VOb b H-

J 4 ,-j

Bombay

Natural History Society

' *>v

INDEX AND TITLE PAGE

\

VOL. XXXIV

NOS. 1 & 2

Price .... Rs. 2—4- 0

MADRAS

Printed at the Diocesan Press

1931

INSTRUCTIONS TO BINDER

The contents of these two parts should be arranged in the

following order when they are being bound : —

Title page

Contents of Nos. 1 and 2 of Vol. XXXIV

List of Contributors

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Index to Illustrations

Errata

Index to Species

To follow frontis-

piece in this order.

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two numbers.

THR

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

EDITED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE, kt„ f.z.s., m.l.c., & S. H. PRATER, m.l.c,, c.m.z.s.

VOL. XXXIV

Nos. I & 2

Containing 7 Coloured Plates, 56 Black and White Plates,

72 Text-figures, 1 Map and 11 Diagrams

Dates of Publication

Part I. (Pages 1 to 270 ... 1st March, 1930)

„ II. ( „ 271 to 612 ... 15th July, 1930)

LONDON AGENTS

DULAU & CO., Ltd., 32, 0!d Bond Street, London, W.I.

PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS

1931

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIV

No. 1

Page

Tee Game Birds of the Indian Empire. Part XI. ( With

a coloured plate) of Jerdon’s Courser {Rhino ptilus bitor-

quahis) and the Small Indian Pratincole or Swallow-

Plover {Glareola lactea). By E. C. Stuart Baker, j.p.,

F.Z.S., F.L.S., M.B.O.U., H.F.A.O.U 1

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency.

Part XI. By Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., ph.D., f.l s... 12

The Study of Indian Birds. Part IV. {With three black

aiid white plates ). By H. Whistler, f.z.s., m.b.o.u.. 27

Flowerless Plants. Part II I. {With one coloured a?id

two black and white plates ) By Mrs. M. Robinson, b.a.

(t.C.D.), NAT. SCI. TRIP, CAM 40

Notes on the Birds of the Upper Burma Hills. Part II.

(By P. F. Wickham) 46

The Panthers and Ounces of Asia. ( With six black and

white plates). By R. I. Pocock, f.r.s 64

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. Part III. {With two

coloured and tivo black and white plates.) By Rev. E. Blatter

S.J., Ph.D., f.l.s. and W. S. Millard, f.z.s 83

Indian Dragonflies. Part XXXV. {With one plate and

four text figiircs.) By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s., f.e.s. 87

A Tour in Further Kashmir. ( With two plates). By B. B.

Osmaston, c.i.e 108

The Flowering of Bamboos. Part II. By Rev. E. Blatter,

S.J., Ph.D., f.l.s 135

Notes from an Expedition for Ovis poli. ( Wih two plates).

By W. J. Morden 142

Report on a Collection of Ants in the Indian Museum,

Calcutta. ( With one plate and six text-figures). By

Durgadas Mukerjee 149

On the Fishes of the Manchar Lake, Sind. By Dr.

Baini Prashad, d.sc 164

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing. (With seven text- figures).

By Major R. W. G. Hingston, i.m.s 170

Ants and the Lac Insect. (With three plates). By P. S.

Negi,. M. P. Misra, and S. N. Gupta.... . 182

IV

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIV

Page

Contributions to our Knowledge of the Fresh Water

Alg/e of Manipur, Assam. ( With four plates ). By

K. P. Biswas, m.a... 189

Methods of Fishing in the Punjab. {With a plate'). By

M. Hamid Khan, m.sc 193

Description of a New Ant-Mimicking Spider. ( With

two text-figures). By Durgadas Mukerjee 200

Two New Species of Sphingid^e ( Hawk Moths ) from the

Oriental Region. By C. E. Fellowes-Manson. 202

The HrsTORY and Progress of the Zoological Survey

of India. Part II 205

B. N. H. S. Investigation into the Composition of Salt-

Licks. Earth-eating and Salt-licking in India.

Part II. By Rev. Fr. J. F. Caius, S.J., f.l.s. and K. H.

Bharucha, b.a., b.sc.... 220

Reviews—

The Field-Book of a Jungle-Wallah 223

Trout Fishing from all Angles... 225

A Guide to the Orchids of Sikkim 226

What Botany REALLy Means 227

Migration of Waterfowl 229

The Toxicity of the Venoms of Indian Scorpions. By

Rev. J. F. Caius 230

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES—

I. Strange Behaviour of a Tigress. By A. Macdonald 231

II. The Caracal in Iraq. ( With a photo). By Norman

L. Corkhill 232

III. Distribution and Colouration of the Lynx ( Lynx

lynx). By Capt. D. G. Lowndes 234

IV. The Hunting Leopard (Cyncelurus jubatus) in the

C. P. By J. M. Richardson 235

V. Malay Beliefs and Legends about Tigers and Wild

Dogs. By Alexander Cross 235

VI. Season of Shedding and Growth of Antlers in the

Swamp Deer (Rucervus duvancelli) in Assam. By

Capt. D Montcrieff Wright 236

VI r. Encounters with Elephants on the Billgirirangan

Hills. By R. C. Morris 237

VIII. Elephant Tusk Wedged in a Tree. By R C. Morris. 242

IX. The Distribution of Wild Buffalo in Orissa. ( With

a map and a photo) By H. F. Money, i.f.S ....... 242

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXX IV

v

Page

X. Malformed Cheetal Head (Axis axis) (With a Photo)

By Surajinal Singh... 245

XI. Partial Disappearance of the Wild Pig (S?cs cristatus).

Ry R. C. Morris. 245

XII. Birds of Quetta. By C. B. Ticehurst. 246

XIII. The Incubation of Eggs during the Hot Weather.

By C. O. Lowsley 247

XIV. The Tail-Racket of Dissemurus paradiseus . By II.

Whistler. 250

XV. Note on the Nesting Habits of the Southern Red-

Whiskered Bulbul (Otocompsa emeria iuscicaudata).

By Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s........ 250

XV I. — Migration of the Pied Crested-Cuckoo ( Coccystes

jacobinus ). By R. M. Simmons... .. 252

XVII. — An Albino House-Sparrow ( Passer domcsticus). By

N. K. Tiwary 253

XVIII. — Migratory Habits of Wagtails. By N. K. Tiwary.. 253

XIX. — The Mating of the Blossom-headed Paroquet

(Psittacula cyanocephala). By N. K. Tiwary.. 254

XX. — Late Stay of Grey Quail (Coturnix coturnix) in

Bihar. By A. Macdonald 255

XXI. — Breeding of Geese and Ducks in Eastern Turkestan.

By Capt. G. Sherriff, r.a 255

XXII. — How the Monitor Lizard Sits in its Burrow. By

Beni Charan Mahendra 255

XXIII. — Occurrence of Russell’s Viper in the Bhrama-

putra Valley. By J. Loudon 256

XXIV. — The Distribution of the Banded Krait (Bungarus

fasciatus). By Lt.-Col. J. Masson, i.m.s. (Retd.) 256

XXV. — A Duel between a Cat and a Cobra. By Miss H.

Vick 257

XXVL— - Notes on the Rarer Lycaenidae. By G. E. R. Ccoper. 258

XXVir.— A Note on some Malabar Lepidoptera. By Lt.-Col.

F. C. Fraser, i.m.s 260

XXVIII. — Dwarf Specimens of Butterflies. (With a plate).

By W. M. Crawford, f.e.s.. 261

XXIX. — The Life History of the Silk-Moth (Lcepa newara).

By C. E. Fellowes-Manson 262

XXX. — The Human Ear used as a Burrow by a Sphegid

Wasp. By Lorna Boyd 263

XXXI. — Notes on the Flowering of Strobilanihus callosus).

By C. McCann....... 264

VI

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIV

Page

XXXII. — Some Notes on Scorpions in Iraq. By Norman

L. Corkhill.. . 265

XXXIII. — Swarming of the Tenebrionid Beetle (Ly props

cttrlicollis). By D. A. Turkhud 267

Proceedings 268

No. 2

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. Part IV. ( With two

coloured plates of the Pagoda Tree ( Plumiena acutifolia')

(Right) and Frangipani ( Plumicria rubra), (Left), and the

Bhendi Tree ( Thespesia popiihiea :), and two black and white

plates and four diagrams'). By Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., ph.D.,

f.l.s. and W. S. Millard, f.z.s 271

The Study of Indian Birds. Part V. ( With o?ie plate

and six text figures). By H. Whistler, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 276

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency.

Part XII. By Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., ph.D., f.l.s 291

The Panthers and Ounces of Asia. Part II. ( With seven

plates ). By R. I. Pocock, f.r.s 307

Notes on the Birds of the Upper Burma Hills. Part III.

By P. F. Wickham 337

The Panther as I have known him. Parts I and II. ( With

two plates). By Lt.-Col. A. H. E. Mosse, la., f.z.s 350

The Monitor Lizards of Burma. {With two plates). By

H. C. Smith, i.f.s.. W

The Value of Field Observations in the Study of

Organic Evolution. ( With nine text-figures.). By

Sunder T. Rofa, d.s., etc 374

The Vernayt Scientific Survey of the Eastern Ghats.

By N. B. Kinniar, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. and H. Whistler,

f.z.s., m.b.o.u 386

The Habits of Millipedes {Marptodesmus sp.). {With two

illustrations). By Major R. W. G. Hingston, i.m.s 404

Aphibidae of Mysore. {With thirteen text-figures). By B.

Krishnamurthi, -.sc 411

Flowerless Plants. Part IV. {With five plates and two

text-figures). By Mrs. M. Robinson, b.a. (t.c.d.), nat.

SCI. trip, (camb.) 420

The Noctuid Moth {Eublemma aniabilis , Moore). {With one

coloured plate and seven black and white plates). By M. P.

Misra, P. S. Negi and S. N. Gupta.. 433

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIV

vii

Page

The Flowering of Bamboos. Part III. By E. Blatter, s.j.,

ph.D., f.l.s 447

Notes on the Fauna of British India : Birds. Volumes

IV, V and VI. (New Edition). By C. B. Ticehurst,

M.A., M.R.C.S., M.B.O.U.... ...... ... ... 468

How Trout were introduced into Kashmir. By F. J.

Mitchell. 491

The History and Progress of the Zoological Survey

of India. Part III. By B. Chopra, d.s., f.l.s 502

Notes on some of the wild species of Aroids. ( With

three plates a?id text-figures). By C. McCann 518

The Bombay Natural History Society’s Investigation

INTO THE COMPOSITION OF SALT LlCKS. EARTH-EATING

and Salt-licking in India. Part III. By J. F.

Caius, S.J., f.l.s. and K. H. Bharucha, b.a., b.sc 522

The Toxicity of the Venoms of Indian Scorpions. By

J. F. Cams, s.j., f.l.s... 526

Obituary—

H. C. Robinson 527

J. C. Faunthorpe. 528

Reviews. —

Bird Haunts and Bird Behaviour 531

The Third Annual Report and Records of the

Central Provinces Angling Association, Jubbul-

pore 532

Growth and Tropical Movements of Plants 533

First Steps in Zoology. 534

The Flora of the Indus Delta 535

Die Zytologie der Blutenpflanzen 537

A Treatise on the British Fresh Water Algae.... 538

The Flowering Plants of Madras City and its

immediate Neighbourhood 539

A Monograph of the Genus Aristida. Vol. I 541

Plant Biology 542

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES—

I. — The Alarm Call of Langoors. By F. W. Champion,

i.f.s 543

II,— Tiger or .Panther ? (With 2 plates.) By R. I.

Pocock, f.r.s. 544

ii CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXI P

Page

III. — Mr.Limouzin’s Specimen. By S. H. Prater C.M.z.s. 547

IV. — Mr. Pocock’s article on ‘ Tigers \ By A. A.

Dunbar Brander. 548

V. — The size and markings of Indian Tigers. ( With

a photo). By Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley, D.s.o.,

O.B.E., m.c 553

VI. Movements of Tigers. By H. F. Knight, I.C.S... 555

VII. Tigers Swimming. By W. A. Hickie 555

VIII. Proportions of Sexes in Tigers. By Brigadier-

General R. G. Burton — 556

IX. An Experience with a Tigress. By R. C. Morris. 556

X. Tigers Eating their Young. By R. C. Morris 557

XI. The Luck of Hunting. By A. Novice 557

XII. Hyaenas killing Cattle tied up as a bait. By R.C.

Morris 561

XIII. Body Measurements of a Gaur. By R. C.

Morris., 562

XIV. Good head of a Nilgiri Tahr. By H. D. Latham. 563

XV. The Distribution of the Mouse Deer. By Lt.-Col.

C. H. Stockley. 563

XVI. Notes on the 9th Edition of ‘ Records of Big

Game ’. By Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley 564

XVII. Notes on the Mammals of Baluchistan. By Lt.-

Col. C. H. Stockley 567

XVIII. Migration of Wild Fowl. 568

XIX. Migration Notes in 1929 from the Nilgiri District.

By F. N. Betts 569

XX. Notes on Some Birds seen in Lahul and Kulu.

By Capt. D. Lowndes 569

XXI. Vernacular names for Kashmir Birds. By Samsar

Chand Koul.. 571

XXII. The Attitude of Birds towards their Young. By

Brigadier-General R. H. Betham. 573

XXIII. Notes on Birds in Baluchistan, By Lt.-Col. C.H.

Stockley 575

XXIV. Occurrence of the White-throat Sylvia curruca

halimodendii in the Punjab. By H. A. Waite.... 575

XXV. The Amandavat ( Amandava ama?idava) in Meso-

potamia. By.C. B. Ticehurst 576

XXVI. Occurrence of the White-headed or Stiff-tailed

Duck ( Erismatura leucocephala ) in the N.W.F.P.

By T. D. Weeks 576

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXI V ix

Page

XXVII. Occurrence of the Stiff-tailed Duck ( Erismatura

leucocephalct) in the Shahpur District, Punjab,

By Lt.-Col. W. E. Flemming...... 577

XXVIII. Occurrence of the Mallard (Anas platyryncha) in

Upper Burma. By A. J. Jones 577

XXIX. Occurrence of the Baikal Teal (. Neitium iormosum)

in the Durbhanga District, N. Bihar. By Lt.-

Gol. H. R. Dutton, i.m,s. =,. 578

XXX. Bathing Habit of the Indian Roller ( Coracias

b en g hale n sis). By N. K, Tiwary 578

XXXI. Nidification of Storks. ( With a photo) By C.

McCann.. .. 579

XXXII. Nesting of the Sarus (Antigone antigone). By Lt.

A. J R* Hill, k.e 582

XXXIII. Fish-eating Habit of the Sarus Crane (. Antigone

antigone). By S. C. Law .%.... 582

XXXIV. Peafowl without a train. By H. C. Smith 583

XXXV. An enormous Estuary Crocodile ( Crocodilus

porosus). By A. A. Dunbar Brander 584

XXXVI. Note on Snakes collected at Belgaum. By Lt.-Col.

K. G. Gharpurey, i.m.s

XXXVII. Local names of some fish from the Teesta River.

By E. Ghosh 586

XXXVIII. Masheer Fishing in the Zhob River. By Lt.-Col.

C. H. Stockley. 587

XXXIX. Notes on Parantirrlioea marsh alii. By J, A.

Yates...... 587

XL. Notes on Pathysa antiphates naira. By J. A.

Yates 589

XLI. On the occurrence of Vanessa atalanta and Pararge

schakra in Baluchistan. By Lt.-Col. C. H.

Stockley 590

XLI I. Occurrence of the Colias hyale and Pieris ca?iidia

indica in the plains. By D. F. Sanders . 591

XLIII. The Grasshopper (Isopsera pedunculata) a supposed

mimic of the Black Ant (Cam ponotus compressors).

By W. L. McAtee 591

XLIV. Effect of Spider bite on Man. (With a photo).

By F. J. Meggitt .. 592

XLV. A Yellow variety of the Silk-Cotton Tree

(. Bombax malabaricum ). By Lt.-Col. W. D.

Ritchie, i.m.s.......... 593

Page

X CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXlV

XLVI. Introduction of the Gul Mohnr ( Poinciana regia )

into Bombay. By W. S. Millard, f.z.s 594

XL VII. What age can a tree reach? (R. S.). By E. Blatter,

S.J., ph.D., f.l.s 594

XLVIII. A request for material of Trapa (Water Chestnut).

ByE. Blatter, s.J., ph.D., f.l.s. ( With a text -

figure ) 597

XLIX. Notes on Tacca pmnatifida, Forst. {With a text-

figure .) By C. McCann 597

L. A Terrestrial Orchid found Epiphytic. By

E. Blatter, s.J. , ph.D., f.l.s 599

LI. Collecting of Liverworts at Maymyo. By L. P.

Khanna 599

LI I. A List of Mosses from Darjeeling District. By

J. Fernandez 600

Annual Report and Proceedings, etc 602

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

VOLUME XXXIV

Nos. 1

Page

Baker, E. C. Stuart, J.P.,

F.Z.S., F.L.S., M.B.O.U.,

H.F.A.O.U., ; The Game

Birds of the Indian Empire,

Vol. V. Part XI. {With a

coloured plate ) of Jordon’s

Courser ( Rhinoptilus bitorqua-

tus) and the Small Indian

Pratincole or Swallow-Plover

( Glareola lactea) 1

Betham, Brig-General R.M. ;

The Attitude of Birds towards

their young 573

Betts, F. N. ; Migration Notes

in 1929 from the Nilgiri Dis-

trict 569

Biswas, K.P., M.A. ; Contribu-

tions to our knowledge of the

Fresh Water Algse of Manipur,

Assam. {With four plates) ... 189

Blatter, E. ; The Flowering of

Bamboos. Part II 135

; The Flowering of

Bamboos* Part III 447

; S. J., Ph. D.,

F. L. S. ; Revision of the

Flora of the Bombay Presi-

dency. Part XII {Annonaceae). 291

; What age can a

tree reach ? 594

; A Terrestial Or-

chid found Epiphytic 599

• S. J., Ph, D., F.L.

S. and McCann, C. ; Revi-

sion of the Flora of the Bom-

bay Presidency. Part XI.

Graminecs , (continued) ... 12

and Millard, W.

S. ; Some Beautiful Indian

Trees. Part III. ( With two

coloured plates , two black and

white plates and four text

figures) .,. ... 83

and 2

Page

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

L. S., and Millard, W. S.;

Part IV. ( With two coloured

plates , two black and white

plates and four diagrams .... 271

Boyd, Lorna. ; The Human

Ear used as a Burrow by a

Sphegid Wasp 263

Brander, A. A. Dunbar. Mr.

Pocock’s article on ‘ Tigers ’. 548

— ; An enor-

mous Estuary Cr o c o d i 1 e

{Crocodilus porosus ) 584

Burton, Brig. Gen. R. G. ;

Proportion of Sexes in Tigers. 556

Caius, J. F. ; The Toxicity of

the Venoms of Indian Scor-

pions ... ... 231, 526

S. J., F. L S. AND

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

Sc. ; The Bombay Natural

History Society. Investigation

into the composition of Salt-

Licks. Part II 221

Part III 522

Champion, F. W., I.F.S. ; The

Alarm call of Langoors ... 543

Chopra, B., D. Sc., F. L. S. ;

The History and Progress of

the Zoological Survey of India.

Part III. Crustacea Section ... 502

Cooper, G. E. R. ; Notes on the

Rarer Lyccenidce ... ... 258

Corkhill, Norman L. ; The

Caracal in Iraq. ( With a photo ) 232

— ; Some

Notes on Scorpions in Iraq ... 265

Crawford, W. M., F. E. S. ;

Dwarf specemins of Butter-

flies. ( With a plate ) 261

Cross, Alexander ; Malay

Beliefs and Legends about

Tigers and Wild Dogs ... 23£

Xll

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Page

Dutton, Lt.-Col. H.R. ; Occur-

rence of the Baikal Teal

[Nettion formosum ) in the

Durbhacga District, N.

Bihar ... 578

Editors ; Migration of Wild

Fowl ... ... ... 229, 568

; Distribution of the

Lynx ... 234

; The Hunting Leopard

in the Central Province ... 235

; The Incubation of

Eggs during the hot weather. 249

; Nesting-habits of the

Red-whiskered Bulbul 251

; On the Heetle {Lyrops

curticqllis j ... ... .. 267

; Bathing habit of the

Indian Roller ( Coracias ben -

ghalensis) ... 578

; Measurement of

skulls of Crocodilus porosus ... 584

; On the Venom of

spiders .. 593

Fellowes-Manson, C.E. ; Two

new species of Sphingidae,

{Hawk moths ) from the Ori-

ental region 202

• ; The

Life-History of the silk-moth.

{Lee pa newara , Moore) ... 262

Fernandez, J. ; A List of

Mosses from Darjeeling Dis-

trict 600

Flemming, Lt.-Col. W. E. ;

Occurrence of the Stiff-tailed

Duck ( Erismatura leucoce-

phala ) in the Shahpur District,

Punjab 577

Fraser, Lt.-Col. F. C., I. M.

S., F. E. S. ; Indian Dragon-

flies. Part XXXV. {With one

plate and lour text-figures ) ... 87

Note on the Nesting

Habits of the Southern Red-

whiskered Bulbul {Otocomp-

sa emeria fuscicaudata) ... 250

A note on some Malabar Lepi-

doptera ... ... ... 260

Page

Gharpurey, Lt.-Col., K, G.,r t

I. M. S. ; Note on Snakes1

collected at Belgaum 585

Ghosh, Ekendranath, M.Sc.,

M. D. ; Local names of some

Fish from the Teesta River ... 5S6

Gluck, Prof. Dr. H. ; Are-

quest for material of Trapa

•Water Chestnut . ... r ... 597;

Gupta, S. N. ; See Misra M. P. «

: See Negi P. S.

Hickie, W. A. ; Tigers Swim-

ming ... ... ... .... 555

Hill, Lt. A. J. R. ; R. E.

Nesting of the Sarus {Anti-

gone antigone) ... 582

Hingston, Major R. W. G. ;

WTolves in Sheep’s Clothing

{Acanthaspis and Chrysopa)

{With seven illustrations) ... 170

I. M. S. The Habits of Milli-

pedes {Marptodesmzis sp.)

{With two illustrations) ... 404

Hora, Sunder Lal; The Value

of Field Observations in, the

Study of Organic Evolution

{With nine text-figures) ... 374

Jones, A. J.; Occurrence of the

Mallard {Anas platyrhyncha)

in Upper Burma .;. ...

Khan, M. Hamid, M.Sc. 577

Methods of Fishing in the

Punjab ( With a plate) ... 193

Khanna, L. B., Collecting of

Liverworts at Maymyo ... 599

Kinnear, N. B., F. Z. S.,

M.B.O.U., and Whistler,

H., F.Z.S., M.B.Q.U. ; The

Vernay Scientific Survey of the

Eastern Ghats, Ornithological

Section ... 386

Knight. H.F. ; Movements of .

Tigers 555

Koul, Samsar Chand ; Verna- .

cular Names for Kashmir Birds -571

Krishnamurti, B., B.Sc. ; :

Aphididce of Mysore ( With

thirteen text- figures) ... 411

Latham, H. D.; Good head of -

Nilgiri Tahr ... . ..... 563

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

xiii

Page

Law, Satya Churn ; Fish-

eating habit of the Sarus

Crane {Antigone anti gone) ... 582

oudon, J. ; Occurrence of the

Russell’s Viper in the Bhrama-

putra. Valley ... 256

Lowndes, Capt. D. G. ; Distri-

bution and Colouration of the

Lynx ( Lynx lynx) ... ... 234

*. "i ■ — ■'J'-— — : — ; Notes oh

some Birds .seen nn Lahul and

Kulu ' iL ... ... ... 569

Lowsley, C.O., P.W.D. ; The

Incubation of Eggs during

the Hot Weather .».» ... 247

McAtee, W.L. ; The Grasshop-

per {Isopsera pedunculata) a

supposed mimic of the Black

Ant ( Camponotus compressus . . 591

McCann, C. ; Notes on the

flowering of Strobilanthiis

callosus (Nees) ... ... ... 264

: ; Notes on some of

the Wild Spec:es of Aroids

{With three plates and text-

figures) ... ... ... 518

— — — ; Nidification of

Storks ( With a photo) ... 579

; Notes oh Tacca

pinnatifida, Forst {With one

text-figure) ... 597

; see Blatter, E. ...

Macdonald, A. ; Strange Beha-

viour of a Tigress ... ... 231

— ; Late Staofy

the Grey Quail ( Coturnix

cotur nix) in Bihar ... ... 255

Mahendra, Beni Char an ;

Howthe Monitor Lizard sits in ^

its Burrow ... - ... ... 255“

Masson, Lt.-Col.James; LM.S.

(Retd.)- The Distribution of

the Banded Krait ( Bungarus

fasciatus ) ... ... ... 256

Meggitt, F. J. ; Effect of

Spider bite on Man {With a

photo ) ... ... ... ... 592

Millard, W.S. ; Introduction of

thfe Gul Mo’iur {Poinciani

regia) into Bombay ... ... 594

L-U: ; see Blatter, E.

Page

Misra, M.P., Negri, P.S., and

Gupta, S, N. ; The Noctuid

$1 oth ; {Enblemma amabilis,

Moore) a Predator of the Lac

Insect, and its control ( With

one- colour.; four black and

white plates and ten dia-

grams) ... ... 431

— ■ — — ; see Negi , P.S.

Mitchell. F;j. ; How Trout

were introduced into Kashmir. 49 r

Mooney, H. F., I.F.S.; The

Distribution of Wild Buffalo

in Orissa ( With a photo arid a

map) .;. ... ... ... 242

Morden, William J. ; Notes

from an Expedition for Oils

poli {with two plates) ... ... 142

Morris, R.C. ; Encounters with

Elephants on the Billigirangan

HilIs — -■ 237

; Elephant Tusk

wedged in a Tree 212

“ ; Partial disap-

pearance of the Wild Pig {Sus

crist at us) ... 245

; An Experience

with a Tigress ... ... ... 555

Tigers eating

their Young ... ... ... 55 7

; Hyaenas killing

cattle tied up as bait ... 561

... , Body Measure-

ments of a Gaur ... ... 562

Mosse, Lt.-Col. A. H. E., I. A.,

F. Z. S. ; The Panther as I

have known him. Parts I and

II. {With two plates)... ... 350

Mukerji, D. D., M. Sc. ;

see Prashad, B

Mukerjee, Durgadas ; Report

on a Collection of ants in the

Indian Museum,. Calcutta.

( With one plate and six text-

figures) ... ... ... ... 149

Negi, P. S., Misra, M. T., and

Gupta; Ants and the Lac

Insect. {With three plates) ... 182

; see misra, M. P.

Novice, A ; The Luck of Hunt

ing

557

XIV

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Page

Obituary Herbert Christo-

pher Robinson 527

John Champion Faunthorpe... 528

Osmaston, B. B. ; A Tour in

Further Kashmir. ( Wth two

plates ) 10S

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

Panthers and Ounces of Asia.

Parti. [With six plates) ... 64

Part II. {With seven plates) ... 307

; Tiger

or Panther? Mr. Limouzin’s

specimen. ( With two plates). 544

Prashad, B., D.Sc., FiR.S.E.,

F.A.S.B. and Mukerji, D.D.,

M. Sc. ; On the Fishes of the

Manchar Lake 165

Prater, S. H., C. M. Z. S. :

Tiger or Panther? Mr.

Limouzin’s specimen 547

Proceedings ... 268,605

Rao, Srinivasas. — M. A., D.Sc. ;

The History and Progress of

the Zoological Survey of India.

Part II. Invertebrate Section. 205

Reviews

1. The Field-Book of a

Jungle Wallah 223

2. Trout Fishing from all

angles 225

3. A Guide to the Orchids of

Sikkim 226

4. What Botany Really

Means 227

Reviews : —

Bird Haunts and Bird

Behaviour 531

The Third Annual Repoit

and Records of the

Central Provinces Ang-

ling Association (Head-

quarters Jubbulpore) ... 532

Growth and Tropic Move-

ments of Plants 533

First Steps in Zoology ... 534

The Flora of the Indus

Delta 535

Die Zytologie Der Bluten-

pflanzen 537

A Treatise on the British

Presh- water Algae ... 538

Page

The Flowering Plants of

Madras City and its

Immediate Neighbour-

hood 539

A Monograph of the

Genus Aristida 541

Plant Biology ... ... 542

Richardson, J. M., I. M. D. ;

The Hunting Leopard ( Cynce -

Inrus jubatus) in the Central

Provinces 235

Ritchie, Lt.-Col. W. D. ; A

yellow variety of the Silk-

Cotton Tree ( Bombax malaba-

ricum) 593

Robinson, M., B. A. (T.C.D.) ;

Nat. Sci. Trip. (Camb.) ;

Flowerless Plants Part III.

The Lichens {with one colour-

ed and two black and white

plates) 40

; Part IV. The

Bryphyta {with five plates and

two text-figures) 420

Sanders, D.F. ; Occurrence of

Colias hyale hyale and Pier is

canidia indicam the plains ... 591

Siierriff, Capt G., R. A. ;

Breeding of Geese and Ducks

in Chinese Turkestan 255

Simmons, R.M. ; Migration of

the Pied Crested Cuckoo

( Coccystes jacobinus) 252

Singh, Surajinal ; Malformed

Cheetal Head {Axis axis)

{with a photo) 245

Smith, H. C. ; The Monitor

Lizards of Burma {with two

plates) ... ... 367

: Peafowl without

a train 583

Stockley, Lt.-Col. C. H. ;

The Size and Markings of

Indian Tigeis {with a photo) . . 553

; The Distribution

of the Mouse-Deer 563

; Notes on the

Ninth Edition of ‘Records of

Big Game’ ... 564

; Notes on the

Mammals of Baluchistan ... 567

Ust of contributors

XV

Page

Shockley, Lt.-Col., C. H.;

The Attitude of Birds towards

their Young ... ... 57 5

; Masheer Fishing

in the Zhob River 587

; On the Occurrence

of Vanessa atalanta and Par-

arge schakra in Baluchistan ... 590

Ticehurst, C. B , M. A., M.R.

C.S., M.B.O.U. ; Notes on

the Fauna of British India.

Vols. IV, V. and VI. (New

Edition) 468

Birds of Quetta 246

• , The

Amandavat ( Amandava aman -

dava ) in Mesopotamia ... 576

Tiwary, N. K. ; Albino House-

Sparrow {Passer domesticus). 253 |

; Migratory

Habits of Wagtails 253

— _ ; The Mating of

the Blossom headed Paroquet

[Psittacula cyanocephala) ... 254

; Bathing habit

of the Indian Roller ( Coracias

benghalensis 578

Turkhud, D.A., M.D., C.B.

(Edin.) Swarming of the

Tenebrionid Beetle ( Lyrops

curticollis Fairm) 217

Vick Miss H.; A Duel between

a Cat and a Cobra 257

Page

Waite, H. W. ; Occurrence of

the Whitethroat {Sylvia cur-

rttcahali)nodendi)m thePuniab 575

Weeks, T. D. ; Occurrence of

the White-headed or Stiff-

tailed Duck ( Erismatura leu-

cocephala)in'N.'iN.F.P. ... 576

Whistler, H., F. Z. S.,

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

; The Tail-

Racket of Dissemurus para-

diseus 250

; The Study

of Indian Birds. Part IV {with

three plates and one diagram ) , 27

; Part V.[7vith

one plate and six text-figures ) 276

White, N. Thirkell ; Occur-

rence of the Mallard in Upper

Burma 577

Wickham, P. F. ; Notes on the

Birds of Upper Burma Hills.

Part II 46

; Part III ... 337

Wright, Capt. D. Moncrieff ;

Season of Shedding and

growth of Antlers in the Swamp

Deer {Rucervus duvaucelli ) in

Assam 236

Yates, J.A. ; Notes on Par an -

tirrhcea marshalli ... ... 587

; Notes on Pathysa

antiphates naira 589

S0J01

io

.W

LIST OF PLATES

VOLUME XXXIV

No. 1

The Game Birds of the Indian Empire-

Plate A. Jercbn’s Courser {Rhinoptilusbitorquatiis)

-Plate B. The Small Indian Pratincole or Swallow Plover

, eola lactea ) ... ... '■ ..;

Page

. t r

,D

id-

The Study of Indian Birds — -

Plate A. Comparison of Fore-limb of Man and Bird ... ... 29

Plate B, Comparison of the Wings of Pterodactyle, Bat and Bird. 30

Plate C. The Paddle of a Penguin ... ... .... 38

Flowerless Plants —

Plate 1. Lichens ...

Plate 2. Lichens ... ... .... : : ...

Plate 3. Lichens .... ... ..._ ...

The Panthers and Ounces of Asia—

Plate I. Teeth, Nasal Bones and Mesopterggoid fossa

Plate II. Variety of Indian Panther from Cuddapah ..

Plate III. Variety of Indian Panther from Kanara

Plate IV. Skulls

Plate V. Skulls ... ... ...

Plate VI. Persian Panther {Panther a pardus sax icolor)

Some Beautiful Indian Trees—

Plate

PI ate

A.

B.

A.

Lignum Vitae Tree {Guaiacum officinale, Linn.)

Flowers of Lignum Vitae Tree {Guaiacum officinale ,

Linn.)

Indian Cork Tree {Millingtonia hortensis, Linn.) f. ...

Indian Cork Trees {Millingtonia hortensis ) on roadside

in Bombay

Flowers of the Indian Cork Tree {M. hortensis )

Indian Dragonflies —

Anal appendages of Lestes , Platy testes, Ceylonolestes,

Indolestes and Sympycna

X'

40

43

44

65

68

70

72

73

79

83

84

85

86

88

A Tour in Further Kashmir —

Plate I. (1) Snow bridge on the Sind River ... ... 118

(2) Track of an avalanche, Sind Valley ... ... 118

(3) Glacier opposite cur camp at Sonamerg ... ... 118

(4) Zogi La pass ... ... ... ... 118

(5) Baggage pony sunk in snow beyond Zogi La ... 118

(6) Buddist monasteries at Lamaguru ... ... 1^8

LIST OF PLATES

xvii

Page

Plate II. (7) Fort and bridge over Indus at Khalatze 10,000 ft. ... 319

(8) Rungdum swamp at head of Suru Valley 13,000 ft. ... 319

.,(9) Crossing Dras River ... ... ... 319

(10) Junction at Shingo and Shigar Rivers ... ... 119

(11) Road to Skardu over Deosai Pass. 13,000 ft. ... 119

(12) Lake at 14,000 ft. Sirsangri La between the Deosai

and Kashmir ... ... ,.. ... 119

Notes from an Expedition for Ovis poli—

Plate I.. (1) Dung-Gelduk jilga, Russian Pamirs, Camp of the

Morden— Clark Asiatic Expedition ... ... 144

(2) William J. Morden and James Clark with escort of

of Russian Border Patrol from Kizil Rabat ... 144

Plate II. (3) Examining band of Ovis poli with telescopes, Rus-

sian Pamirs ... ... ... ... 145

(4) Ovis poli ram shot by James Clark, Morden— Clark

Expedition, American Museum of Natural History,

Russian Pamirs, May 1926. Curl Fl\ inches ... 145

Report on a collection of ants in the Indian Museum, Calcutta—

Plate. Nest of Cremastog aster sorror, Forel ... ... 153

Ants and the Lac Insect {Laccifer lacca)—

Plate I. Fig. 1. Componotus compressus, soldier ... ... 183

,, la, 1 6. Ventral and dorsal view of the mandible of

the soldier ... ... ... 183

,, 2. Componotus compressus, worker minor ... 183

,, 2a, 2d. Ventral and dorsal view of the mandible of

the worker minor ... ... ... 183

,, 3. Solenopsis geminata, worker minor... ... 183

Plate II. ,, 4, Componotus near varians, worker ... ... 184

,, Aa . Lateral view of the thorax of Componotus near

varians, worker ... ... ... 184

,, 5. Solenopsis genunata, soldier ... ... 184

Plate III. ,, 6. Merano plus bicolor, worker ... ... 185

,, 7. Monomoruim near indicum, worker ... ... 185

Contributions to our knowledge of the Fresh Water Algse of Manipur,

Assam—

Plate I. Foreshore near Barkul in the Chilka Lake, Gan jam Dis*

trict, Madras Presidency, showing one of the typical

algal formation, in which Cladophora glomerata var.

Calicoma is a predominant species

Plate II. Fresh water Algse of Manipur, Assam

Plate III. Fresh water Algse of Manipur, Assam

Plate IV. Fresh water Algse of Manipur, Assam

Methods of Fishing in the Punjab—

Plate 1. Drag Net and Kuril

Plate 2. Fixed Net {Nara Jdl) ...

Plate 3. Stable Net {Bar Patta) ...

3

189

190

196

Page

Xviii

LIST OF PLATES

Dwarf specimens of Butterflies— '

Plate A. — Dwarf example of Papilio polymnestor ... ... 262

Plate B.— Normal example of Papilio polymnestor ... ... 262

No. 2

Some Beautiful Indian Trees —

Plate 7. Pagoda Tree ( Plumieria acutifolia) (right)

Frangipani {Plumieria rubra) (left) .... ... 271

Plate VII. {A) Pagoda Tree (/Y?z77zz>rz0 tfzrzz/zAVz'tf) leafless and in

flower ; March

[B) Frangipani (. Plumieria rubra) in full leaf and

flower ; March ... ... ... 272

Plate 8. Bhendi Tree {Thespesia populnea)... ... ... 274

Plate VIII. (A) Flowers of the Bhendi Tree ( Thespesia populnea) .

( B ) Bhendi Tree {Thepesia populnea) ... ... 275

Study of Indian Birds —

Chart of the feet of Limicolse ..- ... ... 281

Panthers and Ounces of Asia —

Plate VII. Indian Panther ( Panthera pardus fusca) ... ... 309

Plate VIII. Millard’s Panther {Panthera pardus millardi) ... 316

Plate IX. Amurland Panther {Panthera pardus orientalis) ... 318

Plate X. Duke of Bedford’s Panther {Panthera pardus bedfordi). 323

Plate XI. D elac our ’s Panther {Panthera pardus delqcouri) ... 325

Plate XII. {A) Skull of Ounce {Uncia uncia)

{B) Summit of same, from above

{C) Nasals of same

{D){E) Left-side of occiput and auditory bulla of Ounce

and Panther ... ... ... ... 331

Plate XIII. Flat skin of Ounce.cub-left

- Made up skin of Panther cub-right ... ... 334

The Panther as I have known him—

Plate I. {A) A Panther’s Haunt, Idar.

{B) A Good Machan ... ... ... ... 361

Plate II. ( A ) Mahi Kantha Panther Country.

{B) A Mahi Kantha Panther ... ... ... 364

Monitor Lizards of Burma—

Plate I. Common Monitor ( Varanus bengaleusis) ... ... 369

Plate II. Young water Monitor ( Varanus salvator) ... ... 372

Flowerless Plants —

Plate I. Some types of Thalloid Liverworts ... ... 420

Plate II. Some types of Foliose Liverworts... ... ... 422

Plate III. Gametophyte and spprogoniums of Liverworts ... 424

Plate IV. Different types of the Gametophyte in the Mosses ... 426

Plate V. Development of Mosses ... ... ... 423

LIST OF PLATES

xix

Page

Noctuid Moth — Eublemma amabilis—

Plate I. Fig. 1. Male

,, 2. Female ... ... ... ... 432

Plate II. Figs. Head, etc. ... ... ... ... 432

Plate III. ,, Genitalia, etc. ... ... ... 433

Plate IV. ,, Alimentary Canal, etc. ... ... ... 436

Plate V. ,, Larva, etc. ... ... ... ... 437

Aroids, notes on some cf the wild species of —

Plate I. Fig. 1. Leaf of Sauromatum guttalum, Schott

,, 2. Flower of Amorphophallus. commutatus, Engler. 518

Plate II. ,, 1. A colony of Amorphophallus commutatus,

Engler

,, 2. Abortive specimen of Amorphophallus cammu-

tatus, Engler ... ... ... 519

Plate III. ,, 1. Corm and withered flower Amorphophallus

campanulatus , Blume

,, 2. Leaf of Amorphophallus campanulatus , Blume. 520

'I iger or Panther ? —

Plate I. [A) Facial portion of skull of Mr. Limouzin’s Tigress

(B) The same of a large male Panther ... ... 544

Plate II. ( A and B) Teeth of upper jawT and palate of Mr, Li-

mouzin’s Tigress

(C and D) The same of a large male Panther ... 546

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

VOLUME XXXIV

Page

Acantkaspis, disguised in insect

fragments, fig. A.

divested of disguise

fig, B. ... ... ... ... 171

— disguised in frag-

ments of wood. fig. 2-A.

divested of disguise

fig. 2-B. 172

disguised in bark

and leaves, fig. 3-A 173

carrying a thorn

fig. 3-B. ... 173

disguised in granite

crystals, fig. 3-C 174

Acantholepis annandelei, side

view, fig. 4 156

Accipiter nisus , fig. 1, left 4 foot 279

Algae of Manipur, view of Fore-

shore near Barkul, Pi. ... 189

Amorphophallus bulbifer , fig. 1,

segments 519

campanulatns ,

PI. fig. 1, corm and withered

flower ... 520

PI., fig. 2. Leaf. 520

commu t at u s

PI. 1. fig. 2. Flower of ... 518

PI. II, fig. 1,

colony of 519

PL II, fig. 2,

abortive specimen of 519

— fig. 2, segments

of .. ... 519

Anaptychia, sp. PI. fig. 1-B. ... 40

Aphcenogasler {At t o my r nia)

annandelei , side view of thorax

and 1st node 151

Aphis bidentis, fig. 8. ... 415

tridacuSy figs. 6 & 7. ... 414

Axis axis , Malformed head, fig. 245

Bubalis bubalis :

Head of bull, fig 244

Map showing distribution ... 244

Page

Calicoma , PI 189

Camponotus compressus, soldier,

PI. fig. 1 183

Ventral and dorsal view of

the mandible of the soldier

PI. fig. 1-A, 1-B ... 183

Workers minor, PI. fig. 2 ... 183

Ventral and dorsal view of

the worker minor, PI. figs.

2-A, 2-B 183

near v ar i a n s ,

worker PI. fig. 4 ... ... 184

Lateral view of the thorax,

worker, PI. fig. 4-A 184

Ceylonolestes cyanea, anal append-

ages, PI. fig. 9 wings fig. 88, 100

— — > davenporte, anal

appendages, Pi. fig. 7 ... 88

gracilis gracilis

anal appendages, PI. fig. 8 ... 88

— — — - pnlcherrima , anal

appendages, PI. fig. 10 ... 88

Head, thorax and first two

abdominal segments, fig. 2. 98

Chrysopa , disguised in mango

petal, fig. 4-A.

divested of disguise,

fig. 4-B. 175

- — disguised in skins of

monophlebus fig. 5-A. ... 177

disguised in insect

fragments, fig. 5-B 178

carrying a thorn

fig. 5-C 178

— hair tuft of larva,

fig. 6 179

extremity of hair

highly magnified, fig. 7 ... 179

Cladonia bacillaris , PI. fig.

3 40

Cladophora crispata var .genuina

PI ... ... ... ... 191

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS xxi

PAGE

Cladophora g loin e rat a var.

rivularis, PI. c ... 191

Collema, sp., PI. fig. 1 44

Cremastog aster soror nest of,

Plate ... 152

Engramma incisum, front and

side views of head, figs. ... 155

Eublemma amabilis , PI. figs.

1 & 2

Plate L-V and diagrams

1-10 ... 432 446,

Felis caracal shot near Rutba,

Mesopotamia, 1924, fig. ... 233

tigriSy Troth, PI. figs. A-B. 65

Flowerless Plants : —

PL I. Some Types of

Thalloid Liver-

worts 420

PL II. Some Types of Foli-

ose Liver worts ... 422

PL III. Gametophyte of

small Liverwort,

etc. 424

PL IV. Different Types of

the Gametophyte

in the Mosses ... 426

PL V. Development o f

Mosses 428

Formica gravelyiy side view of

thorax and abdomen fig.

Front view of head, fig. ... 162

Gallinula chloropus , fig. 4,

middle toe - 286

Glareola lactea, PL fig. 2 ... 1

Guaiacum of Hein ale, Pis. 83, 84

Hyalopterus earn, figs. 4 & 5 ... 413

Hydro phasianus chirurgus , fig.

2, left of foot 280

Indolestes indica, anal append-

ages, PL figs. 11 88

Head, thorax and first two ab-

dominal segments, fig. 4-A ... 106

Kashmir, a Tour in Further.

views, Pis 118, 119

Lestes barbara, anal appendages

Pl. fig. 1 ... ... ... 88

nodalis anal appendages,

PI. fig- 2

thoracica, anal append-

ages PL fig, 3

Page

Lestes umbrina , anal appendages

PL fig. 4 ... ... ... 88

Limicolce, chart of feet ... ... 281

Longicaudus hamelii, figs. 2 & 3. 412

Lyngbya martensiana , PL ... 192

Macrosip hum eleusince , fig. 1 ... 411

Marptodesmus , sp. fig. 1 coiled. 404

fig. 2 in

union ... 406

Melanoplus bicolor , worker, Pl.

fig. 6 185

Millingtonia hortensis, Pis. 85, 86

Monomorium near indie u in

worker, PL fig. 7 185

( Parholocomyrmex )

kempiy side view, fig. ... 154

Nemachilus acuticephalus , fig. 9

air bladder ... 382

brevis fig. 2-D air-

bladder 377

— fig. 3 portion

of bladder ... 377

— — ™ — — fig. 4 head

and anterior portion 378

brunneanus , fig. 2-C

air-bladder 377

kashmir ensis , fig. 6- A

air-bladder .. 379

mani pur ensis, fig. A

air-bladder 377

niarmoratus, fig. 6-B

air bladder 379

raoe, fig. 5, air-

bladder ... 378

revulicola fig. 2-B

air-bladder ... 377

— — — rupecola , fig. B. air-

bladder 377

■ shanensis, fig. 2-A,

air-bladder ... 377

— — - — — stewarti, fig. 8 air-

bladder 381

strauchiiy fig. 7 air-

bladder 380

vittatus, fig. 6, (C)

air-bladder 379

Nostoc amplissimum , Pl. fig. 1. 191

Oregma mysorensis, fig. 9 ... 415

fig. 10—12. 416

Ovis poll. Expedition for

Pis. I & II ... ... 144? 145

88

kxii

INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Pannaria pezizoides , PI. fig. 2 -A 40

Pan tfier as I have known him:-—

Plate 1. (1) A Panther Haunt

Idar,

(2) AGood Machan 361

late II. (1) Mahi Kantha

Country.

(2) A Mahi Kantha

Panther ... 364

Panthera , Skulls, Pis. ... 72, 73

Teeth and Nasal bones

PI. figs. C-K. ... 65

Variety, Pis. ... 69,70

— — i— pardus bedfordi, PI. ... 323

— delacouri, PI.... 325

— * — fusca , PI. ... 309

miliar di, PI. ... 316

— orientalis, PL... 318

saxi color, PI... 79

”■ — ■ — tiger fig. of fore-

quarter 554

Papilio polymnestor —

Dwarf example, PI. fig. A ... 262

Normal example, PI fig. B ... 262

Parmelia, sp. PI. I, fig. 2-B, C. 40

PI. II, figs. 1-3.

PI. Ill, fig. 2 43, 44

Phalatrocorax , fig. of foot ... 289

Picus sqiiamatus , fig. of foot ... 283

Platy testes platyslyla , anal

appendages, PI. fig. 5-6 ... 88

— wings fig. ... 93

Head, thorax and first two

abdominal segments, fig. ... 98

Plunder ia acutifolia Pis. (light) 271,

272

rubra , Pis. (left) 271, 272

Podiceps fig. middle toe ... 287

J cri status, fig. of shank 2S8

Polyrachis ( Myrrna ) hemiopticoi-

des side view fig. ... 161

Protococcus sp. Pi. fig. 2 ... 44

Punjab, Methods of Fishing in

the Nets PI. 196

Ramalina sp. PI. fig. 1 .d. ... 40

Rhinoptilus bilorquatiis , PI . fig. 1 I

Sauromatum guttatum , PI. I

fig; 1. Leaf of ... ... 518

Page

Solenopsis gemvnata worker

minor, PL fig. 3 ... ... 183

soldier, PI. fig. 5 184

Spider Effect of bite of, on man

Photo ... ... ... 592

Spirogyra s&tiformis var maior

' PL fig. 2 191

Study of Indian Birds

Comparison of fore limb of man

and Bird, Pl. 29

Comparison of the wings of

Ptcrodactyle, Bat an 1 Bird,

PL ... ... - 30

Hand and wrist of Domestic

Fowl, fig. ... 32

Paddle of a Penguin, Pl. ... 38

Sympycna pcedisca , anal appen-

dages, Pl. fig. 12 88

Head, thorax and first two abdo-

minal segments, figs. 4-6 ... 106 ■

Synemosyna transversa

Lateral view of the thoracic

and abdominal regions, fig. 200

Dorsal view of the cephalic

region, fig. 201

Tacca pinnatifida figs. 1-3

Development of the new corm. 598

Taxoptera aur ant'd, fig. 13 ... 417

Teloschistes flavicans, P\. fig. 1-a 40

Thespesia populnea , Pis. 274, 275

Tiger or Panther ?

PL 1 ( a ) Facial portion of skull

of Mr. Limonzin’s

Tigress

(b) 4 he same of large

male Panther ... 544

Pl. 2 (a & b) Teeth of upper

jaw and palate of Mr.

Limouzin’s Tigress

(c & d) The same of a

large male Panther ... 546

Trapa sp. Fruit of fig. ... 597

Uncia uncia , Pis. 331, 334

Usnea articulata , PL fig, K. ... 40

V ar anus ben galensis, PL I ... 369

salvator , PL II ... 372

Xenorhynchus asiaticus asidticus

fig. three nestlings ... 58Q

ERRATA

Vol. XXXIV, Nos. 1 & 2

Page 47 line

„ 47 „

„ 48 „

„ 89 „

„ 109 „

„ HO „

„ 111 „

„ 113 „

„ 114 „

„ 121

„ 133 „

9 from bottom for atracapilla road atricapilia.

6 ,, ,, „ atricapilia read atricapilia.

19 for crythaca read erythaca.

12 from bottom for umbriana read umbrina.

20 for harringtonii read haring tonii.

21 „ strachey read stracheyi.

28 ,, longicatudatus read long ic and atus.

29 ,, affins read at finis.

6 from bottom for Doyobates read Dryobates.

31 for harringtonii read haringto?iii.

7 ,, rhodochalmys read rhodochlamys .

12 from bottom for sibrica read sibirica.

153 Legend to Plate for sorror read soror.

229 line 11 from bottom for crcca read crecca.

230 ,, 13 ,, top for Pulo.mnaeous read Palamnaeus .

246 ,, 18 ,, „ ,, Phyllocsopus read Phylloscopus.

348 ,, 16 ,, ,, for Piegades read Plegadis.

393 ,, 30 for Harrington read Harington.

479 ,, 9 for senagalensis read senegalensis.

481 ,, 12 ,, mecranesis read mecranensis.

481 ,, 18 ,, pondocerianus read pondicerianus.

481 ,, 26 ,, Hemipodus read Hemipodius.

483 ,, 23 ,, Geochilidon read Gelochelidon.

485 ,, 17 for Matthews read Mathews.

569 ,, 9 from bottom for Trichodroma read Tichodroma.

569 ,, 6 ,, ,, ,, trogolodytcs read troglodytes.

570 ,, 27 for creca read crecca.

571 ,, 20 from bottom for fulginosa fulginosa read fnligin-

osa fuliginosa.

571 ,, 2 from bottom for Acvoceptalus read Acrocephalus.

572 ,, 21 for Inyx read lynx.

572 ,, 24 for pudis read rudis.

572 ,, 30 for Psitacula read Psitiacula.

572 ,, 4 from bottom Ccicabis read Caeca bis.

573 ,, 15 for Chelidonias read Chlidonias.

573 ,, 18 for nycliorax read nycticorax.

INDEX OF SPECIES

pecta

4

^Ethopyga saturata saturata

siparaja scherise

— — viridicauda ...

Agrion barbara

barbarum

nympha

Alauda gulgula

coelivox

gulgula

guttata

sp

Alaudula raytal raytal

Alcedo athis beugalensis

— athis pallasi

enryzona

hercules

megalia

— meninting

coltarti

Alectoris chukar pallescens ...

graeca

Allium semenovii

— — stracheyi

Alloteropsis ...

Alseonax ruficaudus

Alsine media

Alsinella wallichiana

Alsocomus puniceus

Alternanthera sessilis

triandra

Am and a va amandava

flavidiventris

Amaurornis bicolor

fuscusbakeii

— — — erythrothorax

— — pnoenicurus phoenicurus

Ambassis baculis

ranga

Ammoperdix griseogularis

termeuleni

Amorphophallus bulbifer

— — — campanulatus

— — commutatus...

Page

52

87

... 572

51

118, 124

... 572

51

59

... 472

59

...59,472

... 472

59

... 120

... 480

... 125

... 18, 25

111, 133

... 304

... 340

... 540

... 576

48

... 345

344

345

169

168

480

.. 519

520

519, 520

113,

Xxvi

Index of species

Page

xxvii

INDEX OF SPECIES

Beesha elegantissima ...

Beilis perennis

Belone cancila

Berberis wallichiana

Bibos banteng

Blasia

Blythipicus pyrrhotis pyrrhotis

Bocagea dalzellii

Bombax malabaricum

Botaurus stellaris

Botia geto

Brachiaria

Brachymenium acuminatum ...

. — _ nepalense

Brachyponera luteipes

Brachypternus

b. dilutus

benghalensis puncti-

Page

137

464

168

601

566

424

55

294

593

573

500

18, 25

600

151

283

469

collis 401

Brachysiphoniella gramini 418

Bracon tachardiae ... 442

Brassica alba ... ... ... ... 300

campestris ... ... 297, 298

napsus ... ... 298

subvar. depressa... 298

__ — _ , - Var. agrestis ... 298

■ — — var. dichotoma ... 298

var. oleifera ... 298

var . rapa .. ... 298

vaT' tori a 298

— caulorapa ... 297

colza 298

juncea 299

— — — oleifera 299

— var. aspera 299

. var% elata 299

var. laevis ... ... 299

napus .. ... 297

nigra ... 299

oblonga 301

oleracea ... 297

olerata subvar. cauliflora ... 297

var. botrytis ... 297

var. gongylodes ... 297

oleracea subvar. gemmifera. 297

subvar. subauda ... 297

— var. acephala ... 297

— — var. bullata ... 297

— var . capitata ... 297

rapa 299

rapa ... ... ... £98

xxviii

INDEX OF SPECIES

Camponotus nicobariensis

nirvanse

rufoglaucu

— sericeus .

— — singularis

— varians

variegatus

rax

Campy lopus sp. ...

Canis lupus

Capella

gallinago

ar. fuscitho-

gallinago

raddii

megala

— nemoricola

— — solitaria

— — - stenura

Capillipedium

Capparis brevispina

spinosa

zeylanica

Capra falconeri ...

hircus

— — segragus

— ■— blythii

sibirica

pedri

skyn

— wardi

Capricorais sumatrensis

Page

... 158

... 186

... 159

160, 184

... 159

... 184

humei

Caprimulgus

rodoni

albonotatus

asiaticus

europseus unwini

indicns jotaka

macrourus bimaculatus

mahrattensis

monticolus moaticolus.

nipalensis

Cardamine hirsuta

trichocarpa

Cardnelis caniceps

Carpinus betulus

Carpodacus erythrinus roseatus

— ■ roseatus

rubicilloides

severtzovi 119, 121,

sp. ...

184

601

567

281

573

348

487

488

347

348

16, 25

540

119

540

566

565

566

290

473

61

473

61

473

61

... 473

... 295

... 572

... 594

... 400

48, 126, 130

... 119

122, 123, 570

... 572

INDEX OF SPECIES

XXIX

Ceylonolestes gracilis

Ceyx tridactylus tridactylus .

Chaetophora elegans ...

Chaimarrhornis leucocephalus

Chalcas panicnlata

Chalcis tachardiae

Chalcites maculatus maculatus

xanthorhynclnis

Chalcoparia singalensis singalensis ...

Chalcophaps indica indica

Chanda baculis

ranga

Charadrius

coromandelicus

cursor

dubius

Page

94

59

... 599

127, 569, 571

... 540

442

57

52

curomcus

jerdoni

hiaticulus

Charana mandarinus ...

Charaxes polyxena imna

Chaulelasmus streperus

Cheirostylis flabellata ...

Chela bacaila

• gora

- — — punjabensis

Chelidonais leucopareia leucoptera

Chelidonias

Chelobrachys gumorus

Chettusia

leucura

Childonais leucopareia

Chionostomum rostratum

Chloris

Chioropsis cochinchinensis

jerdoni

Chrysanthemum tibeticum ...

Chrysocolaptes

guttacristatus gutta-

cristatus ... 55

Chrysolophus amherstias ... 342

Chrysopa 170, 174

Chrysophlegma flavinncha flavinucha. 54

... 15, 25

... 454

... 570

... 114

... 113

... 570

— sp 572

Cinnyris lotenia ... ... 400

340, 477

.. 169

.. 168

.. 281

3

2

573

... 485

347, 485

... 485

... 258

... 262

489, 573

... 599

... 168

... 167

... 483

... 281

... 593

... 281

... 485

... 573

... 601

... 23,25

... 394

... 393

... 126

... 283

Chrysopogon

Chusquea abietifolia ...

Cinclus cinclus cashmiriensis

kashmiriensis ...

— - pallasii ...

— tenuirostris

XXX

INDEX OF SPECIES

Page

INDEX OF

SPECIES

xxx i

Cyprinus rohita .

* sarana

Page

... 166

... 167

brandisii ... 141, 448, 449

giganteus ... 448, 449, 459

hamiltonii ... 141, 450, 459

longispathus. .. 141, 447, 459

strictas 140, 448, 450, 459

- — - — • — — - var. sericea. . . 448

Dendrocitta kinneari ... 391

pallida 391

■ — rufa 391

— saturatior 391

sclateri 391

vagabunda 391

Dendrecopus himalayensis 110

Dendrocygna fulva 349

— — -javanica 349

Dendronanthus indicus 56

Dendrophasa bicincta praetermissa ... 340

—— — — — porapadora phayrei ... 340

pompadora 4 77

praetermissa 477

Deudrotreron hodgsoni 340

Desmodium viscidum 540

Desmos chinensis 292

— cochinchinensis

291

— lawii 292

: pannosus 292

Desmostachya 22, 25

Diacamma scalpratum 150

— vagans 150

Dianthus angulatus 125

caryophyllus 304

chinensis 304

Dicaeum chrysorrheum chrysochlore 53

index of Species

xxxii

Page

Dicanim cruentatum cruentatum ... 35

ignitum ... 53

— — — — erythrorhynchum erythror-

hjuichum ... 53

ignipectum ignipectum ... 53

Dichanthium ... ... 16, 25

Dichoceros bicornis bicornis 60

Dicrurus sp. ... 572

. cserulescens ... ... ... 398

leucophseus ... ... ... 397

* macrocercus 397

■ macrocercus ... 569

Digitaria 17, 25

Dimeria 13, 25

Dinebra 23, 25

Dinopicus intermedius 469

javanen sis intermedia ... 55

shorii ... 55

Dinopium 283

Diplachne 22, 25

Diplophysa cost a! a 380

— dalaicus 380

— intermedius ... ... 380

kungessana 380

— labiatus ... 380

— microphthalmus 380

nasalis 380

— — papillio-labiata 380

stranchi 380

Dissemurus paradiseus... ... 250, 398

Dissoura episcopa ... ... 575,579

episcopa 348

Ditrichum tortipes 601

Dorylus orientalis ... ... ... 149

Douepia tortuosa 296

Doacsena draco 594

Dryobates 572

• assimilis 468

atratus 55

cabanisi stressemani ... 54

cathparius pernyi 54

himalayensis ... 113, 133

macei 468

— * westermanni ... 469

scindeanus 468

Drypetes sepiaria ... ... ... 540

Ducula badia griseicapilla 340

Dumetia albigularis 392

hyperythra 392

Dumortiera 424

— hirsuta ... ... 599,600

Index of species

5

xxxiir

Page

Ficus carica 596

gibbesa var. parasitica 540

religiosa 597

Fimbriaria ,,, 424

augusta 600

Fissiden crenutatifolius 600

Flos convolutus 272

Formica augusticollis ... 158

armata ... 160

compressus ... ... ... 158

gravelyi 162

longicornis 157

longipes ... ... ... 157

mitis 15S

rufoglaucus 159

sericeus ... 160

smaragdina 157

Francolinus arabistanicus 481

bogdanowi ... ... 481

f. henrici 480

— pintadeanus phayrei ... 344

p. interpositus ... ... 481

p. raecranesis 481

Frankenia pulverulenta 303

Franklinia gracilis ... 398

Fraxinus excelsior ... ... ... 594

Fregata 285

andrewsi 488

minor aldabrensis 488

Fringilauda brandti ... 121

hsematopygia ... 127

Frulliania 425

campanulata ... 421,429

Fulica atra ... ... ... 287,573

— atra 345

Funaria ... ... 428

hygrometrica ... 429, 430, 600, 601

Gallicrex cinerea ... 345

Gallimila chloropus 287

indicus ... ... 345

Galloperdix 290

spadicea ... 402

Gallus bankiva robinsoni ... ... 341

lafayetti 479

sonneratii ... 402

Garnotia 21,25

Garrulus lanceolatus ... ... ... Ill

Gauropicoides ... 283

Gazella bennetti 565, 568

fuscifrons ... 568

— seistanica .. 565

kxxiv

Gecinulus

— viridis

Gelochelidon nilotica nilotica...

Gennseus albocristatus

cuvieri

hamiltoni

horsfieldii horsfieldii...

williamsi ...

— lineatus lineatus

nyctheremns ...

ripponi

— rufipes ...

rufipes

Gentiana carinata

Glareola lactea

■ maldivarum maldi varum

orient alis

pratincola pratincola

Glaucidium brodiei

— tubiger

cuculoides rufescens

radiatum

Glossogobius giuris

Glottis

nebularia

Gomphrena sessiJis

Gracilaria conferoides ...

Gracilea

Gracul a saular is ...

Gracupica burmanica ...

— — leucocephala annamensis.

nigricollis

Grauculus macei

Greenidea artcarpi

Grus monachus

Guadua angustifolia

Guatteria cerasoides ...

• laurifolia

Gudusia chapra

Guaiacum officinale

Gymnoris xanthocollis xanthocollis ...

Gymnotus notopteius

Gynandropsis gynandra

pentaphylla

Gyps fulvescens fulvescens

him alay anus

indicus nudiceps

tenuiceps

r-— — tenuirostris ... 475

INDEX OF SPECIES

Page

... 283

grantia 54

54

... 483

... 480

... 342

... 480

... 342

... 479

... 342

... 480

... 125

8, 346

... 8, 346

1

.. 6, 482

.. 110

63

63, 474

474

63

169

281, 486

.. 573

... 540

.. 191

23, 25

395

47

397

417

346

135

292

294

168

83

48

168

539

474

116

337

475

INDEX OF SPECIES

XXXV

INDEX OF SPECIES

Lynx lynx

Lyprops curticollis

Macrognathus armatus...

pancalus

Macrones cavasius

aor

vittatus

Macropisthodon plumbieolor

Macropygia

■ ruficeps assimilis

• unchall tusalia

Macrorhamphus

Macrosiphum compositae

eleuisinae...

rosaefolium

Macrothela vidua

Malacocercus albigularis

Manisuris

Manto hypoleuca martina

Mantoides licinus.

Marchantia

palmata ...

polymorph a

Mareca penelope 349

Marptodesmus sp.

Martensia echioides

Mastacembelus armatus

— pancalus

Megalaima virens magnifica

virens...

Megalestris antarctica ...

Megalophrys parva

Melittophagus

erythrocephalus

rocephalus

Melocanna bambusoides

Melophus melanicterus ...

Meranoplus bicolor

Mergus albellus

merganser merganser

Merops apiaster

orientalis

Page

234

267

169

166

16 6

166

’ 585

477

341

341, 479

4S6

417

411

416

593

392

14, 25

259

22, 429

600

428, 599

490, 56S, 573

404

126

169

56

482

382

471

eryth

139,

biludschicus

Merops orientalis birmanus ...

superciliosus javanicus

persicus

sp.

Merremia aegyptia

pentaphylla

Metapodius indicus

Metopidius

59

451, 459

49

S4, 185

573

490

11, 472

401

472

59

472

572

540

481

280

INDEX OF SPECIES xxxvii

Metopidius indicus

Metoponia pusiila

Metroxylon sagus

Metzgeria

Microcampylanus

Microcampylotus s

Page

345

110, 126, 130, 572

464

424

... 428

mbnanus

429

xxxviii INDEX

OF SPECIES

INDEX OF SPECIES

XXXIX

Palamnaeus liurus

Ion gi mantis

phipsoni ...

swammerdami

— xanthopus

Pandion

Pagoa

Panicum

Pannaria pezizoides

Panthera

anti quorum ...

japonensis

orientals

pardus

bedfordi

ciscaucasica

delacouri

: — fontanierii

■ fuscus

japonensis

melas

orientalis

saxicolor

sindica

villosa

Page

230, 526

279

485

19, 25

40

65

307, 308

318, 323

317

74, 325, 350, 544, 547

323, 330

.. 329

325, 330

317, 318

307,330

320, 330

326, 330

316, 330

...317, 330, 332

77, 78, 329, 332

...80, 330

... 75, 329, 332

... 317

tigris 544, 548, 553, 555, 556, 557

— variegata var. nigra

vulgaris

Papaver somniferum

Papilo buddha

demoieus

liomedon

~ polymnestor

Papillaria semitorta

Parantirrhoea marshalli

Pararge sch ak ra

Paratrechina longicornis

Parietarea erect a

Parmela saxatilis

Parmelia sp.

Parus major kashmiriensis

-sinensis

Paspalidium

Paspalum

Passer domesticus

comfucius

parkini

flaveolus

indicus

... 326

74

... 295

... 260

262

... 260

... 261

... 601

261, 587

... 590

... 157

... 464

45

40, 43, 44

120, 571

... 392

19, 254

... 18, 25

... 253

49

... 116

49

.... 264

Passer indicus parkini

montanus malaccensis...

rutilans cinnamomeus ...

intensior

Pastor terricolor

Pathysa antiphates naira

Pavo cristatus

muticus

Pedicularis cornuta

— — — — - pyramidata

— - siphonantha

Pelecanus crispus

onocrotalus onocrotalus

— — roseus ...

Pellia

Pellorneum granti

ruficeps

Peltophorus

Pennisetum

Penthoceryx sonneratti

sonneratii

Perdicula asiatica argoondah

Pericrocotus brevirostris

cinnamomeus

peregrinus

speciosns

sp.

Perissospeza sp. ...

Pern is cristatus

■ ptilorynchus ruficollis

Perotis

Phsenthus

Phaeton lepturus

rubricauda

Phalacrocorax

fuscicollis

sp. ...

Phalavopus

fuilicarius jourdaini

lobatus

elegans

rufus

Phidologiton diversus ...

Philomachus

pugnax ...

Philonotis

— longicollis

Phodilus badius badius

Phoenicopterus r. antiquorum

Pliragmites

Page

.. 247

49

... 49

49

... 392

... 589

... 583

... 341

... 126

... 575

488

... 488

.. 425

... .393

... 393

... 14, 25

... 20, 25

... 470

57

... 480

109, 133

... 397

... 575

... 571

... 572

... 477

... 339

... 22, 25

... 293

... 488

... -488

... 289

... 488

348, 488

... 573

281,

21

287

487

342

479

154

281

487

426

601

62

489

, 25

xi

INDEX OF SPECIES

Phyllopneuste occipitalis

Phyllornis jerdoni

Phylloscopus affinis

colly bita ...

Page

399

393

121, 123, 124, 126

572

sindianus 111, 117, 124

hnmii 130, 133

indicus. 117, 118, 122, 123, 126,

128, 130

„ inornatus hnmii... .... 109

nitidus nitidus 246

• viridanus ... 399

occipitalis occipitalis ... 399

proregulus 36, 133

pulcher 122

tytleri 113, 569

sp. 572

Phyllostachys aurea 454

bambusoides var. castil-

loni ... 454

flexuosa 454

H. de L. Var. nana pu-

beruia

nigra

mitis

nidnlaria

puberula

var. boryana 448

Physorrhynchus brahuicus

— chamaerapistrum

Pica pica bactriana 115

Picumnus innominatus innominatus

malayorum

Picus

canns hessei

— chlorolophus chlorolophoides

chlorolophus ...

455

.. 454

448, 454

455

flavirostris

hardwickii

mahrattensis

squamatus

viridis

vittatus eisenhoferi

myrmecophanes

viridanus

110, 282,

Pieris brassicae

canidia indica

Pimelodus aor

— — cavasius

vacha

Pinusc cembra ...

455

301

571

469

55

574

54

468

400

402

46S

470

54

591

165

166

165

594

Pinus longifolia

— sylvestris

Piprisoma squalidum modestum

Pitta brachyura

cucullata cucullata

cyanea cyanea

moluccensis

nepalensis

oatesi

Pittosporum dasycaulon

floribundum

- nepalense

Plagiochasma articulatum

Plagiochila

sp

Plagiolepis longipes

Platunus orientalis

Platylestes platystyla

Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus

Ploceus tnanyar peguensis

* passerinus infortunatus

— passerinus...

— philippi nus

Plumieria acutifolia

- — — alba

rubra

Pluvialis

dominions fulvus

Podiceps

capensis

cristatus cristatus

• ruficollis

capensis

Pogonatherum

Pogonatum

aloides

leucopogon

...426

— microstomum

Pohlia elongata ... s

Poinciana regia ...

Pollinidium

Polyalthia cerasoides

Polycarpea aurea

corymbosa

var. aurea

spicata

Polycarpon indicum

laeflingi

Polygala chinensis

-- var . triflora

Page

... 575

... 594

53

... 4C0

54

53

... 302

302

... 599

... 425

... 429

... 157

112, 596

92

... 348

47

... 399

... 271

... 274

... 273

— 281

... 347

... 287

... 289

... 349

... 573

... 349

13, 25

428, 430

... 601

600, 601

... 601

... 594

... 13, 25

... 292

... 305

... 304

... 302

INDEX OF SPECIES

xli

Polygala erioptera

irregularis

persicariaefolia

Polyplestron bicalcaratum

turn

Polypogon

Polyrachis armata

hemiopticoides

mayri...

rastrata

simplex

thrinax

Polytoea

Pomatorhinus horsfieldi

Ponera diminuta

luteipes

scalpratum

— - — - vagans

Pongamia glabra

pinnata

Populus alba

Porphyrio poliocephalus

Page

302

bicalcara-

seistanicus

Portulaca quadrifida

suffruticosa ...

tuberosa

— wightiana

Porzana maruetta

pusilla pusilla...

Potamogeton sp.

Potentilla argyrophylla...

Pratincola atrata

Precis oritbya swinhoei ...

Prenolepsis longicornis

Primula minutissima

nivalis

rosea

Prinia gracilis

inornata

socialis

.. 341

21, 25

.. 160

.. 161

.. 160

.. 12, 25

.. 392

.. 150

.. 151

.. 150

.. 540

.. 594

.. 572

.. 481

.. 305

.. 113

113, 344

.. 599

... 125

... 394

... 262

... 357

... 125

... 132

... 398

... 399

... 396

... 399

... 261

48

— sylvatica

Prioneris sita

Procarduelis nipalensis intensicolor .

Propasser rhodochlamys grandis 121, 129,130

483

48

44

121

124

54

npponi...

— thura femininus

— vinaceus vinaceus

Protococus sp.

Prunella fulvescens

— rubeculoides ...

Psarisomus daihousise ...

6

Pseudanthiria

Pseudarthria viscida

Pseudechenis sulcatus ...

Pseudechinolaena

Pseudeutropius garua ...

Pseudogyps bengalensis...

Psittacula alexandrifasciatus

— bengalensis ...

cyanocephala

Page

... 17, 25

... 540

... 386

... 18, 26

... 165

... 337

58

... 471

254, 401, 471

bengalensis

eupatrica indoburmanica .

krameri borealis

schisticeps

finschi

119, 121,

sp.

Psittacus alexandri

i cyanocephalus

incertus

Psittinus beryllinus

Pterocles lichtensteini arabicus. . .

— orientalis

Ptychomitrium indicum

Ptyonoprogne obsoleta obsoleta

pallida

rupestris

Puffinus chlororhynchus

pacificus hamiltoni ...

— tenuirostris

Purlisa gigantea...

Pycnonotus luteolus

Pycreus mitens

— pulvinatus

— punulus

Pyctorhis bypoleucus

nasalis

— saturatior

sinensis ...

Pyrotrogon erythrocephaius erytbroce-

phalus ...

— oreskios uniformis

Pyrrhocorax graculus

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ... 130,

Pyrrhospiza punicea humii

Pyrrhula aurantiaca

erythaca altera

nipalensis victorise

Pythonium wallichianum

Quercus pedunculata

pseudococcifeia

Querquedula ... ... ... ...

58

... Ill

58

... 572

... 471

... 401

... 471

... 479

... 601

... 247

49, 116, 247

... 489

... 488

... 489

... 260

252, 394, 57

... 541

... 393

... 392

60

570

571

570

572

48

519

594

595

49Q

xlii

INDEX OF SPECIES

xliii

Sinapis alba

dichotoma

erysimoides

juncea

nigra

ramosa ...

Sitta kashmiriensis ••• 110,111,

leucopsis

tephronota

Selenopsis geminata 154,

rufa

Sorghum

Spatula clypeata 229,

Sphagnum fimbriatum

Sphenocercus apicaudus apicaudus

sphenurus

Spilornis cheela burmanicus ...

Spinifex

Spirogyra jugalis

setiformis maior

Spizaetus cirrhatus limnaetus ...

nepalensis fokiensis...

Splachnobryum indicum

Spodiopogon ...

Spodiopsar cineraceus

Sporobolus

Squatarola

squatarola hypomela

squatarola

Stellaria media

waliichiana

Stenamma smythiesi

Stercorarius pomarinus

Sterna albifrons

saundersi

aurantia

hirundo

— longipennis ...

tibetana ...123,

innominata

Sterna melanogaster

praetermissa

pusilla

repressa ...

saundersi ...

Streptopelia agricola

cambayensis

chinensis forresti

— suratensis

w*—* — — tigrina ...

Page

300

297

299

114, 133

110, 133

.. 575

186, 442

... 185

... 15, 26

, 349, 573

.. 427

... 340

... 477

... 338

... 17, 26

... 191

... 338

... 600

... 15, 26

46

... 22, 26

... 281

... 484

... 304

... 151

... 482

... 484

... 346

... 484

... 346

... 483

124, 483

... 484

... 346

... 484

... 483

... 484

... 479

... 247

... 341

402, 479

... 340

Streptopelia meena

orientalis 133

— — - ferrago

meena

senegalensis ermanni

turtur arenicola

turtur

Strix aluco biddulphi ...

brama

butleri

indranee newarensis

nivicola

—orientalis

seloputo

sinensis

Strobilanthus callosus

Struthio ... .

Sturnia malabarica malabarica

— nemoricola

Sturnopastor capensis superciliaris

S turn us sp.

Sula d. melanops

leucogaster plotus ...

Surniculus lugubris dicruroides

Sus cristatus

Sylibura phipsoni

Sylvia althea ...

curruca halimodendii ...

Symblepharis reinwardtii

Sympycna ...

paedisca annulata ...

Synemosyra transversa

Sypheotides ...

Syrmaticus humise burmanicus

* — humias

Syrnium biddulphi

Syrrhopodon gardneri ...

Tacca pinnatifkla

Tachornis ...

batasiensis

infumatus

palmarum

Taccacua infuscata

leschenaulti leschenaulti

sirkee

Tadorna tadorna

Tajuria ceeta

donatana

ogyges ...

Tamarix aphylla ...

Page

... 478

, 478, 572

... 478

... 340

247, 479

... 478

... 110

... 402

473, 490

62

... 473

... 474

... 264

... 282

47

... 572

... 488

57

... 245

... 585

109,111

... 575

... 601

... 104

105, 106

... 105

... 200

... 482

... 342

... 341

... 114

... 601

... 597

... 284

... 402

61

... 473

... 471

... 349

... 258

305, 306

xliv

INDEX OF SPECIES

Tamarix articulata

dioica

ericoides

- — — gallica ...

var. indica ...

orientalis

sticta

troupii

Tanaemyrmex compressus

nicobarensis ...

variegatus

Tapinoma melanocephalum ...

Targionia fimbriaria

hypophylla

Taxodum mexicannm *

Taxoptera aurantii ...

Taxus baccata

Technomyrmex elatior

mogdiliani

Teinostachyum

Teloschistes flavicans

Temenuchus pagodarum

Tephrodornis pondiceriana

Terpsiphone paradisi

paradisi

Tetraneura hirsuta

Tetrao coromandelica

Tetraogallus himalayensis

Tetrao spadicea

Thai asseus bergi bakeri

Thalictrum alpinnm

Thelepogon

Themeda

Thereiceryx lineatus hodgsoni

— • intermedins

Theretra mansoni

Thespesia populnea

Thriponax javanensis fiddeni ...

Thuidium cymbifolium

Thuya aphylla ...

Thymus, serpiphyllum

Thysanolaena

Tichodroma muraria

Tilia grandiflora ...

Trachypodopsis crispatula

Trachys

Tragopan blythii blythii

temmincki ...

Trapa bicornis

bispinosa

— jncisa ... ...

Page

305, 306

305,306

305, 306

... 305

... 306

... 305

... 158

... 186

... 600

... 595

... 417

... 595

155

... 155

26

40

... 399

... 397

... 571

... 396

... 417

... 480

121,572

... 402

... 483

... 125

... 13, 26

... 17,26

56

56,470

... 203

... 274

55

... 429

... 306

... 126

... 21, 26

569, 571

... 594

... 601

... 21, 26

... 343

... 597

134, 597

.,. 597

INDEX OF SPECIES

xlv

Page

Vipera russelli ... ... ... 256,585

Wallago attu ... ... 165

Waltheria americana ... 540

indica ... ... 540

Xantholsema hsemacephala ... ... 470

Xanthophyllum bombaj^anum ... 303

Xenentodon cancila ... ... ... 168

Xenorynchus asiaticus asiaticus 348, 579

Xenus ... 281

cinereus javanicus ... ... 486

Yungipicus ... 469

— hardwickii canicapiilus ... 55

hardwickii ... 400

mitchelli ... 469

omissus ... 55

Zamenis mucosus ... ... ... 585

Zanclostomus viridirostris 401

Zannchellia sp 599

Zea... 12,26

Zipoetis satis 261

Zosterops aureiventris mesoxantha ... 52

palpebrosa 573

~ - cacharensis ... 51

elwesi ... ... 51

siamensis 51

simplex peguensis 51

THE

if ** ■'

May ;

JOURNAL

< 4

■i'OA,

wa

Mu

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

EDITED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE* Kt„ F.Z.S, & S. H. PRATER, C.M.Z.S

VOL. XXXIV, No. 1.

Date of Publication , 1st March , 1930

Price to Non-Members ••• ••• Bs. 15-0-0

or £ 1-3-0

For terms of membership, see inside front cover.

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LONDON AGENTS :

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PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS

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Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of our British Indian Dominions^ 4th Edition.

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Contents of volume xxx/v, No. t

Page

The Game Birds of the Indian Empire. Part XI. ( With a coloured

plate). By E. C. Stuart Baker, f.z.s., f.l.s., m.b.o.u.,

H.F.A.O.U, 1

Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency. Part XI.

By Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., ph.D., f.l.s 12

The Study of Indian Birds. Part IV. ( With three black and white

plates). By H. Whistler, f.z.s., m.b.o.u 27

Flowerless Plants. Part III. ( With one coloured and two black

and white plates.) By Mrs. M. Robinson, b.a. (t.c.d.), nat. sci.

trip, cam 40

Notes on the Birds of the Upper Burma Hills. Part II. (By

P. F. Wickham 46

The Panthers and Ounces of Asia. ( With six black and white

plates). By R. I. Pocock, f.r.s ... 64

Some Beautiful Indian Trees. Part III. ( With two coloured and

two black and white plates.) By Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., ph.D., f.l.s.

and W. S. Millard, F.z.s 83

Indian Dragonflies. Part XXXV. ( With one plate and four text-

figures.) By Lt. -Col. F. C. Fraser, i.m.s., f.e.s 87

A Tour in Further Kashmir. ( With two plates). By B. B. Osmaston,

c.i.e. ...^ 108

The Flowering of Bamboos. Part II. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j.,

ph.D., f.l.s 135

Notes from an Expedition for Ovis poll. ( With two plates) . By

W. J. Morden : 142

Report on a Collection of Ants in the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

( With one plate and six text- figures) , By Durgadas Mukerjee 149

On the Fishes of the Manchar Lake, Sind. By Dr. Baini

Prashad, d.sc. 164

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing. ( With seven text-figures) . By Major

R. W. G. Kingston, i.m.s 170

Ants and the Lac Insect. ( With three plates). By P. S. Negi, M. P.

Misra, and S. N. Gupta 182

Contributions to our Knowledge of the Fresh Water Alg,e of

Manipur, Assam. {With four plates). By K. P. Biswas, m. a. ... 189

Methods of Fishing in the Punjab. {With a plate). By M. Hamid

Khan, m.sc 193

Description of a New Ant-Mimicking Spider. ( With two text-

figures). By Durgadas Mukerjee 200

Two New Species of Sphingid^e {Hawk Moths) from the Oriental

Region. By C.E. Fellowes-Manson 202

The History and Progress of the Zoological Survey of India.

Part II 205

B. N. H.S. Investigation into the Composition of Salt-Licks.

Earth-eating and Salt-licking in India. Part II. By Rev. Fr.

J. F. Caius, s.j., f.l.s. and K. H. Bharucha, b.a., b.sc 220

Reviews.—

The Field-Book of a Jungle-Wallah 223

Trout Fishing from All Angles 225

A Guide to the Orchids of Sikkim 226

What Botany Really Means 227

Migration of Wildfowl 229

The Toxicity of the Venoms of Indian Scorpions. By Rev.

J. F. Caius 230

Page

Contents of voi. xxxiv, No. i

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES—

I.— Strange Behaviour of a Tigress. By A. Macdonald. 231

II.— The Caracal in Iraq. ( With a photo). By Dr. N. L. Corkhill. 232

III. — Distribution and Colouration of the Lynx {Lynx lynx). By

Capt. D. G. Lowndes 234

IV. — The Hunting Leopard {Cyncelnrus jubatus) in the C. P. By

J. M. Richardson 235

V.— Malay Beliefs and Legends about Tigers and Wild Dogs. By

Alexander Cross 235

VI.— Season of shedding and growth of Antlers in the Swamp

Deer ( Rucervus duvaucelli) in Assam. By Capt. D. Moncrieff

Wright 236

VII. — Encounters with Elephants on the Billigirirangan Hills. By

R. C. Morris ... 237

VIII. — Elephant Tusk wedged in a Tree. By R. C. Morris 242

IX. — The Distribution of Wild Buffalo in Orissa. ( With a map

and a photo). By H. F. Mooney, t.f.s 242

X. — Malformed Cheetal Head ( Axis axis) ( With a Photo) By the

Heir-Apparent, Bikaner 245

XI. — Partial Disappearance of the Wild Pig (Sus cristatus) By

R. C. Morris ..... 245

XII. — Birds of Quetta. By C. B. Ticehurst. 246

XIII. — The Incubation of Eggs during the Hot Weather. By C. O.

Lowsley 247

XIV. — The Tail-Racket of Dissemurus paradiseus. By H. Whistler. 250

XV. — Note on the Nesting Habits of the Southern Red-Whiskered

Bulbul (Otocompsa emeria fuscicaudata). By Lt.-Col. F. C.

Fraser, i.m.s. 250

XVI. — Migration of the Pied Crested-Cuckoo ( Coccystes jacobinus)

By R. M. Simmons 252

XVII.— An Albino House Sparrow ( Passer doniesticus) . By N. K.

Tiwary 253

XVIII.— Migratory Habits of Wagtails. By N. K. Tiwary 253

XIX. — The Mating of the Blossom-headed Paroquet ( Psittacula

cyanocephala) . By N. K. Tiwary 254

XX. — Late Stay of Grey Quail (Coturnix cotnrnix) in Bihar, Chapra.

By A. Macdonald 255

XXI. — Breeding of Geese and Ducks in Eastern Turkistan. By

Capt. G. Sherriff, r.a 255

XXII. — How the Monitor Lizard Sits in its Burrow. By Beni Charan

Mahendra 255

XXIII. — Occurrence of the Russell’s Viper in the Brahmaputra

Valley By J. Loudon 256

XXIV.— The Distribution of the Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus)

By Lt.-Col. J. Masson, i.m.s. (Retd.) 256

XXV. — A Duel between a Cat and a Cobra. By Miss H. Vick 257

XXVI. — Notes on the Rarer Lycsenidae. By G. E. R. Cooper 258

XXVII.— A Note on some Malabar Lepidoptera. By Lt.-Col. F. C.

Fraser, i.m.s 260

XXVIII.— Dwarf Specimens of Butterflies. ( With a plate). By W. M.

Crawford, f.e.s 261

XXIX. — The Life History of the Silk-Moth (Lcepa newara). By

C. E. Fellowes-Manson 262

XXX. — The Human Ear used as a Burrow by a Sphegid Wasp. By

Lorna Boyd 263

XXXI.— Notes on the Flowering of Strobilanthus callosus). By C.

McCann 264

XXXII.— Some Notes on Scorpions in Iraq. By Norman L. Corkill. ... 265

XXXIII.— Swarming of the Tenebrionid Beetle ( Lyprops curticolli s) .

By D. A. Turkhud 267

Proceedings * * 268

Jgltrn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

March, 1930 Vol. XXXIV No. 1

THE GAME BIRDS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

BY

E. C. Stuart Baker, f.z.s., f.l.s., m.b.o.u., h.f.a.o.u.

Vol. V

THE WADERS AND OTHER SEMI-SPORTING BIRDS

Part XI

( With a coloured plate)

( Continued from page 752 of Vol. XXXIII)

Family: GLAREOLINAE

Key to Sub-families

A. No hind toe; tarsus equal to one-third of

wing- or more ... ... ... Cursoriince.

B. A small hind toe ; tarsus equal to about one-

fifth of wing ... ... ... Glareolince.

Sub-family : CURSORIINH3

Key to Genera

A. Bill rather long, narrow and slightly curved ;

no pectoral bands ... ... Cursorius.

B. Bill straight; breast with two transverse

bands ... ... ... Rhinoptilus.

Genus : Cursorius

Cursorius Lath., Ind. Orn., i, p. 751 (1790).

Type by tautonomy, Charadhius cursor Latham.

2 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY, Vol . XXXIV

Key to Species

A. Crown rufous in front, grey behind ... C. cursor.

B. Crown chestnut throughout ... ... C. coramandelicus.

CURSORIUS CURSOR CURSOR

The Cream-coloured Courser

Charadrius cursor Latham, Gen. Synop. Birds, Suppl. i, p. 293,

(1787) (England).

Cursorius gallicus. — Blanf. and Oates, iv, p. 211.

V ernacidar Names. — None recorded.

Description. — Forehead and fore-crown rufous, the lores paler;

hind-crown and nape ashy-grey ; a nuchal patch black ; supercilia

white, meeting behind the black patch ; a second line of black from

the eye below the supercilium ; upper plumage, wing-coverts and

inner secondaries rufous-sandy ; primaries and primary coverts

black ; outer secondaries rufous-sancly, tipped white and with a

subterminal patch ; tail-feathers sandy-rufous, the central with an

obsolete black spot, the lateral with broad black subterminal spots

and white tips, the white extending to the outer web of the outer-

most feathers ; wing-lining and axillaries black ; lower plumage paler

sandy-rufous, the chin and throat paler and the under tail-coverts

almost or quite white.

Colours of soft parts. — Iris brown; bill black; legs yellowish or

fleshy-white.

Measurements. — Wing 150 to 171 mm. ; tail 58 to 72 mm. ; tarsus

55 to 60 mm. ; culmen 21 to 26 mm. ; generally 23 to 25 mm. Sexes

alike.

Young birds are a paler duller sandy and are barred on the

upper plumage with blackish-brown ; there is no grey or brown

on the crown.

Distribution. — North Africa, Morocco to Egypt ; South-West Asia

from Palestine to North-West India, South Persia, Afghanistan and

Baluchistan. In India' it occurs as far South-East as Ajmere,

Jodhpur, Erinpura and South to Cutch. In Europe it occurs

regularly as far as Italy and South France and sporadically to

England.

Nidification. — The Cream-coloured Courser does not breed within

Indian limits but its eggs have been taken in Mesopotamia and it

breeds thence West throughout Northern Africa. Sladen obtained

their eggs in Palestine up to the end of June but in the Sinai Desert

Pitman found them breeding from the end of March to early May

and succeeded in obtaining a fine series of their eggs. The birds

make no nest but lay their two eggs on the bare ground, sometimes

scratching a shallow receptacle for them and at other times not

even doing this. The ground selected is open desert, either sand or

barren stony country and, though occasionally the eggs may be

deposited under the protection of a tuft of grass or some small

scrubby bush, they are, as a rule, laid absolutely in the open.

Naturally under these circumstances the birds are very close sitters,

as otherwise the eggs would soon become cooked by the sun.

Siaden remarks that their nests are very difficult to find, as the

The gAme birds of the Indian empire

eggs assimilate so closely to the ground on which they are placed.

The birds sneak away whilst the intruder is still at some distance

but, if he remains still, within a very few moments she will be seen

returning, approaching the eggs by short and rapid runs and

immediately sitting down upon them. It is then easy to walk

up to the eggs and pick them up. Although they do not breed

actually in colonies, several nests may be found within a short

distance of one another. The full clutch is two, though in one

instance Dresser had a set of three sent him. The eggs have a

ground colour of pale sandy grey or buff and are freckled all over

with darker sandy brown or brown, the freckles occasionally

becoming rather larger spots or tiny streaks. In most specimens

there are secondary marks of pale grey equally numerous and

similarly scattered over the entire surface; In a few eggs the

markings are more numerous at the larger end, where they form an

indefinite ring or cap. Twenty eggs average 34' 7 by 27'2 mm. ;

maxima 39 3 by 29 0 mm. ; minima 32 2 by 26 5 mm. and 34 0 by

25 '5 mm.

Habits. — This Courser frequents nothing but the most bare

desert country ; either wide sandy wastes such as are found in

Africa and Palestine, the more stony and barren, though equally

desert, country further East or, the wide expanses of caked yellow

mud of the Mesopotamian open lands. So closely does this bird

blend with its surroundings that so long as it is quiescent it is extra-

ordinarily difficult to detect but, as it is a very restless bird when

feeding, its actions soon catch the eye. It runs with great speed

and when disturbed will often continue to run in front of the

disturber for some distance before it takes to flight. On the wing it is

exceptionally strong and graceful, constantly wheeling and twisting

in the air much in the manner of some of the Sand-Grouse. When

suddenly frightened it often seeks to avoid detection by squatting

close to the ground with head outstretched and eyes almost closed

and, if it has not been spotted before squatting, it is possible to pass

within a very few feet of it without detection. Its food consists

almost entirely of insects, whilst it manages to keep fat and in

splendid condition in country where one would have thought it was

more likely to starve. It is quite good to eat and, so far as its

flight goes, it is worthy of a shot but at the same time hardly ranks

as a game bird.

CURSORIUS COROMANDELICUS

The Indian Courser

Charadrius eoromandelicus Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, p. 692 (1788)

(Coromandel Coast.)

Cursorius eoromandelicus.- — Blanf. and Oates, iv, p. 210.

V ernacular Names. — Nukri (Hind.) ; Yerro Chitawa , Durawayi

(Tel.)-

Description.— Crown rich rufous with a small black nuchal spot ;

a broad white supercilium meeting behind this black spot ; lores black

and a black band through the eye, down the neck and surrounding

the white ; hind-neck rufous ; upper tail-coverts white ; remainder of

upper plumage light brown, slightly sandy ; primaries black ; outer

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

secondaries black with white tips and brown towards their ends ;

inner secondaries, lesser and median coverts like the back ; greater

coverts black ; lateral tail-feathers with broad white tips and black

sub-tips; breast and flanks chestnut, deepening on the abdomen and

succeeded by a black patch ; lower abdomen and posterior flanks

grey, changing to white on the vent and lower tail-coverts ; chin and

throat white ; fore-neck pale rufous ; under wing-coverts black.

Colours of soft parts. — Iris dark brown or hazel; bill black; legs

and feet ivory-white or creamy-white.

Measurements. — Wing, S 136 to 147 mm., $ 141 to 156 mm.;

tail 50 to 57 mm. ; tarsus 50 to 58 mm. ; culmen 19 to 21 mm.

Young birds are dull buff above, irregularly barred with blackish

brown ; there is a small pale supercilium but no black on the crown ;

the breast is dull rufous, more or less barred with blackish ; chin

and abdomen white.

Distribution. — The drier, more open and desert portions of

India from North Ceylon to North-West India and Western Bengal.

It is common in the deforested parts of Travancore but is rare on

the Malabar coast and, again, is absent from the pure desert country

of Cutch, Sind and the North-West Province.

Nidification. — The differences between the nidification of the

Cream-coloured Courser and our Indian bird are very remarkable

instances of the adaptation of birds to their natural surroundings

and form an admirable example of evolution by environment. The

present species, like the last, lays its eggs on the ground but,

as a site for its nesting hollow, it selects either ploughed fields,

dark coloured fallow land or dark brown sandy wastes, or even — as

in Malabar — the sea coasts. In this latter instance, however, instead

of depositing its eggs on the bare yellow sand, it selects either the

debris just above high water mark or patches of dark coloured

drift still higher up. In no case that has been recorded have its

eggs ever been taken on sand or on pale coloured desert land. As

we might expect, the eggs differ greatly from those of the preceding

bird and closely match the black soil and yellow debris upon which

they are laid. The ground colour varies from a pale stone colour to

a rich yellow buff, whilst the markings consist of patches and smears

or endless lines and scriggles of black which cover the greater part

of the surface. In a few eggs the marks are more brown than

black and in a few others, a considerable portion of the rich buff

ground colour shows up distinctly. In shape the eggs are like all

others of this family — very broad elipses, in some cases almost

cylindrical. Forty eggs average 30*7 by 24*0 mm.; maxima 34 1

by 23-9 mm. and 3P5 by 26'1 mm.; minima 28'2 mm. by 23T mm.

and 302 by 22 1 mm. The eggs are always two only and the

principal breeding months are April and May, though eggs may be

found as late as fune and sometimes in Western India as late as

July.

Habits. — The Indian Courser keeps entirely to open country but,

unlike the Cream-coloured Courser, prefers cultivated country or

waste ground which is covered by very thin scrub or a certain

amount of grass, though it never resorts to the forest or to thick

cover. Although it is found over such a large area, it is rather

The game birds of the Indian empire

5

particular as to its habitat and whilst, on the one hand, it is not

found in areas with the heaviest rainfall, it equally avoids completely

desert country. When incubating its eggs this Courser sits very

close, only creeping away at the very last moment on being disturbed

and returning quickly to its eggs at the first opportunity. At other

times it is shy and very difficult to approach, generally seeking

safety by running away with great speed. In the non-breeding

season it occasionally collects in small flocks and these are just as

difficult to approach as single birds. At the first sign of danger

they may be seen standing very erect with their heads stretched

in the direction from which danger approaches. Then with one

accord, down go heads and tails and every bird races off for a

hundred yards or so, when the erect attitude is once more adopted

and the approaching danger surveyed anew. They fly very strongly

and swiftly, although they seem to have more confidence in their

legs than in their wings. Their food is almost entirely insectivorous

and their flesh not bad to eat though generally very dry.

Genus : Rhinoptilus

Rhinoptilus Strickland, P.Z.S., 1850, p. 220, Jan. 1852.

Type. — Cursorius licinctus Temminck.

Rhinoptilus bitorquatus

Jerdon’s Courser

Rhinoptilus bitorquatus Blyth, J.A. S.B., xvii, pt. 1, p. 254 (1848),

ex Jerdon MS. (Eastern Ghats); Blanford and Oates, iv, p. 212.

Vernacular Names. — Adava-wuta-titti (Tel.).

Description. — Forehead, supercilia and a broken central coronal

streak pale buff or white ; remainder of crown and hind-neck dark

brown, surrounded by the pale buff ; tail-coverts white ; remainder

of upper plumage, scapulars and inner secondaries brown ; tail-

feathers blackish, the outermost broadly white at the base and all

the lateral feathers with white apical spots on the outer webs ;

median coverts paler grey-brown with broad white edges forming

a conspicuous wing-bar ; greater and primary coverts black ;

primaries black, the outermost with a broad white patch on the

outer web, joining obliquely with a similar broad white subterminal

patch on the inner web, the white decreasing to a small spot on the

inner web of the fourth; outer secondaries black, broadly edged

with white on the inner webs ; chin and throat white ; fore-neck

rufous surrounded by a black-edged white band ; breast brown with

a broad white belt across the lower part ; under wing-coverts black

and white; axillaries, lower breast, flanks and abdomen creamy-

white changing to white on the under tail-coverts.

The feathers of the upper parts are obsoletely edged paler and

the wing-coverts more definitely so, a character possibly of the

juvenile plumage.

6 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XX XIV

Colours of soft parts. — Iris dark brown; bill blackish-horny at

the tips of both mandibles, pale yellow from the nostrils to' the

gape, leg’s pale yellowish-white with a fleshy tinge, soles flesh-

coloured, nails horny.

Measurements. — Wing 161 to 168 mm. ; tail 64 to 65 mm. ; tarsus

68 mm. ; culmen 18 to1 19 mm.

Distribution. — The forest country from the Godavery Valley to

the neighbourhood of Madras^ Jerdon discovered it in Nellore

and Cuddapah and Blanford obtained it close to Sironcha on the

Godavery and again near Bhadrachalam, whilst, in 1900, Howard

Campbell saw it near Anantapur, much farther West.

Nidification. — Very little is known about the breeding of this

rare bird but a writer in the ‘Asian’, about 1895, describes finding

its eggs laid on the ground in thin scrub jungle. The eggs were

said to be almost exactly like those of the Indian Courser, the

ground colour a bright yellow, almost obliterated by black scrawls,

patches and spots. They were laid on the ground, two in number,

with no depression and without concealment.

Habits. — Jerdon’s Courser, unlike all the other birds of this

family, seems to frequent thin scfub or deciduous bush jungle,

rather than completely open country. Jerdon and Blanford both

record finding it, not only in scrub, but also' in thin forest. Campbell

saw it in dry bush jungle and Howard obtained a male in quite

thick scrub. It seems to keep always in pairs, both in and out of

the breeding season and, whilst it generally seeks safety by running

away on foot into denser cover, it is said to fly as well as, or even

more strongly than, the more common Coursers. Jerdon says that

it is has a plaintive cry.

Sub-family : GLAREOLIN^

Genus : Glareola

Glareola, Brisson, Orn., i, p. 48 (1760).

Type by tautonomy Hirundo pratincola.

Key to Species

A. Tail deeply forked; wing exceeding 170 mm.

(a) Outer tail-feathers exceeding central

tail-feathers by about 50 mm. ... G. pratincola.

(b) Outer tail-feathers exceeding central

tail-feathers by 25 mm. or less ... G. maldivarurn.

B. Tail nearly even; wing under 170 mm. ... G. lactea.

Glareola pratincola pratincola

The Collared Pratincole.

Hirundo pratincola Linn., Syst. Nat., 12th ed., p. 315 (1766)

(Austria).

Glareola pratincola. — Blanf. and Oates, iv, p. 216.

Vernacular Names. — None recorded.

THE GAME BIRDS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE

7

Description.^- Upper plumage brown, faintly tinged with olive

the back and sides of the neck more pale rufous ; lores and a line

under the eye running down the sides of the neck and in a narrow

gorget across the upper breast black, indistinctly edged with white ;

rump and shorter tail-coverts white; longer tail-coverts brown with

paler edges ; tail feathers black with broad white bases ; chin and

throat inside the gorget pale rufous ; breast pale isabelline-rufous

changing to rufous on the lower breast and to pure white on the

abdomen and under tail-coverts ; lesser and median under wing-

coverts and axillaries deep rufous.

Colours of soft parts. — Iris dark brown ; bill black, the gape

reddish ; legs and feet dusky black.

Measurements. — Wing 176 to 200 mm. ; tail, longest outermost

feather 102 to 119 mm.; shortest central feathers 54 to 58 mm.;

tarsus 30 to 32 mm. ; culmen 15 to 16 mm.

Young birds are olive-brown above, the feathers pale tipped and

with black sub-edges, there is no black neck-line or gorget and the

breast is mottled brown and rufous-white.

Distribution. — South Europe, Central and Western Asia to Sind

and Cutch. In Winter it wanders into Africa. In India it breeds

in Sind and on the Mekran coast and struggles as far as Allahabad,

the Deccan and Ratnagiri.

Nidification. — -Within Indian limits the Collared Pratincole breeds

from April to May in Sind, Cutch and all up the Mekran coast, very

often in company with the Large Indian Pratincole. It breeds in

April and May over the greater part of Europe, whilst in

Palestine and Mesopotamia it lays principally in June. The

eggs, which number two or three, are laid on the ground, a

depression being sometimes made by the birds for their reception

but without any lining or nest of any kind. The ground selected

is almost invariably dark-coloured waste ground, edges of swamps

or wide stretches of sun-burnt mud, and, in the majority of cases,

without grass, scrub or any other cover. Occasionally the bird

selects a patch of ploughed land or even of land in which there is

stubble or a crop of very short growth ; such instances are, however,

quite exceptional. The eggs are very like those of the Indian

Courser but are less richly coloured, the ground colour being more

tinged with grey and less with rich yellow or buff. The markings

consist of numerous spots and blotches of blackish brown scattered

over the whole surface but generally rather less thickly than they

are in the eggs of the Coursers. Scrolled eggs are quite unusual.

Forty Indian eggs average 305 by 234 mm. ; maxima 31 6 by

23* 1 mm. and 30’7 by 24 2 mm. ; minima 29 2 by 240 mm. and

30 0 by 22 4 mm. Where one nest is found, two or three others

may generally be found quite close by, whilst occasionally, the

birds breed in colonies of considerable size though, even in these, the

nests are often scattered over a wide area. Apparently both sexes

take part in incubation but they are said not to sit very close and to

leave their nests on but little provocation, though they return very

quickly to them when the sun is at all high.

Habits. — The Habits of the Pratincoles are very similar to those

of the Coursers. They associate during the non-breeding season

8 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Jto/. XXXIV

in small flocks which may generally be seen running about on the

ground, or at other times wheeling and twisting about in rapid

flight close above it. Whether running or flying, they always seem

to be in a hurry and the energy they display is very great. At the

same time they move about but little during the hottest hours of the

day, though even during these they seldom seek the shelter of

shade of any kind. Their favourite country is some bare and barren

dark-coloured waste land or deserted patches of cultivation but,

though they never enter forest or even thin scrub, they may often

be seen in cultivated fields and thin short grassland. They are

wary birds and difficult to approach within shot. Their food

consists almost entirely of various insects, though sandhoppers,

small grasshoppers and locusts probably form the great part of it.

Glareola maldivarum maldivarum

The Large Indian Pratincole or Swallow-Plover

Glareola maldivarum Forster, Fauna Indica, p. 11 (1795) (Maidive

Is.)

Glareola orientalis. — Blanf. and Oates, iv, p. 214.

Vernacular Names. — None recorded.

Description. — Differs from the preceding bird in being much

darker both above and below and in having comparatively less

white on the tail. The tail itself is much shorter and much less

deeply forked.

Colours of soft parts as in G. pratincola.

Measurements. — Wing 173 to 191 mm. ; tail, longest outermost

feathers 71 to 85 mm. ; shortest central feathers 52 to 62 mm. ;

tarsus 30 to 33 mm. ; culmen 13 to 15 mm.

Nestling. — ‘Greyish-buff down, much mottled with dark blackish-

brown spots.’ (Butler).

Distribution. — India, Ceylon, Burma, the Indo-Chinese Countries

to Eastern Siberia and the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.

Mathews accepts Leach’s orientalis as a subspecies occurring from

Java Eastwards.

Nidification. — The nidification of this bird varies but little from

that of the preceding but, both in Assam and in Burma, its

favourite breeding haunts are grass-lands and rice-fields which

have been burnt, where the little chips of half-burnt stalks of rice or

grass speckle the black earth with yellow and make the eggs

extraordinarily difficult to detect. In Burma both Hopwood and

Mackenzie found them breeding on the banks of small islands in

muddy creeks and, in Assam, I have also taken their eggs on the

edges of mustard cultivation, where the village cattle and buffaloes

have trampled the crops out of existence. Apparently this Pratincole

always breeds in colonies which may number anything from half

a dozen to fifty or more pairs. Sometimes, too, with this species

the nests are placed close together not more than two or three

yards apart, though sometimes they may be as much as fifty yards

distant from one another. They are said to be much closer sitters

than the European Pratincole and to refuse to' leave their eggs

until the intruder is very close, when they frequently move away

THE GAME BIRDS OF THE IND/A/V EMPIRE

9

feigning- illness, in the hopes of drawing the intruder away from

the nest. It is very interesting too, to note that these actions

cannot be caused, as Dewar would have us believe, by uncontrollab’e

fright, for very often when the bird’s first efforts to entice the

intruder away have failed, it will again return and make renewed

attempts. This can easily be proved if a person on finding a nest,

moves away from it and then, as soon as the parent bird ceases

its antics, once more walks towards the eggs, when the pretence

of being wounded or ill will once more be acted by the bird. It is

not unusual for these manoeuvres to be repeated again and again

long after the effect of the first sudden fright must have passed

away, and they certainly seem to show a certain amount of reasoning

power on the part of the parent bird. The eggs are quite

undistinguishable from those of the preceding bird but perhaps

average a trifle lighter. Sixty eggs average 30'8 by 23'9 mm. ;

maxima 342 by 25*3 mm. ; minima 28'0 by 22-5 mm. and 31'4 by

2 1 4 mm.

Habits. — These differ in no way from those of the Collared

Pratincole but, whereas that bird sometimes breeds year after year

in the same locality, the nesting places of the Indian bird seem

to be frequently changed, although the change may be only

temporary. When I was in Assam there were several fairly large

flocks to be found in the dark soil above the sand limit of the

larger rivers. For two or three years these birds would haunt and

breed in one particular spot and then, for no obvious reason, desert

it completely and move out of the district altogether, returning

perhaps after a lapse of some four or five years. They are

distinctly less shy birds than the preceding and, provided the watcher

keeps very still, they will sometimes allow an observation from a

very short distance. A curious habit I noticed with this little

Pratincole was that of scratching in the soil rather like a small

game bird, and this they do both when they feed and when dusting

themselves. The stomachs of those birds which I examined were

nearly always full of very small grasshoppers and their larvae, but

one bird contained a mass of tiny beetles and another contained

what looked like a mass of flying ants.

Glareola lactea

The Small Indian Pratincole or Sand-Plover

Glareola lactea Temm., Man. d’Orn., del. ii. 2, p. 503 (1820)

(Bengal); Blanf. and Oates, iv, p. 216.

Vernacular Names. — None recorded.

Description. — Lores and a line round the front of the eye velvet-

black ; whole upper plumage pale grey, faintly tinged sandy and

browner on the forehead; scapulars, inner secondaries, lesser and

median wing-coverts sandy-grey, the last tipped white ; greater

and primary coverts black ; primaries black, all but the first two

or three with a patch of white on the outer webs of the innermost ;

secondaries white with black tips, broadest on the first, narrowest

2

10 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , P5/. XXXI V

on the inner ; upper tail-coverts white ; tail white with a very broad

subterminal black band ; chin, throat, fore-neck and upper breast

sandy-buff changing- to pale grey on the breast and flanks ; under

wing-coverts and axillaries black ; remainder of lower plumage

white.

Colours of soft parts. — Iris dark brown; bill black, red at the

base and more yellow on the gape ; legs and feet dark brown or

plumbeous to black.

Measurements. — Wing 142 to 160 mm. ; tail 50 to 57 mm. ;

tarsus 20 to 21 mm. ; culmen 9 to1 10 mm. Siamese and Burmese

specimens are very small, wing 136 to 149 mm, and seem slightly

greyer, less sandy, in colour but there is so' much overlapping both

in size and colour that I hesitate to separate them.

Young Birds have the feathers of the upper plumage obsoletely

edged paler sandy and have the throat and fore-neck spotted with

blackish.

Distribution. — Ceylon, India and Burma. It occurs in Kashmir

but not West of the Indus.

Nidification. — Unlike the larger Pratincoles which select black

or dark coloured soil on which to deposit their eggs, this beautiful

little bird invariably breeds on the banks or islands of large rivers,

where the sand and shingle is the usual pale yellow or sandy grey.

As a rule the birds select the higher sand ridges for the purpose of

nesting but I have occasionally seen them breeding on shingle and

very often the eggs may be found amongst a very thin crop of grass

or Equisetum, whilst at other times they may be placed absolutely

in the open, without any cover whatsoever. The colonies generally

are of great size. Occasionally one finds a dozen or so pairs of

birds breeding on a small island but most colonies number over

a hundred, whilst some contain as many as three or four hundred

pairs of birds. They breed not only on the great rivers of India

where they flow more or less placidly through the plains but often

have their nesting places in these same rivers where they debouch

from the hills and where the water comes rushing and tumbling past

their nesting island. Occasionally, even, I have found smafl colonies

well inside the hills but never at a height at which the rivers dwindle

in size to. small streams. The birds are extraordinarily persistent

in sticking to a favourite breeding haunt and I have known eggs

washed out three times by the river rising* and flooding, before the

birds eventually moved to a higher site. When in large colonies the

eggs are often placed so close together that it is very difficult to

avoid stepping on them and I have seen as many as a dozen nests

within a space of four square yards. Never apparently are they

widely scattered as is so often the case with the larger Pratincoles

in some districts in India. The normal clutch of eggs is two only,

three being exceptional, though in some parts of Assam I have

found four to be the normal clutch. They are deposited in small

depressions scratched out by the parent birds in the sand and, though

there is no lining to this, I have never seen the eggs deposited on

the bare ground without a hollow being scraped for them. As we

might expect from the colour of the sand and stones among which

they lie, the eggs are themselves of a pale sandy buff or sandy

THE GAME BIRDS OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE 11

grey — exceptional eggs having- a very faint ting-e of olive-green or

creamy pink. The markings consist of small primary specks and

blotches of light reddish brown with other secondary ones of pale

lavender or neutral tint. These are scattered fairly thickly over the

whole surface but are sometimes rather more dense at the larger

end. They are never thick enough or dark enough to render the

general tint of the egg anything but sand colour. Two hundred

eggs average 25'9 by 20'5 mm. ; maxima 29-2 by 2T0 mm. and 28’5

by 22-0 mm. ; minima 23'9 by 19*9 mm. and 25*7 by 19-0 mm.

Habits. — This little Pratincole seems invariably to' frequent the

larger rivers where there are wide stretches of sand and shingle,

where they collect in flocks of many hundreds. In the winter they

may also be found on the sea coast and the estuaries where the

banks of the rivers are more mud than sand and throughout the

Sunderbands they are extraordinarily common. The size of the

flocks in which they collect can be estimated from -the effects of

a shot I once fired. As I only wanted to collect one or two birds

out of the flock as specimens, I delayed my shot until I could fire

at the last few birds passing me. Unfortunately, as I fired, the

flock wheeled, so that I shot not only into the tail but into the head

of the flock as well. After this shot my coolies picked up forty-two

birds and many more fell or fluttered into the waters of the Megna,

where the muggers who infested the river made any question of

following them up utterly impossible. On the wing they certainly

are one of the most beautiful and graceful of all our Indian birds.

They come sweeping up to one at a tremendous pace and then

without any apparent cause, suddenly wheel and twist first this way

and then the other, every bird apparently actuated by the same

idea at the same moment. After a few moments in the air, the

birds settle in a cloud on some sandbank close to the edge of the

river and one then sees each .individual making tiny little spurts here

and there in the pursuit of their insect food. In this way, although

each bird seems to be running independently of the others, back-

wards and forwards, the whole flock by degrees gradually wanders

up or down the river for some three or four hundred yards. Then

once more, without a moment’s warning the whole flock simultane-

ously rises and dashes off to some other feeding ground. The

stomachs of those I have examined contained mainly insects and

sandhoppers but I have also found small molusc.a, whilst in one

bird there were three or four of what looked like tiny sand eels

about an inch long. They follow the great Northern rivers into

the Himalayas so far as these have suitable banks and islands for

breeding purposes and their eggs have been taken at an elevation

of nearly 6,000 feet. They are extraordinarily plump little birds,

often coated with fat, and on one occasion when hard pressed for

food I ate them in a pie and found them excellent, tasting almost

exactly like ortolan. It is to be hoped, all the same, no one will

ever consider them proper objects of sport or kill them to eat when

other things are available.

(To be continued)

REVISION OE

THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY

BY

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

PART XI

GRAMINEiE

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.d., f.l.s., and C. McCann

{Continued from page 775 of Volume XXXIII)

Key to the Genera

We follow, where possible, the systematic arrangement given by Stapf in the

Flora of Tropical Africa. We add in brackets the reference to the genera

in our series.

SUB=FAIWILY I : Panicoidcae. — Mature spikelets falling en-

tire from their pedicels or with them, all alike or

differing in sex and structure ; perfect spikelets

with two heteromorphous florets, the upper herma-

phrodite, the lower male or barren ; rhachilla not

continued beyond the upper floret (Genera 1-61).

TRIBE I : Mayde^:. — Sexes in different inflore-

scences on the same plant, or the female spikelets

at the base of the inflorescence, the male above

them ; spikelets never awned, the male and female

very dissimilar (Genera 1-4).

1. Male and female spikelets in separate inflore-

scences ; male spikelets in a large terminal

panicle; the female spikelets in the axils

of the leaves.

A. Female spikes distinct, articulated (vol. 32,

15)

B. Female spikelets grown together into a

sponey more or less cylindrical body

(vol. 32, 15)

2. Male and female spikelets in separate portions

of the same spike, the female below.

A. Grain enclosed in the usually globose or

ovoid ivory-like capsuliform supporting

sheath (vol. 32, 17)

B. Grain enclosed in the hardened outer

glumes (vol. 32, 17)

TRIBE II : Andropogone^e. — Spikelets usually in

pairs, one sessile, the other pedicelled, very rarely

both pedicelled, those of each pair alike as to sex

(homogamous) or different (heterogamous) , rarely

3-nate or solitary on the axis of a usually spike-like

raceme. Involucral glume more or less rigid and

firmer than the floral glumes, the lower always

1. Euchlaena.

2. Zea.

3. Coix.

4. Poly toe a.

kE VIS ION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY i3

longer than the florets ; floral glumes membranous,

often hyaline, that cf tne upper floret usually

awned or reduced to an awn (Genera 5-41).

1. Sub-tribe: Dimerincs . — Spikelets homogam-

ous, second on a slender inarticulate

rhachis, 1-flowered, diandrous (vol, 32,

18) ... ... ... ... 5.

2. Sub-tribe: Ischcemince . — Fertile spikelets 2-

flowered ; fertile floret awned from the

sinus of the bifid or bidentate upper floral

glume, sometimes awnless in Apluda

(Gei era 6-13 ) .

A. Group Ischcemastrcs, . — Racemes several -

to many-noded, espatheate ; spikelets of

each pair homogamous or more often

heterogamous, usually similar in shape

and nervation, rarely distinctly hetero-

morphous ; fertile spikelets awned

(Genera 6-12).

i. Margins of lower involucral glume of sessile

spikelet inflexed.

a. Stem not woolly below ; joints and

pedicels stout ; spikelets heterogam-

ous (Genera 6-8).

(1) Spikes clustered; lower involucral

glume not channelled (vol. 32, 19)... 6.

(2) Spikes solitary ; lower involucral

glume usually channelled (vol. 32,

22) ... ... ... 7.

b. Rootstock and base of stem clothed

with woolly sheaths ; spikelets similar

and homogamous (vol. 32, 25) ... 8.

ii. Margins of lower involucral glume of

sessile spikelet not inflexed.

a. Spikes solitary ; spikelets 2-nate, 1-2-

flowered, 2-awned (vol. 32, 289) ... 9.

b. Spikes solitary or 2-nate ; spikelets 2-

flowered, diandrous ; lower involucral

glume very broad truncate (vol. 32,

25) ... ... ... 10.

c. Spikes digitate; spikelets 2-flowered ;

lower involucral glume tubercled

(vol. 32, 22) ... ... ... 11.

d. Spikes 2-oo-nate ; spikelets 2-nate,

upper alone awned (vol. 32, 25) ... 12.

B. Group Apludastrce. — Racemes 1-noded,

reduced to 3 heteromorphous spikelets,

the sessile with a male and a herma-

phrodite floret and an inflated callus,

one pedicelled with 2 male florets, the

other rudimentary on a glume-like

pedicel ; fertile florets awned or awnless

(vol. 32, 26) ... ... ... 13.

3. Sub-tribe: Rotboellince Fertile spikelets

1- or 2-flowered ; fertile florets awnless

(Genera 14-21).

Group Rotboelliastree . — Racemes at the

ends of the culms and their branches in

a false (rarely true) spatheate panicle

or solitary and terminal on simple or

sparingly branched culms.

A . Spikelets all alike, also as to sex ; racemes

tough or tardily disarticulating, much

compressed, joints and pedicels fused

(vol. 32,26) ... ... ... 14.

Dimer ia.

Ischcenmm.

Sehima.

Pollinidium.

Pogonathermn .

Apocopis.

Thelepogon.

Lophopogon.

Apluda.

Hemarthria.

14 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

B. Spikelets of each pair more or less dis-

similar, at least as to sex, the pedicelled

male, neuter or suppressed (Genera

15- 21).

i. Sessile spikelets small, globose, foveolate,

1-flowered, pedicelled very dissimilar ;

joints and pedicels fused (vol. 32, 28) ...

ii. Sessile spikelets not globose (Genera

16- 21).

a. Sessile spikelets winged from the trans-

versely rugose or muricate lower

involucral glumes, 1-fiowered, pedi-

celled very dissimilar ; joints and

pedicels fused (vol. 32, 29)

b. Sessile spikelets not winged (Genera

17-21).

(1) Racemes usually more or less villous,

very rarely glabrous, never cylindri-

cal , joints and pedicels moderately

stout, gaping.

i. Spikelets 2-flowered, very villous all

over, the sessile sometimes 2 at a

node and sub-opposite (vol. 32, 30)

ii. Spikelets 1-fiowered ; racemes more

or less villous from the joints and

pedicels or the edges of the spike-

lets, rarely glabrous ; lower in-

volucral glume with a transparent

oil-duct inside each keel or a fringe

of penicillate warts (vol. 32, 30) ...

(2) Racemes glabrous, cylindrical, parti-

cularly when the spikelets are

closed (Genera 19-21).

i. Pedicels and joints fused.

(a) Racemes stout, few from each

culm ; sessile spikelets 2-flower-

ed, pedicelled male or neuter

(vol. 32, 31)

(b) Racemes slender in ample spathe-

ate panicles; sessile spikelets

1-flowered (vol. 32, 31)

ii. Pedicels free from the joints ;

racemes usually in terminal and

lateral spatheate fascicles or fas-

tigiate panicles ; coarse tall grasses

(vol. 32, 32)

4. Sub-tribe : Saccharines . — All spikelets alike

in shape and sex, or if different in sex,

then the pedicelled female (Genera 22-25).

A. Group Saccharastrcs . — Racemes in more

or less compound panicles or racemosely

arranged on an elongated common axis ;

spikelets 1-flowered ; awn from the sinus

of the 2-dentate floral glume or from the

tip of the entire valve or 0 (Genera 22-24) .

i. Rhachis quite tough ; racemes in spike-

like or thyrsoid solitary panicles ; all

spikelets pedicelled, muticous (vol. 32,

281)

ii. Rhachis of racemes readily disarticulating.

a. Spikelets in a wide, often thyrsoid,

more or less plumose and silvery

panicle, 2-flowered, usually awned,

rarely mucronate or awnless (vol 32,

283)

15. Manisuris.

16. Peltophorus.

17. Lasiurus.

18. Elyonurus .

19. Rotboellia.

20. Ophiurus.

21. Coelor rhachis.

22. hnperata.

23. Saccharum .

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 15

b. Spikelets in panicled racemes, 2-flower-

ed, awned (vol. 32, 288) ...

B. Group Polliniastrcs . — Racemes digitate,

rarely solitary ; spikelets 1-2-flowered ;

awn from tbe sinus of the 2-fid or 2-

dentate floral glume; spikelets dorsally

compressed ; callus short, obtuse (vol. 32,

289)

5. Sub-tribe: Andropogonince. — Spikelets of

each pair different in sex and frequently

also in shape and size, or if those of some

pairs of a raceme are alike in sex, then

both male or neuter ; fertile spikelets 1-

flowered (Genera 26-41).

A. Racemes in more or less compound espa-

theate panicles ; pedicels without a

translucent middle line (Genera 26-

29).

Group Sorghastrce. — Pedicel led spikelets

male, neuter or suppressed (including

the pedicel in Cleistachne) ; awn from

the sinus of the 2- fid floral glume.

i. Spikelets dorsally compressed, at least

when in flower ; lower involucral glume

of the fertile spikelets firmly charta-

ceous to coriacous.

a. Spikelets in threes, one of them fertile,

or in racemes of 2-8 pairs ; the

pedicelled male, neuter, or if quite

suppressed, then at least the pedicels

present (vol. 32, 290)

b. Spikelets solitary (vol. 32, 408)

ii. Spikelets laterally more or less com-

pressed.

a. Racemes of many pairs of spikelets ;

primary branches of panicles in

whorls of 6-20 (vol. 32, 408)

b. Racemes usually reduced to 1 sessile

hermaphrodite and 2 pedicelled

male or barren spikelets, rarely of

2 or more but always few pairs

(vol. 32, 410) ...

B. Racemes not in compound espatheate

panicles or if so ( Ccipillipedium) , then

the pedicels with a translucent middle

line (Genera 30-41).

i. Fertile floral glume awned from low down

on the back.

Group Arthraxonastrce . — Sessile spike-

lets convex on the back and rounded on

the sides, often muriculate, particularly

along the sides ; pedicelled usually

rudimentary or 0, rarely male ; racemes

digitate (vol. 32, 416)

ii. Fertile florel glume awned from the sinus

of a 2-fid or 2- dentate valve or continuing

the more or less stipitiform floral glume

(Genera 31-41) .

a. Margins of the lower involucral glume

of the fertile spikelet inflexecl and

the glume therefore sharply 2-keeled

more or less all along with a short

obtuse cal 'us, rarely the keels

rounded off downwards with the

margins subinyolute, but then the

24. Spodiopogon.

25. Eulalia.

26. Sorghum

27. Cleistachne .

28. Vetiveria.

29. Chrysopogon.

30. Arthraxon.

16 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

back of the glume deeply sunk

between the keels and the callus short

or long and acute ; awn glabrous or

scabrid, very rarely hirsute ( Andro -

pogon sp.) ; spikelets awned

(Genera 31-37) .

(1) Awn forming a continuation of the

stipitiform fertile floral glume.

Group Amphilophiastrcz Racemes

digitate or racemosely digitate,

and then usually very numerous,

all more or less peduncled on

simple or almost simple culms,

or solitary at the end of the culms

and their branches and sometimes

gathered into a scanty spatheate

false panicle, rarely in compound

espatbeate panicles ( Capilli -

pedium) (Genera 31-34).

i. Racemes in compound espatheate

panicles (vol. 32, 419) ... 31.

ii. Racemes not in compound espathe-

ate paniclts (Genera 32-34).

(a) Racemes digitate, or many race-

mosely arranged on a common

axis shorter than the raceme.

a. Sessile spikelets of all pairs

hermaphrodite, awned (vol. 32,

420) ... ... ... 32.

b. Sessile spikelets of the lowest 1-3

* or 4 pairs male or neuter and

awnless (vol. 32, 424) ... 33.

(b) Racemes solitary at the ends

of the culms and branches

(vol. 33, 426) ... ... 34.

(2) Awn from the sinus of the 2-fid or

2- dentate fertile floral glume

(Genera 35-37).

i. Group Schizachyriastrcz.-Ra.cem.es

solitary at the ends of the culms

and their branches, the branches

usually gathered into a narrow,

lax, spatheate, false panicle ; joints

and pedicels thickened upward ;

pedicelled spikelets male, neuter

or suppressed (vol 32,428) ... 35.

ii. Group Andropogonastrcz . — Racemes

2-nate at the end of simple or

almost simple culms or gathered

into spatheate false or true

panicles.

(a) Racemes 2-nate on a slender

peduncle arising from a flatten-

ed spathe ; sessile spikelets alike

in sex and form ; joints opaque

(vol. 32, 429) ... ... 36.

(b) Racemes 2-nate, with a spathe

supporting or surrounding each

pair, gathered into often much

decompound spatheate panicles;

the lowest pair of one of the

racemes homogamous, male or

neuter ; all pairs of the other

heterogamous ; mostly aromatic

grasses (vol. 32, 429) ... 37.

Capillipedium.

Aniphilophis.

Dichanthium .

Eremo pogon.

Schizachyrium .

Andro pogon.

Cynibo pogon.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 17

b. Margins of the lower involucral glume

of the fertile spikelets involute, inflex-

ed and 2-keeled (if at all) only close

to the tips, the spikelets, therefore,

with rounded sides or quite terete ;

callus elongate and acute or pungent ;

awn more or less hirsute, from the

stipitiform floral glume (Genera 38-

41).

(1) Groiip Hetero pogonastrce . — Race-

mes many-noded, solitary ; ail

pairs of spikelets heterogamous and

alike or the lowest 1-many homo-

gamous and barren, very different

from the fertile, not forming an

involucre around them (vol. 32, 622) 38. Heteropogon.

(2) Group Themedastrce . — Racemes

fasciculiform, solitary at the apex of

the stem and branches. Spikelets

dimorphic, the 4 lower sessile form-

ing an involucre round the upper,

i. Rhachis articulate below the involu-

cral spikelets (vol. 32, 626) ... 39. Iseilema.

ii. Rhachis articulate above the involu-

cral spikelets (vol. 32, 627) ... 40. Themeda.

(3) Group Pseudothemedastrce . — Like

Themedastrcs above but without the

involucrant spikelets of that group

(vol. 32, 631) ... ... 41. Pseudanthiria.

TRIBE III : Panice^e. — Spikelets in usually con-

tinuous spikes, racemes or panicles Involucral

glumes herbaceous or membranous, the lower

generally smaller, very small or suppressed.

Lower floral glume generally resembling the

involucral glumes in structure and nervation, the

upper fertile firmer, at length rigid, often

chartaceous or crustaceous, awnless, very rarely

mucronate ( Urochloo ) (Genera 42-61).

1. Sub-tribe : Panicincs Upper floret only

fertile ; lower floral glume usually resemb-

ling the upper involucral glume, not

indurated (Genera 42-60).

A. Undershrubs ; flowers dioecious.

Group Spinificastrace /—Male spikelets 2-

flowered, articulate in rigid umbellate

spikes ; female in large globose heads of

stellately spreading quill -like rhachis,

one spikelet at the base of each (vol.

33, 21) ... ... ... 42. Spinifex-

B. Herbs ; flowers not dioecious (Genera 43-

60).

i. Group Digitariastr^ /—Inflorescence of

usually slender, spiciform, digitate or

subdigitate or somewhat distant, very

rarely solitary racemes : fruiting floral

glume with usually flat, thin to hyaline

margins, thinly cartilaginous, often

brown or dark, with the usually

minute, often microscopic, .scale-like

pale of the barren floret attached to

the base.

a. Spikelets awnless ; lower involucral

glume minute, rarely 0 ; lower floral

glume usually with 5-7 close, straight,

prominent nerves (vol. 32, 632) ... 43. Digitaria.

3

18 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

b. Spikelets slender avvned (vol. 32, 635). 44. Allo/eropsis .

u. Inflorescence usually different (but see

Axonopus and Paspaluvi) ; fruiting

floral glume with more or less inrolled

margins, usually crustaceous and

straw-coloured or whitish ; pale of

the barren floret, if developed, not

attached to the false fruit (Genera

45-60).

a. Spikelet falling entire and singly from

the persistent pedicels (Genera 45-

58).

(1) Group PanicastrcE ; — Spikelets not awned, or

if awned, then sub-sessile in false second

variously arranged spikes and with the

awns from the entire tips of the upper

involucral glume and lower floral glume

(. tchinochloo sp.) or from the tips of both

involucral glumes or at least the lower

(Genera 45-57).

i. Inflorescence of variously arranged (rarely

solitary) simple or compound, usually

second, spike- like, dense (rarely loose)

racemes, not an open or contracted and

cylindric panicle ; spikelets usually

paired or sometimes particularly towards

the base of the raceme in fascicles of 3

(rarely more) unequally pedicelled or

solitary, alternately to the right and the

left of the median line of a usually

dorsi ventral rhachis ; fruit dorsally (very

rarely laterally) compressed, its glume

and pale crustaceous ; racemes usually

rather dense (Genera 45-52).

(a) Back of fruit abaxial (Genera 45-47).

a. Spikelets strongly laterally com-

pressed, distant on long slender

rhachises ; lower involucral glume

herbaceous, as long as the spikelet

(vol 33, 7) .. ... ... 45. Pseudechinolcena .

b. Spikelets more or less dorsally com-

pressed ; lower involucral glume

never herbaceous.

(7) Lower involucral glume rudimentary

with a swollen annular callus at

the base of the rhachilla ; fruit

mucronate (vol. 32, 636) ... 46. Eriochloa .

(ii) No swollen annular callus at the

base of the spikelet. Lowrer in-

volucral glume present ; racemes

racemosely arranged (vol. 32. 636). 47. Brachiciria

(b) Back of the fruit adaxial (Genera48-52) .

a. Lower involucral glume typically

absent ; spikelets usually con-

spicuously planoconvex, with the

flat side turned away from the

rhachis (vol. 32, 639) ... ... 48. Pa sp alum.

b. Lower glumes developed ; rhachis

persisting, not articulate ; spikelets

falling from the pedicels (Genera

49-52).

(i) Involucral glumes neither awned nor

caudate ; if shortly cuspidate-

acuminate, then the fruiting floral

valve obtuse with an imposed

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBA 1

mucro and the margins inrolled all

along.

* Fruiting flowering glume acute,

not mucronate ; spikelets solit-

ary, closely biseriate, contiguous

with their sides ; false spikes

rigid, not several times longer

than the internodes of the long

common axis ; their lower parts

more or less appressed to the

alternately hollowed out flanges

of the latter (vol. 32, 641)

Fruiting flowering glume obtuse,

abruptly mucronate or aristu

late ; spikelets solitary or paired,

when solitary contiguous with

their backs ; false spikes often

flexuous or curved, usually

several times longer than the

internodes of the relatively short

common axis, spreading from

the base (vol. 32, 642)

( ii ) Glumes caudate-or cuspidate-acumi-

nate or awned.

* Glumes awned from the entire

acute or acuminate tip, or cau-

date or cuspidate-acuminate ;

margins of the fruiting flowering

glume flat upwards, not em-

bracing the tip of the - pale ;

racemes dense, more or less

secund, often very numerous

(vol. 32, 645)

** Glumes awned from the slightly

notched tips ; racemes elong-

ated or short to very short,

secund, compact, spreading

from the common axis (vol. 33,

8)

ii. Inflorescence an open panicle, rarely con-

tracted, cylindrical and spike-like ( Sacci -

ole pis, Setaria sp.) (Genera 53-57).

(a) Spikelets not supported by bristle-like

branches (Genera 53-56).

a. Spikelets not gibbous or, if slightly

so, then not in cylindrical false

spikes (Genera 53-55).

( i ) Branches of panicle not adnate to the

main axis.

* Panicle much contracted, dense,

very compound, with erect nar-

rowly lanceolate spikelets ; lower

floral glume beaked, upper floral

glume rather thin (vol. 33, 15)...

** Panicle usually open ; lower floral

glume not beaked, upper floral

glume crustaceous (vol. 33,

9)

(ii) Branches of panicles more or less

adnate to the main axis so that

the pedicels appear to spring more

or less directly from the axis (vol.

33, 17) ...

b. Spikelets distinctly gibbous, laterally

much compressed (vol. 33, 16)

PRESIDENCY

49. Paspalidium.

50. Urochloa.

51. Echinochloa .

52. Oplismenus .

53. Hymenachne .

54. Panic um.

55. Sacciolepis.

56 . Cyrtococcum .

20 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY , Uh/. XXXIV

(6) All the spikelets or only the upper of

each branch supported by bristle-like

branches (vol. 33, 19) ... ... 57.

(2) Group Meliniastrcs. — Spikelets finely awn-

ed or mucronate from the notched tips of

the upper involucral glume and barren

floral glumes (or if muticous, these at

least slightly notched) delicately pedi-

celled, panicled ; lower involucral glume

very minute. Upper involucral glume

and barren floral glume gibbous at or

below the middle, both 5-nerved ; nerves

hidden by copious and long silky hairs

and anastomosing below the obtuse tips

(vol. 33, 21) ... ... ... 58.

b . Spikelets falling in groups or if

singly, then surrounded by an

involucral of bristles or at least

supported by 1 to several bristles.

Group CenchastrcE . — Spikelets falling by an

involucral of bristles or spines or bract-like

scales, or at least supported by 1 to several

bristles ; or with the lower involucral glumes

of each group forming a false involucre

(1) Involucre of free naked or plumose bristles

(vol. 33, 22) ... ... ... 59.

(2) Involucres of spines or rigid bristles united

at the base into a hard cup (vol. 33,

229) ... ... ... ... 60.

2. Sub-tribe: Isacknincs. — Both floiets fertile,

or if the lower male, then its floral glume

more or less resembling that of the upper

floret and indurated.

Group Isachnastrce . — Florets very similar,

spikelets more or less panicled (vol. 33, 230). 61.

SUB-FAMILY II : Pooideae. — Mature spikelets breaking up,

leaving the persistent or subpersistent glumes on

the pedicel, or if falling entire, then not consisting

of 2 heteromorphous florets as in Panicoideae

(Genera 62-109).

1. Blades not articulated on the sheath, rarely

( Centotheca ) transversely veined (Genera

62-104)

A. Awn of the fertile floret, if present, kneed

and twisted below the knee, or straight

in reduced forms (Genera 62-78).

i. Florets 2 or more (Genera 62-69) .

TRIBE IV : Arundineule^s.— Florets 2, hetero-

morphous, the lower awnless, or barren. Rhachilla

not continued beyond the upper floret. Lower floral

glume awnless, rather resembling the involucral

glumes ; upper generally awned, at length firm or

hard : awn from sinus between 2, sometimes minute

or bristle-like, lobes, rarely from the entire obtuse

tip, usually kneed and twisted below the knee.

a . Upper floral glume 2-setose, minutely

2-toothed or entire ; awn sometimes

reduced (vol. 33, 230) ... ... 62.

b. Upper floral glume always distinctly

2-toothed or 2-lobed ; awn always

kneed ; spikelets in clusters of 3 (vol.

33, 234) ... ... ... 63.

TRIBE V : Avene^e. — Florets 2-many, all alike, ex-

cept the uppermost which often are reduced.

Floral glumes with hyaline shining margins or

Setaria.

Tricholaena.

Pennisetum .

Cenchrus.

Isachne.

Arundinella .

Tr is tacky a .

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 21

firmer, 5-or more nerved, rarely 3-nerved ; awn, if

present, from the back or sinus or between bristles,

a. Floral glumes awn less or awned from

the back ; florets 2 or more, the

uppermost reduced.

(1) Spikelets 2- or more-flowered,

awned (vol. 33, 234)

(2) Spikelets 2-flowered, awnless (vol.

33, 235)

b. Floral glumes awned from the sinus of

the bifid tip ; florets 3 to many, the

uppermost reduced (vol. 33, 236)

TRIBE VI : Arundineje. — Florets 2-many, enve-

loped in very long hairs, springing either from the

callus or from the back or margins of the floral

glumes.

a. Hairs springing from the margins of

the upper floral glume (vol. 33, 234).

b. Hairs springing from the callus (vol. 33,

236) ' ...

c. Hairs springing from the involucral

glumes (vol. 33, 237)

ii. Florets 1 (Genera 70-78).

TRIBE VII : Agroste.e. — Floret 1. Rhachilla

rarely produced beyond the floret ; upper floral

glume membranous, not changed when mature,

usually 5-nerved, all the nerves or the outer side-

nerves often slightly excurrent, parallel or at least

not anastomosing. Spikelets awned or not.

a. Spikelets in cjdindric spike-like pani-

cles, not awned (vol. 33, 237)

b. Spikelets in open or contracted many-

flowered panicles, awned.

(1) Involucral glumes acuminate or

awned (vol. 33, 238)

(2) Involucral glumes awned from the

notched or lobed tips (vol. 33, 237)...

TRIBE VIII: Stipe^e. — Floret 1. Rhachilla not

produced beyond the upper floral glume wThich is

bisexual, hardened when mature, tightly enveloping

the fruit ; nerves joining or closely approaching at

the tip. Awn terminal, rarely absent.

Awns 3, from the entire tip, or 1, sim-

ple below and 3-branched above,

very rarely quite simple (vol. 33,

238)

TRIBE IX: Zoysie^e.— Floret 1. Mature' spikelets

falling entire and singly, or in clusters. Rhachilla

not continued beyond the floret. Involucral

glumes equal or the lower much smaller or sup-

pressed. Floral glume small, delicately membra-

nous, 3-1 -nerved ; spikelets in slender spiciform

panicles or racemes (Genera 74-78).

a. Spikelets falling in clusters of 2-4,

fascicled.

(1) Fascicles secund on a broad articu-

late rhachis ; glumes 4 i upper

involucral glume not echinate (vol.

33, 480)

(2) Fascicles all round a slender

rhachis ; glumes 3 ; upper involu-

cral glume echinate (vol. 33, 480)...

b. Spikelets falling singly.

(1) Lower involucral glume with pecti-

nate margins ; upper involucral

64. Avena.

65. Coelachne.

66. Danthonia.

67. Thysanolaena.

68. Phragmites.

69. AruncLo.

70. Heleochloa.

71. Garnotia.

72. Polypogon .

73. Aristida.

74. Trachys.

75. Nazia.

22 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

glume spinulosely tuberculate:

glumes 3 (vol. 33, 481)

(2) Involucral glumes neither pectinate

nor tuberculate.

i. Glumes 2 ; spikelets not awned (vol.

33, 481) ...

ii. Glumes 3 ; spikelets with a long

awn (vol 33, 481) ...

B. Awn of the fertile floret, if present, never

kneed and twisted below the knee

(Genera 79-104) .

(i) Floral glumes typically 3-nerved (Genera

79-94).

TRIBE X : Spqrobole^.— Floret 1. Involucral

and floral glumes very similar ; rhachilla not or

rarely produced beyond the floret. Upper floral

glumes membranous, acute or obtuse, not changed

when ripe, 1-or more or less distinctly 3-nerved,

awnless, usually olive-green or grey ; side-nerves,

if present, delicate, evanescent above. Seed often

free in the delicate pericarp.

Spikelets small (vol. 33, 482)

TRIBE XI : Eragroste^e.— Florets usually numer-

ous and far exserted from the glumes. Spikelets

variously panicled. sometimes spicate or sub-

spicate ; involucral and floral glumes somewhat

similar in general appearance ; floral glumes

membranous or chartaceous, entire or 2-3-cleft,

3-nerved, the nerve evanescent above or excurrent

into bristles; side-nerves usually submarginal,

glabrous or pubescent or finely ciliate below ;

pales often persistent or subpersistent (Genera

80-84) .

a. Floral glumes entire (Genera 80-83).

(X) Upper involucral glume 3-nerved

(vol. 33, 486)

(2) Upper involucral glume 5-nerved

(vol. 33, 495)

(3) Upper involucral glume 1-nerved.

i. Floral glumes ovate subacute or

obtuse (vol. 33, 495)

ii. Floral glumes acute or acuminate

(vol. 33, 486)

b. Floral glumes toothed (vol. 33,

495)...

TRIBE XII : Chlorides. — Florets 1 to many.

Spikelets usually in 2-ranked secund spikes or

spike-like racemes, rarely distinctly pedicellate

and paniculate ; floral glumes usually membranous,

truncate, emarginate or toothed, 3-nerved ; nerves

distant, subparallel, distinct, percurrent or ex-

current, and often ciliate all along, the lateral

submarginal (in Eleusine there are sometimes addi-

tional side-nerves close to the middle nerve of the

glume). Awn, if present, straight, usually from a

truncate or toothed tip (Genera 85-94) .

a. Floral glumes entire, emarginate or

more or less 2-dentate or 2-lobed,

muticous or with the middle-nerve

running out into an awn or mucro,

or reduced in some species of Tri-

pogon (Genera 85—93).

(1) Spikelets 1-flowered (genera 85-88) .

i. Spikes solitary, terminal (see also

Chloris) (genera 85-87).

76. Latipes .

77. Osterdamia.

78. Perotis.

79, Sporobolus.

80. Eragrostis.

81. Halopyrum.

82. Leptochloa.

83. Desmostachya.

84. Diplachne.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 23

(a) Spikelets minute, more or less

sunk in the rhachis, 1-3-flowered

(vol. 33, 753)

(b) Spikelets not sunk in the rhachis

a. Spikelets awnless, minute,

'unilateral on flattened rhachis,

1-flowered (vol. 33, 753)

b. Spikelets awned, 1-2- flowered in

deciduous articulate clusters

(vol. 33,754)

ii. Spikes digitate (vol. 33, 753)

(2) Spikelets with several florets (Genera

89-93).

i. Spikelets with 1 (rarely 2, Chloris

sp.) fertile and 1 or several imperfect

florets above or below the fertile (see

also Microchloa ) .

(a) Spikelets in long secund solitary

spikes ; floral glumes narrow,

firm, glabrous or scaberulous,

with a short erect awn from the

notched or subentire tips (vol.

33, 755) ...

(b) Spikelets in digitate, rarely

solitary or 2-nate spikes ; the

florets much widened upwards,

or if narrow, then delicate and

usually with a fine awn from

below the tips, often ciliate ;

floral glumes or at least some of

them awned, very rarely sub-

muticous (vol. 33, 755)

ii. Spikelets with 2 or more fertile florets

and without imperfections below

them (See also Chloris sp.) ; floral

glumes awn less or with a rigid mucro

or very short awn from the acumi-

nate tips ( Daclyloctenium sp.),

entire or subentire (Genera 91-93).

(a) Spikelets in digitate or subdigitate

spikes.

a. Spikes terminated byaspikelet;

involucral and floral glumes

emucronate or obscurely

mucronate (vol. 33, 761)

b. Spikes terminating with a sharp

point ; upper involucral glume

and floral glumes rigidly

mucronate or shortly awned

(vol, 33, 760)

(b) Spikelets in racemosely arranged

spreading or deflexed, finally

deciduous spikes (vol. 33,763)...

b. Floral glumes various^ toothed or lobed

with the middle and side-nerves running

out into awns or mucros.

Spikes solitary and terminal on the culms ;

spikelets mostly olive-green or dark

greyish ; all 3 nerves or at least the

middle-nerve running out into a fine

short awn or mucro (vol. 33. 764)

(ii) Floral glumes 5 to many-nerved, very

rarely 3-nerved (genera 95-104) .

TRIBE XIII : Pappophore.® — Floral glumes broad

5-many-nerved, cleft into 3-man y subulate lobes.

85. Oropctium.

86. Microchloa.

87. Gracilea.

88. Cynodon.

89. Enteropogon.

90. Chloris.

91. Elen sine.

92 . Daclylocten ium .

93. Dinebra.

94. Tripogon.

24 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

with or without alternating fine straight awns from

the sinuses.

Floral glumes 9-cleft (vol. 33, 766) ... ... 95. Enneapogon.

TRIBE XIV : Oryzk^s. — Spikelets all alike or more

or less heteromorphous and unisexual. Fertile

Floret 1, awned or not, terminal with 2 minute empty

florets (floral glumes) below it or solitary. Involucral

glumes very minute or confluent into an annular

rim or suppressed ; pale 3-9-nerved ; stamens

usually 6, rarely more, or 1--3.

a. A floating glabrous grass ; spikelets

awned (vol. 33, 769) ... ... 96. Hygrorhiza.

b. Leafy tall grasses, not floating ; spike-

lets usually awnless.

(1) Keels of floral glume and pale pec-

tinately ciliate ; spikelets awrrless

(vol. 33, 768) ... ... 97. Homalocenchrus.

(2) Keels of floral glume and pale not

pectin ately ciliate ; spikelets rarely

awned (vol. 33, 767) ... ... 98. Oryza.

TRIBE XV : FeStuceje.— Involucral glumes more,

or less resembling the floral ones in general appear-

ance. Fruiting florets 2 to many, very rarefy 1,

often much exserted from the glumes. Floral

glumes 5 -or more-nerved (rarely 1-3-nerved).

Awns, if present, terminal or subterminal, never

geniculate.

a. Leaves narrow, not tessellately nerved ;

fruiting glumes without submarginal

bristles.

( 1) Leaves reaching 30 cm. long or more,

flaccid ; inflorescence in long,

often interrupted cylindric spikes

(vol. 33, 769) ... ... 99. Elytrophorus .

(2) Leaves less than 5 cm. long, rigid,

pungent ; inflorescence in short

subcapitate spikes (vol. 33, 769)... 100. Aeluropus .

b. Leaves broad, tessellately nerved ;

fruiting glumes with reflexed sub-

marginal tubercle-based bristles (vol.

33, 770) ... ... ... 101. Centotheca.

TRIBE XVI : Horded.— Spikelets sessile, singly or

in clusters, more or less sunk in the hollows of the

rhachis of a simple spike ; florets 1 or more.

a. Spikelets solitary at the nodes of the

spike.

(1) Spikelets with their median plane

radial to the rhachis ; florets 1-2 ;

floral glumes membranous to sub-

hyaline, 3-nerved (vol. 33, 770) ... 102. Lepturus.

(2) Spikelets with their median plane

tangential to the rhachis ; floral

glumes more or less ventricose,

keeled upwards, 5-9-nerved (vol.

33, 770) ... ... ... 103. Triticum.

b. Spikelets in groups of 3 at the nodes of

a dense spike ; floral glumes 5-nerved

(vol. 33, 771) ... ... ... 104. Hordeum.

2. Blades articulate on the sheath and transversely

veined.

TRIBE XVII : Bambuse^e. --Shrubs or trees ; spike-

lets all of one kind ; florets few to many (rarely 1) ;

lower 2 or more glumes empty, gradually increas-

ing in size up to the flowering, with sometimes small

terminal imperfect ones ; floral glumes subherbace-

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 25

ons to subcoriaceous, 5 to many-nerved, usually

awnless ; lodicules usually 3 ; stamens 3-6 or more ;

styles 2 or 3 (genera 105-109).

A. Pericarp thin, adnateto the seed.

i. Pales all 2 to keeled ; stamens 6 ; fila-

ments free (vol„ 33, 771) ... ... 105. Bambusa.

ii. Pales of upper flowers 0 or glume-like, not

keeled ; filaments connate (vol. 33, 773).. 106. Ox)tenanthera.

B. Pericarp fleshy or crustaceous, not adnate

to the seed

7. Spikelets 2 to many-flowered; pale 2-keeled;

lodicules none ; stamens 6 ; pericarp

crustaceous (vol. 33, 773) ... ... 107. Dendrocalamus .

ii. Spikelets many-flowered ; pales 2-keeled;

lodicules 3, conspicuous (vol. 33, 774)... 108. Teinostachywn.

Hi. Spikelets 1-flowered ; pale absent or glume-

like ; stamens 6-120 ; pericarp fleshy

(vol. 33, 774) ... ... m. Ochlandra.

An alphabetical list of the genera adopted in our series and meant to

facilitate the finding of the genera in former articles.

Aeluropus, vol. 33, 769

Alloteropsis, vol. 32, 635

Amphilophis, vol. 32, 420

Andropogon, vol. 32, 429

Apluda, vol. 32, 26

Apocopis, vol. 32, 25

Aristida, vol. 33, 238

Arthraxon, vol. 32, 416

Arundinella, vol. 33, 230

Arundo, vol. 33, 237

Avena, vol. 33, 234

Bambusa, vol. 33, 771

Brachiaria, vol. 32, 636

Capillipedium, vol. 32, 419

Cenchrus, vol. 33, 229

Centotheca, vol. 33, 770

Chloris, vol. 33, 755

Chrysopogon, vol. 32, 410

Cleistachne, vol. 32, 408

Coelachne, vol. 33, 235

Coelorrhachis, vol. 32, 32

Coix, vol. 32, 17

Cymbopogon, vol. 32, 429

Cynodon. vol. 33, 753

Cyrtococcum, vol. 33, 16

Dactyloctenium, vol. 33, 760

Dantbonia, vol. 33, 236

Dendrocalamus, vol. 33, 773

Desmostachya, vol. 33, 4S6

Dichanthium, vol. 32, 424

Digitaria, vol. 32, 632

Dimeria, vol. 32, 18

Dinebra, vol. 33, 763

Diplachne, vol. 33, 495

Echinochloa, vol. 32, 645

Kleusine, vol. 33, 761

Elyonurus, vol. 32, 30

Klytrophorus, vol. 33, 769

Enneapogon, vol. 33, 766

Enteropogon, vol. 33, 755

Eragrostis, vol. 33, 486

Eremopogon, vol. 32, 426

Eriochloa, vol. 32, 636

4

Euchlaena, vol. 32, 15

Eulalia, vol. 32, 289

Garnotia, vol. 33, 238

Gracilea, vol. 33, 754

Halopyrum, vol, 33, 495

Heleochloa, vol. 33, 237

Hemarthria, vol. 32, 26

Heteropogon, vol. 32, 622

Homalocenchrus, vol. 33, 768

Hordeum, vol 33, 771

Hygrorhiza, vol. 33, 769

Hymenachne, vol. 33, 15

Imperata, vol. 32, 281

Isachne, vol. 33, 230

Isachsemum, vol. 32, 19

Iseilema, vol. 32, 626

Lasiurus, vol. 32, 30

Latipes, vol. 33, 481

Leptochloa, vol. 33, 495

Lepturus, vol. 33, 770

Lophopogon, vol. 32, 25

Manisuris, vol. 32, 26

Microchloa, vol. 33, 753

Nazia, vol. 33, 480

Ochlandra, vol. 33, 774

Ophiurus, vol. 32, 31

Oplismenus, vol. 33, 8

Oropetium, vol. 33, 753

Oryza, vol. 33, 767

Osterdamia, vol. 33, 481

Oxytenanthera, vol. 33, 773

Panicum, vol. 33, 9

Paspalidium, vol. 32, 641

Paspalum, vol. 32, 639

Peltophorus, vol. 32, 29

Pennisetum, vol. 33, 22

Perotis, vol. 33, 481

Phragmites, vol. 33, 236

Pogonatherum, vol. 32, 289

Poilinidium, vol. 32, 25

Polypogon, vol. 33, 237

Polytoca, vol. 32, 17

Pseudanthiria, vol. 32, 631

26 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Pseudechinolaena, vol. 33, 7

Rotboellia, vol. 32, 31

Saccharum, vol. 32, 283

Sacciolepis, vol. 33, 17

Schizachyrium, vol. 32, 428

Sehima, vol. 32, 22

Setaria, vol. 33, 19

Sorghum, vol. 32, 290

Spinifex, vol. 33, 21

Spodiopogon, vol. 32, 288

Sporobolus, vol. 33, 482

Teinostachyum, vol. 33, 774

Thelepogon, vol. 32, 22

Themeda, vol. 32, 627

Thysanolaena, vol. 33, 234

Trachys, vol. 33, 480

Tricholaena, vol. 33, 21

Tripogon, vol. 33, 764

Tristachya, vol. 33, 234

Triticum, vol. 33, 770

Urochloa, 32, 642

Vetiveria, vol. 32, 408

Zea, vol. 32, 15

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

BY

Hugh Whistler, f.z.s.

Part IV

( With plates A, B & C and one diagram)

( Continued f rom page 792 of V ol. XXXIII)

Some external characteristics of a Bird

The Wings

All of us know that Birds and Insects are the two great classes

which possess wings and in consequence attain that wonderful

power of flight which has aroused the envy and emulation of man

from the earliest ages. We do not all, however, realize that wings

and flight have been also attained by two1 other classes, mammals

and reptiles. Curiously enough, these two classes have never

reached such a universal power of flight, though some of their

members which have attained to it have been able to reach as

perfect a degree of proficiency as will be found in the two . classes

in which flying is very general.

Before discussing the wings and flight of a bird in some detail,

it will be instructive to consider the methods by which flight is

attained in the various classes — birds, mammals, reptiles and

insects.

We have already seen, in discussing the origin of birds, that

flight gradually evolved through the means of a patagium, a fold

of skin on the forelimb which was used as a parachute. A jump

into the air is the simplest means of overcoming the influence of

gravity; a good ‘take-off’ increases the momentum and the length

of a jump ; and if that take-off is at a height, the length of the

jump need only be limited by the jumper’s power of resisting the

shock entailed by the return to earth. The use of an artificial

parachute is now firmly established as one of the means by which

man returns to terra-firma from the most hazardous of heights;

and the possibility that Nature could evolve her own natural

parachutes in the manner postulated as a first step towards the

attainment of the power of untrammelled flight is amply proved

by the existence of such parachutes amongst the living animals

of the world. Most of us in India are familiar with some form

of flying-squirrel. The flying-squirrel shows the highest develop-

ment that the parachute is capable of, simply as a parachute and

without developing into something higher. These beautiful animals

1 I do not include Fish, as the flight of the Flying-fishes does not extend

beyond the limits of the principle of the parachute.

28 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

cannot fly in the true sense of the word : they are, however, able

to pass through the air from tree to tree, leaping from the higher

branches of one tree and sailing in a lowering and diagonal direction

to the lower part of an adjacent tree. Jerdon records the fact

that he once saw a Brown Flying-Squirrel thus parachute a distance

of 60 yards from tree to tree. It was, he says, of course very close

to the ground when it neared the second tree and the last few feet

of its flight were slightly upwards. This is usual, for the

momentum of the flying leap allows the squirrel to shoot upwards

for the short distance necessary to allow it to grasp the tree-trunk

with all four feet.

The parachute of the flying-squirrel is very simple in form and in

some species would not ordinarily attract the notice of anyone who

saw the animal at rest and had not previously heard of its powers.

It is merely a loose lateral extension of the skin along the sides

of the body which passes outwards between the limbs and

terminates at the wrists and ankles. This lateral membrane is very

elastic and, when the limbs are extended outwards on both sides

of the body, it fills the space between them with a regular sail,

so that the normal-looking squirrel becomes in flight much like a

doormat — for so it once seemed to me on a Himalayan hillside when

a flat red object suddenly shot through the trees down the slope in

front of me. In addition to the lateral membrane, there is a narrow

and inconspicuous one passing from the cheek along the front of

the shoulder to the front of the wrist, and another — at least in some

species — which stretches across behind the body from ankle to

ankle, involving the base of the tail. Dissection shows long, osseous

or cartilaginous appendages to the feet which serve to support the

parachute in flight. These are interesting in view of the types of

wings to be described hereafter.

Given the possibility of flight with a parachute as a beginning, the

attainment of free untrammelled flight becomes merely a question

of degree and method. Nature has attained it along three separate

lines of development, in Bird, in Mammal and in Reptile. Yet

apparently all three lines were not equally successful and represent

progress by the method of trial and error. So far as the record

remains for us to read, we find that the Reptile was the first to

attain to flight in the full sense of the word. The Pterodactyle flew

above a world in which the bird and mammal were still earth bound ;

but there must have been some inherent defect in that device for

flight for the pterodactyles and their kind passed away leaving the

reptile stock barren of a germ from which flight might anew be

evolved. Then, in theft turn, the Bird and the Mammal attained

to flight, each on a different principle. The merits of these two

principles must, however, be judged, in my opinion, by their spread.

Only one order of Mammals, namely the Bats, attained to perfect

flight, and very perfect indeed it is in their case, whilst amongst

the Birds flight became universal. I say universal advisedly,

although it is possible to mention a number of birds which are

flightless. For there is little doubt in my mind, though all do not

share this opinion, that the number of species now found in the

world which are unable to fly have lost a power that they once had.

Journ. Bombay Nat Hist. Soc.

<

COMPARISON OF FORE-LIMB OF MAN AND BIRD.

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

2§

Their flightlessness is due to degeneracy, through misuse or some

other cause. Their ancestors shared in the common possession.

The Bird, the Mammal and the extinct Reptile all developed

their powers of flight from a common starting point, the

modification of the front pair of limbs into a wing. In other words,

the wing in these three classes is homologous. We will proceed to

examine the differences in a structure by which the three classes

attained a common end. But, before doing so, we must emphasise

the fact that the wing in all insects, using the word insect of course

in its loose popular significance to cover a number of natural orders,

is not homologous with the wing of the other three. It is merely

analogous to their wing : that is to say, it fulfils a similar function.

It gives the power of flight, but it has no connection with the

forelimb of the vertebrates ; it is an entirely different structure, with

an entirely different origin, derived apparently from modifications of

the gills.

There is an obvious difference between the wing of the bat and

the pterodactyle and the wing of the bird. The first two depend

on the original patagium or membrane skin. The latter has

sacrificed the membrane and evolved the far superior feather. All

three wings have evolved from the basis of a forelimb with five

digits. To understand the differences, we must first pay a little

attention to the structure of the forelimb.

The main features of the vertebrate forelimb are well known.

Glancing down at our own, we see first of all the upper arm

terminating in the elbow, then the forearm terminating in the wrist

and finally the hand. The upper arm consists of a single bone

known as the humerus (from which is derived that classical pun

of the ‘funny-bone’). The forearm consists of two bones, the ulna

and the radius, two bones giving all that circular play in our

forearm which is absent from the single bone of the upper arm.

In bird and mammal and reptile these two main divisions of the

arm with their three bones, the humerus, the ulna and the radius,

persist but little altered, easily recognizable at a glance. In the

wrist and hand the differences lie, just as we have already seen,

in examining the origin of birds, there are differences in the

corresponding parts of the hind-limbs. (See Plate A.)

The wrist and hand contain three distinct series of bones, first

the carpals or wrist proper (next to the ulna and radius), then the

metacarpals which form the palm and finally the phalanges which

form the digits. In man the number of carpal bones is eight. I do

not propose to give full details of the bones of the wrist and hand

in the pterodactyle and the bat, as we are not primarily interested

in them. The description of the bones of the bird’s wrist and hand

will follow later.

Now the pterodactyle and the bat have both retained their five

digits. There is, certainly, some doubt about the first digit of the

pterodactyle which is at best rudimentary, but Nos. 2, 3 and 4 are

perfectly distinct and free, terminating in small curved claws.

These were probably used for climbing about rocks or trees or for

suspending the reptile at rest, just in the way that a bat hangs

itself up to rest with the tiny claws of its feet. The fifth digit,

30 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

however, was enormously enlarged and served as the support for

the membranes of the wings. Extending its arms and its little

fingers, the pterodactyle held its membranes in position for flight,

but we may well believe that it was capable of little beyond a clumsy

flapping, a great advance indeed on the principle of the parachute

but still far behind the perfect flight of a bird. Climbing about its

movements must have been clumsy and slow, hampered by the

weight and unwieldiness of the membranes.

The bat attained a superior mobility by a better dispersal of the

supports of its wing. In the bat all five digits are definitely retained.

The first indeed is often small, but in some species it is fairly long

and armed with a powerful claw. The other four are lengthened

after the fashion of the fifth digit of the pterodactyle and like it

support the membrane, recalling the ribs of an umbrella. The

result is, however, to make the flying surface more rigid and at the

same time more capable of modification to suit currents of air, and

some of the bats are most accomplished fliers. But, though the

bats have thus solved the problem of efficient flight, they still lie

under the same disability as the pterodactyle. The membrane is

heavy and clumsy and the forelimbs are so long in proportion to

the rest of the structure that the animal loses all other mobility. A

bat on the ground is virtually an animal disabled. A bat hanging in

a crevice or from a bough is much the same. One has only to

watch a colony of Flying-foxes hanging uneasily at rest in the

sunshine on a tree, or squabbling over the fruits of a tree by night

to decide that they have paid too heavily for the gift of flight. They

can fly, but they have lost most other attributes and they are

practically defenceless against all enemies. The other mammals

have been wise to renounce the gift of flight on these terms.

In the bird’s wing we meet an entirely new principle. The

membranes are reduced to an almost irreducible minimum ; the

limb is stiffened and flattened and shortened ; while the flying

surface is provided by a new substance, that of feathers. The new

arrangement has innumerable advantages over the old and we

must examine it in detail.

As we have seen, the flying membrane of the pterodactyle and

the mammal is very cumbersome because of its attachment to all

the limbs ; it requires to be attached to the limbs in order that it

may be kept taut in flight by the extension of the limbs ; in itself

it is no more capable of movement than a piece of elastic is capable

of independent movement. Attached to the limbs, it impedes all

other movements except that of flight. Unattached to them, it would

flap loose and offer no support in the air, at the mercy of every

varying current.

The first requisite of any new departure in the form of the

forelimb as an instrument of flight must be firmness. If the new

flying surface is not to be kept taut by stays from the hind limb, as

was the old, it must itself be sufficiently strong to withstand the

enormous pressure from the air. The largest possible sail area

on a ship would be valueless if it were allowed to flap loosely in the

wind, and the sail of a ship is only required to move that ship along

a horizontal plane ; it has not the further function of supporting

Journ Bombay Nat Hist Soc.

Plate B.

COMPARISON OF THE WINGS OF PTERODACTYLE, BAT AND BIRD

(after Pyecraft).

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

31

it in the vertical plane. T01 put the problem into terms of the sail —

the flying membrane of the bat is like the sail held taut between two

yards and the mast. If it were required to provide a sail area

without these three supports to keep it taut, the material of the sail

must change to a firmer one and the single support chosen must be

greatly strengthened and modified for firmness.

This is what has happened in the bird. The forelimb has been

modified both for strength and for rigidity. The membrane has

given place to a new material infinitely superior in strength, in

lightness and in adaptability to the most varied strains; and the

new modifications have at the same time proved infinitely more

convenient. They do not affect mobility other than by flight. But

by the inexorable laws of the universe these great advantages have

had their price. The forelimb has become a marvellous wing, but

it has lost its use for other purposes. The changes must be described

in some detail.

First, to deal with the actual modifications of the limb. Glancing

again at one’s own arm and comparing it with that of the ordinary

mammal, one realizes that the human forelimb has been modified

in the direction of suppleness and mobility. Taking my hand

from the paper, I notice I can move it about in every plane with an

infinite variety of contortion and ease. I cannot fly ; but, on the

other hand, I am capable of a thousand actions denied to the

forelimb of the bird or the mammal : The bird’s wing, on the other

hand, can move in all planes with relation to its body, but in itself

it is capable of movement only in one plane. The upper arm, the

forearm and the hand move only in one plane with each other, as

the blade of a pocket knife in relation to the sheath, to use Professor

Thompson’s illustration. In that one plane it is capable of a

variety of positions, running the whole gamut between the closed

wing tucked in under the shelter of the scapulars and the wing at

its widest expanse. There is one interesting point : the bones

cannot be quite completely extended when the wing is open. For,

in the remains of the patagium running along the front of the

wing from the upper arm to the lower arm, there is an elastic band

( tensor patagii longus by name) which prevents their complete

extension. The reason for this would seem to be that, if in flight

the wing were completely extended with the greatest pressure of

the air along this fore-edge, there would be danger of the wing

cockling up, being ‘blown inside-out’ like an umbrella.

This immobility of the wing except on one plane of course

greatly increases its strength in movement. No effort has to be

wasted in flight on keeping the wing' itself firm as a basis for the

feathers. Imagine a man rowing in a boat : if his feet are braced

against a solid bar of wood, his strength is all exerted towards the

movement of the boat. If he has nothing to brace his feet against

or only a yielding substance like a net or rope, much of his muscular

effort is expended in other directions than the movement of the boat.

The value of this firmness in the bird’s wing is emphasized by the

changes which have taken place in the hand and wrist. These

support the primary feathers, the longest and most important

feathers of flight. And firmness and lack of subsidiary movement

32 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

are so important here that the mobile wrist and hand have become

fused into a solid unmoving- block. This is how it has come about.

We saw above that the typical wrist and hand contain three

distinct series of bones, first the carpals or wrist proper, the

metacarpals or palm, and finally the phalanges or digits. The

mobility of the human wrist is attained by the presence of eight

separate carpal bones with the varied play that they give. As

play is not required in the bird’s wrist, these bones have gradually

disappeared. If the wing of an adult fowl is dissected, only two

carpal bones will be found, known respectively as the rcidiale and

the idnare from their position with regard to the radius and the

ulna bones. But in the embryo fowl there are still in addition three

other carpal bones between the radiale and the ulnare and the

metacarpals. These disappear by fusion with the ends of the first

three metacarpals and with them vanish part of the mobility of the

wrist. This, however, is not enough. The hand itself must become

a solid shaft, and this is attained by the fusion of the metacarpals

or palm and the disappearance of some of the digits. It is as if the

hand withered and shrank and grew solid, needed not as a hand

but as a firm support.

Hand and wrist of Domestic Fowl, to show the origin of the carpo-

metacarpal bone.

Figures in circles show the metacarpals. Black areas show the separate

bones and their point of fusion.

The result is the carpo-metacarpal bone, which is peculiar to’ birds.

This is best understood by reference to the figures above. Its base is

composed of the three lost carpal bones and a vestige of the third

metacarpal ; its main shaft is the second metacarpal swollen and

flattened, while the arch of bone that springs from it to support the

primaries is the third metacarpal. To the base of the last is fused

the final vestige of the fourth metacarpal. The fifth has irre-

trievably vanished. The scanty remains of the digits will be seen

in the figure. They have already been referred to in the first article

of this series (Vol. XXXIII, 173).

This firmly built wing must have evolved gradually at the same

time as the feathers, without which it would have been useless for

flight. We have already seen (Vol. XXXIII, 170) how the feather

THE STUDY Ob' INDIAN BIRDS

33

is believed to be a legacy from the reptilian scale. Its structure

was described on p. 313. No better instrument for its purpose

could be imagined.

We saw that the structure of a feather combined the three

attributes of strength, of elasticity and of lightness, all so important

for its purpose. Considering the flight feathers alone, the primaries

and secondaries and the feathers of the tail, we find that the shaft

is a strong quadrilateral tube packed with a fine pith serving as a

strut to support a given portion of the sail area, that is the web

with the toughness and the play of its innumerable barbs, barbules

and barbicels. At rest, when the wing is folded, each feather fits

away beneath the next like the blades of a fan, occupying the

minimum of space and in no way hindering the other movements of

the. bird. Extended in flight, the feathers all overlap in just the

right proportions, with one narrow and one broad vane, to attain

the maximum effect with a minimum expenditure. On the down

stroke each feather is held firm by the overlap of the feather behind

it ; on the up stroke the vane gives and allows the air to pass

through, minimising a resistance which would otherwise force the

bird down and lose the value of the previous down stroke. Each

feather is a separate entity and is easily replaced in case of damag'e

without affecting the power of flight ; while moulted one by one

on each wing in pairs, the whole are capable of renewal when wear

has impaired their usefulness without the bird being deprived for a

moment of the most essential attribute of its life. The space

between the base of the larger feathers is carefully packed by the

series of coverts, above and below, each functioning according to

the direction of the stroke.

Apart from the subtle play of the individual feathers, the bird’s

flight also gains from the curvatures of the wing itself. The

rounded curves vary considerably in different species of birds and

in different areas of any particular wing. The convex upper surface

allows the air to glide off easily during the up stroke, acting with

the individual arrangement of the feathers to minimise resistance.

The concave lower surface increases the sustaining power of the

wing, whilst the firmness of the forelimb itself in front, compared

with the resilience of the feather tips behind, forces the pressure

of air out backwards and so drives the bird forward with each

stroke.

There are three small points of great interest which may well

be cited as examples of the perfection of the adaptation of every

part of the wing to its work. In systematic books under the

descriptions of birds and especially under the keys to their

identification, we often find it stated that the primaries are notched

or emarginated, with often differences in these respects between

closely allied species. A glance at the key to the Harriers ( Circus )

will at once supply an example. There is no doubt that these

variations in the edges of these important feathers have two

purposes. They serve to lock the primaries together in flight,

strengthening the bases and where necessary allowing the ends of

the primaries to splay out in flight like the fingers of a hand.

In vultures and eagles, for instance, the widely spread feathers

5

34 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

at the end of the wing curved upwards by the pressure of the air

are a most characteristic feature of the silhouette in flight. It is

believed that this device allows the air waves caused by the down

stroke to pass gradually outwards without producing a dis-

advantageous vortex.

The third point is the presence in some species of a very mobile

bastard-wing, as the feathers on the first digit are often called.

This appears to have some braking or balancing quantities useful

at the moment when the flying bird alights.

The infinite variations of which the structure of the bones of the

wing and of the various feathers are capable would themselves

alone contain material for a book. The developments correspond

of course with the powers of flight of the individual species.

As a general rule, it may be stated that birds of weak flight have

a short, rounded wing, whilst a long, pointed wing is the mark of a

fast or skilful flier. The familiar Jungle Babbler ( Turdoides

terricolov ) at once occurs to one as an example of the former, whilst

the common Indian Swift (. Micropus affinis) supplies a type of the

latter. The reason for this is apparently that the secondary and

primary feathers have each a different function to perform. The

secondaries are of major importance in the stroke ; they actually

grip the air and support the bird. But all finesse of speed and

steering is imparted by the primaries. In the short, rounded wing

the primaries serve as little but an extension of the secondaries.

The babbler therefore can fly efficiently as far as his needs and his

strength allow, but he is quite incapable of speed above the average

or of sudden turns aiid movements in every plane. Other factors

of course enter into the character of flight. The ratio of the wing

area to the total weight of the bird, the ratio of the length to the

breadth of the wing, the strength of the pectoral muscles and the

pace at which they are capable of moving the wings are ail of

primary importance, whilst in highly specialized fliers the whole

body may be altered to reduce the resistance of air-pressure.

The big swifts of the genera Micropus and Hirundinapus are

commonly accepted as the most highly specialised for flight of all

birds. Their pace in the air easily exceeds that of all other birds,

whilst their flying hours practically coincide with the hours of

daylight. A superficial examination of their characteristics will give

us some idea of what is required by a bird for perfection in flight,

perfection for the moment being regarded solely in terms of speed

and ease of steering-.

Compared with the weight, the sail area in the Swift is reduced

to a minimum ; the wings are long, thin and extremely pointed ;

their line is that of a backward curve. The firmness of the forelimb

is such that it is almost rigid, and this attribute is increased by the

shortness of the humerus so that the Swift’s forelimb is almost

as exaggerated and specialised a limb in its own way as that of the

Mole. The secondaries and inner primaries are very short, the

outer primaries are very long and both series are composed of hard

narrow feathers which exaggerate the salient features of the wing.

The wings themselves are thus perfect for speed and steering.

Their effect is heightened by the attributes of the bird itself. The

The study of ihd/aJv birds 35

head and body combine the characteristics of a ‘ torpedo-body ’ as

the designer of a fast motor-craft would designate it. The head is

set close into the body with a short stiff neck and the hard short

feathers with their oily polish complete the stream-line. The wings

are set forward and high on this torpedo-body, so that the centre

of gravity is far below the centre of suspension. This is emphasised

by the manner in which the body is ballasted. The lungs and air-

sacs are in the upper part of the thorax, the pectoral muscles and

the heavy vessels of the abdominal cavity with the heart and liver

below. The tail is short and stiff, setting off the lines of the body

and it is forked, that is, the unnecessary centre is cut away, leaving

the sides for their work of adjustment of balance. The legs are

tiny, partly because they are suffering from atrophy, nature’s

penalty for disuse in a bird that lives on the wing, and partly that

they may be tucked neatly away in the line of the feathers and

afford no resistance to the air.

Finally, that acute observer, Mr. B. B. Osmaston, has pointed

out that the Swifts have apparently attained to the power of

alternate strokes with the wings. In ordinary flight all birds flap

their wings in unison, up stroke and down stroke in concert, like

a man swimming with the breast stroke. But sometimes, at any

rate, the Swift strikes the air with alternate wings ; it is the rotary

engine with no loss of time or power between the strokes.

Specialisation for flight can hardly go any further than in the Swift,

but it has been gained by a loss of all the amenities and pleasures

that we see in other birds’ lives. Off the wing the Swift can do

nothing at all except brood its eggs or nest in a crevice.

A great deal has been studied and written about the attributes

and the mechanics of birds’ flight. But I do not propose to

summarize the conclusions that have been arrived at as it is obvious

that the subject requires treatment anew by someone who is both

an airman and an ornithologist. The immense practical knowledge

obtained from the designing and flying of air-craft in the last

twenty years must necessarily revolutionise the theories advanced

by the students of birds’ flight. It will suffice to say here that the

flight of birds falls naturally into three main types.

The first is that of ordinary flight, very variable as may be its

forms. This combines the principle of the parachute and the oar.

If the bird starts from an elevated perch, it leaps off headlong

trusting to the wings as parachutes, like the primeval membrane,

it starts as it would from the ground by raising the wing's vertically

above the back. The speed and completeness of this movement is

readily understood from a pigeon whose wings strike together

above the back with a loud clap when the bird is suddenly startled.

Then the wings move forward and downwards, backwards under

the plane of the body and then upwards again. The upward stroke

is very fast and thanks to the curves of the wing’s surface and the

set of its feather it meets with far less air-resistance and so does not

cause the bird to lose much way. The complete movement of the

wing in ordinary flight is complex ; the line described by the tip

of the wing for each stroke forms a sort of figure-of-eight, the lower

loop of the eight being much smaller than the upper.

36 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vot. XXXI V

The simplest form of this flight may be seen any day amongst

the various babblers. They flap their wings with these figure of

eight strokes several times and then glide along, wings held

rigidly outstretched, with the resulting momentum, until its finish

compels them to work the wings again. Soaring and hovering are

the other two types of flight and they are not so easily understood.

The first may be seen any day in India. It is particularly

characteristic of the vultures and storks which may be seen circling

high in the sky, often at such a distance from the ground that the

birds appear as faint specks.

It is giddy work watching the vultures soaring. One stares up

into the bright unending dome of the Indian sky across which

several vultures are wheeling in huge unending circles ; the eye

grows familiar with the light and distance, and then other vultures

strike the consciousness, wheeling their unceasing patrol, minuter

specks still higher in the dome until they melt out of sight. Round

and round wind the circles, untiring, endless, to all seeming

purposeless, though, as we know, the birds are watching for their

food. There are no visible strokes of the wings. The huge birds

simply float round without apparent volition, slightly banking as

they turn. Now and again one changes its course and proceeds

in the opposite direction. Occasionally the wings flap and the bird

travels a short distance as if tired of its soaring- ; but speaking

loosely, the birds can soar for an hour and more at a time without

a stroke of the wings and with no apparent loss of speed or altitude.

Many and conflicting theories have been advanced as to how the

birds maintain their speed and altitude in this manner, but the

air-men must study it all afresh.

Hovering is the reverse of soaring ; the bird expends a maximum

of effort to retain a stationary position in the air. Two very familiar

examples will at once occur to the Indian ornithologist — the Kestrel

( Cerchneis tinnunculus) hovering high over the land, and the Pied

Kingfisher ( Ceryle rudis) hovering over the water. In both cases

the birds have the power of hanging absolutely stationary in the

air to watch for their prey beneath. The effort involved must be

very great, the wings beating at high pressure. The Humming

Birds of America are the greatest exponents of this type of flying.

They hang suspended before a flower while they probe it for food

and their wings beat at such high speed that they are almost

invisible. Many birds can hover just for a moment for a particular

purpose. For instance, one sees many of the little warblers of

the genus Phylloscopus dart up to capture an insect from the

underside of a leaf, hovering just for a moment whilst they pick it

off; and in this group the delicate little Pallas’s Willow-Warbler

(. Phylloscopus proregulus) feeds so regularly in this way that one

can identify it in the Himalayas by the habit which reveals its

canary yellow rump to perfection. But very few species can hover

thus for any length of time. Besides the Kestrel and the Kingfisher,

only the Short-toed Eagle ( Circaetus gallicus) and the Black-winged

Kite ( Elanus cceruleus) occur to me in India as equal exponents of

the art.

A point which always excites great interest is the speed at which

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS 3/

various species of birds can .fly. Very little attention appears to

have been paid to this subject in India, but various authors have

studied it in other countries. The natural tendency is probably

always to over-estimate the speed of birds. Gatke the veteran

ornithologist of Heligoland, for instance, as a result of his studies

of migration, estimated that Hooded Crows fly at 108 miles per hour

and Bluethroats at 180 miles per hour while on passage. Some of

the waders he was prepared to credit with a pace of 4 miles a

minute ! There is also an oft-quoted case of a Swallow sent from

Roubaix to Paris — 160 miles — which covered the distance at a speed

of over 100 miles an hour. Gatke’s estimates were certainly wrong.

In the Ibis for 1921, Colonel Meinertzhagen has given the result

of a careful collection of available trustworthy records, original and

otherwise. He arrived at the result that birds have two speeds —

a normal rate which is used for everyday purposes and also

migration, and an accelerated speed which is used for protection or

pursuit or courtship and which in some cases nearly doubles the

rate of their normal speed. He finally lays down a table of normal

average speeds as follows in miles per hour : —

Corvidae 31-45 Starlings 38-49 Sandgrouse 43-47

Smaller Passeres 20-37 Falcons 40-48 Waders 40-51

Geese 42-45 Ducks 44-59

He considers also that the normal speed of a Carrier-Pigeon is

from 30-36 miles per hour, but that, when ‘homing’, they can attain

a speed of 60 miles per hour and over.

To this gift of speed and the gradually developed ability to

maintain it for long distances is due the fact that birds are able to

migrate. The possibility of migration with the consequence that

they can vary their residence in accordance with the food supply has

led to the wide dispersal of species, the multiplication of forms and

the abundance of individuals. It is comparable to the sudden

revolution in the habits of man which has come in the course of

twenty years through the invention of the internal combustion

engine, which has annihilated time and space.

Before leaving the subject of the wing, it is necessary to touch

on two other aspects of it, though they are not of equal importance.

The first is the use of the wing as a paddle in water. The second

is its use as an organ of offence.

There are of course many birds which fly and are equally at

home in the water, with or without special adaptations to it. The

very simplest case is probably that of the Dipper ( Cinclus ) of which

several forms are common along the Himalayas. To look at, the

Dipper is a perfectly ordinary Passerine bird, rather stout and

stumpy in appearance. Its only noticeable features are its

very dense plumage and its feathered eyelids. Without previous

acquaintance with the fact, I doubt whether one would guess that

the Dipper was an aquatic bird on first handling a specimen. Yet

the Dipper is equally at home on the wing, on the banks and stones

of a mountain stream, swimming on the water, or feeding beneath

its surface. The Dipper walks about on the bed of the stream as if

3s Journal, bomb ay natural hist, society , voi. xxxiV

cn dry land. It can swim and dive using- its perfectly normal wings

as paddles, wings which support it as easily in the air. The wings

are short and rounded but no more so1 than those of innumerable

other species of Passerine birds.

Now the use of the wing as a paddle is not essential to a bird

for swimming and diving under water. The Grebe and the

Cormorant and the Darter, for instance, are all birds of strong flight

which are at the same time absolutely at home under water but owe

their powers under water simply to the use of their feet for pro-

pulsion. The Little Auk and the Puffin use both their wings and

legs under water, without in the case of the latter having in any

way lost the power of flight, though the former is not very strong

on the wing. Its extinct relative, the famous Great Auk, whose

eggs fetch such great prices in the auction-room, swam with its legs

and used its wings under water for diving. The great Auk had so

neglected the proper use of its wings that it had become flightless

and the wings were relatively small by atrophy, though they still

retained the normal aspect of wings.

In the Penguins (S phene scidce) the wing has, however, become a

definite paddle resembling the flippers of a cetacean or turtle and

scarcely recalling a wing at all. They' are clothed with feathers

that in appearance have almost become scales again and which at

the moult flake off in patches. There are no flight quills and the

whole limb is incapable of flexure except at the shoulder joint.

They cannot be folded up or held except in the stiff flipper-like

manner to which we are all accustomed from pictures. No pollex

or first digit is present. Yet a slight examination shows that this

specialised paddle is merely a modified wing (Plate C). Its skeleton

reveals all the essential features of a wing, albeit it is with a great

flattening and broadening of the bones and an enlargement of the

carpals ; and Pycraft has shown that in the embryo the bones agree

still more closely with those of a normal wing, including the

presence still of the first digit. In accordance with this great

transformation, the Penguin differs from all other birds in its mode

of swimming and diving. The paddles work with a rotary motion

after the manner of the wing in flight, and the feet, instead of

contributing to the progress, are stretched out stiffly backwards as

in a flying bird. Yet from the bones of the pelvic girdle and the

webbing of the feet Pycraft deduces that the Penguin originally

swam with its feet and used its wings merely to help its progress,

after the manner of the Auks.

The use of the wing as a weapon of offence is far less important.

Its use thus is probably best known amongst the Pigeons and

Doves which strike at each other with their wings when fighting in

a desultory and ineffective way. Some birds like the Jacanas

(. Parridce ), the Spur-winged Plovers ( Hoplopterus ) and the Red-

wattled Lapwing ( Lobivanellus indicus) possess a horny spur on

the carpal joint, and it is commonly stated that they use the spur as

an offensive weapon, though I have never seen any proof of the fact.

Any discussion of wings and flight seems incomplete without

some mention of the tail, though I cannot help feeling that the tail

is not so completely an appanage of flight as we are accustomed

Journ. Bombay Nat HisT. Soc. Plate

u

12

a

THE PADDLE OF A PENGUIN

to show the bones of the hand and wrist

(after Pyecraft).

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

39

to think it. We have got to remember its origin. We have already

seen (Vol. XXXIII, p. 172) that in Archceopteryx the tail was

quite distinct in appearance from that of the modern bird. It was

a long tapering organ of about twenty-one vertebrae and from

each of the last 13 or 16 vertebrae sprang a pair of well developed

feathers, one on each side of the bone. This tail at once suggests

to us the tail of a reptile with the addition of feathers, which of

course it is. It also explains the construction of a modern bird’s

tail. This consists of five to eight free vertebrae, followed by the

fusion of six to ten others into a bony plate known as the Py gostyle ,

which supports the fan of tail feathers. To put it briefly, some of

the vertebrae have been lost and the others have telescoped

together, the opposing pairs of feathers being thereby drawn into

a fan.

The reason for the change seems obvious. To a reptile a long

heavy tail must be a valuable fulcrum inducing to quickness of

movement. To a reptile inclining to an upright position and to

the arboreal life with tendencies to a parachuting flight, a long

heavy tail must still be of value both as a fulcrum and as an aid

to balance. But to the bird of perfect flight, gained by the adjusting

of balance and gravity to the use of light feather wings a long

vertebral tail could only be a hindrance ; muscular power and energy

would be expended in keeping it horizontal in flight ; its weight so

far behind would upset the other needs of gravity and flight. And

if its feathers could take its place they would serve just as well for

all the purposes of balance and steering. And this is what has

happened.

The feather tail of a bird is an extremely variable and mobile

oigan; we find it in all sorts of shapes and sizes, long and short,

broad and narrow, heavy and light. The feathers are modified for

special uses as in the woodpeckers and tree-creepers where it sup-

ports the birds against the tree trunks they climb ; they are adorned

and modified for sexual displays both by colour and form ; where they

are not required as in the Grebe and the Bustard-Quail, they are cut

down to an absolute minimum. But in all guises and forms the

tail remains not an instrument of flight, for it is just as important

to the walking or perching bird, but an instrument of balance. The

tail is used in flight of course — one has only to watch the Pariah

Kite (M. m. govinda ) soaring above the bazaar to see that the

feathers are in a constant state of movement. ' But it is not a

necessary concomitant of flight. Pull out the tail feathers and the

bird will not be disabled from flight. It is the balancing pole

serving to emphasize the steering done by the primaries and head.

With the tail the bird can perform its aerial evolutions more cleanly ;

without the tail it can still perform them.

( To be continued )

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

BY

M. Robinson, b.a. (t.c.d.), nat. sci. trip. cam.

Part III

The Lichens

( With one coloured and two black and white plates)

( Continued from page 799 of Vol. XXXIII )

The Lichens form the third group, a large and well defined one,

of the Cryptogams. They are plants of lowly organization, having

affinities with both the algae and the fungi, and their structure is

peculiar and unlike anything else in the plant-world. On this

account, and from the fact that they have a world wide distribution

and will grow on anything, they are a very interesting group to

study.

The collector may look anywhere and everywhere for lichens,

and will seldom be disappointed. Trees, rocks, old walls and

palings, dry banks of earth and wet mosses, all offer a habitat to

these cosmopolitan little plants. No place seems too hot or dry, no

place too cold or .wet for them. On the bare stems of the palmyra

palm in the plains ; on bare rocks exposed all day to the burning

heat of the sun, or to the spray of the waves that beat ceaselessly

upon the sea-shore; on the damp tree trunks, and among the mosses

of tropical forests ; and even in the icy desolation of the arctic regions

where no other plants can live, lichens will be found. They are the

pioneers of vegetation, and appear first among plants to clothe a

bare hillside or rock face with their white or grey or orange

incrustations, and their little fairy-like bushes of creamy white or

gr°ld-

The vegetative body or thallus of a lichen shows much variation

in form and texture, and all lichens are very much affected by the

presence or absence of water. When moist, some are gelatinous,

others merely soft in texture, all becoming dry, and hard or leathery,

when the atmosphere or substratum contains little moisture. The)7

do not die, but seem to be in a state of rest, and rapidly absorb

moisture, and resume their active growth, when water is available.

They can thus stand a long period of drought without perishing.

The colour is also affected, as when dry most lichens are white or

grey or brownish, becoming green, or grey-green or a dark olive

green when wet. The orange coloured lichens do not show this

change of colour to the same degree.

The form of the thallus may be one of three main types. The

Crustaceous , the Foliose or leafy, and the Fruticose or shrubby type

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE I.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS. LICHENS.

Fig. 1. A twig bearing four typical fruticose lichens.

(a) Teloschistes flavicans. (c) Usnea articulata.

(b) Anaptychia sp. (d) Bamalina sp.

Fig. 2. A twig bearing three typical foliose lichens.

(a) Pannaria pezizoides. (b) Parmelia sp. (c) Parmelia sp.

Fig. 3. Cladonia bacillaris.

Fig. 4. A crustaceous lichen on bark, one of the order Graphidinece with linear

fructifications.

Fig. 5. A crustaceous saxicolous lichen with orange thallus.

Fig. 6. A crustaceous saxicolous lichen with thallus divided into more or less

regular segments.

(All figures natural size.)

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

4i

and it is usual to distinguish three groups of lichens according to

the form of their thallus.

1. Crustaceous Lichens (PL I, Nos. 4, 5, 6; PL II, Nos. 4 — 9).

These, as the name denotes, spread over the . surface of the

substratum like a thin dry crust, smooth and shining, or rough and

v/arty. They are found on bare hard rocks, or the bark of trees,

and on old palings and walls, and individual plants form more or

less circular patches of varying size, though a number may meet

and form large irregular patches with no differentiating lines. The

thallus is. dorsiventral, that is, it has an upper and a lower surface,

the upper surface being usually white or grey, becoming greenish

when wet, or bright orange yellow. The under surface is very dark

brown or black, and is generally firmly embedded in the substratum,

so that it is extremely difficult to remove such lichens, and it is

usually necessary to chip off a piece of the rock or tree, to add

it to one’s collection. On the upper surface of the lichen are seen

little round discs or nodules, scarlet or black, grey or yellow, which

are the fructifications of the lichen. In some species they are long

and narrow, like little black or grey streaks, and are then known

as lirellae.

2. Foliose Lichens (PL I, No. 2; PL II, Nos. 1, 2, 3). These are

also dorsiventral in structure, but of a more spreading and leafy

nature, and while adhering more or less firmly to the substratum,

curl and twist away from it at their edges, and are much more

easily detached. The thallus is lobed and branches dichotomously

resembling the red and brown algae in this characteristic. The

lobes may be large or very small, broad and rounded as in PL II,

fig. 1, or narrow giving a strap-shaped thallus as in fig. 2; the

thallus may be flat with the lobes overlapping, or may curl and

twist fantastically, showing in fact a wide variety of form. In some

the lobes are so small that the thallus at first sight seems to be

crustaceous, the lobes only being visible with a lens. They are then

known as squamules and the thallus is said to be squamulose.

The under side is always dark brown or black, and often bears

long or short black hairs, which clothe the edge with a fringe, and

act as organs of attachment ; they are also thought to absorb

moisture from the air. The upper surface is white, yellowish grey

or bluish grey, dark brown or black, always becoming more greenish

when moist and is generally smooth and sometimes rather powdery.

A few genera have the upper surface marked with regularly arranged

criss-cross ridging, so that it rather resembles the skin of a snake

or lizard. The fruits are generally open cup shaped structures of

fairly large size, and are scattered over the upper surface, or on the

edges of the thallus.

3. Fruticose Lichens (PL I, fig. 1 a, b, c, d). These have an

upright or trailing, branched, thallus which is only attached to the

substratum by one point or root. The branching is in the main

dichotomous, though little side branches are often given off from the

main stems. The thallus is radial in structure and is either

cylindrical as in U snea and Thelochistes, or strap-shaped as in

Ramalina and Anaptychia. Ramalina and U snea resemble dainty

little bushes of creamy white, Anaptychia is bluish grey; the bright

6

42 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY \ Vol . XXXI V

orange tufts of Thelockistes are common on the bare twigs of

Rhododendrons and many other jungle trees. Bunches of Usnea

articulata hang from branches of trees, and trail down the face of a

rock, reminding one of long-straggling beards of matted, tow-

coloured hair, and are aptly described by their name of ‘old man’s

beard’. The fruits are rather fleshy nodules, growing at the edge

of the thallus as in Ramalina or at the fork of the thallus as in

Thelockistes , or they are flattened leathery discs, generally fringed

with hairs or star points as in Usnea and Anaptychia and other

genera.

A fourth type of thallus which is usually known as the Cladonia

type, from the fact that it occurs in the genus Cladonia, has some

of the characteristics of both the last two types. Here the primary

thallus is minutely foliose or squamulose and often buried in the

substratum, though in several genera the small leafy segments are

visible above the ground. On this thallus arise long-stalked

structures known as podetia which bear the fructifications at the

top. They are sometimes considered a stalked fructification on a

foliose thallus, or more usually now, are regarded as a secondary

thallus of the radial fruticose type which bears the fructifications.

The podetia are sometimes simple unbranched stalks tapering

to a point, sometimes they are branched, the tips become enlarged

and coloured fructifications, scarlet, brown or black appear (PI. I,

fig. 3), while in a third species the podetia spread out upwards and

become trumpet-shaped, the edges being often fringed. These little

podetia are often about an inch high, and covered with a delicate

grey-green powdery bloom. A group of little ‘trumpets’, or pointed

‘candles’, or of bright scarlet-headed stalks, looks like some

veritable little fairy-plant, standing up stiffly among the dark green

mosses, on the old decaying tree trunks which are their favourite

habitats.

The internal structure of a lichen

It was stated above that the lichen plant had a peculiar and

unique structure. This cannot be seen without a microscope, but

it a part of the thallus of a lichen is examined under a fairly high-

power lens, the astonishing fact is revealed that the thallus is made

up of two1 entirely different and distinct plants, one an alga and

cne a fungus, living together in perfect harmony and interdepend-

ence, and producing by their association, a plant which is entirely

different from either of them. If the two are separated, the alga

can continue a separate existence as an alga, the fungus as a

fungus ; brought together again the fungus threads surround the

algal cells, and a lichen thallus is formed. Neither partner is

parasitic on the other in the ordinary sense of the word ; on the

contrary, each derives benefit from its association with the other,

and each carries on its own special functions to their mutual benefit.

The alga which contains chlorophyll, supplies to the fungus, and

the lichen, the products of the processes of assimilations and photo-

synthesis which take place within its cells. These processes which

were described in the first paper of this series result in the formation

of carbon compounds from the free carbon-dioxide of the air and

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE II.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS. LICHENS.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

A species of Parmelia with broad lobed thallus, large stalked cup fructifi-

cations and soredia on the margins.

Another species of Parmelia with narrow ribbon-like thallus with black hairs

on under side, medium-sized fructifications.

A third species of Parmelia with thallus almost like a crustaceous lichen.

A crustaceous lichen on bark, white thallus with bright scarlet centres

to cups.

The same magnified 10 times.

A portion of the thallus of the orange lichen shown in Plate I, Fig. 5,

magnified 10 times.

The thallus of the lichen shown in Plate I, Fig. 4, magnified 10 times.

Another species of the Graphidinece, magnified 10 times, showing somewhat,

different linear fructifications.

A saxicolous lichen, natural size.

A portion of the thallus of the same magnified 10 times.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

43

take place under the influence of bright sunlight, and in the presence

of chlorophyll. The fungus which contains no chlorophyll thus

receives these products which it would otherwise have to obtain

elsewhere, and in return attracts and holds moisture and dissolved

salts, and passes them on to the alga, held and protected by its

encircling hyphae. Such an alliance of two partners with mutual

benefit to both is known as symbiosis which means literally ‘a living

together ’ and the lichen plant affords a perfect and unique example.

A section through part of the thallus of the lichen Collema

which is a foliose lichen, and gelatinous when wet, will show as

in PI. Ill, fig. 1, the little chains of cells of the alga Nostoc, one of

the blue green algae, scattered about everywhere among the fungal

hyphae. In fig. 3, the section is taken from a Parmelia and shows

that here the alga, which is one of the bright green algae, is confined

to a definite layer just below the surface, and not scattered indiscri-

minately throughout the thallus. This arrangement is found in most

of the more highly developed lichens of the foliose and fruticose

type. In addition to their vegetative functions, such as assimilation

and absorption of water, each partner carries on its own methods

of reproduction. The alga divides up into spores, producing what

are called gonidia so that the algal layer in the lichen is sometimes

called the gonidial layer. The gonidia can only be seen under a

high power of the microscope.

The fungus constituent almost always belongs to the group

Ascomycetes. The few exceptions are found in rare tropical lichens

and belong to the Basidiomycetes , both Hynienomyceies and

Gasteromycetes being represented. It is not always possible to trace

the fungus back to any particular species or genus, certain modifica-

tions having been produced as a result of its symbiotic life in the

lichen thallus. The main characteristics, however, are those of the

Ascomycetes or the Basidiomycetes and the spores of the fungus

are produced in one case in an ascus, in the other on a basidium.

These are borne in the usual way, grouped with paraphyses, in a

special fructification which is disc-like or cup-shaped in the

Ascomycetes or takes some from characteristic of the

Basidiomycetes. These fructifications are large enough to be seen

with the naked eye, and the cups and discs which have already been

noted as the fructifications of the lichen, are indeed those of its

fungus constituent. These fructifications are taken as the basis of

classification of the lichens, and we get, therefore, the two1 main

groups of the Ascolichens and Basidiolichens.

The Ascolichens are divided into two series —

1. The Gymnocarpece where the fruit is an open disc-like

structure or cup known as an Apothecium.

2. The Pyrenocarpece where the fruit is a more or less closed

flask-shaped structure known as a perithecium.

The Gymnocarpece contain the larger number of natural orders,

genera and species and include families in which the apothecium is

disc-like as in Usnea and Anaptychia (PI. I, fig. 1) or cup-shaped as

in Parmelia and Pannaria; (PI. I, fig. 2) and (PI. II, figs. 1, 2 and 4)

or in the form of lirellae the narrow streak-like fructification of the

Graphis (PI. I, No. 4 and PI. II, Nos. 7 and 8). There is also a

44 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

small family including Calicium and Sphcerophorus in which the

apothecium is partially closed and is usually globular on a short

stalk, resembling a small nail or a top, the whole being covered by

a powdery bloom. In the Pyrenocarpece the thallus is almost

always Crustaceous, and often thick and rough and divided into more

or less regular segments with the perithecium appearing in the

centre as a small wart-like protuberance (PI. II, Nos. 6, 9 and 10).

In some cases the thallus is entirely submerged in the substratum,

only the perithecia being seen as little pores on the surface.

The sub-division of these two groups into natural orders, genera

and species, depends upon the characters of the apothecia and

perithecia, the nature of the spores, and also on the genus of the

alga found in the thallus, and on the vegetative character of the

thallus. The fungus spores, liberated from the asci when ripe,

germinate under favourable conditions and send out hyphae in the

usual manner. These hyphae coming in contact with algal spores,

liberated from the gonidia, will rapidly invest them and a new lichen

thallus is started.

Another way in which lichens propagate themselves is a vegetative

method. Here parts of the actual thallus break down into a fine

powdery mass, each grain of the powder containing one or more

algal cells already invested with its fungal hyphae. This fine white

powder is almost always present on a lichen thallus, both of the

foliose and fruticose type and can readily be seen, sometimes

collected in definite regions, such as the edges of the lobes, or in

little ridges or swellings on the thallus, sometimes scattered

indiscriminately over the thallus. These vegetatively formed bodies

are known as soredia and are shown highly magnified in PI. Ill,

fig. 2, starting to develop into a lichen thallus.

The lichen, for its best development, must be exposed to bright

light, as the algal cells are situated well inside the thallus and below

a protecting layer of fungal hyphae. We shall find lichens at their

best then at the edges of woods rather than in the shady depths of

the forest, and on the most exposed rocks and open hillsides. The

climate of most Indian hill stations with abundant rain and plenty

of sunshine is particularly favourable to their development, and they

will be found in great variety in such localities. Different species

usually prefer a different substratum ; certain species that are found

on very hard rock, for instance, and are known as saxicolous

lichens, are not found on wood. On the other hand, many kinds

may choose the same substratum, as fourteen different species,

belonging to almost as many genera, were found on the same branch

of a peach tree, in a garden near Kodaikanal in the Pulni Hills.

These lowly little plants, and more particularly the saxicolous

lichens play an important part in the economy of nature, by carrying

on the first stage in the formation of soil and humus. They settle

upon the hardest and most barren of rocks, that are inhospitable

to all other kinds of plants, and slowly but surely eat their way into

them, as they cover the surface with their spreading crustaceous

thalli. They thus start disintegration, gradually breaking down the

rock to a condition more favourable to the growth of other plants.

From an economic point of view, lichens are not now of very

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE III.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS. LICHENS.

Fig. 1. A section through the thallus of Collema, a gelatinous lichen. The blue

green alga Nostoc, a, is mixed indiscriminately throughout the thallus

with the hyphse of the fungal constituent, f. Magnified about 250 times.

Fig. 2. Stages in the development of a thallus from soredia of a Parmelia.

(a) One algal cell, Protococcus, surrounded by fungal hyphae.

(b) The algal cell has divided into two.

(c) Several algal cells now invested with fungal hyphse.

Magnified about 250 times.

Fig. 3. Section through the thallus of a Parmelia showing the algal cells of Proto-

coccus confined to a definite layer immediately below the surface of the

thallus. Magnified about 150 times.

FLO WERLESS PLANTS

45

much use, though two or three are still used on a commercial scale

for the production of dyes. In olden days, they were very exten-

sively used among- country people, in many parts of Britain,

particularly in Scotland, where a great variety of dye lichens were

known and used. This form of home industry- is now vanishing

rapidly owing to the introduction of chemically produced aniline

dyes, but there are still a few districts in which it lingers. The

famous ‘Harris’ tweed owes its familiar yellow-brown colour and

characteristic smell to the dye with which it is treated. This is

produced from a lichen, which grows in large quantities in Scotland,

and is a species of Parmelia (P. saxatilis ). It is known locally and

commercially as ‘crottle’. As the dye is rather uneven, the fleece is

boiled up with the lichen, a small quantity of an alkali, either

ammonia or potassium carbonate, being added to help the extraction

of the dye. The unevenness of the dye can then be disguised by

mingling the various shades in the processes of carding and combing

which precede spinning. Several other species of Parmelia are also

used to give a brown dye. Other species of lichens which include

Ramalina scopulorum, Lecanora pallescus, and one or two others

are used to give various shades of red, blue and purple dyes, but

these all require a long process of fermentation with water and an

alkali, before the dye can be extracted, and are troublesome to use.

The lichen Lecanora tartar ea known commercially as ‘feorfefr’ is

used to produce ‘cudbear’ a beautiful foxglove purple dye. Another

well-known and useful purple dye commercially produced from a

lichen, is ‘orchil’, or litmus, used so largely in the laboratory, on

account of the property it has of becoming red in the presence of an

acid, and blue with an alkali. It is made from Roccella tinctoria

one of the earliest recorded lichens, which is found in great

abundance along the Mediterranean coasts.

A few lichens such as the Iceland Moss ( Cetraria Islandica ) are

used as food in places of great scarcity, but they are unpleasantly

acid to the taste, and of a tough and leathery consistency. In

northern regions, vast tracts of country are covered by the well-

known ‘Reindeer Moss’, which is also not a moss but a lichen

(Cladonia rangiferina ) and this provides extensive grazing grounds

for the wandering herds of the tundras.

The writer would like to acknowledge here with grateful thanks

the help received from Miss Lorrain Smith, f.l.s., whose Handbook

of the British Lichens should be the vade mecum of all those

interested in lichens; and also help from Mr. R. D. Ansteqd, c.i.e.

in the identification of several species.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS

BY

P. F. Wickham

PART II

( Continued from page 827 of Vol. XXXIII.)

XVIII. —Family Irenid,®

327. The Fairy Blue Bird. Irena paella puella.

An inhabitant of all these hills, but nowhere so common as I found it on the

sea coast of Arakan. I think these birds collect in numbers where food is

available and are not then at all shy.

XIX.— Family Oriolid.®

328. The Indian Blackmiped Oriole. Oriolus chinensis indicus.

329. The Burmese Biack=naped Oriole. Oriolus chinensis tenuirostris.

Both subspecies indicus and tenuirostris , the Indian and Burmese Black-

naped Orioles appear to occur in the Kachin and Shan Hills. The Fauna says

the latter was found ‘ Breeding by Hopwood at Mony wa in Upper Burma

between 3,000 and 4,000 ft.’ Monywa, I may say, is in the plains, it should

probably read Maymyo, but Hopwood recorded it from the North Chin Hills

at 3,000 ft.

330. The Indian BIack=headed Oriole. Oriolus xanthornus xanthornus.

Probably the commonest oriole in these hills. It breeds in May and June,

the nests are difficult to get at as they are slung at the end of thin branches,

but as the parent birds show great anxiety when the nest is approached, they

are not difficult to find. I have generally heard them called by Burinans

‘ Hnet Wa ’ or yellow bird.

33L The Maroon Oriole. Oriolus trailli.

Occurs throughout these hills, a very shy bird.

XX. — Family Eulabetlcu®

332. The Indian Grackle. Eublabes iayana intermedia.

To be found in all our hills, generally in large parties in heavy jungle, I

only took this bird’s nest in the Andamans, a different subspecies. I have

always considered they give the parrot points as ‘ cage bird ’ mimics.

333. Hodgson’s Glossy Stare. Lamprocorax panayensis affinis.

Kachin and Shan Hills. Seems to have been missed by Harington in the

former and I can only say I have seen it in the Shan Hills, but very rarely.

334. The Assam Spotted Stare. Saroglossa spiloptera assamensis.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. I never came across it myself.

XXI. — Family Sturnid.®

335. The Grey Starling. Spodiopsar cineraceus.

Recorded by Harington from the plains of the Kachin Country.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 47

336. The GreyAieaded Myna. Sturnia malabarica, malabsrica.

Chin Hills.

337. The White-winged Myna, Sturnia malabarica nemoricola.

Kachin and Shan Hills, but more an inhabitant of the plains than hills.

338. The Gold=crested Myna. Ampeliceps coronatus.

As this bird is found in Eastern Bengal and Assam, it is probable it occurs

also in these hills although apparently not recorded.

339. The Black-necked Myna. Gracupica nigricollis.

Kachin and Shan Hills. A familiar bird on any lawn. It is very interesting

and amusing to watch the family following father and mother on the grass and

being fed. The nest is the most untidy large collection of material one can

imagine but I daresay a very snug nursery. Breeds in April and May laying

4 or 5 eggs.

340. Jerdon’s Myna. Gracupica burmanica.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills, a provincial bird, and exceedingly common.

It is surely more than one inch shorter than nigricollis .

A typical myna in all its habits.

341. Welis’s Myna. Gracupica leucocephala annamensis.

A Northern Shan States subspecies. Seems rather questionable.

342. The Common Myna. Acridotheres tristis tristis.

Ubiquitous, but is a ‘ House ’ bird.

343. The Indian Jungle Myna. AEthiopsar fuscus fuscus .

Chin Hills.

344. The Assam Jungle Myna. AEthiopsar grandis infuscatus.

Kachin and Shan Hills. Breeds in tree holes, as a rule, about middle of

April, but its nesting in river banks has been recorded.

345. The Collared Myna. AEthiopsar albocinctus.

Commoner in the plains than the hills, according to Harington in writing of

the birds round Bhamo (Kachin Hills) but in the Shan Hills it is quite a com-

mon bird ; the nesting of this bird in river banks has been recorded, but tree

hollows are generally used .

346. The Burmese Pied Myna. Sturnopastor capensis superciliaris.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. Fairly common but commoner in the plains.

XXII. — Family Ploceid^e

347. The Eastern Raya. Ploceus passerinus passerinus.

An inhabitant of the lower valleys in these hills. The naturalist in North

Burma, measuring his specimens very carefully, might find he has acquired

the other subspecies infortunatus. I have often seen its nest attached to the

thatch roof eaves.

348. The Burmese Striated Weaver Bird, Ploceus manyar peguensis.

Distribution as in the case of the Eastern Baya, but the species does not

seem to vary in size. The Burmese subspecies is distinguished by its richer

and darker colouration.

349. The Northern Chestnut-bellied Munia. Mania atracapilla rubronigra.

Fairly common in suitable parts of the Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. I can-

not say I have noticed its partiality to nest in comparatively lofty trees ; my

experience is that the description of the nesting of the subspecies atricapilia>

applies to our bird also and the nearer water the better in their opinion. June,

July and August are the breeding months.

350. Hodgson’s Munia. Uroloncha striata acuticauda.

Is our common * white-backed ’ munia, but in the Eastern Shan Hills the

subspecies squamicollis is found.

48 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , tf?/. XXXI V

351. The Burmese Spotted Munia. Uroloncha punctulata subundulata.

Probably the Chin Hills and Western Kaehin Hills subspecies. I shot a

specimen near Thunggyi and concluded this was the bird of this locality. This

Munia breeds normally much higher up than the Chestnut-bellied Munia and

the Rangoon birds frequently use street lamp-posts and under the eaves of

houses as sites for the conglomeration of grass which serve them as nests. I

think these birds build two nests to house the large family when they get too

big to squeeze into the original nursery as they roost in the nests long after

they are ‘ weaned.’

352. The Chinese Spotted Munia. Uroloncha punctulata topela.

Eastern Kaehin and Shan Hills.

353. The Burmese Red Munia. Amandava flavidiventris.

Fairly common where they occur at all, i.e., in suitable grass plains. For a

munia’s, it is really rather a difficult nest to find and I have seldom seen one

off the ground.

XXIII.— Family Fringillid^e

354 The Spotted=winged Grosbeak. Mycerobas melanoxanthus.

Must be a rare bird in our hills as our elevations are not suitable.

355. Rippon’s Bullfinch. Pyrrhula crythaca altera.

Shan States.

356. The Mount Victoria Bullfinch. Pyrrhula nipalensis victorise.

S. Chin Hills.

357. The Yunnan White-browed Rose-Finch. Propasser ihura femininus.

Shan Hills.

358. Sharpe’s Rose-Finch. Propasser ripponi.

Shan Hills.

359. The Vinaceous Rose-Finch. Propasser vinaceus vinaceus.

Kaehin and Shan Hills.

360. The Common Indian Rose=Fin;h. Carpodacus erythrinus roseatus.

Probably the subspecies that visits us in winter in the eastern hills, Shan

and Kaehin. The birds go about in small flocks in cultivated and open

country. I shot the species at the end of February at Maymyo, Shan Hills, east

of Mandalay. They are not uncommon all over the Southern Shan . States.

Its occurrence is also recorded by Col. Rippon from Bhamo (Kaehin Country).

361. The Yunnan Dark Rosefinch. Procarduelis nipalensis intensicolor.

Shan Hills, evidently rare.

