oz .

92 .—Chel idon urbica, Lin . The Hou se Martin .

On ly on ce have I me t w i th this Spec ies ,an d that was someyears ago I came across asmal l party fl y ing abou t n earas teep cutting on the old road betw een Oo tacamund andC oon oor.

95.—Ch& tura. sylvatica, Tick. The Forest Spin e

tai l .I came across aparty O f these Sw i fts hawking overastream

of water in the PeriaForests of Wynand . I Ob tained on e

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE.

‘

3 17

specimen , a' male (shot 1st May,l and the fol low ingare i tsd imen s ion s, &c . ,

taken in the fle sh —Leng th, 44 expan se,tai l

,w ing , tarsu s

,0 4 ; bil l from gape, w e ight,

oz . Bil land c law s black legsand fee t purpl ish ; iridesde ep brow n .

The trivial name g ive n to this Spec ies by Dr. Jerdon,

the

W hite-rumped Spin e tail ,” is n otahappy on e . The nameappl iesmuch be tte r to C . leucopyg ial is , Bly th, from Tenasse riman d theMalayan Pe n in su la, w hich has apu re white rump. where

as in the presen t species the rump is n ot white but paleashy .

96 .— Chaeturaindica, H ume . The Large Spin e

tai l .The large Spine tai l occurs on ly at Odd in tervals on the

Ni lghiris an d the ir s lopes,appearing in parties of fromabou tadozen to fi fty or more , bu t they se ldom remai n in s ight morethan afew m in u tes , disappeari ng , n ot to be seen again , perhapsfor mon ths . They gen eral ly put in an appearance from the

east,and d isappear in aw esterly d irection .

Though I have Often seen this spec iesabou t Coon oor an dOotacamund, I have n e ver shotaSpec imen , SO it is just poss iblethat I may be w rong in my iden tificati on , and that it is

9 6bis .— c/1ceturagigan tea, Hass . , that real ly occurs

, or bothspec ies may occur. “e

98 .

—Cypsel lusmelba, L in . The Alpin e Sw ift.

The Al pin e Sw i ft is n ot very common on the Nilghiris, bu t

there seems to beaperman e n t colony located at S t. Catherin e ’sFal ls at Kotagherry ,an dafew are gen eral ly to be seen at thefallsat Kartary an d Pykarra. I d id n ot n otice e i ther thisSpec ies or the large Spin e tai l in the Wynand or Mysore .

100 .— 0ypsel l us aflinis, J . E . Gr . The Eastern

Sw ift.

The on ly place I me t w i th this Sw i ft was at the def;bu ngalow at Ban dipur, in Mysore ,and there the ve randah wastenan ted by many hundreds . I d id n ot n otice it e lsewheredu ring my trip e ither in the Wynand or Mysore , an d I haven ever seen it anywhere 0 11 the Nilghiris . At Ban dipur theyhad on ly j ust commen ced to bu i ld the ir n ests . This was on the24th of May .

This mon th, Jan uary 1883, I have seen this Sw i ft on severaloccas ion s in the immed iate v icin ity of Ootacamund .

Al l ou r n umerous spec imen s from the Ni lghm s, W ynaad, Coimbatore , an d B en

galoreare i nd ica. -ED . ,S . F.

348 NOTES ON SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

[102 .

-Cypsel lus batassien sis, J . E . Gr. The

Palm Sw ift.Occurs in the W y naadatany rate

,asaspecimen was ~ sen t

u s by m istake from Su ltan ’

s Battery w 1th seve ral C . un icolor.

A. O . H . ]

103.—Col local iaun icolor, Jerd . The In dian Edibl e

Nest Sw iftl e t.

Veryabun dan t 0 11 the Nilghiris and Bramagherries, w herethey breed in cave s

,bu t n e ve r makeapu re n est, the n estalways

be ing composed of moss and l ichen,m e re ly agg lutinated to

gether w i th sal iva.

104.-Dendrochel idon coronata, Tick. The In d ian

C rested S w ift .

I have n ever met w i th this spec ies on the Nilghiris common lyas Dr. Jerdon seems to have don e (Uide B . I .

,Vo l . I .

, p.

I have met w i th it occas ional ly in the Wynaad, and on theG hé

‘

tts .

105.—Batrachostomus mon iliger, Lay . The S ing .

al ese .Frogmouth .

I have n e ver my se l f m et w ith thi s spec ies e ither in the

W ynand 0 1° the C hi

‘

rts of the Nilghiris, n or have I m e t w i thany on e who has obtain ed aspec imen in these local ities . It

must, I think, be extreme ly rare,if in deed it occursatal l . *

108 .—Caprimulgus kelaarti, B ly . The Nilghiri Night

jar.

This species is common on the Nilghiris,an d italso occurs ,though somewhat m ore sparing ly , through the Wynaad .

Durin g the day it retires in to some shady place, se ttl in g on the

g roun d, or perchin g on athick bough. It makes itsappearan cein the open soon after sun se t.

During the pairing and breed ing season the mal esare veryn oisy . The fol low ingare the d imen s ion s taken in the flesh of

amalean d femaleMala—Le n g th, l l °4°

; e eXpan se , tai l , w ing ,tarsu s, bi l l from gape , w e ight, 3 ozs .

Female —Len gth, expan se, tai l, w ing,

tarsus, bil l from gape,’

e have it from the Travan core hil ls, but from nowhere as yet further

n orth—Eu , S . F.

350 NOTES ON SOME -BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

have n ever foun danything but in sects in the stomach ,and theseswal low ed w hole

,an d bu t s l ightly crushed . Beetles seem to

con s ti tu te the ir‘

chief food .

The sexes do n ot seem to d i ffer perceptibly in s ize . Jerdon '

is n ot qu i te accurate in his description of the colors of the softparts . The follow ing are the d ime n s ion san d colors of the softparts of afemale taken in the fleshFemale .

—Leng th, 12 O ; expan se , l 5 °8 tai l , w ing . 51 3

tarsu s , O' 6 ; bil l from gape , 1 0 ; w eight , ozs . Upperman d ible to n ostri l

,ridge of cu lmen

,an d ex treme tip of low er

mand ible blackish ; res t of bi ll, gape ,and orbi tal ski n cobalt

blue ; legsand feet pale purpl ish smalt blue c laws paler ; iridesdeep brown .

1 17 .—Merops viridis, L in .

'

I'

he In dian -B e e-eater.

C ommon on the slopes of the Nilghiris,at the foot of thehil ls an d in the W y nand an d My sore coun try ; on the slopes of

N ilghiris betw een Ku lhu ttyan d Seegore i t is especial ly common ,breed ing in large n umbe rs in compan y w i th Merops sw in e

how. (119 ) in'

the ban ks of the road . It does n otasc en d qu iteto the plateau of the Nilghiris, stoppingat abou t fee t

e levation .

118 .—Merops phil ippinus, L iza. The Bl ue -tail ed

Bee-eater.

In the tract of cou n try to which the prese n t paper re fers ,I have fou nd this species very local ly d istribu ted,and n ot

n umerous,alway s in smal l flocks,an d n ever s tay i ng beyon da

few days in an y on e local i ty . I have n oticed them on the

C oonoor - G hat. on the skirts of the G ove rnmen t c in chonaplan tation sat Nedd ivu ttum,

an d in the Wy naad at the foo t of

the Bramagherries .

119 .—Merops sw inhou ,

H ume . The Ind ian C hesnutheaded B e e-eater.

This handsome spec ie s is qu iteacommon bird on the w el lw ooded sl opes of the Nilghiris ; an d it also occurs, though less '

n umerous ly , in the Wy nand ,and parts of My sore . It does n ot

ascen d to the plateau of the Nilghiris . A favourite perch forthis an d M . virid is is the telegraph w ire . This spec ie s breeds n u

me rou s ly in compan y w ith M . virid is on the Seegore Ghat,an d I have also fou n d the n e sts (as s tated by Je rdon ) in thebanks of the road ‘

on the Coon oor Ghat.

AND IN PARTS'

OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE.

‘

35 1

'

122z—Nyctiorn i satherton i, Jard . a'nd '

Se lb. The

B earded Be e eater.

I have obtain ed this birdat sev eral places on the s l opes of

the Nilghiris up toabou t 5,000 feet e le vati on , an d I have al sosee n i t

s

in the W ynaad . It 1 es t1 iots itse l f to w el l “ c odedlocal i ties , and is n ow he i e ve 1y n ume rou s

,occurring , so far

as I have obse 1 ved , e ither singly or i n pai 1 s . Its n ote is qu i tes imi lar to that of N . amictus .

123 .—Coracias indica, L in . The Ind ian Rol l er.

This spec ies does n ot asce n d the hil ls,an d e ven at the base

of the hi l ls . an d in the W y naad it is n ot common,that is com

pared to w hat it is in the plain s of In d ia.I shotaspec imen

, afemale ,at Rampore on the borders of

My sore an d the Wy naad . This spe c imen hasabroad w hi ten uchal collar,*as in C . n uchal is of Africa.126 .

—Eurystomus oriental is, L in . The Broad-bil ledRol ler,

Not common , but I have sometimes se en i t on the Coon oorGhat

,an d on ce in the W ynaad .

127 .— Pelargopsis gurial , Pears . The Brown -headed

(S tork-bil l ed) Kin gfisher.

I have see n this spe c ies 0 11 some of the larger streams inthe W y naad , bu t on l y occas ional ly . It is not acommon birdeven w he i e it does occur.

129 .—Hal cyon smyrnen sis, Lin . The W hite-breasted

Kingfisher.

This bird isastragg ler to the tabl e lan d of the N ilghiris .

'

I have on tw o or three occasio n s shot it at Ootacamu n d ; atthe base of the hil ls, e spe c ial ly in the be tter w ooded port ion sof the coun try, it is n otan un common bird .

134.—Al cedo bengalen sis, Gm . The Indian King

fisher.

C ommon everywhere .

? 135quat.—Al cedo beavan i, Wald . Beavan ’

s Kingfisher.

On the ban ks o f asmal l stream,be tw een Goodalore an d

Ne l lacotta, in the W ynaad , I saw asmal l bril l ian tly blue KingMay not Chrysococc l imborgz

’

,Wald, beasimilar lusus nature C'- ED S . F.

352 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE ~

.NILGEIRIS

fi sher w hich I have doubtfu l ly referred to this spec ies . It

was probab ly the same formas that obtain ed by Mr. Bourd i l lon in Sou th Travan coref ‘

[136 .

—Ceryle rudis, Lin . The Pied Kin gfisher;

Occu rs in Sou th-W e st Mysore certain ly,an d I bel ieve in the

Wynaadalso .—A. O . H . ]

140 .

—Dichoceros cavatus, Shaw . The G reat Horn

bil l .

This species occurs sparin g ly in the forests of the s l opesof the Nilghiris , bu t is more common in the forests of the

W ynaad . In the cardamum forests of the PeriaG hat I on cesaw some 50 of these birds al l congregated toge ther. Ne ither

this Spec ies n or the tw o fol low ing on e s ascen d to the tablelan d of the Nilghiris . I have n ever seen the presen t spec iesabove Bu rl iar

,abou t hal f-way betw een Coon oor an d the foot

of the Ghats .

141 .—Hydrocissacoronata, Badd . The Malabar

Pied H ornbil l .

O ccu rs in the e vergreen forests of the W ynaad , an d the

s l ope s of the Ni lghiris , u sual ly in smal l parties,bu t n ot u n

frequ en tly in pairs . It does n ot ascen d the slopes of the bil lsas high even as D . cavatus does .

145 .— Tockus griseus, Lath. The Ju ngl e Grey Horn

bil l .This species occurs through the Wynand, an d al l abou t

the base of the b il ls,bu t does n ot asce n d the ir s l opes

that I am aware of . I have sometimes fou nd it in pairs,an d on ce came across as ing le on e

,bu t this is very rare

,

as it is almost alway s in smal l flocks,

varying from hal fadoze n to tw en ty or more in d iv iduals . It isan ex treme lyn oisy bird, the w hole flock keepin g up an almost in cessan tscream ingas they m ove abou t feed ing, on e b ird commen cing ,an d the others taking up the cal l i n rapid success ion . Bu t

though the ir presen ce is easily de tected by the ir cal l (w hichm ight be sy l labl ized Kyah, Kyah, Kyahad l ib ) ; theyare so

e xceed ing ly shy that it is 110 easy matter to secure aspec imen .

1 have more than on ce fol l ow ed aflockabou tafores t here,

there,everyw here , for four or five hoursatastretch w i thou t

obtain ingashot. U n l ike the other tw o spec ies of HOrnbil l,

E

* Vide S . F.,IV 383 . I beheve this ought to be separatedas adistin ct spec1es .

D ., S F.

354 NOTES”

ON SOME BrRDs COLLECTED ON THE N1Lemms

160. Iath. The Ye l low-‘

fron ted‘

Woodpecker.

‘

O‘

ccurs'

sparin gly throughou t the W ynaad, an d in theMysore cou n try . It does n ot, that Iamaware of,ascend ' thehi l ls . It is n ot afores t W oodpecker

,be ing u sually found in .

open ground in terspersed w i th bamboo .164bis .

- Yungipicus gymnopthalmus, B ly . The. Sou thern

'

Pigmy-W oodpecker.

Occurs on the l pes of the Nilghiris to about feet

e l e vation,an d in the Wy nandan d Mysore country . It avo ids

heavy forest, frequen ting scrubby and bamboo jung le , an dopen g rassy g lade s i n terspersed w ith trees . I have alwaysfou nd it in

‘pairs or iasmal l fami l ies of fou r or six . It doesn ot,I think, differ 1n hab its’

from other members of the gen us .

U n fortunate ly I find I have on ly recorded the measuremen tsand colou rs of soft parts of tw o femalesLen g th, to 5 1 expan se , 10 0 to W I ; tai l, 1 °5 to l ‘6 ;

w i ng , 30 to 30 1 tarsus , 0 5 to 05 5 bi l l from gape , 0 65 to

w e ight, 0 6 oz . Irides pearly w hi te ; orbi tal skin p ink ;u ppe r man d ible , leg s,and fe et dark plumbeous lowermand iblepale plumbeous c law s blackish.

.165.

—Hemicercus cordatus, J erd . The H eartspotted W oodpecker.

Notacommon bird , fou nd in pairs or parties sparing lydistributed through the W ynaad an d My sore coun try . I t

ascen ds the s l opes of the bi l ls toabou t fee t. The birddescribed by Jerdon as the male o f this spec ies is certain ly ,

as Mr. H ume l ong ago suggested, the female ,an d vice veraci .The re is n o doubt abou t this , as I have care fu l ly d issec teds e ve ral of both sexes to de c ide this poin t .The follow ingare the d imen s ion san d colours of soft parts

recorded in the flesh of afemaleLe ng th, expan se , tai l

,w ing , 36 ; tarsus ,bil l from gape , 0 8 ; w e ight, oz . Bi l l black ; leg s

an d feet blackish,

‘ tinged plumbeous ; irides deep brow n .

1166 .-

. Chrysocolaptes strictus , Her-sf . The Southern

Large Gol de n -backed .W ood-pecker.

This spec ie s is n ot un common in the Wynaad, Mysore ,an dslopes of the Nilghiris . Itascends qu ite to the summi t of the

AND IN : PARTS OE WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSQRE, 855

Nilghiris, bu t is n ot common there . It isalmostalways found inpaw s,and pre fers the evergreen forest. A female measuredLeng th, 1 18 ; expan se , tai l , 4 °2 ; w ing , tarsus,bil l from gape, Irides pe’arly white .

169 .—Thriponax hodgson i, J erd . The - Indian Black

W oodpecker.

This fin e spec ies is n ot u n common in the W y naad,w hen the

coun try is w e l l w ooded, bu t it is so shy that it is d ifficu lt toprocure spec imen s . It is u sual ly found in pairs . I haveoccas ional l y seen several toge ther, on ceas manyas six . These

most probably w ere afam i ly con s is tin g of the tw o-adu l t birdsand the ir brood . As arule , the bird keeps to the ev ergree n

forests .,

O nce I shotaspecimen in some bamboo Jung leatl

Goodalore . It does n otascen d the s lopes of the hi l ls to .any1e ight.[167 .

—Chrysocolaptes festivas, B udd . The Black;backed W oodpecker.

W e have rece ived this from the n orthern bases of the N il

ghiris .-A. O . H . ]

l 7L—Gecinus striolatus, B y . The Smal l GreenW oodpecker.

S pari ng ly Spread through the Wynaad , My sore ,an d the Nil ;ghiris ; afew pairs are always to be found in the fores ts abou tOotacamu n d

,but it is rare rat that e levation than low er dow n .

It perhaps more o ften than the o ther spec ies " of Geciai descen dsto the groun d . I have Often found it "

hun ting for in sects in the

droppings of cattle .

—'

Chrysophlegmachlorigaster, . Jerd . The

Sou thern Ye l low -naped W oodpecker.

This spec ies does notascend to the plateau of the Ni lghiris ,but occurs on the sl opesas far upas fee t . It isal so spreadthrough the Wy naadan d My sore , bu t is n owhere very common .

It occas ional ly , l ike'

the Geciai, descends to the grou n d . I havealways foun d it sing ly or in pairs . A y oung male measured inthe fleshLength, 95 ; . expan se , l 5 °5 ; ta1l w ing , 48 tarsus

,

bi l l from gape , l ' l w e ight, ozs . Irides w ood brown ;low er man d ib le from base to ang le of gony s and gape dul ly e l low re st of bil l du l l black ; leg sand fee t d irty du l l green ;claw s plumbeou s g reen .

G . squamatus is more often seen feedin g on the g round than on trees .

ED . , S .E.

356 NOTES ON SOME - BIRDS COLLECTED ON‘

THE -Ninealms

179 .—Micropternus . gularis, Jerd . The . Madras

Ru fous W oodpecker.

I have arecord of having obtain ed on e specimen of thisspec iesafew m i les from Ootacamu n d

,but its occurren ceat this

e levati on is qu i te exceptional . It occurs,but n owhere n umer

ou s ly, on the sl opes of the Nilghiris , in the I’Vynaad an dMy sore coun try . It avoid s the heavy fores t freque n ting thintreeand bamboo ju ng le . Like the other spec ies of the gen us,

the feathers,espe c ial ly about the head an d breast,are o ften

covered w ithav iscid res in ous substan ce .

"6 A female shot n earManan toddy measured in the fle sh —Le 11g tl1, expan se ,.l 7 ' 0 ; tail , w ing , 49 ; tarsu s , bil l from gape , "w e1ght, 41 0 2 s . Bil l du l l black leg s, fee t,an d c law s the samebu t tinged w i th plumbe ous ; irides de ep brown .

180—Brachypternus aurantius, Lin . The Gol den .

backed W oodpecker.

I Obtained on e specimen,afemale , shot three

l

miles fromS eegore on the Mysore road

,which is in termed iate be tw een the

typical forms of auran tiusand pun cticol l is . The whi te "

Spottingon the threat is n ot n early S O w e l l de ve l oped as in auran tin s,and the black of the ear-covertsan d markings behind these ismuch more de ve loped than is usual inauran tius, but n ot qui teso much soas in puncticol l is .

The bird is exac tly i n te rmed iate be tw een the two forms,and.

m ight be c lassedasasomewhatabberran t form '

of e ither.18L—Brachypternus puncticol l is, Mal ia. The

Sou thern Golden -backed W oodpecker.

I have-n ever obtain ed this Species e ither on the table landor higher porti on of the s lopes of the Nilghiris, bu t it is n ot

u n common i n the be tter w ooded portion s of the Wynaad, theM y sore coun try ,an d abou t the base of the N ilghiris .

The present spec ies is bare ly en ti tled to the ran k of aspecies ; it shou ld rather be c lassedasarace .

B . d i lutus, Blyth (now n ot u sual ly admitted asaspecies ) ,i s the pale st form,

an d is from the w estern portion of Ind ia.Then the in termed iate form .

is B auran tius ,and then comesthe darkest of the three, B . pi ti iél icol l is, from the south. Anexactlyanalogous case is that of P ericrocot

'

us peregrin us , w hich

in S in dh is apale washed-ou t b ird w ith hard lyany depth of

Colourm or the colour‘

gradual ly l deepen ing as the speciesi

rangesThe M icrop tern i are par ex ce l l en ce an teaters . The v iscid substan ce so con .

s tan tly foun d adherin g to their pl umage is not resinous, but 1 8 derived from theants’ n ests —ED S . F.

358 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE'

NJLGHIRIS’

194.—Megalaemaviridis, Bedd . The Smal l Green

Barbe t.Very n umerous in deed on the Ni lghirisand its sl opes

, an dthrough the Wyn uad , occu rrin g also n ot un common ly in thebettef

:

w ooded portion s of the Mysore coun try .

O n the N ilghiris ag reat amou n t of damage is don e 1n

orchards,e spec ial ly toapples an d pears by this Ba1b .e t It l ives

en tire ly on fru i t, an d in the e vergreen forests of the sou th of

In d iasome kind of fru it isalway s in season . It w i l l desc en dc lose to the g roun d to feed on the fru it of the so-cal led Braz i lche rry or cape g ooseberry (Physalis peruviana. )Jerdon say s that be n e ver saw any of these Barbe ts c l ing i ngl ike aW oodpecke r

,110 1

1 heard them tapping ; an d say s thatMr. B ly th pos itive ly asserted that they d id n ot. Al l I cansay is that the bird is on e of the common es t on the Nilghiris,and for abou t n in e tee n years I had many opportu n i ties of

observin g it c lose l y ,an d I can as pos i ti ve ly assert that theyboth c l ing l ikeaW oodpeckerand tap. They breed in holes intrees ,an d these holesarealways cu t ou t by themselves . I donot think they e ver bore into the trun ks or bran ches of trees

for food,but they certain ly do so for n e sting purposes .

'l he sexes do n otapprec iably d iffer111 s ize . The fol low ing arethe d imen sion s taken 1 11 the fle sh of threeadu l tsLe ng tl1, 9

1 2 to 9 1 5 expan se,14 10 to 14 5 1 tail

,2 6 to 2 1 8 ;

w in g , 41

0 to 4 1 15 ; tarsus,1 10 ; bil l from gape, 1 14 ; w eight,

21 75 to 1 3 1 5 ozs .

197 .—Xantholaemahaemacephala, P . L . S . Mal l .

The C rimsom breasted Barbet.Sparing ly d is tri bu ted about the base of the Nilghiris ,

andthrough the W ynaad .

198 .—Xantholaemamalabarica, B ly . The C rimson

throated Barbe t .This species seems to be spread through the W ynaad ,an d in

some pat ts,as in the n e ighbou rhood of Manan toddy 1n North

Wy naad, is acomparati ve ly common bi11d . In its habits i tdoesn ’

t d ifl’

er from the other Ba1 be ts , i ts voice is very s1m1lar tothat of X . l izemacep/iala, bu t more subdu ed .

I meas u red alarge n umber ; the sexes do n otappear to d ifferapp1 e c iably 1n s ize . The fol low i ng i s aresumé of the d imens ion s

,

&c ., taken in the flesh of fi fteen adu l tsLe ng th, 5

185 to 6 1 7 ; expan se , 10 1 3 to 1 1 15 ; tai l, to 1 1 9 ;w i ng , 3 1 02 to 3 13 ; tarsu s, 0 1

7 to bi l l from gape , to

0 1 9 1 ; w eight, 11 12 to 1

1 5 oz.

AND 1N PARTS or WYNAAD‘

AND SOUTHERN. MYSORE. 359

-I 11 1des dark brow n legsan d fe et l i tharge red claw sand bi l ld u l l black ; base of low er man d ible to j u st beyondan g le of gony s ,an d base of upper man dible at gape plumbeou s blue .

In qu ite youn g birds of this spec ie s the green of the plumageis paler, bu t somew hat brighte r than in the adu lt ; al in e abovean d be low the

'

eye ,an d the throat,are (go lden oran ge ; the s idesof the n eckand posterior portion o f the ear-coverts are apaled irty g laucous blue ,an d there is adu l l black ban d across the

top of the head . In on e spec imen there are afew orangecolou red feathers immediate lv above the base of the b il l .200 .

— Cuculus striatus, Drop . The EasternC uckoo.

Spari n gly d istribu ted in the W ynand . I Shou ld think that itwas aperman en t res iden t, as I have heard it cal l ing late inMay .

202 .

—Cuculus sonnerati , Lath. The Ban ded BayC uckoo.

I have occas ional ly obtain ed this spec ies on the s lopes of theNilghiris . I have n ot n o ticed it in the Wy nand or Mysore , bu t,it doubtless occurs there .

203 .- Cuculusmicropterus, Gou ld . The Large-bil l ed

C uckoo .

Like 200 . I have fou nd this spec ies occas i onal ly in theW y naad . Both spe‘

c ies doubtl ess occu r in the My sore country and on the s lopes of the Nilghiris, bu t I have n ot n oticedthem .

.205.—Hierococcyx varias, Valzl . The Hawk

C uckoo.

This is the common C uckoo of Southern In d ia,occurringple n tifu l ly on the plateau of the N ilghiris , on the ir s l opes

,an d

al l through the W'

y nand an d Mysore coun try . It is e spec ial lyabun dan t on the Ni lghiris, an d there is hard ly agarden or

g rove of tree s that does n ot con tain on e 0 11 more . I have

s een the v ou ng of this species be ing fed .by Troe/talopterumcacli in nan s .

207 .—Hierococcyx sparveroides, Vig . The Great

Hawk-C uckoo .

This spec ies is n owhere abun dan t, but occurs most n umerou s ly on the Nilghiris, frequen ting the sholas

, an d occas ional lyalso w e l l-wooded garden s . Birds from Sou thern Ind ian ever

360 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE N1LsH1ars

Seem toattain to the v ery large size that birds from the Himalayas* do .

1

208 .—Cacomantis passerinus, Vali l . The In dian

Plain tive C uckoo.

Not u n common on the sl ope s of theNilghiris which itascen dstoabou t 5 500 feet. Italso occurs

, but more sparing ly, in theWy naadan d Mysore coun try .

212 .—Coccystes jacobinus, Bedd . The Pied Crested

C uckoo.

A common bird on the Nilghiris itavoids forest or thicklyw ooded cou n try ,an d frequ en ts cu l ti vated lan d i n ters persedw ith scru ban d bushe s ; i t is mos t n umerou s perhapsabou t the

c u l tivated lan d in the v ic in ity of Ootacam u n d,C oon oor, Kota

gberry , &c . , &c . I have also se en i t occasional ly in the W ynaad ,an d n ot u n f1equen tly

1 1n the My sore cou n try . It lays i ts eggs

in the n es t of the Malacocerci,w hich frequen t the same sort of

places that it does .

213 .

—Coccystes coromandus . L in . The Red-w inged

Crested C uckoo.

I have n ever my se l f obtain ed this spec ies an yw here in the

tract this pape r deals w ith, bu t some y earsago I saw askin of

this spe c ies in the possession ofanati ve tax idermist, w ho said hehad himse lf shot i t in Sou th-East Wynaad .

214 .—Eudynamis honorata,‘ Lin . The Koe l .

’

I on ce shotapair of this spec ies inagarden at Ootacamund,

bu t the ir occurren ce 'at that e levati on is qu ite u n u s ual ; thebird

,how ever, is n ot u ncommon on the l ow er s l opes of the

Nilghiris ,an d in the plain s coun try . In March an d April of18 8 1 I fou n d them common in the Wynand,an d very n oisy .

216 .—Rh0p0dYteS viridirostris, Jerd . The Smal l

G re en -bi l l ed Malkoha.This spec ies does n ot ascen d the hi l ls

,bu t occu rs , though

n ow here v ery n umerous ly , in the be tte r w ooded portion s of thecoun try abou t the base of the Nilghirisan d Wy naad .

The sexes do n ot d iffe rapprec iab ly in s ize,an d the colou rs of

the so ft partsare the same in both. The fo l low ing isaresume

of the d imen sion s,&c . ,recorded in the flesh

An d 81 f ortiori, from Upper Burmah—ED S .

’

F.


232 .—Cinnyris zeylon ica, Lin . The Amethyst

rumped Hon ey-sucker.

This Species is Sparingly spread through the Wynaadan drou nd the base of the Nilghirisascen din g the S lopes to about

feet. Though apparen tly so cl ose ly al l ied to C . m in ima,i t does n ot, l ike that spec ies , change its bri l l ian t plumage for

more sober tin tsafter the breeding season .

The fol low ingare the d imen s ion s, &c . , of an adu lt maleLength, 4

1 9 ; expan se, 6 19 ; tai l, 1 14 ; w ing, 2 3 tarsus, 0 1 6 ;

bil l from gape, 0 1 65 w e ight, 06 oz . Bi ll, legs; feet,and claw sblack ; irides deep brow n .

233 .—Cinnyris minima, Sykes . The Tiny Honey

sucker.

This l ove ly l ittle bird is mostabun dan t on the higher s l opesof the Nilghiris, but it occurs also throughou t the Wynand .

After the breedin g season it loses the bright colors of the-

throatan d head, bu t retain s theame thy stin e low er back.

The foll ow ingare the d imen s i on s of several males measuredin the fle shLeng th, 3

18 to 4 10 ; expan se, 5 1 9 to 6 1 1 ; tai l , 1 1 2 to 1 1 3 ;

w in g , 1 1 9 ; tarsus, 0 15 ; bi l l from gape, 0 6 ; w e ight, 0 1 18

to 01 2 oz .

B i ll, legs, feet,an d claw s black irides deep brown .

234.-Cinnyrisasiatica, Latk. The Purpl e Honey

sucker

This Species occurs on the N ilghirisand its s lopes, butappearsto be en tirely replaced at the foot of the hi l ls, an d in this

Wynaad by the n ext spec ies .

235.—Ginnyris lotema, L in . The Large Purpl e

Hon ey-sucker.

This spec ies occu rs throughou t the Wynaad itascen ds thesl opes of the Nilghiris toabout fee t 0 1

1

rather more . Ihave shot it on the Coon oor Ghat, four m i les from the stati onof

'

C oon oor. This spec ies (as w e l las C . asiatica) does pu t off

the bright plumage during the n on -breed ing season . The

female is S l ightly smal ler than the male . The follow ing _is a

resumeof the d imen s ion s of alarge n umber of Specimen s carefu l ly measured in the fleshMales — Length, 5 13 to 5

1 6 ; expan se, 7 1 2 to 7 1 7 ; tail , 1 155

to 1 1 7 ; w ing, 2 12 to 2 14 ; tarsus, 0 1

6 ; bil l from gape, 1 1 1 to

1 13 ; w eight, 0 1

35

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE . 363

Females—Length, to expan se , to 68 ; tai l ,to w ing , 20 to tarsus

,bi l l from gape ,

w eight, oz .

In both sexes the bill, legs, feet,and claw sare black ; theirides deep brown .

[238 .

—Dicaeum erythrorhynchus, Latk. Ticke l l’

s

Flow er-pecker.

This occurs about the bases of the Nilghiris . I have hadaspec imen from be low Burl iar,an dan other from theWynaad .

A. 0 . H . ] I have shot itat Goodalore .—W . D .

239 .—Dicaeum concolor, Jerd . The Nilghiri Flower

pecker.This spec ies is most abundan t on the plateau of the

Nilghiris ; bu t italso occurs common ly al l over the slopes,and through the Wynaad .

Jerdou’s statemen t (B. of I .

, Vol . I . , p. 375)abou t the foodof this species is n ot qu ite correct. Though it does sip the

n ectar of flow ers,and occasional ly, I dare say , may eat in sects

,

its prin c ipal food certain ly con s ists of berries .

The sexes do n ot d iffer in s ize . The follow ingare the dimens ion s of six specimen s measured in the fleshLeng th, to expan se , 6 1 to tai l

,10 to

w ing, to tarsus, to bi l l from gape , to

0 5 ; w e ight, to oz . Irides dark brow n ; low ermand ible and sides of upper man d ible towards base paleleaden blue ; rest of u pper mand ible blackish , legs, feet,andc law s dark plumbeous .

250.—Sittacastaneiventris, Frankl . The Chesn ut

bel l ied Nu thatch .

This spec ies does not apparen tly inhabi t the hi l ls or the irslopes, but it occurs sparing ly in the Wynaad and MysoreuI found it most abundan t in the tract of thin ly -timberedcoun try in My sore ly ing be tw een Rampore on the bordersof the Wynaadand the foot of the Ni lghiris .

The follow ingare dimen s ion sand colors of soft parts recordedin the fleshLeng th, 51 to expan se

, tail,

to w ing,30 to -tarsus, 0 65 to bil l from gape, to

w eight, 0 5 to 0 55 oz . Leg s and feet dark green ish plumbsous ; base of l ower man d ible,and base of upper man dible

ht forehead, pale plumbeous ; rest of bi ll black ; irides darkrown .

364 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS’

COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

253 .4 Dendrophilafront ‘al is, Horsf . The V e l vet

fron ted Nu thatch .

‘

A common bird al l over the reg i on embraced i n this paper.

O n the Ni lghiris it is particu larly abundan t.—UpupaepOps, Lin . The H oopoe .

Jerdon records this species from,the N ilghiris, bu t it must, I

th ink, be of extreme rarity there . I have shotag reat n umberof Hoopoes on the Nilghiris an d o ther places in Sou thernIndia

,bu t I have n ever been fortunate en ough to meet w i th it.

255.—Upupaceylonen sis, R eich. The - Indian

Il oopoe .

Not 'an un common bird on the Nilghirisi

and its sl opes,anyin the Wynaad a

‘

n d Mysore where the cou n try is n ot heav i ldw ooded . It isaperman en t residen t in Sou thern In dia

,breed

ing in holes in‘

trees, old‘

wal ls ,’ &c . The leng th g iven byJerdon

,10 5) in ches, seems rather smal l ; the shortest leng th ' I

have recorded is 1 1 in ches, the long est in ches . The w e ight

varies from to n early 2 ozs . The l egs an d feet are d irtygrey c law sand bil l blackish pale brown ish fleshyat base of

l ower man dible .

257bis .—Lan ius can iceps, B ly . The Southern

‘

Eu

fous-backed Shrike .

ThisShrike is very'

commou on the Nilghirisan d the higherportion s of the ir s lopes . It becomes l ess n umerousas on e de

scen ds towards the plain s, an d is very°

sparing ly d istribu ted '

in the Wynaad . I d id n ot meet w i th it in theportion of

Mysore I passed through.

Mr. Parker states that this -Shrike impales its prey on

thorn s “ '

It'

m'ay do se i n Cey l on , but ' it most assuredly

does n ot do so in Sou thern India. I hav e hadample oppor

tun ities of observ ing the bird,an d I cou ld hardly have fai led

to have found some ev iden ce of the fact. Nor have Morgan ,

an d others , who have also observed the habits of the bird,

c lose ly, e ver obtainedany e viden ce of suchahabit. I once ,many yearsago, d id findabeetle impaled on a‘ thorn , andstil lal ive , bu t I ‘am pretty sure it was se lf-impaled .

The fol low ing are the d imen s ion s of several specimen smeasured in the fleshLeng th, to 105 ; expanse, to 1 25 ; tai l, to

w ing , to tarsus, to bill from gape,to weight, to ozs .

366 NOTES on SOME BIRDS COLLECTED on THE NILGHIRIS

270bis .—Grauculus macn ,

Less . The Large C uckoo.

Shrike .

Rarer than the preced ing speci es,but found in the same

local ities .

272 .—Pericrocotus flammeus, Forst. The Orange

M in ivet .

C ommon in the W ynaad an d lower sl opes of the Nilghiris .

It ge ts less n umerous the higher on eascends,an d it may be

practical ly said to stopabou t the e le vation of Coon oor,thoughI have on two or three occasion s seen itas high upas Oota

camuud .

276 .-Pericrocotus peregrinus, L in . The Smal lM in ivet.

I have occasi onal ly met w i th this species in the Wynaadan dat the foot of the Nilghiris, bu t it is rare .

277 .—Pericrocotus erythropygius, Jerd . The W hite

be l lied M in ive t .

I have on ly met w ith this spec ies in the thorny scrubatthe foot of the Seegore Ghat.278 .

—Buchangaatra, Herm. The King C row .

Occurs, bu t somewhat sparing ly , on the s lopes of the N ilghiris ,the wynaad an d Mysore . It is

,how e ver

,n ot very common

,an d it does not, that I am aware of, go as high up as the

plateau of the Nilghiris .

280.—Buchangalongicaudatus,Hay . The Long-tail ed

K ing C row .

This species,l ike the last, is not very common ; it occurs where

the other does, and I havealso n ot un frequen tly procured it inthe n eighbourhood of Ootacamund . It is more of aforestloviug species than atra.28L—Buchangacaerulescens, Lin . The W hite-bel l ied

King Crow .

This species occurs on the l ower sl opes of,an d at the foot

of the Nilghiris,and in the Wynaadand Mysore .

It is n ot aforest bird, but,

freque n ts thorny scrub andbamboojung leasarule,and comparatively open spaces .

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE . 367

'282 .—Chaptiaaenea, Viei l l . Bron zed Drongo.

Jerdon (B . I .

, Vol . I .,p . 431 ) say s this species is fou nd up

to feet e le vation on the Nilghiris, bu t it ascen ds the

hi l ls to amuch greater he ight, for I have frequen tly seen

an d shot it in the v icin ity of Ootacamun d, an d also on the

B ramagherries in Coorg . It is most n umerou s, how ever, on

the l ow er ranges . It is aforest- loving species,an d is n ot

u sual ly foun d in open places l ike B . aim an d B . long icaudafa.It has much the same habi tsas these spec ies, how e ver, perching on some dead tw ig in acon spicuous place from w hichit se izes i ts in sect prey on the w ing , return ing u sual ly to the

same perch .

285.—Dissemurus paradiseus, Lin . The Lesser

Racke t-tail ed Drongo.

This fin e species is sparin g ly d istribu ted on the sl opes ofthe Ni lghiris, through the W ynaad, &c .

, very seldom apparen tly ascend in g toag reater he ight than abou t feet,though on on e occasion I shotaspec imen on the Kotagherryroad c lose to Ootacamu n d . In Apri l I foun dapair in atal lBombax tree close to Manan toddy, bu t as I saw on e of the

birds carry ing materials to bu i ld the n est, an d as the treefwasaparticu larly d ifficu l t on e to cl imb, I determ in ed to leavethe n est for aw eek to make sure of its con tain ing egg s,bu t u n fortunately at the en d of the w eek the n est con tain edthree young birds,apparen tly several days O ld , so the n est,though the b irds w ere sti l l bu i lding to it, must have con tain edeggs w hen I first foun d it.I foun d this spec ies most n umerous in the forests on the

PeriaGhat ; they w ere at that time g en eral ly in partiescon s isting of two or three young and the old birds .

This spec ies, though u sual ly foun d in forests or the ir ou t

sk irts, is also n ot un freque n tly fou n d in open spaces, garden s,&c .

,espec ial ly w here there is bamboo to w hich they appear

to be particu larly partial . They have aw onderfu l variety of

n otes, and can im i tate the cal l of almost any ’

of the birdsfoun d w here they u sual ly occur.

286 .—Chibiahottentotta, L in . The Hair-Crested

Drongo.

I have foun d the Hair-crested Drongo very rare in Sou thernInd ia, hav ing me t w ith it on on ly tw o or three occasion s ,an d always feed ing on the flowers of the si lk cotton tree

(Bombax malabaricum) .

368 NOTES on SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRJS

287.—Artamus fuson s, . Vig i l i .

“

The Ashy Swal lowShrike .

This spec ies does n ot qu iteascend the higher ran ge s of the

Nilghiris, bu t it is n ot u n common at about fee t atcertain season s . I have also met w ith it in many places inW ynaad, &c .

The follow ing are the d imen s ion s, &c .

,taken in the flesh of

afin e adu l t male shot at Karote at the foot of Balasore on

the 13th of MayLeng th , 70 ; expan se, tai l , w ing, 55 ; tarsus,b il l from gape , ozs .

Bi l l pale blue ; tip black ; irides deep brow n ; claw s black ;l egsand 'feet

’

dul l purpl ish black.

The you ng of this species d iffers from the adu l t in hav ingthe breast an d abdomen suff used w i th pale buff

,w i th ind is

t inct tran sverse barrin gs to the feathers . The feathers of theu pper parts

,except the head, edged w ith ferrugin ou s bu ff ; theprimarie s an d secondaries edged w i th buffy white

,an d al l

,

ex cept the two , cen tral tai l feathers,

‘

broadly tipped w i thashyw hite

,and n ot mere ly narrow ly fringed as in theadul t,and

there isanarrow ban d of ferrug in ou s buff across the forehead terminatingat thean teriorang le of the eye .

2881—Muscipetaparadisi, L in . The Paradise Flycatcher.

Dr. Jerdon says that this species does -n ot g en eral ly ascen dthe hi l ls higher than 2 000 fee t, bu t it isas common abirdat

feet as it is at feet,an d I have on se ve ral occas ion s shot it at he ights of six to e ight thou san d fee t,an d seen

it much o ften er. My experien ce is that it is n owhere av ery common bird,an d rather l ocal ly d istributed . I have qu i tefai led to make ou t clearly the variou s changes that take placein the plumage of this spec ies . I have shot spec imen s thesame day , pure whi te an d in variou s phases of the Chesn ut

and white plumage, bothadu l t and young b irds . The femalen ever, that I amaware ,assumes e i ther the long tai l feathersor the w hite plumage, an d the immature birdsareat first

,I

think, chesn u t.290.

—Hypothymisazurea, Badd . The Black-napedB l ue Flycatcher.

A common bird al l '

through the Wy naad and the Nilghiris,bu t i t does n ot qu ite ascend to the plateau . It is very fon dof bamboo,and is found most n umerously where thisabounds .

370 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECT ED ON THE NILCmErs

d iscover the w hereabou ts of the bi rd by its n ote,asort of

prolon ged chur r-r-r. The follow ingare the dimen s ion s , colours,&c .

,taken in the flesh Of ten specimen s, five males and five

female sAl oha—Le n gth, 50 to expan se

,to tai l , l °8 to

22 ; w in g, to tarsus, to bil l from gape , 05 8

to 0 6 ; w e ight, to 04 oz.

Females . Le ng th, 48 to 5 0 expan se , to tai l,

to

w in g, to tarsu s, to bi l l from gape ,

to w e ight, to oz .

In both sexes the legs , fee t,an d c law s vary from fleshy to paleplumbeous brown ; irides dark w ood brown .

301 . —Stoporalamelanops, Vig . The Verditer Fly:

catcher.

Jerdon g ives this spec ie s from the Ni lghiris , bu t I myse l fhave n e ver met w i th it in Sou thern In d ia; it m ust be , I think,of ex treme ly rare occurren ce .

302 .

—Stoporalaalbicaudata, J erd . The Nilghiri

Verditer Flycatcher.

A v ery common bird o n the Ni lghirisan d the sl opes to abou tfee t e le vation ; i talso occu rsat con s iderably l ow er e le va

t ion s, bu t in much d im in ished n umbers an d on ly w here the

coun try is w e l l w ood ed . It isaperman e n t res iden t, breed ingin holes of trees, banks , wal l s , &c . The male durin g the breed ings eason hasapleas in g bu t rather feeble son g . The fol low ingarethe d imen sion s, &c .

,ofalarge n umber of Spe c imen s recorded in

the fle sh ; the sexes do n otappear to d iffer material ly in size .

Len gth, 5 8 to e xpan se , to 102 ; tai l , to

w i ng, to 3 2 tarsu s , 0 72 to bi l l from gape, to

w e ight, 0 62 to oz .

304.—Cyorn is rubeculoides, Vig . The B lue-throated

Red-breast .

Occurs Sparin glyabou t the base of the Nilghirisand in theW ynaad . I obtain ed on ly tw o spec ime n s , both males, In

Fe bruary and March—on eat S eegore , the otherat Ne l lacottain the Wynaad .

—Cyornis tickel l i, E ly . Tickel l’

s Bl ue Red

breast.This spec ie s is n ot u ncommon in the drier and l ess den sely

w ooded portion s of the s lopes of the Nilghirisan d beyon d l DtO ‘

W ynaadand Mysore . I Obtained on e specimen ,amale, c l ose

AND IN PARTS or W YNAAD AND SOUTHERN n rsoan . 37 1

to the town of Ootacamu nd on the 10th of February 188 1, butit s e ldom,

i n deed,ascen ds to suchan e levati on . I foun d it mostn umerou s in the thin ly w ooded portion of the coun try beyon dRampore in the Mysore coun try .

307 .—Oyorn is ruficaudus, Sws . The Ru fous-tail ed

F lycatcher.

Occu rs bu t sparin gly on the p lateau of the Ni lghiris, alon gthe ir s lopes an d in the Wynaad . It is migratory, I be l ieve ,leavingabou t the en d of April .

309 .

— Cyorn is pal l ipes, Jerd . The W hite -be l l ied

B lue Flycatcher.

This spec ies does n ot seem toascend higher than abou tfee t e levation , but from thence it spreadsal l over the s lopes an din to the Wy naad . It is ashy bird , and keeps to the de n ser

portion s of the u ndergrow th .

It is n ow here common ,an d the femalesare hard ly ever seen

al though I was espec ial ly on the look-ou t for it I on ly Obtain edsome se ve n or e ight males ,and bu t on e female

,which latte r,I be l ie ve , has n e ver be fore been described .

The male isamagn ificen t son gs ter, the son g be ing partie nlarly richan d varied , and isalmost exactly l ike that of Oreorin clan i lghz

'

rien sis heard fromad istan ce— in fact so c lose is there semblan ce that I have o ften bee n pu zzled whe ther the S ongI heard proce eded fromaFlycatcher c loseat hand , oraThrushat some d istan ce .

The fol low in g are the d imen s io ns of seven males and on e

femal e recorded in the fleshMales—Len gth, 6 0 to expan se , to tai l, to

w in g, to tarsu s, to bi l l from gape,to w eight, to oz .

Female—Leng th, e xpan se, tai l , w in g,tarsu s, bi l l from gape , w eight, oz .

In both sexes the legs, fee tan d c law sare fleshy,more or less

stron gly tin ged w ith purple , the bil l is black, an d the iridesdeep w ood brow n .

The female O f this spe c ies isabird qu ite sui generis , an d is

remarkable for hav in g the e n tire l ores sn ow white,while these

in the maleare black. In many particu lars it closely resemblesthe Eng l ish Robin .

The lores an dal in e of feathers on the l ow er l id w hi te ;forehead brow n ish ol ive, shad ing in to ol ive grey on the crow nand oci u t s ides

,

of the throat, ear-coverts, and feathersabove and behind the eye d u ll blue grey, most of the earcoverts pale shafted ; chin white, ‘

very s l ightly tinged w ith


fu lvous (might be more so i n other specimen s) cen tralportion of the throat,an d al l but qu ite the l ow er part of the

breastarich ru sty red extreme lower breast,abdom en , v en t,low er tai l-covertsan dax i l laries white the bases of the feathers

dusky, w hich show ing through on the low er breast,and ex

treme upper abdomen , g ive agreyish tinge to these parts ;w ing-l in ing brow n ish white, marg in ed w ith white backsl ightly rufescen t O l ive brow n , most so on the rump upper tai lcoverts in ten se ferrug in ous ; tai l feathers ferrugin ou s, du l ler,and somewhat brow n on the in n er w ebs,an dat the tips v is ibleportion of coverts, except greater primary coverts , somewhatol ivaceous ru fescen t qu i l lsan d primary greater coverts ratherdark hair brow n the ou ter w ebs more or less suffused w iththe colours of the coverts .[323bie .

—Erythrosternaparva, B ecket. The W hitetailed Robin Fl ycatcher.

Occurs in Southern Mysore ,at the foot of the Nilghiris on theBangal ore road,an d probablyal l roun d the bases Of the hi l lsand on the ir lower s lopes .

—A. O . H . ]

339 .—Gal l ene rufiventris, B ly . The Rufous-bel l ied

Short-w in g

Inhabits the Nilghi ri s, Bramagherries,and other rangesin Sou th Ind ia. It does n ot, I be l ieve , go much below about

feet e levation . It has much the habits of B rackypteryw,bu t even more than that spec ies keeping to the den ser

porti on of the un dergrow th in e vergreen forest. I cannot recal l e ver having seen it in the open . It keepsalmost en tire ly to the ground, occasional ly, how ever, whenalarmed fl y ing up in to atree , but soon return ing to the

g roun d . Foun d in pairs u sual ly, some times s ingly,an d is verypartial to den se ly-w ooded rav in es, especial ly if they are moist.The male hasavery pleasing l ittle song, bu t con sisting on lyof afew n otes .

I measuredagood man y spec imen s . The fol low ing is aresume

’

of the measu remen ts

Males— Length, to expan se, to 102 ; tai l,

2 4 to w ing , 30 to 32 ; tarsus , to bi ll fromgape, to 0 9 w e ight, to 10 oz .

Females .-Len gth, to 6 °

expan se,

to 9 9 tai l,to W ings, 30 to 32 ; tarsu s, to bill from

gape , to w e ight, 08 to oz .

In both sexes the legs, feet, and claws pale fleshy brown ;bil l black ; irides dark wood brown .

The bird is of course apermanen t resident where it occurs.

374 NOTES ON SOME RIRDS‘

COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

‘

354 .—Geocichlacyanotis, '

J . an d S . The W hitethroated G rou nd Thru sh .

I have on ly met w ith the Spec ies in the Wynandand the slopesof the Nilghiris up toabou t fee t e le vation A fin e female ,shot in the Periaforests , measu re d in the fleshLeng th, expan se, tai l, 2 7 ; W i ng , 4 1 ; tarsus,

'bil l from gape , l 'o.

B i l l black base O f l ow er man dib le w hi tish ; leg s and feet

fleshy whi te c law s pale brow n irides deep brow n .

357 .—Turdulus wardi , J erd . Ward’s Pied B lackbird .

Rare in the S ou th. I have on ly shot it afew times . I am n ot

certain , but I thin k it is on lyaw in ter v is i tan t.360 .—Merulasimil l ima, Jerd . The Ni lghiri Black

bird .

Very common ou the plateau of the N ilghiris,an d exte nd ingsome l i ttle way down the s lopes , bu t in con siderably decreasedn umbers . It also occurs on the Bramagherries in C oorg , afemale I ob tain ed the re be in g u n d istingu ishable from n umerousfemales Obtain ed on the N ilghiris .

372 .—0reocinclan ilghiriensis, B ly . The Nilghiri

Thru sh .

This fin e bird , so far as I am aware , is found on ly on thehigher ran ges of the Nilghiris and Bramagherries, and e ven

w here it does occur is rare . It is u sual ly found s ing ly , sometimes in pairs . It is ag lori ous son gster, an d its rich an dvaried song can be heard for n earlyamile .

The fol low ing are the d imen sion s of afine male shot on theBramagherries on the 20th Apri l 188 1Leng th, l 0

°5 ; expan se , tai l, w ing , 5 3 tarsus,

bi l l from gape, w e ight, ozs . Legs, feet, and c law sdark fleshy ; irides dark brown ; upper mand ible blackish ;low er brown , palestat base ; gape ye l low ish.

389 .

—Al cippe poiocephala, J erd . The Nilghiri

Quaker Thrush .

Jerdon says that this is not acommon bird . On the

sl opes of the Nilghiris, e special ly ‘about Coon oorand the Ghat below it, it is , I shou ld say ,an exceed ing ly common bird . Itascendsthe hills to qu ite fee t,and isalso found in the Wy naadan d on the Bramagherries . It goes about in parties O f fromfour or five to twen ty or more , keeping chieflyamongst theundergrow th, but also not u nfrequen tlyascend ing -to the tops

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 375

O f the highest trees,and though acti ng independe n tl v of

each other, ye t sti l l keepin g up commun ication by con ti n ual ly

cal l ing toan dan sw ering on e an other. The fol low ing are the

d imen s i on s take n in the flesh ofan adu lt maleLeng th, 6 1 e xpan se , tai l , w in g , tarsu s,bil l from gape, w e ight, oz .

Irides slaty grey ; leg s, feet, an d claw s g reyish fleshy b il lhorny brow n .

390.- Al cippe atriceps, J erd . The Black-headed

W ren Warbl er.

This spec ies on ly ascends the hi l ls toabou t feet. Allabout the base of the hi l ls

,an d through the W ynaad, &c .