362. The Yunnan Greenfinch, Hypacanthis spinoides ambiguus.

Cook obtained this bird at Kalaw where! also obtained it but have never

seen it anywhere else. Both Cook and Grant also found it nesting. There was

a small party of them which came down to feed on the grass seeds round

residences and when I shot one I thought it was the Himalayan Greenfinch

(Cardnelis caniceps). Although it did not quite tally, it was very pleasing to

hear of its identification later. Our finches are so rare and few that one rejoiced

to see them about the place and it is very curious they do not seem to spread

or increase in numbers.

363. The Yellowdhroated Sparrow. Gymnoris xanfhocollis xanthocollis.

Recorded from the Kalaw, S. Shan States by Sir S. M. Robinson. After the

recording of this bird I continually put my glasses across likely looking sparrows

in these parts, but was never decided I had seen a Gymnoris and never

managed to bag one.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OE THE UPPER BURMA HILLS

49

364. The Burmese House-Sparrow. Passer domesticus confucius.

Ubiquitous. The Fauna says it turns out the Tree Sparrow ; that is not my

experience, perhaps in the province it is named after, it behaves better.

365. The Malay Tree-Sparrow. Passer montanus tnalaccensis.

All these Burma Hills. More common than the House-Sparrow.

366. The Cinnamon Tree-Sparrow. Passer rutilans cinnamomeus.

Considerably less common than the preceding species of sparrows.

367. The Yunnan Cinnamon Sparrow. Passer rutilans intension

The subspecies occurring in the Shan States.

368. The Pegu House Sparrow. Passer flaveolus.

A Burmese bird entirely. It extends east of Burma. I do not think this bird

is to be found in the Chin Hills, nor did Harington find it in the Kachin Hills,

but it is very common in the Shan Hills up to 5,000 ft. Avery handsome

sparrow is the male bird. Breeds in any hole and quite commonly inside a

bamboo which is being used as a hedge post, etc.

369. The Grey-headed Bunting. Emberiza fucata fucata.

370. The Indian Grey=headed Bunting. Emberiza fucata arcuafa.

The subspecies fucata and arcuata occur in our hills as winter visitors.

371. The Little Bunting. Emberiza pusilla.

A winter visitor to These hills. I procured a specimen myself east of

Mandalay at Maymyo. Shan Hills.

372. The Yunnan Meadow-Bunting. Emberiza cia yunnanensis.

Said to have occurred in the Shan States, but a doubtful record, as a hill,

of 10,000 ft. as far as I am aware, does not exist in Shan land.

373. The Yellow-breasted Bunting. Emberiza aureola.

Rather a late winter migrant to the Shan States. It stays till the end of

April when the male bird has begun to assume its breeding plumage and

becomes a very conspicuous individual.

374. The Chestnut Bunting. Emberiza rutila.

Chin Kachin and Shan Hills as a winter visitor.

375. The Crested Bunting. Melophus melanicterus.

A very universal bird in all our hills and our one solitaty bunting to breed.

Habits and nidification very nicely described in the Fautia, but I "have noted

what I called its short plaintive song from the top of a bush in the breeding

season.

XXIV. — Family Hirundinid^e

376. The Eastern Sand-Martin. Riparia riparla ijims.

Perhaps this bird does not occur in our hills.

377. The Indian Sand-Martin. Riparla paludicola chinensis.

I am rather confused, but I always thought this was our Sand-Martin through-

out Burma. Begins to breed in April in colonies which perhaps sometimes

consist of only 2 or 3 nests.

378. The Crag-Martin. Ptyonoprogne rupestris.

There is a small Crag-Martin which inhabits the Taunggyi Crags, Shan

Hills about 5,000 ft. I failed to get a specimen through bad shooting with a 23

bore so I am not sure which species it is. It always hawked for insects

round the rocky parts and I never met with it aw'ay from them. There were

only a few, but I think were permanent residents.

379. The Eastern Swallow. Hirundo rustica gutturalis,

7

SO JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL BIST. SOCIETY , XXXIV

380. Tytler’s Swallow. Hirundo rustica tytleri.

Both winter visitors to our hills. Col. Rippon seems to have recorded the

subspecies rustica from round Bhamo, Kacbin Hills.

381. The Indian Wire-tailed Swallow. Hirundo smfthii filifera.

A common bird in our hills. Begins to breed at end of March and goes on

throughout the rains.

382. The Chinese Striated Swallow. Hirundo daurica striolata.

A permanent resident in the Shan Hills at any rate and probably also in the

Chin and Kachin Hills.

It breeds in the Shan Hills making its retort-shaped mud nests, against the

ceiling of rooms and verandahs of buildings and up against the roofs of caves

in the limestone rocks. Sometimes just the one nest, but often in the case of

the caves a few pairs may be found nesting together. If the nest. is destroyed,

as sometimes it is a nuisance, they often build again in the same place. Dry

grass is often used as lining. I have never seen any eggs with spots, five is the

usual number, and nesting begins at the end of April.

383. Sykes’s Striated Swallow. Hirundo daurica erythropygia.

Mackenzie records this subspecies from the North Chin Hills.

XXV. — Family Motacilld^e

384. The Indian White Wagtail. Motacilla alba dukhunensis.

Recorded by Rippon in the Kachin Hills.

385. The Masked Wagtail. Motacilla alba personata.

I have shot one in the Shan Hills, or rather I pounced on a specimen shot by

an urchin with a pellet bow.

386. Swinhoe’s White Wagtail. Motacilla alba baicalensis.

Is also a Shan Hills bird.

387. The Streak=eyed Wagtail. Motacilla alba ocularis.

Probably Shan Hills, all of course being winter visitors only.

388. Hodgson’s Pied Wagtail. Motacilla lugubris alboide.

389. The White-faced Wagtail. Motacilla lugubris leucopsis.

Both recorded as wintering in Burma as a whole.

390. The Eastern Grey Wagtail. Motacilla cinerea caspica.

Another winter visitor.

391. The Grey-headed Wagtail. Motacilla flava thunbergi.

Probably a winter visitor to all three hills. Recorded by Harington in the

Kachin Country.

392. Hodgson’s Yellow-headed Wagtail. Motacilla citreola calcarata.

Winter visitor. Recorded by Harington as occurring in the Kachin Country.

393. The Forest Wagtail. Dendronantlms indicus.

Occurs sparingly throughout our hills. A lonely bird.

394. The Indian Tree-Pipit. Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni.

395. The Yunnan Tree-Pipit. Anthus hodgsoni yunnanensis.

Both winter visitors to the Burmese Hills, the latter in the East. Small

parties of 8 or 10 birds feed on the ground and when disturbed, fly up into

trees ; partial to well watered country.

396. The Brown Rock Pipit. Anthus sordidus jerdoni.

Winters in the Chin, KachnFand Shan Hills,

NO TES ON THE BINDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 51

397. Richard’s Pipit. Anthus richardi richardi.

398. Blyth’s Pipit. Anthus richardi godlewskii.

Apparently both subspecies richardi and godlewskii occur in the Burma

Hills, but evidently, by their description of them in the Fauna , the two may

perhaps turn out to be one subspecies. I found the bird breeding about 3,000 ft.*

in the Shan Hills, but only found young.

399. The Indian Pipit. Anthus richardi rufulus.

A very common bird which inhabits nearly every open grass space, and

breeds where it lives. I found the nest of this bird very often contained the

egg of Cuculus canorus.

400. The Red-throated Pipit. Anthus cervinus.

Occurs throughout our hills.

401. The Japanese Water=Pipit. Anthus spinoletta japonicus.

Recorded as nesting on Mt. Victoria, S. Chin Hills.

XXVI.— Family Alaudid^e

402. The Small Indian Sky=Lark. Alauda gulgula gulgula.

403. The Small Chinese Sky=Lark. Alauda gulgula coelivox.

The two subspecies, gulgula and coelivox , occur in our hills. I took some

nests at about 8,000 ft. in the Chin Hills and apparently some collector obtain-

ed nests and eggs on Mt. Victoria and these eggs were identified as belonging

to the latter subspecies ; so probably mine from further north belong to coelivox

also. The nests were typical larks’ nests taken in April, in each case a clutch

of three only, rather long ovals and one clutch has a very distinct ring of

marking round the big end.

404. The Rufous Short-toed Lark. Calandrella brachydactyla dukhunensis.

Probably occurs in our hills.

405. The Ganges SandTark. Alaudula raytal raytal.

May occur on the Irrawaddy River in the Kachin Country, but is not a

hill bird.

406. The Siam Singing BushTark. Mirafra javanica williamsoni.

I found this bird breeding in April, in the Shan Hills at about 3,000 ft. in

grassy plains. Nest very similar to Anthus. r. rufulus , the bird being shot and

skin identified for me in England : sings very like our English Lark soaring

id the air.

407. The Burmese Bush-Lark. Mirafra assamica microptera.

A very common bird in the north of Burma in the dry zone and to be found

sparingly at low elevations in the hills. Although a bird of dry and arid land

in Burma, it has the same habit as the Bengal Bush Lark in ‘ sailing down on

outstretched wings.’

XXVII.— Family Zosteropid^e

408. The Northern White=Eye. Zosterops palpebrosa elwesi.

North Shan Hills, and Kachin Hills.

409. The Cachar White’Eye. Zosterops palpebrosa cacharensis.

Chin Hills.

410. The Pegu White=>Eye. Zosterops simplex peguensis.

S. Shan Hills.

411. The Siamese White=Eye. Zosterops siamensis.

Chin Hills.

52 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HJST. SOCIETY , He/. XXXIV

412. The Karen White-Eye. Zosterops aureiventris mesoxantha.

Recorded by Rippon as occurring in Southern Shan Hills north of the Karen

Country.

I am probably only intimately acquainted with Z simplex peguensis and its

nests and eggs ; a beautiful nest and a beautiful egg, but oh ! how one wishes

birds like this species could be more standardised in colouration ! One descrip-

tion of their habits, etc. would do for all of them.

XXVIII. — Family Chalcopariid^e

413. The Malayan Ruby=Cheek. Chalcoparia singalensis singalensis.

Said to occur in the foothills of all Burmese hills. I have only come across

it in the plains and mostly in Lower Burma.

XXIX. — Family Nectariniid^e

414. The Indian Yellow backed Sunbird. TEthopyga sfparaja seherise.

Harington records that cara , the Tennasserim Yellow-backed Sunbird was

recorded by Salvadori to occur in the Kachin Country but this is seemingly a

mistake. The two sub-species, seherice (the Himalayan Yellow-backed

Sunbird) and one called andersoni (Oates) are now not separated and the bird

occurs in the Kachin Hills and probably also in the Chin Hills. In the Shan

Hills the subspecies has been named viridicauda, the Yunnan Yellow-backed

Sunbird, but the separation of this bird from s. seherice is doubtful.

Osmaston took the eggs of this bird at Maymyo in 1915 and in 1923 I went to

live in a house at that place where a pair had evidently used for sometime a

creeper climbing over a sweeper’s staircase to build in and the pair did so all

the three years I was there. I also found another nest in the jungle which was

hanging from a bracken frond. The nest is like Leptocoma a. intermedia in

shape but differs in material used which is mostly grass. My eggs are white

with dark spots at the larger end.

415. Rippon’s Fire=tailed Sunbird. /Ethopyga ignicauda flavescens.

This pretty sunbird was very plentiful on Mt. Victoria, at about 8,000 ft. but

I could not find its nest. Kachin Hills.

416. The Yunnan Fire=tailed Sunbird. TEthopyga ignicauda exultans.

Eastern Shan Hills.

417. Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird. TEthopyga gouldiae gouldise.

Chin Hills ; high elevations.

418. The Manipur Yellow-backed Sunbird. TEthopyga gouldiae isolata.

Chin Hills : at lower elevations.

419. Dabry’s Sunbird. yEthopyga dabryi.

Seems to be the Shan Hills subspecies ; nest found by Sir S. Robinson

(. B.N.H.S . Journal , Vol. XXIX, p. 1052). Harington also records it from

round Bhamo, East Kachin Hills.

420. The Black-breasted Sunbird. TEthopyga saturata saturata.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. I have, I believe, seen them in the latter part

of the country almost as far east as one can go before reaching China.

421. Walden’s Yellow-backed Sunbird. 46thopyga sanguinipecta sanguinipecta.

A bird of the Kachin and Shan Hills.

422. The Nepal Yellow-backed Sunbird. TEihopyga nipalensis nipalensis,

Kachin and Shan Hills.

423. Rippon’s Yellow=backed Sunbird. /Ethopyga nipalensis victorias.

Mt. Victoria, S. Chin Hills.

424. The Burmese Purple Sunbird. Leptocoma asiatica intermedia.

A common bird in all these hills. A nest in my compound was hung from

a rose bush. After one brood had been reared, the bird laid again and hatched

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HlLLS 53

out, but the nest could not stand the strain of a second brood and it fell, to ray

surprise ; as far as 1 know, no additions were made to the nest after the 1st

brood had been reared. As a rule the nest, when hanging, is seldom more than

a foot or two off the ground.

425. Van Hasselt’s Sunbird. Leptocoma brasiliana,

I think a bird of the plains only. I never saw it in the Hills.

426. The Burmese Yellow-breasted Sunbird. Leptocoma flammaxillaris flam-

maxillaris.

Shan Hills, at low elevation, probably 3,000 ft. I can find no record of this

bird in the Kachin and Chin Hills.

427. The Indian Sireakel Spider-Hunter. Arachnothera niagna magna.

Recorded by Mackenzie in the North Chin Hills, and Harington .from the

Kachin Hills. I found this bird very local in the Shan Hills and as I did not

actually shoot one, it may have been the subspecies aurata , the Pegu Streaked

Spider-Hunter, in the South. It is not common by any means and I never

discovered its nest.

428. The Little Spider-Hunter. Arachnothera longirostra longirostra.

Rippon recorded this bird in the Kachin Hills.

XXX. — Family Dicaeme:

429. The Indian ScarleLbacked Flower-pecker. Dicaeum cruentatum cruentatum.

430. The Burmese Scarlet=backed Flower=pecker. Dicaeum cruentatum ignitum.

The Indian subspecies comes down as far as the North Chin Hills and its

eastern and southern limits are unknown. The Burmese subspecies ignitum

taking its place eventually.

431. The Burmese Yellowwented Flower-pecker. Dscaeum chrysorrheum chryso-

chlore.

Harington records it from the Kachin Hills, so it doubtless extends through

the Shan Hills.

432. The Fire=breasted Flower=pecker. Dicaeum ignipectum ignipectuni.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. A nest I took in May contained two eggs and

was built at the top of a small tree on a rocky hillside Taunggyi crags where

it was plentiful.

433. Tickell’s Flower- pecker. Dicaeum erythrorhynchum erythrorhynchum.

Probably all these hills, but recorded apparently for certain in the Shan

Hills.

434. Hume’s Flower-pecker. Piprisoma squalidum modestum.

All our hills.

XXXI. — Family Pittiiee

435. Phayre’s Pitta. Anthocincla phayrei.

Shan Hills.

436. The Bluemaped Pitta. Pitta nepalensis.

Chin Hills.

437. The Fulvous Pitta. Pitta oatesi.

S. Shan Hills.

438. The Blue Pitta. Pitta cyanea cyanea.

All these hills.

439. The Lesser Blue-winged Pitta. Pitta moluccensis.

I saw a Pitta once on the Taunggyi crag which I took to be this, evidently on

migration, as they breed in numbers not far from Rangoon,

54 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL. HIST SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

440. The Greembreasted Pitta. Pitta cuosllata cucullata.

Apparently occurs in all our hills,

XXXII. — Family Eurylaimim;

I have found it difficult from my own knowledge to add to the notes given

in the Fauna of the habits of the birds dealt with, but in the case of the Broad-

bills, I could not anyhow have added to them as they are a race of birds which

have studiously avoided me and I have never found a nest of any of this most

interesting group.

441. Gould’s Broadbill. Serilophus lunatus lunatus.

442. Hodgson’s Broadbill. Serilophus rubropygius.

The former recorded by Mackenzie and Hopwood from the N. Chin Hills,

but it is evidently a commoner bird south of any of our bills. The same

remarks apply equally to rubropygius — Hodgson’s Broadbill.

443. The Long=tailed Broadbill. Psarisomus dalhouslae.

This seems from all accounts the commonest of our hill Broadbills. As an

instance of fearlessness, a friend wrote me from Bhamo to say they suddenly

appeared in numbers round the courts and, uttering their whistling call,

entered rooms, almost interfering with the ends of justice.

XXXIII.— Family Picid^e

444. The Little >caly=bellled Green Woodpecker. Picus vittatus myrmecophaneus.

Chin Hills.

445. The Burmese Scaly=bellied Woodpecker. Picus vittatus viridanus.

446. The Siam Scaly=be!!ied Woodpecker. Picus vittatus eisenhoferi.

The subspecies of the Kachin and Shan Hills. The subspecies eisenhoferi

probably straggles into the extreme East.

447. The Burmese Black=naped Green Woodpecker. Picus canus hessei.

Apparently in all these hills. Nest hole oftea near the ground. In one

case I came across, the old bird had been killed by a rat or some similar

animal which could just reach the bird to kill and eat a part of it, but not pull

it out of the hole.

448. The Eastern Himalayan Small Yellowmaped Woodpecker. Picus chlorolophus

chlorolophus.

Chin and Kachin Hills and the Northern Shan Hills.

449. The Burmese Small Yellowmaped Woodpecker, Picus chlorolophus chlorolophoides.

The more southerly subspecies.

450. The Large Yellow -naped Woodpecker. Chrvsophlegma ilavinucha flavinucha.

All the Burmese Hills.

451. The Paledieaded Woodpecker. Gecinulus grantia.

Chin Hills.

452. The Southern Pale-headed Woodpecker. Gecinulus viridis.

Shan Hills.

453. The Eastern Rufous=be!lied Woodpecker. Hypopicus hyperythus hyperythus.

Chin and Kachin Hills.

454. The Yunan Red=crowned Pied Woodpecker. Dryobates cabinisi stressemani.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills a bird evidently of the higher elevations.

455. The Kansu Red-breasted Woodpecker. Dryobates cathparius pernyi.

Shan States.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 55

456. The Stripe=breasted Pied Woodpecker. Dryobates atratus.

All Burma Hills. At the end of March, I found it nesting’ on the Taunggyi

crag, Shan Hills, about 5,000 ft., in a rotten stump about twelve feet from the

ground.

457. The Northern Yellow=fronied Pied Woodpecker. Leiopicus mahratfensis

blanfordi.

The Burma Hills generally.

458. The Yunnan Pigmy Woodpecker. Yungipicus hardwickii omissus.

Kachin Hills. (Harington).

459. The Burmese Pigmy Woodpecker. Yungipicus hardwickii canlcapillus.

The rest of Burma and the Shan Hills. Two nests I found in the Shan

States were in small (thin) rotten branches not very high up — one twelve feet

and the other six feet. One contained a fully-fledged young bird (April). The

other nest was opened out when I visited it a second time, but this was early

May and the young birds may have flown although it did not appear so.

460. The Red=eared Bay Woodpecker. Blythipicus pyrrhotis pyrrhotis.

All our hills.

461. Northern Rufous Woodpecker. Micropfernus brachyurus phaioceps.

This woodpecker excavates holes in ants’ nests for its nest. Phaioceps is

the subspecies of Burma.

462. The Burmese Goldembacked Three4oed Woodpecker. Dinopicus javanensis

intermedia.

All these Burma Hills. I see a note of young bird observed in the middle of

April in the Shan States. This nest was about 5 ft. off the ground, but in a

big trunk quite 2 ft. in diameter.

463. The Himalayan Golden-backed Three=toed Woodpecker- Dinopicus shorii.

Chin Hills, and probably West Kachin Hills.

464. Tickell’s Goldembacked Woodpecker. Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus guttacrlstatus.

A common woodpecker of all these hills.

465. The Indian Great Slaty Woodpecker. Mulleripicus pulverulentus harterti.

Not a common bird by any means in our hills. I can record it in the Shan

Hills.

466. The Burmese Great Black Woodpecker. Thripooax javanensis feddeni.

Kachin Hills (Harington), It occurred in the Shan Hills in suitable jungle

sparingly. I never found the nest, but the Fauna records Cook taking them

at Maymyo, 40 miles east of Mandalay, early in Februry. I cannot recognize the

place where Grant is stated in the Fauna to have taken another nest.

467. The /Malay Speckled Piculet. Picumnus innominatus malayorum.

Harington records this bird in the Kachin Hills and the Fauna says the

Southern Shan States ; so presumably it might be found anywhere in these

hills.

463. The Rufous Piculet. Sasia ochracea ocliracea.

In the Kachin Hills.

469. Cachar Rufous Piculet, Sasia ochracea querulivox.

In the Chin Hills.

470. The Burmese Rufous Piculet. Sasia ochracea reichenowi.

Probably in the Shan Hills.

471. The Japanese Wryneck. lynx torquilla japonica.

Winter visitor to our hills. Have caught it more than once in the house

probably coming in after insects and not being able to find its way out,

56 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

XXXIV. — Family Capitonid^e

472. The Great Chinese Barbet. Megalaima virens virens.

In the Shan States and probably the Kachin Hills.

473. The Assam Great Barbel. Megalaima virens magnifica.

In the Chin Hills. A nest I found in the Shan Hills had not been excavated

by the bird, normally an early breeder and fairly common all over the Burma

Hills.

474. The Assam Lineated Barbet. Thereiceryx lineatus hodgsoni.

In the Chin Hills and N. Burma.

475. The Burmese Lineated Barbet. Thereiceryx lineatus intermedins.

The Burmese subspecies in the Shan Hills south. 1 Po Toke’ is one of the

Burmese names for this bird resembling the call. It nests, like all barbets,

in rotten trees. In the plains I took the nest at the end of February, and in

the hills at beginning of May, but I do not think that this substantiates a claim

that the plain birds breed earlier than the Hill ones.

476. The Blue=throated Barbet. Cyanops asiatica asiatica.

477. Davison’s Blue-throated Barbet. Cyanops asiatica davisoni.

The subspecies asiatica in the North and Western Hills, and davisoni in the

S. Eastern Hills. Probably the subspecies are a bit mixed in the middle of the

Shan States, anyway there seems to be a mistake in the Fauna in the descrip-

tion of the band across the vertex of davisoni. Nests end of April.

478. The Indian Blue-eared Barbet. Cyanops duvaucelli cyanotis.

Seems to have been missed by Mackenzie, Harington and even Rippon

although it probably occurs in North Burma.

479. The Thick=billed Barbet, Cyanops robustirostris.

May also occur in our Northern Hills.

480. The Golden-throated Barbet. Cyanops franklinii franklinii.

481. Ramsay’s Goldea=throated Barbet. Cyanops franklini ramsayi.

Both appear to inhabit cur hills, the latter in the South Shan Hills. Haring-

ton records this species as plentiful in the Kachin Hills, and Mackenzie took

eggs in the North Chin Hills ; early May. Robinson obtained eggs of ramsayi

in South Shan Hills ; end of April.

482. The Burmese Crimson=breasted Barbet. Xantholaema haemacephala indica.

The Fauna the description of the subspecies X. h. hccniacephala , if it occurs

in India, is omitted. In the key indica has a culmen 15 mm. or under, while in

the description under the species the length of the culmen is recorded 17 to 18

mm. No doubt the mistake if any will be corrected.

Occurs in all our hills, an early breeder generally. I found nests in thin

rotten branches of trees, often so thin you would think a bird could hardly turn

round in the hole. Quite common enough in Burma I may add !

All Barbets seem to take some time to make their nest cavities.

XXXV. — Family Cuculid^e

483. The Khasia Hills Cuckoo. Cuculus canorus bakeri.

The cuckoo of Burma. Begins to call the second week in March but does

not seem to lay till the end of April. The eggs taken by me in the Shan Hills

are nearly all of one colour rather like ‘ Suya but I have also taken blue eggs,

and although I have frequently taken them from Anthus r. rufulus , the eggs

were always of the same type. Hopwood found this cuckoo’s egg in nest of

M. palustris but Saxicola caprata seemed the most favoured foster parents,

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 57

484. The Himalayan Cuckoo. Cuculus optatus.

I think I obtained the egg of this bird in a nest of Phylloscopus in the Chin

Hills. Mackenzie records its finding in nests of A . davisoni.

485. The Small Cuckoo. Cuculus poliocephaius poliocephaius.

Probably occurs in the Northern Hills.

486. The Indian Cuckoo. Cuculus micropterus micropterus.

The ‘ Youkhpa, Quay, Kor ’ of the Burmese. I took an egg out of a nest of

S. caprata in the Shan Hills, where this cuckoo is however rather uncommon,

especially compared to the Chin Hills and the plains of Burma. The egg was

blue with reddish spots which I have always considered the egg of this bird.

487. The Large Hawk=Cuckoo. Hierococcyx sparveroides.

In the Shan Hills I took an egg of this bird, I believe, from a nest of

Garrulax 1. bdangeri ; middle of May : Hopwood and Mackenzie obtained

several in the N. Chin Hills, P. maclellandi being the commonest fosterer.

Mackenzie also records the finding of the eggs.

488. The Common Hawk-Cuckoo. Hierococcyx variiis.

Eggs were taken by Mackenzie on two occasions in the North Chin Hills.

The fosterers were Ianthocincla cineracea.

489. Hodgson’s Hawk=Cuckoo. Hierococcyx fugax nisicolor.

Recorded from the Chin and Shan Hills and it must also occur in the Kachin

Hills.

490. The Burmese Plaintive Cuckoo. Cacomautis merulinus querulus.

A very common Burma bird but 1 do not remember it in the Chin Hills.

In the Shan Hills it was found laying in nests of Franklinia and Cisticola.

May and early June.

491. The Indian Banded Bay Cuckoo. Penthoceryx sonneratii sonneratii.

Occurs in Burma but has been recorded by no one lately.

492. The Violet Cuckoo. Chalcites xanthorhynchus.

I have an egg from a nest of Franklinia which must belong to either this

or the next species.

493. The Emerald Cuckoo. Chalcites maculatus maculatus.

Taken in the Shan Hills. Harington records the latter bird in the Kachin

Hills.

494. The Indian Drongo Cuckoo. Surniculus lugubris dicruroides.

Except the recording of it in all these hills little seems to be known of its

nidification, although Mackenzie considered he found an egg in a drongo’s

nest in the N. Chin Hills. I remember shooting a fully-fledged, young bird

near Rangoon. The call is easily recognizable when once heard.

495. The Pied Crested Cuckoo. Clamator jacobinus jacobinus.

Occurring in all these hills, but in my opinion very few in numbers compared

to the plains.

496. The Red=winged Crested Cuckoo. Clamator coromandus.

Common in all our hills. The eggs have been frequently taken. I have a

clutch of 5 with 4 of G. moniliger the foster birds, taken at Maymyo, east of

Mandalay in the Shan Hills. The bird seems a more frequent night caller

than other cuckoos and it has a call different to its usual harsh screaming.

497. The Malay Koel. Eudynamis scolopaceus malayana.

Found in all three hills.

8

58 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

498. The Large Himalayan Green=billed Malkoha. Rhopodytes tristis.

A fairly common bird in all these hills, especially the Shan Hills, where at

about 3, GOO ft. elevation it thrives and nests and in any beat for jungle fowl,

this bird is sure to appear.

I notice the subspecies longicaudatus is mentioned in the Fauna as occurring

in the Southern Shan Hills, but I have never had the opportunity of examining

skins.

499. Hume’s Crow Pheasant. Centropus sinensis intermedius.

Our Burma hill bird is presumably the subspecies intermedius. It differs

from the Indian bird in size only, the Burmese bird being a little smaller all

over except its length of tail.

500. The Lesser Coucal or Crow Pheasant. Centropus hengalensis bengalensis.

In our hills, it appears to be an inhabitant mostly of the long thatch grass

wherein it nests. It seems, if possible, a more feeble flier than its larger brother.

I agree 3,000 ft. in the hills is its usual elevation. A rains breeder.

XXXVI. —Family Psittacid,®

501. The Large Burmese Paroquet. Psittacula eupatria indoburmanica.

Must be included in our hill birds, but it keeps to very low elevations as

does.

502. The Eastern RoseHnged Paroquet. Psittacula krameri borealis.

503. The Eastern Blossomflieaded Paroquet. Psittacula cyanocephala bengalensis.

I cannot say whether this bird occurs in the eastern hills, i.e. the Chin Hills

of Burma. I found it breeding in the Shan Hills early in March and actually

shot a nesting bird. Elevation 3,000 ft. Harington records its occurrence in

the Kachin Hills.

504. The Burmese Slaty=headed Paroquet. Psittacula schisticeps tinschi.

Recorded by Mackenzie in the N. Chin Hills and in the Southern Shan Hills

(Kalaw) by Cooke, it also occurs, I believe, near Maymyo further north in these

hills and probably in the Kachin Hills also.

505. The Indian Red=breasted Paroquet. Psittacula alexandri fasciatus.

Not so common in these hills as one would expect as it is common enough in

the plains of Burma.

506. The Indian Loriquet. Coryllis vernalis vernalis.

One seldom sees this little bird in the hills of Burma, at least I have personally

found it rare and it is only on occasions that one recognizes its familiar call

when flying swiftly overhead. In the Andamans one found them breeding

very early ; young birds in January, but I have no experience of their breeding

in these hills.

XXXVII. ---Family Coraciidje

507. The Burmese Roller. Coracias bengalensis alfinis.

My experience is that this Burmese subspecies breeds at end of March and

beginning of April all over Burma, often, if undisturbed, using the same tree-

hollow — year after year. The wonderful flight contortions of this bird are truly

recorded.

508. The Broad=billed Roller. Eurystomus orientalis orientalis.

Occurring over all our hills in the jungle ; it is not difficult to find the nesting

place but extremely difficult to rob it as it chooses as a rule a hollow at a

considerable height up in a large forest tree.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 59

XXXVIII.— Family Meropid^e

509. The Burmese Green Bee-eater. Merops orientalis birmanus.

A common bird in our hills ; the Telegraph lines seem its normal habitat !

510. The Bluedailed Bee=eater. Merops superciliosus javanicus.

Also fairly common in places and seems to have a preference for river valleys.

A breeding colony is a sight worth seeing.

511. The Chestnut=headed Bee=eater. Melittophagus erythrocephalus erythrocephalus.

Fairly common throughout our hills, it seems much more solitary in its habits

than the other bee-eaters and certainly does not breed in colonies.

512. The BIue=>bearded Beefeater. Bucia athertonil.

Occurs throughout our hills and is particularly common in the Shan Hills at

the beginning of the rains which made me consider it was locally migratory.

Nest holes I have seen were only just above the ground level and, considering

how shy the birds are, sometimes in quite exposed situations-roadside drains

and banks. I quite agree with the Fauna as to the difficulty of securing the

eggs as I have opened a good many nest holes without ever obtaining them.

XXXIX.— Family Alcedinid^e

513. The Indian Pied Kingfisher. Ceryle rudis leucomelanura.

The bird may be found in the foothills and in the Shan Hills up to a bout

3,000 ft. wdiere the river valleys are wide ; one does not come across it frequenting

the hill streams proper, it likes ‘open’ rivers, canals and lakes. The champion

‘hoverer’ of its tribe and one wishes the brilliant blue kingfisher would copy

this habit to the same extent and in the same confiding manner ; nests in Burma

in winter months, as recorded.

514. The Himalayan Pied Kingfisher. Ceryle lugubris guttulata.

Common in the Chin Hills and recorded from the Kachin Hills. I cannot

remember it in the Shan Hills but it probably occurs as it is found in Yunnan ;

it is curiously shy for a kingfisher and liable to escape notice.

515. The Common Indian Kingfisher. Alcedo afhis bengalensis.

Common in all our hills.

516. The Malay S3!ue=eared Kingfisher. Alcedo meningting coltarli.

Recorded as occurring in Burma, but I knew it not in these hills.

517. Blyth’s Kingfisher. Alcedo hercules.

Recorded in the Chin Hills according to the Fauna.

518. The Broad=zoned Kingfisher. Alcedo euryzona.

I can record this bird from 40 miles north of Taunggyi in the Shan Hills.

Rare and shy, but I once had it perched within a few feet of me, on the banks

of a jungle stream far from man’s abode.

519. The Indian Three=toed Kingfisher. Ceyx tridactylus tridactylus.

Occurs throughout the Burma Hills. One killed itself against the Civil

Hospital Operating Room window at Maymyo, some 40 miles east of Mandalay,

in the Shan Hills, Npwhere common.

520. The Burmese Sfork=billed Kingfisher. Ramphalcyon capensis burmanica.

Inhabits all our hills. I found it nesting in the bank of a perennial stream

in the Shan Hills at about 3,000 ft., end of April ; 4 eggs fresh, the entrance to

the nest was large and the egg chamber only a little way in.

521. The Indian White=breasted Kingfisher. Halcyon smyrnensis fusca.

Common everywhere in the hills and a great lover of a hill roadside bank to

nest in. In Burma it is the commonest kingfisher.

60 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

522. The Black=capped Kingfisher. Halcyon pileata.

An inhabitant of the eastern hills being often met with in the Shan Hills up

to the very eastern extremity. It probably also occurs in the Kachin Hills

and, as it is found in Assam, probably also in the Chin Hills though I cannot

recall seeing it there. My idea is that it is more numerous inland and up the

hill streams in the breeding season. In April I found it quite common on an

eastern tributary of the Salween River in the Shan Hills evidently breeding or

about to breed. I never took a nest however.

XL.— Family Bucerotid,®

523. The Great Hornbill. Bichoceros bicornis bicornis.

More common in the Chin Hills than the Kachin and Shan Hills. I attri-

buted the death of a tame bird I had, to its being given meat. This bird would

have made a fine ‘ slip ’ at cricket as it caught anything within reach. I never

tried throwing anything but fruit at it and the catch was made with the end of

the bill and then tossed up and caught in the back of the throat when it could

be swallowed.

524. The large Indian Pied Hornbill. Anthraceros malabaricus malabaricus.

525. The Burmese Pied Hornbili. Anthraceros malabaricus leucogaster.

Both these subspecies inhabit the Burmese Hills probably the latter in the

Southern Shan Hills only. I took fresh eggs on the 16th March in Tennasserim.

Probably they breed in the hills about the same time. The Pied Hornbill

is a very common bird in the Shan Hills, but the nest is difficult to locate.

526. The Malayan Wreathed Hornbill. Rhyticeros undulatus.

A large hornbill which occurs somewhat sparingly in all these Burma Hills.

52 7. Blyth’s Wreathed Hornbill. Rhyticeros subruficollis.

The swish caused by hornbills descending from high up in the air to their

nesting tree is a noise worth hearing. I found a nest of this species solely by

hearing this noise. Burmese name ‘ Goryin \

528. The Rufous=necked Hornbill. Aceros nepalensis.

Recorded in the Fauna as occurring in the Chin and Kachin Hills.

XL1. — Family Upupidje

529. The Burmese Hoopoe. Upupa epops longirostris.

A familiar and attractive bird in all hill stations as well as the plains. Nests

beginning of April, but I have taken eggs in June although I should not say

it normally had two broods.

XLII. — Family Trogonid,®

530. The Redheaded Trogon. Pyrotrogon erythrochphalus erythrocephalus.

Inhabits all these hills and is not uncommon where there is suitable heavy

jungle and often seen when beating for jungle fowl.

531. Robinson’s Yellow-breasted Trogon. Pyrotrogon oreskios uniformis.

This bird extends very much further north than Tenasserim. I have

myself seen it on the west coast of Burma. Hopwood also records it from

Arakan. A friend described this bird to me in the Kachin Country ; so it

probably spreads up, sparingly, throughout Burma. The upright attitude of

this bird when perching is very marked : one has the idea too that this bird is

more sluggish in the day-time than the Red-headed Trogon.

XLIII. — Family Micropid^e

532. The Large White=rumped Swift. Micropus pacificus pacificus.

533. The Burmese White-rumped Swift. Micropus pacificus cooki.

The two subspecies pacificus and cooki occur in our hills, the latter

recorded from the Shan Hillg where its breeding was the subject of a note in

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 61

the Journal by Col. Harington {Journ. B.N.H.S. , vol xxiii, p. 155). I paid

a visit to that nesting site, the Gokteik Gorge, on March, 17, 1924 and there

was not a swift of this species there. The roof of the cave was occupied by

a small swift probably of the genus, Collocalia ,

534. The Malay House=Swift. Micropus affinis subfurcatus.

Occupies hills and plains alike all over Burma. Have taken the eggs out

of nests in buildings and caves but have never seen a big colony of them. May

to July seem the breeding months.

535. The Eastern Pa! m=Swift. Tachornis batasiensis infumatus.

Chin Hills where it copies the Assam birds and breeds in the thatch of Hill-

tribe houses. I have also taken its nest under palm leaves. Harington

remarks that nearly every Kachin house has a few nests in the eaves. In the

ShanHills, as similar thatched buildings do not exist, it breeds in the palm trees.

536. The Brown-throated Spine-tail. Hirundapus giganteus indicus.

I knew this bird in the Andamans, but I have never noted it in our hills,

Mackenzie thought he saw a flock in the North Chin Hills and I expect he was

correct. The pace of their flight is wonderful.

537. The Himalayan Swiftlet. Collocalia fuciphaga brevirostris.

Presuming my identification is correct, I noted this bird as breeding in many

of the caves in limestone rocks in the Shan Hills in March. In the Gokteik

Gorge Cave, which forms a natural bridge over a river in the Shan Hills not

far from Maymyo and on which a high railway bridge has been constructed,

the birds’ nests could not be seen as they were in the natural hollows of the

cave itself ; these hollows are probably big, but the entrance to them from the

cave is small and the nesting place must be practically in darkness. I noticed

many birds going into the same entrance. There were no broken egg shells

upon the ground.

538. Indian Crested Swift. Hemiprocne coronata.

To be seen in all our hills haunting generally the jungle clearings for cultb

vation where some trees have not been felled but which are dead. These trees

or rather the branches of them are used as nesting sites. I have heard them

making a call when in flight very similar to the call of the small Woodpecker,

Dry ob ales.

XLIV.— Family Caprimulgid^;

539. The Burmese Longdailed Nightjar. Caprimulgus raacrourus bimaculatus.

This is the commonest Nightjar in the Shan Hills and has also been recorded

from the Chin and Kachin Hills. I have heard this species calling quite early

in the afternoon.

540. The Japanese Jungle Nightjar. Caprimulgus indicus jotaka.

Two white ground eggs taken for me in the Chin Hills, Mt. Victoria, must

have belonged to this bird as Mackenzie took it in the North Chin Hills.

541. Franklin’s Nightjar, Caprimulgus montscolus monticolus.

Recorded as occurring throughout Burma in the Fauna , but latter day

ornithologists in the country seem to have missed it as neither Harington,

Mackenzie or anyone else, that I can find, record it.

542. The Comman Indian Nightjar. Caprimulgus asiaticus.

Recorded by Mackenzie in the North Chin Hills, probably in the plains

adjoining.

543. The Burmese Great Eared Nightjar. Lyncornis cerviniceps.

Chin Hills, at any rate but if it occurs in the eastern hills, it is rare I should

think,

62 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol . XXXIV

XLV. — Family Podargid^e

544. Hodgson’s Frogmouth. Batrachostomus javanensis hodgsoni.

The nests of this bird were taken by Mackenzie in the North Chin Hills. I

regret I have never come across it. It appears to miss the eastern hills.

XLVI.— Family Tytonid^e

545. The Indian Barn Owl. Tyto alba javanica.

Inhabits all these hills.

546. The Grass Owl. Tyto longimembris.

This bird is to be found in suitable places throughout the Shan Hills. It

requires open grass spaces. Nests on the ground in the cold weather. The

nests I have seen are very scanty grass affairs, in fact, look as if they were simply

made of some of the surrounding grass trodden down, with a feather or two

included. One nesting place was well hidden by overhanging grass, but one

from which I obtained eggs was quite open. I examined the pellets of this

bird and found them made up of mice remains, but one contained a skull and

beak — the upper mandible of a Quail ( Turnix ),

In the daytime when disturbed they do not fly far and soon flop down in

the grass again, but at night, as may be expected, they are quick, silent hunters.

I have seen them behaving as if they were catching insects of some sort like

large white bats.

I do not think the bird occurs in the Chin Hills and there is no record of it

in the Kachin Hills that I can find.

XLVII. — Family Asionid^e

547. The Bay Owl. Phodilus badius badius.

Probably Shan Hills and Eastern Kachin Hills.

548. The Himalayan Wood=Owl. Strix nivicola.

Shan Hills.

549. The Himalayan Brown Wood=Qwl. Slrix indranee newarensis.

I should think this is the subspecies of the Shan Hills.

550. The Bengal Brown Fish=0wl. Ketupa zeylonensis leschenaulti.

Recorded from the Chin and may occur in the Kachin and Shan Countries.

551. The Indian Great Horned=Owl. Bubo bubo bengalensis.

552. The Forest Eagle Owl. Huhua nipalensis.

May probably both be obtained in our hills. I have heard the latter in the

Chin Hills.

553. The Burmese Collared Scops Owl. Otus bakkamoena lettia.

A common bird in all these hills. In the Shan Hills I notice my nests were

generally taken the last week in March. In one case the hollow used was

within easy reach, in another an old woodpecker’s nest much higher up had

been used.

554. The Eastern Spotted Scops Owl. Otus spilocephalus spilocephalus.

Recorded from Kachin Country and Shan Hills.

555. The Burmese Scops Owl. Otus sunia modesttis.

Shan Hills, according to the Fauna.

556. The Burmese Spotted Owlet. Athene brama pulchra.

Not nearly so common in the hills as in the plains. So noisy that one would

think it was about the most quarrelsome bird in the country.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 63

557. The Burmese Barred Owlet. Glaucldium cuculoides rufescens.

Occurs in all these hills.

558. The Jungle Owlet. Gfaucidium radiatum radiatum.

Recorded by Mackenmie in the Chin Hills.

559. The Eastern Collared Pigmy Owlet. Glaucidium brodiei tubiger.

Harington records this little owl as being plentiful in the Kachin Hills and I

have seen it in the Shan Hills ; it also probably occurs in the Chin Hills.

560. The Burmese Brown Hawk=Owl. Ninox scutulata burmanica.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills : in the latter I often came across this bird when

beating patches of jungle for woodcock and their flight is something similar to

that bird.

( To be continued.)

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

BY

R. I. PoCOCK, F.R.S.

Temporary Assistant in the Zoological Department

of ihe Natural History Museum

( With Plates I -VI)

Introduction

In this paper on the Panthers or Leopards of Asia I have followed

the same lines as those adopted in my paper upon Tigers (Journ.

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. xxxiii, No. 3, pp. 505-41, 1929).

The terms ‘panther’ and ‘leopard’ are used somewhat indis-

criminately and inconsistently as synonyms. Leopard is the name

by which the animal is commonly known amongst English-speaking

people in Europe, America and Africa ; but I have given preference

to the term panther because I have been told it is more usually

employed by Indian sportsmen.

In the tables of skull-measurements the same dimensions have

been taken as in the case of the tigers, with the omission of the

occiput. The total length is taken from the tip of the occipital crest

to the tip of the premaxillae ; the condylo-basal length ( Cond . bas.) from

the edge of the occipital condyle to the same point above the upper

incisors; the zygomatic width ( Zygom .) is across the cheek bones;

of the nasals the length from the middle line behind to the tip of the

processes bounding the nostrils and the width across these processes

are given. In the case of the teeth, the total length of the upper and

lower flesh-teeth ( upper and lower carnal.) and the width of the

canine from back to front close to the socket ( upper canine) are

recorded.

It is the custom amongst zoologists to record all measurements

of skulls, and even of skins, by the metric system. But in deference

to Indian sportsmen and naturalists for whom the paper is mainly

written I have used English inches for the skins and skulls as in

the paper on Tigers, the only change being the substitution of

decimal for vulgar fractions. For the teeth, however, millimetres,

of which twenty-five go to the English inch, have been employed

as more suitable for small structures.

My remarks regarding the inadequacy of specimens of skins and

skulls of tigers apply equally to panthers and need not be repeated.

The Kinship between Panthers and Tigers

(pi. i)

In" the paper on Tigers, above referred to, I gave reasons for

separating the lion, tiger, panther and jaguar from the rest of the

Felidae under the name Panthera, of which the panther is the typical

Plate I.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

A, B. Upper carnassial tooth, with anterior tubercle (a) of Tiger from Nepal.

C. The same, without tubercle, of Tiger from the Central Provinces.

D, E. The same of Panther from Kashmir.

P, G, H. Nasal bones of Panthers from Daltonganj, Pekin and Annam.

I, K. Mesopterygoid fossa of Panthers from Dharwar and Kashmir.

(All figures natural size.)

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

65

species or geno-type ; and in refutation of the claim upheld by some

modern authors that the differences between the lion and the tig'er

justify their ascription to' distinct genera, named Leo and Tigris

respectively, I insisted upon the tolerably close affinity' between them

and showed that many of their alleged differences in cranial

characters have no foundation in fact, being much too variable to be

diagnostic.

It now remains to be seen if there are any good reasons for

regarding' the tiger and panther as different genera, a view held by

the Russian zoologist, Satunin, ( Mitth . Kauk. Mus. IV, pp. 24-5,

1909), who enumerated three distinguishing characters in the skull,

as follows : — (1) In the tiger the nasal bones considerably overlap

the summit of the maxillae ; in the panther the summits of the four

bones are approximately on a level. (2) In the tiger the infraorbital

foramen, the hole on the cheek just below the eye, is oval; in the

panther it is circular. (3) In the tiger the upper carnassial tooth has

a small supplementary cusp on the front of its outer edge, its

antero-external angle ; in the panther’s upper carnassial this cusp

is absent.

I will take these characters in order and show that not one of

them holds good. (1) In my paper on Tigers I pointed out that,

although as a rule, in this species, the nasal bones considerably

overlap the maxillae, they do not always do so', sometimes only

exceeding them very slightly, as in the skull of a tigress from

Mergui, or indeed not at all as in the skull of a tiger from Surrtatra.

The bones also vary in panthers, although as a rule they are

approximately equal. For instance, the nasals fall slightly short of

the maxillae in a female skull from Daltonganj in Bengal and in

one from Annam ; but markedly exceed them in a skull from Pekin

and are a little longer in all the Javan skulls I have seen (PI. I,

figs. F, G, FI). Finally, it may be added that de Blainville

( Osteogr . atlas II, PI. VIII, 1839-64), figured the skulls of a male

and female panther from Barbary in both of which the nasals pass

beyond the maxillae. They only do so to a comparatively small

extent in the male ; but in the female they surpass them perhaps

quite as much as in typical tigers. (2) Examination of a series of

skulls of tigers and panthers shows that the shape of the infra-

orbital foramen is much too variable in both species for it to be

used as a distinguishing feature. (3) The supplementary antero-

external cusp on the upper carnassial in tigers may be conspicuously

present, indistinctly defined or entirely absent. On PI. I, figs.

A, B, C, I give drawings of this tooth in the skulls of tigers from

Nepal, with the cusp tolerably well developed, and from the Central

Provinces in which there is no trace of it. Its incidence is curious.

Usually it is present and larger or smaller as the case may be; but

in several skulls from Central India it is obsolete, as it is in the

typical skull of the Chinese race and also in the Javan race. In the

Caucasian and Persian race it is as large as in any ; and no doubt

Satunin drew his conclusion regarding it solely from Caucasian

material. In adult panthers it may be described as absent (PI. I,

figs. D, E), although a vestige of it is not uncommonly just

detectable by touch if not by sight; but in the unworn, newly erupted

9

66 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

tooth it is frequently at all events present. But clearly its variability

in tigers alone excludes it even as a specific character between

these animals and panthers.

One or two additional cranial differences alleged to exist must

also be dismissed. Blanford, who quite correctly, in my opinion,

assigned tigers and panthers to the same genus, stated, for instance,

that in the tiger the lower surface of the mandible is nearly straight

to near the posterior angle, then slightly concave, so that the skull,

with the lower jaw attached, rests firmly on a flat surface, whilst

the posterior portion of the skull nowhere touches that surface. In

the panther, on the contrary, he adds, the lower jaw is convex

beneath and the skull, when placed on a flat surface with the

mandible attached, almost always rests with its hinder portion on

that surface. This last character was recently cited by Mr. Prater

in corroboration of his view that the skull of a tiger shot by

Mr. Limouzin near Ootacamund was a big panther’s. But, as I

pointed out in my paper, the back of the skull in tigers frequently

rests on a flat surface. In adult male skulls it is elevated, but

in skulls of young males and tigresses the occiput is often in contact

with the surface. So, too', in panthers’ skulls. In adult male

skulls the occiput is generally raised to a slight extent. In the

skull of an oldish male from Kashmir it is raised, indeed, almost

half an inch. In females and young males, on the contrary, the

condyles or mastoids of the occiput touch the surface. In the case

of the mandible, the general straightness of the lower edge is

tolerably constant in tigers ; but the shape of this edge is very

variable in panthers. Sometimes it is convex in the middle with the

chin raised, so that the skull ‘rocks’ as in lions; at other times the

chin and the posterior angles are alike in contact with the surface,

so that the skull rests as steadily as in tigers. These variations

depend upon the effects on the skull of the development of the jaw-

muscles and are mainly matters of age and sex.

The cranial differences, indeed, between the two animals are

comparatively slight and merely of specific value, the panther’s

skull being smaller and having smaller teeth. The differences in

size are very marked when the skulls of male tigers are compared

with those of male panthers and of tigresses with female panthers ;

but the skulls of the biggest male Indian panthers are almost as big

as those of the tigresses from the Sunda Islands. And the same

applies to bodily size. The differences in pattern and voice are

well-known ; and panthers never appear to grow the fringes on the

cheeks possessed by most tigers. They also have longer tails and

appear to be relatively longer in the body and lower on the leg,

differences which are no doubt correlated with arboreal habits.

The identity between Panthers and Leopards

Literature relating to this animal contains much controversial

matter, dating from the days of Buffon, Cuvier and Temminck,

regarding the existence of two distinct types described as Le

Panth^re (Felis pardus) and Le Leopard (. Felis leopardus), the

panther and the leopard of English writers. But there was much

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA 6 7

disagreement as to the characters of the two owing in a measure to

conclusions being drawn from different data supplied by skins or

living animals or even skulls from various countries. Some relied

upon the size of the spots or the length of the tail and general build,

and Temminck thought he had discovered an important and constant

difference in the shape and dimensions of the skull ; but in support

of his contention he figured the skulls of a male and female of the

Javan race as representing respectively Le Leopard and Le Pan there.

It would be waste of time and space to attempt to epitomise the

diverse opinions on this point with reference to the leopards of

Africa and Asia which the authors of the early part of the nineteenth

century discussed, since all modern zoologists are agreed that it is

not a question now of two kinds of leopards inhabiting those

continents but of several ; and discussion has shifted to a decision

as to how many there are and what their correct names may be.

But in India, it appears, the two terms, panther and leopard,

are still in use. From conversations with sportsmen, I have,

however, been quite unable to discover any unanimity in their

application. None now believes, as Sykes believed a century ago

(Proc. Zool. Soc 1830, p. 102), that two distinct species exist in

India; but many, I suspect, employ the terms in a general way as

Jerdon employed them in 1867 (Mammals of India y p. 97) in his non-

committal summary of the views of Blyth, Walter Elliot and others.

The upshot of his remarks is that there is a larger, paler, more

boldly spotted, closer coated variety, the panther, which is seldom

found in dense forest but occurs in the ravines of rocky hills and

more open country generally, and a smaller, darker, less boldly

spotted, fuller coated variety, the leopard, which is found in

forested districts.

There is no doubt that some Indian writers of long ago confused

the two sexes, as Temminck did, because we find one of the

diagnostic features of the panther to be the cranial characters of

the male; but Jerdon’s opinion no doubt was that the two varieties

are environmental races. My own opinion on the matter, based on

the material I have seen, is this. When, if it ever comes about,

panthers or leopards are collected on the scale on which squirrels,

mice, shrews and other animals have been collected by the Mammal

Survey of India, with accurate records of dates, localities and

habitats, it will be found that, not two only, but several local or

environmental races occur in British India. At the present time

there is sufficient material in the way of skins to suggest the

truth of this opinion ; but a hopelessly insufficient amount to establish

or refute it. And the question will remain unsettled so1 long as

sportsmen’s interests in panthers are restricted to shooting them

as dog-eaters, to keeping their skins as rugs, or to adding an inch

to their recorded dimensions.

The Distribution of Panthers

The distribution of panthers, or leopards, coinciding, as it does,

with those of lions and tigers combined, and in places overlapping

them, has many points of interest. Fossil remains have been found

68 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vo!. XXXI V

in Central and Southern Europe ; and from the close kinship between

the panther of the old world and the jaguar of the new, it may be

inferred that the common ancestor of the two lived at one time

sufficiently far to the north to pass to N. America, when it was

joined to Asia, by the route taken by wolves, foxes, wapitis, and

other animals common to the two continents. In north-eastern

Asia they survive at the present time in Manchuria and Korea and,

it is alleged, in Amurland and Saghalien ; but there are none, and

probably never were any, in japan. Extending throughout China

they pass through Burma into the Malay Peninsula and thence into

Java but not into Bali to the east of it. Their existence in Sumatra,

whence they have been recorded, has been recently called in

question. Their range, indeed, in the Sunda Islands suggests that

they were later comers to that part of Asia . than tigers which are

plentiful in Sumatra and Bali. On the other hand their presence in

Ceylon, where tigers are not found, points to their occupation of

peninsular India at an earlier date than tigers. Perhaps they

invaded India by two routes, south of the eastern and of the western

ends of the Himalayas respectively. At all events they are found

in Baluchistan, on the Persian Gulf and all over Asia Minor,

everywhere overlapping the tiger in south-western Asia and even

passing into Europe north of the Caucasus by the Aral Sea. Since

they accompanied the lion and the hunting leopard into Africa,

they may equally well have accompanied them, or even preceded

them, into India from the west. But their occurrence alongside

tigers in China, Burma and along the southern slopes of the

Himalayas is equally suggestive of their entry into India by the

eastern route as well.

Variations in colour and pattern of Panthers

(Pis. II and III)

The ground-colour of panthers varies normally to a slight extent

individually in the same locality and very considerably in different

habitats ; that is to say, from grey in Seistan and Persia to almost

rusty brown in Java. Of abnormal types of coloration black is the

commonest. This phase arises from the invasion of the normally

yellowish hairs by black or blackish-brown pigment, called melanin.

But the intensity of the tint of this pigment is variable. Sometimes

it is as deep as the black of the spots which can then only be seen

under reflected light by reason of their superior sheen. But quite

commonly on the belly it is dark brown so that the spots show up

clearly on this area. Black panthers of this type are particularly

plentiful in Java and the southern parts of the Malay peninsula.

Northwards they have been recorded from Burma, the Shan States,

Assam and Nepal and they are alleged to be not uncommon in

Iravancore and other parts of Southern India. Knox, indeed,

referred to a Ceylonese specimen as ‘a black tiger’. In the Central

Provinces they are comparatively rare; but Dunbar Brander

mentions one he saw at Melghat in 1913 which was of exceptional

interest, the ground colour being dark chestnut and the spots

Joukn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II.

Mh

^ m ||&.J

Variety of Indian Panther from Cuddapah,

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

09

distinctly visible. This specimen was apparently intermediate in

tint between a typical black leopard and a normally coloured

individual. In that respect it was, I believe, unique, for, as a rule,

in Asiatic leopards melanism is a discontinuous variation, that is

to say, the animal is either a definite melano or normally coloured

and cubs of both types may occur in the same litter.

In Africa, so far as I am aware, black leopards of the kind

described above are almost unknown, except in Abyssinia. But in

that country the variation is not discontinuous, every intermediate

stage between blackening of the spinal area alone to, its extension

all over the body and limbs being known.

Panthers also exhibit, but much less commonly, the opposite

phenomenon, namely, failure to develop pigment which in extreme

cases results in albinism. In the British Museum there are a few

skins which may be described as semi-albino. One is a reddish skin

from Hankow, presented by Mr. Poland, in which the pattern is

very indistinct owing to its assimilation in tint to the ground colour.

In another from Hazaribagh, presented by R. E. S. Thomas, the

ground colour is paler than usual and the spots are tan. In a

third from Rhodesia, presented by Dr. Walter Fisher, the spots are

sepia or pale chocolate brown and the interspaces sandy. I have

only seen one white leopard skin. This is in Mr. Poland’s collection

and is believed to have come from East Africa. Both the spots and

the interspaces are colourless, the spots being visible only under

reflected light. This animal was probably a pure albino with blue

or pink eyes.

In the variations of colour above described panthers are very

similar to tigers. But there is this curious difference. Black

leopards are tolerably common ; black tigers are very rare.

Conversely, albino or semi-albino leopards are rare ; but albino or

semi-albino tigers are not so very uncommon at least in certain

districts of India. There is, on the other hand, a very great

difference between the two species in variation affecting the pattern.

Tigers vary in the number, width, depth of tint and looping of their

stripes. Leopards vary similarly in their spots ; but in tigers there

is nothing approaching the disintegration and fusion of the stripes

such as occasionally occurs in the spots of leopards. So far as

Asia is concerned, there are two very remarkable instances of this

recorded from S. India. One of these is exhibited by the skin

of a specimen shot by Mr. F. A. Coleridge at Putnam in Cuddapah

and described and figured by Lydekker ( Proc . Zool. Soc 1908,

pp. 1-3, text fig. 1, PI. II). The general colour is quite normal, the

under side being white and the spaces between the spots tawny or

yellowish buff ; but the rosettes of the typical leopard are in the

first place broken up into a multitude of solid spots and dots and

more or less concentrated to form large blotches, variable in size

and shape, each consisting of a number of dots and spots surrounded

by a thickish black, mostly interrupted rim ; and all over the flanks

these blotches are surrounded and set off by a large-meshed network

of narrow lines, paler than the ground tint of the blotches. The

network nowhere crosses the spine but the blotches on the back

touch or are continuous with a narrow, black, spinal stripe running

70 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Pc/. XXXI Y

from the tail to the middle of the back and breaking up behind the

shoulder into a number of narrow longitudinal black streaks which

coalesce in front to form a black area running over the neck to the

crown of the head. The limbs and tail are unusually heavily marked

and the terminal third of the tail is black above. This skin excels

that of the jaguar in the size and complexity of the blotches, the

pattern recalling in a measure that of the so-called clouded leopard

(pi. ii).

Ihe second specimen, even more abnormal than the one just

described, was shot in Southern Kanara and was secured from a

native by Mr. C. A. Souter, I.C.S., who1 kindly lent it to me for

description and illustration ( Proc . Zool. Soc., 1927, p. 791, text

fig. I). The normal rosettes are broken up and fused to such an

extent that, supplemented with additional pigment, they convey the

impression of a black leopard speckled and streaked with yellow.

From the crown of the head to the root of the tail there stretches

a broad jet black band, here and there obscurely speckled or streaked

and defined over the flanks by narrow longitudinal yellow stripes of

varying length arranged subsymmetrically in two interrupted lines,

one on each side. The flanks show no definite rosettes, being

mostly black with yellow speckling and a few short yellow stripes,

all that is left of the normal ground tint. On the thighs the blotches

are more distinct and defined by zig-zag streaks recalling' forked

lightning. The limbs and tail are blacker than in the specimen from

Putnam but the belly is white as in that variety (PI. III).

This Kanara leopard is clearly not a ‘melano’, like the ordinary

black leopards of the East Indies. Only near Grahamstown in

South Africa do we find parallel cases of the blackening process

it exhibits. Here the pattern may consist of a multitude of small

solid spots on a yellow ground ; or they may enlarge and coalesce

to such an extent that the whole of the back and sides of the animal

are glossy black, the spots only remaining distinct on the neck, the

lower side and the extremities of the limbs.

Finally I may add that the red leopard skin from Hankow,

presented to the museum by Mr. Ernest Poland, shows a variation

of pattern somewhat like that of the specimen from Cuddapah, the

spots having fused on the back and sides to form abnormally large

irregularly shaped rosettes.

Indian and African Panthers

There has been a good deal of misapprehension regarding alleged

differences between Indian and African panthers and leopards

Blanford, for instance, while disclaiming his ability always to

distinguish the two Indian types he referred to as the bigger,

paler, larger-spotted form inhabiting the hills and forests and the

smaller, longer-tailed form with rougher fur and less clearly defined

pattern commonly occurring in patches of grass and bushes amongst

cultivated fields and gardens, said he could tell most African skins

at a glance from both of these by their very much smaller spots.

But I suspect his acquaintance with African leopards was restricted

to the small-spotted forest type of the west coast and to Abyssinian

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate HI.

Variety of Indian Panther from Kanara.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

71

skins and that he knew nothing of the larger-spotted East African

types. As will be seen, moreover, from the descriptions of panther

skins from India published below, some of the skins from that

country have the spots quite as small as in the average small-spotted

African forms.

Blandford’s erroneous views on this subject were pictorially

promulgated by Lydekker in Ward’s Game Animals of India , 1924,

where plates representing skins of an Abyssinian leopard, with small,

colse-set spots, and an Indian leopard, with large, dark spots, are

juxtaposed to illustrate the alleged differences between the animals

of the two countries. But the Indian skin selected for the purpose

is, in my experience, quite exceptional in the large size of the

rosettes.

Another error, initiated apparently by de Winton and accepted

without verification by Lydekker and other writers, is to the effect

that African and Indian leopards may be distinguished by the

nature of the spots on the neck, solid spots being more numerous

and extending farther backwards in African than in Indian skins.

This view I find repeated, for instance, in Dunbar Brander’s Wild

Animals in Central India, pp. 128-29, 1923, where the author

dismisses as finally settled and buried for some time to come the

idea of the existence of more than one species of leopard in India.

On this head I may add that I have entirely failed to establish any

constant difference between African and Asiatic leopards either in

cranial or colour characters ; and that I trust the view that there is

more than one ‘species’ of this animal is buried for ever, although

the existence of several environmental or local races, known as

‘subspecies’, cannot be ignored.

Lengths of Asiatic Panthers

Most of the recorded lengths of panthers are taken from tip to- tip

without distinction between the head and body and the tail. In

Rowland Ward’s Records, 1928, p. 483, for example, there are

measurements on this basis of Indian panthers ranging from

Kashmir and Nepal to Ceylon. Only the last on the list from

Bijnor is marked as a female and she measures 7 ft. 4 in.

Presumbaly the rest, varying between 8 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft. 8-J in., the

average being 8 ft., were males. It must be remembered, however,

that these examples were probably measured in the field because the

sportsmen who shot them thought they were exceptionally large.

At all events according to Dunbar Brander ( Wild Animals in Central

India, p. 130, 1923) ‘a fair average male leopard measures 6 ft.

8 in . . . the large jungle-living animal is anything from 7 ft. 2 in,

up to 7 ft. 9 in., a fair average specimen being 7 ft. 5 in.’

But these total dimensions are misleading- as to actual size. The

tail varies in length very considerably, as was long ago noticed by

early writers. Hence in the case of two panthers giving* the same

total measurement, one with a long tail will be much smaller and

less powerfully built in head and body than the other.

In this paper I have recorded the measurements of the head

and body separately of most of the skins of adult specimens in the

72 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Natural History Museum ; but these are of no great value because

most of the skins are probably stretched from being stripped and

dressed. In the case of a few specimens, however, shot by trained

collectors for the Mammal Survey or other scientifically organized

expeditions, measurements in the flesh were recorded in millimetres.

These, converted approximately into English feet and inches, are

entered in the following table ; and to this table I have added the

dimensions of half a dozen specimens from Berar in India, shot and

measured in the flesh by Gen. R. G. Burton ( Journ . Bomb. Nat.

Hist. Soc., xxi, p. 1063, 1911). It will be noted that the average

total length of the males of Indian panthers according to the table is

just about 7 ft., 1 foot shorter than the average of the specimens

measured by sportsmen and entered in Ward’s Records.

Sexual differences in the skulls of Panthers

(PI. IV)

The skulls of full-grown male and female panthers differ not

only in size but in shape ; and these differences, as stated f)elow,

were at one time cited as evidence for the existence of two species,

the panther and the leopard, in the same locality. By way of

illustration of these differences I have figured on PI. IV the skull

of a tolerably old male from Ashkote, Kashmir, and of a rather

older female from Nasair, Kashmir, which in the colour and pattern

of their skins are approximately alike.

The male skull is much larger, has larger teeth and a less rounded

cranial portion provided with a high median crest running into a

more prominent occipital crest. It is also ‘long-waisted’, that is

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate IV.

A, B. Part of the upper surface of skull of adult male and female Panthers from

Kashmir.

C. Side view of the female skull.

D. The same of the male skull.

(Half natural size.)

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate V.

A. Skull of young male Panther from the United Provinces.

B. Skull of adult male Panther from the United Provinces.

0. Skull of adult male Panther from Bhagalpur.

(Half natural size.)

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

73

to say, the constriction of the area behind the postorbital processes

is deeper and longer, being actually narrower than in the female,

although the width across the interorbital region, the postorbital

processes and the hinder part of the cranium is greater. The median

crest too in the male skull arises much farther forwards, only a little

behind the posterior border of the postorbital processes to which

it is joined on each side by a low, transverse, concave ridge. In

the female skull these ridges meet the very low longitudinal crest

some distance behind the processes. (PI. iv, figs. A, B, C, D.)

Although not always quite so well marked, similar differences

occur between male and female skulls of adults of all races of

panthers ; and there is seldom any difficulty in distinguishing them.

Only one skull has puzzled me. It was collected by G. C. Shortridge

for the Mammal Survey at Potoli in Dharwar. It is obviously that

of a full-grown animal and is ticketed as a male. Yet in all its

characters it resembles a female skull, except in the size of the

canine teeth which are unusually thick for that sex.

Individual and Age Variation in the Skulls of Panthers

(PI. V)

Supplementing what was stated above with regard to cranial

variations, I may add that I have failed to establish the existence

of any constant differences between the skulls of the local races of

panthers admitted in this paper, except in the matter of size.

Skulls from the Caucasus, Persia, India and Ceylon are alike in

size and do not apparently differ in character more than do

individual skulls from the same province in India. On the other

hand the skulls of the Chinese and Javan races are on the available

evidence smaller than those of the Indian and Persian races.

But examination of several skulls of Indian panthers, presumably

belonging to the same race, has shown very marked individual

variations. On PI. V, I have figured three of these side by side

for comparison. Fig. A is the skull of an immature male from

Bachkahi in the United Provinces (B. B. Osmaston). It is in the

stage of development which is permanent in the adult female, a

stage through which all male skulls pass before reaching maturity,

the occipital crest being small and the median, or sagittal, crest

on the cranium undeveloped. Its especial interest, however, lies

in the elevation of the area just behind the postorbital processes,

which is the highest point of the head. There is also a marked

elevation at the point where the nasals join the frontals. Since

these peculiarities are not shown by other male skulls of approxi-

mately the same age, they are clearly not attributable to immaturity

but are individual variations which would doubtless have persisted

without much modification throughout life.

Fig. B is an adult male skull also from the United Provinces

(R. St. G. Burke). Apart from its larger size and better developed

crests due to age, it differs markedly from the skull from Bachkahi

in having its highest point in the interorbital region and in the

absence of the swelling at the base of the nasals.

Fig. C is an adult male skull from Bhagalpur. It is very nearly

XO

74 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

flat along the top from a point behind the postorbital processes to

the interorbital region, and there are slight indications of a swelling

at the base of the nasals. In these particulars it is almost

intermediate between figs. A and B. It is noticeable also that the

occipital crest is more prominent than in fig. B, the adult male from

the United Provinces, as prominent, indeed, as that of the old male

from Ashkote in Kashmir and a little deeper, whereas the sagittal

crest is much lower than in that specimen and in the one from the

United Provinces. This Bhagalpur skull, indeed, in its upper

contour recalls the skulls of typical male Indian tigers. It is the

only adult male skull I have seen from Bengal, the district whence

the typical race of Indian panther came.

It may also be noticed that the Bhagalpur skull and the adult skull

from the United Provinces are noticeably higher than the skull ot

the older male from Ashkote in Kashmir. (PL IV, D.) This, I

believe, is due to age. From the examination of many examples

I believe that the skull in both sexes tends to flatten along the top

as age advances so that it becomes lower and looks longer than in

those that have just reached or slightly surpassed maturity.

Some variations in the length of the nasal bones have already

been described in the section discussing alleged cranial differences

between tigers and panthers. But these bones vary also consider-

ably in the shape of their upper ends, which may be either narrowed

and apically pointed or broad and apically rounded. On the whole

they are as a very general rule narrower and more pointed in

Chinese, Malayan and Javanese than in Indian panthers; but

amongst the latter there is considerable variation in this respect ;

and the single skull from Annam, described below, is remarkable

for the width of the upper ends of the nasals and the roundness of

their edges. (PI. I, figs. F, G, H.)

Another portion exhibiting great variation is the mesopterygoid

fossa on the base of the skull into which the nasal chambers open.

The range of this variation is exhibited in the skulls of two female

Indian panthers depicted on PI. I. In a skull from Kashmir (fig. K)

the fossa is very broad with thin arcuate lateral margins, whereas

in one from Dharwar (fig. J) it is narrower and its margins

are thick and parallel-sided. Every gradation between these

extremes may be found in Indian panther skulls.

The Subspecies or Local Races of Asiatic Panthers

Panthera pardus Linn.

Felis pardus Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, p. 41, 1758; and of most

subsequent authors.

Panthera vulgaris Oken, Lehrb. Nat. pt. 3, p. 1052, 1816.

Leopardus varius Gray, Mamm. of Brit. Mus., p. 40, 1843.

Analysis of the literature shows that the names vulgaris and

varius are substitutes for pardus Linn, and therefore synonyms of it.

Since many subspecies of panthers or leopards are now admitted,

it is necessary to know to which of them pardus Linn, belongs.

This was settled by Oldfield Thomas when in his paper ( Proc ,

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

75

Zool. Soc ., 1911, pp. 120-58) he showed that the first author quoted

by Linnaeus mentioning- a locality for the species, was Alpinus who

gave an account of Leopards seen alive in captivity at Cairo- and

Alexandria. Thomas therefore assigned pardus in the strict sense

of the word to the Egyptian leopard which as a subspecies takes

the trinominal title Panthera pardus pardus.

I see no reason to dissent from Thomas’s decision on this point.

But it was recently challenged by Allen (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.

Hist ., 47, p. 248, 1924), mainly on the grounds that the specimens

seen by Alpinus must have come from some point far up the Nile or

from Arabia; and in support of this opinion he quoted a French

author, who in 1740 declared that there are no lions or tigers or

leopards in Egypt. I learn, however, from Major S. S. Flower,

late Director of the Zoological Gardens in Cairo, that leopards are

still found, not only in southern Sinai, which is politically part of

Egypt, but also in the western desert of Egypt between Siwa and

Dabaa, Dabaa being on the coast only some 100 miles west of

Alexandria. Hence the leopards seen by Alpinus were probably

locally captured; and the desert in question may be regarded, with

good reason, as the typical locality of Panthera pardus pardus.

It may be added that Allen, taking Buffon and Daubenton as the

first revisers, if such they can be called, of the leopards, designated

Algeria as the type locality of this race. The difference is likely

enough to be of no great moment, because it is more probable

than not that the leopards of the western confines of Lower Egypt

and of Algeria are racially identical animals. However that may be,

it is clear that the typical P. pardus pardus, being a North African

animal, falls outside the scope of the present paper.

There is only one- other question to be raised in this connection.

Lydekker regarded ‘India’ as the typical locality of P. pardus pardus

because Linnaeus added ‘habitat in Indiis’ to his diagnosis. This,

however, is no indication of country, ‘the Indies’ to Linnaeus being

a vague term for the tropics of the eastern or western hemispheres.

}

The Panthers of Asia Minor, Persia and Sind

Panthera pardus tulliana, Val.

Fells tulliana, Valenciennes CR. Acad. Sci. Paris, 42, p. 1039,

1856; Tchihatcheff, Asia Mineure, pt. 2, p. 613, PI. 1, 1856; Milne

Edwards, Rech. Mamni. p. 214, 1867 ; Lydekker, Proc. Zool. Soc.,

1899, p. 795, PL 54.

Felis pardus, Alston and Danford, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1880, p. 51.

Leopardus pardus tullianus, Satunin, Mitth. Rank. Mus. II,

p. 152, 1905; id. Consp. Mamni. Imp. Ross., p. 158, 1914.

Felis pardus panthera, Lydekker in Harmsworth* s Nat. Hist. I,

p 385, 1910. Dollman, after Lydekker, Game Animals of India,

p. 321, 1924.

Felis pardus panthera or tulliana Lydekker, in Rowland Ward’s

Records, 1910, p. 500, and 1914, p. 498 (at least in part).

Felis pardus saxicolor, Dollman in Rowland Ward’s Records

1928, p. 482 (not Panthera pardus saxicolor , Pocock; cf. infra).

76 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXlV

Type locality. — Ninfe or Ninfi, 40 kilometres E. of Smyrna.

Distribution. — Asia Minor and Transcaucasian Russia.

Notes on synonymy. — There was at one time considerable

difference of opinion about the status and characteristics of this

panther. Although Valenciennes correctly described it as related

to the ordinary leopard, D. G. Elliot, who examined the type in the

Paris Museum, declared it to be nothing but a snow-leopard or

ounce and made tulliana a synonym of uncia in his Monograph of

the Felidce , 1883. He was, of course, quite wrong. Tchihatcheff’s

figure of it leaves no doubt on that point. Nevertheless, Alston and

Danford, unwisely trusting Elliot’s verdict, recorded the ounce, on

the evidence of what he said, as an inhabitant of Asia Minor ( Proc .

Zool. Soc., 1877, p. 272). Fortunately Milne Edwards showed the

error of Elliot’s judgment, and Alston and Dandford made the

necessary correction three years later (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1880,

p. 51), quoting the Asia Minor panther as Felis par d us and

dissenting from M. Edward’s view that it should rank as a distinct

species. Later Prince Demidoff fell into the same error when he

recorded the ounce from the Caucasus and gave a figure of that

animal (Planting Trips to the Caucasus, p. 85, 1898). This error

was corrected by Lydekker who published a description and coloured

illustration of a Caucasian panther, shot by Prince Demidoff, which

he saw at Messrs. Rowland Ward’s studios. He seems to have

been a little doubtful about the name of the animal ; but there are at

present no data to justify its separation from tulliana, which

according to’ Satunin occurs in Transcaucasia, Erivan, Armenia

and Mount Ararat, and according to Danford’s experience, was

half a century ago generally distributed in the coastal mountainous

districts of south-western and southern Asia Minor, although

nowhere common.

Blanford and, following him, Lydekker regarded this panther as

identical with the Persian race and as ranging from Anatolia to the

confines of India. Lydekker, however, called it panther a following

Pallas who adopted that name for the panthers of the Caucasian

area (Zoogr. Ross. Asiat. I, p. 18, 1811). But panthera is

inadmissible for this race. It was originally assigned by Schreber

( Saug . Ill, p. 586, PI. 99, 1777) to a female panther figured and

described by Buffon and Daubenton (Hist. Nat. ix, pp. 160 and 174,

PI. XII, 1761), which was definitely stated to have come from

Algeria.

The typical example of this panther was sent by Tchihatcheff to

Valenciennes who described it as equalling the largest African

leopards in size and reddish grey in colour, with a long tail gradually

thickening from the root to the tip, the terminal third being tufted.

Tchihatcheff ’s figure, taken from the mounted skin, shows the

pattern to consist of large rather widely separated rosettes, mostly

broken and irregular and with decidedly darkened centres.

The British Museum possesses the flat native prepared skin of

an apparently adult specimen obtained by W. Forbes at Aidin in the

Pachalie of Anatolia and to all intents and purposes therefore a

topotype of tulliana. It measures 8 ft. 8 in., the head and body

being 5 ft. 3 in. and the tail 3 ft. 5in. Allowing for stretching,

1 HE PAN TH ERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

77

this probably indicates a panther of about 8 ft. from tip to tip.

The hair of the skin is worn off in patches but enough remains to

show that the general colour, although pale and probably somewhat

faded, is decidedly tawny or buff on the back, paler on the flanks

where it merges with the white of the belly. The rosettes are large,

the largest up to 2J x 2 in., being larger, more widely spaced .and

thinner-rimmed than in typical Indian panthers, with their centres

slightly darker than the ground tint. The coat is soft, smooth and

at most slightly longer and fuller, the hair on the nape being longish, f

and the tail is a little more bushy than in Indian animals.

According to Alston and Danford this race ‘presents considerable

variety in coloration and in proportional length of tail’. The

measurements they give of an adult female from Giaour Dagh

near Osmanieh were: — head and body 4 ft. 11 in., tail 3 ft. 1 in.,

making a total of 8 ft. No doubt the skin was stretched.

The mountains of Osmanieh extend southwards to the Lebanon

range in northern Palestine and some sixty years ago leopards,

according to Tristram, were common in that country even as far

south as the Dead Sea. We have no information about these

Syrian leopards. They may be identical with the Asia Minor race.

But equally well they may be identical with the leopards of Sinai

and western Egypt, which I regard as typical Panther a pardus.

The panther of Asia Minor ( tulliana ) is, however, certainly distinct

from the panther of Sinai.

I have seen only one skull assignable to tulliana, namely, that

of the female from Osmanieh obtained by Danford, which is in the

British Museum. But Satunin records two skulls from Erivan in

the northern portion of Asia Minor. The dimensions of these three

skulls are as follows : —

Inches Millimetres

The sexes of Satunin’s skulls are unstated; but I assume from

their dimensions they were male and female. I can find no difference

between the skull from Osmanieh and skulls from India, and the

dimensions show that this panther from Asia Minor is as large as

any recorded race.

Panthera pardus saxicolor, Pocock

(PI. VI)

Felis leopardus, P. L. Sclater, P\roc. Zool. Soc 1878, p. 289.

(Not leopardus , Schreber).

78 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Ph/. XXXIV

Felis tulliana, Blanford (in part) ; not tulliana, Valenciennes.

Felis pardus panthera or tulliana , Lydekker (in part); not

panther a , Schreber.

? Leopardus pardus ciscaucasicus , Satunin, Consp. Marrim.

Imp. Ross., p. 159, 1914.

Panthera pardus saxicolor, Pocock, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (9), xx,

p. 213, 1927.

Locality of type. — Asterabad in Persia.

Distribution. — Persia eastward at least to Seistan.

Notes on the synonymy. — This panther has long- been known and

there are probably many earlier records of it than the one that

heads the list of synonyms ; but it has passed under inadmissible

names, being regarded by Blanford and Lydekker as identical with

the race inhabiting Asia Minor. I have interrogatively inserted the

name ciscaucasicus into the synonymy because Satunin Js very brief

description of that race as differing from tulliana in being smaller,

greyer and without any reddish shade, applies so far as it goes to

the Persian animal. But as its name ciscaucasicus indicates, thi$

panther inhabits southern Russia, north of the Caucasus, the type

specimen coming from the Province of Kuban by the Sea of Azov.

Apparently only one specimen was available. This was thick

coated, the hair being up to 1 inch in length. Its head and body

measured 5 ft. 3 in. and its tail 3 ft. 1 in., making a total of

8 ft. 4 in.; the basal length of the skull was 7*7 in., and the

zygomatic width 6 in. The skin measurements have little value ;

but the cranial measurements agree very closely with those of the

male example of tidliana from Erivan cited by Satunin, and hardly

justify his description of this European leopard as smaller than the

leopard of Asia Minor. There this race must be left, and pending

further information regarding it, I think it wiser to retain for the

Persian panther the name saxicolor which I gave it in 1927.

Of this Persian race I have seen several skins from the following

localities : —

Asterabad. A mounted adult male (Type) in the British

Museum, presented in 1882 by Lt.-Col. Beresford Lovett and

identified by Lydekker as tulliana. The general colour is whitish

grey very faintly washed with buff on the flanks, a little more deeply

on the back, but without any trace of it on the head or limbs, the

limbs being whiter than the head. The rosettes are of moderate size

and moderately widely spaced and are smaller, thicker-rimmed and

less annular than in tulliana, and deep chocolate brown in colour ;

the largest on the flanks measure about 2 x 1J in. but are mostly

about 1^ x 1^ in. in diameter. The coat is full, thick and soft,

with a considerable quantity of underwool ; on the back it is about

lj in long, on the belly oyer 2 in., and on the middle of the upper

side of the thick, bushy tail about 1J in. The skin, as mounted,

measures: head and body 4 ft.., tail 2 ft. 9 in., making a total of

6 ft. 9 in.

Rowanduz, near Sulaimaine in Iraq Kurdistan (Capt. Littledale).

This skin is more richly tinted than the Asterabad skin described

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate VI.

mm

8%^f: |

VifW w\ v

#mW .

*** i l QJtf**** ^ v* ^

3, v;

Persian Panther (P. pardus saxicolor).

Skin from Pusht-i-Kuh, winter coat.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

79

above and than the other Persian skins recorded below, linking

them with typical tulliana.

Pusht-i-Kuh Range in Luristan. Three skins.

(1) Flat skin, in summer coat, belonging to Mr. C. E. Capito,

and measuring : head and body 49 in., tail 37^ in., total 7 ft. 2| in.

Coat short, .close and smooth with very little underfur, the hair on

the back and on the middle of the upper side of the tail is about

f in. long, on the belly 1 in. The ground colour is a pale stone-grey,

slightly darker and faintly, tinged with buff on the back and in the

centres of the rosettes, colour of flanks passing imperceptibly into

white of belly. Rosettes black, showing up conspicuously against

the grey tint, not large, largest about by 1 in. in diameter,

moderately spaced, the intervals about \ in. on flanks. This panther

was shot in the hilly country to the N. E. of Dizful.

(2) Skin of a subadult or adult male also in summer coat

(Sir Percy Cox and Capt. Cheesman) and measuring : head and body

50 in., tail 35 in., total 7 ft. 7 in. The coat is about the same

length as in Mr. Capito’s skin, but the colour is not so grey, being

creamy-buff, and more resembling the skin from Rowanduz than

either of the other two above described Persian skins.

(3) Skin in winter coat, from Marsh Ao Gorge, 1,000 ft. alt.,

at the S.E. end of the Pusht-i-Kuh territory, kindly lent to me by

Mrs. Lane and measuring: head and body 44-| in., tail 32 in., total

6 ft. 4|- in. Coat long, thick, woolly, showing distinct inclination

to tufting, 1^ in. on back, 2 in. on belly and If in. in middle of

upper side of tail. Colour almost as grey as in Mr. Capito’s skin

in summer coat, the rosettes less conspicuous on account of the

roug'hness of the coat and of their colour which is brown as in the

specimen from Asterabad. (PI. VI.)

Mishun in the western part of the Province of Fars, approximately

510 e. and 30° N.

(1) A flat skin kindly lent by Mrs. Lane and measuring : head

and body 56 in., tail 29| in., total 7 ft. 2^ in. The tail which is

apparently complete being comparatively short. Coat in length

and quantity of underwool intermediate between the summer and

winter coats exhibited by the skins from Pusht-i-Kuh and similar

to the coat of the specimen from Asterabad. The colour is also as

in the latter and not so1 washed out as Mr. Capito’s skin from

Pusht-i-Kuh.

(2) Head-skin, with skull, belonging to Mr. Capito, a little

darker than the head of his skin from Pusht-i-Kuh.

(3) The undressed skin of a female, from Chak-i-Buzza Pa near

Mishun, about 2,500 ft., belonging to Mrs. Lane and measuring:

head and body 50 in., tail 32 in., total 6 ft. 10 in., closely resembles

the complete skin from Mishun.

Seistan, Palang Kuh. An imperfect skin, in winter coat,

presented to the British Museum by Col. R. L. Kennion. Coat long,

soft and very woolly breaking up into1 tufts as in the skin in winter

coat from Pusht-i-Kuh, but the coat is thicker and more tufted and

the rosettes are blacker. Colour pale and washed out, buffy grey

on flanks and back, pure white below. The general appearance of

the skin is very ounce-like both in colour and coat,

80 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

In Col. Kenn ion’s By Mountain, Lake and Plain , p. 267, 1911,

Lydekker referred to this skin as representing an undescribed

variety of leopard.

I have only seen one skull of this panther, namely, the skull of an

adult male, accompanied by the head skin, brought by Mr. C. E.

Capito from Mishun. Its measurements are as follows : —

Inches Millimetres

These measurements, as well as those given of the skin, show that

the Persian panther is as large as the typical Indian panther. The

skull, however, presents no distinguishing racial characters. In its

general form, indeed, it is more like the skulls of two Indian

panthers, namely, one from the United Provinces collected by Mr.

R. St. G. Burke, and one from Mundiapani in Garwhal, collected

by Mr. B. B. Osmaston, than these are like many another Indian

skull.

I gladly take this opportunity of expressing my indebtedness

to Mr. C. E. Capito not only for the loan of the skin and skull of

his own specimens of this panther but for asking Mrs. Lane to- lend

me the three skins in her possession, a request she most willingly

and promptly granted.

According to Mr. Capito these panthers in South Persia inhabit

caves and gorges in the barren limestone and gypsum hills down to

about 900 ft. Singularly enough there is no reference to this

panther in the papers on the Mammals of Mesopotamia and Shiraz

by Major R. E. Cheesman and Capt. C. R. S. Pitman printed m

A Survey of the Fauna of Iraq published by the Bombay Natural

History Society in 1923.

To this race belonged a pair of living panthers brought by

Capt. Phillips from the Persian Gulf and presented to the Zoological

Society in 1878. Dr. Sclater described them as being ‘remarkable

for their long, hairy coats, bushy tails and pale body colour which

remind one rather of the ounce ( Felis undo)9.

Panthera pardus sindica, subsp. nov.

Felis tulliana, Blanford, Mamm. Brit. India, p. 69, 1891 (in part).

Felis pardus panthera and F. pardus panthera or tulliana,

Lydekker, following Blanford (in part).

Type locality. — Kirthar Range on the Sind-Baluchi boundary.

Distribution. — Elsewhere unknown.

Resembling and no doubt completely intergrading with the

Persian panther and distinguishable from the typical Indian form

in coat and coloration.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

81

Coat not soft, smooth and flat, but harsher and rough, almost as

if singed, with a considerable quantity of underwool ; hair on the

back about I in. long, on the belly about If in. and on the upper

side of the middle of the tail about f in. Colour of the fulvous-buff

type, richer than in the typical Persian panthers but very decidedly

paler than in the average Indian form, the flanks washed with buff,

which becomes intensified on the back ; the rosettes show up every-

where against the pale ground on account of their large size, wide

spacing and darker centres, the largest being' about 1|- x 1| in. in

diameter, with the interspaces frequently as much as f in. ; on the

average they are narrow-rimmed and inclined to be annuliform.

The only known skin of this race, that of a young male, measures

head and body 4 ft. 2 in., tail 2 ft. 10 in., total 7 ft.

The dimensions of two. skulls are as follows : —

Inches Millimetres

There is nothing remarkable about these skulls. Neither in

shape nor size do they appear to differ from the skulls of either

Persian panthers to the west or of typical Indian panthers to the

east.

The specimens upon which this subspecies is based were collected

by H. E. Watson who gave them to1 Blanford and he in turn

presented them to the Natural History Museum; and it was the

skin above described that Blanford apparently had before him and

identified as tultiana when he wrote ( Mamm . Brit. India, p. 69) :

‘There is a race inhabiting Persia and found in Baluchistan and the

mountains of Sind that differs widely from all the others and is

quite intermediate in coloration and spotting between the leopard

and the ounce. ’ This statement is certainly not true of the skin

from the Kirthar Range which is much more richly tinted than any

ounce and has smaller and many more spots. Blanford probably

knew, at least by hearsay, of the grey Persian leopard, which

approaches the ounce in colour but emphatically not in pattern ;

but he did not distinguish the Persian from the Sind type. He

may have compared the Kirthar Range skin with the skin of

tulliana in the British Museum, which was available for examination.

This would account for his identification of the Sind race with the

one inhabiting Asia Minor. There is certainly great similarity

between the two in colour and pattern, although the Sind specimen

is not apparently quite so pale ; but there is a great difference in

the texture of the coat. More material of the two races will no

doubt reveal further differences because there is apparently complete

11

82 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , P?/. XXXIV

distributional discontinuity between the two, the greyer Persian race

(P. pardus saxicolor) dividing them over a wide area of longitude.

It may be added that the Sind race differs from the typical Persian

race in its harsher coat, brighter colour, and thinner-rimmed,

larger, more widely spaced and therefore more conspicuous pattern.

Although this panther is strictly speaking Indian in a political

sense, its affinities appear to be certainly nearer to the Persian type

than to the panthers and leopards known to Indian sportsmen. 1

have therefore excluded it from the following section in which these

are discussed.

To this subspecies I also refer the skin of a half-grown specimen

obtained by Capt. J. E. B. Plotson on the Perso-Baluchi border,

no precise locality being recorded on the label. It is rougher coated

and the spots are smaller and much less clearly defined than in the

example from the Kirthar Range. Those, however, are common

features in immature skins. The colour, nevertheless, is decidedly

yellowish tawny as in tulliana. But possibly this skin may belong

to the more northern paler race, saxicolor .

(To be continued)

Journt. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 5

Lignum vitae Tree.

Guaiacum officinale, Linn.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES

BY

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

Part III. — ( With two coloured plates , two black a7id

ivhite plates and I text-figures').

( Continued from page 856 of Vol. XXXIII.)

The Lignum Vitae Tree

Popular names: Guaiacum (West Indies). Lignum Vitae Tree.

Guaiacum officinale. Linn. Sp. PI. 381.

The genus Guaiacum contains 4 species of trees or shrubs all

indigenous to Tropical America.

Description : The Lignum Vitae Tree grows to a height of 30 to

40 feet. The stem is generally crooked, the wood intensely hard,

the branches knotty and the bark deeply furrowed.

The dense crown of close-growing foliage gives the tree a roun-

ded, compact, neat appearance. It is

distinctly ornamental on a lawn. Each

leaf is composed of two or three pairs

of smooth, stalkless, leaflets arranged

on a slender mid-rib. The leaflets are

from inch in length. There is much

irregularity both in their size and shape :

some are

rounded a t

the apex(obo-

vate), others

almost blunt

(obtuse).

The tree

flowers at the end of the cold season

and the commencement of the

hot weather. In Bombay some of the

trees are in bloom the whole year

round. The beautiful blue flowers grow

in great profusion. They almost cover

the tree. The flowers remain for a

long time. As the older blooms fade

from deep blue to paler shades, some

84 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vo L XXXI V

becoming almost white, a striking variegation ot colour is pro-

duced. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of the branches.

Each flower has five petals cupped in a small, finely hairy calyx,

supported on a slender stalk. There are ten stamens bearing

golden yellow anthers.

The fruit appears as small, round, compressed capsules containing

5 cells ; occasionaly there are fewer. Each cell encloses a single

seed.

Distribution: The Lignum Vitae Tree is an inhabitant of the

islands of the West Indies, from whence it was introduced into

India. It also grows in the arid plains stretching from the Florida

Keys to Venezuela.

Gardening : Raised from seed. For many years we knew of

only one tree in Bombay which was growing in the compound of

the Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Hospital. This had been introduced, we

-were told, by Dr. Wellington Gray from the West Indies. Seeds

were obtained from this tree by the late Mr. H. V. Kemball and

now it is a fairly common tree in gardens in Bombay. It succeeds

well at Madras and Bangalore, though at the latter station it is rare

and somewhat stunted in growth.

Uses : The wood, called Lignum Vitae (Pockholz or Franzosen-

holz by the Germans) reached Europe via Spain probably towards

the end of the fifteenth century. Soon it became famous as a remedy

against the ‘ Morbus Gallicus ’, and was praised as such in nume-

rous books of which the most important is : Ulrici de Hutten Eq.

De Guaiaci medicina et morbo gallico liber unus. Moguntiae

1519.

The heart-wood is greenish brown, the sap-wood pale yellow.

It is remarkable for the direction of its fibres, each layer of which

crosses the preceding diagonally. It sinks in water. It is of

great value and is used for many purposes, chiefly by turners.

Ship’s blocks, rulers, pulleys, skittle-balls, bowls are among the

articles made of it. When rubbed and heated, it gives off a faint,

disagreeable aromatic odour. Its taste is pungent and aromatic.

Shavings and raspings of the wood are used by apothecaries for

medicinal purposes. In the same way the bark is employed in

medicine. The most important product is a resin obtained from the

wood and bark, and used in powder, pill and tincture. It is an

acrid stimulant and has- been found efficient against various

diseases. The resin is an ingredient of the well-known Plummer’s

Pills. It is also one of the chief means employed to detect blood

stains.

The resin sometimes flows spontaneously from the stem of the

tree ; at other times, it is obtained artificially by jagging or notch-

ing the stem and allowing the exuding juice to harden, or by boring-

holes in logs of the wood and then placing them on a fire so that

the resin is melted and runs through the hole, or by boiling the

chips in salt and water, when the resin floats on the surface of the

water.

The resin is greenish brown in colour and has a brilliant resinous

fracture. Qf taste there is scarcely any, but it leaves a burning

sensation in the mouth.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate V.

l’hotos by C. McCann.

Flowers of the Lignum Yitae Tree ( Guaiacum officinale).

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 6 .

Indian Cork-Tree.

Millingtonia hortensis, Lkin-f.

'SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES

85

The Indian Cork Tree

Popular Names : Indian Cork Tree ; The Tree Jasmine. Cowla

nim (Mar.); Nimi-chambel (Mar.); Akas-nim (Hind.); Kat mali

(Tam.) ; Kavuki (Tel.) ; Egayit (Burm.).

Millingtonia hortensis. Linn. f. Suppl. (1781) 291.

Description : An elegant, straight tree reaching as much as 80

feet in height, with drooping branchlets and a graceful elongate

crown of deep green foliage. Its yellowish grey bark is cracked

and furrowed in various directions with corky fissures.

The foliage is very handsome. The leaves attain a length of

2-3" . They are described as bi-

pinnate or tri-pinnate, that is, each

leaf is composed of two to three

pairs of pinnae or minor leaves

arranged in pairs along the main

rib. The pinnae bear smooth,

oval or lance-shaped leaflets,

2-3" long. The young shoots

are slightly hairy below. Though

never completely bare, the Cork

tree sheds a good proportion of

. its leaves between January and

March and renews its foliage be-

tween April and May.

In Bombay and the Konkan,

flowering commences about the

end of October and continues

right into December ; in other

parts of W. India trees flower in

August and September. Decked

in drooping masses of snowy

white flowers which stand out

against the dark foliage, the tree presents a beautiful appearance.

Like many of the members of its charming family, the Bignoidacece

(Trumpet Flowers), the flowers have a delightful fragrance which

fills the surrounding air. The flowers grow in

large panicles at the end of the branchlets. The

tiny bell-shaped calyx bears the pendant, slender

tube-like flower. This tubular portion is from

2-3 " long and of a faint green tinge ; it expands

into waxy white petals. These are sometimes

flushed with pink. The petals are oval, pointed

at the apex and the largest of them is deeply

cleft. There are four stamens crowned with

yellow anthers. The style protrudes well beyond

the petals. The fruit is slender, compressed

and pointed at both ends. It grows to a foot

and a half in length.

The seeds are flat. They measure an inch

across. Each seed is surrounded by a tender

wing which is narrowed at the top and absent

86 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXlV

at the base. The tree does not produce fruit in Western India

or in the Central Provinces.

Distribution : The Indian Cork Tree is believed to be indi-

genous in the tropical forests of Burma from Ava to Tenasserim

and the Malay Archipelago. It is cultivated largely in many parts

of India and runs wild in certain areas of Central India as in the valley

of the Godavari river. Roxburgh mentions that about 1800, seeds

of this tree were brought to Madras from the gardens of the Raja

of Tanjore from whence a plant was also procured for the East

India Company’s Botanic Garden at Calcutta.

Gardening: It is a fairly common roadside tree in Western

India. Though ornamental, it is not very suitable for avenues, as it

is tall rather than spreading. The tree is fast growing. The

specimen in the Botanic Gardens at Calcutta, to which we refer,

reached a height of 50 ft. in twelve years.

‘ The tree is decidedly hardy, and is not particular as to soil ;

although it grows best in a moist climate, it does fairly well in dry

situations. It is, however, brittle and shallow-rooted, and is liable

to be broken or uprooted by strong winds. It has a tendency to

send up root-suckers in great profusion, which is a disadvantage in

gardens. It is easily raised from seed when obtainable, from

cuttings put down in the spring or from root-suckers put down and

transplanted during the rainy season. Seed should be sown in the

nursery as soon as it ripens, towards the end of the hot season, and

the seedlings, which bear transplanting well, should be planted out

a year later at the biginning of the rainy season.’ (Troup).

Uses : The wood is soft and yellowish. It is close-grained and

takes a fine polish and is used for furniture and ornamental work.

From the bark, which is about an inch thick, an inferior kind of cork

is made.

(To be continued')

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate VI.

Indian Cork Trees ( Millingtonia hortensis) on roadside in Bombay.

rhotos by C. McCann ,

Flowers of the Indian Cork Tree (M. hortensis).

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

BY

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

Part XXXV

( With one plate and four text-figures ) .

(i Continued from page 850 of Volume XXXIII) .

Genus : Lestes. — Continued .

lestes oiientaiis, Hagen (1859).

Lestes orient alis Hagen, Syn. Neur. Ceylons , No. 119, Zool. bot. Gesell.

Wien. (1859) ; Selys, Bull. Acad. Eelg. (2) xiii, p. 322 (1862) ; Kirby,

Cat. Odon., p. 163 (1890) ; Id. Jcurn. Linn. Soc. Zool. xxiv, p. 566

(1893) ; Laid Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix , p. 155 (1920) ; Id. Spolia

Zeylanica , vol. xii, p. 357 (1924).

Male. Abdomen 52 mm. Hindwing 38 mm.

Head : labium yellow ; labrum, cheeks and bases of mandibles pale yellow,

rest of head coppery bronze or green metallic ; eyes brown ; behind head pale

yellow.

Prothorax and thorax metallic green bronze on dorsum with ante-humeral

stripes pale yellow on the latter ; laterally and beneath pale yellow with two

brown spots on each s5de of chest.

Legs black, bases of femora paler, especially on flexor surface.

Wings hyaline, forewiogs with 18-20 postnodal nervures ; IRiii not zigzag-

ged ; pterostigma dark yellow framed in black nervures, covering from 2 to 2-2-

cells.

Abdomen green metallic on dorsum and sides ; anal appendages black

superiors forcipate, apices curving towards each other and terminating in a

point, furnished near the base with a blunt spine, and, at about the middle,

a small tubercle below. Inferiors rudimentary, conical, very short.

Female. Abdomen 49 mm. Hindwing 40 mm.

Closely similar to the male, differing only in sexual characters ; segment

10 brown, notched at its apical border. Anal appendages conical, pointed at

apex ; vulvar scale yellow, extending to end of abdomen, with serrate border.

Distribution. Rhambodda Pass, Ceylon. Type in the Hagen collection.

This species, which greatly resembles a Megalestes, must be either extremely

local or very rare as it has never been taken since the type was procured in

1858, seventy years ago. It differs from Magalestes major by the presence of

intercalated sectors between lltiii and Riv+v, but is possibly closely allied

to it. It is to be hoped that some one of the entomologists in Ceylon may

re-discover this beautiful and interesting insect.

Lestes barbara, Fabr., (1798). (PI. I. 1.)

Agrion barbara Fabr., Suppl. Ent. Syst., p. 286 (1798); Fonscolomb,

Ann. Soc. Ent. France, vii, p. 554, t. 33, fig. 2. (1838).

Agrion barbarum Charp., Hors. Ent., p. 9 (1825) ; Id. Libell. Eur., p. 142,

t. 35, figs. 3 and 4 (1840).

Agrion nympha Hansem, Wieden. Zool. Mag. ii (1), p. 161 (1823).

Lestes barbara ($) Lind. Mon. Lib. Eur., p. 36 (1825) ; Selys. (rf et §), Mon.

Lib. Eur., p. 142 (1840) ; Ramb. Ins. Nevrop., p. 251 (1841) ; Selys.

Rev. Odon., p. 159 (1850) ; Id. Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 318 (1862) ;

Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, p. 155 (1920).

Lestes barbarus Kirby, Cat. Odon., p. 162 (18b0) ; Calv. Proc. Acad. Nat.

Sci. Philadelph., p. 147 (1898).

88 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Male. Abdomen 26-34 mm. Hindwing 21-25 mm.

Head : labium pale brownish white ; labrum, cheeks and bases of mandi-

bles yellowish or pale olivaceous ; penultimate joint of antennae and behind

eyes yellow ; rest of head dark bronzed green with a coppery or golden reflex,-

eyes brown.

Prothorax green metallic on dorsum, yellow at the sides and finely along

borders of posterior lobe, which is rounded, very small and narrow. A black

spot low down on each side.

Thorax brilliant metallic green on dorsum as far lateral as the middle of

mesepimeron ; old specimens with a golden or coppery reflex ; dorsum marked

with a narrow humeral yellow stripe narrowly bordered with black. In Kashmir

examples this black border is more extensive, so that in some specimens the

yellow line is greatly narrowed at its middle or entirely obliterated by a conflu-

ence of the black borders. Middorsal carina finely yellow in European

examples, dull black in Kashmir ones. Laterally and beneath bright citron

yellow from beyond the middle of mesepimeron ; postero-lateral suture finely

mapped out in black.

Legs yellow, femora and tibiae with a narrow black line on the outer side,

flexor surface of tibiae black, tarsi black.

Wings hyaline, palely tinted with yellow ; pterostigma bicolorous, rather

more than the proximal half blackish brown, outer part white or creamy,

braced, covering 2 cells, framed in thick black nervurcs, 1‘5 mm. in length ;

10-14 postnodals to forewings, 10-12 in the hind ; Riii arising 24 to 3 cells

beyond the node in both wings ; IRii arising 7 cells after the node in forewing,

5 in the hind.

Abdomen yellow at the sides, metallic green to coppery on the dorsum and

with narrow apical rings to most segments ; segment 2 with the middorsal

carina finely yellow ; segments 3 to '6 with narrow basal yellow rings often

interrupted at the middle line ; segment 10 matt black on dorsum, non-

metallic, yellow at the sides, pulverulent white on the dorsum in old specimens.

Anal appendages. Superiors yellow tipped with black, Kashmir examples

being yellow at the base and outwardly only, the whole of inner side including

the basal tooth and the apex being black ; ratler longer than segment 10,

forcipate, the apices curling in with rounded overlapping ends, a robust inner

basal spine followed by a shell-like dilatation minutely denticulated on its inner

free border. Inferior appendages yellow finely tipped with black, thick, tumid

and apposed at bases, then strongly divaricate, markedly tapered, turned up

to end in a fine point.

Female. Hindwing 22-27 mm. Abdomen 29-33 mm.

Similar to the male except for sexual differences. A small oval yellow spot

on the outer side of each posterior ocellus ; occiput bordered narrowly with

yellow ; humeral stripe not bordered with black, the Kashmir examples not

differing from type in this respect ; legs rather more broadly striped with

black ; wings similar to male, 11-14 postnodal nervures to all wings ; abdomen

coppery bronze on dorsum, segment 10 yellow with a rather narrow well-

defined blackish brown stripe on dorsum, which, in some, tapers to the apical

border of segment.

Anal appendages yellow, tipped with black in Kashmir specimens, conical,

pointed, slightly shorter than segment 10. Vulvar scale very robust, yellow or

yellow bordered with black in Kashmir specimens.

Distribution. Restricted to Kashmir and N. W. India, within Indian limits,

but widely distributed throughout S. Europe, Asia Minor and Algeria. As a

rule, Kashmir examples exhibit some melanism and are decidedly larger than

European specimens. Mr. T. Bainbrigge Fletcher took fair numbers at

Yusimarg, 7,500 ft. Kashmir during August, and I have specimens from

France taken during the same month.

Lestes nodalis Selys (1891). (PI. I. 2.)

LeAes nodalis Selys, O donates de Birmaniey Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova x (xxx)

pp. 496, 497 (1891) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, p. 151 (1920).

Male. Abdomen 30-35 mm. Hind wing 19-21 mm.

Head: labium brownish white; labrum, bases of mandibles and cheeks

pale blue but piceous in the dried state ; rest of head blackish brown but paler

behind eyes ; eyes brown.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 1

1. Dorsal view of anal appendages of Lestes barbara (Fabr.)

2. The same of Lestes nodalis Selys.

3. The same of Lestes thoracica Laid.

4. The same of Lestes umbrina Selys.

5. The same of Platy lestes platystyla (Ramb.)

6. The same of the female appendages of P. platystyla (Ramb.)

7. The same of Ceylonolestes davenporti Ris. nov. nom.

8. The same of Ceylonolestes gracilis gracilis Selys.

9. The same of Ceylonolestes cyanea Selys.

10. The same of Ceylonolestes pulcherrima Fras.

1 1 . The same of Indolestes indica Fras .

12. The same of Sympycna pcedisca Eversm.

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

89

Prothorax olivaceous brown on dorsum, bluish laterally, two black horizontal

stripes on the anterior trochanters.

Thorax dark brown on dorsum as far out as the humeral suture, and slightly

overlapping this above, laterally pale blue or palest olivaceous in the dried

state, a small black spot on the upper part of the postero-lateral suture and a

large more conspicuous spot near the ventral border on fore part of metepi-

meron. Beneath olivaceous with a triangular black area just behind the hind

pair of limbs.

Wings palely and evenly tinted with yellow, with dark conspicuous neura-

tion ; pterostigma bicolorous longitudinally, blackish brown at centre, yellow

along costal and inner borders, elongate, tapering distad, oblique at both

ends, non-braced, covering two to three cells ; node thickened and showing

as a conspicuous black point at costa ; 13 to 15 postnodals to forewings, 9-13

in the hind.

Legs reddish yellow, the anterior pair of femora and the distal ends of the

others, on the outer side, brownish black.

Abdomen light olivaceous brown peppered with black and marked with

blackish brown on the dorsum of segments 1 and 2, and the apical ends of

segments 3 to 6, where this colour forms a broad apical ring, enclosing on the

dorsum a pale spot shaped like a barbed arrow-head with its point directed

basad. On dorsum of segment 2 this spot is reproduced on a much larger

scale ; segments 7 and 8 dark brown ; 9 and 10, especially the latter, appear to

be bluish during life, but are pale olive in the dried state.

Anal appendages reddish brown, superiors about equal in length to

segment 10, broad and robust, the apices abruptly rightangled inwards to

meet in the middle line, the apex broad but tapering rapidly to a fine point and

bordered outwardly by blackish spines ; the usual inner scale-like lamina

broad, occupying about the middle third of appendage and with thickened

inner and outer borders, the latter projecting slightly as a fine spine. Inferior

appendage short conical, coated with short coarse hairs.

Female. Abdomen 28-32 mm. Hindwing 20-21 mm.

Very similar to the male. In the single female I possess, the labrum, bases of

mandibles and cheeks are dark reddish brown, as also the rest of the head ; the

prothorax and thorax are similar to the male; the wings are more deeply tinted a

pale golden brown, the pterostigma is similar but the nervures forming its inner

angle are creamy white ; postnodal nervures to forewings 13-16, 9-12 in the

hind, the small spines along costa are conspicuously blackish brown against

the vellowT costa, and the space after the pterostigma is enfumed brown ; the

abdomen differs by the marking on segment 2, very obscure, the apical rings

on 3 to 7 present as paired spots on the subdorsum, whilst segment 9 has, on

each side, a very large black spot extending for about the basal two-thirds ;

segment 10 appears to have been bluish during life, as also the sides of

segment 2. Legs similar to the male. Aual appendages conical, pointed

at apex, as long as segment 10, carneous. Vulvar scale round robust, dark

brown.

Distribution . Assam, Margherita, sparingly during May and June ; Burma,

Palon in September; Yunnan. Probably widely and sparingly distributed

throughout N. F. India and Burma ; its dull colouring may render it very

inconspicuous so that it may have often been overlooked. The longitudinally

bicolorous pterostigma, the small black nodal point on the costa and the

characteristically broad right angled anal appendages easily serve to distinguish

it from other species.

Lestes umbriana Selys(1891). (PI. I. 4.)

Lestes umbrina Selys, ‘ , O donates de Birmanie ’, Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova

x (xxx) pp. 497, 498 (1891) ; Laid. Rec, Ind. Mus., vol. xix,

pp. 150-151 (1920).

Male, Abdomen 32 mm. Hindwing 20 mm.

Head : labium dirty yellow or pale brown ; labrum, bases of mandibles and

cheeks pale yellowish brown ; rest of head pale reddish brown ; antennae

dark brown except the two basal segments which are yellowish ; eyes brown

above, yellow beneath.

Prothorax and thorax dark reddish brown on dorsum, pale yellowish

brown laterally without markings. Legs reddish yellow ; the anterior limbs

black on the outer surface, all femora and tibiae black on the flexor surface

12

90 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

and the mid pair of femora with an ill-defined interrupted stripe on the outer

surface.

Wings palely enfumed, hyaline ; pterostigma elongate, pale brown, the

outer and inner borders creamy white or palest brown, covering about 1£

cells, braced ; 9-11 postnodal nervures in forewings, 9 in the hind.

Abdomen reddish brown, the dorsum darker brown but paler in some

specimens; the intersegmental sutures dark brown. Anal appendages brownish

yellow darkening at apices ; superiors slightly longer than segment 10,

coarsely spined along the outer border, forcipate, the apices curling in to

meet each other and rounded at the ends, furnished on the inner border,

at junction of basal and middle thirds, with a small spine, the middle

third occupied with the usual scale-like expansion which terminates distad

in a small inconspicuous spine. Inferior appendages conical and opposed,

but the apices slightly divergent, about half the length only of the

superiors.

Female. Abdomen 29-30 mm Hindwing 21 mm.

Almost exactly similar to the male, differing mainly in sexual characters.

Wings as for male with 9 to 10 postnodal nervures to forewings and 9 in the

hind ; head, thorax and legs as for male ; abdomen darker on the dorsum

from segment 3 to 7, with a pair of subdorsal subapical comma-like spots

placed transversely ; segments 8 to 10 and the apical half of 7 broadly

blackish brown on dorsum, this colour tapering apicad on 9 and 10 ;

segments 8 and 9 also with a large blackish brown spot on each side at the

ventral borker.

Anal appendages short conical, pale yellow and with a short conical

protuberance notched at its apex placed between them at the apical border of

segment 10. Vulvar scale short but robust, brownish yellow, minutely

serrate along its under border.

Distribution. The type comes from Burma (Bhamo), August, and is now

in the Selysian collection. In this same collection is a pair from Pamizah,

Bengal ?, and in the MacLachlan collection, a female from Yunnan, I possess a

female from Baghwonie, Duars, Bengal, taken in June. The Indian Museum

possesses specimens from Kutch, Allahabad and Panch Mahals. A specimen

in the same collection is labelled as from Waltair, but during two years’

residence in that district, I never once came across it, so that the label may be

wrong. The species, however, appears to be widely scattered although sparsely

so. Laidlaw is of opinion that it is synonymous with L. concinna Selys, from

the Philippines and Java ; after carefully comparing the description of this

species with umbrina , I feel inclined to share his opinion. If, as he says, Selys

had compared the two insects, he would probably have hesitated before

describing umbrina as a separate species ; the shape of the male anal

appendages and the markings of segments 8 to 10 in the female do not differ

from L. concinna. Superficially L. umbrina resembles C. olivaceum found in

similar places, among long dried grasses. It is distinguished from other Indian

species by its uniform colouring and its pterostigma with outer and inner

borders paler than the body of the organ.

It is to be noted that artifects in colouring of the thorax, usually in the form

of stripes on the dorsum and sides, are quite common in the dried state of these

small insects, which may account for a number of errors which have crept into

the Selysian descriptions.

Lestes nlgriceps Fraser (1924.)

Lestes nigriceps Fras., Mem. Dept. Agricul. India, No. 8, vol. vii,

Aug. (1924).

Male. Abdomen 32 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Head : labium, labrum, cheeks and bases of mandibles pale brown ; rest

of head matt black ; behind eyes and head pruinosed white.

Prothorax black, largely obscured by white pruinescence.

Thorax black, marked with a narrow reddish brown (possibly blue during

life) humeral stripe and a narrow irregular stripe on the mespimeron pale

yellowish green. The sides near the ventral border also pale greenish yellow.

On the dorsum, internal to the humeral sttipe, an obscure green metallic stripe

of even width similar to that seen in L. viridula. Legs yellow, femora and

tibiae striped longitudinally with black.

- Wings hyaline ; pterostigma long and narrow, about 4 times as long as

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

91

broad, pale brown ; 11-12 postnodal nervures in forewing, 9 to 10 in the

hind.

Abdomen brownish yellow broadly marked on dorsum with bronzed black or

metallic-green as follows: — Segments 2 to 6 and the basal half of 7 metallic green

or bronzed black, remaining segments black ; segment 2 with the middorsal

carina finely black for its basal three-fourths but widely so thereafter ; on all

segments the dorsal black expanding apically and confluent with a narrow

black apical ring.

Anal appendages yellowish brown, superiors black at apex and base, and

furnished with a robust inner basal spine followed by the usual expansion which

occupies the middle third of appendage, the apical third sharply angulated in-

ward and downward and s pined along its outer border. Inferior appendages

short, angulate, about half the length of superiors.

Female. Abdomen 30-32 mm. Hindwing 21-22 mm,

Somewhat similar to the male but without the extensive melanism, especially

on the thorax. The black marking of head is more restricted and has a

bronzed or metallic reflex ; the back of head is reddish brown without pruiue-

scence ; the prothorax is pale brown with two fine dark brown lines on the

middorsum and without overlying pruinescence. Thorax pale brown without

black markings but with the narrow metallic green humeral stripes very

conspicuous. Abdomen paler, segments 1, the sides and apical end of 9 and

the whole of 10 pale brown. Anal appendages brown, conical, short, pointed

at apex : vulvar scale brown, robust, finely serrate below.

Distribution. The type is a ma'e in the B.M., from Pusa, Bihar, and apart

from 2 females from the same locality, is the only specimen knowm. It is

related to L. viridula by the green thoracic stripe and by the close similarity

of the anal appendages, but it differs by the extreme melanism, unknown in

viridula and by the longer pterostigma. I have hesitated to include this

species as I have not had the opportunity of comparing it with L . malabarica

which it closely resembles ; should the two species be synonymous, nigriceps

will have priority. The ground colour of malabarica is blue, but the type of

nigriceps may have undergone colour changes from decomposition.

Lestes thoracica Laid law (1920) (PI. I. 3.),

Lestes thoracica Laid., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, pp. 152-153 (1920).

Male. Abdomen 30-32 mm. Hindwing 20 mm.

Head: labium white; labrum, bases of ‘mandibles and cheeks turquoise

blue ; rest of head matt black except occiput and behind head which are

creamy white ; eyes dark blue above, pale beneath.

Prothorax black on dorsum, creamy white laterally, marked with a large

black spot on the anterior trochanter.

Thorax pale olive green with a pinkish tinting towTards the middorsum ; the

middorsal carina finely black, as also the upper parts of the humeral and

lateral sutures.

Legs yellow striped in their length with black on the outer side ; tarsi black ;

flexor surface of femora also black.

Wings hyaline; 10-11 postnodal nervures to both fore- and hind-wings,*

pterostigma pale brown, framed in blackish nervures and with the outer distal

end pale ; braced, covering 1 to 2 cells.

Abdomen black on dorsum, pale azure blue at the sides, the dorsal black

expanded subapically on segments 2 to 7, completely ringing the latter

segment ; segments 8 to 10 entirely black on dorsum, sides and beneath,

except for a small latero-apical spot, bluish white, on both sides of the latter

two segments.

Anal appendages creamy white tipped with black ; superiors one and a half

times the length of segment 10, forcipate, apices rounded at the ends, curling

in to meet each other, coarsely spined along the outer border, furnished at

•junction of basal and middle thirds with a robust inner spine which is followed

by the usual scale-like expansion which occupies rather more than the middle

third of appendage and is finely denticulate along its inuer border. Inferior

appendages not quite half the length of superiors, thick at base, ungulate

thereafter, rounded and furnished at apex with coarse hairs.

Female : Abdomen 28-31 mm. Hindwing 20-22 mm.

Very similar to the male.

Head : labrum, cheeks and bases of mandibles pale yellowish green, rest of

92 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vo l. XXXIV

head olivaceous with a small dark brownish mark on each side of clypeus and

some small spots in the ocellar space.

Prothorax and thorax olivaceous green on dorsum, paler laterally and

beneath without any markings. Legs as for male, but the lateral stripes

restricted to the distal ends of the femora.

Wings palely enfutned ; pterostigma as for male. 10-12 postnodal nervures

to fore wings, 9 to 10 in the hind.

Abdomen pale olivaceous, greenish yellow at the sides, dark markings of

dorsum poorly defined ; segments 2 to 7 with a pair of small spots transversely

placed subapicad on dorsum ; segments 8 and 10 and the apical two-thirds of

7 with the dorsum black only, broad on 7 and 8, abruptly narrowed on 9 and

10 ; ventral borders of 8 to 10 blackish brown.

Anal appendages very short, conical, pointed, creamy white. Vulvar

scale pale robust, extending to end of abdomen, finely serrate along lower

border.

Distribution. The type is a male taken at Agra, U. P., now in the Indian

Museum, and there are other specimens in the same Museum from the Chilka

Lake. I have a pair from Pusa, Bihar, taken in July. The species appears

to be confined to Orssa, Bengal, Bihar and the U. P. It is easily recognized

by the jet black head (spotted with black in the female). The female

resembles that of L. umbrina rather closely but is distinguished by the head

marked with black and by the pterostigma bordered outwardly only with

pale brown.

Genus Platylestes : Selys (1862). (Text fig. 1.)

Small dragonflies of the size of Lestes and considerably smaller than

Megalestes, resting with wings expanded, rather dull in colouring, non-

metallic ; wings long and narrow, hyaline ; pterostigma subquadrate, about

twice as long as broad, more or less, braced ; postnodal nervures moderately

numerous ; ac (postcostal nervure) situate about midway between the two

antenodal nervures ; ab meeting ac at border of wing ; discoidal cells narrow,

acute distad, differing but slightly in shape and of the same length in fore and

hind-wings, that of fore-wing with the hinder border more than twice the

length of costal and at least three times the length of basal, that of hind-wing

only twice the length of costal but four times the length of basal ; IRiii and

Riv + v arising much closer to arc than to node and running parallel for some

distance ; Riii arising from Rii about 3 to 4 cells after the node ; an oblique

nervure always present between Riii and IRiii ; intercalated sectors at apical

end of wing similar to genus Lestes. Abdomen slender, longer than wings ;

superior anal appendages forcipate, long and attenuated, with two spines on

the inner border. Female with anal appendages markedly flattened and

spatulate. Genotype— Platylestes platystyla (Ramb.).

Venationally Platylestes differs scarcely from Lestes , although its author

emphasized that the nervure IRiii is zigzagged in contradistinction to Lestes

where it is not so ; this character is not however at all evident in any of the

three specimens mentioned below under pi at sty la , so that it may have been an

aberration in the type female wing. The slight but very evident difference

between the discoidal cells of fore- and hind-wings, together with the elongate

attenuated anal appendages of the male point to a close relation to Ceylono-

lestes or at least to a passage from Lestes to that genus, which may therefore

be considered as a link between the two.

Platylestes platystyla (Ramb) (1842) (PL I. 5 and 6 and Text fig. 2. b.)

Lestes platystyla Ramb. Ins., Nevrop. p. 254 ( 1842; .

Platylestes platystyla Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 338 (1862) ; Id

Odonates de Birmanie , Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, x (xxx), p. 499

(1891) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, pp. 155-157 (1920).

Platylestes platystylus Kirby, Cat. Odon. p. 164 (1890) ; id. Journ. Linn.

Soc. Zool. xxiv, p. 566 (1893).

Male. Abomen 33 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Head : labium dirty yellow ; labrum, bases of mandibles and cheeks olivace-

ous, the former with a medio-basal dark brown spot lying in a median sulcus ;

rest of head violaceous brown with three small black spots at base of

postclypeus and similar spots at base of antennae and anterior to the median

ocellus ; behind eyes yellowish ; eyes olivaceous above, paler below.

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

93

Fig. 1. Wings of Plaiylestes platysiyla (Ramb.)

Prothorax and thorax palest khaki brown, paler at the sides and pruinosed

white beneath, the thorax with a large number of black spots disposed as

follows, — one at the anterior end of the antealar sinus, an antehumeral spot

lying near the middle of the middorsal carina, 3 humeral spots, a superior, a

medial and an inferior, 4 spots on the mesepimeron, one at its upper third, one

over the spiracle and two at its lower part, a spot at the upper part of the

postero-lateral suture, 2 spots on the ventro-lateral border and two small

points closely apposed beneath thorax behind the hind limbs.

Legs pale whitish yellow with black spines, the anterior pair of tibiae with a

black outer stripe and a similar line along the extensor surface of femora.

Wings palely enfumed petiolated as far as ac , rather pointed at apices ;

pterostigma short and broad, not quite twice as long as broad, distal end nearly

straight, proximal oblique and in line with the brace, costal border shorter

than hinder, covering about 2 cells, dark brown with white or pale inner and

outer ends; 10-11 postnodal nervures in the forewings, 9 in the hind, more

rarely 8.

Abdomen olivaceous changing to warm reddish brown on the hinder

segments ; segments 1 to 6 with small paired subdorsal lanceolate subapical

spots dark brown, these segments paler at both ends especially at the base

where the ground colour tapers to a point ; segments 8 to 10 with similar

subapical spots, but yellow and conspicuous against the dark background.

Segments 2 to 7 with black apical rings.

Anal appendages whitish, the superiors black at base, curling in at apices to

meet each other in a gradual and regular curve, but the extreme apices curling

a little outwards again, the outer border coarsely spined, the inner border with

a thin shell-like plaque beginning from near the base as an obtuse spine and

terminating about the junction of the middle and outer thirds of the appendage

in an acute spine ; apex furnished with a tuft of stiff hairs. The whole append-

age longer and narrower than in Lestes and the inner expansion much narrower

and resembling rather closely the type of Ceylcnolestes. Inferior appendages

about half the length, thick at base, apposed at extreme apices, then divergent

and abruptly narrowed and ungulate, finally convergent at apices so as to

enclose a small oval space.

Female. Abdomen 33 mm. Hindwing 23 mm.

Closely resembles the male in most respects, differing mainly in sexual

characters. The black spots on the postclypeus and head are absent ; labrum

and bases of mandibles pale brown or yellowish ; eyes brown ; thorax, legs and

wings similar to the male ; forewings with 10 postnodal nervures, hind with

only 8 ; pterostigma about twice as long as broad ; abdomen dark brown on

94 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

dorsum, segments 8 and 9 dark ochreous, 10 golden brown clouded with dark

brown near the base and along the middorsal carina, otherwise marked as for

the male. Anal appendages yellow, blackish brown at base, as long as

segment 10, flattened, lanceolate but inner border rather sinuous, apex obtusely

pointed. Vulvar scale robust, not extending to end of abdomen, yellow clouded

with brown.

Distribution. Bengal and Burma. Very few specimens of this rare and

interesting species are known ; the type is a female in the Selysian collection,

the original Rambur type . Its description differs considerably from the above,

but the differences are probably due to its poor condition and perhaps decom-

position ; the above description is made from a fine specimen from Hasimara,

Duars, Bengal, taken by Mr. H. V.O’Donel, 7, viii, 23, a female with one anal

appendage missing and now in my collection. The description of the male is

from a specimen in the Indian Museum taken in Calcutta in November. There

is another male in the Pusa collection from Burma and these four specimens

are the only ones known. The quadrate pterostigma will at once distinguish

the species from any other Lestes. It is possible that more than one species

exists among these four, but I doubt it ; it is to be hoped that more material

will come to hand to settle this point.

Genus: Ceylonolestes, Kennedy (1920), (Text fig. 3.)

Ceylonolestes Kennedy, Ohio, Journ. Sci. vol. xxi, No. 2, p. 84 (1920).

Ceylanicolestes , Fraser, Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xxvi, p. 487 (1924).

Lestes , Section 2, 1st Group , A , Selys, Syn. Lestes, p. 42 (1862).

Dragonflies of small stature resting with wings closed over dorsum ; body

non-metallic, ground colour bright azure blue ; wings hyaline, untinted,

petiolated as far as ac, ab meeting ac at hinder border of wing, ac situated at a

level more or less distad of the midpoint between the two antenodals, discoidal

cells differing in shape and size in fore- and hind wings, narrow, long and

acutely pointed at the distal angle, discoidal cell of fore wing with posterior

border more than twice the length of costal and nearly four times the length of

basal, that of hind wing with posterior border not quite twice the length of

costal and five times the length of basal, Riii arising about 4 cells distad the

node in fore wing, 3 cells distad in the hind ; IRiii and Riv-^v arising much

closer to arc than to node, IRiii slightly zigzagged towards its apical end,

MA zigzagged from level of node, oblique vein present between Riii and

IRiii ; pterostigma unicolorous, narrow, more than twice as long as broad,

braced, outer end not oblique ; intercalated sectors similar to genus Lestes.

Posterior lobe of prothorax simple, rounded, not lobed.

Superior anal appendages forcipate, long and attenuated, furnished along

the middle third of its inner border with a narrow expansion which begins and

ends in a sharp spine ; inferior appendages variable, anal appendages of

female conical, short.

Distribution. "Ceylon, South India, Burma and Japan. Four species are

confined to South India and Ceylon, one to Burma and the remaining one

(peregrinus Ris.) to Japan. Genotype— Ceylonolestes gracilis (Selys).

Ceylonolestes gracilis (Hagen) (1858) (PI. 1.8).

Lestes gracilis Hagen, Syn. Near. Ceylons , No. 57, Zool. Bot. Gesellsch.

Wien. (1858) ; Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 327 (1862) ; Kirby,

Cat. Odon, p. 163 (1890) ; Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond, p. 206 (1891) ; Id.

Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool. xxiv, p. 566 (1893) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus.

vol. xix, p. 158 (1920).

Lestes gracilis gracilis Ris, Suppl. Ent. No. v, pp. 13-15, Pl, I, fig. 4

(1916) ; Id. Spolia Zeylauica, vol. xii, p. 358 (1920).

Male. Abdomen 30-33 mm. Hindwing 20-22 mm .

Head: labium yellowish white; labium, cheeks and bases of mandibles,

pale azure blue ; rest of head matt black with a cupreous reflex ; eyes deep

blue above paler beneath.

Prothorax blue at the sides with two thick brownish black bands on the

dorsum. Thorax azure blue, paler on sides and beneath, dorsum with a thick

cupreous or bronzed black band extending outwrards nearly as far as the

humeral suture ; upper part of humeral suture black and, slightly posterior to

it, a chain of three bronzed black spots ; a spot on the lower part of mesepi-

meron just behind the trochanter and another on the upper part of the postero-

Indian dragonflies

95

lateral suture. Beneath two small triangular blackish areas on the paired

sclerites.

Legs ochreous on the extensor surfaces, black on the flexor, as also the tarsi;

spines moderately long and numerous.

Wings hyaline ; 10-12 postnodal nervures to forewings, 10-11 in the hind ;

pterostigma rather more than twice as long as broad, outer end not oblique,

covering 2 cells, braced, dark reddish brown.

Abdomen azure blue, marked on dorsum with bronzed black ; segment 1 with

a small baso-dorsal quadrate black spot, 2 with a broad dorsal band falling

short of the apical border, sometimes split up into two broad parallel stripes

by the dorsal crest which is bluish, but in adults, the stripes confluent for

rather more than the basal half, after which is seen a small round blue spot on

the dorsal carina continuous with a fine blue line which runs into an apical

blue ring; segments 3-8 with narrow blue basal rings and the middoisal carina

finely yellow, rest of dorsum bronzed black ; segment 9 with the dorsal black

ending well before apical border as two widely divergent points, the apical

portion blue, as also the whole of segment 10 except for a small basal spot of

black on each side.

Anal appendages black, very long, sinuous and forcipate, curling gradually

inwards until the apices meet, after which they are directed straight back in a

bayonet-like angulation to end in a moderately acute point ; the inner border

at its middle third furnished with a scale-like dilatation which begins rather

abruptly as a rounded angle and ends in a long fine spine ; beneath this

dilatation, at its middle, a small pointed tubercle visible only in profile, outer-

border near apex coarsely spined. Inferior appendages tumid, apposed,

rounded at apex, about half the length of superiors which are about half as

long again as segment 10.

Female. Abdomen 29-30 mm. Hindwing 23 mm.

Marked exactly as in the male but the ground colour greenish blue. In some

specimens the dorsal markings of segments 2 to 5 or 6 are metallic green and

the middorsal carina is finely ochreous as far as segment 7. Wings with 9-10

postnodal nervures in the fore and 9 in the hind : pterostigma similar to the

male.

Anal appendages brown, paler at the base, black at apices, pointed, conical,

about as long as segment 10 ; vulvar scale yellow or pale brown, broadly black

along lower border which is not serrate.

Distribution . Ceylon hill tracts up to 6,000 ft. The type, a male in the

Hagen collection, is from Rhambodda, Ceylon. I have a large series collected

by Col. F. Wall, J.M.S., at Banderewela, 5,000 ft. during October.

The species is distinguished from others by the bifid dorsal marking on

segment 9 and by the posthumeral chain of 3 spots. As pointed out by Dr. Ris,

these spots are not mentioned in the original description.

Ceylonolestes divisa (Hagen-Selys) (1862).

Lestes divisa Hagen-Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 328 (1862) ; Laid.

Rec. Ind. Mus., vol.xix, p. 158 (1920); Laid. Spolia Zeylanica, vol. xii,

pp. 358-360 (1924).

Lestes divisus, Kirby, Cat. Odon., p. 163 ( 1890) ; Id. Journ. Linn. Soc.

Zool.,xxiv, p. 566 (1893) ; Ris. Ent. Suppl. No. v, p. 13 (1916).

Male. Abdomen 33 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Head : labium yellow ; labrum, cheeks, bases of mandibles and anteclypeus

turquoise blue, rest of head bronzed black.

Prothorax similar to gracilis. Thorax with a broad dorsal bronzed or

metallic green band tapering somewhat anteriorly and not extending as far

out as the humeral suture ; laterally azure blue changing to pale yellow below

and beneath ; marked with small black spots on the upper parts of humeral

and postero-lateral sutures and a similar spot after the origin of each hinder

limb.

Wings hyaline, palely enfumed ; pterostigma blackish brown, about 3 times

as long as broad, not dilated, outer border straight, covering 2 cells ; 11 to 12

postnodal nervures to forewings.

Legs with extensor surfaces yellowish, flexor black as in gracilis.

Abdomen azure blue marked on dorsum broadly with bronzed black, but

segments 1 and 2 metallic green as in some specimens of gracilis , but on

segment 2 the band extending as far as apical border ; segments 3 to 8 bronzed

96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

black on dorsum, this colour tapered at the base of each segment so as to leave

a basal ring of blue ; segment 9 with the dark colour of dorsum tapering

towards apical end but not reaching it, the apex blue ; segment 10 entirely

blue.

Anal appendages yellow, black at base and apex ; superiors forcipate, finely

spined along outer border near apex, furnished at the inner middie third with

an expansion which begins gradually and is bevelled off into body of appendage,

whilst, at the apical end, it tapers into a long fine spine ; apex rounded, not

bevelled and without any tubercle beneath. Inferior appendages half the

length of the superiors, apposed at base, very tumid at origin, ungulate there-

after and with a blunt apex.

Female. Abdomen 31 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Very similar to the male but the ground colour greenish or pale olivaceous ;

markings similar to the male.

Anal appendages short conical brown, shorter than segment 10 ; vulvar

scale short, dark brown, minutely serrate along lower border.

Distribution. The type is a male in the Hagen collection from Rhambodda,

Ceylon ; there is a female in the same collection. I have not seen this

species which resembles gracilis very closely and comes from the same district.

It differs by the dorsal thoracic marking tapering anteriorly, by the dorsum of

thorax and the two first abdominal segments bronzed metallic green, and by

the dorsal marking on segment 9 ending apicad in a point instead of bifid.

The inner dilatation of the superior appendages also begins gradually instead

of abruptly as in gracilis. For the rest it is to be remarked that specimens of

gracilis with the thorax and first few segments of abdomen green metallic are

not uncommon and the bifid character of the dorsal marking on segment 9 is

often very much obscured from postmortem changes and darkening from

decomposition, so that it is quite possible that the two species are synonymous.

Laidlaw records divisa from Kandy, Ceylon, from May to July.

Ceylonolestes davenporti (Ris) nov. nom. (PI. I. 7.1

Lestes gracilis birmanus Ris nec Selys, Suppl. Ent. No. v, pp. 13, 14 (1916) ;

Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus, vol. xix, p. 158 (1920).

Male. Abdomen 30-33 mm. Hindwing 19-23 mm.

Head : labium pale yellow ; labrum, bases of mandibles, cheeks and clypeus

turquoise blue, postclypeus with its outer ends broadly black, only the central

part blue ; head above bronzed or cupreous black; occiput yellow at the

median parts of its hinder border.

Prothorax black on dorsum, broadly blue laterally and with a median dorsal

stripe on the middle lobe tapering anteriorly ; anterior lobe blue with a small

black spot posteriorly on its middorsum ; posterior lobe with a fine middorsal

blue line which broadens anteriorly to become confluent with the middorsal

blue of middle lobe.

Thorax black on dorsum with a cupreous reflex as far back as nearly to

middle of mesepimeron, the border of the black being broadly angulate or

crenulate ; a narrow antehumeral blue stripe bordering the humeral suture,

incomplete above where it slightly overlaps the suture ; laterally azure blue

with a small linear spot on mesepimeron near its upper part, and a second

black spot on upper part of postero-lateral suture. Beneath pale blue or

yellow clouded with brown, two oblique spots on the paired sclerites just

behind the hinder pair of limbs and a pair of tiny pyriform black spots at

centre.

Legs bluish green on whole of extensor surfaces from femora to tarsi, black

on flexor.

Wings hyaline ; pterostigma blackish or dark reddish brown, the termina-

tions of the bordering nervures posteriorly white, covering nearly two cells,

braced, nearly three times as long as broad ; 10-13 postnodal nervures in fore-

wings, 10-11 in the hind.

Abdomen azure blue laterally, broadly black on dorsum with a green

metallic reflex as far as segment 5 then with cupreous reflex to the end of

segment 8 ; the greater part of 9 and the whole of segment 10 azure blue save

for a narrow mediobasal black line and a lateral black spot on each side of

segment 10 ; segment 1 black on dorsum from base to apex ; segment 2 marked

as for divisa , the metallic band extending from base to apex but tapering to a

point at apex of segment to become confluent with a narrow apical black ring,

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

97

middorsal carina finely ochreous expanding into a small blue spot just apicad

of the middle of segment ; segments 3 to 5 with the middorsal carina finely

ochreous, with narrow blue basal rings and with the dorsal black expanded

subapicad on each segment ; segments 7 and 8 entirely black save for the ven-

tral borders of 8 narrowly ; segment 9 with a broad triangular black spot on

each side narrowly confluent over dorsum at base, tapering apicad but not

nearly reaching end of segment.

Anal appendages blue, apices and inner border black or entirely black in old

specimens, the apices thickly coated with white hairs. Superiors forcipate,

long attenuated and curved gently towards each other to meet at apices which

are thickened and with the point directed straight back, coarsely spined along

outer border near apex and with the usual expansion on the inner border at the

middle third beginning as an abrupt rounded angle and ending in a long acute

spine; beneath the appendages, near the middle of the expansion, a small

tubercle seen in profile. Inferior appendages half the length of superiors,

which are about half as long again as segment 10, broad, rounded, apposed at

bases ; apices rounded, black.

Female. Abdomen 31 mm. Hind wing 24 mm.

Closely similar to the male, the markings only differing on segments 8 and 9

where the sides are broadly blue ; segment 9 has the whole of dorsum cupreous

black, whilst 10 has two large triangular black spots confluent or not over

dorsum as on segment 9 in the male.

Wings hyaline, palely enfumed in very old specimens ; 11 postnodal nervures

in forewings, 9 in the hind ; pterostigma reddish brown.

Anal appendages greenish blue, about as long as segment 10, conical

pointed : vulvar scale yellow, brownly black along border which is very

minutely serrate.

Distribution . Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap from 4,000 ft. to

6,000 ft. I have specimens from the Palni plateau and from the Mudis,

Annaimallai Hills, the latter being decidedly smaller than the Palni specimens

which are taken at a greater altitude. Mr. T. Bainbrigge Fletcher and Col.

Frere took this species in some plenty in the Palm's from May to July, but I

found it by no means common in the Mudis where it required much searching

for. Here it frequented only one locality amongst scrub, near a river, resting

almost vertically and with closed wings. I was much struck with how blue it

appeared as compared with dried specimens, or even with C. pulcherrima in

the living state. It is distinguished easily from gracilis and divisa by the blue

antehumeral stripe. From C. birmanus Selys, which Dr. Ris thinks the species

to be synonymous with, the differentiation is far more difficult, but as the

Selysian description is very brief, I have no doubt differences will easily be

found. All species of the genus are so local in their distribution that I am

unable to reconcile birmanus with occurring in Continental India and in so far

removed a district as the Western Ghats. It is thus, for geographical reasons

only, that I consider them to be two distinct species.

Ceylonolestes birmanus (Selys) (1891).

Lestes divisa nec Selys, Odonotes de Birmanie, Ann. Mus. civ. Genov, x

(xxx), p. 495 (1891).

Lestes gracilis birmanus Ris, nec Selys, Suppl. Ent. No. v., pp. 13-14

(1916) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus, vol. xix, p. 158 (1920).

Male. Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

The Selysian description of a single male taken at Puepoli, Burma, in June

is as follows : * I am not certain that this single male is divisa Hagen, which

I do not possess and which I know only from a short description which I

published in 1862 in Syn Lestes, No. 40. In the Puepoli specimen there is

immediately after the humeral suture on the sides of the thorax, a moderately

broad band black of which the outer border has three angles en echelon some-

what like that seen in L . colensonis of New Zealand. This black band is not

mentioned in the description of divisa and if not a simple omission, the species

of Fea will be new and I propose for it the name of Lestes birmanus , distin-

guished from L . divisa , Ceylon, by the front of thorax black with a blue

antehumeral band on each side.’

Thus the description, if such a brief one may be so called, fits C. davenporti

exactly, but even so, such is the extremely local character of all species of

Ceylonolestes that the vast distance separating Burma from the Western

13

98 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Ghats of India seems to me an insuperable difficulty in regarding the two

insects as conspecific. Further material from Burma is needed to settle this

point and it is to be hoped that some of our entomological members in Burma

will assist us in this respect.

Ceylonolestes pulcherrima (Fraser) (1924). (PI. I, 10 and text-fig. 2. a.)

Ceylanicolestes pulcherrima Fras., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol xxvi, pp. 487-489.

PI. xxvi, fig. 6 (1924)

Fig. 2. a. Head, thorax and first two abdominal segments of

Ceylonolestes pulcherrima (Fras.). b. The same of Plalylesles

platystyla (Ramb.)

Male. Abdomen 34 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Head : labium white ; labrum, bases of mandibles, cheeks and antecly-

peus turquoise blue: postclypeus darker blue marked with two small black

points, rest of head black with a dull green metallic reflex ; eyes deep blue

above, turquoise blue in front, greenish yellow beneath.

Prothorax blue laterally, brownish above, marked with two dark green

metallic parallel stripes.

Thorax turquoise blue laterally, the dorsum narrowly dark metallic green,

the middorsal carina and margins of antealar sinus finely blue. Laterally

marked with a large black spot behind the upper part of the first lateral suture

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

99

and a smaller one behind its middle ; the upper ends of sutures black.

Beneath dirty white with two large black spots converging at the anterior part

of the unpaired sclerites, and a larger blackish brown spot on either side

posterior to them.

Legs brown, flexor surfaces black.

Wings hyaline, postncdal nervures to forewings 12, in the hind 11 ; ptero-

stigma blackish brown with paler borders, about three times as long as broad,

inner side oblique, outer straight.

Abdomen azure blue marked with black as follows:— segment 1 with a small

basal black spot ; segment 2 with a narrow apical ring and a broad dorsal band

shaped like the head of a thistle extending from base to apex ; segments 3 to 7

with dorsal bands not quite extending to base of segments where tuey' leave a

small blue ring, apieally expanding and then contracting again to become

confluent with narrow apical black rings ; segment 8 all black except the

apical suture which is blue ; segment 9 with the basal third black, the remainder

blue, as is whole of segment 10.

Anal appendages. Superiors blue at base turning to white and finally

brown at apices which are tipped with wnite hairs, narrow, forcipate, apices

curling gradually in until they meet, outer border near apices coarsely spmed,

furnished on the inner border with a very narrow expansion which begins to

emerge from appendage gradually, not abruptly as in other species (except

divisa) and ends in a long fine spine. Inferior appendages about half the

length of superiors which are about half as long again as segment 10, very

tumid, apposed except at extreme apices, broadly conical.

Female. Abdomen 33 mm. Hindwing 24 mm.

Head : eyes olivaceous green above, pale greenish yellow beneath ; labrum

very pale blue, rest of head as in the male,

Prothorax and thorax pale olivaceous brown with a somewhat violaceous

tint, the middorsal carina and margins of antealar sinus finely reddish brown,

black markings exactly similar to the male.

Legs pale yellowish brown, flexor surfaces black.

Wings similar but in old adults evenly tinted with pale brown ; 11-12

postnodal nervures to forewings, 30 in the hind ; pterostigma as for the male.

Abdomen violaceous brown changing to reddish brown on the distal seg-

ments, marked with black as follows segment 1 with a basal black dorsal

spot; segment 2 with a broad dorsal band split by the reddish brown dorsal

carina for its apical two-thirds, the band unevenly. expanded towards the basal

border of segment, abruptly expanded towards the apical ; segments 3 to 5 as

for the male ; segments. 5 and 7 with blue basal rings ; segments 6 and 7

with the dorsal band rather ill-defined towards the base of segments, whilst

segments 8 to 10 are uniform dark brown.

Anal appendages as long as segment 10, conical, pointed, pale blue ; vulvar

scale robust, dark brown, very minutely serrate along free border.

Distribution. Found only in Coorg but in many swampy localities, at about

2,500 ft. to 3,500 ft. in that area. Usually found in jungly retreats, a belt of

dense scrub or trees surrounding a small pond is the favourite situation. In

such a place they may be found perched on the tips of twigs at any height up to

about fifteen feet from the ground. The species is essentially arboreal, males

being found in the above described swampy retreats, females in the surround-

ing jungle not far from the breeding places.

Ceylonolestes cyanea (Selys) (1862). (PI. 1. 9 and text fig. 3.)

Lestes cyanea Selys, Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 335 (1862) ; Laid. Rec.

Ind. Mus., vol. xix, pp. 158-161 (1920).

Lestes cyaneus Kirby, Cat. Odom., p. 163 (1890).

Indolestes helena Fras., Mem. Dept. Agric. Pusa, India, vol. vii, pp. 60-61,

PI. vii, fig. 1. (1922).

Indolestes veronica Fras., Ibid., vol. viii, No. 8, p. 85 (1924).

Male. Abdomen 32-36 mm. Hindwing 21-24 mm.

Head: labium palest brown or dirty white; labrum, cheeks and bases of

mandibles turquoise blue ; rest of head matt black with a coppery reflex behind

the bases of antennae ; eyes dark blue above, paler below.

Prothorax black on dorsum with a blue middorsal stripe, narrow on the

posterior lobe, broadening abruptly on the median lobe. Laterally pale blue

traversed by a thick longitudinal black stripe.

100 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

Fig. 3. Wings of Ceylonolestes cyanea (Selys.)

Thorax with the dorsum and sides as far posterior as the middle of

mesepimeron black with a violet or coppery reflex, the borders of antealar sinus

and the middorsal carina finely mapped out in pale greenish blue, a narrow

antehumeral stripe gradually broadening below limited posteriorly by the

humeral suture and incomplete above but continued posterior to the suture by a

narrow dagger-shaped stripe, the upper portion of which may be cut off to form

an isolated small spot. Laterally blue, the margin where it meets the black

anteriorly being irregularly zigzagged or angulated, the black extending back

above and gradually tapering away on the metepimeron and descending for a

short distance along the postero-lateral suture. Beneath pale brown with two

triangular areas dark brown.

Legs with the flexor surfaces of femora and tibiae and the tarsi black, the

extensor surfaces of femora and tibiae bright ochreous.

Wings hyaline, palely enfumed in very old adults only ; 13-14 postnodal

nervures to forewings, 11—12 in the hind ; pterostigma rather squared at both

ends, especially distad, braced but the brace occasionally proximad of the

pterostigma, about times as long as broad, black or blackish brown, covering

3 or more cells ; Riii arising 3-4 cells distad of the node ; posterior border of

discoidal cell in the forewing about 4 times as long as -the basal, and about

5 times as long in the hind ; ac slightly nearer the level of the distal antenodal

nervure

Abdomen azure blue marked with black as follows: — segment 1 with the base

black, the -outer borders of this marking prolonged apicad as a narrow

black line as far as the apical border ; segment 2 with a narrow sub-

dorsal black stripe on each side which become confluent at a point over the

dorsum at apical border of segment and send up a subapical pointed prolonga-

tion over dorsum to nearly enclose a small subapical spot of the ground colour ;

segments 3 to 6 with apical paired wedge-shaped spots confluent finely over

the dorsum at apical border but tapering basad, the middorsal carina finely

blue between them, these spots gradually lengthening from segment 3 to 6, on

the latter of which they extend for about halfway to base ; segment 7 nearly

entirely black, this leaving only a narrow basal ring and the whole length of

the middorsal carina finely blue ; segments 8 and 9 all black except the

middorsal carina which is finely blue ; segment 10 entirely blue but some black

spines along its apical border.

Anal appendages blue changing to ferruginous and finally blackish brown at

extreme apex, about half as long again as segment 10, forcipate, curving

gradually in to meet at apices which are directed straight back posterior wards

(the two appendages resembling the arms and hands of a man in the act of

INDIAN DR A G ON FLIES

ioi

diving), furnished near the base with a narrow expansion occupying the middle

third of appendage, arising insensibly from the body of appendage and not as a

blunt spine and terminating in a long thin acutely pointed spine directed

towards apex of appendage ; apex obtusely pointed and directed a little down-

wards and slightly expanded as seen in profile, tipped with fine white hairs,

outer border rather coarsely spined. Inferior appendages rudimentary, tumid,

rounded at apices, closely apposed, about one-fourth the length of superiors.

Female. Abdomen 33-36 mm. Hindwing 24-28 mm.

Head, thorax and legs marked exactly as in the male but the ground colour

pale greenish blue ; wings in elderly adult specimens more deeply enfumed

especially towards the apices ; 12-14 postnodal nervures to forewings, 11-12 in

the hind ; pterostigma dark reddish brown, the inner and outer borders finely

bright ochreous. Abdomen with the black markings more extensive as

follows: — segment 1 with whole of dorsum black save for a small middorsal

spot of blue ; segment 2 with the subdorsal black stripes thicker and confluent

at base as well as apical border of segment, the included ground colour narrow

at apex and base but broadening at the middle three-fifths; segments 3 to 6

with the apical spots prolonged basad as narrow black stripes almost as

far as the base where they leave a broad basal blue ring confluent with a broad

middorsal blue stripe which extends as far as apex of segments ; segment 7

similar to the male but the basal blue ring broader ; segment 8 with the

dorsum all black save for the basal half of middorsal carina which is finely

blue ; segment 9 entirely black and segment 10 ail blue save for a minute

middorsal basal triangle of black.

Anal appendages pale ochreous or carneous, about as long as segment 10,

conical, pointed ; vulvar scale blackish brown, yellow along attached border,

lower margin not serrate.

Distribution . Bengal and hills of the Northern Punjab from 3,500 to 9,000 ft.

during May and June. I possess specimens from Simla and Darjeeling,

and at the latter place, I found larvae breeding in swift cold mountain streams

at Ghoom. A thousand feet lower down I found the imago on the wing at the

same date. This species is one of the most beautiful Lestids known and is

easily distinguished from all others by its abdominal markings. It is much

larger than all other species of genus Ceylonolestes and differs from them also

by the short spines on its legs. It appears to be more closely allied to genus

Austrolestes and should perhaps be placed in a genus of its own.

After due consideration I have come to the conclusion that my species

/. Helena and veronica are merely varieties of this species, the difference in

ground colour and markings being due probably to their age. I have come to

this conclusion after perusing Dr. Laidlaw’s discussion on some teneral

specimens of cyanea which greatly puzzled him as did the specimens of Helena

and veronica the author, and which Dr.Laidlaw grouped in his second category

* B ’. The anal appendages of I. Helena are similar to those of cyanea and the

difference in the markings may well be explained through decomposition. The

specimens of I. veronica are the largest known specimens of cyanea if indeed

they are synonymous with that species. The type of C. cyanea is in the Selysian

collection, veronica and Helena in the Br. Mus. collection.

Genus Indolestes Fraser (1922).

InAolest.es Fraser, Mem. Dept. Agric, Pusa, India, vol. vii, p. 57 (1922).

Dragonflies of small stature resting with wings closed over dorsum ; body non-

metallic or this restricted to some small spots on the basal abdominal segments,

ground colour pale brown ; wings hyaline, always more or less tinted evenly

pale brown, very narrow and with pointed apices, petjolated as far as ac ; ac

meets ab at hinder border of wing ; postnodal nervures numerous ; discoidal

cells differing in shape and size in fore and hind-wings, very narrow and

elongate and very acutely pointed at distal angle, discoidal cell of forewing

with posterior border 3 times as long as basal and twice the length of costal,

that of hindwing with posterior border not quite double the length of costal and

6 times as long as basal ; Riii arising ?>}> cells distad of node in forewing, 2\

cells in the hind (5 cells in both wings of /. buddha (Laid) ) ; IRiii and Riv+ v

arising much nearer arc than node ; IRiii slightly angulated towards its apical

end, MA zigzagged from level of node ; oblique vein present between Riii and

IRiii ; pterostigma bicolorous, narrow, 3 times as long as broad, outer end not

oblique ; intercalated sectors similar to genus Lestes.

Posterior- lobe of prothorax simple, rounded, not lobed.

102 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vo l. XXXI V

Superior anal appendages narrow, elongate, forcipate, furnished at the

middle third of inner border with a narrow expansion which begins with an

obtuse spine and ends with a long acute one ; inferior appendages short, tumid ;

anal appendages of female conical, short.

Distribution. N. E. India and Burma.

This genus is very similar to Ceylonolestes and so nearly related that I have

been unable to find any very satisfactory characters by which to differentiate

them. The points which have influenced me in bestowing separate generic

rank are the bright blue ground colour of all species of Ceylonolestes contrasting

so strikingly with the dull pale browns of Indolestes. The enfumed tinted

wings and the bicoiorous pterostigma of the latter are other striking points ;

the discoidal cell, especially that of hindwing, is narrower in Indolestes and

strongly suggests that there is an evolutionary tendency for that structure to

disappear entirely by a fusion of the costal and hinder borders. The straight

distal border of the pterostigma and the simple posterior lobe of the prothorax

separate it from genus Sympycnci which it greatly resembles otherwise.

Indolestes indica Fraser (1922). (PI. I. 11 and text-fig. 4. a.)

Indolestes indica Fras., Mem. Dept. Agricult. Pusa, India, vol, vii, pp. 58-

59 (1922).

Lestes st>. Laid., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, pp. 161-162 (1920),

Indolestes buddha Laid. nov. nom. Fras. 1. c, pp. 57 and 59 (1922).

Male. Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 19 mm.

Head : labium palest brown ; labrum brown, paler at the sides ; base of

mandibles, cheeks, the basal three segments of antennae except the apex of the

third and two small triangular spots just posterior to and to the outer side of

the hinder ocelli pale yellowish brown ; rest of head black with a cupreous

sheen or dull blackish brown ; middle of occipital border yellowish ; eye bluish

grey with five dark brown bars running from above out and forwards.

Prothorax dark reddish, brown on dorsum with the middorsum of middle lobe

paler brown and the sides pale bi'own.

Thorax black on dorsum with a cupreous reflex, this colour forming a band

extending from middorsal carina outwards to about halfway to humeral suture,

the outer border sending out processes somewhat like those seen in L. prce~

morsa, one above extending to the humeral suture, another at the middle

of band which falls far short of the suture, the border of the band thus

exhibiting two deep concavities ; the upper prolongation enclosing a tiny point

of the ground colour ; laterally very pale brown marked with linear black

spots at the upper ends of the lateral sutures and by two or three small

black or green metallic spots just posterior to the humeral suture. Beneath

whitish brown marked with two oblique streaks of blackish brown.

Legs yellow or ocbreous on the extensor surface, black on the flexor ; spines

moderately numerous and short, black.

Wings hyaline, neuration dark brown, membrane evenly enfumed with

pale brown ; pterostigma pale brown with the distal end bright yellow,

proximal end oblique, distal nearly straight ; 11 to 13 postnodal nervures to

fore wings, 11 to 12 in the hind.

Abdomen pale reddish brown or ochreous marked with metallic green and

black as follows, — segment 1 with a basal lunar spot, followed immediately by,

or actually confluent wfith, a small triangular subdorsal spot on each side

metallic green ; segment 2 with a broad basal spot on dorsum shaped like

the ace of clubs but with the middle lobe tapered apicad for rather more than

half the length of segment, immediately following this a broad subdorsal

comma-like spot on each side metallic green , or cupreous black (in some

specimens, the narrow apical end of the basal spot is squared and each corner

becomes confluent with the apical spots to enclose a bright yellow oval dorsal

spot) ; segments 3 to 6 with paired apical and sub-basal spots, the former

pyriform with the thick end towards base of segment and separated narrowly

by the ochreous middorsal carina, the apical spots triangular and confluent

over dorsum where they are narrowly separated from fine black apical rings ;

segments 7 and 8 wholely black on dorsum, but on 8 the black not quite

reaching base of segment and bisected finely by the ochreous middorsal

carina for nearly its whole length ; segment 10 palest brown, unmarked.

Anal appendages almost .white ; superiors very long, about half as long

again as segment 10, forcipate, curved evenly and gradually towards each other

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

103

until the apices meet, dilatation at inner third barely perceptible but beginning

as an angle and ending as a long sharp spine, apex sinuous and tapered to'a

point, its outer border finely spined. Inferior appendages not half the length

of superiors, bases formed by two broad cones, from the outer side of apex

of which springs a short thick tapered ungulate process, coated with

hairs.

Female. Abdomen 23‘5 to 28‘5 mm. Hindwing 19 to 21 mm.

Closely similar to the male, the ground colour and markings not differing

except on the abdomen. Wings more deeply enfumed ; 13 postnodal nervures

to forewings, 12 in the hind, pterostigma as in the male ; segment 1 with

the subdorsal spots quadrate and always confluent with the basal; segment

2 with the spots confluent and forming a dumb-bell-shaped marking not quite

extending to apex of segment, the middorsal carina in the apical half of the

marking ochreous expanding into a small fusiform spot near the middle of

segment (the combined comma-like spots are together broader than the basal

spot, although shown in the reverse order in Laidlaw’s figure, but they may

be subject to some variation) ; segments 3 to 5 similar to the male but on 5

the basal pair of spots are very small and may be quite absent ; segment 6

with only a diffuse, poorly defined brown apical ring ; segment 7 with the

apical pair of spots continued basad as a diffuse broad brown stripe and with

the middorsal carina pale brown ; segment 8 with two broad subdorsal stripes

separated by the ochreous middorsal carina ; segment 9 with a broad subdorsal

reddish brown stripe on each side.

Anal appendages shorter than segment 10, pale yellow, flattened, slightly

but distinctly notched at apex ; vulvar scale palest brown or yellow, not

extending to end of abdomen, minutely serrate along lower border.

Distribution. Known only from Assam. The type of Laidlaw’s Lestes sp.

is a female from Cherrapunji, Assam, 4,400 ft., 8. X. 14, in the Indian Museum

collection, No. 8204/20. The author’s type is a male in the British Museum,

from Shillong, Assam, 6,000 ft., June 20. Mr. T. Bainbrigge Fletcher took

this species in June and again throughout October and found them resting

with closed wings on bushes beside a stream, but others were found far from

water in a pine tope at the top of a hill. Since the author first described

the species, more material has come to hand and from the variability in

the size and markings of the insects, it is clear that it is conspecific with

Dr. Laidlaw’s Lestes sp . The latter was described from a subadult specimen

in which the markings were not fully developed and of which the size is

decidedly smaller than the Shillong specimens Distinguished from 1 , bilineata

(Selys) and /. assamica sp. nov., by the abdominal markings and presence of

posthumeral thoracic markings.

Indolestes bilineata (Selys) (1891).

Lestes bilineata Selys, Odonates de Birmanie , Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova,

x (xxxx) p. 498 (1891) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, p. 163 (1920).

Female. Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 20 mm. (Male unknown.)

Head : labium palest brown ; labrum, cheeks and bases of mandibles, and

clypeus and frons as far as origin of antennae olivaceous ; rest of head and

behind eyes bronzed black except the space between the ocelli and occiput

which is pale brown ; eyes brown.

Prothorax pale brown with a small darkish spot on each side the middle

lobe.

Thorax pale reddish brown on dorsum passing to whitish brown laterally

and beneath ; the middorsum narrowly black bisected by the ochreous mid-

dorsal carina ; laterally a short dark spot at the upper ends of the lateral

sutures.

Legs pale brown, the anterior pair of femora with a black stripe on the

outer side ; spines long, black.

Wings hyaline, palely enfumed brown, with brown reticulation ; pterostigma

greyish brown between black nervures, short, thick, only twice as long as

broad, distal end straight, proximal oblique, covering H to 2 cells ; .10 to 12

postnodal nervures to forewings.

Abdomen pinkish brown marked with bronzed green as follows segment

1 with a middorsal spot ; segment 2 with a broad dorsal stripe finely bisected

by the ochreous middorsal carina ; segments 3 to 6 with a poorly defined dorsal

bronzed fascia ending in a darker subapical ring ; segment 7 with the dorsum

104 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

bronzed metallic except at both ends which are pale ; segments 8 to 10 brown ;

beneath black.

Anal appendages as long as segment 10, palest brown, sublanceolate,

pointed ; vulvar scale brown, not quite extending to end of abdomen, finely

serrate beneath.

Distribution. Burma only. The type is a female in the Selysian collection

from Palon, Burma, taken in September. Only three specimens are known,

the third being also a female in the British Museum. It is evidently closely

allied to/, indica from which it is distinguished by the totally different markings

of abdomen. From /. assamica sp. nov., it is distinguished by the relatively

short pterostigma, by the different character of the anal appendages and by

the markings of anterior pair of femora, etc.

Indolestes assamica sp. nov.

Female. Abdomen 32 mm. Hindwing 21 mm. (Male unknown.)

Head : labium palest brown, almost white; labrum, bases of mandibles,

cheeks, clypeus and anterior border of frons pale yellow, the postclypeus with

a black point at each end and two larger submedian black spots ; the three

basal joints of antennae yellow as also a tiny point behind each posterior

ocellus and the whole of the occiput from eye to eye ; rest of head matt black ;

eyes olivaceous brown.

Prothorax pale brown with a pair of parallel black subdorsal stripes expand-

ing on the posterior lobe, narrow on the middle lobe where they are very

narrowly separated.

Thorax pale brown, the middorsum matt black as far as midway from

middorsal carina to humeral suture, the outer border of the band quite straight,

the carina finely ochreous ; laterally a small black spot on the upper part of

the humeral suture and a similar but smaller on the upper part of the postero-

lateral suture. Beneath unmarked. Legs pale straw coloured with black

spines, quite unmarked.

Wings evenly enfumed pale brown, reticulation darker brown ; pterostigma

long and narrow, inner and outer ends oblique, reddish brown between dark

brown nervures, covering 2 to 3 cells ; discoidal cells as for genus ; 12 to 13

postnodal nervures to forewirrgs, 10 in the hind.

Abdomen pale brown or yellowish brown marked with dark brown, black

and reddish brown as follows segment 1 with a quadrate dorsal spot extend-

ing from end to end of segment ; segment 2 with a narrow black band, its ends

slightly expanded, extending from base to apex of segment, the middorsal

carina finely dark ochreous ; segments 3 to 7 similar to 2 but the bands

tapeied abruptly at each end of segment ; segments 8 to 10 reddish brown on

dorsum.

Anal appendages yellow, conical, pointed, as long as segment 10 ; vulvar

scale robust, extending to end of abdomen, yellow.

Distribution. Confined to Assam so far as known. The type is a female in

the author’s collection and is the only specimen known ; the specimen has been

labelled * Lestes bilineata Selys ? ’ since 1918, but after a careful re-examina-

tion and contrast with the description of that species, the following insuperable

differences were noted The pterostigma is nearly four times as long as broad

instead of * nearly quadrate ’ as in bilineata, as noted by Selys, it is also

oblique at both ends, whereas bilineata has ‘ the outer margin straight. The

legs have no markings and the vulvar scale extends to the end of abdomen.

From 1. indica it is easily distinguished by the outer border of the middorsal

marking of thorax quite straight, whereas it is deeply indented in /. indica ;

the totally different character of the abdominal markings and the shape and

size of the pterostigma are additional distinguishing characters.

Genus : Sympycna Charpentier (1840).

Sympycna Charp., Lib. Eur., p. 19 (1840) ; Selys, Rev. Odon., p. 161 (1850);

Id. Bull. Acad. Belg. (2) xiii, p. 336 (1862) ; Laid. Rec. Ind. Mus.,

vol. xix, pp. 145-146 (1920) ; Kirby, Cat. Odon., p. 163 (1890).

Sympecma Selys, Mon. Lib, Eur. p. 144 (1840).

Dragonflies of small stature very similar to Indolestes and resting like them

with wings closed over dorsum ; ground colour pale brown with metallic

markings on head, thorax and abdomen ; wings hyaline tinted with pale

brown, very narrow and with pointed apices, petiolated as far as ac, ac meets

(ib at hinder border of wing ; postnodal nervures fairly numerous ; discoidal

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

105

cells differing in shape and size in fore- and hind-wings, very narrow and

elongate and very acute at distal angle, discoidal cell of forewing with

posterior border at least 3 times as long as basal and twice the length of costal,

that of hindwing with posterior border 5 or 6 times the length of basal and

slightly less than twice the length of costal ; Riii arising 5 to 4 cells after the

node in forewing and hindwing respectively ; IRiii and Riv + v arising much

nearer arc than to node ; IRiii not or scarcely angulated ; MA zigzagged

from level oh node ; oblique nervure present between Riii and IRiii ;

pterostigma uni- or bi-colorous, three or four times as long as broad, inner and

outer ends oblique ; intercalated sectors as for Lestes.

Posterior lobe of prothorax trilobed. the middle lobe being much more pro-

minent than the lateral.

Superior anal appendages narrow, elongate, forcipate, furnished at the

middle third of the inner border with a narrow dilatation which begins with a

very robust tcoth or spine and ends in an obtuse angulation ; inferior append-

ages short, tumid ; anal appendages of female sublanceolate, pointed,

longer than segment 10 ; vulvar scale robust, extending only to middle of

segment 10.

Distribution. Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, Central Asia (Meso-

potamia, Persia, Kashmir). The genus is closely allied to Indolestes but is

easily recognized by the long pterostigma oblique at both ends and by the

trilobate character of the posterior lobe of the prothorax. Only one species or

subspecies found within Indian limits, viz. from Kashmir and Quetta.

Genotype,— S. fusca Lind.

Sympycna paedisca antmlata Selys (1887). (PI. I. 12 and text fig. 4. b.)

Sympycna paedisca annulata Selys, Ann. Soc Ent. Pelg. xxxi, p. 43

(1887) ; Morton, nec fusca, Trans, Ent. Soc. London, p. 308 (1907) ;

Id. Ent Month. Mag. Ser. 3. vol. v, pp. 145-146 (1919) ; Bartenef,

Ann. Mus. Zool. Acad. Impl. Sci., St. Pet. t. xvii, (1912).

Sympycna paedisca paedisca Laid., Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. xix, p. 163 (1920.)

Male. Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Head : labium whitish ; labrum, bases of mandibles and cheeks pale

olivaceous brown ; rest of head slightly darker warmer brown marked with

blackish brown and metallic green as follows postclypeus with a small spot

at each end and a large submedian quadrate blackish brown spot at each side

of middle line ; frons with a sinuous linear stripe of metallic green curling

outwards on each side and narrowly interrupted by the middle line, a hour-

glass shaped spot on the outer side of each posterior ocellus, the whole of

the ocellar space, the occiput and a foliate spot behind each eye, which is

confluent with it, all brilliant metallic green ; eyes brown above, yellow

beneath.

Prothorax pale brown, its middle lobe with a large dorsal spot on each

side, its posterior lobe metallic emerald green and border finely yellowish.

Thorax palest brown, its dorsum broadly metallic green nearly as far out as

the humeral suture, the outer border of this marking irregular and usually

with a hooked-like prolongation about its middle ; antealar sinus metallic green

within its borders, which latter as well as the middorsal carina are finely

cchreous. Laterally a narrow, very irregular and somewhat zigzagged bright

metallic green stripe running from the antero-lateral suture above obliquely

down to lower end of humeral suture.

Wings hyaline, enfumed pale brown, venation brownish yellow ; node

thickened ; pterostigma yellow to dark brown with bordering nervures yellow,

oblique at both ends, covering 2 cells ; 14 postnodal nervures to forewings, 12

in the hind.

Legs yellow, femora with a chain of small dark brown spots ; numerous and

moderately long dark spines.

Abdomen pale brown or coloured like dry grass marked with metallic green

as follows segment 1 with a pair of triangular apical spots barely confluent

over dorsum ; segment 2 with a pair of parallel stripes narrowly separated by

the pale yellow middorsal carina, each shaped like a note of exclamation mark,

the basal half pyriform, the apical rounded, apposed surfaces flat ; segments 3

to 7 similar, the stripes being longer and narrower and separated by the yellow

middorsal carina and falling a little short of the base ; segments 8 and 9 with

stripes approximating to that on segment 2 but broader and clumsier in build

14

106 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY , Vo l. XXXI V

Fig. 4. a. Head, thorax and first two abdominal segments of

Indolestes indica Fras.

b. The same of Sympycna paedisca annulata Selys.

and with a cupreous reflex ; segment 10 with the dorsum narrowly dark

cupreous brown, deeply notched at apex and bordered with black spines.

Anal appendages yellowish white, bordered near apices with black spines ;

superiors narrow, forcipate, apices curling gradually in to meet each other,

furnished at the middle third of inner border with a dilatation which begins

with a very large and robust tooth and ends in an angulation tipped with a

minute black spine ; apices rounded, tipped with white hairs, appendages

about one and a half times as long as segment 10 ; inferiors rudimentary,

about one-third the length of superiors, conical, closely apposed.

Female. Abdomen 30 mm. Hindwing 21 mm.

Exactly similar to the male but some variation of the middorsal stripe of

thorax which may have the outer border quite straight or with a markedly

conspicuous medial prolongation ; the wavy posthumeral stripe often inter-

rupted once or twice. Femora of first two pairs of legs with a black outer

stripe or chain of spots ; segment 10 with a dorsal stripe tapering apicad but

not reaching the apex.

Anal appendages very large and robust, cylindrical, pointed, longer than

segment 10, pale buff in colour ; vulvar scale short, extending only to middle of

segment 10, lower border minutely serrated with black teeth. Pterostigma

palest brown, covering H to 2 cells.

INDIAN DRAGONFLIES

107

Distribution. Kashmir and N. W. India within our limits, The specimen

described by Morton from Quetta as S. fusca is really this subspecies of paedisca.

Laidlaw mentions specimens from the Jhelum Valley, Kashmir, 5,000 ft. and I

have seen a number of specimens collected by Mr. T. Bainbrigge Fletcher at

Sirinagar, Kashmir, in July. The author found S. paedisca annulata moder-

ately common at Kerna at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates in

November, 1914, and Morton mentions specimens collected higher up the river

at Amarah. So far as known, it extends from Asia Minor to Kashmir through

Mesopotamia and Persia and the N. W. Frontier Provinces. Mesopotamian

specimens have the wavy posthumeral stripe split up into three widely separated

spots ; the prothorax has a median spot on the anterior lobe, a pair of angulated

spots on the middle lobe and the whole middle section of the posterior lobe

dark cupreous metallic ; pterostigma bright ochreous. The shape of the

pterostigma and the posterior lobe of prothorax will serve to distinguish this

species from any of Indolestes.

( To be continued.)

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

BY

B. B. OSMASTON

( With two plates)

A summer trip to the Highlands of Kashmir to study bird life

in the less-frequented parts, more especially' at high altitudes, was

our object. From the following account the reader will be able to

judge how far it was achieved. Our party, to start with, was three

strong consisting of —

Real Admiral Hubert Lynes, r.n., Hugh Whistler (Indian Police,

Retired) and the writer.

We left Marseilles on March 24th in the P. and O. Rawalpindi

in which we were luxuriously accommodated in three separate single-

berthed cabins.

Our passage through the Mediterranean was devoid of much

interest, and we reached Port Said early on the 28th. As we had

four or five hours here we decided to visit the Sewage Farm, a

well-known bird locality about three miles out of the town. Here

we found plenty of bird life, the spring migration being apparently

in full swing.

The native population take a very heavy toll from these little

birds, largely songsters, in passage, catching vast numbers in small

spring traps which are so constructed as to kill the bird usually

instantaneously by a blow near the base of the skull. We saw large

bags of such birds, including many wagtails7 and pipits — about to be

carried in to the town where they are sold in the bazaar for eating

at about a penny each.

We purchased several as specimens and they were duly skinned

on board ship afterwards.

The different kinds of birds seen at the Sewage Farm included : —

White Wagtails.

Black-headed Yellow Wagtails.

Grey-headed Yellow Wagtails.

Lesser Whitethroats.

Bonelli’s Willow-Warbler.

Redstart.

Wryneck.

Rufous-throated Pipit.

Tree-Pipit.

Streaked Wren-Warblers.

House-Sparrow.

April 1. We arrived at Aden but were not allowed ashore on

account of plague. It was pleasantly cool with a N.E. wind

blowing. We had to content ourselves by feeding the Gulls (chiefly

Hemprich’s Sooty Gulls, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls)

and kites, with bits of biscuit.

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

109

April 6. We arrived at Bombay about midnight and got ashore

at 6 a.m. It was decidedly hot and we were glad to be off by the

new extra-rapid Peshawar Express, which landed us at Rawalpindi

in about thirty-nine hours. We had intended stopping a night here,

but found to our surprise and disappointment that no accommodation

could be had anywhere, so we quickly made arrangements for a car

to take us through to Srinagar in Kashmir (200 miles) and a lorry

for our kit.

We managed to get through about half way to Garhi that night

and the following day, April 9, we reached Srinagar and occupied

three comfortable single rooms in Nedou’s new Hotel (annex).

The next ten days were spent in Srinagar completing the arrange-

ments for our trip, engaging servants and transport, hiring tents

and camp furniture, and laying in provisions for four months.

During our halt in Srinagar the weather was decidedly cool — often

cold — and we had some heavy rain storms. Spring was well on,

and some of the summer migrants had already commenced breeding,

e.g. , Saxicola torquata indica and Emberiza stewarti, both building-

on the Takht. Other birds observed on the Takht were Anthu 9

trivialis harringtonii and A. sordidus jerdoni, Monticola solitaria

pandoo , Emberiza cia strachey ; Sylvia althcea, Phylloscopus

iornatus humii, Pericrocotus brevirostris and Bubo bengalensis.

One of the latter was sitting in an empty nest hole on the rocky hill

face and another was found killed, possibly by a Bonelli’s Eagle.

April 19. Having got all our servants and kit on to two house-

boats— a larger one for ourselves and a smaller for the kitchen and

servants — we started off down stream in the Jhelum river, our

objective bring Bandipur on the north side of the Wular lake and

distant some thirty miles.

The river was in full flood, so manual propulsion was scarcely

necessary. We reached Sumbul bridge, a little over half way, after

dark and were afraid to attempt passing under the bridge in the

dark, the river being in such high flood, we might have found

insufficient clearance for our boats, so we tied up for the night.

The weather was most depressing, cold, windy and wet.

Our spirits revived with the morning light and we ran under the

bridge in safety — only a few inches to spare ! and reached the Wular

Lake about midday.

Owing to the unusually high floods the lake had become a very

extensive sheet of water probably not less than 100 square miles

whereas it is usually very much smaller, especially in the late

autumn.

As we entered the lake, which had flooded out extensive areas of

cultivation, we saw numbers of rats, apparently the ordinary large

brown field variety, swimming for their lives. Many were drowning

and still more had already succumbed — a few were striking out

bravely for the land, miles away, which they could never reach.

A few more fortunate ones had found a stick or a weed tuft to rest

on. We also saw near by several apparently, well-fed specimens of

Pallas’s Fishing-Eagle which were evidently already gorged to

repletion with these rats. We also saw a pair of Ospreys over the

lake but they were not interested in the rats.

110 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , XXXIV

Numbers of Garganey Teal on migration, a party of Godwits and

a Glossy Ibis were other interesting birds seen on the lake.

After three hours paddling we reached Bandipur, on the north

side of the lake, where our kit was put on shore and loaded up on to

some thirty ponies. Three miles up the road brought us to the

Sunarwani Rest House by the Gilgit Road, a fairly good centre for

birds, with a river close at hand.

Passing through the large village of Bandipur, we noticed a large

heronry on the tops of two or three large Chenar trees. Some

of the birds appeared to be incubating and others building. The

nests were inaccessible without a climbing outfit. The birds were

the common Grey Heron.

April 21. Explored the Madmati river for a few miles. Saw

Brown Dippers with young strong on wing and Plumbeous

Redstarts with eggs. White-capped Redstarts and Grey Wagtails

were not yet breeding.

April 22. Went out in a boat on the Wular lake. Saw large

flocks of gulls which were rather wary. We however ultimately

succeeded in securing three nice specimens which proved to be

Brown-headed Gulls ( Larus brunneicephalus). These birds winter

along the Indian coast and breed at high altitudes in Tibet by the

Salt lakes, e.g. , Tso Kar and Tso Moriri lakes in Rupshu at 15,000'.

Those we saw were evidently on their way to their breeding

grounds.

April 23. Bandipur to Olus, seven miles along the northern shore

of the Wular lake. On the march we saw Paradise Fly-catchers and

Wrynecks, doubtless recently arrived, Goldfinches, King Crows ( D .

longicatudatus ), Stewart’s Bunting and many Rufous-backed

Shrikes.

The camp was a pretty one among willow and mulberry trees

and near the village. We noticed a fine large Tawny Owl ( Strix

aluco biddulphi) sitting all day in a willow near our tents. His

mate was probably sitting on eggs in a neighbouring hollow tree

but we failed to find her.

We secured several specimens of the Gold-fronted Finch

( Metoponia pusilla ) which were in fair sized flocks on the dry

hillside, studded with low thorny scrub and weed growth.

April 21/.. A march of eight miles, first up valley to a pass at

8,000' and then down again to about 6,000' in the well-known Lolab

Valley. Snow was still lying in patches near the pass. Here among

the silver firSj spruce and blue pine we noticed parties of Warblers

(. Phylloscopus ) and Black-crested Tits (two species) also Nuthatches

( Sitta leucopsis) and S. liaskmifiensis , and several large green

woodpeckers — doubtless Picas squamatus, though we failed to

secure one, Himalayan Pied Woodpeckers ( Dendrocopus himala-

yensis ) were also in evidence — and we heard several Collared

Pigmy Owlets ( Glaucidium brodiei) calling*.

While resting in the open near the pass we observed a pair of

Golden Eagle soaring at a great height overhead. The shape of

this splendid eagle is unmistakable on the wing. We also saw a

Buzzard at close quarters.

As we descended into the Lolab valley we passed through a forest

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

1]1

of deodars, a tree which is absent from a large portion of Kashmir

but is common in the Lolab and adjacent Kishanganga valley, and

also in Bhadarwah.

April 25 to 28. We spent four days in the Lolab valley exploring

the country round Makam (our camp).

We saw the usual birds of the Kashmir valley including our first

Cuckoo and Indian Oriole.

TickelPs Ouzel were singing both morning and evening.

One of the commonest birds in the Lolab is the Slaty-headed

Paroquet ( Psittac-ula schisticeps). We found them mostly in small

flocks feeding on the flowers (petals) of the apple trees and on the

catkins of the walnut trees. This bird is not at all common in the

valley of Kashmir. We also shot a Long-eared Owl ( Asio otus ),

being mobbed by a pair of Jays ( G . lanceolatus). This Jay I had

not previously seen in Kashmir. It is one of the truly Himalayan

birds which is largely confined to the southern face of the Pir Panjal

and the Chenab Valley. Lastly we heard on several occasions the

monotonous and characteristic call of a Scops Owl. We failed to

obtain or even to see this owl, but the call is identical with that of

Scops suriia, a bird I know well in the sal forest of the Sub-

Himalayan tract.

On April 27, Admiral Lynes received bad news from home and

decided he must give up the expedition and return at once to

England. This was a great blow and disappointment to all of us.

The Admiral would not hear of our returning home with him, and

insisted on our carrying out the programme as arranged, and the

following day we sadly bid him farewell as he left in a car for

Srinagar.

April 29. A Besra Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter virgatus afjins)

was secured which proved to be laying eggs , but we failed to find

the nest.

April 30. Return march to Olus. On the way we found the

nest of Sitta kashmiriensis in a hole in a deodar tree which had

been closed up with clay masonry leaving a hole of in diameter

only. The nest was lined with thin bits of yew bark and was

empty.

Near by we noticed a pair of Buzzards ( B . desertorum) on the

top of a big deodar tree, and a search revealed their nest near the

top of another deodar. As it was a difficult tree to climb and the

nest might not have been new, we left it unexamined.

May 1. Olus to Sunarwani.

On the march we saw Bee Eaters (M. apiaster). These birds have

apparently just arrived. We also fired at and wounded, a chiffchaff

which flew away heavily and was quickly seized by a shrike (L.

erythronotus) which we shot with the bird in its beak and eventually

obtained both. The chiffchaff was P. coltybita sindianus . The next

two days we halted and reduced our stores, etc., which had been

arranged for a party of three.

We saw and obtained a fair number of birds here including

Alseonax ruficaudus , Cyornis tricolor , Horornis pallidus , Acantho-

pneuste occipitalis and Sylvia althcea.

Wrynecks, Hoopes and TickelPs Ouzels were common. We also

112 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

saw numbers of swifts of two kinds, viz., a large Spine-tail Swift

and also Cypselus apus — flying high and probably moving up to

their breeding grounds. We failed to secure specimens.

We also noticed a small party of four black storks resting on a

hill top and evidently also' on migration.

May 5. We marched nine miles south along the eastern margin

of the Wular lake, as far as Ajas, a pretty camp close to the lake,

under mulberry trees. There were many Whiskered Terns and

Pheasant-tailed Jacanas over and on the lake and we secured

specimens. We also saw Dicrurus longicaudatus and W. secured

a Molacilla citreola which is a passage migrant in Kashmir.

Rock Horned Owls ( Bubo bengalensis ) and Scavenger Vultures

( Neophron percnopterus) were both breeding on the steep rocky

precipices north of* our camp.

May 6. Ajas to Manasbal. Seven miles. Saw three male

Paradise Flycatchers near our camp, of which two were white and

one rufous. Reed Warblers ( Acrocephalus stentoreus bninnescens)

were already very noisy in the reed beds in the lake.

May 7. Our camp at Manasbal was under gigantic Chenar trees

-( Platanus orientalis) full of Jackdaws mostly with nests and eggs

in their hollows.

The view over the Manasbal lake was very fine. We climbed to

the top of a neighbouring isolated mountain, Ahateng 6,200' where

we found Skylarks, Jerdon’s Pipit, Stonechats, Stewart’s Buntings

and the Chukor — all breeding and with eggs, except the Skylarks.

In the village below we found several swallows’ nests with eggs.

The nests were all in the dwelling rooms of villagers, who do not

disturb the birds. The nests and eggs resemble those in Europe.

The Kashmir swallow is Hirundo rustica rustica.

May 8: Manasbal to Ganderbal. The shortest road across

country is only six miles. We made a detour in order to explore

the Krahom swamp, an extensive bog near which, in previous years,

I had found Harrington’s Paddy-field Warbler in large numbers.

We were, however, apparently rather too early for this bird as we

only saw two and secured one.

Our camp at Ganderbal was alongside the Sind river full of icy

water straight down from the glaciers. In the eve : we went up

stream and saw a good many Did-he-do-it Plovers and also

little Ringed Plovers both breeding on the islands.

One solitary stranger was also seen — a Plover, which I had never

seen before. It was as large as a Did-he-do-it, but quite differently

marked. It was being attacked by a pair of little Ringed Plovers

which had freshly hatched young. It was seen again by both of us in

the evening and although we failed to secure it, we satisfied ourselves

that it was undoubtedly a Grey-headed Lapwing (Microsarcops

cinereus). This would be an addition to the list of Kashmir

birds.

On the islands in the Sind river we found three nests of the

Common Sandpiper containing four nearly fresh eggs in each.

The eggs were laid in depressions in the sandy ground under low

spreading clematis. A Did-he-do-it’ s nest on the same island also

contained four eggs.

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

113

May 11. Took a tonga to Tula Mull village and thence made a

very thorough re-examination of the Krahom jhil.

In the drier area we shot two Grasshopper Warblers ( Locustella

ncevia straminea ) and one Blyth’s Reed-Warbler. ( Acrocephalus

dumetorum), and one Cypselus apus. Later on assisted by a line of

coolies we explored a quaking bog, where it was necessary to walk

very circumspectly. Here we put up a number of rails and shot : —

Eastern Ruddy Crake (. Amaurornis fascas bakeri) ... 4

Eastern Baillon’s Crake ( Porzana pusilla pusilla) ... 2

Spotted Crake ( Porzana maruetta ) ... ... ... 1

We saw no water rails, a bird which we had hoped to find in the

swamp.

May 12. Before leaving Ganderbal we had a day on the mountain

side, which rises up rather abruptly from the valley level (5,000')

up to about 11,000'. On the lower slopes we found Stewart’s

Bunting, Jerdon’s Pipit, the Eastern Stonechat and Hume’s Lesser

Whitethroat all breeding and with eggs. We also saw and secured

specimens of the Grey-headed Bunting ( E . fucata ), which were also

about to' breed.

May 13. Marched about ten miles up the Sind valley to Kangan.

The weather was perfect. We secured a nest with four fresh eg:gs

of the Jungle Crow ( Corvus coronoides intermedins ) near the top of

a blue pine. These birds are common up to the limits of tree

growth. Near our camp we noticed a pair of King Crows (Dicrurus

leucophceus longicaudatus) which gave a very perfect imitation of

the call of the Kestrel. They evidently were also about to breed

as they vigorously attacked any crow which approached the large

walnut tree in which they had taken up their quarters.

May Ilf. Kangan to Gund. Fifteen miles. A delightfully cold

morning : our path followed the river. On the march we saw several

European Rollers and secured a pair. These birds are of course

migrating, spending the summer months and breeding in Kashmir.

We also shot a pair of Yellow-vented Bulbuls ( Molpastes leucogenys)

which are common throughout the Kashmir main and side valleys

up to about 6,000'. We also shot a young Brown Dipper ( Cinclus

pallasii) in spotted plumage. These birds are evidently very early

breeders.

May 15. Gund to Gaggan Gir. Seven miles. Our path still

follows the valley, and we are now at 7,000' altitude among the Firs

and Pines. The scenery is much grander and the river is begin-

ning to assume the characters of a torrent. The Indian Blue Chat

( Larvivora brunnea) was common in the mixed deciduous forest on

the hillside above Gund. The cock has a loud, clear but short song.

The birds are extremely shy and we secured three specimens only

and that with some difficulty.

We also shot three specimens of the Himalayan Pied Wood-

pecker ( Doyobates himalayensis ) — also examples of the Pale Bush-

Warbler ( Horornis pallidus) and of Tytler’s Willow-Warbler

( Phylloscopus tytleri). A pair of Fire-caps ( Cephalopyrus flam-

miceps) were also seen, doubtless about to breed — and two specimens

of Cuculus saturatus were both seen and heard calling — the

Himalayan Cuckoo is not very common in Kashmir.

’ 15

114 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

May 16. Gaggan Gir to Sonamarg. Seven miles. The ascent

has become a good deal steeper, the river being a veritable torrent

and even a cascade in places and the valley a rocky defile passing

between very steep rocky precipices thousands of feet above.

Avalanches had done much damage sweeping away bits of fir

forest and piling up the debris of smashed timber in huge masses

alongside the river. In three separate places the river was bridged

by substantial snow bridges a most unusual state of affairs below

Sonamarg so late in the season.

When we arrived at the Tajwaz camping ground, altitude 9,0007,

near Sonamarg we experienced considerable difficulty in finding a

spot clear of snow and fit to camp on. Here we halted five days

during which time the snow rapidly disappeared in the hot sun and

the ground all around our tents became a veritable cloth of gold

from the flowers of a pretty little yellow crocus-like flower. This is

probably the origan of the name ‘Sonamarg’ (Golden meadow).

The view from our tents looking straight on to a row of peaks

16,000; high with a glacier in the foreground only two miles

distant, was very grand.

We found birds fairly numerous in spite of the snowy conditions.

The Larger-spotted Nutcracker ( Nucifraga multi punctata) was

fairly common and we came across a family of fully-fledged young,

probably at least two months old.

Other birds seen in and around Sonamarg were Nuthatches

(S. leucopsis kashmiriensis) , Crested Black Tits ( Lophophanes

melanolophus and rufonuchalis ), Tree-Creepers ( Certhia himalayana

and familiaris hodgsoni ), the Black and Yellow Grossbeak, Mistle-

Thrush, Red-flanked Bush-Robin, Red-browed Finch, Orange Bull-

finch, Stolicka’s Mountain-Finch, Skylarks, the Eastern Meadow-

Bunting, the Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Pipits (A. roseatus and

trivialis harringtonii ), also Alpine Choughs, Jungle-Crows, and

Scully’s Wood-Owl.

A few of these were already commencing to breed and before we

left we secured eggs of Ianthia rufilata, Lophophanes rufonuchalis ,

Lophophanes melanolophus and Certhia familiaris hodgsoni.

May 22. Sonamarg to Baltal. Ten miles. The path still follows

the river which is now again slow flowing, and the rise to Baltal is

only a few hundred feet. Red-billed Choughs were seen on the

march, and we secured also a nest of the Jungle-Crow with four

hard set eggs.

We found the out-buildings of the Baltal rest-house had been

completely wrecked by an avalanche and the bridge over the stream

giving access to the camping ground had also been carried away.

The valley above Baltal was very full of snow and from about

two miles up the river disappeared altogether under beds of snow

and snowfield. W. found the nest of Scully’s Wood-Owl ( Syrnium

biddulphi) in a large hole in a birch tree only six feet from

the ground containing two slightly-set eggs and portions of the

shell of a third egg lay on the ground outside the hole.

A White-beasted Dipper ( Cinclus kashmiriensis ) was shot by the

stream below our camp.

May 2$. Baltal to Matayan. Fifteen miles. As we were to cross

A TOUR In further kashmir

iis

the Zoji La Pass to-day we had to make an early start to1 avoid

risk of avalanches. We got off with our retainers and our kit

loaded on twenty-five ponies at 5.30 a^m. Owing to1 the heavy

winter snowfall the pass was not yet open for pony traffic and

instead of going* up by the road we had to follow the much steeper

and shorter route up the snow-filled gully. An icy wind blew down

the valley. We reached the pass after a climb of about 2,000 feet,

at 8 a.m. and were glad of the sun. In ordinary years the route

from this point down to Matayan is easy, being a gentle decline

over snow. On this occasion, however, things were quite different,

and our troubles began after leaving the Pass. Owing to the

exceptionally heavy winter snowfall our track lay over a series of

avalanches which made the going slow and difficult for men and

almost impossible for laden ponies, which frequently sank up to

their girths in snow and had to be unloaded and lifted out.

Moreover the track lay often along steep snow slopes overhanging

a rushing icy torrent and we were extremely fortunate in not losing

any of our animals or kit. We reached the hut at Matayan at 3.30,

cold and tired, and were glad of the welcome shelter.

We had seen very few birds en route. Chiffchaffs, Bluethroats

and Sandpipers were on their breeding grounds which were mostly

tinder snow. Some deluded bird, possibly a bunting, had started

building a nest in a hole in a snow cornice ! We shot a cock Ruby-

throat, two Horned Larks, a Skylark, two Tree-Pipits and two

Hodg*son’s Pipits. We were surprised to, find the Tree-Pipits on the

bare open hillsides, there being no tree growth after leaving the

Zoji La above Pandras.

May 2Jf. Maty an to Dras. Fourteen miles. A dull, cold morning

— a pair of Tibetan Ravens greeted us outside the hut. The march

was over snow as far as Pandras.

At Pandras we came on a small plantation of poplars and willows

— the first trees we had seen since the Zoji La. Here we found our

first Magpie’s nest — which contained a single fresh egg.

The Ladakh Magpie (Pica pica bactriana) is very similar to the

English Magpie in note and appearance, but is not found in forest

localities. It frequents the stony sandy wastes of Ladakh and

Pakistan, keeping in the vicinity of villages where it finds food

and also willow trees in which it builds its nests. A pair of these

magpies have for years built their nest in a hole under the roof and

above the front door of the Dak Bungalow at Dras ! An unusual

site for this species.

Below Pandras we saw many Short-toed Larks (Calandrella

acutirostris) and a single Ibidorhynchus.

At Dras there was practically no snow. The altitude of the

village is 10,000', and there is a Post and Telegraph office as well

as a Meteorological station. The minimum temperatures recorded

at this station in winter are lower than any others in the Indian

region, and not infrequently temperatures of 30° below zero

Fahrenheit are experienced early in January.

We halted five days at Dras which gave promise of good things

in the bird line, but as a matter of fact we found we were ready

about a month too’ early for most breeding birds.

16 Journal , Bombay natural hist, society , w. xxxiv

By far the commonest birds around Dras at this time of the year

are Horned Larks. There are also a considerable number of Short-

toed Larks. The former are in flocks feeding- in the corn fields on

the young germinating grain. A little later as the snow melts from

11,000' to 13,000/ they will retire to these higher altitudes to breed.

All the Horned Larks we saw were Otocorys alpestris longirostris.

Magpies were fairly common and we found several nests in willow

trees at a height of from KT to 20' with five or six eggs generally

fresh. The Eastern Carrion Crow ( Corvus corone orientalis) was

also not rare, being found in the vicinity of villages. A pair had

a nest with three eggs in a poplar tree in our camping ground at

Dras. The birds were most confiding and did not display any of

the cunning or devilry so usual to members of the Crow tribe.

Both species of Dipper were . found here, the Brown and the White-

breasted but whereas the former had bred some months ago the

latter had not apparently commenced building.

Other birds seen in the vicinity were Swifts ( Cypselus apus

pekinensis ), Martins ( Delichon urbica ) and Crag-Martins ( Ptyono -

progne rupestris). Redstarts were also common, and mostly

building but we obtained one nest in a hole in a wall containing

four fresh eggs. Kestrels were quite common and a few Ravens and

Choughs were seen, the latter chiefly at higher elevations. A pair

of Ravens frequented the camping ground, close to our tents. They

were not very shy and they watched our bird-skinning operations

and carried off the bodies of the birds we had skinned and thrown

away. A Lammergeyer also found our camp interesting and after

soaring around for a little, alighted a short distance away. The

House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus parkini) is exceedingly' common

but they had not yet commenced to lay.

May SO. Dras to Tashgam. Fifteen miles. Our path lay down

the Treaty road which follows the Dras river. Soon after leaving

Dras we saw a kestrel swoop down into a party of larks one of

which it secured and carried off in its claws. The lark was, I think,

a Calandrella. The Kestrel in Ladakh and Baltistan seems to be

much more addicted to attacking birds than the European bird, as

we saw it seize and carry off birds on two other occasions the victim

being in one case a Bluethroat and on the other apparently

Stoliczka’s Mountain Finch.

The march down the valley was very hot indeed about midday

and we were glad to reach the welcome shade of our camping

ground which was in an irrigated walled in plantation of willows

and poplars. A pair of Carrion Crows had a nest with young in a

tree close to our tents but the parent birds were curiously shy about

returning to the nest. A pair of Hobbys ( Falco subbuteo) also

frequented the willow plantation in which they evidently intended

to breed later.

A Golden Eagle was seen to-day soaring at a considerable height.

Also a number of vultures and a raven collected round the carcase

of a horse. The vultures varied considerably in colour some being

brownish, others nearly white — different stages no doubt of Gyps

hifnaiayanus.

May 31. Tashgam to Karkitchu. Fourteen miles. Still following

A TOUR IN FURTHER kashmir

117

the Dras river clown to our camp at 9,000, on the way we passed

a large patch of cultivation with patches of scrub, briars, etc., and

here we found numbers of Bluethroats, some in full song. We

noticed cocks with a red spot, a white spot and unspotted blue,

probably all one species, showing how variable is the throat

colouration in this species. Phylloscopus indicus was not uncommon

on the dry rocky slopes with small bushes near our camp. We also

saw the Sind Willow-Warbler ( Phylloscopus collybitus s indianus )

and the Eastern Meadow Bunting ( Emberiza cia stracheyi ) building.

Currant bushes of three kinds as well as juniper bushes were very

common on the hillsides round our camp.

June 1. Karkitchu to Kargil. Seven miles. A short march down

to the junction of the Dras and Suru rivers and then up the latter

two miles to the large village of Karg'il. This is rather an

important place being near the junction of two trade routes, viz.

that from Yarkhand via Leh and another from Skardu.

There is much valuable cultivation and an excellent system of

irrigation channels, with plenty of tree growth (all planted and

dependent on irrigation). There is a Post and Telegraph office, a

dispensary and many small native shops. Here we halted four days.

On the march from Karkitchu we saw for the first time several

Chats ( CEnanthe pleschanka).

The valley around Kargil is very beautiful at this time of the

year with its poplars, willows and apricot trees in delicate new

green leaf and the crops, chiefly barley, about a span high.

Between the fields are masses of beautiful blue irises. The altitude

of Kargil is about 8,900' and was the lowest place visited by us

beyond the Zoji La. The maximum and minimum temperatures at

this time of the year were 80° and 50° respectively.

The common birds of Kargil met with by us were : —

Carrion-Crows, Magpies, Kestrels, Skylarks, Short-toed Larks,

Bluethroats, Redstarts, Hume’s Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs,

Common Rose-Finches, Gold-fronted Finches, the Large-billed Bush-

Warbler and a few Hoopoes and Orioles.

The Kestrel, of which we found two nests with three and four

fresh eggs respectively proved to be Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus .

The nests were in holes in sandstone cliffs, one overhanging the

river.

The larks were not yet breeding- but we found two Bluethroats’

nests in grass at the base of small thorn bushes with four and five

nearly fresh eggs.

Whitethroats were mostly building but one nest with four fresh

eggs was found in a briar. Nest and eggs much resemble those of

the European Lesser Whitethroat. Several Chiifchaff nests were

found chiefly in low thorny bushes, containing generally four eggs

which are white-spotted and speckled with chestnut and not chocolate

markings as in the English bird. The Ladakh Chiffchaff proves

to be Phylloscopus collybita sindianus. We obtained the nest of a

Hoopoe ( Upupa epops epops) in a hole in a willow tree in the village

containing eight fresh eggs. Most of our time in Kargil was how-

ever spent in watching a Wheatear ( CEnanthe pleschanka) which

was not uncommon on the neighbouring sandy, rocky plateaux

118 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , kb/ XXX IV

above the river. Each pair occupies an area of about half a square

mile of the driest and most desolate country imaginable. The cock is

a dapper little fellow in his pure black and white plumage. The hen

is pale sandy brown and very inconspicuous in the sandy wastes she

frequents. The cock has a bright clear song sometimes uttered

from the top of a rock, and at. others on the wing* while flying round

in circles at a considerable height. After singing on the wing the

bird will sometimes execute a remarkable dive to earth carried out

at lightning speed. It was some time before we discovered the

nest of this chat, as the birds are wary and do not readily give

away the position of the nest. Eventually however we found a

good many nests under construction, which about ten days later

contained four or five eggs each. Nests were situated in holes

under rocks or stones, usually invisible from outside, and were

composed of dry grass or weed stems, with a dense, warm lining

of wool and hair. The eg*gs pale blue, spotted pinkish.

June 6. Kargil to Paskyum. Six miles. Our route led over a

sandy plateau frequented only by Siberian Chats and a few Short-

toed Larks. Our camp at about 9,300' was alongside the Wakka

stream, a tributary of the Suru river.

There was plenty of dense willow and thorn growth near our

camp which was full of Bluethroats and Chiffchaffs. We watched

a pair of Chiffchaffs building their nest near the top of a pollard

willow, fifteen feet from the ground. This is a most unusual

situation for the nest. We saw the Grey-backed Shrike ( Lanius

tephronotus ) for the first time here. Also a Lammergeyer was noted.

On the hill above our camp we shot a Desert Chat (CEnanthc

deserii oreophila) a bird chiefly found at much greater altitudes.

We also found a Skylark’s ( Alauda gulgula guttata ) nest with four

fresh eggs in a lucerne field and a dessicated adult Horned-Lark

which appeared to be O. elwesi, as well a nest of CEnanthe

pleschanka in a pile of stones which contained five fresh eggs.

The Olivaceous Tree Warbler ( Phylloscopus indicus ) was

along the Wakka stream. Nests of the Bluethroat, Grey-backed

Shrike (two eggs) and Chiffchaff were found on the march.

The Olivaceous Tree Warbler ( Phylloscopus indicus ) was observed

in a side valley 1,500' above our camp.

June 9. Lotsam to Maulbekh. Nine miles. Following the Wakka

stream up a rather narrow valley we reached an open cultivated

area at 10,750' at Maulbekh. This is our first experience of

Buddhist country with its chortens and mane walls.

We found the vicinity of the stream near Maulbekh an excellent

place for several birds, chiefly Bluethroats, Pied Wagtails, Chiff-

chaffs, Skylarks and Common Sandpipers all of which were breeding.

The Pied Wagtails ( Motacilla alba hodgsoni ) built well-concealed

nests under stones on stony islands in mid stream. Sandpipers

had eggs on the same islands which were mostly near hatching.

A pretty little yellow flowering plant, a Corydalis was found

growing out of the interstices of dry rocks. This has proved to

be a new species, C. osmastonii.

June 11. Maulbekh to Bod Kharbu. Sixteen miles. Making an

early start we passed literally hundreds of Blue Rock Pigeons

PLATE I.

ourn. Bombay Nat. Hist Soc.

3. — Glacier opposite our camp at Sona-

merg.

4. — Zogi La pass.

5. — Baggage pony sunk in snow beyond

Zogi La.

6. — Buddhist monasteries at Lamaguru.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE II

7. — Fort and bridge over Indus at

Khalatze. 10,000 ft.

8. — Rungdum swamp at head of Suru

Valley. 13,000 ft.

11. — Road to Skardu over Deosai

Pass. 13,000 ft.

12. — -Lake at 14,000 ft., Sirsangri La

between the Deosai and Kashmir.

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

119

feeding in the cultivated fields. These were C. intermedia neglecta

and C. rupestris. They spend the middle of the day sitting on the

cliffs above Maulbekh. We also saw a party of no less than eleven

Magpies apparently engaged in a ‘Panchayat’. We crossed the

Namika La Pass (13,000') about half way and then commenced the

gradual descent. On the way we came across two Desert Chats and

also the first Adam’s Finches ( Montifringilla adamsi ) we had seen.

These latter are conspicuous from the large amount of white

in their plumage which they display especially on the wing.

They are very tame and confiding and they show no hesitation in

visiting their nests in the presence of a spectator.

June 12. We halted one day at Bodkharbu which is 11,550'

above sea level. Here we found Adam’s Finch building among

stones. Also two nests of the Robin Accentor ( Prunella rubeculoides)

built almost on the ground in low dense Caragana bushes (resembling

gorse). We also found several Bluethroats’ nests with eggs in

the thorny scrub by the river. This thorny scrub ( Hippophce

rhamnoides ) is always a safe find for Bluethroats and Chiffchaffs.

A snow cock was heard calling on the rocks far above our camp.

June IS. Bodkharbu to Lamaguru. Fifteen miles. Our march

to-day led over the Fotu La Pass, 13,500'. We sat and ate our

lunch close to a little bit of swampy ground near the £*ass and

watched a pair of red-billed choughs feeding close by. Afterwards,

on the descent, we heard a new bird call which reminded me of the

Great Rose Finch ( Carpodacus rubicilloides) which I had previously

found common and breeding near the Pangong Lake. We stalked

these birds and W. shot two out of three at one shot — one a

beautiful male in pink and grey plumage, the other a young male

in brown striped plumage. Both were breeding birds. They proved

to be Severtzoff’s Rosefinch ( Carpodacus severtzovi).

Lamaguru where we arrived in the afternoon, is at an

altitude of 11,500'. It is extremely picturesque with its monastery

perched on sandstone cliffs and with numerous chortens and mane

walls lining the approaches to the village. The surrounding hills,

especially on the south and east, are composed of a soft cream-

coloured silty material fully a thousand feet in thickness — whether

this was laid down under water or by air is not known.

June lJf. Lamaguru to Khalatze. Ten miles. The march led first

down a rather narrow ravine and later on down a valley with a big

stream, to its junction ' with the Indus river two miles below

Khalatze. The Indus here is about 10,000' above the sea. The

valley is hot and dry. We crossed the Indus by a fine suspension

bridge constructed on the site of an old stone bridge built by King

Naglug in a.d. 1150. The rocky gorge down which our path lay

to the Indus was remarkable for the metamorphic rocks of various

striking colours red and green predominating. Wild roses with deep

crimson blossoms were flowering in profusion near the stream and

one bush about seven feet high bore I estimated no less than

700 flowers. Another conspicuous plant was Capparis spinosa,

with large handsome white flowers growing on the driest and hottest

of sandy slopes.

We halted a day at Khalatze which, however, we did not find

120 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

very rich in bird life. Skylarks and Mag-pies were common, and

we secured an old cock Chukor, weighing twenty ounces which

belonged to the pale race C. chukar pallescens.

The Whistling Thrush ( Myiophoneus ) was also seen by the river

and also a pair of Grey Tits [Parus major kashmiriensis) .

June 16. Khalatze to Lamayuru. On this return march we

secured a specimen of the Pied Chat ( OEnanthe picata ). We also

shot a Martin [Delichon urbica).

In the evening we climbed up above the camp to about 12,000'

and came on a family of fully-fledged young Desert Chats, on the

wing. Wild Rhubarb was coming up on the hillside at the same

altitude.

June 17. We halted a day at Lamayuru, climbed up to about

14,000' but saw very few birds. Found the nest of Adam’s Finch

ready for eggs in hole near base of mane wall. The birds came

quite close to me as 1 examined a nest and did not seem to be a bit

anxious.

According to plan, our next objective was the head of the Suru

valley. To reach this from Lamayuru in ordinary years would be

a simple matter — first two marches up the Kangi stream, and then

over the Kangi Pass. This entails fording the Kangi stream about

half a dozen times, which is not ordinarily difficult. This year

however owing to the exceptionally heavy snowfall the Kangi stream

was a formidable torrent and quite unfordable; so we had to seek

out some other route.

We were told that we could get through from Lamayuru via

Wanla and Zanskar but that the route would be longer, perhaps

four marches and also more difficult. We decided to adopt

this route, but we might have hesitated to do so had we known

how long' and difficult it was to be ; for it took us ten days to do'

about ninety miles of very hard marching over bad tracks which

were in places both difficult and dangerous.

June 18. Lamayuru to Wanla. Nine miles. First an ascent to a

pass 12,000' and then gradually down to a valley and fair sized

stream with cultivation and thorny scrub at Wanla 10,500'. Here

we found Bluethroats again and also House Martins and a pair of

Swallows ( H . rustica). Also a few Crag Martins with unfinished

nests in a cave above the river.

June 19. Wfanla to Hanupatta. Ten miles. The path follows the

stream and the valley soon becomes a gorge, almost a defile and

the path is reduced almost to vanishing point. We crossed the

stream three times by bridges and then had to ford it twice, the

first time up to our middles in water nearly ice-cold. We took off

our boots and nether garments and threw them across the stream

before tackling it. W. ’s boots tied together, with stockings inserted,

made a forced landing in midstream and were instantly whirled

away in the torrent ! I had visions of W. toiling up the valley bare-

footed ; however a plucky Ladakhi retainer who plunged into the

stream without hesitation and rescued the boots a little further down

in a backwater eddy where their downward journey had fortunately

been arrested.

The count rv we were passing through was very remarkable,

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

121

Huge vertical cliffs and precipices on either side running up fully

a couple of thousand feet almost shut out the sunlight. How our

laden ponies got safely through this march was a marvel. There

were no casualties. We arrived at Hanupatta in a more open valley

and camped at 12,300' by a solitary juniper tree nine feet in girth.

Not very many birds were seen but we secured a specimen of a

Red-mantled Rose-Finch ( Propasser rhodochalmys grandis S) and

also Hume’s Chat ( (Enanthe abboniger 9) as well as two Mountain-

Finches.

June 20. Hanupatta to Patoksar. Ten miles. A gradual ascent,

fording a stream at 14,500' (very cold !) and then on up to the

Shirshir Pass, 16,600' where there was snow still lying. View

over the hills from the pass very fine. On the ascent to-day

we came across the same large Rose-Finch ( Carpodacus severtzovi).

Also Prunella fulvescens and rubeculoides, Phylloscopus affinis,

pigeons of three kinds ( Columba livia neglecta, rupestris and

leuconota), a Raven, Choughs, Adam’s Finch and Brandit’s Finch

( Fringilauda brandti). We also met with some Horned-Larks

(Otocorys longirostris) which all appeared to be males.

Eventually we reached Patoksar and camped by a stream at

13,500'. This is the highest cultivation we have seen.

June 21. Patoksar to Ilchung. Twelve miles. A very cold, clear

morning. Ice on shallow pools, and sponge frozen ! Made an early

start as usual and shortly got the sun which was most grateful.

A little above our camp we came on three great Snow-Cock

waddling along the path in front of us, like geese! Having no

suitable weapon handy, they escaped. Further on heard many snow

cock calling a musical loud whistle of about four notes, reminding

one somewhat of the wild note of the Curlew.

On this march W. found the nest of Adam’s Finch under a rock

with four fresh eggs — pure white.

The path ascended gradually, culminating in the Singhe Pass

16,500' where there was much snow including a snow cornice on

the ridge. Saw many Stoliczka’s Mountain-Finch and Brandt’s

Mountain-Finch in this march and found a Redstart’s nest with

hard-set eggs under a rock, and a nest of the Horned Lark

( Otocoris longirostris ) with two fresh eggs under a tuft of grass.

The full clutch of this species is three or two eggs only. Our camp

at Ilchung was at 13,200'. Here we found House Martins again and

Choughs of both kinds.

June 22. Ilchung to Linshet. Eleven miles. First a steady climb

of three miles up to the Chupa La 14,600' — Snow-Cock calling all the

way — then steeply down to a valley 13,100', followed by a second

steep climb up to the Nirgum La at 14,400', and lastly a gradual

descent to a large village and monastery at Linshet which is 13,000'.

Birds seen in the march to-day were Snow-Cock (T etrao gallus

himalayensis), Rose-Finch ( Carpodacus severtzovi) and the Olivace-

ous Tree-Warbler (P. indicus). The latter has a song not unlike

that of the Lesser Whitethroat but not often heard.

June 23. Linshet to Oma River. Nine miles. We struck camp

and packed early, as usual but for some reason no> transport arrived.

We waited and waited. It was evident that the people were trying

16

122 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol, XXXIV

to boycott us and did not want us to go on any further. Among

other objections they stated that we should meet with an unfordable

river. This we found was true, but as we did not have to cross

the river it was no obstacle ! However by dint of much pressure

and persuasion we eventually collected a mixed lot including yaks,

ponies, monks and even nuns who carried our kit on to the next

camp by the Oma river at 12,500'.

The march was first uphill to the Barma La, 15,500', a very cold

exposed and windy spot, then down over many snow bridges to the

junction of our small stream with the big unfordable Oma river.

Here we found Common Rose-Finches and Chiffchaffs again and

plenty of welcome firewood (dwarf willow).

June 2 If. Oma river to Debring. Seven miles. The path to-day

was the worst we had so far experienced. It follows the Oma river

— at times along the edge of the stony bed, at others up along and

over hanging precipices — involving many ups and downs of several

hundreds of feet. Here, too, the path is reduced to a minimum,

often only just room for one to put his foot, and it is no place for

any one who has not a good head or who suffers from vertigo, as

a fall would take one down several hundred feet into the riverbed

with certain death. However we got through safely and what was

much more wonderful was the fact that our kit loaded on eight

yaks and twenty coolies also got through with no casualty. Yaks

are really marvellous on bad rocky, steep slopes. On the march

we secured a fine specimen of Carpodacus severtzovi which frequents

rocky slopes.