,it is

acommon b ird, g oingabou t in larger or smal le r parties , bu t,

u n l ike poiocephala, it se ems to prefer bambooan d scrub . But

i t also occurs in e vergreen forest. It is particu larly n umer

ousabout Manan toddy .

The follow ing is aresume’

of specimen s measured in the

fleshLeng th, 5 3 to 58 ; expan se

,70 to tai l

, 20 to

w ing , to tarsus,0 9 to bil l from gape ,

to w e ight, 0 6 oz .

Irides bright ye l low ; low er man dible and u pper man dibleal on g commissure

,fleshy pink ; rest of upper man d ible du l lblack ; the legs , fee t,and c law s vary much; some times they

are pale pl umbeou s , sometimes pu re fleshy pi nk, an dat other

times pink, more or less strong ly‘

tinged w i th pu rple .

398 .—Dumetiaalbogularis, B ig . The W hite-throated

W ren Babbl er.

I found this Babbler very common abou t Rampore . Ialsom et w i th it in many p laces in the W y naad,an d I have shotitat Nedd ivu ttumatan e le vation of feet

,bu t it seems

to be ve ry local in its d istribu ti on . I m ight march for days w i thou t see in g on e ,and then pass through atrac t in w hich I metw i thadozen or more parti es in aday ’

s march.

The fol low ing are the d imen s ion s, &c . , O f acouple of Specimen s

Leng th, 5 8, expan se , tai l , 2 3,w in g , tarsus

,bi l l from gape , 0 6,

w e ight, 05 oz .

l rides whi te bi ll,legs, feet,and claw s pinkish fle shy ; upper

mandib lealong cu lmenand claws tinged w ith brown .


399 .—Pel lorneum ruficeps, Sws . Swain son ’

s W ren

Warbler.

I have n ever found this bird very n umerous . I have on

on e occasion shot it at Nedd ivuttum,an d afew times in

the station at C oon oor, bu t it is rare i ndeedat this elevati on .

It spreads through the Wy naad , an d I have seen i t on the

Bramagherries . It is u sual ly in flocks,bu t n ot un frequen tly

i n pairs, and keepsalmost en tire ly on the ground amongbru shw ood or bamboo jung le . It has the same n ote as theother spec ies of P el lorneum w i th which Iamacquainted,ac lear musical w histle resembling the w ords “ pre tty dear.

”

The w histle con s ists of four n otes . This n ote is con tin ual lyrepeated whi le the birds are feed ing or movingabout und isturbed , but when they are d isturbed they u tter an other andqu ite d ifl’

eren t n ote ,aharsh sort of “churr.

”

The fol low ing are d imen s i on s, &c .

, of tw o fine malesLen gth, 72 to 73 ; expan se, 9 3 to tai l

, to

w ing , 2 9 ; tarsus, l ° l ; bi l l from gape, 09 ; w e ight, oz .

Irides in the qu i te adu l t are crimson lake,in less mature

b irds c in namon brow n ; legs, feet, an d claw s,and lower man

d ible,fleshy whi te upper mand ible dark brow n .

404.

—Pomatorhinus horsfieldi, Sykes . The Southern

Scim itar Babbl er.

This species is acommon bird on the Nilghiris, manyparts of Wynaad , and the Bramagherries, frequen ting forestsand garden s, almostalway s in pairs . Occasional ly, how e ver,i t does occur in smal l parties, but in these cases Iam in c l in ed tothink that the parties con sists mere ly of apair of adultsan d the ir you ng . Jerdon says it ascends the N ilghiris to

above fee t . So it does, for it goe sas high upas it poss iblycan w ithou t leavin g the forest. I have my se lf shot i t immed iately be low the s umm it of Dodabe tta, the e levation of whichis feet. Jerdon also says it is ve ry shyan d wary ; w e l lthat just depen ds upon c ircumstan ces . I have seen it remarkably shy c lose to town s w here e very nati ve boy in the placewas con tin ual lyamus ing himself by e ither throw ing ston es, or

fi ring w i th ape l let-bow at e very smal l bird he came across ;an dagain in places n ot much frequen ted I have found it so

tameas to al low me to approach w ithinafew yards of it ; but

w hen i t has been much d is turbed, an d is consequen tly shy,there is n o bird more wary or successfu l in evad ing observation . It must

,I think , breed tw ice , as I foundan est on the

1 0th of March w ith fu l ly fledged young , and late in Apri lanother nest w ith perfectly fresh eggs .

378 NOTES‘

ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

In both sexes the l egsand feetare green ish plumbeous ; thec lawsand bi l l black ;and the irides crimson lake in theadult,dark redd ish brown in the immature .

424.—Trochalopterum j erdoni , B ly . The Banasore

Laughing Thrush .

The habits O f this bird are much the same as those of

cac/zinaans; but it isamuchmore shyand wary at least .I foun di t so, but I had n ot the opportun ity foran extended observation .

The voice isalso s imi lar,but,as observed by Jerdon , more sub

dued . I procured tWe e spec imen s of j erdom'

on the Bramagherries,arange of hi l ls in C oorg w ithin S ight of BanasOre or

Balasore (it is cal ledas frequen tly by on e nameas by the other) ,the l ocal ity where Jerdon procured the type . Banasore isseparated from the Bramagherries inad irect l ine byad istanceof on lyabout twen ty mi les .Jerdcan

’s descripti on of :this s pec ies is imperfectand un satis

factory . Bly th’s orig inal description , J . A. S . B. , 1851, Vol .XX, p . 522 (which is g iven be l owasa is far better bu thard ly fu l l enough, an d as three other c l ose lyal l ied speciesare already , kn own , there '

can n ot beatoo de tai led description .

I may here men ti on that M r. Rhodes Morgan in forms me

that there is on the higher ranges of the An imu l laysaTree/talc}?ternm simi lar to j erdon i, and having the grey throat andbreast of that spec ies . Mr. Morgan d id n ot procure ,

anyspecimen s of the bird

,but from what he saw of it he incl ines

to the be l ief that it is iden tical w ith j erdon i ; it w ould be veryin teresting to know that this real ly is the case . I shou ld thin kthe probabil itiesare that it w i l l provead istin ct spec iesThe follow ing isade tai led description of the spec iesChin , upper throat, feathersat base of l ower mand ible , lores,astreak behind the eye, forehead,an danarrow l in eabovew hite superc i l ium

,du l l b lack superc i l ium white,as faras "

pos

teriorang le of eye, from when ce it gradual ly becomes tingedw ith ashy un ti l itmerges and is l ost in the darkashy of the

nape . The superci l iumand the narrow black streak above it

are the same length,and extend to beyond the posteriorangleof the eye ; crown and occ i put (occupyin g the space w i thin thesuperci l ia) dark s laty brown ; feathers of the crown

, in mostspec imen s, marg in ed somewhat darker, soas to produceasome

NOTB —B lyth’s original description of T. j erdom‘

isas fol lows“ GARB U LAX J ERDONI , n obl e, resembles G . CACH TNNANS, Jerdon , except

that there is n o trace of rufous on the cheeks, fore neck, and breast the block of-the ch in is also less deve loped , an d the nape is ofadu l lashy hue : .foreneck an dbreast palerashy , passin g to whitish on the ear-coverts . The medial abdominalfeathers on ly are rufou s ; those of the flan ks. back w in gs,an d tailare ol iveas inG . (P) CACHTNNANS,and the head, lores,and supercil iaare l ikewise simi lar.

”


what scaly effect ; this varies agood deal in ind ividual spec imens in some the crownand occipu tare the same colour,formingad istinct cap con trasting w ith the dark grey of the napeandmantle ; in others the colour gradual ly shadesaway ti l l it mergesin to the grey of the nape , thus not producingany d istin ct lineof demarcation ; nape an d in terscapu lary reg ion dark ashyg rey , darkest in the '

cen tre , gradual l y pal in g on the sides towards the breast ; rest of the upper surface ol ive brown (thesame colour as in cachin nan s) . The grey of the nape is notabruptly defi ned, bu t g radual ly shadesaway in to the ol ive of

the back ; ear-coverts pale s i lvergrey, some of the upper feathere tipped black, w here these merge in to the black spotbehind the eye ; throat ming led grey and white ; breastands ides of n eck immediate ly behind the ear-coverts ash grey,the feathers more or less dark shafted

, g iving aStreakyappearan ce to these parts . The amoun t of white on the throat, thedepth of tin t of theash colour of the breast, and the darkshafting to the feathers varies con s iderably in ind ividualspec imen s . Flanks, tibial plumes,an d lower tai l-coverts, ol ivebrow n , l ike that of the upper surface ; abdomen rufous bu t

paler than in cac/i innans,—in fact n othing more than aferruginous hu ff.

Iappendashort key to the four species, cachinnans, j erdon i,fairbanki,and merid ional e .

Throatand breast rustyChin black Throatand breast white and grey,

striated( Forehead , crown ,and occiput form

ingade fi n ed dark capChin grey Forehead

,crow n ,and occiput, un i

colorons w ith nape in to which meridionale.they bl end

1 have compared two specimen s of meridionale '

w ith n in eof fairban /ci, ’

to see how far the seven poin ts of d istin c tiong ive n by Mr. Blan ford ( J . A. S . B . , Vol . XLIX, Pt. II . , p .

143 ) hold good, w i th the foll ow ing resu ltsMr. Blan ford says : T. merid ionale is d istingu ished from

T . fairbahki by ( l ) the much shorter white superc i l iarystripe terminating above the eye ,

“

whereas in T. fairbanki itextends back to the ear-coverts .

”

This poin t,as far as I can judge from our not-overgoodspec imen s,appears to hold good .

(2) By there be ing n o brown band behind'

the eye, the feathors immed iately behind the eye be ing ru fescen t grey , l ike

'

the

cheeks in T. merid ionale, w hi lst theyare brown l ike the l oresand crown in T.


This poin t holds good in . on e specimen of meridionale,in

the other specimen the u pper feathers of the ear-coverts (whichare grey, strong ly ting ed w ith ru sty) , are tipped w ith darkbrow n ,

form ing asmal l bu t d istin ct patch behin d the eye, the

same colouras the l oresan d crow n .

(3) By . the back an d u pper parts gen eral ly be ing mu ch

greyer,an d by the brow n colour of the crown passing g radually in to the ol ivaceous ting e of the back,an d n ot be ing separated byad istin ct marg in .

”

This is the best and most characteristic poin t of d ifferen cebetw een the two spec ies , but it is hardly the back andu pper parts gen eral ly be in g greyer.

”This w ou ld perhaps bebe tter expressed by say ing that these parts in meridionale wan t

the rusty tinge they have in fairban ki ; remove this ru sty

tin ge, and the colour of the U pper parts in both species w ou ldbe iden tical .(4) By the tai l feathers be ing brow n er,and more distin ct

ly tran sversely barredabove .

This poin t does n ot hold goodas far as the barring is concern ed .

(5 ) By the striation on the throatand breast be ing morestron g ly marked .

”

This poin t does n ot hold good ; two specimen s of fairbankihayie the striation quiteas much deve lopedas in the Travan core

bir s .

(6) By the m idd le of theabdomen be ing white in stead of

ferrug inous .

S e veral of our specimen s of fairbanki show traces of whiteon theabdomen , w hi le in on e specimen of meridionale there

is n ot atrace of white on theabdomen , it be ing un iformlyru fou s .

( 7 ) By the rather stou ter bill .This poin t does n ot hold good there is n othing to choose

betw een the stou test—bi lled mem’

d ionale,and five ou t of n inespecimen s of fairbanki in this respect.I obtain ed twe lve specimen s of j erdom'

on the Bramagherries,bu t un fortunately on ly two out of the ten measured w ere males .

This does n ot so much matter,how ever,as these two male s do

n otappreciably d iffer in size from the females . The fol lowing isaresumé of the dimen sion s,&c . , Of these ten spec imen sLen g th, 8 0 to expan se, 9 9 to tai l

, 3 3 tow ing , to tarsus, to bi ll from gape, 0 -9 to

w e ight, to oz . The b il l is du l l black ; the legs ,fee t

,an d c law s dark plumbeou s brow n ; irides in the adu lt

crimson lake,in immature birds deep red brow n .

Jerdon in his description (B . Of I .,Vol . II .

,page 49) omits

382 NOTES ON SOMEu BIRDS’

COL‘

LEOTBD‘

ON THE . NILCHIRIS

feren t ind ividuals w ith pale bro '

wn low'

erfmand ible Sometimestinged w ith pale . ye l low ; irides bright pearly white .

436 .—Argyamalcolmi, Sykes . The Large Grey-fron t

“

cd‘

Babbler.

This Babbler is n otacommon bird ‘

in the coun try embracedin this pape r. ’ I have met w ithafew flocks occas ional ly on

the low er s lopes be l ow Kotagherry , and in the Mysore coun tryn ear G undn lapet . and Muddur. I have n e ver met w ith it onthe slopes be low C oon oor, Neddivuttum, or the Seegore Ghat.I may men tionacurious in c identabout this bird . In 18 69

or 1870, Iam not certain which,a'

flock Ofabout twen ty individualsof this species sudden ly made the ir:appearan ce in

"

the

town of Ootacamund, taking .up the irabode in the G overnmen tPubl ic Garden s, from .when ce they . strol led amon g the We llw ooded garden s in the v ic in ity foraboutarad ius of amile .

I n oticed the irarrivalat I was, at that time,quite

unacquain ted w ith the bird , and the ir very pecu l iarand nu

fam i l iar note made them very con spicuous . I left Ootacamundi n 1872, and then they se em ed to be just the same n umber ;w hen I returned n early ten years afterwards the flock wassti l l there and frequen ting the same place, but reduced to fiveind ivi duals; I made many enqu iries among b oth

'

European sand natives who had n oticed the irarrival

,and found that they

always remain ed thereabouts, n ever seemed to breed, and

gradual ly d imin ished in n umbers . This partyalways frequen ted the ‘

tops "

of the highest trees,and i f dis turbed when

feed ing in the ground,at once betook themse lves to the hightrees .

I shot on e,afemale, out of the'

remain ing five, and thisI measured w ith the follow ing resul tsLength, tai l, w ing, tarsus,

bi ll from gape , Irides bright ye l low ; uppermand ible dark brown ; lower mand ib le, legs,and feet fleshy,s l ightly tinged blue .

437.—Layardiasubrufa, Jerd . The Rufous Bab

bler.

This bird in habitsan d voice is qu ite aMalacccercus ; theon ly poin ts of d ifferen ceare that it keeps to,

much den ser cover,be ing found faraway in forests ,and the voice is softerand moresubdued . It is espec ial ly partial to den se thorny scrub j un g leand bamboo . It feeds

,l ike the Malacocerci , on the ground

chiefly . It does n otascend to the plateau of the Ni lghiris,bu t

‘ I have shot itaboutacouple of m i les from C oon oor onthe Ghat. It isalso not un common in the Wynaad, but I d id

arm. IN PARTS or wrNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE: 383

not meet w ith it anywhere in the Mysore coun try, which isvery much drier than the Wynaad .

I procuredagood number of specimen s . The fol low ing 18 aresume of the d imen s ion sand colours of soft parts of those

meas ured . Sexes do n ot differ in s ize

Le ng th, to 102 ; expan se , to tai l,44 to

w ing , to tarsus , to bi l l from gape, to

1 °O ; w e ight, to ozs .

Upper mand ible from gape to n ostri l chrome ye l low, rest ofu pper mand ible blackish brow n , shaded along commissurew i th pale ye l low ; low er mand ible chrome ye l low , sometimesshaded w i th pale brow n irides sometimes creamy whi te

,

sometimes pale ye l low . Leg san d fee t~,vary greatly ; ,

theyaredark ye l low ish fleshy, pale redd ish brown, grey ish ye l low,[438 .

—Chatarrhaeacaudata, Dam. The Striated,

Bush Babbl er.I observed three birds of this species, cl ose to the Rai lway

S tation, at the base of the C oon oor Ghat. I have no doubtit occurs everywhere on the lower .

leve ls where,not toopwet

and jung ly .—A. O . H . ]

Schoenicolaplatyurus, Jerd . The Broad-tailedReed Bird .

jI

v

I fai led to procure Specimens Of this bi rd during my utrip,though I saw it on two or three occas ions in the dense screw

pine swamps in the Wynaad .

446 .-Hypsipetes ganeesa, Sykes . The Southern

Black Bu lbu l .This spec ies is very n umerous on the higher portion of ' the

Nilghiris,atabout Ootacamu nd , C oon oor, &c . , but i t gradual lyd imin ishes in n umber as it desce nds, stoppingatabou tfeet. It isalso foun d on the Bramagherries . It goes abou tin parties u sual ly, though occasional ly met w ith in pairs ; itis very n oisy, keeping up acon tin ual chatter. It feeds f

on

fru it,and is ratherawary bird .

450 .

—Criniger ictericus, S iricki . The Yel low-browedB u lbul .

This bird does not occur On the plateau O f ‘

the Nilghiris,but it is common fromabout the e le vation of vabout feetdow nwards to the foot of the Ghats .

" It also occure n in thef orests of Wynand, on the PeriaGhat for in stan ce,and on theBramagherries. in Coorg . It g oes about in pairs and smal l

384; NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIBIS

arties, feeds on fru it, has as oft,rather mel l ow whistle ,and

keeps much to the un dergrow th of the evergreen forests, ven tur

ing occas ional ly, however, in to garde n s .A spec imen I shot in the Periaforests d iffered so con

spicuou sly in the colours of the so ft parts, from what is recordedby Jerdon , that I g ive it. Male

,shot l st May .

— Irides w oodbrow n ; leg s and feet pale blue ; c laws blu ish horny ; upper

mand ible black lower mand ible pale brown , darkestalongedgesandat tip.

[452—3105 luteolus, Less. The W hite-browedBush-Bu lbu l .

O ccurs in the W ynaad, when ce I once rece ivedaspecimen,

but is, I be l ieve, rare there —A. O . H .] I met w ith ' this

spec iesat Rampore in Mysore . W . D.

452 .—Rubigulagularis, Gou ld . The Ruby-throated

Bu lbul .

This l ittle Bul bu l isabird of the evergreen fores ts, w ith the

u sual habi ts of the g en us, an dan ote very s imi lar to that of1 8.flaviven tris . It is by n omean s common an d e ven in the district in w hich it occurs is very local ; i t usual lyassociates insmal l flocks . I met w i th it first n ear Devalain Wynaad . It

does n ot ascend the hi l ls that Iamaware of—at least I haven ever met w i th it on the Ghats .

I on ly procuredafew specimen s . The fol low ingare the d imen sion san d colours of soft parts of four spec imen s, two malesan d two femalesLeng th, 67 to expan se, 94 .to tai l, ~ 2 ' 8 to

tarsus, 0 5 to bi l l from gape, to w e ight,

ozs . Irides vary from white to pale ye l low bi l l andc law s black ; legsand feet plumbeous, sometimes tinged w ithbrown .

457 .—Brachypodius poiocephalus, Jerd . The G rey

headed Bu l bu l .The spec ies is n ot u n common in some parts of the Wy naad,asat Manan toddyan d its n e ighbourhood , the Periaforests, &c.

I have also foun d it in other parts of W ynaad, but in much

reduced n umbers,and in May last I met w ith one spec imen

abou tam i le from C oon oor.

The bird is on ly foun d in w e l l-w ooded placeS c - I ,mean bythat on the ou tskirts of . the evergreen forests, an d s imi larplaces ; for althoughaplace may . be w e l l-w ooded - w ith dec idacus trees, bamboos, the, bird wou ld not frequent it, so that

386 NOTES ON s ome BIRDS C OLLECTED ON ”ru n NILGH l ms

darkest on the upp'

er

'

breast, gradual ly pal ing , ti l l on the tibial

plumes , Hanks , an d l ow er abdomen the feathers are mere lywashed w ithade l icate tin t of green .

Feathers of the low er back' an d rump b lack , very broad lyedged w i th paleashy green , the black show ing through to ; acon siderable exten t, g iv ing the mottled appearan ce to .these

parts characteristic of the Brachypodii the feathers too are'l oosean d very fu l l

,also characteristic of the . gen u s upper

'an du nder tai l-coverts, four cen tral tai l feathers, an d en tire u nder

s urface of tai l , ad e l icate Fren ch grey ; the four late ral tai lf eathers on each side black for tw o-thirds of the ir len gth, the

term inal third Fren ch grey an d marg in ed on their oute r w ebsw ith green ; the black on the tai l is con fin ed en tire ly to the

u pper su rface of the feathers , the l ow er surface for the ir en tirel en gth be ing grey primaries, secon daries ,an d tertiaries blacks

ish brow n ; the first primary en tire ly of this colour,the re

mainder edged'

on their ou ter w ebs w ith green , at first v '

erynarrow ly , bu t more broad ly on each succeed ing feather, ti llon the tertiaries the en tire outer w ebs

, and on the later ; onesthe tips of the i n ner w ebsalso,are green .

Taki ngalarge series,the birds are foun d to vary somewhat

in ter se. In some spec imen s the grey of the head an d throat isalmost or en tire ly wan ti ng, an d the amoun t of black on the

chin ‘an d throat of the d iff e ren t spec imen s varies con siderablythe green edging to the ou ter w ebs of the tai l feathers toovaries in some al l the tail feathersare g re en edged , in otherson ly the ou ter four on ‘

each side . W ith regard to thealmost oren tire wan t of grey on the headand throat

,thisappears to 'bea

s ign of ~

n onage .

This species isapparen tly figu redan d described in the “ Voyage de laBon ita,Pl . 5, u n der the name of Ixos fisguetti i. Ayoungbird show in g the merest trace of grey abou t . the head andthroat,and with this c en tral tai l feathers grey edged .

460bié.—0t000mpsa fuscicaudata, Gou ld . TheSouthern Red-Whiskered Bu lbu l .

An exc eed in g ly abun dan t species al l over the N ilghiris,through the Wynandan d Mysore . M ost n umerous perhaps on

the higher ran ges . Foun d sin gly, in pairs, or parties . It isaveryfam i l iar bird , keeping ,much to garden s, &c . , an d as .arule

avoid in g heavy forest.462 .

—Molpastes haemorrhous, Gm . The MadrasBu lbul .

This specie s is very rare on the highest portion of the Nil

ghiris, bein g on ly occas ionally. seen about Ootacamund, but

A’

ND IN'

PARTS OF WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSO '

RE. 38 7

ibout four mi les from Ooty , i t commen ces to ge t common . It is

v e ry n umerousabou t Coo n oor,an dal l dow n the Ghats . It is

mu ch rarer on the Neddivu ttum s ide,ow in g . I su spect, to therebe ing somuch e vergreen forest on that s ide w hich it d is l ikes

,

i ts chie f haun ts bei ng comparative ly open lan d studded w i thbushesand scrub . Jerdou says it ascends the N ilghiris on lytoabou t feet. It is qu ite poss ible it may have bee n 8 0

“

w hen he made’

his observation s,but n ow

,though rare ly , ”

it

certain ly is foun d right up "to Ootacamun d,for I have shot it

more'

than on ce in the G overnmen t Garden sA male measured in the fleshLen gth, exparn se , tai l , w ing, 38 ; tarsus

,bil l frdm gape, w e ight, oz .

-Phyl lorn is j erdon i, B ly . The Green Bu lbu l .

I'

did mpt procure spec imen s o f this spec ies '

during my trip.I met wi th it on afew occasi on s in the Mysore coun try .

464.— Phyl lorn 1s malabari cus , Gm. The Malabar

'

Gree'

n Bulbu l ."

This spe c ies isn ot uncommon in the Wynaadand on the sl opesof . the N ilghiris . I have shot itas high ,

upas the G overnmen tPlan tati on s at Nedd iv uttum ,abou t feet e levation , bu t itdoe s n ot go higher than ‘

this I think . Its voice is very s imi larto t hat of ;aumf ron s,an d it has the usual habits of the genu s ,

goin gabou t in pairs or smal l parties . It l i ves large ly on frui t,

but I havealso found in sects in the stomachs ~

of some . It isv ery fond of frequen ting the s i lk cotton trees (Bombax malaIgarz

’

cam) w hen in flow er.

The follow in gare tlie dimension s, &c .

,taken in the flesh of

three fin e malesLen th, to 8 2 ; expan se , 1 17 to

,

to

w in g ,' 6 to tarsu s, 0 7 to bil l from gape, tq

1 0 ; w e ight, 0 82 to ozs .

468 .—Ioratyphia, L in . T he Common Iora.

A common birdal l through the Wy nand, the base of the

Nilghiris,an d up their sl opes toan e le vation ofabou t feet .

Jerdon has g iven , afu l l accou n t of the habi ts of the spec ies( B . of I Vol . II .

, p. 100) u n d er the head of l ore zey lon ica.469 .

—Irenapuel la, Lat/z. The Fairy Blu e Bird .

Fou n d in the W ynaad, ‘

and on the s l opes of the Nilghiris uptoabout '

5,000 feet, but

'on ly in the evergreen'

forests . It avoidsdry open

‘

cou n try .

‘ A fu l l accou n t of its habi ts,&c .

,

’

v'v i l l be

found’

in our‘

Tenass‘

erim paper, S . VI. , and Jerdon , B .

o f I . , Vol . II .,105.

388 s ore s on some man s COLLECTED on THE s immers

470.— 0riolus kundoo, Sykes. The In dian Oriol e .

This species occu rs on the Nilghiris (rare ly ascending higherthan about feet)and through the W ynand . It is most

abundan tat the low er '

elevation s .

[47L—Oriolus indicus, Jerd . The Black-napedIn dian Oriole .

I have rece ivedaspec imen from the W ynaad from, I think,the n e ighbourhood of Manan toddy . It must be rare

,as it was

sen tasan unknown bird byastranger.—A. O . H .]

472.-oriolus melanocephalus, Lin . The B lack

headed Oriol e .

This Ori ole occurs over the same coun try as 0 . kundoo,but it ascends the hi l ls somewhat higher, and I have on

more than on e occasion seen and shot it c lose to Ootacamund .

475.-Gopsychus saularis , L in . The Magpie Robin .

The Dhial is common in the Wynaad,an d italso occurs onthe sl opes of the N ilghiris toan e levation ofabout feet.

-476 .

—Cercotrichas macrura, Gm. The Shama.I on ly met w ith this spec ies in some thick bamboo jungleat the foot of the Bramagherrie s, where I obtain ed amale.In former years I '

have on ce or tw ice obtained italso in bamboojung leafew m i les from S eegoreat the foot of the Nilghiris .

479 .—Thamnobiaful icata, Ma. The Southern Black

Robin .

I foun d this Robin very common in the Mysore coun trythrough which I passed, W here the cou n try was n ot heav i lyw ooded . Italso occurs common ly on the slopes of the Nilghiris

up to about feet, but~ not higher I think. Itavoids

heavy jun g le, and frequen ts open stony ground grow n over

w ith thorny scrub .

On the 23rd of May last year I foun dan est of this s pec iescon tain ing three partial ly in cubated eggs . The nest .wasplaced un derabush on the verv edge of the road .

Two males measuredLeng th, to expanse, to tai l, to

w ing, tarsus, 10 to 1 0 1 ; bi l l from gape0 6 1 to 07 1 w e ight, oz . Bi ll, legs, feet,and claws black ;irides very dark brow n .

390 sore s ou some man s connacrnn'

on THE Ni LGmRrs

in theadu l t it is qu ite black ; legsand fee t fleshy ; irides verydark brow n .

—'

Cyanecula. suecica, L in . The Red-spot Blue

throat.This is common in both S . W. Mysore and the

‘

Wy '

naad .3—A. O. H . l

515, Acrocephalus stentorius, H emp . an d Ehr.

The Large Reed Warbl er.

O n the 2nd of Apri l last year, w hile pass ing throughacoffeee state in C harambady, Wy nand, I n otic ed tw o large Acrocephalz

’

m arose hedg e , bu t I was u nable to obtain aspec imen ,so I have en tered the spec ies w i thaquery as it is possible* theymight have been 5 156229 .

—A orientalz’s, Tem . and Sch.

516 .

—Acrocephalus dumetorum, B ly . The LesserReed Warbl er.

A col d w eatheri

v isi tan t;an d very

‘abun dan t fromabout them iddle of December to late in March on the Ni lg l 1i1 is . l t

oc cm s also in the Wynand ,an d I have shot it on -the Bramagl 1e 1 ries . It frequen ts garde n s , an d the u ndergrow th 0 11 the

ou tskirts of tl 1e j u 11gles, w orking its way through tangledandden se vege tati on i n amarve l lous way ,andas it movesabou t,keeps con tin ual ly u ttering its pecu l iar n ote , which can n ot besyl labl iZed, bu t can be produced exac tly by plac in g the ton gu eagain s t the tee th,an d draw ing it back rapid ly .

'l lhe sexes do

n ot vary in s ize , the fol low in g be ing aresume’ of an umbermeasured in the fleshLeng th, 5 5 to expan se , 7 3 to tai l

,to 2 ° l

w ing , 23 to°255 tarsu s, 0 9 to 0 °95 ; b il l h orn gape , 0 ° 6 to

0 7 1 w e ight, 0 3 to 0 35 oz . U ppe i mand ible da1 k brow nl ow er mand ible fle shy legsan d fee t pale fleshy brow n iridespale w ood to ye l low b l ow n .

[517 .—Acrocephalus agricolas, Jerd . The Paddy;

fie l d Warbl er.

I rece i ved on e specimen of this from the Wynaad -4 A. O . H . ]

530.—Orthotomus sutorius, Penn . The In dian

Tailor Bird .

This bi1d does n otascen d to qu ite the plateau of the Ni lghiris

,bu t occurs f1om abou t the leve l of Coon om dow n ward

,an d

I don’t think soas we have sten toicius from al l over Southei n India—Eu , S . F.

warm i n PARTS OF .W YNAAD AND SOUTHERN mesons . 239 1

al l ‘

through the wyna'ad .and '

the Mysdre coun try . Itavoidsv ery dry an d stony l ocal i ties , frequen ting the better w oodedportion s of the cou n try . It is su chaw e l l kn ow n an d fam i l iarbird , and has so often been w ri tten abou t, that it w ould besuperfluous for. me to sayanything more of i t n ow .

534.—Prin ia. sociahs, Sykes . The Ashy W ren Warb

I have on ly met w ith this, species on the Nilghiris , where it

is not un common in the v icin ity of O otacamu n d, C oon oor, &c .

It does n ot desce nd the sl ope s that Iamaware of—at leastI have , I think, n ever m et w ith it be l ow abou t feet. It

goesabou t in pairs, or sin gly, u sual ly the latter, n ever in flocksorpartie s . It

'

keeps amon g the scrub,an d is v ery fond of

:

w orkin g its way up to some con spicu ous post, to the top of on e

of the l ong flow er stalks of Lobe l iaexcelsa, for in stan ce, wherei t w i l l hal t ‘

foramin u te or tw o, an d the nafter makingafeebleattempt atasong w i l l d ive sudden ly in to the brust od andd isappear.

. Jerdbn say s (B. of I .

,Vol ; II . , pl 171) The eggsare

u sual ly redd ish w hi te w i th numerous darker red dots,I have taken agreat n umber of the n ests of this bird‘

in m ytime

,over 50 pe rhaps, but I n ever obtain ed on e in which the Pri

m'as’ eggs w ere n otau n iform red throughout, l ighter or darkerin d ifl

'

eren t n e s ts,bu t always red throughou t, an d not

as Jerdon w ou ldmake out, on ly sometimes brick red throughou t.The foll ow ing are the d imen s ion s , &c .

,of two fin e males

expan se, , tai l, to w ing , 20 totarsus

,to bil l from gape , w e ight, 0 35 ,ozs .

Bi l l black legsand fee t ye l low ish fleshy ; irides l itharge red .

536 .—Pr1n 1agracilis, Frankl . Frankl in ’

s W ren

Warbl er.

This spec ies, whether graci lz' s or hodgson i , does n otascend thehi l ls toany great he ight ; the highest e le vationat which I havee ver obtain ed it has been abou t fe e t. . It spreads throughthe W y naad , bu t I have n ever foun d it common . It is alwaysin sma1 parties of ‘

from four toadozen or more . A11adu lt malethat I shotat Charambady in the Wynaad on the 2nd of Apri lhas the pectoral band very d is tin ct.539 .

— Cisticolacursitan s, Fran /cl . The Fan tailWarbl er.

I met w i th this Spec1e safew times in the Wynand, n earManan toddy in rice cul tivation , and m long grass bordering

39 2 s ores on some BIRDS COLLECTED on THE N1Lenm1s

d itches, &c . I procured on e spec imen,amale, . for iden tification ,and thi s is iden tical w i th many among the large series con

rain ed in our museum .

540.—Cisticola Jerd . The Red

headed Fan tail Warbl er.

I found this species on ly on the Bramagherries, and'

on thePeriaforest hi l ls, an d they w ere rare the re ,and very d ifficu ltto obtain , keeping ,as they do, to the l ong elephan t grass . Ifound them gen eral ly in smal l partie s, very shy , and keepingmost pers isten tly to the l ong g rass . I n oticed the pecu l iar l oudcal l me n tion ed by Jerdon .

The fol low in g are the d imen s ion s and col ours of soft partsof two spec imen s (both un fortunate ly females ) taken in thefleshLeng th, to 50 expan se , tai l, 2 °C to w ing ,

to tarsus, to bil l from gape, 0 5 to we ight,0 3 to oz .

Irides burn t sien na; l ower mand ible, legs, feet, and clawsfleshy upper mand ible pale brown .

Two spec imen s of this spec ies in the museum—on e fromSaugor, C . P. ,and

'

the other from the Pu ln ey s—have the en tiretop of the headand en tire l ower parts u n i form ferrug in ous ;the Saugor bird is n ot dated, the bird from the Puln ey s wasshot on the 12th Jun e, and is sexedamale . I col lected fivespecimens, 1’ four from the Periaforests, shot between the l st

and 6th of May , and on e shot on the Bramagherries on the

17th Apri l . Al l these birds have the head more or less strong lystriated,—in fact in four out of

'

the five the black markin gspreponde rate over the ferrug in ous . In on e the en tire head is

almost black, there be ing on lyasuperc i l ium,andafew narrow

edg ings to the feathers of the feathers of head, ferrug in ous .

In the on e exception the head is ferrug in ou s, w i th on ly afewblack spots show ing hereand there . Inal l these five spec imen s

the throat, breast, flan ks,an d l ow er tai l-coverts alone are

ferrug in ou s , the chin an d abdomen be ing wh ite . This speciesmay, how ever,always be d istingu ished from cursitans by n ot

having the tai l feathers white ti pped, an d by the ferrugin ousof the low er surface, which is al ways presen t in agreater or

less degree .

From the d imen sion s given an d description , I suspect these birds are C . tytl eri

(rid ean te p . 2 19 n . an d 2 21 n . ) —ED S . F.

i

1" I have n ot seen these spec imen s,and Mr. Davison’s remarks make me doubtfulof the idén tification .

—ED S .

394 s ores on some BIRDS COLLECTED on THE mnemms

560 baa—Phyl loscopus tytleri , B rooks . Brook s’Tre

‘

e .

Warbl er.

I obtain ed on e spec imen ,amale , of this spec ies at Ootacamun d on the 10th of March 188 1 . This measu red in the

flesh

Len g th, expan se , tai l, w ing , 24 ; tarsus,b il l from gape , w e ight, oz .

I shotasecon d specimen at Ooty on the 22n d of Jan uarylast.I al so appen d the measuremen ts, taken in the flesh, of seven

specimen s. of this rare spec ies which w ere col lec ted at S imlaan d i ts immed iate n e ighbourhood . Al l these specimen s hav ingbeen col lected in September an d October are in the brightau tumnal plumag e . The spec imen 1' obtainedat O otacamund ismore l ike , though n ot qu ite so, du l l coloured as the specimen scol lected from Apri l to Jun e in Cashmere . Of the SimlaSpecimen s, five are males, on e afemale,an d on e has not beensexed .

The sexes do n otapparen tly d iffer in s ize .

My spec imen from Ootacamund was most care fu l ly compared w i th ou r comparative ly large series, both by Mr. Hume an dmyse l f, and there is n o doubt whateverabou t the iden tificationLength, 44 to expan se, 66 5 to tai l , 1 4 6 to

w ing , to tarsus,07 to 07 5 bi l l from gape,

0 5 to 05 3 ; w eight, oz .

The legsan d fee t vary ; they w ere dark green ish plumbeous ,d ingy green , ye l low ish grey, dark brow n ish green ,an d very darkplumbeou s brow n ; upper man dible and apical hal f of l ow ermand ible blackish brown ; rest of bil lan d gape ye llow ish iridesdark brown .

561 .—Phylloscopus aflinis, Tick. Tickel l

’

s Tree

Warbl er.

From December to Apri l this Warbler is very n umerous on

the plateau of the Nilghiris, and e ven on the sl opes . It hasal l the habits of the ' other Phyl loscopi,and italso has apecul iar habit that I have not n oticed in any other spec ies of theen u s .gThe land in the vicin ity of Ootacamund, C oon oor, Kotagherry,

&c . ,is cu l tivated in avery crude sort of way byatribe of

,

h i l l people cal led Badagas, an d in an d about the cu ltivatedlan d are patches of land lying fal low an d sparsely covered w ith bru shw ood . Parties of this Phy l loscopus assembletogether (I have seen tiven ty or thirty together) , and feed

AND m PARTS or WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 395

about on the groun d, acting toacertain exten t indepen den tlyof on ean other. W hen d istu rbed they scatteran d take re fuge inthe bu shes

,bu t w hen al l is qu ie t, they drop on e by on e to the

g round,an d soonal l re-assemble . Theyare of course common lyfoun d wandering about s ing ly or in smal l parties, an d e ven

then they feed much on the groun d from what I have observed,I shou ld say, far more than they do in treesan d bushes . They

areafam i l iar l ittle bird,an dare fon d of frequ en ting garden s ,

w hen they hun tabou tamong the flow er or veg etable beds , destroy i ng agreat n umber of in sects . The ir n ote isafeeble tsip ,

tsip , u ttered very frequen tly .

The female is sl ightly smal ler than the male, an d perhaps infreshly mou lted specimen sashade l ighter coloured .

The fol l ow in g are the d imen sion s of three males an d a.female recorded in the fleshMales—Leng th, 47 to 46 8 ; expan se , 7 ° l to tai l

,

to w in g, 20 to tarsus,

to 07 1 bil l from gape ,to w e ight, oz.

Female . expan se , w ing, 20 ; tai l,

tarsu s , hil l from gape , 05 .

Upper man d ible dark gree n ish brow n ; l ow er man d ible ye l

low ; legs ' and fee t ye l low ish fleshy, sometimes tinged brow n .

589 .—Motacil lamaderaspaten sis, Gm . The River

or Large Pied Wagtail .A few pairs of this Wagtai l frequen t the shores of the lakeat Ootacamund . I have also seen i tat G undal upe t in My sore,an dabou t the riverat Manan toddy, and o ther streams in the

W y naad , bu t it is n ot an abun dan t bird . It isaperman en tre siden t where i t does occur, breed ing in holes i n ban ks, amongston es and rocks

,&c . , but always I think in the v ici n ity of

water.

[59 l bz‘

s .

—Motacil la dukhunen sis, Sykes . The

Ind ian W hite -faced Wagtail .C ommon be low the foot of the C oon oor Ghat. Rece i ved also

from S . W . My sore, an d I doubt n ot common e veryw here

be low feet,i f n ot higher, in su itable groun d d uring the

cold season .—A. O . H . ]

592 .—Ca.lobates melanope, Pal l . The Grey an d

Ye l low VVagtail .

A cold w eather v is itan t to the sou th, bu t v ery common du r

mg its s'

tay . It is foun d e verywhere c l ose to streams, in marshyplaces, in cu ltivated land, in garden s, &c.

39 6 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

It isavery fami l iar bird,and n ot at al l shy , an d w i l l trip'along l ooking for in sects . Theyarrive in September

,and have

“almostal l le ft by the e nd of March.

[593 .—Budytes cinereocapil lus, Savi . The S latey

headed Fie ld Wagtail .I have seen this from Wynaadand S . Mysore —A. O . H . ]

59 —Budytes Sp. Field WagtailIn forme r years , w hen I n e i ther col lec ted nor w orkedat birds,I saw duri ng the cold w eather on se veral occas ion saBudg ies on

the marshy banks of the lake at O otacam un d,bu t I have n ot

recen tly been able to procureaspec imen for ide n ti fication .

[594 bis .—Budytes citreolus, Pal l . The G rey

-backedYe l low Wagtail .

S everal spec imen s w ere se n t from the Wynaad .—A. O . H . ]

595.—Limon idromus indicus, Gm. The Forest

Wag tail .This spec ies

,w hich Jerdon classesas aWag tai l , isas faras

habitsatany rate go, much m ore of aPipi t . Jerdon w e l l describes itasa“ w ood -l ov ing spec ies .

” I have shotag ood n umbe rin my time

,but I certain ly n ever met w i th i t in the open . I have

alway s fou n d it u n der cover. It is u sual ly foun d s ing ly, occas ional ly in pairs in thin tree j ung l e , fe ed ing on the grou nd .

When disturbed,it e ithe r run s along the g rou n d ti l l some d is

tan ceaway , w hen it take s wmg , or e lse rise s at on ce and fl ies upi n to some tree

, g en eral ly al ighti ng on some large bough,al ongw hich it walks , an d then flie s on toan o ther,an d so on ti l l . i f i tsees dang er s ti l l pre sen t, it fl ies off toan other part of the jung le ;or

,i f i t thinksal l is qu ie t

,drops on to the groun d , and recom

me n ees feed in g . The on ly n ote I have heard it u tter isafeeblesharpcfiip . This it u tters chiefly when d istu rbed , bu t occas i onal lyalso w hen qu ie tly feed in g . It seems to l ive en tire ly on in se cts .

At least I have n ever foun d any thin g bu t in sec ts, chiefly theremain s of an ts , in those I have exam in ed . It occurs al l ove rthe Ni lghiris, Wynaad ,an d the Mysore coun try through w hich

I passed, but it is rare .

596 .—Anthus maculatus, Hodge . The In dian Tree

Pipit.

This Pipit is acold w eather visitan t to the sou th . in . largen umbe rs ,an d spreads over the w hole of the Nilghiris , the

W ynaad,an d Mysore . It isalways in smal l flocks, and feeds,

398 NOTES on SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE 11 11 111111113

Female .—Length, 7 7 1 expanse , tai l , w ings,

3 3 ; tarsus , 1 ° 1 °

, bi l l from gape , 0 °9 ; w e ig lit, 1 05 oz .

Irides w ood b1° °ow n upper man d ible black ; low er man diblefleshy, the tip blackish ; tarsus redd ish flesl1y ° feet darker °

c law sdark redd ish b 1ow n ; gape ye l low .

63l .

e-Zos

1

t

i

terops palpebrosa, Tem. The W hite -eyed

This p1etty l ittle bir '

d 1s veryabundan t on the higher ran gesof the Nilg i1i1 is . Italso ex tends over the s l o

pes, bu t dimin ish

e s in n umbers the l ow er down it gets, ti l l 111 the low coun tryof the W ynaad, &c . it may be said to be rar .e Except during theb 1eeding season , it g oesabou t in smal l flocks, w orking aboutamong the treesand bushes mamost systematic ma11n e 1 , keeping upacon tin u ous tw itter the whi le . As faras I l 1°We obse rved ,I be l ieve it to be e n tire ly in sectivorou s, bu taccording to Hu ttoxii t eats berries too (vide B . of I

,Vol . II . , .p I have found

man y hu ndreds of its n es ts in my time , bu t I certain ly n e ver

foun d on e,as stated by Hu tton , suspen ded w i th fibres of s i lk or

hair,bu talway s secure ly hu ng i n the fork of some h1an e l1 or

tw ig of abush.

645.

—Pa.rus n ipal ensis, Hodgs . The Indian G reyTit.

Occursal l over the Nilghirisand the W ynaad ,an d the betterw ooded portion s of the Mysore cou n t1y . It is abundan t on

the higher ranges of the Nilg l1i1 is, specially n ear the i nhabited1a1 ts . The natives of the Nilghh is cal l it Pattan i Km 1v1

(Ang l icePeaB i1 d) from the dest1 uct1on it comm itsamong peas .It also eats fru i ts and berrie s of various kinds,an d in sectsasw e l l ; in fact its foodappears to beas m uch vegetableasan imal .It has the usual habi ts of the tribe

,except that it usual ly g oes

s ing ly or in pairs,an d se ldom i ndeed in flocks . A male measured in the fle shLen g th, expan s e , tail , w in g , 28 ; tarsu s ,b il l from gape, w e ight, 06 oz . E1l l black ; leg s

and feet plumbeous .

648 .—Machlolophusaplonotus, B ly . The Sou thern

Ye l low Tit.

This Tit does n otascend to the plateau of the Nilghiris, but

i t is n ot un common i n the v icin ity of Coon oor, Kotagherryand f1om then ce down the sl opes,an d in to the W ynaad . U n l ikethe last spec ies itavoids the immed iate v ic in ity of habitation skeeping more to the jung les . Its n ote is exactly l ike thatof its uorthem 1 epresen tative—M . xanthogenys.

AND 111 PARTS or WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 39 9

The fol low in gare the dimen sion s of two malesLeng th, expan se, 9 5, 10 8 ; tai l, 24 ,

w ing , tarsu s , bil l from gape, 0 5,

0 5 1 ( w e ight, oz . B i l l black ; legs, fee t, an d c law splumbeous irides dark brown .

660.— Corvus macrorhyn chus, Wag l . The In dian

C orby .

Exceed ing ly common everywhere throughou t the d is trictunder con s ideration .

663 .—Corvus splenden s, Viei l l . The Indian G rey

n ecked C row .

This spec ies does n ot ascen d the hi lls,and even in some

parts of the low coun tryat '

the foot of the hi l ls it does n ot

occu r, or is rare,for in stan ce from Goodalore to Ne l lacotta,

though on reaching Ne l lacottait sudden lyappeared , and wascommon ;an d this I n oticed in other places , though in gen eralit swarms throughou t the low coun try w here ver there arehuman habi tation s . Jerdon has g iven (B . of I . , Vol . II .

, p . 298

et. seq . ) ave ry fu l laccoun t of i ts habi ts .

674 .—Dendrocittarufa, 8 0019 . The In dian Magpie .

This spec ies very rarely ascen ds the hi l lsabove fee t

e l evation . I have on on e occas ion shot itabout se ven m i les fromthe tow n of Ootacamundatan e levatio n of abou t fee t

bu t this was the on ly occas i on in al l the y ears that I res ided onthe Nilghiris that I met w i th it so high up.

Bu t on the Ghats fromabou t feet it is n ot un common ,an d becomes more n umerous the lower on e descen ds . It is qu itecommon through the Wynaad an d the Mysore coun try . I canadd n othing to Jerde n ’

s description of its habits .

676 .—Dendrocittahimalayensis, B ly . The H ima

layan Magpie .

Jerdon records thisas from the hi l ls of Southern Ind ia(aideB . of . I . , Vol . II . , p . It may be so, bu t I spen t the greaterportion of my l i fe in Sou th In d ia,an d n ever from the time Iwasaboy of about ten or tw e lve years ofage missed collectingbirds,an d I have n ever met w i th it. If i t real ly does occur, itmu st be of ex treme rarity . Jerdon himsel f n ever procured ithe mere ly thought he recogn ized it on the Seegore Pass . Horsfie ld gotaspecimen in Madras , but on what authority that‘

it

was ki l led in South Indiahe does not say . On the whole I

400 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON'I HE NI

‘

LGHIRIS‘

shou ld say the e v iden ce was i n suffi c ien t to c lass it as aSou the rn Ind ian bird .

678 .—Dendrocittaleucogastra, Gou l d . The Lon g-1

tail ed Magpie .

This beau ti fu l spec ies occurs on the sl opes o f the N ilghiris

fromabou t fee t,bu t it is n ot common . It is much more

n umerous in the Wynaad , bu t I d id n ot observe it in Mysore .

It is, un l ike D . rufa,a. forest species , keeping to the everg reen

forests ,an davoid in g dec iduou s j un g le an d bamboo forests , w hi leD . ru/ade l ights in these . It has, how ever, much the same

habi tsas D . rufa; the n ote is s im i lar, bu t l ouder, harsher,andless metall ic .

The fol low ing are the measuremen ts of asplen d id adu l tfemaleLeng th, 19 2 ; expan se , l 7 °6 ; tai l , w ing , tarsus ;

bi l l from gape , w e ight, ozs . B il l black legs»

and feet du l l black i rides deep brown .

684.-Acridotheres tristis, Lin . The Myna.

This My nain the sou th of In dia(atany rate in the d istric tembraced in the presen t paper) does n ot ascen d the hil ls . atal l (whi le in Northern Ind ia

,at S imlafor in stan ce , it is n ot

u n common ) , but at the foot of the hi l ls,an d in the W ynaad, itoccurs n ot u n common ly .

W ynand spec imen sare iden tical w ith those from S imlaan dother parts of U pper India, havin g the black of the throatand upper breast abruptly defin ed , an d the rest of the upperparts pale,and n otas in birds from C eylon and Anjang o, w he rethe dark colour of the throatan d breast coalesce w ith the colou rof the low er parts w hich isalso dark .

686 bis .—Acridotheres mahrattensis, Sykes . The

Sou thern Dusky Myna.This Mynais veryabundan t on the Nilghiris , espec ial ly on the

higher ranges . Italso occurs throughout the W ynaadand My sorebut in d im in ished n umbers . Theyare very fond of atten d ingon cattle w hile grazing , catching the grasshoppers and otherin sects d isturbed ; and,as men tion ed by Jerdon ,

theyare verypartial to c l ing ing to the stems of the Label iaawak e ,and Ihave shot them w i th the ir foreheads complete ly covered w ithpol len from the flow ers . They also do immen se damage to thefru it garden s on the Nilghiris ,an d it is n ext to impossible, w ithout the aid of n ets or other mean s, to preserve pears from the irdepredation s .

I should‘

say, certain ly, does not occur in Southern India.—ED S . F.

402 NOTES ON SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE. NILGHIRIS

forestare favorite resorts,an d it is in such places that the birdu sual ly breeds .A fin eadu lt female measuredLength, 10 0 ; expan se , tai l, w ing , tarsus,bil l from gape , l °4 ; w e ight, 5 ozs . Bi l l pale orange

v erm i l ion ; legs and feet du l l ye l low ; claw s black ; iridesdeep brown .

694._ ploceu

d

s phil ippian s, L in . The In dian W eaverB ir

Iam n otaware that this birdascends the h i l ls at al l , bu t itoccurs at the foot of the hi l ls an d through the Wynaad,an de ven in Mysore . Jerdon has g i ven acapitalaccoun t of it (videB irds of In d ia, Vol . II . , p. 344 et seq ) except the passage on p .

345 from the w ord but in l in e 13 to the end of' lin e 19 . This

passage ev iden tly re fers to 696 bis of our catal ogue , P loceel lajavanen sis, w hich does,as I have myse lf observed, suspend itsn est from the eaves of houses .

697 .—Amadinamalacca, Lin . The Black-headed

M un ia.I met w ith this Mun iain the W’

ynaad on two or three occas ion s

,but did n ot observe i t e lsewhere .

699 .-Amadinapun ctulata, Lin . The Spotted

Mun ia.Comparative ly common on the N ilghiris an d its slopes, but

I d id n ot observe i t in the W ynaad . It is mostabu n dan tabou tOotacamun d , feed ing in smal l flocks abou t cu l tivated lan d .

‘

It has the u sual habits of the gen u s, bu ilds aglobu lar n est,

which it,l in e s . w ith feathers , an d after the youngare hatched

and have flow n,the two old birdsan d the young stil l con tin ue

to u se the n estat n ights ti l l the moon soon destroys it.700.—Amadine pectoral is, Jerd , The Ru fous-bel l ied

Mun ia.This Muu iaoccurs on the Ghats of the Nilghiri‘s up to about

feet,an d it isalso spread through the Wynaad, bu t I haven ot n oticed it in Mysore . I have u sual ly found it in smal lparties or pairs . It is more of aforest Mun iathan an y of the

others . I have foun d it most common about the Ghat bel owCoon oor, w here it feeds in pairs or partiesamong the droppingsof cattle,an d on the grain dropped from carts

, &c . ,pass ing up

to C oon oor.

It is rather local in its d istribution .

AND IN PARTS or WYNAAD AND SOUTHERN MYSORE. 403.

—Estreldaamandava, L i n . The Red Waxbil l .I d id n ot n otice this species in the Wynaad, n or

'

in thoseparts of My sore w hich I traversed

,but i t is common on the

’

Nilghiris and l ts s lopes,most n umerous perhaps on the table

land,where it frequen ts the cu ltivation . They are alway s inflocks (even in the breed ing season apparen tly) ,an d w hen rising,fly ing, or al ighting , they keep up acon tin uou s feeble

,sharp,

sing le n ote . This n ote too they occas ional ly u tter w hen seat-cdon the g roun d, feedin gf They breed,asaru le , in thorny bushe s,bu i ld in galarge g lobu lar n est of grass (gen eral ly green ) , butn ever l in in g it w ith feathersas Man iapunctu latadoes . I haven ever, that Iamaware, seen it perch on trees or bushes

, exceptduring the breeding season when it is bu ild ing its n est.706 .

—Passer domesticus, Lin . The Sparrow .

C ommon everywhere w he re there are human habitati on s the

Sparrow is spec ial ly abu n dan t on the N ilghiris,andabou t theBadagav i l lag es large flocks may be seen feed ing in the fie lds .

Asaru le Sparrow s bu ild abou t houses, bu t on the road betw eenOotacamu ndand Coon oor large n umbers breed in the holes inthe steep cu ttings on the road .

711 .—Gymnoris flavicol l is, Frankl . The Yel low .

n ecked Sparrow .

This Sparrow occurs on the s lopes of the Nilghiris to abou tfeet e le vation . I havealso seen it in W ynaadan d Mysore .

I have found it most n umerou s on the Seegore Ghat. Ihave n ever seen it i n the large flocks Jerdon speaks of, but in

small parties, in pairs,an d e ven s ing ly . I have n ever foun d i tn ear habi tation s, bu talways in thin tree j ung le .

[722 .—Euspiza. luteola, Sparrm. The Red-headed

Corn Bu n tin g .

Occurs in the southan d sou th-w est of Mysore,and I be l ievein the W ynaadalsoat times—A . O . H .

738 .—Carpodacus erythrinus , Pal l . The Common

Rose Fin ch .

A cold w eather v isitan t,an d fou ndal l over the d istrict, bu t

e special ly n umerou s on the N ilghiris, where it remain s til l qu itelate , ti l l the last w eek in April, at an y rate , for I have shotspec imen s then ; the males are then in n early fu l l breed ingpl umage . It is always in flocks , an d feeds abou t garden s,& c . , on seeds . I have n e ver se en it feed in g except when there

wasagood deal of cover closeat hand to which it cou ld easi ly

404 NOTES ou SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ou THE NILGHIRIS

retreat w'

hen alarmed . Although associating in flocks, theyseem toact toag reat ex ten t independen tly of on e an other, forcoming uponaflock, they do not al l rise simultan eously buts ing ly or in pairs,an d so on .

755.—Mirafraafi‘mis, Jerd . The Madras Bush

Lark .

This Lark occurs round the base of the Nilghiris ,and I foundit rather n umerous abou t G un dalupet an d M uddur in the

Mysore coun try . It frequen ts stony groundand ploughed land,and is partial to com ing on to the roads . When approachedi t u sual ly ru n s forashort d istan ce afoot or two, an d then

squats close to the ground, an d on ly when d irectlyand veryc lose lyapproached does it fly . I have passed on e squattingw ithin ayard, an d it has n otattempted to fly . Its fl ight isu ndu lati ng and rather w eak. It has the u sual habi t of thegen us of risin g afew feet in to the air s ing i ng , and thendesce nd ing w i th aqu ivering motion of the w ings, usual lyal ightin g 0 11abush.

The follow ingare the d imen si on s taken in the flesh of fourSpecimen sLeng th, to 529 ; expan se, to 1 10 ; tai l , 16 to

iving, to 3 3 ; tarsu s, l°0 to bil l from gape, to

w e ight, to 10 oz .

Irides vary from burn t sien nato c in namon brow n ; legs,feet, l ow er mand ible , gape ,and edge of upper man d ible al on glc

l

ommissure fleshy rest of upper mand ible brow n claw s bluishorny .

“

760.—Pyrrhulaudagrisea, Seep . The Black-bel l ied

Fin ch Lark .

I on ly met w ith this spec ies in Mysore ,an d on ly in thoseplaces that w ere arid and stony . As remarked by Jerdon

,

i t is particu larly partial to roads . W hen approached i t squatsc lose to the groun d,and, asaru le, s how s of avery n earapproach. It keeps e n tire ly to the low coun try,and does n ot,i be l ieve,ascend the hi l lsatal l .

765.— Spizala.uda. deva,Sykes . The Smal l Crown -crest.

This Lark was n otatal l un common be tween Gundalupe tan dMuddur in Mysore , frequ e n ting the grassy plain s, c u l tivatedlan d , edges of roads, the . It rises toagood height in the airs ing ing (bu t n ot so high as A. gu lgu la) . It has much thesame habitas A . gu lgu la. I fou nd it u sual ly in pairs . .The

fol lowing are . the ndimen sion s of three spec imen s, two males

406 NOTES oN SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILG’

HIRIS

767 .—Alauc

l

l{

a'

gulgula, Fran /W "The Indian '

Sky'

larThe Skylark is very common on the Nilghiri s,and occurs,but

lessabu ndan tly , in the Wynaad, It frequen ts on ly grassyaplacesandavoids cover. Its son g is very fin e , .and lon g cohtin ned,an d it rises toagreat he ight in theair. A few yearsagoits son g during the seas on cou ld be heard any morn ing w ithinthe tow n of Ootacamund, bu t s in ceal l the hi l ls an d swampsw ithin the l imits have been plan ted up w ith Eucalypti, the bird,l ike S . malabarica, has re treated to the ou tskirts of the stationw here plen ty of grassy land sti l l remain s u n plan ted .

The fol low ing'

is aresume’

of an umber of spec imens measu red in the fleshLeng th, to expan se

, l l°7 to tai l , to

w ing , to £ 2 ; tarsu s, 0 ‘95 to bil l from gape, to

W e ight, 50 85 to ozs .

Legs, fee t, claw s, and low er mandible fleshy, some timesmore or less tinged redd ish upper mand ible dark

.

horny brow n ,sometimes edged along comm i ssure w ith pale fleshy brow n ;irides vary from hazel to dark n u t brow n .

773 .—Crocopus chlorigaster, E ly . The Southern

G reen Pigeon .

I met w i th this Pigeon in flocks in Seegore ,an d betw een thatplacean d Ban dipu r in Mysore . Ialso n oticed it on on e or tw o

occas i on s in the Wynaad . They do n ot d iffer in any particu larin habits from C , viridifrons of Burma, of w hichafu l l accoun t’

w i l l be found in Vol . VI . of S . F.

,and they haveasim ilar n ote .

774.— Osmotreron bicincta, Jerd . The Oran ge ~

breasted Green Pigeon .

I did n ot obtain this spec ies my se l f during my trip, bu t somecars ago I saw aspecimen that had been shot in Charambady

l n Wynaad by Mr. F. Hodgson .

775 .— 0 smotreron malabarica, Jerd . The Grey

fron ted Green Pigeon .

I found this Pigeon in smal l flocks in d ifferen t parts of the

Wynaad,and in the bette r w ooded parts of the My sore cou n try ,but. n owhere very abun dan t. It has the same n otean d habitsas the other members of the gen us . It doe s n otascen d the hil lS,n or does it frequen tany bu t w e l l-wooded d istricts .

This of course is A. au stral z’s, Brooks . Personal ly I con cur w ith Dav ison thatthe souther hil l form of gu lgu lascarce lx. merits pecj fic, separation —En , S F .

955Wy

o u “ fi gg ‘zw s’s ‘lggirflesw '

e“

~AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD AND souTHERN MYSORE. 407

The fol low ing is aresume’

of an umber of spe cimen s measured in the flesh. The sexes do n otappear to d iffer in sizeLen g th, 10 6 to 1 1 1 expanse , to tai l, 34 to 3 6

W ing , to tarsus,

to bi l l from gape, 0 9 to 0 95W e ight, to ozs .

Irides,outer ring pin k, in n er bright pale blue ; horny portion

of bil l blu ish w hite ; re st of bi l l pale blu ish green ; legsandfeet lake pink ; c law s blu ish whi te.781 baa—Carpophaga. cuprea, Jerd . The Southern

Bron ze Imperial .This fine Pigeon IS n ot u n common in the gran d forests of the

Wynaad and the slopes of the Ni lghiris . I have always foundi t,in smal l flocks . I have n e ver fou nd it an ywhere ex cept in

heavy forest. It is particu larly fon d of eating . the w i ld n ut

meg . It‘

swallow s the n utmeg w ith the mace on , the latter be ingd igested, but the n u tmeg w ith its hard . ou ter shel l be ing voided .

786 .—Palumbus elphinstonu, Sykes . The Nilghiri

Wood Pigeon .

This Wood Pigeon is n ot un common in the w oods on theNilghirisan d its s lo pes , bu t I d id not meet w i th it in e ither theWy naad or My sore . It is

,how ever, comparative ly common in

t he Bramagherries in Coorg . It movesaboutag ood deal , andm sholathat may be ful l of them on e : w eek w i l l not con tain as ing le spec imen the fol low ing w eek this is due, I fan cy, to the

prevalen ce or otherw ise of berries . I too, have often n oticedthe fact men ti on ed by Jerdon of the ir feed ing on the groundou ts ide the forests . I foun d them ve ry n umerous in March inthe forests abou t Neddivuttum

,an d procuredagood n umber

of spec imen s, e ight of w hich I measured .

, The sexes do n ot ,difl

'

er in s ize or co l our of soft parts, onefrom tl l e other.

The . fol low ing isaresume of the d imen si on s, &c. , of these

e ight spec imen sLeng th, 161 to 177 ; expan se, 250 to tai l

,6 3 to

w in g , to 9 0 ; tarsu s, '

to'

l ‘ l 5 ; . bil l from gape , '

l ' l to

w e ight, 100 to 120 ozs .

Fleshy portion of bil l , leg s, ,

feet an d eye l ids pink ; rest

of bil land c law s horny w hite ; irides vary fromapale ye l low ishred

’

toared brown .

792 .—Turtur pulchratus, Hodgs . The In dian Tur

tl e Dove .

I shot aspec imen of thisat Manan toddy, This spec imen Ihave careful ly compared w ith others from S imlaand its n eigh

408 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NIL'

e nrRrs

hourhood,and it in no ways d iffers from them. Theabdomen,

ven t, an d low er tai l-coverts in the spec imen I procured are ’

sn ow white .

I saw several others c lose to where I procured my spec imen ,and 1also n oticed some Doves n ear Muddur in Mysore , w hich ‘

I inc l in e to thin k w ere of this species . Tartarmeenamay occur,but I have n ot observed it.794.—Turtur senegalensis, Lin . The Little Brown

,

Dove .

This l ittle Dove occurs sparingly on the table land of theNilghiris,andafew can always be obtained about the Badagacu ltivation . It is much more common at the foot of the hi l ls inthe Mysore coun try, but always about cu ltivation , e special lywhen the fieldsare stony . Itavoids w e l l w ooded land .

Four specimen s measured in the fleshas fol low s‘ Length, 10 5 to 108 ; expan se , to 16 0 ; tai l, to

w ing , 4 7 to 51 tarsus , to bi l l from gape, to

w e ight, 27 5 to 30 ozs . Bi ll and c law s black ; leg s and'

feet pink ; irides deep brown .

795.—Turtur suratensis, Gm. The Spotted Dove .

This spec ies was very commonal l over the d istrict in su itablel ocal ities . S ome yearsago it was mu ch more n umerous in the

v icin i ty of Ootacamund than it is now , but it is so slaughtered ‘

by the ' natives that it has g reatly d imin ished in n umbers .

It is particularly fond of feedingabout the roads .

796 .—Turtur risorius, L in . The Eastern R ing

Dove .

These Doves w ere n ot un common about Seegore,and n earG undalupet. Many years ago I shot on eatav il lag e aboutseven mi les from O otacamundand on the plateau of the Nilghiris,bu t it is the on ly on e I ever heard of be ing ki l led at thise levation .

798 .—Chalcophaps indica, L in . The Emerald Groun d

Dove .

This species does n ot occur as high on the Nilghiris asOotacamund, but I have shot it as high upas Coon oor on theon e s ide , an d Neddivu ttum on the other, but they are n ot

common at this e levation ; low er ,dow n on the Ghatsan d in theW ynaad they occur more n umerously, bu t they are not

common anywhere . They keep agood deal to cover, andare fond of feeding al ong shady roads. Their coo isavery


In the male the iridesare orange red to wax ye ll ow ; thefac ial skin , comb, wattles, &c . , pale pinky vermi l ion legs andfeet ye l low ish fleshy .

Female—Len gth, expan se,

tai l , w ing, 7 5tarsus, bi l l from gape, l ° l ; w eight, lbs .

8 14.

—Gal loperdix Spadiceus, Gm. . The Red Spur

fow l .

This Spur-fow l occurs over the same l imitsas the Grey Junglefow l , but is much more n umerous

,an d does n ot con fin e i tself

to the forests and sholas,bu t occurs in scrub jung le . S in ce

the in troduction of ac lose season on the N ilghiris, this speciesan d al l the smal l res iden t game have greatly in creased inn umbers . I have seen the prese n t spec ies feed ing on the roads ide iathe early morn ing , w ithin ' the l imits of the town of

C oon oor. The male has apartridge-l ike cal l heard in the

morn ing an d e ven ings during the cold w eather. The sexes

do n ot vary in s ize apparen tly . The fol low in g is aresume’

of the d imen sion s of e ight specimen s, four males and fourfemale sLeng th, 138 to expan se, 18 °C to tai l

,to

w ing , 54 to tarsu s,17 to bi l l from gape, 08 5 to

1 0 ; w e ight, 1 10 to 16 ozs .

Legs, feet, facial skin , base of bil l,bright red ; rest of hi l l

redd ish horny irides deep red brown .

815.—Gal loperdix l unulatus, Val enc . The Pain ted

Spur-fow l .

I have on ce ki l led this Spur-fow l on the Ghat be l ow Coon oor.

Mr. G . R . Daw son of C oon oor procured an other there, andMr. Rhodes M organ shot on e, I bel ieve , on the Seegore Ghat.These are al l the Specimen s that I kn ow of hav ing beenprocured .

* The bird is certain ly v ery rare on the Nilghiris .

I do n ot kn ow of i ts occurrence in Wynaad ‘or Mysore .

822.

— 0rtygorn is pondicerianus, Gm. The GreyPartridge .

Occurs spari ngly on the slopes of the Nilghiris to aboutfeet on the Seegore s ide

,and it is n ot un common in

some parts of Mysore .

B ut see “ TH E GAM E B IRDS or INDIA, I . 246 . W e have had specimen s sen tu s from the O ran ge Val ley be low Kotagherry ,an dat least half adozen locali ti esaboutthe bases of the Ni lgh iris—En , S . F.

AND IN PAaTS or WYNAAD AND S OUTHERN MYSORE. 4 1 1

826 .—Perdicu laasiatica, Lath. The Jungle Bush

Quail .Not un common in some parts of Mysore, between G un

dal upe t an d Muddur for in s tan ce . It is always in covey skeeping much to the thorny scrub . I have n ot n oticed it onthe s lopes of the Nilghiris, n or d id I‘ comeacross it in theWynaad .

A male measured in the fleshLeng th, expan se, tai l , w ing , 34 ; tarsus,

l ' l bil l from gape , O ' 5 ; w e ight, ozs .

Legsand fee t pale redd ish ye l low ; upper mand ible an d tipof lower man d ible du l l black ; base of l ow er mandible plumbeous irides c in namon red ; c laws pale reddish horn y .

828 .—Microperdix erythrorhynchus, Sykes . The

Pain ted Bush Quail .This handsome Quai l occurs al l over the d istrict embraced

w i thin this paper. It is s ti l l common in many parts, bu tof late years has become qu ite scarce in the n eighbou rhoodof O otacamund and Coon oor, &c . But coming as it doesunder the protection of the c lose season , it is to be hoped i tmay again in crease In n umbers . It occurs in larger or smal lercoveys

,an d w i th dogsaffords some pretty shooting .

The sexes do n ot d iffer in s ize . The fol low ing are thed imen sion s of four specimen sLeng th, 69 to expan se , to 10 6 ; tai l, to

w in g s, 31 5 to tarsus, 10 to bil l from gape,to w e ight, 2 12 to ozs . Bi l l

,legs,and feet, ver

m i l ion red ; irides red brown .

829 .— Coturn ix communis, B on n . The Quail .

I shotaspec imen of this Quai l,afemale, w i thin three mi lesof the tow n of O otacamu nd on the 14th Jan uary 188 1 . Informer y ears too I have on afew occasion s met w i th themon the Nilghiris . I did not meet w i th it e ither in the Wynaador Mysore .

830 .—Coturn ix coromandelica, Gm . The Rain

Quai l .This Q uai l was n ot uncommon n ear Muddur in Mysore in

m ode rate s ized coveys . I also observed it in other. parts ofMy sore, n ear G un dalupe t, Teppu Kardn

, &c . , an d it alsooccu rs in the W ynaad, though I d id n ot obtain it there .

Some y ears ago I shot on e ou t of asmal l covey on the edgeof the G overnmen t C in chonaPlan tati on s at Neddivuttum

,

and on another occasion I ki l led on e in Ootacamund .

4 12 NOTES ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILCHIRIS

831 .-Excal factoriachinen sis

,Lin . The B l ue

breasted Quail .I fou nd this beau ti ful species occurring sparing ly through

the grassy portion s of the Wy nand ,an d obtain ed some spec im en s at Rampore , on . the con fin es of the Mysore terri tory .

I d id n ot observe it,nor do I kn ow of its occurren ce

,on the

hi lls .

832 .—Turn ix taigoor, Sykes . The Black -breasted

Bustard Quai l .I foun d this spec ies n ot u n common abou t the cu ltivated fie lds

in Mysore ,always in pairs or s in gly, m ore frequen tly the latter.

I did not meet w ith i t in the W y nand , bu t i t doubtless occurs .

I have n evermet w ith it on the hi lls .

834 .-Turn ix j oudera, B odys . The Larger ButtonQuail

I obtain ed as ingle specimen of this spec ies , amale , n earKarote at the foot of Banasore Peak in the Wynaad . It wasthe on ly time I met w ith it. It measuredLen g th, 56 ; expan se , tail , w in g, tarsu s,bil l from gape , w e ight, ozs .

Leg s , feet, c law s, low er mand ible an d upper man d ible ton ostri l pale y e l l ow ; l ow er man d ible tipped pale brown ; rest of

u pper mand ible dark brown ; irides w hi te .

[839 .—Sypheotides aurita, Lat/z. The Lesser

Florican .

A S i ng le spec imen was kil led on the s lopes of the Nilghirissome yearsago betw een Neddivu ttumand Pykarra, going dow nto the W ynaad—A. O . H . ]

[840 . Cursorius coromandel icus Gm .

”

The In dianCourier Plover.

Has been sen t from S . W'

. Mysore, qu ite n ear to G uadal upe t.—A. O . H . ]

[849 .— 1Egia.l itis dubia, Soap . The Common R in g

Plover.

Su l tan ’

s Battery, Wynaad ; S . W . My sore ; n ear the foot ofthe C oon oor Ghat, an d I expect everywhereabout the bases ofthe Nilghiris .

—A. O . H . ]

4 14 NOTES ON SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

872 .— Gal l inago gal l inula, L in . T he Jack S n ipe .

O ccas ional ly v is its the Ni lghiris . I have n ot heard o f i te be in gobtain ed in the Wy nand . It is poss ible that i t is n ot so rareas itappears,as it may o ften be overl ooked from i ts in ve teratehabit of ly ing so c loseas to bealmost imposs i ble to flush w i thou t dogs .

873 .-Rhyncheeabengalen sis, L in . The Pain ted

S n ipe .

I have seen spec imen s of this Sn i pe from the W y naad, bu tI do not kn ow whe ther it isaperman en t res ide n t the re or n ot.

Iam n otaware of its e ver having been seen or obtain ed O II the

hi l ls .

S ince theabove was w ritten Mr. Rhodes Morgan w ri tes to me

thataspec imen was shot by Mr. Hadfie ld in Jan uary con tainingafu l l y she l led egg , so it must breed in the Wynaad .

[884 .—Tr1ngaminuta, Le is i . The L ittl e Stin t .

I myse l f saw this be l ow the Coon oor Ghat,an d have rece ivedit from S . W . Mysore .

—A. O . H.]

SQL— Rhyacophilaglareola, L in . The Spotted

San dpiper.

C ommonabou t marshes,pools of water,an dalong the ban ks

of s treams, w here these are n ot bordered by trees . OII the

Nilghiris it remain s very late . I have see n spe c imen s abou t thepon ds in the Botan ical Garde n sat Ootacamun d as late as Ju ly .

I thought that they m ight poss ibly breed there,but the most

carefu l searching failed to d iscoverany n est.

892 .—Totanus ochropus, Lin . The Green Sand

piper.

Some yearsago I saw aspec imen of this Sandpiper shot on

the ban k of the lake at Ootacam un d . It is the on ly time Ihave seen i t in Sou thern In d ia. To the hil lsatany rate itmust

beavery rare vis itan t.893 .—Tringoides hypoleucus, Lin . The Common

San dpiper.

As commonas 89 1,an d frequen ting the same k in d of places .

On the Nilghiris,atany rate, it does n ot s tay so lateas R . g lareola.

[894 .-Totanus glottis, L in . The Gree n Shank .

Rece ived from the Wynand . Doubtless common everywhere,where there is water, be low feet. —A. O . H . ]

AND IN PARTS OF WYNAAD’

AND SOUTHERN MYSORE . 4 15

900 .-Pa.rra. indica, . Lain. The Bron ze-w inged

Jacana.Occurs in the Wy naad . Mr. T. Darl ing O f the Rasse las Estate ,

n ear Manan toddy , obtain edaspec imen .

905.

- Gal l inulachloropus, Lin . The Water H en .

C ommon on the lakeat Ootacamu nd,where it breeds amon g

the sedge , grow in g on the marg in . I have also O ften seen it

in Wynand,and in Mysore on the G un dal upet lake .

907 .-Erythraphoen icura, P en n . The W hite

breasted Water H e n .

Rare on the Nilghiri san d its s l ope s, bu t not u n common atthe base of the hil ls . through the W y naad,an d in Mysore . Ihave k i lled it in the Botan ical Garden sat Ootacamu n d

[9 10 .—Porzanabail lon i

,Vie i l i . Bail lon ’

s C rake .

Sen t u s from the W ynaad—A. O . H . ]

911 .— Porzanafusca, Lin . The B uddy C rake .

I O btain ed tw o specimen s . both males,of this spec ie s

,in some

rice fie ldsat Karote in the W ynaad on the 2n d of May . Itwas the on ly time I saw i t du ring my trip . I have n e ver

me t w ith i t,n oram Iaware of its e v er hav ing bee n obtain ed

on the hi l ls .

In the spec imen s I obtain ed, the bil l was black, the legsandfee t coral red,an d the irides crimson .

913.

—Hypotaen idiastriata, L in . The B l ue -breastedBan ded Rai l .

The late M r. J . Darl ing shotaspec imen of this Rai l in the

W ynaad ; he showed me some fragmen ts of the skin,sufficien t

for ide n tification how ever.

9 19 .—Cicon iaalba, Bechst. The White S tork .

Mr. G . A. R . Daw son , of Coon oor, obtain ed two specimen sof this bird on theNilghiris , on e of w h ich is , I be l ieve, stil l in hispossess ion . He say s

'

: During the mon th of October 18 70,

aflock of e ighteen of this species w ere seen feed ing on the

open grass lan d n ear the san dy n u l lah betw een Ootacamun dan dPykarra. I was on ly made aware of the fac t byacouple of

the birds hav ing been shot byanative an d brought to me . Iv is ited the Spot early n ext morn ing , but foun d the birds hadflow n

f ’

I have n ever myse lf come across this species in SouthernInd ia.

4 l 6 NOTES ON SOME B IRDS COLLECTED ON THE NILGHIRIS

920 .—B issaraepiscopa, B edd . The . W hite -n ecked

S tork .

Saw apair ouadead tree on the river bankat Manan toddy ,

Wy naad , the on ly pair I saw during the trip .

[923 .

— Ardeacinerea, L in . The H eron .

Occurs in S .

-W . Mysore . I bel ie ve in the very piece ofwater Dav ison v is ited .

-A. O . H . ]

[924 .-Ardea, purpurea, L in . The Purpl e H eron .

O n e spec imen was sen t u s for iden tification from somewhereabout the bases of the N ilg irisz—A. O . H . ]

[927 .-Herodias garzetta, L in . The L ittl e Egret,an d

929 .-Bubul cus coromandus, B odd . The Cattl e

Egre t,

w ere both con tain ed in acollection made in S .-W . Mysore ,

A. o. H . ]

930 .—Ardeolagrayi, Sykes . The Pon d H eron .

C ommon through the Wynaad and Mysore in sui table local ities . S ome years ago this spec ies was '

rare on the N ilghiris, afew occurri ng durin g the co ld w eather abou t the lake atOotacamun d

,bu t w ithin the last three or four y ears it hasbecome qu ite n umerou sabou t the marshy ban ks of the lake .

I cou n ted thirty in the course of awalk on e morn ing . I t is,

how e ver, on lyacold w eather v is itan t to the Nilghiris, d isappeari ng as the breed ing season approaches .

931 .—But0rides javan ica, H orsf . The L ittl e Green

Bittern .

O n se veral occas ion s I m et w ith this b ird both in the

W y naad an d in Mysore ,always on the ban ks of w e l l-w oodedstreams . Iam n otaware ‘

that itascen ds the hil ls .

932 .

— Ardettaflavicol lis, Lat/z. The B lack B ittern .

I have shot this spec ies on the Moyar ri ver immed iate lybe l ow Neddivu ttum . I have also seen it in the W ynaad .

V ery rare ly i tascends the hil ls . I have on ce seen aspec imen

k i l led by anative shikaree c l ose to O otacamu n d . Like man yof the Heron s this species is crepuscu lar in its habits .

4 18 NOTES .ON SOME BIRDS COLLECTED oN THE NILGHIRIS

959 .— Anas poecilorhyncha, Fars i . The Spot B il l

or G rey Duck .

I saw apair of this spec ies in asmal l swampy jhee l surroun ded by j un g leabou t three m i les from Muddu r in My sore . I haveoccas ional ly seen it in other parts of Mysore n ear G un dal upet,&c .

[961 .—Chaulelasmus streperus , L i n . The Gadwal l .

Is common in S . My sore right to the bases of the Nilghiris,an d Iamalmost sure itwas reported to me from the Wynand .

A . o. H . ]

[962 .-Dafilaacuta, Lin . The Pin tail .

Occurs both in the Wynaad w here reported rare,an d S .-W .

Mysore .—A. O .

—Querquedula. crecca, Lin . The Common Teal .In su itable places this Teal is n ot un common ,an d in some

placesasat the G un dal upet lake it is very n umerou s . I havealso on many occas ion s seen smal l parties on the lake at Ootacam un d , bu t they do n ot remain many days after the irarrival,be ing e i ther al l ki lled

,or frighten ed away . It is of course

on ly acold w eather v isi tan t.[965.

—Querquedulacircia, Lin . The Gargan ey .

This has been sen t from S . W . Mysore,an d occurs in theWynaad—A. O . H . ]

975.—Podiceps minor, Gm. The Littl e Grebe

, or

Dabch ick .

C ommon on the lake at O otacamun d,where it isaperman en t

residen t. I havealso found it in several places in the Wynaadand Mysore .

986 .—Sternafluviatil is, Nanm . The Common

Tern .

Jerdon n otes hav ing obtain ed this species on the lake atOotacamun dfi‘ I have myse l f on several occasion s in pastyears n oticed asmal l Te rn on this lake

, bu t it w ou ld on lvremain afew days 'an d then d isappear. I n ever saw morethan on eatatime . It is the on ly place where I have n oticedthem .

I t is n ext to certain that Jerdon was mistaken . H is specimen was probablye ither tibetanaoralbigena, v ide S . F . , VIII, 159 .

—ED . , S. F


[987 .—Sternamelanogastra, Tem . The B lack

be l l ied Tern .

S -W . My sore, certain ly . The Wynaad I think.—A. O . H . ]

1007 .— Phalacrocorax pygmaeus, Pal l . The Littl e

Cormoran t.I have seen this spec ies on the lakeat G un dal upet in Mysore ,and I thin k, late on e e ven in g n ear Manan toddy , I saw apartyof this same spec ies fly in g high overhead .

1008 .—Plotus melanogaster, P en n . The In d ianSnake B ird .

I have obtain ed this species on the Pykarrariverabou t n in em i les from Ootacamun d . I have also n oticed it in Wynaadan d on the lakeat G un dalupet in Mysore .

MR. W . N. CHILL has sen t me an other specimen of E ris

matum leucocephala, THE WH ITE-FACED STIFF-TAIL DUCK, pl‘

O

cured by him in the G urgaon di strict on the 28th O ctober1 8 82 .

It w i l l be remembered that the first time this spec ies wasobtain ed eastwards of Palestin ean d As iaMin or

,in ou r lati

tudes (fu rther n orth it was kn ow n to occur on the Caspianan d in W e stern Turkestan ) was w hen apair of immature birdsw ere shot n ear Khe lat-i-Ghi lzai, by C olon e l Sir O l iver S t. Johnon the 20th October 18 79 .

I then pred icted that the species w ou ld turn up in the

Pu njaband S in dh .

W ithin afew mon ths of this pred iction Mr. F. Fie ld shotan immature bird of this species close to the c ivi l station of

Loodhiana. This was on the 28th of October 1880 . On the2 1st of Jan uary 1882 Mr. Chi l l obtain ed an immature maleof this species n ear the Najafgarh jhee l , (say approx imately Lat. 29

° N . , Lon g . 7 7° an d n ow again an other n ear

the same l ocal ity on the 28 th October of the sam e y ear.

The bird can n ot,there fore, be very rare

,as five spec imen s

have reached me in three years . It is,therefore

,ex tremely

strange that i t shou ld have remain ed un n oticed up to 18 79 .

Many sportsmen w e l l up in water birds, myse l f amon gst then umber, have during the last 20 years shot ducksal l over the

420 LETTERS TO Tim EDITOR .

Punjab,and yet n on e of us, so far as I can ascertain

,ever

met w ithany STIFF-TAILS . Now the pecu l iarity of the woodpecker-l ike tai l is such that the bird cou ld hard ly have beenoverlooked if shot,and hen ce asu spic ion arises that it hason ly been w ithin the last few years that this species has extended its migrati on s so far eastwards . It is poss ible thatj ust as PALLAS’ SANDGROU sE (Syrrhaptes paradoxus ) on ly oc

casional ly at long in tervals of time makes afar w esterlym igration ,asaru le trave l l ing l ittle ou t of Asia, though durin gi ts abn ormal m igration s reach in g as far w estas Ire lan d, sotoo the White-faced S tiff-Tail may on lyat l ong in tervals , fortwo or three su ccess ive y ears, migrate as far eastas De lhi .Al l the spec imen s ye t obtain ed have been birds of the year.

Noadu lt male or female seems to have been met'

w ith thus

far w ithin our l imi ts .

SINCE this was w ri tten Mr. Lean O f the 5th Bengal Cavalryi n forms me that he has j ust shotaduck of this species in the

Pi l ibheet d istrict. In In d iathere fore the bird getsat leas tas far eastas the 80th degree E . Lon g itude , an d later sti l lMr. Chi l l reports having Obtain ed two more specimen s n earFarukhnaggor.

fishers to the drifter.

I W RITE to in form you thatas ingle egg of the Fl orican (Sypheotidesauri ius) was found by Mr. F. C . C on stable on

the Hubb plain s on the 13th in stan t (Augu st. ) It is averybroad oval w ith scarce lyany perceptible tenden cy toapoin t,of adark ol ive or ston e color, w i th redd ish brow n rather broadmarkingsat the larger en dand s treaksabou t the midd le .

JAMES A. MURRAY .

DEAR S IR,0

IN your w ork, the Game B i rds of IndIa,” I n otICeyour remark regard ing the cal l of the Pain ted Partridg e asbe in g

“ qu ite d is tin ct from that of the Common Fran col inor Black Partridge . W i thou t ven turing to con tradict yourassertion , I mere ly submit my ow n experien ces in the matter,and shou ld be mu ch obl iged if you cou ld set me right.I was sen t down to Nowgong in C en tral In d ialast y ear inFebruary, an d on e day , w hile driv in g toad is tan t jhee l, Iheard ,as I thought, several B lack Partridges cal l ing . I mus t

prem ise that I had n ever seen aPain ted Partridge , w hi le Blackswere tolerably common to me,and I cou ld recogn ise thei r cal l

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . 423

IN the Game B irds of India, you say in your description of Grus oommn n is or the Ku l lang that you have n ever

s een i t before the 3rd of October. I may tel l you I saw aflock con s isting of from e ight to ten of theabove birds passo ver this stati on on the 25th S eptember last . I mayalsoadd that y e sterday, the 8 th of October, I saw apair of Gadwalon asmal l jhi labou t eight m iles d istan t.The Ku l lang w ere proceed in g in aw esterly d irecti on ,

e viden tly towards the S u tlej river.

H . A. KINLOCH, L ien t

FEROZEPORE .

I HAVE on eadd ition andafew un importan t correeti on s to make to the “ Firs t List of the B irds of the Sou thKon kan ,” pu bl ished at pp. 1 to 96 of Vol . IX of STRAYFEATHERS . S in ce I le ft Ratnag iri my former shikari sen t

measkin of the fol low ing spec ies

9O2*—PORPHYRIO POLIOCEPHALU S,Lat/i .

The spe c imen was Sho t at Mal van in November 1 880 . In ever saw or heard of it myse lf in the Sou th Kon kan , an d its

occurren ce mus t be rare . The local vernacu lar name for the

species is said to be Kambalafite . Capt. Butler says i t is rarein the Deccan , an d that he d id n ot fin d it in the n e ighbourhood of Be lgaum . I foun d asmal l colony of purple Cootslas t year in the reeds in the Patas tank in the Poonad istrict.This make s the total n umber of spec ies recorded 286,in stead of 284 as e n tered in the l ist, on e spec ies hav ing pre

v iou sly e scaped en umeration . Of these 269 have been verifiedby the Ed i tor, n ot 266

,as statedat page 3 . The remain ing

1 7 un verified spec iesareas fol low s4 . Gyps in dicus, (probably 4bis . G . pal lescens . )5 . Pseudogyps bengalen sis .6 . Neaplzron ging in ianus .63 . Syrn ium indranee .

1 15 . Harpactes fasciatus .

1 19 . Meroyos Sw inhoi l .

145 . Too/ous griseus .

1 66 . C l i rysooolaptes su l taneus .

1 9 8 . Megalwmamalabarica.767 . Alaudagu lgu la.79 6 . Turtur risorius .

9 02 . Porpbyriopol iooeplialus (new lyadded) .9 11 . Porzanafusea.9 52 . Dendroeygnajavan ica.

422 t LETTERS To . THE EDITOR .

957 . Spatu laclypeata.9 6 1 . Chau le laamusatreparas .

9 8 1 . Larus ridibundus .

As terisks , I may add ,: w ere w rong ly prefixed to Querquedulacreeca, 9 64,an d Querguedu lacircz

’a, 9 65.

O f theabove u n verified species the occurren ce of . Chrysocm

laptes sultan eus,Alaudagu lgu la,an d - Porzanaf usca, is some .

w hat doubtfu l . It isalso n ot certain w hether the l on g -bil led .

brown Viu ltu re appears in the form of i ndicus or pal lescens .As to the remain ing spec ies there is n o doubt.

G . VIDAL.

BROACH ,October 23rd, 18 82 .

AT ~

page (an te) you recorded the capture of the

immature Scaup (Fu lz'gu lamarila) that I sen t you in Novemher 188 1, but you omitted, I ‘think

,-to n otice the two other

Scaups, both ' females , an d both immature, that I sen t youlater.

The first was ki l led on the 13th Jan uary in , the In dus river,

abou t 14 mi lesabove Attock. O f this I n oted that the bil l wasgreyish blue w i th black nai l ; iris deep y e l l ow legs

'and feetleaden

,darker on the join ts .

The secon d ’

was ki l led on the l 0th of March in the Jubbeeriver n ear Hasan Abdal . Le ng th, « 155 expan se ,w ing , taiI

,tarsus, bi l l from gape , greatest

w idth of bi ll , Iris deep ye l low ; bi l l greyish blue w i thblack nai l leg s grey ish blue , darker on jo in ts .

I see from page 174 (an te) that Mr. Chi l l procuredafin eadu l t female of this species n ear G urgaon on the 25th of

March, and ayoung female on the 14th of that mon th, bu tapparen tly up to date n o on e c has procured amale adu lt or

otherw ise .

I have n ow to record shooting n ear Ghaz i on the Indusafemale G olden Eye (C langu lag laucium) . I saw on e drakeandfour ducks

,bu t un fortunate ly on ly su cceeded in getting on e of

the latter.

This measured : Length, expan se, 26 5 ; tai l,bil l from gape , w e ight, 1 lb . 5 ozs .

The irides w ereabright pale ye l low the feet bright ye l lowish orange, w i th dark blackish w ebs ; bil l blackat base,andtip w ithamed ial ye l low ban dabou t in w id th .

I n oticed this latter particu larly becau seat Vol . III . , p . 28 8

of the “ GAME BIRDS,”

you remark that though n ot n oticed byany European w riters, this ye l low or orange .ban dr spot or bar,does occur often in females, occasional ly in young males ,a'nd

42 6?

LETTERs'

To THE EDIToR.~

The irides w ere bright ye l l ow ; the bi l l black the legs and "

feet orange ye l low w i th black w ebs and nails . The s tomachcon tain ed fish, w eeds,and sand .

W i th this drake was procuredafemale, S imIlar to those for-f

merly sen t. It was on ly w ou nded,and was put in acage,an d un fortunately wasal low ed “

to escape .

W e may n ow set the Garrot or G olden Eye down asaregu lar w in ter v isitan t to the Punjab portion ,atany rate of

the Indus ; andas Barnes procured it near the mou th of the

Indus,it most probably occu rs throughou t the en tire leng th of

that river. Bu t can it be confin ed to the Indus ? Sure ly i fproperly l ooked for

'

it w i l l be d iscovered in the Chenabandothe r Punjab rivers . Is it pu re ly ariver duck w ith u s ?

O r w i l l italso occur in j hee ls ? Other sportsmen in the Punjab°

must he lp us to settle these question s .R. N . STOKER.

P. S .—My last Golden Eye 18 ayoung female. W e ight;

1 lb. 3 0 2 3 . Length, expan se , tai l , bil lfrom gape , Irides w h i tish ye l low ; feet dusky on the legs,‘du l l ye l low on the toes ; webs blackish bi ll grey ish black. Shotat Hasanpore on the 15th instan t. It was seen w i than umber

of others on al ittle pool . There were no other ducksabout.I t is dec ided ly n ot the duck that escaped . W hen I have time‘I.shal l pack it,and send it to you w ith the drake.

N SR.

W ITH referen ce to the paragraphs in STRAY FEATHERS,Vol . IX, pp. 109, 23 l , re lating to Accipiter steven son i, I may rein

mark that I be l ie ve that the you ng of this spec ies can on ly bed istingu ished from that of A. virgatus by the middle toe be ingabou t l -l 0th ofan in ch shorter in the males of A . stevensom

'

,an dabou t 1-5th of an in ch in the females, than it is in the corre-l»spond ing sexes of A . mrgatus .

’

Most '

old males of A. stevenson i have the throat immacu late,bu t in someafew of the feathers of the throat have aOvarynarrow dark shaft mark.

A Malaccaskin,n ow before me

, an dan other from China;both of

'

which I bel ieve to'

be young males of A . stevenson i,

have a. very narrow dark cen tral, gu lar s tri pe

,and thisalsooccurs in the birds which 'I suppose to be adu lt females of

A .

‘

stevensom’

It is to be hoped thatapair of A. steven son i may ,at sometime

,be found n esting, which wou ld much hel p our kn ow ledge

of this spec ies.J . H. GURNEE.

LETTERS -.TO THE EDITOR. . 427

Messss. DAVIDSON AND WENDEN, In their Deccan LIs tL(S . F. VII 68) say that Pain ted San dg rouseare “ abundan t Inseveral su i table local ities an d Captai n B utler

,In his Deccan

and Sou tlIe In MahIattaCatalogue (S . F. , IX .

,.p 42 1) states that

it is .not u n common i n su itable local i ties throughou t the plainsportion of the reg ion as faI southat al l even ts as Be lgaum,

andas far n orthas Nagar.

”

On e w ou ld gather from this that the specIes must be frequen tly met w ith In the Deccan plain s d istI ic ts . I don’t kn ow whatthe experien ce of others may be III this respect ; but, al thoughI have sho tand observedal l kin ds of bi Ids formany years in theSattaraan d Poonad is tricts, I

_

n ever u n ti l yesterday had the

g ood luck to come across as ing le specimen of this Grou se .

Thereare no doubt many su itable local ities, but I can "

t be l ievethat the . bIrd Is very common anyw here In tlIese dis tIicts .

A few days ago I had heaId from afriend of his havi ngshot spec imen sat this place ,and yeste Iday verified his s tatemen t by bagg ing abrace In the rocky scrub-clad sl opes betw eenthe Commissariat Cattle Farm and the Bhima; bu t even

here,although in the course of aw hol e day’s shooting almost

e very likely place was beaten , my compan ion and I on lyflushed five birds, two pairsandas ing le. The largeareaofbroken s tony g round at Alegaon , covered w ith low scrub,chiefly babu l , w i ld caper and j uj ube bushes, stIetching frouithe river to die hi llsabove , 18 , I shou ld fan cy , an espec ial lyfavou Iable local i ty for this species and if abun dan tanywhere,on e wou ld expec t to find them here In large n umbers .ALEGAON,POONA DISTRICT. G . VIDAL .

ON the 27th December last, I sen t you in atin box anE 1wmatmaleucocephala. S in ce that I have managed to pu rchase two more of this spec ies— on eacat tookaway ,and theother on e I have got stuffed . To-dayaman has broiIght mearare Teal ; it is very much l ike Queoguedu laf 0 1mosa I can n ot‘

stu ff it u n ti l it gets back some Of the w ing feathers, w hich thebird-catcher has plucked out. I suppose I II il l have to keep itin captivi ty forabou t two mon ths . On the l stand 3rd of thismon th my man met flocks of two and five hundred Pin tai ledSan darouse On the l st he bagged e ight, ou t of which I havehad five s tufi

'

ed . This Is the first time I have seen this bir .d

I have.

heard that the late M r. Robert Blew i tt shot somew l Ien he was in Garhi Hamaru .

’

FARUKNAGAR, viaDELHI,

°W . N .

‘

OEILL.

8th February 1883 .

Yes, he d id,and sen t me the Bpfi fl lfl eus .—ED. S . I" .

3428 tLETTERs TO THE EDITOII.

I send ybuafew notes I have madew ith reference to

your GAME BIRDS or INDIA,” forany use you may w ish tomake of them.

hot two in the jung les of Mysore, w est ofof two others that were shot in the Man

j erabad d istricts .

Mal lard—I shot one in Nimar n ear the KandwaRai lwayS tation ,and on e n earAurungabad these are the on ly ones Ihave ever seen in the Deccan . Here in S ind it is one of * thecommon est Ducks found .

Pain ted Partridge .—Maj brWard quotes me erron eouslyat

page 2 1, Vol . II . I have frequen tly shot them in the grasslandsal ong the edge of the j ung le in North-W estern Mysore, andalso in the range of bil ls extending through the cen tre of the

provinc e from Chittaldroog to Tunkur, but ‘

n owhere inany n umi

bet s—abou t four brace the most I have shot inaday . It is curi .ous the ir be ing found in this isolated range of bi l ls ; kn ow ingal l the coun try we l l I think I may certain ly say there are none

Wi thin 50 mi les of the hi l ls in any d irecti on ,and probably not

w ithin 100.

Snipe—I be l ieve Sn ipe breed in the marshes n ear the North»W est Ghats of Mysore . I have often seen them

'

up to Jun e°

when they w ereal l in pairs . I was n ever in that part .of thecoun try later than Jun e .

Demoisel le C ran e—III thousands on the Toongabudran earHurrihur, but rare ly sou th of that. I have occas i onal ly seen

smal l flocksas far s‘outhas Chittaldroog and the S ulikeri lake,

n ever soiIth Of these poin ts .

Florican —I saw on e~

spe cimen shot on the very edge of theW estern G hats of Mysore .

~ Its presen ce so far w ithin the j u ‘

n é

g lesmust be very rare ,as I n ever saw an other there . I have shotthem in d ifferen t parts of Mysore in I may say e very mon th

of the year. Theyare n umerousabout Bangalore in the rainsand cold w eathe r,and I have shot agood many in the hotw eather in the Shimogad istricts to the n orth,at which time .

there are few or n one leftat Bangalore .

Chilean—I think youare w rong in suppos ing them to be foundin the plain s of Sou th S ind .

* H. H . AgaKhan , I be l ieve,turn ed outafew couple some years ago in the plains n earKarachi,,and in the Mu l leer val ley

'

in'

the hi l ls , but they disap~ 1peared immed iate ly,and have n ever been seen

_

since .

Rain Quail .—Arrive in S outh S ind towards end of Ju ly,and

remain to breed, the young being fu l ly grown by midd le ofO ctober ; they then al l d isappear.

‘

After commen cemen t of

t I can n ot remember havingany where ’

said that they were found in the plains of8 0 0 th Si nd .

—EDI , 8 0 F0

LETTERS 3 0 T H rEDl TOR.

You say in the GAME B IRDS”that you do not know

of the occurren ce of the C omb Duck in‘

the Punjab Tran s-Sutlej .Al though it certai n ly is n owhere common in this reg ion , 'I

kn ow of i ts hav ing been shot on more than on e occas ion in the'

Lahore d istrict, in the G oordaspur d istrict,andagai n furthersou th in the Baree Doab, bu t on ly during the rainy season :and‘always in the immed iate n e ighbourhood of the canals .

I heard of an est be ing taken as far sou th as the ChangaMangaPlan tation , but Iam °

n ot sure of the fact. I have n e ver

heard of or seen the bird w est of the Ravee,but throughout the

canal irrigated ’ portion '

of the Baree Doab, the whole tractbetw een the Beasan d Sutlej an d the Ravce , it certain ly doesoccur,

-though very Sparing ly, during the rainy season .

lGt. TREVOR.

‘

[The occurren ce of this species in the IIal Io e d istrict hasalready been poin ted ou t byan an onymous .write r in the Asian,w hose remarks I reproduce : I ’am surprised to find that in thethird vol ume

‘

j ust publ ished of the Game B irds of India,”al lde scription , or even men tion , of the spur on the w ing of the

Nukhta°

(Sarcid iorn is melanonotus ) -is omitted .-I see that

Mr. Hume saysabout this d uck, “ I do n ot know of its occ urren ce in the Punjab Tran s-Sutlej . I am happy to be able tos tate that it n ot on ly occurs , bu t that i t breeds in the PunjabTran s-Sutlej . A friend of m in e

,an eng in eer O II the Baree

Doab .Canal, sen t meafemale ‘ Sarcidiorn is for iden tificationfrom Ebambe in the Lahore d istrict. On I open ing the bird,’

Ifoundaperfectly formed egg ready to be laid

,and from Other

in vestigation s it seemed clear thatan est was in the v ic in ity:During the rain s, the n eighbourhood of Ebambe in one direc

tion is fairly u nder water,and saunabrakes are very common,

.w i th '

_ patches of ~water be tw een ,an d dotted here and there w i thlarge tree s, just the place for the Nukhta. It wasat on e such

place that my friend saw the pair often ,and on the day he shotthe female, had fired on e or two shots u n successfu l ly at e ithe rher or the male, bu t was rather surprisedat the way in whichboth returned wheel ing roundand round,w i thout going awayfor ,

any . d istan ce . As soon,

.as the female was shot, the malew en t

‘

further offand d id n otaffordan other shot but the w holec ircumstan ce goes .far to prove that there mus t have been an estc l ose at han d . I have the egg at prese n t in my col lection .

The date upon which the '

bird was shot was July 18 th,18743]

wraithologiral £ 0menrlaturc. "

(An Addendum to The Ibis f or January,

AFTER the lapse of ,more than three years ,1’ I regret to find

myse lf again forced in to a,c on troversy on Nomen c lature

r—the most vex ing and barren subjec t that can affl ict the

natural is t ; bu t certain remarks in the last n umber of “ The

Ibis” leave m e no choice . My frie nd Mr. Howard Saundersthere in takes up more than two pages in try ing to prove thata- w e l l-kn ow n spec ies of Shrike shou ld bear the name of

Lan ius pomeran us rather than L . auricu latus, of which latter

d e signation he charge s me w ith be ing ,apparen tly , “ the god

father. ” In what sen se , if any, this w ord is used I kn ow n ot.

The name again st w hich he protes ts was n ot g iven by me ,bu t (as he himse lf admi ts ) by P. L . S . M ii l ler in 1776 ; andMr. Cass in , in the Proceed ings” of the Phi lade lphiaAcademyfor 1864, restored it

,add ing , w hat is unque stionably true,

that it “ has pri ority of al l names , except that of Brisson '

,

and is sufficien tlv described by Prof. Mu l ler,and e spec ial ly

men tion ed as ‘Butfon’s Pie-grieche rousse .

’

Brisson’s name

is gen eral ly adopted , bu t, in strict adheren ce to priori ty in

the bin omial method , this name has the right. ” Mr. Saundersd isal l ow s the u se of auricu latus,” becau se of the in sufficien cyor inaccuracy of Mu l ler’s d iag n osis ; but any on e versed inZoolog ical l iterature mu st kn ow that on the same g roundss cores of names bestow ed by the best natural is ts . n ot on lyof the las t cen tury bu t even of the presen t day , w ou ld have tobe se tas ide . Mu l ler, in the pre face to his Anhan g ,” expresslystated that the spec ies he added to those en umerated byLin nae usare suchas had been described by Bu ffon and othernatural ists, which he then brought in to the “ Natursystem,

”

an d named accord ing to the Lin naean method . Nothingtherefore was further n eeded to iden ti fy the spec ies thanto quote the name un der w hich Buffon described it

, andthis Mii l ler d id . Bu t strange to say Mr. Sau n ders is n otcon ten ted herew ith. In stead of turn ing to Bu ffon

’s n um is

I rece ivedaprin ted copy. of th is’ adde nd um j u st as this n umber was abou t to

i ssu e ,an d reproduce i tat on ce ,as i t seems on ly fair that both s ide s of the questionshou ld be heard ,and , on e way andan other, ou t here

,w e have heardagreat deal

d urin g thexlast two years of M essrs . Seebohman d Saun ders’ v iew s of ProfessorNew ton '

s

s upposed de l iqn uen c i es . Personal ly, so faras the prin cipl e of arigid adheren ce to

the ru les is con cern ed , I w hol lyagree w ith my hon ored frie nd , Prof New ton . Ed . . S F

1? See Annalsand Magazine of Natural H i story”for Augustand December 1879 .