Debring is a fair sized village at 13,100' — with a considerable

amount of cultivation and a good many willow trees, — also ample

water for irrigation from two streams. Here we found Choughs (both

kinds), Short-toed Larks, Redstarts, House-Martins and Adam’s

Finch all common and on the dry slopes above, Phylloscopus indicus.

June 25. Debring to camp. Four miles. A short march up the

valley to a camping ground below the Pass which we must cross

to-morrow. Our camp was at 13,900' among rocks with much low

scrub consisting of dwarf Lonicera, Ephedra, dwarf willows, etc.

W. secured an Orange-barred Willow-Warbler ( Phylloscopus

pulcher ) in the willow trees near our last camp, the only one seen

throughout the tour. Near our camp below the Pass we saw several

of the large Rose-Finches, and our shikari found a nest built under

a stone, ready for eggs.

There were many Marmots about, the Himalayan — not the Tibetan

species. We also found the nest of Phylloscopus indicus in a

dwarf Lonicera bush with four fresh eggs, and secured a second

specimen of the pale race of Chukor, which is characteristic of this

dry, stony, sandy country.

June 26. Camp to camp above Gompa. Nine miles. Made a very

early start. The march to-day started with a climb of 2,500'.

Nearly all over snow and a good deal of it deep snow, often in

conical peaks or ridges making going difficult. We reached the

Pass, the Pig Dong La, altitude 16,600', at 8.30 and then started

down. Our path led down a valley which gradually increased in

dimensions.

A Tour in further kashmir 123

At midday when we stopped for lunch it began to sleet and was

very cold. We took shelter under some steep rocks and waited

patiently for our kit to arrive which it eventually did and we got

our camp pitched on a small plateau, everything very wet. Now,

however, the sun came out brightly and every one soon revived.

Otocoris longirostris were common round our camp at 14,500k

Also a pair of Desert Chats, Redstarts, Mountain-Finches, Robin

Accentors and the ubiquitous Eastern Meadow-Bunting. This

latter was on the whole commonest and most widespread of all

the birds we met with, the House-Sparrow only excepted.

June 27. Camp to Zuildo. Ten miles. A fine frosty morning.

Saw a few Himalayan Rubythroats ( Calliope pectoralis). We must

now be near the meeting point of the two races, the Himalayan and

the Tibetan (C. p. tschebaiewi) as the latter occurs in Southern

Ladakh.

We saw and compared Phylloscopus affinis and P. indicus

together. They are very similar in colour and appearance and their

songs are also very similar but that of affinis is preceded by a

single separate note which is not the case with indicus.

Saw a pair of Carpodacus severtzovi. Now we caught sight

of the Gompa (monastery) and knew we were at the head of the Suru

valley and approaching the great Rungdum Swamp which was our

objective and which we had been keenly looking forward to as the

home of the Eastern Redshank, the Lesser Mongolian Plover and

the Eastern Common Tern ( Sterna hirundo tibetana ). Three miles

down the open valley from the Gompa we arrived at a miserable

collection of huts — the village of Zuildo, on the northern and eastern

margin of the Rungdum Swamp and here we pitched our camp.

It was a cold, bleak spot, very windy and with snow on the

mountains on both sides of us right down to the valley. The

altitude of Zuildo is 13,100k

After ten days’ very strenuous marching we arranged for a halt

of five days, more especially because we were anxious to work the

Rungdum Swamp thoroughly before moving down the Suru valley.

The Suru river at Zuildo is already a broad body of water and

unfordable at this time of the year. The stream is not very rapid

probably averaging about three miles per hour for the eight miles

as it skirts the Rungdum Swamp.

The swamp occupies the whole valley which in this portion has

widened out and is nearly a mile across. It is caused by a series of

large springs which arise at the base of the mountain range which

constitutes the northern flank of the valley. A fair proportion of

the swamp consists of marshy grass land with tussocks of coarse

grass, reeds and sedges, and innumerable little pools and channels

of water, some fairly deep. Progress here is not easy but with care

and circumspection combined with considerable activity it is possible

to explore a good deal of it on foot. Another type, well represented,

is covered with dwarf willow of which three or four species are com-

mon. Mosquitoes (Culex sp.) are very numerous, but owing to

the unusual cold they were not nearly as bad as had been experienced

by the writer on a previous visit.

Our camp at Zuildo was close to the river with the swamp on

124 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , H?/. XXXIV

one side of us and a large area of stony, sandy waste, a ‘fan’

resulting from a side stream, occupying the other.

We were surprised to see a party of eight Bar-headed Geese

[Anser indicus ) swimming about on the river close to our camp and

throughout our stay they appeared from time to time and disported

themselves sometimes in the water and sometimes in the land.

They did not appear to be breeding, though at this time of the year

they would have eggs or freshly-hatched young in Southern Ladakh

near the Tsomoriri Lake or at Shushal. We also saw a few

Goosanders on the river on one or two occasions and a flight of

eight Pintail Ducks were also seen.

The Eastern Redshanks were fairly common in the swampy area.

They were naturally shy but we soon found that they had in most

cases either hard set eggs or freshly hatched young. As a result of

much searching in the swamp and watching with glasses we found

one nest with fresh eggs and several chicks. The eggs were laid in a

tussock of grass in the swamp.

Several pairs of the Lesser Sand Plover (AJgialitis mongolica )

occupied the stony ‘fan’ west of our camp and others on similar

ground nearer Gompa. The birds are extremely difficult to follow as

they run about at great speed on the sand and their eggs, three in

number, are extraordinarily difficult to locate. One may pass them

over and over again at close quarters without seeing them. We

succeeded in finding three nests with eggs and several chicks, but

one nest of eggs, an incomplete clutch, was washed away by a rise

in the river and another lot were very hard set. One lot of three

fresh eggs was however secured — which were pale cafe-au-lait

rather densely speckled and spotted with dark brown. The eggs are

laid in little saucer-shaped hollows in the sand scraped out by the

bird generally at some considerable distance from the water.

A few of the terns we were in search of were seen from time to

time generally fishing over the larger pools near the swamp. They

were usually either single birds or in pairs. We could see no signs

of breeding. Three specimens were secured. The bird turns out

to be Sterna hirundo tibetana. Other birds seen in and around the

Rungdum Swamp were : —

Skylarks (Alauda arvensis guttata), very common and breeding.

We found several nests in the drier portions of the -swamp.

Horned Larks ( Otocoris alpestris longirostris) and Yellow-headed

Wagtails ( Motacilla citreola calcaratus) extremely common every-

where in the swamp. Many nests found with eggs usually very

well concealed in grass or at base of dwarf willow.

The Robin Accentor ( Prunella rubeculoides) was also very common

and breeding on ground at base of dwarf willow or merely in hole

in tussock. Eggs three ; colour as in hedge-sparrows.

Tickell’s Willow Warbler (Phylloscpous affinis). Fairly common

and breeding in the low willow scrub in the swamp. Fresh eggs

taken. The Chiffchaff ( Phylloscopus collybita sindianus). Fairly

abundant, breeding in the dwarf willows in the swamp. The

Himalayan Rubythroat was also occasionally seen near the edge

of the swamp or on the hillsides above it. The Cuckoo (Cuculus

canorus) was also heard calling nearly every day. Choughs — the

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

125

red-billed variety — were often seen near our camp. Pigeons, chiefly

the Blue Hill-Pigeon (C. rupestris) and also the Snow Pig-eon

( Columba leuconota) were commonly seen. Lastly, House-Martins

(. Delichon urbica urbica ) and Crag-Martins were observed on several

occasions and were breeding- on the cliffs.

July 3. Zuildo to Gulma Tongas. Eleven miles. Our march to-day

was alongside the Rungdum Swamp for about six or seven miles

and then through thickets of willow and open country. Our camp

was near the site of the Gulma Tongas village, now deserted. It is

a delightful open spot, elevation 12,200' with a tarn of about an

acre in extent close to the camping ground. There were ten Bar-

headed Geese on the river close by, and a few Green Sandpipers,

very wild, on the margin of the tarn. Those were doubtless non-

breeding birds. We found a Horned Lark’s nest with two slightly-

set eggs close to1 our tents. This was discovered in a curious way.

All through the bustle of men and animals involved in the pitching

of our tents the lark had sat tight and refused to leave her nest.

Later on I had opened up my Botanical press and spread the paper

out in front of my tent to dry. Even this did not disturb the bird.

Suddenly a gust of wind took away several sheets of paper one of

which blew away close over the nest. This was too much for the

bird which flew off, disclosing the nest. The nest was in a

depression in the ground surrounded by a rampart of stones, some

of which weighed from half to one ounce each !

We also found the nest of a Lesser Sand-Plover on a stony,

sandy flat containing two freshly-hatched chicks and one egg. The

nest was discovered owing to the extraordinary antics of the mother

bird which shuffled about on the ground looking more like an

animated bunch of feathers than a bird. We sat down within a

few feet of the nest and the parent bird came slowly up to within

about six feet of us. She did this for some time and finally got

tired of the performance and stood up. While engaged in her

strange antics we took a photo — but unfortunately, it does not show

the bird ! The next morning she was covering the chicks a short

way off and we removed the single egg which proved to be addled.

July If. Gluma Tongas to Parkachik. Ten miles. Our march

to-day was through a lot of interesting rocky country still following

the Suru river. The river had become much more rapid in places,

in fact a roaring torrent or cascade and the valleys was in places full

of enormous boulders weighing many hundreds of tons which

had come down from the steep and lofty mountains on either

side.

The flowers were extraordinarily beautiful including the lovely

little purple Primula minutissima, the large purple blue Primula

nivalis, in masses by the streams, the yellow onion, Allium semenovii

and the small Allium stracheyi in the swamp, two buttercups

(Ranunculus pulchellus and choerophylla), the dwarf Thalictrum

alpinum, the golden Potentilla argyrophylla, the pink Dianthus

angulatus, the beautiful little Androsace zabulensis, Anemone

albana, Saxifraga sibirica, the purple Lancea tibetica.

Also Draba glacialis in golden masses, the deep the blue Gentian,

Gentiana carinata in swampy places, and on dry warm slopes Arabis

126 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY . D?/. XXXI V

tibetica , the deep blue Martensia echioides and the pink Thyme

( Thymus serpiphyllum).

Three species of Louse-wort, crimson, pink and yellow ( Pedicu -

laris pyramidata, siphonantha and cornuta ) were common on

damp ground. Also the Edelweis (Leontop odium leontopodium)

and the lovely silvery Anaphyllis xylorhiza and maritima. Campa-

nula aristata was also seen, though not common, and also Chry-

santhemum tibeticum and Aster tibeticus. The curious gnetaceous,

dwarf, shrub-like plant Ephedra Gerardiana with its golden flowers

was also exceedingly common on dry rocky slopes and several

species of sedge and rush were dispersed throughout the swamp.

There was no tree growth at all, with the exception of dwarf-

willows usually only three or four feet high or less, exceptionally

about eight feet high.

As we approached Parkachik we came under the lower slopes of

the giant Nun Kun whose three-fold summit exceeds 23,000'.

This mountain was explored by Dr. E. Neve and subsequently two

of its three peaks were climbed by Dr. and Mrs. Bullock Workman

and Count Calciati. The highest peak of the three, the Dome, has

not yet been attempted.

The Nun Kun mountain is an extraordinary fine mass and the

view of it from Parkachik is most imposing. Several large glaciers

descend from its slopes. One of these ends abruptly in the Suru

river close to Parkachik where its tail is washed by the waters of the

river. The great Barmal glacier which also takes its rise on this

mountain after a course of no less than fifteen miles flows into the

Wardwan Valley below the Bhotkhol Pass. A month or two in

June, July and August might be profitably spent exploring the

slopes, the peaks and glaciers of this mighty mountain mass, and

I commend this adventure to any enterprising naturalist with a

penchant for exploration.

On the march to Parkachik young Horned-Larks, well on the

wing, were seen, also several Ruby throats, and a nest of this

species in a hole on a grassy slope among shrubby growth, contain-

ing three half-fledged young. Phylloscopus indicus and affinis were

again common and a nest of the latter with fresh eggs was found.

Also a Chiffchaff’s nest with four eggs. A single Lammergeyer was

seen.

July 5. A halt at Parkachik, a picturesque village perced up on

the hillside at 11,000', five hundred feet above the river. The

morning was spent down in the thorny scrub (Hippo phce rhamnoides)

of which there are large areas occupying many acres of the wide

stony bed of the Suru river. The Ibis-bill (Ibidorhynchus

struthersi ) was seen on an island, where it had doubtless bred.

Common Sandpipers were also seen here. This altitude (11,000')

appears to be about the upper limit of the breeding of both these

species. In the thorny scrub Bluethroats, Rubythroats and the

Large-billed Bush-Warbler ( Tribura major) were common. Chiff-

chaffs, Common Rose-Finches ( Carpodacus roseatus) and the Gold-

fronted Finch (Metoponia pusilla) were also numerous.

A nest of Tribura deep in a thorn and artfully concealed in grass

wras discovered. It contained four fresh eggs. These, and the nest,

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

127

resemble those of the European Grasshopper-Warbler, and indeed

these species are evidently very nearly allied. The bird of this nest,

when disturbed, ran away through the grass exactly like a mouse

and never took flight. She was betrayed by the movement of the

grass as she ran and had I not been specially on the look out for

this bird with whose habits I was acquainted I should never have

been aware of the nest.

A brood of young Rubythroats strong on the wing, was also

seen, and a nest of the White-qapped Redstart ( Chaim arrhomis

leucocephalus ) was discovered, with four fresh eggs in a hole in a

rocky cliff.

July 6. Parkachik to Suru Bridge. Five miles. The Suru river

takes a great U shaped bend at this point fully twelve miles in circuit

whereas by crossing over a pass at the narrow neck of the U above

Parkachik the distance is reduced to about two or three miles only.

The climb up to the pass is steep and rocky. The view from this

point which is about 12,000' is very grand, as it commands the whole

of the Nunkun massiff on the one side and the Himalaya trending-

in the direction of the Zoji La in the other.

On this march we were anxious to search for a little owl which

our shikari Lala had reported the previous day, and so far we had

found no owl inhabiting this dry, rocky, sandy country above the tree

limit. Lala led us up to a very steep rocky ridge and sure enough

there was a little owl looking at us from a ledge some way up.

Before we could secure him he retreated into a crack in the rock

and obstinately refused to show himself again. We scanned the

rocks above and below and shortly W. spotted another similar owl

a good deal higher up. I stalked this bird with the *410 keeping

very carefully out of sight and directed by W. from below. It was

exciting work as we did not know what this owl would be and were

most anxious therefore to secure a specimen. At last a point was

reached from which I judged I should see the bird within easy shot,

and exposed my head, but no, it had moved on. Another short

stalk and a shot was obtained and the bird disappeared over the

edge of the rock on which it was sitting. When I fired it had a

small bird in its claws. I hurried forward and looked over the

precipice but saw no signs of the owl. I then climbed down to where,

if hit, it should be lying, but at first could find nothing but the body

of a Stewart’s Bunting which it had held in its claws. Shortly, to my

joy I spied the owl on the ground. It proved to be a fine specimen

of a race of the Little Owl ( Athene noctua bactriana), previously

unrecorded from Ladakh, Baltistan or Kashmir. It appears to be

a rare bird in Ladakh, and we only saw one other pair, also not far

from Suru Bridge. On the way down beyond the pass a Specimen

of Brandt’s Mountain-Finch (F rin gillauda brandti hoematopygia ) was

secured. - These rather large finches of dull brownish colouration,

except for a pinkish patch on the rump, are fairly common from

12,000' upwards, especially in moist places. They occur in pairs

and small parties and doubtless breed under rocks and stones though

I have never succeeded in finding a nest, in spite of much time and

trouble spent in search.

Two days were spent at Suru Bridge, our camp being pitched near

128 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXI V

the wooden bridge — a rather perilous affair — but the only available

crossing for many miles up and down river. We found nothing

new at Suru Bridge but found nests with eggs of Bluethroats,

Large-billed Bush-Warblers, Robin Accentor, Yellow-headed

Wagtail, Chiffchaffs, Tickell’s Willow-Warbler, the Skylark, the

Eastern Meadow-Bunting, the Horned-Lark, the Short-toed Lark

and Gold-fronted Finch.

The last had just commenced to breed — a beautiful little nest

lined with white willow cotton resembling that of a Lesser Redpole

or Gold Finch, only not quite so neat, placed in a low briar with

usually five eggs similar in colouration to those of the Linnet,

only of course smaller.

July 9. Suru Bridge to Sanku. Thirteen miles. All our kit had

to be carried over the bridge by our pony men as we did not wish

to risk losing it. One pony belonging to another caravan fell over

the bridge but without a load and was rescued down below.

Skylarks, Bluethroats, Gold-fronted Finches and Common Rose-

Finches were common on the march. Pied Wagtails (M. alba

alboides) were also seen and a hobby. A Lammergeyer was also

seen and a pair of Kestrels with a nest high up on a cliff. Carrion-

Crows and Magpies are now common again, and willow trees and

poplars are found everywhere. An Ibis-bill was seen by the river.

Sankhu is a large village occupying a fine, broad area of good

cultivation opposite the tri-junction of the Kartse, and Umba streams

with the Suru river.

H ere we found Large-billed Bush-Warblers, Bluethroats, Gold-

fronted Finches, the Rose-Finch, Skylarks and Yellow-headed

Wagtails all extremely common. The Rose-Finches are now first

beginning to lay. The nest resembles that of a linnet and is built

usually in a low thorny bush ( Hippophoe ). The eggs, four, very

rarely five, in number are dark blue marked with brownish or black

specks. Many swifts ( Cypselus apus pekinensis) were seen hawking

flies, and two cuckoos, were still calling.

July 11. Sankhu to Tsalikot. Ten miles. Our road still follows

the river and our camp was at 9,400'. Rose-Finches were common

and several nests with eggs were found.

Gold-Finches also seen but no nests found. A lesser Whitethroat’s

nest ( Sylvia alihca ) was seen with three young and a pair of

Phylloscopus indicus feeding young. A fully-fledged young CEnanthe

pleschanka was secured.

July 12. Tsaliskot to Maingni. Eight miles. Ne new birds seen

except three Ravens and a pair of Grey Wagtails. The common

grey Quail was calling ‘Wet-my lips’ round our camp but we could

not discover its eggs.

July 13. Maingni to Kargil. Seven miles. We are now back in

‘civilization’ again — the first ‘shops’ we have seen for six weeks, and

a big budget of letters. It was warm with bad sandflies at night.

Ripe apricots were arriving from Skardu, a welcome change as we

had seen no fresh fruit since we left Srinagar three months

Two days were spent at Kargil repacking our kit and sorting out

spare stores, etc., to be sent back direct to Srinagar,

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

129

Our next objective was the Deosai Plains to be reached via the

Shingo-Shigar River, a difficult route.

Bluethroats’ nests with eggs and with young, a Tribura nest with

eggs, two lesser Whitethroats’ nests and a Chiffchaff’s nest were

all we found at Kargil. Apricots were not yet ripe here.

July 16. Kargil to Karkitchu. Seven miles. Our road took us

down the Suru river for about two miles then across the Skardu

suspension bridge, over the Dras river and up its left bank as far

as the village of Karkitchu where we camped in the welcome shade

of apricot tree's. A Bluethroat’s nest, found the previous day with

three fledged young, was taken and the young fed on insects, grass-

hoppers, earwigs and beetles, etc., on the march.

A young Blue Rock-Thrush ( Monticola cyanus) was obtained.

July 17. Karkitchu to Chani-Kai. Ten miles. Visited the nest

of a new species of Rose-Finch found the evening before in a low

briar. The nest contained one young bird and three addled eggs ;

pale blue sparingly spotted black. The bird was identified satis-

factorily as Propasser rhodochlamys grandis. The path was very

rocky and difficult. While resting for lunch under an apricot

tree a mouse-hare about as big' as a guinea pig came out and

munched green leaves quite close by.

Our march followed the Shingo-Shigar river which has a large

volume of water beautifully clear and is a great contrast to the

Indus, Dras, Suru and Oma rivers all of which were more or less

muddy or turbid with glacier water.

July 18. Chani-Khai to Matiyal. Twelve miles. We made an

extra early start as the heat of the previous day had been very

trying in spite of the elevation (nearly 11,000'). Soon after the

start we came on a number of House Martins hawking flies over the

fields. We shot one for identification. It was Delichon urbica urbica.

The path was the worst we had ever experienced. There was in

fact practically no path, and we had to climb over broken stone and

boulders, often of large size, which was very tiring work as one

had to place one’s feet carefully. How our loaded coolies managed

it was really a marvel. This was the hottest march of the whole

tour, and we had a perpetual thirst which, however, we could slake in

the almost ice-cold streamlets which we crossed at frequent intervals.

We halted at midday in a delightful shady place by the river, a

thicket of willows, juniper and Myricaria elegans, the latter a

characteristic large shrub of many of the valleys of Ladakh with

very lovely spikes of small pinkish white flowers. Wild roses with

deep crimson flowers were also in evidence.

We were told it was two miles on to Matiyal ; so we decided to

push on though we were rather done. It proved to be fully five

miles with a steep climb of 800 feet at the finish !

We passed the junction of the Shingo with the Shigar river on

this march. The former drains the Chota Deosai Valley. We follow

the latter, which is now of a beautiful clear dark green, and in

places a roaring torrent. Matiyal village consists of only a few

huts. It is situated on a large cultivated plateau well above the

river with a scattered forest of juniper and Pinus excelsa not far off.

The presence of forest trees indicates a moister climate.

17

130 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

We halted a day at Matiyal to arrange ponies to replace our

coolie transport. We explored the forest area and saw, among

others, the Simla Black-Tit ( Lophophanes melanolophus) only seen

in this valley since crossing the Zoji La. Also Phylloscopus humii

and indicus, Propasser rhodochlamys grandis, Carpodacus roseatus,

Metoponia, Emberiza cia stracheyi, Phyrrocorax phyrrocorax and

Columba leuconota. Also, near our camp, skylarks and short-toed

larks.

Two species of juniper were common, one an erect tree and the

other a squat spreading shrub. A species of Rubus was also

observed. Biting flies were very troublesome, a species of Tabanus

as well as a Simulium.

July 20. Matiyal to Karbos. Nine miles. A river had to be

forded by our ponies shortly after leaving Matiyal, after which the

path was much up and down and often over very bad rocky ground

over which one would not think of leading an ordinary pony without

a load, but the wonderful little local ponies carried our loads right

through without a casualty.

On the march we saw Bluethroats (white spot), a large Rose-Finch

( ? Propasser grandis), Gold-Finches and Black-Tits ( Lophophanes

rufonuchalis again. Many beautiful flowers including pure white

King-cups yellow Louse-wort — some two feet high, and masses of

purple Cranes-bill. Butterflies were also fairly numerous, Blues and

Coppers and a Fritillary new to us.

Biting flies and mosquitoes were again very bad.

Jidy 21. Kartos to camp by river. Eight miles. A muggy damp

morning. Mosquitoes very bad. The path was better than the

previous day but still bad in parts.

On the march we saw traces of Red Bear and came across

Acanthopneuste viridanus for the first time and secured a specimen.

They frequent the willow patches on the hillside. We also heard

Phylloscopus, indicus, humii and collybitus. Other birds seen were

Swifts, Redstarts, Sky-larks, White-capped Redstarts, Common

Rose-Finch, Tree-Pipits, Blue-headed Robins and Rubythroat. May

flies were very numerous at our camp.

July 22. Camp to camp Domel. Ten miles. We are now nearing

the ‘Promised Land’ — the Deosai Plain, which we have been eagerly

looking forward to ! The whole of this march was through millions

of May-fly ( Ephemera ) sometimes in dense clouds in the air, and

also seated upon the vegetation, chiefly on Dock leaves. There

were many swifts about feeding no doubt on the May-flies. The

May-flies were a godsend to my young Bluethroats who consumed

them in large quantities.

Our path gradually became easier as we approached the Deosai.

Finally we were confronted with a broad swiftly flowing river which

had to be forded before we could reach our camp. It looked a

tough proposition, the more so since the water was nearly ice-cold.

However we decided to tackle it, and W. and I stripped of all

clothing, set out armed with a stout stick each. We managed

with much difficulty to get nearly to midstream but the current

was very strong, and we were constantly losing our feet and in

this cold water there was some danger of being completely

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR 131

carried away. We struggled back with difficulty and held a council

of war. We decided to try again with the help of the ponies. I

mounted one and W. seized its tail. A pony man held on to the

bridle. In this way we managed to get safely across but it was

touch anid go.

Our kit was rearranged on the ponies with such articles as it was

essential should not get wet loaded on the top, and the ponies and

men then came across in a mass the men hanging on to the ponies.

All got safely over. We were feeling very cold and lay down in

the sun on the hot stones with our clothes spread out to dry. This

soon gave us fresh life, and we pushed on two miles to our camp

on the Deosai.

Birds on to-day’s march were a strange, large eagle, two

Pallas’s Fishing-Eagles, Rubythroats, Redstarts, Horned-Larks,

Skylarks, Tree-Pipits, Common Rose-Finch, Mountain-Finch,

Swifts, Yellow-headed Wagtails and Chiffchaffs. Also a cuckoo

being mobbed by a Rubythroat.

July 23. Halt — Domel.

We had been eagerly looking forward to the Deosai plains, this

strange extensive uninhabited plateau of moorland and swamp

some 300 square miles in area, drained by numerous big streams,

full of fish, surrounded by lofty snow clad mountains and subject to

icy blizzards in almost every month of the year.

The wild beauty of the moorland with its lush green grass and

carpets of alpine flowers alternating with drier stony or sandy

areas and its clear, cold streams with dwarf-willow beds is

undeniable, but it was absolutely spoilt at the time of our visit by

the almost indescribable plague of mosquitoes. These bloodthirsty

pests were present in millions and the swiftness and pertinacity

of their attacks was quite extraordinary. I had had many years’

experience of mosquitoes in the tropics, including Burma, but they

were as nothing compared to these voracious tigers of the Deosai

Plains. Their attacks commenced about half an hour after sunrise

and went on to about an hour after sunset. They were at their worst

in the morning and evening hours. The species was a Culex of rather

large dimensions. Fortunately we had been warned and had pro-

vided ourselves with head nets, but working in head nets is a

nuisance at best. We had not been an hour on the Deosai when

we were as anxious to leave it as we had been to reach it.

Red Bears are said to be numerous on the Deosai and to catch

fish from the streams with their claws. We did not actually see any

but we saw their traces. Marmots were very numerous in places.

Birds were not very numerous either in individuals or in species.

The chief birds seen were Horned Larks ( O . longirostris), Pipits (A.

roseatus and trivialis ), Rubythroats, Robin Accentors and Yellowy-

headed Wagtails. Also a few cuckoos. On the dry, stony plain a

few of the Lesser Sand-Plover were seen. We collected several

Horned-Larks which appear to be identical with the Otocoris

alpestris longirostris found at Dras and elsewhere on our totir.

July 21f. Domel to Chandarkot. Nine miles. Our march lay over

the moor. Mosquitoes were terribly bad till about midday when'a.

cold wind got up and banished them. We saw a grey Heron,

i.32 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXtV

a Peregrine and a Golden Eagle to-day. The latter probably feeds

on marmots in this part of the country.

Our camp was in a delightful spot near the meeting of two

streams with swampy ground rich in flowers, near by. Here I

found among other things the beautiful little Primula rosea

previously unrecorded from Baltistan.

July 25. Chandarkot to Chota Deosai. Eleven miles. Our path

followed the Kalapani stream up to its source near the San Sangri

La (Pass) altitude 14,200k At the pass there are two beautiful

tarns, half a mile or so across. There was much snow at the pass

and on the neighbouring mountains. From the pass we had a steep

descent to the valley of the Chota Deosai where we camped by a

large stream, the head waters of the Shingo1 river. We saw a pair of

ravens standing by the body of a dead pony by the way. No new

birds were seen. Fortunately a cold wind was blowing near our

camp so that we were not much troubled by mosquitoes. A most

unfortunate incident was the loss of W’s field glasses, which he

left lying not far off where we rested for lunch and which were

almost certainly stolen by a Gujar who passed by, the only man who

had passed us for days.

July 26. Chota Deosai to Minimarg. Fifteen miles. The night at

Chota Deosai was marked by a hard frost. Our tents were white

with rime and our sponges and water in basins frozen. A gradual

ascent of one and a half miles brought us to the Panzil La at 13,000',

from which point a gradual descent to Minimarg at 9,333' near the

head waters of the Kishanganga river. We passed the Burzil

Resthouse on the Gilgit road a few miles before reaching Minimarg.

Here we obtained specimens of Acanthopneuste viridanus and the

Tree-Pipit ( Anthus trivialis harringtoni).

Since we crossed the Panzil Pass there has been a marked change

in the climate and vegetation, hillsides being clothed with forest of

birch and lower down with silver fir and blue pine and shrubs of

various kinds. Minimarg is a small village with a post office.

We were disappointed to find that mosquitoes were fairly bad at

Minimarg. We had hoped to have left them behind at the pass !

We halted a day at Minimarg.

July 27. Explored the Nagai valley. We found Hodgson’s

Shortwing ( Hodgsonius phoenicuroides) common in the open parts

of the fir forest and secured specimens of both old and young birds.

Also a young Buzzard ( Buteo huteo).

July 28. Minimarg to Dudgai. Fourteen miles. Our march led

dowm the Gilgit road on the sunny side of the valley, the opposite

side being clothed with forest of silver fir and blue pine.

We heard Hodgonius calling, a rather melancholy refrain of three

notes, the middle one lowest. Also Acanthopneuste magnirostris,

its call, tee — tee-tee — tee-tee, a descending cadence of loud and

shrill notes could be heard above the noisy turmoil of the torrent.

We were delighted to find no mosquitoes at our camp at Dudgai,

8,350' altitude.

July 29. Dudgai to Barman. Ten miles. A pretty march down

the Burzil river. At Gurais the valley opens out and there is much

cultivation and several large villages. We camped near a big poplar

A TOUR IN FURTHER KASHMIR

133

wood, with excellent shade and water. The poplars were up to

twelve feet in girth and eighty feet in height. We were surprised

to hear Chiffchaffs calling in the willow beds near the river. We

did not know they bred in Kashmir proper. We also saw a Magpie.

Rufous-backed Shrikes and Grey Tits were common.

July 30. Barwan to Gorai. Eleven miles. Our road led us at

first down stream through a fine wood of silver fir, blue pine,

walnut, hazel and elm. ITeard many Acanthopneuste magnirostris

and secured specimens with some difficulty. The last part of our

march was steadily up a side valley to our camp at Gorai, 9,000'.

There is still snow lying in considerable quantities in nalas, which

is very unusual here in July.

We had a very heavy thunderstorm in the evening.

July 31. Gorai' to Tragbal. Twelve miles. A glorious morning',

Myiophoneus , A. magnirostris and Hodgsonius all very noisy. The

road climbs steadily up to the Raj Diangan Pass altitude 11,580'

from which point we obtained magnificent views over the valley of

Kashmir, the Wular Lake, the Pir Panjal Range, Plara Mukh

Mountain, etc. The open grassy slopes were a mass of golden

Poteniillas and Geum with dark blue Martensia , and many other

flowers. Before reaching camp we came across a number of

AEgiihaliscus niveigularis in a hunting party and secured specimens.

Red-browed-F inches ( Callacanthis burtoni ) were also common and

we shot a young bird of the year.

Our camp at Tragbal 9,500' was in the shade of deodar trees,

a delightful spot. We experienced a sharp thunderstorm in the

evening, fortunately after our tents were pitched.

We halted three days at Tragbal.

August 1, 3. The country around Tragbal is mostly densely

wooded, with deodar, silver fir and blue pine on the prevailing

species. 'Also wild cherry, maple and elm, with birch at higher

levels.

Birds were very numerous. Among those seen were Nutcrackers

( N . multipunctata) , Jungle-Crows (C. coronoides intermedius ), Tits

(Lophophanes melanolophus and rufonuchalis , TEgithaliscus niveigul-

aris), Tree-creepers (C. himalayana ), Nuthatches (S. leucopsis and

kashmiriensis), Warblers ( Phylloscopus proregulus and humii ),

Blue Chats ( Larvivora brunnea ), Bush- Robins ( Ianthia rufilata ),

Scarlet Minivets (P. brevirostris), Pied Woodpeckers [Dryobates

himalayanus), Willow-Warblers ( Acanthopneuste occipitalis ), Fly-

catchers (H emichelidon sibrica, Cyornis superciliaris and bicolor,

and Alseonax ruficauda), Red-browed Finches, Eastern Meadow-

Bunting and Turtle doves ( Streptopelia orientalis).

We secured a young Larvivora brunuea with short tail which

had evidently only just left the nest. The body plumage was

squamated as in young robins but the wings and tail were decidedly

bluish as in the adult male, which is interesting.

August 4 \. Tragbal to Bandipore. Twelve miles. A steep descent

from 9,500' to 5,000' through dense forest. It was rather hot when

we got down and we were glad of the shelter of our house-boat

which we found moored to the bank of the Wular Lake. We waited

for our kit to be loaded on board and then started across the lake.

134 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vot. XXXIV

It was very different to our last crossing in April. The water of

the lake was much lower and various water plants, chiefly the yellow

flowering Limnanthemum nymphoeides (which is excellent pony and

cattle fodder) and the water nut (Trapa bispinosa) almost covered the

surface in places. We arrived safely on the far side of the lake in

time for a cup of tea and then entered the Jhelum river,

August 5. This was spent being paddled, poled or towed up the

Jhelum river. We stopped at Sumbal en route and spent an hour

or two on a jhil in a dug out. Here we saw numbers of great Reed-

Warblers ( Acrocephalus stentoreus)y Whiskered Terns, Little Bitterns

and Dabchicks and found nests, with eggs of the Reed- Warbler,

and nests with eggs and young of the Tern. A nest of the Little

Bittern contained six young of various ages from about three to nine

days. They were the most comic little scare-crows with their tufts

of long cream coloured hairs.

August 6. We arrived back in Srinagar after 109 days on trek.

It was a great relief to relapse into the luxuries of hotel life for a

few days. We were however quite busy for the next five days

re-sorting and packing our collections and kit, selling off our spare

stuff and making ourselves respectable before returning to Europe.

Of the three young Bluethroats I got at Kargil, one escaped on

the Deosai, and another was killed by the large black ants so

common in Rawalpindi. The sole survivor got safely to England

after numerous vicissitudes and after a successful moult carried out

in September on board ship settled down in excellent health in

Oxford and lived through the extra severe winter on a diet of raw

meat, pea meal and hard boiled egg helped out with meal worms.

Unfortunately it escaped on March 10 and has never been heard

of since.

Possibly it will be produced in a stuffed condition as the latest

addition to the list of British Birds !

The photographs illustrating the tour are by Mr. Whistler.

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

BY

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

Part II

( Continued from page 921 of Vol. XXXIII)

When Munro, in 1868, published his ‘ Monograph of the Bambusese, including

descriptions of all the Species’, he enumerated 220 species. Gamble in his

* Bambusese of British India ’ (1896) described 119 species from India, Burma,

the Malay Peninsula and Ceylon. Since then 24 new species have been added

and a few of the old ones reduced (See the writer’s paper ‘ The Indian Bam-

boos brought up-to-date ’ in the Ind. Forester , Oct. and Nov. 1929.)

At present the total number of species of Bamboos from all parts of the world

amounts to about 500. I say on purpose c about ’, because not a few species

are doubtful or very imperfectly known. As far as India and Burma are con-

cerned, future explorations, especially in Burma, will add at least thirty-five

species, including all those which are so imperfectly known at present that we

are not even able to assign them to the right genus.

As mentioned in the introduction, the list given above contains all those

species of bamboos of the Old and New World of which any records as to the

flowering time came under my notice. But the majority are Indian. The total

number of species in the list is 137 and of varieties 11. Of 58 species and 2

varieties we possess only one record and we cannot, therefore, make use of them

for our purpose.

The difficulty of obtaining flowers of bamboos has always been very great.

Humboldt mentions that Mons. Mutis botanized for 20 years in a country where

Bambusa Guada H. & B. (now Guadua angzistifolia Kunth) formed marshy

forests stretching for miles, without finding one specimen in flower. Humboldt

found it worth while mentioning that Bonpland found it in flower once.

Roxburgh, whose power of observation cannot be denied, confesses that he had

only once the opportunity of seeing Bambusa Balcooa in flower. This was at

the beginning of the nineteenth century and since then very few specimens have

been gathered. A perusal of Gamble’s Monograph leads one almost to the

conclusion that bamboos were avoided on purpose. I suppose practical diffi-

culties in gathering and preserving such stubborn and unmanageable specimens

has to do a good deal with the scarcity of bamboos in herbaria.

In order to make a number of statements in the following pages intelligible,

we must first explain some structures which are peculiar to the bamboos and

which greatly influence the phenomena of flowering characteristic of the

various groups and species.

Two kinds of Rhizome

The woody stems or culms of bamboos always arise from woody root stocks

or rhizomes. There are two more or less distinct types of rootstock. One

kind consists of short twisted and entangled masses producing clumps or tufts

of more or less densely packed stems. In this case the bamboo is described as

csespitose. Here the rootstock is short, and more or less directed downwards ;

the nodes are close to each other and provided with a cluster of small rootlets.

In addition we mostly find at every node a bud which will develop either into

a root-branch or into astern. The branches of the rhizome get entangled and

increase in number with the age of the rhizome, and, if they are very close

together, it may happen that the whole clump of bamboos is raised more than

a yard above ground. These root-branches develop during the same year

which produced that part of the rhizome from which the branches sprang.

136 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY \ Vol. XXXI V

The rhizomes and their branches give rise to stems during the following 3 or 4

years. The stems first grow horizontally fora very short distance, then turn at

a right angle and grow upwards close to the existing culms. Two very

common Indian bam boos, viz.- Bambusa arundinacea Willd. and Dendrocalanius

strictus Nees, can serve as examples of this type of root-stock.

In the other kind of rhizome long underground branches are produced from

which single stems or tufts of stems arise. The depth at which the root-

branches creep underground is very variable ; it may reach two and even three

feet or the branches may creep on the ground. Usually these branches follow

fairly regularly a straight line which is only diverted by some obstacle. Very

often the branches go round the obstacle and again assume the original direc-

tion. The rootstock and its branches often show considerable vegetative

action during the greater part of the year which is only reduced in winter. It is

especially after the plant is several years old that the life-intensity becomes

more pronounced. As in the preceding group the nodes of the rootstock are

provided with clusters of rootlets and with buds arranged alternately to the

right and left and at a distance from each other which remains fairly constant

for specimens of the same species. The young shoots are lateral, arranged on

an almost straight line. In opposition to the caespitose or tufted bamboo, the

stems growing from the second type of rootstock are called isolated or spaced.

It must, however, be noted that there is no strict rule for this classification

and that the climate may, within certain limits, cause modifications.

From the rhizome-branches of Melocanna v. g. there arise at intervals single

stems. Stapf reproduces a note supplied by C. B. Clarke on a species of

Melocanna. * When I was at Dacca in 1868, an officer who had been on survey

in the East Cachar Hills, showed me a large seed of Melocanna ..... He

told me that this bamboo occupied 6,000 square miles of country ; that it had

fruited the last season ; that he stopped his survey six weeks earlier owing to

the fall of seeds breaking theodolites and plane tables ; that the whole of the

old plants had died after seeding ; that the whole country could be seen

covered with seedlings ; in 1885 I marched from Muneypoor to Cachar, across

the country reported to me by the surveyor in 1868, and was for several days

in a uniform, almost pure iungle of Melocanna. — The powerful stolons formed

a horizontal mass, and I with difficulty dug up the end of one, . . The stems

of this bamboo, erect, solitary, about 1-2 yards apart, occupied the ground

almost exclusively, with no jungle under them, and shut out all view.’

Other bamboos again, with the same type of rhizome, produce from the

horizontal root-branches tufts of stems instead of only one culm ; this can be

observed in several species of Phyllostachys. Intermediate forms between the

single-stemmed and tufted bamboos are not wanting. Here belongs Dendro-

calamus membranaceus Munro which produces loose or open clumps.

Various Types of Flowering

The habit of flowering in bamboos is very varied. Brandis, the pioneer in

the exploration of this important group of Grasses, distinguishes three

classes : —

1. Those which flower annually or nearly so,

2. Those which flower gregariously and periodically.

3. Those which flower irregularly.

This division is fairly complete, especially as all those species which cannot

be grouped under 1 or 2 will necessarily go to class 3, though it might,

theoretically, be advisable to make some subdivisions as there are a few

species which occupy an intermediate place.

Annual Flowering

In annually flowering species the same plant produces leaf-bearing and

flowering culms. The flowering stems have a panicle of flowers at the top and

bear no leaves or leaves in the lower part, and the plant does not die after

seeding.

To this class belong the Indian Arnndinaria Wightana Nees (Brandis has

by mistake Wightii in Ind. Trees 662) and A. elegans Kurz1. It is strange

1 Munro in his Monograph puts Arnndinaria falcata Nees, A ■ khasiana

Munro, A. hookeriana Munro and A. intermedia Munro under section II

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

137

that A. falcata Nees flowers periodically at long intervals, whilst its variety

glomeraia flowered almost every year at Kew on a certain number of culms,

but the plant as a whole did not suffer, and must, therefore, be classed with

the annually flowering species. In Brazil the annually flowering bamboos are

better represented than in India and they belong chiefly to the genera

Arundinaria, Guaduay Bambusa and others. Of Indian species we may still

mention Bambusa lineata Munro which, according to Gamble, is constantly

found in flower in the Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Peradeniya, but other-

wise indigenous in the Andamans and the Indian Archipelago. Ochlandra

stridula Thw. of Ceylon and O. Rheedei Benth. & Hook, of South India are

other species that flower annually and regularly and do not die down after

flowering. It is very likely that several other species in India will have to be

added to this class. Beans mentions that ot the Japanese plant Sasa auricoma

E. G. Camus a few culms flower at Kew every year and that the plant is not

affected.* 1

Gregarious and Periodical Flowering,

In this case all stems of one clump and all clumps in one particular area

flower at the same time. That area may be comparatively small or extend

over hundreds of square miles. The leaves are shed and there is nothing left

on the stem but one large panicle of flowers. After ripening their seed

the culms die and with them, as a rule, also the rootstocks. The period which

elapses between two gregarious flowerings is shorter or longer, but seems to be

more or less regular for every species.

How TO CALCULATE THE LENGTH OF PERIODS,

I take for an example a very common species of bamboo, Bambusa

arundinacea Willd. The periodicity of flowering is very pronounced in this

characterized by the following words : — ‘ Culmi foliiferi et floriferi distinctly

quotannis florigerentes , hieme necati vere surculis progerminant .’ In this he

'is not correct. A. falcata flowers both sporadicalty and gregariously, and the

other species do not flower annually.

1 Troup (Silvicult. p.981) makes mention of Schizostachyumelegantissimum ,

a Java plant, of which Kurz says that it flowers and dies every third year,

reaching a height of 20-25 feet. I cannot put this species in any of the three

classes. But this is not of much importance as .S. elegantissimum is of very

doubtful identity. Munro found in the herbarium some spathes with this note :

■ Beesha elegantissima , Kurz. Caulibus tenuibus , gracillimis , altissimis, ramis

terminalibus pend alls culmos truncosque arborum hosce sustinentes velantibus .’

Hassk. PI. Jav. rar. 42 includes this species under the name of Bambusa

elegantissima Hassk. and gives as locality ‘ Java, in sylvis elalis .’ Then the

species lay dormant till Gamble in his Ind. Bambusece (p. 114) revived it under

Schizostachyum tenue Gamble. 1 1 cannot help thinking this (S. tenue ) may be

the plant described as Schizostachyum elegantissimumy Kurz in Ind. For. I

348 = Ba7nbusa elegantissima Hassk. PI. Jav. rar. 42 - Beesha elegantissima

Kurz, Munro in Trans. Linn, Soc. xxvi. 146, but the specimens in the Calcutta

Herbarium do not agree very well, and I have therefore preferred to describe

it afresh. It is near .S’, chilianthum , but it is much more slender and has

fewer heads, often reduced to 1 only.’ Surely these are sufficient reasons for

not identifying Kurz’s species with S. tenue.

But here the story does not end. In 1908 Gamble described the new genus

Oreiostachys in Proc. Roy. Acad. Amsterdam X (1908), 685. In the same place

he published the new species O. Pull-el Gamble. In 1913 Camus (Bambusees,

p. 26) gives the following synonymy of O. Pullei : O. elegantissima (Kurz)

Val. — Beesha elegantissima Kurz ? —Schizostachyum elegantissimum Kurz ?

Here we have another puzzle. Camus says that his plate 80, f. B. was drawn

from a specimen sent to him from Buitenzorg under the name Oreiostachys

elegantissimum (No. 63, Herb. Hort. Bog.). Apparently the Buitenzorg

authorities considered their specimen to be identical with Kurz’s plant. But

why does Camus doubt it ? There is one point that shows that Kurz had a

different plant before him and it is this : Schizostachyum elegantissimum Kurz

flowered every third year, whilst Oreiostachys Pullei flowers rarely. Kurz’s

species is therefore neither Schizostachyum tenue Gamble nor Oreiostachys

Pullei Gamble. Sed quid est ?

18

138 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXX TV

bamboo, though isolated clumps are found occasionally, some in the year

previous to the flowering, and others in the year following.

Brandis has calculated that general flowering takes place in periods of

30-32 years, Gamble at intervals of 30 roughly, Troup of 32-34 years, Parker

of 45 years. What is the meaning of these periods ? it does not mean that

the same clumps which have flowered together in one year continue growing

for a certain period and flower again gregariously over a certain area. It

was pointed out above that after gregarious flowering the stems and generally

even the rootstock die down. The period, therefore, indicates at the same

time the age of the species or its physiological life-cycle. As soon as the

bamboo has flowered, the seeds begin to develop and in the year following start

germinating. This is the beginning of the life-cycle of the new plant or of a

new period. I invite the reader to look up Bambusa arundinacea in the list of

Pt. 1. About 18 records of flowering are put down as gregarious. About the

rest I was not sure. Gregarious flowering took place in 1804, 1836, 1866, 1869,

1878, 1881, 1882, 1896, 1900, 1910, 1912, 1912-15, 1913, 1913-15, and after a

recent note by Parker in 1926. It is evident that not all the records can be

utilized for .ascertaining the length of the period. The records must refer

to the same area. It will not dov.g. to connect 1804 of the W. Coast of India

with 1836 of Dehra Dun and to conclude from it that the period is 32 years, or

1862 of the W. Coast of India with 1896 of Coimbatore concluding that the

period is 34 years. This method is wrong, though the result might, by chance,

be correct.

Brandis utilized the following records made in one area, viz., Malabar, South

Kanara, the Wynaad and Coorg : 1804, 1836 (not mentioned in my list) and 1866.

The first two records give a period of 32 years, the second and third of 30 years.

Then he takes two records from the Narbudda river: 1839 near Jubbul pore

and 1870 at Jubbulpore. Result : a period of 31 years. Troup says that

the period lasts 34 years, but he does not point out which data he utilized.

I do not doubt the correctness of his records when he says that there were

gregarious flowerings about 1874 to 1884, ‘ mainly in 1878 ’ and ‘ about 1905

to 1918, chiefly 1912’, all observed in Kanara, Belgaum and Dharwar. If

we take those data which he qualifies as ‘ mainly’ and ‘chiefly’, viz. 1878

and 1912, then the period must be 34 years. What he exactly means by ‘ about

1874 to 1884’ and ‘about 1905 to 1918’ is not quite clear from his account ;

very likely he had more definite details about those years and the corres-

ponding areas before him, otherwise he would not have mentioned them.

The flowering period would therefore be 30-34 years.

But then we have two records from Dehra Dun where a general flowering

of this species was noted in 1836, 1881 and 1926, i.e., at an interval of 45 years.

But before we accept this conclusion, it may be useful to remember that

the bamboos of Dehra Dun were not a natural growth, but had been planted.

How cultivated bamboos behave with regard to their flowering we shall see

later on.

The question would now naturally arise whether one and the same species

has different flowering periods in one and the same area, considering climatic

conditions or, to put it more clearly : Can the climate influence the length

of flowering periods ? We shall come back to this question later on.

Bambusa arundinacea is a characteristic example of gregarious periodical

flowering. We must not, however, think that between two gregarious flower-

ings it is never seen in flower. Occasionally we find isolated clumps in

flower. It is not rare that a few clumps flower during the year preceding the

general flowering and others during the year succeeding it.

Another phenomenon must be mentioned which has been observed in this

and other species. Troup describes it in this way : ‘ In many cases it (the

flowering) has been observed to commence in one locality and to spread

like a wave in a definite direction, taking a few years to extend over the whole

flowering area.’ Bambusa arundinacea v.g. according to the same author

began flowering in 1912 on plateau tracts of the Wynaad and spread south-

wards to Kollegal and Coimbatore where it ended in 1915. There are no

records to show that in succeeding general flowerings the same wave-like

progress over a greater area has occurred. We shall return to this point below.

There is no bamboo of which we possess more numerous and better records

as to its flowering than Bambusa arundinacea , and still we have to admit

that they are not quite satisfactory. If we wish to obtain reliable results.

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

139

we must have exact data for some particular district with uniform conditions

of soil, rain, moisture, temperature, wind, exposure and elevation. If there

are isolated flowerings preliminary to or following the general flowerings, the

possible cause should be ascertained which under the above conditions

are very likely to be found in the quality of the soil and its water-content in

that particular spot where the flowering occurred. The other conditions,

as they are supposed to be uniform, cannot vary so easily within a limited

area.

Another point must not be overlooked. If an observer in his botanical

rambles is on a sudden confronted with a general flowering, it is evident that he

cannot know when the last flowering in that precise locality took place. But

he cannot even be sure that all the bamboos he has before him are the result of

the last general flowering. There are very few people who have seen two

successive general flowerings of a long-lived bamboo. It is, therefore, not the

individual who can be expected to make reliable observations on this point, but

the Botanical and Forest Departments which, on account of their continuity, are

in a position to start experiments and observations for a prolonged period.

Other Species with Characteristic Periodic Flowering

Bambusa polymorpha Munro has always been considered to flower at long

intervals and the flowering itself as remarkably gregarious. After flowering

the plants die. In 1899 Brandis writes : ‘ It may not, I fear, be possible to put

together at the present time, a complete history of the flowering of Bambusa

polymorpha in Pegu in 1859 and subsequent years.’ As a matter of fact he had

only a few records at his disposal and it was impossible to connect them in such

a way as to enable him to draw a satisfactory conclusion.

When Troup states that in Prome it is reported to have flowered over an area

of about 3 square miles in 1914, he adds •• ‘ This is the first record of anything

approaching gregarious flowering for about 55 years ’. He evidently refers to

the general flowerings of 1859 on the west side of the Pegu Yoma. Immediately

afterwards he says that in 1918 there have been signs of an approaching general

flowering on the west side of the Pegu Yoma and ‘ if this materializes ’ he

continues, ‘ the life-cycle of the bamboo may be placed at about 60 years or a

little more.’ Here, too, Troup seems to connect the possible general flowering

with that of 1859. It seems to me that the records of flowering of this species

are too scanty and that especially the localities where general flowering has

occurred are not sufficiently well defined to furnish an accurate conclusion. In

some cases the information is not even definite. This applies to the gatherings

of 1862 and 1871. I draw attention to what Brandis says : ‘ I am disposed to

think that the specimens gathered in 1862 and 1871, must have come from

clumps which had flowered out of their time.’ After all they may have flowered

in time.

Melocanna bambusoides Trin. is another species exhibiting gregarious and

periodic flowering. The length of the period, according to Gamble, is about 30

years, according to Kurz 30-35 years, and according to Troup about 45 years.

Our list in Pt. I yields almost any length of flowering period. The bamboo

flowered in Chittagong and Arakan in 1863-1866 and again in 1901, 1902 and

1904 over restricted areas ; the period, therefore, would be about 38 years.

There was again an extensive flowering from 1908-12, therefore, a period of

about 10 years. Arakan saw once more extensive flowering between 1910-13

and a gregarious flowering between 1915-16. If we connect this latter flowering

with the big gregarious event of 1863 -1866, the period reaches at least about 50

years. But if we take the flowering of 1908-12 and 1863-1866 in Chittagong we

obtain Troup’s period, i.e., 45 years. This seems to make it evident that the

records are not sufficient for any definite conclusion. It is not enough to know

that there was a gregarious or extensive flowering in a certain country or

district and that after some time another extensive flowering took place in the

same country or district. We have to know the exact area and without that

important detail all our records and, consequently, all our conclusions, are

vitiated.

This defect can be clearly illustrated by the following facts : — Melocanna

flowered in the Garo Hills in 1889, in Assam in 1892, again in the Garo Hills

from 1900-1902. (We are allowed to include Assam, as by Assam evidently the

south-west corner of the Kamrup District is meant). We have, therefore, in

the Garo Hills at least 3 flowerings during a period of about 12 years, and that

140 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

within a limited area. But we have no evidence to show which part of the area

was affected in each case, nor can we ascertain, how far the flowering was

general in the affected areas.

Irregularly Flowering Species

Brandis gives the following description of this class of bamboos : — ‘ One or a

few culms in one clump, or a few clumps in one locality, are in flower at any

one time, while at other times all culms of one clump and all clumps in one

district are simultaneously covered with flowers.’ ( Ind . Trees , 662). Some

years earlier, Brandis expressed the same in the following words which bring

out some points more clearly : — * Some [species] at times are found in flower

over large areas and after a series of years they are found to flower again in the

same locality. The same species, however, is also found to flower sporadically,

and in such cases leaf-bearing stems are not rarely found in a flowering clump,

and at times some of the flowering stems bear leaves.*

It comes to this that irregularly flowering' species flower gregariously and

periodicaily at apparently definite intervals and at the same time sporadically

at shorter intervals. Logically considered, it is not a good class, because it is

practically impossible to draw a sharp line between gregarious flowering on a

smaller scale and sporadic flowering on a larger scale, because in nature the

two merge into each other. We also know that some species exhibit a distinct

tendency to produce flowers gregariously at long intervals and rarely sporadi-

cally, whilst other species show sporadical flowering almost every year and

gregarious flowering occasionally. But where can we draw a definite line

between the two? Still, for convenience’s sake, I retain this class.

Some Types of Irregularly Flowering Bamboos

Dendrocalamus strictus Nees, a bamboo of very wide distribution, furnishes

a good example of this kind of flowering. There seems to be no doubt that

there are gregarious flowerings. Troup connects the general flowering of 1872—

76 in the Garhwal outer Himalayan tract with that of 1908-13 in the same

country and concludes the period to be 36-40 years. But how do we know that

there was no gregarious flowering between the two dates in the same tract ?

And if there have been none, how can we find out that the second flowering took

place on bamboos derived from the seeds of the first flowering ? In a hilly

country like the Garhwal outer Himalayan tract, there are possibilities of seed-

dispersal which justify my question. My doubt about the complete absence of

flowerings during the period above mentioned is founded on the following

consideration : —Dendrocalamus strictus is the most common and most widely

spread of the Indian bamboos, occurring throughout the greater part of India,

except in Northern and Eastern Bengal and Assam. In the drier types of mixed

forest in Burma it is common. In many parts of the Siwalik tract and outer

Himalaya from the Punjab eastward to Nepal, it is abundant (Troup). It is

common throughout the hills of the Eastern and Western Ghats and of Central

and Southern India. It also extends to Singapore and Java.

Now7 of this bamboo we possess for the last 60 years about 35 records of

gregarious flowering for the whole area occupied by this species, or roughly, one

for two years. This is an extremely poor record when we consider that in every

botanical region of India general flowering must take place at different times in

different smaller areas. Of the Bombay Presidency we have one record, of the

Central Provinces five, of the whole of Burma only nine.

If we take the latter records as they stand, we might connect for Tharrawaddy

the years 1865, 1888, 1895, 1912 and 1913, with the results that there were

flowering periods of 23, 7, 17 and 1'8 years. But then Tharrawaddy is a

comparatively large area and we don’t know where exactly gregarious flowering

occurred. It is again the absence of definite information on the exact locality

of flowering which makes it impossible to draw7 reliable conclusions.

In addition to gregarious flowering, we can observe in this bamboo sporadic

flowering, i.e., isolated clumps or small groups of clumps are in flower almost

every year.

According to Troup, gregarious flowering usually takes some years to

complete, and is often progressing in a definite direction in successive years.

Troup evidently considers this progressive flowering as one big gregarious

flowering, instead of as many gregarious flowerings on a smaller scale as there

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

141

are years of records. This is one way of looking at things, and perhaps the

correct one, and one which will very likely help us in the explanation of the

periodicity later on ; but for ascertaining periods of flowering the separation of

years with the area occupied by flowering bamboos during those years

respectively will, I have no doubt, prove more advantageous.

To the same class of irregularly flowering species belong Dendrocalamus

Brandisii Kurz, D. longispathus Kurz, D. HamiUonii Nees & Arn. Of the

last we have three records of gregarious flowering from the Ruby Mines

Districts in Upper Burma 1910, 1911, 1914. How far did the gregarious

flowering in each year extend ? We have no data to ascertain the periods of

gregarious flowering. Hooker f. says that it flowers every year ; I suppose he

means sporadically. Parker mentions that it flowers periodically at long

intervals. Our records go back to 1894 only, too short a time to calculate long

intervals, even if we had more data at our disposal. Of Dendrocalamus

Brandisii Kurz, Brandis says that it flowers frequently, and according to

Troup it flowers sporadically as well as gregariously. Period not known.

Dendrocalamus longispathus behaves in the same way.

Cephalostachyum pergracile Munro, one of the commonest and most widely

spread bamboos of Burma, flowers frequently and may be found flowering

sporadically almost any year. Though we possess quite a number of records

of gregarious flowering from 1859 up to 1917, there are not two data which we

could connect for the purpose of measuring the periods.

Cephalostachyum capitatum Munro is a bamboo of the N. E. Himalaya and

Assam. Gamble thinks that it * appears to flower at very frequent intervals’

as it has been recorded in Sikkim in 1848 ?, 1866, 1869, 1874, 1878, 1892, and in

the Khasia Hills in 1830, 1835, 1850, 1871-72. All these dates refer to sporadic

flowering. I cannot agree with Gamble when he thinks that these 11 records

indicate flowering at ‘ very frequent intervals.’ After all the area is a very

extensive one and it has been explored during a period of over 60 years, by men

who were known as able collectors and botanists — Griffith, Anderson, Clarke,

King and Gammie. This gives for the whole about one record for 10 years over

the whole area.

Of gregarious flowerings of this species we have only one record. The

seeding happened in Gamble’s own observation in 1874, ‘ when large tracts in

the Chel and Neora valleys in British Bhutan covered with this species died off

and became the scene of a great conflagration in the following year.’

Bambusa Tidda Roxb. is a native of Central and Eastern Bengal, Assam and

Burma, and very commonly cultivated around the villages of Lower Bengal.

Of this species the records 1 are fairly numerous but not sufficient to show

whether the periods are long or short. As to sporadic flowering we have only

the general statetment by Brandis : ‘ At times flowers gregariously, while at

other times single clumps are in flower.’ It is strange that amongst all the

data of flowering there is not one recording a sporadic flowering, unless we call

Troup’s record of 1903-5 from Tharrawaddy a case of sporadic flowering. He

characterizes it as a fairly extensive flowering in single clumps or groups of

varying extent, and calls it gregarious flowering. Here we have a case where

it is difficult to say whether it should go by the name of gregarious or sporadic-

flowering.

1 Troup says that Brandis \ lnd. For , xxv (1899) 12] records various flowering

years, but he is not certain if these refer to gregarious flowering or to years in

which flowers were gathered. It seems to me there can be no doubt about the

meaning of the records given by Brandis judging from the context. After

giving a list of them he continues : ‘ Isolated clumps of this species, however,

not rarely come into flower.’ This evidently indicates an opposition of isolated

or sporadic to gregarious flowering.

( To be continued. )

NOTES FROM AN EXPEDITION FOR OVIS POLI

BY

William J. Morden

Field Associate in Mammalogy

American Museum of Natural History

New York City

( With two plates)

The collection of a series of Great Pamir Sheep ( Ovis poli) for

exhibition and study purposes was one of the primary objects of the

Morden-Clark Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of

Natural History, of which I was the leader, and of which James

L. Clark, Assistant Director of the Museum was the other member.

Mr. Clark and I left New York the latter part of January, 1926 and

went to Srinagar, Kashmir, from where we started northward via

the Gilgit Road.

For several years I had been working on plans for an expedition

to the Pamirs and Central Asia, and during six months spent in

Baitistan, Astor, Ladakh and Kashmir, I had made all possible

inquiries regarding routes and seasons and the best localities in

which to work. Replies to my inquiries had indicated, however,

that for some ten or fifteen years there had been very few good

specimens of Marco Polo’s sheep brought out from the Pamirs.

Opinions seemed to be divided as to the cause of the scarcity of

these animals. Some said that an epidemic had decimated the once

numerous herds, others that since the war, modern fire-arms in the

hands of natives had caused a great thinning-out of the animals.

Altogether the reports were very discouraging.

One thing, however, was noticeable. I was able to find no one

who had been, for some years at least, inside the Russian border.

All reports as to the numbers of sheep came from the Tagdumbash

Pamir, the only portion of the range of Ovis poli at present available

to sportsmen. It occurred to me that, were I able to obtain

permission to operate in the Russian Pamirs, it might be that the

sheep would be found in sufficient numbers to warrant a Museum

expedition to collect a representative series. Through the courtesy

of friends in India and in London, I was accorded permission to

take my expedition from Kashmir directly northward throug'h Gilgit

and Hunza, and, after some negotiation with Moscow, I was also

accorded special permission to enter and travel in the Russian

Pamirs, which, of course, are normally strictly forbidden to

foreigners.

NOTES FROM AN EXPEDITION FOR OVIS POLI

143

A portion of our equipment, including arms and ammunition,

sleeping bags, saddles and bridles, and most of our clothing, was

taken with us from New York; tents and a few items of food we

purchased in London, while the balance of our supplies we obtained

from Cockburn’s Agency in Srinagar. The Agency also engaged

our Kashmiri staff, only one of whom needs special comment.

Hassan Bat, our Shikari , had previously been to the Pamirs and

to the Thian Shan Mountains and knew a quite useful amount of

Turki. Although Hassan Bat had the usual Kashmiri failings, he

served us very well.

Owing to the early season at which we were leaving Srinagar,

we were requested by the Government to limit our transportation

requirements to sixty coolies, as it was the planting season in the

territories of Gilgit and Hunza. We took with us supplies for five

months only, for after our work in the Pamirs, we expected to

continue northward to the Thian Shan Mountains, collect ibex,

roe-deer and such other animals as time permitted, and then push

eastward to Hami, where by arrangement we were to meet Dr. Roy

Chapman Andrews, Leader of the Central Asiatic Expeditions of

the American. Museum. With him we were to travel eastward

across the Gobi Desert to' China. It became necessary, however,

due to Andrews’ being held in Peking by the Civil War in China,

for us to make our five months’ supplies, eked out by what could be

purchased in the bazaars of Kashgar and Urumchi, last until we

reached the Trans-Siberian Railroad, just nine months after leaving

Srinagar.

Travel over the Gilgit Road is so familiar to the readers of the

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society that there is no

need of my enlarging upon the journey from Srinagar to the Mintaka

Pass, except to say that we started from Bandipur on April

1st, and found heavy going over the Tragbal and Burzil Passes.

Through the courtesy of Major Lock in Gilgit and Major Gillan at

Kashgar, we made excellent time northward from Srinagar and

crossed the Mintaka Pass on April 24:th. In the Tagdumbash Pamir,

snow conditions were much less severe than they had been found in

the higher country near the Pass. Kirghiz encampments were found

at Lupgoz and Mintaka Karaul, and from these we were able to

obtain yaks for riding and transport. We were also able to use

yurts , which are by far the most comfortable accommodation that

I have ever used in the open. From Mintaka Karaul, we went to

Peyik, and at that point turned from the Tagdumbash Pamir, by

Peyik-jilga, to just below the foot of Peyik Pass, which there divides

Chinese and Russian territory. We arrived at Peyik Pass on the

28th of April.

At our request, Major Gillan, the British Consul-General at

Kashgar, had sent thirty ponies to meet us at Peyik, and eight of

these we loaded with equipment which would not be needed in the

Pamirs and sent them direct to Kashgar. The balance of the ponies

we took with us, but found that due to the lack of forage at that

season of the year, they had to be sent back to Kashgar.

On our way to Peyik, we were joined by a well-known character

of the Tagdumbash Pamir, Nadir Beg, a Sarakoli from Tashkurgan,

144 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Voh XXXIV

who has been with many shooting- parties both in the Tagdumbash

and on the Russian side of the border. Nadir Beg- was with us

during the entire month spent in the Pamirs, and was of the greatest

assistance to us. From him and from other Sarakolis, we heard

many tales regarding the treatment which travellers in the Russian

territory might expect to receive. According to them, the best

that we could hope for would be arrest, robbery and deportation.

Although our credentials were of the best, we thought it wise to

send a messenger ahead with our papers and to' await his return on

the Tagdumbash side of Peyik Pass. While waiting for him, we

spent a few days looking for Ovis poli in Peyik-jilga, but though

we saw old tracks and a few old heads, it was evident that sheep

were very scarce, at least at that season.

Our messenger finally returned with word that we might go ahead,

so we proceeded over Peyik Pass on April 30th. About ten miles in-

side the border we were met by a detachment of the Russian Border

Patrol, who brought a letter of welcome from the commanding

officer of Kizil Rabat Post. These chaps were very friendly, and

appeared clean, well-disciplined and excellently equipped. The

officer in command of the detachment told us that yurts had been

prepared for our use some five miles down the valley, and we

followed our escort to them. On our way down, thirteen poli rams

were seen on a snow field high up on the ' side of a mountain.

Examination through glasses and telescopes showed that one, at

least, carried quite an excellent head. It was a comforting sight,

for we had been a little discouraged at not finding recent signs

of sheep in Peyik-jilga.

After a day at that camp, we followed our escort to Kizil Rabat

Post, a small mud building with two or three yurts and a tiny

compound, about thirty miles from Peyik Pass. We were told by

the commanding officer at Kizil Rabat, after he had examined our

credentials, that we were free to travel wherever we wished in the

Pamirs, and that, if we desired, he would arrange for yurts to1 be

placed at our disposal at each camp. This was done, and except

for one camp which was simply an over-night stop, it was not

necessary to use tents during the month we spent in the Pamirs.

From Kizil Rabat we returned to our first camp near Peyik Pass

and spent several days in hunting, but snow still lay deeply in the

mountains, which made the work exceedingly difficult. We saw

several bands of rams, but no large heads were seen and as the deep

snow made it impossible to travel far from camp during any one

day’s hunt, we moved camp beyond Kizil Rabat to a location locally

known as Ak-Tsoi, on the edge of the Little Pamir. Although no

specimens were collected here we were able to make some sketches

and studies of poli by observing the animal through telescopes.

After two or three days we again moved camp to Dunggelduk,

the local name for a narrow jilga which proved to be excellent sheep

country. Around that section we saw many large bands of poli , and

it was there that we obtained four mature rams for the collection.

The largest of these measured 5-7.J inches around the curl, which

was, with one or two exceptions, the largest we saw during our

month in the Pamirs.

f OURN.

Bombay Nat. Htst. Soc.

PLATE I.

i. — Dung-Gelduk jilga, Russian Pamirs. Camp of the

Morden-Clark Asiatic Expedition.

2. — William J. Morden and James Clark with escort of Russian

Border Patrol from Kizil Rabat. (Morden right, Clark left.)

3- — Examining band of Ovis poli with telescopes, Russian Pamirs.

PLATE II.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

4. — Ovis poli ram shot by James Clark, Morden-Clark Expedition,

American Museum of Natural History, Russian Pamirs, May,

1926. Curl 57^ inches.

NOTES FROM AN EXPEDITION FOR OVIS POLI

14S

Previous to my work in the Pamirs, I had had considerable

experience in sheep hunting, having shot seven varieties of wild sheep

in North America and Asia. Before going to the Pamirs, I had made

a careful study of the horns of Ovis poli so that I felt that I was

able to1 judge, fairly accurately, their length when viewed through a

telescope. Clark, also, was not a novice with sheep, as his position

in the Museum and his private work as a taxidermist had brought

him into contact with many different sheep heads from various parts

of the world. It was our mature opinion that of the large number

of Ovis poli rams which we examined through the telescope, none

were appreciably larger than the ones which we collected.

From experience gained in measuring many old heads and from

the study and observation of fully a thousand living animals and from

the specimens which we collected, we came to the conclusion that

at present the average length of adult Ovis poli horns is about

52 inches. That there are many with horns of greater length

there can be no doubt, for we ourselves obtained five which measured

from 55 inches to 57-J inches. It is quite possible, also, that

a world’s record head now ranges somewhere among the secluded

valleys of the Pamirs, but we ourselves are quite positive that large

head^are scarce at the present time. From our examination of old

heads and those collected, it is our judgment that about 15 inches

is the average base measurement of the heads of full-grown rams,

although one or two of ours measured slightly over 16 inches, and

there are records of base measurements of 17 inches.

Generally speaking, Ovis poli horns form an open spiral. This is

particularly true in younger animals. Usually the horns form

almost a complete circle and are not as ‘nipped in’ at the bottom

of the first curl as is typical of the Ovis ammon of the Altai. There

are exceptions to this rule, however. We saw several rams which

carried horns of much the same type as those of Ovis canadensis of

North America; others had the horns ‘nipped in’ close to the face

with the wide flares typical of the Altai sheep.

Many rams with broken horns were observed during our hunting

and observation. Frequently it was the right horn which was

broken, though there seemed no good reason for it to be the right

horn rather than the left. Often the broken stump appeared to be

not much over a foot long and usually the break seemed clean and

square. Horns which were broken at the top due to fighting were

frequently seen ; one ram with an otherwise beautiful head had the

cores of both horns showing for several inches along the tops.

Quite frequently the tips of the horns were broken or worn away,

and nearly all of our large specimens would have been at least

three inches longer had the tips been intact. Every adult male that

we obtained had scars on the head due to fighting, and there were

deeply rubbed spots on the front of each shoulder caused by the

horns when the animal turned his head. In every specimen the hair

on the back of the lower front legs was badly worn away from

pawing through the snow.

Ovis poli are rather lightly built, and their bones seem very

delicate for animals living in such rocky country. Neither are they

exceptionally muscular, and the necks of the rams hardly seem

19

146 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , XXXIV

adequate for the carrying of such heavy heads. A carefully weighed

large ram totalled 239 pounds. It must be remembered, however,

that this was a spring weight, which in the fall would probably be

increased by 25 to 50 pounds. All of the specimens which we

collected were exceedingly thin and their ribs showed noticeably.

All the sheep collected by us were in excellent winter pelage and

their heavy coats made them appear larger than they really were.

Winter coats are shed about the end of May and this process was

just beginning when we left the Pamirs. The coats on specimens

collected in summer and early fall are short and differ somewhat

from the winter pelage.

In early morning and at a distance, poli appear creamy white

with light brownish saddles. Closer examination confirms this first

impression, except that the white and the brown connect by an

intermediate grayish tinge which blends the two and runs up the

back of the neck. This gray fades out just behind the horns where

the hair is almost white. The horns are yellow-white, something

like the shade of old ivory. When the mirage of bright noon-day

makes all objects at a distance indistinct, counter-shading will

sometimes cause a band of poli to be almost invisible against slopes

of broken rock, even when the animals are but two or three hundred

yards away. Young lambs are a uniform dark gray, and this

coloration seems to continue until after the first year, for yearlings,

while lighter than lambs, are what might be termed a ‘mouse-gray.1

Poli are infested with great numbers of parasites. All adult

specimens collected by us had quantities of grubs under the skin ;

sometimes large areas, particularly along the back, would be

perforated and the hair would be quite loose at those points. There

were grubs also in the noses of many specimens and all were

infested with ticks.

As is usual with wild sheep, in the spring-time the rams herd strictly

by themselves. It was noticeable that the larger males usually kept

together, though we saw a few bands which contained one or two

immature rams of two or three years and we once saw a yearling

with a number of full grown rams. Large herds of ewes and

yearlings were common during early May, but about the 20th of

the month, ewes became scarce and the yearlings were seen in

groups by themselves or with one or two immature rams. We

first saw new born lambs on the 24th of May and from then' on in

increasing numbers. Ewes undoubtedly seek secluded places among

the peaks at lambing time, which would account for their scarcity

on the lower levels at that season.

One morning we sighted a ewe from a distance and were attracted

by her strange actions. She appeared lost, for she went uncertainly

forward, gazed back, and then returned a little way, apparently

to feed. It was only by careful use of the telescope that we finally

distinguished the tiny dark form of a lamb stumbling along after

its mother. Although the new born lambs were very wobbly for

the first day or two, later when we tried to capture one of them we

found that they attained surprising agility in a very few days.

During the summer, when it becomes quite hot in the middle of

the day, there is a fair growth of grass over portions of the Pamir

NOTES FROM AN EXPEDITION FOR OVIS POLI

147

region, but in the spring-time the diet of the poli is very limited.

Tiny bunches of wiry grass grow here and there among the rocks,

and about the middle of May a variety of wild onion makes its

appearance in sandy areas. We saw sheep pawing through the

sand to obtain the first shoots of the onions which had not yet

reached the surface. This apparently forms a considerable portion

of the spring forage of the poli and at that season the animals have

a strong odour and their meat is richly flavoured.

After we had pretty thoroughly exhausted the possibilities of the

region around Dung-gelduk, we moved to another, known locally as

Kuzgun, and after a day or two there, to Ak-jilga, which we found

to contain a larger number of sheep than any we had worked in

previously. For ten days we covered the country on yaks and were

able to complete the series with females, young and one or two

other large rams. Almost everywhere we found Kirghiz camp sites,

and around these were always many old poli heads. In fact,

bleaching horns and skulls dotted the country everywhere. At first

we thought that this great number of sheep had been killed by

wolves or by severe winters. We learned, however, that the Kirghiz

annually kill a considerable number of poli for their meat and hides.

At the present time modern fire-arms are just making their

appearance, but every camp contains one or more ancient home-

made matchlock guns, and once or twice we were shown Russian

breech-loading rifles. The usual method of hunting of the Kirghiz

shikaris is to lie behind rocks or blinds while other members of

the hunting party drive the sheep past the waiting guns. It would

seem probable that in a few years, with modern fire-arms becoming

more widely used, the herds of Ovis poli will be considerably

decimated.

While it is, of course, impossible accurately to estimate the

number of Ovis poli now ranging in the Pamirs, it is certain that

their number is considerable. In the month that Clark and I

hunted and travelled in the Russian Pamirs, we actually counted

1,052 rams and 607 ewes and young. These figures are on the

conservative side, for we made generous allowances for possible

duplications. Furthermore, in this number were included no

animals we did not actually ’ see and count ourselves. Several

times, our shikaris told us of large herds which they had seen,

but these we did not include in the total.

Roughly, the range of Ovis poli may be said to extend from the

Thian Shan Mountains on the north, south through the Pamirs

to the Valley of the Oxus, usually at an altitude of from twelve to

eighteen thousand feet. In the Tagdumbash Pamir it would seem

that they are now scarce. We were told by the Russians at Kizil

Rabat Post that they extend on the west to the limits of the Pamirs.

We, of course, though we covered considerable territory in actual

area, saw but a small portion of their range.

Other large mammals of the Pamirs are ibex, wolves, foxes,

snow-leopards and bears. Marmots are, of course, everywhere.

Ibex usually range among the higher and more rocky hills

dividing the valleys, though once or twice we saw ibex low on the

slopes not far from bands of poli. A few old ibex horns were seen

148 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

in various places, but not in the numbers that Asheep heads were

found. The Kirghiz do not kill many ibex, probably because the

sheep are easier to get and their meat is better.

Wolves and foxes are common all over the Pamir region. We

were told that wolves were very plentiful, particularly in the Great

Pamir, where they were a pest. The single, specimen which came

under our observation was silvery gray and at a distance looked

considerably smaller than the North American timber wolf. We

saw many wolf tracks in fresh snow and some otherwise inexplicable

movements of bands of poli were probably due to the unseen

presence of wolves.

Red foxes were seen on several occasions ; once I saw a red fox

trying to kill a marmot. The two rolled down a rocky slope just

ahead of me, and so far as I could see, the fox did not seem to be

having much the better of the battle. I took a hurried shot

at. the moving mass which, although it missed, served to1 disentangle

the two and the marmot dived among the rocks, seemingly little the

worse for the encounter.

We saw no snow-leopards, although natives said that they were

occasionally seen. A few tracks in the snow were the only evidences

of their presence, but as they are almost entirely nocturnal, it is not

surprising* that we saw none.

One day, while watching a distant band of poli from a hillside,

we saw a large bear with two cubs rapidly climbing a rocky slope

some distance to our right. Before we could get a shot at them

they were out of range, and although we followed as rapidly as

possible to the ridge over which they had disappeared, there was

no sign of the animals in the valley beyond. The old bear had

looked large, with a heavy coat of fur much like that of a big ‘silver-

tip’ grizzly. The Kirghiz told us that bears, although sometimes

seen, are not common in the Pamirs. Those that we saw probably

belonged to the Ursus arctus group, of which the Himalayan Brown

Bear ( Ursus arctus isabellinus), is a member.

I have purposely not given any day by day report of our

experiences in hunting, for the actual hunting of O vis poli is very

similar to the hunting of other varieties of mountain sheep. The

country is not unlike the ‘ammon’ country of Rupshu in Ladakh,

though altitudes, on the whole, average somewhat lower. Yaks

are used for riding, of course, and are of the greatest assistance,

for often long distances must be covered in a single day’s hunting.

Local guides may be obtained from various Kirghiz camps, but

these shikaris are principally useful because they know the

immediate Terrain. They cannot be relied upon to judge the size

of Ovis poli horns, for to them, as to the usual native shikari , every

head is ‘the best head’.

In conclusion I can only say that, if one is able to obtain a permit

to enter the Russian Pamirs, a hunting trip for Ovis poli presents

no unusual difficulties and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS IN THE INDIAN

MUSEUM, CALCUTTA1

BY

Durgadas Mukerjee,

Lecturer in Zoology , Calcutta University .

( With a plate and 6 text-figures )

This report is based on a collection of ants received through the courtesy of

Lieut. -Colonel R. B. Seymour Sewell, Director of the Zoological Survey of

India, to whom my best thanks are due. The collection consists of 42 species

representing five different sub-families. The majority of the collection is

from the Himalayas, but there are a few specimens from the Palni Hills, South

India, and from Calcutta. In the report besides recording several of the well-

known older species I have included descriptions of six new species.

I have followed here Bingham’s nomenclature as used in his volume on

Hymenoptera in the Fauna of British India Series, and have given only a few

of the synonyms of the species for the purpose of reference. The arrangement

into different sub-families and tribes, however, is based on Emery’s recent

classification as expounded in the Genera Insectorum.

Sub-family : Dorylin^e Leach.

Dorylus orientalis Westw.

1835. Dorylus orientalis , Westwood, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, v, p. 72.

3903. Dorylus orientalis , Bingham, Faun . Brit . Ind ., Hymenoptera , ii, p. 4,

fig. 7.

1910. Dorylus ( Alaopone ) orientalis , Emery, Genera Insectorum , Hymen*

optera , p. 10.

This species, as was pointed out by Lefroy,2 is subterranean in habits and

attacks plants at their bases or roots. Workers of this species were found by

Lancaster on Dahlias and on a fungoid pest of Larkspur in the Agri-Horti-

culture Garden, Alipore, Calcutta, while their nests in the earth under bricks

and stones, were noted by Rothney3 in Barrackpore. Wheeler4 recorded

many workers from Lobo (alt. 400 ft.) in rotten wood. The species has a wide

distribution in India, Burma, and has also been recorded from the Malay

Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.

Sub-family : Ponerin^e Lepeletier,

TRIBE: ODONTOMACHINI Mayr.

Odontomachus punctulatus Forel.

1900. Odontomachus monticola , race punctulatus , Forel, Jou. n . Bombay

Nat. Hist. Soc., xii, p. 58.

1903. Odontomachus p2inctulatus, Bingham, op. cit., p. 49, fig. 28.

The collection includes a single specimen of this species which was

collected by Dr. F. H. Gravely at Kalimpong (alt. 4,500 ft ), Darjeeling

district, Eastern Himalayas. The species occurs also in Sikkim and Upper

Burma.

1 Read before the Fifteenth Session of the Indian Science Congress held

at Calcutta, 1928.

2 Lefroy, H. M., Indian Insect Life, p. 227 (1909).

3 Rothney, G. A., Trans. EnT.'Soir: London, i, p. 109 (1903).

4 Wheeler, W.M., Rec. Ind. Mus., viii, p. 233 (1913).

150 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Lobopelta diminuta Smith.

1857. Ponera diminuta , Smith, Journ . Linn. Soc., London, ii, p. 69.

1903. Lobopelta diminuta, Bingham, op. cit., p. 61.

1911. Lobopelta diminuta , Emery, op. cit ., p. 103.

A nest of this species, containing eggs, larvae, cocoons, males and workers,

was found below the grasses in the College compound at Ballygunge, Calcutta.

The eggs are minute and oval in shape. The larvae are elongated and possess

a long narrow and curved neck terminating in a head provided with mouth

parts. The larvae are enclosed within a thin chitinous integument bearing a

number of tubercles and minute hairs. The cocoons are torpedo-shaped and

covered with a tough, brown membrane.

The ants of this species have the habit of moving their camps from place to

place. At the time of changing the nests the workers seize the larvae and the

cocoons in their mouth and remove them ; while the males follow the workers

to their new home. The eggs owing to their minute size, cannot be carried

like the larvae from place to place, but owing to their sticking to the body of

the larvae, they are carried along with them.

The adult is black, while the colouration of the callows varies from yellowish

brown to reddish brown. These ants, as has been pointed out by Rothney,

march in long lines, two deep.

Several examples of the species were collected by the late Lord Carmichael

from Singla, (alt. 1500 ft.), Darjeeling district. The species is common in

Bengal and occurs throughout India with the exception of the Punjab and the

dry desert portions of Central India ; it has also been recorded from the

Malayan region.

Lobopelta pequeti Er. Andre.

1887. Lobopelta pequeti E. Andrea, Rev. d'Ent., vi, p. 292.

1903. Lobopelta pequeti , Bingham, op. cit., p. 71, fig. 37.

1911. Leptogenys ( Lobopelta ) Pequeti , Emery, op. cit., p. 104.

These ants travel in files, two abreast. Wroughton1 records that the

species makes stridulatory sounds which are audible when the ear is placed

close to them. Aitken observes also that sounds produced by the ants of this

species are loud enough to be audible to the human ear. Bingham, however,

doubts their ability to make any sounds, but I have observed that the sound is

actually produced by the rubbing one against the other of the anterior and

posterior portions of the gaster near its constriction.

TRIBE : PONERINI Forel.

Diacamma scalpratum (Smith).

1858. Ponera scalpratum, Smith, Brit. Mus. Cat., vi, p. 84.

1903. Diacamma scalpratum, Bingham, op. cit., p. 77, fig. 40.

1911. Diacamma scalpratum, Emery, op. cit., p. 65.

Bingham records the species from Burma and Tenasserim ; Long and

Jewett found it in Assam, and Forel reports it from Sikkim. Examples of

species were collected by the late Lord Carmichael at Sukna (alt. 100 ft.),

Darjeeling district.

Diacamma Vagans (Smith) .

1861. Ponera vagans, Smith, Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool. London, v, p. 103.

1903. Diacamma vagans, Bingham, op. cit., p. 81, fig. 43.

1911. Diacamma vagans , Emery, op. cit., p. 67.

A colony of about 20 workers and a male was obtained during the month

of July 1927 from a nest beneath a mango tree at Calcutta. The nest was

composed of loose moist earth and was four or five inches deep. It is interest-

ing to note that, although the nest contained larvae and cocoons, no females

were found in it. A few workers of Platythyrea victories Forel, were, however

found within the nest associated with the inmates, it is possible that they might

have been ‘ thieve-ants \

The species is very common in Bengal and is found throughout India, Burma,

and Ceylon ; it has also been recorded from the Malayan sub-region.

1 Wroughton, R. C., Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vii, p. 27 (1892).

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

151

Brachyponera luteipes (Mayr).

1862. Ponera luteipes , Mayr, Verb. Zool-bot. Ges. Wien , xii ; p. 722.

1903. Brachyponera luteipes , Bingham, op. cit ., p. 101.

The species is widely distributed in India. Specimens were collected by Dr.

B.N. Chopra from Eagles Crag, Kurseong (alt. 5,000 ft.), Eastern Himalayas.

Sub-family : Myrmicin^: Lepeletier.

TRIBE: PSEUDOMYRMINI Fore!.

Sima rufonigra (Jerdon).

1851. Eciton rufonigra , Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. Sci ., xvii ;

p. 111.

1903. Sima rufonigra , Bingham, op. cit.. p. 108.

1921. Sima rufonigra. Emery, op. cit ., p. 23.

The workers of this species differ from those of other Indian species of the

genus in possessing ocelli and in having the 2nd node of the pedicel, the abdomen

and the head black ; the thorax and the 1st joint of the pedicel vary in colour

from light orange-yellow or orange-red to brick-red. A few specimens,

however, collected in Calcutta with the typical workers were found to possess a

second node that was concolorous with the first node and the thorax, the coloura-

tion being yellowish orange. In other individuals both the nodes are black like

the abdomen, and in all other respects these examples resemble the typical

form. On measuring those forms, which exhibited variation in the colour of

the nodes, it was found that they were more or less of the same length. They

occupied different nests, and it is, therefore, improbable that the difference in

colour was due to age. I consider these forms to be simply varieties of the

species. The species, including the varieties noted above, inhabits tree-trunks

and tends Coccids. Their sting is severe and the pain caused by it lasts for

several hours. In Calcutta they are always mimicked by the spider, Salticus

pataleoides Camb. Sometimes they come into houses and attack honey, of

which they are very fond.

S. rufonigra is distributed throughout the limits of India and the late Lord

Carmichael obtained it at an altitude of 1,000 ft. at Sukna, Darjeeling district.

It has also been reported from North-East Assam at Kobo (alt. 400 ft.).

TRIBE : PHEIDGLINI Emery.

Sub=fribe : Stenammini Ashmead emend Emery.

Aphcenogaster smythiesi Forel.

1902. Sienamma {Aphcenogaster) smythiesi Forel, Rev. Suisse. Zool .,

x, p. 222.

1903. Aphcenogaster smythiesi, Bingham, op. cit.y p. 276.

1921. Aphcenogaster ( Attomyrma ) smythiesi , Emery, op. cit., p. 59.

A. smythiesi has been recorded from the North-West Himalayas and from

the East Himalayas area. I found specimens of it in the Indian Museum col-

lection from Senchal (alt. 8,000 ft.) Darjeeling district.

Aphcenogaster (. Attomyrma ) antiandalei, sp. nov.

Fig. 1. Aphcenogaster ( Attomyrma ) annandelei, sp. nov. x 30. Side vi^w

of tfie thorax and the first node.

152 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , VoL XXXIV

Worker.

Length, 8 mm., head oval, longer than broad, convex at the occiput, sides

anteriorly straight, gradually narrowing posteriorly but not forming a neck ;

eyes small, round, placed a little in front of the middle of the sides of the head;

mandibles triangular, with two apical teeth and masticatory border dentate ;

antennal carinse convergent posteriorly ; antennal and clypeal hollows deep

and confluent; frontal area small , depressed ; clypeus posteriorly produced

between the bases of the antennae, convex in the middle, its anterior border

rounded ; antennae slender, the scape passing beyond the top of the head by

about one-fourth of its length, joints of the flagellum longer than broad.

Pronotum rounded on sides, convex above, anteriorly produced into a very

short neck ; pro-mesonotal suture distinct ; mesonotum long, narrow, its

anterior portion raised into an oval area as in A. smythiesi Forel, the posterior

portion sloping back ; meso-metanotal suture well marked ; thorax emarginate

at the latter suture ; basal portion of the metanotum elongate anteriorly con-

vex from side to side,, the portion between the metanotal spines and just in

front of them longitudinally excavated, apical portion slightly concave ; meta-

notal spines short, acute and directed upwards ; the first node petiolate,

rounded above ; the second node sub-conical and higher than the first ;

abdomen oval.

Mandibles punctate and longitudinally striate ; the head feebly reticulate-

rugose, anteriorly longitudinally striate ; anterior basal portion of the

metanotum distinctly striate transversely ; nodes and abdomen smooth and

shining.

A few erect hairs scattered on head and thorax ; hairs more abundant on

abdomen and nodes ; pubescence absent.

Head and thorax dark reddish brown, mandibles yellowish brown, antennae

brownish yellow, legs pale yellow.

Remarks.— The species is allied to A. cristata Forel, but is sharply

marked off from the latter in having transverse striations on the ' metanotum

and in the absence of a transverse medial impression in the mesonotum.

Further, the head in this species is not constricted behind the eyes as in

A. cristata. It differs from A. smythiesi in the outline of the head.

Types collected by the late Dr. N. Annandale from Simla (alt. 7,000 ft.)

Western Himalayas, in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India,

Indian Museum, Calcutta.

TRIBE : MYRMICARIINI Forel.

Myrmicaria brunnea Saunders.

1841. Myrmicaria brunnea , Saunders, Trans. Ent. Soc. London , iii, p. 57,

1903. Myrmicaria brunnea , Bingham, op. cit., p. 118.

1922. Myrmicaria brunnea, Emery, op. cit., p. 122.

Three nests of this species were found in the College compound, Bally-

gunge, Calcutta. The nests were situated at the bases of trees a few yards off

a tank. The ground was soft, moist and shaded from the direct rays of the sun

by the trees. The nests were tenanted by populous colonies including males,

females and many hundreds of workers, and must have been in existence on

the same spot for several years. Rothney noted a colony occupying a spot for

twenty years. In the year 1927 during the rains I excavated a nest which

occupied an area of approximately four square feet and was two feet in depth.

The nest had a single outlet but had several galleries inside. In the furthest

recesses of the nest, very near the chamber containing the ant larvae, were

located a few termites’ nests. Each termite’s nest contained a few termite

workers and had a fungus garden in it. The galleries of the nests of these two

distinct species were in communication with one another. The close proximity

of the termites’ nest to the larval chamber of the ants suggests the possibility

that the ant-larvae enjoyed the benefit of having food, in the form of termites,

within easy access, and the termites, in their turn, enjoyed protection from

other enemies owing to their being placed within the ants’ nest. On the other

hand, the possibility that the ant-larvae derived benefit from the fungus garden

cannot be ignored. As, however, the termitophagus habits of M. brunnea have

not been observed and the fungus garden has not been found in other nests, it

is not possible to lay down the exact relationships between these two species.

Nest of Cremastog aster sorror F orel

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

153

An incident, which strongly bears out the termitophagus and predatory habits

of Lobopelta pequeti and their behaviour towards 71/. br untie a may, however,

be mentioned in this connection A few days after the excavation had been

carried out, I observed that the nest, with the exception of a few workers, who

vainly tried to rebuild it, had been deserted. In the meanwhile very near this

nest a small colony of Lobopelta pequeti was seen to build a temporary nest,

which was superficially covered overby grasses and contained their eggs,

larvae and cocoons. Some of the workers of L. pequeti had made their way

into the demolished nest of M. brunnea and were found escaping from the nest

with termites and larvae of M. brunnea in their mouths. The workers of

L. pequeti in this way carried out systematic depredations into the nests of

M. brunnea. The peculiarity was that the latter apparently tolerated the pre-

sence of L. pequeti , and neither offered any resistance to them, nor made any

counter reprisals on their enemies’ nests, of the existence of which they were

fully aware. It is clear from the behaviour of M . brunnea that this species is

naturally timid and is not fond of termites as food, as otherwise they would

have eaten them up long before the workers of A. pequeti made their appear-

ance on the scene.

The species occurs in Bengal, Burma and Ceylon, and has been recorded

from Borneo and Sumatra.

TRIBE : CREMATOGASTRINI Forel.

Cremastogaster subnuda Mayr.

1878. Cremastogaster subnuda , Mayr, Verb. Zool-bot. Ges. Wien, xxviii,

pp. 680, 682.

1903. Cremastogaster subnuda, Bingham, op. cit., p. 1?9.

1922. Cremastogaster ( Acrocoelia ) brunnea subsp. subnuda , Emery, op. cit.,

p. 149.

Cremastogaster submuda has been reported from different parts of India

(except in the dry desert parts), Assam, Burma, Tenasserim and Ceylon. In

the Indian Museum collection the species is represented by two specimens from

Neutral Saddle (alt. 5,000 ft.), Palni Hills, South India, collected by Dr. S. W.

Kemp on September 13, 1922.

Cremastogaster politula (Mayr.).

1902. Cremastogaster subnuda race politula Forel, Rev. Suisse Zool., x,

p. 207.

1903. Cremastogaster politula , Bingham, op. cit.. p. 131.

1922. Cremastogaster ( Acrocoelia ) politula , Emery, op. cit., p. 150.

The species was found living in association with aphids on the plant

Lowsinia alba at Ballygunge.

The distribution of the species is Bengal, Assam and Upper Burma.

Cremastogaster soror Forel.

1902. Cremastogaster soror , Forel, Rev. Suisse Zool., x, p. 200.

1903. Cremastogaster soror, Bingham, op. cit., p. 134.

1922. Cremastogaster ( Oxygyne ) soror , Emery, op. cit., p. 157.

A big nest of this species was found on the trunk of the tree, Grevillea

robusta, Cunn, at Ballygunge in the month of July, 1927. The nest was

situated nearly 12 feet above the ground and was attached to one side of the

stem. Its colour resembled so closely that of the tree that it was at first

mistaken for the stump of a branch of the tree and it was only by following

the ants that the nest was detected. The nest was made of a papery substance

intermixed with vegetable fibres, clay and sand debris (Plate). Prof. Hans

Molisch of Vienna, to whom I had the pleasure of sending a portion of the dried

nest, kindly informed me that the nest was chiefly composed of a fungus. It

contained an enormous number of galleries and had numerous exits in the

form of pores on the side facing the tree trunk. Although the nest was exposed

to the rain, the interior of the nest was perfectly dry and contained thousands

of larvae, nymphs and workers. It is of interest to note the difference in

colouration between individuals of different ages. The callows are generally

grey, while the adults are dark in colour. The workers were seen tending

Coecids on the same tree, a little distance from the nest.

20

154 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY t Vol. XXXIV

The distribution of the species is Western India, Poona, Bombay, Upper

Burma and Northern Shan States. The species is also recorded from

Calcutta.

TRIBE : SOLENOPSIDINI Forel emend Emery.

Subtribe: Monomoriini Emery.

Monomorium ( Parholocomyrmex ) kempi , sp. nov.

Fig. 2. Monomorium {Parholocomyrmex) kempi , sp. nov. x 30. Side view.

Worker Major.

Length, 3’5 mm., head rectangular, longer than broad, slightly emarginate

at the occiput ; eyes prominent, placed laterally at about the middle of the

sides of the head, antennal carinae short ; clypeus bicarinate, anteriorly

truncate, posteriorly produced between the bases of the antennae; antennal

and clypeal hollows confluent ; mandibles toothed ; antennae 12-jointed, with

a three-jointed club nearly as long as the rest of the flagellum ; 1st and 2nd

joints of the flagellum subequal, joints 2-7 smaller than the rest. Scape

clavate extending beyond the top of thd head. Thorax narrower than head ;

pronotum convex above, its angles rounded ; promosonotal suture distinct ;

thorax emarginate at the meso-metanotal suture ; metanotum slightly gibbous

and without any teeth or spines. First node petiolate, sub-conical and raised

higher than the second node; second node cuboid; abdomen elongate oval.

Legs moderately long. Head punctate, a few obsolete striae at its anterior end,

rest of the body smooth, without any sculpture ; body devoid of pubescence

and hairs.

Head and nodes reddish brown ; thorax yellowish brown ; abdomen shining

black with a metallic tint.

Worker Minor— smaller than the major worker; otherwise resembling it in

all respects.

Described from several specimens collected by the late Dr. N. Annandale

and Dr. S. W. Kemp from Seistan desert, Labi Baring at the bases of

tamarish bushes.

Types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum,

Calcutta.

Subtribe : Solenopsidinii (Forel) emend Emery.

Solenopsis geminata (Fabr.)

1804. Atta geminata , Fabricius, Syst. Piez ., p. 423.

1903. Solenopsis geminata , Bingham, op. cit ., p. 158., fig. 64.

1922. Solenopsis geminata , Emery, op. cit., p. 197.

The species is very common in India. It nests in the earth in the open

fields, and swarms several times from March to October.

Phidologiton diver sus (Jerdon.).

1851. Ocodoma diversus, Jerdon, Madras Journ. Lit. Sci., xvii, p. 109.

1903. Phidologiton diversus , Bingham, op. cit., p. 162.

1922. Phidologiton diversus , Emery, op. cit., p. 212.

The species has a wide distribution in India and Burma and extends as far

as the Malayan region. A few specimens of it were collected by Dr. S.W. Kemp

at the foot of Palni Hills, South India.

TRIBE : MERAN0PL1NI Emery.

Meranoplus bicolor (Guerin.).

1838. Cryptocefus bicolor, Guerin Cuv. Iconogr. Regn. Anitn . Ins., iii,

p. 425,

155

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

1875. Meranoplus bicolor , Smith, Trans. Ent . Soc. London , i, p. 34.

1903. Meranoplus bicolor, Bingham, op. cit., p. 168, fig. 66.

1922. Meranoplus bicolor , Emery, op. cit., p. 228.

It is a common species in Bengal and nests in the earth. It is distributed

throughout India and Burma and extends to the Malayan sub-region, but is

absent from the dry plains of the North-Western Provinces, Punjab and

Central India ; a single worker has also been recorded from Sadiya, North-

East Assam.

TRIBE : CATAULACINI Emery.

Cataulacus taProbance (Smith.)

1853. Cataulacus taprobancs , Smith, op. cit., p. 225.

1903. Cataulacus taprobance , Bingham, op. cit., p. 123.

1922. Cataulacus taprobance , Emery, op. cit., p. 299.

Two specimens of this species were obtained by Dr. B.N. Chopra from the

bank of Mahanada River near Siliguri. This species has also been reported

from Colombo, Kandy and Ceylon.

Sub-family Dolichoderinje.

TRIBE : TAPINOMINI Emery.

Technomyrmex elatior (Mayr).

1902. Technomyrmex mogdiliani , Emery, race elatior , Forel, Ann. Soc.

Ent. Belg., xlvi, p. 293.

1903. Technomyrynex elatior, Bingham, op. cit., p. 302.

1912. Technomyrmex modiglianii, Emery, op. cit., p. 44.

Examples of the species were obtained from the base of leaf-fronds of Sago

plants in Calcutta. It is also found in Assam, Bhamo, Upper Burma and

Southern Shan States.

Engramma Forel.1

En gramma incisum, sp. nov.

Fig. 3(a). Front view of its head.

156 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXlV

Head quadrate, nearly as broad as long, slightly emarginate behind, with

the posterior end wider than the anterior. Eyes placed at about the middle

of the head, round; anterior border of the clypeus distinctly incised in the

middle.

Thorax arched, pronotum convex, elliptical in outline. Pro-mesonotal and

meso-metanotal sutures distinct ; thorax slightly emarginate at the meso-

metanotal suture ; basal portion of metanotum small, convex and passing by a

gentle curve into the slanting apical portion. Abdomen overhanging the

pedicel, punctured ; pedicel without nodes.

Head, thorax and abdomen black. Legs dark reddish brown.

Types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum,

Calcutta, collected by the late Dr. N. Annandale and Dr. S. W. Kemp in the

Consulate Garden, Nasartabad, Seistan, in the months of November and

December, 1918.

Sub-family : Camponotin^e Forel.

( Formic incs Mayr in part ; Formicince Lepeletier).

TRIBE : PLAGiOLEPiDINI Forel.

Acantholepis annandelei, sp. nov.

Fig. 4. Acantholepis annandelei , sp. nov. x 30. Its side view.

Worker.

Length, 2 mm. Head sub-quadrate, nearly as long as broad ; occiput not

emarginate ; antennal and clypeal hollows confluent ; antennal carinse sub-

parallel, short ; clypeus triangular, convex, carinate in the middle ; antennae

11-jointed, the scapes extending beyond the posterior corners of the head by

one-half their length ; maxillary palpi 6-jointed ; labial palpi 4-jointed ; eyes

prominent, about the middle of the head ; ocelli present. Pronotum convex,

circular in outline when viewed from above, pro-mesonotum viewed dorsally

obvate ; pro-mesonotal suture distinct ; mesonotum convex from side to side,

wider than long. Thorax deeply emarginate at the meso-metanotal suture.

Scutellar region distinct and dorsally provided with two blunt tubercles. Basal

portion of the metanotum with two short, stout, conical and blunt spines

thick at the base and directed backwards and upwards ; apical portion with

small lateral blunt tubercles ; node squamiform, shallowly emarginate at its

upper surface and with two minute straight spines. Gaster broadly oval.

Body black, abdomen shining, pubescence absent, with a few scattered erect

hairs on the head and the posterior end of abdomen.

Types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum,

Calcutta, collected by the late Dr. N. Annandale from Simla (alt. 7,000 ft.),

Western Himalayas, on May 12 and 13, 1923.

Acantholepis frauenfeldi (Mayr).

1855. Hypoclinea frauenfeldi , Mayr, op. cit ., p. 378.

1894. Acantholepis frauenfeldi , Forel, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.} viii,

pp. 411, 413.

1903. Acantholepis frauenfeldi , Bingham, op. cit., p. 316.

1925. Acantholepis frauenfeldi , Emery, op. cit., p. 25.

This species is chiefly confined to the hills but has also been found at

Barrackpore, near Calcutta. The specimens under report are from Simla (alt.

7,000 ft.), Western Himalayas.

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

1 57

Plagiolepis longipes (Jerdon).

1851. Formica longipes , Jerdon, op. cit ., p. 122.

1894. Plagiolepis longipes , Forel, op. cit., p.414.

1903. Plagiolepis longipes , Bingham, op. cit., p. 320, fig. 97.

1925. Plagiolepis ( Anoplolepsis ) longipes, Emery, op. cit., p. 17.

The species is cosmopolitan in its distribution. It is believed that it has been

disseminated by commerce throughout the tropical regions of the old world.

It lives in nests tunnelled under stones, and is common in all parts of India

except in the dry portions of the North-Western Provinces, Punjab and Central

India. A single worker from Misty Hill, east side of Dawna Hills, was recorded

in the results of the Abor expedition by Wheeler.

TRIBE: PRENGLEPIDINI Forel.

Prenolepis longicornis (Latr).

1802. Formica longicornis , Latreille, Hist. Nat. Fourm., p. 113.

1894. Prenolepis longicornis , Forel, op. cit., pp. 406, 407.

1903. Prenolepis longicornis , Bingham, op. cit., p, 326.

1925. Prenolepis {Paratrechina) longicornis , Emery, op. cit., p, 217.

The species is the common ant of Calcutta and lives in the crevices of the

buildings. The workers may be found throughout the day prowling round

food material and carrying away food to their nests. They generally change

their nests following any sudden changes of weather, especially during the

rains. When changing the nest, they move in columns with pupae in their

mouths and accompanied by the Gryllide Myrmecophila prenolepidis, a species

of small beetle and the big female ants who have cast off their wings. This

Myrinecophilous gryllid was observed by Assmuth at Bombay ; but the

Myrmecophilous beetle mentioned here has not been noted before in their

company ; unfortunately I have not been able to identify it. It is interesting

to note that the beetle does not accompany the ants when they go out foraging.

It lives within the nest of the ant but follows them spontaneously when the

latter change their nest. Several beetles and M. prenolepidis occur in any

colony of the ants.

The species is cosmopolitan in distribution and is quite common in Bengal

and in other parts of India.

TRIBE : GECOPHYLLINI Forel,

CEcophylla smaragdina (Fabr).

1775. Formica smaragdina, Fabricius, Syst. Ent., p. 828.

1894. CEcophylla smaragdina, Forel, op. cit., p. 400.

1903. CEcophylla smaragdina, Bingham, op. cit., p. 311.

1925. CEcophylla smaragdina, Emery, op. cit., p. 52.

The ants of this species are very common on trees and shrubs in Bengal and

also occur in other parts of India. They build nests of leaves fastened together

by silk spun by their larvas. They are gregarious in their habits, and often

several colonies, each having a separate nest, may be found living amicably

together on the same tree. The species is peculiar in having the females of the

same nest differently coloured. The colourations vary from emerald-green to

pale yellow.

They are partial to insect-food and the workers may be seen carrying living

grubs and dead insects to their nests. A number of larvas of moths and

butterflies have also been found living in their nests. Often a group of both

the mature and immature forms of the insect Hilda bengalensis Dist.

(family Fulgoridce) , lives in association with these ants on the shoots of plants.

The ants lick up the cellular secretion on the bodies of these insects and in

return protect them. The ants of this species are much feared for their bites.

In Calcutta it is mimicked by the spider Amycicea forticeps (Cambr.), which

was first observed by Ridley in Malaya in its company. The spiders have two

prominent black spots on their abdomen and being of yellow colour simulate the

appearance of the ants. The nature of the mimicry is also mentioned by Hings-

ton.1 Both male and female spiders occur on trees inhabited by the ants.

Hingston, R. W. G., Proc. Zool. Soc. London, ii, pp. 844-848 (1927).

158 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXI V

They move singly along, parallel with the marching columns of the ants, but

keeping a little off their lines, possibly with the object of waylaying a solitary

ant. While watching them, I observed a female spider with an ant caught

between its limbs descending from a tree by hanging a line. When I put an

ant and a spider together in a small collecting tube, the ant attacked the spider

and caught it by its leg. The spider, however, warded off the attack with the

help of its cheliceras and ultimately entrapped its opponent by spinning a web

round it.

The genus is confined to the tropical region of the old world and ranges over

the Indo-Malayan, Papuan and Ethiopian regions but does not occur in

Madagascar. O. smaragdina is widely distributed in India. Lord Carmichael’s

collection contains specimens from Singla (alt. 1,500 ft.), Darjeeling district.

Wheeler (1913) also records three workers from Dibrugarh, North-East Assam,

and Kobo (alt. 400 ft.) in the Abor country.

TRIBE : CAMP0N0T1NI Forel.

Group : dorycus— extensus.

Camponotus angusticollis (Jerdon).

1851. Formica angusticollis , Jerdon, Madr. Journ . Lit. Sci., xvii, p. 120.

1892. Camponotus angusticollis , Forel, op. cit pp. 226, 235.

1903. Camponotus angusticollis , Bingham, op. cit., p. 366, figs. 115, 116.

1925. Camponotus angusticollis , Emery, op. cit., p. 89.

The species is black in colour and is known from Western and Central India,

Assam and Burma. An example of this species was collected at Parambikulam

(alt. 1,700-3,200 ft.), Cochin State, by Dr. F. H. Gravely in September 1914.

The species is a variable one, and the variety sanguinolentus Forel with

yellowish red head and yellowish red thorax and black abdomen is recorded

from Assam and Burma by Bingham. This variety is, however, not uncommon

in other parts of India ; specimens of this variety were collected at Kalim-

pong (alt. 600-4,500 ft.), Darjeeling district, Eastern Himalayas, by Dr.

F, H. Gravely during the months of April and May, 1925.

Camponotus nicobarensis Mayr.

1865. Camponotus nicobarensis , Mayr, Novara Reise. Formicid., p. 31.

1903. Camponotus nicobarensis , Bingham, op. cit., p. 364.

1925. Camponotus ( Tenaemyrmex ) nicobarensis , Emery, op. cit., p. 95.

The distribution of the species is Nicobars, Cochin-China, Burma and Assam.

Lord Carmichael’s collection includes specimens from Singla (alt. 1,500 ft.),

Darjeeling district and Dr. F. H. Gravely obtained others from Kalimpong

(alt. 500-4,500 ft.), Darjeeling district, Eastern Himalayas. Wheeler (1913)

records many workers and a single dealated female from Kobo (alt. 400 ft.)

under bark, Rotung (alt. 1,400 ft.) in dead bamboo and Dibrugarh, North-East

Assam.

Camponotus mitis (Smith).

1858. Formica mitis , Smith, Brit. Mus. Cat., vi, p. 20.

1892. Camponotus maculatus race mitis , Forel, op. cit., pp. 230, 242.

1903. Camponotus mitis , Bingham, op. cit., p. 355, figs. 112, 113.

1925. Camponotus ( Tancemyrmex ) variegatus, Emery, op. cit., p. 95.

The species has been recorded from different parts of India and Burma, and

extends through the Indo-Malayan region to New Guinea. Several specimens

were collected by the late Lord Carmichael at Simla (alt. 1,500 ft.) in 1913.

Group : COMPRESSUS— SYLVATICUS.

Camponotus compressus (Fabr).

1787. Formica compressus, Fabricius, Mant. Ins., i, p. 307.

1903. Camponotus compressios, Bingham, op. cit., p. 351, Fig. 109.

192‘5. Camponotus ( Tancemyrmex ) compressus, Emery, op. cit., p. 98.

The species occurs plentifully in Bengal and is also reported from other

parts of India, Burma and Ceylon. It ranges from plains to mountains to an

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

159

altitude of about 7,000 feet. Like most of the widely distributed ants, it

exhibits remarkable variations in colour and size and several sub-species and

races have been recognised. The race compressus is black in colour, and is the

common house ant in Calcutta. It dwells in the crevices of our buildings and

lives upon our food. The same race may be found on trees feeding upon the

products of ant-cattle, such as Coccids, Fulgorids and Membracids.

The individuals inhabiting trees generally nest in the soil round the roots of

the tree, and form, like those living in our houses, big colonies. They swarm

generally towards the evening in the months of June and July.

Two females of the species with enlarged abdomens were found living together

in a common nest at the base of a palm tree. The nest contained also a few

cocoons, but there was no food stored in it. The nest was situated a few inches

below the ground and had no outlet. Apparently the ants together with the

cocoons were living buried in the ground. The presence of the cocoons in the

same nest is interesting, as it suggests the particular method adopted by the

queen in founding a colony. It is probable that the queen would first rear a

set of workers that hatch out of these cocoons, and these workers in turn would

rear the following broods laid by the queen and help her in founding the colony.

The association of two queens at the time of founding new colonies, in the

same nest, is of special interest as such occurrence is seldom noticed.

A race which I cannot refer to any previously described form was found at

the foot of Palni Hills (alt. 500-800 ft.), South India, by Dr. S. W. Kemp in

1922, I refrain from giving it a name as I am not definite of its being a distinct

and un described race. I, however, give a description of it below : —

Camponotus compressus , a new race.

The head of the worker 18 mm. long, of this race differs from Camponotus

compressus Fabr. in being rectangular in shape and in the absence of promi-

nent occipital lobes. The scape extends greatly beyond the top of the head

and is black in colouration except at its point of insertion to the head. The

flagellum is long and castaneous. In other respects the head resembles that

of C. compressus . The thorax is yellowish-brown and forms a regular arch

as in C. compressus.

The abdomen differs from that of C. compressus in not having a shining-

appearance ; it is reddish-brown in colour, and each of its segments is shaded

transversely with a fuscous tinge. The posterior margin of the abdominal

segments is testaceous. The legs are long, prismatic and spined beneath.

They are characterised by having the longitudinal edges of their dorsal surface

raised above so as to form a longitudinal channel along the dorsal surface of

each leg. The femur is honey yellow and tibise and tarsi yellowish brown.

Camponotus rufoglaucus (Jerdon).

1851. Formica rufoglaucus, Jerdon, op. cit., p. 124.

1892. Camponotus rufoglaucus , Forel, op cit., pp. 226, 237.

1903. Camponotus rufoglaucus, Bingham, op. cit., p. 363.

1925. Camponotus ( Myrmoserisus ) rufoglaucus , Emery op. cit., p. 105.

Camponotus rufoglaucus exhibits great variation in colour. In most forms

the head is blood-red ; in a few, however, it is black. In all the forms the

abdomen is pilose.

The species nests in ground and the workers forage singly on small shrubs.

The distribution of the species is Calcutta, Assam, Burma, Central India,

Travancore and Ceylon.

Camponotus singularis (Smith). Brit. Mus. Cat.,

Hymenoptera , vi, p. 27.

The ant described as C. singularis (Smith) is, as Bingham has shown, only

a variety of C. camelinus (Smith). The head of the variety is blood-red in

colour. Examples of this variety were collected from Kalimpong at altitudes

varying from 600 to 4,500 feet, Eastern Himalayas and from Singla (alt. 1,500

ft.), Darjeeling district, by Dr. F. H. Gravely and the late Lord Carmichael

respectively.

160 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

Camponotus sericeus (Fabr).

1798. Formica sericeus , Fabricius, Ent. Syst. Supply p. 279.

1892. Camponotus sericeus , Forel, op. cit., pp. 223, 231.

1903. Camponotus sericeus , Bingham, czA, p. 376.

1925. Camponotus ( Orthonotomyrmex ) sericeus , Emery, op. cit., p. 125.

The workers, having black sericeous bodies, are generally found in Calcutta

during the rains. They nest in hard soil and form large, well populated colo-

nies. The nest opens to the outside by a small circular aperture, the opening

being flush with the ground. The interior of the nest could not be explored

as earth loosened during digging choked up the hole of the nest and obliterat-

ed its view. The foraging habit of the workers is similar to that of Prenelopis

{Nylanderia) imparis (Say), and their abdomen also becomes distended as in

P. imparts owing to storage of honey in their crops.

A row of nests was discovered by the side of a road at Ballygunge, Calcutta.

On the opposite side of the road nearly 30 feet from the nests, stood a Ficus

religiosa with new leaves blossoming out. The workers coming out of the

nests crossed the road and went up the tree trunk and its branches in search

of food. On their return journey they made their way to their respective nests

with all possible speed. Their abdomens were considerably distended, the

scelerites of the abdomen being separated and the white intersegmental mem-

branes exposed. During the return journey, if the head of a worker with the

distended abdomen is gently pressed or their mandibles are drawn apart in an

attempt to bite, a big drop of a clear transparent fluid with a sweet taste and

smell runs out of their mouth. It is apparent that the liquid collected by them

from the tree was meant for feeding others within the nest.

Two different forms of the species are found in Calcutta. In one the whole

body is black and the abdomen is provided with a silky pubescence. In the

second form, which is considered as a variety of the first, the head is blood-red

in colour and the rest of the body black. Further, in this variety the posterior

portion of the head and the protonotum are granular and the abdomen is

devoid of the silky pubescence. The excavation of the posterior face of the

metanotum of the variety is also slighty different from the type. The tibiae

and the antennae of this variety are castaneous red. The rest of the characters

are similar. Bingham reports the variety with the blood-red head from Burma

and Ceylon. The species is fairly widely distributed over India and Burma-

Polyrachis thrinax Roger.

1863. Polyrachis thrinax, Roger, Berlin. Ent. Zeit., vii, p. 152.

1893. Polyrachis thrinax , Forel, op. cit., pp. 18, 28.

1903. Polyrachis thrinax , Bingham, op. cit., p. 410, fig. 143.

1925. Polyrachis ( Myrmothrinax ) thrinax , Emery, op. cit , p. 183.

In the Indian Museum collection this species is represented from Calcutta.

Polyrachis armata (Le Guill).

1841. Formica armata, Le Guill, Ann. Soc. Ent . France , x, p. 313.

1903. Polyrachis armata, Bingham, op. cit., p. 393, fig. 132.

1925. Polyrachis {Myrmhopla) armata , Emery, op. cit., pp. 190, 192.

The distribution of the species is Assam, Burma extending to Borneo, Java

and the Philippines. Individuals of this species is recorded from Singla

(ait. 1,500 ft.), Darjeeling district, collected by the late Lord Carmichael.

Polyrachis simplex Mayr.

1862. Polyrachis simplex, Mayr, op. cit., p. 682.

1903. Polyrachis simplex , Bingham, op. cit. , p. 394.

1925. Polyrachis ( Myrmhopla ) simplex , Emery, op. cit., p. 196.

Several specimens and a nest, containing Coccids inside it were collected by

Dr. F. H. Gravely from Durgapur Salt Lake in the vicinity of Calcutta. The

nest consisting of a single chamber and made up of silky threads woven

together was suspended on a tree. The species is widely distributed in India,.

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

16]

Polyrachis rastrata Emery.

1889. Polyrachis rastrata, Emery, Ann. Mus.-Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova , xxvii,

p. 517.

1903. Polyrachis rastrata , Bingham, op. cit:, p. 412.

1925. Polyrachis { Campomyrma ) rastrata , Emery, op. cit., p. 179.

The species is known from Tenasserim, Dr. S. W. Kemp during the Abor

expedition in 1911 obtained several workers of the species in association with

Aphids from Dibrugarh.

Polyrachis mayri Roger.

1863. Polyrachis mayri , Roger, Berlin Ent. Zeit., vi, p. 7.

1903. Polyrachis mayri , Bingham, op. cit.. p. 404, fig. 140.

1925. Polyrachis ( Myrma ) mayri, Emery, op. cit ., p. 29.

The distribution of the species is Bengal, Sikkim, Kan ara, Travan core,

Ceylon, Tenasserim and Burma. Lord Carmichael collected this species from

Singla (alt. 1,500 ft.) Darjeeling district, and Wheeler in 1913 recorded several

workers from Upper Rotung (alt. 2,000 ft.).

Polyrachis {Myrma) hemiopticoides , sp. nov.

Fig. 5. Polyrachis {Myrma) hemiopticoides, sp. nov. x 11. Its side view.

Worker.

Length 7 mm., head oval, convex above in the posterior region and wider

behind ; antennal carinas prominent, long and sinuate eyes, prominent pro-

truding, posteriorly slightly truncate, placed at the posterior third of the side

of the head. The scape extending beyond the top of the head and nearly

reaching the pro-mesonotal suture.

Lateral margins of the thorax sharply marginate, the sides of the thorax

vertical. Thorax seen from the side forming a continuous flat arch. Pronotum

wide, convex above and round, and on each side is provided with a long and

acute spine lamelliform at its base, directed forward and outward and con-

tinuous behind with the lateral carinae. The lateral carinae projecting and

notched at the pro-mesonotal sutures. Pro-mesonotal and meso-metanotal

sutures distinct, mesonotum broader than long and unarmed with either spines

or teeth. Basal portion of the metanotum convex, gently sloping down

posteriorly, its postero lateral corners with very small blunt tubercles ; apical

portion of metanotum concave.

The node of the pedicel trapeziform when viewed from above, its posterior

lateral angles surmounted by spines, two very small teeth at the base of these

spines on the outerwards.

Body jet-black, polished, highly shining ; sparse hairs on the body. Gaster

very minutely punctate, mandibles feebly striate. Femurs, trochanters, tibiae,

castaneous ; whole of the tarsi and the extremities of the tibiae and the femurs

fuscous ; flagella fuscous.

Remarks: — The species closely resembles Hemioptica aculeata{ Mayr.). It

differs from the latter in having tarsi black and in the form of spines on the

pronotum and in the absence of sericeous pubescence on the body.

Types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum,

Calcutta, collected in Calcutta by the late Mr. C. A. Paiva, Entomological

Assistant, Zoological section of the Indian Museum.

21

162 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FW. XXXIV

TRIBE : LASIINI Ashmead emend Emery.

Myrmecocystus setipes (Forel.).

18S4. Myrmecocystus viaticus Fabr race setipes , Forel, op. cit,, p. 401.

1905. Myrmecocystus setipes , Bingham, op. cit., p. 312, fig. 94.

1925. Myrmecocystus ( Cataglypus ) viaticus, Emery, op. cit., p. 266.

The American representatives of the genus are known as honey ants ; the

workers which store up honey in their crops and act in this way as living store-

houses of the colony, have their abdomens inflated and are known as repletes.

The Indian species is so far not known to form any replete workers and they

generally feed upon vegetable seeds and dead insects. The distribution of the

species in India is interesting. The species is reported by Rothney 1 as not

occurring in Bengal but is found in Bihar, the United Provinces and the

Punjab. The species though rare in Bengal is not altogether absent. I have

collected it at Krishnagar, Bengal. It extends westwards from the Punjab into

Persia ; a few specimens were collected in Seistan by the late Dr. N. Annandale

and Dr. S. W. Kemp. In Bengal, however, as pointed out by Rothney,

Camponotus compress us is the prevailing form, but in Bihar and Oudh this

species becomes rare and is replaced by M. setipes. The crater nests of the

species are found in hard soil and extend deep down in the ground. Two of

such nests were observed in Madhupur to be situated very near one another.

TRIBE : FORMICINI Forel.

Formica gravelyi, sp. nov.

Fig. 6 a. Formica gravelyi, sp. nov. x 30. The side view of its thorax and

abdomen.

Worker.

Length, 4 mm. Head a little longer than broad, somewhat convex above,

slightly emarginate behind ; eyes placed at about the middle of the sides of the

head, ocelli, present ; clypeus triangular, convex in the middle and its

anterior margin transverse ; antennal carinse short and parallel ; antennal

and clypeal hollows confluent ; antennae 12-jointed, first and second joints

subequal, and larger than the rest, the scapes slightly sinuately curved and

1 Rothney, G., Trans. Ent. Soc. London, iii, p. 347 (1889).

REPORT ON A COLLECTION OF ANTS

163

extending just beyond the top of the head, flagella longer than the scapes ;

maxillary palpi 6-jointed, the 4th joint a little longer than the 5th ; labial

palpi with four joints; mandibles triangular, masticatory margin serrated,

apical teeth very small. Pronotum broad and flat above, a little narrower than

the head, anteriorly produced into a short flat neck. Pro-mesonotal suture

distinct. Mesonotum convex and a little raised above the rest of the thorax

and circular in outline ; scuteller region distinct but depressed ; thorax

emarginate at the meso-metanotal suture ; basal portion of metanotnm

slightly convex, apical portion slightly concave in the middle. Node flattened

and inclined forwards. Abdomen sub-globose.

Head faintly punctate, neck minutely transversely striated, body smooth and

glabrous. Thorax, antennae yellowish brown, head a shade darker. Abdomen

dark brown and covered with silky pubescence ; sparse erect hairs on the body,

pilosity abundant on flagella.

Types in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Indian Museum,

Calcutta, collected by Dr. F. H. Gravely on a tree in the Zoological Garden,

Calcutta. As the species is rare in Calcutta, I think the specimens described

above were probably imported into Calcutta.

ON THE FISHES OF THE MANCHAR LAKE (Sind).

BY

B. Pbashad, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.A.S.B., and D. D. Mukerji, M.Sc.

Zoological Survey of India , Indian Museum , Calcutta.

Mr. Salim A; Ali 1 11 1 recently published a fairly detailed account of the

topography., etc., of the Manchar Lake in Sind, and in his account included

short notes on the peculiar methods of fishing and fowling as practised in the

lake ; he also published a list of the birds observed by him in this interesting

freshwater area. A party of the Zoological Survey of India consisting of

Dr. B- N. Chopra, the senior author of this paper, Mr, R. A. Hodgart, Zoologi-

cal collector, and an Entomological assistant spent about three weeks in Novem-

ber, 1927, surveying the lake and the surrounding area from the point of view of

its freshwater fauna, and the following short paper deals with the species of fish

collected or observed by the party.

In view of the recent paper by Mr. Ali cited above, it is not necessary to go

into details about the topography of the area, but since the author in his

account mentions only three species of fish from the lake, and as the fisheries of

the area are of great importance — thousands of maunds of fish are caught and

exported to all parts of the Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan every cold weather —

we have thought it desirable to publish this paper on the different species observ-

ed or collected by the party

Hume 2 is the only author, who has, so far as we can find, referred to the

importance of the fisheries of the lake. He ‘ estimated the weight of the fish

taken in a single “ drive ” at a ton. The biggest were “ huge siluroids 1 ’ six or

seven feet in length.’ This statement is not strictly correct, as the catches

now a days are not so large, and in addition to the cat-fishes a very large

quantity of Cyprinoids of the species mentioned below, are caught in the lake

every year. The Cyprinoids, from the point of their value, are certainly of far

greater importance to the fishermen and the Dumra — Labeo rohita (Ham.

Buch.) is one of the most highly prized fish. None of the Siluroids in the

lake during the survey of the area were found to exceed a length of 4 feet.

List of fishes obtained from the Manchar Lake.

1. Saccobranchus fossilis (Bloch.).

2. Walla go attu (Bl. Schn.).

3. Eutropiichthys vacha (Ham.

Buch.).

4. Callichrous bimaculatus

(Bloch.).

5. Pseudeutro plus gar ua (Ham.

Buch.).

6. Aoria aor ( Ham. Buch.).

7. Aoria cavasius (Ham. Buch.).

8. Aoria vittatus (Bloch.).

9. Labeo calbasu (Ham. Buch.).

10. Labeo gonius (Ham. Buch.).

11. Labeo rohita (Ham. Buch.).

12. Cirrhina mrigala (Ham.

Buch.).

13. (firrhina reba (Ham. Buch.).

14. Catla catla (Ham. Buch.).

15. Barbus sar ana (Ham. Buch.).

16. Barbus conchonius (Ham.

Buch.),

17. Barbus phutunio (Ham. Buch.).

18. Barbus sophore (Ham. Buch.).

19. Rohtee alfrediana (Cuv. &

Val.).

20. Chela gora (Ham. Buch.).

21. Chela punjabensis Day.

22. Chela bacaila (Ham. Buch.).

23. Gudusia chapra (Ham. Buch.).

24. Hilsa ilisha (Ham. Buch.).

25. Notopterus notopterus (Pallas).

26. Notopterus chit ala (Ham.

Buch.) .

27. Xenentodon cancila (Ham.

Buch.).

28 Ambassis ranga (Ham. Buch.).

1 Ali, Salim A., Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., xxxii, pp. 460-471 (1928).

2 Vide Gazetteer of the Province of Sind, B Volume iv, Larkana District, by

j, W. Smyth, p. 6. (1919).

ON THE FISHES OF THE MANCHAR LAKE

165

29. Ambassis baculis (Ham.

Buch,).

30. Glossogobius giuris (Ham.

Buch.).

31. Mastacembelus pancalus (Ham.

Buch.).

32. Mastacembelus armatus

(Lacep.).

33. Ophicephalus striatus Bloch.

34. Ophicephalus punct at us Bloch.

35. Trichogaster lalius (Ham.

Buch.).

As will be seen from this list, none of the species is new and all of them have a

more or less wide distribution all over India. The following ten families are

represented in the area: — Siluridae (8 species). Cyprinidm (14 species)

Clupeidae (2 species), Notopteridae (2 species), Belonidae (l species), Percidse

(2 species), Gobiidge (1 species), Mastacembelidae (2 species), Ophicephalidse

(2 species) and Anabantidse (1 species). The families Siluridae and

Cyprinidae are best represented in the lake and some of the members of these

two families grow to a fairly large size, The species which deserve a special

mention in this connection are Wallago attu (Bloch. Schn.), Aoria aor (Ham.

Buch.), Aoria cavasius (Ham. Buch.), Labeo gonius (Ham. Buch.), Labeo

rohita (Ham. Buch)., Cirrhina mrigala (Ham. Buch.) and Notopterus chitala

(Ham. Buch.).

Family Siluridae.

Saccobranchus fossilis (Bloch ).

1794. Silurus fossilis , Bloch, Nat. Ausl. Fische, VIII, p. 46, pi. ccclxx,

fig. 2.

1889. Saccobranchus fossilis , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish. I, p. 126, fig. 53.

This species is represented in the collection by three young specimens, the

largest of which is 100 mm. long.

Wallago attu (Bl. Schn.).

1801. Silurus attu , Bloch & Schneider, Syst. Ichth ., p. 378.

1889. Wallago attu , Day, Faun. Brit . Ind., Fish., I, p. 126, fig. 54.

A single specimen of this species, 270 mm. long, was collected from the

Manchar Lake.

Eutropiichthys vacha (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Pimelodus vacha, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 196, 379,

pi. xix, fig. 64.

1889. Eutropiichthys vacha. Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 128, fig. 55.

This species is represented in the collection by two specimens of about 140

mm. length.

As we have recently pointed out 1 there appear to be two distinct varieties

of E. vacha, one in which the snout is sharp and pointed, and the other in

which it is blunt and rounded. The specimens from the Manchar Lake have a

pointed snout.

Callichrous bimaculatus (Bloch.),

1794. Silurus bimaculatus, Bloch, Nat. Ausl. Fische, VIII, p. 24.

1889. Callichrous bimaculatus, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish, I, p. 131, fig. 57.

C. bimaculatus is fairly common in the fresh waters of Sind and occurs in

the Manchar Lake in large numbers. Seven specimens were collected, the

largest of which is 160 mm. long.

Pseudeutropius garua (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Silurus garua, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 156, 375

pi. xxi, fig. 50.

1889. Pseudeutropius garua , Day, Faun. Brit hid. Fish, I, p. 141.

The species is represented in the collection by four specimens, the largest of

which is. 185 mm. long.

Aoria aor (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Pimelodus aor, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 205, 379,

pi. xx, fig. 68.

Prashad & Mukerji, Rec. Ind. Mus., xxxi, p. 176 (1929).

166 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol, XXXIV

1889. Macrones aor, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind. , Fish, I, p. 149.

Two specimens of this species were collected from the lake ; the larger of the

two is well over a foot in length.

Aoria cavasius (Ham. Buch.).

1822, Pimelodus cavasius ., Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 203, 379,

pi. xi, fig. 67.

1889. Macrones cavasius, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 155.

The maxillary barbels extend up to or even beyond the middle of the caudal

fin. In addition to the usual black spot covering the basal bone of the dorsal

fin, there is also a blackish spot behind the operculum. The maxillary

barbels are dusky above.

This species is quite common in the Manchar Lake and a good series of it

was collected. The largest specimen in the collection is 155 mm. long.

Aoria vittatus (Bloch.).

1794. Silurus vittatus, Bloch, Nat. Ausl. Fische , v, p. 50.

1889. Macrones vittatus, Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 157.

The maxillary barbels extend as far as the middle of the anal fin and in some

specimens even to the base of the caudal ; they are blackish in colour. Tne

adipose dorsal fin, in a specimen 90 mm. long, commences immediately behind

the rayed dorsal and is three times as long as the base of the latter, while in

younger specimens it is not more than twice the length of the base.

Eight specimens of different sizes were collected from the lake.

Family Cyprinid^e.

Labeo calbasu (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus calbasu, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 297, 307,

pi. ii, fig. 33.

1889. Labeo calbasu, Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish,, I, p. 259, fig. 93.

This species is represented in the collection by five young- specimens, the

largest of which is 150 mm. long.

Labeo gonius (Ham. Buch.).

1822. CyPrinus gonius, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 292, 387,

pi. iv, fig. 82.

1889. Labeo gonius. Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish, I, p. 261.

Five specimens of this species were collected from the lake. The largest

of the series is 250 mm. long.

Labeo rohita (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus rohita, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 301, 388,

pi . xxxvi, fig. 85.

1889. Labeo rohita, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 262.

Five specimens of this species were collected from the lake. The largest

of the series is 235 mm. long.

Cirrhlna mrigala (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus mrigala, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 2 79, 386,

pi. vi, fig. 79.

1889. Cirrhina mrigala, Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 278.

Three specimens of this species were collected from the lake. The largest

individual is 280 mm. long.

Cirfhina reba (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus reba, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 280, 386.

1889. Cirrhina reba , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 279, fig. 96.

A pair of short rostral barbels are present. Five specimens which vary from

115 to 124 mm in length, were collected from the lake.

Catla catla (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus catla, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 287, 3874

ph xiii, fig. 81.

1889. Catla buchanani, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 287, fig. 99,

ON THE FISHES OF THE MANCHAR LAKE

167

Two specimens of the species were brought back by the Survey party.

None of the specimens is more than 230 mm. long.

Barbus sarana (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus sarana, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 307, 388.

1889. Barbus sarana, Day, Faun. Brit . Bid. , Fish., I, p. 300.

In young individuals there is a faint blackish blotch near the base of the

caudal fin, and another blackish mark is present behind the operculum, both

in the young and adult individuals. The number of scales between the lateral

line and the base of the ventral fins is 4L

This species is very common in the Manchar Lake and a large series of

specimens of different sizes was collected. The largest specimen from the lake

in the collection is 235 mm. long.

Barbus conchouius (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus conchonius , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 317, 389.

1889. Barbus conchonius , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish , I, p. 325.

Two specimens, about 35 mm. long, were collected from the lake.

Barbus phutunio (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus phutunio , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 319, 390.

1889. Barbus phutunio , Day, Faun. Brit. Bid., Fish., I, p. 327.

Two specimens, the length of which is about 35 mm., were taken at the lake.

Barbus sophore (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus stigma, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 310, 389,

pi. xix, fig. 86.

1889. Barbus sophore , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish. I, p. 329.

A large series of specimens of this fish was collected. In all the specimens

examined the barbels are entirely absent. The largest individual of the series

is 75 mm. long.

Rohtee alfrediana (Cuv. & Val.).

1844. Leuciscus Duvaucelii , Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poisson ,

XVII, p. 77, pi. 491.

1889. Rohtee cotioM ar. alfrediana , Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 341,

fig. 109.

A large number of specimens, varying in length from 65-75 mm., was

collected from the lake. All the specimens have a faint blackish blotch behind

the operculum.

Chela gora (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Cyprinus gora, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 263, 384.

1889. Chela gora, Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 362.

A single specimen, 145 mm. long, was collected from the lake. In this

specimen the lateral line is interrupted above and slightly posterior to the

middle of the pectoral fins. We have examined Day’s specimens from Sind

and several others from different localities in the collection of the Indian

Museum, and find that in the majority of cases the lateral line is similarly

interrupted. It is of interest to note that in specimens about 130-170 mm.

long, the suborbital bones are narrower than or equal to the orbital width ;

it is only in considerably larger specimens that they are slightly “ broader than

the diameter of the eye ” (Day).

The colouration of the specimen preserved in spirit is uniformly silvery

except for the dorsum, which is blackish.

Chela punjabensis Day.

1872. Chela punjabensis, Day, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, XLI (2), p. 25.

1889. Chela punjabensis, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 365.

A large series of specimens was collected from the lake. The colouration

of the specimens in spirit is silvery with a distinct bright silvery lateral

band. The dorsum including the snout is mottled with fine dark spots. The

specimens are not more than 40 mm. long.

168 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Chela bacaita (Ham. Buch.).

182?. Cyprinus bacaila, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 265, 384,

pi. viii, fig. 76.

1889. Chela bacaila , Day, Faun . Brit. Bid., Fish., I, p. 367.

The species is represented in the collection by six specimens, the largest of

which is 110 mm. long. The number of rays in the anal fin in Sind

specimens, according to Day, is “A. 2/11-12”, but in all the specimens from the

Manchar Lake there are three simple and twelve branched rays in the anal fin,

The symphysis of the lower jaw is tipped with black.

Family Clupeid^e.

Gudusia1 chapra (Ham, Buch.).

1822. Clupanodon chapra , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 248,

383.

1889. Clupea chapra , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind ., Fish., I, p. 375.

A large series was collected from the lake. In some specimens a single

blackish humeral spot is present, in others it is followed by a series, while

in many such spots are entirely absent. The largest individual in the collection

is 150 mm. long.

Hilsa2 ilisha (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Clupanodon ilisha, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Gangest pp. 243, 382,

pi. xix, fig. 73.

1889. Clupea ilisha , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 376, fig. 115.

This fish which ascends the Indus during the rains also occurs in the lake

at certain times of the year. It is known as Pulla all over Sind. The species

was not common in the lake at the time of the Survey, but a specimen was

seen with the fishermen at Shah Hasan.

Family Notopterid^e.

Notopterus notopterus (Pall.).

1769. Gymnotus notopterus, Pallas, Spicil. Zool., VII, p. 40.

1889 Notopterus kapirat , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 406, fig. 129.

Eight young and four grown-up specimens were taken from the lake. The

largest individual is 280 mm. long.

Notopterus chitala (Ham. Buch.).

1822. My stus chitala, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 236, 382.

1889. Notopterus chitala , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish .. I, p. 407.

The species is represented in the collection by a single specimen, 285 mm.

long. This specimen has a number of pea-shaped dark spots on the caudal

portion arranged in a single longitudinal row ; a few spots are also present on

the rest of the body.

Family Belonid^e.

Xenentodon3 cancila (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Esox cancila , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 214, 380,

pi. xxvii, fig. 70.

1889. Belone cancila, Day, Faun. Brit. Bid., Fish., I, p. 420, fig. 136.

Three specimens of the species were collected from the lake ; the largest of

these is 200 mm. long.

Family Percid,e.

Ambassis ranga (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Chanda ranga, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges , pp. 113, 371,

pi. xvi, fig. 38.

1889. Ambassis ranga , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I,

p. 485.

1 Regan, C.T., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., xix (8), p. 307 (1917).

2 Regan, C.T., Ann . Mag. Nat. Hist., xix (8), p. 306 (1917).

3 Weber, M. & L. F. de Beaufort, Fishes, Indo- Austral. Archipel., iv,

p. 134 (1922).

169

ON THE FISHES OF THE MAN CHAR LAKE

A large series of young and middle-sized specimens was obtained from the

lake.

Ambassis baculis (Ham. Buck.).

1822. Chanda baculis, Hamilton Buchanan, Fish., Ganges , pp. 112, 371.

1889. Ambassis baculis , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., I, p. 485.

Only young individuals of this species were collected from the lake.

Family Gobiid^e.

Glossogobius1 giuris (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Gobius giuris , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 51, 360,

pi. xxxiii, fig. 15.

1889. Gobius giuris, Day, Faun . Brit. Ind., Fish., II, p. 266.

The species is represented in the collection by many young and middle-

sized specimens, the largest of which is 110 mm. long.

Family Mastacembelid^e.

Mastacembelus pancalus (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Macrognathus pancalus , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 30,

361, pi. xxii, fig. 7.

1889. Mastacembelus pancalus , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., II, p. 333.

Seven young individuals of the species were collected from the lake. They

vary from 50-60 mm. in length.

Mastacembelus armatus (Lacep.).

1822. Macrognathus armatus , Lacepede, Hist. A Tat. Poisson, II, p. 286.

1889. Mastacembelus armatus , Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., II, p. 334.

There are six adult and one young specimen in the collection. The largest

adult is 560 mm. long. The colouration, which is very bright in young indivi-

duals, becomes duller with age.

Family Ophicephalid^e.

Ophicephalus stnVus Bloch.

1793. Ophicephalus striatus, Bloch, Nat. Ansi. Fische, VII, p. 141,

1889. Ophiocephalus striatus, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., II. p. 363.

Two specimens of the species, about 165 mm. long, were collected from the

lake. O. striatus appears to be less common than O . punctatus in the Manchar

Lake.

Ophicephalus punctatus Bloch.

1793. Ophicephalus Punctatus , Bloch, Nat. Ausl. Fische, VII, p. 139.

1889. Ophiocephalus punctatus, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., II, p. 364.

A large series of specimens of different sizes was collected from the lake ;

the largest individual is 155 mm. long.

Family Anabantid^e.

Trichogaster lalius (Ham. Buch.).

1822. Trichopodus lalius , Hamilton Buchanan, Fish. Ganges, pp. 120, 372.

1889. Trichogaster lalius, Day, Faun. Brit. Ind., Fish., II, p.373.

This species is very common in the Manchar Lake and a large series of

specimens of different sizes was collected. The dorsal and the anal fins are

pointed posteriorly in most specimens, but in some they are more or less

rounded. In T. lalius the lateral line is very variable. Besides the specimens

from the lake, we have examined large series of specimens from different

localities preserved in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, and

find that the lateral line in this species may either pierce 4-6 anterior scales, or

be vestigial ; in some specimens, however, it is entirely absent. In T. fascia-

tus the lateral line is complete or interrupted about the middle of the body.

1 McCulloch, R., and Ogilby, D., Rec. Austral. Mus., XII, p. 235 (1919),

22

Wolves in sheep’s clothing

(. ACANTHASPIS AND CHRYSOPA)

( With seven illustrations)

BY

Major R. W. G. Hingston

Here we investigate a problem in protection. Certain creatures

prowl about like wolves in sheep’s clothing". Outwardly they look

perfectly harmless. They have put on a dress of innocence that

hides the ravenous nature underneath.

Disguises, of course, are widespread in Nature. A host of insects

assume the appearance of something altogether different from

themselves. Instances innumerable could be given. Certain beetles

simulate dangerous wasps ; the enemy imagines they are armed

with a sting. Certain flies are dressed like humble-bees ; it enables

them to pillage the humble-bees’ nest. Certain spiders are coloured

and shaped like ants; it gives them a chance to grab their prey.

Certain mantids are made to resemble flowers ; the unsuspecting

victim walks into their claws. And so on. There are many

examples. This principle of unconscious simulation is real and

widespread in the entomological world. But what are all these types

of disguises? They are anatomical, part of the natural structure

of the insect. The creature has been formed in this special way

in order to secure some particular end.

In this paper I deal with a different class, not with creatures

whose disguise is part of their anatomy, but with ones which employ

extraneous materials as a kind of protective, shield. They fall into

two divisions ; those which belong to the Rhynchota, and those

which belong to the Neuroptera.

Examples from Rhynchota

A place well worth entomological investigation is the foot of a

tropical tree. There the student of minute things, though not

necessarily little ones, will come across much of interest and delight.

If he watches with particular care, he is likely to meet with an

Acanihaspis bug moving slowly on the mottled coloured bark. Then

again he may find one in a crumbling hollow or on the ground under

fallen leaves. I have usually found them in the wet season when

the foliage drips with moisture and pools collect in the hollow

trunks. When noticed, they are worth some close attention, for they

illustrate the wolves-in-sheep’s clothing principle in a number of

different ways.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

171

Observation 1.

Fig. 1. (a) Acanthaspis disguised ( b ) Acant/iaspis divested

in insect fragments of disguise.

The first I observed was on the trunk of a Peepul. It was quite

small, obviously immature, only one quarter of an inch in length.

What did it look like? Just like nothing at all. Because its whole

body was covered with a remarkably efficient disguise. In fact all

one saw was a heap of rubbish. The insect’s shape was completely

concealed.

Let us first examine the heap. It was made up of a quantity of

fragments. There was the abdomen of one ant, the head and thorax

of another kind, some yellow shreds of a dried-up spider, and some

grey particles of organic waste. All were heaped into a shapeless

pile with the insect hidden underneath it. What a strange

assemblage of dessicated materials ! What a way to hide

oneself from view ! The whole collection made a pile considerably

larger than the insect itself. It removed completely all insect-like

appearance. The lump was not a living form, but merely some

nodular excrescence on the bark. Further, the scheme of coloration

had a distinctly concealing effect. It may be that the insect picked

out its materials. More probably the blending came about by

chance. But at all events the heap of fragments harmonized exactly

with the mottled bark. The blending was not due to any special

colour, but to the intermingling of different shades which

assimilated with the variegation of the tree.

I tilted off the load of debris. The owner was exposed, a

triangular shaped insect with a flattened abdomen and conical thorax

that narrowed into a small head. The tilting up of the fragmentary

heap disclosed the way it was fastened on. Some filaments of thread

came into' view. They connected the fragments with the creature’s

back. The insect seemed dissatisfied when its burden was removed.

Very soon it made efforts to get hold of it, first thrusting its legs

under the lump and finally hoisting it on to its back. The lump,

being restored, stuck firmly in place, getting entangled in the viscid

threads that seemed to be emitted from some small papillae situated

close to the insect’s tail. The main load was in position, yet the

creature was not satisfied. It searched about for any fragments

that had fallen loose, hoisted them up in the same way, and piled

172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

them in rear of the main mass. A few more threads anchored these,

some connecting the fragments to the mass, others linking them to

the insect’s back. Thus the whole collection was bound with

threads, the individual fragments to one another, and the whole

burden to' the body of its host.

Now for another point. How did the insect get its burden?

Without doubt from the desiccated carcasses of victims which it

had itself destroyed. For this creature is both rapacious and

carnivorous. Its beak is a curved penetrating lance, hollow like a

suctorial needle, an instrument for sucking fluid from its prey. It is

strong enough to penetrate the human skin, and, when it does so,

a stiffening follows, which shows that the needle is not only

suctorial, but also that through it a discharge of poison has been

shot underneath the skin. We can, therefore, construct the follow-

ing drama. Acanthaspis grabs its victim, probably a spider or an

ant. In goes the lance ; there is a squirt of poison ; almost

immediately the prey is numbed. Then a sucking follows. The

victim is eviscerated. Lastly comes the extraordinary act.

Acanthaspis puts the empty carcass on its back.

This brings us to the purpose of the garment. I think it must

serve a double purpose. First, it must help the creature’s depreda-

tions. The garment is a cloak that conceals the attacker and allows

it get within reach of its prey. Second, it must have a protective

value. The bark of a tree swarms with enemies, birds, ants, spiders

and others. Beneath its disguise Acanthaspis is concealed from

them. All they see is the excrescence on the bark.

I captured another of these bugs in a hollow tree. The hollow

was lined with woody debris, reddish bits of crumbling dust.

The Acanthaspis of this hollow was perfectly disguised. It had

not gone in for a cloak of carcasses, but had clothed itself completely

in particles of wood and a quantity of powdery dust. It had heaped

the biggest bits on to its back, the smaller ones on its thorax and

along its legs, the finest dust over its head, even fixing a few granules

to the roots of its antennae, and making the whole so complete a

Observation 2.

Fig. 2. (a) Acanthaspis disguised ( b ) Acanthaspis divested

in fragments of wood. of disguise.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

173

garment that it altered entirely its appearance and shape. Its under

surface was clear of debris. Obviously nothing- was needed there.

What did it look like? Just a granulated nodule with fluffy legs,

a mere lump of woody debris stuck in the crumbling hole. Only

when the heap of fragments moved did one suspect the presence

of life. No kind of artificial concealment could have been more

perfect and exact.

Observation 3.

This one was found on the trunk of a dhak tree,

freely on the bark, yet could be detected

only with difficulty. It had clothed itself

with bits of bark and leaves, the larger

pieces on its abdomen and thorax, the

smallest fragments on its antennae and legs.

Again the disguise was absolutely perfect,

for the bark of the dhak tree is a network

of fissures which give it a kind of nodular

surface. The result was that the bug with

its load of fragments looked as if it were

one of these nodules on the bark.

It moved about

Fig. 3.

(a) Acanthaspis

disguised in

bark and

leaves.

Observation 4.

Here is another example. The bug

was on open bark, and, as usual, hidden

in its shield. But, in addition to the woody

fragments, it had fixed a pointed thorn

to the top of the fragmentary load. The thorn was fully as large

as itself and gave it a still more

unnatural shape. How had it hap-

pened? Probably the creature could

not get enough fragments, and when

searching for them, found the thorn

which it then anchored firmly on top.

Again see how efficient it was. Most

of the trees in the neighbourhood

were thorny. The bug, therefore,

became a mere thorn like the ordinary

thorns sticking from the bark. I

pulled off its thorn. Acanthaspis

pulled it back. Clearly it valued this

spiny armour, and would have it on

the top of its load.

Fig. 3.

[b) Acanthaspis

carrying a thorn

Observation 5.

I met another beneath a fig tree in the carpet of fallen foliage that

lies profusely on the ground. To the insect this debris is a dense

jungle, a world teeming with minute life. What had this creature

of the jungle done? It had covered its whole body with earth, both

its upper and under surfaces. Its head, its legs, even its antennae

were hidden completely in dust. It reminded one of a naked Hindu

174 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Ua/. XXXIV

priest who smears himself all over with ashes and earth. Again

we have another exact concealment, a cloak of dust in dusty haunts.

On the leaves it might have been conspicuous enough, but it stuck

to the greyish soil, just a lump of dust surrounded by dust.

Observation 6.

My last example was under a stone. I found it on the granite

rocks which cover so much area in Central

India. Again its materials were perfect

for concealment. On its back was a pile of

granite crystals, and along its legs some

sandy girt. Under such a hillock it was

perfectly concealed, just a bit of rock living

underneath and surrounded by rock.

Thus we see that these creatures are

efficiently protected in accordance with the

nature of their haunts. The coat may be

made of all kinds of things, of animal

remains, of decomposing wood, of rugged

nodules, of projecting thorns, of earth, of

dust, of stones. The environment varies,

so does the investment. Surely a simple,

yet wonderful defence.

Is this disguise of vital importance? Could the creature survive

in its absence? I doubt it. Remember how acute is the struggle

for life, and what a host of insectivorous creatures inhabit the bark

of trees. A tropical tree-trunk, where these bugs mainly live, is

a world of competing life. Nature’s struggle is nowhere more

insistent and anything may turn the scale.

Examples from Neuroptera

I pass now to illustrations from another group. The device is

similar ; the insect is quite different ; also the contrivance for fixing

the burden is of an altogether different kind.

Observation 1.

One evening in March, when the mango was in bloom, I was

watching the habits of the Red Ants. Many of them searched the

inflorescences where they eagerly sipped up sap. The mango

inflorescence was an excellent hunting ground. All kinds of

creatures visited it repeatedly. But what do I see in one of these

inflorescences? A slight agitation, a small movement, as though

a bit of mango flower was slowly wandering about. It was only

a heap of half-dried petals ; nevertheless it changed its place and

crept along the stem. What was it? Another of these artificial

disguises. Underneath the heap was a fragile creature. The cluster

of petals was only a cloak.

I removed the garment. A delicate creature came into view.

It was a Chrysopa larva, a minute insect belonging to the order of

Lace-Wing Flies. It was quite insignificant, completely defenceless,

only three-sixteenths of an inch long. Of spindle shape, its flat

Fig. 3. [c) Acanthaspis

disguised in

granite crystals

WOL VES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

175

(6) Chrysopa divested of disguise.

body was broad in the middle and graduated to both ends. Its head

was square. Long slender jaws jutted out in front. Its hind end

was more acute and tapered to a flexible tail. This tail was an

important organ of progression. The larva used it as a seventh leg

to propel itself from place to place. But the special thing to notice

were the long hairs that projected from both sides of its back.

They rose in tufts from elevated nipples. Each segment had two

tufts. Combined, the tufts made two rows, one down either side.

They were absent from the middle of the back which was perfectly

smooth. What were these hairs for? Few could guess their

peculiar purpose. We will learn it by examining the creature with

its load.

Its back is completely covered with petals : they conceal it from

head to tail. Only the leg tips on each side and the points of the

jaws in front stick out beyond the flowery heap. I put it with some

petals in a glass tube. Its concealment was complete. Not the

slightest trace of it could be detected until it began to move. I

removed its petals. It seemed discomfited. Like the Acanthaspis,

it wanted to get them back. I then put it on an inflorescence. It

crept through the bloom, searching for petals, climbing across from

flower to flower. Then it began replacing the heap. It continually

took petals in its jaws. Some were fixed and could not be shifted ;

others were too large to fit into the cloak. These ones were rejected

after iexaminaion. But here and there it found a suitable bit.

Up went the fragment on to its back. The hoisting method differed

from that of the bugs. They use their legs as a kind of derrick and

hoist up the materials from behind. The larva gets them between

its jaws and tilts them on to its back. The act is done by bending

the neck. Only a very flexible creature could do it. Chrysopa can

176 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

manage it through its great flexibility and its particularly long jaws.

Its* jaws, in fact, can transfer the petals right back to the point

of its tail. In this way petal after petal is pushed backward, and

Chrysopa rapidly gets covered up.

Now for the purpose of the hairy tufts. I noticed that the larva,

when making its cloak, put the petals on the middle of its back

between the lines of tufts. The hairs of the tufts then caught the

petals. They were the anchors that held the cloak. It was perfectly

obvious how they held it on each side. Being, long and stiff and

arranged in lines, they made a wall on each side of the load. But

also I feel sure they had a gripping function. Their tips were

slightly curved, and I imagine that, under the stimulus of the petals,

they even bend a little more. It is difficult to be certain, but I

suspect that these hairs are delicately sensitive, have the power to'

curl on themselves and actually clutch the load. Here then we have

a highly specialized machinery. The fragments are gripped very

efficiently. A shake will not shift them, nor will the movements of

the larva. The petals are fixed tight. The contrivance is quite

different from that of Acanthaspis. The bug has a spinning-wheel

which shoots out threads ; the lace-wing has two lines of grappling-

irons which literally seize the load.

We note how two creatures so different in structure gain

concealment by the same plan. How did they come by it? Perhaps,

one may say, from a common ancestor. Some creature in the past

learnt the trick and handed it down to both lace-wings and bugs.

That is the explanation usually given to1 these similarities. Similar

structures or similar instincts, and we postulate a Common source.

But here the explanation is inadmissible. Lace-wings and bugs

are too distantly related. They are as different as a dragon-fly

from a cicada. They could never have derived the habit from a

common ancestral stock. Moreover their methods of hoisting are

quite different which would not be the case had they come from the

same source. A common origin is out of the question. What has

happened is that bugs and lace-wings have hit on the same device

independently. It is an instance of convergent evolution. Each has

made the discovery for itself.

Again we ask what is the reason? Does the disguise benefit

Chrysopa in the same way that it did Acanthaspis ? Undoubtedly.

A glance shows us that Chrysopa is rapacious. What other purpose

for its long curved jaws. Its business in the flower is to catch

insects. I gave it some fragments of a small insects In went its

jaws to suck out the juice. Obviously it captures only small species,

mainly, I think, Aphids and Coccids which live on flowers and stems.

Its disguise must assist it to approach these creatures. To them

Chrysopa is only a flower. But the shield must also have protective

significance. A mango inflorescence, like the bark of a tree, is a busy

active world. A myriad of insects inhabit its bloom. Bugs of many

kinds, predacious ants, visiting hymenoptera, parasitic diptera,

many varieties of hunting-spiders perpetually hunt it for food.

Some come to get the nectar ; others to catch prey. Chrysopa has

to live through all this competition. Enemies surround it. It has

no weapons. Its movements are so slow that it could never escape.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Ml

What then does it do? Becomes part of the flower by heaping

petals on to its back.

Observation 2.

Here is another example that I met with, this one on the stems

and leaves of the mango. It

had not gone in for a floral

covering. Its disguise consisted

of a white skin. The garment

is interesting. Obviously a coat

of white skins could not shield

an insect on a yellow flower.

There was nothing of a har-

monizing character about it.

The skin was conspicuously,

even glaringly, white. But it

soon became clear that the

wearers of the skins were not

in the habit of haunting the

inflorescences. They lived on the

stems and leaves. There they

looked like white flakes quite

conspicuous against the green.

How can Chrysopa be pro-

tected on a leaf by looking like

a white skin ? The explanation

is simple. That conspicuous

Coccid, Monophlebus stebbingi,

is very common on mango leaves

and stems. The females look like white lumps that collect in clusters

around the stalks. There they develop, cast their skins, which

remain like snow-flakes sticking to the tree. The cast skins, of

course, are perfectly worthless, yet Chrysopa gets hold of them,

hoists them on its back and fixes them with its grappling-hooks.

It is the abundance of these skins which gives protection. Some-

times the leaves almost look as if snowed on. What then does the

larva become? Why, merely a snow-flake surrounded by snow.

A garment of flowers would be useless on foliage. Chrysopa

behaves as if it knew this. It puts on what it finds on the leaves.

Most that I met with had one or two skins. But one had collected

a regular heap of them. On its back was a mountain of skins,

one piled on top of the other, and many times the larva’s size.

Observation 3.

I come to a third illustration. This one lived on the soil

underneath a tree. The place was infested with many ants. I

suspect that Chrysopa killed them in numbers. At any rate on its

back was a pile of their carcasses. It had made a disguise out of

their remains. How like the Acanthaspis inhabiting the bark which

had manufactured a similar cloak. Let us look at it in detail.

There was one large black abdomen, two pale yellow heads, the

23

Fig. 5. (a) Chrysopa disguised in

skins of Monophlebus.

173 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXlV

complete carcass of a small red ant, and a quantity of indefinable

debris, all collected into one heap.

The disguise was motely in

materials and colour. Its non-

descript appearance made it suited

to its haunts. It was a bit of

insect debris lying on the insect

haunted ground.

An incident in respect of this

example showed how strong is the

creature’s instinct to pile materials

on to its back. I happened to put

it with its load into spirit. When

I thought it must be dead I took

it out. But it soon revived. And

what was its first act? To heap

on its back the fragments of ants

that had happened to get separated

from its load !

Fig. 5. ( b ) Chrysopa disguised in „

insect fragments. Observation 4.

I saw some red ants carrying another one. They were pulling

it away to their nest. On its back

was a slender thorn, the base of the

thorn being fixed to the hairs, and

the point directed away from its back.

This again was a device employed by

Acanthaspis. It shows how similar

objects are chosen by creatures of

widely different types.

Observation 5.

I met with still another example.

It must have belonged to a different

species, for its anchoring machinery

was differently devised.

I found it on the bark of a fig tree.

Its disguise, as in the last mentioned

illustration, was composed of a

heterogeneous mixture of ants. They

covered its back in a nodulated heap,

which overhung its body all round.

Numerous fragments went to make

the heap. There were the complete

heads of two brown ants, three yellow

abdomens, a quantity of fragments in

which could be distinguished some dried up legs and jaws. The

whole assemblage was held together without difficulty, and the

tent of carcasses moved about whenever its occupant stirred.

The larva was seated near a file of ants. I saw it try to capture

Fig. 5. (c) Chrysopa carrying

a thorn.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

179

one of them. No doubt they form its habitual food. Hence the

value of the cloak is clear. When an animal stalks a victim, can

it have a better disguise than to hide itself in its victim’s skin?

But the special point of interest in this example lay in the method

by which the load was attached. I noticed that the heap was very

firmly secured. A more than usual effort was needed in order to

pull away the bits. One would think that the hairs had some sticky

stuff on them, so firmly did they cling to the load. To the naked eye

there was nothing peculiar. All one saw was the usual system of

nipples, a line along either side, each supporting a tuft of hairs.

One noticed, however, that the hairs were longer ; also there were

many more of them, and that when a hair was touched with a needle

it was inclined to stick to the steel. The microscope, however,

disclosed the reason. On high magnification it could be detected

that these were not ordinary simple hairs of the type which were

present in the previous illustrations. This Chrysopa had specialized

hairs. Each was something like a delicate saw. It was furnished

throughout its length with teeth, the opposite sides being similarly

armed. (See fig. 6). This fact tells us why the fragments are secure.

Fig. 6. Hair tuft of Chrysopa

larva.

This larva has a special kind of gripping apparatus, a double row

of microscopic saws. Hairs, we have seen, can grip of themselves;

they can easily hold a heap of petals. But this species seems to

require something better. It needs a set of gripping teeth. We ask

ourselves. — Why? I expect it is because of the nature of its load.

Crumpled petals are light as air. Their surface is rough and outline

irregular. They can be kept down by the touch of a hair. But this

species lives habitually on ants. The fragments of ants have smooth

surfaces ; their heads and abdomens are polished and slippery.

Simple hairs will not grip them properly ; something additional is

required. Nature steps in and supplies the addition. Teeth are

placed along the hairs, which grip and secure in the tightest manner

the smoothest fragments of the cadaverous pile (Fig. 7).

Fig 7 Extremity of hair highly

magnified.

180 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

How wonderful it all is ! Nobody notices these insignificant

creatures. They possess no practical utility ; hence they are almost

beneath contempt. Admittedly they are very minute. The combina-

tion of insect and shield is not the size of an ordinary pea. Moreover

their lives are strictly obscure. They haunt the nooks and crannies

of the world and must be sought for in order to be seen. But

surely their habits are highly remarkable, and none the less so

because they are minute. We so often look to what is large and

striking and forget that a thing is no less wonderful because it

merely happens to be small. What would it be if these creatures

were big? Were a lion discovered that stalked its prey, then heaped

the dried up carcasses on its back in order to make a stalking

disguise. Were it found in addition that the beast possessed a

machinery of saws for the purpose of fixing these carcasses, then

surely the animal would be regarded as one of the greatest wonders

of creation. All the world would flock to see it carrying its burden

of zebras and gazelles. Perhaps the comparison may seem too

fanciful, yet Chrysopa presents an identical picture on a very reduced

scale. Forget that Chrysopa is pinhead in size; forget that it is

rare and seldom seen ; then it becomes the imaginary lion and our

wonder should be exactly the same.

We have seen the variety of materials used in making these

shields. Acanthaspis uses ants, wood-dust, bark, a convenient

thorn, a coat of earth. Chrysopa puts- on petals, skins or thorns.

Do they select these particular materials? Can they think out what

is best for their protection, and then choose in accordance with their

thoughts? Let us see. I deprive Chrysopa of its coat of skins and

put it on some bits of leaves. What happens? It hoists the leaves

on to its back and uses them instead of the skins. I put it on earth,

then amongst petals, then on a layer of wool. The same thing

happens. It hoists on its back whatever it meets with. The earth,

the petals, the wool are used indiscriminately to make a shield.

Thus the larva uses whatever is available, if suitable in size and

weight. Can we then say that it chooses its materials? Only

if we may regard as choice the capacity to make the simplest

discriminations. It can separate the big from the small, the heavy

from the light. But this is about all. It does not choose the

character of its materials. Earth, wool, petals; each will satisfy it

equally well. Its instinct is to use whatever lies near to it. The

instinct,' though so simple, yet is highly efficient ; for the things that

lie near it are the bits of its environment, hence it clothes itself

instinctively in things best fitted to blend with its haunts.

These creatures survive by reason of their clothing. Let us look

for a moment to the struggle they endure. Take that favoured

haunt, the bark of a tree, particularly some old and crumbling

trunk on which a varied fauna lives. We can scarcely exaggerate

the endless intricacies that exist in this battle of the bark. Two1

armies live in ceaseless competition, the army of destroyers and the

army of destroyed. First for the destroyers. Who are they? They

consist of columns of carnivorous ants that seize on every creature

they meet with, of rapacious spiders that pounce on their victims or

ensnare them in hollows and clefts, of predacious bugs, raptorial

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

181

beetles, a mantis that waits with scissor-like legs, a scorpion that

lurks in a narrow fissure with its claws sticking out from the chink.

Acid to these the crowd of occasional visitors : insectivorous birds,

plundering reptiles, predacious hymenoptera, parasitic diptera, and

some idea will be gained of the host of destroyers that invade the

bark. Turn now to- the crowd undergoing destruction. There are

night-haunting moths that come to it for shelter, wood-boring

beetles that eat their way into it, fish-insects in its crannies, diptera

in its hollows, coccicls climbing up to its leaves. Then there is a

myriad which seeks safety by the device of harmonization. There

are Jassids and Cicadas that blend with its surface, Membracids

that look like projecting thorns, butterflies like decaying leaves.

There are caterpillars the image of withered sticks and their pupae

that look like mere nodules of bark. A raptorial host is waging

destruction ; another host is struggling to escape. So it goes on,

battle within battle. One lot is searching ; another lot hiding.

Never for an instant does the contest cease.

In the midst of this battle live these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

They cannot keep in holes and fissures, but must come into the open

and search for food. Yet like their competitors they must have

protection. Hence the artificial disguise.

ANTS AND THE LAC INSECT ( LACCIFER LACCA)

BY

P. S. Negi, M. P. Misra and S. N. Gupta

(Department of Entomology , Indian Lac Research Institute,

Namkum)

( With three plates)

Introduction

There is a strongly held idea that ants in general and some of

them in particular are very injurious to the lac insect and during the

last three years there have been complaints from cultivators, that

ants have been doing a great deal of mischief to their lac crops.

Stebbing as early as 1910 quotes authoritative letters of Joshi, a

forest ranger, and Stevens, an I. F. S. Officer in charge of Kumaon

Division, about the havoc done by Camponotus compressus to the

lac insects. Lefroy and Misra did not consider ants injurious, though

the latter in his Bulletin No. 185 has hinted at the probable injury

done by the ants to the lac insect. Hautefeuille, who apparently

did not attach much weight to the information received from

Indo-Chinese cultivators that there are species of ants which devour

the stick lac, considered perhaps on the balance of evidence that

there are species of ants which interfere with the formation of lac.

According to the informants of Hautefeuille, the small black species

of ants are harmful and the large pale red species of ants useful.

Imms and Chatterjee considered ants useful rather than harmful.

De Flacourt also mentions of the ravages of ants in Indo-China,

but does not give the specific names of either useful or harmful

species.

Camponotus compressus, Fabr. (PI. I, figs. 1, la, 2, 2a).

General description. — Hingston has given an admirable account

of this ant in his book A N aturalist in Hindustan.

The formicary generally lies at the base of a tree, at times in the

open field. It has also been found living with the termites in their

nest.

To the lac insect the ant is supposed to be the most injurious

species, and is very common throughout India.

Ant and intruder. — On the approach of a person to a plant visited

by the ant, the smaller worker minors drop down to the ground,

probably to warn the soldiers of the approach of any enemy. But

the big worker minors and the soldiers present keep moving

excitedly round their ‘cattle’ (the insect which gives them honey).

If the intruder touches the ‘cattle’ with a needle, the nearest

soldier or worker minor of bigger size darts forward, catches

the needle with its powerful jaws, and bites it angrily; other ants

ERRATA

ANTS AND THE LAC INSECT

The Editors regret that the following printing mistakes have

occurred in the above article in the last issue of the Journal, viz. No. 1

Vol. XXXIV

Page 184 line 24 for Netaceous read Testaceous .

Page 186 line 6 for ‘ strenth * read ‘ strength ’

Page 186 line 10 insert after * takes *

* hours to kill it, but does not dare to approach a

healthy uninjured’ (line 11;

Page 187 line 29 insert after ‘ catch ’

‘ Small birds. With mixtures of the latex of the above

Ficus ’ (line 31)

Line 30 must be omitted.

Jours?.? Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate I

Sjf/cbe*

Fig. 1. Camponotus compressus , soldier, x 3.

Fig. la, lb. Ventral and dorsal view of the mandible of the soldier, x 3.

Fic. 2. Camponotus compressus, worker minor . x 3.

Fig. ?a, 2b. Ventral and dorsal view of the mandible of the worker minor, x 3.

Fig. 3. Solenopsis geminata, worker minor, x 12.

ANTS AND THE LAC INSECT ( LACC1FER LACCA) 183

in the neighbourhood follow to help it and try to reach parts of the

body of the intruder. They fight tenaciously, unless one shakes

them off with a jerk of the needle.

Behaviour towards lac insect and its enemies. — The ant

Camponotus compressus has never been found meddling with the

crawling larva of the lac insect; but it visits the lac insect from

the time it has fixed itself on the plant for the ‘honey-dew’, which

it exudes. The worker applies its mouth close to the anal orifice

of the lac insect through which ‘honey-dew’ is excreted. If the lac

insect does not emit the ‘honey-dew’ the ant strokes it with her

antennae at the anal orifice and waits patiently. When the honey

exudes the ant presses its jaws into the drop, grips it and runs away.

But if the lac insect fails to respond to the coaxing of the ant, it

bites at the encrustation round the anal tube and sometimes even

thrusts its jaws into the anal orifice to find the ‘honey-dew’. In

neither case does it injure the insect nor the covering of resinous

matter Of its benefactor, although it might easily do so with its

powerful jaws. If this threat fails to fetch the coveted drop of

honey, it passes to the next insect. This in itself shows that the ant

does not prey on the lac insect.

This was however further confirmed by pricking the lac insects,

when it was found that the workers which come to visit the insects

for ‘honey-dew’, on scenting the smell of the body juice ran away

thereby showing that the smell of the body juice is repugnant to the

ant. It has never been seen taking away even the injured

insects.

On the other hand if a living or injured Eublemma amabilis ,

Holcocera pulverea or Chalcid larva be exposed, the worker on

the look-out steps forward, catches the larva in its jaws and carries

it off to the formicary. To avail itself of this booty, the ant even

leaves the ‘honey-dew’ for which, at other times, it waits so patiently

near its cattle.

The ant would prove still more useful to the lac insect if it would

take out the larvae of these enemies of the lac insect from under the

damaged incrustation. But unfortunately in, spite of its powerful

jaws, it has never been found attempting to tear off the thin film

of the damaged incrustation, which separates it from the coveted

food.

Choice of cattle. — In plants infested both with the lac insect and

membracids, the ant pays more attention to the membracid nymphs

than to the lac insect, because it gets more honey from the latter

than the former ; this is especially the case in the young stages of

the lac insect, when it excretes only a small amount of honey. At

times the ant practically avoids the lac insect and attends the

membracid continuously.

Beneficial to the lac insect. — The above ant is therefore useful

to the lac insect in at least two ways : —

(1) It removes the excreted ‘honey-dew’, which, in the absence

of ants and rains, would accumulate along with the dust on the

encrustation and suffocate the insect by blocking its brachial pores.

(2) It picks up the Eublemma and Holcocera larvae while they

are trying to enter the encrustation after hatching from the egg s,

i84 Journal, bomb aV natural hist, society, voL xxxiv

and thereby reduces the number of lac enemies before they have

actually done any injury.

Probable injury to the Lac insect. — The only apparent injury the

ant does to the lac insect, is that while walking about on the lac

encrustation, it breaks off the brachial waxy filaments, the profuse

growth of which is the only sign of a healthy lac insect for a

layman, and in so doing, it may block the brachial pores of the

lac insect with the wax, but this appears to be rare because the

brachial filaments are not very fragile, and in the insects, on the

trees which are constantly visited by the ants, the brachial filaments

seldom grow long, as the constant movements of the ants keep them

short ; moreover, the function of the wax in itself seems to save the

brachial passages from being clogged up. However if some insects

meet their death by this unconscious behaviour of the ants, the

injury can only be called mechanical and unintentional.

The above information regarding the relations of Camponotus

compressus to the lac insect, also applies to the ants discussed in

the following pages, varying in degree.

Camponotus variegatus var. fuscithorax, Forel.

Worker (J) major. Head, scape of antenna, thorax and abdomen

dark fuscous brown ; flagellum and legs yellowish brown. The

colour of the thorax in the Fauna ‘Yellowish brown’, length in

Fauna 8-10 mm., our specimens 9'6-10 mm.

Worker ( fj?) minor. Netaceous brown all over, as in Fauna, but

the apical portion of the abdominal segments slightly darker in

colour, length 6-7*5 mm.

This ant also behaves to some extent like Camponotus compressus

but the worker minor of this ant does not get so easily frightened

as the smaller ones of C. compressus nor is the worker major so

ferocious in battle as that of C. compressus. It is also a much less

frequent visitor of the lac incest.

Camponotus sericeus, Fabr.

Worker (j£) major. Resembles in all details the description given

in the Fauna. It is black opaque. Head very broad, opaque,

massive, almost as broad at the base of the mandibles as at the

posterior end of the head ; mandibles have five teeth. Thorax

broad in front, strongly compressed posteriorly. Metanotum (the

last thoracic segment) forming an angle with the mesonotum (the

middle thoracic segment), the basal portion of the metanotum

horizontal, flat; apical portion excavate.

It is found visiting the lac insect along with Camponotus

compressus, but is not very common.

Camponotus near varians, Roger. (PI. II, figs. 4, 4a).

So far, we have not been able to find the males and females of

this ant. It is met in large numbers in the winter months and

especially in February and March.

It picks up the crawling lac larva, but does not meddle with the

insect once it has fixed itself on the plant ; and thereafter visits it only

Journ>)

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II

Fig. 4. Camponotus near varians , worker, x 20.

Fig. 4a. Lateral view of the thorax of Camponotus near varians, worker, x 60.

Fig. 5. \Solenopsis gcminata , soldier, x 12.

Journ«, Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Pi ATE 111

Fig. 6. Meranoplus bicolor, worker, x 20.

Fig. 7. Monomorium near indicum, worker x 20.

ANTS AND THE LAC INSECT (LACCIFER LACCA)

185

for the ‘honey-dew’. It also picks up injured lac insects, but is

incapable of breaking open the incrustation.

Meranoplus bicolor •, Guer. (PL III, fig. 6).

The ant picks up crawling larvae and rarely visits plants over

six feet high. It shows no abhorrence to the injured lac insect,

sometimes even tastes the fluid of the lac insect, but afterwards

shows signs of intoxication. It has not been noticed breaking open

the incrustation.

Monomorium near indicum, Smith. (PI. Ill, fig. 7)

So far the ant has been found visiting the lac insect during the

summer only. It takes slight interest in the lac insect, and shows

no signs of excitement at the approach of an intruder. It neither

cares for the body juice of the lac insect nor shows repugnance to it,

but abstains from taking away an injured insect, and it appears to

visit the lac insect for the ‘honey-dew’ alone.

Solenopsis geminata, sub-sp. rufa Jerdon. (Pis. I, II, figs. 3, 5).

It bites virulently. Formicary under a tree or in the open field.

This ant is as prevalent as C. compressus at Namkum ; and

due to the large number of workers the trees visited by it are

practically fully covered by the ant. It does not tolerate intruders

and bites virulently. The ant picks up the lac insect larvae, while the

latter crawl about the branches to fix themselves, but once the insect

has fixed itself, it does not meddle with it, otherwise it would be

quite an easy task for it to remove the majority of the settled lac

larvae, before they could form a sufficient covering of resin to save

themselves. However the ant has been observed to take away the

intact male pupa, which it managed to reach by raising the opercular

lid of the test ; but it refuses to carry or does so, after great

hesitation, if it be offered injured male or female cells. In the

presence of sugar tubes on the plant, it neglects the lac insect

altogether. This shows that it does not carry the living lac larvae and

the males in order to feed on them, but in the foolish hope that it

could keep its ‘cattle’ safe in its nest and get the ‘honey-dew’ in

exchange.

The ant kills exposed Eublemma and Holcocera larvae in a few

seconds and takes the booty to its nest. It also carries Eublemma

and Holcocera larvae from under the encrustation, if it finds a small

opening available.

Iridiomyrmex anceps} Roger

Worker (^) Head, thorax and abdomen dark castaneous brown,

the first two and especially the latter with a black tinge ; with

a beautiful tinge of iridescence in certain lights ; antennae and legs

paler reddish brown, the latter with a slight tinge of black. Other

characters as in the Fauna.

Length — in Fauna ‘3*5-4*5 mm.’ Namkum specimens 4-4*3 mm.

The female. Black and granular; antennae dark castaneous

brown ; mesonotum raised and triangularly rounded posteriorly

length 7*2-7*68 mm.

24

186 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Nol. XXXIV

The male. Dark castaneous brown. Head small, ocelli forming

an equilateral triangle on the vertex ; thorax massive, mesonotum

as in female, length 3'12 mm.

The ant picks up the lac larvae and perhaps the male insects also,

while they are crawling about. It shows signs of excitement at the

approach of an intruder but has neither the strenth of Camponotus

compressus nor the pluck and virulent biting power of Solenopsis

geminata. It does not relish the body juice of the lac insect but

appears to enjoy injured Eublemma or Holcocera larvae. It very

cautiously attacks the healthy uninjured Eublemma larva and takes

Holcocera larva as the latter is very active.

Cataglyphis bicolor sub-sp. setipes, Forel.

This ant is very common at Namkum but never associated with

lac. It has the formicary either near the path or in the broad field.

Though the majority of workers are of large size ‘10-12 mm.’ as

given in the Fauna , yet one also comes across workers measuring

about 7 mm. in length.

Ants associated with lac received from other districts.

1. Camponotus compressus , Fabr.

2. Camponotus mitis , Smith

3. Camponotus nirvance, Forel

4. Cataglyphis bicolor sub-sp.

Forel.

Denkanikota, Salem

District, Madras,

do.

setipes }

5. Cremastogaster subnuda, Mayr.

6. Cremastogaster dohrni Mayr.

do. It is

also found at

Namkum but

never associated

with lac.

Barbala Estate,

Assam.

Denkanikota, Salem

District, Madras.

The specimens of C. dohrni were collected at the time of the male

emergence and some of the specimens had male insects in their

jaws. This shows that this ant does pick up the lac larvae and the

males.

7. Sima near allaborans , Walker ... Salem District,

Madras. Only

two specimens of

this were received.

Mayurbhanj Estate,

Behar.

Denkanikota, Salem

District, Madras.

8. Solenopsis geminata Fabr.

9. Tapinoma melanocephalum, Mayr.

Preventive measures.

As far as work has gone in this district, we consider measures

against ants not only unnecessary but to a certain extent harmful.

However, in places, where a species of ant predominates which

ANtS AND THE LAC INSECT (LACCIFER LACCA) ±87

is suspected of being- harmful to the lac insect, especially at the

times of larval and male emergence, it can be successfully kept

away from the lac insect, by either (1) pasting cheap molasses

(i chhoha or seera) round the bases of the stems of the host plants

or sprinkling it on some long weeds and tying these round the base

of the stems, or (2) by pasting bands of crude oil round the base

of the stems.

The ants can also be distracted from the lac insect, if chewed

or crushed sugarcane bits or honey combs from which all the honey

has been extracted or any other sweet substance be strewn round

the base of the stems of the host plants.

In Assam, according to Mrs. D. Norris, the Director of this

Institute, a mixture, either of the gum or correctly speaking dried

latex of Ficus sp. locally called Barh or of Sal ( Shorea robusta)

and mustard oil, in the ratio of one seer of gum to about half a

chhatack of oil, prepared by heating over a fire for a few minutes

and then applied round the base of the stem of the host plants,

is employed with great advantage.

We tried the Assam method on a small experimental scale and

found that the Sal ( Shorea robusta) gum requires to soften it almost

an equal quantity of oil, and even then, it is useless, as it becomes

hard soon after taking out from the fire and is unable to catch the

ants. The fresh latex of Ficus bengalensis (Bar), Ficus religiosa

(Pipal), and Ficus injectoria (Putkal), each, requires about one-

fourth its own quantity of oil to save it from drying and keep it

fit to entangle ants, for a sufficient length of time. The dried latex

of these require much larger quantities of mustard oil to bring the

mixtures to a suitable consistency to catch ants. In Chota Nagpur

the village boys use equal quantities of oil and latex of pipal to’ catch

small red ant Solenopsis geminata, which bites virulently, out-witted

trees and mustard oil, we found that about fifty workers of the

small red ant Solenopsis geminata, which bites virulently, out-witted

us by covering the one inch wide snare prepared for them with

particles of earth in less than six hours. They thus prepared a good

road to go to the lac insect; but our friend, C. compressus, the big

black ant was not so wise and got entangled in the snare. Most of

the species of ants of the sub-family Myrmecince wrill probably

act like S. geminata.

From the above it appears that the expenditure required to meet

the cost of the mustard oil which sells from about twelve annas to

a rupee per seer and the cost of collecting the latex are not worth

incurring, as the snare does not act for all the species of ants.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their sincerest thanks to Lieut. -Col.

R. B. Seymour Sewell, the Director of the Zoological Survey of

India for the facilities given for the use of the Library of the Indian

Museum, and to Mrs. Dorothy Norris, the Director of the Institute,

for going through the manuscript, and to donors of specimens from

different parts of India. We are also indebted to Messrs. C. F. C.

Beeson and J. C. M. Gardner of the Forest Research Institute,

1SS JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, VoL XXXIV

Dehra Dun for their valuable criticisms of the work now being-

published.

Summary

Eight more species of ants other than hitherto1 recorded associated

with lac, are listed. A brief description of the relations of various

species of ants to the lac insect is given.

Ants in general are not injurious to' the lac insect, but some

species undoubtedly pick up the crawling lac larvae and the male

insects ; at the same time all of them are useful to the lac insect

as they remove the excreted ‘honey-dew’, which, otherwise mixed

with dust in the absence of rains is likely to block up the respira-

tory organs of the lac insect, and cause its death by suffocation.

In addition, many of them and especially Camponotus compressus

and S. geminata help the lac insect by feeding on the larvae of the

predator moths.

Use of cheap molasses is suggested to1 prevent the access of ants

to the lac insect, in places where they are suspected of being harmful

chiefly at the times of larval and male emergence.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Foreshore near Barkul in the Chilka Lake, Ganjam District, Madras Presidency, showing one of the typical algal formation, in which

Cladophora glomevata, var. Calicoma is a predominant species.

* Reprinted from the Memoirs of the Indian Museum, Vol. V., PI, I, 1915, with the kind permission of the late Dr. N. Annandat-e, F.R.S.,

CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF

THE FRESH WATER ALGAS OF MANIPUR, ASSAM.

BY

K. P. Biswas, m.a.

( Curator of the Herbarium , Royal Botanic Garden , Calcutta ,

September 2 , 1929.)

( With 4 plates) .

In 1925, I received from Dr. S. L. Hora, Superintendent, Zoological Survey

of India, a collection of Algse in six tubes from the running water of streams

and rivulets of Manipur. In tne same year Mr. S. N. Bal, Curator, Industrial

Section, Botanical Survey of India, added two more tubes to this collection,

during his tour in Assam. Seven tubes out of the total number of eight tubes

contained freshwater Algse from the running water of streams and rivulets and

a few from tanks and jhils of the Manipur valley. One of these contained

sterile specimens of a Fungus.

The collections show that the hill-streams of Manipur, owing to their strong

current, do not harbour many forms of Algse. Only one species of each of

the genera Nostoc and Cylindrospermum and two species of Cladophora grow-

ing on rocks, pebbles and stones formed the chief vegetation on the beds of the

swiftly flowing hill-streams. A species of Lyngbya and a new variety of

Spirogyra setiformis were found to grow in still water. The species of

Cylindrospermum and one of Spirogyra were not in fruiting stage and hence

could not be definitely identified. Except Cladophora Crispata , none of these

five species mentioned in this paper appears to have been reported from India

yet.

My best thanks are due to Prof. Paul Bruhl for his valuable suggestions,

during the preparation of this paper.

Systematic Enumeration of Species.

CYANOPHYCEAL

Family. — Oscillatoriace^; .

Genus.— Lyngbya.

1. Lyngbya Martensiana, Meneghini. De Toni , Syll. Alg. Myx ., p. 279 ,

1907 ; Siisswasserflora Deutschlands , Osterreichs u. d. Schweiz , Heft— 12, p,

405, Fig. 521 a, 1925. PI. iv. Figs. 12, 13.

Filaments long, flexuous, 10-16 A in width ; sheaths colourless becoming

thick and roughened with age, 1-3 P in thickness ; trichomes 8-10 P in dia-

meter, not constricted at the joints ; apex of trichome not tapering, not

capitate, apical cell broadly rounded ; cells 2-4 ^ in length ; partition walls

marked by protoplasmic granules ; cell-contents granular, blue-green.

Hab.—\ n a jhil at Imphal, Manipur. Collected by S. N. Bal, October 20,

1925.

Geogr. Distribution.— Europe ; Tropical Africa; Is, S. Halena> Central

America ; West Indies.

' . . . . :

Family. — NostocaCe^e.

Genus. —Nostoc.

2. Nostoc amplissimum, Setchell. De Toni, Syll. Alg. Myx., p. 421 ,

1907 ; Til den, Minnesota Algw, pp. 164, 180, PI. viii, Figs. 17-19, 1910 f PI. i,

Fig. 1.

190 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , #?/. XXXIV

Plantmass forming lobulated, expanding irregularly, more or less verucose*

brownish grey sack of mucilage adhering to rocks ; filaments numerous, con"

torted, arranged irregularly ; sheaths colourless ; trichomes 2-3 V in diameter,

more or less torulose ; cells D 2-4 V in length, depressed spherical or sometimes

somewhat oblong ; heterocyst elliptic, 3-4 p in diameter ; gonidia ellipsoidal,

single or in cantinate series, 3-4 V in diameter, 5-6 V in length, contents

granular, wall of gonidum smooth.

Hab.— In a small stream by the hill-side, near Bishenpur, Manipur. Collec-

ted by S. L. Hora, March 1920.

Geogr. Distribution . — North America ; California.

/CHLOROPHYCEvE.

Family — Cladophoraceae.

Genus— Cladophora.

3. Cladophora glomerata, (L) Kuetzing ; /hrwa-RivULARis, Raben-

horst. De Toni , Syll. Alg. Chlo., p. 295, 18S9 ; Siisswasserflora Deutschlauds,

Osterreichs u. d. Schweiz , Heft — 7, p . 55, Figs. 14, 15, 39, 1921. PI. Hi, Figs.

3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Plantmass fasciculate, penicellate ; cells of older branches 275-300 V in

length, 75-80 V in width, cells of younger filaments 115-200 h long and 25-35

V broad, apical cells 135-350 V long and 20-25 V in diameter ; intermediate or

apical cells sometimes fructiferous ; spores spherical or slightly oval, 10 /j tin

diameter, contents coarsely granular.

Hab . — In a swiftly running stream on rocks, Thoubaltural, Manipur. Collect-

ed by S. L- Hora, March 1920.

Geogr. Distribution.— Germany ; Bohemia ; United States; America ; Ceylon.

4. Cladophora crispata (Roth.) Kuetzing; var. genuina ( Kuet .)

Rabenhorst. De Toni, Syll . Alg, Chlo., p. 291, 1889; Siisswasserflora Deutsch-

lands, Osterreichs u. d. Schweiz, p. 41, 1921. PI. In, Figs. ' 8, 9, 10, 11.

Plantmass caespetose, filaments rather sparingly branched, subdichotomous,

lateral branches short, sometimes unilateral ; cells cylindrical, membrane

thin, tenuous ; diameter of the cells in older filaments varying from 40-70 V,

in younger 20-35 V, about 5-10 times or more longer than broad ; cell- contents

disposed in a loosely spiral manner.

Hab. — In a rapidly flowing stream, Manipur. Collected by S. L. Hora,

February 1920.

Geogr. Distribution .—Europe ; North America ; India ; Burma

The systematic position of the different species of the genus Cladophora

has been discussed in detail by F. Brandt in his papers published during 1899

to 1909. Brandt’s results have been excellently summarised by W. Hearing

in Siisswasserflora Deutschlands Osterreichs mid der Schweitz , Heft 7 , pp. 3-62,

1921. In this monograph the anomalous situation of the varieties and forms

of the three well marked species, namely — C. glomerata , C. crispata , and

C. fracta— has been made clear as far as possible, although, it becomes very

difficult to distinguish them, especially when they are not found in natural

condition. The short note in ‘ A Treatise on the British Fresh Water Algce ’

by G. S. West, revised and rewritten by F. E. Fritsch, pp. 169-170, 1927,

is very useful for distinguishing these three main recognized species without

much difficulty both in the field and the laboratory. F. Oltman’s account

in ‘ Mor photo, gie und Biologie der Algen Band i, pp. 347-356 , 1922, is very

important for the study of this genus. The information given under Clado-

phoracece, in Band 3, Chlorophycece by H. Printz, in the revised edition of

1 Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien ’, pp. 275-279, 1927, is an important contribution

to our general knowledge of this family. The interesting resiilts revealed

in the paper entitled ‘ The Cytology of Cladophoraccce ’ by Nellie Carter,

published in the Annals of Botany, vol. xxxiii, pp 467-478, 1919, are valuable

for those who wish to undertake further investigations in this line on Indian

Cladophoras. The marine form of C. glomerata, var. calicoma has been

described by the author in the ‘ Algal Flora of the Chilka Lake ’ (now in the

Press).1

1 Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1930.

Journ,,, Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate II.

FRESH WATER ALGA2 OF MANIPUR, ASSAM.

For explanation see end of article .

{K. Biswas. Dil.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc,

Plate III.

FRESH WATER ALGiE OF MANIPUR, ASSAM.

For explanation see end of article.

K. Biswas. Del.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. t’LATE IV.

FRESH WATER ALG^ OF MANIPUR, ASSAM.

K. Biswas • Del .

For explanation see end of article .

FRESH WATER A LG AS OF MANIPUR , ASSAM

191

This variety of C. glower at a grows profusely on stones and boulders along

the rocky margin of the lake forming more or less a characteristic type of vege-

tation covering the areas sloping down into the water consisting of dried,

half-dried and fresh plants, often mixed up with Enteromorpha compressa ,

Gracilaria conferoides and interwoven by Lyngbya aesturii. Plate I shows

a portion of such a formation.

Fa mily— Z ygnem ace.e .

Genus— Spirogyra.

5. Spirogyra setiformis {.Roth) Kuetzing, var. maior. var. nov. PL ii

Figs. 2 (i a-d ).

Cellulis vegetativis 135-175 p latis, 165-225 p longis, diametro subsequalibis

vel duplo longioribus, fructiferis ad genicula non constrictis ; membrana 6-8 p

crassa, distincta lamellosa ; Chlorophoris 4-8, 10-12 P latis, dentatis, densis,

subverticalibus, anfractibus 4-1 ; Zygotis prolato— ellipsoideis, Secus axin

majorem visis globosis, 100-115 p latis, 140-180 P longis.

Hab.— In locis stagnalibns, Manipur. Lecta S. L. Hora, February to March,

1920.

Spirogyra setiformis and Spirogyra jugalis ( Dillw .) Kuetzing , are closely

allied species, and hence Cooke in his ‘ British Fresh Water Algce ’—p. 87 ,

1882-84, suggests uniting both these species into one. Wolle too in his

* Fresh Water Algce of the United States* , p. 219 , 1887, although maintains their

separate position after Mons Petit, is of opinion that these two species ought

to be taken as one species. De Toni, however, considers them as two separate

species and describes them accordingly in Syll. Alg. Chlo ., pp. 751-753, 1889.

O. Borge in his contribution on Zygnemacece , in ‘ Sii sswasserf lor a Deutschlands ,

Ostterreichs und der Schwetz,* Heft 9, pp. 16 and 29, 1913, has given more or

less well defined characters for which these two species can be retained separate.

jugalis differs from S. setiformis in the following two main characters : the

constricted and longer forms of cells, often twice as long as broad and some-

what tumid shape of the fruiting cells. Moreover, -S. setiformis is distinctly

larger than 5. jugalis in dimensions. Again, S. setiformis is related to S.

polytceneata, Strasb., but the former differs from the latter in the smaller size

of the cells and less number of Chlorophyll bands and their turns in each cell.

The new variety ‘ maior ' of setiformis is an intermediate form of S.

setiformis and polytceniata. This variety is larger in dimensions than the

typical form of S’, setiformis but smaller than S. polytaeneata. The cells are

165 to 225 p long and 125 to 175 p broad. Cell wall is 6-8 p thick. Chlorophyll

bands are 4-8 in number, having \ to 1 turn in each cell (not 1-H turns in each

cell as in S. polytaeniata) and more distinctly dentate, varying from 10-12 P

in width. Pyrenoids are 8 to 10 p in diameter. Conjugating tubes vary from

40-50 P in width. Zygote is a prolate ellipsoid, elliptic in front view but

spherical in top view, and varies from 100-115 p in diameter.

Hab.— In a tank in the residency at Imphal, Manipur. Collected by S. L.

Hora, February to March, 1920.

Explanation of Figures.

Plate II.

Fig. 1. Nostoc amplissimum, x800.

Fig. 2. Spirogyra setiformis, var. maior ;

a. part of a vegetative filament, x75 ;

b, c. part of the filament with zygotes and conjugating tubes, x80 ;

d. part of a Chlorophyll baud, x550.

Plate III

Fig. 3. Part of the thallus of Cladophora glomerata, var. rivularis , with the

branches, x80.

Fig. 4. Portion of an older branch with lateral branchlets, x250.

192 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Fig. 5. Portion of a filament with fructiferous cells, x300.

Fig. 6. An apical cell with spores, x?50.

Fig. 7. Part of the plant mass, slightly magnified.

Plate IV

Fig. 8. Part of the filament of Cladophora crispata , var. genuina , wiih

subdichotomous branches, xlOO.

Fig. 9. Portion of basal filament, x75.

Fig 10 Portion of filaments with unilateral branches, xlOO.

Fig. 11. An intermediate cell with its spirally reticulate Chloroplast, x400.

Fig. 12. Part of the filament of Lyngbya Martemiana , x600 ;

Fig. 13. Apical portion of the trichome, x600«

METHODS OF FISHING IN THE PUNJAB

BY

M. Hamid Khan, m.sc.

(. Fisheries Research Officer, Punjab)

( With a plate)

A. Illegal Methods.

The methods of fishing- in the Province before the Fisheries

Regulations came into1 force were innumerable, and most of these

seemed to be devised with the express purpose of allowing nothing

however small to escape. The following are some of the most

harmful methods which have been instrumental in diminishing the

supply of fish in the Province : —

(1) Poisoning.

(2) Dynamiting.

(3) Fixed Engines.

(4) Diversion of water for killing fish.

(5) Erection of dams, weirs, traps, etc., for killing fry and

young fish.

(6) Continuous netting with small meshed nets.

Poisoning. — The Indian Fisheries Act IV of 1897 prohibited

both poisoning and using explosives for the purpose of killing

fish. The practice, has, however, been prevalent throughout the

Province, especially in the hilly tracts, and each year during the

months of May and June when the streams are very low and all

the fish congregate in what pools still remain, they are ruthlessly

poisoned and wanton * destruction, of not only the fish but of the

tiny fry and the entire animal life which forms the food of the fish,

is incalculable. The slaughter does not end in the pools, but as the

water trickles out and down the stream carrying the poison with it,

it takes its toll all along the stream for ofte' a mile or more. The

poisons used are: —

(i) Lime.

(ii) The juice of the Cactus or Thohar ( Euphorbia royleana )

also called Chhui.

(iii) Pounded Tirmal seeds ( Xanthoxylum aletum).

(iv) Chila seeds ( Cascaria tormentosa).

(v) Boiled tea leaves mixed with lime.

These poisons called Mohan are thrown into pools and there

stirred up and made to- mix with the water by men swimming in the

pool and stirring the water with bamboos. The water becomes

milky, and about an hour or less after the poison is thrown in, the

fish ’ come to the surface stupefied or dead. No bad effects are

produced by eating them.

Dynamiting. — Notwithstanding the dangers to which the offender

is exposed dynamiting is still indulged in. Many accidents have

25

194 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY . Vol. XXXIV

occurred. Fish become stupified or dead due to sudden explosion

in the water and are picked up.

Fixed Engines. — Urli is a conical shaped contrivance of basket

work. It varies in depth from 4 to 6 feet, the mouth being at

the broader end. A dam is made across a stream with one aperture

into which is fitted the mouth of the Urli on the downstream side.

The narrow end is sunk in the stream. All fish dropping down the

stream must necessarily be carried into the Urli. The force of the

stream pouring into it prevents the fish from escaping. It destroys

large number of small fry.

Jciri is of two kinds —

(i) A drag net is fixed across the stream with its lower end

fixed at the bottom, while the free upper end projecting out of the

water is turned back and supported on sticks. Another drag net is

joined at its lower end with the fixed end of the first net, while its

free end is turned back to face the free end of the former net, and

is supported on sticks and lies submerged under water. There is

hardly three or four inches water above the second net and two or

three yards distance between the free ends of both the nets. Fish

passing over the submerged end of the second net fall into the

pockets of the first net and cannot find their way out. They soon

tire themselves and are then taken out by the fishermen.

(ii) A second kind of Jari is just like a big mouse trap. It is

made of two big bag-like nets fitted into one another. The first net’s

mouth, supported by sticks, is fixed across the stream. Posteriorly

it has got another aperture with a wooden ring opening into the

second net, which encircles the posterior half of the first net and

is free posteriorly. Its free posterior end has got an opening

which is kept closed and is opened whenever it is desired to take

the fish out. Fish get into the first net through the mouth and

then pass into the second net through the posterior opening and

there they are caught like a rat.

Erection of dams, weirs, traps, etc., for killing fry and fish—

(i) Trop. A very impenetrable fence of thorn is made across

the stream, and behind a net like patti (stake net) is stretched

horizontally supported by means of four sticks one on each end.

The fish going down or coming up the stream see the fence and try

to jump over it and are caught in the net.

(ii) Patal, Dhingri or Adhani. Thorny branches are fixed across

a stream, leaving some clear area near the banks. The fish on

finding their way obstructed by the fence try to pass along the sides

near the bank and are then caught by fishermen with casting net.

(iii) Dhap. An open mouthed vessel just like a platter of any

metal or of earth is taken. A ball of flour is placed in the middle

of the vessel: The vessel is then wrapped in white cloth and a

hole is made in the cloth just above the ball of the flour, and then

placed at the bottom of the stream. The fish being enticed by the

flour begin to enter through the hole. The owner of the vessel

remains on the lookout and when he sees that sufficient number of

fish have entered in the trap, he goes slowly, puts his hand on the

hole, and brings out the vessel. Then he unties the cloth and takes

out the fish.

METHODS OF FISHING IN THE PUNJAB

193

(iv) Batarru. Stones are placed in the stream near the bank in

a circle, surrounding- a hollow. The fish in summer come to take

shelter there. The fisherman covers these stones with a net and

kills every fish. This method is very harmful for young

Mahsir.

(v) Dhanu. Holes are made in the dams of the Kuhls

(streamlets diverted for watermills) and the water passing through

them is allowed to fall on a stony platform. The platform is covered

all round with stones. The fish going through these- holes are

deposited on the platform, and are taken out of it by putting the

hand through a hole kept in some convenient place. It ensures a

fresh and ready supply to the owner.

Continuous netting with small meshed nets —

(i) Dou. It is a small but very fine meshed net, having two

sticks, one on the right and the other on the left side, and a few

sinkers in front. It is held in both hands and used in disconnected

pools.

(ii) Sambi resembles Dou , but is bigger in size and is used in

catching Chilwa. It is a triangular-shaped fine meshed net with

two bamboos twelve feet each, one on each side and a well stretched,

tight cord in front. The net can be used by single man who holds

it at the apex. Generally, however, two men use it, each holding

the bamboo on the side. When Chilwa run up the river in shoals

the sambi is fixed at places where a small whirlpool is formed near

the bank. Men hold the net in front and face the fish. When fish

reach the whirlpool they are forced into the net by the whirling

current. A sambi is sometimes lifted with many pounds of fish in it.

With one sambi 400 to 600 pounds of fish have been caught in one

day.

B. Legal Methods.

In addition to the prohibition of poisoning and dynamiting under

the Indian Fisheries Act IV of 1897, fishing in the Punjab has been

restricted under the Punjab Fisheries Act II of 1914 and is only

permitted under a licence by any of the following methods : —

(1) Drag net used in conjunction with stake net (i.e. Bhiga ,

Kadh, Kurga, Chhatta or Mahjal) with a minimum mesh of 1J inches

square or 5 inches all round in the hills and 1-| inches square or

6 inches all round in the plains.

(2) Fixed nets, e.g. Nilotu , Band, etc.

(3) Casting nets, e.g. Sotwan, Palku, Dobajju, Weru, Soru or

Pakha.

(4) Hand nets, e.g.- —

(i) ‘ KochbP and ‘ Saggan ’ with prescribed mesh of one inch

square or 4 inches all round.

(ii) (Dhangla’ with lj- inches square mesh or 6 inches all

round.

(5) Dip net, e.g. Kurli or Khonche.

(6) Fixed Engines, e.g. —

(i) Chip and Chipli;

(ii) Bar patta or Stake net.

(7) Lines —

(i) Long line with hooks ( Lang or dor).

196 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

(ii) Hand Line ( Dori ).

(iii) Rod and Line ( Bansi , Birhi, Chheep).

(8) Horse hair noose or Kalerni.

(9) Grains or Spear ( Bhalla or Tin).

Draff net. — It varies in length from 13 to 15 feet and in depth

from 9 to 12 feet. The universal method is to fix a stake net

(Banda) athwart the current at the tail of the pool, and to work

a drag net gradually down the pool by a line of men swimming,

diving, working sarnais (inflated skins) and doing all they can to

drive the fish before them. Weights are attached to the lower end

of the net, so that at the time of drawing it downstream, the lower

end should remain close to the bottom, and should not permit any

fish to escape. Sometimes two or three such drag nets are thus

worked one behind the other. Another method is to fasten twenty

or more drag nets so as to form a seine (para) which is shot from

one bank of the river when the river is low.

Fixed nets.- —

(i) Nilotu or Pand. This net is smaller than the drag net. It

is fixed in pools in certain places which the fisherman knows by

experience to be the favourite resort of the fish. The net is placed

at night, the bottom resting on the bed of the pool, and the upper

edge on the surface, and is removed in the morning. Fish leaving

their strongholds or returning to them during the night are

frequently caught by the head in the net.

(ii) The Nara is 100 feet or less in length and 6 feet in depth.

There are no sinkers or weights at its bottom, and it is kept floating

by naras i.e. short, hollow, bamboo sticks or reeds attached to its

upper end. It is fixed at one end of the pool whether shallow or

deep, and men from the other end frighten the fish by throwing

stones or by swimming and diving and drive fish towards the net

where they are caught.

Casting nets. — There are different local names given to casting

nets of various meshes : —

(i) Sorru : having \ inch square mesh.

(ii) Werru : having f inch square mesh.

(iii) Dobajju : having one inch square mesh.

(iv) Palka : having 1J inch square mesh.

(v) Sotwan or Pakha : having 1J inch square mesh.

The diameter of the net when extended by casting varies from

3 feet to 16 feet. It is circular in form, with weights attached to

its circumference. In using it the fisherman wades into shallow

water and throws the net with a rotatory movement some 5 or 6

feet away from him, holding it by a cord. The net spreads itself

and is carried to the bottom by the weight of the sinkers. Casting

nets, used on sandy bottoms in the plains, have puckering strings

(sag) while those used in the hills are devoid of them.

Fishing with casting nets is very common in the Province and

various methods are employed to entice the fish. For example —

(i) During the months of March, April and May the fisherman

finds a place near the banks of the river where cowdung is in

abundance. There he fixes a small stand of three sticks in water and

places a small hand-made lamp with wick and oil on the stand, and

Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Journ

i. — Drag Net and “ Kurli.”

2. — Fixed Net ( Nava Jdl).

3. — Stake Net ( Bar Patta).

METHODS OF FISHING IN THE PUNJAB.

METHODS OF FISHING IN THE PUNJAB

197

lights it during- the night. Flies and moths from the cowdung* are

attracted by the light in large numbers. Their wings are burnt and

they fall into the stream and are carried down by the current. Fish

find the delicious morsels and are consequently attracted to the place

wherefrom they are coming. The fisherman with a casting net sits

on watch and as soon as large number of fish have collected near the

light he throws his net and gets a good catch.

(ii) Catching Bachwa ( Psuedeutropius garua).

Small fish (Chilwa) are caught and placed in an earthen vessel

without any water and decomposed. They soon begin to1 smell foul.

Some sticks projecting 2 or 3 feet out of water are fixed in places

where Bachwa are known to abound. To the free ends of the

sticks are attached some bunches of cords sufficiently long to trail

in water, and to these cords are tied the decomposing Chilwa as

bait. Their smell attracts the fish which come in large numbers to

devour the bait. At that time the fisherman wades into water and

covers the whole lot with a casting net and takes them out.

Hand nets —

(i) ‘Kochbi’ is a bag net, circular in form, about 3 feet in

diameter and the same in depth, with a bamboo handle about 3 feet

long. The (SagganJ has a deeper pocket, a greater diameter and

a slightly longer handle, and is either circular or triangular in form.

These nets are generally used either (a) near falls for catching fish

ascending during the months of March to June, or ( b ) during floods

to take spawners or small fish which take shelter in eddies and

breakwaters close to the banks.

(ii) Dhangla is a combination of dip and drag nets. It is a

rectangular piece of net, with" a stick, 3 or 4 feet long, on each of the

smaller sides to serve as handles and tight cords on the lower and

upper sides. Two men, one on each side, drag it in small streams or

shallow waters.

Dip nets. — Kurli and Khonche are used in shallow waters. The

Kurli is said to derive its name from Kurl (Fish-Eagle) as it is put

on the fish in manner similar to the swoop of the Fish-Eagle. It is

conical in shape, and is made of 4 sticks tied together at the top, and

with a circular piece of net, fastened to the free ends of the sticks

at the broad end. Khonche is a conical basket.

Fixed Engines —

(i) Chip. — A Chip is a platform of split bamboos or sticks, inter-

woven or tied together in such a way as to leave interstices of

14 inches square between the sticks. The platform is erected under

a fall natural or artificial, in such a way that the portion furthest

from the fall is higher than that directly under the fall, i.e. the

whole platform slopes upwards on the downstream side. The

portion between the fall and the platform is extended to well below

the fall so1 that none of the fish can drop through. All the fish

coming down the stream must necessarily fall on to the platform.

The little ones and the water run through the interstices leaving

the bigger fish high and dry on the platform. In the past, the

interstices were carefully filled up with grass, sb That nothing could

escape, but as the punishment for this bit of sharp practice is a fine

with the addition of forfeiture of the licences and the destruction of

198 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

the Chip, it is not much indulged in now. As a Chip is built in a

narrow portion of the stream, and the entire stream practically flows

over it there is not much that can escape it. The fee for the Chip

is Rs. 12 per season, and as many villagers as please can be

partners therein. The Chip is erected towards the end of monsoons,

and accounts for mostly spent fish (i.e. those which have spawned)

and those descending the streams with the fall in the volume of

water.

(ii) The Chipli is a chip in miniature. Its use is permitted in

places for the capture of Chilwa.

(iii) Bar Pattas (Stake nets). A stake net with a minimum mesh

of 1^ inches square or 6 inches all round is fixed across a stream

with stones and perpendicular stakes only. The net is kept lower

in height near both the banks. Fish working down to the river

after the rains are caught on these Bar Pattas. The fish on finding

their way obstructed by the net try to pass through along the sides

near the bank, and are there caught by the fisherman with casting

net. Bar Pattas are erected for three and a half months from 1st

August to the 15th November each year.

Lines. — Long Line with hooks (Lang or dor) is set across a river

or Jhil, and has as many hooks as can be tied at six inches intervals.

Baits used are generally earthworm, chilwa and larvae of dragonflies.

Hand Line (Dori) has one or two hooks at the end with a sinker.

Hooks are baited and line thrown into water. It is generally used

to catch ground feeders.

Rod and Line ( Bansi , Blrhi or Chheep ) is universal method of

catching fish, and is becoming very popular in the Province. The

following portions of the rivers in the Province have been reserved

for Rod and Line fishing only : —

Kangra District —

(i) Beas River and its tributaries from the source of the Beas

to the milestone ‘Kulu’ 2 near the old Akhara Bridge, the Sarbari

River and its tributaries, from the source of the intake of the Tahsil

Kuhl, the Sainj River and its tributaries, and the Tirthan River and

its tributaries from and above its confluence with the Jibi stream in

so far as they are situated within the jurisdiction of the Assistant

Commissioner, Kulu.

(ii) Baner stream and its tributaries from its source down

to near the shop in Jia village.

Rawalpindi District —

(i) The Kurang River from Rawal waterfall down to the

Kurang Railway Bridge, and

(ii) The Sohan River from the old Railway Bridge Piers to the

tail of Jalalia pool below Shahpur village.

Lahore and Sheikhpura Districts. — Within a distance of f of a

mile on either side of the Road Bridge over the Ravi River between

Lahore and Shahdara.

For all Districts. — Within a distant of one hundred yards from

any bridge.

Canal Head Works.—

(i) Jehlum River from one mile upstream to | mile downstream

of the Mangla Head Regulator ;

METHODS OF FISHING IN THE PUNJAB

199

(ii) Jehlum River from 1J mile upstream to f mile downstream

of the Rasul Weir.

(iii) Chenab River from one mile upstream to \ mile down-

stream of the Marala Weir.

(iv) Chenab River from 1^ mile upstream to f mile downstream

of the Khanki Weir.

(v) Ravi River from one mile upstream to \ mile downstream

of the Madhopur Weir.

(vi) Ravi River from one mile upstream to \ mile downstream

of the weir at Balloki.

(vii) Ravi River from \ mile upstream to j mile downstream of

the Sidhnai Weir.

(viii) Sutlej River from upstream end of Spur No. 2, 1 \ miles

above Rupar to \ mile downstream of the weir.

(ix) Right Bank of the Jumna River from Cross Section No. 1

marked at the sight of Hathni Kund Gauge upstream of the

Tajewala Weir down to the Cross Section No. 14, near Mandewala

Village downstream of the Weir which lies within the Punjab.

(x) Somb Nala from J- mile above Spur A upstream of the level

crossing down to the confluence of the Nala with the River Jumna

near Dadupura.

(xi) The Western Jumna Canal from half a mile above to half

a mile below the Dadupur Regulator.

(xii) Sutlej River from one mile upstream to f mile downstream

of the weir at Ferozepur (Gunda Singh Wala).

(xiii) Sutlej River from one mile upstream to f mile down-

stream of the weir at Suleimanki.

Horse Hair Noose or Kalerni. — A horse hair noose or Kalerni is

used in Kangra District just after the rains for catching small

variety of fish, e.g. Kurka ( Garra lamta ), Tatler ( Cirrhina latia) and

others. It is a kind of a trap made in the form of a horse hair

noose, and is put under water the depth of which does not exceed

three feet.

Grains {Tin) or Spears ( Bhala ) are used in shallow waters. Tin

is a kind of harpoon with four or five barbed points.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ANT-MIMICKING SPIDER,

SYNEMOSYNA TRANSVERSA. sp. nov.

BY

Durgadas Mukerjee,

Lecturer in Zoology. Calcutta University.

( With 2 text-figures) .

Synemosyna transversa , sp. nov.

No ant-like spiders of the group Synemosynece 1 are so fat known from

India, though a few species of the genus Synemosyna Hentz (Silliman’s Amerc.

Jo urn. Sci. Art. xxi, p. 108, 1832) have been recorded by Thorell1 2 from Burma.

In 1927, while collecting ants from Barrackpore I came across a single female

spider belonging to the genus Synemosyna , in company with the ants Diacamma

vagans (Smith) and Componotus sericeous (Fabr.). The spider showed a

striking resemblance to the Ponerine ants in possessing a constriction in the

abdomen, a node in the pedicel and in its cephalo-thorax being separated into a

broad head and a convex thorax. The specimen does not conform to any

previously described species, and is described below under the name Synemosy-

na transversa.

Female, length — 5 mm.

The dorsal surface of cephalic area (Fig. 2) which is bounded by the anterior

and posterior rows of eyes, is flat and broader than long ; the sides are clothed

with short hairs. The eyes are arranged in three rows. The anterior row

is recurved, and the eyes in this row are equally spaced ; the distance between

the centrals is the same as that between the central and the anterior lateral.

The anterior central eyes are the largest in diameter and about two and a

half times the diameter of the anterior lateral eyes. The middle row is nearer

the anterior row ; the third row is situated near the posterior margin of the

cephalic area and these eyes are as wide apart as the cephalo-thorax at that

place. The palp is longer than the cephalic area. The digital joint is larger

than the radial. The, cubital is shorter than the radial. The chelicerae are

vertical and pluridentate.

The cephalo-thorax is divided by a deep transverse constriction into the

cephalic and the thoracic regions (Fig. 1). The cephalic region is as broad

as long, while the thoracic region is longer than broad and exceeds the cephalic

region in length. The thoracic region is convex above and its posterior edge

near the pedicel is slightly turned upward. The cephalo-thorax is pubescent,

Fig. 1. Synemosyna transversa , sp. nov. Lateral view of the thoracic and

abdominal regions. The anterior portion of the cephalo-thorax uot

shown.

and the dorsal surface of the thoracic region in the middle bears two long

hairs. The pedicel is a little longer than broad and is about half the length

1 Simon, E , Hist. Nat. Araignees, ( Paris 1897), T. ii, pp. 508-512.

2 Thorell, T., Spiders of Burma (. London , 1895), pp. 320-322, 325 and 328

and Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova ., xxv, p. 339, (1887).

DESCRIPTION OF A NE W ANT-MIMICKING SPIDER 201

of the distance between the anterior and the third row of eyes. The pedicel

possesses a small flat node at its middle. The abdomen is oval in form and

Fig. 2. Dorsal view of the cephalic region.

a little longer than the thoracic region ; it is clothed with a silky pubescence

while the pilosity on its posterior region is dense. The sides of the abdomen

are rugose.

A deep and broad transverse groove separates the anterior third of the

abdomen from its posterior portion. The dorsal surface of the abdomen lying

in front of the transverse groove is depressed between its dorso lateral surfaces

and its posterior edge overhangs the transverse groove. A longitudinal groove

is present on the ventral surface of the abdomen aud extends from the

posterior limit of the epigynum to as far as the spinnerets.

The legs are slender, 4, 3, 1, 2. The femur of the last pair of legs is the

longest, and its tibia and protarsus are subequal. The legs are furnished with

spines ; those on the protarsus and tarsus being very numerous and densely

situated.

The dorsal surface of the cephalic area, which is bounded by the eyes,

is reddish brown. The sides of the cephalic region and the whole of the

thorax are brownish-black, while the abdomen is black. The coxae and the

trochanters of 2nd, 3rd and 4th pairs of legs are black. The femur, patella

and tibia are fuscous, while the other portions of the legs are yellowish-brown.

The type specimen is preserved in the Museum of the Zoological Department

of the University of Calcutta.

26

TWO NEW SPECIES OF SPHINGID sE (Hawk Moths)

FROM THE ORIENTAL REGION

BY

C, E. Fellowes-Manson

The two new species of Sphingidae which are herein described have been

acquired from me by my friend, Mr. B. Preston Clark, of Boston, Massachusetts,

U.S. A., who is as keen a collector of Sp king idee as myself. Mr. Preston Clark

originally described them in the Proceedings of the Nezv England Zoological

Club, Vol. ix, pp. 17-19, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 1, 1924. As it is impos-

sible for me to improve upon his able descriptions, I will take the liberty of

quoting them verbatim, and adding ether notes of my own. I also take this op-

portunity of acknowledging with thanks the honour he has conferred upon me

by naming these two new Sphingids after me. The specimens were previously

shown to Lord Rothschild and Dr. Karl Jordan, m. a. l., ph. d., at the Tring

Museum, Herts, England, who kindly examined them, and not only pronounced

them to be new species but also very remarkable forms, especially Compsogene

mansoni (Clark), a large species measuring 160 millimetres in expanse. Pre-

vious to its discovery there was only one other known species in this Genus, viz.

Compsogene paziopus (Cramer), the larva of which feeds on the leaves of

the Mango {Mangifera) . The discovery is therefore highly interesting.

Compsogene mansoni , sp. nov.

Compsogene mansoni Clark, Proc. New Eng. Zool. Club, vol. ix, p. 17. Camb-

ridge, Mass. (1924).

‘ Al. ant. long., 70 mm. Al. ant. lat. 24 mm. Marg. ext., rf, 36. mm. ’

‘ Habitat. — Sikkim, North-Eastern India. One male (the type) in collection

B. Preston Clark, collected by Mr. C. E. Fellowes-Manson, and acquired by

me from him. This specimen lacks antennae, is faded, and in very poor condi-

tion. ’

‘ Palpi yellow, bordered with brown along the eye and to the tips. Thorax

and posterior portion of the abdomen above darker brown than the anterior

portion of the abdomen, as in C. panopus (Cr.).

‘ Forewing above : — A light brown basal area extends from a point on costal

margin 36. mm. distant from the wing base to a point on the inner margin 21

mm. from the base, and includes the entire area basad of these points. ’

‘ This basal area has within it three heavy sub-basal angled lines along costal

margin, 3, 6 and 9 mm. distant from the base, continued irregularly and

obscurely towards inner margin. There are also within this basal area two

angled lines on costal margin, 22 and 25 mm. distant from the base. From the

posterior of these lines extends an irregular band roughly parallel to the basal

edge of a dark brown median area ; this band is interrupted at the veins and

extends to the inner margin. The dark brown median area extends straight

across the wing basally, more obliquely than in C. panopus. On the costal

margin it is 11 mm. in width, thence it broadens to a width of 16 mm. on Rl.

Between Rl and R2 it narrows sharply to 6 mm. Its narrowest point is between

R2 and R3, where it is but 5 mm. wide. From this point it broadens to the

hinder angle, where it is 14 mm. in width. Within this area, between M2 and

SM2 and extending somewhat beyond M2, is a black area, which lacks the five

white lines basad of it of C. panopus. ’

‘ The apical portion of the wing d'stad from the dark brown median area is

light yellow, slightly irrorated with brown, with a darker marginal band

extending from SC5 to hinder angle. This marginal band is a mere line at

SC5, but broadens regularly to a point between Rl and R2, where it is 4\5

mm. in width, thence it narrows to M2 ; from M2 to hinder angle it is hardly

more than a marginal line. Distal border of wing between SC4 and SC5

is blunt.’

TWO NEW SPECIES OF S PH IN G ID FE

203

‘ Forewing beneath ; Basal half light yellow, sub-basally dark brown, and

including an irregular, brown line roughly parallel to the basal margin of a dark

median area. This, broadens to a roughly rectangular area within the

apical portion of the cell. The dark brown median area follows in general the

form of that on the upper side of the wing, as do the light yellow apical area

and the marginal band.’

‘ Hind wing above : Light yellow with very dark brown markings. The

wing is crossed by four distinct bands. The first is antemedian, narrow, curved

basad costaily. The second, median, broad (2 to 4 mm.), irregular, widest at

Rl, The third, narrow, made up of lunulate lines between the veins, from anal

margin to Rl ; from Rl to costal margin it is broader and continuous, curving

basad. The fourth line is marginal at the anal angle, and narrow ; it broadens

continuously to the costal margin, where it is 4 mm. in width, and 5 mm.

distant from the wing apex. Between these bands the yellow ground tone of

the wing is sparsely irrorated with brown.’

‘ Hindwing beneath : Light yellow with dark brown markings, which

roughly duplicate those on the upper side of the wing.’ — (B.P.-C.).

Habitat.— Sikhim, N. E. Himalayas

Localities. — Darjeeling District, Brit. Sikhim.

Elevation. — (altitudinal range). — 7,000 ft. (at electric light).

Months of appearance.— June.

Comparative abundance. — Extremely rare. There is only one known

specimen (the type) in coll. B. Preston Clark.

Expanse.— C 160 mm. $

$ and early stages not known. The 2 Luva most probably feeds on the leaves

of a wild species of Mangifera (Mango). It is doubtful if this tree grows in

Sikhim at a higher elevation than 3,000 to 4,000 ft. and my opinion is that the

specimen I captured at the electric arc lamp in Darjeeling 7,000 ft. elevation

must have been attracted by its brilliant light from a much lower elevation

than this.

Therelra mansoni , sp. nov.

Theretra mansoni Clark, Proc. New Eng. Zool. Club, vol. ix, pp. 18-19

Cambridge, Mass. (1924).

‘ Al. ant. long., 31 mm. Al. ant. lat , $, 16 mm.

Marg. ext., $, 23 mm.’

‘ Habitat.— Sikhim, North-Eastern India. One female (the type) in coll.

B. Preston-Clark collected by Mr. C. E. Fellowes-Manson, and acquired by

me from him. This specimen is in very poor condit:on, lacking both antennae

and abdomen, but its characters are sufficiently well marked to make a

description possible.’

‘ This species is nearly related to Theretra alecto (Linne) and to T. suffusa

(Walker), being closer to the former species.’

‘Head and thorax above dark brown with no median line, both as in

T. alecto. Side stripe along the head and thorax as in T. alecto. but less

brightly white ; duller in coiour with a pink tinge. Thorax beneath gray in

median area and pink laterally.’

‘ Forewing above : Cilia pink with brown tips. Ground tone wood- brown ;

a darker wood-brown marginal band extends from the wing tip to hinder

angle, widening evenly to this _ansrle, where it is 9 mm. in width. This

marginal band is made of three, the distal one exceeding in width the other

two, and the three separated by light brown lines. Basad of this marginal

band the wood-brown of the entire wing area becomes lighter in tone as it ap-

proaches the marginal band. Inconspicuous light brown stigma with dark dot

in its centre. Black and white basal tufts as in T. alecto ’.

‘ Fore wing beneath : Cilia pink. Basal half of wing wood-brown, this

colour extending along costal margin to wing tip. Marginal band, similar in

outline and in width to that of T. alecto , but a much darker wood-brown.

Between the basal wood-brown area and the dark wood-brown marginal band

is a light pink area, very narrow (2 mm. in width) between SC 5 and R2, and

much broader (10 mm. in width) bet wen R2 and SM2.’

‘ Hindwing above : In all respects similar to T. alecto , except that the wing

is a deeper pink at anal angle. Cilia white.’

‘ Hindwing beneath : Cilia gray. Wing differs markedly from T. alecto.

The latter form is unicolourous save for the marginal band. In T. mansoni

204 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

the marginal band and the entire basal half of the wing are wood-brown, the

pink tone being broadly present towards anal angle and narrowing towards

costal margin.’— (B. P,-C.).

Habitat . — Sikhim, N. E. Himalayas.

Localities. — Darjeeling District, Brit. Sikhim.

Elevation . — (altitudinal range). — 7,000 ft.

Months of appearance , — June and July.

Comparative abundance. —Extremely rare. I only captured two specimens, a

J and $ of this new species ; the J specimen was very badly damaged and is

not now in existence ; so there is now only one known specimen (the type) a

$ in coll. B. Preston-Clark.

Expanse J 76 mm. $ 82 mm.

Early stages not known.

Both these specimens were captured at an electric arc lamp in Darjeeling,

7,000 ft. elevation, but may have been attracted from a lower or higher eleva-

tion than this.

THE HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL

SURVEY OF INDIA

Part II

( Continued from page 9 SO of Volume XXXIII, No. Jf)

INVERTEBRATE SECTION

By H. Srinivasa Rao, m.a., d.sc.

The Invertebrate Section of the Zoological Survey of India

(formerly the Natural History Section of the Indian Museum)

includes a large assemblage of mostly small terrestrial, fresh-

water, brackish-water, and marine animals belonging to various

Invertebrate groups of Phyla other than the Arthropoda and the

Mollusca. The Arthropod and Mollusc collections are in charge of

three officers who look after the Sections of (1) Insecta, Arachuida.

and Myriapoda, (2) Crustacea, and (3) Mollusca respectively. The

other Invertebrate collections of the Animal Kingdom are in charge

of a fourth officer, and include those belonging to the groups

Porifera (Sponges), Coelenterata (Corals, Hydroids, Medusae, Sea-

Anemones, etc.), Echinodermata (Sea-urchins, Brittle-stars, Sea-

cucumbers, etc.), and ‘Vermes’ — the last named being a convenient

though arbitrary term used to designate a varied assemblage of

worms (free-living and parasitic) and other forms of animals, some

closely, and the others remotely, or not at all allied to the worms

proper which also include members of the Phylum Annelida.

In the introductory part of the article by Col. Sewell reference

has been made in general to the sources from which the Zoological

collections of the Survey have been derived.1 It is unnecessary

to enumerate them again here, but it may be mentioned that so

far as the Invertebrate Section is concerned the part played in the

acquisition of zoological collections by the Asiatic Society of Bengal,

by private donors, and by the various political and military

expeditions, has been, comparatively, small. Zoological material

obtained from these sources consisted chiefly of terrestrial and

aquatic Invertebrates, many of them not belonging to groups of

the section with which the present account deals. It was not till

after the Royal Indian Marine Survey Steamer ‘Investigator’

actually started biological work in Indian seas that the Invertebrate

collections began to accumulate and gain in importance.

It will be convenient to deal with the Invertebrate Section h\ two

distinct parts, (i) the terrestrial, freshwater and brackish-water

1 For full details on this subject reference may be made to the article by

the late Dr. Annandale on the zoological collections in a book entitled The

Indian Museum, 1814-1914 (Calcutta, 1914) published in commemoration of

the centenary celebrations of the foundation of the Asiatic Society’s Museum

Vvhich later developed into the Indian Museum.

206 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vot. XXXIV

collections, and (ii) the marine collections, as the history of the

one is different from that of the other.

The study in India of the Invertebrate animals referred to in

this section may be said to have commenced in 1847 with the late

Dr. H. J. Carter of the Bombay Medical Service, who laid the

foundation for the study of fresh water sponges in India. His work

on freshwater Invertebrates was continued by the late Dr. F.

Stoliczka whose varied interest in zoology led him to study other

groups of animals besides sponges, and especially those living

in brackish water areas. The work of these pioneers in fresh and

brackish water Biology was greatly extended by the late Mr. J.

Wood-Mason, Col. A. W. Alcock, and the late Dr. N. Annandale;

all three of them were, it may be noted, intimately connected with

the Indian Museum by virtue of their office as Superintendents.1

The fresh-and brackish-water, as well as the terrestrial, collections

consist of animals belonging chiefly to the groups Porifera, Polyzoa,

Hydrozoa, Hirudinea, Oligochaeta, and Platyhelminthes. Those of

the first three groups are found both in fresh- and brackish-water

areas, and in the sea. The fourth consists of land and aquatic

forms, some of them predaceous or parasitic in a wide sense. The

fifth and the last named groups include aquatic and terrestrial forms,

some of the latter group including internal parasites of animals

and plants. The very rich collections of animals included in this

section we owe in part to the sources mentioned above, but for

the most part, to the enthusiasm and enterprise of the late

Dr. Annandale, who with the help of his colleagues in the Indian

Museum and later in the Zoological Survey and of the associates

in India and abroad caused extensive collections to be made.

Dr. Annandale was himself a very keen field-zoologist, and in the

course of his official and private tours in Asia and Europe collected

a large amount of material for this section. With the increased

touring, which the officers of the Zoological Survey of India have

been enabled to do in recent years, the collections in this section

have been considerably augmented. It will perhaps be of some

interest to note that the volume or extent of a collection has

apparently varied with the workers available and their choice in

the matter of groups to which they have devoted special attention.

For instance we have in the Zoological Survey a large collection

of Sponges and Polyzoa on which the late Dr. Annandale did very

valuable work at the beginning of his career in the Indian Museum.

In recent years additions to this part of our collection have been

small in comparison. We have again a very large collection of

earthworms and other aquatic Oligochaetes, chiefly as a result of

the unceasing devotion to this group of Lt.-Col. J. Stephenson

of the Edinburgh University (for many years Professor of Zoology

in the Government College, Lahore) who has worked out the great

bulk of our Oligochaetes, and is still continuing the work. Similarly

1 The advances in our knowledge of the fresh and brackish water fauna of

the Indian Empire were summarised by the late Dr. Annandale in two papers,

the Journ. As. Socy. Bengal, N.S. viii, pp. 39-52 (1912) and xviii. pp. 527-533

(1922).

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

207

\ye owe our collection of parasitic Helminthes to the interest evinced

in this group by Dr. T. Southwell, late Director of Fisheries in

Bengal, who was intimately associated with the work of the Zoo-

logical Survey, and by Dr. H. A. Baylis, of the British Museum,

London, an authority on Nematodes. The large named collection

of Leeches in this section is due mostly to the enthusiasm of

specialists like Drs. Kaburaki, Oka, Profs. Harding and Moore,

who have always been eager to study Indian material. The volume

of work done on these groups has been of such great importance

that the results of the studies of some of these specialists have

been, or will be, embodied in the ‘Fauna of British India’ series.1

Other monographs, as for instance the one on Indian Cercariae

by Col. Sewell2, have been prepared entirely in India based on

fresh material obtained in the field. Special volumes of the

‘Records’ and ‘Memoirs of the Indian Museum’ dealing with the

fauna of definite regions in the Indian Empire also contain several

valuable papers on the Invertebrates. A few among these are on

the fauna of the Chilka Lake in the Madras Presidency, of the Inle

Valley in the Southern Shan States of Burma, and of the Siju Cave

in Assam.

The history of the marine Invertebrate collections in the Zoo-

logical Survey may be said to date virtually from 1875 with the

appointment of the Surgeon-Naturalist to the Royal Indian Marine

Survey Steamer ‘Investigator’. It must, however, be mentioned

that previous to this appointment the late Mr. J. Wood-Mason,

Superintendent, Indian Museum, carried out biological investigations

in the Indian seas in 1872-73. He visited the Andaman and Nicobar

Islands and succeeded in making a large collection of marine animals

not only in shallow waters, but also in depths varying from 50 to

300 fathoms. The pioneer work of Wood-Mason in the investigation

of marine animals in Indian waters was continued by the late

Dr. J. Anderson (also Superintendent, Indian Museum) who visited

the Mergui Archipelago in 1881-82. The results of his investiga-

tions are embodied in his Contributions to the Fauna of Mergui and

Its Archipelago published in 1889. Deep-sea investigation was,

however, not undertaken till three years after the launching of

the ‘Investigator’ in 1881. From 1884 upto 1926 the biological

work of the ‘Investigator’ in Indian seas has been carried out,

with several breaks due to war, etc., in close connection with the

zoological section of the Indian Museum, and later the Zoological

Survey of India.3 The accumulation of the rich collections of

marine organisms, particularly deep-sea Invertebrates of great

1 Fauna, of British India , Fresh water Sponges, Hydrozoa and Polyzoa, by

N. Annandale (1911).

Fauna of British India, Oligochaeta by J. Stephenson (1923).

Fauna of British India, Hirudinea by W. A. Harding and J. Percy Moore

(1927).

? Cercariae Indicae’, Ind. Journ. Med. Res. X (Suppl. No.), pp. 310, 3 pis.

(1922).

3 A full account of the biological work of the ‘Investigator’ upto 1914 and

of the contributions of’ the successive Surgeon-Naturalists to our knowledge

of the marine fauna is given by Capt. Sewell (now Lt.-Col.) in ‘The Indian

Museum, 1814-1914’ (Calcutta, 1914).

208 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

interest in the Indian Museum is in the main due to the energy

and zeal of successive Surgeon-Naturalists among whom were,

to mention only a few, Lt.-Col. A. W. Alcock, Lt.-Col. R. E.

Lloyd, and Lt.-Col. Seymour Sewell. A large proportion of these

collections was studied by zoologists in India and abroad. The

value of these collections may be judged from the fact that several

important monographs on various groups of animals were published

from time to time; Col. Alcock was himself responsible for several

of the monographs.

The Bengal Fisheries Steamer ‘Golden Crown’, and the Hughli

Pilot vessels stationed near the Sandheads at the mouth of the

Hughli river have also contributed largely to our collection of

Invertebrates, particularly those characteristic of the shallower

waters of the Bay of Bengal, and of the mouths of the Ganges.

The Invertebrate marine fauna of the Indian coasts has been very

little explored, but animals from a few isolated areas have been

collected on different occasions chiefly by Surgeon-Naturalists to

the ‘Investigator’. The officers of the Indian Museum, and later

those of the Zoological Survey have also contributed small collec-

tions from the Orissa coasts, the Andamans and the extreme south

of the Madras Presidency.

Presentations and exchanges from individual Zoologists or

Museums and Zoological institutions both in this country and

abroad have brought together a fairly representative collection

of Invertebrates.

It will be seen that the Invertebrate collections in the Zoological

Survey have thus been brought together from various sources for

over a century. But it was mainly due to the enterprise of Col.

Alcock and the late Dr. Annandale that the greater part of the

marine Invertebrate collections has been named by specialists,

mostly from abroad. The Echinoderms, Sponges and certain

groups of Corals have been specially studied and reported on.

We have still a large collection of other Invertebrate animals

waiting to be studied and named. In the words of the late Dr.

Annandale we have to deplore in regard to our collections that

in India ‘the harvest is rich, but the labourers are so few’. Special-

ists in various groups of zoology are still so few in India that

many of our collections have often to wait for years before any

foreign workers can be induced to name them. But it must be

said to the credit of the zoologists abroad that whenever their

own work and time permit they are always ready to study and

report on our collections. It is this willingness on their part to

co-operate with- us that has given the impetus to greater and better

efforts in the work of extended survey in various regions.

The most important of the monographs published so far on the

marine Invertebrates of the Indian Museum, particularly deep-sea

forms collected by the ‘Investigator’ are ‘The Indian Triaxonia’

by F. E. Schulze, the ‘Hexactinellida and Tetraxonida’ by A.

Dendy and M. Burton, the ‘Deep-sea Madreporarian Corals’ bv

A. Alcock, the littoral ‘Madreporarian Corals of the Indian Museum’

by G. Matthai, the ‘Asteroids, Ophiuroids and Echinoids’ by R.

Koehler (Holothurians, in collaboration with C. Vaney), the Crinoids

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

209

by A. H. Clark and ‘Alcyonaria’ by J. A. Thomson and W. D.

Henderson.

The sources from which the Zoological Survey used to obtain

marine Invertebrates have been few in recent years. With the

retirement of Major R. W. G. Hingston, the last of the Surgeon-

Naturalists attached to the R.I.M.S.S. ‘Investigator’ the survey work

since 1926 is at a standstill. It is hoped, however, that the post of a

Naturalist on the ‘Investigator’ in the regular cadre of the Zoological

Survey of India will be created at an early date by the Government of

India to continue the valuable work done by successive Surgeon-

Naturalists for the last fifty-five years. What material is obtained

at present for the marine Invertebrate collections is due to the

interest taken by the Hughli Pilots in obtaining specimens from

the Sandheads in the Bay of Bengal, and to the officers of the

Zoological Survey, who on account of other work are enabled to

visit only occasionally regions where marine animals are obtain •

able without any costly equipment or apparatus.

I have been in charge of the Invertebrate Section since 1926,

although my special group was the Mollusca. In the absence of

Dr. Baini Prashad (the permanent officer in charge of Mollusca)

on long leave in Europe from August 1925, the Mollusc Section

was also in my charge upto April 1927. From the time of the

breaking up of the Invertebrate gallery of the Indian Museum

before the war upto its rearrangement in 1925 the reserve collections

of the Invertebrate Section were never put in order except for an

attempt made by Dr. F. H. Gravely before his connection with

this department ceased. Work in this direction was commenced

early in 1926, but was frequently interrupted owing to the inade-

quacy of skilled assistance, the pressure of other work, and frequent

touring. The named collections of Polyzoa and Hirudinea were,

however, rearranged, and a card catalogue of the species present

in the collection was prepared. The reserve collections in other

groups, some of them very large, have similarly to be put in order

before catalogues can be prepared. With an increased staff of

assistants it is hoped that this work will be completed in due course.

The study of the Scyphomedusae in the Zoological Survey

collections was commenced in the early part of the year 1926, but

unavoidable interruptions due to research on other more important

problems retarded the progress of this work. It is, however, hoped

to publish a report on this subject at an early date.

Since 1926 I have toured in various parts of India and Burma

on an average for about four months in the year. Early in 1926

a visit was paid to the Pearl Fisheries at Tuticorin in South India

conducted by the Fisheries Department of the Madras Government,

and large collections of various marine organisms associated with

the pearl banks off the coast of Tuticorin within a distance of twenty

miles were obtained. When the whole collection is studied, it will be

a valuable addition to our knowledge of the fauna peculiar to the

pearl banks and to the littoral area along the Indian coasts.

The study of the fauna of brackish water areas commenced by

Stoliczka, and so ably continued by the late Dr. Annandale for

some years before his death, was resumed within the last three

27

210 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL MIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

years. With this object in view I visited the backwater at

Vizagapatam (which is now being converted into a harbour) in

May 1926, and made collections of the different organisms living in

the backwater proper, and in channels and streams connected with

it but subject to the tidal influence of the sea. The same area

was again visited early this year when profound changes had been

introduced in its contour and in the composition of its floor

as a result of the progress in the construction of the harbour.

The fauna was found to be appreciably poorer than it was three

years ago, no doubt as a direct consequence of the continuous

changes in the settled habitat of many groups of animals. The

harbour when completed will be investigated again to study the

changes in the character and composition of the fauna.

In October 1926 I was deputed to conduct a Mollusc survey of

the Northern Shan States of Burma on behalf of the Pasteur

Institute, Rangoon.1 The survey was in connection with the

enquiry relating to the probable spread of Schistosomiasis in Burma

from the adjacent Chinese provinces on the Frontier, where the

disease is reported to be common. During the earlier stages of

its life-history the fluke parasite of this disease lives in the body

of an aquatic or semi-aquatic snail, while the adult parasite is

found in man. It is believed that only certain species of snails

belonging to one family are capable of harbouring the larval stages

of these parasites in parts of Eastern Asia. In 1924 a few cases of

Schistosomiasis were reported among Chinese coolies from Yunnan,

working at Namtu in the Northern Shan States and it was feared

that if the particular species of intermediate host snail occurred

in any part of the Northern Shan States the disease would spread

rapidly in Burma. It was with a view to finding out whether any

such carrier of the disease was present in the neighbourhood of

the country where the disease was first detected that a survey

of the freshwater and amphibious snails was undertaken. The

survey was conducted for three months in various parts of the

Northern Shan States, and more particularly along the Chinese

Frontier and along the trade routes by which the Chinese coolies

immigrate. Snails from every kind of habitat were collected in

the living state and examined for the particular type of Cercaria.

The results of the survey were negative, as neither the particular

species of snail, and its nearest allies, nor the type of Cercaria

associated with the spread of the disease was found. From a

faunistic point of view, however, the collection of Molluscs proved

of great interest and has been recently reported on.2 It may be

of interest to mention that a similar enquiry throughout India

was undertaken by the officers of the Zoological Survey at the

instance of the medical authorities in India in connection with the

much-feared spread of the disease from Egypt and Mesopotamia

by infected sepoys returning to India at the close of the war. The

results of this enquiry were also negative in as much as the inter-

1 At a later stage in the Mollusc survey my colleague Dr. B. Chopra in the

Zoological Survey joined my party in the Northern Shan States.

2 Rao, H. S., Rec. Ind. Mus., XXX, pp. 399-468, pis. xii-xiv (1928),

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

211

mediate host of human Schistosoma was not found in India, and the

type of Cercaria implicated in the transmission of the disease failed

to infect species of Indian snails closely allied to those which

act as carriers in Egypt. The preventive measures, which the

medical authorities were prepared to take to combat the spread

of the disease at considerable cost to the Government, were, there-

fore, not taken as a result of the findings of the officers of the

Zoological Survey.

A preliminary survey of the backwaters on the coasts of Cochin

and Travancore States in South India was undertaken by the

Zoological Survey in December 1927. The backwaters are extensive

being over a hundred miles in length and over ten miles in breadth.

They open into the sea in some places, but for the most part they

are separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land along the

coast. Several streams from the adjacent hills which become

torrential during the S.W. monsoon empty themselves into the

backwater in that season, but are also subject to tidal influence

during the dry weather, from October to March. These back-

waters are thus subject to violent changes in the salinity of water,

and the fauna is, therefore, believed to be of considerable interest.

As so little is known of the animal inhabitants of these waters a

preliminary survey of the backwaters was conducted by me in

collaboration with Mr. M. Sharif at various places. The collection

seems to be of great interest, but unfortunately owing to the

paucity of workers in India much of it will remain unworkecl for

some time to come. Meanwhile further information on the nature,

of the fauna under different conditions will be collected and

collections made at other times of the year.

In accordance with the policy of the Zoological Survey to confine

its attention to definite biological areas in its investigations, &

survey of the fauna of the Malabar Zone on the West Coast of

India inaugurated by the late Dr. Annandale some years ago was

continued in November and December last year. Dr. Baini Prashad

and I visited the Belgaum and N. Kanara Districts of the Bombay

Presidency and later on I surveyed the freshwater fauna of the

Shimoga and Kadur Districts of Mysore State. Extensive

collections have been brought back and will in due course be worked

out by the officers of the Zoological Survey.

During the period I have been in charge of the Invertebrate

section a few collections which had accumulated for a number of

years have been sent out to specialists abroad who' were kind

enough to ag'ree to examine and report on them. The large

collection of Polychaetes from littoral seas on the coasts of India

is at present being examined by Mons. P. Fauvel, an authority

on Polychaetes, and it is hoped that his report will be ready for

publication sometime next year. The whole of our Cestode

collection has been sent to Dr. T. Southwell, who has under prepara-

tion a volume (on the Indian Cestodes parasitic in Vertebrates)

lor the ‘Fauna of British India’ series.

Our collections are still incomplete in many respects, and as a

result there are wide gaps in our knowledge of the Invertebrate

fauna of this country. The free-living worms belonging to the

212 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

groups Platyhelmia, Nematoda and Nematomorpha, the parasitic

Trematodes,1 the Hydroza, Actiniaria, Gephyrea and Polyzoa of

the shallow seas on the coasts of India, are as yet very little known,

though short papers on these groups have been published in the

‘Records' and ‘Memoirs of the Indian Museum I cannot, in con-

cluding this brief review of our activities in the Zoological Survey,

do better than appeal to1 those interested in the Natural History

Society, in the words of that distinguished and keen zoologist, the

late Dr. Annandale, ‘to give us their support and to take a practical

interest in our work; for scientific work, like other branches of

human activity, if it fails to attract the sympathy of educated men,

is in danger of becoming either a valley of dry bones or a slough

of despond. Even those who are completely ignorant of the

technicalities of any science can help us greatly by sending us

specimens of the animals that occur in ponds, rivers or lakes in

different parts of the Indian Empire, and nobody need hesitate

to send us such specimens because they are common. Most animals

that are rare in museums are actually common somewhere, in a

state of nature : they only appear to be rare because no one has

taken the trouble to collect them in the particular locality in which

they abound.’ What has been said above regarding the fresh-

water fauna of the Indian Empire is equally true of the terrestrial

fauna in our vast jungles, in our extensive ranges of hills, and in

our plains and desert areas, of the fauna of the sandy or rocky

shores of the Indian coast, and of the brackish water areas. It

will greatly add to the value of collections of animals sent to us

if they are accompanied by notes, however brief, on the locality,

the time and date of collection, on the nature of the habitat in

which they were found, on the natural colouration of animals

collected, and on any other interesting feature which strikes the

collectors as of biological importance.

MOLLUSCA SECTION

By B. Prashad, d.sc., f.r.s.e., f.a.s.b., f.l.s., f.z.s.

When in 1918 the offer of the services of the Zoological Survey

of India for war work was definitely accepted in connection with

the investigations of the Mollusc hosts of Schistosoma, it was

decided that the time had come for an officer to' be appointed to

take charge of the Mollusc collections of the Zoological Survey

and to carry out systematic work on the freshwater Molluscs of

this vast territory. I was unofficially connected with this work

from its inception, but it was not till April, 1920 when I was

relieved from the charge of the Director of Fisheries of Bengal,

Bihar and Orissa that I was appointed as the officer in charge of

the Molluscs. In addition for a time I held charge of the Insect

collections and other groups for which no officers existed in the

cadre of the department.

1 In recent years the study of Helminthology in India seems to be receiving

increasing attention, particularly in some of the universities of northern India.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

213

The Mollusc collections which were transferred, together with all

their other zoological collections, to the Zoological Survey by the

Trustees of the Indian Museum in 1916, formed a very important

part of the collections that had been acquired by the Trustees, but

since 1883 when the Curator of Molluscs, Mr. G. Nevill, retit ed

owing to ill health, no special officer was appointed to look after

these collections. As a natural result not only had the collections

in this section not been augmented as in other sections, but even

in the library of the Indian Museum there were big- lacuna? in the

conchological and malacological literature.

As the history of Indian Conchology is intimately bound up

with the development of the collection of Molluscs in the Indian

Museum it will not be without interest to trace shortly its develop-

ment. In the very early days of the Museum of the Asiatic

Society of Bengal the Mollusc collections were not of very great

importance, but it is of interest to note that in 1836 W. H. Benson, a

member of the Bengal Civil Service and an enthusiastic and gifted

Conchologist, prepared and published in the Journal of the Society

a catalogue of the land and freshwater shells in the Society’s

Museum. Later in 1860, one of the first separate catalogues to

be prepared and published of the collections in the same Museum

was that of the Molluscs by Theobald. The collections at this

time, as a reference to this catalogue shows, were neither very

rich in numbers nor in species, but a very good beginning had been

made. Benson and Hutton were two of the early pioneers, who began

to study the land and freshwater Molluscs of India and the adjacent

countries, such as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and, in addition

to presenting valuable material to the Society’s Museum, started

publishing a series of papers on these animals in the Society’s

Journal and in the Gleanings in Science. In 1841 Dr. T. Cantor,

who had accompanied a diplomatic mission to Chusan, China,

brought back a rich collection of animals from that area. His

collection of Molluscs, which was one of the most important

collections from this region, was worked out by Benson, and was

added to the collections in the Museum of the Society ; a report

on it was published in the Annals and Magazines of Natural History,

London, vol. ix, 1842, and later in the Journal of the Society in

1855.

In 1857 W. Theobald commenced a very valuable series of papers

on the land and fresh water shells of India and Burma, and presented

several series of new and rare forms to the Society and later to the

Indian Museum. In 1870 in collaboration with the celebrated

English Conchologist, Sylvanus Hanley, he started a comprehensive

illustrated treatise on the land and freshwater shells of India under

the title of Conchologia Indica. This work was issued in eight

parts during the years 1870-1876, while the text of this joint work

was supplemented in 1876 by the issue of Theobald’s Catalogue of

Land and Freshwater Shells of British India.

In 1860 the Blanford brothers began publishing a very important

series of papers entitled ‘Contributions to Indian Malacology’ in the

Society’s Journal, and this series was continued by W. T. Blanford

in the Annals and Magazines of Natural History and Proceedings

214 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXI V

of the Malacological Society of London. This series culminated

with the publication of the first volume on Indian land Molluscs in

the Fauna of British India ; owing to the unfortunate death of Dr.

W. T. Blanford the work was left incomplete, but Godwin-Austen

from the manuscript notes was able to complete it as a joint work

in 1908.

In 1868 H. H. Godwin-Austen started a valuable series of contri-

butions on the land shells of Assam and Eastern Bengal. For several

years he published various conchological and malacological papers on

Indian and foreign Gastropods in different journals both in India and

abroad, but from 1882 onwards his energies were chiefly devoted to

publishing a supplementary work to Conchologia Indica entitled

‘Land and Freshwater Molluscs of India’, in which the animals

of the different species were studied equally with their shells. Up to

1920, three years before his death, he had published two complete

volumes and the first part of the third volume, both text and plates,

of this valuable work.

In 1869 F. Stoliczka laid the foundations of a systematic study of

Indian animals in reference to their anatomy and physiology, and

more particularly in connection with the Molluscs. He caused

extensive collections to be made not only in various parts of India

but as far east as Penang and Singapore, and started getting

together excellent figures of the animals of different genera and

species ; the originals of these manuscript drawings are preserved

in the library of the Zoological Survey, while some of these were

reproduced in Godwin-Austen ’s works. His sad death at a very

early age was a great blow to the cause of Indian Conchology and

Malacology, but his monumental works on the classification of

Molluscs in the Palceontologia Indica will always bear testimony

to the great service he rendered to the study of these branches. His

large collections were all bequeathed to the Indian Museum and are

preserved in this institution.

The Museum of the Asiatic Society was transferred to the newly-

erected building of the Indian Museum in 1875, though the

collections had been transferred by an Act of the Legislature to the

Government of India in 1866. Shortly after the transfer of the

collections Geoffrey Nevill, one of the leading eonchologists of the

last century, was appointed Assistant Secretary and Librarian of

the Indian Museum. In 1879 his designation was changed to that

of the First Assistant to the Superintendent, and he was definitely

placed in charge of the Mollusc collections. Before he became

connected with the Museum, Nevill, in collaboration with his brother

H. Nevill of the Ceylon Civil Service, had published a number of

valuable papers on the marine shells of Ceylon and India, and had

amassed a large and varied collection. On his joining the Indian

Museum as the Officer in charge of the Molluscs the Trustees

purchased his private collection, while he presented to the library

of the Museum several rare and valuable treatises on Molluscs which

formed part of his personal library. On taking charge of the Mollusc

collections Nevill energetically started to classify the collections and

prepare hand-lists. He further augmented the collections by

purchase, by exchanges with collectors all over the world and by

THE ZOOLOGICAL SUE FEY OF INDIA

215

encouraging amateurs interested in shells to' present specimens to

the collections of the Indian Museum. The names of the various

contributors to the collections of the Indian Museum are published

after the prefaces in each of the two volumes of the Hand-List of

Mollusca which were published in 1878 and 1885. The two1 volumes

were devoted to the Gastropoda and dealt only with the Pulmonates

and Prosobranchiates. In 1883 Nevill, owing to ill health, resigned

bis appointment and the completion of the Hand-List has ever since

been in abeyance. The indices to these volumes were prepared by

W. Theobald and published in 1889. During his tenure of office

Nevill further published a small fascicle containing detailed descrip-

tions of various species of Ampullaridae and Viviparidae in 1877,

as well as several papers on collections from different parts cf

India and adjacent countries in the Journal of the Asiatic Society

and in other publications, and it would not be wrong to ascribe

to him the leading position amongst the workers on Indian Conch-

ology in the last century. The excellent condition in which the

collections in the Indian Museum were found, even roughly forty

years after his retirement, bears testimony to the care with which

he had arranged the material under his charge.

Before passing on to the work on the Mollusc collections within

recent years, a reference is necessary to the great service done

to Indian Conchology by the work of the several enthusiastic

Surgeon-Naturalists on board the R.I.M.S. ‘Investigator,’ as a

result of which the Indian Museum collections are very rich in

deep-sea forms.

The history of the biological work of the ‘Investigator’ dates

back to the year 1871 when the Council of the Asiatic Society of

Bengal urged the Government of India to start investigations in

the Indian seas similar to those of the ‘Challenger’ in the other

great oceans. One of the chief arguments put forward by the

Society was the hope that deep-sea investigations would probably

discover many forms which were previously known to science only

in the fossil state. The Government of India approved of the

scheme put forward by the Asiatic Society, but the first Surgeon-

Naturalist to the Marine Survey was not appointed till 1875, and

though from this date researches on the shallow water and littoral

fauna were carried out, it was not till 1884 that deep-sea work

in its strict sense was first started. As this section deals with the

Molluscs only, it is unnecessary to go into details of the work of

the ‘Investigator’ here, but it may be mentioned that during 1880-

1906 several valuable reports on the deep-sea Molluscs of the Indian

waters, dredged by the ‘Investigator’, were prepared by such

authorities as Nevill, Wood-Mason and Alcock, Smith, Sowerby

and Goodrich. These reports were published in the Journal of

the Asiatic Society, Annals and Magazines of Natural History,

London, Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London and

the Transactions of the Linnean Society, London, while the figures

of the new and rare species were issued separately through the

Indian Museum by the Directors of the Royal Indian Marine as

Illustrations of the Zoology of the R.I.M.S. f Investigator* . The

entire collections, including the types of the different species, are

216 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Col. XXXIV

all preserved in the Indian Museum. It is also of interest to note

that since the initiation by the Trustees of the* Indian Museum

of their own zoological publications, viz. the Records and the

Memoirs of the Indian Museum , the results of all zoological work

connected with the Indian Museum collections are published in

these serials, and the Illustrations of the Zoology of the R.I.M.S.

‘Investigator’ are also now incorporated in the Memoirs. In

passing one may also' mention the collections of Molluscs, among

those of other marine animals, made by the Bengal Fishery trawlers,

S.T. ‘Golden Crown’ and some of the collections made by the

collector of the Zoological Survey of India on board the S.T.

‘William Carrick’ in the Arabian Sea, which are also deposited

in the Indian Museum.

Since Nevill’s retirement in 1883 to 1918 the only work on the

Mollusc collection of the Indian Museum, apart from the reports

on the ‘Investigator’ collections mentioned above, consisted of

reports, which were prepared by Fleure, Goclwin-Austen, Germain

and Preston, on some of the collections made by the officers of the

Natural History Section of the Museum and later by the officers

of the Zoological Survey. The three volumes in the ‘Fauna of

British India’ series, one on freshwater forms by Preston and two

on land shells by Gude, issued during 1914-1921, which were partly

based on the collections of the Indian Museum, may also be

mentioned here.

Another very important source from which rich collections were

received in the Indian Museum, was the private enterprise of

two of the officers of the Museum, viz. Dr. John Anderson and

Dr. N. Annandale. The former of the two undertook at his own

expense an expedition to the Mergui Archipelago and brought

back a very rich collection of littoral and insular forms from that

area. The Molluscs of this expedition were named by the famous

authority on Molluscs, Dr. E. von Martens of the Berlin Museum;

a report on the collection was published in the Journal of the

Linnean Society of London for 1888, and all the named collections

were presented to the Indian Museum. The late Dr. Annandale

similarly during several periods of leave investigated the fauna

of freshwater lakes in different parts of Asia. His work extended

from the Lake of Tiberias in Palestine on the one hand, to Lake

Biwa in Japan on the other. He brought back large collections

of freshwater Molluscs and presented them to the Indian Museum.

A number of these collections were made since the inauguration

of the Zoological Survey and the greater part of this material

was worked out by the officers of the department in Calcutta.

Valuable collections have also been received from officers of

sister Surveys like the Topographical Survey, the Geological Survey

and some members of the Indian Forest Service and Indian Civil

Service, who collected specimens during their tours in outlying

places and presented these to the Indian Museum.

Before closing this survey of the sources of the collections in

the Indian Museum it is necessary to mention the various military

and political expeditions on which zoological collections were

pbtained for the Indian Museum, and as a result of which this

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

217

institution possesses collections from such widely separated areas

as Persia in the north-west to the province of Yunnan in China

in the extreme east. The various expeditions, to mention only

the names, were : Persian Boundary Commission (1870-72), Afghan

Delimitation Commission (1885), Seistan Arbitration Commission

(1903-05), Pamir Boundary Commission (1896), Second Yarkand

Mission (1873-74), several private donations from the members of

the Dafla Expedition (1874-75) and the. Military Expedition to

Lhassa (1903-04), the Abor Expedition (1911-12) and the two

expeditions which passed from Burma to Western China in 1866

and 1875, and in both of which Dr. j. Anderson of the Indian

Museum took a prominent part as a medical man and a naturalist.

On my appointment in 1920 the first consideration was' to re-

arrange the collections and to have these properly stored in boxes

in place of the old pill and match boxes in which the specimens

had been stored. At the same time it was necessary to fill up

the gaps in the collections, and in the conchological and malaco-

logical literature in the library. Since my appointment the work

of this section of the department has, as far as possible, been

brought up to date, while besides large additions in the library,

I have personally got together a very extensive collection of rare

old monographs, reprints and separates for supplementing the rich

collections now available in the departmental library.

The work on Indian Molluscs since my appointment has consisted

in preparing and publishing fully illustrated monographs on different

families — mainly of freshwater Molluscs, but land, marine and

estuarine Molluscs have not been entirely neglected. Of the various

monographs published, attention may be drawn to the anatomical

and systematic account of some Indian Viviparidae by Col. R. B.

S. Sewell and the late Dr. N. Annandale, Dr. H. Srinivasa Rao

and myself, anatomical account of the Indian Planorbids by Dr. H,

Srinivasa Rao, a detailed descriptive catalogue of the Planorbidae

in the Indian Museum by Dr. L. Germain of the Paris Museum,

and anatomical, systematic and zoogeographical monographs on

Union idae, Cyrenidae, Ampullaridae and Viviparidae by myself.

In addition to these special reports on collections made in different

parts of the country have also been published. The collections

of the Indian Museum to-day are not only very extensive but are

fairly representative of nearly all parts of the Indian Empire.

Without going- into details it will probably be enough to indicate

the lines along which the work is now being carried on. As long

ago as the early fifties of the last century it was recognised that

for a proper understanding of the relationships of the different

Molluscs it was necessary to study not only the shells but the

soft parts of the animals as well. Unfortunately, however, the

study of the anatomy of these animals, except in some cases of

the radulae, does not appeal to most Conchologists, and it has

invariably been left for specialists who deal only with the soft

parts. The results attained, by correlating researches on the soft

parts with those on the shells of Indian forms, have fully justified

the view that work on shells alone is in most cases very misleading.

Further, in connection with the systematic studies on the Molluscs

28

218 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

of India, it has been found necessary to study their plasticity,

variation in reference to different habitats and geographical

distribution, all of which are of very great importance in connection

with the systematic and faunistic work, which is one of the primary

duties of the Zoological Survey of India. For a proper under-

standing of the relationships of the various recent forms it has

also been found necessary to study the fossil remains from different

parts of India and other countries and to correlate the results

with those obtained from a study of the living forms. A research

on which I have recently been engaged is the systematic revision

of the Asiatic species of the freshwater bivalve Molluscs of the

genus Corbicula. Our knowledge of the different species of this

genus was in a very confused state, and it was found necessary

not only to study very large collections from all areas but also

to examine the old collections containing the ‘types’ in various

Natural History Museums in different countries of Europe.

Fortunately through the co-operation of the authorities of these

Museums it was found possible to get almost all the collections

for study in Calcutta, and the results of the work have fully

justified the necessity of a careful revision of this genus. Similar

studies are being carried out on other genera of freshwater and

marine bivalves, and in many cases the fossil species have to be

studied equally with the recent forms. In connection with the work

on the Indian freshwater mussels or the Unionids, this is of

particular interest, as the distribution of recent and fossil forms of

this family is often of great help in determining the changes in the

courses of the different river-systems during the past geological

ages.

In connection with the revision of the different families of marine

Lamellibranchs, through the generosity of Professor Max Weber

of Holland, the entire unnamed collection of the Lamellibranchs

obtained by the ‘Siboga’ from the seas round the Dutch East-

Indies has been sent to me for identification and study. This work,

it is hoped, will enable one not only to settle several difficult

questions of taxonomy and distribution, but also, to some extent,

determine the interchange which has taken place between the forms

found in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans respectively.

The land and marine Gastropods of India are not being ignored,

but naturally these forms have not so far been studied with the

same thoroughness as the freshwater and estuarine types mentioned

above.

In connection with the studies on Molluscs it has also been

necessary to get a thorough acquaintance with the various sources

for determining the exact dates of issue and publication of the

various old monographs and periodicals and settling the verv

puzzling questions of priority in reference to the names of different

genera and species.

As a further extension of my work on the distribution of Molluscs

1 have also made a special study of Zoogeography and Animal

Distribution in particular reference to the Indian Fauna.

Molluscs in the form of dry shells from all parts of India will

be gratefully received for the collection of the Zoological Survey

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA 219

of India in the Indian Museum, while to those who are prepared

to help a little further, we shall be glad to send instructions, as

well as materials for collecting- and preserving the animals in

addition to the shells ; such anatomical material, it need hardly

be reiterated, is of far greater value than the dry shells alone.

The areas from which collections will be particularly welcome arc,

the Northern districts of the Bombay Presidency, including Gujarat

and Kathiawar, Western Ghats below Goa, Mysore, inland districts

of the Madras Presidency near the West Coast, Central India,

Assam, Burma and Kashmir, including Gilgit and Western Hima-

layas. Named duplicates will, if desired, be returned to the

collectors from the collections presented by them.

THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S

INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPOSITION

OF SALT-LICKS

EARTH-EATING AND SALT-LICKING IN INDIA

BY

J. F. CAIUS, S.J., F.L.S.,

AND

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

(. Pharmacological Laboratory , Par el, Bombay ).

PART II

( Continued from page 676 of Volume XXXIII).

ANALYSES IV- VII.

IV. Common Earth.

Serial No. 4.

Locality— Nalonwalag, Chandi Range, Lansdowne Forest Division, U.P. ;

900 ft.

Procured by — R. C. Singh, Forest Ranger.

Sent by— Mr. F. W. Champion, i.f.s.

Grey lumps of clay with organic debris, mostly rootlets. Powder soft.

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Humus ...

Moisture

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve)

Insoluble in nitric acid

Soda (Na20)

Potash (KzO)

Magnesia (MgO) ...

Lime (CaO)

Alumina (A1203)

Silica (Si02) soluble

Sulphur (SOs) ...

Phosphorus (P2Os)

Manganese (Mn)

Ferric oxide (Fe2Oa)

Moisture and organic matte

56-05

34 83

0-22

3-87

2-01

93-03

84-330

0-201

3*664

0-452

0-245

2-793

0-056

0-032

0-508

0-036

2-145

4*280

per cent.

Remarks : — 1. The soil contains a little over 2 per cent, water-soluble

organic matter.

2. The earth was taken from an area which adjoins salt-lick

No, 5, but is not visited by animals.

Investigation into the composition of salt-licks 22 1

V. Soil from Salt-Lick (Nalki Salt Lick).

Serial No. 5.

Locality— Nalonwalag, Chandl Range, Lansdowne Forest Division, U. P

900 ft.

Procured by— R. C. Singh, Forest Ranger.

Sent by — Mr. F. W. Champion,

Yellowish grey lumps of clay with

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Moisture

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve)

Insoluble in nitric acid

Potash (KaO)

Magnesia (MgO)

Lime (CaO)

Alumina (Al2Os)

Silica soluble (Si02)

Sulphur (S03)

Phosphorus (P2Os)

Chlorine (Cl)

Manganese (Mn)

Ferric oxide (Fe203)

Moisture and organic matter

•ganic debris. Powder soft.

87*47 per cent.

P50

0-04

3-71

96*89

74 640

5*812

0*999

2526 ,,

4*284 „

1*600

0*135

0*164

0*120

0*072

4*000

2*500

Remarks : — 1. The soil contains traces of sodium and carbon dioxide ; also

4 per cent, water-soluble organic and inorganic matter.

2. The lick is frequented by wild elephants, tigers, deer, cows

and oxen.

VI. Earth for Human Consumption.

Serial No. 6.

Locality— Shampur 8, Chandi Range ; Lansdowne Forest Division,

Garhwal ; 325 feet.

Procured by— R. C. Singh, Forest Ranger.

Sent by — Mr. F. W. Champion.

per cent.

i i

per cent.

» >

Remarks .*— -1.

2.

The soil contains traces of

odium.

This earth is eaten by women at the time of pregnancy.

VII. Soil from Salt-Lick.

Serial No, 7a.

Locality— Bellatur, Kollegal Taluka, Mysore.

Obtained and sent by— Mr. R. C, Morris, Honnametti Estate, Attikan P.O.,

via Mysore.

Remarks : — 1. The soil contain traces of phosphorus and manganese.

2. The lick is frequented by cattle.

REVIEWS.

‘THE FIELD-BOOK OF A JUNGLE-WALLAH \ BEING A

DESCRIPTION OF SHORE, RIVER, AND FOREST LIFE IN

SARAWAK. — By Charles Hose, hon. d. sc. (Cantab), Author of

The Pagan Tribes of Borneo , etc., with Frontispiece in colour, and

25 plates in Black and White, 216 pages. Published by H. F. & G,

Witherby & Co., London. 1929.

The majority of the members of the Bombay Natural Society have

no personal knowledge of Sarawak, but here is a book which will

introduce them to the tropical forests of that country and provide

them with a wealth of information concerning its animals and its

birds ; its trees and its insects ; its flowers and its fishes ; its

minerals and its poisons ; and all this in a most interesting manner.

The readerlwill journey in vivid imagination with the author who,

with the experience and trained observation of many years (he

entered the Sarawak Service in 1884), tells him of all he sees, or can

see. For it is not all of us who have the eyes to see unaided, as

that faculty comes only to those who have real interest in Nature,

and the life so well expressed by the appellation Mr. Hose applies

to himself of ‘ Jungle-Wallah.’

The forests of Borneo are more tropical than those of most parts

of India, but we read and learn of much that is familiar to us, and

that always lends added interest to a subjecL

The walk along the Bornean shore with the casuarinas and the

screw pines ; the bare cliffs and the amber-coloured waterfalls ; for

scenery, introduces us to turtles and sea-eagles, prawns and pirates,

and to something more familiar to us, viz., the green Bee-eater. We

learn that this small bird, with the seemingly wholly unsuitable beak

and feet has the surprising habit of nesting like a Kingfisher by

making holes in the ground. Then we come across the Pangolin, a

species also known to us in India, and a Honey-bear which is a

stranger. Later on, we learn all about that curious fish, known from

Africa to New Guinea as ‘ Mud-skippers ’ or ‘ Jumping-Johnnies ’,

which are fast becoming land animals. Further on, we see the

strange and beautiful fish captured by the native fishermen in a drag

net. Some of these are similar to those of the seas which lap the

shores of India ; for instance, the Buntalor Balloon fish which, when

inflated, resembles a gigantic horse-chestnut. Finally we see the

nest of the Megapode, or Mound-building bird, and learn all about

it and the many enemies it has ; so it is fortunate that it is usually

only found in the forests near the shores of uninhabited islands.

The spiral maze-trap — the Kilong — used at. the mouth of the Baram

river, is an ingenious and labour-saving contrivance, — in fact it is

fishing made as easy as it is possible to imagine. Here we are

1,000 miles from China, the nearest land to the north, and during the

224 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

north-east monsoon can see immigrant birds in large numbers. Here

also are fine wild water buffaloes with large horns, similar to the

wild buffalo of India and Burma, which have been domesticated and

trained to various uses among others as mounts for the District

Police !

We learn that there are three species of wild pig and that here, as

in India and other countries, the gallant boar fears neither beast nor

man. Travelling up the river to Baram Fort, we meet all those

biting and stinging insects with which we are familiar, and many

others besides. Higher up the river we are introduced to the

untouched primeval forest the abode of the real ‘ Dayak ’ and the

pagan tribes who have communal houses three hundred yards long

and containing perhaps a thousand souls.

Journeying on for a hundred miles and more, we take to canoes

and ascend rapid streams where the natives ‘ fish ’ with the root of

a plant which stupefies everything in the water, a practice not

strange to the native of India. Crocodiles are large and numerous,

and captured by means of the chicken and cross bar arrangement as

in other parts of the East.

Among birds we meet the Indian Darter, Herons and Ibises ;

while, further on, are the wild cattle of Borneo, the Banting, the same

animal as the tsaing of Burma. Of butterflies little mention is made,

but two of the most beautiful are noticed, one of them five inches

across the wings. Of the deer tribe are the Sambur, the Barking

deer, and the Mouse deer ; and we meet hosts of birds and insects

peculiar to the Bornean forests and their phosphorescent nights.

If you will go with the author on ‘ Short-Leave Holiday ’ and to

‘a Mountain Treasure-House’, you will have a most absorbing time ;

for these chapters are packed wTith interesting things about birds,

animals, and plants; and you will hear about several mammals

named after Mr. Hose, their original discoverer.

The ‘ Wealth of the Jungle ’ will tell you all about Cutch,

Antimony, Sago, Gutta-percha, and Camphor ; also of Rubber and

Pepper and Rice : and of this last the means by which the toper of

strong drink can literally take it lying down and in as large or small

quantities as pleases him. Here you will also read of the iodized

salt which probably anticipated by an uncounted period of time the

lately ‘ discovered ’ treatment of goitre; an illustration of the

saying that, ‘ there is nothing new under the sun’.

The closing chapter of this very interesting book treats of the

minerals and poisons of that country which is so rich in many

things. There is the Datura which we know of and the Upas tree

and other poisons which are strange to us. There is a shrub the

product of which is, to man, only a partial and cumulative poison.

It induces a feeling of numbness about the tongue and soft

palate, and ultimately speech is. affected. As Mr. Hose remarks in

regard to it : ‘ In view of the increasing spread of democracy, it is

possible that up to now its value has been under-estimated.’

The illustrations in the body of the work are good, and clear, and

the index a full one, in which, however, the word ‘ goitre’ is not to

be found; and that is the sum of the adverse criticism there is to

offer !

REVIEWS

225

With a final look at the excellent photograph at page 66 which

illustrates a ‘Typical Sarawak Jungle Scene’, the volume under

review is, for the present, regretfully closed.

R.B.

TROUT FISHING FROM ALL ANGLES.— By Eric Taverner,

with a chapter on Trout Scales by G. Herbert Nall, m. a.,

f. r. m. s., and the Legal Aspect of Fishing by Alban Bacon,

Barrister-at-Law, 448 pages, with 250 Illustrations. Seely Service

and Co., Ltd., London, S. 21.

This book is one of the Lonsdale Library series, and it is hardly

necessary to say that, sponsored as it is by one of England’s leading

sportsmen, it is the last word in modern angling methods. Many

years have elapsed since the fishing volumes of the Badminton

Library were published, and in that time great changes have taken

place as a glance at the text and illustrations of the earlier volumes

will show. The present book, with its exhaustive survey of

modern methods of trout fishing, is a worthy successor to the

Badminton volumes and though it is intended primarily for the

beginner, there can be but few anglers who will not read it with

both interest and advantage. The first two chapters are devoted to

a review of early angling literature and it will be news to most that

as many as twelve artificial flies were, in use upwards of 500 years

ago, most of which were definitely copied from the natural insect

and can be identified to-day. It is also of interest to note that one

of the most valuable early publications was a treatise in 1600 by a

namesake of the present author. The succeeding chapters on the

life history of the trout are well written, but it is to be regretted

that more information is not available as to the migratory tendency

of the rainbow, a subject of the greatest interest especially to

those responsible for the fisheries in India and Ceylon. The size

to which trout attain is given as 3J" to 5" the first year and 5" to

8" the second ; this of course refers to fish under natural condi-

tions ; in a hatchery with abundant food throughout the year, they

will greatly exceed these limits. Mention is made of crayfish

forming part of the trout’s food supply under certain conditions ;

in the Nilgiris experience shows that the fish feed chiefly on small

fresh-water crabs with which the streams abound, and as a result,

seldom rise to a fly after attaining a weight of ljlbs. We agree

with the author that the theory of colour-blindness in trout has

little to support it and much practical observation to discredit it,

but experience with the white moth makes us somewhat doubtful as

to extent of the powers of nocto-vision claimed for them. There is

an interesting paper on the nocturnal behaviour of fish as observed

in the London Aquarium, published in Zoological Society’s Proceed-

ings for August, 1929. The plate on p. 62 illustrating a fish’s cone

of vision deserves careful study by the novice, as success in fishing

depends so largely on the angler remaining unseen. Chapters V and

VI are devoted to tackle ; the author favours the split cane rod which

is no doubt correct for Home conditions, but in India the green heart

will be found more lasting as well as considerably cheaper. The

29

226 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

author’s careful consideration of varnish, rings, reel and tackle

deserve the closest attention by the beginner. In the chapter on

casting the importance of two-handed control of the line and of

‘ shooting ’ is emphasized ; t.he;method is so easy to learn that it is

surprising that it has not been more generally adopted. The

various casts are well illustrated by diagrams and will repay

careful study. The chapters on entomology, trout flies, etc., make

interesting reading, but most anglers will prefer to skip these for

the moment and pass on to the ‘ Practice ’ of angling which, with

its admirable photographs, recalls the Home waters so w^ell known

to many anglers in India. The author holds an even balance

between the wet and the dry fly and the sections of Chapter XVI

dealing with the former afford most instructive reading to the

Indian angler who seldom has an opportunity of using the dry fly.

In the Nilgiris, practically all fishing is done with a well sunk fly

and from the direction of the wind casting can seldom be up-stream.

Anglers who live in out-of-the-way parts of India and have to

re-condition or repair their rods themselves, will find much helpful

instruction in the chapters on knots and splices. As regards

hooks, there can be no question of the superiority of the eyed type

for India; hooks to gut are most liable to draw if exposed to heat.

The chapter on rise-forms deals with the subject at greater length

than we have come across elsewhere ; the author’s conclusions are

sound and instructive, but, like the subsequent chapter on trout

scales, more for the advanced fisherman than for the beginner.

Chapters XX and XX[ deal with fly dressing materials and methods ;

they are illustrated by a coloured plate and numerous diagrams.

It is unfortunate that so few anglers nowadays learn to tie their

flies ; with a little practice, it is by no means difficult and the

satisfaction of taking a good fish on a home-made fly has to be

experienced to be realized. The remaining chapters on loch

fishing, spinning and worming are all instructive, while those on

the legal aspect of fishing and on fishery management are of

importance to anglers in India who intend to take a fishing at Home

or who have control of fisheries in this country. A list of the

various close seasons in different part of Great Britain would have

been of special interest to any one returning Home on leave.

Mr. Eric Taverner is to be congratulated on having compiled such

a practical and instructive work which must long remain a standard

on modern methods of angling. The book should be in every

fisherman’s library.

E. P. A.

3. A GUIDE TO THE ORCHIDS OF SIKKIM.— By P. Bruhl.

Pp. xvi and 207. Calcutta and Simla. Thacker, Spink & Co. 1926.

Rs. 5.

This is a guide to a group of plants which, while exhibiting in great

variety jsome of the most beautiful flowers in the plant kingdom,

are not only of absorbing interest to the amateur plant collector

and the horticulturist, but are also objects of fascinating study

'hi

REV IE WS

to serious students of botany. The little book intended to

enable its possessor to identify orchids with the minimum equip-

ment in training and apparatus. The diagnostic characters of

genera and species have been so chosen that they can be easily

made out by the naked eye, except in a very few cases, where the

use of a simple pocket lens and a razor or a sharp knife are the only

other tools required.

The book, we are told, is primarily meant for the non-botanists,

wherefore the minimum number of . easily-learnt technical terms

have been introduced. The 95 genera and 45o species (only 453

are mentioned in the preface) are arranged in the form of what

is known as the dichotomous plan, exemplified in the preface by

wmrking through a concrete case.

Although dealing primarily with species from between the Terai

and the northern frontier of independent Sikkim, including the

Chumbi valley— a region particularly rich in Orchid flora — it will

also be found useful in other parts of India, chiefly the Himalayas,

where most of the species dealt with here are also of general

occurrence.

The reader is assured that the key has been tested over and over

again ‘ in the field and the forest, in the green house and the

verandah,’ and the book is of such size that it can easily be carried

in one’s pocket, a feature which will greatly add to its usefulness.

Orchid lovers will particularly feel grateful to the author and

the publishers for the publication of this guide.

N. K. T.

4. WHAT BOTANY REALLY MEANS— Twelve plain Chap*

ters on the Modern Study of Plants. By James Small, d.sc., f.l.s.;

1928 : London George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., Pp. 200. 5 Shillings

net.

The true appreciation of the fundamental importance of plants as

being responsible not only for the maintenance and progress of

civilization but of its very existence is not usually recognized

by the generality of mankind. This is not due always to their

indifference but also to the fact that most books on botany — and

sometimes even the so-called popular ones — are written in a

language which fails to appeal to them and is positively frighten-

ing by reason of the manner in which the subject matter

is presented and the injudicious use of ‘ big words ’ (as the

author of the present book calls the technical terms). The result

is that an impression has gradually grown up and gone abroad

that the study of plants is the monopoly of the selected few and

is therefore of very restricted use and application. The resulting

ignorance has not only prejudicially affected the course of civili-

zation but its consequences have often been appalling.

Fortunately of late, there has been a tendency among botanists

to realize the necessity of presenting in a popular way the funda-

mental facts of plant life in simple and intelligible language. To

such books the present work is a welcome addition. It ‘ is an

228 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

attempt as the author puts it, ‘ to make plain something of what

we know about plants and plant life.’

The subject-matter of the book contained in twelve chapters is

based largely on half-hour talks broadcast to schools by the author.

The conversational form of the text has been retained on purpose

and is sure to appeal to the class of readers for whom it was intend-

ed and whom the author now seeks to approach. In the 200 pages

the author has endeavoured to present the various phases of plant

life, with particular emphasis on the economic aspects, in langu-

age which is simple and in a manner which makes the book read

like a romance. Throughout the book the author, discriminatingly

and with full effect, makes use of many facts of everyday experi-

ence in order to drive home some obscure or important idea or

conception otherwise difficult to express in a popular language.

The central idea with which the author starts and which runs

throughout the book and is again and again referred to and

elaborated is that of an ‘ Effervescent World According to this

idea, life is likened to a lemonade bottle consisting fundamentally

in the bringing together of carbon dioxide and water, followed by

a separation of the two. Between these two events lies spread the

whole pageant of life whether manifested by the simplest types of

living organisms or by the most advanced. The lemonade factory

where the first change is effected is the Green Leaf. The author

clearly describes how this factory works, and how later it trans-

forms the simple substances absorbed from the soil into products

which are indispensable alike for the continued existence of life as

for the progress of the world.

While the whole book reads like a fairy tale, the chapter dealing

with the the adventures of the running sap has a special charm of

its own, and grips the attention of the reader, while he follows,

with pathos, the changing fortunes of a drop of water (personified

into a human being) from the time it descends to earth as rain till

it escapes out again as water vapour from the leaf.

The book should be of great help to teachers of Nature Study and

to such others as wish to acquaint themselves with the fundamental

facts of plant life without taking a course in Botany. The author

lays claim to using not more than three technical terms. The class

of readers whom he seems to have had in mind is manifestly

different from those in India, for it will be difficult for many lay

people here to comprehend the meaning of many more words

which are to be found in the text. At the same time it must be

admitted that the number of such technical words has been reduced

to a minimum.

N. K. T.

MIGRATION OF WILDFOWL

The Society’s Ringing Scheme

Since the publication of the last lists in Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 and

No. 4 of the Journal, 719, the following recoveries oi ringed

birds have been reported to us, the first two by the Central Bureau

of Regional Survey, and the last named by the Commissariat of

Agriculture, Moscow.

The Central Bureau of Regional Survey, Moscow, which is

collecting data in connection with the ringing of birds in Soviet

Russia, would be glad to receive reports of recoveries of birds

ringed by them in Russia and Siberia. During the summer of

1929 this scientific organization ringed a great quantity of ducks

in the Barabinsk Steppe, Siberia ( circa 53°-50' N. lat.; 75° -85'

E. long.).

The birds ringed belonged chiefly to the following species : —

Pintail ( Daiila acuta).

Common Teal (Nettion creed).

Shoveller ( Spatula clypeata ).

The Russian rings bear the marks : —

“ 5 K)H. Moskwa ”

Recoveries should be reported to the Director, Central Bureau of

Regional Survey, Moscow, or to the Honorary Secretary of this

Society.

Editors.

Bombay Natural History Society,

6, Apollo Street,

October 15 , 1929.

THE TOXICITY OF THE VENOMS OF INDIAN

SCORPIONS.

Progress of the Society’s Investigation.

Scorpion Venom .

Parel, Bombay.

October U, 1929 .

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

I.— STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF A TIGRESS.

Reading- Mr. Morris’s further reference to the sense of smell in the

Indian Felidae in the current issue of the Journal, Vol. XXXIII, 3,

the following experience may be of interest and worth recording in

the Joufnal : — -

I was touring in the C.P. last January with a well-known

sportsman Forest Officer, when we had news late one afternoon of

a kill.

We packed up and made for the spot, getting there about 4 p.m.

and, having tied up a machan in haste without any cover, got into

it, a most uncomfortable one, at 4.45. Shortly after, a barking-

deer warned us of the tigress moving, and at 5.45, exactly an hour

of waiting, we saw her come down a dry nallah on our right, only

about 30' from us and in full view the whole time. She did not

appear the least bit suspicious and it was not until she came to what

we estimated was the direct line of wind from us and the kill to

her, that she stopped. It was most interesting to see her sniffing

the wind like a spaniel which wind, we imagined, was from her

kill. After standing here for a couple of minutes, she moved further

down the main nallah up to its junction with the smaller nallah,

into which the kill had been dragged and lay. Previous to getting

up into the machan, I had walked down the smaller nallah to

the junction to see a good pug impression of my likely trophy,

unknown to my host of course. It was here that I had my object

lesson, as, when the tigress came to this point and started moving

towards her kill, she stopped, half crouched, with her nose to the

earth, and after uttering a low growl turned and walked off down

the main nallah. This was behind us and over my right shoulder,

or I could have killed her when she made her first appearance.

That she had smelt me from my foot impression there could be no

doubt. She turned up again at 8.10 p.m. when she made loud

snarling sounds under our machan and again moved off. We

decided to cheek at 9.45, and blew two long blasts on a trumpeter’s

whistle for the elephant and the ladder men. Hardly had this been

done when we spotted her in a patch of bright moon-light looking

in our direction, head on, still on the right. It was most trying,

we could hear the men approaching with a light, and she also made

a few steps in the direction of the kill. When the men were 40'

of us we saw her move off at a walk up stream. No sooner had the

men arrived than they were told in a whisper to return ; and, hardly

had they done so, when she again appeared, this time from in front

of us. 1 ’

It was a most interesting experience, as in the first instance she

showed such great caution, and latterly made the bold march up

to her kill hardly before the men were out of hearing.

232 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

My host, who has shot 50 odd tigers himself and been in at the

death of nearly three times this number, could make nothing of the

experience. It is worth mentioning that in between the visits she

paid us, we heard her calling at intervals, what is commonly

believed to be the mate call. She was a young animal and had not

had cubs ; she taped 8 foot.

Urna Estate, A. MACDONALD.

Marowrah P.O.,

B. & N.W.Ry.,

August 1, 1929.

II. -THE CARCAL IN IRAQ.

( With a photo).

Blandford gives Mesopotamia as the distribution of the Caracal,

Felis caracal. Pitman in the Survey of Iraq Fauna, records a

possible occurrence. Tristram in the Survey of Western Palestine

refers to it as the Red Lynx, mentions its scarcity in Palestine, and

states that it has a wide distribution occurring through ‘all Africa,

Arabia, Persia and India’. Sterndale gives Africa, east to Western

Asia and India. Protheroe gives S. Africa, Egypt, Arabia and

India. Loftus has recorded a specimen from Dizful. One would

expect, therefore, that the animal would be found within the

confines of present political Iraq.

One possible source of confusion is the jungle cat, Felis chaus,

possessed of large size, black ear-tufts, yellow tinge, and short

tail ; it has, however, pronounced markings. The caracal has no

obvious markings and is usually of a brick-red colour. One must

remember, however, that Buxton in his Animal Life in Deserts

(p. 160) refers to a desert type from Asben in the South Central

Sahara, described by Thomas as differing from all known caracals

‘in its exceptionally pallid colouration and silvery ears’. A further

source of confusion is of course the true Old World lynx, Felis lynx

or isabellina. Points of difference are the occurrence of a defined

ruff in the lynx and the relatively greater length of the tail in' the

caracal. Tail length to body length ratio in the lynx is about 1:4,

whereas in the caracal it is at least 1 : 3. The lynx again is of a

stolid build, the caracal smaller and of more delicate proportions.

The lynx is grey or fawn and may have a suggestion of spotting,

particularly in summer (Sterndale’s Mammalia of India, p. 94). It

is stated by Protheroe that the under-parts of the caracal also are

slightly besprinkled with black and chestnut spots ; the general

tinge of the caracal, however, as mentioned above, is reddish.

The lynx appears to be the more decidedly ‘spotted’ animal of the

two.

The Arabs in Iraq certainly recognize several sorts of wild cat

and various names are current. They seem to me, however, to be

applied quite fortuitously and to have no particular classical appli-

cation. What is ‘ gurta’ tc one man is ‘ herrelY to another and merely

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

?33

a ‘ bizoon ’ or ‘ saba ’ to a third; ‘ washa ’ is another common name

for a ‘big cat’. The descriptive abilities again hardly come up to

the requirements of classification.

CARACAL SHOT NEAR RUTBA, MESOPOTAMIA, 1924.

An animal is described, however, from time to time which

suggests the Caracal. I have seen no skins unfortunately and was

very pleased to get hold of two photographs of an animal shot by

Mr. Reid of the Nairn Transport Company near Rutba in 1924.

The animal has the flat face and pointed ears that one associates

with the lynx or caracal. The tail is not ‘bobby’ and relatively too

long for the lynx ; there is no ruff, spots are missing and the animal

lacks the stolidity of a lynx ; it has the finer proportions suggestive

of the caracal. A suspicion that this was a specimen of the latter

animal was confirmed by the Bombay Natural History Society.

Royal College of Medicine, NORMAN L. CORKHILL.

Baghdad,

October 21, 1929 .

30

234 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

III.— DISTRIBUTION AND COLOURATION OF THE LYNX

This morning-, while looking- for Ibex, I saw, what I take to have

been four lynxes — one, an old animal and three cubs of about

a year old. They were under observation with binoculars for over

an hour at a range of 300-500 yards.

I am acquainted with the skins seen in the furrier’s shops in

Northern India and called Tibetan Lynx. These are a soft

brownish grey turning to almost white on the under-parts. The

old lynx which I saw this morning was a bright orange red — the

colour almost of a tortoise-shell cat : whereas the cubs were a grey

brown, though one of them showed signs of turning red. My

shikari called them * phiauku ’ and said that they were plentiful

hereabouts. He says that when he was with one of the Mammal

Survey collectors here, about ten years ago, he saw seven of them

together.

When first seen, the old one was lying- down in the shade of a

rock, whilst the cubs were playing about like kittens. However,

they soon settled to sleep in some long grass and the family was

finally disturbed by my tiffin cooly and made off — the kittens a long

way in the rear of their parent. Since writing the above, I have

seen another ‘phiauku’. It was also bright red.

[Blanford gives the distribution of the Lynx as the ‘Upper Indus

Valley, Gilgit, Ladak, Tibet, etc. ; also throughout Asia north of

the Himalayas, and Europe north of the Alps. Lahoul, where

Capt. Lowndes observed the animals he refers to, is a province

which is formed mainly of the watersheds of the Chandra and Baga

Rivers which rise in the great Baralacha Range of the Western

Himalayas. This gives a more southerly record of their distribution

of these animals, though Lydekker in his Great and Small Game of

India mentions that Lynx cubs are occasionally taken by the natives

of Spiti which, like Lahoul, is one of the provinces grouped about

the Rotang and Baralacha Ranges. In Rowland Ward’s Records of

Big Game there is a record of a skin obtained by Col. A. E. Ward

in the United Provinces — where exactly is not mentioned. In

the Tibetan Lynx ( Lynx lynx isabellina) the general colour is pale

sandy grey or isabelline. The under-parts of the body are white.

The animal is regarded as a pale coloured local race of the ordinary

lynx of Northern Europe and Asia. This pale race occurs in the

plateaux of Eastern and Western Tibet. In the neighbourhood of

Gilgit, where there is a certain amount of forest, the lynxes assume

a more rufous tinge and thus imperceptibly pass into the typical

European form in which the colour may occasionally be a rusty red

(Lydekker). Lahoul is described as a treeless country. Amidst the

waste of rock, stone, snow, there are small patches of birch and

(LYNX LYNX).

Kyelang, Lahoul,

Kangra District,

D. G. LOWNDES,

Captain ,

Royal Garhwal Rifles.

August 11, 1929.

MISCELLANEOUS notes

235

rhododendron and here and there stretches of hillside covered

with blue pine. — Eds.]

IV.— THE HUNTING LEOPARD ( CYNsELURUS JUBATUS)

IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES.

I shot a Hunting- Leopard on December 26, 1926, in the Harrai

Jagir (Chhindwara district) very near the Narsinghpur border, at a

place called Kodari, lying on the main Narsinghpur-Chhindwara

Road. The skin and head were mounted for me by Messrs. Van

Ingen & Var Ingen, Mysore, who pronounced it to be ( Cyncelurus

jubatus). It is a splendid specimen.

Mr. C. F. Turner, c.i.e. , i.c.s., Commissioner of this Division,

suggests that I should report this to the Natural History Society

for record, as he believes no wild hunting leopards have been

known in these parts for the last 50 years.

[Writing of the Hunting Leopard, Dunbar Brander ( Wild Animals

of Central India , p. 273) states that the animal has now almost

entirely disappeared from the Central Provinces without apparent

reason. He only knew of three animals being procured in the last

20 years. Rumours of their existence in parts of Berar, the

Seoni Plateau and Saugor still persist, and the writer believes that

one or two may still be found. In Vol. XXVII, p. 397 of the

Society’s Journal, Brig. Genl. R. G. Burton gives several records

of Hunting Leopards shot in the Berar District between the years

1890 and 1895. They appear to have been fairly common in that

district about the period mentioned. On the same page, the late

Col. L. L. Fenton records the distribution of the Hunting Leopard

in Kathiawar. In Vol. XXVI, p. 1041, there is an account of its

occurrence in the Mirzapur District, U.P. Little is known of the

present distribution of this animal in India. It is said to be still

fairly common in the Hyderabad State, but we have no authentic

records. Further information from readers of this Journal would be

welcome. — Eds. ]

V.— MALAY BELIEFS AND LEGENDS ABOUT TIGERS AND

WILD DOGS.

One evening, recently, a friend, who is a great Malay scholar

asked me how many tiger cubs there were in a litter. On replying

that to my belief, there were two or three, he proceeded to tell me

a Malay legend regarding the number of cubs in a tigress’s litter.

The Malays maintain that a tigress gives birth to seven or eight

cubs and explain the fact that only two or three are seen with the

mother as follows : — When the cubs are a few weeks old, the tigress

makes them lie in a row and commands them that on no account are

Narsingpur,

July 12, 1929.

J. M. RICHARDSON,

I.M.D.

236 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXlV

they to touch her tail. She then lies down and twitches her tail in

front of them. Should a cub try to touch her tail, the irate mother

kills it. The remainder are then tempted and, on disobeying- the

command, are killed until there are only two or three left.

Another belief with regard to the tiger is that the cubs do not

suckle but that the mother squirts her milk on to leaves, etc., and

the cubs lick the leaves.

Miscellaneous note No. 9 in Vol. XXXIII, No. i, on the Malayan

Wild Dog (Cuon rutilans ) prompts me to write giving a Malay

superstition regarding that little hunter. The Wild Dog, the

sirgala or arjing kutar as he is called by the Malays, is not

uncommon in some parts of the north of the Malay Peninsula, but

is extremely rare in the south. The Malays consider it unlucky

to meet a pack, believing that disaster is inevitable within a year if

the dogs give tongue without their being forestalled by those

unfortunate enough to meet them. The Malays also believe that the

urine of the sirgala causes blindness and that the dogs purposely

urinate against trees and grass through which their prey is likely

to pass. i j j i

Sungei Patani, ALEXANDER CROSS.

June 18, 1929.

[Stories of wild dogs ejecting a fluid or using urine to blind their

quarry are current in many parts of India. One explanation put

forward is that the myth may have arisen through the fact that

when wounded and pursued, they will sometimes, through fear,

lose control of their functions and so wet or defile their tails. — Eds.]

VL— SEASON OF SHEDDING AND GROWTH OF ANTLERS

IN THE SWAMP DEER (RUCERVUS DUVAUCELLI)

IN ASSAM.

In Dunbar Brander’s Wild Animals of Central India, p. 200,

Lydekker’s statement that Swamp Deer grow horns in March and

April appears to be doubted. Whilst in Assam, last April, I saw

stags with horns fully grown in velvet and in process of shedding

the velvet.

Cherat, D. MONCRIEFF WRIGHT,

N.W.F.P., Capt.

July 25, 1929. j

[Referring to Lydekker’s statement in his book, Dunbar Brander

writes : ‘I am in no position to contradict this statement as regards

Assam, but it is certainly not true with regard to the United

Provinces and Central Provinces. The herds do not disperse in

spring, and stags do not shed their antlers in April, and many small

stags are still in horn at the end of the month. To find a stag in

velvet in March presupposes that, the horn was shed in February or

even January.’ Presumably this is what exactly happens in

Assam. — Eds.]

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 237

VII.— ENCOUNTERS WITH ELEPHANTS ON THE

BILLIGIRIRANGAN HILLS

Scene : Camp-Namagundi — Billigirirangans.

Event I —

A party of four were in camp : two men and two ladies. Soon

after nightfall, a herd of elephants started trumpeting near camp,

and shortly after this the herd entered the shola the camp was in

from the western side, surrounded the camp on three sides,

commenced to demonstrate, and things looked decidedly nasty.

The Sholagas (jungle tribe, excellent trackers) feverishly made a

ring of fires round the camp with all available firewood, and shots

were fired. Every now and then an elephant would crash through

the jungle with a shrill trumpet, to within a few yards of the ring

of fires, to be met with shouts and yells and a volley of shots.

It was a weird and wild scene; the glare of the fires round the

camp lighting up the figures of the two sportsmen standing with

guns at the ready (shot guns were being used) with loaded rifles at

hand for any elephant that might break through the ring of fires,

the two women standing behind trees, and the Sholagas running

from fire to fire, waving fire-brands, banging kerosene tins, and

yelling vociferously. There was not a tree in the vicinity that an

elephant could not knock down with ease. Beyond the light shed

by the fires was inky blackness, and from here issued terrifying

roars, trumpets, and a medley of other sounds and crashes from the

elephants. Every now and then the whole herd seemed to advance,

<md once or twice it looked as if they would charge over the camp

en bloc. It was during one of these attacks that one of the women,

in an extremity of fear, climbed a small tree which was little more

than a sapling (even so' how she managed it she could not say

later) and the sapling bent over and deposited her gently into a

small stream that flowed past the camp ! It was a succession of

advances and retreats, sometimes by the whole herd, at others by

elephants singly, or in twos and threes. One tusker, bolder than

the rest, very nearly broke through the ring, and the rifles were

quickly seized, but he turned and went back into the darkness just

in time. After fully three hours of this, the whole herd finally

retreated, but could be heard venting their rage on trees in the

vicinity : and then a series of trumpets and thuds gave one the

impression that two tuskers were fighting, which turned out to be

correct on the following morning : still later, the noise subsided,

except for now and then low grumbling like the rumblings of a

distant thunderstorm. There was, however, no sleep for the party in

camp : there was a possibility of the elephants returning to the

attack, which fortunately did not occur. The morning dawned on

a scene of destruction for about 200 yards to the south, east and

north of the camp where the jungle had been smashed up and

trodden down by the elephants for several hours. Sholagas reported

that the elephants were still within a half-mile of camp, and the two

238 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

men went out with their rifles, and watched a Homeric fight between

two tuskers — a battle of the Giants. One was a bit smaller than

its adversary, but had larger tusks, and distinctly had the

advantage, and finally defeated its opponent, and could be seen

chasing it through the jungle, away from the proximity of camp,

followed by the rest of the herd. A broken piece of tusk was later

picked up. Thus ended an extraordinary incident. It was supposed

that the elephants found that the camp was on their path, and

decided to try to oust the intruders, but it is possible that the

two tuskers had already commenced their battle and were in no

pleasant frame of mind, and became more infuriated when they

discovered the camp pitched on the elephant path (unknowingly),

and led them on to the attack. It is stated that African elephants

have been known to do this, but, in connection with Indian

elephants, a case such as this must be very rare.

The ladies decided that they had their fill of shikar experiences

for the time being and were escorted back to the Estate by one of

the men. On their way back they encountered a cow elephant with

a calf which demonstrated at them, and seemed to be of two minds

as to whether to charge down on them or not, luckily deciding

not to.

Event II —

M. and his sister were out in camp some years ago ; the latter

had elected to remain in camp one morning, while the former went

out for a stalk. A rogue elephant, described as the Dodsampagai

Rogue, was known to be wandering somewhere in the vicinity.

At 10 a.m.,~ while M.’s sister was reading at the door of her tent,

a wild shriek from the chokra made her start up, and she was

horrified to see that a large tusker had stalked quietly into the

camp : she then felt her Miniature *22 Rifle thrust into her hand by

the chokra from inside the tent ; and heard his agonised whispers

of ‘Shoot, Missie, shoot!’ Finding that she was not yielding to

his entreaties in this respect, he skimmed up a tree alongside the

tent in a marvellous fashion. All this time the tusker stood still

taking everything in, but luckily decided not to attack. It turned

and walked out of camp as slowly and quietly as it had come in,

and made for the narrow strip of shola which was known to be its

usual habitat. At midday M. and his trackers, while returning

from the morning stalk, and passing this shola (incidentally giving

it their wind) were startled by a short sharp trumpet and out

charged the Dodsampagai Rogue. M. was carrying a ‘500 Express

Modified Cordite Rifle and had just time to fire at the charging

rogue’s head, which made it swerve and present his broad side.

A second shot fired behind the shoulder was a lucky one, and got

the elephant through, or in the region of the heart, and, rushing

on for another 200 yards or so, he collapsed dead. Thus were

avenged the deaths of Dod Toddy Mada and his son Jeddia, two

Sholagas, who had walked right into the rogue on a misty monsoon

day near the same spot a year before and were killed, and torn limb

from limb.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

239

Event III — -

M., his wife and a friend were in camp, and had retired to bed.

At midnight M. was woken up by his wife who said, ‘I am sure

there is an elephant in camp’ (the same old camp). — ‘Rats !’ was

the unfeeling and sleepy reply, but hardly was this spoken when

M. ’s Irish Terrier, which was sleeping at the door of the hut,

rushed out barking furiously and then was heard a shrill trumpet and

crashing as an elephant careered out of camp with the dog after it.

For a few moments pandemonium reigned, shouts and yells from

the camp Sholagas and shots from M. and his friend helped to

speed the uninvited and undesired departing intruder ! It turned

out that this elephant was one of a herd feeding near, and had

wandered in the direction of the camp and found itself in it before

it knew where it was !

Event IV — •

M., his wife and the same friend decided to visit Bellagulla for

bear. It got dark when the party were within a mile of camp, and

M. stopped at a nulla to light a lantern, resting his '375 Mauser

Rifle he had been carrying against a rock. Absent-mindedly he

picked up the lantern and the party moved on along the path,

leaving the rifle behind ! When within 200 yards of camp, shouts

from Sholagas up trees warned them that the Bellagulla rogue had

temporarily taken possession of camp ; and to make matters worse,

‘Peter’ the Irish Terrier scented the elephant and, probably

remembering how he chased an elephant out of camp on a previous

occasion, rushed in and bayed the rogue ! Followed a devil-of-a-

to-do, and a nasty situation for the group, as it was pitch dark,

and the rogue could be heard kicking up the dickens of a hooroosh,

‘Peter’ barking wildly, and the elephant trumpeting, but not

retreating. Soon ‘Peter’ realized that he was up against a different

proposition altogether, and raced back to M. and the others,

followed, however, by the now infuriated tusker. Shots were fired

into the air, and the Sholagas yelled and tried to light the grass,

which however was too green to burn. Luckily the elephant turned

aside when just short of the party and they got to camp without

further trouble. Seizing his '450 H.V. Rifle when they first heard

the elephant, M. had not had occasion to think about the ’375

Mauser and it was not till camp had been reached that he

remembered that it had been left behind in the nullah. It was

decided to send for the rifle in the morning. This was done and,

when they returned from the morning stalk, M. ’s rifle, or what

remained of it, was lying in front of the hut. It was literally

smashed to smithereens. The woodwork was matchwood, and the

barrel and breech and bolt were hopelessly damaged. The rogue

had apparently gone along the path that the party had taken to

camp, and, scenting human taint on the rifle in passing, had given

vent to its rage by smashing it to pieces on the rocks. Not

satisfied with this, proceeding further, the rogue had come on a

cow, which M. had tied up for tiger, and kicked the wretched

animal to death ! M. and his friend vowed they would do the rogue

240 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

in at the earliest opportunity : this soon came, the rogue was

marked down, and laid low — an enormous elephant, 10' in height at

the shoulder, with a large single 6' tusk.

Event V —

M. was shikaring at Bailur, a good spot in the old days, and was

one morning walking down a fireline with a Sholaga tracker.

When round a corner ahead a call was heard, which, the Sholaga

insisted, was a bear. Advancing forward rapidly, M. and the

Sholaga came face to face with a tusker which immediately charged.

The tracker lost his head and must have achieved well nigh a record

for a half-mile sprint down the fireline with a heavy rifle on his

shoulder, omitting' in his hurry to pass it to M. Followed a few

intensely exciting moments from bamboo clump to1 clump with the

elephant in close pursuit. The elephant soon tired of this however

and made off much to M.’s relief. What followed when the Sholaga

returned jauntily carrying the rifle, having viewed the elephant’s

departure from a safe distance and congratulated M. on his escape,

need not be recounted.

Event VI —

On a hot day some years ago, M. and his sister, companions in

shikar, were resting on a patch of sheet rock on the bank of a

stream waiting for the tiffin basket to come down from' camp, when

they saw a cow elephant and two small calves pass across their

front on the opposite bank of the stream. The Sholaga tracker was

very emphatic that the elephant could not cross to their side of the

stream, the banks being very steep for two or three miles down.

Thus reassured, they lay themselves down and slept, and so did the

tracker. After they had been dozing for about an hour, a loud

crack awoke them, and slowly turning his head, M. saw the cow

and her two calves towering over them barely 30 feet away. Shades

of unholy pachyderms ! Of all the nasty situations this was the

worst. M.’s sister pluckily did not move, but the Sholaga

whispered incessantly, terrified with terror, ‘Shoot, shoot!’ and

nearly gave them away. Luckily he had the sense not to get up,

and was hidden from view of the elephants by a boulder. The rifles

were unloaded (it was mid-day, very hot, the jungle burnt clean,

and ordinarily there was little possibility of any game being seen

till later) ; it would have been a fatal move at such close quarters

to try and load them. After standing motionless, a calf on either

side, the cow and her calves advanced and passed close to M. ,

within a few paces, and slid down the steep bank into the stream

passing below the sheet rock up the stream so close that the back

of the nearest calf could have been touched with an outstretched

rifle. They then climbed up the bank on the opposite side, and

soon disappeared from view. The tracker was quietly crying with

relief ! On a previous occasion, when sent to the camp with a

message in the moonlight, he had come face to face with an

elephant and emitted, rooted to the spot, a series of the most

ghastly shrieks imaginable. Luckily the elephant was not inclined

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

241

to do him any harm, although encountered at such dose quarters,

and, watching him for a minute or two, turned off into the jungle.

Event VII —

M. had wounded a boar in a valley covered with thick deciduous

forest, and followed it up into a gully in which grew several large

clumps of bamboo. Here the pig was found lying on its side at its

last gasp, and was given a finishing shot. The results were

startling : crashes to the left and right, and a tusker came into view

on M.’s left front and a solitary bull bison on his right! Game

paths running on either side converged and met behind bamboos

to the front and on these paths the two huge animals rushed, and

met ! There was a terrible thud, preceded by a short trumpet from

the elephant and followed by a bellow from the bison, and then a

crash and a struggling in the bamboos, and the elephant appeared

to the right moving rapidly off. Advancing cautiously, M. and

his men saw the bull bison, a magnificent specimen, lying against

a clump of bamboos, breathing heavily, and with a hoirible wound

in its near side, undoubtedly caused by the elephant’s off tusk. The

tusk had penetrated one of the bull’s lungs, and a hissing noise

sounded from the wound as the poor brute breathed. A bullet in a

vital spot soon put it out of its distress : and thus closed a very

extraordinary occurrence, one which M. can be said to have been

in a way responsible for, as it was his shot, magnified in the gully

they were in, that roused the tusker and the bull, and in their

flight the elephant, alarmed and angry, saw the bison approaching

along the other path and deliberately rammed the old bull, probably

attributing to it the cause of the disturbance. The elephant later

met M.’s tiffin cooly, who said he had just escaped with his life

up a tree as the elephant had chased him : and to prove this he

showed M. the contents of the tiffin basket — a mass of broken

crockery and glass mixed with food, and no beer to drink !

Event VIII—

M., his wife and children were motoring up the ghat road one

evening, returning from a trip to the Nilgiris, when round a corner

they came on a herd of elephants. M. jumped out with his rifle,

while his wife reversed back and out of sight. M. stood watching

the elephants move slowly off the road into the jungle below, when

round the corner the can came buzzing again, another elephant

had apparently made its presence known behind them ! ! In the

meantime the last of the herd had moved into the jungle, and the

car rushed past them, much to their consternation and surprise.

On another occasion, motoring up the road at night, an elephant

trumpeted just off the road as the car passed it, and was heard to

rush swiftly through the grass, whether after the car or not it was

difficult to tell for certain. Elephants were all over the place ; M.

and his wife expected to meet one round every corner, and suddenly,

when within half a mile of the first Estate, the expected happened.

An elephant stood facing the headlights of the car standing on the

roadside, so close that their only chance lay in an attempt to rush

past it, and this they did; M.’s wife driving, with M. holding his

31

242 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI Y

rifle levelled on the elephant. The elephant neither moved nor gave

any signs of ruffled feelings : it was the local Government Timber

Elephant.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

July 10, 1929.

VIII.— ELEPHANT TUSK WEDGED IN A TREE

I have had brought to me to-day the broken tip end of an

elephant’s tusk which a Sholaga found tightly wedged in the fork

of a limb of a tree. The piece is about 18" long and the tip has been

badly scored on both sides as if the elephant had been thrusting it

between rocks, or crevices of rocks, or rubbing both sides against

a rock, and this, combined with the fact that the tusk was broken

off in a tree, seems to me to indicate that the elephant was possibly

suffering a good deal of pain from an abscess, or a suppurating

wound at the root of the tusk, and had been attempting to ease the

pain in the manner above described.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

September 30, 1929.

IX.— THE DISTRIBUTION OF WILD BUFFALO IN ORISSA

( With a photo and a map)

I have noticed in books on sport and natural history that the

‘coastal districts of Orissa’ are often quoted as one of the habitats

of the Indian Wild Buffalo (Bubalis bubalis). However true this

may have been in the earlier days of last century, when buffalo

frequented the neighbouring district of Midnapore in Bengal and

parts of Balasore district as well, it is no longer a fact.

Orissa is composed of the three coastal districts of Balasore,

Cuttack and Puri together with the Feudatory States lying between

them and the Central Provinces.

Although buffalo undoubtedly had a much wider range in Orissa

in former times, they are no longer met with in any of the above

coastal districts and it must be many years since they became

extinct there, although it is said that buffalo were to be found in

Balasore district until twenty-five or thirty years ago. The few

remaining herds are confined to Patna State on the borders of

Raipur district of the Central Provinces, where they are found in

two groups. There are some forty to fifty animals which frequent

a locality within ten miles of the C.P. border, and a smaller herd

of about fifteen individuals forty miles further east. It seems

possible that the first named buffalo might join up with the herds in

the south of Raipur district, but the local people assert that they

do not.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

243

A few wanderers are said to cross into the west of Sambalpur

district from Raipur occasionally. It is, however, many years since

any have been shot in the district, and they must be rare visitors in

any case.

Although the area referred to is now included in Orissa, prior

to 1905 both Patna State and Sambalpur district formed part of the

Central Provinces.

The jungle frequented by these animals is extremely dry and to

a great extent covered with a heavy growth of grass, which is three

to four feet in height, in the early part of the cold weather. The

forest consists mainly of small trees and saplings, and is rather

open for the most part ; so that when the grass dies down in the

hot weather the cover becomes very thin. The waterholes and

wallows cease to exist after the beginning of March and during

the summer months the buffalo resort to the village tanks in the

vicinity and wallow there by night, showing an astonishing

disregard for the proximity of human beings. In fact their attitude

at times is one of decided truculence.

On my first visit to this area I was surprised to find the buffalo

affecting such dry and comparatively open jungle, as I was under

the impression that they frequented damp and even swampy

localities. It is of course possible that these forests were moister

and more extensive in earlier times before the spread of cultivation

and that the existing conditions are not really favourable to the

existence of the buffalo. It struck me as remarkable to find such

large animals in such dry and comparatively open jungle.

I have on several occasions seen these buffalo' and I cannot say

that I have found them wary, it being generally a fairly simple

matter to approach within seventy or eighty yards of them. It is,

however, difficult to distinguish the bulls from the cows at a

distance, as the latter appear to be equally bulky and their horns

are as long though not so massive as those of the bulls. It is on

the whole better to avoid the herds and to seek out the solitary

bulls if one is in search of a good head.

The accompanying photograph is of a bull shot in November,

1924. The horns, although not of great length, are massive.

The measurements may be of interest and were as follows : —

Height at withers (measured form heel) 64" ; length of body along*

curve of spine 10 feet; tail 28"; girth behind shoulder 92"; girth of

neck immediately behind ears 59" ; girth of front thigh 23" ; front

cannon bone 11"; length of ear 13". Greatest spread of horns

outside 50"; ditto inside 42"; length of right horn along outer

curve 42^" ; ditto left horn 43^" ; girth of right horn 20" ; girth

of left horn 19^" ; tip to tip 37" ; tip to tip around outer^ curve

and across forehead 98". Both horns were somewhat worn at the

points.

A remarkably fine head shot in the same forest in 1919 had the

following measurements : — Tip to tip across forehead 124", length

of right horn 53|", length of left horn 52^", girth of right horn

18-J-", of left horn 20", tip to tip 48".

The buffalo in Patna State are, strictly speaking, the easterly

outliers of the herds in Raipur district and Bastar State of the

244 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL MIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

Central Provinces. That buffalo were formerly more numerous

and extended further east is unquestionable, and most probably

their habitat extended from the C. P. through Orissa into Bengal

at one time. In fact, there was at least one herd in Gangpur State

near the Brahmani river until the early nineties of last century,

when these few survivors were exterminated at the time of the

construction of the Bengal Nagpur Railway main line.

Steps have been taken to preserve these fine animals in Patna

HEAD OP BULL BUFFALO SHOT IN NOVEMBER 1924

State and their shooting is strictly prohibited. They have been

definitely on the increase during the past six or seven years and

it is hoped that the construction of the Raipur-Vizianagram Railway

through the area inhabited by them will not lead to any diminution

in their numbers.

It is of interest that the smaller herd in the south-east of the

State is showing a definite tendency to migrate south to an extensive

and well-watered forest some forty miles away in Kalahandi State.

They have crossed the Tel river every rains for the past three

or four years, and on each occasion they have wandered further,

and their stay has been more prolonged. It looks as if they are

seeking a retreat more secluded than their present surroundings,

where jungle is being steadily reclaimed for cultivation.

Sambalpur, B.N.Ry. , H. F. MOONEY,

July 1, 1929. I.F.S.

Journo Bombay Nat, Hist, Soc,

MAP OF ORISSA

Scale t"=izrm'Us-

C H 0 T A

flpvcbio

DISTRIBUTION OF WILD BUFFALO IN ORISSA

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

245

I am directed by the Heir-Apparent of Bikaner to forward you

two photographs of a cheetal stag, shot by one of the Nobles of

Koteh State, which has 12 points. I trust this will be of interest

to you.

Lallgarh, SURAJINAL SINGH,

Bikaner, Secretary to The Heir-Apparent of Bikaner.

August 10, 1929.

X.— MALFORMED CHEETAL HEAD (AXIS AXIS).

( With a photo).

MALFORMED CHEETAI. HEAD.

XL— PARTIAL DISAPPEARANCE OF THE WILD PIG

(, SUS CRISTATE S).

In recent years the partial disappearance, and in some parts the

complete disappearance, of the Wild Pig from jungles in the

Kollegal Taluk of the Coimbatore District is .very marked, and

can only be attributed to, in my opinion, the increasing numbers

of Wild Dog. Whereas in previous years sounders of pig abounded

all over the Billigirirangans and the country east of the hills, they

246 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXX IV

are now rarely seen and, further east, on the Baragur Hills, they

have completely disappeared. Locals on both these hills, the

Baragurs, and the country in between agree that the Wild Dog is

the chief cause of their diminution in numbers.

Some years ago a pack of Wild Dog attacked a sounder of pig

near my Bungalow and killed two sows in a few minutes. It will

be interesting to learn whether this is occurring in other parts of

India.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

July 2, 1929.

[It is gratifying to note that the Madras Government have

recently re-introduced the payment of rewards for the destruction of

Wild Dogs. — Eds.]

XII.— BIRDS OF QUETTA

In the Journal (Nov. 1926 to Aug. 1927) I dealt with such

information as was known about the Birds of British Beluchistan.

I was therefore very pleased to see a further interesting paper

on Quetta birds in the last Journal from the pens of Messrs.

Williams, and they must not mind my asking a few questions and

making a few comments about some of the species they list.

The Kashmir Magpie ten years ago had become very scarce

in the Quetta valley where it once was common. It now seems

to have picked up in numbers again.

The breeding of the Chough at Ziarat is certainly nothing new,

as suggested by Major Williams. It has been recorded by several

authors whose observations were epitomized by me in the Birds of

Beluchistan ( J.B.N.H.S. , Nov. 1926, p. 6).

The nesting of the Willow-Warbler ( Phyllocsopus nitidns nitidus )

is very interesting ; but was the bird obtained to prove indubitably

that it was this Warbler that was nesting in the Marachak Reserve?

Otherwise, I fear there must always be some doubt about it. It

is of particular importance of course as this bird has never been

known to breed within Indian limits before for certain and

according to the Fauna, ed. ii, nothing for certain is known about

its nidification.

The nesting of Barne’s Chat is also new and here again I trust

a specimen was secured for identification as some of these chats

look very similar. An interesting addition too is the Red-tailed

Wheatear as a breeding species, though not very unexpected.

Fortunately it is a very distinctive bird in the field.

Three races of Asian Goldfinch have occurred in N. Beluchistan

in winter. Is the identification of the breeding race made from

a series of breeding birds?

Messrs. Williams consider the Beluchi Sparrow to be indicus ;

they give no reason for this. I examined a good series of these

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

24 7

and came to the conclusion it must be called parkini. I suppose it

is quite certain that the nests in the thin branches of trees were

those of the Tree Sparrow. I searched the country outside Quetta

in the autumn in vain for this sparrow and all I saw were in the

town itself, and concluded that they nested in the usual sites in

holes in buildings.

Again I must ask if it is quite certain that the Crag Martin

which nests round Quetta is the Egyptian bird Ptyonoprogne

obsoleta obsoleta. The bird of S. Beluchistan, Sind and the Bolan

is Ptyonoprogne pallida ( J.B.N.H.S . xxxi, p. 869). The common

Crag Martin round Quetta is Ptyonoprogne rupestris. If there is

no mistake over the nesting of the Indian Cliff-Swallow at Mastung,

this is a tremendous extension of range, as this bird is not, known

to breed in S. Punjab, Sind or in the rest of Beluchistan. , Were

specimens obtained?

It will be noticed that, when I wrote the Birds of Beluchistan ,

I could not determine which race of Cuckoo bred in N. Beluchistan

(, J.B.N.H.S . xxxi, p. 880), and that I had only seen two specimens

thence, neither of them breeding birds for certain, and these two

were not telephonus but corresponded with sub-telephonus of

Zarudny. If Messrs. Williams have not examined a breeding

series, it would have been better to have left their records under the

binomial name.

I have seen no breeding Kestrels from Beluchistan. All birds

I have examined, winter birds and possible breeding birds from

Kandahar, belong to the typical race and it would have been better,

had Messrs. Williams stated what evidence they had that the

breeding form is inter stinctus.

Though the authors of this paper record Streptopelia senegalensis

ermanni as the breeding bird at Quetta, there is no doubt that the

bird nesting there is the Indian cambayensis (vide J.B.N.H.S.

xxxii, p. 73).

The nesting of the Quail near Quetta recorded by Meinertzhagen

appears to have been overlooked.

Appledore,

Kent, CLAUD B. TICEHURST.

September, 1929 .

XIII. — THE INCUBATION OF EGGS DURING THE

HOT WEATHER

The following cases of eggs hatching during the hot weather,

after several days’ desertion by the parent birds, may be of interest.

In May last a Bulbul nested in a fernery adjoining the porch of my

bungalow and was sitting on three eggs for about a week. On the

27th idem, I saw the bird sitting, but on the following day neither

of the parent birds appeared. In the evening I inspected the nest

248 Journal , Bombay natural hist . society , w. xxxic

and found only one egg ; the birds were not seen again either on

the nest or in the vicinity.

On the evening of May 30th, three days later, I again

inspected the nest to see if the egg was still there and found it in

the process of hatching. Later, I removed the shell and covered the

nest with cotton wool for the night.

In the morning my wife and a friend fed the squeaker with white

ants ; he opened his mouth willingly and took the decapitated corpse

of a white ant eagerly at intervals. By about noon he was quite

strong and, when opening his mouth for food, emitted a mild

‘cheep’. I am inclined to think the parents heard this mild cheeping

as they appeared in the fernery and seemed somewhat agitated.

We immediately replaced the squeaker in the nest and watched.

The old birds returned but did not go to the nest — and then the

tragedy ?

We could not actually see the nest from the verandah; but a peon

watching it rushed in a few minutes later to say there was a reptile

at the nest. I went out quickly with -22 rifle loaded with a short

cartridge to find a ‘bloodsucker’ ( Calotes ‘versicolor) with his head

in the nest. I shot him, but too late, he dropped the mangled

remains of the youngster from his mouth. I might mention that

about ten days previous to this tragedy, when there were only two

eggs in the nest, a Koel found it but was driven off. During the

afternoon he returned and on hearing much protest from the

parents, I went out with my '22 rifle to find the enemy sitting on

the top of the fernery looking into the nest, being buffeted by the

old birds.

I am glad to say he paid the penalty and I hoped after that my

Bulbuls would be safe. Unfortunately not, the tragedy described

above was the finale.

There are three interesting points in this occurrence :

The hatching of the egg after complete desertion by the parents

for three clear days.

The loss of two eggs only which caused the birds to desert.

The return of the marauder to1 the nest only a few minutes after

the squeaker had been replaced.

The disappearance of the two eggs I attribute to a bloodsucker ;

but why did he not return for the other egg later?

I had frequently seen several of these reptiles in the roof of

the fernery and in the past all efforts of other birds to nest in the

fernery have resulted in failure, the eggs disappearing mysteriously.

In connection with the hatching of eggs without further incubation

by the parents, I can give another instance which occurred in

Ahmednagar during the hot weather of 1922.

A hen sitting on ducks’ eggs died on the nest after 22 days’

incubation. Although the eggs were cold when found, they were

kept near the fire in the kitchen until another hen could be procured

some hours after. The following day the substitute ‘broody’ was

found standing under her basket cover, she had laid an egg and the

ducks’ eggs were again cold.

I put the eggs in another nest intending to use them for testing

another broody hen. After three days, one of my hens became

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

243

broody and I put her on the eggs on trial. After four days, on

going to put fresh eggs under her, I found a duckling hatching and

during that day and the following day five ducklings hatched from

the original twelve eggs.

The total period of incubation, including the three days during

which no hen was near the nest, was 33 days.

Probably such cases are fairly common, but I do not remember

having seen instances of them noted in the Society’s Journal.

This incident occurred early in May, when the day temperature

in Ahmednagar would be a maximum of about 105 and a minimum

of 85.

In connection with the above notes, I should like to know whether

the bloodsucker is an asset to a garden or not?

I believe he destroys a lot of grubs, caterpillars and the like,

but I caught him in the act destroying my bulbuls and I prefer

birds to flowers.

I have waged war on him since, and my bag up to date is

twenty-two.

5 Arsenal Road, C. O. LOWSLEY,

Poona, P.W.D.

September 17, 1929.

[The tendency to brood is a normal element in the cycle of

reproductive activities of the female bird. With some species such

as Hornbills, Hoopoes and the Eagle-Owl this duty is performed

exclusively by the female. With the Rhea and Emus incubation

is carried out by the cock bird alone. With the Common

Sandgrouse the cock bird sits by night and the hen by day, but with

the majority of species both parents brood in irregular alternation.

In hot countries such as India, many birds seem to trust to the heat

of the sun to hatch their eggs and incubation is relaxed to a great

extent during the day. Plume ( Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds,

Vol. I, p. 378) refers to four young mynahs which hatched out

without any apparent effort on the part of the parents at incubating

the eggs by day. Dewar ( Indian Bird Life, p. 237) mentions the

emergence of three young Pond Herons from eggs which he had

taken from the nest and placed in a vase three days previously.

In the hotter parts of India, the effect of the direct rays of the sun

on eggs which are not protected by cover of any sort may be

strong' enough to cook them ; the body of the brooding bird may

then become a shield from the sun. Common Sandgrouse, which

frequently nest in bare open plains where the eggs are exposed

without the protective cover of scrub or grass or stone, never leave

their eggs uncovered during the hottest part of the day. Similar

conditions make the Cream-coloured Courser a very close sitter.

We have had an instance nearer home. In Bombay our local crows

took very readily to building their nests on the brackets carrying the

overhead electric railway cables. Within the city limits, these

nests are usually built of wire or hoop iron. The nests are not

sheltered in any way and are exposed to the direct rays of the sun.

It was noticed that the crows brooded in the wire nests during the

32

250 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , XXXI V

hottest parts of the day but did not sit in them by night; they

roosted in the neighbouring trees. The nests were hot to the touch

even at 2 a.m.

Desertion of the nest after it has been tampered with varies not

only with different species but also among birds of the same species.

Some birds will continue to sit after some of the egg's have been

stolen or if the nest is handled in any way, while others of the same

species will desert the nest on the slightest provocation.

The common bloodsucker ( Calotes versicolor ) is mainly insecti-

vorous— that he occasionally robs nests is evident from the above

note. But we could hardly recommend his extermination on these

grounds. — Eds. ]

XIV.— THE TAIL-RACKET OF DISSEMURUS PARADISEUS

I am grateful to Mr. Salim Ali for having pointed out a mistake

in my paper on the Study of Indian Birds regarding the racket of

Dissemurus paradiseus. Mr. Salim Ali is wrong in assuming that

I copied my information from the two editions of the Fauna; I

examined the specimens in my collection very carefully and drew

the illustration from one of them. Mr. Salim Ali seems to think it

curious that the illustration agrees with the condition described, but

he does not suggest how the condition should be otherwise

illustrated as in fact the racket is borne in such a position that it

appears to be the outer web ; that it is not so is not apparent to

my eyes, either naked or with a lens. If, however, the shaft of the

feather is drawn slowly through the tightly closed nails of the finger

and thumb, it slowly rotates, from which I accept Mr. Salim Ali’s

contention that, what appears to be the outer web, is really the

inner web. It is an interesting point and one must assume, I

suppose, that the weight of the rackets was originally responsible

for the twist in the feathers.

Battle, Sussex, HUGE WHISTLER.

August 18, 1929.

XV.— NOTE ON THE NESTING HABITS OF THE

SOUTHERN RED-WHISKERED BULBUL (OTOCOMPSA

EMERIA FUSCI CAUDA T A )

The fourth reappearance of this bird, to nest in a fern-pot in

my verandah, reminds me that 1 made some notes of its appearances

on former occasions. A pair of the birds first built their nest in

a hanging pot of ferns in the verandah in front of my drawing-

room during the first week of last September. Only two eggs were

laid, but this small clutch may be explained by the comparatively

large size of the eggs as compared to the hen bird. The nest was

composed entirely of casuarina leaves, very neatly and closely

woven together, and this same nest has served to rear three

successive broods in without anything being done in the nature of

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

'251

repairs. The two young birds which resulted departed some time

in October and were fed fearlessly by the parents although we sat

to have our afternoon tea daily within a yard of the nest.

The parent birds reappeared again towards the end of November

when, again, two eggs were laid and successfully hatched out. The

third appearance of the same two birds was in March, twin fledg-

lings resulting for the third time. A few weeks before this we had

invested in a cat, and I rather feared that this animal might scare

our lodgers away. They evinced no fear whatever of it however.

One night, during a particularly heavy thunderstorm, the hen-bird,

which was sitting on the eggs, flew from the nest into the lighted

drawing-room, apparently scared by the lightning and crashing

thunder. The cat immediately pounced upon it, but was in its turn

pounced upon by the servants and the scared bird released from its

jaws, apparently quite unharmed. It was restored to its nest and

I was much surprised to find it sitting peacefully on the nest on the

following morning. One of the young birds left the nest a day

before the second and the parents were greatly put to it to prevent

the first from straying whilst they continued to feed the second.

This latter left the nest on the following day but w^as unable to

fly, and finding it on the ground, one of the servants placed a

wicker basket over it to prevent the cat getting at it. Shortly

afterwards, I found the parents sitting on top on the inverted basket

trying to feed the prisoner. I, thereupon, upturned the basket,

caught the second fledgling and placed the basket in a croton bush in

the compound. I rather feared that this would scare the parents

away and that the young birds would be deserted. My fears were

groundless, however, the birds followed me and at once took over

their offspring, the whole party leaving us two days later.

From May onwards, the birds have not been seen, but to-day, the

16th August, they are back again and now busy trimming up

the nest, which is a little the worse for wear from the monsoon and

the Mali’s attentions.

It would appear, therefore, that these birds nest thrice yearly,

laying two eggs on each occasion, the nesting season ranging from

September to early May. A pair of these birds built their nest in

a similar situation in my bungalow in Mercara, Coorg, 1923, so that

it would appear to be a habit of the species.

(N.B. Since the above was written, the mother bird has laid

two eggs and the fledglings are already half-grown.)

[The Southern race of the Red-whiskered Bulbul usually lays

two eggs in a clutch — occasionally 3 — while the Northern race

(O. e. emeria ) normally produces three to four. Baker (Faun.

Brit. Ind., new ed. , Vol. I, p. 396) gives March and April as the

breeding season, but states that many nests may be found between

February and August and odd ones in almost every month of the

year. The fecundity and fertility of birds, though innate in many

Calicut,

September 19, 1929.

F. C. FRASER,

Lt.-Col., I.M.S .

252 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXI V

'

species, may be influenced by external factors such as environment

and the abundance or scarcity of the food supply.

Ticehurst has shown ( Birds of Sind , Ibis, July 1922, p. 544) that

the White-eared Bulbul ( Pycononotus l. leucotis), which normally

breeds in Sind between March and April, repeats the performance

in June and September in years when the rainfall provides plenty

of leafy cover and abundant food in the shape of fruit and

insects. — Eds.]

XVI.— MIGRATION OF THE PIED CRESTED-CUCKOO

( COCCYSTES ] ACOBINUS)

With reference to Whistler’s note on the ‘Migration of the Pied

Cuckoo’ and in continuation of my letter of 15th April, I am writing

to inform you that I have been specially on the look-out for the

first appearance of the Pied Cuckoo this year in the neighbourhood

of Ajmer.

On Sunday, 30th June, the weather was very sultry, and towards

afternoon thunder clouds began to gather on the horizon threatening

rain before night. Such were the conditions when I saw the Pied

Cuckoo for the first time.

It was about 5 p.m. and the place was the hill range between

Ajmer and Nasirabad. These hills are quartzy and are covered with

thorny scrub and spurge and are typical of all the hill ranges round

Ajmer.

I had been on the spot for about half an hour and was just about

to retrace my steps towards the road and my car because the storm

was about to burst, when I heard the bird call in the distance; the

call was repeated at intervals, coming closer and closer, until the

bird flew almost directly over my head. At the same time the first

drops began to fall. I heard it no more that evening, although

I remained in the locality till sunset, the rain having lasted less than

half an hour only.

The rainfall has been rather unusual and irregular here this year.

There were heavy showers at the end of May and the middle of

June : from the middle of June onwards, the conditions were

generally monsoonish though the rainfall was negligible. Grass

had begun to grow and the thorny scrub was bursting' into leaf.

I had been on the same spot, sitting up for a panther, or birds

nesting, every Sunday throughout June, except the 9th, without

seeing or hearing the bird. On the following Wednesday, the

3rd July, I saw two birds fly into a babul tree on the Golf-course

which lies under a hill called Madar. The same night there was

heavy rain.

Since then I have seen numerous Pied Cuckoos on every occasion

on which I have entered any of the hill ranges round about Ajmer.

The bird may therefore be termed common in such situations.

I have since seen the bird on two occasions in Balul, Kikar Jungle,

at considerable distances from any hills.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 253

Its coming- seems to coincide with that of the Rain Quail whose

whistle is now to be heard in any grass land, whether in the

compound or further afield.

Ajmer, R. M. SIMMONS.

August 1929.

XVII.— AN ALBINO HOUSE SPARROW ( PASSER

DOMESTICUS)

For the last two or three years I have been noticing- an absolutely

pure specimen of an albino house sparrow regularly paying- its visits

in the company of ordinary individuals of this species, in the garden

of one of the hostels here. As is only to be expected, this bird,

with its pure snowy white, forms a very conspicuous and interest-

ing contrast with the commoner ashy-gray or dull-brown colour

mixed with dirty white of other individuals, the contrast being

specially heightened when the flock is in flight. Judged from the

colour of the bill, the bird in question is probably a female,

unless of course it is the case of a cock in which albinism has

affected even this member. I do not, however, know if such

a thing ever takes place.

This bird has been living and nesting in the company of others

and they seem to take no special notice of its freakish nature.

One thing, however, is surprising. Presuming this bird, whether

a cock or a hen, to mate freely, it is difficult to understand the

absence of other pure or partial albinos. Judging from the breeding

habits of the species, the birds must have brought up several

broods during the last two or three years, and yet not another bird,

whether purely or partially white, has ever been noticed.

Benares Hindu University, N. K. TIWARY.

October 16, 1929.

XVIII.— MIGRATORY HABITS OF WAGTAILS

xMthough only a casual observer of bird life, I have been

repeatedly very much impressed by the extremely regular migratory

habits of some of them. In particular I was led to note, with a

certain amount of care, the appearance of the White Wagtail

(Motacilla alba) in U.P. for a number of years. I have noticed these

birds appear in some of the towns with a surprising degree of

punctuality — in fact within one or two days of the 21st of September

each year. For the last three years, however, I find that they have

become very erratic in their movements. This year particularly

I did not notice a single individual until about the end of the first

week of this month. And even on this sixteenth day of October,

only stray birds are occasionally seen. Last year also very few

254 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

individuals were to be seen and they likewise appeared long after

their due date of arrival. I should like to knowT if the same

irregularity has been noticed by others and, if so, what may be the

probable reason of the want of punctuality as well of the very small

number of the individuals.

. e

Benares Hindu University, N. K. TIWARY.

October 16 , 1929.

XIX.— THE MATING OF THE BLOSSOM-HEADED

PAROQUET (. PSITTACULA CYANOCEPHALA)

In Vol. XXXII, No. 1 of this Journal , Mr. Salim A. Ali had

contributed an interesting note on ‘The Mating of Paroquets/

Therein he had described what he called ‘extraordinary antics

indulged in by the bird. ’ It appeared, however, from his note that

the mating habits of these birds were imperfectly known. At any

rate, judging from my own observations, he seemed to miss certain

preliminary details. Not, however, being an ornithologist myself,

I was looking to his account being commented upon by others. It

would now appear that this subject has not received the attention

from others or that there is nothing further to be added to the

account given by Mr. Salim A. Ali. It may therefore not be out

of place, even after this lapse of time, to publish these remarks.

The observations that I am about to record were casually made

a number of years ago and relate to birds that were kept as

pets. The male and the female had at first their own separate cages

but subsequently had to share the same for some reason. For a time

the original owner naturally could not brook any encroachment on

personal liberty by a stranger and the two birds kept 'fighting. In

course of time, however, they reconciled themselves to the

inevitable and even became friendly. Not very long afterwards

also they began to behave in what at first appeared to be a

curious manner. They would, for instance, at first tickle each

other with their beaks which subsequently would appear to

become locked together. On closer examination, however, it was

found that, while in this state, the regurgitated contents of their

crops were being apparently exchanged. During these proceedings,

and afterwards also until copulation took place, the pair was

continuously uttering what I can only describe as a series of squeaks

and cackles. After this state of affairs had gone on for about two

or three minutes, the male would climb up the back of the female

who would crouch down to receive him, and, then, as stated by

Mr. Salim A. Ali, ‘commenced a series of some extremely odd

proceedings difficult to describe. 5 The subsequent story is essen-

tially as related by him.

I have never again seen these birds mating and 1 am therefore

unable to say whether the facts here described are a normal feature

in the breeding operations of these birds. Those, however, who have

studied their habits more closely, would be able to throw light on

the subject.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

255

In conclusion, I might also add that with these caged birds mating

took place at any hour of the day and was not confined to early

mornings, as mentioned by Mr. Salim A. Ali.

Benares Hindu University, N. K. TIWARY.

October 16, 1929.

XX.— LATE STAY OF GREY QUAIL ( COTURNIX

COTURNIX ) IN BIHAR

While riding over a portion of the Gogra Diara (river bed) on

the 23rd of June, I put up a large number of Grey Quail out of the

tall grass through which I had a line of beaters beating for pig.

It struck me that it was unusually late for this quail. This note

may elicit similar observations made by other members.

Urna Estate, A. MACDONALD.

Marowrah P.O.,

B.&.N.W.Ry. ,

August 15, 1929.

XXL— BREEDING OF GEESE AND DUCKS IN

CHINESE TURKISTAN

The following might be of interest. It was noticed that the

following' birds had their young hatched in the first week of June

on the Tekkese River, 50 miles below Shotta.

Grey Lag Goose

Bar-headed Goose

Brahminy Duck

Mallard

British Consulate General.

Kashgar,

July 18, 1929.

(Anser anser)

( Anser indicus)

( Casarca fenruginea)

( Anas platyryncha )

G. SHERRIFF,

Capt., R.A.

XXII.— HOW THE MONITOR LIZARD SITS

IN ITS BURROW

In the last week of July this year, the Zoology staff and

Post-graduate students of our college, accompanied by three

snake-charmers, went out into the jungle round about Midhaku,

a small village near Agra. The purpose was to see the fauna of

this place in its natural haunts. Besides catching several centi-

pedes, insects, snakes and other animals, we secured eight monitor

lizards ( Varanus bengalensis), which are quite common here. The

snake-charmers had a remarkable sense of recognition of their

traces. My attention was especially drawn to the bold way, in

which, after digging a burrow waist-deep with the kudal, they

would half dive into it and fearlessly drag out a big', struggling

specimen by the tail. The monitor has strong jaws, and can give

a bite not easy to forget. Last year a snake-charmer was bitten.

256 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

and after many futile efforts to release his finger from inside the

reptile’s mouth, we had, as a last resource, to cut the jaws open

with scissors. It was a terrible bite ! In spite of such experiences,

however, the snake-charmers do not seem to think much of risking

their heads and hands in a monitor’s burrow. On enquiring,

I learnt that the creature has the habit of always sitting in the

burrow with its tail nearer, and its head away from, the opening.

Once the tail is caught, it cannot turn its clumsy length round to

bite at the offender, and the catcher is safe.

BENI CHARAN MAHENDRA,

Lecturer in Zoology.

St. John’s College,

Agra,

October 26, 1929.

XXIII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE RUSSELL’S VIPER IN THE

BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY

In Colonel Wall’s book on Poisonous Indian Snakes he states

that the Russel’s Viper is not found in the Brahmaputra valley.

I personally have seen two undoubted specimens in this district

which lies close to the Bhutan foothills. I have a specimen at

present in my possession which corresponds accurately with the

description, detailed and general, given in Colonel Wall’s book.

If you wish, I will send the specimen to you for confirmation ;

but as it is my only specimen of this snake, will you please under-

take to return it?

Paneery, J. LOUDON.

Panerihat P.O.,

August 17 , 1929.

[The snake forwarded to us by Mr. Loudon is a Russell’s

( V . russellii). — Eds.]

XXIV.— THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BANDED KRAIT

(B UNGARUS FASCIATUS )

On October 24th I was motoring in the Sal forest some five or

six miles from Gorakhpur, and was making a sharp hair-pin turn

from one of the narrow forest cuttings to another. The time was

about 6.45 and it was pitch dark.

A large snake, which was coiled up on the path, unwound when

my headlights struck it, and made off into the jungle. I tried

to run over it, but am not sure if I was successful, as my wife

would not hear of my going back to make investigations. The

snake was so brilliantly banded, and these bands showed up so

well under my headlights, that it seemed a definitely characteristic

one. The same evening in the Club the matter was discussed and

the consensus of opinion was that it was a Banded Krait ( Bungarus

fasciatusY

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

257

I have since referred to Colonel Wall’s book, and there seems

little doubt that the identification is correct. I should say the

specimen was about five feet long-. The only reason for my writing-

is that the furthest western limit given by Colonel Wall is Bettiah

in the Champaran District. Gorakhpur District is still further

west, the Gandhak River intervening.

Gorakhpur, JAMES MASSON

B. & N.W.Ry. LU-Colonel, I.M.S. (Retd.)

October 26, 1929.

XXV.— A DUEL BETWEEN A CAT AND A COBRA

I wonder if any reader has ever heard of a fight between a cat

and a cobra? If he has not, the following incident, which actually

took place, may be of interest.

The cat in this little drama belonged to me. Formerly she was

a stray cat and half ‘Jungly’, but we gave her a home and she

became a great pet of our family. In the ordinary course of events

we went to England but before our departure we left Billikins

with a bachelor friend, and in due course she became as attached

to him as she had been to us.

When the hot weather arrived, our friend followed his usual

custom of sleeping out-of-doors, and Billikins, most faithful of

animals, usually followed him when he retired for the night, seldom

wandering* far from, and often herself sleeping under, the bed.

One night our friend was wakened by a hissing sound which

seemed to come from somewhere close by. He sleepily noted that it

was a bright moonlight night, and was just dozing off again, when

a second louder ‘hiss-s-s’, followed by a growl and a spitting noise

from a cat, raised his curiosity and indicated that some drama — of

an unusual kind — was being enacted under his bed !

Carefully lifting up a corner of his mosquito net and peering

underneath, he discovered Billikins engaged in a mortal combat

with a big, black, cobra about a yard long. The cat was

crouched, with tense muscles, never taking her eyes from the snake,

while her dangerous opponent was sitting up, slowly swaying from

side to side ! And then, with awful suddenness, came the inevitable

strike ! But, quick as lightning, the cat had jumped to one side,

and, in the act of retreating and while the cobra’s head was still

lowered, had got in a tearing blow on the back of his neck with her

claws.

The drama continued !

The cobra raised himself, and again he struck, only to receive

another blow on his head, and to miss his quarry. These tactics

were repeated time after time, until at last the wounded snake

crawled away leaving the heroic little cat mistress of the field.

33

253 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol . XXXI V

The next morning the cobra was found dead in a ditch close by,

with its neck and head torn to ribbons.

‘Mullacloe’, (Miss) H. VICK.

Naini Tal, U.P.,

June 25, 1929.

XXVI. —NOTES ON THE RARER LYC^ENIDAE

Tajuria ceeta, Den.

Has many broods. I have taken many perfect specimens from

November to May. A sure find is the evergreen tree growing in

and round Jheels or Ins in S. Burma. Time 1 to 3 p.m. In any

glade where the light filters through. Never taken above 15 ft.

from the ground.

Locality. — Salween, Pegu, Thaton, and Moulmein districts.

Tajuria ogyges, Den.

Many broods, November to May. In Thaton district, found with

ceeta. In Moulmein, Ataran and Haungtharaw Valleys, on the

larger streams, flying around the orchids growing on the Pyinma

trees ( Lagerstroemia flos regince Retz) d d taken from machans

30 ft. and over from the ground 9 9 *n the scrub below, d 6 on

the wing from 1.30 to 3 p.m.

Tajuria donatana , Den.

I have only seen this on a peak between the Ataran and

Haungtharaw Valleys near the Siamese border in April. This peak

had been cleared for a survey station. The insects appeared at

11 a.m. and began chasing one another round the peak flying about

4 ft. off the ground, and settling on trees down the spur well out

of reach. A branch from one of these trees planted on the top gave

me 5 perfect d d specimens in about an hour’s time. They stopped

flying at 1.30 p.m.

Char ana mandarinus, Hew.

d 6 always found on hill tops, usually on the underside of leaves.

I have taken them at all hours. 9 9 seen ovipositing on the smaller

stems of mango trees.

Tails held straight when sitting.

Jacoona anasuja , Fd.

I have taken about 30 d d and 5 9 9 this beautiful species,

and seen about as many more, only on hill tops. I have taken it

here in May my o on an oak tree from July to October. In Thaton,

it is found on Kalama Taung 3,022 ft. in November-December,

where it settles on the scrub. In the Salween district, I took it on

a large wild mango tree from a machan 25' off the ground at

600 ft. December-May. In Moulmein, I took it on all kinds of

trees. In one case, off bamboo, where Brig. Evans’ collector, James

also took it. In most cases it prefers trees with a branch or two

which are about 20 to 30 ft. above ground.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

259

The 9 is the first to appear. .She usually comes at 1Q.30 a.m.

and makes two or three very short visits to the tree on which the

3 d appear at 11 a.m. (never earlier). I saw . one which had a

big piece taken out of her wings make 4 visits, the last at 12 a.m.

A <$ which arrived just as she left flew off after her, she did not

return to the tree again. d d and 9 9 do not remain after

1 p.m. I have lost numerous 9 9 through waiting for them to

settle, which, I have not seen one do yet. The d 6 when they

first appear usually alight on the upperside of leaves, preferably a

leaf which is bent downwards. Later, during the day, they alight

on top of a leaf and walk underneath and remain with head always

pointing downwards and wings always closed. As seen from my

machan the sight of 6 d d below me chasing one another round is

one I will never forget.

From the leaf the insect starts its flight with the wings open on a

fast glide. I have seen them loop the loop without closing the wings

once. The flight ordinarily is a series of arcs, the direction of flight

being changed at the end of curve by a quick closing of the wings.

The tails are always held straight. This peculiarity is also shared

by Manto, Mantoides, Neocheritra and Purlisa and is easily noticed

when they are sitting. All the other long-tailed Lyccenidae curl up

the ends of their tails.

Manto hypoleuca martina, Hew.

Karen Hills, from which it has never been recorded, is the only

place where I have seen and taken this variety. In a deep glen of

the Meto Law at 1,000 ft., Salween District, on 25th and 26th

December, 1926, I saw about a dozen specimens, between 3 to

4 p.m. sitting with their wings open about -30 ft. off the ground on

trees overhanging the stream, getting the last of the sun. I only

took two after a nasty climb up a tree and a longer handle to my

net. Tails held straight when sitting.

Mantoides licinus , Druce.

I have taken this from the same machans as I have Jacoona.

I have not seen it in Maymyo. Any hill top with evergreen jungle

on the north and east slopes from the Karen hills in the Salween

District to Mergui is a likely find for this. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. I have

not seen more than a couple of dozen in eight years in Burma. In

Mergui I found it with Neocheritra amitra. November-May. Tails

held straight.

Neocheritra fabronia , Hew.

I have only seen this at the camping ground on the east face of

the Dawnas at 3,400 ft. on the road from Hlaingbwe (Thaton

District) to the Thaungyin Valley. The d d flying about 4 ft.

above the ground looking like a frayed bit of blue ribbon. The

9 9 m the jungle on both sides of the open spur which forms the

campaign ground. Tails held straight.

Neocheritra amitra, Fd.

d d flying between 1 and 3 p.m. always from south to north.

Only seen and taken in Mergui from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with

260 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , G?/. XXXlV

Mantoides licinius — stays hig-h — sits on upper sides of leaves.

N ovember-May .

This lovely insect had not been recorded from within our

limits before I took it in the Ataran Valley-Moulmein. I took two

specimens sitting on the underside of bamboo ( Thrsostachys

siamensis ) leaves, in April, in burnt out jungle where one would

not expect a common butterfly. It is apt to be overlooked when

flying as the blue on upperside is the same as that of a Dacalana

but the flight is like that of Jacoona. Tails held straight. This

butterfly was wrongly credited as having been taken by me in

Mergui by Brigadier Evans in Vol. XXX, Note 9(a) at the end

of the Lyccenidae Family. He probably overlooked the notes

I sent him at the time.

September, 1929.

XXVII.— A NOTE ON SOME MALABAR LEP1DOPTERA

Looking through Brig. Evans’ lists of butterflies which occur in

the South of India, I notice that there are several species which he

mentions as rare or very rare, but which actually are not at all

uncommon. Of these, five in particular have at various times

forced themselves upon my attention, although I have not been

taking any particular interest in them. I have been able to make

the following brief notes about these species : —

1. Papilio buddha. — Moderately common from May until the

end of September and quite common during the latter end of

August. I have seen as many as a hundred in my own compound at

Calicut, but, owing to their shyness and rapid flight, have not often

secured them ; ten was my biggest bag made in the course of one

hour. Perfect specimens are rarely taken, but their wings being

remarkably tough, they do not often fracture in the net. On the

wing it is one of the most superb insects, its wings spread wide

show to perfection the wonderful display of shot blues and greens.

At the foot of the Vayitri Ghat, along the telegraph jungle line, it

may be seen in great numbers, but all flying high ; in Calicut it

shows a predilection for lantana blossom on steep hillsides, where

it may be taken after a long tiring stalk.

2. Papilio liomedon. — Found on hills from the 15th to 30th miles

on the Vayitri-Calicut road. A wary, restless insect, keeping to

dense jungle, but seen very occasionally whilst crossing clearings.

Last year, during September, I saw eighteen specimens in the

jungle at the foot of the Vayitri Ghat and secured five of them.

In May last I came across it in plenty in the Kallar Valley, Annai-

mallais at 3,500 ft. Specimens were continually crossing the river-

bed, following the line of the jungle and vanishing into its depths

at intervals. So wild were these specimens that I did not succeed

in . securing a single one.

Purlisa gigantea, Dist.

Kilrea,

Maymyo,

G. E. R. COOPER,

Survey of India.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

261

3. Parantirrhoea niarshallii. — A not uncommon butterfly at

Lakati, at the top of the Vayitri Ghat. The insect is a riverine one ;

so is apt to force itself upon my attention when wading* up streams

after dragonflies. Its larva feeds on cane and the insect is thus

rarely seen away from the neighbourhood of cane brakes. Although

gifted with a weak flight, owing to the dense nature of the

thickets it frequents, giving one no room to play a net, it is quite

difficult to take. Recently I took three specimens in about twenty

minutes and I should conjecture that a collector, especially out for

them, could take a score in the course of a morning. Lakati is a

very similar locality to Watacolle, Coorg, where Winkworth has

taken this insect. I possess a specimen taken near Trichur, Cochin,

some years ago.

4. Zipoetis satis. — Taken in the same locality as P. marshallii

but a much more common insect. At Lakati, in August, it is quite

the commonest Satyrine and may be flushed up every few yards.

In spite of the dense thickets, I took eight specimens in about ten

minutes recently. I saw it quite common in the Cochin jungles at

Kavali last September and it is not at all uncommon on the

Nilambur Ghat, Nilgiris.

5. Prioneris sita. — I was shown a specimen of this insect,

which so remarkably resembles Delias eucharis, by Mr. Florence of

Coonoor last year and remarked that possibly the large numbers

of insects which I had seen at Lakati, and which 1 had thought

to be D. eucharis, would be P. sita. When at Lakati next I

discovered that both species were in company but P. sita in over-

whelming superiority. As would be expected from the shape of its

wings, its flight is much more strong and swift than its mimic and

so it is quite easily determined on the wing.

It foregathers with Catopisilias and Appias on wet sand beside

the river at Lakati and it is in such numbers during September,

that one can quite easily dab the net down on half a dozen or more

as they cluster together. The insect is a sub-montane one and it is

soon lost to sight as the Vayitri Ghat is descended, D. eucharis

on the other hand becoming increasingly common. Whilst the

latter insect is to be found all the year round in Malabar, P. sita is

single-brooded and appears only during September to October.

F. C. FRASER,

Calicut. Lt.-Col., I.M.S.

XXVIII.— DWARF SPECIMENS OF BUTTERFLIES

( With a plate )

The annexed plate shows, along with a normal-sized specimen,

a dwarf male Papilio polymnestor, Cr., caught in Sambalpur,

Orissa. It has, besides its diminutive size, the following

peculiarities : —

L The black, subterminal spots on the hindwings are round

rather than oblong or quadrate, and much smaller than the discal

spots. That in interspace 2 is specially small.

262 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , K?/. XX XI V

2. The acl-nervular blue streaks on the forewings go further

round the apex than in any specimen of the long series in the British

Museum.

There is a prominent red streak in each forewing cell. There is

a faint trace of red in one or two males in the British Museum,

but none are as in this one.

These are all Sambalpur captures, except the first (from Sikkim)

and the last (from Burma). None of them shows any marked

peculiarity except the Char axes. It bears tawny spots in interspaces

1 and 2 on the black border on the forewing. Evans, in his

Identification of Indian Butterflies, says this is a feature of the dry

season form, but none of my dry season captures of normal-sized

imna shows this feature. Moreover this dwarf specimen was caught

in July, i.e. , in the wet season.

It would be interesting to know if these, dwarf specimens are

common. ,

Belfast, W. M. CRAWFORD,

June 26, 1929. F.E.S.

XXIX.— THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE SILK-MOTH

(. LCEPA NEWARA [MOORE])

For a description of this rare and beautiful silk-moth I would

refer the reader to Fauna of British India, Moths, by Sir Geo. F.

Hampson. (Bart.), Vol. I, p. 26, n. 27. (1892).

From a study of this, and the habitat recorded, viz. — Nepal, and

Sikkim, it will show that the Northern Shan Hills is a new locality

for this species.

Larva : — rough, rather bright green, of a peculiar bulgy shape,

and of a somewhat flattened appearance resembling the shape of a

narrow lanceolate leaf, head small ; it is entirely devoid of large

tubercles.

Length. — (full-fed) 75 mm.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

A— DWARF EXAMPLE OF PAPJLIO POLYMNESTOR

B — NORMAL EXAMPLE OF PAPILIO POLYMNESTOR

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

263

Months of appearance. — March and April.

Food Plants. — Ccesalpinia nnga. (Ait.) A tree; stalks of the

leaves thorny. (Burmese name. — Soo-g-ouk.)

Pupa: — enclosed in a strongly woven and compact, dull bluish-

green cocoon, which is very neatly and strongly attached to a twig

of its food-plant by a silken appendage. Dark brown in colour,

and closely resembling the shape of the chrysalis of Attacus atlas

(Linne.) but smaller. The cocoon has a wide mouth or opening

at the top like that of a jug, with its two sides tightly closed.

Months of pupation. — April to January.

Situation. — Enclosed in a dull bluish-green cocoon which is

attached to a twig of its food-plant and suspended by a silken

appendage.

Imago : — -emerged in January. It therefore remains eight to nine

months in the pupa state.

Habitat. — -Nepal, Sikkim, N. E. Himalayas; Northern Shan

Hills, N. E. Burma.

Localities. — Darjeeling, Sikkim ; Maymyo, N. Shan Hills.

Elevation. — (altitudinal range) 3,500 to 7,000 ft.

Months of appearance. — January and February. (This refers to

the Shan States.)

Comparative abundance. — Rare.

Expanse. — d 132 to 150 mm. 9 142 to 150 mm.

It may also interest Lepidopterists to know that I captured a

9 of Lcepa katinka (Westw.) at Maymo, Northern Shan Hills,

elevation, 3,500 ft. in September, at light. This is the first

observation recorded of its occurrence in Burma.

It seems strange that the larva of L. katinka is hairy according

to Hampson (vide Fauna Brit. Ind., Moths, I, pp. 25, 26; n. 25)

(1892) and is also adorned with ‘six pink tubercles on each somite’;

and with ‘white sublateral irregular blotches from 4th to 10th

sometimes, claspers pink’ while that of L. newara (Moore) is

simply rough skinned, and is the same uniform colour all over.

Surely the characters in the larvae of species belonging to the

same Genus would be, at least, somewhat similar in general

appearance, but there would seem to be a vast difference between

these two species. I would be glad if any Lepidopterist will

corroborate Hampson’s description of the larva of the former

species, and let me know.

Pegu, C. E. FELLOWES-MANSON.

Burma,

June 1, 1929.

XXX.— THE HUMAN EAR USED AS A BURROW

BY A SPHEGID WASP

A British soldier recently reported to my father an account of

deafness and, on srvinging out his ear, portions of a small wasp

and larvae were found amongst other debris.

The onset of the complaint had been sudden, the condition of the

ear was normal except for rather an excess of wax.

264 JOURNAL, BOMBAY .NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Being rather busy at the time, my father asked me to send these

abnormal residents of the ear on to you for opinion.

The result has been as follows : —

Dr. Hem Singh Pruthi, of the Zoological Survey of India, very

kindly wrote the following,

‘In reference to your letter, dated 24th of August 1929,

addressed to Dr. Prashad, I have to inform you that the larvae are

of Lepidoptera, whereas the adult insect (broken in pieces) is a

Sphegid (Hymenoptera), probably belonging to the genus Gorytes.

‘Sphegids prey on many insects, including Lepidopterous

larvae, which they paralyse by stinging, subsequently storing them

in suitable burrows for their young ones to feed on. In the case

under reference, it appears that the wasp mistook the ear of the

patient for a burrow in a walk If so, he must sleep very soundly

indeed !

‘(Sd.) Hem Singh Pruthi, Assistant Superintendent, Zoologi-

cal Survey of India.’

Foreign bodies in the ear are of interest to many; in this case it

seems lucky that the man awoke when he did; otherwise, he might

have found a hymenopterous family inhabiting his ear, the buzzing

of which would have been even more intense than that described

by Dr. Oliver Wendle Holmes in his ‘Stethescope Song’.

Further research into the aural contents of those working in

some official offices might lead to more interesting finds, perhaps

spiders to catch the daring hymenopteron or even ‘bats’.

Hoping that the above short notes may prove of interest to

readers of the Journal.

Ferozepore, LORNA BOYD.

September 13, 1929.

XXXI.— NOTES ON THE FLOWERING OF

STROBILANTHUS CALLOSUS, NEES

The flowering period of this Strobilantlius has led to much

discussion and conjecture. Some of the standard works give the

flowering of this species as occurring at intervals of seven, eight

and even as much as twelve years. The local people who use

this plant for various purposes tell me that it flowers every three

years but this I do not accept as true, as such statements are very

often based on no sound foundation.

It is not with a view to clearing up these differences that I write

these notes, but only as a record, which in time will no doubt help

in throwing some light on the subject.

In Salsette, among the hills around the Kanari Caves, flowers

appeared on isolated plants in August-September 1927. In the

following year (1928) in August and September, there was a general

flowering throughout the area. Those of the previous year seem

to have foreshadowed the coming event. In March of 1929,

all that was left were the tall stems (some of which were twelve feet

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

265

in height) with all the fruit still attached to them. The peculiar

musky smell was very strong- throughout the area.

In September (1929), when I visited the area again, no tall

specimens were to be seen with the exception of a few isolated

plants, here and there but by no means numerous. In the place

of the old plants a large number of seedlings had sprung up,

which did not exceed two-foot-six in height. The forests appeared

very naked without their usual complement of tall Strobilanthus,

which was very striking indeed.

This record will enable someone in the future to clear up this

point.

Bombay Natural History Society, C. McCANN.

Bombay,

September 19, 1929.

XXXII.— SOME NOTES ON SCORPIONS IN IRAQ

That scorpions are an ancient affliction of Iraq is attested by a

recent find of Mr. C. L. Woolley’s at Ur of the Chaldees. From

the King’s Grave was taken, amongst other things, a harp, the

standard of which was made in the likeness of the fore-part of a bull.

Between his legs are four decorative shell plaques ; the lowest bears

a representation of a creature with the head of a man on the body

of a scorpion. The terminal segments are arched as locally reputed

to be in the commoner varieties of scorpions only.

To-day as probably then, scorpions are found throughout the

length and breadth of Iraq. Sulaimania is said to have its own

peculiar variety and Mandali, Dohuk and Mungash all enjoy or

rather suffer reputations in respect of ultra-venomous scorpion

populations.

From Mandali, I was recently sent four small yellow scorpions

with notes to the effect that these were of a variety peculiar to

Mandali, were very venomous, and were known as ‘jerrar’ on

account of their habit of carrying the ‘tail’ trailing, not arched.

It was further stated that few bitten by them recovered and that

four people had already died in the town of Mandali up to the end

of September, in 1929. These deaths have not been authenticated.

A short while ago I was touring in the Dohuk area, north of

Mosul, and made continual enquiries about scorpions from the

natives. The invariable opinion was that they were common ; one

tribesman volunteered the information that the yellow scorpions

were to be found in the open and the black ones under cover in

buildings, ruins, etc.

In Dohuk itself, the town fathers, that is the Rais Baladiyah,

the Qaim Maqam, the doctor, the school-master and one or two

other notables seated in conclave, gave the following information : —

Scorpions abound in all villages but are more dangerous in

some than others, also in any one village, in certain parts they will

34

266 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY , D?/. XXXI V

be more venomous than in certain other parts of the same village.

They had no explanation to offer for this.

The black scorpions are more to be feared and drag their tails

being consequently known as ‘jerrar’. Reversely the yellow

scorpions are not so poisonous and do not drag their tails.

In Dohuk, for the last twenty years, deaths from scorpion’s bite

have averaged one a year. Children, mostly under ten, have supplied

the victims. They stated that if a child had been stung by a

scorpion and was going to die loss of speech followed by death in

three hours was the rule. Apropos of this, a local shop-keeper was

sent for. He had witnessed the death of a boy of ten about three

months before. The child himself said that it was a scorpion that

stung him on the left second toe ; this occurred at night. He

developed a very cold sweat, an incoherence of speech, spasm of

the hand muscles, suggestive from the description, of ‘accoucheur’s

hand’ and died in five hours.

A Dr. Sati who has been very many years a practitioner in Mosul

and who has always had an interest in snakes and scorpions,

contributes the following items from his own observation and

opinions : — The black tail-dragging sort is known as ‘jerrar’ and

is dangerous, the yellow tail-arching sort less so. The sting is more

dangerous when applied in dorsi-flexion than when it is applied in

extension. (This may have some relationship to the differences in

degrees of pressure exerted on the poison glands in flexion and

extension). Scorpions are attracted by chamomile herb. He kept

a black scorpion in a glass in the light for twenty days, at the end

of which time the scorpion was yellow.

In Baghdad at the present time the simpler townsfolk place

scorpions in bottles and state that they then exude an oil which is

curative for their stings. They are said to be blind and to be

responsible for the holes that duly appear in metal domestic vessels

and containers. One hears of a certain number of scorpion stings

in Baghdad every year ; I have, however, yet to' hear of any serious

results from stings in Baghdad.

The Dohuk and Mandali fatalities quoted above, I am on the

whole inclined to credit.

A few simple experiments will obviously separate much of the

preceding hearsay into fact and fable and one hopes to carry them

out some time.

In the meanwhile, these notes are forwarded in view of scorpions

being topical for the moment from the B.N.H.S. point of view.

Royal College of Medicine, NORMAN L. CORKILL.

Baghdad,

October 12, 1929.

[Dr. Corkill has sent us for identification two species of scorpions.

One, common about Baghdad houses, is Hemiscorpiops lepturus ; the

* second is the much dreaded ‘jerrar’ variety from Mandali, to which

reference is made in Dr. Corkill ’s note. The species in question

is Buthus australis, the toxicity of whose venom is comparable to

that of the Cobra. — Eds.]

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

2 67

XXXIII.— SWARMING OF THE TENERRIONID BEETLE

(. LYPROPS CURTICOLLIS, FAIRM)

I shall thank you to let me know the name and all particulars

about the life-history and habits of the enclosed insect, known

amongst the Cochin planters as ‘Mooply Beetle’, because it appears

to flourish abundantly in the Mooply valley.

I have been informed that the beetle does not attack India-rubber

or other plants, but comes into houses in countless millions, covering

ceilings, pictures, tables, in fact, settling upon everything ; and on

this account, it has become a terrible domestic nuisance, so much

so, that it is believed that some of the villages in that district have

been deserted owing to the invasion by these beetles. No one seems

to know where they breed and what they live upon ; and drenching

them with kerosene oil, and setting fire afterwards, does not seem

to have any effect in diminishing their numbers.

I shall feel obliged if you will kindly let me know all about these

pests, and the measures to be adopted for their destruction and

prevention. This beetle is not met with in Kodaikanal.

‘Iffley,’ D. A. TURKHUD,

Kodaikanal, S.I., m.b., c.m. (Edin.)

September 22, 1929.

[The Beetle in question has been identified at the British

Museum as Ly props curticollis Fairm. Mr. Frederick Laing of

the Entomological Department writes ‘The beetle is Lyprops

curticollis Fairm., my colleague Mr. K. G. Blair tells me. I have

searched through our own index here and various other works of

reference, but I have failed to find any mention of the life history.

Failing the discovery of where the beetle is breeding, the only

suggestion I can make is that trial might be made with one of

the sprays now on the market — something after the style of “Flit”.

Most of these sprays consist essentially of a petrol or paraffin in

which is dissolved pyrethrum extract ; other substances, such as

camphor, may be aded. Several of these sprays will destroy crickets

and would also kill this beetle probably.’ Writing subsequent to

the receipt of this information Dr. Turkhud tells us that ‘Flit:’ had

been tried against these beetles without any helpful results. — Eds.]

PROCEEDINGS

A meeting of members of the Bombay Natural History Society and their

friends was held at the Prince of Wales’ Museum on Thursday, November 28,

1929. Mr. H. A. W. Brent was in the Chair.

The Honorary Secretary, Sir Reginald Spence, announced the election of the

following forty-one members since the last meeting held on July 23, 1929 ; —

MajorJ. B. Hance, o.b.e., i.m.s., Bombay ; Capt. N. M. Hughes-Hallet,

Razrnak : Lt.-Col. M. A. Nicholson, i.m.s., Abbottabad ; Major E. E. Doyle.

i.m.s. , Poona ; Capt. G. F. Heaney, r.e., Maymyo, Burma ; J. A. Thorne, Esq.,

I. C.S., Tanjore, S.I. ; Roderick Dobson, Esq., Talawakelle, Ceylon ;

J. L. F. Purvis, Esq., Mergui, Burma ; J. W. Landells, Esq., Mergui, Burma ;

The Hon’bleMr. Ernest Burdon, c.s.i., c i.e., I.C.S., Simla ; Sri Balvadra N.B.

Deo, Raja and Ruling Chief of Keonjhar State ; Dr. J. Loudon, m b. , Panerihat,

Assam ; H. H. Rai Rayan Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Shri Lakshman Singhji

Bahadur of Dungarpur ; Alphonse M. Als, Esq., Bombay ; B. S . Thomas, Esq.,

Muscat, Persian Gulf; W. E. Bell, Esq., Mergui, Burma; T. G. B. Davies,

Esq., Khaur, Punjab; H. Beresford Berrett, Esq., i.f.s., Bassein, Burma;

C. B. Sethna, Esq,, Bombay; Raja Bhavani Shankar Sekhar Deo, Raja and

Ruling Chief of Gangpur State ; G. L. Winterbotham, Esq., m.l.c., Bombay ;

T. R. Paterson, Esq., Jalpaiguri ; E. E. Ranicar, Esq., Valparai, S. I. ;

J. R. Belmont, Esq., Bombay; H. L. Aspden, Esq., Bombay; Alfred

Ezra, Esq., o.b.e., f.z.s., Surrey England ; The Head Master, Govt. English

School, Virajpet, Coorg ; R. W. Inder, Esq., i.f.s., Karachi ; C. K. Bridgmell,

Esq., Rajmai, Assam ; J. M. Stapylton, Esq., Mandla, C. P. ; K. Lindberg,

Esq., Sholapur ; E. W. Grennan, Esq., Belgaum ; A. H. Cook, Esq.,

Edinburgh, Scotland ; Capt. N. J. G. Jones, Miranshah, N.W.F.P ; J. E. Liber-

herr, Esq., Bombay; Mrs. L. J. Peck, Delhi; C. C. Inglis, Esq., Poona;

Jehangir Dinshaw Davar, Esq., Bar-at-Law, Bombay ; A. D. F. Dundas,

Esq., I.C.S., Miranshah, N.W.F.P; The Secretary, Imperial Council of

Agricultural Research, Delhi; Capt. H. Puckle, Ambala, Punjab.

Sir Reginald Spence, the Honorary Secretary, outlined the progress in the

plans for the building of a new Natural History Wing to the Prince of Wales’

Museum. The development and growth of the various sections now represen-

ted in the museum made the question of additional space urgent and

imperative. The Trustees had approved of a scheme for building a new wing

to form the Natural History Museum and were prepared to provide the sum of

2 lakhs towards the cost of the new building which was estimated to cost

5^ lakhs. His Excellency the Viceroy had very kindly agreed to lay the

foundation-stone of the new wing, provided we could furnish the assurance

that work on the building would commence next year. The Trustees of the

Museum and the Society were therefore faced with the necessity of raising

about lakhs of rupees. The Society had already made appeals to various

Princes and private citizens and Sir Reginald was glad to announce that he

had received a donation of Rs. 5,000 from the Bhavnagar Durbar for the

building fund. He hoped that further donations would help the Trustees to

realize their plan of providing Bombay with a first class Natural History

Museum.1

A Giant Perch from Bombay Harbour.

An interesting recent addition to the Museum is an example of an enormous

Leopard Perch ( Serranus Pantherinus) , presented by Mr. Yusuf Hasham. The

fish measured a little over 7 feet in length and scaled 475 lbs. It was caught by

local fishermen on a night line in Bombay harbour. The specimen has been

beautifully mounted. It will indicate to local anglers the variety of sea

fishing in Bombay.

1 H. E. The Viceroy was unable to lay the foundation-stone owing to our

being unable to furnish the required assurance,

Proceedings

269

The Social Life of Ants.

Mr. S. H. Prater, the Society’s Curator, delivered a lecture on the Social Life

of Ants. Man, the highest of the social animals, cannot fail 10 be interested in

the strange resemblances to human society revealed in the communal lives of

Bees Wasps, Ants and Termites. They are truly social insects. The

occupants of a wasps’ nest, the inhabitants of a hive, a colony of ants or the

dwellers in a termite mound, no matter how populous, represent an assemblage

of parents and offspring. These teeming families olten contain a single

parent— the mother or Queen — with her brood. The progeny are not only pro-

tected and fed by the mother but they eventually co-operate in protecting and

feeding her and become nurses to her subsequent broods. The lecturer out-

lined the various methods followed by ants in founding new colonies Flights

of winged ants which are a familiar feature at certain seasons of the } ear

herald the establishment of new colonies. This brief aerial adventure is the

occasion when the males mate with the virgin Queens— the future mothers of

the colony.

Whether in Man or in Insects communal life is established because the

individual benefits by a life in common with his kind. The individual

produces more than he consumes ; the community as a whole reap the benefit.

One direct result of social life is over-production and over-accumulation. Man

not only accumulates material objects but he accumulates manners, rites,

beliefs and superstitions — the product of his social life. Overwhelmed under

the crust of these social deposits, which gather volume and sanctity with age,

he is compelled periodically to break through. He seeks relief in war or in

revolution. Germany, auto-intoxicated witn her special brand of ‘Kultur’,

seeking an outlet for her enormous productions, plunges into war in her quest

for a place in the sun. The masses in Russia, ground under the yoke of social

inheritances, of prejudices, traditions and habits of life accumulated through

the long ages of its history, break through their trammels in red revolution.

Insects manage the same problem somewhat better. When a colony reaches

the acme of its accumulation, when its territory is no longer able to support its

members, it sends forth fresh young members to found new colonies. The

elders are effaced and the parent colony succumbs with true humility and

good cosmic manners.

With the majority of ants the male dies after mating with the Queen. The

purpose of his life accomplished, he is of no further use to his community. The

continued fertility of the Queen is established by a single act of mating. She

continues to produce eggs for the rtst of her life. The majority of her offspring

are thus condemned to a life of celibacy. They are workers pure and simple.

They form a sterile proletariat destined to a life of unremitting toil. They

must build and defend the nest ana provide food and accommodation for the

Queen, for themselves and the young. In some prolific colonies the labour is

so exacting that a special caste of soldiers is developed to take over the defence

of the community.

Like man, ants have passed through different degrees or stages of civilization.

They have passed from the nomad and hunting stages to the pastoral and

finally to the agricultural and industrial stage.

Thus we have the Hunting ants represented in various species of the family

Poneridcs. They live by raiding and ravaging the nests of termites and of

other ants.

The large black ant of our bungalows and the fierce red tree ants which

build nests of leaves are in the pastoral stage. They go in largely for keeping

‘cattle’ and living on dairy produce. Various insects act as art ‘cows’.

They provide the ants with a sweet nectar which exudes from their bodies and

in turn are kept and cared for by the ants. Our harvesting ants— one can

always tell their nests by the ring of chaff piled round the entrance — have

reached the industrial and agricultual stage ; they build roads through their pro-

perties and maintain granaries where they stoie the grain and seeds they gather.

A hearty vote of thanks was unanimously passed to the lecturer by the

meeting which wTas the largest for many years.

Printed by George Kenneth at the Diocesan Press, Madras, and publ shed by

Sir Reginald Spence. for the Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay

THACKER, SPINK & CO.

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THE

J-OURNAI

OF THE

(■!

Bombay Natural History Society.

VOL. XXXIV, No. 2.

Date of Publication, 15th July, 1930-

For terms of membership, see inside front cover.

Honorary Secretary's Address:

Bombay natural history society,

6, Apollo Street, Bombay.

LONDON AGENTS:

DULAU & Co., Ltd.,

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PRINTED AT THK DIOCESAN PRESS, MADRAS

EDITED BY

SIR REGINALD SPENCE, Kt., F.Z.S., & S* H. PRATER, C.M.Z.S,

Price to Non-Members

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or £ 1-3-0

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Game Birds of India, Vol. I. (Indian Ducks and their Allies), 2nd Edition.

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Game Birds of India, Vol. II. (Woodcock, Snipe, Bustards and Sandgrouse),

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TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.

Life Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 20 and a Life Membership fee of

Rs. 350.

Ordinary Members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 20 and an annual

subscription of Rs. 25.

The subscription of members elected in October, November and December

covers the period from the date of their election up till the end of the

• following year.

MEMBERS RESIDING OUTSIDE INDIA.

The terms are the same for members living outside India. Such members

should pay their subscriptions by means of orders on their Bankers to pay the

amount of the subscription, plus postage— in all Rs. 26-8-0 to the Society in

Bombay on the 1st January in each year. If this cannot be done, then the sum

of j£2-0-6 should be paid annually to the Society’s Loudon Bankers— The

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

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXXIV , No. 2

Page

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

f.l.s. and W. S. Millard, f.z.s. Part IV. ( With two coloured

plates , two black and white plates and four diagrams.) 271

The Study of Indian Birds. By H. Whistler, f.z.s., m.b.o.u.

Part V. ( With one plate and six text-figures) 276

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

E. Blatter, S.J., Ph.D., f.l.s. Part XII 291

The Panthers and Ounces of Asia. By R. I. Pocock f.r.s.

Part II. ( With seven plates) 307

Notes on the Birds of the Upper Burma Hills. By P. F.

Wickham. Part III 337

The Panther as I have known him. By Lt.-Col. A. H. E. Mosse,

i. a., f.z.s. Parts I and II. ( With two plates) 350

The Monitor Lizards of Burma. By H. C, Smith, i.f.s. (With

two plates) 367

The value of Field Observations in the study of Organic

Evolution. By Sunder Lai Hora, d.sc., etc. ( With nine text-

figures) 374

The Vernay Scientific survey of the Eastern Ghats. By N. B.

Kinnear, f.z.s., m.b.o.u and H. Whistler, f.z.s., m.b.o.u 386

The Habits of Millipedes ( Marptodesmus sp.) . By Major R. W. G.

Hingston, i.m.s. (With two illustrations) 404

Aphididae of Mysore. By B. Krishnamurthi, b.sc. . ( With thirteen

text-figures ) 411

Flowerless Plants. By Mrs. M. Robinson, b.a. (t.c.d.), nat. sci.

trip. cam. Part IV. (With five plates and two text-figures). 420

The Noctuid Moth (Eublemma amabilis Moore). By M. P. Misra,

P. S. Negi and S. N. Gupta. ( With one coloured plate and seven

black and white plates) 431

The Flowering of Bamboos. By Rev. E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s.

PartHI. 447

Notes on the Fauna of British India : Birds. Volumes IV, V

and VI. (New Edition) By C. B. Ticehurst, m.a., m.r.c.s.,

m.b.o.u 468

How Trout were introduced into Kashmir. By F. J. Mitchell. ... 491

The History and Progress of the Zoological Survey of India.

Part III. By B. Chopra, d.sc. , f.l.s 502

Notes on some of the wild species of Aroids. ByC. McCann.

(With three plates and text-figures) 518

The Bombay Natural History Society’s investigation into the

COMPOSITION OF SALT LlCKS. EARTH -EATING AND SALT- LlCKING

in India. By J. F. Caius, S.J., f.l.s. and K. H. Bharucha, b.a.,

The Toxicity of the Venoms of Indian Scorpions. By J. F.

Caius , s.j 526

Obituary—

H. C. Robinson 527

J. C. Faunthorpe. 528

Reviews.—

Bird Haunts and Bird Behaviour 531

The Third Annual Report and Records of the Central

Provinces Angling Association, Jubbulpore 532

Growth and Tropic Movements of Plants 533

ii CONTENTS OF Vol. XXXIV , No. 2

Page

First Steps in Zoology 534

The Flora of the Indus Delta 535

Die Zytologie der Blutenpflanzen 537

A Treatise on the British Fresh Water Algae 538

The Flowering Plants of Madras City and its immediate

neighbourhood 539

A Monograph of the Genus Aristida, Vol. 1 541

Plant Biology 542

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES—

I.— The Alarm Call of Langoors. By F. W. Champion, I. F. S. 543

II. — Tiger or Panther? By R. I. Pocock, F. R. S. (With 2

plates) 544

III. — Mr. Limouzin’s Specimen. By S. H. Prater 547

IV. — Mr. Pocock’s article on ‘Tigers’. By A. A. Dunbar

Brander 548

V. — The size and markings of Indian Tigers. By Lt.-Col. C. H.

Stockley, d. s. o., o.b. e., m. c. (With a photo) 553

VI.— Movements of tigers. By H. F. Knight, I.C.S 555

<Nll. — Tigers swimming. By W. A. Hickie 555

VIII.— Proportion of sexes in tigers. By Brigadier-General R. G.

Burton 556

IX. — An experience with a tigress. By R. C. Morris 556

X.— Tigers eating their young. By R. C. Morris 557

XI. — The Luck of Hunting. By A Novice 557

XII. — Hyaenas killing cattle tied up as a bait. By R. C. Morris. 561

XIII. — Body measurements of a Gaur. By R. C. Morris 562

XIV. — Good Head of Nilgiri Tahr. By H. D. Latham 563

^XV. — The Distribution of the Mouse Deer. By Lt.-Col. C. H.

Stockley. 563

XVI.— Notes on the 9th Edition of ‘ Records of Big Game ’. By Lt.-

Col. C. H. Stockley 564

XVII.— Notes on the Mammals of Baluchistan. By Lt.-Col. C. H.

Stockley 567

XVIII.— Migration of Wild Fowl 568

XIX.— Migration Notes in 1929 from the Nilgiri District. By F. N.

Betts 569

XX.— Notes on some Birds seen in Lahul and Kulu. By Capt. D.

Lowndes 569

XXL — Vernacular names for Kashmir Birds. By Samsar Chand

Koul. . 571

XXII. — The Attitude of Birds towards their young. By Brigadier-

General R. M. Betham 573

XXIII.— Notes on Birds in Baluchistan. By Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley. 575

XXIV.— Occurrence of the White-throat Sylvia cur r tic a halimodendii

in the Punjab. By. H. W. Waite 575

XXV. — The Amandavat ( Amandava amandava ) in Mesopotamia.

By C. B. Ticehurst 576

XXVI. — Occurrence of the White-headed or Stiff-tailed Duck ( Eris -

matura leucocephala) in the N. W. F. P. By T. D.

Weeks 576

XXVII. — Occurrence of the Stiff-tailed Duck ( Erismalura leuco-

cephala) in the Shahpur District, Punjab. By Lt.-Col.

W.E. Flemming 577

CONTENTS OF Vol. XXXIV , No. 2 iii

Page

XXVIII. — Occurrence of the Mallard ( Anas platyryncha ) in Upper

Burma. By A. J. Jones 57 7

XXIX.— Occurrence of the Baikal Teal ( Nettion formosum ) in the

Durbhanga District, N. Bihar. By Lt.-Col. H. R. Dutton,

i. m. s 578

XXX.— Bathing habit of the Indian Roller {Cor arias benghalensis) .

By N. K. Tiwary 578

XXXI. — Nidification of Storks. By C. McCann. (With a photo).... 579

XXXII.— Nesting of the Sarus {Antigone anti gone). Lt. A. J. R. Hill,

r. e . 582

XXXIII.— Fish-eating habit of the Sarus Crane {Antigone anti gone) .

By S. C. Law 582

XXXIV.— Peafowl without a train. By H. C. Smith 583

XXXV. — An enormous Estuary Crocodile {Crocodilus porosus ), By

A. A. Dunbar Brander 584

XXXVI. — Note on Snakes collected at Belgaum. By Lt.-Col. K. G .

Gharpurey, I. M. S 585

XXXVII. — Local names of some fish from the Teesta River. By E.

Ghosh 586

XXXVIII.— Masheer Fishing in the Zhob River. By Lt.-Col. C. H.

Stockley 587

XXXIX. — Notes on Parantirrhoea marshalli. By J. A. Yates 587

XL. — Notes on Patkysa antiphates naira. By J. A. Yates 589

XLI. — On the occurrence of Vanessa atlanta and Pararge schakra

in Baluchistan. By Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley 590

XLII.— Occurrence of the Colias hyale and Pier is canidia indie a in

the plains. By D. F. Sanders 591

XLIII.— The Grasshopper {Isopsera pedunculata ) a supposed mimic

of the Black Ant {Camponotns compressus). By W. L.

McAtee 591

XLIV. — Effect of Spider bite on Man. By F. J. Meggitt (With a

photo) 592

XLV. — A Y ellow variety of the Silk-Cotton Tree {Bombax mala-

baricum). By Lt.-Col. W. D. Ritchie, i. m. s 593

XLVI. — Introduction of the Gul Mohur ( Poinciana regia) into

Bombay. By W S. Millard, f.z.s 594

XLV1I.— What age can a tree reach? (R. S.). By E. Blatter, s.j.,

Ph.D., f.l.s 594

XLVIII. — A request for material of Trapa (Water Chestnut). By E.

Blatter, s. J. (With a text figure) 597

XLIX. — Notes on Tacca pinnatifida , Forst. By C. McCann. (With

a text figure.) 597

L.— A Terrestrial Orchid found Epiphytic. By Rev. E. Blatter,

S.j 599

LI. — Collecting of Liverworts at Maymyo. By L. P. Khanna. ... 599

LII. — A List of Mosses from Darjeeling District. By J. Fernan-

des 600

Annual Report and Proceedings, etc 602

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 7

John Bale. Sons & Danielsson.Ltd London

The Pagoda Tree.

Plumieria acutifolia , Poir (Right.)

.Frangipani.

Plumieria rubra , Linn. (Left.)

( 2/3 nat. size.)

JOURNAL

OF THE

Bombay Natural History Society

July, 1930 Vol. XXXIV ^ No. 2

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES.

BY

E. Blatter, s.j. , ptLip. , f.l.s. and W. S. Millard, f.z.s.

Part IV. — (With two coloured plates , two black and white plates

and four diagrams.)

( Continued from page 86 of this volume.)

The Pagoda Tree

Popidar names : Pagoda Tree, Temple Flower, Graveyard

Flower, Dead Man’s Flower, Spanish Jasmine, Frangipani, Flor de

St. Antonio; Kishira-champa (Sans.); Gul-e-chin (Hind.); Khair-

champa, Khera-chapha,* Sufed-champa (Mar.); Dolo-champa (Guz.) ;

Goalanchi (Ass.); Gorur-champa (Beng.); Gangala (Kan.); Vada-

ganeru (Tel.); Champa-pungar, Gulanj-baha (Santal) ; Tayop-sa-gah,

China champac (Burm.) ; Alariya (Ceylon).

Plumieria acutifolia, Poir. Enel. II (1811), 667.

The generic name Plumieria is after the Franciscan traveller and

distinguished French botanist, Charles Plumier (1664-1706);

acutifolia describes the pointed or tapering leaves. The genus

Plumieria is included in the family Apocynacece, the Dogbanes.

This is the tree so frequently cultivated in the neighbourhood of

temples wherei it supplies the continuous demand for flowers used as

votive offerings to the gods. Its remarkable power of bursting into

leaf and blooming even when taken out of the soil have led it to be

regarded as an emblem of immortality. As such its frequent presence

in graveyards is not .altogether inappropriate. The author of the Cruise

of the Marchesa refers to the Dead Man’s Flower dropping its delici-

ously fragrant blossoms over the quaint tombs of the Sulu islanders.

Writing of this tree he says ‘Buddhist and Mahommedan alike plant

the Champac above their dead. So should we, I think, did our climate

permit it. Day after day throughout the year, the tree blooms. Day

after day the delicately creamy corollas fall upon the graves retaining

both their freshness and their fragrance unlike any other flower. ’

Description : The Pagoda Tree grows from 15-20 feet in height.

Its grey-coloured bark is rough and scaly. On injury, the inner

bark and every part of the tree exudes a copious flow of a white and

Note,

Mr. Stuart Baker’s serial on Indian Game Birds was not received in time for

issue with this number. It will be resumed in the next.

272 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

viscid juice, hence its Sanskrit name, Kishira-champa meaning

‘Milky Champa’. The leaves grow in crowded spirals at the tips

of the branches. The leaf is slightly over a foot

in length. It is smooth, broadly lance-shaped

and tapers at both ends. Very distinctive are the

straight, parallel veins which run from the midrib

to the margin of the leaf, where they are absorbed

in a waved vein which runs along its borders. The

Pagoda Tree sheds its leaves during November

and December and does not renew them till the

commencement of the rains. Young trees remain

in leaf through the year. In full leaf, the tree is

not without elegance but stripped of its handsome

foliage, its crooked trunk and the grotesque out-

lines of its blunt and swollen branches give it an

uncouth and gouty appearance. The flowers grow

in upright clusters at the tips of the branches. In

well-cultivated trees the clusters are large and

contain quite as many as twenty blooms. The

large, waxy white flower has a distinctive golden

centre. It is funnel-shaped with five spreading

petals, faintly tinged with pink below. The left

margin of each petal has a tendency to curl over.

The stamens are inserted deep within the tube

of the flower. They are not visible externally.

These are perhaps amongst the most fragrant of

tropical flowers. They distil, particularly at

night, a perfume which is almost overpowering.

Flowering Season: February to October;

practically throughout the year.

The fruit is a pod about 5 inches long. The

Pagoda Tree rarely seeds in this country.

Variety : There is a handsome variety occa-

sionally seen in gardens. The buds are

a deep, glossy crimson. When fully

open half the underside of each petal is

a dull crimson, the other half creamy

white. The curling edge of the petal

displays a beautiful, crimson margin and

the throat of the flower is more vividly

golden than in the commoner variety.

Distribution : A native of Mexico and

Guatemala, the Pagoda Tree is believed

by some writers, though wrongly, to be

indigenous in China and Cambodia.

Rhumphius, who first described the tree

under the name Flos convolutus, says it

was brought to Amboyna by Chinese

merchants from Cambodia. Its Hindus-

tani name, Gul-e-chin, meaning ‘Flower

of China’ and the Burmese name, China-

champac rather suggest a similar origin

Joukn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE YII

The Pagoda Tree ( Plumieria acutifolia) leafless and in flower ; March.

The Frangipani ( Plumieria rubra ) in full leaf and flower; March.

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES ill

in India, where the tree has been cultivated from time immemorial.

In 1770 it was introduced into England as a hot-house plant from

the East Indies.

Gardening ; The tree is propagated by cuttings which should

be allowed to wilt before planting. At first they should not be kept

too moist. The hot season is the best time for planting. During

the cold weather large specimens may be transplanted without the

accompanying soil.

Uses : Attempts to manufacture caoutchouc from the viscid

juice of this tree have been without success. The sap is employed

with sandal-wood oil and camphor to cure itch, and is used as a

counter irritant to cure rheumatic pains.

The bark, known as A’ chin is recommended by the Persians

as a cure for gonorrhea and venereal sores. It is used for a similar

purpose in Porto Rico. In Bombay it is used for intermittent fevers

as we use Cinchona. In the Konkan, it is given with coconut, ghee

and rice as a remedy for diarrhoea. A decoction from the bark

makes a powerful anti-herpetic. Its use as a purgative is not

without danger. Several cases of death from excessive purging

after its use have been recorded. Plasters made from the bark are

said to be useful in dispersing hard tumours.

The leaves, after being heated, are applied as a poultice to reduce

swellings. In Goa the leaves and branches are tied round coconut

palms to protect them against the attacks of the Long-horned

Beetle ( Batocera rubra).

The flower buds are taken with betel leaves as a febrifuge. The

seeds, when available, are boiled in milk and given as an antidote

in cases of snakebite. Mr. Millard once had a few seed-pods on

one of the trees in his garden in Bombay and his Mahratta malis

expressed the belief that the seeds were eaten by cobras. The seeds

certainly disappeared but he has his suspicion that the malis were

in league with the cobras.

FRANGIPANI

Popular names : Frangipani, Frangipanie Rouge, Red Jasmine;

Lal-champa (Mar.).

Piumieria rubra, Linn. Sp. PI. 209.

On Plate VII, our artist has included a flowering branch of the

Frangipani, a different tree of the same genus. Frangipani is

supposed to be derived from the French, Frangipanier, which means

coagulated milk, referring to the tenacious white juice, characteristic

of trees of this genus. Other accounts suppose it to have come

from an Italian nobleman of that name who, in the Middle Ages,

compounded a perfume of many ingredients which had an odour

similar to these flowers.

Description : Smaller than the Pagoda tree, the Frangipani

grows to a height of 12 to 20 feet. With its beautiful red flowers

and handsome foliage it is especially ornamental. The leaves are

smaller than those of the Pagoda Tree, being from 5 to 8 inches

long. The flowers grow in crowded clusters on downy, red stalks.

The petals are red, centred with rich yellow. They are broadly oval

in shape and rounded at the apex. The flowers have a pleasant

274 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol.XXXlV

scent which is not so overpowering as in the Pagoda Tree. In

South America, women adorn themselves with these flowers and

put them among- linen to scent it as we do with lavender.

Distribution : The native home of the Frangipani extends from

Mexico to Guiana and Ecuador.

WHITE FRANGIPANI

Plumieria alba, Linn. Sp. PI. 210.

Another species of Plumieria which is not so common is the White

Frangipani, Plumieria alba. It is a native of the West Indies,

as of Jamaica, Martinique and the mainland of South America. The

tree is about 15 feet in height. Its rigid brittle leaves are rounded

at the apex. They are smooth above, hairy beneath and curl

inwards at the margins. As with Plumieria rubra, the tree remains

in leaf through the cold and hot weather. The flowers are white

without the yellow throat. The tree is called Frangipanie Blanc by

the French in Martinique.

The Bhendi Tree

Popular names : Bhendi Tree, Tulip Tree, Portia Tree,

Umbrella Tree; Parisa (Sans.); Parascha Jhada (Hind.); Poresh,

Dumbla (Bengal); Bhenda or Bhindi (Mar.); Huvarasi (Kan.);

Gangareni (Tel.); Portia, Pursa, Puvarasam (Tam.); Parascha-

Pipla (Guz.) ; Vhadli Khari kapusi (Konk.).

Thespesia populnea, Corr. in Ann. Mus. IX (1807), 290.

The generic name is derived from Thespesios, divine, in allusion

to its being frequently planted near churches. Although often

grown in the compounds of temples, particularly in South India,

the name is hardly appropriate so far as India is concerned. The

similarity of the Bhendi ’s leaves to the Poplar is signified in the

term populneus.

Description : The tree reaches a height of 30 to 50 feet. Its

smooth grey trunk is tall and straight. Its numerous branches

form a heavy spreading crown of

close set foliage. The broad, heart-

shaped leaves grow alternately

about the ends of the branches. A

single leaf is from 3-6 inches long.

It has a fine tapering point, much

like the leaf of our Pepul or of the

Poplar. It is smooth, has a closd

net-work of fine veins and from 5

to 7 prominent veins which radiate

outwards from the base of the mid-

rib. One or at times, both sides

of the leaf bear a few minute, ash-

coloured scales, each carrying a

dark central spot. The Bhendi is

evergreen, its change of leaf is

gradual but is particularly marked

in February when many of the old

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 8 .

John Bale, Sons & Damelsson,Ltd London

The Bhendi Tree.

Thespesia populnea , Corr.

( 2/3 nat. size.)

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate VIII.

Flowers of the Bhendi Tree (Thespesia populnea) .

The Bhendi Tree (Thespesia populnea).

SOME BEAUTIFUL INDIAN TREES

275

leaves turn bright yellow and at a distance give the tree an appear-

ance of being in bloom. The flowers are

from 3-4 inches across. They grow singly

or in pairs. The pale lemon-yellow blooms

with a deep maroon centre are very beautiful.

When withering they fade gradually from

salmon pink to a dull purple. The petals

are finely crinkled and are set in a cup-like

calyx. The long style grows through a

tube, decked with a cluster of golden-

headed stamens. It is crowned with a club

formed of five close-set stigmas. The

globular turban-shaped fruit is cupped at

its base in the calyx which persists after the

petals have fallen. It contains five cells,

each packed with from one to three, down-

covered, egg-shaped seeds. The fruits are green at first but turn

brown and then black with age. They remain for a long time on

the tree. The flower and fruit have the aspect of

the Hibiscus in which genus of plants the Bhendi

was formerly included. But the close-set stigmas,

the woody character of the fruit and the flat, egg-

shaped seeds are distinctive characters in Thespesia

populnea.

Flowering season : The tree flowers throughout

the year but particularly at the beginning of the

cold season.

Distribution : It grows wild along the beach

and tidal forests of our west coast from the

Ivonkan southwards, coasts of Chittagong and the Andamans.

Littoral throughout the tropics.

Gardening : The Bhendi is a common roadside tree on the

Bombay side of India. It prefers a light porous soil and is easily

raised from seed or cuttings and grows quickly. When grown from

cuttings, as most trees appear to be, they are crooked and distorted

but the handsome heart-shaped leaves and large tulip-like flowers

make this tree very noticeable.

Uses : The tree is valued for its tough, fine-grained timber

which is used for the manufacture of gun-stocks, cartwheels and,

because of its resistance to water, in boat-building. The bark

yields a fine tough fibre which appears to be rarely employed. Both

the bark and the heart-wood contain tanin and a fine red colouring

matter. The deep red heart-wood is spoken of as a remedy in heart

attacks and in a kind of Pleurodynia which is prevalent among the

Malays. The flowers and fruit yield a yellow dye not unlike

gamboge. The viscid, yellow juice with which the fruit abounds is

also used as an external application in scabies and other cutaneous

diseases. Experiment has however shown that in most instances

it produced little or no benefit. The leaves are applied as poultices

to swelling's, sores and abscesses. A decoction of the bark is used

as a wash for skin diseases and is given internally as an alterative.

(To be continued)

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS.

BY

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

Part V

( With 1 plate and 6 text figures.')

( Continued from page 39 of this volume .)

Some external characteristics of a Bird.

The Foot

The structure of the foot of a bird and the relationship of its parts

with the corresponding limbs of the reptile and the mammal have

already been described in Part I at page 168, Vol. XXXI of the

Journal , with a plate showing the various bones. It must be

remembered that modifications of the hind limb tend necessarily to

be correlated with modifications of the pelvic girdle on which the

hind limb works. As, however, the various modifications of the

pelvic girdle are rather technical to describe and their meaning and

connection with the developments of the leg are not fully understood,

they need not be discussed here.

Brief mention must be made of two points, the ambiens muscle

and the tendons of the foot. The ambiens muscle is peculiar to

birds and reptiles and is found in neither mammals nor amphibians.

It originates on the fore end of the pelvis at a point of bone known

as the pectinial process, runs along the inner surface of the thigh,

passes the knee as a string-like tendon, and then forms one of the

heads of the deep flexor muscle of the second and third toes. Its

presence in birds is apparently a very definitely reptilian feature,

for it exists in the majority of the low7er groups of birds and is

absent in most of the higher members of the class, which, we

conclude, have lost it. Its reduction or loss is apparently still

going on in certain groups of birds, independently in widely

different groups. The presence of this muscle has been often used

to explain the ease with which a sleeping bird remains on its perch.

For, to use the words of the great anatomist Owen, ‘ it passes

first over the convexity of the knee-joint and afterwards over

the projection of the heel, so that from its connection with a

flexor of the toes, these must necessarily be bent simultane-

ously with every inflection of the joints of the knee and ankle. As

these inflections naturally take place when the lower extremities

yield to the superincumbent weight of the body, birds are thus

enabled to grasp the twigs on which they rest while sleeping,

without making any muscular exertion.’ Too much emphasis must

not however be laid on this point as the muscle is absent in many

of the most conspicuously perching of the orders of birds. Its

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

277

true function is perhaps to spread and stretch the toes when the

leg is also extended, at which time the play of the muscle is free.

The toes are in reality bent by the united action of the deep

plantar tendons or muscles of the toes ; these are inserted in the

leg proper (between the knee and the ankle) ; they are two in

number and, as to their main shafts, their relative positions are

constant. There is, however, a great deal of variation in the methods

by which they divide up to connect with the toes, and these differ-

ences have been found of great assistance to classification, falling

as they do into eight distinct types. Those who are interested in

the point will find it described at length under the head of Muscular

System in Newton’s Dictionary of Birds , while they will notice its

taxonomic value referred to in the Fauna under the diagnoses of

the various orders, where the chief types are figured. These

muscles allow the toes to be contracted both voluntarily and

automatically. In the latter case, as a bird settles on a branch, the

bending of its legs automatically stretches the tendons and contracts

the toes. Settling down still lower to roost, till the body actually

rests on the feet themselves, the tendons are still further tightened

and the grip rendered still more secure. Indeed, until the bird

wakes and stands upwards on its legs again, it is literally impossible

for the toes to relax their grip.

In studying the various developments of a bird’s foot, we must

keep clearly in mind the fact that the existing foot, with its varying

number of two to four toes, has been modified from the original

five-toed hind limb common to the other great natural orders or

their ancestors. Five toes set in a common plane were the ordinary

and the satisfactory equipment of the prehistoric reptiles that

peopled the then world. The number of toes might be modified if

speed or an erect posture were needed, but the setting of the toes

in one plane remained. It was when the bird slowly developed,

and adopted an arboreal life as the necessary precursor of its powers

of flight, that this arrangement needed modification. To perch is

to grasp, and to grasp from both sides is to grasp more securely

with a diminution of effort. To compare the foot of the arboreal

apes with the foot of terrestrial man is to understand the advantage

of removing one toe from the plane of the others.

It is curious that the first change in the development of a bird’s

foot was the loss of the fifth or outer toe. Its loss took place at so

early a stage that it is found in no existing bird at ail and traces of

it are only to be found as a hint of the fifth metatarsal in very early

embryos. The next point was to break up the existing plane of the

toes so as to provide a bilateral grasping surface as we now find

in almost all birds. This was done in various ways and combined

with various adaptations to fit birds to live and find their food under

a variety of conditions.

We will consider first what I may call the normal type of a bird’s

foot in which there are three toes in front and one behind. The

hind toe is always the hallux or first toe, that is, the big toe of the

human foot. The other three are the second, third and fourth

counting from the inside to the outside. The number of phalanges

in ench toe normally increases arithmetically from two in tfoq

278 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

hallux to five in the outer or fourth toe. The proximal or

final phalange of each toe is armed with a nail or claw. This is

the type of birds' foot familiar to us all in the case of the sparrow or

the crow, for instance, and the type which an artist with no special

ornithological leanings would automatically draw for a bird. It will

be of interest to examine the modifications that such a foot is

capable of suffering without in any way modifying its structural

features.

Primarily such a foot is a perching foot. Its most obvious

development is found in the Birds of Prey where, by an increase of

strength and a developing of the claws, it becomes an instrument

of grasping and striking with which the bird captures its prey.

A glance at the figure of a Sparrow-Hawk’s foot will show how

well adapted it is to its purpose. The claws are long, strongly

curved and very sharp, and driven by the strength of which the

stout foot is capable (and it has to be felt to be appreciated) they

grip a bird or rat in a vice from which there is no escape unless the

hawk itself is somehow induced to relax its grip. Even then the

prey is probably dead or dying from the penetration of the sharp

claws. There is an interesting point with which falconers alone

are usually familiar. The bird of prey captures its prey in two

ways. It either stoops at it and captures it with the grasp of its

talons, a method which the falconer terms ‘ binding ’ to it. This

may be either in the air or on the ground and is the usual method

employed. Or more rarely, the falcon strikes its prey down and in

this case the instrument employed is not the whole foot but the hind

claw alone. I shall never forget the day when one of my trained

peregrines used it. She was trained to duck and the usual method

of her killing was to stoop out of the air at a party of duck on the

wing, separate one of them from the others and drive it down in

a long slanting flight to the ground, binding to it either in the air

or just as it reached the ground. On this occasion she must have

been unusually favourably placed in the air as she waited on above

the jheel. For, as I flushed a little party of Gadwall, she stooped

like a thunderbolt and, with a swift blow from her hind claw, knocked

one of the drakes out of the party, hurling it headlong to the ground

from the air. The force of such a blow is to be appreciated by the

cut that it makes on the victim.

The importance of the sharp curve of the claws in the Accipitrine

birds is evident from a consideration of the forms in which it is

absent. A striking example will be found in the case of the Black

Eagle ( Neopus perniger ). This beautiful bird compares very favour-

ably with many of the other eagles in point of size and powers of

flight. Yet it lacks their dash and courage, and, sad to relate, when

it patrols low over the forest of a mountain side, sweeping back-

wards and forwards with a grace and beauty unsurpassed by the

other eagles, it is merely birds’ nesting. Sooner or later, it will

spot some luckless Laughing-Thrush’s nest and settling will

abstract the eggs or callow young. The nobler eagles will on

occasion descend to such meanness (from the human standard !) for

I have seen a Tawny Eagle ( Aquila rapax vmdhiana) eating the eggs

pf a Red-wattled Lapwing in spite of the agitated parents’ outcry;

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

279

and I have seen another Tawny Eagle stoop on to a bush to rob the

nest of a common Babbler. But the Black Eagle alone makes a

practice of it, and whether they are the cause or effect, his claws

render him incapable of bolder things.

Eagles, as is well known, also descend to carrion, but habitual

dependence on such a diet in the case of the vultures is shown by the

bluntness and weakness of their claws.

Several other points of interest are to be found in the feet of

birds of prey. There is a good deal of variation in the length and

thickness of the toes. The contrast between the short heavy toes

of the White-eyed Buzzard (. Butastur teesa ) and the long delicate-

looking toes of the Sparrow-Hawk ( Accipiter nisus ) will serve as an

example. This appears to be connected both with the type of food

captured and the method of eating it. The short heavy-toed birds

capture, as a rule, easier and smaller prey and they tend to consume

it on the ground. The birds with longer toes not only fly at higher

game but very often they eat it on the branch of a tree, the feet

being better able to perform at one and the same time the dual

functions of grasping both the food and the branch. In such birds

the addition of callous pads on the under sides of the toes tend to

increase the grip. These pads are very highly developed in the

Sparrow-Hawks ( Accipiter ?iisus). (Fig. 1.)

Fig. 1. — Left foot of the Sparrow-Hawk [Accipiter tiisus) .

Note the pads under the toes.

One would have thought that the vice-like grip of the four claws

of an accipitrine foot would have been sufficient for all purposes of

holding the prey, without the need of the assistance of such pads.

But the value of modifications of the sole of the foot is clearly

shown in the case of the Osprey ( Pandion ), where the sole is covered

with rough prickly scales. These have an evident and direct

connection with the fact that the Osprey habitually feeds on fish.

These it captures from near the surface of the water by dropping on

them from a height with a great splash. The fish captured is often

of considerable size and the value of the prickly sole in assisting

the talons to hold a smooth and slippery prey is shown by the fact

that a similar development is found in the large owds of the genus

Ketupa which also feed on fish. Although unable to hint at iU

9

280 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

meaning, I must mention that there is a good deal of variation in

the arrangements of the scales which cover the tarsus and toes of

the various birds of prey, and in the degree of replacements of the

scales by feathers. For instance, it is difficult to see why amongst

both the eagles and the buzzards one genus has the tarsus clothed

in scales while another genus has the same part covered with

feathers. There must be some explanation. Remembering in

other families the case of the genus Syrrhaptes amongst the

Sandgrouse, the Snowy Owl amongst the owls and the Ptarmigan1

amongst the grouse, where these alpine forms have the whole

tarsus and foot thickly clothed with feathers, one might suggest

that the feathering was merely due to an extra need of warm

clothing. But its presence or absence seems too capriciously

distributed to bear that explanation.

A second obvious development of the normal four-toed foot is

to turn it into a ‘ snow-shoe ’ (if I may misapply the word for

want of a better) to enable the bird to walk on a surface that would

not otherwise bear its weight. This is easily done by lengthening

the toes and in India we are lucky to possess perfect examples of this

in those common birds the Jaqanas (Hydrophasianus and Metopidius).

In these birds the toes have been enormously lengthened and their

spread still further increased by a lengthening and straightening

of the claws so that the bird is able to live and walk with ease in

tropical swamps where the water is too choked with weeds for

swimming to be a satisfactory mode of progression. The dis-

proportionate size of these ungainly feet is comical to a human

eye, especially in the downy chicks, but they are unsurpassable for

their purpose. (Fig. 2.)

In many birds we find that the hind claw alone is lengthened

without the toes or the other claws being specially modified. This

1 In the Ptarmigan the degree of feathering on the toes varies in summer and

winter : in summer the fore half of the toes is almost bare.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc,

CHARADRIID^E,

Pre-charadriin^e

arenaria

SOUATAROLA

EUPODA

LEUCOPOLIUS

Charadriin^e

^ ^

H^EMATOPUS

CHARADRRIUS

C.IRREPEDESMCJS

PLUVIALIS

CHETTUSIA

LOBIVANELLUS

MICROSARCOPS

VANELLUS

VANELLIN^

HOPLOPTERUS LOBIPLUVIA RECURVIROSTRA

IBIDORH YNCHUS HIMANTOPUS

NUMENIUS

LIMOSA

LIMNODROMUS

XENUS

TRINGA

SCOLOPACIM:.

Tringijle:

Eroliin^e.

GLOTTIS PHILOMACHUS CROCETHIA CALIDRIS

EURYNORHYNCHUS LIMICOLA

EROLIA

Phalaropin^e.

SCOLOPACIN/E.

PHALAROPUS

LOBIPES

SCOT OP AX

CAPELLA

LIMNOCRYPTES

Chart of the feet of the Limicolys, as classified in the second edition of the

Fauna , to show that the webbing of the toes and the presence or absence of

the hind-toe have no taxonomic significance.

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS 281

development is connected with a terrestrial life, but its significance

is not understood. For instance, in both families of the Larks and

Pipits we find some species with the claw of the hallux short and

others with it long. In the Larks it is usually straight, in the Pipits

curved. The long claw is confined to those species which do not

perch in trees, but the short claw is not confined to arboreal forms ;

and some with it are purely terrestrial.

A third obvious development of the normal type of foot is to fill

in the space between the toes by fringes, lobes or webs. This is

usually connected with the power of swimming and will be discussed'

separately below, but I may here remark that in some cases it is

developed merely on the ‘ snow-shoe ’ principle. The leading

exponents of this type of webbing are to be found amongst the

Plovers and Waders and in their case it is most clearly an advantage,

tending to prevent the feet sinking into soft mud. Yet even amongst

them its presence, absence, and degree of development is

apparently most erratic, based on no particular system as far as one-

can tell. The accompanying plate will illustrate more clearly than

any amount of description the apparently haphazard incidence of its

development amongst the Indian genera of these birds. One point

emerges clearly, however, that the development of this type of

web is most important between the centre and outer, that is, between

the third and fourth toes. That this web has no connection with

swimming is confirmed by the curious fact that in the Phalaropes,

one genus of the group which habitually swims, the web is discard-

ed in favour of the lobate type of toe, which we shall meet agaiii

in our discussion of the foot as a swimming paddle.

The partial webbing in the feet of those untypical Terns, the

Marsh Terns (Chlidonias) and the Scissorbill ( Rhynchops ) must not

be confused with the partial webbing which we have been consider-

ing. These are examples of degeneration of the swimming web in

non-swimming members of the family.

A point that will not escape notice in the chart of the Wader's and

Hover’s feet is the also apparently erratic way in which the hallux

or hind toe is often suppressed. This is the first of the departures

from what I have termed the normal foot of a bird.

The suppression of a toe is never found amongst the true

perching birds. It is essentially the mark of a cursorial habit, and,

where the bird is accustomed to run swiftly, the suppression of the

toe is usually accompanied by the shortening of the remaining toes.

The reason is fairly obvious. The runner requires his weight and

balance forward. So long as the hallux of a bird is large and

proportionate to the other toes, it will bear a share of weight of the

bird and thereby keep the centre of balance backward. Remove

the hind toe and the balance automatically shifts forward. Shorten

the toes and the expenditure' of time and energy is lessened as

between the motive impulse from the body and its communication

with the ground. A long thin, toe could clearly not run as quickly

as a short stout one — the ‘ give-’ 'in it would absorb a fraction of

time and a fraction of energy in every step.

The Waders, then, are essentially cursorial birds. For them the

hind toe is unnecessary. The different genera merely exhibit

282 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

various stages in the degradation and disappearance of the unneeded

member. The length of the other toes, however, remains as for

them the support of a mud-patten is a more necessary function than

speed, and to this end they are reinforced by webbing.

There is an interesting corroboration of the fact that the normal

position of the hind toe is not of benefit to a cursorial bird in the

Gallincz or Game Bird group. In the whole of its large sub-order,

Alectoropodes, the hallux is raised above the level of the other toes,

evidently in order that it should not take too great a share of the

weight of the body and so keep back the balance. These birds,

although they perch a great deal, are essentially cursorial in

habits.

Once a bird specializes above all else in running, its toes are still

further truncated. The most pronounced examples of this are to be

found in cases like the Thick-knee Plovers (. Burhinus ), the Coursers

{Cursor ions), the Bustards of various genera, and most conspicuously

the Ostrich (. Struthio ). The typical Bustard foot has the three toes

short and stout, the soles very broad and the claws short and blunt.

In the ostrich only two toes now remain, the middle and the

outer. The outer is reduced in size and has lost its claw, suggest-

ing that it also is undergoing the process of elimination. We have

in this a striking parallel to the case of the horse. As is well-

known the foot of the existing horse has been derived from a five-

toed foot. The outer toes have dwindled and almost vanished, whilst

the third, corresponding to the large main toe of the ostrich, has

been strengthened and modified to take all the weight. The

ostrich, however, still places all its phalanges on the ground. In

the horse the whole weight falls on the terminal phalanx, the nail

spreading round it as a callous projection, the hoof.

That the normal avian foot of three toes in front and one behind

is the ideal general utility type for both walking and perching is

shown by the departures from it. Of these the most conspicuous

is the Zygodactyle foot, the name invented by Vieillot a hundred

years ago to describe a fairly common type of foot in which two

toes are in front and two behind. (Fig. 3.)

PiG. 3. — Left foot of the Scaly-bellied green Woodpecker ( Ficus squamatus )

to show Zygodactyle type of foot.

THE STUD Y OF INDIAN BIRDS 283

The zygodactyle foot is well known to us in India. It is found

in the Woodpeckers (. Pici ), the Honey Guide ( Indicator ), the

Barbets ( Capitondicz ), the Palm-Swift ( Tachomis ), the Trogons

( Trogones ), the Cuckoos and Coucals ( Coccyges ) and the Parrots

(. Psittaci ). An imitation of it, by means of having the fourth toe

reversible, is found in the Owls ( Striges ).

It will be noticed that with the exception of a few Coucals all

these birds rarely if ever walk upon the ground. The clumsy walk

of a Green Parrakeet and the jerking progression of a Woodpecker in

its infrequent visits to the ground in search of ants show at once

how the zygodactyle foot is ordinarily prohibitive of that means of

progression, accompanied as it is generally by a shortened leg.

Two points require emphasis in connection with the zygodactyle

foot. Firstly, that with one exception the two toes in front are

always the second and third, and the two toes behind are the first

and fourth, that is to say, that the toe which has left its normal

position is the outer one. The one exception is the family of the

Trogons, which have the first and second toe behind, that is, the

inner or second toe has left its normal position. In possessing this

type of foot, the Trogons are alone not only amongst the birds

of India, but of the world. The explanation of this peculiarity is

unknown, but the group is in other ways also remarkable.

Secondly, I may remark that it is as possible for a zygodactyle

bird to suffer the reduction of a toe, as it is for a bird with the

normal type of foot. For instance, in the following Indian genera

of Woodpecker’s ( Gecinulus , Dinopicum 1 Garopicoides and Sasia )

there are only three toes, two in front and one behind. Here asr

in the normal avian foot, the toe to be lost is the hallux.

There is no doubt that the zygodactyle foot is essentially a

grasping arboreal foot, and it is highly efficient for its purpose.

Before leaving it, I may point out the suggestive fact that in the

few Coucals which have overcome the difficulty of progression on

the ground, one of the most successful genera Centropus — sometimes

called the Lark-heeled Cuckoos has a long straight claw similar to

that we noticed in the Larks and Pipits. As in those birds the claw

is that of the hallux.

This seems the most suitable place to mention another typically

perching foot found in birds which habitually never move a step

either on the ground or on a tree, their wings being their sole mode

of progression. This foot consists really of three toes in front and

one behind, but the toes are to a greater or less extent bound

together, so that the effect is to provide virtually one toe in front

with a broad perching surface and one toe behind— in use a

degenerate zygodactyle foot, as it were. An examination of the feet

of the Kingfishers ( Halcyones ), the Bee-eaters ( Metopes ) and the

Rollers ( Coracice ) will show what I mean — all birds that never

change their perch except by flight. The value of the broad sole

1 It is curious that we have three Indian genera of Woodpeckers of very

similar appearance and type of colouring of which Ckrysocolaptes has the

hallux well developed, Brackypternus very much reduced and Dinopicum

entirely wanting.

284 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXIV

thus provided by the fusing together of the toes is shown by the

case of the pigeons ( Columbcz ). In this group the sole of the foot is

considerably expanded in the more typically arboreal forms-, and

narrower in those that seek their food on the ground. A broad flat

sole is a perching sole, and its effect is attained by the Kingfishers,

Bee-eaters and Rollers.

The Swifts ( Cypseli ) are a most instructive group as regards the

study of feet, showing how an extraordinary divergence of form

may arise in response to the external stimuli of needs and habits,

without having any deep-seated taxonomical significance. We

have in India five genera of swifts and amongst them four very

definite types of feet, all connected solely with their roosting and

nesting habits, except in the least aberrant form Hemiprocne. It

will be instructive to examine them in detail.

The Crested Swifts ' {Hemiprocne) are, from the point of view of an

ordinary bird-lover, the most normal genus. They are long-winged,

fork-tailed birds with the general appearance of a swallow ; they sit

on trees in forest and hawk insects in the surrounding air. They

would pass as ordinary passerine birds and they have the normal

avian perching foot with two toes in front and one behind.

The other genera vary as follows Micropus (typical Swifts) and

Tachornis (Palm-Swifts) have lost a phalange from the 3rd and

two from the 4th toe, that is to say, that each toe, except the hallux,

has only three phalanges in place of the normal sequence of 3, 4

and 5. In Micropus the hallux is reversible and is normally held

reversed with the effect that all four toes are directed forwards in

one line. In Tachornis the 4th or outer toe is reversed with the

effect of making a zygodactyle foot, two toes in front and two

behind.

These two very divergent types are correlated very distinctly

with the habits of the genera. The typical Swifts of the genus

Micropus share with the genus Hinmdapus the distinction of being

the most highly specialized for fast flight of all living birds. Like

racing aircraft their sole function is speed, and to that function all

other attributes have been sacrificed. Their whole day is spent

racing at headlong speed in the air. They can perch neither on tree

nor on ground. A swift’s only rest is to fly to a crack or hole in a

cliff or cliff-like wall, from which it caff again throw itself headlong

into mid-air with the initial impetus from gravity that the combi-

nation of long wings and short legs deny it from any other starting

place. The immensely powerful little foot, for a wounded bird can

grip one’s finger curiously hard with the line of toes like boat-hooks,

is just the foot required for the bird to drag itself within a crevice

of rock.

In Hirundapus the foot is the same, except that there is no

reduction in the number of the phalanges, and it is curious that this

is accompanied by a modification of the nesting habits, most of

these swifts preferring to nest deep in the hollow trunks of trees.

How they get up and down the insides of the trunks appears to be

still a matter of conjecture, but presumably they must climb.

The small Edible-nestJSwiftlets of .the genus Callocalia have a

similar foot with the hallux still reversible, but there is the import-

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

285

ant difference that this reversible toe is said to be normally directed

backwards, that is, in the usual position of the toe in most birds.

This is correlated with a type of nest which allows of more normal

perching positions.

The Palm-Swift breeds, as is well known, in palm-trees, building

a tiny watch-pocket of a nest affixed to the furrowed surface of the

palm-leaf. Thompson’s vivid description (N. & E., 2nd ed. iii, 25)

of a breeding colony of these swifts, comments on the movements of

the birds, — ‘ clustering on the leaf of the palm between the ribs of

the fronds. When moving up and down, they crawled with a

shuffling kind of motion, as if their legs were too short for

progression.’

For this swift a zygodactyle foot is evidently as for a wood-

pecker, a special convenience, enabling it to grasp the inequalities

of the surface. The swaying of the palm-leaves in the breeze

subjects it to a special strain from which the other swifts are

exempt.

The study of swifts may well be commended to observers in

India. I feel sure that there is .a lot to be learnt from the

examination and dissection of fresh specimens and that breeding

colonies should be watched for first-hand information of the way

the birds enter and leave their nests and how they sit inside them ;

while the temporary incarceration of birds in a cage for an hour or

two would yield much information as to the grasping and climbing

capabilities of the feet. Here I have been only able to indicate the

apparent reasons for the remarkable diversity of structure of the

family.

Before leaving the Swifts, I should point out that the feet of all of

them are proportionately very short and small and this attribute is

found in other birds, totally unrelated, such as the Swallows

(Hinmdinidoe) and the Frigate-birds ( Fregata ), which are specialized

for powers of flight beyond the ordinary. Atrophy from propor-

tionate disuse, the need to keep the balance of weight and gravity

forward, and the need to tuck the feet away below the feathers and

so preserve the stream-line of the body are all factors which have

tended to modify the feet in this direction.

There is one final aspect of a bird’s foot which now remains to be

examined in detail. Its use as a propeller in water, whether for

swimming or diving.

We must return again first of all to what I have termed for

convenience the typical birds’ foot, three toes in front and one

behind. This is perfectly satisfactory in itself for swimming. A

wounded bird which falls into water can show us that on occasion,

and in any case we have the well-known example of the Rail family

( Rallida ), equally at home on land and water ; many of this family

have perfectly normal feet, remarkable only for the length of the

toes which are specialized on the ‘ snow-shoe ’ principle to allow

the bird to walk on weeds and mud and floating debris. For

swimming alone the slightest modifications of this foot are easy

and helpful. It is when a bird becomes a professional diver that

more drastic modifications are necessary.

To deal with swimming first. — Now the successful oar or paddj$

286 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

combines two functions : the maximum surface for the stroke,

the minimum resistance during the return to position for the start

of the next stroke. A man rowing a boat attains this combination

by utilizing alternative media. He makes his stroke in the water,

but draws back his oar through the air, and by this means is able

to use a solid oar. Otherwise a solid oar drawn backwards and

forwards in the water, without possibility of changing the incidence

of resistance, would result in a stationary boat.

Without any modification at all the bird’s foot is a fairly satis-

factory oar ; for, though it makes the backward stroke open, it

naturally closes while moving forward again into position for

the next stroke. Even closed, it encounters some resistance and

this explains the very jerky swimming of the Water-Hen and other

Rails, for, in their case there is no great margin between the resist-

ance of the stroke and of the return movement. I had an object

lesson once as to how much the resistance of the water is to even a

thin thing like bird’s foot, when I was watching some stilts feeding.

They were wading fairly deep in the water and at each step the long

legs had to be drawn upwards, and backwards out of the water ;

to pull them out forwards through the water meant too great

a strain.

The most obvious way to improve a bird’s foot for swimming

is to fill in the space between the three front toes. This greatly

Fig. 4. — Comparison of middle toes of Grebe (upper) and Coot (lower) to

show the different systems of lobes.

increases the propelling, strength of the foot but does not add any

appreciable resistance in the return stroke ; for, the closed foot, as it

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

287

goes forward, whether webbed or free-toed, presents the same

amount of surface to the water. The first step towards this ideal

is found in the Water-Hen ( Gallinula chloropus) where the toes are

slightly fringed with membranes, which open and increase the pro-

pelling area when the foot makes its stroke and close again as the

foot is drawn forwards through the water. The principle of this

fringe is extended to its utmost in the Coot {Fulica atra) , in the same

family, where the fringes have become great lobes, a lobe for each

phalange of the toe. Very similar lobes have been developed

independently in the Finfoot (. Heliopais personata ) and in the little

Phalaropes ( Phalaropus ). The lobe is in preference to a continuous

broad fringe apparently to take the place of a series of ‘ gathers,’

that is, to keep it stiff and straight (Fig. 4). That this system is not

more common is evidently due to its inconvenience for walking.

Loose projecting lobes would infallibly catch on the ground and

become torn and crumpled. We shall meet the lobe again in the

diving birds. So for the moment we can leave it.

The simplest and at the same time the most effective method of

filling in the space between the toes is of course the web, stretching

from toe to toe and held in place by their support. The commonest

arrangement of this method is for the webbing to include the three

front toes, leaving the hallux free, as we may see in any gull or

duck. It may however include all four toes as in the cormorants

and pelicans, whilst in the divers we find the hallux webbed

separately on to the tarsus.

A fully webbed foot and the perfection of swimming powers

may be possessed by a bird without any profound modification of

its general structure. I have mentioned a gull as a possessor of a

fully-webbed foot and we are all accustomed to see how beautifully

a gull can swim and ride on the water. This, however, is only one

aspect of the gull’s life and by no means a dominant one and it has

therefore not affected the other parts of its body. The hind limb

and the pelvic girdle of the gulls remain the same as those cursorial

birds, the plovers, their close relatives.

Directly, however, swimming becomes the dominant feature of a

bird’s life, the hind-limb and pelvic girdle are affected. The tendency

is for the pelvis to elongate and grow narrow and for the hind-limb

to move backwards, the proper position for a propeller.

The sequence of these changes is well shown in the ducks and

the grebes and divers and their highest degree was curiously

enough reached in the extinct diver Hesperornis. Amongst the

ducks the modification of the pelvis present in all is greater in the

diving forms.

Amongst our Indian birds the highest degree of such specializa-

tion is reached amongst the Grebes ( Podicepidce ). In them, in

addition to the other changes, the thigh bone is greatly shortened

and the knee joint is almost permanently bent, with the result that

the only part of the leg which is visible externally to the skin is the

scale-covered tarsus and foot. These project from the body much

in the same position as in a human being, the tail being degener-

ate and hard to find, with the result that, if a grebe attempts to

stand on land, its position is erect and not as in most birds more

3

238 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , FW. XXXIV

SPUR OF BONE .

or less horizontal. As a matter of fact a grebe hardly ever visits

the land ; to walk or even to stand must be a great effort for it as

one may readily appreciate from a consideration of the structure

of the knee (Fig. 5). It will be noticed that a bony spur, roughly

pyramidical im shape, rises above the

upper end of the tibia at the knee joint.