432 oam rn onoexcsr'

. non sucnu nan .

takeable description (Hist. Nat. des Oiseauw, i . , pp . 301—303)of the “ Pie-grieche rousse,

” he must l ook in to an other w ork,the “ Plan ches En lumin ees of Dauben ton

,an d then mys tifyhimsel fand his readers because

,though he al low s that there

“ is a, perfectly recogn izable represen tation” of the male

of this species , the female of another ‘

species is figured forthat of the on e u nder d iscussion—as if husbands and w iveshad n ot been over an d over again w rong ly assign ed to on e

an other by zool0g ists ! It is use less to go into further detai lso f this matter. From 1794, w hen Don ndorff brought out his“ Orn itholog ische Beytrage” ( i. , p . ti l l now

,n obody, so

faras Iamaware , has in timated any doubt on the subject.Lastly, Mr. Saunders makes the astound ing assertion (thei tal icsare his own (that “ the earl iest un impeackaale description an d figure of the Woodchat is that of Lan ius pomeranue,Sparrman” -forgetfu l n ot on ly of this v e ry descri pti on of

B n fl'

on’

s,bu t of those of Brisson

,K lein an d W il l nghby ,as w e l l

as of this figure of Dauben ton ’

s , aad those of Albin , Frisch,Pen nan tand the S toriadeg l i Uccel l i .Further on i n

“ The Ibis my old opponen t, Mr. Seebohm,

ren ew s his n otice of me , say ing that he has don e his “ bestto cure some of the con fus i on caused by the i l l-j udgedattempts” of myse l fand some others to obey the law s w hich

amajority of the best zoolog ists of the time laid dow n ,andshew s his kin dly d ispos i tion towards my fe l low-criminalsand myse l f by poin ting ou t afew of the rocks ahead on

w hich these gen tlemen must rush if they pers ist in the irpresen t course .

”For myse l f I may say that I‘ have n o fear

of the resu lt. Where I have erred I have e red,an d I ani

thankfu l toanyon e who w i l l shew me that have don e so ;

bu t they w ho have gon e dow n to the seain ships kn ow thatw hi le there are many un suspected dangers in waters thathave been imperfectly surveyed, there are n ot afew “

rocks”marked on charts which have n o real existen ce,an d such

is the case w ith. some of Mr. S eebohm’s in stan ces . Here is

one . He say s : “ An other book has n ow been u n earthedfrom obscurity

,publ ished by G erin i in 1767 (Orn . Me th,

and then proceeds to state that the,

Latin namesfound there in shou ld haveas,

much, or as l ittle, au thorityas

those of Boddaert. It w ou ld be hard to exce l the sen ten ce I

have Quoted for its combination of inaccurac ies . In the firstplace this w ork which “ has n ow been un earthed” by the

flabonr of Mr. Seebohm is the w el l-kn own S toriadeg l i Ucel l i,’c ited I can n ot say how often by Latham, Temmin ckand many.

434 onurrn OLoorcar. NOMENCLATURE.

v iew s, whi le I own I shou ld l ike to be spared his invectivesan d the trouble of n oticin g them . Most natural istsat sometime of the ir l ife have taken n omen c latural fever : bu t i tu sual ly su perven esatan early age, whe n , as w ith other diseases in ciden tal to you th, the patien t, aided by goodadvice,speed i ly recovers from the attack. U n for tunate ly this is n otMr. Seebohm

’

s case,and he appears to be suffering from the

malady in its severest form . W hat is worse is that Mr.

Saun ders seems to have caught the in fection from him . How

ever, i f these gen tlemen are be n t upon harass ing the ir peaceable brother-orn ithol og ists, it w ou ld be w e l l i f they w ou ldin form themselves more ful ly on the subject of which theytreat. I have heard n ome n clatu re compared to heraldry

,an d

there isastory told by Horace Walpole of the rebuke adm in istered to aking-at-arms w ho was said n ot to kn ow his

ow n s i lly bus in ess,

”which might con veyalesson to n omen

clatural critics .ALFRED NEW TON.

MAGDALENE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

22nd January 1883.

STRAY FEATHERS .

Vol . x . ] DECEMBER 1887 . [No. 6 .

flutes sityglenteutarg tomajor Zeutler’s datalogue nfl£ irds oil the germsand 50nd si ennaGlowing.

(“ S tray Feathers, Vol . IZ : P

By J . MACGREGOR .

(N .B .— l ese notcs ref er on ly to the B elgaum District.)

Theaccompan yin g rough Suppl emen t to Capt . Butl er’s paper is submittedfor w hat i t may be w orth . I have on lyadd ed three species Nos . 164bi s

, 755an d 89 6—to the l ist,an d I have prefix ed astar to the n umber in each of thesecases, so that they may read i l y catch the eye .

18 .—Cerchneis naumann i, Fleisch.

I have obtain ed on e specimen of this bird . It was naumanm’

,n ot pekin en sis.

33.—Nisaetus fasciatus, View.

Is very comm on in Be lgaum .

48 .— Butaster teesa, Frankl in .

Is very common in the forest tractsas we l l as in the opencoun try .

54 .—Circusaeruginosus, Lin .

Is very common in the southern portion of the d istrict.55.

— Hal iastur indus, Badd .

I shou ld say th is was avery common b ird . It occurswherever thereare ponds or marshy lan d .

57 .—Pern is ptilorhynchus, Tem.

Very common in the wooded parts, less so in the opencoun try.

436 NOTES SUPPLEMENTARY TO MAJOR BUTLER’S CATALOGUE

59 .

—Elanus coerul eus, Desf .

Very common in the h i l ls,” an d in w e l l-wooded parts of

the coun try,as We l las in the open .

72 .—Ketupaceylon en sis , Gm .

Is n ot u n common in the open parts of the cou n try in the

sou th of the d istrict .

76 .

—Carine brama, Tem .

Isalso common in the th in ly-wooded parts of the coun tryaway from the Ghats .107 .

—Caprimul gus indicus, Lath .

O ccurs in the Open cou n try in tapes . C ommon est N ightjar of the B id i forests .

1 11 .— Caprimulgusatripenn is, J erd .

O ccursal lal ong the Ghatsan d in the adjacen t forest tracts,bu t is rare .

114 .—Caprimulgus monticol us , Frankl .

Extrem e ly common in al l jung les .

115.

-Harpactes fasciatus, Forst.This bird is common in the extreme sou th of

in heavy jungle , an d at the foot of the Ghats .

observed itanywhere e lse .

122 .

— Nyctiorn isatherton i . Jard . & S elb.

Occu rs sparingly in the Ghats . It is n ot so very rare .

127 .

—Pelargopsis gurial , Pears .

O ccurs on ly be low the Ghats on the T i l lar nad i, where it is

n ot rare .

140 .

—Dichoceros cavatus, B odd .

O ccursasastraggler in the open parts of the coun try too.

145.

— Tockus griseus, Lath.

Is very common in al l jun g le s sou th an d w est of Be lgaum .

153 .

—Loricu lus vernal is, Sparrm .

In the hotan d cold w eather it is common on ly on the cre st

of the Ghats, bu t durin g the rain s it fin ds its way far in land

to the east of Be lgaum .

438 NOTES SUPPLEMENTARY TO MAJOR BU TLER’

s CATALOGUE

240 .

— Piprisomaagile, Tick .

C ommon everywhere .

253 .—Dendrophilafrontal is , Horsf .

Very common in the jungles Of the sou than d in the Ghats .

256 .

— Lan ius lahtora, Sykes .

Very common in the open coun try east of Be lgaum .

264.—Tephrodorn is sylvicola, Jerd .

C ommon in the jung les of the south.

265.—Tephrodorn is pondicerianu s , Gm .

C ommon in al l ju ngles ly ing eastas we l las w e st of Be lgaum .

268 .—Vol vocivorasykesi, S trickl .

Very common in al l ju ngle tracts .

270 .

-Graucalus macii, L ess .

C ommon in the Ghats,an d very common in the B id i jungles.272 .

—Pericrocotus flammeus, Forst.C ommon in the jungles an d tapes in the eastern portion

of the d istrictas w e l las in the w estern .

278 .

— Buchangaatra, Herm .

C ommon also in the Ghats .

28L—Buchangacoerulescen s, Lin .

Very common in the Ghatsan d in theadjacen t jungl es Of Bid i .2 92 .

—Leucocercaaureola, Viez’ l l .Very common in al l forest tracts except ing the Ghats .

293 —Leucocercaleucogaster, Cuv .

Occurs everywhere,in c lud ing the open coun try.

436 .—Argyamalcolmi, Sykes .

Very common in the Open an d wooded coun try n orth an deast of Be lgaum .

442 .—Schoen icolaplatyurus, Jerd ,

I Obtain ed th is b ird e ight m i les w est of Be lgaum .

446 .—Hypsipetes gan eesa, Sykes .

Very common in an d n ear the Ghats .

OF BIRDS OF THE DECCAN AND S . MAHRATTA COUNTRY . 439

455.—Rubigulagularis , Gou ld .

O ccurs on lyat the foot of the Ghats .

4606is .-0 tocompsafuscicaudata, Gou ld .

O ccursalso in theeastern ju nglesaway from the Ghats .

476 .

— Cercotrichas macrura, Gm.

Occursalso in the jungles towards the east.

514.—Cyaneculasuecica, L in .

Very common al l over the more open parts of the coun try.

553bis .—Hypolais cal igata, L icht.

I have Obtain ed the bird in the Be lgaum d istrict.563.—Reguloides occipital is, J erd .

Procured in Be lgaum .

581 .— Sylviaj erdoni, B lyth.

Occurs in the ju ngles east of Be lgaum .

595.—Limon idromus indicus, Gm.

C ommon in the ber forests O f the extreme sou th . Occursalsoalon g the Ghatsan d in the adjacen t jung les .

692 .—Eulabes rel igiosa, Lin .

There is, I th ink ,am istake here . I have n ever seen or pro

cured th is bird in an y part of the Be lgaum d istrict,forests or

p lain s, an d I dou bt very mu ch whether it occurs at al lw ith in that d istrict .699 .

— Amadinapun ctulata, Lin .

Tolerably common throughou t the forest tracts,excepting

the Ghats .

703 .—Amadinamalabarica, L in .

Common also in the jungl es of B id i .738 .

— Carpodacus erythrinus, Po l l .

Is, I th in k,aperman en t residen t.ale O ccurs also in the eastern jungles .

This I must beg l eave to doubt. It breeds up in Gi lgi tan d other placesin the H imalayas , but n owhere I think so far south or so l ow down asBel gaum. Ed S . E.

440 NOTES SUPPLEMENTARY To MAJOR BUTLER’

s CATALOGUE

*755.—Mirafraafiin is, J erd .

Although th is spec ies is n ot in c luded by Captain Bu tler it iscommon in the jungles east Of Be lgaum .

756 .—Mirafraerythroptera, J erd .

Very common in the scrub jung les east of Be lgaum .

758 .-Ammomanes phoen icura. Frankl .

Occursalso in the forest tracts east of Be lgaum .

760.

—Pyrrhulaudagrisea, Seep .

Occurs in the forest east of Be lgaum .

786 .

—Palumbus elphin ston ii , Sykes .

Occurs on the crest of the Ghats . Rare .

788 .—Columbaintermedia, S trickl .

It does n ot n ecessari ly foll ow cu ltivat ion . It is very com

mon on the scarps Of the Sahyadri far away from al lcu ltivati on .

793 .

— Turturmeena, Sykes .

Common in the more open forest tracts .

795.—Turtur suraten sis, Gm .

Common everywhere .

796 .— Turtur risorius, Lin .

Very common in al l jungle tracts . It isabsen t during the

rain s in the part of the coun try w est of the town of Be lgaum .

798 .— Chalcophaps indicus, L in .

O ccurs in the B id i j ungles . Rather rare .

8 19 .—Francol inus pictus, Jard . ct S elb.

It can scarce ly be said that th is birdavo ids the forest tracts ,as i t occurs i n fie lds surroun ded by forest . As aru le , i tav0 1ds the Ghats, the groun d there n ot be ing su ited to its

8 22 .— 0rtygorn i s pondicerianus, Gm .

Very common in the low den se jungle and fie lds of theeastern talukas .

442 CATALOGU E OF THE BIRDS IN THE PROVINCIAL

924.—Ardeapurpurea, L in .

I have procured this b ird in the Bid i taluka.

933.

—Ardettacinnamomea, Gm .

Isaperman en t res iden t, n ot amere seasonal v isitan t.938 .

—Tantalus leucocephalus, Fars i .I have shot th is bird on the Ghatprabhariverat Kon ur.

942.—Inocotis papil losus, Tem .

Occurs in the cold w eather throughou t the district.951 .—Nettopus coromandel ianus, Gm.

I have shot this bird in the B id i taluka.957 .—Spatulacl ypeata, Lin .

This bird is sometimes very common in the cold weatherin the Be lgaum district.

959 .

—Anas poecilorhyncha, Forst.Is common , an d probably aperman en t residen t.

Catalogueall the Zfiirds in theagreementMuseum,

,a,-ea. andaudit, fiueknew f

MR . GEORGE REID,on e of the C omm ittee of Managemen t

Of the Lu ckn ow Museum,an d who is in hon orary charge Of the

Natu ral H istory Departmen t of that In stitution,has don e good

serv ice to orn ithol og ists in compi l ing an accurate catalogue of

the specimen s of birds con tain ed in that Museum on the 1stJan uary, 1 88 6 .

The col lecti on is bu tasmal l on e , con tain ing less thanSpec imen s (represen tin g rather less than 600 spec ies), fu l lyhalf of wh ich w ere collectedan d presen ted by Mr. Re id h imse lf.But great pain s have been taken to ascertain an d recordthe local ities Ofalmost ev ery Spec imen wh i le Of al l speciesn ot in cluded in Dr. Jerdon ’

s work, descri pt ion s taken fromStray Feathers” or e lsewhereare g iven in an Appen d ix . The

namesadoptedare those in the “ Ten tative List,” bu t so far

Prin ted by order of the M useum Comm i ttee by the CalcuttaC en tral Press 0 0Ld ., 5, Council House Street, Calcutta, 1886 .

MU SEUM,N . w . P. AND OUDH ,

LU CKNOW . 443

as the ten pu bl ished volumes perm it of this, the names

adopted in the British Mu seum Catalogue are also g iven ,

together w ithare feren ce to the pagean d volume of this workwhere the spec ies is described .

The spec ies in cluded in the Catalogue are mostly commonbu t I n ot ice aSpec imen of the Kn ot (88 1—TRINGA CANUTU S,

L in . ) said to have been Obtain ed in Lu ckn ow . NOW in the

first place I shou ld l ike to kn ow whether Mr. Re id is absol utely certain of his iden tificat ion of the spec imen . I do n ot

th in k I have e ver seen an In d ian -k i l led spec imen of th isspec ies—al l h itherto sen t m eas su ch have been T. erassirostris .If the iden tificat ion be correct sti l l I can n ot con s ider, see ingthat this was on e Of the O ld Mu seum Specimen s, that there

is an y certain ty that it real ly was procuredat Luckn ow or

anywhere w i thin In d ian l im its . If, how ever, Mr. Re id can ,

forany reason , be certain that the bird was real ly Obtain ed atLuckn ow an d is averitable Kn ot, then it is, I th ink , the gem

of the col lection , s in ce , SO faras I kn ow ,n o other In d ian -k i l led

spec imen of th is spe c ies ex ists . Thu s far I have h ithertocon s idered that the Kn ot did n ot occur w ith in ou r l im its ,an dif Mr. Re id can Show that it real ly has so occurred, it w i l l beamatter of some in terest .

*

The Pink-footed G oose (946—ANSER BRACHYRHYNCHU S ,Of wh ich the Mu seum con tain s two spe c imen s, is ex

cessive ly rare ,an d theseare , I be l ieve , the on ly In d ian -k i l ledspecimen s Of th is species n ow in ex isten ce . But there is n o

dou bt that it does occur in Northern Ind ia, as I myse lf on ceshotapair.

The Bron ze -capped Teal (9666is—QUERQUEDULA FALCATA,

Georg ) , of wh ich also there are two Spec imen s Obtain edn ear Luckn ow ,

is l ikew isearare species bu t I have ob tain edspec imen s Of it in past years from Luckn ow

, Calcu tta, Ku rnalan d S u l tanpore , so that it is n othing l ike SO rareas the Pin kfooted Goose .

NO other spec ies en tered in the Catalogu e seems to cal l for n otice ;bu t on e correct ion occurs to meas n ecessary . Hav ing en tered correctly 27 Aqui lamogi ln ik, Gme l . (The Imperial Eag le )an d 27bis— Agui lan ipalen sis, Hodgs . (The B i fasciated Eag le )separate ly, Mr. Re id adds the n ote In the B . M . C . thisspec ies” (the Bifasciated Eagle ) is con s idered to be ident ical w ith A. mogi l n i/c. It is gen eral ly, how ever, thought

Sin ce the above was w ritten the specimen referred to was kind ly sen t me foriden tification . I t turn ed ou t to be aC urlew San dpiper in summer plumage .

I tappears always to have stood in the M useum as the Knot, an d the plumage

correspon din g tolerably w ith Jerdon’

s description of that bi rd ,and he havin g omi ttedadescription of the summer plumage of the C u rlew San dpiper, the error

, des

pite the great d ifferen ce in the 8 12 6 an d bil l s of the two species, was al lowed, inadverten tly, to be perpetuated in the New Catalogue.—A. O . H.

444 ADDENDA TO THE BIRDS OF THE

ad ifferen t bird . Th is may m is lead . NO on e doubts thatthe two spec ies are d istin ct ; the doubt is as to which

of the two spec ies Shou ld bear Gme l in ’

s t itle ; Mr. Sharpeass ign ed it to the Bifasciated Eag le , an d cal led our 27—A.

hel iaea. I , on the other han d , con s idered that it was theImperial Eagle that shou ld take Gme l in ’

s nameand fe l l backu pon Hodgson ’

s name for the B ifasciated Eagle .

I rather th ink that it has s in ce been Shown that n e itherMr. Sharpe n or myse lf w ere correct,an d that n e ither birdshou ld bear the namesassign ed by e ither. On th is I offer n o

Opin ion . Al l I w ish to make clear is that, though there mayhave been d ifficu lties abou t the names, n o on e Of late yearshas, I be l ie ve , doubted as to the tw o Spe cies be ing d ist in ct.As I said the Catal ogu e is n otarecord O f much that is rich or

rare,

”bu t its value con sists in g iv ing alarge n umber of

accurate l ocal it ies for acon s iderable n umber Of spec ies,and

n eglecting thoseassign ed to the 479 Spec imen s taken over fromthe Old Mu seum , the Whole Of the rest of the l ocal ities are , Ibe l ieve ,absolu te ly re liablean d certain .

Ifal l our other local Mu seums w ou ld pre pare an d publ ishe qual ly carefu l Catalogu es, bold ly record ing u nkn own ”again stal l those specimen s of whose orig in n oth ing certain iskn ow n , studen ts w ou ld certain ly be in abetter pos ition thann ow to w ork out those gen eral ization s wh ich are the primaryObjects Of al l scien ces .

A. O . H .

gddentdato the <Birds all the Euchuow Gl inti Binisioh .

(An te pp. 1

By GEO . REID .

S INCE my paper was publ ished in STRAY FEATHERS , I havebeen ab le to add afew more Spec ies to the B irds of the

Luckn ow C iv i l D iv is ion , and these I propose n ow to en u

m erate . But be fore doing SO I w ish to offerafew remarksin con t in uation an d correct ion of my original paper.

In my former paper I n ot iced that the drought of 1877had ru in ed the d iv is ion as aW in ter resort O f W i ldfow l .The same d isastrou s resu lt sti l l Obtain s . From be ing on e

Of the fin e st,it is n ow on e of the w orst d istricts for W i ldfow l

Shooting in the prov in ce . Few people n ow in Lu ckn owrem ember the fin e Shoot ing to be had almost at the C ityGate s, the market teem ing w ith W i ldfow l from wh ich n ota


have l ittle hesitation in attribut ing the gen eral fal l ing Off to

the drought of 1877 . The j hi ls, too, it mu st be remembered,

have n e ver been the same s in ce that year. Though apparen t lyas fu l l Of water as ever at the c lose of the mon soon , theyarem ost of them dry l ong be fore the c l ose O f the co ld w eather.

Th is used n ot to be ,an d is du e to two causes : first, the greatamou n t Of waterabsorbed by the ir dry,

parched beds on the

recurren ce of the m on soon ,an d , secon d ly, the greater amoun tO f water requ ired to irrigate the ever- in creas ingareaOf wheatu nder cu ltivation . The m ost fam i l iar example I can th in k of

is the j hil at Chinhu t, ju st ou t of Lu ckn ow . Be fore 1877 it

con tain ed wateral l the year roun d, was fu l l Of fish, hadaboator two on it

,an d wasalways good for amorn ing’

s W i ldfow lshooting in the season . NOW , in the hot season Of 18 86 , it is

as dry as the season itse lf,an d has bee n so,an nual ly, s in ce

1877 . The change is n ot greater, meth in ks,than the fal l ing oft

in our W i ldfow l .Bu t if the decrease is n ot l ocal

,an d has been observed gen e

ral ly in other parts Of the coun try , I may beattribu ting it toawrong cau se . This , other Observers on ly can con firm or

re fute . For my part I have n ever e ven heard it whispered thatW i ldfow l v is it In d iain less n umbers n ow than they did, say, tenyearsago. If they do, may n ot the ir decrease be du e to the

advan c ing Ru ss ian s ? I’

m n otaJ ingo, bu t I mayas we l l haveaShy (l ike my be tters ) at the en em ies of In d iaU n toward even ts , it w ou ld there fore appear, have Often a

deal to do w ith the d istribu t ion of Spec ies,e ve n when c l imat ic

an d other con d it i on sare fav orable .

The Crested Grebe , too, isan other b ird that has be come ex

ceeding rare in local ities where form erly it was very abun dan t ,but its scarcity n ow is du e toan other cau se . S laughtered wholesalean d systematical ly for the sake O f its beau t ifu l sk in ,

w e

n ow se ldom see its s i lvery-wh ite breast gl isten ing in the sun .

S low ly , bu t sure ly, too, our beau tifu l Wh ite H eron san d Egretsare Sharingas im i lar fate . A price has been put upon the irfeathery sn ow -Wh ite plumes, an d man mu st n e eds debase hismanhood by pan dering to the in sat iable vagaries or de prav it iesof fash ion . The w orst of it is that the plum es, wh ich are SO

much in requ est,are on ly to be had during the breed ing season ,

an d Whole heron ies, to my kn ow ledge, have bee n wan ton lydestroy ed to Obtain them . The totalan n ih i lation of the paren tsmean s, Of course

,asti l l greater catastrophe in the loss of the

youn g . Th is is wan ton crue lty in its mostaggravated form ,an d

i f it goes on un check ed these beaut ifu l b irds w i l l soon cease toadorn the lan dscapean d the lakesan d rivers , O f wh ich theyaren ow su ch fam i l iaradju n cts . That pecu l iarly In d ian scen e—an ew ly-irrigated paddy fie ld

,its beau ti fu l green sward studded

LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 447

over w ith sn ow -wh ite Egretsan d Heron s, w ithaV i l lage urchinor two throw n in

,w i l l soon— on ly too soon—beamemory O f

the past . That such wan ton destruction Shou ld be toleratedby the pow ers that he seems to me in expl icable .

* There is n o

occas ion to enact gam e law s or c lose season san d soadd to them iserie s an d perplex ities of the people . They are n ot the

real Offen ders , wh i le they have laws en ough to Observe in al lcon sc ien ce . A s ing le stroke of the pen proh ib iting the ex

portation O f bird sk in s altogether, except such as are bon o’ifide troph ies or sc ien tific spec imen s, or the in fl icti on of aprohibitive e xport duty ,

wou ldat on ce putastop to the in iqu itiesO f wh ich Ian d others have so l on gan d fru itlessly complain ed .

NO half measures w i l l do, bu t it is hope less,I suppose

, to

expe ctanything e lse , if w e ge t anyth ingatal l .If I have written strongly it is be cau se I fee l strongly on a

subject that requ ires immed iate atten t ion . The destruc tionn ot on ly of G rebe , H eron s, Egrets, Pheasan ts, &c .

, bu t of

beau t ifu l smal l birds O f every descri ption,is going on apace ,

an d wh i le the depredatorsare reapingarich harve st by p i lfering the nat ion ’

s property— its gam e birds and the beau ti fu lson gsters O f its w oodsan d fie lds— those who ought to protectthem by ho ld ing aloof are s im ply partic i pat ing in the ir destructi on . This state ofaffairs can on ly lead to exterm ination ,

when , Of course , e very on e w i l l regret the resu lt, bu t— who

w ou ld have thought it Echo then may w e l lan swer— who ?

Return in g to ou r b irds, I mayas w e l l beg in by m od i fying or

attesting what I said Of some of those in c luded in my pre

V i on s paper.

Subsequ en t Observation s con firm the Opin ion I prev iously ex

pressed that the chestn u t phase is the bre ed ing plumage Of the

Parad ise Flycatcher (Mu scipetd parad isi ) . It is n o u searguin g to the con trary, because afew wh ite birds may be seen

du rin g the breed ing season . The Purple H on eysu cker (C in n yrisasiati ca), for in stan ce , may be seen in his breed ing plumage al lthe year roun d , ye t n o on e e ver qu estion s its right to w ear itou t of season ,

or doubts that his w in ter l ivery is u sual lyl ike that of his sombre lady- love . I have seen aParad ise Flycatcher early in May Of aregu lar brownand wh ite pi ebald appearan ce ; later on the two lon gfeathers of its tai l w ere the on ly wh ite abou t it,an d st i l llater on , when I took i ts n est an d eggs, the b ird had aShort tai lan d had don n ed its en tire chestn u t livery. I think

th is is pretty con c lu s ive .

Th is Flycatcher has n o dread of water. The other day

E

Ané‘ct has now been passed to putastep to this w ickedand wan ton destruction .

D. 8 .


when fish ing on the lake at Bhimtal I saw it frequen tlyal ight On the surface of the water in pursu it Of the aquaticin sects it was feed ing on .

The large Grey Babb ler (Aryyamalcolmi ) is by n o mean sso rare as my prev iou s paper w ou ld lead on e to su ppose . Ihave s in ce me t w ith it in many places an d have both seen

and heard itabou t Lu ckn ow itse lf.I have n ot been able to ascertain whether the Plain tive

C uckoo breedsabout Luckn ow . Mr. Adam in deed con cludesthough he does n ot state it as .afact- that boys (I writefrom memory) brought him the eggs from the n ests O f

Drymoeca. in ornata. Th is I n ow th ink h igh ly improbab le ,

as,were the birds abou t in the rain s, w hen D . in ornata

breeds, on e w ou ld certain ly e ither see or hear them .

The Plain tive C uckoo is, however, aregu lar cold-weatherV is itor to the d ivis ion .

The breed ing O f the B lue -throated Redbreast (Cyorn isrubecu loides) in Lu ckn ow is

,however, n oteworthy . O n the

2 1st Ju ly, 1 8 8 5, I fou n dan estan d fou r rather hard -se t eggs

in the ru in s of the S ecu ndraBagh . For some t ime pre v iou sI saw both b irds almost every t ime I wen t to the Horticu l

tural Garden s . Later on I saw on ly the male abou t ,and madecertain that the female was s itting, bu t though I searchedevery l ike ly holean d corn er Of the ru in ed wal ls and gateways ,I cou ld n ot d iscover the n est . O n e day, however, whe n Ihad g iven up al l hope of fin d ing it, I happen ed to l ookin toal ittle ce l l at the base of what was on ce ev iden t lyastaircase t ower, an d there

,staring me in the face , was

the l ittle b ird— the male— u pon its n est,w ith in two or three

yards Of apathway frequ en tedal l day lon g by the garden w orkpeople an d others

,an d Often by myse lf . The n est was

placed qu ite open ly in asmal l n iche,such as natives u se

for the ir chi raghs . External ly it was l oose ly made up Of

O ld decomposed leaves— soft ske leton leaves in fact— in terlaced an d he ld together w ith s len der grass stems an dcobwebs in ternal ly it was n ice ly l in ed w ith fin e dark hair-l ikeroots , the n eat in side con trasting strong ly w ith its rugged

exteri or.

Paloeorn is i n dobu rman i cus, though in cluded in my former

l ist, is rather adou btfu l specie s, but the fact that Mr. Hume

iden tified aspecimen —n ow in the Prov in c ial Museum—assu ch deters me from rejecting it . The bird is n on e other,I th ink, than apossible variety of P . n epalen sis . Indeed Ivery mu ch question whether these large Paroquets are n ot

al l referab le to on ean d the sam es pecies— P . eupatri d ,

Lin .

In alarge series from al l parts of In d iaan d Burmathe

d ifferen ces re l ied on by se paration ists in su pport of the ir


As in my former l ist, the n umber prefixed to each name

is that u n der wh ich the Spec ies is in c luded in Jerdon ’

s“ Birds

Of In d ia”an d Mr. Hume’

s l ist— v ide S . F. , Vol . VIII .28bis .

—Aquilafulvescen s, Gray .

The Bu ff Eagle , as Mr. H ume took occasi on to poin t ou t,shou ld have been in c luded in my former l ist . It is ratherrare I fan cy, though I may have Often ,

in the fie ld, con foun dedit w ith -

f

ui n dhiana,an d so have passed it over. Mr. Sharpein deed con s iders these Eagles to be iden tical, an d rej ectsfu lveseen sasagood spec ies w ith the remark , that it is doubtfu lwhether C in dhiana. shou ld be con s idered more than asmal lrace O f A . repeat .

30.—Aquilahastata, Less .

A Lu ckn ow-k i l led Specimen of the Long- legged Eagle is n owin the Mu seum . It is by n o m ean s comm on

,an d I kn own oth ing particu lar in regard to its hab its .

3L—Hieraetus pennatus, Gm.

The Dwarf Eagle , l ike the last, is by n o m ean s abu n dan t ,but I have met w ith it here an d there al l over the d i v is ion du ring the cold w eather on ly . C urious ly en ough it is

sometimes captured by b ird-catchersan d brought in to Lu ckn ow for sale .

44 .—Buteo vulgaris , Leach .

It is open to qu e stion whether the C ommon Bu zzard shou ldbe in cluded in th is l ist . A Lu ckn ow - procured spec im en

,

named,I be l ieve , by the late Mr. An derson , is n ow in the

Museum bu t I have my d oubts as to whether it has beencorrectly iden tified . I haveas yet had no t ime to exam in e itthoroughly, though I in cl in e to the be l ie f that it is d esertorum .

If, on the other han d ,

it be re torted that n e ither vu lgaris n ord esertorum occur in In d ia

,al l I can Say is thataBu zzard veryl ike e ither on e or the other does occur ; l et those who doubt th is

prove the con trary .

45.—Buteo ferox ,

S . G . Gm.

The Long - legged Buzzard is fairly common . Accord ing towhat I have seen Of it, it frequ en ts Open cou n try, u sual ly perch ingon the top of some smal l solitary tree— babu l for in stan ce - in

wh ich it manages to fairly w e l l con ceal itse l f.147ter .

—Palaeorn is n epalen sis , Hodgs .

The Nepal Paroqu et is aregu lar mon soon v isitor,appearin g

LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION . 45 1

u sual lyabout the 1 st Jun ean d leav ingabou t the 1st September.

Wh i le it stays it frequ ents the garden san d topesabout Lu ckn owin great n umbers, an d is the b ird re ferred to (I think ) u n derthe nam e O f in dobu rman icas in my pre v i ous paper ; or is i t

poss ib le that both these SO -cal led spec ies V is it the d istrictn aprev iou s para. I have remarked on the se large Paroqu ets ,an d w i l l on ly repeat here that I be l ieve them to be re ferableto on ean d the same spec ies .

200.— Cuculus striatus, Drop .

The H imalayan C u ckoo v isits the d iv is i on duri ng the coldw eather. I have then frequ en tly heard it in the subu rbs o fLu ckn ow

,an d it isan an n ual v is itor to the W ingfie ld Park .

463 .- Phyl lorn is j erdon i , B ly .

Jerdon ’

s Gree n Bu lbu l I have n ever seen strictly w ith in the

l im its Of the d iv is ion , but it m u st occur, sparingly, d uring the coldw eather. I say mu st becau se I have n otes of its occu rren ce atS itapore , Fyzabadan d Bast i ,an d w e may there fore assume w ithc ertain ty that it does occur,at t im es

,w ith in our l im its . Bu t i t

can on ly be con s ideredasarare an d u n frequ en t V is itor, though

it may n ot improbab ly V is it the d iv is ion regu larly d uring thehot weather

, when on e is n ot SO mu chabout . This,however

,is

hard ly l ike ly.

485—Pratin colain sign is , Hodgs .

Th is '

isan other bird that can on ly be con s idered as ararev isitor,an dacold -weather on e of course . I have n ever myse l fcomeacross it, bu t C ol . Marshal l (I write from memory) Obtain edaspecim en i n the O nao D istrict in the khad ir of the Ganges ,

w h i le it has been Obtain ed in the Bhotan Dooars,the Nepal

Teraian d the Gorakhpur, Bastian d Gon dad istricts . S ee S . F. ,

IX, 505 .

593 .—Budytes cinereocapil la, Savi .

The Grey Cap Fie ld Wagtai l is con s idered by Mr. Sharpeto be ide n tical w ith Motacil l d boreal is, S u nd . It is fairlycommon during the cold weather al l over the d ivisi on , particu larly in moist tractsal ong river S ides .

757 .-Mirafracantil lan s, J erd .

The S in g ing B ush Lark is common,but on ly in certain loca

l ities . O n e may wan derabou t for w e eks w ithou t mee t in g w ithitan d the n sudden ly come across qu iteacolony Of these birdsGrass ju n gle abou t the edges of excavation s an d hol lows,an dgen eral lyany scrub-covered

, grassy ,u n du lating groun d ,are favo

rite haun ts . This Spring some four or five couple of these birds


took up the ir abode in my own garden . They frequ en tedthe orhcard part, where from con stan t irrigation the grass waslong an d green , an d I soon d iscovered that they w ere bre eding . Two n ests that I foun d

,on e on the 14th an dan other

on the 18 th Apri l , w ere very w e l l con cealed,an d probably

w ou ld have remain ed u n d iscovered had the birds sat sti l lin stead Of flying Off the ir eggs on my approach . They w ereboth domed n ests ,an d w ere placed on the groun d in s ituat ion s where the l ower trai l in g bran ches of the treesan d grassin term ingled . On e con tain ed twoan d the other three “

eggs .

762 .—Alaudu laraytal , B ly .

Th is is an other Lark that is very local ly d istri buted,an d i s,

moreover, comparat ive ly rare . I Shot aspec imen on san dyu n du latin g grou n d n ear the Goomti , an d have seen or imagined I saw it, on several occas ion s s in ce in other parts Of 'the

d iv is ion .

772 .—Crocopus phoen icopterus, Lott .

The Bengal Green Pigeon is n ot comm on,at least I have

n ever fou n d it SO . It appears , from w hat I have seen O f it,

toassoc iate free ly w ith C . chlorigaster ; an d it is on ly by shooting alarge n umber of the latter that on e can hope to getaspec imen of the former.

832 .-Turn ix taigoor, Sykes .

I have n evermyse lf Shot the B lack-breasted Bu stard Quai l ,n or have I ever seen it in the d istrict ; bu t the professi onalquai l-catchers occas ional ly bring it in to Lu ckn ow . It may,there fore , safe ly be accepted as “

rare,

”though Whetherasa

seasonal or perman en t res iden t is m ore than I can affirm frompersonal Observation .

844 — Squatarolahelvetica, L in .

The Grey Plover is fairly comm on durin g the cold weather.

It is seen most frequ en tly in the v ic in ity Of j hils .

845bis .

— Charadrius pluvial is, L in .

On re -exam in ing my co l lect i on ,n ow in the Prov in c ialM u seum

,

I fin d what I con s ider to be aSpec imen

'

O f thiS —the W estern

Gold en Pl over— shot in 1 8 80 . Beyon d th is I can g ive n o

other in stan ce of its occurren ce w ithin our l im its, n or anyObservat ion s in regard to its habits, &c .

860 .— Strepsilas interpres, L in .

The Turn -ston e I have n ever met w ith, but the Museum

454 A TENTATIVE LIST OF THE BIRDS

3 Centative Stat e)!the Sends nfi,‘itlaaeeerahad, Blitlgaore.By C . J . W . TAYLOR .

HAVING n ow qu itted Man zeerabadan d Mysore for good, I havedecided on pu tting toge ther my n otes an d sen d ing them for

publ ication in STRAY FBATHERS . I am very l ittle of anorn ithol ogist, bu t no l ist Of the birds O f th is part O f Mysorehas , SO faras I kn ow , yet been publ ished ,an d it has, therefore ,occurred to me thatal ist Of these spec ies , Obtain ed by m eatMan zeerabadan d in its n e ighbourhood du rin g afour yearsres iden ce , m ight be u se fu l by way Of abegin n ing . The

n umbers prefixed to the spec ies en umerated are thos e Of the

Ten tat ive L ist, Vol . VIII, p . 73, et seq.

2 .— Otogyps calvus , S eep .

Rare . I on ly on ce saw th is species,an d then three w ere

fe ed in g in com pan y w ith Gyps benyalensis on the carcass Of

adonkey . I kn ocked two over w ith my stick,but fou n d on e

was al l I cou ld take , as I was by myse lfan d had sti l l twom iles for camp .

5 .-Gyps bengalen sis, Gm .

Very comm on atal l times Of the year.

6 .

-Neophron gingin ianus, Lo tti .Rare on the h i l l tractsan d n ear the head Of the Ghats, but

common on the plain s .

1 1 .

—Fal co jugger, J . E . Gr .

Fairly common in the plain s . I have n ot seen any in theh i l ls

,be ing too gen eral ly wooded I fan cy.

16 .—Falco chiquera, Band .

I have on ly seen som e half dozen or so, on e of wh ich I shotin May 18 82 . I had ju st burn tan ew ly-fe l led ju ngle , an d asis u sual there w erean umber O f ind icaflying in c irclesover the burn ing stumps, when I n oticedaRed-headed Merl ing ive chase to on e of the Rol lers . I even tual ly succeeded in

bagging both persu eran d persued .

17 .— Cerchn eis tinnunculus, Lin .

Fairly common during the cold mon ths,via

,November to

OF MANZEERABAD,MYSORE. 455

Jan uary . I lost s ight of them then , an d did not notice themt i l l the fol low ing cold weather.

23 .

—Astur badins, Gm.

C ommon I did n ot,however, su cceed in procuringaspec i

m en ; each t ime I wen t ou t w ith my gun to procure on e , theyseemed to make themse lves scarce .

24 .—Accipiter n isus, Lin .

Th is species, l ike No. 17, isacold w eather v is itan t. O n e paidme av is it,an d in avery short space of t ime di d away w ith an umber of pigeon s wh ich I had . I did n ot g ive him the chan ceof leav ing the coun try w ith his brethren .

38 .

— C irca°etus gal l ion s, Gm .

C ommon in the plain s . I shot on e spec imen justas he hadsu cce eded in capturingafie ld rat .

51 .—C ircus macrurus, S . G . Gm.

Rare I have on ly seen two in the plain s .

55.

—Hal iastur indus , Badd .

Rare up in the hi l l tracts ; very common in the p lain s .

56 .—Milvus govinda. Sykes .

Mostabu n dan t everywhere .

60 .— Strix javan ica, Gm .

The on ly on e I saw , I shot in Apri l 18 82 afteragreat dealof trouble , for healways kept ju st ou t of range of my gun .

63 .

— Syrn ium indran ee, Sykes .

Rare I have n ot shot it myse lf, butafrien d shot on e fifteenm i les sou th of where I was,an d he sen t me the sk in .

65.

— Syrn ium ocel latum,L ess .

I shot on e of apair seen in March, 1 88 2 .

70 .—Bubo coromandus, Lath.

I shotafemale off her n est,amass of sticks,laid between

two 1mmen searms of amango tre e the n est con tain ed on e

hard-set egg . Th is was in Apri l , 1 8 82 .

76 .

— Carine brama, Tem .

Very common . Breed ing in Apri l . Eggs taken on the 1 st

an d 27th of Apri l, 1 8 83 .

456 A TENTATIVE LIST or THE BIRDS

85 .—Hirundo erythropygia, Sykes .

Fairly common in the h i l l tracts. I did any in theplain s . Breed ing in May .

—Gypsel lusaffin is, J . E . Gr .

Fairly common same as No. 8 5 .

107 .—0aprimulgus indi cus , Latk .

Very common . Procu red eggs on the 10th of Apri l, 1 882 .

Eggs deposited on the bare grou n d after the grass had been

burn t .

108 .

—Caprimulgus kelaarti , B ly .

Rare . O n ly saw the on e female that I shot off her eggs on

the 2nd of May, 1 883 .

112 .

—Caprimulgusasiaticus, Lam.

Very common . I have repeated ly, wh i le ou t n esting, foun dpairs of them sitting together, e ither on the grou n d or on

trees,an d on each occas ion cou ld have kn ocked them overw ith my st ick ; they seemed so scaredat the s ight of me . Eggs

taken on the 1 1th Apri l, 1 882 .

117 .—Merops viridis, L in .

Very common al l over the d istrict . I saw n on e during themon soon mon ths , via, from Jun e to m idd le of September,when they came in ,

in hu n dreds, dai ly . Eggs taken on the

1 5th April , 1 882 , laidat ratheran u n u sual depthat the bottomofan old rat hole, n ear 4 feet in depth .

1 19 .—Merops swinhou , H ume .

Not so common as last Spec ies .

123 .

— Corac1as Indica, Lin .

C ommon . After the burn ing of ajungle I n oticedasinglebird flying roun dan d roun dapartial ly burn t tree . O napproaching I n oticed that the tree hadan umber of holes in it, so I gotup,an dat the top ofan arm that had broken off short, I fou n dthe dead body of afemale resting on two eggs . She mu st

have e ither been too frighten ed at the imm en se volumes of

fire an d smoke that rol led roun d her to escape,or

, perhaps,faithfu l to that last had volun tari ly perished on her eggs .

458 A TENTATIVE LIST on THE BIRDS

180 .—Brachypternusaurantius , L in .

The most abun dan t of al l W oodpeckers in the d istrict.

Very scarce in the plain s in fact I hard ly remember see ingabove on e or two.

194.—Megalaemaviridis, Bedd

Plent ifu l . In Apri l , 188 2 , I foun d its n est in adecayed bran ch,so cut ahole four inches be low ,an d to my d isgu st there w ere

three you ng on es . A short t imeafterwards , happen ing to passby an d tap the tree , ou t flew the paren t bird . I kn ew thatthe youn g must have flown some time

,so got up an d foun d

three fresh eggs in the same ol d hole . C ou ld these lateroccu pan ts of the n est hole have been the pare n ts of the youngon es or were they other birds Eggs procured in Mayalso .

197 .— Xan tholaemahaemacephala, P . L . S . Mn l l .

Very local ly d istribu ted m oreabu n dan t in the plain s thanin the h igher tracts .

214.—Eudynamis honorata, Lin .

Non e on the hi l ls, stran ge to say, though common in theplain s . Breed ing in Jun ean d Ju ly.

217 .— Gentrococcyx rufipenn is , I l l .

Plen t ifu l in al l parts of the d istrict. Took n est con tain ingthree hard-set eggs on the 3oth Apri l, 1 88 2 .

218 .— Centrococcyx bengalen sis, Gm .

Rare ; have on ly s een afew pairs . Shot male an d snaredfemale ofl n est con tain ing three fresh eggs on the 17th Apri l ,188 2 .

234 .—C innyrisasiatica, Lath.

Very common al l over the d istrict .

2553—Upupaceylonen sis, Reich.

C ommon in the plain s, getting scarce as you ge t in to theh i l ls. Bre ed ing in Apri l .257 .

—Lan ius erythronotus, Vig .

Plen t ifu l al l over the d istrict. Breed ing in May ; eggstaken on the 7th.

or MANZEERABAD,MYSORE. 459

265.—Tephrodorn is pondicerianus, Gm.

Fairly common . Eggs taken on the l st of Apri l .272 .

—Pericrocotus flammeus, Fars i .Plen tifu lal l over the d istrict .

278 .—Buchangaatra, H erm .

Very abu n dan t everywhere . Eggs taken on the 1 5th of

Marchan d 19th Apri l , 1 883 . The latter hard set .

280 .—Buchangalongicaudata, Hay .

Plen tifu l in the w e l l-wooded portion s of the d istrict .

287 .—Artamus fuscus, Viei l l ,

Common , but very local ly d istributed . Breed ing in Apri l .

288 .—Muscipetaparadisi , Lin .

Fairly common al l over the d istrict . Breed ing in Ju ly .

290.-Muscipetaaffin is, Hay .

Rare ; I shot on e of apair that I saw in Apri l , 1882 . In ever cameacross themagain .

295.

— Cu l icicapaceylonensis, Swains .

Rare I don ’

t fan cy th is spe c ies remain s up here during therain s , for I have on ly seen it during the cold w eather mon ths

,

in den se u n dergrowth .

345—Pittabrachyura, Lin .

Faj irly d istributed al l over the d istrict ; frequ en ting thickscrn

359 .—Merulan igropilea, Laf r .

MCommon al l over the d istrict. Eggs taken on the 25th of

ay .

360 .— Merulasimil l ima, J erd .

O ccasional ly seen on the h i l ls .

385.— Pyctoris sin en sis, Gm.

C ommon throu ghou t the d istrict .433.

—Malacocercus griseus, Laih.

Veryabun dan t throughout the d istrict ; in part ies of six to

58


tw e lve . I have taken eggs in March , Augu st an dNovember.

Captain Marshal l in his “ B irds Nestin g in In d ia does n ot

m en tion that they bre ed in these m on ths .

434 .—Malacocercus malabaricus, J erd .

Not so plen tifu l as the last spec ies . Eggs taken in Ju ly .

Here again Captain Marshal l does n ot g ive Ju lyas on e of

the ir breed ing mon ths .

445.

—Hypsipetes ganesa, Sykes .

I have met w ith them in the higher ranges at an e levati onof feet, an d procured n est w ith three fresh eggs on the

7th Apri l , 18 82 .

4606is .

— 0 tocompsafuscicaudata, Gou ld .

Mostabun dan t i n the wooded d istrict . C ommon everywhere .

Eggs taken March an d Apri l . On the 5th of Ju ly 1883, Iprocuredan est w ith three pure wh ite eggs of this spec ies . Ifou n d it in acoffee bu sh the day be fore leav ing, so snared paren tbird to make sure it was 0 . j uscz

’

caudata, or otherw ise shou ld

have le ft acou p le of the eggs to see i f young wou ld turn ou t

tru e to paren ts .

Th is isan other occas ion in wh ich Captain Marshal l om itsJu lyas breed ing mon th .

462 .— Molpastes haemorrhous, Gm.

Most abundan t throughou t d istrict. The common est birdw e have . Breed ing in Apri lan d May .

463 .—Phyl lorn is j erdon i, B ly .

C ommon in the h i l ly-wooded parts of the d istrict n ot met

w ith in the plain s .

469 .

— Irenapuel la, Lain.

Rare on ly two pairs seen in the d istrict . Male of first pairshotacou ple of yearsago byafrien d an d last year I shot thefemale of the secon d pair. On both occas ion s seen in the

same patch of jung le .

470 .—oriolus kundoo, Sykes .

Abun dan t in the plain s . Rare in the h igher portion s ofthe d istrict . Breed ing in Jun ean d Ju ly .

475.—Copsychus saularis, L in .

Veryabun dan t everywhere Breed ing in Apri land May.


678 .-Drendrocittaleucogastra, Gou ld .

Rare . The on ly spec imen that I procured was one shot byafrien dan d sen t to me .

684 .—Acridotheres tristis, Lin .

Veryabu n dan t everywhere . The spec imen I shot for mycol lection hadafu l ly formed egg w ith in ; on ly the she l l wassoft,an d I suppose when han d l ing the bird I must have bru isedthe egg in som e way ,

for the fol low ing morn ing , whe n Isk in n ed the b ird , I fou nd the egg tw isted in toamost curi ousshape .

686 .—Acridotheres fusons, Wagl .

Very common everywhere . Breed ing in Apri lan d May .

687 .

—Sturn iapagodarum,Gm .

Plen t ifu l, n ot so commonas the former species . Breed ingin Apri lan d May .

688 .—Sturn iamalabarica, Gm .

Plen tifu l espec ial ly so in the h i l l tracts .

689 .— Sturn iablythi, J erd .

Rare in the plain s . Non eatal l in the higher e levation s .

690.—Pastor roseus, L in .

Plen t ifu l in the plain s, feed ing in flocks , sometimes hundredstogether. Very rare in the h i l l tracts .

692 .

— Eulabes rel igiosa, L in .

C ommon up i n the wooded portion s of the d istrict. Breeding in Apri lan d May.

694 .—Ploceus phil ippinus, L in .

In November, 18 82, aflock v isited u sand commen ced tobu i ld on bamboo clum ps overhanging paddy lan dan d swam ps .

In avery short t ime there w ere some tw en ty half-completedn ests . They w en t n o further than that, an d in Februaryfo l low ing they le ft, w ithou t as in g le pair laying, so I wasd isappoin tedan d did n ot getany eggs .

697 .

— Amadinamalacca, L in ,

Plen ti fu l everywhere . To be seen in batches of 10 to 50in n umber.

or MANZEERABAD,MYSORE . 463

699 .

—Amadinapun ctulata, L in .

Not so common as the last species, bu t tobe met w ith in al lparts of the d istrict. Breed ing in May .

704 .—Estrel daamandava, L in .

Fairly common al l over the d istrict . Breeding in Jan uaryan d Februaryan d in Ju ly.

706 .—Passer domesticus, L in .

So common as to n eed n o remark .

755.—Mirafraaflin is, Jerd .

Veryabun dan t everywhere . Breeding in Apri l .756 .

— MirafraerythrOptera, J erd .

Plen t ifu l al l over the district. Breed ing in Apri land earlypart of May.

757 .

—Mirafracantil lans, J erd .

Not qu ite so plen ti fu l as last species . Breed ingalso inMay.

760 .—Pyrrhu laudagrisea, Seep .

More plen tifu l in the plain s than on the h i l ls . Breed ing inApri l .7656is .

— Spizalaudamalabarica, S eep ? deva, Sykes .

Very common in deed everywhere in the d istrict. B irds of

very short fl ight, in deed they riseat your feet on ly toal ightagain afew yardsahead .

767 .-A1audagulgula, Frankl . austral is, B rooks .

Very plen tifu l e verywhere . Breed ing in Apri lan d May .

773 .— Crocopus chlorigaster, Bly .

Veryabun dan t in the plain s V is it ing the h i l lsat the en dof the rain s ; afew occas ional ly met w ith d uring the w et

mon ths , v ia, in Ju ly an d Augu st. They leave again in

Novemberan d December. They w ere so plen tifu l when I wasen camped out duck-shooting that I shot 46 in on e even in g,getting 1 1an d 7 respective ly for my firstan d secon d barre ls .

774.

— Osmotreron bicincta, J erd .

Not soabun dan t as the former, but v isiting an d leav ingabout the same time .


781 .-Carpophagainsign is , Hodgs . cuprea, Jerd .

Rare . I on ly met w ith th is Pigeon when I saw three together, on e of wh ich I shot . Th is was in May . I wasassured bythe nat ives that they leave this part of the d istrictas soon asthe S . W . mon soon commen ced .

788 .

— Columbaintermedia, S iriekl .Very plen tifu l . S ome two m i les away from my bun gal ow

there are some high rocks where these Pigeon s breed,an d during the mon ths of December an d Jan uary two pairsj oin ed my domestic p igeon san d bred in the boxes hangingagain st the wal l .

795.— Turtur suraten sis, Gm .

Very common . Eggs taken on the 2oth November an d3rd January. Captain Marshal l does n ot men ti on these mon thsin his Birds Nesting in Ind ia.

796 .-Turtur risorius, L in .

Very plen tiful eggs taken on the 25th November. Th ismon thalso n ot recorded by Captain Marshal l .

798 .—Chalcophaps indica, Lin .

C ommon . Eggs taken on the l oth of Jan uary,an d on e youngon e brought to me on the 1 5th of February . HereagainJanuaryan d early part of Februaryare n ot recorded .

803 .—Pavo cristatus, L in .

At on e time I am in form ed they w ere very plen t ifu l, bu t

n ow scarce . Nearly every native carries agun and con se

quen tly theyare shotal l the year roun d .

813.—Gal lus sonnerati, Tem .

Common . In Apri l,1 882 , I cam eacross four eggs, wh ich I

d iscovered afterwards by comparison to be eggs of the GreyJu ngle Fow l they w ere lyin g on the edge of aswamp, half

embedded in mud they must have been there for some lengthof t ime for the eggs w ere stain ed, the part exposed be ing ofamuch l ighter shade .

814 .—Gal loperdix spadiceus , Gm .

C ommon . Eggs taken In Apri l .

466 A TENTATIVE LIST or THE BIRDS or MANZEERABAD,MYSORE.

89L—Actitis glareola, L in .

Very common in the plain s . An occas ional on e seen n ow

andagain during the cold season on the h i l ls .

892 .—Actitis ochropus, L in .

As commonas the last Spec ies in the plain s .

893 .-Actitis hypoleucus, L in .

I have met w ith them singly along the banks of smal lstreams in the cold weather.

897 .—Totanus cal idris, L in .

Plen tifu l in the cold weather mon ths .898 -Himantopus candidus, Bedd .

Common in parts of the district in the cold season .

903 .—Ful ica.atra, L in .

Common in parts of the d istrict .

907 .—Erythraphoen icura, P en n .

Very common . Eggs taken 3rd Ju ly.

908 .—Porzanaakool , Sykes .

Very common in al l parts of the d istrict . Eggs taken1 5th Ju lyand 7th August.

9 11 .—Porzanafusca, L in .

C ommon . Eggs taken on the 14th Ju ly an d 1 l th August .

930 .—Ardeolagrayi, Sykes .

Veryabun dan t in al l parts of the d istrict .

952 .—Dendrocygnajavan ica, Horsf .

Very plen tifu l on the tanks in the plain s .

959 .—Anas poecilorhyncha, Forst.

I have on ly seen threeand they w ere in atank, den se lycovered w ith tal l reeds .

962 .—Dafi1aacuta, L in .

Very plen tiful on some of the large tanks in the district .

A FEW ADDITIONAL NOTES ON BIRDS ON THE PULNEY H ILLS .

964.

—Querquedulacrecca, L in .

V ery plen ti fu l . I sawan immen se flock on atank by the

roads ide lead ing to Hassan . I shou ld n ot l ike to make aguessas to the ir n umber, but m ight safe ly put it down asover 500 .

965 .—Querquedulacircia, L in .

I have had an occasional on e brought to me for sale . Ihave n ot been able to state when the above e n umeratedDuckan d Teal com ean d go,

for I have on ly b een able to

make short v is its to the plain s, my du ties ke ep ing m eat theh i l ls espec ial ly during the win ter mon ths .

975 .—Podiceps minor, Gm .

Very common . Breed ing in May . O n the 23rd May I hadthree you ng on esal ive brought to me .

[North—This paper, which on ly i n cl ud es some 1 30 species, is of course

far from exhausti ve . I know at l east fi fty Species for certai n that areomi tted , but have n o time to refer to my n otesan d do n ot l ike en terin gthem from memory . I be l ieve the n umber of. species occ urring i n this

sub-d istrict to be n earl y 250. I have mad eagood n umber of al teration s i nnames , chan gin g , for i n s tan ce , N . p erenopterus to N . ging i n ian n s, H dam ' icato H . erythropyg ia, Otocompsa. j ocosa. to 0 . f uscioaudata, Thamnobiacambaiensi s to f u l i eata, an d so on i n cases in w h ich 1 was sure w h i ch

spec ies occurred i n Man zeerabad , but there are species in regard to w hich

Iam n ot certai n w hich occ urs, as i n the cases of Sp im lau dad ew an dmalabari ca, A lau da, gu lgu la. an daustm l is, Carpophagai n s ig n i san d cuprea,an d i n such cases I have e n tered both names togeth er w i th an ote of

in terrogation .

A l though imperfect . I think this paper may be usef ul ,asafirst l ist, forothers to work upon

— ED S . F

3 jimadditional y our; onbirds on theguineagil ls.

MY n otesare very few con sidering the coun try I was in

an d the majority of themare mere ly, I fear, arepetition of

w hatappeared some t ime ago in Mr. Fai rban k’

s l ist.

I did n ot go to the Pul n eys for the purpose of col lectingbirds, bu t made on e of apartyafter large game, con sequ en tl y

cou ld n ot go letting off my gu n al l over the place when ever

(a) I regret to say that this paper has been lyin g so lon g in my

portfol io that I have forgotte n w ho sen t It. to m e . No name 18 attached to It . I f the

au thor w i l l commun icate his nam e,it shal l be d u ly ackn ow ledged i n the n ex t n um

ber.—BB Q S ‘ F

468 A FEW ADDITIONAL NOTES ON

I saw astrange bird, mu chas I shou ld have l iked to do th is .

I am certain ,however, that avery fin e col lecti on m ight be

made in those h i l ls . I saw very many birds I cou ld n ot

iden tifyat t imes when I was u nable to shoot them . I fan cy,too, that many of the b irds n ow reg istered as inhabitingthese h i l ls w i l l even tual ly turn out to be n early al l ied species,an d n ot what they are n ow pu t down as, for examp le , P .

melan u ru s . W hen I came to copy bu t my n otes I wasu n certain what to put down an d what to leave out, so Ithought it best to pu t down ju st what I had in my n ote

book . I was on the hi l ls for about three mon ths, from the

m idd le of March to the m idd le of Jun e . The places I v isitedw ere : Kodikanal

,Pu lungi , Pitturan d Kukal or Kooku l w ith

the coun try lying in between them . Kodikanal an d Kukalare marked in Mr. Fairbank’

s map. The Goon dar riverrises som ewhere n ear Pumbarrayan d flow s in an ortherly direct i on through the cen tre of the Pittur val ley. Pu lu n gi is

on the east s ide of the Pittur val ley u ndern eath the T in uavurray peak ,an d Pittur is to the n orth-w est of Pu lu ngi on

the other s ide Of the val ley just to the south of U l lurrahkurray head . Tinnavurrayand U l lurrahkurrayare both markedin Mr. Fairban k’

s map.

I haveadded on ly 33 spec ies to Mr. Fairbank’

s l ist (an d toeach of these to fac i l itate recogn ition I have prefixedanasterisk ) ,an d two of these Meru lakin m’

si , Ke l . ,and Alau daau stral i s,B rooks, can n ot be said to have been properly iden tified, bu tI have l ittle doubt that the Pu ln eys properly w orked w ou ldyie ldat least 250 spec ies, or n early on e hun dred more thanare embod ied in both our l ists pu t together.

LIST OF BIRDS OBSERVED.

2.—otogyps cal vus, S copI u sed to see on e , an d very often apair,almost every day

in the n e ighbourhood of the campat Pu lungi .

4.-Gyps indicus, S cop.

Saw several at Kukal, col lected round the remain s of aSambhur.

6 .-Neophron gingin ianus, Latk .

O n the s l opesand occas ional ly on the tops of the hi l ls .

470 A FEW ADDITIO NAL NOTES ON

I think they had n ests , bu t the place they frequ en ted was too

inaccess ible to make certain .

100 .—Cypsel lusaffin is, J . E

'. Gray .

These birds w ere n ot u n common at Pitturan d Kukal, bu tI did n ot see theman ywhere e lse .

* 103 — Col local iaunicolor, Jerd .

I saw them in large n umbers in March fly ing abou t overthe lakeat Kodikanalan d got acou ple

,amale an d female .

I fou nd them breed in g in acave n ear the pi l lar rocks inJun e

,bu t cou ld n ot ge tatan y Of the n ests .

104.— Dendrochel idon coronata, Tick.

I foun d th is b ird pretty common on the sl opes and atPu lungi, where I Obtain edamale an d afemale . I foun d an est in the Pittur val ley on the 7th Apri l . Myatten tionwas first d irected to it by see ing

'

the male s itting on whatappeared to be s imply asmal l bran ch ; bu t on look in gatit w ith my g lasses cou ld ju st make ou t the n est. It did

n ot l ook any larger than afive -sh i l l ing p iece . The b irdwas s itt ing across it at right angles to the bran ch , wh ichhe lped to h ide it. I got it down w ith mu ch d ifficu lty bycu tting the bran ch . It con tain ed on e egg of ag losslesswh ite , an e longated oval , the same at both en ds an d n ot

at al l l ike aSw ift’s egg . It was mu ch in cu bated . The n est

was of afew bits of bark an d feathers gummed on to the

bran ch,an d asort of gum from the tre e itse lf had been

u sed . There w ere several more b irds about in some h ightre es

,but I cou ld see n o more n ests .

* 108 .— Caprimulgus kelaarti , B ly .

A common bird, especial lyat Pu lan g i an d Pittur. At the

latter place they w ere aperfect n u i san ce , se veral col lect ingroun d the camp every even ing d irectly it got dusk,an d keepingup their mon oton ou s cry m ore or less t i l l the morn ing .

Two eggs of avery pale salmon color, spotted al l over,w ere taken Off abare s lab of rock be low Pu lungi , wh ichI th in k mu st have been th is b ird ’

s,as I n ever saw any other

spec ies there , but of course it is imposs ib le to te l l .

1 17 .—Merops viridis, Lin .

119 .—Merops sw inhon ,

H ume .

Saw several of these birds in the Pittur val ley .

BIRDS ON THE PULNEY HILLS . 471

123 .—Coracias indica, Lin .

I met w i th this bird on on e or two occas ion s in the Pitturval ley.

129 .— Halcyon smyrnen sis, Lin .

O n e see n n ear the Goon dar stream in the Pittur val ley .

*134 .—Al cedo bengal en sis, Gm .

Sawapair n ear the same placeas the last.*140 .

— Dichoceros cavatus, Ske w.

Met w ith on e in the Pittur val ley .

148 .—Palaeorn is torquatus, B edd .

On the s lopes be low Pu lu ngiand in the Pittur val ley.

149 .

— Palaeorn is purpureus, P . L . S . Mu l l .

A common bird at Pu lungi . I used con stan tly to see it

there feed ing on the peaches .

15L— Palaeorn is columboides, Vig .

O n the sl opes be l ow Pu l ungi .

153 .

— Loricu lus vernal is, Sparrm .

Saw several in the Pittur val ley fe ed ing On the fru it of the

banyan (F. in d ica) in company w ith some Paroquets an dBu l bu ls .

166bis .

— Chrysocolaptes strictus, Horsf .

Pittur val ley, bu t does n ot seem to be common there .

171 .

— Gecinus striolatus . B ly .

I met w ith th is b ird two or three t imesat Bu lun gi ,an d veryfrequen t lyat Pittur. I cu t ou taholeat the latter place the

b eg in n ing of May, but there were n o eggs .

194 .—Megalaemaviridis , B edd .

Fairly commonat Pittur fou ndan ew n est the beginn ing ofMay, but n o eggs .

217 .— Centrococcyx rufipenn is, I ii .

Saw it rare lyat Pittur ; more common in the val ley be low .


234.— Cinnyris asiatica, Laih.

Pittur val ley, but I Shou ld think rare there .

239 .—Dicaeum concolor, J erd .

Kodikanal . Frequen ts the black Acaciatrees large ly.

253 .—Dendrophilafrontal is, Horsf .

A common b ird n ear the large sholas frequ en tly saw smal lflocks of four or five .

255.—Upupaceylonensis, Reich.

Saw it everywhere in smal l n umbers .

257bis .—Lan ius can iceps, B iy .

A most common b ird , to be foun d everywhere ,an d breed ingfree ly. I Obtain edabout forty eggs . I foun d bu t l ittle variati onin the n ests

, bu t the eggs , though always much the sameas to shapean d col or, d ifferedagood deal in s izean d marking .

S ome I haveare so mu ch larger than others that w ere I to putthe two extremes together w ithout the in terven ing s izes on e

cou ld hard ly be l ieve them to be long to the same species ; some

are marked on lyat the top, others al l over, an d on e has al lits spots n earlyal lat the smal l en d .

267 .—Hemipus picatus , Sykes .

Pittur val ley . I hadan est brought me , wh ich,from the

description of the bird, mu st, I thin k, have be longed to thisspec ies . Nest, ratherashal low cup, placed in athorny treeabout ten feet from the grou n d , n eat ly made of grassan d moss,l in ed w ith fin e grassan dafew feathers, covered agreat dealon the outside w ith du sky-colored cobw ebs 2 5 in chesacrossan din ch deep in side and 32 5 in ches to 3 6 in ches across and

22 5 in ches deep ou ts ide ; con tain ed five very mu ch in cu batedeggs . Shapean d mark ing exactly l ike L . can iceps, havin gawe l l defin ed zon e rou n d the larger en d s ize abou t the same orrather smal ler than P . bicolor.

270.—Graucalus macn , Less .

Pittur val ley. A rare bird .

272 .—Pericrocotus flammeus .

Not un common in the Pittur val leyan d on the s l opes b e l owPittur.


342 .—Myiophoneus horsfieldi , Vig .

To be foun d in most of the sholas w i th streams run n ingthrough them .

*357 .—Turdulus wardi , J erd .

I Obtain edafemale on March l stand amale on the 3rd

at Pu lungi, from thick sholas,aboutam i leapart.‘359 .

—Merulan igropilea, Laf r .

I foun d this b irdat Pu l un gi , Pitturan d Kukal . At the latterplace itwas qu ite common . Iam sure it was breed in gat the t ime

I was there , May ,but I was unable to fin dan est,and ow ing to

the sholas there be ing so fu l l of leeches I cou ld get n o he l pfrom the v il lagers.360.

-Merulasimil l ima, J erd .

Very common everywhere in the sholas on the top. Theycommen ce breed ing in the m idd le of March

,an d were sti l l

breeding when I left in the m idd le of Jun e .

360bis .

—Merulakinnisi Ke l .

I shotafemaleat Kukal from the n est, on May 18 th . Length,9 in ches ; expan se , 12 in ches tai l , 3 5 in ches . The n est wh ichwas placed in the fork ofatreeabou t fifteen feet from the grou ndwas just l ike that of M . s imi l l ima, the body of mud l in ed w ithfin e grassand outs ide w ith some coarse grassan d roots wou n droun d it,and coveredal l over w ith green moss ,astron g ly bu i lt,rather shal l ow cup, 3 5 in chesacross an d 2 in ches dee p in s ide ,5 in chesacrossan d 4 in ches deep outs ide . C on tain ed on e verys l ightly in cubated egg, ju st l ike M . simi l l ima.O n the 3rd Jun e I obtain ed an other n est w ith the male

birdat Kodikanal w ith two fresh eggs .

*373 .

—0 reocinclan ilghiriensis, B ly.

A female b ird , which is e ither of this spec ies or of arepresen tative local race , was shot from the n estat Kodikanal

,Ju n e

7th n est made en tire ly of green moss l in ed w ith fin e roots of

grass, an d fern roots m ixed up in the fou ndation , placed in thefork of atree abou t fifteen feet from the groun d . A largeshal low cup compactly put together 3 75 in chesacross an din ches dee p in side

, 6 in chesacross and 3 in ches deep ou ts ide .

404 .—Poma.torhinus horsfieldi, J erd .

I gotan est of this birdat Pu lungi on March 30th w ith thre every hard set,and on e fresh egg inasholaon the groun d under


atussock of grass, made of leaves,fern an d soft roots, veryl oose ly pu t together, wh ich soon fe l l al l to p ieces . I fool ish

ly did n ot shoot the bird, as I thought I had iden tified it

al l right, bu t Iam doubtfu l if it may n ot have be l onged to

the n ext spec ie s . Th is n est, however, was l ike the ordinaryP . bars/teldi,an d the other d ifferedagood deal .*404bis .

—Pomatorhinus melanurus, B iy .

I shot afemale , wh ich I thu s iden tify, from the n est on

Apri l 4th . The n est was placed inacoffee bu shabou t three fe etfrom the grou n d ,an d was made of coarse grassan d reeds w ithafew leaves in the fou n dation . In shape i t was asort of

rough, flat platform w ith the reeds brought up the S idesan darched over the top, leav ingalarge holeat the s ide w ith the

platform ex ten d ing beyon d it forming aledge ou ts ide the

en tran ce . It con tain ed three in cu bated eggs wh ich w ere in avery d irty state , hav ing the appearan ce of eggs that havebeen on the grou n d in heavy rain . I u n fortunate ly on ly kepton e eggas Iat first took them for P . horsfieldz

’

.

423bis .—Trochalopterum fairbanki, B lanf .

Very common in the sholasat h igh e levati on s . The n ests

w ere hard to find ,an d I was d isappoin ted in on ly be in g ableto getafew of them . I got on e on May 20th w ith two fresh

eggs placed in the fork of atreeabou t six feet from the groun dat Ku kal . An other on the 3othat Kodikanal ,also w ith twofresh eggs, in the fork of atree abou t ten feet from the

groun d aw e l l-made cup in s ide w ith the ou ts ide som ewhatstragg l i ng, of coarse grassan d m oss , l in ed w ith fin e grass 2

"

d eep an d 3” across in s ide

,3 5

"

deepan d across outs ide .

O n the 6th Ju n e I fou ndan est w ith on e very hard set egg ,an d on the 8 th on e w ith two youn g b irdsaboutaw eek old .

434—Malacocercus malabaricus, J erd ,

Rather rare at Pu lungi, but very common l ow er down on

the slopesan d in the Pittu r val ley . I gotan est on Apri l 5that Pu l un gi , w ith three in cubated eggs ,an d on the 6th on e w ith

two in cubated eggs in the Pittur val ley . Th is last was bu i lt inahol low in the top of astump of atre e that had been brokenoff some ten feet from the grou n d . I afterwards Obtain ed two

n ests in the same val ley w ith thre ean d four fresh eggs .

*436 .

—Argyamalcolmi, Sykes .

I met w ith th is bird on on e occas ion far down the s l ope si n the d irecti on of the v i l lage of Puln ey .


446 .

-Hypsipetes gan esa, Sykes .

I saw th is b ird on two or three occas i on sat Bu lungi , butd id n ot me et w ith itanywhe re e lse .

4606is .- Otocompsafuscicaudata, Gou ld .

A m ost comm on bird,foun d everywhere where there are

bushes . In the smal l bu shesalon g the banks of the streamsis avery favorite place . I foun d several n es ts w ith u sual lytwo, bu t sometimes thre e , eggs .

462 .

— Molpastes haemorrhou s , Gm .

O n the top of the hi l ls th is isarare bird compared w iththe last, bu t gets more common l ower down the slopes .

473 .—Oriolus ceylon ensis, Bp .

Rather acommon bird in the Pittur val ley . I on ce sawas manyas four in on e tree .

475 -Gopsychus saularis, L in .

I on ly saw th is b ird far down the S lopes . I do n ot th in k itascen ds toan y he ight .

482 — Pratin colabicolor, Sykes .

O n e of the m ost common birds on the hi l ls . Whereverthere wasasu itable bank or heap of ston e s there was sure to

be apair of them the cock bird perched on the very top of

abu sh or tal l tu ft of grass doing his u tmost to cal l you r attent ion to the fact that his n est was c lose by . I foun d severaln ests, u sual ly w ith three or four eggs .

516 .—Acrocephalus dumetorum,

B ly .

I shot amale at Pittur on 26th Ju n e . Iafterwards shoton e ofapairat Kukal

,bu t l ost it in the long grass .

534 .—~Prin ia. social is, Sykes .

Not un common on the sl opes in the long grass n ear Pu lun gian d Pittu r.

540. Gisticolaerythrocephala, J erd .

I foun d th is bird v ery common at Kukaland n ear Kod ikanal ,an d th in k it mu st be so al l over the h i l ls . It is ab ird that m ight eas i ly be overl ooked though,as it on ly frequ en ts certain places, via, in the smal l val ley heads or she ltered


everywhere , bu t n ests hard to fin d obtain ed on eat Pittur, May5th,

w ith three eggs .

600.

— Gorydal larufula, Vieil l .A comm on bird, bu t n ot qu ite so common as the last. I gotan estat Pittur beg in n ing of May w ith three eggs .

63L— Zosterops palpebrosa, Tem .

Foun d everywhere . I foundan est at Kukal w ith youngbirds the en d of May.

*645 .—Parus n ipalen sis, B odys .

I foun d this b ird in the Pittur val ley .

648 .—Machlolophusaplonotus, B ly .

Bu lun gian d Kukal, gen eral ly in smal l parties of two or three

fl itting from tree to treealong the banks ofastream .

686 .

—Acridotheres fuscus .

I am dou btfu l whether th is b ird Shou ld stan d as f us eusor makral ten sis .

ali C ommon roun d m ost of the v i l lages . I obtain ed twoor three n ests in Apri l from holes in trees .

692 .—Eulabes rel igiosa, Lin .

Plen tifu l in the Pittur val ley . I tried hard to obtain an estbut was u n su ccessfu l .*697 .

—Amadine malacca, Lin .

Fairly common . I foun d an ew n est at Pittur in Apri l .but got n o eggs .

*700.—Amadinapectoral is, Jerd .

Shot on e of apairat Kodikanal in March .

*701 .—~ Amadinastriata, Lin .

Shot on e ou t of aflock of e ight or ten in the Pittur val ley .

*704.—Estrel daamandava, Lin .

Shot two or three ou t of alarge flockatPu l ungi in Apri l .*767 .

—A1audagulgula, Frankl .C ommon on the tom of bare rocky hi l ls. Gotan estat

Bu lungian dan otherat Pittur in Apri l .I shou l d say un questionably the latter—ED . , 8 . F.


*768 .

-Alaudaaustral is, B rooks .

Watched what I think mu st have been th is b ird for some

t i me w ith my g lasses on the top of ah i l l n ear Kukal . Hadn o gun w ith m e so cou ld not shoot it.773 .—Cr0 00pus chlorigaster, B ly .

.

Tookan est w ith on e fresh egg on the 7th Apri l in the

Pi ttur val ley. Did not meet w ith the b ird higher up.

786 .—Palumbus elphin stonu, Sykes .

C ommon in most of the big sholas . O btain edan est w ithon e eggat Kukal on the 17th May .

788 .—Columbaintermedia, S iricki .

A large colony on the c l iffs n ear Pittur.

794 .—Turtur senegalen sis, Lin .

S lopes be low Pu lan gi ,an d the Pittur val ley. Not common .

795 .

—Turtur suraten sis, Gm .

A very common b ird everywhere , especial ly n ear v i l lages .

Gotan est w ith two eggs at Pittur the en d of Apri l .796 .

—Turtur risorius, Lin .

Pittur val ley ; n ot common .

790 .—0ha100phaps indica, Lin .

Got on e specimenat Bu lung i .8 13 .

—Gal lus sonn erati , Tem .

A few in the large sholas, bu t more common in the thickscrub ju ngle on the l ower S lopesan d val leys .

8 14 .—Gal loperdix spadiceus, Gm .

C ommon at Pittur ; Shot several there ; fou ndan est whichhad just hatched out,an d saw the old b irds and the ch icks .

O n e egg was left in it wh ich I kept.828 .

-M icroperdix erythrorhynchus,’

ykes .

Fairly common in places, bu t n ever en ough to make adecen t bag .

*834.

—Turn ix j oudera, B odys .

On e shot at Pu lun gi . I m ean t to have kept it, but throughsome m istake it fou n d its way in to the cooking pot.

480 ON FALCO BABYLONIOUS AND FALCO BARBARU S .

84L—Gal l inago coelestis, Fren zl .There wereafew fan tai ls to be picked up hereand there in

the swam ps, but n ever m ore than on e or two couple in thesame place . They w ere always very fin e b irds . Four shoton the 3rd Apri l w e ighed twen ty ou n ces . The last on e I sawwas on May 4th .

“853 .—Lobivan el lus indicus, B odd .

Heard th is b ird cal l ing overhead at n ight at Pittur, butn ever saw it .

*892.

— Totanus ochropus , Lin .

O n e shot May 4th w ith the sn i pe in the Pittur val ley .

9 13.— Hypotaenidiastriata, Lin .

.

Got afemale on the 4th Apri lat Pu lungi, when l ook ing forsn i pe .

975.—Podiceps minor, Gm .

S everal in the lakeat Kodikanal .

(Eve“ Ibi s .

dBnt dialed tabglunicusand 0151.t barbarus.

By JOHN HENRY GURNEY .

IN “ The Ib is for 18 82, p . 439 , I wrote respecting Falco

babylon i en s that it seemed ch iefly to d i ffer from F . barbaru sby its larger d imen sion s, an d I added that, at that t ime

,I

be l ieved I had n ever se en an adu lt male of F . babylon i en s .

S in ce then the British Museum has acqu ired— partly throughthe l i beral ity of Mr. Humean d partly through that O f otherdon ors—ave ry fin e series of Falco babylon i en s , wh ich I haverecen tly had an opportun ity of exam in ing , arriv ing , as theresu lt,at the con clus ion that, wh i lst the females of F. babylon i cus are dec ided ly larger than those of F. barbafru s

, the

males of F. babylon ien s differ but l ittle , e ither in s ize or

colour,from F . barbaru s, in wh ich latter species the propor

tionate distin ction of size betw een the sexes is less than inF . babylon i en s . I observe , howe ver, that the adu lt males of

F. babylon i ens, when compared with the few African adu lts

482 ON FALCO BABYLONICU S AND FALOO BARBARUS .

be ing that the true F. barber/m s does not extend its range so

far eastwardas In d ia.Falco babylon i cu s, on the con trary, appears to bearegu lar

w in ter v isitor to Northern Ind ia,and espec ial ly to the n orthw estern portion s of that country.

O f the In d ian examples of this Falcon that I have exam in edfiveare recordedas hav ing been obtain ed in November, six in

December, e ight in Jan uary, two in February, an d two in

March, of wh ich last-named Spec im en s on e was an immaturemale , shot by Col . E. A. Butlerat Hyderabad , in S in d, on 9 th

March, 1 878 , an d the otheran immature female , Obtain edatPeshawur on 3 1st March, 1869 . The earl iest au tumnalexample in the series is an adu lt male shot by Mr. DoigatAhmedabad , Guzerat, on 5th November, 18 85 .

The followi ng dates are recorded of Spec imen s of Falcobabylon icws col lected beyon d the In d ian fron tier an d n ow

preserved in the British Museum : An adu lt female k i l ledn ear Ke lat in O ctober, 1876 ; an adu lt female obtain ed byS ir O . St. John at Kan dahar, 14th Fe bruary, 1871 an adu ltfemale obtain edat Samarcan d , 5th March ; an adu lt femalepurchased by Dr. S cu l ly at Yarkan d , 6th March, 1875 ; animmature male obtain ed by Dr. S cul ly at Gu lgun Shah,Eastern Turkestan ,

27th Augu st, 1 875 . The last an d two

you ng females (on e from Kashgar, marked 13th December,1 874, and the other from Yarkan d ,

marked 26th February,

1 875 ) w ere apparen tly procuredal ive by Dr. Scu l ly, probablyhaving been brought up from the n est ; an d Dr. Scu l ly, referring to these spec imen s in “ S tray Feathers ” for 1876 ,

p. 1 18 (un der the name O f F . barbaru s) , remarks “ Th is Falconis said to in habit the hi l ls of K iz i l-taghan d Kag iar,and tobreed there in summer.

The most w estern As iatic Spec imen of F. babylon i en s thatI have seen is the female in change from immature to adu ltdress, wh ich was procured long ago in Babyl on iaby Comman der Jon es , an d wh ich suggested the specific name that Isubsequ en tly proposed for th is Falcon ; but it is probablethat Falco babylon i en s isalso sometimes foun d , though v eryrare ly, so far w est as North-eastern Africa The NorwichMuseum con tain s an adu lt female purchased from M . Parzudaki , of Paris, who asserted that it was obtain ed in Abyss in iaand Iamalso n ow d isposed to think that the NubianFalcon in the British Mu seum , wh ich I referred (P. Z . S . ,

1878 , p . 2 ) to F. barbarus, is in real ityamale in the secon dyear’s plumage of F. babylon ian s .

f This specimen measuresas under W i ng, Inches tai l, tarsus, 1 65midd le toe s . v . , 18 0 .

ON FALCO BABYLONICUS AND FALCO BARBARUS . 483

W ith regard to the w estern range of F. babylon i en s , I mayalso re fer to the tran s lation by Mr. Dresser in “ The Ibis ,1 875, pp. 106 , 107 , of some valuab le n otes by the late Prof .S evertzoffas to the breed ing of th is Spec ies in Turkestan ;bu t the supposed young male from Ch imken t there m en

tion ed wou ld seem ,by its W ing-measuremen t

,e ither to have

been in correctly sexed, or to be an immature example of

some al l ied species . In the same article S evertzof’f recordsaspecimen taken in Pers iaand two

“taken from the n est

on an islan d in the Volga.”The fol lowin g measuremen ts have been taken by myse lf

from Falcon s which I be l ieve to be referable toF . babylon i en s ,an d which have been markedas males by the col le ctors theyare al l adu lt b irds

,an dal l preserved in the Brit ish Museum

at S ou th Ken sington , except where I have men tion ed the

con traryM idd le

W ing. Tail . Tarsus toe . s . u .

in . in . in .

From Eastern Nara, Sind, col lectedby Mr. Doig (immature in change ) 10 85

From Hyderabad, Sind col l ected by0 0 1. Butler

From Eastern Narra, Sind, col lectedby Mr. Doig

From Cutch , collected by Dr. Stol iczka

From Eastern Narra, Sind, col l ected

by Mr. Doig 112 5From Hyd erabad , Sind , col l ected byCol . Butler 1 12 5

From Hyderabad , Sind, col l ected byCol . Butl er (immature in change )

From Gulgun Shah, Eastern Turkes

ton , col lected by Dr. Scu l ly (immature )

From Eastern Narra, Sind col lectedby Mr. Doig

From Etawah , col l ected by Mr. And erson (Norw ich Museum?“

From Ahmedabad , G uzerat, col l ected

by Mr. Doig ,an d presen ted by himto the Norw ich Museum

The subjoin ed measuremen ts I have taken from spec imen sin the British Museum

, wh ich I be l ieve to be males ofF . babylon i ens, but of wh ich the sex was n ot recorded by thecollectors

A“ to some d iscm l mm v betw e e n M r An derson’

s measureme n ts of h is 8and my own , see The Ibis , 1882, p, 3 1 1 (note ) .pecimen

48 4 ON FALCO BABYLONIC US AND FALCO BARBARU S .

W ing . Tail .m .

From Kurrachi,col l ected by Col

Bu tler (immature in change )From Arun g , n ear Raipur, Cen tralProv in ces

,col lected by Mr. Blew itt

(immature i n change )From De lhi, col l ected by Mr. Hum

(immature in ChangFrom Del hi

,col l ect ed by Mr. Hume

(immature in change) 5 655 1 75From Eastern Nara

, Sind col l ected.

by Mr. Doig (adul t) 1 1 25From G uzerat, S ind , col lected by Mr.

Doig (adul t)I mu stalso re fer toaspec imen wh ich has much perplexed

me,an d wh ich is con tain ed in the col lect ion presen ted by

Mr Hume to the British Mu seum . Th is Falcon was con

sidered by Mr. Hume to beafemale of F. barbarus it wasobtain ed by Mr. F. R . B lew itt in the Nursingpoor d istrict of

the In d ian C en tral Prov in ces on 1 6th Decem ber, 1 8 69 ,an dagrees in coloration w ith . the most fu l ly adu lt males (as Icon ce ive them to be) of F. baby lon ien s, but isas l ightly largerb ird .

Elaborate measuremen ts of th is spec imen,take n from it

wh i lst in the flesh , are qu oted by Mr. Hum e in S tray Feathers , Vol . I, p . 21

,an d from these I extract the fol low ing for

comparison w i th others above recorded , viz .

'W ing ,

in ches ; tai l , tarsu s,

m idd le toe s . u . , My own

m easu remen ts,taken from th is spe c imen in the skin

, gi ve as l ightly d ifferen t resu lt, viz W ing ,

1 1 70 tai l , tarsus,2 ;

m idd le toe s . 11

Mr . Hume , writ ing (loc. ci t. ) of th is Falcon ,an d of the maleobtain ed by Dr . Stol iczkain Cu tch,

of w h ich I have alreadygiven my measuremen ts , states that h eat first re ferred bothof them to F. babylon ien s, bu t su bsequ e n tly became con v in cedthat they w ere amale an d female Of F . barbaru s

,an daddsin both Specimens the sexes w ere ascertain ed an d recordedby

,I n eed n ot say, care fu l observers .

”

Notw ithstan din g ‘

the strong ev iden ce of Mr . Hume’

s statemen t

,I can n ot but su spect that som e acc ide n tal e rror may

have occu rred in determ in ing the'

sex of the su pposed femalespe cimen ,

an d that in reality it is n otafemale of F . barbaru s,but an u nu sual ly largean d veryadu lt male of F . babylon ien s,an d I con ce ive that some con firmation of this su spic ionarise sfrom the c ircumstan ce that on the t icket attached to thisspec im en

, presumably by the col lector, ablank space wasl e ft for the sex

,which has been fi l led with the w ord female ”

486 on FALCO BABYLONICUS AND FALCO BARBARU S .

been recorded ; these specimen s (exce pt where the reverse is

m en t ion ed ) are al l adu lt an d preserved in the British

MuseumM iddl e .

W ing . Tail . Tarsus . toe,8 . u .

m . 111 . i n . m .

Etawah District . col l ected by Mr

Hume ( immature in chang e )Khe lat

,col lected by Mr. Hume 12 40 2 10

De lhi,col l ected by Mr Hume (imma

ture )Umritsar

,the Pun jab

,in the posses

sion of Major Wardlaw RamsayOudh, col l ected by 0 0 1. L

’

Estrange,in the possession of Lord Lil ford 6 70 2 05

Local ity u nknow n, preserved in Nor

w ich Museum

Guzerat,col l ected by Mr. Doig

Eastern NarraSin d, col lected by Mr

DoigOudh, (type specimen ) col l ected byC o] . Irbyand preserved in Norw ichMuseum

Said to be f rom Abyssin ia, preserv edin Norw ich Museum

Pun jab, col lected by Mr. Hum e 2 10 2 00

Nepal , col lected by Mr. Hodg son 13 35

Iadd for comparison the fol low ing measuremen ts of adu lt ,or n earlyadu lt, specimen s of Falco barbarus, the sex of wh ichhas been recorded by the col lectors .

These measuremen ts have been taken by myse lf from the

spec imen s in qu esti on , which have al l been obtain ed in

Northern Africa; bu t add itional care fu l ly sexed Africanexamples of F . barbaru s are mu ch to be desired, for the sakeof su pplying alarger series for comparison than ex ists atpresen t .

Males .

M iddl e .

W in g . Tail . Tarsus toe,s . u .

111 . i n .

Tangier (Fav ier), in Norw ich Museum 1 90

Sakkara. Egypt, in Norw ich Museum

El Kab,Egypt, shot by and in the col

l ection of Capt . She l l eyFemales .

Kef . Boudjato, Eastern Atlas (aideThe Ibis

,

’1859

, p. in Norw ich Museum 11 20 1 80

Eg ypt, obtain ed by Mr W .

Med lycott, in Norw ich Museu 1 70

In con clus ion,I may m en tion twoadu lt Falcon s from Nepal ,

wh ich w ere presen ted by Mr. Hodgson to the British Muse um ,

and which n otw ithstan d ing the very eastern l ocal ity where

they w ere obtained , I can on ly re fer to Fal co pun icu s . The

smal ler of these spec imen s, wh ich I be l ieve to beamale, is

OUR INDIAN PELICANS . 487

en teredat p . 387 of the Museum Catal ogue under the headof Falcobarbaru s,an d the larger, wh ich is presumablyafemale ,is on e of the two specime n s en tere dat p . 389 un der the t i tleof Falco babylon i en s , to wh ich species the other spec imenfrom Nepal , also thus en tered , does appear to me real ly tobe l ong . The fol low ing are my measuremen ts of these

Falcon s0

M i dd le

W in g . Tail . Tarsu s . toe , s . u .

i n . m .

1 1 50 5 80

1 70

di nt gall iumfiel iranzfi‘

MU CH con fu s ion an d d ifferen ce of Opin ion has prevai ledas to the n omen clature an d iden tity of the species of Pe l ican swh ich occur in In d ia. Th is gen u s is on e in which I havel ong taken apecu l iar in terest, an d wh ich, con s iderin g the

d ifficu lties wh ich atten d the preservat ion an d stowage of

such huge birds, is n ow tolerably we l l represen ted (by thirtyon e spec imen s) in my mu seum -

lAltogether n in e or ten species of this gen u sareat presen tadmitted , of wh ich P . austral is, Stephen ; P . con spici l latus,Tem . from Austral ia; P . erythrorhyn chus , Latham , fromN . America; P . molina’, G . R . Gray of S . Am ericaan d P. fuscus,Lin .

,from the G u l f of Mex ico an d Cal iforn ia, can n ot in

any way con cern u s ; there remain five spec ie s which occur,orare supposed, or have been asserted to occur, w ithin our

l im its .

These read i ly d iv ide themse l ves in to two natu ral grou ps .

In the former of these the fron tal feathers ex ten d forwardsin apoin t to the cu lmen of the bi l l . In the secon d th is poin tis trun cated ,

an d the feathers of the forehead term inate m ore or

less square ly in al in eat rightan g les an d m ore or less con caveto the base of the cu lmen . Accord ing toMr. D . G . El l i ot, whosem on ograph of the ge n us (P. Z . S . , 18 69 , p. 571) is by far the

most complete syn ops is wh ich has yet appeared, w e shou ldin clude (of birds that may con cern us)

[NOT E.—This pap er, w ritten i n 1 8 73 , but pu tas id e because I hoped f or

better material s than I then possessed , i s 17 7 7277,t n ow w i thou tal terati on s,because i t pu ts on record facts that may be u sef u l to other en qu i rers ,an d mymaterial s, havi ng now been tran sferred to the B ri t ish Mu seum, I shal l n evern ow havean Opportun i ty , if I even had the time , to revi se i i .—A. O . H

1 1 th i n k when my col lec tion was mad e over to the British Museum that itmust have con tain ed n early on e hun dred specimen s.

488 OUR INDIAN PELICANS .

U nder the'

first groupP . onocrotalus, Lin n .

P . minor, Rlipp : P. mitratus, Licht.P . javan icus, Horsf.

An d u n der the second grou pP . crispus , Bruch,aspec ies in regard to which n o doubts can

ex ist,and to wh ich I n eed n ot there fore re fer further.

P . rufescen s , Gme l . : P. phi l ippen sis, Gme l . , Briss ., &c .

Professor Schlege l u n ites al l the three form er species u n der

onocrotalus .

The fol low ing are the more importan t of Mr. El l iott’sremarks in regard to these several species

Pelecanus onocrotalus, L in .

Occi pu t w itharather e l on gated crest during the breed ingseason ; bare space aroun d the eye d iamond-shape beh indan d reach in g to the base of the u pper man d i ble ; g ularpou ch exten ding for about six in ches down the throatfeathers of the head form ad istin ct poin t u pon the forehead ;u pper man d ib le redd ish at the bas e

,becom ing ye l low ishat

the tip, w ith al in e of crimson al ong the cu lmen ; u n der

man d ib le pale red ; pouchan d bare space abou t the eye fleshcolour ; primaries an d Spuri ou s w ing b lack 3 occ i p ital crest*an d the e longated feathers at the low er part of the n eck in

fron t l ight ye l low ; rest of plumage wh ite , t inged w ith rosecol ou r ; tars i flesh-colour ; tai l of e ighteen feathers . Length,about 5 feet ; w ing, 26 in ches ; tarsu s, 4% in che s ; u pperman d i ble , 1 6 in ches .

Habitat—European d n orthern part of Africa. C ommon inHungary, Crimea

,Egypt, an d Ion ian Islan ds . Acc iden tal in

Fran ce an d Algeria. In We st Africa,at Sen egamb ia, and

Mozambiqued‘ also in Abyss in ia.The young during the first yearare u n iform greyish brown ,

the lan ceolate feathers of the breast be in g en t ire ly wan tin g .

The perfect p lumage is n ot acqu ired for some years ;andthe depth of the rosy t in t is in creased in the bre ed in g season .

are as are are are are are are i s

Very great con fusi on ex ists in the syn onymy of th isspec ies , the d iffi cu lty in the maj ority of in stan ces aris in gfrom the u n certain tyas to whether thereare two spec ies , on e

w ith alengthen ed occ i pital penden t cre st, wh ich w ou ldappearto beasmal ler b ird

,an d the other w ithout an y crest prope rlyThis is I fan cyam istake—probably amispri n t . 1 can n ot l earn thatany

of th is group of Pe l ican s hasal igh t ye l low crest .

1° Orn i thologie W estafrikas, p. 259 . (Hartl . )

490 OUR INDIAN PELICANS

along cu lmen ,145 in ches ; tarsus, in ches an other had the

b il l in ches ; w ing,27 in ches ; inathird the bil l was 1 6

i n ches in length .

”

Pel ecanus rufescen s, Gmel .“ Adu lt—Head w ithalon g, fu l l pen den t crest, some of the

feathers five in ches in length ; feathers of the n eck an d headshort, soft, rather furry to the tou ch ; those of the body an dw ing-coverts long, and narrow lan ceolate in form ; feathersof the forehead com ing down to the bil l , form ingacon cavel in e u pon the cu lmen gu lar sac

,startin g from the base of the

l ower man d i ble , desce n d ing i n agen tly curved l in e for abou tsix in ches u pon the n eck bare skinarou n d the eye con tracted,of smal l d imen s ion s, exten d ing n o d istan ce beh ind the eye ,reaching to the base of the upper mand ib le in fron t head andn eck soi led white ; crest dark grey, t in ged w ith rose , eachfeather ti pped w ith wh ite ; back and u pper tai l -covertsdeep rich rose color ; feathers on the crop st iffen ed ye l l ow ish ;w in gs ye l low ish wh ite ; secon daries s i lver grey ; primariesblack w ith b lack shafts

,wh ite at the base

,w ith the shafts

brown ish at the tips ; tai l s i lver-grey ; shafts of great-eran dlesser coverts , secon dariesan d tai l feathers black ; bi l l ye l lowish , w ithout any spots on the u pper man d i ble ; bare ocu larspace flesh-color, w ith a b lack con spicu ou s spot n earthe u pper man d ible ; gu lar pou ch ye l low ish

, streaked w ithredd ish l in es ; tars i flesh -colored . Length abou t 60 in ches ;w ings from carpal j oin t to en d of primaries

,20 to 24 in ches

tai l , 8 in ches bi l lalong cu lmen , 15 in ches tarsu s,3g in ches ;

m idd le toe , in che s .

A second spec imen is somewhat younge r, probablyassum ingfor the first time theadu lt l ivery,an d n ot in as perfect plumageas the first . It is de void of crest ; the feathers of the headan d n eck are short, brown , t ipped w ith white , g iv ing to th ispartamottled appearan ce . The remain der of the plumageis dark grey, cen tre of the feathers , brown , secondaries t i ppedw ith l ight brow n ; there is more of the rose colour howeverpresen t ; th is hu e extend ing somewhat u pon the flanksan dalso coverin g the ven t and en tire tail-coverts . The measurem en tsare : W ing, 24 in che s ; tai l , 8 inches b il lalong cu lmen ,1 3 ; in ches tarsus , 3% in ches ; m idd le toe 4 in ches .

A th ird spec ime n,sti l l you nger, has the head an d n eck

covered w ithawh i t ish down ,afew short feathers stan d ing ou t

from the occi pu t ; the feathers of the body rou n ded , n on e of

the lanceolate shape (so con s picu ou s afeature in the adu lt)ye t presen t ; u pper parts an d w ings l ight brow n , each featherw ith abroad margin of white ; secondaries dark brown in the


cen tre,fad ing out gradual ly toabrow in sh-

grey on the edges ;

primaries brow n ish black ; back and u pper tai l co' verts pu rewh ite , w ith n on e of the roseate t inge so pre valen t in the morematured in d iv iduals ; tai l s i lvery wh ite ; shafts of thefeathers of the tertials, secon daries, primar1es,an d tai l b lack ,

wh iteat the ir bases ; b i l l clear ye l low ; the u pper mand ib lew ith two row s of impressed black spots ; bare sk in roun d theeye ye l low (en tire u n derparts pure wh ite

, the feathers softan d downy), the colors presen t i n l ife havingal l d isappeared .

W ing from carpal j o in t, 22 in che s ,tai l , 8 in ches ,

bi l l alongcu lmen

,1 2) in ches ; tarsus , 3 3 in ches ,

m idd le toe , 4 in ches .

“ Habi tat—Nub1aAbyssin ia, Sen egal , Madagascar, In d ia,°C och in -Ch ina, Malacca, Ph i l ippin es, Java, &c .

The syn on ymy of this speci es appears to be m asad stateof con fus ion

, ari si ng chiefly from the doubts ex istin g whether

th is b ird, an d P . phi l ippen s is, are d istin ct—ac ircumstan ce

which may in deed be very serious ly qu est ion ed, as the

d ifferen ces that are claimed as su ffic ien t to se paratealethemare

very s l ight,an d may on ly be the re su lt of age atThe Pelecan us cristatus of Lesson appears to beab ird of th is

s pec ies . The long lan ceolate feathers of the crest an d backde l icate ly tin ted

o

w ith ye l low ish , toge ther w ith the squareshape of the fron tal feathers, w ou ld seem to poin t ou t the

presen t bird . The pure wh ite of the p lumage p lumage blancpur

’’

) can n ot be taken as re ferring to the en ti re bird, as

further on the de scri ption says .

“ Plumes du con et dadosm in ces, e ffi l e es , l egeremen t soufrees,

”wh ich is observed also

in specim en s of rufe scen s . The absen ce of al l men tion of

rose color on the back arises probably from the fact of

Lesson ’

s spe c imen n ot be ing in the dress of the ful lymatured b ird, which we may su pposealon e possess th is beau tifu l hu e .

The P . phil ippen sis’

of Jerde n 1s u n doubtedly the immaturebird of P. rufescen s and the youn g, as described by him, isabird of this spec ies in its first stage of plumage .

9“

A specimen of th is bird i n the British Mu seum , from Nepal,Hodgson ’

s col lection ,is very in teresting,as it is ju st changing

to the adu lt plumage , an d e xh ib its very d istin ctly the

redd ish col or of the back an d rump, whi le sti l l retai n ing theblack marks on the u pper man d ib le , thu s comb in ing the

characteristics of rufescen s an d phi l ippensis, an d show ing thatthe latter su pposed spe cies is bu t the young of the former.

“ It IS very d ifficu lt to dec ide what species Jerdon i ntendsby his P . j avan icus,as he seems to con foun d three in on e

, v ia,P . javanicus, P . 777 1770 7 , an d P . ruf escens . He describes his

bird as hav ing broad b lack marg in s on each s ide of the

tertiaries, Wh ich is tru ly acharacter of javanicus ; bu t then

62

49 2 OUR INDIAN PELICANS .

he speaks ofan occip ital crest,an d golden ye l l ow breast, wh ich ,w ith the d imen s ion s g ive n ,

W ou ld seem to re fer his spec imen to

mi nor wh i leat the con c lu s ion of theart icle , he says,

“ foreheadw ith the fron tal p lumes n ot narrow ed in fron t, bu t trun cated ,ran d emarg inate ; b il l w ith adou ble series of impressed darks pots .

”Now the form of the fron tal feathers here described

ren ders it imposs ib le that the bird he had in V iew cou ldbe long toany species of the onocrotalus style ,and there fore bothjavan icusan d m inor are exc luded from al l further con s iderat ion ; wh i le the trun cate an d emarg inate fron tal pl umes, w ithdark spots u pon the bil l,are characteristics of you n g rufescens ;therefore I have referred Jerden ’

s b irds to the presen t

spec ies .

”

Now before going further it is n ecessary to poin t out thatDr. Jerden n ever mean t the w ords forehead w ith fron talplumes, &c .

”to re fer to javan icus, at the en d of the n otice of

w h ich theyappear, bu t to the n ext bird , immed iate ly fol low ingthese w ords, v ia, P . phi l ippen sis . This is his in variable habit,an dthe subsequ en t short sen ten ce can Riippe l l

’

s b ird be the femaleof P . m itratus ,” am ere afterthought, in n o way in terferes

w ith the arrangem en t . Th is is qu ite certain . Jerdon on lydescribes four spec ies of Pe l ican s,an d on page 8 54 he d istin ctly says that the first three , viz. ,

onocrotalus, mitratus an djavan icn s al l be lon g to the fron tal poin t-feathered secti on .

This d ifficu lty, there fore , wh ich seems so in su perable to Mr.

El l i ott, is on e of his own creat ion , an d n ot, as he fan cies, ablun der of poor Jerden ’

s, u hose descri ption - of his javan icusis, as I shal l show presen tly, an accurate picture of on e

stage of our Pe l ican s .

Before proceed in g to speak in detai l of the spec ies which,i n my op in ion ,

w e actual ly have , I may remark that Dr.

S clater, P. Z . S 1 868, p . 266 , refers to specimen s received from

Calcu tta, to P . mitratu s, Le icht . an d adds : I havealso l ittledou bt that th is species is the true P . minor of Riippe l l , it

be longs to the same grou p as P . onocrotalus, bu t n o on e

who has seen the two spec ies alive together wou ld denythe ir specific distin ctn ess. P . mitratus is at on ce dis

tingu ished by its smal ler s ize, by the purer wh ite of

the whole plumage , an d the l ong pen den t crest .

”

In regard to the pure wh ite , I mu st n otice that Ruppe l l inhis Vage l n erd-e st Afrikas” figures P . minor as throughoutt in ted w ithade l icate rose color.

In regard to rufescen s an d phi l ippen sis Mr. Sclater saysP. phi l ippensis is, as admitted byal l authors,ac loseal ly of

P . rufescen s, but Iagree w ith Prin ce B onaparte (C . R. ,x l i i i . ,

p . 574 et Conep . i i, p. in con s idering it d istin ct, rostri macu l is

impressis seriatim despositis. Several skin s of itare in ,Captain


late ly sen t to the Zoological Society by» Capt . Beavan,from

Burma, hasaremarkably fu l l pen den t occ i p ital crest, the l on ge st feathers of wh ich measure in . b i l l to forehead, 1 1 in ches .

This bird is very d istin ct from several examples of P . onoerotalus,apud Jerdon , wh ich w ere forwarded together w ith it.

”

Now I may sayat on ce that I have n ever yet se en or obtain edon e s ingle spec imen of e ither of B lyth’

s two smal ler races,in wh ich

,accord in g to him , the adu lt male m easures on ly

56 in ches in length an d has abil l at forehead of‘ on ly 1 1in ches the bi l ls in the males are always mu ch larger than in

the females , an d 12 5 in ches is the smal les t bi l l of anyfemale that I possess . Jerdon , however, it is to be n ot iced ,g ives the bil lat 12 in ches to 13 in ches

,wh ich length , cou pled

w ith the s ize of the w ingan d the colorat ion of the bi l l,w ou ld

make his iavan icus an sw er very w e l l to the female of the

comm on In dian spec ies, at on e stage of its plumage , wh i leHorsfie ld

’

s orig inal descript ion , white w ithashort crest, theprimaries black , the secon daries an d feathers of the backmarg in ed w ith black,an d the shafts wh ite

,

”w ou ldagain agree

w ith our birdatan earl ier period of the year . Horsfie ld, it is

true , give s the lengthat on ly 4 feet ; bu t th is an d B lyth’

s

m easuremen ts of 4 feet 8 in ches w ere dou b tless made from the

dry sk in . As for Mr. B lyth’

s pu tting down his birdasamale , hed id n ot d issect it h imse lf, an d I kn ow from sad experien cehow l itt le re l ian ce can be placed on the sexes recorded u pont ickets of most birds col le cted in In dia.O f P . minor, Ruppe l l g ive s the len gth as 57 in ches, the

bi l l as 13 33 in ches, the w ingas in ches an d th is againw ou ldan swer for our female . It is true that Ruppe l l says thatthe fu l l -plumag ed male is throughout pure wh ite , but the figureby W olf shows itas t in ted w ith rosy throughou t, an d in the

d iagn os is Ruppe l l h imse lf says that his n ew spec ies is colore

persimil is to,

onocrotalus, wh ich is on ly pure wh ite at on e

season of the year.

My own presen t con v iction is that w e have probably on lyon e,an d certain ly n ot m ore than two

,spec ies of Pe l ican s

be longing to th is sub-

grou p in In d ia, an d thatal l the threespec ies described in Jerdenas onocrotalus, m itratusan d javan icus,are n othing but d ifferen t sexes

,at d ifferen t ages an d in

d ifferen t stages of plumage , of on ean d the sam e spec ie s .