This is to support the extraordinarily

abnormal development of the leg muscles

for swimming. It is formed by a pro-

longation of the cnemial crests (the bony

ridges for the attachment of the muscles

of the lower leg found in all birds) and

their fusion with a large patella (knee-

cap bone). This spur would be in the

way of the tibia, were not a groove

hollowed in it to allow of play in the

bone ; but even so it restricts its free

play and explains why movement on the

land is difficult to a grebe. In the Divers

( Colymbus ) specialization on these lines

has gone still further. The spur is pro-

portionately longer and composed almost

entirely of exaggerated cnemial crests,

the patella being a mere functionless

vestige, so that even less play is possible

in the joint, whilst the toes have lost the

power of bending forward on the shank

of the tarsus. The result is that the

Diver cannot walk at all on land and,

though it nests on small islands, it has

to move between the eggs and the water

on its belly, propelling itself with its

legs behind.

The final touch in the development of

a bird’s foot as a swimming paddle is to

deflect its striking surface sideways at

an angle to the body. This is well seen

not only in the Grebes but in the Steg -

anopodes, the group which contains the

Pelicans, Frigate-birds, Cormorants,

Gannets and Tropic-birds, all represent-

ed on our Indian list.

In the Steganopodes all four toes are

united with a web to make the paddle

surface, the hallux being turned inwards to bring it into line. In

the figure of a shag’s foot it will be noticed how the proportions of

the toes have been modified for the symmetry of the paddle (Fig. 6).

The same result has been attained in the Grebes by a flattening

and expansion of the toes. A first step in such a development can be

seen amongst the ducks, where the diving forms have the hind toe

flattened into a broad lobe as compared with the surface-feeding

species. As the Grebes represent in India the extreme limit of the

Fig. 5. — Shank of Great

Crested Grebe ( Podiceps

cristatus) to show the spur

for the attachment of the

swimming muscles.

(After Py craft).

THE STUDY OF INDIAN BIRDS

289

specialization of the foot for swimming, it will be of interest to

examine their foot in detail : but I may first point out that this type

of lobed foot differs from that of the Coot in one important particular.

Fig. 6. — Left foot of a Cormorant (Phalacrocorax) .

Each toe consists of one large lobe, not a series of lobes to correspond

with the phalanges. This difference is possible, because the foot is

no longer required for walking. The lobe itself can be stiff and

stout enough to do away with the need of any support, other than

that afforded by the sideways cast of the toes.

Examining the foot of a Little Grebe (. Podiceps capensis ) we are

immediately struck by two marked characteristics— flatness and one-

sidedness. Each foot is all on one side, grouped on the inner side

of the axial line, with its surface plane facing inwards and backwards.

The three lobed toes when closed combine into a single surface.

The second and fourth toes lie flat under the (third) central toe, its

broader free flange setting the slope of the plane (Fig. 4).

The result is that in swimming the foot presents practically no

resistance to the water during the forward stroke, slipping through

the water with this flattened plane sideways. Then for the backward

stroke the toes open and the lobes spread out, so that the greatest

possible surface strikes the water.

The broadly lobed hallux, so like that of the diving ducks, has no

connection with steering, as one might at first surmise. It is merely

lobed to add its contribution to the broad stroke surface ; and as the

foot comes forward again preparatory to a fresh stroke, the hallux

slides within the lobes of the closed toes so that its share of resist-

ance to the water is almost entirely cut away.

A second reason that the toes are flattened sideways is that the

Grebe, like the other expert swimmers swims, with sideways strokes,

kicking from side to side behind its body , not backwards and forwards

under it. The action of the two legs closing behind the body at the

end of the stroke is to drive out the water between and so propel

the body forward.

Two minor accessories of a bird’s foot must be briefly noticed

before I bring this chapter to a close.

The spur of the gamebirds (Gallincs) is well known, situated

on the back of the tarsus. It varies in shape and size from a small

rudimentary lump to the long curved sharp stiletto of the Jungle

290 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol . XXXI V

Fowls. When well developed it is used for fighting and on

occasion proves a mortal weapon. Normally one spur occurs on

each leg and it is usually confined in most species to the male. In

the Spur-fowls ( Galloperdix ) its development is curiously unstable.

In the males two or three spurs may be found on one leg and

instances of four spurs have been recorded, while the female bird

may on occasion have two spurs on one leg. The number of

spurs on each leg may even differ.

The pectination of the claw is less well known. The most

generally known case of such pectination is in the middle toe of the

Nightjars ( Caprimulgus) and this is usually explained as forming a

comb to clean insect scales off the long bristles that surround a

Nightjar’s month. A knowledge, however, that pectination is found

in other species, where such an explanation is not possible (as for

instance the case of the Shag, fig. 6) shows that some other reason

must be looked for. After all it may be nothing more than a form

of ‘ roughing ’ to increase the perching powers of birds whose

hallux is of little value to this end.

( To be continued. )

REVISION OF

THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

BY

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

PART XII

(■ Continued from page 26 of this volume.)

ANN0NACE7E (Cke. i, 8).

Uvaria, Linn. (Cke. i, 8).

Cooke (i, 9) describes 2 species: Uvaria Nar uni , Blume FI. Java Anon.

(1828), 5, and U. Hookeri , King in Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calc, iv, pt. 1

(1893), 28.

King (l.c.) had split up U. Nar um , Wall, of the FI. Br. Ind. i, 50 into those

2 species, and in this he was followed by Cooke and Talbot For, FI. Bombay

(1909), 15-16.

Gamble [FI. Madras (1915), 13] again unites U. Hookeri , King with

U. Narum , Wall.

So far it was only a question whether the biseriate arrangement of the seeds,

the carpels tapering at one end and mounted on longer and thicker stalks, and

larger leaves and flowers are sufficient reason to retain King’s new species

U. Hookeri . Cooke’s opinion on this point is not of decisive value as he had

not seen any specimen of U. Hookeri. Talbot figures both species (figs. 9 and

10) and if these figures are somewhat correct, there can scarcely be a doubt

that the two species are distinct. I must add that, not having seen a specimen

of U. Hookeri , I am merely judging from King’s and Talbot’s illustrations.

The distribution of the two species is this :

U. Narum, Blume: Bombay Pres. : Konkan, N. Kanara ; Madras Pres. :

Forests of the W. Ghats from S. Kanara to Travancore, hills of Salem up to

4,000 ft.

U. Hookeri, King: Konkan, some evergreen rain-forests of the N. Kanara

Ghats, Belgaum Ghats.

Artabotrys, R. Br. (1820) ; Cke. i, 9.

Cooke has 2 species : A. odoratissimus , R. Bf. and A. zeylanicus. Hook,

f. & Th.

The first should be called :

Artabotrys uncinatus, (Lam.) Merrill in Philipp. Journ. Sc. Bot. vii (1912),

234.— Anona uncinata, Lam. Encycl. ii (1786), \2l .—Artabotrys odoratissimus ,

R. Br. in Bot. Reg. (1820), t. 423, auctores multi alii.

Anona uncinata was described by Lamark in 1786 from specimens gathered

by Sonnerat in the E. Indies and Madagascar {vide Dunal Anon., pis. 12 and

12a). — Artabotrys odoratissimus , R. Br. is the type species of the genus

established in 1820. According to Craib, it was described originally from a

plant introduced into England from Calcutta.

Native probably of S. India and Ceylon.

Desmos, Loureiro FI. Cochinch. (1790) , 352.

(= Unona , Linn, partim ; Cke. i, 10).

The genus Desmos was founded by Loureiro in 1790 and based upon Desmos

cochinchinensis {Unona Desmos , Dunal, 1817, Unona cochinchinensis, DC.,

1824) .

292 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Vide W. E. Safford, Bull. Toney Bot. Club 39 (1912), 501-8.

Description of genus: Sepals 3 ; petals 6 in 2 series, valvate, nearly equal,

flat ; stamens numerous, tetragonal-oblong or cuneate, the connective expanded

above the dorsal oblong or linear-oblong pollen-sacs into a truncate hood-like

process ; receptacle, or torus, slightly raised, usually truncate or somewhat

concave at the apex ; carpels indefinite ; ovules several, usually forming a

single column, but sometimes sub-biseriate ; style ovoid or oblong, recurved ;

ripe carpels indefinite, either elongate and chain-like from constrictions

between the seeds, or baccate and spheroid.

Species about 33.

The 3 species of Unona mentioned by Cooke must be changed into :

1. Desmos pannosus, Safford in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 39 (1912), 506.—

Unona pannosat Dalz. in Hook. Kew. Journ. Bot. iii (1851), 207 ; Hook. f.

F.B.I., i, 58 ; Cke. i, 11 ; etc. - U. farinosa , Dalz. and Gibs. 3.

Description : Cke. i, 11.

Locality : Konkan ; N. Kanara : Evergreen rain -forest of the Gersoppa Ghat

near Mulamane ; W. Ghat forests up to 3,500 ft.

Distribution : W. Ghats in Malabar, Anamalais, Travancore and Tinnevelly,

at 2,000 to 4,500 ft.

2. Desmos chinensis, Lour. FI. Cochinch. (1790), 352 .—Unona discolor , Vahl.

Symb. ii (1791), 63, t. 36 ; Hook.f. F.B.I. i, 59 ; Cke. i, 11 ; etc.— U. Dunalii,

Hook.f. & Th. FI. Ind. 131 (only as far as the Konkan plant is concerned).

Description : Cke. i, 11.

Locality: Konkan: Sivapur in the Wari country (Dalz. and Gibson).

Cooke mentions * Kanara in evergreen forests ’ on the authority of Talbot,

but Talbot states in his For. FI. that he has not seen it. As there is no

specimen available gathered by Dalz. and Gibs., the occurrence of this species

in the Presidency is very doubtful.

Distribution : The distribution of the species given by Hook, f, and Th. in

F.B.I. i, 59 is equally doubtful and requires re examination. It seems to be

certain that the plant is indigenous in S. China, Indo-China, Siam and the

Malay Archipelago.

3. Desmos Lawii, Safford in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 39 (1912), 50 6.—U?iona

Lawii, Hook. f. & Th. FI. Ind. (1855), 132; in Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 59 ; Bedd.

Ic. PI. Ind. Or. t. 73 ; Cke. i, 11 ; etc.

Description: Cke. l.c.

Locality: Konkan: Wari. — N. Kanara: Near Goond in the Supa sub-

division.

Distribution : W. Ghats in Mysore, Wynaad, Travancore and Tinnevelly,

200-3,000 ft. (Gamble).

Polyalthia, Blume (Cke. i, 12).

Complete and correct the synonymy given by Cke.

Polyalthia cerasoides, Benth. & Hook. f. Gen. PI. i, 25. — Guatteria ccrasoides

Dunal Monogr. Anon. (1817), 127 .— Uvaria cerasoides , Roxb. Cor. PI. i

(1795), 30, t. 33.— Unona cerasoides , Baill. ex Pierre FI. For. Cochinch. (1880),

t. 26.

Distribution : India, Burma, Cambodia, Siam, Cochinchina, Laos.

Annona, Linn, (not Anona ). Cke, i, 14.

Key to the 3 species cultivated in the Bombay Presidency.

1. Fruit tubercled ... ... ... ... 1. A. squamosa.

2. Fruit smooth, slightly areolate ... ... 2. A. reticulata

3. Fruit bearing numerous fleshy spines ... ... 3. A.muricata.

ad 3. Annona muricata, Linn. Sp. PI. 536.

Popular Names : Soursop, Guanabana.

Description : A small evergreen tree. Leaves leathery, ill-smelling,

obovate-oblong or oblanceolate, to ovate or elliptic, acute or abruptly acumin-

ate, glossy above and rusty beneath, but at length glabrous, with the minute

pockets in the axils of the lateral veins scarcely perceptible without a lens.

Flowers large, the exterior petals thick and fleshy, ovate-acute, valvate or

edge-to-edge, the interior petals somewhat smaller and thinner, concave,

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 293

rounded, imbricate or overlapping. Fruit very large, fleshy, ovod or heart-

shaped, dark green, the glabrous ill -smelling skin bearing numerous

recurved fleshy spines; pulp white and juicy, pleasantly subacid, with a slight

mango-like flavour.

Distribution : A native of tropical America, now common in the tropics of

the Old World.

Miliusa, Alph. DC. (Cke. i, 15).

The confusion attached to this genus has not been removed as yet.

Dunn wrote in Kew Bull (1916), 58 : ‘ The common S. India tree described

under the name of M. indica by Hook. f. & Thomson (FI. Ind. 148 ; FI. Brit.

Ind. i, 86) and by Wight and Arnott (Prodr. 10) and figured by Beddome (PI,

Ind. Or. t. 85) has been shown to me by Mr. J. R. Drummond to differ in so

many respects from the figure and description of Leschenault’s tree M. indica

(Lesch. in A. DC. Mem. Soc. Genev. v, 36) that it is necessary to distinguish

it under a separate name. As no such name has yet been published. I propose

with Mr. Drummond’s concurrence, to call it Miliusa eriocarpa , Dunn, in

reference to its velvety carpels.’

A year previous to this note Gamble (FI. Madras pt. i, 21) had published the

new name and made it clear that Dunn’s M. eriocarpa is the var. tomentosa of

Hook. f. and Thoms’s M. indica in the FI. Brit. Ind. (not of Lesch.).

What about Miliusa indica, Leschen in Cke.’s Flora of Bombay(vol. i, p.15)?

Judging from his description and synonymy his Miliusa indica must be called

M. eriocarpa, Dunn.

But does the plant occur in the Bombay Presidency ? Previous to Cooke it

was mentioned in Talb. Trees, Bomb., p. 5 and by Woodrow in Journ. Bomb.

Nat. Hist. Soc. 11 (1897), 120. Cooke (in 1903) says that he had seen a

specimen collected by Talbot at Poteli in N. Kanara. The strange thing is that

Talbot in his For. FI. Bombay Pres. (1909) vol. i, omits the genus Miliusa

entirely. Was it an oversight or did he come to the conclusion that what he

called M. indica before, was not a Miliusa at all ?

As I have not seen any Bombay specimens of Milmsa , I must leave the

occurrence of that genus in the Presidency as doubtful till further material is

available. J. R. Drummond’s paper on ‘ Miliusa and Saccopetalum ’ in the

Journ. Ind. Bot. (1920), 162, will be useful in clearing up the many doubtful

points connected with the species of Miliusa.

Saccopetalum, Bennett.

Baillon (Hist, des Plantes, 244) had reduced this genus to Miliusa. Drum-

mond [Journ. Ind. Bot. (1920), 165-168] has tried again to make that reduction

with a good deal of hound argumentation. Till, however, Miliusa and

Phaenthus are better known, it seems to be preferable to retain the genus

Saccopetalum in the meantime.

Drummond makes a suggestion which deserves being seriously considered by

systematic botanists : ‘ The arrangement of the highly natural but difficult

family of the Anonacecs might possibly be simplified, if instead of attempting

to distinguish between “sepals” and “petals”, the floral envelope were treated,

for taxonomic purposes, as a single perianth, consisting of subsidiary, some-

times sharply differentiated whorls.’

Sageraea, Dalz.

Hook. f. and Th. (in Hook. f. F. B. I. vol. i, p. 92) had united Sageraea

with Bocagea , St. Hil. King separated them again (Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard.Calc.

iv, (1893)). He did not think it possible to combine the extreme imbrication of

the sepals and petals in Sageraea with the valvate cal> x and corolla of Bocagea.

Talbot, Brandis and Gamble have followed him.

General characters of Sageraea : Trees ; leaves smooth, shining. Branches

glabrous. Flowers small, terminal, axillary, or fascicled on wcody tubercles,

1-2-sexual. Sepals 3, orbicular or ovate, imbricate. Petals 6, imbricate in 2

series ; nearly equal, usually orbicular and concave. Stamens 6-21, imbricate

in 2 or more series, broadly oblong, thick, fleshy ; anther-cells oblong ;

connectives produced, not hiding the anthers. Ovaries 3-6 ; style short,

stigma obtuse or capitate ; ovules 1-8 on the ventral suture. Ripe carpels

stalked, globose.

Only 1 species in the Bombay Presidency ,

294 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Sageraea iaurifolaa (Grah.) nov.comb . — Guatterialaurifolia , Grah. Cat, Bomb.

FI. (1839), 4, — Sageraea laurina, Dalz. in Kew Journ. Bot. Ill (1851), 207;

Dalz. and Gibs. Bomb. FI. 2 ; Hook. f. and Th. FI. Ind. 93; King in Ann. Roy.

Bot. Gard. Calc, iv, pt. i, (1893), 7 et pt. 2, t. 35 B ( partim ) ; Talbot For. FI.

Bomb, i, (1909), 33; {partim) ; Brandis Ind. Trees (1911), 13; Gamble Ind.

Timb. (1992), 15 {partim) ; — Bocagea Dalzellii, Hook. f. & Th. in Hook. f.

F.B.I. I (1875) 92 ( partim ) ; Cooke FI. Bomb. vol. i, p. 17 {Partim).

The oldest name of this species is Guatteria laurifolia , Grah. As to the

synonymy it must be remembered that Gamble [FI. Madras (1915), 12]

separated as a distinct species Sageraea Dalzellii , Bedd. Ic. PI. Ind. Or. t. 42

from Bocagea Dalzellii , Hook. f. and Th.

NYMPH AEACE7E

Before indicating the changes that have to be made in this family, it may be

useful to reproduce a few remarks made by Sprague in the Kew Bull. (1926),

99 : ‘ The genus Nymphaea L. (Sp. PI. 510 ; Gen. Pl.ed. 5, 227) included the

white water-lilies, the yellow water-lilies and the nelumbo, which are now

regarded as belonging to three distinct genera. Adanson separated Nehimbo

generically in 1763, and Salisbury in 1805 segregated the white water-lilies

as Castalia , retaining the name Nymphaea for the yellow water- lilies.

But as Conard (Rhodoia, 1916, xviii, 161-164 j has pointed out, Linne’s

generic description of Nymphaea was evidently drawn up primarily from the

white water-lilies, as witness the phrase ‘ petala germinis lateri insidentia .’

The standard-species of Nymphaea should accordingly be selected from the

white water lilies, of which there were two in Sp. PI. ed.i, namely N . alba

and N. Lotus. The former is obviously indicated, as it was much better known

to Linne.’

We shall therefore retain the genera Nymphaea (not Castalia Salisb.) and

Nelumbo , Adans. (not Nelumbium , Juss.).

Nymphaea, Linn.1

Conard (l.c.) does not in his Monogragh identify any Indian plants with

the Nymphaea lotus of the Linnean herbarium, but he follows Wight and

Arnott (Prodr. i, 17) in separating from it as distinct species, on account of the

colour of their flowers, N. rubrat Roxb. and A. pubescens , Willd.

There are 3 species in the Bombay Presidency :

1. Nymphaea rubra, Roxb. ex Salisb. Parad. Lond. 1, sub t. 14, FI. Ind. ii,

576; Grah. Cat. Bomb. PI. 5 ; W. & A. Prodr. 17 ; Wight 111. i, t. 10.— N.

lotus , Hook. f. & Th. FI. Ind. 241, in Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 114 ( non Linn.) ; Dalz,

Sc Gibs. FI. Bomb. 6 : Trim. FP Ceyl. i. 49 ; Cke. i, 2S.—N. lotus var. rubra.,

Haines Bot. Bih. & Or. (1921), 21.

Description : Cke. l.c.

2. Nymphaea pubescens, Willd. Sp. PI. ii, 1154 ; W. & A. Prodr. 17 ; Grah.

Cat. Bomb. PI. 6 ; Gamble FI. Madras 34.— N. lotus var. pubescens , Hook. f. &

Th. FI. Ind. (1885), 241 ; Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 114 ; Cke. i. 25 .—Castalia pubescens

(Willd.) Blume Bijdr. 48.

3. Nymphaea stellafa, Willd. Sp. PI. ii (1797), 1153 ; etc. as in Cke. i, 25.

Nelumbo, Adans. Fam. i (1763), 73.

{Nelumbium. Juss. Gen. (1789), 68 ; Cke i, 26).

1. Nelumbo nucifera, Gaertn. Fruct. i, (1788) 73, t. 19, f. 2 .— Nelumbium

speciosum, Willd. Sp. PI. ii, 1258 ; Cke. i, 26. — For synonyms see Hook f. &

Th. in Hook. f. F. B. I. i, 116.

PAPAVERACE7E (Cke. i, 26).

Papaver, Linn, (not in Cke.).

Annual or perennial herbs with milky juice. Leaves variously lobed or cut-

Flowers on long peduncles. Ovary 1-celled ; stigmas adnate, radiating-

Capsule short, opening by pores round the upper rim. Seeds small, pitted.

1 There seems to be no relation between the size of the chloroplasts and

systematic position. See M. Mobius, Ueber die Grdsse der Choroplasten.

Berk Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 38 (1920), 224-32.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 295

Species about 100. — 1 cultivated in the Presidency.

1. Papaver somniferum, Linn. Sp. PL ed. 1 (1753), 508 ; Roxb, FI. Ind. ii,

(1820-24), 571; W. & A. Prodr. FI. Ind. (1834), 17; Hook. f. & Th. FI. Ind.

(1855), 256, et in Hook. f. F. B. I. i, 117; Patwardhan Field, Garden and

Orchard Crops of the Bombay Pres, in Bulk 30 (1928), 2 of the Dept. Agric,

Bomb.

Popular Names: Opium Poppy; Afina (Hind.); Afu (Mar.) ; Afirau

(Kan.)

Distribution : A stout herb, 60-120 cm. high, glaucous, with oblong,

amplexicaul, lobed, toothed and serrate leaves and large white, purple or

scarlet flowers. Sepals glabrous. Capsule large, 2*5 cm. diam. Seeds

numerous, white or black.

For the numerous varieties and forms see Borckhausen in Rhein. Magaz. i

(1793), 444 and Alefeld Landw. Flora (1866), 228, 229.

Locality : Cultivated as a cold weather crop only in the Baroda State

(Patwardhan) .

Description : It is doubtful whether the plant has ever been found wild'.

Cultivated in temperate and warm regions.

CRUCIFER7E1

Cardamine, Linn.

The only species found in the Presidency was described by Hook. f. &

Anderson as C. subumbellata , Hook, in the F.B.I. i (1872), 138. (In Cke. i, 30

C. subumbellata, Hook. f. & T. Anders).

In the meantime S. T. Dunn [Kew Bull. (1916), 61] has pointed out that

Cardamine trichocarpa, Hochst. ex Rich. Tent. FI. Abyss. I (1847), 18 is

identical wjth the Indian C. subumbellata. C. trichocarpa must therefore be

substituted.

Has this species 4 or 6 stamens ? In his description Cooke mentions 6. It is

for this remark that for years together I was unable to name one of the

commonest plants at Panchgani. It agreed in everything with C. trichocarpa

except that it had only 4 stamens. Finally I asked Mr. K. Biswas of the

Sibpur Botanic Garden to compare the plant with herbarium material. This is

what he writes : ‘ I have examined the specimens of Cardamine growing, as we

found, almost everywhere in and about Panchgani. Comparison with the

herbarium material shows that the herbarium specimens taken as Cardamine

subumbellata agree in all respects with the Panchgani specimens. Their

discrepancy from the description of C. subumbellata lies in the number of

stamens which are only 4 in both the herbarium and Panchgani material.

Cooke in his Bombay Flora [i (1903), 30] mentions 6 stamens : but my

examination of a large number of flowers and flower buds reveals that there

are only 4 stamens, evidently the 4 inner larger ones in pairs. The 2 stamens

opposite the lateral sepals of the outer series are wanting in every ^ case. There

are 2 glands at the base of the outer sepals. These might be taken for

the remnants of the 2 abortive stamens. But I am not sure about the

exact morphological nature of these protuberances. Neither Hook. f. & T.

Anders, in Hook. f. FI. Br. Ind. [i, (1875), 138] where they describe C.

subumbellata nor Dalzell in Hook. Kew Journ. Bot. [iv (1852), 294], where he

describes C. hirsuta , Linn. var. subumbellata , say anything about the number

of stamens or glands. In Engler’s Pflanzenfamilien not much importance is

attached to the number of stamens. ’ Considering everything it is more likely

that Cooke made a mistake ;in giving the species 6 stamens. He saw and

collected specimens at Mahableshwar, but that plant is exactly the same as the

one found at Panchgani.

Farsetia, Desv. (Cke. i, 30).

In his description of the genus Cooke says that the pods are sessile ; in this

he followed the FI. Brit. Ind. I have always found them stalked and Boissier

describes them as such.

1 For the systematic study of this order, see : Hayek, A. von : Entwurf eines

Cruciferen-Systems auf phylogenetischer Grundlage. Beiheft Bot. Centralbl.

xxvii, Abt. 1 (1911), 254. Schulz, O. E. Cruciferce-Brassicece. In Engler’$

Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919 and 1923).

4

296 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FW. XXXI V

Eruca, Tourn. Inst. (1700), 226, t. Ill1 2 ; (Cke. i, 31).

The authority for Eruca sativa 2 is Garsault Traite pl.anim. ii (1767), 166,

t. 259, not Miller Gard. Diet. ed. 8 (1768) n. 1 of Cooke’s Flora i, 31, and not

Lam. FI. Franc, ii (1778), 496 of the F.B.l. i, 158.

Douepia, Camb. in Jacquemont Voy. Ind. iv (1844)

Bot. p.*18, Atlas ii, t. 18.

O. E. Schulz [in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1923), 72] has separated Douepia

from Moricandia , DC. The differences between the two genera are these :

Moricandia, DC. : The inner sepals saccate. Petals broad. Median nectari-

ferous glands absent. Pods compressed, Ovules 40-200.

Douepia, Camb.: The inner sepals not saccate. Petals narrow. Median

glands rather large. Pods slightly terete. Ovules about 28.

Douepia, Camb.3

Perennial herb, branched. Leaves undivided, fleshy, lower ones shortly

stalked, upper ones sessile. Racemes very lax. Flowers large. Sepals erect-

patent, the outer ones linear, cucullate at the apex, the inner ones narrowly

oblong, acute at apex, not saccate at base. Petals rosy, narrow, oblong-

cuneate, rounded at the apex. Median nectariferous glands rather large,

oblong-ovoid, the lateral ones semi-circular. Stamens 6, free ; anthers large,

linear, acute. Ovary very narrowly cylindrical, sessile ; ovules few to 28 ;

style short; stigma large, distinctly 2-lobed. Pods linear, slightly terete,

bilocular, septate, dehiscing, slowly attenuate into an acute beak which is

often tortuose. Seeds pendulous, uniseriate, ellipsoid, brown, with a mem-

branous wing.

So far only 1 species is known, indigenous in the Indian Desert region.

1. Douepia tortuosa, Camb. in Jacquem. Voy. Ind. iv, Bot. (1844), 18, t. 18 ;

Schulz in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1923), 72, fig. 21. — Moricandia tortuosat

Hook, f, & Th. in Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. v (1861), 172 ; Hook. f. & T. Anders,

in Hook. f. F.B.L i, 158; Cke. i, 32 ; Woodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.

11 (1897), 122.

Description ; Cke. i, 32.

Locality : Sind (ex Woodrow).

Distribution : Salt plains of the Punjab, Salt Range , along the Salt Range

between Musakel and Gujarat, 1,600-2,800 ft. N. Waziristan.

Brassica, Linn. Sp. PL ed. 1, ii (1753), 666 ( partim ).

Species 33.— -In the Bombay Presidency only cultivated species :

A. Ovary multi-ovulate (9-45). Pods 1*5-10 cm,

long. Beak distinctly conical, sometimes

as thick as the pod, often l-or2-seeded

I. Stem-leaves amplexicaul.

1. Flowers not surpassing the buds at

flowering

a . Calyx closed. Petals pale yellow,

1*8-2 cm. long. Pods with undulate

margins. Leaves more or less fleshy 1. B. oleracea .

b. Calyx half-open. Petals, intensely

yellow. 0 9-1*8 cm. long. Pods

with straight margins. Leaves

membranous ... " ... ... 2.

2. Flowers surpassing the buds at flowering. 3.

II. Stem-leaves sessile or petiolate ... ... 4.

B. Ovary few-ovulate (5-11). Pods 0‘8-3 cm.

long. Beak vary thin, always seedless ... 5. B. nigra.

B. napus.

B. campestris.

B. juncea.

1 O. E. Schulz in Engler’s Pflanzenreich has Eruca , Adans. Fam. II (1763),

418. Curt

2 On pollination, see: A. G, Howard, L C. Howard and A. R. Khan-

Studies in the pollination of Indian Crops. Mem. Dept. Agr. India (Bot. ser.)

10 (1919), 195-220. '

3 Cambessedes gave this name in order to commemorate the services of

Herman von Douep rendered to science by his translation into Latin of

Rheedq’s Hortus Malabaricus.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 297

1. Brassica oleracea, Lian. Sp. PI. ed. 1, ii (1755), 667 {excl. var. x) ; Free-

manic. Brit. Plants i (1797), t. 4, 5, n. v; Smith & Sowerby Eng. Bot. ix

(1799), t. 679; Hegi, Ross, Thellung in Illustr. FI. Mitt. Eur. iv, fasc. 38

(1918), 242 ; Schulz in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919), 27.

Description : Suffruticose, 0‘5-l'5 m. high. Stem branching in the upper

part, obtusely angular, quite glabrous ; branchlets suberect. Basal and lower

cauline leaves large, approximate, stalked, lyrate-pinnatipartite, nerves stout,

white, prominent especially below, terminal lobe very large, suborbicular or

ovate, often obscurely 5-lobed, rounded at the apex, margin crenulate and

undulate, at the base obliquely cordate, lateral lobes on each side 3-5, much

smaller, obovate, recurved, the upper ones crenulate, the lower ones very

small, entire ; the middle cauline leaves amplexicaul, oblong-obovate, obtuse,

repand-denticulate ; the upper leaves oblong-linear, entire or almost so ; all

fleshy, glabrous, green-glaucous. Racemes 20-40-flowered. Pedicels 6-8 mm.

long. Flowers large. Sepals 1-1 '1 cm. long, the outer ones narrowly oblong,

the inner oblong-ovate, obtuse, erect. Petals pale yellow, 18-2 cm. long,

blade obovate, rounded at apex, sometimes undulate, gradually narrowed into

the claw. Inner stamens 13 mm. long, outer 1P5 mm. ; anthers 3’8 mm. long,

narrowly oblong, slightly acute. Ovary 34-37-ovuled ; style 3 mm. long.

Fruiting pedicel i'5-2 cm. long, erecto-patent ; pods irregularly spreading or

ascending, linear, 6-9 5 cm. long, 4-5 mm. diam., compressed-tetragonous,

torulose, often serpentme-flexuose, running out into a beak 4-6 mm. rarely

15 mm. long, which is first uniformly tumid and then attenuate, mostly

1-seeded, sessile at the base or with a stalk 2-3 mm. long ; valves firm, each

with a stout nerve and thinner, lateral, anastomosing veins. Seeds globose,

1*5-2 mm. diam., pendulous, obscurely brown, minutely alveolate.

The following are the varieties and forms cultivated in the Bombay

Presidency :

(а) B. oleracea, Linn. var. acephala, DC. excl. var. x. — B» acephala, DC.

ap. Leveille Monde, PI. xii (1910), 24, n. v.

Popular Names : Scotch Kail, borecole, Blattkoh! (in German).

Description : Stem elongate, firm at the base but not woody, simple

or almost so, biennial, rarely lasting for 3-4 years and branching. Leaves

expanded.

(б) B. oleracea, Linn. var. bullata, DC. subvar. sabauda, Linn.

Popular Name : Savoy Cabbage.

Description : Leaves distinctly blistered, more or less undulate,

mostly simple.

(c) B. oleracea, Linn. var. bullata, DC. subvar. gemmifera, DC.

Popular Name : Brussels Sprouts.

Description: Leaves slightly blistered. Along the stem from the

axils of the leaves numerous small heads are produced.

( d ) B. oleracea, Linn. var. capitata, Linn.

Popular Name : Red and White Cabbage.

Description : Leaves concave, not blistered, forming before flowering

dense heads ; stem abbreviated.

(e) B. oleracea, Linn. var. gongylodes, Linn. — B. caulorapa , Pasquale Catal

Ort. Bot. Nap. (1867), 17. [Patwardhan Bull. 30 (1929), 4 Dept. Agr.

Bombay, has ‘ caulocarpa ’ per errorem .]

Popular Names : Knol-khol, Kohl-Rabi.

Description : Stem short, swollen and subglobosely thickened and

fleshy at the base of the lower leaves.

(/) B. oleracea, Linn. var. botrytis, Linn, subvar. cauliflora, (Gars.) DC.-^>

B. cauliflora , Garsault, Fig. PI. Anirn. Med. (1764) t. 179, Descr. ii (1767),

123.

Popular Name : Cauliflower.

Description : Stem annual. Leaves oblong-ovate, light grey, often

simple. Axes of racemes corymbosely congested before flowering, very fleshy

and abbreviated, more or less covered with leaves.

2. Brassica napus, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1, ii (1753), 666, n. 3 (sensu ampt.)

Sinapis dichotoma , Roxb. ap. Fleming Cat. Inch Medic. PI. in As. Res. xi

(1810) no. 3, p. 179 ; FI. Ind. iii (1832), 117 .^-Brassica campestris , Besser Enum.

298 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

PI. Volhyn (1822), 72 ; Hook. f. & Th. Praecurs. ad FI. Ind. in Journ. Linn.

Soc. Hot. v (1861), 169, non Linn.— A. campestris, Linn, subsp. 1 campestris

et snbsp. 2 napus , Hook. f. & T. Anders, in Hook. f. F. B. I. i (1872), 156. —

B. campestris, Linn. subs, napus var. dichotoma et var. Toria , Duthie and

Fuller Field and Gard. Crops ii (1882-1893), 29.— B. campestris , Linn, subsp.

A. campestris var. 2. oleiJera , Prain in Agric. Ledger n. 1 (1898), 22, 45, t. iv

et B. napus , Linn. var. dichotoma , Prain 1. c. 36, t. viii, et subsp. B. napus

var. 1. oleifera var. B. Prain l.c. 46.

Popular Name : Indian Rape.

Description : The whole plant glaucous. Root annual, fusiform, not

thicker than the stem. Stem erect, 0*3-l*5 m. high, branching, pruinose,

glabrous, below often violaceous ; branches erect-patent. Basal leaves dis-

tinctly petiolate, lyrate-pinnatisect, terminal lobe the largest, ovate, rotundate

at the apex, repan d-crenate or- dentate, subtruncate at the base ; lateral lobes

smaller, ovate, the lowest minute, entire ; the lower stem-leaves lyratepinnati-

fid, the upper gradually lanceolate, more or less entire, all dilated and

amplexicaul at the base. Raceme at flowering time laxly corymbose, with

flowers which don’t surpass the flower-buds, later on very elongate, 25-40-

flowered. Pedicels 1*2-2 cm. long. Sepals 6-8 mm. long, erect-patent,

glabrous, yellowish, the outer ones narrow, obtuse, the inner broadly oblong.

Petals yellow, 0*9-l’8 cm. long; lamina obovate, rounded or subemarginate

at the apex, narrowed gradually into the claw. Inner stamens 7-10 mm.

long, erect, outer ones 5-8*5 mm. long, ascending from the base ; anthers

oblong, 1*5-3 mm. long. Ovary 20-40-ovuled ; style 1*5-2 mm, long. Pods

erect-spreading on pedicels 0*8-3 cm. long, linear, curved in the upper part,

5-8*8 cm. long, sometimes shorter, subterete, 2*5-4 mm. diam., torulose with

the beak flattened, 0- or 1-, rarely 2-seeded, 0*7-2*4 cm. long, sometimes

longer, straw-coloured or purple ; calves 1-nerved. Seeds globose, pendulous,

1-1*5 mm. diam., obscurely purple-brown, black near the hilum, minutely

reticulate-alveolate.

I have not sufficient material for working out the varieties and forms cultiva-

ted in the Presidency.

3, Brassica campestris, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1, ii (1753), 666, n. 2; Smith and

Sowerby Engl. Bot. xxxii (1811) t. 2234. —A*, campestris , Linn, subsp. A.

campestris var. 1. agrestis, Prain in Agric. Ledg. n. 1 (1898), kS.—Crucifera

raPa. E. H. L. Krause in Sturm FI. Deutschl. 2. ed. vi (1902), 13 1 .—Brassica

colza , Leveille Monde PI. xii (1910), 25, n. v. — B. rapa, Linn, subsp. rapa ,

Briquet Prodr. FI. Corse ii, 1. (1913), 74.

Description : Root annual, thin. Stem 50-80 cm. high, rarely reaching

1*5 m., obtusely angular, branching, pruinose, mostly glabrous. Primary

basal leaves distinctly stalked, the following ones more or less sessile, rarely

distinctly stalked, lyrate-pinnatipartite, about 5-jugate : terminal lobe

orbicular or ovate, obtuse at the apex, unequally denticulate, obliquely

cordate at the base, lateral lobes alternating, shortly ovate, denticulate,

gradually smaller and recurved ; lower stem-leaves pinnatifid, but at the base

very dilated and amplexicaul, the upper ones panduriform or lanceolate,

deeply cordate at the base and amplexicaul, with the margin repand-denticulate

or entire. Racemes at the flowering time densely corymbose, with the flowers

surpassing the ovid flower-buds, later on very elongate, about 40-flowered.

Pedicels 0*7-1 cm. long, filiform. Sepals 5 mm. long, erect-patent, yellowish

green, the outer ones narrowly oblong, sometimes sparingly setulose, obtuse,

the inner ones somewhat broader, rotundate. Petals yellow, 7*5 mm. long,

limb obovate, subemarginate at the apex, cuneately narrowed at the base.

Inner stamens 6*5 mm. long, erect, the outer ones 4*5 mm. long, ascending;

anthers 1*8 mm. long. Ovary 20-24~ovuled ; style 1 mm. long. Fruiting

pedicels 1-3 cm. long, erect-patent or ascending. Pods erect, linear, 3*8-8 cm.

long, 2-3 mm. diam., torulose, attenuate into a 0- or L-seeded, 0*9-2*4 cm.

long beak, yellow, with membranous valves. Seeds globose, pendulous, in

the beak usually erect, 1*2-1*5 mm. diam., obscurely purplish brown, black

near the hilum, reticulate-alveolate.

Originally indigenous in the hilly portions of the Mediterranean region.—

The following variety is cultivated in the Bombay Presidency :

Brassica campestris, Linn. var. rapa, (Linn.) Hartm. Handb. Skand. FI. ed. 6

(1854), 110, subvar. depressa, (DC.) O. E. Schulz. — Rapa rotunda , Miller Diet.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 299

ed. 8 (1768') n. 1 .—Brassica rapa , Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1. ii (1753), 666, n. 4 var.

depressa , DC. Syst. Nat. ii (1821), 590, et Prodr. i ‘(1824), 214.— i?. campestris ,

Linn, subsp. C. rapa var, esculenta 2. depressa , Prain in Agr. Ledg. n.

1 (1898), 46.

Popular Name : Turnip^ Shalgam,

Description : Root thickened, spherical or depressed, below suddenly con-

tracted into a thin rootlet.

4. Brassica juncea, (Linn.) Czerrn. & Coss. ; Czern. Consp. pi. Chark (1859),

8, n. V ; Coss. Append. Flornl. Juven. in Bull. Soc. Bot. France vi (1659),

609; Hook. f. and Th. Praecurs. FI. Ind. in Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. v (1861),

170 {Partim) ; Hook. f. and T. Anders, in Hook. f. F. B. I. i (1872), partim.

Sinapis juncea , Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1. ii (1753), 668 ( excl . syn. Herm.). —

S. ramosa, Roxb. ap. Fleming in Asiat. Res. xi, 3 (1819), 179 et FI. Ind. iii

(1832), 119. — Brassica juncea subsp. A. juncea var. 2. oleifera , Prain in Agric.

Ledg. n. (1898), 47, t. iii.

Popular Names : Indian Mustard, Rai, Mohari.

Description : An annual herb. Stem 0*3-0*8 m. high, long-branched from

the middle, rarely simple, pruinose, glabrous or with a few soft white hairs at

the base; branches erect-patent. Lower leaves distinctly stalked, lyrate-

pennatisect, 2-3-jugate; terminal lobe largest, ovate, more or less truncate at

the base, margin irregularly and coarsely dentate ; lateral lobes ovate, dentate,

the lowest minute ; middle leaves more or less simple, oblong-ovate, dentate ;

the upper leaves oblong-linear, acute, narrowed at the base into a short

petiole, entire. Raceme during flowering rather lax, then more so, 20-40-

flowered. Pedicels 5-8 mm. long. Sepals 4-6 mm. long, erect-patent, the

outer ones narrowly oblong, rotund at the apex, the inner ones oblong,

glabrous. Petals bright yellow, 6-9*5 mm. long ; blade obovate, rounded at

the apex, suddenly contracted into the claw. Inner stamens 5’ 5-8*5 mm. long,

outer ones 4-7 mm. long ; anthers oblong, obtuse, 1°8~2*5 mm. long. Ovary

12-20-ovuled, narrowed into a thin, 2-2*5 mm. long style; stigma capitate,

broader than the style. Fruiting pedicels erect-patent. Pods suberect or erect-

spreading, linear, 3*2-5*6 cm. long, 2-3 5 mm. broad, subtetragonous, torulose,

gradually narrowed into a 6-12 mm. long thin, seedles beak ; valves yellowish.

Seeds globose, 1*3 mm. diam., obscurely purplish brown, alveolate,

Prain and following him O. E. Schulz mention 3 varieties from British India,

all of which seem to be cultivated in the Bombay Presidency :

Var. 0. data, (Prain) O. E. Schulz in Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919), 56.—

B. juncea , Hook. f. & Th. subsp. A. juncea , (Linn.) var. 2. oleifera , Prain

subproles 1. elata , Prain in Agric. Ledg. n. 1. (1898), 47.

Description .* Stem 1*5-1*8 mm. high. Lower leaves sparingly hispid

underneath.

Var. 7. aspera, (Prain) O. E. Schulz 1. c .—ZL juncea , Hook. f. & Th.

subsp. A. juncea , (Linn.) var. 2. oleifera , Prain subprol. 2. aspera , Prain l.c.

Description : Stem 0*9-1* 2 high. Leaves more or less hispid underneath.

Var. § laevis, (Prain) O. E. Schulz. 1. c ,—B. juncea , Hook. f. &Th. subsp<

A. juncea , (Linn.) var. 2. oleifera , Prain subprol. 3. laevis , Prain 1. c.

Description : Stem 0*9-l*2 m. high, obscurely purple. Lower leaves quite

glabrous.

5. Brassica nigra, (Linn.) Koch in Rohling’s Deutschl. FI. ed. 3. iv (1833),

713 et Syn. ed. 1 (1835), 59; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1857), 390; Hook. f. & T.

Anders, in Hook. f. F. B. I. i (1872), 156.— Sinapis nigra, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1

ii (1753), 668 — Sinapis erysimoides, Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1844), 48 {nomen) et

FI. Ind. iii (1832), 123 {descript.) ; DC. Syst. Not- ii (1821), 625.

Popular Names : Black Mustard, Rai, Mohari, Sasivi.

Description: Root annual. Stem erect, 0*5-l*3 m. high, mostly branching

from the middle, more or less hispid, often purple-spotted or purplish in sunny

places. Branches thin, divaricate and ascending, virgate. Lower leaves distinct-

ly stalked, lyrate-pinnatisect ; terminal lobe the largest, ovate, often 5-lobed,

on the margin unequally callose-denticulate, at the base more or less hastate ;

lateral lobes much smaller, obovate or oblong, denticulate, the lowest extre-

mely small: middle leaves shorter-petioled ; the upper leaves oblong-linear,

narrowed at the base into a short petiole, mostly entire, often pendulous ; all

very membranous and bright green. Raceme at flowering time corymbose, but

300 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

the flowers not surpassing the buds, then very elongate, 40-60-flowered.

Pedicels very short, 2-3 mm. long, glabrous. Sepals 4-5 mm. long, oblong,

erect-patent, glabrous. Petals yellow, 7'5-9 mm. long; blade obovate, at the

apex truncate and undulate, cuneately narrowed at the base into a thin claw.

Inner stamens 6 mm. long, the outer 5 mm. ; anthers oblong, obtuse, P5 mm.

long. Ovary 7-11-ovuled ; style 1-2 mm. long ; stigma distinctly broader than

the style. Fruiting pedicel 2,5-4,5 mm. long, erect. Pods small, 1-2 cm.

long, 1*5-2 mm. diam., linear, subtetragonous, torulose ; beak 1 *5— 2 *5 mm.

long, thin, seedless ; valves 1- nerved with lateral nerves very thin, straw-

coloured, rarely purplish. Seeds globose, 1 mm. diam., obscurely brown,

black near the hilum, delicately alveolate.

Distribution : Central Europe, Macaronesian transition area and Mediter-

ranean region. — Cultivated in the Presidency.

For a more complete treatment of the system and genetics of the Brassicas

see :

Bailey, L. H. — The cultivated Brassicas. Gentes Herbarum 1 (1922),

53-108.

Baumann, E.— Beitrage. zur Kenntnis der Rapspflanze und zur Ziichtung

des Rapses. Zeitschr. Pflanzenztichtung 6 (1918) , 139.

Becker, J. — Beitrage zur Ziichtung der Kohlgewachse. Zeitschr. Pflanzen-

ziichtung 7 (1919), 91-99.

Hallquist, C. — Brassicakreuzungen. Bot. Not. (1915), 97-112.

Brassica crosses. Gard. Chron. 67 (1920), 10.

Sinapis, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1. ii (1753), 668 {partim).

Sinapis alba, Linn. Sp. PI. ed 1. ii (1753), 668; Sowerby Engl. Bot. xxiv

(1806), t. 1677 ; DC. Syst. Nat. ii (1821), 620 et Prodr. i (1824), 220 ; Schulz in

Engl. Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919), 129. — Brassica alba, Rabenh. FI. lus. i (1839),

184 ; Boiss. Voy. Bot. Midi de l’Esp. ii (1839-45), 39 ; Hook. f. and T, Anders,

in Hook. f. F. B. I. i (1872), 157.

Popular Name : White Mustard.

Description : Root annual. Stem 0*25-0*65, rarely 1 m. high, erect, acutely

angled, more or less branched from the base or upwards, covered below with

recurved hairs 0'5-l mm. long, above with scattered hairs, often purplish at the

base ; branches erect-patent. Lower leaves on a hispid 2*5-3 cm. long petiole,

lyrate-pinnati-partite, 2-3-jugate ; terminal lobe broadly ovate, obtuse, trifid ;

upper leaves stalked, all very membranous, pilose on both sides, rarely glabrous,

bright green, sometimes purple-spotted. Raceme 35-50- , rarely up to 100-

flowered. Pedicels 5-8 mm. long, patent at almost a right angle, glabrous or

with scattered hairs. Sepals 4*5-6 mm. long, the outer oblong, rounded at the

apex, the inner oblong-ovate, glabrous or sparingly pilose, horizontally

spreading. Petals yellow, 7-9*5, rarely up to 12 mm. long; blade broadly

obovate, few-veined, suddenly contracted into a thin claw. Inner stamens

longer than the outer. Ovary very short, 1*5-2 mm. long, densely pilose, 4-8-

ovuled ; style first pilose, then glabrescent ; stigma subbilobed. Fruiting

pedicels patent more or less at a right angle, 0*6-1* 2 cm. long. Pod spreading

or ascending, broadly cylindric, 2-3*7 cm. long, 3-4 mm. diam., torulose,

hispid ; beak compressed, ensiform, often curved upwards, less pilose, greenish,

longitudinally nerved, mostly seedless, rarely 1-2-seeded, 1-2*7 cm. long;

valves boat-shaped, with 3 or 5 stout nerves, yellow. Seeds globose, 1*5-2 mm.

diam., pale yellow, testa minutely alveolate.

Indigenous in the Mediterranean and Macaronesian regions. Elsewhere

cultivated.

Ra.phanus, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1. ii (1753), 669.

Species 8, chiefly in the Mediterranean region. — 2 species cultivated in the

Bombay Presidency.

1. Petals l*7-2*2 cm. long ; ovules 10-12 ; pods

3-9 cm. ... ... ... ... 3. R. sativus.

2. Petals 2*6 cm, long; ovules 14-21 ; pods 20-60

cm. long or longer ... ... ... 2. R. caudatus.

1. Raphanus sativus, Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 1. ii (1753), 659 (J . chinensis annuus

oteifer ), ed. 2. ii (1763), 935; Schulz in Engler’s Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1919),

205.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 301

Popular Names : Radish, Mula, Mulangi, Muri.

Description: Root annual, stem 0*2-1 m. high, flexuose, fistular, branched

in the tipper part, glabrous or hispid, often purple. Lower leaves on hairy

petioles 5*5-8 cm. long, lyrate-pinnatifid, 3-4-, rarely 5-jugate ; terminal lobe

suborbicular or shortly ovate, rounded at the apex, with the margin repand-

crenate, subcordate at the base or more or less confluent with the lateral lobes ;

lateral lobes alternate, oblong-ovate, obtuse, dentate or subentire ; upper leaves

shorter-petiolate, 2-1-jugate, terminal lobe oblong-ovate, margin coarsely

dentate ; uppermost leaves simple, sublinear, but narrowed at the base ; ail

roughly pilose, bright green, often obscurely red-margined, often also red-

nerved. Raceme lax, 8-30-, rarely up to 55-fIowered. Pedicels 2-1 cm. long,

with scattered hairs. Flowers scented. Sepals 6*5-10 mm. long, oblong, some-

times brown-red. Petals 1*72-2 cm. long; blade obovate, subemarginate at the

apex, white or lilac with yellow or purple veins. Ovary green or brown-purple,

10-12-ovuled ; style about 4 mm. long. Fruiting pedicel 2*2-1 cm., rarely up

to 3*5 cm. long, erect-patent or ascending. Pods erect, cylindric, 3-9 cm.

long, 0*8-1 *4 cm. diam., continuous or more or less constricted, longitudinally

sulcafe-nervose, yellow, rarely quite pale purple, beak green. Seeds sessile,

pendulous, ovoid, light brown, testa reticulate.

Two principal kinds are grown in the Presidency :

(a) Prol. radicula, Pers. Syn. ii (1807), 208; (B. oblonga) DC. Syst. ii

(1821), 664 et Prodr. i (1824), 228.

Popular Name : The long-rooted radish.

Description : Root mostly annual, thickened, fusiform or oblong or globose

or ovoid, small, 3-10 cm. long.

(b) Prol. niger, Pers. Syn. ii (1807), 208; (a vulgaris) DC. Syst. ii (1821)

665 et Prodr. i (1824), 228.

Popular Name : The turnip-rooted radish.

Description : Root usually biennial, very much thickened, oblong, 10-20

cm. long.

2. Raphanus caudatus, Linn. Mantiss. i (1767), 95 ; Linn. f. Plant, rar. Horti

Upsal. dec. iii (1767), 19, t. 10. — R. raphanistncm, Linn, subsp. caudatus ,

Thell. in Hegi 111. FI. Mitt. Eur. iv, 38 (1918), 275, fig. 790g.

Popular Name : Rat-lailed radish, Mogari.

Description : It differs in the following points from R. sativtts .* Root annual,

fusiform. Stem 0‘6-0*9 m. high, first erect, then prostrate. Flowering pedicels

2*5-1 cm. long. Sepals 10-12*5 mm. long. Petals 2*6 cm. long. Ovary 14-21-

ovuled. Fruiting pedicels 4-1*8 cm. long, patent. Pods ascending or declinate,

very elongate, cylindric, long- beaked, often serpentiform, 20-60 cm. long, at

the base l*5--2*5 cm. diam., often longer than the whole plant, fleshy, yellow or

pale purple or dark red. Seeds distant.

This species is considered by some as a variety of R. sativus , by others as a

monstrous form of R. sativus cultivated in tropical gardens.

Physorrhynchus, Hook. Ic. PI. 2. ser. v (1852) t. 821 et 822 ;

Cke. i, 34.

( Physorhyncus , Hook. f. & T. Anders, in Hook. f. F. B. I. i (1872),

165, sphalm. )

Species 2. — S. Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Sind, Punjab.— Only 1 in

the Bombay Presidency, of which a more complete description is given here in

order to facilitate the distinction between the two species.

1. Physorrhynchus brahuicus. Hook. Ic. PI. 2. ser. v (1852) t. 821 et 822;

Aitchis. in Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. viii (1865), 59; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867), 403

( partiyn ) ; Hook. f. & T. Anders, in Hook, f. F. B. I. i (1872), 165 [excl. P.

chamaerapistrum) ; Cke. i, 34 ; Schulz in Engler’s Pflanzenr. iv, 105 (1923), 34

fig. 2D, 10F.

Description .* A glabrous glaucous undershrub, 0*6-1 m. high. Stem branch-

ing, flexuose ; branches erect-patent, elongate, virgate. Lower leaves obovate,

obtuse at the apex, repand-dentate on the margins, cuneately narrowed at the

base into a short petiole, about 5 cm. long and 4 cm. broad: upper leaves

gradually smaller, ovate or oblong, entire, semiamplexicaul at the base and

biauriculate ; all fleshy, thick, coriaceous when dry. Racemes very lax,

later elongate, virgate, 12-25-flowered. Pedicels short, 4 mm. long, suberect.

Spaels erect, 7-8 mm. long, outer ones narrowly linear, narrowed at the apex

302 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

and cucullate, inner ones broadly lanceolate, subsaccate at the base, all pale

green, narrowly hyaline-margined. Petals white, 1*5 cm. long ; blade narrowly

elliptic, rounded at the apex, densely veined, gradually narrowed into

a subfiliform claw. Stamens 6-8 mm. ; anthers sublinear, acute, 3 mm. long.

Median nectariferous glands long-stipitate, the lateral ones scale-like. Ovary

subulate, biarticulate ; lower joint terete, P5 mm. long, empty ; the upper

joint twice as long, inflated at the base, 4-ovuled, above narrowed into the

style; sdgma bilobed at the apex. Fruiting pedicels 5-4 mm. long, erect. Pods

appressed to the axis, biarticulate, 1-P8 cm. long, with a strong septum ;

lower joint stipitiform, narrowly obconic or turbinate, 2*5-3 mm. long, 1 mm.

diam. below, bivalved, valves sublinear, obtuse at the apex, 1-nerved, carinate,

bilocular, empty ; upper joint closed, ovoid, 4-6 mm. broad, coriaceous,

bilocular, each loculus 2-seeded ; beak conical, subtetragonous. Seeds

pendulous, shortly ellipsoid, 2 mm. long, 1*5 mm. broad ; testa very minutely

reticulate.

Locality: Sind: Thano-Bula-Khan, Soorjana Hills, 1,800 ft. (Ticehurst

30,872 ! 30,875 !) ; Laki Hill in Larkana (Ticehurst 28,116!); Brahuve Hills

(Stocks).

Distribution : Punjab, Baluchistan, Afghanistan.

PITTOSPORACE^E (Cke. i, 57).

Genera 9 ; species about 105. -—Warmer regions of the Old World. Absent

from America.

Pittosporum, Banks ex Gaerfcn. Fruct. i, (1788), 286, t. 59 (Cke. i, 57).

Species about 70. — 2 species occur in the Bombay Presidency : P. floribundum

and P. dasycaulom. The first name has to cede to P. nepaulense as is evident

from the following synonymy :

1. Pittosporum nepaulense, Rehder & Wilson in Sargent PI. Wils. iii, (1916),

326. — Senacia nepaulensis , DC. Prodr. i, (1824), 347. — Pittosporum floribundum ,

W. & A. Prodr. (1834) 154 ; Hook. f. and Thoms, in Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 199 ;

Cke. i, 58; Gamble Ind. Tim. (1902), 43 ; FI. Madras (1915), 55 ; Talbot For.

FI. Bomb, i, (1909), 81 ; Haines Bot. Bih. and Or. (1921), 39. — Celastrus

verticillata , Roxb. FI. Ind. i (1832), 624.

Description : Cke. i, 5S„

Distribution : Subtropical Himalayas, Khasia Hills, Mishmis, Burma,

WT. & S. India.

2. Pittosporum dasycaulon, Miq.

Distribution : According to Talbot this tree seems to be ‘ endemic in the

southern Ghat forests of Bombay.’ But it is also found in the Shola forests,

above 3,000 ft,, from Mysore to Travancore (Gamble).

POLYGALACE/E (Cke. i, 5c8).

Of the 15 genera only 2 are represented in the Presidency : Poly gala and

Xanthophyllum , the latter not mentioned by Cooke,

1. Herbs or shrubs ... ... ... ... Poly gala.

2. Trees ... ... ... ... ... Xanthophylhim .

1. Polygala, Linn,

I add only a few notes :

1. Polygala persicariaefolia DC.— Flowers at Panchgani rose or white.

Distribution : Tropical Africa, India, Yunnan, Siam, Philippines, N. Guinea,

Australia,

2. Polygala erioptera, DC. — Add localities: Khandala, Poona, Pasarni Ghat,

Panchgani.

4. Polygala chinensia, Linn.— Lateral petal and keel pale yellow, the former

with brownish markings at base ; crest bright yellow. — Cooke says that the

capsule is strongly ciliate ; 1 have sometimes found them very slightly ciliate.

Distribution : India, Indo-China, Siam, Philippines.

Var. triflora, (Linn.) Bennett in Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 204. — Polygala triflora,

Linn. Sp. PI. 705.

Locality: S. M. Country: Badami.

5. Polygala irregularis, Boiss.— Wings usually rose,

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 303

2. Xanthophyllum, Roxb.

Gagnepain tried to separate this genus? as a distinct family from the

Polygalacece. In spite of its regular flowers and of other differences of generic

importance, its close relationship with the Polygalacece is shown by the relation

of its floral parts and by the form of its pollen. [See B. Jauch. Quelques

points de Panatomie et de la biologie des Polygalacees. Bull. Soc. Bot.

Geneve 10 (1918), 47-84.]

Large trees. Leaves large, simple, alternate, coriaceous, often yellowish

green. Flowers in racemes or panicles. Sepals 5, somewhat unequal. Petals

4-5, nearly equal, declinate, the keel-petal boat-shaped, not crested. Stamens

8, 2 hypogynous, the remainder adnate to the base of the petals. Ovary

1-celled or imperfectly 2-celled, stipitate ; ovules 4-16, variously attached.

Style elongate. Fruit 1-celled, indehiscent, 1-seeded. Seeds exalbuminous,

estrophiolate ; cotyledons thick and fleshy, radicle short.

Species about 45. — India, Malaya, Australia.

1. Xanthophyllum bombayanum, Chodat in Bull. Herb. Boise, iv, 263.

Description : Leaves broadly elliptic, acute, secondary nerves ascending,

12 by 6 cm. or smaller, glabrous, shining. Rhachis of raceme stout. Sepals

subequal, pubescent, slightly subacute. Corolla 11 mm. long, purple or fuscous.

Stamens almost free, pilose at the base and united with the petals. Ovary

stipitate, like the style very pilose. Fruit broadly ovate, subapiculate, rugose

with warts arranged in longitudinal series, 38 mm. broad, pericarp 1*7 mm.

thick.

Locality: ‘Ad Bombay’, (Herb. Kew ex Bull. Herb. Boiss., collector

not known).

Distribution : Apparently endemic.

FRANKENIACE7E (not in Cke.).

Low herbs or undershrubs, much branched and jointed at the nodes. Leaves

opposite, small, exstipulate, often clustered in the axils. Flowers usually pink

or purple, sessile in the forks of the branches, forming a more or less dense

terminal leafy cyme, sometimes contracted into a globular head, regular,

hermaphrodite. Calyx tubular, gamosepalous, persistent with 4, 5, or rarely

6 lobes, valvate in bud, with as many prominent angles and furrows. Petals

4-6, hypogynous, imbricate in bud, free, the clawTs with an adherent scale

on the inner face, lamina spreading. Stamens usually 6, sometimes 4 or 5

or indefinite, hypogynous, free or shortly united in a ring at the base, filaments

filiform or flattened ; anthers versatile, 2-celled. Ovary free, sessile, 3 celled,

with 3, rarely 2 “or 4 parietal placentas, or very rarely a single one. Style

filiform, with as many branches as placentas, the stigmas capitate or oblique.

Ovules several, or rarely solitary, to each placenta, attached to rather long

ascending funicles, amphitropous or nearly anatropous, with an inferior

micropyle. Capsule enclosed in the persistent calyx, opening by as many valves

as there are placentas. Seeds ovoid or oblong, testa crustaceous, the hilum

almost terminal. Embryo straight, in a mealy albumen, the radicle next

the hilum, shorter than or as long as the cotyledons.

Genus 1.

1 Frankenia, Linn. Gen. ed. 1 (1737), 129.

Characters of the family. — Species about 50 (See paper read by V. Summer

Hayes at the General Meeting of the Linnean Soc. London, 1st Nov. 1928.)

Distribution .; Old and New world, natives of dry sandy and especially saline

tracts.

1. Frankenia pulverulenla, Linn. Sp. PI. I (1753), 332 ; Boiss. FI. Or. i, 779;

Lam. Illustr. tab. 262 ; DC. Prodr. i , 349 ; Edgeworth in Hook. f. F.B.I. i,

212.

Description : A diffuse or procumbent, much-forking herb, 10-20 cm. high.

Leaves opposite, obovate, oval or rotundate, often fascicled, usually mealy -

puberulous or setulose or setuiose-pubescent beneath, flattish or with the

margins more or less recurved, narrowed into short ciliolate or nearly glabrous

petioles, less than 4 mm. in length. Calyx tubular, with short acute teeth,

equalling the leaves. Filaments membranous, dilated, tapering above and

below.

5

304 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Locality'. Sind, on Sola land (Edgeworth, Agharkar). Mr. C. E. C. Fischer

informs me that there is no specimen from Sind in the Kew Herb.

Distribution: Mediterranean region, Arabia.. Mesopotamia, Persia, Balu-

chistan, Senegal, Cape.

CARYOPHYLLACEAE.

About 1,300 species.

Dianthus, Linn.

Not represented in the Presidency by any indigenous species. But the

following are often cultivated :

1. Dianthus Carycpliyllus, Linn. Sp. PI. 410.

Popular Names : Wild Carnation, Clove Pink.

Description: A herbaceous perennial, erect, smooth, bluish green, stout,

much-branched, leafy below. The barren stems are long, prostrate, then

ascending, branched. Leaves channelled above, bent-back, linear, margins

smooth. Flowers pink, fragrant, in loosely panicled cymes. Bracts obovate,

obtuse-acute, - i the length of the calyx- tube. Calyx cylindric, obscurely

ribbed, the teeth not fringed with hairs, longer than the capsule. Petals

scalloped, toothed, obovate, smooth, the teeth ■§■ - \ the length of the blade.

Capsule ovoid. Seeds pear-shaped, nearly flat.

Locality : Thrives freely at Mahableshwar and Panchgani, blooms occasion-

ally at Poona.

Distribution : Generally supposed to be amative of the Mediterranean region.

2. Dianthus chinensis Linn. Sp. PL 411.

Popular Name: The China Pink.

Description : Cespitose, glabrous, more or less creeping at the base. Stem

forking, angled and more or less grooved, pubescent. Leaves broad and nearly

flat or slightly trough-shaped, 3-5-nerved. Flowers large, solitary or more or

less clustered, pink or lilac. Bracts leafy and spreading, 4, in some cultivated

varieties short.

Distribution : China, Japan. Some consider a European Pink to be a form

of it and have, therefore, to extend its range to Portugal.

Stellaria, Linn. (Cke. 1,64).

1, Stellaria media, Cyrill . Charac. Comm. (1784), 36.

Cke. I, 64 identifies this species with S. media, Linn, in Hook. f. F.B.I. i.

230. I have not been able to find that the name Stellaria media has been used

by Linnaeus. He described the same plant under Alsine media , Linn. Sp. PI.

ed. i, 222 Edgeworth, and Hook. f. seem to be the first to make the combi-

nation Stellaria media , Linn, and many others have followed them.

In addition, Stellaria media, Edgew. & ?Hook. f. /. c. includes 2 distinct

species : Stellaria media , Cyrill. and Stellaria Wallichiana , Haines in Kew

Bull. (1920), 66 which is Alsinella Wallichiana , Benth. in Wall. Cat. 630.

The synonymy of Stellaria media Cyrill. is therefore : Stellaria media ,

Edgew. & Hook. f. in Hook. f. F.B.I. i, 230 ( partim ). — Alsine media, Linn.

1. c.

Description : A small diffuse annual herb with a line of hairs down one side

of the stem and branches. Leaves rather flaccid, ovate, 12-25 mm. long, with

rounded rarely subcordate base, lower ones long-petioled, upper sessile elliptic

and narrower. Flowers numerous, white, in irregularly forked leafy cymes

small, on rather long slender pedicels. Sepals lanceolate, subobtuse, hairy or

glandular, margins scarious. Petals 5 or 6, 2-fid to the base, Stamens 3, 5 or 10.

Capsule ovoid-cylindric, longer than the sepals. Seeds brown, obtusely

tubercled.

[The allied species Stellaria Wallichiana , Haines, differs from 5. media by

having 4 sepals, and petals, by the sepals having no scarious margin, by the

petals being rather emarginate than 2-fid, by all the leaves being stalked and

by the seeds being acutely tubercled.]

Locality : W. Ghats : Mahableshwar and Panchgani, probably introduced.

Polycarpon, Loefl. It. (1758), 7 ; Linn. Syst. ed. x (1759), 881. (Cke. i, 65).

Cooke has 1 species : P Lceflingiae , Benth. & Hooker which should be

called :

Polycarpon indicum, Merrill in Philipp. Journ. Sc. Bot. x(1905), 302 .—L<zf-

lingia indica, Retz. Obs. iv (1786), 38. — Polycarpon Lczflingi, Benth. & Hook.

REVISION OF THE FLORA OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY 305

f. Gen. PI. i (1862), 153, in nota ( Lceflingii ) ; Edgew. & Hook. f. in Hook. f.

F.B.I. i, 245. — Hapalosia Lceflingi, Wall. Cat. 6962 ex Wight & Arn.

Prodr. i (1834), 358. — Arversia Lceflingiae , Walp. Rep. i (1842), 263.

Distribution : Hotter parts of India, Indo-China, tropical Africa.

Polycarpea, Lam. in Journ. Hist. Nat. Par. II,

(1792), 1. ( Polycarpea , Lam. 1. c. p. 8). Cke. i, 66.

1. Polycarpea corymbosa, Lam. 111. ii (1793), 129 ; Tab. Eiicye. et Method, ii

(1800), 129.

'Locality Add : W. Khan desh (Blatter and Hallberg !) .— Deccan : Deolali

(Blatter !).

The var. aurea given in the F. B. I. i, 245 and Cke. i, 66 was restituted by

Gamble (Madras FI. 65) to the rank of species.

2. Polycarpea aurea, W. & A. in Ann. Nat. Hist. 'ser. 1, iii (1839), 91 ;

Gamble FI. Madras (1915), 65. — P. corymb os a var. aurea , Wight 111. ii, 44, t.

110; Edgew. and Hook. f. in Hook. f. F. B. I. ii, 245 ; Cke. i., 66.

Description : A much-branched shrub of rock crevices. Branches hoary-

tomentose. Leaves subulate, not forming rosettes, with inrolled margins, in

axils few or 0. Stipules hardly fimbriate, about 1 mm. long. Internodes

densely white- to men tose. Flowers in irregular cymes, smaller than in P.

corymbosa, orange or brownish red. Sepals coloured, 2*5 mm. long.

Distribution : Rocky places in the Deccan Hills of the Madras Presidency ;

Guntur, Kurd ool, Bellary, Cuddapah, N. Arcot, Chingleput, at 2,000 to 4,000

ft. (Gamble).

3. Polycarpea spicata, W. & A.

Locality : Add : Kathiawar : Dvvarka, on dry flats, better developed on sand

(ex Borgesen).

PORTULACACE/E (Cke. i, 67).

Portulaca, Linn. (Cke. i, 68).

2. Portulaca Wightiana, Wall, Cat. (1828) ,6845.

Distribution : Southern Districts of the Bombay Presidency. Madras Pres. :

Dry districts of the Deccan and Carnatic from the Godavari southwards usually

on rocks and up to 2,500 ft. (Gamble), Ceylon.

3. Portulaca quadrifida, Linn. Mant. (1767), 73.

Locality : Add : Kathiawar : Dwarka (Borgesen) West Khandesh

(Blatter !). — Konkan : Bombay (Blatter !)

Distribution : W. Rajputana, in the desert (Blatter & Hallberg!). Sind,

Kathiawar, Konkan, Deccan, S. M. Country, most districts of the Madras

Pres., all over India, tropical Asia and Africa.

Note .■ The flowers only open in bright sunshine like others of the genus

( Haines) .

4. Portulaca fuberosa, Roxb. Hort. Beng. (1814), 91.

Locality : Add : G a jar at : Ahmedabad (Blatter !).

Distribution : Sind, Gujarat, dry Districts of the S. Carnatic from S. Arcot

to Travancore (Gamble), Ceylon,

5. Portulaca suhruticosa, Wight in Wall. Cat. (1828), 6342.

Distribution : Gujarat, Carnatic districts from Coimbatore and S. Arcot to

Travancore, up to 3,500 ft. (Gamble).

TAMARICACE7E (Cke. i, 70).

Tamarix Linn. (Cke. i, 70).

Cooke describes 5 species : T. gallica var. bidica, T. dioica , T. articulata ,

T. ericoides, T. sticta. Hole has shown that the plant hitherto known from

India as T. gallica , Linn, is a new species. The true T. gallica does not seem

to occur in India. T. articulata , Vahlhas to be changed into T. aphylla Lanza*

1. Tamarix TroUpii, Holeinlnd. For. XLV (1919), 247 ; Troup Silvic. Ind.

Trees i, 16.— T. gallica , Dyer in Hook. f. F. B. I. i, 248, Cke. i, 70. et multorurn

auctorum quoad species e Punjab, Sind, United Provinces, Mt. Abu, Bombay

Presidency. _

Locality : Add : W. Khandesh (Blatter !).

Distribution : United Provinces, Mt. Abu (Blatter and Hallberg !), Punjab,

Sind, Baluchistan.

306 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

2. Tamarix dioica, Roxb. Hort. Benia:. (1814), 22; This.-Dyer in Hook. f.

F. B. I. i, 249 ; W. and A. Prodr. 40 ; Boiss. FI. Or. I, 777 ; Brandis For. Fi. t.

6 ; Cke. i, 71 ; T. gallica , Wight iii. i, t. 24A ( non Linn.)— T. articulata, Wall.

Cat. 3756 (ex F. B. I., non Vahl.)

Description : Cke. i, 71.

Locality : Add : W. Khandesh (Blatter and Hallberg!) ; Konkan : Bombay

(Blatter !).

Distribution : 4 Throughout N. India up to 2,500 ft. in the outer Himalayan

valleys, Sind, the Peninsula of India, Bengal, Assam, Santal Parganas, and in

the dry zone of Burma. It is common along the Ganges, Hooghly, and other

rivers, and forms extensive forests along the Indus in Sind, it is also found

along the sea-coast.’ (Troup). We found it at Mt. Abu. In the Madras Pre-

sidency it is found in sandy river-beds and on the sea-coast, but is apparently

very scarce (Gamble).

3. Tamarix aphylia. Lanza in Boll. Orto Bot. Palermo viii (1909), 82 ; Blatter FI.

Arab. (1919), 72. — Thuya aphylia , Linn. Cent. PI. i, 32 ; Amoen. Acad, iv, 295.-

Tamarix articulata , Vahl. Symb. Bot. ii (1791), 48, t. 32 ; DC. Prodr. iii, 96 ;

Bunge Tent. Tamaric. (1852) n. 44 ; Boiss. FI. Or. i (1867), 777 ; This.-Dyer

in Hook. f. F. B. I. i, 249 ; Cke. i, 71.— T. orientalis , Forsk. FI. Aeg. Arab.

(1775), 206.— T. orientalis , Linn, in Troup. Silvic. i, 18 quidest?

Locality : Add ; Cutch (Blatter !).

Distribution : Punjab plains, Sind, Cutch, Baluchistan, Persia, Mesopotamia,

Arabia, Mediterranean region, S. Africa.

4. Tamarix ericoides, Rottl. in Gesel. Naturf. Fr. Berlin Neue Schr. iv (1803)

214.

Locality : Add : W. Khandesh (Blatter !).

Distribution : Mt. Abu, W. Peninsula, Bengal, Chota Nagpur, Circars,

Deccan, C. Carnatic, and S. India, Ceylon.

( To be continued. )

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA.

BY

R. I. POCOCK, F.R.S.

Temporary Assistant in the Zoological Department

of the Natural History Museum.

( With Plates VII-XIII)

( Continued from page 82 of this volume)

Part II.

The Panthers of Kashmir, India and Ceylon.

Panther a pardus fusca, Meyer.

(Pis. II, III and VII).

Felis fusca , Meyer, Zoolog. Annalen, I, p. 394, 1794, based upon

De la Metherie’s figure and description of a black panther from

Bengal in the Tower of London ( Journ . de Physique, 33, p. 45,

PI. II, 1788).

Felis longicaudata, Valenciennes, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 42,

p. 1036, 1856 (preoccupied).

Panthera antiquorum, Fitzinger, SB. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 58,

p. 47, 1868; Felis pardus antiquorum, Matschie, SB. Nat. Fr.

Berlin, 1895, p. 194 (Not Felis pardus antiquorum, J. E. Grey,

1827).

Felis pardus pardus (by implication), Dollman after Lydekker,

Game Animals of India, p. 314, 1924; Rowland Ward’s Records,

p. 482, 1928.

Type locality. — Bengal. Type probably not in existence.

Distribution. — India from the Himalayas to1 Cape Comorin ;

Ceylon ; range to the east of the Bay of Bengal uncertain.

Notes on the synonymy. — It is unfortunate that the earliest name

definitely assigned to an Indian panther was given to a melanistic

variety which was therefore called fusca. The animal was recorded

as coming from Bengal ; and since skins from that district agree

with those from other parts of India, I have no choice but to, adopt

fusca as the racial name at all events of the dominant type of

panther of the country.

With regard to longicaudata, Valenciennes stated that F. Cuvier

gave that name to an alleged long-tailed leopard from Ceylon and

the Malabar coast of India. But I cannot trace it in F. Cuvier’s

works. Probably it was a MS. name which Valenciennes adopted.

308 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

But in any case it is inadmissible, being preoccupied by Feb's

longicaudata employed by Blainville in 1840 for one of the small

Felidae of the marmorata type.

Another name that has been frequently assigned to the Indian

panther is antiquorum. There are probably few names of mammals

about which more mistakes have been made. Under the title

‘Panther of the Ancients’, it was first mentioned by Griffith who

described and illustrated the animal from MS. notes and a figure

prepared by Hamilton Smith from a specimen he saw in the Hesse

Cassel Museum (Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, ii, p. 466, PI. 1827).

J. E. Gray gave the technical name antiquorum to this panther

(Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, v, p. 165, 1927. )x The animal was

imported alive and was exhibited in the menagerie of the Elector

of Hanover ; but its locality was, and is, unknown.

Sykes ( Proc . Zool. Soc., 1831, p. 102) was responsible for

assigning the name antiquorum to the so-called panther of the

Deccan known to the Mahrattas as ‘Beebeea Baugh’, declaring that

this animal ‘exactly resembles’ the one figured and described by

Griffith as ‘The Panther of the Ancients’. This he diagnosed as

smaller, darker in colour and with more crowded rose rings than

the leopard (F. leopardus) of the Deccan, the cheetah of the

Mahrattas, which he regarded as a distinct species. But Hamilton

Smith’s figure most emphatically represents a panther with large,

almost ‘jaguarine’ well-spaced rosettes and in his description of the

specimen he drew particular attention to the buff-yellow tint of the

flanks pervading the belly and the inside of the limbs, ‘there being no

white part’, a character in which antiquorum differs from all normally

coloured leopards, known to me, whether Asiatic or African.

In this respect antiquorum is unique, as I pointed out some years

ago (Field, December 14, 1907). Nevertheless Fitzinger, following

Sykes, and Matschie following Fitzinger, adopted the name anti-

quorum for the Indian panther. Clearly it is inapplicable and the

name must stand aside for the time being, attached to an unidentified

race of panther.

The last name in the list to be considered is pardus employed by

Lydekker on the assumption that Linnaeus designated the Indian

animal by that title. But, for reasons explained above, I adopt

Thomas’s restriction of the name pardus as a subspecific title to

the Egyptian race.

The following is a list of the skins in the British Museum : — -

Kashmir. — Three skins collected near the western boundary

between the Indus and the Jhelum, north of Srinagar, and purchased

from Mrs. Pauline Entwisle : —

(1) Tanned skin of an adult male from Ashkote. Coat smooth

and soft, the hair on the back barely 1 in. long but a little longer

than in South Indian panthers. Colour bright tawny yellow, with

most of the rosettes of average size, not closely packed, about J in.

apart, some tolerably large about If by 1-| in. , inclosing a small

1 Hence Allen’s statements that the type of cintiquorum was in the Paris

Museum and that Griffith was the | author of the name are alike erroneous

(Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 47, pp. 250-251, 1924).

ftp

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate VII.

rw if

r'^* : V* *

, ■ - • V *X'« % A * **

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»«P**

# * ^wslrw $5 &»%

Indian Panther (P. pardus fusca).

Skin from Rikhikesh.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

309

black spot, some with thin rims, as in the Persian and Asia Minor

panthers, all with darker centres. Head and body 5 ft. 5 in., tail

3 ft. 2 in., total 8 ft. 7 in.

(2) Tanned skin of old female from Nasair, a little darker than

the last and with slightly smaller spots, but very like it and not

differing appreciably either in colour or pattern from the skin from

Hausbavi in Dharwar mentioned below. Head and body 4 ft. 6 in.,

tail 3 ft. 1 in., total 7 ft. 7 in.

(3) Untanned flat skin of adult female from Kannah, closely

resembling the last two. Head and body 4 ft. 5 in., tail 2 ft. 9J in.,

total 7 ft. 2J in.

Nepal. — According* to Hodgson’s unpublished sketches, the

panthers of Nepal are very variable in colour and pattern, which is

not surprising considering the diversified physical features of the

country. His notes suggest environmental variation ; but the data

are at present insufficient to1 justify definite conclusions on the point.

There are five skins in the British Museum collected by Hodgson,

merely ticketed Nepal. Three of them are black, with the MS.

name pernigra attached. The others, two females, have noticeably

harsh and longish fur, about 1 to in. long on the back,

suggesting a high altitude habitat. One is tolerably normally

coloured, but the ground tint is darkish, almost rusty buff ; the

rosettes are moderately large with darker centres ; the belly is not

so white as usual, being tinged with buff, and the throat is very

distinctly washed with rusty buff.

The other skin differs somewhat and must have come from a very

handsome animal. The dorsal area, 3 or 4 inches wide, is ochreous

buff ; but the shoulders, flanks and sides are remarkably pale, dirty

whitish, strongly emphasising the rosettes which have rusty centres

and are tolerably large, some up to 2 by 1% in. in diameter.

Another female skin, ticketed Nepal (R. Everest) is very like the

last. These Nepal skins are too wrinkled to give dimensions of

any value.

Bhutan Duars, Bharnabavi, 600 ft. (N. A. Baptista for the

Mammal Survey). A young female, less than 4J ft. long and in

poor condition, is very like the pale coloured skins from Nepal but

has smaller rosettes.

Rikhikesh, near the Ganges, 3,000 ft. at the foot of the

Himalayas, probably near the Siwalik Hills (Capt. F. S. Tuker). A

splendid skin, dressed as a rug, of a male killed in February. The

coat is rather harsh and thick, but short, the hair on the back

being only about \ an in. long. The colour is remarkably pale,

the flanks being whitish buff which blends with the pure white of

the belly and with the tawny buff hue of the back. The rosettes are

unusually large, the largest being 2J x 2 in. or 3 x 1-| in. ; they

are mostly complete, well spaced, and stand out boldly on the pale

ground colour by reason of their darker centres.

This skin, the handsomest and most boldly marked Indian skin in

the National Collection, is shown on PI. VII. The rosettes are as

larg'e as in typical Chinese panthers. The unusual paleness of the

ground colour may be due to fading ; but if so, the action of the

light has not apparently affected the centres of the rosettes, The

310 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

head and body measure 6 ft., the tail 3 ft. 2 in., the total, no doubt

the result of stretching, being 9 ft. 2 in. Nevertheless, the jaws,

which were left in the skin, exceed a little in length those of the

largest Indian panther skull entered on my list. Probably the skull

exceeded 10 in. in total length.

Dehra Dun, Barkot, 5,000 ft., December 1915 (Capt. F. S.

Tuker). The tanned skin of a young animal recalling the specimen

from Rikhikesh in its generally pallid coloration and probably also

faded ; but differing in being longer and thicker coated, the hair

on the back being about 1 in. long, and in having the spots more

closely set and much smaller, the largest about li by 1 in.

Oudh, Haripur Kheri (A. P. Millard). A handsome skin with a

bold pattern recalling the one from Rikhikesh but with smaller

rosettes and darker in tint and the fur less harsh and close, the hair

measuring on the back about J in. The largest rosettes, about

J in. apart, are about 1| x If in. and some of them enclose a

central spot. In colour and pattern this skin is almost intermediate

between the skins from Rikhikesh and Ashkote in Kashmir

described above. It also serves in a measure to link the Rikhikesh

specimen with those from Bengal described below, although much

handsomer than the skin from Daltonganj. The animal was a male,

measuring in the flesh just over 7 ft., but no skull is available to

show whether it was fully adult or not.

Bengal, Daltonganj. Adult female shot in March by C. A. Crump

for the Mammal Survey. An undressed, short-coated skin, the hair

on the back about f of an in. and on the belly about If in. long;

the colour a little darker and more ochreous than in the Kashmir

skins, the flanks being scarcely noticeably paler than the back ; the

rosettes considerably smaller and more closely set, the largest about

lxl in., their centres hardly noticeably darker than the ground

colour except near the belly. Measurements in the- flesh : head

and body 3 ft. 5J in., tail 2 ft. 7§ in., making the total approximately

6 ft. 2 in.

Bengal, Hazaribagh (R. E. S. Thomas). A semi-albino skin,

with tan coloured spots and made up as a rug*. In shortness of coat

and size and spacing of spots closely resembling the skin from

Daltonganj.

These two skins from Hazaribagh and Daltonganj respectively

are of particular interest because they are the only ones in the

National Collection which are topotypical in the sense that they

came from the Bengal district whence the type-specimen of this

race of panther, named fusca, was exported.1 Hence it may be

inferred that typical representatives of the Indian panther are

marked with many small close-set spots on a reddish-tawny ground

colour.

A photograph, kindly sent to Mr. Millard by Mrs. Ralston, of

1 Those who have the opportunity of consulting De la Metherie’s original

figure of fusca will notice that the spots are comparatively few in number,

large and well-spaced. But this figure was copied from the figure of another

panther illustrated by Buff on, the only modification being the darkening of the

ground colour to indicate the melanism. So far, therefore, as the pattern is

concerned, De la M£therje’s illustration is valueless.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

311

the skin of a panther shot by Col. Ralston at Sironcha in S. Chanda,

on the Godavari, shows a very handsome pattern of rosettes, as

large apparently as in the Rikhikesh example described above.

Mandri on the Tapti river about 24 miles E. of Surat in the

Konkan. The tanned skin of a young- male shot and kindly lent to

me by Mr. T. B. Fry. The coat is smooth, not thick, the hairs on

the back measuring- about 1 in. long. In the general colour and in

the size and spacing of the spots it is very like the example from

Daltonganj, but the tint is slightly paler and a few of the rosettes

are larger, the largest measuring 1^ x 1J in., although most of

them are considerably smaller. This panther, which was shot in a

coppice, measured in the flesh 6 ft. As dressed it measures : head

and body 3 ft. 7 in., tail 2 ft. 8 in., total 6 ft. 3 in. Mr. Fry tells

me that he shot other panthers in the Konkan and one about

16 miles from Nasik on the Deccan plateau, which, so far as he

recollects, were similar to the one above described.

S. Dharwar, near Byadgi Station, 2,000 ft. alt., east of Hausbavi,

(G. C. Shortridge for the Mammal Survey). The flat skin of an

adult male resembling the skin from Daltonganj in general tint

but a little paler and with the rosettes, of which the largest are

about by in., larger and more spaced. It is interesting

to note that there is no appreciable difference either in colour or

pattern between this skin and the one recorded above from Nasair in

Kashmir. The animal was shot on February 29, 1912, in dry open

country, with rocky hills ; and its measurements in the flesh were :

head and body 4 ft. 2 in., tail 3 ft., total 7 ft. 2 in. — not a large

panther as is also indicated by the skull.

A photograph, kindly supplied by Mrs. Ralston, of a panther shot

by her son Col. Ralston at Hubli has small, close-set spots.

E. Mysore, Kolar Town, 4,026 ft. alt. The flat undressed skin of

a male (G. C. Shortridge, for the Mammal Survey). Colour a little

paler than in the Daltonganj skin but the pattern consists of small

close-set spots and the coat is short and smooth, the hair on the

back being about \ an inch long. The head and body measure

5 ft. 7| in., and the tail 2 ft. 7 in., making a total of 8 ft. 2J in. ;

but, judging from its narrowness and the elong-ation of the spots,

the skin is a good deal stretched.

S. Coorg, Wottekolle, 2,000 ft. alt., January 13, 1912, (G. C.

Shortridge, for the Mammal Survey). The flat, very handsome

skin of a young male, darker and richer in tint than the other

Indian skins, the ground colour being rusty fulvous. The rosettes

also are unusually large and somewhat irregular in shape, the

largest being about If by If in. The coat, although not long-,

measuring on the back only a little over f of an in., is thicker than

in the other skins from S. India.

Coimbatore. — Two skins, presented by Mrs. G. Cosens and made

up into rugs. They are apparently much faded since they lack the

bright tint of ordinary Indian panthers, being- pale, greyish buff on

the flanks and a little darker on the back. The coat is short and

'■ smooth, the hair on the back measuring about f in., and the pattern

I , consists of close-set rosettes, with darker tinted centres, only a

fcklittle larger than in the Daltonganj skin, Tn the flesh, according to

6

312 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

the labels, they measured respectively 6 ft. 5 in. and 6 ft. 7 in.

Judging- from the teeth and jaws, all that was preserved of the

skulls, these specimens were females, although the smaller of the

two is labelled male.

Ceylon. — Three skins obtained by E. W. Mayor for the Mammal

Survey suggest the occurrence of two races in the island, a paler

and a darker ; but the material is too scanty to justify any definite

conclusion.

(1) Kala Oya. The flat skin of a sub-adult male has a short

smooth coat, the hair being less than an in. on the back. The

general colour is decidedly pale, the tawny tint of the back gradually

fading on the flanks where it blends imperceptibly with the white

of the belly. The rosettes are small, the largest about 1 by in.,

and close-set with darker centres. The head and body measure

4 ft. 4 in. and the tail 2 ft. 8 in., total 7 ft.

(2) Keligama, Hambantota, in the Southern Province. Not

quite so short coated as the skin from Kala Oya, the hair on the

back measuring about % an in. long; but although the rosettes are

close-set and small, the largest measuring about 1 by 1 in., the

general colour is much richer and darker. This is the skin of a

young female and measures 6 ft. in total length. She was shot

while asleep on a rock.

(3) Ambawela. — The skin of a young male, measuring 6 ft.

2 in., somewhat resembles in colour the one from Hambantota, but

is still darker in tint and thicker in the coat, the hair on the back

measuring about } in. But as in the other Ceylonese skins the

rosettes are all small and close-set, a character which, combined

with the deep rusty fulvous tint, gives this panther a close

resemblance to the Javan race recorded below. The general colour,

it may be added, resembles that of the skin from South Coorg, but

the spots are much smaller and more packed.

Summary of the variations of Indian Panthers. — From these

descriptions of the characters of individual skins from various

localities the following summary may be made : —

(1) The typical Indian panther from Bengal, to which the name

fusca was given, a type represented by the skin from Daltonganj,

has the coat short and smooth, with scarcely any underfur ; the

ground colour is golden tawny, darker on the back than on the

flanks and limbs, the under side is clean white, and the rosettes are

close-set, numerous, small and thick-rimmed, with darker centres

but no contained spots. With scarcely any variations of note this

type is traceable westwards to the Konkan, southwards into Madras

and Ceylon and as far north as Kashmir, although in Kashmir the

coat is a little fuller and the pattern bolder and more open.

(2) In some cases the ground tint is markedly paler as in the

skins made up as rugs from Rikhikesh and Dehra Dun which may

be faded, and those from Coimbatore which are almost certainly

faded. Also some of the old pallid skins from Nepal may be faded.

But this explanation cannot be extended to the pale skin from

Kala Oya in Ceylon which was recently collected and has nol

been exposed to the light, so far as I am aware.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

313

(3) Here and there specimens occur in which the ground colour

is noticeably darker, that is to say, more rusty or rufous in tint as

in the skins from Ambawela in Ceylon, from South Coorg and one

from Nepal.

(4) Marked variation in the larger size, reduction in number

and wider spacing of the rosettes is exemplified more particularly

by the skins from Rikhikesh and South Coorg ; but the boldness of

the pattern in these two is the only particular in which they are

somewhat alike, the Rikhikesh skin being unusually pale and the

one from South Coorg unusually dark. In Nepal skins the

pattern is also bolder than in Bengalese and Madras skins

described.

(5) The coat varies considerably in length, texture and thickness,

Nepalese skins differing greatly in these respects from skins of the

typical Bengalese and Madras panthers.

Although it is, in my opinion, in the highest degree probable

that some at all events of the variations above indicated are

associated with differences of habitat, the available material,

consisting mostly of single skins from scattered localities, does not

supply data justifying conclusions on that point sufficiently definite

for the nominal establishment of local races. What is required is

several measured, sexed and dated skins of young and full grown

panthers from approximately the same place, taken at different

times of the year, so that we may ascertain the range of individual

variation, if any, in the colour, pattern and nature of the coat.

From the analogy supplied by the large, pale coloured panthers

inhabiting the arid districts of Persia and the small richly coloured

panthers inhabiting the moist districts of Java, it may be supposed

that somewhat similar differences will be found to obtain in India

and Ceylon. Sportsmen in India, in whose hands the settlement of

this question rests, will probably agree with the opinion, based on

what I have seen and read, that the most conspicuous variations in

colour, pattern and coat in Indian panthers are matters of environ-

ment, of rainfall, temperature, forest, open country and the like.

But until more information on these points is forthcoming, I propose

to assign all the Indian and Ceylonese panthers above described

to the same race.

It is, however, by no means certain that the descriptions above

given cover the range of variation in colour and pattern of the

panthers provisionally assigned to this race.

The list emphasises the deficiency of material for examination.

There are a few skins from Kashmir, from the watershed of the

upper Indus and Jhelum ; a few from Dehra Dun, Nepal, Oudh and

western Bengal in the watershed of the Ganges ; a few from

western and southern India, from the Konkan and Dharwar to

Coimbatore ; a few from Ceylon. But from a large area of India,

that is to say, from the Punjab, Rajputana, the Central Provinces,

the Nizam’s Dominions and the greater part of the Bombay

Presidency, not a single skin is available. Until specimens come to

hand from these districts and additional specimens from those in

which the skins described were procured, our knowledge of these

animals cannot be claimed to approach completeness.

314 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

The following table contains the principal dimensions of some

skulls from Kashmir, India and Ceylon : —

Inches Millimetres

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

315

Inches

Millimetres

The history of these skulls is as follows : — -

Kashmir (Mrs. Entwisle) ; Nepal ( U B. H. Hodgson, $ R.

Everest) ; United Provinces, without special locality, (St. George

Burke); United Provinces, Bahraich, Bachkahi and Gharwhal

(B. B. Osmaston) ; Gorakpur (A. E. Osmaston) ; Bengal, Bhagalpore

and Daltonganj (C. A. Crump for the Mammal Survey) ; Mhow,

Central Provinces (specimen formerly in the Zoological Gardens) ;

Dharwar, Kanara and Coorg (G. C. Shortridge for the Mammal

Survey) ; Ceylon (E. B. Mayor for the Mammal Survey).

From the table it will be seen that adult and old male and female

skulls range respectively on the average from 8 to 9 and from 7 to 8

inches in total length. A marked exception to this is supplied by

the male skull from Potoli in Dharwar which, although fully adult,

is not only smaller than some of the female skulls but has the shape

of the skull of a female. The canine tooth is a little larger, it is

true. Nevertheless I should have regarded the skull as that of a

female, were it not that Mr. Shortridge is too trustworthy a collector

to be likely to have fallen into error in the sexing of a specimen.

The measurements of the skull from Mhow were recorded by me

some years ago ( Proc . Zool. Soc 1909, p. 208, fig. 23). The

remarkable narrowness of the canine tooth is probably attributable

to rearing in captivity ; but the skull is no longer available for

examination and verification of structural details.

The teeth of male panthers are on the average a little bigger than

of females. In some instances the teeth are reduced in size by

wear accompanying old age ; but there are some puzzling variations

which do not seem attributable to that cause. The male skull from

Gorakhpur, for instance, has exceptionally small teeth for that sex.

In addition to those above enumerated the British Museum

contains a number of skulls of much younger leopards, whose

measurements it would be superfluous to record.

316 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

In Rowland Ward’s Records , 1914, p. 500, there are measure-

ments of three male skulls from Bijnor, Kathiawar and Belgaum

measuring- approximately in total length and width 10J x 6J,

10i x 6^ and 10 x 6^ in. respectively. To these in the 1928 ed.,

p. 485* 1 are added three more from the Central Provinces, Gwalior

and Bijnor measuring- approximately 9f x 6J, 9J x 6J and 9J x 5| in.

These dimensions send up the average derivable from my table and

show that the skulls of male Indian panthers may surpass 10 in.

in total length. But a skull in the Records which considerably

surpasses the others in dimensions measures over 11 x 7 in. in

length and width. This exceptionally long and narrow skull is the

property of the Maharajah of Bhanagar and is entered merely as

‘India’, and no skin is mentioned in connection with it. The length

of this skull as compared with its width makes me think it was that

of a young tigress.

Panthera pardus milltirdi subsp. nov.

(PL VIII)

Type locality. — Kashmir.

Differing from the typical Indian panther (P. pardus fused )

represented by the skins described under that heading by having the

coat longer and more furry and inclined to part in tufts when the

skins are folded, the hair on the back being about 1^ in. long and

on the belly about 3 in. or more in length ; but more particularly

distinguishable by the colour, which lacks the bright fulvous,

yellowish or reddish-buff tint of the normal form, the ground colour

being greyish-buff, almost olivaceous in tone, with the rosettes

small, thick-rimmed and close-set and combining with the darkish

tint of the ground colour to give a generally dusky hue to the

animal. The largest rosettes measure about 1 x 1 in. in diameter

and the spaces between them from J to \ in. wide.

The type of this race of panther is the tanned skin and skull of

an adult female from Kashmir, without special locality, and

purchased from Mrs. Entwisle. The measurements of the skin are :

head and body 4 ft. 4 in., tail 2 ft. 10 in., total 7 ft. 2 in. A second

half grown specimen, with the same history, has the coat somewhat

longer, more inclined to be tufted and the pattern in consequence

more obscure.

It is interesting to note that in the small size and close setting

of the rosettes the two known skins of this panther are much more

like the Bengal panthers from Daltonganj and Bhagalpore than they

are like the other Kashmir skins, from Nasair and Ashkote, which

have larger, thinner-rimmed and more widely spaced rosettes.

1 In my paper on Tigers ( Journ . Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., xxxiii, p. 518, 1929)

I pointed out that there is an error in the dimensions of the panther skulls in

the 1928 ed. of the Records , the lengths being entered as ‘basal* instead of

‘total’, making the basal length about 1 in. too long. The only exception to

this is the skull from Waterfall Shola, S. India (J. Limouzin) which stands

fourth on the list. Here the basal length is correctly indicated ; but the skull,

which Messrs. Rowland Ward had not seen, was, in my opinion, wrongly

identified in India and was that of a tiger, not a panther.

Joukn. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate VIII.

'

J Ski if |

m mm

■iMfc

p?®"’

Millard’s Panther (P. pardus millardi).

Skin from Kashmir.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OE ASIA

317

The differences between these two Kashmir types recall the

differences between the West African forest leopard and East

African leopards which frequent more open country. Unfortunately

we have no particulars regarding" the physical features of the

districts from which the Kashmir skins respectively came; but the

inference is that the habitats of the two kinds are very different.

Although resembling some of the panthers from Persia in the

absence of the bright yellowish hue, this new form is much darker

and cannot be confused with them.

The measurements of the skull of the type are as follows

Inches Millimetres

The dimensions of this skull, as well as of the skin, show that this

panther is as large as the typical Indian form ; but I can find no

distinguishing differences between the two in their cranial characters.

I dedicate this panther to my friend Mr. W .S. Millard, late Hon.

Secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society, as a small token

of the great work he has done in furthering the interests of zoology

and natural history in India, more particularly in being the pioneer

in the organization of the Mammal Survey which has yielded such

magnificent results in adding" to our knowledge of the mammalian

fauna of the country.

The Panthers of Manchuria and China

The available skins from Manchuria and China show that our

knowledge of the panthers of these countries is as defective as our

knowledge of the panthers of India and that far more material is

required before it will be possible to reach any satisfactory conclu-

sions regarding the names and distribution of the different kinds of

which two, sometimes three, may be found quoted in literature,

under the names fontanierii and villosa , to which orientalis is

sometimes added. The difficulties with which the question is beset

will appear in the sequel ; but provisionally I assign the skins to three

races.

Panther a pardus orientalis , Schlegel

(PI. IX)

Felis orientalis , Schlegel, Handleidung der Dierkunde I, p. 23,

PI. II, fig. 13, 1857; Martens, Zool Gart. B. V 7, p. 230,. 1864.

Panther a orientalis , Fitzinger, SB. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1868,

p. 399.

Leopardus pardus orientalis, Satunin, Conspect . Mamm. Imp.

Ross., p. 160, 1914.

Felis villosa, Bonhote, Ann. Mag. Nat , Hist., xi, p. 475, 1903,

318 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

Felis pardus villosa, Lydekker in Rowland Ward’s Records ,

1914, p. 498; also 1928, p. 482.

Type Locality . — Korea ( orientalis ) ; Amur Bay (villosa).

Distribution. — Manchuria and N. China (according- to Sowerby).

Notes on synonymy. — Schlegal gave the name orientalis to a

Korean panther which he briefly described as differing from the

ordinary form in having much longer hair and much larger spots ;

and his figure represents an animal with a bushy tail and very large

well-spaced spots composed of irregularly shaped rings, broken up

in places, on the body, and of solid black spots on the belly and

limbs. He did not refer to the tint. Fitzinger, however, amplified

Schlegel’s account by describing this panther as like Panther a irbis

[ Uncia uncia, the ounce or snow-leopard] but with the hair not so

long and the colour whitish yellow, the spots on the sides being

large, distinctly defined, black ocelli arranged in longitudinal series,

those on the limbs being' solid and angular. This description agrees

very closely with the skin of the typical specimen of the panther from

Amur Bay, near Vladivostock, to the north of Korea, described as

Felis villosa by Bonhote who was apparently unacquainted with

Schlegel’s and Fitzinger ’s descriptions of orientalis. Bonhote

contrasted villosa with the more richly tinted and more southern,

Chinese panther which Milne Edwards had named Felis fontanierii.

But he stated he v/ould have hesitated to describe villosa as a

distinct species on the evidence of the skin alone, the skull being in

the mounted specimen and unavailable for examination. He gave,

however, two corroborative reasons for his decision, both of which

were wrong. He assumed that the leopard from Amur Bay was

identical with one from the west of Pekin, the skull of which had

been described by Gray in 1867 as representing a new species,

Leopardus chinensis ; and since this skull differs somewhat in shape

from those of some leopards from Kiukiang in the British Museum,

which Bonhote assigned to fontanierii, he thought he had secured

cranial as well as colour characters whereon to establish villosa.

Under the circumstances he should have given the name chinensis

to his Amur Bay specimen ; but according to him that name was

invalid when published in 1867, being preoccupied in the genus

Felis for the smaller Chinese cat Felis chinensis dating from 1837,

as I have explained above. But Bonhote was also quite wrong in

his supposition that the skin from Amur Bay and the skull of

chinensis belong to1 the same type of leopard. The forest to the

west of Pekin was alike the home of the types of chinensis and

of fontanierii, as stated below. These two names are therefore

synonyms : and we know from M. Edward’s figure that the leopard

of that area is dark and richly coloured, not creamy buff like villosa.

There are in the British Museum only two skins which I assign

to this race.

(1) The flat dressed skin of an old J from Amur Bay, the type

of Felis villosa, presented by Lord Rothschild in 1895. The coat

is full and soft and the tail very bushy ; the hair on the back

measures about 1J in., on the belly 2 in.‘ and in the middle of the

upper side of the tail 1J in. The ground colour is creamy buff,

very noticeably paler than in the Chinese race japonensis which

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate IX.

%

Amurland Panther (P. pardus orientalis).

Skin from Amur Bay. Type of F . villosa ,

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

319

occurs farther south. The rosettes are large, few in number and

well spaced, mostly with dark dusky centres showing up very

strongly against the pale hue of the interspaces. The largest on the

flanks measure about 2.x 2 in., and the interspaces up to’ about

1 in. on the flanks. The skin measures : head and body 47 in. ,

tail 30J in., total 6 ft. 5| in. ; but the skin is obviously stretched

from side to side, thus shortening its length.

(2) A mounted specimen, presented by Rowland Ward, of which

the exact locality is unknown. On the stand it is labelled ‘Korean

Leopard, Northern China’, but in the Register it is entered as

coming from Manchuria. Although not so pale as the type of

villosa , it is not so red as the Pekinese and Central Chinese panther

( japonensis ), and the centres of the rosettes are duskier. The

largest on the flanks measure about 2 x 2 in. in diameter and the

interspaces about \ in. The coat also is not so luxuriant as in the

type of villosa, measuring on the back about f in. and on the belly

1| in. The skin, as mounted, measures : head and body 49 in.,

tail 30| in., total 6 ft. 7J in. This panther seems to be almost

intermediate between orientalis ( villosa ) and japonensis .( fontanierii ),

which follows.

The only skull I have for examination is that of the type of villosa,

which was extracted from the mounted specimen after Bonhote

described the latter. Its available dimensions are as follows

Inches Millimetres

This skull, that of an old male, is defective in some particulars.

It is decidedly smaller than the skulls of male Indian, Persian and

Asia Minor panthers, exceeding indeed only by a small fraction of

an inch female skulls of those races. But I can distinguish in it

no peculiar structural features.

Sowerby ( Journ . Asiat. Soc. N. China, 47, p. 62, 1916) describes

this race as the Manchurian and Amurland leopard and states that it

occurs in the states of Chihli (Pichili), Shensi, N. Shensi and Kansu

in north-western China ; but since the typical locality of the leopards

described as fontanierii was to the west of Pekin, it seems probable

that he confused the two races. His account, however, is very

puzzling because he also records fontanierii from S. Shensi and

Schechuan as if he were acquainted with the two races and

distinguished them. Moreover, in Fur and Feather in North China,

p. 46, PI. XI, 1914, he published a photograph of a stuffed specimen

of a panther under the name villosa which seems to be correctly

identified; and last year ( China Journ. 8, p. 346, 1928) he again

discussed these two leopards villosa and fontanierii, calling the

former the Amur leopard and publishing a photograph of a specimen,

7

320 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

certainly correctly identified since it came from Gamoff near

Vladivostock close to the place whence the type of villosa was

procured. It is likely enough that villosa or, as I have called it,

orientalis, occurs in N. China, but I do not know the evidence upon

which the statement rests. Nevertheless I quite agree with

Sowerby’s view that the existence of this pale coloured, large

spotted, thick coated leopard in that part of Asia accounts for van

Schrenk’s statement that the snow-leopard or ounce ( Uncia uncia)

occurs in Amurland ; and in this connection it may be recalled that

Temminck ( Fauna Japonica , p. 5, 1842) stated that skins of tigers

and ounces were imported to Japan from Korea. Probably the skins

he identified as those of the ounce were the skins of P. pardus

orientalis.

Panthera pardus japonensis, Gray

Leopardus japonensis , Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1862, p. 262,

PL 33.

Leo pardus chinensis , Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1867, p. 264, text

fig. of skull.

Felis fontanierii, A. M. Edwards, Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris (5), viii,

p. 375, 1867; id. Reck. Mamin, p. 208, Pis. 29-31, 1872.

Felis ( Leopardus ) grayi, Trouessart, Cat. Mamm. SuppL, p. 268,

1904.

Alleged locality of type. — Japan. Type not known.

Distribution. — North and Central China, precise range unknown.

Notes on synonymy. — The name Leopardus japonensis was given

by Gray to a furrier’s skin of a leopard stated to have been exported

from Japan. As regards the skin itself, this statement may have

been true. But there are no indigenous leopards in Japan; and if

the skin came from that country it was no doubt traded there from

the mainland of China or Korea. Fortunately Gray published a

coloured plate drawn from this skin ; and this agrees so closely with

the coloured plate of the leopard from the environs of Pekin named

Felis fontanierii by Milne Edwards that there is no reasonable doubt

of the racial identity of the two. The likeness was detected by

Anderson ; but he rejected the name japonensis on account of the

uncertainty of the precise locality of the furrier’s skin. Milne

Edwards himself was very doubtful of the distinctness of the two

and could only mention one or two unimportant differences in

pattern, such as may fall well within the range of individual

variation. But in no case can fontanierii be retained for the

Pekinese leopard because it is antedated by chinensis given by Gray

to the skull of a leopard from the mountain forests to the west

of Pekin, the locality of the example of fontanierii figured by Milne

Edwards. The names were published in the same year ; but

Milne Edwards’ reference to chinensis in his original description of

fontanierii shows that chinensis was published first.

The name grayi was proposed as a substitute for chinensis by

Trouessart on the grounds that chinensis was preoccupied for Felis

chinensis given to a totally distinct species of the Felidce. by Gray

himself in 1837. But Gray was sufficientlv intelligent to see that the

leopard to which he gave the name chinensis was generically distinct

32i

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

from the cat and his name for the leopard would stand if not

antedated by japonensis.

The coloured illustrations of japonensis and fontanierii published

respectively by Gray and Milne Edwards show that this Chinese

race resembles orientalis in having a thick coat and a bushy tail,

at least in winter, and also in the size and wide spacing of the

rosettes, but differs in being of a rich, dark-reddish hue with the

centres of the rosettes still redder but not fuscous as in orientalis.

Milne Edwards figured two specimens, a nearly full sized male

and a younger specimen, which show variation in the pattern worth

noticing. The older example is reddish on the back, paler on the

sides, and the rosettes have rusty centres, the interspaces being free

of small spots. The younger has comparatively few very widely

spaced large rosettes, the interspaces being occupied by many

small irregularly shaped solid spots. Both these examples came

from the environs of Pekin.

The British Museum, unfortunately, has no skins from the

latitude of Pekin which quite resemble japonensis ; but there are

three skins collected by F. W. Styan at Kiukiang to the south of

the Yang-tse-king in Central China, which were assigned to

fontanierii by Bonhote and others, and apparently correctly. At

all events 1 can find no characters by which they can be dis-

tinguished. The following notes on them may be useful.

(1) A flat, undressed winter skin of an almost adult male

measuring: head and body 50 in., tail 32, \ in., total 6 ft. 10-| in.

The coat is tolerably thick and full, the hair on the back being

in. long, on the belly If in. and on the neck where it rises into

a median crest or mane If in., and on the tail which is thick and

bushy nearly 1 in. The colour is rich, rusty fulvous on the back,

becoming gradually’ paler on the flanks where it blends with the

white of the belly. The centres of the rosettes which are large,

are rusty, practically the same colour as the intervening spaces on

the back, but much redder than the intervening spaces on the flanks

and therefore more conspicuous. Low down on the flanks the centres

become infuscate. The large rosettes are nearly 2 x 2 in. and the

intervening spaces about f in.

(2) A younger male specimen, also undressed and ticketed

December, is very like the last, but the hair on the body and tail is

a little fuller and there is no crest on the neck. It measures : head

and body 46 in., tail 31^ in., total 6 ft. 5| in.

(3) The undressed skin of a practically adult male ticketed

Lushan Hills, Kiukiang, November 8th. It resembles the others

but the coat is not so luxuriant and the colour not quite so rich,

neither the back nor the centres of the rosettes being quite so rusty.

The first and second of these skins in their rich coloration and

the size of their rosettes seem to resemble closely the specimen

described by Milne Edwards as fontanierii, although Kiukiang is a

long way to the south of Pekin. The third in its somewhat paler

coloration approaches the next described race.

Under this heading mention must finally be made of an

exceedingly handsome, flat, tanned skin from Kwantung in South

China, obtained by Swinhoe and briefly referred to by him when

322 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

comparing- the leopards of Northern and Southern China ( Proc .

Zool. Soc., 1870, p. 4). He described it as very richly coloured but

otherwise like the leopard of India. This is not strictly true, the

pattern being much bolder than in any Indian skin I have seen.

The colour is very like that of the first described skin from Kiukiang,

but the rosettes are larger and thicker rimmed and their centres

instead of being rusty fulvous are inclined to be dusky. The largest

measure about x 2 in. in diameter. In size and spacing they

recall the rosettes of orientalis. But both in colour and pattern the

skin is so like the type of japonensis as figured by Grey that

Dr. Schwarz regardless of its history wrote on the back of the label

‘type of japonensis Gray’. This it most certainly is not, because,

apart from its different history, the coat is quite short and smooth,

being less than 1 in. on the back and less than 2 in. on the belly,

and the tail is in no sense bushy. The coat is shorter than in any of

the Central Chinese skins described above, but its date is unknown

and none of the others are summer skins. The skin measures : head

and body 4 ft. 5 in., tail 3 ft. 2 in., total 7 ft. 7 in. Provisionally

only can it be referred to japonensis. It may prove to belong

to the Annam race described below.

The following are the measurements of the available skulls

assigned to' japonensis ; —

The dimensions of the male skull, the first on the list, from the

West of Pekin are taken from M. Edward’s figure of the type of

fontanierii, which he declared to be an adult animal. But the

distinctness of the sutures, especially of the interparietal bone, the

general shape and the short occipital crest show most emphatically

that it was young. The only puzzling characteristic of the skull

is the great size of the upper carnassial which is as large as the

largest carnassial shown in my table of dimensions of Indian skulls.

Possibly the artist exaggerated its size. The two male skulls from

Kiukiang marked adult are probably not quite full sized. They

are young adults, the basioccipital suture being still visible, and

the same applies to the female skull, the type of chinensis , from the

West of Pekin. But it will be seen that on the average the skulls,

like that of the old male of orientalis (type of villosa), are smaller

than the skulls of Indian panthers.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate X.

Duke of Bedford’s Panther (P. pardus bedfordi)

Skin labelled “ N. China” (Swinhoe).

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA 323

Panthera pardus bedfordi, subsp. nov.

(PI. X)

Felis japonensis , Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1870, p. 628. (Not

japonensis, Gray).

Felis fontanierii, Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1911, p. 687. (Not

fontanierii, M. Edwards).

Type Locality. — Shong' Chou in S. E.. Shensi, 3,000 ft.

Distribution. — Shensi, Hupei, ? N. China.

Resembling P. pardus japonensis in its thick coat and bushy tail,

but paler and much less richly coloured, the ground tint being

tawny buff with no rusty hue on the back or in the centres of the

rosettes which are merely a slightly darker shade than the inter-

spaces ; the rosettes also are somewhat smaller, more closely set

and altogether less conspicuous than in japonensis.

The British Museum has the following skins which I assign to

this race

(1) Shong Chou in S. E. Sheiisi. The made-up skin, the type,

of an old female shot on November 8th by M. P. Anderson at an

altitude of 3,000 ft. on the Duke of Bedford’s collecting expedition

to Central China. Its measurements in the flesh are : head and

body 43 J in., tail 31 in., total approximately 6 ft. 3 in. The

colour and pattern are as described above. The length and thick-

ness of the coat are approximately as in the skin assigned above to

japonensis from the Lushan Hills, Kiukiang (Styan), the hair on the

back being about 1 in. long and on the belly 2 in., and the largest

rosettes about If x If in. in diameter. The two animals were

killed in the same month, November, when the winter coat would

hardly have attained its full development.

(2) Paoli in Shensi. A very handsome, tanned skin, presented

by Father Hugh, measuring: head and body 35 in., tail 34f in.,

total 7 ft. 3f in. This skin is probably that of a male in winter coat,

the hair on the back measuring If in. and on the belly 2 in. The

colour is almost as in the type, but the rosettes are slightly larger

and more conspicuous, with rather darker centres.

(3) Tong Shang in Hupei. The made-up skin of a young male,

ticketed January 18 (F. W. Styan). It measures : head and body

41 in., tail 25f in., total 5 ft. 6f in. The colour is as in the type

but the pattern is less clearly defined, as is usual in young panthers.

The hair is not reversed on the neck and there is no median crest.

On the back it measures If in. and on the belly about 2 in.

(4) ? N. China. A flat, tanned skin, one of the two referred

to by Swinhoe (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1870, p. 4) and assigned by him

to japonensis, Gray. It measures: head and body 50 in., tail

31 in., total 6 ft. 9 in. The colour and pattern are similar to those

of the type, but the coat is fuller and softer, the hair being If in.

on the back, If in. on the nuchal crest, 2f in. on the belly and

If in. on the middle of the tail. A photograph of the skin, a trade

skin picked up in Pekin by Swinhoe, is shown on PI. X.

This panther is, I suspect, the race identified by Sowerby ( Journ ,

324 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Asiat. Soc. N. China , 47, p. 62, 1916) as fontanierii , which he

records from S. Shensi and Schechuan.

The differences in colour and pattern between this panther and

the richly coloured form assigned above to japonensis are puzzling.

No doubt they are due to a difference of environment and I suspect

that the habitat of bedfordi is more or less open, mountainous

country, and of japonensis comparatively low lying forest or jungle.

The only skull of this race 1 have seen is that of the type, an old

female from Shong Chou in S.E. Shensi. Its measurements are

as follows : —

Inches Millimetres

The skull is only slightly larger than that of the type of chinensis

from the west of Pekin. It differs, however, very considerably in

shape, being noticeably lower and flatter over the fronto-nasal area..

But 1 attribute this difference to age, the Shensi skull belonging to

a much older animal than the one from Pekin which was barely

adult.

The Panthers of Burma, Annam and the Malay States

Of skins and skulls from these countries I have seen only a few.

But according to Lydekker the leopard of Malaya, to which he gave

the inadmissible name variegata, Wagner, is a large-spotted race.

This description applies to the skin of an adult female obtained at

Tonghoo in Burma by Mr. J. M. D. Mackenzie for the Mammal

Survey. The coat is short, only just over \ an inch long on the

back, and the general colour is very much as in the Daltonganj

skin, representing typical jusca, but is a little brighter and richer

in tint and the pattern is handsomer because the rosettes, although

not widely spaced, are larger, many of them being If x If in. in

diameter. The animal measured in the flesh : head and body

ff ft. 8 in., tail 2T0^ in., total 6 ft. 6J in. But the skin does

not differ more from the typical form of jusca than does the skin

from S. Coorg, for example ; and provisionally I refer this Burmese

example to that race.

Black leopards appear to be not uncommon in the Burmese area.

One was obtained by G. C. Shortridge on Mt. Popa in Chindwin,

and I have seen one from the Shan States in Mr. Poland’s collection.

An example from Annam, represented by the skin and skull,

seems sufficiently different from typical jusca , the Indian race, and

from the named Chinese races, japonensis and bedfordi , to receive

nominal distinction.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate XI.

Delacour’s Panther ( P . pardus delacouri).

Skin from Hue, Annam.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

325

Panthera pardus delacouri, subsp. nov.

(PI. XI)

? Fells pardus variegata, Lydekker, in Rowland Ward’s Records ,

1914, p. 498, and 1928, p. 482; id. Game Animals of India, etc.

(revised by Dollman), p. 316, 1924; not variegata, Wagner.

Panthera pardus, Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc ., 1928, vol. ii, p. 834.

Type Locality. — Hue in Annam. Type in the British Museum.

Distribution. — Range unknown, very possibly S. China, Siam and

parts of Malaya.

Note on the suggested synonymy. — -As stated above, Lydekker

many years ago referred to a large-spotted race of leopard inhabiting

Malaya. To this he gave the name variegata, Wagner. But

Wagner, on his own admission, applied the name variegata to the

Javan leopard, which had previously been called melas by Cuvier ;

and this ascription of variegata, to the Sun da Island leopard was

adopted by Fitzinger and Matschie.

Description. — The coat is short, smooth and silky, the hair being

barely in. long on the back and 1-| in. on the belly, and the tail

is in no sense bushy. The colour is rich, almost rusty red in the

middle of the back, paler at the sides, very much as in the skins

from Kiukiang, but the rosettes are smaller than in japonensis , the

largest being mostly 1^ x 1J in., although a few are about

If x If in., and are more closely set, more irregular in shape,

thicker-rimmed and with much darker infuscate centres, all

combining to give a darker appearance to the pelage. On the croup

and thighs indeed the centres are so dark that the rosettes on these

areas assume the form of solid spots. (PI. XI.) Approximate

measurements in the flesh: head and body 3 ft. in., tail 2 ft.

7f in., total 6 ft. 3f in.

In its richer, darker colour and dusky rosettes, this skin differs

very markedly from the one from Tonghoo described above.

This leopard, obtained by Mons. J. Delacour and Mr. W. Lowe,

was shot on July 1st and was therefore in summer coat. No stress

consequently can be laid on the shortness of the hair on the body

and tail when comparing it with the Chinese skins obtained in

autumn and winter. But it may be safely assumed that at Hu^ in

Annam, leopards are short-coated throughout the year.

It is interesting to note that the short, smooth-coated skin from

Kwantung' (Canton), provisionally referred above to japonensis,

seems to link, in a measure, this Annam race with typical

japonensis, especially in the ashy or fuscous tint of the centre of

the rosettes.

In Col. R. L. Kennion’s book By Mountain, Lake and Plain,

p. 267, 1911, Lydekker referred to the skin of a leopard from Siam

belonging to Mr. C. Hose which he described as having very large

jaguarine rosettes with inclosed spots. It is likely enough that this

skin is another representative of delacouri.

All the leopards I have seen from the Malay Peninsula (Johore

and elsewhere) were black specimens exhibited in Menageries. It

seems that the percentage of black individuals gradually increases

southwards. C. B, Kloss, for example, stated that ‘south of

326 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Fb/. XXXIV

Malacca the black form practically replaces the spotted entirely’

(Journ. States Branch Royal Asiatic Soc., No. 53, p. 14, 1909). It

is, I think, probable that these southern Malayan leopards are

identical with the Javan race which is addicted to melanism. But

the Javan skins I have seen do not agree at all with Lydekker’s

description of the Malayan leopard as large-spotted.

The measurements of the available skulls from the above-

mentioned countries are as follows

Inches Millimetres

The skull of the type of delacouri from Annam agrees very closely

in its measurements with that of the type of bedfordi from S. E.

Shensi, the larger upper carnassial and canine tooth being probably

attributable to less wear owing to its being a younger skull.

Unfortunately the skull is abnormal, the frontal bones between the

orbits being greatly swollen owing to the expansion of their sinuses

due to some pathological affection, possibly the presence of

nematode worms. This gives the skull a remarkably high

appearance and may have affected the shape of the nasal bones

which at their upper ends are much more rounded and less pointed

than in the Chinese and Malayan skulls I have seen.

The other skulls recorded in the list call for no special comment.

The Panther of Java

Panthera pardus melas , Cuvier.

Felis melas, G. Cuvier, Ann. Mus., 14, p. 152, 1809.

Felis pardus and leopardus , Temminck, Mon . Mamm., pp. 92 and

99, (in part, Javan specimens).

Felis variegata, Wagner in Schreber’s Saug., Suppl. 2, p. 483,

1841.

Felis variegata, var. B. nigricans, atro-maculata, id. loc. cit.

Panthera variegata, Fitzinger, SB. Kais. Akad. Wien, 58, pt. 1,

p. 473, 1868.

Panthera variegata, var. nigra, id. op. cit. p. 47(J,

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF AS/ A

327

Locality of Type. — Java. Type in Paris Museum.

Distribution. — Java and Kangean Island, possibly also the Malay

Peninsula and Sumatra.

Notes on the synonymy. — The name melas was originally applied

to a black leopard brought alive by Pdron from Java to France

where it ultimately fell into1 the hands of Cuvier who gave Peron the

credit of the name. I have failed, however, to find a reference to it

in any of Peron’s works, and Cuvier must be regarded as the author.

Temminck, who knew Javan leopards as well as others, did not

distinguish the race from Java, but figured the skulls of a male

and female from that island in support of his claim of the distinct-

ness of the two species pardus, the panther, and leopardus , the

leopard. Neither of these names, however, is admissible, both

belonging to African leopards. Since Wagner cited melas as a

synonym of variegata and melas is the older name, variegata must

give way to' it, although Wagner, like Fitzinger who followed him,

no doubt thought variegata would stand for the normal spotted

type. Wagner redescribed the black Javan variety as nigricans ,

atro-maculata , but it may be questioned whether nigricans has

nominal status : but Fitzinger substituted nigra for melas preferring

apparently the Latin to the Greek word.

Description. — Typically a rather small, dark, richly coloured

leopard, the ground colour a deep reddish or rusty yellow on the

back, paler on the flanks and dusky grey, lightly washed with buff

on the limbs, the under side white. The rosettes are all small and

close set, with the centres a little darker in hue than the ground

tint. The coat is short but thick and rather harsh, and the tail is

inclined to be bushy. Black varieties are common.

The British Museum has several skins of this race mostly

collected by G. C. Shortridge for Mr. W. E. Balston in 1908. The

typically coloured spotted skins closely resemble each other in tint

and pattern.

(1 and 2) Panganderan on Dirk de Vries Bay, S. Java. A

made-up skin of a sub-adult <$ , measuring in the flesh : head and

body 3 ft. 7J in., tail 2 ft. 8 in., total 6 ft. 3J in. The rosettes

are about 1 x 1 in. in diameter and the interspaces about J to -J in.

wide. Also the made-up skin of a youngish female, measuring in

the flesh : head and body 3 ft. 5 J in._, tail, 2 ft. 2 f in., total 5 ft/

8 in.

(3 to 5) Tassikmalaja in Preanger, 1,145 ft. The made-up

skin of an adult female measuring in the flesh : head and body

3 ft. 6f in., tail 2 ft. in., total about 5 ft. 11-J in. Also the

flat, undressed skin of a male, without skull, and not measured in

the flesh but measuring as it is : head and body 4 ft., tail 2 ft.

4| in., total 6 ft. 4-| in. The age of this example is uncertain. The

flat skin of a black specimen, apparently a male but without a skull

and unmeasured in the flesh, measures : head and body 4 ft. 1 in.,

tail 2 ft. 11 in., total 7 ft. This skin is obviously stretched in the

drying.

(6) Java. A black made-up skin, without skull, presented by

Mr. J. Th. Hamaker and unmeasured in the flesh, now measures :

head and body 2 ft. 104 in., tail 2 ft. 4 in., total 5 ft. 2| in.

8

328 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

Two out of the six available skins are black; but according- to

Jacobson this variety is much rarer in Java than the normally

coloured animal ( Journ . Fed. Malay St. Museum, x, p. 238, 1921).

Of the measurements quoted above only two, taken in the flesh,

call for notice, namely, those of the sub-adult male from Panganderan

and of the adult, but young adult, female from Tassikmalaja in

Preanger. The male measured 6 ft. 3J in. Perhaps he would have

reached 7 ft. when fully grown. The female measured 5 ft. 11^ in.

and was probably full sized. These dimensions indicate that this

Javan panther is smaller than the Indian, the male being only about

the size of the Indian female.

The following are the measurements of the available skulls. In

the table I have included several skulls formerly the property of

Frof. Lidth de Jeude of Utrecht in Holland. Although these skulls

are unlocalized, I infer they came from Java with the tiger’s skulls,

belonging to the same owner, which although also unlocalized,

could be determined as Javan by their characters.

These dimensions tell the same tale as those of the skins, namely,

that the full-grown male of the Javan panther is approximately

only as big as the female Indian panther.

In all the skulls it is noticeable that the nasals are narrowed and

pointed at their upper ends and project slightlv or considerably

beyond the maxillae.

Temminck, it may be added, figured two skulls, of an adult d

and an old 9 > Javan panther. The figures are stated to be half

natural size; but there must, I think, be some error on that point,

because when their measurements are doubled the male skull is

only approximately 6'8 in. long and 5 in. wide, and the female

6'2 in. long and 4‘2 in. wide. The figures indicate that the

animals were full grown; but the skulls are smaller respectively

than the young S and ? skulls in my table.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

329

This little leopard is known to me only from the Javan specimens

described above and from the tail of one secured by_ G. C. Shortridge

on Kangean Island to the east of Java. Attached to this tail is a

label in Short ridge’s handwriting giving the locality and stating

that the animal also occurs on Paliat Island near Kangean and that

Kangean is probably the eastern limit of Panthera pardns , which

does not occur alongside the tiger in Bali. To the north-west of

Java 1 know nothing of its distribution although I strongly suspect

it is the same race as the panthers of at least the southern portion

of the Malay Peninsula. The skull of a leopard recorded from

Sumatra was figured by Blainville under the inadmissible name

siimatrana ( Osteogr Atlas, II, PI. VIII, 1839-1864); but it was

sent to Paris by a collector, Duvaucel, whose localities are not above

suspicion. The skull is 1 in. longer than the largest Javan skulls

I have seen. In this connection it may be recalled that more than a

century ago Sir Stamford Raffles, in his report on collections made

in Sumatra, stated that only two species of cats were procured,

namely, the tiger and the tiger-cat, a race of bengalensis. Tigers,

he added, were very numerous, several varieties being distinguished

of which one is the Rimau Kumbang or black tiger. Since panthers

are frequently called tigers, this reference has been cited as evidence

of the occurrence of black panthers in Sumatra.

On this point, however, Jacobson recently said that there is no

authentic record of Felis pardus of the normal spotted type having

been obtained in Sumatra, all reputed cases having proved to be

Clouded Leopards (Neo felis nebulosa) ; and he believes that the so-

called black ones shot at or seen were nothing but melanisms of this_

last mentioned species. This, he adds, is also the opinion of the

well-known tiger hunter Ledeboer, whom I quoted when writing

on the tigers of the Sunda Islands. Mr. Jacobson is resident in

Sumatra; and until his testimony is refuted, it must be concluded

that panthers, puzzling as the fact is, do not occur in Sumatra (see

]ourn. Fed. Malay States Museum , x, p. 238, 1921).

Summary of the Races of Asiatic Panthers

The following brief summary of the races of Asiatic and European

panthers discussed in foregoing pages may be of interest : —

(1) The Russian Panther (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica).

Described by Satunin as differing from the race of Asia Minor by its

smaller size and paler colour, there being no reddish shade in the

pelage. Recorded from the Province of Kuban in S. Russya, north

of the Caucasus, this race is known to me only from its description.

(2) The Asia Minor Panther (Panthera pardus tuUiana). A large

panther inhabiting Asia Minor and Transcaucasian Russia, typically

with large, thin rimmed, well spaced rosettes, pale reddish fawn in

colour, and with a thick winter coat and bushy tail.

(3) The Persian Panther (Panthera pardus saxicolor). Akin to,

and intergrading with, tulliana, but typically paler in colour,

without the reddish fawn tint, and with smaller rosettes. Resembles

the ounce in its colour and thick winter coat, and inhabits Persia

from the shores of the • Caspian Sea to the coast of the Persian

Gulf and as far to the east as Seistan,

330 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

(4) The Sind Panther (Panther a pardus sindica). No doubt

intergrading- with the Persian race, but richer in colour, resembling

apparently the Asia Minor race in this respect, as also in pattern,

but carrying, it seems, a much coarser coat. Known, up to the

present time, only from the Kirthar Range in Sind.

Note. — In connection with these four races from South-Western

Asia and S. Russia, it is interesting to observe that the two pale

Russian and Persian races ( ciscaucasica and saxicolor) are

apparently separated geographically by the more normally coloured

Asia Minor race (tulliana), and that the two more normally coloured

Asia Minor and Sind races ( tulliana and sindica) are similarly

separated by the pale Persian race (saxicolor). This suggests that

the Russian and Persian races have independently acquired their

pallid coloration and may be identical environmental races derived

from a more normally coloured race represented by the forms now

found in Asia Minor and Sind.

(5) The Indian Panther (Panthera pardus fusca). Very

imperfectly known, probably several distinguishable races being

grouped under the name fusca , which in the strictest sense belongs

to a Bengalese type. On the available evidence this panther is a

short and sleek coated animal, yellowish fulvous in colour, and

with small close-set rosettes, thus differing sharply from the Sind,

Persian and Asia Minor races. But in other parts of India, the

colour may be richer or paler, the rosettes may be large, the pattern

bold, and the coat tolerably long and rough.

(6) Millard’s Panther (Panthera pardus millardi). A race from

Kashmir, differing from typical fusca in having a thicker, softer,

more furry coat, and in lacking the bright fulvous or rusty fulvous

hue.

(7) The Amurland Panther (Panthera pardus orientalis).

Smaller than the Persian and Indian races, with a luxuriant soft

coat, a bushy tail, pale, creamy-buff colour and very large, widely

spaced rosettes, with conspicuously darkened centres.

(8) Chinese Panther (Panthera pardus japonensis). Typically a

Northern Chinese race, differing from the Amurland race in being

very rich rusty fulvous in colour.

(9) Bedford’s Panther (Panthera pardus bedfordi ). A Chinese

race differing from the foregoing in lacking the rich rusty fulvous

hue and in having smaller, closer-set rosettes.

(10) Delacour’s Panther (Panthera pardus delacouri). A race

from Annam, recalling japonensis in colour but with the rosettes

smaller and closer set and with darker centres, and the coat on the

body and tail as short and sleek as in the typical Indian panther.

(11) The Javanese Panther (Panthera pardus melas). A small

race inhabiting Java and Kangean Island, with a short, sleek coat,

dark rich colour and small close-set rosettes.

The Ounce

(Pis. XII-XIII)

The Skulls of the Panther and Ounce

Since the alternative and perhaps more familiar name of the ounce

is snow-leopard, it might be inferred that this animal is nearly

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate XII.

A. Skull of Ounce {TJncia uncia). Half natural size.

B, Summit of same from above. Half natural size.

C. Nasals of same. Natural size.

D, E. Left side of occiput and auditory bulla of Ounce and Panther, the position of

the partition of the bulla indicated by dotted line. Natural size.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

331

allied to the leopard or panther, certainly more nearly allied to it

than the panther is to the lion or tiger. Most emphatically that is

not the case. In the structure of the skull the ounce stands apart

from the other three species, the skulls of which are very much

alike and intergrade in all essential characters. The most obvious

differences exhibited by the ounce’s skull are the shortness of the

muzzle, the elevation of the forehead, the vertical chin and less well-

developed uprising posterior process, the coronoid, of the lower

jaw. But a deeper seated difference is found in the structure of the

bony swelling associated with the ear on the lower side of the skull

and known as the auditory bulla. This swelling, when the skull is

inverted, is the roof of a hollow which in all the Cat-family ( Felidce )

is divided by a vertical bony partition into' an outer and an inner

chamber. In the ounce the two chambers are nearly equal in size,

the outer being comparatively very large owing to the line of origin

of the partition from the roof lying far inwards and remote from the

auditory orifice. In the lion, tiger, panther and, it may be added,

the American jaguar, the two chambers are very unequal, the outer

being comparatively quite small owing to the line of origin

of the partition from the roof lying externally and close to the

auditory orifice. Less important than this difference, but still very

noticeable, is the presence on the bone between the bullae in the

ounce of two deep depressions for muscular attachment. These

depressions are quite shallow in the lion, tiger, panther and jaguar.

These differences, which I described some years ago’ (Ann. Mag.

Nat. Hist. (8), xviii, p. 306, 1916), are illustrated on Plate XII

which also shows the side view of the skull of the ounce, with some

missing portions represented by dotted lines, the nasal bones, which

are very short, and the interorbital region, from above. This

imperfect skull, I may add, is the only example, so far as I am

aware, in Great Britain. It has been in the British Museum for

many years, but is unsexed and has no history. I do not know

whether the male and female skulls of this species differ as do those

of tigers, panthers and lions.

Kinship between the Ounce and the Lion, Tiger, Panther and

Jaguar, which constitute the genus Panthera, is attested by the

structure of the hyoid bone ; but the differences in the skull, above

pointed out, may be emphasized by referring the Ounce to a distinct

genus for which, as I pointed out in 1916, the name Uncia, given to

it by Gray, is available.

The Name, Distribution and External Characters

of the Ounce

Uncia uncia , Schreber

Felis uncia, Schreber, Saugthiere, iii, PI. C. 1775; p. 68 6, 1777.

Felis irbis, Ehrenberg, Ann. Sci. Nat. xxi, pp. 394 and 410, 1830.

Uncia irbis, Gray, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, xiv, p. 394, 1854.

Felis uncioides, Horsfield, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2nd ser.) xvi,

p. 105, 1855.

Distribution. — Central Asia i the Altai, Tibet and Himalayas.

332 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HiST. SOCIETY , Pol. XXX IV

Notes on the synonymy. — Under the name ‘L’Once’, Buffon

published an unmistakable figure of the Snow-leopard ( Hist . Nat.

ix, PL Xlll, 1761); and an acknowledged copy of this figure was

produced by Schreber with the name Fetis uncia engraved beneath.

JBut early literature relating to the ounce contained so much

confusion regarding the name, distribution and characters of the

species that Ehrenberg, who also disapproved of admitting onca for

the jaguar and uncia for the ounce, decided to abolish the name

uncia in favour of irbis. But uncia being the older name must be

adopted.

Buff on unfortunately recorded no locality for the skin he described

as ‘L’Once’, the skin which was the type of Felis uncia, Schreber.

But the skin Ehrenberg described, when he substituted irbis for uncia,

came from the neighbourhood of the Altai Mountains. 1 propose,

therefore, to designate the Altai Mountains as the locality of the

typical ounce. At present such a designation is of no great moment

because there is not a sufficient number of properly localized skins

and skulls to show whether the species has become differentiated

into subspecies or not. It is a long way from the Altai to the

Himalayas. Hence it would not be surprising if the ounces of the

two ranges proved distinguishable. In that case the name uncioides

given by Horsfield to one of Hodgson’s skins from Nepal will be.

available for the Himalayan form.

Distribution. — The known distribution of the ounce is the high

tableland of Central Asia from Tibet northwards to the Altai and

southwards to the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas. According to

Major Burrard (Big Game Hunting in the Himalayas and Tibet,

p. 222, 1925) it extends from the Hindu Kush on the west to the

extreme eastern end of the Himalayas, is abundant in the Zaskar

Range and is found in limited numbers a few miles along the

Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal Ranges from their junctions with the

main Himalayan Range. Its distribution in Eastern Asia is not

known. Although its imported skins are common in China, there is

no evidence of its occurrence in that country, but it may, according

to Sowerby, penetrate the south-western portions from the

Himalayas.

It has been recorded from Manchuria and Amurland ; but, as

explained above, this record is probably attributable to identi-

fication of skins of the pale, large-spotted thick-coated panther

(Panthera pardus orientalis) as those of the ounce. Its occurrence

in the Caucasus, Armenia and even South Persia has also been

asserted ; but in these parts of Asia it has certainly been confused

more than once with the local panthers (P. pardus tulliana and P. p.

saxicolor).

No doubt one of the sources of the belief in the existence of the

ounce in Southern Persia was the illustration and description of an

example by Hamilton Smith ( Griffith's Animal Kingdom, ii, p. 469,

1827), an example exhibited in the Tower Menagerie and alleged to

have been captured on the shores of the Persian Gulf. If the

locality was correct the animal was not an ounce but a Persian

panther (P. pardus saxicolor ) which Hamilton Smith wrongly

identified. But since his figure and description apply to an ounce,

7 'HE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

333

he must have drawn his illustration and description from a skin of

that animal not from the living- specimen.

Description. — As a representative of this species an adult mounted

specimen ticketed Tibet and exhibited in the British Museum, may

be selected for description.

The coat is moderately long and full but lies smoothly, is not

especially woolly and shows no sign of tufting. On the flanks the

hairs are about 1 in. long, on the belly and tail about 2 in., the tail

being uniformly bushy throughout. On the head the hair is quite

short, and there are no fringes on the cheeks.

The general colour is pale grey, blending without contrast with

the white of the underside ; but the centres of the thin-rimmed

rosettes are a darker g*rey. On the head and nape the spots are

solid and black, passing into rosettes on the shoulders and back

where they become gradually larger and paler. On the hinder part

of the back and loins there is an irregular median black stripe,

formed of confluent solid spots, and on each side of this are two

tolerably definite rows of elongated more or less confluent rosettes

exhibiting a linear arrangement, the rosettes of the outer row being

less lengthened and less confluent than of the inner. On the flanks

and thighs the rosettes are large and spaced, about 2^ x 2|- in. in

diameter. On the legs the spots are solid and black, diminishing in

size below ; the fore paws are spotted, but the hind paws are

spotless and the area below the hock behind is covered with a mat

of whitish hair. Except for a few large solid blotches on the belly,

the whole of the under side is white in the middle from the chin

backwards. The tail also is white below, but above it is marked in

its basal third with five rows of spots continuous with those of the

loins ; in its median part this linear arrangement disappears and in

its terminal third the rosettes fuse to form broad transverse bands

separated by white stripes.

The specimen above described is evidently in summer coat ; and

Dr. Cuthbert Christy has a similar skin from Srinagar. A smaller

example in winter coat but without locality has the hairs erect and

longer, reaching 2 in. on the body, and the cheeks carry a thick

fringe of which the hairs are 2 in. long. On account of the greater

length of the hair, the pattern is less definite on the body, but it is

conspicuous and black on the head, limbs and tail. Another winter

skin labelled Tibet has the coat thick, woolly and tufted and the

pattern very indistinct. A woolly tufted coat and obscured pattern

are also exhibited by a flat skin from Simtola.

In connection with the seasonal changes it may be noted that the

tail remains uniformly thick and bushy throughout the year and that

the pads on the paws are never in any sense overgrown or over-

lapped by hairs as might be expected of an animal that must

frequently have to traverse ice and snow in winter.

The most marked variation in general colour is shown by an

unlocalized skin procured from the East India Company. It is a

beautiful creamy buff, with grey centres to the rosettes which are

black-rimmed and well defined because the coat is smooth and not

broken into woolly tufts.

The skin of a cub, probably about g month old and found by

334 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Col. F. M. Bailey at Gang-tse in Tibet is particularly interesting*. The

coat is thick and wooly and the ground colour a dark dusky brownish

grey. The fore quarters and head are rather confusedly and sparsely

spotted and mottled with black and on the flanks and thighs there

are big black spots with slightly paler centres. But particularly

noticeable are three black bands, mostly undifferentiated into spots

extending along the hinder portion of the back to the root of the

tail. In front these bands are broad and close set, making an

almost continuous black shield but still more to the front they break

up into three large, detached black blotches. Towards the root of

the tail the bands become narrower and divergent. The under side

is white, with a few blotches on the belly.

So far as I am aware the cub of the ounce has never previously

been described or figured. It is strikingly different from panther

cubs at any age, especially in the large size and sparseness of the

spots, the presence of the three broad dorsal stripes and the thick-

ness and length of the coat. Panther cubs are uniformly and closely

spotted all over, both above and below, and the coat is comparatively

short.

This ounce cub, with a panther cub alongside for comparison, is

figured on PI. XIII. An interesting point to note is that the presence

of the dorsal stripes in the cub suggests that the pattern of the

same region in the adult is due to the breaking up of longitudinal

stripes, not to the confluence of rosettes. This is in keeping with

the theory that the pattern of the Cat-family consisted originally of

longitudinal black stripes.

Although the pattern in adult ounces is of the same type as that

in panthers, there are certain differences. Blanford says, ‘The

rosettes are much larger than in leopards.’ This is by no means

always the case. But they are fewer in number everywhere and

more spaced, and there are only a few on the fore part of the belly.

No panther is spotless below on the throat, chest, the greater part

of the belly, or the under side of the tail or on the hind paws; and

the back of the hind leg below the hock is ashy or blackish in

panthers, not whitish as in the ounce. Also the hairs on the neck

in the ounce are not reversed in direction of growth as they are in

all the panther skins, except two, which I have seen.

The only measurements of ounces taken in the flesh with which

1 am acquainted are mentioned in Rowland Ward’s Records, 1928,

p. 486, where the total dimensions from nose tip to tail tip are

given. These I have entered in the following table together with

the lengths of the head and body and of the tail, taken separately,

of some of the skins in the Natural History Museum and of one

recorded by Ehrenberg. Possibly these skins are stretched, but they

probably serve to show approximately the average proportion that

the tail bears to the head and body.

These measurements indicate that although the total length is

about the same as in Panthers, the tail is longer and the head and

body shorter comparatively in the ounce. Buffon, however,

described a skin with the head and body, measuring 4 ft. and the tail

3 ft. ; and Blanford, on unstated authority, gives 4 ft. 4 in. and

3 ft. as the approximate lengths of the head and body and of the tail

Journ. Bombay Nat. EIist. Sock

PiAte xlrl.

Flat skin of Ounce cub — left.

Made-up skin of Panther cub — right.

THE PANTHERS AND OUNCES OF ASIA

335

respectively, the tail in the latter case being relatively only a little

longer than in Panthers. Other measurements may be found in the

works of early writers. I have not, however, repeated them because

ounces and panthers were not always discriminated a century or so

ago.

As regards the skull, no complete measurements of a single

specimen are known to me. In the following table I have recorded

some of those presented by the skull in the Natural History

Museum ; but owing to the absence of the whole of the occipital

region, the total and condylo-basal lengths can only be estimated

roughly. To the table have been added the length and breadth

measurements of two localized skulls mentioned in Rowland Ward’s

Records , 1928, p. 486, and of an unlocalized skull referred to by

Elliot in his Monograph of the Felidce.

Inches Millimetres

The distinguishing characters of the skull as compared with that

of Panthers, Tigers and Lions have already been discussed above.

I may add, however, that I can find no evidence supporting

Lydekker’s statement ( Game Animals of India, Burma and Malaya,

p. 324, 1924) that the palate is more swollen than in those species.

9

336 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , XXXIV

In the skull in the British Museum all that remains of the palate,

which is the greater part of it, is flat. The posterior part towards

the posterior nares is missing-, it is true; but the skull of two

specimens, formerly in the Zoological Society’s Museum, which I

examined, showed no swelling of any part of the palate. Moreover,

the area of the palate just in front of the nares is frequently swollen

in Panthers.

It would be unreasonable to expect sportsmen to part with Ounces’

skins for the national collection, although they are greatly needed.

But I venture to put in a plea for skulls which are equally, if not

more, wanted and are neither valuable, beautiful nor imposing as

trophies.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS.

BY

P. F. Wickham.

PART III.

( Continued from page 63 of this volume.)

XL VII I. —Family ^Egypid^e.

561. The Black or Pondicherry Vulture. Sarcogyps calvus.

Common in all these Hill Tracts up to about 3,000' but breed even at a lower

level than this. 1 took an egg of this bird in the Southern Shan Hills at about

1,200 ft. elevation in early January .

562. The Northern Long=billed Vulture, Gyps indicus nudiceps.

563. The Indian White=backed Vulture. Pseudogyps bengalensis.

Both these species of vulture inhabit Burma and presumably the hill tract?,

but they breed only at low elevations. Nests in Shan Hills early in January.

XLIX. — Family Falconid#;.

56L The Eastern Peregrine Falcon. Falco peregrinus calidus.

Probably a winter visitor to the Hills of Burma.

565. The Shahin Falcon. Falco peregrinus peregrinator.

Also a winter visitor to the Hills of Burma. Apparently the distribution of

this bird as described in the Fauna intends the North-east Hills of Burma,

i.e., the Shan and Kachin Hills to be omitted as a habitat of this bird even in

winter. Mackenzie records it from the North Chin Hills.

566. The Laggar Falcon. Falco jugger.

This bird breeds in the dry zone of Burma and would be found in the foot-

hills.

567. The Burmese Hobby. Falco severus severus.

Recorded from the Chin Hills low elevations and I can record it from the

Southern Shan Hills where it was, I am sure, breeding in the crags at Taunggyi,

early in March. Bonelli Eagles ( Hiera'etus fasciaius (?)) were building at the

time and one of these little falcons regularly mobbed the big eagles on their

appearance. After a short time, as no attention was paid to the insults, the little

falcon would stop mobbing and fly back to his perch, a rock on one of the

highest points. I could not discover where the nest was exactly.

568. The Burmese Red-legged Falconet. Microhierax caerulescens burmanicus.

We have now three species of Falconets called Black, Red and White-legged,

but all really having black legs. I remember well being puzzled about the

absence of the red legs when I first came across this little hawk, which had

stooped and killed a small bird within a few feet of me and taken it up to its

perch on a telegraph wire. The names are given on account of the colouration of

the thigh coverts, a point one is apt to miss. It is a fearless little hawk and I

noted it stoop and kill a grasshopper within three or four feet of me sitting in a

verandah of a house, the grasshopper being just off the verandah. Also,

I once rose one off the ground where it had been feeding on a pipit, Anthus

338 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , tf?/. XXXI V

rufulus, which had evidently been too big to carry off. This bird flew into a

tree close by and sat there fcr some time allowing a Shan with me to fire at it

several times with a pelletbow.

569. Fielden’s Hawk. Neohierax insignis insignis.

In my experience a bird of the Dry Zone of Burma only, but might be

found in the foot-hills of the Chin and Shan Hills. Grant found the eggs,

I believe, in the plains near the Chin Hills.

570. The Eastern Reddegged Falconet. Erythropus amurensis.

A migrant in the Shan Hills only passing through. As the Fauna says,

‘ They migrate in enormous numbers which must be seen to be appreciated.’

It is truly a wonderful sight to see hundreds of these pretty hawks catching

‘ Termites they perch when tired seemingly, on quite low bushes.

They pass through the Shan Hills in April, vide my note in the Journal ,

vol. xxix, p. 292. I never saw them in Chin Land.

571. The Himalayan Kestrel. Cerchneis tinnunculus interstinctus.

572. The Burmese Kestrel. Cerchneis tinnunculus saturatus.

The former probably the Chin Hills subspecies of Kestrel ; the latter the

eastern Kachin Hills and Shan Hills form. I never found it breeding nor is

it noticeable in the breeding season, but in the winter months it is numerous

and if you want to see a number of them together, you have only to set fire to a

patch of grassy jungle when they soon appear to catch the grasshoppers,

swooping almost into the burning grass. I have counted thirty or more at a

time when a jungle fire has been in progress only a few minutes when there

was not one just before the fire started.

573. The Eastern Steppe Eagle. Aquila nipalensis nipalensis.

I have certainly seen this eagle in the Shan Hills at the lower elevations in

forests and it probably occurs also in the Kachin and Chin Hills.

574. Bonelli’s Eagle. Hieraetus fasciafus fasciatus,

575. The Booted Eagle. Hieraetus pennatus.

Both these eagles occur in our hills. A nest, which I ascribed to the former

species on the crags at Taunggyi, Southern Shan Hills, contained fully-fledged

young in April. The next season the birds were building again, but one must

have been shot as after a few days’ watching they suddenly disappeared. The

nest with young was accessible, but the second nest begun was on a very diffi-

cult ledge and I do not think I could have obtained the eggs. They were

reported to be bold raiders of the local hen roosts ; hence I expect the tragedy.

Harington records seeing Bonelli’s Eagle in the Northern Shan Hills.

576. The Indian Black Eagle. Ictinaetus malayensis perniger.

Recorded by Mackenzie from the North Chin Hills and Harington from the

Kachin Hills.

577. The Changeable Hawk Eagle. Spizaetus cirrhatus limnaitus.

One of the most common of our eagles in these hills. Nests.

578. The Chinese Hawk Eagle. Spizaetus nepalensis fokiensis.

Probably Shan and East Kachin Hills.

579* The Burmese Crested Serpent Eagle. Spilornis cheela burmarticus.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills. Nidification recorded by Mackenzie in the

Chin Hills. A single egg.

580. The Rufous-winged Buzzard Eagle. Butaster liventer.

A very common bird in the Shan Hills and recorded also from the Kachin

Hills. X notice the Fauna states its breeding has been recorded in Pegu. So

1 cannot say this is only a hill bird and Butaster teesa the plain species of

Buzzard Eagle. 1 found numerous nests in the Shan Hills, sometimes quite

conspicuous, nests in solitary trees in paddy fields and not too high ; also

nesting in the fork at the top of an oak tree in jungle.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 339

A specimen I shot had a whole lizard in its gullet. It has an unmistakable

cry often uttered in the breeding season and on the wing — a slow laboured

flight.

581. Pallas’s Fishing-Eagle. Haliafctus leucoryphus.

Recorded by Harington as breeding on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in

Kachin country.

582. The Himalayan Grey-headed Fishing=Eagle. kthyophaga humilis plumbeus.

Probably a bird of the Kachin country also but, there seems no record of it. I

have never seen any fishing-eagles on the larger hill rivers of the Shan and Chin

Hills.

583. The Brahtniny Kite. Haliastur indus indus.

A rare bird in the hills and only to be found near lakes and the largest rivers.

584. The Common Pariah Kite. Milvus migrans govinda.

Not so common in the hills as in the plains although they breed and a pair are

generally noticeable round any big village in the open season. They leave

Burma in the rains for China and return about the same time as one of the big

Bhuddist festivals : hence they are called ‘ Praying birds ’. Their appearance

at this time marks the near approach of the end of the rainy reason. Like the

Marsh Harrier, they sometimes pick up a wounded snipe, and an instance is

recorded of one retrieving a shot woodcock for a sportsman although the kite

had to be shot at to make it drop the bird.

585. The Black-eared Kite. Milvus migrans lineatus.

Said to occur in our Burmese Hills.

586. The Black*winged Kite. Elanus caeruleus vociferus

I have certainly seen this species at 3,000 ft, in the Shan Hills, but they are

decidedly uncommon.

587. The Pied Harrier. Circus melanoleucus.

I can at least record this species of harrier in the Shan Hills as a winter

visitor. October to April.

588. The Marsh-Harrier. Circus seruginosus asruginosus.

A winter visitor to suitable places in the hills, such as marshy country round

a lake, but very rare.

589. Hume’s or The Burmese Shikra. Astur badius poliopsis.

In all these hills but by no means common. Nests as described in the Fauna

for this species. They breed middle of April in the Shan Hills.

590. The Crested Goshawk. Astur trivirgatus trivirgatus.

Recorded by Mackenzie from the North Chin Hills and Harington in the

Kachin Hills.

591. The Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter nisus.

Now divided into two subspecies nisosimilis and melanoschistus both of

which occur in Burma and they will inhabit our hills.

592. The Northern Besra Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter virgatus affinis-

A probable inhabitant of Northern Burma.

593. The Eastern Sparrow-Hawk. Accipiter gularis stevensoni.

Occurs in the North Burma Hills.

594. The Indian Crested Honey-Buzzard. Pernis ptilorynchus ruficollis.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills.

595. The Burmese BIack=crested Baza. Baza leUphotes burmana.

The description of the taking of the nest of this bird in the Shan Hills by

Harington, vol. xxi of the Journal , p. 587, is very interesting.

340 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL LUST . SOCIETY , //<?/. XXX IV

596. Blyth’s Baza. Baza jerdoni jerdoni,

Evidently a rare bird but occurring in these hills.

L. — Family Cojlumbid^e.

597. The Burmese Green Pigeon. Crocopus phtenicopterus viridifrons.

Common in all these hills, nesting early in the year February. As mentioned

in the Fauna , there is no better sport than that afforded by these pigeons flight-

ing, if one can mark their lines of flight. They frequent the hills at elevations

considerably greater than 2,000 ft. and I am sure they nested on the Taunggyi

Crags at nearer 5,000 ft.

593. The Ashy-headed Green Pigeon. Dendrophasa pompadora phayrei.

Chin Hills certainly, but I am not sure of its occurrence in the Shan and

Kachin Hills.

599. The Siam Orange-breasted Green Pigeon. Dendrophasa bicincta praetermissa.

I have only shot this bird near Rangoon and in Tennasserim, but it may occur

in the Southern Shan Hills and apparently Harington found it in the Kachin

Hills.

600. The Thick-billed Green Pigeon. Treron curvirostris nipalensis.

Shot one out of a crowd on the east of the Salween River, Shan Hills : they

must also inhabit the Chin and Kachin Hills.

601 . The Pin-tailed Green Pigeon. Sphenocercus apicaudus apicaudus.

Quite plentiful in the Chin Hills and occurs in the Kachin Hills, but 1 never

came across it in Shan land.

602. The Grey-headed imperial Pigeon. Ducula badia griseicapilla.

Common in the Chin Hills, recorded also from the Kachin and Shan Hills ;

a bird of the higher hills, say 5,000 feet, in ever green jungle.

603. The Indian Green Imperial Pigeon. Muscadivora senea sylvatica.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills— of low elevations only. The Burmese name

should, I think, read ‘ hnet-nga ngwa ’ not as given in the Fauna.

604. The Indian Emerald Dove. Chalcophaps indica indica.

Universal in our hills in suitable places. Shady glades.

605. The Indian Blue Rock-Pigeon. Columba livia intermedia.

Only to be found in the foothills.

606. The Ashy Wood-Pigeon, Columba pulchricollis.

Shan Hills and probably also the Chin and Kachin Hills,

607. The Purple Wood Pigeon. Alsocomus puniceus.

Very local in the Shan Hills where I have shot it at about an elevation of

3,000 ft. ; it does not seem ever to be found in any numbers together even

when feeding. 1 did not notice it in the Chin Hills and it is not recorded

from the Kachin Hills that I can find.

60S. The Speckled Wood Pigeon. Dendrotreron hodgsonii.

A bird of high elevations so far as my experience goes, rare and very wild— -

Chin Hills where I came across it, Shan Hills where I saw a skin from the

Chinese frontier.— Kachin Hills.

609. The Indian Rufous Turtle-Dove. Streptopelia orientalis meena.

A common dove in all our hills, feeding in the paddy field stubbles with the

spotted dove and at other times feeding on the ground in jungle.

610. The Burmese Spotted Dove. Streptopelia chinensis tigrina.

Chin and Shan Hills. Common and has many enemies as it makes a

toothsome curry and soup. The Shans trap them and sell them in their five-

day bazaars ; they are favourite cage birds.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 341

Eggs can be taken any month in the year, I should think. I have seen

nests practically on the ground and also a parent bird once shammed a broken

wing for my benefit.

611. The Yunnan Spotted Dove. Streptopelia chinensis forresti.

Under nidification in the Fauna , the place Myingyan, where Harington is said

to have found it breeding freely must, I think, be wrong ; it may be a misprint

for Myitkyina, Kachin Hills, by the context.

Not apparently found in the Chin or Shan Hills.

612. The Burmese Red Turtle-Dove. (Enopopelia tanquebarica humilis.

A common bird in all these hills, but is apparently migratory locally as it is

more common at some seasons of the year than at. others.

613. .The Bar-tailed Cuckoo-Dove. Macropygia unchall tusalia.

Recorded by Mackenzie from the North Chin Hills : also he found it breeding

there.

614. The Burmese Little Cuckoo-Dove. Macropygia ruficeps assimilis.

Said to occur in the South of the Shan Hills.

LI. — Family Fhasianid^e.

615. The Burmese Pea-fowl. Pavo muticus.

The peafowl does not occur often much above 3,000 ft. in these hills and it

is commoner in the plains or foothills than at 3,000 ft. In the Shan Hills they are

fairly plentiful, in the larger river valleys specially. A young peafowl is the

best table bird I have ever eaten. The Shans can generally obtain one for

you if required, but do not shoot them very often for their own consumption,

probably because a charge of powder and shot is expensive and they would

sooner shoot a barking deer with it than waste it on a peafowl.

When driven, they run one behind the other and will not rise if they can help

it. They come out on the roads to peck about and show like ether game birds

little if any consternation at a motor car ; but when once scared and put up, it is

very difficult to come up with them again.

616. The Burmese Peacock-Pheasant. Polyplectron bicalcaratum bicalcaratum.

Inhabits the Chin and Kachin Hills but by no means common anywhere : in

fact one seldom hears of their being shot. I expect it inhabits the Shan Hills

also in places, but as a rule the jungle is not thick enough for them and they

may have become extinct in these parts.

617. The Burmese Jungle Fowl. Oallus bankiva robinsoni.

I should have said the breeding time for the Jungle Fowl commences at the

end of March both in the plains and hills. Jungle fires no doubt in Burma

play havoc with the breeding of this bird and eggs can be taken after the rains

have commenced at the end of May due to the destruction by fire of the first

nest. The hen shows no fear of man when her young are about.

As soon as the paddy is cut and threshed Jungle Fowl collect and

descend easily in the mornings and later in the evenings to feed in the stubble,

spending the heat of the day and roosting in adjacent jungle, sometimes in the

day time resting in trees as at roosting time, at other times they are not so

gregarious and the cocks are often met with singly in the jungle. They are

captured in noozes by all tribes with call birds.

I cannot remember the exact number, but I knew both the guns who bagged

well over 50 brace of these birds in a day in the Chin foothills.

618. Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant. Syrmaticus humlae humiae.

The barred-back pheasant of the Chin Hills is a bird of the hills only, and

steephill sides at that. The Fauna says its flight is low ; it could have added

‘ and also straight down hill when risen ’.

Like the Kalij Pheasants and Wood-Partridges they often perch in trees

when put up by dogs and are then easy to get a shot at, They rise with an

easily recognizable chuckle.

342 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

619. The Burmese Barreddback Pheasant. Syrmaticus humiae burmanicus.

As above, but inhabits the Eastern Hills of Burma : they are quite common

near the summit and on the eastern slopes of the Taunggyi crags, Shan Hills.

A shy pheasant.

620. Stone’s Pheasant. Phasianus elegans.

Kachin and Shan Hills. I have seen a skin said to have been taken in the Shan

Hills but have never come across them myself in the wild state. They must, I

think, be rare.

621. Lady Amherst’s Pheasant. Chrysolophus amherstise.

As above for Stone’s pheasant, but this bird is even more rare. I saw parts of

the skin of a male obtained near the eastern boundary of the North Shan

Hills.

622. The Siam Fireback. Lophura diardi.

Southern Shan States. A rare bird.

623. The Black=breasted Kalij Pheasant. Gennseus horsfieldii horsfieldii.

It would not be easy to get a true typical G. h. horsfieldii in Burma I think.

The birds in the Chin Hills, so far as my experience goes, seem to be the next

subspecies. However Mackenzie considered he obtained this bird in the extreme

north of the Chin Hills and Hopwood in Arakan near the Chittagong border

and it may probably encroach into Burma on our extreme western limit. Its

record from the Irrawaddy River valley Bhamo Kachin country is very curious.

624. William’s Kalij Pheasant. Gennasus horsfieldii williamsi.

It is very satisfactory that many species, of these pheasants named by

Mr. Oates, have now all been included under the one subspecies since

Mr. Stuart Baker evolved order out of chaos in his revision of this Genus in 1915.

I notice the subspecies cuvieri has also now been given up. Inhabits all our

western hills.

These pheasants do not afford much sport to the gun, but this is probably

the fault of the hilly country they inhabit being difficult to drive. In the early

morning in the cold weather these pheasants are met with on the cart tracks

and in open paddy stubble, but they are generally met with in heavy jungle

and run, if there is time to get away, rather than fly. Till the breeding season

commences they can be found feeding together, cocks and hens, to the number

of 20 or more, but separate widely on being disturbed. The male from records,

evidently helps rear the chicks and the species generally likes to be near water.

I have never recognized the call, but both sexes have an easily recognizable

chuckle when put up.

Roughly this bird inhabits the Chindwin River valley from Homalin to

Pakokku and extends further south to the west of the Irrawaddy River as far

as Minbu.

62 5. The Burmese Silver Pheasant. Gennseus lineatus lineatus.

In these hills this is the Kalij which inhabits the country unoccupied by

G. horsfieldiit i.e. the Shan Hills. In the Fauna the account of the distribution

is difficult to follow on account of the spelling of the names. Kongtong should

read Kengtung, an easily recognizable error.

626. The Yunnan Silver Pheasant. Gennaeus nycthemerus ripponi.

This species, to me, the real silver pheasant, occupies our eastern hills — the

inter-Salween country.

627. The Ruby Mines Silver Pheasant. Gennaeus nycthemerus ruflpes.

Occupying the rest of the Shan Hills, i.e., between the Sal ween River and

the Irrawaddy River.

There is no mistaking the male nicthemerus from all other silver pheasants.

When one sees it in the jungle it looks like a roll of cotton wool or a white

bushy tailed cat running about. Personally I do not agree with the description

of its habits in the Fauna. Its occurrence in open grass lands amidst stunted

oaks is not my idea of its habitat which differs in no way from other Silver

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 343

or Kalij pheasants except perhaps that it keeps to higher elevations about 4,000

ft., but I have seen it a good deal lower than this.

It is fond of coming out in the early mornings to peck about on not too fre-

quently used camping grounds and on the hill pack mule paths along which it

runs for some distance before seeking cover.

They seem local in distribution but this like the open grass lands is probably

a question of food supply.

The illustrations in the Fauna of all these Silver pheasants are disappointing

in my humble opinion.

628. The Grey-bellied Tragopan. Tragopan blythii blythli.

Inhabits the higher peaks of the Chin Hills, the elevation at which I have met

with them being about 7,000 ft. in heavy evergreen forests. I never came

across it as far south as Mt. Victoria, but that doesn’t mean it does not occur

there.

629. Temminck’s Tragopan. Tragopan temmincki.

The species in the Kachin Hills.

630. The Yunnan Bamboo-Partridge. Bambuscicola fytchii fytchii.

Found in the Kachin and Shan Hills.

631. The Assam Bamboo-Partridge. Bambusicola fytchii hopkinsoni.

The subspecies inhabiting the Chin Hills.

The habits of these two subspecies are similar.

The Bamboo-Partridge keeps in coveys and sometimes gives quite sporting

shots often lying well on the grassy hill sides which they frequent ; they are

seldom however found far away from water.

Their call is a curious chatter and sounds if most of the covey were shouting

and like the English partridge they generally ‘ scream ’ a bit when put up

by dogs or walked up by the guns.

Perhaps in the Shan Hills I have occasionally found them at a lower level

than in the ,Chin Hills, but I think they can be found anywhere between

1,500—5,000 ft., preferably about 3,500 ft,

632. The Blue-breasted Quail. Excalfactoria chinensis.

Ubiquitous and, I think, rather more common during the rains when it

breeds, in the hills, than at other times.

633. The Japanese Grey Quail. Cofurnix japonica.

Recorded by Harington as occurring in the Kachin Hills.

634. The Black-breasted or Rain Quail. Coturnix coromandelica.

The Shan Hills are the only hills in Burma where I have met with them

and then very local and only on the plateaux. They arrive in April when

they commence breeding and were almost common round Taunggyi at about

4,500 ft. and commoner still in some broad valleys below at 3,000 ft. but not so

common even then as in the Dry Zone in Burma during this time of the year.

In Burma one often met with them in coveys, rising like miniature partridges.

Their call or whistle very aptly expressed by whit- whit, whit-whit , constantly

repeated, is ventriloquial.

635. Ogilvie-Grant’s Hill Partridge. Arborophila torqueola batemani.

Chin and Kachin Hills — Very common in well wooded nullahs with plenty

of evergreen growth ; but near military outposts garrisoned by Ghoorkhas they

were soon thinned as they are easily called up and snared, I tried once or twice

to keep them in captivity but they never flourished and were always wild.

636. The Arakan Hill-Partridge. Arborophila rufogularis intermedia.

Chin and Kachin Hills : common in suitable localities but not so common

in the Shan Hills as the shady jungly nullahs are not so frequent. I am not

sure whether this subspecies or the next is not the one I have seen near the Ruby

mines in the North Shan Hills and Kengtung in the south-east as I missed

the only shot I took.

10

344 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vo l. XXXI V

637. The Tennasserim Rufous-throated Hill Partridge. Arborophila rufogularis.

Both rufogularis and torqueola will occupy the same nullah and extend

further south than Mount Victoria in the Chin Hills.

638. The White-cheeked Hill-Partridge. Arborophila afrogularis.

I think this species must be considerably less common than the two above

mentioned. I never obtained it although it is apparently to be found in the

Chin, Kachin and Shan (Ruby mines) Hills, Mackenzie records it from the

North Chin Hills.

639. The Brown-breasted Hill-Partridge. Arborophila brunneopectus brunneopectus.

Eastern Burma Shan Hills.

640. The Green-legged Hill-Partridge. Tropicoperdix chloropus.

Kachin Hills.

641. Phayre’s Burmese Francolin. Francolinus pintadeanus phayrei.

Can be found in all our hills up to at least 5,000 ft. elevation although perhaps

commoner in the drier areas. They call more often than not from a tree and

all the year round especially in the early morning and at dusk and when breed-

ing. ‘ Be quick Papa ’ expresses the call. They breed early, March, a good

many nests being destroyed by jungle fires. Nesting under a bush, in a hedge

and even in open grass and like thei English partridge but never seem to have

so many eggs— 5 or 6 being the usual number.

LII.— Family Turnicid^e.

642. The Burmese Bustard-Quail. Turnix suscitator plumhipes.

Chin and Kachin Hills, in the north replaced by the common Bustard Quail

Turuix suscitator taijoor.

643. The Chinese Bustard-Quail. Turnix suscitator blakistoni.

S. Chin Hills and Shan Hills.

644. The Little Button Quail. Turnix dussumieri.

I identified this species near Taunggyi at about 3,000 ft. elevation. Shot off

the nest.

645. The Burmese Button-Quail. Turnix maculatus maculatus.

All our Hills.

L1II.— Family Rallid^e.

646. The Indian Blue-breasted Water-Rail. Hypotanidia striata gularis.

A rare bird, I should say, in the actual hills Chin and Kachin which provide

no suitable marshy grounds for them ; but in the Shan Hills where numerous

swampy areas occur they are to be found and breed.

647. The Eastern BailSon’s Crake, Porzana pusilla pusilla.

I have never came across this bird in the hills but remember getting a

specimen in the Andamans ; they winter, I daresay, in the Shan Hills.

648. The Banded Crake. Rallina superciliaris superciliaris.

My dog caught a specimen on the Taunggyi crags, South Shan Hills, evident-

ly migiating, judging by its weak state and I saw another specimen which

also could hardly fly. Next year on practically the same date I saw another

bird of this species very near the same spot ; this was early in May. This bird

flew up into a tree and perched on a branch quite close to me.

649. The Malayan Banded Crake. Rallina fasciafa.

I do not know if this bird has been recorded in the Burmese Hills. I found its

nest near the South Chin Hills. It also undoubtedly migrates locally.

650. The Northern Ruddy Crake. Amaurornis fuscus bakeri.

A bird of the Chin Hills ; the Kachin Hills subspecies is intermediate between

this and the next subspecies.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 345

651. The Chinese Ruddy Crake. Amaurornis fuscus erythrothorax.

The Shan Hills variety; it breeds in suitable places and my eggs taken at

Maymyo, Shan Hills average about 29 x 23 m.m.; so it does not seem the size of

the eggs quoted in the new edition of the Fauna is abnormally small as stated.

652. The Chinese White-breasted Water=Hen. Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicnrus.

All these hills. In the Shan Hills it loves the jungle edged stream irrigat-

ing small areas of paddy land — a very noisy bird often calling at night. It

has the unusual habit for rails of climbing up or flying into trees often

quite 30 ft. up and is certainly less of a skulker than the crakes. The

young are covered with black down.

653. Elwes’s Crake. Amaurornis bicolor.

I never came across this bird myself in the Shan Hills but knew it well in the

Chin Hills where it frequents the small hill side streams amongst grass and

cultivation where it is common. It probably occurs also in the Kachin Hills in

similar places.

654. The Indian Moorhen. GalSinuSa chloropus indicus.

Not so common as one would imagine and I don’t think I ever saw a specimen

in the Chin Hills although occurring in the valley bordering these hills, the

reason for this being that suitable places are not available.

In the Shan Hills the moor-hen occurs in all decent sized lakes or tanks in

the winter months but does not always breed where they are found ; seeking in

the rains (July) the. largest tanks well covered with weeds, bushes, etc , for

this purpose.

655. The Kora or Water=Cock. Gallicrex cinerea.

Requires large areas of paddy land and grass round the bigger lakes as a

habitat. In the Shan Hills it was especially common round the big lake

below Taunggyi (Fort Stedman).

Said to be very destructive to young rice by eating the shoots and are also

very good for the table.

656. The Indian Purple Moorhen. Porphyrio poliocephalus poliocephalus.

Burmese name Maynyo.

Also common where the water cock is found but seems to haunt the lake

itself in parts where weeds and lilies abound. It is found also on a good

many tanks where there are no watercock.

657. The Coot. Fulica atra atra.

Noticed on a big inland lake near the Lushai Hill border, Chin Hills, where

I expect it may breed ; not seen in the Shan Hills.

LIV.— Family Heliornithid^:. .

658. The Masked Finfoot Heliopais personals.

I once saw this bird on one ot the largest streams im the Shan Hills other-

wise it does not seem to be recorded : it must be very rare.

LV.— Family Ja^anidjs.

659. The 8ronze*winged Ja^ana. Metopldius indicus.

Common on any of the bigger stretches of water. 1 never saw it in the

Chin Hills proper.

660. The Pheasant4ailed Ja^ana, Hydrophasianus chirurgus.

As for the preceding species.

LVI.— Family Rostratulim,

661. The Painted Snipe. Rostratula benghalensis benghalensis.

Here again is a bird which prefers the plains to the hills but it is found in the

Shan Hills 3,000 ft. in suitable places, i.e., swamps where it breeds,

346 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Seems to commence breeding in June and goes on well after the real snipe

are in — a female shot at the end of September was laying — an unsatisfactory

bird both for sport and table.

LVI.— Family Gruid,®.

662. The Hooded Crane. Grus monachus.

Recorded from the Kachin country probably on the Irrawaddy River.

663. The Burmese Sarus Crane. Antigone antigone sharpei.

Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills : in the latter area quite a common crane :

about the end of August for eggs.

664. The Demoiselle Crane. Anthropoides virgo.

This is, I think, a rare bird in Burma and especially the Burma Hills,

but flocks are met with on the Shweli River on the Chinese boundary, N. East

Shan Hills and I saw them at Namhkam, a place on this river where

Harington records Grus grus lilfordi, the Eastern Common Crane.

LVIII. —Family GEdicnemid^s.

665. The Great Stone-Plover. Esacus recurvirostris.

Only in Kachin country along the Irrawaddy River sand-banks.

LIX.— Family Glareolid^e.

666. The Large Indian Pratincole or Swallow-Plover, Glareola maldivarum

maldivarum.

The Shan Hills are the only hills where I have met with this bird. Found nest-

ing chiefly round tanks on dried up swamps and paddy fields, the dry grass on

which has often been burnt before nesting takes place.

I agree, as the Fauna says, it must be locally migratory and, as also stated, the

efforts of this species and the next to deceive one in thinking they are wounded

and thus lure you away from the nest are quite the best efforts of any bird

I have ever seen behave in this way.

The eggs are very handsome miniature plovers, eggs laid about the middle of

April.

667. The Small Indian Pratincole or Sand-Plover. Glareola lactea.

Breeds on sand-banks of the Irrawaddy River and may thus be found in

Kachin country. I have not noticed it in the Shan or Chin Hills but it might

occur on the Shweli River ? on the Chinese boundary.

In Burma I have never found more than 2 eggs in the clutch.

LX. — Family Laride:.

668. The Black-headed Gull. Larus ridibundus.

Probably the gull I have seen on the Inle lake below Taunggyi. Southern

Shan Hills in the winter.

LXI. — Family Sternhee.

669. The Indian River-Tern, Sterna aurantia.

Not in the Chin Hills and probably only in the river part of the Kachin

Hills. I have seen it on the big lake of the Shan Hills, but it does not breed.

670. The Black-bellied Tern. Sterna melanogaster.

Harington records this tern on the Irrawaddy River, Kachin country, but I

have no note of its occurrence in the Shan or Chin Hills.

671. The River-Ternlet.TSterna^Albifrons pusilia.

The Ternlet recorded by Harington as occurring at Bhamo, Kachin country,

was probably this one.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 347

LXII. — Rhyncopid^e.

672. The Indian Skimmer. Rhyncops albicollis.

Recorded by Harington in the Irrawaddy River, Kachin country, No record

of it elsewhere and it is not likely to occur,

LXIII. — Family Charadriid^e.

673. Jerdon’s Little Ringed Plover. Charadrius dubius jerdoni.

I include this as being the bird I noted on some of the larger rivers of the

Shan Hills. One April I searched for its nest for a long time in tbe shingle

bed of a river about 1,500 ft. elevation, a tributary of the Namtu River, where it

was obviously breeding but without success and so I never shot the bird —

Young ?

They have a distinct alarm cry.

674. The Eastern Golden Plover. Pluvialis dominicus fulvus.

A winter migrant to the open grassy plain parts of the Shan and Kachin

Hills. I never heard of one being shot in the Chin Hills.

675. The Lapwing or Green Plover, Vanellus vulgaris.

Recorded by Captain Hanna, I. A. from Fort Hertz, the'most northerly out-

post of the Kachin Hills— a winter visitor. Vol. xxxii, p. 220 of the Journal.

676. The Spurring Plover. Hoplopterus ventralis.

Only on the plains at the foot of our hills Chin and Kachin, but in the Shan

Hills the larger rivers being more to its liking they live and bred where found

—-Middle of March for the nests.

677. The Burmese Red- wattled Lapwing, Lobivanellus indicus afronuchalis.

Breeds and inhabits any open spaces in the Shan Hills but a river or water is

generally if not always handy. It must occur round Bhamo and other plains

places in the Kachin Hills, and in these hills too in suitable places.

678. The Greyheaded Lapwing. Microsarcops cinereus.

Small parties of this bird are occasionally met with in the Shan and Kachin

Hills. In the former I shot one at Maymyo North Shan Hills where a small

party of about a dozen individuals turned up regularly in the winter and lived

near the golf-course, disappearing in April and never breeding.

LXIV,— Family Scolopacid^e.

Except the snipes few of the family inhabit these hills but the following

may be found in the Shan Hills especially, as winter visitors.

679. The Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus phaeopus,

680. The Wood-Sandpiper. Tringa glareola.

681. The Green Sandpiper. Tringa ochropus.

682. The Common Sandpiper. Tringa hypoleucus.

683. The Redshank. Tringa tetanus totanus.

684. The Woodcock. Scolopax rusticola rusticola.

Although, I think, it may be asserted the Woodcock does not breed in Burma,

the bird is to be found in the Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills during the winter

months October to April in places which suit it. The Woodcock likes small

swamps, with bushes about, through which there is running water.

They often appear to spend the day away from their feeding grounds to

which they flight just at dusk.

685. The Wood*Snipe. Capella nemoricold.

A rare bird apparently in the Chin and Kachin Hills but in the Shan Hills ill

some places it is quite common. I do not know where Captain Livesey made

his bag of twenty, but I can quite believe it. Near Taunggyi in one particular

348 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

swampy hill side there were always a number of them in the cold weather.

They are not very sporting shots and certainly inferior to the Fantail for the

table.

686. The Eastern Solitary Snipe. Capella solitaria.

I have skinned one, shot in the Chin Hills and seen a skin from the Shan Hills,

but they are rare.

687. The Common or Fantail Snipe. Capella gallinago gallinago.

To be found in all these hills in suitable places ; perhaps more common in the

Shan Hills as more suitable ground is available.

In these latter hills they begin to arrive about the 20th August. At first not so

numerous as the next species but later on bags contain about equal numbers

generally speaking ; sometimes however bags may be all the next species and

sometimes all Fantail, a great deal depending on the ground shot over. Fan-

tails prefer open ‘ Kwins ’ (fields), the wetter the better, while Pintails can do

with much less wet ground.

On first arrival the Fantail is often in ‘ wisps ’, is wild and certainly always

the more difficult to shoot. Again the Fantail is considered the best snipe for the

table.

688. The Pintail Snipe. Capella stenura.

As above the Pintail is however occasionally to be found in quite dry fields.

Why ? I could never make out ; perhaps they were not feeding or again some

sort of worm was available on the surface that one did not notice. At the end

of the season, the Pintail is often shot in April, they fall oft considerably as

a table delicacy.

689. The Jack Snipe. Lymnocrypfes minima.

I don’t remember one being shot in the Chin Hills, but they probably occur

in the Kachin Hills. In the Shan Hills, however, I have obtained them although

there are never many about.

LXV.— Family Phalacrocoracxd^:.

690. The Little Cormorant. Phalacrocorax niger.

The only species of this family seen in the Shan Hills on lakes where other

water birds occur.

LXVL— Family Ibidid^;.

691. The Glossy Ibis. Plegades falcinellus fafcinellus.

I can find no record of this bird in the Chin Hills or any ibis for that matter

but it probably occurs in the Kachin country, near Bhamo and I shot a young

bird in the Shan Hills at a place where there was quite a decent flock of them

in the winter.

LXVII.— Family CiConidje.

692. The White=necked Stork. Dissoura episcopa episcopa.

693. The Blackmecked Stork. Xenorynchus asiaticus asiaticus.

Recorded from the Kachin country, but I have no record of their occurrence

elsewhere in these hills, but they probably occur on suitable plans.

LX VIII. -—Family ArdeiD^e.

The following herons and bitterns occur in these hills but are not naturally

hill birds and if it wasn’t for the upper waters of the Irrawaddy River being

included and some large lakes like the Inle lake below Taunggyi members of

the family would be very few.

694. The Eastern Purple lieroa. Ardea purpurea maeilletisis.

695. The Eastern grey Heron. Ardea cinerea rectirostris,

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE UPPER BURMA HILLS 349

696. The Eastern Large Egret. Egretta alba.

697. The Indian Smaller Egret. Egretta intermedia intermedia.

698. The Little Egrat. Fgretta garzetta garzetta.

699. The Cattle Egret. Bubulcus ibis coromandus

700. The Indian Pond Heron. Ardeola grayii.

701. The Indian Little Green Bittern. Buturoides stiratus javanicus.

702. The Night Heron. Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax.

703. The Chestnut Bittern. Ixobrychus cinnamomeus.

LXIX.— Family Anatid^e.

The following ducks are to be found in the hills in suitable places and times.

704. The Nukta or Comb=Duck. Sarkidiornis melanotus (breeds).

705. The White- winged Wood=Duck. Asarcornis scutulatus (breeds).

706. The Cotton Teal. Nettapus coromandelianus (breeds).

707. The Grey Lag Goose. Anser anser.

708 The Bareheaded Goose. Anser indicus.

709. The Common Whistling’Teal. Dendrocygna Javanica ( breeds),

710. The Larger Whistling=Teai. Dendrocygna fulva.

711. The Sheldrake. Tadorna tadorna.

712. The Ruddy Sheldrake. Casarca ferruguinea.

713. The Mallard. Anas platyryncha.

714. The Eastern Grey Duck. Anas pceciloryncha zonoryncha.

715. The Burmese Grey Duck. Anas poeciloryncha haringtoni.

The most common duck of the hills (breeds).

716. The Wigeon. Maeca penelope.

717. The Pintail. Dafila acuta acuta.

718. The Garganey or Biue=winged Teal. Querquedula querquedula.

719. The Shoveller. Spatula clypeata.

720. The Eastern White-Eye. Nyroca rufa baerl. ,

LXX. — Family Podicepleue.

721. The Great Crested Grebe. Podiceps cristatus cristatus.

Rare visitant Chin and Kachin Hills.

722. The Indian Little Grebe. Podiceps ruficollis capensis (breeds).

THE PANTHER AS I HAVE KNOWN HIM,

BY

Lt.-Col. A. H. E. Mosse, i. a., f.z.s.

Parts I and II.

( With two plates .)

I. General.

Whether he be called the Panther, as is usually the case in India,

or the Leopard, the name by which he is generally known elsewhere,

my subject is a beautiful and interesting animal who deserves a

higher place on the Register of Big Game than he is sometimes

accorded.

This is largely because he is overshadowed, in India by the Tiger,

in Africa by the Lion. There are, however, various districts,

especially in Western India, where tigers either do not exist or are

few and far between, but where panthers are common enough. In

such areas it is sometimes possible for the District Officer, when he

can spare the time and will take the trouble, to cultivate the

acquaintance of the panther in the ordinary course of his district

touring and on occasional short holidays. To obtain any substantial

success with tiger he would have to make a regular expedition

farther afield — only possible during periods of leave which the

married man, at any rate, cannot often afford to spend on shikar.

In such circumstances one may learn to know the panther better

than many another man who has slain his tigers by the score but

has neglected the smaller beast. During periods of my service in

the Political Department I have been so situated and venture to

think that an account in some detail of the panther as I have known

him, as also of methods of dealing with him, may be of interest

and of some assistance to those who may have the opportunity

and desire of making his closer acquaintance.

My experiences have been mainly in the northern part of the

province of Gujarat in the Bombay Presidency, a country whose

cultivated plains are bounded by a system of low jungle-clad or

rocky hills increasing in height up to the borders of Rajputana.

In the Mahi Kantha Agency, situated in the western portion of this

area, many of these hills are covered with great boulders and, as

will be seen, offer better opportunities of actually observing the

panther than does country that is all under jungle.

Fine specimens of Felis pardus or Panthera pardus, as he is now

called, are occasionally shot in North Gujarat and Kathiawar but,

as a rule, the size attained in this part of India is, on the average,

rather less than that of the large animal to be found in heavy forest

country elsewhere. On the other hand the definitely small type, with

yery round head, which some sportsmen have sought to distinguish

THE PANTHER AS 1 HAVE KNOWN HIM

351

as a distinct species, is not found, except in immature specimens

whose occipital ridge is undeveloped. This small type, which has

been labelled ‘leopard’ as distinct from the larger ‘panther,’ does

not ever, I believe, attain six feet in length, whereas I have never

seen an adult male in Guzarat which did not substantially exceed

this measurement.

Among some fifty panthers that I have personally measured, the

length of an adult male in North Gujarat and Kathiawar has varied

from six feet four to seven feet four and a half inches, with tails

varying from twenty-six to thirty-four inches. My largest female

was six feet four but I have seen one or two that were certainly

larger. The largest males killed in these parts, of whose authentic

measurements I am aware — though I have heard stories of larger

ones — were two, both of seven feet eight, shot by that well-known

shikari the late Lt.-Col. L. L. Fenton, one in the Danta State and

one in the Gir Forest in Kathiawar.

It must be emphasized that all these are ‘straight’ measurements

between pegs. Both of Colonel Fenton’s large panthers would have

been eight-footers if measured along the curves of head, neck and

back. Measurement along the curves, if taken with care, would

mean an increase in length of from two to four inches. If taken

carelessly, however, the difference may easily be as much as six

or seven inches in a large male. An interesting correspondence

in the Field not long ago, culminating in an excellent article by

Mr. Dunbar Brander, proved conclusively — if proof were necessary —

the unsatisfactory character of ‘curve’ measurements. The only

sound method is to lay the animal on its back, press the chin to the

ground and measure between pegs placed at the tip of the nose

and at the root and the tip of the tail. I am whole-heartedly at one

with the writer above mentioned in his efforts to educate a section of

the shooting public upon this subject. It is no question of theory

but of practical commonsense based upon experience.

The weight of a good male panther in Gujarat is something over

100 pounds. I have records of two only : one in Danta, measuring

6 feet 10| inches weighed 114 pounds, ten hours after death : the

second, a Kathiawar panther 7 feet I inch in length, weighed

123 pounds about eight hours after death. Both were in good

condition.

With regard to coat and colouration, it may be observed that

the fur is longer and the general effect somewhat greyer and darker

in an immature specimen. Also that the ground colour as a rule

tends to become paler in an old beast. Otherwise I have found

no great differences in colouring or pattern among panthers of

North Gujarat and Kathiawar apart from some variation in the

size and boldness of the rosette markings.

I have no evidence of the period of gestation; it is said to be

about three months. There does not seem to be any particular

season for mating. I have come across a mating pair more than

once in the month of May and in the same month have killed a

female with young in the foetal stage an inch long and seen cubs

of ages from two to six months. I have not personally seen more

than two cubs running with the mother but believe three is not an

11

352 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , VoL XXXIV

uncommon number, while the female above mentioned contained four

young-.

I do not intend to hold forth on the choice of weapons generally ;

enough to warn the novice against the use of too light a bullet. The

modern magnum small-bore, with a muzzle velocity of 3,000 f.s. or

so, is a wonderful killing weapon, in the hands of an expert shot.

It is, however, open to the objection that, in order to obtain the

necessary expansion, the light bullet is necessarily rather fragile in

make, with the consequent risk of its going to pieces without

penetrating, should it strike a big bone. I know of more than one

experienced shikari who habitually used these weapons for a time

against tiger but has now given them up in favour of a larger bore

with less extreme velocity. Any medium bore rifle with an

expanding bullet is good enough for panther ; the *318 with 250

grain bullet — copper capped in preference to soft nose — takes a lot

of beating. Provided that the weight is not excessive a double-

barrel is preferable to a magazine rifle for jungle work. A 12-bore

shot gun with ‘Lethal’ bullet is effective at close range. If you

prefer to use buckshot at night, the powder-charge, if your gun will

stand it, should not be less than the equivalent of 3^ drams black

powder, and the maximum range twenty yards : it is advisable to

test beforehand the pattern which your gun makes with a buckshot

charge, and I recommend SSSG as containing a larger number of

pellets to the charge than SSG.

An advantage of the 12-bore at short range lies in the handiness

of the weapon which you are accustomed to use on feathered game.

This fact, together with its heavy bullet and increased range as

compared to the ordinary smooth-bore, makes a good shot-and-ball

gun, an excellent weapon for soft-skinned dangerous game. I have

killed the majority of my panthers, besides several lion and tiger,

with a 12-bore magnum ‘Paradox’, a gun which I have more than

once used effectively on a Nilghai bull at 150 yards, though I do

not recommend its use on dangerous game beyond 100 yards range.

Accuracy, of course, is of prime importance. The first shot is

the one that counts. It is a well-recognized fact, to which every

experienced sportsman will testify, that a wounded animal takes

much more killing than an unwounded one. Whatever the physio-

logical reason, the shock of a wound not immediately fatal seems to

stimulate the nervous system and cause a temporary increase of

vitality.

It follows that it is most desirable to know where to hit an

animal. Both the brain and neck shot are deadly if accurately

placed, but are riskv unless you are absolutely sure of them. I have

spanned with my fingers the horns of an apparently dead blackbuck

and then seen it rise and depart as if unhurt. A shot in the neck

had grazed the spinal cord and caused a merely temporary

concussion. Later on I hope to give one or two examples

illustrating the uncertainty of the head shot.

As a rule the best place to try for is the area containing the heart

and lungs. But you must learn to judge the correct angle according

to the position of the animal : wherefore it is necessary to have some

idea of a beast’s anatomy. If broadside on, aim at the point of

THE PANTHER AS / HAVE KNOWN HIM

353

the shoulder or immediately behind it rather more than half way

down. But if an animal is facing obliquely away from you the

actual point of aim must be farther from the shoulder along the

body.

In jungle country one may occasionally have the luck of a casual

meeting with a panther but, speaking generally, there are two

methods of bringing a panther to the gun — ‘beating’ and ‘sitting

up’- So much has been written by competent authorities on the

theory and practice of beating for tiger that I do not propose to

say much on the subject. The principles in beating for panther are

the same, with these differences that, in the case of the smaller

animal, such extensive areas cannot be beaten as in the case of the

larger, nor is it of any use trying to beat a panther out of really

thick jungle. A panther, moreover, especially a small one, will

sometimes seek refuge in a tree and lie close while the beaters pass

below him. A large panther is easier to beat than a small one but

is not likely to travel as far when disturbed as a tiger. Provided

these considerations are borne in mind, it is quite a mistake to

suppose, as some do, that beating for a panther is always too

uncertain to be worth while : in suitable conditions it can be done,

as I have often proved. A point to which it is important to pay

special attention is the placing of stops, a fact which many Indian

shikaris fail to understand.

Apart from its being within reach of the spring of an enraged

beast, too low a machdn is a mistake owing to the greater risk of

its occupant catching the eye of his quick-sighted quarry. At the

same time it is essential to have freedom of movement and as clear

a field of view and fire as possible. It is therefore out of the

question to try and conceal oneself as one can and must do when

sitting up over a bait or ‘kill’. Concealment during a beat is the

less necessary because, quick though the panther is to detect the

least movement, it is remarkable how incapable he appears to be

of. identifying a motionless object. I have seen a panther, in a beat,

come suddenly round a corner, catch sight of the machdn on which

I was sitting only twenty yards away and fully exposed, and stare

straight at me for about ten seconds, then move quietly on, treating

me as of no further interest. Other animals have this negative

characteristic. I have known a sambar hind graze leisurely up to

within fifteen yards of me as I sat with two shikaris on an open

hillside. Then it became suspicious, but being to windward of us

and detecting no human taint, still did no more than stare and stamp

with its forefoot half-a-dozen times to try and make the doubtful

objects, if alive, declare themselves. With great wide-open eyes

she made a delightful picture. It was only when one of my men

could contain himself no longer and sprang to his feet with a yell,

that she fled, with the shock of her life. Provided, therefore, that

you keep still and, if an animal stares at you, do not let its eyes

meet yours, you are not likely to be detected. Failure to keep still

may often lose you a chance. I have known a panther spot a

movement in my machdn at a distance of 400 yards.

The beat is generally a noisy affair with much shouting and

beating of tomtoms, but in a small beat quieter methods are often

354 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

w

better. During the period of waiting there is often much of interest

to occupy one’s attention in the various creatures that make their

appearance, from deer and wild boar to jungle-fowl or a resplendent

peacock. And, as the beaters approach, a troop of keen-eyed

monkeys will perhaps give warning that their most hated foe is

on the move. The blood tingles in your veins and your grip tightens

on your rifle as you strain your eyes into the cover to try and

distinguish that coat of brilliantly contrasting black and tawny-

yellow whose hues yet blend in such amazing fashion with the light

and shade of the jungle so as often, if motionless, to be quite

indistinguishable twenty yards away. I suppose I have seen a

hundred panthers in their native wilds, yet their wonderful gift of

invisibility remains as great a marvel as ever.

Your panther may not appear at all. He has perhaps stolen away

unobserved, between the very feet of the beaters or past an

inattentive stop — or past you yourself as you looked in the

wrong direction. But if he comes it will probably be sneaking

stealthily along wherever there is any cover, breaking into a trot

or gallop to cross an open space, or stopping every now and then

to reconnoitre his front or listen to the uproar behind.

When at last your opportunity comes, do not be in a hurry, take

no long shots, and generally, if possible, let the beast pass you

a little way before firing. This last should be a hard and fast rule

for the inexperienced sportsman. The reason for it lies in

consideration for the safety of your beaters. For you may only

wound the panther ; in which case, if hit from behind or from the

side while advancing, he will probably dash forward. But if he

realizes that his enemy is in front the chances are that he will break

back ; and, if he finds his path barred, someone or more than one

person will suffer; for, if earth holds no fury like a woman scorned,

a wounded pard is a good second ! His capacity for concealment —

he can almost hide himself behind a few blades of grass — his

courage and ferocity when enraged, the noiselessness of his

movements, and the lightning-like agility of his attack with fang

and claw, combine to make a wounded panther one of the most

dangerous of beasts. If to these qualities were added the weight

and strength of the tiger no other animal could compare with him.

In breaking through a line of beaters, where the tiger may kill one

man the panther will maul half a dozen, using his claws to a much

greater extent : and it is in the poisonous character of these claw-

wounds that the danger lies.

If you wound a beast in daylight, give him an hour in which to

die or get stiff. Then follow his tracks. It is here that a big bullet

may prove its value in providing a good blood trail. For the best

methods of following up, study what Colonel A. E. Stewart has to

say on the subject in his excellent book Tiger and other Game. His

advice on the subject of beats, by the way, is also A. 1. Following

up a wounded carnivore is a strain on the nerves, but you must

keep on the alert and never let your attention slacken. The most

important points are to go slow, send men up into every tree as

you approach it to see if they can detect anything, and test every

bit of cover with stones before you reach or pass it. It is almost

the Panther as i have known him

355

incredible how a panther will conceal himself in cover that you

imagine would scarcely hold a hare.

Especially when following up must you bear in mind that not

only your own safety but the lives of your unarmed trackers may

depend upon your alertness, judgment and straight shooting. For

the weapon in your hand at the time nothing is better than a good

12-bore ball-and-shot gun.

Before going on to deal with the second method of bringing

a panther to bag, that of ‘sitting-up’, it will be convenient to set

down here some remarks on the character of the panther. Writers

on big game have not always done him justice. Granted that,

alongside the magnificent tiger, he is comparatively small beer; yet

see him in an open glade in his native jungle, observe the muscular

but agile symmetry of his form and the beauty of his chequered

coat in the rays * of a declining sun; he deserves more than a second

glance. Granted too, perhaps, that you may fairly, as one writer

has done, describe the tiger as a gentleman, the panther as a

bounder — though I question whether the difference in their

respective characters is really such as to justify the distinction — but

to say, with the same writer, that ‘the panther is what he looks,

a perfect swine’ is a libel, that is, in the sense in which the term

is used. For, come to think of it, it seems rather ridiculous that

any sportsman who has really known that splendid beast, the

fighting boar of India, should use the word swine of any animal as

a term of contempt ! To call the panther an arrant coward, as

another writer has done, may be merely an instance of the folly of

generalizing from a single case. No tiger hunter of experience will

deny that the tiger himself can sometimes be a cur. Otherwise,

to use the above-mentioned writer’s own adjective, to label the

panther a coward is arrant nonsense. The courage of the normal

panther cannot be gainsaid.

Of course, the panther, like any other wild animal, will seek to

escape unobserved from the pursuit of men, whose superior powers

he recognizes. Does not the tiger do the same? But wound him

or get him in a corner and he is as ready to fight, and fight to some

purpose, as is the tiger ; perhaps more so. All said and done it is

but his greater size that makes the tiger more to be feared. The

panther displays at times a cool daring that the tiger will rarely

rival. Make no mistake about it, he is a formidable foe and, if you

begin by despising him, sooner or later he will give you cause to

change your opinion and earn your respect. If you once grant

him a title to respect you cannot call him a swine, much less

a coward which he certainly is not.

In districts where they are common, panthers do much damage

both to stock and to game, and no dog is safe in panther country.

It may, therefore, be justifiable to write them down as vermin.

Yet . . . here let me tell a tale of a panther mother. I was once

on the march between two camps. The bullock carts conveying

my tents and baggage, etc., had gone ahead but had been delayed

through getting stuck in a sandy river-bed, and I overtook them

at a place where the road, or rather cart-track, passed for a mile

or so through a patch of jungle. It was about 10 a.m, and I was

356 JOURNAL. BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

riding leisurely along some twenty yards behind the rearmost cart

on which was travelling a terrier who then owned me, with her

family of three children about two months old. The cart was

bumping along a track that was decidedly rough at this spot, and

met a- bigger bump than usual just as one of the pups had scrambled

upon to a roll of tentage at the rear of the cart. The little chap

lurched forward and fell to the ground yelping. He seemed hardly

to have touched the ground, poor little beastie, when a yellowish

streak flashed out from some bushes at the roadside and, before one

could lift a hand, panther and victim had vanished.

That was not the end. As soon as I realized what had happened

1 -turned and shouted to the sowar behind who was carrying my

rifle. Then, looking* round again, I was amazed to see the panther

race back across the track between me and the cart, the pup still

in her jaws, and regain the bushes from which she had just emerged.

Why? There was no lack of -cover on the other side. Investigation

found the explanation in clear signs of the presence of a pair of cubs

perhaps three months old — a family for whose feeding risks must

be taken, but who were not to be left alone in the vicinity of danger.

I sought veng'eance for the poor wee pup, though -without success.

But I could not withhold my meed of admiration for the combination

of patient watching for and amazingly prompt seizure of an oppor-

tunity, the audacity of the successful rush, and the maternal

devotion which took the risk a second time after the alarm was

raised. Highway robber and dangerous vermin, perhaps, but a

gallant beast to whom, mentally, I took olf my hat. Would a

tigress have dared that deed?

Generally speaking it may be laid down as an axiom that neither

tiger nor panther will ever, unprovoked, attack mankind. It is the

Jungle Law, by virtue of the respect for and dread of man in which

all the Jungle creatures are brought up. But when a panther takes

to man-eating — fortunately not a very common occurrence— he is

in some respects more dangerous than a tiger. He is definitely more

audacious and will take greater risks. This is partly a matter of

inherent character but also in part due to the fact that, from his

habit of prowling round villages in search of stray dogs, etc., he

has grown more familiar with mankind than is the tiger, with the

result that he will not infrequently enter a hut in search of a victim,

a thing the tiger will very rarely do. I have personally known

half-a-dozen cases of people being dragged from their own huts

at night by panthers who had been driven to man-eating by the

effects, on game and cattle, of the famine conditions which prevailed

in Gujarat after the great drought at the beginning of the present

century.

So much for the character of my subject. In the next part of this

article I propose to discuss in some detail the theory and practice of

circumventing him by ‘sitting up’.

II. The Art of Sitting Up — Its Theory and Practice.

By most Indian sportsmen the above heading will at once

be understood. There may be others who will need the explanation

THE PANTHER AS I HA VE KNO WN HIM 35 1

that my subject is the method of shooting* tiger and panther or

leopard in India by ‘sitting up’ for the quarry in ambush over either

a ‘kill’ or a live bait. To the stay-at-home reader the subject of

tiger-shooting usually conjures up a vision of hunting him with

a line of trained elephants in the high grass of the Nepal Terai, or

else of driving him past the gun with a horde of yelling beaters

in the jungles of the Central Provinces. There are, however,

places and circumstances in which neither of these methods im-

practicable and a good many tigers are killed in India by the silent

and less spectacular method of sitting up. The majority of panthers

shot are killed in this way. But, while much has been written about

beating for tiger, the matter of sitting up is often passed over in a

few words. An exposition, therefore, in some detail, of this form

of sport, followed by an account of some illustrative incidents of

personal experience may be of use to the novice who wishes to try

his hand and of some interest to others.

To begin with, to those who really know anything* about the

game no defence will seem necessary. But not long ago I read,

in a review of a work on big game, an unmeasured condemnation

of the practice of sitting up. The critic in question had no fault

to find with the method of driving a tiger past a gun, but sitting up

over a ‘kill’ or bait he considered in the last degree unsporting. A

brief consideration of the ethics of the matter may, therefore, not

be out of place.

The argument ag'ainst sitting up is based on the view— with which,

thus stated, one may cordially agree — that the odds are so greatly

in favour of the man armed with a modern rifle that he is not

justified in killing big game unless he obtains his opportunity by

pitting his skill and intelligence against the cunning and instincts

of the wild animal and by outwitting it under conditions in which

the animal has a fair chance of evading the hunter and, preferably,

of making use of its own weapons of offence and defence if it

possesses them. The argument assumes that there can be no scope

for any real exercise of skill or intelligence in shooting at close

quarters, from safe ambush, a beast which has no chance of escape

or of retaliation and that the method merely takes a mean advantage

of the unfortunate creature’s need for food.

Plausible, but unsound. Though even were there no flaw in the

argument, I do not consider the principles of pure sportsmanship

really enter into the matter when the panther or leopard is in

question. These animals, from the point of view of the cattle owner

and shepherd, and of every dog lover, are vermin which do a great

deal of damag*e and their numbers in many places require to be kept

down, while, apart from trapping or poisoning, sitting up is often

the only possible method of dealing with them.

To return to the argument of our critic. The fallacy lies in the

assumption to which I have referred, an assumption which I

propose to show is entirely unjustified and based on ignorance of

what sitting up involves. Undoubtedly the most sporting^ method

of shooting dangerous game is to track it down on foot. I have

had the good fortune to shoot lions in Somaliland at close quarters

in this manner and to experience the thrills that such a method can

358 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , TO. XXXIV

provide. But unfortunately it is rarely that tiger or panther can

be so approached under Indian conditions— except by a very

occasional stroke of sheer luck. In North Gujarat, the part of

India of which I have most experience, elephants are not to be had

and there are usually only two alternatives, beating or sitting up.

To the practice of beating, as I have already remarked, the critic

to whom I refer had no objection ; but let us consider what happens

in a beat. The tiger or panther is roused from its siesta by a human

uproar from which it naturally seeks to escape in the direction of the

nearest hiding place it knows, in a direction from which comes no

sound of danger. Except in the case of an occasional old and

experienced beast it is not then, as a rule, on the lookout for

enemies in the trees in front, for its main idea is escape from those

behind, and it passes unsuspecting by the machan whence the

unseen hunter fires the fatal shot.

In what way can this honestly be described as more ‘sporting’

than sitting up over a ‘kill’ which, nineteen times out of twenty,

a tiger or panther approaches with the utmost circumspection? In

either case you shoot from ambush. True, in a beat, you may have

to take a galloping or longer and, in the sense of being more

difficult, a more sporting shot. But that means that vou run a much

greater risk of inflicting a non-vital and non-disabling wound — a

result surely, which it must ever be the real sportsman’s object

to avoid ! Even if your aim be true and you inflict a vital, but not

immediately fatal wound, you at once endanger the lives of your

unarmed beaters : no such risk attends sitting up. Personal risk to

yourself, as a rule, enters into the matter only when you have to

follow up a wounded beast; then come the real thrills. This may

happen as a result of sitting up though, perhaps, less often than

after a beat. But, however keen you may be on thrills, your

primary object must be to kill and not to wound. How then can

sitting up be condemned as unsporting on the ground that it usually

affords — if you get a chance at all — a reasonably certain shot at

close range?

I do not mean to imply that one never misses or wounds when

sitting up, even in broad daylight. A little unnecessary hurry,

excitement or lack of concentration may result in the most amazing

failures : there is, in fact, plenty of scope for care and judgment in

choosing the right moment to shoot and the right spot at which to

aim. Of course, too, there is no certainty about shots taken in the

dark or in a bad light, but these are definitely unsporting and you

must make up your mind that you will not indulge in such ; the

surest way is not to expose yourself to temptation and to leave your

machcin when sights or target are no longer sufficiently visible.

There are, however, various devices for dealing with bad light,

which I shall discuss later. It must, however, be clearly understood

that in advocating sitting up I assume the use of weapons of

adequate power. Sitting up with the mistaken idea that, because

the range is short, otherwise inferior weapons will be effective, is a

practice to be unreservedly condemned.

Another of our critic’s arguments is that it is not playing the

game to take a mean advantage of an animal’s need for food. Is

THE PANTHER AS / HAVE KNOWN HIM

359

not this exactly what one does when one lies in wait for the evening

flight of duck on their way to their nightly feeding places? Is there

any logical difference? Sitting up over water in the hot weather

when there is only one drinking place in the neighbourhood is a

different matter. No true sportsman will do this unless a man-eater

be in question; then there can be no scruple. In such circumstances

the pangs of thirst produce a compulsion to visit the only watering

place which is not comparable to the inducements of hunger in

respect of a particular kill. The great carnivora can do without

food for many days but drink they must have; while, if the proximity

of the previous night’s kill is suspect, a fresh meal can be sought

elsewhere and, more often than not, this is actually what happens.

A further fallacy of the hostile criticism is the assumption that

in sitting up no intelligence or skill is required to insure the desired

response, on the part of the quarry, to the invitation to come and be

killed. I hope to show by examples, from personal experience, how

the suspicious nature, the eternal watchfulness and the quickness

of sight and hearing of the great cats make of sitting up a real art.

It is an art of which the essential elements can only be learned by a

knowledge of the habits of one’s quarry and of the precautions

which those habits render necessary — a knowledge which can only

be acquired by the application of intelligence in learning from the

lessons of failure. If you do not take all these precautions you may,

if you are fortunate, achieve some small measure of success, but you

will not deserve it and you will certainly have a far larger percentage

of failures than if you had taken them.

Colonel Stockley in his interesting book on ‘Big Game Shooting

in India, Burma and Somaliland,’ cites a mighty tiger hunter —

Sir Montague Gerard — as recording that, as a result of sitting up

two hundred times for tiger, ‘taking all the usual precautions’, he

only succeeded in killing one and wounding another ! This should

satisfy the doubter that it is not quite such a simple game as might

be imagined : but there must have been something radically wrong

with the famous sportsman’s methods 1

Personally, when sitting up for panther, the difference to my

success, since I have known what to do and what not to do, has been

most marked. In my early days I was stationed for two and a half

years in a district where panthers were common. During that

period I bagged a number in beats but, as a result of sitting up

about forty times, I never once saw a panther in daylight and on

three occasions only had a shot at one after dark. Twenty years

later, in the same district, I found that my panther gave me a shot

on an average of rather better than one evening out of four and,

in the great majority of cases, either in broad daylight or while

it was still light enough to see my foresight clearly. It was not

that the panthers of the later generation were more numerous or

less sophisticated than their forbears, but that I had learned from

the lessons of failure. General Wardrop — vide his Days and

Nights with Indian Big Game — has had a very similar experience.

These are facts which speak for themselves.

There may be something repugnant in the idea of sitting over

a live goat and watching the unfortunate creature done to death ;

12

360 JOURNAL, BOA/BA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

but after all it makes no difference to the goat whether it meets its

fate under a human eye or not, and the practice is universal in India

of tying up a live bait in order to obtain a kill, whether with the

object of sitting over the latter the following day or of beating

the tiger out of the adjacent cover in which it lies up after its meal.

Moreover, when you sit yourself over a live goat, the latter has

a greater chance for its life than in the former case, since it should

be your object, if opportunity occurs, to shoot the panther before it

seizes its prey and, in practice, it is often possible so to save the

life of the goat : in such event it is but fair to grant the individual

goat immunity from having to run the risk a second time. It is

quite a mistake to suppose that the goat has any anticipation of its

possible fate, while death, if it does come, is speedy and, be it borne

in mind, the sacrifice of one goat and the resultant death of its slayer

means the saving alive of many, for the depredations of panthers

on the village herds are continual.

So much for the critics of the practice of sitting up. I have no

wish to be dogmatic in the matter; some of my readers may think

differently. I would only ask for dispassionate consideration of my

views. Where possible beating is no doubt preferable as more likely

to afford a shot and that always in daylight, but sometimes the purse

constrains ; beating is a much more expensive amusement. There

are also times when beaters are not available. And the nature of

the country often renders beating quite impracticable, especially for

panther. A great point, moreover, in favour of sitting up, which is

not appreciated by those who have not given it a fair trial, consists

in the opportunities it affords to the lover of Nature of attaining a

greater intimacy with his Mistress and of being initiated into some

of the secrets of the jungle. Sitting up, too, is an excellent

discipline. It is no game for the man who cannot possess his soul

in patience and may be termed monotonous by those who have no

thoughts beyond the actual killing of their quarry. For me it has a

great charm, as it must always have for those who love the jungle

or have in them anything of the naturalist. There is a fascination

which never palls, especially if you are in the heart of the jungle,

in that silent watch and ward as you listen to the gradual awakening

of the voices of the night around you. And never in the daylight

can one experience quite the same kind of thrill as when one

becomes conscious of the near presence of a wild beast, invisible

in the gloom of night.

Like many other wild animals both tigers and panthers will often

fail to notice or identify a motionless object, but their eyes are

marvellously quick to detect the least movement around them.

Their ears are equally sensitive. They are also by nature

extremely wary and suspicious. To an insufficient appreciation

of these characteristics is due the failure of many an unrewarded

vigil.

It follows that in making one’s preparations it should be one’s

aim to avoid anything likely to arouse suspicion and to make

oneself as invisible as possible. To deal first with sitting uo for

a panther over a live bait : — The mere fact of a single goat being

tied up alone may be sufficient to arouse the suspicions of a panther

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE I.

A P anther' s Haunt, Idar. A good Mach an

THE PANTHER AS 1 HAVE KNOWN HIM

361

of experience, but will not as a rule deter him from attacking if,

after studying the situation, he detects no sign of the presence of

man. To begin with : I assume that a panther has been approxi-

mately located, probably by his tracks — it may or may not be after

a kill — in some particular hill or patch of jungle. The first thing

to be done is to select a site for the machan in a quiet spot within

a moderate distance of the beast’s retreat — not so near as to run

a risk of disturbing him, but near enough for the goat’s calling

to be audible in the proximity of his lair. The most usual site for

a machan is a leafy tree, though a sheltered rock or a thick bush

with a bank behind will sometimes afford an excellent position.