Th is last year when in S in dh, w here Pe l ecan us crispus is

e xtraord inari ly common ,I on the 18 th of Jan uary, in ahugebroadat Madho n ear Mehur

,caught s ight in the far d istan ce of

ahuge rosy wh ite is land d im ly seen throughan d over manysu cce ed in g ban ds of ru shes and reeds . I at first took them

for F lam in goes, bu t on exam ination w ith aglass they provedto be Pe l ican s . In asmal l native boat we threaded our


way through the rush clumps , ti l l we were w ithin about120 yard s . By th is t ime cau ti ous ly as we had° been steal ingalong they had1 observed u s, an d hadal l risen on the ir fee t,standi ngas we then foun d on alow grassy islan d on ly a. few

in chesabove the leve l‘ of the water. On e or two rose heav i ly ;amomen tafterwards the whole vast flock, the largest I haveever! seen in my l ife, rose as on e mass . I had in my han daheavy double-barre l led gun with two 2oz . green S . G . w ire ‘

cartridges, and 4§drs . of powder. I fired both barre lsin stan t ly in to the th ick . At the moment I fired we were

as n early as I cou ld afterwards make ou t d istan t 1500)yards from the n earest b irds, bu t I dropped”

seven ,

aggregat ingat least 120 lbs . in w e ight, the heav iest bag of birds1I

'

e ver yet made w ith shot in on e right an d le ft. TWO

w ere qu ite dead ; two short ly afterwards gave up the ghost ,

"

thre e w ere on ly winged , an d be fore w e had p icked up andatten de d to the four d ead on e s, had sw um out of sight beh in dthe in n um erable ban dsan d clumps of h igh reeds , w ith wh ich»

the whole surface of the lake is thick ly studded . Sen d inghome the four dead b irds in the heavy lu n cheon boat wh ich hadcome up,

w e started again in the l ittle boat,and soon caughts ight of on e of the w inged birds , but the w in d had '

n ow come '

on to blow the boat was n otafleet 8 -oar,butaclumsy, though»

smal l,square -en ded fish in g pu n t,an d the Pe l ican swam l ikea

steamer. Al l that cou ld be don e was to fire l ong shots at .

him (I had no rifle w ith m e as it happen ed ) w ithalong sing lebarre l led duck gun an d S . G . cartridge , in the hope , in nau t ical phrase

,of carrying away some of his spars ; but i t was

al l in vain . The chase drew stead i lyaway,an d in less than two ;

hours w e w ere n owhere the even in g was draw ing on,an d w e

turn ed homewards, hav in gacou ple of m i les throu gh reedan d .

water to reach the land ing place . W hen about hal f way ,and l

c lose to where the first shot was fired ,an other of the w oun dedPe l ican s sudden ly hove in sight, sai l in g '

ou t from behi n d a.

c lump or ~ reed'

n ot twen ty yard s in fron t of u s, and he was iin stan tly kn ocked over. Next day early I return ed to the lake ,

an d* w ith abetter boat found ‘hu n ted ’dow n , an d i saved ,as theAm erican s w ou ld phrase i t, the remain ing two birdsNow , the curiou s th ing was th is : the seven birds con s isted

of“

on e qu ite young onocrolal us , on e onocrotalu s ‘ exactly asdescribed ' by Jerdon

,on e b ird ! very l ike his mitratu s

,

bu t rather large r in actual length than the d imen sion s he '

ass ign s to that“

spec ies (but his l in ear d imen s ion s w ereavowed ly:take n from adried sk in ) ,an d four birds exactlyan sw ering te n

his javan icus, exceptas l ight excess in total len gth (due againprobably from his measuremen ts be ing ,

taken from adriedskin ) .


Now n o on e cou ld exam in e these seven b irds in the fleshcarefu l ly w ithou t be ing con v in ced that on e an dal l be l onged toon ean d the same spec ies ; an d,accord ingly, when w e d issectedthem ,

we foun d the three first to be males, the four latter to bethe females . The males w ere in d ifferen t stages of plumage,and so also w ere the females ; but these d ifferen ces were n ot

so great as to preven t our read i ly con n ecting the spec imen son e w ith the other. I took most care fu l meas uremen ts an ddescription of the color of the soft parts , legs . an d feet of theseas I had previou sly don e of spec imen s obtain ed e lsewhere ;and though Iam by n o mean s prepared to explain al l thechan ges that take place

,I think I n ow u n derstand some of

thematan y rate .

I w i l l first deal w ith the females,wh ich I take to be the

birds described as favam’

cus by Horsfie ld ,m inor by Ruppe l l ,

and probably mitratus by Lichten ste in . The follow ing are thed imen s ion s in the flesh taken of several Spec ime n s Obtain ed inEtawahan d in S in dhLength ,

57 to 6 1 ; expan se , 104: to 1 10 ; tai l from ven t, 8

to w ing , 24 to 255 ; tarsu s, to b i l l atfron t, in clud ing nai l

,1 25 to 13 ; greatest w idth of u pper

man d ib le about on e -third from the poin t, to mid

toe and c law , 5 5 to 5 7 we ight, 1 6 to l 8 lbs .

In specimen s k i l led in the m idd le Of Jan uary the legsan dfeet were creamy ye l low or creamy fleshy ; the tarsal j oin tsan dwebs pale or bu ffy ye l low the claws orange ,

w ithablack patchat the base of each the pou ch in some bright-ye l low ,

i n someapale turmeric ye l l ow ; the face an d cheeks are purpl ishpink, or in others pinkish-purple ; the irides bright or

deep red ; the cu lmen , the basal on e -fou rth of the sides of

the upper mand ib lean d basal on e half of s ides of l ow er man d ibl e , laven der ; the nai lan d the edges of both man d i bles brightred ; the rest of u pperan d lower man d i b le ye l low , pale ye l low ,

or orange ye l low ,as the case may be , w ithamore or less d istin ct

row Of i l l-defin ed crimson blotches on the term inal half of

the u pper man d ib le,more or less con n ected w ith its red

margin . In asomewhat earl ier stage the colors are du l ler,an d the portion s of the u pper man d ib le lying betw een the

cu lmen an d the margin s exh ib it hereand thereahorny gree n

ish shade ; the u pper man d ib le is Often rough an d scaly,asif of mu lt itud in ou s lam inae , wh ich w ere everywhere pee l ing off

in smal l p ieces,an d when th is is the case , which it chiefly is i n

the mid-w in ter birds, wh itish patches, du e to re fracti on fromthe separating lam inae, greatly obscu re an d deaden the tin ts ,and the term inal portion s Of the upper man d ib les on e i ther

s ide of the cu lmen are n ot u n frequ en tly astrange m ed leyOf red, pink, green ish-brown and wh ite . At alater season


first feather to the tipof the longest feather, n early six in ches inle ngth ; the breast patch is more e xten ded , of adu l ler bu td ee per straw ye l low , in cl in ing sl ightly to ferrug in ous, an dthe rosy tin t is, ifanyth ing, stronger than in the January b irdsabove descri bed .

Turn ing n ow to the males they m easure as fol lows Length,70 to 72 expan sie , 1 15 to 1 20 tai l from ven t, 8 to

w ing, from 26 to 28 25 tarsus, 55 to 58 bi l l at fron t,165 to 175 ; w idth of u pper man d ib le as be fore , to 1 8 8

m id toe an d claw , 6 to w e ight, 25 to 281bs .

Al l that I have above saidabout the femalesappears to me

to apply equal ly w e l l to the males bu t I have n ot yet

Obtain ed such agood series of these latteras I have of the

females . I have n o spec imen of the male show ing the tertiariesmarg in ed O n both s ides w ith b lack,

an d I have n o male w ithacrest more than two in ches lon g.

It may be that the males n ever assume the same l ong crests

that the females do, or exh ib it the black marg in s on both w ebsof the tertiaries this isamatter wh ich further in vestigat ionmu st dec ide .

The above measuremen ts an d remarks re fer of course toadu lts . The young d iffermarked ly in s ize of b i l l an d in the

col or of the soft parts . A fin e youn g male w ith some lesseran dal l the greater coverts, scapu lars, tertiariesan d secon dariesbrown , the two latter on ly profuse ly s i lvered w ith grey,measuredas fol lows : Length, 6 1 5 expan se , 110 tai l fromven t, 8 5 ; w ing, 255 ; tarsu s, 54 ; bi l l at fron t, 143 ; greatest w idth Of u pper man d ible as above , 17 5 ;1 mid toe

and claw , we ight, abou t 181bs . The legs an d feet w ere

pal e ye l low ish fleshy or pink ish ye l low ,al ong b lack patch on

the fron t Of the tarsus,abroad plumbeou s patch on the in n erside of the tarsus,ablack patch on the fron t of the first j oi n tof the m id toe , an d s im i lar bu t fee bler patches on the fron tof its otherj o in ts,an d on al l the join ts of the ou ter toe nai lsblackish, bu t that of the fou rth toe ye l low ,

w ithalarge blackish blotchabou t the m idd le irides ye l low ish brown the gu larpouch very d in gy ye l low gthe cheeks an d orbits du l l redd ishpink .

I dare say that you nger birds sti l l, Of wh ich I have seen

some, though I n ever procuredaspec im en ,an d wh ichappearedto be adu l l brow n throughou t, have the whole legs and feetdusky,an d very l ike ly have the bi l l qu ite d ifferen t from thatof the adu lts The youngest b ird I have obtain ed had the bi l lch ieflyadu l l pale mau ve , spotted an d marbled w ith ye l low

,

at the edges and towards the poin ts , the basal portion of

the cu lmen on ly hav ingamore l ivid tinge .

The qu estion sti ll remains what is this one species ; my

OUR INDIAN PEU CANS . 49 9

con viction is that it is onocrotalus, par et simple . The se birdsal l leave us in March ,an d w e kn ow from Captain Hutton,(J . A. S . , 1847) that they pass through Kan dahar in March ,an d I have n o doubt many of them fin d their way to Smyrnaan d the coasts of As iaM in or, where in summer they are , oru sed to be— for I speak of n early 30 yearsago*— mostabu n dan t .

I saidabove that there m ight be asecond species be long ingto th is sub-

group in In d ia. I possess two spec imen s,both youngb irds, the whole lower plumage of on e (an d th is

,an d the head

an d n eck of the other, strongly t inged w ith ferrug in ou s as on eoften sees in other water-fow ls) , possessing '

such e xce pt ional lye l ongated an d narrow b il ls that they may possibly be long toad ist in ct species.

These b irds are said to be male an d female,an d I con trast

be low the d imen s ion s of the ir bi l ls w ith those of the largestadu lt specimen s of the other spec ies wh ich I possess

Length . Greates t w id th . Length. G reatest w idth .

13'

l ' 7'

Ayoun g male onocrotalus inabou t the same stage of p lumagehas the b il l 14”an d the w idthTheactual greater length cou pled w ith the actual smal ler

w id th, is very strikin g . an d the se two b irds may b e long toad istin ct Spec ies but

,if so, what can it be ? S ch lege l give s 17 "

as the max imum len gth O f the bi l l in any spec imen i n the

Leyden Mu seum . It is certain ly n on e of the spec ies yet des cribed

, u n less onocrotalus,an d ,i f n ew ,

wh ich I myse l f do n otbe l ieve

,it ought to stan d as long irostris , for, u n less these are

altogetherabn ormal spec imen s, to judge from the d iff eren ce of

the b i l l in the youn g an d old of on ocrotalu s,theadu lt shou ld

haveab il l ofat least 20 in ches in len gth .

Turn ing n ow to P. phi l ippen s is (or ruf escehs, if,as is possible,theyare both the sam e b ird ) I w ou ld remark thatatal lages an di n al l stages th is species can be d istingu ished from al l theothe rs by the pecu l iar compressionan d con vex i ty of the basalon e -fourth of u pper man d ib le .

S trange to say, although th is Pe l ican is the common estthroughou t U pper Ind ia, I possess avery ind ifferen t series,an d can there fore add very l ittle to what Mr. El l iott says . Iw ou ld n ote , how e ver, that I have n o spe cimen in the fu l l

breed in g plumage de scri bed by him as that of the adu lt,an d n o spec imen the u ppe r man d ib le of which d oes n ot

bear the double row of dark spots . The best p lumagedadu lt that I possess

,k i l led in August in Jhan si , has the

whole head ,n eck al l roun d , en tire l ower parts, le sser an d

*0ver 40 years now .—A. O . H.


m ed ian w ing-coverts, scapu lar reg i on an dal l but the longestscapu lars , rump, an d upper tai l-coverts wh ite ; ashort crest

abou t 2 5” long,of wh ite feathers

, greyish brow n at the irbases the whole of the feathers of the n eck short, soft, fur-l ike ,an d comparat ive ly th in ly set the brow n bases of the feathersshow in g through and produ cingam ottledappearan ce ;averyfain t straw -l ike t inge on the fron t of the n eckat its base the

rump an d upper tai l -coverts , the m ed ian w ing—coverts an d al lbu t the l ongest scapu lars black or brow n shafted ; the u pperand m idd le back, the whole of the ax i llaries , the l ow er covertsat the e l bow j oin t of the w ing , an d many of those of the l ow ersurface Of the w ing immed iate ly over the u lnaan d the me tacarpal bon es , ade l icate bu t rather du l l v inaceou s p in k ; thel on ger scapu lars , tai l feathers , tertials an d secondaries brow n ,

very mu ch s i lvered ,the latter on the ir outer w ebs on ly, w ith

grey ; the secon dary greater coverts s im i lar,primaries

,the ir

greater covertsan d the spuriou s w ing b lack ish brow n .

An other b ird, n ot fu l ly adu lt, ki l led on l oth November, isthu s n oticed in my j ournal : Length ,

58”; ex pan se , w ing ,

tai l from Ven t, 7 tarsus,35

" bi l l at fron t,13 gu lar

pou ch to where feathers commen ce,20 . Legsan d feet pale plum

beou s, mottled on j oin ts an d in n er s ide of tarsu s an d t ib iaw ith cream white ; irides brow n ; orbits cream white

,asemi

c ircle roun d the l ower half of orb its blu e ; u pper man d ib leu n i form pale pinkish,

w ith acon spicuous row of purpl ish brownspots on each s ide from base to t ip ; l ower man d ib le , at base ,an d gu lar pou ch pale café -au - lait color ; rest of l ow er mand ible afleshy brown . The plumage was gen eral ly very s im i larto that of the b ird ju st de scribed , bu t there was n o crest

,n o

ye l l ow ish tinge at the base of the n eck i n fron t . an d on lyafain t v inace ou s t inge on the back

,flan ks and ax i l laries .

An other bird , k i l led the same day an d of almost precise lythe same s ize , had the legs an d feet almost wh ite , w ith acreamy t inge irides brow n the orbits pale ye l low ish bu t w ithtraces O f the blue mark ; the upperman d ib le l iv id pink ish, w ithablue t inge on the basal hal f ; arow of Obscure blu ish spots on

e ither s ide of the cu lm en nai l pale ye l low lower man d ib le an dpouch pi nky wh ite . The extraord inary d iffere n ce in the color of

the soft parts of two b irds k i l led on the same day ,at the same

place an d of the same s ize an d sex ,struck m e forci blyat the

t ime . I con c luded that both w ere you n g , but that the latterbird had progressed more rapid ly towards the adu lt plumage .

A very youn g bird has the hole head an d n eck m in gledgreyish wh itean d pale ferrug in ou s afe w short brow n feathers

,begin n ingat the occ i pu tan d ru n n ingabou t 4 in ches dow n theback of the n eck, grow in g shorteras they recede from the occi

put, form asort of man e . The whole of the scapu lary region ,

. 502 OUR INDIAN PELICANS .

' bi l l 155 at,fron t w ing to en d of tertials (al l primarie s

destroyed) , b i ll , 1 75 w ide , above , at w idest place ;W ide oral ittl e moreat narrowest place abou t 15 down

the cu lmen . Al l the scapu lars , bu t on e or two, pure wh ite ,these on e or two s i lvery dusky at base ,an d w ithablackishb lu e on the outer marg in an d w ith an other correspon d ingl in e on the in n er w eb run n ing from the margin to the poin t .

An other spec imen ,labe l led 1741 , n o other labe l , bi l lat fron t,

from edge of skin as before,11 12 greatest w idth , 1 6 2 least

w idth, sam eas in pre ced ing ; n o crest ; breast den se ly se t w ithferrug in ous plumes , harsh in texturean d w ith d isun ited w ebs ;bi l l d iffers in color in th is specimen cu lmen

,ridgean d s ides of

basal half of l ow er man d ib le n early u n iform w ith the rest of

the bi l l . In the first spec imen these parts are very darkpurpl ish brow n ,

many of the scapu lars marg in ed w ith blackl in e ; w ing to en d of tertials, 24.

In both these spe c imen s,though there is n o crest, the feathers

from e ither side form an occ ipital and n u chal crest- l ike ridge .

An other Specimen , labe l led 1740 on stan d ,an d n o other labe l(named onocratalusaccord ing to the catalogue , though n o en tirespec imen of th is spec ies isackn ow ledged in the catalogue) ; bi l llength, 1 17 5 ; greatest w idth, least w idth,

18 ;ad istin ctocc i p ital crest, 35 ; fol low ed byaridge s im i lar to that inpreced ing spec imen s .

A straw -colored breast patch, w ing perfect, 257 5 ; two or

three of the scapu lars margin ed w ith black .

C omparin g these three spec imen s w ith Jerdon ’

s descri pt i on s,I have n o doubt that these formed the types of his su pposedthree Spec ies . No. 1 is his onocrotalus, No. 2 his javan icu s, No.

.3 his mitratus .

Now No. 1 is ayoung mal e an d No. 3 an adu lt, butn ot fu l lyadu lt

,female . No. 2 I take to bean old female

, but

I have n ever seen anyth ing qu ite l ike it. I be l ieve that thecrest had be en pu l led ou t (as natives often pu l l them ou t)be fore Blyth got the bird , an d I be l ieve the extraord inaryferrug in ou s colour to be due to some post mortem changes .

I have n ever seen th is color inafresh spec imen .

A. O . H .

tBhseruatiuns on the hel ium visiting the

(Eastern Cigars.

By SOROPE B . DOIG , C .E .

[Note by the E d i tor .—There i sagreat d eal of usefu l d etail ed in formation in

th is ol d n ote of Mr Doig’

s w hich i t w i l l be w e l l to place on record . I have on lyto premise that Mr. Doig

’

s bird sal l be lon g ed to two species—on e P . crispus ,

an d the other that species w hich , as [ poi n ted ou t some 14 years agoS . F . ,

I, p 12 8 , Jerdon has 1 11 my opin ion d escribed u n d er the three d iff eren t

names of mztm tus, jamaicas an d onoe 'rotal us W he th er our bird s arereal l y onom'

nml us, or w hat name they shou ld bear, I n e ver cou ld fi n d out

for wan t of proper European an d African specimen s w ith w hich to comparethem ,

bu t there seems to me ,an d hasal ways seemed to be , on ly on e spec ies

i n In d iaof th is type . Now that there are i n the Bri tish Museum n early~ 100 specimen s of this on e spec ies i n al l stages of: pl umagean d f romal l partsof the empire , pre tty w e l l correc tly sexe dan d i n most cases w i th the colors

of - the soft parts acc urate l y recor ded,this question ought soon to be (if i t

has n otal read y been so) setat rest . ]THIS last cold w eather I have , at Mr. Hume

’

s suggestion ,devo ted my spare time to In vestigatin g the d ifferen t spec ie sof Pe l i can wh1ch Vi s it these d istricts e very year in thou san dsan d I n ow propose placi ng before the readers of “ S tray Feathersthe resu lts of my observati on s , w ith the hope that they may beO f ass istan ce in determ i n ing the d ifferen t Spec ies w hich v is itIn d ia. Thereare two d i stin ct k in ds of Pe l ican to be m et w ithi n these di stri cts , an d theyare d is tingu ishable on e from the

other at aglan ce by the term inati on of the ir fron tal featherson the cu lm en . In on e spec ies these e n d in acon cave l in e ,in the other In apo i n t . To the latter Spe c ies I have particu larlyd ire cted my atten tl on at Mr. Hume

’

s special request, but asI have from tim e to tim e shotagood man y of the former,an dat the same time preservedafew O f the ir sk in s, I w i l l proceedfirst to gi ve ashort Sketch of my observat ion s regard ing them .

At the first glan ce on e w ou ld suppose there w ere tw o k in dsof Pe l ican b e l ongi ng to th is spec ies, ria,alarge S i lvery w hitePe l ican andalarge grey Pe l ican bu tafter shooting agood lyserie s I am sati sfied that theseare on ean d the same b ird ind iff eren t stages of plumage . I am aware that two k in ds ofPe l ican , both hav1ng the ir fron tal feathers en d ing in acon cavelin e

,have b een recorded from this prov in ce , via, P . crispus

an d P. phi lippensis, but as far as th is d istrict is con cern edI have on ly come across on e ki n d . w h ich I con c ludem ust be P . crispus, Inasmu ch as P . pli zl ippen sis is statedto have aseri es of spots on each s ide of the mid-rib ofu pper mandi ble whi ch n on e Of

_ _

my specimen s possess. ,

The

504 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PELICAN

changes of plumage that the bird to wh ich my spec imen sbe l ong un dergoes are as fol low s : The young bird has itsscapu lars an d w ing-coverts of ad irty pale brown ; irides agreyish straw ye l low ; orbital regi on , bi l l an d legs of adu skyl iv id leaden color, the b i l lan d legs be ing the darker, espec ial lythe

filatter h the pouch is apale greyish ye l l ow . In the n e xt

stage of plumage the scapu lars an d w ing -coverts, in fact the

whole bird, becomesapure si lvery wh ite w ith amoderatecrest of long curly wh ite feathers ; the orb ital reg i on greyish

wh ite , w ith occasional dark purple blotches b il l, tarsusan d toes

agreyish p ink, the two latter hav ingafain t pu rp le t in ge , thetoes be ing the darkest. The plumage gradual ly changes toal ight s i lveran d final ly toadeep s i lver grey ; the crest is fu l ly 3 to4 in ches long . The orb ital reg ion is al ivid purp le ; theirides apale straw ye l low b i l l a. greyish pink ; tarsu san d toes the same bu t darker ; the pou ch from be in gapalegrey ish ye l low becomesadeep ye l low

,an d final ly adeep ver

m i l ion orange .

I have watched large flocks of th is species through myglasses fromad istan ce of abou t 100 yards,an d cou ld trace theb ird throughal l its d ifferen t stages very p lain ly , some be ingof al ight grey color w ithapart of the pou ch de e p verm i l i onorange , the remainder be ingadee p ye l l ow others w ere of adeep grey, w ith the whole of the pouch dee p vermi l ion oran ge .

I regret I have been u nable to get on e of these fu l ladu lt birds ,wh ich from the descri pti on in Jerdon I shou ld have thoughtw ou ld be long to P . p/zil ippen s is . The b irds I saw in largeflocks,an d ou t of wh ich my specim en s were ki l led ,

w ere,I fee l

con v in ced ,al l the same k in d . Can it be that the b ird re cordedfrom S in d w ith the spots on the u pper man d i ble is the fu l ladu lt of crispus, oram I wrong in iden t ifyin g an y birds ascrispus when they shou ld be young of ph i l ippen sis I have n o

dou bt Mr. Hume w i l l,in du e course of t ime , g ive u s his opin ion s

on the spec imen s I have sen t him be l on g in g to th is spec ies, aswe l l as those of the n ext, which I w i l l n ow proceed to d iscu ss .

At first I was u n der the impressi on there w ere two kin ds of

Pe l ican whose fron tal feathers en ded in apoin t , viz the smal lpink an d the large p ink . The smal l wh ite an d large wh itePe lican I always thought to be the you ng of these two,an dth is turn s ou t to be correct . Now ,

after shoot ing an d carefu l ly sex ing over 80 specimen s of the above , it is clearly evi

den t that there is, so far as these districtsare con cern ed , on lyon e k in d of Pe l ican be longing to th is species , of wh ich the

smal l p in k Pe l ican is the femalean d the large pink the male .

O f the former I have sen t four sk in san d of the latter e ightto Mr. Hume for iden tification ,

as Iam unable to say what thescien tific name of the bird shou ld be . Comparing my skin s

506 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PE LICAN

w ith apin k tinge tai l ofade l icate pale pink irides reddishhaze l,almost carbun c le red in some l ights the orbital regionalemon ye l low the forehead con s iderably swe l led (at leastin the male ) ; the bi l l ofadeep b lood red ,

espec ial lyat the edgesthe m id-riban d base of u pperan d low e r man dibles of asti l ldeeper du l l leaden color ; the nai l deep blood red ; pou ch deepgamboge ye l low ; the tarsus, toesan d n ebsare of apale lemonye l low ,

w ith the fron t port i on of ap ink ish ye l low,w ith some

t imesafew dark purple scale s,wh ich ,

how e ver, d isappearaltogether in the oldadu lt . The stiff wh ite feathers on upper portionof breast gradual ly get of avery pal e bu ff ye l low , then palegolden ,

an d final lyadee p golden ye l low , probably in the veryold b ird aferrug in ou s golde n ye l low ,

as some of the birdsI shot bu t did n ot sk in had the ir breast feathers of aredd ishgolden ye l low ,

after wh ich probab ly may come the ferrugin ousstage . The m id-rib in the adu lt is raised about th in ch

over the rest of the u pper man d i ble .

I w i l l n ow proceed to give the changes of each particu larpart in detai lI : ides in you ng b irdare of al ight brown color

, gradual lychan g ing in toahaze l , an d final ly in to adeep redd ish haze l ,almost carbu n cle red in some l ightOrbital reg ion at firstavery pale p ink ish leaden grey, thenapale l iv id fleshy,an d final lyapale lemon ye l low , deeper in

t in t .accord ing to age . The forehead in the adu lt male iscon s iderably swe l led .

B i l l ,first year bird —A. pale p ink ish leaden color sl ightlydarker than orbital reg ion ,

w ith the nai l dusky ye l low , paleat tip ; edges of upper man d ib le are adee p brow n , shad ingoff in to the pale leaden color of s ides an d m id-rib. Thislatter is sl ightly con vex an d rises on ale ve l w ith s ides of

m id-rib.

Second year bird —The m id-riban d base of u pperan d low ermand ib les get of ade ep leaden color

,wh i le the brow n edg ing

of the u pper man d ib le gives place to apale golden ye l lowthe edge of l ow er man d ib lealsoat base gets of apale ye l low ;the nai l redd ish ye l low later on in the year the m id -riban dbase of upperan d l ower man d ib les in crease in d uskin e ss, thepale go lden ye l low edg ing of u pper man d ible changes to l ightred w ith streaks of red rad iating towards m id -rib

, porti onbetw een m id-rib an d edges of apale gamboge ye l low ,

w ithasky green ish blotches the nai l becomes pale red , paler

at tip. The edg ing Of u n der man d ible is n ow n ear base of adu sky ye l low ish red

, towards tipapale ye l low . The m id-rib

is n ow sl ightly raised from rest of u pper man d ib le .

Third yearn—The m id-riban d base of u pperan d l ower man d ibles becomeadeep leaden grey or laven der the base of m id-rib

VISITING THE EASTERN NARRA.

”507

l ighter than the rest the port ion s on each s ide of mid-ri bare of

ablood red color w ith splashes of pale gamboge ye l low , especifial ly towards base an d '

tip ; the edges of u pper man d ibleareof acon tin u ous deep blood red, those of low er man d ib le n earbase are ofadee p d usky red ; nai l of u pper man d ib le ofadeep blood red, paleat tipan d base that of lower man d ib leapale red . The mid-rib is n ow raised fu l ly f 5 th of an in chover the rest of u pper man d ible .

Pouch as aru le of young birds is of apale greyish ye l low ,

gradual ly chang ing in to apale lemon ye l lowan d final ly in toadee p gamboge ye l low . But I have shot some young birds w iththe pouch of n earlyas deepaye l lowas that of the adu lt bird .

Tarsu s , toesan d w ebs, firstyear bi rd ,are ofapurpl ish leadencol or, dusk ier towards the c laws .

S econ d year bi rd —The port ion of l eg above the kn ee firstchan ges in to apale lemon ye l low , the tarsus getting of adu sky ye l l ow , l ighter at back an d darkerat fron t, wh i le thetoesan d w e bs in crease in dusk in e ss towards the c law s . Bydegre es the du sky color d isappears from the tarsu s , leav ingit ofapale ye l low w i th gen eral lyafew of the scales in fron tof adusky purple ; the toes u n dergo as im i lar change , wh i lethe w ebs become of agreyish ye l low , du sky towards the c law s .Thi rd year bird —Above kn eealemon ye l low tarsu san d toes

ofapale ye l low w ithawarm p inkish ye l low tinge in fron t websof apale lemon ye l l ow .

C law s in the young bird are dusky brown , gradual lygetting of abrown ish ye l low ,

an d final ly of apale ye l low .

The claws appear to be the last to change , often be ingdusky ye l low ,

w ith brown blotches in the youn g adu lt. The

m id toe is pectinated , be ing more serrated in the youngbird than in the O ld on e .

S capu lars, w ing-coverts, w ingletan d tai lare in the youngbird of ad irty pale brown . In the secon d year bird thesechange toapure wh ite , except on e or two feathers of the

scapu lars, wh ich re tain adark brown edging also the w ingl et, wh ich is n early black w ith af ew streaks of wh ite in the

third year bird , or rather in the fu l ladu lt,al l have become pu re

w h ite w ithade l icate p ink t inge . This pink tingealso occurs inthe secon d year. In on e spec imen ,

No. al l the above arewhitr

"

w ithap ink t inge, except on e w ingletgwhich sti l l retain sablack feather .

Primaries, the secon d of wh ich is the l ongest, are in theyou ng bird of adusky brow n , getting deep brown or black inthe adu lt, w ith the tips frosted over w ith as i lvery grey .

The shafts are wh ite brown at tip. Perhaps'

i'

n the n estl ingtheyareal l brown .

S econ daries are in young b ird of ad irty pale brow n , in

the middle -aged theyare deep brown ,an d in theadu ltalmost64

508“

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PELICAN

black in al l stages, but as they get older they are close lyfrosted over w ith s i lvery grey, especial ly on the ou ter w ebs,

an d more so on those n earer the scapu lars, mak ing them at ad istan ce lookalmost wh ite .

Tertiari esarealso of ad irty pale brown in the youn g bird,chang ing in to b lack in the adu lt, w ith the t i ps s l ightly frostedover w ith si lver grey. I haveattached to th is paper fu l l measuremen ts ofal l the spe cim en s preserved , both of th is species ‘

an d of the first kin d ; also the colors of the soft parts of eachspec imen sen t to Mr. Hume . From these it w i l l be seen thatthe bil ls of the females range from 1 2 25 to 135 the ir w ingsfrom 240 0 to 262 5 an d the ir tarsu s from to The

bi l ls of the males range from 152 5 to 172 1 w ings , 272 5 to

28 5 0 ; an d the tarsu s from 5 50 to 57 5 .

In con clus ion I wou ld again al lu de to the extraord inarypauc ity of females,an dalso to the fact Of ‘

the malesan d femaleskee ping in separate flocks ; for i n stan ce , ou t of aflock of seven

that I fou nd feed in g in asmal l pool of water an d gotafam i ly shotat, six proved to be females , the seven th e scaped ;

to this flock be l ong spec imen s Nos . 3and 4 .

Again for three days, or rather m orn ings, I fol low ed on e flockof Pe l ican , wh ich roughly n umbered ov er Two of the ,

m orn in gs I got a. fam i ly ” Shots,an d the th ird, I bagged three ,

altogether in the three m orn ings gettin g 38 Pe l ican ,al l

of w h ich I sexed most care fu l ly an d rough ly m easured an dfound them al l mal es , ,w ith the ir testesal l more or le ss show ingsigns , of breed ing . Non e of the se birds had bi l ls less than1 52 5 or w in gs less than 272 5 . To th is flock be l ong Spec im en s

No. 13,to No. 16 in c lus ive . Again in an other place , some 12

mi les . away, there was aflock of abou t 300 . I fai led to getafam i ly shotat these , but gotarightan d leftas they flew overmy head , dropping two. Both of these proved females , on e

specimen No. 12 ) hav in g eggsas largeas big marbles in her

( fu l ly on e in ch in d iameter) ,an d the other w ith ovaries hav ingeggsas bigas grain s of barley.

Specimen No. 1—(P . crispus) .

I rides pal e straw ye l low orbital reg ion grey ish w hite ; bi l l dusky greyedg e s of upper man di bl e n ear nai l pal e y el low nai l ye l low , pale at tiplow er man d ibl e grey ish purpl e pouch greyish ye l low tarsus greyish

pink ; toes ,d usky pin k claws dusky pal e ye l low .

MEASUREMENTS

Date,4th Jan uary, 1880 . Weight, l fims .

tiBil lat f ron tB il lat gapeTarsus 4 50

'

Mid toe an d claw 57 5“

G reatest w idth of bil l

Note .-:Le n gth_

of bi l l i nal l case s is measured from poin t of feathers on culmen . Grv

eatesW i dth of bi l l i s that of upper mand i bl e .

VISITING THE NARRA.

”

Detai led description of the colors of the soft parts of specimens en teredin preced ing tables

FEMALES . Specimen No. 3

Irides hazel : orbital region l ight l ivid purpl e ; bi l l , mid-rib andbase of upper and low er man d ibl es l ight l iv id purpl e, portion betw eenmid-riband edge of upper mandible of ag reen ish blue ; edges of

upper mandibl e f or 1 1 in ches f rom nail of afain t golden y e l low ,also

u pper edge of low er mand ibl ead usky ye l low nai l d irty ye l low ,dusky

in cen tre pouch d eep gamboge ye l low tarsusan d toes grey ish ye l low,

the latter d usky purpl ish n ear c law s webs dusky y el low claws d irtyy el low ,

w ith dusky brown blotches .

Specimen No. 4 .

Irides hazel ; orbital reg ion l ight l iv id purpl e ; bi l l , mid-rib andbase of upper mandibl e an d low er also l ight l iv id purpl e ; portionbe tw een m id-rib and edge of upper mand ibl e of agreen ish bl ue ;edge s of upper man dibl e f or 1 1 in ches f rom nail of afain t g old eny e l low ; al so upper edg e of base of low erman d ibl e adusky ye l low ;pouch d eep gamboge ye l low ; nai l d irty ye l low ,

d usky in cen tre ;tars us an d toes grey ish yel low ,

the latter d u sky purpl ish n ear claw s ;w ebs d usky ye l low ; c laws, d irty yel low ,

w ith dusky brow n blotches .

Specimen No. 1 7 .

Irides l ight brow n ,almost l ight hazel orbital reg ion pinkish white

bi l l pinkish w hite , but darker than orbital region , especial ly n ear edg e ofupper man dibl e, where it is dusky brow n , m ixed w ith pale gol d en ye l lownai l d irty brown ish ye l low , pal e at tip pou ch pale grey ish y e l low

tarsus, toesand w ebs du sky y el low ,the tw o latter du skier than the former

edge of w ebs deep dusky ; l eg abov e kn ee pal e lemon ye l low ; c lawsdark brow n

,w ith patches of d irty ye l low .

Note—I found the sex of this bird rather d ifficul t to determin e,

but as there was n oth ing that bore the s l ightest resemblance to thetestes, there bein g on lyaw hitish ye l low fi lmabou t on e inch long by aquarter inch w ide, I conclude it wasav irgin f emal e .

Specimen No. 12 .

I rides redd ish hazel , carbun cl e red in some l ights orbital region pal eorange ye l low bi l l,m id-rib, base of upperan d low er mand ibles l eaden

s laty the mid-rib hasaf ew scal es pale y e l low and red s id es of upper

mand ibl e blood red ,d eeper on edges, pal er towards mid-rib edge of low er

mand ible d eep d usky red , pal ing to l ight y e l low at tip ; nai l of upper

mand ibl e blood red , low er mandibl e pal er, portion of low er mand ible n earnail pale ye l low pouch deep gamboge y e l low farm s and toes pal estraw ye l low ,

the former in f rontabright pink , w ithaf ew purpl e scalesc laws '

d usky w ith patch of y el low roof of upper mand ible w ith s ix

l in es of red,the f our in cen tre meeting inapoin t n ear nail .

Th is wasanadul t female,w ith eggsas largeas big marbl es .

MALES . Specimen No. 9 .

Col ors of sof t parts similar exactly to Specimen No. 8,w ith the

f ol l ow ing exception s

B i l l has less red ; tars usan d toes hav e a. f ew scal es in fron t darkpurpl e webs grey ish pink claws dark dusky .

f This bird is e v iden tly ayounger bird than No. 8, which isagainayoungerbird than No. 7 .

5 12 OBSERVATIONS ON THE PELICAN,ETc .

Specimen No. 1 0 .

Colors of sof t parts v ery simi lar to No. 8, but w ith the f ol low inge xception s

B i l l sl ightl y redder tarsus an d toesaf ew dark purpl e scal es in f ron t'al so f ron t '

skin of tarsu sareddish ye l low .

This bird is ev iden tly n ext in ag e to No. 9 .

Specimen No. 1 1 .

Colors of sof t parts very s im ilar to No. 8 , w ith the exception of thef ol low ing d iff eren ces

B i l l of abrighter ye l low an dal ighter red base of upper and low erman d ibl es an d m id-rib of al ighter l eaden slaty nail al ighter red

Orbital reg ion has ye l low patch es tarsusand toes, the formerw ithaf ewscal e s in f ron t sl ightly dusky .

This bird inage ev iden tly comes n ext to No. 10.

Specimen N0 . 8 .

I rides d eep hazel red , almost carbun cl e red in some l ights ; orbitalregion pal e purpl ish w h ite , w ith aye l low tinge ; bi l l , mid

-rib,base

of upper and low er man d ibl e du l l l eaden slaty , mid -rib pal er atbase , darkest in cen tre , and n ear nail shad ing off into

, greyish pink ;s ides of upper man d ibl e betw een mid -rib and edges of apalegamboge y e l low ,

w ith streaks of l ight red radiating f rom edge , w hich is

of acontin uous bright l ight red color, shad ing off n ear nail in to aal egolden ye l low nail bright l ight red low er mand ibl e pal e grey ish ye l owf or 7 in che s n ear nail ; upper edg e n ear base of adusky red ; nai l of

low er mandibl e pale red poucli l ight gamboge y e l low ; tarsu sand toespal e pinkish straw ye l low (no dark scal es ) webs greyish ye l low c laws,some redd ish yel low ,

others n early dark brown .

Specimen No. 1 3 .

Colors of soft parts s imilar to No. 8,w ith the exception of the fol low ing

d ifi eren ces

B i l l n ot so much yel low an dal ittl e more red tarsusand toes haveaf ew pu rpl e scal e s in f ron t .

This bird ev id en tly comes next i nage to No 8 .

Specimen No. 1 4 .

The colors of the sof t partsare exactly S imilar to those of No. 12, but

w ith the fol low ing ex ception

B i l l n ot so much red .

This bird is much of the sameageas No. 13, but i f anything s l ightlyolder.

Specimen No. 7 .

Irides d eeps hazel red,almost carbun cl e red in some l ights orbital

reg ion pal e purpl ish white,w i thay el low tinge bi l l , mid -rib

,base of

U pper an d l ow er man d ibl e d u l l l ead en slaty ; mid -rib pal erat base,

darkest in c en tre ,an d n ear nail shad in g off in to greyish pink ; s id es of

upper man dibl e betw ee n mid -rib and edges of agambogeye l low groun d color, w ith streaks of d eep red radiating f rom edg e ,w hich is of acon tin uou s d eep red color

, pal in g to orang e ye l low n earnail

,w hich is d e ep bright red l ow er mand ibl e pale greyish ye l low f or

7 in ches n ear nail ; upper edge n ear base of ad eep dusky red ; nail of low erman d ibl e pal e red ; pouch gambog e ye l low tarsus an d toes pal e pi nkish straw yel low , w ith af ew dark purple scal es in front of tarsus

NOTES .

webs pal e straw ye l low; c laws dark ye l low w ith blotches of duskybrown bed .

Specimen No.

Colors of sof t parts exactly similar to those of No. 8, except in the

f ol low ing in stan ce sO rbital region , the w hol e of it pal e l emon y e l low ; f orebead large ly

d ev e loped . Skin ov er it rather rough tarsusan d toes pal e l emon y e l low ,

darker abov e kn ee in f ron t of tarsus an d toes apinkish ye l low pouchde ep gamboge y e l low .

This bird ev iden tly is the fu l lad ul t mal e its testes w ere v ery largel ydeve loped .

I AM v ery glad to be able to give , be fore “ S tray Feathersaltogether d isappears , afin e plate , pre pared u n der the k indsuperv is ion o f my esteemed frien d Mr. J . H . Gurn ey , of PERNIS

TWEEDALII, n obis , already re ferred to an te, pp. 446— 8an d 122, 1 23 . I have n othin g n ew toadd to what has beenalready said by Mr. G urn ey an d myse lf in regard to th issp ec ies .

NEITHER the large Flam ingo (944 .—PH (ENICOPTERU S ROSEU S

,

Pal l . ) n or the smal l Ruddy on e (944bis .—P. MINOR

, G . S t.

H i l . ) so far as I have yet been able toascertain breedsanywhere in In d ia. The larg er spec ies breeds in en ormou scompan ies towards the head of the Pers ian Gu lf, an d I havehad s imply hun dreds of eggs of th is Spec ies se n t m e then ce .

W here the smal l on e breeds , if atal l ou t of Africa, I do n ot

kn ow ; but both spec ies frequen t the Sambhur lake asseasonal v is itan ts ,an dare m uch esteemed there for the table,an d de served ly so S in ce , when in the fin e con d ition they there

soon assume,theyare , I u sed to th ink in my old u n regen erate

kreOphagite days, superior to the best stu bble -fed goose Ie ver tasted .

But, though n e ither spec ies,so faras I have yet been able to

d iscover (an d it may be imag in ed that I have had them w e l lsearched for) , breeds e itherat Sambhur or an ywhere e lse inIn d ia, both spec ies have an u n t idy hab it of dropping the ireggsaboutat the lake be fore leav ing .

I have had several eggs of both sen t m e from t ime to timep icked up at the ' lake ’s edge , or on some mud bank—eggs

mostly qu ite fresh when foun d—an d many m ore eggs of the

same k ind than I have seen or heard of have , I kn ow , beenconverted in to ome lettes an d otherw ise sacri legiou sly d isposedof. Now to-day my frien d Mr. Ashton sends mean egg of the

large species p icked up on the morn ing of the 5th of

NOTES .

November, 1 887, on amud ban k out in the lake al ittle to

the n orth-east of the tow n of Sambhu r, c learly laid during then ight of the 4th,as it lay right in the path fol low ed dai ly bythe labourers . Healso sen ds m ean egg of the smal ler spec ieslaid on the lake edge n ear MataPahar, abou t May ,

18 8 5,the hot season fol low ing agreat flood

,when the fiamingoes

remain ed u n usual ly late .

THE HAWFINCH FROM ATTOCK, by R; Bowdler Sharpe .

Three spec imen s of aHawfin ch w ere col lected at Attock inthe Punjab in March , 18 69 ,an d in February, 1870, by C olon e lDe lme-Radc l iffe . Theyare men t ion ed by Mr. Hume in The

Ibis” for 18 69 , p . 456 ,an dagain in S tray Feathers” for 1 877,Vol . VII, pp . 4t l 3

,462 ,an dare there referred to C . vu lgaris , i . e . ,

C . coeeothrau stes (Linn ) . In the Hume C ollecti on there w ere

n o spec im en s of true 0 . eoccothrau stes from Europe ; and thecom parison of these spec imen s was there fore doubtless madew ith plate s of the European bird ; but on comparing the three

b irds w ith aseries of true 0 . coccothrau stes, it seems to me

certain that theyare d istin ct from the European Hawfin ch .

The female differs from the correspon d ing sex of 0 . 00 000

thrau stes in be ing ochreou s brow n above , pale ashy ochreou son the low er back, rump

, an d u pper tai l-coverts , wh i le thecrown of the head is ashy grey l ike the hin d n eck ; s ides of

face alsoashy grey, washed w ith ochreous breastan d s ides of

the body ochreous bu ff, in stead of v inaceou s brown ; cen treof breastan dabdomen Wh ite . Total length, 6 75 in ches cu l

men,

w ing , 3 9 tai l, tarsu s, 08 .

The male difi '

ers less from 0 . coccothrau stes than the female ,bu t it is d istingu ished by its paler co loration ,an d by the breastand s ides of the body be ing l ight orange-brow n i n stead of

v inaceous . Total length, 6 9 in ches cu lmen , w ing , 38tai l , 2 '

l tarsus, 08 .

I may add that the Attock b ird is n ot 0 . japon ieu s, for ithasagreater exten t of pure wh ite on the W ing-coverts thanin e ven true 0 . coccothrau stes . 0 . japon icu s is scarce ly to bed istingu ished from the Eu ropean b ird an d d iffers on ly in

hav ing the med ian an d greater w ing-coverts pale drab at thee n ds in stead of wh ite . I propose to call the Coccothrau stesfrom Attock after my frien d Mr. Hume , C . hum ii . Whetherit is the Hawfin ch recorded by L ieu tenan t Barn es as aperman en t res iden t at Chaman in S outhern Afghan istan(S . F. ,

IX,p . 456) mu st remain aqu est ion to be dec ided byan

e xam inat ion of spec imen s, which I have n ot yet had the opportun ity of doing .

516 NOTES .

Measuremen ts of Falco baby lonien s .

QIStNOV . 1878 Femal e 17 7

26th Dccr 1878 Femal e 16 -

5 62 12-25

”

1sth Jan . 1879 Mal e 6

19th Jan . 1879 Femal e '

12 7"12 1 2

28th NOV 1880 '

5 6 11‘

l 1

18th Dec . 1880 Mal e 14 25 ‘

50”

11'

1 75” 6

1st Jan . 1881 Mal e 16 1 2"

5”

[2 37 1 22"

7 Immature .

2n d Jan . 1881 Mal e 5”

57 5 1 00 8

4th Jan . 188 1 Femal e 16 8 0 7 12 75 17 5” 9 W eight2lb l oz .

3rd Feb. 188 1 Mal e 1375’

75 11’

00 l 06 l 70 10

COLOU RS .

Specimen N0 . 2 (26th December 1878 )C ere green ish ye l l ow bi l l pale , ’

horny duskyat tip fe et

pale ye l l ow .

Specimen NO . 3 (1 8 th Jan uary 1879 )Irides dark brow n ; ‘cere gre en ish ye l low bil l pale horny,darkat tip legsan d toes lemon ye l low c law s black.

Specimen .No. 4: ( 19th Jan uary 1 8 79 )Irides dark brown orbital Sk in pale green ish ye l l ow cere

green ish ye l low ; bi l l pale horny, darkat tip ; toesan d legspale lemon ye l low .

Specimen N0 . 5 (28 th November 1 8 80)Irides dark brown cerean d legs ye l low bi l l deep slatyattip, pale green ish ye l low n ear base orbital sk in lemonye l low claws black .

Specimen No . 6 ( 1 8th December 1880)Irides deep black b i l l pale gre en ish ye l lowat base of u pperan d lower man d ib le , gett ing du skier towards tip, which isblack cere, legsan d toes bright le

'

mon ye l low .

NOTES . 517

Specimen No. 7 (l st January 18 8 1 ) (immature )Irides dark brown cerean d orbi tal sk in l ight wh itish ye l low ,

the latter colour very fain t ; legs pale wh itish ye l lowclaws du sky bi l l pale s laty blue , dusky horny blu eattip.

Specim en No. 8 (2n d Jan uary 18 8 1)Irides deep brown ; orbital Sk in , cerean d legs brightye l low b i l l pale , green ish ye l low at base, dusky s latyhornyat tip ; m id toean d claw = 2 in ches .

Specimen No. 9 (4th Jan uary 18 8 1 )Irides deep brown ; edge O f eye l id , orb ital Sk in an d cere

pale ye l low ; legsan d toes ye l low ; c laws black .

Specimen NO . 10 (3rd February 1 88 1)Irides black ; cere , eye l id , orbital sk in an d legs bright lemonye l low ; bil l gre en ish ye l low at base , blu ish horn yat tip

c law s s laty horn y, darkerat ti ps testes cons iderably en

larged .

IN the cold w eather O f 18 80, Captain W i l l iamson , 43rdLight In fan try, me t w ith the W oodcock (S . rusti cola) on

several occas ion s in the n e ighbourhood of Tonghoo. He

says The firstW oodcock I got was on the march from Thayetmyo to Tonghoo, half way . betw e en the two places . Iflushed it in asan dy n u l lah,

n early dry, though w i th aspring n ot far O ff . This was in the last week Of March.

Abou t six m i les n orth of Tonghoo there isajhi l s ituatedin the m idst of the ju ng le . It has very flat banks on thethre e s ides

, covered w ith bushes, wh ich are su bmerged forabout fifty yards during the rain s . These bushes are Openu n dern eath when the water su bs ides . I was thereafter du ckan d d iscovered marks in the soft mud of prodd ing, made byaW oodcock I thought. I measured the depth an d foun dit abou t the len gth Of aW oodcock’

s bi l l . I then hun tedaboutan d flushed an d shot acock. I w en t there severalt imesafter

, an d to an other jh i l about half am i le off thesame placean d ki l led two or three each t ime , an d on on e

occas ion I got e ight . Twen ty-three m i les south Of Tonghoo

when in search Of pig,I saw al ike ly p lace in the jung le at

the head of aspring an d flushed acock, but hav ing on ly arifle w ith me cou ld n ot bag it. I retu rn ed there three daysafterwards an d got acouple . I have l ookedat several othervery l ike ly coverts in the Ton ghoo d istrict, but n ever saw anym ore cock, bu t I am sure theyare to be got . Cou ld see n o

d ifferen ce betw e en these and the Engl ish bird, though someare smal ler than others .

”

fi etters to the (Editor.

THE Peahen gen eral ly n ests on the ground . Here

the coun try is very flatan d gets so flooded that trees are u sed .

I fou n d , on 3oth S eptember, 1 8 84,an estand five eggs, hard set,in atri ple fork of man go tre e 1 2 feet from groun d ; in ju st suchapos iti onas is represen ted in Captain Marshal l’s sketch of then est (Birds N estin g in In d ia) of the Brow n Fish C W] .2 . Ne st of [arc zeg lan iea(wh ich is very common here )an d

three eggs hard se t, on October 4th , 18 84— very late ,was it n ot .

7

I shot the female as she flew off n e st . W e had to bu l ly her Off

it,an d I th ink the man m ight have taken her in his han d .

3 . Marshal l , p . 1 73 (B irds Nestin g ) says Of 8 26 cambayensis requ ires con firmation .

” I caught the female by popping my hat on heras she sat in atu ft Of grass on six fresh eggs,24th S eptember, 1 8 84,abou t 50 yards b eh in d my house .

O n 2 1st S eptember, 1 884, four hard -set eggs of sam e spec iesw ere brought me .

H . LITTLEDALE.

THE COLLEGE, BARODA,November 702,1 884 .

YESTERDAY I saw inan Open fie ldalarge flock , over

three hu n dred , of what I th in k w ere Rooks (C . frugi leg us) . Iwas u nable to shoot on e ,an d shou ld be glad to kn ow i fthe Bookis e ver foun d as far south, as I have n e ver seen it be fore .

Ne itherRaven s, whichare common here ,n or Crow s C . splenden s)

ever col lect in flocks to feed in the fie lds as faras Iamaware .

FRANK W . CHANTER .

LUDHIANA,November l st

,1 884 .

[Rooks , l think , are rarely se en as far east as Ludhiana. They areC O i nmon some years d urin g the w in ter i n the submon tan e d is tric ts f rom

S eal kote an d Rawalpi n d i to Peshawar, an d 1 have se e n specimen s f rom

Hoshiarpore, but n ever, I thin k, f rom Ludhiana.—ED . , S . F

W ITH re feren ce to page 1 74 of you r Vol . III , Gam e

B irds of In d ia, ” I have the p leasure to in form you that th i syear, on the l 6th May, I came acrossav ery large n umber of

the Pin k-headed Duck ,

”on the KoosumbaTal ” at the

edge of the Sakhoo forest about 25 m i les n orth of Khe eri .