A platform of stout branches is made in the tree or — this is what

I have generally used — a native charpoy may be slung up and

securely fastened by ropes among the branches, with a native quilt

or two and a couple of cushions, or a round stool to sit upon and give

your legs freedom. This may sound sybaritic but is merely common-

sense. You must be able to keep still or, if you have to make an

occasional movement, to do so without noise. This is impossible if

you are not comfortable.

The foliage of the tree, alone, will rarely, especially in the hot

weather, provide adequate concealment. It is therefore necessary

to screen yourself all around with branches. An effective method of

doing this is by means of light hurdles made of leafy branches,

preferably of the same kind of tree as that which holds the machan .

Such hurdles are best constructed at a distance so as to take less

time in the actual preparation of the machan on the spot. In the

front screen facing the goat a loophole is constructed, with a firm

cross-bar at a convenient height on which to rest your rifle; this is

important. If you are anxious to get your shot before dark, it is

sometimes advisable to have another loophole or two for use in

one or both of the side screens to command a probable line of

approach.

This last provision for a good view, however, must not be

overdone. I am convinced that the most frequent cause of failure

is inadequate concealment of oneself. Colonel Stockley writes of

‘so arranging things that you have a good view all round’ but it is

significant that he has had little success in sitting up. I used once

to be of the same opinion — in those days the panther kept away !

As a rule it is best to be content with a loophole in front only, with

perhaps a small peephole on one side.

One always knew in theory that a panther was a wary beast and

quick of sight and hearing, but the superlative quality of his

watchfulness was not really brought home to me until I had had

opportunities, watching in my turn, of observing it for myself.

I have seen a panther sit or lie watching his ‘kill’ or a tied up goat

for more than an hour at a time. I have seen one sit staring at my

machan — I knew it was not a good one, nor well placed — from a

distance of eighty yards and then slip quietly away never to return.

On many another blank evening that is doubtless what has

happened, the panther has taken observations, himself unseen.

No doubt a good field of view might sometimes enable you to see

the panther earlier and give you a daylight shot, but it is not worth

-362 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

the risk of his spotting some slight movement from one direction,

while you are gazing in another.

The case of a machan in a beat is different. Then you can expect

only the one chance as the beast passes by. You cannot be quite

certain what line he will take and there is no inducement — as in

the case of bait or kill — to make him come and give you an easy

shot at close quarters. A good field of view and of freedom to shoot

in different directions, becomes, therefore, of great importance in a

beat, for which reason also a rest for the gun is then a mistake,

being liable to get in the way. Moreover, your quarry in a beat has

no reason to be specially on the look-out for danger at the precise

spot where you are stationed as he has in the case of kill or bait.

It is of course desirable to be inconspicuous so far as possible but

the. need for concealment is much less, while the need for a good view

and field of fire is much greater in a beat than when sitting up.

In this connection the matter of height of your machan has to be

considered. The higher you are, the less likely to be seen. At the

-same time, especially at night, accurate hitting is definitely not as

easy from a height as on the level. In my opinion about fifteen feet

above ground is best. I do not like a machan above twenty feet.

It is important to make sure that there is no background of clear

sky behind your head : a slight unavoidable movement in shadow

may pass unobserved, even by a panther’s keen eye, which against

the sky would be noticed at once. It is a wise precaution to place

a man in the machan when it is ready and study appearances

yourself from outside. —

Another matter which may make all the difference is the location

of your tree relative to the beast’s probable line of approach and the

position of the bait or kill. When possible your tree should not be

an isolated one ; if there are others around it is less likely to invite

a beast’s particular attention. It may sometimes be impossible to

judge from which direction a tiger or panther will come and in any

case he will often prowl all round before coming near. But,

especially if the machan be at the base of a ' hill- in which he is

-known to have lain up, one may often judge correctly his most

probable line of advance. In such a case it is advisable that the

machan should not be situated in his direct line of sight as he

approaches but, if possible, to one side. Though making obser-

vations all around, his attention is directed mainly towards the bait

or kill ; therefore anything suspicious about a machan beyond the

bait but in the same general line of sight is more likely to attract

his notice than if the position be looking towards the bait from one

side. If your machan is between the panther and the bait you run

the risk of his approaching from behind you unseen and unheard and

possibly halting beneath or near your tree where he is liable to hear

your slightest movement. I have known a panther to sit exactly

beneath my machan and depart without my having had any

suspicion of his presence until examination of his tracks afterwards,

told what had happened !

The distance of the machan from bait or ‘kill’ is another factor

of importance. The greater the distance the less chance of your

being detected. If you do not mean to sit after the light has faded

THE PANTHER AS 1 HAVE KNOWN HIM -363

forty yards is not too far. But by good moonlight or when using

a flashlight torch twenty to twenty-five yards is the best distance.

If, however, you intend to use buckshot on a panther, from fifteen

to eighteen yards is far enough with a cylinder barrel.

There are times when no suitable tree is available. If there are

high bushes to afford cover a platform on four poles may be an

adequate substitute. Otherwise, in the absence of a tree, an

efficient hide can often be made among bushes or rocks or on the

bank of a nullah. In such a case it is as well to arrange so that

a wounded- beast cannot easily, get at you in the event of things

not going quite right !

With regard to your conduct of affairs when in the machan it

should be unnecessary .to say that patience and quiet watchfulness

are essential. If you have to move— and there are times when you

must— your movements must be deliberate and of the slowest. If

you propose to sit late and have food with you, see that it is not

wrapped in paper that will rustle, and avoid tins* As General

Wardrop most truly writes ‘the sound of metal on metal is the

danger signal of the jungle,’ so be most careful of your weapons,

cartridges, whistle — anything of metal. I have occasionally known

a signet ring on my finger to knock against a rifle barrel, so now I

always make a point of removing it.

You must be. careful to avoid having any dry leaves on the

machan close -to your loophole or in any place where there is a risk

of yoirr -touching them- and. causing them to rustle. Do not have

your loophole too large, but see that its edges are fairly clear cut ^

a projecting leaf or twig which may be of no importance in daylight

can become a serious impediment to clear vision in the dusk. With

the question of actually shooting in the dark I will deal presently.

While dry leaves in the machan might betray you, they may on

the ground . betray the approach of the panther. There are,

therefore, occasions when they can with advantage be spread at the

foot of your tree.

Practically- all that I have said so far applies in equal measure

whether you are sitting, up over a goat or a ‘kill’. But there are

-further, special considerations to be taken into account in the case

of a ‘kill’. The natural instinct of the wild beast would seem to lead

it to apprehend the possibility of an enemy having found its kill

and seized the opportunity of lying in wait for its return. Hence,

presumably, the caution usually displayed in returning even to a

natural ‘kill’, by which I mean a kill obtained in the ordinary course

of hunting and not of an animal tied up as a bait. This caution is

intensified by the suspicions aroused by a tied-up bait especially

when, as is often the case, the tiger or panther has learned from

previous experience the risk of danger associated with such.

It follows that a natural kill is the best. But this is not usually

to be found just when you want it. And when one does occur, the

corpse of the victim is by no means always left in a place

commanded by a suitable site for a machan. Moving a ‘kill’ is not

to be recommended.

Apart from the fact that the moving of a ‘kill’ engenders

suspicion, the powers of scent of the great cats are poor. A panther

364 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST SOCIETY \ VoL XXXIV

has been seen to scent up the drag of a ‘kill’ that has been moved,

but you cannot count upon his doing so and I doubt if a tiger will

ever do it. If, therefore, it be absolutely necessary to do so at all,

do not move a ‘kill’ more than a few yards and then not out of sight

of its original resting-place.

If then you want a ‘kill’ to sit over — and failing a natural one —

you must first choose your machan site in a likely place and tie up

your bait securely so that it cannot be dragged away. Presumably

in order to take advantage of the better field of view, both tiger and

panther habitually perambulate along the jungle paths. The junction

of two paths or nullahs or of a path and a nullah is therefore a good

place.

You may have baits tied up at several spots. It is worth while

having a machan made beforehand at the likeliest of these. You

will then avoid the risk of the beast being disturbed by the noise

of the erection of the machan. When you have to put up your

machan after the kill has been made, and there is a likelihood of the

beast being within hearing, it is sometimes a good plan to send

a couple of men moving in the direction in which he is believed

to be, the object being to disturb him sufficiently without scaring

him, in order to make him move out of hearing. But this requires

to be done with judgment.

So far as possible there should be nothing suspicious about the

machan? to catch the panther’s eye, which was not there when he

made his kill. The work of constructing the machan — after a kill —

should, if practicable, be finished by 2 p.m. You can never be sure

when a tiger or panther will return to his kill. It depends upon

place and circumstances, upon the idiosyncracies of the particular

beast and the state of his appetite. When the ‘kill’ is in a secluded

place and he has lain up near by he may return at any hour, but as

a general rule it is advisable to be settled down in your machan

by 4 p.m. in the cold, and 5 p.m. in the hot weather, at latest.

In my experience it is rarely worth while sitting up for a panther

for much more than an hour after dark. If not suspicious of

danger he will often appear before the sun goes down, but the most

likely time is the hour immediately after sunset. My experience

of tigers is limited. I have shot one tigress over a kill in bright

sunshine, but as a rule they are later than panthers, and, if it is not

too cold, you should be prepared for an all night vigil. General

Wardrop says that if a tiger does not arrive by 9 p.m. he is most

likely to turn up about midnight or at dawn.

A good bait for a male panther is a young male buffalo from

six months to a year old. A goat may be completely devoured or

not enough left for a second meal. A buffalo kill in my experience

usually ensures a return if nothing has made the panther suspicious.

If you intend to sit after dark the question of light becomes of

importance. If the moon be near the full, well and good; but even

then moonlight can be very deceptive. It must also be borne in

mind that it is as important to see your foresight as it is to see your

target. This you will be unable to do if the moon is in your front

or its light cut off from' your rifle barrel by thick foliage.

Consequently the position of the moon may be an important factor

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE II.

Mahi Kantha Panther Country. The scene of ‘ a right and left

A Mahi Kantha Panther.

THE PANTHER AS I HAVE KNOWN HIM 363

in the placing of the mach&n. If there be a moderate amount of light

an old tip that I have found useful is to affix, with a rubber band,

a white visiting card behind your foresight. Luminous paint may

also be made to serve your need.

None of these devices, however, is really satisfactory. Shooting

in the dark is a very futile business unless you can see your quarry

well enough to distinguish its position and make sure of being

able to place your shot, and to do the latter you must see your

foresight. The old hand does not need to be told, but it cannot be

too strongly impressed upon the novice that accuracy first, last

and all the time must be his object. Apart from the fact that you

want to bring your game to bag, any sportsman worthy of the name

must hate the idea of merely wounding. In the case of dangerous

game, moreover, there is the further consideration that a wounded

beast is a menace to anyone who may accidentally cross his path.

The great cats are tenacious of life and it is quite useless to hit

them just anywhere. Their striped or spotted coats blend at night

into a faint neutral shadow and make them practically invisible in

a dim light where a dark or light coloured animal would be

distinctly seen. Even in bright moonlight a beast’s outline is often

amazingly indistinct unless its visible side is in the shadow.

If you have no means of lighting up your target it is not a bad

plan to scatter some bran or flour around the ‘kill’ so as to make

a light background against which on a clear starry night a panther

will show up faintly as a darker shadow. I have obtained the same

result by a judicious spreading of the hay or straw which had been

furnished for use of the tied-up buffalo the night before. But on

the whole I certainly do not recommend trying to shoot in the dark

or in a dim light unless you are provided with some form of electric

light with which to throw a sudden illumination on the scene.

Personally, I have entirely given up attempting the game after

dark without such aid.

A good electric lamp makes all the difference. There are several

devices of the kind on the market. One is a lamp with a shade

intended to be hung above the ‘kill’ and throw a light directly down

upon it ; a controlling wire is connected to the machtin. I have not

tried this, but it seems to me a weak point that a fixed area only can

be lighted up, while it may not always be possible to fix it in the

right position above the ‘kill’. A better method is provided by a

lamp fixed in the machan with movable bull’s eye which can be

adjusted to throw its beam in the required direction. This is the

type of lamp advised by General Wardrop who has used it with

great success.

The only kind to which I have given a fair trial — and found very

successful — is a powerful cylindrical spotlight focussing torch which

is clamped to one’s gun-barrel so that gun and light are together

aligned upon one’s target. This torch throws a beam of light which

effectively lights up the ‘kill’ at a distance of twenty to twenty-five

yards. It also has the great advantage of, at the same time,

illuminating one’s foresight. If the light be suddenly thrown

directly into an animal’s eve it may frighten him off. If, however,

the light strikes the eyes from the side he will usually look up and

366 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST, SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

stare, giving you plenty of time for a shot. If the light does not

strike his eyes the beast will in my experience take no notice

whatever. I have only found one disadvantage, that the process

of clamping on the torch may be a trifle noisy ; it is therefore

advisable to affix the lamp to the gun quietly, at your leisure, before

it is quite dark. A point of special importance with this lamp is

the necessity for a rest for one’s gun-barrel, without which the

weight of the torch will tend to drag down the foresight to one side.

But it is advisable in the interests of silence to wrap a cloth round

the cross-bar. Here, again, a question of ethics has been raised.

There are some who consider sitting up by daylight permissible,

but would bar the use of an electric light at night as ‘unsporting’.

So far as I understand, the objections are two : —

(a) That it makes the business too easy,

( b ) That it encourages shooting at night and thereby increases

the risk of merely wounding.

These objections are mutually contradictory. In any case the

first may be dismissed in a word : it is merely absurd to suggest that

it is easier to shoot with an electric lamp than in broad daylight.

The second objection is little more difficult to deal with, if at greater

length. An inadequate illumination is hardly better than none at

all. But there are several makes of suitable and inexpensive lamps

to be purchased nowadays which possess ample power : it is only

necessary to be careful that the battery does not get exhausted ;

wherefore in a sporting trip a couple of spare batteries should be

carried. And it is reasonable to assume that no intelligent

sportsman will go to his machan without testing the capabilities of

the lamp he intends to use.

Granted an efficient lamp and the fixing of the machan at a

distance from the kill commensurate with its power, it is for

practical purposes little more difficult to place one’s shot accurately

than in daylight, when the range would often be much longer.

There is, consequently, no appreciably greater risk of wounding.

Further, the general arguments in favour of sitting up are equally

applicable in this particular case. Just as it is often impossible to

get a shot at an animal except by sitting up, so, having sat up, it is

often equally impossible to get a shot in daylight at an individual

animal which makes a practice of never returning to its ‘kill’ before

dark. What is strongly to be deprecated is shooting in the dark or

in so bad a light that reasonably accurate aim cannot be taken.

I have dealt at some length with the theory and practice of the art

of sitting up, but it has seemed worth while to discuss the subject

in detail. In subsequent parts I propose to illustrate what I have

already said by describing some personal experiences of the panther

and his ways — both by night and day.

(To be continued)

THE MONITOR LIZARDS'OF BURMA.

BY

H. C. Sm^th, i.f.s.,

Deputy Conservator of Forests ,

Game Warden , Burma.

{With two plates.)

General. — Monitor Lizards, ‘ Phuts ’, as they are called in

Burmese, are carnivorous terrestrial and aquatic reptiles belonging

to the family VaranUce of the order Sguaniata. Five species are

known to occur in Burma, all of which belong to the one genus,

Varanus.

Tne tongue is smooth, very long and slender, bifid and retractile

into a sheath at the base.

The teeth are large and dilated at the bases which are fixed to

the inner sides of the jaws.

They lay oval soft shelled eggs.

‘ Phuts ’ are much sought after by Burmans for the sake of the

flesh which is said to resemble that of a fowl, and the eggs which

are considered great delicacies. The jungle villagers usually hunt

for them with dogs.

There appear to have been no organized attempts as yet to col-

lect these lizards for the sake of their skins in Burma.

Identification. — The identification of the species, which depends

upon the shape and position of the nostril, the type of ventral

scales and the shape and arrangement of the supraocular scales is

by no means easy especially in the case of dried skins. For identifi-

cation purposes the head and a portion of the skin from the belly

will suffice if carefully preserved.

Key to the Species

A. Nostril an oblique slit.

I Nostril a little nearer to

end of snout than to

orbit ... ... 1. Yellow Monitor

( Varanus flavesce?is)

II Nostril nearer to orbit than

to the end of snout.

(a) Ventral scales smooth,

i. All supraoculars equal.

Nostril much nearer

to orbit than to end

of snout ... ... 2. Common Monitor

( Varanus beugaltmis)

13

368 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

li. Median supraoculars

slightly enlarged

transversely. Nos-

^ tril a little nearer to

orbit than to the end

of snout ... ... 3. Clouded Monitor

( Varanus nebulosus )

(b) Ventral scales keeled.

Nuchal scales very large

and flat ... ... 4. Dumeril’s Monitor

( Varanus dumei ilii)

B. Nostril roundish or oval, nearer

to end of snout than to orbit ... 5. Water Monitor

( Varanus salvator)

1. The Yellow Monitor.

( Varanus flavescens.)

Local names.— P hut. Phut*Gya (Burmese).

Description. — ‘ Teeth subconieal, scarcely compressed. Snout

short, convex, measuring a little less than the distance from the

anterior border of the orbit to the anterior border of the ear ;

canthus rostralis distinct. Nostril an oblique slit, a little nearer to

end of the snout than to the orbit. Digits short, the length of the

fourth toe, measured from its articulation with the tarsus to the

base of the claw, not exceeding the length of the femur. Tail

feebly compressed, keeled above. Scales of head small, subequal ;

the median series of supraocular scales slightly dilated trans-

versely. Scales on upper surface moderate, oval, keeled.

Abdominal scales smooth, in 65 to 75 transverse rows. Caudal

scales keeled ; the caudal keel with a very low, doubly-toothed

crest. (Fauna.)

* Colour. — Olive or yellowish brown above, with irregular darker

markings which are generally confluent into broad cross bars ; a

blackish temporal streak ; lower surface yellowish, with rather

indistinct brown cross bars, which are most distinct on the throat.

‘ Young, dark brown above, with yellow spots confluent into cross

bars ; lower surface yellow ; with dark brown cross bars/ (Fauna.)

Measurements ‘ From snout to vent, 1 foot 3 inches ; tail, 1 foot

8 inches.’ (Fauna.) Total length about 3 feet.

Distribution. — North India, Burma and Malay Peninsula.’

(Fauna.) I have not yet met with this species in Burma.

Habits .— Terrestrial.’ (Fauna.)

2. The Common Monitor.

( Varanus bengalensis.)

Local names.— Phut, Kon-phut, Phut-Mwe (Burmese).

Description. — Teeth acute, compressed, snout high, very convex

at the end, as long as the distance from the anterior corner of the

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE

MONITOR LIZARDS OF BURMA,

'ommon Monitor (V ar anus bengalensis )

THE MONITOR LIZARDS OF BURMA 369

eye to the ear ; canthus rostralis well marked. Nostril an oblique

slit, a little nearer to the orbit than to the tip of the snout.

Ear-opening oblique. Digits strong, moderately elongate. Tail

compressed, keeled above. Scales of head small, subequal ;

supraocular scales smaller, subequal. Scales of upper surface

of body and limbs small, oval, tectiform on the hinder part of the

back. Abdominal scales smooth, in 90 to 110 transverse rows.

Caudal scales keeled ; caudal keel with very low doubly-toothed

crest.’ (Fauna).

1 Colour . — Yellowish, brownish, or olive, with more or less

numerous blackish dots ; a more or less distinct dark streak on the

temple ; lower surface yellowish, uniform or dotted with blackish ;

the dots most numerous on the throat.

‘ Young with numerous whitish ocelli frequently alternating with

blackish transverse bands, which may persist after the ocelli have

disappeared ( V. lunatus ).’ (Fauna.)

Measurements. — * From snout to vent 2 feet 6 inches, tail 3 feet 6

inches.’ (Faunal) Total length about 6 feet.

Distribution. — ‘ The whole of India and Ceylon, Burma,’ (Fauna.)

Occurs practically throughout Burma preferring the drier parts.

Habits.—' Terrestrial, living in holes in dry places.’ (Fau?ia.)

This monitor, called by the Burmans the ‘ Land ’ Monitor or

c Grey ’ Monitor, is the most generally distributed of all the moni-

tors in Burma. It is found almost everywhere, but is particularly

partial to the drier forests. It may occur in remote forests and

also in compounds in and on the outskirts of stations and

villages.

These lizards are much sought after by the local people who

consider the flesh and the eggs great delicacies. They usually

hunt for them with dogs. When chased, these monitors usually

make for a hollow tree, typically running up the perpendicular bole

with great ease and disappearing down a hole at the top. A

Burman will think nothing of felling a valuable tree of five feet

girth or more in order to bag a ‘ Phut ’ which has taken refuge

inside it.

In the hopes of escaping observation or capture, these lizards

will often lie absolutely motionless in the open on the ground or

against the bare trunk of a tree, and, when behaving thus, they can

often be picked up by the tail or will allow a noose at the end of a

long pole to be slipped over their heads. They harmonize well

with their surroundings and so, when motionless, are often

difficult to spot.

Common Monitors most often met with are about 3 to 4 feet in

length from snout to tip of tail, but there is little doubt that they

run twice or even three times that size. Some enormous

specimens have been seen in the extensive indaing (dry dipterocarp)

forests in Upper Burma.

They can run at a great pace on the ground and when travel-

ling thus, the tail is held up at an angle of about 45° from the

ground.

When cornered and afraid or angry, this lizard has a habit of

raising itself on its fore-legs and inflating itself with air to its

370 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vo/. XXXIV

utmost capacity. The air is then expelled to the accompaniment of

a noise resembling that made by dragging a tarpaulin or tent along

the ground. The noise and the ferocious attitude assumed are

evidently intended to strike terror into the heart of an assailant.

It defends itself against a dog by lashing with its tail, generally

snapping with its mouth at the same time.

They can bite hard and, owing to the teeth being directed back-

wards, they are difficult to dislodge when once they have got a firm

hold.

When captured, they are generally found to have numerous ticks

adhering to them which, in colour and shape, very closely resemble

the lizards’ scales.

The breeding season of the Common Monitor is said to be during

the hot weather, viz., the end of March and April. It is said to

commence breeding in its second or third year when it has attained

a length of about 2 feet 6 inches or 3 feet. It deposits its eggs,

which are white, oval, soft-shelled and often as many as 25-30 in

number, in a hole in an ant-heap. The eggs are separate from

each other and not stuck together like snakes’ eggs. They are laid

usually early in the hot weather. After depositing her eggs, the

female ‘Phut’ closes up the hole with leaves, rubbish, etc., and

departs.

The food of these monitors consists of small mammals, birds, fishes,

frogs and eggs. They will eat raw meat in captivity. They are

capable of existing for a considerable time without food and will

gorge themselves when opportunity arises. They are known to be

very destructive in poultry yards, but the damage done in this way

is believed to be more than counteracted by the amount of good

these reptiles do by devouring large number of rats and mice which

would otherwise destroy field crops.

3. The Clouded Monitor.

( Varanus nebulosus .)

Local names*— Phut, Kon-Phut . (Burmese.)

Description . — ‘ Teeth acute, compressed. Snout rather elevated,

pointed, convex, as long as the distance from the anterior corner

of the eye to the posterior border of the ear; canthus rostra.is

distinct. Nostril an oblique slit, half as far from orbit as from end

of snout. Ear-opening oblique. Digits moderately elongate. Tail

compressed, keeled above. Scales of Dead small, subequal ; supra-

ocular region with a series of four to seven transversely dilated

scales. Scales on upper surface small, oval, obtusely keeled, those

on anterior part of neck larger, sub-circular, not keeled. Abdominal

scales smooth, in about 80 transverse rows. Caudal scales keeled;

the caudal keel with a very low, doubly-toothed crest.’ {Fauna.)

‘ Colour. — Greenish or brownish olive, irregularly marbled and

dotted with darker and lighter ; chin and throat with transverse

blackish bands or marbled with blackish.

‘ Young have numerous yellowish ocelli on the back, limbs, and

base of tail, and the whole of the lower surface marbled with

THE MONITOR LIZARDS OF BURMA

371

blackish ; nape with two posteriorly directed, chevron-shaped bands,

the anterior proceeding from the eyes.’ ( Fauna. )

Measurements.—1 From snout to vent 1 foot 2 inches ; tail 2 feet.’

(. Fauna .) Total length about 3 feet.

Distribution ‘ Bengal, Burma, Siam, Malay Peninsula.’ {Fauna.)

Rare in Burma as compared with the Common and Water Monitors.

Habits. — Nothing specially recorded. Probably vary similar

to those of the Common Monitor for which it is no doubt often

mistaken.

4. Dumeril’s Monitor.

( Varanus dumerilii.)

Local names.- — Phut {Burmese).

Description. — ‘ Teeth acute, compressed. Snout depressed at the

end, measuring a little more than the distance from the anterior

border of the orbit to the anterior border of the ear ; canthus

rostralis not well marked. Nostril oblique, about half as far from

orbit as from tip of snout. Digits moderate. Tail strongly corn-

pressed, keeled above. Scales of head moderate, subequal ; those

in the middle of the supraocular region slighlty enlarged trans-

versely. Scales oil upper surface of neck very large, about as

broad *as long, flat, the hindermost slightly keeled; dorsal scales

large, oval, keeled ; scales above the limbs keeled. Abdominal

scales slightly keeled, in 75 to 85 transverse rows. Caudal scales

keeled, the lateral sometimes intermixed with larger ones ; the

caudal keel with a very low, doubly-toothed crest.’ {Faunal)

‘ Colour.— Light brown above, a dark temporal streak, from eye to

ear, generally confluent with a U-shaped dark marking on the neck ;

back with very broad dark transverse bars, broader than the inter-

paces between them ; limbs dark brown, spotted with yellow ; more

or less distinct vertical dark bars on the lips; belly yellowish,

uniform or with transverse dark bands.’ {Faunal)

Measurements ‘ From snout to vent, 1 foot 3 inches.’ {Fauna.)

Total length about 5 feet.

Distribution ‘ Tenasserim, Sumatra, Borneo.’ {Fauna.)

Noted specially on islands in the Mergui Archipelago and in

mangrove forests along the coast cf Mergui.

Habits. — ' Terrestrial and aquatic and also apparently marine.

Noted lying on the uncovered mangrove roots in the tidal creeks

of Mergui.

Plentiful on Sir Charles Forbes’ Island where, if roused by dogs

in the dense evergreen which grows right down to the coast, these

monitors bolt across the beaches to take refuge in the sea. Some

exceptionally large tracks of monitors were seen in the sand along-

side creeks on this island, some being about the size of a hears ;

they might have been made either by the Water-Monitor (Varanus

salvalor) or by Varanus dumerilii.

One good specimen was killed on Sir William James’ Island. It

ran out of a small pool (in which pig had been wallowing) on the

crest of a ridge, then up a large tree.

372 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

5. The Water-Monitor.

( Varanus salvaior.)

Local names. — Phut. Yay-Phut. Phut-Hyin-gan. Phnt-Kyi

{Burmese).

Description.—' Teeth, acute, compressed. Snout depressed at the

tip, long, the distance from that point to the anterior corner of the

eye being generally a little greater than the distance from the latter

to the anterior border of the ear; canthus rostralis obtuse. Nostril,

oval, at least twice as far from the orbit as from the tip of the snout.

Digits moderate. Tail strongly compressed, keeled above. Scales

of head moderate, subequal; supraocular region with a series of 4

to 8 large, transversely dilated scales. Scales on the upper surface

small, oval, keeled ; abdominal scales keeled, in 85 to 95 transverse

rows. Caudal scales keeled ; the caudal ridge with a very low,

doubly-toothed crest.’ {Fauna.)

‘ Colour.— Dark brown or blackish above, with yellow spots or

ocelli; snout generally lighter, with transverse black bars, most

distinct on the lips, and continued across the chin ; a black

temporal band, commencing from eyes and bordered by a yellow

band which sometimes extends along the side of the neck ; lower

surface yellow.’ {Fauna.)

Young have the markings accentuated and are extremely

beautiful.

Measurements ‘ From snout to vent 3 feet 4 inches.’ {Fauna.)

Total length about 5 feet, probably often reaching 8 to 10 feet or

even more.

Distributmi.—' Bengal, Ceylon, South China, Malay Peninsula

and Archipelago. Found in marshy localities or on trees over-

hanging rivers.’ {Fauna.)

Quite plentiful throughout Burma in suitable localities. Most

frequently met with near streams in remote evergreen forests

specially on the islands of the Mergui Archipelago.

On March, 24 1923, whilst exploring the central portion of

Charles Forbes’ Island, I killed a ham ad ray ad, measuring 14 feet

9 inches, which had apparently just killed a Water Monitor which

measured 4 feet 9 inches (total length). The snake, when first

seen, was * mouthing ’ the lizard in a quiet, self-satisfied sort of

way and ignored the presence of myself and four other people who

walked past within eight yards of it in quite open jungle. After

watching the snake for a few minutes, we shot it.

Water Monitors axe particularly plentiful in the neighbourhood

of Mandalay where they live in the canals and irrigation channels

and the thick patches of scrub jungle, often submerged during the

rains, which occur along the banks. Specimens 6 feet and more in

length are frequently seen dashing across the Mandalay-Maymyo

main road in front of motors.

Habits.— ' Enters the water readily.’ {Fauna.)

This monitor, though mainly aquatic, can apparently exist for long

periods in dry regions without any water at all.

On May 11, 1924, whilst working through some very dry forests

in Mongmit State in search of suing, I saw a large Water-Monitor

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist! Soc. PLATE II.

MONITOR LIZARDS OF BURMA.

Young Water Monitor ( Varanus salvator).

THE MONITOR LIZARDS OF BURMA

373

floundering about in a small pool. It offered little resistance to

the Burman who dragged it out by the tail and proved to be a

female 5 feet in length. When captured, a live frog jumped out of

its mouth and later, when cut open, its stomach was found to

contain no. less than 40 more frogs, none of which were particularly

small. The lizard was absolutely gorged. The place where it was

found was where some days before we had failed to get a drop of

water even by digging 4 feet for it. The heavy rain overnight had

brought out all the frogs and the ‘ Phuts ’ were evidently making

the most of their opportunities.

These monitors, when startled, will usually , take refuge in water

where they can remain submerged for a considerable time. They

can, however, travel at a good pace on land and invariably make

good their escape if the jungle is at all thick.

When cornered, they lash with their tails and snap like the

Common Monitor and they blow themselves out with air which

they expel with a hissing noise, presumably to terrify their

assailants.

The breeding season is said to be later than that of the Common

Monitor, the eggs being laid at the beginning of the rains. A

full-grown female will lay 25-30 eggs which resemble those of the

Common Monitor. They are usually laid in holes in trees near or

overhanging water.

The food of the Water-Monitor consists mainly of fish and frogs.

It is known to be very fond of eggs and destructive to poultry and

it will also no doubt eat various small mammals and birds.

THE VALUE OF FIELD OBSERVATIONS IN THE STUDY

OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION.

BY

Sunder Lal Hora, d.sc. (Punjab), d.sc. (Edin.),

F.R.S.E., F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.A.S.B.

( With nine text figures.)

(Presidential address delivered before the Section of Zoology ,

Seventeenth Indian Science Congress, Allahabad, 1930.)

‘Zoology, like all other branches of Natural Science, has had two lines of

progress, observation and generalization. Without accurate and detailed

knowledge of the facts and phenomena of animal life and structure, all iheories

of classification or of origin are so much idle speculation : in the absence of

the philosophic spirit suggesting hypothesis of greater or less magnitude, the

mere accumulation of facts is an empirical and barren study.’ (Parker and

Has well, 1910, p. 668.)

For a biologist there is no problem of greater interest than the

study of Organic Evolution. No one doubts to-day that evolution

is a fact, but how it is caused is the main problem that still awaits

solution. Several theories have been advanced to explain the method

of organic evolution, but none has met with unanimous scientific

approval, and though each theory explains a certain number of facts,

not one is sufficiently comprehensive to cover them all. To tackle

this evasive problem several methods have been devised and

considerable progress has been made along each. At the present

day, however, there is an increasing tendency to advocate the

experimental method in preference to, the observational method of

the older naturalists. According to Professor Julian S. Huxley,

it is unthinkable that any attempt should be made ‘to raise any theory

of the method of evolution on observational data alone/ but such

workers evidently seem to forget that the theory of ‘evolution is

a philosophy of wild nature’. It relates to animals living under

natural conditions, outside the domain of the laboratory worker and

in that of the field naturalist. The laboratory-trained zoologist

lacking in field knowledge often shows a singular incapacity for

understanding the importance of evolutionary factors which experi-

ence in the field, more especially tropical experience, drives home.

(Kerr 1926, p. 9). Professor D. M. S. Watson in his presidential

address to the Zoology Section of the British Association for the

Advancement of Science last year concluded that ‘the present

position of zoology is unsatisfactory,’ and that the ‘data which we

have accumulated are inadequate.’ In Professor Watson’s opinion

‘the experimental method rightly used will in the end give us, if not

the solution of our problem, at least the power of analysing it and

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION

375

isolating the various factors which enter into it.’ To me, however,

it seems that the inadequacy of our accumulated data is mainly

due to the fact that the study of the environment has not kept pace

with the study of the organism. It is impossible to understand the

life mechanism of an organism without an adequate if not thorough,

knowledge of the numerous factors that influence its life in an

environment, for ‘Organism and environment must be thought of

as a unity, as interlocked and fitted closely to form that harmony

which is Nature and life’ (Allen 1929, p. 841). It follows, therefore,

that the first requisite in the study of evolution is to understand the

true relationship between an organism and its habitat. Once this

relationship has been established, experiments in the laboratory may

be very instructive and useful, but if laboratory observations precede

field observations care must be taken that they do not lead to any

unjustifiable conclusions for after all — ‘evolution is a philosophy of

wild nature.’

To my mind the best method of studying the correlation that

exists between an animal organization and its habitat is to make

direct, observations, to supplement them afterwards by making

experiments in the field under natural conditions and then, if need be,

to subject the organism to experiments in the laboratory. The late

Dr. N, Annandale was a great believer in the observational method

and his Presidential Address to the Science Congress and a number

of his other contributions are sufficient to show his appreciation

of its immense value. I had the good fortune to work under the

guidance of this great teacher for a number of years both in the

field and in the laboratory and as an humble tribute of appreciation

of his teaching I have chosen as the subject of my address ‘The

Value of Field Observations in the study of Organic Evolution.’

. For a period of ten years 1 have been interested in studying the

structural modifications undergone by the fauna of torrential streams

and. in this connection I have made extensive observations, recorded

in a number of papers, on the torrential fauna of this country.

You will excuse me, therefore, if I give here a simple, but very

instructive example, from this fauna to illustrate my subject.

All of you know that a fish is capable of maintaining its level in

water without any great exertion on its part with the help of its

air-bladder, which is a buoyancy-giving structure and serves as a

hydrostatic, organ. Now the problem of maintaining equilibrium at

the various strata of the depth of a lake is different from that of

remaining at the bottom. In both cases the animal has to react

to the mechanical effect of gravity ; in the former the desired result

is attained by the production of buoyant structures, whereas in the

latter the object is achieved by the reduction or total absence of

such devices. In a torrent the greatest necessity for life for an

animal is to remain as close to the substratum as possible and to

meet this demand the air-bladder is greatly reduced in fishes of this

habitat. A buoyant fish with a well-developed bladder has no chance

to resist a rushing torrent whilst frolicking about in this habitat is

a dangerous pastime. Now suppose the fishes of the rapids were

compelled to live in a lake, they would be uncomfortable in their

attempt to rise to the surface for their heavier build would tend to

14

376 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

OU.

keep them close to the bottom ; they would not be at home in their

new surroundings unless their bladders developed again to make

them buoyant. I shall illustrate this hypothesis with examples

furnished by loaches of the genus Nemachilus. Most of you are,

no doubt aware that the

Nemachili are commonly

found in the hill-streams of

India and Burma and that

only a few of them are found

in slow-running or stationary

waters at high altitudes. As

a rule the air-bladder in these

fishes is greatly reduced and

is enclosed in two bony

capsules. In a previous paper,

(1922, p. 66) I indicated how

the normal Cyprinoid bladder,

such as that of Labeo rohita,

becomes gradually modified

into a bladder of the Nema -

chilu s type and this modifica-

tion becomes still further

marked in highly specialized

hill-stream fishes, such as the

Homalopterid fish, Balitora.

I now want to direct your

attention here to the reverse

changes that have taken place in species of Nemachilus living in

calm waters at high altitudes.

In the Inle Basin, Southern Shan States, Burma, there are four

endemic species of Nemachilus besides the widely distributed N.

botia. The habitats of the four species are different and these

differences are reflected in the structures of their air-bladders.

Specimens of N. shanensis Hora were collected in a very fast

current in a rocky stream and the species in every respect seems to

be highly modified for this habitat. Its bladder is of the normal

type. It may be noticed that in this bladder there is a long and

narrow horizontal tube that connects the two lateral chambers of

the anterior portion of the bladder and that the posterior portion

is greatly reduced in size. In N. rivulicola Hora, which inhabits

clear, rocky streams of the Yawnghwe Valley and the He-Ho plain

and several specimens of which were collected by me in a small

stream flowing- out of a spring near Fort Stedman, the air-bladder

has somewhat deviated from the normal type. The two lateral

chambers have become enlarged and the tube connecting the two

is wider and shorter. The other two species — N. brunneanus

Annandale and N. brevis Boulenger — live in sluggish waters and

are commoly found in the Inle Lake. The former is a slender

species closely related to N. rivulicola Hora from which it is

distinguished by its larger eyes and complete lepidosis. Both of

these features, it may be remarked, are characteristic of sluggish

water Cyprinoids, In N, brunneanus the two lateral chambers are

Fig. 1. — Normal type of air-bladder in

Nemachilus.

(a) N. manipurensis Chaudhuri, xlO.

( b ) N. rupicola (McClelland), X 10.

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION

371

greatly enlarged and are almost continuous ; the connecting tube

being represented by a slight constriction only. The posterior

d

Fig. 2. — Four species of Nemcichilus from the Inle Basin, S. Shan States,

Burma, showing the gradual evolution of the functional air-bladder.

(a) N. shanensis Hora, XlO.

(b) N. rivulicola Hora, X 10.

(c) N. brunneanus Annandale, X 10.

( d ) JVv brevis Boulenger, X6§.

chamber is also enlarged, but its walls are thick and fibrous. In

N. brevis the posterior chamber is still further enlarged and its

walls are thin and elastic. It occupies a considerable portion of the

abdominal cavity and is con-

nected with the anterior bilobed

chamber by a well-marked tube.

There can hardly be any doubt

that this air-bladder of N. brevis

is capable of performing hydro-

static functions as effectively as

the normal Cyprinoid bladder.

So far as the structure of the

air-bladder is concerned in the

f o u r species of Nemachilus

referred to above, we possess a

highly instructive series showing

the gradual modification of the

structure induced by the direct

effect of the environment, and it

is also clear that the structural

changes are of great utility for

they bring about a direct cor-

relation between the organism

and its environment. The greatly

Fig. 3. — A portion of the wall of the

bony capsules enclosing the lateral

chambers of the anterior portion of

the bladder of N emachilus . brevis

Blgr. (from a photograph).

reduced bladder of N. shanensis,

378 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETl , Voh XXXlV

a torrent-inhabiting form, is represented in N. brevis, a lake-

inhabiting species, by a fully formed hydrostatic organ.1

Correlated with the modifications of the bladder described above,

there is a series of gradual changes undergone by the bony capsules.

As the lateral chambers of the air-bladder increase in size the walls

of the bony capsules become thin, and in species like N. brevis

they are extremely brittle and perforated. Another change that is

clearly noticeable even from the outside is that the walls of the bony

capsules nearest to the skin on the sides remain incomplete so that

the air-bladder comes in close contact with the skin. In these

regions of contact the skin becomes thin and translucent. By these

modifications the lateral chambers of the anterior portion of the

bladder are brought in close contact .with the surrounding water,

and are enabled to perceive directly the varying hydrostatic

pressures to which the fish is subjected in its up and downward

movements in deep waters.

I do not want to discuss here the other structural modifications

F-ig. 4.- — Lateral view of head and anterior portion of body of Nemachilus brevis

Blgr., showing the deeply shaded area where the bladder comes in

contact with the skin, x3f. - • • -

undergone by these fishes in response to changes in the habitat ;' for

I believe it is fully recognized

now that any change in the

character of an organism

changes the organism as a whole.

The Nemachili from the Xnl6

Basin are not unique in possess-

ing the modifications described

above, for these fishes in other

parts of the world, whenever

occasion arose, adapted them-

selves to life in deep waters by a

similar, if not identical set of

modifications. Nemachilus raoe

Hora lives in calm waters, for

the only specimens of this

species known so far were pro-

cured by my colleagues Dr.

B. N. Chopra and Dr. H. S. Rao from a large tank full of

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION

379

weeds near the Inspection Bungalow at Mongyai in the Northern

Shan States of Burma. In this species the air-bladder is similar

to that of N. brevis with this

difference that the posterior

chamber is not so extensive and

the tube connecting the two

chambers is not so long.

Nemachili that inhabit the

Kashmir Valley show a gradual

evolution of the hydrostatic

bladder. N. kashmirensis Hora

inhabits small streams in the

valley and possesses an almost

normal type of bladder. N.

marmoratus (Heckel) lives in

ponds and springs and in this

species the two lateral chambers

of the anterior portion of the

bladder .are well-developed; the

b.

posterior portion is also well-

marked but its walls are very

thick and fibrous. N. vittatus

(Heckel) is widely distributed in

the sluggish waters of the valley

and is commonly found in the

Wular Lake ; the anterior por-

tion of its bladder1 has become

still further enlarged and the

posterior portion, though fibrous

and probably inelastic has be-

come of. considerable size.

In. the highlands of Central

Asia there are found certain

species of Nemachilus in which

the air-blader is essentially of

the same type as that found in

AT. brevis with this difference

that the two portions of the

bladder are separated by a considerable distance and conse-

quently the tube connecting the two is thin and long. This

condition of the bladder appeared so remarkable to Kessler that

he established the genus Diplophysa2 on this character and

Fig. 6. — Three species of Nemachilus

from the Kashmir. .Valley showing

the gradual evolution of the func-

tional air-bladder.

(a) N. kashmirensis Hora, X II5.

(b) N. marmoratus (Heckel), X Ilf.

(c) N. vittatus (Heckel), x6.

1 In 1922 ( Rec . Ind. Mus., XXIV, p. 67), I published a figure and a -short

description of the bladder of Nemachilus vittatus and pointed out the presence

of a pneumatic duct. I have now dissected a large number of specimens and

find that no such structure exists.

2 The original description of the genus Diplophysa is as follows : — ‘Corpus

valde elongatum, ad finem posteriorem conspicue compressum, alepidotum • oculi,

plica palpebriformi, a rostri apice atque a rimis branchialibus aeque fere remoti ;

ossa infraocularia parva, sine spina mobilis ; os cirris sex obsitum atque cinctum

duobus labiis carnosis, quorum superius plus minusve denticulatum, inferius,

380 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

described a number of species in this genus. During my recent

visit to Europe I had an opportunity of

examining specimens of D. strauchii Kessler,

the logo-type, and D. labiata Kessler in the

Zoologiches Museum der Universitat, Berlin.

In the absence of any material and of the

original description of Diplophysa I had

formed a wrong idea of the structure of the

air-bladder of this genus and consequently in

reviewing its systematic position in 1922 I

attached undue importance to this structure.

In view of the observations made above it

seems hardly justifiable to recognize Diplo-

physa as a distinct genus from Nemachilus

for all gradations exist between the typical

bladder of Nemachilus and the ‘double bladder’

of Diplophysa.

All the nine species of ' Diplophysa ’ described

by Kessler are known to inhabit deep rivers or

lakes. D. strauchii and D. labiatus are from

Eastern Turkestan ; D. intermedins , D.

nasalis, D. costata and D. dalaicus are known

from lake Dalai-nor, which is situated in the

lake basin of Mongolia and D. kungessana,

D. papillo so -labiata and D. microphthalm u s

found in the Tarim river-system which

ultimately drains into Lake Lob-nor. I have shown elsewhere

that the fauna of the high altitudes is in most cases derived

from the neighbouring mountain streams and has become

secondarily modified for life in sluggish waters. This reversion

of habitat brings about a reversion in the evolution of the animal

organization, but in no. case does the animal develop its truly

primitive characters, for the path of progression is different from

that of regression.

A. species of Nemachilus ( = Diplophysa ) showing remarkable

modification of the air-bladder was described by me in 1922 from

Fig. 7.-— Air-bladder of

Nemachilus strauchii

(Kessler), X2 (Dia-

grammatic).

Eastern Tibet. Of this species — N. stewarti (Hora) — several young

and half-grown specimens were collected by Capt. R. S. Kennedy

and C apt. F. H. Stewart in a stream flowing into Rham-tso. The

air-bladder of N. stewarti is as usual divided into two portions

which are connected by a short and narrow tube1, the anterior

portion is bilobed and partially enclosed in bone and its two lateral

chambers are connected by a short and narrow neck ; the posterior

portion, which lies free in the abdominal cavity, is divided into two

b.ilobum, plus minusve papillosum : pseudobranchiae afosunt ; vesica natatoria in

duas partes, anticam, involucro osseo billobo praeditam, et posticam, elonga

turn, ventriculo superpositam, partita.’

‘Ad genus Botia Gray proxime accedit, sed differt carente spina mobili in

ossibus in infraocularibus. ’ Rosier, Bull. Soc. Sci. Moscou, XI, p. 57 (1874).

1 In 1922, when I described this structure, I missed the connection between

the two portions ' of the bladder, and, therefore, erroneously considered the two

portions as distinct bladders.

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION

381

chambers by a constriction thus assuming to a certain extent the

form of a normal Cyprinoid bladder. The most remarkable point

about this bladder is that it possesses a short pneumatic duct

connecting the anterior end of the posterior portion of the bladder

with the oesophagus. In this respect the air-bladder of N. stewarti

has reverted to the primitive Cyprinoid condition so far as its

function is concerned though structurally it is still very different.

I have yet to refer to an extremely remarkable species of

Nemachilus described by me from the Northern Shan States,

Burma. Of this species — N. acuticephalus Hora — I have examined

only five specimens collected by Dr. J. Coggin Brown from the

Hwe-gna-sang River in the Pazi Township of the Monglong

Sub-division of Hsipaw State. Its

rounded and tapering head, the small

and compact fins and the general facies

suggest that the species is adapted to

a burrowing* mode of life. But this is

a mere assumption for no observations

are available regarding its precise

habitat.1 The bladder of N. acuti-

cephalus is similar to that of the Central

Asiatic species of Nemachilus referred to

above ; the anterior and the posterior

portions of the bladder are connected by

a long and narrow tube. Outwardly

there is little evidence of such a modifi-

cation of the bladder and the bony walls

of the capsules are fairly compact

and solid. If my surmise about the

habitat of this species be found cor-

rect by later investig'ators, the modifi-

cation of its bladder could then be

accounted for in this way. From the

nature of the bladder there seems no

doubt that the immediate ancestors of

N. acuticephalus were inhabitants of

deep waters where the bladder served as Fig. 8.— Air-bladder of Nema-

a hydrostatic organ. On taking to chilus stewarti (Hora), x7$.

a burrowing mode of life the bladder

is becoming reduced again. If this

explanation be found correct then here we have a striking illus-

tration of the phenomenon of reversion in evolution on a grand

scale. The normal Cyprinoid bladder first became reduced in swift

currents and then in the calm and placid water of deep rivers and

lakes at high altitudes it regained its functional activity by under-

going a set of structural modifications. Later, on account of the

burrowing habit of the species it has started to retrograde. It

seems to me probable that environment is the supreme master of

most of the changes in animal organization and that organic

1 It may be remarked here that the other species of fish obtained by Dr. J.

Coggin Brown from the Hwe-gna-sang River belong to highly modified hill-

stream genera. •

382 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

evolution is a manifestation of the varied conditions under which

life can exist.

It has been remarked by Bridge and

Haddon that the assumption of a

purely ground habit of life is the most

important cause that has led to the

degeneracy of the air-bladder in so

many forms of fishes. I have also

subscribed to this view. The observa-

tions recorded above give the fullest

measure of support to this hypothesis,

for it is clear that as soon as a fish

gives up its ground habit of life, its

air-bladder begins to revert and to

function as a hydrostatic organ. It

seems to me probable that for a

similar reason the lungs of brook-

inhabiting Amphibians are reduced.

Noble’s recent explanation that the

‘increased oxygen contents of moun-

tain-stream water is one of the factors

permitting lung reduction in Amphibia

living in these waters* is true only to

a very limited degree. In 1923, I

made certain observations on the lungs

of two tadpoles, Rana afghana and Megalophrys parva. Both are

found living together in the small, torrential streams in the Khasi

Hills, the former adhering to the exposed surfaces of rocks and

stones in a swift current and the latter skulking under rocks or

among roots of vegetation in the same place. There is no

difference in temperature in the habitats of these two tadpoles and

vet in R . afghana the lungs are small and non-functional for the

entire period during which it lives in rapid waters and in the

tadpoles of M. parva the lungs are represented by two thin-walled

sacs which are distended by air-bubbles. These differences in the

lung* structure are correlated with the mode of life of these tadpoles.

The tadpoles of R. afghana lead a ground habit of life and in them

a pneumatic structure would have been distinctly harmful, whereas

the tadpoles of M. parva use their lungs as hydrostatic organs

when during periods of drought they are isolated in small pools and

puddles.

Noble has given several instances to show that the lung reduction

in the Amphibia is not confined only to torrent-inhabiting forms

and has supported his contention by remarking that the air-bladder

of fishes has been reduced or lost in other habitats besides the

mountain brooks. This is perfectly true, but the fact should not be

overlooked that wherever the reduction of the bladder, has been

observed it is known that those fishes lead a ground habit of life.

For instance in the mud-inhabiting Siluroids of India, such as

Cl arias and Saccobranchns, the air-bladder is greatly reduced and

is enclosed in bony capsules. The habitat of these fishes is very

different from that of the brook-inhabiting forms, yet the reduction

Fig. 9. — Air-bladder of Nema-

chillis acuticephalus Hora,

• xi5.

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION

383

of the air-bladder increases the specific gravity of both kinds of fish

so that they can remain near the bottom in their respective habitats.

I have shown elsewhere that animals living under different

conditions may be called upon to respond in similar fashion to a

common factor in their habitats, which would lead independently

to ‘functional adaptation to similar ends’ and thus result in

convergence of characters. In the study of ‘adaptations’ there are

two things to be considered, the modifications in the characters of

an organism and the factors that influence its life in an environment.

When the study of both of these problems goes hand in hand, there

is not the least doubt we shall have satisfactory data for the study

of the method of organic evolution.

The study of the characters of organisms is greatly advanced

but the study of environmental factors is still in its infancy. I shall,

therefore, state briefly what I mean by isolating and studying the

factors in an environment. It is usually considered enough for a

field collector1 to sweep the bed of a small torrential stream with

his bag-net and transfer his catch to a tube containing some alcohol

and label the entire lot ‘from a clear, rapid-running stream with

rocky bed and little vegetation. ’ Such a label is obviously

misleading for a brook consists of a series of rapids, falls and pools,

and generally flows over a rocky bed with tufts of mosses and

weeds covering rocks and stones here and there. The fauna of the

pools is different from that of the rapids and, again, the animals

that live on rocks in a rapid are different from those that live in the

moss. In October last I subjected to a thorough investigation

a small rapid in the stream below the Dumpep Dak Bungalow in

the Khasi Hills. The rapid was formed by a series of small falls

so that the water in falling over them sparkled and foamed and

appeared like a miniature silver cascade. At the base of the rapid

there was a broad basin formed by a single slab of stone over which

the water rushed with considerable speed. In the rapid itself

certain portions of rock were covered with moss while others were

quite bare. On the bare rock only nymphs of the mayfly genus

Bcetis were found while the moss harboured a fairly rich fauna.

Nymphs of Plecoptera and Ephemeroptera, larvae of Simulium,

Chironomidae, Trichoptera and of Elmis , two kinds of beetles and

two kinds of bugs were found in the moss. In the basin below

the rapid the substratum could be divided into three distinct regions,

namely, (i) bare rock, (ii) moss-covered rock, and (iii) rock covered

with tufts of the weed Eriocaulon miserum Kern. It may be

remarked that the current was not so swift in the basin as it was in

the rapid. The bare rock in the basin was inhabited by the nymphs

of Bcetis and a few Simulium larvae. The moss in this region

harboured a richer and more varied fauna than that found in moss

in the rapid. The weed Eriocaulon provided better shelter and

substratum for a foot-hold and, consequently, it contained the

richest fauna in this habitat. Lepidopterous and Coleopterous

1 I do not in any way want to discourage amateur collectors because their

collections are extremely valuable in increasing our knowledge of the general

fauna of the country.

15

384 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

larvae and Naucorid bugs were found among the roots of the

plants ; Simulium and Chironomid larvae were found on the exposed

surfaces of leaves and stems while several kinds of nymphs of

Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera, Rhyacophilid larvae of Trichoptera,

Elmid beetles and a few Planarians were found entangled among

the leaves and stems of plants. Thus there are three different

habitats into which the fauna of these weeds can be roughly divided

and the animals of each habitat are differently modified. My

collection from the habitats referred to above has not been worked

out yet and, therefore, I cannot go into greater details about animal

adaptations here, but I hope the broad outline of the classification

of habitats that I have laid before you is sufficient to show what

difference the nature of the substratum alone makes in the

distribution of the fauna even when all other factors remain the

same. The value of field observations is the greatest in the study

of animal ecology, and I do not see how it can be possible to

distinguish various ‘strata’ in an environment by carrying out

experiments, however detailed and elaborate, in a laboratory. I

believe that the place of field observation in the study of evolution

cannot be usurped. Experimental Zoology has its own role to

play, and I do not underrate its value. In this country we have

excellent opportunities in a field which is still so little explored.

The late Dr. N. Annandale directed our attention to the vast oppor-

tunities open to us in the study of zoology from a biological point of

view and Col. R. B. S. Sewell has impressed on us ‘the paramount

importance to this country of the study of Ecology and Bionomics.’

He advised us to go out and study the animals in their own surround-

ings. A suggestion was made by Col. Sewell that one or two

selected students from colleges and universities should accompany

Zoological Survey parties so as to be able to study the fauna cf

this country in its natural surroundings under the guidance of a

trained field worker. Unfortunately, no attention seems to have

been paid to this generous gesture of the Director, Zoological

Survey of India.

In making the above observations I do not for a moment

underrate the importance of experimental physiology, embryology,

morphology, taxonomy or genetics ; but I sincerely believe that the

most effective method of elucidating the why and wherefore of

Organic Evolution is to make direct observations on the organisms

and their environments. The fact should not be lost sight of that

the study of the latter is as important as the sudy of the animal

itself.

Literature.

Allen, E. J. ... The Origin of Adaptations. Nature for June 1, pp. 841-

843 (1929).

Annandale, N. ... Evolution Convergent and Divergent (Presidential Address)

Proc. Eleventh Ind. Sci. Cong., pp. 1-26 (1924).

Bridge, T. W. and

Haddon, A. C. ... Contribution to the Anatomy of Fishes. II. The Air-

bladder and Weberian Ossicles in the Siluro’d Fishes.

Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London (B) CLXXXIV, pp.

65-333 (1893).

STUDY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION 385

Hora, S. L.

Hora, S. L,

Huxley, J. S.

Kerr, J. G.

Noble, G. K.

Parker, To J. and

Haswell, W. A. ...

Sewell, R. B. S. ...

Watson, D. M. S. ...

Notes on Fishes in the Indian Museum. II. On Fishes

belonging to the family Cobitidae from high altitudes

in Central Asia. Rec. Ind. Mus. XXIV, pp. 63-83

(1922).

Observations on the Fauna of Certain Torrential Streams

in the Khasi Hills. Rec. Ind. Mus. XXV, pp. 579-600

(1923).

Notes on Fishes in the Indian Museum, XVII. Loaches

of the genus N emachilus from Burma. Rec. Ind. Mus.

XXXI, pp. 311-33, pis. XIV, XV (1929).

Mendelism and Evolution. Nature for April 19, p. 569

(1924).

Evolution (London : 1926).

The Adaptive Modifications of the Arboreal Tadpoles of

Hoplophyryne and the Torrent Tadpoles of Staurois.

Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. LVIII, pp. 291-334 (1929).

A Text-book of Zoology II, p. 668 (London : 1910).

The Study of Zoology in India in the Future. Proc.

Fourteenth Ind. Sci. Cong., pp. 177-187 (1927).

Adaptation. Nature for August 10, pp. 231-234 (1929).

THE VERNAY SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE

EASTERN GHATS.

ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION.

BY

N. B. KlNNEAR, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. AND H. WHISTLER, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.

Introduction.

In recent numbers of our Journal, the members of the Bombay

Natural History Society have been informed that a scientific sur-

vey of the Eastern Ghats was contemplated, and by the time that

this number of the Journal is issued from the press, the survey will

actually have been made and nearly completed. Some time will

necessarily lapse before the collections obtained are fully worked

out and the results available for publication ; but, in the meantime,

the Society is anxious that a preliminary report should appear, so

that members of the Society may learn somewhat of the progress of

the work.

The necessity of the survey from an ornithological point of view

does not require elaboration. All systematic workers at Indian

Ornithology have had practical experience of the fact that their

work was continually hampered in all directions by the absence of

specimens and field notes from practically the whole of the Madras

Presidency. The birds of the Nilgiris are fairly well known and

there are a good many specimens of Nilgiri birds in the British

Museum and other collections. With this local exception, it may

be stated in general terms that Dr. Jerdon’s old and poor speci-

mens in the British Museum said to come from ‘Madras \ but with

no reliable data, and Dr. Jerdon’s own field notes and observations

scattered through the volumes of his historic book comprise

almost the whole of the material available to represent the Madras

Presidency and the line of the Eastern Ghats and the low country

extending up the greater part of the East Coast of India.

This deficiency has been felt throughout the whole of Indian

Ornithology. It has been felt more seriously than ever since the

rise of the study of local geographical races or subspecies and their

expression in the trinomial system of nomenclature. That the

deficiency has been so greatly felt is not surprising. As is well

known, a very large number of Indian birds are widely distributed

in India, Burma and Ceylon, to say nothing of often a further

distribution beyond these countries. With such a wide distribution,

they have been subject to greatly differing influences of climate,

rainfall, soil and elevation and the effects are seen in the number of

geographical races into which the majority can be shown to fall.

There is now available to students of these effects of wide distri-

bution a great mass of material in the British Museum, the Indian

Museum, the Society’s collection and in a number of private

collections; but every student sooner or later finds his work

hampered and his conclusions rendered incomplete by the absence

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 387

of material representing Madras and the Eastern Ghats. When it

is remembered that in this area are situated the type localities for

names of many Indian birds, and those in some cases very common

ones, it will be realized that this gap in our material may often

have far-reaching results.

The hope of an Ornithological Survey of South-Eastern India has

therefore for a long time been in many minds. The fact that the

Society has at last been able to initiate such a survey has been due

to the generosity of one of its Vice-Patrons. The name of

Mr. A, S. Vernay is already well-known to Ornithologists, not only

in India but across the seven seas, as that of a patron to the

science who combines generosity with an ample appreciation of the

fields where such generosity may most advantageously be applied.

And they will not be surprised therefore to learn that, when

Mr. Vernay heard and appreciated the need of an Ornithological

Survey of South-East India, he took steps to make it possible. To

Mr. Vernay, in short, we are indebted for this present enterprise.

As soon as the survey was provided for, the Society took steps

to secure the advice and co-operation of the Indian Museum at

Calcutta. The result was that its scope was enlarged to include not

only birds but general collecting as well. When it took the field in

April 1929, the survey included the following personnel with the

duties detailed against them

Mr. V, S. LaPersonne (in charge of the Expedition) Birds.

Mr. N. A. Baptista i— -Mammals.

The programme for the survey was not left to chance, to be

decided as the work progressed by local attractions and facilities.

The Society first of all made a preliminary study of the various

districts through which the Eastern Ghats range, utilizing the aid

of physical maps and such data as was available in the various

local Gazetteers. The authorities of the Indian Museum were

consulted. Attention was also paid to the known geological

features of the area as well as the distribution of the forest areas

and the divisions of the hill ranges. The known type localities for

birds described by the early naturalists were also borne in mind.

Working with this collection of data, the Society fixed on a

programme of dates and camps as follows : —

1. Salem District. —

Time: April, May and June (Rainfall lO^;.

Collecting camps : Plains round Pondicherry, Hills—

Shevaroys.

2, Cuddapah District.—

Time : July, August and September (Rainfall 15r/),

Collecting camps : Palkonda Hills.

3, Kurnool District. — *

Time ; October-November (Rainfall IS'7).

Collecting camps : — Cumbum Valley, Nallamalai Hills.

4. Godavari District. —

Time : December (Rainfall nil).

Collecting camp : Godavari Delta,

-388 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, VoL XXKlV

5, Vizagapatam District

Time January, February and March ( Rainfall nil).

Collecting camp : Main Range, Trans-Ghat (Jeypore

Agency),

6, Ganjam District.—

Time : April-May (Rainfall nil).

Collecting camps : Russelkonda Hills, Plains, Chilka

Lake.

7, Balasore , Orissa .—

Time : June (Rainfall nil).

Collecting camps : Hills and Plains.

Up to the time of writing, this programme with small exceptions

has been kept to fairly closely and on the whole has proved very

satisfactory. When the Survey is complete, we shall place on

record a diary of the dates and places where the survey actually

worked.

The instructions given to Mr. LaPersonne to guide him in collect-

ing birds were necessarily of a general nature only. He was

warned that a good series from the different areas of common,

resident birds was the chief desideratum ; that such resident birds

were to be preferred to migrants from the north which were merely

passage birds or winter visitors in the area and so likely to have

little local significance. He was impressed with the need of

careful sexing of the specimens and the desirability of recording

the state of organs on the labels. He was also asked to furnish as

many field notes as possible.

Since the Survey took the field in April 1929, Mr. LaPersonne

has worked very carefully with these instructions in mind. He has

sent back batch after batch of beautiful specimens, the numbers

obtained and the standard of their preparation being all that could

be desired. Considering the time at his disposal both for collect-

ing, skinning, labelling and writing up his notes, and the fact that

he was continually working in localities of which he had no

previous knowledge, he is to be congratulated on doing well. The

Survey is already definitely a success, and when it is complete, we

may expect very real results from it.

It has not yet been possible to work out the results in detail.

When the Society’s Mammal Survey was initiated, our Journal was

able to furnish a series of reports of great interest straightaway

from the beginning. But this was because at that date the smaller

mammals of India were so little known that systematic collecting

in any district immediately produced a number of novelties either

in the way of undescribed forms or of extensions of range or

important additions to our knowledge of habits. This cannot be

with the present survey. The birds of India are well known and

probably few or no species remain unknown. A few geographical

races perhaps remain to be discovered and described, and there

is still a good deal of work to be done in reviewing the races and

the distribution of many of the better known species. Such work

is not spectacular ; it implies much study of the large series in the

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

389

British Museum and collation of existing literature ; and with the

material from South-Eastern India, which the Survey is now making-

available, this work can now be done more satisfactorily than ever

before. It is, however, obvious that it cannot be done before

the Survey is complete and the last specimen added to each series.

To attempt to work out or verify the races and distribution of

a common species when the first specimens come to hand from

the Salem district is to risk our conclusions being upset and the

work to be done anew when the series from the other collecting

camps is before us.

We are sure therefore the members of the Society will recognize

the need for patience. The specimens are being identified, measured

and catalogued as they reach the British Museum. Notes are

accumulating on the interesting points that arise from them. Then,

when the Survey is complete, each species will be examined afresh

and the detailed report written, making, we hope, a substantial

contribution to the Ornithology of India.

In the meantime, in order to give some idea of the manner

in which the work is proceeding, we have written a short account

of the material collected at the first camp in the Salem district.

This report shows the number of specimens obtained of each species

and the collector’s notes on their abundance or otherwise. 'I he

identifications are provisional, pending revision when the Survey

material is complete. For this reason we have often omitted

the trinomial. The notes of some of the early naturalists who

collected or received specimens from this part of India will be

of more than local interest. They furnish, incidentally, examples

of the haphazard way in which chance has fixed the type localities

of many species and races — a chance, which, crystallized by the

rigid application of the Law of Priority of Nomenclature, often acts

as a definite obstacle to a satisfactory classification of the local

races of a species.

With these preliminary remarks, we set before our members

a brief report from the first collecting camp.

REPORT I.

Kurumbapatti, Salem District.

April 9th to May 6th , 1929 .

Kurumbapatti is about 12 miles from Salem town, and about

half a mile from the southern foot of the Shevaroy Hills. The

members of the Survey reached Kurumbapatti on the 8th April, 1929,

and, by the courtesy of the officers of the Forest Department,

were allowed to put up in the Forest bungalow in the Kurumbapatti

Forest Reserve which made an ideal collecting ground. Large

tracts of secondary jungle occrr within a mile radius of the

bungalow, and practically the whole area between Salem town and

the foot of the Sbevaroys is covered with this jungle. 'I he whole

area is dry—in fact, to quote Mr. LaPersonne’s words — ! it would

almost seem as if the drier portion of the Kanara forests were lifted

en bloc and placed here,’

390 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

Kurumbapatti Forest Reserve is considered secondary jungle

from the point of view of the Forest Department. Bamboo grows

throughout the area, but it is not big enough to be of much com-

mercial value. The remainder of the Reserve is either ‘ Korunda ’

or large tracts of cactus and low scrub.

Large trees are few and chiefly tamarind, banyan or babul.

Except for a small patch on which Kurumbapatti village stands,

the soil is red. Open patches occur in the jungle either naturally

or cleared by the forest people. Bird life is varied and plentiful,

but scarcity of water, the paucity of open grazing and the attentions

of local shikaris have had a bud effect on game animals. Mr. LaPer-

sonne had hoped to work the southern slopes of the Shevaroys

from this camp, but the jungle proved to be almost impenetrable.

Collecting here was carried on under very pleasant conditions

so far as temperature was concerned. There was rain every

evening which kept the days cool, and heavy rain fell on five conse-

cutive days from the 24th to the 29th April. Continual mist and

heavy clouds could be seen shrouding the Shevaroys.

At this camp 197 birds were collected and a detailed list of them

now follows : — The specimens obtained are enumerated under each

species. All were collected at Kurumbapatti and its immediate

neighbourhood.

The Jungle Crow. Corvus coronoides culminatus Sykes.

Corvus cuhninatus Sykes. P.ZS., 1832, p. 96 (Deccan) .—Common through-

out the district both in villages and in the jungle. Birds carrying twigs noted

on 23rd April (V. S. LaP.).

The correct treatment of the Jungle Crows of India is still a matter requiring

further consideration. There are two main points at issue. First of all,

opinions differ as to whether they should be regarded as races of one widely

spread species occurring throughout the whole of South-Eastern Asia, with the

exception of a few islands, from the mouth of the Amur to Turkestan, south

to Ceylon and Tasmania and east to New Britain. In this case the oldest

specific name for the whole group is coronoides , the name given in 1826 by

Vigors and Horsfield to a crow from near Sydney. This type is in the British

Museum. The other view is that the crows of the area should be regarded as

falling into two species, each with its own races. Under this view coronoides

remains the name for the Australian forms, whilst our Indian races are

attributed to a separate species levaillanti of which the type comes from Java.

In India we are concerned with a second problem, the number of races to be

recognized and their correct names. The new edition of the Fauna recognizes

four races as follows : —

Corvus coronoides levaillanti, Lespon. Traite d’Orn., p. 328 (1831 — Bengal)

,, ,, culminatus , Sykes. P. Z. S., 1832, p. 96 (Deccan).

,, ,, intermedins, Adams. P. Z. S., 1859, p. 171 (Kashmir).

,, ,, andamanensis , Tytler. Beavan, Ibis, 1866, p. 420 (Port

Blair, Andamans).

These races are probably correct, so long as one recognizes the fact that in

the intermediate areas individuals cannot be definitely assigned to one or other

race. Meinertzhagen (Nov. Zool., xxxiii, 1926, p. 83) has, howevtr, raised the

theory that culminatus cannot stand for the South Indian and Singhalece race.

His argument is that the type specimen is abnormally small and evidently

a dwarf and that all other specimens from the Deccan are far larger and cleat ly

belong to the race levaillanti so that culminatus becomes a synonym of that

name. Whether his view is correct or not should be settled as our survey

progresses northwards to the area which lies along the south of Bengal down

towards the Deccan, and it is hoped that the Society’s collectois will pay special

attention in this area to the procuring of a very carefully sexed series of this

crow.

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

391

Should Meinertzhagen’s view be correct, Corvus coronoides ( levaillanti )

anthracinus (Madarasz). Ann. Mus. Nat. Hungar., 8, 1911, p. 420. (Ceylon)

becomes the correct name for the small crow of South India and Ceylon

to which our specimen clearly belongs. The measurements of all these races

of Jungle Crow within our limits require to be worked out de novo based on

carefully sexed specimens known to be in their breeding area. Average

measurements including both sexes and possible migrants are valueless.

Among the early writers on Indian birds the name of Col. W. H. Sykes

stands out prominently. His natural history studies were not confined to birds,

but he also collected mammals and fishes and contributed papers on them to

the Zoological Society. He took an interest in Geology and wrote along paper

on the Geology of the Deccan for the Indian Review.

Col, Sykes was born in 1790 and went out to India in 1803, receiving a com-

mission in the Bombay Army on May, 1 1804. He saw a good deal of service

during the Mahratta wars, commanding his regiment at the battles of Kirkee

and Poona and took part in the capture of many of the numerous hill forts

along the Western Ghats.

In 1820 he went on furlough to England and after spending four years at home

returned to India in 1824 when he was seconded from military duty and appoin-

ted Statistical Reporter to the Government of Bombay.

He held this post till December 1829, when it was abolished on the score of

expense. Sykes, however, offered— should he be relieved of military service —

to complete his report gratuitously. This offer, to the shame of the Bombay

Government, was accepted and Sykes continued to work at his report till

January 1831, when he finally returned to England. In the following year he

published in the P. Z. S. his well-known paper * A Catalogue of the Birds of the

Deccan.'

His specimens on which this paper was based were presented to the H. E. I.

Coy.’s Museum and, when that collection was broken up, passed to the British

Museum where they are now.

The country where Sykes collected his birds consists of the following

districts The whole of the Poona, Sholapur and Satara, the eastern part of

Bijapur and Ahmednagar, and the southern part of Nasik,

The House-Crow. Corvus splendens Vieillot.

Corvus splendens Vieillot, Nouv. Diet, d’ Hist. Nat., viii, 1817, p. 44

V 185 $ 4-5-29 ; V 186, 4-5-29.

Common in Salem Town but does not enter the jungles here. Specimens

obtained were that from a party which evidenty halted here on their way to the

Shevaroys. The whole flock flew off over the outer ridge of the Shevaroys.

From their genital organs, it would seem that they do not breed until late in

June. (V. S. LaP.}.

The Indian Tree=Pie. Dendrocitta rufa (Latham)

Corvus rufus Latham, Ind. Ornith., p. 161 (1790— Malabar coast).

V. 82 S 18-4-29. A very worn and bleached specimen

Common though scattered over the area. Specimens in moult, but others

were observed mating. Birds in full ‘ song ’. No other species of Dendrocitta

observed. (V.S. Lap.).

There is some divergence of opinion about the races of this species in our

Limits. The Fauna gives the following races : —

Dendrocitta rufa (Latham) loc. cit.

,, vagabunda — Latham. Index Orn., p. 171 (1790 — India restricted

to Calcutta) .

,, sclateri — Stuart Baker, F.BJ., 2nded. i., 50 (1922— Mr. Victoria) .

,, kinneari — Do. do. do. p. 51 (1922 — Toungoo).

,, saturation— Ticehurst, Bull. B.O. C., xlii, 56 (1922 — Kaukareyat,

Amherst) .

Ticehurst, however, who has carefully examined this group (Ibis, 1922, 537)

does not consider sclateri and kinneari worthy of separation but does recog-

nize pallida [Blyth, J.A.S.B., xv. 1846, p. 30 (Simla)] as a larger, paler race

from the North-WestHimalaya, Sind,Rajputana, Punjab, North-West Frontier.

While suspending final judgment until the survey is complete, we are inclined

to think that neither treatment of the group is satisfactory and that a regroup-

ing of the races is required.

16

392 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Latham’s name Corvus nifus is based on the description and plate of ‘La Pie

rouse de la Chine ’ in Sonnerat’s * Voyage aux hides Orientates et la Chine ’

pi. 106, p. 186.

This bird was said to have come from China, but as the species is not found

further east than Indo-China, there must have been some mistake and on that

account Baker has fixed ‘ Malabar ’ as the type locality.

Pierre Sonnerat was a French naturalist and traveller who was born at Lyons

in 1745 and died in Paris in 1814. He made two voyages to the East, but

the second was the one which he described in the above-mentioned work. He

set out in 1774 and after visiting Ceylon proceeded to the coast of Malabar

where he stayed at Mahe. After making excursions in the Ghats, he sailed up

the coast to Surat and from there proceeded to the Coromandel Coast where

he remained for some time and then went to the Malay Peninsula and China.

He later returned to South India and for two years travelled through the

province ‘ du Carnate, du Tanjaeur et du Madure. ’

His explorations were interrupted by the outbreak of war with Great Britain

and he was in Pondicherry when that town was besieged, and on its

surrender he returned to France. He died in Paris in 1814.

The Jungle Babbler. Turdoides terricolor (Hodgson).

Pastor terricolor Hodgs., J.A.S. B., v, p. 771 (1836 — Nepal).

V. 10 $ 10-4-29 ; V. 25^ 11-4-29 ; V. 35 12-4-29 ; V. 56 $ 15-4-29. V. 130

S 26-4-29 ; V. 135, 26-4-29.

A bird of the denser portions of the Reserve. There is no intermingling with

the next species which is more a bird of the neighbourhood of villages. (V. S.

LaP.).

There is such complete intergrading between the races of this bird that it is

difficult to define their distribution. We hope to discuss the point in detail

when the Survey is complete.

The White-headed Babbler. Turdoides polioplocamus Oberholser.

Turdoides striatus polioplocanius Oberh., Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 33, p. 84

(1920 — Carnatic).

V. 3. $ 9-4-29 ; V. 24 11-4-29 ; V. 34 12-4-29 ;

V. 90 J 19-4-29 ; V. 93, V. 97 $ 20-4-29 ; V. 110, 22-4-29 ;

V. 131-134 J S 26-4-29.

A common and confiding bird met with both in dense jungle and villages.

It may often be met with round the forest bungalows, particularly about the

kitchen. (V. S. LaP.).

We have kept this name as a binomial for the present as we are not yet

satisfied with regard to the exact relationship between the Singhalese bird

Turdoides striatus (Swains.) and these two continental species of Babbler.

Horsfield’s Sciniilar=Babbler. Pomatorhinus horsfieldi Sykes.

Pomatorhinus hors field i Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832, p. 89 (Deccan).

V. 122 J 24-4-29 ; V. 140-142 $ 27-4-29.

Neither seen nor heard before April 24th. That night there was very heavy

rain which continued for four or five days, during which period I heard the call

incessantly. (V. S. LaP.).

This is another species whose named races intergrade so completely through-

out its range that it is almost impossible to define the races or ranges.

The White=throated Babbler. Oumetia albigularls (Blyth).

Malacocercus albigularis Blyth, J .A.S.B. , XVI , p. 453 ( 1847 — Tapoor Pass) .

V. 37-39 & 13-4-29 ; V. 49 J 14-4-29 ; V. 107 $ 22-4-29 ;

V. 137-138 J 27-4-29 ; V. 56-157 J 0 ? 30-4-29.

These birds are all just completing an entire moult, and the organs are either

undeveloped or only of moderate size.

Common and met with practically wherever there are hedges and sparse

jungle (V. S. LaP.). This and D. hyperythra should probably be considered

as races of one species.

Described from a specimen collected by Dr. T. C. Jerdon at the top of the

Tapoor Pass near Jaulnah.

The Yellow=eyed Babbler. Pyctorhis sinensis (Gmel.).

Parus sinensis Gmel., Syst. Nat., I, p. 1012 (1789— China) .

V. 65 J 16-4-29 ; V. 106 J 22-4-29 ; V. 193-194^ ^ 6-5-29.

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS 393

V. 148 O ? 28-4-29.

A bird of hedges and sparse jungle. Not common and extremely shy.

Breeding ; though specimens are still in moult. Inside of mouth black ; orbital

skin and legs yellow or lemon -yellow. ( V. S. LaP.) .

It seems curious, though there is apparently no doubt of the fact, that the

Chinese and Indian birds are not separable. There is however some conflict of

opinion as to what races should be recognized in our area.

The new edition of the Fauna recognizes the following forms : —

Pyctorhis sinensis sinensis (Gmel.).

,, saturatior , Ticehurst, Bull. B.O.C., xlii ; p. 57 (1922— Bhutan

Duars) .

,, nasalis, Legge, Ann. Mag., N. //. , (5) iii, p, 169 (1879 — Ceylon).

Ticehurst, however, in his examination of the group ( Ibis 1922, 542) considers

that Franklin’s name hypoleucus ( P.Z.S. , 1831, 118) should be restricted to the

United Provinces and used for a paler race extending from Sind, North-West

Frontier Province and the Punjab to the United Provinces, Khandesh and

Kathiawar. We hope that a good series of this common bird wiil come in

from the Survey and help us to decide between these divergent views.

Latham in his General Synopsis of Birds , vol. ii, pt. 2, pp. 555, 783 first

described this bird from drawings in the possession of Capt. Broadley and said

it came from China, but he proposed no Latin name which was done later by

Gmelin.

The Spotted Babbler. PeHorneum ruficeps Swainson,

Pellorneum ruficeps Swainson, F. Bor. -Am.. Birds, p.487 (1831— Nilgiris).

V. 86 $ 19-4-29 ; V. 118-119 $ J 24-4-29 ; V. 183-184$ 4-5-29.

From their organs it was evident that the birds were soon to breed.

Not quite common, but possibly the birds were more common than they

appeared, owing to their skulking habits and the thickness of the undergrowth.

One was seen carrying nest material on April 17th (S. V, LaP.).

The above series appear to be indistinguishable from Nilgiri birds. Harring-

ton originally confined his dark race granti to Travancore and we are not

certain that the Fauna is right in attributing to it also the birds from Coorg,

the Wynaad and South-West Mysore. A fine series of this species is coming

in from some of the later collecting camps and it should be possible later on

to speak more positively of the distribution of the races of this common bird.

The Common lora. i€githina tiphia (L.)

Motacilla tiphia Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed X., p. 186 (1758— Bengal).

V. 18-19 S $ IT- 4-29 ; V. 42 $ 13-4-29 ; V. 77 $ 18-4-29 ;

V. 99-101 SJS 21-4-29; V. 189-190 SS 5-5-29.

Common throughout the district of Salem, ascending the hills to 4,000 ft.

Specimens vary in density of blackness on the upper parts. Breeding from

April to June. (V. S. LaP.).

The above males are all in full breeding plumage.

The nestling stage of this common bird is quite unknown and we would urge

the necessity of obtaining specimens in spirits in the hope that an examination

of the down plumage (if any) may throw some light on its affinities.

Linne took his description of the Common lora from the figure and descrip-

tions in part ii, p, 79, plate 79 of George Edward’s Natural History of Birds

(1747) , where it is called ‘ the Green Indian Flycatcher ’ and came, we are told,

f with others from Bengal ’ to Mr. Joseph Dandridge.

Of this Mr. Dandridge we know very little except that he lived in London at

Stoke Newington and was a pattern drawer in Moorfields by trade. He was

greatly interested in different branches of Natural History and had collections

of birds, lepidoptera and fungi. Of the first he had both eggs and specimens,

either stuffed or ‘ preserved dry ’, as well as a number of drawings. He

corresponded with John Ray in regard to his insects and many of the well-

known botanists of the day about his fungi.

Dandridge first allowed Albin to draw his birds and then, not being satisfied

with the results, induced Edwards to make paintings of them also, certainly

with better results.

Jerdon’s Chloropsis. Chloropsis jerdoni ( Blyth ) .

Phyllornis jerdoni Blyth. J.A.S.B., vol. xiii, p. 392 (1844— Goomsoor) V. 98

£ Imm. 20-4-29 ; V. 187 ad. 5-5-29.

394 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

No. V. 98 is a most interesting specimen in female dress with a body moult

into the adult male plumage just commencing. The position and affinities, of

the genus and the peculiar distribution of the various species are clearly not

fully Understood and their investigation may be commended to Ornithological

members of the Society. It is particularly desirable to obtain chicks in spirit

and skins exhibiting the juvenile plumages and the various moults.

The name jerdoni was proposed by Blyth for the bird identified by Jerdon as

cochinensis in his Catalogue No. 247 which he said he had obtained at Goomsoor,

the Tapoor pass and elsewhere. The first named place which is in the north

of Ganjam may be considered the restricted type locality.

The Redwented Bulbul. Molpastes hseraorrhous (Gmel.).

Muscicapa hcsmorrhous , Gmelin. Syst. Nat. i, 941 ( 1789— Ceylon ) . V. 50

A 14-4-29 ; V. 53.$ 14-4-29 ; V. 116 A 23-4-29.

Common and breeding throughout the district. Hard set eggs found on

23rd April. (V. S. LaP.).

The name Muscicapa Juzmorrhous was given by Gmelin to the bulbul from

Ceylon figured by Peter Brown in his New Illustration of Zoology , published in

1776. This work contained fifty illustrations of mammals, birds, reptiles and

insects which were accompanied by descriptions in French and English and a

number of the figures of birds were copied from a collection of paintings

belonging to Governor Loten.

John Gideon Loten was the Dutch Governor of Ceylon from 1752 to 1757

when he was transferred to Batavia. While in the East he employed an artist

to make paintings of different objects of Natural History, and, when he retired

in 1758, he brought these paintings with him to Holland.

A few years ago the British Museum was fortunate enough to acquire this

collections of drawings wffiich consists of 101 sheets of birds, 5 of mammals,

10 of insects, 14 of fishes, etc., and 14 of plants, and represents species found

in Ceylon, Java and other Islands of the Indian Archipelago which belonged'

to the Dutch..

Some of these drawings were, as we have noted, copied by Peter Brown

while others were used by Pennant and Forster in the different editions of

the Indian Zoology. r.

The Southern Red=whiskered Bulbul. Otocompsa emeria fuscicaudata Gould.

Otocompsa fuscicaudata Gould , P.Z.S., 1865, p. 664 (Madras). V. 70-72-73.

$ AC 17-4-29 ; V. 152 A 29-4-29.

Common but not quite so plentiful as M. hcemorrhous . Breeding in hedges.

(V. S. LaP.).

The White»browed Bulbul. Pycnonotus lufeolus (Lesson).

Hczmatornis luteolus Lesson, Rev. Zool. p. 354 (1840— India, Bombay)'

V. 11 $ 10-4-29 ; V. 79 $ 18-4-29 ; V. 165 $ 1-5-29. , '

Extremely common in jungle and village hedges. I do not think there is a

space of ten square yards that does not harbour this bird.

He has a lively, rowdy chatter with no attempt at harmony — just a burst of

not unpleasing notes, ending in a frightened whistle They are busy at

present chasing each other round, but I have not observed any signs of nest

building. The organs of the above are slightly developed. (V. S. LaP.).

The above birds agree with the topotype from Bombay. When the Survey

series is complete and full measurements are available for the two sexes, it will

be necessary to settle the question as to the validity of a supposed smaller race

in Ceylon.

The Southern Pied Bush-chat. Saxicola caprata atrata (Blyth.).

Pratincola atrata Blyth, J.A.S.B., xx, p. 177 (1851— Ceylon) V. 8

A 9-4-29 ; V. 164 ^30-4-29.

Only two specimens were seen in and around the village here, both males

with well developed testes. (V. S. LaP.).

Dr. Kelaart, who sent this bird to Blyth, under the above name but did not

himself describe it, was born in Ceylon in 1860. His father was a ‘ burgher ’

of Dutch descent employed in the Military Medical department. At an early

age young Kelaart was sent to England to study medicine and surgery and,

after taking his diploma, was appointed Staff Assistant Surgeon to the troops

stationed at Gibraltar. While there he occupied himself with studying Marine

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

395

Zoology and in making a collection of the plants found in British territory,

an account of which he published under the title Flora Calpineses. Later, he

was transferred to the Ceylon Medical Service and there busied himself in

his leisure time with the study of the fauna of the island. On account of

ill-health, he was ordered to England in 1860 and died at sea on the way on

August 31st at the age of forty-two. Kelaart was a regular correspondent of

Blyth’s and though he did not himself shoot, he procured many interesting

and new specimens of birds and mammals from others. Most of his specimens

were obtained in the vicinity of Newara Elia.

He is best known by his Prodrotnus Fauna published in 1852 in which the

accounts of mammals and reptiles are much superior to that on the birds.

For the latter he relied to a very great extent on the work of E. L. Layard and

unfortunately published his list without that Ornithologist first revising it.

The Black-backed Indian Robin. Saxicoloides fulicata (L.).

Motacilla fulicata Linnaeus, Syst. Nat, vol. i, p. 336 (1766— -Philippines in

error, Ceylon). V. i, $ 9-4-29 ; V. 31 J 12-4-29 ; V. 153 J 29-4-29.

Common in open patches and around villages. One chick seen in a nest on

April 15 (V. S. LaP.).

The Magpie Robin. Copsychus saularis (L.).

Gracula saularis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X, p. 109 ( 1758—— Bengal) . V. 71,

d 17-4-29.

Abundant, met with alike in forest and open secondary jungle. (V. S. LaP.).

This name was given by Linne to the bird figured and described by Edwards

as ‘ the Little Indian Pye ’ [Birds, pt. iv, p. 181, pi. 181). Both sexes were

described, but only the male figured ' They wrere sent from Bengal, preserved

dry, to the late Mr. Joseph Dandridge of Moorfields, London’, Edwards tells

us, arid adds that the sender called them ‘ Dyals.’ Albin also depicted this

species and called it the Bengal Magpie, while Petiver in Ray’s Synopsis

Methodica Avium et Piscum, p. 197, pi. 2 Nos. 19 and 20, calls them cock

and hen Saularies.

The Indian Sharna. Kittacincla malabarica (Scop.).

Muscicapa malabarica Scopoli, Del, Flora et. Fauna Insubr. II, p. 96

(1786— Mahe).

V. 29 S 11-4-29 ; V. 33 12-4-29 ; V. 109 ? 27-4-29.

From the organs the above birds appeared about to breed.

Richmond has pointed out ( Proc . U. S. Nat. Mus., XXVI, 1903, p. 152) that

Scopoli gave the above name to Sonnerat’s * Les Gobe-mouches a longue

quequede Gingi ’ (toy. Aux. Ind. etc., p. 196) and by mistake refers also to

plate III which is a drongo, but the description is quite clear and the name

must stand. Sonnerat, though he writes ‘ Le Gobe-mouche etc-de Gingi ’

states that the bird came from the Malabar Coast and so the neighbourhood of

Mahe must stand as the type locality.

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher. Cyornis tlckellia Blyth.

Cyornis tickellice Blyth, J.A.S.B., xii, 941 (1843 — Borabhum, Central

India) .

V. 22-23 $ S 11-4-29 ; V. 115 ^ 23-4-29 t V. 149 £ 28-4-29 ; V. 170 2-5-29.

Not common. Breeding in jungle. Organs developed. (V,S. LaP.).

Col. S. R. Tickell who collected the specimen described by Blyth went out to

India in 1829 when he was appointed to the 31st Bengal Native Infantry.

In 1834 he passed into civil employ and served for some years as Political

Assistant, S. W. Frontier, i.e., the S. W. Frontier of the Bengal Presidency of

these days.

He was greatly interested in Natural History and in 1833 published a paper

in volume ii of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal entitled 1 A list of the Birds collected

in the Jungles of Barabhum and Dhalbhum ’. In this article he gives notes

on fifty-four different species of birds, thirty-six of which he described as new.

His paper ‘ On the Ornithology of India : A description of the eggs, also

nests of several birds of the plains of India collected chiefly during 1845-46’

which appeared in the Asiatic Society's Journal , vol. xvii (1848) was the first

account of the eggs of Indian birds’ eggs nesting in the plains.

In 1847 he was transferred to Arakan and served in Burma for the rest of his

service. He died in 1875.

396 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vo/ . XXXIV

The Paradise Flycatcher. Terpsiphone paradisi paradisi (L.).

Corvus paradisi Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, p. 107 (1758— Fort Saint George,

Madras).

V. 30 J 12-4-29 ; V. 36 J 12-4-29 ; V. 60 $ 15-4-29.

V. 125 J 25-4-29.

The organs of the birds were scarcely developed.

The first reference quoted by Linne is that of Ray in Synopsis Methodica

Avium et Piscum published in 1713. In this work there is an account illus-

trated by Petiver of some birds from Madras founded on pictures and descrip-

tions sent him by Dr. Edward Bulkley.

The drawings a're crude woodcuts, but certain of the species— especially the

Pied Bird of Paradise as it is called — are easily identified

Dr. Bulkley was a surgeon in the East India Company’s employ at Madras

and went out there in 1692. He was appointed to take charge of the hospital

and held various other medical appointments till 1709, when he resigned on

account of ill-health. In the same year he was appointed to the Company’s

local Council and served as member of Council and Paymaster till 1713, when

he had again to resign on account of health and shortly afterwards died.

Bulkley was said to be a man of great ability and energy and did much to

improve the hospital and medical arrangements in Madras.

He appears to have been interested in Natural History and sent plants and

insects to Petiver, besides the drawings above referred to.

The Black-naped Flycatcher. Hypothymis azurea sykesi S. B.

Hypothymis azurea sykesi Stuart Baker. Bull. B. O. C., xl, p. 6 (1920—

Deccan)

V. 55 J 15-4-29 ; V. 66 $ 16-4-29 ; V. 96 J 20-4-29.

V; 121 2 24-4-29 ; V. 163 J 1-5-29.

Not very common. Met within thick jungle, particularly in shady nullahs

overhung by lofty trees. (V. S. LaP.) .

The White-spotted Fantail Flycatcher. Rhipidura pectoralis (Jerdon).

Leucocerca pectoralis Jerdon, iii, Ind. Orn. Text to pi. ii, (1847 — Nilgiris).

V. 108 2 22-4-29 ; V. 195 cf 6-5-29.

Not common and met with only in dense jungle. (V. S. LaP.).

Jerdon in his catalogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India published in

the Madras Jour . Litt. andSci. (1839-44) mentions under the head of Leucocirca

fuscoventris (Frank!.) that he had seen a fantail flycatcher in the Nilgiris

but had been unable to obtain a specimen. When visiting these hills some years

later, he obtained specimens and found the bird was a new species and named

it as above.

The Bay-backed Shrike. Lanius vittatus Valenc.

Lanius vittatus Valenc., Diet. Sci. Nat., xl, p. 227 ( 1826— Pondicherry).

V. 102 C 21-4-29 ; V. Ill — 112 2 J 22-4-29.

Both males are remarkable for the extent of the black forehead and its con-

trast with a practically white patch behind it.

The type of this shrike was collected by M. Leschenault de la Tour, a French

naturalist and traveller, born in 1773. He visited India in 1816, remaining some

time at Pondicherry and then travelling up the line of the Ghauts to Bengal

from where he went to Ceylon returning to France in 1822. In the following

year he visited South America. He died in Paris in 1826.

The Southern Grey-backed Shrike. Lanius schach caniceps Blyth.

Lanius caniceps Blyth, J. A. S. B., xv, 302 (1846— Madras).

Not common. Specimens were shot in cactus-covered country and were cer-

tainly breeding in the vicinity. (V. S. LaP.).

When describing their species in the Journal of the Asiatic Society , Blyth,

had, according to his catalogue, examples from (1) Rajmahal, (2) Sind and (3)

South India. As (1) and (2) are presumably erythronotus . the northern form, the

bird from South India must be the type. It was presented by D. Ross and came

from the vicinty of Madras.

The Brown Shrike. Lanius cristatus cristatus Linnaeus.

Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, p. 93 (1758— Bengal).

V, 12 2 10-4-29 ; V. 32 $ 12-4-29 ; V. 103 ^ 21-4-29 ; V. 139 27-4-29.

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN CHATS

297

The organs are undeveloped in the above birds and three of them are under-

going a complete, moult, contrary to the statement in the Fauna that all the

shrikes have only an autumn moult. The distribution given there that in

winter this shrike is found practically throughout Northern India as far south as

Mt. Abu on the west and Orissa on the east is incorrect. It is not found in

the Punjab, the N. W. F. Province or Sindh, but, to quote Oates, it is a winter

visitor to the whole of the Empire except that portion lying to the west of a line

roughly drawn from the Sutlej Valley to Mount Abu ; Ceylon ; the Andamans.

The specimen Linne took his description from was a young example, with

cross bars still on the breast, figured by Edwards in his Nat. Hist. Birds , p.

54, pi. 54 and called the Crested Red or Russet Butcher bird. It was sent

to Dandridge from Bengal.

The Common Wood-Shrike. Tephrodornis pondiceriana (Gmel.)

Muscicapa pondiceriana Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i, p. 939 (1789— Pondicherry) .

V. 89 $ 19-4-29 ; V. 178-179 £ 3-5-29.

It is evident from the organs of these birds that the breeding season was

beginning.

Gmelin took his description from Sonnerat’s ‘ Les gobe-mouches de Pondi -

cherry ’ ; Voy. aux Ind. Orient, et la Chine , p. 198, 17.

The Small Minivet. Pericrocotus peregrinus (Linnaeus).

Parus peregrinus Linn., Syst. Nat., i, p. 342 (1766-— Umbala).

V. 113-114 c? $ 23-4-29.

Both specimens had the organ well advanced. Others were seen always in

pairs (V. S. LaP.).

We are not yet satisfied as to the necessity for the changing of the well-

established name of this species to cinnamomeus (vide Bull. B. O. C., xlix,

p. 63). This point and the question of races we propose to discuss later when

the survey material is complete.

The Black- headed Cuckoo- Shrike. Lalage sykesi Strickland.

Lalage sykesi Strickland. Annals Mag. Nat. Hist. , (1) xiii, p. 36 (1344—

Calcutta).

V. 196 $ 6-5-29.

In complete moult, more than one specimen was observed but only one

secured. Birds were seen to mate on A.pril 27. Not very common though

during the first week in May, their numbers increased (V. S. LaP.).

The Large Cuckoo-Shrike. Grauculus macei Lesson.

Grauculus macei Lesson, Traite, p. 349 (1831— Bengal ) .

More or less common though not in pairs. Identified with field-glasses, but

no specimens procured (V. S. LaP.).

The Ashy Swallow=Shrike. Artamus fuscus Vieillot.

Artanius fuscus Vieill., Nouv. Diet, d’ Hist. Nat,, xvii, p. 297 (1817— Bengal)

V. 173 $ 2-5-29.

The only specimen seen but it apparently had flying young. (V. S. LaP.).

The chick in spirit of this bird is badly needed for examination.

The King-Crow. Dicrurus macrocercus Vieillot.

Dicrurus macrocercus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet, d’ Hist. Nat., ix. p.588 (1817—

India, restricted to Orissa.) V. 94 2 20-4-29.

Common and breeding all over the area. Nest with eggs seen on April 9.

(V. S. LaP.).

It is hoped that the Survey will get a good series of King Crows of any

species which are known to be on their breeding ground. Until carefully sexed

series are available of such birds, it will be impossible to disentangle races of

these birds. Measurements which do not distinguish the sexes and which

probably include local birds and migrants from elsewhere are quite valueless.

At present many of the species of this group must be considered to be in

confusion.

The Ashy Drongo. Dicrurus leucophasus Vieillot.

Dicrurus lencophceus Vieillot, Diet, d’ Hist. Nat. Nouv., ed. ix, p. 587 (1817-

Java) V.74$ 17-4-29.

398 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

This is another species of the genus which appears to be still in confusion

and the collectors require to obtain as much further material as possible.

The White^bellied Drongo. Dicrurus coerulescens (Linnaeus).

Lanius coerulescens Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. xii, p. 134 (1766 -Bengal) . V. 2,

2 9-4-29 ; V. 57 J 15-4-29 ; V. 175 J 3-5-29.

Common all over the area. Nest with 2 young seen in May. (V. S. LaP.)

The connection between the White-bellied Drongos of India and Ceylon is

still obscure and requires working out fresh.

The Large RackeLtailed Drongo. Dissemurus paradiseus (Linnaeus).

Cuculus paradiseus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xii, p, 172 (1766 — Siam).

No specimens secured. Birds are not common and keep well in the thickest

jungles. (V.S.LaP.).

Brisson in his Ornithologie , vol. iv, 1760, p. 151, pi. 14, gave a figure and

described this bird from a drawing cf alive bird made by M.D. Poivre.

Blyth’s Reed-Warbler. Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth.

Acrocephalus dumetorum Blyth, J. A. S. B., xviii, 815 (1849— India) V. 17 2

11-4-29 ; V. 40-41 $ $ 13-4-29 ; V. 69$ 17-4-29 ; V. 159 J 3-4-29.

Strickland pointed out to Blyth that ‘ Calamoherpe montana of India is not

the same as Horsfield’s montana , in which the wing is 2 in. long, graduated ;

the 5th quill longest ’ and on that account the Indian bird required a new

name. Blyth therefore gave it the name as above.

The Indian Tailor-Bird. Orthotomus sutorius (Pennant).

Motacilla sutoria Pennant, Ind. Zool., p. 7 (1769-Ceylon) . V. 46-48 $

14-4-29 ; V. 62-63 $ $ 16-4-29 ; V. 84 19-4-29 ; V. 88 $ 19-4-29 ;

V. 120 2 24-4-29.

Common in bamboo forest and secondary jungle (V.S. LaP.).

Pennant, not Forster as given in the second edition of the Fauna , described

the Tailor Bird in 1769.

After Governor Loten returned from the East he came to London and

there met Thomas Pennant, the author of British Zoology and a great corres-

pondent of Gilbert White’s. He showed him his collection of paintings and

Pennant suggested that they should be published in a book to be called

Indian Zoology for which he would write the letterpress and the cost of

reproducing the plates would be paid for by Sir Joseph Banks, Loten and

himself.

This arrangement did not work well and the book was brought out before

all the plates were reproduced. Pennant then suggested that J. R. Forster, a

German naturalist at the time in England, who had accompanied Cook on his

second voyage, should be given the remainder of the plates and asked to bring

out another edition . This was agreed to and Forster returned to Germany taking

with him three unpublished plates. In 1781 Forster published his Zoologia

Indica or Indesche Zoologie , in German and Latin. It contained the same

plates as Pennant’s edition together with three extra ones.

Franklin’s Wren=Warbler. Franklinia gracilis (Franklin).

Prinia gracilis Franklin, P. Z. S., 1831, p. 119 (Vindhyani Hills). V. 52

$ 4-4-29.

Major James Franklin, who described this species, was an officer in the

1st Bengal Cavalry and was a very keen geologist. He made several expedi-

tions into different parts of the Central and United Provinces for the purpose of

investigating the rocks and studying their stratification.

In the end of 1828, or early in 1829, he set out from Calcutta and proceeded

by boat up the Ganges to Monghyr where he arrived on January 14th. He

had been specially requested by the Asiatic Society to collect birds, and by

the time he reached Monghyr, he was able to report to the Society that he had

secured forty specimens along the banks of the river. Continuing up the

Ganges as far as Mirzapur, he then left the river and proceeded southwards to

the Tons valley thence westwards via Semaria, Hatta, Sohawal and

Narsingarh to Saugor. From there he went S, E. to Deori, and the Bhanner

Hills to Jubbulpore where he arrived on July 12th. Some two hundred birds

were collected, which he handed over to the Society, who in turn presented

them to the Zoological Society.

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

399

Franklin must have collected carefully, as his collection included the

Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch, Spotted Tree-Creeper and Franklin’s Nightjar

and, in addition to the skins, he had made coloured drawings of all the birds

while fresh. These drawings were exhibited along with the skins before the

Zoological Society in September 1830, but now appear to have disappeared.

Franklin fully described his collection in the Proceedings of the Zoological

Society for 1831 aud there enumerated 156 species, of which thirty he described

as new.

The Greenish Willow=Warbler. Phylloscopus nitidus viridanus Blyth.

Phylloscoptis viridanus Blyth, J.A.S.B., xii, 967 (1843— Calcutta) V. 12 2

10-4-29 ; V. 76 J 17-4-29 ; V. 161 $ 1-5-29.

Extremely fat and probably on migration (V. S. LaP.), The above speci-

mens show that this species undergoes a complete spring moult in April.

The Large Crowned Willow=Warbler. Phylloscopus occipitalis occipitalis (Blyth).

Phyllopneuste occipitalis Blyth. J. A. S. B., xiv, p. 593 (1845— Nellore) V. 54

J 1-5-29.

Very fat and also probably on migration.

Blyth said that the bird he described was sent to him from S. India by

Dr. Jerdon and according to the latter’s Birds of India . vol. i, p. 196, the

bird came from Nellore.

The Ashy Wren-Warbler. Prinia socialis .Sykes.

Prinia socialis Sykes. P.Z.S., 1832, p. 89 (Deccan). V. 64 O ? 16-4-29 ; V. 136

26-4-29; V. 145-147 $ $ 28-4-29. Shot in the open jungle. Do not enter dense

forest. (V. S. LaP.).

The Jungle Wren=Warbler. Prinia sylvatica Jerdon,

Prinia sylvatica Jerdon, Madras Jour . L. S., xi, p, 4 ( 1840— Seegar, Nilgiris)

V. 87 J 19-4-29.

The Indian Wren=Warb!er. Prinia inornata Sykes.

Pinia inornata Sykes. P. Z. S., 1832, p. 89 (Deccan). V. 162 $ 1-5-29.

The races of all these species of Wren-Warbler appear to require revision

and it is hoped that the Survey will obtain sufficient material for this to be

possible.

The Black=headed Oriole. Oriolus xanthornus (Linnseus) .

Coracias xanthornus Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. x, p 108 (1758— Bengal). Speci-

mens observed through field glasses but none obtained. (V. S. LaP.).

Linne based his description on the Black-headed Icterus from Bengal in

Edward’s Birds , pt. ii, p. 77, pi. 17.

The Black-headed Mynah. Temenuchus pagodarum (Gmel).

Turdus pagodarum Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i, p. 816 (1789 — Malabar). V 83 2

1-8-4-29 ; V. 158 J 30-4-29.

Solitary pairs observed feeding round villages (V.S. LaP.).

The Baya Weaver. Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus).

Loxia philip pina Linn. Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i, p. 305 (1766 — Ceylon) V 26

$ V. 28 J 11-4-29 ; V. 150 J 28-4-29 ; V. 166-168 1-5-29.

All the males are in very fresh eclipse plumage with no sign of moult.

Common and going about in large flocks of 20 to 30 individuals. Specimens as

early as 11th April show increase in size of testes and latterly they showed more

development. Still in large flocks on 6th May. (V. S. LaP.).

The survey should pay particular attention to these weavers as it is evident

that their status and movements, their plumages, and their races are not yet

fully understood.

Linne gives the type locality as the Philippines, but in this he had been

misled by Brisson wffio gave a description of this Weaver in his Ornitholcgie ,

stating that the specimen he had seen was from these islands in the collection

of M. L’Abbe Aubry. No true Ploceus inhabits the Philippines and the

description agrees with bird inhabiting South India and Ceylon.

17

400 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

The White»backed Munia. Uroloncha striata (Linnaeus).

Loxia striata Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. xiii, p. 306 (1766— Ceylon). Speci-

mens seen but none secured. Towards the end of April, I noticed a total

absence of these birds and they had apparently left the neighbourhood,

(V. S. LaP.).

The Common Rosefmch. Carpodacus erythrinus roseatus (Hodgson).

Erythrospiza? roseata Blyth J. A. S. B., 1842, p. 461 (Calcutta). V. 171-2

$ 2-5-29.

Shot feeding on the figs of a Banyan tree. Extremely fat and with the organs

quite undeveloped. (V. S. LaP.).

The Madras BushdLark. Mirafra assamica affinis Jerdon.

Mirafra affinis Jerdon, Madr. Jour. Lit. Sci., xiii, pt. 2, p, 136 (1844-45

Goomsor in Gangam. V. 7 9-4-29 ; V. 9 $ 18-4-29 ; V. 43 $ 13-4-29 ; V.

61 $ 16-4-29 ; V. 75 17-4-29 ; V. 123 $ 24-4-29 ; V. 126 $ 25-4-29.

Fairly common in open patches though I have met them in the jungles

where they nest most probably. The soil on which they were living (sample

kept) appears to be a mixture of red and cotton soil. The above specimens

were in varying degrees of genital development. (V. S. LaP.).

loten’s Purple Sunbird. Cinnyris lotenia (Linnaeus.).

Certhia lotenia Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., i, p. 188 (1766— Ceylon) . V. 21 $

11-4-29 ; V. 83 A, V. 85 $$ 19-4-29 ; V. 151 -29-4-29.

Sun birds in general were common throughout the jungle tracts. (V. S.

LaP.).

The huge beak of this species is very noticeable and the measurements given

for it in the new edition of the Fauna are far too small. Linne’s description is

based on a drawing or actual specimen of the bird sent to him by J. C. Loten,

which he had obtained while in Ceylon as Governor.

The Purple -rumped Sunbird. Cinnyris zeylonica (Linnaeus).

Certhia zeylonica Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., i, p. 181 (1766 — Ceylon).

V. 20 c? 11-4-29 ; V. 67 16-4-29 ; V. 146 28-4-29 ; V. 176 $ 3-5-29.

Special attention will have to be paid to this sunbird as the Survey moves

northward as its range is very imperfectly known up the east side of India.

This bird like the last was received by Linne from J. G. Loten.

The Indian Pitta. Pitta brachyura (Linnaeus).

Corvus brachyurus Linn., Syst. Nat., ed. xii, i, p. 158 (176— Ceylon) .

V. .15 (J 11-4-29 ; V. 27 $ 11-4-29 ; V. 68 16-4-29.

Common and breeding throughout Kurumbapatti Forest area in dense forest,

(V. S. LaP.).

The account in the Fauna of this bird which is described as a resident rather

obscures the real position. Amongst those species which are confined to the

Indian Empire, it is one of the most marked migrants moving from north to

south in the autumn passage and vice versa in spring in vast multitudes.

Long ago Jerdon described the way that exhausted birds on passage took re-

fuge in bungalows and outhouses.

Linne took his description from Edwards’s Short-tailed Pye {Gleanings in

Natural History , p. 242, pi. 324). This bird had been figured already by Albin,

and Edwards is very scathing of his picture and writes ‘ Albin has figured this

bird from a bad drawing done in India, which I have seen at Mr. Dandridge’s,

though Albin would have the world believe his draught was from Nature.’

The specimen figured came from Ceylon and was presented by Governor

Loten to the British Museum .

The Yellow=fronted Pied Woodpecker. Leiopicius mahrattensis (Latham).

Ficus mahrattensis Latham, Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxi (1801 — Belgaum).

V. 191-192 rfcf 6-5-29.

In pairs. Not plentiful. (V. S. LaP.).

Originally described from a specimen in the British Museum from the

Mahratta country. The specimen is no longer in existence.

Pygmy Woodpecker. Yutigipicus hardwickii hardwickii (Jerdon.).

Ficus hardzmckiiy Jerdon, Mad. Jour. Litt. and Sci., xiii, p 138, 1844

(Wynaad-Baker.).

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

401

V. 12S. 25-4-29.

We have provisionally listed this specimen as hardwickii , but when further

material is available, we think there will have to be some alterations in regard

to the names of these woodpeckers.

The Golden=backed Woodpecker. Bracbypternus benghalensis puncticollis (Malherbe)

Brachypternus puncticoliis Malherbe, Rev. Zool,, 1S45, p. 405 (Nilgiris).

V. 129 $ 25-4-29 ; V. 154 29-4-29,

Fairly common though spread over a wide area (V. S. LaP.).

This is another of the common and widespread species of India of which the

races appear to require further consideration.

Malherbe in his original description says the bird he described came from the

Nilgiris and not Ceylon as given in the second edition of the Fauna .

The Common Hawk=Cuckoo. liierococcyx varius (Vahl),

Cuculus varius Vahl, Skriv. Nat, Selsk., iv., p. 61 (1797— Tranquebar),

V. 78 $ 18-4-29 ; V, 143 ^ 27-4-29,

Quite common and heard thrpughout the day and part of the night. The

female secured was about to lay. The gizzard contained ‘ beetles, ants,

crickets and one large spider.’ (V. S, LaP.),

The Pled”crested Cuckoo. Clamator jacobinus taprobanus Hartert.

Clamator jacobinus taprobanus Hartert, Nov. Zool., xxiii, p. 254 ( 1915 —

Ceylon) .

V. 95 $ 20-4-29 ; V. 105 J 21-4-29 ; V. 127 ^ 25-4-29 ; V. 155 £ 29-4-29.

The earliest specimen secured was on April 20th, and from that date they

seemed to increase in numbers. By the first week in May, all parts of the

jungle had a pair of these birds : at least so it seemed from their noisy courting,

(V. S. LaP.).

The above series is of considerable interest. All are in rather worn plumage

without any sign of moult and on the label of the female, the collector has

noted that she was laying eggs. From their small size the birds evidently

belong to the small southern race, originally described from Ceylon and it is

noteworthy that they arrived in the Salem District and commenced breeding

about two months before a larger race is accustomed to arrive and breed in

Northern India. It will be remembered that in a recent number of the Journal ,

our members were asked to collaborate in working out the migrations of this

Cuckoo, and this evidence tends to support the theory that the winter

quarters of the typical form are not in South India, and therefore probably in

Africa.

The Small Green-billed Malkoha, Rhopodyfes vlridirostris (Jerdon),

Zanclostomus viridirostris Jerdon, Madras Jour. Lit. Set,, xi, p. 223 (1840—

Coonoor).

V. 58-59 $ 15-4-29.

Common and breeding in Kurumbapatti Forest Reserve (V. S. LaP.).

The Blossom-headed Parrakeet. Psittacula cyanoceph&la (Linnaeus).

Psiltacus cyanocephalus Linn., Syst. Nat., i, p. 141, No. 10 (1766— India.

Oriental!— Gingee) .

V. 4 9-4-29.

This parrakeet was described from the description given by Brisson in

vol. iv, p. 343, of his Ornilhologie published in 1766. In this work the letter-

press is in Latin and French. The bird is said to have been in the collection

of M. L’Abbe Aubry and to have come from ‘ Ginginiano Regno in India

Orientale, ’ i.e. Gingee in the South Arcot District,

The Little Green Bee-eater. Merops orientalis Latham.

Merops orient alis Latham, Ind, Orn. Suppl., pi, xxxiii (1801— Mahratta

country).

V. 173 $ 2-5-29.

Fairly common. Birds were incubating on my arrival on 9th April. A nest

was located in an old stone wall, (V, S. LaP,) .

402 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

The Gammon Grey Hornbill. Lophoceros birostris (Scopoli).

Buceros birostris Scop., Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr., ii, p. 87 (1786 —

Coromandel).

Several seen and they appear to be breeding. No specimens secured.

They are extremely shy, most probably on account of being slaughtered for

food by the local shikaris. (V. S. LaP.).

The Palm=Swift. Tachornis batasiensis (J. E. Gray).

Cypselus batasiensis J. E. Gray in Griff. An. Kingd., ii, p. 60 (1829— India,

Calcutta).

V. 5 J ; V. $ 9-4-29.

Appear to be common. (V. S. LaP.).

The Spotted Owlet. Athene brama (Temminck).

Strix brama Temminck. PI. Col., pt. 68, (1823 — Pondicherry).

V. 51 $ 14-4-29.

A single specimen secured. Birds were heard in the forest. (V. S. LaP.).

The Southern Green Pigeon. Crocopus phoenicopterus chlorogaster (Blyth) .

Vinago chlorogaster Blyth, J. A. S. B., xii, pt. i, p. 167 ( 1843— Indian

Peninsula) .

V. 144 J 28-4-29.

Not common here. (V. S. LaP.).

The Imperial Green Pigeon. Muscadivora aenea pusilla (Blyth).

Carpophaga pusilla Blyth, J. A. S. B., xviii, p, 816 (1849— Nilgiris).

V. 14 $ 10-4-29.

Ovaries slightly developed. Not common. Shot from a party of four,

(V. S. LaP.).

The reference to this bird in the Fauna , 2nd edition, is wrong. It was de*

scribed by Blyth in 1849 (not 1840) and the bird came from the Nilgiris— obtained

by Jerdon— not Ceylon.

The Spotted Dove. Streptopelia chinensis suratensis (Gmelin).

Columba suratensis Gmel., Syst. Nat., i, p. 778 (1789— Surat) .

V. 160 $-5-29.

Fairly common (V. S. LaP.).

This is another of Sonnerat’s birds described and figured by him in Voy, aux

Ind. Orient, et a la Chine , plate p. 179, but like the rest of his discoveries not

named in Latin,

The Grey Jungle=Fowl. Callus souneratii Temminck.

Gallus sonneratii Temm, , Pig, et Gall., ii, p. 246 (1813— India).

V. 16 $ 10-4-29.

Fairly well distributed over the Reserve. Female with young observed

on May 2nd. (V. S. LaP.).

The Red SpurTowl. Galloperdix spadicea (Gmelin).

Tetrao sbadicea Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, pt. 2, p. 759 (1789— Nilgiris).

V. 44 $ 13-4-29 ; V. 81 J 18-4-29.

More or less common. (V. S. LaP.).

Gmelin’s name is founded on Sonnerat’s Perdix Rouge de Madagascar ( Voy

aux bides , etc., p. 169) but the bird like others had probably been introduced

into Madagascar by the French.

Common Bustard-Quail. Turnix suscitator taijoor (Sykes).

Hemipodius taijoor Sykes, P.Z.S., 1832, p. 155 (Deccan).

V. 80 $ 18-4-29.

This female had a fully formed egg in the oviduct.

The Indian Button-quail. Turnix maculatus tanki Blyth.

Turnix tanki Blyth, J.A.S.B., xii, p. 180 (1843— India) .

V. 45 13-4-29.

Mr. LaPersonne states that Turnix generally was common.

SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF THE EASTERN GHATS

403

Blyth’s description and name were based on Buchanan- Hamilton’s MS.

named drawing of a bird from Bengal.

The Indian Stone Curlew. Burhinus oedicnemus indicus (Salvad.) .

CEdicnemus indicus Salvador!, Atti. Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat,, viii, p. 381 (1866

—India).

V. 117 $ 23-4-29.

Not common. A female shot had a full yolk in the ovary. Breed in open

scrub covered country or jungle. I have flushed a bird in thick bamboo clump.

(V. S. LaP.)

The Red»wattled Lapwing. Lobivanellus indicus indicus (Bodd).

Tringa indica Bodd, PI. Enl. p, 50 (1783— Goa,).

V. 92 $ 19-4-29.

[To be continued )

THE HABITS OF MILLIPEDES

( MARPTODESMUS SP.)

BY

Major R. W. G. Hingston, i.m.s,

( With two illustrations)

The monsoon has come. Black banks of cumuli cross the

heavens. An unceasing torrent pours upon the plains. From time

to time a lull occurs and the sunlight streams through a dispersing

mist. Then we see signs of the coming animation, of the life that is

being reborn on earth. The air begins to ring with the chorus of

frogs ; a bright clamour fills the voices of the birds. The copper-

smith tolls a louder clang. It is scarcely dawn when the cuckoos

cry, some with a pleasing attractive voice, others with a maddening

note. A little later in the morning comes the cooing of the doves,

and the clarion voice of the oriole pouring forth its liquid sounds.

Insects too are coming into life. Indeed their business has already

begun. Ants are re-storing their inundated tunnels ; dung-beetles

have already started on their pellets : termites are preparing for

their nuptial flights. A thousand little creatures, not seen before,

are now starting on the business of life. On every side is noise and

bustle, the voice of expectation and the thrill of work aroused by

these animating rains.

This is the time to look for our millipedes. When the sun shines

forth after the very first torrent we are likely to see them creeping

on the soil. The one I refer to is a species of Marptodesmus . It

belongs to the Order Chilignatha, a division of the Myriapod group.

It is one of those creatures often misnamed. Sometimes one hears

it called a wireworm. Indeed the name Millipede is equally

inaccurate, for it means a creature with a thousand legs.

Everyone knows it, the hard red worm-like creature, about an

inch and a quarter long. Its

body is smooth, in shape cylindri-

cal, and divided into rings or

segments, each with a transverse

bar. Its small head has well-

formed antennae ; the rest of its

body has a multitude of legs.

These latter are mere tags of

appendages, arranged in a double

line. The millipede’s body is

highly flexible : it can easily

twist itself into a coil.

Its mode of progression is

well worth notice, particularly

the undulating movement of its

legs. There are two pairs of

legs on each segment, and the

THE HABITS OF MILLIPEDES

405

two pairs work at the same time. But the legs of any one ring

do not move simultaneously with the legs of adjoining rings. The

line works in a longitudinal sequence. First the legs on the hind

ring move; this is followed by those on the ring next in front, then

by those of the next ring, and so on along the whole line. In

this way the tags vibrate successively. There is progression from

ring to ring, and a wave of filamentous ripples flows along the

double line.

The millipede’s crawl is slightly vermicular, with body extended

full length. Anywhere and everywhere they are likely to be found,

in gardens, on paths, on grassy plains ; but they seem to prefer

open patches where the earth is hard and bare. Though at first

we may suspect them of being harmful, yet in reality they are

perfectly innocent. They have no poison, no weapons, and they

live on vegetable food. In this they differ from their allies, the

centipedes, which are formidable, predaceous creatures armed with

poison and fangs.

These millipedes are protected by a fluid secretion. It is evil

smelling, of an acid nature, and highly distasteful to insects and

birds. I have never seen an enemy attacking them, though they crawl

about freely exposed. Sometimes they manage to climb a tree-trunk

and lodge themselves in a decaying hole. On such a journey they

are very conspicuous, yet they seem as safe as when on the ground.

The armies of tree-ants which destroy everything, just touch them

and pass on. There is little doubt that the millipedes are protected

by their repulsive smell.

Very soon after the millipedes appear, they separate off in pairs.

The female is very active. With quivering antennae and sinuous

movements she runs energetically over the ground. Harnessed

full length on her back is the male. His antennae are motionless ;

he rests passive, holding on with his taggy legs. The male is

somewhat smaller than the female, rather more slender and a little

shorter. In consequence the female is not completely covered. Her

head and tail project just a little when the two are united at full

length.

Life now becomes a sexual orgy. The male sometimes slowly

unseats himself, and then they wander about alone. But this is a

somewhat unusual occurrence, nor is it more than a temporary

separation, for soon they manage to join up again. At other times

they stretch themselves full length on the soil, or they twist

themselves into a double spiral, one wrapped evenly round the other

in two encircling coils. For weeks they remain in this united state.

I see them joined all through the rains. Indeed it is unusual to see

a millipede by itself. Even when they burrow they refuse to

disunite; the female goes on shuffling up soil with her partner still

in his place. When alarmed, they may separate, but soon they

reunite. I flood them with water, but they do not come apart.

I immerse them completely. They squirm about, but the nuptial

combination persists. Not till they are on the point of drowning do

the sexes break apart. I cut a pair transversely in half. The

heads cling together; so do the tails. Even under this destructive

mutilation they will not immediately come apart. It seems odd that

406 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NA TURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Lb/. XXXIV

after egg-laying the alliance persists. Indeed their lives are little

else than one endless nuptial rite. They live together : they crawl

together : they dig together : united they coil themselves spiral on

spiral ; nothing but force can tear them apart. What excellent

material do they not give us for a moral on human affairs !

But wait. Let us see the effect of experiment. I put three pairs

of millipedes in a box. Each of the three females has a male

harnessed on her back. I mark one pair, male and female

separately, with a small speck of paint on the flank. I then leave

them to their own resources. They explore their prison, wander all

over it, always, of course, in united pairs. I leave them for

twenty-fours, and look to them again on the following evening.

1 see what I expect, the six millipedes still in the box in three united

pairs. But what do I observe? A new distribution has taken

place. A marked male is on an unmarked female : a marked female

carries an unmarked male.

I repeat the experiment and put others in the box. I mark them,

separate them, and watch to see in what way they will select their

mates. What do they do? Do they take again their previous

partners? Is there indication of constancy in their behaviour? Not

the slightest ! They certainly unite as quickly as they can. But the

union takes place without selection. Union and nothing but union

matters. There is no choice, no constancy. One sex placidly

accepts the other sex ; any male or any female will do.

We refrain, therefore, from drawing a moral. For this is nothing

but an animal orgy, just a blind impulsive passion for sex.

Let us now follow them into the field. The male and female,

firmly united, search about for food. They nibble at vegetation,

fallen fruits, and bits of decaying leaves. But they are not the

strictest vegetarians. I have seen them chewing at a dead locust

and eating the dropping's of birds. On this nourishment the female

thrives and swells with a mass of eggs. Laying takes place all

throug'h the rains, but I suspect that their fertility is highest soon

after the monsoon beg'ins. To observe the act I put the millipedes

in a cage ; but they do not like the unnatural confinement and resent

it by scattering- their eggs. However, I get some idea of their

operations; and, though I could never see the whole process, yet an

incident here and an incident there tells me that their method is

something like this.

Fig. 2.— Millipedes in union.

The female, with the male still harnessed to her, digs a tunnel

into the soil. Very slowly she rakes out earth, thrusting it behind

THE HABITS OF MILLIPEDES 407

her with her tag'-like leg's, and worming- herself into the ground.

The tunnel is an oblique shaft into which she disappears from view.

Having got underneath, she makes a chamber. The ones in my cage

were very imperfect. But those in the field must be more carefully

excavated : no doubt the architect shapes it with her mandibles and

cements it with her salivery juice. Into the cavity she puts her eggs.

Then I suspect, though I have not seen it, that she closes the

entrance with earth. Having done this, she wanders off. Her duties

to the brood are finished, and she leaves them to the safety of the

soil.

The eggs are mere tiny specks, hard, firm, smooth. They are

massed in clusters, hundreds in a bunch, which looks like a pinch

of bright red sand. Development follows at a great rate. I keep

watch on some that are scattered through the cage. Ten days after

the laying I see hundreds of youngsters crawling about. They are

one-sixteenth of an inch long, and look like miniatures of the adults.

They are, however, distinctly paler, indeed little more than a light

yellow. Nor is this pigment firmly fixed ; for some which I placed

in spirit were bleached pure white. On their integument are some

stiffish hairs, a marked difference from the adults which are

absolutely smooth. Moreover, they seem to have only six pairs of

legs, a much simpler arrangement than the crowd of appendages

which appear in the full grown state. It was wonderful to see how

well they climbed. In the cage they scattered themselves every-

where, some alone, others in small parties, like a multitude of

wriggling points. It was clear that they liked to hide under leaves ;

others got down into clefts in the earth. In sheltered places they

made dense heaps. Even at this earliest stage they showed a strong

gregarious instinct, which later we will see is the solid union on

which the safety of the brood depends.

Let us follow their development in the open field. All through the

rains the young are on the soil. Day by day fresh batches appear,

the youngsters burrowing up by their own efforts, through narrow

cylindrical shafts. The family at first remains close to its burrows.

Its social instinct is very strong. The whole brood keeps together,

resting on the ground in a flattened heap. The mass of millipedes

is very congested : there may be hundreds or even thousands in it,

all lying with bodies bent and shuffling about in the soil. They

are industriously digging and rooting, seeking for bits of vegetable

refuse, their first mouthfuls of food. In the heap they rest on top

of one another, those on top are very restless seeking about for some

bare spot into which to thrust their greedy jaws. To find one they

must come to the outskirts of the heap where they fix themselves and

begin to feed.

Though all in a family stick to one another, yet separate

communities may combine to make a heap. Thus sizes and ages

get Intermingled : it is the social instinct that binds them rather than

any family link. I drive some from one heap on to another heap.

They are acceptable and accepted ; it matters nothing that the family

is different provided they are a heap. In the early mornings I

sometimes see them in dense balls fixed to blades of grass. In this

way, no doubt, they pass the night clinging to the vegetation in

18

403 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST . SOCIETY , Vol, XXXIV

compact lumps. In a few places they have chewed the leaves, so

that they must get some nourishment from sap. But they do not

like these elevated places on the vegetation. I blow on a cluster.

It breaks asunder ; each little millipede loosens its hold ; the solid

lump in a moment disintegrates and falls like a shower of rain to

the earth. There for a moment they remain still; then crawl quietly

away.

Now this millipede heap is a real commune; all its members are

in close touch. There must be some reason for so strong an instinct.

Might it not be better for the millipedes to scatter and escape

competition and the scramble for food? Let us investigate the

matter carefully. Can we find a reason for this social bond? I

begin by touching a few of the millipedes, just gently with the tip

of a straw. They get alarmed and run into the middle of the heap.

They communicate their fears to others in the mass, the danger

signal rapidly spreads, and soon the quiet congregation of millipedes

becomes a scrambling swarm. Just by a mere tactile communication

the feeling of danger has been spread amongst all the members of

the common heap. Being alarmed, they try to escape. The whole

body gets on the move, all climbing one over the other in a seething

multitudinous flow. I now bring the straw to the opposite side,

that is, I oppose the advancing stream. Again they are alarmed.

The mass turns, and the millipedes, heaping themselves higher and

higher, roll back like a recoiling wave.

Thus we find that these very young millipede? have the power both

to spread the news of danger and to tell the direction from which

danger comes. It reminds us of the same capacity amongst ants.

But in a sense the act is more perfect with millipedes. Touch an

ant at the edge of a swarm. It gets alarmed and the excitement-

spreads. All in the swarm dash about wildly ; for a time the greatest

confusion exists. It is quite different with the millipedes. They do

not break into violent excitement. They spread the news of danger

quietly, and all move away from the danger point in a steady

uniform stream.

Frequently the mass moves on its own accord, probably in search

of food. It is wonderful to see the heap in motion, a solid, wriggling,

squirming multitude, advancing steadily in one direction as though

in obedience to a word of command. The vanguard may be densely

crowded, perhaps three or four layers in depth ; yet it forges steadily

onward followed by a straggling line.

Let us now see the advantage to the millipedes of their congregating

in a heap. Each little millipede is distasteful. Even in this early

stage it gives out a pungent unpleasant smell. It does not do so

when resting quietly. I put my nose to the heap ; there is no odour

So long as it remains undisturbed. I then disturb them, and almost

Instantly g*ey a sniff of the distinctive fumes. I crush a few, and

find that their macerated bodies have an acid aromatic taste. It is

this pungency that protects the millipedes. I give them to some red

ants, but the ants will not touch them. I have never seen a bird go

near them, though such large conspicuous masses must attract every

eye. Indeed their very appearance is repulsive, which suggests that

they are creatures one had better avoid.

THE HABITS OF MILLIPEDES

409

But this protection is of little value to individuals separated from

the heap. I have noticed that single individuals are liable to be

carried off by ants. But ants will not invade the heap ; they will

take only a straggler by the way. This gives the clue to the purpose

of the heap. The odour given out by each millipede is feeble; it

will not protect the individual millipede, but will protect them when

collected in a mass. The millipedes, by congregating, strengthen

their defences. The faint odours of a crowd of individuals combine

to form a powerful smell. Thus combination gives them immunity

at this early stage of life. As they develop their odour increases

until it becomes sufficient to protect them as individuals; then the

gregarious instinct disappears.

Another occurrence, also with a meaning, is seen when one blows

on the heap. The millipedes are sensitive to the puff of air. But

they do not rush away. This is a danger that is dealt with differently.

Each little millipede becomes a spiral and lies motionless on the

ground. There they remain, lying flat, thousands of perfect coils.

I cease to blow. The millipedes uncoil themselves, and the crowd

hurries away. Now, what is the meaning? Why do they run when-

touched with a straw, and coil in a puff of wind? Because by this

means they get better protection. The millipedes come out in the

monsoon season, a time of intermittent storm. They have little

power to cling to things, and are easily scattered by wind. Also,

since they like exposed places, open paths, bare patches of soil, they

might often be swept away in storms. But dispersal would be fatal

to them. The heap must keep intact. Hence the plan of escaping

the wind by coiling. The millipedes twist themselves into the

smallest size, offer the least resistance to the wind, and then lie

flat on the soil.

The millipedes, even at this early stage, have their special senses

well developed. They seem to have little power of vision; they can

scarcely observe an object even when brought close up to their eyes.

Nor is their sense of hearing acute. I fired a gun six inches from

the heap without alarming them in the slightest. It is obvious from

their power to communicate that they possess a good sense of

touch. I made some of the usual experiments. A drop of

eucalyptus at the edge of the heap resulted in the millipedes drawing

away from it. I put on them some anise seed oil, and the whole

community scrambled off. In the middle of the heap I placed a lump

of camphor, also a nodule of earth. They drew away from the

camphor and left a clear ring around it ; they took no notice of the

earth. These experiments, and others like them, prove the posses-

sion of an olfactory sense. I dropped some quinine solution on the

heap. From the spots where it fell the millipedes withdrew. They

refuse to feed where the quinine had fallen which shows that they

have a sense of taste.

By the end of July the young” millipedes have reached full size.

The heaps then disintegrate and the sexes pair off. A sexual orgy

again develops like the one we saw at the commencement of the

rains. In August fresh broods of eggs are deposited, and early in

September more batches of young creep about on the bare soil.

I have little else worth telling about them. Unity at every stage;

410 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , VoL XXXIV

this is the guiding feature of their lives. The eggs united in a solid

cluster ; the young massed in a scrambling heap ; the adults joined

in nuptial union inseparable to the end. And at every stage this

union has a purpose. In the eggs it prevents the cluster scattering ;

to the young it gives protection ; it is probably of value to the parents

since they have to propagate so large a swarm. Nature does

nothing without a purpose. In this millipede union, whether social

or sexual, exists their safety and strength.

APHIDIDAE OF MYSORE,

BY

B. Krishnamurti, b.sc.

{Assistant Entomologist , Department of Agriculture , Bangalore .)

( With 13 text figures.)

The following is a further contribution to the knowledge of the Aphididce

of Mysore, of which an account of several species appeared in this Journal ,x in

September 1928. In this paper, are recorded for the first time interesting

features of several other common forms and, of six new species of aphids,

described by F. V. Theobald (of Agricultural College, Wye, Kent), in the

Entomologist (Vol. LXII, 1929) to whom my acknowledgments are due. Parts

of descriptions and complete microscopical preparations of the new and

common species of aphids were furnished by me from the Entomological

Laboratories of the Mysore, Department of Agriculture.

Macrosiphutn eleusinae sp. nov.

Alate viviparous female.— Head, mesothorax and antennae brown, sometimes

the tip of the antennae pale ; segments I and II of antennae, prothorax, cauda

and tibia pale ; cornicles brown ; femora brown ; abdomen brownish-yellow ;

lateral margins marked with squarish brown patches, a big polygonal brown

patch also present in the centre of the abdomen ; eyes red. Antennae longer

than body ; segment I twice as long as II ; IV and V about equal ; VI a little

more than twice V ; III with 12 sensoria on . one side. Rostrum reaches 2nd

coxae. Cornicles narrow, a small reticulate area at apices ; cornicle as long

as antennal segment JII. Cauda a little less than \ the cornicles ; acuminate ;

two hairs each side. Length, 1, 7 to 2 mm.

A

t

Pig, 1 .—Macrosiphum eleusincz , sp. nov. A-D , alate ; Dl-F, apterous ; A

and E, antennae ; B and F cornicles ; C, cauda , D and DI, head.

Apterous viviparous female.— Brownish yellow; more yellowish along the

margins ; antennal segments III, IV and V ringed with brown ; VI all brownish ;

cornicles and cauda pale. Antennae longer than the body ; segment I twice as

long as II ; III a little longer than IV, and IV equal to or slightly longer than

V ; VI more than twice V ; cornicles as long as antennal segment IV, cylindrical,

but slightly irregular in form ; apex with faint reticulation, this area being

small, remainder faintly imbricate. Cauda acuminate, with two pale hairs

each side ; about \ the length of the cornicles ; the third antennal segment has

one sensorium near the base. Legs moderately long and rather thin, a few

hairs on tibiae. Length, 1*7 mm.

Jour., Bom . Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol . XXXI//, No. 1 , p 211.

412 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Food-plant .—Eleusina coracana (Ragi) ,

Locality.— Bangalore.

Specimens collected on Andropogon pertusus from the same locality are, I feel

sure, the same species, in spite of the different colour variations : 4 Apterae,

body entirely light green ; antennae, cornicles and tarsi dark green; body

covered with alight meal.! I can trace no structural differences from the

specimens on Eleusina.

Longicaudus hamelii, sp. nov.

Alate viviparous female.— Head and eyes brownish ; prothorax pale brown ;

mesothorax dark ; abdomen yellowish brown ; first pair of femora pale brown,

the others dark ; abdomen with black patches along the lateral margins ;

Fig. 2. — Longicaudus hamelii, sp. nov.

antennae, eornieles and tip of cauda brownish black. Head flat; antennae

shorter than body ; cornicles very small cauda large and long ; mid tibiae

slightly, hind not curved. Antennal segment I wider and a little longer than

II ; III long, with 10-14 round sensoria in a line along one side; IV a little

shorter than V ; VI with base not quite half V ; flagellum not equal to III.

Rostrum reaches 3rd coxae. Eyes large. Cornicles short, thick, cylindrical,

somewhat irregular in shape. Cauda long, with very blunt rounded apex ;

almost parallel sided, with 3 hairs each side, markedly outstanding. Anal

plate deep, semi-oval. Second fork-cell small, length, 1*3 to 1*5 mm.

Apterous viiiparous female.—Same colour as the alate female. Antennae a

little shorter than the body ; segments I and II about equal ; III longer than

IV ; IV a little longer than V ; base of VI about half to a little less than flagel-

lum. Eyes moderate. Cornicles short, thick, about as long as segments I and

Fig. 3.— Longicaudus hamelii, sp. nov. A and C, antenna and cauda of alate ;

B , antenna of apterous ; D , cornicles.

A PH1DIDAE OF MYSORE 413

Hyalopterus carii, sp. nov.

Apterous viviparous female. — Yellowish

green; body with a slightly mottled appear-

ance ; tips of the antennae, legs, cornicles

and the rostrum dark ; eyes red, oval ;

antennae short, less than i length of body ;

segment I much wider than II, III longest,

longer than VI and a little longer than IV

and V ; IV and V about equal or IV a little

the longer ; base of VI as long as, to a little

longer than V ; flagellum about i longer than Fig. 4. — Hyalopterus carii , sp.

base ; VI darkened ; III to IV imbricate. nov.

Head flat to slightly rounded, broad witn a few short hairs. Rostrurn_. reaches

to 2ad coxae, rather broad. Cornicles short and thick, conical, about as long

as hind tarsus ; in some slightly constricted at apex ; imbrication faint. Cauda

broad, not quite twice as long as the cornicles, constricted near the middle ;

two hairs each side, one dorso-apical and a small third one on one side. Body

with hexagonal sculpturing. Legs moderately long and narrow ; tibiae with

II to a little longer ; cauda similar in shape to that of

length of cornicles. Legs rather thick ; mid

tibiae very slightly curved ; hind pair very

much curved ; with numerous short hairs.

Length, 1*4 to 1*6 mm.

Food plant . — Hamelia patens.

Locality. — Bangalore.

Easily demarked by the long, thick cauda

with its 6 outstanding hairs, the curved

hind tibiae in the apterae and the peculiarly

shaped anal plate.

alate £ about three times

Fig. b— Hyalopterus carii , sp. nov. Apterous viviparous, A , cornicles ;

B , head and antenna ; C, cauda ; D , sculpture of skin.

fine hairs. Length 1*3 to 1*7 mm.

Food plant.— Carum copticum.

Locality. —Bangalore, February, 1928,

Aphis tridacis, sp, nov,

Alate viviparous female— Head greenish ; eyes dark ; prothorax dark green,

also the mesothorax ; abdomen green on the borders, yellowish brown on the

dorsum and venter from the first to fifth segment ; cornicles green; segments

8 and 9 of the abdomen and the cauda pale yellow ; first two antennal seg-

ments dark ; apical half of femora dark ; tibiae pale, except at apices ; apex

of rostrum dusky. Antennae shorter than body ; segment I slightly longer and

wider than II ; III longer than IV, and IV slightly longer than V or equal to

it ; VI twice V, baseless than the flagellum : III with 6 round sensoria, some-

times one smaller than the others. Head flat in; front. Rostrum narrow,

reaching just past 2nd coxae. Cornicles rather short and broad, swelling

414 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , TO. XXXIV

basally, imbrications marked, long-, but wanting near apex ; about as long

as segment V. Cauda blunt, apex rounded, with 3 pale hairs each side ; a

little more than ^ length of cornicles. Anal plate rounded apically, more

or less straight at the sides. A small papilla each side of pronotum, and

another on abdominal segment 8. Second fork-cell of wings rather small.

When cleared the body shows 3 large dark, lateral spots, a large dark patch

Fig. 6 .—Aphis tridacis , sp. nov. A-C, Alafe viviparous ; A, antena ; B , body

markings, etc.; C, cauda ; D-F , Apterous; D, antenna ; E, cornicle ;

F, body markings.

at base of each cornicle, mainly mesad ; 2-3 dark brown lines in front and

some small dark spots laterally. Length, 1.4 to 1*5 mm.

Apterous female .—Antennae very thin, about half the length of the body,

green ; head paler ; cornicles dark green ; eyes dark ; cauda, femora and tibiae

pale ; tips of tibiae and tarsi dusky, Antennal segment I a little longer than

II ; III rather more than half as long again

as IV ; IV and V equal ; VI nearly three times

as long as V, base less than | the flagellum,

which is a little shorter than III. Rostrum thin,

reaching 2nd coxae. Cornicles a little longer

than segment III of antennae, markedly im-

bricate, but smooth, at the apices. Cauda a little

shorter than cornicles, rounded apically ; 3 hairs

each side. A small papilla each side of pronotum

and a pair on abdominal segment 8. Legs rather

short. Cleared specimens show two large dark

lateral spots on the pro- and mesonotum, small

dark lateral abdominal spots and a few mesad

of them, and a small oblong dark area before

the dark anal plate. Length, 1*3 to 1*5 mm.

Food- pi ant . — Tridax procumbens .

Locality. — Bangalore.

This species is easily demarked by the rather

short cornicles being strongly imbricate on

most of their length, but quite plain at the apex.

The ornamentation in cleared specimens is also

very characteristic, especially in the apterae

Fig. 1 .—Aphis tridacis, sp.

nov.

Aphis bidentis, sp. nov.

Alate viviparous female. — Body yellowish green ; meso- and metanotum

dark ; cornicles, cauda and head dark ; legs pale. Antennae not quite so long

as body ; segments I and II equal ; III much longer than VI ; IV longer than

V, as long as flagellum of VI ; VI with base about f of V ; flagellum faint ;

A PH1D1DAE OF MYSORE

415

III with 6-8 sensoria in a line ; I and II dark ; III to V dark, with pale bases.

Cornicles cylindrical, expanding basally, imbricate, about as long as segment

IV of antennae. Cauda not quite equal to cornicles, rather long, narrower

than cornicles, with 3-4 hairs each side. Abdomen with very small lateral

papillae and dark lateral spots ; a dark patch at base of cornicles, caudad of

them. Wings normal. Length, 1-5 to T7 mm.

Food-plant . — Bidens pilosa.

Locality. — Bangalore, June 1923.

An obscure species, but I cannot fit it in with any described insect,

Fig. 8. — Aphis bidentis , sp. nov. Alate viviparous. A , head and antenna; B ,

Apterous viviparus female.— Yellowish green to completely green with

a white mealy fringe ; a deep green patch on the dorsum, in some specimens

covering the whole abdomen ; antennae and legs pale; cornicles deep green.

More or less globular, slightly narrowed in front. Antennae of 4 segments,

narrow, about i length of the body ; segments I and II equal ; III very long :

IV about as long as I + II. Rostrum rather broad, reaching to 2nd coxae,

rather short. Cornicles round, on slightly raised cones, each with 8 hairs.

Eyes of 3 facets. Two prominent, blunt horns on the head, as long as antennal

segments I and II. Behind the eyes are 3 round wax glands and each s de

of pronotum, 5-6 each side of mesonotum, 4 each side of metanotum ; 8 pairs

of lateral wax glands on the abdomen composed of 3-4 glands each, as follows :

I, II, III and IV with 4 ; V with 3-4 ; VI with 3-4 ; VII with 4 ; VIII with 4

one side, 6 the other more central. Anal plate hilobed, with a few hairs.

Body with lateral hairs, one arising from each of the lateral wax-pore areas.

Cleared specimens show the head, antennae, legs, eyes and apex of the rostrum

brown, and the wax-glands, which are more or less round, quite clear.

Length.— 1-1’4 mm.

Food-plant. — Bamboo.

Locality. — Bangalore.

The 3’,oung in their first and second instars are greenish all over, the folloy^

ing moults with deeper green patches.

cornicle and cauda.

Oregrna mysorensis, sp. nov.

Fig. 9 .—Oregma mysorensis , sp. nov.

416 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

Fig. 10 .—Oregma mysorensis, Fig 11 .—O.mysorensis. Head of

sp. nov. Apterous apterous female,

female.

Fig. 12. Oregma mysorensis , sp. nov. Apex of apterous female, showing

lateral wax-pores. f-

Closely related to Oregma insular is Van der Goot but the antennae have only

four segments.

Macrosiphum rosaefolium. Theobald.

This is entirely different from the M. rosaeiformis that Das mentions {The

Aphididae of Lahore — 1918) as occurring on several species of roses in gardens

in the Punjab and which he calls the ‘ Punjab Rose Aphis M. rosaefolium

occurring in Mysore appears to be the common rose aphis of the tropical regions.

The colour pattern of this insect is quite typical and deserves mention.

Alate female— Body yellowish green ; head paler ; eyes reddish ; III, IV

and tips of V and VI and tips of femur and tibia and tarsi, darkish ; mesotho-

racic selerites more yellow than green ; tip of rostrum dark.

Apterous female. — Light 37ello wish green body; eyes red ; apices of III, IV

and V antennal joints and of cornicles and tips of rostrum and femora and

A PH1D1DA E OF MYSORE: 417'

tibia marked black. Complete VI joint with its spur is dark. Inconspicuous

dusky spots present on the sides of the abdominal segments.

The general body colour of the aphids resembles the colour of surface of the

rose shoots and buds on which they cluster, so closely that their presence

can be detected only on examination at close proximity. The insects are more

usually to be found from May- July and October-December.

Host plants. — Different varieties of roses.

Macrosiphum compositae. Theobald.

This does not seem to have been hitherto recorded in India.

The jet black colour of the entire body is quite characteristic and only

apterous forms have been found so far.

The following features are of interest. — Prominent diverging tubercles with

2-3 thick slightly capitate hairs on the head ; slender antennae (longer than

body) the III article with numerous sensoria ; long cornicles slightly curving

outwards at the tips; long and conical cauda and slightly capitate nairs

on the body.

Host plant . — Echinops echinatus,

Taxoptera auraotii. Boyer.

‘ Most individuals of this species have typical Taxoptera venation and some

have typical Aphis venation. The marked striate ornamentation at the base

of cornicles is typical.’

Host plants . — Artabotrys odoratissimum , Uvaria no. rum and Dalbergia

sisoo.

Fig. I'i. — T'axoptera aurantii Boyer. Note striate areas at base of cornicles.

Greenidea arlcarpi. Westwood.

The comparatively large-sized body with the abdomen and thorax, some

times appearing squarish, the long slender and hairy antennae and outwardly

curved hairy cornicles and conical cauda, render this insect very easily

noticeable on the young shoots, tender leaves and their petioles of the plant ;

while the younger stages are pale yellow, sometimes greenish, the adults

appear brownish yellow' with the centre of the abdomen dark brown So far

this has not been reported as a pest.

Host plant. — Artocarpus integrifolice — Jack.

Tetraneura hirsuta. Baker.

This w7as collected by Dr. K. Kunhikannan, and is very striking in

appearance, looking almost ^spherical in shape with short brownish legs and

antennae, the general body colour being creamy white and sometimes pale

yellow.

418 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Sugarcane root aphis found in Pusa have been identified by Theobald as

Geoica spatulata in 1926. No root aphis of sugarcane seem to have been

recorded from Coimbatore. Das does not mention any sugarcane aphis from

the Punjab.

This aphid has not attained the status of a pest in Mysore so far as known.

Host plant— Roots of sugarcane.

Aphis odinse. Van der Goot.

This has been so far recorded only from Coimbatore by George. In Mysore

it has occurred crowding round tender twigs of mango during the months of

February and March ; no appreciable damage to mango shoots has yet been

noticed. Das does not record this insect as occurring in Punjab.

Host plant — Mangifera indica. — Mango.

Hyalopterus arundinis. Fabrici.

This insect has only been found in small numbers.

Host plants . — Chenopodiuni album and Phaseolus vulgaris.

Aphis gossypii. Glover.

Since the publication of the 1st list of aphids, during September 1928, this

species has been found on Amaranthus spinosus and species of Cassia.

Infestation of Amaranthus by this species of aphid has invariably been found

to be heavy.

Myzus persicae. Sulz.

This has since been found only sparingly on Phaseolus vulgaris.— (Beans)

also.

Brachyslphoniella gramini. Takahashi.

This insect rather resembles species of Brachysiphum of Van der Goot.

Only apterous forms have been found. The body is covered with ash=

Coloured meal, which dissolves away in alcohol, the insect then appearing

green. The cornicles, cauda and 1st two antennal joints are darkish, portions

of antennae and legs appear whitish and transparent.

The antennae are about half as long as body ; III longer than IV or V but

shorter than VI spur.

Cornicles.— Very short, almost truncate ; shorter than either VI antennal

article or hind tarsus ; slightly less than half the length of cauda.

Cauda. — Club-shaped at the tip.

Rostrum just passes the 1st pair of coxae.

Lateral tubercles are absent.

Host Plant.— -Grass— (The insects were collected from grass blades which

were partly submerged under water.)

Cervaphis schoufedeniae. Van der Goot.

The appearance of this insect is rather deceptive, in that it looks, at first

sight, to be some species of scale insect (mealy bug) covered with a thick

coating of white meal. Divested of meal, its body colour is found to be

greenish yellow. The presence of long branched hairs on the body and the two

liorn-like structures on the head, together with the long narrow slightly curved

cornicles, is very characteristic. Wherever present, this aphid does consider-

able damage, the leaves and twigs of the plant being heavily infested, which

very soon whither, turn yellow and die away. A stronger dose, one lb. in 5

gallons of water of fish oil resin soap than is generally used for spraying

against aphids here, has been found to be necessary in the case of this aphid,

the Usual dose being 1 lb. in 10 gallons of water.

Host plant. — Togare.

Artur aphis helichryisi. Var, warei -Theobald

This aphid produces pseudogalls on the food plant. The leaves cUrl up, and

in th$ folds, large numbers of all stages of the insect are found present,

A PH1D1DA E OF MYSORE

419

rendering the inner surfaces, also sticky with their excretion of honey dew,

which, on evaporation, leaves behind very minute, whitish lumps of a substance

that looks like shining object on exposure. From September to January, the

food plant has been noticed to be very badly infested by this insect. About

20 per cent, of the aphide has, however, also been observed to be parasitised,

the parasitised ones appearing as small, sub-circular, yellowish bodies sticking

to the inside of the curled up leaves.

Host plant.— Species of Ageratum.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS.

BY

Mrs. M. Robinson, b.a. (t.c.d.), nat. sci. trip. cam.

Part IV.

The Bryophyta,

( With five plates and two text-figuves.)

( Continued from page )^5 of this volume .)

The fourth group of Cryptogamic plants is known as the

Bryophyta. It contains two large divisions, the Liverworts or

Hepaticce and the Mosses or Musci.

Mosses are more or less familiar to every one. They form thick

green cushions on old walls and tree trunks; or cover bare rocks

and stones, and the banks of streams with a soft carpet; while

others hang in graceful festoons and tassels from the trees of the

tropical jungle. They show an immense variety of form, as may

be seen from the few types illustrated on Plate IV, and are always

gregarious — a small ‘piece of moss’ being formed often of hundreds

of tiny plants growing closely together.

Liverworts are not perhaps quite so familiar to those who are not

botanists, but they are to be found almost everywhere, when

sufficient moisture is present. After heavy rains a few kinds like

the one shown in fig. 3 on Plate I, appear on bare open ground even

in the plains, though they attain their best development and greatest

variety in very damp situations, preferably the banks of streams, or

on rocks in or near water in a cooler climate. There are two kinds

of liverworts ; the thallose and the foliose liverworts which at first

sight seem very different. The first group have a thalloid structure,

and the body of the plant is a flat, green, dichotomously branched

thallus, which may be variously lobed and is distinctly dorsiventral.

Rhizoids spring from the ventral side and fix the thallus more or

less firmly to the ground and absorb moisture from it, and in many

of the species small scales generally of a rnauve colour are also

found, in two rows, on the underside. A number of different forms

Of the thallus are shown in Plate I, where it will be seen that the

lobes may be broad and rounded, as in fig. 1 ; or long and narrow

with wavy edges as in fig. 2 ; almost strap-shaped as in fig. 5 ; and

long, narrow and simple with a tendency to a pinnate form of

branching as in fig. 4. Sometimes a midrib is clearly marked, in

others it is absent, as in fig. 6. There is much variety in size,

some of the smaller forms such as Riccia in fig. 3 being only a few

millimetres long, while the larger forms may attain to a length of

several centimetres. The size of these thallose liverworts is found

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate 1

{For explanation see end of article.

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

421

to depend very much on the nature of their habitat, as the same

species may show a remarkable variation according- to whether it

grows in a damp situation, when it will be large, or in a dry place,

when it will be found to be very much smaller. The foliose

liverworts are of a leafy structure having a stem bearing small

leaves, and very much resemble the true mosses, being often

mistaken for them. Three of them are illustrated in Plate II, figs. 1,

3 and 5, from which it will be seen how much they resemble the

mosses, and that it would be difficult to distinguish them without a

close examination. The enlarged drawings, figs. 2, 4 and 6, show

that the stem bears leaves arranged in pairs with their edges

overlapping, on the upper side of the stem, while a third row of

very small scale-like leaves is found on the under-side of the stem.

These are known as amphigastria, and correspond to the scales on

the under-side of the thallose forms. The leaves never have any

midrib, and this characteristic, combined with the arrangement of

the leaves in two rows and the presence of the amphigastria,

distinguishes the foliose liverworts from the true mosses.

The mosses have an upright stem with the leaves, all of the

same kind, spirally arranged on it, as shown in Plate IV, figs. 2,

3, 4, 5 and 6 ; or a creeping, or hanging stem repeatedly branched,

as in figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10. In some of the creeping forms the leaves

appear to be in two rows like the liverworts, but a careful

examination will show that the leaves have twisted and assumed this

flattened out appearance, due to the recumbent position of the plant,

the actual arrangement still being spiral. Considering then only the

external characteristics of the Bryophyta, the plants of this group

seem to show a very definite transition from the lower cryptogams

to the higher. Except for their uniformly green character, the

thallus of a liverwort shows a remarkable external resemblance to

that of many of the foliose lichens. The foliose liverworts, while

retaining many of the characteristics of the thalloid forms, yet seem

to resemble the mosses even more closely ; while among the mosses

are many forms which resemble the liverworts on the one hand, -and

on the other mimic the forms of some of the smaller and more

delicate ferns, as for example, the mosses illustrated in figs. 1, 8

and 9.

It must be remembered, however, that these resemblances are

merely external and superficial, as the internal structure of even

the smallest and simplest thalloid liverwort is entirely different

from that of a lichen. The lichen is a compound structure of

two different plants, an alga and a fungus, associated in a

symbiotic relationship. A liverwort has a definite cellular structure

with an outer layer of cells or epidermis , with pores or stomata,

through which air and water vapour can pass to and from the

interior of the thallus. Below this a layer of chlorophyll-containing

cells and other cells, not containing chlorophyll, make up the

interior of the thallus, while rootlets springing from the lower

epidermis are of yet a third kind of cell. Fig. 10 on Plate II shows

a section through the thallus of a liverwort ( Marchantia ) in which

this structure is seen. In fig. 7, which is a piece of the stem and

leaves of Frulliania campanidata, one of the foliose liverworts, the

422 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

leaves are seen as flat plates of cells, and the base of each is a little

pitcher, in which is sometimes found a particular kind of minute

animal organism living in water, known as rotifer. This little pitcher

is not found in all foliose liverworts, but is peculiar to the genus

Frulliania. Some of the thalloid liverworts, chiefly the Marchantias,

bear on their upper surface little green cups or cupules, as they are

called, which at first sight remind one of the cups on a lichen

thallus. These are seen in figs. 1 and 2 on Plate I and contain

little green bodies known as gemmae , which will develop into a new

thallus. They are not spores but correspond rather to the soredia

of a lichen, and form a vegetative method of reproduction of the

thallus. A cupule is shown enlarged in fig. 8 on Plate I and again

more highly magnified with its gemmae in fig. 8 on Plate II, while

a still more highly magnified gemma is shown in fig. 9, Plate II.

When we come to examine the methods of reproduction by spores

in the Bryophyta, we find a very interesting state of affairs. On

the upper surface of the thallus a number of black dots scattered

about can be seen. They are generally near the midrib or centre,

or else at the extreme edge. These are shown in Riccia in fig. 1,

Plate III. On examining these with a fairly high power lens, they

are found to be organs, sunk in the tissue of the thallus, and

containing spores. The organs are of two kinds, male organs or

antheridia, and female organs or archegonia, and sometimes occur

on the same and sometimes on different thalli. In the first case the

plant is said to be moncecius, in the second dioecius. In certain

genera of the thalloid liverworts these organs are not sunk in the

thallus, but are borne on special branches which arise on the

thallus, the two branches being different in appearance for the two

kinds of organs. On Plate I, figs. 1 and 2 show the two branches

for the same genus Marchantia ; female in fig. 1, and male in fig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a different type of branch in the genus

Reboulia, where the male organ is sunk in the thallus, the female

being borne on the branch. Figs. 2 and 3 in Plate III show the

male and female branches of Marchantia enlarged. In the leafy

liverworts and in the mosses the antheridia and archegonia are

clustered together at the tips of the stem in a little rosette of leaves.

They are clearly seen in many mosses like Funaria, where the organs

are often of a reddish tinge, and look like little flowers, and are

in fact often called ‘the flowers of moss’. These are shown slightly

enlarged in figs. 5 and 6 of Plate V. When examined with a

fairly high power lens, the antheridia are seen to be club-shaped

bodies containing spores mixed with sterile hairs or paraphyses, as

in fig. 7 on Plate V. The archegonia are rather flask-shaped, with

a long neck and are seen in fig. 8. The similar organs of a liverwort

are shown magnified in figs. 5 and G on Plate III which are sections

through the male ancf female branches respectively of a Marchantia.

The spores from the antheridia escape and are carried by water

to the archegonia into which they penetrate, passing down the long

neck, and fusing with the contents of the lower part of the flask.

Thus a true sexual process takes place. The result of this is

somewhat surprising. From the fertilized archegonium a structure

develops which has no resemblance at all to the original moss or

Journ, Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II

Flowerless Plants.

{For explanation see end of article.)

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

423

liverwort, but is in fact a capsule in which is produced a second lot

of spores. The development of the capsule of a moss is shown in

figs. 9 to 14 on Plate V. The archegonial wall is ruptured and

in the early stages the capsule is covered by a little hood or calyptra

which is the top of the archegonium carried up by the lengthening

of the stalk or seta of the capsule. Some different kinds of capsules

are shown on the mosses on Plate IV, and of the leafy liverworts

in figs. 5 and 6 on Plate II. In the thalloid liverworts with special

branches, the capsule has no stalk, but is found on the under-side

of the special branch, and is shown in figs. 4 a, b and c, on

Plate III. Where the archegonium is sunk in the thallus the capsule

develops more like that of a moss with a stalk as shown in

Aneura sp. (fig. 4, Plate I, and figs. 8 and 9, Plate III) and in

Anthoceros (fig. 7, Plate III.) In liverworts the wall of the

archegonium remains as a sheath at the base as in Aneura (figs. 8

and 9, PI. Ill) and Anthoceros (fig. 7) and is never carried up to

form a calyptra.

When the spores from the capsule are liberated, they germinate

and produce a little moss plant, or a liverwort thallus on which

are found once more the antheridia and archegonia. The life

history of the Bryophyta therefore consists of two well-defined

generations ; a sexual generation, called also a gametophyte,

producing an asexual generation or sporophyte, which, however,

in the Bryophyta is always called a sporogonium. In all cases the

sporogonium remains attached to the gametophyte by its lower part

which is known as the foot, the whole sporogonium consisting in

some cases of the foot, the seta and the capsule, in others of a foot

and a capsule only. The sporogonium never has any independent

existence, but remains always parasitic on the gametophyte,

absorbing nourishment from it by means of the foot. These two

generations, gametophyte and sporophyte, follow each other

alternately with unfailing regularity, and this rather curious and

interesting alternation of generations will be met with again among

the ferns.

Having so far treated the Bryophyta as a whole and given some

idea of the general characteristics of the group, we can now deal

with the two divisions in rather more detail.

The Hepaticae. — There are about 4,000 species of the Hepaticae

of which the greater number are of the foliose form. The grouping*

into thallose and foliose forms is a convenient one, as the difference

is very striking, but the classification of liverworts, as of all other

plants, depends upon their different methods of reproduction, and

chiefly on differences in the sporogonia.

There are four families or natural orders. —

(1) Anthocerotales (2) M archantiales

(3) Jungermanniales (4) Sphaerocarpales

Anthocerotales. — This order contains two genera, Anthoceros and

Nothothylas. They are thallose forms and are easily recognized

among liverworts, by the long needle-like sporogonia of a delicate

green surrounded at the base by a darker green cylindrical sheath.

There is no stalk, the whole needle being the capsule which splits

downwards from the tip into t.\yo valyes leaving a centra] strip of

?Q

424 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , VolJXXXlV

tissue called a columella to which the spores are attached. The

two valves twist spirally as they dry. Fig. 7 on Plate III shows a

typical anthoceros with a rather small irregularly lobed gametophyte

which has no midrib and no scales on the under-side. The antheridia

and archegonia are sunk in the tissue of the thallus, the remains

of the archegonium form the sheath at the base of the sporogonium.

Nothothylas, which is much less common than Anthoceros , is a

smaller plant with smaller sporogonia — not so long and slender as

in Anthoceros and it generally has no columella. The green alga

Nostoe which is found as a constituent of many lichens is often

found in little colonies embedded in the thallus of Anthoceros and

Nothothylas.

March antiales. — This order contains two families — Marchanti-

aceae and Ricciaceae. They are all thallose forms and vary in size

from tiny plants one or two millimetres across among the Riccias,

to the large lobed spreading' plants of Marchantia and Dumortiera

which may be as much as ten centimetres long and twelve

millimetres broad.

The Marchantiaceae include a number of different genera, as

many as twenty genera and forty-nine species being described by

Professor Shiv Ram Kashyap in his book on the Liverworts of the

Western Himalayas and the Punjab Plain — recently published by

the University of the Punjab, Lahore.

In this family, the archegonia or female organs are borne on

special branches, as described above, so that what resembles the

sporogonium of other orders is in reality partly the gametophyte

generation, and partly sporogonium. In some genera, e.g. ,

Marchantia and Dumortiera, the antheridia or male organs are also

borne on special branches : in others, as Reboulia, Conocephalum,

Fimbriaria, etc., the male organs are sunk in the tissue of the

thallus near the female branches.

Marchantia is one of the best known and commonest of liverworts

and its little umbrella-like male branches and its female branches

with the nine-rayed star at the top will soon become familiar to

the collector of liverworts. The thallus is usually fairly large

and much branched, and has a broad and well defined midrib. The

dorsal surface is divided up into small rhomboidal areas which can

often be seen with the naked eyes ; they are known as areolae

(fig. 10, Plate I), and have a pore in the middle. There are always

scales in two and sometimes three rows on the ventral surface,

from which spring also the rhizoides.

The family Ricciacece contains two genera. Riceiocarpus which

is found floating on water, or in the mud near water and Riccia of

which some species are floating forms and some are terrestrial.

They are all tiny plants, and have their sex organs sunk in the

thallus which is usually rather thick. There are no pores on the

surface, which is not divided into areolae, though there are air

spaces below. There is generally a midrib, usually more prominent

on the ventral surface, and scales are generally present, though

small and delicate and sometimes absent.

Jungermanniales. — This order contains both thalloid and foliose

forms, and some genera such as Metzgeria and Blasia show a

Plate III.

Flowerless Plants.

{For explanation see end of article.)

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

425

transition between the two. Here the thallus becomes thinner

towards the edge, which is often only one layer of cells thick and

is wavy and indented, showing a rudimentary form of leaves. The

thallose forms which are grouped into a suborder Anacrogynae

usually have a pronounced midrib, and scales on the ventral surface.

The sex organs are borne in groups on the dorsal surface, never on

special branches, so that the capsule 6f these liverworts is all

sporogonium. The archegonium is usually surrounded by a little

involucre or cup remaining at the base of the sporogonium, which

has also the remains of the archegonium itself. This is shown in

the enlarged drawing of the sporogonium of Aneura in figs. 8 and

9 on Plate III. The capsule is sometimes oval as in Aneura ,

sometimes spherical as in Pellia and Blasia , and splits open by four

valves liberating the spores mixed with sterile hairs called elators

which help in the dispersal of the spores.

The foliose forms of Jungermanniales forming the suborder

Acrogynae are by far the most numerous of the liverworts, and

there are over 3,500 species. Plagiochila is a very large genus

containing many species, two of which are illustrated in figs. 1-4

on Plate II. The archegonia are always in terminal cluster, and the

sporogonium is therefore found springing from the apex of one of

the leafy shoots, and has a long stalk with a globular capsule, as

shown in the illustration of Frulliania (figs. 5 and 6, Plate II).

Sphcero car pales. — This is a small order containing the family

Riellacece which used to be classed among the Jungermanniales but

has been placed now in a different order, from the fact of the

antheridia and archegonia being surrounded and enclosed by a

special envelope. The gametophyte is thalloid, but some species

assume a curious spiral form, as in Riella helicophylla which grows

in the Lake of Geneva.

The Musci

In the mosses, the gametophyte is the little g'reen moss plant

with stem, leaves and sexual organs, from which the sporogonium

or sporophyte generation is developed. When a spore from the

capsule of the sporogonium finds a suitable habitat, it germinates,

and produces first a long* green branching filament. A number of

these together will form a mass of interwoven threads making a thin

green film on the rock or earth over which they spread, looking

rather like one of the green algae. Very soon, however, there arise

on these threads, little buds which develop into the little green moss

plants. This thread-like structure which is produced first from the

spore is called the protonema and is really part of the gametophyte

generation, peculiar to the mosses, as it is not found in liverworts.

As the little plant develops the protonema gradually dies away and

is not found after the early stages of growth. The development of

a spore to produce the protonema and moss plant is shown in

figs. 1 to 3 on Plate V. The little bud m. soon develops stem and

leaves, and later rhizoids to fix it to the soil and absorb nourishment

therefrom as the protonema dies away. These rhizoids have

426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Vol. XXXlV

transverse cell walls, differing- from those of liverworts which are

merely undivided filaments. The leaves, which, as already stated,

are arranged spirally on the stem, are also distinguished from those

of the liverworts by having- a distinct midrib. This means that

certain of the cells towards the centre of the leaf are rather more

crowded, more elongated in shape and often become empty of their

contents. They form a continuous passage with certain cells

similarly modified in the centre of the stem, and afford a complete

conducting channel for water, absorbed by the rhizoids, to pass up

to all parts of the plant. There is thus in the mosses an incipient

differentiation of cell tissue, and the rudimentary beginnings of the

complex stem and leaf structure found in its highest development

in the higher plants, where a woody and water bearing system of

cells forms the vascular system. It is interesting to note that in

one group of the mosses which live almost in water the

sphagnacew or bog mosses, this differentiation of structure in stem

and leaves is not found, the whole of the tissue being able to absorb

as much water as required.

The sporogonium which develops from the fertilized arche-

gonium varies a good deal in character, size, shape, colour, etc.,

and on these differences the classification of mosses is chiefly based.

The calyptra is sometimes split down one side as in Funaria and

Bryum, in other genera it is complete. The capsule is often oblong

or pear shaped, as in Pogonatum , Hypopteriguim, Mnium, Bryum

and others, or is globular as in Philonotis and the Sphagnales.

When the calyptra has fallen off, the top of the capsule is seen to

be closed by a neat little lid called the operculum which is rounded

or dome-like, or has a little peak or a long tapering point. It is

joined to the top of the capsule by a ring of cells called the annulus.

As the capsule ripens the annulus breaks down and the operculum

falls off, disclosing the interior of the capsule which is still protected

however by a ring of fine teeth projecting inwards. This is known

as the peristome, and is very hygroscopic, absorbing moisture and

remaining closed over the mouth of the capsule in wet weather,

while in fine dry weather the teeth dry up and spread open allowing

the spores to escape (figs. 12-15, Plate V). In some genera the teeth

are very short, and a thin membrane remains stretched across the

top of the capsule, joining the tips of the peristome teeth, and in

that case the spores can only tumble out through the little inter-

stices. This membrane is easily seen with the naked eye, as it is

usually white, and an enlarged drawing of the top of a capsule of

Pogonatum Neesii is shown in fig. 16, Plate V. The interior of the

capsule has a central mass of tissue or columella surrounded by the

spores. There are three main divisions of the Musci : —

1. Sphagnales

2. Andreceales

3. Bryales.

Sphagnales contains only one family the Sphagnums or Bog

mosses which, as their name suggests, grow in very swampy

situations. They cover large areas with a thick carpet and being

saturated with water form the treacherous and dangerous bogs

which tire so common in Ireland and elsewhere. The lower portions

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. PLATE IV.

!

Flowerless Plants.

( For explanation see end of article ,)

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

427

of the moss gradually die away and sink into the swamp, ultimately

forming a large constituent of peat.

Fig. 1 .—A, Plant of Sphagnum fimbriatum with four sporogonia sp. B.

Sporogonium of same enlarged 10 times, o, operculum ; c, capsule ; cl, remains

of archegonium ; ps, pseudopodium ; g, gametophyte. (After Strasburger)

Sporogonia are developed often several together at the tips of the

branches and the capsule is spherical with a domed operculum.

There is no peristome. The capsule is stalked, but the stalk does

not develop till after fertilization takes place, and then develops

below the archegonium which it pushes up with it, so that at the

base of the capsule there is a little cup or sheath, and there is no

calyptra at its top. This stalk is called a pseudopodium.

Andveceales also contains but one family Andrecea . These are

very small mosses of simple structure growing in tufts on bare

rocks being often among the first plants to appear thereon. Like

sphagnum , Andreaea has a spherical capsule borne up on a

pseudopodium but it has also a calyptra at the top. There is no

operculum and no peristome and the capsule opens in a manner

unlike all other mosses, for it splits into four valves, exactly like

Aneura and Frulliania and other leafy liverworts. These two

families thus show distinct affinities with the liverworts in their

sporogonium generations, though their gametophytes are typical

of the mosses.

3

c

A

Fig. 1

428 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Bryales. — This division is a very large one and includes about

ninety families, and almost all the true mosses. It is divided into

three groups distinguished by microscopic differences in the

structure of the peristome teeth, or by the form of the capsule.

(1) Eubryinales. — The teeth are formed from dried up cell

walls, and the capsule is circular or polygonal in section. The

majority of families belong to this

group, which is further sub-divided

into

(a) Acvocarpew where the arche-

gonia and resulting sporogonia

are borne at the tips of the shoots

as in Funaria, Rhcdobryum,

Mnium, Mierocampylanus and

many others.

(b) Plurocarpece where they are

borne on side shoots as shown in

Rhizogonum, Hypopterigium,

Ryncostegnum Hypnum, and

most of the creeping stemmed

mosses.

(2) Polytrichinales . — The peristome

teeth are made of entire cells, and

often have the membrane stretched

between them as in Pogonaturn, and

the capsule circular of polygonal in

section.

(3) Buxbaumiales . — There are only

two families in this group, and the

capsule is dorsiventral. Buxbaumia

aphylla is a very simple type of moss

and only produces leafy shoots on

the protonema for sexual reproduc-

tion.

The writer would like to acknow-

ledge here with grateful thanks much

help from Professor Shiv Ram

Kashyap of Lahore in the identifica-

tion of species of liverworts, and

from the Rev. Father Foreau, s.j.,

of Palamcottah, in the case of the mosses.

Plate 1

Some types of thalloiU i.ivfcftWofcTS

1. Female plant of Marchantia sp. g. gametophyte sp. sporogonia

ge. gemmae cups.

2. Male plant of Marchantia polymorpha,

3. Plants of Riccia sp.

4. Plants of Aneura. levieri Sp. sporogonia arising directly on the thallus.

5. ; Plants of a sp. of Reboulia showing narrow strapped shaped thallus and

special branches bearing sporogonia.

b, Another species of Reboulia — thallus has no midrib*

%

9-

Fig. 2

Fig v 11 : — Plant of Andrea’ a

petrophylla. g, gametophyte ;

sp, sporogonium ; cl, calyptra ;

c, capsule ; f, foot ; ps, pseudo-

podium. Enlarged 10 times.

(After Strasburger).

Journ«» Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc,

Plate V*

r

Flowerless Plants,

{For explanation see end of article .)

V • : : ' r

V- ■ v ' . ■’>

'-vv,

ud co

FLOWERLESS PLANTS

429

7. Under side of thallus of Marchantia sc. scales, r. rhizoids (Mag. about

8 times).

8. A cupule or gemmae cup. (Mag. 8 times).

9. Under side of thallus of Reboulia — showing scales of a different shape

(Mag. about 8 times).

TO. Upper surface of thallus of Marchantia showing division into definite areas

or areolae, each with a pore.

Plate I I

Some types of foliose liverworts

1. Plagiochila sp.

2. Under side of same, showing overlapping leaves in two rows on upper

surface, and small scale like leaves a. amphigastra on lower surface

(Mag. 10 times).

3. Another species of Plagiochila.

4. Upper surface (of same mag. 10 times).

5. Frullania campanulata.

6. The same mag. 10 times showing sporogonia opening in four valves.

7. Piece of stem of F. campanulata mag. about 25 times showing circular

overlapping leaves, each with a small pitcher p. at the base,

a. amphigastra.

8. Section of cupule showing gemmae ge. and paraphyses pa., ds. dorsal

surface of thallus (Mag. 150 times).

9. One gemma more highly magnified. The bright spots in the centre are

oil globules (Mag. 250 times).

10, Section through thallus of Marchantia showing a pore pr. with air

Chamber ac. below, ds, dorsal surface, vs. ventral surface, s. scales,

r, rhizoids,

Plate III

1. Gametophyte of a small liverwort showing sexual organs, a. embedded

in the thallus (enlarged).

2. The special branch bearing male organs on the gametophyte of a

Marchantia (enlarged).

3. Special branch bearing female organs ar. of the gametophyte of a

Marchantia (enlarged).

4. Stages in the development of the sporogonium on the female branch of a

Reboulia. C shows the sporogonia sp. ripe and dehiscing by teeth,

5. Section through male branch of Marchantia showing antheridia an. of

three different ages (Highly magnified).

6. Section through female branch of a Marchantia showing archegonia ar.

(Highly magnified).

7. The gametophyte g. of an Antheceros with sporogonia sp.

8. Young sporogonium of aneura — cl. remains of archeg'onial wall, c. cup like

sheath which surrounds archegonia, g. gametophyte (Enlarged about

4 times).

9. Later stage of same — dehiscence by four valves. Mixed spores and elators

escaping s. (Mag. about 4 times).

Plate IV

Different types of the gametophyte in the Mosses

1. Hypopterigium tenelleum. sp. sporogonia.

2. Microcampylotus subnanus.

3. Schlotheimia grevilleana.

4. Funaria hygrometrica.

Rhizogonum spiniforme.

The same, magnified 8 times, showing spiral arrangement of leaves

on stem.

7. Mnium coriaceum.

8. Thuidium cymbifolium.

9. Ryncostegnum vagans.

10. Barbella deterrnesiii

430 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

Plate V

Development of mosses

1. An asexual spore of a moss with protonema p. developing from it.

(Mag. 250 times).

2. Later stage of same with a rhizoid r. also.

3. Threadlike branched protonema with bud m. from which mossplant

develops.

4. The gametophyte of Funaria hygrometrica mag. 8 times.

5. Gametophyte of F. hygrometrica showing rosette at the top enclosing

sexual organs.

6. The same seen from the top — s.o. sexual organs.

7. Section through the rosette of a male plant, an. antheredia, pa. paraphyses.

1. leaf bases, s. stem. Mag. about 100 times.

8. Section through rosette of a female plant, ar. archegonia. Mag. about

100 times.

9. Sporogonium of Funaria developed from an archegonium of which wall

has ruptured and been carried up to form calyptra. cl.

10. Later stage, se. seta. Magnified 8 times.

11. Later still. Capsule c. now developed — calyptra cl. still on top.

12. Calyptra now fallen showing operculum o. attached by annulus a.

13. Operculum now detached — ps. peristome teeth, protecting contents of

the teeth.

14. Capsule of Rhizogonium showing peristome teeth opened out.

15. Top of capsule, magnified about 50 times, showing cellular structure of

peristome teeth.

16. Top of capsule of Pogonatum one of the family Poly trichum showing

very short teeth with membrane m. stretched between them.

THE NOCTUID MOTH

( E UBL EMMA AMABILIS , MOORE) ;

A PREDATOR OF THE LAC INSECT, AND ITS CONTROL.

BY

M. P. Misra, P. S. Negi, & S. N. Gupta.

Department of Entomology , Indian Lac Research Institute \ Namkum .

( With one colour, 4 black and white plates and 10 diagrams .)

Introductory.

Eublemma amabilis was first described and figured by Moore from Ceylon,

but Witt was the first to study the general life history and refer to its injurious

nature with regard to the lac insect. Stebbing has some notes on it and has

figured its pupa and adult. Rampson records it only from Ceylon, but since

his work was published, it has been found widely distributed in India. Lefroy

has figured the male insect, but not accurately. Imms and Chatterjee have

given a slightly improved account of its life history and distribution, but have

given a misleading figure of the male. Misra, who was Entomologist in this

Institute from January 1926 to April 1927, has also dealt briefly with the predator.

Mahdihassan gives a short account of its presence in South Indian lac and quotes

Subramanyam’s life history data for one generation. References to it have

been made by Lindsay and Harlow, and Withers and Simmons in their respective

reports.

The present writers have been working on the predator for the last three

years and have had opportunities of examining samples of lac from various

parts of India, and it was found that not a single sample received was free from

the attack of Eublemma amabilis .

The Imago

General description.—

Head with short, white pink hair-scales above ; face deflexed, smooth.

Thorax silvery wThite, slightly pink. Antennae in repose stretched in front of

the head, basal joint enlarged, clothed with white scales, succeeding joints

pinkish yellow. Palpi upturned 3-jointed, clothed with white scales. Proboscis

more or less flattened, yellowish in colour. Eyes large, brown, visible from

above, facets comparatively large. Legs yellowish-pink; femora and tibia

clothed with long white, and the tarsus with short scales. Fore-wing more or

less triangular in form, its description is well given by Moore * With a broad

discal pale pinkish-violet band, the inner border of the band being darkest and

indented to the end of the cell, the outer border being also darker and angled

outward at the middle median vein, upper radial, and at the costal end;

the entire angulated outer border is also bordered by a prominent white line,

which is slightly speckled with black scales; the marginal border of the wing

and the cilia suffused with pale pinkish-violet; hind-wing with a similar

pinkish-violet discal band, which is waved and anular only towards the lower

end, the outer border line is also pale pink and distinctly speckled with black

scales along its entire length ; the outer border of the wing and the cilia

also suffused with pale pinkish-violet.’ Wing expanse in female (average of 15

specimens) 20*26 mm. in male (average of 15 specimens) 16’46 mm. According

|;p Moore and Hampson respectively the wing expanse is 2£*5 mm. and 24mir>,

21

432 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

Anterior half of the abdomen pinkish white, posterior half greyish pink and

blackish brown ; genitalia protected by tufts of white hair scales. Length of

the body in male about 6*86 mm., in female. 8‘2 mm. When the moth is at

rest, the fore-wing completely overlaps the posterior.

External differences between the male and female imago .

Male (PI. I, Fig. 1) Female (PI. I, Fig. 2)

1. Size and colour. Generally smaller and Generally bigger and

duller in colour than brighter in colour

the female. than the male.

2. Antennae. 47-53 jointed and hairy 41-57 jointed, bear

small hairs.

3. Shape of abdomen.

4.

Gradually tapers poste- Bulges out a little in

riorly. the middle and then

gradually tapers pos-

teriorly.

8th abdominal

ment.

seg- Complete ; posterior half

slightly broader than

the anterior.

Incomplete ventrally

gradually tapers pos-

teriorly.

5. 8th abdominal seg- A complete outer circular An outer triangular ring

ment viewed from

the posterior end.

ring of scales with two

inner semi-circular rings

of scales on the claspers

fFig. 1 a).

of scales, through

which the ovipositor

may or may not be

seen projecting (Fig

2a).

Colour variation . -

Normally the colour of the moth is creamy white, tinged with bluish,

fuscous or pinkish violet with light yellow and brown markings dorsally. The

lower surface of the wings in addition may have black spots ; but in some

cases the moth may be creamy white, tinged with greenish, or greyish suffused

with pink and fuscous, or it may have various other combination of these.

Respiratory organs.—

The moth has 8 pairs of open spiracles (PL V, Figs. 15, 15a) one in the pro-

thorax, in the membrane behind the pronotum, and one in each of the first

seven abdominal segments. Each spiracle of the abdominal segments is

situated on the upper part of the membraneous pleura. The main tracheal

system appears to be the same as that of the larva described in the following

pages, but the tracheal trunks and their branches are extremely fine and diffi-

cult to follow in detail.

Longevity. —

Under laboratory conditions it has been found that the maximum age of a

female moth was 25 days in the month of January ; and shortest one day in

June and December. For the male moth the maximum age was 24 days in

January ; the minimum one day in June and October. The average age of a

female was 6*5 days (average of 206 females) and of the male 6*9 days (average

of 219 males).

Reproduction . —

Sexual reproduction is the only type prevalent in the species. However,

unmated females at times lay eggs, but these eggs do not develop and shrivel

up after two or three days. Copulation usually takes place at dusk though

moths have been noticed copulating in the day in shady and cool places. In

captivity copulation freely takes place at all times of the day.

The egg (PI. II, Figs. 6, 6a , 60).—

The freshly laid egg is spherical, depressed in the centre dorsally, pale

yellow in colour and furnished with concentric protuberances from either end

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

PLATE 1.

Fig. 2.

The Noctuid Moth — -Eublemma amabilis-

Fig. i. Male x 9.

1 a. Posterior view of the last segment X 18.

Fig. 2. Female x 9.

2 a. Postero-ventral view of the last segment x 9.

Fig. 1.

Jourtt., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

The N:cctui<3 Moth —Eublemma amabilis , Moore.

( For explanation see end of article. )

Plate III.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soe.

The Noctuid Moth— EuMemma amabilis , Moore.

(For explanation see end of article )

THE NOCTU1D MOTH

433

to the middle, but smooth and flat ventrally. The depression (the micropylar

end) and the concentric protuberances become better marked in a fully

developed egg, which measures '325 to *375 mm. in diameter and is deep brown

in colour.

The larva.—

The newly emerged larva (Pi. Ill, Fig. 7) is about '875 mm. in length

creamy white and pinkish in colour. With feeding, slight changes occur in its

colour till its maturity, but Imms and Chatterjee have gone too far when they

say: ‘ In lac that is approaching the swarming period, the Eublenvna larvae

are deeper crimson in colour, the colour being due to the ingested Tachardice .’

And the same may be said about Mabdihassan, who says: ‘The absence

of red dye in the food of these caterpillars explains the yellow rather than the

pink appearance of the adults.’ The food contents are in the alimentary

canal which cannot be seen through the body wall as the alimentary canal is

surrounded by fat bodies. The only organ which can be seen from outside is

the dorsal blood vessel which contains a dark red fluid. As such the ingested

food can hardly affect the colour of the larva.

The mature larva (PI, III, Fig. 8) measures about 9 mm. in length, is dirty

yellowish white in colour ; intersegmental indentations deeper yellow, the

posterior eight abdominal segments more yellow than the thoracic and anterior

two abdominal segments. It is broadest from 6th-8th abdominal segments

and slightly flat dorsally, the 9th and 10th segments gradually tapering pos-

teriorly. Head (Figs. 8 b, 8 a) is dark brown in colour and partly retractable into

the prothorax ; the cardo appears to be 3- jointed— a single maxillary lobe,

and 3-jointed palpi ; the antennae 3-jointed and small ; just behind and a little

above the base of each of them are situated six ocelli of unequal dimensions.

The prothorax is dorsally brown and chitinous, Thoracic legs are 3-jointed,

setose and terminate in large claws directed inwards. The prolegs are borne

by abdominal segments 5th and 6th and 10th (anal) ; each proleg with nine

crochets arranged in half rings. The dorsal blood vessel can be seen running

from the head to the 8th abdominal segment, the heart being situated in the

4th and 5th abdominal segments.

Points of difference between a newly hatched and mature larva.

(PI. III).

1.

2.

3.

Abdominal segments

8th-10th.

Prolegs on 5th, 6th

and 10th abdominal

segments.

Setae.

Newly hatched

larva (Fig. 7).

The segments are not

very marked ; 8th and

9th segments coalesce

ventrally.

Apparently three lobed,

fleshy and end in two

curved spines.

Cup-shaped,

Mature larva

(Fig. 8).

The segments quite

distinct, no coales-

cence in the 8th

and 9th segments

ventrally.

Neither lobed nor

fleshy, with mine

uniordinal hooks

(crochets) .

Bristle-like.

The Setal plan. (Diag. Figs. 1-9),—

The setal arrangement of the first instar and the mature larva of E. amabilis

differs in many important respects from that described by Fracker in

F. gladiaria representative of the family Noctuidae studied by him. On the

prothorax (Fig. 1) of the first instar larva of E. amabilis unlike that of

F. gladiaria , eta of the kappa group, all the tau group, and sigma are pre-

sent ; gamma is absent and a small seta near the caudal end between beta and

delta has made its appearance, which cannot be accounted for and adjusted

within the present setal terminology, unless one is ready to accept that gamma

has moved to the caudal border and the seta labelled delta is gamma and the

small seta between it and beta is delta, but this is hardly plausible because

there is no apparent reason for gamma alone to undergo this change ; above

434 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

sigma at the base of the leg is more than one seta which represent the tau

group. The meso-and meta-thcrax (Fig. 2) unlike that of F. gladiaria show

the presence of gamma, theta ; and of rho close to epsilon at the cephalic

border, and of tau group and sigma. Theta, though a sub-primary seta, seems

to have become established on the meso-and meta-thorax of the first instar

Eublemma cimabilis larva. The only other seta for which it could be taken is

delta, but comparison with the abdomen shows delta to be missing and

this has been accepted by the other workers as a general case in all the

Frenatce, this is further confirmed by the fact that in the mature larva the seta

occupying this position is theta. On the abdomen (Figs. 5-7) epsilon is dis-

tinctly represented as a minute point on the 8th segment but is not clear on

other segments, this however goes to confirm the primary nature of the

seta, tau is present on the first four and 9th segments and sigma is absent

oil the 9th. The homology of the setal plan of the 10th segment is not clear.

The mature larva (Figs- 3, 4, 8, 9) shows but slight modification of the

chaefotaxy of the first instar larva. This modification is the arrival of mu on

the first nine abdominal segments.

The setal plan of Eublemma amabilis larva seems to be of special interest,

as it appears to be a connecting link between the Jugatce and the Frenatce

and the Microlepidoptera. As in the Jugatse on the prothorax in the first

instar, eta of the kappa group, tau group and sigma are present, and on the

meso and meta thorax tau and sigma group are present. Epsilon on the pro-

thorax in the mature larva, as in the Microlepidoptera remains near the cephalic

border and does not move as in the Bombycidae close to rho above the spiracle.

Internal anatomy . —

The digestive system (PI. IV, Fig. 9) .—The alimentary canal is a more or less

straight tube, the hind intestine is divided into two chambers (colon and

rectum) . The six Malpighian tubes open on either side by means of a common

duct into a small excretory chamber which in its turn opens into the hind

intestine. The common duct bifurcates and one branch subdivides, thus

giving rise to three tubes on each side. The pair of silk glands (Fig. 11) is

most conspicuous, each one of them is an elongated cylindrical tube of nearly

three-fourths the length of the entire body. The accessory or Fillipi’s glands

are reduced to a bifid lobe. The salivary or mandibular glands (Fig. 10)

consist of three main lobes and lie in the thorax, one on each side of the fore-

intestine and overlapping beneath it ; the third is smaller in size and lies

medio-dorsally on the fore intestine. Each lateral lobe opens by a duct into the

base of the mandible of its side ; and the dorsal lobe by a comparatively narrow

duct directly into the buccal cavity.

The nervous system (PI. IV, Fig. 12).— The central nervous system is typical

and consists of supra-and infra-oesophageal ganglia, three thoracic and eight

abdominal ganglia. The 7th and 8th abdominal ganglia lie on the 7th

segment.

The respiratory system (PI. V. Fig. 13, 16), is of the peripneustic type. There

are 9 spiracles on each side of the body, one in the prothorax and eight in the

first eight abdominal segments. Short wide tracheae run inwards from the

spiracles and give rise to three main branches ; the smallest arises just near

the spiracle, and divides and sub-divides to supply the body wall ; the other

two arise by the breaking of the main tube into two. One of these joins the

lateral trunk, and the other (the dorsal) branch supplies the body wall and

viscera, etc. The dorsal branches bifurcate and the sub-divisions further

divide and sub-divide and loosely join those of the opposite side, thus forming

a system of loops or arches. The principal ventral branches arise, from the

lateral trunks in all the segments except the first and last (8th abdominal).

Here they may be said to arise directly from the spiracular tube, immediately

below the spiracle, and take a transverse course to join their fellows of the

opposite side, thus forming a single ventral trunk running between the

opposite spiracles. From these, branches are given off to the nerve cord and

ventral musculature, etc. The lateral trunks run along the sides of the body.

In the meso-and meta-thorax, though the spiracles have totally degenerated

and the thin dorsal and ventral branches on either side are directly given off

from the longitudinal trunks, yet there is in the meta-thorax, a thin rudimen-

tary spiracular tube clearly seen running from the lateral trunk to the body

wall attached in a corresponding position to that of the spiracle in other

Journ.t Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Diagrams 1-4.

Journ., Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Diagrams 5— 7

DIAG. FIG. 5

The Noctitfd Moth — 'Eublemwia amabili$t Moore. Seetal plan of Larva.

Jouin., Bombay Nat, Hist. Soc.

Diagrams 8 and 9.

D1AG.FIG8

The Noctuid Moth — Eublemma amabilis, Moore. Seetal plan of Larva.

,!K-t

\

. . , J

\

THE NOCTU1D MOTH

435

segments. The ventral trunks of the prothorax, unlike those of other segments,

divide into three principal branches and the middle ones of the opposite sides

join to form the ventral trunk just behind the epicranium. In addition to the

principal ventral branches, practically in all the segments one or two

secondary fine transverse branches are given off from the lateral trunks.

The Pupa. (PI. V, Figs. 17, 18, and 19). —

It is first pale yellow in colour ; all other parts except the abdomen turning

to deep brown when the moth is about to emerge. Tnirteen segments are

visible from above, the largest being the mesothorax, the eyes are small and

dark brown, antennae and legs fused ventrally, cremaster present. The free

segments in both the sexes are the 4th, 5th and 6th abdominals. The spiracles

are present in the prothorax and in abdominal segments 1-7. The genital

aperture in the male pupa is situated on the 9th sternum, in the female the

8th and 9th sterna coalesce in the middle line and the common opening for

oviduct and bursa copulatrix lies more on the 8th than on the 9th ; the anus

lies ventrally on the 10th segment.

The pupa lies in its larval passage lined with fine silk threads freely inter-

spersed with the larval excreta, and with a circular hole at one end of the

passage. The hole is cut prior to pupation and is lined from below with a

silken covering, which is ruptured by the imago while emerging.

Life History.—

Generations .—Though the emergence from our parasite cages, the tables

given by Imms and Chatterjee and the results of our breeding cages show the

presence of Eublemma in large or small numbers in the field practically

throughout the year, yet according to the mean life cycle periods in table ii, it

seems to have six geneiations (diag. fig. 10) in twelve months and eight days in

all places throughout India where only two crops, i. e., June-July (Jethwi)

and October-November (Katki) including the Aghani (January- February) and

Baisakhi (April-May) are reaped. This has also been pointed out by Mahdi-

hassan in his L. mysorensis which is reported to take 13 lunar months to

complete three life-cycles, though he does not support his conclusions with

data. Imms and Chatterjee were therefore wrong in concluding : ‘ There

are two generations in the year, and possibly in the hottest localities there

are three such broods \ July has been chosen as the beginning of the >ear as

it is more convenient from the point of view of lac cultivation, and by the

15th of this month practically throughout the country, brood lac for both the

Katki (October-November) and Aghani (January-February) is infected on

the host plants.

I II III IV V VI

Diag. Fig. 10.

The life cycle of the predator is not as simple as represented above. The

complexity begins with the third generation. The eggs laid in October, as

will be seen from Table Nos. 2, 3. 4, develop and a part of the adult emergence

takes place in November and a part hibernates in the Aghani crop which

matures in January-February and in the Katki stored lac, i.e., Ber (Z. jujuba )

and Palas [B. frondosa ), etc., which has been reaped and kept in store after

and before the inoculations. A portion of the brood which hibernates nearing

or in the pupal stage emerges in December-January and the remainder

emerges in February^March. Thus the October generation (generation three)

436 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

emerges continuously from November to March. Most of the eggs laid by

this generation on Baisakhi and Aghani do not develop due to cold, but those

which survive, and develop further, emerge as adults in March-April and

May. This is the fourth generation. The eggs laid by this develop and

emerge as adults in different months till the first half of June. This is the

fifth generation. The eggs laid by these in May and first half of June gep^ral-

ly do not develop due to heat. A few that do develop emerge in June or al/mg

with those laid in the second half of June, in July and August. This is the 6th

generation. The 4th and 6th generations develop under very trying conditions.

Mating. — As soon as the moths emerge, they seek shelter on the lower

part of the leaves of the host plant or in a less lighted place in the vicinity

till dusk, when they presumably fly about in search of mates. After a

mate has been secured, the pair remain in copula until after dark, and

do not separate easily even if disturbed. The eggs are laid soon after

copulation. In the laboratory in six cases, the female began to deposit eggs

from 2\-l hours after copulation. Besides this, in the laboratory under confine-

ment, eggs were laid by females hitherto virgins, 1-13 days after the intro-

duction of males. Misra who has quoted this datum of ours has incorrectly put

1-13 days after fertilization. This shows that the mating does not begin as

soon as a couple comes together. The female continues to deposit eggs from

1-10 days after she has begun egg laying.

Egg-laying and, hatching. — In the field the eggs are laid singly as well as in

batches of 2-40, the common number in a batch being 2-6. They are laid

between the developing larvae of the lac insect, in the crevices of the lac incrus-

tation and sometimes on the incrustation also; this depends on the stages

of development of the lac insect ; in the early stages, Eublemma invariably

lays eggs between the lac cells or at the side of a single cell, but when the

incrustation becomes continuous, it lays eggs in the crevices generally and some-

times on the encrustation itself. In the laboratory the eggs are laid on the sides

of the jar, on the papers covering the jar, round the holes for ventilation and

sometimes in the holes too. The egg-laying period varied from 1-10 days.

The female continues laying eggs even after the death of the male, but the

rate: becomes less. Eublemma amabilis moths are more fertile during the

Katki crop than in the Baisakhi, they lay a much larger number of eggs in

the months July-October than in the other months of the year. This has

been observed both in the laboratory and in the field. The minimum and

the maximum length of the egg stage and the period within which all the eggs

laid on the same day hatch (i.e., duration of hatching) for eleven months are

given in Table No. 1.

TABLE NO. 1.

The table shows that the length of the egg stage and the duration of hatching

rises continuously from November-Februaiy (in generation 3) and begins

to drop from March-June in (generations 4 and 5) and remains more or less

at its lowest from June to October (generations 6, l and 2). The mortality

of eggs laid from November-February and May to first half of June is much

{For explanation see end of article.)

Journ., Eombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate V |

The Noctuid Wloth—Eublenima amabilis , Moore.

( For explanation see end of article.)

THE NOCTUID MOTH

437

greater than in any other generation. This can only be accounted for

by cold and heat.

The embryo, when fully developed within the egg shell, bites a hole laterally,

and generally thrusts its head out first, presses its thoracic legs against

the inner-side of the shell and fixes its anal end close to the thorax. It then

relaxes its thoracic hold, pushes the anterior end forward through the hole,

and subsequently relaxes its anal hold and draws its posterior end either

by alternate expansion and contraction of the part of the body which is outside

the shell or by fixing its thoracic legs on the adjoining egg and slowly drawing

out the posterior part, taking from 45-69 minutes. But in certain cases

the larva, after biting the hole, moves round and throws out its anai end first,

fixes the anal legs on the adjoining shell and by relaxing the hold of the

thoracic legs wriggles out slowly in 1*5 hours-36 hours.

The larval stage. — The newly-emerged tiny larva bites a small hole into

the incrustation and begins to feed on the developing male and female lac larvae

within the resinous tests. The larva, as it grows, continues tunnelling below

the encrustation and feeding on a large number of lac insects. The full-fed

larva is creamy white with a pinkish tinge. It lines its passage with fine

whitish silk threads and leaves the pink circular discs of excreta surcharged

with resin in the passage as it proceeds onwards. Prior to pupation, it makes

a large circular hole into the incrustation and lines it from below with the fine

silk lining. A single caterpillar devours from 40-45 mature cells in its full

larval life.

The larva appears to moult ten times prior to pupation. This is fully

supported by the calculations based on Dyar’s law (larval head measurements).

1st instar width of head

2nd ,, ,, ,,

Average ratio

•18 mm.

•225 mm.

1-25 mm.

Calculated widths

Observed widths of

of head in mm.

The length of the larval stage (Table 2.) also varies according to the seasons

of the year and more or less follows the same rule as the egg stage.

The pupal stage . — The full-fed- larva ultimately pupates in the larval passage

under a tough cover of its excreta. The length of the pupal stage (Table 2.) ,

also varies according to the seasons of the year. It is lowest in generation

4 and gradually rises in generations 6, 1 and 2 and is highest in 3. The moth

emerges through a rupture in the pupal coat and then ruptures the silken

covering over the mouth of the circular hole, sits for a while near the hole

and then flies away. The following table represents the life cycle of Eublemma

amabilis collected and summarized from the breeding cages. Misra has

incorrectly quoted a few of our life history figures on p. 92 of Pusa Bulletin

No. 185.

The correct figures would be as follows: —

438 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , kW. XXXI V

TABLE 2

A7. — In striking the average only complete life cycles, have been taken

into account,

THE NOCTUID MOTH

439

Life history figures of Subraraanyam quoted by Mahdihassan for generation

3, i.e., eggs laid in November, do not apply to Northern India.

Crop Statistics.

S tick Examination .

Tables 3 and 4 show the mean presence of Eublemma amabilis reduced to

per hundred inches from the years 1926-29,

TABLE 3.

(Aghani in ordinary type ; Katki in bold).

TABLE 4.

(Jethwi in ordinary type ; Baisakhi in bold).

The examination of each crop was made a week after inoculation to the time

of infecting the next crop. A careful study of the tables shows the relative

22

440 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

dominance of the predator in the Aghani and Katki over that in the Baisakhi

and Jethwi and, that in each season the former of each pair is damaged more

by the predator than the latter. In July both the Aghani and Katki crop in-

fection takes place more or less side by side ; though the Katki generally gets

an advance of about a week or so, yet the Aghani seems to be attacked more

by the predator than the Katki. Of the Baisakhi and Jethwi crops the former

reaches the male emergence stage, when the parent brood of the latter is being

collected and infected, and the former by virtue of its advanced growth is more

favourable for the attack of the predator, which emerges in large numbers from

the mature Aghani, than is the Jethwi which is settling just then. Thus the

Aghani is responsible for the greater attack of the Baisakhi crop, which can be

prevented to a great extent, if the control measures recommended in this paper

be adopted. The tables also show the relative dominance of the stages of the

predator and thereby give a rough idea of the possible number of generations

and emergences in a year. This becomes simpler to conclude when the com-

parative rise and fall of the unhatched eggs, larvae, full pupae and empty pupae

are taken into consideration . All of these may not be found corresponding to this

effect in some months, because much depends on the samples collected for the

examination, but, even, if any two of them correspond, nne xran certainly'gfef an

idea about the approximate time of the presence of adults in the field ; e.g., in

table 3 the rise of unhatched eggs and larvae in August shows the presence of

adults in large numbers during the month, and the presence of full and empty

pupae, also goes to support the conclusion that the first generation of the predator

is emerging in this month. In September the fall in the number of unhatched

eggs and larvae shows the absence of the adults in the field, and the rise in the

number of the full pupae supports this, but one may say that the rise in the

empty pupae goes against this. This objection falls to the ground, if one bears

in mind that much importance cannot be attached to the number of empty

pupae after the emergence of the first generation, because the empty pupae

will remain in the incrustation, unless removed, and it is not easy to

distinguish the empty pupae of one generation from those of another. In

October, again, there is a rise in the number of the unhatched eggs and larvae,

and fall in full pupae ; this shows the abundance of the females in the field and

supports the view that the second generation has emerged. The remaining

four months— -November, December, January and February— show the presence

and emergence of the third generation in the Aghani crop. Table No. 4 shows

the presence of the full and empty pupae for the first time in the Baisakhi crop

in March ; this shows that the third generation eggs which were laid in the

winter months emerge as adults in this month. In May again there is a rise in

the number of full pupae and the presence of empty pupae in the Jethwi crop,

this shows the emergence of the fourth generation. The fall in the number of

larvae and the rise in the number of full pupae and empty pupae in June,

show the emergence of the fifth generation. The rise in the number of

unhatched eggs, larvae, full and empty pupae in July, shows the emergence

and nearing of the emergence of the sixth generation.

Storage of lac . — Mature and immature scraped lac was_ caged in parasite

cages to find out the emergence of adults during the various months. The

results are given in Table Nos. 5 and 6, reduced to per lb. of scraped lac.

TABLE 5.

Aghani in ordinary type ; Katki in bold. (Immature to mature fresh).

THE NOCTU1D MOTH 44 i

TABLE 5 — [contd. )

Aghani in ordinary type ; Katki in bold (Immature to mature fresh)

TABLE 6.

[Jethwi in ordinary type ; Baisakhi in bold. (Immature to Mature fresh)].

Table Nos. 5 and 6 show the overlapping of the broods, and the preponder-

ance of the predator in the Aghani and Katki over the Jethwi and Baisakhi

And also that the Aghani is attacked more by the predator than the Katki,

Some of the eggs laid in September hibernate in larval condition and emerge

at different periods till March. Till February the Baisakhi brood does not

suffer much from the attack of the predator.

442 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

H ibern ation . —

The predator hibernates more or less in the larval stage mostly from about

the middle of November till the first half of February. The larvae at this stage

do not seem to do much damage and lie concealed below the encrustation over

the stick.

Distribution . —

The moth is widely distributed all over the country. It has been reared at

Namkum from lac received from Halimahat, Sonapur and Palas Bari (Assam),

Ranchi, Daltongunj, Pakur, Pusa (Behar), Mathurapur, Nimtita and Raghu-

nathgunj (Bengal), Benares (U. P.), Damoh, Raipur, Kota Bilaspur, Jubbulpur

(C.P.), Panna State (C.I.), Hyderabad- Deccan, Kashmir; Jodhpur (Rajputana),

Minbu (Burma), Sind and Bangalore (Mysore), Dharwar, Bijapur, Bombay.

Other workers on the lac insect have also reported it from Kumaun Division,

Dehra Dun, Kheri (U. P.), Aramboly (S. Travancore), Ceylon, Khandesh

Forests, Bombay.

Economic Status.—

It does more damage to the lac insect than any other single species of

injurious insect. At least 30% of the damage is done by this predator alone. A

single larva damages from 40-45 mature cells prior to pupation. It not only

destroys the lac insect but also eats the lac incrustation.

Natural Enemies.—

Known :

1. Bracon tachardice : — Parasitises the Eublemma larva. The larva feeds

externally on the Eublemma caterpillar.

2. Chalcis tachardice : larva is an endoparasite of the Eublemma pupa.

3. Camponotus compressus (the big black ant) and Solenopsis geminata

pick up Eublemma larvae when they come out from the egg shells and are try-

ing to enter lac cells by biting at the encrustation.

4. Ephestia sp. Mainly a scavenger, but its larva always attacks Eublemma

larvae and pupae when it comes in contact with them while entering into the

galleries of Eublemma .

Suspected :

1. A black braconid (unidentified) .

2. A Chalcid fly Elasmus claripennis Cam.1

Control measures .—

The control measures cdn be broadly divided into physical and chemical

The following two of these, as the experimental data in table 7 shows, have been

found useful and may well be used by a poor as well as by a rich cultivator

according to his means.

The effect of fumigation and keeping the stick lac under water.

TABLE No. 7.

1 Elasmus claripennis Cam. has definitely been proved an ectoparasite

of the Eublemma larva after this paper had been sent for publication.

443

THE NOCTUID MO TH

1. Physical.—

(i) The whole crop excluding the portion intended to be used as brood lac

should be kept immediately after reaping under water from 6-10 days, and then

taken out and allowed to dry completely preferably in the shade. If the sticks

be now examined, not a single living predator or parasite or lac insect will be

found on the sticks. The crop can then be scraped and sent for sale in the

market. If the days are not sunny when the operation is performed, the sticks

can at a small cost be completely dried by placing them over hot sand.

(ii) Selected, and as far as possible, predator and parasite free brood should

be used for every crop. Seif-inoculation should be avoided.

(iii) Kusum brood should be avoided to inoculate any other host but Kusum

for the Katki crop because Kusum brood and its progeny matures in January-

February which means destruction of more lac insects and of lac resin by the

predators and parasites and multiplication of predators and parasites.

Troup has suggested burning the lac sticks attacked with Eublemma and

other predators. This is not advisable at all and always means a loss.

2. Chemical,—

The whole crop excluding the portion to be used as brood after

reaping should be fumigated with (CS?) Carbon bisulphide or Hydrocyanic

acid gas, preferably the former, as it is less dangerous and can be operated by

a person of average intelligence who need not necessarily have a scientific

training. After charging the chamber with Carbon bisulphide, it should be

left closed for 24 hours, and then opened. The details of the fumigation can

be taken from any book on insecticides or from Pusa Bulletin No. 185, pp.

113-14. The dose should be one ounce of Carbon bisulphide for every 10 cubic

feet of space.

The portion of the crop which has been used as brood should also be removed

soon after the lac larvae have swarmed and treated in the same way. If all

cultivators will only follow either of the above measures, they will be adding at

least one-fourth more to their crop in every season, because the number of

predators and parasites of the lac insect is bound to decrease every season with

these measures.

Acknowledgments. —

The author’s thanks are due to Messrs. Beeson and Gardner of the Forest

Research Institute, Dehra Dun, for their advice and criticisms in the prepara-

tion of the paper, and Lt.-Col, R. B. Seymour Sewell, the Director of the

Zoological Survey of India, for the use of the Indian Museum Library, They

are also indebted to Mrs. Dorothy Norris, the Director of the Institute, for

going through the manuscript.

SUMMARY

Eublemma amablis is a Noctuid moth predaceous on the lac insect, it

does more injury to lac than any other single species of predator and parasite

of lac. It has six generations in a year, and does more injury to the Katki

crop (Aghani and Katki) than to the Baisakhi (Jethwi and Baisakhi). The

predator has several natural enemies. It can be usefully controlled by either

Physical or Chemical measures.

Physical measures . — (1) The portion of the crop used as brood lac for infect-

ing the plants should be kept under water from 6-10 days immediately after

all the lac insect larvae have emerged from it and the rest of the crop should

^be similarly treated immediately after it has been reaped. (2) Selected and

as far as possible, parasite and predator free brood should be used for every

crop. Self-inoculation should be avoided. (3) Kusum brood should be

avoided to inoculate other host plants excepting Kusum for the Katki crop. This

will save the destruction of the lac insect by predators and parasites for a

further three months, i. e., November-January, and also check the further

multiplication of the predators and other injurious insects, and their attack on

the Baisakhi and Jethwi crops.

Chemical measures .—The portion of the crop as suggested above should be

fumigated with Carbon bisulphide at the rate of 1 ounce of Carbon bisulphide

to 10 c. ft. of space.

With these measures alone, the cultivator is sure to raise his yield of lac by

about one-fourth in each crop.

444 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , FrV. XXXIV

EXPLANATION OF PLATES

Plate I.

Eublemma amabilis . Fig. 1 Male. Fig. 2 Female.

Fig.

3.

3a.

3b.

3c.

3d.

3e

3 f.

4tf.

4.

6.

6 a.

6b.

Plate II.

Head with mouth parts of female x 25.

A portion of the eye highly magnified.

Labial palp x 100.

Proboscis x 150.

Basal joint of antenna x 200.

Apical joint of antenna x 150.

One of the middle joints of antenna x 350,

Venation of fore-wing x 12.

Venation of posterior wing x 12.

Freshly laid egg x 120.

Nearly mature egg x 120.

Larva coming out of the egg x 120.

Plate III.

Fig.

5. Male external genitalia x 40.

7. Newly hatched larva x 200.

8. Mature larva x 15.

8a. Mouth parts of larva excluding mandibles and labrum x 100.

8b. Head of mature larva x 15

Plate IV.

Fig.

9. Alimentary canal of larva and its appendages x 12.

10. Salivary glands of larva and their ducts x 48.

11. Silk glands of larva x 48.

12. Nervous system of larva x 15.

Plate V.

Fig.

13. Tracheal system of larva. Dorsal integument and viscera removed

x 15.

14. Second abdominal spiracle of pupa from outside after dechitinisation

x 400.

15. Second abdominal spiracle of adult from inside after dechitinisation

x 400.

15^. Prothoracic spiracle of adult side view after dechitinisation x 400.

16. Abdominal spiracle of larva after dechitinisation from outside x 400.

17. Female pupa — dorsal view x 12.

18. Female pupa— ventral view x 12.

19. Male pupa— ventral view x 12.

Aghani

Baisakhi

Ber

Jethwi

Katki

Khair

Kusum

Plas

GLOSSARY

Lac crop progeny of pure Kusum brood infected in June-

July, matures in January-February.

Lac crop progeny of other broods than pure Kusum

infected in October-November, matures in June-

July.

Zizyphus Jujuba.

Lac crop progeny of the Kusum brood infected in January-

February, matures in June-July.

Lac crop progeny of other broods than Kusum infected

in June-July, matures in October-November.

Acacia catechu.

Schleichera trijuga.

Butea frondosa.

THE N0CTU1D MOTH

445

David Sharp ...

(1922)

Fracker, S. B. ...

(1915)

Imms, A. D. (1925)

Imms, A. D. &

Chatterjee,

N. C. (1915)

Lefroy, H. M. ...

(1909)

Lindsay, H. A. F.

& Harlow,

C. H. (1921)

Mahdihassan, S.

(1925)

Miall, L. C. &

Denny, A.

(1886)

MivSRA, C. S. (1929)

Moore (1884-87)...

Packard, A. S. ...

(1909)

Pierce, F. N. ...

(1909)

Stebbing, E. P....

(1910)

Troup, R. S.

(1911).

Withers, F. W....

& Simmons,

E. C. (1925)

Witt, D. O. (1901)

REFERENCES

Insects, part II, the Cambridge Natural History.

The classification of Lepidopterous larvae. Illin. Biol .

Monogr. 2.

Text- book of Entomology .

Structure and biology of Tachardia lacca, Kerr, with

observations on certain insects predacious or parasi-

tic upon it, Indian Forest Memoirs , Vol. Ill, part i,

pp. 27-31, pi. VII, fig. 25.

Indian Insect Life, p. 457, pi. XXXVII, fig. 8.

Report on lac and shellac, Indian Forest Record ,

vol. VIII, pt. i.

Some insects associated with lac and a symbolic represen-

tation of their inter -relationship, Jour. Sc. Assoc.

Maharaja's College , Vizianagrani , Vol. II, Nos.

2 and 3, pp. 69-73.

The cockroach.

The cultivation of lac in the plains of India (Tachardia

lacca, Kerr) Agriculture Research Institute , Pusa ,

Bull. No. 185.

Lepidoptera of Ceylon , Vol, III, p. 54, pi. 150.

Text-book of Entomology .

Genitalia of Noctuidae.

A note on the lac insect (Tachardia lacca), its life history,

propagation and collection. Indian Forest Memoirs ,

Vol. I, pt. iii, pp. 19-20, figs, la-lb.

Measures for the destruction of moths predaceous on lac,

Ind. Forester , Vol. XXXV11, pp. 245-7.

Lac in Burma, Burma Forest Bulletin , No. 12.

A note on the larva of Eub. amabilis , Moore, as a lac

insect destroyer in Damoh Division, C. P., Ind.

Forester , Vol. XXVII.

REFERENCE LETTERING TO PLATES I-V.

446 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY ’ Vol. XXX/ V

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

BY

E. Blatter, s.j., ph.D., f.l.s.

PART III

( Continued from page 141 of this volume .)

Some more Species with Irregular Flowering

Arundinaria falcata Nees is the low level Ringal of the N. W. Himalaya.

Brandis is positive that it belongs to the irregularly flowering bamboos*.

Sometimes it is found flowering sporadically, at other times it flowers

gregariously over large areas. In 1886 it was in flower all over the hills of

Jaunsar and Tehri Garhwal and almost every culm was loaded with flowers

(A. F. Broun). Gamble frequently found it in flower and though ‘as

happened in 1879, years of general seeding are of occasional occurrence, a few

clumps may be in flower in almost any year.’ It is interesting to note that a

variety of A. falcata , viz. glomerata flowers almost every year at Kew on a

certain number of culms.

Of Arundinaria Falconeri Benth. and Hook, growing at Kew, Bean says

that the flowering is not simultaneous in the sense that plants in various places,

or even in the same place, flower during one summer. Although the general

flowering may occur in one particular year, it is heralded by the flowering of a

few forerunners the previous year and followed by that of laggards the next.

Arundinaria spathiflora flowers sporadically and probably gregariously every

10 years. Detidrocalamus longispathus Kurz whilst flowering gregariously is

often found flowering sporadically. Neohoitzeaua strict a Parker behaves in

the same way. In all probability Ochlandra travancorica Benth should also

be put in this class.

There are a good many bamboos of which we don’t know whether they

belong to the class showing gregarious, periodical, or irregular flowering.

Bambusa nutans Wall., e.g., according to Gamble ‘ seems to flower only at

long intervals’ and Parker says it flowers ‘periodically at long intervals’.

We have 3 records from Dehra Dun : 1840, 1893 and 1894, Are they complete ?

If we are not sure of it, it will not be easy to insist on periodical flowering

at long intervals.

The records of flowering of this class seem to be still less satisfactory than

they are of gregariously flowering bamboos. We must admit that it is more

difficult to find out, e.g , whether an isolated clump which flowers sporadically

is of the same age as those bamboos by which it is surrounded, but which are

not in flower.

The Death of Rhizomes after Flowering.

It was stated above that in bamboos flowering annually the plant does not

die after flowering. With regard to bamboos flowering gregariously and

periodically we mentioned that after ripening the seeds the culms die and with

them as a rule the rhizomes. These are, therefore, exceptions. Broun men-

tions that most clumps of Bambusa arundinacea Willd. growing at Dehra Dun

died down immediately after flowering in 1881. But in 1882 one clump pro-

duced a number of new stems and these flowered again during 1886 and there

was no sign at the time of new leaf-bearing culms shooting up. Another case

is mentioned by J. Nicholls ( Ind . For. xxi, 92). In a general flowering in 1885

the same bamboo in the upper valley of the Mahanadi river had died off, but

‘ here and there was to be seen an exceptional stalk, and a few attenuated and

almost abortive shoots had sprung up from moribund roots. These were

striving to “ flower and seed.” ’ These, however, are exceptional cases.

23

448 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fo/. XXX/ 1

There are many records to show that generally the whole plant dies. Wallich,

in a report to Government in 1825 when speaking of the famous bamboo grove

which surrounded the city of Rampur, in Rohilkhand, makes these remarks :

‘ I had heard a great deal about this unique object, and was, therefore, the

more solicitous to collect all the information I could on the spot. It has been

in a state of universal blossoming in 1824, so universal that there was not

among its millions of stems a single one to be seen which was not dead, they

were all leaning on each other or fallen to the ground.’ [Ex Agric. and

Hort* Soc. Ind. xiii, pt. i (1863-64) Proceed, lv]. Spilsbury mentions in 1842

that all the bamboos from Jubbulpore to Mundlah having seeded in 1839, had

died shortly afterwards. According to W. H. Sleeman, in 1836 all the large

bamboos ‘ whose clusters and avenues have formed the principal feature in the

beauty of Dehra Dun, ever since the valley became known to us, or for the

last quarter of a century, have run to seed and died this season : as well those

transplanted from the original stock last season as those transplanted twenty

years ago ’. Buchanan in his Journey from Madras through Mysore, Canara

and Malabar (1807) writes about the Anamalay bamboo : ‘ Here are both the

hollow and the solid kinds. When fifteen years old they are said to bear

fruit and then to die.’ The testimonies as to the wholesale destruction of

bamboos after flowering are numerous.

The case is different in irregularly flowering bamboos. Here the rhizome

often remains alive. T. Anderson, formerly Superintendent of the Botanical

Gardens in Calcutta, states ‘ that in 1857 and 1858 many of the bamboos near

Calcutta and on Parasnath flowered and seeded, but in no case that he was

aware of, did a general death of the bamboo follow.’ So far as he observed,

only the flowering shoots died ; and their place was taken by young shoots

springing from the roots ; but during the flowering and seeding the foliage

almost entirely disappeared. He adds that when the Bambusci gigantea

[ Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro] at Calcutta, after thirty years, flowered for

the first time in 1861, although weakened, remained alive.’ {Munro Monogr.

BambuSy 3), Anderson includes in the above statement Bambusa Tulda

Roxb., Dendrocalamus strictus Nees, Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro and

perhaps also Dendrocalamus strictus var. sericea Gamble from Parasnath.

Arundinaria falcata Nees is an irregularly flowering bamboo, but its variety

gloynerata flowers at Kew almost every year on a certain number of culms,

but the plant as a whole does not suffer (Bean). Of Arundinaria Falconeri

Benth. & Hook., introduced from India into Europe and Algeria, nearly

all the plants flowered there and died. Arundinaria hookeriana Munro

flowered in England in 1899. All the Kew plants died, whilst at Glasnevin

some died, others recovered. Arundinaria Maximozviczii Hort. flowered

in the Bamboo Garden of Kew in 1896 all over the plant and died in 1897.

Of Arundinaida Simoni A. & C. Riv. odd culms flowe-ed and died in 1892,

but the plants were not affected. Every culm of the same bamboo flowered

in the Temperate House as well as in the Bamboo Garden in 1903-05, seeded

and died. In 1874 large tracts of Cephalostachyum capitatwn Munro in the

Chel and Neo:a valleys in British Bhutan flowered and died off (Gamble).

Dendrocalamus Brandisii Kurz is said to flower sporadically and not to die off

after flowering, but Oliver says that flowering clumps which he has observed

showed every appearance of being about to die (Gamble). Phyllostachys

puberula Mak. flowered at Kew in the Temperate House in 1902 and in open

air from 1993—05 ; all plants died. A variety of the same bamboo var. Boryana

H. de L flowered at Kew in 1904. The whole plant died with the exception

of a small portion.

As to Arundinaria niiida Mitford, the most beautiful of all hardy bamboos

cultivated in Europe, E. Bretschneider wrote to Kew in May 1898 [see Kew

Bull. (1898) 316] : M. Be^ezovski who belonged to both of Potanin’s expeditions

to S. W. Chiraa (1884-86 and 1892-95) reports that in 1886 the bamboo; all

round in the country (S. Kansu) flowered. People said that the bamboo

floweis only once in 100 ye.rs and that old men remember having heard

from their grandfathers that it flowered and seeded. In one case it seeded

abundantly. After seeding all the plants died, and even the roots.

How do Offsets behave ?

When answering this question we have to distinguish the vegetative frQip

Uie flowering phase of the bamboos.

449

the Flowering oe bamboos

(a) The vegetative phase. — Cuttings taken from an old clump, let us say, of

Bambusa arundinacea Willd. or some similar bamboo, will, when planted out,

behave in the same way as seedlings. Only thin whip-like shoots will grow

for a number of years and then a full-sized stem is developed, which attains

its full height generally in a few weeks. The sheaths at the nodes are dry and

leathery and only a few green leaves are developed at the top. The branches

appear several months later. S. E. Peal ( Ind . For. viii, 50) mentions offsets

taken from Bambusa tulda Roxb., a bamboo of Bengal, Assam and Burma,

Peal observed in Assam that the first whips may be 16 ft. high and 1 inch

thick and solid in the second year ; in the third year theshoots run up 30 ft.,

showing a diameter of l|-2 inches, while in the fourth season the shoots often

reach full size.

There are other bamboos, however, whose offsets take a much longer time

to produce full-sized shoots. But all agree in this that offsets behave like

seedling plants regarding the production of full-sized culms. Apparently the

rhizome must reach a certain dynamical stage before it can throw up full-

sized stems.

(b) The flozuering phase. — Here the offsets behave quite differently from

seedlings.

According to Brandis (Ind. Trees (1811) 6S2) ‘ offsets taken from a clump

some time before it flowers come into flower at the same time as the parent

clump.’ Troup (Silv. Ind. Trees 'll (1921) 993) is less definite on this point,

He only asserts that clumps resulting from cuttings or by other vegetative

methods of reproduction ‘ are liable to flower when the parent clumps flower,

and their life may be short or uncertain’. The Indian Forester (ii, 311)

mentions a case of Dendrocalamus Brandisii Kurz (Biandis thinks that if is

possibly D. giganteus Munro) which is evidently an exception to Brandis’

rule. Villagers in the Irrawaddy Delta estimated the age of flowering of that

bamboo at 40 years. In order to protect the bamboo resources of the whole

area, they plant offsets at the beginning of the rains ; here the rhizomes of

both bamboos are of the same stock, but it has been found that the mother

plant will flower and die in due time, whilst the daughter culms will flower

long after. They reach maturity after 15 or 16 years. Troup mentions that

offsets taken from Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro flower later than the

parents. Henkel has observed in S. Rhodesia that plants reproduced from

branches of the rhizome flower and die at the same time as the parent

plant.

The question, therefore, as to the flowering of offsets has not been definitely

settled. Experimental work alone can lead to conclusions which would be

interesting not only from a theoretical but also from au economical point of

Does Mutilation of Clumfs Produce Flowers ?

When treating of Bambusa tulda Roxb. Gamble ( Bambus . Brit. Indid

(1896) 31) says : ‘ As regards its years of flowering, it undoubtedly has the

habit of flowering gregariously over considerable areas, but single dumps,

as has been observed in the Royal Botanic Garden of Calcutta, if badly treated

by over-cutting or partly uprooted, will often produce flowers without any

general flowering.’ He mentions the case of a clump of that bamboo which

was blown down near Calcutta in 1892. The rhizomes were torn from the

ground and the stems mostly cut. A year after many thin twigs with flowers

were produced from the rhizome, which, however, did not yield perfect seed.

The last general flowering in Low7er Bengal took place in 1884. Of Bambusa

nutans Wall, a clump was found near Dehra Dun in 1893 with the rehizome

exposed and the culms cut off. The flowering twigs produced at the time

flowers, but perfect seed was not developed. Here the last periodic flowering

went back to 1810. It will be useful to remember that in 1894 Gamble observed

another clump in flower which had not been mutilated before. Brandis suspects

some analogy between the behaviour of mutilated bamboo clumps and apple

trees which are being slashed in European gardens in order that they may

produce fruit more freely. Kurz, on the other hand, remarks that it is custom-

ary in some bamboo plantations to cut down all the stems the year before

flowering is expected in order to prevent flowering (ex Troup). Here is

another wide and fascinating field for experiments.

450 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

Do Seedlings Occasionally Flower ?

The Ind. For. (xxv, 1899, p. 22) reproduces a report of the Conservator of

Forests, Patiala State, on seedlings of Dendrocalcimus strictus Nees. Seed was

gathered in June 1894 from natural bamboo forests growing on South or S. E.

slopes of dry, stony, lower hills of Sub-Himalayan tracts, 1-6 miles to the

N. W. of Kalka, at an altitude of 2-3,000 ft. About 15 seers of the seed was

sown in State Forest nurseries at the beginning of March 1895. In February 1896

all the seedlings were transplanted into baskets and in April of the same year

five seedlings began to flower. Two plants were sent to Dehra Dun and three

were kept at Pinjour where they died within 3 cr4 months. Brandis, who saw

the Dehra Dun specimens, says that the rhizome was strongly developed. On

one side were the stumps of two primary shoots which died and dried up. At

the end of one bent rhizome branch was the first stem, bearing flowers instead of

leaves. The flowers were perfectly formed, generally 2 fertile ones in 1

spikelet ; the 6 anthers were full of pollen and in the more advanced spikelets

the ovary was stout, the ovule, to all appearance, having been fertilized.

Nothing is known about the seeds.

Brandis {Ind. For. xxv (1899) 23) regrets his inability to explain this

‘ entirely exceptional and most remarkable case.’ ‘So much, however,’ he

says, ‘ we may learn from it, that the action of the leaves on these five plants

during the rains of 1895, was sufficient to create in them the disposition to form

flower-buds in the place of leaf-buds, for the ends of the flowers which began

to show themselves in April 1896, must have been formed in the previous

autumn.’ But we should like to know why the action of the leaves was suffi-

cient to create that disposition in this case, and why not always. If the

Conservator’s report gave us some more details regarding the exact treatment

of the seedings and the different climatic conditions prevailing in the place of

seeding (1-6 miles NAY. of Kalka) and the place of the forest-nurseries (3| miles

vS.E. of Kalka), we might be helped in forming some hypothesis.

Troup mentions that instances of the undoubted flowering of bamboo seed-

lings have been observed from time to time, but these, he says, ‘ are mere

abnormalities.’ As long as we are not able to explain the normal, it is useless

to tackle the abnormal.

Is Seed from Sporadically Flowering Clumps Inferior

in Quality ?

J. W. Oliver mentions that Cephatostachyum pergracile Munro may be found

almost any year flowering sporadically, but not generally producing good seed

on such occasions. Dendrocalamus strictus, says Gamble {Ind. Bamb. 79)

‘ may be found flowering sporadically, a few clumps at a time, almost every

year, in any locality These flowerings, however, do not produce as

much good seed as when the gregarious flowering takes place.’ J. W. Oliver

asserts the same of Dendrocalau.us Hamiltonii. In his Introduction to the Ind.

Ranib. (p. viii) Gamble makes the general statement : ‘ Even in those kinds

which may be found occasionally in flower sporadically general flowerings also

take place, and at these the seed produced is usually good, while that given in

the sporadic flowering is often poor and of small quantity.’ Brandis {Ind.

For. xxv, 17) calls this a ‘ remarkable and important point.’ He thinks that

foresters would do well to make methodical experiments and he advises the

determination of the weight and the percentage of germinating seed of each

species of general and sporadical seedings. Troup, however, is of a different

opinion. ■ The seed from sporadically flowering clumps,’ he remarks, ‘ is said

to be not always so fertile as that produced at the time of gregarious flowering ;

this, however, does not appear to be a general rule, since seedlings of several

species have been raised from seed obtained from solitary flowering clumps,

and natural seedlings have been observed in plenty round such clumps in the

forest.’ {Silvic. Ind. Trees iii, 982.) These are two contrary views of two

able men, but neither view can claim the confirmation of experiment. If

Troup has observed natural seedlings in plenty round such clumps after

sporadic flowering, he does not tell us how many seeds did not germinate. In

the meantime we must remain neutral till experimental proofs are forth'

coming.

45 1

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

Does the Absence of New Culms Indicate Flowering

in the Following Year ?

When Brandis witnessed the first general flowering of bamboos in Pegu, his

Burman friends stated that such an event could be foreseen with certainty, for

during the year preceding the flowering no new culms were formed. ( Ind . For.

xxv, 20). This opinion is, apparently, generally accepted in Burma. Brandis

did not further follow up the question and, as far as my knowledge goes, we

have no data from other parts of India. Troup, however, states that it has

actually been observed not only in the case of clump-forming bamboos, but

also in the case of the single-stemmed bamboo, Melocanna bambasoides. This

is another point which can only be cleared up by prolonged and detailed

observations.

Flowering of Bamboos Cultivated in Europe and N. Africa.

On this question there are few records and most of those that are at our

disposal are very incomplete and unsatisfactory. It is not enough to know

that a certain bamboo flowered in Europe in a certain year. We want to know

when the plant was introduced into a certain country, where the plant came

from, e.g., whether from the Himalaya or from the plains of India, how it was

introduced, whether by seed or by cuttings, whether it was kept in the open

or under shelter. It would also be interesting to know whether seeds (perfect

or imperfect) were produced, whether the seeds germinated spontaneously or

under special care, what became of the flowering culms and of the rhizome,

whether the plant died after flowering either wholly or partially, etc. The

answers to these questions might help in the solution of the numerous

problems presented by this class of bamboos and especially of the periodicity

of flowering.

Whatever information I have been able to gather is given in the following

table. The species are arranged alphabetically. The following abbreviations

will be used : B. G. = Bamboo Garden. T, H. ==Temperate House. What we

know regarding the behaviour of cultivated plants in India will be discussed

later on.

FLOWERING OF CULTIVATED BAMBOOS IN EUROPE AND N, AFRICA

452 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vo/. XXXIV

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FLOWERING OF CULTIVATED BAMBOOS IN EUROPE AND N. AFRICA — ( Continued) .

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JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY,

456 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

A glance at the above table shows that three columns are almost empty, viz.,

those which should show whether a bamboo has been introduced as seed or

offset, when it has been introduced and whether it seeded. The absence of this

information prevents us from drawing a number of conclusions which might

have been highly interesting. Still a few points are not without interest :

Arundinaria falcata flowered in Europe in 1875 and 1876, about 35 years after

introduction. This would coincide with the flowering at Kulu in 1876 and there

is certainly an approach to the long life cycle which has been calculated in this

species at 28-30 years. The flowerings at Angers, Nantes and Hamma tcok

place in 1875 and in Paris in March and April 1876. Has the coider climate of

Paris to do something with this difference ? The flowering of 1884 had been

observed not only at Kew but in several other places. What is this uniformity

due to ? It is strange that the var, glomerata flowered at Kew almost every

year, without the plant dying down. I suppose this is the sporadic flowering of

the species in India. Arundinaria Falconeri flowered at Kew and in Irish and

Cornish gardens and Algeria, and all the plants died. This seems to

correspond with the general flowering of 1876 in Sikkim. When in 1893

and 1894 odd culms flowered at Kew, it must have been a case of sporadic

flowering.

The flowering of Bambusa nana at Kew took place in the same year as the one

in Japan in 1893.

The West Indian bamboo Chusquea abielifolia offers a striking instance of

simultaneous flowering. A plant was growing in the Palm House at Kew and

came into flower and died in 1884. Daniel Morris had observed the general

flowering of the same species and at the same time in its native country Jamaica.

He wrote in Gard . Chron. (1886) 524: ‘When the seed was set, the stem

began to die down and apparently every plant in the island died, root and

all.’

In Phyllostachys flexuosa we notice the same difference in the dates of

flowering which we observed in Arundinaria falcata , and perhaps the same

reason, i.e., difference of climate may be given as an explanation. The bamboo

flowered at Hamma in February 1876, at Toulon in May, and in Paris in July of

the same year. This took place 12 years after its introduction from China in

1864 and, as it flowered in three places at the same time, it almost looks like a

general flowering. Osbeck, who gathered this plant during his travels in China

in 1751, says (in Resa (1757) 204) that it is said to flower once in 60 years. But

we have no facts supporting that statement.

Phyllostachys puberula was seen in flower in Cornwall and near Bristol in

1900, the same year when it flowered in Japan, its native country. Its variety

nigropunctata produced flowers in the same year in England as well as Japan.

Of Sasa japonica offsets had been planted in Algeria, Marseilles and Paris in

1850 and all flowered in 1867 and 1868.

On the whole bamboos seem to flower rarely in Europe. Houzeau de Lehaie

who since 1883 has observed and studied the bamboos cultivated in Europe and

N. Africa wrote in 1910 that he had watched about a hundred species but that

only eight had flowered. Phyllostachys puberula var. nigra was introduced in

1827, but never flowered in Europe till 1900. No botanist had described the

flowers before that date. A reintroduction of that variety, dating back to 1846

and widely distributed in Europe, has never been observed in flower.

Of Phyllostachys mitis, introduced in 1856, a weak plant flowered the year

after at Hamma in Algeria; but the flowers were neither gathered nor described,

and up to the present day they are unknown to botanists. No flowering

record is known from its native country China. Health and strength of the

plant don’t seem to have any influence on the time of flowering. It has been

growing since 1856 in Algeria and many other places of Africa and Europe,

there are weak plants and strong plants, old and recent plantations, but not one

plant has come into flower.

In Europe flowering and fruiting often take 2 or 3 years and at times longer.

We must not forget, however, that anomalies in flowering are quite common in

arborescent plants which have been transported from their native habitat to a

country with quite a different climate.

It is a pity, indeed, that we possess so few records of flowering times of those

cultivated species in their country of origin. But even the several case* of

simultaneous flowering under totally different conditions mentioned above may

fftrpw some light on the obscure question of periodicity.

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

457

Do Cultivated Bamboos in India Behave Differently Regarding

their Flowering from Wild Ones ?

Parker ( Punjab Flora, p. 532) says of Bambusa arundinacea Willd.:

‘ Gregarious flowering is supposed to occur at 30-32 years, but this applies to

the plant in its wild state.’ He thus seems to imply that the cultivated plant

behaves differently. In spite of this he calculated some time ago the period of

flowering of the same species from 3 data : 1836, 1881 and 1926 and arrived at

45 years. Now the record of 1881 refers to planted trees only and should not,

therefore, have been considered, if Parker thinks that wild and cultivated

bamboos show a different behaviour regarding their time of flowering.

As early as 1864 T. Anderson, then Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens

in Calcutta, wrote to the Secretary to the Government of Bengal : ‘ I have the

honour to inform you that I possess little information about the periodic seeding

of Bamboos. In Bengal there are no extensive tracts covered with bamboos

as in Western India, but it is generally believed that even where bamboos have

been planted, as for example, near villages in Lower Bengal, the periodicity in

flowering occurs as markedly as in the case of the wild plant.’

Gamble introduced many bamboos from Burma into the Forest School Park

of Dehra Dun where they are flourishing well in spite of the fact that the climate

is quite different from that of their native country. Bambusa nutans which is

indigenous in Assam is cultivated north-west as far as Kangra. Dendrocalamus

Hamiltonii , a native of Upper and Lower Burma, is doing well in the much

colder and drier climate of the Kangra Valley.

We have even a number of cases which show that bamboos introduced either

by offset or seed into localities with different conditions of climate, flower at

the same time as the wild plant. Troup mentions the following striking

examples : Melocanna bambusoides flowered in the Bamonpokri plantation,

Kurseong, in 1912-13, at the same time when there was a general flowering of

natural plants in Chittagong. Arundinaria falcata cultivated at Simla flowered

in 1916, simultaneously with the general flowering in the jungles of Jaunsar.

Dendrocalamus Hamiltonii introduced at Dehra Dun was seen in flower in

1894, which was the time of a general flowering in the Sikkim forests.

Still we are not in a position to draw a general conclusion. It is again the

records that are wanting. There is no series of observations of flowering times

of bamboos in any garden in India from which we could draw unimpeachable

conclusions. And even if we could, then it is more than likely that the

flowering records of the wild bamboos will be deficient, because so far in nearly

all calculations no distinction was made between wild and cultivated plants.

We have to thank Mr. Parker for having drawn our attention to this point

and it will certainly help towards scientific accuracy if future records make it

clear whether they apply to cultivated or wild plants. This, however, will not

always be easy, considering the interference with nature on the part of

foresters and horticulturists during a period of over a hundred years.

Gregarious Flowering and Famine.

5 A bamboo flowering is an event of rare occurrence and which is supposed

to bring in its train all sorts of evil, accompanied by dire distress and famine.’

(. Dymock Pharm . Ind. iii, (1893) 587).

J. B. Jones ( Jour . Agric. and Hortic. Soc. India xiii, pt. i, Proc . lv)

assigns to the appearance of seed a certainty of impending famine, for say the

Brahmins : 1 When bamboos produce sustenance, we must look to heaven for

food.’ But he adds immediately: ‘For the hundredth time, perhaps is

Brahminical prescience belied, for never was there a finer crop of rice in the

field than in the present season of 1836.’

In the Highlands of Central India (1919, p. 85) Forsyth, when speaking

of the bamboo, says : ‘ The rare occurrence of the general seeding of the

bamboo forests is a godsend to the aboriginal tribes. . . . An abundant supply

of wholesome grain is afforded, not only to the wild tribes but to multitudes

of the poorer inhabitants of the open country, and the cities around, who crowd

to the spot to obtain their share of the heaven-sent provender. There is a

proverb that this occurrence portends a failure of the common food staples of

the country: but like many such it has not been verified by experience.’

According to Watt ( Commerc . Prod. Ind. 108) ‘ it is an undoubted fact that

the flowering of the bamboo is decidedly influenced by the causes which bring

458 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

about famine, for the providential supply of food from this source has saved

the lives of thousands of persons during several of the great famines in India.’

Let us see what the facts have to say :

* In the month of February of the year 1812 writes C. Blenchynden, * a failure

occurred in the rice crops in the Province of .Orissa. Much distress was the

consequence, a general famine was apprehended, and would no doubt have

taken place, but for a merciful interposition of Providence in causing a general

flowering of all the bamboos of the thorny kind, both old and young, through-

out the district So great was the natural anxiety that was evinced

to obtain the grain that hundreds of people were on the watch day and night,

and cloths were spread under every clump to secure the seeds as they fell from

the branches.’ The bamboo in question was Bambusa arundinacea Willd.

On the 10th April, 1864, M. J. Shah Stewart, Collector of Kanara, wwotetothe

Revenue Commissioner, S. D. : ‘I have the honor to report t hat a very large

number of people have migrated from the Dharwar and Belgaum Districts

to this (Soopa) Talook for the purpose of collecting the bamboo seeds, which

are very plentiful this year. They come from Nepanee, Kittoor, Nurgoond,

and the Hooblee Taluks in small parties, and remain for ten days or a fortnight,

during which time they collect as much seed as the whole party can carry away.

It is estimated that about 50,000 persons have in this manner visited the Soopa

Jungles during the present season, including inhabitants of Kanara as well as

those belonging to other districts It is calculated that each party takes

away enough for home consumption during the monsoon months, and that

there is some for sale also.’

Shah Stewart mentions that both the large bamboo (bidurgooloo) [ Bambusa

<irundinacea Willd.] and the medium-sized or common bamboo (shiboo)

S^Dendrocalamus strictus Nees] seeded during that season. He was informed

that a more general seeding would take place in the year following.

J. J. Gray writes in 1866: In the District of Malda [Eastern Bengal]

‘ there are at present whole tracts of country in which the bamboo \Bambnsa

arundinacea Willd.] has flowered, and the grain is being sold in considerable

quantities in the bazaar. It was selling at 13 seers per rupee The

bamboo harvest has been quite providential as with present prices, the ryots,

in the part of the country where the plant had flowered, were on the point

of starving.’ Grey was told that the same occurred 40 years ago.

In the following list I have tried to tabulate a number of periodic flowerings

which coincided with well-known famines during the last century. The list

is far from complete and this for two reasons : As regards the periodic

flowerings, we must confess that the records are exceedingly poor ; and as to

famines, 1 had only two sources at my disposal : The Statistical Atlas of the

Bombay Presidency ,, 3rd edition, 1925, and the Chronological List of Famines

and Scarcities from 1769 up to 1903, contained in Vol. Ill of the Imperial

Gazetteer of India (1908).

Considering the scanty records of general flowering, we must admit that this

is quite a considerable list and we cannot help thinking that there must be

some connection between the flowering of bamboos and famines. The cases of

coincidence of the two happenings are too numerous as that they could be

ascribed to chance. It will be useful to remember that not everything that is

called famine can have a connection with the flowering of bamboos. There

was a big famine in the whole Deccan and Karnatak, including Thana and

Ratnagiri in 1802-03 ; but it was caused by the march of the army of Yashavant-

rao Holkar, plundering villages and destroying standing crops. In 1806 a

famine wTas caused in Kanara by the influx of strangers from Ratnagiri and the

Deccan, and by depredation of robbers and the prohibition of grain exports

from Dharwar. The famine in Ahmedabad, Kaira and Broach of 1912-13

appears to have been caused by locusts. Similarly a famine may be brought

about by rats or floods, or by crop diseases and pests. All these cases cannot

be considered at present We must leave their analysis to our descendants a

few thousand years hence when psychology, history, economics and biology

have analyzed every event down to the last causes. In the present case, we are

dealing only with conditions of climate and soil. Here it is quite possible that

the same causes may prevent certain crops from developing and thus inducing

a famine, whilst on the other hand they may stimulate the vital energy of the

bamboo and thus bring about, as a last effort, the propagation of the species,

We shall return to this subject below.

THE FLO WERING OF BAMBOOS

459

FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS AND FAMINE

Periodicity of Flowering.

We come to the most difficult question : How can the periodicity of flower*

ing he explained ? It is the same problem which arises in the case of many

species of the genus Strobilanthes, of the Talipot Palm and even, to a certain

extent, of a'number of trees in temperate countries.

Various Opinions.

J. B. Jones in a communication to the Agricultural and Horticultural Society

of India ( Journal , vol. xiii, pt. i, Proc. Iv) says : The fact that this seed-

beating * is not confined to the more matured plant, both old and young

flowering at the same time, would almost lead one to doubt, that it follows the

regular course by which nature governs the other orders of vegetation ; but

rather that, as has been observed, it may be encouraged by particular circum-

stances connected with elemental changes.’

J. D. Hooker is practically of the same opinion. In the account of his

journey to Tonglo from Darjeeling he makes the following remarks about the

flowering of the bamboo: ‘ At about 4,000 ft. the great bamboo ( ‘Pao”

lepcha) [ Den drocalam us Hamiltonii Nees & Arm] abounds ; it flowers every

460 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL. XXXI V

year which is not the case with all others of this genus, most of which flower

profusely over large tracts of country once in a great many years, and then die

away, their place being supplied by seedlings which grow with immense

rapidity. This well-known fact is not due, as some suppose, to the life of this

species being of such a duration, but to favourable circumstances in the season.’

{Himalayan Journals i, 155),

To Camus periodical flowering is a, kind of sickness : ‘ The stems, ’ he says,

‘ produce branches with leaves during 10, 20, 30, 50 years, without flowering,

then the leaves fade, at least partial iy, the plant appears to be sick and then

numerous buds are formed from which emerge countless flowering spikelets.’

(Camus. Les Bambusees , (1913) 187).

W. Seifriz in discussing possible factors which may cause periodicity shows

that seasonal differences, particularly in moisture, are probably insufficient to

explain them, and suggests that the problem may be of the same nature as

that of puberty and senility in organisms ( Amer . Journ. Bot. 7 (1920) 83-94).

Others are of opinion that, when the rhizome of a bamboo clump has attained

a certain age, it must necessarily produce flowers and seed in the place of

leaves.

Similar is the assumption of some writers that the condition of the rhizome,

i.e., the accumulation in it of a sufficient quantity of starch and other sub-

stances, is one of the conditions that must be fulfilled before flower-buds can be

formed in the place of leaf- buds.

Troup, though admitting the possibility of the life-cycle of the bamboo being

influenced to a slight extent by climatic and other causes, is of opinion thatHt

is primarily determined by physiological causes inherent in the plant. This is

also the idea underlying a paper by Kawamura on the causes of flowering in

bamboos, published at Tokio in 1911.

Hori denies the inner periodicity of the flowering bamboo and says that

external conditions alone form the decisive factor. In a paper on the ‘ Flower-

ing Disease of the Bamboo ’ (Tokio, 1911) he mentions as causes of flowering

dryness of air and soil and especially a strong accumulation of sugar in the

plant-body.

From the fact that fruit trees are induced to flower by cutting their roots and

thus reducing the absorption of water and from the experience that in regions

with distinct dry and wet seasons the flowering season always coincides with

the dry season, Loewe concludes that a certain concentration of sugar in the

plant is a condicio sine qua non of flower-production.

Sachs, when trying to explain our problem, ascribed the phenomenon to

certain ‘ flower- forming ’ substances, whose chemical nature he was not able

to define but which could be stored up together with the reserve-materials.

All these different opinions can be considered under three headings : The

Fixed-age Hypothesis, the Climatic Hypothesis and the Physiological

Hypothesis.

The Fixed -age Hypothesis.

We need not lose many words over this hypothesis. If nature had given a

definite age to every species of bamboo, it is clear that all the clumps of a

certain species would flower after the same number of years and die. This is

evidently not the case after what we have seen before. So far we have not

observed one species of which we can say definitely that its life-cycle is, e.g., 30

or 35 years. It lies in most cases between two values. Besides, we have seen so

many exceptions above when dealing with irregular flowering, the flowering of

offsets and seedlings, which we cannot reconcile with an innate fixed age of the

species.

Kawamura is of opinion that the time of flowering is determined by internal

factors and very little dependent on external influences. According to ancient

Japanese and Chinese records the periodicity of flowering in bamboos is very

regular and definitely fixed. Kawamura mentions Phyllostackys Puberula

which, he says, comes into flower at intervals of 60 years. At the last general

flowering of this plant it was observed that at the same time cultivated speci-

mens in Europe were flowering. This extraordinary coincidence is explained

by the author in the following way : ‘ Phyllostackys puberula is always propaga-

ted vegetatively, i.e., from rhizomes, from which it follows that all clumps grow-

ing at present all over the world are parts of one or a few cultivated individuals.

If the flowering time follows an internal fixed periodicity, it is necessary that all

THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS

461

the specimens scattered over many countries come into flower at exactly the

same time as those growing in the native country ’.

It cannot be denied that the argumentation is correct, but we cannot say

the same of the premises. Kawamura evidently refers to the general flowering

of 1900 which took place in Japan and several localities in Europe. But he

seems to have overlooked the fact that the same species was seen in flower in

Japan in 1839, in Sussex in 1S9S, in Europe in 1906, in the Temperate House of

Kewr in 1902, and in the open air at Kew from 1903-1905.

The Climatic Hypothesis.

We have a certain amount of evidence which points to the likelihood that

abnormal heat and drought stimulate flowering. Here are a fewr statements in

favour of the climatic hypothesis.

We know from Sleeman’s report that in the early part of 1857 many of the

bamboos in Calcutta and other parts of Lower Bengal blossomed and seeded

abundantly ; the season had been unusually dry throughout Eastern Bengal

and on to Assam, where the scarcity of grain was much felt.

In 1868 and 1869 Kurz spent two dry seasons in Burma on the look-out for

material for his Forest Flora. He met an unexpectedly large number of

bamboos in flower. He ascribes this fact to the unusual heat and drought of

those seasons.

In 1864 there was a general flowering of Bambusa arundinacea in N. Kanara

and another in 1865 in the Balaghat district (C. P.). Bambusa tulda was in

flower in 1856 in Lower Bengal. We know that in Bengal and a large portion

of the Peninsula the monsoon of 1864 and 1855 was scanty and that great

drought and heat prevailed.

Bruce ( Ind . For. xxx, 269) reports that in the Ruby Mines District

Dendrocalamus strictus had flowered on the most exposed situations and in the

hottest localities, while the clumps growing in sheltered and cooler areas had

remained green.

Of Bambusa arundinacea Haines says that it flowers more or less gregariously,

‘ but those in the immediate vicinity of streams will sometimes flower some

years after the ones in less favourable localities. It flowered and seeded in

Puri and Angul from 1896-99 and again in 1913-15. In the former case the

larger better bamboos in the damper localities are said not to have flowered :

it was these, however, which flowered in the later period.’

Here should be included the numerous cases of coincidence of general

flowering and famines mentioned on a previous page.

It may be interesting to remember repeated observations of a second flower-

ing of trees in Europe, e.g., of the Chestnut, Syringa and others, especially

during the hot and dry summer of 1911.

Against the climatic hypothesis we can adduce the following points : — It

cannot be proved that periodic flowerings have always taken place during or

after years of drought and scarcity. I say on purpose ‘ after years because

stimulating conditions must exercise their influence on the plant at least one

year before flowering can take place.

We know by experience that general flowerings have occurred in localities

where drought is unknown.

How can we reconcile the following case with the .climatic hypothesis ? —

Chusquea abielifolia , of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, went through a

general flowering in 1918, during which practically all individuals blossomed,

seeded and died. The next year the species was represented only by seedlings,

except for one small area discovered by Seifriz in an unusually arid situation

where the plants w'ere still thriving and flowerless. ( Americ . Journ. Bot. 7

(1920) 83-94).

If the climatic hypothesis jests on a solid foundation, how are we able to

explain that certain bamboos behave, regarding their period of flowering, in

almost exactly ihe same way quite independent of climatic conditions?

Dendrocalamus strictus , e.g., grows both in the most tropical climate of Burma

and the west side of the Peninsula, as well as in the dry region of N. W. India,

in the Aravalli Hills, the Salt Range, and the Sub-Himalayan tract, nearly to

the Indus.

The strongest evidence against the climatic hypothesis is, in Troup’s opinion,

the fact that bamboos grown artificially by offsets or from seed may flow’er

simultaneously with clumps of the parent stock, or with others raised

462 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol . XXXII'

artificially from the same stock, in different localities under different climatic

conditions. We have seen above how bamboos behave with regard to the time

of flowering when cultivated in or out of India.

In the case of bamboos grown in Europe and Africa which flowered at the

same time in different places, it is not only the difference of climate we have to

consider but also the various kinds of treatment they have received from differ-

ent amateurs and horticulturists. If we had only one instance of several clumps

of bamboo flowering in the same year in various localities including their

native country, it would be quite enough to overthrow the climatic hypothesis.

By this we do not want to imply that drought and heat may not have some

influence in stimulating the plant to flower, but that influence should not be

considered as anything more than an acceleration by a short time of the

ordinary process of flowering. In other words, drought and heat alone will

not bring about flowering unless the plant has already reached the end of the

physiological life-cycle and is, in any case, on the point of flowering.

The Physiological Hypothesis.

When Troup says that the life-cycle of :a bamboo may be determined by

physiological causes inherent in the plant, he abstains from defining those

causes. Other writers speak of an accumulation of starch in the rhizome, of a

strong reserve of sugar in the plant- body, others again of a certain concentra-

tion of sugar or of the presence of certain ‘flower-forming’ substances. The

leading idea of all these and similar opinions is this, that there are in the plant

a certain substance or substances or configuration of substances which, when

they have reached a certain amount, induce the plant to produce flowers

and seed.

Chemical Action.

What those substances exactly are must be investigated by experiment.

With regard to many plants, we know that strong manuring prevents flowering

whilst scanty manuring promotes it. But very few methodical experiments

have been made so far. Reduction of salts in Algae is decisive for fructifi-

cation and this has also been claimed for phanerogamic plants. Loew (1905)

has shown for garden plants that an increasing amount of Nitrogen, given in

the shape of Ammonium Nitrate, has retarded the formation of flowers. Monte-

martini (1910) experimented with Torenia Fournieri and Solatium nigrum. He

put the plants every 4th or 5th day into a fresh solution containing all the

necessary elements. They developed well but did not flower. As soon as the

plants were transferred to a solution without N, they started flowering at once.

It was also found that in a solution wflthout phosphorus flowering was

prevented.

It is, however, not enough to observe the outwardly visible effects of certain

salts. We want to know what internal changes are going on at the same time.

For this purpose the chemical examination of the plant in its vegetative

and flowering stage would be necessary, and of the vegetative stage

not only once in the life-time of the plant but at regular intervals from the

beginning up to the time of flowering. Very little work has been done in this

direction. It has been observed that in cereals the nutritive salts constantly

increase from germination up to a maximum shortly before flowering begins,

and that after that a distinct diminution can be noticed. This, apparently^ can

only be explained by the excretion of salts, especially Kalium and Nitrogen.

At the same time an accumulation of C-assimilates in the shape of starch takes

place in the plant. From Berthelot’s investigations it appears that the

maximum of Phosphorus-content is reached at the time when the plant begins

to flower. Chemical analysis of the rosettes of Sempervivum in its vegetative

stage and at the beginning of flowering has shown that in the latter case they

contain more reducing sugar than in the former, whilst the ash of the vegetative

rosettes contains absolutely and relatively more N-compounds. If we consider

that flowering depends on a certain concentration of C-assimilates and nutritive

salts, it will be easy to understand the fact that it is not always necessary to

strongly limit the absorption of such salts, provided that a surplus of

C-assimilates can be obtained by active assimilation.

A plant growing in soil containing a high percentage of nutritive salts can, on

the one hand, absorb only a limited quantity of those salts and, on the other,

ymder otherwise favourable conditions, obtain the required C-assimilates,

THE FLO WEEING OF BAMBOOS

463

From this point of view we can understand the results of many methods in

fruit-culture by which we try to promote flowering and fruiting of so-calied

sterile trees. Some of those methods intend a limitation in the absorption of

nutritive salts, e.g. repeated transplantation by which the roots are damaged,

cutting of the roots, and dense planting of the trees. Other methods, again, try

to prevent the C-assimilates from descending into the roots which is effected by

slashing or ringing ol the bark or by fixing a wire or a narrow strip of tin round

the stem and main branches.

The following facts might be adduced in favour of the physiological hypo-

thesis : — Ti ere are entomogamous plants which flower at greater intervals and

then simultaneously. Haglund has observed that, eg. Phyllodoce coerulea,

Azalea Procumbens , Andromeda hyphoides, Rhododendron lapponicum, and

Sedum palustre come into flower in the high North at intervals of several years.

As the same plants flower annually in Central Europe ( Sedum palustre, Azalea

procumbens) we feel inclined to say that it is chiefly the accumulation of a

certain amount of reserve-materials which causes more frequent flowering.

The formation of reserve materials is naturally slovrer in the North.

Brandis rightly draws our attention to some forest trees in Europe, the Beech,

the Oak, the Spruce and the Silver Fir which do not flower and seed regularly

every year, but at intervals which vary in each species with soil, elevation,

climate and other conditions. He refers to the interesting researches made by

Hartig on the influence of the accumulation of starch in the medullary rays and

wood parenchyma on the seed years of the Beech trees.

That stores of starch and other reserve materials were being deposited in the

wood of Beech trees was a well-known fact, but it was always supposed that

those stores were consumed by the development of leaves in spring. Hartig,

however, has shown that starch gradually accumulates in the wood until a

moment arises, when it is entirely utilized for the production of flowers and

seeds.

Water.

Numerous practical experiences prove that a high degree of moisture opposes

the development of flowers, whilst vegetative growth is advanced. This

happens when the water-content of the soil as well as of the air is very high.

First of all it is relative dryness of the air which promotes flower-formation,

as dryness of the air increases transpiration. From Gain’s experiments it is

apparent that for flowering there is an optimum of transpiration, provided the

soil is relatively damp and the air relatively dry. By comparative experiments

he deduced the following series of favourable and unfavourable influences on

the process of flowering -Dry air very favourable, damp soil favourable,

dry soil unfavourable, damp air very unfavourable. As light is an essential

condition for the increase of transpiration, it is evident that it plays an im-

portant part in exciting a plant to flower.

Temperature.

As a general vital condition temperature must influence flower-formation

because all the other functions connected with that process, viz., assimilation,

transpiration, absorption of water and salts, depend on temperature. Regardmg

the nutritive salts Montemartini has proved that the absorption of phosphoric

acid is increased by raising the temperature up to an optimum, which corres-

ponds with the optimum of temperature for the formation of flowers. More

striking are the effects of a temperature w hich approaches the lower or upper

limit or also of a middle temperature (ca. 20° C.) as soon as it sets in at certain

stages in the development of some plants. The biennial beetroot can, under

certain conditions, flower in the first year already. This depends parti yon racial

characters, but certainly also on various external conditions. Among these it

is especially low temperature near 0° C. in spring, coupled with early sowing.

It is conceivable that retardation of growth, perhaps also absorption of salts by

night, and C. assimilation by day bring about the internal conditions for

flower-formation.

Influence of Age.

We know that there is a minimum of concentration of inorganic salts re-

quired for the well-being of the plant which lies higher for reproduction than

for growth. With regard to the single elements, N, P, etc., this minimum

25

464 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol, XXXIV

varies and depends, in addition, on the nature of the plant. As soon as these

minima are reached and the necessary surplus of carbohydrates obtained, one

should expect that the age of the plant, i e., the time of previous growth, is

of no decisive value and that young plants as well as old ones can produce

flowers according to circumstances. Deels, indeed, has shown for a number

of plants that they come into flower at a relatively early age without long

previous growth. Even a tree like the Oak, which usually flowers after

60 years, can produce flow'ers in its first, second or third year. Other facts,

too, prove that under certain conditions the influence of age can be neglected.

A rosette of Sempervivum Funkii usually flowers in its third year and then

produces only one inflorescence. But, with ample food-supply in the foregoing

year, the rosette ready to flower produces daughter-rosettes in spring, which

after little growth start flowering at once. The fitness to flower of the mother-

rosette has therefore, been directly transferred to the daughter- rosettes which

come into flower in spite of their young age and the small absolute quantity of

nutritive substances in the small rosettes. The same event has been observed

in Agave whose rosettes flower only after many years, whilst daughter-rosettes

flowered immediately after removal from the mother which wTas ready to flower.

Leaves of Begonias which were on the point of flowering form flowers on the

adventive shoots much sooner than leaves of non flowering plants. Similar

behaviour observed in bamboos has been mentioned above.

Intimately connected with the question regarding influence of age is the

other question regarding the length of flowering. There is a great variety

which is based on specific properties of the plants. There are plants which

flower any time of the year, e. gt, the Daisy ( Beilis perennis), there are others

of w hich the same individual can go on flowering for years ( Parietaria erecta ),

a not uncommon occurrence in the tropics. On the other hand, we know

plants with a very definite time of flowering, either spring, summer or autumn.

Some plants flower only once in their lifetime, e. g., the Talipot Palm ( Cory P ha

urnbraculifera Linn.), the Sago Palm ( Metroxylon Sagas Rottb.). And

finally w^e have the gregarious flowering over wide areas of many species of

Strobilanthes and bamboos.

Other Factors.

There are several other factors which are apt to influence flowering but

which so far have not received the slightest attention at least in so far as

they are related to reproductive processes, e. g., the absorption of organic food

from the soil, the bacteria living in the soil, the substances secreted by the

plants, the influence of Oxygen acting either directly or indirectly on the

organism, the changes effected by the presence of various amounts of Co2 in

the air, etc.

How to Explain Gregariousness of Flowering.

All we have said and. suggested up to now may lead some day to abetter

understanding of periodic flowering, but it will not char up the still more

difficult problem of gregarious flowering. Troup is the only botanist who has

tackled the question. His theory is so ingenious that I cannot help reproducing

the whole passage : ‘ If the constancy of the life-cycle is accepted as a fact

the phenomenon admits of a possible explanation. In the case of species like

Dendrocalamus sLictus , Cephal. us la chynm pergracile and Bambnsa tulda ,

which frequently flower sporadically, the flowering may be observed in

single clumps, or in patches of a few clun ps together, which apparently

sprung from a solitary flowering clump of the previous generation, or in small

groups of less than an acre, apparently the result of the spread of the seed

from one or a few flowering clumps of the previous generation, or in larger

groups. And so the progress can be traced from small to large groups of

varying size and thence to general flowering over restricted areas and finally to

gregarious flowering over considerable tracts of country. This would lead to

the conclusion that gregarious flowering is the result of the gradual spread

of the species, through successive and more or less constant lite-cyles, over a

wide a-ea from one or a limited number of original flowering individuals.

If this be so, then in the case of those species like Bambnsa polymorpha , which

flower at long intervals with a marked tendency of gregariorsness over

extensive tracts, the process of taking possession of the giound must have

occupied a considerable period of time, and the life-cycles of the various

individuals of the crop must have been remarkably constant,’

THE EL O WEEING OF BAMBOOS

465

It almost comes as a shock when in the next line Troup continues : ‘ This

theory, however, is discounted by the fact that in certain cases of gregarmus

flowering young plants only a few years old have been found to flower with the

mature clumps.’ He then gives an instance of a general flowering of

DencLrecalanus strictus in the Chanda district (C. P.) in which Smythies ( Ind .

For. xxvii (1901) 126) observed clumps of all ages in flower, not only mature

clumps but also young plants of six or seven years’ growth or even less. But

here as in another case taken from the Ind. For . (xxxiii (1907) 323) the import-

ant question arises whether those younger plants grew from seed or from the

rhizome of an old plant. It is not evident from the two reports and till we have

further proof there is no need for discounting Troup’s theory.

Conclusion.

We have discussed a few of the problems connected with the flowering of

bamboos and we must confess that we know very little about them.

There are innumerable other questions regarding the physiology of sexual

reproduction, which we have not even mentioned for the simple reason that we

have no facts from which we could derive satisfactory conclusions.

A flower is a most complex structure, even for the student of morphology

and anatomy. But if we begin to look at it from the physico-causal point of

view, endless vistas open out before us and wherever we turn for an answer, we

only fiud a sign of interrogation staring at us. The pathological changes

produced artificially in some plants by Klebs seem to indicate that the external

conditions for the formation of the single organs as calyx, corolla, stamens aod

carpels are not the same and that each of these structures depends on a special

combination of external factors, A clear insight into these conditions has not

been gained as yet, and the physiological questions regarding pollination,

fertilization and development of the embryo have scarcely been touched upon.

It is scarely necessary to repeat that flower-lormation depends essentially on

influences coming from the outer' world. These external factors are the

general conditions to which every vital process is subject. For flower-

formation are characteristic the special combination and intensity of these

factors as light, nutritive salts, Carbon dioxide, Oxygen, absorption of water,

transpiration, temperature and perhaps others, of which we are not conscious.

It does not seem possible to analyse the constant and intricate co-operation of

all these factors and to find out what exact effect is produced by each of them.

Some facts, however, appear to justify the assumption that flower-formation

is brought about in the first place by an increase in C-assimilation and by an

absolute or relative decrease of certain nutritive salts, especially of those

containing Nitrogen. We are thus allowed to assume that a certain concen-

tration of those substances in the meristematic cells of the plant forms the

necessary internal condition of reproduction. Every attempt to trace these

relations more accurately and to define them more clearly, seems to be hope-

less at the present moment, as we are too little acquainted with the compli-

cated chemism of the cells. Chemical analysis with the present day methods

can only give the rough distribution of matter, but is quite incapable to present

a true image of the more delicate processes that lead up to the formation of

flower and seed.

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NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS.

Vols. IV, V and VI. (New edition).

BY

Claud B. Ticehurst, m.a. , m.r.c.s., m.b.o.u. ,

LATE CaPT. , R.A.M.C.

At the request of several friends who are interested in the Indian

avifauna and at the urgent demand of the Editors of the Journal

I have completed some further notes on the Fauna of British India,

second edition. These notes which cover Vols. IV, V and VI arc

continuation of my former notes (vide Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Journal, August 1926 and October 1927) and comprise points which

occur to me in reading through these volumes. They in no way are

an exhaustive commentary ; such would take up far more time

than is at my disposal ; moreover, a good many of the species dealt

with, I have no special knowledge of, and therefore pass them

over. Mere printers’ errors (and there are many) also I pass over

unless they are of moment. For convenience of reference, I quote

the page of the Fauna referred to in each case and use the same

nomenclature, though I do not necessarily always agree with it.

VOL. IV.

p. 7. Picus squamatus. — I gather from the distribution here

given that both squamatus and flavirostris occur in Beluchistan.

The only specimens I have seen from Beluchistan are flavirostris.

At all events we must call them flavirostris at present. This race

was described from the confines of N. W. Afghanistan (Murghab,

R.j and gorii from the Helmund is said to be the same race. There

are so few specimens available that it is not possible to say whether

the Beluchi bird is separable or not. It certainly occurs and breeds

in the Ziarat juniper forest where I have seen it and examined old

nest holes. Does squamatus occur in Sikkim? Stevens does not

record it thence.

p. 29. Hypopicus hyperythms. — Mr. Whistler and I have dealt

so thoroughly (Ibis, 1924, pp. 468-473) with this bird and Vigor’s

types that anything further would seem superfluous. Our researches

all tended to show, contrary to Mr. Baker’s assertion that in this

collection described by Vigors ‘there were a few Eastern Himalayan

birds among them’, that all these birds except Myophonius horsfieldi

came from the Western Himalayas or foot-hills.

p. 35. Dryobates scindeanus. — Appears to be antedated by

Dryobates assimilis, Blyth (J.A.S.B., XVIII, 2,, p. 803, 1849).

Type locality Rawalpindi, (ex. Natterer MS.?).

p. 40. Dryobates macei.- — This species certainly does extend as

far west as Murree (Specimens, Whistler coll.) but the western race

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

469

is easily separable by the longer bill and wing from the Bengal

race. <S 6 • W. 114-118. B. 26-30. The western form is Dryobates

macei westermani Blyth. (Ibis, 1870, p. 163.) Type in Amsterdam

Museum.

p. 45. Leiopicus . — This genus can hardly be maintained. The

difference between the tips of the secondaries and primaries is said

to be less than the culmen length in Leiopicus This is not true

of every specimen and, if the character is taken, I find that while

major, minor, pubescens, auriceps, leuconotus and medius would fall

into the Dryobates group, villosus becomes a Leiopicus, and

scindeanus and syriacus with macei doubtful for either group, some

specimens falling into the Dryobates group and some into the

Leiopicus.

p. 47. Leiopicus mahrattensis blanfordi. — This northern bird 1

consider to be a good race. Not only is the white more extensive

as here noted, but the birds on the whole are larger.

mahrattensis 26 S d • W. 93-101. once 107. B. 23 '5-26. Most

24-25.

10 9 9. W. 91-101. once 103. B. 21-24. Most

22-23.

Birds from N. India. —

58 Ms. W. 100-111. (four under 100). B. 24-27

(odd ones N. W. India, up to 30).

51 99. W. 100-108 (five under 100). B. 23-26

(odd ones from the east side, 21 and 22).

Burma,— 7 tf d- W. 100-106. B. 22‘5-26.

7 9 9. W. 102-104 5. B. 21-23-5.

Burmese birds are quite like N. Indian ones, but on this small

series seem to have a trifle shorter bill. However, as there is much

overlapping and the series small, I should not recognize two races

here. The name of the northern race is not blanfordi but

aurocristatus. Tickell ( J.A.S.B. , ii, 579, 1833.) Type locality

Bhorabhum, Bengal.

p. 48. Yungipicus. — I cannot see that this genus can possibly

be maintained. The difference between the tips of the primaries and

secondaries is said to be greater than the length of the tarsus in

Yungipicus. That is quite true, but it is also equally true in

Dryobates pubescens, the type of the genus Dryobates and also

in many other species of Dryobates.

p. 51. Yungipicus hardwickii mitchelii. — This bird extends much

further north-west than Mussoorie. Mr. Whistler obtained it in the

Kangra district and at Rawalpindi. There is a small amount of

information on the nidification of this race in Hume’s Nests and

Eggs, ii, 306.

p. 70. Brachypternus b. dilutus. — This species of course grades

into the typical form, the distribution being continuous. The birds

I identified as belonging to the Sind race were from S. W. Punjab.

p. 72. Dinopicus. — Picus is masculine and presumably Dinopicus

also ; intermedius and. not intermedia therefore.

p. 78. Key. — In first line for breast, back is meant,

p. 93. Picumnus innominatus innominatus. — This Piculet occurs

much further west — to Dharmsala,

470 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

p. 100. It is stated that, unlike Woodpeckers, Wrynecks can

run backwards and downwards with facility. I cannot speak for

certainly about other woodpeckers, but I have frequently seen

Picus mridis run backwards and downwards on a tree trunk.

p. 100. Jynx torquilla japonica. — I agree that this is the form

breeding- in Kashmir, but it does not breed or occur in Beluchistan.

The race there is the typical one and only as a passage migrant.

Does it breed all along the Himalayas? I doubt it. A winter visitor

to Sikkim (Stevens). The bird occurring in the Punjab and Sind in

winter is the typical race. Mr. Whistler and I have failed to find

a single winter specimen of japonica in this area.

p. 113. Thereiceryx lineatus intermedins. — An unrecognizable

race. 15 Burma W. 120-135, 15 Nepal, Bhutan and Buxa Duars

W. 119-139. It seems useless to try and recognize two races on

average difference of 7 mm. in wing length. Only extremes could

be assigned to either race leaving- about 80 per cent unnamable.

p. 116. Key to Cyanops asiatica. — ‘Band across vertex blue . . .

davisoniJ In the description of this race the band is said to be

black.

p. 117. Cyanops asiatica asiatica. — -This Barbet is said to be

‘rare anywhere east of Nepal’ ; this is certainly not so and it is

common in some districts to the west of Nepal.

p. 126. Xantholcema. — The key here is obviously wrong. It

divides Xantholcema hemacephala with culmen 16 mm. or over

from indica with culmen 15 mm. or under, but in the measurements

given under the description of indica , the culmen length is given as

17-18 mm.

p. 136. Cuculus canorus canorus. — The distribution given will

need amending. The breeding range ‘practically all Europe within

the Arctic Circle’ is really only a very small part of this bird’s range

in summer; it breeds throughout most of Europe outside the Arctic

Circle as well. I have already twice pointed out (Ibis, 1916, p. 38)

that the breeding bird over a large area of the Punjab belongs to the

typical race. I do not think this bird winters in India at all and

certainly not in the North-west. As Mr. Whistler and I have

pointed out again and again, it is a passage migrant in autumn and

there are no winter records of it in Sind or the Punjab.

pp. 141-3. Cuculus optatus and poliocephalus. — It is not clear

what is meant by ‘young birds’, ‘second stage’, ‘third stage’. Are

these different sequences of plumage, or individual variations, or

dimorphisms of one plumage? The same remarks apply to the

descriptions of some of the other Cuckoos, e.g., Caccomantis

nierulinus, Hierococcyx, fugax, Chalcites xanthorhynchus , etc.,

where ‘young bird’, ‘nestling’ (surely the same plumage !) and ‘older

plumage’ are distinguished.

p. 157. Penthoceryx sonneratti. — Latham described this bird

from India in 1790. At that time N. Cachar was not within Indian

territory and it is most unlikely that Latham’s bird came from

there. I suggest Bengal as being more probable as the type

locality. The differences given between Penthoceryx and Cacco-

mantis do not seem to be generic ones.

p. 167. Clamator jacobinus. — The impression here given is that

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS 471

this Cuckoo is a common bird all over India at all times of the year.

This certainly is not so; over a huge part of India it is a ‘rains

visitor’ and as such, a marked migrant. Where does it go to in

the non-breeding season? S. India? Africa? (see also B.N.H.S.J. ,

xxxiii, p. 136, where Mr. Whistler has dealt in detail with this

question).

p. 185. Toccacua leschenaulti leschenaulti. — The date of les =

chenaulti in the text is given as 1830, and in the heading as 1831.

I see no difficulty about the question as to where Blyth’s infusccita

came from. When Blyth wrote his Catalogue he only had one

specimen of infuscata and it came from the ‘Tarai region near

Darj heeling’ which therefore must be the type locality. Working

with the same material as I did (Ibis, 1923, p. 41), Mr. Baker has

come to rather different conclusions. I could not separate the Hill

Sirkeer (infuscata apud Baker) from the Punjab Sirkeer ( sirkee ), and

affinis I felt very doubtful about as there are no specimens from the

type locality and only two from Bengal at all. I, therefore, put the

Southern Bengal birds with leschenaulti which they appeared quite

to resemble. I used infuscata for the N. E. sub-Himalayan bird.

pp. 205-6. Psittacula cyanocephala. — The distribution of cyanoce-

phala and bengalensis is very curious. The former is said to be the

race in Western Bengal, Sikkim and Bhutan Duars, and the latter

to be the race in Bengal, Nepal and Sikkim. Is this correct? It

seems that there is considerable overlapping.

p. 210. Psittacus alexandri. — The reference here must be wrong;

1754 belongs to the pre-Linnean era. The reference should be

Linn. Syst. Nat., Ed. X, 1758.

p. 215. Psittacus incertus (Shaw. Nat. Misc.).— It is not stated

where the typical form comes from but the type locality can be

India only ‘in error’.

p. 129. Psittinus beryllinus (Forster, 1781). — Here, as in a good

many cases throughout this work, the original reference is given

with a generic name the original describer could never have used.

Besides being incorrect, it is confusing.

p. 222. Coracias garrula. — The typical race is said to be lighter

in colour than the Indian bird. It is slightly darker in summer

dress, but in the juvenile dress and winter plumage very markedly

so. Single birds from Kashmir are a trifle larger than any from

elsewhere within the range of semenowi, but on a series no

appreciable difference can be seen.

Kashmir. W. 195-212. T. 120-137. B. 4T5-47.

Iraq, Persia, Punjab and Sind. W. 185-208. T. 118-137. B. 40-45.

Semenowi was described from Transcaspia and birds from

Turkestan do not appear to me to be smaller than Kashmir birds

though odd ones from the latter locality are large.

p. 232. Meliitophagus. — It is said that this genus is only

distinguished by the central tail feathers not projecting beyond the

rest of the tail and are of similar shape to the lateral. It seems

a very poor generic distinction. The central tail feathers in

M. erythrocephalus are not the same shape as the laterals ; and in

the juveniles of Merops the central tail feathers are of the same

length as the laterals. The genus seems unnecessary.

26

472 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

p. 233. Merops apiaster. — ‘Young birds’ and ‘Nestling’ are the

same plumage and the majority in this plumage correspond best

with the description given under the former heading. The distribu-

tion is not correct, as this bird does not breed in Garhwal, Sind,

Rajputana or the Punjab. It is also implied that in winter it occurs

as far south as Pandharpur. This Bee-eater does not occur

anywhere in India in winter ; it is, as I have already pointed out,

a passage migrant in N. W. India.

p. 237. Merops orientalis biludsChicus. — Does this bird breed at

Quetta? I could find no record of its doing so, nor did I see it

there.

p. 239. Merops s. persicus. — I do not think there is any mystery

about the movements of the Persian Bee-eater. It is known to

winter in tropical Africa and is known to breed in Egypt, Palestine,

Iraq, Persia, Transcaspia, Afghanistan, Beluchistan and parts of

N. W. India. Between these two areas it is a common passage

migrant in many places such as Egypt, the Red Sea, Arabia,

Persian Gulf, Iraq, Beluchistan, etc.

p. 246. Ceryle rudis. — I should think that the typical race is

most unlikely to occur in Sind where leucomelanura is common.

The typical race is only known to occur as far east as the Shiraz

district in S. Persia. East of this appears to be a gap in the

distribution of this species till in Las Belas leucomelanura occurs.

The typical form is hardly likely to wander from Persia to Sind.

The type locality of Ceryle rudis is not Persia but Egypt ; it was

described by Linnaeus ex Hasselquist.

p. 253. Alcedo atthis pallasii. — I do not think it is certain that

pallasii breeds in Sind. Both this and bengalensis occur ; but

which breeds I could not ascertain as there appeared to be no

breeding birds in any collection. Mr. Whistler is in the same

difficulty over the Punjab. But in Kashmir where this Kingfisher

is common, the breeding bird is pallasii.

p. 254. In the Key to Alcedo meninting the statement that the

anterior crown is tinged with greenish, I have found misleading.

To my eyes (and those of others) it is coerulean blue and this should

be amended in the description of coltarti.

p. 258. Alcedo Hercules. — No type locality is given. As the

name is a re-naming of grandis which came from Darjheeling, this

is the type locality. But the correct name appears to be megalia

Blyth.

p. 268. Halcyon smyrnensis Linn. — Linnaeus described this

bird from Albin’s work and the latter described a bird from Smyrna

which is then the type locality.

pp. 308-313. Upupa epops races. — -The measurements of the

wings of saturata and of orientalis do not quite tally with my

measurements. No example of saturata from its breeding area

measures as little as 123, I made the smallest 140. Nor could I find

any Indian breeding birds of orientalis so large as 160; maximum

about 140.

p. 323. Micropidae. — The keys to the Swifts will need some

revision to make them workable. In the key to the sub-families two

groups are distinguished, those with feathered tarsi and those with

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS 473

naked tarsi or nearly so. In the latter group falls the sub-family

Chceturninae. Turning to page 339 one of the characters of the

group is the naked tarsus. This sub-family contains the genus

Collocalia and turning to page 346 a key to this genus is given

and the characters given to two of the species is ‘tarsi feathered’ !

p. 324. Micropus melba — These Swifts want revising when

material is available. I am pretty sure that the North Indian bird

is not the same as the South European one. The North African-

Palestine bird is I think separable as tuneti. Fresh moulted North

Indian birds are paler even than spring birds of the typical race.

p. 331. Micropus pacificus leuconyx . — This race only differs in

size; the colour of the legs and feet are as in the typical race (i.e.

purplish-brown or purplish-black) not flesh-coloured.

p. 338. Tachornis batasiensis palmarum. — The distribution given

is far too wide. Over a huge area of N. W. India it does not occur

at all, as for example, in Sind, Punjab and N. W. Province.

p. 350. Hirundo francica Gm. — The date should be 1788, not

1799.

p. 354. Hirundo coronata Tickell. — The date should be 1833 not

1883.

p. 360. Caprimulgus europceus unwini. — This Nightjar does not

occur in N. W. India in winter at all. There is no record of it at

this season in Sind or the Punjab. It is, however, a common

passage migrant and winters in Africa. I made this quite clear in

the Ibis , 1922, p, 531, and 1923, p. 37.

p. 365. Caprimulgus nipalensis Hartert. — This name cannot be

used. Dr. Hartert took this name from Hodgson's M.S., but as a

nomen nudum it had already been made a synonym of albonotatus

by Blyth in his Catalogue.

p. 369. Caprimulgus mahrattensis. — Also breeds in the Punjab

Salt Range.

p. 405. Strix butleri. — Of this mysterious Owl two further

specimens have been obtained in the Wadi Feiran in Palestine and

probably elsewhere there (vide B.N.H.S.J. , xxxi, p. 64).

pp. 408-9. Ketupa zeylonensis. — Races of this Fish Owl are no

doubt very difficult to elucidate and Mr. Baker and I, on examining

the same material, have come to quite different conclusions. I felt

very doubtful about recognizing any races at all since there are only

five specimens from Ceylon in the British Museum. However, I

restricted zeylonensis to Ceylon and recognized leschenault from

the rest of India. Mr. Baker can on the same series recognize four

races ! As regards the two Sind and N. W. F, Province birds,

I have already pointed out that these differ very markedly from

any others and do not correspond with topotypes of semenowi from

Arabistan and in fact these latter could be matched with birds from

India, When two such entirely different results are attained with

the same material, it suggests that the races are very poor ones or

the material is very insufficient.

p, 411. Ketupa flavipes. — This is listed by Ward as uncommon

in Kashmir, but no one else seems to have met with it at all.

p. 419. Huhua orientalis. — This is Strix orientalis of Horsfield

1821 but not the Strix orientalis of Shaw 1809 and therefore unfortu-

474 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , XXXIV

nately orientalis cannot be used for this bird. The correct name for

the Malay Eagle Owl then is Huhua sumatrana (Raffles) and the

Javan race Huhua sumatrana strepitans (Temm.). Strix orientalis

of Shaw is a re-naming of Strix sinensis of Lath. ( Ind . Ornr Sup.,

xvi, 1801) preoccupied by the same name in the Ind. Orn., i,

p. 53, 1790. Hence the bird on page 403 called Strix seloputo

should be Strix orientalis Shaw or, if the Javan bird is a distinct

race, Strix orientalis seloputo.

p. 432. Otus brucei. — This Owl has also occurred at Phillaur in

the Punjab (Whistler coll.). This bird certainly breeds in the

Chaman-Quetta district as I have seen nestlings from both

places.

p. 434. Otus scops rufipennis. — This is of course a race of

sunia not of scops.

Otus scops leggei.— This too is a race of sunia (vide Ibis, 1923,

p. 242).

p. 437. Otus sunia modestus. — 4 included the Burmese bird with

japonica from Japan (Ibis, 1923, p. 243) because I could see no

sufficient or constant difference between the two. The series from

Japan in the British Museum is not very large and the birds thence

are highly variable in colour and pattern and one could pick out

Japanese birds to match Burmese ones. If one compared Burmese

birds with the series in the British Museum from the Amur, the

two are easily separable ; however, japonicus was not described from

Amur but from Japan.

p. 433. Otus scops pulchellus. — This bird may be a winter visitor

to Sind ; there are too few records of it to indicate for certain, but

it certainly is a summer visitor to North Beluchistan and breeds in

the juniper forest at Ziarat and doubtless elsewhere.

p. 437. Otus sunia malayanus. — The date of this description

should be 1845, not 1842.

p. 438. In the Key to species the first primary in brama is said

to be longer than the seventh. This is not constant. Sometimes it

is longer, sometimes equal, sometimes shorter.

In the Key to sub-species it is stated ‘wing under

145 mm . . . pulchra ’ but in the measurements of pulchra on

page 441 the wing length is given as 143-158.

p. 441. Athene noctua. Scop. — -The type locality is Carniola,

not Sweden.

p. 445. Glaucidium cuculoides rufescens. — Type locality omitted;

it should be Manipur.

p. 449. Glaucidium radiatum tnalabaficum (Sharpe, 1883).—

This was named by Blyth ( J.A.S.B. , xv, 280, 1846).

p. 456. Ninox scutidata is data. — The type is said to come from

Camoorta. It may be a small point, but we may as well be accurate.

Mr. Baker himself described this bird from Car Nicobar at the

reference given.

Vol. V.

p. 13. Gyps f. fulvcscens. — This is almost certainly the breeding

bird round Quetta and probably in the Kirthar range too.

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

475

p. 15. Gyps tenuirostris and G. tenuiceps. — Certainly neither of

these names can be used. Blyth made them both synonyms of

indicus in his Catalogue some years before Gray did so.

p. 31. Key to Genera. — This key fails at C 6, as in Astur the

bill is far longer than three quarters the length of the hind toe

without claw.

p. 32. Falco calidus. Lath.— The date is 1790, not 1709.

pp. 43 and 44. Falco suhbuteo centralasice and jarkutensis. — These

two races of Hobby seem to be exceedingly poor ones ; in Europe

one may find paler or darker birds than the average and the same

appears to be the case in Asiatic birds. The difference in measure-

ments too is almost negligible and only a very small percentage of

either could be differentiated on the two characters together. The

distribution given of the three races suggest too that they are not

sufficiently defined to be recognizable. Thus the typical form is said

to extend from West Europe right across Asia to Japan, centralasice

in Central Asia ; jarkutensis also in Central Asia.

p. 47. Foot note. — Also the name Falco indicus cannot be used as

it is preoccupied by Falco indicus Gm.

p. 59. Erythropus amurensis. — The distribution given as regards

India is ‘in winter in N. E. India.’ Here seems a point to which

Indian ornithologists might give attention. What exactly is the

status of this bird? The older records do not suggest at all that

these birds winter in N. E. India. It is true there are records of odd

birds in January and February in Pegu and Cachar. At Dibrughar,

Hume expressly says, the birds do not stop ; Inglis in N. E. Cachar

says all disappear by mid-December and were not seen again till

October; in Lower Bengal it is said to occur only in the rains.

There are odd, mostly undated, records from Nepal, Darjheeling,

Kumaon, Carnatic, Nilgiris and Ceylon. There is a record that

thousands were seen passing over Belgaum on November 24. Apart

from stragglers, does it winter in India at all? If it merely passes

through India to reach winter quarters in East Africa, what route

does it take? These are points which require further research.

p. 60. Cerchneis. — Surely the genera Cerchneis and Erythropus

cannot be maintained on the characters of the feet. Those in the

former genus are said to be smaller and weaker than in Erythropus.

This may be true if naumanni is compared with vespertinus but

assuredly not true if tinnunculus is taken for comparison.

p. 61. Cerchneis tinnunculus. — The adult female is normally

tinged with grey on the rump and tail and the juvenile male acquires

the blue grey tail at the fifteen months’ moult.

Breeding birds in Mr. Whistler’s collection from N. W.

Himalayas from 2,000 feet up and from Ladak do not differ from

Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus. In this series one can see rather

paler ones and rather darker ones, some are small ( d . W. 234)

and in the same area others are large ( d • W. 250). This same

variation is seen both in colour and in size in European birds, and

all of these birds of Mr. Whistler’s can be matched with British

examples.

p. 64. Cerchneis tinnunculus japonicus. — This name cannot be

used. It is the Falco japonicus of Temminck and Schlegel but not

476 JOURNAL, BOMBA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

the Falco japonicus of Gmelin (Syst., 1, p. 257, 1798). In the

Bulletin, B.O.C. , October 1929, I re-named it japonensis.

p. 67. Aquila fulvescens was described by Gray, not Brooks.

This bird, according to Jerdon, Murray, Hume and Sharpe, is what

we now call vindhiana. Brooks for a time believed it to be a distinct

species and Blanford followed him.

p. 69. Aquila heliaca heliaca. — Is it quite certain that this bird

breeds in the Beluchi-Sind hills, i.e., the Khirthar? It is said to

build in trees; if so, I can imagine no place less likely to attract it.

p. 75. Aquila clanga clanga. — Hume did not record this Eagle

nesting in Sind on his own observation. He says that he was

informed that it breeds commonly there. If Rattray found it nesting

at Shikarpore in Sind, I suppose there is no doubt about it.

Aquila hastata. — Besides the distinctions given, this appears to

be a smaller bird than pomarina.

p. 117. Ichthyophaga h. plumbeus. — The distribution given

implies that this bird is common in Kashmir. It only occurs in one

place* in the Jhelum valley and in Kashmir it has been much confused

with H. leucoryphus.

p. 121. Milvus. — It is said that no generic difference can be seen

between Milvus migrans and lineaius. I do not think any generic

difference has been suggested. Perhaps specific difference is meant.

Milvus migrans. — The ranges of this Kite and govinda meet in

the Quetta district; migrans is a summer visitor from Africa to the

wooded hills, govinda has extended up the Quetta valley from

India.

p. 136. What a troublesome group the Indian Buzzards are !

and I fear I can contribute nothing to their elucidation. I do not,

however, feel that even now the names, distribution and status are

correct. No two people seem to agree about them and no doubt

more and better collected material is required. Witness the

treatment by three experts : —

Stuart Baker.

Buteo rufinus rufinus.

Buteo hemilasius .

Buteo burmanicus .

Hartert.

B. ferox ferox.

B. ferox hemilasius.

B. buteo japonicus.

Blanford.

= B. ferox.

Buteo

leucocephallus .

Archibuteo

hemiptilopus.

H Synonym of

Buteo ,

desertorum.

One almost despairs of reaching the correct name of the Long-

legged Buzzard ! AH three of these Buzzards are said to breed in

Kashmir. I wonder if this is so ; it is a country in which Buzzards

appear to be remarkably scarce and personally I should not feel

inclined to accept any identification of breeding- unless the breeding

bird was obtained.

p. 150. Astur badius cenchroides. — -Here, as in some other cases,

Mr. Baker entirely misquotes what I said. I certainly never said

cenchroides bred in Sind. I was most careful (Ibis, 1923, p. 227),

to say that I had seen no breeding birds of the Shikra but that both

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

477

cenchroides and dussumieri occur in winter and one, probably the

former, must be a winter visitor.

p. 158. Accipiter nisus melanoschistus. — This Sparrow hawk also

breeds in the juniper forests of Beluchistan, which fact I have

already recorded and I have examined breeding specimens thence.

It is quite common there.

p. 167. Foot note. — It is true Hume (not Blyth) records in his Sind

diary ( S.F.I. , p. 103) that he shot (not only saw) an example of

Pernis cristatus in Sind. Either Pernis was a lapsus calami or

Hume found that his first identification was not correct as he omitted

the species in his Sind list.

p. 117. It is not quite true to say that Pigeons are born naked.

They have a wiry sort of down more or less all over the body.

p. 179. The Key (2) to the sub-families does not entirely work;

there are several pigeons, notably in the genus Macropygia in which

the plumage is glossed to some extent but whose wings are under

200 mm,

p. 181. Croc opus ph. phoenicopterus. — The type locality is given

as ‘in insula Eimeo’. The locality given by Latham was ‘India’.

Eimeo is one of the Society Islands and is the type locality of

erythroptera, a pigeon described lower down on the same page of

Latham’s Ornith. Index.

p. 184. Crocopus chlorogaster. — I see no reason to reject Blyth ’s

original spelling chlorigaster. This mistake gets copied over and

over again.

p. 186. Dendrophasa pompadora pompadora. — The distribution

has been omitted.

p. 193. Dendrophasa prcetermissa. — The distribution is omitted.

p. 195. Treron. — This does not seem quite clear. It is said that

two races T. c. curvirostra and T. c. nepalensis extend through the

greater part of our area; nepalensis is dealt with curvirostra is not

alluded to again. Does it occur or not?

p. 201. Sphenocercus sp. sphenurus. — Though Col. Ward

recorded this pigeon as abundant in Kashmir, others do not appear

to have met with it.

p. 211. Carpophaga pusilla Blyth. — The date of this reference

should be 1849.

p. 211. Columba bicolor. — The date of Scopoli’s name is given

as 1896 ; it should be 1786.

p. 216. Chalcophaps indica. — The occurrence in Kashmir of this

bird seems to be founded on error. Adams recorded a pigeon in

Kashmir and Col. Ward suggested that it might be Chalcophaps

indica. No one has met with it in Kashmir.

p. 218. Columbinae. — Here again there is a muddle over the date.

On p. 218 it is said that Selby designated the type of the genus

Columba as palumbus , in his III. Brit. Birds, in 1852 ; on the next

page the same is quoted under the date 1925. Both are manifestly

wrong. The date is important as Vigors in 1825 designated the

type as cenas.

p. 219. Columba livia livia. — The Rock pigeons are admittedly

a difficult group, but it seems very improbable that this race has

ever occurred in N. W. India, Rock pigeons are very sedentary

478 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

birds and if the typical race normally occurs no nearer than North

Persia, it is inconceivable that it should wander over 1,000 miles

into N. W. India. In the past it has of course often been recorded

but it was not then recognized what a variable race neglecta is, some

specimens being barely distinguishable from livia.

p. 225. Columba cenas. — The date is of course 1758, not 1858.

This seems to me a very different pigeon to eversmanni and besides

the difference given it has darker wings and rump, and grey-

blue under wings instead of white.

p. 226. Columba cenas eversmanni. — The fact that this pigeon

seems so distinct from the European one and that Persian examples

of cenas are in no way different to European ones makes me hesitate

to acgept eversmanni as a race of cenas. Though eversmanni is said

to breed freely in the Hari Rud in the extreme N. W. Afghanistan,

Zarunday’s records of this bird breeding in North Persia are

founded on three specimens near Meshed and Faizabad which with

no certainty were breeding. As regards British Beluchistan, there

is no record of the bird at all either breeding or in winter though

it surely must occur in the latter season. Is it certain that Barnes

found this bird breeding in Afghanistan? He did not record it in

his papers in Stray Feathers.

p. 228. Columba p. casiotis. — This also breeds in the juniper

forests of North Beluchistan as 1 pointed out ( J.B.N.H.S . xxxii,

p. 73).

p. 236. Streptopelia turtur turtur. — The date should be 1758, not

1754. This bird finds a place in the Fauna on a single example

obtained at Quetta by Swinhoe. I have examined this bird and was

of opinion that it could not be separated from some examples of

arenicola. It would seem more satisfactory to give the benefit

of any doubt over a single bird to the more likely race to occur, as

Quetta would be well over 1,000 miles beyond the range of the

typical form.

p. 238. Streptopelia turtur arenicola. — The distribution given is

not clear. Are all these countries and districts places where the

bird has occurred? or is it supposed to breed in all of them.

p. 238. Streptopelia orientalis. — No one ever seems to agree on

this group of Doves and it leads to endless muddle ! Orientalis is

fairly clear, but the difficulty arises over the other two. Skyes

described a bird from the Deccan as meena. Hartert (Vog. Pal.,

p. 1490) gives reasons for believing that meena was the race that

breeds in Turkestan. Baker, however, thinks meena is the resident

N. E. Indian bird for which Hartert uses TickelPs name agricola.

Baker uses ferrago for the Turkestan form. If it is doubtful what

meena refers to, it is best dropped altogether since it was described

from a locality where all three races are said to occur in winter.

Ferrago can then be used for what is certainly the Turkestan bird

and agricola for what is certainly the N. E. Indian bird.

p. 240. Streptopelia o. ferrago. — The variation in wing length

seems very large for a bird of this size — 169-200 mm. Are any

adults as small as 169 mm., 18 mm. shorter than the minimum given

by Hartert? It is said that Stevens records this bird in Sikkim,

down to 4,500 ft. ; but in his paper on the Birds of Sikkim he

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

470

expressly states that ferrago ( = meena apud Hartert) does not occur

in Sikkim at all but that meena (= agricola) and orientalis occur

and intergrade.

p. 24-1. Columba chinensis. — The date of Scopoli’s name should

be 1786, not 1844.

p. 243. Streptopelia chinensis suratensis. — I have searched in

vain for any certain record of this bird in Sind. It does not appear

to occur in Sind or in S. W. Punjab.

p. 247. Streptopelia senagalensis ermanni. — Here again Mr.

Baker attributes to me statements I never made. I never said that

this bird either occurred or breeds in Sind. I said that possibly it

occurred, but that the breeding birds were cambayensis. Ermanni

is the Turkestan race and the minimal wing length of Turkestan

males is 135, a wing length attained by no Sind breeding birds.

The maximal wing length of cambayensis is 132 and Sind birds are

well within that limit. It is, moreover, unlikely that Sind birds

should be the Turkestan race as the type locality of cambayensis

is only just across the Runn of Kutch less than 200 miles away.

Beluchi birds and stragglers to Iraq I have already shewn

( B.N.H.S.J. , xxxii, p. 73) are all much too small for ermanni and

are indistinguishable from cambayensis.

p. 254. Macropygia u. tusalia. — Mr. Whistler informs me that

this bird does not occur at the present day in Kashmir or in the

Punjab including Simla Hill State.

p. 263. Pterocles orientalis. — Here as elsewhere throughout the

Fauna Barnes’ records are referred to Afghanistan. It is quite true

that Barnes, who was at Chaman about the time of the Afghan

War, recorded his observations as being made in South Afghanistan,

but for a great many years now* Chaman and the Kwaja Amran have

been within the Beluchistan Agency and so all Barnes’ records really

refer to Beluchistan.

p. 265. Pterocles leichensteini arabicus. — So far as present

material shews, this race is not recognizable. There are but four

topotypes of leichensteini in the British Museum and these, when

placed with a series of Sind birds, are to my eyes quite inseparable.

p. 302. Gallus lafayettii. — ‘This species is apparently polygamous

and takes no interest in eggs or chicks’. Surely this attribute only

applies to the male.

p. 316. Phasianus rufus Raffles.- — The date should be 1822,

not 1882.

p. 318. Euplocamus diardi. — The date should be 1856, not 1886.

p. 320. One gathers from the remarks at the top of this page

that the Kalij and Silver Pheasants in Burma are, owing to lack of

adequate material, in rather a hopeless state of chaos. Numbers

of these birds must be shot every year by sportsmen in Burma and

it is a reproach to them that after all these years there is not

yet an adequate number of specimens in the British Museum to

elucidate the very complicated matter. If every sportsman would

make it a matter of honour to send in, say, three pair of birds from

his district, even if flat skins, together with some field notes, the

questions of distribution, species and races could be decided. Surely

our Society should be able to organize this,

27

480 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY \ Vol. XXXI F

p. 324. There is a reference here to G. albocristatus which might

puzzle some people, since on p. 320 the bird is called G. hamiltoni.

p. 332. I wonder when anyone will bring forward satisfactory

proof that an old feather can change colour by absorbing fresh

pigment. Such a phenomenon has been stated to take place in

a number of instances by many authors. Some alleged cases I have

investigated and in each case I have found proof to be lacking.

Possible errors are many and the instance here given by Mr. Baker

does not add any proof at all. From the examination of the quill

of an old feather, it would seem inconceivable that fresh pigment

could be absorbed through it. Yet, if a feather can so change

colour, proof would not be so very difficult. If an aviculturist would

select some feathers in which he anticipates such a change will be

going to take place and mark such feathers distinctly and infallibly

and match them with feathers which can be kept for reference,

then, when and if the marked feathers change colour, proof positive

will be attainable and not until.

p. 333. Gennceus rufipes. — The type locality omitted is Mogok,

Ruby Mines District.

p. 341. Key to Genera. — This fails at L. 4. ‘Flanks not

barred .... Francolinus’ as the flanks are barred in several of the

Francolins.

p. 375. Tetrao coromandelica, Gmelin.— The date omitted should

be 1789.

p. 379. Perdicula asiatica argoondah. — The explanation that this

is a race of asiatica inhabiting over a large area usually rather a

different terrain side by side with typical form hardly tallies with

the accepted idea of a geographical race and I can think of no other

parallel case. The collecting of a few paired birds in various parts

of the range might help to elucidate the question ; but as it stands

at present, we must look upon these two birds either as two species

or else as dimorphisms of one species.

p. 391. Arboricola intermedia, Blyth. — The reference should be

J.A.S.B. xxiv, p. 277, 1855.

p. 402. Alectoris graeca.- — It may be true that chukar is not found

in any sort of forest and I always thought this to be true of all

forms of graeca. I was astonished therefore to see odd birds of

Koriakovi in thick juniper forest in North Beluchistan and was told

by the Assistant Commissioner there that in good years numbers

might so be met with. Ten brace would be an exceedingly poor

bag of Chukor in parts of Beluchistan. In the very bad season of

1919 three of us got 27 brace in a morning’s shoot, where in some

years 100 brace or more were easily obtainable. I quite agree that

Kirthari is not separable.

p. 406. Animoperdix griseogularis. — I cannot agree that

termeuleni is a good race as I have already pointed out

( B.N.H.S.j. , May 1926). It was described from S. W. Persia

on the borders of S. E. Mesopotamia and not from Arabia and

West Mesopotamia as suggested. Pale grey birds and more sandy-

red birds occur together in many parts of the range of griseogularis,

including S. W. Persia.

p, 410, Francolinus f. henrici.— -Under this race Mr. Baker

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

481

includes all Black Partridges from Sind westwards to Baghdad.

Iraq birds ( arabistanicus ) are of the same colouration as Sind birds

but in wing length are larger, 14 Iraq rf 6 , W. 163-178; II Sind

d d , W. 155-162. Therefore I can hardly see how these two races

can be united. I have already pointed this out ( Ibis , 1924, p. 512

and B.N.H.S.J. , xxviii, p. 388). Western Mekran birds seem just

separable ( bogdanowi ) from Sind birds by their paler colour and

paler neck ring (see B.N.H.S.J., xxxii, p. 76).

As regards the terrain of henrici, I do not think this differs much

from that of other races. In Sind one would never find it in dry and

arid areas but always in cultivation, tamarisk and grass jungle.

p. 422. Francolinus p. mecranesis. — The range of this bird is

difficult to decide and probably no two people would agree about it.

The ranges of this race and interpositus are continuous and inter-

mediates are found. Thus some birds from Lower and Upper Sind

appeared to be intermediate between the two and others nearer

interpositus. I have seen no Sind birds however in any way

approaching typical pondocerianus.

The Grey Partridge occurs up the Bolan to Kundilani and in the

lower hills of the Bugti and Marri country and reaches the Loralai

district. In Quetta, however, it certainly does not occur at the

present day, nor have I ever heard of it occurring there in the past.

p. 434. Lerwa lerwa. — The Snow Partridge is said to occur

between 12,000-17,000 feet; there are no hills of this height in

Beluchistan and it certainly does not occur there.

p. 455. Hemipodus plumbipes, Hodg. — The date is omitted,

p. 448. Turnix suscitator isabeltinus , 1928. — A very much older

name for this bird is Turnix bengalensis ( Blyth Cat., p. 256, 1852).

Vol. VI

p. 33. It is not quite clear on what grounds Porphyrio

poliocephaliis seistanicus is omitted from the Indian Fauna. It is

true that it has not occurred so far in India proper but only in

Beluchistan, but the same may be said of Strix butleri and Puffinus

tenuirostris both of which find a place in this work.

p. 40. Metapodius indicus. — No type locality is g*iven; it should

be India*

p. 49. Foot note. — The date should be 1928 not 1728.

p. 63. Otis tetrax orientalis.— The status of this bird needs

investigation. Blanford stated that it was common round Peshawar

in winter and the same is in effect said in the present Fauna . Is it

really so or has there been a confusion of species? Mr. Baker says

it is rare south and west of the extreme north-west or Trans-Indus

country. Further on, however, he states that it winters in sufficient

numbers in British Beluchistan (which certainly lies to the south*

west of the country indicated) for bags of ten or a dozen couples

to have been made in a day ! Where in British Beluchistan have

these remarkable bags been made and by whom identified?

I cannot help feeling that some other Bustard has done duty for

these ‘records’. I could only find one certain record for the whole

of Beluchistan. ( B.N.H.S.J . xxxii, p. 79.)

p. 64. Otis nigriceps . — The Himalayas can hardly be the type

482 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

locality since the bird does not occur there. Foot-hills of N. W.

India may be substituted.

p. 67. Otis macqueenii. — Here too the type locality cannot be the

Himalayas. I suggest the foot-hills of N. W. India as more likely

to be correct.

p. 68. Sypheotides and Houbaropsis. — Two genera here seem

to be quite unnecessary. If we accept ‘a seasonable change of

plumage’, by which apparently a pre-nuptial moult producing a

distinct dress is meant, as a generic character then several species

of birds usually placed in one genus would have to be split up.

Thus Muscicapa striata and M. hypoleuca would have to be put into

two different genera, since hypoleuca has a distinct breeding

plumage. So too Saxicola rubetra moults into a breeding plumage,

Saxicola rubicola does not. How too should the YVheatears be split

up? We have isabellina and oenanthe with fairly complete spring

moults producing hardly any change of dress in the former and a

distinct dress in the latter; leucura and picata with no moult and

hardly any change of plumage; hispanica and leucomela with only

a few feathers shed and a remarkably different breeding dress.

p. 87. Cursorius coromand elicits. — For description of chick

omitted here, see B.N.H.S.J. , Aug*. 1926, p. 10. It is not quite

true to say that this Courser is absent from the pure desert of Sind.

1 have found it constantly in pure desert, rather patchily distributed

and rather partial to stony desert (Ibis, 1923, p. 649).

p. 88. Rhinoptilus bitorquatus. — Blyth obviously could not have

described this bird under this name in 1848 if the generic name dates

from 1850 or 1852. Blyth called it Macrotarsius bitorquatus.

p. 90. Glareola pratincola pratincola. — The chick (omitted) is

described in the Journal (Aug. 1926, p. 11). The paragraph under

‘Habits’ seems to have got a little mixed. The birds are here called

Coursers and the rest of the paragraph deals with habits so opposed

to those of the Pratincole that one can only suppose that it really

does not relate to this species at all.

p. 96. Stercorariidae . — Does not Megalestris antarctica occur

within Indian limits? Nicoll has recorded that there are two

specimens in the Colombo Museum from Ceylon and that he saw

one off the south-east of that island in 5°. 23' N. 84°. 45' E. Wait

also records these two birds and further states that M. antarcticus

maccormicki has also occurred in Ceylon.

p. 99. Stercorarius pomarinus. — A further specimen is recorded

from Ceylon by Wait.

p. 101. Larus ichthyaetus. — The date of Pallas’ name is 1773,

not 1733.

p. 102. Larus ridibundus . — The type locality (omitted) is Europe.

-Is mat the bird from the Far East recognizable as L. r. sibiricus .

p. 104. Larus brunnicephalus. — There seems to be a slight slip

here. ‘Nidification’ appears under ‘Distribution’ and the distribution

of the species has been omitted.

Larus hemprichi. — The building of ‘Crow-like’ nests by this

species needs verification. The origin of it was the attempt of

Col. Butler’s boatmen to describe to him the nests on Astola. Sir

Percy . 'Cox, the only ornithologist who ha-s seen nests on Astola,

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

483

gave me quite a different account of the nests. ( B.N.H.S.J . xxxii,

p. 86).

p. 106. Larus genei. — By a curious slip the Persian Gulf is called

the Corsican Gulf ! This bird does not breed in Sind so far .as we

know at present. The colony at Sonmeani is in Las Belas.

p. 109. Larus argentatus cachinnans. — The winter dress of this

bird is far less streaked on the head than is the winter plumage of

taimyrensis.

p. 111. Key to species of Chlidonias. — This is obviously wrong',

‘culmen over 33 mm.’ and ‘culmen under 33 mm.’, as in both

species the culmen is under 33 mm. in length.

p. 114. Childonais I. leucoptera. — The distribution given is a

little mixed. It is stated that this Tern migrates to all Western

India; two lines further down it is stated to be common all down

the east coast and very rare elsewhere. Has it occurred in the West

of India at all? There seems to be a large gap in the distribution

of this Tern. It is rare or unknown between the head of the Persian

Gulf and the East coast of India.

p. 116. Hydroprogne c. caspia.— This Tern might perhaps breed

on the islands adjacent to the Mekran coast if there are any. Butler

and Hume mention none except Astola, nor did I see any in four

trips along that coast, nor do any maps I have access to shew any.

p. 117. Geochilidon n. nilotica. — The Gull-billed Tern may of

course breed freely on the rivers of N. W- India, but it has been

recorded remarkably few times. Waite found a small colony in the

Beas and Hume and Whistler single nests.

p. 122. Thalasseus bergii bakeri . — This race requires ‘the eye of

faith’ to differentiate from velox . I can see no constant difference,

p. 129. Sterna repressa. — This Tern may of course breed and be

resident on the Sind and Mekran coasts, but I know no proof of

it. In Sind it has been obtained by Butler in Karachi harbour in

April and off the Mekran coast he met with large numbers in May,

No one else appears to have recorded it and certainly no one has

ever found it breeding. All the evidence tends to shew that this

bird is a migrant along the coast to its breeding grounds in the

Persian Gulf. It does not breed on Astola so far as is known and

the other islands adjacent to the Sind and Mekran coasts have yet

to be found and explored,

p. 130. Sterna hirundo . — There seems to be very few certain

records of the Common Tern in India and it certainly does not

winter, as suggested in N. W. India. Hume remarked on this

as long ago as 1873. Butler met with it in Spring in Karachi

Harbour and I have seen non-breeding birds there throughout the

hot weather and met others on passage in August.

p. 131. Sterna hirundo tibetana. — Surely this bird is not a very-

common visitor to the whole of Western India as stated here. Who

has met with it? There are no records of it in Sind and the Punjab.

p. 131. Sterna hirundo longipennis. — I do not feel at all sure

that this bird is a geographical race of the Common Tern. Does it

intergrade anywhere? Moreover, both occur on the Yenesei River.

The exact breeding ranges of hirundo , tibetana and longipennis

want working out.

484 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI l

p. 13L Sterna albifrons. — I have already dealt at some length

with this group {Bull, B.O.C. 49, p. 66); so need not do so again

at length. I have already shewn that the Ternlet breeding in

N. W. India is S. albifrons albifrons , and not pusilla (whatever that

may be and opinion does not seem decided). In the distribution here

given, there seems a huge overlap of range of sinensis and pusilla ,

both occurring throughout Malaya. The breeding bird of

Mesopotamia 1 consider to be S. albifrons albifrons and I have

recorded it as such and I have given reasons for considering

praetermissa to be a synonym. I cannot quite make out what is

meant by ‘the marshes of the Northern Mekran coast’. The only

place for certain that any Ternlets breed is on the Sirunda Jheel

in Las Belas, but there seems to be no breeding birds thence avail-

able for examination, though I have a nestling. Mr. Baker

identified eggs thence as saundersi and subsequently a parent bird

as albifrons , as Mr. Ludlow informed me, and now it is said to be

praetermissa ! ! ! Even if this latter bird were recognizable, it

should bear the prior name of innominata of Zarudny.

p. 139. Sterna albifrons saundersi. — Though this Tern may

breed on the Mekran coast no one has so far proved that it does

so. In fact when I wrote the Birds of British Baluchistan there was

no certain record at all of the bird in British Mekran and I do not

think it has been got since. It does not seem possible that praeter-

missa and saundersi, if both are races of albifrons, can both breed

on the . Mekran coast. The average length given for the eggs of

this bird should be 3T7, not 21‘7.

p. 146. Anous stolidus pileatus. — If British Mekran is included

in the Fauna, and sometimes it seems to be, there are records of

this bird thence. ( J.B.N.H.S . xxxii, p. 88.)

p. 157. Squatarola s. s quatarola. — To say that this bird is more

common on the coastal districts than inland hardly gives a correct

impression of the status. Does it occur inland at all? Even in well

searched maritime countries of England such as Norfolk and Suffolk,

it has hardly ever occurred inland.

Squatarola s. hypomela . — This seems to be a new variation of

Pallas’ name. Pallas wrote hypomelus apparently by mistake for

hypomelas and the feminine should surely be hypomelaena?

p. 160. Eupoda vereda . — It is a far cry from Mongolia and

North China, where this bird is supposed to breed, to Ladak.

Ladak has of late been visited by several ornithologists and this

species has not been met with by any of them. When Dr. Hartert

wrote of this species in his Vog. Pal. F. (1920) the nesting of this

bird was apparently unknown and this supposed egg from Ladak

is the first recorded. It seems very unsafe to base records of

breeding for the first time and description of the egg on the evidence

of a scrap of skin since this bird, according to Hartert, is only a

race of asiaticus.

The Andamans bird was obtained by Dr. Dobson, not Dr. Adams,

p. 164. Leucopolius peronii. — If this is not considered to be a

race of alexandrinus, it hardly seems correct to call it a Kentish

Plover, nor is it clear why it finds a place in the Fauna at all;

no part of India is included in its distribution.

NOTES, ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS 485

p. 169. Charadrius hiaticulus. — -Linnaeus wrote hiaticula and this

should not be altered as it is obviously a substantive. — Charadrios

sive Hiaticula of Aldrovandus. The distribution .given implies that

this bird is common in India, whereas it is excessively rare.

p. 171. Charadrius dubius curonicus .- — This race certainly breeds

in the Quetta district.

Charadrius dubius jerdoni. — The type locality should be Ceylon

and the date should be 1880. The reference given here relates to

hiaticuloides Franklin.

p. 175. Cirrepedesmus leschenaultii. — The date of this name

should be 1826, not 1836. The wing length I measure in 17 of both

sexes as 139-150. The bill measurements given here only apply to

males; females have longer bills, 25-27 mm. It seems very strange

that, if this bird breeds in Japan, that its nidification should be

unknown ; there must be few birds whose breeding range is

apparently so well known but of the actual nesting nothing known.

Matthews, however, in his Birds of Australia refers to Mr. Baker

as his authority for the nesting and description of an egg

of this species (also identified by a scrap of skin) from the Tso

Morari Lake in Ladak. Is there then some error about this as it is

not mentioned here?

p. 173. Cirrepedesmus. — This genus seems to be quite untenable.

In it the bill is said to be decidedly shorter than in Charadrius ; but

in Cirrepedesmus leschenaultii the bill is longer than in any member

of the genus Charadrius , while the bills in placidus and atrifrons

are about equal, the measurements given here for the latter being

too small. Pagoa is of course an utterly unrecognizable genus, as

Cirrepedesmus atrifrons and leschenaultii are linked together by

Cirrepedesmus leschenaultii Columbians .

p. -179. Vanellinae. — In the key to genera Recurvirostra appears

in a group distinguished as ‘Bill curved downwards ’ ! !

p. 183. Chettusia leucura. — In the juvenile dress, if that is what

is meant by ‘young birds’, the underparts are not at all like those

of the adults ; they are sullied white.

p. 185. Hoplopterus ventralis. — Does not occur in Kashmir.

p. 186. Lobivanellus. — It is here stated that in this genus and

in the next ( Lobipluvia ) there is a small hind toe present but on

p. 189 under the generic characters Lobipluvia is said to have no

hind toe.

p. 191. Microsarcops. — The date for this genus is 1896, not

1886.

p. 193. Hiffiantopus h. himantopus. — The description of the

‘young male’ given is certainly not that of the juvenile plumage. It

appears to be a sub-adult stage or a variation of the adult

plumage.

p. 195. Recurvirostra a. avocetta. — Though the habits given

refer to the Avocet, the bird is by a slip called the Stilt.

p. 201. — Numenius arquata arquata. — One gathers from the

distribution that this is a common bird in N. W. India. If it occurs

surely it is only as a vagrant. India is a long way out of its normal

distribution and all the Curlews Mr. Whistler and I got in the

North-west were lineatus ,

486 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol.XXXlV

pp. 205-8. Limosa limosa. — In the key the maximum length of

the culmen in melanuroides is given as 87 mm., but on p. 208 it is

given as 95 mm. On the measurements given, the wing lengths of

the two forms would provide a better key. The winter plumage

described is that of a juvenile. In L. limosa the bill of the female

is, as is well-known, longer than in the male ; in melanuroides the

male appears to have the longer bill. Is this really so?

p. 209. Limosa l. lapponica. — Here again the description of the

winter plumage is really that of the juvenile; the winter plumage is

quite different. Females, if they assume breeding dress (and th^re

are always some birds of both sexes which do and do not breed

in that year), always, so far as I have seen, don a complete breeding

dress ; but this is not at all the same as that of the male. The

habits in autumn and winter are different to those of the Blacktailed

Godwit as the latter is a fresh water bird, the Bartailed Godwit is

eminently a salt water species.

Limnodromus. — This name is antedated by Macrorhamphus of

Forster, 1817. It is not clear why Blyth’s prior name semipalmatus

has been dropped. Scolopax semipalmatus of Gmelin does not

invalidate it.

p. 213. Xenus cinereus javanicus. — This is another race which

needs the ‘eye of faith’. I could see no colour differences to

distinguish European and Far Eastern birds and I found the bills

measured almost the same. Europe 43*5-49*5; Far East 44-51.

(See also Riley, Pro.U .S.Nat.Mus. 54, p. 615.)

Xenus is surely the same word as Xenos and therefore cannot be

used for the genus, owing to prior use of the latter name. (cf. Apus

and Apos.).

p. 215. Tringa ochrophus. — I thought the correction of this error

to ochropus had been accepted by everybody. Under ‘nidification’

the Green Sandpiper is referred to as the Marsh Sandpiper.

p. 217. Tringa stagnatilis. — I do not think this has yet been

proved to breed in S. E. France. Surely this is not a seashore bird

at all, I have never met with it on the actual shore and only very

occasionally on salt pools at the heads of creeks.

p. 220. Tringa glareola. — The distribution and nidification have

been omitted altogether.

Tringa totanus. — My examination of Mr. Whistler’s breeding

birds from Ladak leads to a different conclusion to Mr. Baker’s.

These Ladak birds I cannot match at all with a series of breeding

birds from Suffolk. They stand out conspicuously different. If

Suffolk birds belong to the typical race, then these Ladak birds do

not. Moreover, these Ladak birds have very long bills —

44*5-48 mm. as against 41-43*5 mm. in British breeding birds, and

are much more heavily spotted on the under parts. Does any West

European Redshank have a wing as short as 134 mm. ? My smallest

of a long series measures 154 mm.

p. 223. Tringa totanus terrignotae. — This race occurs of course

also in N. W. India, but before terrignotae was separated, they

were recorded as eurhinus (e.g. Ibis, 1924. p. 120).

p. 225. Glottis. — This genus seems unnecessary. If a recurved

bill distinguishes this genus from Tringa why* not distinguish Erolia

487

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS

mimita , etc., with straight bills from the decurved bill of Erolia

testacea, the type of the genus Erolia ?

p. 228. Philomachus. — The Rules of Nomenclature infer that an

author must have a name and under these circumstances it is difficult

to see how an anonymous person can be accepted as an author.

If my view is correct, then Philomachus cannot be used.

Philomachus pugnax. — This dichroism in the colour of the legs of

the Ruff is very curious. Adults, so far as I have seen, have the

legs distinctly yellow or distinctly greenish and in the young there is

generally an indication of what the colour is going to be when adult.

The first Ruffs arrive in N. W. India in the first week of August,

the bulk come early in September.

pp. 230-1. Crocethia. — Vroeg did not describe any birds.

Vroeg’s catalogue names are accredited to Pallas who is therefore

the author of the names and the date is 1764, not 1864.

p. 233. Eurynorhynchus pygmceus .« — It is certainly not correct to

say that nothing is known about the nidification of this bird. The

nesting in the East Cape, N. E. Siberia was discovered so long ago

as 1913 and recorded by Brooks (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard .

LIX. 5, p. 382) in 1915 and the account duly finds a place in Vog.

Pal. Fauna , p. 1603.

p. 238. Erolia temminckii. — This bird differs in habits from the

Little Stint in one important particular. I have never met with it

on the sea-shore nor heard of anyone else doing so. In fact I have

never met with it in a salt water terrain at all, whereas the Little

Stint may be found on both salt and fresh waters.

p. 244. Calidris tenuirostris. — A few notes on the habits of this

bird may be found in S.F. i. and Ibis , 1924.

The Common Knot does not find a place in the Fauna. One is

recorded from N. Beluchistan ( B.N.H.S.J . xxxii, p. 83) and another

from Ceylon on December 15, 1923. (Wait, Birds of Ceylon,

p. 375.)

p. 248. Phalaropus fulicarius jourdaini. — In an authoritative

work like the Fauna, I think it is expected that no bird should be

listed as occurring within our limits over which there can be any

reasonable doubt. It is quite true that Blyth obtained a single Grey

Phalarope in winter dress at Calcutta, but it must be pure surmise

that the race of Grey Phalarope he got was jourdaini. Apart from

the question whether this is a good race or not, no one, even the

author of it, pretends he can distinguish it in winter plumage. Such

records are far better left under a bionomial name.

p. 250. Phalaropus lobatus. — I can recall no Wader which skips

a winter plumage and goes straight from juvenile dress into breeding

plumage and if this Phalarope did so, it would be very remarkable.

However, it does not do so as I have in my collection a young bird

in full winter dress with a grey mantle, and a juvenile moulting into

winter plumage. Here, as so often in the Fauna, the ‘Habits’ given

apply to the breeding season even when the species does not breed

in India. The habits of this Phalarope as seen in India were fully

described in the Ibis, 1924, p. 126 and J.B.N.H.S. xxxii, p. 83.

p. 261. Capella gallinago raddii. — The distribution is omitted.

This seems a very questionable race, It must be remembered that

28

488 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoU XXXIV

the European Snipe is paler in summer, a season when few are

obtained, than in autumn, whereas this is the season when raddii have

been got. The axillaries seem variable ; thus I have seen English

birds with almost unbarred axillaries. On the other hand, Riley

records birds from Nijni Kolymsk, which ought to be raddii, as

being ‘as heavily barred as in any European Bird on the axillaries.’

p. 265. Capella me gala. — This bird occurs in Upper Burma as 1

had a tail sent me thence for identification in 1923.

p. 271. Pelecanus onocrotalus onocrotalus. — It is not correct to

say that I could not determine which Pelican breeds in Iraq. In

B.N.H.S.J. , May 1926, p. 19, I stated that adults from the colony

on Bubyan Island off Fao were onocrotalus, the typical race.

Mr. Baker decides that their chicks and eggs belong to roseus. On

p. 272, he says the young of roseus is indistinguishable from that

of onocrotalus and I suggest that the chick is too. Nor am I

convinced that one can differentiate eggs of these two races. On

the measurements here given, it will be seen that the smallest eggs

of onocrotalus are far smaller than the largest eggs of roseus and

indeed smaller than the smallest eggs of roseus, so that by

measurements there must be a number of eggs which might belong

equally to either race.

p. 280. Phalacrocorax fuscicollis. — ‘On the Mekran and South

coasts all three species of Cormorant may be seen fishing in the sea’.

As regards British Mekran, this bird probably occurs, though no one

has so far recorded- it. Ph. niger certainly occurs in the valley of

the Mashkai and probably elsewhere in the few places where there is

sufficient fresh water. But does it really occur at sea? Who has

obtained it? Has anyone ever seen this bird at sea anywhere?

p. 283. Anhinga melanog aster.- — ‘West to Mesopotamia’. I

went very fully into the question of the Darter in Mesopotamia

( B.N.H.S.J xxviii, p. 327) and shewed that it is the African

rufus which occurs there and not the Indian bird. I confirmed this

again (t. c. May 1926, p. 19).

p. 285. Sula leucogaster plotus. — To the distribution may be

added ‘several times in Ceylon’. (Wait.)

p. 288. Sula d. melanops. — -It is rather amazing to learn that the

nestling in down of this bird is known and here described when the

‘breeding haunts have not been discovered’. How was the chick

obtained?

pp. 292-3. Phaeton rubricauda and Ph. lepturus. — Have these

birds really been obtained in the Persian Gulf, and by whom?

p. 296. Fregata andrewsi. — Also twice in Ceylon (Wait),

p. 297. Fregata minor aldabrensis. — Nicoll neither met with this

bird nor recorded it from Ceylon. There is, however, a bird in the

Hume collection from Neville.

p. 299. Tubinares. — A confusing word Pufjinidae ! Here they

are called Puffins instead of Shearwaters.

p. 301. Oceanites o. oceanicus.— One is also recorded from

Ceylon Nov. 1908 (Wait).

p. 304. Puffinus pacificus hamiltoni. — I have already pointed out

( B.N.H.S.J . , xxxii, pp. 89-90) that the bird recorded by Cumming

ns chlororhynchus from Ormara in May 1899 is the same bird as

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA : BIRDS 489

that also recorded on 305 of the Fauna as P. tenuirostris

obtained by Mr. Walter Scott, and that the latter identification is

correct.

p. 375. Phoenicopterus r. antiquorum. — ‘Their method of

feeding is curious ; their long heads are bent down between their

equally long nechs} ! Extraordinarily curious ! ! I quite missed this

remarkable phenomenon when in India.

p. 378. Anseres. — Here is a point to which Indian ornithologists

might pay attention — which, if any, of the Indian Anseres cast

their flight feathers in pairs instead of simultaneously as European

Ducks and Geese do?

p. 398. Anser anser . — Surely the colour of the bill in life is never

livid purplish red but only after death and due to stagnation of

blood?

p. 401. Anser erythropus. — The goose which breeds in Persia

and whose young are brought into the bazaars is certainly Anser

anser (specimens examined) and not erythropus. I know of no

record of this bird in Sind and in fact I should accept no record

of this bird at all in India unless a specimen or head was forth-

coming as it has been so frequently mixed up with albifrons.

p. 403. Anser brachyrhynchus. — Is there any specimen of this

goose from India in existence? If not, it should be deleted from

the Fauna , The Pink-footed' Goose is a bird of rather limited and

distinctly westerly distribution in winter at which season, according

to Buturlin, there is not a single record so far east even as European

Russia. What the Goose obtained in Assam was with a bill of

40'6 mm. I cannot say; this is too small a bill for the Pink-footed

Goose, 15 of which in my collection measure 43-50 mm.

p. 405. Anser indicus. — The type locality is India, not the

Taimyr Peninsula. This bird does not breed in Kashmir proper,

though of course it does so within the domains of the Maharajah

of Kashmir.

p. 409. Anatince. — The bulba ossea is said not to be present

in other sub-families except in the Anserince ; on p. 396 it is stated

that it is absent in Anserince. The latter statement is correct.

pp. 416-7. Anas ferruginea. — Described by Pallas, not Vroeg.

The rather sketchy description of the nestling in down does not

convey the fact that the chick of this bird only differs constantly

from the chick of tadorna in that the lores are of the same colour

as the crown whereas in tadorna the lores are white.

The relationship between the two birds is therefore so close that

two genera seem to be unnecessary. The old legend of the

Brahminy eating human bodies is revived again. Has this ever

been proved by a trustworthy witness?

p> 426. Eunetta. — The splitting up into many genera or the

lumping into one or two is, I suppose, in this group and in other

groups, a moot point on which there never will be any agreement.

Thus Mr. Baker in the Fauna uses eight genera for ducks where

Dr. Hartert in the Vog. Pal. Fauna uses one genus. It is not

without irony that both are members of a Committee appointed to

try and produce some uniformity in nomenclature.

p. 428. Chaulelasmus streperus . — The nestling in down also

490 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , H?/. XXXIV

differs from that of the Mallard in having the yellow supercilium

not nearly so well marked.

p. 430. Mareca penelope. — The diagnostic character of the

downy chick is the cinnamon face which no other young duck has

so far as I have observed.

p. 435. Nettion formosum. — -Add one from Sind (vide Ibis , 1923,

p. 451).

p. 439. Querquedula. — Two genera for the Teals seem unneces-

sary and untenable. Querquedula is said to have a broader bill

than in Nettion with the width greater at the tip than at the base.

The bill in Nettion formosum , however, is broader than in Q.

querquedula. The broadening towards the tip in the Garganey

moreover is not constant. I have specimens in which the sides are

parallel throughout their entire length. The shape of the bony

labyrinth certainly is not a generic character, as every male species

of duck has a different one.

p. 447. Nyrocince. — Another good character between these and

the surface feeding ducks is the much larger bulba ossea in all

diving ducks.

p. 448. Anas rufina. — The date of Pallas’ Reise is 1773, not

1833. This duck has not, I think, been found breeding in British

Beluchistan.

p. 460. Nyroca f. fuligula. — “In England at all events the

Tufted Pochard is far more partial to fresh water than salt; in fact,

in my experience it only goes to salt water when frozen out from

fresh.

p. 471. Mergus merganser merganser. — This Goosander, the

typical form, may of course occur in Sind. 1 purposely left the

question undecided in my Birds of Sind as no specimens are in

existence. Under such circumstances, I prefer to leave the race as

unknown and use the binomial name. Such a course is at least

accurate and is not open to the objection that possible errors will be

copied.

Surely in the non-breeding season the Goosander is far more a

fresh water than a sea bird ?— -exactly the opposite to the

Redbreasted Merganser.

p. 486. Colymbus arcticus suschkini. — Mr, Jones recorded this

bird merely as Colymbus arcticus. Has the skin been compared to

determine the race? The wing measurement may be small, but

surely by February 19 the bird would be fully grown.

I am at a loss to know whether British Mekran is included within

the scope of this work or not. Several birds such as Strix butleri

find a place in the Fauna on the strength of records thence ; others

are omitted. There is in the British Museum a specimen of

Colymbus stellatus obtained at Ormara on November 17, 1901.

(J.B.N.H.S., xxxii, p. 96.)

HOW TROUT WERE INTRODUCED INTO KASHMIR

BY

F, J. Mitchell

Readers of the Journal may have seen Col. Godfrey’s account of

* How British Trout came to Kashmir ’ in the Fishhig Gazette of

I3th July last. After 30 years, individual memories are raiely

complete and I regret he has omitted any mention of my brother

Willie and of my old friend Capt. Allan, both alas ! now passed

away, whose subscriptions and efforts to raise a fund for the purpose

in the summer of 1699 preceded the meeting he refers to.

Col. Ward was at that time my brother’s partner in a roadmaking

contract and Col. Unwin, a close personal friend, and both had

promised their subscriptions before Col. (then Major) Godfrey

came into the picture. I quite appreciate that without the support

of the Residency and the Duke of Bedford’s very generous gifts

and subscriptions, it might have been impossible to carry through

the scheme efficiently, as, though Col. Ward’s influence with the

Maharajah was most useful, he himself was not a great believer in

success, owing to the failure of similar attempts in other parts of

India, of which he knew. Beyond subscribing he took little interest

in the work of the early years after the importations of ova,

presented by the Duke of Bedford in 1900 and 1902, but, I am glad

to say, enjoyed some excellent fishing in the Dachigam Rukh

after 1906.

To explain how I came into the matter I would mention that,

after 17 years spent in India, including a few months in Ceylon,

where my brother-in-law was one of those who first brought brown

trout into the Island, I had returned from the East and spent nine

years in Great Britain, where in much of my leisure throughout

this period I enjoyed the company of experts of the rod on the

lochs and streams of Scotland.

When I left India in 1890, it was possible to dine in the Yacht

Club at Bombay in flannels after a sail, and on a farewell visit to

my brothers in Kashmir in the Spring of that year, I found that it

was possible to dine at the Residency there, on occasion, in

pattoos, garments made of rough local cloth of which I am still

fond. I had to ride from Chekoti, where the driving road then

ended, along a hill track to Uri and thence, on the new road to

Baramoola. From there to Srinagar I travelled in a Doonga — a

thatched boat in which my sleeping room was separated from the

kitchen and servants’ quarters by a wooden partition. I think only

three house-boats, built by Sir Henry Lennard, Mr. Martin Kenard

and Mr. Spedding were then in existence.

492 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

When I returned in May 1899, all was changed and dress was

* de rigeur ’ everywhere. The roads into the country-constructed

chiefly by my brothers — had been completed, and I was able to

drive all the way to Gupkar (1 J miles beyond the Residency) where

my brother Willie had a house. The river and lakes were full of

house-boats with parties of ladies and young men on leave, and

gaieties were in full swing. To a man of 44 who has lost his

money and has a family at home to support, the attractions of

society are not great and I settled down to work at once. It was

not very long however before I discovered, ten miles away, above

the Srinagar water works, a lovely valley in which hill barbel

swarmed in a stream flowing through beautiful woods and mount-

ains. From this valley, then an open one, but closed as a game

preserve .in 1902, the craggy sides of Mahadeo (Great God) rose

to 13,500 feet above sea level. Many a happy week end was spent

there during and after the summer of 1899. My description of it

as ‘ an angler’s paradise, could trout be substituted for barbel ’,

a transformation I believed quite possible, had probably something

to do with my brother’s action in enlisting subscribers and it was

a great joy to me when I met Major Godfrey for the first time and

heard of the Duke of Bedford’s generous offer to send out ova

if someone could be found to look after it. Very willingly I under-

took the charge. Possibly, if the first letter thereafter to the Duke

had contained more full instructions for shipment, a mistake might

have been avoided, and had the first ova arrived safely when Capt.

Allen went down to meet it in the spring of 1900, the whole history

of trout in Northern India might have been altered.

As it was, the failure was looked upon by the State officials as

the end of the business and practically all Major Godfrey’s arrange-

ments were cancelled. The Dilawar Khan Bagh, which had been

placed at my disposal for hatchery purposes, was handed over to

the Educational Department for a school, for which it was excellent-

ly suited. The Arrah River in the Datchigam Valley was no longer

allowed to be a prospective club water, nor was any part of the

Dal Lake to be netted off, or reserved in any way for trout. When

I heard from Major Godfrey that ova was to come, I had to make

my own arrangements and it was with considerable difficulty that

I got the Srinagar Municipality to give me a connecting J" pipe

from our carpet factory water-supply to the verandah of my dwelling-

house where I arranged the ova should be hatched out. The

hatching box was placed within a foot of my bed-head, a thin

wooden partition only intervening, and this proximity really saved

the situation. Several times I was awakened by the stoppage of

the flow of water and my men were promptly roused and despatched

to bring cans of water, while an urgent messenger raced off to the

municipal authorities. When the alevin stage was passed, a

rearing pond was dug in the factory compound and the pipe con-

nection was transferred there, but municipal failings still continued,

though at longer intervals, and were less quickly detected. I well

remember taking a plate with half a dozen little beauties of 3'' to

5" which had perished during one of these lapses, to the Resident,

to whom I poured out my indignation. Col. Deane (afterwards

HOW TROUT WERE /A TRODUCED INTO KASHMIR

493

Sir Harold, Chief Commissioner of the N. W. F. P.) was not a man

to pass over that sort of thing and it didn’t occur again. He really

became interested in the work and, though he considered the State

should not alienate their water, he suggested I should begin opera-

tions by stocking the Arrah River, in what was to be the Datchigam

Rukh area. To this I objected on the ground that neither I nor my

friends, who had joined in raising money, would be allowed to fish

there, but on receiving a demi-official letter from him stating that

we should always have that privilege, I gave way. A stew pond

was established in the Rukh area anddhebArrah was the first river

stocked.

L'& When we first heard that ova was to arrive by the 1 \ Caledonia } ,

funds were not over-plentiful and, with no club water, there was no

prospect of obtaining more money from private subscribers. The

Resident had given it as his opinion that the State should find

funds at least equal to what had been subscribed by the club,

but no response had been made to this. The Durbar no longer

believed in the success of the scheme, and Colonel Deane’s tenure

at the Residency was to be a short one. The greatest economy

was required. Someone had :to r’go down to®. meet; and bring up

the ova, with an extra packing case in which it might be safely

brought through the heat of Bombay, and a man must be found to

attend to the ova while hatching and to have the care of the young

trout up to the time they could reproduce their own species, three

years at least, if no further hatchery arrangements were to be

considered. Young James Sidgreaves Macdonell of Mora, who

was with us at the time, undertook the first task and carried it

through most successfully, arriving at the carpet factory late one

evening in the Christmas week of 1900.

(I should here note my thanks to the late Capt. Kitchen of the

5th Gurkhas for a diary account he sent me of an unsuccessful

attempt he had made to establish trout in a stream near Abbottabad

under most difficult conditions in spite of which he almost reached

success. The protective box in which the Laird brought up the

ova was similar to the one Kitchen had used successfully.)

What an evening that was ! We had gone through the misery of

a fisherman’s ‘ Paradise Lost ’ in spring and now we had before

us the prospect of ‘ Paradise Regained ’ ! After the Laird, as we

called him, had his bath and some food, we started right away and

spent most of the night transferring the ova from the moss packing

in which it arrived to the glass grills of the hatching box sent out

by the Duke, over which we soon had the water running from the

J" pipe. The new man was there, but of course he knew nothing

and had to be instructed. Of him I have much to say, for the whole

history of trout in Northern India bears|his mark. Sodhama, a

poor little red-haired pundit with a weak body but a clear steadfast

mind, then doing odd jobs for Narain Dass, the boat builder, who

was incidentally also the landlord of the ground on which the Carpet

Factory was built, undertook the work originally on a pay of Rs. 5

per mensem, on the assurance that it would lead to better things if

all went well. He knew no English, though curiously he was well

read in Sanskrit, to which Kashmiri is probably more closely allied

494 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fb/. XXXIV

than any other living language. Consumption had also attacked

one of his lungs, a complaint very common among carpet weavers

and other indoor workers in Srinagar — not, one would say, a very

hopeful man for the job, but it was not long before he justified his

selection. Col. Godfrey has not mentioned among his good

services, the purchase and despatch to Kashmir of a book written

by an early American Trout breeder, called Domesticated Trout, a

book of the greatest value to us at the time, as the instructions

were clear and could be translated for Sodhama’s benefit and never,

I am sure, had the writer a more intelligent and patient student.

From the time the ova arrived, trout culture became his life work ;

but, though the healthy open air life cured his consumption, his

remuneration in his native State has been a poor one. He wrote

me the other day that he has nothing laid up for his old age. He

is still only getting Rs. 30 * a month from the State and has, I fear,

no hope of a pension. If the many sportsmen who now enjoy trout

fishing in Kashmir and the Punjab knew and appreciated all he has

done for them, they might do something for him now.

He took down the first ova and plans for ponds to Kulu and

planted the first boxes of ova in sites in the streams which were

selected by Mr. Howell with his help and advice. For this he had

the Punjab Government thanks and a presentation watch in addition

to his liberal Indian pay. He has done similar work for Gilgit

Kangra, Abbottabad, Kistwar, Chamba, Naini Tal, Shillong and

Sikkim, not to speak of Simla where trout do not appear to have

caught on. An exchange of rainbow ova was also successfully

effected with Ootacamund by him. Clear headed and careful, he has

always carried through successfully work entrusted to him. Kulu now

rivals Kashmir as a fishing resort.

His care of the ova in the hatching box and of the fry when put

out in the stew pond was untiring and the growth of the little fish

was amazing. I measured one yearling, which with a few other

very big ones was turned out in the Arrah river in October 1900,

10.J'' in length.

When transferred to the pond excavated near Panchgam in the

Rukh area, the young fish continued to grow well under his care.

They were hungry for flies when Sir Louis Dane who succeeded

Col. Deane as Resident paid a visit to the pond. Sir Louis was

much impressed by their condition and promptly went into the

question of finance with the State Darbar, so that funds were short-

ly forthcoming to carry on the work (just in time as the Club funds

were practically exhausted). He took a keen interest in the trout

work and some years later when he became Lt. -Governor of the

Punjab, he arranged for their introduction into the Kulu Valley

where their success has been wonderful. At the exhibition he

held in 1903 in Lahore, he had an exhibit of trout hatching carried

out and with the help of Sir Shri Krishna Gupta, who was then

* Since writing this I have heard that, owing to the great advance in the

price of rice in Kashmir, an allowance was made to all State servants drawing

pay below a certain figure and that this has now been consolidated at 50 per cent.

Sodhama’s pay being now Rs. 45 per mensem.

HOW TROUT WERE INTRODUCED INTO KASHMIR 495

working with the Secretary of State (Lord Morley), arranged for

a travelling allowance to be given to Mr. Howell, who had been

Assistant Commissioner in Kulu and had carried on the trout

work there, to study fisheries in America during his leave. Depart-

mental Fishery work was thus introduced into the Punjab and many

fish have been saved from destruction during the contraction of

rivers, whose water has been drawn off for the canals which in their

turn have made millions of acres of desert into rich cultivated land.

Financial arrangements . — Col, Deane’s view was accepted and

supplemented by Sir Louis Dane when he had seen the ponds at

Panchgaum (in the Rukh). A cheque for Rs. 2,000 was at once sent

to me, and it was arranged that further sums required should be

provided from the Game Preservation Department. As from the

first, the accounts continued to be kept by a clerk in the Carpet

office, who, as these became heavier, received a small monthly

consideration for services so given. Accounts of all expenditure

had to be rendered through the Game Preservation Department

subject to audit by the State authorities. Estimates for the coming

year also had to be prepared annually in time to be included in

accounts presented to the Stafe Council when the annual budget

was under consideration with details of prospective expenditure

under each head. This entailed a good deal of work for the clerk.

The great flood of July 1903 in Kashmir swept high over the

pond at Panchgaum and nearly 1,000 trout which were expected to

spawn that autumn lifted their noses into it with the joy of free-

dom, and with its subsidence settled down in the best pools of the

Arrah River. No doubt some of them might have been netted out

and spawned, in November, but as the floods had ideally cleaned

the Redds, it was thought advisable to leave the fish alone and see

how they would get on with their domestic arrangements under

natural conditions-— a new supply of ova being arranged for to start

new ponds, with a view to spreading trout in other rivers of

Kashmir, should success under natural conditions be proved. The

result was satisfactory ; for when the snow water had run off in the

summer of 1901, little yearlings were found in gravels far below

where the spawning had taken place, and some of these had passed

through what was left of. the burst reservoir, thus escaping the

damage from native fish which had been freely prophesied for

them.

By the request of the Durbar a new site outside the rukh had to

be selected for ponds, and funds were provided to make them more

suitable for the work than had earlier been possible.

The ponds were begun on the line of a small irrigation channel,

a branch of one from the reservoir. Two small spring rivulets

joined this and proved later of great value. Beginning with three

ponds of 50' x 5' x 4'6" extensions down the channel were made as

required ; for the bigger fish, the width being doubled. The sides

were of dry masonry faced with cement and the ends fitted with

screens to prevent the trout escaping. Fry were a difficulty as they

could escape through minute holes in the masonry and perforated

zinc traps had to be arranged to catch those so getting through — an

amazing number. Side channels to each pond made it possible t9

29

496 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

clean them without stopping the whole flow. Possession of the

channel was arranged with the villagers in the first instance without

State assistance and after all had worked well for a year or two,

everything was officially confirmed. A potter whose yard abutted

on the area taken up, benefited, as visitors to see the trout were

much interested in the working of his wheel and often bought some

of the pretty though simple wares he produced.

Artificial Spawning Beds

Some 200 fish, reared from the 1902 importation of ova, had been

kept in an artificial pond above flood level in the rukh. The water

supply of this pond was from a fine spring which swarmed with

gammeri, and it was chiefly on the crustacians descending from this

spring that they had existed. The flood had for a time upset all

other arrangements for feeding them. They were a fairly level lot,

the biggest not exceeding 6 oz. in weight. In their new quarters,

below the rukh, to which they were removed in July 1904, they

were fed on small fish brought from the Dal Lake, and so quickly

did they grow on this diet, that by October 1906, when Lord Minto

visited Harwan, it was possible to present him with a fish of 12^ lbs.,

the fish in the ponds being all at this time 6 lbs., and upwards in

weight. An earlier viceregal visitor, Lord Ampthill, when acting

for Lord Curzon, had visited this new site shortly after this pond

was made. Of the great house of Russell and kinsman of the Duke

of Bedford, he naturally took an interest in the progress of the

trout in Kashmir, but at the time of his visit the fish were small and

few, and too many would have been required for a viceregal camp

banquet. It was in this pond that the first attempt to obtain ova

was made. As it was feared to damage fish by attempts to strip

them by unpractised hands, an artificial spawning bed of rough

gravel was arranged on rabbit wire, below which the ova coming

through were trapped on perforated zinc trays. Rather over 2,000

ova were caught in this way. About 1,000 of these proving fertile

were hatched out in the ordinary boxes and had reached the alevin

stage and nearly to the fry stage when the lid of the box was one

night left a little open and a water shrew got in. When morning

came, he was found dead in the box with only one living fry as his

companion. He had absorbed the 1,000 little fish and, so distended,

could not get out and was drowned. The ova which arrived out

that year was hatched in spring water in the open, protected by

mats, as we had no hatchery till later.

From the very partial success of artificial spawning beds, it was

evident that better methods must be taught and, when fishing with

Capt. Allan for Oreinus, an idea struck me which I at once carried

out. A bucket and a basin were soon brought and one or two cock-

fish which were milting, were soon in the bucket. It was sometime

however before a half-spent hen-fish was caught. I at once stripped

her and fertilized the ova which I told Sodhama to place in the

hatching box. He took away the basin with evidently the greatest

doubt of any result and it was amusing to see the surprised

expression on his face when some days later he came and told me

HOW TROUT WERE INTRODUCED INTO KASHMIR 497

the ova had all hatched out. He very soon became expert and the

work began in earnest the following autumn. Everything continued

to be done in the open for two or three years, but, as more ova

became available, a hatchery had to be built.

In 1905, when Mr. Pears was the Resident in Kashmir, he and

Mrs. Pears came out one day and had lunch with me. Trout of

6" to 10" were getting plentiful in the smaller branches of the Arrah

River and I asked him to catch one himself, but he was not very

skilful with the rod. I caught 8 or 9 fish of 8" to 10" while they

were with me on small barbless flies, and returned them to the water

after showing them to my guests. A letter from Mrs. Pears a few

days later was very amusing. She wrote saying she had been

speaking to some one in Srinagar of what I had caught and his

remark had been that ‘ Mitchell just catches the same fish over and

over again to let you think there are a lot ’. While showing the

stream to the Pears, I saw a real big trout jump in the old Temple

pool and thinking that with so many small ones in the water such a

fish was not required, I later asked my brother Henry and some

other friends (one of whom, now in London, will remember the

occasion) to come out to lunch and see if we could catch it. My

brother Henry who was very keen, was off with his rod directly we

arrived at Harwan, and when, after a little delay, I arrived at the

Temple pool as we called it, the fish, a cock of nearly 6 lbs. was

gasping on the bank, having fallen a victim to a small fly spoon.

We had him cooked at once and ate the most of him at lunch in the

woods. The fame of this fish soon got abroad and a few permits

were begged from the Maharajah resulting in some more captures,

but it was not until the following year when I was in England and

my brother Willie left in charge of the operations at Harwan that

fishing began in earnest. When I returned shortly before Lord

Minto’s visit to Kashmir, general ideas about the success of the

enterprise had completely changed, fish up to 9 lbs. having been

captured in the Arrah River during my absence. From a financial

point of view this made matters easier and simplified arrangements

for the spread of trout to other rivers, but it created other difficult

ties I would gladly have avoided.

The question of a hatchery came on soon after and this was

erected on a site no one wanted, just across the road from the ponds.

The villagers took no interest in this little plot of land which looked

like a bog, but was in point of fact a gravel bed, through which

bubbled up the waters of a deep spring, issuing at a temperature

of about 45° F. All the land about had been taken up for willow

growing, or other village purposes and I had difficulty in getting

a spot anywhere near to pitch a tent; so I thought I would put a

wooden erection consisting of a couple of rooms and a bath room

above this and did so. Kashmir workmen like to pick ova squatting,,

and the hatching boxes just raised above the floor suited them.

They work always in their bare feet and the spring water at

45° F. running freshly over this floor suited them very much better

than dry cement concrete in hard frost. It also kept everything

clean and sweet.

From the first the hatchery proved a success and the annual

498 Journal , Bombay natural hist, society , w. xxxiv

distribution of ova soon ran into six and approached very nearly to

seven figures. The water being fairly alkaline, we used perforated

zinc trays instead of glass grills as in the hatching box originally

sent out by the Duke of Bedford. Ova, when eyed, were distributed

to many streams some of which might have done well had steps

been taken early to protect them. The Game Preservation Depart-

ment under Major Wigram rather specialized on the streams in the

upper part of the Kashmir Valley with excellent results. Rearing

ponds were established in the gardens at Achibal where unlimited

spring water was available. Two lakhs of eyed ova went annually

from Harwan to this centre from which yearlings and two-year old

trout were easily distributed to the Vaishau and Bringhi and to the

other waters of that part which were more especially reserved for

State guests.

A demand for trout for State banquets and private dinner parties

very early sprang up and this we met from the hatchery ponds at

Harwan by selling off the bigger fish of 10 lbs. and over at Rs. 2

per lb. and smaller fish when available at Rs. .3 per lb. By doing

so any accumulation of old unproductive fish was prevented and

the cost of the work at Harwan was nearly covered annually by these

sales and the sales of ova to clubs formed in India following the

Kashmir success. It is possible that the price placed on trout at

Harwan stimulated the Kashmir poacher in his efforts to meet a

local demand at very much lower rates. The upper waters of the

Liddar River responded nobly to early efforts to stock them with

eyed ova in our ‘pahari’ ova boxes — now known in England as

‘ Kashmir boxes ’ and Col. Faithfull caught and returned to the

water no less than 20 trout at Pahlgam one day, fish up to 13"

(about 1 lb. weight) being among the captures. This was the third

year after ova had been laid down in these waters, but this success

was quickly known and proved fatal. In the winter that followed,

when the water was very low, poachers cleared the trout out and

I did pot attempt to re-stock. Hardly a year goes by without

one or two trout falling to rods at Pahlgaum fishing with worm for

So called ‘ snow trout ’ (Dipticus maculatus ) but no basket of

moment has ever since been made except probably by the

poachers in winter. Pahlgaum is much too cold a place at that

season for a prosperous game watcher to spend his winter. The

lower waters of this river, when stocked and protected by the Game

Preservation Department at Thricker, later became one of the best

bits of reserved water in Kashmir.

I early turned my attention to the high lakes and with the sanc-

tion of Sir Amar Singh, the father of the present Maharajah, camped

up through the Datchigam rukh to lakes Mahrsar and Tarsar. The

beauty of this rukh (game reserve) consisting of forest grown as

nature would have it, grassy slopes ever changing color with the

seasonal wild flowers and grey crags stretching up into the snows is

wonderful. The animal and bird life is such as one can find no-

where else. My favourite camp half way up was a spot of wild

beauty where I could just find room for a little 80 lb. tent. Plere I

was wakened, the first time I camped there, with the notes of the

most delicious Blackbird song I had heard in the East ringing in

HO W TROUT WERE INTRODUCED INTO KASHMIR 499

my ears. I have many interesting recollections of deer, bears and

other fauna of this rukh, but that is another story. I never fished

lake Mahrsar, though the last time 1 was there in a dead calm, I

saw a fine fish of about .3 lbs. swim away from the shore. Being

in the rukh no one of whom I have heard has had a permit to fish

this lake.

For various reasons I turned my attention to the high lakes round

Harimukh which rises to over 18,000'. Lake Gungabal, the biggest

of these, is about 2 miles long by \ mile wide and lies 11,700' above

the sea level. It is fed chiefly by glacier water and the flow from

two or three small lakes 1,000' higher. The river from it, after

passing over a series of perfect pools and gravels, falls rather

sharply 500' into lake Nunkol, less than half the size of Gungabal

from where, after a short run, it becomes torrential till it reaches

the Sind River fully 5,000' lower down. These two high lakes are

ideal for trout. The food supply, when trout were; first put in, was

wonderful, crustaceans especially being unusually plentiful. A red

shrimp (about the size of Cyclops) was so numerous that one

morning my servants were alarmed by what they thought was a

patch of blood, quite a one-eighth of an acre in extent far out on the

lake. In less than two hours this disappeared the shrimps going off

in single file in every direction, in unbroken lines. Trying to fish in

this mass of crustaceans from my collapsible boat in which I went

out to examine it, I got touches such as wet fly-fishers must have

experienced if they have used their favourite wet fly on a lake when

the May fly (greendrake) is up. Small cockles also abounded as

autopsies later showed and undescribed flies, including some of an

entirely new family, showed everywhere. It was not till 1914 that 1

caught my first fish in Nunkol, a beauty of 3 lbs., and on my return to

camp I found my mail with news of Germany’s declaration of war

on Russia. I sent half the fish to a Major of Gurkhas, who with his

wife was camped on the other side of the lake, along with the news and

we both started off down the hill as quickly as our transport could be

got together. Untouched for some years the trout here multiplied

rapidly and other lakes were gradually stocked from the shoals of

small ones which soon appeared on the shallows. Lake Vishensar

(12,500') was one of the first stocked in this way. It is the highest

lake from which I ever caught trout. I believed at one time that

the stock in these high lakes meant, as in Scotland, a permanent

source of supply to the river proceeding from them, but I had

reason to doubt this when last I visited Gungabal in 1925. The lake

is believed to be sacred by the Hindu Pundits and a pilgrimage

proceeds there annually in September. An official, who should have

known better, took a party up to the lakes when the pilgrims were

there and fished in the lake while the ba.hing was proceeding.

The Pundits were furious. There was no protection and ruthless

poaching with favourite poisons in the spawning season soon began.

Where trout had swarmed in 1922, they were already scarce in the

summer of 1925. The best fish I took out of these lakes was 7J lbs.

caught with a small fly such as I always use, but I have no doubt

much bigger fish could have been got trolling.

Col. Dew (now Sir Armand) was much interested in the trout

500 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

work at Harwan and suggested finding money to cover the expense

of sending ova and a skilled man to Gilgit, where he commanded

and was satisfied there were suitable streams. The journey of 200

miles on a bridle path, crossing passes of 11,600' and 14,500' in

mid-winter was an exceedingly difficult one and the first attempt

failed, through the ova getting frozen. A later attempt was quite

successful and the Harwan expert remained at Gilgit for some

months till the fry stage had been reached. Col. Dew had then

left, but the late Col. Macpherson, who succeeded him, was also

keenly interested and the officers of the Agency have since had

good sport with trout there.

After 1909, I was very little in Kashmir during the winter and

Mr. Hugh Blunt who was with us in the Carpet Industiy, took my

place when I was away. He was very keen and made some useful

additions and improvements at Harwan where Spring and Autumn

of the years that followed were my chief times for visits.

The introduction of fauna into a foreign country must always

be attended with risks of which it is easier to judge after the event ;

but looking back on 30 years I can see no serious harm directly

attributable to the introduction of trout into Kashmir. That other

fish are now scarce is more due to the great increase in the number

of licensed fishermen who have gained by the rise in prices of fish.

They made great scoops when the Woolar lake was lowered and

they got access to the winter refuges of the native fish. The

scarcity of these (especially the Oreinus) is now a loss to the country

as they undoubtedly kept the rivers free of Algae growth and being

spring spawners (when rivers are flooded by melting snow) if

reasonably protected they were not so liable to almost total

extinction as are trout by the barbarous poisoning methods which

Indian poachers adopt when rivers are reduced by frost to mere

trickles. Those who control the country will have to look at both

sides of the picture in the future policy they have to pursue and

I can only wish them every success.

Note on Native Fish of Kashmir.

The Kashmir fish referred to generally in Col. Godfrey’s

letter as ‘ hill barbels ’ are in the livers.

1. The Cheroo — Schizothorax esocinus.

2. The Choosh — Schizothorax intermedins .

3. The Khont — Oreinus sinuatas.

4. The Snow Trout —Dypiicus maculatus .

5. The Cat fish ‘ Anyur ’ — Exostoma stoliczkd.

6. The Horned loach—* Ramgrun ’ Botia geto.

7. The Loach ‘Tilgrun’ — Nemachilus stoliczka or tnav*

mo rat a .

8. The Kashmir Grayling * Ruppert 5 Labeo dyochilus.

9. The Mahseer— Barbus tor — migratory, coming up to spawn

only.

A small lake fish Cirrhina latia which spawns on

the weeds is also very plentiful and was much used

for feeding trout.

HOW TROUT WERE INTRODUCED INTO KASHMIR 501

Day described other species, but for practical purposes those

I have enumerated above are all one comes in contact with.

They are all spring spawners and I regret to say that they were

largely fished for in the past when they were spawning. The bigger

fish then came up from the deep lakes and were easily caught.

Cheroo hen-fish up to 20 or even 25 lbs., with ova actually running

out of them when brought on board the fisherman’s boat, were at

times caught at Ganderbal where the Sind River leaves the hills—

not unusually with what is known in Scotland as the ‘ London fly

The cock -fish are always much smaller. These are caught often by

fishers for Mahseer in autumn near the Woolar lake and then, when

they are in condition, would give good sport on lighter tackle than

that used for 40 lb. Mahseer. The Choosh don’t run as big as the

Cheroo and are by some anglers mistaken for the Khont which is

much more of a river fish. This fish takes its name of ‘ Sinuatus 5

from its habit of twisting under wTater when sucking alga and moss

off the stones with its thick sucking lips. Thousands of Khont

when in their best condition in late autumn used to enter the big

springs of the Arrah and Achabal Rivers and remain during winter

in the underground streams — the source of these springs. They

are, as far as I have seen, really useful in trout water, and it was

much against my wish that efforts were made to exterminate

them in such streams. A gentleman from New Zealand visited

Kashmir in the early days and seeing the Oreinus lying in black

masses at the bottom of some of the pools in the Arrah River,

expressed disbelief in the success of trout there with such quantities

of native fish. I laughed at him and told him I knew the relative

powers of both fish and that I had no doubt on the subject. I have

reason to think however that his expressed opinion added much

to the disbelief in trout prospects which then existed in the country

and did harm later in causing destruction of Oreinus I would have

saved.

In some of my later reports I expressed myself strongly on the

subject as the disappearance of Sinuatus synchronised with a great

increase of alga and other deleterious matter as well as with a

distinct decrease in the average size of trout. Like Mahseer these

and the Schizothorax have their teeth in their throats.

The Exostoma are most interesting fish though very ugly. Poor

swimmers, they yet are the only fish I have found who can make

their wTay to the highest lakes by using their pectoral fins to climb

over the stony sides of streams. They are fond of worms and can

exist for many hours out of water. They are said to carry their

young in their mouths and I once did find a very small living fish

so placed.

The common loaches are very like those in English waters, but

the Ramgrun is very different ; a lake fish chiefly, he enters the

streams to spawn and like the mango fish of Bengal is most

appreciated when full of ova. The horn or spike by the gill is very

sharp and should be avoided when holding the fish. Labeo

dvocheilus has scales like a grayling and is one of the best eating-

fishes of Kashmir and scarce in consequence. Like the others

he is however very boney,

THE HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL

SURVEY OF INDIA

Part III

(Continued from page 219 of this volume)

CRUSTACEA SECTION

By B. Chopra, d.sc., f.l.s.

The study of Crustacea has been carried on continuously in the

Indian Museum for well over fifty years and indeed has become

a tradition of the institution. The galaxy of brilliant workers,

such as Wood-Mason, Alcock, Annandale and Kemp, who made

a critical study of the different classes of this group, have made

the Indian Museum famous as a centre of research on Indian

Carcinology. Before the foundation of the Indian Museum some

work on Crustacea was being done and collections of this group

were being accumulated in the museum of the Asiatic .Society of

Bengal, which, as is well known, formed the nucleus around which

the present Imperial Museum has been built. Brian Hodgson,

whose researches on the fauna of Nepal have become a classic of

Natural History, was the first to take up a study of Zoology

seriously in this country, but Edward Blyth was the real founder

of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum. He was

appointed Curator of the museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal

in 184-1, and immediately set about collecting and' describing the

vertebrate fauna of the Indian Empire. To the invertebrates he

paid comparatively little attention, but it is interesting to note that

there are still in the Indian Museum specimens of freshwater prawns,

which he had named, evidently with the intention of describing

them later.

With James Wood-Mason really started the serious study of

the Indian Crustacea. He joined the Indian Museum as Assistant

Curator in 1869 and later became its second Superintendent,

succeeding John Anderson in 1887. Soon after joining the Museum

he commenced a survey of the Indian marine and freshwater

Crustacea that has proved of the greatest benefit to Indian Carcin-

ology in so far as it constituted the beginning of a long and

brilliant series of papers and monographs dealing with this group.

Unfortunately his published work does not represent a fraction

of his accumulated knowledge, principally because he had an almost

fastidious objection to publishing anything that was not exhaust-

ively complete. The very valuable and copious notes on the Crabs

and the Stomatopoda that he left behind him, proved of the very

greatest help to his successors, Col. Alcock and Dr. Kemp, in

their work. He also helped very considerably in enriching the

collections of the Indian Museum, for soon after joining his post

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

503

he started collecting- and studying the Indian marine and fresh-

water Crustacea. His energies were not confined to the zeal with

which he persuaded friends and correspondents in all parts of the

Indian Empire to contribute specimens of crabs, prawns and

Stomatopod Crustacea, for he made the fullest possible use of the

limited opportunities he had for field work, not only as regards

the groups — Crustacea and Insecta — in which he took a special

interest, but also in respect of many others. To Wood-Mason

also belongs the honour of being the first to carry out deep-sea

biological investigations in the Indian Ocean, when in 1872 he was

deputed by the Trustees of the Indian Museum to proceed to the

Andaman Islands and make a collection of the marine fauna of

that area.

Alcock, who succeeded Wood-Mason as Superintendent in 1893,

made it his aim to work, as far as it is possible for one man to do

so, the fauna of the deeper parts of the Indian seas. His series

of ‘Catalogues’ of the Indian Crustacea and his memoirs on the

Crustacea collected by the R.I.M.S.S. Investigator are too well

known to all Carcinologists to require a special mention here ;

while his ‘Materials for a Carcinological Fauna of India’ published

in six parts in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1895-

1900) is, as is well known, indispensible to all workers on Indian,

or in fact Indo-Pacific crabs. The collections also owe a great

deal to his efforts both during his tenure of office as Superintendent

of the Indian Museum and, before that, as Surgeon-Naturalist

on board the R.I.M.S.S. Investigator.

The interest that Annandale, who joined the Museum as

Assistant Superintendent in 1904, succeeded Alcock as the

Superintendent in 1907 and later became the first Director of the

Zoological Survey of India in 1916, took in the study of the

Indian Crustacea was of a more limited nature than that of his

two immediate predecessors, Wood-Mason and Alcock. He was

specially interested in the Cirripedia, or the barnacles, and

published several valuable papers on these interesting animals

in the Records of the Indian Museum and other scientific journals.

He was a very keen field naturalist, and during his term of office

both as Superintendent of the Museum and as Director of the

Zoological Survey of India the officers under him were, as a result

of his continued representations, given increased facilities for

extensive touring and field work. Dr. Annandale personally was

keenly interested in the fauna of fresh- and brackish-water lakes

and the Museum has, therefore, come to possess a very fine

collection of Crustacea, as also of other groups of animals, from

most of the important lakes of the Indian Empire, and of other

parts of Asia.

Dr. S. W. Kemp, Senior Assistant Superintendent in the Natural

History Section of the Museum and later Superintendent of the

Zoological Survey of India, was a Carcinologist first and foremost,

and his contributions to the study of Indian Crustacea are among

the most important work done on this group within recent years.

His account of the Stomatopoda of the Indo-Pacific region is the

most comprehensive and authoritatiye treatise on this group of

30

504 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXI V

Crustaceans, while his series of ‘Notes on the Decapoda Crustacea

of the Indian Museum’, of which he published twenty-four parts

in the Records of the Indian Museum, contains, besides a great

deal of other useful information, complete systematic revisions of

several genera and families. He also wrote a large number of

papers describing the Crustacea collected by the different survey

parties and officers of the Zoological Survey of India and other

expeditions. His retirement from India in 1925, on his appointment

to the Research Directorship of the ‘Discovery’ Expedition, has

been a very great loss to Indian Carcinology and in fact to Indian

Zoology in general.

Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell during his tenure of office as Surgeon -

Naturalist on board the R.I.M.S.S. Investigator, as also since

his appointment as Director, Zoological Survey of India, has been

devoting a great deal of his time to the study of Crustacea, and

is recognized as an authority on the Indian marine Copepoda. At

the present time he has in the course of preparation a comprehensive

monograph dealing with these animals, which will be published in

the Memoirs of the Indian Museum.

Since my joining the Zoological Survey of India I have also

been giving most of my time to the study of Crustacea and have

published a monographic account of certain parasitic Isopoda.

Besides continuing my researches on these animals I am getting

together material for a complete systematic revision of the Indian

freshwater crabs.

As a result of all the fine work on the Crustacea that has been

carried on in the Museum for well over fifty years, the Zoological

Survey of India possesses at the present time very rich collections

of these animals. These collections have been accumulated from

various sources, but most of the material has been collected by the

officers of the Museum and the Zoological Survey of India and

by the successive Surgeon-Naturalists on board the R.I.M.S.S.

Investigator. The Zoological collections of the Asiatic Society

of Bengal were mainly of vertebrate animals and contained compara-

tively few Crustacea.

The various military and political expeditions, on which zoo-

logical specimens were obtained, have enriched very considerably

the collections of the Indian Museum, but interesting specimens

of Crustacea and other invertebrates were only rarely brought back

by them. Of the expeditions that went to the north-western parts

of India, the Pamir Boundary Commission (1896) must be especially

mentioned in this connection; Lt.-Col. (then Captain) A. Alcock

was attached to this Commission as Surgeon-Naturalist and brought

back a very interesting collection from the Russian frontier on

the Pamirs. Of the expeditions that went to the eastern parts of the

Himalayas, the Dafla Expedition (1874, 1875) to which Godwin-

Austin was attached as a Major in the R.E,, and the Abor Expedi-

tion (1911,1912), on which permission was given for the first time

for a zoologist from the Museum — Dr.S. W. Kemp — to accompany

the force in the capacity of a naturalist, must be referred to

specially. The collections, including those of Crustacea, brought

back by Dr. Kemp were very extensive and of an exceptional

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA 505

interest, and have been described in a special volume (vol. viii)

of the Records of the Indian Museum .

Another very important source from which collections have been

coming for over fifty years past is the R.I.M.S.S. Investigator

and the Surgeon-Naturalists that have successively worked on

board this ship. Though most of the Surgeon-Naturalists have

helped in the accumulation of valuable collections, the names of

Alcock and Sewell must be specially mentioned as having enriched

the Crustacea collections of the Museum particularly.

The officers of the Museum and later of the Zoological Survey

of India have always considered field work an important part of

their duties. Dr. J. Anderson’s work in the field is an illustration

of this point. He was the first Superintendent of the Museum and

the prominent part he took as a Naturalist on the two expeditions

that passed through Burma to Western China, the first in 1868

and the second in 1875, is very well known. Shortly before leaving

India he also undertook on his own account an expedition to the

Mergui Archipelago, the Zoological results of which were fully

described in two special volumes of the Journal of the Linnean

Society (vols. xxi and xxii) ; the Crustacea collections were mainly

worked out by the famous Dutch Carcinologist, Dr. J. G. de Man.

In the same way, as has already been mentioned, Wood-Mason,

Alcock and Annan dale did a great deal of field work and enriched

very considerably the Museum collections. The same policy of

extensive field work has been continued in comparatively recent

years and is being pursued at the present time.

Though the Crustacea collections under the charge of the Zoo-

logical Survey of India are rich in a general way, there are certain

groups that are better represented than the others. As has already

been referred to, Aicock took a great interest in the study of crabs,

with the result that the Museum now possesses a very fine collection

of these animals — probably the best available in any museum in

the world so far as the Indian region is concerned. In the same

way, Kemp, who made a special study of the Stomatopoda,

was instrumental in bringing together an excellent collection of

these animals. A part of this collection, however, had already been

accumulated by Kemp’s predecessors. In the same way, owing

to Kemp’s personal interest in the group, the Museum possesses

vast collections, in most cases authentically named and properly

arranged, of the different kinds of prawns and shrimps. Similarly

the very valuable collection of the Cirripedia that we possess is due

to Annandale’s interest in these animals. Of the Crustacea

collections brought together and studied by the officers of the

Museum and the Survey, as also by other specialists in India and

abroad, some of the important ones may be enumerated as

follows : —

Lower Crustacea. — named by R. Gurney and E. von Daday.

Cirripedia. — named by N. Annandale.

Copepoda. — named by R. B. Seymour Sewell.

Isopoda (terrestrial). — named by T. R. R. Stebbing and W. E»

Collinge.

Isopoda (Epicaridea). — named by B. N. Chopra.

506 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HlST. SOCIETY , TbC XXXIV

Amphipoda. — -named by Chas. Chilton and W. M. Tattersall.

Mysidacea. — named by W. M. Tattersall.

Decapoda (Macrura) named by J. G. de Man and S. W. Kemp.

Decapoda (Brachyura). — named by J. G. de Man and A. W.

Alcock.

Stomatopoda. — named by J. Wood-Mason and S. W. Kemp.

As a Survey department in charge of the Zoological Section of

the Museum it is our aim to get together as representative a

collection of the Indian fauna as we can, and it is in this line that

outside workers and naturalists can help us. With so few officers

in the Zoological Survey of India it is natural that some parts of

the country may not be thoroughly surveyed or even receive any

attention at all for several years to come. The members of the

Bombay Natural History Society, many of whom are keen natural-

ists, can send us, with very little trouble, specimens, some of which

at any rate are sure to prove of interest. Sometimes specimens

that appear very common turn out to be of great scientific value.

In the case of Crustacea, especially the larger forms like crabs

and prawns, all that need be done is to preserve the specimens

in strong spirit, with a label recording the exact locality, date of

capture, notes on their natural colour, habits and any other points

that may strike the collector as of interest.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION

By Hem Singh Pruthi, m.sc., ph.D. (Cantab.), f.z.s. (Paris), etc,

The collecting of Insects and their systematic classification has

always formed part of the general zoological work carried on by

the Natural History Section of the Indian Museum, but the history

of Entomology in this institution may really be said to have

commenced in the year 1885 when the Trustees of the Indian

Museum, realizing the economic importance of insects, decided that

the study of insect crop-pests should be specially taken up by the

Museum staff. Mr. E. C. Cotes, then Deputy Superintendent of

the Museum, was given this work and he published a series 01

papers on economic entomology in Indian Museum Notes, a

periodical specially started for this purpose. Besides Mr. Cotes,

Mr. Wood-Mason, the Superintendent, and several other distingui-

shed workers, like Bingham, Buckton, Atkinson, etc., contributed

valuable papers to this periodical of which five complete volumes

were published between the years 1888 and 1901. By the latter

year the importance of entomology having come into still greater

prominence, the Government of India added a post of Entomologist

to the Museum staff. Mr. L. de Niceville was the first incumbent

of this appointment, but unfortunately he had hardly worked for

a year when he died of malaria contracted in the Darjeeling Terai

where he had gone to study the mosquito-blight. Mr. E. P.

Stebbing, who was officiating as the Superintendent at the time,

continued the entomological work and published an additional

part of the Indian Museum Notes. But soon after Mr. de Niceville’s

death it was decided to transfer the post of the Entomologist to the

Government of India from the Indian Museum to the newly-started

The zoological survey of india 50 i

Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa, and thenceforward the

Indian Museum was expected to restrict its entomological activities

to purely systematic work. Though both the Government of India

and the Imperial Department of Agriculture recognized that no

economic work would be of much value unless based on sound

systematic work, no officer was appointed in the Indian Museum

for carrying on this line of research. This state of affairs con-

tinued for about nine years, viz. up to 1910, when an increase in

the staff of the Museum was sanctioned and Dr. F. H. Gravely

was appointed as the officer in charge of the Entomological section.

Dr. Gravely left Calcutta early in 1920 to take up the duties of

the Superintendent of the Madras Museum and from then on until

1923 the entomological section was again without a special officer.

In July, 1923, however, the Government of India sanctioned the

appointment of an entomologist and Dr. B. N. Chopra was

appointed. I relieved Dr. Chopra in 1925, but had only worked

for about two months when I left for Europe, having been elected

to a Research Fellowship of the International Education Board.

I returned to Calcutta in November, 1926, and since that date have

held charge of the Entomological section.

In the introductory part of this article Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell

has referred to the valuable collections that the Asiatic Society

of Bengal presented to the Indian Museum when it was founded

in the year 1875. These collections included among other groups

a large number of insect specimens. This collection, though by

no means very rich, served as a nucleus round which the successive

officers of the Museum have built up a really fine collection of

Indian insects. In addition to the collections made by the officers,

the Museum possesses the following important collections made

by private individuals which were purchased or secured as

donations

1. L, de Niceville’s collection of Lepidoptera.

2. Stoliczka’s Zoological collections made during the second

Yarkand Expedition.

3. Das’s collection of the Aphids of Lahore.

4. E. E. Green’s collection of Lepidoptera.

5. G. C. Dudgeon’s collection of Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera.

6. Van de Poll’s collection of Coleoptera (Passalidae).

7. J. Gregory’s collection of Odonata from Yunnan.

8. Lord Carmichael’s collection of Insecta and Arachnida from

the Eastern Himalayas.

9. Otto Moller’s collection of Lepidoptera (Heterocera),

10. Col. A. H. McMahon’s (Seistan Boundary Commission)

collection of Insecta from Seistan.

The insect collections of the Indian Museum have been named

by the most eminent authorities available in India and abroad. The

insects consisting of over twenty orders and a couple of hundred

families, constitute a very large group, and the number of specialists

who have worked out our collections is very large. In the following

list I mention a few of the most important ones : —

Orthoptera^ — J, Wood-Mason, j, L. Hancock, M. Burr,

L. Chopard, etc.

508 Journal , Bombay natural hist . society , xxxiv

Odonata — F. F. Laidlaw, F. C. Fraser.

Rhynchota— E. E. Green, van der Goot, W. L. Distant, B. Das.

Lepidoptera — E. Meyrick, G. F. Hampson, E. C. Cotes and

Swinhoe, B. Preston Clark, W. H. Evans, L. de Niceville.

Coleoptera — S. Schenkling, W. Horn, F. H. Gravely, G. J.

Arrow, S. Maulik, H. E. Andrewes.

Diptera — E. Brunetti, j. J. Kieffer, S. R. Christophers, F. W.

Edwards, P. Alexander, M. Bezzi, C. H. Townsend, T. H.

Becker, W. S. Patton.

Hymenoptera — C. T. Bingham, S. A. Rohwer, C. Morley.

Arachnida — F. H. Gravely, C. F. Roewer, C. H. Simon,

K. Kraeplin.

Myriapoda — R. I. Pocock, F. Silvestri.

The insect collections of the Zoological Survey of India are

very important and valuable. They are consulted not only by

Indian workers, but by entomologists all over the world. Since

joining my appointment I have been paying a considerable amount

of attention to the care of these collections. In view of the climatic

conditions in this country, which are highly conducive to the

development of moulds, etc., the collections are periodically

examined, cleaned and tended by the entomological staff. The

standard store boxes introduced into India by the late Dr. FI. M.

L.efroy having proved unsatisfactory, our collections are being

transferred into ‘twenty-drawer’ cabinets, rearranged and labelled

according to the most recent systems of classification and

nomenclature.

Though the insect collection of the Museum is one of the richest

in the world so far as the Indian fauna goes, it has yet many

lacunae. To fill up the gaps we are endeavouring to get fresh

collections from all parts of India. This we mostly do by going

into the field ourselves, but few as we are, we badly need the

assistance of amateurs like most members of the Bombay Natural

History Society who can send us specimens from different parts.

Another duty of the officers of the Zoological Survey of India

is to undertake faunistic studies on different groups of animals.

It is very gratifying to record that the various successive officers

in the insect section have made valuable contributions to Indian

Entomology, both pure and applied. Mr. Cotes laid the foundation

of economic entomology in this country and the various volumes

ol the Indian Museum Notes, which contain a large number of

papers by him and for the editing of most of which he was responsi-

ble, are indispensable works of reference in the various Agricultural

Colleges and Research Institutes in India. Wood-Mason’s classical

works on the Mantidae and Phasmidae are well known to entomolo-

gists both in this country and abroad; these papers, which were

published over forty years ago, are still the best works on the

subject. Dr. Gravely did pioneer work on Indian Spiders and on

the Passalid and Lucanid beetles, while Mr. Brunetti, who was

mostly unofficially, but for a time officially, connected with the

Indian Museum, did a vast amount of work on Diptera. Dr. B. . N.

Chopra started work on May-flies, but had finished only two families

when he was transferred to the Crustacea section. Before closing

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

509

this list it is also’ necessary to mention the work of Mr. C. A. Paiva,

an assistant in the Insect room. He, besides contributing a large

number of papers on Hemiptera, completed an important survey

of the mosquitoes of Calcutta in 1912; this latter work has served

as a nucleus for numerous similar surveys that have been under-

taken in recent years.

Systematic entomology is rapidly passing, if it has not already

passed the stage when it consisted merely of collecting and naming-

specimens. Efforts are now made to study the conditions under

which the different insects live with a view to explaining why

particular species are only met with in particular areas and nowhere

else. For instance, in the case of aquatic animals careful obser-

vations are taken of the temperature, gaseous and salt contents

and hydrogen-ion concentration (acidity) of the water in which

the animals are found. These studies, which are collectively

included under Ecology, are of special help in solving many

interesting problems of animal distribution. While the marine

fauna of India has been extensively studied from this point of

view by Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, the freshwater forms

in this country have not been studied along these lines. I, there-

fore, on joining my appointment in the Zoological Survey of India

in 1925 took up this line of research with special reference to

Insects.

The study of the ecology of aquatic insects is in its infancy in

both India and other parts of the world. The few papers that

exist on the subject are mostly concerned with mosquitoes. But

in view of the fact that the respiration of mosquito larvae is almost

independent of the gases dissolved in water, a very important factor

in aquatic biology, the conclusions derived from the work on mosquito

larvae do not apply to' true aquatic insects. Hence I studied the

specific effect of hydrogen-ion concentration, carbon dioxide and

oxygen contents of water on the common May-fly larvae. As a

result of a long series of experiments I reached conclusions which,

as expected, were quite different from those resulting from the study

of mosquito larvae alone. Some of my conclusions have recently

been confirmed by workers in the United States of America.

Incidentally, my experiments on May-fly larvae showed that the

prevalent views with regard to the death of fishes in polluted

waters required modification. I tested my hypothesis by numerous

experiments on fishes and obtained some very interesting results.

Since last year I have been engaged on a study of the influence of

different temperatures, and hydrogen-ion concentration of water

cn mosquito larvae. Many observations with regard to these

factors, especially the former, are on record and these larvae have

been observed in waters having greatly varying temperature and

acidity. But hardly any investigator has gone into the important

question whether the different temperatures and hydrogen-ion

concentration at which the larvae have been found to occur are

the optimum for their successfully developing into adult mosquitoes.

My work on these lines, though yet incomplete, shows that mos-

quito larvae, although they can live in wide ranges of the above-

named factors, can become pupae and adults onlv under very much

510 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol . XXXIV

limited conditions. This conclusion suggests that before incurring

the heavy expense of killing mosquito larvae in a particular pool,

it will be worth while ascertaining whether the condition of the

water in the pool will allow the larvae to become adults and so

to transmit disease.

The second line of my research is the taxonomy of the Jassid

bugs of India. These bugs are of great economic importance,

since most of them are serious pests of valuable crops, gardens

and orchards. The taxonomy of the Jassidae of India as well as

the rest of the world is in a great muddle. Distant in his Rhynchota

volumes of the Fauna of British India series monographed the

family; Jassidae, and about two-thirds of the genera found in India

have been founded by him. It appears, however, that this work

of Distant was not so carefully done as his earlier works. In

fact, some great authorities on this group, like the late Dr. C. F.

Baker, have declared that Distant’s work instead of clearing our

knowledge of the forms, has thrown the Oriental Jassidae into

complete confusion. I have, therefore, thought it desirable that

this important group of bugs should be revised.

Since the last three years Mr. M. Sharif, a temporary Assistant

Superintendent, Zoological Survey of India, is working on Ticks

and Fleas of India.

We will not be doing good service to science if we were not to

freely place all the facilities that the section can afford at the

disposal of other workers. We name or arrange to get named

specimens received from workers engaged on research in different

branches of Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Public Health, etc.,

and from thos,e engaged in research in pure science in the labora-

tories of various Indian Universities. We supply, as far as possible,

sets of the common Indian insects to recognized educational

institutions on request, and students from several Indian universi-

ties are encouraged to come and work in our laboratories.

FISH SECTION

By Sunder Lal Hora, d.sc. (Punjab), d.sc. (Edin.), f.r.s.e.,

F.L.S., F.Z.S.

I need not go into details about the interest and economic

importance of fishes and how intimately they touch the life of man

all over the world. Linneaus once said, ‘So great is the importance

of fish to the enjoyment of the rich and the necessities of the poor,

that man might with less inconvenience, give up the whole class

of birds and many of the mammalia than be deprived of the finny

tribes’. Considerable interest is being shown in this branch of

zoology in India at the present time either in connection with the

fisheries or in reference to the influence of fish in the prevention of

the spread of certain diseases such as malaria. Leaving these

general considerations aside, I propose giving here a short history

of the fish collections in the Indian Museum with a view to directing

the attention of the members of the Bombay Natural History

511

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

Society to the resources that are available for ichthyological research

in India and indicating at the same time how these can be

augmented.

A series of about 4,000 specimens handed over by the Asiatic

Society of Bengal to the Indian Museum in 1875 formed the nucleus

of the present-day extensive collections, both named and unnamed,

of the Zoological Survey of India. A large number of the Society’s

specimens consisted of presentations from Day, while a considerable

proportion had been named and described by Blyth, and as a result

we possess a fair number of typical specimens of the species

described by these eminent ichthyologists. This is extremely

fortunate as these and other typical specimens have made it

possible for the Indian Museum to be recognized as a centre of

ichthyological research in the East. The study of fish, especially

of the freshwater forms, is a difficult problem as since Day’s time

our piscine fauna has not been adequately monographed. In the

neighbouring countries, however, these animals have received con-

siderable attention and this has rendered the definition of some of

our genera and species a matter of considerable importance and

difficulty. It is very easy to consider two imperfectly described

fishes from widely separated areas identical, as there is nothing

in the published descriptions to separate them. The late Dr. N.

Annandale, during his extensive travels in the Far East, made

large collections of fishes and presented these to the Indian Museum.

These have been described by specialists and are of immense use

in clearing up difficult questions of synomymy of the type referred

to above. Mention may also be made here of a very large collection

from Siam which Dr. Malcolm A. Smith has presented to the

Zoological Survey. As a result of the Zoological collections made

during the Military and Political Expeditions to the adjoining

countries in the north of India the Indian Museum collections com-

prise fairly representative collections of fish from Afghanistan,

Seistan, Tibet, Yarkand, etc. These collections render it possible

for a worker to go into details about the question of the evolution

of Indian fish fauna. Moreover, the frequent requests that are

received for working out collections of fishes from the neighbouring

countries bear testimony to the value of the extra-Indian material

that we possess. Any additions to this collection are of very great

help and will be gratefully accepted.

Owing to the continued activities of the Surgeon-Naturalists on

the R.I.M.S.S. Investigator the Indian Museum possesses a very

large collection of Marine fishes. The deep-sea fishes have been

catalogued by Alcock. Collections made by the Bengal Fisheries

trawler The Golden Crown were also deposited in the Indian

Museum, and Annandale and Jenkins have dealt with a part of this

collection in a series of extremely valuable monographs.

A very large proportion of the recent collections is due to the

activities of the members of the Zoological Survey of India, who

have made extensive collections during their tours all over India and

Burma. In recent years we have surveyed a number of freshwater

lakes and have discovered forms of unusual interest. In no small

measure we are indebted to a number of amateur naturalists who

31

512 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

have sent us collections and much valuable information has been

collected in this way. The results of several of these collections

were published by Dr. B. L. Chaudhuri in a series of papers in the

Records of the Indian Museum.

A good reference collection forms the basis of sound taxonomic

work and in this connection I would request the authors working

on Indian Fish to present specimens from the type-series for the

collections in the Indian Museum. The climate of Calcutta is

considered by some to be very adverse to the preservation of zoo-

logical specimens, and on this account a certain number of workers

wish to deposit their types in European museums. So far as the

preservation of fish is concerned it may be indicated that many of

Blyth’s, Day’s and even earlier specimens still exist in good con-

dition in our collections, and there is, therefore, no question of the

climate of Calcutta being in any way specially injurious to fish

collections. We are also endeavouring to obtain authentically

named specimens of the species described from India, but it is very

difficult in reference to the species of older authors. The lacuna ■

in our series of types can, however, be filled by obtaining series

of toptypes and it is in this connection that the members of the

Bombay Natural History Society can be of very great help to us.

Students of Indian ichthyology are no doubt aware that the two

pioneer and outstanding works on Indian Fish are Patrick Russel’s

Fishes of Vizagapatam (1803) and Francis Buchanan’s (afterwards

Hamilton) An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges

and its branches (1822). Both these workers described and figured

various species, but they did not make any collections. In the

absence of any material some of their species have been grossly

misinterpreted and the only way to clear the controversy regarding

their species is to obtain examples from the type-localities. This

material will be extremely useful for the purposes of taxonomic

research. In the case of Gangetic Fishes it is still further

unfortunate that the author was not allowed to utilize most of his

material, drawings and notes, in the preparation of his finally

printed work. Whereas Russell described the fish-fauna of one

place — Vizagapatam — and most of his species can be collected and

verified in a short time, Buchanan worked in a much wider field.

His material was collected mostly during the period when he was

engaged in a Statistical Survey of Bengal. His species came from

Dinajpur, Rangpur, Purniah, Bhagalpur, Patna, Shahabad, Gorakh-

pur, Calcutta etc., and it will be extremely useful if collections can

be obtained from these places. The local names of fishes, notes

on their bionomics and habitats are also essential as these by

comparison with Buchanan’s notes will, in most cases, enable us

to identify the species with certainty.

Recently I have read several short popular articles dealing with

(ndian fish. Extremely valuable information is sometimes contained

in these notes, but the authors do not care to deposit their material

in any recognized institution. In the absence of authentic

material the scientific value of their observations is considerably

discounted. A reference collection needs continuous additions to

replace bad specimens or those used up for morphological investiga-

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

513

tions. The members of the Bombay Natural History Society can

render great service by sending to the Indian Museum a representa-

tive collection from their respective stations. Most of the fish

inhabiting the plains of India are known to science but little infor-

mation is available about their bionomics and life-histories. Any

piece of information on these points, either collected from personal

observations or gathered from the local people, is likely to be of

great value and should be placed on record. For example in this

country the freshwater fauna is subject to considerable changes

in different areas. The animal life is adjusted to these conditions

by a series of marvellous adaptations the study of which is both

interesting and necessary. The supposed rains of fishes, the stories

connected with the air-breathing fishes such as Anabas, Clarias,

Ophicephalus , Amphipnous and Saccobranchus are well worth

investigating scientifically. The ways and means by which the

fish have adapted themselves to a life in the fiercest currents of our

torrents is a subject full of fascination and delight and is the one

in the study of which I can help enthusiastic naturalists to some

extent.

As pointed out above collections from all over India, Burma*

Ceylon and adjoining countries are welcome, but interesting material

containing new forms will mostly be found in the hills. Special

attention should be paid to the smaller forms which are liable to

be overlooked. The fish fauna of Sindh, the Western Ghats, the

Eastern Ghats, Burma and of the Assam Hill Tracts, is very little

known and much valuable material can be collected, in these

parts.

Specimens when caught should be killed in weak formalin, 4 to

5 per cent, and kept in this reagent overnight. The fishes in this

solution die with their fins expanded and are well fixed; they can

then be preserved in alcohol.

It may be mentioned in passing that the Secretary of State for

India has recently sanctioned a revision of Day’s fish volumes in

the Fauna of British India series to be undertaken by me* It is

my intention to render the new volumes not only useful to Museum

workers but also to the field naturalists by including extensive

biological notes on the different kinds of fish. Older zoology

treated almost exclusively of structure * nowadays we take into

account, besides anatomy, function, habits, physiology and ecology*

We must consider animals not only as Museum specimens, but as

living individuals definitely related to a certain natural environment,

— an environment in which certain physical conditions (of tempe-

rature, moisture, light and darkness, etc.)* which provides them

with shelter and with certain kinds of animal or vegetable food ;

an environment in which their young, their fellows of the same

species, their friends and enemies of other species, form a part.

It is needless to say that in undertaking a work of this

magnitude I rely greatly on the help of all lovers of field zoology*

and shall be greatly obliged if the members of the Bombay

Natural History Society can help me with collections and notes

on the habits of fishes, the economic importance of the various

species* etc.

514 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

ANTHROPOLOGICAL SECTION

By B. S. Guha, M.A., PH.D.

The Anthropological Section of the Zoological Survey of India

consists of a large collection of ethnographical objects most of which

are snown in the Ethnological Gailery, and osteoiogical remains not

yet exhibited to the puDnc. The former had its nucleus in the

objects presented by the Asiatic Society. Since the beginning of its

foundation, the Asiatic Society, under the inspiring guidance of Sir

William Jones, had been collecting various objects and implements

illustrative of the life and habits of the different races and tribes

ol inclia. A catalogue of the objects was prepared by Dr. Rajendra

Lai ivntra in 1849, and later revised in 1868. The revised catalogue

gives the total number of objects as 1,859. 1 As a result of the

foundation of the Indian Museum the ethnological collections in the

Museum of the Asiatic Society together with others were transferred

to the Indian Museum in the year 1875. From this time onwards

new additions were made, of which the most important was the

collection of Indian musical instruments presented by Raja Sourindra

Mohan Tagore. In the year 1885-86, however, the ethnological

collections were handed over to the Bengal Economic Museum and

on the 1st of April 1887, the combined ethnological and industrial

collections of the Government of Bengal came into the possession of

the Trustees of the Indian Museum.

On the completion of the new wing of the Museum Building in

1891, the ethnological collections which were hitherto kept in live

small rooms in the south of the Museum, were transferred to the

Ethnological Gallery which was formally opened to the public on

1st January, 1893. The total number of objects at this time was

6,517. In 1911 the ethnological collections were transferred again

from the Industrial to the Natural History Section. The valuable

osteoiogical collection made by Dr. John Anderson had remained

all along under the direct care of the Superintendent. After the

transference of the ethnological objects to the Natural History

Section, the two collections were reunited and the entire Natural

History Section became officially known as the Zoological and

Anthropological Section. There were two important accessions at

this time, namely : (1) The Abor collection made by Dr. Kemp and

Dr. Coggin-Brown from the Abor Expedition of 1911-12, and (2)

the gift of an additional set of Indian and Japanese musical instru-

ments from Raja Sourindra Mohan Tagore, which made our

collection of Indian musical instruments one of the finest and most

complete of its kind in the world.

In 1916 the Zoological Survey of India was instituted and the

Anthropological Section, which was incorporated in it, ceased to

bear a separate name. But as there was no special officer in charge

of the anthropological collections, they were left under the direct

care and supervision of the Director of the Zoological Survey who

fortunately happened to have the additional qualifications of a

trained anthropologist and took great interest in the collections.

The Centenary Volume of the Indian Museum, p. 22. Calcutta, 1914.

THE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA 515

It was through his efforts that the services of Dr. G. H. Meerworth

of the Imperial Ethnographical Museum of Petrograd in 1917

and of Mr. Johan van Manen in 1922 were temporarily secured

for the department. Dr. Meerworth prepared illustrated Guide

books to' our collections of musical instruments1 and the Aboriginal

Tribes of the Andamans, Islicobars and Assam.2 Mr. van Manen

went through the Tibetan specimens and rearranged them.

In spite, however, of the temporary services of tbe above scholars

and the interest taken by Dr. Annandale, the Director, it was felt

that not only no further progress could be made in the collections

of the Anthropological Section but a systematic classification and

organized display of even the existing objects was not possible

until a whole-time officer was placed in charge of them. In the

past, the Anthropological Section had an extremely chequered career

passing from one department to the other, as a result of which

not only had the objects not been properly labelled but in some

cases even the records were lost, e.g. in the case of the large series

of human pelves3 in our osteological collection. The importance

of a well-equipped Anthropological Section for scientific research,

as well as its great value to the State, was urged upon the Govern-

ment by Dr. John Anderson, f.r.s., in his Annual Report of the

Museum as early as 1881-82. Dr. Anderson, writing on the neglect

of anthropological study in India, deplored the fact that ‘the museums

of the leading capitals of Europe could boast of a more complete

collection of Ethnology of India than the Calcutta Museum itself’.4

The special importance of Anthropological research in this country

was brought to the notice of the Government by the Council of the

Royal Anthropological Institute in their letter to the Secretary oi

State for India, dated the 18th of April 1913, and in 1914 the

Trustees of the Indian Museum recommended to the Government

for the appointment of a trained Anthropologist to take charge of

the collections of the Indian Museum. Due to the war the matter did

not proceed any further, until 1920, when Dr. Annandale as Secre-

tary to the Trustees again urged the importance of the appointment

of an Anthropologist. The Government gave its approval, but

acute financial stringency prevented it from giving practical effect

to Dr. Annandale’ s proposals.

After his appointment as Director of the Zoological Survey in

1925, in succession to Dr. Annandale, and like his predecessor a

student of Anthropology, the matter was again taken up by

Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, and with the support of the Trustees

he approached the Government for the immediate appointment of

an Anthropologist. This time the Government sanctioned an

Anthropologist and in June 1927 the present writer was appointed

to this post.

The work taken in hand by me on joining the department was

1 Guide to the Musical Instruments exhibited in the Indian Museum, Calcutta,

1917.

2 Guide Book No. 2 — The Andamanese, Nicobarese and the Hill Tribes of

Assam, Calcutta, 1919.

3 Centenary Volume, p. 26, Calcutta, 1914,

- Centenary Volume, p. 24,

616

JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY ,

Vol. XXXI V

twofold : (1) the preparation of an accurate catalogue of the ethno -

graphical objects and their intelligent display in the Gallery, and

(2) the commencement of a systematic investigation of the racial

characters of the races and tribes of India.

The preparation of an exhaustive and accurate catalogue of the

ethnographical objects in our collections is a task of considerable

magnitude. Due, as has been said, to the absence of a trained

officer adequate and detailed records are not available in all cases,

and even those that exist are not infrequently misleading and

incorrect. Consequently before the specimens can be properly

catalogued and scientifically and effectively displayed their correct

identification is necessary. It will be apparent, however, from the

very nature of the case that this work must necessarily be slow

and will take many years to complete. Cataloguing and re-

arranging these objects is not the only task as the collections have

very greatly to be augmented. At present we have materials only of

the tribes of Assam and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands but

for the rest of India we possess very little. If the Museum has

to retain its all-India character and compare favourably with the

Indian collections in the various Museums of Europe and America

it is time that fresh collections are made from the primitive tribes

of the various parts of India, specially in view of the rapid depopula-

tion that is taking place among them. During my recent tours

in South-Western India a valuable collection of ethnographical

objects of the Kadirs and Malsers of the Cochin and Annaimallai

Hills has been procured.

The work in the Anthropological Section did not so long include

intensive research as in other departments of the Zoological Survey

of India, with the exception of the investigations of Sir William

Turner ( Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , vol. xxxix,

pt. iii ; xlix, pt. iii) and of Mr. B. A. Gupte ( Craniolo gical data

from the Indian Museum , 1909) on the osteological materials in

our collections. The late Dr. Annandale, however, began an

important anthropometric investigation of the Anglo-Indians of

Bengal. His measurements and somatic observations were placed

in the hands of Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis for statistical analysis,

the first part of which was published in 1922. 1

Since my appointment as Anthropologist in the Zoological Survey

of India in June 1927 investigations in two important lines have

been undertaken — one in connection with the racial characters of

India’s prehistoric inhabitants and the other regarding the

somatology of the remnants of primitive tribes still surviving in the

extreme interiors of the hills of this country.

Our existing knowledge of the racial characters of India’s pre-

historic inhabitants has been very meagre, but thanks to the

discovery of human remains in different sites in the Indus Valley

very important materials have at last been found for systematic

research. Visits were paid by Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell and

myself to Mohenjo-daro and Harappa at the request of the

Recqrds of the Indian Museum, vol. xxiii, p. 7 (1922).

ThE ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

517

Director-General of Archaeology who placed the entire collection

of human and animal remains in our hands. Our collections of

the human remains from the Indus Valley sites now comprise (1) the

remains found by Mr. Hargreaves at Nal, (2) those excavated in

successive years at Mohenjo-daro, (3) the remains found at Harappa,

and (4) the two skulls excavated by Sir Aurel Stein in Mekran.

Investigations on these remains are being carried on jointly by

Lt.-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell and myself and our reports on

numbers one and four are ready; the former is being published by

the Archaeological Survey and the latter is to be incorporated in

the forthcoming work of Sir Aurel Stein.

For purposes of comparative study the two ancient skulls found

at Bayana and Sialkot were procured by the Director through the

courtesy of the Bombay Anthropological Society. The Madras

Museum has also lent us its collection of human remains found at

Adichannallar in the Tinnevelly District reported to be the earliest

site in Southern India. Investigations on all these remains, as well

as that on the skull found in a Mauryan site near Patna and brought

by me last year, are proceeding, and, when completed, will, it is

hoped, give us our first general idea of the racial characters of the

ancient inhabitants of the different parts of India.

Besides the above the important collection of skulls of the head-

hunting Naga tribes recovered by the Bernard Expedition in Burma

has been sent to us for study. My report on these skulls worked

in collaboration with Mr. P. C. Bose, m.sc., m.b. , one of the

research students working in this laboratory, is nearly complete

and will shortly be published. Other collections of skulls received

by us are : —

1. Four Andamanese skulls sent by Mr. J. M. Wright, Deputy

Commissioner, Andamans.

2. Twenty skulls excavated and brought by Lt.-Col. R B.

Seymour Sewell from the Nicobar Islands.

3. Two Veddah skulls sent on loan by the Colombo Museum.

Remnants of primitive tribes still found in the extreme interiors

of our hills are fast disappearing and in order to make a complete

anthropological survey of these tribes before they entirely die out,

two tours were undertaken by me in 1928 and 1929. During these

tours I made an extensive survey of the Cochin and Annaimallai

Hills and was able to secure valuable anthropometrical and ethno-

logical materials of the primitive tribes of these hills. My

investigations showed that in the extreme interiors of these hills

remnants of a genuine Negrito race still exist of which a short

account was published in Nature (May 18, 1928).

In addition to the above scientific study of Indian primitive

technology as illustrated in the objects of our collections has been

started and a paper prepared by Mr. P. C. Bose, m.sc., m.b., one

of the research students working in this section, on the Head Dress

of the Assam Hill tribes, has been accepted by the Asiatic Society for

publication. Two of the research students are at present working

on Indian Footwear and Offensive Weapons, whose reports, when

completed, are expected to reveal new facts concerning occultuny

tion in different parts of India.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE WILD SPECIES OF AROIDS

BY

C. McCann,

Assistant Curator , Bombay Natural History Society , Bombay .

(3 plates and Text-figures )

The Araceae though not a very large order in the Bombay Presidency, being

represented by 11 genera comprising 27 species present many difficulties,

particularly the genus Amorphophallus. The reason for this state of affairs

is not far to be sought, for most of the Aroids are typically monsoon plants

and unless a collector is prepared to get wet and visit places where they grow

several times during the season and in successive years, he will not succeed in

obtaining a representative collection of these curious plants. Apart from this,

they are difficult to preserve in the wet weather in a recognizable form, as

there is great risk of their decaying and being attacked by mould which also

destroys them beyond recognition.

Apart from these difficulties that have to be contended with in the field,

there are other obstacles which are due to the fact that the genus Amorpho-

phallus never produces flowers and leaves on the same plant in the same year.

This necessitates the corms being brought home and kept till the next year for

the flower or leaf as the case may be. This procedure is not always an easy

one, but it is the only way in which we can clear up the confusion which has so

very often been caused. The corms last quite well even if kept dry on a shelf.

Even in this state the corm will show signs of life with the approach of the

next monsoon and may then be transferred to a pot. One on a shelf in my

laboratory (if it can be called so) put forth a new leaf after lying there for a

year, at the opposite end of the corm to which the peduncle was attached the

previous year,1 and continued to grow in spite of having been left on the shelf

for the rest of the rains. I must admit that the growth was not very vigorous,

but this just shows the vitality of the plant. At the end of the rains like its

fellows in the jungles it commenced to wither and dry up. A new corm was

formed but this was small.

Another most interesting study is the development of the leaf from the

* simple * juvenile form to the complex pinnatified type in the mature state,

but 1 do not propose to deal with this aspect of the plants in this note. To one

who has had opportunities of studying these plants in the field the different

species are easily recognizable especially when fresh.

For several years I have had certain isolated patches and separate individuals

under observation both in pots and in their natural habitat away in the jungles

of Salselte. I visited these places at different times during the monsoons and

in different years, thus being able once and for all to assign the correct leaf

to the correct flower. Below I give the results of my observations under the

respective species, together with photographs.

Genus Sauromatum

Saurornatum guttatum , Schott, in Schott and Endlich. Meletem. (1832)

p. 17.

The flowers of this plant appear from January to March and even as late as

early April. They are very malodorous, not far removed from carrion, and the

air in its vicinity is usually impregnated with their stench. The peduncle is

very short, the spathe long and reflexed, resembling putrid flesh in colour.

In fruit the peduncle is slightly longer than when in flower. The leaves appear

soon after the break of the monsoon, and are always solitary. The leaves

appear on the same corm as the flower in the same year. This is possibly due

to the distant interval at which the corm flowers and leaves while in the next

1 I fjnd it in leaf again this monsoon (1930),

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate

Fig. 1. Leaf of Sauromatum guttatum, Schott. Fig. 2. Flower of Amorphophallas commutatus, Engler.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.

Plate II.

Fig. 1. A colony of Amorphophallus commutatus, Engler.

Fig. 2. Abortive specimen of Amorphophallus commutatus, Engler.

(Spathe cut open to show the spadix.)

NOTES ON SOME OF THE WILD SPECIES OF AROIDS 519

genus the flowering and vegetative period coincide. No reliance can be placed

on the colour of the petiole as it is very variable, from a pale green throughout

to a dark green and sometimes with darker blotches. (Plate I, Fig. 1.)

The leaf figured in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society ,

volume vii, p. 312 under the name Pythonium Wa/lichianum, Kunth, is of

this plant. Cooke, in the Flora of the Bombay Presidency, in a foot-note has

also pointed this out.

In the Islands of Bombay and Salsette this plant is not so often met with as

Amorphophalkis commutatus , Engler. It usually grows under the shade of

trees or among shrubs and is very rarely found in the open.

Flowering : Uran, 14-1-18 (McCann !); Bhandup, 7-3-27 (McCann !),

Genus Amorphophallus

Amorphophallus bulbifer, Blume, Rumphia, v. i (1835) p. 148.

The occurrence of this plant within the Presidency is a new authentic record.

Cooke in his Flora of the Bombay Presidency includes this species on the

authority of Graham and Woodrow but has seen no specimens and remarks

that there are none from this area in Herbarium Kew. This year (1929)

I discovered this species growing here and there in the forest of the larger hills

of Salsette, In 1927 and 1928 I had seen this plant but at the time mistook it

for A. commutatus , thinking that this species also bore tubers on the leaves,

but after closer examination found that it was altogether a different plant,

A. bulbifer. Up to the time of writing I have not yet come across the flowers

of this species but I have a fine specimen of its fruit.

The leaves are large in old well developed specimens, up to three feet and

more in diameter ( vide Cooke l.c. 12-18") with one large tuber at the diversion

of the three segments of the leaf and smaller ones at each of the bifurcations

of the segments themselves, thus each leaf often possessing ten and even

fourteen smaller tubers. The tubers depend in number on the size of the leaf,

and are deeply imbedded in the tissue of the main * nerves In cross

section all tubers aie pinkish to pinkish-purple in colour. The petiole

sometimes attains the proportion of a man’s wrist at the base, gradually

diminishing upwards in thickness. In young leaves the ‘ stalk ’ of each

segment of the leaf is horizontal (see Fig. 1), but in larger leaves they are very

slightly raised from the horizontal position (this is not the case in either A .

campanulatus , or in A. commutatus (see Fig. 2). The colour of the, petiole, which

Fig. Amorphophallus bulbifer. Fig. 2. — Amorphophallus commutatus-

Showing (a) horizontal segments of

petiole ; (b) vertical segments of

petiole.

has long blackish and green markings, above the green turning to pink, and

purple towards the base, is very constant in this species. The colour of the

peduncles is almost like that of the petiole. Very rarely tw’O leaves appear from

the same corm in the same year, in this case the second leaf is very poorly

developed.

The fruit is at first green but becomes scarlet when ripe.

The two main characters by which this species can be distinguished in

the field are : (a) the bulbils on the leaves, ( b ) the typical colouring of the

petiole or peduncle.

This is purely a forest species and so far has only been taken by me in the

dense forests in the back hills of Salsette.

32

520 JOURNAL , BOMBA Y NATURAL LUST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

Fruiting Near the Kanari Caves, 22-9-29 (McCann !).

Localities: Hills near Ghorbunder (McCann!); Hills West of Muland

(McCann !).

Near the Kanari Caves (McCann !).

There is a single specimen of this species in the Herbarium of the College

of Science which was grown in the garden, but I do not know from where

it was obtained.

Amorphophallus commutatus , Engler, in DC. Monog. Phan. v. 2 11879)

p. 319. (Plate I, Fig. 2.)

This is perhaps the commonest of the Aroids in the Islands of Bombay and

Salsette growing everywhere in forests, under the shade of trees but rarely

in the open, where the full strength of the sun catches them. The dimensions

of the leaves are very often much larger than those given by Cooke’s Flora of

the Bombay Presidency. The petioles are very variable in colour and texture,

and no description will exactly suit to describe them. They are sometimes,

smooth, at others rough. Cooke in his description lx . writes : — 1 Leaf solitary,

appearing a month or more after the flowers;’ it is not quite clear from this

statement whether he meant from the same corm as that on which the flowers

appeared or on other corms. As far as my observations go the flowers and

leaf never appear from the same corm in the same year. To this rule I have

come across two exceptions and in these cases the tubers were exceptionally

large for this species and in both cases both the flowers and the leaves were

highly abortive (see Plate II, Fig. 2). The spathe and spadix were both abnor-

mal, the latter carried fewer flowers. The leaf in each case was reduced to a mass

of leaflets and abbreviated nerves all fused together in a heap. The peduncle is

very variable in length and colour, and so is the spathe, in fact the whole

plant is very variable. Injury to the peduncle brings about abortion in the

spathe and spadix.

The angle of the ‘ stalks ’ of the segments is at about 45 degrees to the

horizontal line (see Fig. 2.).

This species often forms small colonies of plants at different stages of deve-

lopment. Large specimens of this species are very difficult to distinguish

from specimens of A. campanulcitus when in leaf. (Plate II, Fig. 1.)

The flowers and leaves appear soon after the first rains (not on the same

corm). By July these plants are all in fruit with the exception of some of the

late arrivals. The flowers are offensive. Cooke writing on this point says -

‘ The plant is very common at Matheran, where the flowers appear about the

end of May. When the antheis are ripe, the odour of the plant is most

offensive, resembling carrion, and visitors to the Hill often complain of defective

Conservancy at this time.’

The fruit becomes scarlet when ripe.

The colour of the tubers of this species is of a yellowish tinge quite unlike

those of the preceding species,

Amorphophallus campanulatus , Blume, ex Decaisne, in Nouv. Ann. Mus.

Par. v. 3 (1834) p. 366. (Plate III, Figs. 1 and 2.)

The tubers are large and usually appear ‘ tuberculate ’ with the remains

of roots. A good illustration of the tuber is given in the Journal of the

Bombay Natural History Society , v. ix (1894) p. 42. This is a rather character-

istic point in the field. The leaves are large and variable, the petioles very

variable in colour. The peduncle in flower is from l\" to 3" but elongates to

9" when in fruit. The flowers are put forth in June soon after the first rains

have fallen. The leaves appear about the same time and by July are fully

formed. Kirtikar writing in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society

lx. says, ‘Fruit. — Not yet known to have ever developed.’ In my experience

this is not the case as fruits are developed regularly by suitably sized tubers.

Kirtikar’s statement might be explained, by the fact that the fruits are soon

lost to sight in the rank undergrowth which appears by the time the plant is

in fruit (July-September, the period of development). The tuber is yellowish

in section

This species is quite common throughout Salsette and grows in much the

same habitat as the preceding species. It is not to be found in very open,

sunny situations.

Concluding remarks on the genus: All the species are shade lovers. The

flowers and leaves appear with the approach of the rains, but the tubers never

flower and leaf in the same year. The leaves persist till the end of the

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate III.

Corm and withered flower of Amorphophallus Fig. 2. Leaf of Amorphophallus campaiiulatus, Blume.

campanulatus, Blume.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE WILD SPECIES OF AROIDS 521

monsoons and then disappear. If the leaves are cut off no amount of

persuasion will make the tuber leaf a second time in the same season. This

I have tried both in ‘ potted ’ specimens and also in their natural habitat.

If the tubers are placed in water for any length of time without the leaf, it will

either rot early or give out numerous shoots all around the tuber, but I have

never seen these shoots come to anything. These plants never flower till the

corms have reached a good size (according to the species). The size of both

the flowers and the leaves also depends on the size of the corm and is, therefore,

very variable, particularly in the case of A. commutatus. As these plants

take several years before they flower or fruit I hardly think that they should be

classed as ‘ annuals ’ in spite of the fact that they appear only once every year

during ihe monsoon. Even if watered regularly nothing will induce them to

‘ leaf ’ (i.e. keep on with the leaf) once the monsoons are over. The life of the

individual is fairly long but how old they become I am unable to say.

Genus AriopSIS

Ariopsis peltala, Nimmo, ex Grah. Cat. PI. Bo. (1839) p. 252.

A reference to Cooke’s Flora of the Presidency will show that he has only

seen a single specimen of this plant, collected by Stocks. Two more references

are made to Dalzel & Gibson and Woodrow but he has not seen their speci-

mens. This plant is exceedingly common throughout the hilly portions of

the Island of Salsette. The leaves and flowers appear almost together soon

after the break of the monsoons. The fruit ripens by the end of June and

falls away from the plant thus leaving the leaves to persist throughout the

monsoon. They seem partial to rocky situation near streams but are also to

be commonly found carpeting the ground in the forests.

Cooke l.c. states that the corms of this plant are green, but as far as I have

observed, this is not the case, instead they are yellowish when washed of the

earth and are also light yellowish in section. Further, frequently two leaves

appear from the same corm. Even the size of the leaves and petioles is much

larger in well-developed examples than stated by Cooke. The petioles exceed

a foot in length, and the leaf nine inches in diameter. Several flowers are

put forth by the same corm.

In order to preserve specimens of Aroids well during the monsoon it is

advisable to paint them in the field with a concentrated solution of corrosive

sublimate and to repeat the process if necessary during the process of drying.

I have done this wdth all my specimens and in this way have obtained

excellent results. The application of the solution to other plants during the

rains and particularly those whose leaves are easily detached by rot between

the petiole and the branches, as in the Leguminoscie and a few7 other orders,

will always produce good results.

THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY'S

INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPOSITION

OF SALT-LICKS.

EARTH-EATING AND SALT-LICKING IN INDIA.

BY

J. F. CAIUS, S.J., F.L.S.,

AND

K. H. Bharocha, b. a. , b.s c. ,

(Pharmacological Laboratory , Parel , Bombay).

PART III

(Continued from page 222 of this volume )

ANALYSES VIII-XIII

VIII. Common Earth

Serial No. 7b.

Locality— Bellatur, Kolegal Taluka, Mysore.

Obtained and sent by— Mr. R. C. Morris, Honnametti Estate, Attikan

P.O., via Mysore.

Hard lumps of very dark brown earth. Powder gritty.

Minerals (mostly quartz)

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Moisture

10' 28 percent.

50-26

30 56

024

5'84

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve) ... ... ... 83‘88

Insoluble in nitric acid ... ... ... 64 688

Soda (NazO) ... ... ... ... 2'429

Potash (K*0) ... ... ... ... 2*260

Magnesia (MgO) ... ... ... ... O' 224

Lime (CaO) ... ... ... ... 0'335

Alumina (AlgOg) ... ... ... ... 7-206

Silica (SiOD soluble ... ... ... ... 0 564

Phosphorus (P2Os) ... ... ... ... 0159

Sulphur (SOa) ... ... ... ... 0'059

Chlorine (Cl) ... ... ... ... P490

Ferric oxide (Fe203) ... ... ... 3 575

Moisture and organic matter ... ... 1*000

Remarks. — 1.

The soil contains traces of humus and man

ganese.

2. The earth was taken from an area adjoining salt-lick No. 7a.

INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-LICKS 523

IX. Soil from Salt-Lick (Irul Lecki)

Serial No. 16.

Locali ty — Mysore.

Obtained and sent by— Mr. R. C.

P. O., Mysore.

Hard clayish lamps, greyish brown

seeds. Powder rough.

Minerals (mostly quartz)

Clay

Sand

Moisture

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve)

Insoluble in nitric acid

Soda (Na20)

Potash (KsO)

Magnesia (MgO)

Lime( CaO)

Alumina (A1203)

Silica (Si02) soluble ...

Ferric oxide (Fe203)

Moisture and organic matter

Mori is, Honnametti Estate, Attikan

mottled with white ; with roots and

.-. 13‘52 percent.

... 24*74

.... 49-41

... 6-71

... 79-77

... 60-840

... 0-074

... 4-270

... 0-464

... 1-924

... 5-127

... 0890

1-787

... 4-300

Remarks.—- The soil contains traces of phosphorus, manganese and sulphur.

X. Soil from Salt Lick (Bellul Lecki)

Serial No. 17.

Locality— Mysore.

Obtained and sent by— Mr. R. C. Morris, Honnametti Estate, Attikan

P.O., Mysore.

Hard clayish lumps, greyish brown mottled with white ; with rootlets and

seeds. Powder rough.

Minerals (mostly quartz)

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Moisture

8'86 per cent.

40-41

35-30

0-39

7-83

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve)

Insoluble in nitric acid

Soda (Na20)

Potash (K20)

Magnesia (MgO)

Lime (CaO)

Alumina (A1203)

Silica (Si02) soluble

Phosphorus (P2Os)

Ferric oxide (Fe203)

Moisture and organic matter

... 83-31

... 67-480

... 0-954

... 3-411

... 0-663

... P470

... 3-450

... 0-148

... 1-399

... 2-261

... 2-000

Remarks.— The soil contains traces of sulphur and manganese.

XI. Earth for Human Consumption.

Serial No. 111.

Locality— Mysore.

Obtained and sent by— Mr. R. C. MoirL, Honnametti Estate, Attikap

P. O., Mysore.

524 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, VoL XXXIV

Hard lumps of dark ferruginous brown earth. Powder gritty.

Remarks.— 1. The earth contains traces of sodium, sulphur, and man-

ganese.

2. It is eaten by Canarese women when pregnant.

XII. Medicinal Earth.

Serial No. 232.

Locality — A spring in Sokotra.

Obtained and .sent by— Dr. P. W. Harrison, M.D., Muscat, Persian Gulf.

White rough powder, and white lumps easily crumbling to powder.

Fine Earth

Insoluble in nitric acid

Soda (Na20)

Magnesia (MgO)

Lime (CaO)

Alumina (A1203)

Carbon dioxide (C02j

Moisture and organic matter

lOO’OOO per cent.

.V652

3-489

5-164

45 850

1- 400

39-010

2- 920

Remarks — 1. The earth contains traces of iron and soluble silica.

2. It is credited with extraordinary medical virtues by the

Arabs.

XIII. Soil from Salt-Lick.

Serial No. 90.

Locality— Close to a forest bungalow called Gola Tappar ; 1,200 feet above

sea ievel in the Dun about 20 miles east of Dehra Dun.

Obtained and sent BY--Mr. A. E. OsmaSton, Officiating Conservator of

Forests, Working Plana Circle, Naini Tal, U. P.

Light buff hard clayish lumps. Powder soft.

Minerals

Clay

Sand

Organic debris

Moisture

2 ‘83 per cent.

44-72 ,,

49-42

0-45

3-70

INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-LICKS 525

Fine Earth (20 mesh sieve) ... ... ... 93*47 percent.

Insoluble in nitric acid ... ... ... 83*198 ,,

Potash (KaO) ... ... ... ... 4*674

Magnesia (MgO) ... ... ... 0*880 ,,

Lime (CaO) ... ... ... ... 0*315 ,,

Alumina (A1203) ... ... ... 3*682 ,,

Silica (Si02) soluble .... ... ... 1*060 ,,

Sulphur (S03) ... ... ... ... 2*511 ,,

Phosphorus (P20-) ... ... ... 0*027 ,,

Ferric oxide (Fe2o3V ... ... ... 3*718 ,,

Moisture and organic matter ... ... 0*620 ,,

Remarks . — 1. The soil contains traces of humus, sodium, manganese, and

chlorine.

2. The lick is surrounded by Sal forests and frequented by

ehital.

THE TOXICITY OF THE VENOMS OF INDIAN

SCORPIONS.

Progress of the Society’s Investigation.

SCORPION VENOM.

The statement shows the total amount of venom collected, since

the publication of the last list on page 230 of this volume.

Pharmacological Laboratory, J. F. CAIUS.

Parel, Bombay,

April 10 , 1930 ,

OBITUARY.

HERBERT CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON.

Herbert Christopher Robinson, who was born in Liverpool in

1874 and became a member of the Society in 1911, died in 1929 at

Oxford after a long illness. His active biological career began in

1896 with a visit to Queensland where he made a collection of

birds. From 1897 to 1900 he was an assistant in the Liverpool

Museum where he collaborated with Dr. H. O. Forbes in the

production of catalogues of the important bird collection of the

Museum. In 1901 and 1902 he and the late Dr. Nelson Annandale,

who became eventually Director of the Zoological Survey of India,

were jointly engaged in travel and research in the Malay Peninsula

the results of which, both ethnographical and zoological, were

published under the title ‘ Fasciculi Malay enses.’ In 1903, Robin-

son became Curator of the Selangor Museum and Inspector of

Fisheries, Federated Malay States, and in 1908, Director of

Museums and Fisheries, F.M.S.

Besides his regular duties, he organized and for some years

controlled a Meteorological service, primarily in connection with a

search for hill-station sites ; and he organized, and was in charge

of, the Arts and Crafts section of the Malayan Pavilion at the

British Empire Exhibition. He retired on pension in February

1926.

Robinson was a man of unusual ability : there were few subjects

he could not master in a short time : though later he specialized on

mammals and birds of Malaysia, he was possessed of wide know-

ledge of, and competence in, anthropology, zoology and botany.

Robinson had long planned to produce a set of volumes on the

Vertebrate Fauna of the Malay Peninsula, analogous to those of

the Fauna of British India series and in 1912, there was published

under his editorship a volume on the Reptilia and Batrachia by

Dr. G. E. Boulenger. It was his intention to produce the other

sections in collaboration with the writer of this notice but, the war,

the demands made by their current work on the time of both, and

the various duties Robinson undertook for Government outside

those of his appointment made this impossible, and the task was

deferred until his retirement on pension, when it was still further

postponed by the request of his Government that he should first

produce the less purely systematic work on ‘The Birds of the

Malay Peninsula ’ on which he was engaged, when he succumbed to

his final illness and of which he completed two of the five volumes

projected. Shortly before he became incapacitated, he was elected

co-editor of Ibis. Under his direction were issued some eleven

volumes of the Jour?ial of the Federated Malay States Museum

which contain many papers written by him.

33

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

Though a number of his reports, especially those on the zoology

of Siam (of which the most important is perhaps that on ‘ The

Birds of South-west and Peninsular Siam’) 1 cannot be overlooked

by workers on Burmese zoology as there is much in common to the

fauna of the two countries, Robinson wrote few papers on the Fauna

of British India and contributed none to the Society’s Journal.

His ‘ Indian J papers are

1. Zoological Results of the Abor Expedition : Mammals.

Rec . Ind. Mus ., viii, 1913, pp. 85-98.

2. On two new sub-species of squirrel from Southern India,

Rec . Ind. Mus., xiii, 1917, pp. 41-2.

3. On two abnormal specimens of Ducks in the collection of

the Zoological Survey of India. Rec. Ind. Mus., xv, 1918, pp.

47-8, pi. III.

4. A new race of hare from the Persian Frontier of Mesopota-

mia. Rec. Ind. Mus., xv, 1918, pp. 49-50.

5. A nominal list of the Sciuridae of the Oriental region with

a list of the specimens in the collection of the Zoological Survey of

India. Rec. Ind . Mus., xv, 1918, pp. 171-254.

6. On the proper name of the Red Jungle-fowl from Penin-

sular India. Rec. Ind. Mus., xix, 1920, pp. 13-15.

7. Notes on Viverridae. Rec . Ind. Mus., xix, 1920, pp.

175-9.

8. Some remarks on Mr. Stuart Baker’s new volume on the

Birds in the Fauna of British India. Joiirn. Asia/. Soc ., Bengal,

xviii, 1922, pp. 559-68.

Besides his early visit to Australia and his many journeys in the

Malay States, Robinson visited, for the purpose of biological

investigation, the Siamese portion of the Malay Peninsula, the

Rio-Lingga Islands, Sumatra and Java. He had travelled in India

and during the war was on service at Basra : when on furlough he

always paid long visits to Switzerland, for mountains had a great

attraction for him, but in the East what he perhaps enjoyed most

was cruising on inspection in his Fisheries launch.

C. B. K.

JOHN CHAMPION FAUNTHORPE

The Society has been deprived of an active, helpful member and

the Indian Civil Service of a great sportsman by the death of

Lt.-Col. John Champion Faunthorpe, c.b.e., m.c., a.d.c. to the

King. The following is an extract from an obituary notice which

appeared in The Times of the 4th December 1929 : —

He was a great athlete, excelling in almost every form of stren-

uous sport, and by collections of large and small mammals, birds,

and reptiles he made substantial contributions to the study of

natural history.

Journ, Nat. Hist. Soc., Siam, v, 1921-4, pp. 1-397,

OBITUARY

529

The son of a clergyman, he was born on May 30, 1872, and was

educated at Rossal School and Balliol College, Oxford. He rowed

in the first Torpid, but specialized in rifle shooting, and was in the

University Shooting Eight and Long-range Team. He passed the

Indian Civil Service examination at the age of 19, and in the autumn

of 1892 he went out to what are now the United Provinces. Occa-

sional spells of secretariat work never appealed to him, for he

preferred the open-air life of the district officer. Horse-racing,

pig-sticking, polo, and big-game shooting were his chief sports, but

he was also keen on walking expeditions and on the promotion of

volunteering. It was for his services as a leader of Light Horse

that he received the Volunteer Decoration, and in 1922 was made

A.D.C. to the King. He was appointed to the 7th United Provinces

Horse on its reconstitution as a unit of the Indian Defence Force in

1917. A very fine shot, Faunthorpe, was also a remarkably

capable organizer of big-game shoots. He understood, as by

instinct, the manners and habits of the wild creatures of the Indian

jungles, and was singularly successful in the management of

elephants on shooting expeditions. He was idolized by his

beaters, and could arrange a tiger beat as well as any professional

shikari.

When the War came, he was discovered to be very good at

intelligence work. He was on military duty under the War Office

in this capacity, and at an early stage was appointed Military

Director of Kinematograph Operations on the Western Front.

Frequently with his photographers he worked under enemy fire.

The battle film of the Somme, which he supervised, was shown to

vast audiences throughout the country, and, like other films of the

series, did much to encourage the British public to maintain the

home front.' In 1919-20 he was attached to the British Embassy at

Washington on intelligence work, rounding up Indian agitators.

He was very popular there, as in India, and the remark was made

by a prominent citizen that he was the typical, alert, resourceful

Englishman.

The link with the United States was destined to be prolonged.