U n fortu nate ly I cou ld n ot shoot on e Of themas w e had.

alarget iger i h

_apatch of re edsadj oin in g the Tal (w e got him after

ratherasharp tussl e . ) The birds , howe ver, came so c l ose to

n

D

Ie t

l

l

pat I had no d ifi cu ltg in iden tifying themas Pink-head ed

no


I HAVE just, for the first time,been l ooking at

Vol . I of your bookabout the Gam e Birds of In d ia, andI th ink I have madead iscovery .

In the beg in n ing of 1 88 1 I shot aSan dgrouse wh ich wasd ifferen t fromany I had seen be fore . The male was some

th in g l ike the Pain ted Grou se , bu t of much more sober coloring .

The female was very fin e lyan d c l ose ly barred . I have hard lyany dou bt that the birds w ere the C lose-barred San dgrou se .

Look ing up my d iary I fin d that the date on wh ich I shotthem was the 3rd February ,

18 8 1 . The place was Damokur

in the Soan e Val ley in Rewah,1 8 m i les from C hu n dea, w h ich

is some 20 m i les south of the stat ion of Ku tn i on the E . I .Rai lway.

My camp was in astu bb le fie ld on ah i l lock w ith th injun gle al l roun d , an d I foun d the b irds c lose to my ten ts;

There w ere two or thre e parties of five or s ix in each . They hadawh istl ing cry, laid pre tty cl ose

,an d did n ot fly far. I shot

four b irds of wh ich I th ink on ly on e was amale . The

plumage of the female stru ck me very much . It was so

very softan d pen c i l led . It is al ong t ime ago an d ritefrom m emory, but I am con vi n ced the bird was the C l ose-barred San dgrou se . Iam keen abou t b irds

,though I have n o

sc ie n t ific kn ow ledge ,an d W hen ever I findabird I don ’

t kn owI look him up on the first opportu n ity .

The place is very w i ld an d u n frequen ted ; an d there is

far more jungle than cu l tivat ion form il es aroun d .

J . C . BERKELEY .MORAR,

20th May, 1883 .

[I in sert this le tter because Colon e l Berke ley I know was al ways akeenobserver of bird s , bu t I have n o other record of the occ urre n ce of this speci es

eastwards of S ind .— ED S . F . ]

ON the 28 th November, 1 8 82 ,atasmal l jh i l n ear theMalaSwam p (about m i les south of Guj row la. in Philibhit,on e of the officers ofmy reg ime n tan d myse lf were ou t shootin g duckan d teal .H e got first shotataflock of teal an d kn ocked over some

six or se ven in his first shot or two. They fe l l n ear my s ide ,andas I hadadog I we n t in to retrie ve them . They w erepretty w e l l scattered, an d he an d I both saw on e (as w ethought) of the w ou n ded sw imm ingabout n ear the edge of the

Open bit of water in the centre . H easked me to ge t it, butasthe water was deep there I shot it on the water, an d my dogretrieved it. I was struck by its pecu l iarappearan ce . W e both

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR . 521

examin ed it very care fu l ly when w e had fin ished off the shooting on that jh i l ,an d he came to the con c lus ion that it wasthat very rare duck , the wh ite -faced or stiff-tai led duck .

O n getting hom e w e con su lted the volum e on ducks,and

there cou ld be n o doub t w hate ver that it was the sti ff -tai ledd uck . U n fortunate ly the b ird was m ixed u p w i th the othersshot that day,an d sen t in to Bare i l ly,and who got it w e don ’

t

kn ow .

It was , how ever, u n doubted ly the stiff -tai led duck . Afterread ing you raccoun t of the hab its of the bird w e have come

to the con clusion that it was not w oun ded whe n w e first n otic

ed it ; w e saw n o other an d d id n ot sex it . The name of

the jhi l is the Mu sapur Jh i l .The Malaswamp is agran d place for duck i f on e cou ld

on ly re trieve al l the b irds shot, but the n u rku l”

reeds

are so th ick an d h igh that on e loses half or more of the

birds .

W . C . PLOWDEN.

BAREILLY, 7th Apri l, 18 83 .

[Videan te, p. 420 .—ED . , S . E . ]

A SPECIMEN of astiff-tai led du ck was brought tome byanat ive w ho w oun ded it out of asmal l number n earKe e n gurh on th is s ide of the In dus in February of th is year.

The bird l ived for aw e ek in capt ivity . The birds w ere

l iv in g on alarge, shal low , bu t very open j hil wh ich is s l ightlysaltish.

T . BOMFORD .

MULTAN,20mJun e, 18 87 .

YOU may care to n ote that I shot two Florican(females) to-dayat Nawatan k, seven m i les east of Barodac ity .

I saw on e (afemale ) in the same place in March , 1 8 83 .

Except these three I have n ever heard of the ir be ing here

before the rain s . They gen eral ly come in Ju ly (late )an d d i sappear in S e ptember.

I tried las t w in ter to iden tifyal l the du cks I shot,an d fou n dthat you had n oted al l the variet ies I m et w ithas visit ingGuzerat.Last year, on Jun e 1st, I shot three Pai n ted S n i pe at

Pavagadh , 30 m iles east of this . I think afew pamters”

stay in the qu ietest tanks al l the year. Two Bittern s were


shot at '

Pe l ol, eight mi les n orth of th is, in I “ haven e ver m e t w ith the Bittern here before or s in ce . O ur firstd ucks last year w ere p in tails I shot agreat n umb er inO ctober,an d then n ot on e t i l l Fe bruary (late ) , wh ich looksasi f they w e n t early sou th of th is . Our common est duckarethe Grey

-w inged Teal , the Mal lard , C ommon Teal ,an d occas ional ly W idgeon ,

bes ides man y W h istl ing Tealan d C otton Teal .The C otton an d some of the Wh istl ing T eal stayal l the year.

'Therearea'

few Brahminys, but they ke ep more to the rivers .

H . LITTLEDALE.

BARODA, 6th Apri l , 1 884.

THE fol low ing n otes may be of some in terest to you .

The Saru s C ran e has been se e n in the Tan naC ol lectorateby Mr. T . D . Macken z ie

, the C ol lector. H e saw four,two old

an d two you n g , birds on atan kat Tembh i in the Dahan utalukaon March 4th , 1 8 83 . H e got w ith in 25 yards of them .

Healso in the mon th of Jan uary, 1 8 83 , when actingas Col l ector of Salt, saw Sarus on two occas ion s in the Tan nad istrictcon tiguou s to the Daman territory . As Mr. Macke n z ie hasserved for several years in Guzerat, he kn ows aSarus, to u se

his own express ion ,as w e l las he kn ows aSn ipe . I shotabrace of Spotted C rake at J0 0 n ear Ban w e l l on

‘

the others ide of the Bombay Harbour on 2n d December, 1 883 . O n

Jan uary 13th , 1 88 4, I shotafemale Scau p Du ck on asmal ltank on the roadsideabou tam i le from Banw e l l, c lose to the

1 8 th m i leston e from Tan na. It wasalon e w ith alot of C oots .

I had some d ifficu lty in getting it,as when ever I w en t to on e

s ide of the tan k it swam to the other w i th the C oo ts . I firedalong shotat it when it d ived an d remain ed u n der watersome t im e . O n my firin g at it again ,

it took w ing, averys l owan d laboured fl ight, w hen I got it w i th the secon d barre l .I show ed the skin to Col . S w in hoe , who pron oun ces it to be

aScau p . I have sen t you the sk in by parce l post in orderthat you may iden ti fy it . I don

’

t wan t the sk in back again .

It had aye l low eye . I fan cy th is is the first re cord ofaScau pso far sou th .

I observe that you say in the Game Birds of In d iathatyou have n ever seen the Gadwal l on the seacoast,an d thatthey are essen tial ly afresh-water bird . I have freque n t lyse en them in the Salt C re eks on the other s id e of the Bom bayHarbour,an d I shot on e ou t ofavery large flock in asalt watercre ek c lose

,to the tank

,where I got the S cau p on the same

I don ’

t th in k the Tu fted Pochard can be said to be fairlycommon in G uzerat asstated in the Game Birds

”

of I

524 . LETTERS To THE EDITOR.

(Game B irds, Vol . III, pp . U n fortunate ly, I cou ld n ot

vi si t the jhi l on which I k i l led it .G . RIPPON, L ieut.

ORISSA, 26th November, 1 8 83 .

ON W edn esday last,November 7th, I shotaW ood-g

cock in the Gu rdaspur d istrict, w hen out sn i pe -shootin g in the

low lands between the Bari Doab canalan d the B ias riv er,some two or three m i les east of the Tehi Bu ngal ow (four m i leseast from Gurdaspur ) where the canal branche s . He wasflushed In comparat ive ly hard but rather s loppy groun d , sparse lycovered w ith “

phoos grass , some five or six fe et in he ight:Non e of my cool ies who w ere here con stan tly em ployed w ithshooting parties in the n e ighbourhood ,an d farabove the com

mon cooly In kn ow ledge an d in te l l igen ce , cou ld say they hadever seen aS im i lar bird . O n e youngster said he be l ieved it tobe the cock b ird of the pin

-tai led sn i pe . The b ird was in faircon d it i on ,an d w e ighed , i n the even i ng , some seven hoursafterit was k i l led ,abou t l l oz. I have shot many years off an d on

in the n e ighbou rhood, though u sual ly later In the year,an dn ever saw aW oodcock there before

,an d have n ever heard of

any on e seeing on e there .

H . M. PLOWDEN.

LAHORE, November 13th, 1 88 3 .

I GOTaName Pheasan t sen t to me the othe r day fromthe Dafflah i l ls by Mr. Crowe , who w en t on av is it to aDafflatribe .

The Datflas in formed him that they were very common on

the l ow er ran ges .

I showed i t to Captain S teven s whoat on ce iden tified it asthe Ceriorn is blythi,as hi therto on ly foun d on the Nagaan dMishmee hi l ls .

ROBERT ORAN,M .D.

NORTH LAKHIMPUR,

U PPER ASSAM,18 th April , 1883 .

IThas been my good luck late ly to come across abeautifu l specimen of Falco severu s an das I can n ot findagood descri ption of the female In either Jerdon , S . F. or

LETTERS“

To THE EDITOR.

Rough Notes“

on the Ind ian Raptores, I sen d you on e takenx

fi om this'

skin, which I imagin e from the size be longed to an

adu lt female .

I show ed it to Mr. Bowdler Sharpe, so there is n o doubtabout the species .

Fal co severus, Horsf .

DESCRIPTION—Adu lt Above dark s laty blu e , darkeston the head , n eck an d shou lders , wh icharealmost black the

head, nape , mou stach ial stripe , cheeksan d ear-coverts form ing:on e homogen eou s u n broken b lack, or s laty black ; cap asdescribed in the case of F. atriceps, Hume , some of the feathers ‘

of the forehead be ing s l ightly edged w ith ru fescen t, wh ich mayd isappear in very old spec imen s . The feathers of the back,u pper tai l -coverts

,tertials, scapu lars, an d some of the w ing

coverts have acon sp icuous dark shaft, giv ing those parts astriatedappearan ce .

Ch in and throat,as faras upper breast, bu ffy wh i te , in den t ing .

deeply in to the s ides of the n eck, where it becomes ru fous, l ikethe breast .Breast,abdomen , th ighan d l ow er tai l—coverts dee p ferrugi

n ous; the breast feathers haVIn g afew in con spicu ous darkb lack ish cen tral streaks . prin ci pal ly on the s ides . Lowerabdom en an d ven t in cl in ing to pale bu ff l ike the throat.W ing- l in ing ru fou s, l ike the breast, '

most of the u n der

coverts hav ing blackish shafts to the feathers,an d some of the’

feathers be ing mottled or patched w ith dark s late also w ingsb lack ish, the in n er w ebs of primaries an d secondaries be ingcross-barred w ith ru fescen t or pink ish cream , the bars abou tr' 18 in ch in w idth, commen c in g abou t 2 5 in ches from the en d

of the secon d primary wh ich is the l ongest, an d becomingsmal ler an d less d istin ct towards the t i ps of the feathers ;the primary u n der w in g -coverts are s im i larly marked , buton both w ebs, an d the first primary most pecu l iarly n otched;as if apiece of the web had been cut out w ith apair of

sc issors .

Tai l,

vi ewed from the un derside , cross-barred l ike the ,

w ings , the bars growing fain ter in the same way also towardsthe tip view ed from the upper s ide , when the tai l is closed,in con spicu ou sly barred w ith dusky, hav ingav ery narrow palew hitish edg ingat the extreme tip, an d the black bar n eare stthe tip broader than the others, be ingabou t ‘62 in ch in w idthMeasuremen ts of the dried skin wh ich looked very naturalan d was not overstretched

S ec . L e ngth.

2

526 LETTERS To THE"

EDITOR .

S IR,

In your book on the “ Game B irds of In d ia” you reque styour readers to sen d you any in formation they may be ableto furn ish w ith respect to the same birds or‘

to n ew spec ies n otmen tion ed.

I have j otted down afew n otes . which, though of smal lvalueas con tain ing l ittle or n oth ing that is n ew

,may perhaps

he l p to corroborate in formation rece ived from other sources .

I g iveal ist ofal l the gam e b irds that are to be foun d inKhorda, Orissa.Khordais asub-d iv is ion of Pooree my father, Mr. W . C .

Taylor, has been sixteen years residen t here as S ettlemen t

O fficer,an d in his final Settlemen t Report , n ot yet sen t up,

he in cludes the fol low ing l ist of game birds of Khorda,al l ofwhich he has shot .

This l istalso in c ludes the U riyanames of most of the birds .

The U riyas , however, are n ot v ery observan t of birds. Theyare '

first class botani sts, bu t the ir n omen c lature of birds isvery defective ,an d agreat deal pirated from other Orien tallan guages . Khordal ies betw een paral le ls 1 9

°41

’ an d 20°26

'

Northan d 84° 59 ' an d 8 5°

56 East .

You w i l l n otice names of birds m en t ion ed wh ich you refer

toas n ot hav ing been met w ith so far sou th or in th is partof the coun try .

Khordais boun ded by the greater portion of the Chi lkalake ,asplen did shal l ow tract of water 45 m i les l ong by 1 1

m i les broad , con n ected byanarrow ou tlet w ith the sea. The

water is brack ishal l the year rou n d, sl ightly so during the

autumn an d w in ter m on ths,bu t getting con s iderably salter

towards March an d Apri l ow in g to the southern W in ds .

The C hi lka, for two or three m i les ou t from the Khordashore , is but three or four feet in depth . This shal low n essis e spec ial ly the case at the n orthern end of the lakean d on the sou th eastern s ide it is covered for the greaterpart w ith al ight . feathery w eed , wh ich grow s in compact .

masses ,an d affords both food to the w i ld fow lan d also grandcon cealm en t to aw oun ded B lue -w in ged Teal or Pochard .

I have myse l f shotal l the b irds en tered in the subj oin ed l ist,except the Peacock , the Pain ted S pur Fow l , the Grey Partridge ,the Rain an d Bu sh Quai ls, the C om b Duck, the Pink-headedDu ck an d the W h ite -eyed Pochard . I have how ever seen

al l except the Pink -headed Du ckand the Pain ted S purFow lTh e l ist I sen d is, I shou ld say, n early e xhau stive . The

W igeon may occur, an d shou ld do so, but w e have n ot

come across it, an d I am n early certain I saw the B urrowDuck last year, bu t I do n ot

'add it to ’

th'

e l ist,as ‘I amn ot qu ite s ure ,

‘

n ot having shot it or seen it c lose enough

528 LETTERS To THE EDITOR :

bothering the ir heads at al l about u s . Some Pin tai l “

too

al low ed u s to come up w ith in twen ty or thirty yards of them ;

After the first shot, how ever, n oth ing d id w e fireat u n derfifty yards,an d m ost of the birds roseatahun dred .

The Pin tai l come in en ormou s n umbers to the Ch i lkathe

flocks are dotted al l over the lake, e itheral on e or m ixed w ith

B lu e -w inged Tealan d Shove l lers . I have,on several occas ion s,

come across flocks composed en tire ly of malesan d others eu

tire ly of female s . On the 28 th of March this year at Barku lI shot abrace ou t of asmal l party of 1 5 b irds, al l femalePin tai ls .The Greylags too are very n umerous, though n ot n early

so much soas Am er in d ieus ; they howeverare to be n umbered

by thou san ds an d chiefly to be seen at Bhusandpuran d Parikud ; the latitude of the latter p lace is 1 9

“or rather

l ow er than youal low in the Game Birds of In d ia. The Du cks,

whichare least common on the Ch i lka, though they are to be

met w ith in fair n umbers in spe c ial port ion s of the lake ,arethe Fu l tgu larufinaan d nyroca, Sarcid im'

n is melanonotus an dArms poeci lo

'rhyn cha. The last tw oare fou n d in greater n um

bers in the fresh-water j hil s in lan d, ch ieflyabout Ban k i , Hald iaan d Kalapathar.

I have n everthe less shot several Grey Duck on the Ch i lka,wh ich

,con s idering that the water is brackish , is rather u n

common . I have n ever seen them feed ing there ,an d my impress ion is that they feed in lan d on fre sh-water j hi ls at n ight,flying to the Ch i lkaby day for protection .

The Pink -head ed Duck has n ot been seen on the C h i lka.My father has on ly seenan d shot itat Kalapathar, n ot far fromthe Mahanad i river. The nat ives say it breeds there anyhowit is arare bird in Khorda. The C omb Duck breeds on theestateas do the two k in ds of Whistl ing Teal , the C otton Tealan d the Grey Duck . Nal bana,alarge marshy islan d coveredw ith reeds in the Ch i lkalake ,

is agreat place in the rain sfor n ests of w i ld fow l . Th is in formation has been derivedch iefly from nat ives

,as n e ither my father n or se lf have looked

in to the n idification of b irds except in am ost desu ltory man n er.

‘

I have on ly seen an d shot Dendrocygnaf u l vatw ice . On ce

my brotheran d myse lf obtain ed six ou t of aflock of abou ttwen ty on ajh i l on the Madras Trun k Road ,abou t seven m i lessouth of C u ttack,an d last m on th I shotabrace out of apartyof se ven that I foun d on ajhi labout two m i les from Jenkiaan d 15 m i les south of Khorda.Den rl rocygnajavan icaare very common , both in immen se

flocks of several thousan ds on the C hi lkaand in m uch

smal ler parties on many j hil s an d tanks. The Gadwal l


are, I shou ld say, on ly in fair n umbers on the lake . I

have n ever se en large flocks of them , an d ,although I havem et w ith afew n ear Barku l an d off Mon glaj uri , the

majority con gregate n ear Bhu san dpuran d Parikud . At Barku l,

the D . P. W . bungal ow is bu i lt on the edge of the lake , soI had many opportun it ies last m on th of watch ing the com

parative ly few Water-fow l that had n ot left for the n orth fromthe v eran dah. There were n um erou s parties of Limosa, oegocephalaal ong the shore , ran ging from apair of birds toacoupl eof hu n dred . I several t imes n ot iced that those birds wh ichw ere s tan d ing al ittle way ou t where the water wasabou tsix or se ven in ches dee p subm erged the ir heads an d n ecks

e n tire ly in search of food,so much so in deed that I often

m istook them for Teal u n t i l they raised the ir heads . The irplumage then (at the en d of March) was in the tran s itionstage , the headan d n eck be in g qu ite ru fou s ; w e shot 13 or

1 4 of these birds . The Demoise l le C ran e , the U riyas cal lit Garara, is to be fou n d in flocks of abou t 100 birds herean d thereal ong the shore of the Ch i lka. O n e flock an n ual lyv isits Bhu san dpur, where w e shot the C ran e . I havealso seenflocks fly ing overheadat Khordahead -quarters

, at Barku l andC uttack

,the ir pecu l iar cry, l ike agrating cart whee l

,be ingqu ite u nm istakable . An d n ow to come back to our ju nglebirds . The Red Spur Fow l is very common al l over the estate ;

any rocky bamboo-clad h i l l isacertain fin d w ith u s .

They do comealso in to the jungle at '

the base of the hi l lan d for som e d istan ce on to the flat, bu t the maj ority w i l l befoun d e ither on the hi l l itse l f or in the very sk irts of the bamboo in the open at the base of the h i l l . O f course theyareon ly fou n d in the open e ither in the morn ing or even in g .

The Pain ted Spur Fow l is very rare ; on ly on e specimen hasbeen shot hereas faras Iam aware , an d that was shot lastyear by Mr. E. Wyl ly, of the Forest Departmen t

,at or near

Pan chgarh. By the way w e have often ’

heardapecu l iar cal lin the early m orn in g,

som ethi n g like the sy l lables To-Kay,To-Kay

‘

,repeated se veral t imes . The nat ives say it is the

cal l of the Kain jar” or Red SpurFow l . I have not been ableto verify th is, but my father has . I kn ow that S pur Fow l w erethe v icin ity wherever w e heard this cal l .Amon g the Quai ls w e get afew of the “

common ” in thecold w eather,an d the Rain ,

B ush , In d ian , Bu stard an d Bu tton(Ti/maize ‘

j’

ou d ermQuai ls al l the year roun d . The Khordaju ng les are very d ifficu lt to shoot in , be ing excess ive ly den sein m ost places an d on e mass of thorny bushes. I amSpeak ing n ow of those ju ngles where the Quai ls are to be

foun d . The birds get up so cl ose ,an dafter dodging over thefirst bush drop so sudden ly that n early everyattempt to shoot

530 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

them blows '

them to atoms or re su l ts in am iss . Nowan dthen we been able to get spec imen s su ffic ien t ly good to identify . I have man y t imes seen the In d ian Bustard Quai l(Tu

'

rn ioe taigoor)an d P erd icu laasiati carun n ingabout w ith inacoup le of feet or so of the bush u n der wh ich I have beenrest ing . I have on ly seen two specimen s of Tu rn ieo j ou de'm ;on e I shot last year in alow scrub jungle an d one mybrother obtain ed last mon th on alow hi l l covered w ith thorn ybu shes . W e have had several specimen s of Tarmac taigoo'

r,

an d in Ju ly, 1 88 6 , I foun dan est of taigoor,amere depress ionun derasmal l bush, con tain ing five eggs . I kn ow the Quai lwas taigoor, for I waited for the motheran d shot her.The Rain Quail I have n ot beenable to getaspecimen of

,

but my father has shot it here .

S n ipe are n ot very abun dan t in Khordaexcept in certainvery favorable l ocal ities on the Chi lkashorean d rou ndafe wfavorite j hils . The C ommon Sn ipean d the Pin tai l seem e qual lyd istribu ted ; some days w e w i l l get m ore of the formeran don an other the latter w i l l be the moreabundan t.

The l ittle Jack is n ot common an d the Pain ted ratherrare . I have on ly seen thre e spec imen s w ithin the se two lastseas on s .

In Khordaapparen tly w e do n ot get the Pain ted Partridge ,Fran col i n us pi ctu s . Th is is stran ge ,as it shou l d occur

,but

w e have n e ither seen it or heard of it in Khorda, n e ither dowe get its n orthern al ly Fran coli n us vu lgari s wh ich steps

at the left ban k of the Mahanadi except n ear the coastatJaldan da, where my father has shot several on the right bankof analaleading from the right bank of the Mahanad i . The

Grey Partridge is n ot very common , sti l l it is n ot rare in afew isolated p laces on the estate ; its d istribu tion seems veryirregu lar.

JAMES H . TAYLOR.

P .S .—~It w i l l be in teresting for you to hear that in March,

1 885, my father foun d in the ju ngles n ear Ban pur qu itefresh eggs (of wh ich he barbarously madean ome lette ) of theRed Jung le Fow lan d the Red Spur Fow l in the same n est in

the cen tre of ac lump of bamboos . There w ere four or fiveeggs of each b ird . The Pat/o cri statu s down here get theirfu l l tai ls sometimes by the end of March.

J. H . T.

INDEX . 533

alba, B ecket. C icon ia 74, 323 ,415

alba, L in . Herod nas 75al ba

,Li n . Motaci l la 121, 269

albicaudata, Jerd . Stopo

ralaalbicil la, Pal l . Erythrosternaal bicol l is, Viei l l . Le uco

cercaal bicol l is, S eas Rhynchops

al bel lus, L in .

albifron s, Soap . An ser

al bifron s, J erd Feriero

cotus

al biventris, Fairb. Oal l en ealbogu laris, B ly th . Dume

tiaal bon igra, Hiime . Sax icolaalbonotatus, Tick. Cap

rimu lgus

al birostris, Shaw . Hydro

c issa 189

Alandaadams1.

, Hume . m 1 34’

Alaudaarven sis , L in . 135

Alandaaustral is, B rooks 463 , 479Alan dad ul civox, Hodg e 1 35

Alaudagu lgu la, Fran /cl . 58 , 136 ,

234, 406 463 , 478

Alaudagut-fate , B rooks 1 36

Alan d u laraytal , B io. 234, 452

Alcedo beavan i , Wald . 3 51

Alcedo bengal en s is , G m . 22, 187 ,

29 6 , 3 51 , 457, 47 1

Alcedo meningtin g, Horsf . 1 8 8

Al cippeatri ceps, J erd , 375Alc ipn e n ipal en si s, B odys 206 11

Al c ippe phnyri i, B l y . 2 0 6

Alcuppe pmocephala, Jerd . 374

Al l otrius me lanotis,

alpi na, L in . Trin gaal pin us, B eckst. Accen torAl seonax ferruginous,

204

Al seouax latirostris, Rafi 35, 204,304, 369 , 473

Al socomn s hodgson i, Vig . 1 36

Al socomu s pun iceu s, Tick . 23 5

al taicu s , B rand t . Acc en tor 1 2 4

althaea, H ume . Syl via 269 ,3 10

al tirostris. Jerd . Pyctorh is 206

atra, L in . Fu l ica 72 , 142, 241

Amadmaacu t icauda, Hodg s . 232

Amad inaingl isi, H ume . 232n

Amadinamalabarica, Lin . 55, 3 12 ,439

superstriata,

3 1 1,

coronatus,

an tigon e , Lin . Grus

aplon otus, B lyth. Maoh lol ophus 461 , 478apn s , L in . Cypsel l us 100aquaticus, L in . Ral l us 1 43

Amadan‘amal ucca, Li n 402 , 46 2

478Amad inapectoral is, Jerd . 402, 478

Amad inapun ctulata, Lin . 55 , 3 12 ,

402 , 439 , 463

Amadina' rubron igrn , Hodg e 55, 23 2Amad inastriata, Lin 478Amad inasubun d ulata, GAust. 232 4

‘n

Amud inaHume 23 c? namandava, L in . Estre l da56 , 3 12 ,

403 463 , 478Aru nd inax serlon , Pal l . 2 15

amauroptera, Pears . Pe largOpsis

Ammoman es phoen icura,Fran kl .amu ren sis, Radde . Cerch

n e is

Ampe l icepsB ly .

anal is, Horsf . Pious

Anas boscas, Lin .

Anas poaonl orhyn ol ua,Fars i . 41 8 , 442 , 466 ,

528 , 53 1.Anastomu s oscitan s , Bodd . 77 , 244,

324, 417an gl ioa, Mont Gol oche

l idon

an gl l ca, Mon t . Sternaaugustw ostris , M e

'

nétr .

Que rqu edu la 8 2, 168, 1 74an n eotan s, Hodgs . Dicruru e

An seralbifron s , Soap .

An ser barchyrl iy n cl i u s ,Bai l l . 78 , 168 , 169

An se r c in ereus, M ey . 78 , 1 63 , 53 1An ser in d icu s , Gm. 79 , 163 528

, 53 1An ser m i n u tas, Naum 79An thooin olaplmyri i, B ly . 1 76An thu s blakiston i, Sw ink 12 2An thu s cerv in u s , Pal las . 227, 270An tl l u s macu latus, B ody s . 48 , 1 22

2 27 39 6 477An thus mon tan us , Jerd 3 9 7 , 477An tll u s rosace us, H odge 12 2

, 270An thu s tr1vialis, Lin . 49

, 122 ,227, 3 10

An threptes phoen icotis , Tem. 1 9 7An thropoi deaV lrgo, L in . 6 8 , 140,

320, 53 1

67, 2 38 ,3 19

£ 3 1 INDEX .

Aqu ilaol nn ga, Pal l . Astur triv irglatus, Tom.

Aqu i lach rysaetu s , Lin . atherton i, J a? S . Nych;

Aqu i la. fu l vescen s , orn is

Aqu i lahastata, Less. atherton i, Jerd . NyctiorAqu i lamogi lmk S . G 11 13Gm . 6 , 443 ,

Aqui la. n ipal en sis, Hadya.287 , 443

Aqu ila. vin d ll iana, Frank l . 7 , 287Avach n otheran u rata, B ly . 1 97Arn olmothe ralon girostraLath .

urale n sis, Severt . Caprim n l gus

Arboricolabrun n eopectus236

Arbori colachl oropu s, Tick 236

Ard eabrag, J . G eof r. 144

Ardeacin erea, Lin . 74, 144,1 49

,243 323 , 4 16

Ardeagol iath, Rupp . 1 49

Ardeapurpu rea, L in . 74, 243 ,323 416 , 442

Ardeolagrayi, Sykes 76 , 243,

Ardettaoinnamomea, Gm. 76 , 2 13 ,324, 4 17 , 442

Ardettaflav icol l is , Lath 243 , 4 16

Ardettamm uta, L in . 144, 277Ard ettas in en sis, Gm . 243

arenaria,L in . Cal 1dris 240

arenariu s, Pal l . Pterocl es 6 1 , 275

argalus, Latli . Leptopt ll n s 73, 242 ,

323

argoon dfl , Sykes . Perd iou la3 17, 465Argyamal colmi, Sykes . 39 , 305 ,

3 82 , 438 448 , 475

arven sis, L in . Al nu d n 135

Artamus fuson s , Viei l l 203 368 , 459as iat ica, Latk . C in n yrls 29 , 197 ,

300, 362 , 458 , 472

asiatica, Latk. M egalaema 1 9 2

asiatica, Latk . Perdicu la63 , 3 17 ,

asiaticu s, Sws . C in c l us

asiaticus, Lath . C nprimn l

gas 20 , 185, 29 4, 349 , 456

as iaticus, Latk Xe n orhyn

ohu s

Asio accipitrinus, Pal l . 1 4, 9 7 ,182 290, 343 bad ius, Gm. Astur

Asio otu s, Lin . 97

assimil is, B odys . Neorn is 170

as simil is , Wald . Passer 176

Astu r badius, Gm. 5, 9 2 ,

2 86 335, 455

Astur pal umbariu s , L i n 9 2

Astur pol iopsie, H ume 1 78

Astur rufitinctus, Mod e l ! 178

351 , 436

atra, Herm. B uchan ga 33 , 20 1 ,

302 , 366 , 438 , 459 , 473

atra, L in . Fu l ioa241 , 322 441 , 466

atriceps, Hume . Fal co 525

atrioeps, Jerd l Alcippe 375

al bogu l nris, B ly . Dume tia 375

atripen n is, Jerd . Caprimn l

gus

atrogu laris , B randt. Aocen tor

atrogularis, Tom. Me ru la.atrogu laris, Tem . O rtho

tomus

atrogu laris, Tem. Turdu s

atrOn ucl ial is, B ig . Lobi

van e l l u sauran tiaca, Gould . Pyrr

hu la.au ran tius, L in B rnchyptern u s 25, 298 , 356, 458

aureola, Pal l . Emberiza 234

aureola, Viei l l . L eu co

cerca 35, 203 , 303 , 369 , 438

auri fron s, Tem. Phyl lor

n is

auritas, Gr . Turtur

aurata, B ly . Arachnothera 1 97

auri ta, Lath . Sypheotides 1 60, 1 6 1 ,

16 8 , 31 8 , 4 12

au roren , Pal l . Rutici lla 2 13

aus te n i , H ume . Pomatorbin n s 1 52

au stral is , Brooks . Alauda463 , 479

au stral is, S taph . Pe lecan u s 487

aven sus , B ly . Volvocivora 200

avoce tta, L in . Recu r

V Irostra 453

azurea, Badd . Hypothymis 34, 203 ,303 , 368

BABYLON ICU ,G uru . Falco 3

baby lon ien s , I rby . Falco 449 , 515,5 1 6

5, 9 2 ,

bad iu s , B orsf Phod il u s 1 8 1

bal l lon i, Vie i l l . Porzana

bakknmoena, Pen n . Scops 1 6

barbatus, L i n . Gypaetus 89

basal is , Horsf‘

. C hrysacoccyx

536 INDEX .

B ndytes viridis, Gm.

Budytes, Sp .

burman ioa, Hume . Estreldaburman ioa, Sharpe . Pe

largopsisburman ica. Jerd . Sturn iaburman icu s, B rooks . Phy l

l osoopus

burman ious, Sharpe . Pyo

n on otus 2 1 1

B utastur l iven ter, Tem. 1 80

B utastur teesa, Frank l . 10, 180 ,289 . 435

Buteo desertorum, Baud . 159 , 338

B uteo ferox , Gm. 93 , 450

Buteo pl umipes, H odgs . 1 0, 9 4,

Buteo rufiven te r, J erd . 159

B uteo vu lgaris, Leach . 450

Butorides javan ica, Horsf . 243 , 324,4 16 , 453

CACC‘ABIS ou tru n , Gr.

Caccabis pal lesce n s , Hume

Caccabis pal l idus , Hume

Cacoman tes passerinus,Vahl .

Cacoman tes threnodes, Cab.

cach in nan s, Jerd Troohal opte rum

can icapill us, B ly . Iyn gi

19 0

coel estis, Frenzl . Gal l inago

coeru leooephala, Vig . Ratic il la

ooerul eus. Deaf . Elan uscoeru l escen s, L in . Buchan ga 33, 303, 366 19 , 185

coeru le scens, L in . M icro aralen sis,h ierax

Calan d rel labrachydactyla,L eis l . 3 11

Caland re l la pispoletta, 1

Bal l . 1 34 349 , 436

Calandritis hein i i, P. Ham. 13 11 europmus

oaloaratus, Hadya. Budytes 48, 122 ,269

Cal idrisarenaria, L in . 240

cal id ris, Lin . Totan us241 , 466

cal igata, L icht. Hypolaisoal igatus, Rafi”. Limnaetus 1 79 Caprimu lgu s macru rus ,Cal l en e albive n tri s, B ly . 473Cal l en e rufiven tris

, B ly . . 372 Caprimu lgu s mahratten sis ,Cal liope camtschatken sis, Sykes

213 Caprimu lgus mon ticol u s,Cal l iope pectolal is, Gou ld. 1 17, 268 Fran /cl . 1 85, 295, 349 , 436

Cal liope l sohebaiew i, Prj ev. 1 17Calobates me lan ops , Pal l . 48 , 1 2 1 ,

cal vus, Soap . O togyps l, 1 77,

28 5. 33 1, 454, 468cambaien sis, Lath. Tham

nobia 42

cambayen s is, Perd icu la 5 18

cambayen sis, Gm . Turtu r 138, 274campestris, Li n . Agrodroma

camtsohatken sis, Gm. Call iope

can en te, Less Hemicercus

caudata, Dum C hatarrInna 39 , 176 , 305, 3s3

can d ida, Ti ck. S trix 1 4 , 34 1 , 469

can d idus, B onn . H imantopu s 72 , 1 42 , 241 , 277 , 321, 466

can iceps, Vig . Cardue l is 1 32

can iceps, B ly . Lan ius 364, 472can iceps, Bran lel . M egalwma 25

can nabina, L in . Linar1a 133 , 273

canorus, L in . C ucu lus 26 , 102 ,

oan utu s, L in . Trin ga 4 43

can tiana, Lath. ZEgial it i s 65, 237 .275

can til lan s, J erd . M irufra451 , 463can ton en sis, Sw ink . Peri

crocotu s 200

cape n sis, L in . Rhyn choea6 9 , 16 5 ,capistrata, Gou ld . Saxicola 1 12

caprata, Lin . Pratin cola 43, 1 1 1 ,

2 12, 307, 389 , 46‘

Caprimul gus albon otatus

Capn mu lgus

Severt.

Caprimulgus asiaticu s ,Lath . 20, 1 85 , 29 4, 349 , 456

Caprimu lgus atripen n isJ erd .

Caprimulgus

L in . 10 1

Caprimu lgus ind icu s, Lath . 29 4, 436 ,456

Caprimu lgus j otal m, J . (f S . 1 85n ,

Caprimu lgu s ke laarti, B ly 3 48 , 457

6,

4 O

INDEX .

Caprimu lgus u nw in i, Hume 10 1 , 26 1cara, Hume . ZEthopyga 1 9 7

carbo, Li n . Phal ucrocorax 87, 1 46 ,248

Oarc ineutes pu l che l l us,187

Card ue l is can iceps, Vig . 132

Card ue l is orien tal is,E cersm 132

Carine brama, Tem. 16 , 29 1 ,344

Carin e pu l chra, Hume . 183

Carpodacu s erythrin us,Inna 439

Carpodacus mon golien s,Sw ink . 13 1

Carpophagasen ea, L in . 235

Carpoplmgac uprea, Jerd . 407, 464

Carpoplmgai 11s 1gn ia, B odys . 464

carmpes, Hodgs . Myc erobas

caryopbyl lacea,K l iodon essa 8 1, 531

Casarearuti la, Pal l . 80, 164,245, 325,

oashmiren sis, Gou ld . Chol i

don 260, 109

cashmiren sis, G ou ld . Hyd robata

cas iotis, Bp . Col umbacaspia, Pal l . Sternaoastan e iven tris, I rankl .S itta 29 , 300, 363

cathphariu s, H ody s . Pious 1 50

cavatus, Shaw. D1chooeros 188, 47 1 ,352

Ce n troooccyx ben gal en sis ,G m. 196 , 36 1, 458

C e n trooocoyx in termed ius,

C en troooooyx rufipen n is,I t 299 , 361 , 458 , 471

Cephalopyrus flammiceps,B urton .

Cerchn e is amuren sis,Radde .

C erchn e is naumann i,Fl eisch .

C erohn e is pekinen sis,sw ink. 5

C erchueis tin n un cu l u s, L i n . 5, 9 2 ,

C erch n e is vespertina, Lin . 260

C ercom e lafusca, B ly . 44

C ercotri chas macrura, Gm. 212, 388 ,439

C erth iad iscol or, B ly . 151, 152

C erth iafam 1l iaris, L in . 103

C erthiahimalayana, Vig . 103

C e rthial l odgson i, B rooks . 103 , 26 1

Certhiamun ipurens is, Hume 151

C l iapteasen ea, Vie il l .Charadrius fu lvus, Gm.

Chatarrhaaaearl u , B ly .

Chatarrhmagularis,C l iau l e lasmus streperus,

537

Lin . 8 2 , 144, 16 4, 325, 4 18 , 531

cheela, Lath. Spilorn is

oashmiren s is,

chinen sis, Badd . C issachin en s is, Osb. Fran col i

n us

chin en sis, L in . Exoal factoria 63 , 1 65, 236 , 412

ch in en s is, Soap . Garru luxcl nquera, Daud . Falco

208

C erthiastol iczkae, Brooks .

cerv in iceps, Gou l d . Lyncarn i s 1 8 6

ce rvinus, Pal l . An thus 227, 270

C orrin n e blythi 5241

Cery le rudis, Lin . 22 . 188 .296 , 352 , 457

ceylon en sis, Sws . C n l ici

capa 35, 204, 303 , 369 , 459 , 473

Ceylonen sis, Gm. Ke tupa 15, 182 ,

ceylon en sis, Bp . Oriolus 476

ceylon en sis, Re ich U pupa30 , 30 1 ,364, 458, 472

C eyx tridaotyl us, Pal l . 187

cl ialcooephal us, Tem. B rachypod ius 2 1273

C l 1alcophaps i ndica, L in . 235, 408 ,440 464, 479

202 , 3676 4, 139 ,

165, 237, 3 18

C haradrius pl uvial is, L in . 452

C heeturain d ica, Hume . 347

Chaeturasyl vatica, Tick 346

Chatarrhoeacaudata, D um. 39 , 1 76 ;305, 383

208

209

Che l idon

Gou ld . 260

C l1el 1don urbica, Lin . 100, 260, 29 3 ,346

Chettu s iacin erea, B ly 66 , 238

Chettusiagregaria, Bal l . 65, 140 ,3 19

Chettusiav il l otse i, Audouin 65, 3 19

Chibiahotten totta, Lin . 34, 203 ,367228

cl 1 irurgus, Soap . Hydro

phasmn u s 72 , 142, 241, 321

ch lorIgaster, Jerd . Cl i ryso

phlegma 298 , 355, 457

chlorigaster, B ly . C roco

pu s 58 , 3 14 406, 479

cl i loris, B odd . Halcyon 1 87

chlorocephal us, WaldPhy l lorn is

538 INDEX .

chlor0 10pl 1us, Vieil l . Chry~

sopl i l egmach loropus, Tick Arbori

cola. 236

ch loropus, L in . Gal l in u la73 . 142 ,

cl i ukar, Gr . Caccabis 1 39chrysae tu s , L in . 9 2

ch rysea, Hume . Plocee l la 231

C hrysocoooyx basal is , Horsf . 19 4

C hrysococcyx hodgsom

M oore

C hrysocoocyx l ucidus , Gm

Chrysococcyx macu latus,Gm.

Chrysococoyx malayan u s ,Chrysocoocyx

. "

xan tl iorhynoh us

,Horqf .

Chrysocolaptes festivu s,Badd . 297, 355 , 4 13

C hrysooolaptes strictus,354, 437, 471

C hrysocolaptes sul tan eus,

C hrysoph l egmacl i l origaster, J erd . 2 9 8 , 355, 457

Chrysoph legmacl 1lorolo

phu s , Viei l l .

Chrysoph l egma flavinuchu s, Gould .

ol i rvsopterum, Goul d .

Troohalopterumchrysorrhseum,

Tem. Diose ~

um

C icon iaal ba, B eokst

C icon ian igra, L i n .

cin cl orhyn cha, Viy . Pe tropl 1i la 3 7, 109 , 373

cin clorhyn chus, Vigors .

O roecetes

C in cl usasiaticus , Sws .

C in cl u s cashmirien s is,Gou l d . 109

cin eraoeus, Mont. C ircu s

172 , 176 , 289

c in erea, Lin . Arden. 74 , 144,149 , 243 323 , 4 16

cin erea, B ly . Chettu sia 66 , 238

c i ne rea, G ou ld . Terekia 2 39

ci n ere iven tris, B ly . B raohypodius

c1n ereocapi l la Sari .2 10 47 73

B udytes 396 , 451

c in ereus, Mey . An ser 78 , 1 63 ,531

c in ereus, Gm. Gal l iorex 167, 242cin ereus

, Laf r. Pericrocotus

C ircaetus gal l ion s, Gm .

vu lgaris ,

cin namomea, Gm. Ardettn 76 , 243 ,3 24

C iunyris asiatica, Lath 29 , 1 9 7 ,300,

C in n yris flammam l laris,B ly . 197

C in nyris hasse l ti, Tem 1 97C in nyris lote u la, L in . 36 2

C in nyris mm ima, Sykes 362

C in uyris zey l on l ca, L in . 362 ,

437

8 , 288 ,455

0 1mm, L in . Querqued u la 83 , 145

2 45, 3 26 , 4 18 4 6 7, 53 1C ircus serugiuosu s, Lin . 1 1

,9 4 ,

C ircus c in e raceu s,Mon t. 1 1 , 9 4 ,

172C irc us cyan eu s, L in . 9 4C ircus macru nus , S . G .

Gm . 10 , 9 4 . 180, 2 89 , 338 , 455C ircus me lan ol eucus

, Forst . 1 1 , 180C ircu s me lan oleucu s, Pen n . 339c irrhatus, Gm . L imnaé tus 288 , 3360 18 8 8 chi ne n s l s , B odd . 228

C isticolacurs i tan s, Frankl , 46 .

308 , 39 1C isticola erj throoephal n,J erd . 2 21 Ci

”n, 392 , 476

C i sticola me lanocephula,An ders . 221n

C isticolaruficol l is, Wald . 22 1nC istioolarufi ceps , Gou l d 2 21 4

“

n

C istioolaty tle ri , B ly . 2 l 9 n

22 1n

C istioolavol itan s, Sw ink. 2 19citreolu s, Pal l . Budytes 122, 269 ,

3 10 , 39 6ci l rina, Lath . G eooiohla 37, 205c lan ga, Pal l . Aqu i la. 7, 179C lan gu laglau cium, Lin 85clypeata, Lin . Spatu la 8 0, 1 44,

164, 325, 4 17, 442, 531Coooystes coroman dus,L in . 196 , 360

Coooystes jacobinas, Badd . 27, 167 ,

coocothrau stes, L in . Cocoothraus tes 5 14

Coccothraustes humu, Sharpe . 5 14

Coocothraustes japon ious 5 14Coccothruustes specu hgera,B rand t .

CoocothraustesPal l .

cmlestis, Frenzl . Gal l i11ago 320, 4 13, 465, 480, 53 1

coeruleus, D esf . E lan u s 13 , 18 1,

540 INDEX .

cucu lata, Hartl . Pittacu cu loides, Vig . G laucid iam 1 83

C ucu l us can orus, Lin . 1 92 ,299

C ucu l us himulayan us, Vig . 103

C ucu l us mi cropterus, G ou ld . 1 9 3 ,

0 110 111us pol ioceph n l us , Latk . 29 9

C ucu lus sonn erati, Lath. 19 3 , 359 ,437

C ucul us striatus, Drop .

451

C u l icicapaceylon en sis , Sws . 35, 204,303 , 369 , 459 , 473

cuprea, Jerd . Carpoplmga407, 46 4c uron ica, Gme l . ZEgial itis 275

cursitan s, Frankl . s ticola46 , 2 19 ,3 08 , 39 1

C ursorius coroman del icus,Gm.

cyan e, Pal l . Larvivoracyan ea, B ly . PittaCynn ecu la l eucocyan ea,

.Brehm 1 17, 268Cyan ecu lasu ecica, L in . 44

,1 17 .

Cyan ecu la. wolfi , B rehm 1 18

cyan eu s , L i n . C ircus 9 4,

cyanocephal us , L in . PalaeO l

’ms 1 89

Cynn ocin clus cyan u s, L in . 10 9 , 300, 363

205 n , 304, 373

C yan oc in c lu s sol xtarms,

P . L . S M u l l .

cyan ops, Sand . Su lacyan otis, J . (9 S . G eo

cichla. 374

cyan otis , B ly . M egalae'

ma. 1 9 2

cyan u ra, Pal l . Nemu la 1 16

cyan us, Lin ; C yauoc in cl u s 109 ,

205 n, 304, 373

C ymborhyn ohu saffin l s , B ly . 1 88

Cyps e l l usaffiu is, J . E . G r. 19 , 1 8 4,456, 470

Cypsel lu sapus , L in . 100

Cypse l l us batassien sis,J . E . Gr. 19 , 294,

348

Cypsel l us i n fumatu s, Sc lat . 1 85

C ypse l l us me lba, L i n . 29 3, 347, 469

Cypse l lu s pac nficu s, Lath . 18 5

C ypse l l us peki n en sis , Swink 1 00 Drymoecarufescen s, Hume .Cyorn is pal lipe s , J erd , 37 1 Drymocatnphus fu lvus,Cyoru is rubecu loid es, Vig 36 , 204, 207

370 : 448 d ubia, Soap. E gial ites 65, 1 39 ,Cyorn is rufi cuu da, Swain 237, 412

s on.

dukh un en sis, Sykes . Mo

Cyorms t1ckel l r, B ly . tuci l la 48 ,1 2 1,

DAFILA ACUTA, Lin . 82 , 145, 164 .

dal hous iae, Jam. Psan somu s 188

dauma, Lath. O reoci n c ladav ison i, H ume G raptocephal us

dav ison i , Hume . Ixus

d e l esserti, J erd . GarrulaxDen d nochel l don coronata,Tick. 1 8 5, 294, 348, 470

Dendrocittahimalayen sis,B ly .

Den drocitta l eucogustra,Gou l d . 400, 462

Den d rocittarufa, 5 1 , 22 8 ,3 1 1

Den drocygnafu lva, Gm 8 0, 164,

2 45, 528 , 53 1

Den drocygna javan ica,Earsf . 8 0, 163 , 417 ,

466 , 528, 531

Den d roph i la “ fron tal is ,Horsf . 1 9 9 , 364,

de serti, Rupp . Saxicola43 , 307

d e sertorum , Daud . B u teo 159 , 338

d e va, Sykes . p zalauda463

Dicssum chrysorrhaeum ,Tem 19 8

Drcaaum con color, Je7'd 363 , 472

c seum cru en tatum, Lat/i , 19 8

D iowum erythrorhyn chus,

Lath .

D icasum trigon ostigma,1 98

Dxchoceros carahu e, Show . 188 , 352 ,471

Dicruru san n ectan s, B odys . 2 01

(h l u tu s , B ly . B rachyptern l s 356

d iscol or, B ly C e rthia 151, 152

D nssemu rus gran d is, Gou l d . 203

Dissemuru s parad iseas, Lin . 203 ,303 , 367

Diseurs. episcoPa, B odd . 74, 2 43 ,

323 4 16 , 441

domesticus, L in . Passer 56 , 233 ,

Drymoaca. blan fordi , Wald . 22 1

Drymoeoa. exten s icauda,Sw ink . 2 21

Drymoecafus ca, Bodys 477

Drymcncainornata, Sykes 46 , 308 ,393, 46 1

308

542 INDEX .

eversmam1i,Bp. Pul um

bwnaexcub1tor. L in . Lan iusExcal faetoria ch in e n sis ,L in . 63 , 165 236 , 41 2

exu stu s, Tem . P teroc les 6 1 , 316

exte n sicauda, Swink . Drymoses.

FAIRBANKI , B lanf . Tro< ha~l opteron

fal cata, G eorg . Querqu ed u la 8 4, 168

Falco sesalon ,Tu nst. 9 0

Fal c‘oah iceps, H ume 525

Fal co babyl on ien s, Gm n . 3 , 449 ,

Fal co ch iquera, Daud . 4 , 2 86 , 1 70 , 221334, 454

Falco jugger, J . E . Gr . 3 , 454,

Falco peregrinator, Sund . 3 , 178 ,1

n ,

Fal co peregrin us , Tun st . 2 , 8 9 ,177, 333

Falco sacer, Gm. 9 0

Falco severus, Horsf . 4, 3 33 ,

524, 525

Fal co subbuteo, L in . 4, 9 0

Fal cin e l lu s iguen e; S . G .

Gm. 277, 3 25

fam1l iaris, L in . 8 1 111 111. 103

formosan Lain. E stre l du . 56

fasc is tas, P . L . S . M u l l .

Palaeorn is . . 1 90

fasc iatu s, Fars i Harpacte s 3 49 , 436fasciatu s, Soap . Pte roc l e s 1 63 , 3 16

fasciatus, Vie i l l . Nxsaé tus 7 , 288 ,

fedden i , Banf . Thriponax 1 90 sordida,fe l ix, Sw ink. Mortac 1l lu 2 24 c? nferiua, L in . Fu l igu la 84, 326 ,

53 1

ferox, Gm. Bu teo

ferrag'

o, E versm. Tu rtur

ferreu s, B

odys . Pratin

cola 2 13

ferrugin eu s,

“

Gm . Gal l us fucata, Pal l . Emberiza.fer

n

rugiueus, H o .dgs Alsea Ful ica.atra, Lin

fe s

n

tivus, Badd. C l1rysocolaptes 355,437

fi l ifera, Steph . H irun do 18 , 18 4, fu l igin osa, Gm. Stern s

2 92 ful ig ino'

sa, ’Vigors . Ruti

fi n layson i, S iricki . Ixus 2 10 0 1118.

16 11 80 111, H ume Palssor ful igin osu s, Viy . Rhys.

m s corm s

flammsxil lan s, B ly . C in Fu l igulacriétato‘, Lin.n yr1s

flammeu s, ‘ Farsi . Peri Ful igu laferina, L in .

crocotus 438 , 459 , 472

fiammiceps , B urton . C e o

plmlopym s

flavicol l is, Frank l . Gymn oris 56 , 3 13 , 403

fiav icol l i s , Lath . Ardettafiaveol us, .Bly . Passe r 233

flavidive n tris, Wal l E s

tre l dafiav in uehus , G ou l d . Chry

sophl egmaflavw en tris D e less . Pri

n ia.fiavi ven tris, B odys . Ho

rorn is

fluv iven tris, Tick. Rubi

gulafiavo-ol ivaceu s,Neorn is

flavo' ohvaceus, H ume Re

gu loid es 1 69 , 223

flavus , L in Budytes 226 n,227n

fl uviatl l is, Naum. S terna 418

fiuv 1ati l is, Tun st Podiceps 145

fl uv icol u, J erd . H i run d o 2 93

formosa, Lain. Estre l da 3 13

fortipe s, H odg s . Hororn is 1 70

franms i, Sw i n /i . M otacil la 2 2573

Fran col iuus chin en sis, 0 3 6 . 2 36

Fran ool in us pictu s, Jard .

é} S el b. 1 60 , 3 16 ,Fran co l in us vu lgaris ,S teph . 530

Frank l in iabuchanan i, B ly . 47, 309Fregi lu s gracu l us, L i n 127Fregilu s 11imalayan us,Gou ld .

F rin gil la mon tifriugil laL in .

Frin gi l laudaS tol .

f rin grlhrostris, Bp . Linaria,'

fron tal is, Harsf . Den drophila

‘

1 99 , 36 4,fron tal is, Vig . R uticil la 1 16

frugi legus, L in . Corvus 126, 270,518

234

72 , 142 ,2 41 , 332 ,

ful icata, Lin . Thamn obia306, 388 ,46 1

247

544

grisen, Soap . Pyrrhu l uu d u

404, 440, 463

griseu s , Laik Malacocerc us 38 1, 459

griseus, Lin . Nycticorax 76 , 144,244 324 , 4 17

grise u s, Lath Tackus 352 , 436

g 1 isola, Lin . M u sc icapa 1 08

grl sola, B ly . M u sci ln eu 1 9 9

G 1 us un t1gon e, L in . 67, 238 ,3 19

G rus commun is, B eokst. 68, 320

G rus l e ucogeranus, Pal l 67

G rus parad isea, Licht. 1 49

gu laris, B ly . C hatarrhoea 209

gularis, J erol M icroptern u s 356

gu laris, Gau ld . R 11bigulagu lgu la, Frankl Aluuda.

gurial , Pears . Pel urgopsis 2 1 , 29 6,351, 436

Garrulax ch in en sis, Soap . 208

gu ttata, B rooks . 1 36

gymn opthal mus, B lyY un gipicu s 354, 437

Gymn oris fiavicol l is, Frankl . 56 ,3 13 , 403

G ypaetus barbatus, L in . 89 , 248

G yps ben galen eis, Gm. 454

Gyps fulvescen s, Hume. 1 , 89 ,259 , 285

Gyps h imalaye n sis, Hume .

G yps i n d icu s, Soap . l , 177 332 , 46 8

Gyps pal le scen s, H ume 285

Gyps ruti lan s, Severtz . 8 9

HE MACEPHALA, Mu l l . Xantholaema 26 , 1 92 , 29 9 , 358, 458

haemorrhaus, Gm. Mol

pastes 40, 306 , 386 460, 476

Hal cyon ch loris, Badd . 187Hal cyon coromanda, Latk 1 87Hal cyon pileata, Badd . 1 87

Halcyon smyruen sis, L in . 2 1 , 187,296 , 351 , 457, 47 1

Hal iae tus leucoryphus, Pal l . 9 , 179Hal iaé tu s leu cagaster, Gm. 1 80

hal iaétu s, L in . Pan dion 8 , 9 3 ,179 , 28 9

Hal iastur in d us, Badd . 12 , 18 1 ,

Harpactes erythrocephal us,Gou l d . 186

Harpaotes fasciatu s, Pe n n . 349, 436

Hmpactes orescius, Tom 18 6

hastata, Less . Aqu i la 450

hasse lti , Tem. Oin ny 1 is . . 19 7haughton i, Armstrong .

Pseudototanus11 611111, Ham. Calan dritis

INDEX .

2241

He n icurus scoul eri, Vig . 120, 269

H erod iusal ba, L in . 75

Herodias gmzetta, L in . 75, 243 ,

Herod ias in termed ia,Bass . 75, 243, 323

H erodias torra, B . Ham. 75, 243 ,323

H erparms xan tholeucu s,B odys . 227

hiaticu la, Li n . ZEgial itis 1 39

B 1oratus pen natus, Gm. 335,450

H ieroooccyx n i s icolor,

H ie 1ococcyx sparveraides,Vig . 1 9 3, 359

H ierococcyx varius, Valil.359

103

H ume

can d idus,

H irun do tytl eri . J erd

hispnn iol en sis, Tom. Passer

h e l vetica, L in . Sqnalarola237, 452H em icercus cun e n te , L ess . 1 90

Hemicercus cordatus, Jerd . 354

Hem iche l idon sibirica, Gm.

26 1

Hem ipus picatu s, Sykes . 1 99 , 301 ,365 . 472

hen d erson i , Cass . Locu ste l l n 44, 2 16

hen de rson i, H ume . Saxicola.

Hen icuru s immacu lutus,

l 1i 1nalayana, Vig . C erth iahimalayan us, G ou ld . Fre

gil u s

h imalayen sis, B ly . Den

d raci ttuhimalayen sis,Gyps .

himalayen sis, Jard . Se lb.

Pious

himalayen s is, Gr. Tetraogal lu s

H iman topusBonn .

erythropygia,18, 9 9 , 292 , 345,

H irun do fi l ifera, Stepk.

29 2

H irun do fl uv icola, Jerd . 29 3

H irun do horreorum , Bart. 1 83

H irun do Javan 1ca, 8parrm 345, 469

H irun do n lpalen s is, B odys .

H 11 un daru fu la, Tom. 9 9

H iru n do rust1ca, Lin . 1 7, 9 9 ,183 292, 345

1 83

128

INDEX . 545

hodgson i, ViaAl socomus 136

hodgsan i, B rooks . C erth ia103, 26 1hodgson i, M oore . Chrysacoccyx

hadgsam ,Bp . M egalsema.

hadgsan i, G ray . Motac 1 l l 11hodgson i, G

’ R Gr. Mo

13 0 1119. 225n

hodgson i, Jerd . Thriponax 355, 437homeyeri, Cab. Lan ius 104

honorata, L in . Eudynamis 27, 29 9 ,360 , 458

HapIOpterus ven tral is, Ouv. 66, 238

Horarn is flaviven tn s,

Horarn i s farmpes , B odys .

horreorum , Bart. Hnrun do

horsfiel d i, Vig . Myiophon eu s 373, 4741

l lorsfie ld i, Sykes . Pomatar~

bin n s 1 53,110 1' tu111n 11 , L in . Embe rizaH eterogl uux blew itti,Humehotteutotta, Lin .

'

C h1b1a

h umii , Sharpe. Cocoot l n 'austes

bum ii, B rooks Pl l y l lascopus 47 , 1 19

l 1umi 1, Brooks . Regulaides 1 19 , 30911 111n il 1s, Tem. Turtur 235, 274hu tton i

, B ly . Embe riza. 129hybn da, Pal l . Hydrochel idon 246

Hydrocl i ehdan hybrida,Pal l . 8 6

, 146, 246Hyd roche l idon l e ucopt e ra, M e is . Soli l .

Hydrocl 1e l1don n igra, L in .

Hyd 1acissu albl rostrisS kaw

Hyd racissacoronata, Badd .

B ydmbata. cashmiren sis,

Gou ld .

Hyd rarn is oatesi,

Hydrophasiauu s chi t u r

gas , 8 0 029 . 72 , 1 42 , 241, 32 1l 1yemal l s,Dybowski . T urd us 2 62

Hypolais cah gata, L icht. 309 , 439

Hypolais rama, Sykes 309 , 393

hypoleucus , L in . Tringoides 7 1, 14 1 ,2 4 1 , 277,

Hypataeu id iastriata, L in . 242 , 4 15,480

Hypothymisazurea, Badd . 34, 203,303 , 368

Hypsipetes gan eeea, Sykes 383, 438 ,460, 476

l B IDORHYNCH US STRU

TH 1s11sr, Vigors .

Ibis melanooephala, Lath 77, 2 44,32 4

ichthyae tus, Pal l , Laru s 246, 277 ,453

1n d ica, Li n . Coraciasind ica, Latk. Parra

1n d ica, B ly th . Pratincolai 11d 1cus, Gm. An ser

i 11dicus , Latk Caprimu lgus 29 4 436 , 456

in d icus, o oap . Gyps . 1 , 177,332, 468

icl 1 tl 1yaebus Horsf . Pol ioaétus

icte n cus, S irick i . Crin ige rignavus, Farst . B ubo

ign eus, S . G Gm . Ful c in e l

l us 78 , 245, 277, 325immacu latus, Hodg s . H en i

c 111'

us

immodestus, Hume . Pericrocotus 201 n

in carnata, Severt. Erythros

piza. 1 31in d ica, Hume . C lwetura 347in d ica, Lin . Chal cophaps 235, 408 ,

4 40 464, 4792 1

, 295,

72 , 241 ,415, 441

263

79 , 163,528 , 53 1

in d icus, Gm Limon id romus 227 , 39 6 , 439 , 46 1.

l ud icus, Bodd . Lobi van e l111 9 6 6 , 140, 3 19 , 413 465, 480

in d icu s, Jerd O riolus 2 12, 388in dicus, Jard c? Se lb. Pass

e r

i n d ic us, H ume . Phaetoni n d icus, Jerd . Phyl loscapus

i 11d 1cus, B Iy . Ral l usin doburman icus, HumePu lworm s 23

, 189in dran ee , Sykes Syrn ium 3 42 , 455

in dus, Bodd . Halmstu r

in fumatus , S olat. Cypse l lus 1 8 5in gl 1s i , H ume . Amadma 232n

in n ommatn, B urt . Vi v ia 357

Iuacatis papi l losus, Tom .

4 17 , 442i nornata, Sykes . Drymoeca46 , 308 ,

393, 46 1

inornata, Wal d . Megalaima 29 8in sign ia, Hodys Carpoplmgu

i n sign ia, Wald . Pol iohiernx

i n sign ia, H odgs . Pratin colain sol en s, Hume . C orvus

in termedia, B ly . Buchanga

546

in termed ia, S i ricki . Col umba 59 , 137 , 3 15, 440 , 464, 479

in te rmed ia, A . Hay E u labes

i n te rmed in Hass . H ero

d 1as 75, 2 43 , 3 23

i n termed ia, Oates . T u bum 2 18

in termedm,H ume . Volvo

C IVO l'a oat

in te 1medius , Hume . C e n

trococcyx 28 , 19 6

in terp1 es, Lin . S trepsilas 452

1 0 19 v 11 1d escen s, B ly . 2 10

Iaran ig1 ol u te 6 , Marsh . 306

Iora, typlun , L in . 40,

Iom zeylan ica, Gm. 5 18

I rena. pu el la, Lat/z. 2 11 , 387,460

isabel l in u s, H . (1? E

Lau iusisnbe l lmn s, Rupp 8 11 11100 111

307

Ixu s blan ford i, Jerd . 2 10

I xu s dav 1son i , Hume . 209

Ixu s fin layson i , S i rickl . 2 10

I xu s l u teol us , Less . 38 4

Iyn g ipicus cu11 1capi l l u s,B ly .

Iyn g1picu s n un u s , Viy .

Iyn x torqu il la, L in .

JACOBINU S, Bodd . C ooeys

tee 27, 1 67,196 , 29 9 , 360, 437

javun en s is, Less . K etupa 1 82

javun en s is , L ess . Ploce'

e la. 23 1

javan e u sis, Lj ung . T1ga1javan ica, Gm . S trix

javamca, Harsf . B uto

rl d e s

javan ica,Harsf . Den dro

cygna164, 466 , 528 , 53 1

javan ica, Sparrm . H iru n do

javan l cus, Har .sf Leptopti lu s

java11icus,Hai sf . Pe l e can us488 , 49 6 , 50 1, 503 , 505

j erdon i, Brooks . Aoceu tm

j e 1dou i, L egge . ZEgiulms 238 n ,

j erdon i, -Bly . . . O re icola. 2 13

j erdon i, ,B ly th . Phyl lorn is 306 , 387,

309 , 439j erdon i, B ly . Sy lv ia

j erdon i, Bly . Tr

'

ochalapterum

INDEX .

j ou derarHady s . 6 4, 318 ,

jataka, J . (fi

‘ S . Cap1° 11n 11lg l l S

j ugge1 , J . E . G r. Fal co

Jugu lari s, B ly . M ig lyptes

KELAARTI, B ly . Capri-n u l

gu s

Ke t1’

1pn ceylon en sis , Gm.

469

Ke tu pajavan en s is , 1 82

11 1111118 1,E el . M eru la 474

kun doo, Sykes . 0 1 10 1113 41 , 1 1 1 ,

LAoTEA, f em. Glareola

lahtora, Sykes . Lan iu s

lan ceolata, Tem. Locu ste l laL 1m ius can i ce ps , B ly .

Lan ius col lu ro1d es , LessLan ius cristatu s, L in

Lan ius n igriceps , Frankl .Lan 1 11s phoen ic u roide s , S e

vert . 105, 106 , 26 1

Lam us phoen icuru s , Pal l 1 05

Lan ius specu l ige ru s 1 05

Lan ius vittatus , Val .365

1111 11 1119 col lurio, L in . 1 05, 106

Law s bru 11n e 1cepl1ul 1l s,J erd .

La1 11s i 1-ht l1yae tus, Pall ” . 246 , 277 ,453

1 45

2 13

javan icu s,73 , 242

23730

, 1 04,

2 15

19 9

3 1 , 104,1 9 9 , 365

Lan ius erythron otus , Viy . 30, 104 ,

Lan ius excubitar, L in . 1 04

Lam us homeyeri , Cal) 1 04

113 111116 isabe l l i n us , H . 4' E . 3 1 , 1 05

Lan ius lahtora, Sykes 30 , 1 04,

19 9

Law s 1' id 1b1111du s, L in

Larvivoracyan e , Pal l .La1 v 1va1' 11 superml hm s,

Jerd .

l ube n ia, Lin . C in n yris

lateola, Sparrm . E uspiza111 111 0 513116

, Rafi . A l seanax

_ 3 5 , 204, 304 369 , 473Lnyn rd m subr ufa, J erd 38 2

l e 111p1j 1, Harsf . Scops 1 83n

LeptOpoec1l e soph iae, S e

vertz . . 1 22 , 270

Leptopterus argu lus, Laik .

‘

73, 242 .323

INDEX .

m ncn l ntn, Tick. E iythrosv Marecu

terna. 204

mucu latue, Hodgs . An thus

477macu latus, Gm Chrysacoccyx

macu latus, B odys . Pipastea

macu losa, Tem. Turn ixmade raspaten s is, Gm . Motucil la 3 10, 39 5, 461, 477mad em spaten sis, Tem. Motuc il lamagn irostris, B ly . Phy l

l oscopus

mahratten sis, Sykes . Acr idotheres

muhrntten sis, Sykes . Caprimu lgu s 295

muhratten sis, Latk. Pico

us

29 7, 354

major, Brooks . Dumeticola. 1 18

maj or, Lin Pious

malabarica, L in . Amadina55, 3 12,439

malabarica, Bodd . Lobiplu

-v in 6 6 , 176 , 238 n ,3 19 , 413, 465

malabarica, Jerd . O smo

treron

malabaricus, Gm. Phyl

lorn is

malabaricus , Soap . Spizu

lnudn 405, 463

malabarica, Gm. Sturn ia L icht462

malabarica, .B ly , Xan tholaamu.

malabari cum, B ly. G laucid ium

malabaricus, Jerd . Soaps .‘

malabnricus, Jerd . Malacccervu s 38 1 460, 475

mal ncca, Lin . Amnd ina 402 , 46 2

-Malacocerous griseu s, Latk .

Mal ncocercus mal nbanicu s,J erd 305, 38 1, 460, 475

Mn lnoocercus terricol or,

malayana, Cab. He in .

Eudynamismalayanus, Rafi Chrysa

coccyx

malayen sis, Re inw . Ne o

pus

mal bm icus, Jeid Mulal ocercus 305

malcolm1, Sgkes Argya m elanostigma, B ly . Tro 4

c liaIOpterum 1

inan ipuren sxa, Hume . C er m elanotis, B odys . Al loth iu bl in smnnyur, Hors/ Ploceus . . 55

, 23 1 melanotis, Jerd . Spilorms

8 2, 145 ,

24511 , 326marila, Lin . Fu l igu l a 1 58 . 174marginata, B ly . Zoothem 20511mari loide s, Rich . Fu l igu l a 158

maruettn, Leacb. Porzana322

maura, Pal l . Pratin col a38 9

maurus, Pal l . Prat incol a2 1 2

meena, Syk es . Turtur 235, 440M egalurus pal ustms,E orsf . 209

M egolalmainornata, Wald 2 98

Megs laimav irid is, Badd 298 , 437,458 , 471

M egalaemaasiatica, Lat/1 . 1 92M egalaemacan iceps, .a/cl 25M egalaema, cynn otis, B ly 1 92Megalaemahodgson i, Bp 1 92

Megalaemav i i id is, B odd .

megnrhyn clm, Schl . P1tta 205

me lan icterus, Gm M e lo

pl i u s 57, 23471, 313me l nn ocephal h

‘

,And ers

C isticola 22 l n

melan ocephala, '

Latk Ibis 77, 2 44,324

melanocephula, Soap . Eus

pizame lanocephalus, Gm. Brachypod ius

me lan ocephul u s,B udytes

me lanocephul us, ,Lin .

O riolu s 306 , 388Me lan ochlors J su l tanea,Melan ocorypha. bimaculata,

134, 274melanogaster, Penn 131011118 88 , 248 ,

.melan ogzistra, Tem. Sterna326 , 4 19

me lan 0 1e110 11s,Fors t. C ircu sme lan oleucus, Penn . C ircus 339

me lan olephus, Vig . Fam e 123

me lan onotus , Penn . Sarc id iorn is 79 , 245, 325, 417, 528 , 531

me lanops, Pal l, Calobates 48 , 12 1,226, 3 10, 395, 477

melanopogon , Tem. Luscin iola.

me lanops, Vig . Stoporala

INDEX.

melanotis, if . 2? 8 . 11111q 12, 95.

18 1melan u rus, Biy . Pomatorhinu s 475

me lba, L in . Cypsel l us"

293 347 ,469

Me lophus _ _mel sn icter11s,

Gm 57, 23411, 3 13men i ngtin g, Horsf . Al cedo 1 8 8

mergan ser, Lin . M ergus 1 68

M erge l l us s lbe l l u s, L i n . 8 5Me rgus m ergan ser, L in 1 68M e rops persicus , Pal l .Me rops ph l l ippen s is, Li n

29 5, 350

Merops swinhou ,

456 , 470,Merops v irid is, _

Lin . 20 18 6

295, 470M eru iaatrogu laris, Tem. 1 10

Meru laM e ru lan igroml ea, Laf r. 459 , ,

474

Meru lasimil lima, Jerd . 374, 459 ,474

Me topon iapusil la, Pal l . 1 32, 273M icrohiemx eutolmus,

M icrol i ieraxLin .

M icroperd ix erythrorhynchu s, Sykes

microptera, Hume M im frnmicropterus, Gou ld . C ucu

l 1’

1s

M icroptern n s gu laris, Jerd .

' 0 . 0 0 .

cmru l escen s,

M icroptem us phwoceps,B ly .

M iglyptes ju gu laris, B ly 19 0

M i l vu safli n is, G ou ld .

M 1l vu s govin da, Sykes 1 2, 9 5,

M ilvus me lan otis, J .a? S . 12 , 9 5,18 1.

m in ima, Sykes 3 62

min or, Riipp . Pe lecan us . . 2 17 , 48 8 :

minor, Gm. Pod iceps 8 5 . 1451245, 3 26 , 418 , 467, 480

mmqr, G . S t H i l . Phoen i

copterus 513

m in u s, H ume . Trichastoma 207

min uta, Leis l . Tr in ga 70 , 14 1 ,240, 276 32 1,4 14

m in uta, L in . Ardetts. 144, 277

m inu ta, Lin Sterba 8 6

min uta, Pal l . E gin i l tism in utus , NaumuAn ser

M irafraafii n is, Jerd .’

M 11aft er can til111n s, Jerd.

, 1

549

Mirafru erythroptera, Jerd . 57, 3 1 4,

M iraframicroptera, H ume 234

mitrutus, Licht . Pe l ecan u s 48 8 , 49 2 ,

M ixom is rubricupi l lus

M uel l eripicus p ulverulentus, Tem.

mu1t1pun cta1m, Gould

Nuc ifrag amu l tistriatus , David Aa

'

cen tor~

m ol issima, B ly . O reocin clamodeatus, H ume , Priono

chi ius

mog l l n ik, S . G . Gm.

Aqu ila.mol inw, G Pe le

can usMolpastes heemorfh

‘

ou s,

Gm. 40, 460, 476mol l uccen s is, P. L . S . Mul l .Pitta. 205

monachas, Lin . Vu ltur l , 89 , 259

mon edu la, L in C oloeus 12 7

mongola, Pal l E gial itis 237mon gohca, Sw ink . Ery .

throspizamon gohcus, Sw inb. Carpodacus

mon i l iger, Hodge . Garrulax

mon i liger, Lay . Batmchostomus

mon tan us, Jerd An th 11smon tan us, L in . Passer 234

Mon ticolasaxatil is , Lin 110mon ticolus, Frankl C up

rimu l gus

mon t i frin gi l la, Lin . Frin

gil lamon tanel lus, Pal l . Aceontor

Motaci llaalba, L in .

M otaci l laboreal is , SundMotacil la d ukhu n e n sw ,

Sykes 48, 121, 225, 226 , 3 10,395, 46 1.

Motac il lafe l ix , Swink 224 4“n

M otaci l lafran cisi, Sw ink. 225n

Motac i l lahodgson i, Gray . 1 20

Motaci ilahodgson i, G R

Gr.

Motaci l lal e ucopsis, Goul d .

Motac i llamaderaspaten s is’

,

Gm. 477Motaci lla» ocu laris, Sw ink . 225

Motacilbapersonaba, Gould .

morio, H . 4‘ E . Saxicola

1 14, 26 6

550

muraria, L in . l‘iclmd roma

M usci capagrisola, L i n 108M uscicapu lasupermliaris,Jerd . 304

Mu scipe taafiin is , Hay . 203 , 459M uscipetaparad isi, 34 ,

“

107,

M uscitreagrisola, B ly . 19 9muticus, L in . Pavo 235

Mycerobas carn lpes, H odge . 13 1

Myiophon eus eugen i i,Hume

Myiophon eus horsfie1d 1,

Myiophon eus temminck i ,Vig .

NANUS, Vig . Iyn gipic11s

nan u s,Vig . Y 11n gipicus

nauman n i, F l e isch . C erch

n e is

n eglecta, Wald S itta11e gl ectus, Brook8 . Troglodyte s

n emoricola, B odys . Gall inago 6 8 ,

n emon cola, Jerd . S turn iaNemaracyan ura, Pal l .Neophron ging in ianus,Latk . 2 , 236 ,

333 , 454, 468

Neopus malayen sis , Reinw . 335

Neorn isassim i lis, 170

Neorn is fiavo-ol ivaceus,

Nettopus coroman de l ianu s,Gm. 79 , 163, 245, 325, 417, 44

52 ,

5 1

n igra; Lin . C icon ia 143 , 3 23

n igra, Lin . Hyd rochel idon 1 46

n igriceps, Frankl . Lan ius 199

n igriceps, B odys . Stachyri s

n igrigenis , Hume . G ee i

n u s 19 1

n igrolutea, Marsh. Iora 306

n igropl l ea, Lafi ‘. M eru la459 , 474

n igrorufa, Jerd . O chrome la. 369 , 473n i lgh irien sis ,

‘ B ly . O reo

c inc la.Ninox l ugubris. Tick .

N inox scu tulata, Rafi :n ipalen sis, B ody s . Accen

tor 124, 270

n ipal en sis, Hodos . Alcippe 206n

n ipalen sis, Hodgs . Aqu ila 7, 179 ,287, 443

n ipal en sis, Bodys . B ubo 182 , 343

n ipal en sis, Hodg s . H 1run do 9 9, 184

n ipalen s is, H edys "

Limnaétus

INDEX .

N isaétus pen natae, Gm.

n is icolor, Hodg s . Hierococcyx 193

n isus, L in . Accipiter 92 , 178 ,

n itidus, B ly . Phyl loscopus 47, 1 19 ,309 , 393

occipital is. Vig . Gecin usochracea, B ody s . Sasiaochraceiceps, Wald . Poms.torhinus

O chromelamgrorufa, Jerd .

n ipalensis, Hodgs . Palaeorn is 450

n ipalen sis, Hadya. Parus . 124, 228 ,

n ipale n sis , Hodgs . Treron 235mpalen sis, Hodg8 Troglodytes 108

Nisuétu s faeciatas, 'l i . 7, 288 ,

336 , 435

93, 179

Nucifragamu ltipunctata,G ou ld .

n uchal is, Tw eed Pomatorhin us 207

Numen ius l in eatus, Cuv 69, 239 ,320

Numen ius phaeopu s , Lin . 70, 240Nycticorax gri seus, L in . 76 ,

2 44, 324, 417Nyctiorn isatherton i, J . cj

‘ S . 186 ,351, 436

nyroca, Gu ld . Ful igula 8 4, 145 ,326, 528, 531

OATKSI, Hume . Hydrormsobscuru s, Gm. Turdu sobscu ras, Hume . Pomatorh in us 153, 305

ocel latum,Less . Syrn ium 14, 29 0,

343 , 455

occipital is, Bly . Regu loides 1 19

occ ipital is, B ly . 228

occipitalis, Jerd . Beguloides 309 ,439

192

152

369 ,473

ochropus, Lin . Tetan us,

71 , 141 ,

ocu laris , Swin li . Motac i lla 225

O cyceros birostris, 22 . 296

(Ed icn emu s c repi tan s, Tem. 238

( Ed icn emus scolopax, S . G

Gm. 67, 238 ,3 19 , 413 , 4 41

onocrotalus, I/ in . Pe lecan us 48 8 ,489 , 499 , 501-503 , 505

opisthol eucu e S iricki . Saxicola. 1 12, 266

307O re icoln j erdon i , Bly . 2 1 3

Oreocin clu dauma, Lain 37, 205

INDEX "

Pliyl l orn isaurifr'

on s, Tem.

Phy l lorn is ch lorocephal us,Phy l lorn is j erdon i, B ly lk . 306 , 387,

451 , 460

Phyl lorn is malabaricus,Gm 387

Phyl loscopusafiin is, Tic/4 1 19 176 ,394, 477

Phy l loscopus boreal is,B las .

'

Pl1yl loscopus burman icus,Phyl loscopu s coronatus,J . S . 223

Phy l loscopus fascatus, B ly . 222

Phy l l oscopus in d icu s, Jerd .

Phy l loscopus l ugubris,Ely 11 8 , 222 , 268

-P~hyl losc0pus magn irostris,y .

Phyl loscopus n itidus, B ly .

Phyl loscopus regu loides,B ly .

Phyl losco'

pus schwartm,

Raddde.Phyl loscopus sindian us,Brooks

Phyl loscopus supercil iosus,Gm.

Phy l loscopus ten el l ipes,222

Phyl loscopus ,tristis. B ly . 47, 1 18

9,

30

Phy l loscopu s trochiloides ,Sun d .

Phy l loscopus tytl em,

B rooks

Phy l loscopus v iridan us ,B ly . an , 39 3

Picale u coptera, G ou ld . . 1 27

P icaru stica, Soaps . 1 27

picata, B ly . Saxicola 112 , 1 13,266

pieutas, Sykes . Hemipus . 1 99 , 30 1 ,

Piousanal is, Horsf . 1 9 0

P ious cathpharius, Hodge . 1 50

Pious h imalayen sis, Jerd

cf‘ Se lb. 10 1

.Picu s maj or, Lin. 102

P ious mahratten s is, Lal li . 24, 190,297, 3 54

Pious pyrrhothorax, Hume 150

P 1c torh 1s sin en sis, Gm. 373

.pictus, Jerd'

& Se l b. Francol in us

pil eata, Badd . Hal cyon 187P 1pastes maculatue,

553

Pipastes t1 ivial is, Lin .

Piprisdmaagil e, Tick .

p1sp'

ol etta, Pal l Caland rel la

Pittabrachyura, Lin .

pl umbeus, Hodg s . Pol ioaetus

.

9

pl umbipes, .Hoo

dgs . Turmx 236

plumipes, Hadya. Buteo

159 , 180,

pl uvial is, Lin C haradrius

Podicapersonata, G . .R.

ichthyae tus,Pol ioae tu s plumbeug,

pol iooephal us, Lal h. C ucu1us

pol iocephal us, Lain. Por

phyrio 0 l O

Pol iohieraxWald <

.pol iopsie,H ume . AsturPomatorhiuus auste 111,

Pittac oronataPittacucu lata, Hartl .Pittacyan ea, B ly .

Pittamegarhyn cha, S chl .

Pittamol uccen sis, P . L 8‘

M il l ]. 205

Platal eal eucororl ia, L in . 77, 324

platyrhyncha, Tem. Limi

colaplatyurus, Jerd . Scl1oen icola 383, 438

Ploceé l lachryssa, H ume. 23 1

P loc eé l lajavan en s is, Less . 23 1

Ploceus baya, B ly . 23 1.

P loceus bengal en s is, L in . 23 1.

Ploceus inan yar,Harsf . 55, 231.

P loceus ph i l1ppi11us, Lin . 54, 3 12 ,

Plotus melanogaster, Penn . 8 8 , 2 48 ,327, 419

Pod iceps cristatus, Lin . 8 5

Pod iceps flu viatil is, Tun st, 145Podiceps minor, Gm. 8 5, 145,

245, 326 , 418 , 46 1, 480

poecilorhyn cha, Fars t.Anas 8 1 , 442, 466, 528 , 531

poiocephala, Jerd . Al cippe 374

poiocephalus , Jerd . Brachypod iu s

Pol ioaé tus humi l is,‘ S .

M ii l l . cf‘ Sckl

Pol 1oa5tus

554

Pomatorhinas horsfie ld i,Sykes 1 53 , 376, 474

Pomatorhinus Ieacogaster,Gou ld .

Pomatorhin us melauarus,B ly

Pomatorhinas n uchal is,Traced .

Pomatarhinas obscu ras,153, 305

Pomatorhinas aohraceiceps, Wald .

Pomutorhinu s schisticeps,

Pamatorh in us sten orhyn

ol1u s, G . Aust.

pon d icerian u s , Gm. O rty

garn is 62 , 317, 410, 440, 46 5,531

pondicerian us,Gm Tephradorn is 31 , 199 , 301 , 365, 438 ,

459

paecilorhyn cha, Farsi .Anas 325, 418

Paruhyrio poliocephal us,Latk . 72 , 24 1, 3 22, 441

Porzanaakool , Sykes . 322, 441 , 466

Porzanabai llon i , Vie i l l . 73, 143 ,2 42

,4 15, 441

Porzanafasca, Lin . 242 , 322 , 415,

Porzanamaraetta, Leach . 73 , 1 42 ,322

Porzanaparva, Soap . 1 43

prate n sis , Becket. C re x 143

Pratinco labicolor, Sykes 3 59 , 476

Pratin colacaprata, L in 43 , 1 1 1 ,2 12 , 307, 389 , 46 1

Pratin colaferreus, Hodge 2 13

Pratin colain d ica, B ly th 263

Pratmcolain s ign is, H odg s . 451

Pratin colaleac uras, B ly . 17 1, 2 12Pratin colamaurus, 43, 1 11 ,

2 12

Pratin colamaura,Pal l 263 , 307, 389Pratin colarobusta, Trisc. 1 1 2, 263Pratin colarubicola, Lin 1 1 1

Prin iabeavan i , Wald . 2 19

13111111; flaviven trl s, D e l ess 2 19

Prin iagracihs, 2 19 , 308 ,39 1

Prin iasocial is, Sykes 39 1, 46 1

476Prin iaste

'

warti, B ly . 45, 308Pn onoch ilus modestus ,H ume 19 8

Propasser blythi, Sp . Nov .

'

2 72P ropasse r rhodoch lamys,B randt. 132

proregu las, Pal las . RegalOides an 268

INDEX .

PtyonopragneSykes

Ptvon oprogn e rupestri s ,Soap. 293, 346 , 469

pugnaz , L in , Machetes 70 , 14 1 ,240, 276 , 321

387 ,

293, 346

pael la, Lath. Irena460

pu lche l l us, Harsf . Caroln eu tes 1 87

pu lchra, Hume . Carin e 18 3

palohratus, B ody s , Tartar 60, 34

1

0

5

7,

QU ERQUEDULA an eusrmosmars , M e

’

n étr . 8 2, 16 8 , 174

Qaerqaed u lacircia, Li n . 8 3 , 145 ,467 , 53 1

Qaerquedalacrecca, Lin . 8 3 , 145,

Qaerqaedalafalcata, Georg . 8 4, 168

Psarisamus dal housise, Jam.

Pseudogyps bengal en si s,Gm. 2 , 177 , 286 , 332

Pseudoscalopax sem ipalmatus, Jerd .

Pseudotatan us haughtom,

Armstrong 241

Pteroc lesare narius , Pal l . 6 1 , 275Pte rocl es e xastu s, Tom. 6 1, 3 16

Pte rocl es fasciatas, Soap . 16 3 , 3 16

ptilarhynohus, Tom. Pern is 13 , 18 1,289 , 340, 43

concolor,

pal veral e n tas, Tom. Mue l

l eripicu s

pan cticol l is, Mal ls. Brachyptern u s 356

pun ctu lata, Lin . Amad ina55 , 3 12,402 , 439 , 463

pun iceu s, Tick . Al sacomas 235

purpurea, Lin . Ardea 74, 243 ,

purpureus, P . L S . Mul l .Palaeorn is 24

, 29 7, 353 , 471

pas 1l la, Pal l , M etopon iaPycnouotas burman icas,S harpe

Pyctorh l s al tirostris, Jerd .

c tarhis sin en sis, Gm.

pygmeeas , Lin Earyn orhyn chas

pygmaeus, Pal l Phalacrocarax 327 . 419

Pyrrhocoraxal pin u s, Vi e i l l . 127

pyrrhops, Hodgs . B 11

chan ga 202

pyrrbotlw rax, Hume . P icas 1 50

Pyrrh u laauran tiaca, G ou ld . 1 3 1

Pyrrhu laudagrisea, Soap . 58 , 3 14 ,

40 4, 440, 463

56

Raticil la alaschan ica,

R 11t1c1l laaur0i‘

ca, Pal l .Ru t ici l lacee ral eocephala,Batic l l la e rythrogastra,Gii ld .

Rut 1cil laerythronota,E versm 1 15, 267

Rat1c1l lafron tal is, Pig . 1 16

Rat1oi l lafal iginosa, Viy . 267B utic 1l la le ucocephala,

1 16,1 20

Ratici l larufiven tris, Viei l l . 44 , 1 15,

rutila, Pal l . Casarca 8 0, 164 ,

rutila, Pal l . Emberiza 234

rati lans, Severtz . Gyps . 89

SACER, Gm. Fal coSalporn is spilonotas,If

‘

rankl .Saraglossaspi loptera, Viy .

Sarcid iorn is me lan on otus,Penn . 79 , 245 325, 4 17 528 , 531

Sas1aochracea, Hadya. 19 2

sau laris, L in . C opsyc l i us 42 , 2 12 ,306 , 3 88 , 460, 476

saxatil is, L in . Mon ticola 1 10

Sax icolaoenan the, L in . 1 15

Saxicolaaiban igra, H ume . 1 13

Sax icolaCapistrate , G oul d 1 12

Saxicolad eserti , B upp . 43, 307

Saxicolah en derson i , Hume . 1 14

Saxicolaisabel lin us, Riipp . 43, 1 14 ,307

Saxicolamaria, H .and E . 1 12 ,- 1 13 ,1 14, 266

Saxicola opisthol eaca,S trickland 266 , 1 12, 307

Saxicolapicuta, B ly . 1 12 , 1 I3 ,266

Saxicolasyen iticus, Se

vertz . 1 12

Saxicolavittata, H . and E . 1 14, 267

siamen sis, .B ly . Zosterops 228

schisticeps, B odys . Pomatorh in us 208n

schoen iclas, L in . Emberiza 1 20

Schoen icolaplatyaras, Jerd . 383, 438schwarzi, Radde Phy l losoapus

80010a, S . G .Gm ( Edw

n emas 67, 238 3 19 , 413, 441

Scolopax rasticula, Lin . 140, 159 ,

Scops bakkamaena, Penn . 16

Scops bruei l , H ume 99 , 260,29 1

INDEX .

Scops gm , Soap .

Scops lemp1j 1, Horsf .

Scops lettia, Hodgs .

Scops malabaricus, Jerd .

Scops pen natus , B odys .

Scops sun ia, B odys .

scou leri , Viy . Hen icaras

scatalata, Rafi “. Ninox

se ena, Sykes . Sterna

selopu to, Haraf . Syrn ium

semipalmatus, J erd . Pseu

doscolopax 239

senegal en sis, L in . Tartar 60, 13 8 ,3 15, 408, 479

lanalatus,

a1nen s1s, Gm. Pyctan s

social is, Sykes . Prin ia

sol itaria, Gal l inago

sol 1tariu s, P .

m

L . S . Mu l l

Cyan ocin c las 205

son nerati, Latk . 193, 34

5

3

9

;son nerati, Tem. Gal l us 3 16 , 409 ,

464, 479

so his; Severtz LeptopaeEfle

sord ida, Rupp . Agrodroma49 , 3 1 1

sordida, S tol , Fu n gil lauda 133

Hodys.

SerilophasGou ld .

severus, Hany . Fal co

shar11, Viy . Tigasibirica, Gm Hamichendon 107, 204, 261

simi le, Hume. Tro

chalopterum 1 10

simi l is, Jerd . Agrod roma 39 7

simil l ima, Jerd . Merala 374, 459 ,474

sin d ianas, B rooks . Phyl

l os0 0pas 1 18

sine n s is , Gm. Ardetta 2 43

sin en sis, J . E . Gr. Cotil e 18, 18 4,293

37, 205,305, 373, 450

sin en sis, Gm. Sturn ia 229

S 1phiaruficauda, Swains 108

s irkee , Gr . Tacoccua 28, 300

S 1ttacastan eiven tris, Frankl . 29 ,300, 363

S ittaleacOpsis, G ould . 103

S ittan eglects , Wald 19 8

smyrn en sis, L in , Halcyon 2 1, 187 ,296 , 351 ,457, 47 1

39 1, 46 1 ,476

INDEX .

spad iceus, Gm. Gal loperd ix 3 16, 410, 464,

sparveroides, Viy . H ieracoccyx 193, 359

Spatulaclypeata, L in . 8 0 , 144,16 4, 325, 41 7, 442, 53 1

speciosas, Latk Feriaracotas

specu l igera, Brandt. Coc

cothraastes .specal igerus Lan iasSphenocercas sphenaras ,Sphenaras, Viy . Spheno

oercus

spilon otus, Frankl Salparn is

spi lopte ra, Viy . Saraglossa

Spilorn is cheela, Latk.

Spilarn is me lanotis, Jerd .

Spi lorn is rutherfordi,Sw in ia. 179

Spilorn is un du latus, Viy . 1 79

Spizalaudad eva, 3 14, 404,4 63

Spizalaadamalabarica, Soap . 405, 463

splen den s, Viei l l . Corvus 50 , 3 11 ,399 , 46 1, 5 18

Squamatas, Viy . G ecinas 102

Squatarolahel vetica, Lin .

Stachyris n igriceps, B ody s . 206

Stachyris rafifron s, H ume 207stagnat il is B eckst . Totan us 71, 241, 321

stel larie, L in . Botaurus 76, 244

stenorhyn chus, G . Aust

Pomatorh inusstentorin e, H . d

‘ E . Aero

cephal us 2 13 307 , 390

Sternaangl ica, Mont. 86 , 246

Sternacaspia, Pal l 246, 326

Sternafluv iati l is, Naum 4 18

Sternaf ul iginosa, Gm. 247

S ternagau l d i, Hume. 247

Sternamelanogastra, Tom. 87, 247 ,326 , 419

Sternaminuta, L in . 86

S ternaseena, Sykes . 86 , 16 6 ,246 , 326

stewarti, Bly . Emberiza 129 , 27 1

stewarti, B ly . Prin ia 45, 308

sthenara, Kuhl . Gal l inago 68 , 164,

1 72 , 238 , 320, 413, 53 1

stol iczkee, Brooks . C erthia 152

S toporalaal bicaudata, Jerd . 370, 473

S toporalame lan ops, 33 , 20 41.

304, 370

strictus, Horsf . Chrysocolaptes

Strix candida, Tick.

Strix javan ica, Gm.

Starmasin en sis, Gm.

Starn ie stu rn ina, Pal l .stam ina, Pal l . Sturn iaStarnopastor con tra, Lin .

Stiglnopastar superci l iaris,

Starnas valgame, Lin .

subarquata, Gu' ld . Tringa

stracheyi, Moore. Emberiza 129

straminea, S evertz. Locustel la

streperus, Lin . C l 1aale lasmas 8 2, 144, 16 4, 325, 418, 531

Strepsilas in terpres , 238 , 452

striata, Lin . Amad ina 478

striata, Lin . Hypatseuidia242, 4

4

1

8

5,0

striatus, Drap . C ucu lus 1 93,4

354, 437,471

striolatas, B ly . Gecin us 19 1 , 355,437, 471.

341 , 469

13, 18 1 ,

strapbiatus, B odys. Aocen tor

strutheris, Viyars . Ibidorhyn chu s 275

stal ta, Gm. Pe tron ia 1 28Starn in blythi, Jerd . 401 , 462S tarn in barman ica, Jerd 230

Starn iamalabarica, 53, 229 ,3 12 , 401 , 462

Starn ianemoricola, Jerd 229

S turn iapagodarum, Gm 53, 128 ,

2 29

230

230

52

subbuteo, L in . Falcosabochraceum, Sw ink. Pe llorn eum

sabrais , Jerd . Layard isubrafical l is, B ly . Bhyticeros

saban dalata, G . AustAmadina 232 if n

subviridis, Brooks. Regulaides 1 19

suecica, Lin, Cyanecala 44, 1 17,

Sulacyanops, Sand . 165

sal tan ea, Hodgs . Me lanoch lora

saltaneas, B odys . Chrysacolaptes

san ia, Hadya. Scops

558 INDEX .

supercil iaris, Jerd . Larvi Tarsiger rafi latu s, Hodge

vora teesa, Frankl . Batastursupercil iaris, Jerd ,Masai

capalasupercil iaris, B ly . Starn opastor

sapercil iasus, Gm. Phyl

l oscopassuperciliosu s, Gm, Regu

loides

superstriata, Hume . Amad ina 232 61

‘n

suraten sis, Gm. Tartar 60 , 138 ,

274, 315, 408 , 440, 464, 479Surn icu l us lugubris, Haraf , 1 93

sutorius, Penn O rtl iatomu s 45, 219 , 390

satarms, Farsi Orthotamas 308 Tephrodorn is pond iceria

Suyacrin igera, Hodgs . 22 1 n u s, Gm. 3 1 , 19 9 ,sw inhaii,‘Hume, 186 , 350 , 438 , 459 , 30 1 , 365

4156 1 470 sy l vicola,syen iticas, S evertz. Saxi

cola 1 12

sykesi ,Strickl . Vol vocivora176 , 301,

syl vatica, Tick . 346

Sylviaaffin is, B ly . 47, 120269 , 309

Syl viaal theea, Hume 1 20, 269 ,3 10

Syl viaj erdon i, B ly . 1 20, 269 ,309 , 439

Syl v iaorphea, Tem. 120

Syl viaru fa, B odd . 120

syl vicola, Jerd . Tephrodor

n is 365, 438

Sypheotides aarita, Latk . 160, 16 1 ,168 , 318 , 412

Sypheotis bengal ensis, PL . S . M ii l l . 1 62

Syrn ium biddu lphi , Scul ly 9 5

Syrn ium in dran ee , 342, 455

Syrn ium ocel latum, L ess . 14 290,

Syrn ium seloputo, Haraf . 1 82

Taccacaa LESCHENAULTI,

L ess .

Taccocaasithee, Gr.

taczanowskia, Sw ink . Tr1

buraTadornacorn uta, S . G .

Gm. 80 164

taigoor, Sykes . Turn ix 317 , 4 12 ,441 , 519 , 530, 531

Tan tal us l eucocephal us,Farsi . 76 , 244, 324, 442

Tan tal us l eucocephalus,Penn .

Temen uchas pagadaram,

Gmel .Trin goides hypal eucus,L in . 71 , 141 . 241

temm i n cki, Viy . Myio

phon sas 1 08

temmincki, Leisi . Trin gaten el l ipes , Sw ink . Phy l los

copastenairostris

,B ly . Oriolas

tephrocephalas, Anders

C rypt0 10pl1aTephrodorn is pel vicus

Tephradarn isJerd .

Terekiac in erea, G u ld .

te rricol or, H odgs . Malacc

cercu s

Tetraogal las h imalayen sl s,Gray .

Thamn obia cambaien sis,Latk . 42

Thamnobiafal icata, L in .

46 1

tl i ren od es, Cab Cacomantes 193

Thriponax fedden i, B lanf 1 9 0

Thriponax hodgson i , Jerd 355,437

T l cl1odromamuraria, Lintickel l i

, B ly . Cyarn is 36 ,

tickel l i, B ly . 207

T lgajavan en sis , Lj ung . 192 , 357T igashori i, Viy . 357

tigrinas , Tem. Tartar 235

T1mal ia ben galen s is,G . Aus t.

tin n un cu lus , L in . C ercu

n eis 178 ,286 , 334 , 454, 469

Tockus griseu s , Latk . 352 , 436

torquatus , Badd . Palaeorn is 23 , 1 89 , 2 97, 353 457, 471

torquil la, L in . Iyn x 2 5 , 102 ,

1 9 2 , 29 8

torra, B . Ham. Herodias 75 , 243 .323

Totan us cal idri s, Lin . 71 , 1 42 ,

Totanas fuscas , Li n . 7 1 2 41 , 44 1

Totan u s glareola, Gme l 277

Totan us glottis, L i n . 7 1 . 1 42 ,

560 INDEX .

arbica, Lin . Ol1el idanU roaissaoccipital is, B lyu sorias, Lin . Tartar

VANsLt Us vanaaars, B eokst 65, 140

varias, Vakl . H ieracoccyx359

varian s, Latk. Crypsirhina 229

ven tral is’Cuv . Hop lopterus 66 , 238

vernalis, Sparrm. Laricu las 190, 353 ,436 , 457, 471

vespertina, Lin . Cerchn e is 260

vi l latse, Audau in . Chattasia 65

v il lotwi, Chettasia 3 19

v in dhiana, Frankl . Aqu ila7 , 2 87 WARM , Jerd . Tardalas“ 18 0 1 Li n . An thropa1des

32g:1

5

4

32: wal fe, B rekm. Cyan ecalaviridanas, B ly . Phyl lascopus

v iridescen s, B ly. Iol e

v irid ifran s, B ly . C rocapasv irid ipen n is, Bly Phyllos

capus 223 n

v irid is, B ly . G ecin ul u s 19 1

v irid is, Badd . Megalaima298 , 358 ,43 7 458 , 47 1 asiaticus,

v irid is , Gm. Badytes 1 2 1 74, 242v irid is, Lin . G ecinas 1 02

v iridis, Lin . M erops 20, 186 ,

295 , 350 , 456 ,YUNGIPICUS GYMNOTHAIMUS,

viridirastris, Jerd . Rho

padytes 360 Yun gipicus_

n nnue. Via.

virgatus, Retnw. Accipiter 6,178 , Yunx torqu luab L in ‘ n o

335

v iscivaras, Lin . Turdus 1 10

v ittata, H . d‘ E . Saxicola

vittatus, Val . Lan ius 31, 301 ,365

v ittatus, V eil}. G ecinas 19 1

V ivia‘iw inata, B ur 357

val itane ; Swink. C isticola 2 19

Valvacivoraavensis, B ly . 200

Val vocivara intermed ia,Hume 200

Val vacivarasykeai, Strickl . 176 ,301 ,

erythrapygias, E l l iot. G ec in us

vu lgaris, Leach . Buteo

vu lgaris, Pal l Caccothraustes 514

vul garis, B ecket. Vane l l us 65, 1 40

vu lgaris , Lin Starnas 51 , 128vu l garis, S tephen Francol inus 62

Vul turmonachus, L in 1 , 89 .259

XANTHOLZEMA nmmaapn u s ,

Mu l l 26 , 192, 299 , 358, 458Xan thalsemamalabarica,B ly .

xan thol eacas Hodgs . Her

parn isxanthorhynchas, Horsf .Chrysacoccyx

Xenorhynchus

Lat/i .

ZEYLANICA, L in . C innyris 300,362, 437

Zeylan ica, Iara 518Zosterops palpebrasa, Tem. 49 , 227.

Zosterops siamen sis, Bl y . 228

Zaatheramarginata, B ly . 205n

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MECUM Con tain in g brie f practical in struction s for col lect1n g, pre serving, packin g, an d keeping spe c imen s of birds, eggs,

n ests, feathers,and ske le ton s , by ALLAN HUM E.


Price, Re . 1 with postage, Re. 1-2 .

Y SCRAP BOOK ; or, Rough Notes on the Indian Raptores,by ALLAN HUM E.

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LLMITED .

3?ahi iat 211 119THE CENTRAL PRESS COMPANY, 5, COUNCIL HOU SE STREET,CALCUTTAr HE INDIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL COLLECTOR

’S VADE .

MECUM : Con taini ng brief practical instruction s for col lect sing, preserv in g, packin g, an d keeping spe cimen s of birds

, eggs ,

n ests, feathers ,an d ske l e ton s , by ALLAN HUM E .


P rice, Re . 1 w ith postage, Re . 1-2 .

YSCRAP BOOK ; or, Rough Notes on the Indian Raptores,by ALLAN HUM E.

1 Vol . bound, 422pp . 1869-1870,price rupees 5 ; with postage 5-8 .

R E P R I N TOF THE

RITISH ASSOCIATION RULES FOR ZOOLOGICALNOMENCLATURE. Price, 8 annas ; including '

postage ,an nas .

Al l commun ication s an d remittan ces shou ld be addressed an d made payable to theMANAGER , Calcu ttaC en tral Press, Cal cutta.

Subscribers are earn estly requested to keep the Publisherspunctual ly in formed of changes of address, as they may occurfrom time to time .

Au thors can always, by s ign ifying their desire to rece ivethem,

when sen ding , the ir paper, obtain separate copies of thesame

,stitched in green covers, at the fol low ing rates —12

copies, two annas per prin ted page ; 25 copies, three annas,d i tto ; 50 copies, sixan nas, d itto.

Handsome ly ornamen ted covers for bin ding Vols . I . to IX .

may be obtain ed from the Publ ishers, price Re . 1 ; withpostage Re . 1-2 .

A few c opies of V-ols . I . to IX . areavai lable, bound in theseornamen tal covers . Price Rs . 12 w ith Postage Rs . 12-8 .

Subscription f or each Volume, in advance, .Rs . 10 ; with IndianPostage Rs. 1 1 . Al l commun ications on this subj ect to be made to the

P ubl ishers . Address the Manager, CalcuttaCen tral Press Ca,Calcutta.

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N O T I C E

In Europe, Subscription s -1 , in c luding Postage) may bepaid to,and copies obtained from, Mussns . BERNARD Q UARITCH,

15, Piccad i l ly, London .

C overs for bin d ing Vols . I . to IX. price l s . 6d . each, may

Stray Feathers Journal of Ornithology for India and Its ...

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