Faunthorpe returned to civilian duty in 1920 as Commissioner of

Lucknow. In the cold weather of 1922-23 he was placed on special

duty for a six months’ game-shooting expedition in Northern India

and Nepal to obtain specimens for the American Museum of

Natural History, New York, and the Field Museum at Chicago.

With him was Mr. Arthur S. Vernay, who made the preliminary

arrangements in America and bore a great part of the cost. Some

450 specimens were collected, including many rare birds and

interesting reptiles. Groups of all the important animals of the

plains of India were obtained, with the exception of the Indian

buffalo and the Indian lion, and no animal got away wounded.

Colonel Faunthorpe described the expedition most picturesquely

in articles in The Tivies of September 7 and 8, 1923. Some

27,000 ft. of film was secured, and the film, under the title of

‘ Jungle Life in India,’ was widely exhibited in this country and

America. Subsequently Faunthorpe took an expedition to the

Kathiawar State of Junagadh to collect for New York specimens

530 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXXlV

of the Indian lion, now only to be found in the Gir forest there.

He succeeded in bagging two lions and a lioness ; the former had

manes, and were of the distinctly African type, contrary to what

had been widely alleged.

Faunthorpe, who frequently shot for India at Bisley, retired from

the I. C. S. in 1925. He went out to India a few weeks back to

visit his beloved Light Horse and to collect more big game

specimens for America. He married, in 1896, a daughter of Major

J. T. Ryves, India Police, and she is now in this country. They

had two sons.

REVIEWS.

1. BIRD HAUNTS AND BIRD BEHAVIOUR.— By Chas. E. Raven,

D.D. Martin Hopkinson, London. Ids. 6 d. net.

To the bird lover, or for that matter to any lover of nature, a book by Canon

Raven is always a delight.

His enthusiasm is given full play through some 200 pages of charming and

easy expression which takes one along with him to Oxfordshire ‘ on a day of

wind and sun and great white clouds from the Hill beyond Nettlebed ’ : to the

west of Ireland and its Choughs, to Texel and Anglesey where nest the Heron

and the uncouth Cormorant.

Each chapter gives an exquisite picture of a subject obviously dear to the

author and finishes on an interesting note of philosophic speculation.

At times perhaps the practical collector or observer might be given to criticize,

a slight tendency to rhapsody—' The song of wrens breaking into the throbbing

of the car ’ — while the casual reader might find surprise in a rather heavy

description of a tiny bird such as the Grey Wagtail, the loveliest of its kind, ‘ a

clear saffron ranging from the poignancy of dawn to the full blaze of sunset, a

tint that no pigment can match. His grey back and the black cravat beneath

his chin, themselves of an almost sombre neatness are incomparably fitted to

redeem his splendunr from garishness and to create an air of distinction.’

On the other hand, who can fail to be thrilled at the memory of a Saint’s

Day, and above all of St. Barnabas ? ' June the 11th is good for the bird lover

and for the butterfly collector, if his school is in Rutland, it is superb. Year by

year we were carried in an antiquated waggonette to Wakerly and let loose

upon the woods that once were part of the vast Rockingham Forest.’

There are two subjects of observation and description which stand out from

even the many good things that appear in this excellent book One is that un-

tiring bit of fascination— the Dipper.

‘ He sets off down stream along the brink turning over dry leaves and grass,

peering into crannies, running out into the water where the bank is steep and

swimming for a few yards where the current slides smoothly by the shore. . . .

Reaching the downward limit of fishing ground he starts to work upstream and

leaves the bank for the mid-current. Now is the time to study his methods

underwater. . . . In the shallows he darts into the flood bobbing in and out,

but holding fast to the ground. He moves very swiftly in a spasm of energy

as restless as the stream. In deeper places he dives, springing into the water

head first and using his wings to carry on the impetus of his plunge. When

fishing, he usually dives right into the current : while his head is lowered, the

pressure of the water inevitably sinks him. When he dives athwart the current

he can travel much further, 5 or 6 feet perhaps without emerging ; but this is

when he wants to cross from one side to the other. For pools of greater depth,

he has other devices. If there is a steep rock overhanging, he runs from the

top and drops perpendicularly down with neck extended, wings closed and foot

held well back— perhaps the strangest attitude that any bird assumes. If there

is no convenient jumping off place, he flies up, hovers fora moment, lowers his

head, shuts his wings and plunges from the air dropping a yard or so before

striking the water. To describe such movements in dull prose is to destroy

their charm : to watch them performed in quick time is to be kept in a constant

state of excitement.’

The marvel of the nest with its hanging curtain of moss built out from the

stone cavity in the bridge and looking, for all the world, just like another moss-

covered stone might well be ' highly ingenious and unique among the

structures built by British birds.’

The other subject is the Chough. Do birds ‘play’? The reader will find

the answer for himself in Valentia or, failing a visit in person there, he can do

far worse than enjoy the highly entertaining description of this most mercurial

and temperamental of birds.

532 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI U

This book is well illustrated with 16 photographs. Some of them are

remarkable, especially the Fulmar swinging round in flight and showing wings

held rigidly horizontal, while the pivot is made on an easy curve without any

stroke of pinion. The bird is skimming along past the observer parallel to the

face of the rock.

To those who want a breath of really fresh air or an hour’s delightful enter-

tainment, we can recommend this well-written and fascinating study.

P. M. D. S.

2, THE THIRD ANNUAL REPORT AND RECORDS OF THE

CENTRAL PROVINCES ANGLING ASSOCIATION (HEAD-QUARTERS —

JUBBULPORE).— Printed for the Association and sold at their office in

Jubbulpore. Price Rs. 2. (Issued free to members) 1929.

This Association originated early in 1927 when a small number of enthusiastic

anglers met together in Jubbulpore and discussed the advantages of forming

an Association. It was decided to call a meeting of those interested in angling;

and, if the necessary support was forthcoming, to consider formally the

question of forming an Association.

This meeting was held at the Nerbudda Club, Jubbulpore, on March 7,

1927, at which thirteen gentlemen were present, with the Commissioner of

Jubbulpore, Mr. C. J. Irwin, C.I.E., I.C.S., in the chair. Jt was then

unanimously decided to form a Fishing Association, and that the name of the

Association should be ‘ The Central Provinces Angling Association ’. The

Association dates therefore from March 7, 1927.

The objects of the Association are, to quote from their First Annual Report,

‘ to collect and maintain all records relating to fishes and fishing, and

generally to consider the adoption of any course or methods which might

further the advancement of or improve the sport of Angling in the Central

Provinces. ’

Colonel (now Brigadier) A. Campbell Ross, D.S.O., was elected the first

President of the Association, and Captain (now Major) G. H. Chambers, M.C.,

and Major W. B. Trevenen, T.D., were elected as Joint Honorary Secretaries,

the report being edited by the latter.

The membership of the Association now numbers over fifty, which fact

speaks well for the enthusiasm with which the formation of the Association has

been welcomed. One of the main features of the report is the publication of

all the information obtained to date regarding the various fishing localities in

the C.P. The Central Provinces are well served in the way of rivers, and of

these sixteen already appear in the Report under review, with a description of

the actual localities situated thereon so far as information has been obtained up

to the date of publication. A certain amount of information regarding tanks

and reservoirs also appears.

As the number of members gradually spreads over the C.P. so will the

available information become more complete and one of the ultimate aims of

the Association is to publish an * Anglers’ Guide ’ for the whole of the Central

Provinces, which should prove a boon to all anglers resident in or visiting that

part of India. In the meantime the report published yearly by the Association

proves a temporary but very helpful substitute.

A list of the principal fish recorded for each river during the past season

appears in the report, and also a record of the largest fish of species obtained

since the Association was formed. An up-to-date list of the various species

identified is also published.

The financial position of the Association appears very satisfactory, there

being a credit balance of Rs. 786 at the close of the financial year.

Another feature of the report is the various articles on angling, both local

and in other parts, and also an interesting collection of short miscellaneous

articles written by members of the Association concerning their personal

experiences or observations during the previous season. These articles are not

necessarily confined to angling but may include any sporting experiences or

observations which are likely to be of interest to the general body of members.

REVIEWS

533

Under the head of NOTICES, we note an appeal from the Honorary

Secretary of the Association to all anglers in the C.P. to forward to him for

publication any information regarding the fishing in any of the rivers of the C.P.

which has not already appeared in the report, and thus enable him to publish

a really valuable list of ‘Localities’ in the next issue, and in endorsing this

appeal, we would recommend all anglers in the C.P. who have not yet joined

the Association to become members at once, and so further this most praise-

worthy effort which is being made for the benefit of anglers in India.

The cost of joining the Association is only Rs. 9 as an out-station member,

and thereafter an annual subscription of Rs. 2-8, in return for which, a free

copy of the report is issued to all members. Resident members, i.e., in

Jubbulpore, pay, in addition to the above sum a monthly subscription of Rs. 3.

A small extra charge is made for any member fishing in waters baited by the

Association.

Any enquiries or orders for the Annual Report, 1929, should be addressed to

the Honorory Secretary, Central Provinces Angling Association, Jubbulpore.

The final two pages of the report contain a list of the members of the

Association.

3. GROWTH AND TROPIC MOVEMENTS OF PLANTS.— By Jagadis

Chunder Bose. With 229 Illustrations, pp. i-xxix + 447. Longmans, Green

and Co., London, 1929. Price 21 sh. net.

Bose says in the Preface : ‘ Unfounded speculation has often obstructed the

advance of knowledge; facts must supersede speculation, for it is not the

pre-conceived bias of the observer, but unimpeachable facts that alone can lead

to the establishment of sound theory.’ This is a sound principle and we all

admit it. If Bose had followed it, several of his works would carry more

conviction than they do.

In the preface of his Plant Response (1906) he stated that the aim of his

work was the demonstration of the unity of physiological mechanism of the

plant with that of the animal, as evidenced by the script of the plant, and not

the treatment ‘ ot known aspects of plant- movements which is to be found

detailed, together with the history of the subject, in standard books of

reference on plant-physiology, such as those of Sachs, Pfeffer, Strasburger,

Darwin, Francis Darwin, Vines andDetmer.’ Since then Bose has, in books

and lectures, repeated that pre-conceived idea of ‘ unity of physiological

mechanism ’ without adding one more convincing argument.

Two years ago we had from his pen the Motor Mechanism of Plants in

which he gave an account of the motor mechanism of adult members e.g. the

leaves of sensitive and other plants. In the present volume he deals with a

special kind of phenomena, the so-called tropic movements caused by external

stimulation. Tropisms form a highly fascinating subject in plant-physiology

and one that has received the attention of many able investigators in Europe

and America during the last 40 years. The problems are innumerable.

Amongst those which Bose has discussed are : Quantitative determination of

changes induced in growth under variation of external conditions ; the modi-

fying influence of tonic condition in response to external stimulation ; the

effect of radiant energy through a wide range of the etherial spectrum ; the

modification of tropic curvature by transverse conduction of excitation ;

torsional response under lateral stimulation, etc., etc.

In every chapter the problem is clearly stated, then follows the description

of the corresponding experiment with a diagram or curve, and from these

generalizations and conclusions are derived. The method is excellent, and

there is nothing to be said against the experiments. ‘ 1 have in this,’ says

Bose, ‘ and in my previous works, employed several independent methods of

experimentation, whose concordant testimony could leave no doubt as to the

authenticity of the newly discovered facts. . . The perfect reliability of my

highly sensitive instruments has been repeatedly verified at various scientific

centres both in the West and in the East. . . Professor Hans Molisch, lately

Director of the PJant-Physiological Institute, Vienna University, during his

recent visit to my institute, was able to repeat, with invariable success, many

of the experiments described in this volume. His account of some of these

will be found in Nature of August 4, 1928, and of April 13, 1929, ’

534 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

We never had the slightest doubt about the reliability of Bose’s instruments.

On the contrary we admired his genius in devising apparatus and instrumental

appliances. We are also convinced that the curves reproduced in his book are

correct, i.e. the ‘ script of the plant ’ — but we cannot help thinking that in

most cases the conclusions have been drawn too hastily. After all a curve is

a curve and not more, representing the end-effects of a continued or interrupted

stimulation, but it does not say anything regarding the most complex processes

that are going on before tropic movements take place. A strict analysis of

those processes is essential before we can draw reliable conclusions and each

member in that chain of happenings would have to be dealt with separately.

It is a well-known fact that the single members which lie between the points of

perception and final (visible) reaction can be affected quite differently by the

change of one external factor. The fact alone, e.g. that a wound may stop

tropic movement for a time, does not allow us to decide whether the wound

has prevented the perception of or reaction to the stimulus or both, as the

elimination of one member in the chain leading from the point of perception

to the point of reaction is quite sufficient to stop every movement.

If we wish to know what Bose has achieved by his recent work, the author

himself refers the reader in the preface (pp. ix and x) to a few of the more

important results. He has shown that the sensitivity of plants to the ethereal

spectrum extends far beyond the infra-red region, that by transverse conduction

of excitation across the organ, the response becomes gradually transformed

from the positive to the negative, and that the irritability of the root is in no way

different from that of the shoot. Whilst investigating geotropism, he deter-

mined the exact direction of the incident stimulus. He also demonstrated the

torsional response of dorsiventral organs under different modes of lateral

stimulation, and, finally, * a wide generalization has been established which

includes within its scope the diverse tropic movements of plant-organs.’ It is

easy to make a ‘ wide generalization ’, but whether it has been ‘ established ’

or should be disestablished ’ we leave to those specialists who are able and

willing to look at a question from more than one point of view and are,

therefore, less inclined to jump at conclusions.

B. B.

4. FIRST STEPS IN ZOOLOGY (ILLUSTRATED).— By Bonavis Bon-

nell. Pp. xiv -f- 182. Kesari Printing Works, Madras. 1929. Re. 1-8-0.

As a general rule, in India, there is a great dearth of suitable text-books of

Nature Study dealing with Indian types. And in spite of the attempts that

have been made in recent years to supply this want, the number still continues

to be disappointingly small, considering the size of the country and the variety

of its flora and fauna. Owing perhaps to the ease with which plants can be

obtained and studied and, in India, also to the Indian sentiment and pre-

judice against taking life (life being more or less synonymous with animal

life) Nature Study here on account of its being considered more ‘ clean ’ and

less ‘objectionable’ has meant little more than the study of plants. In

accordance with this popular sentiment, therefore, more books on Indian types

are available in Botany than in the equally useful sister science of Zoology.

The present publication is therefore all the more welcome.

Being primarily written for schools in South India, the author has naturally

concentrated his attention on types which are characteristic of, or easily

obtainable in, that part of the country. But a large number of types included

therein are also common to other parts of India ; and at all events the

descriptions can, with minor alterations, be adapted to types in other parts of

the country. In order to complete the picture, some Australian types have also

been included.

The plan of the book is simple. The entire animal kingdom is divided

into the Vertebrates and the Invertebrates. Each of these is again sub-divided

into its principal phyla, and their characteristics briefly told. For'the obvious

convenience of study, the Vertebrates are treated first and they take up nearly

three-fourths of the entire book. The remaining portion, with the exception

of the concluding chapter, is taken up by the Invertebrates, where only the

convenient and well-known types are dealt with .

REVIEWS

535

In dealing with the phyla, general characters of the phylum are first given.

This is followed by a detailed description of the type chosen. The treatment

is from all points of view— within the limits of the space. Explanations of

many general biological facts, e.g., adaptations to surroundings, geographical

distribution, etc., and other facts of general information, enhance the

usefulness of the descriptions and make the book readable. This is followed

by brief descriptions of other allied types and, when known, the economic

importance of the group is mentioned.

The concluding chapter deals with general biological facts such as

Colouration, Mimicry, Life-histories of Animals, Ebb and Flow of Life,

Balance in Nature, Adaptations to Water and Flight, etc. With advantage

this might have been larger and fuller ; but even as it is, it gives a useful bird’s

eye view.

The book is fully illustrated and the text is simple. The first few pages

contain some printing mistakes. On page 2 there are some misleading

remarks on the comparison of animals and plants and the last sentence of

the paragraph is certainly incorrect. ‘ Saprophytic ’ should have been

‘HolophyticL

The price of the book is reasonable.

N. K. T.

5 THE FLORA OF THE INDUS DELTA.— By Blatter, E., Me Cann, C.

and Sabnis, T. S. P. p. 173. 1 map, 59 photographs, viii plates and 18 graphs.

The Methodist Publishing House, Madras. 1929. Price Rs. 7.

The work is a collection, in book form, of a series of articles by the authors

which appeared between 1927 to 1929 in the Journal of the Indian Botanical

Society. It embodies, as the authors say in the preface, * the botanical results

of a tour undertaken into the Indus Delta’ — a region practically unexplored

botanically. In investigating this region, therefore, and publishing their

results, the authors have done a very valuable service to the cause of

Indian Botany, for which they deserve the thanks of all interested in this

science.

The work is divided into several parts. These are, unfortunately, not satis-

factorily indicated in the table of contents. The first part,, after a brief

introduction, gives the list of species arranged according to Bent ham and

Hooker’s system. In this list the cultivated and the planted species are

distinguished from the others. The locality of each in the Delta is given and

the distribution of most is mentioned.

The second part gives a detailed account of the Delta, and contains a full

treatment of the various factors influencing the vegetation, e.g. climatic

and edaphic. Many useful graphs accompany the text.

The third part is devoted to plant-geographical considerations, and is full

of many interesting data carefully analysed, collated and tabled. It is the

most important part, since it forms the basis of conclusions, on the origin of

the flora and its- comparison with the flora of the Sunderbans dealt with later

on. A good deal of care, attention and labour have naturally been bestowed

in bringing together the information and presenting it in a lucid manner.

The remaining two parts respectively give brief ecological notes on the area

and deal with physiological plant anatomy. The former has the species,

occurring in the different localities, arranged according to their characteristic

habitats. The authors admit that they had not sufficient time for prolonged

investigations into plant-ecological conditions of the Delta as ‘Sea-sickness,

heat, hunger and thirst had produced that feeling in us under whose in-

fluence even enthusiastic men lose all scientific interest.’ But, as they

themselves express the hope, these will certainly be of the utmost utility to

the future visitors who may desire to extend the present investigations.

Some brief remarks may be offered on the conclusions reached by the

authors on the affinities and the origin of the flora, and its comparison with

that of the Sunderbans. With regard to the former, on the basis of plant-

geographical considerations, 16 groups of plants, belonging to different

elements, are distinguished. Of these only six species are provisionally con-

sidered as endemic on account of their not being reported from the neighbour-

34

536 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

ing regions. The authors, however, say that it is more than likely that,

when these areas are carefully explored, the species in question may be found

there also. The remaining species are found to belong to three distinct

elements — an eastern, a western, and a more general, including purely Indian

species. On analysis it is found that there is a great preponderance of the

western element over the eastern in the Delta, the latter forming only one-

seventh of the former. This is rather surprising as the ecological conditions

of the Delta would appear not to exclude the Indo-Malayan types entirely.

On the basis of the distribution of the species, the conclusion reached on the

origin of the flora is that it is comparatively recent as, even in the present

imperfect state of knowledge, out of 279 species as many as 226 are found in

other parts of Sind. Necessarily the contributions have come from the

neighbouring countries of Cutch, the Rajputana desert, the Panjab,

Baluchistan, the West Coast of the Peninsula, Gujerat, Konkan and Deccan, on

the assumption that plants in their migrations follow the lines of least resistance.

The comparison with the flora of the Sunderbans leads to certain surprising

and hitherto little suspected results. So far the prevalent impression,

following Hooker’s erroneous statement, has been that the floras of the two

areas are more or less the repetition of the same, albeit with a larger number

of species comprised in the Sunderbans. The present investigation, however,

leads the authors to an entirely different conclusion. Even in the present

imperfect state of knowledge, out of 87 families and 336 genera, only 46 families

and 67 genera are found to be common to both. Of the remainder some

only are exclusively found in the one and some only in the other. The differ-

ence becomes still more striking when the number of species is considered,

for out of the total number, only 48 have been found to occur commonly in

both, and most of these are of very wide distribution. The conclusions of

the authors, therefore, are :

1. The Indus delta does not repeat the vegetation of the Sunderbans.

2. The purely eastern element is small in both, whilst the Indus Delta

receives a distinct character from the western element.

3. The ratio of the families, genera and species in the two areas is about

the same.

4. When better known, the flora of the Indus delta will prove numerically

richer in species and genera than that of the Sunderbans.

For these differences the authors, after instituting a comparison between

the two deltas from the various points of view, have the following explanation

to offer

* It is the plant-geographical position of the two deltas that has produced

the two vastly different floras. A glance at the map will at once show the

great possibilities of immigration and transport by river and sea, and these

possibilities are more numerous in the East than they are in the West. If,

in spite of these advantages of the Sunderbans, its flora is comparatively

poor, we can find an explanation only in the fact that the soil and water

conditions of the delta have not been favourable to most immigrants that must

have tried, in the course of 'thousands and perhaps millions of years, to force

an entrance into the savannahs and swamps of the Sunderbans. It would be

a fascinating study to find out what seeds of plants have been carried down

by the rivers and washed ashore by the sea without ever awakening to new-

life. It would certainly make a valuable contribution to plant-geography

and ecology.’

Besides the numerous tables and graphs that accompany the text, the book

also contains a number of photographs spread over the whole text. On the

whole the plates reproducing the latter are not satisfactory. At the end there

is a series of 8 plates figuring the physiological anatomy of some of the plants.

The senior author, Father Blatter, who is already known for his solid

contributions to Indian Botany and who is a recognized authority on

plant-geographical studies, is responsible for the whole text, excepting

that on Physiological anatomy which is by Mr. Sabnis. The specimens were

named by the latter and Mr. McCann. The last named is responsible also

for the photographs.

The get up on the whole is satisfactory. But sufficient care has not been

bestowed on correcting the text. There are a number of topographical mistakes

and sometimes the reference to pages is faulty inasmuch as it still follows that

pf the original articles instead of conforming to the present numbering of th

REVIEWS

537

book. For instance ‘ p. 35 * in the first line after ‘ Additamentum ’ on page 38

should have been ‘ p. 5 There was also no necessity for retaining ‘ Part II ’

on page 17. No index is given. This is a very serious drawback.

For the rest the book is a valuable and serious study likely to stimulate work

on the various problems indicated or suggested therein.

N. K. T.

6. DIE ZYTOLOGIE DER B LUTE NPF LAN ZEN. By P. N. Schurhoff.

Pp. xv + 792. Stuttgart, Ferdinad Enke, 1926. Price 54 Marks (Illustrated).

In recent years increasing attention that has been paid to the study

of the science of genetics has stimulated cytological research as never before

The result has been the clearer recognition of the fact that cytological features

have a great bearing on taxonomic questions, and these have often been

successfully exploited in disentangling some obscure phylogenetic relationships.

A comprehensive treatment of this aspect of the life-histories of Gymnosperms

and Angicsperms, representing as they do the two most dominant groups

of the present day flora, was therefore most needed. The Morphology of

Anglos Perms, with its companion volume, The Morphology of Gymnosperms,

by Coulter and Chamberlain, included the treatment of the whole field of

morphology, and only incidentally touched upon cytological features. Besides

the former has never been revised since its publication nearly 25 years ago,

and the latter is behind time by more than a decade, while most of the research

work on cytology — and practically the whole of it relating to genetics— has been

done since.

The present work is, therefore, doubly welcome not only as supplying

a long-felt want but also as being from the hands of one whose contributions

to the subject, specially on the gametophyte generation of angiosperms,

have been most extensive, and who is, therefore, competent and a recognized

authority to write with first-hand knowledge on the subject.

The book is divided into two parts. The first treats of (1) the general

cytology dealing with nuclear phenomena in all their bearing. It also

includes a discussion on the normal and experimental physiology of the nucleus

wherein a detailed treatment of the influence of various physical and chemical

factors, viz., temperature, pressure, light and chemicals is given ; and (2) the

general account of the X-generation in which, beginning with the develop-

ment of the male and the female gametophytes of Gymnosperms and Angios-

perms, the whole sequence of phenomena leading up to the fertilization and

formation of the endosperm are dealt with in complete detail. Finally

there is a discussion on the bearing that cytology has on systematics both

from the point of view of chromosome numbers as well as from that of the

male and the female gametophytes.

While dealing with these topics, the author also expresses his interesting

views on such questions as the relation of amitosis to mitosis, the occasional

occurrence of 3-fold spindle in endosperm and the evolution of the embryosac

of angiosperms. It will be beyond the object of this review to deal with them

here, and the reader is therefore referred to the original work. It may, how-

ever, be mentioned that, while dealing with the nucler phenomena, the author

emphatically repudiates the suggestion of the suspicion which is often enter-

tained that the ‘ fixed ’ and stained preparations may represent artificial

products and says ‘ the researches on the living nucleus have not widened

our knowledge but in many cases have merely confirmed the observations

made on the stained material.’ Coming as it does from a person of such

recognized authority, this statement is of very special significance.

The second part treats of the special cytology of the different classes,

families and species of the seed-plants, including even the known fossil

representatives, and includes a detailed account of all the known researches

giving chromosome numbers of the individual families and species in cases

they have already been recorded. While dealing with these the author

particularly emphasizes those features which may be of use in any discussion

of phylogeny. Besides, he also discusses in the light of haploid develop-

ment the relationship of the Monocotyledons to the Dicotyledons and of the

Gymnosperms to the Angiosperms.

538 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

The book is thus a compendium of most useful information on the

subject of the cytology of ‘Flowering Plants’, and not merely a text-

book, as the author very modestly styles it in the preface. The information

is also presented in such a systematized and masterly manner, that it may be

confidently asserted that the investigator who may eagerly turn to its pages

will never be disappointed.

The text is plentifully illustrated and there is copious bibliography for the

use of those who may like to go to the original sources. After consulting

the work one only wishes that publications like these were also available in

English for the benefit of those who cannot take advantage of the German

language.

N. K. T.

7. A TREATISE ON THE BRITISH FRESH-WATER ALGIE. By

West, G.S., and Fritsch, F.E. Pp. xviii and 534, Cambridge, at the

University Press, 1927. Price 21. s. net.

This is a new and revised edition, mostly rewritten, of the work, long

since out of print, of that brilliant British algologist, the late Mr. G. S. West.

It is scarcely surprising that with the intensive studies carried on these

organisms since the first edition was published and the consequently greatly

increased knowledge of these and related organisms, it has been necessary to

make very extensive changes in order to bring it up to date. The most out-

standing feature of the present work is the inclusion of the pigmented

Flagellates, in accordance with the increasingly greater recognition of the

phylogenetic relationship between these and the algae, which is associated with

the names of Bohlin and Luther in Sweden and F. F. Blackman in England.

We may, therefore, now take it that the flagellate ancestry of the algae is an

established fact.

Another consequence of these extensive studies is the inclusion of as many

as 62 new genera that were unknown when the first edition was published.

Besides these, amongst the most noteworthy changes are the regrouping of

the Siphonales and the Ulotrichales, on account of the removal of the Chseto-

phoraceae and the Sphaeropleaceae from the former to the latter. In doing

this more emphasis has been laid on the nature of the chloroplast, the multi-

nucleate condition being given a subordinate position. This change has been

commended as desirable, though of course there are others who may not agree

as to its propriety. Another change is the separation of the Chastophorales

and the Ulotrichales on account of their quite distinct somatic organization.

The subject matter, on the whole, follows the same general plan of arrange-

ment as in the earlier edition. The first 50 pages are devoted to Introduction,

in which topics of general interest are dealt with, and these, together with the

introductory portion preceding each group, form a valuable account of these

plants even to the elementary students. There are valuable hints on the

collection and preservation, and notes relating to the distribution and ecology

specially useful to the students of the British Isles. The remaining portion

is dealt with under li classes of which the Phasophyceae are omitted as not

represented in Fresh-waters of Britain. An interesting feature of the book is

the emphasis on the presence of the parallel types of organization to be found

n each of the classes dealt with, a subject dealt elsewhere too by the author.

The book is profusely illustrated, there being a figure for every genus

represented in the British Fresh-water algal Flora, and in addition several species

of the larger genera are also included. This, in addition to the keys, gives

added value to the publication. Owing to the inclusion of a large amount of

extra matter within the limits of the original volume, the text has had to be

condensed and many abbreviations introduced. A few printing mistakes have

crept in (viz. Fig. 73 H. I. on page 37 ought t.i be P. 71 Fig. H. & I.). But

otherwise the book is excellently done, is full of the most useful information

based on the personal study of one, who perhaps more than any other in the

British Isles to-day is an authority on these organisms. The large amount of

general information and the clear illustrations of a group of organisms which

are world-wide in distribution make this book considerably useful to students

and experts beyond the confines of the British Isles.

N. K. T.

REVIEWS

53jJ

8. THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF MADRAS CITY AND ITS

IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD. By P. V. Mayuranathan, B.A., Bot.

Assistant, Madras Museum. Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum,

New Series Natural History Section, vol. II, 4to, pp. 1-345, pis. 1-38. Govern-

ment Press, Madras, 1929. Price (paper covers) Rs. 8.

We heartily welcome this Flora. It has, in the author’s own words, * been

prepared with the object of helping the non-specialist to identify the flowering

plants of the neighbourhood of Madras City.’ Dr. Gravely is right when he

says in the preface : ‘ A real interest in plants can never become general until

one observer can discuss what he sees with another; for which correct naming is

the only possible basis. Particularly is this the case with those who try to

foster in children their natural interest in life and beauty, an interest which

often leads them to a love of trees and flowers.’

It was an excellent idea to bring out this very localized Flora and it is to be

regretted that similar books do not exist for other big towns of India. If we

consider that towns are the centres of education in general and especially of

Gollege education, and that we find in every big place a considerable number of

persons interested in natural history, we can only wonder why such books have

not been written before. If a citizen in the town of Bombay wishes to know

the name of a road-side tree or of a little herb growing on a garden path, he will

have to consult the two big volumes of Cooke and perhaps the seven volumes

of Hooker’s Flora of British India , audit is more than likely that even then his

efforts will not be crowned with success. But if we were in possession of a

local Flora of Bombay , the naming of plants would be greatly facilitated, and

even College students might be induced to take some interest in identifying

plants.

The author mentions the difficulty that has been experienced in deciding

what cultivated or introduced plants should be included in this book. He

arrived at this conclusion : ‘ All self-seeding plants have been included in the

keys together with a few of the commonest and best known cultivated plants.

Some additional introduced plants are included among the descriptions but, not

in the keys. Most, however, have had to be omitted altogether.’ This, of

course, is not satisfactory, and those who have to use the book will often be at

a loss how to find the name of a plant. To a novice in botany every plant is

unknown and he is not able to say a priori whether a plant is indigenous or

introduced. I must confess I would have felt the same difficulty if I had been

in the author’s place. The only solution would be to include in such a work

all the plants that are being found in a given area and to give keys for all ; but

this would very likely more than double the number of species to be described.

As to synonyms, all have been omitted except in a few cases where names

have been given different from those adopted in the Flora of British India.

Short references to some works containing illustrations would have made the

volume more helpful, especially as the literature on Madras plants is so rich in

illustrated publications.

An attempt has been made to bring the names of the species up-to-date, but

much more could have been done.

If I mention in the following a number of cases, it is not my intention to

detract from the value of the volume under review. Everybody will agree that

we have to keep pace with well-founded changes in nomenclature if we do not

want to lag behind European botanists and European literature. I do not wish

to imply that the changes I propose are final or even always correct. I keep

myself open to criticism and am grateful for corrections. It is regrettable that

we do not help each other more in this direction.

Page 25. Nelumbium speciosmn Willd, has to be replaced by Nelumbo

nucifera Gaertn. Fruct. I (1788) 73, t. 19, f. 2.

Page 27- Gynandropsis pentaphylla DC. is, according to Merrill, identical

with Cleome gynandra Linn. Sp. Pi. II (1753) 671 and should, therefore, be

named Gynandropsis gynandra Merrill [see Enum. Philip. PI. II (1923) 209] .

Page 28. Cratczva religiosa Forst. (should be Forst. f.) is the Polynesian

plant which, according to Craib, is totally different from the Asiatic plant.

This should be called Cratczva nurvala Ham. in Trans. Linn. Soc. XV (1827)

121. I have made the same mistake in my revision of the Flora of the

Bombay Presidency.

Page 28. Cadaba indica Lamk. should be reduced to Cadaba farinosa

540 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Forsk. FI. Aeg.-Arab. (1775) 68. If the character of 4 stamens were constant,

it might form a good specific character, but flowers with 4 and 5 stamens may

be observed on the same twig of C. indica.

Page 29. Capparis brevispina DC. The author gives Ccipparis zeylanica

Wall, as synonym. Where did Wallich describe this species? Tne only cor-

rect synonym seems to be C. zeylanica Hook. f. & Thoms, in Hooker f. FI.

Brit. Ind. i, 174 ( non Linn.).

Page 47. Eriodendron pentandrum Kurz should be called Ceiba penlandra

Gaertn, Fruct. ii (1791) 244, t. 133.

Page 50. Waltheria indica Linn, should be called W. americana Linn. Sp.

PI. (1753) 673.

Page 53. Triumfetta rhomboidea Jacq . should be called T. Bartramia

Linn. Syst. ed. 10 (1759) 1044 Fawcett & Rendle in Journ. Bot. lix, 224.

Bartramia indica Linn. Sp. PI. i (1753) 389. We cannot use the earliest trivial

name because T. indica Lamk. is not well known.

Page 54. Corchoru'i acutangulus Lamk. should be called C. eestuans Linn.

Syst. ed. 10 (1759) 1079 ; Fawcett & Rendle in Journ. Bot. lix, 225.

Page 59. Murraya Kiongii. Change into Konigii.

Page 59. Murraya exotica Linn, should be called M. Paniculata Jack

in Malay Misc. i, No. 5 (1820) 31. — Chalcas p a nicul at a Linn. Mant. i (1767) 68.

Page 68. Cayratia Juss. I think Craib is right in calling this genus Colu-

mella Lour.

Page 69. Cayratia carnosa Ggnep. would accordingly have to cede to

Columella trifolia Merrill in Philipp. Journ. Sc. Bot. xi (1916) 134.

Page 69. Cayratia pedata Juss. The authority for this name is Gagnepain

in H. Lee. Not. Syst. i (1911) 346. — The species in accordance with the pre-

vious entry should be named Columella pedata Lour. FI. Cochinch (1790) 85.

Page 72. Odina Roxb. should be replaced by Lannea A. Rich., and Odina

Wodier by Lannea grandis Engl. [Haberlia grandis Dennst. Schliiss. Hort,

Malab. (1818) 20J.

Page 78. Pseudarthria viscida Wt. & Arn. — It seems to me that Haines

[Bot. Bihar & Orissa, pt. iii (1922) 260] has given sufficient reasons for inclu-

ding this species under Desmodium under the name of Desmodium viscidum

DC.

Page 82. Pongamia glabra Vent- — Merrill in his Interpretation of Rum-

phius' Herbarium considers that P. glabra is the Cytisus pinnatus Linn, and

that, consequently, the specific name pinnata has priority. It should, there-

fore, be called Pongamia pinnata Merrill.

Page 92 Indigofera aspalathoides Vahl. Spell asPalthoides.

Page 112. Bryophyllum pinnatum Kurz. Perrier de la Bathie who for

years has made a special study of the Crassulacece of Madagascar puts Bryo-

phyllu)n under Kalanchce receiving the old name of the above species :

Kalanchoe phmata Pers. Syn. PI. i (1805) 446. [See Archives de Botanique

Tome ii (1928) 20 ]

Page 146 Randia dumatorum . Spell dumetorum.

Page 173. Nerium odorum Soland should be called Nerium indicum Mill.

Gard. Diet. ed. viii, no. 2.

Page 189. Heliotropium zeylanicum Lamk. should be called Heliotropium

subulatum Hochst. ex Martelli FI. Bogos. (1886) 59.

Page 199. The authority for Merreynia cegyptia is not T. Cooke, but

Gamble, Flora Pres. Madras (1923) 928. Cooke retained Merremia pentaphylla

Hallier f. in spite of his note in vol. ii, 240 of his FI. Bombay.

Page 237. Bougainvillea. Spell Buginvillcea (see Kew Bull. 1928, 340).

Page 245. Alternanthera triandra Lamk. should be called Alternant hera

sessilis (Linn.) R. Br. Cf. Gomphrena sessilis Linn. Sp. PL 225.

Page 262. Hemicyclia Wt. & Arn. Pax & Hoffmann have, apparentyl

with good reasons, united this genus with DryPetes Vahl Eclog. Amer. II I

(1810) 49. [See Engler’s Pflanzenr. iv. 147. xv (1922) 227-29.]

Page 262. Hemicyclia sepiaria Wt. & Arn. should be called in agree-

ment with foregoing lines: Drypetes sepiaria (Wt. & Arn.) Pax & K.

Hoffm. l.c. 271.

Page 272. Ficus gibbosa Blume var. parasitica Koen. — The authority for

the variety is King Sp. Fic. (1888) 6, t. 2b, Fig. B., not Koenig. Why should

this species not be called Ficus parasitica Koenig ?

Page 300. Tiphonium . Spell Typhonium.

REVIEWS

541

Page 308. Cyperus Pumilus Linn. This species is identical with Pycreus

nitens Nees on p. 309 and for those who wish to retain the genus Pycreus, it

should be called Pycreus pumilus Turrill in Kew Bull. (1922) 124. Of the

Turrill gives the following synonymy : Cyperus pumilus Linn. Amoen. Acad.

IV (1788) 302 et Sp. PI. ed. 2, 69. — Cyyperus nitens Retz., Obs V (1789) 13? —

Cyperus Pulvinxius Nees et Meyen in Wight Contrib. (1834) Ik. — Pycreus

pulvinatus Nees in Linnaea IX (1834) 283. — Pycreus nitens Nees 1. c. — C. B.

Clarke in FI. Brit. India VI, 591.

A word has to be said about the illustrations. The text is accompanied by

38 plates, each figuring 4-7 species. They are not all of equal quality, but

nearly all will be what they are intended to be, a help in identification work

and they may be recommended even to those who study Indian plants in other

parts of India.

It would have been a great advantage if the book had been brought out in

smaller size. What the volume offers regarding matter and treatment is just

what you would like to have with you when you go out for a ramble in town

or neighbourhood. Let us hope that a second edition will soon be required

and that the authorities, who have done so much to bring out the first, will

see their way of offering the public a handy Pocket-Flora.

E. B.

9. A MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS ARISTIDA, vol. I. J. Th.

Henrard. In Mededeel ngen van’s Rijks Herbarium, Leiden. No. 58 (1929).

Henrard’s preliminary work : ‘ A critical Revision ot the genus Aristida’,

was reviewed in these pages some time ago. That ‘ Revision ’ gave all the

species known up to now with the exact copies of the authentic descriptions.

To these were added illustrations of the spikelet-characters drawn from type

specimens wherever possible. Though extremely useful and in many cases

necessary for the systematist, the monograph under review is still more

indispensable, as it shows what species have been finally adopted.

In his treatment of the subject Henrard does not follow the ordinary type of

monographs. His book is in the first place a practical handbook to the

knowledge of this very difficult genus. Excellent artificial keys lead up first

to the sections of the genus and then directly to the species. ‘ I was obliged,’

the author says, ‘ to omit in this work all the data already given in the Revision

and to take into consideration that, with this monograph before us, we must,

after being somewhat familiar with the genus and the different characters,

without great difficulties, get a clear idea of it and with the keys before us find

the name of a specimen belonging to our genus.’ We quite understand that

a number of details given in the * Revision ’, could not be repeated in the

monograph, but we miss very much a concise reference to the synonyms given

in the ‘ Revision or at least a reference to the pages in the * Revision ’ where

the synonyms might be found. This is, however, only the first volume and

we should not criticize this point without having seen the second.

No attempt has been made to bring allied species together into groups

because, as the author explains, such groups are difficult to limit and because

it is not easy to explain the habit of such groups in a key.

After having studied about 15,000 specimens, the writer complains that no

attention had been paid by taxonomists to the numerous intermediate forms

and that no hybrids had ever been observed or indicated in the literature of the

genus. He is convinced that these hybrids are much more numerous than the

various herbaria seem to reveal. What he recommends to agrostologists

is the study of the grasses in the field and by cultivation. It is only by the

latter method that we shall learn more about: the constancy of different

characters.

In the general part of the volume the author gives an interesting history of

the nomenclature and system of the genus Aristida. He then discusses the

position of the genus in the system of the Gramineaeand indicates the charac-

ters to be used for the limitation of the species. A highly interesting chapter

is added on the geographical distribution of the sections and species.

All the illustrations of the J Revision ’ have been repeated in this volume

which is one of the most ideal monographs in the history of botanical

literature,

E, B,

542 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fo/. XXXIV

10. PLANT BIOLOGY.— By H. Godwin, M.A., Ph.D. An Outline of the

Principles underlying Plant Activity and Structure. Cambridge, at the

University Press. 1930. Price 8 s. 6 d. net.

The book under review is based on elementary lectures given to first

year medical students and designed primarily for their use but, at the same

time, it is intended to have a wide utilization by other biological students of

similar status as e. g. in the higher forms of those schools in which biology is

taught and in the introductory classes of training colleges. The author wishes

to make good a deficiency which he, as a member of the Cambridge Botany

School, has repeatedly noted, viz. ‘ that too often students of botany not only

come up to the University, but pass through its botanical courses with far too

little appreciation of the general biological significance of the subjects with

which they deal.’

What the writer complains of is exactly the same that every botany teacher in

India has in his mind when he sees how the medical faculties at our universities

show a ‘ natural and strong tendency to cut down preliminary introductory

study to a minimum, and to excise all matter save that with direct and obvious

application to later and more specialized medical work.’ The natural conse-

quence is that we are utilizing in preliminary science courses matter as closely

linked wdth later work as possible, and discard things which may be part of the

traditional teaching of the subject but which the medical student is not likely to

meet with again. It is for this reason that the author has largely designed his

text-book to comprise material or principles which must later be more fully

developed by the student. He has paid special attention to the simpler aspects

of physiology of the green plant and of the bacteria and fungi (Chapters I, VII

and VIII). By dealing with the chemistry of simple organic substances and

their occurrence in the plant in a colloidal state, he is creating the general

foundation for later work on animal physiology and illustrates the significance

of general physiological treatment in the widest possible way (Chapters II, III,

V and VI). What we usually find in books of this kind, viz. the study of the

flowering plant, its reproduction and many details of morphology and anatomy,

have been practically omitted and only a few facts have been described which

are necessary for understanding the outlines of the more important physiological

processes in the plant. Only a few plant-types have been included (Chapters

IX, X, XI and XII) which will help to understand the specialization and differ-

entiation of the land plant as the end product of an evolutionary series of green

plant organisms, and which, in addition, will illustrate ‘ such wide principles

as differentiation of tissues and organs, specialisation and division of labour,

the origin of sex and of a mortal plant body.’ No mention is made of alternation

of generations. Everybody will agree with the author that the gam is not worth

the considerable time necessary to teach it, unless the principle is later to be

applied to the most complex plant types.

As this book has not been written for students of less than sixteen or seven-

teen years of age, it is just the right guide for our Indian students who possess

some elementary knowledge of physics and chemistry. They will find the

writing self-explanatory or can easily find the necessary explanation by refer-

ence to a text-book of physics or chemistry.

But even advanced students will read or rather study this book with profit.

They will always find it stimulating as it is full of practical hints on method

and remarks of a more general nature which cannot help forming the minds of

the future research workers. As an instance I quote the last lines of the book: —

‘Modern work on the stomata and the modern views about them well illus-

trate the preseut tendency of all physiologists to concern themselves with what

a structure does, and the mechanism by wrhich it takes effect, rather than to leave

the situation with an unsatisfactory guess that the structure is present “ in order

to carry out some. process” or “for some particular purpose” or “to serve some

particular function.” These latter can never be more than mere guesses, for

the plant cannot be said to create structures purposefully at all, and progress

can best come by examining physiological phenomena in physico-chemical

terms, and by determining what things organs actually do and how they do

them. The nature of the origin and persistence of organs is a matter to be

considered closely in studies of heredity and evolution, and not to be guessed

at prematurely,’

E. B,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

I.— THE ALARM CALL OF LANGOORS

With reference to Major Logan-Home’s note on page 971 of Vol.

xxxiii, No. 4, I would suggest that the reason why the langoors

he mentions did not give the alarm cry for the wounded leopard

was that it crawled slowly and painfully through grass and under-

growth in such a way that the langoors did not see it. Perhaps

their attention was focussed in some other direction, or there may

have been many thick branches between them and the ground.

It is to be remembered that, as far as we know, langoors rely

upon eyesight only for detecting leopards and tigers, and a whole

menagerie might easily pass beneath them without causing a single

alarm cry provided the menagerie kept out of sight. My original

contention, to which Colonel Burton took exception, was that, if

langoors continued their alarm cry for any considerable time, it

nearly always meant the presence of a tiger or leopard, and I have

verified the accuracy of this statement literally hundreds of times.

I certainly did not claim that if langoors did not call, therefore

it could be assumed that no tiger or leopard was present. After

all, even langoors are caught napping sometimes — vide Major

Logan-Home’s note — and. if that were not the case, leopards in

particular, since they eat a good many monkeys, would very often

go hungry.

I have been studying natural history far too long not to realize

the folly of making dogmatic statements as to what wild animals

will or will not do under varying conditions; but, so far as the

foot-hill forests of Garhwal are concerned, my experience over

8 years (most of which have been spent actually inside jungles

teeming with leopards and tigers) has been that the continued alarm

cry of a langoor is the most reliable sign available of the presence

of a tiger or a leopard. I do not, and never did, claim that the

langoor, or any other living creature, is infallible. Colonel Burton’s

argument about langoors calling for domestic dogs is really beside

the point, since one knows where one’s dogs are, and, if one values

them, one does not let them run about all over the place in jungles

infested by leopards. In any case, I personally have never found

any difficulty . in differentiating between alarm cries given for dogs

and those for the much more serious danger of leopards.

Dehra Dun, .

December 10, 1929.

35

F. W. CHAMPION,

I.F.S.

544 JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

II. —TIGER or panther?

Mr. Limouzin’ s specimen

( With two plates)

In writing this paper to settle finally, so far as I personally

am concerned, the debated question that has arisen over the

determination of what has been called the record Indian panther

shot near Ootacamund by Mr. E. E. Limouzin, I need not repeat

the history of the animal, or animals, as originally told by Mr. S. H.

Prater on information received from Mr. Van Ingen, the younger,

( Journ . Bombay Nat . Hist. Soc ., xxvii, pp. 933-934, 1921) and

subsequently and more fully by Mr. Limouzin himself in the May

issue of the current volume of this Journal (pp. 699-700). I am

only concerned with the skull.

This skull was sent to the Bombay Natural History Society for

determination, not by Mr. Limouzin who never doubted it was the

skull of the panther he saw and shot at, but Mr. Van Ingen, the

younger, who apparently in defiance of the matured opinion of his

more experienced uncle, had evidently very grave doubts on the

point. Mr. Prater, however, pronounced it to be undoubtedly the

skull of an adult panther and a record in length so far as India is

concerned. Fortunately he published a photograph of a side view

of the skull together with photographs of the skull of an Indian

panther, of a tiger and of a lion. A glance at this photograph was

sufficient to tell me that Mr. Limouzin’s skull was a tiger’s, not

a panther’s; and this I stated, not as a suggestion or opinion, but

as an undoubted fact, in my paper on tigers in the May number of

this Journal (p. 518).

This decision, based solely upon the scanty information regarding

the skull and the rather obscure photograph of it published in the

Journal eight years ago, was very naturally not accepted by

Mr. Limouzin nor by Mr. Prater who had the skull in his hands and

presumably a good collection of tigers’ and panthers’ skulls in the

Museum at Bombay wherewith to compare it ; and it was a letter

from Mr. Prater to Mr. Limouzin telling him my decision before

it was published and asking for confirmation and, if possible, further

particulars of his story of the shooting of the panther, that produced

Mr. Limouzin’s account above referred to; and also induced him

on his return to England in the spring to open communications

with me.

In response to my offer to examine the skull, he not only very

kindly brought it to the Natural History Museum in October but

left it in my charge for more than a week, so that I was able to

take the measurements recorded below and make the sketches

herewith published. And I may here state that the skull is most

certainly a tiger’s. This I say without the least fear of contradiction

from anyone acquainted with the skulls of tigers and panthers and

accustomed to handling them. The determination does not admit

of a doubt.

To be more precise, the skull is the skull of a youngish tigress.

No doubt she was adult in the sense of being sexually mature, but

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate

W

< w

Facial portion of skull of Mr. Limouzin’s tigress. Half natural size.

The same of large male panther.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

545

she was apparently not quite full-sized, judging from the distinctness

of the open sutures of the skull, the shortness of the occipital crest

and the separation of the temporal ridges as far back as a point

behind the middle of the panetals.

IVly original suggestion that the skull was probably a tiger’s rather

than a tigress’s was due to an error by Mr. Prater in recording

its length, which quite misled me. He gave the basal length as

11*3 inches, which, as I stated, would indicate a total length of

something like 13 inches, — very long for a tigress. As a matter

of fact 1 make the total length, that is to say the length from the

tip of the occipital crest to the edge of the premaxnia above the

incisor teeth, only 11*2 inches, and the basal length, that is to say

the length from the incisive border to the lower eage of the occipital

foramen, 9‘6 inches. The skull thus turns out to be nearly two

inches shorter than stated by Mr. Prater. But that is a relatively

unimportant point, affecting only the question of its sex, not of

its species.

In actual length there is not always much difference between large

skulls of male panthers, especially African, and smallish skulls of

Indian tigresses ; but the tigress’s skull can be distinguished at a

glance by its greater height, and general massiveness, notably

in the width of the jaws, and in the much greater size of the teeth.

In its tout ensemble it is quite unmistakable; and Mr. Limouzin’s

skull is a perfectly typical tigress’s, with nothing at all remarkable

about it. It has the large teeth, the massive muzzle, the long

nasals, the broad mesopterygoid fossa etc. of the tiger, and even

the well-developed additional tubercle on the upper carnassial which

is never more than just indicated in adult panthers’ skulls.

If the dimensions of this skull, given in the subjoined table, be

compared with those of the skulls of tigresses published in my paper

on Tigers, on p. 517 of the May issue of this Journal, very close

agreement between them will be revealed. For the sake of

comparison I have included in the table the measurements of the

skull of a full-grown tigress, a little older than Mr. Limouzin’s

specimen. This tigress came from the Dhar State, Central India,

and was very kindly presented to the Natural History Museum by

Mr. R. K. M. Battye in response to my appeal for specimens

published in the last number of this Journal.

One or two little points connected with the measurements of these

two skulls are interesting. It will be noticed that in basal and

condylo-basal length Mr. Limouzin’s specimen is distinctly longer,

yet it is shorter in the total length than Mr. Battye’s. Ihe

superiority of the latter in total length, as in zygomatic width, is

simply a question of age. If Mr. Limouzin’s tigress had been

permitted to live another year or so, her skull would have surpassed

Mr. Battye’s in total length by the backward growth of the occipital

crest.

The table also contains the measurements of the skulls of two

fully adult male panthers. One, from the Welle River in the Upper

Congo, obtained by Sir Alfred Sharp, is the largest panther’s skull

in the Natural History Museum. The other, from Kashmir, is the

longest Indian panther’s skull in that institution.

54S JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , XXXIV

The measurements speak for themselves but they become much

more impressive if translated from figures into lines with a compass,

pencil and a foot-rule.

The measurements were taken as follows : — -

Total length from tip of premaxilla to tip of occipital crest.

Cond. has. Ig. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, edge of occipital condyle.

Basal Ig. ,, ,, „ ,, ,, „ orifice.

Zygom. width across the cheek-bones.

Cranial width across the cranium at the parieto-squamosal suture.

c Waist' width across the postorbital construction.

Int. orb. width across the forehead between the eyes.

Muzzle width across the muzzle just above the socket of the canines.

Premax. width across the premaxillae above roots of outer incisors.

Nasals. Length from median point behind to tip of process in

front ; width across processes in front.

Mandible from point below incisor teeth to outer end of condyle.

Canine. Width from back to front close to socket.

Upper Cam. and Lower Cam. Greatest length of the upper and

lower carnassial teeth.

Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. Plate II.

A. & B. Teeth of upper jaw aud palate of Mr. Limouzin’s tigress. Half natural size.

C. & D The same of a large male panther.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

547

On Pis. I & II I have drawn to scale the upper and lower views of

the fore part of the skull belonging to Mr. Limouzin and of the

largest male Indian panther skull in the Natural History Museum,

and a side view of the teeth of the upper jaw of the same specimens.

In conclusion I should like to express my appreciation of

Mr. Limouzin’s action in bringing this skull to me for examination

and leaving it in my hands for description and measurement; and

I am sure it is needless for me to add that from the first I have never

for one moment wished to call in question his bona fides in the

matters concerning this skull. I regret indeed that I have to

reassert most positively my original decision that it is a tiger’s and

not a panther’s skull; but into the possible explanations of his

mistake it would be quite out of place for me to enter.

British ‘Museum (Nat. Hist.), R. I. POCOCK.

London, December, 1929.

III.— Mr. LIMOUZIN’S SPECIMEN

I am glad that Mr. Pocock has been able to arrive at his

conclusion as regards the identity of the skull obtained by

Mr. Limouzin from an actual examination of the specimen which

was submitted to him by Mr. Limouzin at my request.

There are one or two points which I should like to comment on.

From the context of Mr. Pocock’s note it would appear that the

statement by Mr. Limouzin in regard to the finding of strips of

panther skin with the skeleton was made in response to my request

asking for confirmation and further details. Mr. Limouzin made

the same statement to Mr. E. Van Ingen when he originally

forwarded the skull and skeleton to him for identification. In

sending the skull to the Society Mr. E. Van Ingen wrote ‘The

skeleton and skull remained with strips of skin and Mr. Limouzin

who examined what he found of the latter is positive that the animal

is a panther’ ( vide my original note, Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc.,

Vol. xxvii, p. 933). I had therefore no hesitation in accepting the

evidence of the man who saw, shot and subsequently examined

portions of the skin of the animal. Blanford in his Mammalia gives

no specific characters for distinguishing between the skulls of

panthers and tigers. He however states that when a leopard’s

skull is placed on a flat surface the hind part of the skull almost

always touches the surface. This was the condition in regard to the

skull obtained by Mr. Limouzin. It has been shown however by

Mr. Pocock that owing to variation in the degree of the convexity

of the lower surface a similar condition may occasionally be observed

in the skulls of tigers. The skulls of panthers and tigers are so

alike, there is so much intergredation between them in all essential

characters, that size is the main character by which they are

distinguishable. This was pointed out as early as 1867 by Dr. J. E.

Gray who examined a series of skulls of Felidae in the British

Museum. Dr. Gray wrote ‘the skulls of the lion, the tiger, the

MS JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXlV

leopard and the jaguar are nearly similar in form and teeth and

chiefly to be distinguished by their size and other slight characters. ’

(Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1867, p. 258.) Now in examining the

skull submitted by Mr. Van Ingen 1 was immediately struck with

its comparatively enormous proportions. With Mr. Limouzin’s

evidence before me I believed that I was dealing not with a large

panther but with one of abnormal development. In support of this

belief I had the notes submitted to me along with the skull by Mr. E.

Van Ingen. His notes provide the evidence of different people who

comment on the abnormal development of this animal. (Vide my

original note, loc . cit.)

First we have Mr. Limouzin’s statement to Mr. Van Ingen

‘He (Mr. Limouzin) tells me that he had seen this panther on

several occasions and examined it through glasses = and that

its head and forequarters seemed enormous while the body

and hind quarters seemed to dwindle away.’

In his description of the shooting of the animal Mr. Limouzin

wrote : —

‘Before I fired at the panther I was very much struck with the

extraordinary size of the head and shoidders. ’

Then we have Col. W. Ward’s statement. Mr. Van Ingen

wrote : — i :

‘Col. W. tells me that he had seen a panther a few miles from

“Dunsdali” (Mr. Limouzin’s estate), he described the head ,

chest and forearms as enormous. It was standing on a rock

20 yards away looking down at him, Col. W. who has shot

many panthers claimed it to be the largest he had ever seen.

He quite believes the animal of Mr. Limouzin to be the one

seen by him.’

As regards the dimensions of the skull it is regretted that through

an error the ‘entire length’ of the skull was recorded as the

‘basal length’ in my original note.

Bombay Natural History Society, S. H. PRATER.

January 15, 1930.

IV.— MR. POCOCK’S ARTICLE ON ‘TIGERS’

Everyone will have read Mr. Pocock’s article with great interest

and we members are indebted to him for enlightening us with the

world wide knowledge which can only be acquired at a head quarters

like the London Zoo and which is largely denied to the Field

Naturalist.

It is gratifying to see that Mr. Pocock has considered my views

on certain points worthy of notice and I find that we are in general

agreement although in questions of detail, as might be expected,

some differences emerge. In what follows I have attempted as far

as possible to effect a reconciliation of these views but I regret that

in all cases I have not been able to do so.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

549

Casting of Coat.

In referring" to this subject Mr. Pocock is careful to avoid

committing himself to the habit of Indian Tigers and relies on a

quotation from a Major Alexander. He does tell us however that

no marked moult takes place amongst the captive animals at the

London Zoo. This statement is final and conclusive : but Major

Alexander is grievously in error in stating that the Indian Tiger

does not moult and the statement is sufficiently astonishing as to

make one accept his other evidence with a certain amount of

hesitancy. I feel confident in securing the backing of all

experienced shikaris when I state that the tiger rapidly sheds his

winter coat and that the skin of an animal shot in the end of

January cannot be compared with a skin killed in the end of April.

Also that in March much of the hair is so loose and comes away

so easily one can be deceived into thinking* that the pegged skin

has gone wrong. Compared with India the seasonal changes in

London from Winter to Summer are gradual : there is no sudden

onrush of hot weather reacting on the winter coat and the natural

explanations is that under temperate conditions the hairs come away

and are replaced so gradually as not to be noticeable.

A few words about the condition of the Manchurian tiger may be

permitted. I attribute his appearance as compared with his Indian

confrere, say during the moult, to be largely mechanical and not due

to any specialized moult peculiar to one race. I have two Labrador

Dogs. Nature in the case of the pure original breed sometimes

endows these with an undercoat of hair of a woolly nature. My bitch

is thus favoured : her son is not. Both moult annually : to the last

hair I believe. In the case of the son this appears to be a gradual

process hardly perceptible unless one is brushing and attending

to him. In the case of the bitch the dead hair stands out in lumps :

apparent at 30 yards and can be grasped and pulled out in handfuls.

This phenomenon is entirely due to the clinging nature of the woolly

undercoat which retains the dead hairs and, but for which, these

would have fallen off individually as they became detached from

the skin. This mechanical action on the part of the undercoat, in

my belief, explains the Manchurian tiger’s appearance without

precluding a similar but less apparent moult in the Indian Tiger.

Tiger Stripes.

I am dealing with ‘Body’ stripes only. What constitutes

a stripe? It is obvious that some definition is required. In what

follows I have taken a stripe to mean the black stripe which is

‘initiated’ on each side from the reg'ion of the back bone. In some

cases the stripe is continuous : in many other cases it is disconnected

or forms a loop : but these are merely detachments of the original

stripe which has its origin in the dorsal region and they cannot be

considered as separate stripes. To treat the matter otherwise leads

to hopeless confusion and is misleading. In what follows therefore

each process originating from the dorsal line is counted as one

stripe and no other mark or stripe is so counted.

It is not always easy to determine exactly the number of stripes

550 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY , Ftf/. XXXIV

from a photograph or a picture but applying the above method

I arrive at the following results from Pocock’s article. Plate I.,

20 stripes. Plate II., 18. Plate D., Caucasian tiger, 24. Plate III.,

19. Plate IV., 19. Plate F., Manchurian Tiger 15. Malay Tiger,

19. Plate H., 19.

I have counted the stripes on 34 tigers and tigresses from skins

and photographs in my possession where these are clearly shown.

As there is no difference between the sexes in this matter this point

can be ignored.

Quite a number of tigers have only 15 stripes and quite a number

have 19. In no case is 19 exceeded nor is there anything less

than 15. The average works out at 17 stripes. It would appear

therefore that any attempt at classification of the various races of

tigers based on the number of stripes is based on unstable

foundations save with regard to the Caucasian tiger which is

undoubtedly very much more striped than any tiger I have ever seen

or possess any record of, as Caucasian Tigers are none too numerous.

It would be interesting to know if this excessive striping is

consistent? While on the subject of stripes I may mention that the

smaller animals and, especially two cubs included in the above 34

tigers, appear to be more heavily striped. I entirely disbelieve that

stripes disappear with age. The impression to this effect sometimes

conveyed in the case of a very old male is entirely an optical delusion

due to the parting of the stripes on account of heavy muscular

development.

Anyone can test this by a simple experiment. Under existing

female fashions elastic tape is accessible to most. Take a fine pen

and draw a series of lines across the tape as close as possible

without actually merging : then sketch the tape and observe the

results.

In viewing the stripes of the various tig*ers depicted in

Mr. Pocock’s article save as pointed out above, the number of

stripes appears to be a variable and uncertain quantity but there

aopears to be a marked tendency on the part of the stripes in Indian

Tigers to split up and form eyes as compared with the general

continuity of the stripes of northern varieties.

The Height of Tigers.

Mr. Pocock would limit the height of tigers at about 38". In

Wild Animals in Central India I have given the figures 38" to 44"

as the expectation height of a really good male. Pocock’s estimate

was made as he describes from the Manchurian Tiger passing under

a bar. I spent many hours watching this magnificent animal ;

certainly the heaviest boned tiger L have ever seen, although his

height was in no way remarkable. Merely from eye memory I

should doubt if he was as tall as a fine Indian Tiger the Zoo

possessed at that time : in fact the only good Indian Tiger I have

ever seen in the London Zoo : if my recollection is not at fault, he

went by the name of ‘Prince’. Now my measurements of tiger

were made by pulling the two forefeet together and measuring

between uprights placed at the base of the pads and at the withers,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

551

This method mig-ht easily result in an additional inch or two being

added to stature : further the height of a tiger slouching under a

bar might be an inch or two less than a tiger standing up and at

attention. The difference therefore is inappreciable and moreover is

not material.

As the waiting list for candidates to measure live tiger is not

yet full the old method of measuring dead tigers will probably

continue, but in view of Pocock’s figures possibly a discount of an

inch or two should be allowed off the results thus obtained.

The Size of Northern Tigers .

On the relative size of Indian and Manchurian tigers it is to be

gathered that Pocock somewhat reluctantly admits of the possibility

of the latter being the larger of the two. Pocock rightly emphasises

that I lay no claim to have any first hand knowledge of the

Manchurian tiger : the only evidence I can adduce is that I have

seen the pug*s of a tiger and tigress in what he would call Amurland.

In those days the name was not invented. They were immense.

Out of the hundreds and hundreds of tiger pugs I have encountered

I have only seen two that were at all comparable. One was close

to the railway near Asirgarh and the other was in that very wild

zemindari, Uprora, seldom visited by Europeans. Both were in the

beat, both came within 60 years of death, neither were seen, and

both escaped by failure to see personally that all precautions were

carried out to the degree. It is through this gap that animals of

this sort escape, however, that is another story, and enough to these

irrelevancies. Coming now to the two tigers at the Zoo. Pocock

rightly lays stress on what fine specimens they were ; he mentions

that the tigress measured 9 feet — a most unusual length.

Animals which find their way into zoo’s or menageries are apt

to be poor records of the animal in the wild state : so much depends

on their previous history — how and when caught, at what age, and

how treated when caught. There even appears to be much

uncertainty with regard to these two individual specimens. When

in Harbin, I was told there had been two captive tigers there during

the Russo-Japanese war and that they had been shipped to Europe.

Were these the same tigers I wonder? No one, however, can agree

that animals benefit by captivity, and I am prepared to base my

argument on the animals themselves as they were and as I saw

them. Indian sportsmen rightly informed Pocock that they were

magnificent specimens. They were more than that : the male was a

heavier boned animal than I have ever seen. I might have seen

tigers as long, I have certainly seen tigers higher at the shoulder

but I have never seen an Indian tiger which could have lived in the

same cage as our Manchurian friend, even were he given the same

wild life, condition and resulting muscle. He was a giant ! The

tigress was only somewhat less striking.

No two tigers of this quality could be produced from India

‘simultaneously’. No not in 100’s of years : and never have been.

Yet lo and behold ! the one and only pair coming from northern Asia

of this calibre. The question then resolves itself into whether this

36

552 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

was the result of fortuitous chance or whether it arose out of the

fact that the probability of getting a big beast from northern Asia

was greater than from India. Your readers must answer these

questions for themselves. Personally I have no hesitation over the

verdict. Such scanty information as I receive from northern Asia

from time to time leads me to believe that in many parts tigers are

becoming or have become extinct and are dying of starvation. The

probabilities are that the larger race will suffer most and I may

already be writing about past history.

With regard to distribution of this northern race it is quite

conceivable that it has crossed the watershed from the Sungari

River into the upper waters of the Yalu River which is practically

a virgin country from the zoological point of view. Nevertheless

although geographically it might be entitled to the nomenclature

of the ‘ Korean ' tiger it would not be the ‘Korean' tiger as generally

understood.

On page 522 of the Journal, Pocock compares ‘good Indian tiger’

to animals of 10' 6;/ and ag'ain 10; 8" in length. In summing

up Pocock says ‘From these imperfect data it may be inferred

that this race of tigers is not larger, possibly it is on the

average somewhat smaller than the typical Indian Race’. From

this one must infer that Pocock overestimates the size of Indian

tigers. Animals of this size in India are the greatest rarities, only

occurring at intervals and being solitary specimens out of thousands.

Colouration of Tigers.

I think it will be generally agreed that the tendency of tigers

frequenting dark or dense jungles is for themselves to be darker,

but at any rate, so far as India is concerned, no such definite

differentiation as Major Alexander's remarks imply, can be accepted.

In point of fact the Asirgarh jungle which I know well, is of the

openest nature, and in no way denser than the other jungles, which

I also know, and to which Major Alexander refers as containing

a lighter coloured variety of tiger. There is great variation in

colour and the surrounding conditions must be vastly more marked

between those apertaining in Central India and Asirgarh, before

they could be, in any way, reflected on the colouration of the skin.

In point of fact the lightest tiger I ever saw, or killed, was in the

Banjar Valley, Mandla district. No one would accuse Mandla as

being of an ‘open scrub jungle' District.

This animal, a male, had the white, woolly belly hair extending

well up his ribs, very nearly half way up, where it merged from

white wool into white hair and thence into a golden, brass colour.

The black stripes were deep, very black and well defined.

My wife saw this tiger brought in and from our recollection,

we consider that over one-third of the skin must have been white.

Unfortunately, I cannot recollect to whom I presented it so I am

unable to verify this impression by actual measurement, but these

remarks, may possibly catch the eye of the person to whom I

gave it,

I mention this tiger as a special case but I have shot dark and

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 553

light tigers all over the Central Provinces and there is no possible

anticipation as to what type of skin one’s hunt is likely to produce

and I believe this to be generally true all over India proper.

Elgin, Scotland, A. A. DUNBAR BRANDER.

November, 1929 .

V.— THE SIZE AND MARKINGS OF INDIAN TIGERS

With a photo

With reference to Mr. R. I. Pocock’s article on the tiger in

No. 3 of Vol. xxxiii of the Journal , may I make the following

criticisms —

(1) In giving measurements of skins Mr. Pocock has omitted

the measurement of the tail. I contend that any measurement of

total length which does not also give the measurement of the tail

is valueless. Mr. Dunbar Brander states that he has known the

tails of tigers to vary in length by as much as 15 inches.

(2) In quoting from Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game,

Mr. Pocock has misread the column headings. He has taken ‘the

length before skinning’ to be the length of the skin. Also he does

not realize that the measurements have been taken in different ways :

i.e. straight, and over the curves.

He surely cannot be serious when he refers to H. A. White’s

10' 7" tiger from Annam, which is second in the Records and has

the fourth biggest skull, as merely up to the average of Indian

tigers. Then to write of A. Simonds’ 10' 0J" tiger, with a dressed

skin of 11' 7", as being below the average is absurd. Both these

are very big tigers. The comparative field and skin measurements

of this last tiger indicate that it was measured straight between

pegs.

Incidentally Mr, Pocock refers to a tiger of mine from Siam

which measured 9' 3" between pegs and has a dressed skin of 10' 3">

as being smaller than the average Indian tigress. This skin lost

a good deal by being dried on a frame and not pegged out, owing

to the damp ground, but it would be a good average tiger anywhere

in India, while an ‘average tigress’ measures a foot less, straight.

Mr. Pocock also refers to this tiger as ‘unsexed’. Throughout

the ' Records' the want of a sex mark indicates a male.

(3) In comparing the size of tigers from Burma, Assam and

the Malay Peninsula, Mr. Pocock can surely not have studied the

list of skulls in Records of Big Game .

Taking Cooch Behar as zoologically part of Assam, five of the

six biggest skulls came from those areas. Mr. Pocock will admit

that size of skull is an excellent index to size of body.

It must also be noted that fewer tigers are shot in those areas,

from which big specimens can be selected.

(4) As regards markings.

The two male tigers with most and least markings which I have

seen personally, I shot in the same valley in Siam within a couple

of miles of each other.

554 JOUkNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

It is natural to expect that tigers living in heavy jungle will be

darker in ground colour than those from, say, the Terai, and this is

the case.

The tiger with fewest markings which I have seen, was a tigress

shot by me in the Magwe district of Upper Burma, and illustrated

in my book, 'Big Game Shooting in the Indian Empire /

From this, and from studying hundreds of skins, it would appear

that there is no constant rule in the matter of markings where

tigers are concerned.

May I suggest to Mr. Pocock that he will find full and conclusive

information to be obtained by a critical study of ( a ) the information

given by Sir John Hewitt on page 474 of the Records ( b ) the ‘area

measurements’ given on page 476.

To point this last remark I enclose a photo of the forequarter of a

big tiger shot by me in Kheri last January, of which the following

were the measurements. Straight between pegs 9' 6"; tail 2' ll".

Body, between pegs & 7"; over the curves 7 7 1"; total over the

curves 10'. Girth of forearm 2V. Height at shoulder 39".

Pegged-out. Total length IP 7\" .

Tail 39".

Width of skin at narrowest part 4' 8".

Across forepaws 8' 8".

Across hind paws 7r 9".

Undoubtedly a big tiger, yet, by Mr. Pocock ’s computation, equal

to an average Indian tigress.

Of course the above ‘pegged-out’ measurements will be reduced

in curing. The skin has gone to Messrs. Rowland Ward for

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

555

treatment, who will doubtless let me have the area dimensions in-

due course.

Although this tiger has an unusually short tail, I think I have

shown the fallacy of computing the size of tigers by total length

of skin. j '

To judge the range of markings in skins from the same area,

Mr. Pocock should see the hundreds of skins in Bikanir, Gwalior,

and other collections in India.

^ort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

March 1930 . LL-CoL

VI.— MOVEMENTS OF TIGERS

I have been recently transferred, (though not to a better land)

and I was informed of my impending transfer first by a telegram

from the Private Secretary to H. E. the Governor, then by a D, O.

letter from the same official, and then by my appointment being

notified in the Bombay Government Gazette. Finally I arrived here.

Everything was done in due order.

But is any explanation available of how the transfers of tigers

are arranged? In Khandesh, and presumably in other parts of

India, the country is divided into districts, each occupied by a

resident tiger. On the transfer of an incumbent to a better land,

the vacancj' is almost at once filled by his successor taking over

charge.

How is the vacancy notified and who communicates it to the

transferee? If there is a supply of umedwar, or candidate, tigers

always mouching round on the chance of stumbling into a vacant

post, one would presumably meet more tigers about than one does.

Or is there a Central Tiger Reserve Depot or Training Battalion in

Central India, from which a competent acting tiger is appointed to an

acting vacancy with the possibility of being made permanent if

suitable, or of losing it if shootable? If so, how is Headquarters

notified of an incumbent’s decease? Are transfers notified in the

Feline Government Gazette, or in the ‘ Tigers of India1?

I have no adequate explanation, and seriously I should like

to know.

Collector’s Bungalow, H. F, KNIGHT.

Sholapur,

January 2, 1930 .

VII.— TIGERS SWIMMING

Lately a report appeared in the local press of a tiger having

swum from the Mainland to the Island of Penang, a distance of

about 5 miles or so, and surprise was expressed at the feat.

During several years of shooting in the ‘Sunderbunds’ forests

(Bengal), I discovered that tigers there readily take to water

and in some instances swim considerable distances (3 or 4 miles),

and that, in tidal rivers, with a 4 to 5 knot tide running during

556 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXI Y

Spring tides, but what struck me most, however, was the

intelligence displayed by tigers in choosing their time for swim-

ming, which was invariably at or about high water, when they were

able to ‘take off’ and land on hard ground, and anyone who has

had experience in the ‘Sunderbunds’ will appreciate what this

means ! — At all other states of the tide one has to flounder up

several yards of bank through more than knee deep mud, which

would prove very embarrassing to a heavy animal like a tiger.

Another curious feature about the ‘Sunderbund’ Forests is the

entire absence of fresh water (except in cultivated areas) there

are no fresh water ponds or streams, and tiger, deer, etc. have

nothing but salt water to drink during the dry season, i.e.

November — May, which seems hardly credible, but which neverthe-

less I am reliably informed is a fact.

Fresh water is however obtainable in the Islands in certain

suitable localities, but one has to dig 4 or 5 feet deep for it, and this

is the only method of replenishing stocks off drinking water if one

is making a prolonged stay in or around the uninhabited islands

on the sea front.

These fresh water ‘holes’ are soon discovered by the game who

go mad after the water, and on one occasion I sat up over a hole

to watch the game that came to drink, and spent one of the most

enjoyable nights in the forest. Numberless cheetal, pig, jackals,

and whilst I was dozing, a tigress and two half-grown cubs visited

the hole, and the next morning I found tracks of a large monitor

lizard and a python who had also quenched their thirst.

These holes have to be dug at a wide angle, i.e, about 45°

(saucer shaped), as otherwise the walls collapse owing to the large

amount of sand in the earth, and it is for this reason also that the

holes soon ‘dry up’ through the game pushing back the earth and

sand in trekking up and down the sides or walls of the hole.

Singapore, W. A. HICKIE,

November 12, 1929.

VIII. —PROPORTION OF SEXES IN TIGERS

Mr. R. C. Morris’s note in Vol. xxxiii, No. 4, indicates that

in the District referred to the proportion of sexes accords with

frequently recorded experience. But in the Deccan between 1895

and 1899 my diary shows 26 tigers and 14 tigresses killed.

The difference in the case of panthers is not so great— T 6 males

to 12 females.

January SO, 1930 . R. G. BURTON,

Brigadier-General .

IX.— AN EXPERIENCE WITH A TIGRESS

Mr. S. Hanhardt’s experience with a tigress (see Note No. VII,

Vol. xxxiii, No. 4) sounds to me very like a case of a tigress with

cubs. A somewhat similar instance occurred in my case about

five years ago, and on killing the tigress I discovered tracks of

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

557

large cubs round the dead body of a sambhur hind the tigress

had killed and partly eaten. I searched the jungle in the vicinity

but could find no further trace of them. The cubs were unfortu-

nately large enough to get away on hearing my shots, but were

apparently not old enough to kill for themselves : and to my regret

1 later heard that one had been found dead and another in a very

weak and emaciated condition, was knocked on the head by a

herdsman. I have the head and skin of the latter.

Tigresses, with cubs seldom charge home when trying to scare

off intruders. Their charges are in the shape of demonstrations.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

Mysore, S. India,

March 2, 1930 ,

X.— TIGERS EATING THEIR YOUNG

I was recently asked whether the female tiger is the one that

eats the young in large litters or whether they are eaten by the

male. In my opinion both eat their young on occasions. I think

that a tigress with a large litter is very likely to eat the weakly

ones. In the case of the tigress with five cubs which Lt.-Col. Hill-

Dillon and I came across in January 1925 I fancy that at least

two of these would probably have been killed sooner or later by the

tigress, or possibly would have fallen a prey to the first tiger that

came along; and just as sometimes a nervous mother-cat will eat

her kittens when disturbed or worried I should think it highly

probable that a tigress would do the same. That a tiger will kill

and eat any small cubs it may happen to come across, provided

of course their mother is not on guard over them, is I think fairly

certain and must frequently occur.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

Attikan P.O.,

Via Mysore,

(South India),

February 19, 1930.

XI. — THE LUCK OF HUNTING

It was on a very wet afternoon during the rains of 1922 that S.

and 1 got news of a tiger killing a poor villager’s buffalo, in a

particular district where tigers were never heard of, and we

hardly believed it, though we decided, eventually, to try our luck,

and that was our first experience with tiger.

Riding 10 miles with heavy rifles slung on to one’s shoulder

is not a thing one would like to do every day. On arriving at the

scene of the catastrophe we were rather tired. We discovered that

it was a tiger and that he had killed a big buffalo and had eaten

a portion of it, leaving the rest hidden under the thick undergrowth.

We asked the shikari to arrange a beat. He started to build

a machcin, cutting away branches and small trees on the spot,

558 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

making enough noise to drive away even the boldest tiger (this

we realized later).

At 1 p.m. we got into our machan but the beat did not start for

two hours, and took another two to get up to us. We later

discovered that the tiger had escaped about three hundred yards

to our left, most probably long before the beat started.

In those days the latest books published on shooting were by

The Honourable J. W. Best (' Indian Shikar Notes’) and H. H. the

late Maharajah of Gwalior, from which we had theoretically learnt

a little : but when the chance of using our wits came, we lost our

heads and allowed the shikari — Moorad Mohamed by name — to

make a mess of the whole show under our very noses. We

returned home heavy at heart, but benefited from some practical

knowledge of the King of the Indian jungles. From that date we

decided to shoot at least one tiger each.

1923 found S. and myself each applying for a block, in one of the

many districts of Central Provinces. Even S.’s old father — who

was very keen to go on another shooting expedition before he got

too old — applied for a block. Unfortunately, we were unable to get

the permits. (This misfortune we shall always remember, because

the next year, just when shooting was in full swing, the old veteran

died.)

In May 1923, we received an invitation to join a shoot of H. H.

the Rajah of . . . where poor S. missed his first tiger when it

galloped past his machan , which was over 20 feet high. S.

returned to the camp on one of the Rajah’s many elephants with

hardly any life left in him, and another few days found us rushing

home in one of the fastest mail trains from one end of India to the

other.

In that part of India elephants are numerous : so our host

had made it a point to build his machans over 20 feet, for (as he

put it) the safety of his guests.

They have a curious way of beating. They surround a very

large piece of jungle — as much as 4 square miles and gradually

begin to close in till they reach the line of the machans , which are

in the middle of the large surrounded ring. The number of

beaters varies, from two thousand men to sometimes five thousand.

Any animal may come to you, from a herd of elephants to a

mousedeer ! This way of beating may sound unsporting, but there

they still follow this custom.

In April 1924, I got an average block in Central Provinces but

poor S. had just lost his father — the best heavy game shot of

his day in our district — so S. could not come.

Again in November of 1924, I was quick enough to apply for a

permit to shoot for one month, 15th January to 14th February

1925, in one of the best blocks that I knew of then in the Central

Provinces. Fortune favoured me and I got the permit. Fortune

favoured us still further and S.’s brother got another block

adjoining mine. In this shoot S. was generally given the best

mach&n in the beat — the first chance to sit up over a kill- — in short,

every effort was made to get him his first tiger, but he had no

luck. :

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

559

One day S. sat up at 2 p.m. The tiger came from behind at

4 p.m., saw S. and went off like a streak of lightning.

It was a pleasant surprise to get a good bag in two of the best

blocks of the Province, but disappointment followed and S. lost

his sister and had to return home. The day he left, a kill

was reported and two tigers walked underneath my machan and

I got one !

In December 1925, I applied for a block in a certain District,

and was refused ; I applied for another, and was refused ; and I

applied for one in yet another district— for any wretched block

where we could just go and enjoy a few days in the jungle apart

from shooting — but no luck. S. is one of those persons who never

give up hope and went on trying to get a permit to shoot.

Eventually a kind friend got us a permit to shoot in an Indian

State. To this place we bound all our hopes, and four days of

Railway, motor, and cart journey found us at the little Dak-

Bungalow in the first week of April.

On the 11th of April 1926, we had a beat — our first — and S.

having become rather superstitious, would not take the best

machan, so the honour of the day fell to me and I was lucky to get

a fair-sized tiger.

The moment we reached the Camp, there was a man waiting

with news of a natural kill within two miles of our Camp. S.

volunteered to go at once and was in his machan by 6, which

naturally had to be built very hurriedly. This time the village

tiger surprised him by appearing on the scene at 6-30, and spotted

S. before coming near the kill.

After two days we changed the Camp. By now it was getting

terribly hot, with very little water left in the river beds.

Next day the great Narishimulu — our shikari — smelt tiger in

a little patch of green cover, ten minutes walk from our new Camp.

We just walked out with a few men to try our luck, and sure

enough a tiger came straight up to S. and just as he was going

to take a head shot at about 12 yards, a jealous member of our

party, Mr. . . . fired and possibly missed, because another boy

sitting with S. seeing no damage to the animal, fired and dropped

it. And then, horror of horrors, Mr. . . . poured lead into the

dead animal and there were no less than twelve bullet holes in the

body. It was impossible to say who really shot the animal, but as

Mr. . . . claimed to have done it we let him have it to avoid a

scene. !

After this we returned to our first Camp and another beat

followed in two days time. S. was again given the best machan,

and sure enough a Tiger made straight for his place but

Mr. . . . again fired, doing no more than frightening the tiger,

which passed S. at a very great speed, thus causing poor S. to

lose his last chance of the season, as in a day or two we had to

leave camp suddenly on urgent business. Having lost three

chances in twelve days S. was bitterly disappointed !

S.’s first luck started in August 1927, when he got a panther.

Owing to long grass we could not see the panther until he was

within 15 yards, and then he saw ps before we saw him, and w&S

37

560 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

just running away when S. snapped him with a fine shot, saying

the panther had only one eye, and in reality he was one-eyed !

We got a permit to shoot tigers in a certain district where they

were doing damage to cattle, during the months of December 1927

and January 1928. We (a party of four friends, no jealousy this

time) reached our destination at 8 p.m. on the 21st December 1927,

but had no luck till the 26th. On the morning of the 27th I went

out to a big village, seven miles from our Camp to get butter,

vegetables, chicken, etc. and shot a couple of partridges on the

way. While returning my motor stopped within 500 yards of the

Camp and I had great difficulty in getting it pushed to Camp where,

on my arrival, I was delighted to hear the news of a kill, and

somehow or other it was not till 2-30 that the beat started.

At 3 S. had fired his first shot since May 1923 at a tiger

which dropped to the first shot and crawled a few yards

before dying. There was great rejoicing and shouts of congratula-

tions from all sides at the triumphant return with our trophy in

the 11 h.p. Citroen — a fine tigress, 9' 3\" between pegs,

weighing 287 lbs. The next day we sent our car for champagne

to the nearest town, 30 miles away, and great was the rejoicing

and many fine speeches followed that night. Then we changed

Camp and went to another place about 32 miles away. Here on

the 2nd January 1928 a kill was reported. Great hopes, as three

tigers were expected in the beat.

The beat started at 2 o’clock and I wounded one very badly

within twenty minutes. I have always made it a rule to have

some signal to stop the beat as soon as a tiger was wounded.

This time I had a hunting horn and I blew it till my lungs nearly

burst and eventually managed to stop the beat. All the men

climbed up trees, quite out of danger, according to instructions

given before the beat. We all concentrated and had a council of

war and tried to locate the tiger, but failed for the time being and

decided to let the men make as much noise as possible from their

safe perches in the trees, and that a few T2 bore guns be fired by

the shikaris from their perches. S. had not troubled to build

a machdn and was standing on a branch just high enough to be

able to see things in thick grass. The firing and shouting produced

good results, as in ten minutes, ‘bang’ went S.’s '450 and then

all was silent. We were informed by S. that he had dropped

a tiger, but could not see it because of long grass. We worked

round and had a careful look from the other side and found the

tiger stone dead, 193 feet from where S. was — a fine young male,

three-quarter grown, measuring 7' 9" between pegs. Then

the other one was searched for and found just a few yards from

where it was hit. It charged, although badly wounded, but a fine

shot by S. put the life out of it — a tigress 77 7". Another tiger

to the credit of S. and there was to be yet another. On the 5th,

he was sitting on the bank of a river and I was in the river bed

on a small tree. We were not fifty yards from each other. Within

fifteen minutes of the start of the beat the tiger came out and we

both saw him, but he was nearer to S. Still S. did not shoot and

let him come to me and I was fortunate to drop him in his tracks.

MISCELLANEO US NO TES

561

thanks to S.’s generosity — a larger Tiger never known in that

district.

Measurements ... KV 3J" between pegs.

Weight

Girth behind shoulders

Round stomach

Tail

495 lbs.

52"

63"

44"

Thus ended our successful shoot — pleasant surprises and no

disappointments.

Alirajpur,

December 10, 1929.

‘A NOVICE. ’

XII.— HYAENAS KILLING CATTLE TIED UP AS BAIT

I have recently had two baits, which had been put out for tiger,

killed by hyaenas, which I think occurs more often than sports-

men think ; in fact I have rarely seen cases mentioned.

In the first instance my shikaries informed me that a panther

had taken the bait, but on examining the kill I was puzzled to find

that there were no traces of either fang or claw marks on its

throat or head, and there were hyaena tracks all round the kill.

As authentic cases have occurred of a hyaena taking possession

of a panther’s kill and even driving off the latter I thought that

possibly a similar case had occurred here. I sat up over the kill

for two successive nights and sure enough only a hyaena turned

up on both nights.

Two days ago another kill occurred and on reaching the spot

I was surprised to find that here again there were no marks on the

throat or head of the kill, tracks of hyaena in plenty, and one

hind leg had been completely removed from the kill and was not

to be seen. My suspicions that both these cows had been killed by

hyaenas were to my mind confirmed by the arrival of a large

hyaena on the scene shortly after dark, and I took great pleasure

in shooting the brute.

This hyaena may possibly have been responsible for both kills

but I consider it doubtful as the two baits had been tied up some

miles apart;

It is not uncommon for hyaenas to make a meal off tiger and

panther kills, and they quite frequently kill and take off calves,

sheep, goats and dogs, but I have never heard of hyaena killing

a full-grown cow before. Both cows must have been literally eaten

alive, and I am convinced that in each case the hyaena must have

downed the bait by chasing it round the tree it was tethered to until

it tripped over its rope and fell, its stomach being immediately

ripped open by the hyaena, a horribly cruel death.

Honnametti Estate, R* C. MORRIS.

Attikan P.O.,

Via Mysore,

( S . India),

February 26, 1930.

562 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , /TV XXXI V

[The hyaena is generally looked upon as a cowardly animal but

we have published two interesting notes on encounters between

hyaenas and panthers in each of which the hyaena was victorious.

Capt. R. C. Burke ( Journ Vol. xix, p. 51b) writes of a panther

attacking a hyaena which it found in the neighbourhood of its kill.

A grand old scuffle ensued and the conquering hyaena came to

carry off the spoils of war. She was a female measuring 5/ 11 A

On page 979 ot the same volume, Mr. W. M. F. Pendlebury gives

an account of a fight between a hyaena and a wounded panther

which took refuge in a deep cave. The proprietor of the cave,

a hyaena, gave battle and emerged shortly afterwards somewhat

badfy scratched about the face but otherwise uninjured. The

panther was found lying outside the cave stone dead. She had a

flesh bullet wound in the neck not sufficient to kill her, but she had

been bitten in two places by the hyaena. Firstly through the

loins and then through the kidneys, at the same time her spine was

injured. The writer is confident that the panther died of the

injuries received from the hyaena.

Captain, now Col. A. H. E. Mosse writing of the Spotted Hyaena

in Somaliland, (My Somali Book , p. 35), speaks of their attacking

cows. Their method is to tear out the udders of the cow in a most

cruel fashion. Similar and equally successful attacks on straying

cattle are not unknown. The writer quotes Drake Brockman

(Mammals of Somaliland) who states that they often attack horses

biting great pieces out of their hind-quarters. Our Striped Hyaena

also occurs in Somaliland where according to Mosse he appears

to be decidedly more aggressive than here in India. He develops

the habit of running* amock among a flock of goats or sheep, killing

a dozen or more from sheer lust for slaughter. Eds.]

XIII.— BODY MEASUREMENTS OF A GAUR

In connection with the note on ‘Body Measurements of a Gaur

by Mr. I. L. Cameron of Ceylon in No. IV, Vol. xxxiii of the

B. N. H. S. Journal , the following letter to me from Mr. De Wet

Van Ingen of Mysore will be of interest.

‘In reply to your letter of the 7th instant for which I thank

you, the bison measured 57 11^;/ at the shoulder — length from

middle of forehead to stump of tail S' 1 He had a head with

a i\" spread and 81J" from tip to tip.

I came across him lying in a teak clearing and got up to a tree

stump on which I fixed my Graflex Camera and then told the kurba

to break a couple of dried sticks and took a snap of it as it walked

up to me, and then used my T70 when he was at a range of

15 paces, firing into the chest.

I gave Mrs. Morris a copy of the photograph. Unfortunately

the only two teak saplings in the vicinity were in his way, for the

photograph. When I fired he was right out in the open.

Honnametti Estate, R. C. MORRIS.

Attikan P.O.,

Via Mysore,

(S. India),

February 20, 1930 ,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

563

XIV.— GOOD HEAD OF NILGIR1 TAHR

It should be of interest to record that a very fine specimen of a

Nilgiri Tahr, locally known as ‘Ibex,’ with horns measuring — -left

15^'' ; right in length, and girth 8f " for both horns at the base,

was shot in this District on March 28, 1930.

Mr. Lane (Indian Police) and I and some shikaris were out

searching the lulls for Tahr in the evening of March 27, 1930,

when we came across this beast. We fired and only succeeded

in wounding it, apparently by a shot of mine, and it disappeared

down the side of a semi-precipitous cliff. When next seen by me,

its off fore-leg was seen to be shattered at the shoulder. The Tahr

was able to keep up a most remarkable pace considering its

enormous size and the fact that it had only three legs to move on.

Unfortunately for the poor beast we were unable to bag it that night.

Next morning, March 28, 1930, I went out with an Orderly,

Cons. 1563 Kuttan Nair (Malabar Special Police) and some

shikaris and proceeded to the spot where it had been approximately

located the previous evening. After a search, it was heard making

off in the undergrowth and Cons. Kuttan Nair followed it for

some distance more down this cliff, and eventually shot it when

it stopped for a breather in the shelter of some bushes.

The measurements noted above for the length have been taken

along the outside of the curve from the tip to the end of the small

projection of horn on the inner side of the front of the base of the

horn. From records I have seen in books, this appears to be the

fth largest horn which has been recorded. I should be glad if

you would kindly inform me whether this is correct. , I should also

be interested to know whether any large Nilgiri Tahr heads have

been shot within recent years. The measurements are corroborated

as above by Mr. Lane,

Mallapuram, H. D, LATHAM,

Malabar, (Indian Police).

April 7, 1980.

[The biggest Nilgiri Tahr head is in the British Museum (Hume

Collection) ; it measures 16f x 8J inches. A very fine head was

recently presented to the Society by Capt. R. H. Irvine — it

measures 16 J x 9^G Eds.]

XV.— THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOUSE-DEER

In the last issue of the Journal , Mr. F. W. Champion queries

the existence of the Mouse Deer in the Southern United Provinces.

In February 1903, I shot a Mouse Deer in some low hills about

10 miles North of Nowgong in Bundelkhand.

I had recently come from S. India, where I had met with the

Mouse Deer, but noticed that the shikari and coolies with me

pointed to the little animal and chattered amongst themselves ; then

asked me questions, which I could not understand, owing to their

very meagre supply of Hindostani. I got the impression that I

had shot something I ought not to, and did not mention the matter

564 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

except to a brother subaltern of equal callousness, who, on being

asked by me whether Mouse Deer were sacred in that part of the

world, replied ‘What’s a Mouse Deer?’

I have more recent evidence, however, for I saw a Mouse Deer

in the Dhera Sagar block of the Lalitpur District in the end of

March 1928. This is very close to districts where Mr. Champion

states they exist, but still js in the Southern United Provinces.

As far as the Siwaliks are concerned I must plead guilty to a

worse crime then a slip of the pen. I was talking to a well-known

shooting enthusiast, who had spent many pleasant weeks in the

Siwaliks. He made use of the expression that ‘a morning walk

in the Siwaliks might produce anything from a tiger to a mouse-

deer,’ and the phrase seemed as apt, and expressive of my own

memories of my only visit to the Siwaliks, that I stole it and never

checked its accuracy.

Mr. Champion has caught and convicted me.

Fort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

January 18, 1930. Lt.-Col .

XVI.— NOTES ON THE 9TH EDITION OF

‘RECORDS OF BIG GAME’.

On studying the 9th edition of Rowland Ward’s Records of Big

Game I have found a number of errors and inconsistencies intro-

duced into this latest edition. As this most useful compilation is

frequently consulted for purposes of reference, I think these

inaccuracies should be marked down before they become ground

for further error. The principal criticisms which 1 have to offer,

and which refer to Indian game, are as follows.

(1) Swamp Deer. ( Rucervus duvauceli). p. 41.

The colour is described as ‘bright rufous brown’. This would be

applicable to the stag in the hot weather if ‘light’ were substituted

for ‘bright’. But most people see them in the cold weather, when

the colour is a varying shade of rather dull brown.

(2) Thamin.

On pages 45, 46 and 47^, three ‘species’ of thamin have been

formed from the former one. In addition to Rucervus eldi we now

have Rucervus thamin and R. platyceros. R. eldi is given as the

designation of the Manipur animal, the Burmese being R. thamin,

and the Siamese R. platyceros. The Manipur beast is distinguished

from the Burmese by having naked pasterns : surely a mere racial

characteristic, and locally caused by the animal wearing off the

hair by continuous existence in swamp. The Siamese ‘species’ is

distinguished by having* palmated horns : a characteristic found

also in Burmese heads, and by no means universally in Siamese

heads. Of seven heads which 1 examined on the Meping river,

only two had palmation, one very little. The division of the thamin

into three different species on such unsatisfactory grounds seems

quite unjustified. Again we are informed that the thamin of Upper

Burma belongs to' a race called R. thamin brucei. This was

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

565

described by Oldfield Thomas from two heads which came from

the same herd and were almost certainly the progeny of one master

stag. They are not in the least typical of heads from Upper Burma

and, in fact, are merely local aberrations. There are no constant

characteristics distinguishing* the thamin of Upper and Lower

Burma.

(3) Hog-Deer. ( Cervus porcinus). p. 57.

Under ‘distribution’ no mention is made of the Indus Valley, the

distribution being given as ‘throughout the Indo-Gangetic plain

from the Punjab to Assam. . . . ’ This is certainly much too

comprehensive. I have yet to hear of a specimen from the Punjab,

and outside the swamps at the foot of the Himalayas, it is confined,

in Northern India, to the islands of the lower Indus River.

(4) Blackbuck. ( Antilope cervicapra). p. 218.

The head belonging to the Maharajah of Jind, and recorded under

‘owner’s measurements’ as 32f inches in length, I measured as 3 If

when the head was sent to the Society to be mounted. I cannot

understand the difference. The head is more likely to have shrunk

half an inch.

(5) The Seistan Gazelle. ( Gazella seistanica). p. 224.

No mention is made of the females having horns, in contrast to

the preceding and subsequent species, G. yarkandensis and

G. fuscifrons.

(6) The Chinkara. ( Gazella bennetti). pp. 224, 225.

The distribution, ‘Peninsular India’, must be a slip. This gazelle

is also found all over Northern India and on both sides of the Indus.

Contrary to the description given, the points of the horns turn in

distinctly in many specimens from the west of the Indus. It is

possible that there is a distinct race there.

(7) Serow. ( Capricornis sumatrensis). p, 321.

The astounding information is given that the head of the Kashmir

Serow (here designated C. s. humei) is rufous brown. Having seen

and shot many serow in Kashmir and the Chenab Valley, I

emphatically contradict this statement. The Kashmir Serow has

a black head, with a variable amount of white spots and patches,

usually about the lips and throat.

I will also venture to assert, with absolute confidence, that the

Kashmir and Chamba serows are identical, and that there are no

grounds for separating the latter under the racial name of

Capricornis sumatrensis rodoni.

Again, in Arakan, both black and bright rufous serows are found ;

the latter being a colour-phase which extends in a belt right across

Upper Burma and is found occasionally in Assam, and even near

Naini Tab

No mention is made of the curious purplish bloom on Malay and

Siamese serows,

566 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXlV

(8) Markhor. ( Capra falconeri). p. 341.

Col. A. B. Souter’s record 65 inch head is illustrated as an Astor

markhor. It was obtained on the North flank of the Kaj-i-Nag

Range, and is not an Astor head.

It is very typical of the race to which it belongs, and is by

no means like the typical Astor head.

(9) Asiatic Ibex. ( Capra sibirica). p. 343.

In enumerating the various alleged races of ibex, what is the

distinction between the ‘Balti Ibex (C. 5. wardi)’, ‘the Himalayan

Ibex (C. s. skyn ) from the mountains to the northward of Kashmir’,

and ‘the Gilgit race (C. s. pedriy?

Looking at the map one would assume that Baltistan and Gilgit

are both included under ‘the mountains to the northward of

Kashmir. ’

In the list of heads on pages 344 and 345, the editors seem

to have gone, geographically, still further astray; as, under ‘Ladaki,

Balti and Kashmiri races’, they list heads from Gilgit, Chitral, the

Pamirs, and Kashgar Mountains. This, to say the least of it, is

inconsistent in the extreme.

The editors have given no distinguishing characteristic to guide

the naturalist or sportsman to help him differentiate between these

hypothetical races. It would appear that there are none.

(10) Sind Ibex. ( Capra hircus). p. 351.

Heads from Mekran and the Taurus Range are classified both

under C. h. cegragus and C. h. blythi. The editors would appear

to have had the same difficulty in distinguishing these ‘races’ as

with the Himalayan Ibex. They do not tell us what is the ‘slight

difference in the shape of the horns’ which distinguishes them, and,

if they have seen the wide variation in this respect which I have seen

in a single herd, no wonder they are puzzled.

(11) The Bantin or Tsaine. ( Bibos banteng).

No mention is made of the great variety in colour to be met with

in old bulls ; although such variety is peculiar to this species alone.

I have seen in one area in Upper Burma, about 20 miles square,

and in the same month, bulls of the following shades of colour : —

khaki (oak-leaf), copper-beech leaf, french grey, buffalo blue, dark

bay, chocolate. All of these were fully adult bulls. Major G. P.

Evans has recorded three black bulls in the Chindwin Valley.

(12) The Sumatran Rhinoceros. ( Rhinoceros sumatrensis)

p. 440.

The rear horn of the specimen entered under ‘owner’s measure-

ments’, shot by A. S. Vernay, is shown as measuring 14 inches

in length. As this specimen was a female, and had a front horn of

only 6 inches in length, it is evident that the circumference of the

front horn has been transposed to the wrong column. The longest

rear horn on record is 7J inches.

Tiger. At last we have a good system of estimating the size

of tigers from their skins, and the details given under ‘area

dimensions’ on page 476 will do much to allay the craving for

length which has led to such amazing records being claimed and

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

567

to skins being" pegged out so as to look like the outer coverings of

large, striped greyhounds.

‘Area dimensions’ are of scientific interest and value.

In making the above criticisms I will not, I hope, be accused

of not crediting Records of Big Game with its immense value,

both to Science and Sport.

It is only by such criticisms that one can arrive at true facts, and

avoid a multiplication of species and races being admitted by default

of criticism, which are based on insufficient and inconclusive

material.

We owe (I write both as a naturalist and a sportsman) an

incalculable debt of gratitude, both to the originators and the

present editors of the book.

March 8, 1930 .

XVII.— NOTES ON THE MAMMALS OF BALUCHISTAN

A year’s residence in the Zhob Valley, and a good deal of travelling

in the surrounding county, has convinced me that Baluchistan

remains the most interesting part of India, zoologically speaking.

The first thing that strikes one is the wide distribution of the

larger mammals in spite of their comparative scarcity ; and the

number of species to be found, contrary to generally accepted ideas.

The Leopard, Wolf ( Canis lupus), and Striped Hyaena are

scattered all over the Baluchistan Agency, and, as these species are

great travellers, this is not so remarkable.

But what is very notable is the number of localities where the

Himalayan Black Bear occurs. I know of them personally on the

Tahkt-i-Suliman massif, at the head of the Kuchmina Valley, and

have reliable information of their occurrence in several of the ranges

west of the Zhob River, at over 6,000 feet. Everywhere they are

scarce, are shot at whenever seen, and it is wonderful how they

continue to exist.

Oorial (locally called f gud}) are scattered all over the district, are

still fairly plentiful in spite of much shooting, and good rams are

still to be met with fairly close to main roads. A very fine ram was

shot recently near Sheghalu Post, west of the Zhob River, by an

Indian Officer of the Zhob Militia. The horns measured 39 right,

and 38f inches left, and are, I believe, the longest pair now in

existence. Major Dodd’s head of 41 , shot by a Jemadar of the

Wana Militia, was destroyed in Wana in 1919, and I believe that

Major Taylor’s 39|- inch head, picked off a ziarat in Waziristan, is

also no longer in existence.

Straight-Horned Markhor are still to be found in many localities,

but have been terribly shot down, and good heads are very hard to

find. I have made an expedition to each of two formerly famous

localities, — the Takht-i-Suliman and the Kuchmina Valley, — without

seeing a single shootable head. The type of horn is very distinct

from the different ranges as a rule.

Fort Sandeman,

Baluchistan,

C. H. STOCKLEY,

Lt.-CoL

38

568 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Both the Chinkara ( Gazella bennetti ) and Kennion’s Gazelle

(Gazella fuscifrons) are found in Baluchistan. The former, (possibly

a distinct race) seems to be found east of the Zhob Valley, and

Kennion’s Gazelle, in the Valley itself, but the distribution is not

yet accurately known.

Fort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

March 8, 1980 . Lt.-Col.

XVIII.— MIGRATION OF WILD FOWL

Since the publication of Vol. xxxiv, No. 1, of the Journal, the

following recoveries of Ringed Birds have been reported to us.

Capt. G. Sherrif reported the recovery of 13 Mallard, .4.

platyryncha ringed by him at Kashgar, Chinese Turkestan. All

these ducks were recovered at Kashgar or in its immediate neigh-

bourhood within one to ten days from the date of ringing.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 569

Regarding these recoveries Capt. Sherrif remarks that owing to a

prolonged and excessively cold spell when the temperature after dusk

fell to below zero, Fahrenheit ( — 12° F. once) the duck had become

so emaciated and weak that a great number of those ringed fell

within a short time an easy prey to dogs and hawks and were also

shot.

EDITORS.

XIX.— MIGRATION NOTES IN 1929 FROM THE NILGIRI

DISTRICT

I append a list of arrivals of winter migrants in the Nilgiri Dis-

trict which may be of interest.

Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypoleucos), 4th August.

Grey Wagtail ( Motacilla cinerea caspica), 23rd August.

Willow-Warbler ( Phylloscopus tytlerif), 28th September.

Blue Rock-Thrush ( Monlicola solitaria pandoo ), 3rd October.

Brown Shrike (. Lanins cristatus crista/us), 7th October.

Common House-Swallow ( Hirundo rustica subsp.), 8th October.

Black Drongo ( Dicrurus macrocercus macrocercus ), Local migrant,

15th October.

Indian Blue Chat ( Larvivora brunnea ), 23rd October.

Pale Harrier ( Circus macrurus ), 23rd October.

Green Sandpiper ( Tringa ochropus), 25th October.

Indian Tree-Pipit {Anthus hodgsoni hodgsoni ), 7th November.

Blue-headed Rock-Thrush ( Monticola cincloryncha ), 27th Novem-

ber.

Nilgiris,

16th December , 1929, F. N. BETTS,

XX.— NOTES ON SOME BIRDS SEEN IN LAHUL

AND KULU

Lahul, 1929,

The Tibet Raven, Corvus corax tibetazizis.

Great numbers of ravens in the Sarchu Nala in September. A

few seen in Chokam Nala at Ninghar in the last week of September.

Ravens were seen in the Chamba Valley from Lot to Sissu, 4-10

and 5-10-1929, after a heavy fall of snow.

The Wall Creeper, Trickodroma muraria.

A single bird seen in Chokam Nala near Guari on 28-9-29.

The Kashmir Wren, Troglodytes trogolodytes neglecta.

Several wrens seen in Chokam Nala, near Ninghar, 26-9 to

30-9-29.

The White-capped Redstart, Chaimarrhornis leucocephala.

A pair of these birds seen on several occasions in the Sarchu

Nala about 14,300 ' between 1-9 and 10-9-29.

570 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

The Himalayan Whistling-Thrush, Myiophoiieus temmincki tern-

mine hi.

Plentiful in Chokam Nala at the end of September.

The Kashmir Dipper, Cinclus cinclus cash?neriensis.

Pairs seen — Kiniung, 27-8-29; Sarchu Nala, 14,000' 5-9-29.

The Indian Brown Dipper, Cinclus pallasi lenuirostris .

Fairly plentiful at the end of September in Chokam Nala.

The Western Red-breasted Rose-Finch, Pyrrhospiza punicea

humii .

Numbers of a very rosy-headed finch seen at Kinlung.

Severtzoff’s Rose-Finch, Carpodacus severtzovi.

Zingzingbar on 10-7 and 9-7-29.

The Yellow-headed Wagtail, Motacilla citreola subsp.

Seen in Sarchu Nala at about 14,000' in first week of Sep-

tember.

European Hoopoe, Upupa epops.

First seen at Sarchu Nala at about 14,000' (a single bird) on

16-8-29.

Single birds seen Sarchu Nala, 14,000' 17-8-29 and at Tsarp

Nala, 13,000', 18-8 and 19-8-29. Thereafter it was plentiful on the

Lingli plains and surrounding hills till about 10-9-29.

The Turkestan Hill-Pigeon, Columba rupestris turkesla?iica.

Only seen beyond Kiniung. Very plentiful and tame.

Mallard, Anas plalyryncha.

A single duck seen and shot on the ‘lagoon’ below Sissu-

bungalow after heavy snow on the 2, 3, and 4-10-29.

Common Teak Nettion creca.

Pairs seen as under : —

Kiniung, 9-8-28 on a small talao.

Sarchu, 10-8-29 to 12-8-29 on Yunan river*

Kiniung, 25-8-29 to 21-8-29.

Sissu, 6-10-29 ; shot on lagoon. An odd bird seen and

shot at Kiniung on the 28-8-29.

A flock of duck, about the size of a Wigeon, dark in colour, were

seen at Kiniung on the 27-8 and the 28-8-29 but were very wild

whereas the Teal were quite tame.

An owl about the size of a Shot-eared Owl, was seen quartering

the hillside above Sarchr Serai about mid-day on the 17-8-29.

A quail was found sheltering on the outer fly of my tent on the

early morning of the 9-9-29 in the Quissmett Nala— about 4 miles

up the Lingti river from its junction with the Yunan Stream.

Kulu, 1928.

The Yellow-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus.

In early May, 1928, there were considerable numbers of this

Chough at the Solang Nala, Kulu.

The Snow Pigeon, Cohimba leuconota .

A flock seen near Solang village, Kulu, 8,000' on 26-4-28, there-

after for several days.

Kulu,

December , 1929 .

D. LOWNDES,

Capt .

M1SCELLANE0 US NO TES

571

XXL— VERNACULAR NAMES FOR

Name .

The Raven (Corvus corax) ... ...

The Himalayan Jungle-Crow (C. coronoides j

intermedins) ... ... ... |

The Sind House-Crow (C. splendens

zugmayeri)- ...

The Eastern Jackdaw (C. monedida som-

meringii)

The Kashmir Magpie ( Pica pica bactriana ) <

The Red-billed Chough ( Pyrrhocorax

pyrrhocorax) ... ... ... i

The Grey Tit ( Pams ma jor kaschmiriensis.)

The Crested Black Tit (. Lophophanes melano- \

tophus ) ... ... ...1

The Simla Streaked Laughing-Thrush

( Frochalopterum lineatum griseicentior).

The White-cheeked Bulbul ( Pycnonotus

luteolus)

The Himalayan Black Bulbul ( Microscelis \

p . psaroides) ... ... ... }

The Tree-Creeper ( Certhia sp .)

The Wall Creeper ( Tichodroma muraria ) ...

The Indian Bush Chat (S. t. indica)

The Western Spotted Forktail ( Enicurus

m. maculatus)

The White-capped Redstart ( Chaimarrhor -

nis leucocephala )

The Plumbeous Redstart ( Rhyacornis

iulginosa fulginosa).

The Blue Throat {Cyanecida suecica)

The Ruby Throat {Calliope pectoralis)

The Grey Headed Thrush (7 urdus casta7icus

castaneus)

The Black-throated Thrush ( Turdus

alrogularis)

The Missel-Thrush (7 urdus visciiorus)

The Whistling Thrush ( Myiophomus

temmincki) .., ... ...

The TickelPs Thrush ( Turdus imicolor) *».

The Hedge Sparrow (Laiscopus)

The Paradise Fly-catcher (Male)

Terpsiphone paradisi) (female & young).

The Rufous-backed Shrike ( Lanius schach

erythronolus).

Minivet (. Pericrocotus sp.)

The Drongo (Dicrurus sp.)

The Reed-warbler (. Acroceptalus sp.)

The Willow Warbler ( Phylloscopus sp.)

KASHMIR BIRDS

Local Name.

Botin Kav.

Diva Kav.

Pahtsol Kav.

Kav.

Kavin.

Hor Kav (in Dras).

Khashim Brah.

(in Suru).

i Wan kavin.

; Wozij tonti kavin.

Ranga tsar.

Tajdar tsar.

Pintsakon.

Sheen-a-pi-pih.

Bill-bi-chur.

' Wan bulbul.

(Khruhun bulbul).

Koel dider.

Lamba dider.

Dofa Tiriv.

Shakhel-lot.

i Chets tab

[ Kumidi (in Kola hoi).

Kola Tiriv.

Nyul hot ?

Yaquat hot ?

Wan Kostur.

Wanda Kostur ?

Techal Kostur.

Hazar dastan.

Kostur.

Zanda ts&r.

j Fhambasrr.

{ Ranga bulbul.

Hat a watij.

Wozul Mini?

Gunkots.

Kurkoch.

Viri Tiriv.

572 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI P

Name.

The Chilf-cha ff (Phy l Iosco pu* colly bita)

The Indian Oriole ( Oriolus kimdoo)

Starling (Siurnus sp.)

Myna (Acridotheres s p.)

The Dipper (Cinclus sp.')

The Grossbeak (. Perrisospiza )

The Orange Bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantica).

The Rose-Finch ( Carpodacus )

The Gold-Finch ( Carduclis caniceps )

The Gold-fronted Finch

(. Metaponia pusilla) young ...

The Eastern Meadow-Bunting (Emberiza

cia stracheyi)

The Swallow (Hirundo sp.) ...

The Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla lugubris )

The Lark {Alauda sp.)

The Small Skylark ( Alauda gulgulct)

The Green Woodpecker (Picus)

The Pied Woodpecker ( Dryobatcs )

The Wryneck (. biyx torquilla )

The Roller ( Coracias indica )

The Bee-eater (Aferops sp.)

The Pied Kingfisher ( Ceryle ptaiis)

The Central Asian Blue Kingfisher

(Halcyon sp.)

The Hoopoe (Upnpa epops) .

The Cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus) ...

The Pied Cuckoo ( Clamator jacobinus)

The Parakeet ( Psiiacula )

Owls

Vultures

White Vultur q (Neophron percnoptcrus) . ...

Pallas’ Fishing Eagle (Haliaetus leucory-

phus)

The Kite (Milvns govinda)

The Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter nisus)

The Peregrine (Falco peregrinus)

Kestrel ( Ccrchneis timiunculus)

The Rock Pigeon ( Columba livia )

The Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota)

The Ring-Dove (Columba palvmbus

casiotis )

The Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orienlalis) ...

The Monal (Lophophorus bnpejanus J

The Chukor (Cacabis chukar)

The Snow-Cock (Teiraogallus himalayensis).

The Indian Moorhen (Porphyrio polio-

cephalus )

Local Name.

Chip-Chip.

Posh nul.

Tsihi-hangur.

Hor.

Dungal.

Wyet tont.

Sama Sonatser.

Gulabi Tsar.

Sehara.

Tiok.

Taer.

Wan Tsar.

Katij.

Dab-bai.

Jal.

dider.

Koel Makkats.

Hor Koel. Makk&ts.

Koel Ku-kir.

Viri Mot.

Nila Krash.

Tuleri Khav.

Hor Kola tonch.

Kola tonch.

Satut.

Shah Kuk.

Zoeb Kuk.

Hor Kuk.

Tot&.

Rata mogul.

Grad.

Patyal.

Gada Grad ?

Gont.

Tsari suh,

Poz.

Boher ?

W&n kotur.

Chut kotur.

Kukih

Wan kukil.

Male : sunal.

Female : ham.

Kakov.

Gura Kakov.

Tech.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

573

Name.

The Coot ( Fulica atra) ... ... j

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydro phasia-\

nus chirurgus) ... ... ... (

The Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) ...

The Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypo- (

Uncos') ... ... ... {

The Redshank ( Tringa tetanus totanus ) ...

The Greenshank ( Glottis nebularid)

The Woodcock ( Scolopax rusticola)

The Fantail Snipe {Capella gallinago)

The Black-headed Gui\ (Larus ridibundus)..

The Biown-headed Gull ( Earns brunni -

cephalus ) ... ...

The Whiskered Tern \Chelidonias lencopareia)

The Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax )

The Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea )

The Night Heron (Nycticorax nyctiorax)

The Bittern (. Botaurus stellaris)

The Goose ( Anser )

The Brahminy Duck ( Casarca rutila )

The Mallard (Anas platyryncha)

The Gadwall ( Chaulelasmus streperus )

The Wigeon ( Mareca penelope )

The Garganey ( Querquedula querquedula )

The Teal ( Nettion creed)

The Pintail (Daiila acuta)

The Shoveller (, Spatula clypeata)

The Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)

The White-eyed Pochard ( Nyroca rufa)

The Tufted Pochard ( Nyroca iuliguld)

The Smew (Mergus albellus ) . . .

The Dabchick ( Podiceps ruiicollis)

Local Name.

Kavput.

Kolur.

Gund kav.

Gail* kov.

Kola katij.

Tont kon.

Kola Kavih.

Wozul rial ?

Nyal nal.

Zar batchi.

Chah.

Khrind.

Bullur ?

Krew.

Mong.

Brag.

Bor.

Goi.

Anz.

Tsakov.

Male : Neluj

Female : Thuj

Budan.

Shurini Budan.

Kola Kilar.

Keusput.

Sokha pachen.

Honk.

Tur.

Harawot.

Khruk.

Gagur.

Pind.

C. M. S. High School

Srin^ gar,

December , 1929.

SAMSAR CHAND KOUL,

XXII.— THE ATTITUDE OF BIRDS TOWARDS

THEIR YOUNG

With reference to your note to the Miscellaneous Notes in

Vol. xxxiii, No. 4 to a question by Mr. Griffiths, the following

may be of interest. About 1903, when stationed at Poona, a pair

of White Eyes ( Zosterops palpebrosa) built in my porch, a nest

which was quite visible from the verandah. In due course, four

young were hatched, I watched the process of bringing them up.

574 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

When the young- were able to uplift their necks and open their

mouths to receive their food, one could plainly see four mouths.

In a day or two, it was noticeable that two of these were much more

prominent. The other two were very much smaller and it was not

long before they were found lying on the ground below the nest.

It was of no avail replacing them for they were immediately evicted.

The idea conveyed to me was that, on the appearance of the

parent, or parents, with food, the four necks were uplifted to receive

it. The parents seemed to cram the food down the first throat

they came across and to show no discrimination in distributing it

fairly. The natural result being that the stronger young got the

attention and so thrived, while the weaker made no progress and

soon fell behind, on perceiving which, by the inexorable Law of

Nature, their parents would have none of them, so flung them out.

From what I have seen during my life, not only confined to

India, birds that bring up and feed their young in a nest neglect

some of the brood, and rarely bring up more than a small minority.

They seem to be very callous towards their offspring, so long as

they can rear one or two. In the case of birds that have young

which can fend for themselves at once, such as Lapwing, Snipe,

Duck and so on, it is not the same among these; of course there

are many casualties, not due, however, to want of food for they

feed themselves.

It would be interesting to know whether my conclusions are

correct, by others, interested in ornithology, giving their views on

the point.

[When young birds are hatched as helpless nestlings the labour

of feeding them is very great. Professor Newland has shown that

a pair of Great Tits destroyed from 7000-8000 caterpillars during

the twenty days in which they were busy rearing their young.

While Dr. Collinge computed that a pair of Starlings visited their

young with food no less than 370 times during a single day. Yet>

as with most of the activities of the nesting bird, the actual feeding

of the young is in the main an instinctive act. With the majority

of birds it is haphazard. It is not governed by intelligent discrimi-

nation as to the more pressing needs of a particular offspring.

Under the circumstances the stronger get the lion’s share while

nestlings which are congenitally weaker, or less strong because they

have been hatched later, get shouldered aside and get little of the

food. There are some interesting adaptations on the part of the nest-

lings which help to make feeding easier. It has been suggested

that the bright colouring of the inside of the mouths of the nest-

ling birds helps the parents, particularly in dim light, to locate the

mouths of their offspring. If the theory is correct it is easy to see

how such a helpful character would become readily established by

the survival of the birds possessing the advantage and the

extinction of those who do not. Eds.]

Cape Town,

January 7, 1930.

R. M. BETHAM,

Brig. -General.

Miscellaneous notes

XXIII.— NOTES ON BIRDS IN BALUCHISTAN

575

On April 5, 1929, at about 10,200 feet, I saw a pair of Scarlet

Minivets ( Pericrocotus speciosus) on the crest of the Kaisarghar

Range, which is the western half of the Takht-i-Suliman massif.

They were moving very slowly along the crest, so (as it is the

provincial boundary) sometimes in Baluchistan, sometimes in the

North-West Frontier Province. They were evidently looking for

a nesting site in the Chilgoza Pines (Pinus longifolia ) which grow

there in profusion, and spent a good quarter of an hour within

a dozen feet of me in the tree above my head. These birds have not

previously been recorded from this part of India.

Then, in August, I saw many Black Tits ( Lophophanes

rufonuchalis) at Shinghar, at 8,000 feet. This bird is also not

recorded from Baluchistan. They appear to be a new race1, lacking

the buff spots on the wing, and I have sent a specimen to the

Society, together with a Rock Nuthatch ( Sitta tephronota) from the

same hill. Both these skins were a good deal knocked about, I

regret to say, as I only had No. 5 shot.

Other birds of note which I have seen are White-necked Storks

(Dissoura episcopa ) of which only one specimen is recorded from

Sind, and, as far as I can ascertain, none from Baluchistan. I saw

five of these birds at Murgha for several days in the first half of

last March. (Forty or fifty Green Plover, were with them.) I saw

fourteen of these storks on March 2, 1930, and nine the previous

Sunday, on the Zhob River five miles from Fort Sandeman.

Several hundred pelicans were driven down on to the hills between

Ziarat and Loralai by bad weather in February, 1929, and many

were killed with sticks by local Pathans. They would appear to

have belonged to the species Pelecanus crispus.

I have also to note the arrival of a flock of about thirty Common

Teal at Murgha on August 2, 1929. This I think is the earliest

arrival date on record. They were there for 24 hours and local

Pathans stated that they, or another flock, had been there for

the two previous days, in the same flooded fields.

Fort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

March 8, 1930. Lt.-Col.

XXIV.— OCCURRENCE OF THE WHITETHROAT

(SYLVIA CURRUCA HALIMODENDII)

IN THE PUNJAB

On December 9, 1928, I secured a solitary Whitethroat which

was haunting some Farash trees (Tamarix articulata) outside the

Rest House at Roda in the Shahpur District (Punjab). Roda

is situated in the Thai (desert) area between the Jhelum and the

Indus. This bird, a male, has now been identified by Mr. H.

Whistler as Sylvia curruca halimodendii, a Central Asian race of

1 The bird in question was submitted to Dr. C. B. Ticehurst for examina-

tion who states that the bird obtained by Col. Stockley is a young example

of the above-named Tit. Eds,

??

576 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

the Lesser Whitethroat. Mr. Whistler informs me that there is

no previous record of this race from India proper, but that Hotson

collected a female on the 31st January 1917 at Nur Mahomed,

22 miles north-west of Chaharbar in Baluchistan. He adds that in

colour it is very similar to minula but is larger, the size of affinis.

XXV.— THE AMANDAVAT (AMANDA V A AMA NDA V A)

IN MESOPOTAMIA

Captain H. F. Stoneham of Kenya Colony has recently sent me

two wings of a supposed warbler which he obtained at Baiji in 1918

and which he had put away and forgotten about. These wings are

certainly not warbler’s wings and correspond exactly with those of

a juvenile Amandavat (Amandava amandava).

On further correspondence he writes ‘The wings from Baiji are

absolutely authentic. I remember the occasion and so you can rely

on the record with absolute certainty. There were several birds

about ... in some long grass between cultivation and the river’.

It is of course possible that amandavats have been introduced into

Mesopotamia as they have elsewhere. Information about the species

in Mesopotamia is desirable.

Appledore, Kent. CLAUDE B. TICEHURST.

XXVI.— OCCURRENCE OF THE WHITE-HEADED OR

STIFF-TAILED DUCK ( ERISMATURA LEUCOCEPHALA)

IN THE N.W.F.P.

A party of three guns, Mr. J. G. Dunn, Mr. S. Weller, and

myself left Wazirabad at about 5.30 a.m. and proceeded via Khanki

to a place known as Garjargola. Last year this spot had given us

some very good sport.

We arrived there to find that there was next to no sport to be

had as the water had almost vanished.

From Garjargola we went about another ten miles further along

the Lower Chenab Canal looking for duck, and eventually shot one

Gadwall and one Teal. Owing to the scarcity of sport we decided

to return to Khanki and try some flighting on the river.

We must have arrived at Khanki near 4 p.m. and walked along

the head-works making enquiries regarding the shooting to be had.

A workman pointed out two birds swimming in the backwater

caused by the closing of the sluices. The birds were ridiculously

close, in, and watching them 1 said that they were Grebes. We

must have watched them for nearly one hour. They would swim up

to the current, hold steady there for a couple of minutes and then

return to the slack water near the sluices. They swam very low

in the water, with their tails raised, and heads placed low on the

back, Once again I said that they were Grebes, but Mr. Weller

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 577

said that he was rather doubtful. We managed to procure a boat

soon after, and the birds refusing to be put up were shot at by

Mr. Dunn. One died and the other apparently wounded flew for

a couple of yards, settled and at once dived. It came up again in

almost in the same spot after some thirty seconds. I at once shot

it. When the birds had been recovered we at once saw that they

were out of the usual run of duck found in these parts. On the way

home their name came to me and I knew that we had come across

a rare visitor to India. Reaching home they were identified as the

White-headed or Stiff-Tailed Duck from ‘Indian Ducks and their

Allies’ by Stuart Baker.

I wrote to the. Civil and Military Gazette asking* them to publish

a short paragraph recording the shooting of these birds.

Wazirabad, T. D. WEEKS,

November 23, 1929.

XXVII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE STIFF-TAILED DUCK

(ERISMATURA LEU COCEPHALA) IN THE SHAH PUR

DISTRICT, PUNJAB

I have much pleasure in sending you by post to-day a specimen

of a Stiff-tailed Duck ( Erismatura leucocephala)} shot at Sarghada,

Shahpur District on February 7, 1930. Capt. Taylor and

myself bagged 2^ brace. I have personally only once before come

across a specimen in the North of India in the Mianwali District

and this appears to me to be an unusually large bag.

Nowsiiera, N.W.F.P., W. E. FLEMMING,

February 10, 1930. Lt.-CoL,

3 1 17 Dogra Regiment ;

XXVIII.— OCCURRENCE OF THE MALLARD (ANAS'

PLATYRYNCHA) IN UPPER BURMA

I enclose the skin of a Mallard duck shot by Mr. Turner,

Divisional Forest Officer, Bhamo. He also shot one in 1926.

Bhamo, A. J. JONES,

January 13, 1930. Imperial Police .

1 am sending you two skins of Ducks under separate cover. One

is a drake Mallard which was shot by Mr. H. F. Burke on

December 30, 1929, on Menkalee Jheel in the Upper Chindwin,

Burma. There seems to be no doubt as to the identity of this bird

but in view of its very rare occurrence in Burma we should like it

verified and think it may be of interest to you,

Mawlaik, N. TH1RKELL WHITE,

January 6, 1930 .

[ The birds referred to in the above notes have been identified as

Mallards ( Anas platyryncha). The Mallard is very rare winter

visitor to Burma. Eds.]

578 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXIV

XXIX.— OCCURRENCE OF THE BAIKAL TEAL (NETTION

FORMOSUM ) IN THE DURBHANGA DISTRICT,

N. BIHAR

I am sending the Bombay Natural History Society one skin of a

strange duck shot by me yesterday in the Somastipur Subdivision of

Durbhanga District, North Bihar for identification and retention

if so desired.

H. R. DUTTON,

January v20, 1980. Lt.-Col., I.M.S.

[The teal submitted to us for identification is an example of the

Baikal or Clucking Teal ( Nettion jormosum ), a rare winter migrant

to India. Eds.]

XXX.— BATHING HABIT OF THE INDIAN ROLLER

(CORACIAS BENGHALENSIS)

In November last while boating at about noon on the Jumna at

Allahabad, I noticed the bathing behaviour of a Roller, commonly

known as the Blue Jay, which appeared rather novel. As is its

wont, the bird was perching in a prominent position on a bamboo

post on the bank of the river. Presently I saw it sally forth and

make straight for water into which it dived. My first impression,

on seeing this behaviour, was that the bird espying a quarry had

gone out in its usual manner to catch it, and had had to dive in the

attempt. Since there appeared to me no insects about, it appeared

likely that the objective was a small fish. I was, however, not aware

that these birds ever preyed on fish, and my curiosity was therefore

naturally aroused. I then decided to observe more carefully the next

performance of the bird in case it repeated it. In this I was not

disappointed. Soon the bird launched forth again, and dived as

before. When it emerged I could clearly see that there was nothing-

in the beak, and it was apparent then that the bird was enjoying

a bath. In the meantime our boat was gradually approaching the

spot and I began to fear that it would take fright and fly away. But

the Jay appeared to be too much engrossed in its own affairs to be

disturbed by these considerations. Again and again it took off and

dived within a few yards of us. After seeing this performance,

repeated a number of times, at very close quarters, I had not the

least doubt that the bird needed a bath very badly, and it

availed itself of the water of the river for this purpose in the

absence of any other available water-supply in the neighbourhood.

In diving, the bird would enter the water obliquely and just enough

deeply to become completely submerged. It would soon emerge,

carried through by its own momentum, and return to its perch.

I give these details in the hope that if not known they may be

recorded.

Benares Hindu University, N. K. TIWARY,

February 5, 1930.

[In Volume XX of the Society’s Journal, page 225, Major H,

Delme Radclifle describes a similar behaviour on the part of a

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

579

Burmese Roller which dived head first into a tank and after being

momentarily submerged flew up to its perch. The bird repeated

the operation 4 times. The author of the note presumed that

the roller was catching its prey in the water. In the same volume,

page 853, Mr. Gordon Dalgliesh refers to a letter written by him

in the Field in which he commented on a Roller hovering over

water and plunging headlong into the stream. Neither of the

writers had seen the bird return from its plunge with its prey in

its mouth. The dive and the momentary submersion is evidently

the bird’s method of taking its bath. Other birds we have observed

bathing in this way are the King Crow and the Indian

Oriole. Eds.]

XXXL — NIDIFICATION OF STORKS

( With a photo)

The White-necked Stork ( Dissoura episcopa episcopa ).

On the 18th of October last I came upon two nests of this stork

on a Babul Tree (Acacia arabica) growing in the middle of an

artificial lake, which is dry during the hot weather, at Abu Road.

One of the nests was empty while the other had two fully-fledged

young in it. One of them flew away when I got up the tree. I

captured the other which, in spite of the hacking of the branches

and breaking up of the nest, made no attempt to escape, but

remained sitting low in the nest. The nests were composed of twigs

of the same tree, about three feet six inches in diameter. The centre

was lined with a little grass and other rubbish. In depth it was deep

enough to hide the bird when sitting close. Both parent birds were

at the nest when I got to it but they flew off making no attempt

to defend it.

Regarding the young birds the 2nd edition of the ‘Fauna of

British India’ (Birds) says : — ‘Young birds have the glossy black

replaced by dull brown, unglossed’. The colouration of the

specimen obtained by me agrees with the description of the old bird.

There was no dull brown about it and the gloss was distinctly

present.

This young bird I kept in captivity for almost a month and

handed it over to the local Zoo on my return to town. It

became quite tame and fed from my hand. Its food consisted of

fish, and mice when obtainable.

The only sound I heard this bird utter was a humming, much like

that of a bear when sucking its paw. This it uttered whenever it

saw me in the compound and whenever I approached it, bobbing

its head repeatedly as if ‘filling the bellows’ each time it started

it anew. Besides this it would ‘drum’ with its bill, like all storks,

when alarmed by a dog or other animal. Frequently it would

attack an animal if it approached too near.

The Black-necked Stork ( Xenorhynchus asiaticus asiaticus).

On the 14th of September last my brother-in-law discovered the

nest of this species with two eggs in it high up on the top of a large

Banyan ( Ficus indica). On the 17th October I visited the spot and

580 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL BIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI l

found that it contained three young* and one egg. The birds were

very young and covered in short white down. I took the young and

the egg. When I blew out the egg I found it to be quite rotten.

The nest was large, about 7 ft. in diameter, composed of twigs

of a species of Zizyphus which was very common in the neighbour-

hood. The central portion was lined with straw and pieces of rags

for about two feet in diameter. The nest itself was comparatively

shallow and strong enough to bear the weight of a man.

When I reached the nest the parent bird was sitting in it.

What surprised me most when I approached was, that though

this bird was armed with such .a powerful bill it did not attack,

though I fully anticipated having a bad time. When I got

up to the nest which was about 75 ft. from the ground, the parent

bird just moved off to the periphery of the nest clapping its bill loudly

and looked most aggressive but as soon as I came nearer it flew

away, circled round the tree a couple of times and then went away

and sat on a tree some distance away and watched the proceedings.

On my return past the same tree about half an hour later the bird

was back at the nest. Days after when I passed the same spot I

saw the bird at its nest again and on the 13th November when I left

for Bombay, the train passed the spot, I looked out and found this

bird at its nest again. I never saw the mate.

THREE NESTLINGS OF THE BLACK -NECKED STORK.

The young proved very interesting. No quills had appeared at

this stage. The white down of the neck gradually disappeared

about three or four days later and was replaced by a dark blackish-

grey down from beneath, the white down crowning the black here

and there. In about ten days the white down of the neck had

disappeared completely. About the same time when the colour of

the neck changed the scapulars began to sprout. These were the

first quills to appear. A couple of days later the primaries began

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

581

to show themselves and then the other wing quills. The scapulars

grew much faster than any of the other feathers, the primaries

following next. The next feathers to appear were those leading

from the scapulars towards the neck. All this time the down of

the body had got much deeper.

The young feed readily by themselves on fish, cut up small, this

proving that the parent birds must regurgitate the food they have

brought into the nest for the young to pick up for themselves.

The young would gorge themselves to such an extent that they

would be full to the top, so much so that they were unable to

keep their necks up. Frequently, if the fish was not satisfactorily

packed in the gullet it would be brought up and reswallowed, if one

of the others did not get it before the one engaged in the

rearrangement.

The legs were fleshy white. About ten days after their capture

they, commenced to stand upright on their legs, only for a short

while, from time to time, by way of exercise, otherwise they always

rested in the usual sitting posture, ‘stork fashion’.

The only sound . the young made was first a sort of ‘chack’

followed by a ‘wee- wee-wee’ repeated two or three times. When

fhey were, approached and aroused from their sleep they would

immediately get up stretch their necks and ‘drum’, to be followed

by the sound described above.

They readily recognized the difference between man and animals

even at this early age, for when the dog approached they would

stand on their dignity, spread their little wings and launch out at

the dog with their bills.

Unfortunately a couple of days before I left for Bombay

something went wrong with them and the three died, thus leaving

my notes incomplete.

Another nest off this species was discovered on the very top of a

Tamarind tree ( Tamarindus ). The bird was sitting, but the

nest was empty, presumably she was about to lay as she returned

to it. This nest was visited on the 11th November.

So far as my observations go I have always found these birds

feeding on the river during the day and late in the evening in

fields not too far from a village, where it is possible they roost for

the night. I have always seen them about in pairs when feeding.

On one occasion I was fortunate in getting two of these, the pair,

in one shot, both were wounded and put up a big fight when I tried

to Capture them, drumming loudly all the while. While I was

engaged trying to get hold of the wounded ones, another pair

appeared in the sky and circled over the wounded ones also

drumming, all the while, but after investigating the cause of the

alarm raised by the wounded flew away.

The wounded ones ran very fast but could hot maintain the speed

for long — 100 yds. being their limit, after this they would turn

round and face the enemy.

Bombay Natural History Society, C. McCANN,

Bombay, Assistant Curator,

If ovember 28, 1929 ,

582 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST . SOCIETY , XXXI V

XXXII.— NESTING OF THE SARUS (ANTIGONE

ANTIGONE)

The following- are details of a Sarus’ nest found about October

5th. The nest consisted of a raft of rushes roughly 4/ square,

floating in about 3' 6" of water. The nest contained one fresh egg

3f" long.

Cawnpore, A. J. R. HILL, R. E.,

November 23, 1929 . Lieut.

XXXIII.— FISH-EATING HABIT OF THE SARUS CRANE

(ANTIGONE ANTIGONE)

Does fish constitute any part of the dietary of Antigone anti gone

antigone (Linn.)? In an exhaustive article on the Game Birds of

the Indian Empire published in J.B.N.H.S. (Vol. xxxiii, 4),

Mr. Stuart Baker writes ‘their food consists of all kinds of grain,

shoots, aquatic plants, frogs, lizards, insects, etc., and they feed

alike in shallow water up to 18 inches deep and in cultivated field

and open plains’. In the latest edition of F.B.I. also he makes no

mention of fish while referring to food habits of these cranes. His

reticence is rather deplorable, as it tends by implication to set at

naught the previous records of Blanford, Hume and Marshall bearing

on this point. Jerdon spoke of the Gruidae ‘feeding much on grain,

a few also on insects, frogs, and fish (B.I., Vol. iii, 661)’. So

too Blanford in F.B.I. (Birds) iv, 185 — ‘Cranes are in the main

vegetable feeders, though they occasionally eat insects, reptiles or

fish’. In Hume and Marshall’s ‘Game Birds’ (Vol. iii, 25-27),

mention is made of remains of small fish being found occasionally

in the gizzards of the Common Crane. Mr. Stuart Baker speaks

of the latter as omnivorous, but when one takes note of the diverse

items mentioned by him which enter into the composition of dietary

of Antigone a. antigone (Linn.), it is difficult to think of the Sarus

otherwise than being omnivorous. Besides the nature of its haunt

and habitat does not appear to preclude the possibility of its preying

on shallow water fish, should one come in its way, in the trail of

a host of other live objects. In Hume and Marshall’s ‘Game Birds’

(Vol. iii, 4-5) we read — ‘The food of the Sarus is very varied, frogs,

lizards and all small reptiles, insects of all kinds, snails and other

land and water shells, seeds, grains and small fruits of various

kinds, green vegetable matter and the bulbous roots of various

species of aquatic plants . . . . ; and they seem to feed indifferently

in wet and dry fields or dry grassy uplands, on the margins and in

the shallows of rivers, broads and swamps. . . . They feed a

great deal on the young paddy plant, and sometimes do considerable

damage in the nurseries . . . probably they do also eat other green

shoots, grasshoppers and frogs, and perhaps young fry’. That the

Sarus has a predilection for fish and exhibits a propensity for

catching live fish if kept in a vessel of water is borne out by my

experience of a bird which I bagged alive during my bird collecting

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

583

expedition in Bareilly District in November 1928. While feeding

on the edge of a pool of water beside the paddy field of a village

near the Ramganga River, about 4 miles away from the Cantonment

of Bareilly I took it unawares with my 12-bore gun; it being hit

on the leg and thigh, I captured it easily. It became surprisingly

docile after I managed to dress the gun-shot wound. Of the various

foods I placed before it (viz., grains, leaves, boiled rice, bread

crumbs, fish, etc.), it would appear to like catching, and with its

long bill taking out, from an earthen water-vessel, live fish. It

would raise its neck and bill upwards and with a jerk throw up the

fish only to gulp it down its throat. In a short time, its wound

having healed up completely, the bird became so confiding as to

step up all available spaces round my habitation and frequent a

particular spot where fish for my domestic consumption used to

be daily prepared for the kitchen. Nor was it a mere silent

spectator ; it would stalk up very' near the person preparing the fish,

and make bold in his very face to lift one after another and gulp

down as many of the fish as it was allowed to do. It would even

look into the bucket where live fish like Magur ( Clarius magura )

was stocked for next day’s consumption and pilfer those that came

within its reach.

I find records of the fact that in captivity the Sarus develops

a taste for fish. Hume and Marshall in their ‘Game Birds’ (iii, 5)

speak of young Sarus, which, ‘when domesticated are often fed by

the Burmans on small fish and shrimps’. This is as it is expected

of a bird which is omnivorous in its habit, but when one finds a wild

Sarus immediately after its capture behaving with regard to its

food in the manner I have observed, the irresistible conclusion is

that in its wild state fish forms one of the items, however negligible,

in its varied menu.

Calcutta, SATYA CHURN LAW.

February 11, 1930.

XXXIV.— PEAFOWL WITHOUT A TRAIN

A Burmese Belief

The Peafowl I sent you were shot on January 12, 1930, at

Monnyin on the Mon River in the Minbu Forest Division. The

cock without the train weighed 9J lbs. and was one of a covey of

about six birds none of which as far as I could see had a train.

When I had shot this cock I remained quiet in some rather thick

jungle and' the rest of the covey came quite close uttering a peculiar

note somewhat resembling Tak-tak-ker-r-r-roo-oo, ker-r-r-roo-oo — -

quite softly as they walked about apparently in search of the dead

cock. I then shot the hen sent herewith after which the rest

of the covey departed.

The local Burmans, as soon as they saw this cock, which I took

merely to be a young- bird without a train, said it was a haing,

some calling it a Pago-daung as distinct from an ordinary daung

(Burm. : — peafowl). A haing is the Burmese name for a rrtukna or

tuskless male elephant and the Burmans say that there are certain

haing peafowl which never grow trains an<J never utter the typical

40

584 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , W. XXXIV

trumpet call just as there are haing elephants which never grow

tusks. This may be a well-known fact but I have never heard it

mentioned before nor have I heard the peculiar noise uttered by the

peafowl of this covey.

On January 13, 1930, I shot the cock with the train out of a

covey of about six within J mile of the place where I killed the other

birds the evening before. It weighed 11J lbs. and was the only bird

with a train in the covey which seemed quite normal.

Maymyo, H. C. SMITH,

March 8, 1980 . Deputy Conservator of Forests,

Game Warden, Burma.

XXXV.— AN ENORMOUS ESTUARY CROCODILE

( CROCODILUS POROSUS)

One occasionally comes across specimens by hazard that must

have some interest to some of your readers. In this small but

ancient city we possess a Museum — excellent of its kind. I had

recently occasion to visit the Museum and found under the stairs

the skull of an' enormous crocodile (C. porosus). The dimensions

are as follows : —

... 37 inches

Total length

Greatest width

Height

Weight without teeth

jlo-2 ,,

... 121 „

... 54 lbs.

Being much the largest skull I had ever seen I wrote to the

British Museum. Mr. M. W. Parker of the Reptile Department

was interested and sent me a reply in some detail. The largest

skull in the British Museum is 36 \ x 18f x 12J inches therefore

somewhat smaller than the specimen here. The largest Mr. Parker

knows of is mentioned by Barbour in his book ‘Reptiles and

Amphibians’. It is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology,

Havard. The skull of this specimen is 39 x 19 inches. It is

estimated that the Elgin specimen must have been about 27A long

with a girth of 12k As Crocodilus porosus occurs along the estuaries

of the East Coast of India, in Bengal, Burma and Ceylon perhaps

further data concerning the dimensions of this crocodile will be

forthcoming. Perhaps this will catch the eye of some of your

readers possessing large crocodile skulls or correct measurements

of these reptiles in the flesh. Any data from which formula can be

derived to indicate the probable size of the animal from the

dimensions of the skull would be of great interest.

Elgin, Scotland, A. A. DUNBAR BRANDER.

October 20, 1929 .

[The following are dimensions of two large skulls of Crocodilus

porous kindly sent to us by Dr. Baini Prashad, Indian Museum.

Calcutta. Dr. Prashad writes. — ‘I give below the measurements

pf the biggest skull of Crocodilus porosus in the Indian Museum

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

58S

Collection as well as those of one in the United Service Club,

Calcutta.

U. S.Club Indian Museum

Total length

Greatest width

Height

Weight

33 J inches

16

m „

38 inches

181 „

131 ,,

54 lbs.

Eds.]

XXXVI.— NOTE ON SNAKES COLLECTED AT BELGAUM

It might interest you to have a record of the few snakes collected

by me at Belgaum, where I was Civil Surgeon from October 1927

to June 1928. During this period, 19 snakes were seen by me and

identified. These are : —

No.

Sylibura phipsoni. . .. ... ... ... 3

Ly codon aulicus . ... ... ... ... 5

Macropisthodon plumbicolor . ... ... ... 7

Vipera russellii. ... ... ... ... 1

Callophis trimaculatus . ... ... ... ... 1

Zamenis mucosus. ... ... ... ... 2

19

13 of these were found in the Civil Hospital and its extensive

compound of about 25 acres and two in the bungalow I was living

in, No. 17 Fort. No special attempts were made to collect snakes

from the town or from Cantonment limits.

1. Sylibura phipsoni. — Two of these were seen in hospital

garden and one in the garden of the bungalow of the

Executive Engineer, Belgaum, in the Fort. All these

were seen during the day in the mornings before 12 noon.

2. Lycodon aulicus. — One was seen near a hospital ward, two

near the hospital staff quarters and two in my bungalow

in the Fort. All were seen during night time. One was

killed inside my bungalow in the dressing room at

8.15 p.m.

3. Macropisthodon plumbicolor . — Four of these were found

in the hospital compound and two near wards. All these

were seen during the day.

4. Vipera russellii. — One fresh well-marked specimen was seen

and killed, lying coiled behind the open door of the male

septic ward in the hospital at 3 p.m.

5. Callophis trimaculatus . — The snake was sent to me off

November 19, 1927 by the Medical Officer at Gadag on

M. & S.M. Railway, Dr. K. B. Lele, who worked under

me at Sholapur and knew I was interested in snakes.

This snake, not being a common one, was sent to the

Bombay Natural History Society. Curiously enough,

this same Medical Officer saw another live specimen of

this species on the foot-path opposite the J. J. Hospital,

586 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

Bombay, in the morning* on August, 1928, and brought

it to me as I happened to be in Bombay then. I took it

over and gave it alive to the Natural History Society

Museum the same day.

It is interesting to note that no cobra, though considered a

common snake everywhere, was seen. I wonder if the red laterite

soil and elevation of Belgaum (about 2,300 feet above sea level) are

not favourable conditions for the occurrence of this otherwise

unfortunately too common a snake.

XXXVII.— LOCAL NAMES OF SOME FISH FROM THE

TEESTA RIVER

Specimens of several species of dried fish, with a list of local

names, were received through the kindness of Mr. M. Pradhan,

Deputy Magistrate, Kalimpong. The animals were all collected

from the Teesta River. They were dried as usual, after the abdomen

had been cut open and the abdominal viscera removed. Although

dried, the specimens did not present much difficulty in identification.

Barilius bendelisis (Ham. & Buch.) var. cocsa — Pakhetay

(Pakhete).

Barbus tor (Ham. & Buch.) — Kataley (Lamo) (Katale).

B. dukai Day — Titey Buduna (Buduna).

Exostoma blythii Day — Buduna (Buduna).

Pseudecheneis sulcatus Me Clelland — Kabray (Kabhre) two

colour variations are recognized ; One, Pangray Kalo

Kabray (that is, black-spotted) and secondly, Sonoulay

Kabray (that is, golden-coloured). The specimen of the first

form is slightly darker above and more yellowish than the

other which is of golden colour and less black above.

Semiplotus macclellandi , Bleeker (better named Semiplotus

semiplotus Me Clell.) — Cheptee (Cepti).

N e mac hit us montana Me Clell. — Gaderah (Gadera).

N. multifasciatus Day — Bam Gaderah (Bam Gadera).

Schizothorax progastus Me Clell, — Asalah (Asala).

Ophiocephalus stewartii Playfair — Hilay (hile). Two colour

variations are seen in the specimens : One with a greenish

dark yellow colour is called Hario (green) Hilay; the other

yellow in colour, but lighter than the first, is called Phusro

(brown) Hilay. Evidently the natural colour has faded to

a certain extent.

MEDiCAL College* EKENDRANATH GHOSH, m.sc., m.d.,

Calcutta, Professor of Biology »

February 5, 19 SO,

Ahmednagar,

March 7, 19 SO,

K. G. GHARPUREY,

Lt.-Col. , LM.S. ,

Civil Surgeon .

Miscellaneous notes

hi

XXXVIII.— MASHEER FISHING IN THE ZHOB RIVER

Heavy floods on the Zhob River brought up a fine run of mahseer.

The previous record fish from the Zhob was a trifle over eight

pounds, but in January 1930, two officers fishing a little below

Moghulkot, caught 140 lbs. of fish in a morning, including one of

15 lbs. This natural re-stocking of the river is a great boon, as

very severe frosts at the end of January 1929 killed most of the

small fish, sacks full being brought into Fort Sandeman for sale.

Fort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

March 8, 1930. Lt.-Col .

XXXIX,— NOTES ON PARANTIRRHCEA MARSHALLI

Since 1 sent a note on this butterfly in May 1928, I have obtained

a copy of Col. Mander’s description of the $ . He states that the

d described by Wood-Mason was caught in May, and the $ in

October ; and,' quoting Mr. William Hockin, to whom he was

indebted for the loan of the butterfly for description, says that in

Travancore, where it is found at the foot of the hills or between

that and 3,000 feet, ‘it is found only on Itah (small hill bamboo)

in drizzly weather in October’.

Apparently ‘Itah’, though in Brandis the name Ita Kalli (Tamil) is

given to Ochlandra travancorica, is the same as the Coorg ‘wate’

(' Ocklandra Rheedii). O, travancorica , which occurs also in Coorg,

I believe, grows about 2,000 feet (Brandis). Whereas O. Rheedii

grows near rivers and streams from the low country to 3,000 feet.

It is not a bamboo, but resembles a reed.

Thus, previous to its capture in Coorg, this fly was recorded

as found in Travancore in the months of May and October.- I am

able now to record that I have caught it in every month from

September to May. Mr. P. C. Uttaya has, since I left India, I

believe, got it in June before the monsoon broke. As to the monsoon

months, July and August, I have as yet no information. I add that

I caught fresh specimens every month. On the whole, however, the

butterfly is more frequent in the months, April-May and September*-

October, which coincide with the periods of the early rains and

the cessation of the heavy rains respectively.

The suggestion that the butterfly can be had ‘in drizzly

weather’ — ? only drizzly weather? — is, I think, a mistake. It is

perhaps true to say that the d is readier to come into the open

during the day-time in damp weather. But it can be caught within

the ‘wate’ grove on any sort of day, even in the brightest weather,

if beaten out of its hiding; and in any case both d d and $ 9 fly

at dusk., whatever the weather. I have caught it from 8 a.m. till

7 p.m., and in all weathers ranging from actually wet to absolutely

rainless.

Though the d d come into the open in the day-time during dull

damp weather, flitting across a glade or a road from one grove

of ‘wate’ to another, I do not think they really fly then. There is

then no activity in their flight : often it is merely a case of escape

from some disturbing influence; they go from one hiding place to

588 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXI V

another, and having flitted make use of their protective colouring

to conceal themselves. I remember that on one occasion a servant

who was beating the ‘wate’ with me, started a d from the top

of a clump of ‘wate’ some 20 feet in height : it floated down and

settled on dead ‘wate’ leaves, where it lay still, indistinguishable

to the casual glance from its surroundings. I put my net over it

but it would not move. In the end I lifted the net and picked it up

with my fingers to put it into a slip.

Both d d and $ 9 fly at dusk. We observed that in the late

afternoon the d d were difficult to move, but that the 9 $ tended

to come from the deeper and darker parts of the grove to the clumps

on the edge. Just after sunset the 9 9 rose and floated about near

the top of the ‘wate’ and were visible against the sky. Later, about

ten minutes before it became too dark to see them, they flew at a

height of four to five feet from the ground near the edge of the

grove, in and out and round the clumps, about the same time the

males rose and flew, often in couples, chasing each other round,

in the open spaces between the clumps of ‘wate’. On several

occasions with one sweep of the net we caught two d d flying in

this manner. The time of their flight, we noticed, coincided with

the appearance and chirping of a small bird, which flew or hopped

about the top of the ‘wate’ clumps : it was evidently waiting for the

flight of Parantirrhcea and possibly of other dusk-loving butterflies.

At any rate on one occasion we saw a Parantirrhoea, which we were

watching as it flew high up in the ‘wate’, seized by one of these

birds.

This flight of the d d we took to be a sort of marriage dance.

The 9 hying in and out of the clumps would attract the d d • it

was only at this time of the evening, when it was nearly dark, that

we saw and took, though not at one stroke, both d and 9 > the

one pursuing the other. It was only during these few minutes

between dusk and dark that we saw d d and 9 9 together.

I record that we had little difficulty in telling a 9 m flight. Apart

from the time and manner of flight, we could tell it by (a) its greater

size, ( b ) its lighter colouring, which even in the late dusk was

obvious. It’s whitish spots often made it clearly distinguishable.

In April last, Mr. P. C. Uttaya and myself twice took 9 9 and

endeavoured to mate them with d d but without result. On each

occasion both d and 9 died leaving no issue. Mr. Uttaya, now

that I have left India, v is making further efforts to get larva and

pupa of Parantirrhoea marshalli .

Berkhamstead, J. A. YATES.

November 8, 1929,

[Note. — I had recently learned that Col. Fraser has taken

P. marshalli, by beating the ‘wate,’ at the top of the Vayatri Ghat,

from Calicut to the Wynaad. My supposition that the butterfly

would be found in the valleys between Travancore and Coorg

appears to be justified. It will be found, I think, that it is not

very rare , but, if not common, at least not rare, wherever ‘wate’

grows. It would be interesting to discover its northern and

southern limits. J.A.Y. ]

miscellaneous notes

589

XL.— NOTES ON PAT TTYS A ANT I PH AT ES NAIRA

This butterfly, in the books I have seen, is described only in the

wet season form. In the British Museum it is poorly represented

and only by the W.S.F. I do not know if the D.S.F. is described

anywhere, in some back number of a journal or magazine. Even if

it is, I think a note on the butterfly in Coorg may be of interest.

1. Early in the day it flies in glades and openings in the forest,

usually rather high, settling from time to time on flowering trees.

But from about 11 a. m. onwards it acquires a thirst and comes

down to damp patches on the roads — as where a motor-car or bus

has watered up — or on the edges of streams or rivers. Its thirst

appears to be considerable ; once it has settled it is not easily driven

away ; thus it may settle among a crowd of Pierids, which on the

approach of a human being with a net rise and scatter, leaving

P. antiphates naira, which remains unmoved, greedily sucking

moisture, an easy prey. Occasionally several will settle at the same

spot ; I have had as many as five in the net at once.

2. It is to be caught all through South Coorg in the neighbour-

hood of the ghats, both above and below the ghats, where the forest

is evergreen. It is to be had near Srimangala under the Brahmagiri

Hills, round about Hapoklu, on the Kakkotpole crossing into

Marinad and at Appugala below Mercara ; but it is commoner on

the ghats, as on the Mangalore (Sampaje) and the Tellicherry

(Periambadi) ghat roads, and on the Paiyaswani and Urti rivers.

3. It is evidently to be had from December to the end of May.

The form described in the books is the later or wet season form,

which seems to appear in March and to continue till just before the

break of the monsoon. Earlier, i.e. , from December till mid-March,

the butterfly passes through changes from an extreme dry season

form, in which the characteristic broad grey band ( vide Evans’

Identification of Indian butterflies A. 5. 6 B) is completely absent,

through intermediate forms, in which the grey tornal area spreads

and widens from the neighbourhood of the tail, until the full wet

season form arrives.

I give below a short list of variants and the dates of catches

in 1928 and 1929. It will be seen that the intermediate forms, as

might be expected, overlap : —

(1) Dry season form; no grey tornal area

27-12-28

13- 1-29

15- 2-29.

(2) Form in which the grey area is incipient.

22- 2-29 (two specimens)

5- 3-29.

(3) Patch of grey spreading more widely inwards from the

tail, but still some way from the costa.

20-2-28

17-2-29

20-2-29 (three specimens)

11-3-29,

590 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

(4) A form intermediate between (3) and the next : 18-3-29.

(5) Nearly full grey, but the band from above the tornus to

the costa not so wide nor so dark as in the next (6).

22-2-29

10-3-29 (two specimens)

16-3-29.

(6) The full and typical wet season form. First caught on

18-3-29 ; after which the intermediate forms disappeared.

4. In type (1), the upper hind-wing is white, but the chrome

colouring of the underside shows through. The terminal black

edging is narrow, and the sub-terminal black lunules are just

traceable. The change to full W. S.F. is by the gradual spreading

of the grey patch from the tail both towards the tornal black spot —

towards the costa. The lunules became larger and darker in

W. S.F., and the grey band a much darker grey, which is distinctly

blackish towards the costa.

5. With regard to the upper fore-wing in the D.S.F., the black

bands are generally narrower and shorter than in the W.S.F.

(1) The basal band barely touches the dorsum and the lower

half is faint. (2) The sub-basal band is distinctly short and inter-

space faint, being grey rather than black. (3) The fourth bar

touches the ‘median vein’ only in the W.S.F. In the earlier D.S.F.

forms it extends only half-way, from the costa to the ‘median vein’

and ends in a point. (4) The post discal and terminal bands coalesce

at v 4, but do not reach the tornus ; they end in a point between

vv 1 and 2.

The transition from D.S.F. to W.S.F. is a gradual lengthening

and widening of the bands till in the full W.S.F. the sub-basal band

ends in interspace la, and the post discal and terminal bands end not

in a point but in a narrow band on the dorsum inwards from the

tornus.

Berkhamstead, J. A. YATES.

January 31, 1930.

XLI.— ON THE OCCURRENCE OF VANESSA ATLANTA

AND PARARGE SCHAKRA IN BALUCHISTAN

The butterflies at Shinghar would seem to be worth extensive

study, for there I took two remarkable butterflies. The first,

Vanessa atlanta (the English ‘Red Admiral’) has not been

previously recorded from nearer than Northern Mesopotamia; the

second Pararge s chakra, not been previously recorded from outside

the Himalayas. Both these specimens I have given to Brigadier

W. H. Evans, c.i.e. , d.s.o., now stationed in Quetta, and they will

therefore, in conjunction with his own most interesting material, be

dealt with later by our greatest authority on Indian butterflies.

Fort Sandeman, C. H. STOCKLEY,

March 8j 1930 , Lt.-Col,

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

591

XLIL— OCCURRENCE OF CO-LIAS HYALE HYALE AND

PIERIS CANIDIA INDICA IN THE PLAINS

On the 23rd February last, I captured a male CoUas, hyale hyale

flying* over a field of gram, beside the Bari Doab Canal, about

15 miles from Amritsar in the direction of Pathankot.

On the same day and near the same place I also took a few

specimens of Pieris canidia indica.

I was unable to revisit the spot until the last Sunday in March,

when I found . Colias hyale hyale flying- in fair numbers, in company

with Colias croceus edusina. Pieris canidia indica was also

again present in considerable quantities, and I have subsequently

seen both species in the environs of Amritsar. Bingham gives the

habitat of canidia as the Himalayas and the hills of Assam and

Burma from 2,000 to. 11,000 feet and of hyale as Baluchistan and

the Western Himalayas, and Evans in his ‘Identification’ apparently

also confines the occurrence of the indica and hyale races of these

butterflies to the same localities, but as both Colias croceus edusina

and Pieris hrassicae, their close congeners, occur commonly in the

sub-montane regions of the Punjab plains, it is hardly surprising

that the former two should also be found in similar localities, — to

which, possibly, a few individuals descend in the cold weather to

continue breeding, in preference to hibernating in the hills.

Incidentally Pieris hrassicae is extremely common in and around

Amritsar at the present time and the larvae have played havoc with

the climbing nasturtiums in my garden ; I previously thought that

they confined their attention to cruciferous plants, such as cabbages

and cauliflower?

Amritsar, D, F. SANDERS,

April 10, 1930 .

XLIIL— THE GRASSHOPPER ( ISOPSERA PEDUNCULAT A)

A SUPPOSED MIMIC OF THE BLACK ANT

(CAMPONOTUS COMPRESSUS)

In your issue of Vol. xxxiii, No. 3, pp. 497-504, is an article by

Major R. W. G. Hingston on ‘A grasshopper mimic (Isopsera

pedunculata) , which contains selectionist doctrine in a form that

would seem to be of too dubious a nature for use nowadays.

Speaking of the similarity of the first stage nymph of the grass-

hopper named with the ant (Camponotus compressus ), the author

says (p. 498) :

‘What can be the purpose of this similarity? It can only be

defensive. It helps the grasshopper to escape its foes.

Black ants are well protected. They shoot out poison and

have powerful jaws. They are very conspicuous, abound

everywhere, yet very rarely are they taken by birds.’

It seems that an author should not make statements like these

in defiance of existing literature. For instance in C. W. Mason’s

valuable work on the ‘Food of Birds in India5 (Mem. Dept. Agr.

India, Ent. Ser., Vol. 3, 1912, p. 331) we read that :

‘The ants, like the grasshoppers, are exceedingly abundant

41

592 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

insects and form a very large proportion of the insect food

of birds in India. They are perhaps the favourite food of

the Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, Rollers, and some of the

Pheasants. Most birds that eat insects of any kind will

almost certainly be found to take ants of one species or

another. ’

In the course of this publication, Mr. Mason records Camponotus

compressus from the stomachs of thirty-six species of birds, in

some of which they were found in considerable numbers. This

effectually disposes of the statement that these ants are rarely taken

by birds,

W. L. McATEE,

In Charge,

Food Habits Research .

United States Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Biological Survey,

Washington, D. C.,

December 7, 1929,

XLIV— EFFECT OF SPIDER BITE ON MAN

(With a photo)

A European resident in Rangoon was awakened during the night

by feeling something crawling on his arm and hand : he brushed it

off and, flashing his torch on it, saw a large yellowish spider. He

felt neither bite nor pain and went to sleep. In the morning his

hand was of the normal colour but swollen to twice its size (see

photo, taken when swelling had had time to subside), stiff, and with

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 593

a burning feeling' along the back. At X was apparently a puncture

due to a bite and, near it, a series of small pin-pricks, 4 he hand

became normal in three days. Many similar cases have been

attributed to spiders but it is rare for the animal definitely to have

been observed as in the present instance, ft should be noted that

no bite was felt and no sensation experienced until five hours later.

Biological Department, F. J. MEGGITT,

University College, Rangoon,

February W, lUdU.

[Very little is known about the properties of the venom of spiders.

Spiders being mostly nocturnal in haDit and very agile often escape

trie observation of their victims or, if taken in the act of

biting, they are destroyed, and no evidence is preserved of the species

concerned. The above recorded instance would have been more

valuable if the spider had been identified. All spiders possess a pair

of poison glands opening near the tip of the fangs but few seem

to have the power of injecting their poison into human beings. It is

probable, moreover, that the poison is not automatically injected

whenever the fangs are used but is under the spider's control.

That popular dread of our so-called Tarantula’s bne is to a con-

siderable extent justified is proved by the following observation

communicated to Dr. F. H. Gravely by Dr. Sutherland of

Kahmpong ( Journ . Bombay Nat. Hist Soc., Vol. xxviii, p. 1045)

‘A boy of 14: years was bitten by the spider (a well-grown female

‘Tarantula’, Macrothela vidua) on the hnger. The pain extended

up the arm, down the side after 24 hours the finger was still swollen,

l ms spider only bites on great provocation however and this was

the first instance Dr. Sutherland had known although the boys in

his school frequently kept these ‘Tarantulas’ in captivity. Mr. K. S.

Lester, on the other hand, suffered no ill-effect wnen bitten by a fine

specimen of a much large species of ‘Tarantula’ (Chelobrachys

gumorus). This may have been due to the fact that the spider, as

tne account states, partially emptied its poison glands during the

irritation it had been subjected to previous to actually biting

Mr. Lester. Drops of poison were seen exuding from the tips of

the fangs. The reputation of the ‘Tarantula’ spider is well known;

but what particular species is intended by the name is uncertain.

The name is derived from the town of Tarentum and was certainly

applied to a South European Spider Tycosa narbonensis, which has

the best claim to it. Confusion has arisen through extending the

name to spiders of the family Avicularidce in America and the great

Indian spiders of the genus Macrothela. Eds.]

XLV. — A YELLOW VARIETY OF THE SILK COTTON TREE

(. BOMBAX MALABARICUM)

1 sent a tin containing flowers and buds of some Simul or Silk

Cotton Tree flowers. They were quite yellow on the tree. There

was no trace of pink about the blooms, but a canary -yellow colour.

As this appeared unusual to me in the Simul when all the trees

594 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

around bore the usual flowers scarlet to pale pink in colour, 1 thought

it. worth noting. I see white flowers are noted in Brandis’s

‘Indian Trees’ but not yellow.

Tezpur, Assam, W. D. RITCHIE,

February 25, 1929. Lt.-Col., I.M.S.

[The flowers sent are those of the Silk Cotton Tree ( Bombax

malabaricum) but of a colour variety not so far recorded. Eds.]

XLVI. —INTRODUCTION OF THE GEL MOHUR

(. P01NCIANA REGIA) INTO BOMBAY

A footnote to page 114 of Vol. i of the Bombay City Gazetteer

say* i , . j 1

‘One of the first specimens of the Bengal or Royal Gold

Mohur is stated to have been planted near Sewri on Waterloo Day,

1848. It grew very rapidly being 8' high in 1854.’ The species seems

to have been first introduced into the island about 1845 — Bombay

l imes, August 24, 1854 and June 21, 1856.

Oriental Club,

Hanover .Square, W. 1. W. S. MILLARD,

XLVIL— WHAT AGE CAN A TREE REACH?

Theoretically speaking, the life of a tree is illimited ; but in reality

there are many enemies which shorten the duration of its life.

Amongst these there are fungus-diseases, attacks of vegetable and

animal parasites, the effects of climate, disturbances of nutrition,

and not least the interference of man.

It is natural that old trees having an historical interest are better

known than others. When estimating the age of a tree, it is

important to note that the breadth of the annual rings changes with

habitat and age. Much broader rings are formed when the plant is

young than later on. In some trees as e.g. the Yew it happens that

stems of several individuals grow together in such a way as to make

it impossible to say whether we have before us one or several trees

and it is only after cutting them down that we are able to ascertain

the real state of its growth.

Kerner gives the following extreme limits of age which he thinks

have been calculated with fair accuracy : for the Cypress ( Cupressus

fastigiata ), 3,000 years ; the Chestnut ( Castanea vulgaris ), 2,000;

the Oak (Quercus pedunculata ), 2,000 ; the Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus

Libani), 2,000; the Spruce Fir (Abies excelsa), 1,200; the Broad-

leaved Lime (Tilia grandifolia), 1,000; the Arolla Pine ( Pinus

Cembra ), 500-700; the Larch (Larix europcea ), 600; the Scotch Pine

( Pinus sylvestris ), 570; the Abele ( Populus alba), 500; the Beech

(Fagus sylvatica ), 300; the Ash ( Fraxinus excelsior), 200-300; the

Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus), 150 years.

The Dragon tree (Draccena Draco) belongs to the Lily family.

It has a tree-like stem, simple or divided at the top, and often when

old becoming much branched, each branch ending in a crowded head

Miscellaneous notes 595

of lance-shaped linear leaves. The tree derives its name from a

resinous exudation known in commerce as dragon’s blood. There

was once a colossal Dragon tree at the town of Orotava in Teneriffe.

According to Meyen it was 70 feet high. Its antiquity, as Moore

says, ‘must at least be greater than that of the pyramids.’ The

trunk was hollow and could be ascended by a staircase in the interior

up to the height at which it began to branch. Le Due found it

79 ft. in circumference near the ground. Humboldt mentions that

when he saw it, it had the same size (16 ft. diameter) which it had

Avhen the French adventurers, the Bethencourts, conquered these

gardens of the Hesperides in the beginning of the 15th century.

Unfortunately it was totally destroyed in a hurricane which

occurred in 1867.’ (Moore).

The Water-Cypress ( Taxodium mexicanwn) near Oaxaca in

Mexico is another well-known instance of old trees. Humboldt

calculated 4,000 years.

A Yew ( Taxus baccata ) in Braburn (Kent) which is 60 feet in

circumference is estimated at 2,880 years. In 1660 already it had a

circumference of 56 feet. For this tree we have also a fairly

accurate calculation, viz., 3,000 years. A tree in Foullebec on the

Eure in France when measured in 1829 appeared to be 1,100 or

1,200 years old. The Yew trees of Fountain Abbey are considered

to be 1,250 years old.

Humboldt refers to an oak in the Department de la Charente

Inferieure, measuring nearly 90 ft. in circumference near the base.

Near Breslau, an oak was blown down by a storm in July 1857,

which measured 66 feet in circumference at the base. Their age

has been estimated at from 1,000 to as many as 2,000 years. The

famous Oak of Mambre, Abram’s Oak, was figured by Hooker in

the transactions of the Linnean Society. It belongs to the species

Quercus pseudococcifera Desf. and is popularly supposed to indicate

the spot where grew the oak under which the patriarch pitched his

tent.

Longevity is a characteristic of all species of oak, but the

British oak ( Quercus robur) is celebrated above all others for the

great age to which it attains. In many districts of England, there

exist huge living remains of giant oaks, whose age cannot be

calculated with accuracy. But on comparison with younger trees

authentically known to be 300 or 400 years old, they may be

reckoned to have stood for more than 1,000 years.

Many of these ancient trees are historical landmarks, being

associated with the events and the names of persons of the remote

past. Some of these associations may appear legendary when applied

to such as the ‘King Oak’, in Windsor Forest, which is said to have

afforded shelter to William the Conqueror. But it is quite probable

that the tree may have been of considerable age at the time of the

Conquest. The trunk of this oak measured, 3 leet from the ground,

26 feet in circumference in 1864. If we consider that the ‘Cowthorpe

Oak’ in the village of that name, 6 miles south-east of Knares-

borough, had a circumference of 48 ft. at 3 feet above the ground,

it is not improbable to assume that the ‘Cowthorpe Oak’ may be

twice the age of the ‘King Oak’.

ha JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, VoL XXXI V

Perhaps the most famous of European trees is the Linden or Lime

of Neustadt in Suabia which already in 1226 was mentioned by the

chronicler as ‘the great tree in the Heerstrasse. ’ This would give

the tree an age ot more than 700 years and as it was an old tree

when alluded to in the records, we are quite safe in estimating its

age as at least 1,000 years.

Another Lime 86 feet in circumference had 815 annual rings.

According to Gregor in Morton’s Cyclopaedia the oldest Chestnut

tree in England is supposed to be that of Tortworth, the seat of

Earl Ducie, in Gloucestershire. It was remarkable for its size in

the reign of King Stephen (1135) and was called ‘the great Chestnut

of Tortworth.’ From this we may reasonably conclude that it

existed before the Conquest. In 1788 it bore Iruit abundantly. In

1820 it measured 52 ft. in circumference 5 ft. from the ground.

But this is a small tree compared with the huge chestnut tree of

Mount Etna which measured 204 feet in circumterence.

The ancient Cypress tree of Soma in Lombardy is said to have

been full grown in the time of Julius Caesar.

In the Berlin Museum there is the stem of a Sequoia (mammoth

tree) with a diameter of 15^ feet and 1360 annual rings. As stems

of the same tree have been found with a diameter of 54 feet, it can

be estimated what their age must be. There can be no doubt that

many trees living at the present day must date back far beyond

historical times.

The fig tree ( Ficus carica) reaches quite a considerable age.

We know that such trees were reintroduced into England by

Cardinal Pole, either when he returned from Rome in 1525 or after

his second residence abroad in 1548. The trees were planted in the

garden of the Archiepiscopal Palace at Lambeth and have existed

lor more than 350 years. Another tree was brought from Aleppo

to England by Pocock and planted in the garden of one of the

Colleges at Oxford in 1648. It was injured by fire in 1809, when

the trunk decayed and was removed, but fresh shoots sprang up,

some of which were 21 feet high in 1819.

A Plane tree ( Piatanus orientalis) in the meadow of Bujukdere,

on the banks of the Bosphorus, is 141 feet in circumference at tne

base and extends its branches 45 feet from the trunk. It is believed

to be more than 2,000 years old.

On Mount Olivet near Jerusalem Olive trees can be seen which

are considered to be the same which existed at the commencement

of the Christian era.

A Rose tree at the dome of Hildesheim in Germany is said to be

over 850 years old.

The Baobab ( Adansonia digital a ) or Monkey-bread tree, also

called Ethiopian Sour Gourd, is a native of many parts of Africa,

It has been called ‘the tree of a thousand years.’ Humboldt speaks

of it as ‘ the oldest organic monument of our planet. ’ Adanson,

whose name the genus bears, travelled in Senegal in 1794, where he

met this tree. His calculation shows that one of them, measuring

30 feet in diameter, must be 5,130 years old. He saw two other

trees from 56 feet in diameter. On their bark were cut to a

considerable depth a number of European names. One of these was

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

597

dated in the 14th, the other in the 15th century. In 1555 the same

trees were seen by The vet, another French traveller. Livingstone

says of the tree : ‘I would back a true Mowana (local name of the

Baobab in the neighbourhood of Lake Ngami) against a dozen

floods, provided you do not boil it in salt water ; but I cannot believe

that any of those now alive had a chance of being subjected to the

experiment of even the Noachian deluge.’

Rashid-ud-Din, who wrote in 1310, mentions a tree at the

confluence of the Jumna and the Ganges, which was still in existence

50 years ago enclosed by part of the fortifications.

The sacred Bo tree ( Ficus religiosa) of Anuradhapura, in Ceylon

is said to have been planted by Mehitida 307 years b.c. Another

account says that it was planted in the 18th year of the reign of

King Deveniplatissa, or 288 b.c. This royal convert to Buddhism,

having succeeded in obtaining a branch of the fig-tree under which

the Buddha had been wont to sit in meditation, planted it at

Anuradhapura, and it is now the venerable tree which we see still

flourishing after more than twenty centuries.

E. B.

XLVIII.— A REQUEST FOR MATERIAL OF TRAPA

(WATER CHESTNUT)

Prof. Dr. Hugo Gluck of Heidelberg the well-known specialist

in aquatic plants, is at present engaged in the study of the

genus Trapa. He assumes that there are 4 species in India :

T. bispinosa, T. incisa, T. bicornis, and T. natans, wild or under

cultivation. He is anxious to have Trapa material from various

parts of India, named or unnamed. Specimens of leaf and

fruit are essential. Bazaar-specimens of the fruit, too will

be welcome, provided the place of orig-in can be ascertained.

He also wishes to learn whether there is a Trapa with

a fruit like this (nat. size) and whether Indian botanical

literature has mentioned it anywhere. It is said to come

from N. India.

I should be obliged if my colleagues could send specimens directly

to me or to the following address :

Prof. Dr. H. Gluck,

Heidelberg (Germany)

Panchgani, University,

vid Poona,

March $4, 1930. E. BLATTER.

XLTX.— NOTES ON TACCA PINNA TIF IDA, FORST.

( With one text-figure)

This plant appears soon after the break of the rains (June). The

inflorescence appears a little in advance of the leaf or leaves (some-

times two appear, though onlv one is the general rule). It is purely

a plant of shady places, usually under trees or among other

vegetation. Never out in the open. Such spots as are shaded from

the morning and noonday sun are their usual habitat, therefore

to the western side of trees,

598 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXX IV

development of the new coRm in T. pinnatilida

1. June— July. 2. July— August, 3. August— September.

The outside of the corm is light brown, while the inside is white.

New corms are formed in the axil of an old leaf, and at first present

the form of a thick root. Gradually the new root-like corm becomes

thicker and thicker, finally developing into the usual shape of the

corm. Unlike the Aroids the new corms grow downwards from

the neck of the old corm, while in the Aroids the corms are formed

one above the other or to one of the sides. The old corms shrivel

up and die. The new corms are fully formed by the end of

September. When the corm is taken up and put into a tin of water

with the leaf broken off, it develops three to four root-like corms

instead of the usual one.

The leaves as stated above are produced a little after the flowers.

If the leaf is broken off the plant can be induced to put forth a new

one in the same season, here again unlike some of the Aroids, such

as Amor phoph alius and Sauromatum. By the end of September

or a little later, depending on the rains, the leaves become yellow

and collapse. The bract and some of the filiform bracteoles persist

to the end. Both the petiole and the peduncle are strongly longi-

tudinally striate in life and purplish.

The fruit begin to develop by the end of June or early July, and

are fully matured by the end of September. As soon as the rains

give over the whole plant collapses. The fruits are very strongly

ribbed.

On the eastern side of the Island of Salsette this plant is fairly

common, particularly at Bhandup, where it is plentiful under mango

trees, on the way to the Vihar Lake. On the western side of the

Island it is not at all common, but is occasionally to be met with.

It is particularly a plant of the low-lying country very seldom

ascending the hills to any great height.

.So far I have not come across this plant within the Island of

Bombay.

CHARLES McCANN,

Assistant Curator ,

Bombay Natural History Society,

Bombay,

October 1, 1929.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

599

L.— A TERRESTRIAL ORCHID FOUND EPIPHYTIC

The members of the genus Cheirostylis have always been

considered to be terrestrial. The species C. fiabellata , Wight which

up to now had been observed in the Southern Maratha country and

N. Kanara, was found in November 1929 by Mr. T. R. Bell

at Ambole, 2,000 feet altitude. But instead of growing on the

ground it was found on the top sides of the moss-covered stems and

branches of Acacia concinna, DC., a climber of great size. There

was no vestige of earth, and all the specimens were growing in

dense shade in ‘kumari’ lands, in intricate creeper-infested jungle.

So far this species has always been seen as a terrestrial herb and

it is interesting to know that it can be epiphytic. It is, of course,

quite a possible phenomenon for a species to be both terrestrial and

epiphytic, which is known of several species of Orchids.

Panchgani, E. BLATTER.

January 19, 1930.

LI.— COLLECTING OF LIVERWORTS AT MAYMYO

Maymyo lies on the Shan plateau, in the latitude of 22° 1' N. and

longitude 96° 28' E., at the height of 3,508 feet above sea-level.

The rainfall is confined chiefly to the months of May to October.

The Algal flora has been investigated by Dr. Ghose (1927), Handa

(1928 and Pal 1920). Nothing is known about the Liverwort flora

of the place nor of any other part of the province. The writer, with

a view to handle the Hepatic flora of Burma began his collections at

Maymyo and obtained material in October 1928, which proved to be

interesting.

The object of this article is to give a preliminary idea regarding

the general character of the flora : a detailed account will be

published later on.

The collections were mostly limited to M archantiales , this being

the group in which the writer was mostly interested. The foliose

species were common. The work was started from the Botanical

Garden, which lies but a few miles from the railway station. It

has many interesting sites and a small lake with many artificial

waterfalls which add to its charm and afford good collecting places.

Two species of Marchantia L. were found. M. polymorpha L. was

very common in large extended deep green patches on the bank

of the lake while here and there were present patches of M. palmata

Nees. The mouths of waterfalls were crowded with large lobed

Dumortiera hirsuta Reinw. Bl. et Nees. The plants were more

common on the shaded falls.

In the lake near the bank was present yellow flowered Utricularia

L. and mixed with it were growing species of Zannchellia Mich,

ex. L. , Potamogeton (Tourn.) L. and other water plants-. On

decaying* branches were seen green jelly like masses of Chaetophora

elegans Roth. Upon the path and ground were growing several

species of Riccia L. the most prominent being Riccia himalayensis

St. (Ms. Plagiochasma articulatum Kashyap) was the chief liverwort

42

600 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

on the exposed stones and mixed with it were found a number of

mosses, the most conspicuous being Bryum coronatum L. A few

specimen of Targionia hypophylla L. were also collected.

The Golf course was the next place of collecting. It was not so

rich as the first but had some of the interesting forms. Riccia

cruciata Kashyap and Fimbriaria angusta St. were very common

thallose forms.

Besides minor collections, the notable and the last was that of

Laughing Waters. The path leading from the main road enters

into a fairly thick forest under the trees of which were growing

a number of mosses, the most common being Funaria hygrometrica

(L) Sibth. Fissiden crenutalifolius Dixon Sp. Nov., Brachymenium

acuminatum Harv. forma, Splachnobryum indicum Hampe & C. M.,

while the bases were covered with large capsuled moss Pogonatum

neesii (C.M.) Mitt. Four species of Anthroceros L. were collected

but these have not been identified so far. Here and there specimen

of N otothylas Shull were not uncommon. Cyathodium cavernarum

Kurz. was collected from the bank of the stream.

Some tree trunks were green with vegetation. The major

population was composed of Lichens, Mosses and epiphytic Ferns.

The most striking moss was Octoblepharum albidum (L.) Hedw.

with the whitish leaves from which it obtains its name. Junger-

manniales and Orchids were not rare among* the epiphytic growth

on the trunks. Under the trees delicate Hymenophyllum L. and

Adiantum L. were not difficult to find. Adder’s tongue Fern

( Ophioglossum vulgatum L.) was not scarce. A waterfall near the

Laughing Water was covered with Dumortiera hirsuta Reinw. Bl.

et Nees. and on the banks were growing Cyathodium Kashyapii

Khanna, Marchantia palmata Nees Targionia hypophylla L. and

Fimbriaria Nees. The Fimbriaria Nees material was too young to

identify. The same plants were collected from Laughing Waters.

On the whole Maymyo appears to be rich in Bryophytic and

Pteridophytic flora.

In the end the writer has much pleasure in expressing his

indebtedness to the Research Fund of the University of Rangoon for

a grant which covered the travelling expenses. My thanks are also

due to Mr. Dixon for identifying the mosses.

University of Rangoon. L. P. KHANNA.

LII. A LIST OF MOSSES FROM DARJEELING

DISTRICT

The following species of Mosses were collected by me in the

Darieeling district in May 1929. All were gathered at an elevation

of from 6000-8200 ft. For the identification of the species I am

indebted to Mr. H. N. Dixon. I also wish to thank the Rev. Fr.

E. Blatter without whose encouragement this collection could not

have been made.

Acanthocl aJium fienicillatum (Mitt.) Broth.-— Tiger Hill, on bark.

Alt. about 8200'. 4-V-29. (No. 83).

Brachymenium n^palense Hook. — Tiger Hill, on bark. Alt. about

8200'. 4-V-29 ; (Nos. 5, 19, 65, 69, 73).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

601

Bryum sp. — (No. 7.)

Campy lo pus sp.-— Darjeeling, on soil, , Alt. 6-7000'. 29-V-29.

(No. 9.)

Catharinea pallida Ren. & Card.— Birch Hill forest, on moist

gneiss rock. Alt. about 7000'. 17-V-29. (No. 1.)

Chionostdmum rostratum (Griff.) C.M. — Darjeeling, Lloyd Bot.

Garden, on Berberis Wallickiana DC. Alt. 6-70U0'. 24-V-29.

(No. 13.)

Ditrichum tortipes (Mitt.) Par. —Darjeeling, on soil. Alt. 6-7000'.

29-V-29. (No. 6 3.)

Entodon sp. — (No. 8.)

Funaria hy grometrica (L.) — Tiger Hill, on old mortar of a chim-

ney. Alt. 8200'. 10-V-29. (No. 15.)

Hyophila slreptocalypta Dix. sp nov. (probably). — (No. 6.)

Levierella iabroniacea C.M. — Darjeeling, on bark. Alt. 6-7000' .

29-V-29. (No. 4.)

Lyellia crispa R. Br. — -Darjeeling, on soil. Alt. 6--70C0'. J8-V-29.

(No. 14.)

Oreoweisia laxiiolia (Hook.) Par. — Jalapahar, on decomposing

gneiss rock. Alt. about 7000'. 20-V-29. (No. 3.)

Papillmria semitorta (C.M.) Jaeg. — Senchal, on soil. Alt. 8000'

4-V-29. (No. 2 bis.)

Philonoiis longicollis (Hampe) Mitt. — Birch Hill, on moist gneiss

rock. Alt. 7000'. 17-V-29. (No. 21, 16.)

Pogonatum abides (Yie&\N.) P. Beauv. (probably). (No. 78.)

Pogonaium Itucopogon. Ren. & Card. — Senchal, on decomposing

gneiss rock. Alt. 8000'. 10-V-29. (No. 62.)

Pogonaium microsiomum (R. Br.) Brid. — Senchal, on decomposing

gneiss rock. Alt. 8000'. 21-V-29. (No. 10) ; Jalapahar, on gneiss

rock. Alt. about 70u0'. 20-V-29. (No. 18.)

Pogonatum Neesii (C. M.) Mitt, (probably). — Senchal, on soil

derived from gneiss rock. Alt. 8000'. 4-V-29. (No. 20.)

Pogonatum sp. — (No. 71.)

Pohlia elongata Hedw. — Senchal, on soil. Alt. 8000'. 3-V-29.

(No. 17.)

Ptychomitrium indicum (Willd.) — (No. 75.) Apparently a very rare

plant.

Rhynchostegiella scabriseta (Schwaegr.) Broth. — Darjeeling, on

trees. Alt. 6-7000'. 18-V-29. (No. 11.)

Symblepharis Reinwardtii (Doz. & Molk.) Mitt. f. breviseta. —

Tiger Hill, on bark. Alt. about 8200'. (Nos. 7, b7, 101.)

Syrrhopodoji Gardneri (Hook.) Schwaegr. — Birch Hill forest, on

bark of a conifer. Alt. 7000'. 18-V-29. (No. 22.)

Trachypodopsis crispatula (Hook.) Fleisch. — Senchal, on soil.

Alt. 8000'. 4-V-29. (No. 2.)

J. FERNANDEZ.

THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE BOMBAY

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY FOR THE YEAR ENDING

DECEMBER 31, 1929

At the Annual Meeting held on March 26, 1929, the following officers for the

year were elected : —

President. — H. E. The Right Hon’iYe Major-General Sir Frederick Sykes,

P.C., G C.I.E., G.B E., K.C.B., C.M G., Governor of Bombay.

Vice Presidents. — H. H. The Maharao of Cutch, G.C.S.I., G C.I.E. ;

Rev. E. BlaUer, S.J., Ph.D., F.L.S. ; and the Hon’ble Sir Ernest Hotson,

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

Executive Committee, Bombay. — Mr. R. D. Bell, C.I.E. , I.C.S. ; Mr.

H. A. W. Brent , Rev. Father J. F. Caius, S.J. ; Mr. Alwyn Ezra, F.R.G.S.,

F.Z.S. ; Prof. V. N. Hate, M.A.; Lt.-Col. F. P. Maclde, I.M.S. ; Mr. J.G.

Ridland ; Major S. S. Sokhey, I.M.S. ; Mr. P. M. D. Sanderson, F Z S. ;

Mr. A. Todd ; Mr. J. B. Greaves ( Honorary Treasurer ) ; Sir Reginald Spence,

Kt . , F.ZS ( Honorary Secretary ) ,

Advisory Committee, Mofussil.— Mr. T. Bambridge Fletcher, F.E.S. (Pusa);

Mr. T. R. Bell, C.I.E., I.F.S. (Retd.) (Karwar) ; Brigadier W H. Evans,

C. I.E., R. E. (Quetta) ; Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser, I.M.S. ; Dr. F. H. Gravely,

D. Sc. (Madras) ; Mr. C. M. Inglis, M.B.O.U., F.Z.S. (Darjeeling) ; Lt.-Col.

B. B. Seymour Sewell, I.M.S. (Calcutta) ; Lt.-Col. C. H. Stockley, O.B.E.,

D.S.O., M.C. (Fort Sandeman)

During part of the year Mr. J. B. Greaves was on leave in England and

Mr. A. Forrington acted as Honorary Treasurer in his absence and at the

meeting held on March 17, 1930, at which H. E. The Right Hon’ble Sir

Frederick Sykes, P.C., G C.I.E., G.B.E., K C.B., C.M.G., was in the Chair,

presented the following report on the Society’s finances.

Revenue Account. — Dealing first of all with the Revenue Account —

The figures on the expense side remain very similar to those which appeared

last year.

On the receipt side : Life Membership Fees this year are Rs. 1,750 as against

Rs. 2,450 in 1928.

Entrance Fees are Rs. 1,814 this year as against Rs. 1,644-8-0 in 1928.

Subscriptions amount to Rs. 28,751-12-8 this year, and last year the total

was Rs. 28,556-1-9.

The Taxidermy Department has shown a small profit to the Society of

Rs. 192-14-9, which is approximately three times the figures shown as a profit

last year.

The total loss on Revenue Account is Rs. 2,995-14-7, but it should be pointed

out that during 1929 we have paid for two issues of the Journal which had

been left unpaid for from 1928, also more money is now being spent on the

Journal, it being the intention of the Committee to make it more attractive

and thus increase membership.

Publication Account. — This account shows only a profit of Rs. 115 this year

as against Rs. 3,153 in 1928, but we have in 1929 paid the authors their half

share of the profits of their publications for 1927 and 1928.

Balance Sheet. — Dealing now with the Balance Sheet -The Balance Sheet

discloses a satisfactory position.

Assets — Tne Assets side is self-explanatory with the possible exception of

the heading • GAME BOOKS ’. Last year we created a reserve equal to the

total value of the Game Books in stock. A number of the Game Books have

been sold, and in consequence there is a balance of Rs. 1,917 to be transferred

back to the Surplus Assets Account.

Liabilities.— Life Membership fees remain at the same figure, those paid in

during the year having been appropriated for General Revenue purposes as it

is considered the figure of Rs. 42,600 represents an ample reserve against Life

Membership fees.

Under our articles all that is necessary to be done is to maintain Government

ANNUAL REPORT

603

Paper investments up to the total value of Life Membership fees. Our

investments in Government Paper total Rs. 72,330 as against Rs. 42,600

received from present Life Members.

Donations for Specific Objects Unexpended .—The, Society is holding this

money as a Trustee.

Surplus Assets. — To last year’s balance have to be added the profit on

publications and receipts from Game Book Sales, and we have to ded2ict a sum of

Rs. 3,440 being depreciation on our securities. In no case have any securities

been written up and the depreciation is merely a routine one to bring our

per cent securities down to market value on December 31, 1929, the

actual value of our securities being considerably above the figure shown.

We also have to deduct the loss shown on the Revenue Account.

The nett difference therefore in the Society’s position between last year and

this year is a loss of Rs. 4,303 7-5, which appears to be almost entielv due

to the necessary heavy depreciation this year on our 3i per cent Government

Securities.

Membership. — During the year, 90 new members have joined the Society,

2 rejoined, and 125 resigned. New members enrolled in 1929 shew an increase

of 7 over new members enrolled in 1928, but the Committee regret to report

that the resignations in 1929 are 125 as against 103 last year. The total

membership on December 31, 1929 was 1,359 including 193 Life Members.

Honorary Secretary’s Report

At the same meeting the Honorary Secretary reported as follows : —

The Honorary Treasurer has dealt fully with the financial side— it only

remains for the Honorary Secretary to say that he trusts the large number

of resignations does but reflect the keenness of his office in getting into touch

with members who have left India but who otherwise might have remained

‘ paper ’ members and that he wishes members were as keen as his office staff

in obtaining new members. No member should ever resign unless and until

he has secured a new member to take his place.

The Society's Journal. — The 33rd volume of the Journal was completed

during the year. The scientific contributions include .—Mr. Pocock’s paper

on ‘ Tigers’ in which the author summarizes the characters of the tigers of

different countries and indicates the defects in the existing knowledge of these

animals. Mrs. Lindsay’s paper on Indian Shrews is a comparative study of

the species occurring in the Indian Empire. An attempt is made to systematize

the group by a careful study of old authorities and literature on the subject

along with an examination of the splendid series of specimens collected by the

Society’s Mammal Survey of India. A new species of Flying Squirrel from

Nepal is described by the same author. Mr. T. B. Fry, late I.F.S., who has

continued the work of his brother-in-law, the late Mr. Charles Wroughton,

I.F.S., with whom he worked also at the British Museum, has contributed

a report on the collection of Mammals made for the Mammal Survey by

Mr. J. M. D. Mackenzie of Toungoo, Burma. Papers on B.rds include : —

Mr. P F. Wickam’s 1 Birds of the Upper Burma Hills ’ dealing with the species

observed by him in the Chin, Kachin and Shan Hills ; Mr. N. F. Betts, ‘ The

Birds of Coorg ’ ; and Major C. H. Williams and Mr. C. E. Williams’ ‘ Notes

on the Birds Breeding round Quetta.’ Lt.-Col. F. C. Fraser continues his

serial on Indian Dragonflies, Ocher papers on Insects include : The descrip-

tion of a New Species of Gynaikothrips from Bangalore by Dudley Moulton ;

A Note on Indian Lepidoptera by Dr. T. V. Ramakrishna Aiyar ; The Life

History and Notes on a Caterpillar Pest of Chrysanthemums by M. C. Cherian,

B.A., B.Sc. ; A Note on the Butterflies and Hawk-Moths of Kathiawar by

Lt.-Col. A. H. Mosse, I. A. An account of the Oyster Industry in the Islands

of Bombay and Salsette with recommendations for its improvement was

written by Mr. H. S. Rai, M.Sc. Father Blatter’s Revision of the Flora of the

Bombay Presidency has now reached its 10th part. Other papers by the

same author were : A Description of a New Species of Balanophora from

Mahableshwar, The Mosses of the Bombay Presidency, the High Wavy

Mountain and Mt. Abu, and the Flowering of Bamboos (part i). A paper on

the Mosses of Waziristan was written by Mr. H. N. Dixon, M.A.

The Editors have continued their efforts to make the Journal appeal to those

who are fond of nature but who are not of those who make a scientific study

604 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Vol. XXXIV

of it. For the need of these we commenced last year in the Journal a series

of articles on Beautiful Indian Trees by Father Blatter and Mr. W. S. Millard.

The articles are illustrated in colour and the series will, we believe, meet a long-

felt want. Mr. Stuart Baker continues his articles on the Indian Waders,

whilst Mrs. Robinson makes it easy by coloured illustrations and descriptive

prose to learn something about the Flowerless Plants of India. Mr. Whistler

is now doing for Indian Birds what Brigadier Evans did some time ago for

Indian Butterflies. In his Study of Indian Birds he provides a ‘ Layman’s

Guide’ to this interesting subject. A well-illustrated Journal is very popular

and should be a means of increasing revenue, but we cannot afford the high

cost of publication of so profuse a number of plates unless the Journals bring

in a big increase in membership.

Publications. — During the year under review the Committee authorized the

publication of the following : —

Game Birds of India. — By Stuart Baker, vol. iii, dealing with the Phea-

sants. Tnis will be published in the course of the present year. The volume

will contain 12 coloured and 5 black and white plates and will be obtainable at

special rates by members of the Society.

Coloured Charts of Indian Birds. — A series of charts illustrating in colour no

less than 200 species of Indian birds. These charts are published mainly for

the use of children in schools but the publication will enable the Society to

issue in 1931 a popular book on Indian birds with coloured illustrations of 200

species at a price which would not otherwise enable the book to be really

popular. It will be issued on the lines of the Geographical Society of

America’s ‘ Book of Birds ’.

Identification of Indian Butterflies. — By Brigadier W. H. Evans, C.I.E.,

R.E. The first edition having been sold out and there being a good demand

for a second it is hoped to issue this in 1931.

Poisonous Snakes of India. — By Col. F. Wall, C.M.G. A fourth edition was

published in 1929 and only a few copies now remain.

Expeditions and Explorations. — One of the most important of the Society’s

activities during the year has been the Mammal and Bird Survey of the Eastern

Ghats, which has been rendered possible through the generosity of Mr.

A. S. Vernay who contributed Rs. 14,000 towards the expenses. Very little is

known about the Natural History of this extensive area.

During the Mamma! Survey the Society intended to send a collector through

the Eastern Ghats but the outbreak of war and other difficulties connected

with transport and the unhealthy state of the area prevented our doing so. A

survey of Mammals in the area is particularly important as it will add greater

completeness to what has already been done during the Mammal Survey

and help to link up with the material and data obtained from the neighbour-

ing provinces.

A few sporadic notes on the birds of the Eastern Ghats have appeared in

scientific publications but so far no systematic attempt has been made to study

the Bird Life of the area.

At the present time, when geographical variation has become an important

factor in the study of Indian Ornithology, the absence of adequate material

from this extensive area leaves a considerable blank in our knowledge of the

Bird Life of the country.

The areas covered by the Survey are the eastern coastal districts of the

Madras Presidency and southern districts adjoining the Eastern Ghats commen-

cing with the Ganjam District in the north and ending with the Cuddapah and

Trichinopoly Districts in the south.

We have to express our cordial thanks for the co-operation of the Madras

Government in extending all necessary facilities to our Collectors. Work

was started in the Salem District in May 1929. During the period under

review our Collectors have worked in the Trichinopoly, Cuddapah, Salem,

Kurnool and Godavari Districts. About 2,000 species of Birds have been

collected, and a slightly smaller number of Mammals- Unfortunately during

the year the Mammal Collector had to be withdrawn owing to illness but

arrangements are being made to replace him. The bird collections are being

worked out by Messrs. Kinnear and Whistler at the British Museum, and the

Mammals by Messrs. Hinton and Pocock. Reports on the work so far accom-

plished will shortly be published.

Survey of Birds of Prome— Owing to the generosity of Mr. J. K. Stanford,

ANNUAL REPORT

60S

I.C.S., Deputy Commissioner, Prome, the Society was enabled to send a

Collector to work under him, Mr. Stanford bearing all the expenses. By this

means a large collection of birds was made. The collection is being worked

out by Dr. Ticehurst at Tring. Very little material representative of the birds

from the Province of Arakan is to be found in Museum collections either in

India or England and Mr. Stanford’s collections form a valuable nucleus and

provide interesting data for the study of Burmese Ornithology. The thanks of

the Society are due to Mr. Stanford.

Survey of the Mammals of Toungoo District , Burma.— Mr. J. M. D,

Mackenzie has continued actively to interest himself in the Mammal Survey

and has made very valuable collections of Mammals in the Toungoo District,

Burma. Reports on his collections were published in the Journal during the

course of the year.

Wherever possible the Society is always willing to loan the services of collec-

tors to gentlemen who are willing to look after them. Members residing in the

more inaccessible parts of India and Burma have the opportunity of doing very

helpful work by this means. The work of Mr. Stanford and Mr. J. M. D.

Mackenzie in Burma are instances of what may be achieved.

Bird Migration in India . — A scheme for ringing birds with a view to study

the problems of Bird Migration in the country was started in 1928. About

5 000 rings were issued in 1928 and a corresponding number have been sent out

during 1929. So far 22 recoveries of ringed birds have been reported and the

records are being published in the Journal of the Society.

Toxicity of the Venoms of Indian Scorpions.— An investigation into the

toxicity ot the venoms of Indian Scorpions was announced in last year’s report.

During the present year great progress was made with the collection of

scorpions from various parts of India. The thanks of the Society are due to

the Medical Departments of various Provincial Governments who have co-

operated in the scheme. A preliminary note on the work carried out and the

amount of venom collected was published in the Journal.

Salt Licks. — With the co-operation of the Forest Departments in India and

Burma a large number of samples of Salt Licks w'ere collected and despatched

to the Society. In addition, samples of ordinary earth and earth used for

human consumption were obtained. The material is being analysed by the

Rev. Father Caius and Mr. K. H. Bharucha at the Haffkine Institute, and

the analysis of earth obtained from Licks is being published in the Society’s

Journal. Fr. Caius believes that the investigation now’ being conducted by the

Society will be productive of very interesting results and he hopes that it may

throw light on the obscure subject of earth eating by human beings. The

thanks of the Society are due to all those Forest officials who so kindly

helped in the work. '

Help Given by the Society.— The Society has been able to assist the following

during the past year : —

(1) A large number of Hospitals and Dispensaries and private individuals

in India by the identification of poisonous snakes and parasites ;

(2) A local Railway by identifying and recommending measures for the

extermination of a ground tick which was causing an outbreak of

fever among the station staff ;

(3) The indigenous match industry — by recommending measures for the

preservation of timber imported for the manufacture of matches

from the attacks of insect pest ;

and in particular by

(4) Recommendation of measures for protection of game in various parts

of India.

Game Preservation.— Attention must be drawn to various articles on Game

Preservation in India and Ceylon which have appeared in the Journal. The sub-

ject is one of growing importance and is attracting attention in all parts of the

Empire. The general consensus of opinion in India is that game sanctuaries,

if by such are meant areas within which no shooting is to be allowed, are not

the remedy. They will be paradises for poachers. What are w;anted are

Game Preserves in which shooting under regulation is allowed, and the

alienation of Forest land, which is the home of interesting species of Forest

Game wffiich would be exterminated were the land put under cultivation,

should be prohibited. Our present difficulties are mainly due to the in-

creasing number of officials with no interest in sport or natural history,

606 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL NIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXXIV

a universal lowering of efficiency and the facility with which licenses to carry

arms are obtained.

The Prince of Wales ’ Mtisemn. — A great deal of the Society’s work now

centres in the Natural History Section of the .Prince of Wales Museum. The

magnificent architectural building, which is a memorial of Mr. Whiffet’s

genius, was not designed for the purpose of a modern natural history museum

nor was it ever intended to house in the existing building a Natural History

Museum. That Museum was to have been accommodated in a wing and the

Museum Trustees have decided that the wing must now be built. There is not

sufficient space for the requirements of the Arts, Archaeological and Natural

History Sections, let alone the Industrial Section which is clamouring for

accommodation in the present building, and whilst fhe Arts and Archaeological

Sections can expand in the existing building if the Natural History Section

moves out, the Natural History Section cannot if one of these Sections were to

go. The present building is from the lighting point of view alone absolutely

unsuited for the purposes of a modern natural science Museum.

The Trustees have accepted designs prepaied by Messrs. Gregson Batley &

King on plans prepared by our Curator, Mr. S. H. Prater, based on what he

learnt of modern Museum requirements in the United States, England and the

Continent of Europe. The estimated cost may be put at Rs. 5-| lakhs ai d

toward this the Trustees have set aside Rs. 2 lakhs and are making an appeal

to All India to contribute to the scheme to make the Prince of Wales Museum

a worthy memorial of the King Emperor’s first visit to India, Members of the

Society have already contributed some Rs. 15,000 but we want contributions

to the building fund to come from the general public as members of the Society

will have to find the monies for the fitting up of the Natural History Museum

and the display, according to latest modern methods, of the collections the

Society has brought together. This is not a matfer in which the citizens of

Bombay alone are interested. It is an All-India matter though it is the work

of the Society, called from its place of origin the Bombay Natural History

Society, which makes such a Museum a practical possibility.

One thing must not be lost sight of. If a Museum stagnates, it dies. The

present position in which none of the existing sections can expand spells

death to all. Room must be found for life and expansion, and room cannot

be found unless public spirited citizens are also found who will provide the

necessary money.

Staff. — The Committee take this opportunity of expressing their appreciation

of the work done by the Curator, Mr. S. H. Prater, and his Staff, both scientific

and clerical.

March 8, 1930.

REGINALD SPENCE,

Honorary Secretary.

PROCEEDINGS

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at the Prince of Wales

Museum on Monday, March 17, at 5-30 p.m. His Excellency the Governor,

President of the Society, was in the Chair.

On arrival His Excellency was received by the Trustees of the Museum and

the Executive Committee of the Society.

Tne business before the meeting was the adoption of the Accounts and the

Annual Report for the year ending December 31, 1929.

The Honorary Secretary’s and Honorary Treasurer’s Reports and the

Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts, copies of which were in the hands

of Members were taken as read and duly adopted.

The Honorary Secretary announced the election of 31 new members since the

last meeting.

The Report for 1929 printed on the foregoing pages was taken as read and

ordered to be published in the Journal,

PROCEEDINGS

607

The office-bearers elected at the Committee Meeting held on February 12,

1929 were re-elected with the following exceptions and additions : —

Executive Committee.— Mr. A, Forrington, appointed Honorary Treasurer in

place of Mr. J. B. Greaves who however remains on the Committee.

Advisory Committee . — The following additional members were elected

Mr. R. C. Morris (Mysore) ; Major E. G. Phythian Adams, I. A., (Retired)

F.Z.S., (Nilgiris) ; Dr. Baini Prashad, D. Sc. (Calcutta) ; and Mr. H.C. Smith,

I.F.S. (Maymyo).

His Excellency the Governor in replying to the Honorary Secretary’s

speech which was a summary of his report given on pages 603-606 said

Gentlemen,

The Annual Report of the Society which is now in our hands forms a record

in a few words of a year’s work in many fields about which a great deal migt be

said. Although Bombay has the honour of giving its name to this Society,

the work and the publications for which it is responsible have an important

value not only to India as a whole, but to scientists all over the world, and I

think we may all feel satisfied that the standard of all this work has been

admirably maintained during the year which is reviewed in the Report.

The Mammal Survey which has been made in recent years by this Society

has proved to be of a very high scientific value, and we must all be glad that

it has been possible to extend it during the year to the Eastern Ghats and thus

to fill in the gaps in what has already been done.

The continued excellence of the Society’s Journal is a matter on which we

may congratulate both ourselves and the editors (Sir Reginald Spence and

Messrs. Sanderson and Prater). The object of the Journal in publishing

matter which will be of high interest not only to the pure scientist but to every-

one who takes an interest in what he sees around him in India, has been

successfully maintained. We have all along been familiar with the series of

articles by Mr. Stuart Baker on the Game Birds of India, and the study of

Indian Birds by Mr. Whistler is now adding to the attractions of the Journal

for laymen. The articles by Father Blatter and Mr. Millard on ‘ Beautiful

Indian Trees ’ have similarly a universal interest, while the Society has done

real service to the public in publishing Brig. Evans’ book on the Identification

of Indian Butterflies, as is shown by the fact that the first edition has so

quickly been sold out. We must remember also the valuable contributions

which this Society has been fortunate in obtaining from Colonel Wall regard-

ing the snakes in India, and the important series of articles by Major Fraser on

Indian Dragonflies. These and many other notes and papers of interest both

to the sportsman and to the student should make our Journal a publication

which no educated man in this country would willingly be without, and while

in itself it provides an attraction for membership, the expense of its production

makes it highly necessary that the strength of membership should be well

maintained and, if possible, increased.

I am sorry to see that the figures of membership during the last year have

not been altogether encouraging, and we must concentrate on the important

task of keeping it up to strength if the Society’s work is to go on without

check. How we can best do so deserves special discussion, but I would sug-

gest that we should make it our business to see that no tourist visits India

without having the w^ork of the Society brought to his notice, and that special

efforts might be made to obtain the support of the educated classes and landed

gentry both in this Presidency and further up-country. It might even prove

fruitful to arrange for the distribution of circulars to visitors at this Museum,

but at any rate every means of publicity deserves to be explored.

Ths Society is naturally and rightly concerned with the question of Game

Preservation in India, which is alluded to in the Report. The term ‘ Game

Preservation ’ is really to some extent a misnomer, and it may perhaps create

the impression that the preservation of fauna is of interest only to the sports-

man. One of the first things we have to do is to bring it home to the public

generally that what we are talking about is simply the protection of allwfild

life. It is simply asserting the right to live of the undomesticated animals and

plants of the world. In any country public conscience in matters of this kind

is difficult to arouse and can only be expected as a late growth and development

of civilization. Even in England we know how difficult it is to persuade the

public generally to spare the rarer plants which come within their reach. The

43

608 JOURNAL , BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY , Fh/. XXXlV

difficulty every where is that the assertion of such a principle conOicts with the

inherited tradition of mankind that whatever is wild is anybody’s prey.

Generally speaking, the right of the State to control the predatory instinct and

to check destructiveness is recognized only in the case of private property.

As we know, even in the most civilized countries poaching in private preserves

is regarded very often as a more or less venial and respectable offence.

Wherever private ownership does not exist there are three things which make it

difficult to limit the predatory inclinations of humanity. One is the innate

love of hunting, another is the desire for food, and the third is the passion for

wearing things obtained from animals, such as, for instance, feathers. The

device by which European countries have to some extent counteracted the first

of these tendencies, and to some extent the others, is by introducing the two

conceptions so deeply ingrained in most of us, which art summarized in the

two words 1 game ’ and * sport

In India, however, the problem of preservation is peculiarly difficult. Shoot-

ing for sport alone is comparatively easy to control, although even in this field

we have recently discovered rather a serious gap in our education which makes

it necessary to appeal to all sportsmen in this country to refrain from the most

unsportsmanlike practice of shooting game from the motor car. I sincerely

hope that this Society will be successful in setting public opinion strongly

against this practice. Apart from sport itself, however, we are confronted in

this country with the almost insurmountable difficulty of either compelling or

persuading the masses to have any regard for the principle of life preservation.

The difficulty is accentuated by the fact that in a certain number of places the

interests of the cultivator come into conflict with marauding animals. All the

world over it is difficult to convince the farmer that one or two annas of crop

are not worth more than the life of any wild animal however rare or local, and

the difficulty is not made easier by the fact that they see the sportsman hunting

the same wild animal for his own pleasure alone. We must, I think, in

fairness see the point of view of the cultivator and endeavour to meet it, but

by degrees we may perhaps hope to do something to create a public sense in

favour of sparing wild life by enlisting the sympathy of the classes who are

more easily educated in this respect, particularly the large landowners.

Another thing which I think we should aim at is to teach the children to

appreciate the value of wild life. We must in fact undertake propaganda of a

suitable kind to convince the public of two very important truths : Firstly, the

irreparable loss to science which is involved in the extinction of any species,

and secondly, the danger of upsetting the balance of nature. Even children

can and should be taught the fact that nature if left to herself is the best

regulator of excess, including even pests injurious to mankind. We already

have an example in North Gujarat of what custom and popular belief can do

even against the interest of the cultivator by preserving pests, such as the

monkey, nilgai and peafowl, when they are protected by religious sanction.

At any rate I think it is worth consideration that this Society, or any other

Society interested in the preservation of natural life, should begin by getting

into touch with the educational authorities, and so to some extent insure the

future, and in the meanwhile anything which this Society can do to help to

form public opinion on this subject — and there are many possible ways of

doing so — will at least be tackling one side of the problem.

One very important way of arousing that interest in wild life which is its

only true protection lies in establishing Museums such as this. Anyone who

happens to have visited this Museum on a Sunday cannot fail to have been

struck and indeed surprised by the numbers of the public who flock to it and

take a most lively interest in the Natural History exhibits. One will find here

on such days perhaps a majority of people in quite humble circumstances,

including many women and children, who can only be daily wage-earners

on the week day. That it should be the function of this Museum so to open

to these people at least a glimpse of the wealth of the natural life in India

speaks volumes for the educational worth of this institution and the value

of the money spent on it. From the same point of view the proposed wung

of this Museum designed to accommodate the Natural History collections is a

thing well worth working for, and it must surely command the fullest support

of all who value the scientific work of this Society and the education of the

people. We must indeed regret that subscriptions for this object have been

so slow in coming in, but I am sure this fact will not daunt us in our efforts,

Proceedings

609

and I hope that persistence in our appeal during the current year will succeed

in making the scheme a practical possibility.

In conclusion, I am sure that we are all ready to endorse the appreciation

expressed in the Report of the work done by the Curator, Mr. Prater, and

we are grateful, as always, to the Honorary Secretary, Sir Reginald Spence,

for his continued valuable services to the Society.

The meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to His Excellency the

President. After the meeting His Excellency was conducted through the

galleries of the Section by Mr. S. H. Prater, the Curator.

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Printed by Norma Roge at the Diocesan Press, Madras, and published by

Sir Reginald Spence for the Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay

Bombay, February 28, 1930.

Examined and iound correct.

(Sd.) A. F. FERGUSON & CO., <Sd.) A. FORRINGTON,

Chartered Accountants, Auditors . Honorary Treasurer .

THACKER, SPINK & CO.

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FINN.— How to Know the Indian Waders. Second Edition. Revised and

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